"A child fleeing violence should have nothing to fear from the greatest country in the world. We have to fix this." ~ Pete Buttigieg -- Mayor of South Bend, Indiana "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition ... There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." ~ Francis M. Wilhoit -- political scientist "Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule." ~ Gerald R. Ford, U.S. President 1974 - 1976
Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good They'll stone you just like they said they would They'll stone you when you're tryin' to go home Then they'll stone you when you're there all alone But I would not feel so all alone Everybody must get stoned Well they'll stone you when you're walkin' 'long the street They'll stone you when you're tryin' to keep your seat They'll stone you when you're walkin' on the floor They'll stone you when you're walkin' to the door But I would not feel so all alone Everybody must get stoned They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table They'll stone ya when you are young and able They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck They'll stone ya and then they'll say, "good luck" Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone Everybody must get stoned Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again They'll stone you when you're riding in your car They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar Yes, but I would not feel so all alone Everybody must get stoned -- All right Well, they'll stone you when you walk all alone They'll stone you when you are walking home They'll stone you and then say you are brave They'll stone you when you are set down in your grave But I would not feel so all alone Everybody must get stoned
________________________ {"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" - Bob Dylan. Blonde On Blonde album, 1966. Recorded in Nashville.}
The topic of boxing keeps coming to my attention lately: on Hardball, Chris Matthews compared Pres. Trump to Sonny Liston -- no one wanted to fight him because he seemed brutal and crazy, and he frightened everybody. I noticed that because I remember reading someplace (don't know where) that Esquire magazine featured Mr. Liston on a cover in the 1960s, wearing a Santa hat. It was ironic because he was scary. (Where did I read that? Cannot remember.) And then I was reminded of middleweight fighter Rubin Carter when Rolling Thunder Revue was playing on Netflix and Bob Dylan performed "Hurricane."
In my life, I can go a long time without thinking about boxing at all. So this flurry of Boxer Awareness is kind of unusual. (I hope it doesn't become one of those psychological tricks where you buy a pink Cadillac and then you start seeing them everywhere...)
Reading in online encyclopedia: Sonny Liston was born in Arkansas, but was uncertain of the date of his birth, as Arkansas didn't require birth certificates until 1965.
He died at the age of either 39 or 40, in January 1971 or December 1970....
Oh, the streets of Rome -- are filled with rubble Ancient footprints are everywhere You can almost think -- that you're seein' double On a cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs Got to hurry on back to my hotel room Where I've got me a date with Botticelli's niece Yeah she promised -- that she'd be right there with me When I paint my masterpiece Oh, the hours I've spent inside the Coliseum Dodging lions and wastin' time Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see 'em Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory As the daylight hours do increase Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody When I paint my masterpiece I left Rome -- and landed in Brussels With a picture of a tall oak tree by my side Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' mussels Everyone was there and nobody tried to hide Newspapermen eating candy Had to be held down by big police Someday, everything is gonna be different When I paint my masterpiece ___________________________________ {"When I Paint My Masterpiece" -- Bob Dylan, released November 1971. From the album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II}
"When I Paint My Masterpiece" is a song with country influences -- a medium-to-slow-tempo song with the energy and command of a fast song. It can be listened to from the album, on Amazon Prime.
headlines last week: Supreme Court rules for black death row inmate over prosecutor's racial bias NBC News Excluding Black Jurors in Curtis Flowers Case Violated Constitution... The New York Times
"New York, Early Twenties" by Thomas Hart Benton _________________________________ This news story reminded me of a song by Bob Dylan: Pistol shots ring out in the bar room night Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall She sees the bartender in a pool of blood Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!" Here comes the story of the Hurricane The man the authorities came to blame For something that he never done Put him in a prison cell but one time he could have been The champion of the world. Three bodies lying there does Patty see And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously "I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands, "I was only robbing the register. I hope you understand. "I saw them leaving," he says and he stops, "One of us had better call up the cops." And so Patty calls the cops And they arrive on the scene With their red lights flashing In the hot New Jersey night. Meanwhile far away in another part of town Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around Number one contender for the middleweight crown Had no idea what kind-a shit was about to go down When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road Just like the time before and the time before that In Patterson that's just the way things go If you're black you might as well not show up on the street 'Less you wanna draw the heat. Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around He said, "I saw two men running out. They looked like middleweights. They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates." And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead." So they took him to the infirmary And though this man could hardly see They told him he could identify the guilty men. Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in They took him to the hospital and they brought him upstairs The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye Says, "Why'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!" Here's the story of the Hurricane The man the authorities came to blame For something that he never done Put in a prison cell but one time he could've been -- the champion of the world Four months later the ghettos are in flame Rubin's in South America fighting for his name While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame "Remember that murder that you happened in a bar? Remember you said you saw the getaway car? You think you'd like to play ball with the law? Think it might-a been -- that fighter that you saw -- running that night? Don't forget that you are white." Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure." The cops said, "A boy like you could use a break. We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello. Now you don't wanna have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow. You'll be doing society a favor. That son of a bitch is brave and getting braver. We want to put his ass in stir. We want to pin this triple mur -- der on him. He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch But he never did like to talk about it all that much "It's my work," he'd say, "and I do it for pay. And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way Up to some paradise. Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice. And ride a horse along a trail." But then they took him to the jail -- house Where they try to turn a man into a mouse. All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance The trial was a fix-circus. He never had a chance The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum And to the black folks... No one doubted that he pulled the trigger And though they could not produce the gun, The DA said he was the one -- who -- did the deed -- And the all-white jury agreed. Rubin Carter was falsely tried The crime was murder 'one'. Guess who testified? Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied And the newspapers -- they all went along for the ride How can the life of such a man Be in the palm of some fool's hand? To see him obviously framed Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed To live in a land Where justice is a game.
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell An innocent man in a living hell Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane But it won't be over 'til they clear his name And give him back the time he's done Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been The champion of the world.
I married Isis on the fifth day of May But I could not hold on to her very long So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong I came to a high place of darkness and light The dividing line ran through the center of town I hitched up my pony to a post on the right Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down A man in the corner approached me for a match I knew right away he was not ordinary He said, "Are you lookin' for somethin' easy to catch?" I said, "I got no money." He said, "That ain't necessary" We set out that night for the cold in the North I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word I said, "Where are we goin'?" He said we'd be back by the fourth I said, "That's the best news that I've ever heard" I was thinkin' about turquoise, I was thinkin' about gold I was thinkin' about diamonds and the world's biggest necklace As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold I was thinkin' about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless How she told me that one day we would meet up again And things would be different the next time we wed If I only could hang on and just be her friend I still can't remember all the best things she said We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice He said, "There's a body I'm tryin' to find If I carry it out it'll bring a good price" 'Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn When he died I was hopin' that it wasn't contagious But I made up my mind that I had to go on I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty There was no jewels, no nothin', I felt I'd been had When I saw that my partner was just bein' friendly When I took up his offer I must-a been mad I picked up his body and I dragged him inside Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes I cursed her one time then I rode on ahead
She said, "Where ya been?" I said, "No place special" She said, "You look different." I said, "Well, not quite" She said, "You been gone." I said, "That's only natural" She said, "You gonna stay?" I said, "Yeah, I jes' might" "Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child What drives me to you is what drives me insane I still can remember the way that you smiled On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin' rain --------------------------------------------- {"Isis" by Bob Dylan. Desire album, 1976.}
Yesterday I was listening to Rolling Thunder Revue on Netflix, and I heard Bob Dylan sing "Isis" and I wanted to blog the lyrics to that song. Then I heard him sing "One More Cup of Coffee" and I thought maybe I should blog those lyrics. Then I heard him perform "Simple Twist of Fate." I blogged the lyrics of that song. Every Bob Dylan song is an invitation to blog. Then today I read this: director Luca Guadagnino
is making a film adaptation of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks album - !
"Simple Twist of Fate" will probably be in there. Wait a minute -- you can make a movie of a record album??!! This is good news. (I want to write a book adapted from a record album, make a movie based on a book, and record a record album of a movie...)
They sat together in the park As the evening sky grew dark She looked at him and he felt a spark -- tingle to his bones 'Twas then he felt alone -- and wished, that he'd gone straight And watched out -- for a simple twist of fate They walked along, by the old canal A little confused, I remember well And stopped into a strange hotel, with a neon burnin' bright He felt the heat of the night -- hit him, like a freight train -- Moving with a simple twist of fate
A saxophone someplace far off played As she was walkin' by the arcade As the light burst through a beat-up shade, where he was wakin' up, She dropped a coin into the cup -- of a blind man, at the gate And forgot about a simple twist of fate He woke up, the room was bare He didn't see her anywhere He told himself he didn't care, pushed the window open wide Felt an emptiness inside -- to which he just could not relate Brought on by a simple twist of fate
He hears the ticking of the clocks And walks along with a parrot that talks Hunts her down by the waterfront docks -- where the sailors all come in Maybe she'll pick him out again, how long must he wait One more time, for a simple twist of fate People tell me it's a sin To know and feel too much within I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring She was born in spring, but I was born too late -- Blame it on a simple twist of fate --------------------------------- {"Simple Twist of Fate" - Bob Dylan song from 1975 album, Blood On The Tracks}
June 17th. The Watergate break-in was 47 years ago today. _________________________________
I began this Monday by getting a surprising surprise: I watched a movie made in 2019 that I had never seen before, and I loved it. Now, that is weird. Or maybe should say, "unusual." Murder Mystery, on Netflix. Netflix is an interesting and exciting and scary phenomenon. They are kind of creating a New World, so to speak. An Alternative World -- an Extra World.
As the movie progressed this morning, I thought, "Oh my gosh, this is like a soufflé with aspects of 'Murder, She Wrote' and 'Get Smart' and Agatha Christie blended and whisked to a riveting peak!" Reading a review of it in The Guardian online, I saw that they had noted influences borrowed from Game Night (2018 movie), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1994 Woody Allen movie, recently script-streamed here), and Clue (classic board game and 1985 film).
Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston play the lead roles. Adam Sandler seems to be a person who just keeps making more movies and isn't open to freaking out over what critics say about his work. I don't know about his other movies, because I haven't seen them except for one in the mid-nineties and I can't remember it -- but Murder Mystery is good.
Even the title: not giving it individual identity, just saying to the audience -- "This is a murder mystery. Murder. Mystery. Murder Mystery..." Kind of like it's to pay homage to all great murder mysteries that came before it.
------------------ [excerpt] ---------- Harriet Rubin, who would later become one of Jackie's editorial colleagues and is now a successful author, described her impact on the company: "Her becoming an editor was a tremendous vindication of the struggling book business. I think she regarded books as a form of magic. Temples are built upon scrolls and sacred texts, and she was going to produce modern magic formulas for opening people's minds, for revealing hidden wisdom." {Vanity Fair. "Jackie O, Working Girl." By Greg Lawrence. January 2011.}
Yesterday on Hardball with Chris Matthews, an observer said that President Trump has a pattern when he explains his actions: first he lies; then he deceives, and then he admits it and says everybody does it. What is the difference between lying and deceiving? Dictionary: lie (noun) -- an intentionally false statement deceive (verb) -- to cause someone to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage; to give a mistaken impression
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When you listen to the George Stephanopoulos interview with our president... ------------------------------- There's a "Bewitched" (Season 2, episode 5 - 'The Joker Is a Card') where Uncle Arthur teaches Darrin how to cast a spell. Darrin would like to get back at his mother-in-law for all the times she has turned him into things and cast spells on him -- so he tries it out on her. He has to chant an incantation and then rattle a cowbell and toot a duck call, and Endora is supposed to disappear.
"Yaga zuzi, yaga zuzi, yaga zuzi, ZIM!" (Ding-ah ding-ah -- clankety-clank ----- mlaaaat!) He tries the spell a couple of times, in front of Samantha and Endora, who stare at him like he's crazy. Getting really wound up, he hollers, "Don't try and stop me, Sam, she's been asking for this for a long time!"
Samantha says to her mother, with sublime incredulity, "Mother, have you been asking for this?!" ----------------- Lately when our president speaks, all I can hear is, "yaga-zuzi, yaga-zuzi, yaga-zuzi, ZIM!" And I think, "My fellow Americans -- have we been asking for this?!"
