The Blame Game
WARNING: LOST SPOILERS AHEAD
I've read much on-line grousing about the lameness of the promo to last week's Lost, which featured the heretofore Korean-only speaking Jin speaking English in an impeccable American accent. Turns out that it was naught but a dream sequence--Jin can't speak English after all(that we know of!). The grousing I've read centers around the lameness of the teaser, which I'm totally with. But the blame seems to be directed primarily at the Lost creators, which, if my rudimentary TV production knowledge is right, is unfair. I'm pretty sure that the network puts together the promos, not the show's producers. So it's ABC that ran with the misleading promo, not Lost. And, lame promo aside, the Jin-English moment was kind of cool and creepy, and very evocative of a dream. No dirty pool here. At least, not from Lost.
Until Whenever
Monday, October 17, 2005
The Power of Grayskull
I heartily recommend this very interesting post by Jamie at Something Old on the old (how apropos) He-Man cartoon, and the business of using cartoons to sell toys in the first place.
Until Whenever
I heartily recommend this very interesting post by Jamie at Something Old on the old (how apropos) He-Man cartoon, and the business of using cartoons to sell toys in the first place.
Until Whenever
Nothing Like a List to Make You Feel Poorly Read
Time magazine has released its list of the "100 greatest novels of all time." I've read 18%:
Animal Farm-George Orwell
Are You There God? (It's Me, Margaret)-Judy Blume
Atonement-Ian McEwan
The Blind Assassin-Margrate Atwood
The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
The Corrections-Jonathan Franzen
Go Tell It on the Mountain-James Baldwin
The Grapes of Wrath-John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
Invisible Man-Ralph Ellison
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe-C.S. Lewis
Lord of the Flies-William Golding
1984-George Orwell
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-Ken Kesey
Ragtime-E.L. Doctorow
To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
Watchmen-Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
White Teeth-Zadie Smith
Until Whenever
Time magazine has released its list of the "100 greatest novels of all time." I've read 18%:
Animal Farm-George Orwell
Are You There God? (It's Me, Margaret)-Judy Blume
Atonement-Ian McEwan
The Blind Assassin-Margrate Atwood
The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
The Corrections-Jonathan Franzen
Go Tell It on the Mountain-James Baldwin
The Grapes of Wrath-John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
Invisible Man-Ralph Ellison
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe-C.S. Lewis
Lord of the Flies-William Golding
1984-George Orwell
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-Ken Kesey
Ragtime-E.L. Doctorow
To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
Watchmen-Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
White Teeth-Zadie Smith
Until Whenever
Friday, October 14, 2005
Doin' the Friday Shuffle
On your marks . . .
1. "Samwise the Brave" - Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (score)
One of the really remarkable achievements in film scoring. This moment is a nicely uplifting and tender orchestral swelling moment for Sam.
2. "The Ladies Who Lunch" - Stephen Sondheim (sung by Elaine Stritch) - Company (Original Broadway Cast)
One of the most acclaimed and iconic song performances in Broadway history. Elaine Stritch is an amazing singing actress, and this just may be the highlight of her recorded career. In her one-woman show of a few years back, she admits to assuming that "Mahler," in the the line "A matinee, a Pinter play, perhaps a piece of Mahler's" referred to a local bakery. Go see a play and after get a piece of cake at Mahler's. Brilliant. Her anguished, repeated cries of "everybody dies" at the end are a master class in how to weave acting and singing for all of those musical theater actors with less-than-operatic voices.
3. "Living Waters" - Burkhard Dallwitz - The Truman Show (score)
Tense, unsettling music from the score.
4. "Human Wheels" - John Mellencamp - Human Wheels
One of Mellencamp's most underrated songs, a disarmingly melancholic rock piece with a strong backbeat, plaintive mandolin, and a wonderfully dry and almost defeated vocal. "While I with human-hindered eyes." Love that line.
5. "Stored Memories and Monica's Theme" - John Williams - A.I. (score)
I've proclaimed my love for this score elsewhere. This cut has some eerie low male and high female vocal choral singing that's particularly effective.
6. "Phrygian Gates - Part 3" - John Adams - Road Movies
Rumbling, stuttering piano from my second-favorite contemporary composer. (Don't blush, Arvo Part).
7. "Baby" - Dave Matthews - Some Devil
Pretty ballad from Matthews' solo debut.
8. "American Without Tears" - Elvis Costello - King of America
Costello with a slight, shuffling country feel. Pretty song.
9. "You Have Loved Enough" - Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs
A little too happy-shiny in the arrangement for me. And by this point, Cohen had pretty much abandoned singing and just speaks the songs, not that effectively.
10. "Marion Barfs" - Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream (score)
Sad, sad music. This whole score is basically just umpteen variations on the same theme, but somehow it works. I still have to get my hands on the full orchestral version (the film's score used a string quartet) of the main theme that Peter Jackson used in the trailer for The Two Towers. Hey! Symmetry!
Until Whenever
On your marks . . .
1. "Samwise the Brave" - Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (score)
One of the really remarkable achievements in film scoring. This moment is a nicely uplifting and tender orchestral swelling moment for Sam.
2. "The Ladies Who Lunch" - Stephen Sondheim (sung by Elaine Stritch) - Company (Original Broadway Cast)
One of the most acclaimed and iconic song performances in Broadway history. Elaine Stritch is an amazing singing actress, and this just may be the highlight of her recorded career. In her one-woman show of a few years back, she admits to assuming that "Mahler," in the the line "A matinee, a Pinter play, perhaps a piece of Mahler's" referred to a local bakery. Go see a play and after get a piece of cake at Mahler's. Brilliant. Her anguished, repeated cries of "everybody dies" at the end are a master class in how to weave acting and singing for all of those musical theater actors with less-than-operatic voices.
3. "Living Waters" - Burkhard Dallwitz - The Truman Show (score)
Tense, unsettling music from the score.
4. "Human Wheels" - John Mellencamp - Human Wheels
One of Mellencamp's most underrated songs, a disarmingly melancholic rock piece with a strong backbeat, plaintive mandolin, and a wonderfully dry and almost defeated vocal. "While I with human-hindered eyes." Love that line.
5. "Stored Memories and Monica's Theme" - John Williams - A.I. (score)
I've proclaimed my love for this score elsewhere. This cut has some eerie low male and high female vocal choral singing that's particularly effective.
6. "Phrygian Gates - Part 3" - John Adams - Road Movies
Rumbling, stuttering piano from my second-favorite contemporary composer. (Don't blush, Arvo Part).
7. "Baby" - Dave Matthews - Some Devil
Pretty ballad from Matthews' solo debut.
8. "American Without Tears" - Elvis Costello - King of America
Costello with a slight, shuffling country feel. Pretty song.
9. "You Have Loved Enough" - Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs
A little too happy-shiny in the arrangement for me. And by this point, Cohen had pretty much abandoned singing and just speaks the songs, not that effectively.
10. "Marion Barfs" - Clint Mansell - Requiem for a Dream (score)
Sad, sad music. This whole score is basically just umpteen variations on the same theme, but somehow it works. I still have to get my hands on the full orchestral version (the film's score used a string quartet) of the main theme that Peter Jackson used in the trailer for The Two Towers. Hey! Symmetry!
Until Whenever
Thursday, October 13, 2005
What's the Monthly Mortgage Check Look Like
Amusing, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-esque, piece up on MSN.com about the ten most expensive listed homes on the real estate market in the US. The #1 home, a 60-acre estate in the Hamptons, lists for $75 million. It has its own golf course.
Why did my three-bedroom converted Cape just feel a lot smaller?
Silly rich people.
Until Whenever
Amusing, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-esque, piece up on MSN.com about the ten most expensive listed homes on the real estate market in the US. The #1 home, a 60-acre estate in the Hamptons, lists for $75 million. It has its own golf course.
Why did my three-bedroom converted Cape just feel a lot smaller?
Silly rich people.
Until Whenever
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
A Rare Sighting
I stopped reading comics regularly about two years ago. Not because I thought myself, on the precipice of 30, "above" them, but simply because for the first time since college I found myself without easy access to a comic book store. I tried the on-line route for a while, ordering from Midtown Comics, which I used to frequent when I worked in Times Square, but was not diligent enough to keep up with ongoing series, and after too many frustrating times of missing issues in the middle of storylines, I stopped, more or less cold turkey. I've kept up with Ultimate Spider-Man via the trades, and read a handful of other collections (I just got the first Ultimates 2 trade, which I loved, but I find, ironically, that shelling out the cash for trade after trade just seems too expensive (even if I intellectually know that I was spending far more when buying 4-6 titles a week).
All of this preamble is just to preface my statement that I haven't followed any of the Identity Crisis stuff going on at DC. So I was surprised to see that the comic (which came out today I guess), and the new direction it heralds for DC, got an article in The New York Times. It's a good piece too, explaining to this lapsed fan what DC was doing pretty clearly. Anyway, it's always nice to see the four-color men and women in tights get a prominent mention in the mainstream press.
Until Whenever
I stopped reading comics regularly about two years ago. Not because I thought myself, on the precipice of 30, "above" them, but simply because for the first time since college I found myself without easy access to a comic book store. I tried the on-line route for a while, ordering from Midtown Comics, which I used to frequent when I worked in Times Square, but was not diligent enough to keep up with ongoing series, and after too many frustrating times of missing issues in the middle of storylines, I stopped, more or less cold turkey. I've kept up with Ultimate Spider-Man via the trades, and read a handful of other collections (I just got the first Ultimates 2 trade, which I loved, but I find, ironically, that shelling out the cash for trade after trade just seems too expensive (even if I intellectually know that I was spending far more when buying 4-6 titles a week).
All of this preamble is just to preface my statement that I haven't followed any of the Identity Crisis stuff going on at DC. So I was surprised to see that the comic (which came out today I guess), and the new direction it heralds for DC, got an article in The New York Times. It's a good piece too, explaining to this lapsed fan what DC was doing pretty clearly. Anyway, it's always nice to see the four-color men and women in tights get a prominent mention in the mainstream press.
Until Whenever
Buried Beauties Vol. IV - Patricia Heaton
Raymond was a lucky man. As you may have guessed from previous entries, I appreciate film and television actresses who are pretty in a real-world sort of way--that is, you could imagine them walking down your street. Heaton is not bombshelly, or glam, but very pretty in a classical kind of way.
Until Whenever
Raymond was a lucky man. As you may have guessed from previous entries, I appreciate film and television actresses who are pretty in a real-world sort of way--that is, you could imagine them walking down your street. Heaton is not bombshelly, or glam, but very pretty in a classical kind of way.
Until Whenever
The U2 Canon - The Unforgettable Fire
U2 takes a left turn from the more poppy, concrete structures and sounds on War and emerge with a more amorphous, atmospheric sound that has been dubbed by some as "European" to War's "American" sound. Gone are the horns and piano and in their place are synthesized strings and background synthesized wash effects. The Unforgettable Fire shows U2 getting more self-consciously arty for the first time, an angle they would continue to develop and expand upon throughout the course of their career. Those minimalist, repetitive guitar figures from the Edge return as well, more developed and less straightforward than they were on the band's first two albums. This is the album that cracked the door to the two classics that would come afterwards--1997's The Joshua Tree and 1992's Achtung Baby--considered by many to be the two really and truly great--as in "Sgt. Pepper or Highway 61 or Pet Sounds" great albums of U2's career. The sounds the band plays around with here would really become the core of those two albums, albeit in very different ways.
1. "A Sort of Homecoming"--A great, pounding, relentless, almost tribal drumbeat from Larry anchors this kick-off track, with the Edge sailing over the song from above with ringing short stabs of guitar. This song has the earmarks of a classic but never really took off. The album's glaring flaw are some very amorphous and generic lyrics from Bono, but the lyrics here are particularly strong in the way they evoke an end-of-the-world apocolyptic vision: "The wind will crack in wintertime/This bomb-blast lightning waltz/No spoken words/Just a scream." Bono continues to develop as a vocalist as well, letting loose with some unabashedly emotive high bellowed notes near the end of the song.
2. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"--One of two lasting classics spawned off of this album. The riff in this song is probably the defining riff of the Edge's career, and rightly so. It's a great figure, in the way it builds tension and yet resolves so cleanly. Bono's high notes on the chorus are still thrilling in their lack of any distancing or ironic effect--he's just singing with great open emotion. The Martin Luther King-inspired lyrics do just enough without getting overly mushy or biographical to get the point of the song across, even with the infamous "mistake." (MLK wasn't killed in the morning).
3. "Wire"--A hard-driving bit of rock after the more mellow rock of the first two numbers. One of Adam's best-ever bass lines gives this song a great propulsiveness, and the stuttering, schizophrenic guitar adds real tension. The way the song plays with the mindset of a killer, the way it tries to get into that dark space, would be a recurring thematic motif for the band, with a "dark" song or two appearing on most of their subsequent albums. And I have to once again mention how strong Bono's vocals are getting here, deep and powerful tones with a great degree of control.
4. "The Unforgettable Fire"--A rare excursion into a heavy orchestral-synth dominated sound for the band actually works very well, with a wonderfully moody vibe coming out of the music. The bridge features one of the most purely gorgeous, rangy and operatic melodies the band ever came up with "And if the mountains should crumble/Or disappear into the sea/Not a tear, no not I." And the ending, pure synth orchestra bringing the music to a natural close, is just beautiful.
5. "Promenade"--Not a great song. An attempt at hazy mood-setting with barely developed musical lines and a wash of sound obscuring the whole thing. A bit of a letdown after the great opening songs.
6. "4th of July"--A real U2 rarity, an instrumental track. Another failed experiment, ambient, slow-moving stuff with an excessively simple bass line giving the thing only the semblance of a pulse. This and the previous track really slow down the album here.
7. "Bad"--The other timeless classic off of the album. "Bad" to me always fares better live than in this studio version, but even here, the hypnotic power of the song comes through. The Edge really shines here, not with anything at all showy, but with the way that he understands that the simpleness of the guitar figure, over the course of the song, can really add up to something beautiful. This is a much longer song than your typical U2 song (over six minutes) and they handle the epic feel and flow of the piece surprisingly well, using the length very effectively to really build up to something special. A top ten U2 track.
8. "Indian Summer Sky"--After a slew of slower songs the pace is picked up again with this solid track, which nicely combines some of the synthy moodiness that permeates the whole album with a more aggressive beat. Larry and Adam really make this one work.
9. "Elvis Presley and America"--Famously improvised by Bono over a backing track the band had lying around the studio, this track is, truth be told, a bit of a mess. The music is formless and undistinguished, the vocal is lazy and slurred, and the two combine to form the less than the sum of their parts. And the lyric is pretty much just nonsense that doesn't add up to anything.
10. "MLK"--A great capper to an uneven album, with Bono reverently singing an impassioned prayer to Martin Luther King over sustained organ chords. One of those songs that shouldn't work, that should just be irredeemably cheesy, but that's in actuality very effective and haunting.
Until Whenever
U2 takes a left turn from the more poppy, concrete structures and sounds on War and emerge with a more amorphous, atmospheric sound that has been dubbed by some as "European" to War's "American" sound. Gone are the horns and piano and in their place are synthesized strings and background synthesized wash effects. The Unforgettable Fire shows U2 getting more self-consciously arty for the first time, an angle they would continue to develop and expand upon throughout the course of their career. Those minimalist, repetitive guitar figures from the Edge return as well, more developed and less straightforward than they were on the band's first two albums. This is the album that cracked the door to the two classics that would come afterwards--1997's The Joshua Tree and 1992's Achtung Baby--considered by many to be the two really and truly great--as in "Sgt. Pepper or Highway 61 or Pet Sounds" great albums of U2's career. The sounds the band plays around with here would really become the core of those two albums, albeit in very different ways.
1. "A Sort of Homecoming"--A great, pounding, relentless, almost tribal drumbeat from Larry anchors this kick-off track, with the Edge sailing over the song from above with ringing short stabs of guitar. This song has the earmarks of a classic but never really took off. The album's glaring flaw are some very amorphous and generic lyrics from Bono, but the lyrics here are particularly strong in the way they evoke an end-of-the-world apocolyptic vision: "The wind will crack in wintertime/This bomb-blast lightning waltz/No spoken words/Just a scream." Bono continues to develop as a vocalist as well, letting loose with some unabashedly emotive high bellowed notes near the end of the song.
2. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"--One of two lasting classics spawned off of this album. The riff in this song is probably the defining riff of the Edge's career, and rightly so. It's a great figure, in the way it builds tension and yet resolves so cleanly. Bono's high notes on the chorus are still thrilling in their lack of any distancing or ironic effect--he's just singing with great open emotion. The Martin Luther King-inspired lyrics do just enough without getting overly mushy or biographical to get the point of the song across, even with the infamous "mistake." (MLK wasn't killed in the morning).
3. "Wire"--A hard-driving bit of rock after the more mellow rock of the first two numbers. One of Adam's best-ever bass lines gives this song a great propulsiveness, and the stuttering, schizophrenic guitar adds real tension. The way the song plays with the mindset of a killer, the way it tries to get into that dark space, would be a recurring thematic motif for the band, with a "dark" song or two appearing on most of their subsequent albums. And I have to once again mention how strong Bono's vocals are getting here, deep and powerful tones with a great degree of control.
4. "The Unforgettable Fire"--A rare excursion into a heavy orchestral-synth dominated sound for the band actually works very well, with a wonderfully moody vibe coming out of the music. The bridge features one of the most purely gorgeous, rangy and operatic melodies the band ever came up with "And if the mountains should crumble/Or disappear into the sea/Not a tear, no not I." And the ending, pure synth orchestra bringing the music to a natural close, is just beautiful.
5. "Promenade"--Not a great song. An attempt at hazy mood-setting with barely developed musical lines and a wash of sound obscuring the whole thing. A bit of a letdown after the great opening songs.
6. "4th of July"--A real U2 rarity, an instrumental track. Another failed experiment, ambient, slow-moving stuff with an excessively simple bass line giving the thing only the semblance of a pulse. This and the previous track really slow down the album here.
7. "Bad"--The other timeless classic off of the album. "Bad" to me always fares better live than in this studio version, but even here, the hypnotic power of the song comes through. The Edge really shines here, not with anything at all showy, but with the way that he understands that the simpleness of the guitar figure, over the course of the song, can really add up to something beautiful. This is a much longer song than your typical U2 song (over six minutes) and they handle the epic feel and flow of the piece surprisingly well, using the length very effectively to really build up to something special. A top ten U2 track.
8. "Indian Summer Sky"--After a slew of slower songs the pace is picked up again with this solid track, which nicely combines some of the synthy moodiness that permeates the whole album with a more aggressive beat. Larry and Adam really make this one work.
9. "Elvis Presley and America"--Famously improvised by Bono over a backing track the band had lying around the studio, this track is, truth be told, a bit of a mess. The music is formless and undistinguished, the vocal is lazy and slurred, and the two combine to form the less than the sum of their parts. And the lyric is pretty much just nonsense that doesn't add up to anything.
10. "MLK"--A great capper to an uneven album, with Bono reverently singing an impassioned prayer to Martin Luther King over sustained organ chords. One of those songs that shouldn't work, that should just be irredeemably cheesy, but that's in actuality very effective and haunting.
Until Whenever
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
And Then No More Again
I see at TV on DVD that Once and Again: The Complete Third Season will be out on January 10. Huzzah!! Now, if Blockbuster would only get the damn Season Two discs in already--they've been in my queue for a month, were released on August 23rd, and yet are still listed as "Coming Soon." Hmph. For an excessively comprehensive look at the first season, see my post here.
Until Whenever
I see at TV on DVD that Once and Again: The Complete Third Season will be out on January 10. Huzzah!! Now, if Blockbuster would only get the damn Season Two discs in already--they've been in my queue for a month, were released on August 23rd, and yet are still listed as "Coming Soon." Hmph. For an excessively comprehensive look at the first season, see my post here.
Until Whenever
An Oldy But a Sort-of-Goody
This meme made the rounds a year or so back, before I was blogging. I was reminded of it recently and thought I'd add mine to the mix.
100 Things About Me.
1. I am five feet eleven inches tall, very close, I believe, to the national average.
2. I am overweight, probably by a good 30 pounds. In 2005 so far, I've lost about 25 pounds--with all but five of that coming basically in January and February. Getting down to 200 (and then to 190, my real target) is proving tres difficult.
3. I threw discus in high school and was mildly good at it.
4. My best-ever cross country time was 18:58 (that's for 5 km, or 3.1 miles). Today it would probably be well over a half-hour.
5. I have acted in dozens of high school, community, and college theater productions, but none in the last eight or nine years. I miss it deeply.
6. The performance I'm most proud of was in A.R. Gurney's The Problem, a short, two-character, one-act play. I subbed in for an actor who quit two days before the one-night-only performance and had to learn the whole thing in basically a day. It was the one and only time I truly felt what it was like to command an audience, to have them completely hanging on your every word abed gesture, completely in thrall with the performance. It was, I'd imagine, the kind of high that makes a user a junkie.
7. My total alcohol consumption in my entire life consists of a few sips of beer as a kid; two or three sips of wine as a kid; and one small shot of cherry brandy as a young man.
8. I do not sip the champagne during toasts at weddings--I just pretend.
9. I once sang as part of the Rutgers University Glee Club in a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony--I am an atheist, but the feeling I got there was, I imagine, similar to the religious ecstasy the faithful feel when really communing with God. It was awe-inspiring.
10. I have read Stephen King's It six or seven times, and will certainly read it again at some point.
11. When Sully says goodbye to Boo at the end of Monsters, Inc. I cry, every time.
12. I have written a novella that I would like to expand into a full-fledged novel, but am afraid I will end up being too lazy to do so.
13. I have blue eyes and a dimple adorning what is otherwise a pretty plain face.
14. I used to be a die-hard Yankee fan, but George Steinbrenner's arrogance got to be too much for me and I now root against them, and will until he dies or sells the team.
15. If I could magically play any sport well, it'd be basketball--it's the sport I have the most fun playing, but I'm not very good.
16. I once took a hammer and banged it against the side of an above-ground pool to see what would happen. It broke the lining and all the water came rushing out.
17. I love my iPod because it looks cooler than my old Nomad Jukebox, and am ashamed to realize that I do.
18. I love New Jersey.
19. Pumpkin ice cream is like manna from heaven.
20. I can't abide raw tomatoes.
21. I get angry when burritos are either small or expensive, both of which form the antithesis if what a burrito should be.
22. I was born in Jersey City, NJ.
23. I work in Manhattan.
24. I met my wife when we were both 14 years old.
25. We are now 31.
26. I have five sisters and a brother, the result of my parents divorcing and remarrying others and having more kids with them. I also had a stepsister, but my father divorced again and she became no longer that.
27. I consider my stepfather as my father as much as my father--perhaps more.
28. I can not figure out why the film The Fisher King is not more beloved.
29. I did a play in college in which I played a homeless pornography dealer who lived in the sewers with his son. For the lay I did not shave for two months. I liked the way the beard looked. No one else did.
30. The one role I desperately want to play one day is Sweeney Todd.
31. I wish I could play the guitar.
32. The first season of Chicago Hope is probably my favorite season of ant TV show ever.
33. I have seen Mandy Patinkin live in concert twice; both time excellent.
34. I have devoted far too much time over the last six years or so trying to track down a version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Waters of March" that approximates the version Mandy Patinkin did in concert.
35. I will not see U2 live on their current tour--the first tour I'll miss since I started following them.
36. I am becoming a bigger Bob Dylan fan as the years go by exponentially.
37. In college I played every year in the annual Glee Club vs. marching band game (we lost every time).
38. While in the Glee Club I sang Russian liturgical music with the group in a centuries-old church in Poland and felt a presence.
39. I have been in too many car accidents, none serious (thankfully).
40. New Hampshire is my favorite state.
41. Swimming in Echo Lake at the foot of Mount Cannon was one of the most peaceful and serene moments of my life.
42. I entered college as a Chemical Engineering and Theater Arts double major and graduated with a major in Theater Arts and a minor in Chemistry.
43. I am socially awkward.
44. I am especially socially awkward around the wimmin', or was when I was single.
45. A pretty fellow freshman I fancied once bit me on the back during a spirited game of musical chairs during rehearsals for a play.
46. I have a torn ACL in my right knee I got playing basketball in college.
47. Whenever I tell people this I feel compelled to note that it was just a pick-up game in the gym; that I didn't play on the college's team.
48. I played for two years on an intramural "not-too-tall" league in college--all players under six feet tall.
49. We never played a game.
50. I've directed two plays: A brilliant production of Man of La Mancha that I am inordinately proud of and a wretched production of Pippin that I am deeply ashamed of.
51. I find being stuck without reading material in places where there is noting else to do--on long lines, in waiting rooms, while eating in a cafeteria alone--actually painful.
52. I believe Edward P. Jones' The Known World is maybe the greatest novel I've ever read.
53. Whenever I refer to Captain America I call him The Good Captain.
54. I have evangelicized about the brilliance of Preacher to several people, and gottehm a few hooked.
55. I once wrote airline menus for a living.
56. It did not pay well.
57. I currently write business proposals for a living.
58. It does.
59. June is my favorite month.
60. January is my least-favorite.
61. I would like to go to Ireland one day.
62. I found Raging Bull boring.
63. I found The Great Gatsby good but not brilliant.
64. I found The Grapes of Wrath brilliant.
65. I am normally very mellow but get very violent when angry--not too other people, but to myself.
66. This is perhaps not a good thing.
67. I am not as good a singer as I'd like to believe.
68. I am a better actor than singer, but again not as good as I might imagine.
69. I have had only four real girlfriends, and been gone on dates with a grand total of eight women.
70. I have never lived outside of New Jersey.
71. I have only visited ten states (not counting pass-throughs).
72. I have only been as far West as New Orleans.
73. I saw what had to be a ninety-plus-year-old man, as part of a jazz band that featured as its youngest player a man maybe in his sixties, do some scat singing at Preservation Hall in New Orleans; he kicked ass.
74. I have visited six countries outide the US: Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Norway, and Jamaica.
75. I grind my own coffee and look down on those who don't.
76. I think those who roast their own beans are snobs.
77. Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream is my purest food pleasure.
78. My favorite rock album is U2's The Joshua Tree.
79. My favorite jazz album is Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (how daring of me).
80. My favorite musical theater album is the original Broadway cast version of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
81. My favorite film score is James Horner's Braveheart.
82. My favorite Star Wars score may well be the Revenge of the Sith score.
83. I wish I could convince myself that I could afford the life-size replica of Captain America's shield Factory X sells.
84. I wish I could afford a big flatscreen TV.
85. I hate my Sony VAIO desktop and may switch to a Mac when it dies completely.
86. I once wrote a string quartet that got lost when my father's computer died.
87. I have written a full-length play and have sent it to several theaters. One expressed mild interest but passed.
88. I have published a poem and a short story on the web.
89. I have been published by The Sondheim Review.
90. I love the ocean.
91. I am convinced that my twin daughters are the smartest babies ever.
92. I know they're not really.
93. But they are.
94. I can't wait to read the books I loved as a child to them.
95. I am afraid they won't like them.
96. I used to judge high school plays for Paper Mill Playhouse's Rising Stars program (think the Tonys for the state of New Jersey's high school theater departments).
97. I am clumsy and have poor coordination but can juggle three balls.
98. I do not think I will ever tire of seeing The Shawshank Redemption.
99. I have distressingly low willpower when it comes to food.
100. I do not like my job.
Until Whenever
This meme made the rounds a year or so back, before I was blogging. I was reminded of it recently and thought I'd add mine to the mix.
100 Things About Me.
1. I am five feet eleven inches tall, very close, I believe, to the national average.
2. I am overweight, probably by a good 30 pounds. In 2005 so far, I've lost about 25 pounds--with all but five of that coming basically in January and February. Getting down to 200 (and then to 190, my real target) is proving tres difficult.
3. I threw discus in high school and was mildly good at it.
4. My best-ever cross country time was 18:58 (that's for 5 km, or 3.1 miles). Today it would probably be well over a half-hour.
5. I have acted in dozens of high school, community, and college theater productions, but none in the last eight or nine years. I miss it deeply.
6. The performance I'm most proud of was in A.R. Gurney's The Problem, a short, two-character, one-act play. I subbed in for an actor who quit two days before the one-night-only performance and had to learn the whole thing in basically a day. It was the one and only time I truly felt what it was like to command an audience, to have them completely hanging on your every word abed gesture, completely in thrall with the performance. It was, I'd imagine, the kind of high that makes a user a junkie.
7. My total alcohol consumption in my entire life consists of a few sips of beer as a kid; two or three sips of wine as a kid; and one small shot of cherry brandy as a young man.
8. I do not sip the champagne during toasts at weddings--I just pretend.
9. I once sang as part of the Rutgers University Glee Club in a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony--I am an atheist, but the feeling I got there was, I imagine, similar to the religious ecstasy the faithful feel when really communing with God. It was awe-inspiring.
10. I have read Stephen King's It six or seven times, and will certainly read it again at some point.
11. When Sully says goodbye to Boo at the end of Monsters, Inc. I cry, every time.
12. I have written a novella that I would like to expand into a full-fledged novel, but am afraid I will end up being too lazy to do so.
13. I have blue eyes and a dimple adorning what is otherwise a pretty plain face.
14. I used to be a die-hard Yankee fan, but George Steinbrenner's arrogance got to be too much for me and I now root against them, and will until he dies or sells the team.
15. If I could magically play any sport well, it'd be basketball--it's the sport I have the most fun playing, but I'm not very good.
16. I once took a hammer and banged it against the side of an above-ground pool to see what would happen. It broke the lining and all the water came rushing out.
17. I love my iPod because it looks cooler than my old Nomad Jukebox, and am ashamed to realize that I do.
18. I love New Jersey.
19. Pumpkin ice cream is like manna from heaven.
20. I can't abide raw tomatoes.
21. I get angry when burritos are either small or expensive, both of which form the antithesis if what a burrito should be.
22. I was born in Jersey City, NJ.
23. I work in Manhattan.
24. I met my wife when we were both 14 years old.
25. We are now 31.
26. I have five sisters and a brother, the result of my parents divorcing and remarrying others and having more kids with them. I also had a stepsister, but my father divorced again and she became no longer that.
27. I consider my stepfather as my father as much as my father--perhaps more.
28. I can not figure out why the film The Fisher King is not more beloved.
29. I did a play in college in which I played a homeless pornography dealer who lived in the sewers with his son. For the lay I did not shave for two months. I liked the way the beard looked. No one else did.
30. The one role I desperately want to play one day is Sweeney Todd.
31. I wish I could play the guitar.
32. The first season of Chicago Hope is probably my favorite season of ant TV show ever.
33. I have seen Mandy Patinkin live in concert twice; both time excellent.
34. I have devoted far too much time over the last six years or so trying to track down a version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Waters of March" that approximates the version Mandy Patinkin did in concert.
35. I will not see U2 live on their current tour--the first tour I'll miss since I started following them.
36. I am becoming a bigger Bob Dylan fan as the years go by exponentially.
37. In college I played every year in the annual Glee Club vs. marching band game (we lost every time).
38. While in the Glee Club I sang Russian liturgical music with the group in a centuries-old church in Poland and felt a presence.
39. I have been in too many car accidents, none serious (thankfully).
40. New Hampshire is my favorite state.
41. Swimming in Echo Lake at the foot of Mount Cannon was one of the most peaceful and serene moments of my life.
42. I entered college as a Chemical Engineering and Theater Arts double major and graduated with a major in Theater Arts and a minor in Chemistry.
43. I am socially awkward.
44. I am especially socially awkward around the wimmin', or was when I was single.
45. A pretty fellow freshman I fancied once bit me on the back during a spirited game of musical chairs during rehearsals for a play.
46. I have a torn ACL in my right knee I got playing basketball in college.
47. Whenever I tell people this I feel compelled to note that it was just a pick-up game in the gym; that I didn't play on the college's team.
48. I played for two years on an intramural "not-too-tall" league in college--all players under six feet tall.
49. We never played a game.
50. I've directed two plays: A brilliant production of Man of La Mancha that I am inordinately proud of and a wretched production of Pippin that I am deeply ashamed of.
51. I find being stuck without reading material in places where there is noting else to do--on long lines, in waiting rooms, while eating in a cafeteria alone--actually painful.
52. I believe Edward P. Jones' The Known World is maybe the greatest novel I've ever read.
53. Whenever I refer to Captain America I call him The Good Captain.
54. I have evangelicized about the brilliance of Preacher to several people, and gottehm a few hooked.
55. I once wrote airline menus for a living.
56. It did not pay well.
57. I currently write business proposals for a living.
58. It does.
59. June is my favorite month.
60. January is my least-favorite.
61. I would like to go to Ireland one day.
62. I found Raging Bull boring.
63. I found The Great Gatsby good but not brilliant.
64. I found The Grapes of Wrath brilliant.
65. I am normally very mellow but get very violent when angry--not too other people, but to myself.
66. This is perhaps not a good thing.
67. I am not as good a singer as I'd like to believe.
68. I am a better actor than singer, but again not as good as I might imagine.
69. I have had only four real girlfriends, and been gone on dates with a grand total of eight women.
70. I have never lived outside of New Jersey.
71. I have only visited ten states (not counting pass-throughs).
72. I have only been as far West as New Orleans.
73. I saw what had to be a ninety-plus-year-old man, as part of a jazz band that featured as its youngest player a man maybe in his sixties, do some scat singing at Preservation Hall in New Orleans; he kicked ass.
74. I have visited six countries outide the US: Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Norway, and Jamaica.
75. I grind my own coffee and look down on those who don't.
76. I think those who roast their own beans are snobs.
77. Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream is my purest food pleasure.
78. My favorite rock album is U2's The Joshua Tree.
79. My favorite jazz album is Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (how daring of me).
80. My favorite musical theater album is the original Broadway cast version of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
81. My favorite film score is James Horner's Braveheart.
82. My favorite Star Wars score may well be the Revenge of the Sith score.
83. I wish I could convince myself that I could afford the life-size replica of Captain America's shield Factory X sells.
84. I wish I could afford a big flatscreen TV.
85. I hate my Sony VAIO desktop and may switch to a Mac when it dies completely.
86. I once wrote a string quartet that got lost when my father's computer died.
87. I have written a full-length play and have sent it to several theaters. One expressed mild interest but passed.
88. I have published a poem and a short story on the web.
89. I have been published by The Sondheim Review.
90. I love the ocean.
91. I am convinced that my twin daughters are the smartest babies ever.
92. I know they're not really.
93. But they are.
94. I can't wait to read the books I loved as a child to them.
95. I am afraid they won't like them.
96. I used to judge high school plays for Paper Mill Playhouse's Rising Stars program (think the Tonys for the state of New Jersey's high school theater departments).
97. I am clumsy and have poor coordination but can juggle three balls.
98. I do not think I will ever tire of seeing The Shawshank Redemption.
99. I have distressingly low willpower when it comes to food.
100. I do not like my job.
Until Whenever
Monday, October 10, 2005
Music Morsels Volume III - Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar was one of the first cast albums that I really got into (ironic that it wasn't really a cast album, no?). I saw a production of the play at Jersey City State University on a high school field trip and loved it. I soon learned that my father had the original concept album on vinyl, and so I made a copy of the album on tape so that I could listen to it on my Walkman. I must have listened to that tape hundreds of times--to the point that there's still, to this day, a place in the score where I expect to hear the record skip (my taping had caught an inadvertent skip).
It may be no more than nostalgia doing the driving here, but no version I've since heard has come close to this original rendition of the score. Ian Gillian, of Deep Purple fame, was an inspired choice as Jesus, and he married better than any singer I've heard the rock vocalist/Broadway vocalist hybrid the score demands. Far too many singers mix into their pot too much from the Broadway side of the pantry, neglecting the real rock sound the role demands. This is my favorite Lloyd Weber score, just edging out Evita. The mix of styles always feels organic and unforced, and the way the music is able to move from real rock ("Heaven on Their Minds") to 70s-style balladeering ("I Don't Know How to Love Him") to music hall ditties ("King Herod's Song") to soaring Broadway anthems ("Gethsemane") to classical ("John Nineteen Forty-One) is inspiring. "Gethsemane," in particular, stands out as simply one of my favorite musical theater songs, especially in Gillian's passionate, throat-shredding rendition.
Grade: A
Until Whenever
Jesus Christ Superstar was one of the first cast albums that I really got into (ironic that it wasn't really a cast album, no?). I saw a production of the play at Jersey City State University on a high school field trip and loved it. I soon learned that my father had the original concept album on vinyl, and so I made a copy of the album on tape so that I could listen to it on my Walkman. I must have listened to that tape hundreds of times--to the point that there's still, to this day, a place in the score where I expect to hear the record skip (my taping had caught an inadvertent skip).
It may be no more than nostalgia doing the driving here, but no version I've since heard has come close to this original rendition of the score. Ian Gillian, of Deep Purple fame, was an inspired choice as Jesus, and he married better than any singer I've heard the rock vocalist/Broadway vocalist hybrid the score demands. Far too many singers mix into their pot too much from the Broadway side of the pantry, neglecting the real rock sound the role demands. This is my favorite Lloyd Weber score, just edging out Evita. The mix of styles always feels organic and unforced, and the way the music is able to move from real rock ("Heaven on Their Minds") to 70s-style balladeering ("I Don't Know How to Love Him") to music hall ditties ("King Herod's Song") to soaring Broadway anthems ("Gethsemane") to classical ("John Nineteen Forty-One) is inspiring. "Gethsemane," in particular, stands out as simply one of my favorite musical theater songs, especially in Gillian's passionate, throat-shredding rendition.
Grade: A
Until Whenever
"I Just Want to Play"
James Tata links to a story in the LA Times about Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a homeless, mentally ill musician afforded the chance to see the Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearse. It's well, well worth the read.
Until Whenever
James Tata links to a story in the LA Times about Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a homeless, mentally ill musician afforded the chance to see the Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearse. It's well, well worth the read.
Until Whenever
Friday, October 07, 2005
Doin' the Friday Shuffle
00 START
1. "Mankind" - Tan Dun - Symphony 1997 (Heaver Earth Mankind)
Classical piece from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer.
2. "The Dream" - Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick - Fiddler on the Roof (Original Broadway Cast)
Zero Mostel in all his glory. Wonderful little scene from the play, with Tevye making up a prophetic dream to get his wife to agree to allow their daughter to marry the man she's chosen.
3. "The Invisibility Cloak and the Library Scene" - John Williams - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Moody scene-setting.
4. "Eye to Eye" - John Williams - Jurassic Park
With the Bronto in the tree. Delicate dinosaur music.
5. "Glass Concerto for Violin and Orchestra III" - Philip Glass - Glass Violin Concerto
Energetic minimalism from the master.
6. "Do You Fell Loved" - U2 - Pop
Such an underrated album. Dig the syncopated guitar figure in the intro and the way it meshed with the killer bass line.
7. "Part II - 15 Sehr Langsam" - Gustav Mahler - Symphony #8
A pastoral interlude.
8. "Buzzard Song" - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Porgy & Bess
Ella and Louis do Gershwin's opera. This number translates less successfully than some of the other stuff.
9. "Long Road" - Eddie Vedder - America: A Tribute to Heroes
Solemn rock from the 9/11 telethon.
10. "Where or When" - Mandy Patinkin - Experiment
Mandy works his way around the standard with a beautifully understated delicacy.
Until Whenever
00 START
1. "Mankind" - Tan Dun - Symphony 1997 (Heaver Earth Mankind)
Classical piece from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer.
2. "The Dream" - Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick - Fiddler on the Roof (Original Broadway Cast)
Zero Mostel in all his glory. Wonderful little scene from the play, with Tevye making up a prophetic dream to get his wife to agree to allow their daughter to marry the man she's chosen.
3. "The Invisibility Cloak and the Library Scene" - John Williams - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Moody scene-setting.
4. "Eye to Eye" - John Williams - Jurassic Park
With the Bronto in the tree. Delicate dinosaur music.
5. "Glass Concerto for Violin and Orchestra III" - Philip Glass - Glass Violin Concerto
Energetic minimalism from the master.
6. "Do You Fell Loved" - U2 - Pop
Such an underrated album. Dig the syncopated guitar figure in the intro and the way it meshed with the killer bass line.
7. "Part II - 15 Sehr Langsam" - Gustav Mahler - Symphony #8
A pastoral interlude.
8. "Buzzard Song" - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Porgy & Bess
Ella and Louis do Gershwin's opera. This number translates less successfully than some of the other stuff.
9. "Long Road" - Eddie Vedder - America: A Tribute to Heroes
Solemn rock from the 9/11 telethon.
10. "Where or When" - Mandy Patinkin - Experiment
Mandy works his way around the standard with a beautifully understated delicacy.
Until Whenever
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Lefty Larceny
Stole this from Lefty--answer the following questions using only song titled from one band:
Artist/Band: U2
Are you male or female: Drowning Man
Describe yourself: Numb
How do some people feel about you: Running to Stand Still
How do you feel about yourself: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Describe what you want to be: One Step Closer
Describe how you live: All Because of You
Describe how you love: Some Days Are Better than Others
Share a few words of wisdom: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Until Whenever
Stole this from Lefty--answer the following questions using only song titled from one band:
Artist/Band: U2
Are you male or female: Drowning Man
Describe yourself: Numb
How do some people feel about you: Running to Stand Still
How do you feel about yourself: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Describe what you want to be: One Step Closer
Describe how you live: All Because of You
Describe how you love: Some Days Are Better than Others
Share a few words of wisdom: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Until Whenever
Or "Welcome Home, Johnny"
I know this has already been linked to all over the place, but it's one of the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while, so I feel I must link to it as well. As you probably already know, it's a mock trailer built from footage of The Shining designed to make the film look like a heartwarming family dramedy. What makes it so funny, for me, is how accurate it is. Apart from the somewhat jarring juxtaposition of 70s film stock and style and modern trailer tropes the marriage is just perfect--this could easily be a real trailer. Brilliant.
Until Whenever
I know this has already been linked to all over the place, but it's one of the funniest thing I've seen in quite a while, so I feel I must link to it as well. As you probably already know, it's a mock trailer built from footage of The Shining designed to make the film look like a heartwarming family dramedy. What makes it so funny, for me, is how accurate it is. Apart from the somewhat jarring juxtaposition of 70s film stock and style and modern trailer tropes the marriage is just perfect--this could easily be a real trailer. Brilliant.
Until Whenever
Leading a TiVO-Less Life
Well, we're a good three weeks or so into the new season and my television habits are pretty much set for now. Seemingly alone amongst my fellow pop culture bloggers, I am TiVO-less, and very lazy/inconsistent with the VCR, so, more or less, I either watch a show when it's aired or not at all. I feel so antiquated. Looking at the schedule, and having sampled the new shows I care to, this is what I expect to watch on a more or less regular basis week in and out:
Monday:
8-10: King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Out of Practice
Queens is good solid old-fashioned sitcom goodness; Mother, in three episodes has shown promise; Men continues to grow on me, especially as the get less mushy and more cynical; and Practice doesn't suck. Nothing at ten entices me.
Tuesday:
8-9: Gilmore Girls
9-10: House
10-11: Law & Order: SVU
Gilmore Girls is one of ny favorite shows, so well-written and acted. House is a little formulaic, but has potential, and Laurie is great. And SVU is the least-formulaic of the L&Os--this past Tuesday's episode was actually entirely gripping.
Wednesday:
9-10: Lost
Ironic that I'd love to follow Veronica Mars and Criminal Minds (which features my beloved Mandy Patinkin--such a remarkable actor) and yet both are on opposite my easily favorite show, Lost, while nothing else on that night appeals to me at all. Stupid scheduling. Stupid lack of TiVO.
Thursday:
8-8:30: Joey or Everybody Hates Chris
8:30-9: Will & Grace
9-11: Apprentice, ER
Loved the Chris premiere but missed the second ep. Still like Joey enough, and am curious enough to see if they can save the show, to be on the fence here. I'm one of the few who will admit to thinking Will & Grace is still laugh-out-loud funny. I hate that I watch The Apprentice, but I do, and my ER-love is documented elsewhere.
Friday:
Not a thing.
Saturday:
Ditto.
Sunday:
8-8:30: The Simpsons
I try to catch The Simpsons but Sunday nights seem to be tough for some reason. If I can I'll watch Family Guy too, but, again, I don't seem to generally be able to sit in front of the TV on Sundays.
Not too overloaded, at that.
Until Whenever
Well, we're a good three weeks or so into the new season and my television habits are pretty much set for now. Seemingly alone amongst my fellow pop culture bloggers, I am TiVO-less, and very lazy/inconsistent with the VCR, so, more or less, I either watch a show when it's aired or not at all. I feel so antiquated. Looking at the schedule, and having sampled the new shows I care to, this is what I expect to watch on a more or less regular basis week in and out:
Monday:
8-10: King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Out of Practice
Queens is good solid old-fashioned sitcom goodness; Mother, in three episodes has shown promise; Men continues to grow on me, especially as the get less mushy and more cynical; and Practice doesn't suck. Nothing at ten entices me.
Tuesday:
8-9: Gilmore Girls
9-10: House
10-11: Law & Order: SVU
Gilmore Girls is one of ny favorite shows, so well-written and acted. House is a little formulaic, but has potential, and Laurie is great. And SVU is the least-formulaic of the L&Os--this past Tuesday's episode was actually entirely gripping.
Wednesday:
9-10: Lost
Ironic that I'd love to follow Veronica Mars and Criminal Minds (which features my beloved Mandy Patinkin--such a remarkable actor) and yet both are on opposite my easily favorite show, Lost, while nothing else on that night appeals to me at all. Stupid scheduling. Stupid lack of TiVO.
Thursday:
8-8:30: Joey or Everybody Hates Chris
8:30-9: Will & Grace
9-11: Apprentice, ER
Loved the Chris premiere but missed the second ep. Still like Joey enough, and am curious enough to see if they can save the show, to be on the fence here. I'm one of the few who will admit to thinking Will & Grace is still laugh-out-loud funny. I hate that I watch The Apprentice, but I do, and my ER-love is documented elsewhere.
Friday:
Not a thing.
Saturday:
Ditto.
Sunday:
8-8:30: The Simpsons
I try to catch The Simpsons but Sunday nights seem to be tough for some reason. If I can I'll watch Family Guy too, but, again, I don't seem to generally be able to sit in front of the TV on Sundays.
Not too overloaded, at that.
Until Whenever
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Tosy and Cosh's Mostly Uninformed, Very-Unlikely-to-be-Right, Preseason NBA Predictions
I follow the NBA, and the Nets in particular, but am not a hard-core, fantasy-type guy who can spout statistics until the cows come home. I have a very basic idea of who made what moves over the off-season and how teams did last year. That windy caveat aside, here are my sure-to-look-silly-in-three-months predictions for each conference:
The East
1. Indiana Pacers--Artest is back, and they tend to be more consistent during the regular season than the Pistons.
2. Miami Heat--I don't think Miami will take the conference either. The off-season pick-ups, including Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and Gary Payton, seem to willy-nilly to work together, too many people who just want the damn ball already.
3. Detroit Pistons--Their inconsistency during the season will keep them from finishing higher, but they'll go far in the playoffs.
4. New Jersey Nets--A healthy Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson all playing together? If center Nenad Kristic develops as nicely as I suspect he will from his surprising rookie season last year, that much-vaunted weakness on the line may be less than feared.
5. Chicago Bulls--A solid team with chemistry already developed.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers--The additions of Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall should help, but remember--this team didn't make the playoffs at all last season.
7. Boston Celtics--They'll pull off the wins somehow; they do still have Pierce.
8. Milwaukee Bucks--Solid additions should get them to the playoffs.
9. Philadelphia 76'ers--Could Iverson miss the playoffs?
10. New York Knicks--Still too much of a mish-mash, and Brown and Marbury together is bad news.
11. Toronto Raptors--Still underwhelming.
12. Orlando Magic--Francis and Grant will keep them competitive at least.
13. Washington Wizards--Still a mess, as far as I can see.
14. Atlanta Hawks--Just sad.
15. Charlotte Bobcats--Building takes time.
The West
1. San Antonio Spurs--Come on. No real losses, and adding Michael Finley and Nick Van Excel?
2. Houston Rockets--Yao and McGrady get even more in sync.
3. Denver Nuggets--All season with Karl, who they played like champs under for just part of a season last year.
4. Phoenix Suns--Why do I feel last year was something of a fluke?
5. Sacramento Kings--Perennials.
6. Utah Jazz--Mavericks will stumble, letting others shift up.
7. Seattle Supersonics--Another last-season anomaly.
8. Dallas Mavericks--They still have Nowitski, thank the Gods.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves--They're no longer contenders, and will probably miss the playoffs again.
10. Golden State Warriors--A healthy Baron Davis makes a difference.
11. Los Angeles Lakers--Insert Nelson Muntz riff here.
12. Memphis Grizzlies--Memphis has a team? (I kid).
13. Los Angeles Clippers--It would be beautiful to see the Clippers overtake the Lakers. Not this year though.
14. Portland Trailblazers--Rebuilding.
15. New Orleans Hornets--Not a good year for them.
East Final: Nets-Pacers
West Final: Spurs-Rockets
NBA Finals: Nets-Spurs
NBA Champs: Nets
(No, I really don't think the Nets will take it all, but if they do I want to be able to link back here in June and crow about my prescience).
Be sure to check back in late-November to laugh at me!
Until Whenever
I follow the NBA, and the Nets in particular, but am not a hard-core, fantasy-type guy who can spout statistics until the cows come home. I have a very basic idea of who made what moves over the off-season and how teams did last year. That windy caveat aside, here are my sure-to-look-silly-in-three-months predictions for each conference:
The East
1. Indiana Pacers--Artest is back, and they tend to be more consistent during the regular season than the Pistons.
2. Miami Heat--I don't think Miami will take the conference either. The off-season pick-ups, including Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and Gary Payton, seem to willy-nilly to work together, too many people who just want the damn ball already.
3. Detroit Pistons--Their inconsistency during the season will keep them from finishing higher, but they'll go far in the playoffs.
4. New Jersey Nets--A healthy Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson all playing together? If center Nenad Kristic develops as nicely as I suspect he will from his surprising rookie season last year, that much-vaunted weakness on the line may be less than feared.
5. Chicago Bulls--A solid team with chemistry already developed.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers--The additions of Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall should help, but remember--this team didn't make the playoffs at all last season.
7. Boston Celtics--They'll pull off the wins somehow; they do still have Pierce.
8. Milwaukee Bucks--Solid additions should get them to the playoffs.
9. Philadelphia 76'ers--Could Iverson miss the playoffs?
10. New York Knicks--Still too much of a mish-mash, and Brown and Marbury together is bad news.
11. Toronto Raptors--Still underwhelming.
12. Orlando Magic--Francis and Grant will keep them competitive at least.
13. Washington Wizards--Still a mess, as far as I can see.
14. Atlanta Hawks--Just sad.
15. Charlotte Bobcats--Building takes time.
The West
1. San Antonio Spurs--Come on. No real losses, and adding Michael Finley and Nick Van Excel?
2. Houston Rockets--Yao and McGrady get even more in sync.
3. Denver Nuggets--All season with Karl, who they played like champs under for just part of a season last year.
4. Phoenix Suns--Why do I feel last year was something of a fluke?
5. Sacramento Kings--Perennials.
6. Utah Jazz--Mavericks will stumble, letting others shift up.
7. Seattle Supersonics--Another last-season anomaly.
8. Dallas Mavericks--They still have Nowitski, thank the Gods.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves--They're no longer contenders, and will probably miss the playoffs again.
10. Golden State Warriors--A healthy Baron Davis makes a difference.
11. Los Angeles Lakers--Insert Nelson Muntz riff here.
12. Memphis Grizzlies--Memphis has a team? (I kid).
13. Los Angeles Clippers--It would be beautiful to see the Clippers overtake the Lakers. Not this year though.
14. Portland Trailblazers--Rebuilding.
15. New Orleans Hornets--Not a good year for them.
East Final: Nets-Pacers
West Final: Spurs-Rockets
NBA Finals: Nets-Spurs
NBA Champs: Nets
(No, I really don't think the Nets will take it all, but if they do I want to be able to link back here in June and crow about my prescience).
Be sure to check back in late-November to laugh at me!
Until Whenever
The U2 Canon - Under a Blood Red Sky
This is probably the disc that first got me into U2. It's not the disc that I fell in love with, the disc that made me a lifetime fan (that one's coming soon), but it was my first real exposure to U2. A guy who worked out in my high school gym used to play it all the time, and while I didn't love it at first, it definitely nonetheless wormed its way into my consciousness. At the time I wasn't into music at all, really, except for some now-embarrassing fondness Bon Jovi and Phil Collins and Genesis. I didn't really go back to this album and start listening to it closely and often until after the epiphany that was The Joshua Tree, and since then it's become a lesser-played U2 album for me. It still stands, though, as an excellent record of live U2 around the War era, and all of these performances are great, full of energy and passion. If you listen closely, this is also the first album where we really start to hear Bono come into his own as a vocalist, his tone deepening and strengthening and that kind of too-bare naivete you can hear in the phrasing starting to wear off. There's some great singing on this disc.
1. "Gloria" - Better than the album version, with a bit of a harder beat and a grittier vocal from Bono.
2. "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" - A B-side from Boy, I believe. It's gone on to be something of a regular live staple. Bono's vocal on the closing "Call out your name"s is great.
3. "I Will Follow" - A great live song, with that machine gun guitar and spat-out bass line really revving up the crowd.
4. "Party Girl" - Another B-side, a funky little slower number with a classic Edge screwup saved for all time in the guitar solo towards the end.
5. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - Complete with the now-famous intro: "There's been a lot of talk about this next song, maybe too much talk. This song is not a rebel song, this song is "Sunday Bloody Sunday."" The fake ending at the end is something they'd repeat live for years, and it works great. The song really finds new life here, and Bono's vocal is much more passionate and heartfelt than on the album.
6. "The Electric Co."--This has the famous "Send in the Clowns" bit that Bono improvised while on a scaffold. The band got sued for using the copyrighted material, and the version on the CD I have is subtly cut to omit most of the "Clowns" bit.
7. "New Year's Day" - The Edge goes from guitar to piano and back and forth again seamlessly to play both parts live. Nowadays they'd just have some woman hidden under the stage playing the piano. Sigh.
8. "40"--Great concert closer, with a cleverly manipulative ending designed to have the crowd singing long after the band has left the stage. I didn't realize it until years later, but the Edge and Adam swap instruments whenever they do this song live, and did here.
Until Whenever
This is probably the disc that first got me into U2. It's not the disc that I fell in love with, the disc that made me a lifetime fan (that one's coming soon), but it was my first real exposure to U2. A guy who worked out in my high school gym used to play it all the time, and while I didn't love it at first, it definitely nonetheless wormed its way into my consciousness. At the time I wasn't into music at all, really, except for some now-embarrassing fondness Bon Jovi and Phil Collins and Genesis. I didn't really go back to this album and start listening to it closely and often until after the epiphany that was The Joshua Tree, and since then it's become a lesser-played U2 album for me. It still stands, though, as an excellent record of live U2 around the War era, and all of these performances are great, full of energy and passion. If you listen closely, this is also the first album where we really start to hear Bono come into his own as a vocalist, his tone deepening and strengthening and that kind of too-bare naivete you can hear in the phrasing starting to wear off. There's some great singing on this disc.
1. "Gloria" - Better than the album version, with a bit of a harder beat and a grittier vocal from Bono.
2. "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" - A B-side from Boy, I believe. It's gone on to be something of a regular live staple. Bono's vocal on the closing "Call out your name"s is great.
3. "I Will Follow" - A great live song, with that machine gun guitar and spat-out bass line really revving up the crowd.
4. "Party Girl" - Another B-side, a funky little slower number with a classic Edge screwup saved for all time in the guitar solo towards the end.
5. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - Complete with the now-famous intro: "There's been a lot of talk about this next song, maybe too much talk. This song is not a rebel song, this song is "Sunday Bloody Sunday."" The fake ending at the end is something they'd repeat live for years, and it works great. The song really finds new life here, and Bono's vocal is much more passionate and heartfelt than on the album.
6. "The Electric Co."--This has the famous "Send in the Clowns" bit that Bono improvised while on a scaffold. The band got sued for using the copyrighted material, and the version on the CD I have is subtly cut to omit most of the "Clowns" bit.
7. "New Year's Day" - The Edge goes from guitar to piano and back and forth again seamlessly to play both parts live. Nowadays they'd just have some woman hidden under the stage playing the piano. Sigh.
8. "40"--Great concert closer, with a cleverly manipulative ending designed to have the crowd singing long after the band has left the stage. I didn't realize it until years later, but the Edge and Adam swap instruments whenever they do this song live, and did here.
Until Whenever
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
"Alex Ross" "Doctor Atomic"--You're Expecting a Painted Superhero, Aren't You?
My admiration for composer John Adams was hinted at here, and I was very curious to hear the score to his new opera, Doctor Atomic, already. But after reading Alex Ross' wonderful article on the opera's genesis in The New Yorker (not, alas, available on-line--but do read Ross' blog entry about the article, here), I am positively chomping at the bit to hear it. Let's hope that Nonesuch doesn't tarry.
Until Whenever
My admiration for composer John Adams was hinted at here, and I was very curious to hear the score to his new opera, Doctor Atomic, already. But after reading Alex Ross' wonderful article on the opera's genesis in The New Yorker (not, alas, available on-line--but do read Ross' blog entry about the article, here), I am positively chomping at the bit to hear it. Let's hope that Nonesuch doesn't tarry.
Until Whenever
Less Poetic, Perhaps, but More Visceral
Quick quiz. What were the first words ever uttered on the moon by a human being? Kidding. Everyone knows that they were "That's one small step for man, one giant step for mankind." But what were the last words ever uttered on the moon? According to Thomas Mallon's not particularly favorable review of a new biography of Neil Armstrong in The New Yorker, they were said by Apollo 17's Eugene Cernan:
"Let's get this mutha outta here."
I love that.
Until Whenever
Quick quiz. What were the first words ever uttered on the moon by a human being? Kidding. Everyone knows that they were "That's one small step for man, one giant step for mankind." But what were the last words ever uttered on the moon? According to Thomas Mallon's not particularly favorable review of a new biography of Neil Armstrong in The New Yorker, they were said by Apollo 17's Eugene Cernan:
"Let's get this mutha outta here."
I love that.
Until Whenever
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