It’s so incredibly easy to criticize America these days and the top five ways to do so are: (1)-Blog (like The MishegasMaster); (2)-Air your grievances on a radio talk-show call-in program; (3)-Go into an Internet chat-room and complain; get together with a group of friends either at coffeehouse or over a meal and collective discuss the troubles and of course, writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper or opinion page.Why is America such an easy to target for criticism by its own citizens? Perhaps it’s because the criticisms and freedoms we enjoy have been twisted, tweaked and taken advantage of, eroded and exploited so much, that there’s no approachable point to dig in, claim a territory and stop the insanity/madness!
So, it got me to thinking about the entire situation at hand and wondered what it would take the wagging tongues, the pointing fingers, the Nay-Sayers and all of the other self-appointed United States citizens critics mixed in between to come together?
Why a new national anthem lyric-writing contest, that’s how!
Long ago, in the days before the humans in world had ever known what a computer was, let alone decent writing utensils, Francis Scott Key composed a poem that eventually became America’s national anthem during the war of 1812, one of only three American wars we lost besides the Confederate and Vietnam Wars, although with the latest “war on terror” efforts by our wondirtful (sic) president, you’d swear it was a real war that we were truly losing, but back to the matter at hand.
In the late 1930s, folksinger Woody Guthrie at some point heard vocalist Kate Smith belt out “God Bless America” over radio airwaves and didn’t like what she was singing, so he wrote out the entire song in long-hand and wrote his own set of lyrics which became “This Land Is Your Land,” which became a popular American song as well. Guthrie had a healthy habit of taking his own melodies and rewriting old lyrics into new lyrics ever constantly.
In the years that followed, other songs became representative of the United States, like the lyrical poem “America The Beautiful,” by Katharine Lee Bates & popularized by Ray Charles, Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” Neil Diamond’s “Coming To America,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” and James Brown’s “Living In America,” to name a few.
The contest; officially titled: The First Annual MishegasMaster Lyrics-Writing Contest; The rules are very simple; all you need to do is write lyrics for a new American national anthem with the underlying theme being America, of course. There are no length requirements, so you can write it anyway you like, using any method of inspiration; it can be anything from a parody to hip-hop to popular song.
The prize categories are as follows: 1st Prize: a copy of the novel On The Road (Jack Kerouac) 2nd Prize: a copy of the novel Bound For Glory (Woody Guthrie) & 3rd Prize: a copy of the poem Howl And Other Poems (Allen Ginsberg).
The Fun & Legal Fine Print: In case the prize winner of the said categories already owns the titled book, a substitute title by the same said author will be awarded. All entries will become property of The MishegasMaster. All prize-winners WILL BE published on my blog. Only one entry per person; in the case of multiple entries, only the first entry will be accepted.
No purchase necessary, unless you deem yourself to donate to the cause. Residents of the United States, the Universe and beyond the Universe may enter, age 9 & older. To enter, follow these instructions on this screen.
To email an entry, be sure to put in the subject line 1st Annual MishegasMaster Lyrics-Writing Contest and e-mail to sid_yiddish@hotmail.com For those of you who prefer snail-mail like The Arizona Babe does, then send your entries to: 1st Annual MishegasMaster Lyrics-Writing Contest c/o CB, Post Office Box 5008, Evanston, Illinois 60204-5008 USA. Be sure to include or write down your full name, address, city, state, zip-code, email-address and telephone number for either the email or snail-mail submission. Contest begins on Wednesday, November 9, 2005. Electronic entries must be received by 5pm, Wednesday, June 14, 2006 & snail-mail entries must also be postmarked by 5pm Wednesday, June 14, 2006.
In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the holder of the e-mail account. The MishegasMaster is not responsible for technical failures in entry transmission, or lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, illegible or postage due mail. Winners will be selected from all entries received by said participants.
The MishegasMaster’s judging decisions are final. Winners will be notified by snail mail, e-mail or telephone on or around July 4, 2006. Any prize or prize notification returned to The MishegasMaster via a bad email address or a non-working telephone number will result in the awarding of that prize to an alternate winner.
Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Except as required by law, The MishegasMaster will not share entrant information with any third parties. The MishegasMaster may contact entrants in the future with contests or offers he feels might be of interest. Family members of The MishegasMaster including Louie, Benjy, Joey, Naomi, The Arizona Babe & Rex Pâtér Homo are not eligible, despite the fantastic creativity that runs in the family!
For a list of prize winners, send a self addressed envelope to 1st Annual MishegasMaster Lyrics-Writing Contest c/o CB, Post Office Box 5008, Evanston, Illinois 60204-5008 USA. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use the winner's name, hometown, likeness, and any text submitted for purposes of advertising and promotion on behalf of The MishegasMaster without further compensation. Anybody who believes otherwise is probably not all there. Rules and regulations subject to change in case of a freak snowstorm, raging flood, dust-storm or Act of God; you know how strange weather or situations can be here in the middle west of the United States during the summer!
Good luck to all entrants!
No comments:
Post a Comment