Posted by Ben @ 05/22/2003 08:48 AM PST

Re today's topic: I have blocked it from my memory forever.

The gardening fairy is making an appearance in my backyard, so now I'll have allergies the rest of the day. Oh, and I believe it was 108F here yesterday -- at least that's what I heard on the radio. Today's forecast is for 106F

Posted by Laura @ 05/22/2003 09:05 AM PST

Hey guys, I am dying to talk about American Idol. Did anybody here watch the results show last night?

I was so upset. You get so attached to these performers. And I wanted Clay to win. Apparently the vote was extremely close (out of 25 million votes they first said it was 13, 000 votes difference, then they changed that to 1300 votes, then today they said 130, 000 votes). Regardless that is way too close in terms of probability of error.

Jennifer

Posted by Jennifer @ 05/22/2003 09:13 AM PST

I'm glad the weather is so nice in LA, BK... it's cold and damp in NYC Maybe they should re-write the song:

Hate New York City - It's cold and it's damp...
That's why the lady is a tramp.

(By the way, for those who have never seen BABES IN ARMS, one of the bigest laughs comes when the character who had sung that song earlier does something nice and another character tells her "The tramp is a lady!").

Jennifer... isn't there any place on the internet where you can discuss that amateur hour and your other "reality" shows with other fans? I don't mean you should go there instead of here, but in addition to HHW.

I don't honestly remember my first kiss. I remember the first time I did something a lot more, but that's not anything I'd care to discuss.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/22/2003 09:28 AM PST

I am the sister of Spanish beauty Kay Saraah

Posted by Bessie Mae Mucho @ 05/22/2003 09:31 AM PST

My first kiss was in the first grade. His name was Chris and we both had a crush on each other. In the playground there was this big metal round pipe thingey that you could crawl through. Anyways, one day he went through one end and I went through the other end and we met in the middle and had our first kiss. It was very innocent - of course - but I still remember it to this day. It only happened once, and I don't think I kissed another boy for several years after that.

Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/22/2003 09:42 AM PST

JB/JK: Sounds kinda like me. First kiss at around age 5 (courtesy of a neighborhood boy who actually did the cliched thing of pulling me into the bushes in his backyard before he planted one on me), then first "real" kiss years later as a teenager.

First "real" kiss was very dramatic. He was several years older than I (a legal adult), and we had met and danced together for a couple of hours that night. Both of us were with friends and thus were both "on" and performing for our audience. As he handed me the back-of-an-envelope that he'd written his phone number on, I declaimed in full-blown hamola mode, "But will I evah see you again??" whereupon he dipped me backwards and kissed me full on the mouth. He then looked up, seemed to think over my question, said, "Hmmmmmm...not sure..." then kissed me...ummm... *fuller* on the mouth (which I actually found a bit yucky and didn't enjoy as much as the first kiss), then looked up again and said, "Yep. Definitely."

Afterwards, I lay awake in bed *all night long* feeling very worldly and womanly and such.

All in all, not a bad first kiss story, wouldn't you say? Too bad he turned out to be a jerk. ;)

Posted by Lulu @ 05/22/2003 10:04 AM PST

William: The only place I've really visited for American Idol is their website idolonfox.com. They have a message board but instead of having discussions it seems like everyone just posts their own indiviual unrelated comments. I will look to see if I can find any other decent message boards.

Posted by Jennifer @ 05/22/2003 10:18 AM PST

Jennifer - I think we could all give our opinions about AI here.

I followed some of the newspaper stories, but didn't watch the show. I got home from rehearsal last night in time to see the last two segments of the show.

I think - and maybe a lot of us feel this way - that the concept that "stardom" can be won in a contest is a bit absurd. The fact that both the guys seemed to be able to sing was a nice surprise. But I would not be interested in buying a CD that either of them made because there didn't seem to be anything "special" or "starry" about either of them. I guess I would just suggest you listen to a CD such as Brent Barrett's Alan Jay Lerner CD - to see the difference between "singing" and "sanging."

The fact that a large portion of the public can be duped into watching and caring and believing that American Idol is an event or important makes me think of the movie NETWORK.

I am sorry your favorite didn't win - but from what I read, you will be able to buy his CD soon in any case. And I will say this for Clay - that boy got big feet!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 10:37 AM PST

Jennifer -- Why don't you voice your comments here at HHW. Clay was robbed. With each song he showed so much emotion. Yes, Ruben can sing, but IMHO (internet lingo, in my humble opinion) each song sounded the same.

Posted by Angela @ 05/22/2003 10:44 AM PST

Jrand: Do you really think the people who enjoy watching AI are being "duped?" I guess I always assumed they were watching because they found it entertaining. :)

Not that I can speak from personal experience. What do you mean, there are channels other than TCM and Game Show Network??? Not in *my* house. ;)

Posted by Lulu @ 05/22/2003 10:46 AM PST

By the way, I know I'm a day late, but I'd like to throw in my lot with those who related their less-than-favorable response to Blood Brothers. I would definitely have to say that was my most disappointing theater experience. I'm not counting any amateur or school shows because expectations for those tend to be low enough to not result in true disappointment. However, when going to see a long-running show in London's West End, you do expect to at least not laugh at *unintentional* humor. "DON'T PUT THOSE SHOES ON THE TABLE!!!!"

Posted by Lulu @ 05/22/2003 10:50 AM PST

My first kiss? Let's see...I had a HUGE crush on my piano teacher when I was in high school (she was an older woman--I think she was a junior in college when I was a junior in high school). She was the first person to encourage me to see live theatre (and eventually to pursue it as a career), and was my theatre-going buddy in Louisville. I still think she is the most wonderful person ever. I sang at her wedding. :-\ Anyway, all my friends (who were also her friends) knew that I had a crush on her, and we were playing Truth or Dare one night and you can guess what happened. Jenny and I had a sweet, innocent little kiss and I think I must have turned 90 shades of red. Thank God the lights were turned off.

This may come as a surprise to you, seeing how I have such a studly image here on HHW.com (note the sarcasm), but I think I've only ever kissed maybe five people, and two of those kisses were stage kisses. Boy, I'm a swinger, ain't I?? I'm such a whore! Haha!!

Posted by Jason @ 05/22/2003 11:03 AM PST

Jason---
You just haven't met the right person yet. When you do you'll be glad you waited.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/22/2003 11:10 AM PST

I never said I regretted not kissing more people...or even doing more than that. I have no regrets in that department. But thanks for the sentiment. You're absolutely right.

Posted by Jason @ 05/22/2003 11:14 AM PST

Jennifer,

You just ignore the mean ol' WEL and post about American Idol all you want.

I haven't watched much of this season, but I have seen both Clay and Reuben sing on one or two occasions, and I agree that Clay is the better singer by far.

In fact, I would also argue that he is in many ways a better singer than the beloved (in these parts) Brent Barrett. I have the Alan Jay Lerner CD at home (it was a gift), and I have only listened to it twice. It must be an acquired taste.

Posted by Dave @ 05/22/2003 11:16 AM PST

Hmm...first real
kiss...techincally the first kiss
was during a game of spin the
bottle, but I really don't count
that one. FIrst real kiss was
with my first real boyfriend...not
counting the one-month high
school one. it is the reason
that to this day I have never
seen Empire Strikes Back all
the way through. He invited
me over to watch it, we were
cuddling on the couch, one
thing led to another...you get
the idea. It was a wonderful
kiss, or rather series of
kisses, if memory serves.

Posted by Ann @ 05/22/2003 11:20 AM PST

I was not trying to be mean in my post about "American Idol". I simply suggested to Jennifer that if she wanted to discuss the show so much that there must be sites devoted it it. And by the way, I thought the show had Judges... the LA Lakers cheerleader and 2 others. If people call in to vote (another feature of the Major Bowes/Ted Mack amateur hour), what do the judges do?

Regarding the very interesting Danny Burstein interview I have one comment: FUNNY GIRL with Juliet Prowse? That sounds like something for one of HHW's Bad Casting suggestions days. Not to say that Ms. Prowse was not talented, but she is about as unlike Fanny Brice as possible.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/22/2003 11:29 AM PST

First kiss I can remember. It was my first day in kindergarten. I was on the playground watching this cute first grade boy chasing all the first grade girls trying to kiss them. The girls were running around screaming like idiots and I couldn't comprehend why they were running away. Soon he spied me watching his game and ran up to me. I stayed put, got my first kiss and he became my boyfriend.

Posted by Jane @ 05/22/2003 11:42 AM PST

Well ... there you are.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 11:45 AM PST

Dave,

Tell us about your FIRST
KISS????

... unless it was a BITE!!!!

Posted by François @ 05/22/2003 12:31 PM PST

That's the last gift you get from me.

Posted by Dave's friend @ 05/22/2003 12:38 PM PST

Just about to do some major DVD viewing... I got "Catch Me If You Can," "Panic Room," "Velvet Goldmine," and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I'm excited.

Posted by Jason @ 05/22/2003 12:43 PM PST

OMG Jason - I got CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and VELVET GOLDMINE this week as well. VG reminded me more and more of CITIZEN KANE in its form this time around.

And the CATCH ME IF YOU CAN score made the film for me. I enjoyed it very much!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 12:52 PM PST

So Bruce, are you going to tell us about your first kiss?

Posted by Jane @ 05/22/2003 12:55 PM PST

Dave: I didn't find William's comment mean. I just assumed that he was trying to be helpful (since it seems that not too many people here watched AI).

William: Yes there are judges (Simon, Randy and Paula Abdul). They don't determine who gets voted out each week (the American public does that by calling in). What they do instead is give their comments after each singer performs. And while they don't necessarily have their opinions followed, what they say definitely has a BIG impact on how the public votes (especially what Simon says).

Angela: I'm not sure I'd say that Clay got robbed. But I find their current phone-in system a bit unfair. I've heard of so many people who tried to vote but found busy lines. Yet some people manage to continually redial and get through. It might be nice if they had more lines available (so everybody who wanted to get through could call) or else just let it be one call per household.

Jennifer

Posted by Jennifer @ 05/22/2003 12:58 PM PST

Irving

Posted by MDS @ 05/22/2003 12:59 PM PST

Irving

Posted by MDS @ 05/22/2003 12:59 PM PST

Jennifer,

I knew WEL wasn't trying to be mean. I was only teasing.

And I'll bet you'd be surprised how many people around here watch AI (the show, not the movie).

As for my first kiss, if I remember correctly it was at summer camp. A very sweet, innocent kiss.

Funny thing, I don't remember my second kiss at all....?

Posted by Dave @ 05/22/2003 01:05 PM PST

Jennifer - my guess would be if they limited it to one call per household, the total would have been a fraction of the 24 million they claim.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 01:06 PM PST

I watched every minute of AI, Jennifer, and I was disappointed in the extreme that Clay did not win when he was clearly the superior technical singer as well as a singer who could infuse much emotion into the lyrics of his songs. He tried a wide range of tempos, tried his darndest to please the judges, and scored quite clearly the biggest studio reactions to his numbers with spontaneous standing ovations on several of his songs including "Unchained Melody" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in the show's closing weeks. He even made a terrible song like "Grease" fun.

First kiss? Well, let's say the first one that involved romance and passion happened when I was tutoring a friend in Spanish. Out of blue he laid one on me, and the rest is history.

Posted by Matt H. @ 05/22/2003 01:41 PM PST

I am sorry - didn't mean to make HHW into VistaVision!

Posted by JRand52 @ 05/22/2003 02:22 PM PST

Well, as someone around here likes to say, that's what makes horse racing. I've only heard Clay Aiken sing a couple of times, but the last time I heard him, he sang "Unchained Melody" and I have never heard Brent Barrett sing nearly as clearly or as fluidly.

I'm glad you enjoy Brent Barrett's singing. Some people enjoy Macy Gray, too.

Those who want to dismiss the "star-making" element of shows such as American Idol should bear in mind that after one season on the show, Clay Aiken is without question a more well-known singer than Brent Barrett or most other Broadway performers who have made their living in the theatre for years.

Even young AI hopefuls who didn't make the final cut are working on Broadway now, and many more are cutting CDs, or are on network television shows.

Call it 'amateur hour' all you want, but the young singers on the show are laughing all the way to the bank.

Posted by Dave @ 05/22/2003 02:29 PM PST

Some fastfood places make
LOADS of money the world
over; does that mean that they
provide outstanding
food?????

Do moneymaking products
equal quality????

THAT is the question!!!

Posted by François @ 05/22/2003 02:38 PM PST

I'm done.

And I'm glad you enjoy Clay Aiken.

Goodbye.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 02:40 PM PST

It's very clear
Aiken is made of Clay
Brent Barrett is here to stay.....

Posted by François @ 05/22/2003 02:42 PM PST

I think HHW is experimenting with Cinerama today.
Wish I could Kiss this widescreen (a Rupert Holmes REF)goodbye.
First kiss: Don't remember but like WEL I remember a lot of other firsts that I am not prepared to share here.
MusicGuy: None of the above para is in anyway anything to do with Fred Bear.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/22/2003 02:52 PM PST

François: Thanks for the underwater views of OZ.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/22/2003 02:53 PM PST

This is an obligatory test post after the vistavision was corrected

Posted by Craig @ 05/22/2003 03:16 PM PST

First Kiss
There were two baseball diamonds in the grammar school playground. When the recess bell rang, everybody would race out to touch home base. The one to touch it first got that diamond to play on with their team and were first up. More than once, I would beat this boy named Kenny to home plate. He got so angry that he began punching me in the arm (I had a bruise on my left arm for weeks). Then one day, near the swings, he kissed me on the cheek. And I, lady that I am, hauled off and slapped him across the face! How, do you ask, did I learn this particular response? I SAW IT IN A MOVIE! This one experience supports my long held theory that the way most children learn is by imitation.

American Idol
WARNING! THIS MAY OFFEND SOME OF YOU!
I cannot bear to watch the program for several reasons:
1) The minute a singer goes up an octave or gets louder, the audience begins to scream, clap and drown out the singer. I ask you...What in tarnation did the singer do to engender such a reaction?
2) Most of their material is second rate and has nothing to do with good songwriting.
3) They can't seem to sing a song straight through the way it was written. When they sing, they SIMULATE the melody by quickly adding other notes (mostly grace) and words that aren't there. I think they do it to hide the fact that they either don't know the song well enough or, more often, can't hold a note. Granted Frank Sinatra "played" with a song's notes and melodies, BUT he FIRST sang the song the way it was written, he had superior material to work with, AND he had good musical instincts.
4) Oh, I could go on...

Just sign me "Old-Fashioned."

Posted by Donna @ 05/22/2003 03:18 PM PST

Guess it didn't work Craig!

I watched "Pippin" last night. Good to have despite is faults.
Any comments DRs on "The Magic Show" - I know it is not supposed to be good but is it better to have something rather than nothing?
Back for replies in about 8 hours!

Posted by Tom Guest @ 05/22/2003 03:59 PM PST

I can't remember my first real kiss. That's how memorable it was. I've had quite a few since then that were memorable, but I really don't know where or with whom it all started. My first stage kiss (and first ever kiss with a girl!) was when I played Lord Brockhurst in "The Boy Friend." I was all of 22 years old and the girl playing Maisie (sp?) was almost 40! (With costumes, makeup and lighting, it all worked and audiences loved the whole show.) It was a very cartoony just-pucker-and-touch-lips kind of kiss, but it was very embarrassing the first few times that I had to do it.

About American Idol: I have only watched maybe five minutes of one episode. I have a real problem with the whole concept of the show because I don't believe for a single, solitary minute that one can have idolatry voted upon one's self . . . one must earn it (sort of a John Houseman reference). The reason (I believe) that Brent Barrett is better than any of the American Idol contestants is that he has proven himself over the years. He has earned his stripes, paid his dues, gotten the reviews that the Idol-ers can only dream of. They are unproven talent. I'm sure that they have some, but no one knows what will happen over time. So much importance is being placed on them because of this contest and they're only at the beginning of a potential career. Brent has endured and survived and proved himself capable and worthy. All that they have done is sing a few songs, smiled when Simon criticized them and survived the popular vote. That's my rant. I hope I didn't offend anyone. I will now get off of my soapbox.

Posted by George @ 05/22/2003 04:01 PM PST

I won a Bruce Kimmel movie on Ebay and the sent me a movie with Cher instead that had a similar title. See if you figure out what movie I was suppose to get and the name of the Cher movie they sent. If you are not sure what movies Bruce has done click on my name and check out www.brucekimmel.com

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 05/22/2003 04:09 PM PST

Dear Readers....

W H Y I S T H E S C R E E N S O WW II DD EE T O D A Y ??????????????????

I can't make it shrink,
no matter what I think,
and it never does get better,
like my rhymes that always stink!

Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/22/2003 04:35 PM PST

You think but it don't shrink
Pressing "enter" doesn't let her
Change the edges?
Go cut the hedges!

Posted by Phil @ 05/22/2003 04:43 PM PST

I've e-mailed Mr. Mark Bakalor and asked him to fix this because it's VERYYYYYYYYYYYY annoying.

Meantime - it's okay to love Clay and not like Brent, and it's okay to love Brent and not like Clay. I watched ten minutes of American Idol and couldn't stomach it, and yet my pal Nick Redman loves it. We don't argue about it, it's the way it is.

Now, I'm going to try and fix this little prob myself. Let's see how savvy I really am.

Posted by bk @ 05/22/2003 04:48 PM PST

BK you did it!

as for American Idol.. all I can say is.. I don't understand why every singer feels the need to sing every single note and characterize it... just sing the freakin note.. don't riff every note!

Posted by Craig @ 05/22/2003 04:50 PM PST

Fixed. Please, everyone, don't submit long strings of text without spaces and carriage returns. This means no long url strings, haha's, etc.

Mr. Mark Bakalor

Posted by Mr. Mark Bakalor @ 05/22/2003 04:50 PM PST

Er, no. I did it. :)

Mr. Mark Bakalor

Posted by Mr. Mark Bakalor @ 05/22/2003 04:51 PM PST

Hey thank you for fixing the widescreen version of this site. Yes it was annoying.

Thanks to everyone for discussing my obcession (American Idol). I was actually upset when Clay lost and I did need to vent.

Here's a question: If Ruben won how come nobody on here seems impressed with him?

Posted by Jennifer @ 05/22/2003 04:54 PM PST

I only like Ruben as a
sandwich.... ;- )

Posted by François @ 05/22/2003 05:29 PM PST

I like Rachel sandwiches, too.

My first *real* kiss, the one engendered by passion, romance, love and the whole nine yards took place in an after hours club, before a Mr. Pittsburgh contest in which I was performing (NOT competing). The studly, compact, five-foot-five bartender (whom I harbored a secret longing for) discovered that the man usually seen with me was NOT in any way, shape or form romantically involved with me, then came out from behind his bar, lip-locked me for an eternity, then whispered, "Tonight, you're mine."
My retort led to a lengthy relationship: "What about tomorrow?"
And the "tomorrows" which followed formed the basis of my first produced feature length script, THE END OF THE WORLD ON NEW YEARS' EVE.

Posted by td @ 05/22/2003 05:45 PM PST

First kiss of any sort was
another of those playground
ones, in first grade I think. She
and I are good friends to this
day. As for the first REAL kiss,
that didn't come until my
freshman year in college. I
had become good friends with
a girl in my theory class, and
we could both tell that our
interest in each other was
growing. So, hanging out one
afternoon after class resulted
in a lovely bit of kissing, and a
brief but good relationship.
Again, still friendly to this day.

Posted by Jed @ 05/22/2003 06:02 PM PST

My first kiss: Was circa 1953 or 1954. My playmate/neighbor Rita Hammond is in many photos from my childhood. She always seems to be kissing me on the cheek and I always seem to be absolutely HATING it.

Anyway, I remember my grandfather once told me that if I wanted her to stop trying to kiss me, I'd have to do something drastic. I'd have to kiss her full on the lips as long as I could stand it.

So...one day, when I was about 6 or so, Rita Hammond came running after me like she wanted to kiss me. I held my ground, she scrunched up her lips and moved in, and I gave her a liplock and held her there as long as I could.

She squirmed and wriggled, flailed her arms and kicked me before the kiss was done.

And she never tried to kiss me again.

(But it was one hell of a kiss).

Re: "American Idol":

I wanted Clay to win, also. But it doesn't matter. I know Clay has the voice to take him all the way -- wherever he wants to go with it, the path is wide and available to him. Ruben is soulful and sang a lot of standards "exactly" the way their originators sang them. There is not an a la Ruben style, except the "stylings" he put on that horribly long song he sang with the choir last night (and the night before). What is it that makes some singers bastardize long notes? Why can't they just hold "the" note as written? The songs are so much more amazing that way. When Ruben goes all over the scale with those long notes, he also goes way off pitch.

Clay took far more vocal risks in that one song night before last -- "Here, There and Everywhere" -- than Ruben took in the entire competition. I thought Clay's rendition of that song brilliant.

Simon Cowell is, like all entertainment executives, bereft of any real intuition/taste for creative talent. Some of the things he said to and about Clay were amazingly tacky and wrong, wrong, wrong. Clay never sassed him, either.

Kelly Clarkson did not impress me. Why is the pinnacle of being an "idol" or "superstar" exemplified by vocal wailing in every song??? Poor Kelly also needs to do something about those "saddle bags" if she's going to continue wearing skintight pants. Justin Guarini seems like an incredibly bad joke to me.

DVDs on deck: "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" and "Sondheim in Concert".

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/22/2003 06:03 PM PST

Oh, I forgot to mention - Kritzerland is on its way and should be here no later than next Wednesday - so, they'll definitely go out before I leave for NY. Isn't that exciting? Isn't that just too too?

Posted by bk @ 05/22/2003 06:47 PM PST

What we have here is a lull. All right, I vote for Clay.

Posted by bk @ 05/22/2003 06:59 PM PST

As I've said I've never seen AI but I have seen photos in newspapers and magazines and I have a question: is it just the quality of the printing or was Clay a redhead at one point? It was certainly more interesting than the dorky brown in other pictures. The only AI person I've heard was a loser from the first season who appeared on "Boston Public". Her singing was exactally the type discussed above (ie: did not stick to the melody).

Speaking of that, at the end of last season's ER when they killed off Anthony Edwards, was anyone else as offended as we were by that awful version of "Over the Rainbow" they played where at least 1/3 of the melody and many of the lyrics were changed? Can't the estates of Arlen and Harburg stop this. And it's not just because it wasn't Judy... other people have done the song and stuck to the melody and lyrics. This was a disgrace.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/22/2003 07:42 PM PST

Thank you for fixing my VistaVision.

IT WAS MY FAULT....all my 24 million haha's in the post that I asked be deleted did not wrap around...instead they just went on and on and on.

Now we are back in academy ratio! And I won't haha again.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/22/2003 08:36 PM PST

Jrand52,

You're forgiven, if you ever had
to be forgiven....

I'll even VOTE for you, since
you're my Superstar and Idol
combined in one.....

-- Why do French people
always have to overdo things,
hey?? --

Posted by François @ 05/22/2003 09:30 PM PST

The problem with "American Idol," for us music lovers, is that it involves COMPETITIVE SINGING. No one is out to give the BEST performance, just the WINNING one. There's no room for subtlety, or nuance, and CERTAINLY not for the songwriters' original intentions. The performer's goal is to elicit the most spontaneous applause from the teenaged girls in the audience. --And who do you think does most of the voting?

Contestants who have tried singing a heartfelt low-key number have been criticized for "poor song choice." And guess what, for the purposes of the show, that's exactly right! Generally speaking, you simply can't win by singing a good song well, and as written. How would the teeny-boppers know when to drown you out?

In pop music in general, it's gotten to the point where if you don't "mess with the melody" at all, or wind up screaming at the top of your lungs at some point, no one can recognize your hit potential.

Simon Cowell is not looking for creative talent, and doesn't claim to be. He may not even know how. What he's looking for is "marketability." The aim for the show is to create a marketable property, using the biggest target-audience focus group in history.

I would also have picked Clay to win, but my favorite was a girl who got eliminated in February for choosing the wrong song, and singing it charmingly note-for-note. Anyone remember Jennifer Fuentes?

"Charmingly" doesn't cut it, Jen!

Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 05/22/2003 09:57 PM PST

Sorry for being errant and truant today, but since it was/is Thursday, I had two shows at Ford's - a Noon matinee and the usual 7:30 evening show. And since parking is either non-existent or very expensive during the day around Ford's, I took the subway in, which meant I had to leave the house by 10:15 in order to get to the theatre by half-hour, so....

In other words, I haven't been on all day. But what a nice day it was.

We had a good audience for the matinee, even though we had to hold for ten minutes since the group that was booked for the balcony - the WHOLE balcony - was running late - or rather their bus was running late. And the evening show was great too. I was very pleased and surprised to see two young people in the first row - boy and girl, brother and sister - sitting back and enjoying the show. Now I'm sure they didn't get all the "heady" stuff, but they really seem enraptured the whole time - even during the long Scene 3 which is all book - 35 minutes worth.

And what did I do during that long book scene, you may ask? Well - and I risk a possible bitch-slap from our very own esteemed BK - I finally finished reading Benjamin Kritzer. -Yes, I know I ordered it months ago... But it's done - and I'll most likely give it another read soon. And it's the first book in ages that I've read. -You should see the stack of books waiting to be read by my bedside...

What a wonderful book, and great read. Of course, the conductor looked over at me when he noticed I was wiping some tears from my eyes, but I assured him everything was all right. And I was. Talk about feeling like a kid again. To feel innocent, but not knowing what the word "innocent" meant. Thank you, BK. *And I'll be sure to put my order in for Kritzerland once my first check goes through.

OH!! During my break between shows, I headed down the street to the National Gallery of Art, and walked around for a few hours. It was amazing - I've been there many times before, but this time I seemed to come across galleries and paintings I somehow missed on my previous visits. I also checked out the new Frederic Remington exhibit of his night-time paintings of the Old West, his "nocturnes".

When I entered the room, I really wasn't expecting much since I've never really been into the whole Western stuff - sorry, John Wayne - but there were some truly beautiful and stunning works of art displayed. It's the first time Remington's nocturnes have been featured in one exhibit. And you can trace the development of his "night painting technique" throughoutt the paintings on display.

-There was one that truly took my breath away called "The End of the Day" - yeah, I guess an almost Les Miz ref). It was a picture of a man taking care of his horses after a ride, but it was snowing and the scene was lit by bright moonlight. The play of the shadows was awesome.

If you're interested in checking out this exhibition - and more - you can go to the National Gallery's web-site:

http://www.nga.gov

-Please note, the Mr. Simbulan was in no way compensated monetarily or otherwise for this endorsement.

One final word... On the way out, I read the introductory materials, and at the end of it were the words that Remington used to explain his artistic approach... and I leave you with that quote (which started haunting me as soon as I read it - and I read it over and over again to make sure I had it memorized since I didn't have a pen on me):

"Cut down and out - do your hardest work oustide the picture, and let your audience take away something to think about - to imagine."

-Profound stuff, huh?

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/22/2003 10:42 PM PST

And now from the sublime to the...

My first kiss: Hmm... My first one was most likely in the sixth grade at a party. Spin the bottle. And it was either Adrienne Drucker, and/or Kim Miller - both of whom I had enormous crushes on.

My first real kiss actually didn't happen until I was 30. -And, yes, it was worth the wait!

As for AI - Well, Mr. Holmes hit it right on the head. The show has never really been about good singing, but rather competitive singing. And, unfortunately, due to people like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, the average member of the public - and let's not get into a discussion as to who exactly is an "average member of the public" - equates "good singing" with "difficult sounding" singing. -And I guess that can even be traced to it's classical roots: coloratura. But, in any case...

I only watched maybe one or two rounds of season one, and the last four of this season. This season definitely had better singers in the finals, but I also think Clay should have won. Ruben always seemed to play it safe, and never really "let go". Clay, on the other hand did take some chances. *I did get worried during the final-three round when the songs choices seemed to work against him. -However, when he sang "Starry, Starry Night" - one of my favorite songs - besides commenting that he went up on the lyrics, Simon (I think) did make a passing mention that he should have sang the song more simply.

-Oh, and there was a nice commentary article about all the riffing going on on AI in the NY Times recently. It still may be available in the free archives.

And as another DR reader mentioned, since the public votes, you're at the mercy of the phone company. -And did they solve the problem they had last year of people setting up auto-dial programs to vote for their favorite?

Hmmmm....

Well, that's enough of that...

I get to sleep in!!!

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/22/2003 10:56 PM PST

Such a wonderful evening we had tonight. Sandra and I met DRs Kerry and MusicGuy for dinner, and then we saw a community theater production of Forever Plaid, followed by ice cream at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.

Posted by Laura @ 05/22/2003 11:03 PM PST

Just finished re-reading Benjamin Kritzer in anticipation of Kritzerland. Now I can go to sleep.

Posted by Jane @ 05/22/2003 11:38 PM PST

A late thank-you, BK, for reminding me about Music Center restaurants. A poster at eGullet.com was asking about food in Los Angeles, and I was able to tell her to "Avoid anything called food at the Music Center. It is mislabelled."

Posted by S. Woody White @ 05/23/2003 03:13 AM PST

Jose - Once I was in Washington DC for just a couple of days - I went to the National Gallery and said to the woman at the reception desk: "I only have thirty minutes, what should I see?" She looked at me like I was crazy and then said: "Third floor turn right, da Vinci."

Well sure enough there it was, a Leonardo da Vinci. This tiny little thing about 8 x 10 - and the only one I have ever seen in my life. Then I walked down the hall and saw all the impressionists and downstairs to see cubists. In the National Gallery there are no "walks" to anything - there is art all along the way. The NGA and the Guggenheim are my two favorite museums.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/23/2003 03:30 AM PST

The article Jose mentioned is on the Web site of the NY Times. It was in the Sunday (May 18th) Times in Television. I don't want to post the link because we will go back to Wide Screen I think. It was a very good piece.

Go here to the Times site

http://www.nytimes.com/

scroll down to Arts, click on that and then go to Television and scroll down to the article which is titled

"The State of American Singing
as Heard on 'I-I-I-I-I-I-Idol"

I will be errant and truant this weekend because I'm going back to Long Island for the Memorial Day weekend. I probably won't be in Chat whether it happens on Sunday or Monday.

Posted by Ben @ 05/23/2003 04:42 AM PST

I think the point of my note yesterday may have been misconstrued. I was not trying to equate popularity with quality. Believe me, I know the difference. I was making two separate arguments - one comparing the vocal quality of two singers, and another about the intent of the show, which is to create a popular star.

As has been pointed out, the objective of American Idol is to introduce new young talent to the youth market, and create a buzz around them that will fuel the launch of their first CD. In the process, it is about creating a television show that will entertain a youth audience. I think the contestants are to be forgiven if they sing in manner that appeals to their target market, which obviously excludes many of the dear readers of this board.

As to respecting the intentions of the songwriters, it should be noted that several episodes of the show have included guest songwriters, who both coach the singers on their performances, and comment on them during the show. Even Burt Bacharach was on hand for one show, and every singer was required to sing a song from his catalogue (with mixed results).

And speaking of misconstrued, are we to infer from BKs earlier message ("I vote for Clay") that he prefers Clay Aiken over Brent Barrett?

Posted by Dave @ 05/23/2003 07:43 AM PST

Just returned from a trip to the southern part of the state (Medford, Oregon...close to Jane's country!)to visit family...am on vacation the rest of the week! Yippee! It is warm here in Salem, Oregon too, believe it or not..will be in the 80s today...got up early and "weed and feeded" the front yard then fed the squirrel family that lives in the tree in the back yard...now I am beat...or just lazy!

My first kiss...don't know if I can remember..I think it was Lori Conway in the 8th grade. I didn't want to kiss her, but I had to pretend she was my girlfriend.

I have watched only a snippet of American Idol...just never got into it, although some of my friends are rabid fans of the show. I am more into Survivor and Big Brother as far as reality shows, but does anyone recall a show back in the 70s where contestants had to re-enact scenes from classic movies? Don't remember the name, but I watched it all the time when I was a kid.

Posted by MBarnum @ 05/23/2003 08:28 AM PST

MBarnum be happy you are back in Salem. It's going up to 90 today.

Posted by Jane @ 05/23/2003 08:34 AM PST

What's American Idol? Who's Clay? What is Survivor? Gee, you miss out on a lot of stuff when your tv has a burned out picture tube.

Posted by Laura @ 05/23/2003 09:34 AM PST