Japandroids

“Heart’s terrain is never a prairie

But you weren’t wary

You took my hand.”

   “Continuous Thunder,” Japandroids

“Celebration Rock,” the brilliant new CD by Japandroids, the duo of guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse, starts and ends with sound of fireworks or thunder.  In between are eight power rock selections reminiscent of the Replacements. Robert Blaszkiewicz, who turned me on to them, promised that one of their songs will be on his “best of 2012” list.  My candidate, “The House that Heaven Built,” concludes, “If they try to slow me down, tell ’em all to go to hell.”  I wonder if Chris Kern has heard them.  He’s living in Japan and most of his Facebook posts are in Japanese.

If Sheriff Dominguez was wary of me at the onset of the two-plus years we worked on his autobiography, he never let it show.  The excellence of the end result redeems that faith, I believe.  More copies arrived from Indiana University Press.  I am setting up several university appearances for him.  Times writer Jane Ammeson interviewed both Roy and me about “Valor.”  I mentioned how Jesse Villalpando a quarter-century ago instilled in us the importance of documenting the contributions of Latinos to the heritage of the Calumet Region.  Jane co-edited a pictorial history of Miller Beach and is related to Dan Simon, author of an article I used in “Forging a Community” about Mexican immigration to East Chicago.  In short, Jane has an appreciation of “Valor’s” importance and is a perfect choice for doing a special feature on Roy’s autobiography.

Anne Hathaway as Selina the Catwoman stole the show in “The Dark Knight Rises.”  While Christian Bale as the caped crusader shows signs of age, she is strong, witty, clever, and blows away the villainous Bane. While the general mood of the film was bleak, there were a few campy moments, such as Bane commenting on the lovely voice of the kid singing the National Anthem before he blows up the football stadium.

Anthony Rizzo, acquired from the Padres last year, is the latest “great white hope” to join the Cubs.  Since called up from Iowa, he is hitting over .300 and has had several game-winning hits. I spotted a student wearing a Cubs shirt with “Rizzo” and “ 44” on the back, undoubtedly the first of many if he doesn’t fade like so many previous phenoms.  Meanwhile, Chicago management has traded Dempster and Maholm, the team’s two best pitchers.

Because Chick-fil-a president Dan Cathy spoke out against gay marriage, some activists are calling for a boycott of the fast food chain.  In Merrillville a crowd showed up Wednesday in support of Cathy’s first amendment rights, or maybe they were simply homophobes.  I have no plans to eat at Chick-fil-A and don’t fault gays for taking their business elsewhere.  Recently the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its position of excluding gays, something more worth getting worked up about than the views of a greasy fried chicken mogul. 

I declined Jerry Davich’s offer to call in to his radio show Monday, preferring instead to appear in person.  He said he had already booked several other guests and that he was less interested in Roy Dominguez’s “Valor” than my views on other historical issues.  Having sent him an electronic copy of my afterword where I tried to make clear that the autobiography was a significant and original contribution to the social, ethnic, and political history of Northwest Indiana, I responded: “Let me know if you’d like me to appear in person on a future show to talk about the importance of documenting the Latino experience in the Calumet Region.”  Jerry replied, “Sure, Jim, let’s go with the following Monday.  Thanks for your patience.”  So a week from Monday it is.

Writing up minutes as secretary for the condo association board, I included this innocuous paragraph about Wednesday’s meeting: “Concerning the planting of shrubbery near the Easement behind Units 401 and 403, it was agreed that the board should comply with the assertion of Robert Lovell, Utilities Superintendent for the Town of Chesterton, that the proposed arborvitae should not encroach within eight feet of the cement easement.  In order to allow for growth of the shrubbery, the board voted 5-0 with two abstentions that they should be planted at least 11 feet from the cement easement.”  What I left out is that we have been having raucous disagreements over this for several months and that the eleven feet was a compromise that Leo Ronda and I orchestrated after much strident debate.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, nicknamed the “flying squirrel,” captured gold in the women’s all-around competition, edging out Russia’s Viktoria Komova. Gabby, Jackie Gipson told me, has Gary connections.  Her mother Natalie attended Roosevelt High School, and her grandparents, Theodore (a retired steelworker) and Nadean Hawkins, still reside in the Steel City.

“A Century of Music: 1910-Present” debuted Thursday at the Main Square Gazebo in Highland.  Dave, in charge of the sound system, sang “American Pie” and “Babe” and was in a Beatles medley that allowed him to give out shine on the chorus to “Hey Jude.”  It had been a stressful day, with a folder containing about 50 jpegs mysteriously disappearing from my computer.  It will probably take ten or 20 hours to track them all down, but, oh well, nobody died.  So it was relaxing to be outside attending such a good show with family and friends, including Robert, Maryann, and Missy.  The opening number was “Danny Boy,” one of my father’s favorites.  Youngsters loved “YMCA,” especially after being invited to join the guys on stage dressed appropriately in gay apparel as an Indian, construction worker, cowboy, cop, and biker.  The final number featured Stephanie Panchisin, dressed like Katy Perry, singing “Firework” with the entire cast joining in.  

I enjoyed seeing “The Music Man” for the second time even more than last week, especially because James didn’t have a conflict with “Bard in the Park” and could be in the final scene with the boys’ band.  In one scene Amaryllis (Becca) teases Winthrop (Lucas Reinhart) about his lisp, which becomes less pronounced as the play goes on because of Professor Harold Hill (Charley Blum) giving him more confidence.  I got home in time to see Jimmy Cliff performing “One More” on Letterman.