Toonerville Thursday on Friday

Sorry if you missed the visit to Toonerville yesterday (technical problems conspired to knock me "off the air). Here are a couple featuring the Skipper that are still funny, even a day later.

More Friday Family Blogging

My very talented niece Marenka is graduating from Pacific Lutheran University at the end of this month with a music degree. This picture was obviously taken some years ago, as there is no bassoon in evidence.

Friday Family Blogging

I wish this picture was a little sharper, but I think it still conveys something of the personality of Maria, Sara and their cat Kitty (that is her name, right?).

Friday Philosophy

Today we have an astute bit of analysis that goes back about fifty odd years, from the cultural critic Dwight MacDonald (1906-1982). Doesn't this appear to be even more obvious today?

"Folk Art grew from below. It was a spontaneous, autochthonous expression of the people, shaped by themselves, pretty much without the benefit of High Culture, to suit their own needs. Mass Culture is imposed from above. It is fabricated by technicians hired by businessmen; its audiences are passive consumers, their participation limited to the choice between buying and not buying.... Folk Art was the people's own institution, their private little garden walled off from the great formal park of their masters' High Culture. But Mass Culture breaks down the wall, integrating the masses into a debased form of High Culture and thus becoming an instrument of political domination."

Note to Readers

Something went kerplooey yesterday with Blogger, the system that hosts this and a great many other blogs. I was unable to log on to add new posts which were ready to go, but will get them up today (including Toonerville Thursday). It also looks like Wednesday's posts may have vanished, so I hope you got a chance to see them before they disappeared (maybe they'll pop up again at some point). This is the first time something like this has happened in three years of blogging by me, so let's hope it was just just a one-time fluke.

Funny Video

I've been watching a fair bit of soccer lately, as the Premier League Season and UEFA Champion's Cup both wind down. As a result, I found this little ditty particularly entertaining when I stumbled across it recently:

Three Pictures: Rome

Three shots from my last day in Italy back in 2008, which I spent wandering around Rome. Above is a busking sax player under the gateway entrance to the Villa Borghese Park.

Here's part of the ancient forum, or what's left of it a couple thousand years past its prime.

A TV cameraman prepares to broadcast an orchestral concert from the Piazza del Populi.

Wednesday's Quote

Something worth thinking about from the pen of novelist Thomas Pynchon:

"Everybody gets told to write about what they
know. The trouble with many of us is that at
the earlier stages of life we think we know
everything- or to put it more usefully, we
are often unaware of the scope and
structure of our ignorance."

Cool Song

Alison Pipitone and band have been making fine music for a number of years out of my hometown of Buffalo, NY, and I've been lucky enough to catch them live a few times (though it's been awhile now). Here's something that looks to be brand new, and they're in fine form:

Cool Site

If you're interested in (mostly) contemporary comedy-- big screen, small screen, stand-up, etc.-- I've just discovered a fairly comprehensive web site called Splitsider, which offers up news, clips, and occasional feature articles that are well worth perusing. I'm going to add it to my blogroll in teh left-hand margin, and recommend it highly if you want to keep abreast of current trends in what's funny (though I don't guarantee you'll laugh at everything there).

This Week's Top Five List

This was a special Mother's Day edition of the Top Five List-- see if it doesn't ring true for you:

Quote of the Day

Anyone who has read any of his books could probably guess that this line was uttered by the English novelist Nick Hornby:

"I love the relationship that anyone has with
music ... because there's something in us that
is beyond the reach of words, something that
eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it
out. ... It's the best part of us probably ..."

Cool Song

I really liked the band known as Belly, who for a moment looked like they might be huge. As is often the case, that didn't happen, but they left behind some great tunes. Here's one of them:

Three Pictures: Say Goodbye to Winter

Boy I hope this isn't premature, but I think winter might finally be over. So, in honor of its passing, here are three pictures I've been working on to celebrate its passing.

These were all taken shortly after last Christmas when I was back in Western New York. The first is from a hike out at Hunters Creek, the other two from Delaware Park. I'm anticipating visiting both places again this summer, and if I can, maybe I'll try to match these images with "green" versions in a couple of months.

A Monday Quote

John Keats (1795-1821) was an English poet who, despite dying quite young, managed to make a mark on his world with insights like the following:

"The only means of strengthening one's
intellect is to make up one's mind about
nothing, to let the mind be a thorough-
fare for all thoughts."

A Golden Oldie

Here's a clip I thought my Mom would enjoy-- Martha Tilton performing " A Little Jive is Good For You" in a soundie from 1941:

Sunday Funnies

I was trying to think of a strip to feature today that my Mom has mentioned as a favorite. Flipping through the directory of the I Love Comix Archive, I came across a section devoted to Ella Cinders, which sounded like a possible candidate. These go back to 1937, and I'm pretty sure I've heard Mom mentioning that this was one that she read as a little girl. So Mom, enjoy this trip down memory lane (and if I'm wrong about it being an old favorite, well, I'll try again next year ;-).

Happy Birthday Emma!

It seems like only yesterday that I was wondering when Emma would start walking and talking. Today, she's three and from all reports totally mobile and vocal enough. I hope she gets plenty of presents and cake and hugs on her special day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I wish I was around to help you celebrate in person (you know, like in the picture), but it sounds like you have a great afternoon planned even without me. Enjoy your day!

A Mother's Day Quote

Here is a nice sentiment in keeping with the object of today's celebration. It was written by the French author Honore de Balzac (1799-1850):

"A mother's happiness is like a beacon,
lighting up the future but reflected also
on the past in the guise of fond memories."

Cool Band

I've enjoyed all the records put out by Walker Kong so far, but I never hear or read anything about them anywhere. They sure deserve to be better known, so here's my small contribution to spreading the word:

Three Pictures: Baseball

There's been a subtle (well, maybe not so subtle) undercurrent of baseball themed posts this past week, so here's another one. Here are three pictures I've been playing around with taken in past years at Buffalo Bisons games. Each has been cropped and processed to try and tease out something that makes them a little more interesting than they were on first look.

I'll let you decide if these "work." But I think they capture something of the action of the sport, and look a bit more artful than when in their original state.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy were featured along with Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear on the various programs that featured Hanna-Barbera cartoons back in the sixties (I probably saw them on Rocketship 7 or Commander Tom in Buffalo). I bet it's been close to forty years since I saw one of these episodes, but it seems like only yesterday (those voices are deeply ingrained in my consciousness even when I don't recall the plots).

Saturday's Quote

Today, let's go with a funny line from the versatile writer-director-performer Woody Allen:

"Interestingly, according to modern astronomers,
space is finite. This is a very comforting thought--
particularly for people who can never remember
where they have left things."

Interpreting Gershwin

This is my all-time favorite version of this George & Ira Gershwin standard "Summertime" from the opera Porgy & Bess. No, I don't get the point of the cowboy get-ups, but set that aside and just enjoy the vocal performance:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Here you see Maria, Ben, and Natalie (and some other obscured individuals) on a hayride during the Powers family reunion a few years back. The question is, who was sitting to Natalie's right? Lots of possibilities here, so take a guess, and put it in the comments section for all to see.

It's been a number of weeks since there's been a winner in the quiz. Two weeks ago, I asked who Richard was high-fiving, and though there were several good guesses, no one said Emma. Last week, I asked what Nik was poking and the answer (as you can see below) was a flower in a cup (I would've accepted just "flower"). Better luck this week!

Three Pictures: Venice

Three pictures taken on my visit to Venice back in the Fall of 2008 (each somewhat enhanced from the original shot through the magic of PhotoShop). It was overcast and rainy for the whole time we were there, but that just adds a melancholy air which works okay with a picture like the one above.

This is what constitutes an "alley" in Venice-- a narrow canal through which the gondoliers pass on their way to the Grand Canal.

The wide plaza that lines the waterfront on the edge of the city. The shock of blue in the middle left of the picture is a giant James Bond billboard in Piazza San Marco, across from the Doge's Palace, where the rulers of the city lived for several centuries.

More Friday Family Blogging

Ben and Nik contemplating the prospect of getting a little wet.

Friday Family Blogging

Doesn't that ice cream look good? I'm looking forward to many visits to Mississippi Mudd's on the Niagara River this summer, with Helen and anyone else who wants to tag along.

Friday Philosophy

Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was an English scientist and theologian. Based on this comment, it appears he was both insightful and kind of funny:

"As we read the school reports on our
children, we realize a sense of relief that
can rise to delight that thank Heaven
nobody is reporting in this fashion on us."

First Class Scottish Rock

Teenage Fanclub is one of the great bands to come out of Scotland over the years. They're kind of elder statesmen now, but here's a song from a bit earlier in their career:

Toonerville Thursday

More hi-jinks this week courtesy of the Little Scorpions of Toonerville. Son of a gun if their clubhouse doesn't resemble the "fort" we built in my back yard when I was a youngster (though we did lack the stove).

A Thursday Quote

Here's a great sentiment from the author Jack London (1876-1916):

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I
would rather that my spark should burn
out in a brilliant blaze than it should be
stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a
superb meteor, every atom of me in
magnificent glow, than a sleepy and
permanent planet. The function of
man is to live, not to exist. I shall not
waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”

A Great Song

This is undoubtedly Tim Hardin's best known song (performed hear at Woodstock), but the guy was a masterful songwriter throughout his too-brief career. If you like this, definitely search out some of his other material:

Brilliant Site

Okay, you kind of do have to be something of a baseball fan to appreciate this website: Emo Juan Uribe, but if you are I don't know how it can fail to make you laugh. I don't know if there's some reason why they pick on poor Juan Uribe-- maybe it's just his furtive expression in the recurring photo-- but that's part of its sublime genius. Especially cool is that there seems to be something new there every couple of hours. Check it out.

Today's Words of Wisdom

Here's a great statement from the creator of Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne (1882-1956):

"The third-rate mind is only happy when
it is thinking with the majority. The second-
rate mind is only happy when it is thinking
with the minority. The first-rate mind is
only happy when it is thinking."

Classic Big Band Song

Here's one of the great transitional voices as jazz was starting to evolve (along one track anyway) into rhythm and blues-- Miss Ella Mae Morse, performing the great "Cow Cow Boogie" with Freddie Slack and his Orchestra from around 1942 or 43:

The Last Book I Read

Way back in 1982, I discovered The Bill James Baseball Abstract, which was a true revelation. I was already a baseball fan, but James turned me into a thinking fan, helping me to make all kinds of connections that ultimately provided a framework for working out problems that far transcended my approach to the national pastime. James introduced me to a couple of key concepts about processing information that ultimately made it possible (maybe inevitable) that I would return to school and successfully pursue postgraduate studies. That's really not an exaggeration: while James is often described as a numbers guy, the reality is that the numbers are only one of the tools employed to try and understand something infinitely complex-- and if you start to see that it is possible, through a reasoned and analytic approach to examining available evidence (and acknowledging that we don't always have all the evidence needed to be conclusive), to make some sense of the ins and outs of baseball, well, then it's a small stretch to apply those same concepts to thinking about history or politics or just about anything. To put it another way, despite all the statistics he employed, I could generally ignore all the metrics and just marvel at how the guy framed questions, worked out his methodology, and came up with answers, all of which was explained in straightforward and colorful language, rich in insight and humor. The Abstracts (and their successors, the annual Baseball Books and later Player Rating Books) were just plain entertaining, even as they promoted the idea of turning things over to examine them from a different angle. Over the years, the annuals came to an end (there is still an annual Baseball Register like compendium of stats, but that's not really the same). More recently, James has continued to produce idiosyncratic essays on a web site (which requires a subscription), and Solid Fool's Gold is an anthology of some of the work produced there. I have to admit, as entertaining as the first couple of essays were, they seemed just a little too oriented towards the numbers, and I wondered if James has lost his touch to transcend the stats. Luckily, that turned out not to be the case; in fact it seemed that the essays got stronger and stronger as I proceeded through the book (a few of which were only tangentially related to baseball at all, such as his analysis of the effectiveness of traffic-light cameras). The essay entitled "Shakespeare and Verlander" is one peak, wherein James speculates on the development of talent, concluding that America today is a lot more interested in promoting athletes than literary giants-- not an earth-shaking conclusion, I grant you, but the way James arrives at it is truly thought provoking. Another essay called "TSA" examines the consequences when competing virtues come into conflict with one another, all in the service of trying to understand the intrusive new measures adopted by airport security forces. Perhaps best of all is the penultimate essay "Battling Expertise With the Power of Ignorance" which is in my view quite brilliant. Here's a representative quote: "What is critical to understanding is humility and cooperation. What is critical to gaining more understanding of the world is to learn to accept and appreciate the vastness of our ignorance, and to understand that one can only survive in a sea of ignorance by working with others to make our small lifeboat a little bit stronger. Only by embracing our limitless ignorance can one position oneself to increase the store of knowledge." Bill James is often pointed to (sometimes derogatorily) as a statistician. What he really is, is a philosopher, and one well worth reading whether you're a baseball fan or not.

A Classic Top Five

Circumstances conspired against our airing of a new Top Five List this past week on Dr. John's Record Shelf, but luckily I have a few older recordings that haven't been shared here yet. Now, if you aren't a fan of Seinfeld, this might not register, but it was definitely fun for those of us that are:

A Quote for Today

I feel pretty lucky to realize that I have generally accomplished what Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) recommends in this statement:

"Never permit a dichotomy to rule your
life, a dichotomy in which you hate what
you do so you can have pleasure in your
spare time. Look for a situation in which
your work will give you as much
happiness as your spare time."

A Favorite Song

Cracker was one of the bands that spun off from the fractured Camper Van Beethoven. While not quite as offbeat as the original group, they did retain some of their playfulness, as evident in this video of a song from their first album. Enjoy:

Cool Site

If your interest in movies goes beyond wondering when the next Will Ferrell opus come outs, or which over-hyped superhero vehicle grossed the most last weekend, let me recommend Observations on Film Art, where Kristen Thompson and David Boardwell offer some thoughtful commentary on, well, film art. Not exactly reviewers per se, the authors offer up interesting analysis on a variety of topics, touching on both popular and obscure, new and old movies. Check out, for instance, the post entitled "Molly Wanted More" which is a fascinating look at the symmetry of film beginnings and endings. I know I find something worthwhile every time I visit the site, and thought some of you might like to add it to your favorites too.

Four Pictures: Surfers

I took a lot of pictures of surfers on my recent trip to California, most of which are pretty mundane, or capture the moment just before or after some elegant swirling movement (including a lot of just a tip of a board as the surfer disappears beneath the wave). But some turned out okay, including these four.

I like the action aspect of this sport, along with the colors of sea and sky which have an "endless summer" kind of feel (the name of a great movie about surfing, by the way).

As winter lingers over Montana (today was gorgeous, but they're predicting snow again for tomorrow), I also like to recall how great it was to be out on the beach in shorts and sandals enjoying the warmth as well as the action out on the waves.

Quote of the Day

Max Horkheimer (1901-1973) was a German philosopher who co-founded the Frankfurt School and co-authored Dialectic of the Enlightenment (with Theodor Adorno). I think this is an astute observation on his part:

"Although most people never overcome the habit of berating the world for their difficulties, those who are too weak to make a stand against reality have no choice but to obliterate themselves by identifying with it. They are never rationally reconciled to civilization. Instead, they bow to it, secretly accepting the identity of reason and domination, of civilization and the ideal, however much they may shrug their shoulders."

Classic Song

Patti Smith is, rightly, best known for her own compositions, but she sure has a way with a cover. I guess this doesn't exactly qualify, as Bruce Springsteen reportedly wrote it specifically for her. Though not her best performance (as good as it is), it was by far her biggest hit. Check it out:

Four Pictures: Bannack State Park

Yesterday morning dawned sunny and bright, so I decided to head over to Bannack to take some pictures (something I haven't had much opportunity to do of late). I've posted pictures from Bannack here before, but this time, I went with a different strategy: to focus on the little details (sort of inspired by my sister Sally's macro tendencies). So, for example, my eye was caught by the corroded old gas can under the window above.

Likewise, I tried to capture the texture of the scraped and scratched door seen above, along with the interesting interplay of color where the orange wood was showing through.

More corroded metal, this piece languishing by corner of an old front porch on a miner's cabin. I thin the rusted metal used to be a bucket.

This is a more traditional (for me) shot. I liked how the barn stood out against the blue sky.

Sunday Funnies

I love when Charles Schulz did baseball strips in Peanuts, and I especially loved it when he tied it to the era with reference to real players. This is probably because when he did that, it was during the period when I was first becoming a fan of the game, so the names (Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, etc.) carry a special nostalgic kick. In this case, the punchline's pretty funny too.

Sunday's Quote

I'm a big fan of the artist Marcel DuChamp (1887-1968), as much for his refreshing attitude-- inherent in the words below-- as for the work he produced:

"What I have in mind is that art may be
bad, good or indifferent, but, whatever
adjective is used, we must call it art, and
bad art is still art in the same way that
a bad emotion is still an emotion."