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It’s Up to You, Yeah You!
Written by Ray Robinson
Monday, 18 June 2007 04:01
1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I was skimming through the radio stations while on my way home from work, and I heard a remake of Working Class Hero by John Lennon. Normally, I’m not a fan of remakes, especially of my favorite artists, but I took a moment to listen and thought, “Wow, that’s pretty good! Who did that?”

When the song was over, the DJ explained that it was the band Green Day, another of my favorites, and that it was on the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Once I got my paycheck, I immediately went to Amazon.com and ordered it. I got more than a great album; I got an education.

In the city of Darfur, Sudan, the “Janjawid” (translation – evil horsemen) frequently ride in and rape, pillage and destroy. Their government-granted purpose: to crush rebel activity and maintain control of the farmland. Last year, the conflict spilled into neighboring Chad, and it continues to grow.

Amnesty International got involved to bring attention to the crisis, including letter-writing campaigns, demonstrations, and meeting with UN, U.S. and European officials. This album, with the full support of Yoko Ono, is but another tool in getting the word out to people in hopes of generating awareness and action.

John Lennon’s music always had two themes: peace and love. Peace within oneself, as well as peace in the world, and love for your partner, as well as love for your neighbor. Every song on the two CD set can be applied to the Darfur area crisis if you listen to the words. For this reason, though these songs are over 30 years old, they are still lyrically better than most music created today.

The star-power that turned up to record their own version of these classics is phenomenal and diversified – represented include rock, country, reggae, pop, punk and R&B. Everyone kept true to the music of Lennon, but found plenty of room to make it distinctively their own.

My personal favorite is a slower version of Whatever Gets You Through the Night recorded by Los Lonely Boys. While Lennon rocked out, the Boys give it a brisk walking pace that you really can’t help but snap your fingers and sing along. The most surprising take is Aerosmith doing Give Peace a Chance, with the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars singing the well-known chorus. While the All Stars lay down a reggae beat, Stephen Tyler chimes in on the verses with his distinctive high-pitched vocals. It sounds like a mismatch in print, but in practice, this singing partnership really works. Big and Rich obviously had a lot of fun with Nobody Told Me; it’s infectious!

Two of the songs are covered twice, once on each CD. Imagine with Avril Lavigne keeps the piano as the primary instrument, while the version by Jack Johnson uses guitar. Both are tender and caring, even a little sad. Jaguares rock out Gimme Some Truth, while second generation musicians Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison make a more soulful recording.

I could go on, but I think it would be far simpler to just say “Buy this album!” If you love great music, if you like these musicians, or if you support the campaign, you will be very glad you did. You can find out more at www.instantkarma.org.

Ray Robinson

 
If I Only Had the Nerve
Written by Ray Robinson
Tuesday, 12 June 2007 04:10
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Ray Robinson as the Cowardly LionI recently had the opportunity to play the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz on stage, one of the “Ten Roles I Must Play Before I Die” (for the record, I’ve achieved four of those on the list). As I hoped, it was a blast, and I got to really explore just how crazy I can be on stage – great fun for an actor to stretch himself.

As I’m sure most of you know, the Lion desires “courage” as a gift from the Wizard. In fact, he devotes a whole song to what makes it such a desirable trait, and how he would be able to rule the forest as a courageous king. And while the role is inherently a comical one, I did take some time to figure out why courage is such a desirable trait.

The definition of courage, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is “the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution.” Now that’s a lot of fancy words to describe “bravery,” but it’s impressive to read, isn’t it?

Courage is one of the four Cardinal Virtues of the Catholic Church – the other three being prudence, justice and temperance. Cardinal meaning “pivotal,” as the virtue must be able to be upheld in the face of adversity. In other words, saying you’re courageous means very little, but being courageous speaks volumes.

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings novels, once gave a lecture on Beowulf. He expressed that to be courageous is to do the right thing even in the face of certain defeat, without the promise of reward or salvation. Kind of like telling my wife when she’s wrong about something…

When I look at my life, I don’t see any instances of courage as obvious as Nathan Hale, Joan of Arc or Alan Shephard. I haven’t done any conspicuous acts of bravery, nor given my life for a cause I firmly believe in. Heck, I haven’t even served in the military. Therefore, I’m forced to ask myself, “Am I courageous? Am I a coward?”

The answer ultimately came from the Wizard of Oz himself. “You are under the unfortunate delusion that simply because you run away from danger you have no courage. You're confusing courage with wisdom.”

You see, I’ve found for me that it’s smarter to avoid putting myself in situations that require extra bravery. I don’t flirt with women when out on the town, so I never have the quandary of adultery. I don’t tempt fate by bungee jumping or sky diving. I don’t even discuss volatile subjects in internet chat rooms, because I know that it’s a waste of arguing with someone that simply enjoys arguing (called “trolls” online, because they are trolling for a fight).

For me, the definition of courage includes “doesn’t force himself to be tested, but will stand up if required.” After all, the lion (cowardly or otherwise) has soft paws most of time – yet sharp claws when needed.

Lance Ponder, who played the Wizard in this show, gave me a stone with the word “Courage” carved into it. I keep it on my desk at work, and look at it when I need to talk with someone about their poor performance. It’s a nice reminder to not be a berating boss, but a leader and teacher – for it’s easier to tear down than build up, and therefore it takes courage to do the latter.

You may not subscribe to my definition, which is perfectly understandable – we all have to find our own paths in the world. May we all have the courage to define it for ourselves!

Ray Robinson

 
Giving the “Thumbs Up” to Thumbs up
Written by Ray Robinson
Monday, 04 June 2007 01:47
1 Comment

The other day, someone at work told me the course of action they were going to take in fixing a problem, (or, in the PC corporate world, “facing a challenge”) and like I’d done hundreds of times before, I gave them a thumbs up on their approach. Literally – I curled my hand into a fist, extended the thumb, and silently expressed my approval.

However, for some reason, this time I actually thought about the gesture. Since I picked it up in the 1970’s as a child from watching Fonzie on “Happy Days”, I wondered if using the symbol dated me and showed just how antiquated I’d become.

To settle my mind, I did what any middle-aged person with feelings of insecurity would do – I turned to the internet for reassurance. Granted, Wikipedia isn’t the most accurate source of information out there, but for something as obscure and ultimately meaningless as a simple hand gesture, I figured it was good enough for my purposes.

The origins of the gesture may have begun in ancient
Rome, as a method of identifying whether an unsuccessful gladiator should live or die at the hands of his conqueror. Two big caveats to this line of thought, however. One is that this line of thinking is derived from 19th century artwork (Gerome’s Pollice Verso for example), so historical accuracy is in question. Also, it’s unknown whether or not the thumbs up meant “He lives” or “He dies!”

Far more reliable is evidence that a thumbs up was the sealing of a business deal in medieval times. Not nearly as exciting as coliseum combat (unless you were one of the salesmen).

Watch yourself overseas though! While the thumbs up symbol is very positive in countries like Egypt and
Brazil, in Middle Eastern countries you’re likely to get attacked. Without getting too descriptive, it’s the equivalent of hand gestures you’d commonly see if your driving is horrible in the U.S.

I’m fairly certain when I give a thumbs up at work, the person I’m communicating with doesn’t interpret it as “I need a ride” (hitchhiking) or “I think you made a good movie” (Siskel and Ebert). Much of the meaning has to do with the situation. For example, many new scuba divers give a thumbs up to indicate they are doing well, but in the language of the activity, it means they are getting out of the water. I don’t envy diving instructors for the headaches this causes!

Now, feeling a bit wiser, I shall no longer question my use of the thumbs up. It’s been a recognizable gesture, albeit in many forms, long before I came along. As long as my staff grasps my meaning, it’s all good.

I just have to stop saying “Aaayyyyyyy!” along with it.

Ray Robinson