Holiday Parting Shots

A nod to the Holidays as we slide into 2016.

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Interlude

You probably know this already, but Duke Ellington thought that 13 is a lucky number and thought that Friday the 13^th is a particularly lucky day.

I think he was right.

So to celebrate this particular Friday the 13^th right now in the Holiday Season, I refer you to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s version of The Nutcracker Suite, which if you don’t own already you should run out and get a copy right now. 

In the meantime, here’s a video of Wynton Marsalis and I’m guessing it has to be the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra doing the overture.  


There are plenty of other viddies on the internets too, but you really want to get the Duke’s recording.

Happy Friday the 13^th!

Holly Daze

Well, I've been fairly lousy at keeping up with this particular outlet recently. I didn't even bother to celebrate (or even notice) that my last post before this one was my 500th post. And I am NOT one to miss out on an opportunity to celebrate something.

That said, I have my excuses (there are always excuses). The holidays were busy as all get out; I had out of town guests of various shapes and sizes; there were social engagements at every turn; we had to go to Paramus; we had a blizzard; I was short-listed for a Nobel Prize; it was chaos!

I'll fill in some of the blanks in the coming days, but for now, here are some headlines:

• Yo La Hanukkah - the annual Maxwell's 8-night orgasm of music and fun. We caught two of the shows: one was great, the other was unbelievably awesome
• Real Hanukkah - fewer latkes this year, but we still brought out the celebration for the Festival of Lights
• Alvin Ailey - I got to go to a few shows this City Center season, including by great good fortune both opening and closing night. Both were great, although Judith Jamison's farewell show was really over the top special and wonderful
• Julie! And her family. We had pizza and saw Lombardi. Nice.
• Davin! In town on a mission or three
• Wedding in Westchester
• Holiday music and movies - in both live and recorded form, it's an annual tradition and a half. This year's highlights included: the choral group Angelica on the UES; a Renegade Cabaret performance on 14th Street; Oy to the World, volume 13; The Bishop's Wife at Chome on Christmas Eve; Christmas in Connecticut with Kelly (at the beginning of the Blizzard!)
• True Grit in Bkln w/Dominic
• The Big Christmas Gathering
• Black Swan with Susan & Daniel
• The Big Parental Visit - delayed along with several thousand of our closest friends by the same Blizzard, but still very fun
• New Year's Eve - Ailey for the folks, Patti Smith for us (along with Sue and Steve and Beth B.) A splendid time was had by all, in spite of some in-crowd obnoxiousness (did they forget what show they were at?)

So - there that is. I'm sure I'm forgetting some really important stuff. More to come...

Post Holiday Post

SO -

Christmas '009 came and went in Phoenix, as it did everywhere else. There was something heightened about it for us this year, being that this might have been the Last Christmas Together in Phoenix, but, if anything, that just led to more celebrating.


Holiday bonding for Dad and Otis.


Mary diving into some Christmas goodies.


And the whipped-cream aftermath.

Anna's approach to Christmas involved quite a bit of ecstatic responses to gifts. This is not a child who can be accused of ingratitude for presents. Pink factored heavily - see the drop-proof camera, and the fuzzy pig, to which this almost-four-year-old responded, along with much shrieking, "I've wanted a pig my whole life!!"

Some of Sam.

Jason, a beyond-serious baseball fan and one who knows the "Reason for the Season," appreciating a hitting lesson from Jesus.


The brilliant blur that is Otis.




Mom and Dad.




Ferocity itself.


Dancing at the speed of joy.

Intermezzo

I'll try to get a Post-Christmas Post up today, but I can't say for sure that it'll happen. Meanwhile, here's this, to recognize the saddest event of Christmas Day (with all respect to the people on that flight to Detroit.)




The song is at least 15 years old, but it's a beautiful video, and heartbreaking in the wake of Vic Chesnutt's terribly sad and premature death.



We'll miss you, Vic.

Shit.

Holiday Fun

As promised!

Let's start off with yesterday evening. I was on my own for logistical reasons, but I tried to make the most of it. First, I walked past Bryant Park to see the people skating there under the tree.


As you can see, I didn't have my good camera with me yesterday, so these shots won't be my finest work. But I do love that Holiday-in-the-City energy.

Then I went to the farmers' market on 9th Ave. and got some provisions. Made a pretty good pasta and a spinach salad, and opened a bottle of vino for the occasion.

My sister was having something of a rough time last night (if you're reading this - I'm here for you, sis. Always.) so I talked to her for a while. And I wrapped some presents while I watched part of a Charlie Brown special that I'd never heard of from 2003 (?!?!) called I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (seriously, who knew? Rerun gets fired from kindergarten for sexual harassment. I'm not even kidding.) and part of The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker on TV. And I dug up some of the old Christmas tapes to accompany the task as well.

That's right. Tapes.




This morning I went to the post office to pick up the present that Grandma and Grandpa sent me. Don't know what it is yet, as she asked that I not open it until Christmas (so that's what's going to happen gol' darnit!)

Then, at work I finished up the birthday present I put together for Grandpa and put it in the mail - it's his birthday today! I know he's not reading this, but say it with me: Happy Birthday, Grandpa! As he approached 92, he shared with us all that he has a formerly closeted fondness for "that long hair violin music" (the "long hair" variety being the arty kind that happens in orchestras, as opposed to the fiddle kind that happens in the backyard jamboree accompanied by banjo, accordion and/or washboard percussion.) I had to put together a collection for the event. (And yes, I know he'll get his present late. I'll call him tonight to wish him a timely Happy Birthday.)



'Tis the Season for fun tasks!

*Oh, and if I'm reading my dashboard right, this is Love Minus Zero's 400th post. So, there's that.

Treehouse of Horror

Did you see it last night? The 20th installation (count 'em, 20!) of the Simpson's Halloween Specials. Not the best ever, but the first couple segments were pretty effin hilarious. Kind of thought they'd make something out of it being rated XX, but guess we'll have to wait for the 30th incarnation for that joke to surface.

One of my sister's fave lines came from Bart in the brilliantly titled Hitchcock Homage Dial M for Murder (or Press # to Return to the Main Menu) segment: "Ding dong ditch means you kill her and throw that ding dong into a ditch!"

And I thought one of the best jokes came from Mr. Burns as an into to the preview for the new Jim Carrey Christmas Carol "The story is about a successful business man who is tricked into being nice by three socialist ghosts."


That is a pretty priceless commentary, but while we're on the subject, do we really need/want A Christmas Carol to be amped up for the action movie crowd? I'm not convinced.

Furthermore, it's too early for Christmas stuff to be out there! Too. Early. Yes, yes, I know Dylan released his Christmas record last week. And I'll buy it, but not until after Thanksgiving dammit.

The Rumors are True

Bob Dylan will be releasing a Christmas Album this year.



There are skeptics, and they have plenty to say, I'm sure. My attitude toward that (said it before, I'll say it again): Dylan's musicianship is singular, and off the charts. If you listen, you'll probably get it. If you sneer dismissively, you probably won't. No matter what you do, I can't make you get it.


So, maybe you'll be excited to hear the singing cowboy strum his way through "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Little Drummer Boy," and maybe you won't. It comes out on October 13, which is too early for a holiday record, in my opinion, but all Dylan's royalties are going to Feeding America (and he's also partnering with international hunger relief groups) so if the Columbus Day release helps that cause, I guess it's ok. I guess.

Holiday Music News

Yes, I'm back from New England. And I'll have more to share once I'm a little more caught up, but for now - this post is for everyone, but especially for those near and dear to the 'boken.

Firstly, it has been reported in American and British music press that Bob Dylan may be releasing a Christmas Album. Consider the subject open for discussion.

Secondly, and this is the part for Hobokenites, and those who love them, Yo La Tengo will not be doing Hanukkah shows this year, because they'll be in Japan. Very sad news for us who aren't, you know, actually in the band, but a pretty cool reason for it, I must say. Their ONE show this fall/winter in the greater Big Apple Metropolitan Area will be at Roseland on Sept. 25, and all but general admission is already sold out.

Don't say nobody warned you.

Re. the one-night-only aspect of it all, Ira writes: "We'll do our best to cram eight nights of nonsense into one evening. After all, Anson Williams only turns 60 once, so you know we're going to pull out all the stops."

Weekend Update

After the highs of last week's concerts (which included the two I've already written about, plus a choir concert last Sunday and another YLT show on Monday) came some various lows, but also some more sustained highs with Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll, Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, and Angela Harriel's The Nutcracker: Rated R. Three very different pieces of performance, two On Broadway, one waaaaay Off, each with its pros and cons, but each also with an important spark of life. I'll try to put in more specific thoughts about these sometime soon; that will depend on, well... a bunch of things.

Besides that, I got to go to a really rad party in Dumbo, hosted by a designer I know and a couple people (another designer and an architect, I think) who share a studio with him. It was a good group of people, including some famous and semi-famous personalities, got to meet some interesting folks and I got to see a friend I don't get to see often enough, so that was bitchen. And I got to some other friends' Christmas Carol in Manhattan too. Oh - and some really good Ethiopian food at a place in Hell's Kitchen called Meskerem. Yum!

'Tis most definitely the season.

Friday

Friday I saw a play on the East Side. It was very good; in many ways one of the best new plays I've seen in a while. Interesting ideas, well acted for the most part, well staged and lit, costumes were good, if a bit obvious. But I don't want to write much about it, because there were a couple bad holes that really weakened the whole thing in the last quarter, and I don't like talking shit about my peeps in the theater in a public forum if I can help it.

Afterwards, Beth and I walked down Fifth Avenue through Tourist Christmasland. We didn't do the windowgaze routine full out, but we did check out Bergdorf and Cartier and the star at the intersection of 57th. Gaudily spectacular, natch. And, of course, since we were there, we looked at the tree at Rockefeller (so purple this year!) and passed by the skating rink.

Finally we ended up at what may be my new regular bar on the West Side. I'm definitely not going to write about that, because I don't want it getting around. So many of the great down-to-earth bars are gone now (McHale's, Dave's, Collins) or changed irremediably (McCoy's, Film Center) - when you discover one, or a new one pops up, you have to preserve it.

So then, this entry would be me almost writing about what I did the other night. Oy.