Uncategorized
Booker’s Newark
Interesting piece in the NY Times today about the smear campaign underway against Newark mayor Cory Booker. Among the mayor’s most vocal detractors is Amiri Baraka, long ago a vital artist and music critic, now a crackpot of the worst sort, but one who retains his sycophantic following in jazz circles. Anyhow, note that according to one Baptist reverend, …many
The spirit of Falwell, abroad
A story here, about the jailing and intimidation of an Indian artist over supposed “obscenity.” I wrote some days ago about the Richard Gere story, and the deluded opinion that Gere needed to show more respect to “Indian culture” — as if the priorities of the ultraright Hindu faction Shiv Sena represent Indian culture as a whole. In the present
Melanie Morgan is evil
Speaking of insufferable demagogues, on last night’s Newshour the ultra-right radio host and activist Melanie Morgan “debated” Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org, a group of antiwar veterans heavily involved in lobbying the Democrats on troop withdrawal legislation. Soltz had facts, rationality and decency on his side. Morgan attacked him personally, interrupted, called him anti-American and an al-Qaeda stooge. (Her views on
My aching back
I had some other things to sound off about, but while I was filing away CDs this morning, five of my shelves collapsed, one atop the other, in a chain reaction. I’d say nearly a thousand CDs, arranged alphabetically in thin plastic gatefolds, came crashing down around me. Like 52-card pickup. I spent the rest of the day realphabetizing letters
Penn’s sanctimony, Maher’s frivolity
Bill Maher’s HBO program this past Friday was excruciating. Garry Shandling, his brain scattered and his face full of botox, contributed nothing. Harold Ford, Jr., head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, was not there for a fight, and so yielded far too readily to the insufferable demagogue Sean Penn. Unable to get over himself for a fraction of a
Gere’s “offense”
As you’ve heard, a warrant for Richard Gere’s arrest was served in India, in response to his public kissing of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Seeking to defuse the controversy, Gere has apologized for giving offense. Too bad — his initial response, that this was a publicity-seeking move by a fringe group of Hindu fundamentalists, was the correct one. On NPR
The “peace” train
Sitting in heavy traffic on Route 76 yesterday, I had the compounded misfortune of hearing Deepak Chopra’s Wellness Radio, broadcast on Sirius. Chopra, a millionaire many times over, admonished us all to rid ourselves of personal demons, the kind that tell us money is important. But what struck me most was a guest appearance by Jonathan Granoff of the Global
Kitty Carlisle Hart
Just a word in memory of singer and actress Kitty Carlisle Hart, who died on April 17 at age 96. I have a particularly vivid memory of meeting Mrs. Hart. It was at least five, maybe seven years ago, when I was a guitarist for hire. [Update: It stands to reason that this was her 90th birthday celebration.] I got