Childrens’ Winter Faire at Beginnings today

It’s happening as I type.  See you there!

Addendum: A beautiful day and a great turnout.  I worked the kitchen for most of the afternoon, but I made the rounds ahead of time and got to see the kids sing.  They sang 1492 as they did a few weeks ago at Cecil’s.  It’s a song written by Nancy Schimmel (daughter of Malvina Reynolds).  Fear not comrade.  It’s all part of our reverse indoctrination program designed to spawn and grow kids to hate America.  Question not the wisdom or we’ll send you off to reeducation camp!

I found a couple of Malvina Reynold’s vids.

Here she’s jamming with Pete Seeger and Ramblin Jack Elliot, although she doesn’t do much more than keep time.  But the

"I do not want a black man running my country"

It’s getting cranky out there. I didn’t think these videos could get worse, but here it is. Note the threat of assassination from one McCain supporter.

It ends on a positive note with a rap version of an old Pete Seeger classic.

Addendum: Obama on the socialist meme.

That’s why he’s spending these last few days calling me every name in the book. I’m sorry to see my opponent sink so low. Lately, he’s called me a socialist for wanting to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can finally give tax relief to the middle class. By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in Kindergarten.

Lakoff will be proud.

Documentary on Pete Seeger coming out shortly

I’m looking forward to it. He’s got to be in his 90s by now, but even though he’s “retired” I keep hearing about performances he makes. From the Variety review:

As certain to get auds singing as the man himself, “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” is a terrific, multilayered portrait of a singer whose legacy extends beyond music and into every major social action movement since the 1940s. With unprecedented access to family and colleagues — even Bob Dylan appears — helmer Jim Brown follows Seeger’s career from the hit parade to the blacklist, encompassing civil rights and environmental activism. Always enjoyable, this docu proves that a few rare people actually deserve the hagiography treatment. Perfect for PBS, the pic should find fervent fans on regional arthouse screens and DVD.”He’s a living testament to the First Amendment,” proclaims the Dixie Chicks‘ Natalie Maines, about the man called the “high priest of folk music.” Combining a calm, innate dignity with an ego-free temperament, Seeger is impossible to dislike, his righteousness always paired with respect and thus utterly disarming. Even now, in his late 80s, he can be seen not just on the concert stage but on the street corner, protesting the Iraq invasion as Joe Citizen and not Mr. Celebrity.

Somebody sent the link to me in an e-mail. It jogged an old memory of a documentary about the Weavers entitled “Wasn’t that a Time?” which contained clips from the 1950s as well as their late seventies reunion at Carnegie Hall shortly before Lee Hayes died. It’s not yet on DVD I’m afraid.

Can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen him whether at ticketed concerts, political demonstrations, or Lincoln Brigade reunions. His music is sort of a staple in the upbringing of any red-diaper baby, or in my case a red-diaper grand-baby.

He was a Communist Party member until the 1950s, and found it in himself to slam Stalin decades later. He did show some independence in the early 1980s when he put his name on a public petition in support of the Polish Solidarity Union, but was browbeat by hard-lined activists until he asked for it to be removed. Recently he’s reportedly opened up a dialog with commie-turned-conservative Ron Radosh.

A living icon however. As he was quoted in the documentary Seeing Red, “pity not the man who fought and failed. Pity the man who just didn’t give a damn.” Or something like that. I can’t find the quote at the moment.

Photo comes from the Harvard Square Library.