You’re at a game, crammed into the seats like everyone else. It could be any of the big sports, but you can predict it especially easily when it’s hockey. At the first break in the action the wailing guitars crank up in a way that bring the image of a hand rolling the knob over hard. You sing along, or rather shout along, to the only word that goes along with it – “Hey!” Yes, it’s Rock & Roll (Part 2) by Gary Glitter, but neither you nor nearly anyone knows that. What you do know is that this is one of those songs that is part of a good time at the game, all as part of the price of admission.
Monthly Archives: November 2008
More Perfect Union: Publishing
Literature is important to a culture. Before something becomes literature, however, it has to be published. That means it’s subject to all the constraints of the publishing industry, which is… (wait for it) an industry. It has to make money. Fine arts rarely make money, at least in the short term, meaning that the industry always has something else to focus on. That’s been accentuated lately by a general decline in publishing profitability. This is not a good time for literature.
More Perfect Union: Literature
They were walking down Flagler Street in Miami like they might any other day, nothing more than two men that appeared to be strangers. The fact that one was Black and one was Latino would give them little reason to acknowledge each other at all, unless one wanted to start a fight. This was just 5 years after the bitter McDuffie Riot that filled the city with acrid, chocking smoke for three days. But on this day, they shared a quick high-five as they walked past each other, an audible smack of comradeship that split the tension of a big city day. The reason for this was simple: the Miami Dolphins were in the playoffs, and both men were proudly wearing their white, aqua and orange shirts with Dan Marino’s 13 on the back.
More Perfect Union
Two generations ago, the USofA found itself in something like a Baroque Era. There was unprecedented wealth distributed widely through manufacturing jobs, and many families found they could opt for “stay at home mothers” for the first time. In this world of chrome and fins, one thing was clear: outside of the ongoing scare from the Russkies, America was on top of the world.
Generations: Fractures
The great wheel of history turns, and another generation has taken its place at the top. While there are many things that can be said about the historic election just past the most obvious is that the change we have seen is simply due. The many faults in the Republican coalition which cracked apart during the last 8 years were, in many cases there at the start. A wise person with an eye to history would consider the faults that are present in the new majority to see what problems lie ahead – even though that seems like a major downer right now.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 