Multitasking here during the annual Academy Awards, which I've regularly watched since a kid -- a lesson in continuity, I guess. Glad to see The Hurt Locker has already won four awards. And that Jeff Bridges won, yeahdawg!
Meanwhile, if you ever get to Philly, be sure to check out Marcel Duchamps' stick-in-the-head memorable Nu descendant un escalier n° 2 / Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 (yes, there's a lesser known No. 1) at the wonderful, beautiful and culturally rich Philadelphia Museum of Art (the stairs where Rocky ran up in triumph way back when).
OK, if I'm to get this off just around midnight, Kathryn Bigelow won for best director (first American woman ever), Sandra Bullock (who has grown on me over the years as she's gotten more relaxed and real) for best actress, and just now The Hurt Locker! for best film . . .
I. A songbird woke me up this morning and when I went outside, it was clear that spring is on the way. This little bird triggered another thought: there's a name for what she (or he) is doing -- performing an aubade, or morning song (sounds like oh-baud, or ō-ˈbäd).
Wallace Fowlie taught me this back in the 80s.
Believe it or not, Erik's Choice is moving into its fifth year of existence and I am moving toward my 50th year on Earth. I began this "web log" back in February of 2006, and have posted at least once daily ever since, more than 1600 posts so far. Not only have I enjoyed ruminating and posting, but more importantly, it's been a great pleasure getting to know other bloggers, readers and commenters from around the globe. Many thanks for stopping by -- and for those who also write their own stuff, for writing!
II. My main advice after four years of posting: write about folks 65 or older. Go out and listen to more "seniors." Cherish, treasure, engage and record.
Besides extended family members and students and teachers and librarians and writers who are of all ages, some of my best friends are (or were if they're gone) people I met when they were considerably past 65. For instance, Nishan Baba Toumajan and his younger wife, Louise Toumajan taught me about their lives as Armenians in the Ottoman Empire/Turkey -- and in the USA through most of the 20th century. Baba had been born in the 1800s; Louise had been a professional tennis player after the First World War. Madame Françoise Marcus has taught me about her life growing up in France and is always quick with charm and conversation, the good life. I only met with Wallace Fowlie maybe a dozen times but we also became good friends. Then there were the Germans who'd been captured at Normandy on D-Day (Willy Wiederstein and comrades) and then worked on Scottish, Canadian and American farms during the last year of the Second World War. There was also Doctor Dick Pearse, who'd inspired me and my pal Kenny to walk the eleven miles between Durham and Chapel Hill. And there was an older guy walking along what was left of Hastings Street in Detroit, who remembered the days when John Lee Hooker lived in town playing the Apex Bar and Henry's Swing Club, and the day he saw Jimi Hendrix play.
You see what I'm saying -- seek and ye shall find, and listen well when you do, whether you meet once or a hundred times.
I love The Rolling Stones. They were one of the first bands I became coherently aware of growing up.
Few (that I know of) seem to have publicly or widely noted the unique qualities of Mick Jagger's voice -- a trademark of all the great blues singers and, indeed, of all great singers. And he is one of the world's great singers alive today.
"Mona" comes from the original 1964 UK album release of The Rolling Stones (1964). It's a Bo Diddley cover, which many "old school" aficionados would get immediately upon hearing.
I developed a taste for coffee when I was about seventeen, and have enjoyed it every single day since then (considerably more than half a lifetime already). Kind of crazy, but true. During work days, I tend to drink a lot between early morning until about seven in the evening. Besides water, that's all I drink most days. At night, I sometimes enjoy a "real" drink, in addition. Or two, etc. Especially on weekends!
Who else has checked out the Coffee Party Movement? I think it's a great alternative to the Loony Tea Party Movement, and membership has jumped from 4,000 or so to over 80,000 in the past week! Similarly to its ideals of civic engagement, I propose that all civic-minded Americans download or order an official portrait of President Obama for their office or work space (if you have one). More on that soon.
Meanwhile, if you'd like to know more about the history of coffee, check out Wikipedia or Uncommon Grounds: The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World by Mark Perndergrast (2000). Its history, like the history of tea and sugar, is really really interesting, with all sorts of legacies and side effects. British Empire = Tea + Sugar. France, Spain, Italy, USA = Coffee.
I totally get why Governor Mark Sanford prefers the charms of Argentina to the swamps of South Carolina. Sometimes it's nice to get away from it all -- even if only in the imagination.
Picked up this nicely crafted and amply illustrated little gem just for pleasure. Ever since my Aunt Denise did a student gig there in the 1960s, I've contemplated Argentina. Some day, I'll go there and check it out for myself. A logical spot for repose would be Buenos Aires. One way to whet the appetite for that capital city is to read through The Authentic Bars, Cafés and Restaurants of Buenos Aires by Gabriela Kogan (2007). In an urbanized area with some thirteen million people in it, Kogan samples seventy cool gathering places, a lot of them going back a ways. Will probably do a follow up post on some of them when I read all the text.
Is there anywhere you'd love to go, given a generous travel stipend and the time to do it?
So far as I can tell, here's the first worldwide interpretive transcription of the lyrics to Lightnin' Hopkins mid-1960s song, "War Is Starting Again." Please feel free to make corrections if you hear anything differently from what I did. A wicked little twist in the last stanza. The actual song is available on iTunes, etc.
Woe, you know this world done get tangled now, baby Woe, you know I believe they fixin' to start a war again Woe, you know this world done get tangled now Yeah, I believe they gonna start war again
Yeah, there gonna be a'mothers start to worry Yes, there's gonna be many a girls will lose a friend
Well, I got news this morning Right now they need a million men Woe, I got news this mornin' Right now they need a million men
Woe, you know I been overseas once Oh, Lightnin' don't want to go there again Lord have mercy! All right!
Yeah, you know my girlfriend got a boyfriend in the Army That fool better go overseas You know I don't hate it so bad because you know That's a better break for me This world is a-tangled Yeah, they finally had a war again . . .
Kinky Friedman is running for Agriculture Commissioner in in the Texas Democratic Primary tomorrow; early voting already indicates a heavier turnout than at this time in 2006, when he ran as an independent for governor. Texas is still saddled with the seemingly endless Rick Perry, because there are no term limits. Texans, make it former Houston Mayor Bill White for Governor and Kinky for Ag' Commish!
Thoroughly enjoyed Kinky's take on the 2006 election: You Can Lead a Politician to Water But You Can't Make Him Think: Ten Commandments for Texas Politics (2007). It's real short but pithy and full of good stuff. As Kinky notes, "humor always sails dangerously close to the truth." There's a lot of fun stuff there, yes, and serious ideas, too, for making life better in Texas (and elsewhere, for that matter). On the cover, he reminds me of Lee Van Cleef. Inside, he salutes the late Molly Ivins and comes off as compassionate as well as sharp. My only real disagreement: he states clearly he has no liking for France -- given that it's my family name, he may pardon me for liking France, the country, its people and its culture. Other than that, I agree with him about eighty percent of the time. He has books aplenty, and albums, too. He'll make a great Agriculture Commissioner because, "Why the Hell not?" And, as he said of being governor, "How hard could it be?"
