Forty years ago today-- the Sex Pistols release "God Save The Queen"

Sometime during the 1979-80 school year, when I was eleven or twelve, my older brother returned home from college in Colorado, where he was a freshman and hating it. When he’d gone off in the fall, Clark had had shoulder-length hair and was listening to the Marshall Tucker Band, the Eagles, and the Who; when he came back home, his hair was half an inch long, and he was wearing cracked mirrored sunglasses and an amused snarl. One day during his visit, Clark told me I needed to call the KSHE Radio request line and ask for a particular song to be played. At the time (and probably to this day), KSHE played “Real Rock Radio” and was where white St. Louis went to hear Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Charlie Daniels, Steely Dan, and Yes—it was, at my brother’s insistence throughout high school, the only radio station we ever listened to on family car trips. Now here was Clark wanting me to call up these arbiters of dinosaur rock taste and request some song with bad words in it he'd heard about while away at college. As the younger brother who always wanted to be included in any mischief and mayhem, I was eager to comply.

I’m not sure I actually remember placing the phone call, so I always imagine my fingers shaking as I dialed and my voice cracking as I asked the man who answered the phone on the other end of the line, “Can you play ‘God Save the Queen’ by the Sex Pistols?” But I have no trouble recalling his response— he quickly shouted “Fuck you!” and crashed the phone down. Needless to say, I was thrilled—what powers had I just unleashed? What was this music that made grown men cuss out little kids over the phone just for requesting it? I hadn’t even heard the song yet, but I knew was hooked.

President Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia

In case you were wanting to watch this

Combination book and movie review #1

Historical background: As a child growing up in the mid-to-late seventies, I was certainly aware of both the book Jaws and the movie of the same name. According to family legend, when my parents went to see Jaws in the movie theater, my father became so frightened at one point in the film that he stood up and shouted "WATCH OUT" at the screen. I also found the movie to be terrifying when I finally saw it on television, although not as terrifying as Jaws II, which I saw in the movie theater in 1978 when I was ten years old-- for some reason I slept by myself in my sister's room later that night, and I was unable to sleep because I had become convinced that the twin beds in her room were actually a pair of killer whales.

The book Jaws was also the first book that I ever read cover-to-cover that I thought I probably shouldn't be reading-- after all, it had a woman swimming naked on the cover and at least one scene in which people vomit. I can clearly remember hiding in my bedroom closet while reading Jaws, only to be caught by my father. Much to my surprise, rather than taking away the book or telling me not to read it, my dad was fine with the whole thing and even went so far as to tell me that I could read any book in the house whenever I felt like it.

Review of the book: Peter Benchley's novel has all the main elements-- the shark, the ocean, the greedy town fathers, the police chief, the young marine biologist, the crusty, old fisherman-- but it isn't very good. Despite the fact that the book is really just about a big fish that terrorizes a town, Benchley manages to also work in some marital infidelity, the specter of the mafia, and a surprising amount of horrifying sexism. 

Review of the movie: The movie, on the other hand, is still great.

Go watch this movie right now.

Other than a very successful baseball team and the alleged invention of both the hot dog and the ice cream cone, there was little to be proud of about St. Louis when I was growing up there. Imagine my surprise when I grew up and discovered that, for many historians, political scientists, public policy experts, architects, and others, St. Louis's Pruitt-Igoe housing project had come to symbolize all that was wrong with public housing and government anti-poverty programs. For years, I knew little about Pruitt-Igoe other than that it was demolished in the early-1970s leaving behind an large series of completely empty blocks. This movie did a fantastic job in getting past the myths and uncovering the system of racism, oppression, and neglect that resulted in Pruitt-Igoe. Go watch this movie right now.

What I have been reading lately #41

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

Alexandra Fuller (see photo above-- she is the youngest daughter) and her family moved to Rhodesia in the early 1970s. There they attempted to farm and ranch; however, the war for equality and independence being waged by the black majority made it difficult. After the war was over, Fuller and her family left Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and ultimately settled in Zambia.

This book tells the story of her family. It is entertainingly written and quite fascinating. If you are interested in learning more about the white Rhodesians and what it was like to be on the losing side of the war, this would be a good book to read.

With Trotsky in Exile: From Prinkipo to Coyoacan by Jean van Heijenoort

During the 1930s, Jean van Heijenoort (pictured above, second from the right, directly behind Frida Kahlo) served as an assistant, collaborator, secretary, and bodyguard to Leon Trotsky during much of the time the Russian revolutionary leader was in exile in Turkey, France, Norway, and Mexico. This book was written in the 1970s and is based upon van Heijenoort's personal memories and papers as well as some of Trotsky's documents. Despite the fact that van Heijenoort later quietly repudiated Marxism and went on to become a mathematics professor, this book is, on the whole, sympathetic to Trotsky and his struggle.

From reading this book, I learned the following facts:

• Leon Trotsky enjoyed fishing, hunting, and riding horses.
• Trotsky was a non-smoker and did not allow others to smoke in his presence.
• Trotsky was very particular about the pens that he used.
• While he had a very strict schedule of meal times, Trotsky was not at all particular about what he ate.
• The only person around whom Trotsky seemed relaxed was Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.
• Trotsky insisted that the outboard motor for the fishing boat in Turkey be operated strictly according to the manufacturer's instructions.

What I have been reading lately #37

Steak...Diana Ross: Diary of a Football Nobody by David McVay

David McVay played for Notts County as a young man in the mid-1970s. For much of the time, he kept a diary of what happened to him (mostly practicing football, playing football, and drinking with his teammates). After his football career ended, he became a reporter. In the early part of this decade, he decided to publish his journals. The result was this book, which I found to be quite enjoyable. One of my favorite parts was when he went to see The Exorcist and then was too scared to sleep for several nights.

For an interview with McVay about his book and his career, click here.

St. Louis Cardinals pitchers you may remember

Cleveland was not really that much larger than Spinks.