tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145427662024-03-13T15:46:29.840-04:00Tony the Tour Guy's Mostly 1970s NYC History BlogWelcome to Tony the Tour Guy's blog! Here we feature Tony's rants about various topics in New York City history, with particular emphasis upon that typically unappreciated decade, the Seventies.
For our purposes, the era began roughly at the time when Jimi Hendrix died (9/18/70) and ended with the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the freedom of the Iran hostages (1/20/81).
We cover everything from Pet Rocks to the Moonies to Checker Taxicabs here, and welcome your participation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-7709668106300621042007-05-13T17:11:00.000-04:002008-11-19T01:17:30.522-05:00Black Squirrels in the Bronx<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7cABhwKej7PJuTuM4mVtICCpA3e8U26Fx9WhtDwrHGuDN95PYRErnJvAHUfek2q1QhsCFaGWYtbqBBR5mgtTj2iyztctx-Kmh2UNnSYM4EqGbe2hGJeXMZHyp3N-cM1VlI8o/s1600-h/Black+Squirrel+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7cABhwKej7PJuTuM4mVtICCpA3e8U26Fx9WhtDwrHGuDN95PYRErnJvAHUfek2q1QhsCFaGWYtbqBBR5mgtTj2iyztctx-Kmh2UNnSYM4EqGbe2hGJeXMZHyp3N-cM1VlI8o/s320/Black+Squirrel+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064157743077008770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt3nfKjg3wnNnJJdT1T7B4CisjZFKnRnFYMuT7Hr86bA3rLxRSy-HgQVvlEOfg-m72qS-PJppN4XSmt0UUTrJDo8oxWri8b72lE_1hW84PPD5U6wkfBp0UBqDFugjS_CTITdX/s1600-h/Black+Squirrel+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIt3nfKjg3wnNnJJdT1T7B4CisjZFKnRnFYMuT7Hr86bA3rLxRSy-HgQVvlEOfg-m72qS-PJppN4XSmt0UUTrJDo8oxWri8b72lE_1hW84PPD5U6wkfBp0UBqDFugjS_CTITdX/s320/Black+Squirrel+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064157747371976082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Took these pictures yesterday in Eastchester Heights, Bronx. Actually, I've spotted black squirrels in several areas about town, including Sunnyside and the Bronx Botanical Garden. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">These beauties are the same species as their gray and brown friends; they're all Eastern Gray Squirrels. It's just a genetic variation that gives them their coloring. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-67349571017502526812007-04-30T18:16:00.001-04:002007-04-30T18:16:14.172-04:00Race-Baiting Doesn't WorkThose of us who attended the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on April 17 hear a lot of spurious arguments against designation. They don't bother me so much; everyone is entitled to their opinion. But the absolute low point of the day came when a speaker started accusing preservationists of racism and discrimination. Then, when people started grumbling (not heckling) she accused them of being "rude." <br> <br> Anyone who has gotten to know the preservationists in Sunnyside as I have will note that they're a pretty broad-minded bunch. If the group were a bunch of ignorant Archie Bunkers most of us would not have joined it, especially the members of minority groups, who are all represented in its ranks. So, why did this particular person say what she did? Perhaps she was just looking to strike a blow at the proponents of landmarking by making such a strong accusation. Or perhaps she is used to people who are so hyper-sensitive and insecure about being called bigots that they just roll over when people make that accusation. (I've met people like that, and now avoid them). To such race-baiters I offer Emerson's closing words to his famous essay <i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>Self Reliance<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i>: "Nothing will bring you peace but the triumph of principles." We preservationists are broad-minded, and we're also very confident in our principles. And that peace of mind makes us immune from such accusations. <br> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-54748224603023156892007-04-27T10:27:00.000-04:002007-04-27T10:43:08.935-04:00Why don't New Yorkers Care More About History?<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Recently I attended a hearing on the proposed designation of Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, as a landmark. It was great to see so many people there who care passionately about preserving a historic piece of our town. They blew away their opponents, a lame crew of race-baiters and "my home is my castle" types. Sadly, the Sunnyside Preservationists seem to be an exception to the rule. New Yorkers, with the exception of preservationists (and tour guides!) seem to not give a fig about their city's future. Or they may only care about their own little community, their own ethnic group or well-known landmarks.<br /><br />Some will argue that a city like ours needs to "evolve," and that means parting with historic buildings, parks, streets, trees, etc. Yes, we need to evolve, but do we, or should we, part with these treasures? When I was in Barcelona I saw an old city coexisting well with a new one. Walking along the famous Ramblas you see old buildings side-by-side with Gaudi's modernist creations and numerous modern conveniences. The streets aren't all cut out like a geometric grid. People really CARE about Barcelona, and it shows.<br /><br />No matter where you're from, once you come to NYC you are also a New Yorker. Our rich history and culture become part of you. Look at it. Enjoy it. Learn about it. And help save it.<br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-5259009621346718272007-04-14T13:06:00.000-04:002007-04-14T13:09:58.718-04:00The News of June, 2001<pre style="font-family: courier new;" wrap=""><span style="font-size:130%;">Finally, what was going on in Fun City on 6/1/71?<br /><br />The City proposed an experimental program to put 500 addicts on "maintenance" doses of heroin. No, not methadone, heroin.<br /><br />Murder and manslaughter were up 7.1% over 1970, and NYC ranked 9th on the list of most dangerous cities in America. The most dangerous city? Cleavland.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Enquiring Photographer asked what we thought of Bishop Fulton Sheen's recent remark that Americans had become "anti-everything." Designer E. S. said this only applied to a "blatant, name-shouting minority group of radicals." Mr. T. V., meanwhile, added that "Americans are not anti-hero.<br />They're looking for a hero."<br /><br />The big play was "Lenny" staring Cliff Gorman, based upon the life of Lenny Bruce (and which my high school class went to see). "A dynamite schtick of theatre. Rages with scatological fury." - Clive Barnes.<br /><br />Some prices:<br /><br />Olivetti-Underwood manual typewriter $74.50<br />Dual (brand) turntable $99.50<br />Month of Teleprompter cable TV $6.00<br />Round-trip airfare to Chicago $118.00</span></pre>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-68508121362415175742007-04-14T13:05:00.000-04:002007-04-14T13:06:47.825-04:00The News 6/75<pre style="font-family: arial;" wrap=""><span style="font-size:130%;">Continuing on our tour of the news on various dates, hear's what was<br />reported on 6/1/75. Mostly we read about the municipal budget crisis.<br /><br />The City's welfare rolls topped one million.<br /><br />Experts were proposing ways to raise revenue for the city, including a 5 to<br />10-cent increase in the subway fare, applying the sales tax to haircuts,<br />closing four out of the five city zoos and shutting down WNYC radio and TV<br />(then owned by the government).<br /><br />Mayor Abe Beame announced that the Municipal Assistance Corporation would<br />float "Big Mac Bonds" to help bail out the city.<br /><br />Artists were being priced out of lofts.<br /><br />The Enquiring Photographer asked passers by what they thought of a recent<br />survey indicating one-third of us had lost faith in the American Dream. Mr.<br />J. S., a salesman from Brooklyn, agreed, pointing out that a year of<br />college could set parents back $5,000.<br /><br />All was not sad, however. You could hear Phyllis Diller for 60 seconds by<br />calling Dial-a-Joke.<br /><br />"Godfather Part II," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Prisoner of<br />Second Avenue" were all on the silver screen, while Broadway featured "A<br />Chorus Line" and "Grease."<br /><br />You could get the latest Pointer Sisters LP for $3.97 at Korvettes, while a<br />pair of Converse sneakers were $9.98 and a basic Sharp calculator was a<br />whopping $19.95. Who can forget those weighty calculators?</span></pre>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-73760172233224904622007-04-14T13:01:00.000-04:002007-04-14T13:02:24.679-04:00The News: 6/1/1979<pre wrap="">So, what happened around NYC on 6/1/79? I've checked the microfilm versions<br />of the DAILY NEWS and the NEW YORK TIMES to find out. If you want to learn<br />about the Seventies I recommend this method! Pick a date; visit the<br />library and bring lots of change for the microfilm printer.<br /><br />Mr. Andrew Medosa was fatally shot in the groin in an argument over<br />positions in line at a gas station. As the gas shortage continued, prices<br />per gallon reached $0.88.4.<br /><br />In economic news, inflation was running at the rate of 8 to 10% a year.<br />Passbook savings accounts were paying between 5.25 and 5.5% interest.<br /><br />DJs Paco (KTU) and Frankie Crocker (BLS) were co-hosting Disco Expo at the<br />New York Collisseum.<br /><br />Broadway saw the likes of "Best Little Whore House in Texas," "Sweeny<br />Todd" and Al Paccino in "Richard III."<br /><br />Popular films included "Grease," "Hair," "The China Syndrome" and "La Cage<br />Aux Folles."<br /><br />At Alexanders, men's "sports" (leisure) suits were only $19.99 and casual<br />shoes $7.</pre>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-12012715054788176322007-02-09T22:32:00.000-05:002007-01-26T18:28:02.628-05:00Leisure Suits<pre wrap=""><span style="font-size:130%;">People wore some tacky stuff during the Seventies, but nothing, I mean NOTHING, can compare with the much maligned leisure suit.<br /><br />Now, I never was into fashion, but as far as I can recall a lesiure suit was a jacket and pants combination designed for casual use without a tie. (Ties were a bit too conservative for many men during the Seventies). The jackets often resembled large shirts and could button up pretty close to the collar, making the wearer look a bit like Chairman Mao.<br /><br />Only folk musicians, organics and rapidly aging hipsters wore natural fabrics during the Decade of Disco. Leisure suits were for none of the above, and the favorite fabric for these has to have been polyester. Yeah, it didn't "breathe" well, but it didn't wrinkle, either. The "double-knit" weave of this fabric was especially popular.</span></pre>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-4866289478151362782007-01-26T18:22:00.000-05:002008-11-19T01:17:30.739-05:00Scared Straight?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzT67ci0lyVgu28TvuYqNZ6Yv3hIgNN82auxTOpXEawjiQe2KJYe-MmiD-2hkkQOm1vyoJOTd6nD8FUdD9N7alri3NFssKHHpjdGc5ylbgTkSWXEFUTix-J4R9-bt1tKRVmTxf/s1600-h/ScaredStraight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzT67ci0lyVgu28TvuYqNZ6Yv3hIgNN82auxTOpXEawjiQe2KJYe-MmiD-2hkkQOm1vyoJOTd6nD8FUdD9N7alri3NFssKHHpjdGc5ylbgTkSWXEFUTix-J4R9-bt1tKRVmTxf/s320/ScaredStraight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024484678836571986" border="0" /></a><br />What do you do with juvenile delinquents? Counsel 'em? Jail 'em? "Scared Straight" was a 1978 film documenting a program in which kids guilty ofminor offenses were brought to a maximum-security prison, where hardened convicts attempted to frighten them away from lives of crime.<br /><br />The show took place in Rahway State Prison in New Jersey - that huge fortress visible from Routes 1 and 9 near the Woodbridge Mall which Bruce Springsteen mentioned in "Born in the USA." ("Down in the shadow of the penitentury / by the gas fires of the refinery...") Here kids who thought they were tough were confronted with the rude realities of prison by lifers who screamed at them. To a nation which was getting tired of 60s era excuses for criminal behavior, the program made a hellova lotta sense.<br /><br />Peter Falk, star of the "Columbo" TV series, narrated the film, which<br />became quite popular. Soon "Scared Straight" programs were starting all<br />over the country, although many communities thought they could scrimp on<br />the actual prison visit and change kids by just showing them a movie. In a<br />sense, the SS movement was emblematic of the changing attitude of the<br />public towards crime and punishment which happened in the latter part of<br />the Seventies.<br /><br />Initially the philosophy of Scared Straight was praised, as its advocates<br />cited the fact that most of the kids in the initial program did not become<br />criminals. Soon, however, criminologists were pointing out that none of the<br />teens in the film had been convicted of a felony, and the majority of them<br />would have ended up straight in the first place. Other researchers believed<br />the program was actually worse than doing nothing. My take? I doubt if many<br />kids really intent on becoming crooks would be deterred by such a project,<br />intense though it may be. The brutality of prison life is common knowledge;<br />it's not as if these kids thought it was a country club. Everyone knows<br />that teenagers are convinced that they will never face the real<br />consequences of bad behavior, be it smoking or driving while drunk. I<br />worked briefly at a literacy program run for tough kids, and do you know<br />what their favorite books were? Right, prison stories.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-45904674607229272832007-01-15T12:10:00.000-05:002007-01-15T12:12:46.680-05:00ZAMM and PsychiatryZAMM says something of the early Seventies approach to psychology, which is to say that it was something of a mish-mash of notions about mental health, along with a bit of romanticization of insanity. Let's be fair to Pirsig, though; psychiatry as a field was more primitive back then (witness his having to undergo electro-shock therapy) and the bio-chemical origins of mental illness were not well-understood.<br /><br />The Seventies were awash with books written by and about shrinks, most of them pretty lame. It was a decade of self-help, although minus the 12-step component. Classical Freud was still in vogue, and if a person went nuts there were many who would still blame their parents for botching the toilet training. On the other hand were "experts" like Thomas Szasz, the psychiatrist who insisted that there was no such thing as mental illness at all. There were accounts of mental illness, probably most notably <span style="font-style: italic;">The Eden Express </span>by Kurt Vonnegut's son Mark, which laid the ordeal of somebody suffering from schizophrenia out in horrifying detail, but which still searched for some hidden meaning in delusion. And of course there were still advocates of drugs which induced temporary insanity, i.e.: the psychedelics, who thought that profound observations could be had by inducing hallucinations. (Have you ever met somebody who took that stuff who had any great insights? (Most of the acid heads I've encountered were pretty boring). <br /><br />Pirsig's protagonist questions some notions of insanity from a very personal perspective, considering his past experiences, which ended with his being involuntarily committed to a hospital after his wife finds him sitting in what amounted to a catatonic state. How he got that way is fascinating, and one could debate the issue endlessly. But there is no romanticization here; the ghost of the protagonist's past is coming back to haunt him, and he fears becoming insane again, while watching his son behave in an increasingly bizarre manner. How he reconciles his experiences is fascinating.<br /><br />Do read this book. If you already read it during the Seventies, I strongly suggest reading the newer editions, which include an update by the author.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-64490371908065409442007-01-08T10:18:00.000-05:002007-01-08T10:42:34.861-05:00Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"Shines like an electric dream..." So said the usually cynical <span style="font-style: italic;">Village Voice</span> about Robert M. Pirsig's 1974 autobiographical novel - one of the most popular books of the Seventies. Whole courses have been written about ZAMM, along with an excellent guidebook.<br /><br />Although the title suggests a cross between <span style="font-style: italic;">Easy Rider</span> and when the Beatles found a guru, the author readily admits that his book isn't terribly factual about either Zen or motorcycles. The work can be read on many levels, so many that I'll do several entries on it, starting with the most basic.<br /><br />Pirsig's protagonist and his son are on a cross-country tour using his old Honda, along with two friends of the family. The protagonist, a technical editor, has a history of mental illness, having gone completely psychotic while working on his doctorate in philosophy. (When Steve Martin said that philosophy can screw you up for life, he was not entirely joking!) Pirsig describes his philosophical inquiries, chiefly regarding a failed attempt to actually define the concept of "Quality," in mini essays interspersed with the journey, during which his son is showing early signs of mental illness himself. To make things even more frightening, the protagonist fears that his own psychosis is returning.<br /><br />Eventually, however, the father and son reach a form of rapport. The boy in effect assures his dad that his illness is <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>returning, and the father learns a few badly-needed lessons about how to relate to a kid.<br /><br />Pirsig picks up on the backlash against ugly technology that characterized the begining of the 70s, as well as the quest for a new philosophy that would serve the decade where old notions did not just work. (Well, they did work for the 11 million or so folks who read <span style="font-style: italic;">Late Great Planet Earth</span> - the best-seller of the decade, but I will be blunt here: that stuff is on the level of the <span style="font-style: italic;">National Enquirer</span>).<br /><br />Robert Redford at one time contemplated making a film version of ZAMM. Another great fan of the book was NBA coach Phil Jackson.<br />BTW: To get into a Seventies frame of mind, I wrote a draft of this essay on my old Smith Corona typewriter, although I used a Liquid Paper pen instead of the traditional bottle and brush. The typewriter felt strange. As for the correction pen, I like the old stuff better.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-36860684213963567732006-12-28T18:13:00.000-05:002006-12-28T18:19:33.931-05:00Gerald R. Ford: Seventies President?Jerry Ford was the most "Seventies" of the three chief executives who served during that decade. Here are a few ideas:<br /><br /><ol><li>He was the first to be satirized on Saturday Night Live.</li><li>He did not pander to the religious right, or wear his religion on his sleeve.</li><li>Ford stumbled and fell (sometimes in the physical sense). That was what we were all doing during the Seventies. Things were not going well, and people were upset. Lucky for Ford he got up and dusted himself off. Ford saw that the myth of America's perpetual progress was just that - a myth. </li><li>He just <span style="font-style: italic;">found </span>himself in the White House. Nobody elected Ford; indeed few heard of him before he was picked to replace the disgraced Spiro T. Agnew. During the Seventies we learned that much of Life is beyond our control, and to a considerable extent we're just carried along by it. Remember the Talking Heads? "You may find yourself...."</li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-90802952651086650492006-12-16T09:04:00.000-05:002006-12-16T09:15:43.874-05:00Liquid PaperThis stuff, when it came on the scene, was considered a miracle. You could cover over mistakes on typed, or even hand-written documents, done on plain paper, as opposed to sticky, blurry Corrasable Bond. The first batches of LP were alcohol-based, so that they would dry quickly. You dabbed the stuff onto the paper, maybe blew upon it if you were in a hurry, then typed your corrected text. Of course, the stuff was not easy to work with, and typewriters all over town soon were covered with splashes of white paint, as were the fingers of many a typist. Another disadvantage of this LP was that the chemical rapidly evaporated in the bottle, and you had to add thinner (sold seperately). If the LP was too thick, your corrections looked like they were typed on sandpaper.<br /><br />Liquid Paper then came out with a water-based compound that was certainly easier to clean up, but took forever to dry. Most of us shunned it. They also had varieties of LP made especially for handwriting, and in different colors. <br /><br />A major competitor to LP was something called Wite-Out. Some of you will recall the old "blonde joke" -<br /><br />Q: How do you know if a blonde used your word processor?<br />A: There's Wite-Out on the screen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-70295122952061122702006-12-14T18:57:00.000-05:002006-12-14T19:02:36.262-05:00Corrasable Bond Paper<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: courier new;">So, you made a mistake typing that term paper on the IBM Selectric. Not a problem if you used Eaton's Corrasable Bond Paper. This stuff was a godsend for college kids. It consisted of thin typing paper, coated with a wax-like substance that could be removed with a simple pencil eraser. If you made a boo-boo, it could easily be removed and re-typed.<br /><br />Eaton's was great for the typist, but not so for the reader. For one thing, the surface of the paper became extremely sticky when moist. Once a professor of mine spilled some liquid on a paper it took me hours to type, and the pages all became hopelessly glued together. Luckily he liked what he had already read, and gave me an A. The image on Corrasable was also not exactly sharp, and erasures could leave blurs. As a result, some of us would take our papers to a copying store and have them xeroxed onto plain paper. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-91328325102661528732006-12-12T15:29:00.000-05:002008-11-19T01:17:31.089-05:0070s Word Processing Part 1: The IBM Selectric<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWc1cqnwxfXKZqE8Uhc0-dAGQzKG0tMQqrJcRjsWprdCi0g78-JmASG_cEVWroqNZ3Qngy2lt56dk3Op6NyOC7JBTFzy5-S3u6Esz_da4wSq4puTsmLhlUiW3zZMKS6t2VyBV/s1600-h/selectric.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWc1cqnwxfXKZqE8Uhc0-dAGQzKG0tMQqrJcRjsWprdCi0g78-JmASG_cEVWroqNZ3Qngy2lt56dk3Op6NyOC7JBTFzy5-S3u6Esz_da4wSq4puTsmLhlUiW3zZMKS6t2VyBV/s320/selectric.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007742329075170050" border="0" /></a><br />During the Seventies we all typed our school reports on typewriters, and, if we were lucky we got to do this on an IBM Selectric. The Selectric, a very heavy-duty office machine, was the product of Big Blue back when they had something of a monopoly on the market for high-end typewriters. It wasn't an "electronic" machine, like the ones Brother makes, but simply an "electric" model that used an interchangable collection of golfball sized elements, each with a different typeface, plus ribbons that came in a cartridge resembling a cassette.<br /><br />The <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgg59GDECtkb2lINoamams6Wanw80vBsy53DgsXczYAQpL_mTNhHVhU_yWPp1LQ-IXm3gTLzbt1OPmySgHD6QyAv8ctRM6D5c2pXTUAsyFVY8O-8-gHnstoPpGGxdJHzheqM9/s1600-h/selectric+ball.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgg59GDECtkb2lINoamams6Wanw80vBsy53DgsXczYAQpL_mTNhHVhU_yWPp1LQ-IXm3gTLzbt1OPmySgHD6QyAv8ctRM6D5c2pXTUAsyFVY8O-8-gHnstoPpGGxdJHzheqM9/s320/selectric+ball.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007742333370137362" border="0" /></a>Selectric was noisy, and if you learned to type on a manual machine, it took some getting used to. Nevertheless, it was far easier to work with than your parents' old Smith Corona manual. For one, it had automatic carriage return at the end of a line, a host of type fonts available, and ribbons that didn't get ink all over your hands when you had to change them. Plus, hitting the shift key did not sometimes result in your getting half of a lower case charater and half the upper case.<br /><br />Many colleges and libraries had selectrics that you could rent by the hour. I was lucky to have an old model at home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-85749337340664151592006-12-11T10:15:00.000-05:002006-12-11T10:24:05.699-05:00The "Good Old Days?"<span style="font-size:130%;">I get lots of e-mails asking about my egg cream article, which can be found various places around the web. Seems that lots of folks are nostaligic about the days of soda fountain drinks, and I hardy blame them - when it comes to the food.<br /><br />Those of us in the "history business" often encounter folks who are nostalgic for the good old days of NYC. Well, I can understand longing for a good egg cream, but let us not forget that this town, like most of the world, was not as hospitable a place in years back. Crime was much more rampant, for example. Recently I was researching a murder case from 1940 and saw how routine both killings and executions were in the days of Murder, Inc. The NY TIMES would give about two inches of one column when three guys got the hot seat at Sing-Sing for robbing a man of $2. It was no big deal.<br /><br />The subways were cleaner, I will agree. But they also didn't have air conditioning, and were noisy as hell! Remember those old BMT cars with the cealing fans- lit by incandescent bulbs?<br /><br />As for public morality, Tammany Hall beat anything we see nowadays. There were also brothels everywhere.<br /><br />Sometimes when I hear longing for the good old days of NYC I am reminded of Ronald Reagan's famous incident when he commented on how this country didn't even know it had a race problem. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-37457351367993109962006-12-04T18:07:00.000-05:002008-11-19T01:17:31.179-05:00Why did so many of us despise the Osmonds?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboTvwgJy4tq0xffVaqBNzhuxwyJclwCJWUsuPQANC_PtePR1fH9yQD9qajXv109ZWZR3ia6jb9RiJQOGyYfz4J5OrGwIngbJziLoVLFlCt2QY2omkzS-uNFTBiCr8dr892tKW/s1600-h/Donnymarie.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboTvwgJy4tq0xffVaqBNzhuxwyJclwCJWUsuPQANC_PtePR1fH9yQD9qajXv109ZWZR3ia6jb9RiJQOGyYfz4J5OrGwIngbJziLoVLFlCt2QY2omkzS-uNFTBiCr8dr892tKW/s320/Donnymarie.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5004815394445219042" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">From 1976 to 1979 Donny and Marie Osmond had a hugely popular variety show. This followed their years of success in the bubblegum pop music business, in which they sold millions of records. Yet to most New Yorkers over 14, the Osmonds were "uncool," silly and fake. Why? Let's look at some common explanations:<br /><br /></span></span><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">They were Mormons.</span> And so were the guys in Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Nobody cared about that with the fat guys from Canada.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">They were clean. </span>Hell, Frank Zappa never used drugs. Nor did The Boss. And what about the King of Squeaky Clean, John Denver?</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">They couldn't sing.</span> Now wait. Donny and Marie Osmond both went on to sing in Broadway shows. You can't be tone deaf and make it on Broadway.<br /></li></ol>No, these reasons don't make sense. For the real reason, friends, we need look no further than their theme song - "I'm a little bit Country. I'm a little bit Rock and Roll." Put the emphasis upon "little bit." Good country and rock music comes from the gut, from the tough lives of everyday men and women. It's a little rough around the edges, sometimes VERY rough, but that's how Life is. Donny and Marie, along with their umpteen relatives, tried so hard to present a Disney-esque show, devoid of the real spirit of these forms of music. And, just like Disney's cartoons, they reeked of falsehood.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-67843303905074981502006-11-26T11:36:00.000-05:002006-11-26T13:53:41.839-05:00Going Vegetarian in the 70s<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1966/1775/1600/542009/Laurelskitchen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1966/1775/320/378379/Laurelskitchen.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Although some people might consider the hippie 60s to be the time when many Americans decided to give up, or sharply curtail, their meat consumption, it was during the allegedly vain 70s that the vegetarian movement really started taking off. Maybe it was the disappointment which many of us felt with the larger social movements of the prior decade, which did not create the utopias their originators had hoped for (or at least <span style="font-style: italic;">said </span>they wanted), but for millions of us the switch to a vegetarian diet, along with small environmental moves such as recycling, became sometheing we could do to make the world better - and be healthier at the same time.<br /><br />Vegetarianism actually has a long history in America, thanks somewhat to leaders such as Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yeah, as in the cereals), who argued that we could adequately subsist on non-meat diets if we simply balanced our protein sources. Remember Loma Linda brand baby formulas? They were a product of the Adventist movement, and its emphasis upon vegetarianism. In fact, the Loma Linda brand made all sorts of vegetarian products during the 70s, including "Tender Cuts," which were designed to taste like fish, but really resembled, well, Tender Cuts. Vegetable substitutes for meat dishes were pretty primative back then.<br /><br />Several books made vegetarianism not only a health and humanitarian issue, but one of global survival. Probably the best of these was <span style="font-style: italic;">Diet for a Small Planet,</span> by Frances Moore Lappe (still in print), which stressed the idea of "complimentary proteins. In order to get the requisite essential amino acids, Lappe argued, we need to mix our vegetarian sources so that one food makes up for the defficiencies of another. The results, typically mixtures of legumes and grains, were remarkably close to what rural folks had been doing for hundreds of years (think succatash or rice and beans). Not only was vegetarianism healthy, the author stated, but it could help alleviate hunger. We grow more than enough food to feed the planet, but jpractices such as pumping beef steers full of grain waste an astonishing amount of vegetable protein. How much? Well, consider that it takes 14 pounds of grain protein to produce one pound of meat protein.<br /><br />Although <span style="font-style: italic;">Diets </span>provided quite a few good recipes, cookbooks for vegetarians also were hot items during the Seventies. Probably the best-known and loved was <span style="font-style: italic;">Laurel's Kitchen</span>, which mixed sophisticated culinary ideas with a zillion nutritional tables and (in restrospect) a rather simplistic view of the role of women at home. Indeed, only a stay-at-home mother would have the time to make some of the stuff Laurel suggested. Oh yes, she should also turn off the radio while cooking, so that she could fully participate in the experience. But maybe I'm being too hard on Laura, who was only echoing what a lot of people were thinking.<br /><br />The Seventies also saw a one-week national "meat boycott." How successful it was I do not recall, but the cattlemen were not happy with the idea, and for months afterwards we would hear how meat prices had to go up because of the horrible losses they supposedly incurred during one week.<br /><br />As the 80s rolled in things like ecology and concern for hungry people went out of vogue for a while. Indeed, it seemed like everyone who wanted to get elected president had to talk about cattle ranching, as if this were something most Americans knew anything about (aside from watching Westerns). The meat industry started running ads featuring macho types like James Garner stressing that beef was "Real food for real people."<br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1162938914138300742006-11-07T17:20:00.000-05:002006-11-07T17:35:14.173-05:00Condemned by the Legion of Decency!!!Good Catholic kids were not supposed to see movies that were deemed morally objectionable. And to help us decide just which films to avoid (or see, depending upon whether you took the whole thing seriously) there existed an organization called the Legion of Decency, whose job it was to rate films. The rankings were then published in local Catholic publications, like The <em>Tablet</em>, the Diocese of Brooklyn's official paper. And once a year, the schools wanted all of us to stand up in church and recite the Legion of Decency Pledge, in which we promised not to see those movies our elders deemed inappropriate.<br /><br />The Legion used a scale that, as far as I can recall, went as follows:<br /><br />A-1. Morally unobjectionable for all. "Herbie the Love Bug" and the like.<br /><br />A-2. Morally unobjectionable for adults and adolescents. This made teenagers feel good, since they wanted to feel like grown-ups. I cannot, however, remember an A-2 film.<br /><br />A-3. Morally unobjectionable for adults with reservations. Huh?<br /><br />B. Morally objectionable in parts for all. Here was where we were getting interesting.<br /><br />C. Condemned. "The Graduate, "What Would You Say to a Naked Lady?"<br /><br />I think I recited the Pledge once, when I was small, and didn't know what it was about. Only the really hard-core Catholic kids, the ones whose families, my grandmother used to say, were "Eating the lace off of the altar," took the Legion's ratings to heart. It was another example of how people's perspectives were changing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1160361246766454552006-10-08T22:29:00.000-04:002006-10-08T22:34:06.780-04:00Musk Oil: The Scent of Sex?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/Muskoil.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/Muskoil.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><big>I<span style="font-family:arial;"> found an old bottle of musk oil recently and concluded that it literally stinks. But remember when so many people were wearing musk-scented products, supposedly because they somehow mimicked the subtle smells that a person gives off when they're feeling their mojo working?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There were musk shaving creams, colognes, after-shave lotions, etc.I've even seen musk oil incense - made by the Hare Krishnas! But the stuff I remember most was a concentrated oil that came in a small bottle. A woman I was seeing gave me a small supply, saying that she really liked the scent, so I wore it when we went out. What did musk smell like? Hmmmm, musky? Musty? It's hard to describe. But judging from what I smelled in crowded subway cars, a lot of folks were wearing it. After the donor of the bottle and I broke up I decided that I didn't care for the smell of the stuff myself, and threw the rest out.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The rumors about musk were typical of the Seventies view of sexuality, which reminded me of a classroom full of kids who had been ruled over by a tyrannical teacher - after she leaves the classroom. Pandemonium breaks loose. Along with Vitamin E, ginseng, and of course whitening toothpaste, it was supposed to make you sexier. And of course it didn't. In fact, I read on a chemistry bulletin board recently that some believe the scent, besides supposedly triggering romantic feelings, is the same that the body secretes when you're itching for a fight. </span></big>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1158876651944623582006-09-21T18:06:00.000-04:002006-09-21T18:10:51.960-04:00What DID "WPLJ" Stand For?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/WPLJ%20button.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/WPLJ%20button.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><big style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">There's a real Seventies trivia question for New Yorkers. Hard-core radio fans from the era will recall that the letters were the title of a song by the Four Deuces in 1955, although the more popular version was recorded (in doo-wop style) by Frank Zappa in 1970. The <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+zappa/wplj_20056685.html">lyrics </a>extolled the virtues of White Port and Lemon Juice, a drink which, according to my friend Z, was a favorite of poor, struggling musicians. Z. adds that the lemon juice was needed to make the sickeningly sweet cheap wine drinkable.<br /><br />As you would expect from a station named for a Zappa tune, PLJ was, during its heyday, a pretty quirky station. Originally WABC-FM, the station at the start of the Seventies featured a "free-form" format, similar to that of its arch rival, WNEW-FM. In 1971 they changed both their call letters and style, playing a combination of album cuts from serious rock acts such as the Allman Brothers and Yes with some of the better stuff from the Top 40. The O' Jays and Carly Simon were PLJ material; the Osmonds and Cher were not. You could hear several cuts in a row without commercials, and staff never talked while a record was playing, the way they did on AM radio.<br /><br />Many PLJ disk jockeys were first-rate, and you can hear some of them to this day on various stations in our area. The air staff included Jim Kerr, Carol Miller and Pat St. John, along with legendary horror film host <a href="http://www.zacherley.com/">John Zacherle</a><a href="http://www.zacherley.com/">y, "The Cool Ghoul."</a> Late nights San Francisco transplant Alex Bennett did a talk show, featuring guests such as Cheech and Chong and Jean Shepherd. Bennett would seem to be an unlikely choice for PLJ, in that he was openly critical of many major performers whom the station played, including David Bowie, the Grateful Dead and especially Led Zeppelin; he classified the latter as amongst "The Scum of Rock." I suspect that some of his vehemence might have been due to his having been roughed up by a bodyguard while backstage at a Zeppelin show, an incident he spoke of for quite a while. And while he considered himself a member of the "New York Art Crowd" who hung at at the famous Max's Kansas City, he was no fan of the New York Dolls. Bennett was one talk show host who did not hide his true self. Fans knew where he lived; his girlfriend appeared on the show and he brought his moods with him into the studio. Even at his grouchiest, however, Bennett was a far cry from the shock jocks and hate mongers who would later dominate talk radio.<br /><br />Another PLJ regular was Bill Ayers, a Catholic priest who hosted a Sunday morning show which mixed interviews with various rock stars with a blend of spirituality and social action that was a far cry from what would develop later in the decade with the advent of the televangelists. "Father Bill" was a close friend of Harry Chapin, with whom he was heavily involved in the World Hunger Year project. I recall one show in which he consoled a caller that he would not go to Hell if he missed Mass, as those of us who attended Catechism class were sometimes told. Eventually, as was becoming very common amongst priests and nuns, Ayers announced that he was leaving the formal ministry in order to get married.<br /><br />Live concerts were another great feature of PLJ. They broadcasted the farewell night at the Fillmore East, a concert by Elton John which would become an album (11-17-70) and simulcasts of WABC-TV's late night "In Concert" program. I still have a tape from that show of Rick Wakeman performing "Journey to the Center of the Earth."<br /><br />In the latter part of the Seventies PLJ dropped the Top 40 material and focused entirely upon what would come to be called "Classic Rock." This was a sign of the times. "Lite" music was already becoming a format in its own right, while R and B was rapidly showing symptoms of the Disco virus. There really wasn't much for their kind of audience to hear on the pop charts. As it moved into the 1980s, however, PLJ made a 180-degree turn and itself became a 'hit' station, at which time most of us removed it from our radios' pre-set selections. Some then, the station has been fighting an uphill battle for a tiny share in the local market.</span> </big>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1157760017355868972006-09-08T19:54:00.000-04:002006-09-08T20:00:17.373-04:00Pele and Pre-Soccer Mom Soccer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/pele.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 87px; height: 129px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/pele.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><big>During</big><big> the S</big><big>ixties it was tough to just find a real soccer ball in sporting goods stores aroun</big><big>d NYC, and almost as tough to gather a bunch of kids with whom to play a game. Soccer was popular mostly with small communities of immigrants, such as the Scandinavians and Greeks, although their American-born children typically showed little interest in the game. They wanted to fit in with the other kids. Those who did play would often have to improvise, using football or baseball fields, and sometimes bringing portable goal nets with them. </big></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><big>Things started to change in the Seventies, although slowly. My high school had intramural soccer games amongst home room teams, plus impromptu matches in gym classes, but no serious team. By contrast, we had every level of basketball, baseball, track and football. Those of us who did enjoy soccer were typically not the athletic crew, but we enjoyed the casual games, in which nobody cared much about rules (indeed, few of us knew the “official” soccer regulations). Gym teachers weren’t much help, since they didn’t know the rules much better than we did, and were more interested in coaching the more serious jocks. The few soccer moves I learned came from a Norwegian guy who lived up the street from me, who demonstrated a few basics to my pals and I. </big></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><big>The one person who did the most to promote soccer in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and our town in particular, was <span class="SpellE">one Edison Arantes do Nascimento, universally known simply as Pele</span>, the Brazilian superstar who joined the short-lived New York Cosmos in 1974 and helped propel them to the championship of the North American Soccer League. <span class="SpellE">The Cosmos paid him $7 million for a 3-year contract. Pele</span> was to soccer what Babe Ruth was to baseball or Mohammed Ali was to boxing; much more than an athlete, he was a fascinating character of whom the public could simply not get enough. The brief spurt of popularity which the Cosmos experienced ended soon after <span class="SpellE">Pele</span> retired in 1977, but at least a sizable chunk of the public had seen a real soccer match. </big></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><big>Another trend which helped promote soccer in our town during the Seventies was the arrival of a great deal of immigrant kids. Note my words here; as I said before, children of immigrants did not seem terribly interested in soccer (or most of the other things that distinguished them from the other kids). But kids from abroad, who grew up playing the game, wanted to continue with it. As their communities grew, these children, and to some extent their older relatives, were able establish teams and draw fans (something rather important to teenagers). </big></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><big>Finally, there was Title IX and the rise of girls’/women’s sports in schools. It’s easy to forget that, prior to this legislation, girls’ team sports, at least in most working and middle-class communities around <span class="GramE">NYC,</span> were not taken very seriously, apart from phys ed classes. You had girls’ softball and volleyball, but even these were not very popular. But, for whatever reasons, soccer proved very popular with girls. </big></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><big>Meanwhile, the phenomenon of the “Soccer Mom” was virtually non-existent, except perhaps for parents of very small children. Most of the games we played were conducted either at school athletic fields, or local parks. Kids walked, or took public transit (and, believe it or not, just about none were abducted or abused!) In addition, this not being the ‘<span class="SpellE">burbs</span>, NYC moms had to work. </big></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1157163021545507732006-09-01T22:05:00.000-04:002006-09-01T22:14:00.243-04:00The "West Side Story" Revival<p style="font-family: arial;" face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><big>In 1972 just about every kid in <st1:city><st1:place>New York City</st1:place></st1:city> was glued to the TV when the film version of <i style="">West Side Story</i> was shown. This sentimental music</big><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/tonyandmaria.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/tonyandmaria.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><big>al, with no rock and </big><big>roll in it, was co-written by Leonard Bernstein. Yeah, Bernstein</big><big>, of the Philharmonic! It seemed an odd hit for our generation. After all, not only was it corny, but it dealt with greasers, inter-racial fighting and gan</big><big>g</big><big>s, which were all behind us, right? I mean, this was the dawning of Age of Aquari</big><big>u</big><big>s, Consciousness </big><big>III, etc!</big></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><big>Well, maybe the Sixties generation were all so stoned that they be</big><big>lieved such drivel. The kids I knew were quite aware of the antipathy between </big><big>ethnic groups, since many e</big><big>xperienced it first-hand. They knew that a real life Tony/Mari</big><big>a romance would spark some resentment. And while none of us belonged to gangs or carried switchblades, the adolescent bravado of the Sharks and Jets was something any teen could relate to. The next da</big><big>y at school just about everyone was walking through the hallway, snapping their fin</big><big>gers in unison. And if you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to be named Tony or Ma</big><big>ria, you would be serenaded.</big><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/westsidestory2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 160px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/westsidestory2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><big style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps Alice Cooper was watching along with us, since on his</big><big style="font-family: arial;"> Sch</big><big style="font-family: arial;">o</big><big><span style="font-family: arial;">ol’s </span><span style="font-family: arial;" class="GramE">Out</span> album there appeared a tune called “Gutter Cats Verses the Jets.” </big></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1156815357568638022006-08-28T21:35:00.000-04:002006-08-28T21:35:57.586-04:00Why Did Tricky Dick Increase Welfare?<big>Sounds like an odd combination; doesn't it? Welfare and Nixon. Yet, on January 1, 1974, millions of elderly, blind and disabled Americans found something new in their mailboxes: checks from Uncle Sam for up to $250. What's more, Tricky Dick was allotting millions of dollars to state and local governments for various medical and other services for them. What was up? Did the infamous "nut cutter" have a soft spot for the sick and old?<br /><br />The answer is a little more complicated. The checks I just mentioned came from the new Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, administered by the federal Social Security Administration. Prior to that time, aged and disabled Americans who didn't qualify for much in terms of Social Security benefits could get additional grants through their local welfare departments, using money allotted as part of the Social Security Act. At the same time, the federal government was also spending millions on its "War on Poverty," sponsoring programs like Head Start, the Job Corps, etc. The local welfare programs and the anti-poverty programs had one thing in common: they employed lots of social workers. And Nixon disliked social workers, the way he disliked most of what he considered the educated elite.<br /><br />Nixon put jurisdiction for supplemental benefits for the elderly, disabled and blind under the Social Security Administration, a vast federal agency with no experience in administering welfare programs. Social Security, let us remember, was designed as a form of insurance. The initial situation was a mess. At one Social Security office in Brooklyn so many people showed up to report not getting their checks that the agency rented busses to serve as waiting rooms. And some of the new program's rules were positively riddiculous. Still, Nixon had found himself in alliance with a lot of welfare advocates. He didn't like bureaucrats, and neither did they. Social Security essentially doled out the money on an honor system. But it was cheaper, Nixon believed, to just print checks than to pay investigators and worry about things like job training programs.<br /><br />The related block grants to state and local government were another illustration of Nixon's philosophy. Unlike Johnson, who saw the Federal government as having an active role in defeating poverty, Nixon simply gave money to the states to spend their own way. Again, less bureaucracy. Fewer social workers. Such "outsourcing" of government programs was to become a major feature of other presidencies in the next deccade.<br /> </big>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1155781061984657982006-08-16T21:33:00.001-04:002008-05-13T21:52:26.309-04:00The Hot ########Tuna! Phenomenon<span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >Some guys have all the luck. Consider Jorma Kau</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >konen and Jack Casady, the backbone members of Hot Tuna:<br /></span><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:130%;">They got almost no airplay on any station.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">They never had a hit.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Lots of people couldn't pronounce Jorma's name right.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">They never went along with any musical fads.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Their album covers were some of the strangest you'd ever find.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Yet Hot Tuna were hugely popular, especially amongst working-class kids from the outer boroughs, and they consistently sold out just about every show they played. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Jorma and Jack achieved fame during the 60s for their role as lead guitarist and bassist, respectively, of a certain West Coast band that did a lot of songs about drugs and other topics that won them the ire of our elders. But even after they would be worn out from doing shows with Jefferson Airplane, these two would</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/hottuna1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/hottuna1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> often continue playing, in hotel rooms, clubs, etc. Their material was mostly blues, with a bit of country and other American roots styles tossed in. In 1970 their first album, entitled simply "Hot Tuna," was released. It consisted of lots of blues standards like "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and "Know You Rider," with Jorma on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jack on bass and Will Scarlet helping out on harmonica. The band reportedly chose their name because RCA wouldn't let them use their first choice "Hot Shit." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eventually Jorma and Jack left the Airplane (hereafter known as Jefferson Starship) and recorded more albums. Jorma switched over to electric guitar, and they were joined by drummer Sammy Piazza and famed fiddler Papa John Creech. Jorma's fingerpicking style, which involved a lot of heavy thumb work, was influenced by</span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/hopkkorv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 184px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/hopkkorv.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> the Reverend Gary Davis, a blues master. As for Jack, he sounded a lot like, well.... Jack. In truth there has never really been a rock bass player like him. Jack never seems to have played a pattern, yet his timing was solid, and he could groove like few others. Few rock bassists had such loyal followings, and crowds would cheer when he would solo during tunes such as "Funky Number Seven." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As time went on, Hot Tuna got louder, although Jorma and Jack would still sometimes perform simply as a duo, with Jorma on acoustic guitar. In this sense, they pre-dated the "Unplugged" movement by years. "Acoustic Hot Tuna" and "Electric Hot Tuna" were very different, although most of us enjoyed both. In </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/hottuna2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/hottuna2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">NYC they would typically play the Academy of Music on 14th Street, just east of U</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">nion Square, playing two shows a night, one at 8:00 and the other 11:30. Hard core Tuna fans usually chose the latter, since without time constrictions Jack and Jorma would often play four-hour continuous sets - followed by up to three encor</span><span style="font-family:arial;">es. It was obvious that these guys loved to play, and their dedication to their music, without a lot of BS, was a refreshing thing in an era of hype and glitter. One night, when my brother and I didn't come home by 5:00 AM, my mother called the police. The desk officer assured her "Lady, we get lots of calls from parents when Hot Tuna plays." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Jorma an</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/tunadoubledose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 184px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/tunadoubledose.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">d Jack continue to play to this day, both together and in solo acts, and Jorma operates a well-known guitar camp. </span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">When I recently told a friend that I had been a Hot Tuna fan she laughed. I'm not sure why; maybe</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> she thought that it was akin to following the Bay City Rollers. As someone who grew up on pop music, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she never even heard Jorma and Jack. If so, even she would be forced to agree that these guys helped turn more of us on to real blues than </span><span style="font-family:arial;">any other band. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14542766.post-1155606634905275102006-08-14T21:48:00.000-04:002006-08-14T21:50:34.916-04:00The Waltons: American Mythology<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/1600/Waltons.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3740/1306/320/Waltons.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><big><big>As I've said before, most of the major movements during the Seventies were accompanied by strong counter-movements. In the world of pop culture, the increasingly risque world of television was also accompanied by the rise of some of the corniest stuff to come out since "Father Knows Best." Probably the best example of this was the series "The Waltons," which aired on CBS from 1972 to 1981. If anyone needed proof that Americans were yearning for a return to their mythological, wholesome frontier days (which didn't really exist) this was it. Earl Hammer Jr., the author whose works formed the basis for the series, was a sociological genius; he spotted this trend years before the Neo-Cons with their focus groups and surveys.<br /><br />"The Waltons" had its birth in a TV movie called "The Homecoming," which aired in 1971. CBS took a gamble on a series based on the flick, and it paid off. John and Olivia Walton and their seven kids were a family so squeaky clean that Disney himself could not have created them. The series depicted their hard lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, frequently narrated by eldest son John, Jr., aka "John-Boy," who wants to be a writer. We see Ma and Pa Walton dealing with the Depression, World War II and other trials that test their resilient PVC souls, with the characters changing over the course of the years. In this sense the series was interesting, as viewers could watch the Walton clan marry, have kids, etc. Olivia Walton, the matriarch, was a very devout woman who seemed to always be in church, or talking about it (at least in the episodes that I saw), while Pa was one of those strong, righteous types celebrated in Westerns. Every episode ended the same way, at night, with one light on, as everybody says goodnight to everyone else, a process which seems to take forever.<br /><br />To its credit, "The Waltons" was really not a <span style="font-style: italic;">bad </span>show, and the writers certainly did not have to resort to vulgarity to get viewers. What I found so strange, and often irritating, about the series (which my parents loved) was how so many people <span style="font-style: italic;">wanted </span>to believe that people like the Walton family existed. It also illustrated well the traditional view of rural life as good and righteous, perhaps as a counter-balance to what people thought was happening in the cities. True, things like murder, teen pregnancy and other things often associated with urban decay were really much more common in the rural "Bible Belt," but so many of us chose to forget that - at least while the show was on.<br /> </big></big>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0