The die is cast, come weal, come woe, Two lives are joined together. For better or for worse the link Which naught but death can sever.
The die is cast, come grief, come joy, Come richer or come poorer. If love but binds the mystic tie, Blest is the bridal hour.
-- Mary Weston Fordham
I'm fifty years old and I could care less about the sentiment in that poem. And then I saw the cover of People.
Mazel tov, ladies!!
I have watched the gay marriage debate from the sidelines. Never did it and never thought about it. That's how I was raised - in a time when marriage was not an option for me. I would surmise that getting married is nice but honestly I would rather be able to hold George's hand in a restaurant without fear of retribution (otherwise since it certainly wouldn't be divine). I want to be able to run to George in an airport like they did in those commercials from the 70s without getting stares and glares. (OK, I'm sure some would stare if we were running slo-mo towards each other, arms akimbo, but you know what I mean.) And I want people to understand the trials and tribulations and the love and the hate and the laughs and the cries that George and I face every day in our relationship is just like those faced by the straight couples who...are...able to...get...married.
Dearest Ellen: I can't begin to tell you the rush of feelings I had when I saw your lovely photo on the cover of People magazine. Yes, you were on the cover of People for coming out but that was you. And not to trivialize the decision but, you just came out at work. I've been living my life out at work since I've been...well...working. From cleaning toilets to tax collection for the City of Los Angeles; from high tech firms in Silicon Valley to little Paperback Booksmith - everyone knew and no one made it an issue. I was even an out and proud cabaret singer and comic before, during and after your coming out year of 1996. I realize Hollywood and celebrity are a different animal and I understand the impact you made globally and the effect it has and will continue to have on younger people now coming to terms and oldsters trying to navigate the minefield. But personally, been there done that.
Then I saw the cover of People.
Dear Portia:
I've seen you in Ally MacBeal. I also saw you once or twice in Arrested Development but that was only the episodes in which Liza was appearing. (Did I mention I was a gay man?) One day I read that you and Ellen were having a romance. Hmmm, I thought. Who knew? She must be a GREAT actress. And then I moved on - because you moved on. You were non-chalant which made it easy for everyone (certainly in the media) to accept your relationship with Ellen, even with the burden of prominence. Considering the tabloid/gossip/blog explosion that has occurred since your wife came out, you are a role model for many. And if I may say so, a woman with grace.
Then I saw the cover of People.
And now I am now thinking of marriage. The picture has touched my New York heart as have your nuptials. And those of everyone who has followed, or will follow, this path. Hell, if our coupledom has lasted five years, marriage should be a cinch!
My Jack Russell Terrier, Max, uploaded a video made as an ode to his treat ball. He's not the best singer (although back in the day he was considered the Manilow of the dog park) but he's sincere. Max's lyrics are reproduced below.
The tune is Red Rubber Ball as performed by The Seekers and The Cyrkle. It was written by Paul Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel) and Bruce Woodley (of The Seekers). Here is what Max was singing.
Early in my years I found out that I Get so bored so easily - cloth chews I can't abide Nothing comes out, no big payoff, that's a maudlin time Falling treats that satisfy - that's a rockin' climb!
R-uuff, my life is oh so right Yeah, the munchies coming down The morning sun is shinin' all on my treat ball
Boy, what a life all I do is eat And all my toys have food in them - what a fuckin' treat Yea you know it's not the only ball that makes me gay But throw that treat ball on the floor - I'm always gonna play
Woof, my life is oh so right Yeah, the munchies coming down The morning sun is shinin' all on my treat ball
All my pals in grime just grunt and look and stare Roll the ball, some food comes out - am I missing something here? Nothing beats the lasting taste and feelin' in my tum Of nosing my treat ball round the floor; it's more than just a crumb
Yow, my life is oh so right Yeah, the munchies coming down The morning sun is shinin' all on my treat ball
On May 12, 1988, a friend called me a little before midnight apologizing that he hadn't telephoned earlier in the evening as planned.
Original Television Commercial
We got into Kennedy around 6 and had to grab a cab and run to the theater to see Carrie.
Carrie? The musical? It opened tonight.
Yea. I saw it.
You're kidding. What did you think?
It was electrifying. The standing O's were flying left and right. The show is intense and wonderful. I absolutely loved it. People were screaming and clamoring for more. It was incredible.
I guess I don't have to get my tickets just now. It'll run forever.
We all know how that turned out. The show closed opening night and turned into one of the most notorious flops in American theatrical history.
Opening number, In
But now you can watch CARRIE The Musical online in this version's entirety. (More info on that non sequitor in wikipedia.) Emerson College has staged and recorded an unlicensed production of the musical (for which amateur performing rights have never been released). They cut the video up into bite size pieces, uploaded the clips to YouTube, created a channel and, with a click on the full screen button, you are right there in the theater.
Open Your Heart/And Eve Was Weak
It's a good production too. There is no cast listing but the woman who played Margaret White is top-notch. Carrie - less so but she did grow on me. The gym teacher is very good as well. And the camera work is not imposing. Close-ups at the right time and zoom outs when called for. Excellent - only in the final scene of Act 2 is it a little out of view but I'm sure the photographer knew it as filming was proceeding and was pulling his (or her) hair out. Too bad.
Evening Prayers
The show itself is intense and emotional. Carrie The Musical is adapted from Stephen King's novel by Lawrence D. Cohen with lyrics by Dean Pitchford and music by Michael Gore (of Fame fame). And some of the music IS electrifying. I was getting all ferklempt watching this on YouTube. And since, I have found a treasure trove of clips from the original Broadway production. Betty Buckley as Margaret White is astonishing (play And Eve Was Weak) and I kick myself for not dropping the phone and going to see this show twenty years ago. Damn. Linzi Hateley (who is currently playing Donna in Mamma Mia on the West End) as Carrie is also excellent. Enjoy them now 'cause it was a moment in time. Although it's interesting to note that making a movie into a Broadway musical is a lot more common today than it was in 1988.
After years of (a much-ignored) silence, I have decided to comment on the explosion in ABBA interest that took off in 1996, the year I stopped pushing modifications to the Internet's own ABBAnatic: The Alternative ABBA Web Page. (More on that later.) The ABBA interest skyrocket culminates this summer with the release of Mamma Mia!, the movie musical based on the Broadway musical based on the songs of ABBA. Now sure Mamma Mia! is a whole lot of fun to watch (especially with an audience so get some friends to go with you) but as a dramaturg I say to you: it's ABBA but is it a musical? Don't let your bell bottoms ring too loudly yet because, before getting into the meat of the thesis, I display my ABBA cred.
1975: I've been a fan since I first saw them perform on the Mike Douglas Show. (Toby, my mother, was a big Douglas fan - thanks, Toe.) I bought Greatest Hits although, due to the geographical location of my parent's house (North America), I did wonder how a first album can also be a Greatest Hits collection.
October 2, 1979: a dream come true when I see ABBA live at Radio City Music Hall in New York City from the tenth row. None of my friends wanted to go so I ended up taking a boyfriend from the night before. Good times.
1996: visit Minnesota for the two performances (Oct 12 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and Oct 13 at Chisago Lakes High School in Lindstrom) that make up the North American premiere of the Swedish pop opera Kristina från Duvemåla, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. I meet the two artists although they don't look as excited as I do.
I am currently writing a musical. Sorry no link yet. Can't let Sondheim get wind of it.
Do I need more? Then let's on.
I've gone to see Mamma Mia! three times now. (I do that with film musicals so Hollywood will continue to finance them.) The book - spinning the tale of a single mom, her nineteen year old daughter, and the three men who, one of which, might be her father - bears a close resemblance to the story line of the film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.
So, I wonder why the book couldn't be more arresting if it was aping this charming (from my misty memories) film. The Mamma Mia! book exists for the sole purpose of moving the viewer from one ABBA song to the next. Although the bright and bouncy tunes of Benny and Björn (and sometimes Stig Anderson) shine through, these musical vignettes (the word video is already taken) differ in how they adhere to the rules of musical theater and dramaturgy.
The ABBA songs that work best as show tunes in this musical comedy are Money, Money, Money, Mamma Mia, Chiquitita, Dancing Queen, the Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)/Voulez Vous medley, Does Your Mother Know and Slipping Through My Fingers. These are character-driven songs which propel the plot (as it were) forward while further revealing layers of the emoting characters. Money, Money, Money as sung by Donna (Meryl Streep) is a paean to the working class and introduces us to those in her life, her friends Tanya and Rosie (Christine Baranski and Julie Walters) and the characters of Villa Donna in the Greek Sporades Islands (a Greek chorus, if you will). It's an excellent song, used wisely within the context of the book, that is also an old-fashioned production number with some stunning shots of La Streep and a twenty foot train at the bow of a ship (a la Titanic).
I've got you now, my pretties!
Meryl follows Money, Money, Money with Mamma Mia, a spotlight production that reveals Donna's deep, dark passion in an energetic and humorous ensemble piece. Although it seems to come a bit too early in the story, it does play an important role in the characterization of the relationship between Donna and possible dad Sam (Pierce Brosnan). Mamma Mia is followed by an interesting and very satisfying version of Chiquitita in which Tanya and Rosie offer humor and pathos to a forlorn Donna. The song works unexpectedly well within the musical comedy framework and is performed brilliantly by the leading ladies. (And with its inclusion seems poised to generate more dinero for UNICEF. In 1979, ABBA donated all royalties received from Chiquitita to UNICEF, raising millions with the gesture.) Shockingly, Chiquitita is NOT included on the CD soundtrack. My guess is that Meryl's crying and her mucus sniffing got in the way of the vocal. The song also doesn't technically end - the last line is replaced with Meryl's dialog, "It's her Dad." Here is the scene.
This clip from the movie was pulled from YouTube because of copyright violations a few days after its upload. If it's gone from this embed window again, click here to open it in a new window from my web site.
It is obvious that these three older actresses are carrying this movie - an amazing feat of accomplishment by the creative team in agist, sexist Hollywood. Kudos to director Phyllida Lloyd, writer Catherine Johnson and producer Judy Cramer - three, if I may be so bold, older women themselves. Ain't nothing wrong with that!
These female-driven songs are followed by the ultimate production number to the ultimate female-driven ABBA song, Dancing Queen. The give and take between the femme cast members, the Greek chorus, and the whole town involved in this newly-minted anthem about empowerment becomes uplifing and relevant. The number also boasts the first appearance in the film of a member of ABBA: Benny takes to the 88 for the famous Bada bada bada, looking suspiciously like a seafaring W.C. Fields. The video below mashes up the Dancing Queen sequence from Mamma Mia! with footage from the original ABBA video. It's an excellent example of how close the orchestrations used on the soundtrack are to the originals. Most of the songs are faithful renditions with the actors fronting an orchestra that contained many of the same musicians that played on the original recordings with Benny producing. Kudos to the videographer. (Benny can be seen at 2:58 in the video.)
The Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)/Voulez Vous medley is a perfect complement to the bachelorette/bachelor parties the night before the wedding. The ladies start the party with the former tune and are then joined by the men for the latter as all hell breaks loose. The Name of the Game, sung by Amanda Seyfried (Donna's daughter, Sophie) and Stellan Skarsgard (possible dad Bill) was removed from its place between between Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight) and Voulez Vous. (The track appears on the soundtrack CD in the correct sequence.) The former scene's inclusion between the latter songs in the film would've definitely slowed down the party. As edited, it is a ball joined in by the entire company. Here's the actual music video (not film vignette, remember?) with Amanda singing Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight).
Meryl and Amanda's Slipping Through My Fingers is a lovely duet between the mother and daughter. Originally sung by Agnetha Falkskög, it's always been a meaningful song when heard as an ABBA track; it's placement in Mamma Mia!, as Donna readies her daughter to be married, adds phenomenal depth to the book and the characters' relationship.
Immediately following this moment of poignancy, Christine gets loud and raunchy singing her distaff version of Does Your Mother Know to a slew of hot, young men on the beach. Although her campy delivery and the crazy dance steps (which I secretly covet) seem a tip o' the hat to the gay community (with La Baranski herself something of an icon from her performances in Cybill), the lyrics are also surprisingly relevant in expanding character depth. Tanya is just a riot! But, let's flip the coin here and show a video of ABBA performing Does Your Mother Know live with Björn on lead, real instruments and everything!
Not so lucky in the dramaturgy department is Honey, Honey which Sophie sings about her unknown father. Considering this is the first full-length song of the film, the lyrics are laughable and immediately oft-putting. You're a doggone beast? You're a love machine? To a man who is supposed to be her father? Maybe Ring, Ring would've worked better. Maybe Take A Chance On Me to the three men who don't know they have a daughter? Or even, although I'd have to re-read the lyrics to be sure, I've Been Waiting For You has a song title that seems ready-made. Although it was probably a mandate to start the film with an uptempo tune, some extra thought might have made the scene work better.*
Even one of my favorite ABBA songs, The Winner Takes It All, stops the film's forward motion. Streep sings the song powerfully but the plot points have already been addressed in the songs Mamma Mia and SOS. More importantly, it makes Donna seem flighty and feels as though her character development is taking a step back. Even Sophie gives her mom an exasperated look when she arrives late to the wedding (because she was singing The Winner Takes It All); here is, unfortunate to write, a song that should have been relegated to a deleted scene on the DVD.
Hurry, girlfriend! You're late!
The dancified Lay All Your Love on Me is sung on the beach by Sophie and her fiance, Sky (the invisible Dominic Cooper). It contains what seems to have become the most controversial scene in the movie: Sky's bachelor party friend's in flippers and swimsuits dancing on a pier. The dance is funny and cute, working in the same vein as Tanya's aforementioned hoofing. And the song works fine here but, to tell the truth, they relegated Waterloo, arguably ABBA's greatest hit (and 1974 Eurovision winner), to an encore over the credits when it could have been used as the couple's love song to better effect...unless the author felt that teens today would not know what Waterloo was. Not buying it though. (If true, teens today are not studying.) The encore version of Waterloo does though include the second appearance in the film of a member of ABBA: Björn can be seen as a Greek god holding a lute. In honor of the song itself, here's ABBA singing Waterloo in French.
Colin Firth (possible dad Harry) takes the first swing at the beautiful Our Last Summer to sing (sounding a little like Björn) about his history with Donna. Though not initially called out as a top-notch show tune, Our Last Summer works brilliantly with three lead vocals when Sam and Bill take over the lyrics to reminisce about their history with Donna. It's a sweet take on a lovely song that provides further details about these men and their history with Donna. Pierce also does a good job speak singing When All is Said And Done which deserves applause because my favorite ABBA song is finally used in Mamma Mia!. It doesn't deserve the applause though because the song is about breaking up and neither Pierce nor Meryl are going anywhere. (It does appear towards the end of the movie so maybe that is what is done.) Pierce also duets with Streep on SOS; he has been drubbed for his vocals but I think he sounds...um...not unlike Benny. (Irony or cause and effect? I'm just asking again.)
Mamma Mia! Men!
Super Trouper is an interesting song and another personal favorite. In a musical comedy format, it can really only be sung by an entertainer - considering what a super trouper actually is; so the leading ladies get it together to sing the song they used to perform when they were Donna and the Dynamos. It fits well in context - unlike Rosie's Take A Chance on Me which seems to have been stuck at the end because it was a number 3 United States hit and would've disappointed the fans if not there.
Take A Chance on Me does not feel integrated with the rest of the story. Julie is freakingly funny (loved the Bangles t-shirt she wore upon her arrival on the island) and the scene, with Skellan, adds a light touch to the tune although it might have been better placed, in this context, earlier in the film. Another option would have been to make more of a possible relationship between the two lone wolves earlier in the film. Even more disappointing than how the song was integrated into the book is that the version of Take A Chance on Me available on the soundtrack CD is different from the version used in the film. On the CD, Julie's voice is almost unrecognizable, mixed with the comapny - in the film, her vocal is sweet and nervous and front and center. Speech. Speech. That is the version that should have been immortalized on the soundtrack CD just as they did with Does Your Mother Know?, the other 'older woman that isn't Meryl' solo. Maybe someone thought it wouldn't sell records (yes, records) but isn't it selling tickets?
I guess he's not that invisbile.
Portions of other ABBA songs used throughout the film include:
Amanda's version of I Have A Dream begins (in a prologue version) and ends the film's narrative.
An instrumental Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight) is scored over a montage of the lead hommes arriving in Greece and at Villa Donna (and finished during Honey, Honey).
An instrumental Waterloo is scored over a montage of the lead femmes arriving in Greece and at Villa Donna.
There is an interpolation of Knowing Me, Knowing You as Sophie shows her three dads into the Old Goat House. As an aside, Knowing Me, Knowing You is glaring in its absence from the film.
Streep hums Fernando as she walks into the Old Goat House.
I Do (x5) is partially sung by Pierce and Meryl towards the end.
A wet and wild reprise of Mamma Mia follows Aphrodite's eruption at the story's end.
Donna and the Dynamos, dressed in platform boots and sparkly, spandex clothing, perform Dancing Queen as an encore after the end of the film's narrative. It is as redundant as this bullet point.
The encore Waterloo follows the encore Dancing Queen with the rest of the cast in spandex joining the Dynamos; this song deserved integration into the book. Knowing Me, Knowing You could have then been the final encore.
We just have to face it This time we're through (We're really through)
Thank You For The Music is sung sweetly by Amanda over the end credits unlike this version.
Rare footage of the aforementioned Thank You for the Music finale from my 1994 multi-mediacal [sic] show, Funny Guy. Yes, its multi-mediacal (just look at the mediacals behind me) but even I admit that it sounds like a duet between Benny and Agnetha.
Possibly the only non-ABBA music in the film (not non-Benny/Björn, I suppose) is the interstitial wedding music played as the bride walks down the aisle. I didn't recognize it as an ABBA interpretation. Couldn't they have used Arrival? I also heard some tick, tock type music when Donna is setting the table that didn't sound particularly ABBA-esque either.
Hypnotically beautiful black and white photography
From a cinematic point of view, Greece has never looked so flat; it doesn't come off as hypnotically beautiful as one would assume. Maybe it was the movie theatre. (Same one. 3 times.) Even the black and white Never On Sunday (also filmed in Greece) had more depth and beauty to its cinematography. Except for the lighted path to the church and the Dancing Queen number, the scenery seemed uninspired. On the other hand, the choreography, though cheesy, works in context and the cast is uniformly good. Meryl was born to play this role although I can't see her getting the Academy Award - the movie is just so much fluff and it doesn't really seem a hard part to play. Colin was quite adorable. Love Amanda (Veronica Mars, Big Love). I predict Christine to pick up a prize at year's end. Julie - always a pleasure from as far back as Educating Rita. Pierce - lucky dog. Skellan - token Swede whom I loved in The Exorcist: The Beginning. (Not really but I did see the movie.)
Prince of Wales Theatre (London) where Mamma Mia!, the show, premiered.
Mamma Mia! is delightful fun (uh, 3 times) and everyone involved has the world's appreciation for bringing ABBA's timeless tunes to the fore but to answer the titular question, Mamma Mia! doesn't get high marks as a musical. The story is a pastiche - never digging deeper than needed to propel us to the next ABBA song. I understand that Mamma Mia! is part of a genre referred to as jukebox musicals and people go for the music but I've always been a lyrics kind-of guy. I believe the story kinks could have been worked out and possibly put Mamma Mia! on a par with CHESS and Kristina från Duvemåla - neither of which, in the spirit of disclosure, has made anywhere near the amount of money that Mamma Mia! has.
Wait. I've got it. I'll write The Winner Takes It All: Another ABBA Musical. It'll be about a couple living in Las Vegas and going through a divorce and one of them wins the lottery. There will be so many levels to these characters and the book will be deep and involving. Oh, but it's got to be after the one I'm writing now. (Is Sondheim reading this?)
I deserve a Ph.D. in ABBA for this.
* UPDATE: I received an email from a friend that read simply: I thought that Amanda was supposed to be reading from her mother's diary, and that's where the [Honey, Honey] lyrics were coming from. Well blow my nose with a rubber hose. As Emily Litella used to say:
I walk in from the backyard and a moth flies, through the air above me, into the house. After I close the door, I notice the moth so I open the door again to let the moth fly away. Which it does - only to return before I shut the door again.
Stay out, little mothie. What you wanna get trapped again? Or did you come back to say thanks?
I work on a Toshiba Tecra laptop from home. In 2004, Sun Microsystems gave me this machine and onto it loaded their proprietary iWork (now referred to as OpenWork) Client. They also gave me a brand new, shrink-wrapped and all, installation disk (which I put away so I wouldn't lose). I've been happily punching in (using IPsec Punchin VPN) with this computer using the Java Desktop System version of Solaris 10 and a GNOME environment for four years now.
Two years ago, the Northern California Punchin servers were moved, upgraded, and updated and everyone who used the servers was asked to download and install the new Punchin software. Acchh, I didn't need to, I decided; I'll just punchin to Broomfield or South Carolina or even...Australia! (I've been there you know.) You see, in order to install new software on my laptop, I have to get a one-time root password. You call IT and they give it to you over the phone. But you have to call IT - and my previous experiences with IT had not always been the most, how shall I say, productive. So I decided that, as long as I could punchin somewhere, I was OK.
A few weeks back I started having screen redraw issues. The Broomfield server is notorious for going down and, although I did use other servers when necessary, I noticed ghosting, hanging, and just plain waiting when I opened a session and tried to do something. So I decided it was time to take the plunge and upgrade my Punchin packages.
So I dialed IT and found, after reaching an actual person, that the gentleman I spoke with was adamant in his refusal to give me a one-time password. After ten minutes of explanation on my part (and I know how to explain) he still said he couldn't do it. But, maybe his manager could. She got on the line and told me that my laptop and configuration was no longer supported.
Excuse me. I have a Sun-purchased laptop with a Sun-designed operating system and Sun software of all kinds and you are telling me that that you can't give me a one-time password because my configuration is no longer supported?
No, I can not. But you don't need root password to install those packages. You can use the iWork Update Tool.
Uh...the Update Tool is pointing to a version that is a year old. I want to install the latest version from 2008.
Well, I can't give you a one-time root password but I'm sending you a link that might be helpful.
I have this link already but I can't use it because I don't have root access - which I can get with a one-time root password.
They changed the procedure.
OK. I think we are through here then.
What do you want me to do with the ticket? (Gotta fix the ticket.)
Do what you want with it. It wasn't able to solve my problem so it doesn't matter to me. Thank you. Goodbye. (I'm from New York.)
She called me back in a few minutes to inform me that my ticket had been passed over to GRC deviation. I wanted to say What the hell is GRC deviation? but I just thanked her and hung up. I have yet to hear from GRC deviation.
Here's a mid-entry musical moment. It's Todd Rundgren and there's no movement in the video; just some musical accompaniment as you continue reading.
Not knowing how to begin to obtain root access, I rolled up my sleeves to find out. And who did I turn to in this dire hour but the super heroes over at the ipsec-punchin-interest alias, a mailing list for those who need information regarding the Punchin client. Man, I was shooting email off left and right all day long.
7:19 am
Send first email to the ipsec'ies telling them that IT said I did not need to have root access to install these new Punchin packages. Was that correct?
7:25 am
Receive a reply telling me to get a second opinion. An ipsec'ie wrote, "This is clearly wrong and shows a complete lack of understanding of Solaris packaging, let alone Punchin."
8:00 am
Send my second opinion in an email to IT Services Feedback - from whom I still have not heard. (UPDATE 6/16: Received an email this morning telling me I could use the iWork Update Tool - oh? - if the iWork Client was supported - ooohhhh. ...if you wish to keep the the current iWork install, you will need to take over control of the root password and remove the One Time Password scheme [ITotpclient package - see 9:12 AM] that is currently in place... I could not find clear instructions on how to [due this]. There was an action item in the email for a cc'ed recipient to write something up on how to do this.)
9:12 am
Learn from ipsec'ie that I need to remove the ITotpclient package using my original installation disk. Uh oh.
11:00 am
Find the installation disk (brand, new, shrink-wrapped and all) and, deep in the bowels of a separate email thread also from the same alias, the reason my laptop would not boot from it (internal only link). It's a Toshiba thing that I was able to conquer by turning on the laptop and pushing the F12 button.
11:05 am
Get root access via installation disk and attempt to change the root password by using passwd.
An ipsec'ie responds, "As opposed to an expected failure. You've got a strange system there."
12:27 pm
Define my final 2 options:
Modify the root password in the shadow file
Modify my user permissions in the user_attr file
2:05 pm
Receive email regarding modification of the shadow file - it might be too risky. Decide the last option which would allow me to emulate root by prepending each command I execute with pfexec was the safest bet.
2:27 pm
Don't ask me how, don't ask me why. For the umpteenth time, I boot from the installation disk to try to get the hard drive mounted using the installation disk root account. I leave the room to make a sandwich before I pass out and come back to a screen I had never seen before. I get to the same installation disk root account from a different way and, lo and behold, I am now able to mount the hard disk.
Changed the user_attr file by adding SOFTWARE INSTALLATION and PRIMARY ADMINISTRATOR to my profiles thus, giving me the power to emulate root and add or remove packages.
2:47 pm
Log into the actual laptop. Check that user_attr still had my permissions defined. Lookin' good.
3:05 pm
Attempts at removing the older Punchin packages fail until I realize the ones I had on my computer had different names from the names used in the procedure I was following. Successfully remove the two packages. (Duh.)
3:17 pm
Search to ultimately find that the pkgadd error I was getting was due to the lack of room in the default /var/spool directory. (Don't ask me.) Point the command to my own /Download directory and, good golly Miss Molly, the packages successfully add. Omigod, is Punchin installed?
3:29 pm
Find myself punched in to a Santa Clara server and send a note to the ipsec'ies thanking them for their help.
Most of the questions I asked of the ipsec'ies had nothing to do with Punchin but the info kept coming. I spent the day sending out emails with Subjects like SUCCESS A LITTLE and Root in Shadow File? and the ipsec'ies were there to witness, cheer, and, most of all, help. So, in admiration and more thanks, here's a cheer from the 80s for those on the ipsec-punchin-interest alias: Toni Basil and Mickey. Whenever you hear the titular name, replace it with ipsec-ie.
I'll let you know if all this solved my initial redraw problems.
This morning, five queens discussed Jesse Jackson's first-ever use of the N word in private. The world is stunned.
Let's face it, honkies. They can use it if they want. We can't. Ever.
Anyway, this was the scene on live television:
The Dreadlock Queen uses the N word to get the Blonde Queen to ease up on her desire to force her blonde-non-use of the evil word on everyone.
The Comedy Queen used it with her family, uses it with her family, and will no doubt continue this trend in the future with her family but she don't want to hear it coming from my mouth.
If you listen closely, the Beautifully (and I mean that) Preserved Queen errs on the side of blonde fascism. (See first bullet.)
The Italian Queen ends it all with a crack, adding zero substance to the roundtable.
I have always hated Elizabeth Dole until today when I saw that she also wants Jesse Helms to roll over in his grave. The Stepford Senator is attempting to rename the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008...
...to honor Jesse Helms!
Well, this little move has taken the internet media by storm because of Monsieur Helms' history of bigotry. I say, with hand circles and everything, Go, 'Lizbeth. Go, 'Lizbeth.
Jesse Helms' history speaks for itself, if anyone cares to delve into it for a well-reviewed biography or an internet fan site. The naming of a bill is, at most, a footnote. When I first read the story I found it fascinating that North Carolina Barbie assumed naming the bill after the corpsified senator would honor him; my assumption would be that Helms would DIE (if he weren't already dead) before he'd have his name put on an AIDS bill. So, if my assumption is correct and if the amendment is NOT rejected, till the end of eternity (or our money - whichever comes first), Helms will have his name on an AIDS bill. Reads like sweet revenge to me. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper than building another library named after some wiener politician.
Elizabeth Dole, today you got The Touch - as performed by Kim Wilde. (Tomorrow...probably not so much again though.)
In response to the story of Bill O'Reilly dismissing Fox and Friends image manipulation of the head shots of two New York Times reporters as caricature, I decided to do some digging to negate his point. You see, the talking suppository likened the subtly corrosive and unacknowledged use of Photoshop filters by the talk/news/blonde show to a caricature of many of his own heads that had earlier been published by the New York Times. Herewith is the caricature - that's air quotes, Bill - that was published by the paper.
And here is my research: a montage of actual photographs of the bombastic cloudmouth. And in a spasm of sisterly generosity I am declaring that two of the photographs in the montage were vertically reflected to better mimic the original illustration. (Ohhhhh, does that make those two pictures caricatures? Or just pictures where the part in your hair is on the wrong side?)
The illustration's not so much a caricature now, is it, Bill? (Here are the two pieces of art side by side.) Looks like something for your office; like a Warhol.
The worst part of this project was having to look at this guy's punim until the montage was finished - that's Yiddish, Bill. What a baby. Wahh! Wahh!
And finally here is the old Memorex commercial (to which the title alludes) with Ella Fitzgerald and Chuck Mangione. Why? Because I don't want the last thing someone takes away from this read to be Bill O'Reilly's punim.
Hell just might've frozen over yesterday (July 4th, 2008) when the four members of the super group came together for the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia, the ABBA film musical. Hasn't happened in over twenty years! Unfortunately, there was not one picture found that featured the four members alone.
For those who don't know - I have a connection to ABBA. In 1994, I began the first ever web site devoted to the Swedish pop band, ABBA (as a means to learn HTML for those fascinated by that sort of stuff). And, in 1996, I met Benny and Bjorn in Minneapolis of all places. In honor of the summer release of Mamma Mia here's the group's music video for the title tune (mysteriously aped in Muriel's Wedding for Muriel and Rhonda's karaoke performance of...Waterloo?).
And here's the trailer for the film. Meryl Streep (sounding great on the title tune), Julie Walters, and an uncredited (?) Christine Baranski - what a trio!!
So The Bride's Side was rejected for a staged reading by the Colorado Theatre Guild's New Venture Series. I was disappointed by the rejection but not by the judge's positive comments; they are similar to what I have received from other submissions.
Judge A:
Some funny characterizations; great dialogue - although the people seem to be somewhat stereotypical, especially at first.
Act 1 Scene 2 completely un-stage-able. Has to be a screenplay to get the jokes, etc. Scene 3 impossible to stage nude scene. Cat and dog should not be on stage,and while the cat is supposed to be a trick of lighting, it doesn’t make sense to have one animal real and the other an illusion.
You're kidding me... BUTTERFLIES on stage? NOT stageable.
Reminds me of Seinfeld meets Will and Grace. The ending is a bit worth it and well done. The play needs editing; there are typos. Feels like it hasn’t been workshopped.
Judge B:
There is only one stage in Denver big enough to handle two functional cars on stage--the Buell (if they can land a helicopter, they can drive two cars.) Unfortunately the Buell will never do a Colorado playwright. I just don’t see this being done as a stage play. Even at the Buell, we wouldn’t be able to see the actors inside the cars well enough. There are just too many sets, characters, technical problems to allow this to be a stage play. But I don’t think it would work to simply take out all the scenes, etc. This just feels like a movie beginning to end.
Judge C:
The dialogue flows nicely. I like the characters, and they each have a distinct voice. Parts are very funny. But as a movie, not a staged reading.
Impossible to stage a nude scene? Try telling that to Anthony Schaeffer (Equus) and other playwrights who've managed not only to write them but to get them staged! (Wasn't it Barbra Streisand in Yentl who said, "Nothing is impossible"?) And personally, I think a judge who says unstageable is not using their imagination.
Anyway, there you have it. And here, for the first time anywhere, is a video snippet of the November 5th reading. Enjoy!
Now stop drooling, you'll see the whole thing on Broadway soon enough.
Heinz has pulled an ad from British television that shows two men kissing because 200 people wrote to them about how disturbing it was to them and their children. Here is the ad.
The ridiculous aspect of Heinz's decision is that the ad is not even about same sex relationships: basically 'mum' has turned into a deli man because of the product she is using. I assume the 200 people were a little too...um...naive...to realize this. Here's a link to the article about the removal. After I read it, I went to heinz.com, clicked Contact Us at the bottom and gave them what for. (You need only click here to write your piece to Heinz.) Sheesh. One step forward, one step back.
My niece-in-almost-law started singing Iron Maiden's Run for Your Life. That's her Dad on guitar and her uncle holding up the lighter. Unfortunately, I only stood up with my camera after the song was half over so you don't get to hear this 8 year old singing the first stanza:
White man came across the sea He brought us pain and misery He killed our tribes, he killed our creed He took our game for his own need
The office of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is polling reaction to the California Supreme Court decision overturning the ban on gay marriage. As of this date, most of the responses they have received are in OPPOSITION to the court's decision. Please vote in support of the California Supreme Court's decision on LGBT marriage:
Call 1-916-445-2841
Listen to the prompts and press 1 for English, 5 for hot topics, 1 for same sex marriage issue, and then 1 to vote yes (You might want to actually listen to the options to make sure they weren't changed by some right-wing lunatic.)
You don't have to be a California resident or registered voter to call so please vote and send this link on to all supporters you know.
And to get you in the mood, here's a few telephone related music videos. Choose your genre.
We have three containers in the alley behind our house that once a week get opened and emptied by two burly men in a glompin' big mechanical truck. (I hope these so-called garbage men get paid well for their contribution to society.) There are two of us in my household (and assorted animals) so it's not often that even one of the containers is full let alone all three; we often have one grocery shopping bag full of garbage each week for weeks on end. I don't know why but its true.
I wonder though do the burly men open up each container when they see it closed, and curse the resident when they see the container is empty? In other words, are we supposed to leave our containers open or closed? I always close them so the squirrels and other weather elements do not get inside. My across-the-alley neighbor keeps their containers open. The squirrels are always ripping the bags and scattering it's contents all over the alley. That's not very neighborly. In fact, if you're reading this 2047 Belmont Ave Denver CO clean up your act! (Glad to get that off my chest.)
Back to the trash at hand, if I leave the containers open the burly men don't have to take the time and their day possibly goes quicker, but the squirrels get in. So every week I go back to the alley wondering if these burly men opened all three of my containers or just the one in which I usually drop the load. And every week I go back to the alley and pick up three lids to place back on the containers. This week though I happened to have three containers filled with spring cleaning objets d'art. So, of course, I wondered if this would be the week they only look in the one. So I went back to the alley and, lo and behold, had to pick up three lids. Yep, all three. All my garbage was gone.
If you think about it though, it's part of their job. If they didn't open one and left it full, I would be the first to call the Sanitation Department complaining. (Hey, I pay for it.) So, thanks guys, for opening the can even when you know it's empty. Although if you think about it, they probably have better things to do with their time then I.
Enjoy this video done for The Cramps tune, Garbage Man.
The Yosemite Water Project is a failed digital art installation idea concocted on a recent trip to Yosemite National Park. These seven clips of moving water and waterfalls are meant to invoke a certain experience among its voyeurs (you) as you view the chain. Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of two New Yorkers in the final clip of the series dooms it to failure by bringing the voyeur back to reality; thus, the idea can never (and will never so don't ask) be installed as a completed work of art. I post the clips here as part of my legacy.
Some soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
Some more soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
Even more than 'some more' soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
Other soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
Even other soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
'We're getting to the end' soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.
The final clip in which The Yosemite Water Project fails.
You just might want to loosen up a bit with some dancing so here is a clip of Pan's People, a group of females who would dance to a song on the BBC-TV music chart show Top of the Pops when the artist wasn't available to sing it live (or Memorex). (Think the Solid Gold dancers for those in the States.) This clip is the troupe dancing to Creedence Clearwater Revival's Green River.
And, of course, there's the even funnier take-off by French and Saunders' Pan's Indeedy People moving to Yellow River - with a long yellow cloth to boot.
George Bosse, my partner, had his first showing in an art gallery on March 7, 2008. He sold a painting that very night and I have the pictures to prove it. Click the link below to see the pictures:
I recently got a chance to sit down and watch a DVD of five videos by John Cougar Mellencamp. Not John Cougar who I've always liked better than John Cougar Mellencamp or John Mellencamp. Or so I thought. I had seen most of these clips before but not in years so here was a chance to look back at the old-skool Cougar from a historical perspective.
Crumblin' Down (from 1983's Uh-Huh LP) is fuckin' hot. John is smokin' sexy and an incredible dancer. The video is tightly edited, well-directed and, oh yeah, Crumblin' Down is a great song that'll get you off your ass! Just watch John sliding down the ladder or doing a split. Or maybe I should just say, the ladder dance - priceless.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (from 1985's Scarecrow LP) is a beautifully photographed black and white video that harkens back to the 60s Hullabaloo. I'm not even sure which man in the video is John but the song is great and it shows that the artist knows of his influences. Doubleplusgood: an integrated video at that time was still a relative novelty.
When Rain on The Scarecrow (also from Scarecrow) was first released it was too political for me. I was into having fun!! Cyndi Lauper. Lords of the New Church. X. (OK, some politics but not JCM and the farmers, for chrissake.) Interesting to watch this video today. It begins with an interview of three articulate farmers and everything they are speaking of is still going on today - twenty years past. As someone who has grown from his nightly trips to Danceteria to worrying about our political infrastructure, this still-relevant song with its accompanying video (that does contain some harsh farming images) should be watched by all.
Check It Out (from 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee) is a straightforward live video with the magnetism of John Cougar Mellencamp, dancing and doing another split. Yowsah! The song is not up there with his best but the band is tight and, once again, it is integrated.
Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) (from 1996's Mr. Happy Go Lucky is the only non-80s song on the disc, the only video I had not seen previously - and the only one credited simply to John Mellencamp. This sweet love song brings to mind Dali (who knows why) with images of different couples, young and old alike, expressing their affections. There's also an appearance by Matthew McConaughey which didn't excite me but might the reader of this entry. The clip is very watchable with a tuneful song and a great hook that holds up in the Mellencamp cannon.
All in all, a new appreciation for the Cougar. The disc included some interviews with Mellencamp in which he comes off empathetic and well-spoken. John Mellencamp is an influence himself whose music stands the test of time. How may artists are there that you can write that about? Or is it How many artists are there about which you can write that?
Carla Thomas - Sugarlate 60s-early 70s Stax recordings from the rhythm and blues sensation collected for the first time on CD
Yma Sumac - The Sun Virgina collection of exotic lounge music from the Inca Princess on my favorite music label, Living Era
New Seekers - I'd LIke To Teach The World To Singa re-issue of the 1973 album featuring the title tune and their hit cover of Melanie's The Nickel Song
The Editors - B Sides and Rarities5 excellent songs on one extended play that tops the British band's full-length players in quality and listenability
When I got home, I immediately played I'd LIke to Teach the World to Sing. Memories came to the fore as I remembered how I sang this song at my Bar Mitzvah. A Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish rite of passage in which a boy becomes a man. My family, being Long Island Jews, threw a huge party. Anyone who was anyone was there: the Goldbergs, the Goldsteins, the Goldschmidts, the other Goldbergs.
My Bar Mitzvah was the first place I sang in public. Not only did I have to sing the Haftorah (a Hebrew rite of passage prayer) during the Saturday morning temple service but I also practiced for weeks so I could sing I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing with the band at the Saturday evening party. Saturday morning finally arrived and I was so nervous that, in temple, I sang my Haftorah to the tune of I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing.
But, Saturday night I got a standing ovation when, in a blue velvet tuxedo, I sang I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing in Mishnaic Hebrew with a disco beat provided by the Bar Mitzvah band.
So that's how this Jew became a man - by teaching the world to sing. Though judging from what's been going on lately I'm not so sure I'd like to do that again.
And now check out the real thing:
Yea. It all started as a commercial and turned into a pop phenom:
When I first moved to Denver, I drove from my real home in California, bringing with me the belongings of a lifetime. I knew no one in the Mile High City and I needed the relief that one gets from familiarity. I had enough to make me happy. I was good.
Two months later the realization came that one thing I had brought with me was, in fact, finite. So it was time to start finding a place to purchase marijuana. I began searching the internet for a resource. Everything is on the internet these days.
buy pot Denver I typed into Google and clicked through to a Yahoo group made up of people with ties to the medical marijuana movement. I honed in on the Denver chapter and called a doctor to find out what I needed to have. Fortune shined, in an ironic way, because I had none of the maladies that allowed me to register for a medical marijuana card.
420 sales Denver Every year on April 20, Denver celebrates marijuana freedom downtown in Civic Center Park. Cool. But this was August. I'm gonna wait for April?
420 park Denver Another posting in another group invited the city of Denver to a birthday party. Hmmm. It seems that, with some additional investigation, the celebrant was known in Colorado politics for his stance on marijuana freedom. He had run for Governor. He was throwing himself a birthday party in City Park, 5 blocks from where I lived.The sure-to-be-a-smoke-in had been three weeks prior but the man had added his telephone number to his signature.
It took me three weeks to call the number.
Hi. Is this Ken Gorman?
Yes.
Hi Ken. You don't know me and I don't know if this is inappropriate or anything but I found the invitation to your party on the internet. I'm new in Denver and I was looking for some place to buy weed? Would you know of anyone?
Well I am a caregiver.
A caregiver?
I sell marijuana to patients. Are you sick?
Well, no. I'm not sick.
There's nothing wrong with you?
Well...um...when I wake up in the morning my lower back hurts. And my knees hurt sometimes.
So you have chronic pain.
Chronic...? I don't think it... um...yes, I can say I have chronic pain.
Come on over.
Come on over? Now?
Yea, you can sign the Colorado state form designating me as your primary caregiver. Then I can sell you weed for chronic pain.
Oh...uh...OK. Is it the Decatur Street address on the invitation.
Same place.
OK. I'll be right over.
When I arrived I showed Ken my California driver's license and filled out a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Medical Marijuana Registry form giving Ken status as my primary caregiver.
What about a doctor's note?
Here's the form for your doctor to fill out. When he fills it in and signs it bring it back. In the meantime I'll stamp it that we are awaiting doctor's approval.
And Ken took out a big old rubber stamp and inked the top of the form:
AWAITING DOCTOR APPROVAL
I walked out with the stamped doctor's form, an ounce of primo, the knowledge that my name and my neighbor's address were on file in this man's paper filing system, and gleeful in the fact that I, for the first time in my life, did not have to rely on a friend to get pot for me. I finally had my own dealer.
Time passed. My partner got sober. (Alcohol.) And in a spasm of sisterly generosity I did also. (To a point.) So I didn't visit Ken as much.
Six months passed and I heard on the news that Ken was killed by an intruder in the same house that I had been visiting. CBS-4 News ran a story on Ken in which they had divulged his address. The following week someone broke into the house, killed Ken and stole the money. The killer is still on the loose.
Ken, in point of fact, was my first friend in Denver. He was a bigwig in the marijuana freedom community and local and state politics. And he was my drug dealer.
They had a candlelight memorial for Ken in Cheesman Park. I listened to Revelations by Yoko Ono (as remixed by Cat Power on Yes, I'm A Witch) as I drove to the vigil and cried uncontrollably. It was more than I had cried for my grandfather.
Spring came and I got my chance to scope out the 420 celebration at Civic Center Park. Cops were everywhere. No one was smoking openly and I couldn't just walk up to someone and ask if they had a connection for me. The year before 4/20 had been a party. It was - I saw the video on the internet. But, of course, Denver had just passed Initiative S-100 legalizing 1 ounce or less of pot in the city and the cops had to prove something. A day late and a dollar short.
As I was walking back to my car I saw three twenty-somethings sitting behind a Wells Fargo Bank sign doing the doob. I wrestled within myself about what I should do and, after a lot less time than it had previously taken me to pick up the telephone, I went to them and asked the all important question.
Do you have a connection in Denver that I can use? I'm not a serial killer or cop or anything. I'm a technical writer. Here's my business card. I just moved here and I know no one.
After some chit chat they deemed I was worthy and Cara, the girl holding the joint, gave me her cell and told me to call her that night. Her boyfriend was a dealer. When I called, Cara gave me an address and told me to come over. I bought an ounce from her boyfriend Chris who then gave me his cell phone number. Leaving Chris's house, I knew I had another dealer and hopefully this one wouldn't die. I didn't have the need to call Chris often but every time I did I wondered if he would remember me. Ultimately, it didn't matter because what was to be the last time I called him, he told me he didn't sell anymore.
sell pot Denver On The Stoner's Forum I saw that a small group was having a get together in a month. Hmm? And if that didn't work out it would be April 20 again.
Where to buy marijuana in Denver: Civic Center Park, immediately west of Broadway, in-between Colfax and 14th Avenue Parkway. Don't bother at night, nobody will be there to sell except for opportunistic rip-off artists. But, if it's daytime 7-days a week and there isn't a summertime festival going on then you are good-to-go.
Oh, man. This type of thing is forever. As one merchant gets older or leaves or moves higher up in the organization (I watch The Wire), another takes his place. So I went to Civic Center Park (where it began on 4/20) wearing my Montana t-shirt, in the hopes that the shirt would mean something to the mysterious dealer. It didn't take long for three men to spot me.
Bud.
I hadn't thought of searching that word. I drooled.
I got dime bags. And wipe your mouth.
I only have a twenty.
He points his finger to his friend. We nod and I took the twenty out of my back packet (surreptitiously placed there while dressing) and placed it in his hand - getting a feeling that he had to have the money in his hand before he would let go of the weed. He then dropped two small bags in my hand.
Thanks.
I walked away. No hassles. No interference. Plain, simple cash/merchandise transaction. This is the perfect purchase for someone who wants to smoke once in a while. It's like a liquor store on the corner that's been there for years but you're not an alcoholic.
Which brings up my desire to promote marijuana freedom. Having marijuana illegal costs the government millions in potential tax revenue. Think about what this revenue will do to offset the chunk of change we're losing on the Iraq War. (Hit them in their pocketbooks.) Marijuana freedom! Yea!!
Oh, please don't forward this entry to my mother. You're a doll.
It's a multimediacal (sic) mashup of the Patsy Cline chestnut Crazy and the phenomenom that is Britney Spears. Ms. Spears might think she invented the pink wig but, in fact, I was wearing it long before her.
But today is the FIRST day of my 50th year so I'm sharing my thoughts on it by embedding Miss Sally O'Malley and her thoughts on it, asserted during her audition to dance with the Rockettes.
