August 16, 2011 – The Wonder City

I recently have been accumulating more vintage postcards and postcard booklets for various art projects including the 2011 Project. Today a booklet popped out of the pile titled New York – The Wonder City. When I saw the 1914 copyright, I was a bit reluctant to put this one under the exacto knife. But it was already damaged, so here it is.

I’ve never heard New York given the moniker The Wonder City but a century ago the description surely fit. Back then there were few cities in the world with skyscrapers and they were virtually all in America (there were just a handful of skyscrapers in Europe at the time). Skyscrapers were initially an American phenomenon. The earliest ones were in cities like San Francisco, St. Louis, Buffalo and of course Chicago and New York.

Even today, it’s hard not to be impressed your first time in New York. But 100 years ago, New York must have been truly an amazing sight. So many Americans have ancestors who first arrived in the United States through New York. And it’s never really stopped, for much of the world New York remains America’s front door. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like seeing New York for the first time a century ago. It truly would have been like nothing else you had seen before. I wonder what was going through my great grandfather’s head as that ship sailed in from Europe, as he saw the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of Manhattan. It was definitely was nothing like the countryside of Poland. It was the Wonder City.

March 25, 2011 – Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Today is the 100^th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. 146 people died in the flames or by jumping to their deaths to escape the flames. Most of the victims were young, immigrant women. The tragedy was worsened by inadequate fire safety and locked doors that prevented escape by many. The NY Times ran a good piece today with the history. There is plenty of information online. At an early age I knew this history, only due to a 12 year old’s fascination with books about disasters, manmade and natural. There is also an organization helping to memorialize the event called Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition.

Ironically the building itself was “fire proof” and survived the fire. It still stands in New York today. But the best memorial to those 146 lives lost may be the legacy of workplace safety laws and fire codes that protect us all today. The horror that happened 100 years ago helped energize the union movement and the growth of the International Ladies Garment Worker’s Union. Even if we don’t work in a factory or have never belonged to a union, many of the protections we take for granted were fought for a century ago. And on this day, 146 lives were lost.

March 9, 2011 – Stir-Fry Nation

Jennifer Lee puts the melting pot metaphor to rest for the final time when she describes America as more of a stir-fry than a melting pot. She writes, “We are a stir-fry; our ingredients remain distinct, but our flavors blend together in a sauce shared by all.” It’s all in her book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. The book has two of my favorite topics — Cultural history and in particular the immigration experience. And it’s about Chinese food. I did love this book and learned even more things about the role of Chinese Food in our culture. I have to thank the library for recommending this one. Another great pick in their On The Same Page Series.

Ironically, just before picking up this book, I did a piece for the 2011 Project on fortune cookies and then one on chop suey. So today it is about the stir-fry.

You’ll note my stir-fry is in my trusty, old, cast iron frying pan. I used to have a wok, but that never made it out here from the East Coast. Space is at a premium in a San Francisco kitchen, and you can make a stir-fry without a wok. I am sure some purists would disagree. But that is what is so great about a stir-fry there are no set rules. The stir-fry does make a great metaphor for America, because pretty much anything goes in it. I was aghast when my Australian friend Alan once tossed in peanut butter (a trick I have since copied many times. My cousin Bekah is a good cook, but when I saw the smoked kielbasa going into the stir-fry, I had my doubts. We are both half Polish-American, but I was raised on much more traditional Polish cuisine. Bekah, having far less experience with Polish food, clearly had no issues with using smoked kielbasa in a stir-fry. Needless to say, it tasted great and I do the same thing all the time. The only question is what’s next? Could I put soy sauce and hot oil on pierogis instead of sour cream and call them Polish Potstickers?

March 4, 2011 – The Accordion is cool

Yes, the accordion is cool. If I had to pick my favorite instrument, the accordion wins. It’s an instrument that is exceedingly difficult to learn (oh to have the time). In less than two hundred years the accordion has spread and been incorporated into local music all over the world. As the accordion has traveled it has given birth to many musical genres from Forró in Brazil to Cumbia in Columbia to Norteño in Mexico. And of course, the happiest music of all, Polka!

The accordion is still often maligned in American culture. Years ago, it often was seen as the “ethnic” and working class instrument for immigrants. Generations later, many people who dismiss the accordion don’t even realize they are perpetuating bourgeois and anti-immigrant attitudes that linger in our culture. They need to step back and just listen. The accordion is the ultimate immigrant and has made a home for itself in all corners of the world.

Now mark those calendars, it’s less than six months to Accordion Festival in Cotati, California.

January 28, 2011 – Radio

No matter how old we are, radio has always been a part of our lives. Maybe that is why it will take some effort to let it go. It’s had a good run, a nice healthy century. But the life of radio is coming to an end. In many ways, radio was really the beginning of the rapid acceleration of technology that has marked all of our lives.

KUSF, a local college radio station, was abruptly shut down by the University of San Francisco this month. The dedicated volunteers who staffed the station, as well as their listeners, are understandably, quite distressed. While I sympathize with their loss, it does not mean much for me on a personal level. About the only time I listen to broadcast radio anymore is a bit of NPR on a road trip. Radio stations do not have a significant role in my life anymore.

I was also thinking about radio for another reason today. Today is the 25th Anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. I was living in Switzerland in 1986. I found out about the disaster when I came home from class and turned on the radio. In those days radio was my main source of media (I did not have a TV).

When I first arrived in Switzerland, I diligently listened to German language radio. When setting up my phone service, I naïvely admitted to owning a radio. As soon as I saw the tax bill for radio service, I went to the post office with a great tale about exploding radios and American electrical converters. “Oh no, I was not getting a new radio.” Yes, I was one of those immigrants the Swiss complain about. Truthfully, I never listened to Swiss radio. Much to my surprise, I grew to prefer AFM, the U.S. Armed Forces Radio. I had a year where I seldom had the opportunity to speak English. That is when I finally understood why many immigrants need a radio station in their native language. Sometimes we just need to hear your own language.

Immigrants still depend on radio, but today it mostly is via the internet. I myself am an avid internet radio listener, but what we call “radio” today is no longer the box that many older people used to call “the wireless.”

For today’s piece I used an image of this cute, little, retro transistor radio. I bought it years ago at a yard sale. It’s is labeled a “boys radio.” It normally sits with some kitsch on the bathroom shelf. I’ve had it for over 10 years. Never even put batteries in it, I am not sure if it would even work. But it is cool.