And it’s good that it is, because this place is starting to get on my nerves.
Jason Reitman speaks today, then awards tonight and back home tomorrow.
It’s been a nice break. God bless this crazy country of ours, eh?
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alex said on April 12, 2010 at 11:41 am
Reminds me of my fave casino billboard on the Chicago Skyway some years back: “Loosest Slots in Town!”
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Connie said on April 12, 2010 at 11:44 am
It probably would have got on my nerves on day one. I have no desire to visit to LV, but if I did it would be to see Bette Midler’s show and a Cirque show. I remember as a teenager walking around Reno with my family and being astonished that there were all these places you could pay to leave your kids while you went gambling.
Had a lovely day at Butler U on Saturday, attending an awards ceremony for the College of Lit, Sci, Arts. My kid not only won an award, she was selected to introduce the professor who spoke. She ended her intro by saying “the dude abides, may I present Professor….” Maybe a quarter of the audience chuckled and the rest were clearly clueless. Would you have chuckled?
Also did a family pic with the big concrete bulldog, and bought a few final four t-shirts. Go Butler! I guess next year I’ll be having to say, Go IU, which is going to be really really hard for us.
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derwood said on April 12, 2010 at 11:51 am
I would have chuckled! Congrats to your daughter!
I went to see The Purple Rose of Cairo at the Embassy in FW when PeeWees Big Adventure was in the theaters. The lady introducing the film made a smart comment about how all of us have chosen to see a real film instead of PWBA. Half the audience cheered when she said PeeWee…me included. I think it shocked her that anyone that would see a Woody Allen movie being presented at the Embassy would have no business watching PeeWee.
-daron
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Dorothy said on April 12, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Definitely chuckle worthy, Connie! And I’m with you and all the others who stated in the previous thread that LV holds no appeal to me. I keep hearing that it’s a great place to people watch. I’m not about to spend good money to fly out there and only people watch. I can do that here in Ohio. No matter how many people try to convince me to go, I doubt I’ll ever step foot in Vegas.
I was terribly sleepy when watching Treme last night so I only saw about 35 minutes of it, but I liked what I saw. When I’m not so googly-eyed I’ll watch it again and hopefully have a stronger impression of what it’s about.
Is anyone else watching The Pacific? I have watched all five episodes so far, and I don’t know if it’s because my son is an Army member now, but I truly feel sick each time the battle scenes begin. All I can think about it is what could be in Josh’s future. When it’s on the t.v. I have to leave the room. I didn’t react that way to Band of Brothers, but that was almost 9 years ago and Josh was not in the service yet. I think I’m not going to watch the rest. I just cannot appreciate it any longer.
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LAMary said on April 12, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I was a Purple Rose of Cairo fan since some of it was filmed in a little town where I lived for a while: Piermont, N.Y. There was very little change made in that town to make it look depression era. It was a great place to live. Two good bars that served good food, good live music in one, and an excellent bookstore.
LV really got on my nerves last time. Too many old ladies with oxygen tanks and walkers parked in front of a slot machine with a cup of quarters. Too many things I had no interest in buying, using, doing, being shoved in my face constantly.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 12, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Chuckling now . . .
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John G. Wallace said on April 12, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I know Piermont. A few good restaurants. nice drive up Rt. 9W, I used to go to an abandoned Nike Missile Base in the hills above the river , cool cold war relic, eventually taken over by squatters (I’d use the word hippies but it was 1987). Rosie O’Donnell lived up there also.
Mary, did you ever check out Bannerman’s Castle up that way?
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paddyo' said on April 12, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Dorothy — it’s been a while since I saw “Band of Brothers,” which has the same HBO DNA as “The Pacific.” Maybe it’s just because “TP” is fresh and new, but I like it a lot better so far. (Haven’t seen last night’s episode, but will catch it this week.) As the son of a WWII B-17 tailgunner who flew over Europe, I’m woefully underschooled in the particulars of the War in the Pacific, even after seeing Clint’s Iow Jima flicks. So besides the discovery factor, this series is quite arresting . . .
Anybody catch the debut of “Treme” last night? I’ve got some friends who are saying “Tre-meh” because it was, well, a little slow and not as slam-bang dramatic as David Simon’s “The Wire.” Tough crowd! The fab music may cover up for the early slow parts, and the preachiness advertised in the previews is certainly there, but hey, it’s only one show. “Wire” alums Wendell Pierce and Clark Peters are stone-cold brilliant so far . . .
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LAMary said on April 12, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I didn’t check out Bannermans, no. I moved out in 81 after living there a short time. I wish I had stayed longer. It was a really nice town.
I think Rosie O’Donnell lived in Nyack, just north of us. Sneden’s Landing, south of Piermont, had lots of celebs and money. Bill Murray lived there I know. Piermont still had the mill making cardboard bottle carrier boxes when I lived there. The mill closed and the town got artsier.
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Dexter said on April 12, 2010 at 3:34 pm
OMG! Treme is really, truly “the shit” , as the cool kids say. Don’t miss the chief, and don’t watch when tired, because it’s dynamite!
Here’s a song they played last night when Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) spices up his NPR show a little bit.
I have never seen a show open with so many great performances. I bet there are people all over who are saying any one of about 12 actors “stole every scene”.
Wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B01u5puGvQ
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moe99 said on April 12, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I would have chuckled, Connie.
Must be my early onset aging, but do we know yet who are getting the awards, Nancy, or is that to be revealed tonight?
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Jolene said on April 12, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Wow, that’s a great pic, Nancy. I don’t know that I’d do very well in Vegas. I think I’d be overwhelmed by the sensory input.
Have been watching The Pacific and will probably stick with it, although I’m not finding it as engaging as Band of Brothers. There doesn’t seem to be enough story–just lots of shooting and dying and the miserable physical conditions. May be great verisimilitude, but am not sure it’s great drama.
Last night’s Treme seemed to be putting pieces in place and establishing a mood, and I thought it did a good job of that. Really liked seeing Wendell Pierce and, especially, Clark Peters again. I really liked him in The Wire. Also thought Khandi Anderson was very good.
I think they’re playing it again tonight, so, if you missed it, you can catch up.
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Jolene said on April 12, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Re Poland and the non-appearance of conspiracy theories, Anne Appelbaum has a good piece on the WaPo web site re the openness and co-operation between the Russian and Polish governments in the wake of the crash.
She is an American, but is married to Poland’s Foreign Minister, so she is more knowledgable and closer to the situation than many reporters might be.
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Dexter said on April 12, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Jolene: Wendell Pierce is just the best. One of these days a taxi driver is gonna ride on off with his ‘bone if he keeps using it for collateral for taxi fares. Broke-ass horn player having to ride down into the Treme in a taxi…another irritating aspect of Katrina.
I never gave a thought to the fact that Second Line musicians were paid by the event like that…$40 for a walk to the cemetery , for example.
This is just one helluva show. John Goodman ? Perfect.
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brian stouder said on April 12, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Jason Reitman (et al) should be interesting; I look forward to a full report from the Proprietress. Speaking of looking forward, we have a copy of Up in the Air rented, and should be watching it tomorrow evening. Indeed – I’m motivated to seek out his Thankyou for Smoking, having just enjoyed Christopher Buckley’s talk the other evening.
As for Pacific, Dorothy – all I’ve ever done for my country is pay taxes. My dad was in the Navy in the early ’50’s in the Pacific, serving aboard the USS Oriskany (CV-34) (when a different Hollywood crew came aboard to film scenes for the move Bridges of Toko Ri), and my brother was in the US Army in the early to mid 1970’s….and I cannot (and/or will not) watch more than the one episode of Pacific that I saw.
Bonnie and Clyde was like that; drew you in, then became almost unbearably violent, and then ended. An episode of Pacific also draws you in (more or less), becomes jarringly violent, and then ends…but then we’re expected to tune in again. If the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde were a mini series, I’d make it a few shows in, but as the body count rises, it would lose me.
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Dexter said on April 13, 2010 at 1:11 am
Still chasin’ down videos , still psyched by last night’s killer Treme episode, and I have had New Orleans on my mind all day…here’s my man Dr. John…now, I love this song, but I am posting it for the chief’s costumes here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdvzfeIKHTE
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Jeff Borden said on April 13, 2010 at 10:58 am
Yarrrghhh. The curse of not having HBO continues. We dropped it for several reasons not least was the price, but I was bitterly disappointed at the short lives of “Deadwood” and “Rome.” What I miss most about HBO is Bill Maher’s program.
On a totally unrelated note –and to underscore my long-standing claim that Princess She-Who of Mooseland will never again pursue a political office– ABC is reporting that since quitting as governor in July the consummate conwoman has pocketed a cool $12 million. Is this a great country or what???
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LAMary said on April 13, 2010 at 11:04 am
Jeff, I’m beginning to suspect she left the governor’s job for the money.
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brian stouder said on April 13, 2010 at 12:11 pm
You know, not to sound like an old guy, but one can see She Who’s whole story arc, now; and assuming her plan was never going to include actually governing the United States, then she does indeed possess an admirable
sense of her limitations, and her earning potential.
She really, truly did start several miles north of nowhere, and then successfully went for a job in local tv, and then successfully went for a job in local government, and then successfully went for a job at the head of one of the 50 states of the Union….and THEN she caught that bolt of lightning from McCain’s national campaign – and she was smart enough to hang on tightly and not let it go – even dispensing with her day job as governor of Alaska, just as one might tell the boss “I quit”, the day after hitting the lottery.
If I was her publisher, I think her sequal to Going Rogue (itself an ironic title, since she was specifically supposed NOT to be “rogue” in the national campaign) should be called something like Nobody’s Fool.
It won’t matter what she actually thought at different points on the arc; her literal pot of gold at the end of the atory arc justifies all that came before, and the smart people in the room will say she possessed an uncanny grasp of her moment, and she maximized all her opportunities. (as in – she may be a fool, but she’s her own fool)
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deb said on April 13, 2010 at 1:49 pm
well, brian, at least we agree she’s a fool.
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Dexter said on April 13, 2010 at 2:11 pm
ahh…two of my faves, Ricky Lee Jones and the good doctor again…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2m8Pgo_440
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 13, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Brian, Richard Russo already used that title well, and I just read the blessed word that he’s at work on a sequel . . . if you’ve not seen the Robert Benton movie starring Paul Newman from that book, you’ve missed something wonderful.
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John said on April 13, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Just a quick note to let you all know I will be having a cardiac catheterization tomorrow. I had one eight years ago when I had a stent put in, so it’s not too scary, but I may be out of the loop for a few days. I don’t always comment, but I do always read. And the commenters are as funny as the proprietess, who by the way (from last week’s comments) is related to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s family hired hand, Mr. Nall.
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brian stouder said on April 13, 2010 at 2:51 pm
John – here’s wishing you and yours strength tomorrow, and in the coming days. I have no idea how I would handle such a thing myself, but I’m fairly certain that the hardest part would be seeing the effect on the young folks, as events unfold before them.
Anyway, now you must de-lurk, and report back to us!
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Jolene said on April 13, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Brian: I’ve been meaning to mention that I love how you refer to your kids as “the young folks”.
Whenever I read that phrase, I picture a tall figure in the late 19th or early 20th century wearing a three-piece suit and peering at a pocket watch worn at the end of a chain across his belly–possibly with mutton-chop sideburns and a significant mustache.
There’s a combination of distance and doting in that phrase that is very appealing.
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Julie Robinson said on April 13, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Please add my prayers for you, John. Are you here in the Fort?
And now, as Bossy would say, a question for the council. I’m looking for fun, sassy, and empowering songs for a women’s retreat this weekend. We’re singing hymns during our sessions but for incidental music in between we’re running pop music. I’ve got the obvious I Am Woman and Respect and many others, but I feel like I’m missing some, especially for our senior ladies. Not the you-dumped-on-me songs, but about women being strong unrelated to romantic relationships. Did I mention this is a church function? So profanity is not really great.
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brian stouder said on April 13, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Jolene – the term “the young folks” struck me exactly the same way as it did you, when I first noticed it in William T. Sherman’s (altogether marvelous!) memoir.
I think that America’s awful 19th century will always enthrall me, because of that dynamic wherein all that we are today (both good and bad) is clearly on display then, in unambiguous terms; almost in the same way that a super collider reveals the most basic elements in the universe, by smashing things right down into sub-atomic particles.
Whatever else we (the US) ever do, we’ve seen what matter we’re made of.
But we digress!
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Sue said on April 13, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Best wishes, John.
Julie: so I suppose the Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” is out?
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Sue said on April 13, 2010 at 4:39 pm
“Sin Wagon” is out, too, probably.
But “Wide Open Spaces” is empowering for the younger ones. It’ll make the mamas cry, though.
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Jeff Borden said on April 13, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Julie Robinson,
A great choice would be “Men” by the Forester Sisters. It’s a sweet, mid-tempo number with some cute but not overly nasty lyrics about the antics of those who are estrogen deficient. It’s one of my favorite c/w songs.
LYRICS BELOW
They buy you dinner, open your door.
Other then that, what are they good for?
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
They all want a girl just like the girl,
That married dear old dad: they make me so mad.
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
Well, you can’t beat ’em up ’cause they’re bigger then you.
You can’t live with ’em and you just can’t shoot ’em.
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
They love their toys; they make their noise.
They’re nothing but a bunch of overgrown boys.
Men! I’m talking ’bout men.
If you give ’em what they want, they never fall in love.
Don’t give ’em nothin’ they can’t get enough:
Men! I’m talking ’bout men.
Well, you can’t beat ’em up ’cause they’re bigger then you.
You can’t live with ’em and you just can’t shoot ’em.
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
In the beginning they always aim to please.
They serve a purpose; they fill a need.
They ensure survival of the species.
They take you for a ride, run of gas.
Most of the time they’re a pain in the a-a yeah, yeah.
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
Well, you can’t beat ’em up ’cause they’re bigger then you.
You can’t live with ’em and you just can’t shoot ’em.
Men! I’m talkin’ ’bout men.
Silver tongue devils.
Well, they’re lying through their teeth.
Saying anything,
Just to sweep you off your feet.
Ooh yeah, men! talkin’ ’bout men.
Mere mortal men.
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Dexter said on April 13, 2010 at 5:15 pm
The best usage of “folks” was by young Stephen Foster, who died at age 37.
If you are 50 years of age or younger, chances are you never heard the original lyrics sung.
Here they are, and my mom taught my brother and me these lyrics out of an ancient piano song book. (geez, the lyrics really ARE offensive…)
Full Original Version
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
‘Tis summer, the darkies are gay;
The corn-top’s ripe and the meadow’s in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy and bright;
By ‘n’ by Hard Times comes a-knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.
Chorus
Weep no more my lady
Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,
For the Old Kentucky Home far away.
They hunt no more for the possum and the coon,
On meadow, the hill and the shore,
They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
On the bench by the old cabin door.
The day goes by like a shadow o’er the heart,
With sorrow, where all was delight,
The time has come when the darkies have to part,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.
Chorus
The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
Wherever the darky may go;
A few more days, and the trouble all will end,
In the field where the sugar-canes grow;
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
No matter, ’twill never be light;
A few more days till we totter on the road,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.
Chorus
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moe99 said on April 13, 2010 at 5:47 pm
What about “Girls Just Want to have Fun?”
Good luck tomorrow, John. And do report back.
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John G. Wallace said on April 13, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Hang tough there John.
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John G. Wallace said on April 13, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Julie –
Anything from 2 Live Crew, especially my 7 Bizzos
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LAMary said on April 13, 2010 at 8:48 pm
I remember learing Stephen Foster songs in the first grade, offensive lyrics and all. This was 1959-60, right outside of NYC. We learned a song called Uncle Ned who had no wool on the top of his head in the place where the wool ought to grow. The last line was “there’s no more work for poor old Ned, he’s gone where the good darkies go.”
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 14, 2010 at 7:52 am
Julie, almost anything from Carrie Newcomer would be great; folk rock balladeer, has sung for national women’s events for the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ (and that’s just what I know of) — she bridges that generational crease you allude to quite well.
Blessings and strength to John and all his sure-handed medical team; looking forward to more good word. (And still watchfully prayerful for Whitebeard.)
Just got to watch more of John Goodman as (ahem) Ashley, and it’s just such an odd good sad feeling. Still hoping, quite inappropriately I’m sure, for the appearance of “FYYFF” which will tie up many threads, IMHO. Melissa Leo is wonderful, but I do wish Simon had gone whole hog enough to try the tall roller derby queen thing.
If someone makes a movie of this blog, I call dibs on Jeff Daniels to play me!
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Julie Robinson said on April 14, 2010 at 9:09 am
Thanks for the suggestions; I had a couple of these but I’m heading to Napster next. It’s been fun!
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