The Setting: The new Bob Center is in Tulsa Oklahoma because the Woody Guthrie Center is there, and because both were paid for by the OK billionaire philanthropist George Kaiser. Tulsa is remarkably like the midwestern town of Winnipeg I grew up in — flat farmland, low-rise, about a half-million people — and both with […]
The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa
April 30th, 2023 · 5 Comments · Music, Real-life Adventure Tales
Tags: Barack Obama·Bob Dylan·George Harrison·Jack Kerouac·Lenny Bruce·Neil Young·Oklahoma·Pete Seeger·Ralph Gleason·Tom Wilson·Tulsa·Woody Guthrie
Beat Versus Beatnik
March 3rd, 2021 · 28 Comments · Kerouac and The Beats
21st Century Beatniks versus Hieroglyphic Caricatures . There’s long been a debate about the word “beatnik” — originally coined by a sensationalist San Francisco gossip columnist in 1958, playing on the Yiddish suffix “nik” and the first Russian satellite launched in September ’57, colloquially known as “Sputnik.” Jack and Allen & company hated the word […]
Tags: Abbie Hoffman·Al Hinkle·Albert Grossman·Allen Ginsberg·Anne Waldman·Barack Obama·beatniks·Bob Denver·Bob Dylan·Brad Pitt·City Lights Books·Daniel Yaryan·David Meltzer·Diane Di Prima·Dobie Gillis·Donovan·Ed Sanders·Elvis Mitchell·Gordon Ball·Helen Weaver·hippies·Howl·Jack Hirschman·Jack Kerouac·Jack Micheline·Janis Joplin·Jeopardy·Jerry Garcia·Jerry Kamstra·John Phillips·Jonah Raskin·Ken Kesey·Lawrence Ferlinghetti·Linda Breen·Maynard G. Krebs·Merry Pranksters·Naropa·Neal Cassady·Quentin Tarantino·Robert Shelton·Route 66·ruth weiss·S.A. Griffin·The Beat Generation·The Beat Museum·Vesuvio's·William Burroughs
Obama Election Night NYC 2008
June 29th, 2020 · 1 Comment · Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy, New York City, Politics, Real-life Adventure Tales
Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy I spent the afternoon getting all gussied up in my black velvet tails and Ben Franklin knickers with knee-high socks topped off with a top hat, accented with colorful Obama buttons, and everything underneath my waving homemade Obama pennant flag with a little red & white Canadian one on top. All […]
Tags: Barack Obama
Brian Hassett – Adventures in Print
January 26th, 2020 · 21 Comments · Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy, Kerouac and The Beats, Politics, Real-life Adventure Tales, Weird Things About Me
40 YEARS IN PRINT . A CHRONOLOGY OF THE PUBLISHED REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE TALES . . 1977 – May — writing a song with Guess Who founder Chad Allen – not in print as of yet, but it is on my website here. 1980 – April — John Anderson in San Diego – Blissfully Ravaged in […]
Tags: Barack Obama·Beat Shindig·Bernie Sanders·Big Sur·Bill Clinton·Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy·Carolyn Cassady·Gary Hart·George Walker·Grateful Dead·How The Beats Begat The Pranksters·Howard Dean and Al Franken·Jack Kerouac·Ken Kesey·On The Road·Paul Tsongas·Phil Lesh·The Hitchhiker's Guide to Jack Kerouac·Walter Salles·Woodstock
Al Franken “Giant of The Senate” book review
December 27th, 2017 · 9 Comments · Politics
. Al Franken is a great writer of our times. When you read even just the first chapter of this book — “Why I’m A Democrat” — it’ll make you wanna throw every one of his sanctimonious accusatory quasi-republican Democrats off a cliff — not under a bus, like they did him. I really enjoyed […]
Tags: Al Franken·Barack Obama·Deadheads·Giant of The Senate·Paul Wellstone·Saturday Night Live·Tom Davis
Some Favorite Moments of the 2012 Campaign
November 3rd, 2012 · 11 Comments · Politics
Some Favorite Moments, Classic Quotes and Lasting Images of the 2012 Campaign, roughly in the order they happened … — The ever-increasing availability we all have to unlimited polling data, particularly at RCP and 538. — The sharing of funny images and insightful articles on Facebook — like having your own customized clipping service […]
Tags: Barack Obama·Binders full of women·Democrats Abroad·Hassett's campaign review·Michele Bachmann·New Orleans Musicians for Obama·Nostrahassett·Paul Ryan·Republican debates·Rick Santorum's mistakes·Romnesia·Todd Akin·We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business
Woodstock and Obama’s Inauguration
July 30th, 2011 · 12 Comments · Music, Politics, Real-life Adventure Tales, Weird Things About Me
Obama’s election night in New York City may have been my favorite single night / moment in 25+ years of living in Manhattan. (You can read about it here: https://brianhassett.com//2008/11/election-night-2008/ ) That feeling was extended to a week-long celebration in my second favorite city, Washington, D.C. — a home-game in the History League — And lo, […]
Tags: Barack Obama·Holly George-Warren·Jimi Hendrix·Michael Lang·Michael Lang Woodstock book·Obama Inauguration 2009·Obama's inauguration·The Road To Woodstock Michael Lang·Washington·Woodstock