chimesfreedom

Leap Year: Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards

If you are wondering why we have the Leap Day of February 29 every four years, it is all about keeping the calendar lined up with the earth and the sun. If Leap Day is your birthday, then unlike every other day where the birthday odds are approximately 1 in 365, the odds of being born on today’s date is 1 in 1,461. If you are curious about the tradition of women proposing to men on this day, then you should thank St. Bridget and Sadie Hawkins, the latter who was from a Li’l Abner cartoon.

If you are looking for a movie to watch for Leap Day, there is always Leap Year (2010), a light romantic comedy with Amy Adams and Adam Scott that is not terrible. But the critics hated it.

Finally, if you are looking for an excellent song to go with the day, there is Billy Bragg’s song “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards” from Workers Playtime (1988).

Jumble sales are organized and pamphlets have been posted,
Even after closing time there’s still parties to be hosted;
You can be active with the activists,
Or sleep in with the sleepers
While you’re waiting for the Great Leap Forwards;
One leap forwards, two leaps back,
Will politics get me the sack?

Bragg’s excellent song is about getting involved instead of just waiting or sleeping “with the sleepers.” As such, it might remind one of the connection between Leap Years and U.S. presidential elections, both which happen every four years.

Occasionally, we have an election year that is also not a Leap Year. But that will not happen again until we make a great leap forwards to 2100. Leap Years skip on years on turns of the century that are not divisible by 400, like 1900.

So enjoy the extra day this month. And remember, if you are on an annual salary, you are working for free on Leap Day. If you think that is unfair, remember as Bragg reminds us, “The Revolution is just a t-shirt away.”

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Bruce Springsteen on Jimmy Fallon: Wrecking Ball

Springsteen Jimmy Fallon Nils Lofgren — Nils Lofgren Directs the Horns

Bruce Springsteen’s new album, Wrecking Ball will be released on March 6, and this week Late Night with Jimmy Fallon features a Springsteen theme, with artists covering Springsteen songs as well as the man and his band appearing last night and again on Friday. Last night, Springsteen performed the first single, “We Take Care of Our Own” as well as the title track, which is below.

The song “Wrecking Ball” may be familiar to Springsteen fans because in 2009 Springsteen debuted the song at the Meadowlands, i.e., Giants Stadium, during his final shows at the stadium before it succombed to the wrecking ball. The song maintains references to the stadium being demolished (“where the blood is spilled, the arena’s filled, and Giants played”), but it holds up on the album because the song connects the stadium’s wrecking ball to more universal themes of aging, hard times, and standing up to both.

[2020 Update: Unfortunately, the Jimmy Fallon video is no longer available so below is Springsteen performing “Wrecking Ball” at Giants Stadium.]

While the lyrics on the album are touched by our recent economic troubles, the music of several of the songs are influenced by Springsteen’s uplifting work with the Seeger Sessions Band. This recession-era CD is the first E Street band album without Clarence Clemons, so it seems appropriate that the album is tinged with sorrow while steeped in joyful horns helping us through the rough times.

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Kansas’s Controversial Attempt to Make Toto the State Dog

The Kansas Legislature is currently considering whether to honor Toto from The Wizard of Oz (1939) by making the cairn terrier the official state dog. But what initially appeared as a harmless piece of state legislation has stirred up controversy in the state.

Although Rep. Ed Trimmer explained he proposed the bill to get kids interested in the legislative process, some have complained that the bill wastes the valuable time of the legislators. Still, eleven other states have passed similar bills recognizing various breeds of dogs.

The real controversy has come from an issue raised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who fear that the legislation will increase demand for cairn terriers and an increase in puppy mills that mistreat the small dogs. The debate has highlighted some other criticisms of Kansas laws that do not adequately protect animals. PETA also notes that there are a large number of dogs waiting to be adopted in animal shelters and suggests that if an official state dog is named, it should be “the humble, healthy, and 100 percent lovable all-American mutt.”

Yes, a few states have official state cats. For example, Maryland has the calico cat and Massachusetts has the tabby cat, with both states recognizing a color of cat instead of a breed. Maybe Kansas could avoid the PETA concerns by choosing a dog color.

Speaking of The Wizard of Oz, there is a funny clip from Sunday’s Academy Awards show that features a focus group evaluating the film. The clip includes members of the cast of Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003): Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and Fred Willard.

[March 2012 State Dog Update: The bill to make Toto the State Dog of Kansas died in committee. The representative who introduced the bill noted that he will probably try again next year.]

Photo Courtesy of Mollie.

What do you think about the proposed bill to recognize Toto? Who is the Wicked Witch in this debate? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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“Bird on a Wire” and the Return of the Bald Eagle

Last year, along with John Fullbright’s cover of Steve Earle’s “Me and the Eagle,” we posted a live feed of a bald eagle and its eaglets in a nest in Iowa. Well, those babies have flown off, but the feed now has a bald eagle with some new eggs, so we check in on the new babies while we also listen to a Johnny Cash song on a day that would have been the country legend’s eightieth birthday. First, check out the live feed from Decorah, Iowa below.

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Video streaming by Ustream

February 2013 Update: In case you find this page in the off-season for bald eaglets in Iowa, here is a live feed of an eagle cam in Florida.

Streaming Live by Ustream

The nest seems fairly secure for the high winds, but seeing the family so high up reminds me of one of Leonard Cohen’s most covered songs, “Bird on a Wire.” Cohen originally recorded the song in 1968 for the album Songs from a Room (1969). The song has been covered by The Neville Brothers, Willie Nelson, KD Lang, and others. My favorite cover is the one made by Johnny Cash for the 1994 album that marked a comeback for him, American Recordings. The weariness of his voice goes perfectly with the song.

A version of Cash singing the song with an orchestra appeared on Unearthed (2003), and Cohen has also performed his song with an orchestra. But I like the sparse instrumentation versions.

The song is so beautiful that Kris Kristofferson, who has written many beautiful songs, has stated that he’d like the first three lines of “Bird on a Wire” on his tombstone.

Like a bird on a wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir,
I have tried in my way to be free.

The song has been described as a “bohemian My Way,” and one can sense a more realistic and darker life appraisal in Cohen’s song than the Frank Sinatra classic. While “My Way” is underscored with pride, “Bird on a Wire” is tempered with regret (“I have torn everyone who reached out to me”). There are some reports that the song inspired the title of the Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn movie, Bird on a Wire (1990), but it is hard to see the meaning of the song in the action-comedy film, so I hope that story is not true.

For today, here is to the Iowa bald eagles who unlike us, live free without regret. And here is to Johnny Cash on his birthday, because his music helped us comprehend freedom as well as sorrow, atonement, and grace.

What is your favorite version of “Bird on a Wire”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Oscars Show Snubs Best Song Nominees

The Academy Awards show organizers have decided not to schedule the traditional musical numbers for the best song nominees this year. The Academy had already shown disdain — or disappointment — in the film songs this year by only nominating two tunes out of thirty-nine possible choices through a criticized nominating process. But now even those two songs will not get to take the stage. And we lose the chance to see Muppets singing on stage.

So, you will have to enjoy the nominated songs here. Below is “Man or Muppet,” featuring Jason Segel, from The Muppets (2011).

And here is “Real in Rio” from Rio (2011).

Which song do you prefer? Should the Academy allowed the songs to be performed Sunday night? Leave your two cents in the comments.