"White" Black Bottom Stomp

Sometimes the contrast between white and black jazz bands in the 1920s in their interpretations of the same material is quite stark. While interesting and "cool" in its restrained approach to the Jelly Roll Morton composition, Red Nichols and his band do not capture any of the "hot" quality of Jelly Roll Morton or 1920s New Orleans jazz artists. Nor does their take come close to the matching the multi-sectioned structure encompassing everything in the New Orleans style. Nevertheless, it is always interesting to hear different interpretations of "Black Bottom Stomp."

It Could Happen To You

 

A lovely rendition of a great standard from one of the best trios Bill Evans ever had. Eddie Gomez was a mainstay, but the addition of Jack DeJohnette made for some interesting developments in the musical ideas of Gomez and Evans.

The Paradox Men

The Paradox Men is one of those science fiction classics we here at the blog have heard is a great novel. Unfortunately, it's zany, fast-paced plot, nonsensical setting, and lack of greater characterization leads one to wonder how or why it became a classic to some readers. Harness's clever use of Einstein, Toynbee, and Aristotle for the science fiction mumbo jumbo window-dressing was the best part of this tale, as it brings to the table time travel paradoxes and ludicrous things like solarions and the comeback of fencing with rapiers. One can sort of see why The Paradox Men has been compared with the great works of Alfred Bester, and it does feature a somewhat interesting dystopian future with the return of slavery, an Imperial America ruling the Western hemisphere, and an organization known as the Thieves who seek to undermine the institution of slavery and Imperial America's ultimate goal of defeating the Easterners, which would surely end in the destruction of humanity. Sure, there's a lot of heavy-handed social and political commentary in this novel published during the height of the Cold War. But the time traveling paradox and interesting use of Toynbee and Einstein almost make up for the blandness of Alar as a protagonist. This work almost brings to mind Delany's Empire Star, but Delany handled it more effectively. 

Foundation and Earth

Isaac Asimov's final installment, chronologically, in the Foundation series was, in our opinion, an unnecessary addition. Whereas Foundation's Edge at least featured real or at least exciting conflicts with multiple perspectives as the narrative shifted focus to different protagonists, Foundation and Earth focuses entirely on Golan Trevize, Pelorat, and Bliss on their quest for Earth. It is, more or less, a direct sequel to the previous novel without much change in the timeline of the projected 1,000 years predicted by Hari Seldon. Of course, as the great novel that sought to connect the Robots series and Foundation universe, the fusion is far from seamless. It didn't necessarily make much sense that the Galactic Empire would have, for the most part, completely forgotten the history of robotics. Nor does the reader find much excitement here. This dialogue-heavy novel is mostly centered on specific stops the trio make before finally reaching Earth and a certain character from the Robots novels. 

However, the novel's frequent digressions on which path from the previous novel is the best path forward for humanity contains occasionally interesting references to the history of space colonization and the Foundation universe. Unfortunately, much of it seems to revolve around the same recurring doubts of Trevize and a quickly irritating personal disagreement between Bliss/Gaia and Trevize. Their constant bickering does not make for entertaining reading. Nor was the ultimate "revelation" about the force behind Gaia and psychohistory really logical, although Trevize raising the possibility of intelligent life in other galaxies was interesting. Indeed, in End of Eternity, we know that had humans never developed interstellar travel, another species would have done it and humanity eventually went extinct. However, in this version of human history, without Eternity, there is no confirmation of alien life. The novel's final scene hints at possible "aliens from within" (perhaps Follom and the people of Solaria), so maybe Galaxia seems the best solution for preventing humanity from extinguishing itself. 

So, the necessity of Gaia or a collective consciousness in a superorganism becomes strategic for planning the Galaxy's defense against possible outside forces. Sure, one can say, Galaxia becomes more attractive than a Second Galactic Empire, when seen in that light. And the various "Isolated" planets and lost Spacer settlements seem to offer additional evidence of the danger of too much isolation and individuality. But it never quite struck us why humanity would have to submit to a collective consciousness when a Second Empire that combined the best of the First and Second Foundations could have led to a rational Galactic state encompassing advances in mentalics and technology. Nor do many of the obstacles faced by Trevize and company actually strike us as compelling or threatening. Moss and feral dogs on two deserted Spacer planets are hardly interesting, and the novel's episode on Solaria, while another interesting link between the Robots and Foundation series, does not suffice. 

All things considered, Asimov should have either left the series alone or at least written a shorter adventure tale that did a better job clarifying the future history of the Galaxy. Perhaps less obsession with backsides of female characters and, maybe, juggling between protagonists to illustrate what is going on with the galaxy, would have created a more effective narrative. Sure, it was interesting to see Solaria develop into a society of hermaphrodites who view others as only half-humans, and the "primitives" on Alpha provided an occasionally interesting example of both "primitiveness" and technological advancement in their own form of unhealthy isolation. Clearly, Asimov envisioned the future of humanity lay in further association and union, yet one cannot comprehend exactly why Galaxia and the vision of humanity's future informed by ancient robots is the best direction for ensuring humanity's future. Nor does anyone consider the ethics of fusing a human child's brain with that of the decaying robot?

Late June Ramblings

Since we at the blog have not contributed a new post in 2 weeks, we decided to give an update about the various projects and readings we have conducted privately or in the comfort of our own space. So, while still juggling some additional Asimov and science fiction readings, we have mostly engaged in reading various texts pertinent to Puerto Rico and the Spanish Caribbean. Specifically, we are trying to find sources on "indios" and "mestizos" in Puerto Rico from 1600 to  1800, a period in which direct sources seem quite thing or inaccessible. 

We thought it might be an interesting project to conduct some research and form some theories about the reappearance of "indios" in and near San German in the late 1700s and their disappearance again in the 19th century. The Taino revivalist movement has made much of La Indiera and enumerated "indios" of 18th century Puerto Rico, so it would make for an intriguing historical project to endeavor some analysis of "indios" within Puerto Rico after their alleged disappearance in the second half of the 16th century.

For instance, were the "indios" of San German really direct descendants of the native population of the island? Was Abbad correct about their gradual intermarriage with peoples of European and African descent in the 1700s causing their final disappearance as a distinct group? What caused the sex ratio imbalance around San German in the late 1700s? Male outmigration to other parts of the island? Redefinitions of caste and "race" that made it far easier to lump together the small "indio" population into the free people of color population?

Some of the few sources we have perused and contain useful nuggets of information are Catholic Church records. Sometimes, "indios" and "mestizos" appear in baptismal, marriage, or death records from San Juan, Caguas and, presumably, the undigitized San German and Añasco church records.Scholars like Haslip-Viera are definitely correct when pointing to the foreign provenance of many of the 18th century "indios" who appear in some of these records, but clearly there was a something of the native population that survived and manifested in a socially recognized distinct population in the hills of San German. 

So, in order to pursue this fanciful project, we have perused various general histories of Puerto Rico, studies of the aboriginal population in the first century, analyses of the socio-economic conditions of the island in the 1500s, demographic analysis of the population from 1765-1815, and, to the extent they are scholarly or with scholarly pretenses, publications by Taino revivalists. Clearly, if the average genetic profile of the Puerto Rican population is reliable, they seem to have more of a direct link with the inhabitants of the Greater Antilles than other modern populations in the region. How does that narrative fit with the claims of Taino revivalism and its alternative triracial construct for Puerto Rican identity? We hope to return to these questions soon.

Foundation's Edge

Although we here at the blog were hesitant about continuing the later novels in the Foundation series, Foundation's Edge was not that bad. While perhaps unnecessarily longer than it needed to be, some of the additional length in the narrative and the changes in late Asimov's style are provocative, raising questions about how an older Asimov viewed the world and the question of science fiction in depicting some of the timeless problems of humanity: political division, ideological conflict, competition, and violence. It was still for the most part, a suspenseful tale of intrigue, galactic conspiracies and conflict, and continued backstory for the Foundation universe. Stylistically, it follows the similar pattern of his earlier installments, switching back and forth between various characters to advance the plot. Asimov also took the bold move of trying to connect his Robots series into the same universe, even adding the time traveling organization Eternity to connect all of these works in the same fictional world and provide an explanation for the origin of mentalics.

Sometimes, unfortunately, the narrative is dragged along by often unnecessary dialogue and exposition on various topics rather than direct actions or Seldon Crises to advance the plot forward. Nevertheless, Foundation's Edge gives the fans more details and adventures in the Seldon Plan, while also connecting various dots in his other works and the elusive Earth, the original home of humanity. One cannot help but smile when thinking about late Imperial archaeological fascination about the possible original planet, and then to see centuries later, an obscure Foundation historian obsessed with the quest for Earth. Nor can one not express some interest in technological developments with gravitics and shields developed by the First Foundation against mentalics. The world-building is fantastic, drawing the reader into this setting. One learns more about the Galaxy 500 years after Seldon first initiated the Foundation, seeing how the First Foundation has become the dominant force yet cannot subdue the Sayshell Union (who seem to be descendants of ancient humans who may be of Indian origin, if their names and dark skin are any reliable indicator). 

After 500 years in this epic, one would expect technological change to arise and perceive the lack of unity in physical sciences and mentalics, represented by the two Foundations, as part of the problem. How does one reconcile two distinct branches of knowledge that are both truly necessary for running a society? And what political form should it take? By the novel's conclusion, the protagonist, Trevize, is asked to decide between 3 possible options, with the third represented by an unknown entity that has been influencing from behind the scenes. Does one believe group-consciousness, uniting people, animals, plants, and inanimate objects to create a truly living Galaxy, is the solution? Or outright force by the First Foundation to establish the Second Galactic Empire after only 500 years of the Plan? Or can one trust the Second Foundation to guide and influence from behind the scenes, after the full millennium, to oversee a great Second Empire? As a rationalist, like Asimov, Trevize chooses the option which allows for the maximum chance of later correction. In spite of its flaws, and the problematic creative choices made by Asimov to connect the Robots series with Foundation, Trevize's quest of galactic proportions cannot disappoint. 

A History of Islam in West Africa

Trimingham's A History of Islam in West Africa is quite dated. For instance, it relies on problematic older assumptions typical of the scholarship of its era. For example, the Almoravids are assumed without question to have sacked or defeated ancient Ghana. In addition, the author relies on problematic assumptions of "Hamitic" races and "Negro" (while also considering all Berbers "white") while also describing colonialism as largely beneficial. Indeed, based on the rise of theocratic Islamic states in the 19th century and the endless wars and slave-raiding created by these theocratic states and the military adventurers like al-Hajj Umar, Trimingham appears to see in European colonialism as saving West Africa from endless wars.

Nontheless, Trimingham's work provides an excellent synthesis of the historical knowledge of its era. One sees exactly what the dominant trends were based on oral history and internal and external textual sources to reconstruct the origins of trans-Saharan trade, the spread of Islam, and the various polities and kingdoms of the "Sudanese" style that developed in the western and central Sudan, from Senegal to Chad. Despise the author's misgivings about the reliability of the oral sources for earlier moments in the development of states like Takrur, Ghana, and Songhay/Kawkaw, they add a wide array of new details to the cultural and historical development of the various peoples of the region. 

Surprisingly, we learn less about Islam in this region than the history of kingdoms, traders, and trading centers like Jenne or Timbuktu, but Trimingham rightly sees Islam in pre-19th century West Africa as mainly limited to towns, traders, and kings who professed it but did not impose it on their subjects (although this is contradicted by states like Takrur, whose first king, War Jabi, did compel his subjects to Islam). Overall, Trimingham's study is more about political and social history with appropriate emphasis on Islam for certain key moments, developments, or changes in religious practice, such as the rise of Sufism, jihadist 19th century movements, and colonialism aiding Islam's expansion amongst "pagan" peoples. Sometimes one thinks Trimingham sees in West African "traditional" religion something anti-universalist (unlike Islam) and closed off to the wider world, so perhaps more recent scholarship has approached the delicate question of Islam and "traditional" religion more convincingly.