weirdly, it works........

I love that the drawing of the dress ends up where it started. I also enjoy how inclusive he is with the staff

bloom into color.......

I know he can be a bit of a polarizing figure and he's not for everyone, but i am a big fan of Isaac Mizrahi.

I was flipping thru the channels without rhyme or reason last night and came upon Mizrahi on QVC . I figured I would watch a minute or two and ended up watching nearly an hour.  No, i didn't buy, anything.

He has such passion and enthusiasm for his work- often he is the biggest fan of his designs. It's as if he's seeing them for the first time.. He keeps the staff on their toes as he asks for them to run and get a bag to match the shoes or a skirt to go with the cardigan sweater he's showing. (also , I know this is a little thing, but he knows all the staff and the models by name and address them all the time. a nice touch)

I will leave it to the more fashionably aware among you to judge the actual clothes, I am engaged by his salesmanship and showmanship.

There was a documentary made about Him putting together a new collection back in '99. It starts as he finishes one collection and begins the next. I have watched this thing a dozen times (at least) It is a wonderful behind the scenes look at the creative process. Inspiration is one thing, talent is important ,but of course hard work is the most important.

What ever field of endeavor you are involved in , I think there are a ton of insights to be found watching the movie.

Is he a bit much? Maybe. But he works it.

ps the documentary is called "Unzipped"

all movies should be silent and b&w...

genius

two , two, two mints in one......

two separate thoughts

A) Had a lovely evening with my brother, sister and brother in law this evening. Saw Colin Hay, (he of Men at Work) in a solo acoustic show at the Boulton Center (Bay shore NY- a great venue, perfect for this kind of show)

Lot's of wonderful music, a mix of Men at Work Classics and his solo work I was really taken by what a wonderfully sophisticated song writer he is. It was great to hear the old stuff re imagined.(or maybe more accurately as originally imagined.) Who Can It Be Now, became a really dark and brooding song about a loon. Rather than a poppy, high spirited song about a loon.

God love him, he played a long time, a bit over two hours! Solo. To my mind could have been about 20 minutes shorter, but why quibble. As an extra added attraction he's a consummate storyteller with a stand up comedians timing.

one oddity , for the final three or for songs he brings out his wife, an attractive brunette who sings and...uh ...ur..... does some kind of odd interpretive dance during the songs. Hmmmmmmmm

But all in all a terrific show.

I had one of those "e tickets", you know, the ones you print out at home? Not a big fan. I like a TICKET! I remember the first time I used one of those about 5 years back,  seeing The WHO at the coliseum, I kept thinking, "No way, they're going to let us in with these...dittos" But they did.


------------
2) The continuing saga of the bodies the police are finding along Ocean Parkway. the road was closed again today.

The total body count is up around 11 or so now. eek!  Now here comes the kicker, the theory is that they are not all related! Right now, there might be three separate killers!

To make it even odder and creepier, they believe a few of the bodies might be victims of Long Islands previous serial killer, Joel Rifkin (he of Seinfeld fame)

So Ocean Parkway might very well be the serial killers body dump of choice. Damn.

Makes sense, cause if you have ever driven that road at night you know that is can be rather desolate and... spooky. I'm man enough to admit it, sometimes on that road I have scared my little self.

This also means that if those poor bodies have been there for years, than  over time ,tens of thousands of people have driven right by them. ewwww.

There is some talk of a few "persons of interest" Let's hope so.

got 'em, got 'em, need 'em..........

There are a myriad of ways on the old interweb to while away and hour or two or three. I was introduced to another one the other day. Oh this is a bad one, an hour will fly by before you even look up from the screen. it's a little bit of web opium known as icheckmovies.com. And that's exactly what it is , a site that presents a wide variety of movie lists and you check the ones you have seen. That's it- many lists, you check off titles you have viewed. Go there, try it, I dare you.......I warn you. Nah, it's harmless fun.......hahahahahahahahahahaha (evil satanic laughter) You can also mark off which are your personal all time favorites. I have only marked a few- but the first I marked was Buster Keatons , 1927 masterwork The General. As far as I am concerned it is the greatest of all the silent pictures. They showed it the other night on TCM and I had planned on watching just a few minutes and of course I watched til the end. It is extraordinary- I will go as far to say it is one of the most beautiful pictures ever made. You really feel as if you are watching something that was made during the civil war. Every frame feels authentic. After the initial set up the movie basically becomes a chase. A train chase. On tracks. you can only go one way. You have to follow the tracks. It is exciting and funny and breathlessly entertaining. There are no "special effects" the trains only do what they physically CAN do, right before your eyes without camera trickery. He does a long extended bit of business on the front end of the locomotive, right there on the cowcatcher. A single long shot, with a number of very tricky bits of physical comedy. Had he fallen he would have been crushed by the train. But there he is. out front. At one point a full size locomotive tries to cross a burning bridge and goes crashing into the river below. One locomotive, one bridge, one chance to get it right. But surrounded by hundreds of extras and horses and battles and trains and explosions there is a love story. Sweet and simple and at times riotously funny- There is a moment so shocking and so funny that i laugh just thinking about it. It starts when......... no I won't tell you, I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet. It is a moment during the chase in the locomotive with the engineer (Keaton) and his lady fair. In one fleeting moment it tells you all you ever need to know about love. Orson Welles once said that Keaton was the most beautiful man ever to appear in movies. When you first hear that you giggle, he must be kidding, but then as you watch him in his great silent films you begin to see what Welles meant. It is also very interesting to see how few "title cards" Keaton uses during the film. The story is told through the images not through the words. The best silent films used words very sparingly. That was a problem I had with Mel Brooks "Silent Movie" the physical comedy was wonderful , but he couldn't resist adding , words, lot's of them. Many times they would break the rythym of the great visual jokes he had created. Ah well- I'll be back in a few hours, I have to go check off some more movies.

..so help me god.........

I like to have a few books going at once- There's the "primary" book, the one I read at home when I get a few minutes. (Right now The Tina Fey memoir, "Bossypants". Laugh out loud funny)

There's the "mobile" book, kept in the car, to be taken with me when I suspect some waiting is imminent. (currently "Pops", the recent biography of Louis Armstrong, what a life!)

Then there is the .... how do I put this delicately? The "commode" book. Yes, I'm one of those people who read in the "reading room"  In my defense I will say, Irish/catholic family, five kids, the bathroom was the only place to find a few moments of relative peace.

It helps if that book is divided into short chapters, or stories, don't want to get too involved. Right now I am reading "Altman: the oral biography"  Perfect. As a young film fanatic coming of age in the '70's Altman was a hero of mine. MASH, Brewster McCloud, Three Women, The Long Goodbye, and on and on. Nobody Made movies like Altman, before or since.

I went to the New York Premiere of "A Wedding" many moons ago. Lincoln Center, lots; of celebs, lots of hub bub. Stood next to Pam Dawber (who was in the film) be still my heart. And saw live and in person  five feet away from me ,Madeline Kahn, swoon!Enough Name dropping.

Well one more drop, I also saw Altman in his last public appearance, he was interviewed by Peter Travers at the John Drew theater in East Hampton as part of the film festival there. He was charming and Funny and cranky and didn't have one good thing to say about Warren Beatty. (they were at loggerheads during the filming of McCabe and Mrs. Miller)

The book is very insightful and enjoyable lots of friends and colleauges, telling the story of his life, as they remember it. I think that's my favorite part of the book, the fact that people describing the same event , an event they were both present for, will remember it totally different.  At times in the book  someone will actually comment about that, "That's they way they remember it? Hmmm that's funny"

I love a good biography , but come on ,so often it's just memories- hazy and opinionated. Quick right now, tell me about a memorable day at work 25 years ago. What did you say? What did he say? where were you? ......Who knows? I'll tell you the story and I'll gurantee it will be true, but I won't gurantee it's factual.

I'm always amazed at some of the old show biz bios, these guys remebered everything! Who the stage manager was, how much they got paid, the name of the place they bought their cigars. And it's all true! Factual? hmmm

Here's a great story from a George Burns memoir, he was working (pre Gracie) Telling Jokes while roller skating (this was an act) He was booked into a resort in Lake Ronkonkoma (all the Long Islanders are going, Ohhhhh!) After the first show, the manager pulled him aside and said, "I hired a dog act! Not some half assed comedian " Burns replies " Oh, my agent didn't tell me- I have a dog act too, as a matter of fact , my dog is back at the hotel" 

Burns gets a ride down to the dog pound, picks out a dog and heads back to the resort. He does the same act- skates, jokes, but now he holds the dog in his arms while he skates. He was fired. True? Absolutely! Factual? hmmmmm maybe.

Does it really matter, though?

I'm thinking about this tonight because I read an article about somebody who is out to debunk the John Steinbeck book "Travels with Charley" One of the last things he wrote- a story about him and his dog Charley who get into a pick up truck camper deal and drive across America. Along the way he stops and talks to the regular folks he meets.

His trip starts in Sag Harbor (Long Islanders- "Ohhhhhh")

A favorite book of mine, as a matter of fact my plan is when I get to be an old coot (soon) I'll pack up the truck and head out after Steinbeck. And to add to the fun I would stop at public libraries along the way and read a chapter or two of the book, right off the shelf. I might have to hurry, since libraries are doomed, like everything else.

The trip took place in the early '60's and many of the stories he tells are snapshots of all the tension and pain the country found it self in. A great read.

So now, someone is coming after the book as a work of fiction! Steinbeck didn't sleep in the camper as much as he say s in the book- many nights he stayed in a motel!!! They even went so far as to look at weather charts from 50 years ago and proved that on days he said it was sunny----It was Raining!!!!!!!! And on and on.

Petty nonsense, he wasn't testifying in court, he was telling a story. He travelled across the country, was it sunny, did it rain, was he in a Holiday Inn? 

I don't care. I care that it is a truthful story, beautifully told.

I am a fan of the truth. And the people who tell the truth.

testify, Rev. Al..........

A bit too spot on- in regards to the previous post. but c'mon, it's Al Green!

take me to the river........

I'm not a big believer in omens..........

But,

The other day, the slop sink, which the washing machine drains into, got clogged. It over flowed flooding the utility room.

Same day, the toilet over flowed (clean water, thank god for small miracles) flooding the upstairs bathroom. At which point the water, needing a place to escape, came through the ceiling into the.... you guessed it... utility room.

Same day!!!! The oil delivery man had a malfunction while filling the tank, causing an oil spill on the side yard. Right outside the.......(let's all say it together) Utility room.

I decided against taking a shower that day.

put out a BOLO.......

I'm driving to rehearsal today on the parkway. They have those fancy light up message signs on the parkway. You know the ones, they tell you about what to expect up ahead traffic wise.

Today the message was, Ocean Parkway westbound is closed. For those of you who are not Long Island NY locales, this is a lovely road that runs right along the Atlantic Ocean. You are surrounded by water, the ocean on the south and a series of bays on the north. A beautiful drive.

That got me thinking about the many, many times I have been on that road, heading to see concerts and shows at the amphitheater- Oh..... a wonderfully romantic night watching the sunrise,...or going to Jones Beach with the family and........

Ah! Now I remember why the road is closed, they are looking for bodies in the dunes near Jones Beach. They found a few in December and just the other day three more. All woman, those who have been identified where working as prostitutes. Obviously, the police suspect a serial killer, but they are being very careful with the facts and accusations.

Horrifying.

I remember years ago, I was doing a show in New York City and I was commuting back and forth by train. A young woman had been murdered and her body had been put in a dumpster next to the train station. A quarter mile from my house- eek! One day as I was waiting for the train a Detective approached me and asked if he could show me a photo and ask a few questions. Sure. He showed me the picture, it wasn't pretty, you just saw her face, her body was covered with a sheet, but still not a pleasant sight. He asked me some routine questions, "did I see anyone suspicious?" . After a moment I started to ask him questions about the investigation. At times I can be a bit "tone deaf" and it took me a second to realize that he didn't appreciate my interest and he asked me a few more questions. A bit more pointed this time, basically I think just to shut me up.As far as I know they never solved this murder

The investigation into these murders of the girls found by the beach, has already been going on for months and I'm sure it will continue much longer. Half of the women haven't even been identified yet.

As I walked into the house tonight the Tv was on and an episode of Criminal Minds was playing. I used to watch that show, I was going to say I used to "enjoy" that show , but that's not a program you "enjoy" After I while I just got disgusted by the unending misery, I can't watch anymore.

 I had to shake my head and laugh (ruefully) On TV it only takes an hour to track down and arrest a serial killer. How come the local police aren't checking phone records, or finding out where that "burner" phone was bought or who , within a 50 mile radius, sells those tires that made that very unique tire print at the crime scene? Call the resident zany eccentric computer nerd, they should be able to narrow the list down to known offenders in minutes. Come on people! Basic Police work!

supererogatory.......

I am directing a production of the Sound Of Music (continue to pray for me) and I have a wonderful cast both young and old. I am having fun working with some of our more experienced actors as we talk about scenes and go a bit deeper into what might be happening right under the surface. This is why I love rehearsal. The fellow playing Max is an absolute delight and in his research he said that he discovered that the man the character is based on was gay. I laughed because as I was reading the script I said to myself Max is obviously gay and most likely  Jewish. So without making too big a deal of it, don't want to scare the subscribers ,we have planted this idea in the show. It makes for a fun little tingle in a short scene that Max has with Rolf the 17 year old Nazi boy. Nothing big, but if you are watching you might think---"Oh, of course"

Tonight we rehearsed the scene where it is revealed that Max has been receiving calls from Berlin, and he makes the point that in case something happens (an Austrian Invasion) he wants to make sure he has some high placed German friends. This gay, Jewish, impresario wants to be pals with the Nazis.

We sat and had a conversation about that. Of course now, looking back, the very thought is horrifying. No way! Nazi bastards! well, okay, but  maybe in the thick of it, it wasn't so obvious, maybe he felt that he had to deal with the devil. I would never do that of course, my moral compass is set on a fixed point, no wrong, only right.

During the opening scene of the Woody Allen movie, Manhattan, Allens character is leading a dinner conversation , at Elaine's,about heroism," Someone is drowning, do you jump in the river and save them?" Of course. Remember a few years back, a guy fell on the subway tracks with a train approaching? Another guy on the platform jumped down and covered him while the train passed over head, with inches to spare.  You would have done that, right?

Happens everyday, people do astounding things, put themselves at risk for people they don't even know. If something like that happened right in front of us, we would do the same thing, right?

I was reading an  article in the paper today about the 50 or so Japanese workers who are at the nuclear power plant trying to stave off disaster. A spokesman for the workers said they refused to let themselves be called heroes- that they were simply workers at the plant who were doing there job. When I was a kid I worked at a fast food joint and beside the fact that I smelled like french fries for a year, I would do everything in my power not to be around when it was time to drain and clean the deep fryer, so odds are I wouldn't be heading into the steaming nuclear reactor, wading thru the radioactive water in my jumpsuit.

I enjoy when random thoughts float thru my head." Everything that rises must converge"

that guy.....uh,,,those people.......them

(alert the media- another appearance, long time no see, of the blog within a blog-that guy..)

One of my brothers and his wife are police officers. Well my sister in law just retired, congrats. She had become Chief! My brother, still "on the job" for a few more years. The talk is they want to make him assistant chief. Congrats.

Over their years on the force they have seen many things- horrible, terrible, tragic things. Things that once you see them, you can't unsee them. God bless them- cause I couldn't do it. no way.

Along the way there are some odd, funny, entertaining things as well.

Here's one:  My sister in law gets a call from the local K-Mart, a disturbance, It's about 2am, this is a giant K Mart that's open 24 hours a day. She arrives. The Disturbance? A couple are fornicating in one of the aisles. They had been shopping, the cart is right there next to them. They just decided... I have no idea what or how or why they decided that, this aisle in K Mart at 2am  was the place for..... love, but they did, Maybe the in store stereo system was playing some Barry White. Arrest were made.

My favorite part of the story is that this was not a one time only experience- other couples had made "the beast with two backs" in that very K Mart!! who knew? K Mart should use that bit if info in their TV commercials.Talk about your Blue Light specials

please don't be that guy.....uh...those people....them

get a room

a theater near you......

I read an article today , the author was predicting that movie theaters might be on the endangered species list.

.......

oops, sorry, I think I fainted there for a minute. People have been making this statement for years-  since TV invaded living rooms. But nw with high ticket prices and large screen TV's and on demand video, who knows? Maybe this time it really happens.

.........

There used to be a theater in most every town. During the 80's and 90's a lot of those theaters became Blockbuster stores. The mid 80's brought the invasion of the multi plexes, 10. 12, 16 , screens. (or more) Now a lot of them have disappeared.

This ain't good.  I used to be a 3 or 4 movie a week guy, I would see everything. Excessive I know, but as far as I'm concerned that's the way to see a movie , big screen in a theater. I was never a big popcorn and snacks guy- I was there to see the movie.

I make my living, such as it is, in live theater, but I will now speak heresy- I have always been more of a movie guy than a theater guy. Given a choice , most often I would pick a movie.

One of the most amazing, life affirming nights of my life was way back in 80 (?, I'll check) When I saw , Abel Gance's Napoleon at  Radio City Music Hall. Silent Movie, Live Orchestra, 4 hours! Incredible.

I started writing this off the cuff, without really thinking about it too much- But I am a bit heartened by the fact that there are people looking at ways to keep theaters alive. Overall it seems to be a movement towards the old idea of Movie Palaces and making a night at the movies an event. I'm all for it.

One of these days, my situation in life will change and I'll be back in the theater (about halfway back on the center left aisle) Hopefully they'll be a theater and something good playing. Nothing in 3-D thanks.

oh, here's a bit of ominous news- in the past ten years, 80% of the record stores in the US have closed. yikes.

(hopefully this post will not appear as one big block)

apology...

For some reason, the past two blogs, have printed in a huge block making it difficult to read. Believe or not , I do take some time when writing this to make the paragraphs short and pithy. (there should be a space between the last thought and the next) I will investigate

gimme that ol' time religion......

So, the end of the world arrives May 21, 2011 at around 6 pm (eastern, central or pacific?) I think I wrote about this in the past- Family Radio stalwart, Brother Harold Camping, after years of exhaustive Bible study is confident that this is the date. He had written a book about 20 years ago, claiming that the end was coming in '93 or ' 94. oops. At the time he claimed that the fault lay with the fact that his study at the time had not been exhaustive enough. As I listen to him make this claim , time and again, on the radio , I always wondered "what was he going to say on May 22? The other day he began to set the foundation for that possibility- once again, not enough study. C'mon Harold, pull an all nighter or two if you're going to make such brash proclamations. Nonsense, but in small doses it can be entertaining and enlightening.As we go through the day, it's easy to believe that most everybody thinks like we do- our friends tend to share similar beliefs , that's why they're our friends. That's part of the reason, I try to read and explore some ideas, social, political, religious, etc- that I don't agree with, to see what's out there. Some of it is entertaining, some of it makes you roll your eyes and then some of it will make you.......... ( you can fill in whatever- variation of disgust, you prefer) Oh, Look! Here's one! That Pastor in Florida, who had threatened to burn 200 Korans last year (he eventually backed off) held a trial in his church the other day. He put the Koran on Trial- it must have been fun! There was a prosecutor and a defender and 12 members of the congregation were Jurors! When I was a kid we used to play "Store" in my friends garage down the street (the same guy who cut off his finger with a hatchet) It was great fun! Some of us were the clerks and some of us were the customers and we "bought" and "sold" things we took from our moms kitchens. (sometimes they knew, sometimes...not) After a while we grew up and stopped playing "Store" These grown ups still play! Yay! Hmmmmm I wonder if the Koran was found "guilty"? It Was! 5 crimes against Humanity. The Koran was sentenced- it was burned. A couple of days later the news made it to Afghanistan- A crowd attacked a group from the UN and killed 12 of them. The people in Florida church are shocked- The Pastor is demanding that action be Taken! Retribution! Oh, here he is talking: "It's not that we burn the Koran with some type of vindictive motive.We do not even burn it with great pleasure or any pleasure at all. We burn it because we feel a deep obligation to stay with the court system of America. The court system does not allow convicted criminals to go free. And that is why we feel obligated to do this" Oh, here's an assistant from the church speaking: "We have a huge stack of death threats. We take precautions. I have a hand gun. A lot of us have concealed weapons permits" The assistant is a woman. The french film director, Francois Truffaut, said in an interview once that ,the world would probably end in the year 2,000, because we were all so freaked out by the possibility that we would inadvertently make it happen. Maybe Brother Camping is correct