Scoop writes:
I know I’m late (only have time to read you once in a while), but thank you for the compliments!
No sweat, no problem. I’m not taking attendance!
Scoop on Take it as Gospel:
Have you finished it yet? Excellent book. Really made me think about the parallels to today and why I think Bush is NOT Lincolesque–even if it’s true that Lincoln didn’t always read the papers either, and that he had certain people in the media who made nice to him so he would make nice with them, etc. Also made me think a lot about how the reality happens and then the Myth and the Legend are created–and they don’t always match up with the reality. Nor do the reports of them from the “media.”
Lincoln had a tough row to hoe in making a case for the Civil War going on. The fact that he could do such a thing and succeed so eloquently shows all the difference in the world between that war and the current one–and the two White House occupants in question, I think.
Yes, I read Boritt’s book and it lived up to my hopes. It’s a tremendous book; too bad it won’t be read by many people. I haven’t heard or read of anyone comparing Bush to Lincoln. With the Iraq war going on and with everyone and the kitchen sink entering the 2008 race for the White House I expect a lot of the candidates to bring up Lincoln. It killed me whenever Reagan quoted FDR: was there ever a president who was, policy-wise, less FDR-esque than Reagan? But it’s good for Lincoln to be mentioned these days — or any day. Perhaps it will get people to learn more about him and the Civil War and American history. I think most people think about him (if at all) only on the Presidents’ Day holiday.
On Reality versus Myth/Legend: There is certainly enough spin action going on now trying to carve a legacy for President Bush. But history is the “ultimate” judge — and even that evolves through time. Time brings greater perspective, further evidence, more events against which to compare the subject. All is never said and done.
It puzzles me when people complain about “revisionist history.” I heard this a bit following the death President Ford. Every generation looks back using the lens of its time. So in that respect all history is revisionist; it’s never going to look the same to all observers. Rashomon gone wild. No one — no generation — has THE answer. That’s the answer.
Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President is a really good book that discusses the influences that shaped Lincoln’s thought and thus his leadership during the Civil War. Lincoln was strongly influenced by his religious beliefs. But it was not a punitive kind of religion that some profess these days, but an all-embracing, loving faith.
Of course it’s easy to love Lincoln now. History looks kindly on him. He led a divided land — far more divided than our current one — and many people hated him and thought he would ruin the nation. He wasn’t treated well in the press; some political cartoons were scathing: America in Caricature – Abraham Lincoln.
Scoop on T.O.reador-a, don’t spit on the floor-a …:
Of course, the ultimate melding of sports and pop culture in this case would be a clip of the Toreador Song as performed by Brian Orser in “Carmen on Ice.”
You’ve got me there; I never saw “Carmen on Ice.” Orser sings? I do remember Brian Boitano and the little fencing maneuver he performed during his long program number in the ’88 Olympics. Boy, you can find anything on YouTube:
(The fencing maneuver is at about the 1:40 point in the video. It seemed a lot more obvious when I saw it live in 1988.)
Great to hear Jim McKay’s voice. He’ll always be the Voice of the Olympics for me.
Some skate fan posted what looks like the entire “Carmen on Ice” show on YouTube, 14 or so parts in all. Which is swell but there is absolutely no descriptive detail on what is included in each part: no reference to act or scene or aria/s. I’m not that crazy about skating (unless there are sticks and a puck included in the deal) to search for Act II, scene 2, so if you want to check out Orser doing the Toreador Song you’re going to have to look for yourself. Where’s Waldo Orser?
Here is a Russian version of “Carmen on Ice.” I like Samuel Ramey’s version better. Don’t know what he’s like on skates, though.
Scoop on Cowabunga Cleveland!:
You go, rrgirl! But please, don’t put down our surfing!
Playing Doc’s Game, part I: Bay area surfers with a Cleveland fervor. (There are also Long Island surfers who endure in less-than-Hawaii conditions. Cowabunga, Montauk!)
Can’t find part 2 of the article online; I have copies of both parts stuffed in a filing cabinet around here somewhere. Gotta get The Complete New Yorker on dvd.
Scoop on Cleveland Rocks!:
I’ve been there and it is well worth the trip!
Did you get your tongue stuck to the flagpole?
Scoop on Scoop:
… By the way, I learned more about Alison MacLeod in the interim through using The Google. She is still living today. Her books were very much informed by her politics and it was interesting to read about them. She was once a devout communist, but was eventually disillusioned by Stalin to the point where she diverged from that branch of politics. I can see now how her writing was affected by it. No doubt she initially turned to communism as the solution to the oppression of the powerless by the powerful, but eventually learned that it was just another way for one group of people to justify oppressing others.
I have meant to look for that book; thanks for the reminder.
Torn right now between getting Wilson’s Ghost by Robert McNamara and Halberstam’s biography of Bill Belichick. This is what happens when one is both a history wonk and a sports wonk. My Dad did not like the Belichick book, but the way some people hate the guy (I’m surprised there isn’t a BelichickWatch.com Web site) has piqued my interest.
Interesting interview with McNamara: Hoover Institution – Uncommon Knowledge.
Oh wow, a whole blog entry devoted to my comments alone? I’m blushing.
If you haven’t heard or read of anyone comparing Bush to Lincoln, you must not be paying attention to much right-wing foolishness, which you’re probably better off not doing. Or to Bush himself; he’d love everyone to think his decision that the war must go on is downright Lincolnian (is that a word?).
And yes, I agree there were few presidents less like FDR policy-wise than Reagan. FDR actually looked at the people suffering during the Great Depression and felt something needed to be done. Reagan, had he been president then, would have looked and said “You know, if these people had only squirreled their money away in the mattress or been wiser about their stock investments, this would not have happened. Besides, selling apples and earning his own living is good for a man’s character. Better that than that we should create a WPA so he will have a job handed to him by the government, from which he will take his first paycheck and buy a Cadillac and become a welfare king.”
Yes, it would be nice for Lincoln to be mentioned more these days. The real Lincoln, anyway.
Of course history is the “ultimate” judge — but Bush is (to my mind) crazy enough to think history will judge him kindly and it’s only people today that have such a bad view of him. I can’t know either way, but my bet is in the other direction. And “revisionist history”? It’s true, the lessons one gleans from history are all revisionist and all personal. And the one thing that you’d think should remain the same is the facts — the record of what actually happened. It’s the past, right? The past can’t change. But it does; we constantly learn new facts about the past and they shape our revision of the conclusions we draw from the history. But that, I suppose, is what makes it all interesting, eh?
Thanks for the tip on Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President. I’d be willing to bet Keith has read that one, because he seems to believe in that kind of religion himself, whenever he lays claim to any kind of belief.
And yes, one of the most entertaining aspects of the Boritt book to me was seeing how the Democrat newspapers of the day trashed Lincoln and whatever he said and did, just because, well, he was a Republican. Does party politics ever really change?
As for “Carmen on Ice,” no, Orser does not sing, he just skates. But he did win an Emmy for it, as did Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt in this particular production (which aired on HBO), so that ain’t hay.
As for Cowabunga Cleveland, did you know there was actually a song titled “There’s No Surf in Cleveland”? Written by Eric (”All By Myself,” “Hungry Eyes” etc.) Carmen many years ago. Recorded by a group calling themselves the Euclid Beach Band. Very hard to find 45 of the late 1970s, right up there with the Cleveland Cuyahoga and Burning River Band’s takeoff on Steve Martin’s “King Tut” called “King Dennis.” (I think you can guess who that one was about. And it was not flattering.)
Bad news: there is no flagpole at the A Christmas Story House. The school scenes were shot near Toronto. Aww.
And, um, Bill Belichick. I try not to hate him, really I do, because Keith testifies about how nice a guy he is. But of course this goes against every fiber of my fair-weather Browns fan being. At moments like that, I have to remember to trust Keith, and remember that he was on the fans’ side in the whole move-the-team-to-Baltimore thing. And he realized that as much as Baltimore fans might want to believe two wrongs make a right, they don’t. (Ask them how many of them will be rooting for the Colts in the Super Bowl.)
Comment by Scoop — 27 January 2007, Saturday @ 15:30:32 |