The hero Joy Mukherjee is leaving his home for ever, and certainly there has got to be some major reason behind this drastic step. HIs wife appears suitably chastened, repentent, etc, but that is too little too late,the decision has been taken and there is no going back.

I call such situation as “chal ud ja re panchi” situation, and such occasions have inspired Bollywood movies to come up with some unforgettable songs. This song certainly belongs to that category.

Mukesh was a very good choice for singing such a song. The pain involved in an act like this, which is a major step in one’s life, that affects many other lives as well, comes through in his voice and can be felt to this day, every time one listens to this song.

Song-Hum chhod chale hain mehfil ko (Jee Chahta Hai 1964) Singer-Mukesh, Lyrics-Indeewar, MD- Kalyanji Anandji

Lyrics

ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko
yaad aaye kabhi to mat ronaa
ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko
yaad aaye kabhi to mat ronaa
is dil ko tasalli de lenaa,
ghabaraaye kabhi to mat ronaa
ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko …

ek khwaab saa dekhaa thaa hamne
ek khwaab saa dekhaa thaa hamne
jab aankh khuli to toot gayaa
jab aankh khuli to toot gayaa
ye pyaar tumhe sapnaa bankar
tadpaaye kabhi to mat ronaa
ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko

tum mere khayaalon mein khokar
tum mere khayaalon mein khokar
barbaad na karnaa jeewan ko
barbaad na karnaa jeewan ko
jab koyi saheli baat tumhein
samajhaaye kabhi to mat ronaa
ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko …

jeewan ke safar mein tanhaayi
jeewan ke safar mein tanhaayi
mujhko to na zindaa chhodegi
mujhko to na zindaa chhodegi
marne ki khabar ai, jaan-e-jigar
mil jaaye kabhi to mat ronaa
ham chhod chale hain mahfil ko
yaad aaye kabhi to mat ronaa
is dil ko tasalli de lenaa,
ghabaraaye kabhi to mat ronaa

Ok, I’ve never tried to write a movie plot summary, but I’m going to give this one a try.  I’m not spending a terribly long amount of time on getting it write so don’t shoot the blogger  ;-)  I link to lots of interesting things at the end.

Ladies, get out your tissue boxes and be prepared for one of those flicks that conjures that cathartic cry as you watch the lives of all of the characters unfold and the beautiful bond that forms between them in 1964 during a racially divided time in our country’s history.  Regardless of the issues of race, you cannot help but to fall in love with Lilly’s (Dakota Fanning) brave journey to connect the missing pieces about her deceased mother.  Lilly rescues Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), her care giver and worker on her father’s peach farm, from the hospital where she was recovering from being beaten on Lilly’s 14th birthday when 3 white men suspect Rosaleen is off to a secret meeting in town where Blacks were registering to vote.  Rosaleen had convinced T. Ray (Paul Bettany), Lilly’s abusive father, to have Lilly accompany her for a trip into town for a training bra in town.  Spearheaded by the wisdom and naivety of a 14 year old, the 2 of them embark on a enlightening journey to Tiburon, South Carolina where they are taken in by ladies that Lilly calls the “calendar sisters” May (Sophie Okonedo), June (Alicia Keyes), and August (Queen Latifiah).  You have to watch the movie to see why their names skip a month.  The ladies own a bee farm that Lilly suspects has some connection to her mother based a few keepsakes she reatined over the years.  Love, loss, bigotry, and betrayal all play a part in bringing this forged family together.

I was impressed to see Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith listed in the producer credits.  They have been behind many successful films like “The Pursuit of Happyness” and the tv series “All of Us.”

Dakota Fanning has grown up but still has a knack for those sweet All American Girl type roles.

Here’s an excerpt from wikipedia…

Adapted by Gina Prince-Bythewood from the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees” unfolds in a sentimental, honey-glazed land that vaguely resembles South Carolina in 1964. It would be wrong to say that the troubles of that time and place have been wished away on farmer dad, T. Ray (Paul Bettany). He tells her that her mother never loved her and makes her kneel on grits when she misbehaves.

One night Lily, who dreams of being a writer and keeps a box of keepsakes buried in the orchard behind her house, runs away with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), a black employee of T. Ray’s who has been beaten and jailed for trying to register to vote. The two of them find their way to an upcountry town called Tiburon, where they are taken in by three beekeeping sisters named August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys) and May (Sophie Okonedo).

May, who seems a little simple-minded, is also so deeply empathetic that her sisters have built a “wailing wall,” where she can go to cry when the world’s grief overwhelms her, which is often. June, who plays the cello, is also a political activist (or at least a collector of N.A.A.C.P. T-shirts), and, as such, is a bit leery of the white girl who comes around in need of mothering. But August is a person of such boundless maternal wisdom and generosity that neither June nor Lily nor any of the million bees in August’s care need worry.

Even as terrible things insist on happening, and the bigotry and suspicion of the era take their toll, worries are no match for matriarchal folk religion and the wisdom of the beehive. In its fuzzy linking of female power with insect life, “The Secret Life of Bees” shows a curious kinship with Neil LaBute’s ill-starred remake of “The Wicker Man,” but with nurturing African-American women in place of murderous white ones.

Read the rest HERE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Bees)

Here’s a link to the official website:  http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thesecretlifeofbees/

Here’s a link to the website for Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time and was seemed so timely for me which made it even more meaningful.

Have you seen the movie?  If so, what did you think?

If you read the book, how did it compare?

inmodwetrust #5

(Tony Clarke - The Entertainer)

Focus and discipline are certainly two attributes hard to come by for themusicologist in these turbulent times. Lucky for me I have music as guide, companion, and trusted friend. Might sound strange but often feels like a dialogue between me and the sounds…anyway, enough of the butterfly mind and back to the theme.

This cut was recorded the year that ‘mod’ had well and truly arrived, (some would even say finished), ‘tickets’ were everywhere and leading up to, (and certainly beyond), the bank holiday tear ups the ‘originals’ were moving on. Elsewhere kids up and down the country were ‘aving it large’, (for the first time), as ‘mod’ was spoonfed to the nation and beyond. Modernists on the other hand turned their back and looked for something else to direct their trend setting and creative energies into. Which is not to say that some of the vanguards didn’t stick with it and join in the ‘fun’. Maybe for them it wasn’t neccesarily about ‘being first’ it was also about ‘being there’, as perpetrators of ‘the new breed’ to take advantage of the opportunities that had arisen out of them revolutionary ‘times’. I think it was the philosopher Hegel who wrote/said that Ideas are the prime movers of history and not social or economic forces and for themusicologist, ‘Mod’ was and to some extent still is an idea.

The musicology is courtesy of a cat named Tony Clarke who recorded this Mod classic for one of the other Big mod labels, Chess. Unfortunately I have been having problems hooking up my Turntable to the computer so It will have to be the CD remaster until I can replace it with the 45. hope you understand.

(1910-1971) Escritor y sociólogo, había sido uno de los fundadores del Partido Nacionalcampesino en 1937. Entre 1948 y 1956 participó en los distintos Gobiernos húngaros. En octubre de 1956, como representante de su partido, reestructurado en ese momento, entró en el Gobierno de Imre Nagy en calidad de Ministro de Estado. Erdei formó parte de la comisión encargada de negociar la salida de los soviéticos de Hungría. Al igual que los demás miembros de la comisión, fue detenido por la KGB el 4 de noviembre en Tököl pero, a diferencia de sus compañeros de cautiverio –el general Maléter entre ellos-, fue puesto en libertad a las pocas semanas. Después de la derrota de la insurrección del otoño de 1956 ocupó diveros cargos públicos en el nuevo régimen socialista de Kádár: entre 1957 y 1971 fue designado secretario general y presidente de la Academia Húngara de las Ciencias; de 1964 a 1970 fue también secretario general del Frente Patriótico Popular, cargo que compaginó con el de miembro de la Presidencia de la República Popular de Hungría hasta su muerte en 1971.

This is Mom.  If you squint you can see the date as July 64.  If you squint further, looking at 10 o’clock over her head you’ll see in the distance two towers that will make any true fan of Men In Black go “Holy Crap!”

Yes this was the World’s Fair in 1964 in Queens NY and as far as I know those towers really aren’t spaceships.  The little blond waif in the lower left corner is my cousin Cheryl.  The whole crew traipsed into NY on a ridiculously hot July day and tromped around from place to place.  I really only remember two exhibits vividly.  One was the GM building (i have slides of it but still don’t have the equipment to convert slides to jpgs) because they sat you in rows of bench seats stacked straight up and down against a flat wall, then the whole wall of seats went straight up to a multi-media presentation.  This was ‘64 remember so multi-media wasn’t even in folks lexicons at this point.  The whole thing scared the shit out of me because 1) I don’t like heights and 2) I don’t like rides.  This was neither but I didn’t trust anybody.

The other exhibit was the “It’s a Small World” exhibit which I believe is now de rigeur at any such event even though it plays endlessly at Disney on both coasts.

Anyway, this is Mom.  Looking very Jackie Kennedy behind those high-fashion shades.

Just Like Pete Townshend

Notre sorcière préférée, Samanta (”Bewitched” dans son titre original ou “Ma sorcière bien-aimée” en français) a également croisé le chemin d’un chat siamois.

Voici ci-dessous Elizabeth Montgomery de son vrai nom, en compagnie d’un beau matou seal-point aux pouvoirs magiques, pour les besoins d’un des épisodes de la série (1964).

Source : Emeraldislefarm.com

Et voici un second cliché bonus, celui-ci beaucoup moins connu que le premier :

Source : Bobsbewitchingdaughter.com

]]> http://criticacinport.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/%c2%abteoria-e-pratica-dos-festivais%c2%bb-12-i-1964-p-81/ Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:41:06 +0000 paulomfcunha http://criticacinport.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/%c2%abteoria-e-pratica-dos-festivais%c2%bb-12-i-1964-p-81/
]]> http://jordanmorningstarblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/free-wallpaper-friday-6/ Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:00:45 +0000 jordanmorningstarblog http://jordanmorningstarblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/free-wallpaper-friday-6/

Now that Christmas is coming, I’ve been working frantically to get the first Sunday Cruise Fever book done.  So far there is 64 pages of photos, although the finished product will be 70-80 pages, and all but a few of them will have full-colour, glossy photos, such as this shot of Mario’s ‘64 Impala SS hardtop.

1280 x 764, optimized for widescreen monitors

And it’s not just going to be little pictures like what you see on your screen.  Many of the images are what they call “full page/full bleed.”  That is, they take up the entire page, all the way to the very edge, without any white border.  And each page will be a full 10″ wide by 8″ tall, just like the prints you can order from this site.  Got questions?  leave a comment below, and I’ll get you an answer ASAP.

If you’re looking for something different, check out the Free Wallpaper Friday archive for more desktop decorations.  Or, if you want something a little more tangible, check out the store to find out about ordering prints, T-shirts, mugs, and more.

Una película de la primera gira de los Beatles por Estados Unidos fue subastada en Inglaterra por 4.100 libras esterlinas (unos 5.000 euros/6.500 dólares). La cinta en formato súper 8 de dos minutos de duración y sin audio fue grabada durante un concierto en Kansas City en el año 1964.

Un fan del legandario grupo pop británico había ingresado entonces ilegalmente una cámara al concierto y encontró el material más de 40 años después en un cajón. “Limpiamos la casa de mis padres y encontramos la cinta atrás, en un cajón”, dijo Drew Dimmel.

Es la única grabación que existe del concierto. Muestra a los cuatro integrantes de los Beatles, John, Paul, George y Ringo, en su presentación en el Estadio Municipal de Kansas City, en el estado de Missouri. Se desconoce quien adquirió la película en la subasta realizada el martes en Reading, al oeste de Londres.

Fuente: DPA

Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States.

The first black man to have that honour.

In 1964 the U.S. passed the Civil Rights Act giving blacks the same rights as whites. In 1965 the U.S. passed the Voting Rights Act. It finally gave Black Americans the right to vote - in every state, without obstacle - and America finally became a true democracy.

The passage for Black Civil Rights campaigners has not been an easy one. At one time or other, blacks had to contend with race riots, lynchings, and the assassination of their charismatic leader Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.

2008. Just over 40 years later from that Voting Rights Act and America elects a black President.

An incredible achievement and one which Americans should be rightly proud.

Its a glowing example of the American dream finally working.

In 2004 Barack Obama delivered his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. It was just before the Bush - Kerry presidential election of that year. He talked about his hopes and dreams for America, and then added another:

“The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.”

He had hope in America.

Now America has their hopes in him.

Obama continued that speech:

“Hope — Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

“In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”

Here’s to those better days ahead for all of us!

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Black & White view of the photo above…which do you like better?

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The New York State Pavilion was constructed for the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Designed by architect Philip Johnson (born 1906), the “Tent of Tomorrow” measures 350 feet by 250 feet, with sixteen 100-foot columns suspending a 50,000 square-foot roof of multi-colored panels. The popular exhibit for the state of New York also held three towers, measuring 60 feet, 150 feet, and 226 feet. The two shorter towers held cafeterias for the fair, and the tallest tower, as the highest point of the fair, held an observation deck. Fair visitors ascended the towers in the “Sky Streak” capsule elevators.

I hate that it’s abandoned.  I love historic places like this and I think it’s such a shame to be left to decay like this!

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Same photo as above but converted to B&W.  I love the color version above but the B&W adds to that feel of abandonment.

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You may remember in the 1997 film Men in Black, the observatory towers are revealed to contain the ships used by the first extra-terrestrials to visit Earth. The World’s Fair was organized to cover up the evidence of their landing (”Why else would they hold it in Queens?” says Agent K).

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The last place we visited was Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, along the Queens side of the East River where we got a nice great at the NYC skyline.

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I saw up-close what was left of the iconic Pepsi Cola sign:

And look out at the skyline at the end of the pier. 

These are my kind of clouds!!

Thanks Brian, I had a great day!

I appreciate you showing me around YOUR city.

Next time you can come to Jersey and you can pretend to like it along with the pizza!

And it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t do a “me at” photo. So this is “me at” the Unisphere:

The coolest Monster Mash-inspired record of the 1960’s was this groovy 1964 concoction by comic Gene Moss and Billy Riley, a swinging round of parody songs that have a wonderfully hip Halloween vibe. With songs like “I Want To Bite Your Neck” and “King Kong Stomp” you know this one is a gasser! Especially with the awesome back and cover art by the late great Jack Davis. My brother had this record which I coveted like a ghoul. There was no better soundtrack to reading Famous Monsters Of Filmland. And there are copies of this scratchy LP out there somewhere in Transylvania…

This song is a very well known song and a song that has the ability to move its listeners. Of course I am talking about the audio. I had not seen the picturisation till now. Now that I have seen the picturuisation, it turns out that the picturisation is quite moving too.

Having said that, I notice that the song was sung by a grown up singer, but it is picturised on a minor girl. In those days, female singers used to sind for kids, instead of kids giving playback singing.Listening to such a well sung song with such sophisticated lyrics and then finding that this song is picturised on a kid left me with mixed feelings. I do not think kids can be expected to sing such sophisticated songs. May be it is the people involved in picturisation of the song who should have taken more care.

Then I realised that this song has another version, viz the duet sung by Rafi and Lata, and this song is picturised properly viz on grown ups. This song is really outstanding, singing wise as well as picturisation wise.

This duet is the one that Raja had in mind when he gave his farmaish for this song. So here is this song, in both versions.

Duet Version
Lata Solo
Song- Aaj kal mein dhal gaya (Beti Bete 1964) Singer-Rafi,Lata, Lyrics- Shailendra, MD- Shankar Jaikishan

Lyrics

aaj kal mein dhal gayaa, din huaa tamaam
tu bhi so jaa, so gayi, rang bhari shaam
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa, din huaa tamaam
tu bhi so jaa, so gayi, rang bhari shaam
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa

so gayaa chaman chaman, so gayi kali-kali
so gaye hain sab nagar, so gayi gali-gali
so gayaa chaman chaman, so gayi kali-kali
so gaye hain sab nagar, so gayi gali-gali
neend kah rahi hai chal, merii baanhe thaam,
tu bhi so jaa, so gayi, rang bhari shaam
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa

hai bujhaa-bujhaa sa dil, bojh saans-saans par
jee rahe hain phir bhi ham, sirf kal ki aas par
hai bujhaa-bujhaa sa dil, bojh saans-saans par
jee rahe hain phir bhi ham, sirf kal ki aas par
kah rahi hai chaandni, leke teraa naam,
tu bhi so jaa, so gayi, rang bhari shaam
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa

kaun aayegaa idhar, kiski raah dekhen ham
jinki aahten suni, jaane kiske the kadam
kaun aayegaa idhar, kiski raah dekhen ham
jinki aahten suni, jaane kiske the kadam

apnaa koi bhi nahin, apne to hain Raam,
tu bhi so jaa, so gayi, rang bhari shaam
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa
aaj kal mein dhal gayaa, din huaa tamaam

These days, movie makers spend huge amounts trying to promote their movies, and still there is no guarantee that their promotions have any effect at the box office. All the songs and dances shown in these promos are often ineffective.

I recall that in the times gone by , one rickshaw, with one announcer sitting on it with a loudspeaker would advertise the movie that was playing in a local movie hall. As a kid, we would throng around him, hoping to be able to catch the leaflets that he would give away by throwing them in the air. I felt very left out if kids more street smart than me ( I was street unsmart- in case you wonder) would pick all of them, leaving nothing for me. In case I managed to pick even one such leaflet, that would become a prized possession for me. I would study the contents of the leaflet very carefully and repeatedly. As far as I was concerned, I was sold on the movie then and there itself.

And what about the songs that the announcer played ? Sometimes the songs were from the movie in question, and sometimes they were from other movies. But all that was immaterial. Those songs/ tunes had a magical effect on me, and I yearned to watch the movie, even if that song was from some other movie.

When I grew older, I was actually drawn towards movie halls many a times as a result of listening to such music blaring out from these rickshaws.

Now, listen to this song from “Rajkumar”, a movie of 1964. Every time one listens to it, one feels like watching this movie.I am talking of now, 44 years later. I am convinced that the people who listened to this song in 1964 had no choice but to get drawn up towards the movie halls screening this movie.

This song is an ideal promotional song for the movie, if one paused to think about it. It has the name of the movie contained in it, it is calling the audience, and it is making them feel welcome, making them feel like Raja, calling them Rajkumar.

The tune is so catchy even to this date. The song certainly is similar to the tunes that the pied piper must have played in his era.

It is a wonderful song, as most people would readily agree.

Song- Aaja aayi bahaar dil hai bekaraar (Rajkumar 1964) Singer- Lata, Lyrics-Hasrat Jaipuri, MD- Shankar Jaikishan

Lyrics

aa jaa aayi bahaar, dil hai beqaraar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa aayi bahaar, dil hai beqaraar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaae
aa jaa

jhokon se jab bhi, chale puravaayi
jhonkon se jab bhi, chale puravaayi
tan meraa toote
tan meraa toote
aayi angdaayi
aayi angdaayi
dekhoon baar baar, teraa intazaar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa aayi bahaar, dil hai beqaraar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa

man me sunoon main, teri muraliyaa
man me sunoon main, teri muraliyaa
naachoon main chham-chham
naachoon main chham-chham
baaje paayaliyaa
baaje paayaliyaa
dil kaa taar-taar, teri kare pukaar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa aayi bahaar, dil hai beqaraar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa

jal ki machhariyaa, jal me hai pyaasi
jal ki machhariyaa, jal me hai pyaasi
khushiyon ke din hain
khushiyon ke din hain
phir bhi udaasi
phir bhi udaasi
lekar meraa pyaar, aa jaa ab ke baar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa aayi bahaar, dil hai beqaraar
o mere raajkumaar, tere bin rahaa na jaaye
aa jaa

Antonio Calvário

António Calvário fue el primer representante portugués en el Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión en 1964. La semana pasada ha celebrado su 70 cumpleaños y sus 50 años de carrera. Calvário se convirtió en uno de los mayores artistas de Portugal en los años 60 y 70.

Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee features the following concerts and events for November and December 2008. Mark your calendar!

Sugarland with Special Guests Kellie Pickler & Ashton Shepherd - Friday, November 7, 2008
Marshall Tucker Band - Saturday, November 8, 2008
1964 The Tribute (No. 1 Beatles Show in the World!) - Thursday, November 13, 2008
Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity Tour - Friday, December 12, 2008
Kissimmee Pro-Am Supercross - Saturday, December 20, 2008
The “World-Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions - Friday, December 26, 2008

• 12 days…

• NBC’s Chuck Todd makes headlines this morning with his assessment that McCain and Palin exhibited “tenseness” and a (*new favorite phrase*) “negative intensity” during their most recent interview.

• A new study shows John McCain’s 100% negative campaign is receiving more negative press coverage than Obama’s.

• Drinking too much coffee makes women’s boobs smaller but has the opposite effect on men. Go figure.

• Barack thinks he’s going to be the first Democrat since 1964 to flip Virginia for the good guys.

• During an appearance yesterday he slaped McCain for his campaign’s “real Virginia” vs. fake Virginia remark.  No matter what happens though, Sarah Palin will always know who real Virginians are (the rednecks.)

• Jon Stewart: “‘Heck, gosh, me and Todd, you betcha, we’re just average working class salts of the earth.’ … How do you spend $150,000 on clothes in two months? What, do you buy the original ‘Thriller’ jacket off eBay?”

• Some Republican donors want their money back.

• The AP asks, “Who knew looking like a hockey mom was this darned expensive?”

• The Washington Post: “After a $150,000 makeover, Sarah Palin has an image problem.”

• Conservative blog site Townhall.com does some digging into Barack and Michelle’s campaign wardrobe… only to find they barely register as a blip on Palin’s radar.

• Campbell Brown, who’s been liberated on CNN since the success of this whole episode, thinks there’s a double standard being applied to Sarah Palin because “women are judged based on their appearance far far more than men.”

• Looks like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are setting up camp in Lower Manhattan.

• I’m really beginning to think someone’s going to wind up dead on The View.

• David Duchovny is suing the British tabloid that claimed he had an affair with the tennis instructor. The recovering sex addict says he didn’t do her.  (I still can’t believe that Billy Bob Thorton may have laid pipe with Duchovny’s soon-to-be-ex wife, Téa Leoni.)

• Obama dressed up as a pirate.

• America Ferrara clearly won this PR battle against Lindsay Lohan.

• And a story that’s not getting enough attention: The GOP war on minority voting. They’re trying to steal this election. Again.

August 4, 1964

My fellow Americans, as President and Commander in Chief, it is my duty to the American people to report that renewed hostile actions against United States ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin have today required me to order the military forces of the United States to take action in reply.President Lyndon Baines Johnson - Address to the American People on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident

August 4, 1964

My fellow Americans, as President and Commander in Chief, it is my duty to the American people to report that renewed hostile actions against United States ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin have today required me to order the military forces of the United States to take action in reply.

The initial attack on the destroyer Maddox, on August 2, was repeated today by a number of hostile vessels attacking two U.S. destroyers with torpedoes. The destroyers and supporting aircraft acted at once on the orders I gave after the initial act of aggression. We believe at least two of the attacking boats were sunk. There were no U.S. losses.

The performance of commanders and crews in this engagement is in the highest tradition of the United States Navy. But repeated acts of violence against the Armed Forces of the United States must be met not only with alert defense, but with positive reply. That reply is being given as I speak to you tonight. Air action is now in execution against gunboats and certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam which have been used in these hostile operations.

In the larger sense this new act of aggression, aimed directly at our own forces, again brings home to all of us in the United States the importance of the struggle for peace and security in southeast Asia. Aggression by terror against the peaceful villagers of South Vietnam has now been joined by open aggression on the high seas against the United States of America.

The determination of all Americans to carry out our full commitment to the people and to the government of South Vietnam will be redoubled by this outrage. Yet our response, for the present, will be limited and fitting. We Americans know, although others appear to forget, the risks of spreading conflict. We still seek no wider war.

I have instructed the Secretary of State to make this position totally clear to friends and to adversaries and, indeed, to all. I have instructed Ambassador Stevenson to raise this matter immediately and urgently before the Security Council of the United Nations. Finally, I have today met with the leaders of both parties in the Congress of the United States and I have informed them that I shall immediately request the Congress to pass a resolution making it clear that our Government is united in its determination to take all necessary measures in support of freedom and in defense of peace in southeast Asia.

I have been given encouraging assurance by these leaders of both parties that such a resolution will be promptly introduced, freely and expeditiously debated, and passed with overwhelming support. And just a few minutes ago I was able to reach Senator Goldwater and I am glad to say that he has expressed his support of the statement that I am making to you tonight.

It is a solemn responsibility to have to order even limited military action by forces whose overall strength is as vast and as awesome as those of the United States of America, but it is my considered conviction, shared throughout your Government, that firmness in the right is indispensable today for peace; that firmness will always be measured. Its mission is peace.

NINA SIMONE- DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD - 1964

Lil Wayne - Misunderstood

You thought those 1989 Bowman cards were hard to store? Try protecting these badboys. These vintage 1964 Topps Giant cards measure a whopping 3 1/8 by 5 1/4, and to my knowledge, there still is no great way to store them. I think you need to have a postcard-size toploader, but even then there is some wiggle room.

But the reason I chose this card to write about today is not because of it’s abnormal size, although the topic of card storage is something I’ll probably discuss at some point. The reason for this post is to discuss how I obtained this card (at a flea market), and to share a quick story from Saturday.

I picked this Koufax up along with similar cards of Carl Yastrzemski and Warren Spahn, at a flea market a few years back for a mere $1 each. The Yaz and Spahn are $5 cards (good bargain for a card 40 years old,) but the Koufax is a shortprint, and is listed in Beckett at $40.

Coming across bargains like these at flea markets or garage sales are few and far between, although when you do find them, it’s a great experience. But more times that not, when you stumble across baseball cards while “treasure hunting,” you’re likely to find complete sets or stacks of commons usually from 1988 or 1990. In other words they are pretty much worthless.

Then there are times when you just walk away from a dealer laughing because they are completely clueless, or they’ve tried to take advantage of you. Such was the case Saturday.

My wife, her mother and I went to a small flea market at a local high school and among the dozens of tables selling Halloween decor and costumes was this one lonely table at the back of the lot selling sports cards.

I spotted the a sign from about 50 yards away. From a distance I could read “Sports Cards” and the word “Barry.” Good ol’ reasoning led me to believe the guy was selling cards of local players, particularly Home Run champ Barry Bonds. But as I got closer I started to groan. One sign did in fact say “Sports Cards,” but the other one said “Barry Bond.” Yeah, “Bond.” Like James Bond. Not Barry Bonds. Seeing this I knew I would be in for a comedic treat.

I sauntered over to the older gentleman, said, “Hi,” and started looking at his table. There were about only  20 cards on the table, but each was in a snaptight case and then “sealed,” in a team bag. Before I could escape, the man started talking about what he had for sale, and then said, “Do you know what these are? They call them `gem’ cards.”

Holding back my chuckles, I said, “Oh, really?”

Not three seconds later, the guy started telling me about how the cards were the deal of the century, about how they were in pristine condition — never touched by human hands — and how they were good investments because “the values of these … they’re going up.”

“If you go to your local shop, and compare their prices to mine, you’ll see that these are very cheap,” the man said. “They’re only $8 a card.”

I said, “Wow,” did a double take to see exactly what “gem cards” he really had in those cases — one card actually slipped out of place and was “floating” inside the snaptight –  and then thanked him for his time and left.

I wish I had taken a picture of what was on that table, because as fellow collectors we all would have had a good laugh with this one. There were a few Michael Jordan upper deck cards, but then there were cards like a 2005 Topps Felipe Alou manager card.

There’s nothing I hate more about this hobby than the idiots who try to take advantage of people by selling them garbage and passing it off as a good investment.