BARKING DOGS, WALTZING CATS, AND A RIDE WITH ROCCO!

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THE BEST OF LEROY ANDERSON: SLEIGH RIDE
by Leroy Anderson
released: 1997
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Every year about this time, I like to add some new Christmas related item to my collection of reviews. This year it was between reviewing The Jingle Dogs album, where they bark holiday favorites, or THE BEST OF LEROY ANDERSON, where the composer conducts his own miniature orchestral compositions, including the classic version of his original instrumental SLEIGH RIDE. If you’re reading this, then you already know that the annoying canines got the boot. And they ran all the way to the Spring of 2007 with their tails between their legs. “And don’t come back! Shut them dawgs up, April!”
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OK, where were we? Oh, yeah: It was in December of 1996 when I kept hearing this particular instrumental version of Sleigh Ride played on the radio station I listened to every day while delivering fresh squeezed organic juice to a grocery store or health food store near you. This was the most imaginative, briskly paced, and snowy version of Sleigh Ride I’d ever heard: the horses were clip-clopping, the whip was cracking, and I was bundled up warmly with a lovely lady friend at my side in this imaginary Santa suit-red sleigh polished to a high sheen after twelve coats of wax and a Laurie Partridge in a pear tree. (Yeah, I know I get a little carried away, but what're ya gonna do?)
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Soon I was obsessed with that musical piece. “Who does THAT version, Mr. DJ Man? Who does it?” Finally, on the Thirteenth Day of Christmas, my DJ said to me, “That was Sleigh Ride -- Leroy Anderson.” I was about to yell at the radio, “I know it was Sleigh Ride, and my name’s not Leroy Anderson!” when all of a sudden, the light bulb lit up above my head... in the same moment that the light bar on the police car behind me lit up. (When the cop finally managed to catch up to me, he found me at the counter of my local music store, paying for a copy of THE BEST OF LEROY ANDERSON.)
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To this day, my four favorite instrumentals of all-time are MOONLIGHT SERENADE; THE TRUTH WILL ALWAYS BE; BUMPIN’ ON SUNSET; and SLEIGH RIDE. But not just any version of Sleigh Ride. No! It must be THIS recording, the one found on THIS compact disc, conducted by Anderson himself. I believe that Anderson may have recorded Sleigh Ride more than once, but THIS 1950 version is the one you want. Hey, would I lie to you about something so important this late in the season, and risk finding only lumps of coal in my stocking again?
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Of course, there’s other “stuffs” here that you might like also. As the informative liner notes say, “Many of these pieces have become part of the musical fabric of American life. Most everyone knows one or more of his tunes, though they may not know the name of the composer [*It’s Leroy Anderson, remember?*] or even the title of the composition.”
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For instance, there’s BLUE TANGO, the first instrumental piece ever to sell over one million copies. And THE SYNCOPATED CLOCK, used as the theme for “The Late Show” on WCBS-TV in New York for over 25 years.
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Anderson was incredibly imaginative and he composed each piece almost completely in his head. He stated, “When I’m making something up I never play a melody on the piano, because your fingers are used to falling into familiar patterns. You don’t give your imagination free rein that way. In other words, your fingers are holding you back.”
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I find his brief musical pieces to be very evocative. For instance, when I hear SUMMER SKIES, in my mind I seem to see images of Lee Remick romping in a bathing suit at the beach as if in a black and white montage from some classic movie of the 1950s. Or when I hear THE WALTZING CAT, I always seem to imagine a cat waltzing in my mind. THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING always makes me think of the first day of Spring (“Shut them dawgs up, April!”), and FORGOTTEN DREAMS always reminds me of... hmmm.... I forget.
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But, anyway, SLEIGH RIDE takes me for a ride in a sleigh in my Wintry mind. And just how imaginative WAS Leroy Anderson? Get this! He composed Sleigh Ride during a 1948 July heat wave in Woodbury, Connecticut! OK? Uh-huh. That’s what I’M talkin’ ‘bout! So, what else ya wanna know?
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For me, Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving every year, when I pull out my copy of THE BEST OF LEROY ANDERSON and blast the one piece of music that says “Christmas” to me like no other Christmas song does -- this 1950 recording of Sleigh Ride! And I usually play the song at least once a day up through and including the 25th of December. Then I put the compact disc away for another year. (After all, who really wants to hear about a waltzing cat? I mean, really?!)
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Get into the swing of the Holiday spirit with THE BEST OF LEROY ANDERSON. Otherwise, I may just have to send Rocco over there to take you for a little (sleigh) ride... if you catch my (snow)drift.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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I DON’T SEE YOUR PARADISE, CRUELLA DE VIL

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THE GENDER AGENDA
by Dale O'Leary
copyright: 1997
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At the United Nations’ International Conference on Women in 1995, a Sudanese delegate demanded of a French delegate (although it could just as easily and accurately have been a U.S. delegate), “Why are you so angry? You have all those rights you want us to accept. ... Please show me a little window of your paradise, because all I see in your world is increased promiscuity among young people, increased divorce, increased abortion, homosexuality, venereal diseases. ... I don’t see your paradise.”
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Dale O’Leary attended the 1994 U.N. Conference on Population in Cairo and the Conference on Women in 1995 at Beijing, and in her 1997 book, THE GENDER AGENDA, she gives us her firsthand account of the proceedings with their behind-the-scenes mendacity and maliciousness, and the destructive Feminist goals promoted at these gatherings. I have read many books on the Feminist Movement, but none better than THE GENDER AGENDA.
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O’Leary writes, “What happened in Cairo and Beijing matters. Not so much because the U.N. can force its will on the United States, for only poor countries who depend on foreign aid will be forced to accept the agendas promulgated at these conferences. It matters because the culture war is a battle of ideas, and the U.N. has the resources and prestige to promote its agenda to world leaders, schoolchildren, and the media. ... What happened in Beijing does matter, because what was planned in Beijing will be coming to every town, every school, and every business (if it isn’t there already) – unless it is exposed and we stand up against it.” [pgs. 20 & 26]
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President Bill Clinton insisted the Beijing conference was “true blue to families”, but I’m pretty sure that would depend on what the meaning of “families” is. Dr. James Dobson of Focus On The Family called it “the most radical atheistic, anti-family crusade in the history of the world.” Let’s see now, who should I believe, Dobson or the licentious liar (whose feminist wife may be leading this country after the next presidential election)? 
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[*NOTE: Thank God that didn't happen!! 
Nor in the 2016 election that followed it.]
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On page 188, O’Leary tells us, “To make things even more difficult, no translation was offered in the contact groups. This clearly disadvantaged the pro-family delegates who came mainly from Latin America, French-speaking Africa, and the Moslem countries. Since the debate was over language, correct translation was crucial. Protests about these abuses were ignored.”
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Did you notice a glaring omission there? Tha-aaaa-t’s ri-iiii-ght! The U.S. delegates sent to the Beijing conference were NOT pro-family; they were pro-Feminism and they supported every perverse abnormality and immoral sickness associated with radical Feminism! Remember that, you proud American, the next time you remove your hat to sing God Bless America before the kickoff or during the seventh inning stretch!
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One thing that Dale O’Leary’s book has going for it that few other anti-Feminsm books do, is its clear articulation of the disturbingly overlooked connection between Marxism and Feminism. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 elucidate the way in which Feminists have co-opted the dogmas of Marx and Engels to create a Neo-Marxist paradigm based upon gender rather than economics, but ultimately affecting both and all classes. It is because the feminist goals are in lockstep with the outcome so sought by the hard-line Marxists that the old guard has supported, promoted, and protected the feminists with their powerful Communist front groups such as The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 
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The connection is indisputable, and O’Leary’s research clarifies this logically incestuous relationship that has seemingly eluded some pretty good anti-Feminism writers over the decades. The next time you pick up a copy of Ms. Magazine, remember that you’re choosing Gloria Steinem over Thomas Jefferson. Or to put it another way, you are choosing Communism over our Constitutional Republic. Tell THAT to your daughters!
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If THE GENDER AGENDA has any weakness, it’s that Dale O’Leary evidently had not yet recognized that power invested in any global organization such as the United Nations, not founded upon the Word of God, will inexorably slide into tyranny. And while O’Leary unhesitatingly denounces the 50/50 gender quotas in every occupation insisted upon by the radical feminists, nowhere does she acknowledge that a few select jobs should be filled exclusively by men (i.e., police officers, firefighters, military combat troops, and priests / ministers, as stated by Saint Paul).
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Nevertheless, THE GENDER AGENDA, though I read it some time ago, remains (along with Why Women And Power Don’t Mix by J.P. McDermott) one of the most important anti-Feminism books I've ever found. It should be required reading for EVERY American citizen!
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In 1995, Mother Teresa sent a letter to the U.N.’s Beijing Conference on Women, and I’m going to give her the last word here with an excerpt:
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“Those who deny the beautiful differences between men and women are not accepting themselves as God has made them. ... I have often said, abortion is the greatest destroyer of peace in the world today, and those who want to make women and men the same are all in favor of abortion.”
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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SHELL OUT? SHELL OUT FOR THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR?

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THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR
by Art Fein
published: 1990
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In my personal library there are several different translations of The Holy Bible. And The United States Constitution. And I have books ABOUT The U.S. Constitution. And big books about words and the English language. I’ve got books on politics, S/spirituality, sociology, physiology, and other serious ologies.
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{*Nothing on mathematics. We hate mathematics! Don’t even talk to us about mathematics or I’ll become violent and do very bad things to you.*}
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Oh, just ignore that voice behind the curtain.
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But in one of my bookcases, I also have the 1990, first edition of THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR by Art Fein because... well... because... Well, just because! ...Because I like it way better'n I like mathematics.
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{*MATHEMATICS?! Did someone just mention mathematics?! Who’s talking about that? Huh? Show me who’s talking about that!*}
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I bought THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR in 1991, and I’ll bet I’ve lost myself in it about a million times since then. My copy of Art Fein’s book is 135 pages long and it’s filled with mostly 2 ½” X 3 ½”--
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{*What! Multiplication?!*}
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--black and white snapshots of nearly every famous, infamous, nearly famous, and not-so-famous Los Angeles musical landmark you can think of... or not. Each entry is alphabetized--
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{*But NOT numbered!*}
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--and includes a brief description of what it is and where it is.
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I moved outta my hometown, Los Angeles, (for the second time) in 1995, but I revisit it occasionally via THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR. This is one of those spiffy little books that you pull off the shelf to look up one bit of trivia and the next thing you know, sixty minutes have passed.
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{*Careful where you walk there, boy.*}
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And I spent so much time at so many of these places in my misspent youth that it really is like stepping into Mr. Peabody’s WAYBAC MACHINE for me and traveling back in time to when I had no grey in my hair, no wrinkles in my skin, and no common sense in my mind. Well, I’ve managed to hold onto one-third of those attributes.
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{*Fractions now, is it? Yer makin’ me mad.*}
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Los Angeles is loaded with Rock music history -- LOADED! -- just like I used to be. Whaddaya wanna see? Where ya wanna go? Wanna know where Alice Cooper’s Academy Of Nude Wrestling was located? How ‘bout the Alta-Cienega Motel where Jim Morrison used to sleep it off? Or where the Beatles stayed? Wanna see the strip of Sunset Strip ‘Between Clark And Hilldale’ that Love sang about? George Harrison’s ‘Blue Jay Way’? Club 88, made famous by the band X and the documentary The Decline Of Western Civilization (but more importantly, where my Cousin Johnny’s band, Sex And Violins, played later)?
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How ‘bout Oki Dog, the ‘70s and ‘80s hangout for L.A.’s punk rockers? Lucy’s El Adobe restaurant, home away from home for Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles? The Continental Hyatt House where in the movie 'This Is Spinal Tap' Spinal Tap held their end-of-tour party on the rooftop, and where Warren Zevon did something he didn’t want to talk about with a girl in the song ‘Poor, Poor Pitiful Me’? The Rainbow Bar where the Led Zeppelin “flew”? Or where Don Henley’s ‘Sunset Grill’ can still be found grilling at sunset?
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Shall we visit the grave sites of Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Roy Orbison, T-Bone Walker, Richie Valens, or Randy Rhoads, etc.? Wanna see homes that “The King Of Rock And Roll” owned? Wanna see where Joan Jett lived and Janis Joplin died? Or how ‘bout The Music Machine in West Los Angeles where Stephen T. McCarthy and the rest of The League Of Soul Crusaders were drinkin’, dancin’, cussin’, an’ fightin’ in the early ‘80s, and where Twinkie got his nickname -- oh yeah, and where Los Lobos, Bo Diddley, Ry Cooder, Big Joe Turner, Clifton Chenier, Jane’s Addiction, and many others played?
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All of these places and two hundred and twelve--
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{*Hey!*}
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--other music-related sites are pictured and noted in Art Fein’s fine little book. I only wish this had been published as a large, hardcover coffee table book with nice, big professionally made color photos, instead of a simple black and white cheapie -- entertaining though it is.
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THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR is out-of-print at the moment, but used copies of a couple different editions are available online at a variety of prices. How much is it worth? Should you buy it? Heck, I don’t know -- you do the math.
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{*MATH?! Son-Of-A-Bitch!*}
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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OH MAN, YA GOTTA... Er-- I MEAN, OH *PERSON*, YA GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!

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WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD WORSE
by Kate O'Beirne
copyright: 2006
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KATE O'BEIRNE's book, WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD WORSE, is an excellent overview of the destructive and dishonest aims of the Feminist movement. It clearly illustrates the fallacies upon which that movement is based and the myriad ways that all of society is negatively impacted by its preposterously extremist and psychologically warped theology. (Yes, "theology", because Feminism is not unlike some fanatical religious cult.)
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I fear that O'Beirne may have done her book a disservice by giving it a silly title and having the cover display caricatures of some prominent misandrists who do indeed make the world worse. The subject of this book is too important and the text too seriously researched and revealing to be wrapped in a goofy dust jacket that might cause it to be misinterpreted as nothing more than a fast-buck Republican screed. That's not what this is and I assure you that the old maxim "Don't judge a book by its cover" certainly applies here.
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I strongly urge you to read WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD WORSE even though I nearly gave it only 4 stars for the following reasons:
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* While the book's 199 pages are nicely organized and densely packed with eye-opening meat 'n' potatoes information, I felt that the text could have been expanded and the subject explored even deeper. The book stands as a thorough overview of Feminism, but it is not a comprehensive treatise on the subject.
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* Missing is any significant examination of Socialism's part in perverting the healthy gender roles in our society. In his COMMUNIST MANIFESTO, Karl Marx wrote "The Communists everywhere SUPPORT EVERY REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT AGAINST THE EXISTING SOCIAL and political ORDER OF THINGS... The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible OVERTHROW OF ALL EXISTING SOCIAL CONDITIONS." 
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Overlooked by most researchers and commentators on Feminism is the fact that undergirding and promoting the whole movement is (and always has been) socialists in positions of power and influence. THE GREAT IRONY is that without the muscle of MALE socialists in Congress, journalism, television, film, education, publishing, and in the Judiciary, the Feminists could NEVER have made the advances that they have in the past 40 years. (And by "advances" I don't mean laudable progression; I'm talking more like territory taken in battle during an unjust and deceptive ground war!)
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* Curiously absent is any mention of the inadvisability of having women employed as officers at the street (or "beat") level of law enforcement. Just as O'Beirne accurately decries the lowering of previously established physical standards for military combat and firefighting positions in order to accommodate women, the same has occurred within the law enforcement community. (Space does not permit me to give a detailed accounting of the many ways female police officers have inadvertently endangered fellow officers and the public at large, and whose presence can sometimes unnecessarily escalate volatile situations in the field. Male officers are constrained by department policy and a desire to be promoted through the ranks from speaking openly their thoughts on the subject of female cops, but get them to talk "off-the-record", as I have done, and you'll learn the various reasons why the vast majority of them oppose the idea.)
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* And finally, O'Beirne is the Washington Editor of NATIONAL REVIEW magazine founded by her guru, the NeoCon William F. Buckley Jr., the Skull And Bones "adept", Bilderberger participant, and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member. If that doesn't set any alarm bells ringing in your mind then "You've got a long way to go, baby!" (Be sure to read my Amazon guide, 'SO YOU'D LIKE TO... SEE THE NEW WORLD ORDER IN BLACK & WHITE' when you're done here.)
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Nevertheless, I gave this publication 5 stars because of O'Beirne's sense o'humor, and because she has written a fine and valuable book on a dire issue. Also because I knew 5 stars would anger the Feminists (and the males whom they rule) a full one-fifth more than 4 stars would!
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Here are some excerpts from WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD WORSE:
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[Page XIV] (A law firm) recruiter asked me, "What do you expect to be in ten years?" I was expected to say something about being a hardworking partner or about specializing in some esoteric area of the law or something equally dry. I said that I expected to be about five years older."
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[Page XV] Most radical feminists are qualified for only one job: professional Feminist.
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[Page 14] In 1960, only 9 percent of all children lived in single-parent households. Presently in the United States, almost one third of children are born to single mothers.
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[Page 36] Dr. Benjamin Spock, who, after frankly informing 1950s mothers that day nurseries are "no good for infants", deleted this advice from 1990s editions of his manual 'BABY AND CHILD CARE', which has sold millions. He explained that such advice would make working mothers feel guilty, and he recognized they were heading to work regardless. Spock admitted: "It's a cowardly thing that I did; I just tossed it in subsequent editions." Feminist intimidation has created plenty of cowards.
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[Page 98] Title IX has been four times more effective in eliminating male athletes than in developing female athletes.
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[Page 119] Feminists recognize the vulnerability of women when they are concerned with the plight of women who are victims of domestic abuse... Their position on integrating combat ranks puts them in the position of saying that violence against women is a terrible thing unless it is at the hands of the enemy, in which case it's a welcome tribute to women's equality... Minimizing the feats of men and exaggerating those of women is a familiar feminist tactic to promote their woman-as-warrior myth.
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Personally, my greatest concern is that unless these extremist Wacky Women are stopped, they will eventually transform men (myself included) into the very mangy misogynist dogs they've always accused us of being. Nah, who am I kidding? My biggest fear is that so many Feminists (and the males they rule) will attack this review with so many negative votes that I'll suffer a nervous breakdown and cry like a little girl.
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Read O'Beirne's book because, as the Brut Cologne TV commercial says: "MEN ARE BACK."* (*Pending permission from women to remain.)
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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EXCEPTIONALLY INFORMATIVE TEXT - Although Some Movies Don't Require An Explanation (*A Haiku Review)

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UNDERSTANDING MOVIES (Third Edition)

by Louis Giannetti

originally published: 1972
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So, now when I watch
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES,
I “get it” . . . and laugh.

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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[* This goofy review is dedicated to the goofy MARTIN BRUMER (Feb. 15, 1960 to July 18, 1989), a doggoned good actor and an even better friend whose copy of this fine book was presented to me by his Mother after he left for “That Great Sound Stage In The Sky.” Thanks, Marty & Miriam!]
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