Don't Believe Everything You Read About Dylan

Who's Harry Belefonte? It's Belafonte, with an a.

This week I was doing library research about Dylan in Duluth. Specifically, I was reading through all the Dylan-related articles that our Duluth Public Library has catalogued in its archives. 

There were a number of surprises. First, I was surprised at how many clippings were stories I myself had written or had one of my paintings in. The bigger surprise was how many mistakes there were in some of the clippings. That is, in several instances there were misspellings, and in one instance an incorrect caption.

I didn't initially set out to document errors, but I did make note of a few. The first was a very nice article about the host of the Dylan-themed KUMD radio program Highway 61 Revisited, John Bushey. Except, throughout the article the author spelled his name Jon Bushy. Note to writers: when it comes to names, always doublecheck your spelling.

Yes, names can be tricky. That is why writers (and editors as well) need to go the extra mile to confirm spelling. For example, when I Google "Harry Belafonte" I get Harry Belafonte. And guess what? If you Google "Harry Belefonte," Google will reply, "Showing you results for Harry Belafonte." In our internet age it is really not all that hard to get it right.  Ask and you shall receive. 

There's another kind of error that is less easy to recognize. One of the articles had a photo of the Central Hillside home young Bob Dylan nee Robert Zimmerman lived in for his first six years. Or that is what it purported to be. This is where the Duluth Dylan Fest celebrates Dylan's birthday each year on May 24. We all know it well, but evidently the editor on this story did not know it so well because the caption reads, "Bob Dylan's childhood home in Hibbing."

Well, it just goes to show ya that you can't believe everything you read. Here's what the house in Hibbing looks like, along with accurate captions for both.

Today, both houses are owned by Dylan collector/archivist Bill Pagel who is in the process of restoring the homes to how they were back when "Bobby" was growing up and living here. If you're in the neighborhood, don't be shy. Stop on by.

As for accuracy, Dylan himself has a reputation of having been a notorious obfuscator. And occasionally you will find details in books about Dylan that repeat errors from earlier Dylan biographers. You wouldn't really know it was false because the "fact" has appeared so many times in print that it seems true. (This happens in many other contexts, especially politics and sports.) 

As the saying goes, it is what it is. Que sera sera.

Related Links
John Bushey Legacy Leaves No One Untouched

Local Artists Make Roundabout Art Tour A Happening

Toledo, Spain by Ken Hanson

Last night Cloquet/Carlton had an opening reception for what they called The Roundabout Art Tour. Eight locations collaborated to assemble this three hour tour of art venues. I dropped by three locations and am impressed, as always, by the variety as well as the discovery of new artists. You can read more about the who, what and where here on Facebook. These photos here were taken in the hour before dark last night.

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The Pine Knot was my first stop with a display curated by Ann Markuson who gave a nod to Annie Dugan for her assistance in making this a great art space as well as work space. It fabulous stone walls gives it a historical feel, embellished by lots of art. For this occasion they had a series of paintings by Ken Hanson that had an almost Escher-esque vibe. There was also a large canvas that was transformed into a Pollinator Paint-by-Number community project. This was something new to me and a very clever idea. 

In other parts of the tour there was pottery, photography, crafts, portrait paintings and more. Here's some of what I saw.

Avignon, France

Rome, Italy

Adam Swanson? Very nice.

"Taj Mahal" -- Bill Wise watercolor
(See more at williamwiseart.com)

Chairs and more... down on the corner, on display 24/7

Kris Nelson's Theater seats for Psycho.

In the pop-up space on the corner.

Artist Margie Helstrom adds color to the Pollinator Paint-by-Number.
I added a few details to the body of the bee.

Kudos to everyone involved who made this event happen. 
Special shout-out to all art teachers and Kris Nelson.

Ars longa, vita brevis. 

Don't let your creative urges whither on the vine.

Baseball Trivia of Various Degrees of Significance

Major League Baseball has has tucked another season under its belt and we're headed into the postseason. This weekend the Wildcard Playoffs will eliminate four of the 16 teams in contention for the World Championship. The division playoff will follow and eventually the World Series. 

As I like to say, I've been a baseball fan since my infancy. My parents adorned my crib with four teddy bears, each named after the starting rotation for the then Cleveland Indians who are now the Cleveland Guardians. Three of my four teddy bears became Hall Of Famers. Cleveland had some great teams back then. 

So, to mark the moment... a little baseball trivia is on the menu.

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In 2019 the Washington Nationals won the World Series. Today, only three years later, they have the worst record in baseball. What happened?

What a surprise (for me) to learn that Ty Cobb was only second in most career triples. First place in that category was his teammate Sam Crawford, the only player with over 300 triples (309 total), a record that will likely never be broken.

To give you an idea of how much fear Barry Bonds generated in opposing pitchers, check out these stats. In 2004 he was intentionally walked 120 times, which is 25 more walks than the American League leader in walks. 

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That's nothing compared to this: In 2004 Bonds got on base more times than he had at-bats. Baseball is funny in that way. If you go to the plate and draw a walk, then it is not counted as an at-bat. 

In my first year of Babe Ruth League, for example, I struck out 50% of the time and walked 50% of the time. I hadn't hit my growth spurt yet, so even though I had been a Little League all star, I was not ready for the next level. And yet, based on my record that year my on-base percentage was .500 even though I never once hit the ball into play. My record: 15 walks, 15 strike outs. 

Barry Bonds did hit the ball in play, a lot. And he got on base a lot... in fact, he reached base more times (376) than he had at-bats (373). In addition to those 120 intentional walks he walked another 112 times (by not swinging at bad pitches), plus had 129 hits, was hit by a pitch 9 times and got on base via an error 6 times.

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In 1999 The Sporting News named Ty Cobb as #3 on their list of all-time greatest ballplayers. 

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Pitcher Mickey Lolich played for 16 years and never hit a home run in over 1,000 major league regular-season plate appearances, but in his first ever World Series at-bat in 1968 he homered off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Nelson Briles. He stepped to the plate 452 times prior to his World Series homer, then another 565 after and failed to hit another.
(Source: Mike Lynch on Quora)

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April 23, 199: Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in the same inning. I think the interesting thing is that the pitcher, Chan Ho Park, was still pitching when Tatis came to the plate again with the bases loaded. 

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In 1918, while Babe Ruth was with the Red Sox, he pinch hit in the tenth inning, a runner on base. Back in those days, the game would be over as soon as the winning run crossed the plate, so when Ruth hit a blast out of the park the game was over before he rounded the bases. His homer only counted as a hit, with a run batted in, and not a homer. 

I know that many people think of the Babe as a beefy, somewhat lumbering power hitter loping around the bases. Evidently he had more quickness and agility than we've imagined. Babe Ruth had 10 inside the park home runs in his career, four in 1923 alone!

This season, the big man Aaron Judge finally broke the American League single season home run record. Roger Maris did it '61 with 61. This past week Judge made it 62.

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In 1879, the Cincinnati Gazette wrote, "The baseball mania has run its course. It has no future as a professional endeavor." Maybe some day, but that day is not yet.

Loretta Lynn Left A Legacy

R.I.P. Loretta Lynn

April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022
The First Lady of Country Music

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As of 2022, Loretta was the most awarded female country recording artist in history. She is also the only female to have won ACM Artist of the Decade honors (1970s). In addition to 24 No. 1 songs and 11 No. 1 albums to her credit, Lynn has won three Grammys, seven American Music Awards, thirteen ACM Awards, eight BMI awards, eight CMA Awards and 26 fan-voted Music City News awards. In 1988 she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Gospel Hall of Fame in 1999, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003. In 2008 she became a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2010,  a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and honored as Artist of a Lifetime by CMT in 2018.

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My own roots are Eastern Kentucky. Both my grandfathers did time mining coal in West Virginia. I personally think it's cool that Levon Helm of The Band played her father in the Hollywood film version of her life

Photos on this page courtesy Gary Firstenberg. One of his specialities is
documenting the musical figures who produced the soundtrack of our lives.

EdNote: The first photo at the top of the page is a photo of a photo

that was hanging in one of her barns. Gary did not take the original.

A Brief Review of Christopher Priest's The Prestige

For fans of the magic arts, 2006 was a good year. That was the year Hollywood released two exceptionally fine films about magicians: The Prestige, and The Illusionist. After watching both, I enjoyed The Illusionist more because The Prestige felt too dark, though I couldn't help but appreciate many of its features. Each of these has satisfying magical "Aha!" moments.

Until three weeks ago, I was unaware that The Prestige was actually based on a novel published nine years earlier by Christopher Priest. How very interesting.

The story is told in a most unusual way that is quite different from the film, in diary form. Each of the characters records their observations from their individual points of view. The primary diaries are those of the two primary characters, late 19th century magicians Alfred Borden and Robert Angier. The novel, however, begins in the present, a century later.

The central conflict has to do with a trick which Borden bills as The Transported Man. Robert Angier's version of the trick is called In A Flash. The primary motivation of each magician shifts from seeking fame to seeking revenge. Each becomes obsessed not with out-doing the other but rather undoing his rival. When their actions cause excess harm, their diaries reveal their guilt and regret. In short, they are very human as they wrestle with the conflict between their consciences and desires. 

If you've already seen the film, the direction the novel takes near the climax will come as a surprise to you. It's not in the movie, in part because what happens would be a major challenge to reproduce on screen. 

The Prestige has a stellar cast, with Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman starring as the magicians Alfred Borden (Bale) and Robert Angier (Jackman). Michael Caine is Cutter, Angier's manager/handler, and David Bowie is the distinguished Nikola Tesla. The women featured include Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall and Samantha Mahurin. 

The nature of the storyline revolves around secrets. This is what the world of magic is all about. Surprise! How can audiences get a thrill if they already know how the tricks are performed? Hence, the Magician's Code: Never reveal how a trick is done. Audiences like being fooled. If they know how you do it, they won't be.

The book does a superb job of  showing what a career in the magic arts looks like. There are also some life lessons, though ultimately it is a compelling read, which makes for a nice escape for people who enjoy good books.

Related Links

Escape Artist, Magician, Inventor: Terry Roses

A Visit with John Cox: Avid Fan and Expert of All Things Houdini

Misdirection in the Magic Arts

Is The Prestige the Great Movie About Magic and Magicians?

Flashback Friday: Master MEME at the PRØVE

Dan Hansen (left) with Lucas Anderson

FLASHBACK FRIDAY 

This blog post was originally published on 28 September 2012. Dan has since become one of my very best friends.

PRØVE AND LIZZARDS PROVIDE GREAT EXCUSES FOR HEADING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT 

Fans of the local Twin Ports visual arts scene have had plenty to buzz about in recent years. And it just keeps getting better. Tonight, the PRØVE Collective and Lizzard's Gallery offer two great excuses for heading downtown. And if you're checking out one, there's no need to move the car because the other is just around the corner. 

Master MEME: Art by Daniel Hansen and Lucas Anderson

Daniel Hansen is a local disabled artist exploring pop culture, '80s pixelation, and contemporary issues. Lucas Anderson teaches art locally at Marshall Academy. The show features individual work and art they have created collaboratively. This is the capstone show for the PRØVE's first year, and it's nothing short of a "must see", even if only for the spirit in which the work has been generated and generously shared with our community.

Cheyenne

I met Anderson this past spring through the DAI-sponsored film series Shock of the New. Last night I met Hansen for the first time as the dynamic duo were putting the finishing touches on what will be tonight's event, which is primarily Hansen's work.

I had asked Hansen how he'd become interested in art as a profession. He explained, "My interest is because it's time to get my art out there. I've been drawing since I was 3. My story is that I've had a progressive neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2 (or SMA). The onset was at infancy so I've always been confined to a wheelchair."

This handicap has not restrained Hansen from pursuing his passions. In advance of our meeting I asked him to briefly share his story.

"I grew up in Grand Marais the son of Mark Hansen who founded North House Folk School. I've been at the sidelines observing everyone living and achieving normal things that were absurdly complicated or impossible to pull off. Every aspect of my life requires innovation and mastery on account of gradual muscular weakening. It just so happens art is merely a side affect of my paradigm shredding circumstance. The burning desire to defy all conventions and set new precedences is my morning cup of coffee! My medium is digital. The world of illusions are my inspiration. Fun, trans-mutational, fascination are the undercurrents of everything I do...the rest is open to interpretation." 

Last night as I looked at Hansen's work it became that fun really is the operative word in much of what he pulls off here. For example, the large piece titled Chico Strikes Back is a humorous portrayal of the forgotten Marx brother who had not gotten the recognition of his other siblings. Chico is at the piano, but the stock market index atop the instrument shows a declining market value. One wonders what he's doing with that loaded gun in his hand.

Upon entering the gallery one is struck by the scale and vivid color in Hansen's pieces. On the left ad you enter is a picture titled Cheyenne. Cheyenne is a girl Hansen met via the internet whom he has talked with on the phone for seven years. The picture reflects some of the chaos in Cheyenne's life. He says she has been a great influence on him.

Another piece, titled Cake or Pi, Hansen describes as "me jamming out."

Time: 7 - 11 p.m.
Free admission, refreshments by donation
If you've never been, the PROVE is located downstairs from the Sons of Norway Hall on Lake Avenue across from the Technology Center.

Chico Strikes Back

Art About Stories... paintings by Tom Tyler

Lizzard's Art Gallery at 11 West Superior Street (across from the MN Power Building) is hosting an opening reception tonight for their new exhibition of paintings by Minneapolis artist Tom Tyler. The work in this collection is primarily based on quotes or literature, books by Hemingway, Melville, Jack London, Joseph Conrad and even Greek mythology. Though the themes in his work vary, the written word serves as a common thread.

Considering the selection of writers cited, I am already drawn to this artist and look forward to seeing tonight's show.

Tyler's work has texture and movement, undoubtedly influence by the 20th century German Expressionists whom he admires. A full-time painter, he has a BA in studio art from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with painters Jo Lutz Rollins and Cameron Booth. His work has been exhibited in Minnesota, California and New Mexico. 

Can't make it tonight? Tyler's work will be on the walls at Lizzards through November 10. Check it out.

Meantime, life goes on. See you on the beat.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Nevada Bob Turns 83

Last year I posted a nice Happy Birthday greeting for Bob Gordon and was reminded that Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays. Here it is a year later and Nevada Bob is now 83. So I call to wish him a happy day anyways. 

Turns out, I wasn't the first to call. Charlie McCoy, the "Real McCoy," had already given him a call to play "Happy Birthday" on his harmonica. It seems that during the course of helping Bob produce six CDs, Charlie and Nevada Bob have famously hit it off.

If you wish to learn more about Nevada Bob, here's a link to a story on the blog I maintain for him:
Recording with Charlie McCoy

And a story in the Stillwater Gazette:
Nevada Bob Gordon Records Audiobook at Stillwater Studio

You can find his memoir 50 Years with the Wrong Woman at Amazon.com as well as his audiobook.

Photos here courtesy Gary Firstenberg. 

Nevada Bob in Tulsa.

With Jim Bowie's favorite tool.

With the Tulsa Oilman

Showing respect to Woody.

At the Jimi Hendrix memorial.

Happy Birthday, Bob.

And many more.