April 2025 - Ramblin' with Roger

April rambling: humanity in motion

Metonymy and metalepsis

To Understand Global Migration, You Have to See It First. New estimates based on location data from Meta reveal a picture of humanity in motion.

‘60 Minutes’ Calls Out Paramount for Executive Producer’s Exit in Rare On-Air Rebuke; Has ’60 Minutes’ Run Out of Time? Shari Redstone’s Big Decision. The Paramount mogul is stuck in the middle of an impossible choice. Fight djt and blow up her $8 billion Skydance deal, or cave to the president and torch the most valuable news property in her media empire. Tick, tick, tick…

RFK Jr. & HHS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Fraserherman: Why, yes, diversity is a plus.

In April in years ending in 5

1775: Ride Paul Ride – The 2025 Showdown between Patriots and Loyalists

1865: Lincoln assassination, end of the American Civil War

1925: The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was published, and Art Deco hit the international stage

1945: Hitler dies

1975: On April 30, “the city of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was taken by the army of North Vietnam, ending the conflict that had grown out of the Vietnamese war for independence from France and a proxy war for the conflict between the US and the Soviet Union.”

1995: The bombing in Oklahoma City on April 19 killed 168 people. There was a woman I knew who worked for an SBDC in OKC. Her building was right across the street from the Murrah Building. She suffered severe injuries from flying glass and other items that acted as shrapnel. She wrote a very moving story about her recovery the following year, which I published in a newsletter. Another aftermath story, about forgiveness, I wrote about here.

The usual weird stuff

Three R’s: Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.

The US intensifies its crackdown on peaceful protests. Forty-one anti-protest bills in 22 states have been introduced since the start of 2025, according to the law tracker.

DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent

Pope Francis shames the crap out of JD Vance in final acts on earth; Pope dies at 88

A whistleblower’s disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data

Team That Investigates Line-of-Duty Fire Deaths slashed; cuts will also halt a first-of-its-kind study of the causes of thousands of firefighters’ cancer cases.

US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts

Law Firms Made Deals. Now He Wants More From Them

Environmental rollbacks would boost pollution and endanger lives

Congress’s Biggest Financial Priority Is “Stablecoin.” What the Hell Is That? Instead of tackling crashing markets, Congress is pushing a crypto sector in which FOTUS’ family is financially involved.

FOTUS Demands Investigations Into Negative Approval Rating Polls

Hegseth blames the ‘deep state’ for his being so bad at his job

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY. IMPEACH. HIM. AGAIN.

FOTUS, dementia, and the duty to warn

Also

Space Monsters #1 Kickstarter: “An all-new horror/sci-fi/fantasy magazine in a cool new format! The initial 200 copies will be serial numbered on the back cover.” by FantaCo Enterprises LLC

A collection of Street Academy of Albany / Harriet Gibbons High School yearbooks

From the Books: John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams’s tell-all memoir about her years running global policy for Facebook

My Mother, the Hollywood Scab

Wink Martindale, Prolific Game Show Host, Dies at 91

Will Hutchins, Star of ABC’s ‘Sugarfoot,’ Dies at 94

Jane Fonda is Far from Finished with Fitness or Activism

Oscars: Film Academy Establishes Stunt Design Award

Metonymy and metalepsis are two concepts that explain how we use substitutions in our speech.

Why are people never smiling in old photos?

The Oatmeal: Believe

Now I Know: Ben Franklin’s One Simple Trick to Save Sailors from Drowning and Maybe There Is an “I” in “Team” and The Childhood Terror That Turned Kind Of Nice and The Fashion Accessory That Prevents False Alarms and The Church of the World’s Oldest Tennis Ball

MUSIC

Lawyers, Guns, and Money – Warren Zevon

Traficano Rap – J Noa, LOWLIGHT

Streets of London by Ralph McTell

Tubthumping -Chumbawamba

Coverville 1530 The ABBA Cover Story V and 1531: The Buzzcocks Cover Story

Love In Real Life – Lizzo

Pump It Up -Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Annabel Lee – Sarah Jarosz

Purple Haze – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Party at Ground Zero – Fishbone

A garden of flourishing paths by Jeffrey Mumford

We Are The World -USA for Africa

Eine kleine nachtmusik

How ‘Star Wars’ Is Changing Its Tune

Movie review: The Ballad of Wallis Island

get the group back together

I was intrigued enough by the trailer for the film The Ballad of Wallis Island that my wife and I saw at the Spectrum 8 in Albany on Income Tax Day; Tuesdays are cheaper. Charles (Tim Key) is a quirky guy who lives alone on a large property on a remote island. He’s a massive fan of the folk duo McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden as Herb and Carey Mulligan as Nell).

So, he takes some of his lottery winnings and offers them the opportunity to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Do the bandmates and former lovers know that the other one is also coming?

It’s a straightforward concept, but it’s a joy to see the three characters interact; they have great chemistry. Charles is trying to keep the other two happy enough to play together again. He has adapted to his vaguely solitary life, but needed much more.

Nice

It seems almost dismissive to label The Ballad of Wallis Island charming and relatable. One critic notes that “it touches on the passage of time and grief of lost relationships.” The nostalgia of getting together segues into old tensions resurfacing. Another critic: “It was a little bit funny, a little bit sad, and a little bit sweet, all at the same time.”

If you’re a music fan, and the music is nice, you may lean into this idea: wouldn’t you like to be able to have your favorite band get together one more time?

The movie was directed by James Griffiths and written by actors Basden and Key. It also stars Sian Clifford as the shopkeeper. Executive producers – eight are listed – include Griffiths, Basden, Key, and Mulligan, so this is a passion project., as you can tell from this gestation story.

It’s only 100 minutes long, and it has a 97% positive rating with Rotten Tomatoes critics and 92% with moviegoers.

Interacting with Immigration Enforcement Officials

Welcoming, Protecting, and Preparing: A Congregational Guide

**Madison Avenue at Eagle Street, ALB, April 2025**

I became particularly interested in the subject of interacting with Immigration Enforcement Officials in recent weeks. In late March, a speaker at my church discussed their local entity, which holds a Department of Justice accreditation, enabling them to assist with applications for Asylum, Citizenship, Family reunification, Travel documents, Work authorization, and more.

However, the speaker reported that, since January 20, there have been reports of raids in my area at businesses, bus stops, and on public transportation. Fake job offers and phony attorneys are out there to deceive.

Private space

“In the performance of their immigration enforcement duties, an ICE agent may enter any area open to the general public.” So, how is that defined? From the Shelterforce document ICE Is Coming to Your Building—Are You Ready?:

Designate common areas as private spaces: If property, including a multifamily building lobby, courtyard, or other typically common area, is marked as being closed to the public, ICE agents cannot enter without a warrant. “So, for example, if you’ve got an apartment building, and the lobby doors are unlocked, anybody can enter the lobby. But, to go past the lobby, if they need to have a key card, or it’s marked ‘residents only’ or something, then they’re not allowed to enter those types of areas without either [a warrant or] permission from somebody who has the right to give it—that would usually be either a tenant or, if it’s a common area, it could be the owner. But they can’t just go in to the private areas,” Eric Dunn, director of litigation for National Housing Law Project, says.

Signs

“So one step is to make sure that in multifamily-type buildings, any common areas are marked with signage or barriers and fences to make clear which parts are public space and what parts are private areas so that ICE agents can’t just start walking up and down the halls looking for people.” Unfortunately, Trump’s racist rhetoric and deportation actions have emboldened ICE agents, who’ve been documented disregarding private spaces and declining to produce warrants. Additionally, although adding signage—such as ‘Restricted Area: Residents and Employees Only’—is a good idea, Public Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm focused on civil rights and racial and economic justice, cautions that “signs alone may not make an area legally private.” It’s recommended that building owners work with an attorney to draft legally defensible policies.

Response

If an ICE agent approaches staff in a public area of a facility or work
location, staff should do the following:

Ask the ICE agent for identification (“Can I see your ID, please?”). If the agent provides valid identification, note the agent’s name, title,
badge number, and agency. Take a photograph or make a copy of the
agent’s ID, if possible. Also, ask for and note the name and telephone
number of the agent’s supervisor, if possible.

Shelterforce: “When passing along info, these groups suggest using the S.A.L.U.T.E. acronym to make sure you document all relevant information:

S is for size: How many agents are in the group?
A is for activity: What are the agents doing?
L is for location: Where are the agents?
U is for uniform: What are the agents wearing?
T is for time: What is the date and time of day?
E is for equipment: Do the agents have weapons?”

• If, after presenting valid identification, an ICE agent asks questions of staff about an employee or other individual, staff should state, “I am
not authorized to answer your questions.” The reason for declining to answer is to protect the privacy of employees and patrons.

What to Do if ICE Comes to Your Church

Sojourners has shared a valuable and detailed document. Rev. Minna Bothwell, who pastors the Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in downtown Des Moines, IA, was motivated to create Welcoming, Protecting, and Preparing: A Congregational Guide. “As people of faith,” Bothwell explained, “we are called to provide sanctuary, welcome the stranger, and uphold the dignity of all people, holding both joy and sorrow without discrimination…

“Once I received confirmation that the materials were legally sound, I began sharing them online,” Bothwell said, “recognizing that many faith communities were urgently seeking reliable guidance amid widespread misinformation.”

Also: The ACLU notes, “Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant and how to express them.”

Once again, I recommended an Oscar-nominated short film. “A Lien brings you into the tense, intimate moment of a green card interview that could change three people’s lives forever.” It gets very intense and entirely believable. You can see the film for free here or here. Here’s an interview with the directors.

US citizen told to self-deport: ‘They want immigrants to be uncomfortable here.’ Nicole Micheroni is an immigration attorney and a U.S. citizen born and raised in Massachusetts. Federal immigration authorities wrongfully detain U.S. citizens.

The Kafkaesque Case of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez Is a Warning to Us All. In a clear case of racial profiling, immigration police in Florida unlawfully arrested and held a U.S.-born citizen.

Judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with ‘no meaningful process’.

Abrego Garcia Family Flees to Safe House After DHS Posts Home Address on Social Media

From Heather Cox Richardson: “FBI agents arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan at the courthouse this morning in what, as Josh Kovensky of Talking Points Memo notes, appeared to be an attempt to draw attention and to illustrate that judges ‘must cooperate with the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign or else face overbearing actions from federal law enforcement.'”

Sunday Stealing — Interview with Gale

Barbados

Richard, Otis, Eddie, Melvin, Glenn, David, Dennis

Why Interview with Gale for Sunday Stealing? “Back in 2007, a blogger named Harmonica Man posted five questions for Gale at This Was Me. Well, now we’re turning the tables and interviewing you.”

1. What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Did it take physical or emotional courage?

I wrote about it here, starting with A Story. But briefly, “I started climbing up [a mountain] just to get a better view” in Alta, UT, in the fall of 1994. I got to the top.

“Now the descent. I tried to brake myself from going too fast. I got maybe a third of the way down, and I began sliding. But I wasn’t too worried until my left leg got caught in a hole, while the rest of my body weight was going downhill.

“My left knee started hurting, a LOT. Somehow, I crawled the rest of my way down, then the few dozen meters to where we were staying.”

This was not courageous. It was stupid, borne of the pain of a deteriorating relationship. Then I had REAL physical pain, which I experience to this day.

2. Where did you meet the love of your life?

At church. I was probably chair of the Council of Ministries, and she was the Membership Chair.

3. What brand/flavor of coffee are you drinking these days?

I don’t drink coffee. As I’ve noted in the past, I don’t make coffee either. When I was assigned to the rotation at work to make coffee, the product was so awful that I was excused thereafter.

Caribbean

4. What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited, and how did you get there (car, plane, motorcycle, etc.)?

I wrote about this here. It was Barbados in May 1999 on our honeymoon:

“It was just grand to go to any all-inclusive resort for six nights, especially as a prize for coming in second on JEOPARDY on my second episode…

“The ocean was gorgeous… There were three different places to eat dinner, and the food was fabulous. We bought a rum cake to take home; it was extraordinarily delicious. We enjoyed having tea at 4 p.m.

“Everything was interesting to us, from the way the news was far more international to the wall-to-wall coverage of cricket.

“When we returned to the States… Somehow, we were bumped to first class on the five-hour flight home.”

The eighties

5. What’s the best concert you ever attended?

It’s long been two: The Temptations Reunion tour, where Eddie and David joined Dennis, Otis, Glenn, Richard, and Melvin. “I saw this performance at the Colonie Coliseum in Albany County in 1982. First, they sang together, then in groups of five. They started with the first classic lineup, with Richard replacing the late Paul. Then Dennis went in for David, then Glenn supplanted Eddie. They closed by singing together.” And it was a close-up view with no bad seats in the house.

The other was the August 1983 performance of Talking Heads at the Saratoga Performance Arts Center on the Stop Making Sense tour. I finally saw the Jonathan Demme Stop Making Sense movie in 2023. “The first half of the movie transported me back four decades, with the attendant awe, from Byrne’s solo Psycho Killer to the pieces with the full band, including Alex Weir, Bernie Worrell, and Steve Scales. Honestly, I was joyfully exhausted by the band and backup singers Edna Holt and Lynn Mabry’s energy.”

Lydster: telling her about Christy

Christy Harris D’Ambrosio

Among the most terrible things I had to do regarding my daughter was telling her about Christy Harris D’Ambrosio, who died on Tuesday, April 8. Christy was the youth director at our church when my daughter was active growing up in the church. She directed several plays that my daughter participated in, including The Prince of Egypt, Once on This Island, The Lion King, an iteration of Assassins called Shooters, Bethlehemian Rhapsody, a performance using Beatles music, and even a piece that required the kids to write their own content. Christy was also a long-time member of our choir.

When I heard on the Sunday before she died that she was not expected to make it, right after church, I rushed to a parent of another kid who had been in my daughter’s confirmation class. I said, How are you telling your kid? How am I going to tell MY kid, who is in South Africa?

The day after Christy had passed, I tried to set up a WhatsApp meeting with my daughter. It didn’t work, so we communicated on Facebook Messenger, which meant that I couldn’t see her face, just her photo. I spent about 20 minutes discussing almost anything except the news I needed to share with her. When I told her that Christy had died, the first thing she said was “What?”

Christy had been very ill several times in the last four or five years with cancer. Still, she tended to rally and get better. She even made it back into the choir for a brief time. The news was a surprise, yet not. I could hear my the upset in my daughter’s voice and I felt helpless in doing anything about it, which frankly sucked.

Obit, augmented

I’m going to steal from the obit on her Facebook page:

“She was the Youth Director at the First Presbyterian Church of Albany for over a decade.” The kids adored her. My daughter and two of her compatriots made what I guess was a memory box. Christy said it was her favorite gift ever.

“Served as the Albany Presbytery Coordinator for the National Presbytery Triennium for Youth in 2013, 2016, and 2019.” Oh, yeah, she accompanied the First Presbyterian youth group, including the daughter, in 2019, and even got me to volunteer as one of the chaperones on a round-trip bus trip to West Lafayette, IN.

“Coordinator for the New York State Council of Churches Youth Leadership Conferences in both New York City and Washington, DC.” My daughter went on trips to those cities.

“In 2014, Christy coordinated a GroupCares national work camp in Albany, organizing over 400 youth from across the nation to paint and/or repair 30+ homes in the South End, Arbor Hill, and West Hills neighborhoods, as well as the PYHIT Schuyler Inn facility in Menands.” Oh, yeah, our whole family participated in this.

“Christy was honored by the NYS Council of Churches in 2017 for Excellence in Christian Formation and received a Community Service Award from the Cameroonian Association of the Greater Capital District in 2019.

“Christy also worked as an Administrator for Albany Pro Musica and volunteered at Music Mobile, Wizard’s Wardrobe, and Children at the Well (With Our Voices).” Wizard’s Wardrobe is a tutoring program located in the South End, where my wife works. It was Christy who came up with the idea of a Readers Theater, which has been one of the most successful fundraising efforts.

Services

“Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Christy’s family on Friday, May 2, 2025, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at McVeigh Funeral Home, 208 North Allen Street, Albany, NY 12206. Please enter the funeral home from the rear parking lot entrance only. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 2:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 362 State Street, Albany, NY 12210.” Of COURSE the choir will be singing, because. “Interment will follow at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery immediately following the Service. To leave a message for the family, please visit www.McveighFuneralHome.com

“Donations can be made in her memory to Wizard’s Wardrobe, PO Box 61, Albany, NY 12201 (wizardswardrobe.org) or With Our Voices, PO Box 271, Latham, NY 12110 (withourvoices.org).

Month: April 2025