Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Daily F Bomb, Wednesday, 11/13/13

Tags:

Interrogatories

What tunnels are there in your area? Does it bother you driving through them? What is the longest tunnel you’ve gone through?

Have you been to the Vietnam Memorial? How did it affect you? What is your favorite memorial in D.C.?

Did they celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day in school where you are from? Did you participate?

Have you ever had Indian Pudding (I’m thinking of attempting it)? If so, how was it?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1927, the Holland Tunnel opened to traffic between New Jersey and New York City, allowing for the invasion of the tunnel portion of the “bridge and tunnel crowd.”

In 1956, the Supreme Court declared that Alabama laws requiring segregated buses were illegal. This counts as one of the Supremes’ Greatest Hits.

In 1982, the powerful Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., attended by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.

In 1988, an Ethiopian law student named Mulugeta Seraw was beaten to death in Portland, Oregon by members of a Neo-Nazi gang calling themselves “East Side White Pride.”

In 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order that allows military tribunals to be held against foreigners suspected of planning or committing terrorist acts against the U.S.

Born on This Day

1826 – Charles Frederick Worth, English-born couturier. He was often (for better or worth) called the father of haute couture (d. 1895)

1833 – Edwin Booth, American actor, famed for his Hamlet and other performances before his brother messed things up by killing Lincoln. (d. 1893)

1846 – Mykola Yaroshenko, Ukrainian painter (d. 1898)

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1850 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer of adventure stories. (d. 1894) He was a staunch socialist for a time in his youth, but turned Tory in his old age.

1899 – José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, Brazilian painter (b. 1850)

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1853 – John Drew Jr., American actor (d. 1927)

1856 – Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and the first Jew to be named to the court. (d. 1941)

1872 – Byam Shaw, painter (d. 1919)

1893 – Reuven Rubin, Romanian-born Israeli painter (d. 1974)

1897 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (d. 1975)

1906 – Hermione Baddeley, English actress (d. 1986)

1906 – Eva Zeisel, American industrial designer (d. 2011)

1913 – Helen Mack, American actress (d. 1986)

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1922 – Oskar Werner, Austrian actor (d. 1984)

1924 – Linda Christian, Mexican-American actress (d. 2011)

1929 – Fred Phelps, despicable American pastor

1930 – Benny Andrews, African-American expressionist painter, collagist, and teacher (d. 2006)

1938 – Jean Seberg, American actress (d. 1979)

1939 – Idris Muhammad, American jazz drummer

1947 – Toy Caldwell, American guitarist (The Marshall Tucker Band) (d. 1993)

1949 – Terry Reid, English singer

1952 – Art Malik, Pakistani-born English actor who always gets stuck playing stereotypical Middle Eastern and Indian roles.

1953 – Andrew Ranken, English musician (The Pogues)

1954 – Chris Noth, American actor

1955 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedienne

1969 – Gerard Butler, Scottish actor

1978 – Nikolai Fraiture, American bassist (The Strokes)

Died on This Day

1619 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (b. 1555)

1671 – Jan van Bijlert, Dutch Baroque painter (b. 1598)

1681 – Jacob Salomonsz. Ruysdael, Dutch landscape painter (b. 1630) (Not to be confused with his cousin Jacob Isaacz. Ruysdael)

1819 – Johann Ludwig Ernst Morgenstern, German architectural painter (b. 1738)

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1849 – William Etty, English painter (b. 1787)

1873 – Eduardo Rosales (Gallinas), Spanish painter (b. 1836)

1901 – Egisto Sarri, Italian painter (b. 1837)

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1903 – Camille Pissarro, French painter (b. 1830)

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1923 – Walter Dendy Sadler, British genre painter (b. 1854)

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1943 – Maurice Denis, French painter (b. 1870)

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1973 – Lila Lee, American actress (b. 1901)

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1974 – Vittorio De Sica, Italian film director (b. 1901)

1974 – Karen Silkwood, American activist (b. 1946)

1998 – Valerie Hobson, British actress (b. 1917)

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1998 – Edwige Feuillère, French actress (b. 1907)

Today is

National Indian Pudding Day

Sadie Hawkins Day

World Kindness Day


Categories: General.

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Wednesday Watering Hole: Check In & Hangout for the Herd

Tags:

Good morning, Moosekind.


  PLEASE Do Not Recommend the check-in diary! 

        Recs on the weather jar comment are still welcome.

The common Moose, Alces alces, unlike other members of the deer family, is a solitary animal that doesn’t form herds. Not so its rarer but nearest relative, Alces purplius, the Motley Moose. Though sometimes solitary, the Motley Moose herds in ever shifting groups at the local watering hole to exchange news and just pass the time.

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The morning check-in is an open thread and general social hour. Come back when time allows through the day – the conversation continues.

It’s traditional but not obligatory to give us a weather check where you are and let us know what’s new, interesting, challenging or even routine in your life lately. Nothing is particularly obligatory here except:

Always remember the Moose Golden (Purple?) Rule:

Be kind to each other… or else.

What could be simpler than that, right?

photo evilplan-1.jpg


Categories: Uncategorized.

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Comfortable with black folks


photo DeBlasiofamily_zps079ea676.jpg

Chiara, Dante, Chirlane, and Bill de Blasio

Was reading The New York Times this morning, and found this article of interest. “Many Black New Yorkers Are Seeing de Blasio’s Victory as Their Own” It opened with quotes, from black folks around town.

A black janitor in Brooklyn almost shouted out the name when asked about his vote in the mayoral race. Bill de Blasio, he said, “knows my struggle.”

In the Bronx, some African-American voters defaulted to a shorthand: “the man with the black wife.” Nobody thought it necessary to explain whom they meant.

And in a Brooklyn housing project, a lifelong resident said he was tired of mayors who, in his mind, had pitted blacks against whites. Mr. de Blasio, he declared, “is black and white.”

The quote that stood out and caused me to think was this one:

“His biracial family represents so many things and possibilities, too many to even get into,” said Leon Ellis, a Harlem restaurateur. “When people saw his family, they felt, ‘Here is someone who understands and relates to me on a level on which I can be comfortable.’ ”

Long before I became a cultural anthropologist by training I was already exposed to multiple “other” cultures and sub-cultures due to family politics and geographical moves, as well as the “mixed” nature of our family at home. This early immersion into differences allowed me to become open to same. Not always comfortable at first contact, but my toolkit or knapsack for survival soon included “openness” and “listening” as well as “not judging”. Throw in enjoyment. Knowing when I’m uncomfortable or not at ease then presents me with an internal dialogue-how much of it is “me”-my preconceived notions of culture, class, and gender, and why am I reacting? What then am I to do about it?

I cringe every time I hear the canard, “One of my best friends is (fill in the blank with black, gay, latino, asian, jewish… yadda, yadda) as a way to shut-down or dismiss notions of prejudgement or bigotry. And yet, there is a kernel of truth embedded in that tired phrase, because if one is truly a friend, truly open to the intimacy of friendship, brother and sisterhood, one must have developed some understanding and acceptance of both difference and common humanity. On a level playing field of face-to-face and beyond surface social interaction and discourse.

No matter where we live, if we are to develop coalitions between and among people of diverse ages, racial, ethnic, class and gender identities, we need to address comfort levels and zones.    

I’ve often talked about my reasons for adopting this sig line quote:“If you’re in a coalition and you’re comfortable, you know it’s not a broad enough coalition”, from Bernice Johnson Reagon  

In that “Big Tent” we call the Democratic Party, in building “mass movements”, “progressive coalitions” or in “grassroots organizing” not enough attention is paid to this question of comfortability.  

Black Kos is, in and of itself, one of those zones. A place in cyberspace to rub typeface together on a cozy porch, the home of some black folks who have welcomed all comers willing to relax for a while, discuss the days doings, both political and personal. Steeped in history, grounded in the present, and looking towards the future.

We need more places in real life (and online) where the walls between and among us are challenged, and where we can learn and experience new perceptions. Few people who live in monochrome, mono-class areas are going to up and move. Take a good look at groups you belong to, your workplace, your neighborhood. Assess their demographics. If none offer opportunities to get out of a box, try thinking of ways to expand your borders. It may not be comfortable at first, but the rewards outweigh the dis-ease.  

Some folks reading here may not have grown up with black culture(s) with all its nuances. My “blackness” is not a matter of skin tone-we run the gamut from beige to ebony. Blackness for me is barbershops and beauty parlors, Harlem bars, do-wops on the corner, jazz, r&b, and gospel, church ladies in big flowered hats holding funeral fans, rappers in the Bronx and bourgies heading out to Sag Harbor or up to Oak Bluffs for the summer, code-shifting from standardized “white” speech to BVE seamlessly. It is having kin “down-south”, calling unrelated folks auntie and uncle, playing word games with rhythm and rhyme. It is food and competitions each year over potato salad and macaroni and cheese casseroles. The collard greens debates are endless. It is a history of pain and laughter, of shared sufferings and triumphs. It is an odd combination of class solidarity and ambition to move up in life. Scratch a black corporate type and you’ll find that grandma was more than likely a domestic worker, and grandaddy was a Pullman porter. It is the black of black power, black pride and Black Panthers, laced with James Brown horn sections, and doing the bus-stop at a club. It is the stress of feeling racism, overt and covert-daily-and learning to brush it off, shrug and rarely let it stop you unless an incident or two turns it to boiling rage. My black worlds expanded to include creole gumbos in Baton Rouge, and roti, callalou and peas and rice in West Indian neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It became the Afro-Caribbean-accented sibilant sounds of spoken Spanglish in El Barrio, and the hiss of Puerto Rican mamis aiming a “chancleta” at an unruly child, while serving up Cafe Bustelo and rice and beans. Spanish Harlem’s black traditions of bomba and plena expanded black for me to include Celia Cruz’ Cuba, and took me to the religious Candomblé terreiros (temples) of Brazil.    

Some of us, who are black have little or no contact with those who are lumped together as “whites”. I’ve never quite figgered out what “white” is. I rarely hear “white culture” addressed unless by white supremacists. If by white culture one means U.S. culture that is surely a misnomer, since so much of U.S. American culture has black roots. I’m more familiar and comfortable with those groups who have an ethnic identity, though classed as white, because New York City has always had Italian, Irish, Greek, Jewish, Polish enclaves. I’ve lived in them all-from Bensonhurst to Astoria. That only covers white folks. I lived in Chinatown and in South Asian Jackson Heights too.

I’ve been having some interesting discussions with my students recently, some of whom have never lived outside their monochrome towns in upstate NY or Long Island, or who come from inner-city barrios and ‘hoods. For many of them, the campus experience is the first time they’ve had the opportunity to room with, eat with, go to classes with and develop friendships outside of what they were raised with. It is not always comfortable for them. But most are working at it, and we’ve had a spate of racial and gender incidents on campus that have spurred further discourse.

That brings me back to the de Blasio victory in NYC. Sometimes a political victory has more meaning than simply the votes that are cast, and the finances that back campaigns.

Back in May in a post “The race to Gracie Mansion” I attached a poll, asking the question of readers of Daily Kos, “Which Democrat is your pick for the primary?”

The results were interesting but not predictive.

Christine Quinn 20% 692 votes

Bill de Blasio    18% 619 votes

Bill Thompson   1% 61 votes

John Liu      3% 104 votes

Anthony Weiner  52% 1729 votes

Sal F. Albanese  1% 36 votes

Ceceilia Berkowitz 1% 43 votes

Erick Salgado  0% 15 votes

Randy Credico  0% 24 votes

3325 votes

I picked de Blasio. Sure, I looked at his positions, listened to the debates, but something told me he had the ability to bring New Yorker’s together that went beyond his positions.

He won in a landslide-73.7% to 24.9% for Lhota.  

Compare that to:

2009  Bloomberg 50.7%  Bill Thompson 46.3%

2005  Bloomberg 58.38%  Freddy Ferrer 39.01%

2001  Bloomberg 50.3% Mark Green 47.9%

1997  Rudy Giuliani   55.16% Ruth Messinger  42.93%

1993 Giuliani 50.7%  David Dinkins 48.3%

Beyond simple political slogans, party platforms, and stances, my gut said New Yorkers were no longer comfortable with Bloomberg-so that knocked his clone Quinn out, nor would community folks embrace Weiner-who is neither comfortable nor truthful (though he had the attention of all the media). New Yorker’s, even those who are not black or latino, were made “uncomfortable” about “stop and frisk” (thanks to the hard work of progressive groups and organizations).

But at a deeper level New Yorker’s, who live cheek to jowl in a “city that never sleeps” who ride subways and buses with an eclectic mix of folks, whose cab drivers hail from all over the world, whose small neighborhoods for the most part-even if they are ethnic enclaves-sit next to, or border difference, found comfort in a hope for a future community that is reflected in the de Blasio family. Black and white, West Indian and African, German and Italian, LBGT friendly (Chirlane was an open lesbian in earlier years) struck a chord in many voters-beyond party rhetoric.

I believed then that my home town would embrace moving forward, after many decades of autocracy and fear-mongering. After almost twelve years of Bloomberg and eight with hater Giuliani New Yorker’s have looked for both comfort and comfortably and are reaching for progress in that regard.  

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Here’s hoping for a better tomorrow for New Yorker’s. Congratulation to Mayor-elect de Blasio and his family, and the thousands of his campaign workers. Congrats to the citizens of NYC. I realize no mayor is going to be able to “fix” all of the city’s problems. But New Yorker’s being comfortable with this man and his family in the top spot says plenty to me.  

Though no longer living in my home town, now peering down to it from the Catskill mountains to the north, I will always be a New York City girl.




Cross-posted from Black Kos


Categories: Uncategorized.

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The Daily F Bomb, Tuesday 11/12/13

Tags:

Interrogatories

What do you like on your pizza?

Do you enjoy heights? Does crossing bridges or high overpasses bother you? How about narrow, twisting, mountain roads? Upper floors of tall buildings with big glass windows?

What were your favorite childhood books?

What is your favorite home treatment for colds and flu?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1936, in California, the original San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic.

In 1969, journalist Sy Hersh, after receiving a tip regarding an Army lieutenant being court-martialed for killing unarmed Vietnamese civilians and investigating said tip, broke the My Lai Massacre story.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter, in response to the hostage situation in Tehran,   halted to all oil imports from Iran into the United States.

In 1997, Pakistani citizen Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of planning and executing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In a civil trial(!) in New York(!), he was sentenced to life in prison (he was already serving one life term for another offense). In prison, he tried unsuccessfully to convert fellow terrorist Timothy McVeigh to Islam, but has now himself reportedly converted to Christianity. He cut his hair, eats pork, and goes through all the motions, but apparently most observers are skeptical of his sincerity.

In 2011, Silvio Berlusconi tendered his resignation as Prime Minister of Italy partial due to the European sovereign debt crisis (rather than all those other scandals surrounding him). Interestingly, one part of his austerity plan raised the retirement age for private sector women only from 60 to 65.  I wonder why Republicans never thought of that? Gut SS and hurt women, for the win! At this time he still holds considerable political power, and still has 4 ongoing court trials.

Born on This Day

1789 – William Turner of Oxford, English landscape painter (d. 1862)

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1790 – Letitia Christian Tyler, US First Lady (d. 1842)

1815 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American suffragette (d. 1902)

1820 – Edmund Mahlknecht, Austrian landscape painter (d. 1903)

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1833 – Martín Rico y Ortega, Spanish painter and engraver (d. 1908)

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1840 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (d. 1917)

1866 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and politician (d. 1925)

1866 – Carl Wilhelmson, Swedish painter and lithographer (d. 1928)

1903 – Jack Oakie, American actor (d. 1978)

1908 – Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1999)

1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)

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1911 – Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1991)

1917 – Jo Stafford, American singer (d. 2008)

1919 – Jackie Washington, Canadian blues musician (d. 2009)

1922 – Kim Hunter, American actress (d. 2002)

1924 – Sam Jones, American jazz bassist and cellist (d. 1981)

1929 – Grace Kelly, American actress and Princely consort of Monaco (d. 1982)

1934 – Charles Manson, American cult leader and convicted murderer

1937 – Ina Balin, American actress

1943 – Wallace Shawn, American actor and playwright

1943 – John Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Walker Brothers) (d. 2011)

1944 – Booker T. Jones, American musician and songwriter (Booker T and the MG’s)

1945 – Neil Young, Canadian singer and guitarist (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

1947 – Buck Dharma (born Donald Roeser), American vocalist and guitarist (Blue Öyster Cult)

1948 – Errol Brown, English singer (Hot Chocolate)

1948 – Hassan Rouhani, Iranian politician, slightly moderate 7th President of Iran

1962 – Brix Smith, American singer and guitarist (The Fall, The Adult Net)

1968 – Sammy Sosa, Dominican baseball player

1968 – Kathleen Hanna, American singer-songwriter (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and The Julie Ruin)

1970 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater

1980 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor

1982 – Anne Hathaway, American actress

Died on This Day

1662 – Adriaen van de Venne, Dutch painter, draftsman, and poet (b. 1589)

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1672 – Jean Nocret, French painter (b. 1615)

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1722 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (b. 1659)

1754 – Jacob de Wit, Dutch Rococo painter and etcher (b. 1695)

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1829 – Jean-Baptiste Regnault, French painter (b. 1754)

1881 – Jan Michiel Ruyten, Belgian cityscape painter (b. 1813)

1869 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German painter (b. 1789)

1904 – Rudolf Ribarz, Austrian landscape painter (b. 1848)

1921 – Fernand Khnopff, painter (b. 1858)

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1943 – Henri Martin, French painter (b. 1860)

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1981 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)

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1984 – Chester Himes, American writer (b. 1909)

1990 – Eve Arden, American actress (b. 1908)

1993 – H. R. Haldeman, American felon and ex-White House Chief of Staff (b. 1926)

2003 – Penny Singleton, American actress (b. 1908)

2008 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (b. 1947)

Today is

Moms and Dads Day

Chicken Soup for the Soul Day

National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day

National Young Reader’s Day


Categories: General.

/ 13 Comments

Tuesday Morning Herd Check-in

Tags:

  Make sure you let your peeps

  know where to find you!  


    PLEASE Do Not Recommend the check-in diary!   

        Fierces on the Weather Critter Comment are obligatory welcome.

The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy … or at least contented.

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you walk in the front door start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:

– Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary’s comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.

– To check for replies to your comments, click the “My Comments” link in the right-hand column (or go to “My Moose”). Comments will be listed and a link to Recent Replies will be shown. (Note: Tending comments builds community)

– Ratings: Fierce means Thumbs Up, Fail means Thumbs Down, Meh means one of three things: I am unFailing you but I can’t Fierce you, I am unFiercing after a mistaken Fierce, or Meh. Just Meh. (p.s. Ratings don’t bestow mojo, online behaviour does).

– The Recommended list has a prominent place on the Front Page because it reflects the interests of the Moose. When people drive-by, we want them to see what we are talking about: news, politics, science, history, personal stories, culture. The list is based on number of recs and days on the list. Per Kysen: “The best way to control Rec List content is to ONLY rec diaries you WANT to see ON the list.”

– Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: “Be excellent to each other… or else”

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

~

Let the greetings begin!

~


Categories: Uncategorized.

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The Daily F Bomb, Monday 11/11/13

Tags:

Interrogatories

Are there any words you mispronounced as a child (such as “basketti” instead of spaghetti) that you recall? Are there any that your family still uses now?

How do you feel about the rapidly changing language (especially with the onset of the internet)? Are you happy with changes, or do you wish all those new words and new meanings for old words would just go away?

What day does your trash get picked up? What agency does it, or is it a private business? Do they recycle?

Is there (or has there been) any actor that you like so much you would go see any film he (or she) is in?

The Twitter Emitter

On This Day

In 1831, Nat Turner was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia, for leading a violent slave uprising.

In 1889, Washington became the 42nd State.

In 1919, violence erupted at an Armistice Day parade in Centralia, Washington, resulting in the deaths of four members of the American Legion and the lynching of a local leader of the Industrial Workers of the World. This kind of event was all too common back in the early days of the Labor movement.

In 1926, U.S. Route 66 was established, running from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Southwest. By 1985 it had been completely replaced by the interstate system, and now is just a side road populated by tacky souvenir shops (though still well worth traveling).

In 1992, the General Synod of the Church of England voted to allow women to become priests.

Born on This Day

1579 – Frans Snyders, Flemish painter (d. 1657)

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1738 – Jean-Jacques Le Barbier, French Neoclassical painter and illustrator (d. 1826)

1821 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (d. 1881)

1831 – John George Brown, British-born American painter (d.1913)

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1837 – Arthur Grottger, Polish painter and graphic artist (d. 1867)

1858 – Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter. (d. 1884)

1863 – Paul Signac, French painter (d. 1935)

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1868 – Jean Édouard Vuillard, French post-Impressionist painter (d. 1940)

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1887 – Roland Young, American actor (d. 1953) best remembered from his work in the delightful 1930s “Topper” comedies and as the lecherous Uncle Willy in “The Philadelphia Story”.

Cary Grant Roland Young Connie Bennett photo RolandYoung.jpg

1894 – Beverly Bayne, American silent film actress (d. 1982)

1909 – Robert Ryan, American actor (d. 1973)

1918 – Stubby Kaye, American comic actor (d. 1997)

1922 – Kurt Vonnegut Jr., American novelist (d. 2007)

1927 – Mose Allison, American jazz pianist and singer

1929 – LaVern Baker, American singer (d. 1997)

1930 – Hank Garland, American guitar virtuoso (d. 2004)

1940 – Barbara Boxer, American Democratic Senator from California

1945 – Chris Dreja, British musician (The Yardbirds)

1953 – Marshall Crenshaw, American musician

1953 – Andy Partridge, English musician (XTC)

1955 – Dave Alvin, American songwriter and guitarist

1960 – Stanley Tucci, American actor and director

1973 – Jason White, American musician (Green Day)

1974 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor

Died on This Day

1563 – Francisco de’ Rossi (aka Francesco Salviati, Il Salviati, Francesco Rossi and Cecchino del Salviati), Italian mannerist painter (b. 1510)

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1638 – Cornelis van Haarlem, Dutch painter (b. 1562)

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1761 – Jan ten Compe, Dutch cityscape painter (b. 1713)

1772 – Jan Maurits Quinkhard, Dutch painter (b. 1688)

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1810 – Johann Zoffany, German painter (b. 1733)

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1873 – Henry Perlee Parker, British painter (b. 1795)

1904 – Valentine Prinsep, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (b. 1838)

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1919 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter (b. 1832)

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1938 – Mary Mallon, Irish-born American carrier of typhoid (b. 1869) best known as Typhoid Mary. She allegedly infected 51 people, never having any symptoms herself. She spent most of her life a virtual prisoner.

1945 – Jerome Kern, American composer (b. 1885)

1972 – Berry Oakley, American musician (Allman Brothers Band) (b. 1948)

1976 – Alexander Calder, American artist (b. 1898)

1984 – Martin Luther King, Sr., American civil rights figure (b. 1899) and father of Martin Jr.

2004 – Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)

Today is

Veterans Day

Air Day

National Sundae Day

Origami Day


Categories: General.

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Motley Monday Check in and Mooselaneous Musings

Tags:

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  Good morning Motley Meese! Hope your weekend was lovely. Sorry I missed the last couple of diaries. Wednesday my internet went walkabout and Friday my brain did. Sigh. It’s tough getting old.


  PLEASE Don’t Recommend the check-in diary! 

        Fierces on the weather jar comment are still welcome.

The morning check-in is an open thread and general social hour. Come back when time allows through the day – the conversation continues.

It’s traditional but not obligatory to give us a weather check where you are and let us know what’s new, interesting, challenging or even routine in your life lately. Nothing is particularly obligatory here except:

Always remember the Moose Golden (Purple?) Rule:

Be kind to each other… or else.

What could be simpler than that, right?

photo Monday2_zpsdb4378d1.jpg


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 21 Comments

Odds & Ends: News/Humor

Tags:

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”. OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – works by the Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky – exploring humanity’s stressed relationship with the world’s most vital natural resource water – are at the New Orleans, Louisiana Museum of Art through January 19th.

HAIL and FAREWELL to the noted chef Charlie Trotter – who changed the landscape of Chicago restaurants – who has died at the age of 54.

TIME MARCHES ON – many of Africa’s fastest-growing economies have not relied on oil or mining – in a break from the continent’s past.

NOBODY ASKED ME – but while I don’t think Chris Christie is likely to be the 2016 GOP presidential candidate …. he might be a vice-presidential candidate for someone like Ted Cruz. Besides ticket-balancing, the one thing he does that all right-wingers like – shades of Spiro Agnew – is that …. he yells at liberals.

Part of the reason why Mitt Romney was (privately) disdained by right-wingers was that they want a yelling conservative …. and Mitt just didn’t have it in him. Mitt wanted to rely on others to do that, which was acceptable in the past. But no longer … wingers want the yelling done by the candidate personally. That’s why Christie will be tolerated by the hardcore base … provided he is not the presidential candidate, but a Spiro Agnew-style Veep.

MEMORY LANE is where the sportswriter and author Mitch Albom treks as he ponders the “death of the stereo system” for college students.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is Graham the Cat – an English kitteh who visits each day …. a pet store.

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

SAD TO SEE that the 60 Minutes bogus Benghazi story was peddled by its correspondent Lara Logan – while I don’t watch much network news, in the past I had respected her knowledge and willingness to report from danger zones. And several years ago she took – head-on – our old pal Laura Ingraham when she (and other right-wing pundits) started parroting the “You’re suppressing all the good news in Iraq: why, a new school just opened!” party line. Sorry to learn that Lara Logan jumped-the-tracks, apparently first doing so a few years ago.

SEPARATED at BIRTH – embattled Toronto mayor Rob Ford and the late comic Chris Farley.

   

SOME TIME AGO I wrote a Top Comments diary about the NBA Hall of Fame player Bill Russell – a role model for me in many ways. At that time, President Obama called for a statue to be unveiled in Boston, for the 20th Century’s most accomplished team athlete. Boston’s mayor Tom Menino is leaving office, but was able to see a statue placed in City Hall Plaza this past weekend, with Bill Russell himself looking on.

THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary looking at America’s first bi-racial comedy duo, Tim & Tom – and so far, regrettably, its last.

FRIDAY’s CHILD is an Illinois kitteh placed in a box with the words, “I need help, I’m deaf,” written on it and left it at the doorstep of a resale shop – who is now at the local Humane Society where they hope she will be adopted.

WHILE THIS STORY is a bit too local to include (and complex to explain) in this week’s poll, it’s still juicy. Last week there was a special election here in New Hampshire, to fill a vacant state House of Representatives seat (from the city of Nashua). It’s a seat that trends Democratic, but in a special election: anything can happen.

The Democrat was Latha Mangipudi – an immigrant from India, who has lived in Nashua for nearly twenty-five years. Her GOP opponent Pete Silva uncorked this stem-winder:

At a Republican forum, Silva said there were so many people of Indian descent who came out to vote during the primary that “I thought I was in New Delhi.” He urged his colleagues to get out and vote to counter the large number of Indian residents in the ward that he predicted would “be coming out of the woodwork … (I want to) make people aware there’s a tide against us this time.”

When criticized for his comments, Silva responded that people offended by his words were the ones at fault because he spoke the truth. Fortunately, he was given his walking papers by nearly 60% of the voters.

OLDER-YOUNGER SISTERS? – House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi as well as Barbara Buono – the unsuccessful New Jersey gubernatorial candidate.

……. and for a song of the week ……………………………………….. if you grew up watching TV and films from the 1960’s on – and especially if your tastes run towards spy/thriller genres – chances are that you’ve heard the work of Lalo Schifrin – and maybe more than a few times. He began in the field of jazz, and has returned to his classical/opera background more-and-more the past few years, yet it is his work on TV/film soundtracks that have made him a legend.

Born as Boris Claudio Schifrin in Buenos Aires, Argentina (and he legally adopted Lalo, a popular nickname for Claudio) Schifrin grew-up in a mixed Catholic-Jewish family. He began piano lessons at age six with Enrique Barenboim – the father of future conductor Daniel Barenboim – and his father Luis was the concertmaster of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic. He said he saw Gershwin’s Rhapdsody in Blue at age twelve, which first introduced him to American music.

But Schifrin was troubled at life in the early 50’s under the Juan Peron dictatorship (seeing soldiers goose-step, for example) and decided to leave. He was accepted at the Paris Conservatoire, and had to convince passport authorities that his being accepted there was a tribute to Argentina’s government.

After his return, he formed a jazz big band, and it was there that famed jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie heard them and asked Lalo to become his pianist and arranger. Moving to the US in the late 1950’s, he toured with Gillespie’s band and also recorded Latin jazz solo work. Well-known in jazz circles: in the mid-60’s he moved to Hollywood and began to achieve stardom.

His first foray into TV involved arranging the Jerry Goldsmith-written theme song of The Man from UNCLE for its second season. He also went on to either write and/or arrange themes for “T.H.E. Cat” and some early film scores (“Once a Thief”, “Murder’s Row”). In 1966, he wrote the theme song for Mission: Impossible and with the recent death of its star Peter Graves, you may have heard the show’s distinctive 5/4 time signature once again, borrowing the flute/piccolo theme from the “Man from UNCLE”. It’s one of the most memorable TV themes of all time, especially for an instrumental.

While working extensively in Hollywood, he’s released many solo works over the years: concentrating in jazz first, then even dabbling in rock-themed works in the late 1960’s. The album title There’s a Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin’ On seems a bit corny today, but critics have mostly been pleased with his works of all types.

As he has aged, he has returned to his classical roots more often, working with various orchestras around the world, The Three Tenors and in recent years has delved into his heritage with Letters from Argentina – combining Tango, Argentinean Folk music and classical music. He has also released seven albums under the Jazz Meets the Symphony heading.

Still, it’s those theme songs that catch your eye. Some examples (besides what’s already been noted):

–> TV … “Mannix“, “Medical Center” and “Starsky and Hutch“.

–> Film … “Bullitt“, “Cool Hand Luke“, the entire Dirty Harry series, “Enter the Dragon“, “Amityville Horror“, “The Dead Pool“, “The Sting II“.

At age 81, the winner of four Grammy Awards and nominee for six Oscars, Lalo Schifrin’s 2008 autobiography is appropriately Mission Impossible: My Life in Music – yet it’s altogether possible his music will be heard for many years to come.

Two works of his I especially like: one is instrumental (as are most of his compositions). After years of starts-and-stops, filming has commenced on a feature-length film version of The Man from UNCLE – for which the original series star Robert Vaughn has said he’s been contacted about a cameo role (which he’d be delighted to accept). The original series used different musical arrangements each year, but it was the second season’s arrangement by Lalo Schifrin that is my favorite:

One of his first works for the big screen featured lyrics by Dorcas Cochran for 1965’s The Cincinnati Kid starring Steve McQueen. And below you can hear Ray Charles sing it.

He came with the name Cincinnati

A kid with no ace in the hole

On a hot poker pot, Cincinnati

Had staked his heart and soul

He played night and day like a demon

And prayed for that one lucky day

When the lush royal flush of his dreaming

Is just a game away

Beyond all the green-felt shadows

His own queen of hearts will wait

But till he’s king of the green-felt shadows

She’ll wait, and wait, and wait


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Sunday All Day Check-in for the Herd

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  Make sure you let your peeps

  know where to find you!  


    PLEASE Do Not Recommend the check-in diary!   

        Fierces on the Weather Critter Comment are obligatory welcome.

The morning check-in is an open thread posted to give you a place to visit with the meeses. Feel free to chat about your weather, share a bit of your life, grump (if you must), rave (if you can). The diarist du jour sometimes posts and runs, other times sticks around for a bit, often returns throughout the day and always cares that meeses are happy … or at least contented.

On weekends (and holidays), you may find the check-in thread earlier or later than normal because … it is the weekend! Moosies need their beauty rest:

For those new to the Moose, Kysen left a Moose Welcome Mat (Part Deux) so, please, wipe your feet before you walk in the front door start posting.

The important stuff to get you started:

– Comments do not Auto-refresh. Click the refresh/reload on your tab to see new ones. Only click Post once for comments. When a diary’s comment threads grow, the page takes longer to refresh and the comment may not display right away.

– To check for replies to your comments, click the “My Comments” link in the right-hand column (or go to “My Moose”). Comments will be listed and a link to Recent Replies will be shown. (Note: Tending comments builds community)

– Ratings: Fierce means Thumbs Up, Fail means Thumbs Down, Meh means one of three things: I am unFailing you but I can’t Fierce you, I am unFiercing after a mistaken Fierce, or Meh. Just Meh. (p.s. Ratings don’t bestow mojo, online behaviour does).

– The Recommended list has a prominent place on the Front Page because it reflects the interests of the Moose. When people drive-by, we want them to see what we are talking about: news, politics, science, history, personal stories, culture. The list is based on number of recs and days on the list. Per Kysen: “The best way to control Rec List content is to ONLY rec diaries you WANT to see ON the list.”

– Finally, the posting rules for a new diary: “Be excellent to each other… or else”

(Some other commenting/posting/tending notes for newbies can be found in this past check-in and, of course, consult Meese Mehta for all your questions on meesely decorum.)

You can follow the daily moosetrails here: Motley Moose Recent Comments.

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Let the greetings begin!

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Weekly Address: President Obama – Honoring America’s Veterans

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From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama commemorates Veterans Day Weekend by thanking the brave men and women who have worn this country’s uniform. The President says he is proud of their service and will do everything possible to ensure America always has their back and always honors their sacrifice.

Transcript: Honoring America’s Veterans

Hello everyone.  Veterans’ Day Weekend is a chance for all of us to say two simple words: “Thank you.”  Thank you to that greatest generation who fought island by island across the Pacific, and freed millions from fascism in Europe.  Thank you to the heroes who risked everything through the bitter cold of Korea and the stifling heat of Vietnam.  And thank you to all the heroes who have served since, most recently our 9/11 Generation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now that more of them are coming home, we need to serve them as well as they served us.  That requires more than a simple “thank you” – especially from those of us who’ve been elected to serve.

I’ve often said that my top priority is growing the economy, creating new jobs, and restoring middle-class security.  And a very important part of that is making sure that every veteran has every chance to share in the opportunity he or she has helped defend.  In addition to the care and benefits they’ve earned – including good mental health care to stay strong – that means a good job, a good education, and a home to call their own.

If you fight for your country overseas, you should never have to fight for a job when you come home.  I’ve made sure the federal government leads by example, and since I took office, we’ve hired about 300,000 veterans to keep serving their country.  Our new transition assistance program is helping veterans and their spouses find that new job and plan their career.  And I’m going to keep calling on Congress to do the right thing and pass the Veterans Jobs Corps.  Put our veterans to work rebuilding America.

Our troops gain unmatched skills while serving in harm’s way.  So we’re also doing everything we can to connect more businesses with highly-skilled veterans.  More help with job searches.  More tools to connect veterans to job openings.  More chances to earn licenses and credentials for civilian jobs.  And new tax credits for companies that hire veterans and wounded warriors – tax credits which Congress should make permanent.

And America’s businesses have worked with Michelle and Jill Biden’s Joining Forces campaign to help returning heroes find jobs in the private sector.  They’ve already hired or trained 290,000 veterans and military spouses, and they’ve committed to hiring over 400,000 more.

We’re also committed to giving today’s veterans and their families the same shot at a great education this country gave my grandfather when he came home from World War II.  We’re helping more of them earn their degrees under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  We’ve worked with thousands of schools across the country to set new standards to protect against dishonest recruiting and predatory lending practices that target our veterans.  And we’re helping hundreds of community colleges and universities do more to welcome and encourage our veterans on campus.

Thanks to these efforts, and the efforts of the private sector, we’ve made progress getting our vets back to work.  But we’ve got a lot more to do.  And as more than a million of our troops return to civilian life, we’re going to have to work even harder.  Because the skill, dedication, and courage of our troops is unmatched – and when they come home, we all benefit from their efforts to build a stronger America and a brighter future for our kids.

So to all our veterans, on behalf our entire nation, thank you for everything you’ve done and will continue to do for our country.  As your Commander-in-Chief, I’m proud of your service, and grateful for your sacrifice.  And as long as I’m your President, I will make it my mission to make sure that America has your back, not just on one day or one weekend, but 365 days a year.

Thanks.  God bless you, and have a great weekend.

Bolding added.

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Bonus Video: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden Thank Our Military:


First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden encouraged all Americans to take a moment this Veterans Day to thank a military service member or a veteran for his or her sacrifice to our country.

“Our veterans have done so much for our country and through programs like HISTORY’s Take a Veteran to School Day, you all have the opportunity to welcome these heroes into your classrooms and communities, hear their stories and give them a heartfelt thank you for their continued contribution to our nation,” explained Dr. Jill Biden.

From a big initiative to a simple thank you, there are many ways to show your appreciation — and they’re things you can do right now:

   Send a message of thanks

   Pledge to complete community service in a veteran’s honor

   Start a volunteer project

Our veterans have given so much to keep us safe — now it’s our turn to honor them.

To learn more about supporting our veterans visit JoiningForces.gov, like Joining Forces on Facebook and follow @JoiningForces on Twitter.

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Editor’s Note: The President’s Weekly Address diary is also the weekend open news thread. Feel free to leave links to other news items in the comment threads.


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