America: The Greatest Show in the World

We Americans love a good show. Little do we know that we are actually part of the show now. Other people from around the world are watching our slow decline into a Third World nation. While we are busy arguing about the “big issues” like abortion, gay marriage, and evolution; our roads are being unpaved, we are becoming poorer, and more stupid. As the old Carl Sagan remarked in his book, Cosmos, we have more astrologists and psychics than astronomers. And why wouldn’t we, after all, astronomy requires serious thinking? Better to go with the gut feeling of an astrologist.

Just look at your newspaper, one-third of the newspaper is comprised of the sports pages these days! In fact, there’s more sports coverage than foreign news coverage! A whole page is devoted to a home run, while a suicide bomber in Afghanistan killing two Marines gets a paragraph. Charlie Sheen’s Truth Tour gets more exposure than a top general in Iraq discussing rebuilding efforts. The sad thing is we don’t realize that this is happening to us. And if we do, we don’t seem to care as long as the circus continues and we are “pacified” with cheap trinkets from China or entertainment in the form of Snooki. Never mind that Snooki got more money for giving a talk at Rutgers University than Nobel-Fucking-Prize-Winning-and-I-Got-A-Damned-Pulitzer-Too Toni Morrison! How the hell did that happen?

Richard Hofstadter wrote a book entitled Anti-Intellectualism in American Life back in 1963. If you haven’t read this book, I highly suggest you pick it up at your local public library. That’s if you still have a public library! In his book, Hofstadter laments the poor state of the American intellectual, and how he must contend with a rising tide of stupidity coming from his fellow countrymen. That’s a paraphrase of course, and a pretty dumbed down version of things, but hopefully it’s easy enough for people to understand.

Anyhow, I’m off to plan my vacation trip to the Creation Museum, and maybe I’ll swing by Dollywood as well.

Public School Music

I know this area is usually used to write about the history of a particular act, but I’d like to take a slightly different turn. There is often a lot of talk in education funding circles everywhere, be it Canada, the U.S., or even here in Sweden, about arts funding and specifically funding for music in schools. Everytime I hear that kind of mindless chatter it sets my blood to boiling. Why on earth anyone could consider music as some kind of extra program baffles me to no end.
I was blessed with the good fortune to attend an inner city public school in downtown Toronto early in the 1970’s. Now I don’t know if people were smarter and more broad thinking then, or if there was more money around, or if it was just the result of a driven few, but my public school consisted of a wonderful music education, from many different angles, and is what I remember more from my school experience than any other aspect.

Firstly there was some sort of visiting artists program. I graduated from grade 8, which is the upper end of public school in Toronto, in spring of 1976. So these happenings took place before then. When I was in either grade 5 or 6 I remember we had a group come in and play just for 2 classes together. The only song I can remember they played for sure was The Band’s The Weight. The next week however they appeared live on Rollin’ On the River, which was the variety show hosted by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, which was recorded in Canada. Now that performance was very intimate, and took place down in the playroom which was in the basement of the school. Slightly smaller than a regular classroom. A bigger event was a concert that took place the same year, which was held up in the large auditorium, and the whole school attended. I remember that vividly. The whole school sitting on the floor, and one man with a guitar, who chose not to sit up on the stage, but rather on a chair, on the floor with us. Unfortunately I don’t recall the whole setlist (always admired people who could do that, but hey, I was probably about 10). The one song I do recall absolutely is Jim Croce’s Rapid Roy. Looking back on some notes about the Kenny Roger’s and The First Edition show I see that Jim Croce actually appeared on it, and I now realise I may actually have seen Jim Croce. I don’t know what that means to you, but I find it surprisingly moving.

One performance I know for sure moves me was a very special one. They took two of the classrooms to The Imperial Room, at The Royal York Hotel, which is across from Union Station down on Front Street. There may be bigger and grander places now, but there sure weren’t then. We were wide eyed as they marched us through the plush lobby and into the theatre. We crowded around the foot of the stage, just standing in a large group, and then as natural and friendly as could be out came Ella Fitzgerald. I recall that it was about an hour long performance, and she sang A-Tisket, A-Tasket. Absolutely magical.
Just a couple blocks away from The Royal York Hotel stands the Royal Alexandra Theatre, known by everyone in Toronto as the Royal Alex. As well as having the opportunity to see musical acts as I’ve described, we also got to see a lot of theatre. The obvious one that jumps to mind was the musical production Grease, which would have been around 1975. I’m forgetting tons of others, but I know we often saw The Nutcracker by The National Ballet at The O’Keefe Centre, as well as The Famous People Players. We also had theatre troupes come to the school, and in the same auditorium where I may have seen Jim Croce, I saw my first production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, when I was 13 in grade 8.

In addition to these presentations and outings was an arts program brought into the schools by the Inner City Angels. A group of artists that focused on inner city schools and provided mini-courses for selected students in film, music, painting, etc. Music was also provided for directly in the curriculum, with music class holding its own along side all of the other subjects. We had a huge choir, conducted by one of my favourite teachers over all of the years, Mr.Paul Brisley. Once a week we had Music Appreciation class. For that class we could bring in whatever music we wanted, our own records, and we would play them in class and discuss them. I think he had a soft spot for me because I used to get my music largely from my godmother’s daughters, Theresa and Mary-Louise, who were 4 and 6 years older than me respectively, so it was usually something a little different than what all the other students were bringing in. What really sticks with me from music class though, is not the chance to play our own records, or to perform in the choir, but the simple way in which Mr.Brisley absolutely burned with a passion for music. He would get equally excited talking about the complexities of American Pie, (which I remember we studied in detail) as he would be with getting us to pick out instruments by ear that we heard in classical pieces, or getting us to write parodies of popular songs. He would also bring in stuff for us that he found fun and interesting, like Allan Sherman’s Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, or Eight Foot Two, Solid Blue (has anybody seen my Martian gal). It was truly a diverse class in terms of teaching.

Now that I’m all growed up and play myself, I make it a point to play for and around children as often as I can. I have no desire to be a children’s performer, but they don’t need that as much as they need to see and feel and experience live music as much as possible. They need to get infected with a love for it. I did, and it may not only have been from my public education, but that played a large role, and I am eternally grateful for anyone who played a part in bringing it to my life.

Money, Power, and Women

I’ve read several articles on the phenomenon that power or money, or both, usually attracts beautiful women. Very rarely do you see a successful man being surrounded by a troll for a wife. Now I can’t speak for whether or not a powerful homosexual male would be surrounded by an attractive male, because I’ve never really thought about it. Perhaps my friend Paulo can elaborate if this phenomenon correlates to the gay community as well.

Anyhow, some social scientists say it is evolutionary that women are attracted to males that have power, which usually means that they have money as well, because it demonstrates that they can afford resources to provide for the woman and her offspring. That is a very animal way of looking at things, but in a way I can understand that. If a woman desires to have children, she wants them to have the best access to resources available, and a strong, powerful and successful male will be able to give her that.

If you look at some powerful politicians, how many sex scandals are they not involved in, usually involving beautiful young women? Look at the Prime Minister of Italy, or Eliot Spitzer, et cetera. I think power can also make you attractive. If you take Prince William and Prince Harry, honestly, and just take away the fact that they are royalty, and just have them be regular Joes, they are really not that attractive. At least in my opinion, but what do I know? But add the royalty, the money, the fame, and they could probably have any women in the world that they so desired. Of course I’m being simplistic in my reasoning, but you get the gist of what I’m saying.

For added emphasis, take a look at the First Ladies of Spain and France, aren’t they lovely?

The Judge Killed the Bibliophile Dream

I had a dream, and so did Google. The dream was that all the libraries in the world, their archives, their shelves would be scanned by Google and uploaded to a digital world collection, available to everybody ─ for a cost of course. I’m fine with paying for such a service if it would mean access to rare collections and to books that would be hard to find and get to physically. But sadly a judge put an end to that dream. I suppose he had some good reasons for his ruling: copyright infringement, privacy concerns, etc. Still, for just a few moments I thought I could just pull up a book that I wanted online, and send it to an on-demand Espresso Book Machine and have a copy of it! Sadly that is not the case now. RIP Google book project.

Swedish Police priorities

It seems that hardly a day goes by in Sweden that I don’t read about some woman being sexually assaulted, masked men with axes rob a bank, or there is a gang shooting. Growing up in Sweden I’m sure that we had crimes, but it seems to me that there are more crimes now than there used to be. Maybe that’s just me idealizing my carefree childhood, but still, times are changing. Common sense would dictate that a Rudolph Giuliani-style crime crackdown would be in order: prioritize catching the bad guys and getting them off the streets. But no, it seems Swedish cops are way too busy trying to catch speeders, do DUI enforcement, or even dancing!

Granted, all those things are important, but enforcing a winter tire law!!! WTF?

What the hell is a Winter Tire Law, you ask? Well, in Sweden between 16 April och 30 September, you are mandated to drive with summer tires, and the rest of the time, during the winter, you are supposed to drive with winter tires. Apparently this is a big thing in Sweden and the police are out in force making sure that Swedish drivers are in compliance or they will face a 500 SEK fine (approximately $80 USD dollars, 2011). When I moved to Sweden for grad school, I didn’t even know that there were separate tires for winter driving and summer driving. I had never heard of anybody in the United States changing their tires with the seasons. Well, except my old college roommate who lives in Ohio, but he’s German, so does that count? Anyhow, I’m glad that Swedish Police have their priorities, just give them some savory tarts and they will get right on it… solving trombone capers.

Save America’s Public Broadcasting!

Sorry, that’s just how I feel folks. I’d rather invest in public broadcasting, libraries, museums, and education than giving money to bail out banks and corporations that then give huge bonuses to the people who landed us in this mess. Hmm, would you rather give a $1 million dollars to a Goldman Sachs executive or to a program on PBS that entertains your children? Which choice gives the most “bang-for-the-bucks?” Feel free to disagree, but that’s my 2 cents.

Danes in Afghanistan

When I first read that there were Danish soldiers fighting in Afghanistan I imagined them looking like the toy soldiers at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. At first I didn’t believe that Denmark would send soldiers to Afghanistan, partly because Afghanistan is far away from Denmark, and secondly, what does Afghanistan have to do with Denmark? I can understand the United States involvement in Afghanistan to a certain degree, with Osama bin Laden hanging out with the Taliban, the U.S. did have a hand to play at that table, but Denmark?

Maybe it’s the fact that I grew up in Skåne, Sweden, and often visited Denmark as a child, that I have some affinity for the Danish people and culture. Skåne actually used to be part of Denmark at one time, and with the Øresund Bridge now linking Denmark with Sweden, the region and people are closer than ever. It’s actually neat to see Danes speaking Danish with Swedes and Swedes speaking Swedish with Danes and both sets of people understanding each other. My appreciation for Danish people is why I am so concerned with their involvement in Afghanistan. I recognize that their membership in NATO means that they might feel an obligation to do their part for the treaty organization, but in the past such things usually meant a field hospital or a tent or two, not a contingent of combat troops fighting a grueling and exhausting ground campaign.

I first stumbled across this film when I read about it winning the grand prize at the Cannes’ International Critics Week. Just like Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s documentary Restrepo, Janus Metz’s film Armadillo will leave you breathless, bruised and battered. Armadillo “… follows a platoon of Danish soldiers on a six-month tour of Afghanistan in 2009. An intimate, visually stunning account of both the horror and growing cynicism of modern warfare, the film premiered at the top of the box office in Denmark, provoking a national debate over government policy and the rules of engagement.” I highly suggest you see the movie for yourself.

Happy National Library Week 2011!

I always forget that technically the start of the week is Sunday. To me, Sunday marks the end of the week, because I have to be back at work on Monday. In my head, if I have to work on Monday, it’s the start of the week, not Day Two. The reason for this rant is to make you aware of National Library Week 2011, which runs from Sunday, yes Sunday, April 10 to Saturday, April 16th. In America National Library Week is promoted by the American Library Association, an organization I feel quite strongly about. The ALA is often embroiled in politics as it pertains to censorship. The ALA is very much pro-1st Amendment and against censorship, which is understandable. In fact, the ALA also sponsors Banned Books Week, which runs from September 24 to October 1st this year.

Photograph of three of Nevins Memorial Library's earliest librarians

The ALA’s stance on censorship pretty much echoes my own: If you don’t like it, don’t read it. If something offends you, then avoid it and don’t introduce your kids to it, but don’t ban it (unless it’s illegal). You see, self-control and self-censorship works best. I think the Golden Rule and Common Sense applies. That book that you like, perhaps the Bible, no doubt offends other people of another religious faith, how would you like it if somebody wanted to ban that?

The fact of the matter is that a public library, yes PUBLIC library, contains, and should contain, a myriad of books on a variety of subjects ─ some of which offends; some of which engages your critical thinking; and some that tickles your fancy. If libraries were to ban books that people found questionable, eventually there would be no books left, because there’s always somebody who is offended by something, or dislikes a particular book or subject. I applaud the librarians who stand up for the 1st Amendment and recognize that differing opinions are not always a bad thing…

Support your local public library!

The Burka Dance

Burkas in France,

Now don’t stand a chance,

And I’m not really sure where I stand,

I think quite liberally,

And I’d sure hate to see,

The flames of intolerance fanned,

Though it’s hard to refuse,

One’s own right to choose,

There’s one thing I don’t understand,

It’s not religion or race,

Burkas cover your face,

Could I wear one since I am a man?

The British Prime Minister pledged to invest £650million in Pakistani schools

Today’s rant is about the British Government, which is most unusual for me because I generally keep those comments to myself but I am currently outraged so much so that I had to put fingers to keyboard.

A recent study by the UN’s education arm UNESCO revealed corruption is so rife that many classrooms, teachers and school children for which cash is being claimed have never existed. And, even if money pledged by David Cameron does end up in bona fide schools, they are at risk from the Taliban – who have already destroyed hundreds. The vile terrorists target girls as they do not believe women should be educated. And they even use children to carry bombs into class. Experts estimate some 5,000 children – some as young as seven – are trained as suicide bombers.

And how is it that Britain can afford such a generous offering of aide I hear you ask yourself, well that comes from the cash savings made from cuts to Britain’s Armed Forces – while Pakistan is spending £1.7billion on its own defences….not to mention our own education budgets has been slashed.

The Pakistani PM believes extremism is born out of illiteracy yet does nothing about it until the offer of free millions from the UK taxpayer via Cameron arrives. Why should WE pay for their inability to deal with extremism when their PM knows the reason why it is spreading? They can only afford six new Chinese submarines and 36 fighter aircraft because idiots like Cameron take our money and provides the things they should be providing.

Now don’t get me wrong I am aware Pakistan’s government has failed to provide its people with primary education, but for the country’s long-term stability surely it’s more important than spending on defence and security.

The UK will have no control of the curriculum in schools receiving funding, meaning taxpayers could see their money pumped into madrassas peddling extremism.

How do I explain to my bright 14 year old daughter, who is now questioning her further education because of ever increasing university costs that there will be no funding by our own government because we tax payers are sending £650m out to Pakistan for their children’s education!!!

What is this country coming to??