Month: August 2005

Working on the theory that there is a finite number of hours in a day, I didn’t get a chance to do links this week, save for these:

I knew SOMETHING was up when I saw cars stopped in front of my house a full block from the main intersection of Allen and Madison. At first, I figured that it was an accident, but as I headed to the Price Chopper supermarket, I found that it was a bank robbery at the Trustco, where hostages were taken, just two blocks from my house. The Price Chopper, just beyond the bank, required me to walk nine blocks to get there. When I got home, the helicopter that would pass by occasionally rattled the windows of our house. During the LLWS US championship (won by Hawai’i), Channel 10 interrupted the game three times – in mid-inning!- to announce that there was a situation and that people should avoid driving on that part of Madison Avenue. The Cable News Channel 9 had a scroll, but didn’t, in my watching, interrupt its pre-Travers coverage.

A Republican Dictionary. All you Republicans reading this may be deeply offended. Oh, well.

Book: Hendrix avoided Vietnam with gay ruse. This MSNBC story takes a somewhat salacious angle, I think. But if the draft comes back – the cover story in this week’s Metroland – what WILL keep one out of the army these days?

Speaking of war, my friend Cecily sent me this: The first and only federal conspiracy trial arising out of civil resistance to the Iraq War begins September 19 in Binghamton, NY. Imagine – in my hometown.

Mark Evanier is the self-appointed tracker of all appearances of the characters in the comic strip Blondie in other comic strips, in advance of the 75th anniversary of Mrs. Bumstead and her family next month.

Today is Jack Kirby’s birthday. You don’t know who Jack Kirby is? Horrors! Fred Hembeck has a whole bunch of links TODAYso that you can find out.

Emmett Till disappeared 50 years ago today; his mutilated body was found three days later. His mother allowed photos to be taken of his open casket, and the horrifying pictures helped galvanize the Civil Rights movement, including the “I Have a Dream” speech eight years, to the day, later.

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I want to know why it is that I can see that photo in my mind’s eye when the event took place when I was but two years old when it took place. I’m guessing that on the fifth anniversary in 1960, Ebony and/or Jet magazines reran the photos, I saw them and the image seared in my mind to this day.

When I was in high school, a bunch of us raised money for some poor, rural folks in Tennessee. One day, I was (foolishly) walking alone down some dirt road down there. I see a sign indicating that I was about to enter the state of Mississippi. I crossed into the new state, then my mind screamed, “Emmett Till!” and I literally jumped back into Tennessee.

In January or February of 1986, I saw the Capitol Repertory Theater’s performance of Toni Morrison’s Dreaming Emmett, based on his life and death. I don’t remember if was particularly well-acted or -written. All I remember was that I felt again the pain that was Emmett.

The last time I saw the picture in print was when his mom, Mamie Till-Mobley, died a couple years ago.

This year, the case has been reopened by the FBI, with a exhumation and re-examination of Emmett’s remains, based on advances in DNA testing, followed by a reburial in June. Hope that some day Emmett can rest in peace. And it will give me some measure of peace as well.

NAME: Zombie Tom (Collins)
BLOG NAME: Zombie Eat Brains
NAME OF CD: When There’s No More Room in Hell, This Mix Will Walk the Earth
NUMBER OF CUTS: 27
RUNNING TIME: 78:29
COVER ART: The ghoul (from the site) was small but effective enough
SONG LIST: His Post of June 15
ALREADY REVIEWED BY: Gordon on June 30
GENERAL THOUGHTS: Mean old Zombie Tom just forced his way into the Mixed process, probably traumatizing poor Tom the Dog. I really like the concept of this album, probably a little more than the album itself. Having said that, I realize that for what it is, it’s very good at it, sorta like that movie, The Devil’s Reject, directed by Rob…Zombie, whose music permeates this disc. There are five pieces of dialogue not noted, after tracks 4, 11, 15, 19, 22.
THINGS I PARTICULARLY LOVED: The Misfits, the fairly melodic Romero trilogy, Hellbillies, Groovie Ghoulies, Belafonte, Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, plus old friends in new settings: Zombies, Hooters, Katrina, Cranberries, Petty.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Nas. And yes, I was traumatized by Toni Basil. (The Katrina joke I got –sunshine vs. zombies, or something; this one I didn’t.)
OFFICE FRIENDLY: Well, the scream may generate a call to the police. Not Nas for reasons cited on the site.
ONLY VAGUELY RELATED: FantaCo, where I worked, used to sell a lot of horror books, films, and videos. We also published comics and magazines in the genre, but I read almost none of them.
I have the Rockapella version of Zombie Jamboree.

Sign of an obsessive personality: I went back to my review (on August 17) of Eddie’s disc to make note of Gordon’s subsequent review on August 24. No, not obsessive, just a librarian/completist.

NAME: Dave G.
BLOG NAME: Simply Comics
NAME OF CD: Simplemix 1
NUMBER OF CUTS: 22
RUNNING TIME: 72:34
COVER ART: Typed
SONG LIST:
1. Swivelchair-Nothing Painted Blue
2. The Milkshake Song-Angry Salad
3. The Rainbow-The Apples in Stereo
4. C is the Heavenly Option-Heavenly
5. All Nite Diner-Modest Mouse
6. A Little Less Conversation-Elvis Presley/JXL
7. Letter from an Occupant-the New Pornographers
8. Wishing Well-Terence Trent D’Arby
9. Let’s Stick Together-Roxy Music
10. Ears Ring-Rainer Maria
11. Ugly-Fishbone
12. Minnie the Moocher-Cab Calloway
13. New Girlfriend-the Mr. T Experience
14. Can You Picture That?-Electric Mayhem
15. Shake a Puddin’-Dub Narcotic Sound System
16. Jenny-the mountain goats
17. Harbor-Vienna Tang
18. Overgrown-Walt Mink
19. Using the Metric System-Atom and his Package
20. 21st Century Digital Boy-Bad Religion
21. No One Takes Your Freedom-Scissors Sisters/Beatles/George Michael/Aretha Franklin/DJ Earworm
22. The End
ALREADY REVIEWED BY: Gordon on August 24
GENERAL THOUGHTS: Simple, but effective. New (to my ears) and old stuff working well together.
THINGS I PARTICULARLY LOVED: The fact that he mentioned the albums from which the cuts came. The jaunty cuts 1-4 & 13. 17. 19 (radical). The cuts I knew from before but like: 6, 8, 9, 12, and especially 11. 21-a remix of the Beatles’ “For No One”, with snippets of Aretha’s “Think”, which was worth the price of admission (Mary R- you need to hear this!)
ON THE OTHER HAND: No song reached this level, though the repetitive nature of 15 came close.
OFFICE FRIENDLY: GD on 16, the F word in 19

ONLY VAGUELY RELATED: One of my favorite beverages!

Because I have an interest in music, it is inevitable that I would use it to entertain and soothe the child.

When she was a few months old, people lied to us that she’d sleep if we drove her around in the car. Even when she finally did sleep, it would never be more than an hour, then she’d wail. In defense, I’d sing “Old McDonald”, with a wild range of animals (bear, elephant, fox); stopping to catch my breath would mean more crying. That was her favorite, along with a variant on BINGO: “There was a family, had a girl, and Lydia was her name. Oh, L-Y-D-I-A…”

A lot of it was whatever came came to mind at the moment: Here Comes Lydia (Right Down Lydia Lane); Lydia, You Are My Favorite Daughter (think Herman’s Hermits), and many more.

But two seemed to last. Particularly when I was with Lydia, and Lydia wanted to nurse, thee was this version of Eli’s Coming (probably the Three Dog Night version of the Laura Nyro song):

Mommy’s coming, hold your horses (X2)
Girl, Mommy’s a-comin’, you better wait (X3)
Girl, Mommy’s coming. Hold your horses
Better, better wait your turn
Mommy’s coming, and she’ll feed you
And she’ll nmake you real strong
and she’ll give you good nutrition
She’ll give you just what you need
Every single da-ay

But my favorite
I love Lydia (X2),
’cause she is my daughter, oh yeah,
’cause she is my daughter.

But what was the TUNE? Actually, in the very beginning, I could not remember. Then I figured it out. It was a tune that got all the way up to #66 on the Billboard charts in 1983. I must have picked up from a compilation, because I certainly own no albums by Toto Coelo. (In fact, I had to look up the group name AGAIN.)

Those of you up on obscure ’80s bands have probably figured out the song:
I eat cannibals. Oy. Well, the tune STILL works.

So, Lydia, my tuneful daughter, happy 17 months. I love how you dance when the stereo’s on. But STOP MESSING WITH THE DIALS!