May 2003,,,,,,,,,,,,...................................................................... ...................................

Nina Simone died last month. Long before the operatic term Diva was misappropriated to describe the likes of Mariah Carey (is that spelled right? Do I care?), Nina Simone was the definitive mercurial female popular vocalist. Classically trained, Ms. Simone claimed that she only became a singer when she was asked to sing at an audition, and that she might've become a concert pianist had her race, gender and/or the era she had been born into been different. Frankly, all that talk strikes me as Nina indulging her sense of bitterness. Whatever her initial ambitions and whatever role racism played in leaving them unfulfilled, it's clear that jazz singing ws her calling. While many of the obituaries I saw understandably focused on her songs of protest and role in the Civil Rights Movement, I think her particular genius shined brightest when she recorded rock & R&B numbers like "(Don't let me be) Misunderstood" and "I Put a Spell On You," combining classical technique with a jazz approach to make high drama out of so-called "low culture." Cantankerous to the end, no longer young, but sill gifted and black, Nina Simone will be missed.

In Other News...

I see where NBC is doing a TV movie about Jessica Lynch. All due respect to her for going through that ordeal, but does anyone else feel like that's redundant? I started to write that they were turning her story into a TV movie, but on some level that's what it's always been.

Of course, lame apologies notwithstanding, I'm outraged over the Baseball Hall of Fame's decision to cancel an event with
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, though I must say I'm impressed with the way they actors have handled it; I thought Tim's letter was great. And a tip of the cap goes out to Roger Khan, Kevin Costner and everybody else that's standing up to Hall over this. You know who'd be loving everything that's going on? Joe McCarthy. It's really too bad
he can't be around to see this.

George W. Bush looks at the looting in Iraq and sees celebrations. Something to consider the next time one of our inner cities erupts and he calls in the national guard. Of course, for George, libraries are probably only of value because they give Laura something to do outside the house. (see the "Henny Penny" piece below)

Our leaders and their media lapdogs are crowing about the Statue of Saddam being toppled, comparing it to the falling of the Berlin Wall. There are several things that need to be said about that. 1st, as the above link demonstrates, the crowd around the statue numbered in the dozens, hardly comparable to the thousands in East Germany. 2nd, it also departs from that situation in that this 'liberation' is being imposed by an occupying force rather than coming from within. 3rd, it is nonetheless a good thing if Hussein is no longer in power, as seems to be the case. That said, it does not logically follow that what comes next will be a desirable alternative or even an improvement on the previous situation. For sure, an occupying force of American Rent-a-Cops seems less that desirable. Anyway, before leaving this topic, it's worth noting that nothing everything that's come out of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe has been positive, to say the least.

Brian Whitaker of the Guardian quotes Donald "Red Rum" Rumsfeld as comparing the press to "Henny Penny." Ah, yes, good to see he and W are on the same page.
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If only they could get Tom Ridge on board--the guy is clearly unfamiliar with "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." (or is that Wolfowitz?) Actually, I suppose George is the Boy Who Cried WMD. Has anyone else noticed how many times they've said they've found some cache of chemicals and it's turned out to be nothing? It has the big lie effect, though; people who want to believe can point to the first stories which get front page headlines and ignore the follow ups on the back pages.

What's up with the Dixie Chicks CD burning rallies? You know who'd love that? Joe Goebbels. It's too bad he...actually, no it isn't. The Chicks have done a good job fighting back, though; initially it seemed like Natalie Maines, et al. were overwhelmed by their detractors, but they've taken the offensive pretty well of late, what with their photo shoots and interviews.