Tonight, on WBAI

This is where I'll be tonight. (From the WBAI website) Mon, Dec 31 11PM - Midnight Shortcut Through 2007

Note: This show will be rebroadcast January 1st from 6PM - 7PM

An hour-long retrospective of the year--an explosive, emotional mix of the sounds, music and events of the past twelve months, "A Shortcut Through 2007" opens with an introduction by the late sonic pioneer, Karlheinz Stockhausen and ends with a coda from Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto. Blending the concerns over our fragile social and ecological state -- the clash between celebrity and fame at any cost, the perilous drive to succeed in politics, business and sports by any means necessary, with answers to the question-"What will you remember about 2007"

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Featuring commentary from Art Buchwald, Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut, Marcel Marceau, Jerry Falwell, Gerald Ford, Woody Allen, Ricky Gervais, Alec Baldwin, Don Imus, Oprah Winfrey, Rev. Al Sharpton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt, Tony Soprano and family, George W. Bush, Michael C. Hall, Baraka Obama, Joe Torre, George Mitchell, Barry Bonds, Larry King, Roger Clemens, Anna Nicole Smith and many others.

Music from Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Dre Dog, Bruce Springsteen, The Real Tuesday Weld, Peter Bjorn and John, Forro In The Dark (featuring David Byrne), Iron and Wine, The Sandpipers (with Phil Rizzuto, Tommy Henrich, Roy Campanella & Tommy Henrich), Boots Randolph, Boris "Bobby Pickett, Freddie Scott, Oscar Peterson, Ike & Tina Turner, Max Roach, Joe Zawinul(Mercy, Mercy, Mercy), Robert Goulet, Luther Ingram, Dakota Staton

Tributes to Luciano Pavarotti, Lady Bird Johnson, Porter Wagoner, Lee Hazelwood, Hilly
Kristal (CBGB), Evel Knievel, Grace Paley, Don Herbert (Mr. Wizard), Ingmar Bergman,
Michelangelo Antonioni, Merv Griffin, Tom Snyder, Joey Bishop, Tom Poston, Calvert
DeForest (Larry Bud), Charles Nelson Reily, Al Viola, Denny Doherty, Eric Von Schmidt,
Teresa Brewer and many more.

Produced by Peter Bochan

The Mysteries was a series of three plays put on by the National Theater of London which were based on mystery plays like mummers plays.

There is an excerpt of the first one, or perhaps the whole first one, The Nativity, here.

It's that time again

Hi all,

First of all, Happy Christmas

A nice English version of Abbots Bromley (if you don't get too distracted by the jets flying over every few seconds)

And now, for something completely different...

He sings it. (Joseph Spence)

And they sing it too:

And better thoughts

And for your holiday viewing pleasure:

The Beverly Hillbillies
Howdy Doody
The Addams Family
All in the Family
The Honeymooners
The Brady Bunch
Three's Company
Davey and Goliath
Dick Van Dyke and Rose Marie shill cigarettes for the holidays
The Munsters in the Macy's Christmas Parade

More FMU irreverence here and here

Cheers,

John L

Nader doc on Independent Lens

Good point. Nader wasn't enough of a factor to be allowed in the
debates but he gets blamed for being THE factor in Gore losing to
Bush.

FL was lost by 537 votes. EVERY INDEPENDENT PARTY CANDIDATE HAD MORE
VOTES THAN THAT in FL but Nader gets blamed.

Disgusting or delicious?

I love ice tea. Drink it all year long. I love egg nog. I wish it was
available longer than it is (roughly Thanksgiving to New Year's). I
love Thai Ice Tea. I have only had it in restaurants; haven't seen
any mix in the stores.

I have discovered that if you pour ice tea into some eggnog, it sort
of tastes and looks like Thai Ice Tea. Some eggnogs are spicy which
ends up making it a spice tea which I don't like but so far it's been
bearable.

What do you think?

HD on PBS

My local PBS stations now have HD for the News Hour. I'm getting some
bowing with standard definition pictures within the HD picture but a
more noticeable effect is that a HD picture will make EVERYTHING look
smaller when viewed on a standard definition set.

This will take some getting used to. I'll have to wear my glasses
more until I get HD (at least a 16:9 screen set).

(I watch via DirecTV)

1/8/07
The bowing, it turns out, is only my set. My video capture device, an EyeTV 250 Plus,
does not show that. That is good to know.

Battle of the Nutcrackers on Ovation

Ovation Network is having a Battle of the Nutcrackers on tv. Their
promos are funny, done in the style of professional wrestling,
Smackdown!

I've now seen all 4: Matthew Bourne's, George Balanchine's, Mark
Morris's Hard Nut and finally the Bloshoi's. I enjoyed each one never
having seen any version all the way through before. I thought it was
time.

Matthew Bourne's is all kitsch and surreal gay design gone mad. I
don't remember much of Balanchine's except that it was more
traditional than Bourne's and starred a young (isn't he always
young?) Macaulay Culkin. Mark Morris's had both beauty and humor and
I think it gets my vote for the contest. The Bolshoi's was entirely
traditional, had the music at slower tempos than what I've heard
otherwise and had some wonderful dancing. I was impressed also at the
crowd interrupting the performance with Bravos and applause whenever
they liked what they saw.

Why impeachment isn't happening

Bush should be impeached for so many things. I have asked myself, can
we impeach him yet?, so many times.Why isn't it happening?

The Democrats want to leave him in power so voters will have built up
so much antipathy towards the Republican party that Democrats will
get the votes that would go to Republicans by those who wouldn't vote
Democrat unless Hell freezes over. By letting George continue to make
the Republicans look so bad, Republicans will turn against the party;
Democrats will look good.

Impeachment would cause a backlash against Democrats no matter how
well deserved. This way, as long as the country can suffer through
this president, voters will be eager to vote for a change, albeit not
too big a change, by voting Democratic in '08. The fringe candidates
who offer significant change like Ron Paul or Ralph Nader are still
too scary for incurious, lazy middle America.

Of course, many will sour on the Democrats for not impeaching but I
guess those numbers are lower than the voters the Democrats hope to
gain with this strategy. Let's hope the country can survive this guy.
It will be a challenge.

16 wild turkey and 3 deer seen today

As I drove in the driveway today, I saw 16 wild turkey and the 3 deer
I'd seen at breakfast! They walked towards my house so I stopped and
waited for them. Then, I drove very slowly towards them and they
barely moved out of the way. Eventually I parked, getting out right
next to them. I'd never been so close before. They have beautiful
golden feathers in parts.

I didn't get any pictures.

CA fires vs Katrina

I don't see people complaining that people shouldn't be living in
Southern California with the fires they're having like they were
about people living in New Orleans when Katrina hit.

They are the same thing. People living in an area that has natural
threats aggravated by man's shortcomings.

CA - overbuilding in a natural firezone, that has fires EVERY YEAR.
NO - flooding brought about by poorly designed and built levees (that
has hurricanes every year)

I always wanted to ask when people brought up this argument, should
people live in Holland? They live below sea level too. (Of course
they should. Like it or not, there they are.)

Eggnog is in the stores!

Eggnog is on the shelves at my local Shop RIte! The season has begun!
I hate to see it go but I am so glad it has started now.

Bought some Axelrod egg nog. It is good, has a clean taste with no
distractions. I like to try all the brands.

Just in case you are wondering, World War III started on 10/17/07

Or maybe I would blame the Democrats with their Armenian Genocide resolution although I think that needs to be recognized sooner rather than later. Turkey needs to deal with it's past. The Democrats have the unwelcome task of bringing it up. It's too bad Turkey can't deal with it now.

Etta James on ACL

At last.... I am catching Etta James on Austin City Limits. I missed
it last time around and I had REALLY wanted to see it. I just plain
screwed up then.

I made sure I didn't screw up this time. Got the DVR ready. Got the
VCR ready. Kinda hurried to get the DVD recorder ready at the last
minute but made it. Started the VCR and the DVD recorder just before
the show began. All looks like it is recording well.

I busied myself copying the set list and creating a cover for the DVD
as it played and wrote this as she is singing You Can Leave Your Hat
On.

She sounds thin! She is. I miss her fat voice. She's great no matter
what though.

She sings I'd Rather Be Blind. My favorite Etta James song. Not quite
as good as the Late Show LP version but good enough. At least one
person, who looks like Pam, if only, gives her a standing ovation.
She sings At Last. More give her a standing ovation.

During You Can Leave Your Hat on she acts up like her old self. Go
mama. 'We know what love is', as an old voice, almost Katherine
Hepburn.

She has two from the same band I saw her with in 1980 when I saw her
on the New Orleans Jazz Fest Riverboat, and the few times I've seen
here since then. Josh Sklar on lead guitar. Bobby Murray on rhythm
guitar.

Now she sings Damn Your Eyes. Oh my heart.

Into Besame Mucho. Not crazy about this song. Back into Damn Those
Eyes? Be mine.

Nice vocalizations on the Jimmy Reed medley. (Baby What You Want Me
To Do, Down That Road?, Bright Lights, Big City, more?)

Sugar On The Floor by Kikki Dee? Ick for Kikki Dee but she does it well.

It's almost over. It flew! I am sure I will watching it again. She's
climaxing on this one. The catharsis that the blues doe so well.

We love you too, Etta. (ex-Gov Richards In the crowd!)

Donato James on drums
Sametto James on bass
Josh Sklar on lead guitar
Bobby Murray on rhythm and lead
David K Matthews on keyboards (yes!)
Ronnie Buttacavoli on trumpet and flugelhorn
Tom Poole on trumpet and flugelhorn
Kraig Kilby on trombone and cabasa

Thank you band. Thank you Etta.

An animation from the TP on how the flood happened.

I don't think there is any doubt these days that is wasn't the hurricane that did the damage, it was the levees that didn't hold up to the water. The levees were inadequate.

An interesting presentation on how the environment has changed in Southern Louisiana over time. It is shocking to see what has happened in the past 70 years.

Fascinating videos on various neighborhoods.

Small businesses hopeful, in the TP.

Bush's arrival in New Orleans seen by the Times Picayune.

Some pics of memorials and marches in New Orleans yesterday.

The Best of New Orleans

Still plenty to make you want to call it home.