#karen becker

[rune-echos]

Shadow of a Demon Act 2

Our Shadow of a Demon plot line is not also progressing into Act 2! This is the plot where demons invade Chicago. Below is a summary of the story so far. Act 1 – Initial Attack Victoria, Po, Abigail, and Susan Victoria’s leadership and strategic acumen are evident throughout the story. She quickly adapts to the unfolding crisis, utilizing her knowledge of blood magic to both attack and…

[darkwood-sleddog]

you know it would be a lot easier to take raw feeders seriously if they didn't push pseudo sciences along with it.

[fjordfolk]

the first and most important step on any pet wellness journey is realizing dr karen becker is a quack

[trexalicious]

[donnatroyprincessofthemyscira]

Art Credit to Mike Becker

[myraelvira]

Karen Roberta Stanley

Karen Roberta Stanley

If you’re a fan of Steely Dan, then you’re familiar with Walter Becker. If not, I’ll summarize briefly. Walter Beker was the second half to the duo that made up Steely Dan. Walter and Donald Fagen were the minds behind the music, the composer, the conductors, the two with the vision behind it all.

There is a lot of Steely Dan Lore that goes around, and most is easy to find proof of. One subject that intrigued me was the story of Karen Roberta Stanley, who was Walter’s girlfriend at one point.

One wikipedia, there is a small blip about her on Walter’s page, stating that she died in his apartment on January 30th, 1980. Karen was an employee of ABC Dunhill Records, and was the personal manager for the band. After her death, her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Walter. Only one source is cited for this, the book, Steely Dan: Reelin In The Years.

It’s hard to find out more information on this subject, but I tried my hardest to look.

On the national news.com, it states that Karen Stanley died of a drug overdose in 1978. The Guardian says that Karen died in January of 1980, “following a drug overdose in his apartment, on the upper west side.”. The following years, Stanley’s mother attempted to sue Becker for 17 million dollars, claiming that he introduced her daughter to cocaine, morphine, heroin, and barbiturates.

A judge found in Walter’s favor, and the case was settled. Walter is quoted:

“I could barely understand what was going on with her, really. If you’ve known anyone that’s chronically depressed like that, it’s hard to appreciate what’s going on: You’re looking straight at it and you still don’t get it, because you’ve never gone through that.”.

This same article says that a month after Karen’s death, Walter was seriously injured when a taxi drove into him in Central Park.

An article from The Independent stated that in some versions of the story, Karen was underage, though this is untrue. Karen’s name appears in the liner notes on early Steely Dan records. They also wrote that a year after Karen’s death, her mother attempted to sue Walter; Walter threatened to counter sue, and the case disappeared.

One source says that it took Walter six months to recover from the car accident. Rolling Stone states that Walter ended up in a wheelchair, while the rest of the album ‘Gaucho’ was recorded. The stress from the sessions strained his relationship with Donald Fagen, and Walter succumbed to a growing drug habit, being Heroin. In January of 1980, Karen overdosed in the apartment that she have shared with Walter.

Another source states that during Walter’s six month recovery, he collaborated with Donald over the phone. The crash shattered Walter’s right leg. The accident also led to multiple fractures, a lengthy rehabilitation, which was made worse by secondary infections. This source also says that Karen’s family lost the case, though the whole process put everyone through a tortuous proces..

Music musings and such states that Karen overdosed in 1978, and soon after, Walter was hit by a minicab in Manhattan, being forced to use crutches.

With this information alone, the story is confusing and rather incomplete. I could not find a Karen Roberta Stanley that passed away in 1980 on find a grave. This doesn’t mean that her death didn’t happen, it’s just likely that Karen may not have a find a grave page at all.

An article from The Philidelphia Daily News, dated January 20th, 1981, mentioned the accident that injured Walter; but nothing about Karen, or the lawsuit. Many articles from early 1981 were like this, talking about the car accident.

One small blip of the lawsuit was mentioned on January 27th, 1981, in the Detroit Free Press. It stated that Walter was being sued for 17.5 million dollars by Lillian Wyshak, who claimed that Walter introduced Karen Roberta Stanley to dangerous drugs like “heroin, morphine, cocaine, and barbiturates in order to achieve control of the person, mind, and spirit of the woman.”.

In an article from the Corpus Christi Times, the attorney for Lillian Wyshak stated that the medical examiner’s office indicated that Karen had died from “acute mixed drug intoxication”.

An article from the Daily Record states that Karen’s age was not available. It also stated that Karen’s mother claimed that Walter “induced and pursuaded her daughter to lived with him in an intimate relationship in California and New York.” She stated that Walter introduced and addicted Karen to dangerous drugs.

I saw in one article, and nowhere else, that the suit also claimed that Walter “negligently and maliciously violated the person of Stanley, after assuming responsibility for her care, and getting her a job with Steely Dan; in addition to persuading and encouraging Stanley to take drugs, Becker in other ways assaulted and battered Miss Stanley until the time of her death.”. This was from the Thousand Oaks Star, January 23rd, 1981.

Post 1981, there doesn’t seem to be any more info about the court case, at least, nothing mentioning Lillian Wyshak. Through the rest of the 80’s, the name “Lillian Wyshak” appeared in the news, but only as part of realty adverts. I’m unsure if this was the same person.

There is an article from April 7th, 1988, where a Lillian Wyshak was mentioned. She was a 59 year old attorney and real estate broker.

An obituary from April 15th, 1993, shoes that a Lillian Wyshak, formerly of Los Angeles, passed away. A record on family search shows that this Lillian was born on December 15th, 1927 in Boston, Massachusetts, and passed away in April of 1993.

Another record on family search shows that Karen Roberta Stanley died in January of 1980. She was born on September 4th, 1948, in Hollywood, California. Her parents were listed as Edwin Stanley, and Mary L Worthing.

I’m unsure of whatever happened to Karen’s family. There are still many missing pieces to the puzzle. Despite my best efforts, I could not find any obituary or burial details for Karen. I’ve never seen any pictures of her face.

There’s a divorce record, from February 1977, where she divorced a man named Stephen M. Poe. Beyond that, I have no other information on her, as it just could not be found. I’m sure that there’s a 1950 census record out there somewhere, with Karen on it.

It’s strange to me that there was the rumor that Karen was underage. I think that stems from the one article that was written, and hinted that she was. Ironically, she was older than Walter, who was born in 1950.

[spirk-trek]

Matter/Antimatter Fanzine | Poem by Gene S. Delapenia, accompanying art by Karen Simley 1983 // Marlene A. Becker, 1978

-- keep reading for poem in plain text --

"We were together;

Through the star-strung years of exploration,

from the Galactic Rim to the Spiral Nebula,

we were side by side.

Then, I grew old.

My days of roaming space were over.

Retirement they called it;

To rest and take my ease.

More like a living death of uselessness.

So now I am alone.

The empty years stretch before me,

and I spend my nights looking up at the stars,

where once we walked together,

remembering those golden days of long ago."

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Hi, that raw food anon. I spoke to multiple vets and pet nutritionists before starting to feed my animals raw. I even reached out to Dr Karen Becker. At no point did I consider tiktok a reliable source of information, I don't even have it lmao.

Congratulations on being able to send emails. Very proud of you.

[therecordchanger62279]

WHAT’S ON THE TUBE?

The television landscape is ever-changing. But our viewing habits? Not so much. In this age of apps, and streaming, and bingeing, I find myself enjoying the same types of shows I always enjoyed. So, I thought I’d put together a master list of my all-time favorite TV shows divided by genre, and then conclude with an overall Top 10.

* This list has been revised as of 8.25.24

POLICE DRAMAS

The Streets of San Francisco

Hawaii 5-0 (2010-2020)

Hawaii 5-0 (1968-1980)

Karen Sisco

Dragnet (1967-1970)

Highway Patrol

The Unusuals

In Plain Sight

The Mod Squad

NCIS: Hawaii

MEDICAL / LAW

ER

The Good Wife

House

The Practice

Ally McBeal

SCI-FI / HORROR

Lost In Space

The Invaders

The Twilight Zone

Bewitched

Angel

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Dark Shadows

The Munsters

The Addams Family

Space: 1999

WESTERNS

Kung Fu (1972-1975)

Have Gun Will Travel

The Rifleman

Tales of Wells Fargo

Cheyenne

The Virginian

Branded

The High Chaparral

The Wild Wild West

Maverick

ESPIONAGE

Person of Interest

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Secret Agent

The Avengers

Burn Notice

The Night Manager

Get Smart

Mission: Impossible

I Spy

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.

WAR

The Rat Patrol

M*A*S*H*

Combat

12 O'Clock High

McHale’s Navy

DRAMAS

Room 222

Men of a Certain Age

Relativity

Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip

Once & Again

COMEDIES

Sports Night

WKRP In Cincinnati

Becker

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

As Time Goes By

The Bob Newhart Show

My Three Sons

The Andy Griffith Show

Everybody Loves Raymond

TALK SHOWS

The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder

The Dick Cavett Show

The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson

Late Night with David Letterman

Speakeasy with Chip Monck

GAME SHOWS

Password

Jeopardy

Master Minds

The Chase

The $10,000 Pyramid (with Dick Clark)

VARIETY/MUSIC

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

Night Music (with David Sanborn)

The Midnight Special

American Bandstand

Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

CARTOONS

Bugs Bunny & Friends

The Bullwinkle & Rocky Show

The Flintstones

The Jetsons

Huckleberry Hound & Friends

*I don’t do reality shows.

My All-Time Top 10 Favorite Television Shows

Person of Interest

Sports Night

The Streets of San Francisco

Hawaii 5-0 (2010-2020)

WKRP In Cincinnati

Becker

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Dick Van Dyke Show

ER

The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder

[joker1315]

All the actors you can find on this blog

Use the following link and insert the tag you want to see:

a: adam croasdell - aiden turner - aimee garcia - alan rickman - alan tudyk - alex kingston - alison sudol - allen leech - amanda abbington - amir wilson - amita suman - anatol yusef - andreas pietschmann - andrew garfield - andrew scott - aneurin barnard - annette badland  - anthony hopkins - anthony mackie - antony starr - anya chalotra - august wittgenstein

b: barry bostwick - bellamy young - ben barnes - ben mckenzie - benedict cumberbatch - benicio del toro - bernard cribbins - bill nighy - billie piper - billy boyd - brendan gleeson - brent spiner - brianna hildebrand

c: calahan skogman - cameron monaghan - candice bergen - carla gugino - caroline dhavernas - cate blanchett - catherine e coulson - catherine tate - catinca untaru - chadwick boseman - charlie chaplin - chris addison - chris cooper - chris evans - chris hemsworth - chris malcom - chris pine - christian bale - christian clemenson - christian tramitz - christiane paul - christina ricci - christopher eccleston - christopher lee - christopher lloyd - cillian murphy - colin firth - colin odonoghue - colin woodell - corey johnson - cory michael smith - craig parker

d: dakota fanning - daniel brühl - daniel craig - daniel radcliffe - daniel sträβer - danielle galligan- david bowie - david dastmalchian - david duchovny - david morrissey - david tennant - david thewlis - david wenham - deforest kelley - diego luna - dietrich hollinderbäumer - dominic cooper - dominic monaghan - dominic west

e: eddie karanja - elijah wood - elizabeth olsen - elton john - emilie de ravin - emily beecham - emma thompson - emma watson - ethan hawke - eve myles - ewan mcgregor

f: ferdinand kingsley - frankie adams - freddy carter - freema agyeman

g: gareth david lloyd - gary oldman - geoffrey rush - george eads - george takei - georgia tennant - georgina haig - gillian anderson - ginnifer goodwin - gwendoline christie - gwyneth paltrow

h: hadley fraser - harrison ford - harvey keitel - hayley atwell - heath ledger - helen mccrory - helena bonham carter - henry cavill - hugh dancy - hugh jackman - hugh laurie - hugh skinner - hugo weaving

i: ian mckellen - imelda staunton - inbar lavi

j: jack davenport - jack wolfe - jackie earle haley - jake gyllenhaal - james mcavoy - james spader - jamie lee curtis - jared padalecki - jason isaacs - javier bardem - jayne brook - jeff goldblum - jenna coleman - jennifer connelly - jennifer lawrence - jennifer morrison - jensen ackles - jeremy renner - jim beaver - jodie foster - joel rush - joey batey - john barrowman - john boyega - john hurt - john larroquette - john rhys davies - john simm - johnny depp - jonathan frakes - jose pimentao - joseph gilgun - josh dallas - jude law - julia stiles - julianne moore - julie covington - juliette binoche

k: kacey rohl - karen fukuhara - karen gillan - karl urban - kat dennings - kate capshaw - kathryn hahn - keira knightley - kevin alejandro - kit young - krysten ritter - kyle maclachlan - kyra sedgwick

l: lana parrilla - lara pulver - lars mikkelsen - laura allen - laura dern - laura fraser - lauren german - laurence fishburne - laurie kynaston - laz alonso - lee arenberg - lee pace - leonard nimoy - lesley ann brandt - lesley sharp - lindsay duncan - lisa vicari - liv tyler - lizzy caplan - louise hofmann - lucas till - luke evans

m: mads mikkelsen - maggie gyllenhaal - majel barrett - margo martindale - marion cotillard - mark gatiss - mark pellegrino - mark ruffalo - mark sheppard - mark strong - mark waschke - martin freeman - matt smith - max schimmelpfenning - may calamawy - meat loaf - megan boone - mel gibson - melinda clarke - melissanthi mahut - meret becker - mia wasikowska - michael benyaer - michael bully herbig - michael cumpsty - michael des barres - michael fassbender - michael gambon - michael raymond james - michael sheen - michelle gomez - mikael persbrandt - miranda otto - misha collins

n: natalie portman - ncuti gatwa - neil patrick harris - nell campbell - nichelle nichols - nicolas cage - nicole kidman

o: olivia colman - orlando bloom - oscar isaac - owen wilson

p: paddy ohagan - patricia quinn - patrick stewart - paul bettany - paul chahidi - paul lux - paul mescal - pedro pascal - penelope wilton - peter capaldi - peter falk - peter hinwood - philip glenister - phoebe waller bridge - pierce brosnan - pip torrens

q: qorianka kilcher - quentin tarantino

r: rachael harris - rachel weisz - rafi gavron - ralph fiennes - rayner bourton - reece shearsmith - rene russo - rhona mitra - richard armitage - richard obrien - rob benedict - robbie kay - robert carlyle - robert downey jr - robin lord taylor - robin williams - ronald guttman - rose mciver - rupert graves - rupert grint - russell crowe - ruth negga - ryan gosling - ryan reynolds

s: sam neill - samantha smith - samuel l jackson - scarlett estevez - scarlett johansson - sean astin - sean bean - sebastian stan - sherilyn fenn - shohreh aghdashloo - sky du mont - sophia di martino - stanley tucci - stellan skarsgard - steven strait - susan sarandon

t: tan caglar - taron egerton - tilda swinton - tim curry - tim roth - toby maguire - tom conti - tom ellis - tom felton - tom hiddleston - tom holland - tom payne - tom sturridge - tomer capone - tony curran - tony curtis - tricia helfer - troy garity

u: una stubbs

v: val kilmer - vanesu samunyai - viggo mortensen - vivienne acheampong - vladimir burlakov

w: walter koenig - william shatner

y: yasmin finney

z: zachary quinto

[palmviewfm]

mw counterparts?

this  list  got  a  little  bit  longer  than  anticipated.  as  there's  soooooo  many  counterparts  to  consider  choosing  from  !  so,  i  put  it  under  a  read  more  for  you  !

counterparts:  monica  geller, ross geller, joey  tribbiani,  chandler bing, janice litman, mike hannigan, ursula buffay, aria  montgomery,  emily  fields,  spencer  hastings,  mona  vanderwaal,  alison  dilaurentis,  caleb  rivers,  maya  st  germain,  toby  cavanaugh,  betty  cooper,  veronica  lodge,  cheryl  blossom,  archie  andrews,  reggie  mantle,  toni  topaz,  tabitha  tate,  quinn  fabray,  rachel  berry,  brittany  pierce,  olivia  baker,  layla  keating,  jordan  baker,  jaymee, spencer  james,  lucas  scott,  peyton  sawyer, brooke  davis,  quinn  james,  julian  baker,  anna taggaro, rachel  gatina,  blair  waldorf,  serena  van  der  woodsen,  dan  humphrey,  nate  archibald,  callie  adams  foster,  mariana  foster,  buffy  summers,  willow  rosenberg,  tara mclay, kendra young, faith  lehane,  cordelia  chase,  heather  mcnamara,  marissa  cooper,  summer  roberts,  seth  cohen,  angel, anya jenkins, ryan  atwood,  taylor  townsend,  elena  gilbert,  caroline  forbes,  bonnie  bennett,  stefan  salvatore, anna zhu, enzo  st  john,  sandy  olson,  betty  rizzo,  frenchy,  danny  zuko,  marty, jan, sonny,  jackie  burkhart,  donna  pinciotti,  eric  forman,  laurie  forman,  belly  conklin,  sloane  peterson,  ferris  bueller,  duckie  dale,  bianca  stratford,  kat  stratford,  patrick  verona,  mia thermopolis, sabrina spellman, harvey kinkle, libby chessler, barbie  roberts,  ken  carson,  jenna  rink,  allie  hamilton,  noah  calhoun,  brandon  walsh,  david  silver,  brenda  walsh,  kelly  taylor,  donna  martin,  conrad  fisher,  jeremiah  fisher,  steven  cokin,  taylor  jewel,  sarah  cameron,  jj  maybank,  john  b  routledge,  kiara  carerra,  pope  heywood,  cleo, topper  thornton,  prue  halliwell,  paige  matthews,  piper  halliwell,  phoebe  halliwell,  meredith  grey,  arizona  robbins,  jackson  avery,  callie  torres,  april  kepner,  derek  shephard,  alex  karev,  cristina  yang,  lizzie  stevens,  callie  torres,  jo  wilson,  addison  montgomery,  lexi  grey,  atticus  lincoln,  nancy  drew,  lucy  grey,  sam  montgomery,  austin  ames,  jen  lindley,  pacey  witter,  dawson  leery,  katherine  pierce,  rebekah  mikaelson,  hayley  marshall,  tatum  riley,  sidney  prescott,  casey  becker,  tara  carpenter,  samantha  carpenter,  beca  mitchell,  chloe  beale,  jessica  day,  winston schmidt, cece  parekh, laney  boggs,  dewey  riley,  gale  weathers,  georgina  sparks,  elle  woods,  francesca  bridgerton,  daphne  bridgerton,  penelope  featherington,  sookie  stackhouse,  karen  smith,  regina  george,  gretchen  weiners,  janis  ian,  cady  heron,  aaron  samuels,  dj  tanner,  stephanie  tanner,  marcia  brady,  cindy  brady,  greg  brady,  carrie  bradshaw,  cher  horowitz,  kirby  reed,  jim  halpert,  michael  scott,  kelly  kapoor,  pam  beesly,  peter  parker,  mary  jane  watson,  analise  keating,  olivia  pope,  tony  stonem,  effy  stonem,  joey  donner,  john  bender,  allison  argent,  scott  mccall,  lydia  martin,  olive  penderghast,  maggie  greene,  marty  mcfly,  bella  swan,  alice  cullen,  charlie  swan,  emmett  cullen,  jacob  black,  carlisle  cullen,  esme  cullen,  jane  volturi,  morticia  addams,  donna  and  sophie  sheridan,  lorraine  banes,  jennifer  parker,  sam  winchester,  luke  danes,  dean  forester,  tristan  dugray,  lane  kim,  paris  geller,  logan  huntzberger,  jeanie  bueller,  simon  basset,  kate  sharma,  colin  bridgerton,  shiv  roy,  gerri  kellman,  roman  roy,  olivia  benson,  clary  fray,  isabelle  lightwood,  jace  herondale,  simon  lewis,  daphne  blake,  shaggy  rogers,  velma  dinkley,  fred  jones,  cinderella, ariel, tiana, jasmine, tom  wambsgans,  kendall  roy,  greg  hirsch,  lestat  de  lioncourt,  louis  de  point  du  lac,  and  claudia  !

[fjordfolk]

the news about bobi the dog dying is very sad. it may, however, be the first post by dr karen becker that can be independently verified.

[glitterandgoldrush]

i looked at a list of 1000 popular german last names and becker wasn’t on their. bestie their are millions of names and karen and you chose the same one?? i don’t think it can be a coincidence

YALL ARE FEEDING MY DELUSIONS AND I LOVE IT

[czolgosz]

list of pdfs on my phone because i know everyone wants to find out

race, discourse, and the origin of the americas: a new world view (many authors. i'm not writing all that)

what is to be done? (vladimir lenin)

"chemistry and the 19th-century american pharmacist" (gregory j. higby)

the torture garden (octave mirbeau)

"the vane sisters" (vladimir nabokov) + questions for discussion

"the tell-tale heart" (edgar allan poe)

"the lottery" (brainerd duffield)

slideshow about different english cities during the industrial revolution

the compleat works of nostradamus

"terms of endearment in english" (julia landmann)

"speech reflections in late modern english pauper letters from dorset" (anne-christine gardner)

"slopjank prographilose" (rose q. drifting & magnesium oxide)

a few pages of the 1897 sears, roebuck & co. catalog + some other related things

orientalism (edward said)

"in event of moon disaster" (bill safire)

ragtime (e. l. doctorow)

enough to make you blush: exploring erotic humiliation (princess kali)

"you're a mean one, mr. grinch" (dr. seuss) + close reading questions

merry muses of caledonia (robert burns)

"women and the english civil wars" lesson outline

"the concept of the left" (leszek kołakowski)

"kids in the early 1900s" (betty debnam)

"heterosexualism and the colonial/modern gender system" (maría lugones)

"for heidi with blue hair" (fleur adcock)

"flowers for algernon" (daniel keyes)

excerpt of the beginning of m*a*s*h (tim kelly)

tristan tzara poetry collection

"the nature of the beast: the portrayal of satan in the ballads of seventeenth century england" (christopher bailey)

"all the king's horses" (kurt vonnegut)

"conditional divorce in ottoman society: a case from seventeenth-century erzurum" (bilgehan pamuk)

"gender oppression in the enlightenment era" (barbara cattunar)

who's afraid of virginia woolf? (edward albee)

"visual difference & disfigurement in the arts"

"trans-misogyny primer" (julia serano)

the brothers karamazov (fyodor dostoyevsky)

the other victorians: a study of sexuality and pornography in mid-nineteeth century england (steven marcus)

the mistborn trilogy (brandon sanderson)

"the life of an unknown assassin: leon czolgosz and the death of william mckinley" (cary federman)

the brothers karamazov (fyodor dostoyevsky) again

spanish idioms with their english equivalents: embracing nearly ten thousand phrases (sarah cary becker & federico mora)

a sensation novel (w. s. gilbert)

basic principles of marxism–leninism: a primer (jose maria sison)

russia under the old regime (richard pipes)

tristan tzara: dada and surrational theorist (elmer peterson)

pan tadeusz (adam mickiewicz)

psycho nymph exile (porpentine heartscape)

1984 (george orwell)

neath to reach zine: the traveler's guide to [illegible] (i am not writing all that!!)

the dada painters and poets: an anthology (i continue to not write all that)

machine of death (still not writing all that)

"merchants, proto-firms, and the german industrialization: the commercial determinants of nineteenth century town growth" (gavin greif)

"introduction to the history of mental illness"

"girl detective & the mystery of the sap-stained skirt" (porpentine heartscape)

gadsby (ernest vincent wright)

feeling very strange: the slipstream anthology (authors galore.)

english women's clothing in the nineteeth century (c. willett cunnington)

socialism: utopian and scientific (friedrich engels)

the waste land (t. s. eliot)

"debility and disability in edith wharton's novels" (karen weingarten)

death of riley (rhys bowen)

"the black vampyre: a legend of st. domingo" (uriah derick d'arc)

raoul hausmann and berlin dada (timothy o. benson)

flight out of time: a dada diary by hugo ball

art and production (boris arvatov)

"the culture industry: enlightenment as mass deception" (theodor adorno & max horkheimer)

a gilded lady (elizabeth camden)

"changing narratives of martyrdom in the works of huguenot printers during the wars of religion" (byron j. hartsfield)

112 gripes about the french

"the spelling of the country name "romania" in british official usage: from uncertainty to standardization" (paul woodman)

"sarajevo 1914: trial process against young bosnia – illusion of the fair process" (veljko m. turanjanin & dragana s. čvorović)

[dillydedalus]

women in translation month wrap-up

here's what i read this witmonth, faves marked with *

das verbotene notizbuch, alba de céspedes (translated from the italian by verena from koskull, english translation: forbidden notebook, by ann goldstein)

salomés zorn, simone atangana bekono (translated from the dutch by ira wilhelm, no english translation yet)

witches, brenda lozano (translated from the spanish by heather cleary)

*three summers, margarita liberaki (translated from the greek by karen van dyck)

breasts and eggs, mieko kawakami (translated from the japanese by sam bett & david boyd)

im park der prächtigen schwestern, camila sosa villada (translated from the spanish by svenja becker, english translation: bad girls, by kit maude)

*boulder, eva baltasar (translated from the catalan by julia sanches): READ BOULDER BY EVA BALTASAR

sweet days of discipline, fleur jaeggy (translated from the italian by tim parks)

the wandering, intan paramaditha (translated from the indonesian by stephen j. epstein)

my pen is the wing of a bird, anthology of short stories by afghan women, translated from dari & pashto

all your children, scattered, beata umbyeyi mairesse (translated from the french by alison anderson)

*waking lions, ayelet gundar-goshen (translated from the hebrew by sondra silverston)

*the lover, marguerite duras (translated from the french by barbara bray)

*trieste, daša drndić (translated from the croatian by ellen elias-bursać)

evil flowers, gunnhild øyehaug (translated from the norwegian by kari dickson)

*empty wardrobes, maria judite de carvalho (translated from the portuguese by margaret jull costa)

die tochter, kim hye-jin (translated from the korean by lee ki-hyang, english translation: concerning my daughter, by jamie chang)

still reading:

the books of jacob, olga tokarczuk (translated from the polish by jennifer croft

mister n, najwa barakat (translated from the arabic by luke leafgren)

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #290 - Steely Dan, Gaucho, 1980

Devo ammettere che la fine di questo percorso sulle storie musicali alla ricerca del suono perfetto non poteva che fermarsi a questi due. Che in un decennio dove nella musica sono successe infinite cose, gli anni ’70, sono passati tranquilli e inscalfibili a diffondere qualcosa di completamente diverso. E per molti versi inclassificabile. Walter Becker e Donald Fagen sono probabilmente i musicisti più maniacali, quasi in senso patologico, che io conosca nella storia della musica pop occidentale. Siamo davvero ad una sorta di mania di perfezionismo che nasce in un momento preciso. Infatti i loro Steely Dan (dal nome di un dildo meccanico a vapore citato da William Burroughs ne Il Pasto Nudo) all’inizio erano un gruppo, formato dal duo (che sanno fare tutto, ma si dividono tra voci e chitarra) con Denny Dias insieme a Jim Holder alla batteria, Jeff Baxter alla seconda chitarra, e David Palmer. Il loro esordio è già fenomenale: Can’t Buy A Thrill (1972) vola subito nella Top 20 e frutta due canzone mito degli anni ’70 come Do It Again e Reeling The Wheel. Già è presente il mix, a tratti soprannaturale, di stili, un pop venato di jazz, rock, soul, fatto di sovrapposizioni di strumenti, intrecci vocali, perfezione esecutiva a cui sia accompagna una ironia sfacciata nei testi. Con Pretzel Logic, del 1974, un capolavoro, hanno addirittura una hit single, nella perfetta Rikki Don’t Lose That Number (omaggio a Horace Silver, grande jazzista), ma durante il tour che segue Fagen ha un attacco di panico sul palco e decide di non esibirsi più. La decisione successiva è di sciogliere il gruppo, di diventare un duo e per compensare il mancato contatto con il pubblico, quello di scrivere canzoni perfette. Una perfezione esecutiva, compositiva e di registrazione, diventando in questi tre rispettivi campi dei punti di riferimento assoluti. Decidono quindi di chiedere servizi ai più bravi e famosi sessionisti in tutto il mondo, di usare il meglio della tecnologia e di cercare la perfezione sonora. Già con Aja, del 1977, toccano vette assolute, ma i due attraversano un periodaccio. Quando iniziano a pensare al nuovo disco Becker viene investito sotto casa, nell’Upper East Side, e si frattura diverse ossa e passa settimane in ospedale, ma ha voglia di non perdere tempo, tanto che sviluppano le idee del disco e della sua evoluzione via telefono con Fagen (tuttavia non suona in molti brani dell'album). Tra l’altro, la sua fidanzata, Karen Roberta Stanley morirà per complicazioni dell’abuso di stupefacenti, appena finite le registrazioni del nuovo disco. La famiglia della ragazza, accusando Becker di esserne stato l’iniziatore, chiese un risarcimento da milioni di dollari, ma una sentenza di qualche anno più tardi scagionò il musicista. Tutto questo non impedì che per Gaucho, che esce nei negozi di dischi il 21 Novembre del 1980, abbiano fatto ruotare nei soli 7 brani 62 musicisti, tra i più famosi del mondo, tra batteristi, chitarristi, percussionisti, sassofonisti, coristi e ben 11 ingegneri del suono.

Basta dire che fecero provare per ore Bernard Purdie, leggenda vivente del jazz e inventore del Purdie Shuffle (terzine nel tempo tagliato) le sue parti nei brani. Tutti i batteristi, tra i più grandi di sempre (ricordo Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro dei Toto, Rick Marotta e altri ancora) passarono ore a provare il tocco che volevano quei due, che non contenti chiesero a Roger Nichols, uno dei più grandi ingegneri del suono americani, di creare una drum machine particolare che li aiutasse: con un investimento di 150 mila dollari (una follia per l’epoca) Nichols portò loro Wendel, che per quanto fosse il massimo di sofisticatezza del tempo, per difficoltà nella programmazione fu usata pochissimo. Ma c’è un particolare simpatico: quando l’album divenne disco di platino, un disco celebrativo fu regalato persino a Wendel in quanto “artefice” del successo. Chi altro poteva chiedere a Mark Knofler, in quei mesi il chitarrista più famoso del mondo per quel pezzo leggendario che fu Sultans Of Swing, di provare ore intere un assolo da 40 secondi per Time Out Of MInd? O chi poteva pensare di passare per 55 tentativi prima di centrare la voluta dissolvenza finale di Babylon Sisters?

Tutte le canzoni sono dei gioielli in un disco che racconta di hipster un po’ in là con gli anni in cerca di divertimento: Babylon Sisters ne è l’essenza, quasi a disegnare un sogno californiano che finisce a bere un kirschwasser from a shell; oppure la famosissima Hey Nineteen (che si dice fosse piaciuta tantissimo a John Belushi che ne voleva fare un soggetto per un film) dove un attempato conquistatore rimane basito che la sua nuova conquista diciannovenne non conosca Aretha Frankiln (Hey Nineteen/ That’s ‘Retha Franklin/ She don’t remember the Queen of Soul/ It’s hard times befallen/ The sole survivors/ She thinks I’m crazy/ But I’m just growing old), in una sorta di incomunicabilità generazionale (No, we got nothin’ common/ No, we can’t dance together/ No, we can’t talk at all) e che finisce in una probabile ritiro tra Cuervo Gold (una famosa marca di tequila), Fine Colombian (che non è cioccolato bianco) e Make tonight a wonderful thing tra il sibillino e una solitaria sconfitta sentimentale. Glamour Profession racconta la vita scintillante di uno spacciatore, raccontata con dovizia di particolari; Gaucho, altro classico, una storia d’amore gay mandata in frantumi da un gigolò che veste i panni bizzarri di un gaucho, un uomo in spangled leather poncho che riesce a distruggere la quiete domestica della coppia entrando dentro la loro preziosa dimora, la leggendaria custerdome (uno dei luoghi steelydaniani per eccellenza, che non ha una traduzione letterale soddisfacente) e fu scritta pensando a Long As You Know You're Living Yours di Keith Jarrett, dal suo disco del 1974, Belonging. Jarrett ottenne il riconoscimento come autore e il relativo pagamento di diritti d’autore (nelle moderne ristampe compare come autore del brano). Time Out Of Mind è probabilmente il racconto di un primo racconto con l’eroina, a inseguire “dragoni” fino a Lhasa. My Rival è la storia intrigante di un tradimento, ma visto attraverso gli occhi di un investigatore privato con l’apparecchio acustico (He’s got a scar across his face/ He wears a hearing aid) sulle tracce di qualcuno da smascherare (Sure, he’s a jolly roger/ Until he answers for his crimes/ Yes, I’ll match him whim for whim now). E l’ultima canzone è un altro colpo da KO: Third World Man è un'accusa niente affatto sottintesa al falso interesse per le questioni sociali dei paesi in via di sviluppo, che ha perfino un verso cantato in italiano da Fagen (è l’era del terzo mondo, scritto con Victor di Suvero, poeta italiano naturalizzato americano) e ha l’ultima pazzia: l’assolo, meraviglioso, di Larry Carlton fu ripescato dalle registrazione di The Royal Scam (del 1976) e ricostruito per quella canzone, tanto che Carlton nemmeno sapeva fosse presente nei crediti del disco. Sulla musica di questi brani, lascio a voi scoprire tutte le meraviglie sonore, di ricercatezza, gli effetti da sentire e risentire, ma molti se ne accorsero presto, perché vinse il Grammy Award del 1981 per la migliore registrazione non classica. Dopo tutto questo, gli Steely Dan si sciolgono. Fanno in tempo a scrivere, a nome solo di Fagen, quell’altro capolavoro che è The Nightfly (1982, con la copertina più bella di tutti i tempi – andatela a vedere) e a ritornare, dopo 21 anni, con Two Against Nature che, come potrebbe raccontare un testo delle loro canzoni perfette, li fa conoscere ad una nuova e giovane generazione, ammaliata da quel tocco incredibile che la leggendaria rivista jazz Downbeat una volta descrisse così: Non c’è nulla che suona così bene come un disco degli Steely Dan.