Baseball, football, basketball, the Olympics – Curt Gowdy announced them all, and announced them well. He’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame as an announcer. A park in Wyoming is even named for him. Gowdy, who died of leukemia at age 86 today, spent many hours in my home over the years, and I appreciated his level-headed professionalism and knowledge.
Month: February 2006
Presidents’ Day
If you should ever go on the television show JEOPARDY!, one of the areas you should try to learn involve the Presidents: the years they were elected, the years they served (with the exception of Washington’s first term, always the following year), their state of residence (and if different, of birth) and their rank order.
1. Washington- 2 terms, they love references to his first Lady, the widow Martha Custiss
2. J. Adams- 1 term, first in the White House (1800)
3. Jefferson-2 terms, Washington’s Secretary of State, Louisiana Purchase
4. Madison-2 terms, Jefferson’s Secretary of State
5. Monroe-2 terms, Madison’s Secretary of State
6. J.Q. Adams-1 term, race settled by the House of Representatives, Monroe’s Secretary of State, returned to serve in the House and died there
7. Jackson-2 terms, his mansion was the Hermitage, near Nashville
8. Van Buren-1 term, Jackson’s Secretary of State
9. W.H. Harrison-1 month, “Old Tippecanoe”, longest inaugural address, 1st to die in office.
Well, you get the idea.
So, it’s WH Harrison (one month), Tyler (completed term), Polk (one term), Taylor (about two years), Fillmore (completed term), Pierce (one term), and Buchanan (one term) between 1841 and 1861 – and this from…memory! When I learned the presidents, this was the hardest stretch. Did you know there were four Whig Presidents, and they served a total of 8 years? (Harrison/Tyler/Taylor/Fillmore).
As I heard ad nauseum after the JFK assassination, Lincoln and JFK were elected in ’60, died in office, had VPs named Johnson who succeeded them.
There was a Final JEOPARDY! question once about the three Presidents in 1881: Hayes, Garfield, Arthur. 1841 and 1881 were the only two years with three Presidents.
I wrote this segment of a movie/play in my head once where a person was captured by the bad guys and was interrogated. He was asked who was the President, and his predecessor, etc. This guy was able to list them all the way back to Washington. The bad guys then shot him: “Must be a spy. NOBODY knows that stuff.” Turns out our victim was a teacher of American history. Oops.
I’m guessing there will be a question soon about that expensive painting by Peale, GW at Princeton.
If you want other like things to study, learn the First Ladies, the Vice-Presidents (FDR had three). And if you should get chosen to be on the show, let me know if you would like some other pointers.
Sunday Funnies: The Black Comic Book, Pt. 6
More on The Colored Negro Black Comic Book by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon.
Note: in the comic strip tradition all the words in the strip are in capitals, but for readability, I’ve deigned to write in standard English. Also the words that are in bold in the strip are in red in this text.
“Blackman and Crow”, a 4-page rendition of “Batman and Robin”
Page 1:
Page 2, Panel 1:
Minstrel: ‘Member? [Sings]Wayy down ‘pon the Swa-nee Ri-buh-
Crow: Let’s take him, Blackman!
Blackman: [hums] Hm-mm
Page 2, Panel 2:
Minstrel: ‘Member – [Sings] -in mah ol’ Kin-tucky hooome
Blackman (smiling, singing): La-de
Robin scowls.
Page 3, Panel 1:
Blackman and Minstrel [singing]: Oool’ Black Joooe-
Page 3, Panel 2:
Crow’s hand firing a gun
Gun noise: Crack! Ack! Tack! Lack
Page 4:
Blackman, Minstrel dead on the floor, four bullet holes in the back wall, which has a framed photo, signed Love, Stepin.
Crow: This damn generation gap is something else!!
A diminutive Pogo (looking at deceased): My!
This story seemed to be addressing the struggle in the civil rights movement at the time, between the NAACP/Urban League old-line organizations, and the Black Panthers and other more militant groups. The old-timers were still following the model of the late Martin Luther King, while the younger folks believed, “By any means necessary.”
For me, this was one of the most fully realized takes, possibly because of my deep awareness of the Batman mythos.
The reference of Stepin was to Stepin Fetchit, a controversial black actor known for his stereotypical portrayals of a black minstrel.
***
“Boll Weevil Barley”, a 4-page take on “Beetle Bailey”:
Page 1:
Boll Weevil (to no one in particular, though black versions of Zero and Killer are around): This is a mighty weird comic strip.
Page 2:
Page 3:
Killer-type (turns head): Oop! You had to open your big fat mouth!
Boll Weevil (thinking): ?
Page 4:
Boll Weevil and Killer-type are saluting white Sarge, while black cook looks on.
This again addresses the large percentage of blacks in the armed forces in Vietnam, usually at the lowest levels, as “grunts” rather than officers.
***
“Darkie”, a 4-page variation on “Archie”.
Page 1:
Jughead: Gee, it’s groovy having a new kid in town, Darkie-
Darkie: thanks- it’s groovy being here!
Page 2
Page 3, Panel 1:
Guys in silhouette.
Jughead: Where do you live, Darkie?
Page 3, Panel 2:
Darky: Just down the block, too.
Page 4:
Darky: -Mine’s the one with the white pickets!
Jughead (jaw dropping): !
Pickets holding signs that say:
Out! Out! Out!
Keep Out!
Live with your own kind
Leave white to white
Don’t let them besmirch our town
The use of the name “Darkie” must have been rather controversial at the time, for it was a term used as an insult to black people.
That said, I laughed out loud at this one, perhaps because of the linguistic parallel construction “White picket fence”/”White pickets”. I also love the word “besmirch” in this context, since it was the pickets who were doing the besmirching. Also, Darkie is quite matter-of-fact about the protest, unlike his new friend.
Compare and contrast, as my old English teacher used to say, Fred’s review of Little Archie.
***
We had Chinese take-out last night. My fortune cookie message was some standard fare. My wife’s: “Do or do not. There is no try.”
What Shall I See? My One Question for You
My dear wife gave me tickets to any show coming to The Egg as my Valentine’s Day present.
So my question: what shall I see, and why? I’ll admit that I was leaning toward Emmylou, until her performance was postponed from March 12 until October. (I’m a more immediate gratification kind of guy.) I’d REALLY appreciate your feedback.
Ballet NY February 24
Simon Shaheen and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble February 25
Rosanne Cash March 3
James Carter: Gardenias for Lady Day March 5
Peru Negro March 10
Queen of Mean – Lisa Lampanelli March 11
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Cloud, and the Mixed Up Chameleon March 12
Dan Zanes and Friends March 18
Al Kooper, Sonny Landreth March 18
North Carolina Dance Theatre March 24
The Ivey Divey Trio featuring Don Byron, Jack DeJohnette and Jason Moran March 24
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale March 25
L’Ensemble: You Heard It At the Movies, Maybe March 26
Kris Kristofferson March 30
Medeski, Martin & Wood April 5
Patty Griffin April 8
The Toy Castle April 9
Robert Earl Keen April 12
Hugh Masekela April 13
Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet April 14
Mark Morris Dance Group April 15
Bela Fleck and The Flecktones April 18
Solas April 21
L’Ensemble: World Premiere April 30
The Roches May 5
Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company May 6
Uncle Earl May 11
Nego Gato May 12
New Riders of the Purple Sage May 20
Loudon Wainwright III May 21
Limon Dance Company June 9
Emmylou Harris October 17
***
And apropos of absolutely nothing, I know this came out last week, but I still love this story: Sports broadcaster traded for animated rabbit. Not so much for the Disney empire, but for the historical completeness.
Time Changes Things
Today’s theme: NOT same as it ever was.
Recently, the last telegram was sent by Western Union.
My wife’s a big Michelle Kwan fan, so was quite irritated when I said that the winner of 9 US championships, 5 world championships, and silver and bronze at the last two Winter Olympics ought not to have been on this year’s Olympic team. Seems I was right, but don’t tell my wife.
Headline in AdAge magazine: “P&G may kill Crest outside U.S.” Most of sales for Oral-B – acquired by Proctor and Gamble when it bought Gillette in October – are outside the U.S., while most of P&G mainstay Crest’s sales are domestic.
They’re now going to count DVR ratings. Not all advertisers are happy, though.
Yet another color-coded warning system.
I woke up one morning to hear that Cheney was shooting Quayle. Then I got the real story, that the veep who couldn’t shoot straight WASN’T shooting the veep who couldn’t spell well. In any case, body armor IS available.
US and Israelis Are Said to Talk of Hamas Ouster. Seems like seems like only last year that the U.S. was touting the democratic process in the Middle East.
(Poster from 1946)
Finally: I’ve known Kevin’s parents for years. Kevin’s mother writes:
We are all proud of our children – and through the trials and tribulations of parenthood we all hope that sooner or later our children will find what they are really good at and really excel at it.
Well, some of us have to wait longer than others, but I am pleased to report that Kevin recently discovered his particular niche to excel at – and won a national contest!
I hope you don’t mind that, as his proud parent, I wanted to share this with you.