Random Thoughts from A Random Mind--and a few updates.

As to updates.  Let's start with that.  SUNDAY SIMCHA this Sunday features an interview with Leila Levinson and we speak of her book---Gated Grief.  It is brief but meaningful so I do hope you will not miss that.  Check www.wfdu.fm for time and also for the archiving.  TRADITIONS  has some real surprises this Sunday---new material, voices from a while back---and some thematic material you will want to hear---and we start with a great piece about John Prine---which he may not be happy about but is factual..

The random mind does have some random thoughts since what else should a random mind be doing.  Trying now to stay on focus let us start with Broadway, money, and the world having changed. 

When I was a lad (and I am not going to sing from Pinafore now) I still recall the first show I ever saw.  An aunt took me to see the D'oyle Carte Company doing The Gondoliers.  To this day I have not forgotten it and also how it whetted my appetite for theater and cultural events.   While I realize there is a different price scale today for such an awakening it is not in an economic equivalent to reality.   Yes, tickets then may have been in the $20 range(high for the time) but now to introduce someone to a Broadway experience (unless you can garner something on TDF) will set you back some $125.00 plus all kinds of unexplainable charges.   I have always wanted to help restore theaters---now that is a charge,  delivery---a charge because they held them. and so it goes.  Then there are on-line sites where people sell their tickets and hope for a vast profit.

Then what is the Broadway experience?   When it comes to musicals we are speaking here of what are in fact "Tourist Trapping Moments" (you know---I saw it on Bway) .  Then there are the wonderful dramas and plays.  Their runs are never very long.   That is unfortunate since that is what theater is all about.   Theater is also all about dramatic musicals---not special effects. Or Juke Box Musicals---Abba, Jersey Boys. Faux Beatles.  Think instead Carousel, West Side Story, In The Heights and the like.

Times do change, admittedly.  Sometimes they are really not for the better.   Standards are lowered,  prices are raised, and hype makes people believe they are on to something really special.  They are.  They are getting ripped off.  Think of some of the local venues you might attend that offer great moments of entertainment for a fraction of Broadway prices.  Of course there is the parking and transportation.  No problem locally, I should think.   Of course you do miss the "drama" of  "The Big Apple"===but that lil ole worm has finally bored his way in to that.  I do believe I know the specific day it happened.

When all is said and done I do believe that I could introduce a youngster to theater and he would fall in love with it and I would not have to suffer the Mortgage Costs.of Broadway.

All the above said I do have to admit that there are good reasons why I am not a booker, an investor, or a promoter.   Today I was in conversation with a wide spectrum of people of various ethnic make-up and I found, to my surprise, that they had all seen Lion King and were raving about it.   My grandson just saw it and raved about it and I appreciate that my daughter introduced him that Broadway experience.  One does have to say that the experience of today is quite different to what I might think of as impressive---say, South Pacific, Gilbert & Sullivan (my first experience with D'oyly Carte-already noted)) or any of the others mentioned above.  One can only hope that "special effects" do not overtake a true musical drama with memorable music---again, think of the previously mentioned.  In addition one has to pray that real drama still has a place on the "Great White Way" when the runs for those seem rather short lived.   That Championship Season is closing.   I saw Thurgood a while back---brilliant and closed. 

So, final thought on Bway experience---stick to TDF or TKTS and don't support these over the top prices.  Prices that equal one evening's entertainment for the entire budget of some family's for sustenance.  By the way---Al Pacino in a one man show (I do not know what he plans to do in it) is on Stub Hub for ---hold your breath----$1100.   Any takers?

The random thoughts were plural so it is only proper that I add a few more..  I have already mentioned the programs (TRADITIONS & SUNDAY SIMCHA) and  do have tell you all how delighted I am with the increasing popularity of SUNDAY SIMCHA.  The listeners keep recommending others and so the Ponzi Scheme here goes on.  We are just like Social Security, I suppose.  The best legal Ponzi scheme I know of.

Which leads me to the last random thought about a conundrum.  How is it possible to know someone for years and not know that person is capable of violence?  How is it possible that this person has always been thought annoying and irritating by many and yet some slight (of his own making) can set this person off to violent behavior?  Stay tuned for News At 11---they always find those folks.

Well, since we talked of a Broadway experience and also Gilbert & Sullivan---and how that one does not necessarily have to be on Bway to have an experience---well---whey not---

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

A flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon :

 NOBODY ASKED ME BUT......

1)            You have to hand it to the Orthodox Jewish newspaper from Bklyn.  for narrow mindedness,  and making lying not a sin when they altered the iconic photo of the tension of awaiting the Seals capturing Osama Bin Laden. 

2)               Here is the ethical thing---don’t publish the shot.  In altering it you have shown disdain for women, a penchant for lying, and, perhaps worst, opened yourself for legal problems since the photo came with specific instructions it not be altered.

3)               Best that the publishers of Die Tzeitung (that is the paper) go to Pitkin Avenue and look for Joe & Paul---they know from altering---from coats to suits to gabardines----OY can they a bargain bring.

4)               How many recall when Adlai Stevenson had a problem in running because of his divorce?   Now we have Presidents who have affairs and now a contender who has his 3d wife (who he dated while married) to be his testimonial to his “family values”.  Say another hello to Newt Gingrich.

5)               With all the hype about Broadway musicals and Spiderman in particular has anyone noticed that the only “Broadway” shows of significance are dramas (that do not run for long) and 1 or 2 musicals?   All the rest is now Disneyland East---spectacles with no serious or comedic content (save 1 or 2)   Most good things are now Off Bway or regional.   Think of this---South Pacific---Lincoln Ctr. / War Horse—Lincoln Ctr. / West Side Story—Bellport NY.  Now if you want Juke Box Musicals and tourist attractions Bway is THE place---The Million Dollar Quartet, Jersey Boys, Abba, Lion King—and so on and on and on.

6)               Does anyone really care that Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife separated?  If so—well, let me look into Bartlett’s Book of Quotations---here it is---“get a life”

7)               Andrew Calhoun is one hell of an honest songwriter---stick around for the day I have him on TRADITIONS---probably on 5/29.   You do not want to miss it and all the other material that day.

8)               I have to repeat a great joke which was told by the grand-daughter of Sholom Aleichem.  She is now 100 years of age and teaching a course in Jewish Humor.  Married to a man who is 94 she makes the point that he likes older women---OK—the joke:

        “The Frenchman says: ‘I’m tired and thirsty. I must have wine.’ The German says: ‘I’m tired and thirsty. I must have beer.’ The Jew says: ‘I’m tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes.’ ”.

       Bel Kaufman is the author of the best-seller Up The Down Staircase.

9)              I don’t have a “smart” phone since it would make me feel truly stupid---a phone smarter than myself.  Horrors.

10)       Stu Marcus, the force behind the annual Harry Chapin concert on Long Island attracts some terrific talent for this Free event (you do have to bring food for the local pantries) and wondered how he might get Billy Joel to appear.  He has all the creds for this---Long Island,  stated many times his music is mistaken for Harry Chapin, and, while it is always a “sold out” event---this could really make it even more-so---and put a great feather in the cap of Stu Marcus, who desperately needs another feather in his cap.

11)       I wonder why John Prine never got around to writing a song about Steve Goodman---who, besides being a great friend, pushed him to the fore at the beginning.   He states, in Clay Eals’ book that he still has not had the inspiration.   Strange.  Think Harry Chapin/Phil Ochs, Harry Chapin/Pete Seeger, Eric Bogle/Kate Wolf.  Inspiration!

12)       Make sure you do not miss the segment about songwriters and singers on Traditions this Sunday----it may well explain the above---Andrew Calhoun will be my guest 2 weeks from then.

                                  

Some Thoughts and Some Suggestions Required

On TRADITIONS, as you are aware, I always start the program with some, what I consider, wonderful new music that was sent over the proverbial transom.   That will not change.  But I could use some suggestions about a thought I had for the program.  You, hopefully, are listeners and appreciate the program and all the wonderful guests that join us (that will not change).

In thinking of it I am so delighted that there are many "elders", so to speak, that are still with us---Pete Seeger being the lead off hitter in that category.  Yet,  we have lost so many before their time.   It is, sadly, a long list.  Yet, their music should always be recalled.    I speak here of people like Steve Goodman, Kate Wolf, Harry Chapin, Phil Ochs---oh---many more.   SO--the question.  Would you want about 20 or so minutes devoted to these people on a bi-weekly basis (one at a time)---you requests would be honored.?

Your input on this would be greatly appreciated.   I know how I feel about it but I always want to keep the program to be something you--the listener--wants to hear.

No picture and no influence today.  Just an honest question.

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