Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The 'Snoop'



You know how some people are addicted to chocolate? I'm addicted to Anthony Bourdain's show, 'No Reservations.' There's something so ridiculously obscene, so voyeuristic in watching the foodie guru partake of the cuisine of distant countries and familiar cities. Sometimes, it's like a religious epiphany. But as he would say, I digress. I was couched out the other evening watching him render what he could from the 'rust belt' environs of our country..when he began the Baltimore section by referencing and paying homage to the 'greatest television series of all time,The Wire.' I perked up! There was the lucky bastard with Felicia 'Snoop' Pearson who showed up to tuck in with him along the way. Uh, the same 'Snoop' who was called by Stephen King the most chilling female assassin to ever air on a television series. Yeah, that, 'Snoop' Pearson. Eavesdropping, we learn that 'Snoop' at the age of 14 was convicted of 2nd degree murder, and sent to the slammer; she earned her GED and was released in 2000. Michael K Williams who plays Omar Little was pivotal in her landing the role on the Wire. 'Snoop' is a rapper, and a writer, and she is active in helping to prevent youth violence by working through her own youth drama organization, 'Moving Mountains.' I remember talking to my sister after Snoop's character made her sensational debut on the show. My sister was convinced she was a boy. I however knew differently. Beneath the baggies and the hoody...after years of practiced recognition in public places, and darkened bars, I knew that tribal look. Sometimes, it takes one to know one...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Moon Shots


For reasons having more to do with life-style than anything else I don't quite have that bulletproof recollection of where exactly I was when Armstrong and Aldrin landed. I don't think I gave the event more than a passing thought because I was on my own trajectory somewhere in Europe arguing with my first girl friend in every major city we put our footprint on. It wasn't pretty. The other night TCM showed 'The Right Stuff.' I had never seen the film (when it first came out I thought it would be hokey, cornball Americana) and of course I sat there mesmerized and enthralled by the story. The next day archived newspaper coverage of the moon landing made for good reading; 'brothers on earth, and brothers in space' kept cycling through the media...circa 1969/1970...ah, in a city far far away, on the West coast, I recall now that my friends and I were engaged in the struggle to remind the world that 'women hold up half the sky.'

Friday, July 17, 2009

'Undead, undead...'



Last night I went to see the latest Harry. Groups of adolescents descended into the Grand Lake, their bags of popcorn (free), candy and sodas easily exceeding their paid admission, parents in tow or not. The screams started when the lights went down, and the velvet curtain drifted up. And then, the decibel meter rose like it was 1964...Elvis center stage...a trailer of Twilight, the 2nd installment, crawled across the screen. A strange phenomenon. Vampires are in vogue now. And kiddies, they don't need no stinking movie reel or big screen to flap their capes; one of the best series on cable is Alan Ball's, 'True Blood,' based on Charlaine Harris' novel. 'True Blood' is major league vampire delivered by a big league screenwriter. It's alternative (not quite goth) quirky, cult 21st century, slam-'fang banger's' snapshot of tribe, Vamp, smack dab in the middle of the hot, sticky, Bayou. It's got everything. Anna Paquin in the role of her life. Stephen Moyer as the lead vampire, Bill Compton. And the irresistible, Alexander Skarsgard as Eric, the Nordic vampire (made in 1097) sheriff. Mr. Skarsgard stole every scene in 'Generation Kill,' and can we have more of him? This is season 2. Somewhere, someplace Bela Lugosi might be rolling over. This is not your father's vampire. Uh, this is truly one big tasty evolution.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Vatican Shenanigans


Sunday, the NY Times reported that the Sisters of St. Joseph were under an official sweeping investigation by the Vatican. The Sisters raised eyebrows in Rome by helping women in prison stay close to their children and infants while serving time; once paroled the women can find sanctuary for a year in one of 9 convents no longer in use by the nuns. For these acts of charity, the Vatican is questioning whether the Sisters are 'living in fidelity' to the religious life. Having been raised Catholic, and educated in the system for 16 years, this article reminded me of how sexist, chauvinistic, and completely out of touch Rome is. 1. This is still a religion which denies women the right to priesthood. 2. This is a religion that whacks the 'FE' from your gender and obliges you to kneel and kiss the ring, and confess everything! There's a scene in the play/film, 'Doubt' (the author got it right) where the priests dine on hunks of beef, toss back glasses of red wine and fire up post whatever cigarettes and cigars. Cut to the next scene of the nuns in their refectory modestly supping on what can only, charitably, be called cafeteria food. I've seen that inequity all my life. And now this? Rome needs to clean it's house of botched and bungled priest pedophilia investigations before it casts a stone towards these good NYC nuns.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Stones...Deja Vued all over again


So, there I was hunkered down for the afternoon shuffling through my piles of CD's, searching for that one shining disc which would send me some melodic euphoria when...tada...ah, lookie here, a compilation of Stones from the 60's caught my eye. Holy Crap! Old, old Rolling Stones. Before the twins became glitter. Two back to back albums in '65. Who has time like that today?? No one. Out of our Heads hit the streets in July...'I can't get no Satisfaction,' and 'The last Time' were chart busters, but the absolute genius of that album were the covers the boyz did. 'Mercy, Mercy,' Hitch Hike,' and 'Good Times' by Sam Cooke for crisake. That was good stuff. It couldn't get much better could it? Yes it did. In the late fall of '65, December's Children crossed the Atlantic. Track 5, 'The Singer not the Song,' and track 9, 'As tears go By,' are seminal early Stones. You know, sometimes an unexpected visit from old friends can work a bit of magic back into the day.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

P-Town county fair


"Summer time, summer time, sum, sum, summer time.." Time to wander out into the backyard and inspect the tomatoes, zuchs, basil and beans. Nothing too radical altering the fruiting, so it's off to the county fair today! Somewhere in the past there was always the tradition of county fairs, but we were adolescents made grumpy by the heat and the lines for a gawk at the exotic tattooed lady, the lizard man, or the bearded lady. In Cali, foodstands and livestock reign; the hot malasadas, and meat sticks morph to funnel cakes and corn dogs. Large outdoor pavilions holding sheep, and pigs, and goats, and bovine, all aglow from arduous brushing by their youthful attendants, proud 4H owners; it was good to see that. Later I wandered through the fareway rides appreciating the G-force as a spectator.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Pyrotechnics




Ah, yes, the explosions began late last night...who has time to ferret out a launch pad in the dark, away from the city's finest and slumbering boroughs?
Missing the point, man. On the 4th, after the 'que, the carbs, and the booze, gather up the family on the front porch; break out those cigars and just after the last slivers of the day have been knocked from view, break open the stash of, 'pink diamonds,' 'mighty man glo-fuze,' purple rain' and 'thunder candles.' Light up the sky with star showers. The glitter will trail sweet memories long after we're gone.