Got It

Get Shorty was a fun movie.  An enforcer for organized crime who likes movies comes to Hollywood and discovers his skills make him perfect for show biz.  I've never read the Elmore Leonard novel it's based on, but the film was well-written, directed and acted.

But that was 25 (!) years ago.  I couldn't see how Epix would turn it into a series.  But the first season, released in 2017, really worked.  Instead of John Travolta as the enforcer and Gene Hackman as the hapless producer, you had Chris O'Dowd and Ray Romano.  The basic concept was the same, but the particulars were all changed--in this story, O'Dowd finds a great script written by someone who was murdered and figures he can use it to break into movies.  O'Dowd's character, Miles Daly, is at turns charming and thuggish.  And, unlike Travolta in the movie, he's got domestic problems.  (The movie had Danny DeVito as "Shorty" the movie star.  In the TV show, O'Dowd calls his daughter shorty.)

There was constant tension, trying to get a movie made while also satisfying his employer and keeping the authorities from finding out what's going on.  I recently watched seasons 2 and 3, however, and thought they didn't manage to keep it at the same level.

Essentially it's the same story.  Maybe a new movie to be made, but a constant struggle to keep things going.  And, worse, the show got a lot darker.  I'd call the movie, and the first season of the show, a comedy.  But it's harder to call it that when the main characters are so ruthless and brutal.

Also, while O'Dowd's A-story still has some nice twists, the B-story, dealing with Ray Romano's relationship with crime boss Amara, grows tiresome. I admit I did watch the show all the way through, so how bad can it be?  But the bloom is off the rose.

PS  One of the regulars is Sarah Stiles as a production assistant who wants to be a performer.  In the show her character actually gets a job on Broadway in the musical Tootsie--we even get to see her do a number.  This is the same Sarah Stiles who actually starred in the recent musical Tootsie on Broadway, so I guess they made that work. (She looked pretty good in the role--I'm not surprised she was nominated for a Tony.)

VVG

Vincent Van Gogh was born on this day in 1853.  He lived a miserable life, dying young and not seeing much success.

If he'd only known what would happen to his reputation after his death.  His stock has shot way up.  I'm not sure how you measure these things, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up the #1 painter in a poll.

And the paintings that few saw in his short life are now iconic.  Here are a few:

 

 

 

Any World That I'm Welcome To

I've watched the first two episodes of season three of Westworld.  I watched the entire first season when it aired--not because I thought it was great, but because I was paying for HBO. I blogged about it, and as you can see, didn't think much of it.

I watched the second season on and off and, if anything, it was worse.  All the reversals of robots and robot minds doing this and that became tiresome.  And there were essentially no rules--or they could easily create a technological fix to reverse any plot problem they got into. I didn't expect to even sample the third season, but 1) I'm still paying for HBO and 2) what else is there to do?

Season three has a new twist.  Now the robots have escaped from Westworld and are wreaking havoc in the real world. At least it's something different, except it turns out to have the same problems as before.  It's once again robots versus humans (and some of the robots versus other robots) and whatever mechanical fix is needed for plot reasons is just there.

The cast still includes Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and has added Aaron Paul, among others.  Fine actors, but there's not so much interesting for them to do amid the mayhem and high-tech mumbo-jumbo.  Maybe I should stop paying for HBO.

White Man

"King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman was born 130 years ago today.  Many mock the moniker, since he's not today's idea of jazz--but then, jazz just meant pop music to a lot of people back in the 20s.

He was tremendously popular in his day, and I think his stuff still sounds pretty good.

QT

It's Quentin Tarantino's birthday. (I've actually met him a few times, and we've talked movies.) As a writer-director he's said he'll retire after ten films--which, by his count, means only one more. It would be a voluntary retirement, since his films still make money and everyone wants to work with him.  Not all his titles are big hits, or great films, but his batting average is high, especially considering every film he does is original (even Jackie Brown, based on an Elmore Leonard novel).

He introduced himself with a one-two punch rarely equaled in cinema history--Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.  The first was low budget, but showed a natural born director, not to mention a great writer.  The latter put him into the stratosphere, winning the Palme d'Or as well as a screenplay Oscar (should have won Best Picture).  It's the best film of the decade featuring great performances--especially from Samuel L. Jackson--and every other scene is a classic.

Then came Jackie Brown, which was seen as a letdown in its day, but has aged better than anything else he's done.  And it includes a knockout performance from the then all-but-forgotten Robert Forster, as well as great work from the rest of the cast, including Jackson (again) and Robert De Niro (who by this point in his career often seemed to be coasting).

If you don't count Tarantino's segment in Four Rooms (though I do count it, and like it), he followed Jackie Brown with two Kill Bill films.  They were hits, but I find them disappointing.  He differentiates his films into those from a world he's created, and films that people in the world he's created watch at the cinema.  Kill Bill is from the latter.  There are some fine scenes, but previously Tarantino had brought a sense of reality (even if heightened) back into crime films, and that was better than seeing superheroes doing impossible things.  Also, I don't like the protagonist that much--the two films add up to her getting her child back from Bill, and I consider that a tragedy.

His next film is a bit of a comeback--Death Proof, originally released as half of Grindhouse.  We're back to real life here, even if it's the real life of stunt people doing a lot of fancy driving.  I don't consider this as good as his 90s films, and Tarantino, famous for lengthy scenes of dialogue, is getting a bit self-indulgent, but it's still a lot of fun.

Then came Inglourious Basterds, a complete comeback--his greatest film after Pulp Fiction.  And also a huge hit.  It's a fantasy retelling of WWII and has some great action and characters. (It also has a lot of foreign-language scenes--rare for a big hit.) It's hard to pick the best actor, but the most notable performance came from a unknown (to most of the world), German actor Christoph Waltz, who showed his talents in four languages and won an Oscar (he'd win two in Tarantino roles).

This was followed by an even bigger hit, Django Unchained.  I admit I find it somewhat disappointing.  First, I thought the plot was sort of weak--especially the final act, with a lot of poorly motivated violence.  Also, I felt he played with history better in Basterds. But even Tarantino at his weakest is enjoyable.

The Hateful Eight, his next film, is also not one of his better works.  Some great moments, as expected, but this chamber Western doesn't rise to the level it seems to be going for.

But then he came up with last year's Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood, a classic.  It was a big hit (featuring two of the biggest stars in the world), but was actually pretty experimental.  If it weren't for the threat of the Manson Family, and the ultimate payoff to that, there's not much engine to the plot--it's mostly about life in Hollywood in 1969 over a few days.  As expected by now, Tarnatino rewrites history, but hey, we were warned by the title this is a fairy tale.

Anyway, I look forward to his next film. Despite what he says, I hope it isn't his last.

The Dunc-Man

Duncan Hines was born 140 years ago today.  Yes, he was a real person.

He worked as a traveling salesman in the days when you never knew what you'd get in any restaurant.  In the 1930s, he and his wife started compiling a list of the good restaurants that were around.  They turned it into a book, and eventually added popular lodgings.

Hines also started writing a newspaper column on food three times a week in the 40s and 50s.  It included restaurant recipes that he'd collected over the years.

In the 1950s (when he was in his 70s) he started a bakery.  Not long after, he sold the rights to his name.  His cake mixes were especially popular.  In the late 50s, a couple years before Hines' death, the cake mix company was sold to Procter & Gamble.

To this day Duncan Hines is a brand associated with easy-to-make cake and brownie mixes, not to mention items such as frosting, pie filling and other sweet treats.

TM

I've avoided writing about the coronavirus because 1) it's all you hear about already, 2) I don't have anything original to say and 3) I thought this blog could be a respite from all the news out there. But now a big name has died of the virus, someone I'd write about anyway, playwright Terrence McNally.  He was in his 80s, and had had lung cancer, so was particularly vulnerable, but it's still a shock.

For over 50 years he's been one of America's most notable playwrights.  In the early 60s, he was Edward Albee's boyfriend, but soon established himself as an independent voice.  His first major production on Broadway was in 1965--And Things That Go Bump In The Night.  About a dysfunctional family, it was not well-reviewed and closed after a couple of weeks, but some people thought it was remarkable.

His one-act Next, starring James Coco, was an off-Broadway hit in 1969 and he started to gain a reputation.  Bad Habits, a comedy set in a nursing home, transferred from off-Broadway to Broadway in 1974.  And his farce set in a gay bathhouse, The Ritz, ran a year on Broadway in 1975.  It won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and was also turned into a pretty weird Richard Lester comedy, starring the original cast, with screenplay by McNally in 1976.

Not yet 40, he was now well-established.  He soon started writing books to Broadway musicals as well, such as The Rink (1984), Kiss Of The Spider Woman (1993), Ragtime (1998) and The Fully Monty (2000), winning a couple of Tonys and being nominated for more.

But it was for his plays he was best known, and he started hitting his stride in the 1980s. In 1982, he wrote It's Only A Play, a farce about a disastrous opening night.  It was later done off-Broadway and years after that on Broadway.  I actually saw a production on my birthday in the early 1990s in Los Angeles.  It happened to be the night the Rodney King riots started.  When the play ended, star Charles Nelson Reilly came out and announced we should all go straight home, the streets aren't safe.

Then there was Frankie And Johnny In The Claire De Lune, a two-hander off-Broadway hit in 1987.  It's a lovely romance about two troubled people. Neither character is meant to be too glamorous. The original cast was Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham.  The Broadway cast in 2002 was Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci.  When Garry Marshall turned it into a movie in 1991, it starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.

McNally often wrote on gay themes, and created a memorable play about AIDS, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, in 1991. (I saw a production starring Nathan Lane, who appeared in a number of McNally plays.  After the show was over the cast came out and answered questions.  I thought Lane acted like a jerk.) Another gay-themed play was Love! Valour! Compassion! which opened off-Broadway in 1994 and transferred to Broadway in 1995.  It won McNally the Best Play Tony.  He won it again the next year for Master Class, about famed opera soprano Maria Callas in her declining days (and offering women a knockout lead role).

In 1993 he wrote A Perfect Ganesh, about two Western women on a trip to India.  It was not one of his more popular plays, but was nominated for a Pulitzer.

Probably his most controversial play was Corpus Christi in 1997--a retelling of the gospels with gay characters.  McNally even received a fatwa.  The play (not one of his best, I'd say) seems to be more personal than religious.

He continued writing and presenting work for the rest of his life, including Deuce (2007) and Mothers And Sons (2014), the latter receiving a Tony Nomination for Best Play.  Last year, he received a fitting Tony--Special Award for Lifetime Achievement.

WreCKing Crew Master

Happy 85th, Carol Kaye.  One of the best bass guitarists--and straight guitarists--of our era. (And recently in the news for complaining about a character based on her in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.)

Back in the day, no one knew the names of session musicians (or even that there were such things).  And Kaye was one of the greats, performing on thousands of cuts. Good to see she's getting credit these days.

AK

Akira Kurosawa was born 110 years ago today.  He's one of the big three of 20th century Japanese cinema, and probably the best known. (The other two are Ozu and Mizoguchi.) He was also the most Western of Japanese directors, which made his films play well around the world, though perhaps cost him some prestige in Japan (or so I've heard).

A true auteur, he wrote and directed his work.  He was active for fifty years, from the 40s to the 90s.  If I had to pick his top ten, it would be a tough task.  So here's my list, though it might change tomorrow. (Also, note it's chronological.)

1.  Stray Dog (1949)
2.  Rashomon (1950)
3.  Ikiru (1952)
4.  Seven Samurai (1954)
5.  Throne Of Blood (1957)
6.  The Hidden Fortress (1958)
7.  Yojimbo (1960)
8.  Sanjuro (1961)
9.  High And Low (1963)
10.  Red Beard (1965)

I think Rashomon has become more famous as an idea--different points of view leading to different stories--than as a film (unfortunately).

Seven Samurai has been copied quite a few times (which is only fair since Kurosawa had no trouble taking others' ideas to see what he could do with them).

Kurosawa was a fan of Shakespeare--thus, for instance, Throne Of Blood is his version of Macbeth.

The Hidden Fortress didn't used to be as famous as some of these other titles. Then George Lucas took from it for Star Wars and now everyone knows it.

Sanjuro is a sequel to Yojimbo.  Kurosawa, or his producers, at least, knew a good thing when they saw it.

His most famous collaborator is Toshiro Mifune, who appeared in 16 of Kurosawa's films, including all those listed above expect Ikiru.  I'd say Mifune is most famous for Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, yet I think my favorite moment in any Kurosawa film is when Mifune goes nuts early on in High And Low, berating his employees for the shoddy shoes they want to manufacture.

As you can see from the list, I prefer his "earlier" films--that is, from the 40s through the 60s.

SS

Believe it or not, Stephen Sondheim turns 90 today.  He's the greatest Broadway songwriter of our era.  His work is regularly revived, and I expect it will live on alongside the music of illustrious predecessors who also wrote words and music, like Cole Porter and Frank Loesser. Rather than go on about how great he is, let's listen to some examples.

March Munch

Not sure what to eat today?  Let me list some holidays that fall on March 21:

National French Bread Day

Maple Syrup Saturday

National California Strawberry Day

Gallo Wine Day

National Corn Dog Day

National Healthy Fats Day

And it's the end of American Chocolate Week

Hope that takes care of your nutritional needs.

Meet And Greet And Meet

Hello Goodbye Hello by Craig Brown is a different sort of book.  It's about the meetings of famous people, but with a twist.  Each of its 101 short chapters (1001 words each) tells of a meeting, but the way it's structured, Chapter 1 is A meets B, followed by Chapter 2 where B meets C and so on.  And in the final chapter, Z meets A. (It's a bit like La Ronde, but that's a fictional play.)

And what a cast. Writers: Mark Twain, Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, J. D. Salinger.  Movie Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Alec Guinness. World Leaders: Hitler, Stalin, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon. Composers: Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Mahler. Pop stars: Madonna, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Elvis, Paul McCartney. Royalty: Queen Elizabeth II, Tsar Nicholas, Princess Di. Poets: T. S. Eliot, Jean Cocteau, Allen Ginsberg. Directors: Howard Hawks, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock. Dancers: Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan. Thinkers: Bertrand Russell, Sigmund Freud. Famous Spouses: Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan. Scene-makers: Andy Warhol, Truman Capote. Odds and ends: Helen Keller, Houdini.  And so on.

Some of the stories you may already know.  I'm a fan of the Beatles, so I didn't learn anything new about Paul McCartney.  Same for the Marx Brothers--both Groucho and Harpo make the list.  But I doubt anyone knows all the stories.  And they're told with some wit by British journalist Brown. (And if you don't like one story, skip it and go to the next.)

This book isn't deep.  It couldn't be.  But it's certainly got breadth.  No classic, perhaps, but worth checking out.

What's In A Name

Some business names you just go with.  You start small, get big, and there you are.  For instance, if you wanted to start a huge fast food burger chain, you might call it Burger King.  But if you start your own place and only later does it grow much bigger, it might be called McDonald's.

Looking at burger places in general, it seems to be split between the two. You've got Whataburger, Smash Burger, Fatburger, Wayback Burger and the late and lamented Burger Chef, not to mention descriptive names like The Counter and In-N-Out.  On the other hand, there's Wendy's, Hardee's, Cart's Jr. and many others.

Then there are names that may be related, but I'm not sure.  In what category is Jack In The Box?  Is it a box-like restaurant and the burger pops out? And Sonic is a drive-in--did it used to feature speakers?

And what about (to go further afield) Arby's?  Sounds like a name, but on further inspection, seems to be the initials for Roast Beef. (Years ago they had ads claiming "Arby's" stood for "America's Roast Beef, Yes Sir." That's stretching it.)

Then there's the case of KFC.  It used to proudly be Kentucky Fried Chicken.  You knew what you were getting.  But fried chicken started sounded less and less healthy (are you listening, Fatburger?) so they did just the initials. (Perhaps like how The Learning Channel changed to TLC because all we learn there now is how fat or small or tall people can be.)

By the way, what got me started on all this was seeing an ad for Redfin, a real estate brokerage. Because when I saw the name, I wondered where they got it--it sure sounds a lot like "redline."

How Do You Feel About Cleveland?

Grover Cleveland was born on this day in 1837.  I suppose historians could tell me about his significance, but to the average American, he's known for one thing--he served as President for two non-consecutive terms.  He was elected in 1884 and 1892. In between (a good trivia question) he lost--even though he got more votes--to Benjamin Harrison.

Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal, but he's the only* guy who did it.  We've had plenty of people who ran more than once before they were elected President.  And plenty of Presidents who lost their reelection bid.  But winning, losing, then coming back and winning again--that takes some doing.

Of course, like, say, a triple play, things have to be set up right for it to happen.  In most games you don't even get in a situation where there can be a triple play, and in most elections, there's no chance or not much of a chance for a President who's lost to run again.  It'd be interesting to see.  Let's say if Trump loses, would he try again, or would he figure that's enough (or would his party figure that's enough).

Anyway, good work, Grover.  You will be forever remembered as a guy who didn't quit.  I wonder if they put your stuff in storage for four years, or if you had to re-supply everything when you tossed those Harrison people out?

*I guess you could argue that FDR was elected to non-consecutive terms.  He won four times, so election 1 and 3, 2 and 4, and 1 and 4 were non-consecutive.

You Name It

I was just thinking of the phrase "compassionate conservatism," popularized by George W. Bush not that long ago.  I guess a lot of people felt conservatism was too harsh, so putting the word "compassionate" in front of it would take the edge off.

I also recall many conservatives not liking the phrase.  They felt conservatism was already the most beneficial political stance, so it didn't need to be made compassionate--it already was.  But I guess the phrase worked (no matter what it meant) since Bush got elected twice.

(You've got a similar problem with socialism.  While plenty of people on the left like it straight, the word does scare a lot of people in the middle.  On the other hand, "democratic socialism" doesn't sound quite that bad, so some use that phrase, regardless of what it means.  On the other hand, "national socialism" sounds awful, so don't expect it to make a comeback.)

To keep people on board in a political campaign, you want to make sure they're "happy campers." I once had a friend ask me why campers were so happy.  I said he was missing the point.  You'd think campers would naturally be happy--they're having fun on vacation.  But no.  If they were automatically happy, you'd just call them campers.

So someone had to invent the phrase happy campers.  Campers are apparently a volatile bunch, so you've got to work to keep them happy.  Especially if you own the camp.

JL

Jerry Lewis, who's been gone only a few years, was born on this day in 1926.  He was tremendously popular in his 20s as part of Martin & Lewis, and then had a good solo run.  A unique performer and imaginative director, he left his mark.  Sometimes he went too far--but sometimes he was at his best going too far.

Ides Idea

Today are the Ides Of March.  It was apparently the day Roman's settled debts.  And, famously, was the day Julius Caesar was assassinated.

In his play, Shakespeare doesn't say it once--he says it three times:

Soothsayer:  Caesar!

Caesar: Ha! who calls?

Casca: Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!

Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me?
              I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
              Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer:  Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:  What man is that?

Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

Caesar:  Set him before me; let me see his face.

Cassius: What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

Soothsayer:  Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:  He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

He should have listened.

Circumference To Diameter

Today is 3-14--National Pi Day. 

I don't have much to say but:

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
  58209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679
  82148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128
  48111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
  44288109756659334461284756482337867831652712019091
  45648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273
  72458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436
  78925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094
  33057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548
  07446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912
  98336733624406566430860213949463952247371907021798
  60943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132
  00056812714526356082778577134275778960917363717872
  14684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235
  42019956112129021960864034418159813629774771309960
  51870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859
  50244594553469083026425223082533446850352619311881
  71010003137838752886587533208381420617177669147303
  59825349042875546873115956286388235378759375195778
  18577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989

Rock 'N' Roller Stoller

Mike Stoller, of Lieber and Stoller fame, turns 87 today.  They were one of the greatest songwriting time of early rock and roll, and they were matchless when it came to sense of humor.

Beat It

Jack Kerouac was born on this day in 1922.  He died fairly young, in 1969--he essentially drank himself to death.

Kerouac is probably the most famous name, and face, of the Beat Generation.  I've read bits and pieces of his stuff--including his most famous work, On The Road, and The Dharma Bums--and I wonder if his reputation isn't based more on who he is than what he wrote. (As Truman Capote once said of Kerouac, fairly or not, "that's not writing, that's typing.")

It was quite a picturesque life (if you ignore the drinking himself to death stuff).  He was a handsome guy with some talent, no doubt.  But then came his road trip with Neal Cassady, and his relationships with women and men, not to mention all the drinking, smoking and drugs.  And the idea of "spontaneous writing" (always exaggerated) and putting it all down on a long roll of paper.  All very romantic.

He was already a symbol of cool in his life, and after his death became irresistible for numerous filmmakers. I feel like I've seen him portrayed in at least ten films. He wrote like musicians play jazz.  But, let's face it, a lot of jazz is forgettable.  Will Kerouac be around fifty years from now?  Maybe a better question is do people still read him today?

Exhibitionist

I just read Robert Wilson's Barnum: An American Life.  Like most people, I'd heard of P. T. Barnum but didn't really know his story.  He was simply the guy in the 1800s who made a lot of money because he knew "There's a sucker born every minute" (though, it turns out, it's not clear he ever said this).

I've always been interested in the guy, but, oddly, he's probably more popular now than he's been in years simply because of the musical biopic The Greatest Showman (which actually had little to do with the real man) was a surprise smash.

The book takes us from his birth in 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut through his many successes (and occasional failures) as a showman.  Even as a kid he had the entrepreneurial spirit, and ran various businesses (including subscribing people to lotteries, a great business until it was outlawed) with a fair amount of success before he figured he could exhibit things and people.

He had his first great success in his 20s with Joice Heth, an old black woman who, it was claimed, was 161 years old and had been George Washington's former nurse.  I don't know if it was because people were more credulous back then, or just wanted novelty in a world where entertainment was hard to come by, but Barnum made a pretty penny off Heth.

He then created his American Museum in New York (it was already a museum when he bought it) which over the years had countless exhibits and guaranteed a steady income.  One of his earliest hits was the Feejee Mermaid--actually the head and torso of a monkey sewed on to a fish.  Barnum's specialty was publicity, and people lined up to see the oddity. Once again, I'm not sure if people were fooled, or it was simply the in thing to do.

Then came one of his biggest hits, General Tom Thumb--actually a 5-year-old dwarf he claimed was 11.  Tom was quite the performer, and Barnum took him to England, where he became a huge hit and met with royalty.

Next came Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale who was already a hit in Europe.  Barnum sponsored her tour of America, and both made out quite well.

Meanwhile, Barnum was involved in other ventures.  He bought a lot of land, on some of which he built mansions for himself and his family, especially the imposing "Iranistan." He presented theatrical works.  He became a lecturer and author (writing a popular autobiography).  He heavily invested in a clock company and went bankrupt, but was able to dig himself out of the hole.  And he ran for office, with some success.

When his museum, which had had hundreds of thousands of exhibits, burned down (twice), he got out of that business. Then, a relatively old man, he got into the circus business (not that far removed from what he'd already been doing).  He merged with James Bailey to created Barnum & Bailey's, the famed three-ring circus. One of their top attractions was Jumbo, the elephant.

Barnum died in 1891, but his name certainly lives on.  In his day, he was known around the world, to some as a humbug, to others as a successful American entrepreneur--maybe he was both.

CN

Believe it or not, Chuck Norris turns 80 today. As good a day as any to note some Chuck Norris jokes:

Chuck Norris beat the sun in a staring contest.

Chuck Norris can hear sign language.

Death once had a near-Chuck-Norris experience.

Chuck Norris ended the "Never Ending Story."

Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.

Chuck Norris is the only person who can punch a Cyclops between the eyes.

Chuck Norris threw a grenade and killed 50 people, then it exploded.

Bigfoot claims he saw Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris doesn't wear a watch.  He decides what time it is.

Under Chuck Norris's beard there isn't a chin. Only another fist.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

Bill Gates lives in fear that Chuck Norris's PC will crash.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

And so on and so forth.

This Dog Won't Hunt

I've been watching the new Amazon mini-series Hunters, created by David Weil.  It's a big deal in that it stars Al Pacino in his first regular TV role.  It's a small deal in that it's terrible.  I've given up after three episodes.

Set in 1977, it's about an underground group of Nazi hunters going after an equally secret group of Nazis who have infiltrated America.  Meanwhile, there's an FBI agent (Jerrika Hinton) trying to figure out who's doing all this killing.

Pacino plays Meyer Offerman, survivor of the death camps, who leads the Hunters.  Fellow survivor and stalwart Ruth Heidelbaum (Jeannie Berlin), whom he knew in the camps, has recently been murdered by one of the Nazis.  Her grandson (Logan Lerman) finds out about the Hunters and joins them.

The drama is all over the place, with comic and musical interludes amidst the action.  These moments might work as relief if the writing, characters and action were better.  Instead, the show is ridiculous, even for something set at comic book level--the Hunters (including Carol Kane, Josh Radnor and Saul Rubinek) are a diverse coalition of superheroes, and the bad guys (including Lena Olin and Dylan Baker) are crude caricatures even for Nazis.

Worse, the visions of the death camps, which pop up regularly in flashback, are overdone.  There are those who claim the Holocaust shouldn't even be fictionalized, since that's a betrayal of history.  I wouldn't go that far, but when something so obscene is toyed with in this way, for cheap effect, it does leave one queasy.  And that the plot attributes horrible events in American history after WWII to Nazi conspiracy is also pretty stupid and ugly.

In addition, though I see this in so many period shows it seems almost pointless to complain, the dialogue is full of anachronistic phrases and references, not to mention political attitudes, that wouldn't be found in 1977.

Al Pacino, overacting (which is the only kind of acting he does these days) with a Jewish accent, seems to be having fun, but he's one of the few bright spots in the show.  The others don't seem able to rise above the material.

Amazon already has an excellent comic book show about a secret group in America taking on a serious threat--it's called The Boys.  Watch that instead.

Big George

Record producer George Martin died four years ago today.  If anyone was the fifth Beatle, it was Martin.  There's been some debate as to just how much he added to the band, but The Beatles truly lucked out when they landed him.

Leaving aside the fact no one else wanted them, any other producer at the time would have reshaped The Boys.  Any other producer would have picked their songs, decided on the arrangements, brought in studio musicians, do all the things that producers did then.  Martin was smart enough, and liked the band enough, to let them do it their way, helping them fulfill their vision, thus creating the most successful act ever.

He produced many other pop and rock acts during and after his work with The Beatles, but I'm intrigued by his early work.  He was known in the 50s and early 60s as one of the most imaginative producers around.  He didn't just record pop hits, he created soundscapes, building stuff from the ground up.  He was also noted for his comedy and novelty work (which was frustrating, because a pop artist can follow up a hit with another much like it, while a novelty record tends to be a one-off).

Here's a sampling of his pre-Beatles work, heavy on the novelty:

Painter Piet

Piet Mondrian was born on this day in 1872.  His work is as well known as any artist around. On Green Acres, the Douglas's swanky Manhattan apartment has a Mondrian (I bet it's an original).  There are a group of Hotel Mondrians based on his style.  Does any other painter have that?

If you want to be a famous painter, you've got to work in a style that people recognize, and I'm not sure anyone did it better than Piet.  His early works were more conventional, but he got more and more abstract and more geometrical as well.  Here are a few examples, though just one should do.

 

 

Could It Be Magic?

I've watched the first two episodes of Dispatches From Elsewhere, the new AMC drama.  It not only stars Jason Segel, it was created by him--he also wrote and directed the pilot.  It's based on The Institute, a documentary I haven't seen.

The show starts with Richard E. Grant staring at us.  He plays the narrator, and also, apparently, the character who's pulling the strings.  Then we concentrate on Peter (Segel), who's just another nameless worker drone.  Until he calls a number on a flyer and gets invited to visit the Jejune Institute.  And no sooner has he had the meeting than he's getting messages from the Elsewhere society warning him to get away.

So this is the game.  It's not clear who's in charge, how real it is, or what it means. It's also not clear which side is good or bad, or even if they're truly different.  But we soon meet other players who make up Peter's team--troubled transgender Simone (the main character in the second episode, played by Eve Lindley) and two others we don't know that well yet, Janice (Sally Field), a prudent older lady and Fredwynn, an over-analytical African-American.  No doubt we'll find out more about them in the next two episodes.

The show is still explaining itself, but it seems to be about finding the magic in real life.  As such, it's somewhat reminiscent of the recently-canceled AMC drama Lodge 49.  Trouble is, so far, Dispatches From Elsewhere isn't that magical.  The characters are quirky, to be sure, but not yet special.  And the things that happen are odd, but not yet compelling.

Guess I'll keep watching for now (it's after Better Call Saul), but if it doesn't get better by the fourth episode, when all the main characters are introduced, I'll be done.

If You Say So

The Arizona House has passed a bill dealing with intellectual diversity on campus.  The guy behind it explains:

The basic idea is to have public universities create offices of Public Policy Events, which would be charged with organizing debates, panel discussion, and individual lectures designed to explore widely debated public-policy issues from divergent and competing perspectives.

According to the linked article, this law would not require student groups or academic departments to invite any speakers to campus. It would only be this new Office of Public Policy which would select the issues and stage balanced debates.

Is it generally a good thing for students to be exposed to a diversity of political beliefs?  Yes.  Are campuses by and large doing a poor job of it?  Yes.  Should public colleges be sued when they deny freedom of speech to their students?  Yes.  But this law is still a bad idea.

As bad as colleges are these days at presenting balance regarding divisive political issues, this is no reason to get the government involved.  Even assuming the Office of Public Policy could be run in a rational, evenhanded way, this is still giving the state too much power.  I don't trust college campuses to do a good job presenting all sides, but I trust government officials even less in determining how a balanced debate should be presented (and punishing those who don't meet their standards).  And even if they did a good job in the short run, who knows how the government might exploit this power in the future.

There are too many bullies on college campuses telling people what they can and can't say or hear.  We don't need to invite another bully, even if this bully promises to be as fair as possible.

See Joe Run

As I write this we're still waiting for the dust to clear, but it's certain Biden had a huge night.  He won most of the state primaries including the big question mark Texas (not to mention Amy Klobuchar's state and Elizabeth Warren's state).

Not a complete shock.  Not now, anyway.  A complete shock a week ago when his candidacy seemed about over.  But the Democrats, at the precipice, decided someone had to stop Sanders.  So he won South Carolina huge (helped by the African-American vote), followed by Buttigieg and Klobuchar bowing out.

I think the results also mean it's likely there won't be a brokered convention.  Unless Biden and Sanders manage to seesaw back and forth, it's likely one will get far enough ahead to win a majority of delegates.

And that's even if their opponents stay in the race.  But why would they?  Isn't it clear at this point that Warren is over?  And Bloomberg mistakenly thought he could sit out the early races and buy his way in on Super Tuesday--a strategy that never works.  Perhaps he'll drop out, perhaps he won't, but who cares?  Did we care four years ago when John Kasich stuck around forever?

A lot of people who aren't as smart as they think believe money runs politics, but Bloomberg reportedly spent about half a billion (as anyone who's watched television in California the past few weeks can testify).  Yet he didn't finish higher than third in a single state.  Meanwhile, Biden won some states where he essentially spent no money.  Sure, Bloomberg will get some delegates (as will Warren, who finished third in her home state), but they won't amount to much.  He'll be looked at as an irritant, holding back Biden, which is not the image he was hoping for.

Other big losers--Iowa and New Hampshire.  Think of all the time the media wasted in those places--who cares about them now?

Even with Sanders taking California, it would seem that Biden is the front runner.  But there's still plenty to go.  The next two Tuesdays offer some major face-offs, and if it stays close, we'll actually be worrying about the big primaries on April 28th, or even June 2.  Wouldn't that be fun?

As far as candidates in the general election, both have flaws.  Bernie seems too radical, which is why there was such a reaction against him within his own party. (It didn't seem to be much about his policies.) Meanwhile, Biden, whose support is about electability, seems out of it--as gaffe-prone as ever, which is saying something.  But Trump has his weaknesses as well.  Perhaps either can beat him, maybe neither can.  But that's a question for another day.

Inside Out

James Lipton has died.  He led a long and lively life, but is best known for hosting Inside The Actors Studio.

He was raised in Detroit and worked for years as an actor, on TV and on Broadway.  He also had great success as a soap opera writer, and wrote the book and lyrics to the unsuccessful Broadway musical Sherry!

It wasn't until he was well into his 60s that he began to work with the famed Actors Studio and created the show/class Inside The Actors Studio, where he would tape an in-depth interview, in front of an audience, with an important actor, director or writer.

Lipton hosted hundreds of episodes with numerous big names.  His interviews were noted for their deep research (with numerous notecards by his side), taking his subjects through their entire career.  He always ended with the questionnaire created by French journalist Bernard Pivot:

1.  What is your favorite word?
2.  What is your least favorite word?
3.  What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
4.  What turns you off?
5.  What is your favorite curse word?
6.  What sound or noise do you love?
7.  What sound or noise do you hate?
8.  What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
9.  What profession would you not like to do?
10.  If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear when you enter the Pearly Gates?

His guests knew what they were in for, so I suspect they prepared answers.

Lipton was also known for his style, which some thought overdone.  Maybe a bit too unctuous, or obsequious.  He was famously parodied by Will Ferrell on SNL (and less famously parodied by David Cross on Mr. Show).  I admit I used to make fun of him, but then, when he was being mocked, he laughed along with everyone else.  It made you realize the guy got the gag, and had a good sense of humor.

He left the show a couple years ago.  I guess when you start something in your 60s, it makes sense to retire in your 90s.  Anyway, he will be missed.  Many interviewers are interchangeable, but he carved out his own space.

Yesterday Once More

Karen Carpenter died in 1983, only 32 years old, due to the consequences of anorexia.  But if she had lived, she would be turning 70 today.

The Carpenters were so middle of the road it's amazing they didn't get run over. But they were a highly popular duo in the 1970s with multiple platinum albums.

A little trivia: they had three #1 Billboard hits, "Close To You," "Top Of The World" and "Please Mr. Postman." There could have been so many more--they had five #2s, two #3s and one #4.  Of course, they ruled the Adult Contemporary chart with 15 #1 hits.

Their slick, soft sound still sounds pretty nice today (as it did back then).  I love rock and roll, but looking over their discography, I'm surprised how many of their tunes I enjoy. And Karen had a beautiful voice, not to mention being better looking than most drummers.

A New Ballgame?

For the last few decades, South Carolina has become the firewall for the political establishment, where they get the election--hijacked by those crazy people in Iowa and New Hampshire--back on course.  It seems they did it again last night, with Joe Biden's huge victory over Bernie Sanders and the rest of the gang.

It is as if the citizens of the Palmetto State were saying "we don't want this to be over." Sanders is still the front runner, but the odds of an easy victory coasting into the convention just got cut down significantly.

The big question is how quickly can the bandwagon effect operate?  Biden's campaign seemed DOA, but now he appears to be the only choice for the anti-Bernie faction.  However, Super Tuesday will be here in no time (because the party wanted to frontload the race to prevent things like Sanders winning).  The two big states are Texas and California--Bernie seems to have the latter, but can Biden take the former? And even if Sanders win a bunch of states, will it be by small amounts, much less than Biden and Bloomberg combined?

Speaking of Bloomberg, he's over, right?  He won't be going away (no one will be going away before Super Tuesday--there isn't time), but his strategy of holding back and stepping in when he's needed--which has never worked--seems to make him an also-ran.  (Though to get that brokered convention we'll need at least three viable candidates.)

At least Bloomie was a mayor once, which gave him some credibility.  Another billionaire, Steyer, figured politics was all about money, and he could buy a victory by taking over the airwaves and telling the Dem voters what they want to hear.  He's gone.

Meanwhile, there are the also-rans who seemed to be in the running not that long ago: Warren, Buttigieg and Klobuchar.  Will they drop out?  How soon?  And where will their votes go? So plenty of action still to come.  But we'll know a lot more about the state of the race in a few days.  And I'm still hoping against hope that there'll be on open convention.