Gina Harris's Blog, page 14

Whatever happened to those Christmas songs?

Recently I wrote about committing to posting some Christmas songs I had written, then backtracked on it:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-gift-of-song.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-gift-of-vulnerability.html

I was bogged down by technical difficulties and not sure where to start. It seemed like trying and failing had the most immediate importance, but that it was still something I should do, with a less certain time frame.

A few years ago, I bought a bunch of comics through Humble Bundle.

Humble Bundle does a lot of fundraising things where you can name your price for several books or programs.

At that time, it was a group of comics that had main characters of color raising funds to fight racism. That was the Be the Change bundle, created from an idea Gail Simone had.

In general, the bundles relate more to gaming or software development, so it's rare for it to be something that I would purchase. I am on the mailing list. Recently this came through:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/piano-and-more-for-dummies-wiley-books

Home Recording for Dummies, eh? And composition and singing. That sounds relevant.

No, I am not buying it. I have switched to pretty much all checking out from the library now, but the library has the relevant books. 

Anyway, I am going to do some reading and figure out some of the more insurmountable-seeming obstacles.

The other thing that may be pertinent is that I have recently started going through the hymnbook as part of my scripture study. 

For our hymnal, things you have on a page include the lyrics and music, of course, but also the writer and composer, maybe the copyright date, and a couple of pertinent scripture verses. Studying for me means that I will look up the scriptures, sing the hymn if I know it, or listen first if it doesn't sound familiar.

I will also try -- well, it doesn't sound right to say "leading" or "conducting" if I am the only one there -- but you know the movements the chorister makes showing the meter and tempo? I do that for at least one verse.

I had this other short term project that I was finishing, and it occurred to me to do this next. It felt right, so here I am.

I am on hymn 21 of 341, so I am going to be at this for a while. The point is that I am thinking about music in different ways. It may be something that serves the original goal, and it may lead in other directions as well.

Anyway, it couldn't be healthy to only think about this administration.

Black History Month 2025

No, this is not about my Black History Month reading for the year (I'll be lucky if I start that by May).

This is about that brief period of time where information on the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPS was going to be removed from the Air Force boot camp curriculum.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/air-force-tuskegee-airmen-dei-compliance-trump-rcna189365 

The brevity of the removal seems to be due to an immediate outcry. It's good that can happen, but frustrating how much it is likely to need to happen. 

Some of the details are unclear, but I don't think that Trump specifically ordered the removal of the material; he's not that kind of a details man.

I think it is more that now that we have an administration that says DEI is bad that someone was eager to remove it.

People have been saying "Don't obey in advance" (one of the lessons from Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny), and there have certainly been issues with people giving in when persistence would at least have a chance of doing some good. 

It is important to know that there are also people rushing to exert their own authority in ways petty and cruel.

We don't have to go along with it.

We should be working specifically against it.

So, for this Black History Month, I will be posting about Black history daily. 

Since February is only 28 days, I am starting today. That will be 31 posts, equaling the number of posts I am going to do for Women's History Month in March.

I understand that this is -- at best -- a very minor form of resistance.

Something else I understand is that white supremacy is the most affirmative of actions, not only pushing down others but leaving even the beneficiaries rather unhappy and insecure, not to mention mediocre.

(I could spend a lot of time on this topic, but that isn't the point today.)

There have been contributions from everyone else all along. Trying to hide that history damages everyone. 

This is one small contribution. 

Another will be this petty reminder that the Aunt Jemima story that political correctness is burying the story of a successful Black woman is a lie, trying to vilify attempts to be less awful.

Let's not fall for that. 

Please don't stand by

It sure is getting hard to keep up.

I have noticed that the contents of my Sunday blog -- which started with a focus on emergency preparedness -- and this blog have been overlapping more.

Sunday, I referenced a book I had recently read; that has been more of a thing for the Friday posts. Today is going to reference some reading too.

Everything is topsy-turvy now, isn't it?

In this case it is from the preface of Let the Record Show: A Political History of Act Up NewYork, 1987 – 1993 by Sarah Schulman, which had been featured as part of my Pride Month reading:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/12/in-conclusion-pride-2024.html

I kept it for the maximum time from the library. I learned so much from it that I kind of hated to let it go. Doing so required typing out some quotes so I could keep them for reference.

For some context, Schulman was working on a documentary that ended up involving hundreds of interviews.  

She specifically was trying to find an answer for how change happens and if there was a common factor in the people on the front lines.

Here is the part from the preface, which is dense and references two other people's thoughts:

My perception is that the fate of society is determined byvery small groups of people. Only tiny vanguards actually take the actionsnecessary, and even fewer do this with a commitment to being effective. Thepurpose of that combination is to open up new possibilities and set new pathsfor the larger community. I heard the second-wave feminist philosopher Ti-GraceAtkinson speak on the subject at the fortieth anniversary of the 1968 ColumbiaUniversity student strikes, and she observed that women in society can onlyprogress when men progress. If men do not move, women are suppressed. Shesuggested that these great leaps happen every forty years or so. Unfortunately,they cannot be forced; they depend on the zeitgeist. But in the interimperiods, there are small groups of people practicing what the writer GaryIndiana called “the politics of repetition,” trying to stop the rate ofgiveback and regression. Yet when the zeitgeist moment hits – and AIDS activismwas one of those moments – there is a mass surge forward as a movement forcesthe creation of social space where persistent voices can finally be heard.

I hope that is not true. I hope it doesn't take us forty years to be ready for change. I hope it doesn't depend on men. I especially hope that they aren't basing that on the Civil Rights Movement when I look back at how much has been undone and is still being attacked.

If it is true, I know which side I want to be on.

In addition, there was something else from the introduction.

After talking to many people who seemingly had very little in common, there was a click.

Thesewere people who were unable to sit out a historic cataclysm. They were drivenby nature, by practice, or by some combination thereof, to defend people introuble through standing with them. What ACT UPers had in common was that,regardless of demographics, they were a very specific type of person, necessaryto historical paradigm shifts. In case of emergency, they were not bystanders.

Whether that meant working with a hot line or organizing nursing or coming up with and carrying out creative political protests, they couldn't just watch it happen.

These are scary times. If you want to look for the helpers, do it for inspiration but then become a helper yourself. 

That may mean using talents and skills you already have or finding new ones. There are going to be a lot of things that need doing. 

For this blog space, Fridays are still going to be media, whether those works show up on other posts or not. (Some of them surely will.)

Otherwise, February is going to be a series of posts on loving forms of resistance (include self-care) and they will include potential action items.

I use the term "potential" because no one is going to be able to do them all. I do believe that everyone is capable of contributing.  

(I am not completely clear on whether that means just Tuesdays or will involve Wednesdays, Thursdays, and maybe even Mondays yet. Some of this will have to be made up as it goes along.)

Pleasantly surprised

This is a minor thing, but two more things were filled in, both in the realm of Halloween specials.

First of all, looking for more information on The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas, I checked out the Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_Who_Slept_Through_Christmas

This told me that there was a plush Ted E. Bear (which I don't need) and that there was a Halloween special ten years later, The Great Bear Scare.

I kind of needed that.

As it was, it's a little weird that something that seemingly didn't get a lot of air time got a sequel and plush and that it happened ten years later. Maybe there was someone who remembered it fondly.  

The Great Bear Scare does not refer to The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas at all. There are some of the same characters and voices, though it looks like they mashed up Patti Bear with the Weather Bear and used a completely different voice.

The animation appears to be bit cheaper, and it's not as well told and sweet. Ultimately the message, that our fears are often not real, is a good one, and I am glad I saw it.

I also got an answer on the cheesy variety specials of the 70s, though this particular one is from 1980.

That's when it was made in Canada. It probably did not air here until a year or two later. I do know that it aired on WGN, one of the earliest local channels to do well on cable. Fortunately, there is a Youtube channel, Fuzzy Memories, devoted to their airings.

Before that, I had been talking about the variety specials with my sisters and they mentioned liking Boo! 

I was surprised that they remembered a name that I didn't, but a lead is a lead. Sure enough, there was Dionne Warwick.

I said I had tried to find it through her credits before, as her identity was previously my only solid lead. In my defense, she does have 437 credits as "Self", not even getting into her soundtrack credits.

She also sings Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" to the monster, plus we get Rip Taylor, a Columbo impersonator, and maybe a Bob Newhart impersonator. In some cases it can be hard to tell what they are going for.

(There was also a guy who kind of looked like Rick Springfield, so maybe it was Chris Potter, a Canadian.)

No, it's not "good" if you want to get technical. I will watch it with my sisters at one point, and we will see if they still like it.  

It is Canadian comedians dressed as famous monsters and joking about variety being dead, hence the perfect vehicle for them. Like, this could be one of the works that inspired Strange Brew.

That's not the point; a memory is resolved. I like that.

There are still no signs of the small intestine poem, but after this, anything seems possible.

Anyway, "Boo! We're going to scare the pants off of you."

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2025/01/blast-from-past-star-wars-holiday.html  

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2025/01/remembered-christmas-specials.html 

Schadenfreude

I was downtown recently. On the streetcar a comment about ideas and money somehow led to a few people laughing about the fires in California.

I saw at least one of the passengers help another person, and it started a discussion about asking someone before you push their wheelchair; there were definitely caring people there. In fact, one person did point out that there are people suffering who are not rich.

Regardless, there were people very comfortable laughing at the misfortune of others.

I completely understand the temptation to laugh at James Woods. Of course, it turned out that he didn't lose his house anyway.

In fact, regardless of what losses happen -- probably including things with great sentimental value -- one of the great things about being rich is that it gives you resources for weathering losses.

As we pay more attention, though, there is a more disturbing picture.

One of the hard-hit areas is Altadena. When many other areas prevented African-American families from purchasing property, they could in Altadena. Many of the homes in that area would have represented a family's work and sacrifice to be able to own a home, part of the American dream that has been made unnecessarily hard for Black people. Those homes have been in families for generations.

Now, their ability to purchase that land at that time may indeed have meant that they were better off than some people, but that doesn't mean rich. Purchasing the land at today's prices may mean rich, but purchasing during the 40s and 60s was not the same thing.

There may be families who are not going to be able to recover from this loss.

There is a lot to be said for also caring about the air quality and the wildlife and the people on the ground fighting the fires. Many of the firefighters are prisoners who are not adequately compensated or cared for. At least one prisoner died in a different round of fire-fighting, Shawna-Lyn Jones in 2016.

No, these are not particularly dangerous, violent criminals.

(There is a book on some of this, Breathing Fire by Jaime Low, but I haven't read it yet.)

It may also be worth remembering that rich people have people they hire who could have been in real danger and may not have had great resources for evacuating.

We do know that there is one group that did not have great resources for evacuation: disabled people. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/disabled-people-in-fires-and-natural-disasters_l_67869984e4b0256f6fbf025b

The stories that we have been hearing have involved epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and amputation, but remember that just being elderly or having an extended illness can create obstacles where finding solutions quickly are almost impossible.

We can look back at almost any general hardship that affects wealthy white people and find that if you are not white or if you are disabled or if you are poor that you get hit harder. You get hit sooner. That is how the system works, and there is nothing funny about it.

I recently read something about schadenfreude; it just described it as taking pleasure from the misfortune of others. That was a little jarring for me because when I see examples, there is usually something that seems karmic about the suffering, "This person deserved it!"

But really, it's just pleasure in the suffering of others, making the pleasure sadism.

Maybe the point is to remember that as easy as the laughter can be, there is always more to the story. That more is probably something gross that says terrible things about humanity. 

Cheap jokes deflect the attention we should be paying to that.

It also seems worth mentioning that the pool of who gets dehumanized will always expand.

Performative colonialism

This is about things that Trump was saying between the election and the inauguration, so I realize there is a lot more to react to now. 

I am assuming that keeping up won't be possible. My desire to react may be frustrating, but it will just be one of many frustrations, and probably not the best way of picking blogging topics.

So let's talk about Greenland and the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico.

It sounds ridiculous, right? That we might try and acquire Greenland and rename bodies of water in our own image and take over places run pretty well by respected international agreements.

That would be behaving like an old-time empire, something that started to get a bad name decades ago. 

That didn't prevent the ongoing problems with it, but nonetheless, countries kind of stopped doing that.

Part of that was being unable to deny the damage that was done, and that while there was a benefit to the general population in the colonizing countries, that the spoils did end up largely concentrated in the hands of royalty and some favorites.

While many have dragged feet on totally repudiating colonialism and its effects, there has at least been a general trend away from doing it more.

Except that Russia invaded Ukraine, and Israel keeps encroaching further into Gaza and then invaded Lebanon and seems to want an influence on Syria and there is this concept of "Greater Israel" that is concerning.

I read recently that Kim Jong Un's sister believes it is her mission to reunite North and South Korea.

So, really, by talking that way, Trump is showing his alignment. It is with the worst people in the world, but that's been kind of obvious all along, right?

Now, do I think he will really try and seize control of Greenland?

I don't know. As much as I believe in his tendency to shoot off at the mouth without following up, if someone who has bought enough of his meme coins without pissing him off by saying the wrong thing publicly... if someone like that wants Greenland's minerals, Trump might go for it, especially if all he needs to do is allow it, without handling the details.

When I was a kid, the majority of people would have been horrified having a president who aligned so much with someone like Putin. 

Now there are people who love it in Trump. 

They love it because they want to be the bullies, trampling all over others. They get the vicarious thrill of watching him, and they know that it gives them permission to be worse, even if on a lesser scale.

I know there are people who did not wholeheartedly embrace him and are starting to get nervous.

The word "performative" has been used dismissively a lot, implying that it is not sincere or will not be followed by appropriate actions.

That can be fair, but there is something to be said for clearly transmitting your beliefs and intentions. 

If that starts with objecting when terms like "woke", "politically correct", and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" are used derisively, that's a start.

There is no more destructive entitlement program than white supremacy, and colonialism was largely enabled by it. Greed was the driver, but the white supremacy helped it go down.

People aligned with white supremacy get nervous when it gets weakened.

Trump has promised to strengthen it, and he signals it over and over, especially because people cheer for him when he does so.

Let's be the chorus against. 

Remembered Christmas specials

When looking up forgotten Thanksgiving specials last year, we looked up a few Christmas specials that we had not known about as well.

That wasn't as impressive. We have kept up on Christmas specials much better, including going back and finding some less popular Rankin Bass specials several years ago.

We did turn up three, and we did watch them.

The Town Santa Forgot (1993)

This one was pretty good. I was in the mission field when it aired, so I would not have seen any publicity. Even if I were around, I might not have been interested at that time.

A Christmas Story (1972)

No, not that one. A dog and a mouse find their family's little boy's letter to Santa on Christmas Eve and try to get it delivered before it is too late. I believe it aired more than once and I might even have seen it, but I have no memories of it.

Casper's First Christmas (1979)

Hanna Barbara characters that we have seen in other specials end up in a haunted house with one nice young ghost and one older, crankier ghost (not Casper's usual three uncles). Pretty cute, and the first use of the song "Comin' Up Christmas Time", used in Yogi Bear's First Christmas one year later, which I do remember.

What all of that really did, though, is make me think about things that I kind of remembered but had only seen once.

The only extra viewing that gave last year was A Chipmunk Christmas (1981). We watched that and a few Christmas episodes of the show.

I made a note of The Little Rascals' Christmas Special (1979), which was the first one I tracked down this year.

It was not great. The basic story is cute, but the jokes they use to stretch it out pretty much all come down to the kids not being very bright. Well, I guess Alfalfa's singing is used humorously. One could wish it had been done a little better, and then maybe it would have aired more.

On the plus side, Spanky and Porky's mother was voiced by Darla Hood, the original Darla, and the butcher she visits was voiced by Matthew "Stymie" Beard. I assume that's the reason that they had Stymie in the gang instead of Buckwheat, whom I believe is better remembered. 

One thing that I can see looking at these dates is that if I remember things that my younger sisters don't, well, of course. I was young when these aired, but they were much younger. Of course they know Rudolph and Frosty, but those got played many times over many years.

There were two things that I had only seen once.

One was The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972). 

It must have played a few other times, because I am sure I do not remember the 1972 airing. As it was, all I remembered was a girl in long johns dragging a Christmas tree. I thought this was her bringing a Christmas tree into her own house, but in fact she was taking it to a neighbor after her cranky father got mad that she won it. (Then he comes around and brings back a Christmas tree on his own.)

Also, I remembered her as much older, but that was probably because of how young I was then.

The father who is harsh because of his own issues resonates a bit. I did not remember that, nor why there wasn't a tree in the first place. 

It's not bad. I'm glad I looked it back up.

The gladdest thing this year is that I finally identified something that had just been a memory of a cartoon Salvation Army band playing "Good King Wenceslas". When I saw it then I couldn't even identify that song. (It was instrumental, so there were no words to help me.)

I felt like it might be associated with Corduroy somehow. Well, there is a bear wandering a department store in The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973).

I can't swear that I don't remember it from 1973. I don't have a lot of memories from when I was almost two, but there are some.

I was trying to find the name for A Christmas Story this year (it is a bit generic of a title, even without the more famous live-action film), and one of the "forgotten Christmas specials" articles came up. I saw a picture from The Bear and knew that was it.

I had looked for it a few times on and off, but I didn't have enough details to go on. Suddenly, there it was.

Also, it was really cute and I made my sisters watch it. While they were not sure about the ending (fair), I knew they would love the stewardess bears dancing on the wing of a plane in the Bear Air commercial. They did.

It is a very sweet show. It does seem to imply that a bear with a college degree who had a job and a roommate is becoming a toy or pet, but I am sure it all works out. 

But also, I got an old question answered. It was answered because I keep asking new questions.

It's a little late now, but Merry Christmas! 

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/11/thanksgiving-specials.html  

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2025/01/blast-from-past-star-wars-holiday.html 

Birthday wish

Finally, for my birthday I want you.

I want to see you all.

I am sure some of that relates to COVID and a lot of activities not being safe. Here we are getting on five years later and there are only more diseases floating around.

Maybe it's worse because our reunion is being delayed again. Now, I have had concerns about the gathering anyway, but it is still nice to have options.

It isn't only that. It is so easy to lose touch and to lose intimacy.

With social media there are ways in which it is easier to kind of have an idea of how people are doing -- if they post -- but you can miss a lot.

Part of it may be my job instability. The way modern life has worked is that your social group can kind of be your coworkers. 

That's not terrible, but then when your job changes, even when you think you are going to stay in touch, it is not the same.

Life can be pretty exhausting. It's hard to feel like there is time for a lot of getting together.

Plus, you never know how long you have. I've gotten some rude reminders of that. 

Even when you have these good intentions, it can be hard to work out.

For example, I have thought for some time that when my sisters and I go exploring, we should get in touch with the people we know in those areas. I know people in Salem and Canby for sure, and probably other places. 

Of course we are always running late and things come up... trying to add in other people can only add more pressure, except there might also be some nice visits.

I don't have an answer for that.

However, I want to find ways to see you.

I want to interview teachers and designers for more insight as I do my schooling.

I want to get together in the park. 

I want to hug.

And I want to go Halloween caroling, with costumes and simple choreography.

If there is anything you would specifically like to do with me, let me know.

The guiding goals

I have mentioned recently (more on the Sunday blog) that I am feeling compelled to ask more, like asking others for help.

It has been a reminder that even though I have grown past believing I need to take care of everyone else, my habits are still set in that mode.

Once upon a time I had briefly maintained a list of needs and wants so that if something came up I could remember what to say.

I probably need to do that again.

In addition, I have been getting very strong promptings over the past few months that I can't forget other people when my own issues are resolved.

I remember that clearly from when I was trying to get a new primary care provider for my mother and finding so many obstacles. It was eventually solved, but that is one person among many facing similar issues.

I can't forget that.

I am also running into it now where I have been facing multiple failed attempts to get one test completed. This is not an issue with my knowledge of the subject matter, but a technical issue with the testing application.

That is still unresolved. As far as I can tell, it's a not great tool that works mostly well enough that when there are issues the various organizations can keep passing the buck in a manner they would not be able to get away with if it were more consistent. I can find a lot of complaints, but not really any solutions. I assume most people eventually use another system or at a different time of day or something, and then put it behind in relief.

Honestly, that sounds pretty good, but it does not appear to be my path.

So the guidelines for 2025 are to remember myself and my needs as well as others and their needs.

I have not been particularly balanced in this area, ever.

Here's to new beginnings. 

Birthday promises

Perhaps because my birthday is so close to the start of the year, it gives me an extended period of time where I think about what I want for the upcoming year.

Based on the last election, I am confident I will be getting several things that I don't want. 

There are things I don't control, but that makes the things I can control even more important.

So, here are some of my commitments. If you want, you can think of them as gifts to you.

I am going to do my best not to spread disease. 

Yes, that means masking and washing hands. It's not just COVID anymore; there are so many terrible disease going around that you can't worry about only aerosols and fomites anymore; surface contact transmission is very much in play.

However, I have worried that my mask may cut me off from other people, making me look hostile or unapproachable. So, I have committed to radiating love as much as possible while masked, being glad to see people and beaming because of that. 

I am committing to love.

(I 'll try to still radiate love when not masked, but especially when masked.)

Loving doesn't always correspond to liking of course, but there are still things I can do there.

I commit to trying to appreciate the good things about everyone and anyone. 

I commit to understanding that no one is perfect, and that trying is worth a lot.

When I do like you, that is a joy. I am trying to be better about vocalizing that and remembering . 

I commit to working on that.

Of course, some people aren't trying very hard. I commit to being forthright about that, but not holding grudges from it. If I need to shut you out, I can still wish you well.

I commit to choosing kindness over comfort, and protection of the vulnerable over the ease of the powerful.

This may make me annoying sometimes, but it's worth it.

In a world full of a flood of misinformation and disinformation, worsened by people who have abandoned critical thinking, I commit to staying well-informed and staying honest.

When sharing can be helpful, I am going to try and do that, and do it with as much accuracy and clarity as possible.

This could also potentially be annoying. If so, that is not my intent. 

For what it's worth, I deliberately annoy my younger sisters at least once daily, and I adore them, so maybe it puts you in good company.