March 2014 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

I is for the Isley Brothers

You may not think you know the Isley Brothers, siblings out of Cincinnati, but it’s likely that you’ve heard at least some of their music, even if it was performed by someone else.

O’Kelly Jr., Rudolph, Ronald, and Vernon started out in gospel until Vernon’s early death from a bike accident. The remaining trio moved to the New York City area in the late 1950s. Their first significant song was Shout [LISTEN] in 1959, written by the brothers, which only went to #47, but eventually sold a million copies, and was heavily covered.

In a similar vein, Twist and Shout [LISTEN] got all the way to #17 in 1962. It was originally recorded by the Topnotes, and produced by Phil Spector, who was still learning his craft. The Isleys version spurred other covers, notably by a band from Liverpool, England.

The trio spent three or four years with Motown, but like other groups that weren’t developed in-house, such as the Spinners, they would fare better elsewhere. They did have one Top 40 hit, This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) [LISTEN], which went to #12 in 1966, but which would become a bigger hit for Rod Stewart, featuring Ronald Isley when it went to #10 in 1990.

Their biggest hit was It’s Your Thing [LISTEN] which soared to #2 in 1969. “By 1971, the Isleys’ younger brothers Ernie Isley and Marvin Isley and brother-in-law Chris Jasper started to add musical input to the band’s music.”

The big hit for them in 1975 was Fight the Power [LISTEN] which does, I should note, have an eight-letter word starting with bull contained therein.

After this, the brothers continued to perform in different combinations. Kelly succumbed to a heart attack in 1986, and Marvin died from diabetes in 2010.

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
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Beastie Boys send copyright threat to toy company that remixed “Girls” However:
Before GoldieBlox, Beasties plundered the “Girls” melody (fair and square): “Here’s a timely (and fully rockin’) reminder that the Beastie Boys plundered the melody of The Isley Brothers’ ‘Shout’ for Girls.”

ABC Wednesday – Round 14

Strange ride on the CDTA 905

She sat on an aisle seat, on the left side, and started leaned so far to her right, I thought she’d surely fall over.

In mid-January, it’s the Thursday afternoon matinee of the play War Horse I need to get to at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. I hop on the 905, that limited-stop red Bus Plus, at Washington and Lark in Albany at 11:39 a.m., right on time, and it should get me around Nott Terrace at 12:24, more than an hour before the play.

It would have except for that young woman. I had a difficult time gauging her age, though in the 18 to 25 range was most likely. She was sitting in the first set of seats. Well, sitting might have been overstating it, for she was slouching lower and lower, and I thought her head would hit the ground. As it was, she knocked over a large cup of milk from Stewart’s that spread back three rows of seats.

I moved across from her and she woke up to say she was fine. But this conversation must have triggered, for he stopped the bus a short time later (at the WAMC stop).

Driver: I didn’t let you on to throw your drink all over the floor.
Young Woman: I didn’t THROW it, it spilled.
D: And you’ve done this before.
YW: So why did you let me on the bus?

It went on like that, with a couple of passengers pleading with the driver to get going before he ordered her to sit further back on the bus. He probably figured she’d rest in some window seat. Instead, she sat on an aisle seat, on the left side, and started leaned so far to her right, I thought she’d surely fall over. Instead, she’d regained awareness.

Some guy who was sitting in front of her was going to take her picture, I suspect to verify her condition. She was aware enough of him, though, to suggest that if he did take her picture, she would report him as a “sex pervert.”

She’d nod off, leaning, and dropped her phone or another device twice onto the floor. Then she’d be lucid enough to engage in pleasant banter with the folks in the back of the bus. Then she’d zone out and dropped her wallet twice, the second time, with her cards falling out. She bent over and was fodder for much laughter. I don’t know if she realized they were laughing AT her rather than WITH her.

At some point, a guy got off the bus, but before he left, leaned over her slumped body, then left. A minute or two later, she says she had been robbed. She may well have, but I was too far up front to tell for sure.

The driver stopped the bus across from the McDonald’s on State Street in Schenectady, calls his dispatcher, and we wait, much to the furor of more than a few riders. Then she says that she WASN’T robbed, at which point I swear there were those who seemed ready to do the young woman bodily harm. Several riders plead with the driver to go. She leaves the bus and goes to the Mickey D’s, with the riders more impatient by the minute. Then she comes back because she had left a large bag by her original seat on the bus.

By this point, the police fortunately arrive, we’re allowed to go, and I’m only 15 minutes late.

Was the young woman on drugs, prescription or otherwise? Did she have narcolepsy? I don’t know. Nor do I know whether a guy who said he was going to post a video of her on Facebook actually did, but he, who was sitting behind her, did record her for several minutes.

Talk about a long, strange trip…

What Would Jesus Be Packing?

The interpretation of the verses in Luke 22:36-38 can follow either a strictly physical direction in which swords must be used, or a nonphysical one in which swords must not be used, during Jesus’ last hours.

First I read that churches in Kentucky are using gun giveaways to help people find Jesus. Then, in a front-page story in my area, the pastor of a local Baptist church plans to give away an AR-15 assault rifle to the winner of a free raffle at an upcoming Sunday service.

From the Troy, NY church’s website:

We have decided to hold a special service honouring hunters and gun owners who have been so viciously attacked by the antichristian socialist media and antichristian socialist politicians the last few years. Our country was built with the King James Bible and the gun.

My theology is very different from this, and I struggled to understand it. Part of the issue has to do with the notion of “a long-standing and deep sense of a special and unique American Destiny, the belief that… America is a nation called to a special destiny by God.” This thought process fueled Manifest Destiny in the 19th Century, for instance.

Thus, embracing the Second Amendment rights, if I am sussing this out correctly, is akin to embracing God. “The notion that there was some providential purpose to the European discovery and eventual conquest of the landmasses ‘discovered’ by Christopher Columbus was present from the beginning.” Ah, American exceptionalism. It’s not “America, right or wrong”; America has ALWAYS been right unless the socialists have taken over, trying to take away “our guns” and “our freedom.”

But what is the Biblical theology defending guns? More than one person online cited Luke 22:36. From the King James Bible, which seems to be the only version that matters to this church:

36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

What IS Jesus saying here? That we need weapons to defend ourselves? Continuing:

37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Rev. Alan Rudnick, who wrote about the gun giveaway, pointed me to this interpretation, which I need to quote at length:

The interpretation of the verses can follow either a strictly physical direction in which swords must be used, or a nonphysical one in which swords must not be used, during Jesus’ last hours… first we analyze why the literal one will not fit into Luke 22:34-38 and into the passage about the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-53).

Violent use of the swords

Jesus says to the disciples to buy swords, but when they show him two, Jesus says the two are enough. The literal [direction] is inadequate for two reasons.

First, the obvious question is: two swords are enough for what? Are they enough for a physical fight to resist arrest? This is hardly the case because during Jesus’ arrest… Jesus sternly tells Peter to put away his sword, “No more of this!” and then he heals the servant, restoring his ear (Luke 22:49-51). Resisting arrest cannot be the purpose of the two swords.

Second, were the two swords enough for an armed rebellion to resist the authorities and to impose the new Jesus movement in a political and military way? Jesus denounces this purpose in Luke 22:52, as the authorities are in the process of arresting him: “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs?” The answer is no, as he is seized and led away (v. 54).

The contextual meaning of the swords…

Jesus reminds the disciples of his mission for them before he arrived in Jerusalem (Luke 9:3; 10:1-17). Did they need a purse, a bag, or extra sandals? No, because people were friendlier, and their opposition to him was spread out over three years. Now, however, he is in Jerusalem, and he has undergone the compacted antagonism of religious leaders seeking to trap him with self-incriminating words. When the authorities are not present, they send their spies…

Second, “For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered among the lawless'” (Luke 22:37). By far the clearest purpose of the two swords is Jesus’ reference to Isaiah’s prophecy (53:12). He was destined to be arrested like a criminal, put on trial like a criminal, and even crucified like a criminal (but his arrest, trial, and execution were based on false evidence. He did nothing but good.) Yet, he was hung on the cross between two thieves, which is also a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Luke 23:32; 39-43). What are criminals known for carrying with them? Weapons, and to be numbered among criminals, Jesus must also have weapons. That is why he said that only two swords would be enough—to fulfill this prophecy.

The argument that Jesus was fulfilling Scripture, and/or that two swords would not be sufficient if meant literally for defense, was noted HERE and HERE and especially on the Wikipedia page. The “armor of God”, in my belief system, does not require OUR literal weaponry.

Image purloined from neg8thehate.com

The War on Women, redux

As the father of a daughter, I feel that the war on women in the US is detrimental, and not only to my girl’s future.

One of the problems with the term War on Women is that it all seems to be about sex. And talking about sex seems to make some people uncomfortable.

And it’s even not all about sex, though having access to birth control is part of the issue. I’m still mortified by what happened to Sandra Fluke in 2012 after she testified about the need for contraceptives in the context of overall women’s health. Part of her testimony:

In the worst cases, women who need this medication for other medical reasons suffer very dire consequences. A friend of mine, for example, has polycystic ovarian syndrome, and she has to take prescription birth control to stop cysts from growing on her ovaries. Her prescription is technically covered by Georgetown’s insurance, because it’s not intended to prevent pregnancy. Unfortunately, under many religious institutions’ insurance plans, it wouldn’t be.

And some bullies, one in particular, publicly called her a “slut”, asking why should the government pay for her to have sex, that, therefore she was a prostitute. Which means that federally-funded insurance programs that allow guys to take a blue pill, to help them have sex, is what, precisely?

It’s also about a rape culture that makes the responsibility for men’s bad impulses largely the responsibility of women. Read this account about a religious college. Watch this satiric video. And rape has been a HUGE issue in the military, with the junior US Senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, making sexual assault there her signature issue, though her legislative efforts suffered a defeat this week. Now, military sexual assault victims are stepping out of the shadows.

This actively creeps into the political arena: According to Watchdog.net:

Starting this November, Texans must show a photo ID with their up-to-date legal name instead of IDs like a birth certificate. That’s not a problem for single or married men — but it leaves a third of Texas women scrambling in a state with just 81 DMVs in its 254 counties.

And Ken Buck is running for US Senate from Colorado, again, with policies no less backward than when he ran four years ago.

Some Maine dimwad has to apologize for saying men should have rape rights if women have abortion rights.

Casual sexism is quite pervasive, in the gaming industry, in science, just to note a couple of recent examples. And in addressing these types of issues, women are often viewed as “oversensitive” or “shrill” or “don’t have a sense of humor” or the C-word.

Income inequality, in which the poor get poorer, affects female-headed households even more than male-headed households.

As the father of a daughter, I feel that the war on women in the US – and do believe a war on women exists, for reasons better stated by others – is detrimental, not only to my girl’s future, not only to women’s future but to men’s as well. There’s some quote that notes that when we limit some of our people, all of our people suffer.

Roger is 61

I love it when my birthday falls on Friday or Monday for that nifty three-day weekend,

Here’s a picture someone took of me at my mother’s funeral in February 2011.

This is the day in the year I get REALLY lazy – way lazier even than Ask Roger Anything, which will happen again soon enough – when I write almost nothing for my birthday.

I love it when my birthday falls on Friday or Monday for that nifty three-day weekend since I’ve taken it off from work for at least two decades. Although it doesn’t matter if it falls on Saturday or Sunday, because I’ll STILL take off Friday or Monday. Maybe I’ll see a movie matinee and/or go out for an Indian food buffet.

How will I remember how old I am this year? Easy. ROGER Maris hit 61 Home runs for the New York Yankees in 1961, eclipsing Babe Ruth’s record. Of course, Maris’ record was demolished in the Steroid Era by Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. But I still remember Roger’s achievement.

Then there’s that Dylan song.

Bye until tomorrow.

Listen to my theme song.

ABC Wednesday – H is for Happy birthday to me!