Well I had planned to get rid of my car anyway, and now I'm doubly sure of that plan of action. Parking in Yorkville is BRUTAL. I thought Weehawken was bad. I drove around for literally an hour without finding any parking spots. And maybe I was getting punchy after awhile, but it sure seems like there are more fire hydrants here than anywhere else. Does the fire department really need like 10 hydrants per block? Oy!
That being said - I love my new neighborhood. It has everything, in addition to being a 20 minute walk from the Met and Central Park. Why did it take me so long to move here? Oh yeah - so many reasons. But I'm glad I finally moved on up to the East Side, to a three-floor walkup near Carl Schurz Park.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Slacker (Ending) - Directed by Richard Linklater
The last half of this clip is the best - with "Skokiaan" playing and then the guy throws... well, just watch it!
I am Heathcliff
That's what Catherine, the object of Heathcliff's obsessive love says about him, in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. But to a certain extent, we are all Heathcliff, which is what makes him a Byronic "hero" even though in fact he's kind of a monster. But who among us hasn't wanted some serious revenge on people who have hurt us, out of their unshakable belief in their own superiority and our inferiority.
I was never much for grudges or revenge until I met some of the truly nasty, loathsome creatures in the New York City off-off Broadway theater scene. Only in the last 3 - 4 years have I really come to understand how freakishly evil some people can be, and responded with simmering anger and occasional flair-ups. And there's only so much comfort you can get from sublimating your feelings into art.
But Heathcliff goes way overboard into pathology. Emily's Heathcliff is sometimes compared to Charlotte Bronte's Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre, both being dubbed Byronic heroes. But Rochester is a much better man than Heathcliff. While you can't help but feel badly for Heathcliff in his anguish over losing Catherine, it's impossible to like or forgive him, because not only does he take his revenge on those who have done him wrong - and it's arguable that Linton, Catherine's husband, ever meant to do Heathcliff deliberate harm - he also takes his revenge on children who had nothing to do with him, just because they are related to people he hates.
Compare that to Rochester - he is cuckolded by Celine Varens, his French opera-dancer mistress, and when she abandons her daughter he takes her in, although he's pretty sure she isn't his child. He has little affection for Adele, but he does the best he can by her.
More on Wuthering Heights soon. I wasn't a big fan of the book when I read it in my early 20s, and while I understand it better on an emotional level now, I still don't like it as much as Jane Eyre, and I'm not ashamed to say it's because I don't really like any of the people in Wuthering Heights, whereas I can't help but like Jane and Rochester, and forgive Rochester as Jane does.
And then there's the violence of Wuthering Heights - wow, I haven't seen any adaptations of the novel, but I bet none of them presents the violence on screen the way it's presented in the book. That's what someone should do - adapt Wuthering Heights with all its violence. I'm tempted... I think that the focus should be on Cathy, the daughter of Catherine and Linton. And you'd pretty much have to include that meddling Nelly Dean. Hmm...
I was never much for grudges or revenge until I met some of the truly nasty, loathsome creatures in the New York City off-off Broadway theater scene. Only in the last 3 - 4 years have I really come to understand how freakishly evil some people can be, and responded with simmering anger and occasional flair-ups. And there's only so much comfort you can get from sublimating your feelings into art.
But Heathcliff goes way overboard into pathology. Emily's Heathcliff is sometimes compared to Charlotte Bronte's Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre, both being dubbed Byronic heroes. But Rochester is a much better man than Heathcliff. While you can't help but feel badly for Heathcliff in his anguish over losing Catherine, it's impossible to like or forgive him, because not only does he take his revenge on those who have done him wrong - and it's arguable that Linton, Catherine's husband, ever meant to do Heathcliff deliberate harm - he also takes his revenge on children who had nothing to do with him, just because they are related to people he hates.
Compare that to Rochester - he is cuckolded by Celine Varens, his French opera-dancer mistress, and when she abandons her daughter he takes her in, although he's pretty sure she isn't his child. He has little affection for Adele, but he does the best he can by her.
More on Wuthering Heights soon. I wasn't a big fan of the book when I read it in my early 20s, and while I understand it better on an emotional level now, I still don't like it as much as Jane Eyre, and I'm not ashamed to say it's because I don't really like any of the people in Wuthering Heights, whereas I can't help but like Jane and Rochester, and forgive Rochester as Jane does.
And then there's the violence of Wuthering Heights - wow, I haven't seen any adaptations of the novel, but I bet none of them presents the violence on screen the way it's presented in the book. That's what someone should do - adapt Wuthering Heights with all its violence. I'm tempted... I think that the focus should be on Cathy, the daughter of Catherine and Linton. And you'd pretty much have to include that meddling Nelly Dean. Hmm...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Brokers with hands on their faces
The news media loves to illustrate bad days at the stock market by running photos of brokers with hands on their faces. So someone decided to turn that into a web site, called Brokers with Hands on their Faces
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Jason & Phoebe
Phoebe Summersquash has agreed to play Jane and Jason Alan Griffin has agreed to play Rochester in the upcoming December 21 reading of JANE EYRE which will be at the Penny Templeton Studio, 261 W. 35th Street
You can watch Jason's reel here (watch out, there's a sexy scene in the mix).
And the Philly band Scary Monster asks the musical question Do You Like Phoebe Summersquash? And yes, they really mean our gal - but then, how many Phoebe Summersquashes do YOU know?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Jane Eyre reading
Coming in mid-December at the Penny Templeton - a reading of JANE EYRE in preparation for the next production. More details soon...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Yule County reading
My play YULE COUNTY was part of the Mergatroyd Playfest this weekend. Since it turned out that none of the actors is Equity I was able to videotape the whole thing.
See a clip of the Yule County performance here. Quicktime format.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
What I look for in a 10-minute play
As the producer/director of the Mergatroyd Productions 10-min. Playfest, I was responsible for the final selection of plays for the show. Over 500 plays were sent in. Is it possible to read that many plays, even ten-minute plays in less then a month – especially when you have a full-time day job (technical writer) and run a theatre group (NYCPlaywrights) that meets every Friday night?
It is possible. Here’s how I did it.
First, all the improperly formatted plays were thrown out. A playwright should know enough to use standard playscript formatting. And I made a big deal, in the call for submissions, about using standard playscript formatting. I even provided a link to formatting samples. So any plays I got that were not in standard playscript formatting I took as one of two clear messages from the author to me: “screw you, I’m too big of an innovative important artiste-genius to abide by the rules of you common mortals.”
Or:
“I’m not smart enough to read submission guidelines or figure out how to format text. I should be taking classes in reading comprehension or Microsoft Word, not writing plays.”
Is that harsh? Too bad. If a play is improperly formatted, guess who will have to fix the script so that there are page numbers, a character list, and contact information for the author. Me. Not gonna happen - this is New York, Jack, I have stuff to do.
So I automatically threw out the improperly formatted plays – that took care of about 15% of all submissions.
What’s next? Well one of the things I said I wanted to see was plays in which something happens. In my opinion, far too many plays – and not just 10-minute plays – are about people sitting around bickering. So I look at the stage directions. If the stage directions consist entirely of “(pause)” then probably not much happens besides two or more people sitting around talking, bickering or arguing. Sorry but even arguing – even an argument in which people yell at each other – is not interesting drama by itself.
That’s another 20%. So 65% of the submissions remain. Now the process slows down a little, as more reading is required. Now I look at plays in which the characters don’t have names, but are just called “Woman”, “Man”, “Husband”, “Wife”, “Father” etc. I like my plays to have vivid, individualistic characters. Not giving your character a name says to me that your character isn’t an individual but some two-dimensional steotype. This is especially annoying for “Husband” and “Wife” – I don’t want to watch a play that portrays a “typical” marriage. Plays about how men and women just don't understand each other really irritate me. And have already been done to death.
OK, so that’s another 10%. Now I look for good parts for women.
It never fails to amaze me that in a time when women are astronauts and senators and serial killers and managers and soldiers and computer programmers there are still few interesting parts written for women. The thinking seems to be that unless the character is performing what is deemed a female function (sex, nurturing or needing to be rescued) it should be male, by default. I’m pretty sure that many of the plays submitted to the 10-min Playfest originally had fewer female characters, but since I made a big deal out of wanting good parts for women in the submission guidelines, some of the characters had been rewritten as female. Good. If I made one playwright realize that male is NOT the default gender for humanity I’m making the world a better place. Women are not a minority or special interest group – we make up half of all people on the planet. Theatre (of ALL places!) should reflect this. A playwright who gets that deserves extra consideration for his or her plays.
I am not looking ONLY for plays that have female characters, but female characters definitely help. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
So what do we have at this point? About 40% of the submissions, or about 200 plays that are properly formatted, aren’t just bickering, have individualized characters, and have a tendency towards good roles for women.
These last 200 get close scrutiny. I read them a couple of times at least. Some more things I look for:
• Does the play get right into the action?
• Is it really funny, or really touching?
• Does it present a novel world or situation?
• Does it have solid internal logic?
• Does it have that certain je ne sais quoi?
The last one is of course the most elusive of all. Je ne sais quoi is French for "I don’t know what" – meaning some undefinable, ineffable quality. A happy synergy of factors. Which is completely subjective. And of course much of the quality of the play depends on the actors performing the roles too. A bad performance could ruin a good play, although from what I’ve seen, far more often a good performance can rescue a bad play. But even if you carefully select your material, director and actor the results might not be the happy synergy you hoped for.
This we call “the magic of the thee-aa-tah.”
It is possible. Here’s how I did it.
First, all the improperly formatted plays were thrown out. A playwright should know enough to use standard playscript formatting. And I made a big deal, in the call for submissions, about using standard playscript formatting. I even provided a link to formatting samples. So any plays I got that were not in standard playscript formatting I took as one of two clear messages from the author to me: “screw you, I’m too big of an innovative important artiste-genius to abide by the rules of you common mortals.”
Or:
“I’m not smart enough to read submission guidelines or figure out how to format text. I should be taking classes in reading comprehension or Microsoft Word, not writing plays.”
Is that harsh? Too bad. If a play is improperly formatted, guess who will have to fix the script so that there are page numbers, a character list, and contact information for the author. Me. Not gonna happen - this is New York, Jack, I have stuff to do.
So I automatically threw out the improperly formatted plays – that took care of about 15% of all submissions.
What’s next? Well one of the things I said I wanted to see was plays in which something happens. In my opinion, far too many plays – and not just 10-minute plays – are about people sitting around bickering. So I look at the stage directions. If the stage directions consist entirely of “(pause)” then probably not much happens besides two or more people sitting around talking, bickering or arguing. Sorry but even arguing – even an argument in which people yell at each other – is not interesting drama by itself.
That’s another 20%. So 65% of the submissions remain. Now the process slows down a little, as more reading is required. Now I look at plays in which the characters don’t have names, but are just called “Woman”, “Man”, “Husband”, “Wife”, “Father” etc. I like my plays to have vivid, individualistic characters. Not giving your character a name says to me that your character isn’t an individual but some two-dimensional steotype. This is especially annoying for “Husband” and “Wife” – I don’t want to watch a play that portrays a “typical” marriage. Plays about how men and women just don't understand each other really irritate me. And have already been done to death.
OK, so that’s another 10%. Now I look for good parts for women.
It never fails to amaze me that in a time when women are astronauts and senators and serial killers and managers and soldiers and computer programmers there are still few interesting parts written for women. The thinking seems to be that unless the character is performing what is deemed a female function (sex, nurturing or needing to be rescued) it should be male, by default. I’m pretty sure that many of the plays submitted to the 10-min Playfest originally had fewer female characters, but since I made a big deal out of wanting good parts for women in the submission guidelines, some of the characters had been rewritten as female. Good. If I made one playwright realize that male is NOT the default gender for humanity I’m making the world a better place. Women are not a minority or special interest group – we make up half of all people on the planet. Theatre (of ALL places!) should reflect this. A playwright who gets that deserves extra consideration for his or her plays.
I am not looking ONLY for plays that have female characters, but female characters definitely help. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
So what do we have at this point? About 40% of the submissions, or about 200 plays that are properly formatted, aren’t just bickering, have individualized characters, and have a tendency towards good roles for women.
These last 200 get close scrutiny. I read them a couple of times at least. Some more things I look for:
• Does the play get right into the action?
• Is it really funny, or really touching?
• Does it present a novel world or situation?
• Does it have solid internal logic?
• Does it have that certain je ne sais quoi?
The last one is of course the most elusive of all. Je ne sais quoi is French for "I don’t know what" – meaning some undefinable, ineffable quality. A happy synergy of factors. Which is completely subjective. And of course much of the quality of the play depends on the actors performing the roles too. A bad performance could ruin a good play, although from what I’ve seen, far more often a good performance can rescue a bad play. But even if you carefully select your material, director and actor the results might not be the happy synergy you hoped for.
This we call “the magic of the thee-aa-tah.”
Friday, November 14, 2008
Jobs Program
I've been suggesting that we will need a jobs program since July 20. Not that anybody listened to me. Me and Krugman.
Krugman:
more at the NYTimes
Jobs Program. Just remember I called it first.
Krugman:
All indications are that the new administration will offer a major stimulus package. My own back-of-the-envelope calculations say that the package should be huge, on the order of $600 billion.
So the question becomes, will the Obama people dare to propose something on that scale?
Let’s hope that the answer to that question is yes, that the new administration will indeed be that daring. For we’re now in a situation where it would be very dangerous to give in to conventional notions of prudence.
more at the NYTimes
Jobs Program. Just remember I called it first.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
10 min. Playfest press release
Finished at last!
Mergatroyd Playfest Press Release
Better late than never! We're almost sold out anyway, so I'm not sure how much I should promote the show at this point.
Mergatroyd Playfest Press Release
Better late than never! We're almost sold out anyway, so I'm not sure how much I should promote the show at this point.
to the Met!
I am so excited by the fact that the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be in my very own neighborhood - I plan to be there all the time. I'm especially looking forward to getting to see some actual Ingres drawings - whenEVER they decide to finally display one - and the new Greek and Roman Galleries.
I wonder if they'll display one of the many pornographic red-figure Greek vases in existence - I'm sure they have at least a few in their collection. They probably won't - I mean we are talking very explicit stuff, including homosexual and kinky stuff. From relatively vanilla straight sex - cowgirl style - to gay three-way, to the ever-popular satyr orgy. I'd venture to say that before the Internet, the largest collection of pornographic images ever created were on the pottery of the ancient Greeks.
Although other cultures certainly created their share
I wonder if they'll display one of the many pornographic red-figure Greek vases in existence - I'm sure they have at least a few in their collection. They probably won't - I mean we are talking very explicit stuff, including homosexual and kinky stuff. From relatively vanilla straight sex - cowgirl style - to gay three-way, to the ever-popular satyr orgy. I'd venture to say that before the Internet, the largest collection of pornographic images ever created were on the pottery of the ancient Greeks.
Although other cultures certainly created their share
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
NYTimes prank
More here
Wow this would be a wonderful world! From the spoof NYTimes:
The President has called for swift passage of the Safeguards
for a New Economy (S.A.N.E.) bill. The omnibus economic package
includes a federal maximum wage, mandatory “True Cost Accounting,” a phased withdrawal from complex financial instruments, and other measures intended to improve life for ordinary Americans. (See highlights box on Page A10.) He also repeated earlier calls
for passage of the “Ban on Lobbying” bill currently making its way
through Congress.
Treasury Secretary Paul Krugman stressed the importance of the bill. “Markets make great servants, terrible leaders, and absurd religions,” said Krugman, quoting
Paul Hawken, an advocate of corporate responsibility and author
of “Blessed Unrest, How the Largest Movement in the World Came
into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming.”
“At this point, the market is our leader and our religion. No won-
der the median standard of living has been declining so much for so
long.”
Krugman said that the new Treasury bill seeks to ensure the
prosperity of all citizens, rather than simply supporting large cor-
porations and the wealthy. “The market is supposed to serve us.
Unfortunately, we have ended up serving the market. That’s very
bad.”
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Harriet the Spy
I just discovered a really neat fact about the new Manhattan neighborhood I'm moving to - Louise Fitzhugh, the author of Harriet the Spy lived on the very block I will be living on, at the time she wrote Harriet, and Harriet's neighborhood will be mine.If you haven't read "Harriet the Spy" do so at your earliest convenience. It's classified as a children's book - but then so is "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - both books can be enjoyed just as much - or possibly even more - by adults than by children.
But a sample of "Harriet" proves its greatness much more than all my praise:
The cook put cake and milk in front of her.It was also illustrated by Fitzhugh and her drawings are classic.
"What you always writing in that dad-blamed book for?" she asked with a sour little face.
"Because," Harriet said around a bit of cake, "I'm a spy."
"Spy, huh. Some spy."
"I am a spy. I'm a good spy, too. I've never been caught."
Cook settled herself with a cup of coffee. "How long you been a spy?"
"Since I could write. Ole Golly told me if I was going to be a writer I better write down everything, so I'm a spy that writes down everything."
"Hmmmmmmmph."
Harriet knew the cook couldn't think of anything to say when she did that.
"I know all about you."
"Like fun you do." The cook looked startled.
"I do too. I know you live with your sister in Brooklyn and that she might get married and you wish you had a car and you have a son that's no good and drinks."
"What do you do, child? Listen at doors?"
"Yes," said Harriet.
"Well, I never," said the cook. "I think that's bad manners."
"Ole Golly doesn't. Ole Golly says find out everything you can cause life is hard enough even if you know alot."
"I bet she don't know you spooking round this house listening at doors."
"Well, how am I supposed to find out anything?"
"I don't know" - the cook shook her head - "I don't know about that Ole Golly."
"What do you mean?" Harriet felt apprehensive.
"I don't know. I just don't know. I wonder about her."
Ole Golly came into the room. "What is it you don't know?"
Cook looked as though she might hide under the table. She stood up. "Can I get you your tea, Miss Golly?" she asked meekly.
"That would be most kind of you," said Ole Golly and sat down.
Harriet opened her notebook:
I WONDER WHAT THAT WAS ALL ABOUT. MAYBE OLE GOLLY KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT COOK THAT COOK DOESN'T WANT HER TO KNOW. CHECK ON THIS.
"What do you have in school this year, Harriet?" asked Ole Golly.
"English, History, Geography, French, Math, ugh, Science, ugh, and the Performing Arts, ugh, ugh, ugh." Harriet rattled these off in a very bored way.
"What history?"
"Greeks and Romans, ugh, ugh, ugh."
"They're fascinating."
"What?"
"They are. Just wait, you'll see. Talk about spies. Those gods spied on everybody all the time."
"Yeah?"
"'Yes,' Harriet, not 'yeah.'"
"Well, I wish I'd never heard of them."
"Ah, there's a thought from Aesop for you: 'We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.'"
Ole Golly gave a little moo of satisfaction after she had delivered herself of this.
"I think I'll go now," Harriet said.
"Yes," said the cook, "go out and play."
Harriet stood up. "I do not go out to PLAY, I go out to WORK!" and in as dignified a way as possible she walked from the room and up the steps from the kitchen.
My daughter, who turns 30 years old today (we are doing brunch at Capsoutos Freres), plans to get a tattoo of Harriet the Spy.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Playfest next week!
Play festivals are alot of work. We're doing 20 plays by 20 writers next week and we just had a marathon rehearsal today and wow - tired! Although I am always tired after a directing session - concentrating so hard for hours will wear you out - and I can just imagine how rough it is for the actors. Luckily I found a very good stage manager and that makes things flow much more smoothly than otherwise.
Hopefully it will all be worth it - the lineup of plays is here.
Hopefully it will all be worth it - the lineup of plays is here.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
OutKast - Hey Ya!
They disabled embedding but you can see it at youtube:
Hey Ya!
And I love that Andre 3000 (aka Andre Benjamin) - he just loves to dress up - he played all the dudes in his Hey Ya! video and you know he loved to wear all those different costumes. And now he even has his own line of fashion.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
He's outta there not a moment too soon!
Bush Aides Say Religious Hiring Doesn’t Bar Aid
In a newly disclosed legal memorandum, the Bush administration says it can bypass laws that forbid giving taxpayer money to religious groups that hire only staff members who share their faith.
The administration, which has sought to lower barriers between church and state through its religion-based initiative offices, made the claim in a 2007 Justice Department memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel. It was quietly posted on the department’s Web site this week.
The statutes for some grant programs do not impose antidiscrimination conditions on their financing, and the administration had previously allowed such programs to give taxpayer money to groups that hire only people of a particular religion.
But the memorandum goes further, drawing a sweeping conclusion that even federal programs subject to antidiscrimination laws can give money to groups that discriminate.
More at the NYTimes
And for the record, I predicted that the Bush Administration would go down in history as the worst ever in January 2001.
This is a very good sign...
Obama Wins in Earliest Vote in Tiny Dixville, NH
I can't believe that idiot Ralph Nader is on the ballot.
DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. (AP) -- Democrat Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch, N.H., where the nation's first Election Day votes were cast and counted early Tuesday.
Obama defeated John McCain 15-6. Independent Ralph Nader was also on the ballot, but received no votes.
The first voter, following tradition established in 1948, was picked ahead of the midnight voting and the rest of the town's 21 registered voters followed suit in Tuesday's first minutes.
Town Clerk Rick Erwin says the northern New Hampshire town is proud of its tradition, but says the most important thing is that the turnout represents a 100 percent vote.
President Bush won the vote in Dixville Notch in 2004 on the way to his re-election.
I can't believe that idiot Ralph Nader is on the ballot.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Autumn Reading videos
One of the fun things about our NYCPlaywrights fundraiser readings is that actors often get to play very different roles in the same evening. That was the case with me when I filled in for sick/missing actors - I got to play a British executive assistant named Mindy in a play about a corporate Peter Pan, and the ghost of a TAROT READER's bubby with a Yiddish accent. I also got to play an old hard-of-hearing lady, but the clip I used doesn't have me in it, a successful business woman, but again, don't show me, and I got to play the evil adulterous wife in my own play HAPPILY MARRIED but alas, the damn camcorder battery died before my performance.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
The book is better...
Assistant: This is Bexy [?].
MA: Hello, Bexy. This is Frank L'Ouvrier, I'm with President Sarkozy, on the line for Governor Palin.
Assistant: One second please, can you hold on one second please?
MA: No problem.
Assistant: Hi, I'm going to hand the phone over to her.
MA: Okay, thank you very much I'm going to put the president on the line.
Assistant: Okay, he's coming to the line.
SP: This is Sarah.
MA: Okay, Governor Palin?
SP: Hellloooo...
MA: Just hold on for President Sarkozy, one moment.
SP: Oh, it's not him yet. I always do that. I'll just have people hand it to me right when it's them.
FNS: Yes, hello, Governor Palin? Yes, hello, Mrs. Governor?
SP: Hello this is Sarah. How are you?
FNS: Fine, and you, this is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking, how are you?
SP: Oh... So good, it's so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.
FNS: Oh, it's a pleasure.
SP: Thank you sir, we have such great respect for you, John McCain and I, we LOVE you and thank you for spending a few minutes to talk to me.
FNS: I follow your campaigns closely with my special American Advisor Johnny Hallyday, you know?
SP: Yes! Good!
FNS: Excellent! Are you confident?
SP: Very confident and we're thankful that the polls are showing that the race is tightening and--
FNS: Well I know very well that the campaign can be exhausting. How do you feel right now my dear?
SP: I feel so good. I feel like we're in a marathon and at the very end of the marathon, you get your second wind and you plow to the finish-
FNS: You see, I got elected in France because I'm real and you seem to be someone who's real as well.
SP: Yes, yeah, Nicolas. We so appreciate this opportunity.
FNS: You know, I see you as a president, one day, you too.
SP: Well... maybe in eight years. [laughs]
FNS: Well, ah, I hope for you. You know we have a lot in common because personally one of my favorite activities is to hunt too.
SP: Oh very good, we should go hunting together.
FNS: Exactly! We could go try hunting by helicopter, like you did, I never did that.
SP: [laugh]
FNS: Like we say in France, "on pourrait tuer des bébés phoques aussi" [We could also kill some baby seals].
SP: [laugh] Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together as we're getting work done, we can kill two birds with one stone that way.
FNS: I just love killing those animals. Mm, mm. Take away a life, that is so fun!
SP: [laugh]
FNS: I'd really love to go as long as we don't bring your Vice president Cheney.
SP: No, I'll be a careful shot, yes.
FNS: You know we have a lot in common also except that from my house I can see Belgium. That's kind of less interesting than you.
SP: Well, see, we're right next door to other countries that we all need to be working with, yes.
FNS: Some people said in the last days, and I thought that was mean, that you weren't experienced enough in foreign relations, and you know, that's completely false, that's the thing I said to my great friend, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stef Carse [a Quebecois country singer].
SP: Well, he's doing fine, too, and yeah when you come into a position underestimated, it gives you the opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder-
FNS: I was wondering because you are also next to him, one of my good friends, also, the prime minister of Quebec, Mr. Richard Z. Sirois, have you met him recently? Did he come to one of your rallies?
SP: Uh, haven't seen him at one of the rallies, but it's been great working with the Canadian officials in my role as governor; we have a great cooperative effort there as we work on all of our resource development projects. You know I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife - oh my goodness! You've added a lot of energy to your country, even, with that beautiful family of yours.
FNS: Thank you very much. You know my wife, Carla, would love to meet you. You know even though she was a bit jealous that I was supposed to speak to you today.
SP: [laugh] Well, give her a big hug from me.
FNS: You know my wife is a popular singer and a former top model and she's so hot in bed. She even wrote a song for you.
SP: Oh my goodness! I didn't know that.
FNS: Yes, in French, it's called "Du rouge à lèvres sur une cochonne" [Lipstick for a pig] or if you prefer in English, Joe the Plumber: [sings] "It's his life, Joe the Plumber..."
SP: Maybe she understands some of the unfair criticism but I bet you she is such a hard worker, too, and she realizes you just plow through that criticism like..
FNS: I just want to be sure, I don't quite understand the phenomenon "Joe the Plumber," that's not your husband, right?
SP: Mm-hmm, that's not my husband, but he's a normal American who just works hard and doesn't want government to take his money.
FNS: Yes, yes, I understand, we have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France, it's called, "Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit," oui.
SP: Right. That's what it's all about, is the middle class, and government needing to work for them. You're a very good example for us here.
FNS: I seen a bit about NBC even Fox News wasn't an ally, an ally, sorry, about as much as usual.
SP: Yeah that's what we're up against.
FNS: I must say, Governor Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life, you know, Hustler's "Nailin Palin."
SP: Oh, good. Thank you. Yes.
FNS: That was really edgy.
SP: [laugh] Well, good.
FNS: I really love you. And I must say something, so, Governor, you've been pranked.
By the Master Avengers. We're two comedians from Montreal
SP: Oohhh, have we been pranked? And what radio station is this?
FNS: This is for CKOI in Montreal.
SP: In Montreal? Tell me the radio station call letters...
MA: Hello? If one voice can change the world for Obama, one Viagra can change the world for McCain.
Assistant: Hi, I'm sorry, I have to let you go. Um, thank you.
listen here
MA: Hello, Bexy. This is Frank L'Ouvrier, I'm with President Sarkozy, on the line for Governor Palin.
Assistant: One second please, can you hold on one second please?
MA: No problem.
Assistant: Hi, I'm going to hand the phone over to her.
MA: Okay, thank you very much I'm going to put the president on the line.
Assistant: Okay, he's coming to the line.
SP: This is Sarah.
MA: Okay, Governor Palin?
SP: Hellloooo...
MA: Just hold on for President Sarkozy, one moment.
SP: Oh, it's not him yet. I always do that. I'll just have people hand it to me right when it's them.
FNS: Yes, hello, Governor Palin? Yes, hello, Mrs. Governor?
SP: Hello this is Sarah. How are you?
FNS: Fine, and you, this is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking, how are you?
SP: Oh... So good, it's so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.
FNS: Oh, it's a pleasure.
SP: Thank you sir, we have such great respect for you, John McCain and I, we LOVE you and thank you for spending a few minutes to talk to me.
FNS: I follow your campaigns closely with my special American Advisor Johnny Hallyday, you know?
SP: Yes! Good!
FNS: Excellent! Are you confident?
SP: Very confident and we're thankful that the polls are showing that the race is tightening and--
FNS: Well I know very well that the campaign can be exhausting. How do you feel right now my dear?
SP: I feel so good. I feel like we're in a marathon and at the very end of the marathon, you get your second wind and you plow to the finish-
FNS: You see, I got elected in France because I'm real and you seem to be someone who's real as well.
SP: Yes, yeah, Nicolas. We so appreciate this opportunity.
FNS: You know, I see you as a president, one day, you too.
SP: Well... maybe in eight years. [laughs]
FNS: Well, ah, I hope for you. You know we have a lot in common because personally one of my favorite activities is to hunt too.
SP: Oh very good, we should go hunting together.
FNS: Exactly! We could go try hunting by helicopter, like you did, I never did that.
SP: [laugh]
FNS: Like we say in France, "on pourrait tuer des bébés phoques aussi" [We could also kill some baby seals].
SP: [laugh] Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together as we're getting work done, we can kill two birds with one stone that way.
FNS: I just love killing those animals. Mm, mm. Take away a life, that is so fun!
SP: [laugh]
FNS: I'd really love to go as long as we don't bring your Vice president Cheney.
SP: No, I'll be a careful shot, yes.
FNS: You know we have a lot in common also except that from my house I can see Belgium. That's kind of less interesting than you.
SP: Well, see, we're right next door to other countries that we all need to be working with, yes.
FNS: Some people said in the last days, and I thought that was mean, that you weren't experienced enough in foreign relations, and you know, that's completely false, that's the thing I said to my great friend, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stef Carse [a Quebecois country singer].
SP: Well, he's doing fine, too, and yeah when you come into a position underestimated, it gives you the opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder-
FNS: I was wondering because you are also next to him, one of my good friends, also, the prime minister of Quebec, Mr. Richard Z. Sirois, have you met him recently? Did he come to one of your rallies?
SP: Uh, haven't seen him at one of the rallies, but it's been great working with the Canadian officials in my role as governor; we have a great cooperative effort there as we work on all of our resource development projects. You know I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife - oh my goodness! You've added a lot of energy to your country, even, with that beautiful family of yours.
FNS: Thank you very much. You know my wife, Carla, would love to meet you. You know even though she was a bit jealous that I was supposed to speak to you today.
SP: [laugh] Well, give her a big hug from me.
FNS: You know my wife is a popular singer and a former top model and she's so hot in bed. She even wrote a song for you.
SP: Oh my goodness! I didn't know that.
FNS: Yes, in French, it's called "Du rouge à lèvres sur une cochonne" [Lipstick for a pig] or if you prefer in English, Joe the Plumber: [sings] "It's his life, Joe the Plumber..."
SP: Maybe she understands some of the unfair criticism but I bet you she is such a hard worker, too, and she realizes you just plow through that criticism like..
FNS: I just want to be sure, I don't quite understand the phenomenon "Joe the Plumber," that's not your husband, right?
SP: Mm-hmm, that's not my husband, but he's a normal American who just works hard and doesn't want government to take his money.
FNS: Yes, yes, I understand, we have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France, it's called, "Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit," oui.
SP: Right. That's what it's all about, is the middle class, and government needing to work for them. You're a very good example for us here.
FNS: I seen a bit about NBC even Fox News wasn't an ally, an ally, sorry, about as much as usual.
SP: Yeah that's what we're up against.
FNS: I must say, Governor Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life, you know, Hustler's "Nailin Palin."
SP: Oh, good. Thank you. Yes.
FNS: That was really edgy.
SP: [laugh] Well, good.
FNS: I really love you. And I must say something, so, Governor, you've been pranked.
By the Master Avengers. We're two comedians from Montreal
SP: Oohhh, have we been pranked? And what radio station is this?
FNS: This is for CKOI in Montreal.
SP: In Montreal? Tell me the radio station call letters...
MA: Hello? If one voice can change the world for Obama, one Viagra can change the world for McCain.
Assistant: Hi, I'm sorry, I have to let you go. Um, thank you.
listen here
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Obama Is Up, and Fans Fear That Jinxes It
Glad to see I'm not the only one with election anxiety
Our country's fate is hanging in the balance - Obama has to win.
If Obama does win I think a big factor will be those who prefer McCain, but can't bring themselves to put Sarah Palin in line for the presidency, won't bother voting at all.
Richard Schrader, a senior staff member for a national environmental organization, lives in Amherst, Mass., where politics start liberal and traipse left. He is fairly liberal, but his neighbors worry that he does not worry nearly enough. "They wake up, drink that pot of coffee and hit the polling Web sites," Mr. Schrader said. "Too much good news has to be a lie."
Recently he sat down with a friend who was sweating about Minnesota.
"Minnesota?" Mr. Schrader told his friend. "What, are you kidding me? Obama's up 14 points there."
The friend shook his head sadly. Take off seven points for hidden racial animus. Subtract another five for polling error. It is down to two points, and that is within the margin of error in sampling, and that could mean Mr. Obama might be behind.
"It was perversely impressive," Mr. Schrader said.
Our country's fate is hanging in the balance - Obama has to win.
If Obama does win I think a big factor will be those who prefer McCain, but can't bring themselves to put Sarah Palin in line for the presidency, won't bother voting at all.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tam Lin 2008
Every year, no matter what, my play TAM LIN must be performed in NYC for Halloween. Just so Edward Einhorn knows he hasn't killed the play in spite of the fact that the US Copyright office has not yet cancelled his UNAUTHORIZED derivative "blocking and choreography" script registration. It WILL be compelled, eventually, even if I have to spend the rest of my life to do it.Also, it's just a damn fun play to do. This year, like last, it will be read at the weekly NYCPlaywrights meeting.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency
Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency
And let us not forget The Onion's prescience January 17, 2001:
Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'
"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."
Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.
hah fucking hah
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Whoohoo!
Poll: Obama Has 16-Point Lead Over McCain
THE POLL: Pew Research Center, national presidential race among registered voters.
THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama 52 percent, John McCain 36 percent.
THE POLL: Pew Research Center, national presidential race among registered voters.
THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama 52 percent, John McCain 36 percent.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Looks like the Krug-Man is going for a Nobel in literature too.
Economic data rarely inspire poetic thoughts. But as I was contemplating the latest set of numbers, I realized that I had William Butler Yeats running through my head: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the center cannot hold."
read more from the Mighty Krug-Man
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The show must go on!
I don't know what kind of nasty bug has been going around, but it has been playing havoc with my casting choices. I thought I had the NYCPlaywrights Autumn fundraiser finally cast just right, when Ann came down with this virus and had to bail out the very morning of the show. Luckily I had just the night before made the acquaintance of a very good young female actor and she filled in... for the most part.She wasn't comfortable doing an English accent and I didn't want to push her - I was too grateful she was just able to fill in with a 4-hour lead time. So I had to take the role of Mindy, Peter Pan's executive assistant. Initially I was just going to do a few minor roles and some stage directions, but I got promoted thanks to this. I also played the ghost of a bubby (Jewish grandmother) - luckily I was acquainted with the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack from the week I spent in my aunt's convent when I was 12 (long story.)
So as always I'm posting clips from the show online - but here's a preview of me playing Mindy. Considering this is the first time I'm saying these lines aloud, and considering I haven't ever studied dialects, I think I do OK.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Charging Bias by Theaters, Female Playwrights to Hold Meeting
Frustrated by what they describe as difficulty in getting their work produced, enough female playwrights to make a standing - room - only crowd are planning to attend a town hall meeting on Monday night to air their grievances with representatives of New York's leading Off Broadway and nonprofit theaters.
The gathering was organized by the playwrights Sarah Schulman and Julia Jordan, who have rallied their colleagues to the cause, contending that their male counterparts in the 2008-9 season are being produced at 14 of the largest Off Broadway institutions at four times the rate that women are. More than 150 playwrights appeared at a meeting last month to discuss the issue, and all 90 seats at New Dramatists, the playwriting center where Monday night’s meeting is scheduled, are already spoken for, and there is a long waiting list.
More at the NYTimes
As I commented on Jason Grote's blog, before he censored me, this is about the money.
But not only money. We do not live in a meritocracy, never have and never will. The Bush administration has been criticized for cronyism, but cronyism is absolutely the standard practice in most of the world. And especially in the arts, where there is no standard for what "good" is - it's extremely subjective. And in fact, I would argue that all forms of art beginning with the early 20th century, with the "modernist" rejection of displays of traditional skills - the ability to write a memorable melody, in music; the ability to write an exciting story, in drama; the ability to create an image, with your own hands that looks like something, in the visual arts - have all lead to art by cronyism. You don't need to hone your skills - you just need to display a basic understanding of the craft and then you schmooze with the right people and through the power of the in-crowd's clout, your work is declared the next new and exciting thing.
And men still have more free time to schmooze, and more money, to afford go out drinking with artistic directors etc.
And then there is the "angry young man" phenomenon which I've blogged about before, and will again, soon.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Greenspan
What Nobel prize-winning Krugman said:
At least he’s admitting that he got something wrong. That’s actually rare these days, especially among the people Greenspan associates with.
That said, praise also to Steve Goldstein at Marketwatch for this memorable line:
For a man who was once remarkably hard to decipher, Alan Greenspan is now as clear as an empty Lehman Brothers office.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Actor on a Valu-Pak
Jason Alan Griffin, who performed in Mergatroyd Production's production of my play The Slash and also my facebook friend showed up on my doorstep today - on the cover of the Valu-Pak coupon mailer. He looks so suburban!
Jon Stewart to Sarah Palin: 'F*** You.'
The audio quality on this clip is really bad. Stewart hurls the f-bomb, with authority, at 0:45. Thanks for speaking for us in the unreal America, Jon.
Monday, October 20, 2008
OLEANNA is a right-wing play - glad the NYTimes agrees
A few years ago I wrote an essay about OLEANNA called History is Written by the Winners in which I suggest that there was a deeply conservative, even misogynist subtext to the play. Although some feminists were also saying it, for most people it was just some sort of he-said/she-said both-sides-are-wrong kind of thing.
FINALLY the NYTimes - the "paper of record" lays it on the line. In its caption of the photo on the left it says: "David Mamet's OLEANNA addresses sexual harassment through a conservative lens."
Thank you for noticing. Of course it probably helps that Mamet recently came out of the closet as a conservative.
The rest of the article frets about the lack of conservative views in the theatre. But that's wrong - the author, Patricia Heffernan, is just not thinking fourth -dimensionally, as Doc Brown says. The theatre is FULL of conservative views - anything written 50 years ago represents conservative views, or at the very least respresents a world that is pallatable to conservatives. Except most stuff by G. B. Shaw.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
you said it Roy
excellent point by Roy - again:
Andrea Mitchell talked about a "remarkably negative" Obama ad -- negative because it shows McCain bragging about how often he sided with George Bush.
In 2000 there was a lot of yapping about the limited involvement of Bill Clinton in Al Gore's campaign. (In fact we've had some of that this year about both Clintons' limited involvement in Obama's.) Yet nobody finds it remarkable that the Republican Presidential candidate is running, actively and like hell, from the sitting President from his own party. In fact, they cluck over Obama's bad taste in bringing it up.
My acting debut
Well if you want to get technical, my acting debut was playing an elf doing the A-B-C dance in the Our Lady of Fatima first graders' Christmas pageant. So this is my adult debut - not counting the Brick Playhouse's Night of a Thousand Plays. OK, so this isn't my acting debut - except it's the first time I will perform in public in one of my own plays. I play the adulterous wife in my HAPPILY MARRIED in next week's NYCPlaywrights fundraiser. Which should be fun - playing bad guys is fun. OK, so it's only a reading. But still, it should be interesting. Rehearsal yesterday went pretty well. I am playing a few other parts too - for some reason most of our female actor members are very busy lately (or out of town at a film fest) and I had to fill in. Luckily it's minor parts and stage directions. I think I can handle that. It will be videotaped, so that should be amusing to watch.More info about the Autumn 2008 reading here
Friday, October 17, 2008
Female Cougar vs Male Grizzly Bear Encounter.
Oh wow! For years I have maintained that in a fair fight between a Polar bear and a Siberian tiger, the tiger would win. And yet not a single person I've asked: "Polar bear vs. Siberian tiger?" has agreed with me.
Well check it out - a little old COUGAR fights off a Grizzly bear - which is much closer in size to a Polar bear than a cougar is to a S. tiger. And look who wins bitches!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Hermenautic circle
Now I'm getting visits from a link in some discussion thread on the Hermenautic Circle, but I can't read it because I am not a member of that "select" group. But what a coincidence - Jason Grote is a member. Could Grote be talking about me at his exclusive little club of ubermenschen and yet he is too cowardly to dare to debate me?
Well I am sorry to say, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. But if it is your doing Grote - You kicked me off your blog. I wrote about it on my blog. Jesus Christ - let it go.
The Hermenautic Circle seems to be a kind of gated community for the insufferably self-important - here's what they say about themselves: "The Hermenautic Circle is a select and secretive enclave of 100 thinkers, writers, editors, journalists, bloggers, artists, designers, musicians, multimedia producers, activists, grad school refugees, and other friends. Hosted by Joshua Glenn. The group is not accepting new members. Please support our efforts by visiting the Hermenautic Circle Bookstore."
This is our own private club for super-important-geniuses - now give us your money.
Well I am sorry to say, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. But if it is your doing Grote - You kicked me off your blog. I wrote about it on my blog. Jesus Christ - let it go.
The Hermenautic Circle seems to be a kind of gated community for the insufferably self-important - here's what they say about themselves: "The Hermenautic Circle is a select and secretive enclave of 100 thinkers, writers, editors, journalists, bloggers, artists, designers, musicians, multimedia producers, activists, grad school refugees, and other friends. Hosted by Joshua Glenn. The group is not accepting new members. Please support our efforts by visiting the Hermenautic Circle Bookstore."
This is our own private club for super-important-geniuses - now give us your money.
Thank you for noticing, Ben Bernanke!
Bernanke also said there were now risks to the global financial system from unregulated credit default swaps. These are insurancelike products that allow big investors to hedge against potential losses. The market for swaps is thought to total $55 trillion, yet it's a "dark market," unregulated and without transparency, amounting to nothing more than contracts between two sophisticated parties.
"Credit default swaps are not traded on an exchange. They aren't traded through a central counterparty, which means if one of those firms fails, among the consequences would be that the banks and others who had purchased credit insurance would be forced to write down tens of billions of dollars of value," Bernanke said.
more
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I challenge Jason Grote to a debate
Apparently I unknowingly stormed Jason Grote's Fortress with the awful might of my mildly dissenting opinions and now he's threatening to keep me from commenting on his blog.
Don't worry Jason, I won't attempt to cross your moat again - I've caused you enough stress already.
But nothing annoys me more than contributing to the interest factor of someone's blog with some mild debate - not to mention references to interesting studies - and then being told to STFU for my efforts.
So I challenged him to debate me on the sexism in theatre issue as well as the Hillary was the victim (in part) of sexism issue.
I don't expect a response - a theatre establishment insider has nothing to gain by debating - and losing to - me.
Really, I guess it's my own fault for not guessing that someone who calls his blog a "fortress" might be a bit on the defensive side.
===============
UPDATE
Grote's predictable response:
=========
UPDATE - Grote removed all my posts on the comments section so the link above no longer shows the text of the entire tempest in a teapot. However, I suspected that he would do just that, and so I saved an image of the original exchange. Not that anybody really cares. But it was a most enlightening experience. Maybe I'll turn it into a play.
---
One more thing - I just discovered that Grote is a facebook friend of Edward Einhorn. Now it all makes sense...
DEFINITE FINAL UPDATE - coincidentally I suddenly have an influx of visitors from people googling my name. Some appear to be visiting me from their workplace - the name of their company is often displayed in my web statistics. And not a one of them has bothered to click the link for "The Strange Case of Edward Einhorn v. Mergatroyd Productions." Really people, that's the most interesting thing about me, for those of you who are involved in theatre, anyway. Although I hope you also read my theatre essays. Apparently some people find my opinions on that topic incredibly objectionable.
Don't worry Jason, I won't attempt to cross your moat again - I've caused you enough stress already.
But nothing annoys me more than contributing to the interest factor of someone's blog with some mild debate - not to mention references to interesting studies - and then being told to STFU for my efforts.
So I challenged him to debate me on the sexism in theatre issue as well as the Hillary was the victim (in part) of sexism issue.
I need to expand my horizons eh? Condescend much?
If I had known you found *mildly* dissenting opinions objectionable I would have never contributed here. I had this delusion your were hip liberal dude.
Luckily, I have my own blog and am not a prisoner of your moderation purgatory.
You're welcome to come and debate me on my own blog any time - I have no plans to censor you - I don't need to - I can out-debate you on any of these topics, any time.
I don't expect a response - a theatre establishment insider has nothing to gain by debating - and losing to - me.
Really, I guess it's my own fault for not guessing that someone who calls his blog a "fortress" might be a bit on the defensive side.
===============
UPDATE
Grote's predictable response:
...I'm going to close the comments now because I think this is a meaningless argument and I've got better things to do. Luckily for you, you've got the entire rest of the internet to tell everyone what a big ol' Nazi I am. Keep on sticking it to the man!
=========
UPDATE - Grote removed all my posts on the comments section so the link above no longer shows the text of the entire tempest in a teapot. However, I suspected that he would do just that, and so I saved an image of the original exchange. Not that anybody really cares. But it was a most enlightening experience. Maybe I'll turn it into a play.
---
One more thing - I just discovered that Grote is a facebook friend of Edward Einhorn. Now it all makes sense...
DEFINITE FINAL UPDATE - coincidentally I suddenly have an influx of visitors from people googling my name. Some appear to be visiting me from their workplace - the name of their company is often displayed in my web statistics. And not a one of them has bothered to click the link for "The Strange Case of Edward Einhorn v. Mergatroyd Productions." Really people, that's the most interesting thing about me, for those of you who are involved in theatre, anyway. Although I hope you also read my theatre essays. Apparently some people find my opinions on that topic incredibly objectionable.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Nobel committee agrees with me
They share my high opinion of Paul Krugman:
Krugman Wins Economics Nobel
Krugman Wins Economics Nobel
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Finding Jane
Well the Jane Eyre auditions are underway and I've found at least one actor so far who could play Jane, which is great. Rochesters are much harder to find, unfortunately... but the hunt goes on!
Philly boes Palin - McCain supporters boo McCain
Normally I would have no idea what is going on in the world of hockey. But thanks to Atrios I went to the NYTimes Hockey section and read this:
Meanwhile, after McCain and Palin rile up their scary mob of supporters, McCain finally tells the crazies that Obama is not an Arab terrorist - and he is booed by his own.
And as Frank Rich notes:
Let me start this off by saying, I would object to this sideshow whichever political party it involved. Having vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin drop the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers' opener Saturday night was problematic not because it was Palin — Flyers owner Ed Snider’s decision under the flimsy excuse of "honoring" hockey moms — but because it is injecting politics in a place it should not be.Ah Philly, my old home town.
The biggest problem: when Palin came out onto the Wachovia Center ice Saturday night — greeted by resounding (almost deafening) boos from the Flyers crowd.
Meanwhile, after McCain and Palin rile up their scary mob of supporters, McCain finally tells the crazies that Obama is not an Arab terrorist - and he is booed by his own.
And as Frank Rich notes:
Some voters told reporters that they didn’t want Obama to run, let alone win, should his very presence unleash the demons who have stalked America from Lincoln to King. After consultation with Congress, Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, gave Obama a Secret Service detail earlier than any presidential candidate in our history — in May 2007, some eight months before the first Democratic primaries.
"I've got the best protection in the world, so stop worrying," Obama reassured his supporters. Eventually the country got conditioned to his appearing in large arenas without incident (though I confess that the first loud burst of fireworks at the end of his convention stadium speech gave me a start). In America, nothing does succeed like success. The fear receded.
Until now. At McCain-Palin rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of "Treason!" and "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" and “Off with his head!” as well as the uninhibited slinging of racial epithets, are actually something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option.
... what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at McCain-Palin rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Palin. Obama "launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist." He is “palling around with terrorists” (note the plural noun). Obama is "not a man who sees America the way you and I see America." Wielding a wildly out-of-context Obama quote, Palin slurs him as an enemy of American troops.
By the time McCain asks the crowd "Who is the real Barack Obama?" it's no surprise that someone cries out "Terrorist!" The rhetorical conflation of Obama with terrorism is complete. It is stoked further by the repeated invocation of Obama's middle name by surrogates introducing McCain and Palin at these rallies. This sleight of hand at once synchronizes with the poisonous Obama-is-a-Muslim e-mail blasts and shifts the brand of terrorism from Ayers's Vietnam-era variety to the radical Islamic threats of today.
That's a far cry from simply accusing Obama of being a guilty-by-association radical leftist. Obama is being branded as a potential killer and an accessory to past attempts at murder. "Barack Obama's friend tried to kill my family" was how a McCain press release last week packaged the remembrance of a Weather Underground incident from 1970 — when Obama was 8.
We all know what punishment fits the crime of murder, or even potential murder, if the security of post-9/11 America is at stake. We all know how self-appointed "patriotic" martyrs always justify taking the law into their own hands.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Alan Greenspan, Larry Summers and me
I'm finding the article in today's NYTimes Taking Hard New Look at Greenspan Legacy to be very interesting indeed, for several reasons.
As I blogged here weeks ago, I was appalled when working for a large investment bank, by the sheer complexity and fluidity of financial instruments known as "exotic derivatives."
Turns out I was in pretty good company:
I remember thinking at the time - "how could our government allow this to go on - there is NO WAY that any kind of oversight could be going on. What kind of idiot would allow this to happen?"
Now I know. The idiot Alan Greenspan.
There were some who saw the crisis coming:
Hmm. Some woman was getting uppity and trying to tell men how to do things. Who should the men bring in to put a woman in her place?
Of course - Lawrence Summers!
But Born was right:
However...
Well why did she depart? No doubt Larry Summers would tell you (from his infamous women aren't as smart as men speech at Harvard):
I'm sure Summers believed that Born just didn't have an aptitude for numbers.
And he and Greenspan got their way:
Because there IS NO OVERSIGHT for derivatives, you know they have been used for some major financial dirty dealings - and that is the next big financial scandal that will break.
Here's hoping Alan Greenspan will end up in jail for it.
As I blogged here weeks ago, I was appalled when working for a large investment bank, by the sheer complexity and fluidity of financial instruments known as "exotic derivatives."
Turns out I was in pretty good company:
George Soros, the prominent financier, avoids using the financial contracts known as derivatives “because we don’t really understand how they work.” Felix G. Rohatyn, the investment banker who saved New York from financial catastrophe in the 1970s, described derivatives as potential "hydrogen bombs."
And Warren E. Buffett presciently observed five years ago that derivatives were “financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.”
I remember thinking at the time - "how could our government allow this to go on - there is NO WAY that any kind of oversight could be going on. What kind of idiot would allow this to happen?"
Now I know. The idiot Alan Greenspan.
One prominent financial figure, however, has long thought otherwise. And his views held the greatest sway in debates about the regulation and use of derivatives — exotic contracts that promised to protect investors from losses, thereby stimulating riskier practices that led to the financial crisis. For more than a decade, the former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has fiercely objected whenever derivatives have come under scrutiny in Congress or on Wall Street. “What we have found over the years in the marketplace is that derivatives have been an extraordinarily useful vehicle to transfer risk from those who shouldn’t be taking it to those who are willing to and are capable of doing so,” Mr. Greenspan told the Senate Banking Committee in 2003. “We think it would be a mistake” to more deeply regulate the contracts, he added.
There were some who saw the crisis coming:
In 1997, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency that regulates options and futures trading, began exploring derivatives regulation. The commission, then led by a lawyer named Brooksley E. Born, invited comments about how best to oversee certain derivatives.
Ms. Born was concerned that unfettered, opaque trading could "threaten our regulated markets or, indeed, our economy without any federal agency knowing about it," she said in Congressional testimony. She called for greater disclosure of trades and reserves to cushion against losses.
Ms. Born's views incited fierce opposition from Mr. Greenspan and Robert E. Rubin, the Treasury secretary then. Treasury lawyers concluded that merely discussing new rules threatened the derivatives market. Mr. Greenspan warned that too many rules would damage Wall Street, prompting traders to take their business overseas.
"Greenspan told Brooksley that she essentially didn’t know what she was doing and she’d cause a financial crisis," said Michael Greenberger, who was a senior director at the commission. "Brooksley was this woman who was not playing tennis with these guys and not having lunch with these guys. There was a little bit of the feeling that this woman was not of Wall Street."
Hmm. Some woman was getting uppity and trying to tell men how to do things. Who should the men bring in to put a woman in her place?
Of course - Lawrence Summers!
In early 1998, Mr. Rubin's deputy, Lawrence H. Summers, called Ms. Born and chastised her for taking steps he said would lead to a financial crisis, according to Mr. Greenberger. Mr. Summers said he could not recall the conversation but agreed with Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Rubin that Ms. Born's proposal was "highly problematic."
But Born was right:
Ms. Born pushed ahead. On June 5, 1998, Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Rubin and Mr. Levitt called on Congress to prevent Ms. Born from acting until more senior regulators developed their own recommendations. Mr. Levitt says he now regrets that decision. Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Rubin were “joined at the hip on this,” he said. “They were certainly very fiercely opposed to this and persuaded me that this would cause chaos.”
Ms. Born soon gained a potent example. In the fall of 1998, the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management nearly collapsed, dragged down by disastrous bets on, among other things, derivatives. More than a dozen banks pooled $3.6 billion for a private rescue to prevent the fund from slipping into bankruptcy and endangering other firms.
However...
Despite that event, Congress froze the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s regulatory authority for six months. The following year, Ms. Born departed.
Well why did she depart? No doubt Larry Summers would tell you (from his infamous women aren't as smart as men speech at Harvard):
So my best guess, to provoke you, of what's behind all of this [this being women's less success careers in science and engineering] is that the largest phenomenon, by far, is the general clash between people's legitimate family desires and employers' current desire for high power and high intensity, that in the special case of science and engineering, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of the variability of aptitude, and that those considerations are reinforced by what are in fact lesser factors involving socialization and continuing discrimination.
I'm sure Summers believed that Born just didn't have an aptitude for numbers.
And he and Greenspan got their way:
In November 1999, senior regulators — including Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Rubin — recommended that Congress permanently strip the C.F.T.C. of regulatory authority over derivatives.
Mr. Greenspan, according to lawmakers, then used his prestige to make sure Congress followed through. "Alan was held in very high regard," said Jim Leach, an Iowa Republican who led the House Banking and Financial Services Committee at the time. "You've got an area of judgment in which members of Congress have nonexistent expertise."
Because there IS NO OVERSIGHT for derivatives, you know they have been used for some major financial dirty dealings - and that is the next big financial scandal that will break.
Here's hoping Alan Greenspan will end up in jail for it.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
arguments with ourselves
Out of arguments with others we make rhetoric, out of arguments with ourselves we make poetry
Attributed in many places on the Internet to William Butler Yeats but I can't find an actual source anywhere.
But it does make me feel a little better about the strange ambivalent nature of my sonnets.
Attributed in many places on the Internet to William Butler Yeats but I can't find an actual source anywhere.
But it does make me feel a little better about the strange ambivalent nature of my sonnets.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Yule County - updated
I made changes to my latest 10 minute play Yule County based on feedback at NYCPlawyrights. Some things needed clarification - like Todd's status as a college freshman. Someone in the audience was very distressed by the thought of Todd drinking anti-freeze, so I took it out. The important point is Todd wanting to kill himself, not so much the method.
And out of the 20 or so people in attendance, one got the metaphorical nature of Todd's reference to all the Christmas presents being opened, and then a comment to his sister about reincarnation. Which I was happy about - I didn't necessarily expect anybody to get it, in part because it goes by pretty fast.
And I decided to go with Schopenhauer after all. Although I think he is the superior philosopher, so many more people have heard of Nietzsche, so I almost used him. But you really can't beat Schopenhauer for total suicidal pessimism. The quote I used is from his essay On The Sufferings of the World.
And Schopenhauer had a snappy comeback to anybody who complained about his extreme bummer demeanor:
I always find Schopenhauer such a comfort when I'm feeling lonely - few have been as lonely as Schopenhauer himself.
And out of the 20 or so people in attendance, one got the metaphorical nature of Todd's reference to all the Christmas presents being opened, and then a comment to his sister about reincarnation. Which I was happy about - I didn't necessarily expect anybody to get it, in part because it goes by pretty fast.
And I decided to go with Schopenhauer after all. Although I think he is the superior philosopher, so many more people have heard of Nietzsche, so I almost used him. But you really can't beat Schopenhauer for total suicidal pessimism. The quote I used is from his essay On The Sufferings of the World.
And Schopenhauer had a snappy comeback to anybody who complained about his extreme bummer demeanor:
I shall be told, I suppose, that my philosophy is comfortless - because I speak the truth; and people prefer to be assured that everything the Lord has made is good. Go to the priests, then, and leave philosophers in peace!
I always find Schopenhauer such a comfort when I'm feeling lonely - few have been as lonely as Schopenhauer himself.
Bronte facts, wrong again
What IS it with these people and the Brontes? I blogged about the dread Daphne Merkin last week and her use of gossip about the Bs in her introduction to Wuthering Heights. Now I see that Polly Teale can't be bothered to get it right. In her introduction to the published version of her play BRONTE she says:
Days. Not months. Why can't these people bother to do their homework? Is it because nobody bothers to fact check them?
It took Charlotte months to persuade Emily to publish her work.No, not really. I can understand if a dramatist exaggerates in a play in order to make a point, but she should get it right in her introduction. According to Charlotte's own "Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell":
My sister Emily was not a person of demonstrative character, nor one, on the recesses of whose mind and feelings, even those nearest and dearest to her could, with impunity, intrude unlicensed; it took hours to reconcile her to the discovery I had made, and days to persuade her that such poems merited publication.
Days. Not months. Why can't these people bother to do their homework? Is it because nobody bothers to fact check them?
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
beauty & despair
Ramping up for JANE EYRE 2009 forces me to revisit painful memories of last year's production. An actor friend keeps reminding me that although it was a devastating experience for me personally, it was, in his opinion at least, an artistic triumph.
And we really did create something beautiful. But it still brings tears to my eyes sometimes to hear the haunting opening musical sequence from last year's production - listen here - no matter how beautiful something can be, you can never ever escape the pure raw evil of some human beings - and you never know who is going to turn out to be evil.
If only we could get back all the time we waste on unworthy unfeeling degraded deceptive people. If only the human heart wasn't a complete moron. People without true feelings have such an advantage over the rest of us.
And we really did create something beautiful. But it still brings tears to my eyes sometimes to hear the haunting opening musical sequence from last year's production - listen here - no matter how beautiful something can be, you can never ever escape the pure raw evil of some human beings - and you never know who is going to turn out to be evil.
If only we could get back all the time we waste on unworthy unfeeling degraded deceptive people. If only the human heart wasn't a complete moron. People without true feelings have such an advantage over the rest of us.
no false modesty there
Shakespeare bragged about the immortality of his verse ALOT:
OK, so sometimes he plays humble:
But he comes roaring back
And the entirety of the next sonnet is about his verses' longevity
All Shakespeare's Sonnets here
Sonnet 15
And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
Sonnet 17
But were some child of yours alive that time,
You should live twice; in it and in my rhyme.
Sonnet 18
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Sonnet 19
Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong,
My love shall in my verse ever live young.
OK, so sometimes he plays humble:
Sonnet 38
If my slight Muse do please these curious days,
The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise.
But he comes roaring back
Sonnet 54
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth.
And the entirety of the next sonnet is about his verses' longevity
Sonnet 55
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lover's eyes.
Sonnet 60
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
Sonnet 63
His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,
And they shall live, and he in them still green.
Sonnet 71
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse.
But let your love even with my life decay,
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.
Sonnet 81
When all the breathers of this world are dead;
You still shall live--such virtue hath my pen -
Where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men.
Sonnet 107
My love looks fresh, and death to me subscribes,
Since, spite of him, I'll live in this poor rhyme,
While he insults o'er dull and speechless tribes:
And thou in this shalt find thy monument,
When tyrants' crests and tombs of brass are spent.
All Shakespeare's Sonnets here
Monday, October 06, 2008
Circus of Heaven
I am not an authority on the British prog-rock group Yes - that's my brother Paul's area of expertise, but I believe that their song "Circus of Heaven" is lyrically unique in all of their output - although it talks about fantastical things, it does it in a realistic prose style - no mountains coming out of the sky and standing there - and it has an almost Family Circus-esque ending.
Anyways, I always loved this song, but not enough to buy an entire post- Close to the Edge Yes album. But now thanks to the internets...
Anyways, I always loved this song, but not enough to buy an entire post- Close to the Edge Yes album. But now thanks to the internets...
Circus of Heaven
The day the Circus of Heaven came to town
Local folks lined the streets in a Midwestern town
Waiting anxiously for the parade to begin all around
On the very last day
A unicorn headed the mystical way
Surrounded by what seemed a thousand golden angels at play
Behind were Centaurs, elves, bright fairies all in colours of jade
On the very final day
For what seemed only just a moment in time
Seven solemn flying silvered regal horses rode by
Seven golden chariots in tow, a wonder to behold
The Seven Lords of the Mountains of Time
There then arose where nothing really stood there before
A giant tent rising one thousand feet high frofrom the floor
Towns people flocked inside with their eyes all amazed
To greet the Seventh Lord of the seventh age
A fanfare rang out in an incredible sound
Bringing out the strangest visions perfect harmony round
Any dreams he asked would they like to have seen
>From historical or mythical scenes
Then there above their heads just as vivid as life
Each vision transported multitudes inventing light
Grecian galleons, the sack of Troy, to the Gardens of Babylon
A play of millions roared along
The gigantic dreams of Alexander the Great
Civil wars where fbrothers fought and killed their friendship with hate
All seen by Zeus performing scenes in the magical way
The day the circus came to town
Outside great animals as tame as the trees
Angels high in starlight dancing streets
Turning their colours with indigo and gold
Dropping violet, red and emerald snow
As the circus finally changed its invisible course
A new world to be found
On the dreamy ground we walked upon
I turned to my son and said
"Was that something beautiful, amazing, wonderful, extraordinary
beautiful?"
"Oh, it was OK. But there were no clowns, no tigers, lions or bears,
candy-floss, toffee apples, no clowns."
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Somebody at the fortune cookie factory is zen-Einsteinian
The fortune with my Chinese lunch today:
"What is the speed of darkness?"
this is so true
A man with a cat, on the other hand, “is secure with himself,” he said. “He’s sharing his space with a predator.”More Men are Unabashedly Embracing Their Love of Cats
Many women agree that guys with cats are extra special.
"They make the best boyfriends because they're totally cool with staying home and watching a movie," said Elizabeth Daza, 28, a video producer in Manhattan, who dated a cat-owning man for eight years. "Straight men with cats seem to be really secure and stable. They don’t need to be running around the park and proving their masculinity like the dog guys."
And don't forget - cats hate Bush.
"Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."
- Mark Twain Notebook, 1894
Saturday, October 04, 2008
NYCP videos
From the NYCPlaywrights "Best Of" fundraiser - including another take on Fox Force Five - the remarkable true story of supercool NY chicks accosted by the wacky manager of a hip young boutique. And yes, the woman who accosted us at our table did indeed observe that her boyfriend had a really big dick. Although what I did NOT put in the script was the fact that the woman who says "we made out" actually once traveled in the same Rhode Island social circles as the boutique manager. Which proves what I always said - everybody in Rhode Island knows each other.
Friday, October 03, 2008
my Cassandra impersonation, once again
Well I predicted it a couple of months ago, and now I see Paul Krugman agrees with me - the ultimate solution to the growing economic crisis will be a jobs program:
But I guess Paul Krugman must feel like Cassandra too - he was warning about the housing bubble for over a year before it burst.
the rest of the Krugman article
Cassandra who?
We also desperately need an economic stimulus plan to push back against the slump in spending and employment. And this time it had better be a serious plan that doesn’t rely on the magic of tax cuts, but instead spends money where it’s needed. (Aid to cash-strapped state and local governments, which are slashing spending at precisely the worst moment, is also a priority.) Yet it’s hard to imagine the Bush administration, in its final months, overseeing the creation of a new Works Progress Administration.
But I guess Paul Krugman must feel like Cassandra too - he was warning about the housing bubble for over a year before it burst.
the rest of the Krugman article
Cassandra who?
Spike and the bird
I finally realized I could post my cat's music video on my own blog, thus freeing it from MySpace.
I can't post it on Facebook though, since I don't think cats are allowed to have Facebook profiles and you or your friends on Facebook must be in the video in order to post.
Check out this video: Spike and the bird
I can't post it on Facebook though, since I don't think cats are allowed to have Facebook profiles and you or your friends on Facebook must be in the video in order to post.
Check out this video: Spike and the bird
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Here's the story, of a lousy president...
Doesn't this remind you of the Brady Bunch - if one of the "bunch" was "special"? And I think you know which one that is.
Oh yes, and good news: Poll Shows Obama, for First Time, Has Significant Lead
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Nome on the flying trapeze
Nome doesn't usually dress like that (she's wearing a big shirt that says "Frankie Sez Relax") - but her trapeze school decided to go with an 80s theme.
Watch Nome fly through the air - very fancy!
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