Live music for a dead Sunday

I chose this one in part because you can see Tina Weymouth playin' her bass. I remember wearing this song out in grad school, late 70s. Very cool, very dark. My fave version is on 1982's live The Name of This Band is Talking Heads.

Well, OK, this isn't "live." It was sung by the now dead Nico (died in '88), during her time with Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground in the mid-60s. (Love the Velvets.) Nico was a nihilist and heroin addict. That's obvious, I guess.

Here they are performing, about thirty years after the original recording, and they still sound great. X is considered by many to be the greatest of the LA punk bands, though, really, they were always more than a punk band. (Not that there's anything wrong with being a punk band.) I've always loved the way John Doe and Exene Cervenka's voices mesh on this song. Pretty special.

Bragg first recorded this in the early 80s. He's very smart and just plain wonderful. Saw him at the Coach House a few years ago with Reb and Red. I think those two have gone to dinner with Mr. Bragg. The same politics, I guess. The old union radical crowd: always eating, always plotting and scheming.

This song first appeared on an album (Marquee Moon) in 1977. Television was a part of the New York scene that produced Talking Heads, Blondie, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, et al. They still sound great. The interplay of the two guitars is pretty special. Also check out their song "Marquee Moon."

I've always loved this one. Once again, we get to see Tina Weymouth playin' her bass. At first, she was just the drummer's girlfriend, but the band needed a bassist, so they got her a bass and made her listen to Suzie Quatro albums, and so there you are. (This is pretty much how Maureen Tucker became the drummer for the Velvets. She was somebody's sister, hanging around.)
All of these bands (except perhaps X; not sure about them) were heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground. And no wonder!

I do believe that The Modern Lovers, who hailed from Massachusetts, recorded this version of "She Cracked" in LA in 1972. Clearly, they were way ahead of their time. This doesn't appear to be the version of "She Cracked" that ended up on their one and only album (The Modern Lovers), which wasn't released until 1976 (it comprised the 1972 demos). This recording isn't live, but these guys always sounded like a live band somehow. Singer Jonathan Richman has continued as a solo artist. Jerry Harrison joined Talking Heads. The drummer helped found the Cars, etc.

Evidently, heroin can lower your voice. Here’s Marianne Faithfull (2000) doing her hit from circa 1979—during one of her many comebacks. Did you know that she is none other than the Baroness Sacher-Masoch and that her maternal great-great-uncle, Herr Masoch, wrote Venus in Furs? The latter title served as the title of one of the Velvet’s most celebrated songs, sung by Nico.

If, for some reason, you would like to go insane, take a look at Faithfull lipsyncing to her hit “As Tears Go By” in 1965.

Orlando Bound! ("a palpable sense of drama and grandeur")

"Sparkling pools and lazy river"
Only $2,445 a pop. Taxpayers will be delighted.

WHO WILL BE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD? In December, the SOCCCD board of trustees holds its annual "organizational meeting." This year, the meeting is on the 7th--Pearl Harbor Day! Click here for the agenda (pdf).

The trustees will, among other tasks, elect the President of the Board. As you know, current President Don Wagner is running for a seat in the State Assembly (70th AD). One might suppose, therefore, that he has better things to do than to preside over this board for yet another year. But maybe he loves bossing people around, keeping his eye on Mathur, sitting immediately under the golden "Ronald Reagan" sign, etc. Who wouldn't?

Trustee Tom Fuentes has never served as board President. Do you suppose he wants the job? Do you suppose he's up to the job? If he becomes President, will he hold entire meetings in prayer mode? Will he put on Christmas and Easter Pageants? Will the full measure of his piety finally come out of the closet? Come to Monday's meeting and see! (I won't be there. I've sworn off it.)

ORLANDO! Trustees are requesting money for conferences. One pricey conference is in a spectacular hotel in Washington, DC. And, as usual, a certain trustee (or perhaps multiple persons) has requested big money to attend the "National Conference on Trusteeship"—five fabulous days in lovely ORLANDO, Florida. Natch, the conference will be held at a fancy schmancy hotel. Check it out: golf, pools, serving wenches and everything.

Gosh, I wonder if JOHN WILLIAMS plans to go? He's into family values. He's terribly staunch about that. And I do believe he has relations in that part of the country. Well then!

Do you realize that he has been on the SOCCCD board for seventeen years? Do you suppose he still needs to brush up on this "trusteeship" thing? Guess so! Plus, he can work on his golf swing! (See Orlando Boy.)

●  2010 Community College National Legislative Summit

●  2010 National Conference on Trusteeship

●  CCLC Legislative Conference

●  Sheraton Grand Sacramento

Washington Marriott Wardman Park

"The soaring cathedral ceiling of our downtown Washington, DC hotel lobby conveys a palpable sense of drama and grandeur. It's a gesture that indicates the level of luxury and elegance—as well as service and amenities—you can expect as our guest."

$2,011 a pop.

SOCCCD Board of Trustees: special resolution retreatery

I just perused the agenda for the SOCCCD Board of Trustee's December (7) meeting. (Click here; a large pdf file.)

Item 6.1 is interesting:

Invocations at District and College Events
Adopt Resolution 09-23 regarding District policy on invocations at District and College events.

Point 1 of the resolution is just what one would expect from this conservative board. But points 2 and 3 reveal--oh, intense regret and... --um, I'll let you characterize it.

As I have noted previously, at the board meeting immediately following the notorious Fall Chancellor's "opening session"--in which a patriotic video declared that "Jesus Christ" offered to save our souls--the board heard from faculty who mightily objected to the video "Christ" sentiment and Trustee Williams' curious "going to hell" remark and invocation. They also requested an apology.

At that time, in response, trustees and the chancellor mentioned no "mistake" and made no apologies. Indeed, the Chancellor remarked that he was "not offended." Board President Wagner praised the Chancellor's opening session as a "job well done."

That was it. (This was nearly two weeks after the session.)

It is important to understand that the recently filed lawsuit ("Westphal v. Wagner") presents a pattern of behavior over a long period of time. The events of the Fall opening session are only some among many that constitute a rich and worrisome practice, including troubling and defiant episodes.

COMMENTS:

Hell No!
Anonymous said...
wow - you mean John Williams won't be able to tell me that I'm going to burn in hell anymore?
8:21 AM, December 04, 2009

Ixnay on the Apcray
Anonymous said...
Does this cover Raghu telling people that God put him in the Chancellor's office and that he is doing God's bidding at the colleges? 
Just wondering.
8:28 AM

Don Juan v. Don Wag
Anonymous said...
Ouch.

(Vote for Johnny Depp people - defeat Don Wagner!)
9:13 AM

Gratuitous Truth-spewage
Anonymous said...
Pot stirrer! Do you really want people to know what's going on? Why? To what end?
9:18 AM

Gimme separation or give me, um, a booboo
Anonymous said...
"Power concedes nothing without demand." - Frederick Douglass.

Thanks for demanding. Keep it up.
9:34 AM

Sure you can!
Anonymous said...
You can't make this stuff up!
9:51 AM

Wha?
Anonymous said...
Can anyone interpret that incomprehensible blather in paragraph 1?
11:10 AM

omg, CYA, CYA!
Anonymous said...
So basically they went to their (and God's) lawyer, and he said, "YOU IDIOTS! GO BACK AND COVER YOUR ASSES! TELL THEM IT WAS A MISTAKE! TELL THEM ANYTHING! HOW DUMB ARE YOU ANYWAY?"
12:24 PM

For the deaf, too
Anonymous said...
Let's see—you're a college for the blind, right? --Johnny Depp
12:39 PM

We won't be pushed around (beyond this point back here. Hello?)
Anonymous said...
Wow. A partial retreat. Their lawyer must've given 'em some bad news: "Good Lord, you people are morons."
1:10 PM

Trojan horses in public schools

TODAY, the Reg reported that

A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill. [The documentary--see trailer above] recounts a five-year effort by the CUSD Recall Committee parents group to bring reforms to a school district plagued by scandal, community unrest and allegations of corruption reaching into the highest levels of its administration.… The 2:30 p.m. screening will be hosted by two leading GOP lawmakers....

Co-hosting the screening will be the film's executive producer, Lance Izumi, and [the director]….

Lance Izumi? Does that name sound familiar? It should. Izumi was Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur’s super-special guest speaker at the Spring ’08 “Opening Session.” He was co-billed with Elvis. Remember?

The filmmakers highlight the much-criticized construction of Capistrano's sprawling district office building, the grand jury indictment of a former superintendent, and the unpopular decision to build a high school on a hilly site bordered by high-voltage transmission lines, landfills and a high-pressure gasoline pipeline.

The filmmakers also traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to profile a family's unhappiness with local public schools, to Sweden to examine that country's school voucher system, and to Oakland to chronicle the turnaround of an inner-city charter school.
...
Several Capistrano trustees who ran on the CUSD Recall Committee's "reform" platform attended the May premiere of the film, drawing ire from critics who questioned why public school officials were apparently supporting a film calling for sweeping reforms to public education, including school choice [i.e., programs allowing parents to spend government vouchers on private schools].

That is mighty strange, isn’t it? Public school officials in favor of the private school “voucher” concept? Gee willikers! It's almost perverse!

The Reg article notes that “Capistrano's ‘reform’ movement has accepted at least $40,000 in political campaign contributions over the past few years from the Education Alliance, a Tustin-based political action committee that, among other things, strongly supports school choice and school vouchers….”

Education Alliance: that’s the right-wing organization that SOCCCD board president Don Wagner helps guide (he’s on their board). A couple of years ago, Wagner (and Mathur and Padberg) went to a big EA shindig, featuring ultra-pompous blow-hard Dennis Prager! They told everybody about it at a board meeting.

EA got its start, you know, with a big chunk of money provided by Tom Fuentes’ good pal Howard Ahmanson—you know, the guy who thinks that stoning gay people to death isn’t really such a bad idea.

They're a sweet bunch, really they are. And very pious. As you may have heard, they do a lot of prayin'.

Tonight’s musical selection is the late Gene Pitney’s 1961 recording of “Every Breath I Take.” It is perhaps the most delirious record ever made. Love it. Be sure to catch Gene's lurid sigh just before the instrumental break:

Bonus track: Mekons’ glorious I Love a Millionaire

The Reg: John Williams' reduced authority

Last night, we reported some impending decisions with regard to trustee John Williams’ role as OC Public Administrator/Public Guardian. This morning, the OC Reg’s “Watchdog” (Jennifer Muir) reports:

County CEO: Reduce authority of elected official

The county’s top executive wants to seize oversight of the public guardian’s office, essentially reducing the authority of the county’s elected Public Administrator John Williams.

The recommendation comes months after a grand jury issued two scathing reports about Williams and the public administrator/public guardian office. They accuse Williams of doubling his management budget, breaking personnel rules and squandering a trustee’s estate….

Williams has refuted the findings, saying the grand jury just didn’t understand some of the complicated information he handed over and that their reports contain factual errors.

The county concedes that Williams has corrected or explained many of the grand jury allegations, but still contends “there is more to be done,” according to a staff report from CEO Tom Mauk’s office.
…
Supervisors have historically appointed the elected Public Administrator to take on the additional role of Public Guardian. In 2007, they solidified that marriage, passing an ordinance that makes the elected Public Administrator the ex-officio Public Guardian.

That means Williams, like the county’s other elected officials, doesn’t report to a direct supervisor. The public is his boss.

Mauk wants supervisors to repeal that ordinance, returning the Public Guardian job to an appointed position– a position that reports to him.

Mauk is recommending that supervisors let Williams keep the public guardian job if they vote to split up the offices. But if supervisors decide to appoint someone else instead, it could mean Williams will get a pay cut. He currently earns $139,526 a year….

COMMENTS:

Anonymous said...
Everyone knows that John has been overworked and underpaid - I am sure he welcomes this change.
9:26 AM, December 03, 2009

Anonymous said...
I expect the district will send out another clarifying email announcement regarding this latest development.
9:46 AM

Anonymous said...
There you go again Roy - stirring the pot of controversy by reading newspaper and then posting the article so people can be informed! This has got to stop.
10:50 AM

Anonymous said...
Yeah, there you go stirring the pot, beating the Register to this story and getting everything exactly right! What an asshole!
11:11 AM

Anonymous said...
That's pretty good pay from the taxpayers. Maybe John is also in favor of public healthcare.
11:52 AM

Anonymous said...
Williams is finanlly getting what he deserves. Lets hope the BOS moves quickly to implement this then turn around and fire his worthless ass, then folled up again with the firing of the HR director and the Chief Deputy. I hope Williams is enjoying his last Christmas party with his staff (Claimjumpers).
12:58 PM

Anonymous said...
Claimjumper?
5:44 PM

Anonymous said...
Yes, Claim Jumper! He was even nice enough to donate a dvd player as a raffle item. $139K for showing up for work for a few hours a day and he donates a dvd player! He only said a few words too, which was really nice. We all know he doesn't care about anyone but himself anyway, so why waste the words.
10:37 PM

Movies: the flood of 1938 (Orange County)

From Orange County Archives' photostream:

● 1938 flood at Olive
Traveling north on the 55, Olive hill is the last (and only!) hill on the left--just before one encounters the 91 and Santa Ana Canyon.

● 1938 flood at Atwood (a section of Anaheim), California
"The great flood of 1938 damaged many Orange County communities, but it struck hardest in the largely Mexican-American communities of Atwood and La Jolla. Most of the deaths caused by the flood came from this area, near the spot where the Santa Ana River initially broke through its banks. The Atwood area is now part of the City of Anaheim." [Or Placentia?]

● 1938 flood at Anaheim
Gustavo Arellano describes the flood

John Williams: as sharp as a bowling ball

You’ll recall that, earlier this year, trustee John Williams, the OC Public Administrator/Public Guardian, was the subject of two scathing Grand Jury reports that essentially accused him of mismanagement, incompetence, and various worrisome irregularities.

Today, a reader commented:

It seems as though the Orange County Board of Supervisors is FINALLY going to act on these [Grand Jury] findings. In the agenda for the upcoming [Board of Supervisors] meeting you will find under Item 45 where the BOS will adopt an ordinance to separate the elected position of the Public Administrator's office and the ex officio Public Guardian. This will again create two departments and Mr. Williams will now have to account for his actions to the CEO [County Executive Officer Thomas G. Mauk, I believe] will serve at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors….

The reader advises perusal of the “staff report,” and suggests that, according to that report, Williams will cease his role as Public Guardian after his term is up.

I read the agenda for the Dec. 8 BOS meeting, and, indeed, item 45 is the following:

Consider first reading of "An Ordinance of the County of Orange, California Repealing Ordinance No. 07-008, Which Designated the Public Administrator as the Ex Officio Public Guardian; and set second reading and adoption for 12/15/09….

Attached to item 45 is a staff report, which includes the following:

The CEO recommends repealing Ordinance 07-008 … thereby returning Public Guardian (PG) to an appointed position, reporting to the CEO….

The [Public Guardian] was an appointed position until County Ordinance 07-008 was adopted, when the Board designated the Public Administrator as the Ex Officio Public Guardian.

On March 11, 2003, the Board of Supervisors appointed the newly elected PA to the additional office of Public Guardian of the County of Orange, and moved the PA/PG department from the Community Services Agency (CSA) to the Health Care Agency (HCA).

On May 3, 2005, The Board of Supervisors approved the separation of the office of the Public Administrator/Public Guardian from HCA and established it as a separate department. This action was taken primarily to realize significant cost savings.

On May 22, 2007, The Board of Supervisors approved Resolution 07-008 …, which made the elected Public Administrator the ex officio Public Guardian….

...The recommended actions would again give the Board of Supervisors the discretion to make the appointment of the PG.

The CEO recommends repealing Ordinance 07-008 … thereby returning Public Guardian (PG) to an appointed position, reporting to the CEO. This would improve management oversight and collaboration with the department and CEO, including budget and reserves, policies and procedures and human resources. This action does not affect the elected Public Administrator (PA) position. … The only substantive operational change will be to have the CEO provide support and oversight for the PG activities.

The CEO recommends these actions based on a number of factors. The PA/PG has been the subject of an unprecedented two Grand Jury reports this year. The first, “Guardian of Last Resort,” published May 6, 2009 raised significant concerns about personnel classifications, management growth, the replacement IT system and financial accountability. The second Grand Jury report, “Supplemental Guardian of Last Resort” published on June 30, 2009 re-emphasizes many of the same concerns. While many of the Grand Jury issues have been corrected or explained, there is more to be done.

Additionally, PA/PG is facing significant budget challenges, as the revenue streams are projected to be lower than expected because of economic conditions (i.e. interest and estate fees)….

PA/PG has also experienced significant issues with their new IT replacement system. Deadlines have been missed, and PA/PG agrees with CEO IT that a new vendor could be needed. Since this project will be lead by CEO IT, having CEO oversight for Public Guardian will provide better oversight and increased assurance of timely success.

This new reporting relationship will enhance accountability of the department and services to the clients of Orange County.

This action is timed to be effective prior to the filing for the June 2010 election. The second reading for this action must be completed prior to January 15, in order to be effective prior to the commencement of the declaration of candidacy by the Registrar of Voters for the June 2010 election, which is February 15, 2010. Anyone seeking to run for Public Administrator will know that the additional appointment as Public Guardian will be appointed at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.

The determination of the split between the PA and PG salaries is based on past practice and estimated workload. Until 2007, the PAPG was budgeted separately at a split of approximately 25% for the elected Public Administrator and 75% for the appointed Public Guardian....