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Month: September 2007

The Ugly Truth About Austin

September 25, 2007 • • 1 Comment

Old folks around these parts tell of an abandoned settlement before Austin, before Waterloo.

An old journal, its pages yellowed and mouldy from the years, was discovered near Treaty Oak under the lesser known Agreement Oak (chopped down in 1881 to make room for a luxury high rise log cabin). The diary and a broken wagon wheel were all that was found among the bones and cattle skulls. The settlement had been wiped out, presumably by Comanches.

When they started reading the journal, which had to be translated from Spanish, the final entry sent chills down the spines of all who read it. It said (I’m paraphrasing, of course):

Everyone dead… All gone… Can’t… Breathe. No air. Eyes burning like hellfire. Ragweed… Fall Elm…

Nose running. Can’t see… Can’t… clear sinuses.

Drums… Drums in the deep…

Scholars presumed the text to be apocrypha from some breakaway sect’s Book of Mormon. Whatever it was, the warnings weren’t heeded.

(cross-posted at In the Pink Texas)

1215: The Year of Magna Carta

September 24, 2007 • • Leave a comment

I so thoroughly enjoyed Danny Danziger & Robert Lacey’s The Year 1000, I read the (sort of) follow up, 1215: The Year of Magna Carta by Danziger and John Gillingham. It isn’t so much about the Magna Carta as it is about life in England during that time including the events that led to the rebellion against the intolerable King John and his signing of the Magna Carta despite the fact that the pope quickly deemed it unholy.

Like The Year 1000, 1215 is a popular history offering an overview of a complex society in a time of profound change, the period in which England became less French and more English. The authors (whose introduction blames any mistakes on each other) sacrifice depth for breadth and cover education, religion, warfare, forest law, trial by ordeal, the crusades, castles and a staggering number of other topics, always coming back to what the Magna Carta reveals about the thinking of the times.

Much is written also about the kings of the years leading up to 1215, particularly Henry II and Richard the Lionhearted, the immediate successors to King John. It is John’s errors and villainy, however, that led to Magna Carta, and I found it interesting how the writers managed to tie every one of their subjects into the larger issues of the day, leading ultimately to Runnymede.

I find it wonderfully exciting, suddenly diving back into European history, a subject I have given less attention than deserved since finishing the required courses in college. For years, the history I read was either modern or concerned itself with ancient America. Now, I find there is much I didn’t know, and much that I had forgotten (what a great thing to be reminded of knowledge I’d thought lost in the nooks and crannies of my mind!)

I am also surprised by how much I did know, though without context, the filing system that is my mind had treated history as scraps of paper full of interesting information scattered across a desk that hadn’t seen a clean in years. Creating narrative cleans the desk.

Five Year Old Evening

September 21, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Sometimes I flip through my paper journal to see what I wrote in the past. Here’s the entry for 9.20.02…

So now, lounging in the cool outdoors,
September eve, and the trees do shake,
Clouds mix with vapor trails,
Marring the frank permanence of the autumn sky.

That permanence is an illusion.

When heat returns,
The sky shifts like a liar,
Remembering its whiter, plainer side.

The Story of English

September 21, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Last week when I was asked about hanged and hung, I started wondering more about the history and development of the English language. I knew generally about the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes and 1066 and all that, but I wanted to go deeper. Sitting in the library at home, a book caught my eye: The Story of English. I don’t know where it came from, but I’ve had it for years and had never read it.

The book is a companion to a PBS mini-series circa 1985 and so some of the modern examples are a bit dated, but it traces the development and history of the language from it’s origins as the language of the Anglo-Saxons up through its many manifestations.

The book highlights the importance of Scots, Irish and American English to what we might now call standard international English. Additionally it covers the development of Australian, New Zealand, and South African English.

Most interesting is the treatment given to so-called third world Englishes, those of India, Jamaica, West Africa and Singapore, places where nations once owned (as opposed to settled) by the British are attempting to develop their own unique voice.

Combination history and current events (again circa ’85), The Story of English is a fascinating read that constantly surprised me with how much I didn’t already know. There is a revised and updated version available. Perhaps I’ll have to check it out to see what’s changed since ’85.

As an interesting aside, The New York Times reports this week that nearly half of the world’s languages are likely to be extinct by the end of the century. Part of this is due to the increasing adoption of English as the international language, although I wonder how many new languages will be born as people around the world localize English and evolve it to suit their own purposes.

The Year 1000

September 19, 2007 • • 3 Comments

The Year 1000 by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger is a very broad and highly entertaining overview of life in England around the year 1000. The title kind of gives it away, I suppose.

The book follows the rhythm of the seasons, describing what life was like in each month for the typical Anglo-Saxon with fascinating digressions into language, religion, medicine, warfare, politics, law and commerce. This is a popular history that reminds me of those Discovery channel shows that jump from topic to related topic to provide a glimpse of a culture, a window to a time.

More than anything else, The Year 1000 is teeming with interesting facts and short explanations that the reader could conceivably relate to friends in the did-you-know manner of discussing history.

For instance, did you know that for the right of English merchants to trade in Pavia, the English crown had to pay fifty pounds of silver, two shields, swords and lances, and two FINE GREYHOUNDS with gilded and embossed collars?

All told, a fun and informative little book for those of us who have forgotten a lot of the history we didn’t really pay attention to the first time around. It would probably be a good read to open an AP English IV class before diving into Beowulf.

ACL Fest Day 3

September 17, 2007 • • 3 Comments

Yesterday was the longest day since we had to be there at 1230 for Yo La Tengo’s set. This is a band I love to hear, and they’ve never disappointed live. The selections from their new(ish) album I Am Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass, played well, but the closer, Painful‘s “I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long” became an extended feedback drenched jam was the highlight of the set. YLT should have been the festival closer, but it was nice seeing them early before the heat and crowds got too bad.

STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector Nine) was a new discovery. They jammed for an hour. I would have happily enjoyed a second hour. Reminiscent of Particle, but without the Pink Floyd undercurrent (and covers). By the end of STS9’s set, the heat drove us back to the WaMu stage to see who was there. I was not disappointed.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals played a rootsy set with lots of space for extended jams. Charlie Musselwhite came on next with a set of old-school electric blues that got me out of my comfy chair.

We trekked out into the heat for Lucinda Williams. Good as always, especially her cover of The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm.”

Wilco was next for us. This is the third time I’ve seen them at ACL, and they were solid. I haven’t heard the new album, but they played some cuts from it as well as from the previous three. I particularly enjoyed the Yankee-Hotel-Foxtrotization of some of the tunes from Summer Teeth, particularly “Via Chicago” and “A Shot in the Arm.” If not Yo La Tengo, they should have closed ACL.

Next came the much touted Ghostland Observatory, local boys done good. Their insane combination of dance beats, sampling, and keyboards made for a cool and energetic act, but only when the singer was playing guitar. He has a good sound and without that guitar it was all a little too techno-dance for my taste. The laser show was cool, though.

Bob Dylan was the festival closer. Why, I’ll never know. We saw him open for the Dead in ’95 and were left underwhelmed. Perhaps if I had been around in the late sixties, I would have more appreciation for him. I know his lyrics are good (best in the hands of others), but he’s just not much of a performer. Further adding to our early departure was the fact that at the back of the crowd, you just couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t even hear that there was anyone playing. A festival closer should rock, at least loud enough that the ticket buyers in the back can hear. As we walked toward restaurant row, heading toward the car, we could finally hear some of his set. We didn’t miss much.

ACL Fest Day 2

September 16, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Yesterday’s schedule was such that we didn’t feel compelled to arrive until after four.

We started with Ocote Soul Sounds, a latin style jazzy funky operation that sometimes reminded me of Donald Byrd and sometimes like a Beastie Boys instrumental. Good stuff, and another act whose recordings I’ll have to check out.

We stayed in the shade of the trees behind the WaMu tent for the zydeco band Beau Soliel. Again, time well spent.

By the time Kelly Willis came on at 6:30, the day had cooled into a pleasant evening, and her Austin country was just the thing to bring down the sun.

After Willis, we went over to dig the Indigo Girls set, which turned out to be remarkably good. In fact, it was one of my favorites of the festival, so far. They opened with “Galileo” and played many of their hits, including everyone’s favorite (and mine) “Closer to Fine.” For the last third of their show, they were joined by 3-5-Human, the band that’s opening their tour, at which point they took the proceedings in a more rockin’ direction, propelling the show to a raucous close.

Then, we went home.

ACL Fest Day 1

September 15, 2007 • • Leave a comment

We arrived along with the fire trucks, ambulances and Haz-Mat team, but went in anyway. By the time we were through the gates, the fire was out and the four injured workers were on their way to the hospital.

This year’s ACL schedule is short on artists that I really want to see, which is kind of cool because it opens me up to making discoveries. I am not among those wailing and gnashing their teeth because the White Stripes canceled at the last minute.

We started with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, whose music is impossibly upbeat and funky. Definitely the best banjo-sax-bass-synthaxe drumitar combo around. They wound their set down with a very cool cover of The Beatles “Come Together,” making them the only live act I’ve ever heard cover The Beatles.

From there, we went to the WaMu tent where over the past years I’ve learned to really appreciate old-school funk and gospel. Oftentimes, these bands are the most fun to hear live. The Dynamites with Charles Walker were no exception.

We caught some of Joss Stone’s set on one of the big stages and then went back to WaMu for some of Big Sam’s Funky Nation and then back for the rest of Stone’s set. She was good, polished and powerful and clearly having a good time. Hard to believe she’s just 19.

I walked past MIA’s angry-ranting-over-beats (some kind of political hip hop) and caught most of Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective’s set while waiting in Hoffbrau Steakhouse’s line. They were quite good, riding a spirited Brizilian native music meets funk kind of vibe that made waiting in line really easy.

Austin’s own™ Spoon played a decent set that was far more interesting than when I heard them at ACL five years ago. After Spoon, we saw Gotan Project, whose Argentina-by-way-of-France sound combined DJs and electronic instruments with tango-style guitar and concertina work to sound like something you might find on a Thievery Corporation record. Gotan was definitely the highlight of the day. I suspect I’ll be checking out their CDs in the near future.

We left Gotan to hear Reverend Horton Heat. I’ve seen the reverend far more times than I can remember, but it’s been a while. I’ve always loved the way he plays guitar, and it was a treat to hear him open with a string of my favorites including “Big Sky,” “Baddest of the Bad,” and “Five-0 Ford.” It was like ’94 all over again.

After rocking out with Rev. Heat, we caught the last of Gotan’s set and settled in for headliner Björk. I had never heard her or her previous outfit The Sugarcubes. What I heard was haunting, often beautiful, and definitely something I would check out on CD, but at the end of the day, my hunger and desire to be on my way were more powerful than her and her green laser that twisted out over Zilker park.

Overall, it was a fun day and thankfully the weather wasn’t bad. It was hot at times, but never unbearable. The only regret is that I wish I had stayed and caught more of Blonde Redhead’s set. I heard the first part as I was walking by, and they sounded good. I’ll have to check out their recordings sometime.

Well, I’ll Be Hanged. Or is it Hung?

September 13, 2007 • • 3 Comments

This week we’ve been reading Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the tale of an imaginative spy’s hanging. At one point in the discussion, a student asked an interesting question: “Why do they say, ‘they hanged a man’ instead of ‘they hung a man?'”Rather than just make something up, I decided to go off the lesson plan (winging it is really where the best teaching happens anyway) and help them figure it out. Besides, I wanted to know.

We went online to look for an etymological dictionary and found this. Looking up “hanged” produces this result:

a fusion of O.E. hon “suspend” (transitive, class VII strong verb; past tense heng, pp. hangen), and O.E. hangian (weak, intransitive, past tense hangode) “be suspended;” also probably influenced by O.N. hengja “suspend,” and hanga “be suspended.” All from P.Gmc. *khang-, from PIE *keng– “to waver, be in suspense” (cf. Goth. hahan, Hittite gang– “to hang,” Skt. sankate “wavers,” L. cunctari “to delay;” see also second element in Stonehenge). Hung emerged as pp. 16c. in northern England dial., and hanged endured only in legal language (which tends to be conservative) and metaphors extended from it (I’ll be hanged).

Fascinating for me and also for my kids, many of whom never thought about the fact that each word we use actually has a history and a story about why it is spelled and pronounced the way it is.

Being smart researchers, we decided to check a second source, dictionary.com, which had this:

Hang has two forms for the past tense and past participle, hanged and hung. The historically older form hanged is now used exclusively in the sense of causing or putting to death: He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead. In the sense of legal execution, hung is also quite common and is standard in all types of speech and writing except in legal documents. When legal execution is not meant, hung has become the more frequent form: The prisoner hung himself in his cell.

So, we decided, the correct answer to the original question, as it is for so many is: Lawyers.

The kids enjoyed the exercise, though after having improvised my lesson for the day, I was left to wonder if I had winged it or wung it.

Voyages of Delusion

September 10, 2007 • • Leave a comment

Glyn Williams’s Voyages of Delusion caught my eye at Half Price Books a few years ago. A beautiful blue book with a tall ship navigating an icy sea superimposed over an eighteenth century map of North America most of which was still terra incognita, I had to buy it.

Sometimes it pays to judge a book by its cover when the cover is so striking. Of course, it still took two years to get around to reading it.

Voyages of Delusion tells the story of the eighteenth century quest for a navigable northwest passage between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific. Despite the fact that there was almost no evidence to suggest that such a passage existed, discovery expeditions were organized by armchair geographers and endured by the crews of ships who suffered unimaginable hardships in their quest to find what wasn’t there.

Williams opens with accounts of the expeditions from Hudson’s Bay where explorers invariably had to deal not just with the cold, but with the Hudson’s Bay Company which didn’t want potential rivals encroaching on their monopoly over trade in the Hudson’s Bay drainage (almost all of Canada east of the Rockies, though they didn’t know there was that much of it). Between expeditions, he tells the stories of the battles of competing maps of North America, most of which were entirely speculative, representing more the hopes of the geographers than the actual outlines of the coasts.

The second half of the book tells of the search from the Pacific side, including the third voyage of Captain Cook in which he “discovered” Hawaii on his way to the Bering Strait where he and his men charted much of the Alaskan coast, bridging the maps of the Russians in the north with the Spanish in the south.

It was the tales of the competing maps – some of which were based on completely fictional voyages – that I found particularly interesting. Having a lifelong love of maps and geography it was quite enlightening to learn about how the map of North America ultimately came to be through speculation, intrigue, lies and fantasy mixed with real exploration. It is ironic of course how much nonsense was published and accepted by various geographers in the Age of Reason, but then that irony along with the many reproductions of various speculative maps that Williams includes work to make the book so enjoyable.

By the end of the book, one feels great empathy for Captain Vancouver who after years of searching for a passage from the Pacific apparently took great satisfaction in finally proving that there was no navigable northwest passage, thus turning his failure to find the fabled passage into a triumph of exploration and experiment over wishful thinking.

Of course, due to global warming, there is one now.