My 2 worth: you won't find better political commentary than Tom Tomorrow's weekly offering, This Modern World, which can be read online here. It's topical, scathing, and extraordinarily witty. New cartoons appear each Monday on the Salon.com web site.
Apple's recent iTunes upgrade (version 4.5) has the nifty feature of being able to "publish" your favorite music playlists for other users to peruse. Click here for details. The caveat is that the songs on your playlist have to be drawn from the iTunes Music Store catalogue, but with over 700,000 downloadable choices, assembling that perfect iMix can't be too hard.
The 1963 song "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan just popped up on random shuffle on iTunes. It's eerily fitting for the events of 2004!
In an effort to catch up on my lapsed blogging, what follows is an assortment of quick takes on a variety of topical subjects.
John Edwards: Kerry made what was probably the safest choice for a vice-presidential nominee, but one that I think ultimately will help him in November. Yes, the pollsters will tell us that Edwards may not move any of the swing states into the Kerry column--not even North Carolina, probably--but he represents an articulate, charismatic presence on the ticket that could be reassuring to swing voters in various demographic categories that will be crucial in what should prove to be a close general election. The Tar Heel senator has a fascinating life story, coming from humble origins and facing genuine adversity along the way. Of course the GOP immediately attacked Edwards this morning as lacking the experience for the vice-presidency, what with only six years in the United States Senate. This is laughable, given that the man at the head of the Republican ticket boasted exactly six years experience as governor in a state in which that office held little real political power. Moreover, Bush was more or less a failure at everything he attempted in his life before his political career, in spite of all the advantages conferred by Poppy and his friends. In contrast, Edwards was a self-made millionaire who fought corporate wrong-doing and then distinguished himself in Congress by co-sponsoring sweeping reforms such as the Patients' Bill of Rights.
John McEnroe's talk show: Tomorrow night CNBC debuts a new talk show featuring former "Super-Brat" John McEnroe. As an adolescent tennis fan, I always rooted for Mac's greatest rivals: Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. (Though I never warmed up to Ivan Lendl, so McEnroe occasionally enjoyed my support!) I must admit that I've come around on McEnroe over the years. Maybe he's mellowed; maybe I have. When he started as an announcer on tennis telecasts I found him occasionally amusing but fairly undisciplined as an analyst. Nowadays he's refreshingly insightful, more open-minded (while still refreshingly honest and opinionated), and is capable of substantial slef-deprecating humor. So I am looking forward to seeing what he'll bring to the table as a talk show host. Mac seems to have become something of a polymath, with genuine interests in art, music, politics, sports, etc. He can do no worse in this new role than Dennis Miller, whose show is in the adjoining slot on the cable network; Miller is someone I used to enjoy immensely before his gradual transformation into a right-wing crank (which corresponded fairly precisely with his becoming more or less unfunny).
Spider-Man 2: This film deserves the box office success it has enjoyed the past week. It won't change the world and it not quite perfect, but it's a pretty spiffy summer popcorn flick. Have fun with this one.
Farenheit 9/11: On the other hand, this movie--also a relative box office champ--might, in fact, change the world. Michael Moore's documentary skewers "W" and company pretty effectively. For the most part Moore avoids the heavy-handedness that made me feel sorry for Charlton Heston in Bowling For Columbine. That's not to say there is no point of view here; quite the opposite, the director has conceded. He wears his politics on his sleeve and is unabashed about presenting his opinions on the Bush Administration, the war on terror, the Patriot Act, and the current Iraq misadventure. But for the most part, Moore himself maintains a lower profile in this picture, instead letting the objects of his derision condemn themselves on camera.
Wimbledon 2004: In spite of the seemingly endless rain (that kept me from getting out to the All-England Club while in London during the opening days of the fortnight) this was one of the best Wimbledons in recent memory. Finals weekend was particularly satisfying, with the coming of age of the charming and talented Maria Sharapova in the ladies' championship and the enjoyable and highly competitive Federer/Roddick tilt on Sunday. The sport needs a few more majors with the excitement we saw in SW19 the past two weeks.
Sting in concert: I caught the former Police front man in an outdoor show at Jones Beach last week. He was in exceptionally good voice, sharing the bill with Annie Lennox. I knew it would be a good show when the second song played was one of my Police faves, "Synchronicity II."
Whither Euro 2004? While I was ambling around Paris, Scotland, Ireland, and London in June, I could not escape the football frenzy surrounding the European Cup soccer championship. Every day, there was wall-to-wall coverage in the newspapers and on television. Upon returning to the States, I was struck that highlights of the tournament merited hardly a mention in our papers.
Lately I have been listening to an iTunes playlist of music from the first season of Alias. It's a great mix of tunes; check it out here.
In the nostalgia category, the short-lived Freaks and Geeks show has an awesome mix of songs from when I was in high school.
Apparently I am in this month's Teen Vogue magazine. For real. I wouldn't make this up. (Well, actually I might, but I am not in this case.) I haven't seen the issue myself, but I've heard about it.
The funniest man on television returns to HBO tomorrow, Sunday, at 10:30 p.m.
I saw the ads for the Brit comedian's season on HBO when it first aired but was not impressed enough to tune in. Big mistake. In the winter my friend Julie Goodyear loaned me a DVD of Ali's six U.S. episodes; it took me a couple months to finally drop the disc in the player, but after fifteen minutes of trying to figure out what was going on, I was HOWLING with laughter and wishing it wouldn't end.
Don't miss it. Booyakasha!
I was struck by the power of Springsteen's "No Surrender" before Kerry's speech last night and then U2's "Beautiful Day" immediately afterward. There's a good piece on the use of pop songs at the Democratic Convention this past week here.
Jon Stewart and his ensemble have been bloody brilliant in their take on the Boston sonvention scene this past week. No cows are sacred. Just damned funny stuff. I hope they are equally on form in New York in a month's time, too.
NPR's Weekend Edition program ran a great feature yesterday on Jim Surowiecki's new book, The Wisdom Of The Crowd. Jim is a Choate alum and one-time colleague in the History Department. He currently is the business writer for The New Yorker. His book has gotten great reviews. Click here to listen to the story.
Check this out if you want to watch Will Ferrell as "W" on the set of his most recent campaign commercial. This parody was assembled by America Coming Together.
Check out this piece in the Op-Ed section of today's New York Times:
Chords for Changeby Bruce Springsteen
A nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures.
These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.
Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?
I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith.
People have different notions of these values, and they live them out in different ways. I've tried to sing about some of them in my songs. But I have my own ideas about what they mean, too. That is why I plan to join with many fellow artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Jurassic 5, James Taylor and Jackson Browne, in touring the country this October. We will be performing under the umbrella of a new group called Vote for Change. Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November.
Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped that the seriousness of the times would bring forth strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up the lives of our young men and women under circumstances that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1 percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players), increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy our social contract with one another and render mute the promise of "one nation indivisible."
It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human qualities - respect for others, honesty about ourselves, faith in our ideals - that we come to life in God's eyes. It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is revealed. Our American government has strayed too far from American values. It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.
Well said.
This is pretty clever. I saw it on a guy in the mall about a month ago. You can order the above logo on a T-shirt of your very own by clicking here.
This is too rich! From the AP wire:
Readers of a British magazine have rated President Bush the year's top screen villain, for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.Readers voted Bush top film villain over those from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man 2, and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.
[snip]
Almost 10,000 people voted in the poll, conducted by Total Film magazine. Results were announced Wednesday.
Pretty hard to not be drooling for one of these U2 Special Edition iPods!
The new teaser trailer for Episode III: The Revenge Of The Sith is on the Internet (at least for AOL members). Looks pretty cool.
Go see The Incredibles. Pixar does it again!
As I write these words, I am enjoying an advance preview of the forthcoming U2 album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. This is good stuff--on a par with 2001's All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Heads up: U2 is scheduled to perform on Saturday Night Live tonight.
My family spent the day in New York City, taking in the matinee performance of Movin' Out, the Twyla Tharp dance performance based on the music of Billy Joel. Since I grew up on Long Island, Billy Joel was to me what Bruce Springsteen was to people in New Jersey: a hometown boy who hit it big. So I knew the music of this production pretty well. One of my cousins has been a member of the company since the show premiered, so we got to have dinner with her after the show. An enjoyable outing in the Big Apple!
Here, for your consideration is my first Top 10 list of the season. First up: the best in television in the past calendar year. I've limited myself to regularly scheduled programs (no specials, sporting events, wardrobe malfunctions, or presidential debates--"He forgot Poland!")
10. The Simpsons. Because more than fifteen years into its run, the show is still capable of moments of brilliance, even if it is not as consistent as it once was. Moreover, it retains its delightfully subversive sensibility. As in the past, its the wonderfully detailed second- and third-tier characters that keep this half hour ticking.9. Curb Your Enthusiasm, which we need to see a lot more of. It's more or less an HBO version of Seinfeld focusing on George Costanza living in L.A.
8. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. At its peak in this election year. A spot on send-up of the worlds of politics and the media.
7. The West Wing. Despite the continued absence of a sorely missed scripter Aaron Sorkin, the shake-up in the White House staff following Leos heart attack, the machinations involved in the forthcoming election to detemine Bartlet's successor, and the presidents recent battles with his multiple sclerosis have returned this program to "Must See TV" status.
6. The O.C. I know, I know: its mindless, but a guilty pleasure nonetheless. The snappy dialogue makes up for the tedious soap opera angst.
5. Drawn Together. Little seen show on Comedy Central that features totally warped humor. Its amazing what they have gotten away with, but I guess the animated format makes it easier for the censors to hold their nose. If The O.C. is a guilty pleasure, then this one's a naughty pleasure.
4. Alias. I was a latecomer to this show, having watched the first three seasons on DVD--which may, in fact, be the best way to watch a serial thriller like this. I'll be watching season four when it returns to the air starting in January.
3. The Sopranos. Hard-hitting season #5 was a welcome return to form. Oh, poor Adriana!
2. Arrested Development. Friggin hilarious. Hasn't missed a beat in its second season, either. Best comic plotting since Seinfeld.
1. Lost. Heads and shoulders above the field. Not just the best new show on TV, but the best overall right now. This was a surprise to me. I watched the premiere with some wariness, but by the third episode I was totally hooked. There is no more inventive, suspenseful character-driven show on the air.
Near misses and honorable mentions: the third season of 24; HBO's Entourage; the new season of Smallville--the addition of a young Lois Lane to the cast has made this program a bit more interesting; Saturday Night Live, which always seems to find its voice in an election year (the debate send-ups were clever); Everwood--I gave Jack & Bobby a try, but this is the only "family drama" that I see with any regularlity; and The Office special, which wrapped up this terrific British import both sweetly and snarkily.
In presenting my picks for the best DVD releases of 2004, Ive leaned heavily toward multi-disc collections, which appears the direction into which the industry is moving.
10. The Simpsons, Seasons 4 and 5. The golden age of this animated classic. Some of the episodes in these two collections released in 2004 are absolutely delightful.9. Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 2. A priceless assortment of 60 cartoons restored to their full glory. A worthy successor to the excellent Volume 1.
8. The Office, Seasons 1 and 2 and Special. Bloody brilliant British comedy with a perfect cast. Hilarious.
7. Live Aid. This gem on four discs is a time capsule of pop music in the summer of 1985. The Live Aid double concert in the U.S. and the U.K. was equivalent of Woodstock for the MTV generation. I missed seeing the original broadcast, as I was far from a television set, immersed in my first teaching job on the campus of St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, but later that summer I wore through a VCR cassette of the action in Wembley and Philadelphia. The clear highlight for me: U2s breakthrough performance.
6. Da Ali G Show: The Complete First Season. I stumbled on this show in the late spring almost by accident. A friend had loaned me a bootleg copy of the first season shows on HBO before the disc had been commercially released. It sat next to my TV for a couple of months before I started to feel guilty I hadn't given it back to her. So I popped it in the DVD player on a quiet weekend night while on duty in the dorm. After fifteen minutes in which I was trying to figure out what this was all about, the laughs came: fall out of the chair, gasping for air, deep belly laughs. At their best moments, Sasha Baron Cohens characters--Ali G, Borat, and Bruno--made me laugh as hard as I've ever laughed.
5. Alias, Seasons 1, 2, and 3. This is a bit of a cheat to lump all three seasons together as one item on my list, especially as not all were released in 2004. But I watched them all this past year and 2004 is when I got hooked on the series. Season 1 was a February obsession, Season 2 took up more of my spring break than I'd care to admit, and then I got up to date with the release of the third set in September.
4. Seinfeld, Seasons 1 & 2 and Season 3. I went for the collector's set, with the Monk's Caf salt and pepper shakers and the annotated script. I usually steer clear of these fancy packages, but I this case it seemed like the cheapest way to get all three season at once from Amazon. I got to watch a slew of Season 3 episodes with some colleagues while we traveled to a school function on a bus and was reminded just how very funny this show was at its peak.
3. Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series, Deluxe Edition. This package, delivered in a replica of a high school yearbook, wonderfully captures my days as a teenager. The setting of the show lines up nearly perfectly with my era. And the deluxe set has just loads of material. What a terrific soundtrack, too. I missed the show when it originally aired, but it's a treat to see it in this wonderfully complete DVD package.
Tie, 2. Indiana Jones and Star Wars trilogy boxed sets. These offerings from Lucasfilm contain some of my all-time favorite movies plus a bunch of nifty behind-the-scenes extras. They look and sound great. The DVD versions were well worth the wait. But they could have slid into the top slot, had (a) we been offered the original theatrical releases of the Star Wars flicks (we know Greedo did NOT shoot first!); and/or (b) Spielberg had broken down to give us director's commentaries on the Indy movies.1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Version). The conclusion to Peter Jackson's magnum opus winds up at the top of my list in part because the original film was so well made, but more because Jackson shows the rest of the film industry just how good the DVD format can be in presenting a film. The extended versions of all three LOTR movies reflect tremendous care in their assembly and probably will be regarded as the "definitive" versions of the these films in years to come. When put together, the three extended version packages comprise an epic that spans almost 12 hours of film. And it's all utterly gorgeous. But what makes these collections so exquisite is the sheer volume of extras. The additional materials reflect the same sort of attention to detail that was typical of the movies themselves. An A+ release.
Honorable mentions and near misses: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seasons 1 and 2, if for nothing else than for the "Beloved Aunt" episode; The West Wing, Seasons 2 and 3: the good old days of Aaron Sorkin dialogue, snappily delivered by one of televisions best ensemble casts; and Spider-Man 2, a movie that was deservedly a box office smash in the summer.
In middle of the parking lot of my Condado Beach hotel here in San Juan, I found lying on the ground the CD boxed set of the first four U.S. releases. This is something I could never imagine spending money on, as I already have all the music on other discs, but it's sure nice to have drop into my lap!
Okay, I admit my pop music tastes have not developed much since 1990, but for better or worse, here's what earned my top ratings for the past calendar year:
7. The acoustic versions of Seal's songs on Best: 1991-2004, especially "Kiss From A Rose."6. Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits. A great collection of Mellencamp's work over the course of twenty-five years.
5. Five For Fighting, "100 Years." I really like this song.
4. Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters. Because I'm a sucker for a group that channels early 1970s Elton John in such a captivating fashion (check out "Take Your Mama"). The strange cover of "Comfortably Numb"--hands down, one of my favorite songs of all time--is beguilingly catchy.
3. Elton John, Peachtree Road. Sir Elton still has a knack for melody and this collection of tracks picks up where Songs From the West Coast left off--a fine assemblage of tunes worthy of comparison to the singer's early 1970s work.
2. The Complete U2. This exclusive iTunes release was significant for me less because of the music it included--I had the majority of the material on CD already, though there were some nice unreleased, rare, and live performance cuts included in the mix--than because of the ground-breaking concept of a digital box set. I can think of a dozen artists for whom I'd part with money to get something similar.
1. U2, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The Irish quartet prove they are still the most important band in the world. 'Nuff said.
I confess to having seen precious few movies in the theater this year. I've missed many of the picks on critics' best 10 lists, in particular. So the following group consists mostly of popcorn flicks that I enjoyed in 2004; I have not ranked them 1-10, so in no particular order:
Hero. A tremendous visual spectacle. Stunningly gorgeous.Kill Bill, Volume 2. Far from perfect, but visceral when at its best. The scene of Uma Thurman being buried alive still gives me chills.
Farenheit 9/11. There surely are valid criticisms of Michael Moore's presentation, but but controversy aside, this stands as a fine piece of film-making.
The Passion Of The Christ. There surely are valid criticisms of Mel Gibson's presentation, but controversy aside, this stands as a fine piece of film-making.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Alfonso Cuaron's sure-handed direction raises the bar in the latest installment of this Warner Bros. franchise.
Super Size Me. An effective documentary in the best muck-raking tradition.
Spider-Man 2. This sequel successfully captured the spirit of Stan Lee's Marvel Comics in the 1960s.
The Incredibles. Like Spider-Man 2, this manages to be a lot of fun while making some thoughtful points. Terrific animated film.
Collateral. The best movie I saw this year. Great script, tremendous acting, excellent direction from Michael Mann.
Honorable mention: Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. An underrated movie that does amazing things with digital technology. A throwback to the "B" movies of sixty years ago.
Check it: new episode of Lost, season premiere of Alias, and new episode of The West Wing, plus Drawn Together. That is one tough to beat line-up!
Tonight marks the return of MI-5 on the A&E cable channel. This British import--called Spooks on the other side of the pond--is pretty gripping stuff. And with Alias and 24 also returning to the air in the same week, it's the first time we've had spy shows on TV in months.
Fresh from the Interet:
NORTH AMERICA DATES AND TICKETING INFORMATIONMarch 28th San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
April 1st Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
April 5th Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
April 9th San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
April 14th Phoenix, AZ - Glendale Arena
April 20th Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
April 24th Seattle, WA - Key Arena
April 28th Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
May 7th & May 9th Chicago, IL - United Center
May 14 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
May 17 & May 18 East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
May 21 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
May 24 & May 26 Boston, MA - Fleet CenterTickets for performances in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and San Diego will go on sale this Saturday, January 29th.
Tickets for performances in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose go on sale this Sunday, January 30th and tickets for New York and East Rutherford go on sale next Monday, January 31st. (All additional on sale dates will be announced in the next few weeks.)
Once again, U2 will offer General Admission floor tickets giving fans the best view in the house for the lowest ticket price. Reserved seat tickets in the stands will also be available. In North America, general admission floor tickets will be $49.50 (plus applicable service fees). Additional ticket prices will vary per market. There will be an 8 ticket limit per person with a maximum purchase of 2 general admission floor tickets.
EUROPEAN DATES AND TICKETING INFORMATION
June 10th Brussels - King Baudouin Stadium
June 12th Gelsenkirchen - Schalke Stadium
June 14th Manchester - City of Manchester Stadium
June 18th London - Twickenham Stadium
June 21st Glasgow - Hampden Park
June 24th Dublin - Croke Park
June 29th Cardiff - Millenium Stadium2nd July Vienna - Ernst Happel Stadium
5th July Katowice - Slaski Stadium
7th July Berlin - Olympic Stadium
9th July Paris - Stade de France
11th July Zurich Letzigrund Stadium
13th July Amsterdam Arena
19th July Milan - San Siro
23rd July Rome - Olympic Stadium
27th July Oslo - Vallehovin Stadium;
29th July Gothenburg - Ullevi Stadium
31st July Copenhagen - Parken3rd August Munich - Olympic Stadium
5th August Nice - Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann
7th August Barcelona Camp Nou
9th August San Sebastian - Anoeta Stadium
11th August Madrid - Estadio Vicente Calderon
14th August Lisbon - AlvaladeTickets for the UK shows go on sale at 9am Friday, January 28th; tickets for
Brussels go on sale Saturday, January 29th and tickets for Dublin go on sale on Friday 4th February. (All additional on sale dates will be announced in the coming weeks.)
I have pre-sale access tickets to the tour tomorrow and have to decide where to see the band (maybe the end of the leg in Boston?). I may try to score tickets to Glasgow as well!
The current season of 24 is clearly the best yet. The first six episodes have been increasingly satisfying. Tonight's was probably the best hour of the show so far. Here's hoping they can maintain the pace!
I am heading to the Fleet Center in Boston on May 26 with primo seats for U2!!! The last concert I saw in Boston Garden--the previous incarnation of the Fleet Center--was also U2, on The Joshua Tree tour in the fall of 1987. I am SO psyched for this. It will be the last show of this leg of their tour. (I may try to get more tickets for a New York show when they add dates, as they inevitably will after the initial round of sell-outs.)
I well remember twenty years ago--January of 1985--spending a very cold night on the streets of Worcester, Massachusetts outside the Centrum, waiting to get tickets for a show on U2's Unforgettable Fire tour later that spring. A few of us in college made an adventure out of it back then. It was a pleasant contrast to roll out of bed rather late this morning on this school holiday, sit at my computer a few minutes before 10:00 a.m., press a few buttons and have the tickets sent to me via email. I certainly stayed a lot warmer!
I caught the new trailer for the final Star Wars installment last night while checking e-mail on an AOL account (turns out AOL members have exclusive access to the trailer for a while). It looks pretty promising. Hopefully I'll see this trailer again on the silver screen tonight; I am heading out to the movies for the first time in over two months--which surely is a record drought for me since the age of about 12!
Like the terrific current run of 24, this season's The West Wing is reinvigorated. I just ordered the Season 4 DVD package, but the current episodes featuring Jimmy Smits, Alan Alda, Tim Matheson, and Gary Cole playing characters vying for the White House have provided a much-welcomed breath of fresh air as the Bartlet Administration nears its end. The infusion of new characters and election storylines has enabled the writers to explore virgin territory. Though Aaron Sorkin is still sorely missed--no one nails dialogue like the scribe behind A Few Good Men, The American President, and Sports Night--I am far more interested in this show than I was a year ago.
Apparently the plan is to inaugurate a new president halfway through the 2005-2006 season, assuming the show is renewed, of course. Whether Bartlet's successor will be a Republican (Alda) or a Democrat (Smits, most likely) is yet to be seen. In any case I will miss Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet.
Next week NBC will be airing the premiere episode of the American version of the brilliant British show "The Office." Having become a fan of the original, I hope the Peacock doesn't screw this up. Apparently the pilot is a faithful recreation of its counterpart, then the rest of the episodes are new scripts. Check it out here.
I checked out Robots last night, the latest in computer-generated animation films. The movie was cute in terms of story and character--appropriate for kids, with enough knowing pop culture references worked in for the benefit of older viewers. What was amazing was the eye candy; the refinement of this sort of animation has continued to develop impressively. The metallic surfaces that dominated the look of the film worked really well when rendered by computer.
The surprise of the television season for me has been the Sci-Fi Channel's resurrection of Battlestar Galactica. I remember the cheesy 1970s version, which was more or less an attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze. The current incarantion takes the central premise and main characters of the original and gives them a darker, more serious, and more realistic spin. The season-ending cliffhanger aired last night wrapped up a very strong batch of episodes.
Here's a first: Trent Reznor has made available his new single release in GarageBand format, so if you download it, you can manipulate the tracks yourself to create your own mix. Pretty cool. It's here. One cautionary note: you'll need the latest release, GarageBand 2.x (a.k.a. iLife '05), to access the song.
One of the few truly funny shows on TV right now is Arrested Development, which the critics love but the ratings don't seem to support. Watch this show, buy the first season DVD set, tell your uncle who works in the Fox programming department to keep this show around.
Season finale is tonight at 8:30.
The above "art" masterpiece was created by manipulating filters of a digital photograph in Macromedia Fireworks.
Okay, so I didn't exactly run out and see this flick right when it came out at the tail end of last year. Wes Anderson's latest is about to come out on DVD next month, but I caught it on the big screen at the discount theater on a rainy Saturday night. It's typical of Anderson's other films: quirky, droll, and surprisingly engaging. Thumbs up.
Bruce Springsteen's new album has been released as a DualDisc, which I read as the recording industry's efforts to keep consumers buying discs in the era of downloads. The premise is that one side is a traditional CD, while the other is a DVD with video "extras." Of course, this format is much harder to duplicate that conventional CDs (or DVDs, for that matter).
On first listen, the album is pretty good. It's acoustic solo Bruce, in the vein of Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad.
In the category of pretty cool coming attractions, I present this.
Sydney Pollack's new film The Interpreter is an entertaining entry in the political thriller/mystery genre. This is set in and around the U.N. headquarters in New York and features Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.
I've been listening to the 1991 release Achtung Baby extensively while driving the past week or so, no doubt in anticipation of seeing U2 in concert in late May. This album still stands up as an absolutely TREMENDOUS collection of songs: "Zoo Station," "Even Better Than The Real Thing," "One," "Until The End Of The World," "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," "The Fly," "Mysterious Ways," "Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World," and "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" stand out. Most artists would be thrilled to have one or two songs as good on any one album.
Tomorrow night, May 1, the Griffin clan returns to television in new episodes. Fox canceled Family Guy a couple of years back, only to reverse the decision in light of through-the-roof DVD sales and rerun ratings on cable.
Over the Long Weekend break from school, I visited my folks on Long Island and dove into The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, a Warner Brothers compilation of some of Flynn's best movies on DVD (with the notable exception of the five-star The Adventures Of Robin Hood, which WB already released as part of another collection). This set includes such gems as Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Dodge City, and They Died With Their Boots On, and each disc includes a newsreel and a Warner cartoon to emulate the moviegoing experience of the late 1930s and early 1940s.
It's Thursday.
One week until Revenge of the Sith.
Two weeks until U2 in Boston.
A new Harry Potter flick is on its way in November. The trailer is now online here. Looks pretty cool.
Both USA Today and The New York Times gave positive reviews to the latest Star Wars installment, due later this week, in this morning's editions. The latter paper described Revenge of the Sith as better than Episode IV: A New Hope (or, as I knew it in 1977, simply "Star Wars").
10:30 show tonight.
I didn't want to deal with the hordes of REAL die-hards at midnight last night--you know those who showed up in Jedi robes and Yoda ears. Moreover, since I'm taking a dozen allegedly studious schoolchildren with me, getting home at 3 a.m. would have killed them in their Thursday classes. So tonight it is and I am looking forward to it.
Okay, folks, still pretty wired as I write this in the wee hours of the morning in spite of a two-hour drive from Boston. Just got in from the U2 show, you see, and it was terrific, fantastic, wonderful, inspiring, and the like. The band adjusted their setlist to include a handful of my favorite songs; they must have had a hunch I was there!
This was my fifth concert with the boys from Dublin and on the way home I was trying to piece together in my head the songs I had heard in previous shows. Thanks to the Internet (and a site called U2tours.com), the following is everything I've seen U2 perform in person. (This is probably more to document my nostalgia than to inform any reader who stumbles onto this blog, but here goes:)
The Unforgettable Fire Tour
Date: April 16, 1985
Venue: The Centrum, Worcester, MA
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
I Will Follow
Seconds
MLK
The Unforgettable Fire
Wire
Two Hearts Beat As One
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Electric Co.
A Sort Of Homecoming
Bad
October
New Year's Day
PrideKnocking On Heaven's Door
Gloria
40
The Joshua Tree Tour
Date: September 18, 1987
Venue: Boston Garden, Boston, MA
Where the Streets Have No Name
I Will Follow
Trip Through Your Wires
I Still Haven't Found
MLK
The Unforgettable Fire
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running to Stand Still
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Exit
In God's Country
Help
Helter Skelter
Bad
October
New Year's Day
PrideOne Tree Hill
With Or Without You
Spanish Eyes
Out Of Control
40
Elevation Tour
Date: June 03, 2001
Venue: Civic Center, Hartford, CT
Elevation
Beautiful Day
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways
In My Life/Stuck In A Moment
Kite
Gone
New York
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday/Get Up Stand Up
In A Little While
Desire
Stay
Bad/40
Where the Streets Have No Name
PrideBullet The Blue Sky
With Or Without You
The Fly
One/She's A Mystery To Me
Walk On
Elevation Tour
Date: October 30, 2001
Venue: Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI
Elevation
Beautiful Day
Until The End Of The World
New Year's Day
Out Of Control
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Stuck In A Moment
Kite
Angel Of Harlem
Please
Bad
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
PrideBullet the Blue Sky
What's Going On
New York
One
When Will I See You Again
Walk On
Vertigo Tour
Date: May 26, 2005
Venue: Fleet Center, Boston, MA
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Gloria
The Ocean
Beautiful Day/Dream On
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Pride
Where The Streets Have No Name
OneThe Fly
Until The End Of The World
With Or Without You
Out Of Control
All Because Of You
Original Of The Species
Bad/40
This morning I passed by the old K-Mart plaza on Route 5, just north of Route 68 in Wallingford and it looks like the movie theater they've been working on forever is finally taking shape. We may have our very own multiplex five minutes from the Choate campus within a matter of weeks!
With classes ending early--around 10:30--on Wednesday, I bolted for the New Haven train station to spend the day in New York City, taking in two critically regarded Broadway plays. A week ago I deduced that I see more top-quality theater in London than I do in New York, despite living not much more than an hour away from the Big Apple. So I caught the matinee performance of Doubt, which won both Pulitzer and Tony awards as best play of the season and certainly lived up to expectations in my estimation. Then in the evening, I saw The Pillowman, the latest from Martin McDonagh. The latter play was a witty, provocative drama featuring excellent acting from Billy Crudup and Jeff Goldblum, among others.
As today brought a rainy summer afternoon, I decided to head to the matinee of the season's latest popcorn flick, The Fantastic Four. In the interest of full disclosure, I was an avid fan of the F.F. comics way back when. In spite of the tepid reviews I read this morning, this film did not disappoint me. It was a fun romp. Despite tweaking the origin of the foursome and altering Dr. Doom a bit, the writers and director seemed to "get" the dysfunctional family dynamic, including the relationship between the Thing and the Human Torch, and injected a fair amount of humor into the script. Thumbs up: this was a fun movie.
Thanks to Amazon.com and the U.S. Postal Service, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince arrived right on schedule in the morning mail for my weekend reading pleasure.
I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith tonight, less because I wanted to see the flick in question--it was okay, if a little slow in places--than to try out the Holiday Cinemas, which opened yesterday in the old K-Mart Plaza. The new 10-screen theater complex is okay, but nothing special. It is less than five minutes from home, though.
Okay: for all of you who have finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (and if not, what are you waiting for?), here is a site that fleshes out conclusions that I had come to when I read the end of the book. As the URL itself is something of a spoiler, I won't list it here, but only click here if you don't want the end of the book ruined!
(Thanks to blog reader Michael Koh in Singapore for the link!)
Just got in from the Coldplay concert in Hartford, the opening stop on the band's 2005 U.S. tour. For those who care about this sort of thing, here is the show's setlist:
Square One
Politik
Yellow
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Speed Of Sound
Low
The Hardest Part
Everything's Not Lost
White Shadows
The Scientist
Til Kingdom Come
Don't Panic
Clocks
TalkSwallowed In The Sea
In My Place
Fix You
I was saddened last night to hear of the death of Peter Jennings, the ABC News anchor whom I got to know a little when I was his son's adviser at school. While I have not been a regular viewer of evening news programs, Peter always seemed to come across as a classy and sincere presence, both on the air and in person.
This sad event, combined with the recent retirements of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, really changes the paradigm for network evening news broadcasts. How odd to have three torches passed in such a short time.
DC Comics just released a trade paperback of "imaginary stories." By that, they mean those stories that fell outside of regular continuity (like Jimmy Olsen marrying Supergirl or Lex Luthor killing Superman). Of course, the title of this collection suggests that the rest of the comics produced in the last sixty-odd years were somehow NOT imaginary! Hmmmmm . . .
Having just read these books:
I am now very much looking forward to this film by Martin Scorsese:
Check out the trailer here. It will be broadcast on PBS and released on DVD in September.
This week's edition of The New Yorker (cover dated August 22) is unusually good. Among the features are a fascinating profile of Billy Graham, another of Kinky Friedman, and a thoughtful piece on the state of French politics and culture at this time. In the "Talk of the Town" section Hendrik Hertzberg skillfully skewers the Administration's anti-science bent in the context of the current hullabaloo over "intelligent design" and the President's recently articulated (ok, not the best word to describe the man's utterances) poisition that the theory ("creationism" in new packaging) should be taught alongside evolution, as if the two approaches had equal scientific merit. Here is an excerpt:
I.D.whose central (and easily refuted) talking point is that certain structures of living things are too intricate to have evolved without the intervention of an intelligent designer (and You know who You are)enjoys virtually no scientific support. It is not even a theory, in the scientific sense, because it is untestable and unsupportable by empirical evidence. It is a last-ditch skirmish in a misguided war against reason that cannot be won and, for religion's sake as well as science's, should not be fought. If the President's musings on it were an isolated crotchet, they would hardly be worth noting, let alone getting exercised about. But they're not. They reflect an attitude toward science that has infected every corner of his Administration. From the beginning, the Bush White House has treated science as a nuisance and scientists as an interest groupone that, because it lies outside the governing conservative coalition, need not be indulged. That's why the White House-sometimes in the service of political Christianism or ideological fetishism, more often in obeisance to baser interests like the petroleum, pharmaceutical, and defense industries-has altered, suppressed, or overriden scientific findings on global warming; missile defense; H.I.V./ AIDS; pollution from industrial farming and oil drilling; forest management and endangered species; environmental health, including lead and mercury poisoning in children and safety standards for drinking water; and non-abstinence methods of birth control and sexually-transmitted-disease prevention. It has grossly misled the public on the number of stem-cell lines available for research. It has appointed unqualified ideologues to scientific advisory committees and has forced out scientists who persist in pointing out inconvenient facts.
For the entire piece, click here.
This is priceless:
Yeah, I could tell you about it, but just click here and be surprised.
The Internet has all kinds of interesting corners to explore. There is a database on this site that contains tens of thousands of comic book covers. The issue pictured above is the very first comic I can remember reading as a 5-year-old in the back seat of the family car. For the record, it's Superman #228 (July 1970). I think this was bought to entertain me when my family was driving south to spend the summer in Guadalajara, Mexico.
It's posted here. Check it out.
Today's magazine section of The New York Times has an excellent piece on U2 frontman and ambassador of the world Bono.
The season premiere of "Lost" on ABC was excellent, highlighted by an amazing opening sequence. Hopefully this show avoids a sophomore slump; if tonight was any indication, Season 2 will be a fun ride!
If you haven't seen the show, I recommend you digest Season 1 on the recently released DVD set.
I like the scans posted of this scanned brochure because it combines Matt Groening's brilliant "Life In Hell" cartoons with an education-oriented Apple Macintosh advertisement. (Click on the cover to see the entire brochure.)
Sheryl Crow's new album, Wildflower, arrived via iTunes Music Store download this morning and it's very good. Thumbs up!
Tonight at 8:00 there is a logjam of shows I want to watch: the season premieres of both Alias and Smallville in addition to the latest installment of The O.C. While it's not unusual that there have been two things of interest to me on the telly at the same time, I can't recall a three-way contest for my viewing attention.
I saw Serenity tonight at the local multiplex. I was one of those who missed the film's antecedent television series Firefly (which was incredibly short-lived) when it aired, but I did watch the DVDs some time later, so I was familiar with the characters and setting of the film. But I don't think one had to be to enjoy this movie. Most critics have praised the writing and I would agree: this film blends drama, action, and special effects eye candy with considerable humor for a an enjoyable two hours of escapism.
I saw Bruce Springsteen perform at the Hartford Civic Center tonight--the first Springsteen concert I've attended. The show was part of his "Devils And Dust" solo acoustic tour (in other words, sans the E Street Band). Apparently there are over 100 songs The Boss rotates through his set lists on this tour, alternating between organ, guitar, and piano accompaniment.
The evening's 27-song set list:
Back In Your Arms Again
Wreck On The Highway
Idiot's Delight
Devils And Dust
The Ties That Bind
Long Time Comin'
Silver Palomino
Incident On 57th Street
Tougher Than The Rest
Part Man Part Monkey
All I'm Thinkin' About
Something In The Night
Reno
All That Heaven Will Allow
Lost In The Flood
My Hometown
The Rising
Lucky Town
Jesus Was An Only Son
Two Hearts
The Hitter
Matamoros BanksI Wanna Marry You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Bobby Jean
The Promised Land
Dream Baby Dream
Enjoying the Long Weekend break, I digested the entirety of Neil Gaiman's latest novel, Anansi Boys, which was an entertaining read. It's a sequel to American Gods but does not require familiarity with that book at all. Thumbs up.
New DVD out today, for all of you looking to complete your collection!
This child of the late 1970s and early 1980s enjoyed a retro night at the Journey concert right here in Wallingford. I took eleven teenagers see a band that peaked long before any of them were born. I was only mildly disappointed to find out that I had been hoodwinked during the show into thinking that the lead singer was actually Steve Perry. The soundalike was pretty credible, though, belting out renditions of "Don't Stop Believing," "Faithfully," "Wheel In The Sky," "Anyway You Want It,"
The DVD of U2's Vertigo 2005 tour arrived via Amazon this morning (the deluxe edition, of course!). It holds warm memories of the May concert I saw in Boston just after this Chicago show was filmed.
I took in the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise at the local cinematic emporium last night with an assortment of 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds who apparently have been weaned on a steady diet of Hogwarts books and movies. The film did not disappoint. I find that while I read these Harry Potter books when they come out--usually flying through each one in a day or so--I promptly forget all the details of the plot so that when the corresponding movie comes out a few years later, it all seems pretty new to me. I suppose that's good. For example, I had forgotten the twist at the end of "Goblet of Fire." Thumbs up.
. . . and I will be there. December 7--a day that will live in more than just infamy!
ABC announced Wednesday that Alias will be canceled at the end of this, its fifth, season. I was a latecomer to the show, devouring the first three seasons on DVD. Frankly, I thought the show gradually went downhill, season by season. What used to be grippingly suspenseful has gotten boringl it can no longer hold a candle to 24 in the category of outlandish serial action thrillers on television. Nothing that followed could match the appeal of the first season, with Jennifer Garner as a part-time grad student with a seemingly normal existence who was leading a double (triple?) life as a CIA spy within the SD-6 organization. The detailed touches of the "normal" side of Sydney Bristow's life--like her interactionx with roommate Francie and best friend Will--brought some much-needed human interest into otherwise far-fetched plots. I even liked the Rambaldi mythology before it got too played out. But this season, with a very pregnant Sydney still in action around the world, has become preposterous far beyond my capacity for the suspension of disbelief.
A good piece on the world's biggest rock band in the Business section of the this morning's Times:
Media Age Business Tips From U2by David Carr
IN pop culture, nothing lasts forever. But U2 is coming close.
On the surface, the formula U2 used to send 20,000 fans into sing-along rapture at Madison Square Garden last Tuesday night was as old as rock 'n' roll: four blokes, three instruments, a bunch of good songs. Add fans, cue monstrous sound system, light fuse and back away.
But that does not explain why, 25 years in, four million people will attend 130 sold-out shows this year and next that will gross over $300 million and how their most recent album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," has already sold eight million copies.
For that, you have to look at U2 less as a band than as a multimillion-dollar, multinational media company, one of the smarter ones around.
"We always said it would be pathetic to be good at the music and bad at the business," said Paul McGuinness, the band's manager since the beginning. And while U2 hasn't become a Harvard Business School case study (at least not yet) it offers an object lesson in how media can connect with their customers.
MEET THE CONSUMERS WHERE THEY LIVE For years, the U2 fanzine Propaganda was used to feed the tribe. The band's Web presence was restricted to temporary sites for specific tours. But in 2000, U2 opened an extensive Web site, with an index to every song and album, lyrics, tour news that is refreshed nightly and subscriber features - for those die-hards willing to part with $40 - that allowed them access to tickets, exclusive content and streaming downloads of every song and video the band has ever made.
APOLOGIZE, THEN MOVE ON With the Vertigo tour, it became apparent that some of those fans who had paid good money to join U2's Web site had been elbowed aside by scalpers in the scrum for tickets. The band's response was to apologize immediately and promise to do better.
"The idea that our longtime U2 fans and scalpers competed for U2 tickets through our own Web site is appalling to me," the drummer Larry Mullen wrote in a statement issued by the band as soon as the problem arose. "I want to apologize to you who have suffered that."
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY While other big acts were scolding and threatening fans for downloading music or, in the case of Metallica, suing Napster, U2 was busy working on a new business model.
A collaboration with Apple yielded a U2 special edition iPod that was a smash hit and gave visibility to the band at a time when most radio station playlists don't extend much beyond a narrow selection of pop singers. With iTunes, U2 produced what may be the industry's first downloadable version of a box set, offering the band's entire musical history for $149.
"We thought it was an opportunity to be taken with both hands," said Mr. McGuinness. Contrast that statement with anything from Hollywood on digital technology in the last three years.
DON'T EMBARRASS YOUR FANS Sure, U2 has recorded some clunkers (1997's "Pop" comes to mind) but the band works and reworks material until it has a whole album's worth of songs, no filler. Last Tuesday, the band played at least four of the songs from the current album, giving the songs a shot at entering the pantheon and affirming U2's status as a contemporary band, not a guilty pleasure or retro musical act that covers their own earlier greatness. (Quick, what's the last Rolling Stones' album?)
"Don't embarrass your fans," Bono told The New York Times last year. "They've given you a good life."
BE CAREFUL HOW YOU SELL OUT U2 has been offered as much as $25 million to allow a song to be used in a car commercial. No dice. They traded brands, not money, with Apple. Bob Dylan may wander around in a Victoria's Secret ad and The Who will rent "My Generation" to anybody with the wherewithal, but the only thing U2's music sells is U2. Just because it will fold and go in someone's pocket - The New Yorker publishing ads illustrated by its cartoonists comes to mind - does not mean it will be beneficial over the long haul.
EMBRACE POLITICIANS, NOT POLITICS I watched Bono, during the Republican Convention last year, hold Bill O'Reilly of Fox News rapt with a lengthy discussion of AIDS in Africa. Last summer, he posed for a photograph with President Bush, congratulating him for the work his administration had done for Africa.
"Their credibility is very strong," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a trade magazine covering the concert industry. "I don't think there is anybody who doesn't believe that they are sincere in what they are doing."
(Bono came close to jumping the shark by donning a blindfold and miming a prison torture scene during "Bullet the Blue Sky," the band's fatwa against United States military intervention and then saying at the end of the song, "This is dedicated to the brave men and women of the U.S. military." Which of these things, Bono?)
IT'S CALLED SHOW BUSINESS FOR A REASON In 1980, I was standing with my sister at First Avenue bar in Minneapolis watching a then little-known band from Dublin take the stage. The Edge, the band's lead guitarist, kicked into a chiming, ringing salute, the opening chords of "I Will Follow." Bono ambled out, absently drinking a glass of water and when the drummer kicked in, Bono tossed the water into the lights above him, a mist enshrouding him - and us - as he stepped to the mike.
Much theatrical and musical combustion ensued, on that night and in the decades since. The current show is a testament to reinvestment, with a huge lighting and stage structure that managed to make Madison Square Garden seem like a cozy church, the backdrop for a secular sacrament. The Vertigo tour included seven curtains of lights, consisting of 12,000 individual bulbs, and a heart-shaped runway that may have wiped out a few hundred prime seats, but allowed thousands more to feel engaged as The Edge and Bono strode out along it during songs.
SEIZE THE MOMENT, BUT DON'T STEAL IT For years, U2 declined invitations to play at the Super Bowl, but the first one held after the attacks of Sept. 11 had special significance. Bono, in the middle of singing "Beautiful Day," slyly opened his coat to hundreds of millions of viewers and revealed it was lined with the American flag. The band adopted industrial and electronic motifs into their music in the 90's to give currency to their sound and then promptly stripped it down for the current tour. Not every gesture and instinct resonates: Let's not forget Bono's decision to go with a mullet in the mid-80's.
AIM HIGH As the central icon in the Church of the Upraised Fist - a temporary concert nation of gesturing frat boys, downloading adolescents and aging rockers reliving past glories - Bono can command his audience to do anything. During the concert last Tuesday, Bono asked the audience to send, via text message, their full names to One, an organization that fights AIDS and global poverty. They happily complied and their names were flashed on screen between encores. MTV's "Total Request Live" may attract a wider audience, but its members probably aren't made to think they are part of something bigger.
As today is World AIDS Day, it is fitting to note that Alicia Keys and Bono are releasing a song on iTunes next Tuesday that will raise money to fight children's poverty in Africa. The song is a cover of "Don't Give Up," a terrific Peter Gabriel composition (which he recorded with Kate Bush on his So album).
This morning's USA Today features the first glimpses of the new on-screen versions of the X-Men, to appear in next summer's third installment of the franchise. Above, of course, is Beast; below is Angel.
This time tomorrow night. Hartford Civic Center. U2. Me.
Less than three hours 'til showtime. Gettin' ready to leave the ground . . .
Still flying high from last night's show, the sixth time I have seen this particular Dublin band live. I sat in the best seats I've ever had for a U2 concert--two rows from the ellipse runway. Bono and the boys seemed especially energetic and made a lot of musical connections to The Beatles and John Lennon on the eve of the 25th anniversary of Lennon's death.
Here is the set list:
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Gloria
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
Original Of The Species / Norwegian Wood
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah
Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America / When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
Help
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways / We Wish You A Merry Christmas
With Or Without You
Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Instant Karma!
Yahweh
40
On an impulse--perhaps sparked by spending a week in South Florida--I picked up the first two seasons of Miami Vice on DVD and have been gradually digesting episodes. The show is a guilty pleasure. I saw "Vice" only sporadically when it orginially aired--I just didn't watch much television at all while in college--so most of the episodes are new to me, even if it all feels somewhat familiar. The '80s soundtrack is certainly nostalgic. (There's a terrific web site guide to the music featured on the show: click here to access it.) And the show has an undeniable flair for fashion.
While at the movies the other day, I saw a trailer for a forthcoming Miami Vice film, starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crockett and Tubbs. Michael Mann, who produced the television series before becoming a noted film director (Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Collateral) will direct.
I polished off two books while in South America:
My sister gave me a copy of Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia, a 1977 travel book--though the author apparently disputed that categorization--about the barren but beautiful area in southern Argentina and Chile and the people who lived (and still live) there. Interestingly, Chatwin is the most famous proponent of the Moleskin notebooks I like to use.
In Brazil the past few days, I tackled a book my mom picked out for me for Christmas: The River of Doubt, an account of Teddy Roosevelt's perilous exploration of the upper reaches of the Amazon basin after he lost his 1912 comeback bid for the White House. Candice Miller wrote a gripping treatment of this journey, grounding it in such diverse disciplines as history, politics, geology, and biology, without ever losing the human dimension of this fascinating story.
The funniest podcast I listen to comes from Ricky Gervais--he of The Office and Extras fame--and friends. Gervais and producing partner Steve Merchant host, along with the (I think) unintentionally hilarious Karl Pilkington. What makes the weekly podcast so enjoyable is the interplay, especially between the often off-the-wall Pilkington and the often incredulous Gervais. You can access the podcast here.
Last night's 2-hour season premiere of "24" was kick-ass! Two more hours tonight.
Tonight's episode of Lost was another strong installment. The creators of this show don't seem to be capable of being thrown off their game. Week to week, this drama is first-rate--the Golden Globe it won the other night was well-deserved.
NBC announced that this, the seventh season of The West Wing will be the show's last. Too bad, as it was enjoying a creative renaissance the past year, with the Vinick/Santos campaign to take over at the end of the Bartlet presidency. Tonight's episode was a good one, as the White House and the two campaigns had to respond to a nuclear power station crisis.
. . . here is a pretty funny video spoof that popped up on the 'Net.
This one is even better than the one I linked to the other day. Click here.
I drove down to Fort Lauderdale this morning to check out the exhibition at the city's art museum, "Tutanhkamen and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs." Maybe it was seeing Steve Martin host Saturday Night Live last night, but the whole time I was in the museum, I couldn't get his "King Tut" song (from a late 1970s SNL) out of my head as I meandered around all the antiquities.
I was pleasantly surprise to learn I could find the song as a download on iTunes.
Having been away over the weekend, I caught the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded," on my ReplayTV a few days after it aired; this may well have been the best one yet. Because the show falls in the science fiction genre (and because of the cheesy 1970s incarnation) a lot of potential viewers probably dismiss this show without having seen a single episode. But it's one of the best conceived and best written shows on television.
Sting recorded a vocal track to enable Sheryl Crow to release a duet version of "Always On Your Side," a song from her solid last album Wildflower. The addition of the former Police frontman's vocals made this a much better song. It's available as a download on iTunes.
Two episodes of 24 tonight. Great season so far!
The trailer for the third X-Men flick, coming out in May, aired during
I saw V For Vendetta tonight. It seemed the filmmakers did a pretty good job translating the graphic novel to the screen. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but I found it entertaining, visually interesting, and provocative.
I fired up the DVR today to get current with the new season of The Sopranos. Episode 1 of the sixth season ended with a shocker, and the follow-up dealt with the fallout. It's good to have this show back.
For the first time in a LONG time, I saw two movies in one weekend while school was in session. I watched The Inside Man this afternoon, the new Spike Lee-directed film, starring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer. It was an enjoyable movie: tautly paced, cleverly scripted, and well acted--a perfect caper flick!
I took in a very entertaining Coldplay concert this evening over at Mohegan Sun Casino. The setlist was pretty similar to the August 2005 show I saw at The Meadows in Hartford:
Square One
Politik
Yellow
Speed of Sound
God Put a Smile on Your Face
What If
Dont Panic
White Shadows
The Scientist
Till Kingdom Come
Ring of Fire
Trouble
Clocks
Talk
Swallowed In The Sea
In My Place
Fix You
This rainy weekend I finally got around to starting the Nip/Tuck DVDs I picked up in Shanghai last month. (The boxed set of the first three seasons was awfully cheap over there!) I've digested the first two episodes and, aside from the graphic surgery scenes, it's pretty enjoyable thus far. Watching a season of a TV show on DVD is a pretty good way to do it, as the viewer controls the pacing from episode to episode, rather than being subjected to the vagaries of network scheduling.
Bruce Springsteen's new album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, is something of a romp: the music is energetic, foot-stomping, and fun. This a a radical departure from last year's decidedly more sober and somber Devils & Dust album.
I spent much of yesterday in New York City, catching the Rangers game at Madison Square Garden--in which the Devils completed their sweep to advance to the semis of the Stanley Cup playoffs--and then watching the hot new Broadway show, The History Boys, in the evening.
The production was one of the best I've seen. As a teacher--and a history and English teacher in particular--I found the play wonderfully provocative. The work is a thoughtful meditation on competing philosophies of education, the role of a teacher, and the very nature of history itself. While there is lot that's uniquely British about the play, there are universal themes here too. It's more than just serious "thee-a-tah," though, as the play is entertaining on many levels, with loads of biting humor on hand. The acting was first-rate and the staging wonderfully effective. The production was a critically acclaimed hit on the West End when it opened in London in 2004 and seems destined to a similar fate in its New York run.
It the mark of a great place that one can move seamlessly through the worlds of sport and art so easily. New York City is such a place. So is Choate.
Check this out.
For some reason, the cover to this 1971 comic book, which I once possessed, sticks in my mind. The issue was a collection of reprints, as I recall, but it was the wrap-around cover, with two Supermen, Batmen, Robins, Flashes, Green Lanterns, Atoms, Hawkmen, and Wonder Women--from Earth-1 and Earth-2, of course, as any well-read aficionado could explain--that made this so cool. Oh, the stuff that has accumulated in my head!
Saw the 10:30 p.m. debut of Mission: Impossible 3 last night. It's a "check your brain at the door for two hours" popcorn flick, but some strong points were Philip Seymour Hoffman's excellent villain and the sure-handed direction of J.J. Abrams--the man who brought us Alias and Lost.
Not sure if this is legit--it's from the Internet, after all--but here for your viewing pleasure is a pretty cool-looking "one-sheet" (to use the official term for movie posters) for the forthcoming Superman Returns:
Another:
Just one more:
The West Wing ended tonight. I'll miss this drama. It was a fixture of my Wednesday nights, and more recently Sunday nights, for seven years now. Though Aaron Sorkin's departure diminished the show somewhat, it was re-energized creatively with the Santos/Vinick campaign in the final two seasons.
Check out the very end of this international trailer for the forthcoming Superman Returns.
Last night's season finale of 24 wrapped up the loose ends of the excellent Season 5 pretty well. Nice to see President Logan get his due! But of course our hero Jack Bauer was captured by the Chinese and was last seen in the hold of a freighter bound for Asia. What will next season bring in January 2007? It's a LONG time to wait!
Saw The Da Vinci Code last night. The movie didn't really capture the breadth of ideas in the novel, but like the book, it was entertaining, if somewhat preposterous.
Second night in a row at the cinema yesterday! It was opening night for X-Men: The Last Stand. Typical summer blockbuster fare: somewhat mindless, but lots of eye candy on this roller coaster ride. The story doesn't do justice to the original Dark Phoenix saga, but who cares? One word of advice: stay until the end of the credits!
I've been enjoying a great series of inspirational ads running on ESPN2 during the Roland Garros coverage. The commercials promote the upcoming World Cup on the ABC networks and feature the music of U2 as well as voice-overs by members of the band. Check out the ads online here.
If, like me, you are a fan of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, then 2007 will bring something to look forward to: for the film's 25th anniversary, Warner Bros. is compiling an ultimate DVD edition, with all the various versions of the movie, as well as a slew of extras. The package also will be released on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats at the same time.
On the recommendation of a colleague, I started David Lodge's Nice Work today. Though I am not far into the book yet, it's already an engagingly funny satire of life in mid-1980s Britain, with a particularly acerbic take on the academic world.
It's official . . . Sir Paul McCartney is 64!
I didn't notice this coming from Paris on the Eurostar two summers ago, but on my trip from Brussels yesterday, just before the train's arrival in London's Waterloo Station, there appeared this huge factory with four smokestacks in the corners--the exact building (and from the train, viewed from pretty much the same angle) pictured on the cover the Pink Floyd's Animals album from the 1970s.
Another cool movie trailer is now online here.
Just got in from the first showing of Superman Returns. It measured up pretty well, though Kate Bosworth's Lois fell a little flat. The movie treats its source material--Richard Donner's 1978 Superman and the first of it sequels--with great reverence, even incorporating some of the best lines from those earlier films (and liberally mining John Williams' majestic scoring). Good flick overall, if perhaps a bit too long. Thumbs up.
This is a piece of music NBC Sports has used in its Wimbledon coverage since the late 1970s, something I never would have been able to track down and acquire had it not been for the good ol' World Wide Web.
Here are my results from the "Which Harry Potter Character Are You?" web quiz.
 | You scored as Albus Dumbledore. Strong and powerful you admirably defend your world and your charges against those who would seek to harm them. However sometimes you can fail to do what you must because you care too much to cause suffering.
Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com |
I saw Michael Mann's Miami Vice film tonight. It was stylish, but mediocre overall.
I spent yesterday in New York City, catching two Broadway shows: a Wicked matinee and an evening performance of Sweeney Todd.
A little over a year ago, I realized that I was seeing more theater in London than I was in New York, which is rather ironic for a resident of Connecticut! So I resolved to get in to the city to see shows at least a couple times a year. Heading in to New York on a Wednesday--something that is not really possible for me when school is in session--enables me to catch two performances in one day.
Wicked is a wonderfully subversive version of The Wizard Of Oz from the perspective of the misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West. The show is an upbeat visual effects spectacle with a peppy Stephen Schwartz score and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
On the other hand, the current incarnation of Sweeney Todd is a stripped down rendition, with just one stark set and the ten cast members doubling up as the musicians (and stagehands, as well!). This very dark story was presented in a dramatically gripping style. The casting was first rate, especially considering the versatility needed in actors/singers who could also handle the challenging instrumental duties. This show, though very different than the afternoon production, was a treat, too.
Though I'll cop to liking the music of James Blunt, I still find this very funny.
Okay, this is kind of sophomoric, bit it IS pretty funny: click here.
Little Miss Sunshine is a very funny movie. See it.
. . . the new compilation of traditional sea chanteys featuring such singers as Bono, Sting, Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams, and two Wainwrights (father and son), among many others. The double CD is entitled Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, & Chanteys. The Bono cover is particularly affecting.
I'm also listening to the Death Cab For Cutie iTunes Originals playlist. The iTunes Originals series includes some spoken word tracks with exposition from band members, some "greatest hits" cuts, a few versions of the band's songs re-recorded specifically for this collection and--at least in this case--some music videos, all for $9.90.
Check out this ad, which I'm sure will be in heavy rotation during the U.S. Open the next couple of weeks.
This promo ad for Lost has me looking forward to the third season of this excellent show.
Just saw the Broadway production of Rent. Yeah, I know I'm ten years behind its debut, but I figured it was about time.
Bob Dylan's recent release, Modern TImes, arrived in my mailbox yesterday and it's a good listen. The album captures a lot of what's great about American music and Dylan in particular, without wallowing in nostalgia.
YouTube makes it absolutely clear that some folks have WAY too much time on their hands. In that spirit, check out this amusing little clip.
Some choice excerpts from the interview with "Comic Book Guy" (from The Simpsons, of course), courtesy of TVGuide.com:
TVGuide.com: Numerous reviews of Superman Returns cited homoerotic undertones in the film. Did you get a sense of that?Comic Book Guy: No, and neither did the eight guys I saw it with.
TVGuide.com: Heath Ledger has signed on to play The Joker in the next Batman film. What are your thoughts on that casting choice?
Comic Book Guy: To me there is only one true Batman villain: King Tut. A true hero to all us full-figured fans.
TVGuide.com: Currently, Joss Whedon is working on a script for a Wonder Woman film. If you could give him one piece of advice, what would it be?
Comic Book Guy: Make sure Wonder Woman wears a Wonderbra. Oh, baby.
You can view the entire interview here.
Aaron Sorkin, creator of Sports Night and The West Wing, returned to television with the premiere of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip this evening. The first show had a lot of the feel of The West Wing: witty, talky, interesting character dynamics, and top-notch production values. I'll be keeping it on my DVR list to record this season.
"Eltonius Johnson" is what my friend Chuck calls Sir Elton John, whose new album out this week, The Captain And The Kid, is a sequel of sorts to the 1975 smash Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy. The latter traced the story of Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin from their days of obscurity right up to their big breakthrough in America. The new CD updates their autobiographies with material drawn from the early 1970s to the present day. It's been getting stron reviews and is well worth a listen.
The U.S. version of The Office returned for its third season tonight with an absolutely hilarious season premiere. I really thought this show would crash and burn two years ago in a lame attempt to capture the magic of its BBC predecessor. After a slow start, though, the series has gotten better and better. Based on the first new episode, it looks like the third season will continue this trend.
I got a flat tire on August 31. I got my tire repaired today. So it's been over three weeks since I've needed to drive my gas-guzzling Ford Explorer. I've either been able to drive my scooter around town or I've taken a school-owned vehicle for work-related travel.
Amazon delivered a HEAVY package today, containing the new book by and about U2. It's more than the average coffee table book, with hundreds of pages of interviews and pictures of the band drawn from the past 25+ years.
From the dependably on-target Tom Tomorrow:
I saw The Departed, Martin Scorsese's new film, tonight. It features great pacing and a first-rate cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg). The story is a version of the Hong Kong hit Infernal Affairs, set among cops and gangsters in the Boston Irish community. Thumbs up.
I took to Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip right out of the blocks this fall, but after four episodes it might be that the show in the time slot right before, Heroes, is the real NBC hook on Monday nights. The pilot was a bit slow, but I caught up on the next two episodes on my DVR this past weekend and then watched the current installment tonight. The show is getting better each week, with a bit of the Lost mystery vibe at play.
I am told that Chris Borgstrom wants to see more controversy in this blog. Okay--this is admittedly sophomoric, but it's a great example of unintentional humor from mid-1960s pop culture:
In the vein of the last post, this is taken from a 1940s Batman comic book:
I started the new book by Newsweek technology correspondent Steven Levy, The Perfect Thing, about the commercial and cultural significance of the iPod, which is five years old this month. Like songs on the device itself, the chapters of this book are shuffled in a different order, depending on which copy of the book one picks up. It's an interesting overview of the impact the Apple music player has had on the music industry, the tech industry, and global culture.
I surely don't pretend to have the pedigree of an opera lover, but I did book myself a ticket to see The Barber of Seville at the Met at the end of the month. As it will be the beginning of my sabbatical, I figure I can afford the time to develop my tastes in a new direction. While in Sydney this January, I hope to see The Marriage of Figaro in the world-famous Sydney Opera House. And, if I can swing what is a very tough ticket to get this fall, I may also check out the Anthony Minghella-directed Madame Butterfly in New York next month, too.
With no classes today, last night was an opportune time for a Mem Garden movie trip. We saw The Prestige, starring Christian Bale, High Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie. Everyone really liked this movie, which is about the competition between two rival magicians about a hundred years ago. Interesting food for thought in this film.
Click here for the accompanying dialogue.
I've switched my iBook to the Region 2 DVD code for the time being and have been watching the BBC's brilliant 2003 political thriller State Of Play during the Long Weekend break. Highly recommended.
Tonight I took in two diverse entertainments: I watched an all-female student cast perform Antigone on campus and then took the Mem Garden crew to see Borat (or to use the full title, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan). Pretty wide range of high culture and low culture!
Tonight I will see Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera House. The performances of this production have been sold out, as it's been greatly hyped. Anthony Minghella, the auteur behind such films as The English Patient and The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed.
It was a treat to travel to New York City for the opera. The Madama Butterfly production was an interesting mix of culture: a Chilean diva starring in an Italian opera set in Japan dealing with attitudes of American imperialism. I cannot claim expertise enough to assess the quality of performance as a true aficionado might, but it was an impressive visual and musical spectacle.
Just got home from seeing Casino Royale, a leaner, meaner installment of the James Bond franchise starring Daniel Craig as the new 007. It holds together pretty well as an action film, with more emphasis on great stunt work and drama than the old reliance on gadgets and humor.
Today I listened to Love, the new Beatles release--well, to be more accurate, a mash-up of classic Beatles tracks--created for the Cirque de Soleil show in Las Vegas by Fab Four producer George Martin. I got the deluxe edition with the DVD Audio disc, which sounds spectacular. These familar songs sound fresh, having been remixed with tracks from other songs. The entire disc is sonically very interesting.
I made my second trip to the Metropolitan Opera this month last night, seeing Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville). As a neophyte to the world of opera, I still was blown away by the talented singers who gave impressive rapid-fire deliveries of Rossini's music. The production was funny and engaging. Perhaps because I listened to a recording of the opera the past few weeks in preparation, I got more out of this performance than I did Madama Butterfly a few weeks back.
This book--Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman--is an entertaining series of entries on all manner of low culture in American over the past thirty years or so: a perfect read for someone of my age and sensibility. The fact that the book is a collection of short, unconnected essays makes it perfect bathroom reading. (Thanks, Max Alpert, for showing me this.)
The film 300, based on the epic Spartan battle at Thermopylae, is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel (as was Sin City) and the trailer suggests this will be a visually striking flick. Check it out here.
If Battlestar Galactica were produced by the makers of The Simpsons, this is what you might see. More here.
Looks like I won't get to see the Nip/Tuck season 4 finale tonight as planned. The Anaheim Marriott doesn't get the F/X cable network. What th-?
Hope my ReplayTV records the show as scheduled.
If you're not watching NBC's The Office, you are missing one of the truly great shows on television. Tonight's hour-long episode was hilarious.
I saw Eragon tonight. It was not as bad as I had expected, given the pretty tepid reviews, but it was awfully derivative (about 60% Star Wars + 30% Lord Of The Rings + 10% Harry Potter).
I saw The Queen this afternoon at a cinema right next to Circular Quay and the Opera House. It's a captivating film featuring a brilliant performance by Helen Mirren, who is already being tipped for Oscar honors. Don't miss this movie.
A bit obvious, perhaps: "New Year's Day" by U2 on the War album.
After dropping off my passport and visa paperwork at the Indian Consulate in the morning, I took the bus over to the Paddington neighborhood to see The African Queen, the John Huston-directed 1951 classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. I had never seen it before, and it was far better to watch the film on the big screen. One of the art cinemas in town had a restored color print. Besides, while there are a bunch of films playing back home I am still eager to see, there's precious little else playing in the movie theaters here that looks worthwhile. The Queen--which I watched Sunday--was one exception and Babel--which I surely will catch one of these days--is another.
Okay, this song may be another obvious choice, given where I am right now, but it's an interesting acoustic take on "Down Under" by the lead singer of Men At Work.
Rather than just looking at the landmark Opera House here in Sydney, I decided to see something IN the building, and so I attend the opening night of the summer season, catching The Marriage Of Figaro. The Mozart opera is something of a sequel to The Barber Of Seville, which I saw at The Met a few weeks back. Both productions were impressive, though the Sydney opera couldn't compete with the star power and manic energy of the New York production. It may be that Rossini's Figaro is a more interesting character, too. Both shows were impressive, but the Barber was more fun.
Keeping with the Australian theme, here's my favorite song about a woman lying naked on the floor.
Today's offering is from Elton John's Live In Australia album--which now is 20 years old! This gem of a song, performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, is called "The Greatest Discovery."
On a whim, I caught the 3:30 showing of Blood Diamond in a downtown mall in Brisbane. An entertaining movie about the brutal intersection of the diamond industry and African warfare. Not a great film, but a reasonably well made one on a provocative topic.
This ain't no partyThat's The Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime."
This ain't no disco
This ain't no foolin' around.
When I got up this morning and checked my e-mail, there was a message from the iTunes Music Store alerting me that the latest episode of The Office was available for download. Staying in touch with favorite shows back home like this is a relatively recent treat; certainly I couldn't do it during my last sabbatical trip in 1998.
Earlier in the week, I downloaded from iTMS an episode from the Discovery Atlas series on the Discovery Channel, one called "Australia Revealed." The overview of the country is nearly two hours long--but still only $1.99!--beautifully photographed in high definition, and narrated by Russell Crowe. I was turned on to the series by another Discovery Atlas episode ("China Revealed") on DVD that I was given for Christmas by a cousin; I watched this documentary on my portable Panasonic player on one of my flights. It's a great series. You can see it in all its splendor on the Discovery HD network, if you get it. Or you can order the DVDs for about $20 or download episodes from iTunes Music Store for $2. Here's the link to "Australia Revealed":
The David Bowie classic: Life On Mars? 'Nuff said.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl
This is a Sydney-themed piece: the great anti-war song "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" about an Australian soldier going to fight for the British Empire at Gallipoli in World War I. This cover is by The Pogues.
I've been working my way through Volume I of Gene Wolfe's The Book Of The New Sun, a highly regarded science fantasy tale I picked up last week here in Sydney. Like the best of the genre, it's very provocative and creates a detailed world of its own.
Boston's "More Than A Feeling." I heard it on the radio Sunday morning while driving back to Brisbane and it brought back memories of junior high school. A great song.
The Dire Straits, "Sultans Of Swing," featuring some of Mark Knopfler's virtuoso work on the guitar.
I fnally got around to seeing Babel tonight. It's a long movie, but it is engaging. At first, it's not clear why the film is jumping around along four seemingly disparate storylines, but it all comes together. The film is well made and thought-provoking.
This is Peter Gabriel's 1990 re-recording of his own "Here Comes The Flood." It's a much better version than the original, which is a bit too over-produced for my tastes.
This morning, I walked over to Darling Harbor's IMAX theater to see The Mystery Of The Nile. As I am scheduled to be spend some time on the Nile myself just a few weeks from now, I thought this would be a good preparation for my visit to Egypt. The ads for the film are a bit misleading, as the film is much less about the historical aspects of Egyptian culture along the river (pyramids, tombs, etc.) than it is about an adventure-filled modern-day rafting trip from the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia down to the river's mouth in Alexandria. Still, the photography was stunning in the big film format.
The master lyricist among the singer-songwriters who came to prominence in the 1970s was Jackson Browne. Here is one of his earliest hits: "Doctor My Eyes."
I saw Pan's Labyrinth this afternoon. This movie, like Babel and Children Of Men (the latter of which I have not yet seen), is a highly regarded recent release from a talented Mexican director. This film by Guillermo de Toro--who brought us Hellboy--featured Spanish dialogue (and subtitles in English) and was viusually very imaginitive. It's a thoughtful, creative fairy tale set against the grim realities of fascist Spain in 1944. I recommend it.
An '80s classic: R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush."
This is Jem's cover of one of Paul McCartney's greatest solo works, "Maybe I'm Amazed."
Here is "Bright Lights" by Matchbox Twenty.
While waiting for the new season of 24 to be posted on iTunes Music Store, I have been catching up on epidoses of 30 Rock, a show which is getting better and better by the week. Alec Baldwin is brilliant in his role as the overbearing G.E. executive in charge of programming and microwave ovens, and the quirky minor characters are getting fleshed out nicely too. Though this show is not yet in the league of The Office--which also started slowly, as I recall--it's picking up steam.
This cover of "(What A) Wonderful World" is from Art Garfunkel's 1977 album Watermark. I can remember hearing it for the first time on the radio many years later. It features the striking harmonic blend of the voices of Paul Simon and James Taylor with Garfunkel.
I just finished watching the telecast of the Golden Globes Awards, which was reasonably entertaining. I haven't seen Dreamgirls, but I did see Babel last week and I guess these two films were the big winners of the night. Ugly Betty is a show I've never seen, either, but it's hard to believe it's better than The Office. Helen Mirren took two statues for playing the two Queens Elizabeth--an impressive accomplishment. Anyway, being able to see the show made me feel a little bit like being at home.
A one-hit wonder from the 1970s: "Magic" by Pilot.
Paul McCartney called this tune from the landmark Pet Sounds album the most beautiful song ever written. It's Brian Wilson in top form with "God Only Knows."
I watched the first four hours of Season 6 of 24 in the last day and a half. Although the show is preposterous in many ways, it's damned entertaining, too. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm addicted--so much so that I shelled out $45 for a Season Pass in the iTunes Music Store so I won't miss an episode while globe-trotting.
"I like to dream . . . " Thus begins "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf.
One of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs: "Human Touch."
Few pop songs have hooks as well crafted as "Invisible Touch" by Genesis. This reminds me of the year of my college graduation and the five weeks I was a substitute teacher at my alma mater, Bayport-Blue Point High School, and particularly of the 10th grade field trip I chaperoned to Great Adventure theme park the last week of school. (By the way, the key change late in the song is sublime.)
The timeless "Pinball Wizard" from The Who's rock opera Tommy. (By the way, Elton John, who played the Pinball Wizard in the movie version of Tommy, has a great cover of this tune, too.)
Because I will forever associate it with the opening of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now--and the opening lines of the film, spoken by Martin Sheen playing Willard: "Saigon . . . shit; I'm still only in Saigon," an unforgettable line that I have been repeating to myself like a mantra the past few hours since arriving in the city--here is "The End" by The Doors.
As much as I try to purge this tune from my mind, it's an infectious ditty. I've seen the music video a couple of times during my trip and it's memorable too: "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by the Scissor Sisters.
The song title "Let's Go" is fitting for another off-to-the-airport-and-into-another-country-day for me. This song from The Cars' second album evokes memories of my 9th-grade cross country season, sitting in the team captain's living room, listening to this song (on a vinyl record playing on a turntable, of course) instead of doing our assigned workout.
A trashy one hit wonder from the '80s is in my head for obvious reasons: Murray Head's "One Night In Bangkok."
I, um, acquired online the second season of Extras, starring Ricky Gervais--a very funny show which is airing on HBO back home this month. This song--the title track of the Cat Stevens classic album Tea For The Tillerman, plays over the closing credits. (By the way, episode 4 in this season guest stars Chris Martin of Coldplay, who also stands in for Cat Stevens on this song at the end of the show.)
No new episodes of The Office or 30 Rock this past Thursday. I guess I'll have to wait another week to download my little bits of mirth. Of course, there's always Sunday's Battlestar Galactica and the formidable Monday line-up--Prison Break, 24, Heroes, and Studio 60--to download and tide me over in the meantime.
Here is a great song: "Amie" by Pure Prarie League.
Getting used DVDs on Amazon.com is often a great deal. I picked up the first two seasons of the critically-acclaimed series The Wire a few months back. I finally started watching the first episodes on the plane last night and in bed this morning. Good stuff. And supposedly it gets a lot better in seasons to come.
Carly Simon explained the context of this song once at I concert I attended in Hartford (Carly and Hall & Oates shared billing at The Meadows about a decade ago). It is about one of the Eastern gurus she worked with back in the early 1970s. The song is called "Haven't Got Time For The Pain."
Alanis Morissette, "You Learn."
A little California song from Tom Petty: "Free Fallin'" is its name!
You want guitar power? Van Halen has it in "Panama."
My favorite Elvis song: "All Shook Up."
This won the Oscar for Best Song a few years back; it's Annie Lennox singing "Into The West" from the last of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
This pretty much describes my life since November: "Man In A Suitcase" by The Police.
"Walk Like An Egyptian." The name of this song is the "pick-up line" the locals use when they want to strike up a conversation to lead you to a shop. This first time I heard it Saturday afternoon, I thought it was amusing and somewhat charming. But when I heard it for the third time within 24 hours, I realized it was a common piece of schtick. The original song, of course, is by The Bangles.
This was in my head much of yesterday. Why? I don't know. From the 1980s: "Alive And Kicking" by Simple Minds.
This was a breakout hit, originally used to open an episode of Saturday Night Live: "King Tut" by Steve Martin. It coincided with the touring exhibit of Tutankhamen artifacts in the U.S. You can probably figure why I threw this one out there today: I am off to the Valley of Kings, site of Tut's tomb.
From The Prince Of Egypt soundtrack: "When You Believe" by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Another tune rattling around my brain as I explore pyramids, temples, and tombs here along the Nile.
The Clash's "Rock The Casbah."
"I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain." So sang Elton John in "Daniel."
The classic ballad by the Eagles: "Desperado."
This song was strangely appropriate for a day in which I spent a couple of hours lost: it's "Where Are You Going" by The Dave Matthews Band.
This is one of those songs I liked when I occasionally heard it on the radio as a young teenager and I was thrilled to finally own a copy when digital downloads made it easy to get one track rather than an album of stuff I didn't really want. This is "Everlasting Love" by Andy Gibb, the late younger brother of the Bee Gees.
Happy Valentine's Day, loyal readers. Here's a fitting tune from a pair that I am now thoroughly embarrassed to admit were by favorite recording artists circa 1975: The Captain and Tennille. Here is "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Had a couple of mini-marathons in the last couple of days, getting up to date with the last three installments of 24 and the last two of Heroes.
A little French-flavored ditty from Beauty And The Beast, courtesy of Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury: "Be Our Guest."
A U2 B-side: "Spanish Eyes."
This is from Man Of La Mancha: "I, Don Quixote."
Here's a cover of U2's "In A Little While" by--of all groups--Hanson. (I also have a good take on this song by James Blunt.)
I spent much of today exploring two major art museums: the Queen Sofia and the Prado. The former specializes in modern works and is the home of "Guernica," Pablo Picasso's masterpiece, and lots of cubism and surrealism (e.g., Salvador Dali). The latter is the Spanish equivalent of the Metropolitan Museum, with a range of Spanish and international masters represented (it's heavy on Velázquez and Goya). The early Dali work above, "Mujer en una ventana," was my favorite of the day.
Justin Timberlake collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on "Where Is The Love."
A Steve Winwood song from the 1980s: "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do?" This tune was memorably used in a Michelob commercial.
I watched one of my favorite films, Casablanca, in an actual movie theater for the first time in my life this afternoon. I still find the scene where Victor Laszlo leads the café in singing "La Marseillaise"--in the process drowning out the German song being sung by the Nazi officers--one of the most thrilling moments of the silver screen.
Tonight I saw the new production--it was only the fifth performance--of Peter Shaffer's brilliant play Equus, starring Richard Griffiths (who won a Tony last year for his performance in The History Boys) and Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter; Griffiths plays Uncle Dudley in the same films, by the way). I had read the play years ago, but I now understand that to appreciate it, one has to see it staged. Anyway, in typical Ned Gallagher fashion, I scammed my way into a private question-and-answer session with the cast, director, producers, and Sir Peter Shaffer after the show (it was part of some benefit for select audience members, but I just stuck around). I met Daniel Radcliffe on my way out; I have strange luck for running into celebrities while leaving a theater in London (e.g., Patrick Stewart, Elton John).
In honor of my return to Wallingford: Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound."
Here's to waking up in my own bed for the first time in many a day: Coldplay's "In My Place."
Something from the early '70s: "Ride Captain Ride" by Blues Image.
This song by Steve Winwood features backing vocals by James Taylor: "Back In The High Life."
Here is a live version of Elvis Costello's "Alison."
While it was nice to see Marty Scorsese finally get his Oscar (it sure would have been awkward for his buddies Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg to present the statue to someone else if he didn't win!) most of the Academy Awards telecast this year was a snore.
From Sir Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats: "I Don't Like Mondays."
As I am sitting in Bradley Airport, waiting for my flight to Miami, there's only one tune for the day: Jimmy Buffett's "Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes."
A little jazz today: Dave Brubeck's landmark Time Out album contained experiments with musical time. "Take Five"--with its famous 5/4 beat--is probably the best known example.
I watched Monday night's episode of Heroes tonight and it was incredible. This show is getting better and better.
Muse's "Starlight."
My first chance to watch The Office on regular television in months (last week I was in the New England squash seeding meeting and was on the road for two months before that) and it turns out to be a repeat. Boo!
Aruba, Jamaica . . . ooh, I wanna take ya.
Bermuda, Bahama . . . come on, pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego . . . baby, why don't we go?
Admittedly not The Beach Boys' finest moment, but once I arrive in Aruba this afternoon, I'll have been to all of these places, so "Kokomo" is the song of the day.
R.E.M. playing "Man On The Moon."
I caught back-to-back episodes of Digging For The Truth on The History Channel this afternoon. Both shows brought me back to my time in Egypt a few weeks back, with their backdrops at the Giza Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Valley of Kings, the Karnak temple in Luxor, and Abu Simbel. One episode was about Tutankhamun and the other about Rameses II.
Indiana Jones wanna-be Josh Bernstein, who hosts the program, recently announced he is jumping over to The Discovery Network, which may mean the end of Digging For The Truth, at least as we know it. Bad news for The History Channel, as this has been its highest-rated show.
This song was ubiquitous during my very first Caribbean spring break vacation in 1989 in the Bahamas: "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin.
The Marriott Surf Club here in Aruba sure is a swell place. Because it's set up as a time-share property, the units are fully furnished with complete kitchens, full living and dining rooms spaces, laundry facilities, etc. There's a marketplace right downstairs to stock the kitchen. The beach is beautiful and the multiple pools are clearly the centerpiece of the resort (although the poolside bar is an interesting concept, in that I've always thought that alcohol and swimming were not the best things to mix together). One of the pools is essentially a river, with a strong current that pulls you around an artificial island as you float your troubles away. The only critique I have is the resort's incessant soundtrack. This place pipes what I'd call "elevator music" all over the grounds, except that all the familiar radio-friendly tunes are performed exclusively by steel drum bands. It was cute at first, but after three days of this tropical treacle, I am about ready to go postal.
Another tropical party tune: "Hot Hot Hot" by Buster Poindexter.
I'm enjoying the latest Daniel Silva spy novel, The Messenger, featuring the adventures of Gabriel Allon, an art restorer who is secretly an Israeli assassin. It's about the sixth in a series of novels featuring this character.
Since 24 and Heroes are airing at the same time--10 p.m. here in Aruba, which is an hour ahead of East Coast time--I had to choose which one to watch live. Then I remembered I bought a Season Pass for 24 on iTunes while I was in Australia, so I'll watch the NBC show now and check out the adventures of Jack Bauer when the episode downloads tomorrow.
I was planning to watch Prison Break in the time slot before, but I realized in the first minute of the show that I had not seen the previous episode, in spite of watching what I thought were the last two shows earlier in the day. So I have to download last week's episode of that show, as well as tonight's, to get current.
Keane's album Under The Iron Sea was everywhere I looked when I was in London in 2006. Here is "A Bad Dream."
At the end of last night's airing of Heroes, NBC ran a short clip from the upcoming Spider-Man 3 flick, then announced there would be seven more minutes of footage posted on the NBC website for the next 24 hours. So I watched it this morning. The clip was basically the fight scene between Peter Parker and the new Green Goblin, Harry Osborne (formerly Peter's best friend). I think this is set in the beginning of the movie (as there are supposed to be two other villains--Sandman and Venom--on tap for the major story). At any rate, the action sequence featured some amazing visuals. I am looking forward to this movie.
David Bowie singing about ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
To get out of the sun for a while this afternoon, I digested two entertaining Kevin Smith Q&A sessions--one in Toronto and another in London--in this international sequel to An Evening With Kevin Smith. (Look up the easter eggs for these DVDs online if you watch them.)
"Change" by Tracy Chapman.
As an unabashed fan of all things Ricky Gervais--I loved the original British version of The Office and have listened to all the episodes of his podcasts--my initial reaction to the Extras series when it first aired on HBO was mild disappointment. But having seen the entire second season and now taking in the first six episodes again (and the hilarious gag reels) on DVD, it's really quite good.
As I'm about to jump on a flight to Miami, today's song is "Jet Airliner" by The Steve Miller Band.
I never saw the animated movie Cars when it came out last year--I was traveling at the time, as I recall. So my first exposure to James Taylor singing this beautiful Randy Newman song was the Oscars last week. It's called "Our Town."
I am getting into the second season of HBO's The Wire on DVD. This is a terrific show, as good as its press.
Here's one to commemorate the passing of Boston lead singer Brad Delp: "Rock And Roll Band."
No Sci-Fi Channel among the offerings here at Saddlebrook, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to download tonight's Battlestar Galactica on iTunes. Also, you would think a tennis-oriented place like this might have The Tennis Channel, too, but no such luck. This means I'll have to wait until Wednesday for my pro tennis fix, when ESPN2 picks up coverage of the Indian Wells event.
At least there are a handful of HBOs to pick from!
A live version of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from Panic! At The Disco.
This is an amusing mash-up of Dr. Seuss lyrics presented in the style of a mid-'60s Bob Dylan album: click here.
Fits Bush's America as much as it did LBJ's in the 1960s: Bob Dylan's "Masters Of War."
Team trip to the movies tonight, where we saw 300, the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about King Leonidas and 300 Spartans taking on Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Terrific eye candy, which--like Sin City before it--faithfully captured Miller's visuals.
I really like this Sheryl Crow song, "I Know Why."
. . . well this month, anyway, that U2 released The Joshua Tree, the album that shot the band into the musical stratosphere. Hard to believe it was that long ago! I remember the 1987 tour announcement. I worked the autodial on the phone one Saturday morning in Andover, Massachusetts, trying to get tickets to no avail. But when I moved to Connecticut at the end of the summer, one of the students in my dorm had two tickets to the Boston Garden show but no way to get there. I had a car!
Rob Thomas covers the awesome Smashing Pumpkins tune "1979" for iTunes Originals.
Billy Joel's "I Go To Extremes."
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is Jerry Lee Lewis and Don Henley teaming up for "What Makes The Irish Heart Beat."
A little country-tinged California rock from the Eagles: "Peaceful Easy Feeling."
"Waiting On The World To Change" is the first single from John Mayer's recent release, Continuum.
As I return to teaching, here is "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones.
This is "a little ditty" from John Mellencamp (who was then know as John Cougar): "Jack & Diane."
From my college days: "Rio" by Duran Duran.
One of Prince's best tunes: "Little Red Corvette."
The Cars were a favorite band I discovered in ninth grade. From their self-titled debut album, this is "Just What I Needed."
In honor of Elton John's 60th birthday, here is the live version of "Sixty Years On" from the Live In Australia album.
Cheap Trick's "Surrender" is always worth a listen.
Clarence "Frogman" Henry's signature song: "Ain't Got No Home."
The best thing in the movie Shrek 2 was this song: "Accidentally In Love" by The Counting Crows.
Ground control to Major Tom. Thus begins David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
This song certainly cleaned up at this year's Grammy Awards: "Not Ready To Make Nice" by The Dixie Chicks.
This is a sweet song by Five For Fighting: "Superman (It's Not Easy)."
A fitting offering for April 1: "What A Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers.
"Linger" by The Cranberries features an etheral vocal track.
One of Don Henley's best tracks is "The Last Worthless Evening."
As we move our tennis scrimmage indoors, "Here Comes The Rain Again" by the Eurythmics seems to fit the bill.
With The Masters golf tournament getting underway in Augusta today, here is Willie Nelson's cover of "Georgia On My Mind."
"Bring 'Em Home" was a popular Pete Seeger tune in the Vietnam era, and Bruce Springsteen covers it in an era in which it has new resonance.
The tune may not be as cool as its album cover, but here is "Surfing With The Alien" by Joe Satriani.
An interesting article in the "Arts & Leisure" section of today's New York Times makes the point that the "Hallelujah Chorus"--usually associated with Christmas, but an appropriate pick for Easter, too--actually was an anti-Semitic piece intended to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem.
CItizen Cope's "If There's Love" is a great first-thing-in-the-morning song.
Season (half-season, technically) premiere of The Sopranos: pretty good.
Season premiere of Entourage: kinda weak.
Latest installment of 24: so-so episode, which surprisingly wraps up the search for the suitcase nukes and now the season apparently will pivot to Jack's search for Audrey, who is being held by the Chinese, for its final seven hours.
Hitting the century mark on the Song Of The Day gig, here is U2's "Walk On."
"Movin' Out" is the opening track on Billy Joel's breakthrough 1977 album The Stranger.
I have the sense that Lost is starting to provide more answers to at least some of the long-standing questions that have hovered over the series since its start in 2004. Tonight, for example, we learned how "the others" know so much about the Flight 815 survivors. This kind of payoff keeps me tuning in.
I love this tune: "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" by Paul Simon.
Yes! Ed Helms returns to The Office as Andy . . . sorry, it's DREW now . . . Bernard. This character adds so much to the interaction at Dunder Mifflin.
This Chicago song--"Wishing You Were Here"--should not be confused with the Pink Floyd cut bearing a similar name.
Peter Frampton also covered" Signed, Sealed, Delivered," but here is Stevie Wonder's version.
Here is "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree.
This is Pearl Jam's faithful cover of "Love, Reign O'er Me," the classic cut from The Whos' Quadrophenia.
No iTunes link for this one (yet): in observation of today's IRS filing deadline, here is "Taxman" by The Beatles.
From the timeless Who's Next album: "Gettin' In Tune" by The Who.
Here's a taste of '80s nostalgia: Devo's "Whip It."
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone."
"Taking You Home" is by Don Henley.
This Dylan song--"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"--contains one of my all-time favorite musical lines: he not busy being born is busy dying.
I've always found this song--"Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt--irresistible.
Heroes returned to the NBC line-up tonight--the first new episode in nearly two months. The final arc of the season is underway and the show is as entertaining as ever.
Here is Willie Nelson covering a song made famous by Kermit The Frog: "Rainbow Connection."
David Halberstam died this week in a car accident in California. He enjoyed a distinguished career as a journalist and a sportswriter. I admire the versatility with which he alternated his work between "serious" topics and sport; of course, I'd argue he approached the latter with the same seriousness of purpose he brought to all his coverage of politics and culture. I've enjoyed a number of his books, which I've always found well written and provocative.
One personal anecdote came to mind in the wake of his passing: some years ago when I was teaching the Vietnam War elective here at Choate, I included excerpts from The Best And The Brightest, Halberstam's book on the genesis of the war among American politicians, on my syllabus. Well, one day Halberstam was visiting the Choate campus--I think one of his children was an applicant--and the tour guide was one of my students enrolled at that time in The U.S. In Vietnam. The good news was that this student told Mr. Halberstam that he was reading The Best And The Brightest as part of his coursework and found it fascinating. The bad news was that he let on that Halberstam's book had been distributed in (royalty-free) photocopy form! D'oh!
Anyway, we will miss this man of letters and his urbane and humane voice.
This Carly Simon song, "You're So Vain," features Mick Jagger on backing vocals.
"You Better You Bet" by The Who.
This was a big hit for a fictional band: "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family.
I am about to leave for New York City for the second day in a row--this time to see a production of the Handel opera Giulio Cesare at The Met. This will be my fourth trip to the opera in the past six months, and my fourth time at The Met.
I enjoyed the Handel opera Giulio Cesare, loosely based on Caesar's historical campaign in Egypt and the intertwining of sex and politics in his relationship with Cleopatra.
A bit of mid-'80s nostalgia: Prince's "I Would Die 4 U."
The unmistakeable sound of Rush--here is "Tom Sawyer."
. . . from the company's point of view, at least!
I pay about $10 a month to rent a succession of movies. Not a bad deal: it's convenient, shipping is easy, there is wide selection of DVDs available.
The problem, from my point of view, is that the last disc shipped to me was City Of God, in late December 2006. Now, of course, I have been traveling around the world much of the time since then. But in the five weeks plus since I've been home for spring term, I have yet to watch this movie. So I am paying about $120 a year to rent 2-3 DVDs. They must love me at Netflix Central!
Eric Clapton's "Let It Grow" used to be a staple of the Whimowehs, the female a cappella group on the Choate campus.
Hiro Nakamura may be the most interesting character on television right now. Don't miss Heroes on NBC.
This is an early-era Ol' Blue Eyes take on "Almost Like Being In Love"
Check this out.
My tickets for The Police concert in East Hartford on July 31 have come through! Sweet!
"Money For Nothing" by The Dire Straits was co-written by Sting, who also appears as a backing vocalist on the track.
This is a classic cut from the landmark Stones album Exile On Main Street: "Tumbling Dice."
Another strong episode of The Office tonight. This show is firing on all cylinders now--like All In The Family, Cheers, or Seinfeld in their prime, this sitcom is consistently funny, features deftly drawn characters, and brilliant plotting.
This is "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman Turner Overdrive.
This movie was a mixed bag for me. It didn't have the humor or the energy of the second installment (which benefitted, I think, from a Michael Chabon script). The pacing of this one seemed off and there was a bit too much in the way of weepy moments and speech-making throughout. I heard plenty of snickers and groans in the theater at different points in the film. There were some good moments and certainly lots of interesting eye candy, but overall I'd rate Spider-Man 3 disappointing.
One of my very favorite songs: "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd.
I heard Arlo Guthrie perform his famous "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" in Chapin Hall at Williams College back in the day.
"Power Of Love," by Huey Lewis & The News, was featured in the 1985 classic Back To The Future, and Lewis had a bit part in the film, too.
"Take It Easy" is widely known as an Eagles song, but it was co-written by Jackson Browne, who covered it on his For Everyman album.
A amusing new Spinal Tap mini-film has been posted. Check it out here.
Kenny Loggins supposedly wrote this song about his gravely ill father: "This Is It."
Tonight's Lost was AMAZING. The backstory was that of Ben, the leader of "The Others," and it provided some answers (and of course planted a few more key questions) to the series mythology. And what a surprise ending!
This is a nifty little ditty: "The Geeks Get The Girls" by American Hi-Fi.
An unusual dance tune from me: "Funkytown" by an assemblage of studio musicians performing as Lipps Inc.
Sting's "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You."
Smodcast is an entertaining podcast by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, the directing/producing team behind such flims as Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Dogma. You can access it here.
This is Warren Zevon performing a live version of his "Werewolves Of London."
I didn't know President Bush performed U2 covers: check it out.
Here' a Beach Boys hit: "I Get Around."
This weekly pile of admiration is no doubt getting repetitive, but Heroes demonstrates week after week that it is truly a great show.
Great synthesizer riffs on ELO's "Turn To Stone."
I think it was a car commercial that first turned me on to Ella Fitzgerald's cover of this Cole Porter song, "Love For Sale." It's a great track.
This is actually a song from a Mad Max movie: Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero."
Man, do I love The Office! Week after week, the plot set-ups, the throwaway lines, and the sharply drawn minor characters all amaze me. Great writing, great acting, great comedy.
This version of James Taylor singing "Something In The Way She Moves" is priceless. He re-recorded the song for his mid-1970s Greatest Hits package and this is a far superior take than the cut on the James Taylor debut album on Apple Records. (By the way, George Harrison apparently was so taken by the first line of the song that he appropriated it for his "Something" on Abbey Road.)
This is my favorite Aerosmith song: "What It Takes."
Who doesn't like "Summer Of '69" by Bryan Adams?
"I'm A Believer," a big hit for The Monkees, was penned by Neil Diamond.
I watched the last episode of the Heroes season tonight (not bad, though not as good as it could have been). I will check out the final two hours of 24 Day 6 after they download tomorrow.
This is a lesser-known Elton John tune from the Madman Across The Water album called "Razor Face."
For a while when it was still new, this Five For Fighting song, "100 Years," popped up as background music on all sorts of television shows:
The third season of Lost ended in style, with a gripping two-hour season finale that threw in a few nice twists in the closing minutes. This season the drama wandered a bit, but seems to have regained its footing in the home stretch.
Here's an ol' James Taylor thang: "Shower The People."
Opening night for Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End. A decent, if somewhat tired, flick. It was not as disappointing as the third Spider-Man installment, but probably the weakest of the three Pirates entries.
Thirty years ago today, Star Wars was released. (No "Episode IV." No "A New Hope." Just "Star Wars." And Han shot first.) This is the music from the closing scene.
How about a little Talking Heads? Here is "Burning Down The House."
Loverboy: "Working For The Weekend." For the holiday weekend and the end of term!
"No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen.
The video for Madonna's "Like A Prayer" was very controversial when it debuted in the 1980s.
Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun" fits this time of year pretty well.
"Waterfalls" by TLC is in my head, having sat under the waterfall in a little town called Rockfall several times the past few days.
The last day of school means a little Alice Cooper, of course: "School's Out."
. . . that The Beatles released their seminal album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Time flies!
I saw the school's production of Sweet Charity tonight. I was entirely unfamiliar with the show itself (although two of the musical numbers--"Hey Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now"--I clearly had heard before). The performances this evening were pretty good, but I'm not sure how wild I am about the show.
Seal re-recorded his biggest hit, "Kiss From A Rose," in this acoustic rendition.
"Never Die Young" by James Taylor is a song I always associate with graduation day, especially these lines:
I guess it had to happen someday soon
Wasn't nothing to hold them down
They would rise from among us like a big balloon
Take the sky and forsake the ground
Oh, yes, other hearts were broken
Yeah, other dreams ran dry
But our golden ones sail on, sail on
To another land beneath another sky
In the past ten days or so, I've gotten caught up with The Sopranos. Tonight's penultimate episode was the first one I've watched live this season. Things are pretty clearly coming to a head for Tony, his family, and his crew, and I am glad I'll be home next Sunday night for the conclusion before I head to Europe the following day.
Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime" captures the feel of this first day without students on campus.
Paul McCartney's catalogue appeared on the iTunes Music Store last week--the first Beatles-related recordings to surface there in the wake of the Apple Computer/Apple Records settlement a few months back. I purchased this song, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," in the iTunes Plus format: 256 kbps format without DRM. (I can't really tell the difference!) The song was banned by the BBC when it was released in early 1972.
Proof that I actually DO listen to music released after 1985: here is "If There's Love" by Citizen Cope.
Just got in from seeing the new Judd Apatow comedy Knocked Up. It's pretty entertaining: funny, sweet, and even provocative. Thumbs up.
"Synchronicity II" by The Police is a catchy tune about a man who comes home at the end of the day with malice on his mind!
From The Little Mermaid soundtrack, this is "Under The Sea."
Just got in from seeing Ocean's 13. It's gotten very strong reviews, but I thought it was just so-so. Not the train wreck that the first sequel was, but nowhere near as charming or witty (or comprehensible) as the original (which was a remake, of course).
"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals is an '80s staple that seems to pop up in movie trailers all the time.
It was a quiet Saturday night for me. I finished my adviser reports late in the afternoon, caught up with Austin Ogilvie '05 over dinner, and then watched a film I hadn't seen when it was in theatrical release: Alfonso Cuarón's Children Of Men. This movie was one of the best I have seen in recent memory: skillfully made with stunning camerawork and a thought-provoking script. If you haven't seen this one yet, don't wait!
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers present "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
The Sopranos is over.
I am one of those who thought my cable went on the fritz in the closing moments of the show, when the cut to black mid-scene amidst all that tension in the restauarant was nearly unbearable. Upon reflection, there was probably no better way to end the show. Expectations of Tony's demise were everywhere, but it would have been the easy way out. Better to leave things to the audience's imagination. In my mind, Tony and Carmela and the kids go on with life as usual--or at least what passes for it in the strange world they inhabit.
In light of my flight to London tonight, here is John Denver's "Leaving On A Jet Plane."
This is "London Calling" by The Clash.
I attended the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden this evening for a production of Beethoven's lone opera, Fidelio. Frankly, I was worried that the jet lag would kick in and I would be nodding off. But the opera was better than I expected, with an intriguing storyline and solid performances. Plus I think I got plenty of sleep on the flight over--more than I usually do--and a very brief nap late in the afternoon, so I didn't fade at all. My seat was in the upper slips, high up on the side of the auditorium, but it was much cheaper because of that and the view was pretty good (though stage left was mostly out of sight). A good night out.
"Vacation" by The Go-Gos nicely sums up my state of mind today.
For tight vocal harmonies, no one is better than Crosby, Stills & Nash. This is "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."
Composer Edvard Grieg was a local in Bergen, so here is his unforgettable "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" from the Peer Gynt suites.
As I find myself in Norway this morning, here is the country's best known band (a-ha) performings its biggest hit ("Take On Me").
This is "You're A God" by Vertical Horizon.
"Nowegian Wood" is by The Beatles. (iTunes link coming someday!)
This Fleetwood Mac song led to a generation of baby girls actually being named after its title character, "Rhiannon."
I am plugging back into the second season of HBO’s The Wire on DVD, my enjoyment of which got sidetracked mid-course at the beginning of the spring term (funny how school being in session does that to me). With the bounty of unscheduled time now available to me, I am also re-engaging my reading of The Brothers Karamazov, which I also left mid-stream a few months back.
Probably an obvious pick from here in Sweden: "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
Just finished Season 2 of The Wire. This is a GREAT show. On to the next season.
From the brilliant Graceland album, this is Paul Simon performing "Diamonds On the Soles Of Her Shoes."
One month until the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
"No Reply At All" is one of the hallmarks of the "Phil Collins era" of Genesis.
Yesterday Steven Spielberg took this picture of Harrison Ford, back in costume for the first time since 1989 as a certain "professor of archaeology, expert on the occult, and . . . how does one say it? . . . obtainer of rare antiquities."
Mark your calendars for May 22, 2008!
Has it really been thirty years since Star Wars arrived on the scene? This was the ULTIMATE summer movie when it came out. It stood on its own: no trilogy, no prequels, no "Episode IV" or "A New Hope" revisionism, no Greedo shooting first, and no knowledge that Vader was Luke's father.
I saw the movie with my family as a birthday present. This was in August, though the movie had been released it late May. Back then, it was common for films to have a limited release and then gradually appear on more and more screens. These days, a blockbuster has a huge weekend or two on thousands of screens and that's pretty much it until the DVD arrives a few months later. Star Wars was nothing like that: it had "legs," as they say in the business. Even when I saw it, months after its premiere, there was a line of people snaking around the cinema in the rain. And of course lots of folks saw Star Wars multiple times in the theater (this was in the era before home video took off). I remember going with my 8th-grade science class to see a 70mm print of the film on an enormous screen at some point in the fall, so it was still going strong then.
I loved Star Wars from the very start. I was probably the perfect age for it. Everything about the movie was exciting: the visuals, the soundtrack, the characters, the action. Most people I knew in my junior high universe loved it too (though not my parents--the one word I remember from their review was "corny"!)
It absolutely astounds me to think that there are teenagers today who have NEVER seen any of the Star Wars six films, even after they were re-released in the theaters with upgraded special effects and distributed on DVD more recently.
This song sold a lot of ketchup back in the 1970s: "Anticipation" by Carly Simon.
I took in a movie this afternoon, the Fantastic Four sequel. The bad news: a cinema ticket in the west end set me back £13--which is nearly $26! Pretty outrageous. The good news is that the film was more enjoyable than its lukewarm reviews suggested it would be. It was nothing deep, but a fairly enjoyable comic book flick.
Silver rain was falling down
Upon the dirty ground of London Town
Good lyrics for a wet Sunday morning in the British capital.
The shops in London are open between noon and 6 p.m. on Sundays, so I had a limited window to stop by my London office (a.k.a. the Regent Street Apple Store) for Internet connectivity, get some lunch, and run a few errands.
I opted not to see a West End show this trip, in part because there is nothing here I am particularly dying to see, and in part because it would cost me a fortune with the current exchange rate and I've already spent enough on this vacation. I am sorry I missed Sir Ian McKellen as Lear up in Stratford by just a day; I'd have headed north for that if the timing worked out. But instead I booked tickets today to two Broadway shows for this Wednesday: a matinee of Inherit The Wind (which I starred in as a high school senior, though not on Broadway!) and an evening production of Spring Awakening, which did so well at the Tony Awards a couple weeks back.
Tonight I finished The Golden Compass, volume one in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. I picked up the book in a Stockholm science fiction bookstore and it was a gripping fantasy. I can't wait to get to the sequels, which Amazon is now sending my way back home.
My strongest memory of this song is over the P.A. while waiting for the start of U2 on the band's last concerttour: Modest Mouse, "Float On."
This is Supertramp's "The Logical Song."
Almost thirty years ago, the four members of Kiss released solo albums. One of them--by Ace Frehley--yielded this hit: "New York Groove." I'm heading into Manhattan in few hours, so I'll be "back in the New York groove" myself.
I just finished watching a matinee performance of Inherit The Wind on Broadway, starring Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy. It brought back a lot of memories, as I played Henry Drummond (the Plummer role) in my senior year of high school. Some of the lines were dredged up from deep memories as I watched the performance.
Just got home from New York, having seen the evening performance of Spring Awakening, the 2007 Tony winner for Best Musical. (How's this for a minor connection: the composer, Duncan Sheik, lived in my house as a tenth grader in my first year of teaching at Andover.) The production itself was incredibly energetic; it's easy to see why this show has so many enthusiastic adherents.
From Spring Awakening, the Broadway show I saw last night, this is "Touch Me."
I guess a sign of good art is that its effects linger. I still have the images, songs, and energy of Spring Awakening in my head 24 hours later.
My favorite band in junior high school was Styx. "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)" was a single from the band's 1977 release The Grand Illusion.
Not one to pass up a summer blockbuster, I digested Live Free Or Die Hard this evening. Granted that I checked my brain at the door for this preposterous flick, it was reasonably entertaining.
Guns N' Roses brought us some hellacious guitar licks on "Sweet Child O' Mine."
After watching tennis yesterday, "Saturday In The Park" by Chicago seemed like an apt choice.
This was a free iTunes download when it came out. Dolly Parton sang this song, "Travelin' Thru," on the Oscars telecast back in 2006 (it was the theme from Transamerica, a film I watched on a flight back from Beijing which turned out to be pretty good).
I wrapped up volume two in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy--The Subtle Knife--and will dive into the third novel tomorrow.
From the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack: this is "Boulevard" by Jackson Browne.
It's the Fourth of July. Here is "America" by Simon & Garfunkel.
It being a rainy afternoon, I went to the movies and saw Transformers. The movie was reasonably enjoyable, but the last half hour or so just got boring (and too loud). The gimmick of watching a car become a giant-sized robot had lost its charm far earlier in the flick. I guess it didn't help that I missed the toy craze that inspired all of this.
The Monkees give us "Daydream Believer."
Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have been at work just twenty minutes down the road from me in New Haven, filming scenes for the fourth Indiana Jones installment. I'm sorely tempted to head down for a look, but I'm sure security is tight and there's not much to see.
A slice of mellow from the early '70s: Seals & Croft performing "Summer Breeze."
Bob Dylan gave us "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."
From the one-hit-wonder file, this is "I Got You" by the Split Enz.
Duuuude . . . it's the Dead! The classic "Casey Jones."
I went to Mohegan Sun to see Rush in concert tonight. My friend Scott, who is something of a Rush expert as well as a drummer, was psyched to be seeing Neil Peart in action. It was an enjoyable show, with particularly strong production values, especially the great mix of video screens, computer animation, lighting, and pyrotechnics. I knew perhaps a third of the songs, but it was hard not to get swept up in the energy of the show. Here are a couple of pics from my Treo:
A highlight of last night's Rush show: "Spirit Of Radio."
Here is the set list from last night's Rush concert at Mohegan Sun:
Limelight
Digital Man
Entre Nous
Mission
Free Will
The Main Monkey Business
The Larger Bowl
Secret Touch
Circumstances
Between The Wheels
Dreamlineintermission
Far Cry
Working Them Angels
Armor And Sword
Spindrift
The Way The Wind Blows
Subdivisions
Natural Science
Witch Hunt
Malignant Narcissism
drum solo
Hope
Summertime Blues
The Spirit Of Radio
Tom Sawyerencore:
One Little Victory
A Passage To Bangkok
YYZ
Ben Folds provides a nifty cover of the Elton John classic "Tiny Dancer."
I took the kids in the Kennedy Institute program to see Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix today. It was pretty entertaining, but clearly darker than its cinematic predecessors. Imelda Staunton was spot on as sickeningly-sweet Dolores Umbridge. The stars of British acting were reassembled for the picture, but most of them didn't have much to do. The film is the shortest Potter flick yet, though the novel it was based on is the longest.
I don't know how this tune--"I've Got No Strings" from the Disney Pinnochio movie--got into my head, but it's there this morning. This cover is by The Andrews Sisters, backed by Glenn Miller's orchestra.
NBC burned off the last few episodes of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip this spring. I recorded them on my DVR and am now catching up with the final gasps of the now-cancelled show. Too bad Aaron Sorkin's post-The West Wing project wasn't able to live up to its early hype.
This song kicks in with a little drum machine action: "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins.
From his Stardust collection of standards, this is Willie Nelson's take on "Moonlight In Vermont."
I saw John Mayer at the New England Dodge Music Center (which I still call "The Meadows") up in Hartford tonight. Ben Folds was the support act and did a fun, if largely forgettable, set. Mayer was in good form after a week's break in his tour, and of course Connecticut being his home state, he seemed fired up to play in front of family and friends. Sorta like Springsteen at the Meadowlands, I guess. Anyway, he opened with "No Such Thing" and worked his way through a good selection from Continuum as well as older standouts. Whenever I go to a concert, I have a mental checklist of what I hope to hear, and Mayer hit most of them ("No Such Thing," "Neon," "Waiting On The World To Change," "Georgia Why," "Gravity"). I confess to having a soft spot in my heart for "Daughters," and that was the obvious omission from my list. But it was a great show overall.
Most of my Treo snapshots from the night are worthless, but this one is passable:
"Georgia Why" was a crowd pleaser at last night's John Mayer show.
Here is the set list from last night's John Mayer concert in Hartford:
No Such Thing
Belief
Good Love Is On the Way
I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
Neon
Dreaming With A Broken Heart
Waiting On The World to Change
Vultures
Bigger Than My Body
I Don't Need No Doctor
Why Georgia
Gravityencore:
Slow Dancing (acoustic)
Your Body Is A Wonderland (acoustic)
I'm Gonna Find Another You
MIKA has crafted a catchy and tuneful number in "Grace Kelly."
"Won't Get Fooled Again," by The Who, contains the greatest scream in rock history.
One of my favorite James Taylor songs: "Sarah Maria."
Squeeze performs "Tempted."
Just over 24 hours until the release of the final Harry Potter tome. Apparently the Internet is buzzing with spoilers. Why anyone would go out of his way to find out the ending beforehand is a mystery to me. I am planning to scrupulously avoid TV and the Internet until I finish the book sometime after Amazon delivers it to me on Saturday morning.
Today is a travel day, so here is one of the greatest all-time driving tunes: "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers.
For Harry Potter: Heart's "Magic Man."
Look what was waiting for me in the mailroom this morning:
I am over halfway through the final Harry Potter installment and expect to finish sometime tomorrow. It's GOOD!
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is by Steely Dan.
Okay, no chance the book will be ruined for me now. I pushed through Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows this weekend just so no one could spoil any surprises for me. (I still have bad memories of Tim Varacek telling me that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father before I saw The Empire Strikes Back in 10th grade.) Other than teaching my classes yesterday morning, I haven't done much but read since I got the Potter book in the Saturday mail.
Anyway, it was a very enjoyable read. Too bad that's the end of the saga. No spoilers from me, though!
From the movie Tootsie, this is Stephen Bishop with "It Might Be You."
One of my favorite U2 songs is "Until The End Of The World" on Achtung Baby.
The Secret Servant arrived in today's mail; it's the latest in Daniel Silva's series of novels about Gabriel Allon, an Israeli spy. Good summer reading, I think!
A 1970s classic: "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers.
I bit the bullet and bought myself a subscription to the Metropolitan Opera, essentially booking tickets for six productions in the upcoming year, mostly on Thursday nights: Aida, La Traviata, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), War And Peace, Peter Grimes, and La Fille du Régiment. Taking advantage of the chance to pre-order additional tickets before the general public, I also lined up a performance of Tristan and Isolde in March. So I am getting immersed in the world of opera, I guess, and thus am committing to a bunch of trips into New York City. It's an expensive habit!
From the Grease soundtrack, which was unavoidable in the summer of 1978, this is "Summer Nights."
"Indiana Jones . . . I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door . . ."
Apparently Karen Allen is back reprising her Raiders Of The Lost Ark role of Marion Ravenwood in the next Indy flick. Director Steven Spielberg invited the actress to join him and Harrison Ford in a satellite transmission from the film set.
I just finished off The Amber Spyglass. This trilogy is subversive in a very interesting way, taking a philosophical position that in many ways challenges the clearly Christian subtexts in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. A recommended read.
I remember "If You Were Here" by The Thompson Twins playing at the conclusion of the 1980s John Hughes film Sixteen Candles:
In J.J. Abrams' 2008 Star Trek reboot, Spock will be played by Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes) and--presumably in some sort of framing sequence--Leonard Nimoy! Pretty cool.
I went to matinee to check out the cinematic version of The Simpsons, rather than finish my teacher reports. It was well done and consistently amusing, like one of the better episodes of the television series.
Having read the graphic novel Watchmen when it was released back in the mid-1980s and having taught the work over half a dozen times now, I will be interested to see how well it holds together on the silver screen. See the site for yourself.
Peter Gabriel wrote this song, "Solsbury Hill," about leaving the band Genesis.
One of these years I will have to make it out to that pop culture geekfest, the Comic-Con, which is taking place this weekend in San Diego. Although the event apparently is wall-to-wall people nowadays, there are so many huge movie and television previews and announcements made there that it's a highlight of Hollywood's year (as documented on an episode of Entourage last season). Plus having grown up on a steady diet of comic books, it would be a total nostalgia trip for me. While I would be in my element there, I am pretty sure nothing could get me into one of those costumes!
Following the end-of-summer-session dinner tonight, I went down to New Haven to see Once, an indie film from Ireland with an enchanting romantic storyline and a great soundtrack. The movie uses music as a vehicle for the connections between the main characters and the songs are fantastic. My parents recommended Once, and it was worth the trip.
This song, "Falling Slowly," was featured in the movie Once I watched last night.
Another Broadway double header day for me.
This afternoon's matinee was Nixon/Frost about the mid-1970s series of interviews of the disgraced ex-president by British television host David Frost. The show is in its final week before closing, but Ron Howard is tackling a filmed version with same principals in August. Frank Langella won the Tony for Best Actor earlier this year for his role as Richard Nixon, and it did seem as though he was channeling our 37th president on stage. I was lucky to be seated in the fourth row, center, in the orchestra section. The production featured brilliant performances and was a very thoughtful play.
Tonight I finally got around to seeing Avenue Q, which won the Tony for Best Musical a few years back (in a huge upset, as Wicked was the overwhelming front runner for the award that season). The humor was deliciously subversive: a perverse cross between Sesame Street, Rent, and The Simpsons. I lucked out with my ticket again, as I was seated in the second row, right on the center aisle. A very enjoyable and funny show.
This amusing little ditty, "The Internet Is For Porn," is from Avenue Q, the Broadway show I saw last night.
I remember my mom bringing me back the 45 of this song from the store one day, entirely unsolicited. Strange. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
Tonight I am seeing The Police play in East Hartford. Nice!
The Police were pretty much in the same category as The Beatles in my mind: a band I never thought I'd see in concert. This trio, which provided background music to so much of my life at the end of high school and the beginning of college, had little hope of ever transcending clashing egos to tour again--or so we all thought. I have seen Sting perform four times in concert--and even met him backstage at one of those shows--but seeing The Police was different. It was a thrill to watch Andy, Stewart, and Sting sharing the stage once more in an energetic set of classic hits.
The set list:
Message In A Bottle
Synchronicity II
Walking On The Moon
Voices Inside My Head / When The World Is Running Down...
Don't Stand So Close To Me
Driven To Tears
Truth Hits Everybody
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking In Your Footsteps
Can't Stand Losing You / Reggatta de Blanc
Roxanneencore:
King Of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Takeencore:
Next To You
This number got the crowd assembled at Rentschler Field for The Police concert energized last night: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic."
A year ago today I was in South Africa. This song, "Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World," is by South African artists Johnny Clegg & Savuka.
In the wake of The Police concert the other night, I bit the bullet and bought what appeared to be one of the few remaining tickets in the Hartford Civic Center next month for a stop on the Genesis reunion world tour. I looked into getting a block of three or four seats, but they were unavailable at any price via Ticketmaster, and the going prices on StubHub seemed outrageous. The ticket I did buy was pricey, but I figured this probably would be my last chance to see the band play live.
A blast from the past: Hank Williams performs "Your Cheatin' Heart."
Just got in from seeing the third installment of the Bourne trilogy and it was a very staisfying sequel (unlike most of the other sequels of 2007). The movie was well scripted, well directed, and particularly well acted. Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Straitharn, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, and especially Joan Allen (pictured above, with Damon) were excellent. This was a great mix of gripping action sequences and psychological drama filmed mostly with handheld cameras in a range of visually appealing backdrops such as London, Madrid, Tangier, and New York City.
I believe this is what's known as a power ballad: "Faithfully" by Journey.
Andrew Gold scored a hit with "Lonely Boy" back in 1977.
This is k.d. lang's "Constant Craving."
This is the AOL Sessions version of "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow.
The Beatles recorded "Birthday"--an apt choice for me today! (iTunes link coming someday!)
There is a Chinese proverb I like that says, "He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left." As I head to the airport for a trip to Russia for the first time, this sentiment is reflected in Rush's "Fly By Night."
Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again."
On his first solo album, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, Sting gave us "Russians."
From the James Bond movie of the same name, "From Russia With Love" was performed by Matt Monro.
I actually found a place in Moscow that runs the occasional English language film--a new release, no less! The Moscow Times (the free English daily distributed at my hotel) alerted me to the fact that Stardust was being shown at one of the main multiplexes here in the city. After I arrived at the cinema and fumbled my way through a ticket purchase with a Russian-speaking clerk, I had to search long and hard for the actual theater in which the movie was playing. Turns out I had to head outside and around to the back of the place, in through a side door and up a back staircase to a small room with maybe 60 seats tucked away in the complex. No matter: I had arrived.
I really wanted to see this particular flick. I am an ardent fan of Neil Gaiman's work, and this movie was based on an illustrated prose piece that was later turned into a short novel, which is what I read maybe 6-7 years ago. I have a very clear memory of reading the prose version of Stardust in a little tea house that I think is called The Oven Door in Dingle, Ireland, while waiting for a group from Choate to arrive later in the day.
In any case, the movie was fresh to me, either because I forgot huge chunks of the book or because the film is sufficiently different from its source material (or maybe both!). There were a few elements in this fairy tale for adults that I remembered, but most of it seemed very new.
In short, this was an absolutely lovely, charming movie--spell-binding in all the ways a good story should be. The visuals in the film were wonderful, and the actors were all up to the task. Charlie Cox and Claire Danes were perfect as the leads. Peter O'Toole had an entertaining cameo, Robert DeNiro was terrific as a ship captain with a secret life, and Ricky Gervais showed provided comic relief playing . . . well, Ricky Gervais, and was very funny. And Sir Ian McKellen was an aptly-cast narrator (though I could not place his naggingly familiar voice until the final credits rolled).
This is a rare film that I'd actually pay to see again in the theater.
From Pete Townshend's solo repertoire, this is "Let My Love Open The Door."
I finished off the television series Undeclared this morning. This Judd Apatow-produced show never made it past its first season, like Apatow's Freaks And Geeks before it, but like its predecessor it contains compelling characters, thoughtful humor, and a great soundtrack. And the core of the Apatow ensemble seen in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up--people like Seth Rogen and Jason Segal--is present in this series as well. Moreover, these films clearly share the same sensibility with the two TV series (Freaks and Undeclared).
My portable DVD player has turned out to be be a great investment for travel: I use it during long flights and in the down time between sight-seeing and transit. And the DVD format is ideal for watching a television series like this one, that I missed. What it's REALLY perfect for is the serial show; this is how I got caught up on 24 and Alias, two programs I missed in the early part of their runs. (It would be similarly good for Lost and Heroes, but I was on board with those two from the start.)
Mindful of my travel ordeal the last 24 hours, this is The Doobie Brothers with "Long Train Runnin'."
In the tradition of great summer songs, here is "Magic" by The Cars.
From The Beatles' self-titled double album (a.k.a. "The White Album"), this is "Back In The U.S.S.R." [iTunes link should be coming someday soon; the label just released all of John Lennon's solo albums for download; maybe we are waiting for a Yellow Submarine special iPod or something?]
Being so northerly, daylight lingers past 10:30 at night, even in mid-August. I am taking advantage of the chance to read Dostoevsky in his native city, re-engaging with The Brothers Karamazov.
As my travels come to a close--at least for the time being--here is a reflection by James Taylor called "Wandering."
Today I offer Coldplay's "Warning Sign."
Superbad is very funny, even if its humor is sophomoric. The first 20 minutes or so of the film are just brilliant. Things level off after that as "the plot" becomes more central.
This is an amazing live 1974 version of "Rocket Man" by Elton John.
This Madonna tune, "Die Another Day," opened the James Bond flick of the same name.
John Fogerty's "Centerfield."
Yesterday's song was "CenterFIELD," today's is "CenterFOLD" by The J. Geils Band.
This medley from a U2 concert in Boston in early 2001 blends "Bad" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" with a taste of "40" in between. It's awesome!
The New Yorker has a wonderful profile of Ian McKellen by John Lahr in this week's issue. It's worth a read.
This is "Dizzy" from The Goo Goo Dolls.
"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" was a mid-1980s hit for Tears For Fears (and closed the movie Real Genius).
As summer is still with us for a few more weeks, here is a thematically appropriate tune: "Nightswimming" by R.E.M.
Queen teamed up with David Bowie to make "Under Pressure" a 1981 hit (which would provide the bass hook for Vanilla Ice's fifteen minutes of fame a decade later).
No doubt a lead-up to next year's rollout of the fourth Indiana Jones big screen adventure, Lucasfilm will be releasing three DVD sets of the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles starting this fall.
Today I received from my friends at Amazon the highly-regarded and well-reviewed collection of Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons, from the Golden Age of animation. I should enjoy this.
This song, "Brighter Than Sunshine" by Aqualung, is seductively appealing.
A little taste of Irish rock in Van Morrison's "Cleaning Windows."
I picked up the DVD set of Season One of the show Friday Night Lights. I've never seen an episode of the NBC show--though I did see the 2004 film--but it has terrific word of mouth and is one of those critical favorites always on the cusp of cancellation. And this set cost less than $20 on Amazon.com, so I took the plunge. Maybe this will help keep the show on the air?
Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" was on one of the first three CDs I ever bought.
The timeless "Hotel California" by the Eagles.
Why don't we see album covers like this anymore?
"Summer's Gone" by Aberfeldy seems an appropriate choice for Labor Day Weekend.
I took the squad to the local cinema tonight. Choices were slim, so I opted for War, an action flick starring Jet Li and Jason Statham featuring some far-fetched plot twists. Mindless entertainment, but reasonably effective escapism.
"Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" is one of Billy Joel's best.
From The Talking Heads: "Stay Up Late."
This is Bob Dylan covering Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd."
Note to self: order tickets as soon as they are available. Two things I wanted to see in the weeks ahead--Ian McKellen in King Lear in New York City and a Van Halen concert at Mohegan Sun--are sold out. The Lear production seems like a particularly hot ticket, with eBay offering seats for hundreds of dollars. I guess I won't be going to these shows.
Peter Frampton's "I'm In You."
From The Police's Zenyatta Mondatta album: "Don't Stand So Close To Me."
This is a live cover of "Superman's Song" by Crash Test Dummies.
The Steve Miller Band's "Jungle Love" features a great opening.
KT Tunstall has a new album due soon. From her debut, Eye To The Telescope, this is "Other Side Of The World."
Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush."
"Under My Thumb" by The Rolling Stones.
This trailer has raised my interest in this film.
"Steady As We Go" is by The Dave Matthews Band.
"Never Surrender" by Canadian flash-in-the-pan Corey Hart.
From the 1970s file: Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion."
Only a curmudgeon wouldn't like "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond.
"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is when I'll be seeing Genesis live in Hartford.
Just got in from seeing Genesis on its "Turn It On Again" tour, probably the last go-round for Messrs. Banks, Collins, and Rutherford as a group. They were in good form tonight, ably aided by longtime associates Daryl Stuermer on guitar and bass and Chester Thompson on drums (pretty cool to have dual drummers when Phil was not up front singing).
The set list:
Duke's Intro (Behind The Lines)
Turn It On Again
No Son Of Mine
Land Of Confusion
In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke's Travels / Afterglow
Hold On My Heart
Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea
Follow You, Follow Me
Firth Of Fifth / I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Mama
Ripples
Throwing It All Away
Domino
Drum Duet
Los Endos
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Invisible Touchencore:
I Can't Dance
The Carpet Crawlers
A posthumous hit for John Lennon: "Nobody Told Me."
Sinéad O'Connor sang this song by Prince: "Nothing Compares 2 U."
"Walk Of Life" is by the Dire Straits.
This is a live version of "The Heart Of The Matter" from Don Henley.
A little Eurofunk action: Ace Of Base with "The Sign."
Elton John's mid-1970s classic, "Island Girl."
An offbeat mellow tune: "Year Of The Cat" by Al Stewart.
The fifth season premiere of Family Guy tonight featured a mildly amusing send-up of Star Wars called "Blue Harvest" (true believers will get the reference). Many scenes were covered shot-for-shot (in fact, for the effects shots, it appeared as though the ships and such were animated right over the actual images from the film). The show was not as funny as some regular episodes of Family Guy but it clearly was one for the fan boys.
From the 1980s, this is Devo's cover of the Stones classic "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
NBC's breakout hit last year was Heroes, which returned to the airwaves tonight with its Season 2 premiere. This is a very entertaining show and I'm looking forward to following its twists and turns this year. Tonight's episode was a promising start.
U2's "City Of Blinding Lights."
I took in the pilot of Reaper on The CW tonight, mostly because it was directed by Kevin Smith, whose films I like (and whose podcast I regularly enjoy too). The show was reasonably entertaining, but I don't know if it will earn a regular berth on my DVR.
I always think of this song looking up at the night sky when I'm in the Southern hemisphere: "Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills & Nash.
The ABC show Brothers And Sisters was another series I missed completely, but on the strength of some very good reviews, I ordered the first season on DVD and will record the second season to watch after I get caught up. Now if I could only find the time to watch all of this . . .
"Squeeze Box" is by The Who.
Yes!!!! The Office is back, with tonight's season premiere. Tonight's episode was very funny. I have missed this weekly injection of humor.
A cool live version of "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel.
Okay, it's a cheesy group, but the song IS catchy: "As Long As You Love Me" by The Backstreet Boys.
No better choice for today than Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends."
I have been spending time playing Guitar Hero II with the boys in Mem House lately. I generally don't have much patience with video games, but the guitar-like controllers and the familiar music makes this an enticing distraction for me.
I've been playing this lately on Guitar Hero: "Crazy On You" by Heart.
A boyhood favorite: Kansas, with "Carry On Wayward Son."
I first heard "Angel" on an early episode of Alias and fell in love with the various versions of it that Sarah McLachlan has recorded.
Styx was my favorite band in junior high school. This was its biggest hit, "Come Sail Away."
There's this magazine:
and then there's this one:
So I am thinking about starting up a new publication: New Yorkest.
I ventured into New York City and saw Aida at the Met last night, my first time with this particular opera. It was a tremendous spectacle, with enormous sets evoking ancient Egypt, impressive lighting, and over a hundred bodies (not to mention a few live horses) on stage at one point. This particular Verdi work is a stirring mixture of grand historical epic and intense psychological drama. To my untrained ear, the voices seemed in very fine form. The music was wonderful. A very enjoyable show.
This would seem to fit the season (though it has been pretty warm for this time of year): "October Road" by James Taylor.
Magic, the new album from Bruce Springsteen, is an energetic collection of tunes. It's the first time The Boss has recorded with The E Street Band since he released The Rising five years ago. I've been listening to the disc all week and it's growing on me.
From Springsteen's latest, this is "Radio Nowhere." The opening is reminiscent of the chord progression in Tommy Tune's "Jenny (867-5309)."
I'm not above admitting I've got a soft spot in my heart for the late John Denver. This song is "The Eagle And The Hawk."
On the way back from our meet at Andover today, I finally broke open the season 1 DVD set of Friday Night Lights and watched the pilot episode. It was amazing. If the rest of the series is as well written as this show was, I will enjoy it immensely.
Jason Mraz's "Life Is Wonderful."
"Lollipop" is by MIKA.
On this rainy morning, this song may be wishful thinking: "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO.
"Good Vibrations" is by The Beach Boys.
The most appealing thing about 30 Rock is the chemistry between Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, which suggests a warped Tracy-Hepburn vibe. This is an entertaining show.
This song is "I'm Alive" by Jackson Browne.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was a highlight of the Mem Garden trip to see the band in concert two years ago.
"Touch Of Grey" is by The Grateful Dead.
Ella Fitzgerald covers Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm."
I am not watching Heroes tonight, because I need to see the two previous episodes first. I am way behind on a few other shows (such as Weeds and Mad Men) and have at least one missed episode of The Office and 30 Rock in the viewing queue as well. And I am stockpiling second-season episodes of Brothers And Sisters and Friday Night Lights until I finish the Season 1 DVDs of those shows. Thanks goodness for the DVR (though I will have to move a few shows over to a computer hard drive to make room for new recordings).
KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way (I Like It)."
A New Wave one-hit wonder from the late 1970s: "Cars" by Gary Numan.
Next month U2 is re-releasing a deluxe version of its landmark album The Joshua Tree, which is now twenty years old. Of course, I will have to get the limited edition, with 2 CDs and a DVD.
From Alanis Morissette's megahit 1990s album, Jagged Little Pill, this is "Ironic."
A Parents Weekend-themed selection: "Mama's Pearl" by The Jackson 5.
From James Taylor, another Parents Weekend pick: "Daddy's All Gone."
Months after the release of the final Harry Potter book, author J.K. Rowling dropped a bombshell last night, revealing that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay. I don't know if it's possible to "out" a fictional character, but this tidbit is apparently headline news all over the world today! Supposedly, Dumbledore's orientation explains why he was deceived in his youth by Gellert Grindelwald, who became a dark wizard.
I'm about to board a plane to the Windy City, so here is "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" by the band Chicago.
Frank Sinatra teamed with his son Frank Sinatra Jr. to re-record "My Kind Of Town."
A Chicago band, Styx, provides today's daily dose with "The Best Of Times."
Today I've been listening to the new Eagles song "How Long," an appealing countryish rock tune with the typically tight vocal harmonies we heard so often from this group in the 1970s. Ot's from the forthcoming double album Long Road Out Of Eden, which apparently will be available only at Wal-Mart next week. Check out a preview of it here.
Supertramp's "Breakfast In America" from the album of the same name.
From Boston's second album, Don't Look Back, this is "A Man I'll Never Be."
Volume 1 of the DVD boxed set collection of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (newly chistenened The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones) arrived from Amazon today, loaded with tons of documentary features to supplement the handful of episodes gathered on the 12 discs. The original series was George Lucas's bid to teach American youth about the early 20th century and this DVD set extends that ambition in a big way.
Van Halen's "Dreams" usually shows up during Choate Cross Country's Friday meditation ("Neditation") sessions.
I've been listening to Nickelback's "If Everyone Cared" a lot lately.
Hard to not like a song with a banjo part in it: this is "Unwell" by Matchbox Twenty.
I hopped on a 10:32 train from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal to catch the New York City Opera production of Carmen. My train arrived at about 12:15, which gave me time for a leisurely stroll up Fifth Avenue and through Central Park to Lincoln Center just in time for the 1:30 curtain.
The Bizet opera contains several very familiar melodies, such as the Prélude (overture), the Toréador Song, and the Habanera:
a theme which will now be in my head for the rest of the week, no doubt.
The production wrapped up about 4:30, so I took the subway back to Grand Central for the 5:07 back to the Elm City so I could return to Mem House just in time for duty at 7:30.
This is a rock cover of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
"Wonderwall" from Oasis.
Sort of an obvious choice for Halloween: "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett.
Sting's "Inside."
The Choate group spent the morning on Capitol Hill, visiting the Senate and House chambers as well as a congressional hearing. We also met with freshman Representative Chris Murphy (D-CT) and enjoyed a luncheon in the Capitol with some CRH alums.
On the ride back, we watched Mr. Smith Goes To Washington on the bus. I had forgotten just how good this film is.
Off now to the athletic center to run a late night make-up practice for cross country team members who were on the DC trip with me. Two days until our first championship meet!
From Achtung Baby, this is the timeless U2 song "One."
It's hard to convey just how much I am enjoying Season 1 of Friday Night Lights. I watched a bunch of episodes while traveling to and from Washington this week and a couple more tonight. No doubt the coach in me finds this show centered around a high school team appealing, but beyond that, this is simply a great television drama about a small town in Texas.
"Listen To What The Man Said" is from Paul McCartney's post-Beatles band, Wings.
Few albums hold up better thirty-five years on than Who's Next. This is the opening track "Baba O'Riley."
I took a small Mem House contingent down the hill to Abbott & Cassello's for an eggs Benedict breakfast. The restaurant was more packed than normal, mostly because folks were thrown off by the time change. The extra hour of sleep was most welcome!
Bruce Springsteen's "Tougher Than The Rest."
An L.A. song: "Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"What song is it you want to hear?" Lynyrd Skynyrd playing "Free Bird," of course.
Just got in from a night at the Metropolitan Opera, where I saw Verdi's La Traviata. This is a tragic love story, and one of the most popular operas in the worldwide repertory. Renée Fleming was stunning in her handling of the challenging lead role of Violetta.
"Fast Car" was a hit early in Tracy Chapman's career.
This is Shania Twain's "You're Still The One."
In honor of the Deerfield Day competitions today, as well as the New England Prep School Cross Country Championships here at Choate, this is "All Star" by Smash Mouth.
After the excitement of the cross country meet, I unwound with a student production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, which was cleverly performed here on campus.
This song is sooooo 1970s . . . "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band.
Talking Heads weigh in with "Wild Wild Life."
Mt Comcast digital cable package gives me On Demand service, so it was easy to watch last night's season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm today instead. This is SUCH a funny show. I love the utter lack of political correctness in this series.
"Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan is a very cool tune.
While in Vegas, I will seeing the Cirque du Soleil Beatles-themed show "Love." Sweet.
This song sums me up pretty well sometimes: "My Stupid Mouth" by John Mayer.
Broadway shows have mostly gone dark lately, due to a strike by the stagehands. But I booked a ticket to the hottest production in New York right now, Jersey Boys, for January 17, so I am counting on a settlement before then!
A classic, for sure: "respect" by Aretha Franklin.
Carly Simon won an Oscar for this contribution to the Working Girl soundtrack: "Let The River Run."
I received my subscription tickets today to the 2007-2008 season of the Handel and Haydn Society, a Boston-based chorus and period instrument orchestra that has been around since 1815. According to Wikipedia, the musicians are "most widely known for their performances of George Frideric Handel's Messiah, which the group . . . has performed annually since 1854." I'll be attending that on Friday, November 30.
Here is Maroon 5 with "This Love."
Rush wrote this song about being famous: "Limelight."
I went to a Beowulf matinee this afternoon and found myself pretty entertained. The film is "sort of" animated: it captures the movements and facial features (and voices) of real actors using the technology that brought Gollum to life in Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Because the whole frame is rendered in CGI, it has both the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. That is, at times it's clear you are watching people who aren't real because their skin seems a bit too waxy and their movements often lack grace (though there are scenes where the characters--especially Anthony Hopkins as Hrothgar--are presented with stunning photorealism; we've come a long way since Toy Story!). On the other hand, the "camera" is able to move in innovative ways and the filmmakers' visual imagination knows virtually no bounds.
My advice is to see this flick, but to catch it in 3-D, as it's pretty clear a lot of sequences, especially in action scenes, were designed to take advantage of this effect. In the conventional 2-D presentation I saw, it was obvious when the audience was meant to duck because, say, an arrow was being fired right out of the screen.
The film is a loose adaptation of the epic poem, but trusty Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary have given Bob Zemeckis a sturdy tale to spin with lots of good eye candy.
"I Say A Little Prayer" by Dionne Warwick was a song I remember listening to on a cassette tape as very young boy, circa 1970 or so, when my family spent most of the summer in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"You Might Think" is by The Cars.
This morning Amazon delivered the 20th Anniversary edition of The Joshua Tree. Of course, I had to go for the high end (a.k.a. expensive!) package with 2 CDs, a DVD, and all the extra print materials.
Tonight I saw Julie Taymor's production of Die Zauberflöte at The Met. As you'd expect from Taymor, the opera featured striking visuals and lots of puppets (this is the same director who staged The Lion King on Broadway and in the West End). The sets and lighting were beautifully conceived. The Mozart music was pretty terrific, too; Diana Damrau was especially strong as the Queen of the Night (I'm learning to appreciate coloratura soprano). A delightful performance overall.
"It Ain't Me Babe" is from the Another Side Of Dylan album.
In this morning's New York Times, classical music critic Anthony Tommasini praised the performance of Die Zauberflöte that I saw at the Met Tuesday night:
The Queen of the Night . . . is a fiendishly difficult and dramatically exasperating role. It’s a crucial but short part. The maniacal Queen appears, mainly, to sing two show-stopping, blazingly brilliant arias.As required, the German soprano Diana Damrau stopped the show twice on Tuesday night in the Metropolitan Opera’s production by Julie Taymor, with Kirill Petrenko conducting. Just three nights earlier she had sung the last of several performances as Pamina in the Met’s “Zauberflöte” run. Pamina is a very different vocal assignment, requiring lighter and more poignantly lyrical singing.
In her Act I recitative and aria the Queen of the Night persuades earnest Prince Tamino to rescue Pamina, her daughter, who is being held by the pontificating, all-powerful Sarastro, Priest of the Sun. Ms. Damrau had everything, including a penetrating sound — bright but never hard-edged — and ample coloratura technique to execute the virtuosic passagework. The way she handled the dramatic recitative before the aria was especially impressive; every phrase was delivered with a rich bloom that nearly masked the wily Queen’s manipulations.
In Act II, infuriated that Tamino and Pamina are won over by Sarastro to, you could say, the light side, the Queen appears before her daughter to sing “Der Hölle Rache,” the ultimate avenging mother’s aria. With the consent of Ms. Taymor, Ms. Damrau, a complete artist, restored to this scene the calculating spoken dialogue that had been cut. Having established the dramatic context, she proceeded to nail the treacherous aria.
When a soprano can toss off the aria’s fearsome passagework, capped by frequent leaps to high F, with the kind of command Ms. Damrau displayed, it makes the Queen seem chillingly demonic. How else to explain such ability? Ms. Damrau has said she will now retire the role, which makes these appearances even more noteworthy.
This is "Truckin'"--on Thanksgiving Day, the Grateful Dead seems to be an appropriately named band.
I spent some time today getting caught up on my backlog of Heroes episodes; I had seen only the first episode of the new season, so it was nice to re-engage this show.
John Mellencamp's "Small Town" reminds me of where I grew up.
I caught the end of The Natural on TCM this morning. I remember Bernard Malamud--the author of the book--speaking when I was in college and how little regard he seemed to have for the film, which took liberties with the story's ending. It's got a great Randy Newman score, though, and certainly is one of Robert Redford's more memorable roles.
It's a marvelous night for a . . . "Moondance" by Van Morrison.
No iTunes link for this one, but today's song is "Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks.
Perhaps it was a way of procrastinating while my term reports are awaiting attention, but I digested a few too many episodes of the new Gossip Girl show this weekend. The program is about the children of privilege on Manhattan's Upper East Side and is the same sort of soap opera that The O.C. was a few years back (though it's not as good).
Blondie's "The Tide Is High."
I can't help but think of the film Moonstruck when I hear Dean Martin sing "That's Amore."
Diana Ross and Lionel Richie teamed up on "Endless Love."
I got the second boxed set of remastered Genesis albums today. Some vintage '80s pop here from releases such as Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance. I am admittedly far less interested in the post-Phil Collins Calling All Stations album. But these new editions have lots of extras on DVD, including band interviews, videos, concert footage, and the like.
For those who miss the dance floor from the late 1970s, this is "Turn The Beat Around" by Vicki Sue Robinson.
I booked myself a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band when the tour returns to Hartford on February 28.
Tonight I saw the musical 1776 over at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam. The show is the story of the Founding Fathers and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I had seen the filmed version growing up (it was shown in 6th grade, as I recall) but have never before seen 1776 on stage. The theater is quite intimate, and the production was quite lively and entertaining.
I can always get up for U2's "Beautiful Day."
The Handel & Haydn Society's annual concert of Handel's Messiah just finished. I trekked up to Boston earlier tonight to Symphony Hall--regarded as one of the three finest concert halls in the world--for the oratorio and sat about seven rows back from the stage, near the center. Nothing like a little "Hallelujah" chorus to get one into the holiday mood.
This will kick start the Christmas spirit in early December; it's a choral piece from the Handel oratorio Messiah (which I attended in Boston last night), "For Unto Us A Child Is Born."
Coldplay's first single from the X&Y release, "Speed Of Sound."
"Wisemen" is from James Blunt's debut album.
Photos from Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull are starting to pop up on the Internet. My appetite has been whetted!
"Point Of Know Return" was a song on the album of the same name by Kansas.
As a long-time fan of James Taylor, I've been enjoying his latest release on the Hear Music label from Starbucks. One Man Band is a CD/DVD package of familiar J.T. songs played in an intimate Western Massachusetts theater.
"Urgent" was a big hit for Foreigner.
The season 4 DVD set of The Wire arrived in today's post. I have season 3 to get through before I tackle this one. Hopefully I'll be ready for the fifth and final season of the show when it starts airing on HBO in January.
An incredibly atmospheric song: "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.
Another classic from the Rolling Stones: "Sympathy For The Devil."
J.J. Abrams, who brought us Lost and Alias, as well as the last edition in the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible franchise, is helming a revision of Star Trek, due to hit screens next year. This is really something of a prequel, it seems, with younger versions of the original crew (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et al.). Here is a photo of the new film's version of the U.S.S. Enterprise that's been making the rounds on the Internet:
"I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty.
This is the teaser poster for 2008's sequel to Batman Begins, which is to be called The Dark Knight:
Looks like Heath Ledger as The Joker will feature prominently in this picture.
Daryl Hall & John Oates gave us "Kiss On My List."
Paul McCartney and Wings sang "Silly Love Songs."
Okay, cognizant that I am posting a third Indiana Jones-related blog entry in the last ten days, here is the new teaser poster for the forthcoming sequel, capably illustrated by Drew Struzan, whose work graced the posters for the earlier films (and Star Wars) as well:
"Hello, I Love You" is by The Doors.
The second season of the British series Life On Mars arrives on American shores tonight on BBC America. I am looking forward to seeing how it all wraps up, as this is the final season and we are promised a resolution to the central mystery of the series.
From Quadrophenia, this is The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me."
Peter Frampton's mega-hit double live album Frampton Comes Alive spawned "Baby I Love Your Way."
This is an "unplugged" version of "Heaven" by Bryan Adams.
This song has been a staple on the radio for over 30 years: Steve Miller Band's "The Joker."
Jackson Browne was one of the best of the singer-songwriters who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. This song, "These Days," is a compelling reason why.
Fortunately the hotel here in Windsor Locks has HBO, so I got to see the wrap-up of the Ricky Gervais series Extras--an extended "Christmas special" episode following two seasons, just like what he did for the Brit version of The Office--without waiting until Tuesday night to see it on my DVR (or I guess it would be available on Comcast On Demand, too). It's cool how he and Stephen Merchant get English celebrities to appear in totally self-deprecating roles. The show was typical Gervais humor: painful, awful hilarious, embarrassing moments of awkwardness punctuated in the end by deep-down-inside sweetness.
Dan Fogelberg passed away yesterday morning from prostate cancer. "Leader Of The Band" is a touching song he wrote about his father.
Down here in Nashville, it seems to me a country music entry is appropriate; this is my favorite George Jones song: "She Thinks I Still Care."
I finished the first season of Friday Night Lights on DVD last night (I know, A.K., it took me long enough!). I've got the first half-dozen episodes with me on my MacBook (transferred from my DVR) and have begun catching up with the folks of Dillon, Texas nearly one year later.
"Misunderstanding" was an early hit in the "Phil Collins era" of Genesis.
Want to see a cross between the early Beatles and Led Zeppelin? Click here. This is far out!
Once school is out of session, I finally have the time to read the books and watch the films and television shows that have been piling up in recent months, patiently waiting for my attention. While traveling, I have lots of opportunity to read voraciously or settle in with a DVD.
After reading a profile of the author in USA Today a week or so ago, I decided to give David Baldacci a spin. He writes political thrillers, similar to the ones by Brad Meltzer that I have liked, and his books are consistently at the top of the best-seller lists. So I picked up The Camel Club in the Detroit airport the other day and am almost done with it and ready to move on to its sequels. It's nice to throw in some commercial fiction alongside the highbrow "literature" I also enjoy reading. Though a bit formulaic, books like Baldacci's are about a world I know a little about; moreover, they are thoroughly researched and competently written.
I am back in Boston for another Handel & Haydn Society concert, this one of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Jordan Hall, pictured above, is about a block away from Symphony Hall, where I saw Messiah performed a few weeks back.
From Bach's Christmas Oratorio, this is an a cappella version of "Break Forth, O Beauteous, Heavenly Light" in English (I heard it in the original German last night up in Boston).
The Handel and Haydn Society performed the first three of the six cantatas that make up Bach's Christmas Oratorio last night. Jordan Hall was much more intimate than Symphony Hall, and the musicians were pared down in number, as well, with just sixteen choristers accompanying the four soloists and fewer than twenty instruments on stage. A worthwhile concert experience.
Santa Claus came early, as my 5-disc deluxe version of Blade Runner arrived in the mail today. The flick is one of my all-time favorite films, and this collection features no fewer than five versions of the movie with loads of extras thrown in.
Here's an oldie from Queen: "Somebody to Love."
After my usual fall drought on the movie-watching front--things are just too busy at school between Labor Day and Thanksgiving for me to get to the cinema more than once or twice, it seems--I actually saw two flicks today.
First up was Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. This was the sort of movie I found easier to admire than like. It was clearly an accomplishment in film-making, but I've never really taken to Stephen Sondheim's work (fellow Williams alum that he is) and this was a pretty grisly, downbeat movie for the holiday season. I'm surprised it's being marketed almost as a horror film when it is really a musical with a strong streak of black comedy.
Then in the evening, I saw National Treasure: Book Of Secrets. This features the sort of subject matter that is right up my alley: historical artifacts, a globe-trotting race to solve a puzzle, etc. Benjamin Franklin Gates is sort of a low-budget Indiana Jones. But when I look forward to a movie too much, I am bound to be disappointed. I actually watched the first National Treasure DVD last night and this morning in preparation, and this sequel was disappointing in contrast (though I enjoy seeing Helen Mirren in just about anything). If you go in expecting this movie to be mediocre, you'll probably enjoy it more.
This song by Kenny Loggins, "I'm Alright," was the theme from Caddyshack.
Something in the spirit of the season seems in order: this is onetime-Catwoman Eartha Kitt purring "Santa Baby."
Just saw Charlie Wilson's War with my family. (We had a little more than 60 relatives gathered to celebrate my mom's birthday this afternoon and are staying over on the Connecticut side of the border, in Lakeville, tonight and tomorrow night.) The film has gotten good reviews, and thus I was probably expecting too much of it. It seemed a bit overrated to me.
Good ol' J.T. gives us a song for the holiday: "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
And so this is Christmas . . .
So sang John Lennon in "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."
Having spent most of the past three days with family, I looked at a LOT of pictures. This is "Photograph" by Nickelback, a song that sums up the sort of nostalgia you get looking at old photos.
This is The Boss doing a famous old Elvis number, "Viva Las Vegas."
On the second flight last night--which was over 3 hours long--I took a break from The Wire episodes to watch the DVD included with the latest James Taylor release, One Man Band. He presents a concert in his hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts with lots of storytelling and easy banter in between songs. Having seen him perform live at least a half dozen times, it's clear J.T. is in good form in this show.
Wow. I just returned from the 10 p.m. show of Love, the Beatles-themed Cirque Du Soleil presentation here at The Mirage. This was my first Cirque performance and Love was a big part of my reason for coming to Vegas. I was not disappointed. The music was amazing: over 2000 speakers created a lush soundscape in the custom-designed theater, using Beatles master tapes prepared especially by George Martin and his son. And the show itself was a visual spectacle incorporating dance, acrobatics, aerial wire work, costumes, make-up, masks, props, video screens, animation, projections, lighting, sets, and very impressive gymnastic stunts of all sorts. The stage constantly shifted on hydraulics to accommodate different set-ups between and within songs. The athleticism of the performers and imagination of the designers were great fits for some of the best of the Fab Four's music. An amazing 90 minutes. Highly recommended.
Vegas = Elvis. This song is "Can't Help Falling In Love."
Tonight was my second Cirque Du Soleil outing, Mystère. Another beautiful theater, with state-of-the-art equipment. This performance was more like the acrobatic show I saw in Beijing than it was like Love last night. A lot more gymnastic stunts, for one thing. I guess it was more of a traditional "circus" show. There were musicians playing live, though the New Age score got to be grating after a while. Impressive, I guess, but a bit disappointing in the wake of the Beatles-themed show the night before. Maybe I should have seen this one first.
"Levon" is one of Sir Elton's best.
"Heroes" by David Bowie.
That's what Christopher Plummer, who played Captain Von Trapp in the filmed version of The Sound Of Music, allegedly called it. Critic Pauline Kael lost her job at McCall's for blasting the film in her magazine review. I caught the tail end of the movie on TV tonight and I am still a sucker for it.
Okay, this is the last of my regular "Song Of The Day" postings. I've kept it up on a daily basis for the whole calendar year, but from now on these will be sporadic entries, when the spirit (or more precisely, a song) hits me.
This is a fitting entry for December 31: Ella Fitzgerald's version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"
I just watched the Coen brothers' latest, No Country For Old Men, based on a Cormac MacCarthy work. It's a gripping tale, set in 1980 in west Texas (not too far from where I am now), but those who get squeamish about realistic on-screen violence won't want to see this one. A strong effort, with an absolutely first-rate cast.
After checking out of my Santa Fe hotel, I caught the early matinee of Atonement, figuring my time for watching movies is rapidly running out. It was an entertaining film, in the school of British period pieces: much of the action revolved around events in an aristocratic household, with social class issues looming large.
The new Vanity Fair has a cover story and exclusive photos about Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Click here to see the online version.
I saw the Met's production of War And Peace by Sergei Prokofiev tonight. The show started at 7:30 and ended at 11:45, so it was a marathon befitting the 1500-page epic by Tolstoy. The opera was certainly an epic production, with 13 scenes, over 60 solo singing parts, and huge numbers of choristers and actors on stage throughout (not to mention a few live animals).
I enjoyed the back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates tonight. It was entertaining to see the incredibly phony Mitt Romney squirm as the rest of the GOP hopefuls ganged up on him. Huckabee continues to be the most likable Republican, though many of his ideas are just out to lunch (especially a tax policy that is downright cruel to the middle and working classes). I thought John Edwards was in as good form as I've seen him, coming across as fresh and on message. Barack Obama was eloquent in defending the power of words from Hilary Clinton's attack, demonstrating with his remarks the qualities so many voters are discovering in him as appealing.
I saw Jersey Boys on Broadway last night. My seat was in the second row, right orchestra. It was a bit close to the stage, frankly, and at an angle, but better than being in nosebleed territory, I suppose. The show itself was incredibly fast paced (especially in Act I) and energetic, with the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons presented in dramatic fashion. Obviously the music itself was the highlight. An enjoyable outing.
In my effort to see all the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, I snuck off campus for a 5:30 screening of Juno, which I found charming. The kids at school who saw it came back with tepid reviews, but I thought it was cleverly written and featured a stellar cast.
This weekend I aim to see Michael Clayton and next week I hope to catch There Will Be Blood. Then I'll be up to date.
My special edition copy of Family Guy: Blue Harvest came with a "free" digital download. That is, a companion DVD of the Star Wars parody enabled me to connect to iTunes and downloaded a digital copy of the movie--really an extended TV show episode--which can be watched on my computer or transferred to an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV device, etc. Apparently Fox will start doing this sort of thing routinely with future DVD releases. Pretty cool.
Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely extraordinary in There Will Be Blood. My prediction is that this performance will take the Best Actor crown at this year's Academy Awards. Though I would quibble with its pacing in places, this is a film worth seeing.
Season 4 of Lost started tonight, picking up after the spectacular third season finale many months ago. With the writer's strike leaving fresh TV shows few and far between (Friday Night Lights being a happy exception) I am glad Lost is back, even if it's only for an eight show run.
It's February 2, and I am taking advantage of the "holiday" to watch one of my favorite movies, which just arrived from Amazon this week in a new DVD edition: Groundhog Day. This is a terrific Bill Murray flick, with plenty of comedic moments surrounding a romantic story thread.
Saw the fifth of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture tonight, catching the late showing of Michael Clayton. Not exactly a mystery, nor a conventional legal thriller, but engaging in its development of the title character, portrayed by the always reliable George Clooney. This film won't win the Academy Award, but it's worth seeing.
I drove up to West Palm Beach this morning to catch the U23D concert film on an IMAX screen. I had the theater to myself in the 11 a.m. show. That didn't diminish my enjoyment, however; this was an AMAZING presentation. The 3D technology created the sense I was in the front row, in the 10th row, standing next to The Edge on screen, or floating over Larry Mullen Jr.'s drum kit at various times. A great sound system in the theater made the excitement of audience palpable. The music was drawn from the South American leg of the Vertigo tour and the band was in fine form. The "Love And Peace Or Else"/"Sunday Bloody Sunday"/"Bullet The Blue Sky" sequence (with snippets of "Johnny Comes Marching Home" and "The Hands That Built America" included for good measure) in the middle of the concert was terrific; these are songs that are always better showcased in a live setting than in the studio versions. And I defy anyone who sees this movie to tell me you didn't think Bono was about to touch your face halfway through "Sunday Bloody Sunday." See this while you can, preferably in in IMAX screen.
Super Bowl commercial update #1: Beautiful Godfather homage in the Audi R8 commercial!
Super Bowl commercial update #2: FedEx scored with its ad featuring humungous pigeons.
Super Bowl commercial update #3: I am a sucker for this sort of thing, but that was a pretty good looking trailer for the Iron Man movie.
Super Bowl commercial update #4: The preview of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian sure was pretty to look at; hope the eye candy of the special effects is matched by a good script and good acting.
Jackson Browne, the archetype of the 1970s singer-songwriter--or perhaps one who shares top billing with James Taylor--is performing here in Wallingford on April 6. He is one of my favorite artists and I am already looking forward to seeing him for the first time live.
Apparently George Lucas is not finished with Star Wars after all. Showing up on big and small screens later this year is a computer-animated Clone Wars series (not to be confused with the animated shorts of the same name that ran on Cartoon Network a couple years back), documenting the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and friends between the events of Episode II and Episode III.
It's a safe bet that I'll be in the theater on May 22. Come to think of it, I believe I saw the other three Indy movies on the day they were released. So I can't break my streak.
I caught a matinee of Jumper today. It was reasonably entertaining, but I'm glad I only paid the bargain price of $5.00. The sci-fi concept is kind of neat, but it's hard to like the protagonist much at all, since he comes across as an amoral creep. Best parts of the flick were the visuals in a few of my favorite places: Rome, Cairo, and Tokyo.
My subscription with the Handel & Haydn Society brought me to Symphony Hall in Boston today for a program that included a terrific Symphony No. 39 as well as the Requiem, both by Mozart. The symphony was especially exquisite, particularly the clarinet work in the fourth movement. And the Requiem recalled scenes from the film Amadeus as I listened.
Bruce Springsteen kicked off the new leg of his world tour tonight in Hartford and this guy was there to take it all in. I had seen The Boss in Hartford just a couple years back, but he was performing solo in support of his Devils & Dust album, and it was a more somber and restrained concert. This was my first outing with the entire E Street ensemble on stage and it's easy to see why the band is so effective live. There was tremendous energy and chemistry on display all night. Moreover, I don't think I've ever observed a performer exhibiting such obvious delight as I saw from Springsteen tonight. He clearly made an effort to connect with individuals in the crowd throughout the evening and was smiling and laughing often. The highlight for me was a rousing version of "Born To Run" in the encore set. I remember being a teenager, listening to the top five requests of the night on WPLJ in my room and that song landing the top slot every single night!
From tonight's concert at the Hartford Civic Center:
So Young And In Love
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Loose Ends
She's the One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Janey Don't You Lose Heart
The River
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlandsencore:
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Backstreets
Kitty's Back
Born To Run
American Land
I watched this week's new episode of Lost tonight (I recorded it on the DVR while I was at the Springsteen concert) and it's a terrific Desmond-themed episode involving time travel (sorta). We also meet the crew on the boat and find out that time may pass on the island at a different rate than in the outside world!
I am SO looking forward to the fourth--and final--season of Battlestar Galactica when it kicks off in April. People who haven't watched this because they think it's cheesy science fiction are missing one of the best-written shows on television.
I caught the last showing of Vantage Point tonight at the Wallingford multiplex. It takes a Rashomon-like approach to a terrorist attack at a presidential summit in Salamanca, Spain, replaying a common chain of events from the points of view of multiple characters. It's fun to watch, even if aspects of the plot are wildly improbable.
The Pulitzer-winning author Michael Chabon has a witty and inightful piece in the this week's issue of The New Yorker about super-hero costumes that is worth a read.
I caught a matinee of The Seafarer on Broadway this afternoon. I was in the second row of the orchestra section--within spitting distance of the stage. Conor McPherson's play is wonderfully written--in turns funny, poignant, suspenseful, and poetic--and it features an absolutely spectacular cast. The action takes place entirely in a run-down house in a town north of Dublin and there's not a boring moment in the piece.
For the second portion of my New York theater double header, I saw the Disney-produced musical Mary Poppins tonight. The show was reasonably entertaining--and certainly a terrific visual spectacle--while being pretty lightweight. Certainly the most memorable elements were the songs I knew well from watching the Julie Andrews film as a kid.
I pay for digital cable and get about 5 HBO channels. While I am a regular viewer of HBO original series--The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Sopranos--I find I almost never watch movies. Today, though, I got wrapped up in Notes On A Scandal, which I missed when it came out a year or two ago. I will watch Cate Blanchett in just about anything, and Judi Dench is one of my favorites as well. This was an entertaining flick.
I am using down time here in Bermuda to get caught up on reading and some DVDs that have been accumulating. Amazing Journey is a documentary history of The Who, with lots of footage of the band from the 1960s to the present. It's worth a viewing.
Chuck Klosterman's latest compilation of essays, mostly short articles written for Esquire and Spin, is a very entertaining collection.
I watched the direct-to-video release The New Frontier last night and early this morning. This animated feature, set in the 1950s and featuring DC heroes, greatly exceeded my expectations.
Won't be long now until Indy is back in action.
I've returned home from the Metropolitan Opera House. It took me a full hour to get my car out of the garage, mainly because a production of South Pacific let out at the same time right next door. I was at Lincoln Center to see Peter Grimes, Benjamin Britten's study of the outsider living in a seaside town on the English coast. It's a powerful piece, with music evoking the power of the sea as a leading "character" in this opera.
I spent this evening at Symphony Hall in Boston for an evening of Haydn works. The Handel and Haydn Society performed Symphony No. 44 (“Trauer”) and the “Harmoniemesse” Mass. It was an excellent program.
Jackson Browne was in town tonight with his solo acoustic show. He played without a set list, preferring to perform whatever song from his extensive catalogue he felt like tackling--or, as was the case much of the night, keeping the fans happy by fulfilling their requests. It was a very entertaining night, capped by "The Load-Out/Stay," which I never expected to hear. Browne's voice still sounds pretty wonderful, even at 59 (!) years old.
The fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica is underway. Tonight I watched the second episode of the new batch of episodes currently airing on Sci-Fi Channel and this is one show that consistently delivers. The second half of this season, with the final slate of episodes, probably won't surface until 2009, but the series is clearly moving toward closure.
I saw Leatherheads tonight. No great shakes, but perfectly entertaining little flick. I enjoy George Clooney in most anything, and he is joined by Renée Zellweger and John Krasinksi (from The Office) in this football comedy set in 1925.
The band Foreigner is coming to the Choate campus in the middle of May to play a gig in our athletic center on Reunion Weekend. I guess I'd have been a lot more excited about this particular group when I was in ninth grade, but I imagine I'll still want to check it out when the time comes (especially as I have all the keys to the building!).
In addition to enrolling in the Shakespeare Seminar I discussed in my last post, yesterday I also booked two tickets to August performances at the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London--King Lear and The Merry Wives Of Windsor.
This morning I was on the phone to the box office at the RSC in Stratford in a futile attempt to land a ticket for Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. Seems like I am months too late for this hot ticket. I will hunt for a spare seat on the Internet and check with ticket agencies, but I may be out of luck. I may see The Taming Of The Shrew in Stratford instead the night before my program in Oxford begins in August.
Closer to home, I also am pursuing a ticket for this spring's Broadway run of Macbeth, also featuring Patrick Stewart.
I scored a ticket to Macbeth in New York next Thursday.
Much to my surprise, I was just cast for a walk-on cameo in one of the performances of the school's spring musical, No No Nanette, at the end of the term. It's been many years since I was on stage in a theatrical capacity. I did act in a couple student-directed scenes here at Choate some years back, but the last time I was in an actual play was over two decades ago. So this should be fun.
Details to come when I know more.
Just got a ticket to see Sheryl Crow and James Blunt at the Tweeter Center in Massachusetts this summer.
The production of Macbeth finished just a few minutes before 11:00 and I made it across Manhattan on foot to Grand Central Terminal with time to spare before my 11:22 train to New Haven.
The show itself was cleverly staged, with technological elements that added to a chaotic assault on the senses designed to accompany the violent aspects of the story itself. The three witches--the "weird sisters"--were thoughtfully redeployed throughout the play as nurses, servants, kitchen helpers to dramatic effect. And the strong cast, led by a superb Patrick Stewart in the title role, made it a most effective presentation.
My expectations for The Forbidden Kingdom were considerably low, so I actually found the movie enjoyable, even if the plot and dialogue were laughable and/or entirely predictable in places. This Jackie Chan/Jet Li martial arts flick had some especially nice scenery in addition to the usually entertaining fight choreography.
I subscribe to the TEDTalks podcasts. Here is one I missed on iTunes, but it was posted on Steffan Antonas' blog and I found it very interesting; it's J.J. Abrams, the guy behind Alias and Lost and Mission: Impossible 3, as well as the forthcoming Star Trek reboot:
I'm taking advantage of the down time during this Long Weekend break to catch up on recorded TV shows: Smallville, The Office, 30 Rock, and Lost from Thursday night and Battlestar Galactica and Real Time from Friday. I have a backlog of other shows still waiting for my attention--most of the last season of Nip/Tuck, last summer's Mad Men, and the last few episodes of Friday Night Lights--but they will have to wait.
The past couple of days, I've been listening to Pandora, an Internet radio website that allows the user to pick a particular artist or song in order to get a stream of similarly styled content delivered to the computer via the Web. Pretty interesting to play around with.
I just downloaded the free single "Violet Hill" from the forthcoming new album by Coldplay. The song is okay; hopefully the album, "Viva La Vida Or Death And His Friends," will match the band's best earlier efforts. The new CD is due in June.
Robert Downey Jr. is pretty terrific as a snarky super-hero in the new Iron Man movie. Like Superman: The Movie or Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2, this flick captures the essence of the genre with a story that makes sense, characters that are reasonably fleshed out, tons of interesting visual eye candy, a sense of humor, and a good sense of pacing. Easily one of the best movies I've seen in some time.
Before Iron Man kicked into gear last night, the previews included a new trailer for the new Indiana Jones installment, due in three weeks! Click here to see it.
I was in New York this evening to see Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, the last opera in my package of season tickets at the Met. This was a very funny piece, with tremendous star power assembled in the form of French soprano Natalie Dessay as Marie and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio. I saw the latter some eighteen months ago at The Met in The Barber of Seville, and he is clearly an ascendant presence in the music world. Flórez was in tremendous form tonight, hitting nine stunning high C's in "Ah! Mes Amis"--in fact, this feat resulted in a five-minute ovation from the audience mid-performance, which spurred a highly unusual solo encore (for a total of 18 high C's!). It's clear to see why this tenor has been dubbed Pavarotti's heir. And Dessy was his match, with an impressive coloratura performance. A magnificent evening!
The first night I am in the Bay Area--July 5--I will be seeing Natalie Dessy perform in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. The War Memorial Opera House is supposedly one of the architectural jewels of the city.
Turns out my friend Chuck and I have been tapped to act as Masters of Ceremonies on stage at this weekend's Foreigner concert on the Choate campus. Maybe I'll provide some backing vocals on "Feels Like The First Time."
Over the past two days, the Choate athletic facility has been turned into a concert arena. A huge stage has been erected in the middle of the cage and the second floor of the building's north wing has been repurposed into dressing room, catering, and lounge space for Foreigner and its crew.
This culminated in a pretty fun event tonight, a 9 p.m. concert that featured most of the band's best-known hits: "Double Vision," "Urgent," "Cold As Ice," "Head Games," "Feels Like The First Time," "Dirty White Boy," "Juke Box Hero," and "Hot Blooded." My minor role as M.C. involved some time backstage and a stint on stage auctioning off a signed guitar to the 800 or so in the crowd.
Since our tennis match today was washed out by the rain after doubles play, I took advantage of a few free hours to see The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian at the local multiplex. The film was so-so: nothing horrible about it, but there was the sense throughout there was little new or engaging in this installment. Some pretty scenery and a good, if brief, scene with Tilda Swinton reprising her role as The White Witch were highlights, but there was thematic confusion and a pretty ho-hum ending detracting from the effectiveness of the movie.
Continuing the "retro" theme after seeing Foreigner the other night, I bought a ticket to see two of my favorite junior high school bands--Styx and Boston--play at Mohegan Sun casino the first week in August (the day before I fly to London, in fact).
Since I am in a concert-ticket-buying mode, I purchased a ticket to the Coldplay show in Hartford this July 3.
I just attended the midnight premiere of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull in Wallingford. I'd give the film a qualified "thumbs up." There's definitely enough string content to make this movie worth catching in the theater, though I went in with my expectations sufficiently lowered such that I could enjoy it. There are some problems--especially with the final half hour of the flick--that I won't detail here for fear of spoiling some plot details, but it's pretty thrilling to see Indy and Marion back on the big screen. And certainly it's clear why the wannabes (Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, Brendan Fraser in The Mummy series, Nicolas Cage in the two National Treasure entries, et al.) suffer by comparison to the real deal.
Today I booked tickets to a handful of productions now on Broadway: the widely acclaimed South Pacific at Lincoln Center (I couldn't find a good seat until late August), the limited run of Thurgood with Laurence Fishburne, and the extended run of August: Osage County (the latter two I will see in mid-June).
Heading to dress rehearsal tonight for my cameo in the spring musical production of No, No, Nanette. It's one appearance only, so get your opening night tickets for tomorrow!
Made my appearance on the main stage of the Paul Mellon Arts Center tonight: thirty seconds of fame with two lines of dialogue and a chauffeur's uniform.
Still don't know why all of my cast-mates wanted to see me break my leg, though. Are all theater people mean?
Since I was performing in the musical tonight (and watched the remainder of the performance from the audience after changing back into my civvies) I had to record the Lost season finale on the DVR for consumption later. It was well worth the wait: a fitting wrap-up to a strong, if brief, season. This is gripping television.
With a bit of free time on my hands this weekend, I am immersing myself in the second season of the Skins television show from Britain.
Apple is featuring Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in its new iTunes ad. Check it out here.
To escape an empty Memorial House, I went to the local cinema and saw Sex And The City. Not really my type of movie, I suppose: I never found the HBO series all that engaging, and the constant focus on brand name fashions always struck me as incredibly shallow. The film was mildly entertaining, at best, and easily could have trimmed 30 minutes from the final cut.
My friends at Amazon delivered today the Deluxe Edition of Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection--indisputably a terrific album. The original release has been thoroughly remastered and this edition includes an additional CD of demos, unreleased tracks, and live recordings. The problem is that this must be at least the third time this particular album has been re-released on CD, each time in a "better" version. Seems like what George Lucas does with his Star Wars films: keep re-selling the same thing in different formats by just adding a few bells and whistles and declaring it an "ultimate" edition.
Laurence Fishburne was most impressive in the one-man show Thurgood, based on the life of civil rights attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. I saw the matinee today from a third row aisle seat--a terrific vantage point from which to see Fishburne work at close range. The play--which seemed to draw far more African-Americans to the audience than most Broadway fare, not surprisingly--was accessible, witty, and moving.
I saw the evening performance of August: Osage County, which is favored to win the "Best Play" honors at tomorrow night's Tony ceremonies. The first-rate ensemble cast of 13--dominated by a handful of vibrantly portrayed female characters--brought to life a piece that was, in turns, hilariously funny, starkly shocking, and emotionally wrenching. The family secrets thrown into the mix included marital infidelity, suicide, incest, recreational drug use, and a middle-aged man's sexual attraction to a 14-year-old girl. The play is long, clocking in at over three-and-a-half hours, but well worth the time.
If you are a fan of The Sopranos and you have some time on your hands, check this out.
In a couple of marathon sessions the last few days, I've taken advantage of the On Demand service on my digital cable to catch up on Season 3 of Weeds, a Showtime program I enjoy. I am now caught up right through last night's Season 4 premiere.
I had an enjoyable evening in Central Park, with a picnic followed by the Public Theater's al fresco production of Hamlet. The show itself was very solid, though we were lucky to finish the final act in a drizzle before the skies really opened just afterward.
Sad to hear about the loss of George Carlin. As a kid, I delighted in his "Seven Words" routine and his riffs on growing up Catholic. He was a master observer of the foibles of the English language and his irreverent voice will be missed.
The Blackfriars Playhouse is home to the American Shakespeare Center, and where our group from UVa will be seeing three plays in repertory this week: King Lear, Twelfth Night, and Measure For Measure. The theater is modeled on the the indoor theater used by the King's Men--Shakespeare's acting company (the larger Globe was used in summer months) and is an intimate and charming facility.
This afternoon we met with thirteen actors from the ASC company and went through an audition exercise to cast King Lear. We'll see tonight how close our choices were to the actual production.
I finally got to see a staging of King Lear tonight. Though I've become quite familiar with the tragedy, having taught it easily more than half a dozen times now in my "Use And Abuse Of Power" course, I am embarrassed to say I had not seen a production before this evening. Seeing the play on stage certainly brought to life many aspects of the drama that are far more obscure on the page. The show was quite good, and the ASC troupe has some real depth of acting talent.
In the past few months, I've seen productions of Shakespeare's three greatest tragedies: Macbeth with Patrick Stewart on Broadway, Hamlet in Central Park last week, and now King Lear.
The enjoyable performance of Twelfth Night just finished up and I am now at a nearby restaurant in Staunton for the cast party (tonight was opening night for this play). It was cool to see the same group of actors scrambled around in parts very different from what they portrayed in Lear last night. The same troupe will put on Measure For Measure tomorrow.
I saw two other versions of Twelfth Night staged: a student production in the Paul Mellon Arts Center at Choate in either 1988 or 1989, if memory serves, and then an all-star cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, John Amos, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, et al.) in Central Park in a Public Theater production when I was a Klingenstein Summer Fellow at Columbia. (You can read Frank Rich's New York Times review of the latter show here.)
Today's play, Measure For Measure, was a matinee, so our last night in Charlottesville we have free. The American Shakespeare Center's production was again quite well done. The Blackfriars is a terrific venue and seems to attract top-notch acting talent. It's been quite a thrill to see three Shakespeare productions in the course of as many days. I was entirely unfamiliar with this play, having taught and/or seen the other works. There are certainly some disturbing elements in Measure For Measure, which isn't quite so neatly categorized a comedy as, say, Twelfth Night. Very much worth seeing, though.
Riding an incredible streak of successful releases that have won both critical acclaim and box office bucks, Pixar has done it again with WALL•E, a charming and visually appealing story I caught tonight after a late dinner.
I unleashed my inner geek this afternoon by setting into an episode from Season 1 of Babylon 5, a sci-fi show I followed a bit back in the 1990s.
We are still waiting for The Beatles catalogue to appear in digital form. First, the Apple Corps/Apple Computer lawsuit got settled. Then the McCartney divorce settlement was finalized. And in the meantime the solo works of the Fab Four popped up in the iTunes Music Store. So what's the hold up for the main course? We have heard rumors of a Yellow Submarine-themed special edition iPod and remastered tracks for a couple of years now. And we know Steve Jobs is a big fan of The Beatles. Since I already have the complete collection of Beatles tunes on my iPod, the eventual release won't make much a difference to me, but you have to wonder when pop music's seminal group will join the 21st century.
Last night I fired up the DVD of Shakespeare In Love and just finished it this morning. I haven't watched the entire film since I saw it in the cinema when it came out a decade ago. I remember being miffed that the movie upset Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture honors at the Oscars, but I now can appreciate how clever and touching this film is.
I drove up to the Berkshires to see my first show at the Shakespeare & Company campus in Lenox. I hit a snarl of traffic en route to Tanglewood, which slowed me down, but arrived in plenty of time before the performance. I like the facility and the concept behind the organization (as well as the discounted tickets for teachers!), but the production of "All's Well That Ends Well" struck me as a bit messy: too long (at almost three hours) and suffering from the addition of songs that were often a poor fit for the play. But there was some good acting and some nice comic bits in it as well.
I caught the San Francisco Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor this evening in the ornate War Memorial Opera House. Though I found the third act dragged a bit, there is no doubt that Natalie Dessay, the soprano whom I saw in the spring in La Fille du Régiment at the Met, is a spectacular talent.
As I'm doing a LOT of reading in American history each day, I like to unwind at the end of the night with a DVD. Over the past two days I watched Cars, the delightful animated Pixar flick from a few years back, which I missed in its theatrical release. It's got beautifully rendered (and extraordinarily lifelike) scenery, terrific voice acting from the likes of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman, and a charming story celebrating the historical Route 66 in the Southwest. The film also features a great soundtrack with strong contributions from Sheryl Crow, Randy Newman, James Taylor, John Mayer, et al.
The Stanford Theatre is an old-fashioned movie palace on University Avenue, the main drag here in Palo Alto. It somehow avoided having its solitary spacious theater, complete with a balcony and ornate décor, chopped into a multiplex like the haunts of my youth. This place even has a pipe organ that rises from an orchestra pit and a real live organist entertaining the crowd between features. In honor of the centennial of Jimmy Stewart's birth, a few films starring the actor are being shown all summer. Tonight I saw two of them: Strategic Air Command (1955) and No Highway In The Sky (1951), the latter of which also starred Marlene Dietrich. The first of the double feature was to the 1950s Air Force what Top Gun was to naval aviation in the 1980s: a love letter featuring lots of beauty shots of the planes soaring through the clouds--basically a long form recruiting ad! (Turns out that Stewart was an avid pilot who rose to the rank of general in the Air Force Reserves.) The second, a black-and-white classic, was more enjoyable; it was a witty and suspenseful film about an absent-minded scientist living in Britain who thinks he discovers a flaw in an airplane design, and then finds himself on one of those planes on the brink of catastrophe.
Just saw the new Will Smith movie, Hancock. It received mixed reviews, and so I went in with low expectations and found it reasonably enjoyable. It was nice not knowing the key reveals in the plot beforehand.
Two double features in two days! I stayed at the cinema after Hancock to see Hellboy II. I really like Guillermo del Toro's work. He has an identifiable visual style that is well-suited for a film like this. It was well paced, with lots of action, excellent special effects, and thoughtfully developed character bits. Better than the average summer blockbuster fare.
The Stanford Summer Theater is running a Brian Friel festival, with the Irish playwright's Translations kicking things off this week. I had seen this work staged twice before: in its 1996 revival at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin and again with a touring company in New Haven a few years back. This production featured a mix of professionals and Stanford students and alums and held up quite well. It's a brilliant play, really, about the role of language in Ireland in 1833 as the British Empire is mapping the countryside, reshaping the landscape with anglicized names.
I am making my way through the Pixar films I haven't seen. This weekend I watched Ratatouille, which was a charming tale about a Parisian rat who aspires to be a chef. These Pixar guys are consistent in turning out splendid animation films. I can't think of one that's been a disappointment. Disney was wise to cut a deal with Steve Jobs and his company once Michael Eisner retired; these movies are the spiritual heirs to the Disney animated classics of bygone days.
Two days until the new Batman flick arrives. Reviews have been mostly very positive, especially for Heath Ledger's performance. I won't be rushing out to see this at midnight tomorrow; in fact, I probably won't get to see it until this weekend in Oregon. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll find an IMAX theater that's screening it.
I am back in Oregon for the first time since 1992 (when I got a speeding ticket here while driving from Seattle down the coast to Los Angeles). It was tough to get out of the Bay Area, with lots of traffic slowing me down before what was already a long drive. I traveled through wildfire country in northern California, and the air was thick with smoky haze.
I arrived in Ashland later than expected and consequently missed the first hour of The Comedy Of Errors in the outdoor Elizabethan Theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the country's most prominent regional theaters. This particular production was set as a western, with a bit of music added into the mix. It worked pretty well within the madcap framework of the play and generally the show was quite entertaining.
I took the backstage tour at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this morning, which was an illuminating couple of hours learning how things work in this theater company. Ashland itself is a scenic town just north of the California border, with a nice mix of shops and eateries--quaint without being precious. The actual playhouses are impressive: an outdoor 1200-seat theater with a based on the Tudor original building in London called The Fountain. Then there's a modern 600-seat indoor theater called the Bowmer. And finally The New Theater is a black box that can be configured all sorts of ways for a small audience. The OSF puts on almost a dozen plays each season, mixing Shakespeare productions with American classics and some experimental works.
Wow. I just saw a matinee screening of The Dark Knight. This is a staggeringly good film, one that lives up to some of the over-the-top positive reviews it has been getting. The late Heath Ledger deserves the kudos he has received for his portrayal of The Joker, but the whole cast is good: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and especially Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent. The visuals are terrific and the thematic elements hold together quite well. Good stuff!
I saw Othello tonight at the OSF outdoor theater (it's pretty cool to see the sun going down in the hills behind the stage as the action of the play unfolds). The actor playing Iago was especially excellent, delivering a deliciously manipulative and malevolent presence. I had seen this play staged once before, in modern dress, in the Paul Mellon Arts Center back at Choate about five years ago. Perhaps because I've gotten more immersed in the works of Shakespeare since then, I came away from this performance with a lot more appreciation of the work.
I've taught the graphic novel Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, for about a decade now in my course The Use And Abuse Of Power. Of course, I read it as it came out in monthly installments when I was in college, too. But the work is getting a massive dose of hype now as a filmed version is getting prepped for a 2009 release. The cover of the new Entertainment Weekly features the movie cast in its Comic-Con-themed issue.
In addition, you can see a pretty intriguing trailer for the Watchmen film in all sorts of different formats here.
And, as if that's not enough, there's a "motion comics" version of the graphic novel available on iTunes here (the first installment is free for a limited time).
I just finished watching Without Limits, one of two biopics about running legend Steve Prefontaine, in the new home of Scott and Dawn Mattoon out here in Eugene, Oregon--a fitting place to see this film, as it was where Pre rose to prominence as an athlete (and where he was tragically killed at the age of 24 in an auto accident). Got to see the University of Oregon campus, including Hayward Field (which just hosed the Olympic Track & Field Trials a few weeks back).
This poster--one of a series of four--has effectively whet my appetite for the Star Trek reboot, directed by J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, MI3) and due to hit screens next May. The movie, which depicts a younger crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, represents Paramount's effort to breathe much-needed new life into the rather tired franchise.
I sat through a generally competent production of Romeo And Juliet at The Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park tonight. High points were the set design and the actors portraying Juliet, Mercutio, and the friar. The piece seemed to drag, though, in part because the pacing was a bit off in places; and when "the two hours' traffic of our stage" runs almost three hours, I think some judicious cuts are in order.
I am heading into the city to pick up my Comic-Con registration badge at the convention center. This may well be the geekiest thing I've ever done. But I figured since I am out here on the West Coast in July, I might as well check out ground zero of American pop culture. About 125,000 people are expected, so I'll have some company!
Tonight at Comic-Con, Fox previewed the premiere if one of its new shows for the fall line-up, Fringe. This series was created by J.J. Abrams and his usual collaborators and is sort of an X-Files meets CSI type of show.
Got to be in the same room with Stan Lee--who played a part in the creation of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, etc. Pretty cool. He was on a very entertaining panel with Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison, who also has a pretty impressive corpus of work behind him.
I downloaded "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" from iTunes last week and watched its three episodes over the past day or two. It defies description, really--a musical that's about 45 minutes long from the point of view of a cheesy super-villain who has to deal with an obnoxiously arrogant super-hero. Perfect to digest in bits on the iPhone while waiting in line!
Warner Brothers packed a 6500-seat hall to capacity here at Comic-Con for a panel presentation with the director and cast of Watchmen, due in theaters next March. Original illustrator Dave Gibbons joined the panel as well. The fans present were treated to an extended sequence from the recently-released trailer footage. We also got free Watchmen T-shirts. Yay!
This is too rich: the Canadian trio Rush attempted to play its hit song “Tom Sawyer” on the video game Rock Band and failed to complete the song after 30 seconds, scoring just 31% on “expert mode." See it for yourself here.
Director and raconteur Kevin Smith entertained the Comic-Con faithful in a pair of back-to-back presentations today. The first, a "visionaries" panel featuring directors Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), Frank Miller (The Spirit), and Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen) along with Smith preceded a session on the forthcoming Zach and Miri Make A Porno, directed by Smith and starring Seth Rogen. Most of the cast of Zach and Miri was in attendance, too. The clip from the film was very funny, but Kevin Smith stole the show at both panels with his razor-sharp wit and self-deprecating humor. For a taste of the hilarity, check out his Q&A sessions on this DVD combo: An Evening with Kevin Smith/An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder.
No doubt Comic-Con is, indeed, the nerd prom. Costumes are a big deal here. This week I've seen dozens of imperial stormtroopers, Batmans, Robins, Supermen, and Wonder Women. I've eaten lunch next to Starfleet officers, Princess Leias, elves from Middle Earth, pirates of the Caribbean, Predators, Jedi knights, and multiple versions of Indiana Jones (and even his father). I can't tell you how many different Jokers are on the premises this week.
I have been impressed by the diversity of people here. Bucking the stereotype of the overgrown adolescent geek living in his parents' basement, all over the place you can see little kids, teenagers, senior citizens, and everyone in between. Lots of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are prominent here. And no shortage of women, either, contrary to the clichés.
And the range of interests represented at the convention is equally diverse. There's certainly a fair number here with at best a passing interest in comics--theoretically the centerpiece of the event. There are people into video games, television shows, Japanese anime, fantasy, Star Wars, vampires, and about everything else in the world of pop culture you can imagine. The hot ticket panels are those involving blockbuster films and TV shows with cult followings (such as Lost, The Office, and Battlestar Galactica).
I think I've hit the wall on this Comic-Con experience. The first day or so was pretty cool. But the lines to get into the rooms for panels have become intolerable and the novelty of the whole event has worn off. I guess Saturday is the peak day, when attendance is at its highest. I've had enough.
I did catch a great presentation this morning by Dave Gibbons and book designer extraordinaire Chip Kidd about the forthcoming Watching The Watchmen, a behind-the-scenes account of the creation of the graphic novel (or, as we called it in the 1980s, "comics"). I've already got it pre-ordered on Amazon.
This prop from the recent Iron Man movie decorated the Marvel booth on the floor of the exhibit hall. The other similarly impressive such prop on display was the Owl-ship from Watchmen in the Warner Bros. booth.
Just saw the final performance of City Center's three-week summer run of Damn Yankees starring Sean Hayes, Jane Krakowski, and Cheyenne Jackson. This was a show I had never seen before, though I was somewhat familiar with a couple of its songs. As these things go, this was clearly light entertainment. It was hardly the best show I've seen on Broadway, but certainly sufficient for a summer night's entertainment.
You can see the trailer for the next Harry Potter film here.
Sheryl Crow just finished a set of about an hour-and-three-quarters, mixing tracks from her new album, Detours, with some of her best-known radio hits. The concert, held under the big tent at the Bank of America Pavilion right on Boston Harbor, opened with James Blunt on stage with his four-piece band for about an hour. Blunt did a creditable job delivering familiar songs from his debut album with a handful from his sophomore effort, performing with admirable energy. I have long liked Sheryl Crow's music, but this was the first chance I had to see her in person. I came to appreciate the Detours songs a lot more having heard them live, but the highlights of the night included hearing some of my favorites: "If It Makes You Happy," and "Soak Up The Sun," which she saved for the end of the set.
This morning Amazon delivered the latest installment in the Gabriel Allon spy novels by Daniel Silva, Moscow Rules. I am just a few chapters in, but already immersed back into the world of international intrigue against the backdrop of fascinating European settings. The Allon character is Israel's top assassin, who also happens to be one of the world's top art restorers, in the employ of the Vatican at the outset of this particular story. These Silva thrillers are enormously entertaining and I'm already enjoying settling in with this one over the course of the next few days.
The Mummy: The Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor was not a film I was dying to see. I drove the scooter over to Cheshire this morning to see a couple Choate Tennis players competing in a men's tournament, had a bite to eat with them afterward, and then raced an oncoming storm back to Wallingford (I got only a little wet and made it home before the downpour began). But when I settled in to watch the semifinal between Andy Murray and Ivo Karlovic on Tennis Channel the power suddenly cut out about a half hour into the match. So facing the alternative of sitting at home in the dark, I decided to head to the cinema instead.
This second sequel to The Mummy is perfectly absurd, mindless summer entertainment. If you go in with low expectations, you'll be all set. Think of the movie as a roller coaster rude: fun but entirely forgettable.
Colplay came to Connecticut tonight, promoting its Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends album. I saw the English quartet twice on its 2005–2006 North American tour. Once again the band put on an energetic show. Early on, in spite of the excellent sequence of opening songs-- "Life in Technicolor," "Violet Hill," "Clocks," "In My Place," and "Viva La Vida"--the lighting and staging made the band seem awfully remote. As frontman Chris Martin interacted with the crowd and the backdrop changed from a huge rendition of the album cover artwork to giant video images of the band members, there was a much more palpable connection. And for me, sitting in the back corner of the arena in the 200 section, the highlight had to be when the band scurried through the audience and up the stairs to deliver two acoustic numbers--"The Scientist" and "Death Will Never Conquer"-- from a perch just three rows in front of me (as seen in the pictures below, captured by the less-than-stellar camera in my iPhone):
The set list:
Life in Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Yes
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
Chinese Sleep Chant
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Square One
Hardest Part
Yellow
Lost!
The Scientist
Death Will Never Conquerencores:
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His Friends
The Escapist
I was surprised not to hear "Speed Of Sound," which had appeared on the set list earlier in the tour, but hard to complain about the band's choices this night.
I saw The Dark Knight for the second time, catching a late showing on an IMAX screen in Manchester, Connecticut. The film holds up quite well upon repeat viewing; in fact, there were plenty of details and thematic nuances I picked up this time around. I was once again struck how the acting throughout was first rate: yes, from Heath Ledger, as widely noted, but also from Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhardt, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michael Caine. The action sequences were well staged, with the exception of the final showdown with the Joker in which the sonar view in the quick cuts made things a bit confusing. Hard not to marvel at the high intensity scenes with the vehicles on the streets of Chicago--oh, right, make that Gotham City. And apparently this flick continues to set all kinds of box office records. Well-deserved success, I'd say.
Perhaps it was just the theater I was in, but all the hype surrounding seeing this film in IMAX seems a bit over the top. Basically whenever Batman jumped off a building or during the Batmobile's assault on The Joker's truck there was just a little bit more of the picture filling the screen. You had to really look to appreciate the difference in the frame. Maybe that's because the screen size was not significantly bigger than what I expect to see in a movie theater. Seeing The Dark Knight on one of those six-story IMAX screens would be much more impressive, I suppose, if the picture expanded so the viewer really had a sense of flying through the towers of the Hong Kong or Chicago skyline.
In his review of The Landmark Herodotus in an April issue of The New Yorker, classicist Daniel Mendelsohn describes the story of the Persian invasion of Greece chronicled by "the father of history" as follows:
Then, there is the story itself. A great power sets its sights on a smaller, strange, and faraway land—an easy target, or so it would seem. Led first by a father and then, a decade later, by his son, this great power invades the lesser country twice. The father, so people say, is a bland and bureaucratic man, far more temperate than the son; and, indeed, it is the second invasion that will seize the imagination of history for many years to come. For although it is far larger and more aggressive than the first, it leads to unexpected disaster. Many commentators ascribe this disaster to the flawed decisions of the son: a man whose bluster competes with, or perhaps covers for, a certain hollowness at the center; a leader who is at once hobbled by personal demons (among which, it seems, is an Oedipal conflict) and given to grandiose gestures, who at best seems incapable of comprehending, and at worst is simply incurious about, how different or foreign his enemy really is. Although he himself is unscathed by the disaster he has wreaked, the fortunes and the reputation of the country he rules are seriously damaged. A great power has stumbled badly, against all expectations.
Sound familiar?
U2's landmark 1987 release has been in heavy rotation in my office CD player. I am still struck how very good this album is, with a terrific line-up of songs.
This afternoon I caught another mindless Brendan Fraser summer action movie: Journey To The Center Of The Earth. This flick was actually better than I expected, and I saw it in its 3-D incarnation, which made it a bit more fun. Don't get me wrong, this is not a film we can expect to be honored on Oscar night, but if you are willing to check your brain at the door before heading into the theater, you might find it enjoyable.
I traipsed over to the Mohegan Sun Casino tonight for a Styx/Boston double bill. When I was about 13 years old, I was very familiar with Styx's body of work. Back then of course, one bought actual vinyl record albums, and Styx consistently had the kind of cover art that appealed to junior high school boys. Of course, so did Boston, with its images of American cities being transported through space on starships that looked like giant guitars.
The Styx line-up was dominated by Tommy Shaw. It's clearly his band since lead singer and songwriter Dennis DeYoung was forced out about a decade ago. Thus we didn't hear some of the softer hits such as "Lady" and "Babe," as the band preferred to draw from the harder rocking classics from its past. No new music tonight, thankfully, just a parade of pretty familiar numbers, highlighted by "Come Sail Away," near the end of the set. The ensemble performed with a high level of energy and engagement with the crowd.
Boston had a different vibe when it came time to take the stage. Under the leadership of Tom Scholz, as geeky a rock star as you'll find, the band was technically precise if somewhat lacking in charisma. Since Boston was always about the sound of Scholz's guitars and the late Brad Delp's vocals, the fact that these were replicated pretty well in the arena tonight made the set list a thoroughly nostalgic affair. Hearing "Don't Look Back" performed live after listening to it countless times in the cafeteria jukebox in ninth grade certainly brought back memories for me.
I attended a performance of King Lear in the reconstructed Globe Theatre on the south bank of the Thames this afternoon. It was a generally strong production, and David Calder was excellent in the title role.
Back to Shakespeare's Globe again this evening to see The Merry Wives Of Windsor, my first exposure to this particular play featuring a comic Sir John Falstaff. I confess to nodding off a bit here and there through the performance, mostly due to the lack of sleep I've suffered in the last day or so. But this was an entertaining show, one that gives credence to the theory that Shakespeare invented the situation comedy.
I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Taming Of The Shrew in Stratford tonight.
The RSC is in a bit of a transition right now, as its primary theater complex is being overhauled and plays are being staged in a temporary construct called the Courtyard Theatre, which mirrors the layout of the main stage.
The play itself is uncomfortable to watch, as it clearly ends on a misogynistic note, at least by contemporary standards. The acting and production values were fine, but the play itself seemed lacking in characters one could root for.
My pre-bedtime ritual here in Oxford involves a bit of reading and then an episode from the first season Mad Men DVDs. This is a skillfully written and produced show, with lots of engaging elements. I should all caught up and ready to watch Season 2 episodes--which I am recording--when I get back home.
I am reading an excellent account of the 1960 Olympics in Rome by Washington Post veteran David Maraniss. This excellent overview of this particular Games touches on the politics, the emerging commercialism, the human interest stories, and the sheer drama of sport that the Olympic Games typically encompass, and does so in an engaging narrtive style. It's a treat to read this while keeping up with current developments in Beijing.
I caught an outdoor performance of Much Ado About Nothing tonight--my thirteenth (!) Sheakespeare production in the past four months--and despite the rain that delayed the start and annoyed in the first act, it was an altogether enjoyable show. It was staged in a courtyard at the Oxford Castle, and itsmedieval walls formed an effective backdrop for the action of the comedy.
This is a perfect play to perform under the stars (okay, the clouds) on a summer's evening, because it's a silly romp with identity confusion, some broad humor, and a happy ending. The nine-person ensemble was inventive in handling extensive doubling of roles and minimalist sets. The action of the play was relocated from Sicily to Spain in this rendition. The love/hate combination of Benedick and Beatrice forms the heart of the play, and the witty verbal sparring between the two actors in these roles did not disappoint; nor did a genuinely funny Dogberry. (The director's notes in the program astutely commented that the character's need to be the center of attention and his bumbling incompetence make him the David Brent--or Michael Scott, for those familiar only with the American version of The Office--of his time.)
This was a fun night out.
I used the iTunes Store today in a way I never had before: I downloaded a movie to watch on a rental basis. Having spent a week in Oxford now and having read Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" books last summer, I thought it would be neat to check out the film, which I missed when it was released in the theaters late in 2007. The first part of the story is set in Oxford, though as the above picture of London suggests, it's a fantastic alternate world. I now have 30 days to begin watching the movie, and once I do I must finish it within 24 hours. I'll probably watch it in the next two days.
After dinner I caught a glimpse of a spectacular full moon rising over the Grand Canal; it was strikingly reddish, almost salmon pink really. Then I entered the Palazzo delle Prigione, a former prison connected to the Doge's Palace by the Bridge of Sighs. Inside a five-piece string ensemble played works by Mozart, Galuppi, Bach, and Rossini--a pleasant late evening concert here in Venice. Apparently the classical music scene is quite active in the city.
Every time I walk through the Piazza di San Marco, I'm reminded of a Thomas Cole painting, the third in a series of five known as "The Course Of Empire." The painting in question is called "The Consummation," and it depicts a prosperous port city in all its abundant glory, a city-state at the zenith of its power. The arrangement of the architecture in the Venetian plaza--the ornate Byzantine architecture of the basilica, the adjacent formidable ducal palace overseeing the Grand Canal, the clock tower, and the twin columns featuring the lion of Saint Mark and the statue of Saint Teodoro of Amasea atop them--all suggest Cole's magnum opus.
I suppose Cole's "Course Of Empire" paintings are my mind because I saw them recently in a slide presentation at one of our seminar meetings out at Stanford a few weeks back. I also remember seeing the original paintings in person at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford ten years ago with a Choate American Studies class.
I trekked into Manhattan tonight to see this season's hit revival of South Pacific. There's not a bad seat in the Vivien Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center--a venue where I had seen Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and Kevin Kline in Henry IV in years past. I was not familiar with this particular Rodgers & Hammerstein show, but left impressed by both the work and the performance. I worried that the 1940s setting would make the piece seem dated, but it has held up quite well over sixty years later. Kelli O'Hara was terrific as Nellie Forbush and Brazilian opera singer Paulo Szot, who won a Tony for this role, was equally formidable as the male lead. The entire company was well cast, for that matter. The production values were strong, with effective sets and lighting, and a 30-piece orchestra did justice to a compelling score.
Having finished the first season of Mad Men on my flight back from London on Wednesday, this afternoon I started clearing the DVR of the new shows that started airing this summer. Happily Mad Men is just as provocative and enjoyable in the Season 2 episodes.
I caught the matinee of Tropic Thunder early this afternoon. My expectations for this film were probably a bit high, and so of course I found it amusing but a bit disappointing. There just weren't the over-the-top belly laughs I expected. No doubt Robert Downey Jr. continued the hot streak he established in Iron Man earlier this summer; he is terrific playing a role within a role. And Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, and a heavily disguised Tom Cruise all delivered solid performances. If you head into this flick not expecting much, you'll have a great time. If you do see it, be sure you get there on time, as there are a couple of fake ads and previews that set up the movie.
After dinner I caught the French thriller Tell No One (Ne le dis a personne) in New Haven. I was considering heading up to Hartford for the John Mayer concert, but decided against the parking hassle and scrambling for a decent seat on the lawn. The film, based on an American novel, was quite engaging: a mystery/thriller set in and around Paris involving a pediatrician facing new questions about his wife's death some eight years before.
I saw a production of Altar Boyz at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven on my way home from the city. The show is a musical parody of the boy band phenomenon with a religious twist, but it was probably a bit too camp for my tastes. it was reasonably entertaining, but I'd hardly recommend someone rush out and see it.
The Choate cross country team went to the movies tonight and about half the group joined me watching Traitor, a new film starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and Jeff Daniels. It's really not a spy movie in the vein of The Bourne Identity; rather, it is a thoughtful, if predictable, thriller about terrorism at home and abroad.
I saw an excellent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hartford Stage Company tonight. The play was nearly perfectly cast, with an athletic, spirited troupe of actors. The sets, lighting, background music, and other production values were first-rate as well. This was the sort of performance that makes Shakespeare perfectly suitable for the modern audience.
I was dragged to a movie tonight that was the paragon of the "chick flick" genre. In fact, the film literally had no men at all on screen--not even walking on the streets of Manhattan in the background--except for a newborn baby in a quick scene. The cast was good (Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Candace Bergen, et al.) but the movie I could have done without.
I picked up the 3-DVD When In Rome package, showcasing the 2007 Genesis world tour (which I caught in Hartford last fall). This item was only available at Wal-Mart, and I was lucky to find one in the Wallingford store. Like the latest Eagles release and the recent Journey CD/DVD set, it seems Wal-Mart is lining up exclusive distribution deals for some juicy entertainment products to get people into the stores. Worked in my case, I guess.
I'm told the BBC series Spaced is quite funny, so I ordered it on DVD. Now this is one more box in my backlog of shows to get caught up on (along with other British imports such as the complete Prime Suspect collection, the second series of Life On Mars, and the last few episodes of Skins, not to mention the home-grown stuff waiting for me: the fifth season of The Wire, the last few Mad Men and Weeds episodes and the last bunch of Friday Night Lights from last year). And since the new television season is getting underway, I'll want to stay current with The Office, 30 Rock, Heroes, Lost, and such. But I find it hard to find time to watch TV regularly.
I spent some time online tonight, purchasing tickets for the months ahead: four Haydn & Handel Society concerts in Boston (including the annual Messiah in December), four operas at the Met (La Damnation de Faust, La Bohème, Rigoletto, and Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci), and two Broadway shows (Boeing-Boeing and Gypsy). I spent a pile of cash, but am looking forward to some excellent entertainment.
I caught a performance of The Comedy Of Errors here on the Choate campus tonight, performed by a touring troupe of seven actors. The show was a bit uneven, but given the limitations inherent in scaled-down production values and a small company, it was reasonably energetic.
I have loved everything Ricky Gervais has done: the original British version of The Office, the podcast series, and Extras. So it was a no-brainer that I would check out Ghost Town, featuring his first leading film role. This was a pleasant little dramedy, with an engaging cast, some funny perfomances (subtler that the usual Gervais shtik), and a sweet message. It's sort of a "chick flick," I suppose, but one worth seeing.
The Season 3 premiere of Heroes arrives on NBC tonight and the early buzz is good. It will probably wait on my DVR a day or two before I have time to view it, but I am looking forward to tonight's double episode.
Consummate singer-songwriter Jackson Browne has a new album out today: Time The Conquerer. That title may be particulary apt, given his gray beard on the cover photo, which makes the usually youthful-appearing Browne look his actual age; he turns 60 next month.
You know how you get a song in your head and you have to listen to it repeatedly day after day? I am in that mode right now with "The Carpet Crawlers," a tune from the Peter Gabriel-era of Genesis. The song is originally from 1974's The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, but the version I tend to listen to is the 1999 re-recording wherein the lead vocals are split by Gabriel and Phil Collins. The song was the final encore at the Genesis concert I saw in Hartford I saw a year ago. And now it's in my head but good for some reason.
For this week's cover of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart brilliantly send up the controversial cover of The New Yorker published earlier this year.
After last week's Jackson Browne release, this must be the season for reviving the best-know singer-songwriters of the 1970s. This week James Taylor unveiled his first album in years, this one a batch of cover tunes he has performed in concert over the years. Supposedly some new material of his own is in the pipeline too.
I just finished watching the second half of Shakespeare's final play. The Tempest. I drove to New York City after practice this afternoon, hitting Manhattan in plenty of time for the 8 p.m. curtain downtown. Unfortunately the West Side Drive was snarled in standstill traffic. Moving through the streets of the city wasn't exactly quick either. The upshot was I didn't arrive at the theater until 8:45. What I watched was very enjoyable. So I may have to head back down to see this play again--hopefully in its entirety--before its limited run ends later this month.
This is my second season as a subscriber to the Handel & Haydn Society. Today I attended the "Celebrate Handel!" concert in Boston's Symphony Hall, with a program featuring a mix of the composer's coronation anthems and his arias from various oratorios. The orchestra plays with period instruments and the chorus was joined by soprano Gillian Keith.
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull arrived on DVD from Amazon today. Sure, the final half hour of the movie kinda sucked, but this is Indy.
This week's Entertainment Weekly cover should make a lot of geeks happy. I am not gonna lie: I am looking forward to this flick and I hope J.J. Abrams isn't screwing it up.
I saw Oliver Stone's new movie, W, tonight. It paints a portrait of the man currently in the Oval Office that is alternately sympathetic and buffoonish. This is hardly a great film, but it's an interesting take on a polarizing figure of our time.
Just finished seeing The Tempest at the Classical Stage Company in New York. This time around--unlike two weeks ago--I saw the part before the intermission, as well! Determined to see the play in its entirety, I took the train into Manhattan with two Choate students for the afternoon. This was the final performance of the limited run and there were a couple of well-known actors in the audience: John Glover and Sam Waterston (whose daughter Elizabeth was playing Miranda). The show was quite good, with innovative set and lighting design. The acting was solid throughout, as well.
Dave Gibbons, the artist who paired with Alan Moore to produce Watchmen, released a book detailing the laborious behind-the-scenes preparation of the graphic novel. The book, designed by the brilliant Chip Kidd, arrived from Amazon today.
Hard to believe this is the nineteenth "Treehouse Of Horror" episode of The Simpsons! This is often one of the best shows of the year for this series.
I like the looks of this new poster:
I checked out Zack And Miri Make A Porno tonight. I'm in the general category of Kevin Smith fan, though it's hard to put this with his best work. Some funny bits in the first half of the flick, but it gets a bit predictable and downright sappy by the final reel. The humor is typical of the View Askew movies: sophomoric, even scatological, but good-natured.
Just spent most of the evening in Manhattan at the 92nd Street Y for an event in which designer Chip Kidd interviewed author Neil Gaiman. I've been a fan of the work of both gentlemen, so this was a treat. The pair signed books--Kidd's Bat-Manga and Gaiman's The Graveyard Book--for me afterwards and I had a pleasant chat with each, as well.
Amazon delivered the fourth and final volume of the Absolute Sandman series today. Having met Neil Gaiman just the other night, I am looking forward to immersing myself in his magnum opus once more. I originally read the ten trade paperbacks collections of Sandman some years back, but these deluxe slipcase volumes beckon me to re-read the saga; they are awfully pretty, with oversized artwork that has been re-colored using contemporary computer technology. Like DVD releases, they also contain all sorts of beghind-the-scenes "extras."
The last few nights I've caught up on the most recent Bond film, Casino Royale. I saw the first Daniel Craig outing when it was initially released in theaters, but I wanted to see it again on DVD in preparation for the weekend arrival of Quantum Of Solace.
Took a mid-bus full of Choaties tonight to see Quantum Of Solace, the latest entry in the 007 franchise. Clearly the series is moving away from a lot of the trademarks of the Bond I grew up with: the gadgets, the tricked-up cars, the double entendre dialogue, etc. This film felt more like one of Jason Bourne's adventures: a grittier character piece with the usual exotic backdrops. The plot of this movie didn't really hold together, but there was enough decent action to make it worthwhile. Good, but not great. And not as sure-footed as Casino Royale.
I saw this trailer at the Bond flick the other night, and it looks damned good!
A quiet night in Memorial House, as it's exam study mode for all the kids and I am not on duty this weekend (which is a nice change of pace). I enjoyed a couple of quiet hours "nesting" tonight, clearing off a backlog of recorded programs from my DVR. I watched a couple of episodes from the current season of Smallville, a show I've followed only sporadically over the years. This is season 8 (!) for young Clark Kent, who is now well past high school age. Most of the original cast (Clark's earth parents, Lana Lang, Lex and Lionel Luthor, Pete Ross) is long gone and the show is pretty much set in Metropolis now (which sorta begs the question about the title "Smallville"). As I recall, in the first season or two, Metropolis was a city a few hours away from the little Kansas town where Clark grew up--though most other incarnations of Superman in the comics and on film and television place Metropolis far from the midwest, about where one would find New York City, in fact--but now it seems Smallville is treated like a suburb of the city, as characters appear in locations in both places back and forth with relative ease.
Just saw the Tony-winning Boeing-Boeing this afternoon. It's a very funny play, with a strong cast headlined by Christine Baranski and Mark Rylance (who won the Best Actor Tony for the part). I was in the third row center, a great vantage point from which to enjoy the antics. I'd recommend this to anyone, particularly while Rylance is in it. He reprised his role from the West End run of the play last year.
. . . then neither do I.
Usually when I go to Broadway, I try to catch two shows in a single day. It's just a better investment of time and travel resources. After the Boeing-Boeing matinee, I was supposed to see the 8 p.m. performance of Gypsy. But when I arrived at the theater early to pick up my reserved ticket, there were signs indicating Patti LuPone's understudy would be filling in tonight. Since LuPone is pretty much the only reason I wanted to see this--the show itself and its songs don't do anything for me--I took the refund instead and will try to reschedule. It looked like there was a pile of refunded tickets there at the Will Call window, so the house might have more than its share of empty seats tonight!
I was lucky to catch an express 7:04 train back to Connecticut (first stop was Westport--woohoo!) and get home before 9 p.m.
The New Yorker is now publishing a digital edition that arrives on my computer screen each Monday. As a subscriber, I get free access to this service, which presents the pages of the magazine (including ads) in large, easy-to-read format. Since I usually get my copy delivered mid-week, this is a nice way to get a sneak peek at the contents of a week's issue.
I've just gotten home from the city, having seen Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust at the Met. For some reason it started late (9 p.m.) and I had to take a taxi to Grand Central in order to make the 12:22 back to New Haven. The production itself has been garnering rave reviews for its stunning visuals, and I can understand why, as the wall of video screens and the software that facilitated interactivity between the singers and the projected images made for quite the spectacle.
For some reason, I didn't record this fall's new Entouage episodes to my DVR, so I am taking advantage of Comcast On Demand to finish off this batch. It gives me a way to break up the more mundane tasks on my plate this weekend: the last bit of grading, report writing, and tidying up in the office and at home.
Well, I made my contribution to the recovery of our economy with some Black Friday shopping. Amazon slashed the DVD sets of The Shield to $16, roughly 20 bucks cheaper than the usual discounted price. I couldn't resist that, so I ordered the first six seasons. I've actually never seen an episode of this series--which just wrapped up its final episodes--but I have heard great things about it. Who knows when I'll have the time to watch all of these DVDs, though!
It's not exactly challenging literature, but David Baldacci's latest entry in The Camel Club series of thrillers, Divine Justice, is a worthy distraction when I should be finishing my end-of-term reports. This page turner is just the sort of diversion that will leave me some much-needed deadline pressure come the end of the weekend. But the reports themselves aren't due until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, so I really have plenty of time.
Just caught the critically lauded production of The Seagull on Broadway this afternoon. The show stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Peter Sarsgaard, and Mackenzie Crook in the Chekov classic. This play is serious stuff--far from the much lighter farcical fare like Boeing-Boeing I saw here the weekend before. The star-studded cast pulled it off admirably.
I saw the musical Spring Awakening on Broadway for the second time this evening, but this time had the unusual vantage point of seats on stage. The production is in its final six weeks, and the theater was at best two-thirds full tonight. Sitting on the side of the stage offered a fascinating perspective on the show. While the sound system and blocking are designed for those sitting out in the audience, I got to see the onstage action at close range and appreciate the acting more than I would have 10 or 12 rows back. It was a fun evening.
I have a ticket to hear Handel's Messiah performed in Symphony Hall in Boston tonight--part of my Handel & Haydn Society concert subscription--but just don't have the energy to drive up to Beantown and back when I have a round trip to New Hampshire on tap for tomorrow. So I am bagging it.
The above flyer, a scanned version of which I bumped into while surfing the Internet, advertises a poster I got as a kid (it's the smaller poster on the right in this ad). It's mounted on cardboard, and so has survived the ravages of time such that I rescued it when my parents moved out of my childhood home a few years back. It now hangs in my garage. Ah, nostalgia!
The Office, while capable of disappointing with some sub-par episodes, still manages to produce terrific comedy week after week. The Christmas-themed episode that aired last night was a home run.
I am very much looking forward to the new U2 album expected sometime early in 2009. Until then, I'll take what I can get in terms of new material from the band. For the launch of the (RED)WIRE digital magazine, U2 has recorded a cover of Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas." (RED)WIRE is part of Product (RED), designed to use commerce to help fight AIDS in Africa--not a bad cause, that. Check it out here.
No Line On The Horizon is the name of the forthcoming U2 album, due out the first week in March. Can't wait!
I watched the first two episodes of the HBO series True Blood tonight. The premise of the show is that a subpopulation of vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are now asking for equal rights in American society. The allegorical implications are a bit obvious, but the series seems to work for me thus far because of its well-drawn characters and its offbeat setting in rural Louisiana.
Since another round of stormy weather hit New England last night and this morning, I decided to scrap a planned trip to Boston for a Bach Christmas concert staged by the Handel & Haydn Society (I am not making good use of my subscription, having backed out of two events this month!), hunted under the snowfall for my Sunday Times, grabbed a bite to eat, and drove slowly down I-91 to the art cinema in New Haven to settle in for a day at the movies.
First up was Slumdog Millionaire, which has earned some stellar reviews, including a favorable mention in Frank Rich's column this morning. This film was well worth the praise it has garnered. Having spent time in Mumbai and Agra--the two principal settings for the story--I appreciated the movie's presentation of India in all its splendor, misery, and diversity. An uneducated 18-year-old finds success on the Indian version of the television game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and is subsequently grilled by Bombay policeman who are convinced he has been cheating his way through the show. The television program and the interrogation sessions frame flashbacks to various points of the boy's life. Knowing much more than that might spoil enjoyment of the film, which is one I recommend strongly.
Next up was Milk, Gus Van Sant's biopic of the slain 1970s gay activist and San Francisco politician. While Sean Penn was outstanding in the title role and the rest of the cast was similarly strong, I found the film itself a bit tedious and too long. While the filmmakers clearly worked hard to present to lead character as a fleshed out human being, there was a sniff of heavy-handed political correctness informing the whole piece. Of course, the country has become from more tolerant in the last thirty years in many ways. One of the central elements of the storyline, however, was the fight over California Proposition 6, which was nearly reminiscent of this year's Prop 8 battle in the state. Some reviewers have commented that an earlier release of this film might have made an important impact on reversing the outcome of that recent referendum. I'm not sure if that's true, but even with its flaws, this film is an important document of a significant figure and his time in the struggle for human rights.
While in the car, I was listening to one of my favorite holiday traditions: public radio carrying the BBC feed of the annual Festival of Lessons & Carols from King's College Chapel, Cambridge.
I am enjoying the biography of cartoonist Charles Schulz by author David Michaelis, a book that was released a year ago to a bit of controversy. (Some family members and a few critics argued the biographer's attempt to humanize his subject ended up casting too harsh a light on some areas of Schulz's private life.) Apparently the "Peanuts" creator was captivated by the film Citizen Kane, watching it dozens of times over the course of his life. This book inspires me to pop in the DVD of this Orson Welles classic at some point this week.
I finished my Christmas shopping on schedule, before noon, and am quite satisfied with my choice of presents. I tend to spend more time looking for things that I like when I hit the shops and malls before the holidays. Thus I try to select gifts over the Internet to avoid the crowds. But I was disciplined this morning and assembled a stack of goodies at Borders without even buying anything for myself (aside from a couple of magazines).
On the way home, though, I stopped at Best Buy to pick up a store exclusive: a DVD/CD package documenting the recent reunion tour by The Police. I saw the band in its Hartford stop during the summer of 2007. This release is from a concert recorded in Buenos Aires later on the tour. The sound is terrific and I really like the behind-the-scenes documentary--which was filmed by Stewart Copeland's son--included on the DVD.
So I am well into "clearing the DVR" mode during this vacation and I got halfway through the first season of HBO's new series True Blood when I realized the seventh episode wasn't properly recorded. (Every so often the machine records on the wrong channel.) Since this series is not on iTunes and isn't being streamed on the HBO website, I was in a quandary: I was hooked on the show, but unable to watch the rest of the season without seeing this missing episode. On the Choate campus, all peer-to-peer sharing functions are blocked by the firewall, but this is not the case at my parents' house, so let's just say I was able to find an alternate way to see Episode 7. And since I transferred the next two episodes from ReplayTV to my MacBook using the handy DVArchive application, I will have just three more left to watch when I get back home late on Christmas Day.
Our annual family pilgrimage to the cinema on Christmas Day led us to the film Doubt, which I had seen on Broadway in 2005. Frankly, this version was disappointing (or, as my father dubbed it, "overrated"). The casting of Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman didn't rise to the standard set by the pairing of Cherry Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne in the staged version. And the pacing of the movie was a mess, undermining the dramatic tension that permeated the play.
Actress Eartha Kitt died today. The news reports online are already eulogizing her varied talents as a singer, dancer, an actress-- invariably using the word "sultry." My introduction to Ms. Kitt was in the role of Catwoman on the Batman television reruns of my childhood. I remember being confused about three different actresses portraying the villainess. But even a young age, it was clear to me that Eartha Kitt's portrayal was the most feline.
I guess it wasn't a matinee--more like a twi-nighter, as they say in baseball--but I caught a 5:15 showing of the new Bryan Singer film, Valkyrie. Despite a first-rate assemblage of British actors in support roles (e.g., Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Terence Stamp) this movie never found its groove, mostly due to the inadequacy of Tom Cruise as the lead. He simply lacks the gravitas to pull off this part; I kept thinking he was Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men--a role he actually did pull off quite convincingly. For a 46-year-old, Tommy-boy still has his youthful looks and vigor, but those qualities turned out to be distracting in this particular film. Cruise used to be able to disappear into meaty roles, such as in Born On The Fourth Of July, and I suppose he still can get away with action flicks with some credibility, but it's hard to consider him in a fully fleshed out adult dramatic role without thinking of him as Tom Cruise. He has anchored a string of cinematic duds the last few years, so one wonders if his reputation as "box office gold" is now a thing of the past.
I've been listening a lot to The Beatles in my car lately, specifically the remixed songs on Love, the soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas that I saw a year ago this week. This album is sonically so well produced (and it came with a DVD Audio disc that sounds even better with headphones!) that it makes me eager for the much-anticipated re-release of the Fab Four's music in digital form.
My movie of the day was The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, based--very loosely--on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and it turned out to be one of the most magical experiences of cinematic storytelling I've seen in some time. Essentially Brad Pitt plays a character who was born as an old man and gradually becomes younger through the decades. The arc of his life intersects with that of Cate Blanchett's character, who ages in the, um, more traditional fashion. In many ways this tale is a romance, but it's much more than that. There were moments in this picture reminiscent of Forrest Gump, but I liked Benjamin Button a lot more than the earlier film (which I thought was overrated, frankly). This movie is not without its hokey moments and some dime store philosophizing, but the skill of the filmmakers is evident throughout. The presentation of Brad Pitt's character in his younger days, as a miniature old man, and in his dotage, looking like a teenager, is seamless. Whatever digital wizardry was employed here is very impressive. Pitt brings his "A" game to this role and Blanchett is as radiant as ever. Tilda Swinton also delivers a lovely performance, as always. Don't miss this film.
As we look back on the exciting political developments of past year, let's remember 2008 as the dawn of A New Hope.
I've now picked up a handful of Blu-Ray titles, and several of them have come with a bonus digital copy. This means the package includes a disc and a code that enable me to download a copy of the movie to play in iTunes, presumably on a portable platform such as my MacBook or my iPhone. The irony of this is that I chose to buy the Blu-Ray version because of the stunning quality of the picture on a large 52" HD television set (that is soon to arrive!) but what I'm also getting is the ability to watch a movie like The Dark Knight on a tiny iPhone screen while riding a train--hardly the same viewing experience!
This is the time of day in the colder months when I am reminded of a stanza from an Emily Dickinson poem:
There's a certain slant of light,On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.
Just finished seeing The Reader, a story set in postwar Germany about an affair between an adolescent boy and a much older woman, who turns out to be a Nazi war criminal. The film has a stately feel, and at times does seem to drag, but it's provocative and well-crafted.
Since I am staying right in Times Square, in the heart of the theater district, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to see a show or two. Tonight was Gypsy, which I was scheduled to see a month or so ago but it turned out Patti LuPone's understudy was on that night, and I decided to wait to see the star herself. LuPone is the closest thing we have today to an Ethel Merman or a Mary Martin--a genuine Broadway star. The show was much better than I remembered it and it was easy to see why LuPone bagged a Tony for her tour de force performance.
I traveled to Brooklyn tonight to see the new production of The Cherry Orchard in its second night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This fine Sam Mendes-directed show is the inaugural effort of The Bridge Project, which seeks to unite American and English theater actors, directors, and producers with performances scheduled on both sides of the Atlantic (as well as on far-flung stages in New Zealand, Singapore, Germany, and Greece). Tom Stoppard's new version of the Chekhov classic lent itself to a first-rate production, with excellent production values--the set design and lighting in particular were phenomenal--and a solid cast.
I've started a series of suspense novels with a heavy dose of historical mythology and conspiracy theories aplenty that feature an ex-government agent, Cotton Malone, living as a rare book dealer in Copenhagen. In The Templar Legacy, the first installment featuring Malone, the story wanders into The DaVinci Code's territory, with Biblical secrets at stake in a battle involving the modern-day Templars. I finished that on the way home from the city today and am already well into the first sequel, The Alexandria Link. As literature, this stuff is fairly disposable, but no doubt these books are fun reads.
It's the second intermission at La Bohème here at The Met. An enjoyable show--albeit it's surprising that one of the most popular entries in the world opera repertory doesn't really contain any recognizable melodies--and the real star is Franco Zeffirelli's staging; the sets are spectacular.
Bono has a nice piece in this morning's New York Times about the legacy of Frank Sinatra:
Like Bob Dylan's, Nina Simone's, Pavarotti's, Sinatra's voice is improved by age, by years spent fermenting in cracked and whiskeyed oak barrels. As a communicator, hitting the notes is only part of the story, of course.Singers, more than other musicians, depend on what they know -- as opposed to what they don't want to know about the world. While there is a danger in this -- the loss of naïveté, for instance, which holds its own certain power -- interpretive skills generally gain in the course of a life well abused.
You can read the whole thing (or even better, listen to Bono deliver it) here.
The first of the final ten episodes of the series Battlestar Galactica just aired and it was as good an hour of television as I've seen in a long time. This was well worth the wait!
After an extended layoff due to the writer's strike and an exclusive first-run distribution deal with DirectTV, we've had to wait about a year to see new episodes of Friday Night Lights on NBC. The show returns tonight.
My DVR bungled the recording of Smallville last night, so I splurged for the HD version of the episode on the iTunes Store via my Apple TV--it cost me an extra dollar--but it was money well spent, for the picture quality on my new Samsung was amazing.
Fox and Warner Brothers have settled out of court, so the tangle involving the distribution rights to the filmed version of Watchmen has been resolved, which means the movie will be out on March 6 as scheduled.
Fox is running back-to-back nights of double episodes to kick off the new season of 24. It's been over eighteen months since we last saw Jack Bauer in action (aside from the season 7 "prequel" movie in November) and the show looks to be in good form thus far.
In what might be construed another shameless attempt to cash in on the publicity surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama, Marvel Comics published a special variant cover of The Amazing Spider-Man today, after Obama indicated he was a Spidey fan while growing up. It's a pretty cool honor, I suppose. Apparently people are storming comic shops all over the country today to secure a copy. The real winner in all of this? eBay!
My parents, who have arrived in Florida for their annual snowbird migration called and asked if I would record the concert at the Lincoln Memorial in honor of the Inauguration. Well the state of my transition to the new television probably will make recording the program problematic, but I did start watching the live telecast on HBO HD and got to see a handful of my favorite performers (e.g., U2, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow) in action. The key thematic elements of the show were Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, which made a lot of sense for both the venue and the occasion. Hard not to feel sentimentally patriotic watching all of this. The Obamas and Bidens had choice seats just off the stage and it looked like the turnout at The Mall was huge. But it looked COLD down there!
The above is the cover art for the forthcoming (March 3) U2 release, No Line On The Horizon. The track listing has been finalized:
"Get On Your Boots" will be released as the first single on February 15 but it makes its debut on radio stations and on U2.com tomorrow!
R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban.
The Mexican actor may be most widely known as the mysterious Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island, or even as a pitchman for the Chrysler Cordoba, with its "rich Corinthian leather," but I will always associate him as the title character in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.
"Get On Your Boots," the new U2 single is here! Check it out at the iTunes Store.
I set up my Guitar Hero drum kit tonight, and now I am really ready to rock!
In an unusually sedentary evening session, I spent the past three hours watching Lost on ABC: an hour-long recap of the story so far followed by a double-length Season 5 premiere. Watching this show in high definition is pretty nifty, by the way!
A good day for Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire, but a bit disappointing that The Dark Knight was snubbed in the Best Picture category. I hope Slumdog wins the Oscar. Maybe Heath Ledger will take the Best Supporting Actor nod posthumously?
My subscription to the Handel and Haydn Society bought me to Symphony Hall in Boston once more tonight for a performance of Orfeo (or, by its formal name, L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice). The opera was not staged as such, but was presented as a concert. Sitting in the center of the third row, I had a terrific vantage point to enjoy the three talented soloists and the violin section in particular. Before the concert, I was invited to attend a reception with musicians and some of the H&H staff. It was quite evident those of us invited were there to be "cultivated," as my colleagues in the Choate development office would say, but it was a nice opportunity for some free wine and hors d'oeuvres in place of dinner!
I am working my way through the recently published A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art Of Stoic Joy by William Irvine. The book is a cogent condensation of the principles of Stoicism, a philosophy of emotional control and balanced living that emerged from the likes of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus in at the height of the Roman Empire. I recommend this work heartily.
I spent some time today creating an updated inventory of my DVDs on Delicious Library 2--a cool Mac application that catalogues books, CDs, DVDs, software, iTunes purchases, and various other things, mostly using the iSight camera to scan barcodes and tap the Amazon.com databases. (You can even track loans using the names in Address Book.) I was pretty good about keeping track of all my stuff on an earlier version of Delicious Library, but somehow lost all the data on my MacBook just before the upgrade was released.
So at the end of a few hours of work, here are my lessons learned:
Bruce Springsteen's latest, Working On A Dream, arrived in my mailbox courtesy of Amazon this morning. The disc has been garnering mostly positive reviews and I am looking forward to giving it a listen.
In the iWork '09 upgrade to GarageBand, one can now purchase lessons from famous musicians for about $5. For example, Sting show you how to play "Roxanne" on guitar, in both easy and hard versions. He also gives some background on the song. Pretty cool addition to this application.
I rented the HD version of Eagle Eye tonight, using the iTunes Store via my Apple TV. (It's soooo easy to use!) The movie itself was pretty forgettable, but I continue to be struck by the quality of the picture when viweing high definition content on my Samsung 52" screen. Film takes on a quality that seems like video in some ways: it's almost hyper-real. Blu-ray discs like Planet Earth are simply amazing.
I didn't have time to watch the whole movie, but I sampled a few of the best scenes from Groundhog Day ("Ned? . . . Ned Ryerson?") tonight on honor of the day (also my dad's birthday)--this may very well be one of my favorite films ever!
I caught a matinee of Coraline in Palm Beach earlier today. I chose this flick because (1) I like Neil Gaiman's work a lot; (2) I enjoy good animation; and (3) I find 3D movies dazzling. The movie was charming, and the stop-motion animation was spectacular. There's a textural quality to the images one doesn't get in CGI. I would think this film could be frightening for young children, though.
This long weekend break gives me the chance to get caught up on reading (finished the latest in the Cotton Malone series, The Charlemagne Pursuit, on the plane the other day), television shows (Lost, The Office, Battlestar Galactica) and movies. This afternoon I watched The Wrestler, which is a gritty look at a professional wrestler trying to get his life together twenty years after his heyday. Mickey Rourke delivers a great performance, worthy of the Oscar nomination.
U2 opened the Grammy ceremonies with an energetic presentation of the "Get On Your Boots" single, including some great visuals on the video screen (a bit reminiscent of the Zoo TV tour). Then, a few minutes before winning Song Of The Year honors, Coldplay played a somewhat lackluster version of "Viva La Vida."
I came down with a splitting headache around lunchtime today, which is pretty unusual for me. I napped in the early afternoon, skipping my staff meeting, and made a brief appearance at practice. Then I settled in on the couch for some serious nesting, watching the Blu-Ray disc of The Clone Wars--which turned out to be far better than I had been led to believe--and playing Guitar Hero. I've had the PS3 for about six weeks now, but really haven't used it all that much, so it was good to feel like I am getting a return on my investment.
I drove into Manhattan tonight for a performance of Verdi's Rigoletto at the Met. This opera is one of the most popular in the repertory and was generally an enjoyable visual and musical spectacle. I think I've found the sweet spot for seating, at least for me: a front seat in one of the rear-most side boxes on the Grand Tier. I sat on the left side of the hall for a change tonight.
I am finding this new season of Lost, with its time travel intrigue and focus on the Oceanic Six's attempt to get back to the island, pretty gripping.
I caught The International, the new suspense flick starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, at the local cineplex tonight. Great locations and striking architectural visuals throughout--highlighted by a striking action sequence in the Guggenheim Museum--made for great eye candy. On the other hand, the story itself--pretty much a conspiracy yarn about an international bank with nefarious intentions--was largely unsatisfying.
The latest issue of Rolling Stone gave a ★★★★★ review to the forthcoming No Line On The Horizon, describing the album as U2's best work since Achtung Baby!
Having thoroughly enjoyed the first four seasons of HBO's The Wire, and agreeing with the critics who maintain this show represents the best of television, I still need to watch the final season, which I now have on DVD. When it originally aired, I was still working my way through Season 4, and then it disappeared from "on demand" after I had only seen two episodes of the last batch.
I saw Fanboys tonight down in New Haven. It was a mildly entertaining film about a group of friends in 1998 who made it a quest to break into Skywalker Ranch in order to see a rough print of Star Wars Episode I before its release. Lots of in jokes for the geeks among us and a well deployed use of Rush songs in the soundtrack.
Finally got both wireless guitars, the drums, and the microphone all working for Guitar Hero World Tour last night, which was fun. Finally using the PS3 to full advantage. But I decided I definitely need a dedicated remote for the Blu-ray functions.
This is sort of an in joke for those on the 2005 U.K. squash tour, when one of the boys at Marlborough College referred to me as "a f___ing legend" . . . a reference I still don't fully understand, but it was certainly amusing.
After cranking through work on this weekend's tournaments, I unwound with the latest episode of the new show on HBO, Eastbound & Down, which stars Danny McBride as a crass, shallow, and vulgar washed up baseball star who returns to his hometown to crash with his brother's family and teach gym at the local middle school. I'm not familiar with McBride's earlier work, but this show is growing on my with its bizarrely funny take on life.
I downloaded Wanted on Apple TV tonight. Fairly interesting, if mostly forgettable, flick based on a comic book about an office shlub who joins an ancient fraternity of assassins to avenge the death of the father he never knew.
To promote the release of the band's new album--which I am downloading via iTunes while I sleep tonight--U2 is performing for five nights in a row on The Late Show on CBS. I just watched the first of the series and will record the rest of the week while I am traveling.
"Where The Streets Have No Name"? Not today. Mayor Bloomberg is giving a little bit of love to Ireland's most famous musical troubadors, as part of West 53rd Street was temporarily renamed "U2 Way" in honor of the band's release of No Line On The Horizon, which I've been listening to on and off since early this morning.
On the eve of our trip to Britain, a couple of squash players and I were enjoying YouTube clips from the Extras series starring Ricky Gervais. VERY funny stuff!
My "under the weather" prediliction to rent movies via AppleTV continued today as I watched Pineapple Express, which was sort of--wait for it--dopey but generally inoffensive.
I saw Religulous tonight while recuperating from this damned cold. It's comedian Bill Maher traveling around the world to religious sites to expose what he regards the inanity of belief. It is a provocative little piece.
This may be the geekiest thing I've done in a while: since I was feeling crappy, I got comfortable on my living room couch and booted up the documentary Helvetica on AppleTV. It's basically an exploration of a font, a typeface, that has become ubiquitous in modern life. As I've long been fascinated by typography and design I kind of enjoyed what a lot of people might find a mind-numbingly boring movie.
No new episode of Lost tonight. What with jet lag and all, I was fighting to stay awake to see a new installment, only to see last week's show hit the airwaves at 9 p.m. Off to bed then!
Our touring party left Wimbledon this morning and made our way to Oxford, where I introduced the boys to real tennis (a.k.a. court tennis) at Merton College, my stomping grounds from last August. We then drove to Bath and settled into our hotel. We had a terrific Thai dinner at Yum Yum Thai (where the 2005 group also ate) and then all saw Watchmen. I was nervous about seeing this: I read the comics when they first were released in 1986-1987 and have taught the graphic novel for about a decade now. But I was pretty pleased with the film. It couldn't possibly capture the nuances and detail of the printed work, but I thought it captured the spirit of it pretty well.
Now Geoff Van and I will watch last Wednesday's episode of Lost, courtesy of iTunes.
Without the benefit of a DVR here, I can't time shift the shows I want to watch. But since it's vacation, I can park myself in front of the television tonight to catch Gossip Girl and 24.
I revisited The Bourne Ultimatum on DVD over the course of the last two days: this is a really well-made flick.
Wow. Just watched the final two hours of the Battlestar Galactica series. (I missed Friday night's transmission since Saddlebrook did not get the SciFi channel, so I downloaded the HD version on iTunes when I got home this morning.) This was a very satisfying ending to an epic television series--one of the best-scripted shows in recent years. Not a perfect finale, nor one that answered all the questions raised by the series, but one that provided enough closure without getting too sappy (which would not have worked for such a show characterized by such darkness throughout the saga). I am still processing the conclusion and will have to watch parts of this again in the days to come.
Too bad so many people never gave BSG a chance because the "science fiction" tag scared them away. Maybe this deserving show will find new adherents via DVDs and downloads in the years to come?
Just saw Duplicity, sort of a cross between a thriller, a romantic comedy, and a caper flick. The film stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, who had some genuine chemistry together, and a strong supporting cast. It was written and directed by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Bourne series of movies and wrote and directed Michael Clayton. Thumbs up for Duplicity.
Got me some tickets to see U2 in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Sunday, September 20. Sweet!
I ordered a bass guitar kit for just under $200, complete with a modest amp and a few accessories. I've thought about taking up the bass for quite a while now and this Silvertone model got strong reviews as a starter instrument.
I Love You, Man is the funniest movie I've seen in quite a while. Paul Rudd is brilliantly awkward throughout the film as a guy about to be married who realizes he has no male friends. Enter Jason Segal as the man-child with whom Rudd's character begins to bond over Rush music and a few hilarious conversations. There were parts of this movie that had me howling with laughter.
I created a photo book to commemorate the Choate Squash 2009 U.K. Tour using iPhoto. It was a breeze to layout the 20-page book using my digital photos, edit an accompanying map of our trip, and add some relevant text. The book, which arrived just over a week after I ordered it (which was almost as simple as pressing a button within iPhoto), came out looking pretty professional. The quality of the pictures in this format is stunning.
Since my course at Cambridge finishes earlier that day, I just booked a ticket to see U2 at Wembley Stadium outside London on August 15. Should be pretty cool to see my favorite band at this historic venue. Of course, the stadium has been rebuilt since then, but it was at Wembley in the summer of 1985 that U2 really arrived on the global stage with a Live Aid set that blew away a worldwide television audience.
I sent in my paperwork this morning for a Shakespeare program at the University of Cambridge this summer, one which starts just after my Summer Programs commitments at Choate wrap up at the end of July. I am looking forward to spending a couple of weeks in Cambridge in August; I haven't been there since my very first trip to England in 1994.
Tickets to the September 24 Giants Stadium stop on the U2 360° Tour went on sale at the stroke of ten o'clock this morning and I successfully navigated the Ticketmaster site to scoop up a few. I've seen U2 perform all over New England (e.g., Worcester, Boston, Hartford, Providence) since 1985 but have never seen the band in one of the New York venues, so I am looking forward to this show. Hopefully the set list will be a bit different from what will be played in the Foxborough concert I am seeing four days earlier.
Just finished watching a double bill at the Met: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, two century-old operatic meditations on love gone wrong. Tonight's ticket was the last of my 2009-2010 subscription. I now have to decide what shows I want to see in next year's season and whether I want to take the plunge for Wagner's "Ring" cycle in 2010--a big commitment of treasure and time!
I booked a round-trip flight to Toronto in June for a weekend at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario and also reserved tickets to see Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Chekhov's Three Sisters. Should be a pleasant early-summer getaway.
As I may have mentioned in this space before, I am in the middle of a quest to see all of William Shakespeare's plays performed. I am roughly halfway through the list at this point, so I have identified a trio of works I haven't seen staged yet that I can catch while I am in England this August: between Shakespeare's Globe (pictured above) and the RSC in Stratford, I plan to catch As You Like It, Troilus & Cressida, and The Winter's Tale.
I am now able to perform on guitar, bass, drums or vocals on Guitar Hero: World Tour on my PS3 and getting better at each. Tonight four of us ran through some numbers and are working our way through all the set lists slowly but surely.
For a measly $10 and 25,000 United Airlines mileage points, I got a round trip ticket to Charlottesville, Virginia for summer school's long weekend in mid-July. My plan is to make the short drive through the Shenandoah Valley and spend two nights in Staunton at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel, right next door to Blackfriars Theater, home to the American Shakespeare Company. My program at UVa last June was centered around the ASC playhouse and this July I'll get to see Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, and Titus Andronicus. I also plan to visit Thomas Jefferson's Monticello while in the area, which I haven't been to since I was a boy.
It dawned on me today that the cultural references I make with my classes and with team are increasingly greeted with blank stares. How is it that today's kids don't know who Captain Kirk is but know all the words to songs from Mulan?
Wednesday nights mean appointment television for me, as Lost is producing some of its best episodes ever at this point in the story arc. We've come a long way since "the Others" were a ominous and unseen presence and "the hatch" was a similarly mysterious focal point. Ben's encounter beneath the temple with hieroglyphics (was that the Egyptian god Anubis?), the smoke monster, and his (dead?) "daughter" Alex tonight were all pretty engaging.
Just got my latest fix from Amazon today: the newly released A Terrible Splendor, an account of the 1937 Davis Cup semifinal showdown between American Don Budge and German Gottfried von Cramm, played on Wimbledon's Centre Court and set against the backdrop of rising Nazi power. Looks like a good read about a match billed by the author as "the greatest ever." Next week, I'll be getting another new book, Strokes Of Genius by Sports Illustrated scribe L. Jon Wertheim, in which he unwinds the 2008 Gentlemen's Singles Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as "the greatest ever." I'll be interested to see which book makes the more compelling case.
Iceland gets a pretty steady dose of American cinema, so tonight I caught one of the latest Hollywood releases, State Of Play, paying only a little more than $4, given the advantageous exchange rate that now exists. This film is a reworked version of a British television mini-series from a few years back, one I own on DVD. It has some pretty impressive star power assembled: Oscar winners Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, and Helen Mirren, along with Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, and Jeff Daniels. Of course, I had forgotten the twists of the BBC version, so this felt pretty fresh. Not an earth-shakingly good movie--I probably shouldn't use such language here on the North Atlantic Ridge, one of the planet's major fault lines!--but a decent night's entertainment.
Picked up an issue of Intelligent Life, published by The Economist, for the second time in two months; I also got an issue in England in March. I don't think we get this magazine back in the States. It's sort of an upscale style and culture publication, something like Monocle, and it's pretty good. Maybe I will subscribe (as if I need to receive any more magazines!).
Usually I am disappointed when one of my favorite series airs a "clip show"--a compilation drawn from past broadcasts with no new material, usually done to pad a season's run of episodes with minimal budgetary impact. But I found tonight's Lost a helpful refresher focusing on the story of "the Oceanic Six." Of course, I will be looking to the season's last batch of fresh Lost episodes starting next Wednesday!
I am looking forward to the forthcoming reboot of Star Trek at the hands of J.J. Abrams, the brains behind Alias and Lost. Early reviews have been very positive. The movie comes out May 8.
For the second time in a week, a book arrived in my mail promising to dissect "the greatest tennis match ever," this time focusing on 2008's Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal. This relatively slim volume, by Sports Illustrated scribe L. Jon Wertheim, looks like a quick but promising read.
Sitting on duty in Mem House, I found myself in a mood of 1970s nostalgia, so I fired up a couple of reruns of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Hulu.com tonight; now that was a great series!
A friend of mine--the biggest Rush fan I know (a fan of the band, that is, not the windbag)--sent me this design from a T-shirt, which is brilliant.
Just caught the midnight debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the first "blockbuster" of the summer movie season. The film was reasonably entertaining, but it struck me as a fairly joyless affair, with the requisite elements of a super-hero flick dutifully assembled. There wasn't the spark nor the soul we saw at the center of last summer's Iron Man or The Dark Knight, though, which were two very different but equally admirable examples of how to pull off the genre with panache.
Yesterday I got the official notification of my acceptance into my program of choice at the University of Cambridge, so I'll be spending some time in England this summer immersed in books amidst some crumbly old buildings. I fished around on Amazon.com earlier today to find the best prices for my course books, though I dread the thought of lugging texts overseas and back! When I was at Stanford in 2008, I ended up shipping a dozen books back home so I wouldn't have to schlep them through Oregon, L.A., and San Diego.
While traveling to central Jersey, I had about three hours solo in the car, which was a perfect chance to get caught up on my favorite podcasts and also listen to a couple of lectures that I purchased from The Teaching Company. I am a fan of both of these formats--podcasts and audio lectures--and used my time behind the wheel this afternoon to good advantage.
In today's post, I got the first shipment of the books I'll be using at Cambridge this summer, courtesy of Amazon.com. I'll confess to still getting a bit giddy whenever new books arrive for a class I am teaching or taking. I guess that's why I may never be a complete convert to Kindle (or whatever form e-books may end up in), as there is something tremendously satisfying about the printed page and the physical representation of ideas in book form.
The new Star Trek has landed, an impressive reboot at the hands of J.J. Abrams which captures the spirit of the '60s television show with spiffily updated visuals and a fresh cast. I took seven boys from Mem House to see the movie on its opening night, and even those not steeped in Trek lore like I am really enjoyed it. So Paramount may have what it wanted: the chance to introduce a new audience to "the final frontier."
A time travel element woven into the story basically gives the filmmakers a blank slate in reshaping the Trek universe. Assuming this movie meets its high box office expectations, its sequels presumably will be much better unencumbered by forty years of continuity given a rabid fan base eager to identify incongruities.
The movie itself was a blast: a great mix of character development, humor, well-paced action sequences, and sharp special effects. The Kirk/Spock relationship was at the heart of this story, but future films should have lots to work with in the new incarnations of McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekhov--all of whom were skillfully incorporated into this version of the Federation flagship.
Star Trek will probably lure me back for a repeat showing in the theater, preferably on an IMAX screen.
In response to the last post . . . let's just call this "The Federation Strikes Back."
Tonight's two-hour season finale of Lost is must-see-TV for me. Hope this episode is up to the high standard of the season to date.
Just returned from New York City, where I saw The Merchant Of Venice tonight at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This production was staged by Propeller, an all-male British acting troupe and it was fairly provocative. The play itself is problematic to a modern audience because of the blatant anti-Semitism woven into the story of Shylock. This staging was set in a prison, which worked pretty well--especially given with the all-male cast--and lent itself to a darker and more violent take on the play. Shylock sometimes has been played for comic relief, but this production cast him as an unequivocally cold villain bent on vengeance in the form of his "pound of flesh."
Saw Angels And Demons tonight at the local cineplex. It was well made and moderately entertaining: like Dan Brown's book, the fun is the Rome setting and the Vatican intrigue, but there's not a lot memorable within. This gets a grade of "B" at best.
Booked air travel, hotel, and tickets for a quick trip to the Windy City this September (leave Saturday afternoon, return Sunday night) to see Tosca at the Lyric Opera and Richard III at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It's the only weekend we won't have a cross country meet scheduled, so it's a perfect escape from school, if a brief one.
The sixth season of 24 wrapped up tonight in a two-hour finale, which was mediocre at best. Seems like this particular day was a series of threats, each one resolved in about 4-5 hours, but then leading straight into another crisis for Jack Bauer to solve. I liked Cherry Jones a lot as President Taylor, and it's always fun to see Janeane Garofalo, but this season was a bit unsatisfying in the end.
With no new episodes of Lost for many months to come, my Wednesday nights will be a bit empty for the foreseeable future!
I saw Coldplay at The Meadows tonight (okay, officially it's the Comcast Theater, but I will always call it The Meadows). Chris and the boys were in good form, with a lot of energy and a clear effort to engage the Connecticut fans, apparently in an effort to make up for what they considered a crap performance in Hartford last summer. They clearly connected when they moved back to the lawn for a mini-set toward the end of the show.
The set list:
Life In Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Yellow
Glass Of Water
Cemeteries Of London
42
Fix You
Strawberry Swing
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)
Talk (techno version)
The Hardest Part (Chris piano)
Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)
Viva La Vida
Lost!
Green Eyes (acoustic)
Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will on vocals)
I'm A Believer (acoustic Neil Diamond cover)Viva La Vida (remix interlude)
encores:
Politik
Lovers In Japan
Death And All His FriendsThe Scientist
Life in Technicolor II
The Escapist (outro)
In 2004, when the U2-branded iPod came out, iTunes also offered The Complete U2, a "digital box set" (discounted for us bold purchasers of the matching iPod). I bought it, of course, and now at last the whole thing is available for an upgrade to 256kbps-quality sound. I notice one can no longer purchase it new, however.
Saw the revival of Hair on Broadway this afternoon. The show has gotten good reviews, but I found it a little disappointing. There's a big push for audience participation, but it seemed like the production was trying a little too hard on this front. There are a few memorable songs--my parents must have seen this at some point, for I grew up hearing the cast recording--but a lot more disposable ones.
I am making a commitment to what I'll call on online book club: a group of folks from all over who are dedicated to working through 75 pages a week of David Foster Wallace's comic masterpiece Infinite Jest between June 21 and September 22. That seems like a pretty reasonable pace for just about anyone. Details are here for those interested.
Stopped at one of my favorite Parisian haunts on the Seine this morning, the English language bookstore Shakespeare And Company--a mecca for expats and travelers in the heart of France. I ran into a school group from the Memphis University School, a bunch of juniors (it's an all-boys school) studying the Lost Generation, and was reminded of the central role Paris played in the lives and work of such American authors as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein (as well as Irish writer James Joyce). Lots of literary history in this place!
I started a five-week course in the tragedies and histories of William Shakespeare down at Yale today. My class meets four days a week from 1:00 to 2:45 in the afternoon, with about a half-dozen viewing sessions scheduled for evenings. Tonight we compared excerpts from several productions of Julius Caesar, the first play we are studying, including the famous early 1950s version starring Marlon Brando as Marc Antony. Now I need to get to work on the first writing assignment. Basically we are expected to write an essay on each of the ten plays we are reading: eight of them relatively brief (2 pages or so) and two more developed (around 8 pages).
Choate's spring musical this year is Les Misérables, which I watched tonight. This was a creditable production, with a strong cast and rock-solid production values, especially for a high school theatrical production.
In my Shakespeare class at Yale, we are reading Richard II this week, a play that explores the relationship between poetry and politics. This provides me an interesting context to watch President Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo earlier today. This eloquent address, aimed at establishing a new beginning for America and Islam, may do more to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East than all the efforts of Obama's predecessor fighting his "war on terror."
I always like these lyrics from "Never Die Young" by James Taylor when thinking about the departure of newly minted Choate graduates each June:
I guess it had to happen someday soon
Wasn't nothing to hold them down
They would rise from among us like a big balloon
Take the sky and forsake the groundOh, yes, other hearts were broken
Yeah, other dreams ran dry
But our golden ones sail on, sail on
To another land beneath another sky
Today I finalized reservations for a few days on the West Coast at the end of August, mostly at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Just about a year ago, I resolved to see every play in the Shakespeare canon produced on stage. Here is the list of what I've seen thus far, starting my count in the spring of 2008 when I saw Patrick Stewart as Macbeth when the production came to Broadway:
1. 4/24/08, Macbeth, Broadway
2. 6/20/08, Hamlet, Shakespeare In The Park, The Public Theater, New York City
3. 6/26/08, King Lear, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
4. 6/27/08, Twelfth Night, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
5. 6/28/08, Measure For Measure, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
6. 7/3/08, All's Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare & Co., Lenox, MA
7. 7/18/08, The Comedy Of Errors, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
8. 7/19/08, Othello, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
9. 7/22/08, Romeo And Juliet, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
10. 8/8/08, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Shakespeare's Globe, London
11. 8/9/08, The Taming Of The Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford, U.K.
12. 8/13/08, Much Ado About Nothing, Oxford Castle, Oxford, U.K.
13. 9/9/08, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT
14. 10/3/08, The Tempest, Classic Stage Company, New York City
15. 5/14/09, The Merchant Of Venice, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City
So as of now, I am not quite halfway done. But here is what I've scheduled in the weeks and months ahead:
16. 6/13/09, Julius Caesar, Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON, Canada
17. 6/20/09, Henry V, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, Richmond, VA
18. 7/10/09, Pericles, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, NY
19. 7/19/09, Titus Andronicus, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
20. 7/26/09, Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Colonial Theater, Westerly, RI
21. 7/28/09, Antony And Cleopatra, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Center Valley, PA
22. 8/1/09, As You Like It, Shakespeare's Globe, London
23. 8/1/09, The Winter's Tale, The Old Vic, London
24. 8/16/09, Troilus And Cressida, Shakespeare's Globe, London
25. 8/22/09, Henry IV, Part I, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
26. 8/26/09, Henry VIII, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
27. 8/28/09, Coriolanus, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
28. 9/27/09, Richard III, Chicago Shakespeare Festival, Chicago
29. 10/28/09, Love's Labour's Lost, Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA
30. May 2010, Timon Of Athens, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Boston, MA
This will put me over three-quarters of the way through, leaving these plays of the "official" canon of 37 yet to be seen--all plays that are produced infrequently (though I have leads on a couple productions coming in 2010):
31. Cymbeline
32. Henry IV, Part II
33. Henry VI, Part I
34. Henry VI, Part II
35. Henry VI, Part III
36. King John
37. Richard II
Then there are two plays sometimes attributed to Shakespeare, at least in part, that some scholars regard as canonical:
38? The Two Noble Kinsmen
39? Edward III
Since starting this project twelve months ago, I have seen--or will see--some of the plays in the canon more than once; here are those duplicates on my list:
8/8/08, King Lear, Shakespeare's Globe, London
9/19/08, The Comedy Of Errors, Paul Mellon Arts Center, Wallingford, CT
6/13/09, Macbeth, Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON, Canada
6/26/09, Hamlet, Shakespeare & Co., Lenox, MA
7/2/09, The Tempest, The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, Madison, NJ
7/18/09, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
7/18/09, Much Ado About Nothing, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
8/15/09, The Winter's Tale, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford, U.K.
8/25/09, Macbeth, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
8/25/09, Much Ado About Nothing, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
8/26/09, All's Well That Ends Well, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
I have not included any productions I had seen before last spring, such as the Twelfth Night I saw in Central Park in the summer of 1989 when I was a Klingenstein Summer Fellow at Columbia, or the versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Othello I watched on the Paul Mellon Arts Center stage here at Choate, or the condensed Henry IV (combining parts I and II) starring Kevin Kline as Falstaff at Lincoln Center a few years back.
And of course I am familiar with filmed versions of some of these plays (e.g., Branagh's Henry V) which I have not included for the purposes of this list either.
A week after my trip to Paris, I reconnected with the City of Lights by watching Taken, an action/suspense flick I downloaded to my AppleTV. It's a pretty mindless movie, but reasonably entertaining, with some great Paris visuals as the backdrop for much of the story.
After the season premiere of Weeds on Showtime, I stuck around for the debut of Nurse Jackie starring Edie DeFalco. I wasn't prepared to like this show, but as this first episode developed, I found myself getting sucked in nonetheless.
I had a pleasant drive out to Stratford, pretty much on major highways all the way. I am spending the next two days here attending some plays: two Shakespeare productions tomorrow and Chekhov's The Three Sisters on Sunday afternoon. I am also signed up for a backstage tour of the main theater complex (pictured above) and a lecture/ discussion with lunch tomorrow.
Tonight I saw Julius Caesar on stage for the very first time, having read the play first as a tenth-grader and then again for my Yale course two weeks ago. This production has gotten mixed reviews, in part because the costumes don't seem anchored in any particular era (togas are mixed with modern dress). I found the show credible, though, even if the acting was a bit stiff in places.
The last play I saw on this trip to Stratford, Ontario, was Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. In the past six months I have also watched productions of The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard. But this show was the most satisfying of the trio. I think I liked the play itself better than the other two. And the cast in today's performance was terrific. Of the quartet of Chekhov's masterworks, I have only Uncle Vanya left to see now.
I'll have to get some sleep on the plane on August 19, when I am flying home from Prague via London, for I am seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that night in Hartford.
If you don't know what that means--or whose photo is above--look it up!
Having finished my academic work for the day, I relaxed for a bit and got caught up on Sunday night's season premiere of True Blood--supposedly this installment of the HBO series had the best ratings for the cable network since the final episode of The Sopranos. The show picks up right where it left off at the end of Season One and it's pretty enjoyable. The Michelle Forbes character is mysteriously creepy!
This movie may end up being crap, but based on the trailer, it ought to have a lot of pretty visuals!
During my drive to the Toronto airport from Stratford last Sunday, the CBC had a call-in show in which people suggested their "desert island books." One professorial type from California went on and on about this book by a German Jewish refugee named Erich Auerbach. I looked up the book on Amazon earlier this week and was delighted to discover it was Mimesis, a book I drew heavily upon many years ago as an undergraduate when preparing a paper on The Odyssey for a course in the Classics Department. I ordered a copy, figuring that I'll be able to appreciate the work much more now than I was able to then. The book has arrived and I am delving into the chapter on Shakespeare's Henry IV--about which I just finished writing another paper, ironically enough. And I was amazed to learn Auerbach moved to the States, taught at Yale, and lived the final years of his life right here in Wallingford!
Downloaded and watched Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist on Apple TV tonight. A cute, if rather forgettable, flick that makes good use of New York City locations.
While here in D.C. I have a little time to visit the Folger Shakespeare Library, just a short walk from Union Station. Of course, walking to Capitol Hill reminds me just how warm Washington gets this time of year!
I arrived at Agecroft Hall about an hour before the show. The house itself, an expansive Tudor style edifice, was originally built in England in the 15th century, disassembled, shipped across the Atlantic, and rebuilt here in Richmond. The grounds are beautiful, with lovely gardens that are perfect for tailgating before the evening performance.
The performance of Henry V put on by the Richmond Shakespeare Festival was an enjoyable production, with action, humor, romance, and some of the Bard's most beautiful language. I was worried that this outdoor show might fall victim to the thunderstorms that were forecast, but it turned out to be a lovely--if slightly humid--evening. The play was well cast, with a strong actor in the title role (pretty much essential given how this role dominates the piece) and some wonderful work in the bit parts, especially Fluellen, Katherine of France, and the "Three Stooges" characters of Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol. This was worth the (long) trip!
I must be lucky. The usual way to get free tickets to the Public Theater's summer productions in its long-running Shakespeare In The Park series is to line up early in the morning in Central Park for the 1 p.m. ticket distribution. That's a pretty big time commitment, especially for someone who doesn't live in the city. But there is also a virtual line, in which anyone can apply on a website for a ticket lottery. I tried this once last week with no luck, but just found out I won two tickets for tonight's show. So I'm off to New York, hoping the rain holds off for the al fresco performance of Twelfth Night.
Well, under the clouds anyway. The star-studded production of Twelfth Night was entertaining indeed, and I didn't even get wet on a night when thunderstorms were forecast.
There were no takers back in Wallingford for the other free ticket I won, so I tweeted the opportunity, which in turn updated my Facebook status message, and within a few minutes I made a connection with a face from the past: a student from my first year of teaching at Andover who is now an architect in New York. We hadn't seen each other in over 15 years, so this was a great chance to reconnect.
The show itself was a rock-solid production. Music--"the food of love" as the first line of the play reminds us--was well employed throughout the show. The cast was excellent, headlined by Anne Hathaway in the Viola/Cesario role and the always-great Audra McDonald as Olivia. This is the perfect Shakespeare comedy to be staged outdoors in the summer. Not surprisingly, the Public Theater has done so repeatedly over the years. My very first Shakespeare In The Park was in 1989, when I saw a Twelfth Night with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum among others.
This was a treat, and the price (free!) certainly was right!
I saw another Hamlet this evening as part of a class field trip to Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts. The production had some strong points--I liked the Claudius in particular--and was presented energetically in front of a house that was, at best, 25% capacity. We left New Haven at 4:00 p.m. and I am getting home over nine hours later, so to bed I go!
I am about to head into my last Shakespeare class at Yale at the end of a five-week term. It's been a treat to come down here 4-6 times a week during the past month or so. I started in the last days of the school year at Choate and am wrapping up a week into summer school, so the bookends have been a bit hectic for me, but this course was well worth the time, effort, and expense.
This week I read two plays by the Bard that I had not yet been exposed to in any form: Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus. These are great dramas, right up there with the more famous tragedies Shakespeare produced.
Slings & Arrows is a Canadian television series about a Shakespearean theater festival and the people who work in it. It's sort of a dramedy, I guess. On the heels of my visit to the Stratford Festival earlier this month, I thought I'd give this show a whirl, as it comes highly recommended. So far, it's pretty amusing.
Last week, the first leg of the new U2 tour kicked off in Barcelona. I am looking forward to catching up with the tour in London next month!
Today I purchased the 37-disc collection of the complete canon of Shakespeare plays produced for BBC television in the late '70s through the mid-'80s. I've seen excerpts from this series in class during my recent course on The Bard's histories and tragedies, and some of them are quite good. Many feature some of the biggest names in British acting (including John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Patrick Stewart, Alan Rickman, John Cleese, Jonathan Pryce, Richard Griffiths, Ben Kingsley, Nicol Williamson, and David Warner, to name just a few).
Unfortunately, the full set is hard to get in America. There are several sets of five-DVD packages that sell for about $140 (though you can find them for under $100 on Amazon if you look hard enough) but the majority of the plays--including some of the best productions of the bunch--are not on the market at all. On the other hand, you can get the complete set from Amazon if you have the means to watch Region 2 coded DVDs. The U.S. Amazon site sells the complete package for a little more than $160, but I went through the Amazon U.K. site and got the same set from the same merchant for under $140, including international shipping (go figure). The U.K. site also now converts the currency automatically such that the prices show up and my payment is processed in U.S. dollars, which is awfully convenient.
In order to watch these discs, I also purchased a region-free Philips DVD player for under $60, which is supposed to upgrade the image quality to 1080p, which should look good on my HD Samsung 52" screen. So even including the technology purchase, this was a far cheaper way to get all 37 Shakespeare plays on disc than it would have cost me to get just the 15 of them available in the U.S. market on Region 1 DVDs!
I do own a handful of other British DVDs, which only work on Region 2 players. My solution was to switch the setting on an old iBook laptop to Region 2--Macs let you change the regional code setting up to five times before it's locked for good--but that meant I could only watch those discs (mostly British TV series) on a computer screen. So now I will be able to watch DVDs from anywhere in the world on my home theater system. Ah, progress!
I wanted to see Star Trek on the big screen one more time before it disappeared from theaters. I saw it opening night weeks back, but found the film playing in Hartford at 2:15 in the afternoon. This movie was better than I remembered it (and I liked it a lot when it came out). I broke into a broad smile a handful of times during the screening. I was struck at how well crafted the entire thing was: the plot, the little character details, the visuals, the music, and everything came together very well.
Saw an afternoon showing of Bruno with a couple of 2009 Choate grads. My review: meh. Some very funny moments and some painfully awkward ones as well. The humor at times was a little over the top, and I am not particularly prudish about this sort of thing. I guess the movie was supposed to push buttons, and it will clearly do that!
I am surprised Pericles--which is rarely performed in America--is not one of Shakespeare's more popular plays. There's a lot to like it it. The show I saw tonight over in New York State was very entertaining, with good humorous bits, some effective use of music and dancing, and tight pacing.
One of the clever things television networks have been doing of late is providing their new offerings as free iTunes downloads. With my Apple TV, I can easily download the first episode of a series (in high def usually) to see if it looks worthwhile. I did this today with Warehouse 13 (pictured above)--which was entertaining in an "X-Files meets the storage room fromthe ending of Raiders Of The Lost Ark" kind of way. And I caught the pilots of Glee (kind of interesting) and NYC Prep (hard to get to excited about people who seem to want to come across as loathsome).
Caught the play Speech & Debate in Hartford this evening. It's about a trio of high school misfits in Salem, Oregon and their coming to grips with scandal and personal secrets. Pretty funny and provocative.
Just got in from the midnight showing of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. The film versions of these characters continue to develop nicely. It's clear the movie takes some shortcuts in plot exposition, which is helpful as the flick is already a bit too long. As always, the visuals are extraordinary. Hardly the best movie of the year, but a solid thumbs up.
I don't usually buy tickets to a movie theater a week and a half in advance for a cinema that's two hours away, but I want to catch the National Theatre's version of Phèdre starring Helen Mirren. It's an HD telecast of the NT's production adapted by Ted Hughes and directed by Nicholas Hytner. The play was filmed during a live performance on June 25.
Just booked a ticket to the Broadway transfer of the critically acclaimed London production of Hamlet with Jude Law in the title role. I'll see this show in October.
A director's cut edition of Watchmen is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray next week, but I'm holding out for the real director's cut that will incorporate "Tales Of The Black Freighter" in addition to the additional footage added to this release. The fully loaded version is expected toward the end of the year.
I had pre-ordered the forthcoming book The Defector, the next in the Gabriel Allon series of spy novels from Daniel Silva, but since it would come out next Tuesday during my week in D.C., I thought I'd have it downloaded to the Kindle so I could dig into it right away. So I cancelled my order for the hard copy. The problem is right now the e-book costs just a dollar less than the traditional format--almost $15. My hope is that the price will drop to $9.99 when the book is released and I will download it then.
After being introduced to the American Shakespeare Center last summer during my program at UVa, I returned to the Blackfriars Playhouse this year to catch a trio of Shakespeare productions. This first of these, a matinee of Much Ado About Nothing, was an enjoyable romp. The philosophy of this company is "we do it with the lights on," which means the indoor theater lighting replicates what existed in Jacobean times, when the actors could see the audience, rather than having a lighted stage and a darkened house. So there is lots of interplay with playgoers seated near the stage (and no one is very far from it in this venue!). The ASC this incorporates a lot of improvisational bits, which are especially effective in the comedies.
The Merry Wives Of Windsor has been described as the Shakespearean equivalent of a situation comedy. In it we see Sir John Falstaff of the Henry IV plays as the comic centerpiece of the action. Some critics dismiss the Falstaff of this work as having nothing to do with the magnificent creation inhabiting the taverns of Eastcheap in the history plays. That seems a bit snobbish to me. This is certainly another angle on Falstaff. As one observer noted, the Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II is arguably not the same man we saw onscreen in its antecedent film. At any rate, there was much merriment indeed, especially in the antics of Master Ford and Doctor Caius, who milked their roles for laughs.
iTunes dropped the prices on Seasons 1 and 2 of the Dr. Who spinoff Torchwood by about 33%, so I purchased the HD versions, which will be good to watch back home on the Samsung flat screen. I can also take them with me to England.
I'm an Entertainment Weekly subscriber, but the magazine usually arrives on Friday afternoons and it hadn't appeared when I left campus for the airport. Seeing this cover on the newsstand, I had to buy another copy to read on the plane. Some good previews of next weekend's Comic-Con within.
The third of the three ASC Shakespeare plays I saw this weekend was the "hook" that brought me down to Virginia this weekend. Titus Andronicus is not performed very often, so I jumped on the chance to see it done at one of my favorite theaters by one of my favorite acting companies. Clearly this is not a show for the squeamish, as there is plenty of gore as well as psychological horror on display on stage. This has a reputation as being one of The Bard's worst plays, but when done well--and it was today--it was pretty gripping stuff. The bad guys here are about as bad as they get in Shakespeare--even Iago and Edmund and the Macbeths are (somewhat) more sympathetic. But the "heroes" don't get off lightly either. Glad I made the trip down from Connecticut for this.
One of the cool features of the Kindle is the variety of portraits of writers (and occasionally other book-related graphics) that appear whenever I turn off the power. I don't know how many there are, but I haven't yet noticed the same one twice.
Google occasionally alters its corporate logo on the main page of its search website in recognition of holidays, special events, and such. Today we get the logo rendered with DC Comics heroes in honor of Comic-Con's 40th anniversary. Nice touch!
The video for Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing" is a wonderfully inventive piece of visual magic and very much worth a look.
As I blogged last week, I was planning to wait for the new Gabriel Allon spy novel The Defector, by Daniel Silva, to drop in price in its Kindle format. But the Georgetown Barnes & Noble had the hardback for 20% off and signed by the author, so I went with the traditional edition.
I watched The X-Files: I Want To Believe--the 2008 theatrical release reuniting the TV show's principals--on the DVR tonight. Good to see Mulder and Scully back in action, and there was good support from Billy Connolly and Amanda Peet, but not much spark to this movie. I remember when I got hooked on the early seasons, watching them on VHS rentals 10-12 years ago during summer school (thanks, Doug Yates, for that). The mythology was seductive, but ultimately became frustrating and the show was a pale version of its earliest seasons by the end.
The Coolidge Corner Theatre is a terrific little independent not-for-profit cinema in Brookline. It showed the HD transmission of the National Theatre's staging of Phèdre. The production was terrific, with a wonderful set conveying the stark aridity of Greece, its bright sun, and blue sea. And the acting was even better, highlighted by Helen Mirren's turn as the title character. The place was pretty full, mostly with an older crown (playgoers in general tend to be an older demographic). I liked the concept of the play being broadcast live (though this particular show was recorded), as the camera provides an intimacy not possible sitting in the actual theater. And it was perfectly suited to this particular play.
I returned from Boston via Rhode Island so I could see the outdoor production of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, one of his earliest comedies, in a park in Waverly. It was drizzling during the early scenes in the show and the audience numbered only a few dozen, with perhaps about 25 hearty souls staying through the end of the play. The rain petered out about a half hour into the production and I'm glad I toughed it out.
Stopped in Hartford to see The Hurt Locker on the way home from my parents' house. This has gotten good reviews and my expectations were probably a bit too high, but it's a suspenseful flick that feels truly grounded in the reality of the war in Iraq around five years ago.
Just watched this week's installment of True Blood on the DVR. This season is getting really freaky--in a good way--right about now. Some pretty twisted stuff is happening back home while Sookie and Bill are off in Dallas. This episode ends with a couple of good cliffhangers!
I traveled a little ways across the Pennsylvania border, a drive of just over three hours, to see a production of Antony and Cleopatra staged by the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. This was a particularly strong show, with a terrific cast--the two title characters were especially effective--and fine production values. The play itself was heavily edited, with about a third of some 3600 lines eliminated from the staged action, but this helped maintain a brisk sense of pacing and streamlined the plot without losing too much detail.
Amazon delivered today the Blu-ray edition of Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (no, not the cheesy 1970s Star Wars ripoff, but the ultra-cool post-9/11 reimagined version!). This set is supposedly loaded with tons of extras. Wish I only had time to dive into this before jetting off to England this Friday.
The Bridge Project has been performing The Winter's Tale in repertory with The Cherry Orchard all over the world this year. I saw this Anglo-American hybrid cast do the Chekhov production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this past winter and then this afternoon caught them here in London doing the Shakespeare play. This was my first exposure to The Winter's Tale and I liked the staging by Sam Mendes quite a bit.
Two Shakespeare plays in seven hours, both of them new to me! It's always a treat to see something in the Globe reconstruction. As You Like It is a perfect vehicle for this space, with broad comedy, music, creative use of the stage as the forest, and some of the Bard's best dialogue. The casting was spot on and this production clearly clicked with the full house.
One could do worse than spend a summer's night in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the south bank of the Thames, I think!
Here's my routine for the first week of classes in Cambridge's Shakespeare summer school program:
7:45 a.m. - breakfast served in Great Hall, Clare College
9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. - "What Happens In Hamlet"
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - plenary lecture (different topic each day)
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - "Political Shakespeare"
6:30 p.m. - dinner served in Great Hall, Clare College
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - plenary lecture (different topic each day)
Even with some generous breaks built in, this is a fairly ambitious schedule. The courses change for week two (I will be taking classes focusing on King Lear and Macbeth). The "Political Shakespeare" class is centered on Richard II and The Tempest.
I joined the Medieval Studies program this afternoon for a practical demonstration about the Battle of Agincourt in 1415--a memorable part of Shakespeare's Henry V with the St. Crispin's Day speech--led by a military historian and a master armourer (pictures with a bow and arrow above). This was a fascinating presentation that included a hands-on exploration of the armor and weapons of the time as well as a fascinating overview of the context for the battle as well as the strategy and tactics of the English and the French. I visited Agincourt (in France, it's Azincourt) in 1990 and have a much better sense now of what happened in this momentous showdown.
August 8 is an auspicious day. In addition to being my birthday, it's also the day the famous photo that graced the cover of The Beatles' Abbey Road album was shot. Today is the 40th anniversary of the event and apparently it's a big deal over here in England, with swarms of tourists expected to descend on the site.
Happily, today is a beautiful summer Saturday here. I am about to head into London for the day.
After a rather leisurely morning, I took the 12:45 train to London and arrived not long before curtain time, but managed to get a great seat (actually a premium seat at regular price!) for War Horse, one of this season's hottest theater tickets in the West End.
The show is visually spectacular, an engaging theatrical experience in which a team of puppeteers manipulate full-sized horses on stage. The story is about a young man who bonds with his horse in the Devon countryside, only to see it taken off in the war effort in 1914. The boy heads "over there" in search of his lost horse and at the end of the play, there were plenty of tissues dabbing at eyes. This production is well worth seeing.
I saw Oliver! this evening and felt like another West End tourist filling the theaters to see a musical. The show has a place in my heart because it was the very first play I was ever in, back in the sixth grade. So I knew all the songs pretty well and even remembered some of the dialogue bits. But my experience seeing Oliver! was slightly disappointing; I think there were better offerings on tap in London I'd rather have seen.
. . . I watched an episode of Dr. Who, something I can't recall ever doing before. It's sort of silly/camp, but I can see how some people get sucked into all of this.
Since I'm immersed in studying Shakespeare for a couple weeks here in Cambridge, I decided to take in one of the al fresco productions of the Bard's work that is being staged each night on all sides of me. I've been hearing the dialogue from The Tempest come wafting through the window into my top-floor rooms in Clare College in the evening hours ever since I arrived a week and a half ago, so I bought a ticket in adjacent Trinity College Gardens to see the production.
It was a ten-actor affair and staged pretty effectively, given the spare resources--both human and otherwise. A mostly creditable, lean show.
Two new courses started for me today in week two of the program: "Shakespeare's Stagecraft in Macbeth" and "King Lear: Sources, Texts, and Significance."
I have enrolled in a Harvard class this fall, though will be taking it mostly via the Internet. It's a course with Shakespeare scholar Marjorie Garber. Apparently the only time I have to physically appear in Massachusetts is for the final exam (if there is one).
iTunes Store has offered the first three hours of the ABC series "Defying Gravity" the past two weeks, so--since I am lacking in American television programs at the moment--I watched them over the past few days. The premise is that forty or so years from now, eight astronauts take off on a six-year tour of the solar system. But there is a hidden agenda known only to a couple administrators and the commanding officer and coming from a mysterious presence known as "Beta" that apparently has the ability to communicate as well as alter the biology of those on board the ship.
I canceled my order for the forthcoming Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol, and pre-ordered it on the Kindle for only $9.99. It will download to my device as soon as it's released!
I spent the evening with almost 90,000 others in Wembley Stadium seeing U2 on its 360° Tour. I was positioned just to the side of the stage, one level up, with a good view of "the Claw"--the immense staging above and around the band. Of course there is a tremendous history involving Wembley Stadium--at least the older version of this venue--and the band: U2's performance here at the "Live Aid" show 24 summers ago is what really vaulted the group into the rock stratosphere.
Musically, the highlights of tonight's show for me included two of my favorites from Achtung Baby: "Until The End Of The World" and "Ultraviolet." I also heard "The Unforgettable Fire" performed live for the first time since my very first U2 show in April 1985. (Three other songs from The Unforgettable Fire album--"Pride," "MLK," and "Bad" made the set list as well.) It was good to hear the tunes from the new album, too. I'm not sure I liked the dance remix of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" as much as the original version, but the song that is sticking in my head after the concert is "Unknown Caller," which I hadn't paid much attention to before. That's one nice element of seeing a band live: getting to appreciate songs that I hadn't previously.
The set list:
Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
Until The End Of The World
New Year's Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay
Unknown Caller
Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name of Love)
MLK
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
(Bad)encores:
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
I saw a performance of The Winter's Tale for the second time in fourteen days, this time at The Courtyard Theatre--the Royal Shakespeare Company's temporary home as the main theatre complex is being rebuilt. Seeing the play for the second time, I came to appreciate a lot of its nuances, especially the character of Paulina. The staging of the bear--an important element in evaluating any performance of this play--worked for me, though it was very different from what they did at the Old Vic. The first half of the play--set in Sicilia--was stronger than the Bohemia scenes, but overall the production succeeded because of some very strong acting, particularly in the parts of Leontes and Paulina.
I debated whether to see another play this afternoon or to enjoy an unstructured afternoon in London. But the National Theatre's current production of All's Well That Ends Well got strong reviews and the tickets cost only £10, so I figured I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to see another show.
I'm glad I saw it. The director/designer pair was the same that worked on War Horse, which I enjoyed immensely last weekend. The staging cleverly evoked the fairy tale quality of the story, and I thought the expressions on the faces of the actors playing Helena and Bertram in the closing moments of the play effectively captured the "problem" that critics have found in this work: the "happy ending" may not, in fact, be so happy.
It was an ideal night for a production at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the south bank of the Thames: the weather was ideal and the play itself was thoughtfully executed. I sat in the first row of the middle level, and I felt as though I was right on top of the action. Of the various vantage points I've had in this space the past couple of years, I'll have to remember Bay E on the middle level, A13, as just about the perfect seat!
Troilus And Cressida is another of the Bard's "problem plays"--works that do not fall neatly into the established categories of histories, tragedies, and comedies. Because the two title characters do not end up together in the end, it's not a conventional comedy, but neither of them meets a tragic end, either. I can see why this play--one of the least performed in the canon--enjoyed a resurgence of popularity after the horrors of World War I, for its open as it is about the horrors of war itself.
Tonight's show effectively blended humor, music, battle scenes, and effective acting to produce a satisfying night of theater.
Of course when expectations are really low, it's not hard to exceed them. But I watched 17 Again on the flight from London to Prague, anticipating it would be wretched, and so was pleasantly surprised there were some good moments contained within. Then this evening I unwound with Knowing, a film that is sort of hard to classify (suspense/thriller? horror? disaster? science fiction?). While neither of these movies should be considered especially memorable, they were reasonably entertaining escapist fare.
Tonight I trekked up to Prague Castle on the other side of the river to see The Comedy Of Errors performed in the Czech language. Of course I understood almost none of the dialogue, but I've seen the play a couple times and I wanted to see how much, if any, of the humor came through without the language. The answer is: not much. Comedy is probably more dependent on language than tragedy, I suppose. It was interesting to follow the structure of the play without getting all the jokes. An interesting experiment, though one I don't feel compelled to repeat again!
Made it to Hartford after a brief stop on campus to print out my ticket--didn't even go home, just swung by the office. After some pleasant tailgating with friends, I enjoyed a terrific Bruce Springsteen concert. Once again Hartford was the first stop on this leg of the E Street Band tour and the Boss was in excellent form, connecting with the crowd as well as I've seen him and in unusually high spirits and energy. The final 45 minutes or so of the show was especially awesome.
The set list:
Sherry Darling
Badlands
Out In The Street
Outlaw Pete
Spirit In The Night
Working On A Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Murder Incorporated
Something In The Night
Raise Your Hand
Mountain Of Love
Sha La La
I'm on Fire
Be True
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
American Skin (41 Shots)
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born To Run
Rosalita
Thunder Roadencores:
Hard Times
American Land
Dancing In The Dark
Twist And Shout
I saw Camelot at the Goodspeed Opera House tonight. While I was familiar with the songs, I can't recall ever seeing musical actually staged. This was an entertaining show, with strong production values and solid acting and singing. The Goodspeed is a small venue, so you really feel like you are very close to the stage (and I was in the fourth row).
I wanted to see (500) Days Of Summer before it left the theaters--it wasn't playing in England while I was there--so I caught a late afternoon show on my way over to Haddam. It wasn't quite as good as I expected it to be, but still a fairly charming tale with some provocative elements, not the least of which was an engaging soundtrack.
The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre staged a bare bones production of Henry IV, Part I, meaning the theater was a black box set-up, with no sets to speak of and minimal costumes. The actors were part of the PST's youth company (in their early 20s, I'd say) and did a creditable job with the material. This is, of course, the play in which Falstaff is introduced and the depiction of Sir Jack was pulled off fairly well.
District 9 was an amazing flick--it started slowly, and I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into during the first 10-15 minutes, but by the end credits, it was clear this work is a triumph. People wary of science fiction need not avoid this movie: like all good sci-fi, it's really a commentary on our own society and its foibles.
I had three episodes of True Blood waiting for me in the DVR upon my return from Europe. Tonight I digested all of them, and this series has gotten quite good. The Godric/Dallas storyline was nicely wrapped up, but plenty of strangeness still brewing with the Maryann Forrester-led Dionysian mayhem still going on in Bon Temps,
Had a great flight from Denver to Medford, Oregon--"over the rockpile," as the pilot referred to the Rocky Mountains. There was one weird aspect to it, though: the older woman sitting next to me was working her way through the latest Sookie Sackhouse novel and I began to notice a faint whispering to my right: she was very, very quietly reading aloud, as if this was the only way she could read a book. Strange, and slightly annoying. Out came the earbuds and iPod.
Once I arrived in Medford, picked up my rental car and made the short drive down to Ashland. Once settled in, I noticed that In The Loop was playing at the downtown cinema and so I went to a late afternoon showing. This is a laugh-out-loud funny look at politics in London and Washington. The "Malcolm Tucker" character was simply hilarious. Recommended.
I am in Ashland to see a bunch of plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the second year in a row--I drove up here when I finished up at Stanford last July and fell in love with the bucolic town nestled in the foothills and the chance to see so much theater in one place.
This afternoon was a matinee of Macbeth. This production worked well because of the strength of the two lead actors, I thought. Peter Macon--whom I saw portray Othello in 2008--was effective in the title role and Robin Goodrin Nordli was especially good as his ambitious wife.
I first saw Much Ado About Nothing in a castle courtyard in Oxford in 2008, and again this past July in Staunton, Virginia. Tonight's OSF show was the grandest production of Much Ado I've seen staged, and appropriately so for the open-air Elizabethan Stage here in Ashland. At first I didn't quite buy this particular Benedick--he seemed outmatched by the very impressive Beatrice--but I was won over by this particular pair by halfway through. The play was set in Sicily in 1945, which made the witty interplay between the two seem like it was lifted from a Hepburn/Tracy screwball comedy.
I just saw All's Well That Ends Well ten days before in London, so today's stripped-down, small-theater version at the OSF inevitably suffered in comparison to the National Theatre's lauded production with a large cast and spectacular staging. While the latter emphasized the "fairy tale" aspects of this play, today's production certainly imposed a happy ending in the final moments of the show. with "home video" scenes of Bertram and Hero and their young son at play years later. An interesting (if not entirely convincing) attempt to solve the "problem" of this problem play.
The chance to see Henry VIII--a rarely-staged play in the Shakespeare canon--was really what attracted me back to Ashland this summer. The production was full of pageantry and spectacle and though its closing scenes seemed to derail the drama that had built up earlier, the final tableau of (Queen-to-be) Elizabeth's christening was a fitting coda for a body of work closely associated with the Elizabethan era.
Heading to the Elizabethan Stage here in Ashland for the second straight night. This is a spectacular outdoor theater. On a nice summer night like this one, it's a treat to begin an 8 p.m. show in the remaining sunlight and have a canopy of stars overhead by intermission.
After four Shakespeare plays in two days at the OSF, today brings something of a break from Elizabethan theater. This afternoon I saw a matinee of The Music Man, a traditional American musical. This was a polished production, and a much better show than I remembered.
Wow. Equivocation is a new play that explores playwright William Shagspeare (using one of the various spellings of the Bard's name) being commissioned by royal authorities to write a play about the Gunpowder Plot (e.g., Guy Fawkes and company trying to blow up Parliament in 1605). This play touches on so many provocative topics: the nature of theater and of history, the interplay between Shakespeare's acting troupe and the court, and political power in Jacobean England, just to name a few. This was a tremendous production of a truly excellent piece of work.
I am in transit from Ashland to San Diego, stopping at the San Francisco Airport for a layover. I just picked up the new Entertainment Weekly, mostly because of the enticing cover. I remember being in Melbourne, Australia in January 1998 when it was announced Seinfeld would end its run. Glad to see the gang in being reunited on the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
I came to San Diego pretty much just to see this play, and Coriolanus at the Old Globe delivered. This was my seventh play in four days, but fatigue was conquered by a pretty gripping production. The role of Volumnia--the mother of the title character--is critical to this piece, and the actress filling those shoes was well cast.
It's now September, Labor Day is just around the corner, school is about to start, and I think it's safe to say summer is now officially over for me. Looking back on the last three months, it's staggering how much time I've spent with William Shakespeare's works. Not only did I take an intensive course at Yale on his histories and tragedies, but I spent two weeks in Cambridge, England studying the Bard and saw no fewer than 22 stagings of his plays (as well as 8 other productions) in such far-flung locales as New York City, Ontario, western Massachusetts, Richmond, upstate New York, Staunton, VA, eastern Pennsylvania, London, Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Prague, Philadelphia, Oregon, and San Diego!
This is awfully cool:
The first night of Choate Cross Country pre-season always entails a trip to the local cineplex. The guys split up into various theaters according to preference. I saw Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee's presentation of the "behind the scenes" of the famous music festival. I'd call the movie "cute" and I mean that mostly in a good way.
Got the new Beatles edition of Rock Band for the PS3 this morning. I ordered it once I realized I wouldn't have to buy new instruments, as my Guitar Hero World Tour guitars, drums, and mic are supposedly compatible with this game. Looking forward to playing this, but that may not happen anytime soon, what with the opening of school.
I should have ordered this set of remastered Beatles CDs a couple weeks back. I'm a Beatlemaniac I suppose (though a pretty low-key one at best) so it was inevitable I'd want the cleaned-up discs. Amazon has the boxed set at a great price but has been sold out the last week or so. The item just showed up as available again, so I placed an order, even though it will take a few weeks to arrive.
The first season of Fringe arrived on Blu-Ray from my friends at Amazon. I saw a special premiere of the show out in San Diego in the summer of 2008 but lost track of this series once it hit the airwaves. Scuttlebutt has been very positive: apparently the show has gotten quite good.
New Dan Brown book arrived in the blink of an eye when I switched on the Kindle this morning. Sweet!
U2 brought a lot of energy to tonight's show in Gillette Stadium, early on the North American leg of the band's 360° Tour. I liked the very different opening to "Beautiful Day." What was not so cool was the $40 fee for parking and waiting 90+ minutes to move out of the lot after the show ended.
The set list:
Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
Elevation
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Unknown Caller
New Year's Day
Stuck In A Moment
The Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where The Streets Have No Nameencores:
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
Heading up to eastern Massachusetts to catch U2 tonight and I am pretty psyched!
I've never seen an episode of this Showtime program but have heard good things about Dexter, so when the iTunes Store dropped episode prices to 99¢, I scooped up the first three seasons on Apple TV, figuring I can slowly get caught up either on the HD flat screen in my living room, on my MacBook Air while traveling, or even on my iPhone on the bus or train.
I watched the season opener of Curb Your Enthusiasm tonight. The cast of Seinfeld is assembling for a reunion in upcoming episodes. No sign of Jerry and the gang in this week's episode, but they weren't missed, as the regular cast (plus a great turn by Catherine O'Hara as Funkhouser's sister) provided more than enough funny moments.
Off to Giants Stadium after this afternoon's practice for another night with Bono and the boys. Hoping for some surprises in the set list!
Seats for this show were in the upper tier, but with a good view of the elaborate "claw" staging. The first half of the show entailed a shuffled playlist, while the last half unfolded predictably (though included some of the most satisfying numbers). We even got out of the parking lot without a wait and made it home around 1:30 a.m.
The set list:
Breathe
Get On Your Boots
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
No Line On The Horizon
Magnificent
Elevation
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Unknown Caller
Until The End Of The World
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
The Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where The Streets Have No Nameencores:
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
Tonight's performance of Tosca at the Lyric Opera of Chicago was the season opener. Apparently this is a high point in the city's social calendar, as people were dressed to the nines for the occasion. Surrounded by men in tuxes and women in gowns, I felt lucky I had thought to pack a jacket and tie so I was at least presentable. The opera itself was an enjoyable production--a traditional staging of his Puccini work, in sharp contrast to the controversial new version just launched at the Met this past week.
I just arrived at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater here on the Navy Pier overlooking Lake Michigan. This is a terrific modern facility nestled among the many attractions on the pier, with a spectacular 500 seat main theater--an intimate and gorgeous thrust stage arrangement.
Wow. I just watched a matinee performance of Richard III and was blown away both by the play--probably the most famous of the Bard's works that I hadn't yet seen staged--and by the quality of this particular production. The title character was appropriately both charming and Machiavellian, with a seductively oily stage presence and wonderfully sardonic delivery of his lines. The rest of the cast was first rate, too, and the production design was excellent.
Living with 14-year-olds exposes me to some curious musical choices, I suppose. It's fascinating to me that the rock band Queen is very popular with teens nowadays. I could see if it were 1979 rather than 2009, or even if we were in Britain rather than the States, but I can't figure out this particular fascination.
Last week I bought a GarageBand lesson with Alex Lifeson of Rush teaching the guitar part of "Limelight"--probably my favorite song by the Canadian trio. This is a very cool breakdown of how rock musicians build their songs. I love hearing the isolated guitar part and then listening again in the context of the complete song.
Got to the cinema tonight for the first time since the start of the school year. The Invention Of Lying was a disappointment, despite being co-written and co-directed by Ricky Gervais, whose work I generally love. It had a great cast, including some cool cameos--Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe were the leads, with appearances by Tina Fey, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Hodgman, Edward Norton, et al. But the movie just didn't click with me. Some funny bits within but it didn't add up to much.
Just finished a slate of lectures as part of the One Day University program. This meant getting up in time to take the 5:45 a.m. train from New Haven so I could be at the New York Hilton before 9:00 for the first lecture on Moby-Dick. Subsequent presentations were on the psychology of art appreciation, Shakespeare, the philosophy of the ancients, and connections between Beethoven and The Beatles. Pretty interesting day overall. Now back to Grand Central for the train to Connecticut.
Tonight's new installment of Curb Your Enthusiasm kicked off the arc involving the reunion of the Seinfeld cast. It's a casting stunt, sure, but a brilliant one that can only make an already enjoyable show even better.
The long-awaited Beatles boxed set arrived with the newly remastered albums. I opted for the stereo version, even though I was ridiculed by a ninth-grader in my house for buying the "inauthentic" versions.
Ran across this poster on my way to the theater tonight. Coming to Broadway at the end of the winter: a Spider-Man musical, directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King) with music by Bono and The Edge. Pretty safe bet I'll be checking this out!
Tonight's Broadway production was the third Hamlet I've seen on stage--the first was in June of 2008 in Central Park, and the second in Lenox, Massachusetts this past June. Jude Law played the Danish prince. A pretty effective staging, I thought: solid acting and strong production values. Was it great? Probably not. But pretty good.
I first encountered this Ted Hughes book at the National Theatre bookshop while (or "whilst," as they'd say there) I was in London in August. The wild boar on the cover attracted my attention. The volume has been out of print, but the wonderful Internet enabled me to track down a copy at a reasonable price and it arrived today.
Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are is a film with some charm, striking visuals, and a compelling look at the wonders and terrors of childhood. It does tend to drag a bit in the middle, but it's well worth seeing. It was perfectly appropriate for a matinee on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
This morning my latest Amazon package arrived with Wolf Hall, which recently won the Mann Booker Prize in England as book of the year. It's historical fiction set in the time of Henry VIII, and supposedly quite good.
I've been watching the Monty Python 40th anniversary documentary series on IFC all week. It's a six-part retrospective on the group's TV shows, records, and movies. Very entertaining!
I saw my fourth production of Much Ado About Nothing this afternoon, this one at the Folger Shakespeare Library's Elizabethan Theatre. Previous stagings I've seen were set in Spain and in mid-20th century Italy. This one employed Caribbean themes set in a contemporary American city (presumably Washington, DC). A pretty engaging rendition of the play.
Since I was in DC already, I visited the city's other Shakespearean theater, called the Shakespeare Theatre Company, to see the work of one of The Bard's contemporaries, Ben Johnson. The play was The Alchemist, a goofy comedy that was amusing enough.
My favorite modern author, John Irving, has a new novel out today, Last Night In Twisted River. My copy arrived this morning via Amazon. Hope to find time to unwind with this book soon.
1984's The Unforgettable Fire is one of my favorite U2 albums, as it was the subsequent tour for this record that first got me engaged with the band. A deluxe remastering was released today and--of course--I had to scoop this up.
Also among the goodies in today's Amazon shipment is my friend Sting's new album, If On A WInter's Night...
Tonight's performance of Love's Labour's Lost was a touring production staged by the company from London's Shakespeare's Globe Theatre--a venue I have enjoyed numerous times in recent years. This play represents the only one of Shakespeare's comedies I hadn't yet seen. I already completed all the tragedies in the canon, so I have only a handful of rarely-performed histories to go, plus a couple of quasi-canonical works (Two Noble Kinsman and Edward III).
After tonight's show, I connected with a Choate alum from the Class of 2009, who gave me a quick tour of the Penn campus and took me to a Halloween party in frat house for a brief visit before I had to catch my middle-of-the-night train back to New Haven.
So some eighteen months after I embarked on my quest to see each of Shakespeare's plays staged, I have worked my way through most of the canon (though at this point it's the rarely staged plays I still have ahead of me):
1. 4/24/08, Macbeth, Broadway
2. 6/20/08, Hamlet, Shakespeare In The Park, The Public Theater, New York City
3. 6/26/08, King Lear, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
4. 6/27/08, Twelfth Night, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
5. 6/28/08, Measure For Measure, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
6. 7/3/08, All's Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare & Co., Lenox, MA
7. 7/18/08, The Comedy Of Errors, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
8. 7/19/08, Othello, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
9. 7/22/08, Romeo And Juliet, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
10. 8/8/08, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Shakespeare's Globe, London
11. 8/9/08, The Taming Of The Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford, U.K.
12. 8/13/08, Much Ado About Nothing, Oxford Castle, Oxford, U.K.
13. 9/9/08, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT
14. 10/3/08, The Tempest, Classic Stage Company, New York City
15. 5/14/09, The Merchant Of Venice, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City
16. 6/13/09, Julius Caesar, Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON, Canada
17. 6/20/09, Henry V, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, Richmond, VA
18. 7/10/09, Pericles, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, NY
19. 7/19/09, Titus Andronicus, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
20. 7/26/09, Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Colonial Theater, Westerly, RI
21. 7/28/09, Antony And Cleopatra, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Center Valley, PA
22. 8/1/09, As You Like It, Shakespeare's Globe, London
23. 8/1/09, The Winter's Tale, The Old Vic, London
24. 8/16/09, Troilus And Cressida, Shakespeare's Globe, London
25. 8/22/09, Henry IV, Part I, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
26. 8/26/09, Henry VIII, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
27. 8/28/09, Coriolanus, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
28. 9/27/09, Richard III, Chicago Shakespeare Festival, Chicago
29. 10/28/09, Love's Labour's Lost, Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA
And here's what's left:
30. March 2010, Richard II, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC
31. May 2010, Timon Of Athens, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Boston, MA
32. Cymbeline
33. Henry IV, Part II
34. Henry VI, Part I
35. Henry VI, Part II
36. Henry VI, Part III
37. King John
Plus the two plays now attributed, at least in part, to Shakespeare's hand:
38. Edward III
39. The Two Noble Kinsmen
Pretty good progress in just a year and a half!
I saw Capitalism: A Love Story tonight, expecting to be underwhelmed, but this turned out to be a pretty thoughtful, well-made movie and relatively free of Moore's sometimes over-the-top screeds.
I've been shooting video of the Choate cross country team the past couple weeks with the athletic department's new Canon GL2 camera (we had to replace one that mysteriously disappeared in 2008). About five to six years ago, I was producing 45-minute films documenting the season, which took a lot of work. I may not be able to generate something that ambitious again, but I have enough footage now to create something worthwhile, I think!
Seeing a new installment in Greg Rucka's Atticus Kodiak series of thrillers is available, I ordered it on Amazon for the Kindle and seconds later it has arrived. Too cool!
Saw An Education down in New Haven tonight and loved it. It captures the feel of 1961 Britain brilliantly. I like what Nick Hornby did with the script. This is a thoughtful, well acted movie. Recommended.
I've been enjoying the chance to get caught up on By The People this week, watching it in chunks as I've had time; the documentary first aired on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of Obama's election. It is an inside look at the Obama campaign, starting before his announcement to run, right on through the primaries, and the general election fight. A political junkie's dream!
Amazon delivered two "ultimate edition" Blu-ray packages today: 300 and the expanded Watchmen cut (including the "Tales of the Black Freighter" animation interspersed with the rest of the film). Coincidentally, both are Zach Snyder directorial efforts.
I bought some floor tickets for the return of U2's 360° Tour to North America next summer. Specifically, I am heading up to Montreal for the July 17 show. Haven't seen U2 from ground level yet, but now I have to figure out if I really want to wait all day for a great location near the stage, especially if that means giving up a day in a great city.
I got dragged to see New Moon tonight, sharing a theater full of tween girls and a random assortment of other folks. I never saw Twilight nor read any of these books, so this was pretty much lost on me. I don't really see the appeal.
Spent some time poking through the pretty interesting "behind the scenes" features on the just-released Star Trek on Blu-ray. Using my PS3 as a Blu-ray player has worked out great; I love the picture quality on the 52" flat screen.
Now that the fall season is behind me--and just a few more days left in the fall term--I have started to digest the first season of Fringe. This is a pretty engaging show, not unlike the early days of The X-Files or Alias.
I am really getting into Fringe. I am working my way through the first season on Blu-Ray discs and impressed with the acting, writing, and production values. I am a sucker for these shows with a mysterious mythology that's slowly unfolding over the course of many episodes. Now that the term has wound down, it's easy to get sucked into watching three or four installments a day!
Starbucks, in conjunction with (RED), is offering a limited-edition CD, All You Need is Love. For putting $15 on my Starbucks card (you can make a purchase in that amount, too) I got this album, which features recordings U2, Dave Matthews Band, John Legend, and Playing for Change, who give the Beatles' "All You Need is Love" a reggae makeover.
I've been listening to the cuts from the John Mayer album, Battle Studies, a lot in the past 24 hours or so. Pretty solid collection of tunes here, in my humble estimation. I bought the iTunes LP version, so on my AppleTV I can access videos, interviews, a discography, and such.
Saw 2012 tonight: a film about--more or less--the end of the world, allegedly predicted by the Mayans centuries ago (which is not quite true, it turns out). This follows the formula of 1970s disaster movies such as The Poseidon Adventure, Airport, or The Towering Inferno: get to know a few key characters--some in positions of authority and some "normal folks"--and see what happens to them when calamity strikes. Modern CGI allows the audience to watch civilization's landmarks--such as the White House--dramatically obliterated, too. (The director, Roland Emmerich, is the same guy who helmed Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow, after all!) This was pretty much mindless entertainment, but fun to watch because of all the visuals: sort of a roller coaster ride with plenty of eye candy.
Nice piece in today's New York Times about the Twelve Nights In Hollywood release documenting 1961 and 1962 performances by Ella Fitzgerald. The iTunes download price was two-thirds what Amazon was asking for this Verve collection, so I am already listening to it as I write these words!
This is the newly-released poster for Iron Man 2, coming in May:
I had forgotten the new Cotton Malone thriller came out today until I saw it downloaded on my Kindle this morning. The Paris Vendetta arrived via Whispersync and I saved about four bucks off Amazon's already discounted purchase price.
Last weekend, while lining up some 2010 travel arrangements, I stumbled across the fact that the Cap and Bells theatrical troupe at Williams would be staging King John during the last few days of the College's fall term. Tonight was opening night. So once my team's practice wound up at 4:30, I jumped in my car and drove to Williamstown so I could knock off this rarely-performed Shakespeare work in my attempt to complete the canon. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the play is a rather enjoyable work. The Williams production--directed by a senior--was a very creditable endeavor, presented in the vastly scaled down Adams Memorial Theater (the College built a new Mainstage and converted the AMT into a much more intimate space). I thought this might be the hardest play to find on stage, but I suspect the three installments of Henry VI will be the final entries in the Bard's traditional canon that I will see produced.
Tonight, the second season of Elvis Costello's Spectacle interview show aired on Sundance Channel. The singer tends to interview other musicians--though Bill Clinton popped up in one of the first season's episodes--and the guests in this edition were Bono and The Edge. As is typical of the series, a handful of musical numbers are interspersed with the banter and among the performances in this show, the U2 pair gave us a gripping rendition of "Stay (Faraway, So Close)."
Some months back the iTunes Store was offering a pretty great deal on a collection of 20 remastered episodes of the original Star Trek series for something like $15. So I took the plunge. With some free time on my hands, this afternoon, I fired up the AppleTV and watched the two episodes from that three-year run that introduced the Romulans as a major nemesis of the Federation: "Balance Of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident." I had forgotten how good Star Trek could be at its best, and these clearly were two superior episodes.
Having spent a few hours tonight finishing The Paris Vendetta, I am convinced this is the ideal type of thing to read on the Kindle. A hardback copy of the thriller would have set me back at least four or five more bucks, and it's hard to imagine I'd ever crack the pages of the volume ever again. In other words, this is a pretty disposable work. Moreover, a thriller is well suited for traveling, which is the time I am most likely to use the Kindle.
Having enjoyed both productions by The Bridge Project that I saw this year--The Cherry Orchard in Brooklyn in January and The Winter's Tale in London in August--today I booked tickets for both of 2010's offerings: As You Like It and The Tempest. I'll catch both at the Brooklyn Academy of Music: one in January and one in February.
I spent some time checking out the clips and mini-documentaries online about the forthcoming James Cameron flick Avatar, and this could shape up to be a pretty impressive cinematic experience. My plan is to find the biggest screen I can and strap on a pair of 3-D glasses to see it in all of its glory.
After finishing Season 1 on Blu-ray and using iTunes downloads to get caught up on all the Season 2 episodes that already have aired, my iTunes Season Pass for Fringe is now delivering new installments of the series each week that it airs. So Friday, my AppleTV downloads the new show that was broadcast on Fox the previous evening. This way, I'll have a fresh episode waiting for me at home tonight.
This image showed up while surfing the Web about a week ago: Ryan Reynolds suited up as Green Lantern. I suppose the makers of this flick are hoping to capture a little of the mojo that propelled Iron Man to impressive heights, both critically and commercially.
Since my MacBook Air doesn't have a DVD drive, I tend to rent movies from the iTunes Store while traveling. I watched a pair of mostly forgettable but reasonably entertaining movies featuring the teenage demographic: Assassination Of A High School President and Camp. The former I watched during some down time between convention sessions in my hotel room yesterday and I watched Camp this morning on the flight up from Dallas. Hard to beat the convenience of downloading a flick for a few bucks and watching it whenever I want.
I fired up the Blu-ray edition of this year's Star Trek reboot to listen to the audio commentary by director J.J. Abrams and the writers and producers. Pretty cool to hear the behind-the-scenes analysis from the filmmakers. I usually don't take advantage of these special audio tracks on my DVDs very often, but with a bit of time on my hands, this was an interesting diversion.
Just got in from the midnight opening of Avatar in 3D. While it won't go down as one of the finest films ever made, this is a hugely engaging spectacle (which you MUST see in 3D) that is a testament to imagination and technical wizardry. The movie is quite an accomplishment and a very entertaining ride that is well over two-and-a-half hours long. Thumbs up.
Unlike the cutting edge motion capture and CGI employed in Avatar, The Fantastic Mr. Fox is old-style stop-motion animation produced painstakingly. It works well in this Wes Anderson-helmed flick, featuring a great vocal cast, led by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray. As one might expect from Anderson, there is a wonderfully subversive feel to the storyline, which is based on a Roald Dahl book.
As the roads were relatively clear after last night's storm--southern Connecticut didn't get dumped on as much as points south and east, apparently--I trekked down to New Haven to catch up on a couple of theatrical releases before things get busy with family time later in the week. First up was Me And Orson Welles, an account of a late 1930s Broadway production of Julius Caesar staged by Welles, told from the point of view of a high school senior (Zac Efron) who stumbles into the director's orbit. Lots of nice touches in this film, and the actor who played Welles was pretty convincing capturing the man physically and vocally.
Continuing my immersion in movies these first few days of break, I watched The Proposal on AppleTV this morning. This was a big box office hit in 2009 and I can see why: the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds clicked nicely. Pretty disposable entertainment I suppose, but just the thing for a leisurely Sunday morning at the start of a vacation.
Took in a little of the Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulls DVD--well, the first hour of it anyway. Reviewers were pretty harsh about this flick, and there's a lot to object to toward the end of the story (which felt like it was lifted from Close Encounters) but the warehouse scene and the stuff at Indy's college hold up pretty well.
Saw Invictus at the Wallingford movie palace, expecting there to be a blizzard well underway by the time I got out. Turned out the snow was delayed, but the film was very entertaining: a mix of politics and sport that was right up my alley. I found myself getting choked up a bit in some key places. The film is about inspiration, when you cut to the heart of it. I enjoyed seeing the sights of Cape Town, Pretoria, and Jo'burg I came to know a bit during my time there in 2006.
At the urging of a couple of girls on my team, I watched Love Actually on my AppleTV tonight. This was a pretty enjoyable movie, though perhaps a bit overloaded with too many couples in the mix. I loved the London setting, as well as the fact that not every pairing was wrapped up tidily as the final reel unspooled. And the acting is absolutely blue chip all the way: truly an all-star cast.
While traveling to Greenwich and back this afternoon, the girls insisted on an audio diet of Christmas music for the ride, so I had a couple of iPod playlists prepared for the occasion, which they supplemented with a few tunes of their own choosing. On the heels of that experience, I have finally succumbed and purchased my very own copy of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," a song I have resisted for years but I now bow before its schmaltzy charms.
By the way, the two Christmas albums from the a cappella group Straight No Chaser have been in heavy rotation on my iTunes. Definitely recommended.
Watched Spread on AppleTV this evening: a pretty forgettable L.A. story about good-looking but shallow people who feed off each other fairly brazenly. Nothing inspirational in this tale. Skip it.
AppleTV brought Adventureland as the movie du jour tonight. The central character is a recent college graduate in 1987--pretty close to where I was at that time. The setting is an amusement park in Pittsburgh--pretty far from where I was at that time. Anyway, this is basically a love story with a good 1980s soundtrack and reasonably entertaining.
A curious intersection of sneakers and space opera!
I loved Blue Harvest, the Family Guy take on the original Star Wars movie (which today's youth call Episode IV: A New Hope). So I was pretty pleased to get today's shipment from Amazon.com with the Something, Something, Something, Dark Side DVD: a similar send up of The Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately, this one does not come with a digital copy included, as the last one did.
A couple months back, the iTunes Store introduced a couple of new formats: iTunes LP for music embedded with extra content (ostensibly to promote buying albums rather than singles) and iTunes Extra for movies embedded with extra features (presumably to woo folks who would otherwise buy DVDs for the special features). I missed Inglourious Basterds when it was out in the theaters this fall, so I bought the iTunes Extra version to see how it works on my computer screens and my AppleTV.
Watched Eddie Izzard's Live From Wembley stand-up gig today, and it was okay, but nothing anyone should rush to see.
Continuing my immersion in disposable entertainment while on holiday, I rented The Hangover on AppleTV tonight. Well made and well cast, with a few good laughs, this is just the sort of movie I am glad I saw but equally glad I didn't drop $10 to watch it in the cinema. Also, I am glad to know Mike Tyson's delight at the drum intro during "In The Air Tonight" equals my own.
Caught an early matinee today and I liked Up In The Air a LOT. I approached this movie as a pretty experienced traveler--I average at least one round-trip flight a month--and I thought the film captured both the romance and the alienation of travel in the jet age. The film is timely, too: firmly grounded (sorry for the pun!) in the harsh economic realities currently facing the country. George Clooney led a terrific cast. This flick ought to be Oscar bait, for sure.
I didn't watch any of The Clone Wars--the CGI-animated Star Wars series set between Episodes II and III--when they aired on Cartoon Network, but I am slowly making my way through the first season on Blu-ray discs. This is a pretty well-crafted show: a mix of familiar and new characters in visually striking settings. Each episode is about 22 minutes long, so it's a quick hit to watch one when time allows.
Over in England, today is celebrated as Boxing Day and the BBC is airing a filmed version of the RSC's 2008 Hamlet production featuring David Tennant as the title character and Patrick Stewart as Polonius. It's being released on DVD the first week of next month and I pre-ordered a copy on the U.K. Amazon.com site. (Nice to have a region-free DVD player handy to fire up this Region 2 disc.)
The family tradition of a Christmas Day movie was moved up twenty-four hours this year. Our entire routine was different, in fact: we went out for Chinese food for the very first time in my whole life! Then we watched Brothers, which was a pretty intense and extremely well acted film. Loved the new U2 song, "Winter," over the closing credits, too.
Saw the Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes tonight. This film repurposes the famous detective as a brawling action hero (though one whose powers of observation and deduction are clearly on display as well). Good chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the Holmes/Watson team. Not a memorable film, but worth seeing.
Watched a documentary from the iTunes Store, Welcome To Macintosh--a look at the cult following of Apple's computers. Decent overview, but not really anything new here.
I am digesting the Season 3 DVDs of Friday Night Lights while on holiday here in Portugal and had forgotten just how excellent this show is. I had sort of lost touch with the series midway through the second season, but am enjoying every minute of each episode in this collection.
Spent time today reading David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp, a graphic novel released in 2009 that was lauded by the critics. I can see why: this work is brilliant. It "combines a modernist style, a formalist structure, and a story about a bristly academic" as one observer described it. Highly recommended.
Just saw a production of The Two Noble Kinsmen, which scholarly consensus now attributes to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher--both resident playwrights for The King's Men acting company. The show featured nine actors from the Guerrilla Shakespeare Company [I am not sure why "guerrilla" is spelled with two r's.] This play was likely first staged at the Blackfriars indoor theater. Clearly this is not among the best of The Bard's works, of course, but it moves me just a bit closer to my quest to complete the canon, which it looks like I will be able to do before the end of this school year.
Started watching In Bruges on the bus ride home from Andover on the MacBook Air and finished it at home on the big screen. It's sort of comedic, but pretty black in its sensibility. Strong performances from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. And lots of pretty Belgian scenery. Worth watching.
Continental Airlines happens to have a pretty good in-flight entertainment system at each seat. I watched the second half of The Informant (which I had started on the trip over to Portugal). This is a pretty witty movie--not laugh out loud funny, but wryly clever. Matt Damon is perfect as an eager beaver informant working for ADM and Scott Bakula is great as a straight man in his role as an FBI agent. Steven Soderbergh directed, and I like most of his work.
I also saw the remake of Fame, which was pretty pointless (and nowhere close to an improvement on the original). Not only was the story pretty flimsy, but the music wasn't all that good. The best song was only one swiped from the 1980s version.
And finally I saw an episode of The Big Bang Theory, a CBS comedy that I have never seen before. It's a mildly amusing show, but I found the canned laughter annoying--especially while listening to the program over headphones. I've taken it for granted, I guess, that most comedies I watch (The Office, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm) never use a laugh track.
I have started using the Ripit application to make my DVDs even more portable by ripping the content to my hard drive. Ripit creates a file that opens up DVD Player just like loading a disc would, and I can access the DVD menus, special features, and anything else on the disc as if it were in the drive. Ripping the DVDs this way has three advantages: (1) When traveling, I won't have to carry the physical media to access on my laptop the movies that I already own; (2) watching a "virtual" DVD drains a laptop battery far less than accessing the DVD drive (and in any case my primary travel computer, the MacBook Air, doesn't even have a drive!); and (3) I can rip non-Region 1 discs just as easily, so the region coding on the DVD drive firmware will pose no obstacle to my watching, say, British DVDs.
Interesting piece in today's New York Times on people like me trying to complete the Shakespeare canon by seeing each of The Bard's plays in performance. (Though I'm not sure about the reference to "trainspotters"!) The English couple described in the article took twenty years to complete the quest. Looks like I am going to finish the cycle in about 25 months!
Watched the pilot of Showtime's Dexter series last night and the next episode of Season One this afternoon. The show is sort of grisly but pretty engaging, too. I think I'll enjoy getting caught up on this series in the weeks ahead.
The Bridge Project mounted a terrific As You Like It, which I caught at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater tonight. The play depends heavily on strong acting in two particular roles, I think: Rosalind and Jaques. Juliet Rylance and Stephen Dillane were wonderfully up to the task. Production values were outstanding, as well: sets and lighting created a bleak, snow-covered Arden Forest in winter, as well as a lush version in full bloom for the later acts. And a small band of musicians added to the atmosphere effectively.
Entertainment Weekly published a list of "must-see" movies to be viewed before the Oscar nominations are announced, and today I saw a matinee of A Single Man. I could see why Colin Firth's performance has been so widely praised. He's far better than the overall film, which fashion czar Tom Ford directed as if it were some sort of fashion spread: in general it was pretty to look at, but the story slowed to a glacial pace in places. I liked Julianne Moore in this movie, too.
Before my trip to Portugal at the end of last month, I downloaded a handful of movie rentals from the iTunes Store so I'd have some entertainment readily available while abroad. I watched a couple of them, but still have three on the laptop whose thirty-day rental period is about to expire. So I watched The Devil Wears Prada tonight. It's very light fare, I suppose, but reasonably entertaining. Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep are mostly convincing, but I though the real stars of the flick were New York City and Paris.
Late last night and early this morning, I watched another iTunes movie rental that is about to expire: King Corn, a documentary by two recent college graduates who spend a year in Iowa growing an acre of corn and attempt to follow it through the food supply chain. As in Super Size Me, the focal point of the film is as political as it is about nutrition: how American agricultural policy since the 1970s has influenced the prominence of high fructose corn syrup and other corn by-products in the American diet.
Seven of my colleagues and I were invited down to the Metropolitan Opera House tonight to see the Carmen production that opened to rave reviews a few weeks back. We were driven into Manhattan and had drinks and a light dinner in the penthouse apartment of a couple of Choate parents--with spectacular views of the city and artistic antiquities on display. Then we were treated to a center box on the parterre level at The Met--courtesy of another CRH family--which was a wonderful vantage point from which to take in the performance.
The opera itself was a satisfying production, in which the setting was updated by about a century, to Seville of the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War. (This is the first opera I have seen more than one production of, so I could make some meaningful comparisons.) We saw an understudy in the title role, and while her acting was terrific, she was a bit shaky vocally, particularly in the early going. But no quibbles: this was a great night out.
Just finished the last of the backlog of rented movies from the iTunes Store: Food, Inc. This was another exploration of the American food industry, though one with a broader focus than King Corn. This film certainly gives me plenty to think about next time I go to the supermarket.
I just ordered a ticket to a Timon Of Athens performance on June 10 in Boston, which will be the last of the 39 plays in the Shakespeare canon I'll have seen staged. I plowed through this list in a little over two years (and I even included Edward III and The Two Noble Kinsmen--which some scholars don't consider part of the "official" canon--in my quest).
This summer's season at Shakespeare's Globe in London is "Kings And Rogues," and I have booked tickets for three of the history plays--Henry VIII, Henry IV Part One, and Henry IV Part Two--around the beginning of August. Shakespeare's Globe is a recreation of the original outdoor space used by The King's Men in the early 1600s and it's a fantastic place to see productions of The Bard's plays in period costume.
So the two-hour Lost premiere answered a couple of questions--we now have a better sense of the conflict at the heart of the saga (Jacob vs. his nemesis, who now looks a lot like John Locke when he is not a smoke monster)--and, as expected, raised a bunch more. The show appears to have branched into two storylines: one in which the nuclear explosion reset our characters onto a 2004 Oceanic 815 flight that does not crash (but still experiences some strange happenings and divergences from the established backstory, such as a "lucky" Hurley) and another in which the protagonists stuck in 1977 return to their "proper" time in 2007, wherein apparently the nuke did not explode. All sorts of intriguing possibilities could unfold in this final season. This was a compelling start to the final 16 installments of Lost.
No huge surprises among the Oscar nominations announced this morning. I thought that with ten Best Picture nods, Star Trek might have earned one, but I guess District 9 is the sci-fi sleeper instead (of course neither of these would have a chance in hell of winning the big prize). You have to think that the five Best Director nominations indicate the films most likely to earn Best Picture votes, no?
Subscribers to U2.com will be getting Artificial Horizon, a collection of remixed songs by the band, sometime soon. Here is the list of tracks:
1. Elevation (Influx Mix)
2. Fast Cars (Jacknife Lee Mix)
3. Get On Your Boots (Fish Out Of Water Mix)
4. Vertigo (Trent Reznor Remix)
5. Magnificent (Falke Radio Mix)
6. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Live U2360° Remix)
7. Beautiful Day (David Holmes Remix)
8. Staring At The Sun (Monster Truck Remix)
9. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Danny Saber Mix)
10. Get On Your Boots (Justice Remix)
11. City Of Blinding Lights (Hot Chip 2006 Remix)
12. If God Will Send His Angels (Grand Jury Mix)
13. Staring At The Sun (Brothers in Rhythm Ambient Mix)
I just finished this week's installment of Fringe. Very good episode, with a fair dose of mythology included and a great cliffhanger at the end. Unfortunately, no new episodes until spring.
I started reading Game Change, the "inside baseball" account of the 2008 presidential campaign, over the weekend and spent some time with the book on the plane up to Connecticut today. It's a great read, a pretty gripping narrative about the Obama, Clinton, and McCain organizations.
I have just been cast as Officer Krupke in this spring's school production of West Side Story. It's sort of a glorified cameo, I guess, but it should be fun. Fortunately I won't have to spend much time rehearsing, which would be a problem during tennis season.
Instead of practice today, our squash team went to the movies to see Valentine's Day, which I would describe as an American version of Love Actually (but nowhere near as good). This romantic comedy boasts a huge ensemble all-star cast. The girls generally liked the flick, and I thought it was inoffensive at best. Not a total drag to sit through, but nothing I'd have run out to see on my own.
For my second trip to the cinema in six hours, I saw Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief tonight and wanted to like this movie, but found it pretty middle-of-the-road. The premise--a boy discovers he is the son of the Greek god Poseidon--is promising but the execution was mixed. Lots of pretty special effects, but this story (at least on flim--I haven't read the series of books) didn't have as much heart as it could have.
I left the Choate campus about 3:00 this afternoon to drive down to the University of Delaware campus for a performance of Cymbeline, one of the few remaining plays in the Shakespeare canon I had not yet seen. It was an easy--if lengthy--drive, but the play was worth it. This work is an under-appreciated gem, with an intricate plot that weaves together elements found in a handful of the Bard's other plays. This production was staged by the graduate students in the university's drama program and the acting and production values were quite good. The theater was a black box, with seating on all four sides and the show employed no scenery to speak of and very few props. This kept the focus squarely on the language and the action, and thus was a memorable evening's entertainment.
The Tempest is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays and I battled through the snowstorm in Connecticut to get down to Brooklyn to see it tonight (New York City has virtually no snow on the streets, while there is over a foot on the ground back home). I've now seen all four productions by The Bridge Project, an Anglo-American collaboration that stages two plays in repertory and takes them around the world for the better part of a year. Last year in the inaugural season for this company, The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale were paired; I saw the former in New York in the winter and the latter in London in August. The cast of tonight's play was the same one I saw perform As You Like It a few weeks back.
I liked this version of The Tempest. British actor Stephen Dillane was a marvelous Prospero in particular. The sets and lighting were inventive, with the rear of the stage filled with a couple inches of water. The play was staged without intermission, running a bit more than two hours, but it was engaging throughout.
Here is an update on my progress seeing all of Shakespeare's work staged. I am within a few months of completing my quest.
Thank God for the Internet; without the Web, I don't know how I would have tracked down some of the more obscure theatrical offerings I have arranged. For example, a little Shakespearean company in New Jersey is staging the Wars Of The Roses plays (all three parts of Henry VI along with Richard III) in the space of one day in early March, dubbing the experience the "War-A-Thon." Attending this enables me to knock off three hard-to-find Henry VI shows.
Here is what I have seen thus far (not counting anything I saw before the spring of 2008):
1. 4/24/08, Macbeth, Broadway
2. 6/20/08, Hamlet, Shakespeare In The Park, The Public Theater, New York City
3. 6/26/08, King Lear, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
4. 6/27/08, Twelfth Night, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
5. 6/28/08, Measure For Measure, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
6. 7/3/08, All's Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare & Co., Lenox, MA
7. 7/18/08, The Comedy Of Errors, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
8. 7/19/08, Othello, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
9. 7/22/08, Romeo And Juliet, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
10. 8/8/08, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Shakespeare's Globe, London
11. 8/9/08, The Taming Of The Shrew, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford, U.K.
12. 8/13/08, Much Ado About Nothing, Oxford Castle, Oxford, U.K.
13. 9/9/08, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT
14. 10/3/08, The Tempest, Classic Stage Company, New York City
15. 5/14/09, The Merchant Of Venice, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City
16. 6/13/09, Julius Caesar, Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON, Canada
17. 6/20/09, Henry V, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, Richmond, VA
18. 7/10/09, Pericles, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, NY
19. 7/19/09, Titus Andronicus, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, VA
20. 7/26/09, Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Colonial Theater, Westerly, RI
21. 7/28/09, Antony And Cleopatra, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Center Valley, PA
22. 8/1/09, As You Like It, Shakespeare's Globe, London
23. 8/1/09, The Winter's Tale, The Old Vic, London
24. 8/16/09, Troilus And Cressida, Shakespeare's Globe, London
25. 8/22/09, Henry IV, Part 1, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
26. 8/26/09, Henry VIII, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
27. 8/28/09, Coriolanus, Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA
28. 9/27/09, Richard III, Chicago Shakespeare Festival, Chicago
29. 10/28/09, Love's Labour's Lost, Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA
30. 12/10/09, King John, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
31. 1/10/10, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Guerrilla Shakespeare Project, New York City
32. 2/13/10, Cymbeline, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
And here's what I have on tap in the next few months (I already have booked tickets for each of these shows):
33. 3/7/10, Henry VI, Part 1, Collingswood Shakespeare Company, Collingswood, NJ
34. 3/7/10, Henry VI, Part 2, Collingswood Shakespeare Company, Collingswood, NJ
35. 3/7/10, Henry VI, Part 3, Collingswood Shakespeare Company, Collingswood, NJ
36. 4/3/10, Richard II, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC
37. 4/13/10, Edward III, Richmond Shakespeare Festival, Richmond, VA
38. 6/10/10, Timon Of Athens, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Boston, MA
39. 8/1/10, Henry IV, Part 2, Shakespeare's Globe, London
(Technically I saw Henry IV, Part 2 as part of a combined Henry IV production a Lincoln Center some years back, but I am not counting that as part of this series.)
Fitting, I think, to finish my quest in the recreated Globe Theatre in London!
Broadway's God Of Carnage is a fairly biting comedy of manners, a black comedy for sure. The four-person cast (Christine Lahti, Jimmy Smits, Annie Potts, and Ken Stott) was excellent in this witty send-up of modern bourgeois values.
I didn't plan to start watching Caprica--the Battlestar Galactica prequel series that debuted just a few weeks back--but got sucked in by the first episode, which was a free download on iTunes, and now appear to be hooked.
I am driving to New Jersey this morning to spend most of the day in the theater, seeing the "War-A-Thon," which is all three parts of Henry VI along with Richard III performed by the Collingswood Shakespeare Company.
Judi Dench was the star attraction in the Rose Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Kingston-upon-Thames, not far outside of London. Her Titania was clearly the center of this Peter Hall-directed production. I took the bus straight here here from my afternoon flight to Heathrow, settled into my hotel, and walked to the riverbank to this shiny new two-year-old playhouse based on the original Shakespearean theater in the city.
I don't know how I never got sucked into Dexter on Showtime until now. I am working my way through Season 1, courtesy of the iTunes Store and it's a pretty addictive show. Very well done!
I took a handful of the kids still on campus to the midnight premiere of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. Safe to say that they liked it more than I did. I thought it was visually stylish--to be expected in a Burton flick--but not very substantial beyond that.
I caught a late afternoon showing of The Ghost Writer down here in the city. Pretty good political thriller, even if I saw the key plot twist coming a mile away. I like Ewen McGregor in just about anything he's in, and this movie made the best use of Pierce Brosnan since The Thomas Crown Affair remake.
I saw a second production of Equivocation in New York tonight; I liked the play a great deal when I saw its premiere outing in Oregon last summer and wanted to see if this version was any better. It wasn't, I think, but this still was an enjoyable show. I know a bit more about the background--the Gunpowder Plot, the King's Men (Shakespeare's theatrical company), and the Catholic vs. Protestant angle in late 1500s and early 1600s England--now than I did the first time I saw this play, and so was more attuned to some of the details in the work. Pretty provocative stuff.
So I knocked off the Henry VI plays--the ones I thought would take me longest to cross off on my quest to complete the Shakespeare canon. I was in the theater from 10 this morning until about 5:30 this afternoon, and decided to pass on the last installment of the War-A-Thon, which was Richard III--I have already seen this play and likely will see it again soon, and I clearly needed a break. I am very glad I got to see this production and liked the Henry VI trilogy a lot more than I thought I would. I can see exactly what parts of these works I will want to excerpt for my spring term class on Shakespeare's history plays.
One of my students in my first year at Choate, Geoffrey Fletcher, just won an Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay. What a thrill. This was largely unexpected, as he was passed over in the other major awards shindigs this season. And judging from Geoff's reaction, he was pretty surprised too! Bravo, Geoff.
Near my hotel there are a couple of cinemas, playing mostly English language movies with Danish subtitles. So this was a perfect chance to see The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus, which I missed when it was released stateside. As expected in a Terry Gilliam film, this work is long on visual imagination and pretty weird. An enjoyable diversion.
My trip to the opera here in Copenhagen might have been a disaster had I not set out early from my hotel. I took a bus to the modern opera house and arrived to find the place absolutely deserted. Clearly this place was not hosting anything tonight. I was lucky that a water bus pulled up just then and was ferried back across the harbor to Nyhavn such that s short stroll took me to the old Royal Theatre--a beautiful old fashioned building ornately decorated within.
The opera tonight was The Magic Flute, sung in German with Danish titles projected above the stage (didn't look much different to me than what was being sung!). Because I had seen this work before, I could mostly follow what was going on.
I was struck that the opera seems to be a less formal affair than it does back home. And the crowd was, on average, much younger than what one would find in an American opera house. I guess opera here is more successfully woven into the national culture.
My last night of entertainment before heading home brought me to the Haymarket Theatre to see the limited run of Ian McKellen and Roger Rees in Waiting For Godot, Irishman Samuel Beckett's best-known work in the "theater of the absurd." Part of the play's appeal is its frustration, of course, and it was fun to see it handled by two master actors.
I've been using a good bit of time this week prepping my new spring course, "Shakespeare And The Death Of Kings," about the history plays. It will include Richard II, both parts of Henry IV, Henry V, Richard III, and King Lear. I've got the syllabus more or less set at this point and am fleshing out paper assignments and support materials. I've also prepped much of the first play so I can hit the ground running next week.
Today would have been Akira Kurosawa's 100th birthday. The Japanese master certainly filmmaker left an indelible mark on his art.
Mostly on a whim, I abandoned the spectacular spring Sunday afternoon for a darkened theater to see How To Train Your Dragon in 3D. The reviews were very good for this animated flick, but I was still surprised how much I liked this movie. There were times I just broke into a grin watching this story unfold. Great visuals, a touching theme, and no small amount of humor made this a "don't miss" offering in my book!
I saw Richard II on stage for the very first time today here in the nation's capital. Michael Hayden (who will step into the title role of Henry V tonight) assembled a most impressive performance as the king. The play started with a couple of scenes I was entirely unfamiliar with, and I was pretty confused before the action got to the Bolingbroke/Mowbray "trial" scene and the familiar elements of the text I had both studied and taught. It turns out this production incorporated material from an anonymous play (sometimes attributed to Shakespeare) about Thomas Woodstock; these scenes lengthened this particular version of Richard II, but certainly added a useful context to anyone in the audience unfamiliar with this era in British history. Overall, an impressive staging, with very good acting and first-rate production values.
The second play in today's Shakespeare double bill was Henry V. I sat up in rear of the balcony for this one (a few of us were to the right of the stage and very close to the action this afternoon for Richard II). Like the earlier show, this production might have benefited from a bit of cutting to keep the overall length a bit more manageable, but it was similarly well executed. Michael Hayden's Henry was very different than his King Richard (and appropriately so) and the acting throughout the cast of about 30 was of a high caliber. I thought there were some missed opportunities for humor from the Welsh captain Fluellen (this character had the audience in stitches when I saw the play outdoors in Richmond, Virginia, last summer). But it's clear that The Shakespeare Theatre Company is indeed a top-flight acting troupe and knows it's business when it comes to producing the Bard's works.
Strong outing for Fringe, which aired a new episode tonight for the first time in many weeks. John Noble, the Australian actor who plays Dr. Walter Bishop, showed some serious acting chops in this particular entry, set in the 1980s. The character actually did look 25 years younger--no doubt with the help of make-up and perhaps some digital effects, but Noble deserves a great deal of credit (if not an Emmy nomination, at least) for his excellent work.
I showed my Shakespeare class the 1953 film Julius Caesar tonight to introduce some of the themes we will be covering in this course on the history plays. Marlon Brando is great as Antony in this movie. As one whose first exposure to Brando was in his later life roles in Superman and Apocalypse Now, seeing him as a vital young actor in top form is pretty thrilling.
I am really enjoying teaching Henry IV, Part One this week. So much good stuff in this play!
Great episode of Lost tonight, in which most of the hour was spent in flashback mode, as we finally got the story of Richard Alpert.
Tonight's Desmond-centered Lost was the best episode yet in this final season. Hard to believe we are getting close to the finish line in this series, which clearly has saved some of its best for last!
Our party of five young scholars and one teacher left Wallingford at 6:15 this morning, made good time driving south to DC, picked up another student at Union Station, and then checked out the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill. Since we had plenty of time before our 2:00 curtain for Richard II, I wanted to show the kids some of the First Folios (the collection of 79 is the largest in the world) on display in the exhibition hall. We lucked out while there, as we got to watch the resident acting company rehearse the final scene of Hamlet for an upcoming production in the Elizabethan theater in the building.
In an unusual midweek getaway from boarding school life, I am flying down to Richmond, Virginia, tonight to see Edward III performed. My flight back departs at 5:43 tomorrow morning, so I'll be at work in Wallingford mid-morning before my team's trip to Northfield Mt. Hermon.
Edward III is a play only recently considered part of the Shakespeare canon. It's very rarely staged, so this is an unusual chance to catch this work in performance.
I saw the rarely-performed Edward III tonight presented as a staged reading by the actors of the Richmond Shakespeare Company. This work is one that has been commonly accepted in the Shakespeare canon only in the last couple of decades. Lots of echoes of Henry V in the second half of the play, what with the fighting in France and the heroics of Edward the Black Prince ("Ned"). There were about 15 actors performing in front of an audience maybe twice that size. I guess this one-night-only take on Edward III brought out just the die-hard crowd!
I now have seen 38 of the 39 Shakespeare plays on my list. All that's left is Timon Of Athens, which I am scheduled to see in Boston in early June. (And I'll see both halves of Henry IV in London on August 1, which technically will be the true end of my quest, since I've seen Henry IV, Part Two only in the conflated version in Lincoln Center some years back.)
I didn't know much at all about Kick-Ass before seeing the movie tonight. This was pretty mindless fun: hyperviolent but stylish and well executed.
It's rather annoying that I renewed my subscription to The New Yorker later than I should have and now am facing about a month's gap in delivery. I tend to renew all of my subscriptions at the same time every winter, and I thought I took care of this one a couple months back, but I guess it slipped through the cracks. I've been reading the magazine since my first year of teaching and I look forward to digesting its contents every week. A creature of habit, I guess. So this means I need to go out and buy the latest issue on the newsstand the next few weeks.
Just booked a ticket to see the Royal National Theatre's live telecast of the new Alan Bennett play, The Habit Of Art, which will be presented in a high-definition transmission in Fairfield this Thursday afternoon. (I caught the Helen Mirren in the NT's production of Phèdre last summer up in Boston this way.)
I teach my last class before the school's Spring Long Weekend at noon, so I'll head down there immediately afterward. This should be a good way to kick off the midterm break!
I visited the National Constitution Center, within sight of Independence Hall here in Philly, to see the "Rome & America" exhibition. I got interested in this topic when I was a Coe Fellow in the Stanford history department a couple of summers back. And it turns out the professor who ran the workshop that year (and whose book The Culture of Classicism I enjoyed) was one of the curatorial consultants for this exhibition (and she was prominently featured in the short film played in the museum). Here she is in a short video clip.
Unfortunately, a repeat of Lost is airing tonight, and then the season hits the home stretch with the last batch of new episodes before the show's finale on May 23. So we don't get our Tuesday night fix, but the ride should be pretty wild the next few weeks.
On the road today. I drove from Wallingford to South Windsor for some family time, then up Interstate 91 and across Route 9 through New Hampshire to get to Concord for two days of Eight Schools Athletic Council meetings. While behind the wheel, I digested a few songs on my iPod as well as a mix of "real" radio and recorded lectures, podcasts, and audiobooks, including:
. . . when legends of rock music played in the Choate arts center.
May 4th is International Star Wars Day, so go out and celebrate with your favorite Wookiee.
I don't have a TomTom GPS navigation system, but if I did, I might get have get these Star Wars voices just because this promo is so entertaining:
I went into the new Robin Hood flick, directed by Ridley Scott, aware of the pretty wretched reviews the movie had garnered since it arrived a couple weeks back. So it turned out to be rather enjoyable: the film was far better than I expected it to be. Cate Blanchett is always fun to watch and Russell Crowe held his own in the title role. The production values were first rate, too. Now it's true this wasn't really a traditional "Robin Hood film." Fair enough. But as a piece of disposable summer entertainment, it did the trick.
I know next to nothing about the Prince Of Persia video game. Perhaps that was the best preparation for the movie version. This is the sort of film for which you can check your brain at the door beforehand. Lots of pretty scenery and special effects to digest, built around a pretty thin plot line (and a rather obvious "surprise" villain--which the posters in the lobby telegraph in case the movie itself didn't do the trick) and some decent action sequences. The verdict: unobjectionable, but nothing worth rushing to the cineplex to catch.
I was unfamiliar with the work of Strindberg before seeing the play Creditors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight. This is a taut psychological roller coaster of a production: a three-person show directed by Alan Rickman. Very entertaining, if pretty bleak in its overall effect. Since the performance started at 7:30 and played with no intermission, I was even able to get back home from the city well before midnight.
I cashed in some miles from my credit card and was able to arrange a trip to London and back for a weekend at the end of July. My out-of-pocket cost for airfare--in peak season--was only $200. I have tickets to see four plays in two days, including three Shakespeare histories at the Globe: Henry VIII and both parts of Henry IV.
Having just returned the disc--City Of God--I had out since December 2006 (!) I am now in a regular cycle of DVD rentals from Netflix once more. I upgraded my rental program to get out of the 2-DVDs-per-month limit and to enable unlimited streaming rentals. The latter is a huge advantage now that the iPad is equipped to play these films!
So no more keeping one film out for three-and-a-half years (at $5 membership fees per month, I could have bought the DVD of that flick many times over!).
I am a fan of the Shakespeare In The Park series staged each summer in New York's Central Park by The Public Theater, so I became a supporter in order to guarantee ticket access. This year, I will see The Merchant Of Venice (with Al Pacino in the title role) and The Winter's Tale--one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.
Today I received a disc from Netflix that will enable me to watch streaming movies via my PlayStation 3 machine. Pretty cool adaptation!
In the wake of the postponement of U2's North American summer tour, I received in today's post a copy of the concert film from last year's 360° Tour recorded in the Rose Bowl. This will have to tide me over since I won't be seeing the band before 2011, apparently.
Quick review of the two-and-a-half-hour finale of Lost: I liked it. It worked. Others will probably be frustrated that some of the mysteries of the island--like the origin of the ancient man-made structures--were never fully explained. Not me. I thought the characters reached closure. And this last installment of the show had plenty of great moments for the castaways and no shortage of good drama. Revealing too much about the island's workings would be like George Lucas introducing midi-chlorians as an explanation of The Force in the Star Wars prequels: an unnecessary effort to connect dots that didn't need to be connected.
The conclusion of the two-part season finale of Fringe was pretty satisfying tonight. We got to spend time on the alternate Earth and meet the doppelgangers of the characters we've come to know during the show's first two seasons. One of the coolest visual gags was worked into the background, on the wall of the apartment where Peter was staying: twisted versions of iconic comics covers like this:
Pretty interesting celebrity-filled mash-up of adidas and Star Wars posted here.
Today is the first day of King Lear in my EN437 class. This is the play I have taught most often in the past decade, but it's been a few years since I have done it. I have, however, seen it performed a few times in the interim. I find new things in this work with every exposure.
Went through the blocking for my cameo appearance in West Side Story, the spring musical in the Paul Mellon Arts Center. There's more lines and stage business than in my last such appearance on this stage two years ago--which means there's more I can screw up!
U2's North American summer tour has been postponed, probably until 2011. I have four tickets for the floor for the July 17 Montreal show, but looks like that won't be happening now. Too bad.
One of the best shows on television, Friday Night Lights, is back on NBC. Season 4 aired on DirectTV in the fall (and I caught the first four episodes while vacationing in Portugal the week after Christmas) and hits the broadcast airwaves starting tonight. I bought an iTunes Season Pass to ensure I keep up to speed.
A very thoughtful article in the New York Times about the Elgin Marbles controversy:
The British Museum is Europe's Western front in the global war over cultural patrimony, on account of the marbles. The pamphlets give the museum's version for why they should stay in Britain, as they have for two centuries -- ever since Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Sublime Porte at Constantinople, and with the consent of the ruling Ottomans (not to mention a blithe disregard for whatever may have been the wishes of the Greek populace), spirited them from the Acropolis in Athens. The pamphlet stresses that the British Museum is free and attracts millions of visitors every year from around the world, making the sculptures available to, and putting them in the context of, a wide swath of human civilization.[snip]
Mostly, though, the issue comes down to the fact that culture, while it can have deeply rooted, special meanings to specific people, doesn't belong to anyone in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't stand still. When Walter Benjamin wrote in the last century about the original or authentic work of art losing its aura, he was in part suggesting that the past is not something we can just return to whenever we like -- it's not something fixed and always available. It's something forever beyond our grasp, which we must reinvent to make present.
Today's Acropolis is itself a kind of fiction. Over the centuries and through succeeding empires and regimes, it became Christian and Turkish, and briefly Venetian, after it had been Roman. The Parthenon was a pagan temple, a church, a mosque, an arms depot (disastrously, under the Turks) and even a place from which the Nazis hung a big swastika flag whose removal by Greek patriots helped spur a resistance movement. Modernity has mostly stripped the site of all those layers of history to recover a Periclean-era past that represents, because it has come to mean the most to us, its supposed true self -- a process of archeological excavation, based on another modern kind of fiction about historical and scientific objectivity that inevitably adds its own layer of history.
[snip]
But the general question, looting and tourist dollars aside, is why should any objects necessarily reside in the modern nation-state controlling the plot of land where, at one time, perhaps thousands of years earlier, they came from? The question goes to the heart of how culture operates in a global age.
The Greek proposal that Britain fork over Elgin's treasures has never involved actually putting the sculptures back onto the Parthenon, which started crumbling long before he showed up. The marbles would go from one museum into another, albeit one much closer. The Greeks argue for proximity, not authenticity. Their case has always been more abstract, not strictly about restoration but about historical reparations, pride and justice. It is more nationalistic and symbolic.
[snip]
But as the Princeton philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah has cautioned about the whole patrimony question: "We should remind ourselves of other connections. One connection -- the one neglected in talk of cultural patrimony -- is the connection not through identity but despite difference."
What he means is that people make connections across cultures through objects like the marbles. These objects can become handmaidens for ideologues, instruments for social division and tools of the economy, or cicerones through history and oracles to a more perfect union of nations. Art is something made in a particular place by particular people, and may serve a particular function at one time but obtain different meanings at other times. It summons distinct feelings to those for whom it's local, but ultimately belongs to everyone and to no one.
We're all custodians of global culture for posterity.
Neither today's Greeks nor Britons own the Parthenon marbles, really.
You can access the complete piece here.
Tonight I made my cameo appearance in West Side Story. It was the show's closing night and by all accounts it was the best audience of the five performances. I spent the couple hours before the curtain mentally rehearsing lines: mine wasn't a big part, but screwing up my delivery would throw off my fellow actors (virtually the whole cast was on stage when I was). I had rehearsed the part twice with script in hand--most recently at the pick-up dress rehearsal on Wednesday--and could have cheated a bit by having my lines on a clipboard prop, but I was determined to perform without a crutch. Walking to center stage for my scene, I instantly got a round of applause (undeserved, of course) which made me feel like Jackie Gleason whenever he first appeared as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners. I managed to get through my lines without error and even got a pretty big laugh for a visual gag I threw in, so I guess it was a success.
I certainly had a lot of fun doing this show (my cameo in No, No Nanette two years ago was a much more limited one). The whole process of rehearsing and performing was very nostalgic for me, since participating in school theatrical productions was a big part of my teenage years.
After seeing Waiting For Godot in London in March, I heard about this television series Theatreland, which is essentially a documentary about the Theatre Royal Haymarket and the staging of this production of Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow. The series is a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to operate West End theater, covering everything from the front of the house staff to the technicians to the artists and audiences.
I picked up the DVD from Amazon.co.uk and am digitizing it so I can watch the episodes during my travels next week.
I have just finished seeing the entire canon of Shakepeare's 39 surviving plays produced on stage. Timon Of Athens--the last drama remaining on my checklist--was presented by a troupe called the Actors Shakespeare Project, and this show turned out to, perhaps surprisingly, a very compelling piece of theater, and well worth the trip up to Boston to see it.
I hasten to add I am not "finished" with the Bard in any sense. I still have a schedule of plays I intend to see all over the place this summer. And I am scheduled to take a course on Shakespeare's comedies and romances at Yale this summer. But it is nice to have a sense of closure to this challenge I set for myself two years back.
Hmmmm . . . what to do next?
Looking forward to the November release of the third volume of the Edmund Morris biography of Theodore Roosevelt. I just pre-ordered it on Amazon.com. The first two installments were excellent.
The production of Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe was as good a presentation of "the Scottish play" as I've seen. The entire theater was done over in black, with a blood soaked backdrop, and groundlings in the yard--me included for this show--had the option of standing under a canopy extended from the stage with dozens of holes cut into it such that seemingly decapitated heads floated on a sea of black to take in the spectacle. And the show had its fair share of blood-drenched bodies and gruesome encounters, along with spooky music to add atmospheric effects. This take on Macbeth was a hellish one indeed!
Got an early start and spent much of the day hitting the museums in town. Not a bad way to spend part of a vacation: checking out works by the likes of da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rafael, and Caravaggio.
The sculpture of David is most closely identified with the city, of course. What strikes one when first seeing it is the size of the work. I guess one assume's it will be life-sized, but it is considerably larger than that! (And I'm hardly an art critic, but the hands did seem a little too big.)
Happy Bloomsday to all you members of the literary cognoscenti.
Greg Hicks is a spectacular Shakespearean actor. I saw his impressive turn as Leontes in The Winter's Tale last summer here at the RSC and this afternoon I watched him command the Courtyard Theatre as King Lear. Though a youngish Lear--whose age the text places at "fourscore and upward"--the fifty-something Hicks managed to convey an astonishing emotional range in this tragedy. Kathryn Hunter made the Fool work for me better than ever before, too. And the actors portraying Goneral, Regan, and Edgar were similarly top-notch. The nuances of the acting in this performance brought out elements of the play--the Shakespeare work I probably know better than any other--that I had never appreciated before.
The second half of today's RSC double feature was Antony and Cleopatra, featuring more or less the same cast as this afternoon's Lear. I was stunned to discover at the interval that it was Kathryn Hunter--whose Fool captivated me earlier in the day--who was playing Cleopatra. Her Queen of Egypt is very different from the usual portrayal of this character--the accent and almost raspy vocal shadings gave the role more of a exotic Earth Kitt-type vibe. While the diminutive actor doesn't convey sex appeal the way most actors who play this role do, there was no denying her chemistry with Darrell D'Silva's Marc Antony.
All winter long, the girls on my squash team tried to get me interested in watching this season's breakout hit TV show, Glee. I fended them off, but the last week or so I've slowly been digesting the first season of this series and it's one of those slightly addictive guilty pleasures. It's easy to work my way through a television series on the iPad while killing time in airports, on a flight or train ride, or in my hotel room before bedtime.
I finished a surprisingly good novel today: It's Superman. The book takes as its premise the hero's original appearances in the late 1930s as a champion of the oppressed without the expanded powers and complex mythology that grew around the figure in the decades that followed. The novel reworks the backstories of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor with a hefy dose of gritty realism. Tom De Haven clearly did his homework in capturing the feel of New York City and the midwest in the middle of the Great Depression. (Maybe he did a little too much research, as at times his frequent allusions to historical events and contemporary films and music as well as popular consumer products of the day was a little excessive. No need to show off so much!) An enjoyable read.
Went to see Pixar's latest, Toy Story 3, in 3D tonight here in Wallingford. Like the earlier installments in this series, the film managed to be utterly charming, funny, and heart-warming. These Pixar guys really have the magic touch.
Got a call from a Class of 2008 alum who invited me over for dinner--he's alone this week at his beach house on the Sound--and we went to catch the late showing of Get Him To The Greek, which I found only mildly amusing.
Since its primary rival, Marvel, had an app for the iPad (and iPhone) ready to go the day the iPad became available, it was only a matter of time before DC Comics jumped into the digital download arena. That day has come, as DC released its own app this morning in order to bring Superman, Batman, and friends to tablets everywhere!
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is in the last weekend of its run at The Public Theater downtown. The play came highly recommended and l saw the first of two shows tonight and am happy to report it lived up to its billing. Ostensibly the story of Andrew Jackson's life and political career, it is a biting (and musical) look at populism in America.
I was in Central Park tonight for the Public Theater's 2010 Shakespeare In The Park series. The Winter's Tale is in repertory with The Merchant Of Venice (I am scheduled to see the latter next Tuesday)
The Winter's Tale is one of my favorite plays by the Bard. It's a late play, a romance--not quite fitting into the usual breakdown of comedy, tragedy, or history. The cast was quite strong and the production generally solid. I saw two stagings of this play in England last August: the one at The Old Vic was The Bridge Project's presentation, which played around the world, and the other was the RSC's in Stratford. The Public's version tonight held up well next to those two excellent renditions.
And who wouldn't enjoy a night of al fresco drama at the Delacorte Theater, with the beautiful Turtle Pond visible behind the stage and a moonlit sky overhead on a clear summer's night?
On my first unscheduled night in over a week, I headed out to the cinema, where I was the only one in the theater for a screening of Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work, a well-reviewed documentary about a year in the life of the 75-year-old comedienne. This was a pretty engaging profile of someone still driven to command the spotlight after decades in show business.
On a hot and humid evening in New York City, I watched the flip side of The Public Theater's summer Shakespeare In The Park repertory offerings: The Merchant Of Venice. Al Pacino's Shylock was the big name here, but the cast--most of whom appeared in The Winter's Tale that I caught last week--was very capable indeed. This was a gripping take on the play, and Pacino made Shylock generally sympathetic without undermining the character's complexity. The "comedy" aspects of the play--principally the relationship between Portia and Bassanio--worked quite well to balance the drama onstage.
In the summer of 2011, the Royal Shakespeare Company will be setting up shop in the Park Avenue Armory as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. The slate of plays to be transplanted from the RSC repertory has just been released: "King Lear" and "Antony and Cleopatra"--the two productions I saw in Stratford-upon-Avon in June--as well as "The Winter's Tale" (which I saw in in Stratford in 2009), "As You Like It," and "Romeo and Juliet." The latter two have garnered favorable reviews, so I will be aiming to snag tickets for these shows.
Henry VIII is not performed all that often. This is a shame, because I think it's an underrated work. Scholars disagree as to how much of Shakespeare's hand is in the text. But no matter, it's a sweeping work about Tudor royalty and court intrigue best known for a couple of huge set pieces that offer a chance to display visually sumptuous costumes and sets. The OSF did that in its Elizabethan Theatre in the Ashland production I saw last summer. Shakespeare's Globe did the same tonight here in London. I appreciated the intricacies of plot a lot more the second time around, too.
Entertaining a visiting Choatie this afternoon, we killed time by taking in the Italian language film I Am Love, starring Tilda Swinton. The art house release turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Though it was a bit slow and confusing at the start, this drama about a wealthy Milanese family was beautifully photographed and emotionally engaging.
This brought a smile to my face:
Next weekend was supposed to be a Montreal getaway, centered around a U2 concert Saturday night. But since the tour is postponed until 2011, I canceled my plans to head north and today I decided to go south instead, specifically to Staunton, Virginia, where I will see two plays at the American Shakespeare Center: The Taming Of The Shrew and Othello. Booked both theater and Amtrak tickets this morning.
Just got word today that my tickets for the U2 show in Montreal have been pushed back twelve months to July 9, 2011. So I can start making plans for a trip to Canada midsummer next year.
A bit of West End theater before immersing myself in Shakespeare's history plays the rest of my time in London. The first hour of La Bête was laugh-out-loud funny, mostly because Mark Rylance delivered a virtuoso comic performance, highlighted by a dazzling, uninterrupted delivery that ran nearly half-an-hour at one point. Rylance had very good support from straight men David Hyde Pierce (from Frasier) and Stephen Ouimette (from Slings And Arrows). The entire play is in rhyming couplets, which worked better than I thought. The denouement does fall a bit flat after such a thrilling start, but seeing Rylance as the idiot poser Valere was well worth the price of the ticket. (By the way, this production is Broadway bound after its run here in London.)
What a splendid play Henry VI, Part I is. And what a terrific job the company at Shakespeare's Globe did in bringing this piece of theater to life. With a wonderfully amusing and rascally Falstaff and a mischievous but calculating Prince Hal, the play hit all the right notes, and was equally adept in portraying the fun of the Boar's Head Tavern, the power struggles in King Henry's court, and the climactic battle between Hal and Hotspur.
Henry IV, Part II is a darker play than its prequel. The same cast I saw in Part I this afternoon adapted ably to the different material at the heart of tonight's play. While there was still plenty of buffoonery on hand among the denizens of Eastcheap, the resolve of the young prince on his way to becoming Harry the king was in evidence. The scenes between the prince and his dying father worked quite well. It was a treat to see the two parts of this story back-to-back like this. Six hours of theater can be a long time (and a butt-numbing experience!) but I was thoroughly dialed in during tonight's show.
Watched Angelina Jolie in Salt today, figuring I'd keep up with all the supposed "blockbuster" releases. This is another flick in which one can check one's brain at the door before viewing. An entertaining summer action movie: reasonably fun and entirely forgettable. Jolie demonstrated she had the chops to hold her own in this male-dominated genre.
I was never aware of this film until I watched a whole bunch of excerpts from it on YouTube today: a documentary about the 1981 French Open tennis championships with remarkable behind-the-scenes access married to well-shot coverage of on-court action. The clips are riveting. Wish I could find the film on DVD so I could watch it in its entirety. It captures so much of what I remember as the atmophere of the sport some thirty years ago now.
No better circumstances under which to see A Midsummer Night's Dream than a comfortable July night on a lawn under the stars! Since one of my colleagues was playing Puck, there were a few other Choate folks in attendance. A fun staging of one of Shakespeare's most endearing and accessible plays.
Othello at its best is hard-hitting stuff and I enjoyed the ASC's take on the tragedy. Good casting, of course, is the key: a deliciously manipulative Iago and a Moorish general who can be both an imposing leader and a gullible jealous husband are essential and the folks at Blackfriars were convincing.
I love the approach to Shakespeare that the ASC takes: lightning-quick pacing, judicious cuts to keep the action to roughly two hours of stage time, lots of interaction with the audience, and appropriate injections of humor wherever possible. So this company has turned me around a bit on The Taming Of The Shrew. I've only seen this performed once before--two years ago in Stratford-upon-Avon--and if you asked me before today which of The Bard's plays was my least favorite, this one would be at least in the top three. But today I came to appreciate the work a lot more.
I liked the new Christopher Nolan film Inception quite a bit. It's clearly a well-made piece of storytelling, with a clever premise and impressive execution. I appreciated that there was a bit of ambiguity in the ending, too. It's a movie I will need to see again to digest properly; there are not many films I can say that about in this day and age!
I've become a fan of the NT Live program of high definition theatrical telecasts. Tonight I ventured up to Amherst to see London Assurance, a funny nineteenth-century play showcasing the comic talents of Simon Russell Beale. Good stuff.
Lovin' the digital delivery of Daniel Silva's latest release. The Kindle edition of The Rembrandt Affair was on my iPad (and Kindle and Mac) when I woke up, on the same day the print copy hits the bookstores.
I caught a matinee of the new Disney/Bruckheimer take on The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Utter nonsense, of course, but mildly entertaining and visually somewhat interesting.
I've been lucky to catch a couple of very good independent films this summer among the clutter of major studio action flicks. The Kids Are Alright was another such gem, an intimate look at a "non-traditional" California family in transition. Well written, well acted, and well worth a look.
After a twin bill of Shakespeare yesterday, I drove to the Berkshires to join a newly-minted Choate graduate, one of the students in my spring class on The Bard's history plays, to see Richard III, one of the texts we studied. This was a strong production, probably the best of the handful I've seen at Shakespeare And Company. John Douglas Thompson tackled the title role with great energy and in general the cast and director made the most out of limited stage space and production values.
I've waxed and waned in following HBO's Entourage over the years. At times it's been enormously entertaining and very funny. But I've drifted away from it as the familiar situations and generally unlikeable main characters grew tiresome. I unwound the most recent batch of episodes courtesy of HBO On Demand this weekend and this show, while far from its peak, is still better than a lot of the dreck on television now.
Last week I bought the DVD of the Rush documentary, Beyond The Lighted Stage and enjoyed it. Now that I have familiarized myself with the history of the city's best-known musical product. I am ready to head to Toronto.
The As You Like It I saw this afternoon was an engaging production, one that made me appreciate this play--one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies--in new ways. The previous stagings I had seen (at the Globe in 2009 and he Bridge Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last winter) were also quite good. It may speak to the strength of the play itself that a decent company might have to work hard to screw up this work!
This is my second visit to the Stratford Festival, a annual season of theater--mostly, but not entirely, Shakespeare works--in Ontario. My weekend here starts with a "table talk" lecture in conjunction with lunch at the Festival Theater. Then I will see two of my favorite Shakespeare plays, As You Like It this afternoon, followed by The Tempest tonight.
Christopher Plummer showed why his reputation is anchoring this summer's slate of offerings at the Stratford Festival by turning in a terrific performance as Prospero in The Tempest. At the age of 80, he was a commanding lead in this generally strong take on one of Shakespeare's last works. The modern indoor space at the Destival Theater gave this production the opportunity to do a lot more with effects to emphasize the magical qualities in the story: a hydraulic stage, extensive use of the trapdoor, dropping Ariel in from the ceiling, and top-notch lighting and sound design all added to the supernatural ambience.
Evita was a show I have never seen before. I was vaguely familiar with some of the songs, mostly from commercials for the original Broadway run years ago. It was good, not great. The Andrew Lloyd Weber rock opera score gets tiresome, for one thing. I did come away from the theater more interested in learning about the Peróns and Che Guevara, though.
I had my pick of movies tonight at the 24-screen multiplex across from the Eaton Centre shopping mall in downtown Toronto. The one that fit my schedule the best was not my first choice: Knight And Day, with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. But folks who saw this when it came out in the States a few weeks back all said the same thing: it's not as bad as you'd think. Though such a comment may be damning the film with faint praise, after seeing it, I know exactly what they meant. While this movie had been pummeled by critics, it was fun in that mindless sort of summer blockbuster way.
Being on a train for four nights is giving me a great opportunity to unwind and catch up on my reading. George Packer's article about the "broken" Senate in last week's issue of The New Yorker is a fascinating read: a "don't miss" piece for anyone interested in American politics and government. I'll have to find a way to work this into my American Political Institutions course this fall.
We are in Saskatchewan now. Meals have been very good aboard The Canadian. I have shared a table in the dining car with folks from Germany, Austria, England, Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta, Chicago, and Washington, DC thus far in the trip. An interesting mix of people!
Meanwhile back in my cabin, I've been watching Rubicon, the new series airing on AMC. Saw the first two installments on iTunes and it looks promising, though it's a bit slow so far.
I am back in southern Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland for a third straight summer. I will see five plays here this week before flying home early Friday morning. Ashland is a beautiful town nestled into the hills and boasting world-class theatrical offerings.
Hamlet was presented as a matinee offering at the OSF today. The production was first-rate (though perhaps I would quibble with the choice of rappers presenting "The Mousetrap" play-within-a-play) and Dan Donohue's work in the lead role was positively stunning. This was as good a portrayal of the Danish prince as I've seen. Full stop. I expected good things from Donohue, have seen his excellent Iago in 2008's Othello in the OSF's Elizabethan Theatre, but was unprepared for just how masterful his Hamlet would be. Ample support from a strong Polonius and a very good Ophelia, too.
Comcast's HBO On Demand made it easy to get caught up on this season's True Blood. I missed the last few episodes but am now up to date.
Henry IV Part 1 is one of the Shakespeare plays I know best. Having seen a production in London just a few weeks ago with the best Falstaff I have yet seen, I was ready to be disappointed with this show, but there were some very strong elements in it worthy of praise, especially in the form of a compelling performance in the Hotspur role. Not everything the OSF stages is necessarily a triumph, but I have yet to see anything bad here.
The OSF's Throne Of Blood is a staged adaptation of the Kurosawa film which was loosely fashioned from the story of Macbeth. This tale of murder and mayhem was set in samurai culture and was a very effective piece of theater. The costumes were particularly stunning. Like "that Scottish play" this production was short (about 1 hour, 40 minutes with no intermission) but powerful.
Tonight was my second Merchant Of Venice of the summer and this one did not disappoint. Though I've seen better Bassanios, the OSF's Shylock was first-rate. Lots of good energy and appropriate pathos assembled in this production.
If one is going to see a Shakespearean comedy under the summertime night sky, Twelfth Night (like A Midsummer Night's Dream) has to be at the top of the list. This was a particularly funning evening of theater and made good use of the material with some inventive staging and production values.
As if I haven't seen enough theater the past couple of weeks, I just caught a TheaterWorks Hartford matinee production of a new play, High, starring Kathleen Turner. This work was favorably reviewed in The New York Times and while it was flawed, was provocative and entertaining.
The stars have aligned. Ricky Gervais is making an appearance in the next season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Should be priceless to see him and Larry David sharing the small screen.
Jonathan Franzen's highly anticipated (and well reviewed) new novel, Freedom, arrived in the mail this morning, the very day when school is getting underway, virtually guaranteeing I will have precious little time to get to the book anytime soon!
Today was my first day in FR100, the beginning French language class here at school. I am sharing a classroom with a room full of Choate students, mostly ninth-graders. Since the languages department here believes in the immersive experience, most of the instruction was conducted in French, so I felt pretty blown away for the first ten minutes or so. But this is going to be fun!
I saw Ella: The Musical at the Long Wharf Theater tonight. Pretty strong presentation on the music front, though the show was a bit uneven as a piece of theater. Seeing it certainly makes me want to listen to my (pretty extensive) collection of Ella Fitzgerald records now.
I like the cover of this month's copy of The Atlantic Monthly, which arrived in the mail today. I am a long-time fan of "Doonesbury" but have lost touch with the strip in recent years. The magazine has a nice feature on the 40th anniversary of Garry Trudeau's landmark creation.
Fringe is back for a third season, one which will explore "the other side"--the alternate reality with a parallel earth and doppelgangers for most of the show's lead characters. In other words, the next few episodes will be mythology-heavy installments. Good stuff!
(And I loved seeing The Wire's Andre Royo with a meaty role in this episode!)
The catalogue from Chicago's Lyric Opera was in today's post with a surprise star on its cover. The T-shirt design has the look of the tour shirts from U2's 360° Tour. Nice crossover!
I love The New Yorker. And I love my iPad. And I love that The New Yorker is now releasing an iPad-friendly edition. (And I really love this introductory video featuring Jason Schwartzman.) But what I don't like is the expectation that I, a long-term subscriber to the magazine, must fork over $5 each week to read the digital edition on my iPad. Publishers have got to figure out a way to offer paying print subscribers access to the digital editions at no additional cost.
I saw the rock musical Next To Normal this evening. The show is about an American family dealing with a mother's bipolar disorder. Somehow this rather heavy topic works pretty well as a musical.
I caught The Social Network this evening and it is a very entertaining movie. The premise is how Facebook was started as a Harvard-only network and expanded into the global tech behemoth the company now is. But the Aaron Sorkin script has whip-smart dialogue and all sorts of intrigue about the relations between the Harvard students who had roles in the creation. Highly recommended.
Amazon delivered my copy of 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective today. This heavy slipcased book celebrates four decades of Garry Trudeau's landmark strip. Looking forward to digesting its contents over the next few days.
I am loving the Sirius Satellite Radio service that is integrated into my Audi's music system. A channel that just plays Bruce Springsteen? Another for Elvis? And Sinatra? Two all-NPR stations? One channel for Broadway shows? All the talk radio and sports channels you can think of (even an all-golf channel--which is kind of odd for a sport I don't associate with radio)? Pretty amazing. Favorite channel so far is #14: Classic Vinyl.
Hard to believe the former Beatle would turn 70 years old today, were he still with us. We have certainly missed him.
. . . for no particular reason!
When setting up my post-Christmas travel, I investigated trying to get a ticket to see Derek Jacobi portraying the title role in King Lear. It's playing at the Donmar Warehouse and is a tough ticket to get, apparently. But the NT Live series is broadcasting this production in high definition all around the world later this winter, so I will see such a transmission in Amherst in February rather than try to hunt down a ticket to see it in person. So instead, while in London on New Year's Day I will see the NT's production of Hamlet.
The ending of 1980's Superman II has always bothered me: how Clark Kent erases Lois Lane's knowledge of his secret identity simply by kissing her--with NO explanation as to how this was accomplished!
Here is an alternative ending to the film that resolves the problem a bit differently:
One of the professors I head at the One Day University lectures last weekend is a big Springsteen junkie and wrote a monograph about his landmark 1975 release Born To Run. So I ordered a copy from Amazon, which arrived today. Funny how academics seem to gravitate to a few "legitimized" areas of pop culture--like Bruce Springsteen and the Boston Red Sox--where they can deploy their scholarly insights.
I just booked a ticket for a performance on December 27 in the Palais Garnier--the older of the two opera houses in Paris. This neo-Baroque edifice is an architectural jewel in the City of Lights and one of the most famous opera venues in the world.
Lots of detailed history and tons of photos and production artwork fill this book about the making of the best of the six Star Wars films: The Empire Strikes Back. It was a a lot cheaper on Amazon than it would be in the bookstore.
The Hartford Stage Company has mounted a very strong production of Antony And Cleopatra--a tricky masterpiece to stage effectively. The theater has undergone a recent renovation and made good use of the improvements with terrific set and lighting designs to capture the action in Rome, in Egypt, and at sea. But this play succeeds and fails based on the performances of its two leads; John Douglas Thompson and Kate Mulgrew were more than up to the task in presenting powerful but nuanced characters. A satisfying evening at the theater!
The home video release of Inception arrived last week and today I got around to opening the package. Actually, it's billed as a combo pack, which includes two Blu-Ray discs--one for the film and another for all the extras--as well as a conventional DVD disc as well as a code to download a digital copy via iTunes. Now this is how ALL films should be released, in my humble opinion. One buys the rights to the intellectual property (in this case, the film) and has access to it across various media. So I can watch the Blu-Ray on my PlayStation 3, or the DVD on my iMac or MacBook Pro, or I can take the film with me on an iPad or MacBook Air if I am traveling. Very nice.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music hosted the Donmar Warehouse's recent production of King Lear, and this was probably the strongest staging of Shakespeare's masterpiece I've yet seen. Derek Jacobi was a formidable Lear and the actresses portraying Goneril and Regan were especially strong too, bringing out colors in these roles I had not seen before. The scene in which Gloucester has his eyes plucked out was never more violent than in this performance, though it worked well in context. The set was appropriately spare and all the production values seemed to click. A terrific night at the theater (and I was able to bring two students from "Shakespeare And The Death Of Kings," the senior English elective I am currently teaching).
Spent this evening in Symphony Hall where I enjoyed a terrific concert by the Handel & Haydn Society. Tonight's program was highlighted by Mozart's Requiem. A fairly thrilling presentation, all told.
I drove my class to Boston today to see Richard III staged by the English all-male theater troupe Propeller. For many of the kids, this was the first time they had seen a Shakespeare play performed. (We had finish reading the play about a week ago.) They liked the show, and I thought it was the most effective version of this play I have yet seen. The approach to the material created a nightmarish atmosphere through lighting, set designs, and very effective use of music. And the violence was over the top, in almost a black comic way. The actor portraying the lead was wonderfully seductive. A thoroughly engaging performance.
My iPad and Kindle are loaded with a digital "stack" of books, patiently awaiting the expanse of summer so that I can work my way through it. Looking forward to tackling some of these titles!
Took a few kids to see the midnight premiere of X-Men: First Class at the local multiplex tonight and was pleasantly surprised at how good this film is. Lots of treats for the fanboys were included, but also a fast-moving and dramatic storyline set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis that appeals to those who didn't grow up on comics.
The first of the big summer movie releases landed at midnight here in Wallingford, so some seniors and I got to be among the first to see Thor. Director Kenneth Branagh--he of the Shakespearean films--did an effective job with a credible story that wasn't overwhelmed by the (visually sumptuous) special effects. Props to Tom Hiddleston for his strong work as Loki, the jealous half-brother of the title character. Lots to like about this flick!
This is a fake travel poster for a fictional city, but boy, is it pretty!
I would pay to see Mark Rylance read the Manhattan phone book aloud on stage, so I was thrilled that the Jez Butterworth play Jerusalem was a fitting showcase for his ample acting talents. As "Rooster" Byron, a ne'er-do-well Falstaffian lord of misrule in rural England, Rylance delivered an incredible performance, a tour de force! And the play is pretty terrific all around. Don't miss this if you are able to get to Broadway during its run.
I woke up this morning and received a notification that the new Sports Illustrated issue was available for download (I am a print subscriber, so I have free access to the electronic edition via the iPad app). So a few minutes later here I am reading the French Open wrap-up before even getting out of bed!
The Hangover Part II is not a great movie. But there are a few moments of sheer comic bliss, mostly from Zach Galifianakis. My advice? See it on Tuesday, which is $5 movie night at the local cinema here in Wallingford. It's worth that much for a few good laughs, I guess.
Since I was on the other side of the Atlantic when Green Lantern came out stateside, I knew the movie had been getting mixed reviews, so I watched it tonight (in 2D, by the way) with appropriately lowered expectations. Good thing. The film is no great shakes, but not as horrible as some detractors would have you believe. It lacks a bit of heart--which often happens when the real star of the show is CGI visuals. And yet there were some nice touches, too. Maybe this will be like the 1979 Star Trek big screen debut: a set-up for a much better sequel?
A few of us headed out after dinner tonight and stumbled across a block party with bands set up to play at opposite ends of the street. Close to where we settled in for a couple of beers was a Beatles cover band that was awesome. Looking up the band on the Internet back at the hotel later, it turns out that this group--the BlackBirds--is from Hungary!
Turned out to be a great night out in Vienna: an unexpected delight!
Our group headed to the Volksoper tonight to see Bizet's Carmen. Having seen this work performed twice, I briefed the kids--almost none of whom had ever been to the opera before--about what to expect and explained this work would contain a few musical themes they would recognize. (If one is an opera newcomer, Carmen is an ideal first exposure.)
Turns out when we arrived that what we were scheduled to see was a ballet, not an opera. Now I'm sure it's a beautiful art form for those who understand it, but dance is not really my cup of tea. The music in this performance was only loosely based on Bizet's score. So it was disappointing, though there were some striking visual images created on stage.
Spent most of the afternoon exploring The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna's world-class art history museum, with the treasures of the Habsburgs displayed in a spectacularly beautiful, yet surprisingly comfortable, venue. This may well be my favorite among the major museums of the world, pulling ahead of the British Museum. The Egyptian, Greek, and Roman collections here were first-rate. There were couches arrayed in all the rooms displaying paintings, encouraging visitors to take their time to appreciate the art. Among the notable painters represented are Caravaggio, Rubens, Raphael, Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Eck, Durer, and lots of Brueghel.
My favorite painting of the day was Caravaggio's "David with the Head of Goliath."
This morning I watched the HBO documentary "McEnroe/Borg: Fire And Ice" and enjoyed the rarely-seen film clips and photos, as well as excerpts from the NBC feed of the classic 1980 Wimbledon men's singles final. Truly this was the golden age of professional tennis!
While the kids in my American Politics class were taking a test this morning, I stumbled across the "I Write Like" website and submitted a sample of my prose and here is the result:
New albums tend to be released on Mondays in the U.K. and on Tuesdays in the U.S., but I guess in the age of globalization and digital distribution, separate release dates no longer make much sense. So Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto, which I had pre-ordered, arrived on my MacBook Air iTunes this morning and simultaneously popped up on my iPad and iPhone 4S too, thanks to the iCloud/Lion/iOS 5 support for syncing such purchases.
My copy of Steve Jobs arrived from Amazon this morning. (For the record, I ordered this when the publication date was announced, long before the death of the Apple executive.) I won't have time to do much more than leaf through it quickly before the weekend, though. Perhaps good reading while on the bus to NMH Saturday?
Neil Gaiman has announced that DC/Vertigo will be publishing a new Sandman mini-series next year to mark the 25th anniversary of the beginning of The Sandman series. Art will be by J.H. Williams III. Looking forward to this already!
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