Category Archives: Racism

10/14/2012
1 Comment
Coretta Scott King, Frank Bruni, Gay Marriage, Helen LaFave, Homophobia, Marcus Bachmann, Michele Bachmann, Racism, Republican Party, Rip Taylor, The Cell Block Chicago

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“Homophobia is like racism and anti-semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity, and their personhood.” — Coretta Scott King

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FAIRY TALE

Before you do anything else this morning, grab the Sunday New York Times op/ed section and read the piece by Frank Bruni about a lesbian woman whose stepsister is virulently homophobic.

The woman’s name is Helen LaFave.

Her step-sister’s name is Michele Bachmann.

Step-sister

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Bachmann, of course, is the wild-eyed Congressbeing from Minnesota who confers regularly with the putative creator of the Universe and is married to a Rip Taylor clone.

One Of These Men Is Mr. Michele Bachmann

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Bachmann, the Mrs., was a big force behind a statewide referendum Minnesotans will vote on November 6th that calls for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Bachmann also has claimed that homosexuals as a group target children and that those who enjoy gay sex are living as “slaves.” Now, there’s a long-standing S&M boy bar on North Halsted Street in Chicago called The Cell Block whose clientele actually seeks a brand of indentured servitude, but I don’t think that’s what Bachmann was talking about.

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Anyway, Michele invariably says “I love you” to Helen every time they see each other at family functions. Considering the fact that Bachmann has made her political bones by vilifying gays and lesbians every chance she gets and she and her Rip Taylor-clone husband believe homosexuals can be “cured” of their dreaded disease, it seems likely she has no idea what the word “love” actually means.

Bachmann, by the way, likely will be reelected in her very conservative district.

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THE COMPANY THEY KEEP

The Republicans have to ask themselves why they attract guys like this:

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To be fair, not every Republican is a racist.

On the other hand, if a racist is a member of a political party, it’s invariably the GOP.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Sunday, October 14th, 2012

Brought to you by The Electron Pencil: Bloomington Arts, Culture, Politics, and Hot Air. Daily.

BENEFIT RUN ◗ Staring point: IU Dunn Meadow — 2012 Run for the Animals, For Monroe County Humane Association; 8:30am-12:30pm

CLASS ◗ Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Monastery — Introductory course on Buddhism; 10-11am

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

MUSIC ◗ Cafe Django — Brunch Show: Peter Kienle on guitar; 11am

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Haunted Hayride & Stables; Friendly rides; 1-7pm

STAGE ◗ Brown County Playhouse, Nashville — Drama, “Last Train to Nibroc“; 2pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Dobbs Project; 5-7pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Hazelwood String Band; 6pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “All the King’s Men“; 6:30pm

FILM ◗ Bear’s Place — Ryder Film Series: “2 Days in New York“; 7pm

WORKSHOP ◗ Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center — Seven Trainings in Contemplation, Presented by Rigzin Drolma & Anne Klein; 7-9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — How to Dress Well, o F F Love; 9pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists; through October 14th
  • “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
  • “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • “Samenwerken,” Interdisciplinary collaborative multi-media works; through October 11th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
  • “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

  • “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

  • “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
  • “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
  • “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
  • “Picturing Archaeology”
  • “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
  • “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
  • “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
  • “TOYing with Ideas”
  • “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
  • “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

  • “Outsiders and Others:Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections form the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

10/05/2012
3 Comments
Central Park Jogger, Donald Trump, Ken Burns, Malcolm X, Racism, The Central Park Five, Wilding

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.” — Malcolm X

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WHERE THE WILDINGS ARE

Remember “wilding”?

No one had ever heard of it before 1989. Then, in the summer of that year, it seemed the entire nation knew what wilding was.

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The frightened citizens of this holy land learned that wilding was a brand spanking new terror campaign being waged by organized gangs of black youths wherein they’d run through parks, city streets, and, conceivably, your very living room, raping and pillaging and otherwise having a night of it.

We found out about this new threat to our very existence as a nation and a race because some poor woman had been found raped, unconscious, and left for dead in New York City’s Central Park on April 19th. She was white and an investment banker, [EDs Note: Line deleted. It was a throwaway line meant to make a point and be joke-y at the same time. It was, in retrospect, too offensive.]

Some brown boys were rounded weeks later. It was learned they’d been roaming around the park causing the usual hoodlum mayhem, perhaps even as the woman was being brutalized.

Naturally, NYC cops’ and prosecutors’ mouths watered.

The story of the woman’s assault sickened the nation. Her skull, for pete’s sake, had been caved in by a rock.

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The cops, traditionalists at heart, relied on investigatory techniques tried and true from decades past: They tortured confessions out of five of the brown boys.

Americans might have heaved a collective sigh of relief save for the nagging terror that similar groups of young brown boys would soon be “wilding” from coast to coast.

Hell, Hollywood even got in on the act, spitting out cheap films with the word in their titles, starring the likes of Joey Travolta and Erik Estrada.

No Oscars Were Harmed In The Making Of These Pictures

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Donald Trump muscled into the hysteria by calling for the death penalty to be reinstated in New York, specifically so the boys could be executed.

It took a few years but the truth eventually seeped out: “wilding” was bullshit.

While the brown boys were being run through the gauntlet, one of them blurted out the word. It was his inartful way of describing what he and his gang were doing in Central Park that night. The cops, the media, and the public bought the concept as if it were a subprime mortgage.

The fear of a coming wave of wilding spread rapidly.

I bring this all up because TV historian Ken Burns has recently completed a documentary about the case, called “The Central Park Five.” In it, he delves into the convictions of the boys, who were found guilty and served lengthy prison sentences.

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Some 13 years after the incident a serial rapist and murderer confessed to the crime. His confession was confirmed by DNA analysis, which also exculpated the boys (now men). Their convictions have been vacated.

Some of the five are suing the city in federal court for the wrongful convictions. Now the city’s legal department is demanding Burns turn over evidence to them for use in the defense against the suits.

This after they refused to cooperate with him when he was delving into the case. In fact, he claims they tried to prevent him from getting much of the evidence he presents in the doc. Now that he’s got it, though, they want it.

Apparently, in the arena of the courts, the City of New York is out “wilding.”

This time, it’s real.

The Color Of Guilt

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Friday, October 5th, 2012

Brought to you by The Electron Pencil: Bloomington Arts, Culture, Politics, and Hot Air. Daily.

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center, outside WFHB Studios — Public participation in creating a ten-foot sculpture called “The Angel,” Rain or shine; 9am-5pm

FESTIVAL ◗ Town of Bloomfield, various locations — 2012 Bloomfield Apple Festival, music, contests, parade, games, food, etc.; 9am-10pm, through Sunday

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

ART & ARCHAEOLOGY ◗ IU Center  for the Study of Global Change, Seminar Room — The Wal-Mart Syndrome in Neolithic Northwestern China? — A Study of Majiayao Painted Pottery; Noon

MUSIC ◗ IU Willkie Quadrangle — Friday Noon Concert Series: Daniel Duarte & Rodrigo Almedia, guitars; Noon

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Dust Up“; 3pm

SPORTS ◗ IU Field Hockey Facilities — Hoosier women’s field hockey vs. Iowa; 3:30pm

RETREAT ◗ TC Steele State Historic Site — Autumnal Women’s Retreat: Sisters in Sync, Creative projects, yoga, journaling, hiking, crafts, massage, etc.; 5:00pm, through the weekend

ART ◗ Downtown Bloomington, various locations — October Gallery Walk, 5-8pm, participating galleries & opening receptions:

  • The Venue Fine Art & Gifts — “Dark & Ethereal,” by Lydia Burris
  • Pictura Gallery — “Cuba Libre: Photographs,” by Tyagan Miller, David Moore, Gerardo Gonzalez
  • WonderLab — Science of Art: Woodturning, demonstration presented by Dan Dutra
  • By Hand Gallery — Microcosmic drawings & monoprints by Martha Kaplan
  • Gallery 406
  • Royale Hair Parlor
  • Blueline Creative Co-op & Gallery
  • El Norteno Gallery — Autumn Fantasies, by Yelena Yahontova
  • Ivy Tech Waldron Center — October exhibits, see ONGOING, below

ART ◗ IU SoFA, Room 015 — Exhibition opening lecture: Art & Virtue, presented by Professor Emeritus Michael Metzger; 5:30pm

MIXER ◗ The Player’s Pub — Atheists Happy Hour; 5:30pm

POETRY ◗ Fountain Square Mall — Fountain Square Poetry Series: Readings by Richard Durisen, Jonathan Holland, Lisa Kwong, Anya Peterson Royce, Music by Bloomington Peace Choir; 5:30pm

SPORTS ◗ Frank Southern Ice Arena — IU hockey vs. Youngstown State; 6:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Stars in Shorts“; 6:45pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Haunted Hayride & Stables, 8308 S. Rockport Rd.; 7pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Bakers Junction Railroad Museum, Smithville — Haunted train; 7pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Valley Branch Retreat, Nashville — Horrifying Hike & Terrifying Trail; 7-10pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “A Nightmare on Elm Street“; 3pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Dunn Meadow — Homecoming week free concert featuring South Jordan & Zach Majors; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Kade Puckett; 7-9pm

SPORTS ◗ IU Gymnasium — Hoosier volleyball vs. Iowa; 7pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Meet the Fokkens“; 7:15pm

STAGE ◗ Bloomington Playwrights Project — Comedy, “Rx”; 7:30pm

STAGE ◗ Brown County Playhouse, Nashville — Drama, “Last Train to Nibroc”; 7:30pm

ART ◗ IU SoFA, McCalla School — The Fuller Projects: Hanging Tales, by Jennifer Garst; 7:30pm

WORLD CULTURE ◗ Rachael’s Cafe — Fall 2012 Coffeehouse: Music, dance, etc., presented by IU Dept. of Folklore & Ethnomusicology; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — The Vallures; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — IU Singing Hoosiers, director, Steve Zegree; 8pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Jackie Kashian; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Cafe Django — Milestones Jazz Quintet; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Serendipity Martini Bar — Sam Hoffman & Anna Butterss; 8-11pm

MUSIC ◗ Chateau Thomas Wine Bar — Phil Bowman & Leo Hickman; 8-10pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Neighboring Sounds“; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, King Bee & the Stingers; 8:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall Theater — Ryder Film Series: “The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls“; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Clayton Anderson; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Kara Barnard, Chuck Willis; 9:30-11:30pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Jackie Kashian; 10:30pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists; through October 14th
  • “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
  • “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • “Samenwerken,” Interdisciplinary collaborative multi-media works; through October 11th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits opening September 28th:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
  • “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

  • “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

  • “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
  • “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
  • “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
  • “Picturing Archaeology”
  • “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
  • “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
  • “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
  • “TOYing with Ideas”
  • “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
  • “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

  • “Outsiders and Others:Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections form the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Doctors and Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical professions“

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The Electron Pencil. Go there. Read. Like. Share.

08/19/2012
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2012 Presidential Election, Adolf Hitler, Apollo 11, Barack Obama, Chicago Cubs, Hank Aaron, Hank Williams Jr., Islam, Kenny Holtzman, Linda Wertheimer, Lovable Losers, Miriam Makeba, NPR, Racism, WASP, Woodstock

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit.” — Miriam Makeba

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THE COLOR OF FEAR

NPR’s Linda Wertheimer this morning on Weekend Edition Sunday pointed out that this year’s presidential election will be the first in our history in which no one on the major parties’ tickets is a WASP.

Perhaps that explains why so many people are freaked out — still — about Barack Obama.

See? See? That’s The Nazi Salute!

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The world that every American once knew and too many are terrified to leave, is gone.

And speaking of terrifying, yet another music star has blown verbal chunks about the Prez. Hank Williams, Jr., who last year compared Barack Obama to Hitler (natch, they were both half-black men who studied at Harvard Law), now ups the ante. Yesterday, the man who once asked Are you ready for some football?, declared the President of the United States to be a Muslim who not only hates the military but the rest of the nation, for good measure.

Proof!

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Williams, Jr. sings something called “Take Back Our Country.” He needn’t add, …From all those scary brown people.

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LET’S GO TO INDIANA!

Lauren Spierer’s disappearance last year raised a puzzler.

Why do so many Indiana University students come from suburban New York City?

IU’s Prep School Attendance Boundaries

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With a record 7590 freshmen expected to attend IU this semester, many of them will come from  the tri-state area including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Spierer family hails from Edgemont, north of the big city.

Edgemont is a part of the town of Greenville in Westchester County, a tony enclave that through the years has been home to the likes of Linda McCartney, Bugsy Seigel, Walter Winchell, and Billy Collins, the former US poet laureate.

It’s funny how certain campuses become desirable destinations for specific matriculate populations. For instance, it was well-known in my old Chicago area that the University of Wisconsin in Madison drew a disproportionate number of northwest suburban Jewish kids.

I suppose the Madison thing makes sense because it falls into that Goldilocks zone for college students: far enough away from mom and dad to not worry that they can drop in at a moment’s notice but near enough to dash back home for a laundry run and a good warm meal, PRN.

Bloomington, Indiana seems an odd choice for Eastern Seaboard kids and their megalopolis classmates who might want to run back home in a six-hour or less drive.

Any ideas?

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GLEE

Indulge me for a moment. Today is the 43rd anniversary of the most exciting moment I’ve ever experienced as a rabid Chicago Cubs fan.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 19th, 1969, my fave Cubs pitcher, Kenny Holtzman, tossed a no-hitter against the mighty Atlanta Braves.

Bliss

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The Braves that afternoon were led by one Henry Louis Aaron, who’d go on to become baseball’s all-time home run king.

The sun was bright, a pleasant lake wind blew in from the northeast, and the Cubs were in first place, on their way to their first World Series since World War II and — fingers crossed — their first championship since the Peloponnesian War.

In a summer during which two human beings had stepped on the moon and nearly half a million people jammed Max Yasgur’s farm just to be able to brag to their grandchildren that they’d attended Woodstock, the Cubs racing for a World Series was the most jaw-dropping miracle yet.

And the high point of the season was Kenny’s gem.

Basking In The Glory

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I watched that game from a bleacher seat under the centerfield scoreboard at Wrigley Field.

I was 13 years old.

Even now, nearly half a century later, I still believe had I died that afternoon, I’d have gone happy.

Have pity on this aching soul: don’t ask me to recount the ensuing weeks. Nor, for that matter, the ensuing decades.

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Here’s how I waste my time. How about you? Share your fave sites with us via the comments section. Just type in the name of the site, not the url; we’ll find them. If we like them, we’ll include them — if not, we’ll ignore them.

❏ I Love Charts — Life as seen through charts.

❏ XKCD — “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.”

❏ Skepchick — Women scientists look at the world and the universe.

❏ Indexed — All the answers in graph form, on index cards.

❏ I Fucking Love Science — A Facebook community of science geeks.

❏ Present & Correct — Fun, compelling, gorgeous and/or scary graphic designs and visual creations throughout the years and from all over the world.

Click Image For Full Article:

Present/&/Correct: 44 Old Typewriter Instruction Manuals

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❏ Flip Flop Fly Ball — Baseball as seen through infographics, haikus, song lyrics, and other odd communications devices.

❏ Mental Floss — Facts.

❏ The Universe — A Facebook community of astrophysics and astronomy geeks.

❏ Sodaplay — Create your own models or play with other people’s models.

❏ Eat Sleep Draw — An endless stream of artwork submitted by an endless stream of people.

Eat Sleep Draw: Illustration by Rachel Sanson

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❏ Big Think — Tapping the brains of notable intellectuals for their opinions, predictions, and diagnoses.

❏ The Daily Puppy — So shoot me.

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Electron Pencil event listings: Music, art, movies, lectures, parties, receptions, games, benefits, plays, meetings, fairs, conspiracies, rituals, etc.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

◗ Oliver Winery — Creekbend Vineyard tour; Noon-2pm

◗ Monroe County Public Library — Basic Literacy Tutor Training, session 2 of 4; 1:30-5pm

◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — Drama, “Solana”; 2pm

◗ IU Bill Armstrong Stadium — Hoosier women’s soccer vs. Ohio; 2pm

◗ Bryan Park — Outdoor concert: O2R Blues Band; 6:30pm

◗ Bear’s Place — Ryder Film Series: “The Well Digger’s Daughter”; 7pm

◗ IU Cinema — Film: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; 7pm

◗ The Bluebird — BoDeans; 8pm

◗ The Bishop — Jamaican Queens, Fly Painted Feathers; 9pm

ONGOING:

◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “40 Years of Artists from Pygmalion’s”; through September 1st

◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “A Tribute to William Zimmerman,” wildlife artist; through September 9th

  • Willi Baumeister, “Baumeister in Print”; through September 9th

  • Annibale and Agostino Carracci, “The Bolognese School”; through September 16th

  • “Contemporary Explorations: Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists”; through October 14th

  • David Hockney, “New Acquisitions”; through October 21st

  • Utagawa Kuniyoshi, “Paragons of Filial Piety”; through fall semester 2012

  • Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan, “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers”; through December 31st

  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century”; through December 31st

◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibits:

  • Coming — Media Life; August 24th through September 15th

  • Coming — Axe of Vengeance: Ghanaian Film Posters and Film Viewing Culture; August 24th through September 15th

◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — “Ephemeral Ink: Selections of Tattoo Art from the Kinsey Institute Collection”; through September 21st

◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit, “Translating the Canon: Building Special Collections in the 21st Century”; through September 1st

◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Closed for semester break, reopens Tuesday, August 21st

◗ Monroe County History Center — Photo exhibit, “Bloomington: Then and Now” by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

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07/01/2012
3 Comments
Adolf Hitler, Carl Sandburg, Devil in the White City, Erik Larson, Gore Vidal, Historical Fiction, In the Garden of Beasts, Jim Crow, Martha Dodd Stern, Nazi, Philippa Gregory, Racism, Rudolf Diels, Thomas Merton, Thornton Wilder, William E. Dodd

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell.” — Thomas Merton

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ONE OF A KIND

Drop everything you’re doing this instant. Go out and buy Erik Larson’s “In the Garden of Beasts.”

Read it.

Erik Larson

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Larson hit it big with his “Devil in the White City” a few years ago. His latest is even better than The Devil. The best way to describe Larson’s books is to call them “fact novels.” They’re not historical fiction in the sense that we understand some of Gore Vidal‘s works or even Philippa Gregory‘s. He’s a straight historian who tells his true stories with the care, craftsmanship, and imagination of the novelist.

I copped In the Garden a couple of days before The Loved One and I drove off to Florida last week. I couldn’t put the book down throughout our stay. Here’s a sure sign that I love a book: when I near the end, I intentionally slow myself down so as not to finish the thing. When I read the last sentence of In the Garden, I felt a sense of loss and emptiness.

Anyway, In the Garden tells the story of William Dodd and his family who moved to Berlin in 1933 when Dodd was named US Ambassador to Hitler’s Germany.

The Dodds About To Board An Ocean Liner For Germany

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Larson follows in detail the lives of Dodd and his daughter Martha, a flighty narcissist who had passionate affairs with a Russian diplomat who turned out to be a spy, a Gestapo big shot, a World War I flying ace, and other dashing but morally iffy swains. Martha, who viewed herself as a literary figure and an adventuress, previously had carried on flings with the likes of Carl Sandburg and was ardently devoted to Thornton Wilder, although she and he did not play on the same team, before her family set out for Germany.

Gestapo Strongman and Martha Dodd Paramour Rudolf Diels

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Ambassador Dodd was among the first to recognize the coming horrors of the Nazi regime. This despite the fact that, like most Gentile Americans, he harbored at least a hint of anti-Semitism.

For her part, Martha at first embraced the Nazis, with their sharp uniforms and their hordes of tall, hunky, blond, young men marching through the streets of Berlin at any given moment.

Arousing

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A striking aspect of Larson’s description of 1930s Berlin is the sense of peace and serenity which imbues the city despite the recurring ugliness.

And why didn’t the United States government raise a bigger kick in protest against the Nazis? One big reason was the fear of being labeled hypocrites: this holy land treated blacks pretty much the same way the Nazis treated Jews.

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The whole thing reminds me of many of my lefty confreres who seem convinced that these Great United States, Inc. today are merely a rerun of Springtime for Hitler. Come to think of it, tons of right wing whacks think Obama nation is Reich redux as well.

All I have to say about it is, read In the Garden and you’ll know that the real Nazis were sine qua non.

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NOW, GO!

Our daily events listings are back. Click on the logo and… go.

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05/29/2012
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Alan K. Simpson, American Grown, Cannibalism, CNN, Conspiracy Theory, Fareed Zakaria, Harvest for the World, Isley Brothers, John F. Kennedy, Lauren Spierer, Lee Harvey Oswald, Michelle Obama, Racism, Rush Limbaugh, Viral Video

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“If you want to be a purist, go somewhere on a mountaintop and praise the east or something. But if you want to be in politics, you learn to compromise. And you learn to compromise without compromising yourself. Show me a guy who won’t compromise and I’ll show you a guy with rock for brains.” — former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson

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WILL YOU BE MY HERO, PLEASE?

How about that Alan K. Simpson?

The old bird who used to be a demi-villain to liberals back in the ’80s is now a darling of the left set because he tongue-lashed his fellow Republicans over the weekend.

Simpson appeared on CNN with Fareed Zakaria Sunday and called GOP legislators’ anti-tax intransigence “madness.”

Anti-Tax-ists

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Just goes to show how far we liberals and progressives have fallen when we have nobody to idolize but Republicans who occasionally say something that makes sense.

Simpson, by the way, says only a combination of solutions can revitalize the economy. That includes higher taxes for some Americans.

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GO!

Click this logo for the Pencil’s events listing, the best in Bloomington, natch:

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FACE TIME

I’m the most curious guy you can imagine (and that’s true on a number of levels.) But there are certain things I don’t need to see or know.

One of them is the video of the cops shooting that crazy nude man who was eating the face of another man.

Here’s A Pretty Cardinal

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In fact, that’s all I know about the story. I fear that if I click on any of the articles about it, I’ll see too much.

There’s nothing more I need to know about it.

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UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARIES

Get ready for the flood of stories on the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of IU student Lauren Spierer.

Profit-driven media is big on anniversaries. I look at it as lazy journalism.

If you think the Spierer anniversary will be bad, just wait until November, 2013. That’ll mark the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

He Did It, Okay? Can We Move On Now?

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Oh, and steel yourself for yet another wave of conspiracy books, documentaries, and articles.

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VEGETABLES ARE SOCIALIST

Michelle Obama’s new book comes out today. “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America” recounts the story of her White House garden.

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Which reminds me that the unimaginably bizarre Rush Limbaugh raked her over the coals last fall for her garden.

“We do not like being told that we can only eat what’s in her garden,” he ranted on his radio show, which is listened to by tens of millions of mammals daily.

BTW: he also called her “uppity” once. But neither he nor his listeners are racists. How do I know? They say so — when they’re not busy calling a professional woman who happens to have dark skin “uppity.”

Sometimes I just want to scream.

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HARVEST FOR THE WORLD

I don’t remember if I’ve posted this song before but no matter, it’s worth hearing again.

The beauty of this Isley Brothers tune is that, while acknowledging that things are largely going all to hell, there is always hope. Every time I hear it, this song makes me think of morning.

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01/17/2012
2 Comments
Boxing, Cassius Clay, Gordon Parks, Grace Paley, Indiana University Men's Basketball, Louisville Kentucky, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam, National Guard, Racism, Selective Service System, US Supreme Court, Vietnam War

The Pencil Today:

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TODAY’S QUOTE

“Let us go forth with fear and courage and rage to save the world.” — Grace Paley

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COURAGE

One of the most overused terms in sports is courage. A guy hits a single in the bottom of the ninth to win a baseball game for his team and the announcers gasp and coo that’s he’s exhibited an uncommon amount of courage.

Or the plucky college basketball team beats the number one team in the nation which, as we all know, happened a little more than a month ago right here in Bloomington. Sure enough, the announcers and the next day’s sports columnists all agreed: that plucky team was very courageous.

I call bullshit.

Courage?

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There was only one truly courageous professional athlete I’ve ever seen. He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, 70 years ago today.

We know him as Muhammad Ali.

I’ve never given a damn about professional boxing. It’s a cruel sport. It’s nothing more than sanctioned assault and battery performed for the pleasure of the slobs who pay to watch.

Men batter each others’ brains into mush so promoters and TV execs can make millions.

You can have it.

But I was always a fan of Muhammad Ali. He was the first jock to understand that what he was doing, first and foremost, was entertaining.

“Float like a butterfly,” he said, “sting like a bee.”

Poetry.

“I am the greatest,” he proclaimed. “I said that even before I knew I was.”

Comedy.

“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me,” he said.

Brilliant.

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Muhammad Ali was strong. Muhammad Ali spent months training for a fight. Muhammad Ali endured blows that would disable or kill you and me. Muhammad Ali beat up dozens of men in the ring.

But nothing he did was courageous until he started looking at the question of black and white in America.

“Boxing,” he said, “is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”

No social commentator has ever uttered or typed a line with such clarity and perspicacity on the topic of race in America.

When he first became boxing’s champion, he had reached the pinnacle of all that a black man could achieve in this holy land. He knew it wasn’t enough.

“I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin’ hell,” he said, “but as long as they ain’t free, I ain’t free.”

Still going by the name Clay, he and Martin Luther King, Jr. were the most famous black men in the world. He was wealthy. What man would jeopardize that?

He did. Racism in America so disgusted him that he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. He changed his name to Ali.

Ali With Malcolm X

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All those white men watching him beat up another black men weren’t going to like that one bit. Muhammad Ali instantly became the man they loved to hate.

What professional athlete today would put at risk even one commercial shoot to breathe a word about freedom or race or poverty?

Muhammad Ali had work to do — work much more important than mashing the brains of another black man for the amusement of white men.

America’s Vietnam War was disposing of thousands of human beings a week. It was fought, disproportionately, by America’s blacks.

In 1966, when Ali was classified 1-A by the Selective Service System, he opted for courage.

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He was ordered to report to the Army’s induction center in Houston in April, 1967. When the induction officer called his name, Ali refused to respond.

He could have run to Canada, as many young men were doing back then. He could have joined the National Guard, as many pro athletes were doing at the time as well. Joining the National Guard was a way of avoiding service in the regular Army and, consequently, being sent to Southeast Asia.

He’d chosen neither of those ways out.

Three times the induction officer called his name. Three times he stood tall and silent. Finally the officer warned him that refusing to respond was a felony punishable by five years in prison.

Ali remained mum.

He would say later, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. They never called me nigger.”

Which, by the way, was now the preferred appellation for him among so many of those white men who formerly enjoyed watching him beat up another black man.

Ali was immediately arrested and charged. He was found guilty by a jury two months later. He’d been stripped of his championship title by boxing’s regulating authorities the day he was arrested.

Ali Photographed By Gordon Parks During His Exile From Boxing

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He gave up his career and his freedom and put his fortune at risk, all for something he believed in.

Something he believed in.

Which sports celebrity today believes in anything?

Which American today would risk a nickel on something he or she believes in?

It all turned out well for Muhammad Ali, of course. His conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court. He was allowed to compete for the heavywieght title again and he won it back.

In his doddering years, he has become this nation’s kindly, lovable grandpa. When he dies, politicians and wags will fall all over each other trying to be the first to say what a great man he was.

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But on April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali had no idea that would happen.

He only knew his public opposition to the Vietnam War was worth risking everything he had.

That was courage.

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