Today's Quote

I'm entirely on board with this sentiment uttered by the nineteenth century American activist (1811-1884) Wendell Phillips:

"Governments exist to protect the rights
of minorities. The loved and the rich need
no protection: they have many friends
and few enemies."

A Great Folk Singer

Dave Van Ronk isn't quite as famous as the likes of Bob Dylan or Joan Baez, but there was no more influential figure in the folk scare of the 1960s (he may have even coined that term: folk scare). His autobiography The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a great read, and all his records (that I've heard) are a lot of fun. Here's a good example of his work, on a tune most of you will probably recognize:

Four Photos

I read a bunch of photography magazines, and one of the common bits of advice they circulate is to go out and discover the great stuff in your own back yard. Well, it's not exactly my yard, but right across the street from me is the Union Pacific right-of-way through Dillon. So tonight, I went out and walked about a mile along the track looking for something interesting to shoot. The picture above was about the best I could do, at least at first.

But walking back, I kind of lucked out, as a train was coming up the track towards me. I saw it coming early enough to manually set the camera to catch some "moving" shots in the now low light, though I didn't have tripod to steady the camera. But the train was moving slow enough that I could take a few snaps at a time and have several possibilities at getting something good.

The three posted here are the ones I like the best, for capturing some movement and interesting light. I'll have to pay attention to exactly when the trains go by, and come back out with my tripod, but in the meantime, I'm pretty pleased with the results of these "backyard" shots.

This is my favorite-- the right side reminds me a lot of the Charles DeMuth painting "My Egypt."

The Last Movie I Saw

It's a very odd experience to go see a Hollywood feature, starring one of the biggest box-office draws in the world, widely advertised as a somewhat standard thriller, only to discover that you're watching something very akin to a European arthouse flick circa 1969. Not that I'm complaining, mind you-- The American (directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney) was a very pleasant surprise even though I expected to like it even based on the somewhat misleading way it was marketed. It's incredibly atmospheric, so much so that the details of the plot become almost beside the point; or anyway, those standard elements emphasized in the ads clearly have only tangential relation to what this is really about. In that sense it kind of reminded me of an Antonioni film like L'Avventura or Blow-Up (though I'm not arguing that The American is as good as either of those). One of the aspects I really liked was that short scenes of conversation make me curious to know what was said after the camera cut away, not because something was missing, but because the brief exchanges were so interesting (maybe especially those involving an old priest befriended by Clooney's character while hiding out in a picturesque Italian village). It doesn't hurt that the photography of the Abruzzo region of Italy is pretty stunning throughout, or that the actors supporting Clooney are all first rate. This will definitely end up being one of my favorite films of the year.

Wednesday's Quote of the Day

Here's an interesting part of a speech delivered by the Transcendentalist minister Theodore Parker (1810-1860) way back in 1848-- one wouldn't need to change much to make it appear a commentary on recent elections:

"Politics are national morals, the morals of Thomas
and Jeremiah, multiplied by millions. But it is not
decided yet that honesty is the best policy for a
politician; it is thought that the best policy is
honesty, at least as near it as the times will allow.
Many politicians seem undecided how to turn, and
so sit on the fence between honesty and dishonesty.
Mr. Facing-both-ways is a popular politician in
America just now, sitting on the fence between
honesty and dishonesty, and, like the blank leaf
between the New and the Old Testaments,
belonging to neither dispensation"

Good Song

The video is a little weird, but I like this song by a band I just recently discovered called Wounded Lion. Let me know if you like it too:

Soup Diary 100912

Last Spring, I capped a nice day shooting pictures in Yellowstone Park with a good meal at a restaurant in West Yellowstone, the town adjacent to the Park's western entrance. One of the highlights of that visit was a cup of first-rate soup. So, passing through that same area at suppertime again a few days ago, I made a point of going back. I should have just let the positive memory sustain me. I actually opted for the all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar just so that I could sample both varieties of soup, and this time neither was all that great. The Tomato Basil was marginally better than the Vegetable Barley, as it was a tad more robust, but really, both were rather bland (though the salad was pretty good, so it wasn't a total loss). The worst part is that now I don't have a place to look forward to visiting the next time I get over that way, at least not with the same enthusiasm as before. Maybe I just caught the cook on an off-night, but the end result was that I'll likely be checking out someplace else next time I'm in that neighborhood.

This Week's Top Five

It's been awhile since we had a movie-oriented Top Five List on the radio show, so here's where we make up for that:

Thought for the Day

Here's a great insight from the eminent physicist Richard Feynman (1918-1988), who worked on the Manhattan Project and later won the Nobel Prize:

"It is in the admission of ignorance and the
admission of uncertainty that there is a hope
for the continuous motion of human beings
in some direction that doesn't get confined,
permanently blocked, as it has so many times
before in various periods in the history of man."

A Battle of the Bands Winner

The audio's a bit dodgy on this clip, but it's the Tremeloes performing "Here Comes My Baby," the song that knocked the Hollies out of our competition on my radio show. Hope you like it...

A Good Column

Let me recommend this post by Matt Taibbi, who I think is dead on in lamenting the general anti-union sentiment that seems so rampant in this country. People seem incapable of recognizing that the greatest era of shared economic prosperity in this country (the fifties and sixties) was also the time when unions were the strongest and most active. That was not a coincidence; nor is it a coincidence that the growing gap between the wealthy and middle and lower classes accelerated once Ronald Reagan made it a goal of his administration to tear down unions, both rhetorically and otherwise. I'm sorry I missed the public show of solidarity described by Taibbi by a group of football players; the reaction he further describes by various sportscasters pretty much explains why I find it almost impossible to watch or listen to ESPN or its imitators these days-- too much dunderheaded commentary (even when it has nothing to do with labor issues).

Battle of the Bands Update

The Moody Blues

On this week's edition of Dr. John's Record Shelf, we continued our ongoing Battle of the Bands to select the best British band of the 1960-1974 era. Four groups from the Mod Bracket faced off, and the Moody Blues and Tremeloes will be advancing on to Round 2. The Moodys (seeded #5) vanquished the the Strawbs (12) by an 8 to 1 vote, while the Tremeloes (13) upset the Hollies by a close 5 to 4 score.

The Tremeloes

The songs in this week's competition were "Ride My See Saw" by the Moody Blues, "Where is the Dream of My Youth" by the Strawbs, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" by the Hollies, and "Here Comes My Baby" by the Tremeloes. If you'd like to cast a vote for upcoming pairings, you can find the brackets you can find the brackets here, here, here, and here (just leave a comment here with your selections-- you can vote for some or all of the pairs). So the Moody Blues will face the Tremeloes in Round 2, while last week we established that the Who will square off against Sweet (and the respective winners of those matchups will square off in Round 3). Of course, weekly results will continue to be posted right here.

A Monday Quote

Here's a thought from the German-Swiss writer Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), probably most famous for his novel Siddhartha:

“Knowledge can be communicated, but
not wisdom. One can find it, live it, be
fortified by it, do wonders through it, but
one cannot communicate and teach it.”

Gable the Hoofer

Here's a video clip that I know my Mom will like (and after all, it is her birthday), starring the incomparable Clark Gable. Well, actually, maybe not so incomparable, as I've heard Mom mention a number of times that she thought Dad kind of resembled the actor. I'm not sure Dad could dance like this though (he preferred the polka):

Happy Birthday Mom!

Here's hoping that my Mom has a great day today, with lots of good times and good company. I just wish I was there to share in the treats!

Historical Comment

I guess it's apparent from some of my posts in the last week that I'm terribly frustrated by the growing religious intolerance that seems so apparent recently in this country (and I'm not alone: see this strong op-ed by Nicholas Kristoff in today's New York Times). People clearly forget how important the concept of tolerance, maybe especially religious tolerance, was in shaping this country and it's professed values. I think most historians would recognize that a powerful unifying factor in the era leading up to the Revolution was the religious revival known as the Great Awakening. The fervor unleashed by that movement, represented in different ways by preachers like the charismatic George Whitefield (that's him in the painting above) and the more austere Jonathan Edwards, bound the colonies together in a new way, by establishing certain common principles-- and not necessarily those represented by any particular theological doctrine. For even as the revival did have the effect of linking churches across colonial lines (and remember that many of the original thirteen colonies were established by religious groups seeking some sort of refuge), the truly momentous outcome was that the establishment of new competing congregations in established communities did not result in the kind of violent animosity that had marked the Protestant Reformation in Europe just a short time (historically speaking) before. Instead, and despite any lingering resentment or suspicion, the citizens of these towns recognized that they still had more in common than not, and choosing one place of worship over another was ultimately less critical to their collective survival and prosperity than pulling together for the good of the whole. It provided a basic lesson in unity, and it served the people well when it came time to pursue independence. One could argue that the extension of that tolerance, whether in terms of religion, race, ethnicity, sex, or age has been an ongoing project of the United States, and that each step of the country's development was marked by advances in one or another of those areas. It's true that none of that happened without a struggle, but to see some now turning their back on that legacy seems a sure sign that they've lost track of a big part of what made America great in the first place. That should be troubling to all of us.

A Sunday Quote

Today's thought comes from John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), expressing an idea that sadly seems to be waning in this country (based on what I've been seeing in the news recently):

"Tolerance implies no lack of commitment
to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the
oppression or persecution of others."

More Phil Ochs

I figured since the quote posted earlier today came from Phil Ochs, it would be fitting to add a video of one of his best songs (albeit, not one of his political efforts). This is somewhat over produced compared to his usual output, but I think the quality of the compostion still comes through. Ignore the visuals-- the picture doesn't change, so no need to be distracted from the lovely lyrics:

Go Braves!

I try not to dwell on my last remaining sports obsession in these posts. There was a time when I devoted an immense amount of emotional energy in cheering on six or eight teams across several sports, but over the years, the only one that still matters to me is the Atlanta Braves (well, maybe the Buffalo Bills a bit too, out of hometown pride). Anyway, the Braves spent most of the summer in first place, but fell out of that exalted position a week or so ago as they hit a cold patch while their pursuers (the Phillies) got hot. Today, the Braves pulled back into a tie for the top spot, so I've decided I need to do my part to keep them on the winning track by generating some positive vibes out of the one public (relatively speaking) forum that I have-- namely this blog. The Braves have a good, young team (including slugging rookies Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman above), and they are trying to win one last pennant for their manager of twenty years Bobby Cox, who announced he was retiring at the end of the season. Wouldn't that make for a great postseason story: the kids winning one for their grizzled chief? I don't imagine there are any Philadelphia fans reading this, so why don't you all think a positive thought or two in support of the Braves, and maybe they'll pull out a championship. You can do that for me, can't you?

Saturday Morning Cartoon

There were a lot of cartoon cats and cartoon mice, and sometimes they appeared in the same shows. I always preferred Herman and Katnip to Tom and Jerry, though I'd be hardpressed to say why (was it because Herman reminded me of Leo Gorcey from the Bowery Boys? Maybe). Here's an episode from their series from 1954 (though I saw it much later). Extra nostalgic feature: the jack-in-the-box opening: