Who's Your Tiger?

If you'll recall, a few years ago, this was the Tigers' snappy little catch-phase. They've since realized that it's a bit divisive & cheesy, but we here @ Drifting into Deep Water (& back when we were @ Visions of Ypsi) have stuck w/ it. Last year, I was jocking Phil Coke. The year before was Marcus Thames (2009), Edgar Rentería (2008), Jones (2007), & Dmitri Young (2006). You can reread the previous posts about this issue here from 2008, here from 2009, & here from 2010. I've been struggling to pick someone for this year, but tonight's game w/ Cleveland sealed the deal. A certain relief pitcher w/ an awesome name came on & went 3 innings w/ 6 strike outs & no hits. I don't know how long he'll last before he's sent to Toledo, but that has never stopped me from picking my Tiger before. Even when he ends up sucking & then languishing in the minors for the remainder of his career, I'll stand behind my pick, refusing to believe I made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. What the Hell kind of name is Al Albuquerque? It's pretty fantastic! I like to post pics of the rookie cards along w/ the main "Who's your Tiger" post, but he doesn't seem to have one yet, so we'll go w/ a nice Minor League card from his days in Daytona & then this sweet action shot.

Juice!: The New Ishmael Reed Novel

"I thought about it. 'Well, somebody had to strike a blow for the return to common sense in the arts. You have the self-reflexive novels where the novelist interjects himself as a character. Novels like those written by that Ishmael Reed. He's probably out in some obscure hole in California right now, thinking of another way he by which he can badger himself into his work having been criticized for introducing himself as a character in his novel Japanese By Spring.'"

So begins a speech by the narrator of Ishmael Reed's newest novel, Juice!, in which the narrator rails against the post-modern. It's yet another crazy-ass book by Reed, a writer who has singlehandedly pissed off more of my students than every other writer combined. In fact, he pisses me off @ every turn, which is fantastic... just like this new book. The narrator is a political cartoonist who gets hooked on the O.J. trial as the novel follows it's progression over the last 15 years & reflects on how it impacted pop-culture in general & the media specifically. As a cartoonist, the book is filled w/ fun little images the narrator has published (these were actually created by Reed himself). As the last remaining American who believes in Simpson's innocence, he puts forth a pretty good argument, reminding us of many of the facts we've conveniently forgotten since the trial. His slam on Reed towards the end makes is pretty clear that the narrator & the writer don't necessarily share these views, but throughout the book, he seems to go back & forth. The point isn't about O.J.'s innocence or guilt but about how the media controlled our views even when the actual facts completely contradicted these opinions. While we see the fall out from O.J., we also watch the rise of cable news & (in typical Ishmael Reed style) the ways minorities are scape-goated to promote the interests of big-businesses.

He's been criticized over the years for being too "Black," which people see as a slight against women & other minorities. But while certain groups get marginalized by the narrator & other characters, it's clear that Reed doesn't actually sympathize with these portrayals. I wonder if these critics who accuse him of "playing the race card" have actually read the books or just read one another's reviews of previous books. I have a sneaking suspicion that there is one Er review from which all the negativity derives. Last week I read his 1976 novel Flight to Canada & I had the same feeling. If people really give him a chance, they'll see there's a lot going on. He's one weird dude... & I always dig weirdness. I'll be @ Nicola's this evening so you, gentle reader, should stop on in & pick up a copy for yourself. Oh, & if you follow that wikipedia link to the page about Reed, you can see all of the edits I made today... adding links, organizing the structure, fixing spelling errors, etc... good times indeed.

On Stranger Tides

Here's the first trailer for the newest installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I imagine of two situations is happening though: 1) you've already seen it 2) you're completely uninterested. Either way, I feel an obligation to post this since I posted all the others over the years. Many of you didn't like the 3rd film in the series, but I dug the weird Flann O'Brien/Samuel Beckett thing that was going on (of course, I'm always in favor of a weird Flann O'Brien/Samuel Beckett thing). The 4th one looks like it could be a bit of a cop-out (like the 2nd Ocean's movie) in that Jack Sparrow may no longer be an outlaw which makes it safer for the marketing towards kids. That's OK though; I'm gonna enjoy it just the same. There are also a bunch of mermaids, so I bet Isaiah will enjoy it too since he can't get enough of his girlfriend.

The DIA w/ Aiden's Class

I think I'm gonna have to go down there some time soon by myself. I had a great time w/ the kids & Aiden loved it as usual, but it's tough to enjoy it while also watching a group of kids... which was fine. That was the point after all. One of the kids couldn't get enough of the frames, which I thought was pretty funny. Another kids was so into it, he was always lagging behind because he wanted to see everything & really take it in. Aiden's favorite stuff was in the main hall: the armour & weaponry. They also got a 45 minute lecture about the Rivera Court. That was pretty fantastic. It must have really made an impression too because later, they wanted to go back and look at it more... which was fine w/ me.

Here are the few things that stood out:
1) I was pointing something out to the kids so we were pretty close to a painting. An elderly woman freaked out on me for getting too close (I could fall forward & hit the art). It's not like we were touching it & it was a really small painting so one had to get close to see it clearly. She then squeezed my arm as she was talking to me, I freaked out on her for touching me. What's good for the goose...

2) Looking at a fertility goddess w/ a seashell for a vulva, 1 of the boys said, "Wow... she has a big belly button." That was pretty great.

3) I noticed a couple paintings I'd never paid much attention to before: a photorealist thing by Richard Estes & Three Skulls by Cezanne. The Estes painting is really funny, but you have to be able to read the names of the films... which might be tough w/ the quality of this pic.

A Classy Weekend

Yesterday, my mom & I took Aiden & Solstice to the Detroit Symphony. They do a free family show about once a month. It was fantastic. I'd never seen them before, & wow... they know their shit. I shouldn't be so surprised, but I'd never see any orchestras before other than student ones. They performed for about an hour which was perfect for the kids. Next time, we'll have to plan ahead & get tix to a museum too... & maybe some Lafayette Coney Island in between. Nothing says classy like chili cheese fries. Anyway, between each piece, the conductor, Leonard Slatkin, talked to the kids about the subsequent piece, explaining what it was about & why they chose to do it. Here's what they played:
Overture to Candide - Leonard Berstein
Summon the Heroes - John Williams
"Hoe Down" from Rodeo - Aaron Copeland
Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin (featuring Michel Camilo on piano)
Tropical Jam - Michel Camilo
The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) - John Williams
Then today, while Dan & I were classing it up w/ staches for our 1st Verde FC match, My mom took Solstice to see The Magic Flute at the Detroit Opera House. She says she loved it. I'm so glad she got to go. I think she's looking forward to doing that kind of stuff more often. Verde, on the other hand, lost 3-0 @ home to Brighton today. Their first goal was due to a ridiculous defensive break down, their second was clearly offsides, & their 3rd was right @ the end on a counter attack while we were all pushed up trying to score. Plus, we had to deal w/ the wind which was harder for us than them because we demand a more beautiful style of quick passing... very much like a symphony, now that I think about it. They just play sloppily. (we play them again in a couple weeks in a cup match & would love to see you all out there supporting your local team.) So w/ these things in mind, we'll call it a draw. And that's some classy logic.

Spring, Soccer, the Symphony, & Silly Accents

With final exams nearly finished, it's time to look ahead to ze coming months... months to be filled w/ Verderiffic good times. I updated the team site so you can all follow our progress and plan your Dimanche afternoon outing. Get your Vuvuzelas and come support your local team. As always, replica kits are available for ze low price of just $30.00. Order yours today. If that's too much of a commitment, you can always just join our brand-spanking-new Facebook Group. Our first match is this Sunday at 11:00 in Canton. Come on out! Tomorrow afternoon, Stephanie & I are taking Aiden & Solstice to the DSO Young People's Concert. It should be a great time. Afterwards, Solstice will be staying w/ my parent s so she & ma mere can go the The Magic Flute (but not this version) on Sunday... it's quite a classy weekend for us.

Finaly, while taking the kids to school today, Solstice was speaking w/ her fake English accent. She loves it. I told her she had to use it all w/ her friends & teachers & everyone. I hope she's still doing it, but I doubt it. We then decided that Aiden should go through the day w/ a "hillbilly" accent, which he was doing pretty well, & then they demanded I use an elderly French accent. I'm alright when it comes to certain accents, but my French one is pretty basic. Adding extreme, toothless old age was tough. One or the other I could have done, but I can't bring them together well. They then decided it should be Spanish instead... that didn't go over any better. I went back to elderly French so you need to go back to the top & reread zis w/ a sily accent you see... while I fart in your general direction... as I said, quite a classy weekend.

Arsenal Highlights Series #X

I promised a quick return to soccer posts. Well, it wasn't as quick as I'd hoped, but here you go. Arsenal picked apart Blackpool yesterday morning during a match that could easily have seen Mad Jens Lehman sent off for a horrible challenge on some Blackpool person. After a closer look, it seems that he wasn't really the last defender and maybe should have gotten only a yellow... as it stands, he got nothing which is good because there was no second goalie on the bench after Almunia was injured in the warm-up. I didn't see the game, but I've watched the highlights & I've gotta say, these 3 goals are pretty sweet. Of course, I'd have settled for headers from corner kicks, but the beauty of the free-flowing goal from open play can't be beat... unless of course, like that douchebag, Berbatov, the goal-scorer is offsides & the ref doesn't see it. There's nothing beautiful about that.

So anyway, here's the highlight reel straight from the Arsenal FC site. Enjoy & be sure to come out & support Verde FC in a few weeks when our season gets underway.

Paul Beatty Post #2: The Music

I know I just wrote about the book Slumberland the other day, but begging your indulgences, I'd like to revisit that topic a little. I promise to return to our regularly scheduled soccer/local intrest stuff directly. The book is about a DJ from LA who goes to Berlin in 1989 right before the wall comes down in search of a reclusive musician who he thinks will be able to help him complete his near-perfect beat. The book is filled with pop-culture references; it's like a Dennis Miller routine. References w/in references which can make it difficult at times, but always hilarious. At the end of our discussion today, we listened to a few of the songs mentioned throughout the book, & then a couple things that are similar to the ficticious music the narrator creates. Here's a quick list of links to the youtube entries for the stuff we heard:
* Sixto Rodrigez: "Sugar Man"
* Funkadelic: "Get Off Your Ass and Jam"
* Public Enemy: "Rebel Without a Pause"
* Carly Simon: "You're So Vain"
* Boogie Down Procutions: "South Bronx"
* Duke Ellington and John Coltrane: "In a Sentimental Mood"
* Oliver Nelson: "Stolen Moments"
* Stezo: "It's My Turn"
* Dizzy Gillespe: "Manteca"
* Peggy Lee: "Fever"
* George Clinton: "Atomic Dog"
* Sun Ra: "Space is the Place"
* The Grateful Dead: "Raven Space"
* Karlheinz Stockhausen: "Helicopter String Quartet"

Paul Beatty & Walt Whitman

I'm sure I've talked about him before, but I'm doing Slumberland this week in class so I've been thinking about him again. He's a pretty amazing writer. The first time I covered him was about 6 years ago. Someone loaned me "White Boy Shuffle" claiming I "had to read it... it's just sooo good." Everyone says that (I'm saying it right now), so I don't usually get around to all the books that come to me that way. When I finally did get to it, I realized, to my shock, that he was right. I was preparing it in my office one morning when Tracy, a former colleague poked her head in and asked what I was doing. I showed her the book and she responded w/ "Oh, you're teaching Paul's book!" Right, Paul... you're on a first name basis with him. Sure. Well, as it turns out, she was. She traveled Europe w/ him for 2 months in the early '90s on some sort of poetry reading tour.

Now, I'm at a Nicola's event the other night @ the library for Louis Rodriguez, a poet from L.A. During the down time, I was prepping for my class & he asked what I was reading. I showed him, & he too responded w/ "Oh, you're reading Paul's book!" I immediately thought of Tracy's response 6 years earlier and was shocked by the similarity. I told him about my other job & he went on to say that he traveled Europe w/ Paul in the early '90s on some sort of poetry tour. It turns out that he also knows Tracy. What a weird coincidence. There were 6 people on that tour, one of whom I teach all the time and 2 of whom I met basically because of the other one.

I didn't really log in here today to talk about that though. I really logged in to say that I've been having a pretty rough couple weeks. Then, as I was reading this week, I came across this fantastic passage I want to share because it just brightened everything up so nicely. The main character is asked by the woman w/ whom he's been sleeping if he loves her. Here's his response:

"I'd never been in love. I'd always though love was like reading Leaves of Grass in a crowded Westside park on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, having to suppress the urge, with each giddy turn of the page to share your joy with the surrounding world. By "sharing" I don't mean quoting Whitman's rhythm-machine poetics to a group of strangers waiting for auditions to be posted at the Screen Actors Guild, but wanting to stand up and scream, 'I'm reading Walt Whitman you joyless, shallow, walking-the-dog-by-carrying-the-dog, casting-couch-wrinkles-imprinted-in-your-ass, associate-producers'-pubic-hairs-on-your-tounge, designer-perambulator-pushing-the-baby-you-and-your-Bel-Air-trophy-wife-had-by-inserting-someone-else's-sperm-bank-jizz-in-a-surrogate-mother's-uterus-because-you-and-your-sugar-daddy-were-too-busy-with-your-nonexistent-careers-to-fuck, no-day-job-having California Aryan Assholes! I'm reading Whitman! Fuck your purebreed pedigreed Russian Wolfhound! Fuck your WASP infant with the Hebrew name and West Indian nanny! Fuck your Norwegian au pair who's not as hot looking as you thought she'd be! I'm reading Whitman, expanding my mind and melding with the universe! What have you done today? It's ten in the morning, do you know where your coke dealer is? Have you looked at the leaves of grass? No? I didn't think so!' That's what I thought love would be like. Reading Whitman and fighting the urge to express your aesthetic superiority.'"

That's pretty amazing, and transcribing it was a pain in my ass, so I hope you enjoyed it.