THURSDAY---Another Edition of................

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

1)   This is an off week and the posting will resume next week.  Some planning for Sunday Simcha interviews and Traditions programming took precedence.

THURSDAY--Another edition of..........

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

1)            This Sunday is Yom Hashoah---Holocaust Remembrance Day.   A brief moment at the start of Traditions will commemorate the event with the voice of Paul Robeson.   Sunday Simcha will have ended with a Priestly Blessing.  More thoughts on Yom Hashoah and events of similar horror is discussed in a previous blog ---scroll down.

2)            Now that Pres. Obama has put his birth certificate on the internet it only seems appropriate that people look at my original passport---it is on Facebook.  One has to keep up with the celebs and power brokers.

3)            Watching the 15 year old re-runs of Homicide—Life on the Street always delivers something new---a great comment (I never saw before) by Det. Munch (Richard Belzer)---“..the only thing more boring than a baseball game is a Ken Burns documentary about Baseball”.   It had to be said.

4)            I am delighted that so many people have liked (and requested) more material by Dennis Wolfberg on Sunday Simcha.  Sadly, due to his early demise, it is limited but the requests will be obliged as best as possible.

5)            “Get Low” is another brilliant Robert Duvall film and I wonder how many people see, as I do, the analogy in the plot with the Jewish trek through the desert for 40 years.

6)            So many meaningful places that instilled wonderful values are gone now and not truly replaced by any equivalent. I am thinking of Ethical Culture School Camp (ECSC) after just receiving an e mail from someone who’s parents were cook and handyman at the place those many years back. He, as I, felt it was the most influential place in our future lives.  Check out the website of the person who organizes re-unions to find out more--- www.ecsccampinfo.com

7)            But a great bit of training it was to learn touch typing and now all you need to use are your thumbs.  Whatever happened to writing full sentences?   What happened to a regular keyboard (or typewriter) as opposed to the annoying lap-top flat keyboards for which you need at least 12 thumbs and no fingers.

People are always texting---picture 2 people in a restaurant for an intimate dinner.  They do not speak,  They text each other about what they should order.   After they text the order to the waiter and eat they go home and text each other while having sex to ask ---“...how are you doing?’—the reply  “...LOL”---OMG

                         

SOME PROGRAMMING UPDATES & SOME COMMENTS

SUNDAY SIMCHA----On May 1 we will be spending some time with a few versions of Rumania Rumania because you will be listening to an unbelievable version as you have never heard it before.  Believe me!!  This all has to do with some mention of a show you do not want to miss---The Adventures of Hershele Ostrapolyer ---put on by the Folbsbiene at the Baruch Center for Performing Arts.  It starts on May 15 for a limited engagement through part of June.   Starring Mike Burstyn and directed by Eleanor Reissa (also on the 5/1 program) with musical magic by Zalmen Mlotek---all guests on this program at some point.

                      May 1 will also be the commemoration of Yom Hashoah and since much of the program is devoted to the above we will close with a beautiful piece by Susan Colin---=Benediction. 

                       In the near future I am hoping to have, as a guest, on the program Leila Levinson, the author of Gated Grief.   She will be speaking at Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle NY on May 1---Yom Hashoah.  Her book is wonderful piece which explains, among other things, the deep feelings and issues that were felt by the soldiers who liberated the concentration camps.  The scars of this horror runs even past the actual victims. 
                        You will be kept posted as to when Ms Levinson will be joining me---and if you have questions you would like me to ask her please let me know.

TRADITIONS :  Since we did not spend much time on Yom Hashoah in Simcha I will surely be doing a brief segment on this program on May 1 since, as you know, this program is all about topical material that derive or involve "folk" music---and, hey, as Woody Guthrie once said---"...you are the folk".  Well, if he didn't he should have.  As to Yom Hashoah--the short explanation is the Day of Remembrance for the Jews who perished in the Holocaust---a few more thoughts are below.

                            Since it is also birthday time for yours truly I suppose some material on aging would be appropriate---how about Forever Young---though I find that a tough one to play, since as Eric Bogle famously said,---"/...I don't play any Dylan".

                           Of course there will be some wonderful new material---and, as always, a few surprises along with the features which, somehow, will and should include Hazel Dickens.


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SOME COMMENTS  --That is what the title said and that is what has now to follow:

                  Yom Hashoah , as mentioned above, is a very somber and serious commemoration--remembrance, if you will.   On both programs I have always made a point of including it but what I have never included are some of these comments---

                    We rightfully recall and remember these tragic events and horrors of  humankind.  What we do not do, however, is realize that there were--and still are---tragedies of this magnitude going on around us.  Think of killings in various African nations, the mayhem in the Middle East, and, looking further back.  Was not Slavery and the kidnapping of African people to our shores in that same vein?    In truth a Yom Hashoah commemoration should be commemorated for ever so many peoples in the hope that humankind will finally appreciate life and dignity---and, unlike the animals of the wild who kill for food--abide together in a peaceful and productive way.

                     In the full realization that WFDU and its program will not be receiving any Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, etc; and that we have no permanent--or even temporary--drama/ film critic let me just give you a few reviews---

                         The Adventures of Hershele Ostrapolyer---You have seen it mentioned above,.  As the NY Times pointed out---Brilliant---a cross of Til Eulenspiegel, The Court Jester, and Robinhood and not to be
 missed.
                            The Kings Speech --  Out now on DVD and I just viewed it.  How does one describe trying to stifle many yawns.   Let me be brief---boring, trite with good acting, and horrible presentations of famous figures---Churchill, Chamberlain, etc;   Glad I never went to the movie palace (palace?) for the very nominal admission charge today for this piece of---nuff said.
                              Homicide---Life on The Streets--Having discovered this series on re-runs on Centric (Cable TV) it has to be said that it is still the best series of its kind ever made---great cast, dramatic character studies that are more than the crimes (think Law/Order and the rest of that franchise).  It is from the 1990s and, to  me, has not been surpassed.  The Golden Age of Television should have to include this as part of the treasure trove---and the creator did go on to receive a MacArthur Genius grant (award).  He also does (or did) The Wire.

                   More on Thursday when I flip the fedora for Jimmy Cannon

                 

                    
                 
                                

THURSDAY--Another Edition of........

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon.

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

   

1)           I could have waited but wanted to alert all that on the May 1 program of Sunday Simcha you will hear “Rumania,Rumania” as you have never heard it before---tune in to find out who this great artist is who supplied me with a recording that he did live in a tribute to his father and is not recorded anywhere.

2)           Maureen Dowd really hits things on the head---first (well, not first since she has been doing this a long time) Dylan and now in the past few days the nonsense about the searches at Airports---always a day late and a dollar short.  For some reasons the Israelis have gotten it right for over 50 years.

3)           Judges should be elected---period.   Leave an elected official to appoint a judge and I do hope you don’t have a relative the politico does not like and you have a case before his honor of little honor.

4)           Does anyone recall the time when you opened a business, say, restaurant, and the city (of NY) and the unions were not part of making the whole thing into political fracas?  

5)           Why do people who work a long day doing whatever they do want to come home and watch “reality TV” when they spent their day in reality and might want some “escape” entertainment with some cultural significance.  Admittedly, you won’t find much of that on TV---years ago you did and the re-runs might well be worth the view.

6)           Why oh why does anyone give a damn about the “royal wedding”?  I, many times, try to avoid invitations to people I know---I don’t know these people and don’t care to know them.   A book—many years back—talking of radio and hype talked of the public as “The Great Unwashed”.  They await this event with baited breath (since they never bother with a breath freshener or a good diet)---heard a woman in a MD’s waiting room expounding (not a word she knows) on how “...great this will be---cannot miss it.”  Wish I had asked her to show me her invitation.

7)           The article in the NY Times about Kiryas Joel (in Orange County  NY) and its alleged “poverty” might well have been headlined “Truly poor or very rich in schemes”?.  Religious groups of all denominations have some truly creative ways of avoiding taxes and still hold local political influence.

8)           When they lowered the deceased into the ground with his cell phone in hand as was requested he really did not respond to the calls of “can you hear me now” that he thought might resurrect him.

9)           It brings us to the question---why Good Friday?---seems it was not all that good. Next would come “not such a bad Saturday”-- one supposes.

  10)     Equal time for deep religious is only proper so        since it is the Passover season best to quote Lewis Black (you do need the angry voice)—“....kind and loving God—right---“He Abe bring the kid over I have a few requests---and Moses---guess what---you ain’t getting in after all”.   And as to the Seder Service---for years I have poured a cup of wine for Elijah---now, it seems, he has a female companion –Miriam—and she too has some wine waiting.  No one has entered yet but burglers and they did not drink the wine---something about being diabetic and Manischewitz would not be a    wise choice for one in that condition.

                                

THURSDAY--ANOTHER EDITION OF.......

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

   

1)       I do hope you will be joining me on both SUNDAY SIMCHA & TRADITIONS this weekend---Passover celebration and an amazing Comedy Corner on SIMCHA.  TRADITIONS has a few surprises, commemorations and, of course, the favorite features---and we are going to end it with something very special---well, to me and, hopefully, for you as well.   If you are not there I get lonely.

2)       Mike Burstyn is back in his wonderful role as Hershele Ostropolyer in The Adventures of Hershele  Ostropolyer in a limited run –May 15-June 26.  In Yiddish with English Supertitles---having seen it I can say DO NOT MISS THIS---it is a tour de force for him and the rest of the cast.   Here is a shot of Mike as the lead character---

                                        

   

                       

3)       Maureen Dowd really hits nails on their heads in telling “it” like “it” is.  No beating around bushes for her.

4)       “At the end of the day”---an expression that I am still trying to understand since every talking head uses it over and over again.  If, everything is resolved or decided at the end of the day then what the hell were they doing the rest of the day?   Having an expensive lunch and thinking of “the end of the day”?

5)       Here is idealism for you---a man received a 50.00 ticket via traffic camera and is fighting it.  His legal expenses are well over 500.00 and if he wins he gets back his 50.00.  Idealism personified ---or plain old stubborn.   His claim that the yellow light does not stay yellow long enough to react to it.   Good point!.

6)       If you are amongst those who admire Hamlet it would be nice to know which interpretation of The Soliloquy you felt had the most meaning---I was surprised to find (while scouring You Tube) one that surprised me. Not Branagh or Olivier good as they are.  See if you know who it is---hint---someone I and many others surely find offensive---but talent can surprise one.

7)       Donald Trump may well be endorsed, at some point, by The Bad Hair Weaving Institute of America. They know a winner with bad hair when they see one---the slogan “Bad Hair to go with Bad Ideas”. And a personality to boot.

8)       You have to hand it to police unions---they just gave an “officer of the year” award to the cop who shot and killed that Pace student---and this is still in the courts.  Oh---get thee behind me Satan, I’m a Union Man.

9)       You have to read about Bill Clinton’s views of the “new” (and Bloombergized and Disneyfied) Times Square---that is why he is a great politician and sowed his wild oats in Arkansas (and, probably in Times Square of yore).

   10)   Years ago there was a play in NY and in LA in          which you went from room to room following a character you wanted to follow---disjointed for sure.  Now there is a wordless version of Macbeth done in the same way which presents a few problems to me----Shakespeare was about words---not about bloody nudity in bath-tubs.  He was also about a central plot and not a melange of paying voyeurs chasing from room to room and at some point seeing a power hungry naked Lady M with that believing mate also in his birthday suit.  

 For poetry as a review (from reading of it) I would utter this---“...how many defecatory moments can   theater offer/let me count the ways..”

THURSDAY --Another Edition of...............

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon.

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

   

1)       Societies are different and one has to wonder how it is that the Japanese have so much more caring for the elderly than we do. We had “founding fathers”---bet we would have put them into a “home” and avoided them.  Ben could really be a pain in the ass.

2)       There is a convention celebrating typewriters---bless them. Frankly, I love being able to type this, overwrite, delete, and move on.  I had typewriters---and correction fluid and, like Jerry Steinfeld says in his routine---The Chinese had Chopsticks and they knew of forks and knives---so.  Bottom line---I like this---and now to save the ecology I am able to delete and not erase with rubber on pristine paper when I can distribute this over the truly magical internet for my reader---there is only one I guess.  Anyway rubber has better uses now given the AIDS situation.

3)       As the song said---“...how many roads must a man walk down, etc;...” which makes me wonder how many roads he must walk down before getting old and redundant.

4)       If the government shuts down (and the animals in the Zoo do get fed) how is it that the IRS refund checks are held up but not the electronic collection process? Or the late filing penalties?

5)       History sure does repeat itself.  Think back to the strife between David Ben Gurion (Hagannah) and Begin (Irgun).  Now think of PLO and Hammas---there will be a result---but more splintered than the Israeli one was those many moons ago.

6)       Whatever happened to people wanting to assimilate into the nation of their choice---their dream of being in that place?

7)        Always the proper and pragmatic thing to back those who are underdogs---the only thing is how do we know who they are. 

8)       Whether or not you agree with Capitol Punishment you do have to wonder why, when it is the law, there is this great concern about the drug(s) used when the killers did not think of the pain and suffering they caused. 

9)       Sad that Manning Marable died on the eve of the publication of his greatest work about Malcolm X.

10) Whatever happened to “appointment TV”?  Quality programs that had some resemblance to intellect as opposed to the “reality”, the “coupon” and the weight loss programs.  Not to mention all the other---dare I say it “crap”---- from Dancing With The Stars to Idol?

11)  On a positive note it has to be said that PBS will be airing the latest version of Upstairs/Downstairs starting this Sunday---and there are always the re-runs of the best Police drama ever---Homicide on Centric

12)    Speaking of Television---all those chef shows---why?   Does anyone really care?
 Rhetorical question---of course people do which is why they watch and then go to Wendys.

13)  If Al Capone was sent to jail for tax evasion how is it that the government cannot find a reason to prosecute Pastor Jones for something that does not interfere with his Freedom of Speech rights---in his case Freedom of Hate and Freedom to Garner Publicity rights?  How about littering---he has polluted the airwaves (certainly with the help of media)?

14)   Artificial Intelligence is still something that is being worked on.  How is it that my computer does what it wants when it wants and I sit around watching paint dry while it does whatever it does?   Only good thing---it does not need to be walked and does not need house-breaking since I was not going to clean up if it messed up around here.