On books: In NPR host Scott Simon’s ‘Sunnyside Plaza,’ he reminds us why kindness starts from within

Scott Simon is one of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters. Every week, I make an appointment to listen to NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, which he hosts. I follow him on Twitter, along with a million others. So, when Simon writes, speaks or uses social media to convey what’s on his mind, I’m eager to be in the mix, and I have an appreciation for his respectful thoughts on topics that range from humor to serious matters.

Simon has already written eight books – from novels to memoirs – on a variety of subjects near and dear to him including baseball. 

He’s an unabashed Chicago Cubs fan and loyalist and his enthusiasm for our National Pastime easily rubs off on others. 

Last month, Simon’s recently-penned ninth book – a story he’s wanted to tell for years – was published by Little, Brown and Company. Sunnyside Plaza, a mystery aimed at young readers, is a “story of empowerment as a young woman decides to help solve a mystery of multiple suspicious deaths in her group home.” 

A deft storyteller who can make you both laugh and cry, Simon wrote the mystery of Sunnyside Plaza from his own past. After all, when he was in his teens, Simon took a job in an assisted living facility in Chicago, where he worked with people who had developmental disabilities. He drew upon those experiences there in writing his new book.

“It was more formative in my life, I think, than most any war I’ve covered, any political campaign I’ve covered, any reportorial experience I’ve had,” Simon said in a recent NPR interview. He explained how “it really opened my eyes into seeing the world differently.”

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon

Recently, my path crossed with Simon’s on his book tour, where he spoke about Sunnyside Plaza before an attentive audience at the American Library Association mid-winter conference in Philadelphia. 

In describing the kinds of individuals he came across in the group home, Simon explained that there were “people who have joy and amazing ingenuity just to get through the day, people with great spirit who see past the superficial differences we often see. Once I saw past it, it opened my eyes. It taught something to me.”

On this particular day in Philadelphia and in interviews, Simon speaks about how his personal experiences of working in the group home shaped his thinking and writing about it. In his familiar, midwestern polite tone of voice, he says that he purposefully avoids using specific terms to describe the people living at Sunnyside Plaza because he doesn’t want to get tangled up in an issue of language. Instead, as he suggests, “I want readers to see them as people, not put a label on them at any point in the book.” 

Since its publication, Sunnyside Plaza has drawn much critical praise, both in print reviews and from peers. For instance, The Wall Street Journal wrote: “A wise, humane book from NPR’s Scott Simon tells a mystery from the point of view of a 19-year-old resident of a group home for people with intellectual disabilities. Mr. Simon’s respect and affection on every page of this gentle mystery narrated by Sally Miyake, a 19-year-old resident of a group home.” Meanwhile, Jerry Spinnelli, the Newbery winning author of Maniac Magee and The Warden’s Daughter, says: “Sunnyside Plaza is a light in the shadows that illuminates the humanity in us all. It’s a book as special as its characters. A treasure.”

A question that Simon is often asked on his book tour centers on why he’s decided to leap from his role as a highly-respected journalist into writing novels. On his personal website, scottsimonbooks.com, he notes: “I wanted to challenge myself. And I thought I might have something to offer. I’ve been blessed with a rich reporting career that’s often veered between the imperative, like covering wars, and the inane, like learning how to tango (within the same week, I reported the war in Kosovo, and went swimming in Beverly Hills with Esther Williams). One refreshed my perspective for the other. So, I hope I can use my experiences to put details, feeling, and a certain humor into my fiction. And I hope I can apply some old reporting muscles to try to imagine new lives.”

Photo credits: Sunnyside Plaza dust cover courtesy of Amazon.com. Scott Simon photo courtesy of americanlibrariesmagazine.org. 

Remembering the eloquence of Jack Whitaker

Jack Whitaker / 1924-2019

I spent some quiet time Monday morning reflecting upon the life of legendary sports broadcaster Jack Whitaker, known for his eloquent commentaries, who passed away Sunday at age 95. What a wonderful life Whitaker lived crafting broadcast essays about sports, inspired by writers he admired like Alastair Cooke and Heywood Hale Broun. You have to be of a certain age to remember these masters of the writing craft – and I am of that certain age.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, where he got his broadcasting start after graduating from St. Joseph’s College, Whitaker was a decorated veteran of World War II, fighting in the Normandy Campaign and was wounded by an artillery strike. He went on to a career as a sportscaster with both CBS and ABC.

Whitaker was regarded as “The Talking Head” of sports – long before David Byrne ran with the moniker and named his American rock band The Talking Heads. He broadcast football, golf and horse racing, among many sports. “I know that I’m regarded as The Talking Head,” he once told Sports Illustrated during a 1977 interview. “I’d like to be exactly that and say something that people will remember or get excited about. I’d like to bring sports into the thinking process.”

Jack Whitaker

On the eve of the Kentucky Derby horse race one year, Whitaker waxed poetically about the mood and feeling of one of America’s most iconic sporting events: “America never looks better than on a spring afternoon at the horse farms around Lexington.

“The bluegrass fields and limestone-permeated water has given strength to 81 Derby winners. Just up the road is Churchill Downs in the city of Louisville. In Louisville, America thrives. It was here that Americans discovered how to blend golden corn, barley, malt and rye into bourbon whiskey. It was here that baseball’s National League was founded and where they still make the famous Louisville sluggers. And it was in Louisville that the Kentucky Derby thrived and grew into something beyond a horse race.”

In perusing Whitaker’s obituary in Monday’s print edition of The New York Times, I learned that he “reserved his greatest passion for golf,“ and loved to weave historical imagery into his accounts. 

For instance, in commenting about the British Open at Troon, Scotland, for ABC’s World News Tonight in 1982, he spoke: 

“Through all the years, the British Open has changed very little. The biggest addition has been the tented city, looking like Henry V’s camp at the Battle of Agincourt. Here you can buy among other things lawn mowers, cashmere sweaters and Champagne, which is replacing tea as Britain’s national beverage. But basically the British Open is the same as it was in 1860 when they first played it down the road at Prestwick. Playing in the British Open is like reading American history at Independence Hall or studying opera at La Scala. It’s golf at its most simple, its most pure, its most magnificent.“

Rest in peace, Jack Whitaker. You shared a marvelous passion for sports with us for many years. I’ll remember what you said once about the sport of golf that you loved so much: “Golf accommodates itself anywhere. It travels better than Beaujolais. Golf is the most moveable feast of all.”

Thoughts on TV: NBA's LeBron James is unfiltered on HBO’s The Shop – In the barbershop you can’t lie.

Imagine watching an unfiltered conversation and debate featuring four-time NBA most valuable player LeBron James and other big names from sports and entertainment.

It’s all happening down at The Shop, which debuted as a periodic series this summer on HBO. James’s latest off-the-court vehicle gives viewers a “one-of-a-kind barbershop experience, which for many provides a sanctuary for free-flowing and spirited discussions.” It’s really good TV, folks. What’s not to like about seeing James and his friends sipping on some wine and dropping a few swear words while offering viewers a side of themselves that we rarely get to see?

The idea behind this open-forum series, a collaboration between James and Maverick Carter’s digital media company, Uninterrupted, is to visit barbershops around the country and gather groups of distinguished individuals – athletes who want to be entertainers and entertainers who envy athletes – who are free to speak honestly on sports, music, pop culture, race, current events, business and other “culturally relevant” topics. The half-hour program is unscripted and features a no holds barred attitude. Sure, there's the upfront adult language disclaimer at the start of each episode. Yet, it’s not as if we’ve never heard an occasional F-bomb dropped in the course of mature and frank conversation between mature adults.

Episode 2 of The Shop premiered last Friday night on HBO, and among those joining James were the hip-hop artist Drake, who opened up about the struggle to retire gracefully, the rules of hip-hop, and his on-going feud with Kanye West.

“I think maybe one of my biggest concerns in my career is just to figure out how to exit gracefully,” Drake admits during the broadcast. “I’ve watched people overstay their welcome, and I just don’t ever want to be that guy that’s addicted to the feeling of victory, addicted to the emotion of people digesting something that they love, and get to the point I’m just feeding them something and they’re just like, ‘Yeah.’”

Says James: “I’d rather fail being who I am than fail being somebody they want me to be.”

At The Shop / 
(L-R) Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Drake.

Both Drake and James shared thoughts about their evolving approaches to fatherhood and how each were influenced by their relationships with their parents. Joining in the conversation were pro basketball stars Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, WNBA All-Star Elena Della Donne of the Washington Mystics, Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo and NBA rookie Mo Bamba of the Orlando Magic, who spoke about their “rapidly evolving” careers.

The current episode follows up on last month’s candidly raw Episode 1, which established the show’s parameters, and featured former Daily Show host and Emmy and Peabody Award-winner Jon Stewart, rap icon Snoop Dogg, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green and WNBA most valuable player Candace Parker "deconstructing their success," as one critic wrote.

“Anyone who has been in a real barbershop, like the ones where I grew up, knows why this show can be so incredible,” said James, 33, a native of Akron, Ohio. “The Shop is exactly why we created Uninterrupted. I’m really excited HBO believed our idea and is helping us create something special.”

Photos: Courtesy of HBO Sports.

Videos: Courtesy of YouTube.com.

'Little orchestra' Pink Martini – "Je dis oui!"

Pink Martini / "Utterly cosmopolitan yet utterly unpretentious."

I am not unabashed by my love of Pink Martini. The internationally acclaimed "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, founded by a couple of Harvard classmates, pianist Thomas Lauderdale and vocalist China Forbes, mixes glamour with their style of sophisticated, easy-listening music. After all, what's not to like about vintage French and Italian pop, American swing and standards, Latin jazz with an orchestral twist or classic Hollywood film and musical soundtracks?

Since 1994, the band that the Washington Post once called "utterly cosmopolitan yet utterly unpretentious," has amassed an impressive repertoire of festive songs drawn from around the globe, including many timeless classics and a few rarely heard chestnuts. Each new Pink Martini album and concert tour, I've discovered, pushes the boundaries of language and musical style.

A typical Pink Martini concert is both multilingual and multicultural, and at holiday time it's also multi-denominational. I speak from the experience of having seen the band perform a dozen times over the past decade in a variety of California settings: from a beautiful, summer outdoor evening at the Hollywood Bowl to the intimate, acoustically perfect Weill Hall at Sonoma State University. Above all, a Pink Martini show is inclusive – full of warmth and good cheer – and represents many human experiences. Through the energy and creativity of their music, Pink Martini brings joy to the world in these troubled times – something which should make all of us feel grateful and appreciative.

Pianist Thomas Lauderdale co-founded Pink Martini
with China Forbes in 1994.

"We're very much an American band," Lauderdale once said, "but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America ... the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated county in the world ... composed of people of every country, every language, every religion."

Pink Martini has performed on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe and Asia, as well as in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America. I have seen them perform both as a little orchestra as well as in concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. When his schedule allows, NPR "All Things Considered" host Ari Shapiro, also a Portland native, joins Pink Martini as a guest vocalist.

Last Wednesday, in the intimate, 842-seat Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University, about an hour's drive from home, my wife and I saw our most recent Pink Martini show. It was part of a two-week California/Nevada "Holiday Spectacular" bus tour that began in San Francisco and included shows in Reno, Modesto, Escondido, Palm Desert, Santa Rosa and concluded in Palo Alto. After playing shows in North Carolina and Virginia over the weekend, the "Holiday Spectacular" tour continues in New York City and Boston this week before wrapping up with a pair of New Year's Eve shows at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

During their Palo Alto "Holiday Spectacular" show, the 12-member band delighted the audience by performing from their expansive catalog of pop, jazz, classical and holiday songs that were beautifully sung in many different tongues: German ("Ich dich liebe"), Spanish "Yo te quiero siempre"), Turkish ("Askim bahardi"), Croatian ("U plavu zoru"), Armenian ("Ov sirun sirun"), French ("Sympathique") Xhosa ("Pata Pata"), Chinese ("Congratulations – A Happy New Year Song"), Italian ("Una Notte a Napoli"), and oh yes, English, too ("Little Drummer Boy"). No matter the language, each song expressed a variety of human emotions – love, pain, joy grief – in an honest feeling.

Je dis oui! / Pink Martini's ninth album
features songs in no fewer than eight different languages.

Recently, the band's much-anticipated ninth album, Je dis oui! (I say yes), was released. It features Forbes and Storm Large sharing lead vocals, and includes Shapiro ("Finnisma Di") plus frequent collaborator Rufus Wainwright ("Blue Moon") along with the Harvey Rosencrantz Orchestra and the Pacific Youth Choir.

"To take in Je dis oui! is to experience a globetrotting victory lap across no fewer than eight different languages – English, French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish and, in a cover of Miriam Mekeba's glorious 'Pata Pata,' Xhosa – all tackled with cosmopolitan sophistication and the playfulness of pop, wrote NPR music critic Stephen Thompson in reviewing Je dis oui!

"Exploring just one language or genre, and doing a whole album like that doesn't interest me," said Lauderdale, during a recent interview with the Hartford Courant. 

Pink Martini's unique vision can be attributed to its inclusiveness of language, culture and religion, musically. The band wants anyone and everyone to feel welcome at its shows and, if they are so encouraged, to jump up and dance along with the music. And many did just that during their Palo Alto show. The evening was complete with an encore performance of the band's signature closing tune "Brazil" in which many in the audience, at Lauderdale's urging, formed a conga line that snaked its way around the stage while others danced at their seats and in the aisles.

If  you think about it, Large once said, "It's really the perfect recipe for 'Peace on Earth and Good Will' we hear about so often during the holidays, but sadly have witnessed quite the opposite in the world of late."

Pink Martini concert photos by Michael Dickens © 2016. Album photo courtesy of Pink Martini website.

A question of language: Je suis circumflex

In Paris during simpler times /
At the Place de la Concorde, 2012.

One recent Saturday morning while enjoying breakfast, I read with interest the news from France that tempers have been flaring over questions of language.

Imagine ça!

According to The New York Times, French broadcaster TF1 reported that "changes were afoot" at the Académie française, the pre-eminent French council for matters pertaining to the French language, "to cut back the circumflex accent, known as 'the hat' from French-language textbooks."

––––––––––

You know the circumflex accent, 

right? It looks like this: ˆ

––––––––––

In addition, according to the story, French teachers are also being asked to make changes affecting about 2,400 French words, including spelling oignon – or onion – as agnon.

Ciel aider ceux qui ne peuvent pas épeler.

"Among the words appropriated from English, news reports noted, the hyphen in week-end would be eliminated, along with the hyphen in tictac (now tic-tac, or ticking, like a clock), while leader would be given a French makeover and spelled leadeur. Nénuphar, or water lily, would be spelled nénufar."

As you might imagine, the reaction on social media – Facebook, Twitter and such – has been harsh and unkind. It should come as no surprise that intellectuals, teachers, and traditionalistes  have come forth to vent their anger. After all, many French see what's happening as an attack on centuries of their culture and history. Some see the "pruning" of the circumflex as a personal affront.

"Others were quick to warn of the linguistic perils of losing the circumflex to distinguish between sûr, or sure, ad adjective and sur, or on, a preposition," according to The New York Times story.

For instance, The New York Times wrote: "'I am sure your sister is well' and 'I am on top of your sister she is well' are not the same thing," somebody noted on Twitter, using a colloquial form of French.

Oh, la confusion!

In fact, the circumflex is becoming optional on i's and u's, and only on those words that do not need it. It will remain mandatory in several French verb tenses and when there is a clear distinction in meaning."

La langue est encore sacré?

Attitudes in language shift and, perhaps, it's a sign of the times that language evolves – even the immortal, sacred French language. And yet, in an ever-changing age of technology and smartphones, there's something charming about a culture that is still wedded to its vaunted dictionaries.

Je vous remercie.

Photo: By Michael Dickens © 2012.

I ♥ words: LOL with the OED ~ OMG!

OMG, I'm LOL at the giddy list of new words that the venerable Oxford English Dictionary has added ~ and, believe me, there are many.

Perusing the blogosphere, I couldn't help but notice the news about noteworthy initialisms "OMG" (Oh My God), "LOL" (Laughing Out Loud), and the symbol for "heart" ♥ have all been added to the OED online dictionary. They join other initialisms such as "IMHO" (In My Humble Opinion), "TMI" (Too Much Information), and "BFF" (Best Friends Forever), among others, that have already gained recognition.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


People take notice when the Oxford English Dictionary adds new words to its lexicon. After all, the OED is the definitive record of the English language ~ it says so on their website. Achieving status in the OED means a word has gained mainstream acceptance, it's part of correct English. Of course, by the time they gain recognition, these words are behind the curve, so old school. Whatever your attitude or point of view, the English language ~ and the words we use in our daily conversation ~ is forever changing, always in revision.

Some other new and notable words added in the Class of 2011 besides the aforementioned OMG, LOL and ♥ include: Ruthian, smack talk and ego-surfing. Ego-surfing?

Because I'm a big fan of British slang, I was intrigued by cream crackered, an adjective, a British slang term that connotes being tired and exhausted. And you thought it had something to do with food.  OMG, no. Now, I challenge you to use cream crackered in a sentence with a straight face. Speaking of food, I know that many foodies who appreciate Asian cuisine ~ and there are many here in the Bay Area ~ will delight in seeing the addition of bánh mì, a noun, which is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette stuffed with strips of pork meat or chicken (tofu is acceptable, too), spring onion, cilantro, cucumber and lettuce, along with chili or soy sauce.  Think New Orleans-style po' boy or Philadelphia hoagie sandwich and you kind of get the culinary picture of bánh mì. 

However, after perusing the list of new and accepted words, I think my favorite new word is: yidaki. It is a noun that is defined as a long wooden instrument played by the Aborginal peoples of Arnhem Land.  

Mind you, I have no particular reason for liking yidaki over all the others.  I guess the wordsmith in me just likes the way the word yidaki (jɪˈdækɪ) sounds and rolls off of my tongue.

Now, it's time to head off to class and learn these newly-added ~ and accepted ~ words that are defining our language today and try using them in polite, daily conversation. Dare I say: OMG, sound the yidakis, let's enjoy a little bánh mì and, eventually, we'll all get a little cream crackered in the process! LOL. 

Here's the Oxford English Dictionary 'Class of 2011' words (presented alphabetically followed by their part of speech):

about round, adv.

ambigram, n.
banh mi, n.
Barnard's star, n.
bet-hedging, n.bet-hedging, adj.
biker, n.
biologic, adj. and n.
calligram, n.
car crash, n.
couch surf, v.
couch surfer, n.
couch surfing, n.
cream crackered, adj.
crème de cassis, n.
Divehi, n.
dot-bomb, n. and adj.
dotted line, n. and adj.
drill-down, n.
dubplate, n.
Dutch colonial, adj. and n.
ego-surf, v.
ego-surfing, n.
English colonial, adj. and n.
fabless, adj.
fnarr fnarr, int. and adj.
gnasher, n.
gremolata, n.
headline, v.
headlined, adj.
headlining, adj.
hentai, n.
heteronormative, adj.
heteronormativity, n.
Hindutva, n.
June, n.
kleftiko, n.
la-la land, n.
lari, n.
LOL, n.1
LOL, int. and n.2
lumpenintelligentsia, n.
meep, n. (and int.)
meep, v.
muffin top, n.
non-dom, n.
non-domicile, n.
non-domiciled, adj.
OMG, int., (n.), and adj.
pap, n.5
pap, v.3
party-crasher, n.
party-crashing, n.
party-crashing, adj.
radioprotectant, adj. and n.
rotograph, v.
rotoscope, v.
rotoscoped, adj.
rotoscoping, n.
rototill, v.
rototilled, adj.
rotten egg, n.
Rotterdammer, n.
Rottie, n.
rottle, n.2
rotty, adj.
rouding time, n.
rough-cut, adj.
rough-cut, v.
rough-dress, v.
roughed-in, adj.
rough-in, n.
roughstock, n.
roulade, v.
roulading, n.
roulette, v.
roundman, n.
round-nose, adj. and n.
round-trip, v.
roupily, adv.
Roussanne, n.
roustabouting, n.
routed, adj.2
router, n.6
routery, n.
routineness, n.
rowdily, adv.
rowed, adj.3
rower, n.3
rowlock, n.2
Royal Free disease, n.
royalness, n.
rozzle, v.
RSA, n.2
Rt. Rev., n.
Rt. Revd., n.
Ru, n.
rua, n.
ruach, n.
rub-a-dub, v.1
rubber-banded, adj.
rubberization, n.
rubberize, v.1
Rubisco, n.
rubrene, n.
rubrification, n.2
rubus, n.
ruck, v.7
ruckly, adj.2
rude, n.1
rudimentarily, adv.
ruesome, adj.
ruff, n.10
ruff, int. (and n.11)
rufiyaa, n.
Rugby sevens, n.
rugelach, n.
rugulate, adj.
ruleful, adj.
rumble-de-thumps, n.
Ruminal, adj.1
rumminess, n.1
rumour control | rumor control, n.
Rumping, adj.
rumspringa, n.
run-and-shoot, adj. and n.
runathon, n.
runchick, n.
Rungu, n.
runiform, adj.
run-round, n.
ruote, n.
Rupert, n.
RUPP, n.
Ruppia, n.
rural economics, n.
Rurales, n.
ruralite, n.
Russellite, n.1 and adj.
Russellite, n.2
Russellite, n.3
Russophilia, n.
Russophobic, adj.
Russophone, n. and adj.
russula, n.
rusticate, adj.
rusticator, n.
rusticle, n.
Rusyn, n. and adj.
Ruthenic, adj.1
ruthenous, adj.
Ruthian, adj.
rutinic, adj.
rutting, n.2
ryanodine, n.
ryotei, n.
ryugi, n.
Second Coming, n.
singledom, n.
Skidi, n. and adj.
smack talk, n.
smack talking, n.
smack-talking, adj.
spinback, n.
state-run, adj.
stonewash, n.
stonewash, v.
stonewashed, adj.
suicide door, n.
taquito, n.
tetri, n.
tinfoil hat, n.
Wag, n.4
wassup, int.
yidaki, n.

I ♥ words.

Music ~ a universal language

The 19th Century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once mused, "Music is the universal language of mankind." Although his words pre-dated the iPod generation by about a hundred years or so, I think the poet was onto something.

In an age where understanding the new models of music and media changes by the day ~ if not by the hour ~ it is music that has shaped the world around us. No matter what language it is sung ~ English, French, Spanish, Afrikaans. No matter if you don't speak or understand the language. You can still understand ~ and appreciate ~ the voice, the beat and the sound of the music.

A perusal of recent additions to my "Morning Becomes Eclectic" playlist (500+ songs) on my Apple iPod reflects the universality of my expanding multi-lingual and multi-genre music tastes:

"Prayer in Open D" by Emmylou Harris from Spyboy.

"Waiting for a Miracle" by Bruce Cockburn from Anything, Anytime, Anywhere.

"Xango Te Xinga" by Fabiana Cozza from The New Brazilian Music.

"July Flame" by Laura Veirs from July Flame.

"Seya" by Oumou Sangare' from Seya.

Let's break it down: There's alt country sung by an American (Harris), indy rock by a Canadian (Cockburn), bossa nova (sung by Cozza, a Brazilian), indy folk (sung by Veirs, an American), world music (sung by Oumou Sangare, a Malian). Added up: Music has no borders; its themes are shared.

Yes, music is indeed its own universal language. And, after all, doesn't everything in life go better with music?