Little by Little

“Obligation, complication
Routines and schedules
Drug and kill you.”
“Little By Little,” Radiohead

Hearing Radiohead and “Penny Lane” got me wondering if any newly released album has the impact that “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” did in 1967. People played it in groups and studied the lyrics for deep meanings. “Penny Lane,” although recorded during the “Sgt. Pepper” sessions was released as a single with “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the flip side and put on the “Magical Mystery Tour” album.

Attended Nicole Anslover and Chris Young’s class on The Presidency, dealing with the evolution of campaign slogans and speeches. Chris summarized Harrison’s defeat of Van Buren in 1840 – when the Whigs’ “Log Cabin campaign” incorporated slogans such as “Van, Van’s a Used Up Man” and “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too.” Nicole led a discussion about TV-age elections. She showed clips of the infamous 1964 “Daisy” ad where LBJ warned of a nuclear war if Goldwater was elected and Reagan’s 1984 “Morning in America” commercial showing white folks enjoying the fruits of prosperity. Walter Mondale that year effectively used “Where’s the Beef” against fellow Democrat Gary Hart – ironic because Hart was a policy wonk whereas Mondale was a Humphrey liberal without an original thought during his entire career. I got a laugh when I mention the 1968 poster of a pregnant girl scout juxtaposed with the Republican slogan “Nixon’s the One.”

Students reported on campaign addresses, including Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech and Bobby Kennedy’s remarks in Indianapolis following the assassination of Martin Luther King. One woman cited William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech, and I mentioned how Mark Hanna amassed a huge war chest from corporate titans and marketed William McKinley in 1896 as the “Advance Agent of Prosperity.” Afterwards I emailed Nicole: “When you asked me about crucial elections, I was tempted to say even more about 1896, the first time since 1860 there was a real choice between a reformer and a conservative and a representative of the rural West and South against the candidate of the industrialized East. Even the contrast between the campaigns is striking, Bryan traversing the country and McKinley on the Front Porch. Little wonder big business opened its coffers to defeat the Great Commoner. It took the skill of a Mark Hanna, and every dirty trick in his book for the Republicans to beat “Billy Bryan.” More people voted for Bryan than any previous winning candidate; too bad even a half million more voted for McKinley. A divided Democratic Party and Bryan’s not winning over enough industrial workers did him in.”

Nicole wrote back: “Thanks for coming and for contributing to the class. I'm glad you enjoyed it--please, come any time! I agree about 1896 - I think we easily could have done the whole class just on that, and used some of Bryan's speeches for color.” Nicole bears a slight resemblance to my childhood friend Bobby Davis, who was fascinated with train schedules and got a job as a station agent before dying at a young age. Would she be insulted, I wonder, by that observation. I once told sister-in-law Maureen she looked a little like Robert Mitchum and she wasn’t amused even though I was thinking of Mitchum’s sexy “bedroom” eyes. Bobby Davis’ mother had expressive eyes, too, and we’d always bet a cake on the All-Star game. While we lived in Michigan, I stayed a week at their house, which old girlfriend Pam Tucker and her family moved into a couple years later.

Jesse Salomon ordered “Daughters of Penelope” and a photo of Gary’s old Miramar Ballroom, which featured big bands during the “swing era” as well as ethnic bands. Steve found one in the Milan Opacich collection.

Brady Wade posted a YouTube spoof of Rebecca Black’s video “Friday.” He narrated the inane words, using a Russian accent for the line, “”Everybody’s Rushin’.” At the end the ‘tweens’ car are in goes over a cliff, and the video warns, “Don’t let 13 year-olds drive – or sing.”

The Tacoma Art Museum, where Gaard Murchy Logan is a docent, is planning to host the gay art exhibit censored by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery because of pressure from Republican legislators. A David Wojnarowicz video includes a depiction of Jesus on the cross with ants crawling on him as well as a guy masturbating. The museum presently has, according to Gaard, “a small interactive exhibit that includes some of David Wojnarowicz’s art and links to the It Gets Better Project started by a Seattle local, Dan Savage, and his partner. We’ve got this great alternative newspaper out here called The Stranger with which Savage has been closely involved for years.” I replied: “Good for Tacoma’s museum and shame on the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. I see nothing obscene about David Wojnarowicz’s “A Fire in the Belly.” Hopefully the controversy will boost attendance. Last fall when IUN’s GLBT Alliance had an awareness program about gay teen suicides, they showed the “It Gets Better” YouTube video of Dan Savage and partner Terry. I enjoyed “The Stranger” article on the Secret Sex Lives of Seattle Pacific University Students. It reminded me of my friend Anne Balay’s oral history research into GLBT steelworkers.”

Might be the last day I can say this, but the Cubs are undefeated. SI has the Phillies starters on the cover of its baseball preview issue but predicts Red Sox over Giants in the World Series. Learned that Chad Ochocinco’s last name is Spanish for his uniform number – 85.

Michael Bayer arrived from Vermont for the weekend with seven year-old grandson Eli, whose dad moved to Savannah where he is a boat captain. Michael also came in to see Ken Applehans, who is ailing. Eli’s birthday is the same as Phil’s –March 26 – so we celebrated it five days late. Phil’s family is on its way to Puerto Rico. Before they left, Phil sent an email entitled “If I die” that transferred the family assets to Alissa if they all went down in a plane crash.