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[bk]

And one for Mahler.

[bk]

I finished watching Super Size Me, about which more later.  However, the film had the opposite effect on me than it does on most - it made me hungry for McDonald's.

[Jay]

Apropos to yesterday's topic of the day:  I haven't yet enrolled in Latin classes, and I haven't yet signed up for piano lessons, but I did take a subscription to a ballet series in Orange County for The Dear Mother and myself.  Today is the first performance, with the New York City Ballet in an all-Balanchine program in this, his centenary year.  There's an ungodly 12:30 p.m. curtain; I can't imagine why.  Thus, instead of our usual pre-performance big hat luncheon, we shall partake of a post-performance mid-day meal.  Until later, I remain yours, yours, yours.

[elmore3003]

Apropos to yesterday's topic of the day:  I haven't yet enrolled in Latin classes, and I haven't yet signed up for piano lessons, but I did take a subscription to a ballet series in Orange County for The Dear Mother and myself.  Today is the first performance, with the New York City Ballet in an all-Balanchine program in this, his centenary year.  There's an ungodly 12:30 p.m. curtain; I can't imagine why.  Thus, instead of our usual pre-performance big hat luncheon, we shall partake of a post-performance mid-day meal.  Until later, I remain yours, yours, yours.

DRJay, Balanchine is the greatest!  What were the ballets?

[Ron Pulliam]

It is my guess, gentlemen, that those Playmates at the show today will never reach the status of Miss June Wilkinson, and when indeed they are the age that she is today - they will not look like she does.

Still lovely - and "accessible" it seems.  Thanks, Miss Wilkinson!  

DR JRand54:  By all means, you must prostrate yourself before her and demand to be taken as her slave.

[Ron Pulliam]

My neighbor lady told my mother she never liked flies till she opened one.

Some of us fools take no advice and jump right in!

DRPanni, feel better!

She opened a fly?  What was she, an etymologist?

[Noel]

I finished watching Super Size Me, about which more later.  However, the film had the opposite effect on me than it does on most - it made me hungry for McDonald's.

I've not set foot in a McDonald's since seeing Super Size Me, and am very surprised BK got a hankering after seeing it.  I was swayed by its implicit argument, that when you have a capitalist society in which a corporation's primary objective is to make money, this comes in confict with mankind's objective to live, eat, and grow in a healthy way.  There's a clash all around us, under every pair of golden arches, and I keep thinking about the unable-to-resist-the-call-of-the-Big-Mac humans who are ruining their hearts and muscles with every bite.

[Jenny]

I've not set foot in a McDonald's since seeing Super Size Me, and am very surprised BK got a hankering after seeing it.  

Oh, my reaction to the film was quite similar to BK's!  After watching, I wanted nothing more than a nice Big Mac!

In fact, right now I want nothing more than a nice Big Mac.

Mmm...

[Jenny]

I'm really impressed at high schools that attempt such intricate shows as THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. Not an easy show at all for professionals to pull off. Wow! Break a leg, DR Maya when the time comes for auditions.

Maya is actually a college student!

[Panni]

I'm back from looking at another place. Blechhh!

[William E. Lurie]

BK - I thought I was the only one who enjoyed the STAR WARS films without considering them the be all and end all of film.  Entertaining: yes, by all means.  But great filmmaking?  I think not.  (I also feel that way about ET - even with your cameo appearance).

Speaking of high school musicals, Papermill Playhouse in NJ gives out awards to area high school musicals and it is amazing some of the shows that are done by high schools.  Last year these included OVER HERE, COMPANY, CRAZY FOR YOU, MY FAVORITE YEAR and FOOTLOOSE.

While the world doesn't need another Sondheim Compilation Revue, nonetheless OPENING DOORS was a delight.  Instead of the usual suspects (no "Send In the Clowns", no "I'm Still Here") they use a lot of lesser known SS songs including much of the material on BK's "Unsung Sondheim" CD.  There are unusal arrangements ("Barcellona" is done by a male air host and his girlfriend) and medleys.  It's a very entertaining evening.

[Stuart]

Speaking of high school musicals, Papermill Playhouse in NJ gives out awards to area high school musicals and it is amazing some of the shows that are done by high schools.  Last year these included OVER HERE, COMPANY, CRAZY FOR YOU, MY FAVORITE YEAR and FOOTLOOSE.

The Stars of Tomorrow program in Rochester, for which I am an adjudicator, is modeled on the PaperMill program.  

Let's see, in my division last year, I sat through two DOLLYs, two GUYS & DOLLSes, two MATTRESSes, an INTO THE WOODS, a FIDDLER, an OLIVER, and ANNIE.  Other divisions, including the one that includes Rochester's School of the Arts, had similar fare, but also an occasional oddity or difficult piece, such as DEAR EDWINA (!) or RAGTIME.

[Charles Pogue]

William E. Lurie, Add me to the club that never found  STAR WARS the be all and end all.  I really enjoyed the movie when it first came out and I was in the first audience who saw in Dallas, Texas, the day it opened.  But I think I was just thrilled to see something like it when there hadn't been anything like it inso long.  But even then, I could hardly agree with Time magazine's assessment of the Greatest Movie of All Time.  And when I saw it a few months later, I was the thrill had begun to pall and I was able to watch the film much more objectively.  Actually, to me, the best of the lot is THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, because of its darker colours (though I had the matinee serial ending...I think every movie should be complete in itself and tie up its loose ends...you should never have to wait for the next in the series).  I really liked the way Revenge of the Jedi started it out and then it devolved into that horrid mess with those cuddly Ewoks and such.  The two recent ones have been negligible.  All five are perfectly fine, but the be all end all?  None of them would make my top 25, probably not even my top 100.

JRand, I did mention the Playgirl and the Bellboy to June.  She said it had been a real nothing experience and the director had been so inept that she had forgotten his name.  So she was surprised when it was re-released a few years later after the direcotr had made a name for himself-- Francis Ford Coppola.

June is indeed more attractive and sexier than all those younger playmates.  Mainly because she's genuine and she has a sense of humour.

[Noel]

I sat through two DOLLYs, two GUYS & DOLLSes, two MATTRESSes, an INTO THE WOODS, a FIDDLER, an OLIVER, and ANNIE.  Other divisions, including the one that includes Rochester's School of the Arts, had similar fare, but also an occasional oddity or difficult piece, such as DEAR EDWINA (!) or RAGTIME.

I'm guessing Dear Edwina warrants the (!) because it's never been produced on Broadway.  I'd love to know what you think of it.

Dear Edwina has a rather strange development history.  While working for Disney, Zina Goldrich perceived that there was a need, out there, for songs that teach children about manners.  She and Marcy Heisler wrote a bunch, including my favorite song of theirs, Hola Lola, and, years later, turned it into a stage musical about a modern-day Emily Post type.

And it gets done by schools with some frequency.

[Maya]

Thank you all so much for the Welcome Backs!

Matt--I am a junior in college, but I can understand your confusion.  I'll be 22 in December , but everyone tells me I look 16 or so.  Which might explain one of the reasons I get along so well with Jenny!  

I've actually heard of high schools putting on "Drood."   I was also involved in a program in high school similar to the Paper Mill and the Stars of Tomorrow ones, called the CAPPIES.  It was a fun experience, and I got to review a lot of high school shows in the metro area.  I got nominated for Best Critic, but didn't win.  It was still very flattering though!  And I got to wear a pretty gown.

I'm not a huge fan of "Star Wars" either.  It's just never affected me much either way.

[Stuart]

I'm guessing Dear Edwina warrants the (!) because it's never been produced on Broadway.  I'd love to know what you think of it.

As I mentioned, it was performed by a school that was not in my division, so I still have no opinion on the piece.

[Noel]

Peter Mills' The Taxi Cabaret was not nearly as impressive as I'd anticipated it would be, mostly due to some weak people in the cast and the 45th Street Theatre being the wrong space for a cabaret show.  I think my enthusiasm about Mills may have something to do with the notion that he writes the kind of song I wrote in my 20's.

He's gotten so much praise that I worried that seeing his revue might make me green with envy.  But, over two hours' time, there was plenty of stuff that failed to impress, making Mills seem human, for once.

I continue to believe that someday he's going to write an excellent musical.  But I've stated the same faith in Jason Robert Brown, and, you know, he's let me down...

[DearReaderLaura]

I don't believe I have anything interesting to say today. As usual.

[Ron Pulliam]

I don't believe I have anything interesting to say today. As usual.

Thus far, this shared affliction hasn't stopped any of us...and you're never uninteresting, either.

[bk]

Noel, your McDonald's comments will be addressed in tomorrow's notes when I talk about the film - but basically I found its argument preposterous - that if you were to eat three meals a day for thirty days in a row you'd have problems if all those meals were at McDonald's.  I think you could say the same of any fast food restaurant and basically any sort of diet with no variety.  I eat at McDonald's maybe twice a month, sometimes I go three or four months without a visit, and I suppose there have been times when I've eaten there maybe four times in a month.  Furthermore, I have never gained a single pound eating my one McDonald's meal in a day.  In fact, when I was playing racquetball regularly in the early eighties, I used to love to do my hour of racquetball then go directly to McDonald's and eat a large amount of food (including fries) - on those occasions I would always lose a pound or two the next day.  While I'm sure that Super Size Me applies to a small minority of people who eat fast food day and night, I think the majority of people don't do that.  I also think there's living proof in the film that you don't have to weigh three hundred pounds if you've eaten a LOT of McDonald's - just look at the guy who eats nothing but Big Macs - he's not overweight at all, in fact, he looks a little thin to me.

[Matt H.]

Well, I enjoyed THE ROCKETEER for some mindless entertainment this afternoon. The plot is rather thin, but it certainly has a bracing music score.

After it finished playing (old transfer hence3 no anamorphic enhancement which would have made the transfer even more sparkling), I slipped in Laurence Olivier's RICHARD III. Have only watched a bit of it, but the Technicolor is eye-popping, and I don't think I've ever seen it in its proper VistaVision proportions, so that is also a treat. Criterion has done a masterful job with transferring this title using anamorphic enhancement, so the whole thing is just stunning.

[François de Paris]

DR JRand54:  By all means, you must prostrate yourself before her and demand to be taken as her slave.

Oh, my!
Me bad!!
At first, I tought I was reading: "you must prostate yourself...."

Testicles, prostate.... what a programme!

[Ron Pulliam]

But even then, I could hardly agree with Time magazine's assessment of the Greatest Movie of All Time.  

"Time", in its review, called it "the best movie of the year" and rightfully raved over its sheer entertainment value and its pushing the state of special effects to heights we had never seen.

[François de Paris]

I'm back from looking at another place. Blechhh!

I guess you did not like it, hey?

Have another Big Mag!!

[Noel]

I eat at McDonald's maybe twice a month, sometimes I go three or four months without a visit, and I suppose there have been times when I've eaten there maybe four times in a month.

Then you're perfectly safe.  And the racketball exercise makes you even safer, healthier.

Super Size Me applies to a small minority of people who eat fast food day and night, I think the majority of people don't do that.

But the vast majority of Americans are not healthy.  They're fat, or their cholest. is high, or their blood pressure is dangerous, and, from a public health point of view, that's a crisis, even a pandemic.

Unlike BK, who feeds on fast food only rarely, there's a huge segment (not "a small minority of people") who eat this junk much more frequently than can possibly be healthy.  I agree with you that the example the filmmaker makes of himself is preposterous.  Nobody's eating nothing but fast food, 3 times a day.  But, the more valuable service of the documentary is its illumination of the connection between major unhealthy food corporations convincing people (especially children) to eat at their establishments and our national state of lard-ass lethargy.  That's what I mean about the conflict between capitalism (I'm sure McDonalds' stockholders are happy they sell a billion burgers) and public health (the surgeon general would rather everyone followed BK's example).

[Matt H.]

I've never been a huge sci-fi fan, so it comes as no surprise that I've never been a STAR WARS devotee. I do respect the filmmaking and felt the film's aims were certainly accomplished. I've actually liked each one a little less than the previous one (though I know most critics think THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is the finest of the lot; I don't), and got really bored with the last one, especially with that miserable excuse for a Skywalker, Hayden Christiansen. Oh, he was horrid!

I'll look forward to seeing and hearing the new DVD transfers, but I certainly have plenty of things to watch that I haven't felt this dire need to rush out and get them yet. Still waiting for some used deals to pop up.

[François de Paris]

I've not set foot in a McDonald's since seeing Super Size Me, and am very surprised BK got a hankering after seeing it.  I was swayed by its implicit argument, that when you have a capitalist society in which a corporation's primary objective is to make money, this comes in confict with mankind's objective to live, eat, and grow in a healthy way.  There's a clash all around us, under every pair of golden arches, and I keep thinking about the unable-to-resist-the-call-of-the-Big-Mac humans who are ruining their hearts and muscles with every bite.

The trailer just turned me off this film!

Yep!
Who, in his/her right mind, would go and eat McDonald's food for so long EACH and EVERY day ..... to prove that's not healthy???

I don't like to be taken for a jerk.... even -- or... even more!! -- if I'm one....

The premises to that "study" are just plain dumb to me!!

[François de Paris]

BK - I thought I was the only one who enjoyed the STAR WARS films without considering them the be all and end all of film.  Entertaining: yes, by all means.  But great filmmaking?  I think not.  (I also feel that way about ET - even with your cameo appearance).

Speaking of high school musicals, Papermill Playhouse in NJ gives out awards to area high school musicals and it is amazing some of the shows that are done by high schools.  Last year these included OVER HERE, COMPANY, CRAZY FOR YOU, MY FAVORITE YEAR and FOOTLOOSE.

While the world doesn't need another Sondheim Compilation Revue, nonetheless OPENING DOORS was a delight.  Instead of the usual suspects (no "Send In the Clowns", no "I'm Still Here") they use a lot of lesser known SS songs including much of the material on BK's "Unsung Sondheim" CD.  There are unusal arrangements ("Barcellona" is done by a male air host and his girlfriend) and medleys.  It's a very entertaining evening.

When does it play Paris, France?

[Matt H.]

Actually, I'm looking forward much more to the release of ALADDIN this week. I loved what the Disney sound folks did with the soundtrack to THE LION KING (while retaining the original theatrical soundtrack for purists), and I can't wait to hear what marvels they achieve with ALADDIN.

[bk]

I haven't seen The Rocketeer since it came out - hated it back then, but suspect I'll like it more now.  From what I understand, the Region 2 from France IS anamorphic and I might pick that one up.