"Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey."

One of the best documentaries I have seen lately is "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey."  It is the true story of how the very famous band "Journey" found an improbable replacement lead vocalist in Manilla.  This is the story of Filipino, Arnel Pineda who grew up in poverty in Manilla, all the while striving to be a successful lead singer.  Meanwhile, Journey had parted ways with Steve Perry, their uniquely talented lead singer, and gone through a hiatus and several personnel changes.  Journey founder and guitarist, Neal Schon, found some Internet video of Arnel Pineda singing Journey covers and was knocked out.  They flew Arnel over to audition and the rest is history.  This movie will make you smile and feel good all over, but it is also very fascinating, especially the auditions and first live performance segments.  I loved it, and Arnel is such a joyous, irresistible dude.

The story was previously fictionalized in one of my "guilty pleasure" movies, "Rock Star," (2001), which I highly recommend.  Mark Whalbery plays a lead singer in a tribute band covering a famous band, Steel Dragon.  Dragon loses their lead singer and Whalberg's character eventually gets the gig, same as Arnel and Journey. However, in "Rock Star" the fame brings Whalberg down (drugs, ego, and the like), whereas with Arnel the opposite happens.  Anyway, I highly recommend "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey." It's currently streaming on Netflix.

Music video treasure trove

You just have to check out this cool music video site.  Five pages of videos all the way from Jackie Wilson (on page 1) to Led Zeppelin (on page 5).  A real trip is Sonny and Cher doing "I Got You Babe," the first entry on page 5.   I'm pretty sure you'll dig it - something for everyone.

A maxim for all young men...

"I will not be a common man.  I will stir the smooth sands of monotony.  I do not crave security.  I wish to hazard my soul to opportunity."

 ~ Peter O'Toole in a note he wrote to himself when a young man.

Reading Tolstoy

Among the hundreds of books I would like to read, was Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." I'm over half-way through reading it and am enjoying it immensely.  Reacquainting with Tolstoy is a real treat.  One of the things I enjoy the most are his one-paragraph analogies, which are so ingeniously crafted that you can't help but be charmed by them.  Here is the paragraph that opens Chapter 14:

Levin had been married three months.  He was happy, but in quite a different way from what he had expected.  At every step he met disillusionments in his old fancies and new and unexpected enchantments. He was happy, but having embarked on family life he saw at every step that it was not at all what he had anticipated.  At every step he took he felt as a man would feel who, after admiring the smooth happy motion of a little boat upon the water, had himself got into the boat.  He found that besides sitting quietly without rocking he had to keep a lookout, not for a moment forget where he was going, or that there was water under his feet, and that he had to row, although it hurt his unaccustomed hands;  in short, that it only looked easy, but to do it, though very delightful, was very difficult.

See what I mean?

Remembering Dave Lambert

 When I was in my very early twenties, my friend Michael Lally turned me on to Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross.  I've loved their work ever since.  Every once in a while I get the itch to hear them and today was such a time.  Only this time, I wanted to see them as well as hear them so I poked around on YouTube to find them in a live performance.  I came across this gem.  It's over 8 minutes long, but worth every breath.  In listening and watching I realized how under-appreciated Dave Lambert was.  Jon Hendricks is so charismatic and technically awesome that Dave often got overshadowed.  This recording shows you that Dave had some serious chops.  The tune: "Airegin" by Sonny Rollins -- by the way that's "Nigeria" spelled backwards.  As you may know, Dave was tragically killed in a "traffic incident" in October of 1966.  There are varying accounts, as summarized in the following from Wikipedia:

Accounts of Dave Lambert's death vary slightly in details. It is established that he was on the Connecticut Turnpike^[4] and that a flat tire was involved and that he was struck by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Floyd H. Demby in the wee hours of October 3, 1966. The disabled vehicle was not fully off the roadway and its lights were turned off.
Some accounts mention that Richard Hillman was killed in the same incident.^[5][6] Newspaper stories differ about whose vehicle was disabled. Jet Magazine's account says it was a panel truck owned by Lambert.^[7] Jon Hendricks' telling of the story says that Lambert was a compulsive do-gooder and that he had stopped to assist another motorist.^[8] The newspaper followup stories say that Demby was not at fault and that the Lambert and Hillman were in the roadway when they were struck.

Enjoy and think of Dave.  By the way, Jon and Annie are still with us, Jon being 92 years old.

The Golden Rule - another version

“Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World.” 

 Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota medicine man.

Some amazing photographs

In these days of high-speed, high definition Internet, we tend to grow blasé about much of the content we can receive at our whim.  The dictionary defines "blasé" thusly: "apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment."  In my case this phenomenon occurs a lot when viewing photographs - there are so many, and so many are dang awesome.  However, rarely have I seen a grouping of photographs as breathtaking as these photographs are.  I dare you to be blasé about these photographs.

Miles is timeless...

Yet another photo of Miles that I had not seen before.  This one is truly stunning.

Pentatonix follow-up

I guess I am not the only one who has been blown away by the Pentatonix "Daft Punk" video. [See my previous post]  According to YouTube statistics, it was released on YouTube 5 days ago and since then has received 10,628,093 views as of 5:11 pm pacific standard time.

That's what I call going viral!

Pentatonix covers Daft Punk

Oh man, you all have to check out this video of Pentatonix covering Daft Punk.  You have to scroll down a little bit to get to the "Official Video."  Be sure to expand it to full screen and crank up the volume.  I love this group and this production is stellar. Oh and by the way, how can you possibly resist Kirstie Maldonado's crooked smile?!

Can I please have one of these....

Okay, it's made for the military, but it sure is amazing.  Being the gadget-man that I am, I certainly could have loads of fun with one of these.

My latest audio production

I have been working on my latest audio production, which I just finished.  The subject is “how the law got started,” with some help from the late Lenny Bruce.  You can download the file by clicking here.  I’m still learning how to use the production tools so bear with me.  If you are unable to download and play the file you can send me an email at alamedatom@gmail.com and I will email you the file directly.

I hope you enjoy it.  I had loads of fun creating it.

~ Tom

ps:  When I was listening to the final mix I noticed a place where I could have sworn I used the work "fringe” but it came out sounding like “French.”  Go figure.

Lou Reed–Goodbye to a troubled soul…

With the passing of Lou Reed you’ve heard and read more than I could ever say.  I’m just going to leave it with giving you a download of my favorite Lou Reed track:  Busload of Faith.  This is Lou at his darkest, yet juxtaposed with a totally rockin’ tune.  I have to admit, when I was making the download I couldn’t resist turning it up load, getting up, and doing some serious dancing just for Lou.  Dig it.

Pick your loathsome three

Leave it to Charlie Pierce to come up with a fun exercise:  picking the three popular movies you most loathe.  Check it out here.  And take some time to read the comments, many of which are spot on and often hilarious.

I’m still mulling over my own picks…

Take a guess…

A few years ago I was listening to an FM station and heard this track begin playing.  I had absolutely no idea who it was, and I was pretty flabbergasted to learn that is was the 2009 incarnation of Marianne Faithful!  Since then I’ve had lots of fun playing for people and asking them to guess who it is.  So far after several years no one has made the correct guess.  Try it out on your friends and I doubt any of them will guess correctly.  (Of course if they have heard it before and have prior knowledge then it’s not a “guess” is it?) 

Download the file and check it out.

Some advice for all of us…

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”

~Gilda Radner

Charlie Pierce calls out the morons

A lot of folks I know predict that this government shutdown will end soon.  Me?  I’m sorry to say that I don’t think so unless the Dems cave yet again.  I tend to agree with Charlie Pierce’s take, which you can read here.

This is the cogent penultimate paragraph of Charlie’s post:

What is there to be done? The first and most important thing is to recognize how we came to this pass. Both sides did not do this. Both sides are not to blame. There is no compromise to be had here that will leave the current structure of the government intact. There can be no reward for this behavior. I am less sanguine than are many people that this whole thing will redound to the credit of the Democratic party. For that to happen, the country would have to make a nuanced judgment over who is to blame that, I believe, will be discouraged by the courtier press of the Beltway and that, in any case, the country has not shown itself capable of making. For that to happen, the Democratic party would have to be demonstrably ruthless enough to risk its own political standing to make the point, which the Democratic party never has shown itself capable of doing. With the vandals tucked away in safe, gerrymandered districts, and their control over state governments probably unshaken by events in Washington, there will be no great wave election that sweeps them out of power. I do not see profound political consequences for enough of them to change the character of a Congress gone delusional. The only real consequences will be felt by the millions of people affected by what this Congress has forced upon the nation, which was the whole point all along.

Marilyn Monroe (another side)

Marilyn Monroe is an undeniable world-wide icon.  Nevertheless, how many of you know this about her?

Monday’s walk

Yesterday was a beautiful day so the dog and I took our usual stroll along the San Francisco Bay.  I took along my camera with a telephoto lens and took some shots of the City and the Bay Bridge.  Take a look.  Don’t forget to click on the image to enlarge it.

The City.  Bay Bridge between Yerba Buena Island and the City coming in from the right.  You can even see Coit Tower just above the middle of the bridge suspension.  And of course the dense fog bank lurking behind it all.

A portion of the Bay Bridge showing the suspension section on the left, Yerba Buena Island behind all the naval ships, and to the right of that the brand spanking new suspension portion of the new eastern span of the bridge between Oakland and Yerba Buena.  We haven’t crossed the new bridge yet but we are looking forward to it.

On the way back we left the shore and took the green belt…

where we saw Mr. Crow.

Some good advice

“Don’t cry because it’s over.  Smile because it happened.”

~ Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Charlie Pierce is so right on

This article by Charlie Pierce is edifying and oh so true.   The article is a must read.  Pull your friends’ coats.  Someday, history is going to give Barack Obama his due. (My gut tells me so <grin>)

San Francisco Fog

Today’s Chronicle featured a story about the beautiful time lapse video created by Simon Christen showing the amazing flow of San Francisco’s fog.  Read the article here.  To see the video, use this link rather than the one provided at the end of the story.  Some folks gripe about our San Francisco fog, but I have always loved it, and still do.  Seeing this video confirms my feelings.  Enjoy.

My Jesse makes The Times!

My son Jesse and his biz partner have been planning and working for over a year to open a new bar in NYC.  To my amazement, they are going to pull it off, opening in October.  Best of all, so far, is that they made the New York Times!  Check it out here.

Needless to say I have a lot of pride and admiration.

Mo’ betta’ Cinemagraphs

In a previous post I featured some really cool examples of cinemagraphs.  Brace yourselves because here is another batch.  All of these are great and I would have a hard time choosing a favorite.  The Godfather (#13) and the first one from The Shining (#14) are right near the top for me.  Enjoy, and let me know which are your favorites.

Watterson is still wise

A sad day for me was when Bill Watterson retired his Calvin & Hobbes cartoon strip.  Imagine my pleasant surprise today when I ran across this gem.  Sweet.

She gave up water skiing!?

Justice Ginsburg:  You go girl!

Backin Up Song!!

Posted something yesterday with a link to a video and found that it was somehow shanghaied by a bunch of porn links.  So I took it down.  Now I have found a clean link to the video so I’m trying again.

Anyway, the upshot of my post was that I love the Internet because your run across goofy yet accomplished performances like this one that just make your day.  Were it not for the Net, the only way you would ever see these guys doing this performance would be if they were your close friends or neighbors doing it in their garage.

Some Herman Leonard photos

Enjoy these wonderful Herman Leonard photos.

Orphan Black

Television is just getting too good these days.  There are so many fine shows that I barely have time to watch them all.  Some of my favorites these days, in no particular order, are: 

• Ray Donovan
• The Bridge
• Orange is the New Black (Netflix production)
• Sons of Anarchy
• House of Cards (Netflix production)
• Homeland
• Game of Thrones
• Breaking Bad
• The Borgias (sadly, not renewed)
• Justified
• Mad Men
• The Good Wife
• Elementary (gotta get my Lucy Liu)
• Shameless (gotta get my Emmy Rossum)
• Girls

There are probably several more I’m forgetting, but that is a pretty formidable list.  (I just recorded the first episode of “Broadchurch” but have not watched it yet). 

But, I still haven’t mentioned the shiny new toy I’ve discovered:  “Orphan Black.”  This show is some of the best TV I’ve seen lately.  I guarantee that if you watch the first episode you will be hopelessly hooked.  The show is a Canadian production under the BBC umbrella.  It stars Tatiana Maslany who is simply arresting, playing  6 different characters, all with different accents and looks.  Through the magic of today’s special effects, several of these characters are on screen at the same time, which makes the experience even more intense and believable.  As several publications have noted, the Emmy’s snub of Maslany is downright criminal.  Anyway, check out the show’s website here.  The entire first season is “in the can.”  I’m watching it through Comcast “On Demand,” BBC.  I’’m five episode in and am already dreading the season’s end at episode 10.  But thankfully there is going to be a season 2, starting spring 2014.  Note:  season 1 has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray. Take my word for it, this is a fabulous show.  Do not miss it.

EMP Museum

When we were in Seattle recently, we went to the EMP Museum.  EMP stands for "Experience Music Project". The museum is dedicated to the history and exploration of popular music and science fiction; the building is located on the campus of the Seattle Center, site of the 1962 World's Fair. It was designed by Frank Gehry.

The experience was pretty awesome.  I would like to go back someday, just by myself so that I could spend the whole day there, moving at my own pace.  My daughter and her family, including 2 grandkids were along, so I was not afforded the opportunity to linger when I wanted to.

Some of the high points:  a terrific Jimi Hendrix exhibit that was well worth the whole trip (remember, Jimi was from Seattle); a really fascinating exhibit of women in rock, pop, and country, which included  displays of actual dresses or outfits that they performed in (a lot of them were really tiny, the smallest being the dress that Brenda Lee wore on the Ed Sullivan show); a 70 foot high sculpture made up entirely of guitars all fastened together [See pictures below – they bar flash photography so the pictures are a bit blurry]; a big-screen movie room with awesome sound, which showed performances of a multitude of cool artists.  A true highlight there was the Michael Jackson “Thriller” video, on the huge screen with killer audio cranked up high – man, I forgot how good that actually was. You can read all about the museum on its website, here.  

The guitar sculpture from first floor

The guitar sculpture rising up into the third floor.  It is a tall piece of work for sure.

Blue Jasmine–Mick’s take

OK, you all know by now that Mick LaSalle is my favorite movie critic, and that Woody Allen is a director/writer whom I admire with unfeigned reverence.   Add to that mix a main ingredient of Cate Blanchett (who has been in my top 3 actresses for ages), and throw in a little Alec Baldwin in his evolved persona, and you’ve got the makings of  something, delectable, if not jaw-dropping.  Yep, it is actually being served up for you in theaters across the land right now:  “Blue Jasmine.”  Check out Mick’s orgasmic review right here and then get in line immediately.  I can hardly wait.

Reich on Detroit

This is an import article written by Robert Reich.  While it is ostensibly about Detroit, it is distressingly relevant when considering the rest of the country.  My question remains:  Just what the hell can we do about it?  Not very much as I see it.

Another good quote from Mick…

In today’s Chronicle Mick LaSalle reviewed “Computer Chess” and gave it a five star rankings.  As usual, he adds some of his own wisdom in the second paragraph below:

The humor in "Computer Chess" is extremely subtle. There are no gags, no punch lines, but everything in it is a little bit funny, and if you laugh at any moment, the response is appropriate. But it's the humor mixed with sadness that gives the movie its special quality, that makes it end, you might say, on a full chord rather than a thin note.

By the way, just one tiny anachronism. Someone, referring to a problem, calls it an "issue." People in 1982 didn't have "issues," they had problems, which are a lot more dignified. When people have problems, they solve them. When people have issues, they sit back and watch them ooze.

Mellow days

Well here we are at the beach house we rented in Florence, Oregon.  We got in yesterday.  We are literally right on the beach.  It is a huge, gorgeous beach.  Here is a shot I took this morning while standing on the back porch.

The sunset last night was also pretty spectacular…

The only thing keeping the experience from being absolutely perfect is that the wind has been howling since we got here.  We’re hoping it dies down, but walking on the beach is still very exhilarating.  And, our dog Spenser shows pure joy when he runs around off-leash with his ears pinned back by the wind!  We are going to be here until Sunday, then back to the hotel near Mt. Shasta, where we stayed on the way up.  Then home on Monday.  Speaking of Mt. Shasta, here is a shot I took on our way North about a week ago.

Hello from Seattle

I was hoping to post more during this vacation, but I’ve just been too busy visiting with rarely seen relatives, and keeping late hours.  I did get a great shot of Mt. Shasta on the way up, which I will share soon.  Right now we are in Seattle visiting daughter and grandkids.  Big day tomorrow.  Then on to three days in a beachfront cottage in Florence, Oregon.  I’ll have lots of time to blog then.  Stay tuned.

Vacation!

We are leaving on Friday morning for a welcome vacation.  We will be heading up to Seattle to see my daughter and the grandkids.  Along the way we will spend a couple of nights in Longview, Washington to visit my Aunt Norma.  Then, on the way back home from Seattle, we will spend three nights at a cottage we rented in Florence, Oregon, which is literally right on the beach!

I’m taking my laptop and will blog along the way, with pictures.  Stand by….

~ Tom

Back from Tahoe/Donner

Hi everyone.

Just got back from 5 days at our place in Tahoe/Donner.  It was great to just chill out,  do some reading, and watch Netflix content.  Also took a four-mile hike with my dog.

Anyway, if you are into music and MP3’s you definitely want to check this out.

Food for thought

I have come to believe that cyberwar is something we cannot ignore.  In fact, we should fear its consequences.  Take the time to read this article, which should open your eyes to the threat assuming you are not already wide-eyed.

A Laugh or certainly a smile

Check out this jazz dispute.  It’s really quite clever and well-delivered.

~ Tom

New Yorker Cover

Everyone is lavishing praise on The New Yorker for its latest cover, “Bert and Ernie’s Moment of Joy.”  Check it out for yourself here.  You have to admit, it is pretty priceless.

Also of note (at least for me) is the price shown on the cover:  $6.99.  I haven’t bought an issue in many a moon and I must say I was a bit surprised.  But hey, when put in context of the cost of everything else these days, $6.99 seems imminently fair.

Musictonic is indeed a tonic!

Hey folks.  I just discovered a truly cool music site: Musictonic.  The front door is right here.  Note that there is a pull-down menu that allows you to select your genre.   I chose “jazz” and got this.  You will probably get something else in jazz when you try it because the first selection is random within the genre.  But check out the vast amount of free music you get on this site.  I haven’t really scratched the surface, but I’m certainly going to bookmark it and visit often.  Enjoy by all means!!!!

Cinemagraph GIFs

I was stumbling around the Net this morning and came across some examples of “Cinemagraph GIFs,” which I had never heard of before.  They are totally cool.  Check them out here.

New audio production–“Ear Worms”

My new audio production is complete.  You can hear it right here!

New production on the horizon

I know I have not posted for over a week.  I was up at the Tahoe/Donner place over the weekend and had matters to attend to the last couple of days.  However, the good news is that the next Willy-Nilly audio production is in the works and I should be posting it in a couple of days.  Stand by…

Mick LaSalle wisdom

If you read this blog you know that Mick LaSalle is my favorite living film critic.  Just search this blog for LaSalle and you’ll see a lot of references to him.

In his “Ask Mick LaSalle” column yesterday he was discussing the Gatsby world in response to a question about who he would cast as Daisy Buchanan.  Near the end of his answer he came up with this gem:

“By the way, youth is very important for these Fitzgerald characters because, though the point of view is nostalgic, it’s the nostalgia of youth for youth.  I don’t think I was ever for nostalgic for my early 20s than when I was in my late 20s, because when you’re 21, you are basically king.  You have mastered the art of being a kid, and now you rule the youth universe.  But when you are 28, you’re like a really beautiful-looking 50-year-old, only with no money, no respect, no experience and no professional poise, and even if you’re good at something, there are a bunch of older people trying to block your path.  By the time you’re 35, you’re in a different zone – beyond nostalgia and into the next phase; that is, outside the “Gatsby” zone.”

U.S. tax system is an embarrassment!

We all know how unfair the U.S. tax system is.  Here is a great little article on the subject with a chart that says it all.

Follow up on audio production

My first Willy Nilly production concerned military snare drum work in pop and rock tunes.  My old friend Michael Lally responded to the post by pulling my coat to the opening credits of “Blackboard Jungle,” which commence with outstanding solo military drum rolls and flourishes, and the make a brilliant segue into Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock.”  I found these opening credits on YouTube.  Check it out here.

Thanks Michael…

My latest audio production

I have been wanting to to get back into putting together some audio productions for some of the things that bounce around in my head.  I decided to set up a digital audio workstation (DAW) on my very fast Sony Vaio laptop so that I would not be tied down to my desktop computer and its M-Audio sound board.  I already have a very good condenser mic.  So what I needed was to buy a digital audio interface to bridge between the mic and my laptop running Mixcraft 6 software.  I decided on a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which I now have in operation.  In the picture below, it is the red  doo-dad on the right – laptop and mic also evident.

I finished my first project on a subject that has been rattling around in my brain.  You can listen to it here.  Let me know what you think.  I hope to produce more of these in the coming months.

So sick of Benghazi

I have just about had it with the right wing pumping up the Benghazi incident to fanciful, paranoid proportions.  Day in and day out it’s one nut-case after another demanding an investigation, calling for the president’s impeachment, or seeing vast conspiracies under every rock.  Of course the real purpose in this whole charade is an attempt to diminish Hillary Clinton’s competence and popularity – 2016, you know!  And, it’s going to get worse this week. 

In the midst of all this right-wing bullshit, we have our usual hero and savior, Jon Stewart, laying down the truth.  His monologue last Wednesday was spot on.  Too bad more people are not listening to him.  

Pete Seeger–94 and still here with us

Friday was Pete Seeger’s 94th birthday.  Check it out here, which includes a performance of Jacob’s Ladder on his 90th.  Pete is one of the most authentic cats I can thinks of.  He can be forgiven for his condemnation of Dylan’s electric performance at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival – hey he was just being his authentic self, right.  Oh, and so was Bob!

A salute to Justin Sandercoe

“Birth of the Cool” is dedicated to turning you on to cool things.  To that end, I’m introducing you all to Justin Sandercoe, who is a wonderful, cool person if ever there was one.  I ran across him when I was looking for a guitar lesson on how to play a certain song.  I just love his Tasmanian accent and the joy he brings to his work.  You can read all about him here, but what you really  should do is check out one of his guitar lessons, which I think you will enjoy even if you are not a guitar player.  There are many, many lessons and songs on his website, but here is one that I am working on these days.  The section on strumming is a great example of what a terrific teacher he is.  I just get a smile on my face every time I tune in to Justin’s world.  As I said, he is a cool dude.

Charlie Pierce calls out Maureen Dowd

Of late I have been not liking many of Maureen Dowd’s columns – I used to like a lot more of them.  Her column over the weekend was pretty ridiculous when you measure it against stark reality.  So, I loved it when Charlie Pierce called her out, as only he can do.

“Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Lincoln”

A few days ago I watched “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” on Blu-Ray on the recommendation of my son Jesse.  I enjoyed the movie and found it to be an unexpected little treasure.  You can read about it here.  I want to highlight the performance of Ezra Miller in the role of “Patrick.”  Patrick is in essence a teenage Oscar Wilde and thus it took a special actor to play the part.  Ezra Miller more than fills the role – he is mesmerizing.  Also, having not seen even one of the Harry Potter movies, I was introduced to Emma Watson, who, at least in this film, was wonderful.  Check it out.

Last night I watched “Lincoln” on Blu-Ray and was mildly disappointed.  I guess my hopes were unrealistic, but I don’t find it to be a “great” or “classic” film.  Sure, Daniel-Day was his usual awesome self, but I kept thinking, “haven’t I seen this on the History Channel?”  Sometimes Spielberg’s sincerity and love of the subject make the result seem over-simplified and a bit patronizing.  (Same goes for Spike Lee).  Oh well, as they say, “different strokes for different folks.

“The Dude abides” (The Big Lebowski)

In my recent “Master and Commander” post mentioned that I might post a list of movies that I will “pretty much always end up watching if I’m channel flipping.”  I found that it was really hard for me to just pull up those movies from my memory banks, so what I have decided is to make the subject an on-going theme and post the movies as they happen in real time.

First entry:  “The Big Lebowski”  I love this movie.  A couple of nights ago I was channel flipping and came upon TBL at about two thirds in where Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara) has the Dude waylaid and brought to his Malibu digs.  Eventually Treehorn slips mind-tripping drugs into the Dude’s drink, which leads to us taking the head-trip right along with the Dude.  That trip just makes me laugh my ass off every time I watch it.  It is Coen brothers genius on display, with everything from Buzby Berkeley dancers with fans made out of bowling pins to Jeff Bridges turning into a human projectile flying down a bowling lane wearing the greatest stoner face you’ll ever see. 

Of course I hung in to the end, savoring John Goodman’s insanely volatile Vietnam vet, and digging on Steve Buscemi’s portrayal of the Dude’s timid bowling companion (Donny).  My only regret was that I didn’t come in soon enough to see the hilarious John Turturro bit as Jesus Quintana, an opponent of The Dude's team in the bowling league semifinals.  If you haven’t seen that segment you are missing out on a brilliant comedic tour de force.

I’ll end with what the Dude says in closing, then echoed by Sam Elliott (“The Stranger” and narrator):  “The Dude abides.”  Amen.

Roger Ebert, R.I.P.

I knew it was inevitable, but even so I was very saddened this morning to hear that Roger Ebert had died.  The obituaries are blooming all over the Internet, all of which are laudatory, and in my opinion well deserved.  There are certain folks who leave a hole in the fabric of my world when they pass on.  Roger was one of them.  With regard to such folks, the constant that applies is that I would have loved to spend a day with them, just gabbing about our interests and life in general. 

Master and Commander

One of my favorite movies is “Master and Commander,” directed by PeterWier and starring Russell Crowe.  This movie is based on the seafaring novels by Patrick O’Brian – I believe he wrote 20 before he died, and I have read the first 9 of them.   I loved the books and when I learned that a movie was to be made adapting them, I was more than eager to see it.  Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated with seafaring tales.  I read all the Howard Pease books, e.g. “The Tattooed Man” when I was in 4th grade.  Later, and continuing to today I have read many books about the seafaring explores like Magellan and Drake, as well as fictional “sea tales”  such as “Voyage” by Sterling Hayden the actor. Of course sea battles between sailing vessels have been at the top of my list.  I saw “Master and Commander” in a theater right after it came out and it just blew me away.  I then bought the DVD and have enjoyed it even more in subsequent viewings.

Anyway, yesterday I was  channel flipping and came across “Master and Commander” at about its half-way point.  Of course I was mesmerized and watched it until the end.  That partial viewing confirmed my belief that the film is underrated, even taking into consideration my obvious bias.  I could try to explain all the wonderful things about “Master and Commander,” but I’ll simply say that if you have not seen it, please check it out, and if you have seen it, give it re-watch and you won’t regret it.   It has it all:  adventure, humor, pathos, awesome battles, gorgeous cinematography, a stint on the Galapagos islands, and one of Russell Crowe’s best performances. 

Seeing it again yesterday made me realize that there are not a lot of movies that I will re-watch over and over, but “Master and Commander” is cetainly one of them.  Another one that always hooks me  if I’m channel flipping is “48 Hours” with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in one if his very early roles, which was directed by Walter Hill.  In fact, I think I’ll make my next post be a list of movies that I will pretty much always end up watching if I’m channel flipping.

I’ll close here with the last paragraph of Roger Ebert’s review of “Master and Commander:”

"Master and Commander" is grand and glorious, and touching in its attention to its characters. Like the work of David Lean, it achieves the epic without losing sight of the human, and to see it is to be reminded of the way great action movies can rouse and exhilarate us, can affirm life instead of simply dramatizing its destruction.

I’m still here…

Geez, I can’t believe it has been 10 days since my last post.  I have been a bit distracted celebrating my birthday, and other things that at the time seemed more important than drafting a post.  Anyway, as of Saturday I turned sixty-nine.  So I have one more year of sub-seventy existence.  I’m happy to have made it this far. 

I plan on doing some serious posting in the next few days, so take heart and check out the blog frequently.

~ Tom

Screamin’ Jay–still a gas!

The other day I was vacuuming the house wearing a set of headphones and listening to the Rhapsody channel “Essential 500” when this track came up.  I just had to share it with you.
If it doesn’t toggle your memory banks and put a smile on your face, you need to seek help.

Thumbs up for “House of Cards”

You may have read about Netflix airing its first series, “House of Cards.”  The interesting and unique twist is that there was no weekly airing of each episode.  Instead, they made the whole first season accessible from the “git go.”  True, shows like Downton Abbey came on Netflix and Amazon Prime all at once, but those shows did have a weekly season on some network before being released to streaming services like Netflix.

Anyway, the show is fabulous in my opinion.  It’s sort of like “West Wing” with a hard, cynical edge.  You can read a non-spoiler review here.  I have heard of people having a marathon and sitting through all 13 episodes in one session.  I’m not that bad, but the last two evenings I said I was only going to watch one episode and ended up watching two each night.  Last night it took a lot of will power not to stay up even later and watch more episodes.  As for now, I’m going to finish this post right now so I can watch episode #5.  The cast is great, writing sublime, and direction top notch – David Fincher directed the first two episodes.  Kevin Spacey is perfect. Lovin’ it. 

A great Sunday walk

I’ve said it before on this blog, but I am so grateful to be able to live where I live.  Our house is a block away from the San Francisco Bay and there many paths to walk, and sights to see.  Aside from the lure of the Bay, our development (Harbor Bay Isle) sports a large, beautiful lagoon system, with bike and pedestrian paths alongside.

On Sunday, we walked down the largest lagoon, which runs over a mile and a half from the Harbor Bay shopping center all the way the the San Francisco Bay near the ferry terminal.  We only went down about about 3/4 of a mile and then walked back, but it was certainly a beautiful walk.  (I have travelled the full distance as part of a  four-mile loop I sometimes jog around.)  Here are some pictures I took along the way.  Be sure to click to enlarge.

Near the start of the lagoon.

One of several curves.

Much further along the way.  Keep going and you will eventually come to the Bay.

One of many foot bridges across the lagoon.

Yep, I’m a luck guy.

Ball Droppings App

When you get bored and want some interesting fun, try this.

Enjoy!

Jon Stewart really is a fine actor

I don’t seem to be able to watch the Daily Show as much as I should, but it seems like every time I tune in I am surprised at John Stewart’s acting chops.  Sure he is almost always funny and insightful, but on top of that he really can act.   Witness last night’s opening monolog, which had me roaring.  His impressions of Lindsey Graham and John McCain would not be nearly as hilarious as they are were he not an accomplished actor.  BTW, I laughed my ass off just now watching the whole thing again.  God bless Jon Stewart.

Climate change “contradiction” explained

If you, like me, have an unreserved belief that the earth is heating up at an alarming rate, your hair probably catches fire when climate change “deniers” point to big storms and blizzards and scoff at the science proving global warming.  Aside from them completely ignoring blistering summer heat waves and increasing droughts, these luddites just don’t understand that the increase in big winter blizzards and floods does not debunk the scary reality of “climate change” brought on by global warming.  To the contrary, such extreme weather is a symptom.  I realize that if you are confronted by such folks, you probably have little chance of changing their minds, but you might try giving them a copy of this article, which appeared in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.  It does an excellent job of explaining “atmospheric physics.”  

A Radiohead classic

I just got back from a run of about 3.6 miles, down to the ferry terminal and back.  I was listening on my MP3 player to a new Rhapsody playlist that my son Jesse sent me, titled “2013 Kickoff Workout Mix.”  One of the tracks that came up was “Bodysnatchers” by Radiohead.  That got me thinking about one of the all-time great music videos, an animated take on the Radiohead classic: “Creep.”  According to YouTube the video has been seen and heard nearly 4,700,000 times!  If you have never seen it, or if you haven’t seen it for a while, check it out here.  (You can skip the opening ad).  Cool….

A new car is always a gas

For the last 10+ years I have been driving a 2003 Toyota Highlander with four-wheel drive.  In the meantime, Eileen has gotten a four-wheel drive Infiniti EX-35, which we are now using to travel to our place in snowy Tahoe/Donner.  So I was driving this big rig around town on a bunch of short trips which made no sense – and it was hard to park and maneuver around narrow city streets.  So we decided to trade it in and get me a quality sub-compact car to goof around town in.  I did a lot of research and found that the Honda Fit is the best car in the sub-compact t category.  It gets 30+ mpg, and yet is very zippy and fun to drive, even on the freeway.  So, last Sunday we traded in the Highlander and got a brand new Honda Fit.  I love it already.  It has a surprising number of “bells and whistles” and while it is missing some that Eileen has on her Infiniti, we must realize that her car is about $20,000 more expensive than my little Fit.  As every American will attest, getting a new car is always a lot of fun, and so it was for me.  I even was able to get the color that I wanted:  “Vortex Blue.”

Here are a couple of shots of the car that I took this afternoon.

Relaxing in the Sierras

We came up here to our place at Tahoe/Donner on Saturday.  We skied at Squaw Valley yesterday and at Alpine Meadows today.  On Sunday, I strapped on the snowshoes and hiked up the hill in the forest behind our place.  My dog was at my side.  It was so beautiful and quiet, reminding me of how lucky I am to have the life I am living.  Here are a couple of shots on took on the snowshoe hike.  Click to enlarge.

Nearing the top of the hill.

Through the forest on the way back down the hill.

How I discovered U2

I am a big fan of U2.  I have seen them live twice, once in the late 80’s at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and most recently at the Oakland Coliseum on their last tour.  Both concerts were terrific.  In both instances the crowds were all tuned in on the same frequency, resulting in that indescribable “vibe” that you experience at a memorable live concert.

Todayfor some reason I was remembering how I discovered U2 and began my fandom.  It was seeing their live  performance of “Bad” on my TV as part of the Live Aid concert in 1985.  I had never seen or heard them before that, and the performance really knocked me out, including Bono randomly picking out girls from the audience and slow dancing with them.  After that I went out and bought “The Unforgettable Fire,” which remains one of my favorite albums.

So, with these thoughts I went to You Tube to see if there were videos of that 1985 U2 performance.  I should have known, there are lots of video of that performance.  I chose one with good quality video and sound.  Check it out here, just as I watched it all these years ago.  It helps to pretend that you have never seen these guys before or heard their music, but any way you slice it, I still dig it.

Carl Sandburg on guns

Today’s Chronicle had an interesting article about an unpublished poem that Carl Sandburg wrote concerning “a revolver,” which in the poem serves as a metaphor for all guns.  I’m pretty sure you will want to read both the article and the full Sandburg poem, which you can do here.

Even though it was never published it is very powerful, and obviously germane to today’s gun control debate.  A  couple of lines about the “revolver” that really stand out to me are:

“It is the last word.  A simple, little human forefinger can tell a terrible story with it.”

Even now the carnage continues, the latest being the 15 year-old kid in New Mexico who used an assault weapon to  kill  his mother, 3 younger siblings, and lastly his father.  Reportedly, he was going to then go to the nearby Walmart store and kill a lot of people but he changed his mind and called the police to turn himself in.  When is this horror going to stop?

Bernie–a very nice watch

We are having a wonderful time at our Tahoe/Donner place, having arrived on Wednesday morning and skiing Thursday and Friday.  Today we are just goofing off, but I did manage to go snowshoeing with my dog.  Great exercise, and terrific scenery.  I forgot to bring my camera so I don’t have any pictures for you – next time.

A couple of nights ago I watched “Bernie” via Netflix streaming video.  I really enjoyed it.  You can read about it here, but I want to focus on two things:

First, Jack Black is simply wonderful in this movie.  You probably have admitted yourself that he is a talented fellow, but if you watch this film you will see that he is even more talented than you thought.  The many songs he sings reveal a lovely voice (always right on pitch), and his acting is rife with subtle strokes of genius.  He did get a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

Second, the story takes place in a small Texas town of 7,000 folk who all seem to belong to the local evangelical church.  My grandfather was a preacher in various small Idaho towns, my mother was a child evangelist, and one of my aunts was dean of a Christian college.  Therefore, many of the songs Jack performs are songs of my childhood and I remembered all the tunes and lyrics immediately.  I can assure you that those scenes are very authentic, and worth enjoying even if you are a confirmed “back-slider” such as I. 

I highly recommend this movie.

20th anniversary on the horizon

Hi all:

Sorry I have not been able to blog lately, but my computer went down and I’m just getting it back today. 

My news is that Eileen and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this Wednesday, the 16th.  Man, I can’t believe it.  It’s been a great ride so far and I’m hoping for more to come.  Instead of something elaborate,we are just going to head up to our Tahoe place tomorrow night and ski Squaw Valley on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Our “silver” season passes have us blacked out on Saturday and Sunday (MLK holiday) so we cannot ski on those days.  Snow shoeing with my dog will be the on tap for those days.  We’ll be coming home on Sunday afternoon.

Oh, and “Go Forty Niners!’

Debt ceiling–Pelosi sides with me…

Recall my post of December 14th, wherein I discussed the President invoking certain 14th Amendment provisions to bypass Congress and hike the debt ceiling.  Hence, I was disappointed today to read  this article.  I applaud  Nancy Pelosi for saying that she would invoke the 14th Amendment “in a second.” But, the article also makes it clear that the White House has rejected that path outright.  Why?  Even it that is their ultimate position, why not keep it in play as an arguably legal and legitimate way to bypass the craven nihilists in the Congress.  Lest you have any doubt about whether they are craven nihilists, read this article.  I’m hoping that if push comes to shove Obama will change his mind and invoke the 14th Amendment.  What say you?