'Hunter Gray' hunterbadbear@hunterbear.org [marxist]
2014-07-27 16:57:33 UTC
This latest from our good friend, Jyri, is certainly worth a look.
Re the latter part of his message, the film, River of No Return (1954), Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, and Rory Calhoun, is a classic Western of those times, with the pluses and minuses accompanying that. And in keeping with the '50s, Good ultimately trumps Evil -- a treacherous gunman and thief. Depictions of understandably hostile Natives do leave something to be desired -- but, all in all, the portrayals of Indians are better than those of the John Wayne genre.
The theme song itself, "The River of No Return," is haunting -- always a favorite of mine no matter who does the singing. At barely 21, and on the Tacoma Washington Skid Road, a bar owner friend of mine once told me, "Always know when you're in the house -- since you always play that song three times in a row." (Via juke box, of course.)
The River of No Return itself, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, is not far from us. For about 35 years or so, that beautiful but very geographically challenging setting has been formal Wilderness Area -- about two and a half million acres. Soon after Wilderness status, it was named the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Church was a liberal U.S. Senator, with a base here in Pocatello, but went down in the Reagan sweep in 1980. Among other things, he was a strong civil libertarian who vigorously challenged abuses by FBI and CIA.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jyri Kokkonen
To: Hunter Gray
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2014 9:33 AM
Subject: Russian-Ukrainian information war
Hunter,
Hope you and your people are well.
With reference to the downing of the Malaysian airliner in East Ukraine last week and ensuing discussions:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-malaysian-airline-mh17-crash-sixteen-central-issues-which-cannot-be-ignored/5393296
I'm not necessarily endorsing it, but it's worth a look all the same. One point that needs to be remembered is that Russia and Ukraine are both heirs to the time-honoured Soviet traditions of disinformation and propaganda. Grain of salt, and some, recommended for both sides of the story.
Minor heatwave here at the country place, over 30 C or getting into your 90s. The best thing to do is to take a hot sauna bath and and swim in the lake. Pretty hard to concentrate on literary work until later in the evening when it cools down a bit - we don't have air conditioning and I don't plan on getting it just or the sake of a week or two of hot weather a year.
"River of no Return" on the idiot box right now , part of a series classic westerns on our state-owned cultural channel. Of course it contains misrepresentations and clichés of native people and history in general, but to be fair Marilyn Monroe does provide a few redeeming qualities to the film...
Best
Jyri
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /
St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by NaÂŽshdoÂŽiÂŽbaÂŽiÂŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out our massive social justice website:
www.hunterbear.org
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Photos)
My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000
word introduction by me. Covers much of my
confrontational social justice organizing life to
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing
methodology: http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
Forest Fires in the West (including the life of an old-time
fire lookout: http://hunterbear.org/forest_fires_in_the_west.htm
Re the latter part of his message, the film, River of No Return (1954), Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, and Rory Calhoun, is a classic Western of those times, with the pluses and minuses accompanying that. And in keeping with the '50s, Good ultimately trumps Evil -- a treacherous gunman and thief. Depictions of understandably hostile Natives do leave something to be desired -- but, all in all, the portrayals of Indians are better than those of the John Wayne genre.
The theme song itself, "The River of No Return," is haunting -- always a favorite of mine no matter who does the singing. At barely 21, and on the Tacoma Washington Skid Road, a bar owner friend of mine once told me, "Always know when you're in the house -- since you always play that song three times in a row." (Via juke box, of course.)
The River of No Return itself, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, is not far from us. For about 35 years or so, that beautiful but very geographically challenging setting has been formal Wilderness Area -- about two and a half million acres. Soon after Wilderness status, it was named the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Church was a liberal U.S. Senator, with a base here in Pocatello, but went down in the Reagan sweep in 1980. Among other things, he was a strong civil libertarian who vigorously challenged abuses by FBI and CIA.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jyri Kokkonen
To: Hunter Gray
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2014 9:33 AM
Subject: Russian-Ukrainian information war
Hunter,
Hope you and your people are well.
With reference to the downing of the Malaysian airliner in East Ukraine last week and ensuing discussions:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-malaysian-airline-mh17-crash-sixteen-central-issues-which-cannot-be-ignored/5393296
I'm not necessarily endorsing it, but it's worth a look all the same. One point that needs to be remembered is that Russia and Ukraine are both heirs to the time-honoured Soviet traditions of disinformation and propaganda. Grain of salt, and some, recommended for both sides of the story.
Minor heatwave here at the country place, over 30 C or getting into your 90s. The best thing to do is to take a hot sauna bath and and swim in the lake. Pretty hard to concentrate on literary work until later in the evening when it cools down a bit - we don't have air conditioning and I don't plan on getting it just or the sake of a week or two of hot weather a year.
"River of no Return" on the idiot box right now , part of a series classic westerns on our state-owned cultural channel. Of course it contains misrepresentations and clichés of native people and history in general, but to be fair Marilyn Monroe does provide a few redeeming qualities to the film...
Best
Jyri
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /
St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by NaÂŽshdoÂŽiÂŽbaÂŽiÂŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out our massive social justice website:
www.hunterbear.org
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Photos)
My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000
word introduction by me. Covers much of my
confrontational social justice organizing life to
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing
methodology: http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
Forest Fires in the West (including the life of an old-time
fire lookout: http://hunterbear.org/forest_fires_in_the_west.htm