Dustbury Archives - Page 21 of 34

Say — you want a revolution?“Changing presidents or even changing minds isn’t enough. A real revolution has to change a lot of people’s political identities.”

On Antonin Scalia: On The Death Of A Brilliant Public Servant and Don’t tell me not to be glad.

The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams Shuts Down Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Haters.

Voting in the USA, from overseas.

The Great Dictator Speech – Charlie Chaplin + Time – Hans Zimmer (INCEPTION Theme).

Why People Who Are Scatterbrained Are Actually More Intelligent. Well, duh.

The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy. Missing, though, is Bob and Ray’s Slow Talkers. Mr. Bob Elliott died at the age of 92; an appreciation of the duo.

Joe Alaskey, R.I.P. at age of only 63. Boy from Troy, NY made good.

Stupid Phrases for People in Crisis. Or, more politely, the unhelpful things one ought NOT to say.

In Defense of Artist Glenn Brown.

Now I Know: The Crack Tax and Unchecked Baggage and D-N-Nay.

An unfortunate incident on a Friday in the dead of winter.

Why Do Some People Say “Yuge” Instead of “Huge”?

The explanation of the chart below:

Music

Coverville 1111: Dolly Parton and Neil Diamond Cover Stories.

Jaquandor: songs from the movie High Society.

Muppets: Does Dave Grohl Drum Battle Trump Animal vs. Buddy Rich? No, it does not.

Jed Clampett Rocks Out (Beverly Hillbillies Clip).

What’s the point of music? Ask Peter Gabriel.

New Ways Into the Brain’s ‘Music Room’.

NY State Senate’s Bowie resolution.

45s doohickey.

(Definition of SJW)

Google alerts (me)

That’s the Way of the World – Earth, Wind and Fire.

Today we have trolls.

[Top image per IISC.]

Throwback Music Saturday: Fantasy

Fantasy is a song written and composed by Maurice White, his brother Verdine White, and Eddie del Barrio.

When I think of the song Fantasy by Earth, Wind, and Fire, I think of elementary school.

Oh, not mine. In March 1978, after over a year of being underemployed or unemployed after college, I was the newly hired bookkeeper for the Schenectady Arts Council’s program to do outreach in the local schools. It was funded by a program called the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. CETA was much maligned by critics, but it was great for me, part of the administrative staff, and a coterie of artists: sculptors, actors, painters, a photographer, a book author/illustrator duo, and a choreographer, who I’ll call Darlene.

Darlene was more classically trained, but disco was all the rage, so much of what she taught in the schools were more popularly oriented. And to teach this, she needed a partner. Foolishly, I thought, she ~~hornswoggled~~convinced me to go with her to the various elementary schools.

I wouldn’t say I was good at this, but I did get to be less bad over time. The program sent out evaluations to the schools afterwards. Since I wasn’t an artist, I didn’t get evaluated, but one of the kind teachers mentioned me positively.

One of the pieces Darlene put together was set to the tune Fantasy by EW&F. But it wasn’t the version I had heard on the radio. Rather it was a take that reprises the slow section from the beginning of the song. That iteration was was from the 1977 album All ‘n All, which got up to #3 on the US album charts and sold triple platinum.

Fantasy is a song written and composed by Maurice White, his brother Verdine White, and Eddie del Barrio. It became an international hit. While the single only went to #32 in the US pop charts, and #12 on the soul charts, it reached #25 in Australia, #14 in the UK, and #6 in Sweden.

Unfortunately, the founder of Earth, Wind and Fire, Maurice White died on February 3 at the age of 74, from Parkinson’s Disease. (he is second from the right in the photo.)

Links

Fantasy (album version) here or here

Fantasy (single version) here or here

Chuck Miller’s great post– Earth, Wind, and Fire: I’ll Write a Song For You.

Maurice White, RIP, played drums on Summertime by Billy Stewart, as Dustbury notes.

Trumped, again

Seriously, I try to ignore the phenomenon that is Donald Trump. But I profess weakness; I am only human.

A friend posted the pic above, with a caption “From Robert Crumb’s strip in HUP comix from 10 or 15 years ago.” But a cursory search reveals that HUP comix #3 was actually from 1989, “featured his take on the ugliness of America (Donald Trump).”

This means that at least some folks realized the toxicity of one DJT over a quarter century ago.

And his father was equally reviled: Woody Guthrie, ‘Old Man Trump’ and a real estate empire’s racist foundations, and Woody Guthrie Loathed His Racist Landlord: Donald Trump’s Father.

The New York Daily News has been doing a series of front pages mocking the Donald, and to a lesser extent, Ted Cruz. Audiences are entertained, and the points I tend to agree with, for the most part. The endorsement of Trump by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was odd theater.

See also the cartoon of Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty But is it journalism? I’d say not as I understand it.

Conservatives against Trump. If he IS the Republican nominee for President, know that the Clinton and Sanders campaigns have bookmarked this piece. Of course, National Review was booted from co-sponsoring the February 25 GOP debate for putting this out.

The Week says Donald Trump is hypnotizing the GOP. Literally. THAT would explain things, such as retweeting a white nationalist, with minimal consequence. Is it true, as he posits, that he could shoot somebody and not lose voters?

I’m now convinced that Donald J. Trump could be elected President this year, especially after reading Ruth Marcus on how much more dangerous Cruz is than Trump, an argument I hear by others. President Trump would cut deals, Cruz would not.

To Dustbury’s everlasting horror:
1. There exists Donald Trump fanfiction.
2. There exists sexually explicit Donald Trump fanfiction.

Man’s obituary: ‘In lieu of flowers, please do not vote for Donald Trump’.

January Rambling #1: Of Oz The Wizard

This is what happens when you reply to spam email.

Gordon Parks’ Jim Crow photos still resonate, alas.

David Brooks of the NY Times: The Brutalism of Ted Cruz.

The father of a boy killed at Sandy Hook gets death threats from people who say the shooting was a hoax.

Amy Biancolli: Not alone at being alone.

Affluenza and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

What militants and the pungent salad radish have in common.

Mark Evanier’s scarlet fever.

The New Yorker: My Last Day as a Surgeon. “In May of 2013, the Stanford University neurosurgical resident Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer. He was thirty-six years old.”

Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace. “Workplaces need more walls, not fewer,” something I’m painfully aware of.

‘Lost’ Jerry Lewis Holocaust film sees the light.

Your favorite movies, re-edited, including Of Oz The Wizard, the movie arranged in alphabetical order, from Aah to Zipper. Don’t watch “of”, if you value your sanity.

Periodic table’s seventh row finally filled as four new elements are added, and the song to go with it.

British actor Alan Rickman, star of stage and ‘Harry Potter,’ dies at 69. Here are his Top 20 movie quotes.

2015: SamuraiFrog’s 50 favorite pop culture artifacts and the year in 4 minutes.

2016 in the Capital District: Salaries, food and taxes, have yourself a nice hot cup of coffee while you still can.

Metroland, RIP, and Albany’s alternative weekly Metroland nostalgic, bittersweet final issue.

TEDx: James Veitch: This is what happens when you reply to spam email.