Power to the People, The Impact of the Sixties

Having written a novel set in the Sixties that is very much about that decade it is natural that I might someday be asked how that decade impacted the world of today. I here proceed to answer that question.

One can point to Nixon’s landslide re-election in ’72, the Regan Revolution George W and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and finally the Tea Party, Trumpy and MAGA and claim that the Sixties had little political impact. One could claim that the Sixties did more harm than good having caused a massive conservative backlash. But that would be simplistic and wrong.

The Sixties were consequential in positive ways.

True, us revolutionaries, leftists, hippies and outside agitators had expected to create a modern day Eden in which the US stood for peace and love and equality and social justice. True, we didn’t come close.

But since the Sixties there have also been significant (though not sufficient) gains by previously marginalized groups such as African Americans, women, and the LGBTQ + community. Our language has changed and certain terms and depictions of people have become verboten. (Yes, there has been overreach in this but making certain slurs taboo is a positive step.)

The Sixties practically codified the questioning of authority. Our institutions are under constant scrutiny and people are less likely to swallow the company line. Indeed conversations in general have opened up. There are far less topics that “are simply not talked about.” Sex for example. It is no longer such a stigma to talk about mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Religion is less likely to be swallowed whole by the gullible. With the exception of those within the MAGA movement, people’s “feelings” are taken into consideration. Though some trigger warnings seem excessive, people’s hearts are in the right place and we are recognizing the power of words.

People no longer hide from their identity and instead take pride in it. Being African American, Latino, Gay are now celebrated. Where there was once shame there is pride. Black history month, women’s history month, gay pride parades are all nationally — if not universally — recognized.

Most of the changes that came out of the Sixties were cultural. Before the Sixties, men wore their hair short. Since the Sixties all manner of hairstyles are acceptable. The same is true of clothes. Everything under the broad category of fashion and style has been freed.

The Sixties brought us a musical revolution that we’re still bearing the fruits of. From the Sixties came new forms of music such as the various derivations of rock, along with hip hop and rap. The greatest musicians of the Sixties are still popular: The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and more.

In the late Sixties there began a revolution in the movies beginning with such films as Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate. The production code was replaced by the rating systems freeing film makers to create realistic stories that could include sex, nudity, drug use, graphic violence and profanity. The ramifications of these changes was felt with the film revolution of the Seventies. At the same time TV moved away from witches, Jeannies and talking horses and started telling stories that actually reflected the lives of real Americans. 

The Sixties also brought marijuana use out into the open eventually leading to its being legalized in many states. LSD also was experimented with and is today used as a treatment for depression.

What was then called the ecology movement came out of the Sixties quickly leading to Earth Day (the first was in 1970) and a much-needed awareness of the harm humans were doing to the environment. 

The Sixties were not a panacea, indeed there was a lot of violence perpetrated by both the right and the left. But the military-industrial complex was recognized for what it was (is) sadly it continues to prosper at the same time we have a growing class of multibillionaires wielding outsized influence. But the press and citizen groups remain diligent and hope springs eternal for, if not revolution, reform.

Finally it should be acknowledged that the roots of the changes wrought in the Sixties came from preceding decades. Credit goes to the Civil Rights Movement which spawned the protest movements that symbolized the Sixties. Also the beats, specifically Kerouac and Ginsberg who prose and poetry had such a significant cultural influence. So too the rock and roll stars of the fifties — Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley and the Comets — who set the tone for The Beatles and others. 

The Sixties were consequential and we owe the free spirits, revolutionaries and visionaries of that decade a great debt.

How Should One Serve Fabergé Eggs and Other Questions Vexing Me

I bring you happy tidings. It's time for another edition of questions (I really need to come up with a title for this feature). As regular readers of this blog (I'm looking at you Gerkihis Pettifogg of Hay-on-Wye Wales, UK) know, this is where I pose various questions that have been vexing me -- and doubtless scores of thousands of others. Enjoy!

Are Fabergé eggs better scrambled or poached?

You often hear people say or write: “I thought to myself.” Absent having mental telepathy who else can you “think to”? 

What do cannibals eat if they’re vegan?

If you ask someone what’s new and they respond “same ole, same ole,” are you legally allowed to punch them?

If you can put half and half  in your coffee can’t you also use a quarter and a quarter and a quarter and a quarter?

When Jean-Paul Sartre said, “hell is other people,” was he at CPAC?

Where does one get a copy of the woke agenda? Are there hard copies or is just online?

Isn’t it rude and presumptuous to tell a person to “get over” something? Shouldn’t people be allowed to “get over” things in their own good time?

Why don’t restaurants serve gruel or at least curds and whey?

Why is that newspapers always report on the death of famous people but never mention them when they’re born?

I’ve never met a bully named Milo. Have you?

I’ve heard people say that Valentine’s Day is a made up holiday. Aren’t they all made up? It’s not like any of them occur naturally.

Why the hell hasn’t everyone figured out that "a lot" is two words?

Why do they call them sports coats? You never see people wearing them while playing sports.

Why do people say “at this moment in time” when they could simply say, “now”?

Shouldn’t they have speed bumps on race tracks to keep cars from going too fast?

What’s the deal with rhetorical questions?

Is there a consensus among philosophers that if you do the hokey pokey and your turn yourself around that’s what it’s all about?

Why do people stop playing hide-and-go-seek and tag when they get older?

You hear about people faking their own death but do people ever fake their own life?

Do fish ever moisturize? 

Ever notice that when people say, you’ve got another thing coming, they never specify what that other thing is. Why not?

I hear about people being overwhelmed and underwhelmed but nobody ever seems to just be whelmed. Why is that?

In the military soldiers are often told to “stand down.” What the hell?

Who is this Simon fellow and why does everyone do whatever he says?

Why do people give a piece or a bit of advice? Why not a chunk of advice or even an entire slab?

When did garbage become landfill and who made the call?

Why do some people meet up instead of just meet? Is meeting up different than meeting?

You often hear of people having qualms about something but no one ever seems to have just a single qualm. Why is that?

Things are always running the gamut, doesn’t anything ever just walk the gamut?

Why is antimatter so opposed to matter?

Ever notice that every copy you make with a photocopier comes out looking the same? Why can’t each copy have it’s own unique look, like a snowflake?

Why haven’t conjoined twins ever been on the Supreme Court?

During transportation delays there are often announcements in which people are thanked for their patience. How do they know people have been patient? Are they spying on us?

We are asked to get on busses, trains and cars? Isn’t it infinitely safer to get in them?

People often try to put their best foot forward. Can’t putting your second best food forward be good enough? After all it’s in the top two.

Why is flotsam always linked with jetsam? Why can’t one of them be on its own?

I heard someone say they were going to their Psych class. Is that a course that teaches you how to psych people out?

Why are there only seven days in a week? If we had a nine day week we could have four-day weekends.

Why do people constantly need someone to hold their beer?  Can’t they just rest it on a table?

People talk about something being as easy as taking candy from a baby. Isn’t it bad for a baby to have candy? Who’s giving candy to babies?

Do digital creators create digits?

Up until 1996 there was a United States Bureau of Mines. But was there ever a United States Bureau of Yours?

It's Time Again for Films I've Watched Lately Some of Which I've Liked Greatly

A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown (2024) Mangold. Hollywood very much likes it biopics. Musicians are a frequent subject and so who better than one of the most important of all time, Bob Dylan? Naturally there’s a tremendous burden on the lead in any biopic, especially when playing such a familiar figure as Dylan. Fortunately Timothée Chalamet is more than up to the task. His performance is matched by Edward Norton as Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez. The film plays fast and loose with a few facts but they tend to be the kind of arcana that only true Dylan devotees would notice. A Complete Unknown traces Dylan from his early days in New York to his achieving super stardom then turning much of his audience against him by going electric (some people needed to get over themselves). It seems the biopic, for reasons I can’t put my finger on, have certain limitations, you’re never going to see one that is a great film but most are going to be pretty good. A Complete Unknown is very good. The cast sees to that as does director James Mangold who similarly did good work with another musical biopic, Walk the Line. It’s a film that never lags and broadens the viewer’s understanding and even appreciation of Dylan.

Holiday (1938) Cukor. One of my favorite films of all time. No idea how many times I’ve seen it but I could watch it again tonight. Of course the focus is typically on the two leads, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn who, of course, shine. But the more I watch Holiday the more I’m impressed by Lew Ayres who is positively brilliant as the lush, Ned Seaton. Playing a drunk is never as easy as it seems but Ayres was pitch perfect. Ned is trapped. He wanted to be a musician but father has him working at the bank, and staying until six even though there’s nothing to do after three, “as an example to the other employees.” Ned bristles but hasn’t the gumption to defy his over-bearing father. He can only find solace in drink. When his older sister flees the family to be with her new love she invites Ned to come along. He wants to. But he…just…can’t. Maybe someday. Sis promises to come back for him. We hope she does and we hope he gets out and we hope he stops drinking. Ned brings a profundity to Holiday that lifts the film above most comedies of the era.  

The Skeleton Twins (2014) Johnson. I love Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. If I were to make a list of the ten greatest all-time cast members on SNL — hang on, if I made a list of the FIVE greatest all time cast members on SNL, they’d be on it. It’s only natural that they should excel in moving pictures as well as sketch comedy and this film proves it. You’d expect a lot of laughs with this pairing (Luke Wilson also features) and you do get a fair share but this more drama then comedy. You kind of get a clue at the beginning of the picture as both leads are contemplating or trying to commit suicide. Wiig and Hader play twins who’ve not seen each other in years but get together to rekindle their sibling love and to find comfort in an uncomfortable world. I think Skeleton Twins is vastly underrated. It’s unflinching in its look at family dynamics, depression and how sex used to soothe can often create terrible complications. 

Song of the Thin Man (1947) Buzzell. Nick and Nora Charles (and you too, Asta) should have quit while you were ahead. The original Thin Man film was a classic and the first four sequels were all perfectly fine, but the fifth was a stinker. Myrna Loy, who played Nora and should know, hated it. It’s not worth summarizing but it is well worth avoiding as you  should do if planning a Thin Man marathon. 

Ball of Fire (1941) Hawks. A warm and fuzzy screwball comedy with a menacing gangster. Any film written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Barbara Stanwyck is a guaranteed winner (this is the only one). Stanwyck is the wonderfully named Sugarpuss O’Shea, a gangster’s girl and a nightclub singer/dancer. To avoid a subpoena she hides out with eight single man who have been living in a large house for nine years writing an encyclopedia. They’re all older gents except for Gary Cooper. In spite of themselves the mismatched pair — Sugarpuss and Cooper’s Bertram Potts — fall in love. Complications ensue as they do in films. It’s an absolute delight from beginning to end with a wonderful supporting cast including S.Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Leonid Kinskey and Allen Jenkins. Dana Andrews is wonderful as the heavy.

Nickel Boys (2024) Ross. A great story from a novel by Colson Whiteside has here been overly stylized by a director drawing more attention to himself than the motion picture. Hand held shaky cams, characters constantly talking into the camera, intercuts of all variety including several of alligators (?) and one of horse in an office for reasons unknown, blurry images, forced perspectives. Shots from bizarre angles. It's an often vertiginous viewing experience. A good story should tell itself with the director supplementing normal story-telling with OCCASIONAL flourishes that emphasizes and underscore. I understand that RaMell Ross was trying to create an immersive experience, but he needs to tone it down a notch. I’m surprised that so many critics are abetting his self indulgence. He’s clearly a great talent but his style here tested my patience.

New News and Notes for the New Year

Streams of Unconsciousness Headquarters

It figures to be a big year here at Streams of Unconsciousness. Visitors will immediately note that we’ve installed new carpeting in the reception area. There’s nothing like a plush purple shag rug to say: “welcome, to our home.” You’ll also note that new garden gnomes festoon the outdoor walkways between buildings. The outer facade of the Streams Museum is being restored to its antebellum style without losing any of its old world charm. The fountains will all be given a spit shine and the topiary has already been expanded and includes shrubbery in the shapes of our longest serving staff members.

But not all the changes our cosmetic. We’ll be adding an additional gift shops, one at the mezzanine level and another near the restaurant on the museum roof. We’ve already expanded our offerings in all the shops with Streams tee-shirts and sweatshirts now coming in a greater variety of colors. You may have noticed that we’re featuring new items such as Streams saddles, beer steins, sand blasters riding crops and catheters. 

The Streams restaurant has expanded its menu to include such delicacies as borscht, Hungarian Goulash, dim sum and curds and whey. Also the first floor cafe will be open all night for your convenience. 

There have been personnel changes at Streams as well. Our long time ombudsmen Angus Puddle is moving over to a new role replacing our outgoing lighthouse keeper, Mendy McMohmmad who is retiring. Filling the vacancy thus created will be a recent community college graduate and former high school hall monitor, Escobar Montooth. Meanwhile the Streams legal team will be adding veteran barrister and former psych ward patient, Bob Goodenough. Our longtime switchboard operator Jezebel Spawn is moving on to greener pastures (the gardening team) and will be replaced by Lance Corporal Titus Percocet. 

Please join us in welcoming the new members of the Streams family!

Readers can look forward to new features on the blog itself. We’ll be presenting and analyzing poetry from the Bronze Age, a much anticipated feature that’s long been in the works. We’ll be taking a deep dive into musicals from the silent era, complete with audio. Our writing team will be keeping a close eye on the coming emergence of computers for home use, a burgeoning industry that could change the way in which you do everything from communicate with friends to watch movies. And by the way, your rotary phone could soon be obsolete!

In repose to the many requests we’ve received I will be live blogging some of the exploits of the Streams bird watchers. Can’t wait.

Streams sports teams will continue to be in action. The sumo wrestling team is currently undefeated with a tough conference slate ahead. The polo season is just around the corner and we’re looking to improve on last year’s .500 record. Finally, the Streams synchronized swimming will be led by a new coach, Mandy Applecheeks from our marketing team.

Lastly, Streams will continue to sponsor concerts at the Travis Bickle Pavillion here in Moosejaw. Later this month Paul McCartney, Beyonce and Taylor Swift will be appearing (good seats are still available but act fast as this one might sell out). February will be highlighted by a performance by the Moosejaw Middle School Glee Club. The bad news is that it has sold out, the good news is that a second show will be added. Details coming soon.

We hope to see you here at Streams headquarters in the coming year. Tours are available daily and the museum is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day from 9-6. A new Ramada Inn less than a ten minute walk away. Check it out!

Thanks for all the lovely cards we received over the holidays. We’re trying to respond to them and all subpoenas served as fast as we can. 

And finally, The warning that I received, you may take with however many grains of salt you wish, that the brown acid that is circulating around us, is specifically not too good. It's suggested that you do stay away from that; of course, it's your own trip, so, be my guest.

Happy New Year!!!

My Favorite Books of 2024

Since the beginning of this blog I have been posting my top ten films of the year (the 2024 edition will appear in mid to late January after I’ve caught up with all the recent releases) and for the past five years and randomly once before then, I’ve posted my top ten TV shows. The glaringly obvious question is why haven’t I posted a list of my favorite books of the year? The answer is: I don’t know. One stumbling block is that I don’t necessarily read a lot of newly released books in a year. I would guess that in some years I might read more than a dozen new books but in another half that. So unlike for TV shows and movies with this list I’m not restricting myself to what was released in the past twelve months, of for that matter, the past twelve or 120 years. Also unlike my film and telly lists, I’m not putting the list in order as one often does with a top ten. The exception being that the first two books listed are my favorite non-fiction and fiction books I read this year. Also note that I did not include books that I re-read, if they’re on this list I never read them before 2024. Finally, this list includes sixteen books (actually eighteen but I’ve twice lumped two together). Why? I don’t know. I suppose because these were the standouts and a top ten wasn’t enough and why feel restricted to a total ending in zero?

Caste: The Origins of our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson This is a book that everyone in the country should read although there being so many functionally illiterate racists in the country that’ll never happen. Certainly to understand the United States Wilkerson’s book is a must. Caste explores racism in this country in a way different than anything I’ve previously read. It’s challenging and accessible and vitally important. 

In Memoriam: A Novel by Alice Winn. To me one of the most amazing things about this debut novel is that it was written by a young woman. It is a great example of how thorough research can inform a novel. Ms. Winn must have spent nearly as much time researching as she did writing. In Memoriam centers around two young British men who meet in school and then join the army as World War I breaks out. It is a love story, a war story, an epic. It is moving and brutally realistic. It recalls a past time so vividly that it’s hard to believe it wasn't written contemporaneously. The book is a singular achievement that I cannot recommend highly enough.

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan. Reads like a really good novel. The 1920s, the KKK, a con man, a brutal murder, a plan to rule the country, an amazing story from an amazing writer.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingslover. You need to be an extraordinary writer to take a much and long beloved novel like David Copperfield and give it a modern twist that succeeds. Ms. Kingslover pulled this feat off with a setting of modern-day Appalachia. It would be sacrilege and wrong to call it the equal of the original but it would’d be a stretch to say that this one of the best novels of the 21st century.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. I read a lot by Cain this year and could only wonder what took me so long. He’s right up there with Raymond Chandler as one of the great writers of “hardboiled” detective stories. His writing is sparse but evocative. He can say more in one sentence than other writers can in a page. Postman is my favorite of his books.

The Passenger and Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy. The books are companion pieces, the last from McCarthy. For me McCarthy is the type of writer who makes me feel I’ve no business even trying. He ranks among this country’s great and here are two more books in evidence of that.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. Reading this book was a visceral experience and I can think of no higher praise for a piece of literature. Ms. Kang's Nobel Prize in literature was well-earned. An a times shocking book but always compelling.

Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow. I don’t really enjoy watching Ms. Maddow do her schtick on TV, I find the way she talks off-putting, but the woman can write. This is the second book of her’s I’ve read, Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House being the other and I am duly impressed. Prequel is the story of the rise of and fight against fascism in the U.S. in the 1930s, a topic of great interest to me and of course one that is relevant to today.

In the Woods and The Likeness by Tana French. These are the first two novels by Mr. French. I only recently completed Into the Woods and am currently reading Likeness so technically I don’t suppose it should be on here, but my blog, my rules. I’ve got to credit the missus here who recommended the author to me. Into the Woods has all the elements of a great detective story including interesting and relatable characters and a well-plotted engaging story. I’m looking forward to reading the other half dozen or so books she’s written.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. I saw a shabby copy of this book in a little free library, hardly judging a book by its cover I was for some reason intrigued. I gave the beginning a quick skim and immediately knew I had to procure a copy, this one wouldn’t do. Good move. An excellent book that touches upon sports but delves deeply into relationships. A thoroughly engaging read.

The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks. I’d long admired the film based on the book and had recently read another Banks novel so gave The Sweet Hereafter a go and am glad I did. It’s as moving and thought-provoking a book as I’ve ever read. 

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Another case of a film I loved so why not try the book. I wrote about it earlier this year on this here blog.

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig. This is one of those biographies for which the word “magisterial” was coined. It’s a cradle to grave look at the great Dr. King’s life but is not hagiography. We get the dark side of the story as well. Best of all it made me more fully understand an already familiar figure.

Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson) by Robert Caro. I’ve been chipping away at all of Caro’s LBJ books for years but zipped through Path to Power which is a quicker read than the others and may be the best of the lot. It examines, in wonderful detail, LBJ’s stealing of the 1948 Texas senatorial election. An amazing but true story.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Having just watched the latest film version of the story (the excellent Ripley on Netflix starring Andrew Scott) I finally read the book and it didn’t disappoint (though the second of the series did). It’s quite a feat to write a book that is a page-turner even when the story is well-known by the reader. A great companion to any version you’ve seen on the screen.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. He hasn’t written a clunker yet. Whitehead is one of the best novelists currently plying his trade and this is but one example.