Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 78

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Published on April 26, 2021 13:13

Mama don’t allow no Oscar commentary here

If I stay within the context of the song, I’ll say, “We don’t care what mama don’t allow. were’ we’re gonna bash those Oscars anyhow.”

Assuming I’m in a mood to be fair, I’ll have to confess I didn’t watch the Academy Awards last night–or for years, truth be told.

I stopped watching years ago because the show was: (a) too long, and, (b) filled with snarky, politically correct preaching. Talk about movies and the arts and stay away from politics, I want to say. But–I think you can guess this–nobody asked me.

I heard that the powers that be messed with the show’s format last night, including where the songs appeared and the order in which the winners were announced. Every year there’s some outrage like this which, I supposed, could add another reason (“c” for those keeping count) why I don’t watch the show. And then, too, every year somebody supposedly gets snubbed. I’m staying away from that one this year.

I’m very hard of hearing, so I can’t hear movies shown in a theater. This means that when the Oscars are awarded, I haven’t seen most of the movies and–should the powers that be–not show any clips from those movies during the show, I’m completely in the dark. Sooner or later, I see most of the good stuff on TV with captions and cheaper popcorn.

So now that all the hoopla and hype has come and gone, I can breathe easier until the next awards show comes along and pre-empts all the stuff I’d rather be watching. Sorry, mama, but I can’t resist saying that the world would be better off if the Oscars were awarded without TV coverage in an abandoned warehouse in Omaha.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 26, 2021 13:13

Happy Independent Bookstore Day

“One Day. Hundreds Of Bookstores. Fifty States. Join The Celebration! Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to authors, live music, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, kids events, art tables, readings, barbecues, contests, and other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Nowhere else.” – Indie Bound

Buy Local

“Small-scale, locally owned businesses create communities that are more prosperous, connected, and generally better off across a wide range of metrics. When we buy from independent, locally owned businesses, rather than national chains, a significantly greater portion of our money is then cycled back through our local economy — to make purchases from our friends’ businesses, to aid our neighbors in need, and to support our local farms — ultimately strengthening the base of our whole community.” – Sustainable Connections

My favorite dark humor cartoon showed an independent bookstore next door to another local store. I believe the manager was standing on the sidewalk ready to welcome customers. Meanwhile, at the store next door, a staff member was outside on the sidewalk taking an incoming order of books from an Amazon truck.

We seem nearly brainwashed to buy from Amazon. It’s just as easy to buy from a local bookstore or, if there isn’t one, from a local store that sells online, including Powell’s and The Strand. (The Strand has a sale today.) Indie Bound (click on the graphic above) has a store finder. If they’re too far away, check their websites: many of them sell online. Just type in your zip code to see what’s near you. The displayed stores usually have website links.

As an alternative to Indie Bound, check out Bookshop. Order books online from them and you’re supporting local bookstores.

If you still feel a deep need to support the Amazon Empire, I’m sure there’s a Twelve-Step program to set you free.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

Available from Bookshop

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Published on April 24, 2021 12:49

Are real doctors having sex in hospital boom closets?

We watch several network medical shows and find that they have three things in common: (1) Concerned doctors sitting up all night with critically ill patients, (2) Rarely used medical procedures that nobody’s insurance would pay for, and (3) doctors and nurses who can’t keep their hands off each other.

Typically, two of the characters will go for weeks obviously interested in each other while desperately striving to keep things professional and avoid having to go to human resources and submit a consent form stating that they are intimate. Then, one night after a tough day in the E.R. and the O.R., the two people are walking down a darkened hallway talking about the emotions of the day when, SUDDENLY, their eyes lock into a mutual “come whither” look and they go nuts.

They find a broom closet or a medical supply room or an unused room, careen into it, and rip off each other’s clothes with an urgency that surpasses all understanding. Nobody mentions birth control or how spouses might react to their desires. All that’s missing is the music from “Unchained Melody.”

I wonder whether this kind of thing happens in “real life” hospitals. When I’ve been a patient, I seldom have the sense that doctors and nurses and orderlies stopping by my room to make life and death decisions about me have arrived fresh from the broom closet. But I see how they look at each other. While I’m likely to say almost anything, I have yet to look at the staff members assembled around my bed and say, “I’m curious how many of you are screwing each other and billing those hours to my Medicare account.”

That question would probably ensure that I’d die during the night due to a massive fentanyl overdose. Or a fall down an open elevator shaft.

I’m sure real doctors and nurses have “needs” and that savvy medical show producers want to portray those needs accurately while giving viewers a few minutes’ respite from the blood. But sex in a rush: is that for real or for dramatic effect?

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 23, 2021 12:56

There’s order amidst the chaos

Most of us who have used the I Ching for years don’t consult the book for simple divination. In general, I see that as a waste of time because the future is not fixed. But the “oracle,” as we call it, is more useful in helping those who use it to find ways to oriented themselves with the universal flow of time and space and trends, rather like checking the tides and weather before heading out to sea in a small boat.

My favorite I Ching reference.

Things we might be considering doing are sometimes best postponed; other things might require us to move sooner than planned. Like the sea, which is calm one day and dangerous the next day, the universe also has yin and yang moments that it’s best to know about. At first glance, everything in our consensus reality (including the pandemic, riots, political situations, and the sunny days and cloudy days of our personal lives) probably seem chaotic.

Some people ascribe this chaos to fate or destiny and think of themselves rather like a cork bobbing in the ocean with no control over conditions or outcomes. I don’t agree with that view because it implies (more or less) that the universe is out to get you or so-called Karma is following you around or that you’re simply unlucky. None of that makes sense to me.

What makes sense to me is using meditation, the I Ching, Tarot Cards, street-wise knowledge, and a positive focus of ones willpower to achieve objectives and stay out of harm’s way. If we blunder along with the point of view that we are more or less powerless, then we’ll see more chaos. If we work to synchronize our goals and actions with the flow of the universe, we will see less chaos.

In fact, one has come to a good place when s/he realizes that s/he attracts the order or the chaos s/he experiences. Common sense doesn’t support this view, though the results of seeing the universe this way bring order out of the chaos of daily life.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 22, 2021 13:11

Chauvin Verdict: important, but a baby step in the right direction

There never should have been any doubt about the verdict. Fortunately, it was a sensible one. The policeman’s actions were so egregious and so unnecessary that there should have been no doubt about the jury’s decision. Yet there was. Now we await sentencing. Let’s hope the verdict isn’t spoilt by an egregious sentence.

When I worked at a police training school developing course materials, I had debates with most of the instructors there about the policy that mandated police most shoot to kill if they shoot at all. They shoot to kill because it’s easier to shoot somebody in the chest than dropping him to the ground by shooting him the leg–especially if he’s firing at you.

Nonetheless, I think police should shoot to wound the suspect except under extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, use a taser or a nightstick or a stun gun, or a non-fatal shot.

It’s absurd, I think, that deadly force is used against people who are not armed, not in the process of committing a capital crime, and–if running from the scene–were only committing a misdemeanor. There’s no legitimate reason to shoot and kill a person suspected of stealing a pack of cigarettes. The police response should never be greater than the crime.

So what if a suspected shoplifter runs away? There’s no point in killing him to prevent that.

We need to review the use of weapons and the methods of controlling a suspect rather than defunding the police (except when they’ve become militarized) or by using an unarmed traffic patrol to handle moving violations and accidents. And that’s not all of it by any means.

We need a police force that is unbiased, doesn’t profile minorities, uses non-deadly force (if any), and that’s trusted by all segments of the population.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 21, 2021 13:06

Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead!

When the links to news stories about the deaths of elderly famous people appear on Facebook, a fair number of people say, “Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead.” Apparently, once an old celebrity is no longer in the public eye, people tend to assume they are “dead, dead, and gone” as the phrase in the 1969 Blood, Sweat & Tears song says.

Most people didn’t say that when Kirk Douglas and Olivia de Haviland died in 2020 because both of them had been around for so long that the media mentioned their birthdays every year. So, once you’re over a hundred, people keep checking and saying, “Yep, still here.” We assume Clint Eastwood isn’t dead since, at 90, he’s still making movies and chalking up Oscar nominations.

One of my aunts lived about 104 years as well, was happy to get a letter from the President when she reached a hundred, and I think got a news story in the local paper.

Sometime between 70 and 100, we lose track of well-known people if they’ve retired. When Sophia Loren starred in “The Life Ahead” last year, people had to reassess, deciding that (a) she’s not dead, (b) “out of it,” and (c) “still has it.” Good for her, people were saying.

For every actor or author who performs or writes when they are old and gets a “good for him” or “good for her” response from the fans, there are hundreds who are still working. The actors are, perhaps appearing in so-called character-actor roles, and the authors are turning out books and stories the critics like but that don’t make the bestseller lists (which means most prospective readers never hear about them). Day to day, these productive people who were once well known still see the life ahead and plan to make good use of it.

It would be nice, I think if more people noticed their ongoing work and watched it or read it and talked about it so that these folks don’t become isolated and unknown in their later years. Sure, if they make it to one hundred, we’ll take notice of them again as though they weren’t doing anything during their 80s and 90s. Sadly, if they make a BIG FILM or write a BIG BOOK during those two decades, we’ll say, “Gosh, I thought s/he was already dead.”

If you’re not dead, hearing that has got to be a real downer.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 20, 2021 13:14

Glacier Park Announces Sun Road Temporary Ticketed Entry System

Glacier National Park News Release

WEST GLACIER, Mont. [March 31, 2021] – Today, Glacier National Park announces the decision to implement a Going-to-the-Sun Road temporary ticketed entry system for the 2021 season. Going-to-the-Sun entry reservation tickets will be available at www.Recreation.gov starting April 29, barring any unforeseen delays.

The system will require visitors to set up an account on www.Recreation.gov and obtain a vehicle entry reservation ticket at ($2 nonrefundable fee) to enter the 50 mile long Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR) corridor at the West Glacier and St. Mary entrances between 6 AM and 5 PM from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.

Entry reservation tickets will not be required for those with lodging, camping, transportation, or commercial activity within the GTSR corridor. Landowners with property within the GTSR corridor and affiliated tribal members are also not required to have a GTSR entry reservation ticket.

Glacier National Park saw record numbers of visitors in the last few years. This season is predicted to be one of the busiest on record.

“We have the making of a perfect storm this season,” said Park Superintendent Jeff Mow. “Not only do we have ongoing COVID-19 mitigations and reduced staffing, but we are also facing construction delays inside and around the park.”

In 2020, park officials implemented temporary closures 29 times in 25 days at the park’s West Entrance which at times resulted in backups along Highway 2. The ticketed entry system offers visitors increased certainty that they will be able to enter the park while reducing or eliminating the need for closures at the park’s west entrance.

“The goal is to maximize access while avoiding congestion that results in temporary closures of park entrance gates,” says Mow.

Numbers will be tracked each day and additional entry reservation tickets will be available if there is additional capacity. There will be fewer entry reservation tickets available prior to the full opening of GTSR. When the road opens, the number of entry reservation tickets available will increase. The date for GTSR opening is unknown at this time and subject to weather and plowing progress. The park plans to start plowing GTSR on April 5.

About two-thirds of the entry reservation tickets will be released for 60 days advance purchase on a rolling window, and the remaining entry reservation tickets will be released for 48 hours advance purchase, also on a rolling window. For example, on June 2 a visitor could purchase entry reservation tickets 48 hours in advance for entry on June 4. They could also purchase an entry reservation ticket 60 days in advance for entry on August 2.
–

The traffic congestion at Glacier National Park has been off the scale during the last several years. I am happy to see that the park administration is taking a proactive approach to this growing problem.

–Malcolm

A Glacier Park Novel – Audiobook Edition

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing

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Published on April 19, 2021 12:48

Discovering ‘The G-String Murders’ by Gypsy Rose Lee

The tall bookshelf on the righthand side of our living room fireplace was either magic or was monitored by my parents who put books there–from some hidden trove–during my junior high and high school years when I was deemed ready to read them.

One of these was a small book in a plain brown dustjacket written for young men who were old enough to learn how sex was accomplished. I read it in my bedroom and then put it back on the tall bookshelf from which it soon disappeared until it was time for the middle brother to read it. I have no idea what the book was called or when it was published. In general, the words and illustrations were more accurate and of higher literary quality (less profane, too) than the information written on the restroom stalls in the men’s bathrooms at school.

I still have the second book that appeared about the time the movie “Gypsy” was released in 1962. When I didn’t return it to the tall shelf, nobody mentioned it. It appeared after the book about how to have sex, though I didn’t need a set of instructions to enjoy Gypsy Rose Lee’s 1941 detective novel The G-String Murders. I liked the book. I still do. And I think she wrote it or wrote most of it in spite of the fact various people think somebody else wrote it.

It’s set in a burlesque theater with a narrator named Gypsy. According to teacher and scholar Maria DiBattista, “The book is still readable today for its brisk, sometimes witty, and unapologetically randy account of the personal and professional jealousies, the routines and props (the grouch bags, pickle persuaders, and, of course, G-strings), even the substandard plumbing common to a life in burlesque.”

Letters that Lee sent to Simon and Schuster while she was writing the novel tend to prove that she wrote it rather than W. H. Auden, Craig Rice, and other suspects. The book is still in print.

Amazon Description

Lee – Wikipedia Photo

“Narrating the twisted tale of a backstage double murder, Gypsy Rose Lee, the queen of the striptease, provides a tantalizing glimpse into the underworld of burlesque theatre in 1940s America. When one performer is found strangled with a G-string, no one is above suspicion. A host of clueless coppers face off against the theatre’s tough-talking guys and dolls, and when a second murder occurs, it’s clear that Gypsy and her cohorts will have to crack the case themselves. A dazzling and wisecracking murder mystery noir that was the basis of the 1943 film Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck.”

In part, I think it’s the movie (inspired by her memoir Gypsy: A Memoir) “Gypsy” with Natalie Wood and this novel that keep Gypsy Rose Lee’s name from fading out of the public’s consciousness. After all, burlesque is long gone. She lived between 1911 and 1970. In her later years, she appeared here and there including “Hollywood Squares.” In 2010, novelist Karen Abbott released the novel “American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee” to high acclaim.

So, Gypsy is still here one way or another, and that first edition copy isn’t leaving my shelf.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell

Publisher: Thomas-Jacob Publishing