July 2024 - Page 3 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Sunday Stealing: time capsule

Ketchup vs. mustard?

The Sunday Stealing for this week starts with a tough question.

1. What would you put in a time capsule?

How big is this time capsule? Off the top, I thought of something called The Methodist Hymnal. It’s black, and we used it in the church I grew up in, Trinity AME Zion in Binghamton, NY. A former girlfriend who grew up elsewhere called it the REAL Methodist hymnal, though there have been at least two iterations since. Hymn #1 is Holy, Holy, Holy.

The 1970 Panorama yearbook from Binghamton Central High School. One of my best friends was the editor. It had an Age of Aquarius vibe, with teacher group photos arranged by their sun signs. BCHS (the Bulldogs, colors blue and white) has been defunct since 1982. The school in the former BCHS building merged with Binghamton North (the Indians, colors red and blue) to become Binghamton High School (the Patriots, red, white, and blue).

The LP Big Hits From England & U.S.A. is an odd compilation of music of Capitol artists The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Peter and Gordon, Nat King Cole, Cilla Black, and Al Martino.

A FantaCo T-shirt and/or a FantaCon 1980 program. I worked at the comic book store/mail order house/publisher at 21 Central Avenue in Albany. I have written about it several times, including here.

A green and white Choose Peace button from 2003, while many of us were protesting the imminent invasion of Iraq. I wrote about those times here.

A photo of my wife and daughter together.

2. What’s something you’re really good at?

IDK. Maybe it’s writing a blog post every day for 19 years.

Change?

3. What part of society would you like to change?

That’s WAY too expansive. Eliminating racism, sexism, economic inequity. In the US, it’d be nice if civilians didn’t have access to AK-47-style weapons.

4. What have you eaten in the past 24 hours?

Oatmeal, a Hello Fresh pork sausage meal, and eggs and toast.

5. What is an unusual fact about you?

I’m odd. All of the numbers in my birthday are odd.

6. Do you collect anything?

I haven’t tended to the quarters in a couple of years. The books I haven’t read are usually signed by the author.

7. Have you played sports?

Most recently, I played racquetball regularly until 2010, when the local YMCA closed. I played a few times after that at Siena College, but that was far less convenient, and I fell away. I’ve played volleyball and softball.

Other people’s blogs

8. What is your favorite blog?

IDK. AmeriNZ is a slice of an expat’s life. Forgotten Stars presents classical music videos, which I usually link to, and writes about film, photography, and Buffalo (the city, not the animal). News From ME by Mark Evanier is a popular culture mecca. Coverville—I am listening to this as I write this.

9. Ketchup vs. mustard?

It depends. French fries—ketchup. Hot dogs—spicy brown mustard. Hamburgers—ketchup and mustard. I’m ecumenical.

10. Do you believe in ghosts or aliens?

Maybe. I don’t dismiss them out of hand.

11. The last movie you saw in a theater.

Janet Planet, which I will review this week.

12. The silliest thing you have done this week.

I was probably using some terrible accent while talking to my wife.

13. Have you ever done anything illegal?

Sure. I got arrested at an antiwar demonstration in the town of Poughkeepsie, NY, in May 1972.

14. What would you wish for right now?

For democracy to survive in the United States. I want it for other places, too, but I’m living here.

15. What shoes do you wear the most of?

Soft-soled shoes such as Rockport.

Moon songs

from 1906 to 1971

Why moon songs? On June 25, the book review at the Albany Public Library was about Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle. The reviewer was Sherrie Lyons, PhD, science historian & author of From Cells to Organisms: Re-envisioning Cell Theory (2020).

The book discussed how failing to fully understand the effects of the moon’s tidal puls led to military disasters. Early civilizations used the phases of the Moon to measure time, which allowed people to become more than hunter/gatherers. Of course, the Apollo missions changed humans’ relationship with the satellite.

On the 55th anniversary of the landing of Armstrong and Aldrin onto the lunar surface, it seems appropriate to post some songs starting with the word Moon. And not Moonlight or Moonglow. Maybe for the 60th anniversary. I’ve ignored the ones that hit #1 because they have or will show up in those annual music reviews. The sources, as usual, are Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories, 1890-1954, and his Top Pop Singles, 2008 edition.

The songs

Moon At Sea – Cab Calloway, #19 in 1937

Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed – Freddy Martin, #14 in 1947. The version by Benny Goodman and Johnny Mercer went to #21 the same year. Written by Langston Hughes and Kurt Weill?

Moon Fell In The River – Guy Lombardo with Carmen Lombardo on vocals- #22 in 1941

Moon Glow – Duke Ellington, #2 in 1934. I already linked to the #1 version by Benny Goodman from that year. Cab Calloway (#7) and Glen Gray (#8) also charted that year. Goodman also went to #8 in 1936.

Moon Got In My Eyes – Shep Fields, vocals by Bob Goday #11 in 1937. A very nosy version, unfortunately. I skipped over the #1 version by Bing Crosby the same year.

Moon Has His Eyes On You -Frank Stanley and Corinne Morgan,#4 in 1906 it was also covered by Ada Jones the same year.

Moon Is A Silver Dollar – Lawrence Welk, #7 in 1939

Moon Is Blue – the Sauter Finnegan Orchestra with Sally Sweetland, #20 in 1953

Moon Is Low – George Olson, Fran Frey on vocals, #7 in 1930

Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder – Michael Johnson, a non-single from 1987

Moon Love – Al Donahue, with vocal by Paula Kelly #7 in 1939. Adapted from the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony. I skipped over the #1 version by Glenn Miller the same year. Also that year Paul Whiteman went to #8 and Mildred Bailey went to #14

Moon Of Manakoora – Bing Crosby and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, #10 in 1938. Ray Noble also went to #15 the same year.

Moon On My Pillow – Jimmy Dorsey with Teddy Waiters (?) on vocals, #29 in 1944

Moon over everywhere!

Moon Over Burma – Shep Fields with Dorothy Allen, #26 in 1940. It also went to #23 in 1949 by Gene Krupa

Moon Over Dixie -Duke Ellington, #14 in 1932

Moon Over Miami – Connie Boswell, #19 in 1935. It also went to #1 by Eddie Duchin, #5 by Jan Garber, and #14 by Art Karle, all in 1936.

Moon Over Naples – Bert Kaempfert, #58 in 1965. Wait a minute – this is Spanish Eyes!

Moon River – Jerry Butler, #11 in 1961. Henry Mancini also went to #11 that year. The classic by Andy Williams recorded in 1962 was not a single

Moon Shadow – Cat Stevens, #30 in 1971

Moon Song – Wayne King, #3 in 1933. Also in ’33, it went to #5 by Jack Denny and #6 by Art Kassel

Moon Talk – Perry Como, #28 in 1958

Moon Walk – Joe Simon, #54 in 1970

Moon Was Yellow (And The Night Was Young) – Bing Crosby, #13 in 1934 It was also covered by Frank Sinatra, #99 in 1962

Assassination attempt

conflicting conspiracy theories

After the assassination attempt on the now-Republican candidate, there was a fairly low bar established that suggested that one should make statements abhorring that type of violence. Joe Biden did that, even apologizing for using “bullseye” to describe how we should focus on his opponent’s record. He also called for tamping down such rhetoric in the campaign.

As the Boston Globe [likely paywall] noted, “The shooting created the ‘perfect storm of misinformation,’ said Katherine Ognyanova, an associate professor of communication at Rutgers University in New Jersey, because of the event’s significance, the lack of immediate information about the motive, and the level of polarization in America.”

It was inevitable that some people would conclude that Biden put a hit on djt. For instance, Representative Mike Collins (R-GA) wrote on X: “Joe Biden sent the orders.” Politico notes, “The court’s decision in Trump v. United States really does appear to immunize a hypothetical president who directed the military to commit murder, though a president might be hard-pressed to find someone to carry out such an order.

“In her dissent…, Justice Sonia Sotomayor painted a grim portrait of a commander-in-chief now ‘immune, immune, immune’ from criminal liability and free to exploit official presidential power against political opponents. ‘Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival?’ she wrote. ‘Immune.’

The next Veep?

In 2016, J.D. Vance went “back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a–hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler.” But in 2024, the once-never-Trumper who has gone full MAGA is blaming 46 for the shooting. Katherine Ognyanova in the Globe said, “If political leaders are actually fanning the fire and kind of spreading conspiratorial, violent rhetoric, that’s going to be very detrimental.” I told my wife that I thought Vance’s recent statement was disqualifying. Naturally, he was named DJT’s running mate.

Conversely, others believe the victim’s “blood was fake. The Secret Service clearly anticipated the shooting. [His]triumphant, clenched-fist pose was just a little too photogenic to be real.” Indeed, the first email I received after the shooting described that scenario.

Perhaps I lack sufficient imagination of how to pull that off, though the Secret Service’s apparent lapses feed into the conspiratorial blather.

Incidentally, the guy from Weekly Sift believes “that just about everybody, at one time or another, fantasizes about doing violence to someone who symbolizes absolute evil to them. I know I do, and I try not to feel guilty about such fantasies. As long as they stay in our heads, they’re relatively harmless indulgences.”

History

On April 11, 2016, three Presidential candidates were in downtown Albany. As I wrote here, my daughter wanted to see djt. I vetoed it, fearing the violence that had taken place towards people of color and reporters at rallies, often encouraged by the candidate from the stage. We ended up seeing Bernie Sanders, her preferred choice.

His rhetoric of violence has been constant. Most infamously, he boasted in January 2016, “‘I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.” This was at a campaign stop at Dordt College, a Christian college, in Sioux Center, Iowa. Axios has a tidy, though incomplete, list of his comments in office.

The Weekly Sift guy quotes Jemele Hill: “The Republican Party in general is graded on a curve, but Trump especially. They’ve normalized his buffoonish bigotry. If you watched American news coverage, you would have no idea that Trump often threatens violence, promises to weaponize the DOJ against his ‘enemies,’ is a felon, has been found liable for rape, tried to overturn an election, and incited an insurrection, among other things.”

So, shortly before the shooting, when the NY Times calls on Republicans to reject djt ahead of the Republican National Convention, describing him as ‘dangerous’ and ‘unfit,’ 1) I totally agree with the assessment, but 2) no way it’ll happen.

As Howard W. French wrote in Foreign Policy, Biden’s Age Is a Problem. Trump’s Agenda Is a Bigger One. “I have been puzzled by the dearth of vigor shown in post-debate coverage toward a question of far greater import: Can America survive another Trump presidency? In other words, if Trump is reelected, what will remain of U.S. democracy, of civil and human rights in the country, of its economic health and its alliances, and of Washington’s prestige and influence around the world?”

Call it

Regardless, several folks have opined that djt is nearly a lock on November 5, whether Biden stays in the race or not, and I tend to concur. (America: prove me wrong. PLEASE.)

I cannot recall such adulation towards a political candidate since RFK ran for President in 1968 before he was assassinated that June. George Wallace had some of that pull, but it tended to be more regional; he was shot and seriously wounded in May 1972. Reagan had a taste of that; after he was shot in March 1981, his legislative agenda was propelled.

I’ll be voting for the Democratic nominee, whoever it is. And folks should also start concentrating on the down-ballot races. djt with a GOP House, Senate, AND SCOTUS is a terrifying thought.

Climate change in our house

logy

We have experienced climate change in our house. Like many folks, we’ve dealt with a heat wave in our neck of the woods, with temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s Fahrenheit (30-35C), often with high humidity.

It’s not bad on the first floor. Our front window holds an air conditioner, and it makes our living room, kitchen, and hallway pretty comfortable. I don’t enjoy it when my wife uses the oven during this time—that’s why Allah invented cold cereal, fruit salads, and takeout—but even then, it’s not too oppressive close to the AC.

Going upstairs, however, is a different environment, and I mean that literally. I get to Step 3 from the first floor and feel it’s getting warmer. By Step 6, it has become oppressive. Our bedroom is oppressive; on July 11 at 7 a.m., it was 89F. My office had been OK in the morning, at least until about 9:30 or 10:00. But when it doesn’t cool off overnight, it is oppressive even if I keep the door closed and the fan on.

There have always been elements of this in the house, but it’s harder to cope with in 2024. Is it worse this year, or has my heat tolerance declined? It’s likely both.

Too Darn Hot

I was trying to do much of my writing downstairs when my wife and daughter weren’t about. Alternatively, I would go to the Albany Public Library, which has Wi-Fi and air conditioning. That doesn’t always work out when there’s a queue, particularly at the Pine Hills branch of the library.

One day, I went there at 1:30 but couldn’t get a room until 4:30, so I listened to albums on YouTube while typing on my laptop. (The mix of the tracks on the UK album Aftermath by the Rolling Stones doesn’t sound like my CD.) The library computer would periodically message, “Are you still there? The computer will shut down…”

New York State has a couple of programs designed to provide free air conditioners to people with certain economic requirements. In this environmental climate, that’s a good thing.

Movie review: Daddio

two people in a taxi

The movie Daddio is about two people driving around and talking. More specifically, a young woman (Dakota Johnson) arrives at the airport and gets into the back seat of a yellow taxi. The cab driver (Sean Penn) heads towards Manhattan, and they talk. That’s pretty much it.

The cabbie, Clark, or whoever he wanted to be, is a fairly astute judge of people. As he generates conversation with his last fare of the night, she’s willing to put away her cell phone for a few moments in response. They discuss the nature of romantic relationships, sometimes as a competition.

The critics like it, 77% positive, and the audience response is 86% thumbs up. Sara Michelle Fetters wrote: “The pair’s conversation only grows in unexpected specificity and fiery intensity from there… While I never fully bought that the two characters would engage as intimately as they do, their conversation still kept me glued to my seat…” While I agree with the latter half, I found strangers in a taxi talking entirely credible. When I used to take the train to Charlotte, NC, and elsewhere regularly, I was initially shocked at what total strangers would share with me.

The cabbie’s motives

Fetters also notes: “Is Clark attracted to her? Does he look at the woman as a daughter? Is he bored and just happy to have someone in his cab willing to chat with him? As for her, does she need this conversation right now? Does Clark spark something inside her that makes her willing to open up to a complete stranger about so many ins and outs happening in her life at the moment?”

But Rex Reed’s negative assessment is NOT wrong. “Every woman I’ve ever known would start looking for an escape from a cabbie who turns as embarrassingly intimate as this one does.”

This is Christy Hall’s directorial debut and also her first script for the cinema. Dakota Johnson was an executive producer.

In some ways, I wondered how this would play out as a two-person play. It would require something to display what she is surreptitiously texting.

I think it is a good but not great film. My wife and I saw it on a Tuesday night at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany.