Today is also the birthday of Woody Guthrie, boxcar hoppin' Okie Dustbowl Bard, hero of the common man and more than a few rockstars to boot. He wrote This Land Was Made For You And Me (originally titled God Blessed America) because he hated Irving Berlin's God Bless America. I particularly like one of the lesser known verses:
Was a high wall there that tried to stop me A sign was painted said: Private Property, But on the back side it didn't say nothing -- [God blessed America for me.] This land was made for you and me.
Here's a recent article about Woody, Bob, the Folkies, and the times that are ever a-changin'.
Anyways, on a different note, Guess the Dictator or Sit-Com Character is a fun little site which guesses the Sitcom character you are thinking of by posing yes-or-no questions... Boole would be so pround. I was impressed. It guessed correctly my character--Rochester, Jack Benny's cheeky manservant--in about fifteen guesses. Seeing as most of my students never heard about stuff from the seventies, like Styx or Christopher Cross or Boston, they probable have never heard of the penny pinching Jack Benny of the 40's. So here's a tidbit to make you sound in the know: Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, Porky, Tweety, Captain Caveman, was a regular feature on Jack's show.
