This past Saturday Jackson and I went to Josey Records in Garland for a Weezer Listening Party. They were playing the new album, presumably called The Gold Album, which comes out next week. We got some nice swag and the record was good. Unlike the Jack White Listening Party they did not have the record available to purchase yet. Seemed kind of strange to me. Still it was fun. Weez on.
Well, I'm back to work so I'm thinking about our vacation right before the summer ended. We went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain Park. And it was Fantastic.
This 1938 work (revised in 1963) is considered the definitive history of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1803), the only successful slave revolt in history. Their leaders, Toussaint Louverture and Dessalines even defeated Napoleon in the process causing him to eventually sell off the Louisiana Territory to the United States. The Revolt had far reaching global consequences that reverberated for generations. I wanted to like this book more than I actually did
I found the first two thirds fascinating. But I found the last third pedantic and a chore. James frames the work from a Marxist argument which although compelling ultimately fell short in my eyes. I was looking forward to the denouement, the chapter on the French's failed invasion.
But the narrative wandered and became hard to follow. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It is a tragic story. Louverture was loyal to the French Revolution and wanted to remain tied to France. He resisted British efforts to make him an independent ruler. But Napoleon betrayed the Revolution and attempted to restore slavery to San Domingo. Toussaint and Dessalines were not going to allow that to happen. And they reluctantly fought off the French.
The French Revolution had declared the blacks free.
But when you read Napoleon's frighteningly racist correspondence, he was not going to accept a black leader of the colony. He paid the price for his racism and France lost the most valuable colony in the Caribbean. The story of Haiti (named by Dessalines after the original Taino name for San Domingo) since has often been one of tragedy as the principles of the Revolution have often been ignored by leaders in the service of their own ambition.
But all doubts were erased pretty quickly. This is a spectacular film to see on IMAX. The storytelling is great. It was an immersive experience.
Nolan stayed true to the source material with just a few slight variations here and there. It is a masterpiece of filmmaking.
Last Wednesday I went over to Good Records for a listening party to celebrate the release of Jack White’s newest album, Frozen Charlotte which came out two days later. Those of us who attended the party got early access to buy a special edition of the album that night. Small group, about 20-25 people. They played the record and then we got some swag. A fun time. A good album.
1956's Myths and Texts. Gary Snyder is one of my favorite poets. I read a couple of these poems from this collection before going to sleep the past few weeks. Very relaxing reads. Deep ecology and communing with nature. Very
Tao (or Dao if you prefer) like.
Went to Dead Wax Records in Garland and brought home 1967’s The Velvet Underground with Nico. This is new pressing by the original label, Verve Records. It even has the peeling banana sticker. I can’t afford an original pressing. They go for thousands of dollars. The Underground sound remarkably modern on this album. To think this was released the same year as Sgt. Peppers. Pepper is a great album but it is definitely a statement of a particular time and place. The Velvet Underground’s debut album sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday.
Today is our 28th anniversary. So we went to celebrate by going to an old fashioned music lounge to eat Italian food and listen to live music. It was a very nice evening
I had a fun two weeks in Louisville, Kentucky. Another AP Read complete and in the books. It was fun having Kim with me for some of the Read. Good to see The Wolfpack. L-Ville was a fun town. I hope to return next year and explore more of it.
