Cold War Memories

While there are a lot of things I love about growing up in the 60's and 70's, one of things I didn't like was the Cold War.    


For those of you younglings who only read about it in your history books, one of the things we had to live with during that period was two nuclear armed superpowers aiming thousands of nuclear warheads at each other on hair trigger alert.

There were days I'd wake up and wonder at times whether this would be the day that somebody did something stupid, a political miscalculation or a misinterpreted malfunction would happen that kicked off World War III and altered our world forever.

If you've heard the songs '99 Luftballons' and Men At Work's 'It's A Mistake', it spoke to that fear of nuclear annihilation many of us humans around the planet had.   Our literature of the period spoke to those fears with books such as 'Alas, Babylon', 'Warday' and 'On The Beach' which was later turned into a movie.   There were movies such as Fail Safe,  Dr. Strangelove, Red Dawn and War Games , and television miniseries such as 1983 The Day After as the US and USSR both built up their nuclear stockpiles to obscene levels.   

Every time there was some international incident like the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, drama between the Warsaw Pact and NATO nations or conflicts like the Korean, Vietnam, Arab-Israeli or the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, we worried that it would spiral out of control into a confrontational war between the superpowers  that would escalate into a nuclear exchange and the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) scenario we had nightmares about that would end life as we know it.

Hearing about the Soviets nearly launching on nuclear armed China during a 1969 border clash along the disputed Ussuri River border between the two nations,  Fidel Castro incessantly calling for nuclear first strikes on the US, the 1983 NATO Able Archer exercise that nearly jumped off a Soviet first strike and about other too close to call instances of malfunctions in command and control on both sides that nearly jumped off everyone's worst nightmare only heightened that planetary anxiety.

It also didn't help matters that the Soviet Union's citizens and leadership believed we'd launch a first strike on them and we grew up in the States immersed in the belief that the 'godless commies' would do the same to us and order that devastating nuclear first strike that would destroy our American way of life. 

From the time I entered kindergarten until third grade we used to do regular duck and cover drills and fallout shelter signs were everywhere.   One little known factoid about the Astrodome was it was designed to be a large fallout shelter when it opened in 1965.   After a while with more powerful nukes being added to the US and Soviet arsenals, we stopped doing duck and cover drills, the feds stopped spending large sums of money on civil defense and it became a 'what's the point' exercise.

We entered a period of detente in the 70's, but the military buildups continued   The Soviet navy became a global force that posed a challenge to US naval dominance, the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces trained on their sides of a split Germany in endless maneuvers and wargames waiting for the other side to invade.  

The space race, the Olympics, and international sports became ways to prove our competing economic and political systems were better than theirs without shooting at each other and recruit support from the non aligned or Third World nations to either the Western or Communist blocs.     

Glasnost, the demise of the Soviet Union and the unification of Germany at the tail end of the 80's thankfully spelled the end of the Cold War and a much needed respite from the international stress that period caused..

I'm also thankful that my nieces won't have to grow up in a world that was a hair trigger away from self inflicted nuclear annihilation.
  

Happy Birthday Caroline Cossey!

One of our pioneering trans women of the 70's and 80's was born on this August 31 date in Britain.

She was a model and a Bond Girl until a British tabloid outed her. She also fought for trans marriage rights in her home country.



Today she's on our side of The Pond happily married to her hubby in an undisclosed location in the great state of Georgia at last report.

Happy birthday, Caroline! My this day be filled with abundant blessings for you and may you have many more.

Louisville Shoutout-Bootsy Style

As the date for Carla Wallace's Lawn Party gets closer, missing all my peeps in Da Ville. Just wanted to post this and let you wonderful people know I'm thinking about y'all.

This is from a 1978 Bootsy's Rubber Band concert in Da Ville which has a Louisville centric version of 'What's The Name Of This Town?' Calicard turned it into a video tribute to his hometown that made me smile when I saw it.

Feeling Cleveland's Sports Pain

The Decision has been made, and once again Cleveland is on the short end of it as another high profile athlete leaves for a bigger market and greener pastures.

This one hurts deeply for Cavaliers fans since LeBron is from Akron, Ohio and was a lottery pick for the team. They'd pinned their civic hopes on him breaking their sports championship title drought that dates back to 1964, when the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 NFL title with Jim Brown in their backfield.

But LeBron is taking his game and talents to Miami.

I definitely feel their sports pain. In fact, Houston has been kindred spirits with the city of Cleveland in terms of professional sports frustrations.

The Oilers were AFL powerhouses who struggled after the AFL-NFL merger. They had seasons in which they were pathetic, and others like in the Luv Ya Blue era where they challenged for NFL supremacy.

And to make it worse, the Cowboy fifth column inside Harris County never failed to remind us long suffering Oilers fans that the NFL team 262 miles up Interstate 45 was winning titles.

It was just Houston's luck they were competing in the same rugged AFC Central Division with the Pittsburgh 'Steel Curtain' squads and the Ohio NFL teams. We had a 1975 NFL season in which we went 10-4 and STILL didn't make the playoffs because the Oilers lost to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati twice.

But we did beat the Browns twice that year along with every other NFL team we played, including the future NFL champion Oakland Raiders.

I angrily watched my Oilers get screwed out of the 1980 AFC title game versus Pittsburgh on a hideous blown call during the Luv Ya Blue era, catastrophically blow playoff games to Denver and Buffalo, then painfully watched Bud Adams move the team in 1997 to Nashville and play in a Super Bowl in 2000.

The Texans, the team that replaced the Tennessee Traitors in 2002, only had their first winning season last year after back to back 8-8 campaigns in 2007-2008.

The Astros have been around since 1962 and have worked our collective sporting nerves as well.

In addition to horrid trades and lousy seasons, the 'Stros have had
their share of frustrating and heartbreaking NLCS losses in 1980, 1981, 1986 and 2004.

They made the playoffs in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 and lost in the NLDS, with the 1998 season being particularly galling. We won our second of three straight division titles, had Randy Johnson on our pitching staff and won a team record 102 games only to lose in the NLDS to the San Diego Padres.

They finally won their first National League title in 2005, then got swept by the White Sox after interference from commissioner Bud Selig over the Minute Maid Park retractible roof.

My frustrations even extend to the collegiate level. The Cougars lost in the 1967 College World Series to Arizona State. The Cougar B-ballers have made it to five NCAA Final Fours, and played in three straight during the Phi Slama Jama years from 1982-1984.

They played in the 1983 and 1984 title games, and I have to painfully watch the end of the 1983 NCAA one every time March Madness fires up. In addition to that I'm still pissed along with other UH alums about the Cougars being screwed out of Big 12 membership by the Wronghorns and their arrogant burnt orange wearing fans reminding us of our C-USA membership every chance they get.

The Rockets lost in the 1981 and 1986 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics and have had some frustrating playoff losses as well.

But the difference between me and a Cleveland sports fan is that I have witnessed my hometown teams win championships. The Rockets finally broke our civic title jinx in 1994 and repeated in 1995 with Houston homeboy Clyde Drexler in the lineup.

I got to watch the Comets win the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000. The Dynamo moved here from San Jose, CA and won back to back MLS ones in 2006 and 2007. Rice University won an NCAA College World Series title in 2003.

So yes Cleveland, definitely feel your pain and frustration on that one.

Y'all haven't felt this backstabbed since Art Modell moved your beloved Browns to Baltimore in 1995 to become the Ravens, then watched them win a Super Bowl in 2001.

I have a pretty good understanding of why you're burning his jerseys and I take it the Cavalier-Heat games next season are going to be very interesting affairs.

When I lived in Da Ville, every time I went to or through Nashville and passed anywhere near the Tennessee Traitors stadium I flipped it the finger.

But take it from the TransGriot. When y'all finally do break through and win that elusive title, it's going to lead to the biggest cathartic release and civic celebration in your town's history.

Just hope you aren't opposing a Houston team when it happens.

'Soul Train' Gets New Ownership-Where The New Shows At?

Must See TV when I was growing up was getting up at 7 AM on Saturday morning to watch my favorite cartoons, then flipping the channel at noon to watch Soul Train.

The hippest trip in America was my peeps version of American Bandstand. It was where me and my friends tuned in to catch up on the latest dances and see my favorite R&B and soul artists.

From 1970 until the 2005-2006 television season we were treated to new episodes and the iconic Soul Train Dancers.

They are so ingrained in African-American culture that In Living Color parodied them during its run.

And what party or African-American wedding did you attend over the last few decades that at one point or another didn't break out at the reception into an impromptu Soul Train line?

There was an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air that showed Vivian and Phil's engagement on an episode of Soul Train and reappearance during their wedding anniversary along with the kids on a Soul Train episode.

Well, that iconic slice of my youth has new owners. Show creator and long time host Don Cornelius sold the show in June 2008 to a Los Angeles based production company called MadVision Entertainment.

MadVision's plan at the time was to open up the show’s archives for older consumers as well as to create a new version of the program for younger ones.

“The series has never been shown on DVD, and it’s not been utilized on video-on-demand or mobile or Internet platforms,” Peter Griffith, a co-founder of MadVision, said. “There are many opportunities that we are exploring.

While the new Soul Train shows haven't materialized yet in the two years since the deal, it does have a website.

Could there be new episodes of Soul Train on the horizon? I certainly hope so.

40th Anniversary of Kent State Massacre

On my birthday in 1970 an anti-Vietnam war protest was held on the Kent State University campus in Kent, Ohio, northeast of Akron. It was being held to protest President Nixon's decision to widen the Vietnam war by invading Cambodia, which had happened only a few days before.

That protest would turn tragically ugly when for some still unexplained reason the Ohio National Guard fired on the crowd after tear gassing them to break up the protest.

Four students died as a result. Ten days later there was a similar incident at HBCU Jackson State University in Jackson, MS in which two students died.

Still Miss You 'Lufer'

Today would have been the 59th birthday of one of my fave singers back in the day, Luther Ronzoni Vandross. He was born on this date in New York City in 1951.

Wow. Has it been five years since he heft us on July 1, 2005? Doesn't seem like it's been that long, but yep, it has.

The man left behind a musical legacy that will be hard to match. There are also probably a lot of people born in the 80's and 90's who probably owe their existence to being conceived while their parents were getting busy while listening to his music.

Anyway, happy birthday 'Lufer'. You are still missed by your fans, and no one as of yet has stepped up to fill your considerable shoes.

80's Music Better Than The 70's? Yeah, Right

Being the 70's music lover I am, there was an interesting topic posted on Womanist Musings in which Renee and Sparky debated 70's versus 80's music.

You know I had to say something about it.

I was a teenager in the 70's. There's no comparison. The 70's, no matter what genre you listened to, beats the 80's hands down.

Now just focusing on the R&B end of it...hmm.

Earth, Wind and Fire, WAR, The Brothers Johnson, The Commodores, Angela Bofill, Phyllis Hyman, Diana Ross, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Jackson Five, Bootsy's Rubber Band, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Whispers, Shalamar, Chic, The Emotions, The Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Graham Central Station, Al Green, Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Rick James, Teena Marie, LTD, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Deniece Williams, Natalie Cole, Donna Summer, Change, Gil Scott-Heron, Minnie Riperton...



And that's just scratching the surface of it.

Even the artists you could counter with that had success in the 80's such as Cameo, Michael Jackson and Prince all released hit records in the 70's.



Luther Vandross? Released two hit singles with Change, sang backup with Bowie.
The Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' was released in 1979 and used Chic's 'Good Times' as its music track.

As a matter of fact, without music from Parliament-Funkadelic, Chic and James Brown to sample, most 80's hip hop/rap wouldn't exist





Face the facts 80's music fans. The concerts were flashier and better, the music groups more talented, and may I point out, had to use real instruments and read and write music to do so.

And how many 80's artists won four consecutive Album of the Year Grammys as Stevie Wonder did, much less have their songs spark legislation or become signature anthems for various social issues such as Freda Payne's 'Bring the Boys Home', Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On', Diana Ross' 'I'm Coming Out' , McFadden and Whitehead's 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now' or 'Wake Up Everybody' by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes?

The Philly Sound, P-Funk, Disco, Motown jazz fusion and rap all either began or evolved during the 70's

Game, set and match to the 70's as the best and most innovative music decade.