Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Voice of Verging
Stephenesque had mentioned a while back that he was interested in giving a listen to a Sunday radio show that I occassionally host. Unfortunately, my scheduled appearances were always announced a tad late for him to tune in with his vacuum tube powered PC, a machine I'd dearly love to see as the picture and sound quality is most probably superior to the current mass-prodcued dreck that most of us are reading this blog on. Nothing like the glow of vacuum tubes and smell of hot electric current to make sitting in front of a pc a more sensual experience. So, in the interest of cadging any additional listeners to this show, Morning After, on WVUD at University of Delaware, available for your online listening pleasure here, herewith the schedule of yours truly on the internet waves.The show, as described on the WVUD site, is an "eclectic blend of music to accompany your Sunday paper". Apologies for the use of "eclectic", a word that used to be quaint and charming and one that is now a tire with no tread. The interesting part of the show is that there are 7 of us rotating as dj's. Each of us has his/her own musical axe to grind, so if you tune in one wekk and wonder what rubbish is playing, just wait until the next week and you may be enthralled with the musical choices. My own preferences run to jazz and blues, with forays into music from Africa and Latin America. Gospel, R & B, R & R, and re-mixes also poke their toes into the morning mix. The show is on each Sunday, 9:00 to 12:00 EST. Drop on by, if you're sitting by a pc/Mac.
I'll be doing the dj duties on:
January 29
February 19
March 26
April 2
July 2
Sept 17
Oct 1
Nov 19
Dec 17
My patter is minimal, the music's the thing. Oh yeah, no commericals for three hours.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Why NYC is the Best City in the World...
...as long as you're making $300k, minimum, and staying power is what you're all about.We are led around by something mainly pertaining to one of our senses. I fall into the "Led around by the Ear" category. So, what would be better than any of these artists performing the next 7 days in NYC? I, unfortunately, do not fall in the $300k range, so attendance at all of the following (obviously just a small smattering of the infinite possibilities) would be impossible.
But, if anyone out there is attending any of the performances listed, I'd love to hear from you. Comments are, as always, open!
Friday January 20th: Cake , Tegan & Sara , Gogol Bordello , Eugene Mirman @ Hammerstein Ballroom 8:00, $34
(Addendum (1/21): Here's a visitor's Live Journal Review)
Friday January 20th: Henry Butler @ Grace Rainey Auditorium 8:00, $45
Saturday January 21st: Cyro Baptista & Beat the Donkey (pictured on the left), Luminescent Orchestrii @ Steinnhardt Bldg, Makor 8:00, $15 (Yes!!! Fifteen Dollars)
Saturday & Sunday January 21st & 22nd: Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.) @ Jazz Standard 7:00, 9:00, 11:30, $25
Wed through January 29th: Bill Charlap Trio @ Iridium 8:00 & 10:00, $27.50
Thursday January 26th: Colin Meloy & Laura Veirs @ Town Hall 8:00, $23.50
And this is a short list indeed.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
365 Ways to See a Day
Time on your hands? Like, quite a hefty bit of time? From Drawn! (a favorite site of mine, especially when the day is grey or the night is moonless), here's Tom Judd's Everyday, a site with a drawing for each day of the previous year. It starts with November 8, 2004 and, by clicking the little black arrow on the top right corner of each drawing, ends with November 7, 2005.
For those of us asked, "Well, so what did you do on that Monday in August, you know, the 8th?", a shrug of the shoulders is all we'd be able to muster.
Not so for Mr. Judd. He'd just flip to here and show you exactly what he did.
365 days.
Wow. I was wondering if this all started as a sketch at the kitchen table on 11/08/04, 2:00-ish in the afternnon, too late for lunch, too early for supper, while sipping cold coffee. As each day brought another drawing, I wonder if the lark became the 2 ton hippo, pressure each day until the year was finished. Or, I'm probably reading my own doodling/ciphering to time-tightened results conversion experiences into his own. He probably enjoyed the hell out of himself from Day #1 to Day #365.
And he had more to show off for those days than the most of us. Well, at least myself.
For those of us asked, "Well, so what did you do on that Monday in August, you know, the 8th?", a shrug of the shoulders is all we'd be able to muster.
Not so for Mr. Judd. He'd just flip to here and show you exactly what he did.
365 days.
Wow. I was wondering if this all started as a sketch at the kitchen table on 11/08/04, 2:00-ish in the afternnon, too late for lunch, too early for supper, while sipping cold coffee. As each day brought another drawing, I wonder if the lark became the 2 ton hippo, pressure each day until the year was finished. Or, I'm probably reading my own doodling/ciphering to time-tightened results conversion experiences into his own. He probably enjoyed the hell out of himself from Day #1 to Day #365.
And he had more to show off for those days than the most of us. Well, at least myself.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Picking up His Pieces
This Frey guy came up on my radar when I was catching up on some local news for Granville, Ohio, the lovely and "quaint" little village that sits at the bottom of the large hill that is Denison University, where the eldest is currently putting nose-to-grindstone (hopefully) to graduate this coming May.Denison U. is keeping mum on the subjct...so far. Hopefully, the inside scoop will be provided by da son. For a small college (about 2,100 students), Denison has provided us with quite a few memorable characters. Among the illustrious grads are:
Michael Eisner
Senator Richard Lugar
Jennifer Garner
Molly O'Neill
Steve Carell
Hal Holbrook
Bobby Rahal
It will be interesting to see how Denison honors another famous son. In dealing with Mr. "Million Pieces", Whisky Prajer ties in childhod whoppers with 400+ pages non-fiction/fiction books here quite cleverly. He also provides a link to a scat review of "A Million Pieces". Hope Mr. Frey has got a heavy coat on the next month or so.
As alumni Hal Holbrook (must have) said in his Mark Twain Solo shows, "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure. "
Addendum: 1/27/2006: On January 23rd, Denison U. had this press release, noting the successes of Frey, Garner, & Carell.
...later in the day, the press release was changed to this. Hmmmm. Wonder if Mr. Frey hadn't sent in his annual alumni contribution?
(One more) Addendum: 1/31/06. Seems that link I'd referenced previously has been deleted by the Public Affairs office @ Denison U. Funny thing, that. In that release praise was lavished on Garner, Carell, and Frey, with Frey being the lead person in the article. Oh well, self-censorship is always a possibility. Here's a story in the Sept. 9, 2002 issue of the student paper, Denisonian on Frey's just then released book, "A Million Little Pieces".
Getting There
(Chauncey with Louise)
Searchblog, in her most recent entry on "Being There" and how it entwined her own life with that of her grandfather, does Mr. Kosinki well. "Being There", starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, and Jack Warden was an oddball picture that came out in 1979. It is a film that did not seem to be American as it was a working from a screenplay written by Jerzy Kosinski, a Polish immigrant, based on his own book. The book, as well as the movie, have the magic realism nowadays associated with the Slavic and south American writers.
As Searchie connected Being There to her grandfather, I have always connected the movie and the book to my father. In his later years, his pronouncements to the family and friends were few and far between, so they were savored when they were made. There were Chauncey-like phrasings that were metaphors somehow connected with our daily activities. His phrases were not to be taken lightly nor to be thought about when one was walking to school as rehashing my father's observations and crossing the street were not mutually executable actions. Having a cafe or bistro around to mull these bon mots over would have been useful tools of thought.
Searchblog lovingly couples Chauncy and her paternal grandfather, two gardeners, of sorts. I do, however, disagree, with the closing passage on her entry, where she quotes, from the book, "A breeze fell upon the foliage and nestled under the cover of its moist leaves. Not a thought lifted itself from Chance's brain. Peace filled his chest.", and then wishes that she were there (A place with no thoughts, I'm assuming) as well. Chauncey's thoughts, in most cases shallow and simplistic, are not ones that one would connect with major brain power, and therefore not ones that would necessarily burden one's brain. Ms. Searchie seems incapable of Chauncey's meager and limited harvest, and we are better for it.
Searchie, my favorite quote from the movie was Louise's, It's for sure a white man's world in America. Look here: I raised that boy since he was the size of a piss-ant. And I'll say right now, he never learned to read and write. No, sir. Had no brains at all. Was stuffed with rice pudding between th' ears. Shortchanged by the Lord, and dumb as a jackass. Look at him now! Yes, sir, all you've gotta be is white in America, to get whatever you want. Gobbledy-gook!
How hilarious of Mr. Kosinski to have the housekeeper utter the Emperor's Clothing line that we in the audience had been screaming the whole time.
Note Bene, one of the main reasons for this post is to comment on Searchblog's post...which I couldn't do on hers. The castle walls are high there, indeed!
Friday, January 06, 2006
News Perspective
From Carolina Blog Consultants, here's a Fox News view of happenings. Well, that is if they were around in the days when these events occurred. Geraldo Rivera's reporting stint in Troy is especially noteworthy.
Ratko Mladic, a Philly Guy?
This little article culled from Yakima Gulag Literary Gazette is interesting.On the run.
On the lam.
Parts unknown.
And yet, Mr. Mladic was still receiving a pension until November, 2005.
He's still out there, waiting to be trapped.
May I suggest setting a trap?
An overloaded Philly Hoagie dropped off at a nice little cafe. Once he's done digesting this little baby, he'll ripe for the picking. And with his financial arrangements, he sure can pass for a Philadelphian, so how is he not going to fall for this? you can even throw in an offer to work on Mayor Street's financial advisory committee. He'd fit right in.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Wait 'til, uhmmmm, Next Year !!??
Previous posts have lighted on the peculiarities on the denizens of Delaware. A small state, true, but one filled with characters of every feather. It's January the 2nd and already curious plummage is visible.
This year's New Year's resolutions seemed to have started off badly for a Mr. Thomas J. Bruno. That is, of course, if the following beginning of the year 2006 promises were NOT on his list.
Things To Do in 2006
1) Soliciting sex from a male prostitute.
2) Shelling out $150 for said solicitation.
3) Getting stiffed (sorry!?) by said male prostitute.
4) Wandering around a marsh late at night.
5) Losing one's shoes in the previously mentioned marsh.
6) Slipping into mud up to one's waist and staying there for four hours in the night.
7) Being rescued by a large contingent of state troopers, police and firmen from nearby towns of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
8) Being flown around the mud field by helicopter like a prize landed tuna.
9) When released from the hospital one would be charged with (tentatively) with
a) Falesly reporting an incident.
b) Trespassing.
c) Criminal solicitation.
d) Patronizing a prostitute.
Currently, in the State of Delaware, stupidity is not a chargeable offense. Although, I would think there'd be something on the books about mistreatment of marsh resources. In his defense, Mr. Bruno offered up various stories before finally admitting to the true reason he was stuck in mud, 2 miles away from his car. I think it's a shame he had not offered the most logical reason for being out late in the morning in mud (aside from an alleged rendevous with a male prostitute), namely, participating in the Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Mud warblers supposedly were spotted in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Thomas J. Bruno. Although the image of Mr. Bruno flying around the marsh field caked in mud most certainly made some counter's list of odd birds flying around the Diamond State this year. Truly a prized addition to one's life list.
This year's New Year's resolutions seemed to have started off badly for a Mr. Thomas J. Bruno. That is, of course, if the following beginning of the year 2006 promises were NOT on his list.
Things To Do in 2006
1) Soliciting sex from a male prostitute.
2) Shelling out $150 for said solicitation.
3) Getting stiffed (sorry!?) by said male prostitute.
4) Wandering around a marsh late at night.
5) Losing one's shoes in the previously mentioned marsh.
6) Slipping into mud up to one's waist and staying there for four hours in the night.
7) Being rescued by a large contingent of state troopers, police and firmen from nearby towns of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
8) Being flown around the mud field by helicopter like a prize landed tuna.
9) When released from the hospital one would be charged with (tentatively) with
a) Falesly reporting an incident.
b) Trespassing.
c) Criminal solicitation.
d) Patronizing a prostitute.
Currently, in the State of Delaware, stupidity is not a chargeable offense. Although, I would think there'd be something on the books about mistreatment of marsh resources. In his defense, Mr. Bruno offered up various stories before finally admitting to the true reason he was stuck in mud, 2 miles away from his car. I think it's a shame he had not offered the most logical reason for being out late in the morning in mud (aside from an alleged rendevous with a male prostitute), namely, participating in the Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Mud warblers supposedly were spotted in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Thomas J. Bruno. Although the image of Mr. Bruno flying around the marsh field caked in mud most certainly made some counter's list of odd birds flying around the Diamond State this year. Truly a prized addition to one's life list.
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