I have recently purchased a MacBook, mainly because I am supposed to be a liberal academic and liberal academics use Apples exclusively. I have been slowly getting used to using a Mac, made more difficult by the lack of a right mouse button. But, I like what it can do and feel that much more academic-y merely by my purchase of it. Now, if only it came with a PhD dissertation built in that I could use to get the Dr. in front of my name...
Gone are the days when we would have given our front teeth just for the opportunity to own an OP shirt. True, perhaps we placed too much value on material things when we were in middle school. And, probably, our sexuality as well, as I remember worrying profusely that a friend of mine and I wore similar blue OP shirts to middle school one day, only to be called "fags" by a bunch of cooler people who now probably work at Wal-mart. So, confident now in both myself, my sexual orientation, and the world in which I live, I hurl down the gauntlet of fashion and proclaim this summer not only the Summer of Mike but the Summer of Eighties Inspired Beach Wear! Who's with me?
Those of you that know me know that I spent time in Alaska and thoroughly enjoyed it. During my stay there, I was privileged to work with several interesting individuals that helped shape me into the lean, mean, historigraphical machine that I have become. One in particular was Mr. C. Scott Fry, whose video is presented above. Among his many brush strokes on my canvas (nothing sexual), he introduced me to Beck's beer and Tom Waits, as well as granted me my increased ability to consume alcohol - note the numerous scenes of drunken pontificating and cursing throughout the video (apologies to those with virgin ears). I even have the old guitar and guitar case that he gave me, which I use to screech out tragic paeans to love lost and love won. While many of the Veeb's viewers will be disinterested, perhaps, the best part of the video is to showcase the interior of the beloved Alaskan Hotel and Bar with C. Scott Fry, where he was my manager. So, without waxing too poetic about him, I give you the man, the myth, and the legend!
I have realized that everything I have ever needed to know, I learned on Schoolhouse Rock, especially the one about the Preamble of the Constitution (professional historians may balk, but you have to let me think this for me to keep my sanity). Sing it with me!
The Preamble Song
Hey, do you know about the U.S.A.?
Do you know about the government?
Can you tell me about the Constitution?
Hey, learn about the U.S.A.
In 1787 I'm told
Our founding fathers did agree
To write a list of principles
For keepin' people free.
The U.S.A. was just startin' out.
A whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out
The things that we should be.
And they put those principles down on paper and called it the Constitution, and it's been helping us run our country ever since then. The first part of the Constitution is called the preamble and tells what those founding fathers set out to do.
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
In 1787 I'm told
Our founding fathers all sat down
And wrote a list of principles
That's known the world around.
The U.S.A. was just starting out
A whole brand-new country.
And so our people spelled it out
They wanted a land of liberty.
And the Preamble goes like this:
We the people,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
For the United States of America...
Comps are coming in two days. My beloved office coffee cup with Christmas geese on it has been kidnapped and probably brainwashed into joining some revolutionary quasi-religious suicide cult a la Patty Hearst and the SLA. I have recruited Gordon, my desk gnome, to protect my other goose cup, but it may be a bit too much for him, as the cup is bigger than he is. Oh, that Gordon!
As for the rest of it, I have wanted to post this video for some time. It is by a Spanish band from the sixties called Los Bravos, best known for their hit song "Black is Black." This video, of a song entitled "Going Nowhere," seems appropriate to what is going on in my life right now, with tests and kidnapped cups. Note the lead singers strained facial expressions while he is in the depths of mod-a-go-go dance moves - looks like he's trying to keep from deucing one up, even as he winks at the camera! Everyone else acts like they are having hip convulsions - which of them are using a walker now, one might wonder if one wondered those sorts of things.
Enjoy!
Does historiography really matter to anyone besides us? I mean, c'mon, who on the street is really going to be concerned with how the various schools of American historical thought argued about the issue of reform during the Jacksonian period?
And, while I am ranting, who really cares for this guy with the 5 day beard on Oprah that redecorates houses? Nate - I believe his name is. He's probably a nice enough guy, but I just want to kick his teeth in sometimes, along with every other redecorating ya-hoo on the TV. They make things look more cluttered, less c
omfortable, and all about filling a room with the latest reproduction crap from Pottery Barn! Is Oprah telling us that conspicuous consumption is a necessary facet of being a self-actualized human being? Isn't that what was being suggested during the Progressive Era with the notion of a "therapeutic ethos" driven by consumer spending? (see what I did there - I brought my rant back to history and historical topics...like you really care, you trading spaces tools!)
Tuesday marks my Group 3 examination before the tribunal of Liu, Brummett, and Dessel. I am nervous, as this is the gateway exam to allow me further testing down the road. I have heard horror-show recountings of this particular test. I realize that it is only an hour. I realize that they have made it less of a stumbling block than in years past. I also realize that it is only the rest of my life that is at stake here. So, if things turn ugly, I may pull a Cas Walker (man on left in picture) if things head south for me in the conference room.
On a lighter note, I went to see 3:10 to Yuma last weekend, based on the expert recommendations of Mr. Julian Ayrs, and was extremely pleased with the movie. My only problem was that I, being a historian, tried to read a post-Cold War, post-9-11 subtext into the film, mainly because westerns have tended to be a kind of societal indicator of cultural trends throughout 20th / 21st century history. Were the characters meta-figures for varied post-millennial attitudes of American exceptionalism soured? Or had I eaten too much lamb sausage pizza at the Tomato Head before the movie? That's why I miss the GSHA - a group dedicated to over-thinking and over-analyzing the minutiae of things that don't even really matter. Damn, I loved that! By the way, thanks again, Mr. Ayrs, for the movie advice (if he likes Planet of the Apes and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure to boot, I'm sure we'll get along famously!)
A video confirming my love for Mr. Waits and Mr. Pop and how tobacco abuse is still cool despite (or perhaps because of) its inherent dangers. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of this meeting. Enjoy!
This is a video of Serge Gainsbourg. I really like his music and enjoy his uber-Frenchiness. However, I am not a Francophile, by any stretch. I am just really wanting a cigarette after watching this video.
To be sure, I don't smoke anymore. I don't even really crave tobacco anymore. But, as far as smoking is concerned, I loved the first one and I loved the last one. Likewise, smoking is, despite what the experts would have us believe, REALLY REALLY REALLY COOL! Like this commercial shows:
Don't worry - I'm not going to start back up, 'cause it took me too long to quit. But you will never convince me that smoking isn't cool. Now, chewing and dipping is a whole other thing...
This contraption is for an orange juice squeezer.
This stuff makes me realize how lucky I am to live in a CIA-protected country! Why were all our agents back then sharksuited, thin tied, groom and clean kinda guys, even in foreign countries?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
Today is the Ides of March, better known as the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated by a bunch of pissed-off senators who feared that he was planning on installing himself as king over the Romans. After his death, a bunch of other guys fought over control of Rome, including Caesar's nephew Octavian, who eventually assumed power under the name Augustus. Throw in some backstabbing politicking and romantic intrigues, and you have yourself a full-tilt Saturday afternoon matinee.
When I was young, I remember reading the Time-Life series on science. One of the books discussed the mind and had examples of all sorts of psychedelic-esque and schizoid things that could happen to human perceptions of reality. As a young boy, it really had a profound effect on me, especially in that it made me realize that the world that I was seeing through my own eyes did not necessary reflect what the rest of the world was seeing. I know that that sounds kooky, but this understanding probably stuck with me during the times that I was purposely trying to push the boundaries of my perceptions of reality through my youthful chemical experimentations (which I do not necessarily condone, but since I did them, they are a part of me).
Well, one of the parts of the Time-Life book that I vividly remember showed the
longterm effects of schizophrenia, through the strange progression in the style of pictures produced by a certain illustrator, Louis Wain. An artist obsessed with cats, his paintings became increasingly abstract, to the point that they had little resemblance to cats at all. Why this scared and fascinated me as a youth, who can say? But, having recently rediscovered this artist and his work, I figured that I would put them on my blog, as I enjoy looking at wild and wacky stuff. So, if I ever start writing history papers that begin referencing the voices in my head, it might be time for me to get on the antipsychotic meds. Maybe I should have a betting pool for when this will actually happen! Any takers?
As I was considering how Wain's cats became very kaleidoscopic in nature, that reminded me of two great bands from the sixties, one from the US and one from the UK. Both were named Kaleidoscope, and although both produced psychedelic music, the US band used lots of exotic instruments in their songs, while the UK band was light and poppy. You should check them out! If I can figure it out, I will put some up on the blog...
Education should be fun! Shouldn't it? I mean, if you can't learn through understanding interesting things, why bother? And if you happen to learn while viewing various cartoon-world apocalyptic visions, all the better, right?
Examples of what I'm talkin' 'bout: reading, the effects of global warming, the importance of classical culture, and touring the post-nuclear war world in an RV.
