Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 1 => Topic started by: bk on March 26, 2004, 12:01:09 AM
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Well, you've read the notes, I hope you've understood them better than I have, and now it's time to post with gay abandon and elan and sparkleneelysparkle. To it, you gay madcap sprites.
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DR Jay at the end of yesterday's posts said...
Oh dear! I hope she's all right. I had food poisoning once and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Been there, done that, agree 100%
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I, too, have had food poisoning, but not until AFTER I'd read the current notes, JED.
Seriously, I had food poisoning twice - the first time the day after my ex-wife moved out of the house (karma, I'm afraid to say). I had a Carl's Star Burger and was sick for three days - totally incapacitated. The second time was eating takeout from Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Hollywood. That only lasted a day-and-a-half.
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I, too, have had food poisoning, but not until AFTER I'd read the current notes, JED.
You caught me, Bruce! Something I almost NEVER do, posting before reading the notes. But I hied my buttcheeks to the current notes IMMEDIATELY after posting, so maybe that counts for something. But it may not... :)
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I must say that today's notes rate pretty high on the hit parade of weird. :P Not that there's anything wrong with that...
I usually don't pay too much attention to what's going on with me health-wise... (I once had a doctor say to me - after questioning me about my health history and getting a variety of shrugs because I really don't care to keep track of every little thing - "I can't treat someone with a death wish." Needless to say I never went back to him.) ANYWAY, what I AM paying attention to tonight is that my heart is hurting. I'm not being poetic here. My heart - or where I think my heart is - is hurting. A lot. I don't know what that means - but if I conk out before the morning, somebody come over and take my doggie. :-\
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Weird? This from the Weird Sister? I take that as high praise from the Queen of Weird.
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I have to be honest. There are a few "worst enemies" upon whom I would wish food poisoning.
On the other hand, please take care of yourself, Panni! The odds are you're just getting some gas, but you have been going though stress lately. If the chest pains are in the middle of your chest, be cautious. Try to meditate, relax, absorb the good vibes I'm sending you, and feel better.
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/move]
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Media report:
There's a whole box of discs (CDs) that der Brucer ordered that arrived, minus some important ones for which he's still being billed. I'm still waiting for him to say "Let's start playing these babies!"
Meanwhile, I gave a listen to the new cast recording of Wonderful Town, and all and all I have to agree with der B's review when he said the real star of the show is the band. Sorry, Donna, it's true.
I'm cheating when it comes to DVDs, because I'm going through them the way I like to go through books, a few chapters at a time, and then switch over to something else, or just put it aside and continue the next night. This is the stunt I'm pulling with 28 Days Later and Passion. The guy who played the Major in the first is going to be the new Doctor on Doctor Who, currently filming. As for Donna M., would it be fair to her to watch her playing Fosca while listening to her Ruth Sherwood at the same time? Or how about the garden scene while playing "Getting to Know You" from the BK produced King et Moi?
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As for you, BK, sir, you are evil, yes, quite evil! You sent both der Brucer and myself e-mails about your upcoming Bookfellows reading and signing, knowing full well that this is the first time you'll be having a reading and signing there that we won't be able to attend. Talk about rubbing it in! Fie, I say, fie!
(Actually, I hope everyone in the Los Angeles area, and several others, are there this time, because you're always fun to hear and see. And you always have cheese slices! And cake!)
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Good morning, all! I'm so bummed! My VCR died last night, so it's time to buy a new one. It's been refusing to eject videotapes lately without lots of wheedling and verbal threats, and I fear the last cassette is stuck for good. Luckily, VCRs don't cost much these days. A friend had lent me her video of BEST IN SHOW, so I'll have to buy her a new one.
Media alert:
VCR: see above; it was BEST IN SHOW
DVD: MONSIEUR VERDOUX
CD: Judy Collins
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DVD: Sleuth. I have watched the interview with Anthony Shaffer and he states that Stephen Sondheim was the inspiration for the play but none of the characters are based on him. I had read and it is not mentioned in the interview that one of the titles considered for the play was "Who Is Afraid of Stephen Sondheim" or something like that. I remember it being a play on an established title. I have already seen the film, but it will be interesting to watch knowing the outcome.
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I'm not being poetic here. My heart - or where I think my heart is - is hurting. A lot. I don't know what that means - but if I conk out before the morning, somebody come over and take my doggie.
DR Panni,
That last sentence in your post is quite Jewish-motherly. But if I can add some J-M advice myself, please don't shrug this off - and follow things up with a doctor's visit.
Also - for all DR's, especially those who live alone:
In Toronto there's something called life-line: a gizmo you wear around your neck, with a button to press in an emergency. (It connects with the nearest hospital; they in turn contact someone on a list you provide.) I was told that this service (and I'm sure there are comparable ones) is not just for the elderly - but for anyone who lives. (It proved very helpful to a neighbor who locked herself in her bathroom.)
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DR td,
Thanks for sharing the very good news about your parents, and thanks for giving credit to HHWVIBES. Continued good health vibes to td père and mère. And please give yourself a major - and well-deserved - acknowledgment.
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Panni, I hope it's just heartburn, but if it's not CALL YOUR DOCTOR! East coasters will have a hard time visiting you in the hospital. We do send our best vibes for heart unhurting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm listening to AccuRadio (internet station) right now. Nothing in the CD player. The home CD player (a cheap job from the early 90s anyway) is slowly breathing its last. Anthony has clown shows on LI this weekend so he's bringing in another one on his return trip which will do until we get a new one. We have a tape of Queer Eye and Two's Company to watch when he returns on Monday.
Tonight I'm seeing Pardon My English, the Encores production of the Gershwin musical. Tomorrow, I'm seeing Miss Barbara Cook in her new one woman show. Sunday I have nothing to do but rest. Monday I'm going to a focus group for a small theatre company here in New York, The Drama Department. They have lots of good, well-known members like Cynthia Nixon, B.D. Wong, Charles Busch, Debbie Shapiro Gravitte and others. I remember seeing one of their first productions, As Bees in Honey Drown and loving it. I think they are having growing pains. They are trying to figure out what to do and where to go now. They haven't done anything for quite a while other than the reading of Bell Book and Candle two weeks (somewhat frustrating for their subscribers). They are looking for input on what they should be doing, I guess, so I will gladly oblige with my opinion. And then on Tuesday I'm seeing Sixteen Wounded, a new play about a Jewish baker who takes a teenage Palestinian as an assistant and finally on Wednesday, I'm seeing 20th Century at the Selwyn (AKA American Airlines) Theatre. It opened to mixed reviews yesterday though friends who have seen it said the performances (Alec Baldwin, Anne Heche, Dan Butler, Julie Halston and others) are good. We shall see.
Well, I should post this so I can get back to work.
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First off...Panni, get thee to an Urgent Care facility. It may be nothin', but it's not worth taking a chance.
Second off...as to the weekly media check:
I've gotten a few of FSM's limited-edition soundtrack CDs earlier this week: Alfred Newman's The Prisoner of Zenda, Victor Young's Scaramouche, Jerry Goldsmith's The Wild Rovers, and Leonard Rosenman's The Cobweb and Edge of the City. They're all quite wonderful, but I like the Newman and Rosenman discs the most.
In the deeveedee player has been The Brain from Planet Arous and Star Trek: Voyager--Season One, which I'm finishing off tonight.
In the laserdisc player has been The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Mr. Hurd Hatfield, Mr. George Sanders and the lovely Miss Angela Lansbury. I picked up a sealed copy of this on eBay for under ten bucks, including shipping. A bargain, I tell you...a bargain!
Finally, I must apologize in advance for some upcoming e&t: the Significant Other and I are heading off to a friend's cabin come Saturday evening, and we'll spend a three-day weekend there with each other, a stack of books, and a few CDs. No TV, no internet, just a spectacular view of the Mississippi river and some wonderful, wonderful solitude. Every once in a while, we need to do that.
But first, come Saturday morning, I'm playing in a local Scrabble tournament. I usually do quite well in these, even making it through into the final rounds...but I've never actually won. (However, I did come up with the highest-scoring single word in the last Scrabble tournament I was in...FATHERED, in the upper-left hand quadrant of the board. Not only did I use all seven letters, playing off of an E, which earned the fifty bonus points, but I also hit TWO "triple word score" squares. Over three hundred points for ONE word. Needless to say, I won that game. But I lost the very next one. Ah, well...!)
So, wish me luck, eh?
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DR Panni, if you are reading these notes and good vibes, chances are that you are alright. More than likely it was heartburn from all the sweets or something muscular. Still, it never hurts to hear a doctor cluck "It's not your heart."
The Media Report of Me:
VCR: I taped City Lights Wednesday night. I'm saving that for this weekend.
DVD: Young Frankenstein. I was just given an extra copy from a nice guy at work.
CD (at home): The new Wonderful Town cast recording. It's disappointingly flat compared to the actual show and even to the ootlegbay recording that's floating around. But still, it's Wonderful Town and it's still heads and tails better than a lot of other cast recordings I bought this past year. I find myself constantly humming the music.
CD (at work): I brought in my Ella Fitzgerald/Rodgers and Hart Songbook Vols 1 & 2 to rip and store on the second PC in my office that I actually use as a jukebox. Now these wonderful recordings will always be at my fingertips.
Book: I'm at the tail end of Benjamin Kritzer. Wait--let me rephrase that--I am about to finish reading Benjamin Kritzer.
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...is not just for the elderly - but for anyone who lives.
All 6 billion of us!
der Brucer (Mulling over the thought of expanding the market for Dan's MedAlert device to include "anyone who dies" - the sales pitch being "If you're accidently (or for that matter, on purpose) buried alive when you awaken just press your Alert button and we will dispatch a team of diggers, posthaste!")
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Well, I see BK is off in the world of the improbable/impossible again.
He post-notes (a 3M reference):
...we shall all flit about like gay madcap sprites who’ve eaten a large Jewish meal...
Now, those of us with gay-madcap tendencies know full well that, having partooked of a large Jewish meal (there's redundant for you) one can no longer "flit about", but is consigned to curl up in contentment at the bottom of the garden.
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Now, those of us with gay-madcap tendencies know full well that, having partooked of a large Jewish meal (there's redundant for you) one can no longer "flit about", but is consigned to curl up in contentment at the bottom of the garden.
Couldn't agree with you more, DR DerBrucer. After a full 5 course meal (give or take) prepared by our mother, DR Jay and I were known to do nothing more exhausting than a round or two of the aforementioned Scrabble. No gay madcap sprites (or Tabs, or Dr. Brown's Cream soda or Cel-Ray tonic) were we.
It was a holiday tradition. One that I miss, with us all spread out.....
CD (Work): Currently, Christiane Noll/Broadway Love Story
CD (Home): Empty, but last thing was IRENE
VCR: Last night's WILL & GRACE
DVD: Empty, but last thing was FINDING NEMO
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As for you, BK, sir, you are evil, yes, quite evil! You sent both der Brucer and myself e-mails about your upcoming Bookfellows reading and signing, knowing full well that this is the first time you'll be having a reading and signing there that we won't be able to attend. Talk about rubbing it in! Fie, I say, fie!
(Actually, I hope everyone in the Los Angeles area, and several others, are there this time, because you're always fun to hear and see. And you always have cheese slices! And cake!)
Well, since we won't be going, I guess there'll be no glorious pictures of food to be posted:
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/2995020/36618036.jpg)
Note: penurious Author can't afford the hardback!
der Brucer
The first signing/reading is at Bookfellows in Glendale on April 10. Mark your calendars. It's before the dreaded Ides!
The second signing is a big affair, the UCLA Festival of Books sponsored by the LA Times. I'll be at my publisher's table (1st Books) from 9:30-5:00 on April 24 and 25. Which those of you who have survived the dreaded Ides should attend!
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... with us all spread out.....
Eating lots of Jewish food will do that.
der Brucer (still clinging to the thought that's it's the Olives in martinis that give you the hangover, and it's the Matzoh in Jewish cuisine that make you "healthy looking".)
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In Toronto there's something called life-line: a gizmo you wear around your neck, with a button to press in an emergency. (It connects with the nearest hospital; they in turn contact someone on a list you provide.) I was told that this service (and I'm sure there are comparable ones) is not just for the elderly - but for anyone who lives. (It proved very helpful to a neighbor who locked herself in her bathroom.)
This sounds like the device that spawned the line "I've fallen...and I can't get up!"
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A prediction:
BK will take the profits from the Kritzer Saga and buy this simple acerage:
(http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/03/04/5_0305home.jpg)
Located north of San Francisco in Napa, this 12,000-acre ranch includes several ponds, creeks, a waterfall and access to Lake Berryessa. Of the 12,000 acres, about 2,000 are suitable for vineyards.
There he will shoot a sequel to Barry Lyndon whilst Hainesies/Kimlets and other wayward gay madcap sprites are crushing grapes for the latest batch of "Kritzerwein".
der Brucer (who should leave prognostication to the Gypsy Awards Whore)
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This sounds like the device that spawned the line "I've fallen...and I can't get up!"
Not to be confused with Satan's line "I've fallen and I can't get it up!" under consideration for a new Viagra ad.
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BK - What is a "hash line" and how does it differ from a "cafeteria line"? I've never heard the term before.
CDs - 3 of the 4 shows I am seeing over the next 3 days to reacquaint myself with the scores: PARDON MY ENGLISH (Encores!), FANNY (Mufti) and SWEENY TODD (NYCO). (The 4th show is a concert of William Finn songs with Betty Buckley, Raul Esparza, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Stephen deRosa and Janet Metz.) Also Guy Haines sings KRITZER TIME.
DVDs - If I have time CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (original Clifton Webb version) and its sequel BELLES ON THEIR TOES.
VHS - Tonight I am recording SWING TIME from Turner. I have not seen it in years and want to see just how faithful NEVER GONNA DANCE was to the film. Now that THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT is coming out on DVD, the most needed titles are the Astaire/Rodgers films.
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An interesting situation I have been wanting to post about for some time to get some feedback involves a good friend of mine who has decided he is an author. If BK's KRITZERs represent the best books I have read in years, my friend Ross's FARRELL books (he plans 6, has self-published 3 of which I have read 2) represent the worst. Ray could not get past the first chapter of the first, but I have plodded my way through two of them. His writing style seems as if he doesn't know what an apostrophe is and how people really talk: "Hello, Tony, I am very glad to meet you". It seems like a parody of Dick and Jane. Almost every paragraph has something in italics like a place name, product name or some other proper noun. And he pays no attention to real time: a character is born on the opening night of Broadway's FUNNY GIRL but is only about 20 in 2002! I pointed out to him that it was very confusing because I assumed the book took place in 1984 because of that but every other reference made it obvious that it was current and he said that nobody else would ever notice that (yet it was written for gay readers). Last night he had a reading at the Gay Center (I refuse to call it Lesbian, Gay, Transexual & Bisexual Center as they prefer) because it was selected "Queer Book of the Month" - not something I would be proud of. It was like a party at his apartment because nobody but his friends showed up. Anyway he keeps asking me if I have read the third one yet and I don't want to tell him I really don't want to read any more. They do not even fall into the "so bad it's good" category. I give him a lot of credit for writing these and I haven't got the heart to tell him how bad they are. Whereas I tore into KRITZER TIME the day after I got it (and am almost done), the thought of reading FARRELL IN LONDON --- especially after hearing a chapter last night where Farrell's partner Tony gets help unloading his luggage from Bill Clinton while Tony is in the Watercloset --- totally turns me off. Any suggestions on how to keep the friendship without hurting him regarding the books?
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I also have suffered through a bout of food poisoning, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Not only was I physically weak for DAYS after it first hit me, but just the sight of any food sickened me for several days. A ghastly experience.
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First off, I hope you are feeling better Panni. Do please check in with us so that we know you are all right!
Robin, best of luck Scrabbling!
Media Check:
VHS: Taped off of TCM for my weekend enjoyment are CITY LIGHTS, SUMMER STOCK, and SWING TIME.
CD: Courtesy of DR Elmore who sent me a FANTASTIC (!!!) compilation of songs sung by one of my favorite singers Felix (March of the Wooden Soldiers) Knight!
DVD: Bollywood film INTAQAM. 1960s melodrama of woman who gets revenge on employer who had her mistakenly put in jail.
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Dear every sweet person who expressed concern:
A) I obviously survived to continue my reign as Queen of Weird.
B) Thank you for you obvious caring and advice!
C) I wish I hadn't posted about my "heart ache" - I really normally wouldn't have - but I was a strange mood, brought on no doubt by crashing from the sugar high after eating far too much delicious chocolate. And probably stress, too. Yeah - STRESS! :o I do a good job of tucking it away, but once in a while it rears its ugly head.
D) DAn-in- TO - I refuse to invest in one of those life alert devices until I'm 102. And as that won't happen - don't buy stock in the company counting on my purchase. (I bought my mother one of them in the last year of her life, but I have a feeling she never wore it. Didn't match her outfits.)
So thank you all again. You're a swell bunch.
(As for dear daughter, still haven't heard from her re the food poisoning. Which is probably good news. Had she been REALLY sick, I'm sure she would have had no qualms about calling mom at 3 AM to hold her hand long distance.)
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Scarlet Street Coven Alert!
Hellboy (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0167190/hellboy_ver3.jpg)
der Brucer (still waiting for Perlman's Beast to make it to DVD)
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Friday Media alert:
CD - Clay Aiken's MEASURE OF A MAN. It's better than my initial impression (which is not to say it's great, but a couple of the tunes do stay with you. I think I was initially disappointed it didn't show off his voice in any spectacular way. Hopefully, we'll get a CD one day that does that.)
DVD - LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, Special Extended Edition followed tomorrow by LOST IN TRANSLATION
DVR - last night's WILL & GRACE (Will has had a boy friend for two episodes and he's scheduled for next week, too. That will tie the longest relationship he's had on the series during its six year run - three episodes.)
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News from Playbill on Line
Dracula comes to Broadway courtesy of Frank Wildhorn
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85191.html
The mountaintop of Masada is now planned as a Broadway musical as well
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85199.html
and Where's Charley will be mounted at Goodspeed starring Noah Racey who played the Fred Astaire role in Never Gonna Dance this past winter
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85177.html
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Dear every sweet person who expressed concern:
A) I obviously survived to continue my reign as Queen of Weird.
Did Her Highness get the new hairdo?
Pictures are required!
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JRand53, how is you feeling today!
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Scarlet Street Coven Alert!
Hellboy (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0167190/hellboy_ver3.jpg)
der Brucer (still waiting for Perlman's Beast to make it to DVD)
der Brucer, I have no idea what any of this means!?
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OH, and I almost forgot, BK, JRand53, and Elmore watch the mail for surprises coming to each of you very soon!!!
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WEL - That's a hard one. I think honesty mixed with a healthy dose of diplomacy is the best route. Why not tell him that you really admire the fact that he wrote the books (just as you posted) and that you are perhaps the wrong person to give a good critique as (a) you are much too severe a critic of anything of this sort, tending to want perfection and (b) you know him too well to be objective - that the real person that you know and love keeps getting in the way of objectivity.
If he persist with "Yes, but what do you think? Do you like it?"... I'd try... "Some aspects I love (there MUST be something) others I have problems with. But I told you, I tend to look for perfection in literature, and after all, this is your first effort. And writing, in its own way, is as hard as brain surgery. But isn't it lovely that it was selected Queer Book of the Month!"
i should think that would give him the message without you hitting him over the head with the book. Which is my final option.
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Same hairstyle, DerBrucer, just neater - and I can see from under my bangs.
Good luck with Scrabble, DR Robin!
VCR - STILL watching Judas. I must, must, must finish it today.
DVD - still broken
CD - Cecilia Bartoli/Andras Schiff: The Impatient Lover - Italian Songs by Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn
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der Brucer, I have no idea what any of this means!?
Assuming you clicked on the link you were treated to a poster for a soon-to-be-released film that should (IMHO) appeal to Scarlet Street folks.
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Chipmunk-cheeked keyboard artist alert!
Creating a better 'Eden' this time (http://www.washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20040325-103656-7327r.htm)
By Jayne Blanchard
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 26, 2004
(excerpts)
Whoever said, "In life, there are no do-overs" never met Stephen Schwartz. The composer of the musicals "Pippin," "Godspell," "The Baker's Wife" and "Wicked" has made a career of returning to shows for either a tweak or a major overhaul. Mr. Schwartz considers reworking one of the perks of being a Tony Award-winning lyricist and composer.
"It's a great opportunity to improve something you know can be fixed," said Mr. Schwartz during a recent phone interview from his home in Connecticut. "Shows take a long time to do and are an enormous investment, and often it is wise to return to certain musicals so that all that time and money do not go to waste."
Reworking a show is like clinging to the baby in the family you just can't let go of. Mr. Schwartz says his particular "baby" was "Children of Eden," the 1991 musical (with a book by John Caird) about the original first family: Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel.
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In its spiffed-up form, the show opened at Ford's Theatre yesterday for a run that ends June 6. "When I saw a revival of it at Kent State a while back, I was reminded how dearly I hold this show," says Mr. Schwartz, who was also responsible for the musicals "Rags" and "Working," as well as music and lyrics for the animated films "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Pocahontas" and "The Prince of Egypt." The latter two films earned Academy Awards for Mr. Schwartz.
Significant changes were made on "Children of Eden" shortly after a production in London in the early 1990s. First, Mr. Schwartz did a crazy thing. He read his reviews.
"John [Caird] and I decided to learn from the London production, so we got hold of all 40 reviews and read them in a lump," he recounts. "I never read my reviews, so it was quite a raw experience for me. Out of all of them, it became clear where we weren't communicating our intentions directly to the audience."
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This revisiting process is par for the course for Mr. Schwartz. "It was very similar with 'Working,' " the musical based on Studs Turkel's book, he said. "It was not very successful at all when first done in New York in the 1980s. But then there was interest from regional theaters and universities, so I got the chance to improve the piece, and it has gone on to great success all over the country."
The same thing happened to 1976's "The Baker's Wife," which closed after a calamitous out-of-town tryout tour. A cast album was made, however, which attained cult status. Director Trevor Nunn headed a London revival in 1988, allowing the show a second life. "Trevor was instrumental in seeing what changes could be made," says Mr. Schwartz. "It is great when someone can step in from the outside and see the flaws not just as flaws, but as challenges that could be overcome."
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WHAT: "Children of Eden" by Stephen Schwartz and John Caird.
WHERE: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth St., NW.
WHEN: Now through June 6.
TICKETS: Individual tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by telephone at 703/218-6500 or 800/955-5566 or online at www.Tickets.com.
der Brucer (guessing his next extravagence is a trip to DC, camera in hand, trying to get pictures of a gay madcap sprite in a pit)
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News from Playbill on Line
The mountaintop of Masada is now planned as a Broadway musical as well
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85199.html
I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.
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Last night he had a reading at the Gay Center (I refuse to call it Lesbian, Gay, Transexual & Bisexual Center as they prefer)
Until they get it right - "Lesbian, Gay, Transexual, Bisexual, Transgenered, Identity-Questioning & What Am I-Chopped Liver Center" - I think your choice of Gay Center is ideal.
der Brucer (Hey Ben let's make it "Gaye Centre"!)
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BK: I saw your post re: your FSM comment to Joe Caps only this morning.
I quite agree. There is a point at which things go simply too far. I know we are all different, and that fandom comes in various shapes and sizes, but HONESTLY!, must every single nanosecond of music recorded for a movie be nitpicked to death in terms of where it appeared in the movie (1) in the first cut, (2) after it was edited and changed out for another piece, or (3) replaced with a new, shorter/longer/different piece of music not heretofore heard?
If it weren't for less-than-desirable transactions I've had with Mr. C, I'd say he'd have made an excellent accountant.
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I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.
Done realistically it will be an Equity boon - new cast every performance!
der Brucer (Contemplating "Sipping Purple Flavor-Aid - the Jonestown Musical" - Noel, are you listening?)
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ABC aired the pairs and men's finals of the 2004 World Figure Skating championships last night.
The programs they chose to show us were all rather wonderful, with several being unbelievably brilliant.
I have no problem with the fact that a Russian pair won the gold because the pair won it fair and square and with a wonderful program to boot. What spoiled it for me, though, was that the Russian pair won only because the Chinese pair -- world champions the past two years -- had a fall in the short program which cost them dearly and saw them entering the free skate in fourth place. A series of events would have had to take place for the Chinese pair to have a chance at gold.
When the Chinese took the ice, though, the gold had been decided. They were skating for pride, alone....plus the silver medal if they skated well enough.
They transcended well enough. They transcended their earlier breathtakingly beautiful performances. They soared and shimmered -- weaving a magical spell to music from Tschaikovsky's "Nutcracker" (not the most familiar movement).
Their reward -- 12 perfect 6.0s and the Silver Medal.
The Men's Finals were pretty good, although for the second consecutive year, it is my opinion that Evgeny Plushenko was "handed" his gold by virtue of being "propped up" by overindulgent eastern bloc judges.
Last year, he was so-so and beat out Timothy Goebel, which satisfied me well enough because Goebel isn't world champion quality yet (if he ever will be).
But this year, two other skaters OUTskated Plushenko...one rather brilliantly. Brian Joubert of France was unbelievable, and Stefan Lindeman of Germany was right behind him. They both displayed speed and power and jumps that put Plushenko's slower, and deliberate, posturing to shame.
Plushenko has huge popularity and there was no outraged booing from the stands, but for all the "artistry" Plushenko is thought to have, and despite the fact that he fell when the other two did not, he was bettered "twice" in the final competition, but he was "given" better marks.
Ice Dancing finals and Ladies' Finals will be aired Saturday evening. Tonight, they have their short programs.
Alarming news out of the qualifying round for ladies: Michelle Kwan had two major mistakes in her program and she's in a precarious third place in her group. Sasha Cohen won her group skate. What this all means, overall, prior to the short program, I have no idea, but it is decidedly an uphill battle for any skater not in the top few going into the short program.
Good news, DR MattH: While Irina Slutskaya IS skating, she had an even more horrific qualifying round, finishing in fifth in her group. She had no combination and only accomplished four triples. She's hoping to move up. :)
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The musical of Masada has been promised for Broadway for the last seven years. They've done readings, workshops, concept album, hired a new lyricist and on and on it goes. Our very own Mr. Brent Barrett took part in the latest reading just last week. Our very own Michelle Nicastro did all the first readings and the album and I think Davis Gaines was part of it, too. Will it get to B'way? We shall see.
WEL: Yes, hash lines were different than cafeteria lines. I don't know where the term came from, but the hash lines were outside. There were windows out of which were served food at recess (cookies, rolls, hot chocolate, that sort of thing) and then at lunch, if you didn't want to sit inside in the cafeteria, you could get fast food items from the hash lines.
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Michael Shayne's thoughts on Kritzer Time are on the Kritzer board and also up at amazon and barnesandnoble.
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WEL: Yes, hash lines were different than cafeteria lines. I don't know where the term came from, but the hash lines were outside. There were windows out of which were served food at recess (cookies, rolls, hot chocolate, that sort of thing) and then at lunch, if you didn't want to sit inside in the cafeteria, you could get fast food items from the hash lines.
If I'm not mistaken, "hash lines' is a term that was coined during the depression when food lines were set up in cities for the thousands of folks who were out of work and homeless and never knew where they would get a meal. "Hash" was an easy meal -- and it went further than anything else at that time. It consisted of ground up/chopped meat (or meat parts!!!??), chopped onion and diced potatoes. It was served with chunks of bread. (Throw in some beets and you've got goulash).
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I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.
It can work if they keep it gay.
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To me, hash lines sounds like a drug thing. But then, I'm a child of the '70s.
We're all about DVDs here, since joining Netflix 5 days ago. Here's the DVD lineup:
Tonight: To Catch a Thief
Tomorrow: Mr. Vampire
Sunday: Spellbound (Criterion edition)
Monday: Imitation of Life (both versions...if they arrive then, which I think they will)
We inaugurated our Netflix membership two days ago, with Pirates of the Caribbean. It was VERY enjoyable; like a cross between an Errol Flynn and a Ray Harryhausen movie.
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DR WEL, re: your predicament.
How good a friend is this? I fear that if you are honest, then you will most certainly lose a friend. I think you are probably better off not saying exactly how much you hate the books. As DR Panni said, there must be some things you like, so you could mention them. If he really asks your opinion (and really wants to know the truth) then you could gently tell him how you feel.
It's a tough call because people are sensitive. Think for example if someone here hated BK's new book.
The difference there is that you said your friend cannot write (and BK can). So it's not even a matter of you not liking the story. I guess you just have to hope that your friend doesn't decide he should make writing his career :)
Good luck with whatever you do. And do let us know.
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Will has had a boy friend for two episodes and he's scheduled for next week, too. That will tie the longest relationship he's had on the series during its six year run - three episodes.
That --- in a nutshell --- is what I hate about this series.
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I've always been fascinated by suicide - must be where I come from - so I'd go see Masada, the Musical. Tonight, as a matter of fact, I might go to a motion picture theater and see WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, a British (Scottish?) film that's supposed to be very good.
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I'm listening to Jeff Hanar's 1959 Broadway Songbook, which was directed by my frequent collaborator Sara Louise Lazarus.
I'd be willing to bet money that the musical of Masada will never arrive on Broadway. Book, music and lyrics by people who've never written book, music and lyrics before. I don't mean to pre-judge anything, but, post-Miserables, a lot of neophytes have labored under the belief that the more tragic the subject matter, the better the show; it ain't so.
And I've mixed feelings about Schwartz's continued efforts on Children of Eden. From everything I've heard from the show, it seems to be the worst thing he's ever written. And how necessary was it to create a musical that tells the tale of Adam & Eve and Noah's Ark when we already have the sublime first act of The Apple Tree and the perfectly servicable Two By Two? But the article points out that, as the most successful American musical theatre writer (in terms of number of performances - I could be wrong), Schwartz has the luxury of revisiting something that failed around a dozen years ago and tweaking it some more. And more. He can afford to do that - he's a very rich man - but, speaking as a fan, I do wish he'd work on something new. And yes, I know last year he gave us Wicked, but I think he can do better than that.
The Gershwins never stopped. One show would be done and they'd immediately start on another. One of their least successful efforts Pardon My English was an absolute delight at Encores! They had one of those sick-star's last-minute-replacements in Rachel Koloff (I've probably spelled that wrong) and she was wonderful. I liked the whole cast, in fact. It's like a best-of-Broadway smorgasbord to see the stars of The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors, The Full Monty, Sweet Smell of Success and Urinetown in one show. Tuneful as it was, George Gershwin wasn't the revelation here: the evening succeeded on its humor, both in book (reconstructed by David Ives from texts by Morrie Ryskind and Herbert Fields) and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
I'm going to take a walk and write outside, perhaps sipping a diet gay madcape Sprite.
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I'd be willing to bet money that the musical of Masada will never arrive on Broadway. Book, music and lyrics by people who've never written book, music and lyrics before. I don't mean to pre-judge anything, but, post-Miserables, a lot of neophytes have labored under the belief that the more tragic the subject matter, the better the show; it ain't so.
And I've mixed feelings about Schwartz's continued efforts on Children of Eden. From everything I've heard from the show, it seems to be the worst thing he's ever written. And how necessary was it to create a musical that tells the tale of Adam & Eve and Noah's Ark when we already have the sublime first act of The Apple Tree and the perfectly servicable Two By Two?
I think that if Sondheim can revisit every musical he's done and add songs and change the book, then it's not too exasperating if Stephen Schwartz tweaks one little show that he'd like to see do better than it did.
As for how/whether it was necessary to create a musical to cover the Genesis stories, how necessary is it to create ANOTHER musical about two people falling in love, and finding different ways of expressing that love, when it has been done SO MANY TIMES before?
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DR Panni,
That last sentence in your post is quite Jewish-motherly. But if I can add some J-M advice myself, please don't shrug this off - and follow things up with a doctor's visit.
Also - for all DR's, especially those who live alone:
In Toronto there's something called life-line: a gizmo you wear around your neck, with a button to press in an emergency. (It connects with the nearest hospital; they in turn contact someone on a list you provide.) I was told that this service (and I'm sure there are comparable ones) is not just for the elderly - but for anyone who lives. (It proved very helpful to a neighbor who locked herself in her bathroom.)
Thank God, otherwise I would hate to answer some of those calls.
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ABC aired the pairs and men's finals of the 2004 World Figure Skating championships last night.
The programs they chose to show us were all rather wonderful, with several being unbelievably brilliant.
Might this be USA's future hope?
(http://www.figureskatersonline.com/johnnyweir/graphics/newspic.jpg)
Johnny Weir
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Thanks for the advice so far. He is a good friend, but he can't take criticism. As I said with the FUNNY GIRL story, he defended it by saying I was the only person who would notice it. I'm sorry, if his intended readers are gay men, I won't be the only one to notice that. I don't want to go into the writing with him even by asking a question like "why did you use so many" italics?". I think Ray and I showed our friendship by showing up last night (they are no better when read aloud), but he keeps asking Ray when he is going to read them (he stopped after Chapter One of the first book) and he keeps asking me when I am going to read the third. After the second I tried to offer some praise --- at least there were no glaring errors with the time --- and he seemed happy. Also, by some strange coincidence, his books have come out around the same time as the three KRITZER books, and they may seem worse than they actually are in comparison --- but not by much. I'll probably read the third one, but I will have to read something between KRITZER TIME and it first.
******
Television Alert
I rarely watch any sitcoms that are more recent than the late 70s or early 80s because they are just not funny. The one current exception is "Hope and Faith" and tonight (9:00 Eastern/Pacific on ABC) they are rerunning the funniest episode so far... one that we watched twice when it was first on. I was initially unprepared for how funny Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford could be when given good material, but they are today's answer to Laverne and Shirley or (dare I say it?) Lucy and Ethel. Even Ted McGinley --- usually the kiss of death to any series --- is not bad. If you've never seen this show, tonight is a good time to try it.
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Noel -
I'm seeing PARDON MY ENGLISH tomorrow afternoon (I always go to the Sat. Matinees because of the post-show discussion groups). Who did Rachel Koloff replace and is she supposed to be doing all five shows or only the one you saw?
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Might this be USA's future hope?
(http://www.figureskatersonline.com/johnnyweir/graphics/newspic.jpg)
Johnny Weir
Unless he has a severe "makeover" in his choice of costumes and hair style, PERISH the thought.
:D
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BK: I saw your post re: your FSM comment to Joe Caps only this morning.
I too snooped on BK's posts:
"...I've finsished listening to the three discs..." (GOLDSMITH Thread)
"I don't give a flying Wallenda if this track should be joined to that track or that track should come in the middle of this track –"
This from a man who clearly has struggled with putting together a Thomas Train set on Christmas Eve.
Well, I'm finsished carping.
der Brucer (shouldn't "finsished" be followed with an "And one for Mahler")
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............... Whereas I tore into KRITZER TIME the day after I got it (and am almost done), the thought of reading FARRELL IN LONDON --- especially after hearing a chapter last night where Farrell's partner Tony gets help unloading his luggage from Bill Clinton while Tony is in the Watercloset --- totally turns me off. Any suggestions on how to keep the friendship without hurting him regarding the books?
Personally, I would prefer to get help from Bill Clinton in the watercloset while Tony unloads the luggage, but, hey, that's just me.
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Who did Rachel Koloff replace and is she supposed to be doing all five shows or only the one you saw?
Don't know how many shows she'll do. She replaced Felicia Finley as Magda, the parlormaid.
RLP, if Sondheim's revisted A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the Park With George, this is the first I've heard of it.
But as I said, Schwartz is welcome to spend his second decade striving to do a musical on the two Genesis tales. After that, he can move on to a re-telling of the Pygmalion and Galatea myth set in Edwardian London.
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I'd be willing to bet money that the musical of Masada will never arrive on Broadway. Book, music and lyrics by people who've never written book, music and lyrics before. I don't mean to pre-judge anything, but, post-Miserables, a lot of neophytes have labored under the belief that the more tragic the subject matter, the better the show; it ain't so.
Maybe the authors have now fallen under the influence of the likes of The Producers and Hairspray and will present the story as a madcap romp?
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I've always been fascinated by suicide - must be where I come from - so I'd go see Masada, the Musical. Tonight, as a matter of fact, I might go to a motion picture theater and see WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, a British (Scottish?) film that's supposed to be very good.
Well, if it's suicide you want - you must see "Harold and Maude" (1971) with classic performances by Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. Cort reappears in another stange but wonderful film "Sweet Jane" (1998) - a darker, but emotionally satisfying effort starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt of "Third Rock" fame.
der Brucer (maybe you can write the book for my proposed Jonestown Musical)
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RLP, if Sondheim's revisted A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the Park With George, this is the first I've heard of it.
But he has spent a great deal of effort going back to Merrily We Roll Along and Saturday Night.
As I see it, the trouble with Sondheim is that he can't seem to say "No" when approached to any revisioning of his works. I don't see it as egotistical, but simply because he doesn't want to offend by refusing. Kind of like the Woody Allen character in Stardust Memories, who constantly allows himself to get roped into every charity event that people pitch his way.
And that concludes today's chapter of "Dan (the Man), Armchair Psychologist"
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Thanks for the advice so far. He is a good friend, but he can't take criticism.
There's your answer. Tell him that you've read the books (once you have), you showed up for the readings, you support his efforts. But as you have negative as well as positive things to say, and knowing him well you KNOW he is sensitive about criticism, you don't feel it's worth the friendship - or worth hurting his feelings - to critique of the books. Ask him as a friend to respect your approach to the matter.
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maybe you can write the book for my proposed Jonestown Musical)
...And I bet you'll sell Kool-Aid at intermission.
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RLP, if Sondheim's revisted A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the Park With George, this is the first I've heard of it.
Well, now you shall hear of it!
Pacific Overtures - Sondheim did a significant reworking of "Next" for the English National Opera production (as can be seen from a comparision of the OBC and ENO recordings).
A Little Night Music - Sondheim did a significant reworking of "The Glamorous Life" for the film, and the reworked version is included as a bonus track on the re-released OBC. He also reworked the lyrics for Babs' version of "Send in the Clowns".
Sunday in the Park with George - Sondheim did a significant rewrite of "Putting It Together" for Babs' Broadway Album.
der Brucer (with thanx to SWW for his collaboration)
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WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, a British (Scottish?) film that's supposed to be very good.
DR Panni, take me with you! I'm eager to see it, and I cannnot find where it's playing in Manhattan.
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der Brucer we shall have to call you Mr. Karp.
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I have now downloaded the latest beta version of AOL. Interesting seeing the new bells and whistles before anyone else, but I am sworn to secrecy about them.
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SWEET JANE, I don't know at all, derBrucer. As for HAROLD AND MAUDE, don't tell anybody, but I've never actually seen it. Mea culpa. Don't know why. Must catch up with it. (I've read the script - perhaps in SCENARIO MAGAZINE. Not sure. That was the BEST mag. Published full new and classic scripts with fabulous interviews with writers directors. I have every issue, but I guess they've gone out of business. Too bad.)
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Don't know how many shows she'll do. She replaced Felicia Finley as Magda, the parlormaid.
RLP, if Sondheim's revisted A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the Park With George, this is the first I've heard of it.
But as I said, Schwartz is welcome to spend his second decade striving to do a musical on the two Genesis tales. After that, he can move on to a re-telling of the Pygmalion and Galatea myth set in Edwardian London.
I think "Follies" and "Into the Woods", even more than the shows Der Brucer cited, speak volumes about Sondheim revisionism running amok. And he's not alone..."Mack and Mabel" springs to mind as a show that has a lot of fingerprints on it.
As for Schwartz, I'm sure your permission for him to alter his own creation, as well as take on a project that appeals to him, will be appreciated, the facetiousness of the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady reference notwithstanding. LOL :)
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On my lunch hour I indulged myself in another set of extravagences, going to Academy CDs where I picked up a copy of Barbara Cook's As Of Today, an album from 1977, a Living Era (British label affiliated w/Pearl) compilation of Gertrude Lawrence, and a Romanovsky and Phillips CD, Be Political, Not Polite, to replace my tape copy which is wearing out. Those are my listening choices for this afternoon at the office.
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Did anybody else notice what an extraordinary lineup is on TCM today? Of course, the day's half over, but you still have time to catch a few of these:
6 am: Captain Blood (Erroll Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland)
8: Anna Karenina ( '35 Garbo version)
10: Bombshell (Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone)
12 pm: Dinner at Eight (Everybody)
2: Little Women ('33 Hepburn version)
4: San Francisco (Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Jeanette MacDonald)
6: Swing Time (Many consider this Astaire and Rogers's finest pairing)
Then at 2 am tonight they're showing the rarely-seen GERMAN version of Anna Christie, Greta Garbo's talkie debut, followed by two more Garbo pics, Inspiration (with Robert Montgomery) and As You Desire Me (with Erich VonStroheim).
Holy Cow!!
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Better take a nap, Lulu!!!
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San Francisco! I love that movie (the city's pretty good, too)
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And he's not along..."Mack and Mabel" springs to mind as a show that has a lot of fingerprints on it.
And let's face it, Shwartz has also done work to RAGS as well.
But the Stephen's are not alone. DR RLP points out MACK & MABEL, but there are plenty of other shows that were changed to some degree, great or small, even during their Broadway runs. WISH YOU WERE HERE, BAKER STREET and even BELLS ARE RINGING all added or dropped material after the critics had their say. Even DOLLY lost a number for Ambrose after opening. The tours of SEESAW and THE TAP DANCE KID were significantly different from their NYC counterparts.
They just want to get it right. Art isn't easy, y'know.
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I never will forget, Mmmm...Jeanette MacDonald
Just to think of her, it gives my heart a pang
I never will forget, how that brave Jeanette
Just stood there in the ruins and sang, and sang...
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Judy and Jeanette, what a pair.
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San Francisco! I love that movie (the city's pretty good, too)
I have always blamed Jeanette's high note for "The Big One" (not a Parker Stevenson reference).
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Panni --- Thanks for the advice. I also have every issue of SCENARIO and they have some of my money for issues never published. I agree it was a great magazine. I remember in one of the first issues (it may have been the very first) they printed the original screenplay to NASHVILLE before it was filmed and it was like a different movie. I guess that there weren't enough readers, although it was very expensive (though worth it) for a magazine, and probably much of its target readership could not afford it.
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OK - Question to all figure skating fans:
What is up with the revival of those one-piece skating suits for men (like the ones worn by Johnny Weir and Emmanuel Sandhu)? Aren't those just the ugliest, 70s-bad-retro things ever?!? Completely distracting if you ask me...
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They just want to get it right. Art isn't easy, y'know.
Believe me, I know (!)....that's why I have to reinvent myself, from time to time.
:D
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Panni --- Thanks for the advice. I also have every issue of SCENARIO and they have some of my money for issues never published.
Mine, too, come to think of it.
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While Schwartz has done revisions to Children of Eden, the show he really can't put away is The Baker's Wife. He's been futzing with that show since its Broadway closing and he's never stopped.
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My Big Pitch Meeting is late this afternoon. (I don't like meetings after 3 - especially on a Friday - because the Execs are tired and just want to go home.) My agent said on the phone just now, "It's all on your shoulders." Great. No pressure.
I could use major vibes.
Also some gas in my car. Must not forget to gas up or I'll get stuck somewhere in the middle of Coldwater Canyon. Most unseemly.
Note to self: 1. Put fuel in car. 2. Be brilliant at meeting.
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]
LA! LA! LA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A![/move]
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Mega-vibes to Dear Reader Panni:
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/move]
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We are two away from page 4 so here goes one.
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And now page 4
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Good vibes to DR Panni (and I'm glad nothing serious was wrong last night) ~~~~~~
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No dance. It's just not in me.
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A quick log in from work...
What is the difference between Sprite and 7Up?
What is the difference between Diet Coke and Tab?
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Good vibes scenario for DR Panni:
"The female producer with manly hands loved all of the writer's ideas."
(http://img42.photobucket.com/albums/v130/WandaDuck/clapbase.gif)
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The difference between Diet Coke and Tab is that one tastes good and one tastes like sludge.
The difference between Sprite and 7UP are less severe, although I prefer 7UP.
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While Schwartz has done revisions to Children of Eden, the show he really can't put away is The Baker's Wife. He's been futzing with that show since its Broadway closing and he's never stopped.
What Broadway closing?
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Might this be USA's future hope?
(http://www.figureskatersonline.com/johnnyweir/graphics/newspic.jpg)
Johnny Weir
Wearing Tanya Harding's hand-me-downs!
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If this is the U.S.'s men's figure skating future:
(I keep thinking, "During out days in the chorus, Arlenae could throw her legs higher...AND wider...than all of us." -- Maggie Smith about Diana Rigg in "Evil Under the Sun")
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Can France's Brian Joubert be the world figure skating champion of the future?
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Wearing Tanya Harding's hand-me-downs!
That one is a bit less masculine than the one he wore in the short program (below)-- althought that gold border dipped down in back, giving the impression it was the outline of a skating "skirt". He IS a superb skater and the costumes belie his very natural style. I'm hoping someone grooms him for A-list appearances.
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Can France's Brian Joubert be the world figure skating champion of the future?
Wearing a salute to the Matrix films! Does he skate in bullet-time?
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To Dear Reader Panni:
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/move]
[move=RIGHT,scroll,6,transparent,100%] GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! [/move]
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Wearing a salute to the Matrix films! Does he skate in bullet-time?
He's so fast -- and jumps so high and turns so quickly -- you won't believe your eyes!
He's a pistol.
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Baker's Wife didn't make it in, even with Paul Sorvino?
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HOLD ONTO YOUR GOOD VIBES, FOLKS!
My meeting has just been postponed because I'm told the Exec has a toothache and must go to the dentist.
As pissed off as I am about a last minute cancelation, think of it...
A meeting late on a Friday afternoon, trying to sell a rather complex idea for a film to a person with a toothache. ...Right.
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So, to both esteemed Steve S's I say: less work on the old, more work on the new.
Sondheim's not had a new work on Broadway in 10 years. Used to be, he was mighty prolific, with openings in:
1970, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1984 & 1987.
And what shows those were!
Schwartz, at long last, has given us Wicked. In the 70's, he gave us three of the decade's longest runs:
Pippin, Godspell and The Magic Show, plus the never-quite-made-it-to-Broadway The Baker's Wife, and Working.
And what shows those were!
I had a lovely walk. I looked at the statue of Kossuth, about whom Panni can tell us more. It's not far from the statue of Tildin, a fellow who won the popular vote for President. But the results were disputed, and votes from three southern states were authenticated by a panel consisting of mostly Republicans, thus giving the election to the Republican Rutherford Hayes. Sound familiar?
I took a good look at some recently-constructed buildings. There's something on a side street called Lenfest Hall which is well-proportioned, and uses two cheerful shades of brick. The new School of Social Work (to open this year) strikes me as very successful. There's overly-subtle brick work (the color: buff) which requires one to look closely to see the brick-layers' art.
OK, now I've given TCB enough set-up lines.
I did some writing in Riverside Park and a little more overlooking Morningside Park. A very emotional scene and then an angry but comic one. Songwriting is my natrual bent, so, when I set out to write a book scene, I find my characters launch into rhythm and rhyme. So, at some time later, I face the delicate question of exactly what should be sung and what should be spoken. A father is going to tell his son he can no longer play with his best friend. I think that will be said without music, and hope the absence of music will maximize the impact. At least that's the idea for today.
With the painting, stuff gets moved around: While I'm now missing Making Love Alone again, I did find this photo (and I'm utterly amazed I was able to figure out how to do this)...
(http://www.haineshisway.com/community/attachments/us.jpg)
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DR Ben, it must be frustrating when you post a link to an article and people react without actually reading it. That's why der Brucer and I regularly post excerpts. For example, for your link to Masada (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85199.html) I would have excerpted the following:
features a score by Shuki Levy (music) and David Goldsmith (lyrics) and a book by Glenn Berenbeim. According to production notes, the musical is "set in World War II Warsaw [and] tells the story of a courageous group of actors, who, in defiance of their oppressors, perform a musical retelling of the legend of Masada."
I would have thought that this makes it quite clear that they are telling the story about a group of people gaining courage from the legend of Masada, as many others have through the ages.
Furthermore:
Lyricist David Goldsmith wrote the lyrics for the touring musical Hot Shoe Shuffle as well as songs for such films as "Pepita," "Set It Off," "Thief of Always" and "A Christmas Carol." His play, Hotel Buzz, has been optioned by Rent producer Kevin McCollum.
This specifically states that he has written lyrics for a musical before. So much for the statement that he hasn't, made by someone hereabouts.
(Good referencing to the stories, Ben; I found them interesting, even if too few others bothered to read them.)
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Baker's Wife didn't make it in, even with Paul Sorvino?
As memory serves, the closest BAKER'S WIFE ever got to NYC was an off-Broadway version in the late 80's with -- heaven forfend -- Jack Weston. As I recall. Can't recall who played the LuPone role.....
Might have been ELT before they went away. Might have even been over at St. Peter's.
Ahhhh, the memory plays tricks....
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Schwartz, at long last, has given us Wicked. In the 70's, he gave us three of the decade's longest runs:
Pippin, Godspell and The Magic Show, plus the never-quite-made-it-to-Broadway The Baker's Wife, and Working.
And what shows those were!
Clearly, his winning awards for Pocahontas and Prince of Egypt don't count, nor does his work on Hunchback of Notre Dame, because all of that was done for film.
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Baker's Wife didn't make it in, even with Paul Sorvino?
Nope. It didn't even make it to Philly, which was supposed to have been the last stop on the pre-B'way tour.
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Are you only interested in picking bones, or is there something you wish to say?
I misspoke: the lyricist of Masada has written one musical which has never played New York. If somebody here has seen Hot Shoe Shuffle, I'd love to hear about it.
Stephen Schwartz, in the 1980's, had one musical on Broadway (Rags) after his 1970's musicals ran up more performances than anyone else's in New York. I think that's a shame. Guess others disagree.
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The BAKER'S WIFE refered to by Stuart above was a York P\Theatre mainstage production. Until recently they had a whole wall of posters in the lobby from previous productions and that was one of them. I don't recall the cast. New Yorkers will get a chance to see BAKER'S WIFE next season if they take a short train ride to Papermill in New Jersey next April. They will also be doing four other musicals (OF THEE I SING, SHE LOVES ME, RAGTIME and a new musical version of HAROLD AND MAUDE) as well as a new play called THE DRAWER LEGACY with John Mahoney from the HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES revival.
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Speaking of Masada, as well as the stories of Eden and Noah, etc., it would be interesting to follow how these stories have been told, and retold, generation after generation, each time for a new audience in a manner each audience can enjoy. The story basically stays the same, but reinvents itself, from the original writings (which were based, I'm certain, or oral tellings that existed long before the written word), through the Miracle and Passion plays and onwards up to the present. (Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told could be included, a version of the basic stories that as little as ten years earlier wouldn't have been contemplated.)
As for Children of Eden, I find the linking of the Eden and Noah stories fascinating, particularly through the one character that appears in both: the Lord. The thrust of the story becomes one where the Lord learns how to change and accept. Since the Lord does not appear in the Bock/Harnick/Coopersmith or Rodgers/Charnin/Stone tellings of the respective stories, this arc is new, and interesting in itself. It certainly gives more meaning to the covenant and the rainbow.
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With the painting, stuff gets moved around: While I'm now missing Making Love Alone again, I did find this photo (and I'm utterly amazed I was able to figure out how to do this)...
(http://www.haineshisway.com/community/attachments/us.jpg)
"My EYES! My EYES!" -- Phoebe Buffay on seeing Chandler and Monica "doing it" from Ross's living room window (ugly naked guy's former apartment).
Seriously, if you worry that you will again somehow forget how to do "that," there's a show on Fox tonight called "Playing it Straight" in which a lot of that goes on -- One girl, 8 guys...all swapping spit with her and, consequentially, each other.
(..or did you mean the actual posting of the photo is what you were amazed you remember how to do? ;))
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HOLD ONTO YOUR GOOD VIBES, FOLKS!
My meeting has just been postponed because I'm told the Exec has a toothache and must go to the dentist.
As pissed off as I am about a last minute cancelation, think of it...
A meeting late on a Friday afternoon, trying to sell a rather complex idea for a film to a person with a toothache. ...Right.
Could be that our vibes worked in mysterious ways...
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<Lyricist David Goldsmith wrote the lyrics for the touring musical Hot Shoe Shuffle as well as songs for such films as "Pepita," "Set It Off," "Thief of Always" and "A Christmas Carol." His play, Hotel Buzz, has been optioned by Rent producer Kevin McCollum.>
I know Mr. Goldsmith and he's a nice sort. However, let's have a little REALITY CHECK here: Pepita has never come close to being made as a film. I do not know the other films on his list. And, if memory serves, his play Hotel Buzz was optioned five years ago.
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SWW are you butch enough today?
Panni I haven’t had good marzipan in a long time. I will in June. June is when we go to Budapest. And old habits never die, we just have to accept the fact we can’t “jump” when every instinct in our body wants to. GOOD VIBES TO RACHAEL.
Td-GREAT NEWS!! GOOD VIBES to your parents continued good health.
Done with last night’s postings. Now I’m leaving our laptop & going to the big computer while I catch up with today.
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The difference between Diet Coke and Tab is that one tastes good and one tastes like sludge.
The difference between Sprite and 7UP are less severe, although I prefer 7UP.
Sprite is sickeningly sweet.
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Could be that our vibes worked in mysterious ways...
You may have a point.
Okay, according to an article I'm reading (instead of heading to the meeting, la-la-la) - Frank Sinatra called Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix".."the greatest saloon song ever written."
Michael Feinstein, with whom Jimmy W. is touring, says that Jimmy's work is a continuation of the Great American Songbook.
....Thought on this?...
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I'm so glad to be off the laptop with the screen that gives me eyestrain and the mouse that sticks. And believe it or not, I had Radiohead blaring at me. We have two guys here cleaning our house and Keith was playing Radiohead for them. Our younger son is a big fan.
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In my CD player: Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD.
In the VCR: Red Dwarf TIMESLIDES.
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Topic of the Day:
CD players: Peter Brocklehurst "Boots And All"
George Harrison: "Brainwashed"
The Carpenters: "Passage"
Grace Knight: "Stormy Weather"
Vince Jones: "For All Colours"
DVD: Next viewing will probably be "Whale Rider".
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der Brucer, I have no idea what any of this means!?
You're not the only one. . . .
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Baker's Wife didn't make it in, even with Paul Sorvino?
When I did Baker's Wife, we, in the cast, all loved the show, and the music, and the themes; but the audiences hated the show, not the production, just the show. I don't know how to explain it. To this day, people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed my performance in Baker's Wife, but they always add, "But why did you guys ever produce that God-awful show?"
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I am now home and listening to another cd compilation from DR Elmore3003 who was aghast, aghast I say, that I couldn't name any favorite Rodgers and Hart songs last week so he put together many samples for me to hear....all of a vintage variety (thank you Larry!) sung by people such as Doris Day, Jessie Mathews, Nelson Eddy, and (well blow me down with a feather!) another of my favorite singers...Mr. Dick Foran! Some of you may remember Dick Foran for his many films at Universal in the 1940s including THE MUMMY'S HAND, THE MUMMY'S TOMB, and HORROR ISLAND and RIDE EM COWBOY...well, he can sing even better then he can act! What a voice!
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RLP, if Sondheim's revisted A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the Park With George, this is the first I've heard of it.
"The Glamorous Life" as written for the film can now be used in stage productions of ALNM.
"My Husband the Pig" has also been used in stage productions of ALNM.
"Silly People" keeps turning up like a bad penny in stage productions of ALNM.
Sondheim contributed changes to PACIFIC OVERTURES recently, as did Weidman.
You're probably right about SitPwG, though. Why tamper with perfection?
;)
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Today's issue of VARIETY has a special section saluting the GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS. (Our heading du jour is terribly au courant.). One of the articles has capsule story lines of films coming out and about to come out - how apt! - with gay-related themes. One that makes me shudder, BTW, is a Janis Joplin biopic starring... Renee Zellweger.
What I'm noticing in these little outlines is that quite a few of the films are about men pretending to be gay in order to win a girl. ("College freshman goes after his dreamgirl by playing gay.") Could someone kindly explain to me how this works in the real world? ???
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Are you only interested in picking bones, or is there something you wish to say?
I misspoke: the lyricist of Masada has written one musical which has never played New York. If somebody here has seen Hot Shoe Shuffle, I'd love to hear about it.
Stephen Schwartz, in the 1980's, had one musical on Broadway (Rags) after his 1970's musicals ran up more performances than anyone else's in New York. I think that's a shame. Guess others disagree.
Working ran on Broadway. Der Brucer remembers seeing it there. It is listed as such on the OCR, for which BK supervised the CD reissue, and it is included in Steven Suskin's book More Opening Nights on Broadway, pages 982-986.
The problem, Noel, is that you misspeak so constantly, and that the rest of us have to step in and correct your mistakes.
Recently, you gave a list of composers and lyricists who, other than Tessori, have not had their work produced on Broadway or much of anyplace else, bemoaning how they are not getting the attention that Brown, Guittel, LaChuisa and Larson have received. Now, you're knocking another lyricist because he has not been on Broadway (or New York City) as yet. You can't have it both ways, Noel! People who are not in your circle of friends deserve success, too.
The touring production of Hot Shoe Shuffle is a worthy credit; that Goldsmith's work on Masada with Levy and Berenbeim will be playing at a major regional theater such as Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts is another worthy credit. Maybe it won't get to Broadway, but instead receive productions in regional theaters nationwide, possibly worldwide. I certainly hope so; the project sounds interesting, and I'd like to see it.
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I thought "The Baker's Wife" to be so dull. There is no tension. The score is so beautiful but the show is lifeless.
The production I saw had great performers and performances but the audience could just as well have gone to sleep. You just don't care about the characters anyway. I listen to the the Cd quite often - but not the Patti Lupone version!
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Jane - thanks for the g.v. to Rachel. She's feeling better - stomach okay, but still "spacey."
As for the Hungarian marzipan. In the pack I got, the Swiss marzipan was much better. But, that's a limited sample, of course.
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What I don't like about THE BAKER'S WIFE is the book's concentration on the villagers. . .take MOST HAPPY FELLA, there, the village is a part of the action, BUT, Loesser took the time to make the most of the interesting leading characters within. I'd like THE BAKER'S WIFE a lot better with a heavier concentration on the three leads.
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Johnny Weir is a lithe and lyrical skater. His style is beautiful and his jumps very light yet secure. He doesn't have a quad yet, but he has everything else. I really don't care what kinds of costumes he wears. He is what he is.
RLP wrote: "Plushenko has huge popularity and there was no outraged booing from the stands, but for all the "artistry" Plushenko is thought to have, and despite the fact that he fell when the other two did not, he was bettered "twice" in the final competition, but he was "given" better marks."
Which is why I didn't watch it last night and which is why I often don't watch the world championships if I know in advance (like I did yesterday) what the results were and how they were arrived at. The judging system in skating is corrupt, and it's so unfair that I can't tolerate it. Even the new system which may be in place by next year the the worlds isn't foolproof against stacking the deck for your favorites.
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Did you know:
1. BK hates marzipan?
2. td loves marzipan?
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I saw CHILDREN IN EDEN a couple of years ago in the professional summer theater series run here in town, and I have to say I didn't care for it. It was, however, very popular with the public, and I believe every performance of the two week run was sold out. Word of mouth sold it obviously because it doesn't have any kind of name recognition outside of theater circles.
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I am now home and listening to another cd compilation from DR Elmore3003 who was aghast, aghast I say, that I couldn't name any favorite Rodgers and Hart songs last week so he put together many samples for me to hear...
Aghast? I was appalled! I was agog! Good songs, aren't they?
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Did you know:
1. BK hates marzipan?
2. td loves marzipan?
1. Yes
2. No or I forgot
I don't care for Italian marzipan. Do you like it?
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Robin, good luck at the scrabble tournament. Let us know how you do. And have fun at the cabin.
DerBrucer and Bruce-nice picture, but now I want chocolate cake.
The ranch is beautiful.
RLP, I won’t feel bad now if I don’t get around to watching my TIVOed skating championships. I will just read your posts. :)
Panni you must see HAROLD AND MAUDE. I should watch it again to see if I’m still of the same opinion.
Emily-YES! Not as witty as RLP & others post, but a definite YES, very ugly & silly looking.
Dan (the Man)-those hands are great.
Matt H, yes the skating comes first but the costumes & music do make a big difference in my viewing pleasure.
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RLP, I won’t feel bad now if I don’t get around to watching my TIVOed skating championships. I will just read your posts. :)
Matt H, yes the skating comes first but the costumes & music do make a big difference in my viewing pleasure.
Jane -- NO-O-O-O-O-O! You MUST watch the skating...the pairs are phenomenal...BOTH Chinese teams plus the Russians who won skated unbelievably beautiful programs. It's light years ahead of anything I've ever seen before.
The men's competition -- Dick Button said it's probably the BEST he's ever seen. UNBELIEVABLE skating from the top 3 finishes, plus Johnny Weir's excellent, promising performance!
You won't be sorry you watched.
And I agree -- a costume can really make a difference. I know I feel better when I'm wearing something I know looks good on me! I can't help but believe a skater must be given a little boost to know that he or she looks really good! I think Weir needs someone with better taste to dress him, that's all.
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I HATE marzipan.
I, myself, have corrected my friend Noel, but he never seems to acknowledge the corrections or come back and post a followup. One should be prepared to say "Oops (spoo) I was wrong" or to defend their position (nicely, of course). That is my two centavos, amigos, for whatever they are worth. What are centavos worth anyway?
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Bad allergy day - even the Claritin D is not working as it has been. Very windy here, which I'm sure is exacerbating the problem. Exacerbating, do you hear me?
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Welcome 14 GUESTS. Join us, it's ever so much fun.
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Another example of skating's deck stacking: I won't say specifics because I don't want to ruin any surprises, but something controversial happened today during the ladies' short program that affected Michelle Kwan's overall marks. Maddening.
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There are now seven reviews up on amazon, all of them lovely. Keep 'em coming.
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I'm so glad there's no marzipan related cure for allegies or bk would be in a quandary.
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I thinking I know what caused the confusion a few posts back between Noel and der Brucer. WORKING did run on Broadway, but it was in 1978, several years before RAGS. Noel was talking about Schwartz musicals in the 80s.
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I misspoke: the lyricist of Masada has written one musical which has never played New York. If somebody here has seen Hot Shoe Shuffle, I'd love to hear about it.
Stephen Schwartz, in the 1980's, had one musical on Broadway (Rags) after his 1970's musicals ran up more performances than anyone else's in New York. I think that's a shame.
I thank DR WEL for clearing up the confusion.
The problem, Noel, is that you misspeak so constantly, and that the rest of us have to step in and correct your mistakes.
Earlier I admitted I was wrong in stating that Masada's lyricist had never written a musical before. As BK points out, his credits are a little dubious, mentioning lyrics for films but not stating that these films were never produced.
Recently, you gave a list of composers and lyricists who, other than Tessori, have not had their work produced on Broadway or much of anyplace else, bemoaning how they are not getting the attention that Brown, Guittel, LaChuisa and Larson have received. Now, you're knocking another lyricist because he has not been on Broadway (or New York City) as yet. You can't have it both ways, Noel! People who are not in your circle of friends deserve success, too.
When did I say Masada didn't deserve success? While my own taste is not for the overly tragic kind of musical, I wish the Masada team every success. I never knocked the lyricist; I know nothing of his work. I expressed doubt (in fact, I said I'd put money on it) that this show would come to Broadway. Writers such as Buck, Curry and Fell & Moore can't seem to get their work on Broadway - which I think is a shame. Hell, even Adam Guettel's yet to make it to the big street. What are you correcting, again?
This sort of nitpicking is to be expected at ratm, not the friendliest place on the internet.
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Let us not pick nits. No picking of nits here at haineshisway.com. We won't even pick Brits, let along Nits. Soon, I will be at Musso and Frank with dear reader Pogue and I will be happy I tell you, happy. In the meantime, let us not pick nits. Nits picked to bits cause me to have fits.
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Pogue is up to madcap sprite clavicals in work. You work on something for a year and half, honing and weighing and meticulously crafting, getting it ready for production and as soon as it's greenlit...there is insane flurry of pre-production activity where everything is second-guessed or changed or they find it doesn't meet the budget and all the finely-crafted work is being altered by rapid-fire decisions and they want re-writes yesterday and you're the only one holding onto the continuity and line of everything in your mind.
So Pogue must prioritize. If he is to play with Kimmel tonight, he must give Kimmel's message boards and the HHW gang short today. Bye, everyone have a good weekend. I'll be writing. Try to stop in.
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Echo is home, not too happy but doing well. She had three growths & multiple ticks removed. Her teeth are now pearly white. Biopsies will be done on two of the growths. We expect the results will be fine but I won’t completely relax until then.
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Pogue, put priorities where they belong and have a good, productive weekend. We will miss you but I’m sure the movie will be worth it.
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Good to hear Echo is home. We have just (yesterday) received some biopsy results for Magnus - he now has to go on a special diet for the rest of his life. No snacks, no bones, no treats, no vegetables, no fun. The poor fellow is not even overweight. Fosca will not be on the same diet but the treats etc will be out for her too. Of course the diet food is EXPENSIVE! Magnus may need to get to get part time employment to supplement our income!
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You work on something for a year and half, honing and weighing and meticulously crafting, getting it ready for production and as soon as it's greenlit...there is insane flurry of pre-production activity where everything is second-guessed or changed or they find it doesn't meet the budget and all the finely-crafted work is being altered by rapid-fire decisions and they want re-writes yesterday and you're the only one holding onto the continuity and line of everything in your mind.
Pogue, you stole my life story and I'm suing - suing, I tell you!
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Good dog vibes to Echo and Magnus (and Fosca and Archie and all the other dogs at HHW)....
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To Dear Reader Panni:
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/move]
[move=RIGHT,scroll,6,transparent,100%] GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! GAS!! [/move]
Will Ads by Google's web crawler now present us with pitchs for Gas-X and Mylanta?
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Larry - I don't think I'll be seeing WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF tonight. Not in the mood.
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Wow! My reviews are up already!!! That was fast!
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On behalf of Magnus & Fosca, thank you Panni. This will some adjustment for the four of here. Cuddles instead of treats! (I think that is usually my prioroty anyway!)
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Hey, you're embarrassing me, guys! :-\ It wasn't gas! I'm much too demure and ladylike for that.
I actually know what gas feels like (not that I've ever had it) and this was a totally different kind of pain. That's why I noticed it and posted - which I now regret. :P
Anyway - I'm just fine now, except I'm in a less than stellar mood because I was all set to go to this meeting - ready like a runner on her mark - and the gun never went off. It's frustrating. Now I have to wait two weeks for the rescheduled meeting. Aaaargh. (That's not the sound of gas!)
I do believe Dear Reader William F. Orr was merely reminding you, Dear Reader Panni, to fill the tank of your car before leaving for the meeting that never was.
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Michael Feinstein, with whom Jimmy W. is touring, says that Jimmy's work is a continuation of the Great American Songbook.
....Thought on this?...
A neat quote from Jimmy Webb on the "process":
"One can not write songs like 'MacArthur Park' every day. I have no control over what comes. I rise in the morning and the compositions flow out. What you do is valid, if you feel that it means something to yourself. It has always been a draw between my radical and conservative points of view - I am either being called a Las Vegas songwriter or someone who contributed to start the Vietnam war."
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Wow Jane, I think I missed your message regarding Echo's trip to the vet. I did read all the good vibes going to Echo (and forgot to add my own post of vibes...but in my mind I was thinking it!). So now I am sending get-well vibes to Echo. And Freddy the cat sends them as well!
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By the way, I am now belatedly mentioning my favorite Rodgers and Hart song: AT THE ROXY MUSIC HALL! Love that one!
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What I'm noticing in these little outlines is that quite a few of the films are about men pretending to be gay in order to win a girl. ("College freshman goes after his dreamgirl by playing gay.") Could someone kindly explain to me how this works in the real world? ???
Beats me, but it's the one thing I haven't tried... maybe that's why I've had such crappy luck!!! :D
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While Schwartz has done revisions to Children of Eden, the show he really can't put away is The Baker's Wife. He's been futzing with that show since its Broadway closing and he's never stopped.
I don't know from The Baker's Wife, but Children of Eden sure as heck needs some work! (Just my opinion, of course)
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About to leave for Musso. Keep the home fries burning so I have loads of lovely postings to read upon my return.
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Keep the home fries burning
Anything to make you happy:
(http://www.foxnews.com/images/120665/1_21_032604_richmond_fires.jpg)
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Beats me, but it's the one thing I haven't tried... maybe that's why I've had such crappy luck!!! :D
I'm sure some folks on this board could give you some pointers 8)
der Brucer (Contemplating his next book "Acting Queer for Straight Dummies")
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Tomovoz what is wrong with poor Magnus? It is just so hard when they are sick. Echo is still sad & down. I’m sure by tomorrow she will be back to her usual self and that may be worse. When I picked her up the doctor said she may return to her hikes in three days. After returning home I read the small print on the follow up paper they gave me-NO BATHING OR GETTING WET FOR 10 DAYS. How on earth can we hike in the spring without her getting wet or into mud! I’m really bummed out now. We will both be very grumpy & depressed by then if we don’t get out.
Sorry that turned into a rant about Echo & me. I know what Echo has will improve. I am sorry for cute Magnus and send him GOOD VIBES! No treats is going to be very difficult.
Thank you MBarnum, Freddy and Panni. Bogie the cat gave Echo a thorough sniffing when she returned home. :D
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Panni the only girls I knew who were attracted to gay guys were girls who had been sexually abused by dates. I think their attraction is self explanatory.
Don’t want that to sound insulting. One definitely can be attracted, but once you know, what is the point in pursuing the guy. ???
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DR Jane, WONDEREFALLS is quite interesting this evening. Either it's quirkier and funnier than the other two, I couldn't say, but it makes me smile. A lot. Especially all the toys singing 100 bottles of beer on the wall.
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. How on earth can we hike in the spring without her getting wet or into mud!
You hike in a spring? No wonder you get wet and muddy. Try hiking in the countryside or in the hills on some dry days...away from the spring.
:D
(I couldn't resist it.)
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Whether it's funnier than the first two, I couldn't say!
I can't even put a sentence together anymore!
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You hike in a spring? No wonder you get wet and muddy. Try hiking in the countryside or in the hills on some dry days...away from the spring.
:D
(I couldn't resist it.)
You're right..."Resistance is futile!"
der Brucer-Borg
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RLP-cute. :D Sometimes Echo does hike in a spring while I stay on the trail. Sometimes I cross said spring on rocks & pray I don’t end up in the spring with Echo. They aren’t really springs, just small rivers or creeks.
Elmore3003-what does that stand for anyway? Thanks for mentioning WONDERFALLS. We did enjoy it more last time, made it ¾ of the way through the show and even laughed some. We just don’t get the same kick out of it that you do. Watching her in the store is like re visiting a bad shopping experience. ;D
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Let's talk serious art, here!
(http://www.foxnews.com/images/120425/0_21_scoobydoo2.jpg)
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Elmore3003-what does that stand for anyway? Thanks for mentioning WONDERFALLS. We did enjoy it more last time, made it ¾ of the way through the show and even laughed some. We just don’t get the same kick out of it that you do. Watching her in the store is like re visiting a bad shopping experience. ;D
3003 is too complicated to explain. Tonight, there are no retail scenes; she hasn't been near the store. The inanimate objects singing is very funny, though.
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I do believe Dear Reader William F. Orr was merely reminding you, Dear Reader Panni, to fill the tank of your car before leaving for the meeting that never was.
Mortified is my middle name. For some reason I didn't see the WFO's first post. Just saw derBrucer's reference to it and thought it was about last night's "heart ache" post. Thank you for pointing it out, Jay. I went back and removed my post. Now the only evidence which exists of my little faux pas is your quote of it. Now if you...
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Mortified is my middle name.
Anna Mortified ... had a nice ring...I like it.
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We are going to curl up on the bed with Echo and watch Sherlock Holmes & The Secret Weapon.
Elmore3003, leaving me to wonder about your name, I just told TIVO to record WONDERFALLS. ;D
Goodnight.
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First off....
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]GOOD DOG VIBES to all the GOOD DOGS out there!!![/move]
Second off...
The Significant Other and I watched a movie earlier tonight entitled Looney Tunes: Back in Action, directed by Mr. Joe Dante. In all honesty, it wasn't all that good...except for a scene in Area 52, which featured cameos by a lot of 1950's SF monsters. That scene, we both loved. The rest of the movie wasn't bad, just uninvolving. (I also like the fact that Joe Dante seems unwilling to make a movie without both Dick Miller and Robert Picardo in it somewhere.)
Oh, I have to ask this question: Is Jenna Elfman always this bad an actress? Oh, my. No timing, no screen presence, no ability to convey even the most basic emotion...stunningly, stunningly bad.
Third off...and best...
My copy of Kritzer Time arrived in today's mail! Let's see, a weekend at the cabin, and a brand-new book...seems like destiny, don't it???
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~~MINX SENDS GOOD VIBES TO HER FELLOW CANINES~~~~[/move]
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[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%]! ! ! NEW PAGE! ! ! [/move]
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Well Well Well
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I watched the laserdisc of Al Jolson's THE SINGING FOOL tonight. A year after THE JAZZ SINGER and Warners was still making part talkies.
But I sure do love "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder." In fact, when Al re-recorded all his hits in the 1940s for Decca, that's the version of the song that I much prefer.
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Oh, I just read that character actress Jan Sterling died today. I loved her in THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY and FEMALE ON THE BEACH.
:(
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Do people think Al Jolson was a good performer or how we see him in the later part of his career (30-50) he was just a character of himself like Newly, Davis Jr, Martin, Sinatra became. Or did his film roles really capture a master showman at work?
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The movies at the period of his peak performing power, I think, were too primitive to catch best what he had to offer, but allegedly in person, he overwhelmed you with his passion for performing.
As I mentioned earlier, in the 1940s when he re-recorded his old songs for Decca, his voice had lowered, and I found his vocalizing more appealing.
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Oh, I just read that character actress Jan Sterling died today. I loved her in THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY and FEMALE ON THE BEACH.
:(
That is very sad. Keith Andes mentions in his interview about how much he enjoyed working with Jan Sterling in SPLIT SECOND. She sounded like she would have been a lot of fun!
I had heard that she was living at the Motion Picture Country Home recently, so I wondered how her health was.
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Obsessing, Noel?
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Do people think Al Jolson was a good performer or how we see him in the later part of his career (30-50) he was just a character of himself like Newly, Davis Jr, Martin, Sinatra became. Or did his film roles really capture a master showman at work?
Well, I'd take umbrage at even the suggestion that Sinatra became a parody of himself, if I were the umbrage-taking type, which I'm most certainly not. Sinatra's career had a number of phases. Some I like more than others. His final albums, the two "Duets" discs, were just a bad idea from the get-go, and even being a hardcore Sinatraphile, I have a difficult time listening to them.
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Obsessing, Noel?
Yes, now that I've been alerted that I make misstatements constantly, I've been reading old posts to see where people were kind enough to correct me.
DR Panni - Still waiting to hear about Kossuth and why there's a statue of him near my home.
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DR Panni - Still waiting to hear about Kossuth and why there's a statue of him near my home.
Once again proving my theory that Hungarians are responsible for everything that's significant in the affairs of the world...
"All for the People and All by the People;
Nothing About the People Without the People -
That is Democracy!"
Spoken before the Ohio State Legislature,
February 16, 1852
The speech from which the above is taken was given over a decade before Lincoln's "for the people, by the people" speech at Gettysburg in 1863. Kossuth was the first foreign Statesman officially invited to the US since the Marquis de Lafayette. His upcoming speech in the Congress of the United States made the pre-civil war joint house nervous due to his democratic views on equality of all men. Kossuth learned English while in prison and exile and spoke to half the population of the US who enthusiastically greeted and flocked to hear him. Despite Hungary's epic struggle and Kossuth's brave and noble efforts, the US, the "Bastion of Democracy" turned him away, empty handed. Hungary was alone again in its fight for democracy in 1956, and didn't gain freedom until 1989.
Kossuth (pronounced co-shoot) was Governor of Hungary during fight for independence and democracy which was eventually defeated by the union of the royalist Austrian Habsburg and Russian Czarist Armies (1848 - 1849). Kossuth envisioned a federation in the Kingdom of Hungary in which all nationalties participated in a vibrant democratic system based on fundamental democratic principles such as equality and parliamentary representation. The bloody conflict eventually led to a partial victory for Hungary - a great compromise known as the "Austro-Hungarian Empire," in which Hungary gained some autonomy.
Today, there are many reminders of Kossuth's impact on America. There is a Kossuth County in the state of Iowa, a town with his name in Indiana, Ohio and Mississippi, and a settlement with a Kossuth Post Office is in Pennsylvania. In addition, there are three Kossuth statues in the US: New York, Cleveland and Washington. The Hungarian Reformed Federation's building on Dupont Circle, in Washington, DC is called Kossuth House with a memorial plaque commemorating his speech on democracy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said in greeting Kossuth on his arrival at Concord, MA, May 11, 1852,
"[we] have been hungry to see the man whose extraordinary eloquence is seconded by the splendor and the solidity of his actions."
Kossuth even spawned a fashion craze (moustache-less beard with TopHat) in the ever trendy US. His statue now sits proudly in the US Capitol - it reads, "Father of Hungarian Democracy"
Excerpted fro
http://hipcat.hungary.org/users/hipcat/kossuth.htm
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Sad news about Jan Sterling. She was at the last Ray Courts show and did not look good. I had the pleasure of sitting next to her at one of my cousins Passover dinners about ten years ago. She was great, and I told her that she'd said my favorite line of dialogue in Ace in the Hole ("I don't pray - kneeling bags my nylons").
Back from a splendidly splendid supper with Mr. Charles Pogue. I think we both veered from our respective diets a bit, and that's just fine - one has to do it every now and then. We then went back to Casa Pogue and I gave him a brief tutorial on loading photos to the site, so he should be able to do so very soon.
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BK, great time at Musso's. Glad to get my KRITZER TIME, KRITZER TIME album, assorted goodies, laughs, and general good time. If I have done this right, you should now be seeing my scowling mug everytime I post. Night, all!
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By the by, td, thanks for properly sizing this for me.
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Yes, the Pogue mug. It worked! Now, let's get some late-night denizens in here.
It was sad to see the Pogue dog Cully, now blind, bumping into walls. Such a sweet, cute dog.
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Evening all! Spent the evening with my sister who's recovering from some minor but inconvienient foot surgery. She wanted us to watch Barbershop. At first I rolled my eyes and then thought that I'd just stick it out until her percocets set in and I could slip out. But as it turned out I found it to be a wonderful little movie. A very talented cast, some nice direction, a few scenes a little too handheavily written but overall funny and sweet. I think this film could easily be developed into a weekly TV series (but only if Cedric the Entertainer signs on.)
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Dan de man - A sequel to BARBERSHOP is coming out.
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My allergies are really doing me in and the damn Claritin D isn't doing anything for the first time since I started taking it.
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FS Pogue - I like the photo. Very "Angry Young Man." Very "Don't Fool With This Writer if You Know What's Good for You."
Sorry to hear that old Cully is bumping into walls and such.
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Dan de man - A sequel to BARBERSHOP is coming out.
Yep. This is the one with Queen Latifah, which I think is supposed to be a sort of prequel to her own Beauty Parlor movie (don't quote me on that title, though.)
Okay, I'm wussburgering out here. I keep nodding off and my head is hitting the keyboard.
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In a case of eerie coincidence, Miss Jan Sterling had been scheduled to appear at the Egyptian Theatre this evening following the screening of Ace in the Hole, which kicked off their "Not on Video" mini-festival.
(Dear BK and Dear Reader Charles Pogue: Were you even aware of what was being projected onto the silver screen across the street from your dinner rendezvous?)
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HEALING VIBES TO MR. BK!
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Turns out my daughter didn't have food poisoning, but possibly some virus she picked up on her recent travels to Hungary.
She was feeling really "spacey" and dizzy all day and finally went to get checked out. They ruled out various very serious things, but discovered in one of the tests they did that when she gets up after lying down, her blood pressure plummets and her heart beat goes way up -- or something abnormal of that sort. This combined with a fever and some other symptoms led to the ubiquitous virus diagnosis. Of course, they have no idea what it could be and told her to go to the University Health Services if it's not better by Monday. And return at once if it gets worse.
I told her to think Wheel of Fortune and will (or wheel) herself to good health. (Meanwhile, I won't get any decent sleep. Does being a parent ever get any easier?)
Vibes wouldn't hurt.
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I wish I'd known about Ace in the Hole. I do have a rather great copy taped off cable which I transfered to DVD.
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Healing vibes to Panni's darling daughter
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who impressed me on the night before Christmas
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From an item about THE MOUSETRAP:
The surviving members of the original "Mousetrap" cast were re-united on Friday to celebrate the classic Agatha Christie whodunnit.
"She was quite remarkable. She was like Steven Spielberg. Certain people have a nose for what the public is interested in," Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough told Reuters, reflecting on Christie's classic murder mystery set in an English country house.
On the first night of the play's pre-London run in the provinces, Attenborough was far from convinced it would succeed. Christie was.
He recalled: "She poked her head over the balcony of the hotel where we were staying and said 'Darlings, I don't know what the hell you are fussing about. I think we should get quite a nice little run out of it."'
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Thank you, Noel!
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I'd love to see ACE IN THE HOLE again. I ran across it some time ago purely by accident on TV. Knew absolutely nothing about the film and started to watch, intending to just spend a few minutes with it. Needless to say I watched the whole thing and was blown away.
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What is this? A PPF? (Panni Posting Frenzy?)