The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing white dudes that they were somehow superior to the rest of the human race. We'll pay for that original sin for the rest of our natural lives. And this stupid blog ain't gonna make any kind of real dent in the problem. So we'll do what we can.
Here's to some badass women doing amazing stuff this week.
G:TB fave Elena Delle Donne just finished one of the best seasons in WNBA history. It's impressive enough that she averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Washington Mystics, who finished the regular season with the league's best record. But the way she did it was unprecedented. Delle Donne dropped the first 50/40/90 season in the WNBA's history, making 51.5% of her shots from the field, 43.0% of her three-pointers, and an absolutely absurd 97.4% of her free throws. She might be the best free-throw shooter on the planet right now, regardless of gender.
Staying in the sporting domain, I certainly hope you got to see the U.S. Open Women's Final between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu. Down 3-6, 1-5 and match point, Williams summoned Wyatt Earp crossing the river to gun down Curly Bill Brocious, going anything but gently into that good night. When she drew even at 5-5 in the second set, the Flushing Meadows crowd roared a collective cathartic yawp that should've overwhelmed the 19 year-old Andreescu.
When the young Canadian steeled herself and won the final two games of the second set to take her first major championship, she displayed a mental toughness that's hard to fathom.
Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Amanda Shires and Maren Morris are accomplished artists in their own rights. Now, as The Highwomen, they're a supergroup on paper, and a protest movement in reality, cloaked in amazing harmonies and killer tunes. "Highwomen", the eponymous tune that kicks off the group's debut album echoes The Highwaymen's similar song, but packs the haunting emotional punch of three centuries of women killed fighting for their power-threatening beliefs. As Vulture.com puts it, "...the message being that in spite of radical changes in the human experience, the main theme — people in power keeping other people out of power — endures. These women just wanted to live, love, and be loved, but the planet couldn’t handle that."
The Vulture.com review linked above celebrates The Highwomen and their continuation of a long legacy of strong women in country music. That's the easy part. The essay also pointedly remarks, "Most people believe in equality, but their numbers tend to thin when you ask what they’re willing to sacrifice to secure it."
That's a whole lot harder.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
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24 comments:
I'm a huge fan of the original "Highwayman" song. It's strangely more pop than country, considering the iconic twang talent within. The tune was no stranger to the ORF Rock airwaves.
Takes some guts to take that on as a follow-up 34 years later. And they fairly well nailed it. It's a quieter, more meaningful song, as you note, with a handful of subtle inclusions of the original's lyrics. I'm a fan.
Speaking of country music, Ken Burns' latest colossal documentary tackles the genre - check it out on PBS Sept 15 and thereafter. According to those in the know, it's well up to Burns' standards, and country royalty and its descendants are all applauding.
Also, I thought the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.
And like that . . .
. . . he's gone.
Whit's really active at 8:30 am! I assume that's because you stayed up all night.
I brought doughnuts in to the office today. I’m on a sugar rush.
If you haven't read this, please do.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/us-attorney-justin-herdmans-comments-recent-ohio-cases-involving-political-violence
hallefuckinglujah. why hasn't that message been broadcast from loudspeakers?
hashtag blessed
"Go ahead and make your case for Nazism, a white nation, and racial superiority. The Constitution may give you a voice, but it doesn’t guarantee you a receptive audience.
Your right to free speech does not automatically mean that people will agree with you. In fact, you have an absolute God-given and inalienable right to be on the losing end of this argument."
herdman is a trump nominee. that makes a righteous public statement also a politically brave one.
Trump has now gone through three National Security Advisors, four if you count the interim guy between Flynn and McMaster, in just over 2.5 years. That seems remarkable.
Does it? For a guy whose most recent notoriety comes from a reality show where his catch phrase was 'you're fired'?
Point, miner of roots.
for a super-macho alpha poseur, he sure has a hard time firing people face to face
He was afraid of John Bolton's mustache
An aggressive mustache suggests the existence of mystical powers that some are scared to unleash.
Hey Whit, and others, per the Burns documentary, Bitter Southerner has a cool piece where writer talks to Burns and one of the narrators, Rhiannon Giddens.
Bitter Southerner is a terrific site. All kinds of different and interesting writing from a various southern perspectives. Pretty solid merch store too.
Why not just call this post “In praise of badass white women”?
Virtue signaling while secretly promoting white hegemony. Seems pretty racist. This is intersectionality 101.
Speaking of white people, the band Cracker, whom you should still go see, features a core duo of David Lowery and Johnny Hickman. Today is both of their birthdays. Weird.
i appreciate the criticism, marls. my intent was to celebrate serena as one of the badasses, and yola’s front and center performance with the highwomen is hard to miss. but this is absolutely virtue signaling. if all any of us do is virtue signal, nothing will change. i try to do more than that in the real world. this is a goofy blog published by white guys who are trying to do better. and realizing that we don’t always succeed.
Jesus. Don’t cave to Marls’ intersexuality 101. You do just fine, my friend.
I’m glad you see the light. We need to continue to ignore the incompetent kleptocrat in the White House and make sure we all fight over who is the most woke. Only then will the republic be truly free.
Very happy I’m on road today and can avoid TVs all day. Also happy I have no flight today. Not happy that it will be 96 in Atlanta.
18 years.
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