maren

Sad, sad, sad. Really glad the city of LA honored him back in April while he was able to be there.

Does this have to go on the "Politics" page? January 18, 1915: Three-quarter length portrait of Mrs. Lucy E. Parsons, arrested for rioting during an unemployment protest at Hull House in Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Parsons is also the widow of Albert Parsons, one of the men hanged for complicity in the Haymarket affair.

I'm having too much fun, Chris! My boss is going to be very angry with you! Here's one from 1926, of "Hindu musician Premla Shahane playing a sitar": I think I heard that Ravi Shankar was her father...

Well, I entered "jazz" and found twelve photos, but everyone in them was white (Al Jolson, Benny Kruger, Gussie Keller, and University of Chicago Jazz Band -- that's IT). Then I entered "Negro" and found "Four members of the Negro Players in performance at Cube Theatre": and 17 other photos, mostly of Negro Leagues baseball: "Blues" turned up NOTHING related to the blues! "African American" brought up no musicians, but more sports stars (Jack Johnson again) including this photo of a jockey published in 1903, just before Jim Crow slammed the door shut on the black jockeys who had dominated racing since Reconstruction:

I agree about the lack of jazz, but - but - but Otis Skinner, Sophie Tucker, Enrico Caruso? Performing arts?

Now, now, maren, let's see if we can take that frown and turn it upside down... Here we go! I'd offer more, but my cousin Tick is out on the Bowles lease fixin' a leaky pipeline. But if I can be of further assistance, don't hesitate to ask, ok? Aw, Jim, THANK yew!

I always use the pinhole for eclipses, but can you see the little dot of Venus that way? BTW, what's really cool is all the little crescent-shapes made on the sidewalk by the sun shining down through the "pinholes" of overlapping tree leaves during a partial eclipse:

Happy Birthday!!!!

I like how I first heard about this on the local news at 11:30 PM Monday -- saying it would be visible from 4:30 to 7:00 AM Tuesday -- and you could view it with welding glasses "available at any welding supply store" -- well, NYC has a lot of all-night emporiums, but welding supplies did not seem to be among them...

Yeah, I was wondering about this too, but my guess was: Hardbop complained about someone ELSE calling a WM performance 'soporific'...

Hey Jeff -- best of luck with your move!!! I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I say I'll miss you here. But maybe we'll be seeing your graphic designs out in the world??? Not just for private consumption here, but earning you $$$ as well as appreciation??? Actually, believe it or not, I was just thinking this weekend that I might have to go off-line, cold turkey -- I have such a backlog of work, both "at work" and at home -- so I completely understand. Gee, maybe we need a designated time for an online "reunion" -- Halloween? Thanksgiving? Anyway, all the best to you and your family! maren

A discussion of Jackie McLean's ethnicity (in "Miscellaneous Music") reminded me of Adrian Piper: Adrian Piper, My Calling Card #1, 1986.

The old "one-drop" rule. Which is why "ethnicity" is a much more valid term than "race" [race is not a scientific concept, anyway -- in biology it just means: the group living on one side of the mountain range (ocean, desert) looks "alike" in a way that differs from the group living on the other side, because they've shared more genes within their group than with the other, due to limited mingling across the physical barrier]. "Ethnicity" implies a shared cultural identity. The U.S. has plenty of more-European-than-African-looking people who "jumped the fence" to live as "white" -- while others felt it very important to continue to identify themselves as black. NOTE -- I know I'm not telling ss1 anything new!!! -- just expanding on your point for those who aren't aware of this history! Just a few examples from mixedfolks.com: "Walter White, who could have passed for white, chose instead to identify with his black ancestry, and ultimately came to be the most ardent protagonist in the fight to stamp out lynching in America, particularly after World War I. White's main task at the NAACP was to investigate lynching and race riots. His light skin enabled him to pass as a white man and this helped him acquire information about racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. His research was eventually published in the book Rope and Faggot (1929). In 1929 White was appointed chief executive of the NAACP."

Hell, I'd trade my willow trees and ducks in the pond in a nanosecond for an apt. in NYC. That's what Central Park is for... NYC! That's what parks in NJ and upstate NY are for. It would be nice to have a place in NYC or Brooklyn, but I want another place in the sticks. I know quite a few folks who have both. Maybe later....I just have my apt. in NJ for now! Yeah, I know I have to count my blessings! [Rest assured, however, we're not talking glamour when it comes to my building! This is "co-op" in the old lefty-hippie sense of the word, with the usual problem of argumentative and uncooperative "cooperators"! And "second home" would only be a possibility thanks to Lotto or equivalent... Just sometimes think it would be nice to have my own little trees, and no foot traffic directly outside my apartment door and overhead while I'm trying to sleep, after 30+ years of apartment living... But considering the septic tank UNDER that greener grass, and having to call the guy to fix it, okay, I'm counting my blessings!]

Awfully sad.

Sorry to duplicate if someone else already posted this:

Well, I keep hoping this is premature, although Lois Gilbert and Kali Fasteau would seem to be reliable sources. (But the Kali Fasteau communication is at least third-hand, right?). What a busy schedule Steve had set out for himself this year -- prior to turning 70 in July. I wonder if this hospitalization happened in the middle of a residency he was supposed to be teaching in Florida this week? A concert scheduled there for tomorrow night is still posted online... And then he was to have been off to Japan... Well, I'm still praying.

That was my guess, too!!!

I loved "HATED it" -- but I can't remember the "names" of the "Men on Film" critics. Especially liked when they did "Men on Football." A militant lesbian I knew at the time said "Maybe it's politically incorrect of me, but I love them." Felt like Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier loved the characters, too.

Wow!!! Congratulations!!! I guess since I own a co-op apartment in NYC, it's the backyard and trees that remain my dream... Like Dan's Florida backyard with the fruit trees... Sigh! Have fun, Johnny!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Ilona Granet. "Princess Diana Faces the Land Mine Issue." 1998. Porcelain (~20-in. height).

Maybe McDonalds WASN'T entirely standardized across the country -- and the availability of the nutritional brochure varied from state to state? What I do know is that it wasn't available to me in NYC in 1983 (I was pregnant and looking to rationalize and indulge Big Mac cravings! No such "luck"!). The quote I posted is part of an affidavit (provided to a libel lawsuit) written by Texas Asst AG recounting the history of actions several states, including Texas and New York, jointly undertook to get chain restaurants to provide nutritional info to consumers. The AGs wanted it to be on the actual packaging of each item, but settled for a poster or brochures. BTW, it does seem to take constant pressure to keep McDonalds honest: they recently settled in a $12.5M lawsuit about failing to disclose the continued use of beef tallow in french fries (they'd been saying they'd switched entirely to vegetarian preparation).