Author Archive
November 21, 2014 by tomdalzell
A House for Mr. Biswas – V.S. Naipaul’s Trinidad Novels
We started with this on Durant: It made me think of this: Or this: Between 1956 and 1960, V.S. Naipaul wrote five novels set in his native Trinidad, celebrating the culture and community of Indian immigrants. I read these books in my twenties. I bought first editions at Moe’s and Shakespeare’s. I wasn’t a collector, […]
November 21, 2014 by tomdalzell
Hidden Murals
Murals come and murals go. Some are still here, but we wouldn’t know it if we were not paying close attention. I have elsewhere included photos of three that fit into this category of not gone but forgotten (or not easily seen). First, Jane Norling‘s mural celebrating the Sandinista literacy campaign in Nicaragua. You […]
November 21, 2014 by tomdalzell
Right Wing Murals
My friend sagely pointed out that to the extent that there is a political message in a mural, the message is more often than not left-wing. He was entranced, though, with a series of photographs that a friend of his sent him from Cleveland of a series of right-wing, anti-semitic murals on a convenience store. […]
November 20, 2014 by tomdalzell
Trinity Church Mural
November 15, 2014 by tomdalzell
Gone: Sexual Freedom League (And a Look at Body Freedom)
Berkeley was known for many things before the 1960s. Among them, one would not find relaxed sexual mores. That would come later. In 1949, Alfred Kinsey spoke to almost 10,000 students at Harmon Gym. In 1947 he had founded the Institute for Sex Research at the University of Indiana. In 1948 he published Sexual Behavior in […]
November 15, 2014 by tomdalzell
Theremin Albums
The theremin is one of the earlier electronic instruments. The thereminist plays the instrument without physical contact. The instrument senses the relative position of the thereminist’s hands. It was invented and patented by Russian Lev Sergeevich Termen, known in the West as Leon Theremin, in 1928. Our primary association with the theremin is probably the Beach […]
November 10, 2014 by tomdalzell
Downtown
In the winter of 1964-1965, rock and roll was not without its weak moments. Herman’s Hermits with “Henry the Eighth” is one example. Petula Clark with “Downtown” is another. That said, I sort of liked the song for a while. I was in 8th grade. I am sure that I liked worse songs. My […]
November 10, 2014 by tomdalzell
Music, Artistic Depicitions Thereof
In Berkeley we can see music as well as hear it. I have a fair amount to say about the now-gone music scene in Berkeley, but this is different. Not music that we hear, but artistic depictions of music in one form or another. Let me show you what I mean, with a few […]
November 10, 2014 by tomdalzell
Field Trip to Detroit
My friend is planning a field trip to his hometown – Detroit. On the drive, he wants to sing “Papa Hobo” by Paul Simon and dream of “carbon monoxide, that Detroit perfume” and the “automotive dream.” When we think of Detroit, we think of: 1) The Automobile. The industry. The United Auto Workers. The […]
November 9, 2014 by tomdalzell