Happy Birthday to Rooftop Reviews!

It was on this date in 2009 that I posted my first blog. I celebrate it each year by either skipping a post that day or re-posting an old post; sometimes the first one; which is what I did last year. Sometimes I tell the story about how I started this thing to begin with. And each year it gets harder to think of something special to mark the occasion.

So, this year I decided on fireworks and a big festival. It was great. Wish you could have been there. The food was delicious, too! Seriously though; and I hate to be like that; what I have actually decided to do is to do nothing. It’s just another day.

Here is a clip of two of my favorite performers; Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. Did I ever tell you how Louis Armstrong got me involved in coin collecting? I was about 9 years old at the time. I had read that Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans on July 4, 1900. That set my imagination on fire! July 4^th was the birthday of our nation and 1900 was a new century.

Man, I wanted a piece of that for myself! Something tangible to hold in my hand that would make me feel as if I were holding a part of history itself; something which had actually been there at the time; a penny.

So, I went to the Hobby Shop on Coney Island Avenue and bought a 1900 Indian Head penny for about 50 cents. I was hooked. I wore that penny out; turning it over and over in my hands; even sleeping with it. The book I’d read said that Armstrong played for pennies in New Orleans as a kid. I couldn’t help but feel; make that know; that this was one of those pennies.

Anyway, this is what I do here. I tell stories to myself in the hope that someday my grandkids; and even great grandkids; will sort through all of the flotsam and jetsam of these posts, and obtain a better picture of the “old man” as a result.

Meantime, enjoy the video. It’s from the 1947 film “New Orleans” and serves as the title song, performed here by Billie Holiday on vocals and Louis on vocals and coronet. The song appears in the film several times as background music, and also by Armstrong and Holiday in a big band setting; but this is what I call the “performance” version. It’s also my favorite one.

And, if you really would like to see the first post of Rooftop Reviews from March 29, 2009 (which was also a Sunday) just hit this link;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

"Under the El Tracks" by Glen Russell Slater (2013)

Glen Slater is a friend of mine; despite the fact that I know almost nothing about baseball. He’s generous in that way. He forgives me my shortcomings. He also writes stories and verse, of which I know a bit more than baseball. That's him in the red shirt in the front row above.

 This poem was written by Glen last year and is a perfect example of the free verse I wish I could write. Of course, Glen thinks it’s no big deal. But that’s because it’s easy for him. He has a blog of his own on Wordpress; though he hates the word “blog.” I hope you will drop in on him sometime at his site;

http://talltalesandtruestories.wordpress.com/

“Under the El Tracks”

by Glen Russell Slater

I feel so naked and awkward

In the sunshine

As if I’m being X-rayed by the stuck-up jerks on Lefferts Boulevard

In the rain I have some shelter

No one sees me.

But not in the sunshine, which exposes me.

Under the el tracks, they share a kind of common misery

Under the el tracks, I don’t feel so alone in my loneliness.

I wish that I lived near the el tracks

that would cover the boulevard

And I could get lost underneath the din and the dark

and the vibrating roar that envelops your ears and your entire body

from your head to your shoes.

Of the el Train of Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven

Or the el tracks on Brighton Beach Avenue.

Once upon a time,

One Brooklyn winter,

I made sandwiches at Perlmutter’s Luncheonette on Brighton Beach Avenue

Under the el tracks.

I used to screw up the sandwiches and give the wrong change

because I was so nervous as I was scrutinized by the tough guy jerks

who went in there to place bets

On basketball games.

They’d eat sandwiches and drink coffee and talk about the point spread.

And that funny-looking damn little Russian, that genius, wise-ass teenager

who worked there, too.

He made everything look so easy;

I wished the bastard would go back to the Soviet Union.

I’d deliver those sandwiches to those batty Russian broads every day

in that beauty parlor

above Weintraub’s hardware store

That was in the mid-80s.

But I didn’t know how good I had it……..

Lost underneath the el tracks.

"The Sugar's at the Bottom of the Cup" by By Elda Del Bino Willitts and Patricia Henley

It was 5 years ago today that I began this blog by re-posting a book review I had written for a friend at the time who had a blog of her own. That review led to another which led to still another and before long I was in the “habit”, so to speak, of blogging daily on a variety of subjects. I no longer have the friend, but the blog lives on thanks to people like you stopping by. As long as people read it, I’ll write it.  And so, with this re-post I begin my 6^th year of Rooftop Reviews.

Ever wonder what the Marina District along the Northern edge of San Francisco was like in 1916? Or what Ocean Beach was like before all those houses arrived in the Richmond and Sunset Districts? Then “The Sugar’s at the Bottom of The Cup” by Elda Del Bino Willitts is a book for you.

With a sparse and direct approach to the subject, Mrs. Willits takes you back in time to an era when steamships still arrived daily in San Francisco and filled the streets with newly arrived Americans from all over the world. Adding to this mix was the influx of European immigrants arriving by train from the East.

Elda Del Bino was seven years old when she stepped off the train and into the fast moving cosmopolitan world of San Francisco. With straightforward prose she vividly describes her journey by ship to New York and Ellis Island and then the train trip across rural America prior to the First World War, arriving in San Francisco in 1916.

Taking up residence in the Cow Hollow area South of Lombard Street and the present day Highway 101, finding jobs, enrolling in school, learning English, Mrs Willitts draws a clear and accurate picture of San Francisco’s bygone era. Through the changes of the 1920’s and the dark years of the Depression, the book captures the flavor of a changing city. The World War Two years in San Francisco and the changes in morals and values that flowed from that war are all here to examine in the life of one elderly woman.

Full of wit and inescapable charm, Mrs. Willitts has written a wonderful and informative book about San Francisco, the City by the Sea.

This review has also been featured on Garden Lust Journal: http://mendogardens.blogspot.com/

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Edwin Arlington Robinson is one of those great poets you've probably never heard of. He was an American, lived in the late 19^th Century and wrote long poems, epic poems and short poems. He was; in short; a poet. He did write some plays in verse but I am not familiar with them, so I can’t say if they are any good. I suspect that they are.

The poem here is called “Ballad By the Fire” and is considered; at least by me; to be one of his best. He wrote quite a few. Almost all of them end with a 4 line summary under the heading of ENVOY. I only mention this because if you have never read his stuff before it might throw you.

This is one of my favorite of his many ballads, as it speaks to my own self-doubts. Curiously I have the same ability as the author does, in that I can also feel myself shedding those doubts with each passing year. The more I get to know me the more comfortable I am with being me. Now, that’s easier said than done.

And that’s the beauty in this poem. A poet’s job is to distill complex feelings into as few, potent words as possible. The reader fills in the missing pieces, which is what makes poetry so personal. What this poem means to me may not mean the same thing to you. And neither one of us is probably even close to knowing what the poet felt when he wrote it. So, without further ado, I give you Edwin Arlington Booth.

Ballad by the Fire

Slowly I smoke and hug my knee,

The while a witless masquerade

Of things that only children see

Floats in a mist of light and shade:

They pass, a flimsy cavalcade,

And with a weak, remindful glow,

The falling embers break and fade,

As one by one the phantoms go.

Then, with a melancholy glee

To think where once my fancy strayed,

I muse on what the years may be

Whose coming tales are all unsaid,

Till tongs and shovel, snugly laid

Within their shadowed niches, grow

By grim degrees to pick and spade,

As one by one the phantoms go.

But then, what though the mystic Three

Around me ply their merry trade? --

And Charon soon may carry me

Across the gloomy Stygian glade? --

Be up, my soul! nor be afraid

Of what some unborn year may show;

But mind your human debts are paid,

As one by one the phantoms go.

ENVOY

Life is the game that must be played:

This truth at least, good friend, we know;

So live and laugh, nor be dismayed

As one by one the phantoms go.

For more poetry by Edwin Arlington Robinson, use the following links. You will find them all encompassing.

https://archive.org/stream/cu31924021671106#page/n11/mode/2up  (Audio as well as visual.)

http://www.poemhunter.com/edwin-arlington-robinson/  (Good biography.)

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/391#sthash.VB4mfVKw.dpuf  (Whatever the others don’t have you can find here.)

Typical Month at Rooftop Reviews

"Jimi Hendrix - A Brother's Story" by Leon Hendrix... Aug 14, 2012	4397
The Vance Hotel - Statesville, N.C. Sep 19, 2010, 24 comments	3857
The King and Elvis Aug 16, 2010	1136
Birmingham, Alabama - September 15th, 1963 Sep 15, 2011	397
"Ants in the Plants" - Max and Dave Fleischer (1... May 11, 2013	372
Leap Year, George Washington and the Jewish Calend... Feb 28, 2012	146
Popeye Meets Bluebeard - Chivalry Is Not Dead Aug 13, 2013	139
Oleans Street - My Secret Walks Oct 1, 2010	135
Midnight - Cat Napping at Noon Mar 11, 2013	125
Follow up on "Decoding the Lost Symbol" by Simon ... Dec 5, 2009	115

It's been a typical month at Rooftop Reviews. The things I write today won't even "chart" until next year. Sometimes I'm surprised at what gets on there at all! Dismiss the Jimi Hendrix one; it's largely junk mail. I just keep it for the numbers it generates. By next month it will be gone and something else will replace it.

Sometimes it's seasonal. Like in April; my top hit then will be about the Civil War and also about the American Revolution. Surprisingly; overall; the Civil War is the more "popular” of the two. I wonder if that says anything about us as people?

The Vance Hotel is a regular in the top 10. It actually gets comments and also generates e-mails; which I prefer. The Vance is one of those places which attracts people; partly because of its reputation as one of the better hotels of the "old days"; and partly because it has a ghost. Now, that's unique...

Of course; the King and Elvis. I mean, anything about Elvis will get you a hit. I am putting Elvis in the keywords for this. Hey, I may start doing that with all my posts! But seriously, some folks actually do read this stuff. And I'm glad they do.

From cartoons to old films and books and history and stuff that I don't even recall, this is the best value for your buck on the web. Why? A- It’s free. B- There are 7 articles at any given time, as opposed to most other blogs where you can only look at one article at a time. They do that to get the extra hits. I don't need to. That's why I have Elvis and Jimi.

"Under the El Tracks" by Glen Russell Slater

A friend of mine has posted a terrific poem in free verse; which I suck at; on his blog Stickball Hero. I am re-posting it, with permission here simply because it’s really good. I’m better at putting together structured verse, with a bit of wordplay thrown in to keep the reader guessing. This is more in your face, with no ambiguity about it. Glen is in the front row, second from the right in this classic 2nd grade photo from his blog.

Under the El Tracks by

Glen Russell Slater

I feel so naked and awkward

In the sunshine

As if I’m being X-rayed by the stuck-up jerks on Lefferts Boulevard

In the rain I have some shelter

No one sees me.

But not in the sunshine, which exposes me.

Under the el tracks, they share a kind of common misery

Under the el tracks, I don’t feel so alone in my loneliness

I wish that I lived near the el tracks

that would cover the boulevard

And I could get lost underneath the din and the dark

and the vibrating roar that envelops your ears and your entire body

from your head to your shoes.

Of the el Train of Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven

Or the el tracks on Brighton Beach Avenue.

Once upon a time,

One Brooklyn winter,

I made sandwiches at Perlmutter’s Luncheonette on Brighton Beach Avenue

Under the el tracks.

I used to screw up the sandwiches and give the wrong change

because I was so nervous as I was scrutinized by the tough guy jerks

who went in there to place bets

On basketball games.

They’d eat sandwiches and drink coffee and talk about the point spread.

And that funny-looking damn little Russian, that genius, wise-ass teenager

who worked there, too.

He made everything look so easy; I wished the bastard would go back to the Soviet Union.

I’d deliver those sandwiches to those batty Russian broads every day

in that beauty parlor

above Weintraub’s hardware store

That was in the mid-80s.

But I didn’t know how good I had it……..

Lost underneath the el tracks.

__________________________________

You can view Glen's original post here;

http://stickballhero.wordpress.com/2013/09/24under-the-el-tracks-an-attempt-at-free-verse/

Top Ten for the Week

Dave Letterman has his lists; Billboard lists the Top Ten musical hits; the magazines all list the sexiest, wealthiest, most boring, and other assorted lists; so I thought I would create a list of my own. 

This is the first; and probably the last; time that I will do this. I just find it interesting when I look and see what people are reading on my blog. I don’t go in for that high tech, who is reading me in what zip code, type of thing. I just want to know which articles, or reviews, are being read. With over a thousand hits a week; sometimes more; I’m always curious.

So below is the Rooftop Review Top Ten List for the last week in August, which is when this was written. I am pleased with the mixture of book reviews, movies, history and art that people bump into on this "destination based" site.

Basically that means people don’t come on looking for Rooftop Reviews, but rather bump into it while searching for information on a specific article, book, movie or song. That so many return again; on their own; to see what I post is always gratifying. And it’s really great to see that some of my most read posts are usually history, which is a big love of mine; right alongside of music, books and art.

1. "Passages: Green Wall" by Artist Tetsunori Kawana
August 15, 2011
231 Views

2. "Shanghai Diary" by Ursula Bacon
November 10, 2010
224 Views

3. "LBJ" by Phillip F. Nelson
February 24, 2012
144 Views

4. "The Case of Abraham Lincoln" by Julie M. Fenster
June 8, 2011
82 Views

5. Dean Martin - "The Capitol Years"
September 4, 2010
82 Views

6. "Bleed Red" by Ronnie Dunn
February 5, 2011
77 Views

7. The Nazi Manhole Mystery
April 23, 2010
51 Views

8. The Shot Heard Round the World - Lexington and Concord
April 23, 2010
51 Views

9. "A Bronx Tale" with Robert DeNiro
June 28, 2012
32 Views

10. "Seven Days In May" with Frederic March, Kirk Douglas
October 19, 2010
29 Views

                

Reading for Fun - A Self Portrait

I began to read a new book the other day; I had just cracked the cover of the book which I intend to review next week; when I realized that I had no idea which book I had picked up, nor what the subject was about. I frequently have several books going at once, sort of a juggling act which I enjoy doing, but I always know which book I am reading. Apparently ,not this time. However, in  my defense I offer the following;

I had just turned to the first page of Chapter One; I read the Introductions, etc. later on, after I have gotten the flavor of the book, so as to avoid being steered in any direction other than that of the author’s own words within the narrative. This book begins with the line, “Fred Whalen learned to scam along the Mississippi, the river that divides America, at pool halls and revivals.” Great line; it  hooked me from the get-go, it has the elements of time and place, along with the personal type of pitch which appeals to me. In short; it made me want to read more; and I am in the process of doing just that. We'll have to wait and see if it can hold my interest against the other two I'm reading.

But, my greater point is this; I have finally reached the point I always dreamt about; I have become that absent minded, besieged by books, slightly confused type of old guy I always wanted to be. And, I actually understood Clint East Eastwood the other night. You got a problem with that?

A Dinosaur In a Changing World

I'm not very keen on "changes"; I tend to like things to remain sort of "static". Friday night, when I went to post for Saturday, I was confronted by the new “blogspot” changes, which are not at all welcome by me. For a few brief moments I considered the possibility of quitting. But that's not really my style, so I'm going to shoulder on; hopefully with some success as I navigate the unknown. Bear with me as I play the part of “dinosaur" in this brave new world. Today I will be toying with the "whistles and bells" as I learn the new ropes. Of course, if I were to watch the tutorial on the site it may be of some help. But I hate doing that. I have never been one for following the instructions; instead I curse my way through to the finish. It's sort of like On the Job Training, that old euphemism for being thrown into the fire, hoping to escape getting burned in the process.  And we all know how that works out! So, bear with me as I get used to these changes.

Blogging a Star (Light Years and Robert Todd Lincoln)

Some of the stars we see each night have been dead for millions of years, so far away that their light still reaches us. We measure this distance in light years, and immortalize it the lines of plays, such as "The Petrified Forest", where Leslie Howard emotes over them in his famous soliloquy in that film. Blogs are kind of like that, too.

Most of my daily "hits" are not connected to that days post at all, rather they are a composition of peolpe searching for information on a particular subject. That some find my posts useful is really cool. That some even come back again is truly amazing. Seriously, some of the most popular things that people read on here were written almost 2 years ago!

Robert Todd Lincoln still leads the pack each month. Who'd have guessed that one! This guy has a real following. Were he alive today he would undoubtedly be a King on Twitter. Ronnie Dunn is always in a faithful second place, with his hit "Bleed Red." This was another surprise, since, at the time, I threw it on because I like the song, and wanted the day off.

But my point is this, the ideas which you impart, or the words you speak today are never lost. They, like the stars, go on shining, some longer and brighter than others, but all go on shining just the same. So, some of these things may not be read years until years from now, long after I am gone. How cool is that? And though I think I have written about this before, I still find it amazing.

A Word (or Two) on Writing

Writing a daily blog about no particular subject, which is what I do, is not as easy as I once thought that it would be. I used to envy the columnists in the daily papers, both the national, as well as the local ones. As a matter of fact, I have a lot more respect for the local ones, who have a much smaller pool in which to fish for daily ideas. The major columnists have the whole world as their domain. But even they, I suspect, sometimes have trouble sorting through all of the stories that come their way.

These are my observations on the subject, made after almost 2 years of doing this blog. (March 29th is the 2nd anniversary.)

Writing a blog is a daily thing, though it wasn't at first, but I came to enjoy it immensely. It usually takes me about 1 hour to post a book review. But it takes several days to read the book. In the interim I have to find something to post each day. When I finish the book I scan the cover into my computer and then transfer it to the blog. Then I start to write, sometimes flipping back through the pages looking for the correct spelling of a name, or the exact date of a certain event. Often I have slips of paper which I have left throughout the book, intending to make sure those parts get mentioned in the review. Usually, and ironically, these are the parts which most often don't get mentioned at all.

Movie reviews are easier, and more fun. Aside from getting the names of the cast and the director correct, most of a movie review is based upon my "feelings". I either liked it, or I didn't. And if I didn't, I usually don't review it. That doesn't mean that every movie not reviewed here is lousy, but more likely that I haven't seen that particular film.

Travel stuff is fun because I went somewhere interesting, but I need to make sure that the historical portions are correct, as well as engaging. So most days I spend about an hour actually composing the blog, but only after I know what I am going to write about. That's the hardest part.

But my all time favorite type of post is when I write something spontaneous, and it flows out quickly and without error. There are not too many of those, but when they do happen you just keep typing, until the story reveals itself. That's magic. And the funniest thing about it is that those stories take about 15 minutes, start to finish. A rambling post like this takes about the same. The hardest part of this one will be finding an illustration for it. As of this moment, it will be a big surprise to both of us!

Happy 1st Birthday Rooftop Reviews!

Well, it has been one year ago today since I started this blog. It was an impulse based on boredom. And when I saw that my freind Suzy at Garden Lust Journal had a blog, well, I just had to have one too!

The name kind of popped into my head - and the best rooftop photo I had was the one you see and I have grown attached to over the 15 years or so that it has hung on the bedroom wall of wherever my wife, Sue, and I have lived. Currently, that is North Carolina.

Originally I was going to compare books with the movies that were made from them, but somehow I got sidetracked into everything from a short autobiography in 31 installments to book and movie reviews as well as music and theater. I actually did get around to doing a couple of comparisons with movies and books here. It was a surprise to me as well!

I have met and corresponded with so many different people through this site. Most comments come as e-mails, my address is posted right at the top. The correspondents range from authors such as Boris Gindin to Tommy Chong. (I'm still smiling from that one!) I have communicated with Mafia hitmen and ex FBI agents. My favorite in that category has been Abraham Bolden, he was the first African-American Secret Service Agent. Appointed by Eisenhower, he was later placed on the Kennedy White House detail. A very spiritual person, with a very interesting story to tell.

I get almost no negative e-mails, well that depends on your point of view. I did have one Aryan fellow e-mail me to tell me how right I was in my assesment of a particular book. I had to re-read the book to make sure that I was not going crazy!

So this is a day off for me- I can't believe I stuck it out for a year already. I don't post every day, more like 4 or 5 times a week. I avoid politics and religion. There are already too many divisive voices out here. I like to think of this site as an oasis. I hope you do as well, and thanks for stopping in. It really means alot to me that you do.