Anne Feeney's Fellow Travelers' Advisory - FEBRUARY 2008, VOLUME THREE, #11

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

February - PITTSBURGH, with FOUR SHILLINGS SHORT!
March - Cleveland, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Orange City, Tampa, Sarasota, Gainesville, Ft. Myers, Palm Beach County, Dania Beach

BUY CDS: http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid




IN THIS ISSUE:
THE GRANT!!
THE STUDIO!!
PLEASE SEND A GET WELL CARD TO TWO LABOR LEGENDS!
BEST LINKS SENT TO ME THIS MONTH
FAMILY NEWS
ELEVEN GOING TO JAIL FOR JUSTICE - CLOSE THE SOA!
SPECIAL IRELAND MAILING
OSCARS/WRITERS' STRIKE




1 February
Pittsburgh

Hi Folks!

I can't remember the last time that I was home for a whole month! It's been a great month... lots of time to cook and eat well, to work out at the gym, to update my mailing list (welcome to all of you new folks!) and to work on the very exciting project I've undertaken thanks to a grant from the Labor Center at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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THE GRANT!!!

My grandfather, William Patrick Feeney (1876-1939), was a union organizer for the United Mineworkers of America. He started work in the infamous New Hartley Colliery near Bedlington, England in 1888 (that's right, he was twelve) - and emigrated to the US in 1890. He went straight into the mines here, married, fathered ten children, served a term in the PA legislature, introduced one of Pennsylvania's first mine safety bills, played the violin and sang (and wrote) union songs, knew Gene Debs, Fannie Sellins and Mother Jones -- and thanks to the digitized archives of the local papers from that era, I have found thousands of articles chronicling his most interesting life. I'll be writing some papers ... if not a book... if not a musical... who knows?

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THE STUDIO!!

I'm FINALLY finishing DUMP THE BOSSES OFF YOUR BACK - my new CD. With any luck, the CD will feature a lot of my talented friends, including Evan Greer, Anne Weiss, the Austin Lounge Lizards, Commander Cody and many many more! I could really really really use a few more sponsors. If you're in a position to help, send $100 to

Anne Feeney
2240 Milligan Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218

I'll be happy to put your name (or your sweetheart's name -- there's an unusual Valentine's gift!) in the liner notes.

This fifteen song CD should be finished by the time I leave for Florida.

Here's what's going to be on it:

Preacher and the Slave (Joe Hill) 4:11
You Will Answer (Feeney) 2:48
How Long? (Feeney) 4:51
Dump the Bosses off Your Back (John Brill) 2:09
How Much for the Life of Miner? (Feeney) 2:21
Santiago Cruz (Feeney) 2:03
Ya Basta! (Evan Greer) 3:13
Hallelujah I'm a Bum (McClintock/Kotheimer) 4:12
Sago (Kiya Heartwood) 4:20
Hillcrest Mine (James Keelaghan) 3:16
50 Cent Sneakers and $5 Wine (Al Grierson) 3:13
Goonies (Feeney) 3:18
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing (Colum Sands) 2:16
Brave New Christmas (John William Davis) 4:07
We Fought Back (Feeney) 2:18

It costs about $2500 to master and press 1000 CDs. It costs about $5000 in studio time for the sound engineer. It costs about $10,000 to pay the musicians who work on the recording. It costs another $1000 to pay the pension for the musicians working on the recording. It will cost about $600 to pay the composers of the 'cover songs' for the rights to record their songs. It costs several hundred dollars to get the printing for the artwork. Layout, design and typeset can run into hundreds of dollars. Add in lots of transportation, copying, snacks for the musicians in the studio. And then mailing dozens of free copies for review to radio and press .... These are daunting numbers to come up with on a folksinger's budget...

You can put a donation on your credit card by clicking on the Donate button in the right hand column of this page underneath my picture. If that doesn't work for you for some reason, and you'd still like to contribute on a credit card, email me anne@annefeeney.com and I can invoice you. Your generosity and support makes my work and music possible.

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SEND A GET WELL CARD TO TWO LABOR LEGENDS!


Two wonderful friends of all working people could use some get well wishes:

Julius Margolin (http://georgeandjulius.com), 91 years old, lifelong activist and IATSE member (stagehands' union), is back home from the hospital after treatment for lymphoma, flu, intestinal problems and more. httpHe is such a dear and amazing person with 70+ years of activism and support for working folks everywhere. You may have seen UNION MAN - the wonderful film that George Mann produced about Julius' life. He's still in remarkable spirits and thinking of others. Please send him a thank you/get well card at:


Julius Margolin
330 W. 28th St.
Apt. 3G
NY NY 10001

And the golden voice of the great Southwest, Utah Phillips, is in San Francisco undergoing evaluation for a heart transplant. http://utahphillips.org His health is deteriorating, and we are all hoping that he will get some really hopeful information on this visit. In addition to the stress of his illness, Phillips has financial concerns too. He's been deprived of his livelihood just as his expenses have skyrocketed.

Send him a card and/or a check at:

Utah Phillips
PO BOX 1235
Nevada City, CA 95959

and do yourself a favor and go listen to Phillips tell 'the funniest story ever,'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks-LmHAGouQ


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BEST LINKS SENT TO ME THIS MONTH

http://blip.tv/file/520347/ - bush coins
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/02/20/bayoneting-a-scarecrow/
http://www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons/impeach.html

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FAMILY NEWS

My cousin Kelly Grefenstette of South Carolina is married to pro golfer Charles Warren -- We're very excited to see that Charles is leading the pack at a big tournament- the FBR Open in Phoenix! Go Charles!!

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=golf-m/news/ben4126948.htm

My cousins Kevin McCahill and Mary Lane McCahill of Columbia, MD just went sailing in the British Virgin Islands. There's a link to some photos below, and here's a wonderful excerpt from Mary's trip diary:

"The highlight of the trip for Kevin and me was the amazing snorkelling in the choral reefs of the BVI, and we snorkelled our hearts out, literally for hours. We saw so many beautiful undersea creatures it's beyond description, including an immense and ancient Hawksbill sea turtle with whom I had the blessed fortune to swim briefly. He (the turtle) actually looked at me and was close enough to touch, but I respected his home and let him swim off in peace. We also saw many of the wonderful living jewels of the reef including the blue chromies, four-eyed butterflyfish, blue tangs, parrotfish, trunkfish, yellowtails, bluehead wrasse, fairy basslets, and some big ugly guys like barracuda, tarpon and grouper. The reef itself has its own beauty with many varieties and colors of coral such as staghorn and brain corals and gently swaying green and purple sea fans. Snorkelling for us is like meditation: the world around us becomes very quiet and still as the sea life continues to move about or sway gently in the current somewhat oblivious to our presence. It is so peaceful and warm and comforting that the sound of the water becomes a chant and draws us into it's utter quiet. "

Thanks Mary!
http://www.digiproofs.com/ecom/page_view.pl?p=Fxt2DCn

BIRTHDAYS ----

Lauren Grefenstette Jan 8, Chris Chandler Jan 16, Jim Marks, Jan 16, Shannon Metcalfe Jan 16, Blanka Engstrom Jan 16, (Happy Anniversary Kelly & Charles Warren Jan 25), Tom Weldon Jan 27, Art Deckard Jan 29, Ed McCahill Jan 29, Maryellen Hayden January 31, Kevin Weldon Feb 3, Joe McCahill Feb 15, Ross Chapman Feb 24, Shirley Shultz Myers Mar 1, Mary McCahill Madera, Mar 1.

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ELEVEN GOING TO JAIL FOR JUSTICE!

At the School of the Americas Watch Vigil last November, eleven people engaged in civil disobedience to CALL YOUR ATTENTION to the atrocities being committed in our name and with our tax dollars. Honor their sacrifice by visiting http://soaw.org and educating yourself on our very own "terrorist training camp.'

The SOAW 11 are:

- Joan Anderson, 65, Casper, WY - 30 days and a $500 fine
- Ozone Bhaguan, 33, Duluth, MN - 90 days and no fine
- Le Anne Clausen, 29, Chicago, IL. - 30 days and no fine
- Art Landis, 74, Perkasie, PA - 30 days and no fine
- Ed Lewinson, 78, Newark NJ - 90 days and a $500 fine
- Chris Lieberman, 54, Albuquerque, NM - 60 days and no fine
- Diane Lopez Hughes, 58, Springfield, IL - 45 days and a $500 fine
- Tiel Rainelli, 25, Canton, OH. - 90 days and a $500 fine
- Gus Roddy, 45, Chicago, IL - 30 days and a $500 fine
- Stephen Schweitzer, 45, Binghamtom, NY - 60 days and a $500 fine
- Michelle Yipé, 45, of Argonia, KS - 30 days and a $500 fine

http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=1621 Read more about the SOAW 11...

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SPECIAL IRELAND MAILING

I know I promised only one email a month, so I'm giving you a heads-up. If you'd like to go to Ireland with me in 2008, I'm sending out a special mailing in mid-February with all the details. If you're not interested, you can delete it without reading it, because that is all that will be in the mailing.

If you can't wait until then for the details, check out the new page that Dave Livingston set up for me:

http://www.annefeeney.com/Pages/enchantedwaytours.html

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OSCARS/WRITERS' STRIKE


This is a great exposition of the issues in the writers' strike, if you've had a hard time figuring it out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk


And this one is hilarious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w&NR=1

If management won't come up with a real settlement, I won't be holding my Oscars party. There wouldn't be any joy in watching a writer-less Oscars show.

Still, the eternal optimist, I'm catching as many films as possible hoping for the best. I've posted my 2008 film reviews on the blog.

http://fellow-travelers-advisory.blogspot.com/



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FEBRUARY/MARCH DATES:

Friday, February 22nd, 2008 8:00 PM - PITTSBURGH
Four Shillings Short and Anne Feeney in Concert
Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church
416 W North Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
412.877-6480
http://www.art.net/~4ss
Price: $15 suggested
If you missed the first concert, you won't want to miss this one! And if you came to the last 4ss concert you'll be spreading the word, I'm sure.. what fun!!


Sunday, February 24th, 2008 8:00 PM
Oscars Party
2008 Oscars Party
2240 Milligan Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
invitation only
http://www.oscarfrenzy.com/
(cancelled if the writers' strike continues.......)


Saturday, March 1st, 2008 7:30 PM - CLEVELAND
Anne Feeney in Concert
UU Society of Cleveland
2728 Lancashire Road
Cleveland Heights, OH
216.932.1898
http://uusocietyofcleveland.tripod.com/index.html
Price: $10
The Church is located between Euclid Heights Blvd. and Coventry Rd.

Lancashire is a one-way street that is entered from Euclid Hts. Blvd. The Society is a 2 storied brick building on the right hand side, across from Musicians Towers. Parking is available on either side of the building, on the street, or in metered public parking lots nearby.


Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 10:45 AM - CLEVELAND
Unitarian Service
UU Society of Cleveland
2728 Lancashire Road
Cleveland Heights, OH
http://uusocietyofcleveland.tripod.com/index.html
Price: free - all welcome


Thursday, March 6th, 2008 6:30 PM - TALLAHASSEE
Concert and Pot Luck!
Imaginary Fool's Juggling, Singing and Gourmet Supper Club
Tallahassee, FL
850-878-4149
Price: $10-20 suggested
This is one of my favorite gigs ... I look forward to it all year long.


Saturday, March 8th, 2008 8:00 PM - ST AUGUSTINE
Anne Feeney in Concert on International Women's Day
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. Augustine
2487 A1A S
St Augustine, FL 32080
904-540-3575
Price: $10
Terry Buckenmeyer is organizing this concert. Terry's cell: 904-540-3575

No one turned away for lack of funds.

Iraq Veterans against the War will be tabling at the concert, and we will be accepting your generous checks and contributions for their work at the show.
904-471-2047 is the number of the church.



Sunday, March 9th, 2008 10:30 AM - ST AUGUSTINE
Music for Church Service
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville
2487 A1A South and Florida Avenue
St Augustine, FL 32605
http://www.nrdp.net/uufsa/
Price: free - all welcome
3/4 miles south of Route 312


Sunday, March 9th, 2008 3:00 PM - ORANGE CITY
Music for Church Service
Mosaic Unitarian Universalist Church
425 S Volusia Ave (17-92)
Orange City, FL 32774
http://mosaicuu.org/
Price: free - all welcome


Sunday, March 9th, 2008 5:00 PM - ORANGE CITY
Anne Feeney in Concert with special guest Magda Hiller!!
Mosaic Unitarian Universalist Church
425 S Volusia Ave (17-92)
Orange City, FL 32774
http://mosaicuu.org/
Price: $15


Monday, March 10th, 2008 12:00 PM - JACKSONVILLE
artist-in-residence
University of North Florida Campus
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL 32224
(904)-620-1654
Stan Swart, "Brother Stan the Union Man," is my host and contact for this residency.


Monday, March 10th, 2008 7:30 PM - JACKSONVILLE
Anne Feeney in Concert
University of North Florida Campus Theater -- Robinson Student Services Building (Building #14, Room #1700)
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL
Price: free - all welcome


Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 12:00 PM - JACKSONVILLE
artist-in-residence
University of North Florida Campus
4567 St. Johns Bluff Road South
Jacksonville, FL
(904)-620-1654
http://wagepeace.net/
"Brother Stan the Union Man," Stan Swart, is my host and your contact for this residency.


Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 5:00 PM - JACKSONVILLE
Anne Feeney In Concert for Campus Chapter of Amnesty International
UNF Art Gallery Auditorium
Jacksonville, FL
904-620-1654
http://www.unf.edu/dept/gallery/
Price: donations welcome
Shelly Clay-Robison is organizing this concert... shellyclayrobison(@)hotmail.com



Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 7:30 PM - TAMPA
Anne Feeney in Concert
House Concert at Gloria's
Tampa area, FL
813-837-6572
Price: $15
Come at 7:30... we'll start promptly at 8. Reserve a space now... email Gloria at gshello@tampaybay.rr.com or call 813-837-6572 - House concerts are a fabulous way to hear music! Don't be shy, call Gloria now!


Thursday, March 13th, 2008 7:00 PM - SARASOTA
Anne Feeney in Concert
JR's OLD PACKINGHOUSE CAFE
987 S. Packinghouse Road
Sarasota, FL 34232
371-9358
http://www.oldpackinghouse.net/
Price: $your generous tips!



Friday, March 14th, 2008 12:00 PM - SARASOTA
Singing for the Vegetables
Whole Foods
1451 1st Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-955-8500 ext. 215
Price: FREE



Saturday, March 15th, 2008 8:00 PM - GAINESVILLE
Anne Feeney in Concert
The 2nd Street Bakery
1511 NW 2nd St
Gainesville, FL
352-505-5039
http://www.afn.org/~iguana

Sunday, March 16th, 2008 10:30 AM - GAINESVILLE
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville
4225 NW 34th St
Gainesville, FL 32605


Sunday, March 16th, 2008 8:00 PM
wide open....
any ideas?
Sarasota - Ft Myers... FL


Monday, March 17th, 2008 1:00 PM - FT. MYERS
Concert for Unitied Irish of SW Florida
contact Laura Griffin for location
Ft Myers, FL
239-823-4743
http://www.swflairish.com/index.html
swflagirl(@)aol.com

Monday, March 17th, 2008 7:00 PM - FT. MYERS
St Patrick's Day Feast !!!
Manna Reading Center
2040 Collier Ave.
Fort Myers, FL
(239) 277-7866
http://www.mannareadingcenter.com/
This will be so much fun!! In addition to my usual hell-raising repertoire, this show only will include a huge selection of Irish favorites - ballads, drinking songs, sing-alongs, sea chanteys and more!! Don't miss it.


Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 8:00 PM - PALM BEACH COUNTy
CIW Benefit Concert
TBA
Palm Beach County, FL
561-330-9016
Vicki Ryder (vickiryder@juno.com)is organizing this!



Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 7:00 PM - DANIA BEACH
Honor CIW on the Feast of St Joseph the Worker
St Maurice Church
2851 Stirling Road
Dania Beach, FL
http://ciw-online.org
Price: $10-20 suggested
This is a fundraising concert to benefit the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

St Maurice is located one mile west of I-95 and is between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. We hold most of our tri-county peace and justice meetings there. Father Roger is very supportive of the movement and will promote the event within the parish. Ray Del Papa is the contact - mrrratpp(@)aol.com

2008 MOVIE PICKS

What a BLEAK year for film. Maybe it's just because Hollywood did so well last year that this year's batch seems lackluster... anyway, here are my capsule reviews for your reading pleasure...

MICHAEL CLAYTON - I skipped this one in the first round because I thought it would be another improbable legal story. NOT SO! It's a first rate thriller with Tom Wilkinson doing a breathtaking portrayal of a full-blown unmedicated bipolar person and George Clooney turning in a first rate performance as well. I really enjoyed this one. That it villifies an ADM/Monsanto type corporation enhanced my enjoyment considerably.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD - I can't tell you how excited I was to see that Daniel Day Lewis was starring in an Upton Sinclair story about the oil industry. One would think that with a title like "There Will be Blood" that we'd have the makings of a first rate allegory for our times about oil/greed/death. Instead we have a fairly compelling but resolutely bleak study of a psychopathic brute... and not much else. I would have enjoyed this more if there had been the slightest hint of background on how Daniel Day Lewis came to be so soulless.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - I'm a huge Coen brothers fan, and this film doesn't disappoint. It's certainly not uplifiting, but it is compelling. Javier Bardem is absolutely amazing - the scariest bad guy since Hannibal Lecter.. woof! and Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant. This is the most suspenseful film the Coens have pulled off, and it's riveting. They should win the Directing Oscar. The ending is going to leave a lot of you groaning... but it just makes me want to see it again.

ATONEMENT really missed the boat. I think this could have been a really good movie... and I suspect it came from a very good book. It's impossible to believe that a much-less-than-tender, very brief and almost certainly unconsummated tryst in the family library forms the basis for years of yearning and selfless devotion - especially from Keira Knightley -- It's impossible to believe she wouldn't have moved on with her young life if that was truly their only encounter. I suspect that in the book she and Robbie Turner (the housekeeper's son played by James McEvoy) were secret lovers at school, but the class barriers that separate them became painfully obvious when they returned to her family's estate. For my money, the underrated KITE RUNNER was a better and more engaging version of the same story - Youngster does things in his/her youth that are wrong/shameful, spends rest of life worrying about it, becomes novelist.

JUNO - What is JUNO doing in this list? If I had caught it as a Tuesday night special on Lifetime I might have thought it a pretty good made-for-TV movie. The film's version of visit to an abortion clinic was nothing short of preposterous ... I love a witty script if the people uttering the lines are old enough to have conceivably thought up the words they are delivering. It did have a good soundtrack, though.

INTO THE WILD was a much better film than either ATONEMENT or JUNO. So was THE SAVAGES. So was GONE BABY GONE. I thought ENCHANTED was a better musical than Tim Burton's hugely disappointing SWEENEY TODD. (And believe me, I LOVE Tim Burton AND Johnny Depp.) I'm on my way to see AWAY FROM HER right now. Julie Christie looks like a shoo-in to me, sight unseen. Best supporting actor is filled with fantastic choices. Philip Seymour Hoffman was brilliant in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR - Cate Blanchett was fabulous in I'M NOT THERE -- but I'm rooting for the always amazing Ruby Dee, even though I haven't found the almost 4 hours required to see AMERICAN GANGSTER. I haven't seen the DIVING BELL/3:10 TO YUMA/LA VIE EN ROSE/THE ASSSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES/IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH/EASTERN PROMISES/LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. I can't make a call on best actor... but if Tommy Lee Jones is better in IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH than he was in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, my money is on him.

I'm stunned that the brilliant screenplay for CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR didn't get an Oscar nomination - maybe it was because the film was such a distorted pack of lies that it made the snappy script hard to swallow. I haven't seen enough of the nominees in either of the writing categories to make a call...

This would have been a better year to have Michael Moore going for BEST PICTURE instead of BEST DOCUMENTARY. I loved SICKO, and it deserves a huge audience...(besides, he used the Austin Lounge Lizards version of Irving Berlin's C-U-B-A.) But the Oscar for best documentary almost certainly has to go to one of the fabulous anti-war documentaries - My money's on NO END IN SIGHT.

Amazingly, I haven't seen even one of the nominees for best foreign film. But I did enjoy both KINGS and EL VIOLIN - despite the fact that both films were very depressing and, well, BLEAK. For best picture of 2008, I'll be rooting for Michael Clayton, just because the good guys win, and in this year of extremely brutal, bleak films, I found that refreshing. See you at the movies!