Ramblin' with Roger

Treadmill of my own design

I mentioned recently that I performed in a concert on Sunday, November 18, singing with my church choir a bunch of songs about St. Cecilia. Then a concert on Sunday, November 25, with people who had sung with organist Don Ingram in the past, singing the Christmas section of Handel’s Messiah in honor of Don’s 80th birthday, a benefit for his church’s organ fund.

So the logical thing to do on Sunday, December 2 would have been to do nothing. Instead, I ATTENDED TWO concerts. The first was actually An Advent Processional with Lessons and Carols at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, from 2:30-4:05 with The Wife; we saw a number of people I knew.

Then we rush back, and while my wife is taking the child sitter home, I call the College of St. Rose’s box office to see if there are more tickets for the 5 p.m. performance of “It’s a Jazzy Christmas” at the Massry Center, but all I got was a recording. So we hightail it to CSR, and not only are there more tickets to go with the two comps, we can get one that’s right next to ours.

The show featured a great jazz trio in the tradition of Vince Guaraldi’s groups, playing some Charlie Brown Christmas tunes and other holiday favorites. It was regularly interrupted by this story about a character, shown on a video screen, trying to steal Christmas, which was all quite goofy. There were puzzles for kids to solve, but 1) not enough time/light for most to solve them and 2) no incentive for them to do so. Our sense was that it was enjoyable enough, but if we had spent $50, rather than just the $10 for the Daughter’s ticket, we would have enjoyed it far less. Still, the guest vocalist who sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” was excellent, and there were milk and Freihoffer’s chocolate chip cookies before the show.

Next milestone: the Daughter’s performance in the Nutcracker on Sunday, December 16. Yesterday was another practice, and tomorrow is the dress rehearsal.

Then some major holiday the week after that.

Oh, and I’ve been going to rehearsals for some church play in March, but more on that down the road.

The only time I get to go grocery shopping is late at night (no longer my strength) or early in the morning. I like going to the 24-hour store at 5 a.m., when the staff is stocking the shelves. They play music that one doesn’t hear during the day; the last time I left humming Lola by the Kinks.

“War Against Christmas” Is OVER (If You Want It)

The parties have agreed to be COOL with being greeted with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” without getting all bent out of shape about it.

(Dateline: Albany, NY) Roger Green, founder, and president of the organization Christmas Or Other Labels (COOL), has declared the war on Christmas in the United States to be officially over. People celebrating the holiday religiously, those celebrating it socially, and those not celebrating it at all were all declared victors in emotional celebrations across the country.

The Christian folks have decided that, while it IS approaching Christmas in December, there ARE people who practice other religions, or no religions at all, and they are determined to be COOL about it.

Besides, the period called Christmastide on the Christian calendar doesn’t actually start until December 25, and running to early January, the 12 days of Christmas. And the Pope is clear that we’re celebrating the birth of Christ at the wrong time of the year anyway.

The Christians also acknowledge that the declaration that there was a “war” on Christmas was a bit hyperbolic, given the actual violence perpetrated against Christians in Nigeria last Christmas. Not to mention how Christmas has become so large, it is now starting to devour Thanksgiving.

The non-religious have agreed to be COOL about the fact that the placement of Christmas in December, and the use of the fir tree, are based on pagan traditions, and to stop being snarky about it. They have also recognized that the holiday IS important to some people on religious grounds and to not prattle on about how commercialized it’s become. If the feeling starts swelling up, the Rx is to go watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, repeatedly if necessary.

The non-Christian religious, and the people who just like exchanging presents, acknowledge that they’re COOL with it all.

In this era of rapprochement, the parties have agreed to be COOL with being greeted with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, or beautiful Bogie day, or sterling Serling Day, in the spirit in which it was offered, without getting all bent out of shape about it. They’ve decided that Waging Peace on Christmas is a much more life-affirming strategy.

As John and Yoko sang, War is Over (If You Want It).
***
Jon Stewart shows why ‘The war on Christmas’ is nuts

SamuraiFrog’s Last Word Ever on the “War on Christmas”

John Lennon: The Last Interview, from Rolling Stone

Politics and commerce

I saw relatively few retail stores with either Obama OR Romney signs this year. Seems like a no-win action, to possibly alienate a good chunk of your potential market over politics.

Jaquandor is back with his Sentential Links, which he had temporarily discontinued during the election season because he feared that he’d “do nothing but link political stuff.” Interestingly, though, the link that caught my attention did have to do with politics, of a sort.

John Scalzi, in his Whatever blog, which is often entertaining, wrote: “There are places that don’t get my business, or will ever get it, because I find their corporate beliefs or practices problematic. But I’m not going to stop going to the local ice cream shop because the owners put a Romney sign in their window.”

That got me thinking about how I felt about that. I can imagine that, if it were 1972, and someone had a sign for noted segregationist George Wallace in the window, I might have decided to take my money elsewhere. But I don’t recall whether I even saw business establishments with Richard Nixon signs.

Locally, I see lots of stores with signs of a local candidate or another. I’ve often wondered, especially in those more transient stores, whether the sign REALLY represents the proprietor’s position, or did he/she just stick the sign in the window because the first person in that race asked?

I saw relatively few retail stores with either Obama OR Romney signs this year. Seems like a no-win action, to possibly alienate a good chunk of your potential market over politics.

The ABC Wednesday post for R was about voting for Romney/Ryan. I suppose I could have put the kibosh on it, but I was disinclined. I did make comments, such as West Virginia has only five electoral college votes, not six, and that it has gone red every year that begins with the number 2.

In the last month, I went to the barbershop. Folks in some barbershops really DO talk like people do in the Barbershop movies. One of the other barbers asked my barber, who is the shop owner, whether he would “perform a gay marriage.” I am unaware that he is even licensed to marry anyone. The answer was “no”, which was disappointing. Yet I fully agree that a Catholic priest should not be forced to marry a Catholic to a Protestant, e.g. I support the premise, and it was a “what if” question; still, the response bugged me. I haven’t been back, but I haven’t gone anywhere else yet either, and I’m overdue for another trim.

I’m perfectly willing to boycott big businesses over their policies – I’ve done it for years – yet, on the local level, I’m a bit more…pragmatic? Forgiving? Or maybe the sin hasn’t been egregious enough.

FantaCon 2013 update

Haven’t seen Steve Bissette in person since 1988.

Michae

As some of you know, I worked at FantaCo, the comic book and film book store/publisher, et al in Albany, NY from May 1980 to November 1988, the second-longest job I ever had. (The current one is #1.)

There will be a FantaCon in September 2013, the first one since 1990. I’ll be there, Allah/Yahweh willing.

You’ll note that Tom Skulan, the creator of FantaCo and FantaCon, has dedicated the show to the memory of three individuals. I KNEW THEM ALL.

Phil Seuling was one of those people that the term “bigger than life” was designed for. He essentially invented the direct sales market for comic books, and his Seagate Distributors was not only FantaCo’s primary supplier in the early years, but the fact that he took a chance on FantaCo’s largely untested product line helped permit FantaCo to become a successful publisher. He threw some of the most lavish parties I’ve ever been to, in Brooklyn, NY.

Not only did Raoul Vezina work the front counter at FantaCo, he also designed the FantaCo logo, Smilin’ Ed. He drew the duck character that graces this blog. One of my favorite memories ever was co-plotting a Smilin’ Ed story with him for the X-Men Chronicles. He also was friends with more folk than anyone I knew, and would often get us into the J.B. Scott’s nightclub for free when some band he knew was playing.

Chas Balun was this gentle giant of a man. Had a great sense of humor, which showed up in his horror film writings. He lived on the West Coast of the US, so I didn’t meet him that often. Since I shipped most of the FantaCo publications, I got to speak with him on the phone regularly. My buddy Stephen R. Bissette was speaking fondly of him on his Facebook page earlier this month.

Speaking of Steve, I’m looking forward to seeing him in person, at the only show he’s doing outside his native Vermont in 2013. He’s the artist probably best known for his collaboration on Swamp Thing, though he’s done a lot of other great stuff. Haven’t seen him in person since 1988.

Also haven’t seen Michael T. Gilbert in a very long time, probably since before Raoul died, in 1983. On the other hand, Fred Hembeck, who Tom and Fred have confirmed is coming, though he’s not noted on the site yet, I got to see on November 11 of this year.

I have two tasks in re: this, and some of you may be able to help me. I’m interviewing Tom Skulan, sending him a bunch of questions by the end of the year, which he has agreed to answer. If YOU have questions you want me to ask, please let me know. I’m also working on a FantaCo bibliography for 1978-1988; if you happen to have any of those items that I could borrow – and that would include FantaCon programs, FantaCo catalogs, and Splatter Movies T-shirts, I would appreciate that. Contact me at the e-mail on this blog.

Baseball Hall of Fame in the Steroid Era

Who WILL get in, I really don’t know, though I’ll guess Piazza, Schilling, Bagwell, and Morris.

The ballot for the 2013 inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame has been announced. Two of the greatest players ever, outfielder Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens, are on the ballot for the first time; both have been implicated as users of performance-enhancing steroids. Sammy Sosa, a great home run hitter, is also in this category.

These are the other first-time nominees: Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, Mike Piazza, Kenny Lofton, David Wells, Julio Franco, Shawn Green, Steve Finley, Roberto Hernandez, Jose Mesa, Mike Stanton, Sandy Alomar Jr., Jeff Cirillo, Reggie Sanders, Jeff Conine, Royce Clayton, Ryan Klesko, Aaron Sele, Woody Williams, Rondell White, Todd Walker.

The following players received between 5 and 74 percent of the BBWAA vote in 2012 and have appeared on no more than 14 previous BBWAA ballots, making them eligible to return to the 2013 ballot: Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker, and Bernie Williams.

The ones in italics above won’t get the 5 percent to get on the ballot next year. Sandy Alomar could be on that list too, though his brother was a Hall of Famer and that might help him just hit the threshold. Julio Franco (played a LOT of years), Shawn Green, Mike Stanton, and Steve Finley could go either way. I think the others will get at least 5% including David Wells, if only because he once pitched a perfect game.

Here’s some information on all the candidates. If I were voting, I would not vote for any of the steroid suspects in the first round, but might in subsequent rounds.

My ballot:
Mike Piazza- one of the best hitting catchers of his time
Curt Shilling – pivotal in World Series wins for two different teams (2001 Arizona, 2004 Boston)
Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell – I like the idea of two of the Houston Astros’ Killer B’s getting in together
Mark McGwire – he’s also been tainted by the enhanced performance brush. But it wasn’t banned until afterward. And it’s his 7th time on the ballot, so yes.
Larry Walker – my bias against playing in a mile high stadium where the hit ball carries better (Denver) has been overcome by his decent play away from home
Lee Smith – a one-time career saves leader; should have been in years ago

Now I have to think about the last three. As a Yankees fan, I’m biased against former Yankees Mattingly and Williams, because their predecessors were so great. Edgar Martinez was primarily a designated hitter, and I STILL hate the DH rule. But I might vote for all of them down the road. I’ll pick three players who’ve been on the ballot a long time: Alan Trammell (12th year on the ballot); Jack Morris (14th, and I would have voted for him before); and Dale Murphy (15th and final shot).

Who WILL get in, I really don’t know, though I’ll guess Piazza, Schilling, Bagwell, and Morris, two first-timers, and two who’d been up before.

There’s also a separate ballot for the Pre-Integration Era, six players, three executives, and one umpire from the origins of the major leagues through 1946. I’d pick:
pitcher Tony Mullane, who “won 284 games in 13 major league seasons from 1881-1894”
St. Louis Cardinals executive Samuel Breadon, who “created the blueprint for the modern farm system with minor league clubs owned or controlled by the parent club. Presided over nine pennant winners and six World Series championships”
executive Jacob Ruppert, who owned the New York Yankees from 1915-1939, with his teams winning six World Series titles and nine American League pennants during his ownership.” He purchased Babe Ruth’s contact from the Red Sox, and “led the construction of Yankee Stadium”
Hank O’Day, who was major league umpire “from 1888-1927, officiating 10 World Series, tied for second-most in history. Was selected to umpire the first World Series in 1903. Also played and managed in the majors, as a pitcher from 1884-1890”

The announcers’ awards are also out, but I have no opinion.

One of my Facebook friends wrote: “I’m going to argue that before any of these guys get in, how about considering inducting John R. Tunis, Charles Schulz, and the guy who invented Little League“; that would probably be Carl Stotz. “It’s about time that some of the people who used their talents to promote baseball also get their due in the Hall.” Last I was there, a Peanuts cartoon exhibit WAS in the Hall.

Baseball union leader Marvin Miller died recently. I agree that he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame as well.