Michael Lang

Speaking of Woodstock, here is me with Music producer and one of the chief figures who made Woodstock possible, Michael Lang during a stop at the Odyssey Book store in the center of South Hadley to promote his new book “The Road to Woodstock”.

A Piece of Woodstock is Coming to the Valley

Just discovered the other day that Michael Lang, one of the young architects behind Woodstock, which brought together a cornucopia of revolutionary rock and folk acts to the quaint rural upstate New York landscape as well as legions of young and idealistic, and sent forth a tremor of bemusement, joy, and wonder; will be swinging by the Valley.

He will be appearing at the Odyssey Book store in the center of South Hadley to speak about his latest book “The Road to Woodstock: The Man Behind the Legendary Festival”, on Thursday July 23 at 7PM.

"1984" sixty years later

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe celebrates the George Orwell’s 1949 classic 1984 . This cautionary tale of unchecked power and a totalitarian government that demands complete subordination and submission turns 60 this month.

Whether or not poor Winston understood, the totalitarians (and would-be totalitarians) of 1949 certainly did. Stalin’s Pravda blasted “Nineteen Eighty-Four’’ for its supposed “contempt for the people,’’ while the American Communist journal Masses and Mainstream, in a review titled “Maggot-of-the-Month,’’ trashed it as a “diatribe against the human race’’ and “cynical rot.’’ But in most of the free world it was acclaimed as an instant classic. “No other work of this generation,’’ declared The New York Times in its review, “has made us desire freedom more earnestly or loathe tyranny with such fullness.’’

Even now, it is hard to think of any novel that can match “Nineteen Eighty-Four’’ in its insight into the totalitarian mindset. Orwell captured so much of it: The insatiable lust for power. The lies incessantly broadcast as truth. The assault on free thought as both sickness and crime. The corruption of language. The brazen rewriting of history. The use of technology to make privacy impossible. The repression of sexuality. Above all, the zealous crushing of individual identity and liberty. “If you want a picture of the future,’’ O’Brien tells Winston during his interrogation and torture, “imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.’’

Mein Kampf a Secret to Success in India????

In India it seems that Mein Kampf written of course by former Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler has recently become a best seller according to recent reports in the London Daily Telegraph. Business students seem to be big into it and see it as somewhat of a Horatio Alger type meets Donald Trump story, but of course unlike either of them Hitler oversaw the murder of six million Jews not to mention other groups of people both German and non-German as well as the enslavement of much of the globe.

Booksellers told The Daily Telegraph that while it is regarded in most countries as a ‘Nazi Bible’, in India it is considered a management guide in the mould of Spencer Johnson’s “Who Moved My Cheese”.

Sales of the book over the last six months topped 10,000 in New Delhi alone, according to leading stores, who said it appeared to be becoming more popular with every year.

Several said the surge in sales was due to demand from students who see it as a self-improvement and management strategy guide for aspiring business leaders, and who were happy to cite it as an inspiration.

“Students are increasingly coming in asking for it and we’re happy to sell it to them,” said Sohin Lakhani, owner of Mumbai-based Embassy books who reprints Mein Kampf every quarter and shrugs off any moral issues in publishing the book.

“They see it as a kind of success story where one man can have a vision, work out a plan on how to implement it and then successfully complete it”

Do I still believe in not banning books? Yes, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t disturbing in at least six million different ways.

Banned Books

Before I go away for the weekend, here is a list of the top ten most requested books that were requested to be pulled from the shelves. According to the American Library Association (ALA) there were 513 such requests in 2008.

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, violence
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited to age group
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10.Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.

One question aside from why do we still ban books? Why is nudity considered criteria for banning a book?

A thanks and a Plug

Norman Macaffee, the author of one of my favorite books “The Gospel According to RFK”, wrote this on my wordpress blog:

Thank you for your kind words about “The Gospel According to RFK”.

By the way, there is a new, updated, expanded paperback edition published for the 40th anniversary of RFK’s campaign.

http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-RFK-Norman-Macafee/dp/0465003583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203961481&sr=1-2

I’m blogging now:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norman-macafee

All very best,

Norman

GOP Obviously Needs Lessons in Literature.

Especially as it pertains to George Orwell’s classic and cautionary tale of totalitarianism 1984. The chairman of the GOP now refers to the war room in Denver, designed to rebut claims by speakers at the Democratic Convention against Republican presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Could this be a Freudian slip? You decide. (H/T: TPM)

Wadhams described the GOP’s outfit thusly to the Denver Post: “Just consider this the Ministry of Truth.”

The article goes on to address what the “Ministry of Truth” was a propaganda censorship bureau that stifled dissent, glorified the tyrannical government, and rewrote history. Nice work! If this is the sentiment within the party, I guess that explains the wiretapping and excessive government secrecy peddled by the Bush/Cheney administration. Or maybe its just plain stupidity on this guys part.

First Draft Section of "On the Road"

Jack Kerouac and what one presumes to be the infamous scroll spaning over 100 feet on which the first draft of “On the Road” is written.

A relic of one of the most popular literary works of recent decades, will be showcased at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, at the University of Texas.

A portion of the lengthy first draft of Jack Kerouac’s Beat generation classic “On the Road”, will be on display. The first draft is a 48 foot portion of the larger scroll, spanning 120 feet, with the pages baring the proofreading marks like scars and not segregated by chapters nor paragraphs.

Just a wild cascading river into a nomadic writer’s travels and the subculture of drifters and non-conformity bubbling with life beneath the iconic picture perfect “Leave it to Beaver”, “we Like Ike” squeaky clean exterior of post World War II America, in various enclaves and souls across the American landscape.

The section of the “On The Road” draft will be open to visitors until June 1 as part of a broader exhibit on the Beat Generation.