greeklish.org

THE END IS NIGH…

Mike — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:40:28 -0500

I think the downward spiral started around 2:00 PM on December 21, 2010. The details aren’t terribly important and everyone who knows me well is already familiar with the agonizing step-by-step minutiae of it all. For the sake of brevity, I’ll simply say that our 5 year-old iMac suffered some sort of catastrophic freak-out which rendered the hard drive inoperable…and – according to the place that serviced the machine – completely unsalvageable.

By Christmas Eve, I had the computer back, this time with a nearly empty 500 GB hard drive and an operating system that is a few years old. All of my third party applications, including hard-to-replace packages like PhotoShop and my OCR and HTML editing software are gone. Rebuilding the applications is tricky enough but then there’s the overall content of the old drive – photos, home movies, documents, songs, compositions, records…the list goes on and on – that’s one of the biggest blows from this whole affair. I should have learned my lesson years ago when I had a big scare with my OS upgrade and I did start backing up content from that point forward. But my backups just weren’t done regularly enough to save everything. Or even half of everything, for that matter.

Now, adding insult to injury, I’ve recently been notified by the folks who run the server for greeklish.org that they will shut the server down for good in the near future. Maybe even the very near future. They're running blogware that hasn't been updated in about two years. Someone from the company told me today that I am one of a handful of people still using it. Moreover, the tech support guy advised that if the server was to crash or something like that, they have no idea how, when or if they would try to restart it. So the website is running on outdated software and an old, unmaintained server.

Exactly when the shutdown will occur is unclear, but it will happen. So it’s final: greeklish.org – my home on the web since 2005 – is slated for imminent extinction.

I had a feeling this would happen when the company that originally sold me the domain split its holdings in 2008 or so. I have issues with the way things were handled back then and I have a few resentments about how things have gone down recently. But I really don’t have time to waste grinding axes. Onward…

It’s been a good run and it’s almost always been fun. We’ve used this space to share big and exciting news and a sad story or two. Overall, though, life continues to be overwhelmingly good. Losing some files and having to shift around content is an inconvenience that I certainly could do with out but then again, if this is the worst thing that happens to me today, tomorrow or the next day, I think I’m doing just fine.

In the near future, I’ll carve out a new spot on the web and move some of the best content from greeklish.org over there along with the complete Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Archive as well as some new and improved features and sections. It’ll be good. Really.

The future is unwritten. Aluta continua!

Mike B. 12-28-10

Mixtape mixdown: My life in music, part one (1973-1980)

Mike — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:37:09 -0500

As a long-time mixtape enthusiast, I've always wanted to create a "soundtrack to my life" mix. Every time I've started down that path thus far, I run into a difficult time consolidating everything down to one 80-minute CD. Even a two-disc set -- which would likely run around 40 tracks or so -- just doesn't seem big enough to include all of the songs that are important to me in various and sundry ways. In the end, I decided that a big undertaking such as this needs to be done correctly, with proper attention to detail and a good mix of important tunes, obscure tracks and special features.

What I've decided, then, is to break things up into segments. For the first mix, I'm covering 1973 to 1980. This spans most of my time in eastern Kentucky. It's an eclectic collection, for sure. No heavy metal or punk music here, but there are a few country music songs, novelty tunes and a bit of Barry Manilow, too.

Sometimes, it's hard to say what exactly leads us in one direction or another, with respect to taste in music, politics, beliefs, and life in general. By the time I get to choosing tracks by Quiet Riot, Kiss and Venom for the later discs, it'll be a long and winding road, indeed.

The "cover art" for this mix CD features a snapshot from our 2007 visit to Kentucky and West Virginia. It's the view from I-64 on the way into Huntington.

Life In Music, 1973-1980

1. The Death of Elvis Presley, as reported by David Brinkley (August 16, 1977)
The news of Elvis Presley's death is not only one of my earliest memories regarding music; it's one of the first things I remember at all. The news broke on August 16, 1977 and I was four years old at the time. I distinctly recall watching television with my brother and sister when a news bulletin interrupted our show. I had no idea who Elvis was and I went out to the kitchen where my folks were sitting and asked them. For weeks, I'd mimic the news bulletin, saying something like, "We interrupt this program to bring you this high-buckled news report. Elvis Presley is dead. We don't know why, but he's dead, dead, dead!" It's still kind of funny to me.

2. "Gotta Get to Your House" by David Seville (Original release: 1957)
We had an old set of 45's that we'd listen to over and over again and this one by Alvin and the Chipmunks creator David Seville was a favorite. I remember listening to this with them one day and they had to explain to me why it was so funny. For the mix CD, I recorded this from our original 45. These days, our girls are fans of the Chipmunks and they think this song is hilarious.

3. "

David Seville

I Love" by Tom T. Hall (Original release: 1973)
My folks had Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 on LP and I remember listening to cuts like "I Love" and I Like Beer" while we ate dinner.

4. "Annie's Song" by John Denver (Original release: 1974)
My sister had this song on a 45. I was convinced that this song was actually about her and I was kind of disappointed when my parents told me that it was just a coincidence that my sister had the same name as John Denver's wife, Annie.

5. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (Original release: 1972)
I wasn't even born when Stevie Wonder performed "Superstition" on Sesame Street, but the episode was still played regularly when I was 5 or 6 years old. PBS had some great stuff back then, including The Electric Company, Zoom and -- of course -- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

6. "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers (Original release: 1978)
"The Gambler" was absolutely huge when I was a kid. My folks bought Kenny Rogers: Greatest Hits for me on LP and I used to listen to the whole album, start to finish. One time, I asked my mom to explain the lyric, "The best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep" and told me it meant that no suffering is involved. The Gambler gets this kind of merciful ending when he "breaks even" towards the end of the song. It seems like morbid fare for a six year-old kid, but it beats the hell out of the crap that Disney is feeding to kids nowadays. My other favorites from that LP were "Coward of the County" (in which the main character's girlfriend is apparently raped by three brothers) and "The Long Arm of the Law" (where the protagonist knocks up his girlfriend and then has to hide from her father who is a crooked-ass judge). It wasn't until many years later that I fully understood the adult themes of these songs.

7. "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles (Original release: 1970)
Someone recorded this on a tape that we had laying around the house and the cassette ended up in the room that my brother and I shared. We recorded all kinds of other shenanigans on the tape, and whenever I'd go back and listen to our crazy escapades, I'd listen to this song as well. I had no idea it was The Beatles until I was a good deal older. Also on the tape was the original version of Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," which was far better than the re-make they did some years later.

8. "He is Your Brother" by ABBA (Original release: 1972)
9. "California Dreamin'" by The Seekers (Original release: 1966)
My dad had Greatest Hits of Abba (volumes 1 and 2) on LP as well as a couple albums by The Seekers, Georgy Girl and Live at the Talk of the Town. The cover of ABBA: Greatest Hits featured a funny scene that I didn't quite understand when I was little. I still love the Seekers and I prefer their version of "California Dreamin'" to the original.

10. "MacArthur Park" by Maynard Ferguson (Original release: 1969)
When my brother started playing the trumpet, someone recommended he listen to stuff by Maynard Ferguson and Chuck Mangione to get an idea of how the better contemporary players sounded. My folks got him the Mangione album Fun and Games and a few LPs by Ferguson, including the 1980 compilation, The Best of Maynard Ferguson. The Mangione album was nice, but Ferguson had some really unusual material, including interpretations of themes from Rocky, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. Ferguson's cover of "MacArthur Park" is a tremendous jam that runs almost ten minutes. This album was in heavy rotation at our house in Russell.

11. "Pilot of the Airwaves" by Charlie Dore (Original release: 1980)
12. "Any Way You Want It" by Journey (Original release: 1980)
I got the K-Tel album Power Play for Christmas 1980 and was the first Rock LP I ever owned. Both "Pilot of the Airwaves" and "Any Way You Want it" were on there, but I originally wanted this record because it had "Call me" by Blondie on it (...and yeah, that song was totally about prostitution, too). In third grade, I had a teacher who was really fixated on backwards masking and one afternoon, I got the album out and tried to play it backwards. For a while, I was convinced that "Pilot of the Airwaves" contained backwards messages but it never made sense to me why any musician would choose such a bizarre, nonsensical method to communicate with listeners.

13. "You're Never Goin' to Tampa With Me" by Ray Stevens (Original release: 1980)
My brother and sister had the 45 of "Shriner's Convention" by Ray Stevens and as I recall, my whole family thought the song was hilarious but I get most of the jokes. One day while I was alone, I turned the record over and listened to the long-overlooked B-side, "You're Never Goin' to Tampa With Me." I can't say that this song made much sense to me at the time, either, but I actually became really fond of it. It is an incredibly weird song. Recorded form our old 45.

14. "Flash's Theme" by Queen (Original release: 1980)
My dad took me to see Flash Gordon in 1980 and I thought it was the best movie ever. After we got home that night, I grabbed a big stack of paper and crayons so I could document everything I had seen. Shortly thereafter, I got "Flash's Theme" (b/w "Football Fight") on 45 and played it all the time. I was in second grade at the time and I tried to write out the lyrics one day while I was at school. In hindsight, I must admit that my interpretations were waaay off.

15. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Billy Joel (Original release: 1980)
I have the strangest recollection of watching this video with my entire family while we lived in Russell. Music videos were pretty new back then and we didn't have cable, so it must've been a night that Solid Gold was on TV. When he got to the lyric, "Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers/You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers," my mom felt the need to point that specific lyric out to my brother and she asked if he understood it. To this day, every time I hear this song, that particular memory comes to mind.

16. "Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross (Original release: 1980)
I don't love this song at all. Still, I have good memories of riding bikes in the garage with my sister while this was on the radio. Michael McDonald took a break from ruining the Doobie Brothers to sing back-up vocals on this song.

17. "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon (Original release: 1980)
Like the death of Elvis Presley, John Lennon's murder was big news and I remember that event well. This song was released several weeks before his passing and it received a lot of airplay soon thereafter. Years later, this would become a "sing along song" for T. and me when we were dating.

18. "Mork's Mixed Emotions" from Mork & Mindy (Original release: 1979)
Setting her tape recorder up next to our television, my mom recorded the audio from this episode of Mork & Mindy. Before we had a VCR or Nick at Night to watch old TV shows, I'd just play this tape again and again for entertainment on long, boring afternoons. The great thing about that particular recording is that it captured us all laughing at the jokes in the show. Unfortunately, I lost the tape a long time ago. These excerpts are from the DVD of the show's first season.

19. "

Retik, Ruler of the Moon

A Very Strange Medley (V.S.M.)" by Barry Manilow (Original release: 1977)
Much like the old ABBA and Seekers records, Barry Manilow Live was an early favorite. I especially loved Manilow's medley of old commercials but I also enjoyed his "Jump Shout Boogie Medley." Even after I discovered metal and punk, this record remained a guilty pleasure of mine. No sense in hiding my appreciation for Manilow any more though; talent is talent and a good song is a good song.

20. "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV (Original release: 1966)
At some point, one of the local radio stations started playing this song on their morning show. I used to picture the singer as Retik, Ruler of the Moon (one of the bad guys from the old Commando Cody series, Radar Men from the Moon).

Next up: The watershed years of 1981-1984.

"Curbing the Flood" in today's Pakistan

Mike — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:48:26 -0400

The following note was penned by our friend in the weeks following the 2010 Pakistan floods. His words are presented here with his kind permission.

Lu Xun's story "Curbing the Flood" may be read as a comment on the recent flood in Pakistan. Various characters appear and Lu Xun upholds to ridicule their attitudes and ways of thinking. The rulers, ministers, intellectuals, all are closed in their own limited thinking and prejudices. He also depicts what may be called "Culture of Poverty."

The members of the upper and middle classes giving lessons of alms-giving, taking pity on the poor, sharing their grief performing the "holy act of Zakat." (Zakat is an Islamic concept: Allah the Almighty has created the poor and has given you plenty so you must give a little portion of your wealth to the poor. The amount given will be multiplied by 70 when you go to paradise. It proves that God does not like poverty, though he has created the poor.) On the Pakistani TV channels we see honest and upright ministers, tender-hearted players, reputable actors, beautiful actresses, and conscientious traders giving the lesson of charity and generosity. They have also learnt many verses from the Holy Quran and also how to bring tears into their eyes. I call it "Culture of Poverty" because it gives them a feeling of superiority, a feeling that they are above the scum of society. Above all, it is an effort to maintain these humiliating conditions where majority of the people live below human level.

Lu Xun was under the influence of the May Fourth Movement when he wanted to bring a change in the Chinese society. Like Goethe, he used the old Forms but these were modified and given a new meaning by the contemporary truths. It is the re-evaluation of China's mythology, in Old Tales Retold. The Chinese intellectuals, like the Pakistani ones, were alienated from political activity. Lu Xun praises Yu, the man who acts to bring a change society in "Curbing the Flood." In this way he encourages his readers to challenge the status-quo.

-- I.H., August 2010

Further Reading: Lu Xun Archive marxists.org

Two new books from MIA and Erythrós Press and Media

Mike — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:32:40 -0400

NEW! Communards: The Story of the Paris Commune of 1871, As Told by those Who Fought for It. Texts selected, edited, and translated by Mitchell Abidor. Published by Marxists Internet Archive Publications, 2010.

In this unique collection of texts translated into English for the first time, we hear the genuine voices of the Paris Commune of 1871. No history of the Commune may be written in the future without reference to "Communards."

Click here to order this book. All proceeds benefit marxists.org.

NEW! Karl Marx & Frederick Engels. The Manifesto of the Communist Party and Its Genesis. Published by the Marxists Internet Archive, 2010.

This collection provides the reader with a first-hand account of the genesis of the founding ideas of communism, and allows the reader to see the relation between the development of the workers’ movement itself and the theories which give voice to that movement.

Click here to order this book. All proceeds benefit marxists.org.

Brain teasers for jerks, part one

Mike — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:04:20 -0400

Every so often, I open up one of Douglas Hofstadter's books and take a crack at reading it. I've never succeeded in polishing one off start to finish, though. Moreover, I'll admit that the material that does sink in might take me two or three passes to really get the gist of it. But what I appreciate most when it comes to Hofstadter's work is the fact that it consistently pushes me to approach things from an unconventional perspective. His material is "thought provoking" in the most basic sense of the phrase; not because it elicits a brief moment of insight or a fleeting emotional response but because the work compels the reader to ponder and reflect on concepts that are both simple and multifaceted.

Such was my experience as I recently reviewed Chapter 19 of Hofstadter's most popular book, Gödel, Escher, Bach. This chapter examines the prospect of artificial intelligence (AI), largely in the context of basic cognitive processes. Of particular interest to me was the portion of the chapter which deals with Bongard problems. At first, it was difficult for me to appreciate these "puzzles" as anything other than some kind of eclectic inside joke.¹ However, after a good deal of subsequent reading in GEB and on the 'net, I got the general idea and before long, I decided to take a crack at drawing up a Bongard problem of my own.

Below is my original Bongard problem. As an added bonus, I've included a small batch of clues in verse form. I won't be upset if anyone labels this as "eclectic" or if folks say that it's just not very good, but I will be slightly pissed if someone nails it in under five minutes.

Saturn Devouring His Son
by Francisco Goya

Across the Styx and Descending

Arguments and angry thoughts,
Churlish chides in fights well fought;
Undermining peaceful time,
Telling tales of woe and crime.
Eating beast and folk alike;
Absalom…atop the pike…
None dare stand against the storm!
Godlings, flee—pray change your form!
Leave this place; avert thine eyes,
Emerge, great Saturn—claim thy prize!

1. I've long regarded the label of "eclecticism" as something of a pejorative, even well before I read Lenin's thoughts on eclecticism (I'll compile a list of examples someday). A high school English teacher once read one of my poems aloud to the class and when she finished, she folded her hands in her lap and said, "This is what we call an eclectic poem. That's because nobody understands it but the author." Feh.

Mixtape mixdown: For Malachi Ritscher

Mike — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:46:29 -0400

Cover art, for Malachi Ritscher

As promised, here's the rundown of tracks from my entry in the CDP's CDP Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade 8. The title of my mix CD is "For Malachi Ritscher." You can read more about Ritscher here and you can read about the history and theme of the mix here.

1. "Ban the Game" by Men Without Hats
(from the album Rhythm of Youth)
Not many people would use the word "poignant" when referring to Men Without Hats. For most folks, the band's name evokes images of midgets at a Renaissance fair. But "Ban the Game," the first track on their 1982 debut album, is quite the poignant tune and I thought this was a good way to introduce the program.

2. "The Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath
(from the soundtrack to the film Heavy Metal)
Although Ozzy-era Sabbath is laden with political themes, this was seldom the case with their Dio-era material. "The Mob Rules" is something of an exception. The idea that "when you listen to fools, the mob rules" is a reminder that mass hysteria generally yields the worst of what the world has to offer. In the wake of 9/11, this kind of polarized groupthink brought our worst prejudices to light and ultimately led us to the invasion and occupation of two countries. (I used the Heavy Metal edit because on Mob Rules, there's about half a second of the song "E5150" that bleeds into the beginning of "The Mob Rules" and it's pretty much impossible to edit out. I wish the sound quality of this particular track was a little better.)

Allen Ginsberg

3. "The Sunflower Sutra" by Allen Ginsberg
(from the album Howl and Other Poems)
Both for his own time and well beyond, few voices of protest and activism are as thought-provoking and insightful as that of Allen Ginsberg. Laden with vivid imagery and ethereal symbolism, "The Sunflower Sutra" is a work that evaluates and celebrates self-awareness while chronicling his personal struggle to make the world a better place. (Had I not been going for the whole "three word title" pattern, I might've included "America," which is one of my favorite Ginsberg works.)

4. "No Fucking War" by 7 Year Bitch
(from the album Sick 'Em)
7 Year Bitch was one of the most underrated punk bands of the 1990's. They were heavy as hell and something of a standout from the "riot grrrl" and grunge ensembles of their time. Selene Vigil belted out songs with the bulldozer-like ferocity of a female Cronos (and that, friends, is the highest of compliments from yours truly)."No Fucking War" was 7 Year Bitch's song of protest against Operation Desert Storm, but the lyrics became even more relevant during America's second foray into the Persian Gulf. With George W. Bush leading the new charge, the line "Bush, pull out like your father should have" (originally aimed at George HW Bush) turned a simple double entendre into an irony that was profoundly unfortunate.

5. "Two-Sided Politics" by Suicidal Tendencies
(from the album Suicidal Tendencies)
Some Cold War-era musings on alienation and injustice going on here: I'm not anti-Reagan, Reagan's anti-me /And I'm not anti-government, government's anti-me/And I'm not anti-politics, politics is anti-me/And I'm not anti-anything, I just wanna be free. Well…It still rings true, doesn't it?

6. "Pen Cap Chew" by Nirvana
(from the box set With the Lights Out or possibly from the Pay to Play bootleg)
It's not so much of a pacifist's anthem, but there's definitely some political awareness in the line "Kill a politician and then wear his clothes." Part Robin Hood, part Bolshevik revolutionary….all Cobain. The spoken word lead-in is an outtake I pulled from side four of the LP version of From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. It's not really relevant to the song, but it's funny because Bob Larson is a yutz. I originally spliced these tracks together for another mix CD many years ago.

7 Year Bitch

7. "Levi Stubbs' Tears" by Billy Bragg
(from the album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry)
So beautiful and so sad, all at the same time. This song is about trudging through life despite the worst kinds of trouble and tragedy: "When the world falls apart, some things stay in place."

8. "The Call Up" by The Clash
(from the album Sandanista!)
Sandanista! should make each and every list of the greatest rock albums of all time, now and forever. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that this album is still woefully underappreciated despite innovation, musicianship and content (both artistic and political content) of the highest caliber. Think of "The Call Up" as something like the punk equivalent of Phil Ochs' much-celebrated draft evasion anthem "Draft Dodger Rag."

9. "Canons of Christianity" by Phil Ochs
(from the album Phil Ochs in Concert)
Phil Ochs is not just one of my favorite artists; he is one of my favorite human beings. I think a lot of people believe Phil ultimately took his own life because he lost his sanity. I prefer to think that Phil stayed sane while the rest of the world went crazy. "Canons of Christianity" nicely sums up the problems wrought by religion's best of intentions.

10. "Over the Edge" by The Wipers
(from the album Over the Edge)
If you've never heard any stuff by The Wipers, do yourself a favor and buy the 3 CD box set that includes is This Real?, Youth of America, and Over the Edge. This is a great song for those days when you feel like everyone is pushing your damn buttons. (I had hoped to include the song "Youth of America" in this mix and then use the Hole cover of "over the Edge" but with "Youth" clocking in at almost 10 minutes, I wouldn't have been able to contain this collection in a single disc.)

11. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
(from the album Vivid)
My head almost exploded when I first saw Living Color perform on Saturday Night Live back in 1989. I still remember seeing how annoyed my mom was with the performance and pretty much deciding right then to go buy their album. She was less than thrilled when I brought it home. I think I missed the whole point of the song "Cult of Personality" back then but as I've grown older, I can appreciate it in a different context. Any way you look at it, this song is tremendous.

12. "Worried Man Blues" by Woody Guthrie
(from the album Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings Vol. 2)
The quintessential poet and songwriter of the American Left, Woody fought for a better world and shared his vision far and wide. His voice and music remain the heart and soul of the continuing struggle against corruption and injustice. it was one of my favorite moments as a parent thus far when I heard baby Z. -- at about the age of 2 years old -- singling along with Woody's "Muleskinner Blues."

13. " Ένα το χελιδόνι" ("Ena to helidoni" or "A Solitary Swallow") by Mikis Theodorakis
(from the YouTube video "ΝΟΕΜΒΡΗΣ 1973-ΠΟΛΥΤΕΧΝΕΙΟ")
The YouTube video collage "November 1973 – Polytechnic" chronicles the 1973 uprising by students of the Athens Polytechnic in opposition to the fascist dictatorship of Greece's military junta. "Ena to Helidoni" was originally written during the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 but it became symbolic of the struggle against the junta during the years of the dictatorship. The voice at the beginning of this track is Maria Damanaki, who was a leading voice of the students during the uprising (Damanaki has long since given up radical politics in favor of a career with ruling-class organizations and institutions). In the excerpt included in this track, Damanaki proclaims, "Everyone united in the struggle for democracy and national independence; Long live the people's struggle!" The gunshots immediately following the song are taken from audio of the junta's brutal suppression of the students on 17 November. My friend Anthony once described the juxtaposition of the song with the sound of gunfire as "chilling" (or words to that effect." I edited the audio a bit to bring these elements closer together. Thanks to Anthony for the translation help.

14. "Commerce of Grief," an excerpt from a presentation by Arundhati Roy
In her September 18, 2002 talk "Come September, writer and activist Arundhati Roy commented on the dangers of jingoism and militarism that flourished in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In this particular excerpt, she explores the hypocrisy of killing innocent people to avenge the deaths of other innocent people.

15. "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges
(this version from the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou)
I wish I had a coherent explanation for including this song, but I have to settle on the explanation that it just felt right. All of this talk of death and destruction probably brought this tune to my mind.

16. "Gimme Some Truth" by John Lennon
(taken from the soundtrack to The U.S. vs. John Lennon)
John Lennon, much like the rest of us, wanted the one thing that's the hardest to get.

The great Phil Ochs

17. "Ringing of Revolution" by The Weakerthans
(from the album Return of the Read Menace)
Somebody gave me a compilation of stuff by the Weakerthans some years ago and to be totally honest, I never got past this song, which was the first track. This is a dynamite cover of the epic tune by Phil Ochs (without Phil's cinematic, spoken-word prologue, mind you) and after hearing this, I figured the bar was set too high and that I wouldn't appreciate anything else by Yhe Weakerthans on the level that I loved this particular performance.

18. "Black Wind Blowing" by Billy Bragg and Wilco
(from the album Mermaid Avenue, Volume 2)
The Mermaid Avenue albums, collections of Woody Guthrie's heretofore unpublished lyrics, contain some of the best music ever recorded. The song "Black Wind Blowing" reminds me of something that I often say about the state of the world today: "Things have to get a whole lot worse before they ever get better."

19. "Power to the People" by Huey P. Newton
(excerpted from a public address)
Brother Huey, much like Paul Robeson, Phil Ochs and so many others like him, had a brilliant vision of a better world that was compromised and marginalized through sustained campaigns of repression and harassment from elitists and their proverbial "running dogs." He was the epitome of the doctrine of revolutionary suicide: "I, we, all of us are the one and the multitude."

20. "Until the End" by The Nightwatchman
(from the album One Man Revolution)
I used to refer to Phil Ochs as the last great songwriter of the American Left… Then I heard Tom Morello's material from his "The Nightwatchman" project.

21. "for Malachi Ritscher" (original composition)
This is an original "sound collage," created using my Epiphone Les Paul, Karera bass guitar and the keyboard simulator from Apple GarageBand. The spoken content was performed by K. and Z. (Z.'s line took about 37 takes.)

Mixtape mixdown: The CDP Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade 8

Mike — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:58:32 -0400

It was complete serendipity that I ran across a fabulous blog while surfing the 'net a week or so ago. I am not sure what I was looking for the day that I happened on The Communist Dance Party (probably looking to get some more commie tchotchkes for my burgeoning collection, I'm sure), but the style and humor of The CDP really struck that proverbial chord for me. It's in a similar vein with Cold Bacon, which has been a favorite of mine for several years now. CDP features a great mix of pop culture and personal reflection, making it interesting, funny and insightful all at the same time. Really. Plus, there are mix tapes. I've said it here before, folks: I love mix tapes.

The CDP Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade is an opportunity for CDP readers (I think we're officially called "CDPeons") to exchange mixes (on cassette or CD) via mail. Ryan Zeinert, the brains and the brawn behind the whole CDP endeavor, matches up participants and sets the guidelines and deadlines for the event. Although I missed the first seven trades, I was able to get in on Worldwide Mix-Tape Trade 8. Life is good.

Of course, given the magnitude of a global initiative such as this, there's no way that it would be so easy as to just create a simple mix and send it on its way. Each trade event involves a theme of some sort and this time around, it's "Three Little Words." So, the overall theme of the mix tape needs to be a three word phrase. I took the guidelines a little further and made sure that every song in my mix has a three-word title. I know that may seem kind of obsessive but I really want to make a big splash instead of just coming across like a CDP greenhorn.

Malachi Ritscher
(1954 - 2006)

It took me a day or so to come up with my three-word theme. I think I was just trying too hard at first. At some point, something led me to recall the story of Malachi Ritscher, the artist and activist who committed suicide in 2006 by self-immolation. Ritscher killed himself as a protest to the war in Iraq, choosing to exit life in the same manner as the Buddhist monks who died while protesting the conditions in South Vietnam during the war. Ritscher explained his actions through a note published shortly after his death. His epitaph stated in part: "if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world." Recalling this story a week or so ago, I thought to myself, "I really hope people don't forget about this man." Somewhere along the way, I got the idea to make my CDP mix tape into a commemoration of Ritscher's life and death. So, the working title for my mix is "For Malachi Ritscher."

The mix is almost complete and at present it's somewhere around 20 tracks of music and spoken word. I am waiting on a CD that I acquired from eBay just the other day (bought for the very purpose of adding one specific track to this very collection, mind you). I am also thinking about including an original composition to the mix and I have already started laying down a basic track for that particular song. I'm not the greatest of musicians, so it'll likely be more of a sentimental effort than anything to crow about.

When it's all done, I'll post my track listing, notes and artwork (yes, artwork) here on greeklish.org. Expect stuff from the likes of 7 Year Bitch, Allen Ginsberg, Woody Guthrie, Mikis Theodorakis, Billy Bragg and others. I'm hoping that the subject matter isn't too heavy for those who will receive the mix because I feel like Ritscher's legacy merits contemplation and celebration.

Related stuff
Mixtape Mixdown: 25 Favorites

What it's really like at our house, continued

Mike — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:07:17 -0400

Would you believe that a simple item on our dinner menu could lead to an impromptu history lesson about a relatively obscure phase of China's Cultural Revolution? If you spent just a little time hanging around our house, well folks, you'd buy it.

A few weeks ago, Thomai prepared some fresh mangoes for dessert. She's always doing her best to make sure that the girls and I get as much healthy stuff as possible. On the night in question, I sat there at the table with the girls watching Thomai peel and cut the mangoes when a thought popped into my brain:

"Have I ever told you about China's 'Mango Worship' period?" I asked.

"Yes," Thomai groaned.

Then from across the table came the voice of our older daughter, K. "I haven't heard it!" she exclaimed. Our younger daughter Z followed up with a resounding, "Me neither!" Intelligent, inquisitive and enthusiastic; Yeah…those are my kids, for sure.

From that point on, I had the pleasure of recounting the story for our girls – now ages 10 and 6 – as we ate the mangoes together. I was working from memory only, so I started in the middle of the tale, explaining that Mao had sent a number of mangoes to factories and schools around China as a gesture of something or other. In turn the folks who received the mangoes, treated the fruits as venerated objects, preserving them and – in some cases – constructing intricately detailed replicas of the mangoes to commemorate the occasion on which they were received.

I was fortunate to have my BlackBerry nearby, so I used the web browser to visit Stefan Landsberger's outstanding online archive of Chinese Propaganda Posters to check my facts. I was happy to find a rather detailed summary of the entire "Mango Worship" period which allowed me to correct a few inaccuracies in my off-the-cuff version of the story. In addition to the narrative, a picture of one of the celebrated fruits is included on his "Chairman Mao's Mangoes" page. Additionally, Dr. Landsberger's page features a link to another site which has pictures of one of the handcrafted replica mangoes.

After listening to an updated version of the story (courtesy of the information from Dr. Landsberger's site), the girls gathered 'round to look at the pictures of the mangoes with me and I couldn't help feeling like they were just a little bit impressed with some of the stuff that their dad comes up with from time to time.

It's a nice feeling to be appreciated like that.

Further Reading from greeklish.org
An actual conversation at our house 11 May 2005
An actual conversation at our house, part 2 14 May 2005
Parenting tips from Dr. Mike 17 March 2006
Parenting tips, continued: Notes on Herbert Marcuse 15 Dec 2008

The political realities of Facebook's virtual empire

Mike — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:21:48 -0400

When it comes to sharing information, garnering awareness, and organizing campaigns there are few forms of media that can compete with the accessibility and reach of Internet-based "social networking" sites. For every "MySpace," "Twitter," and "LinkedIn," there are many dozens of smaller sites that are scraping and clawing for their own share of this burgeoning market.

And then there's Facebook.

In only 6 years, Facebook has evolved from a quaint and entertaining novelty to a bona fide brand unto itself, now boasting over 500 million users worldwide. It's become a billion-dollar enterprise, enjoying a far-reaching and profound influence upon social networking, the Internet and upon popular culture itself.

Of course, as individuals and groups see the power and appeal of Facebook, it is understandable and expected that such a user-friendly service might be harnessed to further all sorts of objectives and causes. Such was the vision shared by supporters of Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera when they created a Facebook page aimed at publicizing the rather unusual twists and turns of Palmera's battles in the American legal system.

The Facebook group "Free Ricardo Palmera!" was created by three members of The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera. In its relatively short existence on the web, the group's membership grew to nearly 700 members before Facebook administrators deleted the page on June 30, acting without any sort of advance notice or legitimate justification. Josh Sykes, one of the co-founders of the "Free Ricardo Palmera!" Facebook group explained the situation in an interview with Fight Back! News:

Facebook's reason was that it violated the 'terms of use' so they shut it down on June 30. They said that it was obscene, that it attacked people, or was hateful. Nothing could be further from the truth. They also threatened the administrators of the group with having their profiles disabled if we continued to "abuse" facebook features - which we never did.

(Read the full interview here)

On July 7, the personal Facebook account of Josh Sykes and those of the group's co-founders, Angela Denio and Tom Burke, were also locked by Facebook, ostensibly as a penalty for organizing support for Palmera. A groundswell of support for Sykes, Denio and Burke followed on the web and beyond. Under pressure from individual users and sympathetic organizations and media groups, Facebook eventually reinstated the accounts of Sykes and Denio while still attempting to justify the deletion of the Palmera group with vague and disingenuous terminology:

After reviewing your situation, we have determined that your group violated our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. One of Facebook's main priorities is the comfort and safety of our users. We do not allow credible threats to harm others, support for violent organizations, or exceedingly graphic content. Your violation of Facebook's standards has resulted in the permanent loss of your group. We will not be able to reactivate this group for any reason. This decision is final.

The Palmera group remains a virtual "third rail" along with a number of other causes that are unwelcome on Facebook. In the weeks and months leading up to the sacking of the Palmera group, Facebook also disabled a group calling for a boycott of BP as well as a page condemning Israeli oppression of Palestinians. The glaring inconsistency in Facebook's allegedly egalitarian motivations lies in the fact that plenty of other Facebook pages – including those created by groups who openly espouse racism, fascism, misogyny and even murder – remain unchallenged and unmolested despite a flagrant disregard for Facebook's terms of use. Some might view this as simple irony in that Facebook purports to support free speech, information sharing and democracy around the world. The sad reality is that their actions with regard to the Palmera group and other causes are demonstrative of calculated and intentional censorship; In a word, we're talking about hypocrisy.

It's not necessarily a matter of expecting wealthy, propertied interests to uphold apparently elusive concepts like "free speech" because for progressives who see the inherent repression in bourgeois society, we must surely have reasonable expectations based on what we see and experience from day to day and from year to year. There was a time when people might have legitimately expected Facebook to stand for something radically different. These expectations are now little more than illusions. In retrospect, perhaps it's not so surprising that Facebook—a business entity that has effectively redefined the elite ranks of global mass media—has slowly become yet another arm of ruling elites and the military-industrial-media complex. Facebook has indeed descended into the bowels of the corporate sewer and, to quote Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, "If you live in the toilet, you get used to shit and the smell no longer bothers you."

Tom Burke, co-founder of the "Free Ricardo Palmera!" group on Facebook remains in social networking limbo as Facebook administrators ponder his virtual fate. Meanwhile, individuals and groups continue to struggle against censorship on Facebook, mounting campaigns to reinstate Burke's account while creating new pages to shed light on the struggle of Ricardo Palmera.

Read more about the situation through Fight Back! News here and watch an interview with Josh Sykes and Angela Denio on YouTube.

Parentomology, revisited

Mike — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:23:41 -0400

I wrote an earlier draft of this short piece a couple of years ago for someone else’s blog. This conversation really happened and the memory of it makes me smile to this day.

One might accurately say I've always been something of an "enthusiast" when it comes to bugs and spiders. If I see something flying or crawling by, I might easily put any current business on hold to see what kind of excitement and intrigue the insect world has to offer. Such was the case one evening as I was enjoying some time in the back yard with our girls. I can't remember what exactly we were doing but at some point I became distracted by the site of a large group of anthills.

As I crouched down to inspect the teeming insect metropolis, our younger daughter (who was four years old at the time) walked over and joined me for a look. For a minute or so, we watched in silence as the ants scurried here and there. Eventually, my daughter asked in her soft, inquisitive kid voice: “Daddy, are those good ants?”

I was at something of a loss for a few seconds but after thinking on it, I eventually replied, "Well, they’re not Disney ants." Yeah...That was simply the best I could do at that particular moment. As luck would have it, she was relatively happy with my answer.

Originally written in April 2008 for BBE.

Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy (Book Review)

Mike — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:17:12 -0400

It was something of a coincidence that I began reading Paul Feldman’s Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy (Lupus Books, 2008) exactly two days after David Cameron became the new British Prime Minister. I say this because Feldman explicitly mentions Cameron’s budding political future just a few sentences into the book’s Introduction:

Is David Cameron ready to become prime minister? Who knows and, frankly, who cares because this is politics as a trivial pursuit. (p. 5)

This very tone and sentiment sets the stage for an extensive and frank analysis of the nature of capitalism and its manifestation through the British state. Indeed, Feldman – Communications Editor for the UK-based organization A World to Win – does not mince any words or pull any punches in his assessment of the current state of affairs in the United Kingdom. Unmasking the State is contemporary Marxist critique at its finest, combining the best attributes of a sourcebook and primer as a means to prepare the rank-and-file, street level activists for a battle that is as much cerebral as it is concrete.

The strength of the text is its tendency to provide historical precedents as context for the situations and crises of today. Consider Feldman’s chapter “The Struggle for Democracy” in which he expounds upon the inherent contradictions between real democracy and capitalism. This section presents and overview of the struggles of groups like the Chartists and the Suffragettes as evidence that democratic social movements, which foster organization and mass action, are most effective in their opposition of the oppression and institutionalized stratification wrought by capitalism. Feldman also provides a methodical account of the lessons of Britain’s most recent history in the epoch of corporate-driven globalization, examining the continual efforts of the ruling class to maintain the status quo of the “proxy state.” It is, in a manner of speaking, reminiscent of the very conclusions reached by V.I. Lenin his major work The State and Revolution in which he described the bourgeois concept of democracy as “democracy that is curtailed, wretched, false, a democracy only for the rich, for the minority.” Such is the present state of affairs in the allegedly “democratic” societies of the West.

Feldman concludes Unmasking the State with his effort to answer the longstanding question: “What is to be done?” In the chapter “A Way Forward,” the author argues that the ultimate defeat of capitalism is contingent upon radical changes in the form and functionality of “the state”. Proposing a broad and bold list of proposals on fundamental democratic, economic and social rights, Feldman – on behalf of A World to Win – elucidates the fundamental tenets of a bold vision for revolutionary change:

A World to Win is confident that by making information technology available to everyone, by bringing the economy under the control of communities, workers and consumers, and by discouraging bureaucratic trends wherever possible, the state as a separate body can eventually be dispensed with. (p. 86)

Because the book is largely written from a British perspective and predominantly in the context of the British experience, Unmasking the State will undoubtedly find its largest and most appreciative audience to the working people and students of the United Kingdom. That is not necessarily to say that Americans would not find the work captivating and inspirational at a number of levels. It would be most advantageous to organizers and proponents of mass action worldwide if they follow the lessons of Feldman’s text by developing comparable “action guides” which spur revolutionary changes at local and regional levels. The strategy, in its most basic form is typified in the maxim, “Think globally, act locally.” The ultimate goal – now as always – remains common: We have a world to win.

Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy is available for purchase from A World To Win.

The Great and Powerful Ox Baker

Mike — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:45:11 -0400

Preface: I wrote this in early 2010 for a different (now defunct) website. Rather than letting the piece vanish into the ether, I decided to re-post it here for posterity.

The one and only Ox Baker.

If there was ever a man who constitutes the "total package" of a wrestling heel, it's the legendary Ox Baker. In his prime, Baker was a giant among the wrestling world's coterie of ne'er-do-wells, combining an intimidating physical appearance with earth-shaking mic skills. To be sure, it was Ox's look that went a long way towards establishing him as a man to be feared. Sure, he didn't have that Muscle & Fitness physique but in Ox's heyday there was more to a wrestler's physical appearance than pulsating pecs and washerboard-style abs.

In a way, one might well imagine that if The Devil himself was a pro wrestler, he'd look and sound a lot like Ox: a giant of a man covered in body hair and sporting a shaved head, pointed eyebrows and an overgrown horseshoe mustache. Standing almost six and a half feet tall and weighing in at over 300 pounds, he towered over many of his opponents, his demonic countenance wrenched in a perpetual sneer. All that was missing was a set of cloven hooves, really. His promo work was pure hellfire and brimstone, broadcast with a voice that sounded something like a blender full of gravel and glass.

Ox was a big wheel in the WWA, AWA and NWA promotions, wrestling in singles matches as well with tag team partners were themselves future legends, such as Ole Anderson and Billy Graham. As early as 1969, he sported NWA championship gold but his career-defining moment would come a few years later.

Baker was cut from the "big man" cloth for sure and while that was something of a novelty, it wasn't really a sustainable gimmick in and of itself. It was something of a twist of fate that lent Ox the ultimate gimmick.

See, Ox Baker killed a guy. Two guys, all told.

Really? Well...

The story goes that in 1970, after suffering the wrath of Ox's infamous "heart punch" during an AWA Midwest Tag-Team Title match in Omaha, Nebraska, wrestler Alberto Torres collapsed in the ring. He was rushed to a hospital where he died, ostensibly due to injuries sustained in the match. Kind of.

In reality, Torres had a pre-existing medical condition -- a ruptured pancreas -- and he failed to disclose this to the promoters or his opponents prior to the match. Whatever the case,"kayfabe" ruled the day back in the early 1970's and the fans were absolutely convinced that Torres had fallen to Baker's heart punch and nothing else. For better or worse, Baker and the rest of the wrestling world ran with the angle and the incident established Ox as a formidable force within the squared circle and beyond.

In 1975, reality and kayfabe collided again when wrestler and Georgia Championship Wresling co-owner Ray Gunkel perished after sustaining a heart punch from Ox Baker. Baker's official web site claims that Gunkel died in the ring "before he hit the floor" but other accounts indicate Gunkel won the "Texas Death Match" and died later that night. Gunkel reportedly suffered from arteriosclerosis and in this instance, it is possible that the rigors of the match -- including the heart punch -- might have been a factor in his demise.

Baker used the hype and hysteria around the wrestling-related deaths to his advantage, crafting his fearsome reputation with his smack-talking skills and menacing physical appearance into a heel identity like none other. He continued to work the heart punch as the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal throughout a number of promotions and territories including Angelo Poffo's "outlaw" International Championship Wrestling promotion in the early 1980s. In typical over-the-top-heel form, Bake gave a ringside interview to ICW's Tim Tyler about the fury of his heart punch, including a reference to a St. Louis meeting with Ernie Lad who himself fell victim to the power of the heart punch:

You know, a lot of times when a new man comes into an area...people go, "Oh yeah, it's another big loudmouth, he's gonna tell how tough he is, how many people that he's beat up." Well, Ox Baker has never had to do that because when I go to an area, people know that there's a tough human being there. Three hundred and eighteen pounds. Here's a man over here getting himself into shape because sooner or later he knows he’s gotta get into the squared circle with Ox Baker. At the bus station, there's wrestlers takin' bus tickets out of town. There's a lot of wrestlers you won't see around here any more because they know that they'll have to wrestle Ox Baker. Now I have a reputation, I've beat men up from coast to coast, all over the world. I do not brag to tell you how tough I am, I do not tell you I’m the world’s greatest wrestler. I have one weapon, one thing that puts me above everybody else: I have a fist here that knows that if you’re not in fantastic shape, that if you haven’t worked out -- even a couple of guys have joined a spa around here -- because they know they’d better be in shape because if I see 'em huffin’ and puffin’ in that ring because when I raise that heart punch up in all the fury in my body, if I don’t like you, I drive it into your...

(Video of Ox fighting Ernie Ladd rolls while Ox continues to talk...)

Here! Here’s a man who had a great reputation, the great Ernie Ladd! He could beat a lot of guys up. I got in the ring with him, I pounded him in the heart, he said "Please Mr. Ox, don’t hit me again” but he’d called me a lot of names..."Walrus face," things like that...See the punishment? He’s down on one knee, he doesn’t want to give up, he wished he’d worked out, he wished he had stayed home. Now he’s on the ground. You know, it takes...Anybody can kick somebody when they’re standing up, but it takes a great wrestler like me to punch somebody when they’re laying flat on their back. Ernie Ladd, I don’t think that people will see you around here any more. I don’t think after the punishment that I...Look at that...I am there pounding on that heart because this man did not deserve to be in the same class -- he’s not in the same class -- as Ox Baker! ...Look at that, layin’ there...The people are getting mad and getting worked up because people can see he’s not moving. Blood is coming out of his mouth, he’s hurt and hurt bad. That’s the reason. If you lip off to Ox Baker, if you say he’s not a great wrestler...I don’t care if you don’t like me. Don’t bring your mother up in a wheelchair and ask for an autograph. Don’t bring your son around and try to say hello to me. I’m not here to talk to people! I’m not here to be a nice guy! There’s a lot of nice guys...Go out and meet them! Don’t try to come up to Ox Baker and tell me anything!

Ratamyas, Ox's creepiest of
cronies, eats fire for
an eerie promo video.

True to form, defiant, irreverent and controversial; Ox Baker was all those things and more during the course of his wild career. His appearances with the ICW promotion may have been among the less remarkable times of his career, but there were certainly some gems in his time there. He knew how to make his promo spots personal, not just by tearing down his rivals but also by hyping his own exploits and misadventures, whether they were personal or professional. Teasing a rivalry with a young, up-and-coming ICW Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage, he snarled:

Now Randy Savage, I want that belt. It’s just like when I was a kid and the kids in the neighborhood had bubblegum and candy, I used to smack them in the mouths and take it away from them! (studio audience gasps) That’s the way I’ve always done things. If you’ve got something that Ox Baker wants, I’m going to take it away from you. Now Randy Savage, don’t hide at home with your mother doing the dishes. Don’t go somewhere and say that you don’t want to wrestle Ox Baker. Somewhere, some time, whether you are a man or a coward Randy Savage, you have to get in there with the wrestling machine -- this deadly heart punch that’s beat so many people up -- you will have to put your World Heavyweight belt up against Ox Baker.

That particular angle never came to pass as Baker ultimately swerved into a barn-burning feud with Ronnie Garvin. Baker’s clashes with Garvin were epic in their own right including a memorable incident in which Ronnie smashed Baker’s dentures in the middle of a ring after they had become dislodged during a fight. Baker also used his “star power” to introduce another monster heel in the mysteriously terrifying freak known as Ratamyas. Ratamyas ate fire, vomited a corrosive green fluid into the eyes of his rivals and carved up the faces of his opponents with a mysterious “foreign object.” Ox Baker and Ratamyas were truly a match made in Hell.

Ox saw much of his success while wrestling for the NWA, feuding with The Sheik, Harley Race and Bruiser Brody. Baker worked in AWA in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, teaming with the likes of The Russian Brute to again take aim at his old ICW nemesis Ronnie Garvin. The Russian Brute was personally trained by Ox at Ox’s own wrestling school (Watch a vintage promo with Ox and The Russian Brute here.).

Baker never managed to hit the big time in WWE or any of its older incarnations (WWF and WWWF). But his offbeat physical appearance and unique charisma took him many places including an appearance on TV’s The Price Is Right in 1981 and a role in John Carpenter’s science fiction cult-classic “Escape from New York” the same year.

Ox retired from wrestling in 1988 and took advantage of his hard-earned down time to produce a number of projects including a children’s coloring book and a wrestling-themed cook book. He makes occasional public appearances to share reminiscences and insight regarding the world of pro wrestling and he’s also worked short gigs with the Combat Zone (CZW) and Ring of Honor promotions.

There are few wrestlers who have enjoyed the spotlight in the way that Ox Baker has. His reputation as a monster heel amounted to an uncanny level of infamy that followed him at every turn for the better part of his career. It would be tempting for an aspiring wrestler to emulate him but virtually impossible to do so with the results that Ox found through his decades of work in the industry. There are few like him to be sure, and there are probably a lot of babyfaces who are grateful for that very fact.

Selected Sources
Biography The Official Ox Baker Website
International Championship Wrestling (Poffo) Kayfabe Memories
Ox Baker: Wrestler, Chef, Author Slam! Wrestling
Wrestler Profile Obsessed with Wrestling
Wrestling's Unsolved Mysteries: The Finisher that Killed Two Wrestlers-Or Did It? Wrestling's Greatest Moments

Stuff I'm doing

Mike — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:57:33 -0400

It's a nice idea to think that I can add some material of substance to this site more than twice per month but as of late, I've been busy with a host of additional projects and it's proven difficult to write much of anything in the way of new material for greeklish.org.

Last month (or maybe it was the month before), I completed an overhaul of the Erythrós Press and Media site, re-launching the site with a new look and improved listings. Some renewed interest in my Banner of Victory replicas allowed me to fund a new run of them from the flag maker in Australia. The newest batch of flags are made from knitted polyester which is more durable and better looking. We're now selling the new flags on eBay and on our site.

I've also printed a new book using lulu.com. Essential Texts of Marxism-Leninism contains the most important and influential works by Marx and Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao in one small volume. We'll likely be adding this to the Erythrós Press catalog in the near future. It is a very simple, "no-frills" presentation of the texts and the book does not include any introductory texts or commentary. I had hoped to use an original photo for the book cover but lulu.com is not entirely intuitive or user-friendly in some respects. At some point, I'll write a little more regarding my experiences with lulu.com.

From time to time, I am contributing work to wrestling and entertainment sites. I've created a couple of new "Action Figure Theater" comic strips for hittheropes.com. One installment features a look at the mythical super powers of John Cena and the other offers a candid look at wrestlers' views on political issues, including the recent changes to Arizona's immigration law. I've also started a series called "Hidden Gems" for the sci-fi and comics blog primaryignition.com. In this series, I'm reviewing obscure back issues that comics enthusiasts might not otherwise have heard about. Thus far, I've profiled issues 1 through 5 of the Eclipse run of Airboy (Eclipse Comics, 1986) as well as Superman #245 (DC Comics, 1971).

Whenever possible, I'm still adding material to the Marxists Internet Archive and my recent focus has been on new transcriptions of speeches and articles by Enver Hoxha. I am also doing some work on the August Bebel Internet Archive.

Somewhere along the way, I've managed to resurrect the archives of a long-absent political website (more on that some other time) and I am also preparing a review of Paul Feldman's new book Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy at the request of the folks at A World to Win. That review will be posted here at greeklish.org within the next few weeks.

As if all that wasn't enough, I finally seem to have mad a bit of progress on some major personal goals and this certainly is shaping up to be a very exciting time.

Re-presented below is the very first installment of "Kanebert". I made it some months ago after getting the idea from a dream. I actually bought the "Masked Kane" figure from eBay just so I could make this comic strip. The comic was originally posted in early 2010 on another website and since that particular site is now defunct, I figured greeklish.org was a good permanent home for it. Cherish it, folks.

May 9: Victory Day

Mike — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:54:07 -0400

May 9 marks the anniversary of the victory of the Red Army of the USSR over the forces of German Fascism. Over 20 million Soviet soldiers and citizens died in the fight to liberate the world from Nazi oppression.

The Marxists Internet Archive features a Great Patriotic War History Archive featuring important documents related to the struggle against fascism, from the origins of the war and Operation Barbarossa to the Fall of Berlin and beyond.

In observance of this important anniversary, we're presenting two items:

First, a new photo (see right) has been added to our Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Archive. This is a close-up/detail view of Zoya from her June 1941 class portrait. This photo was provided to us by our friend Nina Lebed. View this and many, many other pictures in our extensive image galleries.

Also, we're presenting the full annotated text of J.V. Stalin's Victory Address to the Soviet People from May 9, 1945. This text -- as well as a number of other annotated works -- is included in the book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War which is available through out publishing venture, Erythrós Press and Media.

May 9 graphic by Clara Esse.

STALIN’S VICTORY ADDRESS  TO THE SOVIET PEOPLE 
by  J.V. Stalin 
(May 9, 1945)

After four years of savage fighting and the death of over 20,000,000 Soviet soldiers and civilians, German fascism suffered its final defeat with the Fall of Berlin. The Red Army and partisan fighters of the Soviet Union had beaten back the Nazi invaders all the way to the gates of Germany’s capital city where Hitler and the remnants of his fascist hordes mounted a desperate – and ultimately futile – attempt to escape complete annihilation.

Following two weeks of intense combat in and around of the heart of Berlin, the Red Army finally stormed the Reichstag on April 30, 1945. On May 1, 1945, the Red Army captured the building, occupying the very seat of Germany’s fascist government. On the roof of the Reichstag, Soviet soldiers Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantariya hoisted the Victory Banner in triumph. Documented on film by Yevgeny Khaldei, this moment would become an iconic symbol of the Soviet victory over fascism.

On May 8, 1945 in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, Marshal Georgy Zhukov received a written notice of Germany’s surrender, signed by representatives of the defeated German army.

At 2000 hours on May 9, 1945, Marshal Joseph V. Stalin addressed the Soviet people by radio to share news of the Nazi defeat.

* * *

Comrades! Fellow countrymen and countrywomen!

The great day of victory over Germany has arrived. Fascist Germany, forced to her knees by the Red Army and the troops of our Allies, has admitted defeat and has announced her unconditional surrender.

On May 7 a preliminary act of surrender was signed in Rheims.(1) On May 8, in Berlin, representatives of the German High Command, in the presence of representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied troops and of the Supreme Command of the Soviet troops, signed the final act of surrender, which came into effect at 24 hours on May 8.

Knowing the wolfish habits of the German rulers who regard treaties and agreements as scraps of paper, we have no grounds for accepting their word. However, this morning, the German troops, in conformity with the act of surrender, began en masse to lay down their arms and surrender to our troops. This is not a scrap of paper. It is the actual capitulation of the armed forces of Germany. True, one group of German troops in the region of Czechoslovakia(2) still refuses to surrender, but I hope the Red Army will succeed in bringing it to its senses. We now have full grounds for saying that the historic day of the final defeat of Germany, the day of our people's great victory over German imperialism, has arrived.

The great sacrifices we have made for the freedom and independence of our country, the incalculable privation and suffering our people have endured during the war, our intense labors in the rear and at the front, laid at the altar of our motherland, have not been in vain; they have been crowned by complete victory over the enemy. The age-long struggle of the Slavonic peoples(3) for their existence and independence has ended in victory over the German aggressors and German tyranny.

Henceforth, the great banner of the freedom of the peoples and peace between the peoples will fly over Europe.

Three years ago Hitler publicly stated that his task included the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the severance from it of the Caucasus, the Ukraine, Byelorussia, the Baltic and other regions. He definitely said: "We shall destroy Russia so that she shall never be able to rise again." This was three years ago. But Hitler's insane ideas were fated to remain unrealized – the course of the war scattered them to the winds like dust. Actually, the very opposite of what the Hitlerites dreamed of in their delirium occurred. Germany is utterly defeated. The German troops are surrendering. The Soviet Union is triumphant, although it has no intention of either dismembering or destroying Germany.

Comrades! Our Great Patriotic War has terminated in our complete victory. The period of war in Europe has closed. A period of peaceful development has been ushered in.

Congratulations on our victory, my dear fellow countrymen and countrywomen!

Glory to our heroic Red Army, which upheld the independence of our country and achieved victory over the enemy!

Glory to our great people, the victor people!

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell fighting the enemy and who gave their lives for the freedom and happiness of our people!

1. A city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of northern France. General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969), Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, formally received the complete and unconditional surrender of the German army at a schoolhouse in Rheims on May 8, 1945 at 0241 hours Central European Time (CET). The surrender took effect at effect at 2301 hours CET on May 8, 1945.
2. The Red Army defeated all resistance in Czechoslovakia by May 13, 1945.
3. Slavs.

Little red cookbook, continued: Gregory Zinoviev's scurvy-free steak topping

Mike — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:49:35 -0400

Gregory Zinoviev (Jerzy Kosinski)
seriously gets his chow on

Last week, I was finishing up some steaks on our charcoal grill when it occurred to me that it would be nice to supplement them with something. I have a small metal pot that’s designed for use on grills (almost like camping gear) and I usually use it to heat barbecue sauce or baked beans. But I didn’t have either of those things that night, so I thought maybe it would be a good idea to heat up some onions in the pan. While I was in the kitchen cutting them up, I figured I’d get creative and season the slices up a bit.

As I looked for ingredients to add to the pot, my mind turned to the scene in the film Reds in which Gregory Zinoviev is eating a mixture of onions and lemons as he explains to John Reed that the mixture fends off scurvy:

Zinoviev: Speak English. Have a lemon. You won’t see one for a long time.
Reed: Thank you. I just want to know if you think that I was clear in what I said about… 
Zinoviev: Eminently clear. Salt? 
Reed: Salt? 
Zinoviev: For the lemon.
Reed: Uh, thank you…I see you eat the peel with the lemon. 
Zinoviev: Fights the scurvy. So does the onion. Together, they fight better.

(Yeah, this is exactly the kind of thing that runs through my mind all day and all night, no lie...)

I’ve been using lemon as a stir-fry ingredient ever since I got the idea from reading a pseudo-biography about Mao Zedong some years ago and seeing as how onions are a standard when it comes to steak toppings (and the treatment of scurvy, apparently), it seemed fitting to combine them for this experiment.

I grabbed my pot and tossed the onions and steak into it but I figured that there needed to be some other "medium" in the mix so that I wasn’t simply heating the ingredients. Margarine seemed like a good enough idea but instead of going easy with it, I ended up heaping a healthy dose into the pot so that I’d end up with something of a sauté. I also added a few spices for an extra zip and heated the pot out on the grill for a while before serving it with dinner. (The next time I do this, I’ll probably use a little less margarine and more spice, salt and pepper but I won’t corrupt the flavor of the onions and lemons by adding any kind of sauce or herbs.)

I think Thomai (who has a passionate dislike for Zinoviev based solely on how he is depicted in Reds) was as pleasantly surprised with the results as I was. Rather than covering the steak with the topping, we covered each individual bite with a little onion and a little lemon and it all was quite tasty. At one point I commented that it didn’t seem healthy to cover steak with margarine but Thomai said it wasn’t the worst thing you could eat. Hey, at least we’ll be scurvy free!

 Gregory Zinoviev's Scurvy-Free Steak Topping

  Ingredients: 
1 small to medium onion 
1 lemon 
2 heaping tablespoons margarine 
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper 
salt 
pepper

Directions: Skin and chop 1 onion. Slice 1 lemon. Combine ingredients in a pot with butter, cayenne pepper and salt & pepper (to taste). Place over high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. For best results, serve in pot to retain heat. Use as topping for cooked steak or pork, combining lemon (pulp and/or peel) and onion with meat in each and every bite.

More stuff
Chairman Mao's little red cookbook greeklish.org
Gregory Zinoviev Internet Archive marxists.org

May Day 2010 | Πρωτομαγιά

Mike — Sat, 01 May 2010 09:42:41 -0400

image courtesy of marxists.org

May 1st is May Day, which is also known as International Workers Day. This holiday recognizes the achievements of the working people and it is celebrated in locales and countries all around the world.

May 1st also marks the anniversary of the beginning of the 1886 nation-wide strike in support of the eight-hour workday. In Chicago, a mass meeting in support of the workers' movement ended tragically with the "Haymarket Massacre" on May 4.

Marxists.org maintains an extensive subject archive that chronicles the history of May Day.

"Over the heads of the capitalist robbers, over the heads of their predatory governments, we extend a hand to the workers of all countries, and cry:

Hail the First of May!"

Selection from "The Worker's Maypole"
by Walter Crane (1894)

Be ye many or few drawn together,
Let your message be clear on this day;
Be ye birds of the spring, of one feather
In this--that ye sing on May-Day.

Of the new life that still lieth hidden,
Though its shadow is cast before;
The new birth of hope that unbidden
Surely comes, as the sea to the shore.

Stand fast, then, Oh Workers, your ground,
Together pull, strong and united:
Link your hands like a chain the world round,
If you will that your hopes be requited.

When the World's Workers, sisters and brothers,
Shall build, in the new coming years,
A lair house of life--not for others,
For the earth and its fullness is theirs.

Further Reading
May Day Action by the Revolutionary Proletariat V.I. Lenin 1913
May Day J.V. Stalin May 1, 1945
Order of the Day, No. 20 May 1, 1945 J.V. Stalin
Berlin Impressions (After I. Kudrevatykh) May 1945

The good stuff: "Colder Chicago Sept. Hymns" by Chris McCoy & The Gospel

Mike — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:46:13 -0400

If Chris McCoy is preaching the gospel, then brothers and sisters…I’m a believer. His 2006 CD Colder Chicago Sept. Hymns (Beachhouse Records, 2006) is a testament to his abilities as a lyricist and musician. I first heard samples from the album on McCoy’s MySpace page and was immediately reminded of Frank Black’s first solo album…and yes, you’d better believe that is a compliment. The comparison extends beyond songwriting and musicianship into the ethereal smoothness of Chris McCoy’s vocals. Truth be told, somewhere in there you might also hear a latent edge in his singing that is reminiscent of Live’s Ed Kowalczyk.

All of my quasi-esoteric comparisons aside, one of the best compliments I can bestow upon Colder Chicago is that it’s the kind of album that I’d love to fall asleep to. It’s a strange thing to say about a record for sure, but I have an unusual tendency to at least partially gauge an album on what kind of dreams it might evoke when I doze to it. It’s a paradox of sorts as the music of Colder Chicago makes it relatively easy to fade blissfully away while simultaneously bidding me to pay close attention for what the artist might offer up next. McCoy & Co. lay down some surreal tracks in which shimmering guitar work features rather prominently. All this "dreaminess" is not to say that I haven’t given Colder Chicago an attentive listen during my waking hours, mind you. The CD has actually become a staple in my listening repertoire these days. Here’s a side note to all that: The first time I listened to the disc I was driving around with my 6 year-old daughter and it wasn’t long before she was singing along with one of the songs. I don’t think she really nailed the lyrics though, because I distinctly remember her singing about cookies at one point. But she did like what she was hearing, I’m sure of that.

Colder Chicago kicks off with "Awake & Under" which effectively communicates to the first-time listener the great things that lie ahead on this album. The underlying guitar riff has a triumphant feel that seems to unwittingly channel the ghost of Phil Ochs (from some of Phil’s more upbeat tunes). The song features a well-timed break of feedback that would make Thurston Moore proud, splitting the track into a distinctly acoustic introduction and a triumphantly symphonic finish. No doubt this is a fantastic way to start an album as it brilliantly sets the tone for the remaining set. Subsequent tracks like "XXVI” and "No Devil" capture something of a post-Pixies vibe with a pleasant blend of strong, clear leads that are complimented nicely with subtle effects and background melodies.

"Tonight, This All Is Over" is a particularly intriguing track which is built around a tango-like piano ostinato and a gently driven backbeat. It fits well in the overall tapestry of the album while standing out as a unique gem unto itself. Had McCoy and The Gospel released singles for Colder Chicago, "Tonight" would’ve been a nice follow up to "Awake & Under."

"Take Me Home" and "Westgate" round out the collection of 9 tracks on the album and in some respects it’s actually difficult for me to think of these as anything but two distinct parts to one tremendous song. The hypnotic organ/keyboard melody in "Take Me Home" comes to a fitting end as the loop careens into a brief yet noisy coda. Call me crazy but it really does remind me of the "Star Gate" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey with "Westgate" representing the other side of an otherworldly journey.

All in all, Colder Chicago Sept. Hymns is an evocative and enjoyable listening experience. With so much to offer, it’s my sincere hope that Chris McCoy and The Gospel will embark on a revival someday soon and add a few more chapters to their scripture of sound.

Purchase individual songs or the complete album through CD Baby.

Notes on "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!"

Mike — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:18:51 -0400

My interest in Indian cinema was recently rekindled when I found that an Indian/Pakistani grocery store opened less than a mile from our home. Only minutes into my first visit there, I landed an inexpensive DVD of the 1994 movie Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (Who Am I to You?) which was a terrific find as I had wanted to see the film for years. I first became interested in the movie after hearing the song "Maye Ni Maye" on a CD of Lata Mangeshkar's playback hits. The song is, of course, from the Hum Aapke Hain Koun soundtrack and although I had no information regarding the lyrics or context of the song, I have always enjoyed it a great deal. As Hum Aapke Hain Koun remains one of the most successful Bollywood films of all time, I have been curious about it for some time but it's proven difficult to find an affordable copy in years past.

I watched the DVD over the course of three or four nights. It's a very long film (200 minutes) and it's not always easy for me to commit my full attention to reading subtitles for long stretches of time. It's hard to say that my expectations weren't high considering that this film is considered by so many to be a modern-day classic but I usually prefer politically-themed dramas or historical pieces to romantic comedies and this particular movie was certainly the latter.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun is undeniably fun in many respects. The musical numbers are particularly well-staged and entertaining and I was not disappointed to finally see the performance of "Maye Ni Maye" in its entirety. I especially enjoy the percussion and choral arrangements in the song. The segment of the film that features the song "Mausam Ka Jaadu" features some wonderful scenes of what appears to be an agricultural festival set against some rolling fields and a magnificent landscape. Another of my favorite scenes from the movie is part in which the main characters gather in a courtyard to play a game similar to "musical chairs" in which people sit in a circle and pitch a pillow around from person to person while music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the pillow is "out" and he or she has to sing a song or recite dialogue from a famous film to entertain the other players. In this scene, the actors perform scenes from Mughal-E-Azam and Sholay (and possibly a few others).

The movie doesn't require a lot of thought and it's not an emotionally trying or taxing experience to endure…at least not for the first two hours, anyway. The better part of the film is basically a celebration of the new marriage of characters Rajesh and Pooja as a romance between Pooja's younger sister Nisha and Rajesh's younger brother Prem simultaneously unfolds. The character development is slow yet steady and it's complimented well by wonderfully orchestrated and choreographed musical interludes.

The main plot twist comes well into the film with the sudden demise of Pooja. I had not read much about the actual plot of the film immediately before watching it, so this development came as a complete shock to me and while it did succeed in grabbing my attention, I was also a bit distracted with the question of why it took so long for such a major development to occur. Pooja's accident and her death happen with less than one hour to go in a film which runs nearly three hours. For this reason, the drive to the film's climax seems unnecessarily rushed and this provides an unfortunate distraction from an otherwise intriguing storyline.

I think there are some cultural differences which also made the film fall slightly short from my perspective. The main thing to remember with this story is that arranged marriages are still an accepted tradition in some parts of the world, including North India which is the setting for Hum Aapke Hain Koun. The marriage between Rajesh and Pooja is arranged but this is tempered with what appears a genuine and mutual appreciation between the two individuals. But later in the film when it is Prem's turn to find a wife, he is asked by Pooja whether or not he prefers to have an arranged marriage or one based on love. His answer is something to the effect that he wants an arranged marriage that is based on love. Again, it seems the filmmakers are trying to put the best face on a multifaceted and relatively controversial issue.

There are some real incidents of overacting throughout the movie (such as some silly, "comedic relief" type segments) that were difficult for me to get used to and I am surprised that there was so much of this in such a highly successful, modern piece of cinema. I am also surprised that with such a large cast, the films soundtrack is basically limited to the performances of two playback singers (Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam). Despite the greatness of a talent such as Lata, it just seems a like a lot to ask of viewers to accept that with so many actors and actresses performing, their "singing voices" are those of the same two people, over and over again. Finally, with respect to the aforementioned plot twist (note that I have been careful as to not provide too much "spoiler" details in case anyone reading this actually wants to watch the film for himself or herself), it's something of an abrupt deus ex machina which involves Krisna working through the family dog Tuffy to bring everything to a peaceful and happy ending. For the characters, it's all good but from my perspective, I couldn't help but feel a little…unfulfilled. It would have been nicer to see the characters work things out on their own without having to rely upon on divine intervention. That's true for real life too, I suppose.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun is surely a "must see" for anyone who truly enjoys Indian films. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and it's not really comparable to most of the Golden Age Bollywood classics. The movie does have a charm all its own, though, and I'm glad I finally got to see what all the fuss was about.

"Maye Ni Maye" from the film Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..!

Things that make me happy

Mike — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:38:05 -0400

They say that when one door closes another one opens…or something like that, anyway. I really have come to hate cliches these days. My locus of control is pretty internal, so I don't really look at life as a series of events that involve a person or "being" doing things for me, whether it's something proverbial or concrete. So because a big project of mine recently folded, I am going to make sure and take a good look at my prospects before I decide which doors to walk through. In the meantime, I've taken advantage of some much-needed down time to revisit some things that make me happy. Here's a short list:

The New Duncan Imperials Sticky (Pravda Records, 2000): Everyone should buy this album. I am a longtime fan of NDI, so I pretty much enjoy the hell out of everything they do. Sticky is completely different animal from their earlier stuff, though. The content is still as riff-heavy and as "balls-out" irreverent as their early material but there are some experimental tracks ("Remove Bones from Face Before Inserting in Bird") and out-and-out silliness ("I Like Carp") mixed in to boot. It's a 30-track masterpiece that might well be appropriately dubbed as NDI's White Album.

Sticky features some of my favorite NDI tracks ever, including "Waste Your Time" and "The Freshman 15." And I've said it before but it bears repeating: "Power Tool" is one of the best rock riffs ever. If I ever get famous in any way whatsoever, I am totally going to do for NDI what Nirvana did for the likes of The Wipers and the Vaselines by telling anyone and everyone about them until they get the popularity and acclaim they deserve.

Read a whole lot about my ultimate NDI mix CD here.

Bhagat Singh

Bollywood films and playback songs: Last week I was thrilled to find a new Indian and Pakistani grocery store less than 2 miles from our house. The shop has a huge supply of DVDs and during my very first visit there, I scored a cheap copy of Hum Apke Hain Kaun which was a big deal because I have been trying to get my hands on this film for some time. Recently I've revisited the films Sholay and Pakeezah as well as listening to a heavy rotation of my favorite Bollywood playback songs from Lata Mangeshkar, Chitrah Singh and others.

Pretty much every chance I get, I am watching the trailer for The Legend of Bhagat Singh on YouTube. It's still one of my favorite Indian films of all time and that's partially because the actual story of Bhagat Singh is so compelling by itself but also because Ajay Devaugn portrays Singh so effectively. My only major issue with Santoshi's biopic of Singh is that the musical numbers somehow don't seem to fit well with the story. It's still worth seeing if you're interested in Indian history or revolutionary movements…or both.

One of these days I will put together some notes and reflections on Sukhdev Thapar's 1931 letter to Gandhi. Sukhdev 's correspondence famously brought to light some of the most profound differences between the two major camps in India's independence movement.

In 2006, I wrote a biographical article on Bhagat Singh for MIA. Read that article here.

Erythrós Press and Media: I am currently working on a complete overhaul of our site. We've moved a lot of books since our launch in 2008, we're just now covering costs on almost all projects and we're looking at releasing some new titles later this year. Hopefully, I'll be in a good position to make a new run of flags as we've moved all of our replicas of the Soviet Banner of Victory. Response to the banners as well as the overall reception for Erythrós Press and Media has been overwhelmingly positive.

More to come...

International Women's Day 2010

Mike — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:30:56 -0500

International Women's Day, as described by Alexandra Kollontai, began as “a day of international solidarity, and a day for reviewing the strength and organization of proletarian women.” Established through the determination of radical activist and organizer Clara Zetkin and a resolution adopted at the International Conference of Working Women the first IWD was marked in 1911. Today, IWD is commemorated around the world as “a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.”

In recognition of International Women’s Day 2010, here are some biographical sketches of some women I admire:

Nadezhda Krupskaya (1869 – 1939) Married to V.I. Lenin, Krupskaya was a very important revolutionary in her own right, educating and supporting fellow Bolsheviks in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Suffering through persecution and arrest under the Tsar, Krupskaya endured the struggle and supported Lenin through the tumult that would eventually bring the Soviets to power. Krupskaya was an archivist and librarian and did much work in the establishment of the new Soviet library system following the revolution. In 1933, she published Reminiscences of Lenin, a biography of her husband which is often regarded as one of the best assessments of his life and work.
Further Reading: Nadezhda Krupskaya Internet Archive

Madhubala (1933 – 1969) One of the most popular actresses of Bollywood’s Golden Age, Madhubala performed in over 70 films before her untimely death at the age of 36. Her most celebrated part was the lead role in the epic film Mughal-e-Azam. At the time of her passing, she was regarded as an icon throughout India and beyond. She remains one of India’s most beloved film stars to this day.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862 – 1931) Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist and activist who used her exceptional talents as a writer and a speaker to raise global awareness regarding crimes against African-Americans in the South during the decades immediately following the Civil War. She wrote extensively on the problem of lynching in the United States, beginning with two groundbreaking pamphlets Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, and a A Red Record. She co-founded the NAACP with W.E.B. DuBois and others in 1909.
Further Reading: Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (full text) by Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Mother Tsai Immortalized by Agnes Smedley in her article “No Sacrifice…No Victory,” Mother Tsai was a leader of women in the “south Yangtze valley” during China’s War of Resistance against Japan from 1937 – 1945. Well into her late 60’s, Mother Tsai worked in the fields with her daughters-in-law while her sons fought in the guerilla armies against the Japanese invaders. She was an important member of the Women’s Association, delivering inspirational political speeches to to wounded soldiers as they convalesced in hospital wards. She mounted aggressive campaigns against opium use and corruption in the region, declaring war on the oppressive conventions of sexism and exploitation.

Further Reading: Portraits of Chinese Women in Revolution (full text)

Lili Brik (1891-1978) Intimately involved at a number of levels with the Russia’s Futurist movement of literature and art, Lili Brik was a close personal associate of Russia’s celebrated poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. After Mayakovsky's death, Brik penned a personal appeal to Joseph Stalin in 1935 in which she advocated for the widespread dissemination and popularization of Mayakovsky’s works. She wrote: “…I address myself to you because I do not see any other means to realize the tremendous revolutionary heritage of Mayakovsky.” The appeal was met with the approval of Stalin who famously responded, “Comrade Brik is right: Mayakovsky was and remains the most talented poet of our Soviet epoch. Indifference to his memory and words is a crime.” Her memory lives on in the works of Mayakovsky and the art of Alexander Rodchenko.
Further Reading: I Love: The Story of Vladimir Mayakovsky and Lili Brik (Amazon listing)

Ali Kantouri sentenced to 15 years in prison

Mike — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:30:06 -0500

The grim news from Iran is that student and activist Ali Kantouri has been sentenced to 15 years in prison as a result of his political activities. Kantouri participated in the National Students’ Day demonstrations of December 2007 and, like a number of his fellow left activists, he was persecuted for his activities and was subsequently arrested, tortured and detained for an extended period of time over the course of the last two years.

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Kantouri‘s sentence was issued by Branch 104 of the Sanandaj General Court and immediately prior to the pronouncement of sentencing, Ali continued to deny the charges against him. There is a chance that the sentence may be reduced or otherwise amended but there is no information regarding the likelihood of such a development.

Ali Kantouri has friends and admirers around the world. We grieve for Ali and his family and we hope that the Iranian people will ultimately unite and set right the terrible crimes committed by the theocracy and its ruling clique. These despots have systematically and methodically victimized the people of Iran for decades.

The unjust imprisonment of Ali Kantouri should serve as a stark reminder to Western Marxists -- as well as progressives and activists everywhere -- that anti-imperialism is not the sole hallmark of a worthwhile or viable political system. Political Islam is, in and of itself, overtly hostile to political opponents, workers and students, employing barbarism of the worst kind upon all those who struggle against such dogma and oppression. Ali Kantouri – like his comrades Peyman Piran and Behrouz Karimizadeh – can certainly attest to this.

A better world is possible. A better world is necessary.

Aluta continua!

…and then there was Dutch.

Mike — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:54:31 -0500

It didn't take long for us to realize that we didn't want to be without a Boxer in the house. After just a few days without Domino, we decided that we wanted to go back to being a "two dog family" for everyone's sake, including that of our very grief-stricken Lhasanese, Stupsi. A few of our friends, including some fellow Boxer enthusiasts, encouraged us to "get back on the horse" as soon as we could and we took that advice to heart. We looked at a few older dogs in area shelters but we just weren't feeling the connection that we were hoping to find.

Late yesterday, I found a classified ad for a litter of 9 week-old Boxer pups. The seller was in South Charleston and she was very nice over the phone, even agreeing to hold one puppy in particular as we were very interested in him from the photo in the ad. Immediately after work, Thomai , the girls and I set out to visit South Charleston, braving the dropping temperatures, freezing rain and dark rural roads to reach the seller's home.

The lady was one of the most conscientious breeders I have ever met. She had folders prepared with documentation, medical histories and feeding instructions for each individual puppy. The parents of the litter were both present for us to meet and inspect. It was all very nice and reassuring and the fact that she was offering the pups at very "non-breeder" prices (so to speak) was even more encouraging.

In the end, we left with the very pup we had come to see. He is a handsome boy, indeed. He's a reverse-brindle Boxer with big paws and he's naturally curious but a little on the skittish side. The breeder described him as "stubborn and bull-headed but a bit of a sissy" (Those are her words, not mine). I have to admit that it will be quite funny to see our Stupsi -- a tiny little Tribble of a dog -- ultimately take her place as the dominant dog in the house, especially when this male pup grows into a full-size, muscle-bound 70+ pound brute.

We named our new guy "Dutch" (or "Dutchie") and the origin of his name is really something of a long story for another day. Stupsi has welcomed him to our family with cautious enthusiasm and we are all so excited to have Dutch with us. Of course, it's not the same as having our old girl Domino here with us, but it's a nice new beginning for everyone.

Thanks to everyone who shared words of support and encouragement.

Notes on the passing of a friend

Mike — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:23:32 -0500

Given the enormous human suffering brought on by the recent disaster in Haiti, it doesn’t seem right to publicly dwell for too long on the death of a family pet. But because greeklish.org has been something of an "online diary" for us for such a long time now, I wanted to mark the occasion with a few reflections on the recent passing of our good friend Domino.

Thomai and I bought Domino as newlyweds in 1997. She was our second family pet after our green iguana Oppie (named after J. Robert Oppenheimer) who passed away in 2002. We bought Domino from a farm in rural Eaton and we named her after the Kiss song "Domino." I have always been proud to say that Domino’s name was Thomai’s idea.

Domino was a huge part of our lives for 13 years. She welcomed our two daughters into the family and she was always patient and always gentle with the kids. I think that there aren’t many dog owners who can honestly and accurately say that their dogs never bared teeth, growled or showed aggression in any form but this was absolutely the case with our dog Domino. Whether it was all those times when the girls inadvertently smacked her with toy golf clubs and the like or it was those first few years when Thomai and I used Domino to test out our developing “parental skills,” Domino was always understanding and always forgiving.

When we brought Stupsi home a couple of years ago, Domino was kind enough to welcome one more member to the family. As a rambunctious puppy, Stupsi was awfully trying in her own right but it was great to see Domino acting as a “mentor” of sorts to our newest four-legged addition. We lovingly called Domino our “Grand Dame” as we watched her teach Stupsi the ropes.

She wasn't a show dog. She had a "point" on the top of her head. Her bottom front teeth looked like the salt from a big soft pretzel. Her nose was often dry and crusty. She drooled spit and sludge from her jowls and often left a trail of the stuff through the house. But Domino was made out of incredibly tough stuff. Her health problems were always minor and we were often told by fellow boxer owners how fortunate we were to enjoy such a long time with our beloved friend. We didn’t have to deal with a lengthy battle with cancer (boxers are notoriously cancer prone), heart problems or hip issues. In the end, it was her 13 year-old liver that gave out. He decline started last Thursday and I already had a pretty good idea what we were facing by the time I helped her into the van to go to the vet on Saturday. In addition to her lethargy and obvious discomfort, the jaundice in her eyes signaled that she was in a bad way.

The doctor was very nice as he explained things, ending our difficult discussion by saying that he thought that letting Domino go would be “fair.” Thomai and the girls arrived in time to say a difficult goodbye and when they stepped out, I got a few minutes alone with Domino. I sat on the floor with her, wrapping my legs around her body and my arms around her neck. She rested her chin on my arm and closed her eyes as I whispered in her ear. She had been virtually deaf for years but something about the situation was comforting to her and for a few moments she dozed comfortably as I spoke softly to her. The doctor joined us and the end was fast and merciful. She fell asleep once more in my arms and I gently laid her down for one final goodbye.

The whole situation was wonderfully materialistic in a manner of speaking. There was no talk of God or Heaven, no musings about religion and spirituality or the grand cosmic meanings of life and death. We were straight with our girls about what happened and why and they are stronger surely because of the experience and its lasting lessons. Even the doctor was very concrete in his description of how Domino reacted in her final seconds, describing some involuntary movements as “random electricity.” It was all consistent with how I view life and existence and thus reaffirming and ultimately very comforting.

I sat down at the computer late Saturday afternoon and opened up the web browser, landing on my default home page here at greeklish.org. Right there in front of me were the words I typed just a few weeks ago:

Nothing ever truly goes away. Our favorite things, places and people will last forever but in different shapes and forms.

It is a comfort to me that Domino will exist in our memories and beyond for many, many years to come. Thomai and the girls struggle now and again and I have apologized many times over the course of the last few days for all of the times my girls have had to see me sob and cry. Stupsi is having a hard time as well, spending hours laying near Domino’s favorite spots in the house and periodically searching for her around the house as she softly whimpers.

This is real life though, and there are many problems much worse than this all around the world, every single day. We are surely fortunate that this is our greatest of challenge at the moment just as we are fortunate to have enjoyed so many years with such a dedicated friend.

We will always love our friend Domino.

"Suddenly... You were gone... from all the lives you left your mark upon.” ★

On matter, energy and the universe

Mike — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:25:59 -0500

Today I watched a snowflake drift to the ground and melt and it was in this brief moment that years of reading and reflecting on materialism and physics became clear to me: Nothing ever truly goes away. Our favorite things, places and people will last forever but in different shapes and forms. After being free of religious dogma for over two decades, it is this very realization which yields the most liberating feeling of all. (Written on 19 December 2009)

"Life, everyday practical activities, convince us that the world exists it is of a material nature objectively, independently of man, of his consciousness, sensations and desires." – O. Yakhot

Red Youth in Moscow's Zoya Kosmodemyanska Museum

Mike — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:39:28 -0500

Most people who know me – even in passing – know of my profound interest in Soviet and Russian history. Back in June of this year, my years of interest and study culminated in the completion of my self-published book project, Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The book chronicles the life and martyrdom of Zoya Kosmodemyanska, one of the best-known and most loved heroines of the Soviet Union’s war against fascist Germany. Regular readers to this site know that I had a lot of help on this project and a lot of support for my efforts as well.

In the months that have followed since the initial release of the book, I have received kind words and encouragement from many different places in the world and I have shipped copies all over the United States and as far away as the Middle East and Australia. I also shipped a copy to Peyman Piran, one of the Iranian students to whom the book is dedicated. Last month, I filled a wholesale order for Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore and they are now selling copies online and in their store.

I am, of course, very happy to sell copies of the book to anyone with an interest in Zoya’s story. But one of the greatest honors thus far just happened this week. My friend Nina Lebed lives in Russia and she was kind enough to take a copy to the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow. On Tuesday November 24, 2009 she presented a copy of the book to Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna who will place the book into the collection of materials at the museum.

To have this book placed upon so many important documents and exhibits related to Zoya and her brother Shura is one of the most tremendous accomplishments of my life and I am grateful to Nina and everyone else who helped to bring about this honor.

Museum Director Natalia Valentinovna holding the
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum’s newly acquired copy of Red Youth.

The book will be added to this case which contains works
about Zoya from around the world.

Red Youth sits atop Zoya’s primary school desk.

Closeup of Red Youth on Zoya’s desk.

Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War is available for purchase through Erythrós Press and Media.

On Building the Polemic

Mike — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:34:37 -0500

You don’t have to be a Marxist to appreciate the fact that few people have ever been so skilled at building polemic arguments as V.I. Lenin. Consider this passage from his 1915 work New Data on the Laws Governing the Development of Capitalism in Agriculture in which Lenin set out to refute the assertions of a prominent Russian economist of the day:

All these assertions are monstrously untrue. They are in direct contradiction to reality. They are a sheer mockery of the truth. Their incorrectness ought to be explained in detail for a very good reason…

The argument that follows this introduction is as painstakingly detailed and spot-on as required, which is a necessity given the subject matter at hand. From the caustic polemic follows a methodical deconstruction that is then buttressed by a wealth of relevant statistical data. The balance of the piece is a resounding quod erat demonstrandum.

Such an introduction to a complex and multifaceted debate immediately compels the reader to accept the infallibility of the forthcoming counterpoint(s). It’s a methodical attack, meant to undermine the fallacious claims of an opponent while simultaneously and explicitly asserting the validity of the immediate arguments.

This method is among the more useful and effective tactics in both the most simple and complex of political debates.

The Balmoral Estate Appeal

Mike — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:58:44 -0500

Signifying a sharp turn in working class movement in Sri Lanka, the plantation workers of Balmoral Estate in hill country recently took a bold step forward to establish an action committee. After weeks of preliminary strike actions which were, in turn, met with numerous betrayals by reactionary trade unions, Sri Lankan workers are still engaged in an important struggle.

The Balmoral Estate Action Committee recently published an appeal to all workers which includes a bold vision statement and call to action:

We, the workers of the Balmoral Estate in Agarapathana, have formed our own Action Committee to fight for our rights and call on workers throughout the plantations and other sections of industry to do the same.

We have taken this step because we have no faith in any of the trade unions that have sold us out time and time again. All the plantation unions are working with the employers and the government to force us to accept another two years of poverty-level wages.

(Read the full statement here)

The organization of the Balmore Estate labor force constitutes an important development not only within Sri Lanka but on an international scale as well. Working people and students everywhere can learn from the bravery and vision of these plantation workers. Their struggle exemplifies the vision of Indian political theorists like D.D. Kosambi who captured the very essence of workers' movements in the conclusion to his 1939 piece The Kanpur Road:

My place was not with the heroes, but with the rabble, with the men who had been pressed into the ranks by force of arms, or force of hunger, with nothing to fight or work for and little to gain; whose function in the epics was to be slaughtered by the heroes; whose role, according to the historians, was to provide a mere background for the deeds of great men. The heroes of a money-making society rose from the people, at the expense of the people; I could rise only with the common people.

2009 Mid-Ohio Con

Mike — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:39:37 -0400

It's been a few years since the last time I attended the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus. A lot has changed in that short space of time. Then again, some things have stayed the same, too. What's changed is that money is quite a bit tighter for us these days. When I started planning to attend this year's event, I knew that I wouldn't have the kind of "mad money" that I had back in 2006. At the 2006 Mid-Ohio Con, I was able to land some pretty remarkable finds, including a classic that had eluded me for a very long time, Captain Marvel #100 (1949). That particular book was a landmark find for me, as it cracked the elite ranks of my comic book "Wall of Fame." It was truly an exciting find and it was one of my best comic con purchases ever.

Airboy, vol. 4, number 1
(1947)

My interests have changed since 2006 as well, as I've spent a good deal of the last 18 months or so working on the project that ultimately became the book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Add to that the fact that I've been busy with the guys from The Wrestling Daily to produce our new site that is coming along very well these days. Each week seems to bring something new for TWD and we seem to have real potential for terrific growth. It's time-consuming but tremendously exciting stuff.

As far as my taste in comics, that's still pretty much the same. I took a printout of my partial inventory with me to the Con and, as usual, I was on the lookout for affordable copies of Golden Age Air Fighters and Airboy issues. I am also always looking to fill gaps in my collections of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom: Spaceknight so that I might end up with full runs of each series. After all these years, I am still a sucker for the Bronze Age stuff.

Since my spending money was on the lean side, I figured I'd be pickier than usual and my expectations were pretty low as far as making a big score this year. Hillman comics seemed to be pretty scarce. I did find a dealer out of Louisville who handed me a nice stack of Airboy issues to look though, but the average price on the books was about $125. Here and there I found other copies of Airboy comics, ranging in price from about $40 to $185 or so. It was the first big comic con I've attended in a while that didn't seem to have any copies of Real Clue or Headline Comics and that was kind of disappointing.

I found one dealer who was more or less liquidating his inventory and he had a copy of Airboy volume 4, number 1 (1947) marked at $30 but he was also offering it at 50% off. I made a note of it and a few booths down the way, I found the same issue for $185! Needless to say, I walked back to the other guy and bought his copy for $15. It's got tape on the spine, but it's complete and the cover displays well. And it was way cheap, too. Those are the most important things to me when it comes to acquiring Golden Age books for my collection.

There were a couple of pro wrestling booths at Mid-Ohio and I took the opportunity to do a little networking on behalf of TWD. One guy specialized in old school DVDs and we had a nice chat about industry business. He was also nice enough to let me have whatever DVDs I wanted for $5 each. Among the DVDs I scored was a disc that features the complete ECW/USWA feud. I watched most of it last night and I have to say it is the most tremendous display of action and storytelling I have ever seen in the world of pro wrestling. This series has the best shoot promos from Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette, Tommy Dreamer, Beulah McGillicutty and a lot of other huge names. Incidentally, I think Beulah's "eye for an eye" promo about Tommy Dreamer's injured testicles might just be my new favorite promo piece of all time. The matchups feature so many ECW originals that it's hard to even list them all from memory. I think when it' all said and done, this might be one of my favorite "unofficial" DVD compilations of all time.

I also got some face time with a promoter from an up-and-coming regional promotion and he seemed pretty interested in what we're doing at TWD. There seems to be a good chance that we might work together in the near future.

Marv Wolfman was in attendance at Mid-Ohio. I met him at the 2008 Gem City Comic Con and he didn't seem too interested in talking that day. Luckily, he was in very good spirits this time and he was happy to sign my trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I also presented him with Total Eclipse #1, explaining that I love Eclipse Comics and that I had just re-read the entire mini-series over the summer. I told him that the editors had bragged that Total Eclipse was Marv's "most complex" plot to date and when he heard that he rolled his eyes, saying he was never really pleased with that particular series. He explained why, confirming a little of what I have previously heard about Eclipse. It was a pretty fascinating glimpse into the business side of the comics industry and it was especially noteworthy to hear It from such a legendary writer like Wolfman. He was not terribly nostalgic for the Eclispe days, but to me, Eclipse will always stand out as a tremendous source for great storytelling, particularly with their resurrection of so many Golden-Age characters. Before I moved on, I shared with Marv that his writing has been a huge influence on me for the better part of my life now and I thanked him for that. He was very gracious and it was a positive experience for me.

Marvel Two-In-One #24
(1977)

I don't usually sell or trade comics, but I did take a copy of Zoo Funnies #3 (1945) with me in hopes that I could unload it for cash or credit. It's generally considered the first Charlton comic book ever. A couple of the people I showed it to were intrigued with its historical significance as a Charlton comic but they were also quick to add that "funny animal" stuff doesn't sell these days. Whatever. After striking out with about 4 dealers, I ended up finding a guy who was willing to trade me for it, offering 20 comics from his inventory in exchange for my one book. As luck would have it, he had a ton of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom issues, so I made out pretty well. I also landed a Marvel Two-in-One featuring Black Goliath (another one of my favorite Marvel Bronze Age characters) and a few copies of The Flash from the mid 1980s. One day I hope to put together a full run of the Silver Age Flash series as well. So I guess I ended up with a nice haul after all.

Mid-Ohio is a nice experience and all, but in times like these, a $15 admission fee is more than a little steep. It took patience and tenacity on my part to find a handful of good deals this year. Still, I got to see a lot of nice comics and toys and I ended up with some nice new additions to my collection. Now if I only had time to read all of these comics that I just bought…

Site additions

Mike — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:34:40 -0400

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally managed to find some time to add some new content to our archive of materials dedicated to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

The index page of the archive now features a new collage of images from Zoya’s life and beyond. Also featured on the page is a banner ad for the book Red Youth, which is still on sale from Erythrós Press and Media. It’s also worth mentioning that Red Youth recently received a very favorable review from The Marxist-Leninist, which is one of the better political blogs on the Internet. You can read the review here.

We have added a few images to our Post Card Gallery of single-issue cards and selections from sets. The new images in this gallery include:

-   A Soviet-era card from around 1943, likely one of the earliest post cards featuring Zoya’s image.

-   A card from the 1950’s which features both a black-and-white portrait of Zoya and an artist’s depiction of her speech before her execution at Petrischchevo.

-    An undated color print of what appears to be an oil painting of Zoya, dated 1953.

Tanya Solomakha

Also in this image gallery is a new favorite of mine, a 1964 artist’s depiction of Young Pioneers laying flowers at the base of a statue of Zoya. I happened upon this by complete accident on eBay one evening. Although the card was not specifically listed as being related to Zoya, I noticed the Russian inscription of her name at the base of the statue and thought this would be a great piece for our collection.

Finally, we’ve posted a series of photographs taken by our friend Nina Lebed during her trip to the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Museum in Moscow earlier this year. The pictures show some fantastic exhibits of property, documents and literature related to the Kosmodemyanskie. Of particular interest to me was the picture of Tatiana "Tanya" Solomakha, the heroine of the Russian Civil War whose story was especially important to young Zoya both in childhood and as a young partisan.All in all, these are great photos of a place that I very much hope to visit someday. Many thanks to you, Nina!

Reminiscences of Canada (2009)

Mike — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:28:06 -0400

Ontario, Canada is one of my favorite places in the world. We’ve visited the area a number of times over the years and every trip has yielded great memories. One of my favorite visits was our trip to Toronto in 2005. Z. was just over one year old and the four of us – with Z. in her stroller – came to know the city well, opting to travel from place to place mostly on foot and through the use of the city’s subway system. In our short time in Toronto, we came to appreciate the omnipresence of hospitality and diversity on the streets of the city.

While visiting Niagara Falls in 2008, I reflected a bit on the trip to Toronto as well as on all of our visits to the area from years past. I had been reading a lot of Allen Ginsberg’s work around this time and – although I’m not comparing my work to his – I can honestly say that I felt his influence as I sat at the desk in our hotel room one night. With that in mind, I took pen in hand and wrote about my appreciation for Canada in verse.

Our northern excursions have been on my mind again lately, especially because I now enjoy regular correspondence with a number of friends who live throughout Canada. Up to now, the only person with whom I’ve ever shared a single one of my poems is Thomaï. She always been kind to me, which is something I truly appreciate. However, I am certain that the support and encouragement of one’s spouse is not really the most accurate gauge as to the quality one's particular work. So, I thought that now might be as good a time as any to share this poem with everyone who might be interested in knowing something of my affection for Canada and its people.

Canada, I Love You

Canada, I love you
for your Loonies and Toonies,
and your healthcare for everyone,
and how you told America to “suck it” over the wars.
I love you for your Horseshoe Falls,
for your legions of French-speakers,
and all your diversity on the streets.
For your Maple Leafs,
and the mother of three
who said, “Look at the fireworks, eh!”
I love you for your “No tax on Maple Syrup!”
and your QEW,
and for the stand against WTO in Montréal.
I love you for your cosmopolitan cities,
with your street-corners full of congregations:
men of faith, break-dancers and drummers,
Hekmatists spreading the word,
men holding hands on the subway,
black folks, asians, “whitefolk” –
melting together in a river of humanity.
Canada, you are not the United States of America,
and I love you for it.

23 July 2008; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
[Revised 31 July - 1 August 2009; Dayton, Ohio]