Lon McAllister in the Story of Seabiscuit

I recently read “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand. Here’s a quote from page 337:

“Hollywood took the tale of Seabiscuit’s life, deleted everything interesting, and made an inexcusably bad movie, “The Story of Seabiscuit,” starring Shirley Temple. They cast one of Seabiscuit’s sons in the title role. When they set up to film the War Admiral match race, they deliberately chose a woefully sluggish horse to play War Admiral. Unfortunately, the Seabiscuit son was even slower. Every time they tried to shoot the race, the colt playing War Admiral beat the colt playing Seabiscuit, no matter how hard the jockeys tried to prevent it. Eventually, they gave up and substituted film of the actual race.”

 My famous relative–or was he a friend of the family?–costarred in the movie with Shirley Temple. She didn’t think much of him. Because he was so short, they had to stand him up on a box in the scenes with her. “The Story of Seabiscuit” has got to be one of the worst films ever made. When they made the remake, “Seabiscuit,” they made a great and moving film.

 MILESTONES: Johnny Otis recently died. He was 90. He always considered himself black as that was the culture he grew up in. I remember the Johnny Otis Show aired on KPFA for decades. One of Johnny Otis’s discoveries was Etta James. She recently died in Riverside Community Hospital at age 73, about one week prior to her 74th birthday. Her signature ballad had to be “At Last,” sung out of the depth of experience.

Walter Johnson Dies at 87

MILESTONE:

Walter Johnson died last Thursday. He was 87. Here’s what Sen. Leland Yee had to say.

 

“Walter Johnson was an extraordinary leader for working families and served as a father figure and mentor to so many of us in public service. He always said that labor should be the conscience of our communities. He helped ensure that San Francisco became a welcoming city and he led by example—always fighting for the disadvantaged, for civil rights, and for justice. He will be sorely missed. I send my deepest condolences to his family and to all who loved him.”

 

When I was laid off from UCSF, Walter Johnson was instrumental in getting me rehired. When Carol died in 2004, Walter Johnson was at the memorial to express his condolences. I remember I always liked the funny labor poems he wrote. He was known for his humor.

 

Walter began his career helping to integrate the Woolworth’s lunch counter and getting arrested on auto row. He worked at Sears and following a strike for union recognition, he led the Retail Clerks Union, Local 1100, later the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). He was elected to the position of secretary-treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council in 1985 and retired in 2004. But he was still active in labor demonstrations, walking picket lines, and getting arrested at sit-ins.

Some of the Books I’ve been Reading

I just received the galleys for “What Makes Us Human” from Randy Fingland. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. He wants me to go over it very carefully to make the best book we can possibly make. Galleys? I’ve never received galleys before. I like this. Here is a list of some of my recently read books: “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”, #6 in the series by J.K. Rowling, “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett, “His Butler’s Story” by Edward Limonov, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” by B. Traven. Here’s another: “A Crack in the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906″ by Simon Winchester. The upper mantel of the Earth’s crust is a bell. Vibrate it on one side of the world, and it rings sympathetically on the other side. There is a website for autistic people called hackingautism.org. I haven’t checked it out yet, but it sounds interesting though.

WordPress Annual Report 2011 on My Blog

I got called up for jury duty in the first week of the New Year. So I had to go in to the superior court in South San Francisco on Wednesday. In the afternoon, though, the judge came into the room and told us that the case we were there for had been resolved, to the applause of everyone in the room. So I’m done with my jury duty for a year and can’t be called up again in 2012. I was glad too, because I was wondering how I was going to get there everyday in the morning. Sometimes I cannot go in because of the weather.

WordPress gave me a report on the status of my blog for the year 2011. The site had been viewed 1,500 times. There were 53 new posts in 2011 and 803 total archive posts. The busiest day of the year was April 11. I don’t know why. Some visitors came searching, mostly for rosemary manno, walking pneumonia and the boogie woogie blues, triangle fire, and threatening note on my car. Most visitors came from the US with Indonesia and Brazil following close behind. I have visitors from all the continents except Australia and Antarctica. My most viewed posts in 2011 were A Week of Storms on the Boat, The Walking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Blues, What I like about Listening to the Radio, Classical 102.1 KDFC Moves to 90.3 and Printing Bankruptcy Forms and Menus.

Some More Milestones from Late 2011

Etta James is terminally ill with leukemia and staying in her home in Riverside, California. She is 73. And yes, she’s a Riversider, too. Let’s hear it for the Riversiders.

MILESTONE:
Elsie Rich, holocaust survivor, has died. She was 110.

MILESTONE:
Cesaria Evora, 70, has died in her beloved Cape Verdean Islands.

MILESTONE:
Vasclav Havel has died. He was 75.

MILESTONE:
Kim Jung Il, North Korean dictator, has died. He was 69.

MILESTONE:
Warren Hellman, 77, philanthropist and financier, has died. He funded many of the arts in the Bay Area. He is probably best loved for the ever popular Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival annually in Golden Gate Park. He also founded the organization and magazine Bay Citizen.

MILESTONE:
Steve Tyler and Erin Brady are engaged to be married. It’s his third time around.

Goodbye to 2011

“Eureka!”—Archimedes, California State Motto

Goodbye to 2011. In 2011 it was ten years ago George Harrison died, twenty years ago Nirvana’s “Nevermind” debuted, thirty years ago Natalie Wood drowned off Catalina Island, and forty years ago “Our Bodies/Our Selves” came out: I feel like I’ve been around a few times.

“Yesterday is history. Tomorro is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”—written in the sidewalk in the Haight/Ashbury from the photo from Tom McHugh, I especially liked the spelling on the word “tomorro.”"

The UK’s Tesco is opening up a Fresh -N- Easy in San Jose, the first of many, this on 7th and Santa Clara downtown right across the street from City Hall, due sometime in the spring of 2012.

Two Presses Accept Carol’s Poetry

Jeanetta Calhoun Mish at Mongrel Empire Press in Oklahoma has accepted for publication our ms. of Carol’s selected poems called “Everyday is an Act of Resistance” to be out in 2012—in the summer? I think. Julia is happy. I’m stunned. They are looking for an author photo for the book. If you have one you like you can send it on to me.

Also, Randy Fingland at CC.Marimbo Press in Berkeley has accepted for publication in 2012 of my ms. of “What Makes Us Human,” which is the last part of the last book in Carol’s unpublished collected poems ms. She self-published most of the work previously under the title of “Fire.”

The commercial fishermen in Pillar Pt. Harbor staged an industrial action which was successful. The buyers were demanding $2.00 per pound of crab. The fishermen were asking for $2.50. All the commercial boats stayed in the harbor through the Thanksgiving Day weekend with the crab pots conspicuously piled up on the backs of the boats. On the following Monday the buyers offered $2.25 per pound. The fishermen accepted. They were able to do this because they had solidarity all up and down the coast.

The peace sign is back up on Pillar Point. Have a happy holiday, and happy new 2012 with books by Carol posthumously appearing at last.

Eleven Eleven Eleven of Course

Did you remember the fifth of November? Uh Huh. Me, too.

Today is 11-11-11, beginning at Greenwich Mean Time, November 11, Veterans Day in the US. I’m celebrating the 11′s.

“En la guerra, no hay soldados ilesos.”—Jose Narosky
“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.”—Jose Narosky

Meanwhile Quinoa (KEEN-wah) is the hot Inca cereal higher in ratings than most grains including wheat, tastes great, too.

Some of the Old and New Music on KFOG

Now the rain begins. It will be a wet row home. Now the Occupy people have to stand out in the elements one day after the first General Strike in Oakland since 1946, and it was successful. I wish them the best in the situation. It will be getting colder too soon also.

J.P. Morgan Chase in one of its commercials used “The Wind” by Cat Stevens. I haven’t heard it in awhile. Maybe they pulled it.

That “Money Grabber” by Fits and the Tantrums is a mean-spirited song. So is that “Pumped up Kicks” by Foster the People, but it has such infectious hooks, it’s hard not to sing along.

Some of the music I’ve been listening to on KFOG old and new includes “Lost in my Mind”, The Head and The Heart (They’re from Seattle.); “Roll Away Your Stone”, Mumford and Sons; “Just Breathe”, Pearl Jam; “This Is Why We Fight,” The Decemberists; “What It’s Like,” Everlast; “Walk on the Ocean,” Todd the Wet Sprocket; “Modern Man,” Arcade Fire; “I Might,” Wilco; “Stay Young, Go Dancing,” Death Cab for Cutie.

Occupy Half Moon Bay Beginning Today

“Old, stupid, bullshit-dressing, pinchy faced, golfing, bad hair-day people: I can’t bear Republicans.”–Cher, quoted in “Hollywood Wit” edited by Rosemary Jarski.

“All truth goes through three stages: First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.”–Arthur Schopenhauer, cited in “Eco Leadership: The Power of the Circle” by David Aubrey Berger

When US mayors met recently they said unemployment will not go down before 2020 or 2030. I hope they’re wrong.

In New York City, New York it is snowing and 34 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping back down below freezing tonight. It makes me think about the Occupy Wall Street protesters. I hope they’re finding ways to keep warm.

That reminds me, there was supposed to be an Occupy Half Moon Bay demonstration starting today, but when I went by the location at Highways 92 and 1 by the Twice As Nice store, I didn’t see anything happening. Maybe I’ll see them on my way back to the harbor.