Roy DeCarava 1919-2009

American photographer Roy DeCarava, who died at 89, spent his career chronicling the African American experience, including his native Harlem and jazz musicians. This is an example of DeCarava's work - a photograph of saxophonist John Coltrane and drummer Elvin Jones.

Obama's Hoops

Obama's fondness for hoops - games are held featuring only the fellas - is apparently causing consternation among some women supporters who feel that Obama's female staff are excluded from access to the president and therefore are being marginalized. This falls in the category of the silly non-story that is much ado about nothing.

Recipes

Clarissa Ward, in The Art of Recipe Writing (Financial Times Oct. 17th) writes:

Home cooks divide into two groups: those who use recipes as mere suggestions or guidelines, and those who follow instructions as if they were sat-nav systems. As one who has sweated over the difference between “gentle boil” and “lively simmer” on the reader’s behalf, I’d like to request that everyone follows the recipe as written, if only once. At the same time, I issue a disclaimer: if it smells like it’s burning, then it probably is.

As a home cook with modest skills, I strive mightily to be counted among the ranks of the first group, although with varying degrees of success. But slavishly adhering to the recipe as written, there's nothing challenging or interesting about that approach.

John Brown's Raid

A letter to the editor Washington Informer on John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry:

To the Editor

Askia Muhammad (John Brown's Body October 15th), on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, asks rhetorically: "If you had lived in the time of John Brown and Robert E. Lee and John Wilkes Booth, which side would you have been on?" A more relevant question is, if you had been a contemporary of John Brown, whose side would you have been on: Dangerfield Newby or Hayward Shepherd? Newby, a former slave, accompanied Brown on the raid and also planned to rescue his wife and six children who were held as slaves on a nearby farm. Shepherd, a quintessential dutiful black man who was killed trying to alert authorities to the raid, was later hailed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans as "a faithful employee and Baggage Master of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was murdered in furtherance of John Brown's nefarious scheme . . . ."

Hef No Longer

There is something terribly depressing about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the hedonistic octogenarian, lounging around in the fabled Playboy Mansion, dressed in trademark silk pajamas with the trio of "girlfriends" in tow. Hef is not unlike an aging entertainer or athlete in denial about the ravages of time, viagra notwithstanding.

Snyder's Follies

Much of the discussion about the dysfunctional Washington Redskins has focused on the public emasculation of its head coach Jim Zorn whose days are numbered. The attention, however, is terribly misplaced because the one constant in Washington's descent into mediocrity is the owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder has single-handedly transformed Redskins into Oakland Raiders East.

And what has he done to earn this dubious distinction? 5 coaches in 10 years; thrown untold amounts of money at free agents - some clearly past their prime (Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith); terrible drafts and often no draft picks at all (3 choices from last year don't have 10 receptions among them); hired the supremely inept Vinny Cerrato to be in charge of football operations; fired Norv Turner whose record was 7 and 6 with only 3 games remaining in the season; fired Marty Shottenheimer who actually laid the groundwork for making the team competitive; hired Steve Spurrier who lacked both the temperament and commitment to compete in the NFL; brought Joe Gibbs back, putting him in charge of player personnel despite the fact that Gibbs was never very good at it even in the glory days; hired Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator before bringing in a head coach; bumped Zorn up to head coach despite Zorn having no previous experience and, in addition, entrusted Zorn with mentoring Campbell and play calling; brought in Sherman Lewis to be "another set of eyes"; after more than 20 games where Washington has failed to score 30 points in any game "asked" him to relinquish play calling and then handed the job to Lewis; announced later that Lewis will communicate the plays to Sherman Smith who will in turn relay the play to Campbell, Zorn's duties presumably are limited to challenging calls, deciding when to go for it on 4th down, etc.

Today the aforementioned Cerrato, VP for football operations, made it "perfectly clear" that Zorn will remain as head coach for the 2009 season and quite possibly beyond. Those of us who have been around Washington are familiar with one Richard Milhous Nixon who frequently prefaced statements, usually less than truthful, with the expression "let me make one thing perfectly clear." As with Nixon, Cerrato's declaration should be viewed with skepticism.

An Unlikely Defense of Sharpton

A letter to the editor of the Washington Examiner newspaper that places me in the unusual position of defending the Rev. Al Sharpton, a man who I have loathed since the Tawana Brawley affair:

Re: Al Sharpton is today's Orval Faubus, October 19th.

The perfervid Star Parker writes, "[Al] Sharpton blocked Limbaugh like Gov. Orval Faubus tried to block black children from entering Central High in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957." This is a ridiculous argument. First, to equate an activist's campaign against a radio talk show host's effort to purchase a professional sports franchise with an Arkansas governor's defiance of federal law in preventing children from attending school is, on its face, a risible absurdity. Second, attempting to buy a footabll team is a privilege while seeking an education is a right. Third, whatever influence Sharpton had in bringing pressure to bear on the NFL and the investment group, he lacked the actual power to prevent Limbaugh from acquiring an interest in the team. Faubus, on the hand, as the highest ranking state official, wielded enormous power in depriving a group of its constitutional rights. And finally, Limbaugh was unceremoniously dumped not because of his conservative politics - the truth is, that club of billionaire owners is every bit as conservative as Limbaugh - but because he is a polarizing figure whose presence would bring unwanted attention to the league and, most importantly, interfere with the flow of commerce. Ironically, Limbaugh was insuffiently conservative for the club. On the original point, Al Sharpton might be a lot of things but Orville Faubus he isn't.

Portis's Incoherence

Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis says the problems confronting the team aren't Daniel Snyder and management but the media and the fans. Making his weekly appearance on WTEM 980's The John Thompson Show, Portis's trademark incoherence was in full throttle - and about as impressive as the team's offensive output:

"I think it's just gonna come down to not worrying about the media," Portis said. "You know, everybody want input around here. Being in Washington, D.C. and having so much focus on this team, everybody want their way. It's a fan that want Jason Campbell benched, that want Colt Brennan to play right now, and Colt Brennan injured. You know, it's a fan that want me benched and they should have drafted Knowshon Moreno from Denver; look, they didn't, Denver did. It's always, 'Oh, this could work.'...

"Every time you look at headlines, every time you see a story, it's 'The Redskins suck, the Redskins can't do it, the Redskins down again.' We're 2-4, we've still got a lot of football left. Philly was 2-4 last year and went to the NFC Championship game. Philly did that as a team. I'm sure their fans was killing them, the papers was killing them, but somehow, some way, you've got to keep searching and keep trying to find a way until you find it.

"And I think the pressure [is] on Mr. Snyder, and he want to win so bad. And everybody's [saying] 'Oh, get him out of here, he need to sell the team, he's what's [wrong].' It's not him. I think he brings in everybody that he could possibly bring in that he think gonna help this team. I think if you look at the talent on our team, we've got a lot of talent. We've got great players. We've gotta go out and do it. It's no coaches playing for us, it's nobody in the front office playing for us. The scout evaluators, whoever they bring in, I mean, they evaluate talent. We've got talent. It's just the execution. So it's on us."

The Distraction

All the whining by conservative commentators over Rush Limbaugh being unceremoniously dumped from the investment group seeking to purchase the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League is quite comical and more than a bit disingenuous, particularly when they gloss over than negative statements he has made about black people throughout his career. The point that gets overlooked is that Limbaugh's chances of being welcomed into the exclusive club of NFL owners were slim and none, even before the firestorm of reaction he received once the matter was made public. The bottom line is that this conservative group were not welcoming of a polarizing figure whose membership would hit them where it hurt the most: in their pockets.

Dead Man Walking

Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn whose team in the first 6 weeks of the 2009 season has faced opponents who had yet to record a victory and, despite having the easiest schedule in the National Football League, has only managed a pitiful 2 wins and 4 losses, a cumulative record of 10 and 12 in less than 2 full seasons. Zorn, however, cannot shoulder the entire burden. That distinction falls squarely on the owner Daniel Snyder who since acquiring the franchise in 1999 has hired 5 coaches, which is on pace to equal actress Elizabeth Taylor's penchant for discarding husbands.

Happy Anniversary Denny Green

Without a doubt, Denny Green's meltdown in a post-game interview from October 16, 2006, following the Chicago Bears' dramatic comeback against Green's Arizona Cardinals, must rank among the greatest in the annals of sports.

The Fall and Decline of WPFW

As of this writing, the once consequential and serious WPFW 89.3 FM has started its annual fall pledge drive, a drive that more than usual takes on a particularly feverish air of desperation with the survival of the station being at stake. Concerning this sorry mess, a few observations:

1. Those charged with the responsibility of running WPFW are guilty of mismanagement and malfeasance in squandering a valuable resource.
2. To continue pledging financial support to the station, without any assurances that it will reverse course, is tantamount to throwing money down a proverbial rat hole.
3. The usual hackneyed arguments - for example, that it is "the lone beacon of jazz music and political truth on the Washington, D.C. area radio airways" - no longer hold sway because of the aforementioned (1) and because of a changed media landscape that pretty much renders the station a nullity.
4. Instead of prolonging the inevitable, WPFW should be allowed to suffer the fate of organizations that fail to keep pace with a changing environment: it should be allowed to die.

In Praise of Mathias Kiwanuka

Kudos to New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka for speaking out against the notion of playing for Rush Limbaugh, who is part of group trying to purchase the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League.

"All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama's America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting 'right on. I mean, I don't want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play."

"I am not going to draw a conclusion from a person off of one comment, but when it is time after time after time and there's a consistent pattern of disrespect and just a complete misunderstanding of an entire culture that I am a part of, I can't respect him as a man."

Obama and Nobel Peace Prize

When I first heard the news that Barack Obama had been selected by the Nobel Committee as this year’s recipient for its Peace Prize, I thought it was a put-on, not unlike the headlines frequently associated with the satirical newspaper The Onion. Whatever Obama’s promise and idealism, the point is that after barely nine months in office, he has accomplished very little in the area of international relations and world peace. About the only thing that can be said is that the Committee was making a political statement, namely, that after eight years of American unilateralism and heavy-handed arrogance as displayed by the Bush Administration, it was endorsing Obama’s commitment to international cooperation and diplomacy. In essence, Obama got the prize because he isn't George Bush.

Fail to the Redskins

Carolina 20, Washington 17.

I am not the least bit surprised by this outcome. In a week where running back Clinton Portis calls out fullback Mike Sellers for not blocking, where bingo caller Sherman Lewis is brought in as a consultant (a move that undermines the head coach), and where the defensive coordinator no longer wants to talk to the media, how could it be anything else but another demoralizing performance? To paraphrase Denny Greene, the Redskins are who I thought they were: a mediocre team constructed by a dysfunctional organization, overseen by an egomanical, clueless owner flushed with cash but devoid of anything remotely resembling football knowledge.

Baring All

Levi Johnston, the estranged 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin’s granddaughter, is apparently determined to exploit his proverbial 15-minutes of fame, despite being expelled from the former vice presidential candidate’s inner circle. Johnston has jousted publicly with Sarah Palin about what did and did not happen during his relationship with the erstwhile Alaska governor. Now Johnston reportedly plans to literally bare all for Playgirl magazine. In preparation for the endeavor, Johnston has undertaken a physical regimen of training 3 hours daily, 6 days a week. This makeover is similar but more strenuous than what he underwent to make him presentable to voters during the presidential campaign.

The Second Amendment Advocate

Meleanie Hain garnered national headlines as the soccer mom who attended her daughter's soccer match carrying a loaded gun. Wednesday police found Hain and her husband dead of gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide. The Hains were experiencing marital difficulties.

Disingenuous Favre

Brett Favre insists that tonight's contest with his former team the Green Bay Packers is just another game and that he isn't bent on revenge against an organization that no longer desired his services, having grown tired, and understandably so, of his indecisiveness about retiring. If Favre's numerous off again - on again pronouncements about retirement are any indication, it suggests that he is either incapable of telling the truth or profoundly uncertain about life beyond football. In either case, Favre has seriously damaged his reputation and legacy regardless of the outcome of tonight's game.

Oh, Oh Sheila

Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET Television, demonstrates that she is equally as tasteless and ridiculous as former husband Bob Johnson when it comes to endorsing political candidates. Bob Johnson, who was a fervent supporter of Hillary Clinton, launched a particularly personal attack against Barack Obama during the Democratic presidential primaries. When the public outcry turned up the heat, Johnson later backed away from his comments. Now Sheila Johnson, who supports Republican Bob McDonnell in the Virginia gubernatorial contest, openly mocks Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds for being a stutterer. It would not be at all surprising to see Sheila attempt to distance herself from those remarks and issue a lame apology. Such is how these things are usually played out.

Organized Mayhem

The conclusion that there is a greater incidence of memory related diseases among former NFL players relative to the general population hardly comes as a surprise. With players bigger, stronger, and faster it couldn't be anything else. Football, as George F. Will noted, is organized mayhem, inherently violent and not susceptible to changes without interfering with the basic nature of the game.

A study commissioned by the National Football League reports that Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.

Coming Up Short

It appears that the vaunted Obama Magic (with earth mother Oprah thrown in for good measure) met its match in the International Olympic Committee as that imperial body awarded the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro, despite the illustrious triumvirate's best efforts on behalf of Chicago, Illinois.