Just a quick thought about Sen. Specter's party-switch.
I think people should follow their convictions BUT ... if someone voted for Mr. Specter when he ran as a Republican, were they voting for the man, the party or a combination of both? It is likely all three in many cases. But is it fair for someone to switch in mid-stream after making certain promises, pledges etc.?
I guess my question is this: Should there be an election for Mr. Specter to run again for the same office? Give people another chance to vote for (or against) him as a Democrat rather than a Republican? What about those in the Democratic party in his state who have been working and planning for the next election? Does this have their blessing too?
The whole idea of switching parties at that level seems odd. Like OK to do but then why should you get to keep everything you won or got elected to if you have changed?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Brill Building
Years ago in another life and another job (as noted in a previous blog) I got to go to New York City frequently for work. Usually a day or two at a time and then back home again. I always enjoyed the trips but would come home exhausted. The NYC pace was always a lot faster than wherever home was at the time.
In the mid 80s, we rented and outfitted a recording studio in the Brill Building, which if you follow music history at all – was and still may be an iconic place.
Many, many years ago the halls would have been filled with famous songwriters and musicians. The halls even in the 80s were one wooden and glass door after another with obscure sounding names of publishing companies. In the olden days of the music business, people wrote songs first. Then they sold them and then somebody else played and sang them. But things started in places like the Brill Building. Walking down the halls you could still hear music of all sorts emanating from the various rooms.
Denizens of the Brill Building included: Carole king, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka and hundreds of others over decades dating back to the 1930s.
The Brill is on Broadway not too far from Times Square. Back when I was going there, Times Square had not yet been “Disney-fied” and cleaned up. We were always careful walking out late at night. And we had to walk by some places that were interesting.
There used to be a TV series (Exec. Produced by Spielberg) called Amazing Stories. I had an idea back then for an episode that would have a budding musician walking the halls trying to sell his music. At each door he’d walk in and in one office might be the big band-types of the 40s banging out a demo of their latest tune. Or at another door, Bobby Darin trying out ‘Mack the Knife.’ A few doors later Carole King playing on a piano in her cubicle in the 60s before her own career took off.
Each door would take our time-travelling musician to another decade. I have no idea how to end it and where he would be but the concept always intrigued me. the movie "Corrine, Corrina" with Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta reminded me of the Brill.
I have no idea what the Brill Building is like today but I always felt like I was stepping back in time whenever I went inside.
In the mid 80s, we rented and outfitted a recording studio in the Brill Building, which if you follow music history at all – was and still may be an iconic place.
Many, many years ago the halls would have been filled with famous songwriters and musicians. The halls even in the 80s were one wooden and glass door after another with obscure sounding names of publishing companies. In the olden days of the music business, people wrote songs first. Then they sold them and then somebody else played and sang them. But things started in places like the Brill Building. Walking down the halls you could still hear music of all sorts emanating from the various rooms.
Denizens of the Brill Building included: Carole king, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka and hundreds of others over decades dating back to the 1930s.
The Brill is on Broadway not too far from Times Square. Back when I was going there, Times Square had not yet been “Disney-fied” and cleaned up. We were always careful walking out late at night. And we had to walk by some places that were interesting.
There used to be a TV series (Exec. Produced by Spielberg) called Amazing Stories. I had an idea back then for an episode that would have a budding musician walking the halls trying to sell his music. At each door he’d walk in and in one office might be the big band-types of the 40s banging out a demo of their latest tune. Or at another door, Bobby Darin trying out ‘Mack the Knife.’ A few doors later Carole King playing on a piano in her cubicle in the 60s before her own career took off.
Each door would take our time-travelling musician to another decade. I have no idea how to end it and where he would be but the concept always intrigued me. the movie "Corrine, Corrina" with Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta reminded me of the Brill.
I have no idea what the Brill Building is like today but I always felt like I was stepping back in time whenever I went inside.
An ode to Cesar
They say smell is a great rememberer. You smell something and are taken back to wherever, whenever something associated with that smell took place. I agree but today it was something I saw that took me back to the late 70s and early 80s.
At that time my job had me going to New York City about once a month to supervise the re-recording of a television program into foreign languages. We hired or rather contracted a gentleman in NYC by the name of Cesar Yazigi. If I could, I’d be putting little accent marks all over his name.
Cesar was many things. Wealthy for one – he lived on Beekman Place – not street and possibly in the same building as Leonard Bernstein and other wealthy NYers. His monthly maintenance he paid to his building owner (which for some reason he told me once) was way more than any mortgage I’ve ever had – and this was just for cleaning common areas, paying the doorman, security etc.
Cesar also hailed from Brazil and was in some way connected with the language school that came under the name Yazigi which if I recall, was to Brazil what we used to think of as Berlitz in the U.S. His primary day job, although I never once saw him go to the United Nations building, was to hire and train translators for the UN. Hence my association with him since we needed translators and people who could speak a variety of languages.
What did I see that reminded me of him? A canvas tote bag. I saw it and wondered if I could use one. What I remember about Cesar and tote bags was he never carried a briefcase. He always used paper supermarket bags to carry his stuff to and from the office.
Cesar had money to buy any type of briefcase he wanted but he chose to carry a paper bag. Cesar apparently never spent real money on clothes either. He was paunchy and seemed to always be in some state of dishevelment with a button undone, a wrinkled shirt, loose tie. Think Henry Kissinger with a Portuguese/Brazilian accent.
Cesar once told me never to take the time to stop and pick up coins on the street because you’d lose more money in your own time than you gain by whatever small amount you got stopping and bending over.
I never knew how old Cesar was. He always seemed a lot older but that could be because I was in my 20s. He was married to a pretty Armenian woman named Anik.
I lost touch with Cesar in the 80s and later heard he passed away. I wish I had kept in touch. Another thing he was, was extremely smart. And he knew plenty of good restaurants in the City. I ate lots of good food and likely never in the same place twice and he never let me pay for my food.
So here’s to you, Cesar. I miss you.
At that time my job had me going to New York City about once a month to supervise the re-recording of a television program into foreign languages. We hired or rather contracted a gentleman in NYC by the name of Cesar Yazigi. If I could, I’d be putting little accent marks all over his name.
Cesar was many things. Wealthy for one – he lived on Beekman Place – not street and possibly in the same building as Leonard Bernstein and other wealthy NYers. His monthly maintenance he paid to his building owner (which for some reason he told me once) was way more than any mortgage I’ve ever had – and this was just for cleaning common areas, paying the doorman, security etc.
Cesar also hailed from Brazil and was in some way connected with the language school that came under the name Yazigi which if I recall, was to Brazil what we used to think of as Berlitz in the U.S. His primary day job, although I never once saw him go to the United Nations building, was to hire and train translators for the UN. Hence my association with him since we needed translators and people who could speak a variety of languages.
What did I see that reminded me of him? A canvas tote bag. I saw it and wondered if I could use one. What I remember about Cesar and tote bags was he never carried a briefcase. He always used paper supermarket bags to carry his stuff to and from the office.
Cesar had money to buy any type of briefcase he wanted but he chose to carry a paper bag. Cesar apparently never spent real money on clothes either. He was paunchy and seemed to always be in some state of dishevelment with a button undone, a wrinkled shirt, loose tie. Think Henry Kissinger with a Portuguese/Brazilian accent.
Cesar once told me never to take the time to stop and pick up coins on the street because you’d lose more money in your own time than you gain by whatever small amount you got stopping and bending over.
I never knew how old Cesar was. He always seemed a lot older but that could be because I was in my 20s. He was married to a pretty Armenian woman named Anik.
I lost touch with Cesar in the 80s and later heard he passed away. I wish I had kept in touch. Another thing he was, was extremely smart. And he knew plenty of good restaurants in the City. I ate lots of good food and likely never in the same place twice and he never let me pay for my food.
So here’s to you, Cesar. I miss you.
Friday, April 17, 2009
For want of a penny
I went to buy dog food today and when the total rang up, I grabbed my bills and my pocket change (normally I don’t have any but today I did) and I came up one penny short. I joked and said ‘have you guys got a penny?’ as nine-times-out-of-ten almost anyplace has a little “give a penny – take a penny” holder and often the clerk will simply reach in a grab what is needed.
Both ladies behind the counter looked at me as if I was asking them to pay my bill. “We don’t have any,” was the response. One lady opened up another cash register drawer and stated “None over here.” Now I have no idea how that would have helped anyway, pulling a penny from one place to another; sort of a “borrowing from Peter to pay Paul” kind of thing.
Anyway they decided I could go without paying the penny. Please note, I had a dollar in my wallet and they knew that, it just didn’t make sense to break a dollar for me to get 99 cents in change.
I walked out to my truck dropped in the dog food and remembered I had picked up a penny off the floorboard earlier in the day. I grabbed it and went back inside. I was smiling as I went because I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
When I got back to the counter, the two ladies were still rummaging through drawers trying to find a penny.
Both ladies behind the counter looked at me as if I was asking them to pay my bill. “We don’t have any,” was the response. One lady opened up another cash register drawer and stated “None over here.” Now I have no idea how that would have helped anyway, pulling a penny from one place to another; sort of a “borrowing from Peter to pay Paul” kind of thing.
Anyway they decided I could go without paying the penny. Please note, I had a dollar in my wallet and they knew that, it just didn’t make sense to break a dollar for me to get 99 cents in change.
I walked out to my truck dropped in the dog food and remembered I had picked up a penny off the floorboard earlier in the day. I grabbed it and went back inside. I was smiling as I went because I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
When I got back to the counter, the two ladies were still rummaging through drawers trying to find a penny.
White House dot gov
An observation today. Heard that the White House has prettied-up their website so I checked it out.
All-in-all not bad I guess. But I found one interesting tidbit.
Either click on the Administration tab at the top or scroll down to see who’s who.
I know First Ladies and wives of Veeps (Second Lady?) are important people. They can play a useful role in the government. But unless I am mistaken, neither Michelle Obama's nor Dr. Jill Biden’s names were on any ballots I saw. Likewise I haven’t heard that they have been appointed or hired for any specific jobs but …
Both names are in the official list of the Administration. In fact both are listed above the Cabinet. I know enough about movie making and credits to know that placement and order of names is a big deal. So not only are they listed someplace that doesn’t make official sense to me but they are also listed above a lot of other people in the pecking order.
But I’m a little out of touch with what’s going on in DC right now; what with a family to feed and a mortgage to pay etc. so maybe I’ve missed something.
All-in-all not bad I guess. But I found one interesting tidbit.
Either click on the Administration tab at the top or scroll down to see who’s who.
I know First Ladies and wives of Veeps (Second Lady?) are important people. They can play a useful role in the government. But unless I am mistaken, neither Michelle Obama's nor Dr. Jill Biden’s names were on any ballots I saw. Likewise I haven’t heard that they have been appointed or hired for any specific jobs but …
Both names are in the official list of the Administration. In fact both are listed above the Cabinet. I know enough about movie making and credits to know that placement and order of names is a big deal. So not only are they listed someplace that doesn’t make official sense to me but they are also listed above a lot of other people in the pecking order.
But I’m a little out of touch with what’s going on in DC right now; what with a family to feed and a mortgage to pay etc. so maybe I’ve missed something.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Gross
Not like my last post, but gross as in versus net.
My daughter and I were eating at Cracker Barrel last night. Always great food but the gravy was rather tasteless. But let me tell you - put a pack of Splenda into a small bowl of grits, very yummy!
We were seated so that I faced the kitchen door and could see partly inside where everything was prepped. On a small whiteboard were written daily goals. These were dollar amounts for each meal and I can only assume that they represented the amount of food they hoped to sell. Since what I saw might be considered proprietary information; suffice it to say, I think Cracker Barrel must be doing very well in this sluggish economy. Add to those numbers what I'm sure they glean from their nifty retail operation, multiply that by the hundreds of franchises lining the interstates of America and I doubt Mr. Cracker and Mrs. Barrel are waiting for their bail out or stimulus checks. And we of course contributed our small part to their ongoing success.
My daughter and I were eating at Cracker Barrel last night. Always great food but the gravy was rather tasteless. But let me tell you - put a pack of Splenda into a small bowl of grits, very yummy!
We were seated so that I faced the kitchen door and could see partly inside where everything was prepped. On a small whiteboard were written daily goals. These were dollar amounts for each meal and I can only assume that they represented the amount of food they hoped to sell. Since what I saw might be considered proprietary information; suffice it to say, I think Cracker Barrel must be doing very well in this sluggish economy. Add to those numbers what I'm sure they glean from their nifty retail operation, multiply that by the hundreds of franchises lining the interstates of America and I doubt Mr. Cracker and Mrs. Barrel are waiting for their bail out or stimulus checks. And we of course contributed our small part to their ongoing success.
Butt Baths
We have two little "bucket" calves - so called because most dairy farmers put them on a bucket for their milk soon after they are born so the mamas can get back in the milking rotation. We bought a couple a few weeks ago to raise for ... uh, spoiler alert ... just think about where your latest hamburger came from as I move on.
One common problem for these little guys is called "scours" which is the cow form of diarrhea as they try to get used to different milk etc. Both of ours have had their share of this little problem. If you can imagine life without toilet paper ... sorry.
Anyway they needed to be cleaned up. So Annie, my daughter, got to hold the front end of each little guy while I went to work on the back end with some warm soapy water, a soft brush and a curry comb. 20 minutes or so later; clean as a whistle. Them, not us. Both of us started to smell slightly like, well, cow's behinds.
"Well life on the farm is kind of laid back, ain't much an ole country boy like me can't hack."
One common problem for these little guys is called "scours" which is the cow form of diarrhea as they try to get used to different milk etc. Both of ours have had their share of this little problem. If you can imagine life without toilet paper ... sorry.
Anyway they needed to be cleaned up. So Annie, my daughter, got to hold the front end of each little guy while I went to work on the back end with some warm soapy water, a soft brush and a curry comb. 20 minutes or so later; clean as a whistle. Them, not us. Both of us started to smell slightly like, well, cow's behinds.
"Well life on the farm is kind of laid back, ain't much an ole country boy like me can't hack."
Friday, April 10, 2009
Jose can you play?
In most books, Jose Feliciano will go down as a stereotype of the singer of a couple of well known songs - Feliz Navidad and his version of the Doors' Light My Fire. Some may remember him as a reasonably good guitarist but if you ever hear his version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee... For you non-classical people, it's a speed song. But I don't think the Russian wrote it for guitar. On XM today I heard it by Jose and while I don't particularly like the song played anyway, anyhow - you have to hear it to see how fast Mr. F. could play it. Hendrix was good and Eddie Van Halen was pretty quick and of course there are many others but I'd put this one up there in the pure speed category. If there is by some chance a video of it somewhere it would be amazing to watch.
TV series idea
I have a new idea for a TV series – a mockumentary featuring Russian immigrant criminals.
With the advent of NBC’s/Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation program in the style of the Office and with two programs this weeks featuring Russian immigrant criminals (Without a Trace and Life) I think we need to combine the two ideas/techniques.
I read a caution to screenwriters a year or two ago about avoiding having your characters crawl through heating and air conditioning ducts. Somehow you were losing your creativity if you had to resort to that. (I like 24 but Jack Bauer has to get in a ceiling or crawl thru ductwork at least once a year!)
Now it seems that the writer/producers think that Russians make good villains so they keep popping up all over the place. And it was only a matter of time before somebody simply moved the Office to another town. Again. After all it started in England.
Since I work for a govt. entity, I thought some of the lines in last night's premiere of Parks and Recreation were funny. Lots of potential here but the show needs something. Maybe because I don't know any of the people who play besides Amy Pohler. But I hope they don't think copying the style of the Office will make it work.
With the advent of NBC’s/Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation program in the style of the Office and with two programs this weeks featuring Russian immigrant criminals (Without a Trace and Life) I think we need to combine the two ideas/techniques.
I read a caution to screenwriters a year or two ago about avoiding having your characters crawl through heating and air conditioning ducts. Somehow you were losing your creativity if you had to resort to that. (I like 24 but Jack Bauer has to get in a ceiling or crawl thru ductwork at least once a year!)
Now it seems that the writer/producers think that Russians make good villains so they keep popping up all over the place. And it was only a matter of time before somebody simply moved the Office to another town. Again. After all it started in England.
Since I work for a govt. entity, I thought some of the lines in last night's premiere of Parks and Recreation were funny. Lots of potential here but the show needs something. Maybe because I don't know any of the people who play besides Amy Pohler. But I hope they don't think copying the style of the Office will make it work.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Nothing better to do.
I am amazed that most (can't possibly read it all) of the coverage of Obama's trip to London et al was about such things as touching the Queen, the grand exit from Air Force One, meeting with Sarkozy and his lovely wife etc. Hopefully something of substance was accomplished on this trip and the media either already reported on it or will get to it as soon as they are done fawning over the style rather than the substance.
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