Having discovered The Avett Brothers last spring I have the love of a convert. The music is strong, the energy is amazing so my wife and I were very much looking forward to seeing them last weekend.
Making a day of it we drove down leaving Sunday around eleven. The drive was nice, the day was nice and when we got to Dover where we stayed we went to my Papa Geno's. Anyone who knows me knows that I always bemoan how there is no Papa Geno's in Maine. The steak and cheese there is always head and shoulders above any others I get. Of course a couple hours later I was sick, but most anything makes me sick and this tasted very good.
Arriving at the concert venue I found that handicap parking is VIP which I never realized but was a blessing for me to not have to walk through a large parking lot and be sore before we even got there.
The venue is wonderful. About 3000 seats, that may be off a bit as I am not a good estimator, all covered with open sides. We had great seats, fifteen rows back but the overall venue itself was very nice and comfortable.
Nicole Adkins opened and did a good job. Her voice is strong, I am not sure that I thought she was notable but a few of the songs were easy to enjoy such as Maybe Tonight. Her guitar player, I believed named Elena, was very strong. Not often you see the guitar player rocking a solo wearing a tight fusia dress. The highlight of her set was when, acknowledging the twentieth anniversary of Nevermind she performed the Leadbelly song " Where did you sleep last night. " She could not quite scream in a throat shred like Kurt Cobain but she did a good job and clearly has a voice that can sing anything.
The Avett Brothers are hard to describe musically. Viola's, kick drums, guitars, banjo's and more are part of the sound. They are excellent, versatile musicians but are even more showmen. They are all over the stage racing around with such abandon that at times you worry for their safety. The Avett;s have such a huge catalogue that at every show some songs that you wish for will not be played.
In this show they opened with Tin Man and played with abandon for two hours. January Wedding, When I Drink, Head Full of Doubt and Murder in the City were a strong run early in the set coming on the heels of the special Blue Ridge Mountain Blues one of the nods to roots music that the Avett's always include.
Kick Drum Heart and I and Love and You staples of the live shows were done well and a special highlight was a version of Just a Closer Walk With Thee. Clearly hillbilly gospel has a part in the origin of this music.
The crowd was involved, I noticed some college kids around me knowing the words of each song and, in fact, knowing all of the little asides and responses to certain parts of the songs. This feeds the energy which is a large part of an Avett performance. The band played an encore of I Would Be Sad and Slight Figure of Speech but the crowd did not settle. In fact the people to the left of us were frustrated as the crowd was not moving. I myself thought they would not be back, but after five minutes of screaming they did return for another couple songs which were Shame and Colorshow with the ending refrain of " I'm Done." At some point they had to be but clearly this a band you see each time you can,
Great performers. Great show. The best of the year and a great way to end my concert year.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The X Factor
Having watched three editions of this new Simon Cowell led enterprise I think we have a pretty clear picture of what it is and what it is not.
With Simon and Paula Abdul, some fellow responsible for acts such as Justin Bieber, and a rotating fourth judge this show is not different from Idol in any significant way.
It is my understanding that the format might change once the show is down to the chosen artists. Taking a cue from The Voice perhaps each judge will be responsible for a select group of contestants. That will bring some good interactions and might be enjoyable to watch.
Still these shows are singing shows and people who watch tune in to see and hear that. It is easy to be cynical about these shows and indeed at times I find myself being so. Then however a person comes on stage and everything changes. Last night an unkempt gentleman from Ohio, thirty years old, rattily dressed and stating his Mom drove him because she would like to see him do something with his talent. He currently slings burritos as he put it.
The man told Simon he would be singing " At Last" a song Simon has stated he would like to see banned from proposed song lists. The man opened his mouth and it was magic. What a voice. What a gift. Will that translate to success in the later parts of the show. We cannot know. Still moments like that are why these shows are successful. Unlike much of what we see on television occassionally you can be surprised and uplfted by success from an unlikely place.
Paula Abdul got frustrated with David Letterman last week when he insisted that the show was really not different from Idol. The truth is, it is not but anyone who has seen the ratings would want to explain why it should be. This show will be successful.
The only possible concern is that with these shows X Factor and Idol now on back to back is will there be an eventual burnout amongst the core audience.
With Simon and Paula Abdul, some fellow responsible for acts such as Justin Bieber, and a rotating fourth judge this show is not different from Idol in any significant way.
It is my understanding that the format might change once the show is down to the chosen artists. Taking a cue from The Voice perhaps each judge will be responsible for a select group of contestants. That will bring some good interactions and might be enjoyable to watch.
Still these shows are singing shows and people who watch tune in to see and hear that. It is easy to be cynical about these shows and indeed at times I find myself being so. Then however a person comes on stage and everything changes. Last night an unkempt gentleman from Ohio, thirty years old, rattily dressed and stating his Mom drove him because she would like to see him do something with his talent. He currently slings burritos as he put it.
The man told Simon he would be singing " At Last" a song Simon has stated he would like to see banned from proposed song lists. The man opened his mouth and it was magic. What a voice. What a gift. Will that translate to success in the later parts of the show. We cannot know. Still moments like that are why these shows are successful. Unlike much of what we see on television occassionally you can be surprised and uplfted by success from an unlikely place.
Paula Abdul got frustrated with David Letterman last week when he insisted that the show was really not different from Idol. The truth is, it is not but anyone who has seen the ratings would want to explain why it should be. This show will be successful.
The only possible concern is that with these shows X Factor and Idol now on back to back is will there be an eventual burnout amongst the core audience.
Moneyball
When my wife is interested in a sports movie it is a rare thing but as this movie was heavily promoted it did gain her interest. So last weekend we did go see the new film starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.
Based on a book by Micheal Lewis the book examines the Oakland A's baseball team early in the last decade and the methodology they used to consistently put a winning team on the filed with a limited budget.
Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane the reknown GM who was perhaps the first G M to embrace sabermetrics fully. Overcoming objections from perhaps everyone in his organization Beane sees this as the only way to keep the team competitive after losing Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and others in one off season.
Pitt is likable in this movie, this in itself is a plus as I do not usually have much good to say about his acting but in this movie he works well. Jonah Hill plays a compostite character, mostly based on Beane's assistant Paul Depodesta. A nerdy kill out of Yale who feels he has found a formula devoid of the attachment to old school statistics such as RBI's and Batting Average.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman has a scene stealing role as Oakland manager Art Howe who hear now in 2011 is not happy with the way he is portrayed in the movie but what seems beyond doubt is he and Beane consistently clashed over the use of sabermetrics in building and managing the team.
In this new world numbers like OBP are more important. As we now know that was just the beginning. Now we have OPS and WARP as numbers that mean more than we may never know in making teams.
This is a good movie. It is interesting. Still if one does not care for baseball it is hard to see the personality of Pitt carrying it to great heights.
Based on a book by Micheal Lewis the book examines the Oakland A's baseball team early in the last decade and the methodology they used to consistently put a winning team on the filed with a limited budget.
Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane the reknown GM who was perhaps the first G M to embrace sabermetrics fully. Overcoming objections from perhaps everyone in his organization Beane sees this as the only way to keep the team competitive after losing Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and others in one off season.
Pitt is likable in this movie, this in itself is a plus as I do not usually have much good to say about his acting but in this movie he works well. Jonah Hill plays a compostite character, mostly based on Beane's assistant Paul Depodesta. A nerdy kill out of Yale who feels he has found a formula devoid of the attachment to old school statistics such as RBI's and Batting Average.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman has a scene stealing role as Oakland manager Art Howe who hear now in 2011 is not happy with the way he is portrayed in the movie but what seems beyond doubt is he and Beane consistently clashed over the use of sabermetrics in building and managing the team.
In this new world numbers like OBP are more important. As we now know that was just the beginning. Now we have OPS and WARP as numbers that mean more than we may never know in making teams.
This is a good movie. It is interesting. Still if one does not care for baseball it is hard to see the personality of Pitt carrying it to great heights.
Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman
As this book was released a few months ago there was much talk that this was the definitive biography or expose of Scientology.
Reitman tries to be objective but once the end of the book is reached it is clear that the overwhelming evidence is that the church is a church in name only to get the tax breaks.
If one wants to believe that it is a self help program that is more reasonable but this is an out there religion.
L Ron Hubbard created a cult of personality but the goalposts for what the church was and would be kept moving.
One must pay for all teaching in Scientology.Someone has made a fortune off this church.
The organization changes, Hubbard's personal guard and the strong arm methods used to go after anyone that speaks ill of the church all are covered. We learn about the Sea Guard his personal Navy.
This is some odd stuff.
Recruiting celebrities is a big part of the exposure growth and Tom Cruise becomes the biggest. Even Cruise when he advances to level three and finds out as he put it " the science fiction bullshit" goes off the reservation and has to be lured back to Scientology in the late nineties. Since then however he has become the face and even found himself mired in controversies as his attacks on pyshciatry become a lttle too heated for America's favorite movie star.
An interesting book. An odd thing to be sucked into. How anyone knowing of the space alien theme can still consider the faith as real is a stretch one finds it hard to understand.
Reitman tries to be objective but once the end of the book is reached it is clear that the overwhelming evidence is that the church is a church in name only to get the tax breaks.
If one wants to believe that it is a self help program that is more reasonable but this is an out there religion.
L Ron Hubbard created a cult of personality but the goalposts for what the church was and would be kept moving.
One must pay for all teaching in Scientology.Someone has made a fortune off this church.
The organization changes, Hubbard's personal guard and the strong arm methods used to go after anyone that speaks ill of the church all are covered. We learn about the Sea Guard his personal Navy.
This is some odd stuff.
Recruiting celebrities is a big part of the exposure growth and Tom Cruise becomes the biggest. Even Cruise when he advances to level three and finds out as he put it " the science fiction bullshit" goes off the reservation and has to be lured back to Scientology in the late nineties. Since then however he has become the face and even found himself mired in controversies as his attacks on pyshciatry become a lttle too heated for America's favorite movie star.
An interesting book. An odd thing to be sucked into. How anyone knowing of the space alien theme can still consider the faith as real is a stretch one finds it hard to understand.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Terra Nova
Any show with Stephen Spielberg's name attached to it is going to get attention and this show has. Deservedly so. This show is set in the mid twenty second century and the world has become and enviromental disaster with people wearing masks and struggling to breathe.
Jim Shannon, his wife Elisabeth and their children Josh, Maddy and Zoe travel 85 million years into the past to the Crustecean period. Scientiests had discovered a way to travel back in time without causing a butterfly effect in time, as they are on " a different time stream."
The show was entertaining. Some of the visuals were stunning, a shot of the youngest daughter five year old Zoe feeding a long necked dino some plants was pretty amazing.
The cast features many folks I did not know but it was well acted. The issue for me was mostly that the story itself is not great. It appears that the leader of the community appears to be a good person who genuinley cares about the folks in his community. However at the end of the first episode we see that there is more afoot than we know.
Surely the mystery will unfold. The show is expensive to make so the ratings will need to be good. I plan to watch the show, not sure it is a keeper but worth checking out for a bit. I do not think it will be a hit however. It will get its full run of thirteen episodes as at 4 million per Fox will air them but will have to do well to merit a renewal. I have not seen enough yet to think that likely.
Jim Shannon, his wife Elisabeth and their children Josh, Maddy and Zoe travel 85 million years into the past to the Crustecean period. Scientiests had discovered a way to travel back in time without causing a butterfly effect in time, as they are on " a different time stream."
The show was entertaining. Some of the visuals were stunning, a shot of the youngest daughter five year old Zoe feeding a long necked dino some plants was pretty amazing.
The cast features many folks I did not know but it was well acted. The issue for me was mostly that the story itself is not great. It appears that the leader of the community appears to be a good person who genuinley cares about the folks in his community. However at the end of the first episode we see that there is more afoot than we know.
Surely the mystery will unfold. The show is expensive to make so the ratings will need to be good. I plan to watch the show, not sure it is a keeper but worth checking out for a bit. I do not think it will be a hit however. It will get its full run of thirteen episodes as at 4 million per Fox will air them but will have to do well to merit a renewal. I have not seen enough yet to think that likely.
We the Animals by Justin Torres
This short book has gotten much buzz and more praise this fall. At just 144 pages this is a one night book told in a series of vignettes of life in the home of three young boys from upstate New York.
Their father is Puerto Rican and their mother is white. The father moves from job to job while the mother works the graveyard shift in a brewery. Life is not easy.
I am sure part of my issue with this book is that culturally this book is so far removed from the life I led as a child is that it is hard to relate to. While I have enjoyed the Southern culture of Faulkner and actually quite enjoyed Junot Diaz's book a few years ago but this books makes me feel country and whitebread for sure.
These boys curse, are rude to strangers. steal, fight and kick. Theor house is an everchanging envrionment based on the moods and daily struggles their parents face.
A couple vignettes are quite interesting, the boys father purchases a truck that the mother does not approve of, for one but for me this book was, while I might be able to appreciate it as literature, I certainly did not connect with it. Nothing to rememeber for me.
Their father is Puerto Rican and their mother is white. The father moves from job to job while the mother works the graveyard shift in a brewery. Life is not easy.
I am sure part of my issue with this book is that culturally this book is so far removed from the life I led as a child is that it is hard to relate to. While I have enjoyed the Southern culture of Faulkner and actually quite enjoyed Junot Diaz's book a few years ago but this books makes me feel country and whitebread for sure.
These boys curse, are rude to strangers. steal, fight and kick. Theor house is an everchanging envrionment based on the moods and daily struggles their parents face.
A couple vignettes are quite interesting, the boys father purchases a truck that the mother does not approve of, for one but for me this book was, while I might be able to appreciate it as literature, I certainly did not connect with it. Nothing to rememeber for me.
Buck Privates
A year or two ago my kids and I on a rainy afternoon watched an Abbott and Costello movie about the jungle. I forget the name. It was funny though and the kids enjoyed it. This morning I came across this movie and decided to watch it.
With Abbott and Costello you know what you are getting and they deliver. I remember growing up when WLBZ TV played The Great Money Movie each afternoon from four to six. At least twice a year Eddie Driscoll ( don't we all miss Eddie ) would feature Abbott and Costello movies and I always enjoyed them and my Dad loved them.
Today I watched Buck Privates. From 1941 Abbott and Costello accidentally get themselves inducted into the service just as America is gearing up for World War Two. As usual the humor is broad and one has to appreciate slapstick. This was silly, physical comedy. Yet it was funny.
The Andrews Sisters appeared in this movie as this movie more than most of the Abbotts certainly had a patriotic flair as the sisters play Army hostesses.
The movie was pleasant. Abbott and Costello is an act you and your kids can enjoy, be they seventy years old some things are always funny.
With Abbott and Costello you know what you are getting and they deliver. I remember growing up when WLBZ TV played The Great Money Movie each afternoon from four to six. At least twice a year Eddie Driscoll ( don't we all miss Eddie ) would feature Abbott and Costello movies and I always enjoyed them and my Dad loved them.
Today I watched Buck Privates. From 1941 Abbott and Costello accidentally get themselves inducted into the service just as America is gearing up for World War Two. As usual the humor is broad and one has to appreciate slapstick. This was silly, physical comedy. Yet it was funny.
The Andrews Sisters appeared in this movie as this movie more than most of the Abbotts certainly had a patriotic flair as the sisters play Army hostesses.
The movie was pleasant. Abbott and Costello is an act you and your kids can enjoy, be they seventy years old some things are always funny.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Donnie Brasco
Being a huge can of mob movies I am surprised that it has taken me this long to see this movie. Starring Johnny Depp as an FBI agent who infiltrates the mob as Donnie Brasco a jewel theif and con man who is taken under the wing by made man Lefty played by Al Pacino.
The movie provides a good view into the life of a low level mobster. Being squeezed from below as he needs to make money to pay up and by his boss who needs to collect to pay up. In the end it is a ponzi scheme of theft.
As Lefty has vouched for Donnie over time Donnie becomes involved in much of the activity of the family.
The pyschological toll of being in the mob, living a double life is played very well by Depp. As Brasco develops relationships he finds himself caring about Lefty and realizing that as Lefty brought him into the mob that when he pulls out on the mob he will be responsible for Lefty being killed.
Anne Heche plays his wife who is increasingly frustrated by his absences and frantic with worry over his safety.
Perhaps most telling is the last scene where Donnie Brasco now back as himself in the FBI offices is given an award and a $500 check. In ways one can tell that he feels remorse for the damage inflicted on people he had grown close to by neccessity. He and his family live to this day in witness protection.
This is a very good movie.
The movie provides a good view into the life of a low level mobster. Being squeezed from below as he needs to make money to pay up and by his boss who needs to collect to pay up. In the end it is a ponzi scheme of theft.
As Lefty has vouched for Donnie over time Donnie becomes involved in much of the activity of the family.
The pyschological toll of being in the mob, living a double life is played very well by Depp. As Brasco develops relationships he finds himself caring about Lefty and realizing that as Lefty brought him into the mob that when he pulls out on the mob he will be responsible for Lefty being killed.
Anne Heche plays his wife who is increasingly frustrated by his absences and frantic with worry over his safety.
Perhaps most telling is the last scene where Donnie Brasco now back as himself in the FBI offices is given an award and a $500 check. In ways one can tell that he feels remorse for the damage inflicted on people he had grown close to by neccessity. He and his family live to this day in witness protection.
This is a very good movie.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Neptune City by Nicole Atkins
We are attending the Avett Brothers concert at Meadowbrook this weekend. Looking forward to that show a great deal. Finding out this week that Nicole Atkins, someone of whom I had never heard was the opening act I decided to Spotify her. For me Spotify is soon becoming a verb to match the noun just as Google is.
Atkins is a good singer. She is not a rocker and moves somewhere between Amy Winehouse, Jessica Lea Mayfield with perhaps a touch of Florence as well.
I chose to listen to her album from 2007 as Spotify's ratings have more of her top rated songs on that album.
The album gets better with each listening with songs such as Maybe Tonight, The Way It Is and Love Surreal being songs you could easily hear on any number of the channels on XM. The most winning songs on the album to me are the title track a dreamy tale of city life and the enchanting Cool Enough.
I have a hard time placing the influences but it is clear that she fits in a niche that has become quite popular. Cool Enough is a great song but like the whole album there is nothing surely something to remember. She is a good performer, a good singer but yet now she is just one of many doing this act.
Atkins is a good singer. She is not a rocker and moves somewhere between Amy Winehouse, Jessica Lea Mayfield with perhaps a touch of Florence as well.
I chose to listen to her album from 2007 as Spotify's ratings have more of her top rated songs on that album.
The album gets better with each listening with songs such as Maybe Tonight, The Way It Is and Love Surreal being songs you could easily hear on any number of the channels on XM. The most winning songs on the album to me are the title track a dreamy tale of city life and the enchanting Cool Enough.
I have a hard time placing the influences but it is clear that she fits in a niche that has become quite popular. Cool Enough is a great song but like the whole album there is nothing surely something to remember. She is a good performer, a good singer but yet now she is just one of many doing this act.
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchmann
This book won the Pulitzer Prize back in the sixties. One of the most favored books on the history of World War I the book is interesting in that rather than telling the whole story of World War I it centers almost exclively on the first month, thus the title, The Guns of August.
Something rare happened on this book. I did not enjoy it. It was not the material she had to work with. It is an entrancing subject. World War I is perhaps, in todays time, the most unstudied and understood war. How it started is very interesting. The politics is something that is bizarre. The story of the Ottoman empire being pulled in by the Germans and how that affects our history even today is something that needs to be more widely understood.
Still for me it is the story, the characters, the individuals and this book is primarily a military history. The story of battles and the strategy of them is always the least interesting part of the story for me.
So with a huge reading list I am always slogging through I did what I rarely do. At page 170 I set this book aside. It was not my cup of tea.
I find that Tuchman's writing was even a bit clunky but it must have been the material she chose to highlight. I am not foolish or provincial enough to think that we write better today than she did in her time. For whatever reason I did not find it to work for me.
Perhaps as a military history yes but for those interested in the War there must be a better choice out there.
Something rare happened on this book. I did not enjoy it. It was not the material she had to work with. It is an entrancing subject. World War I is perhaps, in todays time, the most unstudied and understood war. How it started is very interesting. The politics is something that is bizarre. The story of the Ottoman empire being pulled in by the Germans and how that affects our history even today is something that needs to be more widely understood.
Still for me it is the story, the characters, the individuals and this book is primarily a military history. The story of battles and the strategy of them is always the least interesting part of the story for me.
So with a huge reading list I am always slogging through I did what I rarely do. At page 170 I set this book aside. It was not my cup of tea.
I find that Tuchman's writing was even a bit clunky but it must have been the material she chose to highlight. I am not foolish or provincial enough to think that we write better today than she did in her time. For whatever reason I did not find it to work for me.
Perhaps as a military history yes but for those interested in the War there must be a better choice out there.
The Book of Mormon Soundtrack
At the request of my sister in law I listened to this. She found it to be wonderfully funny and I am always willing to give anything a try.
The soundtrack of the Broadway play that has been a huge success written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone the creators of South Park.
With that as a background we know what is coming. The soundtrack is funny. It is also outrageously offensive to people of faith.
The play tells us the story of some young Mormom missionaries who thinking they will be sent to Orlando are shocked to find themselves in Africa. Aids and starving children are not what they expected.
One of the most offensive things I have ever heard is an explanation of Hakuna Matata as relates to Africans struggling with death and diesease. Still there is a base of humor and wryness and perhaps understanding of the contrast between the Mormon missionaries and those they proclaim to help.
I cannot reccomend this but it was something to listen to. What it says about our culture with its success I am not sure.
The soundtrack of the Broadway play that has been a huge success written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone the creators of South Park.
With that as a background we know what is coming. The soundtrack is funny. It is also outrageously offensive to people of faith.
The play tells us the story of some young Mormom missionaries who thinking they will be sent to Orlando are shocked to find themselves in Africa. Aids and starving children are not what they expected.
One of the most offensive things I have ever heard is an explanation of Hakuna Matata as relates to Africans struggling with death and diesease. Still there is a base of humor and wryness and perhaps understanding of the contrast between the Mormon missionaries and those they proclaim to help.
I cannot reccomend this but it was something to listen to. What it says about our culture with its success I am not sure.
Unforgettable
Watched this show Tuesday night on CBS. The premise is that a woman haunted by the unsolved murder of her sister when she was little is one of those rare people who remembers everything that has ever happened to her. As one can imagine this can be quite useful as a police detective.
Upon investigation she can often go into a trance like state to remember things that are helpful to the case. The show was engrossing and I enjoyed it.
However I think, at least for me, the premise will grow old quick. It would strain the imagination to think that she would have contact on a regular basis with people in some way involved with a crime that she can then go over those contacts in retrospective. I think that perhaps the flashbacks and trances will be the same show over and over much in the same way that Jennifer L Hewitt talking to the dead people got old no matter how many low cut shirts she wore.
Not a keeper.
Upon investigation she can often go into a trance like state to remember things that are helpful to the case. The show was engrossing and I enjoyed it.
However I think, at least for me, the premise will grow old quick. It would strain the imagination to think that she would have contact on a regular basis with people in some way involved with a crime that she can then go over those contacts in retrospective. I think that perhaps the flashbacks and trances will be the same show over and over much in the same way that Jennifer L Hewitt talking to the dead people got old no matter how many low cut shirts she wore.
Not a keeper.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Ed Sullivan - Comedy Highlights Special
This show was on PBS last weekend with Mary Tyler Moore hosting a retrospective of some comedians who appeared on Ed Sullivan over the years.
Watching a show like this makes me miss a time I never really knew. I was alive in the last years of The Ed Sullivan Show but do not recall it. What must it have been like to have each Sunday night a show on that much of the country watched together as a shared experience.
This show featured bits by Alan King, Red Buttons, Red Skelton, Joan Rivers and Flip Wilson. We also saw Rich Little and some of the more modern comics as they started out such as Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
One can be funny without playing blue and this show was a fine example of that. The George Carlin weatherman skit was priceless.
I am sure this will be on many times over on PBS. It is worth watching. I laughed out loud as the kids say.
Watching a show like this makes me miss a time I never really knew. I was alive in the last years of The Ed Sullivan Show but do not recall it. What must it have been like to have each Sunday night a show on that much of the country watched together as a shared experience.
This show featured bits by Alan King, Red Buttons, Red Skelton, Joan Rivers and Flip Wilson. We also saw Rich Little and some of the more modern comics as they started out such as Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
One can be funny without playing blue and this show was a fine example of that. The George Carlin weatherman skit was priceless.
I am sure this will be on many times over on PBS. It is worth watching. I laughed out loud as the kids say.
Two Broke Girls
This show debuted on CBS last night. Watching it this morning on Tivo I over the course of the show decided it was funny but incredibly crude, was indicative of what is wrong with the networks in terms of no family hour television, and found myself liking the characters and laughing out loud here and there.
Make no mistake about it the show is crude and at times very lowbrow. Jokes about clam chowder and Stephen Hawking made that clear in the first episode.
The plot is funny. The cast led by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs is strong. Kat raised poor works as a waitress at a diner in Brooklyn while Beth is a Bernard Madoff type's daughter and is now broke.
By the time the first episode is over they have become friends, Kat has kicked her boyfriend out for cheating and Beth has moved her horse into Kat's postage stamp sized year. Kat's boyfriend after being caught cheating..." Wait I can explain." When Kat turns to him waiting for this explanation he says " You weren't supposed to be home." This is a funny line.
Garrett Morris of the old SNL days plays the cashier at the resteraunt and is witty and fun and Matthew Moy plays Hang Lee who owns the diner. Hang wants to Americanize his name so he changes it to Bryce. Yes Bryce Lee.
I wish the show was not on at 8:30 but that is a reflection on the times not the show. The show is funny. I do not know if I would call it a must watch as the premise is still just a sitcom about two waitresses but it is funny and well written. The show clearly has breakout potential.
Make no mistake about it the show is crude and at times very lowbrow. Jokes about clam chowder and Stephen Hawking made that clear in the first episode.
The plot is funny. The cast led by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs is strong. Kat raised poor works as a waitress at a diner in Brooklyn while Beth is a Bernard Madoff type's daughter and is now broke.
By the time the first episode is over they have become friends, Kat has kicked her boyfriend out for cheating and Beth has moved her horse into Kat's postage stamp sized year. Kat's boyfriend after being caught cheating..." Wait I can explain." When Kat turns to him waiting for this explanation he says " You weren't supposed to be home." This is a funny line.
Garrett Morris of the old SNL days plays the cashier at the resteraunt and is witty and fun and Matthew Moy plays Hang Lee who owns the diner. Hang wants to Americanize his name so he changes it to Bryce. Yes Bryce Lee.
I wish the show was not on at 8:30 but that is a reflection on the times not the show. The show is funny. I do not know if I would call it a must watch as the premise is still just a sitcom about two waitresses but it is funny and well written. The show clearly has breakout potential.
The Best American Sportwriting 2007 edited by David Maraniss
I enjoy anthologies. The Best American Series each year publishes several books focusing on essays, short stories, science and nature, travel and of course sports. David Maraniss edits the collection, he of books such as Lombardi.
In a collections such as this not all stories will please all people. It is the editors job to have a wide, often eclectic group of stories. The articles themselves are pulled from Sports Illustrated, Espn sources, The New Yorker and many other lesser known publications.
Stories from The New Yorker are essential for any collection such as this. No magazine ever has a stable of writers as strong as this magazine. Larry Brown write about a special raccoon, Ian Frazier takes us fishing for snook and Bill Buford talks about a man besotted with turkeys.
We meet Jake Scott in retirement in Hawaii and Mark Mcgwire hiding behind the walls of a gated community. Coaches such as Bill Parcells and John Chaney are visited.
Two stories center on the after effects of 9/11, the story of Kwame James, a journeyman basketball player and his contact with The Shoe Bomber, as well as an article about a 9/11 Survivor and how his love of running and return to it signaled the beginning of his healing from the events of that day.
Expose articles on the influence of sneaker companies on AAU basketball and effect of youth baseball travel leagues offer a look at what happens when adults and money corrupt youth sports.
Some great information in some great articles. I firmly believe that some of the best writing done is done in article and essay format. This book presents a strong case that I am correct.
With the aforementioned New Yorker articles we also learn that one can not be a lover of a sport and still enjoy good writing about it. I do not see myself hunting raccoons or raising turkeys but those articles resound.
In a collections such as this not all stories will please all people. It is the editors job to have a wide, often eclectic group of stories. The articles themselves are pulled from Sports Illustrated, Espn sources, The New Yorker and many other lesser known publications.
Stories from The New Yorker are essential for any collection such as this. No magazine ever has a stable of writers as strong as this magazine. Larry Brown write about a special raccoon, Ian Frazier takes us fishing for snook and Bill Buford talks about a man besotted with turkeys.
We meet Jake Scott in retirement in Hawaii and Mark Mcgwire hiding behind the walls of a gated community. Coaches such as Bill Parcells and John Chaney are visited.
Two stories center on the after effects of 9/11, the story of Kwame James, a journeyman basketball player and his contact with The Shoe Bomber, as well as an article about a 9/11 Survivor and how his love of running and return to it signaled the beginning of his healing from the events of that day.
Expose articles on the influence of sneaker companies on AAU basketball and effect of youth baseball travel leagues offer a look at what happens when adults and money corrupt youth sports.
Some great information in some great articles. I firmly believe that some of the best writing done is done in article and essay format. This book presents a strong case that I am correct.
With the aforementioned New Yorker articles we also learn that one can not be a lover of a sport and still enjoy good writing about it. I do not see myself hunting raccoons or raising turkeys but those articles resound.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
This was quite a book. It was not an easy read. Dickens was the most popular writer of his time. This book first appeared in a serialization in his own magazine published over a series of months in 1859.
The book takes quite some time to make sense. There is a backstory to many of the characters and with patience it all does tie together.
Charles Darnay a young Frenchman who renounces his title and moves to England to make it on his own. He meets a young woman whose father also has a tie to a common past. The story centers much of the time on The French Revolution and indeed the Revolution is the backdrop.
There are many allegoric references in this book. Christianity is a backdrop and certainly the character of Sydney Carton is one of the truest to Christian theology. Carton was not a man who had accomplished much with his life, in fact he had not been the person he wished he had been. In love with Miss Manette, the good doctor's daughter he realizes it will be an unrequited love.
I saw the end coming and the twist with about one hundred pages left but many may not. The end of the book certainly contains allegory to Christian sacrifice and the horror of The French Revolution is made apparent.
It is hard to talk about all that happens in this book and certainly do not want to give up the ending.
This book is an investment in time but once you get into it the payoff is there. Dickens is not Shakespeare but he is not Stephen King either. His writing takes effort to enjoy. This is a great book.
The book takes quite some time to make sense. There is a backstory to many of the characters and with patience it all does tie together.
Charles Darnay a young Frenchman who renounces his title and moves to England to make it on his own. He meets a young woman whose father also has a tie to a common past. The story centers much of the time on The French Revolution and indeed the Revolution is the backdrop.
There are many allegoric references in this book. Christianity is a backdrop and certainly the character of Sydney Carton is one of the truest to Christian theology. Carton was not a man who had accomplished much with his life, in fact he had not been the person he wished he had been. In love with Miss Manette, the good doctor's daughter he realizes it will be an unrequited love.
I saw the end coming and the twist with about one hundred pages left but many may not. The end of the book certainly contains allegory to Christian sacrifice and the horror of The French Revolution is made apparent.
It is hard to talk about all that happens in this book and certainly do not want to give up the ending.
This book is an investment in time but once you get into it the payoff is there. Dickens is not Shakespeare but he is not Stephen King either. His writing takes effort to enjoy. This is a great book.
What I Learned When I Almost Died by Chris Licht
I saw this book on Amazon and the title is a grabber. It is a short 160 page book but I was interested. Primarily my interest was grabbed because Licht is the executive producer of my morning favorite Morning Joe. Hearing the backstory of how he came to be producer on this show and of his relationship with Joe Scarborough and Mika, two of my favorite people in the world to watch.
In the book Licht describes a day that as he finished a show one morning, he was checking his voicemail and he felt a pop in his head and soon was suffering from an excruciating headache.
We follow him through the emergency department of George Washington hospital in D C. We see his father, a physician himself, tell him as he is being driven to the hospital to tell them that he never gets headaches and his head hurts worse than it ever has and he needs a catscan. This is a code doctors understand that they may be dealing with something life threatening.
Licht over the course of the day and then the weeks after goes through a multitude of tests. As happens in a small amount of cases he suffers no long term damage but they also never find the cause of the bleed. If it was an anuerysm they never find it and assume it repaired itself.
It is good news of course but also leaves one feeling vulnerable in the future. Licht admits freely to being a Type A personality and being an ass much of the time in his work progression. He states he cannot see himself moving to the beach and being all peace, love and happiness but admits the incident gives him pause.
I must say that though we are pleased to see him doing well the books title is a bit misleading. Licht talks about slowing down and letting go of anger over what happened, he does learn to not sweat things that in the end mean nothing compared to almost dieing but those looking for him to have a revalation of epic proportions will not find it.
Still an interesting book, a small investment in time. It is nice to see his good friends and the involvement of Joe Biden who is clearly one of the nicest men in politics you will find.
And we learned the code, if struck with an intense pain out of nowhere it might be good to know what to say to make sure you are taken seriously.
In the book Licht describes a day that as he finished a show one morning, he was checking his voicemail and he felt a pop in his head and soon was suffering from an excruciating headache.
We follow him through the emergency department of George Washington hospital in D C. We see his father, a physician himself, tell him as he is being driven to the hospital to tell them that he never gets headaches and his head hurts worse than it ever has and he needs a catscan. This is a code doctors understand that they may be dealing with something life threatening.
Licht over the course of the day and then the weeks after goes through a multitude of tests. As happens in a small amount of cases he suffers no long term damage but they also never find the cause of the bleed. If it was an anuerysm they never find it and assume it repaired itself.
It is good news of course but also leaves one feeling vulnerable in the future. Licht admits freely to being a Type A personality and being an ass much of the time in his work progression. He states he cannot see himself moving to the beach and being all peace, love and happiness but admits the incident gives him pause.
I must say that though we are pleased to see him doing well the books title is a bit misleading. Licht talks about slowing down and letting go of anger over what happened, he does learn to not sweat things that in the end mean nothing compared to almost dieing but those looking for him to have a revalation of epic proportions will not find it.
Still an interesting book, a small investment in time. It is nice to see his good friends and the involvement of Joe Biden who is clearly one of the nicest men in politics you will find.
And we learned the code, if struck with an intense pain out of nowhere it might be good to know what to say to make sure you are taken seriously.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Nothing is Wrong by Dawes
This is a GREAT album. For those familiar with the seventies California sound perhaps best exemplified by Jackson Browne ( some of these songs the lead singer is channeling Browne so hard you are waiting for Running on Empty to be the next song) and also in medley the sounds of CSN and The Eagles. This is not hyperbole this band is that good. They will never find the level of success that these earlier bands did as the music business is different and the times are different but this is a strong band. I had heard of Dawes from their first album but had not given made a strong effort to listen. With this album on Spotify I have listened all the way thru a couple of times today.
The album opens with Time Spent in Los Angeles one of those place and time songs that describes the singer being the way he is because of time spent in the city. Songs such as If I Wanted Someone, Comin Back a Man, Fire Away and My Way Back Home are all a dose of the seventies sound circa California 72. The album ends with A Little Bit of Everything a song that has more meaning the more times you listen.
A very good album.
The album opens with Time Spent in Los Angeles one of those place and time songs that describes the singer being the way he is because of time spent in the city. Songs such as If I Wanted Someone, Comin Back a Man, Fire Away and My Way Back Home are all a dose of the seventies sound circa California 72. The album ends with A Little Bit of Everything a song that has more meaning the more times you listen.
A very good album.
Spartacus
This 1960 Movie won four Oscars. Directed by Stanley Kubrick this movie was a good representation of the famous story of a Roman slave revolt.
The movie is a three hour epic and I watched it over a period of a week. However the length the movie moved quickly. The cast was very strong. Kirk Douglas plays Spartacus, Lawrence Olivier plays Crassus, Jean Simmons ( a very pretty woman ), Tony Curtis as an excaped slave, Charles Naughton as Graccus who in Roman history was the advocate of the Plebes.
Winning the Oscar for Supporting Actor in this movie was Peter Stinov who plays a slave trader. It was a winning role and he was very beleivable as one who always seeks a financial advantage no matter which side he plays. As a person watching the movie fifty years out it was strange to me as Ustinov in his accent and tone reminded me like nothing so much as David Ogden Stiers from Mash.
A great movie
The movie is a three hour epic and I watched it over a period of a week. However the length the movie moved quickly. The cast was very strong. Kirk Douglas plays Spartacus, Lawrence Olivier plays Crassus, Jean Simmons ( a very pretty woman ), Tony Curtis as an excaped slave, Charles Naughton as Graccus who in Roman history was the advocate of the Plebes.
Winning the Oscar for Supporting Actor in this movie was Peter Stinov who plays a slave trader. It was a winning role and he was very beleivable as one who always seeks a financial advantage no matter which side he plays. As a person watching the movie fifty years out it was strange to me as Ustinov in his accent and tone reminded me like nothing so much as David Ogden Stiers from Mash.
A great movie
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Ghost on the Canvas by Glen Campbell
In the last few months we have all been made aware that Glen Campbell has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Diesease. It is hard to think of Glen Campbell being 75 years old but he is and with that in mind one has to accept his diagnosis as no different from the people diagnosed with this awful diesesase year after year.
Listening to Glen Campbell for the first time in years makes me feel old. It makes me feel sad as my Mom who recently passed had a great affinity for Glen Campbell. In fact looking through Spotify right now I came across The Glen Campbell Christmas Album and remember that we listened to that each Christmas.
But for all the bittersweet feelings of hearing Campbell sing on what he calls his farewell album to preface his farewell tour of one thing there is no doubt. This is a wonderful album. A powerful album. The sad thing is that without that knowledge of his sickness it is likely that this album would have received no publicity and thus been barely noticed. I will say it again. There is so much music out there that is wonderful that we never hear.
Ghost on the Canvas deals with an acceptance of where you are in your life and for Campbell that is a place that is on the edge of the unknown. The album opens with the haunting " A Better Place" in which Campbell notes that he often finds himself confused and his past gets in the way. He reassures both us and himself that he knows that a better place awaits him and us all. It is one of the saddest yet most positive songs you will ever hear.
The title song could easily have been on an album in the late sixties era, Campbell's voice still sounds strong. There is a sense of inspirational through the whole album with songs like Hold on Hope and It's Your Amazing Grace are both songs that you can tap your foot to, sing along, and then if you really listen to the words feel comforted that Campbell has made peace with his life.
The album ends with a song that at times sounds Beatlesque and might be the best song of the year. Of course that will not happen, I do not even know if current country music fans know who Glen Campbell is but this song entitled There's No Me ...Without You should make them find out.
This is as strong an album of music that you will hear this year. Knowing Campbell's situaton makes it even stronger. My first thought on hearing of this album was that it would be maudlin and perhaps exploitive but the truth is Campbell still has a voice, and has something to say that should be a solace and comfort to all of us, and hopefully saying it has brought him peace as well.
A great album
Listening to Glen Campbell for the first time in years makes me feel old. It makes me feel sad as my Mom who recently passed had a great affinity for Glen Campbell. In fact looking through Spotify right now I came across The Glen Campbell Christmas Album and remember that we listened to that each Christmas.
But for all the bittersweet feelings of hearing Campbell sing on what he calls his farewell album to preface his farewell tour of one thing there is no doubt. This is a wonderful album. A powerful album. The sad thing is that without that knowledge of his sickness it is likely that this album would have received no publicity and thus been barely noticed. I will say it again. There is so much music out there that is wonderful that we never hear.
Ghost on the Canvas deals with an acceptance of where you are in your life and for Campbell that is a place that is on the edge of the unknown. The album opens with the haunting " A Better Place" in which Campbell notes that he often finds himself confused and his past gets in the way. He reassures both us and himself that he knows that a better place awaits him and us all. It is one of the saddest yet most positive songs you will ever hear.
The title song could easily have been on an album in the late sixties era, Campbell's voice still sounds strong. There is a sense of inspirational through the whole album with songs like Hold on Hope and It's Your Amazing Grace are both songs that you can tap your foot to, sing along, and then if you really listen to the words feel comforted that Campbell has made peace with his life.
The album ends with a song that at times sounds Beatlesque and might be the best song of the year. Of course that will not happen, I do not even know if current country music fans know who Glen Campbell is but this song entitled There's No Me ...Without You should make them find out.
This is as strong an album of music that you will hear this year. Knowing Campbell's situaton makes it even stronger. My first thought on hearing of this album was that it would be maudlin and perhaps exploitive but the truth is Campbell still has a voice, and has something to say that should be a solace and comfort to all of us, and hopefully saying it has brought him peace as well.
A great album
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Junebug
My wife picked this movie up from Netflix based on a reccomendation. It was different. Embeth Davidcz plays Madeline the owner of an independent art gallery who has recently married George Johnsten a Chicago transplant from North Carolina.
When taking a trip to North Carolina to woo an eccentric artists who speaks in biblical rants they decide to take a trip to see his family. His family is not like him, his Mom takes an instant dislike to Madeline, his brother is sullen, and his brothers pregnant wife played by Amy Adams is captivated by both George and his new wife.
Amy Adams makes this movie shine, her character is naive, sweet and too, too, talkative but she bonds with Madeline.
The movie is odd. There are many scenes, sort of intermissions, that show the scenery, or the houses or the empty rooms in between scenes. The movie at times seems to me Faulkner like, with it's Southern themes and clash between the city folks and those from home.
An interesting movie and the ending in a way seems tacked on and some relationships such as between George and his brother remain unresolved and leave us filling in the blanks.
Amy Adams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and this was well deserved. the rest of the cast, and the movie it itself is just odd enough to be interesting for that.
When taking a trip to North Carolina to woo an eccentric artists who speaks in biblical rants they decide to take a trip to see his family. His family is not like him, his Mom takes an instant dislike to Madeline, his brother is sullen, and his brothers pregnant wife played by Amy Adams is captivated by both George and his new wife.
Amy Adams makes this movie shine, her character is naive, sweet and too, too, talkative but she bonds with Madeline.
The movie is odd. There are many scenes, sort of intermissions, that show the scenery, or the houses or the empty rooms in between scenes. The movie at times seems to me Faulkner like, with it's Southern themes and clash between the city folks and those from home.
An interesting movie and the ending in a way seems tacked on and some relationships such as between George and his brother remain unresolved and leave us filling in the blanks.
Amy Adams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and this was well deserved. the rest of the cast, and the movie it itself is just odd enough to be interesting for that.
Just Friends
Flipping through on Saturday night and came across this movie just starting on I think TBS. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart it actually was a pretty cute movie.
The premise is that Chris Brander played by Ryan Reynolds was an overweight, cheerleader at his high school who was secretly in love with is best friend Miss All Everything in school Jamie Palamino. After confessing in her yearbook and being humuliated by her boyfriend he leaves town vowing to be successful.
Cut to 10 years later and Chris is a successful Hollywood record producer escorting a new star played by Anna Farris to Paris to woo her to his record company. She is self centered, vain and obnoxious and sets her meal on fire on the airplane forcing a landing in New Jersey. Being close to home he takes her to his Mom's house. His Mom played by Julie Hagerty of Airplane fame is very funny role.
The rest of the movie is him dealing with his high school friends and unresolved relationship with Jamie. The movie is fairly typical from then on but it is cute and certainly the cast is likable.
Amy Smart plays Palamino, I have never heard of her but she was likable and cute.
A good movie as long as your expectations are not too high.
The premise is that Chris Brander played by Ryan Reynolds was an overweight, cheerleader at his high school who was secretly in love with is best friend Miss All Everything in school Jamie Palamino. After confessing in her yearbook and being humuliated by her boyfriend he leaves town vowing to be successful.
Cut to 10 years later and Chris is a successful Hollywood record producer escorting a new star played by Anna Farris to Paris to woo her to his record company. She is self centered, vain and obnoxious and sets her meal on fire on the airplane forcing a landing in New Jersey. Being close to home he takes her to his Mom's house. His Mom played by Julie Hagerty of Airplane fame is very funny role.
The rest of the movie is him dealing with his high school friends and unresolved relationship with Jamie. The movie is fairly typical from then on but it is cute and certainly the cast is likable.
Amy Smart plays Palamino, I have never heard of her but she was likable and cute.
A good movie as long as your expectations are not too high.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Good Luck Charlie
It seems as if the Disney channel keeps churning out these shows. My daughter who is 12 does not get to watch a great deal of television but she loves this show. I find myself in the room sometimes and watch the show with her. We could do much worse than have our children watch a show like this.
The premise of the show is that a family with three children has a baby that perhaps was not planned. Because that child is so far behind the others the oldest daughter talks to a video camera frequently telling what is happening. Each episode ends with the admonition " Good Luck Charlie."
Teddy played by Briget Mendler is the main character as the oldest daughter, most often as the videographer for Charlie. The parents are fuller characters than in most of these shows and that is planned. The producers hoped to make this a show not just for the kids but one a family could watch together. They have succeeded. I find myself laughing at the show along with my daughter. Now that they family hour of eight o clock no longer exists for the networks these shows on Disney have a strong value.
It always frustrates me that shows that we adults might want to watch such as How I Met Your Mother have to be taped as they are certainly not youth friendly. They are good shows but they should not be on at eight o clock.
Good Luck Charlie is a very good show, funny, sweet and still providing a few lessons along the way. A very good show for my daughter to watch.
The premise of the show is that a family with three children has a baby that perhaps was not planned. Because that child is so far behind the others the oldest daughter talks to a video camera frequently telling what is happening. Each episode ends with the admonition " Good Luck Charlie."
Teddy played by Briget Mendler is the main character as the oldest daughter, most often as the videographer for Charlie. The parents are fuller characters than in most of these shows and that is planned. The producers hoped to make this a show not just for the kids but one a family could watch together. They have succeeded. I find myself laughing at the show along with my daughter. Now that they family hour of eight o clock no longer exists for the networks these shows on Disney have a strong value.
It always frustrates me that shows that we adults might want to watch such as How I Met Your Mother have to be taped as they are certainly not youth friendly. They are good shows but they should not be on at eight o clock.
Good Luck Charlie is a very good show, funny, sweet and still providing a few lessons along the way. A very good show for my daughter to watch.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Stan Musial : An American Life by George Vescey
When I was young I loved reading sports biographies. I remember reading a book that had bios of players like Honus Wagner and Rogers Hornsby. This was probably fourth, fifth grade level. Much like we heard George Washington chopped down a cherry tree, I remember in this book hearing of Hornsby being told at the end of spring training when a young player that he needed to be sent down to the farm for a season. Hornsby, in the story returned to his families farm, worked hard, and came back twenty pounds stronger, made the team and the rest is history.
Now as an adult I would suspect that much of that story is fiction. Still the seed was planted and I devoured this kind of book for years.
As an adult I have moved away from that sort of book. History and Biography with classic lit has become my passion. Still as a huge baseball fan I have revered Ted Williams and also been interested in the career of Stan Musial.
Learning more about him one becomes convinced that just based on the baseball numbers he was a wonderfully underrated player. 3600 hits, 400 homeruns. 3 MVP's and 24 All Star Teams for a start.
Vescey in his book tells us many things about the man we did not know. The season of his first call up to the big leagues for September Musial had started as a sore armed left handed pitcher. As that part of his career faded his hitting took over and he was fortunate.
He became a power hitter but his natural stroke was to go the other way. Still from the book what we gain most is insight into the man beyond baseball. We see him being raised by a father who struggled in the mines of Donora, Pennsylvania.
We see countless examples of his being polite and generous with strangers, friends, families and anyone he came into contact with. Friends, teammates, countless people recall their interactions with Musial as kind and generous. Where there is smoke there is fire, Musial was a wonderful player but a genuinly kind one also, clearly he appreciated from where he came to where he was.
After baseball Musial for one season was the GM of the World Series winning 67 Cards though he admitted he was overmatched in the postion and was fortunate to have a club that took care of itself.
Later in life he and his lifelong friend the author James Michener, one of my favorites, traveled all over the country, Rome, Poland and even met the Pope. Musial became very active in Polish causes.
Known for his harmonica playing he enjoyed the Hall of Fame festivities each year. The book is not an expose biography. Still the amount of vignettes told by strangers and friends alike give us a measure of the man.
This past spring suffering from Alzeimer's diesease he was awarded the Medal of Freedom from President Obama and St Louis and the country applauded.
Often overhadowed by the brass Williams and the debonair and distant Dimaggio Musial remained what he always was. A gentleman. What more need we say.
Now as an adult I would suspect that much of that story is fiction. Still the seed was planted and I devoured this kind of book for years.
As an adult I have moved away from that sort of book. History and Biography with classic lit has become my passion. Still as a huge baseball fan I have revered Ted Williams and also been interested in the career of Stan Musial.
Learning more about him one becomes convinced that just based on the baseball numbers he was a wonderfully underrated player. 3600 hits, 400 homeruns. 3 MVP's and 24 All Star Teams for a start.
Vescey in his book tells us many things about the man we did not know. The season of his first call up to the big leagues for September Musial had started as a sore armed left handed pitcher. As that part of his career faded his hitting took over and he was fortunate.
He became a power hitter but his natural stroke was to go the other way. Still from the book what we gain most is insight into the man beyond baseball. We see him being raised by a father who struggled in the mines of Donora, Pennsylvania.
We see countless examples of his being polite and generous with strangers, friends, families and anyone he came into contact with. Friends, teammates, countless people recall their interactions with Musial as kind and generous. Where there is smoke there is fire, Musial was a wonderful player but a genuinly kind one also, clearly he appreciated from where he came to where he was.
After baseball Musial for one season was the GM of the World Series winning 67 Cards though he admitted he was overmatched in the postion and was fortunate to have a club that took care of itself.
Later in life he and his lifelong friend the author James Michener, one of my favorites, traveled all over the country, Rome, Poland and even met the Pope. Musial became very active in Polish causes.
Known for his harmonica playing he enjoyed the Hall of Fame festivities each year. The book is not an expose biography. Still the amount of vignettes told by strangers and friends alike give us a measure of the man.
This past spring suffering from Alzeimer's diesease he was awarded the Medal of Freedom from President Obama and St Louis and the country applauded.
Often overhadowed by the brass Williams and the debonair and distant Dimaggio Musial remained what he always was. A gentleman. What more need we say.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
There is a great deal of buzz focused on this book, the first book by Chad Harbach. Reviews have been stellar from the Entertainment Weekly Must List and Time to Rolling Stone and The New Yorker.
Jonathan Franzen says right on the book jacket that first novels this good are very, very rare. So the question is does the book live up to the hype.
I am not a big reader of fiction, other than in my never ending attempt to read all the classics I have missed in the past, so may not be a great expert in the field.
In the book we meet Henry Skimshrander a skinny shortstop for his high school baseball team. Playing in a summer league tournament he impresses an opposing player who plays on a small baseball for a small college named Westish.
Mike Schwartz arranges for Henry to come to Westish and both lives are transformed. Mike is a mentor at heart and Henry has natural gifts that come along once in a generation.
Along the way we meet Henry's gay roommate Owen, a contradiction in cleats. Intelligent, kind, caring and accessible Owen is gay but is also a preternaturally gifted hitter. Soon we are Henry's junior year and here the book takes off.
Henry, through constant training with Mike, has become a strong, physically gifted man child who now hits like a power hitter. Still his fielding is special and he is spoken of as a first round draft choice.
Harbach does a good job making this book not just a baseball book. We meet President Guert Afflenflight who leads Westish College but falls into a dangerous love affair. His prodigal daughter has returned from a failed marriage and becomes entangled with some of our major characters.
An interesting concept as the book does have a major character who is gay and not only gay but actively gay and unaploogetically sexual. I cannot say that this is comfortable but it is interesting in a book that might bring in a more traditional male readership with baseball serving as a backdrop.
By the end of the book the stories of all of the characters are hopelessly entertwined. I would assume that this is the kind of book for which the author will make a significant amount of money for future movie rights.
This is an interesting book. It is a good book. It is not a great book. I liked it, in fact I read the last 200 pages yesterday as I wanted to see how it ended...so maybe it is better than I give it credit for....it certainly is a page turner.
I wonder if my inability to totally embrace the book has to do with the gay subplot. It should not, it is a good book, perhaps by making people ask themselves these questions it is a great book.
Jonathan Franzen says right on the book jacket that first novels this good are very, very rare. So the question is does the book live up to the hype.
I am not a big reader of fiction, other than in my never ending attempt to read all the classics I have missed in the past, so may not be a great expert in the field.
In the book we meet Henry Skimshrander a skinny shortstop for his high school baseball team. Playing in a summer league tournament he impresses an opposing player who plays on a small baseball for a small college named Westish.
Mike Schwartz arranges for Henry to come to Westish and both lives are transformed. Mike is a mentor at heart and Henry has natural gifts that come along once in a generation.
Along the way we meet Henry's gay roommate Owen, a contradiction in cleats. Intelligent, kind, caring and accessible Owen is gay but is also a preternaturally gifted hitter. Soon we are Henry's junior year and here the book takes off.
Henry, through constant training with Mike, has become a strong, physically gifted man child who now hits like a power hitter. Still his fielding is special and he is spoken of as a first round draft choice.
Harbach does a good job making this book not just a baseball book. We meet President Guert Afflenflight who leads Westish College but falls into a dangerous love affair. His prodigal daughter has returned from a failed marriage and becomes entangled with some of our major characters.
An interesting concept as the book does have a major character who is gay and not only gay but actively gay and unaploogetically sexual. I cannot say that this is comfortable but it is interesting in a book that might bring in a more traditional male readership with baseball serving as a backdrop.
By the end of the book the stories of all of the characters are hopelessly entertwined. I would assume that this is the kind of book for which the author will make a significant amount of money for future movie rights.
This is an interesting book. It is a good book. It is not a great book. I liked it, in fact I read the last 200 pages yesterday as I wanted to see how it ended...so maybe it is better than I give it credit for....it certainly is a page turner.
I wonder if my inability to totally embrace the book has to do with the gay subplot. It should not, it is a good book, perhaps by making people ask themselves these questions it is a great book.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Eleventh Day by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan
With the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks coming in the next week we will be beseiged with memories, shows, books and tributes. In no way do I mitigate the importance of the events that took place that day but this book might well make one feel a little differently about the events.
The book takes us through the events as they occurred and then goes through the various conspiracy theories that have been floated about the events. Thankfully and successfully after going through the typical conspiracies we have all heard floated the authors conclude that no reasonable person can really think these theories hold water.
We learn about Bin Laden, the plotters, and then in the end and perhaps the most disturbing part of the book much focus is given to the 9/11 report and much of the redacted portions that deal with relationships between Saudi Arabia and the members of the plot. Sinister might be a strong word to describe the actions of the President but one does wonder why he personally would classify parts of the documents that the CIA did not fit to do so. Clearly there was knowledge and support from some of the highest levels of the Saudi government for these operations.
We attacked the Taliban perhaps correctly so, we falsly accused Iraq, and yet we redacted reports of Saudi involvement. One has to wonder why.
Also disturbing are the complete disarry between the FAA and NORAD on the days of the events, the misleading and outright false statements given officials of these departments and the military about the events of the fateful day. The actions of Clinton NSC advisor Sandy Berger in stealing documents out of the National Archive have never been fully investigated...what was he hiding? Most importantly the fact that it is evident that it was possible had the intelligence agencies listened and communicated to each other that the events could have been prevented. The Bush White House clearly dropped the ball.
While conspiracies were not likely in the U S government or apparatus before the fact it seems very evident that there were conspiracies after the fact to cover the negligence of the agencies and people given the task of protecting us. The cover provided for the Saudi government and officials still troubles.
Perhaps the best book you will read regarding the wide ranging events and cirucmstances of 9/11 and it's effects
The Hour
There might be no greater way to get your movie, album, book or show to be seen than to get it on the Entertainment Weekly Must List. Once that happens there is a good chance that a significant amount of people will at least give you a chance.
Yesterday after seeing an endorsement of the show The Hour, which airs on BBC America my wife and I gave it a look. The show centers on 1956 England and specifically on a male and female member of a Newsreel production company hoping to land on the staff of a newsmagazine start up called The Hour.
Comapred in reviews to Mad Men one can see the connection. The accents are a bit hard to follow at times and this show is clearly more political than Mad Men but I found it quite interesting. There is a love triangle brewing, pretty people and spies too.
This show is part of what BBC sells as Dramaville, a slot on Wednesday nights at 10 pm where a series might last for six to eight weeks. I have read that the BBC after the completion of The Hour on The BBC has stated there will be another round of episodes filmed. We also have been told of the three series to follow The Hour which will take Dramaville to the end of the year.
An interesting way to watch a show, none of the time slot foolishness, repeats, and shows on hiatus that we have come to expect here in America. This often sabatoges shows here, Men of a Certain Age being a prime example.
We will be watching the rest of the show.
Songs and Stories by Guy Clark
It is hard to like Texas. I do not like the Dallas Cowboys, I think the whole Texas bravado is dumb, the Texas culture of killing and guns is abysmal and with LBJ, John Tower, the Bush's and now Rick Perry their politics are something scary.
The one thing I do like in Texas is Austin, Texas. It is like an oasis a desert. Out of Austin comes some of the best music in the Texas Alt Country tradition such as James McMurtry and Robert Earl Keen both of whom I have reviewed before.
Today on Spotify we listened to a new collection buy 70 year old, 40 year Texas troubadour Guy Clark. This collection entitled Songs and Stories is perhaps his version of Storytellers. The music is quiet, reflective and intelligent. The stories are heartfelt including tributes to his longtime best friend Townes Van Zandt and his father. The music is well defined, the backup singers are involved. In short this show sounds like one I would be honored to go see.
The music business is hollow and shallow. What we can easily forget in listening to the same music over and over and looking at the wasteland of popular music is that there is so much great music out there.
Keen, McMurtry and Clark have been making music for decades and their back catalogue is like a treasure trove to keep you warm when you give up on " popular" music. Put the CD in, listen to Outlaw Country on Sirius and know that somewhere at least one of these three is on the road doing what he does best. Connecting us to our past with this wonderful music.
Highlights on this album include L A Freeway, Maybe I Can Paint Over That, If I Needed You, Stuff That Works, The Randall Knife and Dublin Blues.
Turn off your mind, make a small drink, and listen thoughtfully to this album. It is a keeper.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Cowboys and Aliens
Saturday night at the movies and tonight we went to the cheap seats to see this movie. I thought that the previews looked good this spring when we were at another movie but as often happens when it came to the theatre we did not get there.
The reviews I had read on arrival had been that it was not that good. After seeing this tonight I would have to differ. The movie is campy and silly. Anything involving Cowboys, Indians and Aliens would have to be a bit over the top.
Still the story reminds me of something one might have seen in an afternoon show at the movies on a Saturday in the fifties. The special effects now are much better but the story of the stranger armed with a special bracelet, aliens that are using people to expirment on and the fact that in the end all the humans be they ranchers, robbers or Apaches have to band together to defeat the Indians works.
It is a strong cast with Harrison Ford as the grizzled rancher ( with some affecting scenes with his adopted Mexican son) and Daniel Craig as the stranger with no memory. Olivia Wilde adds some sex appeal and does it well and for some reason at least for me this was an enjoyable movie.
One of those movies that is better than the sum of its parts if you accept it for what it is. I liked it very much.
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
I loved dogs when I was a kid. We always had a dog. In my twenties and thirties life was busy and though I still loved dogs we did not have them. However when I remarried my wife had a dog and more importantly members of her family all had dogs and thus began my reattachment to dogs. Last September I got a Corgi and I have to say that I am now a fill blown dog lover. I love time spent with him. I have trained him well although there is still room for improvement.
Alexandra Horowitz is a dog lover. She wants to know what a dog thinks, sees, and feels. Of course much of what we think we know about these subjects has to be subjective because no one is talking to any dogs that I know of. Still the book is very interesting. Horowitz talks about what a dog sees, he sees more in motion and motion attracts his attention. We talk about hearing, a dog hears many things that humans do not. Biggest of all we learn about a dogs nose. An example, dogs smell in the billionths of particles while humans are in the millions.
Expiriments done with dogs have attempted to prove many different viewpoints. I found the dog interesting, but not in the sense that I now feel like I know more than I did before about what dogs think and know. Most of what she discusses I knew, or at least had heard before.
Dogs live in the moment, but they are creatures of habit and practice. Routine is important to them. I can vouch for this, I am a very structured person and have trained my Corgi to be in a routine, or OCD as my wife calls it. Corgi's are herding dogs and he does herd us. The author talks about this, about how your dog and his breeding have made him who he is, his habits, his traits, everything.
Most affecting perhaps is the authors obvious love for her dog. We get periodoic intervals of her experiences with her beloved dog Pump. Most of us dog lovers can understand and appreciate all she talks about from the intruding into our space when they want something, to the eyes that stare at us, to the ball that gets under the couch and their insistence that we help them to the joy of having your dog curl up in the nook of your knees when you sleep on your side.
I love my dog. If you are in love with your dog and curious for an outlook on his inner workings and thoughts served up with a fair amount of admitting everything is just an educated guess but knowing no matter what we like the end result of what goes on inside our dogs this is a book you will enjoy.
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