Graham Murray

 In Memoriam

   I first met Graham in the late 1960s in London, Ontario. He had arrived at the University of Western Ontario after passing successfully through the London School of Economics and teaching for a bit at Lehigh, in Pennsylvania. I was at UWO having attended, much less successfully, the University of Maryland. Graham impressed me (and everyone else) with his extensive vocabulary, spoken, as Steve Paikin notes below, with a "wonderful English accent." On the anniversary of his passing, he is worth remembering. 

   The information we find easily on the Internet is often ephemeral. For that reason, I have chosen here to capture some of it, although Mulcahy's Miscellany is also not likely to last for very long.  If a few people read this, however, perhaps some vestiges of memories of Graham will linger for a little longer.

   An obituary for Graham appears (for now) on the website of the Humphrey Funeral Home - A.W. Miles-Newbigging Chapel Limited. He died on August 29, 2021. Here it is:

"Graham died at Toronto, August 29, 2021. In death, as in life, on his own terms.

Only son of William Atkinson Murray (1916-1994) and Marjorie Mary Elliot (1916-1987), born in Enfield, England, July 21, 1943. He embodied his Dad's sense of fair play and his Mum's feistiness.

Survived by his sister, Susan Murray of Codrington Hill, London, his wife, Susan Cutler and their son, James Alexander Murray (and Alan the Cat).

He will be much missed by his cousins in England and his in-laws in Canada.

Graham was educated at the Latymer School, England and the London School of Economics (LSE) 1961-1964, graduating with a B.Sc. [Econ] International Relations. At the LSE he was the Editor of The Beaver and President of the Jazz Society. It was in this connection he argued with Mick Jagger over expansion to include blues nights. He taught International Relations at Lehigh University 1964-1966, in Lehigh, Pennsylvania, returning to LSE for a continuance of his degree and then to the University of Western Ontario 1968-1975, in London, Ontario, to teach International Relations.

Enjoying the politics of academia more than the slog of publishing, he joined the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) as Executive Vice Chair 1975-1978, when a strong provincial advocate was needed for effective lobbying.

He worked as a researcher for the Ontario New Democratic Party Leader's Office at Queen's Park 1978-1987, under Stephen Lewis then Michael Cassidy's leadership. Graham abetted on the "welfare diet" in November, 1982, to demonstrate how limited the food budget of the average person on welfare was.

As a member of the NDP, Graham ran twice provincially in the riding of Eglinton-Lawrence (and managed to recoup the deposit).

Graham found his true calling. As publisher of Inside Queen's Park 1987-2015, the definitive bi-weekly record of the political workings of Ontario government, Graham was able to combine his writing skills with his in-depth knowledge of how government could or should but inevitably would work.

At the Legislature, he was instrumental in getting Ontario wines and beers available in the Legislative dining room. His work with the Speaker of the House set up the Speaker's Book Award which recognizes non-fiction works by Ontario authors reflecting the diverse culture and rich history of the province and of its residents.

In 1990, Graham worked with the OSSTF-FEESO political action team on a brilliant campaign over the underfunding of education targeted to key ridings that contributed to the NDP electoral victory.

Graham was a founding member of the Public Affairs Association Canada PAAC and served as President from 1992-1994.

Graham was a man who loved a party, loved long convoluted tales that may or may not have contained outrageous puns, word play or obscure quotes. His store of Ontario provincial election and political trivia was prodigious. An admirer of Samuel Johnson and Winston Churchill, he would have held his own in a battle of wits and temperament with both.

Parkinson's disease did not win in the end. Graham did -- he died as he had lived, courageously and with an unflinching determination.

Our thanks to the Dotsa Bitove program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, to our PSWs Fiona and Samantha, to the Staff at St. Michael's Hospital ICU and Palliative Care Unit.

The family will receive friends at the Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel, 1403 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, on Thursday, September 2nd from 3:00 – 4:00, 4:30 – 5:30 and 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Funeral service to be held at St. James-the-Less Cemetery Chapel, 635 Parliament Street, on Friday, September 3rd at 2:00 p.m., with visitation to begin in the chapel at 1:00 p.m. Due to COIVD-19 restrictions, attendance at both is limited. Please email your attendance, including the time, to sue.j.cutler@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to TVOntario, B.C. Fire relief or the charity of your choice. Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com."

   Here is a portion of one of the remarks left on the "Tribute Wall" of the funeral home. [The name of the contributor is not included here.]

"I knew Graham back in the 1980s.  As well as being a brilliant researcher at NDP Caucus, Graham was also the President of our small Opseu Local.  Graham took on this thankless, volunteer role in addition to an incredibly demanding job that included preparing reports on issues of the day, and daily briefings of the Leader and MPPS for Question Period.  But no matter how busy Graham was his door was always open to staffers who needed help, advice or just a friendly ear.  As a new staff member I remember feeling overwhelmed about the layoffs that were coming following our loss of seats after the 1981 election. He was kind and reassuring.  He worked tirelessly following that election and others to save as many staff jobs as possible  - mine included."

Here is another from a friend of mine:

"Graham was a person of rare quality and wit, and a kind and generous friend."

I agree.

   The same obituary appears in the Toronto Star, Sept. 2, 2021. Among the condolences submitted, is this one: [I have not included the name of the person who provided it.]

"I only learned of Graham’s passing via Steve Paikin’s blog the other day and was greatly saddened by the news. Graham was a fixture around the Pink Palace during my many tours of duty there and lent the place a humanity and character that it sorely needed most days. I always enjoyed exchanging rapid-fire banter with him, and recall his enjoyment of a way I described our kind of relationship in political terms (I was and remained a diehard conservative). To wit, the old Warner Brothers cartoon about the wolf and the sheepdog who strolled to work together in the morning, beat the living daylights out of each other until closing time, and then marched back out into the sunset arm-in-arm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, and that’s the way Graham Murray was. Rest In Peace."

  Here is the short obituary found in Inside Queen's Park:

"Graham Murray, Former IQP Publisher, Passes Away," By David Hains.

"Graham Murray, for decades a fixture at Queen’s Park in multiple capacities, has passed away. He was 78. Born in England, Murray found his way to Toronto and, through a combination of curiosity and an inclination to say yes, found himself in many roles at Queen’s Park. From the late-‘70s to late-‘80s he was a researcher for the NDP. He twice ran (unsuccessfully) for elected office. And in 1987 he joined the nascent publication Inside Queen’s Park as a freelance writer, and INSIDE QUEEN’S PARK would go on to publish and be the face of the publication from the early 1990s until 2015. He was also a founding member of the Public Affairs Association of Canada and served as its president from 1992–94. He also played an instrumental role in ensuring beer and alcohol were served at Queen’s Park, giving another reason for politicos to toast his memory. He is survived by his wife Susan and son James."

"Mr. Queen's Park"

   This article about Graham appears in the November 1, 2021 issue of TVO Today. The picture at the top is from that publication. Although the link to the article works today, it may not tomorrow. I trust that TVO will forgive me for pasting it here. As the family suggests in the obituary, donations to TVO would be appreciated.

"Remembering Graham Murray: Mr. Queen's Park," Steve Paikin.

"Nowadays, there are a lot of newsletters, websites, and podcasts that focus on what’s happening in Ontario politics. But back in the day, there was only one: Inside Queen’s Park, which started it all. 

It was established by Graham Murray, who was a researcher for the New Democratic Party from 1978 to 1987. It seemed as if everyone at the legislature knew Graham, who died this past summer at age 78. 

Graham knew a ton about Queen’s Park, and every time there was an event of significance, he seemed to be there. He was born in Enfield, England — just north of London — in 1943 and had every intention of becoming a foreign-affairs specialist. In fact, he studied international relations at the London School of Economics, then taught the subject at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and at the University of Western Ontario, in London.

“He enjoyed academia, but he didn’t enjoy the pressing need to publish or perish,” says his 32-year-old son, Jamie, his only offspring. That would prove to be truly ironic, given how much publishing Graham would come to do later in life. 

In 1975, he became executive vice-chair of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), which eventually led him to his caucus research job with the NDP at Queen’s Park. 

Graham wasn’t what you’d call a numbers guy, and that eventually led to his downfall at the legislature. He did some research for then NDP leader Bob Rae. 

“He gave Bob some bad numbers, which Bob used in the house and got embarrassed by using them,” says Graham’s widow, Susan Cutler. The couple met through NDP politics. 

Rae eventually fired Graham, but Graham figured out another way to be part of the provincial political scene. He began publishing the bi-weekly newsletter Inside Queen’s Park, which established the template that so many other online publications now follow. Readers were treated to a recap of the political developments of the past two weeks, an extended interview with a newsmaker, a list of upcoming political events, and a trivia question. To be sure, if you knew the answers to Graham’s questions, you were neck deep in nerd-dom. He published the newsletter from 1987 to 2015. 

“He really enjoyed being an insider,” Jamie says. “He was well-respected by all parties and liked cutting through the spin and providing insight and context for things that were developing.” 

As much as Graham wanted you to subscribe to IQP — in other words, to pay for it — he really just wanted you to read it. He wanted everyone to know they’d be getting nuggets of wisdom not seen in the mainstream daily newspapers, so it wasn’t unusual for him to reach inside his jacket pocket and simply give away the newsletter for free at social events. He retained every ounce of his wonderful English accent and frequently gossiped and name-dropped. 

As much as people thought they knew Graham because he was around so much, his personal life was a bit of a mystery to many of us. I knew Graham for more than three decades, and yet until his death, had never known he’d been married three times. (Jamie is the product of his third and happiest marriage, to Susan, whom he wed in 1987.) 

In 1981, he thought about running in the provincial election for the NDP, but he reconsidered when the party’s leader, Michael Cassidy, began soft-pedalling his support for gay rights. Cassidy had won the party leadership in part because of his championing of gay rights, a politically brave position to take at the time. 

“Gay rights were a touchstone for other issues,” Graham once told me. “If you’d do it to them, why should other groups believe you’ll stick by them?” 

In 2004, Graham started experiencing tremors; he soon learned he had Parkinson’s disease, as his father had. Although the tremors became more severe, he continued to publish IQP for another 11 years. 

“His mobility really suffered,” says Jamie. “Instead of working the room, he’d sit, and people would come to him. He’d hold court. But, eventually, it was harder for him to speak and type.” 

Graham may have been a New Democrat, but his favourite politician was a Tory. 

“He always really, really loved Bill Davis,” Jamie says, referring to Ontario’s 18th premier, who died just a few weeks before Graham. “They went to heaven at the same time, and they’ve probably got a really good table up there.”

Even through the pandemic, when it was impossible for us to see each other, Graham and I stayed in touch. This past August, he called me up to pitch a potential new provincial-affairs idea for TVO. Candidly, at that point in his life, it was increasingly difficult to understand what he was saying, but I told him once I’d returned from a vacation up north, we’d get together and talk through his idea. 

Graham died on August 29, before we got a chance to have that meeting. 

When I told his wife, Susan, about the fact that he was pitching Queen’s Park ideas almost right up until his death, she wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. “He never stopped loving the legislature,” she says. 

To the folks who haunt provincial politics, he was a sort of Mr. Queen’s Park, resplendent in his omnipresent hat and cane. He was part of the atmosphere there for more than four decades. 

To the general public, Graham Murray wasn’t a famous guy. But he might just be the kind of guy who deserves to be the subject of a column on the TVO.org website, because of all the stories and quirky personality he brought to Ontario politics. 

Rest in peace, Graham. And please say hi to Premier Davis for all of us."

Steve Paikin

"Steve Paikin is the host of TVO's flagship current affairs program, The Agenda with Steve Paikin. He co-hosts the weekly provincial affairs #onpoli podcast and contributes columns to tvo.org. Paikin was born and raised in Hamilton, which explains his love of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Maple Leafs. We’re still trying to figure out his obsession for the Boston Red Sox."

Post Script:

   One learned a great deal from listening to Graham. Every conversation was like a good seminar. In one of our last conversations by phone he casually mentioned the word "sepulchral" which many of us understand, but few of us would be able to insert into a discussion. 

   We benefitted in other ways back in those days. Graham had an account at Blackwell's. He circulated lists from which we purchased books at a discount. There are a lot of Penguins and Pelicans in this London, because of Graham.

Butter

  I have plans to increase my production of posts once the hours of daylight and sunshine decrease. While you can be sure that the days will get shorter and the sun will move farther south, you are probably less sure about my ability to stick with my plans. You are not alone in having such thoughts and I admit that it is a rare thing for me to plan anything and, rarer still, for me to accomplish something. 

   There is even a subject category in Mulcahy’s Miscellany relating to “Abandoned Projects”. In it you will find short posts about longer things left behind, such as my inability to read all of the books in “A Dance to the Music of Time,” or write about “Charcoal Fueled Automobiles.” As an indication of my improved intentions, however, I will try now to produce a few blog nuggets before August ends and I begin working harder around Labour Day. Or perhaps, maybe when the snow starts.

About the Butter

  Of all the images and illustrations I have provided to you, it is likely the one of the former Mayor of Toronto, the late Doug Ford, is your favourite. It is a picture of a large sculpture for which he was the model. He is reading a book by Margaret Atwood. The sculpture was carved from a block of butter.

   At a time when the news remains dreadful and statues everywhere are being destroyed, it is good to learn that sculptors still can find employment creating sculptures carved from pure butter. I learned about such activities from an article which is reporting on the Minnesota State Fair. It is also good to learn that State Fairs and Fall Fairs still exist.

   A new artist has been hired to replace Linda Chistensen who butter sculpted for around 50 years. Gerry Kulzer is the new guy and he is now carving from butter, not clay, which I gather is easier than butter to work with. “To capture a person’s likeness is really tough,” said Mr. Kulzer, 53, of Litchfield, Minn. “Especially when you’re in a 40-degree refrigerator.”

   He will carve all aspirants who are competing to be the next Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The princesses and the sculptor are in a glass display cooler that rotates so Fair attendees can witness the operations. He is carving as I write this and will be doing so until September 4th.

What About Margarine?

  As far as I know, real butter, not margarine, is used for sculpting. I realise the subject of margarine is a contentious one and I only raise it here because, so far, this post is too short. I will not say much more since I will soon run the risk of making the post too long and, besides, you surely will already know about the great butter/margarine controversy.

   Basically, margarine is cheaper than butter. People with cows did not wish to see the less expensive product on the grocery shelves. For that reason margarine was illegal for many years in Canada. When it was allowed to be made and sold, it was often highly taxed. Then, there is the colour issue. Those who produced butter did not want margarine to be yellow since it would look like the real thing. In Quebec, yellow margarine like conscription was opposed. There was even a Supreme Court case about it. You may not believe me so I will simply provide sources to keep this short.

Sources:

 You will be most eager to see the Ford Butter Sculpture and you will learn much more about butter sculpting: The Land of Cockaigne. 

  The article about the Minnesota State Fair is this one: "His Medium, Salted Butter. His Craft Sublime," Christina Morales, New York Times, Aug. 23, 2022.

"Gerry Kulzer, the new butter sculptor at the Minnesota State Fair, is ready to capture the likenesses of the dairy princesses, if only he can sculpt their tresses in time....

In 2019, Ms. Christensen and the Midwest Dairy trade group chose Mr. Kulzer as an apprentice from a pool of five applicants because of his skills at sculpting and bronze casting, and because of his personal background. He grew up on a Minnesota grain farm and would help on his cousins’ dairy farm, which gave him an intimate understanding of the fair’s butter-sculpting tradition....

To prepare for this week’s fair, Mr. Kulzer spent several days a week in his studio working on his sculpting speed using clay, the medium he says is closest to butter. When he filled in for Ms. Christensen two years ago, he struggled to finish the hairstyles for the finalists’ busts in the eight hours allotted for each.

Butter sculptures first appeared at the Minnesota State Fair more than a century ago. In 1965, a dairy trade group began the fair’s tradition of sculpting the finalists in Midwest Dairy’s pageant, which began about a decade earlier (the Associated Milk Producers, a trade group, has donated the 900 pounds of butter needed for the art since 1993). The contest honors young female leaders in the state’s dairy industry; the winner is crowned the night before the fair begins, and greets guests at 6 a.m. as they enter the gates.
 The website for the Minnesota State Fair is here and it is still on. 

  For more about Princess Kay of the Milky Way, see this. 

The Great Butter/Margarine Controversy

Here are just a few Canadian sources. It was also controversial elsewhere.

Heick, Welf H. "What Ontario Wants, Canada Gets; The 1886 Margarine Debate," Canadian Papers in Rural History, 1988, Vo. 6, p.240.

Abstract: Traces the margarine debate in Canada, from its origin in Ontario, when that province was experiencing a shift from wheat to mixed farming, to its conclusion in 1886. With soil depletion, dairying became a viable alternative to growing wheat, but acceptable quality butter was to remain a serious problem during the 1860's-70's. Evidence suggests that the appearance of margarine in Canada came in 1878, and by the early 1880's the butter/margarine competition was well developed. Rather than regulation, a ban was advocated in the intensely emotional debate in the Commons. Parliament listened to the arguments of Ontario dairymen who viewed themselves as vulnerable when margarine appeared on the market.

Heick, Welf H. "Margarine in Newfoundland History," Newfoundland Studies, March, 1986, Vol.2, No.1.

Abstract: The Newfoundland margarine industry began in 1883 when emerging industrialization filled the gap caused by the weak agricultural base in the country. The local population neither produced nor imported an adequate amount of butter to maintain a reasonable standard of health and the establishment of the margarine industry not only helped the poorer segments of society, but also aided the colony as a whole by promoting reliance on a locally-produced product. The politicians made sure that confederation with Canada (1949) did not disturb the local right to make the butter substitute. The story of margarine production in Newfoundland is one of people acting soundly to improve and protect their standard of living.

Post Script:

Milk as a subject will not be tackled. I went to buy some the other day and there were rows of different kinds of milks?

The Bonus: 

For more about Minnesota, see my post about The University of Minnesota Press. 

People from Minnesota are called "Minnesotans." If you are going to the Minnesota State Fair and are passing through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the people there are referred to as "Yoopers." For more, see: Unobvious Demonyms. 

Periodical Ramblings (12)

 The Saturday Evening Post

   At the beginning of this year I took a look at Look magazine and now in my dozenth post about periodicals, I will point you to The Saturday Evening Post. You will be surprised to learn that it still exists. Look ceased publication in the early 1970s. 

   The Saturday Evening Post was popular in the early 1960s, but it briefly stopped publication in 1969. It now has a colourful website and if you go to it you can subscribe and gain access and also receive by mail six print copies per year. As well, you can read over 200 years of archival issues. You should have a look. 

Norman Rockwell

   Even if you were born in this century you are likely to be familiar with The Saturday Evening Post because you are probably aware of Rockwell who produced over 300 covers for the magazine. There is a museum dedicated to Rockwell in Stockbridge, Mass. and it is worth visiting. We went to the Berkshires a few years ago and toured the museum and you should as well.  This will help you make the decision: Norman Rockwell Museum: The Home For American Illustration. 

   You may think his illustrations are "corny", but they can be costly.

In case you can't read the above, the painting sold for $46 million.

   I just finished reading the memoir of the Canadian writer and artist, Bruce McCall, and here is what he has to say about Rockwell. 

    "Norman Rockwell painted 322 Saturday Evening Post covers between 1916 and 1963. For much of that time he ruled as America's most famous artist, most beloved artist, and finest artist. He was sui generis, so confoundingly skilled that no artist ever tried to copy him. Rockwell was tall and skinny, his face arguably better known than that of many movie stars. He wasn't handsome, but he conveyed an inimitable decency. 

   I adored Rockwell's work. Any Rockwell cover stimulated a fond inch-by-inch examination. The "corny" charge, the jeering criticism of his work as trafficking exclusively in mythical America, the world Rockwell populated with cliched characters -- the lovable kid making harmless mischief, the benevolent small town cop, the gawky young GI, the bashful couple getting their wedding license from a grandfatherly clerk, ad infinitum --- all of it was provably true, upsetting to neither the Post readers, nor to me. These were incidental elements.

   His characters couldn't exist in the real world, but Rockwell documented the places, things and rituals of everyday American life with absolute stunning fidelity. He had no identifiable "style." His scenes looked found, natural. Tricks of composition were ingeniously buried. Rockwell studied every detail he placed in his pictures; should you find an error anywhere -- even a tiny prop of zero importance to the picture -- the entire illusion of reality he slaved to create would collapse. So he never erred." (How Did I Get Here, p.20)

   Rockwell did leave The Saturday Evening Post later in his career when he decided to portray more controversial images which he did, in Look. 

 "But it is less well known that he [Rockwell] decisively turned a corner just a few decades later, choosing to reject the airbrushed image of a nation implicitly populated with only happy, White, middle-class families.

Rockwell did this by abandoning his employer of nearly 50 years, the Saturday Evening Post, in large part because the magazine would let him portray Blacks only in subservient positions. After including two Black children in his 1961 illustration “Golden Rule,” Rockwell began receiving hate mail from segregationists, and the Post told him he should paint portraits only of statesmen or celebrities. Those instructions clashed with his conscience. Severing his ties with the magazine in 1963, Rockwell told his longtime editors that he had “come to the conviction that the work I now want to do no longer fits into the Post scheme.”

He joined Look magazine, and it was there that he painted some of the hardest-hitting, most widely seen visual attacks on racism in the nation’s history."

Sources:

   The quotation directly above is from: "Why Norman Rockwell Left Thanksgiving Americana Behind," Andrew Yarrow, Washington Post, Nov. 24, 2021. 

    Visit the Norman Rockwell Museum for details and for a link to his useful article: "Stockbridge, A Small Berkshires Town With a Big Artistic Reputation, " Alexandra Pecci, Washington Post, May 3, 2019. 

    For the rationale behind these "Ramblings" see: "Periodical Ramblings: The Series." 

It's Okay To Sploot

 

    Apparently the word "splooting" has gone viral on those platforms I do not frequent, but you probably do, so I won't go on about it. I am merely posting this to test my wife, who like millions of others, does not read this blog, although, unlike them, she contends she does. We have observed a lot of splooting lately, although we did not know it was called that. So, in the next few days when we again see the squirrels in our yard splooting and she does not use that term, I will know she is not taking advantage of the etymological nuggets I often provide and, as well, is fibbing.

  For those of you who have not been infected by the splooting virus, I will just say that it is a relatively new word that my spell checker is not recognizing, nor is the OED - yet.  Another English dictionary does and if you look in Collins English Dictionary, you will learn this: Splooting - verb (intransitive): (of an animal) "to lie flat on the stomach with the hind legs stretched out behind the body." It may be a derivative of "splat." 

   Many animals do it and corgis are known to, although they look to me like they are splooting when they are walking.  Squirrels have been spotted splooting a lot, which is what caused the word to go viral. Folks should not be concerned, however, since they are just cooling off during these hot times. Ours, however, are simply relaxing and waiting for us to throw the blue jays some peanuts. About squirrels I also will not go on since you will have read my earlier essay where I discuss their, colours, habits, occasional migratory endeavours, ability to swim and how I used to hunt and eat them (you and my wife should see "On Squirrels.")

Sources:
   You will already have many from TikTok, Facebook, etc., but here are two from newspapers. 
"What Does 'Splooting' Mean: And Why Are Squirrels Doing It?" Adela Suliman, Washington Post, Aug, 12, 2022.

For a BONUS, deep dive see: "City Tells New Yorkers: Don't Panic About 'Splooting' Squirrels: Yes It's a Real Word. Here's the Science (and Etymology) Behind It," Matthew Cantor, The Guardian, Aug. 12, 2022.  
 It is suggested that it may not be a neologism and actually dates back to the 1950s when it was used in an onomatopoeic manner in cartoons. Or, it could be simply the kind of word we hear pet enthusiasts use in high-pitched voices when offering their pets some "num-nums." "Grant Barrett, a lexicographer and co-host of the radio show A Way With Words, explains that the term comes from Doggo language, a form of canine-inspired internet-speak that has grown into its own tongue. Typically appearing on social media with pictures of dogs, the language features an array of cutesy words including “bork” (a version of “bark”), “mlem” (a kind of tongue movement) and “pupperino” (self-explanatory.)
Enough said.

"NAPALM GIRL"

 

Although the war in Vietnam was long ago and fought far away, there are many who are now in Ontario because of it. One of them is Kim Phuc Phan Thi, who is pictured above. She is better known as the “Napalm GIrl”, pictured below.

   In early June there were many articles about the “Napalm GIrl” because it was fifty years ago on June 8, 1972 that Kim Phuc was set afire. There are many horrible pictures and news stories about the current Russo-Ukrainian War, so you may have avoided reading about the older Vietnam one. It is worth doing so, however, and some articles are provided below. The “Napalm Girl” “wants her story and work for refugees to be a message of peace.” She and her husband were recently on a humanitarian flight that brought over 200 refugees from Warsaw to Regina.

Post Script: 

   Kim Phuc lives in Ajax with her husband and mother!

   I did not realise, or had forgotten, that she was a victim of “friendly fire”, in that her village was mistakenly targeted by the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. 

   Over the years, her attitude toward the photograph has changed, as you will learn from the sources below. There are also debates about whether such a graphic photo should be displayed. About a half dozen years ago, Facebook censored the photo and a controversy ensued. The photo was taken by the AP photographer Nick Ut and the official title of it is “The Terror of War”, not “Napalm Girl.” Mr. Ut received the Pulitzer Prize for the photo.

   I also am in Ontario because of the war in Vietnam, as is a Vietnamese friend of mine here in London. I will question him about Kim Phuc’s name which appears in various forms in this post and in the sources provided. The Wikipedia entry is under Phan Thi Kim Phuc, but as the author of the first article below her name is given as, Kim Phuc Phan Thi.

The Bonus:

   The Vietnam War was covered extensively in Canadian sources. The Globe and Mail reporter, Eric Reguly, has just produced a book about his father, Robert, who covered the war for the Toronto Star. For a review see: "Ghosts of War: Chasing My Father's Legend Through Vietnam, Review: Eric Reguly's Ghosts of War Shows the Cost and Rewards of Investigative and Combative Journalism," David Moscrop, The Globe and Mail, April 22, 2022.

"In Ghosts of War: Chasing my Father’s Legend Through Vietnam, The Globe and Mail’s European bureau chief Eric Reguly follows his father’s coverage of the Vietnam War through the archives and into the country itself. The small volume reads as a study of a historical moment and of the costs and rewards of investigative and combat journalism. The apogee of the book is the 1960s, but the take-aways – war is hell; the powerful seek to obscure the truth but good journalists must find it nonetheless; effective reporting requires shoe leather – speak to our moment."

Sources:

This article is written by Ms. Phan Thi.

"It’s Been 50 Years. I Am Not ‘Napalm Girl’ Anymore," New York Times, June 6, 2022

By Kim Phuc Phan Thi. Ms. Phan Thi is the founder of the Kim Foundation International, which provides aid to child victims of war. Here is how it begins:

"I grew up in the small village of Trang Bang in South Vietnam. My mother said I laughed a lot as a young girl. We led a simple life with an abundance of food, since my family had a farm and my mom ran the best restaurant in town. I remember loving school and playing with my cousins and the other children in our village, jumping rope, running and chasing one another joyfully.

All of that changed on June 8, 1972. I have only flashes of memories of that horrific day. I was playing with my cousins in the temple courtyard. The next moment, there was a plane swooping down close and a deafening noise. Then explosions and smoke and excruciating pain. I was 9 years old.

Napalm sticks to you, no matter how fast you run, causing horrific burns and pain that last a lifetime. I don’t remember running and screaming, “Nóng quá, nóng quá!” (“Too hot, too hot!”) But film footage and others’ memories show that I did...."

Growing up, I sometimes wished to disappear not only because of my injuries — the burns scarred a third of my body and caused intense, chronic pain — but also because of the shame and embarrassment of my disfigurement. I tried to hide my scars under my clothes. I had horrific anxiety and depression. Children in school recoiled from me. I was a figure of pity to neighbors and, to some extent, my parents. As I got older, I feared that no one would ever love me.

Meanwhile, the photograph became even more famous, making it more difficult to navigate my private and emotional life. Beginning in the 1980s, I sat through endless interviews with the press and meetings with royalty, prime ministers and other leaders, all of whom expected to find some meaning in that image and my experience. The child running down the street became a symbol of the horrors of war. The real person looked on from the shadows, fearful that I would somehow be exposed as a damaged person.

Photographs, by definition, capture a moment in time. But the surviving people in these photographs, especially the children, must somehow go on. We are not symbols. We are human. We must find work, people to love, communities to embrace, places to learn and to be nurtured.

It was only in adulthood, after defecting to Canada, that I began to find peace and realize my mission in life, with the help of my faith, husband and friends. I helped establish a foundation and began traveling to war-torn countries to provide medical and psychological assistance to children victimized by war, offering, I hope, a sense of possibilities."

The CBC interviewed Ms. Phan Thi: You can read it here.

"50 Years Later, 'Napalm Girl' Has a Message for Children in Ukraine: Kim Phuc Phan Thi, Now Living in Ajax, Ont., Was 9 When She Was Burned by Napalm in Vietnam War," Sylvia Thomson · CBC News · Posted: Jun 11, 2022. The picture below is from the CBC interview.

The Facebook controversy was reported in Time:

"The Story Behind the 'Napalm Girl' Photo Censored by Facebook," Time, Sept. 9, 2016.

"This week, Facebook briefly removed and quickly reinstated one of the most powerful images to emerge from war—a 1972 photograph of a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl—after initially saying the image violates the company’s policies on displaying nudity. A censorship battle ensued. Espen Egil Hansen, the editor-in-chief of Norway’s Aftenposten, slammed Mark Zuckerberg for a perceived abuse of power, calling the CEO of Facebook “the world’s most powerful editor.” On Friday, the company reinstated the picture and said “the value of permitting sharing outweighs the value of protecting the community by removal.” An initial Facebook statement recognized its iconic status but said “it’s difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others.” The picture, taken by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, has become an icon of conflict photography. The faces of collateral damage and friendly fire are generally not seen. This was not the case with nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc."

The Associated Press offers a story about the Ukrainian refugee flight:

" 'Napalm Girl' Escorts Ukranian Refugees on Flight to Canada," July 4, 2022.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — "Phan Thị Kim Phuc, the girl in the famous 1972 Vietnam napalm attack photo, on Monday escorted 236 refugees from the war in Ukraine on a flight from Warsaw to Canada. Phuc’s iconic Associated Press photo, in which she runs with her napalm-scalded body exposed, was etched on the private NGO plane that is flying the refugees to the city of Regina, the capital of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan."

MIT Press

    Additional Aids for Autodidacts

    My last post about University Presses was provided back in June (see: "Wolverines, Spartans and Books.") Before that, I offered you entertaining entries which were designed for lone wolf learners who wish to tackle tough subjects from their recliners.  For example, in early 2019 I helped you make some "Intellectual Resolutions" by suggesting that you could bone up on weighty subjects by reading the slim books in the "Very Short Introduction...series produced by Oxford University Press, or the even shorter ones in the "30 Second Books" offered by Ivy Press. That was followed during the dog days of August by "More Aids for Autodidacts" which discusses Yale's "Why X Matters Series" and the "Little Histories" which will make you appear to know a lot. Now you will learn about another university press series which offers a short cut to enlightenment.

                                          Essential Knowledge Series

  

   I suppose one could quibble a bit about what constitutes "Essential Knowledge", but I will not, since"MIT" stands for the "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" and the folks typically found there are much more knowledgeable than I. This is what they say about this series:

“The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers accessible, concise, beautifully produced books on topics of current interest. Written by leading thinkers, the books in this series deliver expert overviews of subjects that range from the cultural and the historical to the scientific and the technical. In today's era of instant information gratification, we have ready access to opinions, rationalizations, and superficial descriptions. Much harder to come by is the foundational knowledge that informs a principled understanding of the world. Essential Knowledge books fill that need. Synthesizing specialized subject matter for nonspecialists and engaging critical topics through fundamentals, each of these compact volumes offers readers a point of access to complex ideas.’

  Ninety-two titles are currently listed in categories ranging from Architecture to Technology. Two are found under "History" and they are: Hunting: A Cultural History and Nuclear Weapons. There are thirteen related to "Political Science." Some are highly topical: 

Here are some other samples: 

Whiteness, by Martin Lund.

"The socially constructed phenomenon of whiteness: how it was created, how it changes, and how it protects and privileges people who are perceived as white.

"This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series examines the socially constructed phenomenon of whiteness, tracing its creation, its changing formation, and its power to privilege and protect people who are perceived as white. Whiteness, author Martin Lund explains, is not one single idea but a shifting, overarching category, a flexible cluster of historically, culturally, and geographically contingent ideals and standards that enable systems of hierarchical classification. Lund discusses words used to talk about whiteness, from white privilege to white fragility; the intersections of whiteness with race, class, and gender; whiteness in popular culture; and such ideas as “colorblindness” and “reverse racism,” which, he argues, actually uphold whiteness."

Hate Speech, by Caitlin Ring Carlson.

"Hate speech can happen anywhere—in Charlottesville, Virginia, where young men in khakis shouted, “Jews will not replace us”; in Myanmar, where the military used Facebook to target the Muslim Rohingya; in Capetown, South Africa, where a pastor called on ISIS to rid South Africa of the "homosexual curse.” In person or online, people wield language to attack others for their race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other aspects of identity. This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series examines hate speech: what it is, and is not; its history; and efforts to address it.

Author Caitlin Ring Carlson, an expert in communication and mass media, defines hate speech as any expression—spoken words, images, or symbols—that seeks to malign people for their immutable characteristics. Hate speech is not synonymous with offensive speech—saying that you do not like someone does not constitute hate speech—or hate crimes, which are criminal acts motivated by prejudice. Hate speech traumatizes victims and degrades societies that condone it. Carlson investigates legal approaches taken by the EU, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and the United States, with a detailed discussion of how the U.S. addresses, and in most cases, allows, hate speech. She explores recent hate speech controversies, and suggests ways that governments, colleges, media organizations, and other organizations can limit the spread of hate speech."

   

   As you will see from the samples I have chosen, the books in this series offer "Essential Knowledge" about "topics of current interest." Some of them may prove to be more ephemeral than essential, but they will be useful nonetheless. 

Sources:

  The books in the MIT "Essential Knowledge" series can be found here.

   MIT publishes many other books. See mitpress.mit.edu. 

   One topic included is "Content", which seems like a rather amorphous subject to me. To see what the author is up to, look at this essay by her which is adapted from Content, by Kate Eichhorn: " "Content" Erases Wall Between Fact & Fiction," Kate Eichhorn, Public Books..." 8/2/22. 

The Bonus: 

   I mentioned "dog days" above, which has more to do with astronomy than with dogs panting in the hot sun. See: "Here's Why We Call This Time of Year the 'Dog Days' of Summer," Becky Little, National Geographic, July 16, 2021.
"These punishingly hot summer days get their name from an ancient belief about the brightest star in the sky—not from dogs’ tendency to laze around in the heat."

Latitudinal Headlines

Macroeconomic Mysteries

    I generally ignore contemporary issues, particularly economic ones. I did notice, however, these two contrasting headlines on the same day. The first is from the north side of the 49th parallel and the second from the south side.

1. "Canada Lost 31,000 Jobs Last Month,  the Second Straight Monthly Decline," Pete Evans, CBC, August 5, 2022.

2. "U.S. Economy Blows Past Expectations By Adding 528,000 Jobs in July," AP, Aug. 5, 2022.

   There are other economic mysteries. Here in London the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in July, even though employers are having a difficult time finding employees. How can there be so many "Help Wanted" signs and so many unemployed? One reason may be that those seeking jobs do not have the skills required to perform them. Another is that apparently many people do not want to work. Who does? The biggest mystery to me is how those who have chosen to remain idle, make ends meet.

Sources:

   "Jobs Aplenty, But Unemployment Rising. What Gives in London?" Jonathan Juha, LFP, Aug. 5, 2022.

A Gumball Rally

 From Toronto to Miami

  Given the current emphasis on DIVERSITY and my tendency to be contrarian, I like to occasionally offer an entry about something other than books and libraries. It is for those reasons that I now present to you some information about wealthy (mostly) white guys driving very fast in very expensive, gas-guzzling vehicles. “The horror, the horror.” 

   Surprisingly, some of this information was taken from the staid Globe and Mail, which issues from Toronto the Good, but you likely averted your eyes from the horrifying headline below, which is one of the few in the last several months that wasn’t about an apology or Hockey Canada. Homogenised reading is not good for you and it is interesting to learn that other things are happening.

“We’re Absolutely Not Going to Stick to the Speed Limit: Gumball Rally Gets Ready to Peel Out of Toronto After Showing off Cars,” Mark Richardson, June 1, 2022. The subtitle is: About 100 Pricey Cars Will Depart Toronto Headed For Detroit En Route to Their Final Destination of Miami for the Gumball 3000 Rally.

   If you are displeased by such antics, you should note that, like a walkathon, money is raised for charitable causes: 

“We’re trying to break the speed record in every leg of the race – that’s our goal,” said TJ Rinomato, a Toronto-based investment manager, driving with his best friend Will Brereton in a 1,000-horsepower Chevrolet Hennessy ZL1 Camaro. “Every mile an hour over the speed limit, we hope to raise a thousand dollars for that.”

Admittedly, more fuel will be required at the rally than at the walkathon.

“I flew up to Buffalo,” said Danny Creighton, a Florida real-estate developer driving a Dodge Ram TRX with Canadian co-driver and drag racer David Schroeder. “But the new fuel tank I put in started to have a valve issue. It started to leak fuel, so I had to send my plane down to pick up the guys who custom-made the truck in (Fort) Lauderdale, (Fla.), fly [them] back up, fly back for additional parts, come back up. We spent $50,000 in jet fuel yesterday. Then I drove it into Canada.”

Creighton’s pickup truck is hardly stock – it has six wheels on three axles and makes 800 horsepower. The new fuel tank is a 378-litre unit, additional to the existing 105-litre tank. “So when all the Ferraris and Lamborghinis are pulling over every 150, 200 miles,” he said, “the Warlord is just going to keep going down the track, cruising at 140 – rrrrrrr!” Those are American miles an hour he’s talking about, or 225 kilometres an hour."

“I think we’re getting somewhere around five miles to the gallon,” he added. Just for the record, that’s 47 litres per 100 kilometres. For comparison, a Honda Civic consumes around seven litres per 100 kilometres. 

The article also mentions that the celebrity, David Hasselholff is participating

and will drive a Pontiac Firebird and a Maserati. His luggage is travelling in a separate Cadillac Escalade. 

Sources: 

  I am sure the “Readers Comments” about the G&M, article will have addressed all the issues you also are stewing about and that there were likely very few which weren’t critical. If you go to GUMBALL3000.com, you can learn all about it and buy a deluxe edition of the book: 20 Years on the Road (£265.00).

There is also a Wikipedia entry for “The Gumball Rally.”

Some cities along the way welcomed the Gumballers. Here is the Nashville press release: “The Gumball 3000 Rally is Back With a Spectacular Route from Toronto - Miami, The 22nd Annual Gumball 3000 Rally arrives with a festival of Supercars and Superstars in Nashville on Monday, May 30 to make it a Memorial Day to remember!

They made it:

“Gumball 3000 Rally Arrives in Miami With an All-star soccer Match,” iCrowdNewswire, June, 2.

"The epic Gumball 3000 has been back in action for 2022, with an iconic line up of supercars and superstars setting the pace across North America. The rally will conclude in an epic finale in Miami on 3rd June as more than 100 incredible cars cross the finish line at David Beckham's Inter Miami stadium.

From the 27 May – 3 June 2022 the 22nd Annual Rally has travelled from Toronto to Miami. Over 100 cars – from Bugatti’s to Batmobiles – and 200+ personalities have taken part in this wacky-races-style road trip, driving 3,000 miles in just 6 days.

To conclude in true Gumball style, the rally finish will coincide with the inaugural Gumball Goodwill Charity Soccer match, taking place at the DRV PNK stadium on 2nd June. Ignition Casino will be sponsoring the match, with all the proceeds being donated to charity."

Post Script:

The Gumball Rally is not a race. Real men race in The Cannonball Run, from N.Y. to CA. It is done surreptitiously. The last time I checked, they crossed the country in about 26 hours and averaged 174 (KPH). See my post about The Cannonball Run.

The Bonus:

I happen to be reading the very good memoir by Simcoe-born Bruce McCall. The sentences below are found on p.196 when McCall mentions his friend Brock Yates:

"Yates, an automotive journalist and the nearest thing to Hunter S. Thompson I ever knew, crashed through life at speed. Brock founded the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, a flagrantly outlaw sprint from New York to Los Angeles that attracted every nutbar car maniac in America. There were no rules. Miraculously, nobody got killed. It was typical of Yates. He flicked an anarchic finger at convention everywhere he ran into it, earning such a reputation for aggression that his nickname was the Assassin."

How Did I Get Here, Bruce McCall.

McCall is an illustrator and writer whose work is often seen in the New Yorker.