Posted on August 8, 2008
minority the majority of population
Here we go again. Did you know, the census bureau recently released a report that said that by the year 2050 minorities (plural) will make up the majority of people in the U.S.? First of all, why is it necessary to count Americans according to racial categories? Race isn’t ethnicity, nor is it a nationality, nor is it an economic classification. We group distinct nationalities such as Japanese, Chinese and Indonesians together and call them Asian-Americans. Why? Are Americans with family ties to India categorized as Asian-American? I don’t know. I do know the Census Bureau sub-categorizes the white race into Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic whites which if we are classifying people solely by race, doesn’t make much sense. Speaking of not making much sense, first the Census Bureau classifies Americans by race then they take all the non-euro races and group them together to form a majority of minorities. Huh? I don’t think this statistical juggling would pass the scrutiny of my tenth grade math teacher.
And all this information on race is important to me because…? What minority tracking does tell me is that we white Euro- Americans (not native Americans, that’s another racial category) find it necessary to keep tabs on people that don’t look like us. When the minorities become the majority in 2050 will they have a need to track people by race?
Revised: The latest projections move the 2050 date up to 2042.
FollowPosted on August 8, 2008
culture war
I’ve recently received some e-mails with what I might characterize as political propaganda, unsubstantiated by facts. It is my belief that the people who circulate (fwd, fwd, fwd) such material have no idea of what the term “unsubstantiated by facts” really means. It has been reported that there is a culture war going on in the United States and in line with “all’s fair in love and war”, I’m going to assume that these e-mails are used to fire-up the troops.
Now the term “culture war” has always had me baffled. What exactly does it mean? Are there two separate set of lifestyles battling for the hearts and minds and traditions that comprise American culture? Is it that there is some entrenched mainstream culture that is being threatened by outside forces (the only constant in nature is change)? Some would say that the American culture is comprised of the traditions and beliefs that one conforms to to become part of the citizenry. I would posit that American culture is not comprised of a set of assumptions that people conform to, but rather that it is the mores and beliefs of the people who inhabit America that define the culture. If there is a defining element that sums up American culture it is that “We the People” are always at odds with one another over what constitutes an American culture.
In reading David O. Stewart’s The Summer of 1787 I came across several instances related to the creation of the constitution that might be topics for cable news, if it were around back then:
Three of the eight constitutional convention delegates from Pennsylvania were immigrants. (Could you be an illegal immigrant in the 1780’s?)
A delegate’s remark: “Manners and modes of thinking of the inhabitants (of different parts of the country) differ nearly as in different nations of Europe”.
After a suggestion by Benjamin Franklin that each session of the constitutional convention begin with a prayer, Alexander Hamilton answered that praying might give the public the idea that the delegates’ task was beyond their human abilities. Beside that, there was no money to pay a clergyman to conduct the prayers and the suggestion was scrapped.
I don’t know what this war is about. Seems as if this is a phantom war; people out to defend a culture that has never really stood still long enough to be defined.
Posted on August 6, 2008
tiger attacks
Did you know that there have recently been two tiger attacks in as many days? You might think that these attacks took place in, perhaps, the Indian state of Punjab or West Bengal. No. To help understand the global-ness of the times we live in, the two unrelated tiger attacks occurred in Missouri. See www.nytimes.com for details.
Posted on July 23, 2008
in hot water
Did you know that the state of Hawaii has passed a law requiring newly constructed homes built after 2010 to have solar hot water heaters. The future is always coming.
Posted on July 21, 2008
riverhead blues festival
On July 19th, my wife and I attended the 10th edition of the “Riverhead Blues Festival,” an outdoor music showcase held in downtown Riverhead, the county seat of suburban Suffolk County, New York. (Although it has been running for ten years, this is only the second time I’ve attended the festival.) Lasting for two days, the event is chock full of talented musicians playing for an attentive, appreciative audience. For me, it’s a unique type of setting for a festival – the three distinct venues that comprise the event add to what I can only categorize as a complete blues experience.
Riverhead is one of those aged downtown areas where some of the buildings date to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Like other downtown areas of similar character, it is constantly working to be reborn. Riverhead seems to be succeeding. The three venues that comprise the festival are situated at one of the main intersections in town. Although the main festival area offers the usual clothing, craft and food kiosks associated with summer fairs, its proximity to Main Street allows concertgoers the opportunity to take a break from the music to visit the shops and eating establishments that are the permanent fixtures of downtown. The music from the outdoor stage wafts through town, keeping the atmosphere of the festival in the air for anyone seeking to temporarily trade the main stage for Main Street. Indeed, after a couple of hours spent outdoors watching the bands on the main stage, it’s a welcomed break to have dinner in a café or restaurant. After sitting on the grass for a couple of hours, it feels like quite a treat to sit at a table in air conditioning and be waited on. This is definitely not your usual blues festival experience (especially since patronizing a local eatery gives you the opportunity to use a real toilet). Once dinner’s over, you’re back in the street with other concert goers, refreshed and ready for another round of music!
We started the day around 4pm, on a blanket, in a shady spot on the side of the main outdoor stage. After dinner, we walked over to the Vail Leavitt Music Hall to catch the end of Bob Westcott’s set. A restored 300-seat theatre dating back to 1881, Vail’s small, intimate setting is perfect for solo blues artists and some of the smaller combos. When the set finished, we moved from the music hall next door to Club 91, the “roadhouse blues” venue. We walked in on Blue Roots, deep into their set with harmonica and guitars wailing. A few people were standing at the bar, a guy sitting behind a table poured beer from a couple of kegs sitting in ice packed garbage cans, and not far from him was the ever-present line of women waiting to use the ladies room. From the bar room you can see the backroom. The members of the band are crammed onto a small stage in the corner; the low ceiling insures that the air is stifling and hot. In front of the band, a small crowd of people are dancing and rockin’ out. When you’ve been going to clubs for as long as I have, it’s hard to imagine listening to that music in any other setting. Perfect!
Blue Roots was the last band for the night at Club 91, ending around eight o’clock. We walked out the back door of the club into the large public parking area and riverside park, which makes up the festival’s main concert area. Toby Walker was on stage.
We found our blanket that we had abandoned on the grass when we went to dinner, moved it a little closer to the stage, and just laid back and listened to the bands for another couple of hours.
As I mentioned earlier, the artists at Riverhead Blues play to an appreciative and attentive audience – think 30’s, 40’s and 50’s rather than teens and 20’s. The people who come to listen to the music do just that: they listen. Well, actually, they do other things too. There’s a lot of dancing and a lot of what I’d call groovin’ – you know, rocking and bopping and tapping, even some hand clapping. People are there for a good time. There is drinking, but it’s mostly responsible drinking (there’s always a few who overdo it, but their number was kept at a minimum).
When we were first discussing going to the festival, my wife asked, “Who’s going to be there?” My answer was “Nobody”, or at least nobody with any strong name recognition outside the local area. The artists closing out Saturday’s and Sunday’s shows respectively were Bernard Allison and Anna Popovic, two accomplished musicians whose success doesn’t really extend beyond the blues charts. But really, that’s the best part of the Riverhead Blues Festival. It’s a small showcase for dedicated performers to play to a respectful, responsive crowd. Personally, I’m looking forward to the next ten years bringing more of the same.
