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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

MOVIE REVIEW: Raging Bull


I didn't go to church on Easter Sunday. I felt pretty crummy. Carol had gone to her parents' house with Lydia. So, the day before, I went to the library and borrowed Raging Bull, which, inexplicably, I had never seen.

OK, that's not entirely true. I had recorded it on my DVR some months ago, and started watching it at a point when I was running out of room on the machine. I got really impatient and zapped it shortly after the first scene.

So, this time, I had an unusual block of time to see it. Initially, I found the boxing sequences more compelling than the other scenes, but as the movie progressed, I found myself engrossed in both aspects of Jake LaMotta's life. This is such a highly regarded film that I shan't bother with the (pardon the expression) blow-by-blow. I do think that, even though the fight scenes were sometimes rough, the black-and-white film made the scenes, if not palatable, then at least bearable.

I AM going to suggest that, on the second disc of this two-disc DVD, I found the making of the film to be the most compelling extras I've ever viewed. The whole making of the film, how Robert de Niro had found a book that he didn't think was all that well-written, yet told an interesting story. How director Martin Scorcese initially balked at doing the film at all because he's not a sports guy, but that he ultimately understood boxing as a life struggle. How the script was written, and re-written. Specifically, how the boxing scenes were all shot first, with different cinematic palates, which made me want to watch them all again. How all the other boxers were played by real boxers. How the filmmakers found Joe Pesci, who was all but retired from acting, and how he directed them to Cathy Moriarity and others in the cast.

If you've never seen the movie, see the movie, then see the extras. If you love the movie, or hate the movie, watch the extras; it'll make you want to see the movie again.

ROG

Monday, April 30, 2007

More Music Meme!

Stolen from Tosy because he steals from me.

What was the first recorded music you bought?
Beatles VI from the Capitol Record Club. I got 11 for one cent, but the one I paid for was that one. My sisters, neighbor and I lipsynched to this one. The others: Beatles' Second Album, Beatles '65, Something New-the Beatles, Best of herman's Hermits, Daydream-Lovin' spoonful, Big hits from England and the USA, Goldfinger-Billy Strange. I forget the rest.

What was the last?
David Bromberg - Wanted: Dead or Alive. It features a song called "The Holdup", which also appears on an earlier album, written by Bromberg and some guy named George Harrison.. This version, backed by members of the Grateful Dead, has a mariachi break in the middle.

What was the first "professional" music show you ever went to?
Quite possibly Seals & Crofts, Nov 12, 1971 with the Okie. Love makes you do strange things.

What was the last?
Sean Lennon, April 10, 2007. I even know his birthday: October 9, 1975.

What's your "desert island" album?
Never easy. Revolver (Beatles), I suppose. No, Rubber Soul (Beatles). No wait, Still Crazy after All These Years (Paul Simon). Of course, it has to be Pet Sounds (Beach Boys). What was the question?

What's your favorite album/song title?
Rubber Soul. Makes more sense as a result of some Anthology dialogue.

What's your favorite album art (include an image of it if you can)?
Sgt. Pepper. Often imitated.

Ideal choice for a karaoke song?
Take Me to the River.

Song you don't like that WILL NOT LEAVE YOUR HEAD if you hear it.
My Sharona-the Knack. Dammit. It's mot that I don't like it; it's that I'm embarrassed to like it.

Which is cooler? -- Vinyl? CD? Cassette? 8-track?
Vinyl is definitely "cooler". I never owned an 8-track. Most of my music is on CD.

ROG

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Oscar-Worthy Movies I Have Seen: 1931-1932

Production (Picture):
"GRAND HOTEL", "Arrowsmith", "Bad Girl", "The Champ", "Five Star Final", "One Hour With You", "Shanghai Express", "The Smiling Lieutenant"
Nada, though I was in the room once when "The Champ" was playing on TV some years ago.

BTW, this guy named Walt Disney won a special award for his four-year-old creation, Mickey Mouse.
***
I forgot to mention that I appeared in some State University newsletter called The SUNY Watch, dated April 2007:


Your Name: Roger Green
Your Title and Name of Your Office: Information Specialist

Winter Techniques

What winter? The first half was so mild – an average of 12 degrees above normal over a 38-day period in December and January - that I didn't even get into winter survival mode until mid-January. For me, winter is for seeing movies, usually at the Spectrum, usually Oscar nominated films.

I’ve most recently seen, in reverse chronological order, Notes on a Scandal, Volver, The Queen and The Pursuit of Happyness.
My favorite pictures of 2006, though, were Little Miss Sunshine and Stranger Than Fiction, because they both are intelligent, funny, and a little offbeat.

ROG

Oscar-Worthy Movies I Have Seen: 1930-1931

Production (Picture):
"CIMARRON", "East Lynne", "The Front Page", "Skippy", "Trader Horn"
Was watching some chunk of "The Front Page" on TCM in the past few years, but not enough that I'd count it.
But wait! There were some interesting films in this period that weren't even nominated: Charlie Chaplin's City Lights, The Blue Angel with Marlene Dietrich, Dracula with Bela Lugosi, and James Whale's Frankenstein with Boris Karloff were all unnominated. I've seen at least portions of all of them, probably all of City Lights over time, which undoubtedly suffered from being a silent film in the talkies era.

ROG

Saturday, April 28, 2007

VOTING Questions

I was reading in Newsweek a couple weeks ago about some (Republican) politician complaining about ex-cons voting. I don't see the problem. I think the ex-cons SHOULD vote. Perhaps:
1) They'll feel more a part of the society as engaged citizens.
2) They'll be able to better suss out the crooks who actually get elected, the Duke Cunninghams, the Bob Neys.

If anything, I'd think we would like to get MORE people to vote. Are people afraid that a bunch of former felons will get together and take over the town? If so, they should get out and register (and vote) themselves.

(Greg noted this story about the White House pursing legal efforts to limit voter turnout. This is not just unjust, it's pathetic.)

I also was interested in the recent French election. Apparently, the top two vote getters, Nicolas Sarkozy, who got 31% in the first round, and Ségolène Royal (26%), will be in a runoff, but the candidate who is reportedly most acceptable (or least unacceptable) to the widest number of people, François Bayrou, came in third (19%), so won't be in the runoff.

So I'm wondering:

1) What restrictions, beyond making sure somebody is of age and actually lives in the district, should there be on voters? I'm against too many restridctions.

2) What can be done to engage more people in the political process? Would Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) or other alternate voting methodologies work? How about voting over several days and/or online?
***
For free IRV? stickers send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: voteIRV.org, 26 Glen Street, Malden, MA 02148. Spread the word and make it stick: IRV; for a better democracy!
***
Dennis Kucinich, member of Congress and Presidential candidate, has introduced Articles of Impeachment Against Vice-President Richard Cheney. Kindly, Kucinich waited until the the Veep's blood clot was under control to reintroduce the measure.
***
Bush v. Bush.
***
Erin Davies makes the best of a bad situation, letting the world see and contemplate the hate speech scrawled on her vehicle. The initial act of vandalism was especially disturbing to me since it happened in my city (Albany), but Erin's reframing is quite intriguing.
***
What the rains of last week did to the basement of the David Sarnoff Library last week.
***
Last, but certainly not least, send some love to Kelly and Lefty.

ROG

Friday, April 27, 2007

Sometimes, you just get a little down...

The damn home computer has been giving me fits the last three weeks. Initially, I thought it was a faulty Internet connection on the part of Time Warner. I talked to THREE servicepeople, then a fourth actually came to my house. This seemed to fix the problem, briefly, but then it start up again. Finally, with help, I discovered:
1) I have an Internet connection - I can play Internet backgammon - but I can't get to any URLs. I was thinking about reinstalling one of those old AOL discs, except that
2) I'm apparently dangerously low on memory
So, I'd done some blogging - actually a lot a couple weeks ago Saturday - at the library, and wrote all the posts you read so far that week. And I did write a couple things at home in Word for this week. But I find it harder not to go fact checking or finding a picture or adding a link. So, it's made me frustrated.

My very good friend Mark came up from the Mid Hudson (an hour or so south of here) to try to fix the beast, but it became so problematic that he had to take it home with him. So I couldn't even write stuff in Word at home for a few days this past week.

Since I tend to work ahead, it wasn't TOO problematic for the pieces already posted, but it MAY be in the next couple weeks, because my inventory of emergency posts are kaput. Ironic because..well, you'll see.

And, oh, yeah, I also lost my wallet. Trips to the DMV, the library and the bank, calls to the credit card companies, blah, blah. (And it gets more brain-dead than that, but never mind.)

...and then I get a couple lovely e-mails:

From an old friend, to her friend, with a copy to me:

Many adore Roger and his understated but hilarious way. I love his curiosity on oh just about any topic and his librarian-like thoroughness when he riffs on it. Have you been reading his blog? Top ten. Met him probably about 15 years ago now...

And from someone I did a workshop on "Guerrilla Marketing for Librarians" a couple weeks ago:

Hi, Roger! I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to share your expertise and ideas with us yesterday at the meeting. I enjoyed meeting you and really found your presentation to be motivating and inspiring! I am sure others felt the same. Thanks for speaking to the group -- your energy and enthusiasm, mixed with your business know-how, made for a wonderful presentation.

I post these, not to be an egomaniac. (I may be an egomaniac, but that's not why I'm posting them.) I'm posting them to remind myself, when I'm a little blue, that it's OK, I'm OK.

For it was the great ADD who told me, when I started blogging, ""You can't please everyone; you got to please yourself." No, wait, that was the late Rick Nelson. Well, ADD said SOMETHING like that at the time.

And, not that anybody asked, but I was considering moving the bloggy to the Times Union page. I think I decided not to on Easter morning. So now that Mark has returned my computer and it's working again (thanks, effendi!) I can actually work on updating my weblinks, which I'll try to do a little bit every day.
***
Oh, Jack Valenti, former head of the MPAA, died. I remember my first non-G-rated film, The Night They Raided Minsky's, which was rated M, the forerunner of PG. (I have the soundtrack on vinyl -"Take 10 terrific girls, but only 9 costumes." The movie ratings, which Valenti helped instigate, were imperfect, everyone knows (much kinder about violence, too fussy about the hint of sex, to my mind), but they're still somewhat useful.
ROG

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Lydster, Part 37: Miss Independence


There was this old commercial for an OTC headache reliever in which a woman of a certain age is trying to assist her teenaged or adult daughter. The younger woman snaps, "Mother, please, I'D RATHER DO IT MYSELF!" (Anyone actually remember the name of the product? I'm thinking Anacin, Bufferin or Excedrin, but I'm not sure.) Anyway, the daughter, after taking the headache remedy, is happy, smiling, working together with Mom.


Now, what, pray tell, does any of this have to do with my lovely, sweet-tempered, cooperative daughter?


Well, I have become aware of the rhythm of the things that she can do herself - or thinks she can - and it is not always prudent to offer assistance at these times. She wants to pick out her clothes, and most of the time, she does, even if her mother would not have selected that particular pair of socks. The only time we try to change her mind is if the clothes might be too warm, or not warm enough - a difficult thing to gauge given that it's below 30 and above 80 in the past week and a half. She can carry things I didn't think she could, and successfully.



Yet, there are times, usually in the beginning of the day, when she's not quite awake, or the end of the day, when the eyelids are drooping, when she wants to be carried downstairs or upstairs, and I try, we try to be sensitive to those nuances.



Lovin' the little girl. Sorry, I've been corrected: BIG girl.
***
Sometimes, I think I'm the only proud father in the world, even though I know intellectually that's not the case.

ROG

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Roger's Problem Is That He Has No Opinions


Hope you can read the item above about the cause of global warming.
***
I was sad to read that writer David Halberstam had died. Probably the only book of his I ever read in toto was 1972's The Best and the Brightest, but it so informed me about VietNam that it was pivotal in my understanding of "wisdom" run amok. I've read large sections of The Powers That Be (1979), one thick book. But I have read, and enjoyed the essays on sports, which may have been excerpted from his many sports books, such as The Breaks of the Game, The Amateurs, and especially Summer of '49, about the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. Halberstam died in a car accident on the way to see Yelberton Abraham Tittle, the former New York Giants' quarterback, for a book about "The Game"; a decade before the Super Bowl, the 1958 Colts-Giants Championship Game helped to "make" the NFL.
***
Most of the pieces about Boris Yeltsin were about his mixed legacy: "Russians pay respects to flawed hero Yeltsin": Tributes to Yeltsin praised him for taking on and defeating the Soviet establishment, but also noted his shortcomings during his eight years as president - economic turmoil, a disastrous war against rebels in Chechnya and his drink-fuelled gaffes." Somehow reminded me of an American President, Richard Nixon.
***
I was interested in personal international reactions to the Virginia Tech shootings. Here's one from an expatriate in New Zealand, and, at my request, one from Great Britain/ Someone domestic noted, in response to a comment I made: "People see an Iraq bombing and think, 'Gee that's sad, but not unexpected.' People expect bombing and mayhem in a war zone" but not on a peaceful college campus. OK, sure. But those lives lost are no less horrific to me because they're "expected". (And I suspect those families in Iraq are just as horrified by the loss of their loved ones, and don't think it's "sad, but expected.")
***
I first heard about the Ken Burns' exclusion of Hispanics in his upcoming WWII documentary from history professor GayProf. Since then, the situation has been rectified, with Burns' support. While hailed as a victory in some circles, I've also read a lot of that "affirmative action/political correctness run amok" rhetoric. I was most struck by this particular passage in GP's piece: "This time, Burns set out to chart the little-discussed Second World War. How often have I said, 'If only somebody would stop and think about that forgotten war!'" In setting himself to be the end-all and be-all on this oft-mined area, I think Burns had a greater responsibly to paint the broadest tableau possible. Off topic: GP, what do you think about this article Commentary: The hypocrisy of repeating the 'w-word'?
***
Here's an editorial about Kitty Carlisle Hart, more than a panelist on a game show, but New York State's grand doyenne of theatre.
***
And yet I have nothing pithy to say about the passing of music legend Don Ho?


ROG

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Daredevil Omnibus


ADD wrote to me a couple weeks ago:
Hey Roger,
I have a question for you that I just posted to my blog
Let me know if you have any info at all.
Hope all is well!


As I may have mentioned, it was rather strange to see in the pages of the Daredevil Omnibus the pages from FantaCo's Daredevil Chronicles, a magazine I worked on, though Mitch Cohn was the editor. The intrepid Alan David Doane asked me if Marvel had asked permission to appropriate pages directly from the FantaCo publication, and whether they paid the contributors.

The short answer, as far as I know, is no. The long answer is a little more complicated.

When FantaCo put together the X-Men Chronicles, a fanzine about the uncanny mutants edited by me, Marvel was very pleased. SO pleased that they gave us permission to use the Marvel Comics Group strip on the top of the page of the Fantastic Four Chronicles (cover by John Byrne, edited by me) and the Daredevil Chronicles (cover by Miller/Janson, edited by Mitch). In other words, they were licensed products of Marvel. Therefore, my guess is that Marvel believed they had a right to appropriate the DDC for the DD Omnibus, as it was their product, so there was no need to give permission.

Fred Hembeck tells me that Peter Sanderson, whose FantaCo interview of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson, appears in the book, was given a copy of the book, according to Sanderson's Quick Stop column. Fred, whose illustration accompanies that interview, is still waiting for his copy. You'd have to ask John Byrne and George Perez whether their Daredevil drawings earned them a copy, or something more.

Incidentally, at least one "independent comics" publisher loathed the DDC, because of the emphasis on Miller and Janson, to the exclusion of the rest of the canon (Wally Wood, e g.). I won't tell you who he is, but you know when the sun or moon temporarily disappears?

I asked Mitch about all of this. He wondered about the copyright issue too when I first mentioned the project to him. I agree with him that would depend on how the copyright was done, which he recalls was all FantaCo except for trademarks owned by Marvel. While he notes that Tom Skulan (the FantaCo owner) might have a case against Marvel, we both would think Marvel would have run it past their legal department before committing to do it. "It's not like they needed that stuff in there," Mitch opined.

You should know that the subsequent Avengers Chronicles, which Mitch edited, and the Spider-Man Chronicles, which was my baby, no longer had the Marvel Comic Group strip. That's because of something that happened, a decision I made, that caused Marvel editor Jim Shooter to call with a profanity-laden tirade that poor Mitch got to hear. But that's a story for another day.

ROG

Monday, April 23, 2007

Meme stolen (sorry, recycled) from somewhere

1. Four years ago -- where were you?
Going to see Alison Krauss in concert with my wife. I was pretty convinced by that point that she would never become pregnant. Three months later, she did.

2. What bores you to tears?
Repetitive stuff such as collating groups of paper. assembly line work, which I'd done years ago. Tax preparation.

3. Do you have rhythm?
AND blues.

4. What do you dream about?
Nothing I aspire to.

5. What makes you tremble in fear?
War.

6. Tell us something you've destroyed.
The front lock on the door of my childhood, trying unassemble, then reassemble it.

7. Do you feel in control over your life?
I have a three-year old.

8. How are you feeling?
Tired.

9. When is the last time you went to the doctor?
Yeah, I'll tell you about that sometime.

10. Ever broken a bone?
No.

11. Ever had surgery?
On my right knee.

12. When is the la st time you were in a hospital?
For myself? Car accident when I was 19.

13. Do like Daylight Savings Time, or should it be gotten rid of?
Sometimes.

14. Do you wear a wristwatch?
When I remember.

15. Analog or Digital?
Analog.

16. What's your favorite game show to watch?
Besides JEOPARDY!? Not watching any currently.

17. What game show would you like to be on?
Pyramid.

18. Do you know anyone who has been on a game show?
Well, not personally.

19. What do you think the worst game show is?
As a GAME of skill, it has to be the Mandel show.

20. Bob Barker, Howie Mandel or Alex Trebek?
I always liked Bob Barker, going back to Truth or Consequences.

21. What do you try to stay away from?
Conflict.

22. Are you clumsy or graceful?
Yes.

23. What is it too late for?
My major league baseball career.

24. What/who was your first love?
Baseball cards.

25. What would you like to take back?
Certain things said.

26. American football: good times or couldn't care less?
Probably the best TV sport.

27. Do you have a favorite sports team?
Varies, though I grew up a NY Giants fan.

28. What's your favorite junk food?
Pizza.

29. What is your fondest memory?
Probably had some musical tie.

30. Does time always kill pain?
No.

31. Are you more likely to yell or give the silent treatment?
Silent, though I've gotten better at just saying it.

32. First kiss?
A girl named Mary, under mistletoe, when I was 13.

33. Underwater swimming or skydiving?
Mediocre swimmmer.

34. Careful as you cross the street or never look both ways?
Always looking, because the drivers aren't.

35. What have you quit?
Organizations that take up too much time.

36. Are you complicated?
Am I?

37. Do you retaliate?
Generally not.

ROG

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Earth Day Dichotomy


I think I finally figured it out.

I've been struggling to figure out why some people are willing to believe in the possibly of global warming, while others seem to be so staunchly from Missouri. And it isn't just a left-right, liberal-conservative, Democratic-Republican thing, though it does have aspects of it.

Well, here's the (cheeky) theory; it's all dependent on how they view the legal system.

Let's take group A, which I'll call Red. Red wants to make sure we lock up all the people who need locking up (not necessarily including their friends). Red is dependent, though often bends, the rule of criminal law which requires evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Red has doubt, which Red finds reasonable. So, Red doesn't seem to want to do anything until there's total unanimity of opinion. Examples of this thinking: a recent Wall Street Journal op/ed piece, the current administration's position that we can't do anything until China does, the let's sit on our hands position of the EPA that was vacated by the Supreme Court recently.

Then let's take group B, which I'll call Gray. Gray thinks we need sweeping changes, which can often be done with a class-action lawsuit. The rule of civil law requires that only a preponderence of evidence support the position, which is good enough for Gray. Thus, Gray finds the rising temperatures, stranded polar bears and hungry penguins, the increase in severe weather, the disappearing bees, the poor maple seasons to provide a preponderence of evidence of human-generated global warming. Well, maybe not the bees. A leading Republican on this side appeared on the cover of Newsweek recently; notably, he's one of the few who isn't running for President, because he's ineligible.

Regardless, what I loved about this Earth Day/Month was the Step It Up protests all over the country last weekend. "We're not going to join all together in a mass demonstration and waste all of that petrol!" they were saying. "Act locally."

In New York, there's conversation about expanding the bottle bill (five cent deposit on returned soda and beer cans and bottles) that was passed a couple decades ago, to water bottles, sports drinks, bottled iced tea and the like. I'm in favor. The growth of sports drinks and the like was not anticipated when the original law was passed.

ROG

Saturday, April 21, 2007

A Mental Mistake

I made a tactical error this week: I watched, and read far too much about Virginia Tech. There were two episodes of My Name Is Earl listed on my DVR Monday night; it was really Dateline NBC. That Boston Legal on Tuesday? ABC Primetime. Yeah, I COULD have just deleted them, but no, I kept watching. At least I've missed, so far, the controversial airing of some of the material sent to NBC by the killer. Yet I was coming to a conclusion not dissimilar to this one. Which is to say, I do feel for the VT community, and the country as a whole, but I'm struck by how one bomb in Baghdad might well kill two or three dozen people. I wonder if we - I - have become inured because it happens so damn often there.

The shock of VT will subside when the NEXT thing happens - was the Don Imus thing only last week? - only to be brought back in the spotlight by the inevitable lawsuit by some of the families of the last 30 victims. (Meanwhile, whether to lock up the guns or for everyone to be packin' heat is addressed well here.

But the BIGGEST mistake I made this week was going here where one can find the full text of a couple of Cho Seung-Hui's plays. Oddly, it wasn't the plays I found most disturbing, it was the banal dialogue of people. Nasty sniping at each other. "Someone should have turned him in, gotten him therapy" (in fact, they did). Well, you can read it if you want. For some reason, the movie Minority Report came to mind, even though I've never seen it.

Anyway, here's one comment. Please tell me what you think, if you will:

This guy's sick for sure. But he's sick because he killed 30+ people. He's not sick because he wrote weird plays.

As a writer, I find it offensive that so many people say this kid should have been turned into counselors, authorities, school officials, etc. because of something he wrote. Do we really want a society where we judge the content of someone's character based on a creative piece he or she wrote? If your answer is yes, then think of all the books we would have to burn. Think of the great works of the past that we would never read. Forget about Shakespeare's "Hamlet," "Macbeth," or almost anything else by Shakespeare. Forget about Henry James' "Turn of the Screw." We couldn't read "Fahrenheit 451" even though we'd be living in a society sort of like the society in "Fahrenheit 451." And Stephen King? Are you kidding? He's as sick as this guy, if we're judging people based on creative works. The school officials are not to blame. The students are not to blame. The local law enforcement officials are not to blame. This could have happened anywhere, on any campus, in any dorm. That's what makes it so tragic.


I was intrigued, however, how the local media lucked into "the local angle" as poet Nikki Giovanni, who I used to read 20 years ago, taught Cho a couple years ago, but booted him out of class. She spoke at an already scheduled lecture at the University at Albany on Thursday.

ROG

Friday, April 20, 2007

Annie Hall


How can I explain why Annie Hall, released 30 years ago this very day, has become a major marker in my life? Why I've seen it at least four times in the theater, and is one of the very first VHS tapes I ever purchased?

*Alvy Singer, Woody Allen's character in the movie, HATES to go to a movie after it started. Me, too. That's partly because I almost sat on someone's lap in a darkened theater, but still.
*When I lived in NYC that summer of '77, I hung out around Washington Square Park.
*Alvy hates Los Angeles; I've never been.
*Paul Simon, of whom I was/am a big fan, made his movie debut as Tony Lacey.
*The cocaine scene in the movie? Definitely plausible.
*Sigourney Weaver made her film debut as "Alvy's date outside theater".
*It informed me that comedy can be intelligent and funny.
*Variety said expand the scene in "Annie Hall" where Woody visits Diane Keaton's family & you've got Meet the Parents. I've met parents; it's almost ALWAYS like that.
*Christopher Walken played Annie's neurotic brother Duane.
*There's a split screen scene where Annie and Alvy discuss their sex life. He: She never wants to have sex, only three times a week. She: He wants to have sex all the time - three times a week. Yup.
*I've been in a relationship where this dialogue took place: "A relationship is like a shark; it has to move forward or it dies. What we have here is a dead shark."
*Film critic John Simon said about it: "Repetitious and aimless as to seem to beg for oblivion". He didn't like Star Wars either.
*I always liked the fact that Diane Keaton's given name was Diane Hall. (In case you were wondering, Woody Allen was Allen Stewart Konigsberg.)
*"You only gave me books with the word 'death' in the title". I relate to this, too.
*I went through an unfortunate period when I said, "La-dee-dah, la-dee-dah." A lot.
*Woody Allen finally got some Oscar love. He was nominated for acting in, directing & writing; he won for the latter 2.
***
Go see what Fred Hembeck did on April 10. Careful readers of this blog may already know, since he, his family, and I all were together.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Bill and Orchid's anniversary

I have friends, good ones, whose birthdays, anniversaries and other significant dates I simply cannot remember. But Bill and Orchid's wedding date I remember, for really dreadful reasons.

Bill Anderson is now a well-regarded inker for a number of comics, some of which are listed here and here and here.

But when I first met him, he was just a (not too annoying) kid who wanted to draw. Eventually, he did some inking for Fred Hembeck, the late Raoul Vezina and others on some FantaCo publications. (Here's one citation - the first item.) He also worked at FantaCo, doing mail order and occasionally working in the store when I worked there in the 1980s.

Don't remember exactly when Bill started going out with Orchid, but I know it was by the time of my friend Norm's 30th birthday some 18 years ago, because every picture I tried to take of them that night involved both of them hiding their faces, as though the camera were going to steal their souls.

After they were engaged, Bill asked me to be in the wedding. The day before the ceremony, Bill, the other groomsmen and I rode downstate for the rehearsal. Somebody, probably I, remembered that the next day was the second anniversary of Oklahoma City bombing and the fourth anniversary of the Waco disaster. What made this slightly creepy was the fact that some pilot and his plane had disappeared. Conspiracy theorists on the radio were speculating that perhaps the plane was in hiding to be launched as a weapon on the anniversary of these two events. I was not, and am not, much of a conspiracy theorist myself, but I admit the plane's disappearance did cause me pause. (Some time later, the plane and its deceased pilot were found crashed into a mountain.) So the guys were in an interesting frame of mind when we got to the church.

Meanwhile, Orchid and her entourage arrived separately. The guys were a few minutes late, but the women about 45 minutes tardy. The priest implored us to be on time the next day for the 3 pm wedding, because there would be a 5 pm church service.

So, the next day, the guys are at the sanctuary in plenty of time. The women were "running a few minutes late", each call explained. The priest, while saying nothing (other than "Where ARE they?", repeatedly), was clearly becoming apoplexic. Finally, around 4:05, the women arrived, and the service began. This was a Catholic service with mass, communion and the like. The priest buzzed through the ceremony in record time, just as the parishioners for the 5 pm service were beginning to file in. I'm pretty sure there were no pictures taken at the church, only at the reception.

So, today, Bill and Orchid celebrate ten years of married bliss, with three kids, still (understandably) occasionally late. We're still in regular contact. Happy anniversary!

ROG

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Simpsons



I first became aware of Matt Groening through a series of books reprinting the Life In Hell comic strip: Work Is Hell and School Is Hell - the latter cover features a one-eared rabbit writing on the chalkboard repeated, "I must remember to be cheerful and obedient." My favorite, though, was Love Is Hell, part of my off-and-on philosophy at the time.

I was watching The Tracy Ullman Show when this strange, dysfunctional cartoon family came on. The characters reminded me greatly of the Hell characters, and I was instantly drawn in. Then, a couple years later, they got their own show. I watched it fairly religiously for the first eight or nine seasons, not quite so faithfully in the last eight or nine years.

I had never been able to convince my wife that the Simpsons are good, clever. She seemed to find them coarse and crude, which, of course, they are. But there's more to them than that. Finally, I had borrowed a Simpsons DVD of an early season from the library, and my wife caught a Treehouse of Horror segment when Homer reads "The Raven". She LIKED it!

I went to a presentation by a librarian last year who was talking about copyright, and at one point, he ran a segment from the Simpsons that addressed why they couldn't sing Christmas carols that weren't in the public domain. The speaker said that 30-second piece addressed most of the major concerns of copyright law. (It's on this video, starting at about 50 seconds in.)

Just one example of their culture impact: The Rhetoric of Homer Simpson.

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the first appearance of the Simpsons. I may have to pull out my soundtrack, sing along with the musical version of Streetcar Named Desire or "Monorail" or "Baby's on Board." The longest-running animated program, one of the longest running primetime shows PERIOD, has definitely passed the audition, even if Barney still doesn't get it.
***
Thanks to rain for the last two or three days, Lake 54 almost crested. Actually, we're better off than our next door neighbors, whosee lawn is lower than ours and is still covered with nearly a foot of water. Our basement is damp; theirs is flooded.


ROG

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Don and Jackie


The thing I got out of the Sunday morning talk shows was that many in Big Media were enablers of Don Imus. On ABC's This Week, host George Stephanoplolous admitted to appearing on the show. On NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert and David Brooks of the New York Times noted their appearances on the show. One of them mentioned that high-profile media and politicians were happy to get that demographic of mostly young people who don't watch the traditional news or attend political rallies. Apparently, the conversation within NBC over the "correct response" to Imus' comments was rather intense; next week's TV Guide suggests that Al Roker's "it could have been my daughter" speech held the day. Brooks was self-admittedly being disingenuous when he claimed that he didn't know what was on the Imus show, except for his own segment. Given that both Time and Newsweek had cover stories on in the late 1990s, this perhaps seems not credible.

But as the conversations inevitably headed in the "Who can say what?" territory, I did find a bit of possible, albeit lame evidence. Some folks noted that politicians have embraced rappers who have used the same kind of language. It is true for me that I don't listen to a lot of rap, specifically because of the lyric content that denigrates women, lifts up thuggery and dismisses education; I hear it, and I turn it off. I'd be hard pressed to identify any rapper to a specific song since the early 1990s, save for a few that were so popular or so controversial that I couldn't help but to know. And yes, I know that other music can be misogynistic and that not all rap is.

This, it has occurred to me that with a three-year old, I'm going to have to start listening to more music and radio that I don't particularly enjoy, if only to be in touch with the messages she may be subjected to. That's what PBS' Gwen Ifill does for her seven-year-old goddaughter, she noted on Meet the Press. Eh. I haven't listened to Imus since he was a local DJ in the 1970s, though I certainly knew his rep.

I also got specifically annoyed with George Will on ABC, who though one of the Rutgers players as harmed for life as disingenuous. I don't think he understands the context: denigrated initially, then denigrated again for, in the minds of some, getting Imus fired, receiving hate mail and threats. A 20-year old feeling threatened is not the advancement of the "victim market."

Sunday, of course, was also the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first major league appearance. Some 200 players, managers and coaches were wearing Robinson's number 42, which had been retired a decade earlier. (Unfortunately, a goodly number of east coast games, which were free on cable just for the weekend, were postponed because of the rain, but I did enjoy seeing the commercials on FSN South and especially FSN Bay area - what is that store logo that looks like SpongeBob SquarePants?) I found the tributes, especially the pregame before the Dodgers-Padres matchup on ESPN, when Jackie's widow Rachel was given an award by the baseball commisioner, to be surprisingly moving.

My wife asked if anyone had made a link between Don Imus and Jackie Robinson. Actually, ABC News did, as it named Jackie Robinson its Person of the Week, noting that much had been accomplished, but with much more to be done. Oh, and I discovered that Rachel Robinson's birthday is July 19, 1922 - looking very spry - while Don Imus' is July 23, 1940.

Oh, BTW, GayProf, guess which one of the 16 baseball teams of the 1940s and 1950s was the last to integrate? (Answer is within the labels to this post.)
***
My prayers to the Virginia Tech community, and to us all.


ROG

Monday, April 16, 2007

My Mind Is Very Balanced, But a Little Cluttered

Brain Lateralization Test Results
Right Brain (52%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (50%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain
Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com


Your Mind is 58% Cluttered

Your mind is starting to get cluttered, and as a result, it's a little harder for you to keep focused.
Try to let go of your pettiest worries and concerns. The worrying is worse than the actual problems!

And speaking of a cluttered mind, Fred Hembeck told me last week that he remembers the first FantaCon, a comic book convention run by the store I eventually worked at in the '80's, coincided with the death of Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball's sidekick in three TV shows, in August 1979.

Maybe Fred's just excited about getting a call from SpongeBob SquarePants! REALLY! Read all about it here. I wish someone had captured the conversation in a podcast.

Speaking of podcasts, I listened to my very first one just last week, when Gordon answered a bunch of questions, one or two of which were asked by me. I'm sure I'll be doing one soon - maybe by 2011.

Here's something I didn't know until recently: Kurt Vonnegut worked at GE in Schenectady years ago. Here's a news story and an editorial in the local paper on that point. The former begins: "When Kurt Vonnegut's mercurial recurring character and alter ego, Kilgore Trout, took his own life in 2004 by drinking Drano, the character did it in Cohoes."

Hey, Tosy, the guest critic on Ebert and Roeper this week is John Mellencamp!


ROG

Sunday, April 15, 2007

My Dinner with Hembecks


I'm pretty sure it started with a March 2 e-mail from Fred Hembeck to me and to our mutual friend Rocco, who also lives in Albany: "Lynn (Moss, Fred's wife) just informed me that Sean Lennon is going to be performing at the Egg on Tuesday, April 10th--tickets are currently being offered to Egg members only (only fair that Egg men have the advantage when it comes to a Lennon, I suppose...), but the general public get their chance starting on March 12th. Seeing as how tickets are going for only $24--and that Sean's new album has gotten mostly positive reviews (I haven't gotten a copy yet, tho when I saw him on Conan about a month or so back, I was pretty impressed by his performance--and I WILL be getting a copy soon, given the new set of circumstances), we're thinking about driving up to see the concert. Hey, it's either this, or Zak Starkey and his band, and Who tickets are way more expensive! As you fellows--and your lady friends--actually live in Albany, I thought I'd check in with you and see if either of you have any potential interest in joining us?"

We mulled it over. Rocco evidently decided against, and my wife was likewise disinclined, as she hadn't heard any of his music. Well, I hadn't heard any of his music either, except for It's Alright, when he appeared on an album of cover versions of his mother's songs called Every Man Has a Woman.

But if Fred, Lynn, and their daughter Julie were going to drive a couple hours to Albany to see Sean, how could I say no? (Fred and I discussed this later: the fact that THEY initiated the activity made it easier to go without Carol. I wouldn't have considered inviting them up, for logistical reasons having to do with the child, but since they were coming up anyway...)

So, they ordered the tickets, and then Fred sent me copies of both of Sean's albums. I discovered that I liked them both quite a bit, though some of the lyrics were a bit of a downer, I thought.

So, now I'm psyched, Fred and Lynn are psyched, Julie's psyched.

Next order of business was to figure out the logistics. They would pick me up from work (faster than the irregular bus service from Corporate Woods), and we would go out to dinner. The initial request was for a place with a decent vegetarian menu, but was later modified to a vegan place, for Julie's gone vegan.

On the day of the show, Fred writes: We'll leave here at 3:15.
We'll call you on Julie's cell phone when we arrive!
We'll eat!!
We'll go to the concert!!!
WE'LL HAVE FUN!!!!!

I get picked up, and I hear the dulcet tones of Rod Stewart, Julie's current obsession. At least it was Rod back he was good. We eat at Mamoun's Falafel, which was satisfying to all. We drive to the Egg. (The Albanian forgets the fastest approach to the underground parking, and we go on a mild excursion.)

We get to the concert. Our seats are in the fourth row, not too from the center aisle. This is a very intimate setting to see a show. The great thing about the Egg is that there aren't many really bad seats. But we had an excellent location, about 30 feet from at least one performer in every set.

First up is Kamila Thompson, daughter of the legendary Richard and Linda Thompson. She's wearing this attractively funky outfit, a fairly short blue dress with some sort of red print, a black sweater, black Capri pants and light colored high heels (Pink? Peach? Hard to tell with the lighting). There were so many power chords all over the floor that I thought she might trip over something.

She had a quite lovely voice, though not all of her songs, mostly about love and loss, were all that compelling. They seemed a bit pedestrian. A few riffs on her pink guitar, which she did not, she assures us, get from Hello Kitty, were rather tasty. She wanted people to go to her MySpace page; one of her MySpace friends, BTW, is Sean Lennon, I later discovered.

After as short break, Women & Children came out. There was but one woman, Cheryl, who sounded as though she had a cold and/or allergies (I sympathize). Her voice, for some reason, reminded me a little of Marianne Faithfull, circa Broken English. She did one song with her at the keyboards, then a guy comes out to play bass on the next song; he eventually plays guitar. The first drummer ends up on bass, and a second drummer eventually appears. A reviewer described them as being like Velvet Underground, and I guess that's accurate. The real problem is that no one wanted to hear them. One opening act was OK; two strained the patience of this largely middle-aged audience; it IS a work night. No fewer than three people I knew and saw during the second, fairly lengthy intermission said that W&C "sucked"; so did the Metroland reviewer. I didn't think so, but the vocals were thin, and the 40-minute set seemed interminable.

Finally, there's Sean and his band, all in suits, except for the woman on the keyboards, his musical director. I think that familiarity with his music helped my appreciation of the tunes. But as Sean acknowledged onstage, he knew that most of the people in that room had no idea what his music sounded like; while he never used the B word, he knew there were people there just because he was a "son of a Beatle". I got the sense that he's made peace with that. He introduced one song, and one woman near the front clapped; he dedicated the song to her.

Most of the songs he played early on sounded not unlike the albums, but as the show progressed, I heard some pleasant variations on the theme. He played at least one new song. Sean was very good, the band was tight, and it was an enjoyable experience.

Well, except for the one loudmouth somewhere near the back. Three or four times he shouted out stuff, and except for the first one, "Listen to What The Man Said!" (a McCartney tune! har, har!), it was incomprehensible to Sean and to me. Eventually, security people invited him to leave . Also, there were flash pictures being taken during Kamila's set, after which a guy from the Egg asked that no more be shot, not just for legal reasons, but because at least one person in the audience was having a bad physical reaction to the strobelight effect of the flashes. I noticed none during W&C, but plenty during Sean's set.

I'm sure Fred, when he gives his Rashomon version of the event for his Quick Step column next week, will describe a post-concert purchase.

They dropped me off, then headed off on their two-hour ride home. I'm tempted to say, "A splendid time was had by all," but I'll pass. Thanks to Fred, Lynn and Julie for the invitation.
***
Jackie Robinson played with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the first time 60 years ago today.


ROG

Saturday, April 14, 2007

1st and 16th Amendments QUESTIONS


1. There's been a lot of discussion about the rules of engagement on blogs and whether removing inappropriate comments is censorship. Initially, I think, the rules of engagement should be common decency, and if someone puts something inappropriate on the comments on this blog - and I alone get to decide what that is - then I will. But then , I came across a ning called Stop Cyberbullying, and I recognize cyberbullying can be disruptive in the victims' lives. So I thought, maybe there SHOULD be some sort of rules of engagement. It may be like the speed limit, where many/most people drive over it, but maybe it'll keep some people from doing 70 in a 35 m.p.h. zone.
So, do we need rules of engagement in cyberspace? What would it look like? And who gets to enforce them?

2. Paying taxes this weekend. Again. I suppose we could take fewer deductions, but then the government would have my money longer. I'm not always thrilled with the use. I can support a national defense, but not so much lucrative contracts to the Betchtels of the work that take the money and do shoddy or no work. I'm glad my taxes pay for schools, libraries (well, yeah), feeding the poor, clothing the hungry. Not so keen on the government executing people in my name.
So, if one could pick and choose: what taxes would you gladly pay, and which ones make you pause?
(Picture from Narconews.com.)
**
And while I'm in the question mode, a couple speculative modes about TV:
1. If Fred D. Thompson actually runs for President, will the networks that carry his various Law & Order shows have to broadcast only those episodes in which he does not appear? Otherwise, won't his political opponents make a claim for equal time?

2. On last week's Boston Legal, a very pregnant Denise (Julie Bowen) accepted a wedding proposal from the father of the child, Brad (Mark Valley). But in the preview for the next episode, Shirley (Candice Bergen) seems to suggest that Julie should not marry Brad. Is she saying that this single professional woman go it alone with her baby, a la Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen)?

ROG

Friday, April 13, 2007

Underplayed Vinyl: Steppenwolf

One of my favorite albums from my high school days, the first Steppenwolf album, was the best of the group's output. The fact that I had not read Herman Hesse did not diminish my enjoyment.
1. Sookie Sookie - a song by soul singer/songwriter Don Covey, who wrote Aretha's hits See Saw and Chain of Fools. The second single from the album, it failed to chart. It's funky, in a rock sort of way.
2. Everybody's Next One - a pleasant rocker about sex.
3. Berry Rides Again - rock and roll, with great Berryesque guitar riffs, and a piano that borrows from Berry's pianist, johnny Johnson. Cops many of his terms, like "Johnny B. Goode" or "Roll Over Beethoven".
4. Hootchie Kootchie Man - bluesy cover of the Willie Dixon song, as good as any of the Led Zeppelin blues covers
5. Born to Be Wild - interesting that song got buried this deep into the album. The third single WAS the charm, as it ended up going up to #2 on the charts. Possibly the song least reflective of the rest of the album. "Heavy metal thunder", indeed. Became THE biker anthem when it was used in the movie Easy Rider.
6. Your Wall's Too High - slow rock tune that changes rhythms ends side one.
7. Desperation - organ-driven rhythm and blues styling that has a feel of the title
8. The Pusher - the other song by the group that shows up in Easy Rider. Sonically, it's more in keeping with the rest of the album than the hit, with those very creepy chords. A gripping take on the song by Hoyt Axton, who also wrote Greenback Dollar and Three Dog Night's Joy to the World.
9. A Girl I Knew. The first single, a commercial dud. Starts and ends with a lovely harpsichord, in contrast to the louder tunes on the album.
10. Take What You Need - straight ahead bluesy rock
11. The Ostrich - my favorite song on the album, the political/ecological rocker. This song is a precursor to the even more didactic (and longer) title cut on Steppenwolf's Monster album.
We'll call you when you're six years old
And drag you to the factory
To train your brain for eighteen years
With promise of security
But then you're free
And forty years you waste to chase the dollar sign
So you may die in Florida
At the pleasant age of sixty-nine

The water's getting hard to drink
We've mangled up the countryside
The air will choke you when you breathe
We're all committing suicide
But it's alright
It's progress folks keep pushin' till your body rots
Will strip the earth of all its green
And then divide her into parking lots

CHORUS:
But there's nothing you and I can do
You and I are only two
What's right and wrong is hard to say
Forget about it for today
We'll stick our heads into the sand
Just pretend that all is grand
Then hope that everything turns out ok

You're free to speak your mind my friend
As long as you agree with me
Don't criticize the fatherland
Or those who shape your destiny
'Cause if you do
You'll lose your job your mind and all the friends you knew
We'll send out all our boys in blue
They'll find a way to silence you

CHORUS


The first Steppenwolf is the bluesiest of the groups's albums and has made, if not my 10 island albums, a top 25 list. Not so incidentally, yesterday was lead singer John Kay's 63rd birthday. Kay and his mother fled from Soviet-occupied East Germany to West Germany when he was four, and ended up in Canada in 1958. Kay joined a blues band in Toronto called The Sparrows in 1965, which had been formed the year before with a different lead singer. The group moved to San Francisco in 1967, changed their sound somewhat, and got the recording contract that led to this album.

ROG