"The Guard" with Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle (2011)

When Irish police Sergeant Gerry Boyle, played by Brendan Gleeson, is teamed with FBI agent Wendell Everett in an investigation of a drug smuggling ring, neither man is sure of what he has gotten into. With Sgt. Boyle displaying every stereotypical trait of a bigoted Irishman; and Agent Everett being overly sensitive to racism; the investigation quickly morphs into high gear as it alternates between a very good plot line and some politically incorrect humor.

Sergeant Boyle is the type who loves confrontation, lives with his dying mother and has a penchant for prostitutes. He could care less about the International drug smugglers. Paired with the very professional and uptight FBI Agent produces some very funny moments as the two learn to accept the fact that they have been thrown together. For better, or worse, the two begin to know each other a bit better as they tray their best to identify and ensnare all the players in this rapid fire comedy.

This film was the Official Selection at both the Sundance and Los Angeles Film Festivals for 2011. Director Michael McDonagh keeps the film on pace, delivering one of the most unusual comedies since “Saving Grace.”

 Pearl Harbor - Too Much Negotiation

This is the USS West Virginia on the morning of December 7, 1941. Negotiations for peace with Japan were underway in New York with the Japanese at the time of the attack. Remember this as you read today’s newspaper; sometimes there can be too much negotiating. The attack on Pearl Harbor is proof of the old adage that “the only thing new is the history we don’t know.”

 

Altamont - The End of Woodstock

Today is the anniversary of the Altamont Speedway Concert which featured the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter by Hell’s Angel Sonny Barger, who would later serve time for the crime he committed that day. It was supposed to be the wrap up to the Rolling Stones 1969 tour; a kind of present to their fans. It was organized by Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, along with their friends in the Oakland and San Francisco chapters of the infamous motorcycle “club.” When Jerry Garcia and his band showed up early on and felt the vibes; and saw the violence already taking place; they fled. The other scheduled acts chose to honor their commitments, albeit under arduous circumstances.

Several things were working against the success of the concert form the outset. First, there was the fact that the concert was too hastily organized. The next mistake was in building a low platform, rather than a stage; again due to time constraints; which made the situation volatile from the very opening act. The main problem with a low platform when having such high end acts as the Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin; and even the newly minted Crosby Stills, Nash and Young; is that every one of the audience; in this case almost 500,000 people; have access to the stage. This creates a need for aggressive security, and that is exactly what happened at Altamont.

One of the myths about the concert involves the Rolling Stones providing the beer for the Hell’s Angels as payment to be security for the band. The truth is that Sam Cutler; who was acting as the road manager for the Stones; bought the beer back from the Angels due to their drunken and violent behavior. The fact that they were able to recoup the beer later was no fault of the Stones at all.

The concert was the antithesis of Woodstock, with people charging outlandish prices for water and other essentials. The crowd of 500,000 was cowed by the actions of 500 bikers, whom the artists were unable to control. The only one to really take any action was Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane, who actually hit one of the Angels and was knocked out for his trouble.

The Rolling Stone’s film “Gimme Shelter” is the best record of the concert at Altamont Speedway. It shows the apathy which allowed a relatively small band of bikers to take control of a concert and exert their will on what should have been a joyous event. It was; in short; the end of the Woodstock Era. 120 days. See Charlie Watts reaction to the stabbing the following morning here in a scene from "Gimme Shelter";

 

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For All the Kids at Pease Elementary School

 

This is for all the kids at Pease Elementary School on West Avenue in Austin, TX who were told by an afterschool teacher that there is no Santa Claus. The "Grinch" then proceeded to instruct the 5 year old kindergartners to go home and confront their parents about the issue. The phone number at the school is  (512) 414-4428. I called them earlier and left a hearty “HO-Ho-Ho!” on their answering machine to assure them that Santa was real. I hope my readers will all do the same. In the meantime, here is the famous written proof concerning the matter of whether or not there is a Santa Claus.

When 8 year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun in September of 1897, the editor, Francis Pharcellus Church, quickly responded to her query concerning the reality of Santa Claus. It is one of the most reprinted editorials in the history of journalism. Here is the text of that letter, as well as the timeless response. Let’s hope they read this in Austin!

"Dear Editor,

I am 8 years old. Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it’s so. Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?”

Virginia O’Hanlon

115 West 59th Street

 

Here is the reply she received on the Editorial page of the New York Sun on September 21, 1897;

 

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

"Against All Odds" by Eddie Ray (2012)

 

I just finished reading “Against All Odds” by Eddie Ray. It was fantastic. In understated tones, he has delivered a living portrait of a time, though long gone, which still influences us until this very day. The book is all about taking chances and trusting your instincts in order to help make your dreams come true. It's the story of a family, raised in segregation, and yet still successful by virtue of hard work. And lastly, it's the story of one man's continuing search to define who he is and how the hell he got to be where he is today. In short, it was a pleasure to read.

I would never exchange my own life for someone else’s experiences; I’m fairly satisfied with my own; but I would have loved to have been along for the ride with Eddie Ray on his journey. In the same bold, yet somehow humble, fashion which has marked his incredible career in the music business, noted A & R (artists and repertoire) man Eddie Ray has penned a very impressive memoir. As he puts it, the book covers his journey from the “stockroom” at Decca Records; where he began his work as a shipping clerk; and his time at Aladdin Records, working for Leo and Eddie Messner; to the Boardrooms of America’s largest record companies; becoming the first African-American hired as a major executive of a major record company; in his case, Capitol Records in the mid 1960’s. In between those years he was interacting with some of the most famous of the Rhythm and Blues acts; including Fats Domino and Irma Thomas. It was while working with Ms. Thomas that the Rolling Stones did a cover version of her record “Time Is on My Side”, which cemented their place in the “British Invasion”.

His descriptions of traveling in the Jim Crow south with Fats Domino will have you scratching your head in disbelief, as they were relegated to eating bologna and cheese sandwiches behind grocery stores because no one would serve a “colored” man. The juke box inside might be playing “Blueberry Hill”, but you couldn’t buy a piece of blueberry pie if you were a black man. Not even if you had the number 1 record!

Filled with glimpses into the life of an African-American man in the days before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the author takes the time to explain the history of the music he promoted. What is rock and roll? Where did it come from, and how did it evolve? In this slim 200 page book the author has provided us with some of the answers to those questions.

Mr. Ray also chronicles his service on the President’s Copyright Tribunal in the early 1980’s under the Reagan Administration. Every artist today owes Mr. Ray a debt for the fair share they receive from their work. He redefined what constitutes a “performance”,  and how much a performer got paid for the recordings and films they had made. With technology changing, this was groundbreaking stuff.

The book begins far away from Franklin, North Carolina in 1926, where Mr. Ray was born. By cleverly starting in his later years, Mr. Ray incites the reader’s curiosity about just who he is and where he came from. His parents were hard working, literate people. There was a radio in their home on which Mr. Ray and his mother would listen to the Gospel shows on weekends. Reading was something which was revered. And when it came time to go to high school; which was not possible in Franklin back then; he went to Laurinburg Institute in the Eastern part of North Carolina to obtain a high school diploma. Later, at age 50, after having made a success of himself, he even went to college and obtained his degree. He describes it as one of the proudest moments of his life.

In his early years Mr. Ray was always encouraged by his parents to do his best; and more importantly, to pay no heed to the limitations placed upon him by the color of his skin. A man will be what he wills himself to be seems to be the attitude imbued in the author at an early age.

From his summer jobs working with tobacco, and also at a ball bearing plant in Connecticut, Mr. Ray got his first look at New York City, and the lighted marquees bearing the names of all the famous acts of the day. He vowed to come back there someday with a creation of his own. From such dreams, reality grows…

After a 120 day stint in the US Army was behind him, he set off to discover what he was really meant to do. Arriving in Los Angeles on his 19^th birthday, working as a dish washer, Mr. Ray seems almost to have accidentally fallen into his profession. Living in a skid row room while washing dishes made him hunger for more in life; and the music industry was where he would find it.

The story of Mr. Ray’s accomplishments; and how they have even affected you as a listener of music; is one that I highly recommend. It is at once, a history of the music industry as it pertains to artist’s rights and royalties; and also the story of a man searching for ways to repay the kindness which was shown to him by others on his way up the ladder.

His accounts of the artists he has handled are far more than I can name here. So, let’s just say that if you were listening to just about anything in the 1960’s, Mr. Ray had his hand in it somewhere. And, he is not shy about his “misses” either. He describes how he lost Janis Joplin and Michael Jackson to other labels by mere days.

But, more than all of the above; more than all of the awards and accolades he has received; as if those things wouldn’t be enough to constitute a book all on their own; Mr. Ray has written a portrait of his own search for the meaning behind it all. And you know what? I think he has found it. This is a terrific book.

For more about Mr. Ray, or the NC Music Hall of Fame, use the following links;

www.eddieraymusicman.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Odds-Remarkable-Story/dp/1478213477

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2012/10/eddie-ray-against-all-odds_1.html

"Foyle's War" with Michael Kitchen (2002)

Michael Kitchen is everything you’d look for in a Police Investigator as he takes on the role of Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle in this multi-part PBS mini-series from 2002.  As the war with Germany wages on the other side of the channel, he is itching to get into the fight. That is, until he realizes the value he still holds in protecting the home front, where criminal schemes abound. With Germany only 30 miles away and advancing through Belgium; cornering the British at Dunkirk; there are people at home who would rather capitulate than fight. It becomes up to Chief Inspector Foyle, along with his Army Assistant, “Sam”, played by the lovely Honeysuckle Weeks, to solve these crimes, which range from outright murder, to sabotage.

This is the first UK edition, which is about 400 minutes long, spread over 4 episodes in Northern England. The stories are somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie, with an underplayed sense of mystery. Inspector Foyle and “Sam” are tasked with solving some very unusual crimes, even while dealing with their own personal problems. The Inspector is a widower, with a son who is joining the RAF. “Sam” is from a more rural area and her Vicar father wants her home.

From the very first episode, “The German Woman”, the viewer is drawn into the beautiful scenery of the English countryside, which serves as a placid background for the tumult of the war. When the German born wife of a local landowner is killed while horseback riding, suspicion falls on everyone in the town of Sussex. But careful sleuthing on the part of Inspector Foyle and “Sam” leave them to a corrupt system of evading the draft. The suspicion for the motive then falls on the dead woman’s husband as the cause of the murder. But that still leaves open the question of why his wife was murdered, and by who?

In “The White Feather” a young girl is accused of cutting the telegraph wires from the local military base; a crime which could see her hung. Although she does not deny committing the crime, the question still remains as to why, and for whom, she has placed herself in such jeopardy.

In the third story of the series, “A Lesson in Murder”, a conscientious objector dies while in police custody. Mystery abounds in this case, where class and privilege clash with the responsibilities of the ordinary man.

In the final episode of the 1^st season, when Inspector Foyle and “Sam” are confronted with the stabbing death of a man in his home during a bombing raid , they find a statuette. That statuette brings them into contact with the curator of the local museum, who is tasked with packing away all of the art treasures under his domain for safe keeping.  But some things just don’t add up, and the foolproof scheme to keep the statuette hidden is foiled by the combined efforts of Inspector Doyle and “Sam”, as well as the occurrence of the air raid.

Filmed with great attention to detail, the countryside seems to leap from the screen with each story. The sets, and the wardrobes are both impeccable, giving the stories a true flavor of the times in which they take place. The stories were written by Anthony Horowitz and the filming was directed by Jeremy Silberston and David Thacker. The whole series is exactly what we have come to expect of the BBC; excellent writing and storylines which both inform the viewer, as well as make them think.

"Elihu Washburne" by Michael Hill (2012)

Some of the greatest heroes are often the ones you have never heard of. Their deeds go without laurel; sometimes confined to the trash heaps of history. But for author Michael Hill, such could have been the fate of Elihu Washburne, America’s Minister to France at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in the late summer of 1870. The following fall and winter brought shortages of food and fuel to the city of Paris, and people there were reduced to eating cats and dogs, even their own horses, in order to survive.

In the midst of all of this turmoil and suffering, only one foreign Minister remained at his post; Elihu Washburne, an American of poor origins who was the recipient of much ridicule when he took the post offered him by President Grant. Before the crisis in the winter of 1870, no one could have guessed at the degree of fortitude he possessed. But, given the chance, he proved them all wrong.

The Franco-Prussian War grew out of France having remained neutral during the Prussian invasion of Austria in the late 1860’s. Their aim was to create a German Federation in Northern Europe, something they would try on a much larger scale in the coming 20^th century. Napoleon III was not prepared to engage in a war with Prussia , and his policy of appeasement failed. Prussia invaded France in 1870. During this conflict, our Minister to France was the only foreign dignitary to remain at his post. And not only was he able to do that, he was also able to get 20,000 Germans civilians out of Paris; where they were in extreme danger. In addition he was able to keep several hundred more German citizens under the protection of our Embassy, even sharing his scant supply of food with them.

During the nearly 300 days of war; with the Prussians led into battle by their own Monarch, King Wilhem I, along with his military adviser Otto von Bismarck; Paris was under siege from August of 1870 through January of 1871.

The author has taken the diaries and journals of Elihu Washburne and crafted them into a highly charged and readable account of what it was like to be in the City of Light when the darkness of war took over. There were many heroes, and also villains, at work during the siege. Using the diaries of Minister Washburne; as well as drawing from the cables of American Secretary of State Fisk; the author draws a complete picture of a very principled and dedicated diplomat caught up in a storm for which he was unprepared, yet acquitted himself with valor.

With an emphasis on the causes of the conflict, Mr. Hill has given us the background necessary to understand the events leading up to the siege. In doing so he has also supplied the reader with new insights into the causes of the First and Second World Wars. But, more importantly, he has highlighted the actions of a single man caught up in a maelstrom, and through it all, gave his best.

Two Books - Two Views

There are 2 books which have had more influence on events in the Middle-East than all of the diplomats and peace plans of the last 100 years combined. One, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” is an observation by T.E. Lawrence “of Arabia”, and gives insight into the fragility of the unity amongst the Arab tribes. It is also his personal observation of his experiences in the First World War as a liaison officer working with the Arabs against the Turks in the destruction of the Ottomon Empire in 1916-1918.

He took the title from the Book of Proverbs 9:1: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Before the war had begun, Colonel Lawrence had begun a book on the 7 great cities of the Middle East, and their place in history. The finished version is actually the third version; the first having been abandoned by the outbreak of the war; the second having been stolen while on a train in England. (Wouldn’t you love to find that at a yard sale?)

“The Seven Pillars” is actually a rock formation located in Wadi Rum, or, what is present day Jordan. This is where he was based while serving with the British Forces in North Africa. Authorized by Emir Faisal he prepared attacks on the Ottoman Turkish forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north (present day Syria).

The dedication is one of the most debated in literature, with many believing it was dedicated to the young boy who acted as his aide-de-camp and was named Selim Ahmed, hence the dedication to “S.A.” Others believe the book was dedicated to the unity of the entire Arab race. Here is that poem;

I loved you, so I drew these tides of
Men into my hands
And wrote my will across the
Sky and stars

To earn you freedom, the seven

Pillared worthy house,

That your eyes might be
Shining for me
When I came

Death seemed my servant on the
Road, 'til we were near
And saw you waiting:
When you smiled and in sorrowful

Envy he outran me

And took you apart:
Into his quietness
Love, the way-weary, groped to your body,

Our brief wage

Ours for the moment
Before Earth's soft hand explored your shape
And the blind

Worms grew fat upon

Your substance
Men prayed me that I set our work,
The inviolate house,
As a memory of you

But for fit monument I shattered it,

Unfinished: and now
The little things creep out to patch

Themselves hovels

In the marred shadow
Of your gift.
 

The most unusual thing about this book is that T.E. Lawrence, who was an admirer of the Arab cause to be free of western influence, was the first cousin to Colonel Orde Wingate, the unsung hero of Burma during the Second World War, where he took on the Japanese with no outside support, constituting a third front and diverting valuable Japanese materials, and manpower to the area using tactics taken from the Old Testament, calling his 5 man groups the “Chindits” after the warriors depicted in the Bible. I have often wondered what dinner conversation was like between the two; what with one supporting Arab unity; while the other was an ardent Zionist.

The next book, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or “The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion” was an anti-Semitic diatribe passed off as real. In it, it purports to verify a worldwide Jewish plan to take over the world financially. It was first published in Russia in 1903 under the supervision of Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky, and then widely distributed in America by Henry Ford, who provided funding for 500,000 copies.  It was later used by Adolf Hitler to vilify the Jews in Germany and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Many people today still read this book and believe it to be true.

If you are wondering about this post; what its purpose might be; there is none really, beyond calling your attention to these two books which represent a large part of how the Middle East of today became the Middle East of today.

"Duck Amuck" with Daffy Duck (1951)

This year was the 100^th birthday of Charles M. Jones; famed animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of literally hundreds of cartoons. Born on September 21, 1912, he began his career in animation sometime around 1933 when he went to work for Leon Schlesinger Productions. That was the independent studio which produced the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros.  Cream rises to the top, and by 1935 Mr. Jones was working as a full-fledged animator.

The 1940’s saw him working closely with Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, in creating Army educational cartoons. The “Private Snafu” series was used to educate soldiers with humor about subjects as diverse as spies and venereal disease. As they say, this was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, and Mr. Jones collaborated with Dr. Seuss on many of his film adaptations, most notably on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” in 1966.

In this 1951 cartoon, which was released in 1953, Daffy Duck finds himself at the mercy of a clueless animator, and so ends up directing the cartoon from the drawing board. Genius comes in many forms, leaving something magical in its wake. Along with the voiceovers; done by the incomparable Mel Blanc; Mr. Jones created a parallel world behind the scenes of creating a cartoon when he thought of this one.