Now Playing: Hovhaness, Symphony No. 20 . . .
/. . . "Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain." As always, tear-inducing. (As a rule, I don't mention this kind of stuff unless it is.)
Aretha's Hat (aka My Last Comment on the Inauguration, I Promise)
/I loved Aretha Franklin's hat. Fabulous. Fabulous. Fabulous.
But I was surprised by how much inane chatter followed in its wake -- until I realized:
Most white Americans (especially northerners) probably don't know about black women and their "crowns." So to them, Aretha's hat may have seemed, um, over the top. (No pun intended.)
My introduction to "crowns" came in the 1990s, when I lived in Mobile, Alabama. Hands down, the best part of that six-years-in-hell was this: every Sunday about 11 am, I'd go to a grocery store so I could see the parade of hats worn by women who'd just come from church. Their crowns caused me to gasp, sometimes reduced me to tears, and inspired thoughts of thievery.
Anyway, Aretha's hat was in keeping with an old African-American tradition. For a magnificent collection of photographs of black women and their hats, see one of my favorite books, Michael Cunningham's Crowns. Here's his website, with more photos. And here's an appreciative review of the book.
OHFORGODSSAKE. Drinking Does Not Equal Not Sober
/What the fuck is the matter with people? Supposedly smart people. People in the "media" who are supposed to be "smarter" than the rest of us. I refer here to this piece at Slate.com about President Obama's "cocktail party" the other night. The so-called "money quote" is this:
Sobering times do not necessarily require everyone to be sober.
Yeah, okay, so the rest of the piece is about presidents-who-drank. But let me get this intro (which set the tone for the rest of the piece) straight: President Obama invites people over for a social occasion, one that includes the option of consuming an alcoholic beverage.
The result (in the media) is --- people having a drink equals they're no longer "sober." Translation: it's not possible to have a fucking drink and not get drunk (or, by implication, become a "problem drinker" or an alcoholic). Have I got it right? I mean, seriously.
What the FUCK is the matter with us? Is it ever going to be possible for Americans to discuss alcohol in a mature manner? To mention it in "the media" without the writer making some dumbass joke? Okay. End of rant. Now excuse me while I go have a drink, remain sober, and continue (in private) my rant about dumbasses who equate having a drink with being drunk. Or with being a drunk. And no, I don't plan to apologize for using the word "fuck." You think I'm not "professional"? Too fucking bad. Go read some other blog.
And Then Of Course There's Self-publishing
/Leave it to the Times to suddenly discover the world of self-publishing (although this is actually a pretty good round-up of the current state of affairs in this matter). As David said in a comment on an earlier post): "Look for them to re-discover the internet in the coming months."
Your Drinking Habits In A Recession?
/Over at Beervana, Jeff Alworth is conducting a poll of people's drinking habits in this down economy. The results are "unscientific," but interesting. His original post, which prompted the poll, is here. (Do read the comments, too.) He's bumping the poll up the blog so people can keep voting; that's here.
Then check out Patrick Emerson's take on drinking and recessions here. And, if you're still thirsty for more, my previous entries on drinking and recessions here and here.