Happy Opening Day!

It's not feeling too springy, but it's the first day of the baseball season! Woo hoo!

Gotta tell you though, this kind of thing just feels weird and wrong.

Season of Tennessee

Maybe you realize that Saturday was Tennessee Williams' 100 Birthday. Maybe you don't. The fact that it's an open question is something of a problem, in my view. This is one of those things that should be cause for a year-long celebration of National Pride, festivals on the White House lawn, parades in Memphis and New Orleans and New York, marathon readings and TV specials and Oscar-worthy biopics devoted to the life of this man, the Great American Dramatic Poet.

What we do have is a few more productions of Tennessee's shows. So that's, well, something.

Scott Brown wrote an article for New York Magazine a few weeks ago discussing Williams and the neglect his centenary is suffering. He does a pretty good job of opening up some of the issues that may have stood in the way of the celebration Tenn deserves, most especially this maddening sense that he stopped being good somewhere around 1961 and that the last 20 years of his life were just wasted, which pushes me around the bend a little bit. What do you people want? Even if it were true (which it is not) that everything after Night of the Iguana sucks, what would you have preferred? That Tenn had died in a James Dean-esque car crash so we could cast him in the Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die role? That perversion aside, I think that 'bad' Tennessee Williams is a little like the 'bad' Shakespeare plays and the 'bad' Dylan records - you may have to dig a little deeper and open up a little more, but I still don't want to live in a world without Titus Andronicus, or Saved. And in terms of history, the night is pretty young for Signore Williams. Just as people have come around on The Tempest (and, it's worth mentioning, have turned away from the Henry VI plays to a certain extent) I wouldn't be surprised if people learn how to see and hear Small Craft Warnings over time .

By the way, I didn't catch Vieux Carré (quelle domage! For reals. I'm borderline despondent to have missed that, but the tix were elusive.) but I did see the Michael Wilson-directed The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore at the Roundabout, and I may see it again. And so should you. 'Twas most worthy.

I have to include this last one, from the 1959 film of Suddenly Last Summer, for Elizabeth Taylor. We'll miss you, Liz.

Supermoon

Lincoln Memorial, meet astronomical phenomenon.

Photo: Bill Ingalls. Nicely done, Bill.

Equinoctial

Happy First Day of Spring, everybody!

So far, I've been celebrating by not even leaving the apartment, but that just seems wrong, so I'll shift gears soon. but first I wanted to say I hope you all had a good winter (as uncooperative as the weather tended to be) and that you're in good health (no small wish in this era of earthquakes and tsunamis and wars and floods).

This week was a full one, with networking and socializing on Monday, a kind of a night off on Tuesday, Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met on Wednesday (great! It's part of the HD broadcasts too, so you can catch it at a theater near you...), The Motherf**ker with the Hat on Thursday (which evening included dinner with a couple of my good friends who had somehow managed not to be in the same room with Cory until now), the Premier of the Mel & El webisodes at Ars Nova on Friday (featuring yours truly as a Mean Man, according to the credits; my bitchy gay character was rechristened by Kevin and Carl as one of the Mean Girls. I'll take the career boost.) and the Martha Graham Dance Company at Jazz at Lincoln Center last night (featuring the company of out-of-town guests from both Virginia and Italia)

Whew!

How do we do it? The secret is to sacrifice cleanliness.

Anyway, it's clearly time to change over the wallpaper photo on my phone from the snow-covered branches outside our window to something more printemps. I'll try to grab something this afternoon.

Night Off

It's thunderous in Nuevo York. We just watched a viddy (Dream of Life) on our only night off this week, and now the thunder is raising a ruckus. We have to clean up from dinner before we crash - very good simple meal: brown rice pasta with red sauce with lots of garlic, onion and mushroom, green salad with mushrooms and kalamata olives, a surprisingly excellent sourdough, and some predictably excellent cheeses to round it out. Oh, and some a Wisconsin beer I've never had before called Eastside (don't know why, but it's kind of hard to get non-mass-produced Wisconsin beer out here). I also got us a bottle of acqua minerale because I've been thinking about Rome, in part because our Roman friends are coming to NYC in a couple days.

Anyway, it's good to have a night off sometimes. Rain will turn up as we sleep.

YLT on FMU

You all know that I have a deep appreciation for Yo La Tengo. You'd have to be paying a little closer attention to realize that I also appreciate the awesomeness of East Orange's own WFMU. SO - it only makes sense that I throw them my greatest support when they get together to kick out the jams.

Which they did the other night as part of the annual (yes public radio listeners, just once a year!) fundraiser. YLT returned from their tour this year to play, as they've done for a good long time, a set of requests from people who donate to what might be the best free form radio station in the world, and is certainly the best one I've found in this or any other area. You may have enjoyed this event on the radio or online in the past, or perhaps you've sampled the sonic offerings as documented on the legendary (some might say anti-heroic) Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics.

We stayed in on a Friday night to listen. Well, ok, it's not the only reason we stayed in on a Friday night, but it was a factor. And we put our heads together to make our request (Cory had the singular inspiration to request Because the Night) and made our donation to a good cause and even watched along on the webcam for a while. Here's a screen shot of them taking on Patti and Bruce in their inimitable fashion:

No sign of Gil as far as we could tell, but there's Bruce Bennett helping out on guitar and knowledge of tunes common and obscure.

Superfun.

And now, to read Patti's book until I drift into oblivion.

Even yet still more birthdays

"What?" you say, "Haven't we had enough of these incessant birthday celebrations you keep babbling about? Is nothing going on in the world besides celebrations of the day somebody happened to be born? Because, you know what? I think a few other things are going on!"

Yes, you may say that, and you'd have a point. But let's look at the data from another vantage: today is not simply the birthday of Ira Glass of This American Life. It's not just the birthday of actresses Miranda Richardson and Jessica Biel and the 100th birthday of Jean Harlow. It's not only the birthday of inventor Alexander Graham Bell and athletes Herschel Walker and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Nay - it is also the birthday (and not just any birthday, but his 13th birthday: that luckiest of numbers and his entree to the world of teenagedness) of my very own nephew Sam, who's way out in Phoenix and I won't be able to see him, but it's worth celebrating anyway, wouldn't you say?

Happy Birthday, Sister!

In honor of what I hope is a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY for one of my favorite women - my sister Lori - here's an article from Gloria Steinem in today's Times Style Magazine. As reproductive rights, health care, and women's rights in general have been taking some punishment lately (that's putting it lightly) we can take some small comfort (while continuing the resistance to such hideous attempts) that the Senate and White House will surely stifle the attacks (right??) and that there is also some really good news out there in terms of women in politics and policy that should not be allowed to be buried under the depressing weight of "reality" TV.

I have some mixed feelings about the fact that this piece ended up in the Style Magazine, but no matter what ads surround it, this reminder is welcome and overdue. Thanks, Gloria.

Happy Birthday Lori!!

On Wisconsin

This is a bizarre time. There is something very much like a full-on attack on women's rights and workers' rights going on in the U.S. right now, but there are some heartening developments: the Justice Department backing away from the "Defense of Marriage Act;" widespread popular resistance in Wisconsin. (though I have to ask, as I did in November - where well all y'all on Election Day when your brothers and sisters voted those union busters in?)

Not surprisingly, both trends are easier to spot if you peek a little bit beyond the mainstream media. Ladies and Gents, I love the Times in a bunch of ways, but it is now what it pretty much always has been: a tool of big business. It's just extra-special obvious these days.

I went to a rally by the FOX news building the other day to stand with my union in support of the workers. I was glad to be part of it, but it was kind of deflating too. A few hundred people doesn't seem like that many in a city of this size. And there's something downright sad about hearing a 'the workers united will never be defeated' chant fall apart in disunity (while on the other side the "FOX lies!" chant faded away, in spite of its accuracy).

So today I thought I'd share with you something I never thought would get any space in this forum: a link to community access TV in Madison. It's every bit as cheesy as you'd think it would be in some ways, but Wayne's World it ain't. There was just a live stream of Amy Goodman and Sharif Abdel Kouddous speaking at a theater near the Square; and citizens talking in church basements about the practical aspects and repercussions of limiting Medicaid, and the philosophies of Bob La Follette's is actually pretty cool to see.

Photo from The Progressive Catholic Voice, copyright 2011

The Empress of Sex

That being the title of the play we performed (well, in staged reading form) with the Hive Theater company a few weeks ago in Times Square. It was, of course, somber tragedy. Oh wait, no: it was a sex comedy. A ridiculous sex comedy. I have described it thusly: "Sort of a live-in-person cross of The Hangover, No Strings Attached, Twelfth Night, and that cable series Spartacus. Maybe a dash of Porky's." Like I said, ridiculous. BUT - with some good writing, some good acting, some good music, and plenty of laughs, if I may say so myself.

It was very staged for a reading, so there was also some skin. One purpose of a staged reading is to get a sense of how a show might work in full production, and this is one of those shows that you really just won't be able to tell how it works if there isn't a certain amount of boobage. And butts. And simulated sex acts. Cory came with our friend Joe and they were sitting at about the 4th table back (this happened in a comedy club with cabaret-style seating). One of her comments was something along the lines of: "I didn't have a very good view of that part where you were on the floor surrounded by those three topless muses and you had all those boobs in your face. Yeah, I was ok with that." It was a big mess, but legitimately funny, I think, and quite a bit of fun for a bunch of people.

And no, I did not show any excess skin of my own. Probably for the best...

And Speaking of Birthdays...

Yesterday was James Dean's 80th. Which is worth mentioning.



I don't know where this photo is from or what photographer to credit, but I love it.

And tomorrow is JP's b-day. And Laura Dern's. Pretty good company, friend.

More Fun with Economics

Would it be curmudgeonly, in this era of Celebrating Reagan's Centennary, to remind people that his so-called Economic Theories were big steaming piles of (oh, let's be kind) error? I say 'so-called' to modify the word 'his' in that sentence, because I remain unconvinced that the Gipper himself ever did so much as pay attention through an extended, detailed economic discussion, much less come up with any actual theory, even one as elementally flawed as Trickle-Down. [He sure was good at selling those bullet points, though, wasn't he?] The term 'so-called' also applies to the word "theories" in that sentence too, because I think what we're talking about as far as Reaganomics is concernes is more of a Sales Pitch. Or maybe a Snow Job. Or a really really BIG Big Con.

You see, a real live scientific theory is based on logic, evidence and/or applicable principles, is proveable and repeatable. Trickle Down is based on made-up logic, has no evidence backing it up, and counts on specious principles involving an impulse among profit-driven corporations to share with each other and with the workforce out of the goodness of their hearts, or maybe some sense of patriotic responsibility. (I know, I know - but a lot of people bought it then, and buy it now.) And what's been proved, repeatedly, is that these sorts of policies lead, not to increased job creation, but to increased poverty, and to a big increase in the gap between rich and poor.

Along these lines, read this piece by Robert Reich. It doesn't mention our dear departed national treasure by name, but it does paint a picture of the indelicate balance between Reaganomics and what's starting to look like Obamanomics.

...I've been watching (and occasionally trying to deal with) the Chamber [of Commerce] for years, and all I know is it has a deep, abiding belief in cutting taxes on the wealthy, eroding regulations that constrain Wall Street, cutting back on rules that promote worker health and safety, getting rid of the minimum wage, repealing the new health-care law, fighting unions, cutting back Medicare and Social Security, reducing or eliminating corporate taxes, and, in general, taking the nation back to the days before the New Deal.

There's no secret to creating lots of jobs by reducing the median wage, slashing benefits, compromising health and safety at the workplace, and, effectively, reducing the standard of living of millions of Americans. We've been doing it for years.

Those people who consider this situation to be perhaps less-than-ideal should pay extra-special attention to policy developments that are presented as 'victories.'

And, oh yes, no disrespect meant toward the Great Communicator who restored everyone's faith in Democracy and made people Believe in America (all rights reserved) again. National Treasure, American Hero, God rest and keep him safe in Mary's bosom.

(Not much of an actor, though...)

Some Kind of Sunday

Ok.

I have my Packers t-shirt.

I have my GO PACK GO sign.

I have all the fixings for a big vat of chili.

My friend (from Green Bay, no less) who is hosting the party is putting together a big spread of Wisconsin cheeses to make grilled cheese sandwiches.

There will be beer.

One of my best friends who is doing very well in acting is THERE in Dallas playing in a 'celebrity' flag football game and gets to go to The Game too.

That is all. Carry on.

Oh wait, one more thing:

Go Pack GO!!!!

from the "You Are F*%king KIDDING Me!" Files

I suspect you've heard about the Bill (H.R. 3) introduced in Congress by Representative Chris Smith. (who represents my own state of New Jersey, which seems to be going out of its way these days to restore the grimy, punchline-worthy reputation it seemed on the verge just a teensy while ago of shedding.) This bill endeavors to limit further the already minuscule Federal funding for abortions, which currently is available in cases of rape, incest, and when the health of the mother is in grave danger. Perhaps the most controversial element of the bill is its insistence that the funds be available only in the case of 'forcible rape,' presumably removing coverage from date rape, drunk rape, drugged rape, statutory rape.

Excerpted from my open comments sent to my Representative (not Smith, fortunately) via the Move On petition drive:

What does Congressman Smith's bill even hope to accomplish? A show of opposition to abortion that would be laughable if it weren't so cruel? It approaches the very heights of cynicism; and I wish that the supporters of this legislation will each take on the experience of going up to an assault victim whose unwanted pregnancy would be 'protected' by this bill, and explain to her how what she has gone through wasn't 'really rape.'

Please oppose this bill, immediately and loudly.

Update: There has been a seemingly positive response from the Sponsors of this bill, (who have, I think it's fair to say, relented in the presence of strong and immediate public reaction). They have removed the qualifier 'forcible' from the 'rape exception.' But, to quote NARAL's Ted Miller: "I would caution agains saying this is a victory, because the other provisions in H.R. 3 are so bad."

Just so.

Goings On Around the World

As the weather wreaks havoc nationwide, we are seeing some fascinating things globally. Tunisia has experienced a 'Jasmine Revolution' (well, some people are calling it that) resulted in the ousting of Ben-Ali; massive popular movement in Egypt has already produced a commitment from Hosni Mubarak that he will not seek office again (i.e. extend his term beyond thirty years) in September, and may yet result in his resignation; and we'll be hearing much about how social media is playing a part in other contested areas (and those 'contests' will continue to take a wide variety of forms).

There will also be many reports in the coming days about the high-end players behind the scenes who 'made this happen,' who spurred on the events via political channels and manipulation of social media. As all this happens, I think it will be fitting to remember Howard Zinn, who passed almost exactly a year ago, and how he continually reminded us that it is social movement that brings about change. Not that policy-makers, statesmen and important leaders don't play a part, but in the end it's pretty much always, without fail, popular movement that spurs meaningful change in a population.

So... what makes this ok?

Credit my friend Joe for drawing my attention to the current Administration's "expanded interpretation" of the Public Safety Exception to Miranda Rights, the guidelines of which are being kept from the public.

The Obama administration has issued new guidance on use of the Miranda warning in interrogations of terrorism suspects, potentially chipping away at the rule that bars the government from using information in court if it was gathered before a suspect was informed of his right to remain silent and to an attorney.

But the Department of Justice is refusing to publicly release the guidance, with a spokesman describing it in an interview as an "internal document." So we don't know the administration's exact interpretation of Miranda, even though it may have significantly reshaped the way terrorism interrogations are conducted.

All I'm going to add right now is: if the President's last name was Bush, a lot of the people whose opinions I share would be going nuts and raising the roof in protest. I'm wondering what sort of fervor they'll whip up now?

More Hanukkah Miracles

Hanukkah at Maxwell's is kind of an amazing time. Kind of really amazing. This is due, of course, to the annual residency of Yo La Tengo, musicians extraordinaire, and the volunteered time of a panoply of guest musicians and comedians, in a series of shows for the benefit of various worthy recipients of their largess. That's a long-winded way of saying that in most Decembers there are 8 incredible nights of music at Maxwell's courtesy of Hoboken's own.

I've written about these events here before. This year, we were fortunate enough to catch two of those shows. The first one for us - joined for the show and a Sunday Soul Food dinner by Sherin and Megan - was on the 5th night of Hanukkah, Sunday, Dec.5th - it was a loud one, with Mission of Burma and Wyatt Cenac as the special guests. MoB also loaned the soundboard skills of Bob Weston to the band for some rad loopage during the YLT set. It was a great show, and an education for me on what I thought I knew and should have known. Unfortunately, Ira cut himself above his eye at one point late in the evening, but he brushed it off as a bit of punk rock that he was willing to spill for the sake of the International Rescue Committee and Partners in Health.

As good as that show was (and it was) the one we saw two nights later after Hanukkah latkes was, if anything, even better: Bonnie Prince Billy, eyeliner and all, brought us home to our roots; and Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler provided a lively dose of anarchic hilarity (including a spasmodic horse ride through the wilderness of children's theater and a mixed-media extravaganza called The Taintalogues that defies description). We were so excited that at the break we went and got the night's mix CD, an instrumental journey put together by Georgia.

And then, as foretold in the prophesy, Nels Cline joined the dance for a set that was beyond the beyond.

Ok. So maybe it wasn't fulfillment of prophesy. But I think that we may have conjured this conjoining. Remember Solid Sound, from back in August? Well, I know I didn't write about it much, but on that weekend, as we reveled in Nels' work with Wilco, the Nels Cline Singers, and at his effects-pedal installation up in the galleries, we commented on how earth-shatteringly-awesome it would be if he and Ira were on stage together, how the resulting dueling guitar orgasms would result in unspeakable brilliance. Or madness. Or both. Well, some deity somewhere seems to have heard our call, because there they were, working together onstage a few feet in front of us. We may not deserve actual credit for the collaboration, but I'm ecstatic that we were there to reap the rewards.

It was one of those shows that started great, and just got better as it went along. Not only that, but the crowd somehow peeled away little by little until we were almost at the lip of the stage. And after a crazy good set with none of the bloodletting of Night 5, they played some Ramones songs for the encore and brought everybody back up to close things out with some Lou Reed. And, as if that weren't enough, Cory must have made some pretty substantial eye contact with Gil (YLT's indefatigable guitar tech), because he brought Nels Cline's setlist right over to her after the show.

A-MAZ-ING night. Ira and Georgia, if you're reading this for some reason, we want to have you over for dinner.

Portishead Said...

On the subject of their album to be released this year, Portishead musician and producer Geoff Barrow has exuded the following:

“There will be NO free downloads There will be NO bonus tracks There will be NO remixes There will be NO hidden footage. There will be NO additional content There will be NO corporate partners There will be NO fashion lines There will be NO tabloid pictures. There will be NO £25 unit cost There will be NO streetteam There will be NO myspace There will be NO celeb producer There will be NO twitter There will be NO press/blogger gig There will be NO acoustic session There will be NO meet and greet There will be NO edited version. There will be NO iTunes only There will be NO press launch There will be NO asian version There will be NO radio friendly. Just music and us.”

Well. There that is.

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...

Ask. Tell. It's cool.

No, really. It's cool.

Nicely done.