Ain't Monday no more!
Weather: All of last week's snow has melted -- our back yard's fulla deer poop.
This morning was foggy at the college, but as the sun rose, a near-rainbow arched across the Northwestern sky. It was mostly white, with just a gimmer of the prismatic colors of a conventional rainbow, but it was impressive. I wonder what you call these things? Fog-bows?
Wildlife: The eagles are still haunting Middle Foy's Lake, and the deer are haunting our bird feeders. There are dozens of pheasants eating corn and sunflower seeds.
Charity Alert: The Animal Rescue Site : Feed an Animal in Need
Media Watch: The Concert for George on PBS was pretty darn good -- Eric Clapton led an all-star band at the Royal Abert Hall featuring the songs of George Harrison. The line-up was mostly musicians who had worked with Harrison, or were his friends. The great Ravi Shankar was there, which was only right, but I was pleased to see Dhani Harrison too. Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney both did very well -- especially when Ringo was wisecracking from the drum stool.
Great Performances . Concert for George | PBS
John Waters' Female Trouble was on TV last night -- wotta gross, wonderful flick!
A John Waters Site: Welcome to Dreamland
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Thursday, March 04, 2004
I read that most bloggers update every 10 days or so -- sounds like me.
Weather: Light snow -- been this way for a few days, but I've been away (see below).
Wildlife: The deer and birds sure missed us, but we are back now. We took some roadside shots of Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles near St. Regis, Montana. Our own eagles are still hanging out next to the ice-melt pond on our lake.
Speaking of wild -- our cats went nuts when we came home -- running and tussling for hours before they settled down.
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site : Give Food for Free to Hungry People in the World
Media Watch: I've been on vacation -- staying away from da' tube. However I did watch Steven King's Kingdom Hospital last night -- 5 minutes of show, 5 minutes of commercials for two hours.
Here's some reviews of the original Danish productions:
filmcritic.com Movie Review: The Kingdom (Riget)
MMI Movie Review: The Kingdom II
Steven King inserts a fictionalized version of his own near-fatal pedestrian/auto collision in his adaptation of this Danish TV miniseries -- that's alright! It means Tabitha King has a disguised part too, as the artist's wife.
Nah -- they ain't calling it All In The Addams Family.
Mini-Vacation: Drove to Spokane, Washington (about 4 1/2 hours) to see Sarah Brightman in concert. We used to live there, so we visited some friends, saw some old sights, and dodged traffic on those chaotic one-way streets. The air is loaded with dirt from the Columbia Plateau, and the exhalations of modern urbania, so we were getting sick -- thought we getting colds until we got outta town -- poor Sarah, having to sing in that Hoover-bag atmosphere! (More about this concert later -- maybe even another day.)
Sarah Brightman
Follow-ups:
At the College: I worked my tail off, preparing a presentation about Women in S-F at the end of February.
To do the subject justice, I felt it necessary to show the history of "Science Fiction," especially since the genre began with Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly. To explain why, I chose to show how the genre emerged from hero stories, travelers' tales, satires, and speculations by scientists/alchemists over the last 2400 years, and took form as a gothic novel.
By the 20th Century, it was very popular with adolescent boys of all ages, and still is. However, around 1970, the best writers in this genre were women, and they've continued to set the highest standards since then.
Considering that authors like Thomas Pynchon, William S. Burroughs, and Kurt Vonnegut visit this field, that's something indeed! (Doris Lessing, Angela Carter, and Margaret Atwood are also distinguished visitors.)
Statistics support the fact that half the writing awards go to women now, so there's a fair amount of gender integration among the creators here.
All this took over an hour to tell. I shouldn't have been surprised. Luckily the class was into it, stayed with me, and Christy Kabler, the regular teacher, had nothing else on the agenda. Thanks to everybody -- wanna see the power point? Email: mevans@fvcc.edu
Grammy Awards -- I liked Christina Aguileria's song, but didn't mention it before.
Weather: Light snow -- been this way for a few days, but I've been away (see below).
Wildlife: The deer and birds sure missed us, but we are back now. We took some roadside shots of Golden Eagles and Bald Eagles near St. Regis, Montana. Our own eagles are still hanging out next to the ice-melt pond on our lake.
Speaking of wild -- our cats went nuts when we came home -- running and tussling for hours before they settled down.
Charity Alert: The Hunger Site : Give Food for Free to Hungry People in the World
Media Watch: I've been on vacation -- staying away from da' tube. However I did watch Steven King's Kingdom Hospital last night -- 5 minutes of show, 5 minutes of commercials for two hours.
Here's some reviews of the original Danish productions:
filmcritic.com Movie Review: The Kingdom (Riget)
MMI Movie Review: The Kingdom II
Steven King inserts a fictionalized version of his own near-fatal pedestrian/auto collision in his adaptation of this Danish TV miniseries -- that's alright! It means Tabitha King has a disguised part too, as the artist's wife.
Nah -- they ain't calling it All In The Addams Family.
Mini-Vacation: Drove to Spokane, Washington (about 4 1/2 hours) to see Sarah Brightman in concert. We used to live there, so we visited some friends, saw some old sights, and dodged traffic on those chaotic one-way streets. The air is loaded with dirt from the Columbia Plateau, and the exhalations of modern urbania, so we were getting sick -- thought we getting colds until we got outta town -- poor Sarah, having to sing in that Hoover-bag atmosphere! (More about this concert later -- maybe even another day.)
Sarah Brightman
Follow-ups:
At the College: I worked my tail off, preparing a presentation about Women in S-F at the end of February.
To do the subject justice, I felt it necessary to show the history of "Science Fiction," especially since the genre began with Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly. To explain why, I chose to show how the genre emerged from hero stories, travelers' tales, satires, and speculations by scientists/alchemists over the last 2400 years, and took form as a gothic novel.
By the 20th Century, it was very popular with adolescent boys of all ages, and still is. However, around 1970, the best writers in this genre were women, and they've continued to set the highest standards since then.
Considering that authors like Thomas Pynchon, William S. Burroughs, and Kurt Vonnegut visit this field, that's something indeed! (Doris Lessing, Angela Carter, and Margaret Atwood are also distinguished visitors.)
Statistics support the fact that half the writing awards go to women now, so there's a fair amount of gender integration among the creators here.
All this took over an hour to tell. I shouldn't have been surprised. Luckily the class was into it, stayed with me, and Christy Kabler, the regular teacher, had nothing else on the agenda. Thanks to everybody -- wanna see the power point? Email: mevans@fvcc.edu
Grammy Awards -- I liked Christina Aguileria's song, but didn't mention it before.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
It's been over a week since I made any entries -- here we go with today!
Weather: Clear and cold -- no Arctic Blast, but temperature in the low 20's (F). The Sun is a welcome sight!
Wildlife: The eagles are still haunting the pond in Middle Foy's Lake -- we haven't seen them eat anything from the water though. Our hanging feeders are very active with Magpies, Flickers, Finches, Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Downey Woodpeckers. Pheasants are eating the food on the ground, and the deer family is welcome to whatever's left!
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
At the College: I recently did two late-afternoon lecture sessions where I taught the video students various aspects of the Kron Video Editor. I was able to hook up our editing suite into a data projector and have all 17 students "look over my shoulder" on the screen at the front of the room. Today I'm checking out three sets of cameras, after making sure the students know how to use them.
Media Alert: I'm reading And Chaos Died by Joanna Russ.
I recorded the Grammy Awards to be sure I got my friends and aquaintances who performed there on tape. Who were they? Greg Boyer and Maceo Parker were behind Prince and Beyonce. Bernie Worrell was right up front (sans keyboards) with George Clinton. Other members of the P-Funk who I've met are Mike Hampton, Lige Curry, Skeet Curtis (now playing with Maceo's own band), Billy Nelson, Bennie Cowan, Robert Johnson, Greg Thomas, Clip Payne, Paul Hill, Eric McFadden, Belita Woods, Sheila Horne, Carlos McMurray, Steve Boyd, LaShonda Clinton, Frankie Waddy, Ron Wright, Cordell Mosson, Gary Shider and Garrett Shider, DeWayne McKnight, and some of their wonderful crew members -- Chuck, Citrus, Doc, Jeff Fogarty, and Derrick Drisdale. I'm a card-carrying member of Bootsy Collins' fan club, but I've never met him -- he was front and center with his Starburst Mutron Bass. George Clinton.com
Oh yeah -- they were part of an 11 minute medley with OutKast, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Samuel L. Jackson acted as a preacher to hold the whole thing together.
Gina Hall, one of their publicists, is an ole cyber-pal of mine, and gave me plenty of warning that the Funk Mob would be on TV. P Funk News Across One Nation
It was an ambitious show-within-a-show, and seems to have been well-received.
What else I liked: White Stripes, Christina Aguliera's song, the Black Eyed Peas (even sorry-azzed J. Timberlake was good in this number!), and seeing presenter Ozzy Osbourne without the involuntary shakes. Some other musically good numbers were marred by bad decisions, some other numbers just weren't good.
Last night we saw Killer Klowns From Outer Space -- nice flick -- a humorous horror movie without pretentions.
Weather: Clear and cold -- no Arctic Blast, but temperature in the low 20's (F). The Sun is a welcome sight!
Wildlife: The eagles are still haunting the pond in Middle Foy's Lake -- we haven't seen them eat anything from the water though. Our hanging feeders are very active with Magpies, Flickers, Finches, Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Downey Woodpeckers. Pheasants are eating the food on the ground, and the deer family is welcome to whatever's left!
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
At the College: I recently did two late-afternoon lecture sessions where I taught the video students various aspects of the Kron Video Editor. I was able to hook up our editing suite into a data projector and have all 17 students "look over my shoulder" on the screen at the front of the room. Today I'm checking out three sets of cameras, after making sure the students know how to use them.
Media Alert: I'm reading And Chaos Died by Joanna Russ.
I recorded the Grammy Awards to be sure I got my friends and aquaintances who performed there on tape. Who were they? Greg Boyer and Maceo Parker were behind Prince and Beyonce. Bernie Worrell was right up front (sans keyboards) with George Clinton. Other members of the P-Funk who I've met are Mike Hampton, Lige Curry, Skeet Curtis (now playing with Maceo's own band), Billy Nelson, Bennie Cowan, Robert Johnson, Greg Thomas, Clip Payne, Paul Hill, Eric McFadden, Belita Woods, Sheila Horne, Carlos McMurray, Steve Boyd, LaShonda Clinton, Frankie Waddy, Ron Wright, Cordell Mosson, Gary Shider and Garrett Shider, DeWayne McKnight, and some of their wonderful crew members -- Chuck, Citrus, Doc, Jeff Fogarty, and Derrick Drisdale. I'm a card-carrying member of Bootsy Collins' fan club, but I've never met him -- he was front and center with his Starburst Mutron Bass. George Clinton.com
Oh yeah -- they were part of an 11 minute medley with OutKast, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Samuel L. Jackson acted as a preacher to hold the whole thing together.
Gina Hall, one of their publicists, is an ole cyber-pal of mine, and gave me plenty of warning that the Funk Mob would be on TV. P Funk News Across One Nation
It was an ambitious show-within-a-show, and seems to have been well-received.
What else I liked: White Stripes, Christina Aguliera's song, the Black Eyed Peas (even sorry-azzed J. Timberlake was good in this number!), and seeing presenter Ozzy Osbourne without the involuntary shakes. Some other musically good numbers were marred by bad decisions, some other numbers just weren't good.
Last night we saw Killer Klowns From Outer Space -- nice flick -- a humorous horror movie without pretentions.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Weather: Cold with high, whispy clouds -- it sure is nice to see a sunrise, though!
Wildlife: Those damn cats gotta stop bringing in dead birds -- leave 'em outside for the Magpies!
I have to watch out about the deer hanging around day and night. The neighbors are afraid of Mountain Lions following them from out of the forest.
Charity Alert: The Child Health Site : Help a Child in Need Lead a Healthy, Active Life
Media Alert: OK, Janet Jackson's admitted that her stunt was planned. At least one person isn't lying anymore. I hope the FCC just leaves that dumb debacle in the past, but I can't expect it. The football game on Superbowl Sunday has been relegated to third in importance behind halftime, during which I did my laundry, and the commercials, which I intentionally skipped this year.
Ridley Scott's Gladiator was run in "prime time" on ABC. Day-um! What a violent show!
Today's spectacle entertainment may be silly at worst, but the Roman arena was demented. We still have bullfighting, sad to say, but wholesale death and dismemberment are thankfully illegal. (Movies and Video Games aren't real, remember?)
Russell Crowe earned the Academy Award, and gave the BEST speech I've ever heard from an an actor when he accepted his Oscar.
Reasonably good fan site: Maximum Russell Crowe
Scott sometimes has a social message in his films -- Blade Runner and Thelma and Louise for instance, but if there is one here, it's hidden -- unless the message is "Life sucked in ancient times too."
Here's one fairly-informative site: Ridley Scott @ Filmbug
The movie is set in the reign of Commodus, generally acknowledged as the start of the Decline of the Roman Empire: The Roman Empire
Here's some paraphrased quotes: Like Nero, Emperor Commodus' private life was a disgrace and his public extravagances outageous; like Nero, he fancied himself in the circus; and like Nero, he died an undignified death - a professional athlete was hired to strangle him in his bed in AD 192.
177 Marcus Aurelius makes Commodus co-emperor; 180 Death of Marcus Aurelius. Accession of Commodus, who retreats to Rome from Germany; 183 Plot to kill Commodus discovered. Power of favourite Perennis. 186 Fall of Perennis. Power of favourite Cleander; 189 Fall of Cleander; 192 Death of Commodus.
The previous 84 years had seen just five emperors; during the next 104 years Rome should endure no less than 29.
My take on this historical matter -- the people of the Mediterranian were so impoverished then by 200 years of Roman thievery, that repeated warfare and treachery among the ruling class went unchallenged, and doomed this civilization to collapse. I'm amazed that it took another 150 years, plus generations of repeated Barbarian invasions to really kill the empire in Western Europe. After Eastern Emperor Justinian's few victories in the mid-Sixth Century, there wasn't much left to fight over, and the Lombards just came to stay.
That was just a rough sketch of the facts -- Ridley Scott's Movie Empire is an English Empire, stocked with English actors -- Derek (I Claudius) Jacobi is even in the film! The plot is ridiculously untrue, but his sketch of 2nd Century Rome has verisimilitude. I don't think anyone today could present the real horrors of the Colosseum, and I hope nobody tries.
A psychologist might write something about the fascination with perversion and violence that drenches almost every Roman movie -- or why the written record seems to dote on these themes as well, but not I.
Follow Up:
Al Kooper answered my email in less than a day (See Feb. 2)--
Thanks for your kind words & support
Its what keeps the old man goin'
al kooper
Check out his website: AL KOOPER
He's a good prose writer. His mini-diaries and commentaries are very well done, and convey the unique insight of a musician with humor and clarity. You can also catch up with the 40 year career of one of American Pop Music's more important studio men without my irrelevant input.
He also turned 60, and did a concert at the Berklee School of Music on January 31!
Wildlife: Those damn cats gotta stop bringing in dead birds -- leave 'em outside for the Magpies!
I have to watch out about the deer hanging around day and night. The neighbors are afraid of Mountain Lions following them from out of the forest.
Charity Alert: The Child Health Site : Help a Child in Need Lead a Healthy, Active Life
Media Alert: OK, Janet Jackson's admitted that her stunt was planned. At least one person isn't lying anymore. I hope the FCC just leaves that dumb debacle in the past, but I can't expect it. The football game on Superbowl Sunday has been relegated to third in importance behind halftime, during which I did my laundry, and the commercials, which I intentionally skipped this year.
Ridley Scott's Gladiator was run in "prime time" on ABC. Day-um! What a violent show!
Today's spectacle entertainment may be silly at worst, but the Roman arena was demented. We still have bullfighting, sad to say, but wholesale death and dismemberment are thankfully illegal. (Movies and Video Games aren't real, remember?)
Russell Crowe earned the Academy Award, and gave the BEST speech I've ever heard from an an actor when he accepted his Oscar.
Reasonably good fan site: Maximum Russell Crowe
Scott sometimes has a social message in his films -- Blade Runner and Thelma and Louise for instance, but if there is one here, it's hidden -- unless the message is "Life sucked in ancient times too."
Here's one fairly-informative site: Ridley Scott @ Filmbug
The movie is set in the reign of Commodus, generally acknowledged as the start of the Decline of the Roman Empire: The Roman Empire
Here's some paraphrased quotes: Like Nero, Emperor Commodus' private life was a disgrace and his public extravagances outageous; like Nero, he fancied himself in the circus; and like Nero, he died an undignified death - a professional athlete was hired to strangle him in his bed in AD 192.
177 Marcus Aurelius makes Commodus co-emperor; 180 Death of Marcus Aurelius. Accession of Commodus, who retreats to Rome from Germany; 183 Plot to kill Commodus discovered. Power of favourite Perennis. 186 Fall of Perennis. Power of favourite Cleander; 189 Fall of Cleander; 192 Death of Commodus.
The previous 84 years had seen just five emperors; during the next 104 years Rome should endure no less than 29.
My take on this historical matter -- the people of the Mediterranian were so impoverished then by 200 years of Roman thievery, that repeated warfare and treachery among the ruling class went unchallenged, and doomed this civilization to collapse. I'm amazed that it took another 150 years, plus generations of repeated Barbarian invasions to really kill the empire in Western Europe. After Eastern Emperor Justinian's few victories in the mid-Sixth Century, there wasn't much left to fight over, and the Lombards just came to stay.
That was just a rough sketch of the facts -- Ridley Scott's Movie Empire is an English Empire, stocked with English actors -- Derek (I Claudius) Jacobi is even in the film! The plot is ridiculously untrue, but his sketch of 2nd Century Rome has verisimilitude. I don't think anyone today could present the real horrors of the Colosseum, and I hope nobody tries.
A psychologist might write something about the fascination with perversion and violence that drenches almost every Roman movie -- or why the written record seems to dote on these themes as well, but not I.
Follow Up:
Al Kooper answered my email in less than a day (See Feb. 2)--
Thanks for your kind words & support
Its what keeps the old man goin'
al kooper
Check out his website: AL KOOPER
He's a good prose writer. His mini-diaries and commentaries are very well done, and convey the unique insight of a musician with humor and clarity. You can also catch up with the 40 year career of one of American Pop Music's more important studio men without my irrelevant input.
He also turned 60, and did a concert at the Berklee School of Music on January 31!
Monday, February 02, 2004
Weather: A sprinkling of snow. It's also a lot colder than yesterday. I wanted to wash/wax the car on Sunday, but the commercial, automated place was closed! ($#@!)
Wildlife: The two eagles had to share the aereation pond with ice fishermen nearby -- I think the birds ate the cleanings afterward.
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
Media Alert: I managed to get through most of the Superbowl while switching to CSPAN during the commercials. It was actually worth the effort -- Oliver Sacks was speaking on Book TV. I enjoyed the game VERY much, and spoke to my brother via long-distance before and afterward. Score: New England -- 32 Carolina -- 29.
The halftime show just confirmed general preconceptions -- popular artists strutted their lip-synched stuff in an audio/visual cacophany. If ya' liked 'em, ya' liked the show, if ya' didn't, ya' didn't. With that being said -- I was liking Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation," until Justin Timberlake showed up. He's danced better in the past, and I've never liked his singing anyway.
BUSTED: That final grab at Janet's boob-cover was obviously planned. Neither leather, vinyl, nor spandex tears away that easy. Women entertainers don't wear nipple-covers* unless they expect their breasts to show either. BTW -- that incident barely lasted a second -- If you could see it* you were replaying it on slo-mo or pause --- HA HA HA!
Follow-ups:
I wrote a "fan letter" by email to Al Kooper last night, since I've been enjoying his Michael Bloomfield collaborations on CD. (See Jan. 26, 2004) While tracking him down online, I found that he has serious vision problems now, but he's perseveres through them -- good man! AL KOOPER
I found a list of the studio musicians who played on the Box Tops' records. (The Box Tops road band is listed on the Alex Chilton page -- See Jan. 30, 2004) They are: Reggie Young, guitar; Bobby Wood, piano; Bobby Emmons, organ; Tommy Cogbill, bass; Gene Crissman, drums; Mike Leech and Glen Spreen, horn and string arrangements, and the great Wayne Jackson, with his Memphis Horns. Wayne Carson Thompson wrote their biggest songs, Penn and Oldham wrote some other singles. Tommy Cogbill co-produced Dimensions, their best album.
Wildlife: The two eagles had to share the aereation pond with ice fishermen nearby -- I think the birds ate the cleanings afterward.
Charity Alert: The Breast Cancer Site : Fund Mammograms for Free
Media Alert: I managed to get through most of the Superbowl while switching to CSPAN during the commercials. It was actually worth the effort -- Oliver Sacks was speaking on Book TV. I enjoyed the game VERY much, and spoke to my brother via long-distance before and afterward. Score: New England -- 32 Carolina -- 29.
The halftime show just confirmed general preconceptions -- popular artists strutted their lip-synched stuff in an audio/visual cacophany. If ya' liked 'em, ya' liked the show, if ya' didn't, ya' didn't. With that being said -- I was liking Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation," until Justin Timberlake showed up. He's danced better in the past, and I've never liked his singing anyway.
BUSTED: That final grab at Janet's boob-cover was obviously planned. Neither leather, vinyl, nor spandex tears away that easy. Women entertainers don't wear nipple-covers* unless they expect their breasts to show either. BTW -- that incident barely lasted a second -- If you could see it* you were replaying it on slo-mo or pause --- HA HA HA!
Follow-ups:
I wrote a "fan letter" by email to Al Kooper last night, since I've been enjoying his Michael Bloomfield collaborations on CD. (See Jan. 26, 2004) While tracking him down online, I found that he has serious vision problems now, but he's perseveres through them -- good man! AL KOOPER
I found a list of the studio musicians who played on the Box Tops' records. (The Box Tops road band is listed on the Alex Chilton page -- See Jan. 30, 2004) They are: Reggie Young, guitar; Bobby Wood, piano; Bobby Emmons, organ; Tommy Cogbill, bass; Gene Crissman, drums; Mike Leech and Glen Spreen, horn and string arrangements, and the great Wayne Jackson, with his Memphis Horns. Wayne Carson Thompson wrote their biggest songs, Penn and Oldham wrote some other singles. Tommy Cogbill co-produced Dimensions, their best album.
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