I've been contemplating famous friendships among men. The ones that lasted for decades, and how they went on walks together, how they made observation the lay of the land, nature and animals on how they comforted each other in times of greif.
In 1852 both emerson and thoreau suffered terrible losses. Henry lost his beloved john, not long ago after they returned from a camping and boating trip on the concord and merrimack rivers. Tetanus from a shaving cut. Emerson lost his dear six year old son, Waldo. Scarlet fever, a few years before Emerson lost the mother of the boy.
Thoreau moved into Emerson's house and live there for a year. There must have been many walks, and fireside chats. Henry began working on the memoir of his trip with his brother. In time, he would have drafts to edit and rewrite, on his table on Walden pond, a woodland Emerson owned.
I hate football. "Hate" is a strong word, so I channel hate to football. My hate here is not even real. It's a performative role playing hate. Not so real, as it is directed toward something that has no real importance to me. I just wish baseball was still America's pastime, I would love it with beer and ball park franks in long bun for real if it has more presence. I like the flow of baseball. I like the circularity of play. The player scores when he throws down his helmet, dashes from "home", completes a circle and arrives "home." Sometimes is a homerun, a thrilling thing in a single continuous lap. Sometimes its an epic like journey from place to place, sometimes with clever deception and stealing. Only thing to stop him is the touch of a glove containing the magical round object. Nothing about baseball resembles combat. I despise football's gladitorial body and head armor, its brawling pushing, shoving, its tackling. No football has ever reached such heights that could land in the hands of spectators. I hate that football somehow marginalized baseball, maybe around 1968.
The Bad Bunny show was awesome. I watched that part on Youtube. The real haters are hating on that on social media today.
"Bad Bunny Goes to the Superbowl" would be a great show on Broadway.
Roy Scarbrough When I was a boy, there was a show on Saturday afternoons called ABC's Wide World of Sports. They had a lot of track and field and weird stuff like curling and water skiing jumbs, steeple chasing, so the variety made it interesting to me. As it came one, the annoucer would say "The thrill of victory! The agony of defeat!"
Steven Terry Of course, we all remember Mr. Agony of Defeat--and boy, if anybody ever looked defeated...!
Roy Scarbrough There's been a couple crybabies with the winter olympics. Jeeze, get a grip. Even it you didn't get the gold you got to play in the Olympics. If you can, be happy for the ones who got the medals.
Alex Morton We have a family friend who is in the Olympics. Lara was a friend of our granddaughters when her family lived here in Lions Bay. Her parents were determined to help her become an Olympic skier and moved to the Dolomites for her to get the best training. She represents South Africa (her mother's birthplace) in Alpine skiing just as she's turned 19. She didn't place very high but it was a thrill just to see her there. Not sure whether she'll compete again because she's on a track towards med school.
Roy Scarbrough
When I was but a lad, I met another American lad in london who was on the American olympic wrestling team and arrived weeks ahead of the games, We rode our newly purchased motorycles from London to Paris. While in paris, he got a call from his brother who wanted to meet him in Europe. So, he rode back to London to pick up his brother. We were going to meet up again in Pamplona at a designated time in the Plaza de Torros. He didn't make it there.
I presume he and his brother made it to the games. But then the games turned out to be a no go in Munich that year. 1972.
That was something worth crying about.
Upon the Avon at Stratford
There was no room at the Inn
at day's end of ride hitching
up from London, by the M1 motorway
aboard a Mini Cooper,
two Morris Minors, an MG
and a coal laden lorry.
"Before long, we'll all be speaking Frog"
croaked the driver of membership
in the the European Union
No room, no beds,
even for a card-carrying
member of AYHA
American Youth Hostel Association.
That was the night,
having found the city park gate locked
I threw my bag
over iron spikes
and slept among
Avon's swans, who still come to me
in midsummer night's dreams.
E. Writer This reads like a person on a cross-European trip. Very nice.
Roy Scarbrough I was!
One of the things I like to talk about is the Renaissances. Note Plural. While am only knowledgeable about the 13 and 14th Century European renaissance, I do no the impulse that created it resides in all Humanity. At different time and in different places, there was this impulse of one generation to draw upon a much earlier time in the culture to reconfigure arts and learning in their own times. It happened in Egypt, PreColubian Americas, China, Africa, etc.
With this mind, on the eve of the fluff corporate music Emmy awards, I'm digging on Jesse Welles, a youngish folk singer and guitar player whoes songs express the level of rage of the rage of the 1960s, and he dresses and grooms the part.
His music is an art form that is cultural and political, so that's all I will say about him here. Google Jesse Welles. He did one of his numbers on Colbert's show.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nyem3gD6XN8/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEXCOADEI4CSFryq4qpAwkIARUAAIhCGAE=&rs=AOn4CLBq9FMNG4huERYwVDCKOD7UCD_CDg&days_since_epoch=19902
E. Writer I wasn't a huge fan of folk music when I was young, but over the years I've grown into it, and have grown a serious appreciation for it, especially the 60s and 70s era. It feels very serene, and thoughtful compared to music today that feels most arrogant, angry, and flashy. I listen to songs like You've Got a Friend by James Taylor, is one of my favorites. It's so soothing. I can think of so many others, but that one is at the top of my list. I feel peaceful. Of course I love George Harrison, though he leabs a bit into rock, too.
Roy Scarbrough I didn't like Dylan when I was young, but when some of his songs were covered by the Byrds and Peter, Paul and Mary. I loved them. Early Dylan was influenced by the poet Rimbaud. Something happened to him around 1966 that changed him. Some say it was the motorcycle accident.
Alex Morton
My world centered around folk music at one period in my life. There was always a banjo or guitar at hand. I wanted to play the twelve string guitar like Leadbelly and the banjo like Pete Seeger. Everywhere I'd go we were playing that music. I went to parties in artist's lofts with people beating on African drums and half a dozen assorted guitars, banjos and dulcimers with fifty people singing anti-Vietnam War songs. Alan Lomax and others were combing the hills for the real article, the old blues and mountain folk singers. They'd bring people like Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee and Bascom Lamar Lipscome to the Newport Festival to mingle with Joan Baez and Dave Von Rank.
It was a very fertile time, musically, and lots of great music came out of the cross-pollination.
I didn't know him, but Dylan was one of us until he wasn't. But what he gave us was far better ... he gave us himself. I was driving across the Triboro Bridge in NY the first time I heard Positively Fourth Street .and I just wanted to pull over to the side and listen. Nobody before or since has ever jolted radio more.
Dylan was influenced by Rimbaud, but he was also influenced by Allen Ginsburg and the antihero mythologies of the late fifties.
The folk magazine of the time was Sing Out and I was a subscriber during the time they published Dylan's first songs and whatever else was new by Tom Paxton and all the other singer/songwriter folkies. As soon as a new copy came out, I'd get out my banjo and figure out how to play it all. When I'd get out to Washington Square Park with all the other folkies, there'd always be a few others you could jam with who were already playing the new stuff, too.
Roy Scarbrough those were good times, a little before my time. It seemed like times were a changing for the better. Jim Crow was taken down a peg. That was encouraging, but I'm not sure times changed as well as was hoped.
Alex Morton Things did get considerably better, including stopping the Vietnam War, major civil rights and human rights advancements, respect for and support of the arts. But then, the focus of the US changed from empathy to cold-bloodedness and many of the advancements were reversed. The folk music days were ones of hope and positive change. Today, it's mostly despair and pretense, primarily churned out by a machine that has no social conscience and cares only to ring the cash register. and shout, "me me me me". Jesse Welles' music says the people still do have a voice. Bruce Springsteen has also stepped back into that arena and I expect we'll be hearing from others. This new trend is positive in the way that the protest music of the folk era and the rock music that followed it was positive. I think of Marvin Gaye's "What's going on" and songs like "Lean on Me". And I think particularly of Gil Scott-Heron's masterpiece, "The Revolution Will Not be Televised." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwSRqaZGsPw&list=RDvwSRqaZGsPw&start_radio=1
Mother's Day
You see your mother,
you driving, the distance a block away,
she with a shopping cart
powder blue Cardigan
beige ankle pants
white sneakers.
Now closing in, while approaching
All the Time, all the time, rolling.
remembering,
while on your way to buy that six pack,
and potato chips for the game.
steering past the thrift shop,
the Ace Hardware,
you bought Liquid Plumber there,
before giving up
and calling for a flesh and blood one
It's been so long since
you stopped by to see if
there was a window sash to unstick,
a lawn to mow or weeds to pull,
It's either to feel neglectful
or else to feel there's no choice
but to remind yourself
Mom died last year
in the middle of the night,
the morning before
you bagged her clothes for Goodwill
So I started a category group called Essays and Thoughts. I didn't know that it would require me to approve members. Can't I just make it open to who ever wants to post or read something?
E. Writer Yeah, you just have to set it to public. Log into your group, go to where it says "settings" and you'll see an option on that page to make it a closed or public group. You can choose public in the options.
Roy Scarbrough It still confuses me that there is both a news feed and a forum, as well user categories, as well as groups. I keep forgetting where I last posted a thought.
Roy Scarbrough People have been asking to join. Does that mean no one can get in and post without my permission? I'd like it to be open to all who stroll by. I don't own it. I made it public. No one should need my permission, right?
E. Writer Oh I found this post again by going to your profile page. Yes, they can still click join and come right in if the group is set to public. Yes, a lot of sections on this site. Similar to how Zoetrope had forums and private offices (groups). Bios (here is a profile page), and main feed, which zoe did not have. Plus a group chat for people to chat in real time.
There's a narrow space between to the two shells of the dome. That's how they built it. The brick layers built up one side that overlooks the tiled floor far below, hanging to the great space. A row of bricks on that, then turning around to lay a row of bricks on the other, leaning over the piazza, far below, where horses trod, and wagons rolled in with their pallets of brick.
A stairway still runs between the two shells. It's dark, and narrow. Your shoulders brush against one shell then another.
One summer I in there, I discovered that I was clautrophobic.
I had been through the thing years before, but this year crowds had arrived. There was a long line of people ahead of me, and a long line ahead. Everything was fine, until the line stopped. Stopped in that dark narrow place. I had a panic attack. It was being in the presence of others that triggered it, not knowing why the long line had stopped, not knowing. how long we would be in there.
I announced my panic as politely as a could, and squeezed my way back down, belly by belly to the first landing. Everyone was understanding. I was grateful for that. When the line started moving through that dark crevice again. I re-joined the procession to the top.
Roy Scarbrough My claustophobia has more to do with being in position of possible escape being impeded by the presence of other people who would be needing that too. My worst fear is being in a building with others that collapses around us and having to spend days in the rubble.
E. Writer That is a terrifying feeling. I think of that awful event that happened in Switzerland this month, a New Year's Eve party I think it was. That huge tragedy.
Roy Scarbrough
Filipo Brunelleschi was an irascible man. I think the Florentines enjoyed goading the rivalry between he and his rivalry of his rival Lorenzo Ghiberti. Some years earlier Giberti won the commission to build the gilded baptistery doors, which up to then was probably the biggest single commission any artist was every awarded.
For they competed for the commission by producing a single panel depicting the scene of a Bible story, the sacrifice of Isaak.
The two men could not be more different in personality. Ghiberti had a sense of humour and was likely fun to be around, although he was slow to complete projects, and was unreliable in that way. Brunelleschi was not as easy to get along with, and did not enterain suggestions or directives with grace.
When the time came to award the commission for building the dome, Brunelleschi won. He won based on the plans he submitted. And yet, the committee awarded the commission to both Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, as co-masters of the project, requiring the two men to split the payment. They must've known that would infuriate Brunelleschi.
As the project continued, Brunelleschi made no effort to share the plans or discuss construction methods.
So at one critical point in the project, Brunelleschi feigned illness and stayed home. The work crews required some direction on how to proceeded to the next phase. They went to Brunelleschi for guidance. His response was, "I'm an not well. Ask Lorenzo." Lorenzo, of course had no idea.
The ruse paid off in that it was then established that Filipo would be the sole master of the project going forward.
E. Writer That was a shrewd move on Brunelleschi's part. Just as there is only one chef in a kitchen, an artistic project of this magnitude should only have one master.
Roy Scarbrough
Shrewd. Lorenzo was a better artist, but he did not know diddly squat about engineering. Bruneleschi and Donatello traveled to Rome where they measured all the Roman ruins. He had a pretty good idea how to build structures that would bear a lot of weight. He invented machines that could lift tons of building materials to the top of the structure where the work was being performed. So ingenious where these cranes that for a along time Leonardo was credited with the designs that many years later Leonard drew in his note books. The machines themselves predate Leonardo, but he likely knew of them, so he drew them.
Pack animals were harnessed to a turnstile at the base of the crane tower to live the brick and block. It was equipped with a geared transmission so that it could be lowered back to the ground without having to unharness the animals.
Happy MLK Day, everyone! Hold onto the dream.
E. Writer Happy MLK day. I posted an MLK day video on my profiles elsewhere but couldn't post it here. Such a great video but... His voice still gives me chills.
Alex Morton Once a century, if we're lucky, we're blessed with someone like him. I remember it all in real time. He brought such light and hope and asked nothing but that we share it with him. When I was young, they murdered all my heroes and his death touched me the most.
E. Writer His voice was powerful and as moving as his words. There is a history of turning heroes into symbols of various movements, especially after they have passed on.
E. Writer Great shadow work.
Alex Morton I'm up to my neck in chores for a while, but late when i'm done I want to comment more on this post than simply "liking" it.
Hello Everyone. I'm here to get the word to my Facebook friends that my account has been disabled pending verification of my identity. It could take awhile because it will require work by a real person. Ironically, some bot or something flagged my account as sketchy. I'm told this has been happening to people have old accounts and have over they years avoided collection of personal data. I use my real name, always have, but I've never given them a true birthday. The the date of birth I gave them 15 years ago now says I'm a 114 years old. I wanted to avoid demographic profiling, so I just gave them a ridiculous number.
The thing that triggered it, I think. is that I had switched to one of two other pages I set up long ago for future projects and attempted to post an item in one of them. I had not visited it in a long time. I'm told these are vulnerable for hacks, and hackers look for them. The new activity got their attention.
Before I started this I spent a couple hours making sure this was coming from Facebook, and not some hacker. I won't go into the details, but that in itself was slow and methodical multi step process. Once confident that this was coming from face book, there were more hoops to jump through.
Complicating matters, making me appear even more suspicious, is they did not have a phone number for me. You didn't have to give them that, back in the day. The email they had was an ancient AOL account I long ago stopped using.
Each step required another step.
At one point, they asked me take a picture of my face.
I didn't like that, but I gave them that. They took it, and then informed me that was not good enough, probably because they don't already have a picture of my face anywhere to compare it with.
So, next they asked for a photo ID. That's creepy, huh. But I have no choice as I have a lot of writing and use Messenger with family and close friends. I looked at my drivers license. Its one of the new holographic cards with multiple reflective surface that can't be photograph. It has to be turned this way and that for the information to appear visible. So I decided to not use it, and dig out my passport.
I covered up my signature, which I'm told I can do. I covered up my birthday and the passport number.
They accepted that for perusal, now all I can do is wait to hear from them. There's nothing else I can do.
Pass this on to the Former Zoe Folks page on Facebook page, please.
E. Writer Roy, it sounds like they fully banned yours while Alex's is only suspended for 6 months. He might be able to login but not engage. Hopefully they will get yours resolved soon.
Alex Morton Can't log in. They demand that I upload a photo and give them my mobile number so they can send me a verification and then and only then can I appeal. I will not give them my mobile number. I have figured out a way to advertise, but not with my own account. This leaves the Zoe group on Facebook without an administrator and I have no way to post there to help get our friends here. That bothers me a lot because I really have been enjoying the group. A couple of the people I've known for twenty years.
Roy Scarbrough
Facebook has put me in contact with dozens of people with whom I'm in regular contact with who share my interests at the academic level for history, art history and literary history. I will loose contact with some of them for ever.
E. Writer I hope you don't lose contact with everyone. That's what makes it so difficult. All of my memories from my 30s to 50 are there. I can look back at a record of what i was doing years ago. When I delete my account, this is what I will lose. It's sentimental but it's a record of many moments, that I may have otherwise have forgotten. Pictures of my children growing up from middle school, high school, to college and adulthood was all listed there. It is a shame that the owners of these platforms used what was precious to us in such an egregious way.
E. Writer Alex, I got you on WANY and FB, so don't worry about that too much. But yes the group is left unmanaged but I have been conveying information for you and hopefully they will head it. Some people registered today after I posted. But I think people are shy or wary altogether to post yet. Also, I do recommend that you give FB a google voice number, and they will not have your phone number at all. It's free. I promise you it will work I use a google number for just about everything. They can text you, and send messages. You can listen to messages and voice mails or even talk on your computer or phone. The only part is the photo that they want that may pose an issue.
E. Writer This is very true. People would also travel together or take a train across the country to stay with a friend for a few weeks. Your post reminds me of how renaissance writers Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Chester Himes, and Ralph Ellison all went to Paris to live during the 1948-1950s to escape racism and segregation. There, they wrote some of their greatest works while in Paris in this artistic bohemian counter-culture. Imagine, writers traveling together, having this shared and lived experience. There was a thriving artistic scene that they belonged to, that influenced their writings and they were quite famous there and a number of intellectuals traveling in their circle. Langston Hughes paved the way for them when he traveled to Paris in the 1920s to escape the U.S. Quincy Jones the musician traveled there in the 1957 to study composing under one of the greats, and returned to the U.S. to become one of the world's biggest music composers/writers/producers. A number of musicians from that era traveled across America working on music, and traveling. It was quite a time...
Roy Scarbrough Yes, Paris was an important place for that. Black WWI soldiers often returned, and stayed. Imagine how it must to have been for them to walk around paris and walk into any restaurant or bar they liked. It must have been exhilarating. Do you know if Zora Neal Hurston was there at the same time?
Roy Scarbrough Also on my list: Wordsworth and Coleridge; Boswell and Samuel Johnson, Auden and Louis MacNiece in Iceland.
E. Writer Zora Neal Hurston and Langston Hughes spent time there in the 1920s. They were the first to go there as writers. The next generation of Harlem Renaissance writers like Baldwin, Wright, and Ellison went in the 1950s. They did not cross paths with Zora or Langston as far as I know. I imagine those were "the best of times" and the "worst of times" but the best of times to be a writer and an artist.
Alex Morton Quincy Jones was far from the only great jazz musician to head to Paris. The 1986 movie, Round Midnight, starring Dexter Gordon, was about that period. Dex was one of the greatest sax players and all the music in the film was done live and featured some of the world's best jazz musicians. ... Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, Tony Williams, Chet Baker, Lonnete McKee.. The movie was really based on the life of the musician, Bud Powell. Only in Paris could the great black jazz musicians find a comfortable home and an audience that truly appreciated them. This would have been in 1959-1964 when jazz audiences were on the wane in the US. Dex was actually one of the musicians who was there, along with Chet Baker, Donald Byrd and Kenny Clark. Here's the extraordinary soundtrack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4nVDKeVxok&list=PLHKC1i6dpteC6N_FdHlLuTWAiFgpP0U69