Many years ago, a bunch of my friends and I ended up in Florida for a week. Not spring break, a wedding. What an exciting week it was, of which we must never, ever speak publicly. Daytimes, we recovered in the usual Florida fashion — laying out in chaise lounges by the pool and/or beach.
One day Paul got up to go inside to freshen his drink and didn’t come back. I went in a bit later to freshen my own and found him putting the last touches on a fairly elaborate snack platter — Triscuits with tuna salad, fruit, little cheesy things, etc. Plus a fresh cocktail with a fruit flag on the rim of the glass.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Erica’s getting married,” he said. “I’m having a reception.”
Oh, right. “All My Children.” And there Erica was, wearing a modest red-sequined wedding cocktail dress, marrying for the fourth time, to Adam Chandler. He’d also be the male lead in marriage no. 7, out of 10 as of 2005, the last list I could find, and I’m not spending an extra minute researching Erica’s marriages, let me tell you. Erica Kane Martin Brent Cudahy Chandler Montgomery Montgomery Chandler Marick Marick Montgomery.
I’m sorry Paul died before the internet took over our lives, as I’m sure he’d enjoy surfing the “All My Children” blogs every day, maybe keeping one himself. You know what the big news would be today — it and “One Life to Live” are being cancelled after 40 years or so, part of the slow collapse of the daytime soap. Hard to imagine. I remember my grandmother watching these afternoon stories in the ’60s, when they were in black and white, the action punctuated with organ stings.
Soaps were always the golden handcuffs for actors, steady work that paid very well, but didn’t carry much prestige outside of fan conventions. Although I’m always amazed at how many respectable ones got their start there — Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei. Demi Moore was on “General Hospital,” although I think we can all agree her technique still has one foot in the Significant Close-up to Close a Scene.
The New Yorker ran a hilarious profile of the showrunner of “Days of Our Lives” a few years back. It was there I learned that the writing on soaps has reached the point where scenes in heaven are fairly routine now. Never watched ’em, myself. Tried, during the Luke and Laura “General Hospital” era, but couldn’t get into it.
So how about a picture? From the Kid Rock cruise:
That’s from the Facebook of Deke Dickerson, whom I gather was a musician in one of the backup bands. Thanks to BobNG for pointing it out. As I said late in yesterday’s comments, I’m disappointed at how much better his album is than any of the many photo galleries published by the Free Press. If you’re on Facebook, you can look it up yourself; they’re public on his wall, but I don’t think any link I’d put here would work. I’m amazed, although I shouldn’t be, by how many guests had multiple Kid Rock tattoos. One had an interesting surgery scar on her thigh, too. I’m sure the story behind that one is something to hear.
A little bloggage for the weekend:
U.S. Postal Service FAIL, as the kids say: The new Statue of Liberty stamp turns out to be a photograph of the one in Las Vegas, not in New York Harbor. Another delightful read by Kim Severson, off the food beat for a while now, and blooming where she’s planted. I saw her speak at a conference in Ann Arbor, and she was by far the most amusing one there.
Finally, something to consider while our American kids are being taught to the test. Tell me if you think these Australian kids will ever forget this lesson about dinoaurs for the rest of their lives:
What does a getup like that cost, anyway? Can I save enough money by next Halloween?
Jolly good weekend to all.
ROgirl said on April 15, 2011 at 9:13 am
Boom boom ackalakalaka boom
Boom boom ackalaka boom boom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuWlk4xRVUI
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coozledad said on April 15, 2011 at 9:30 am
The maid with the blue nitrile gloves makes that photograph work.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 9:39 am
Ultimate Ick Factor: Well, there was St. Anne, but wouldn’t this require Divine Intervention? There will not be a more bizarre story this year.
Nesting osprey on live camera. Everyone loves eagles. I think ospreys and red-tail hawks are equally magnificent. We see ospreys chomping fish on our beach all the time. Better than Animal Planet.
Edit: This osprey is estimated to be 26 y/o and producing offspring naturally. Wonder how that compares to 96 in human years.
Apparently that Statue of Liberty stamp is just another abject case of privatization. Pitiful.
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John C said on April 15, 2011 at 10:05 am
Alec Baldwin also got started on soaps. I think it was on Fresh Air that I heard him describing what it was like. Very funny. He talked about how the scripts had to constantly keep people up to date on the story lines. Something like: “Kate, when I moved back to Oaktree Falls to reunite with my long-lost girlfriend Jessica after she divorced Blake, the millionaire brain surgeon, I never dreamed I’d fall in love with you!”
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4dbirds said on April 15, 2011 at 10:14 am
Cooz, I was thinking the same thing about the maid. She’s probably wondering how is it she’s the maid instead of those two rednecks. Oh my goodness, do people not look in the mirror before they go out? Perhaps they do.
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Kim said on April 15, 2011 at 10:22 am
My period of All My Kids watching was during college, when I’d meet friends and strangers united by the singular desire to see which estranged couple was stuck in whose wine cellar in Pine Valley. We met up at noon in the ABC TV room at the Illini Union, and people would talk at the TV like it was Mystery Science Theater 3000 – though that was a few years from being invented. I recall drunken lunches in Chicago hosted in bars by Steve Dahl, who’d do the same MST3K thing live and to great effect. I think the appeal of the soap is their lives never change – skip a decade and you haven’t missed a beat in the storyline.
Of course, now we have real people like those morons on MTV whose unscripted shows are much cheaper to produce.
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coozledad said on April 15, 2011 at 10:37 am
4dbirds: It’s sort of like Manet’s “Olympia” at a salad bar.
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Dorothy said on April 15, 2011 at 10:49 am
The dinosaur video was outstanding!! Even though I could see the operator’s legs the entire time, I kept wondering if I would have been able to remember it was not real while all the kids were squealing and running away. Great lesson for those kids indeed.
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LAMary said on April 15, 2011 at 11:16 am
“What does a getup like that cost, anyway? Can I save enough money by next Halloween?”
Some mornings I can pull that off without the costume.
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basset said on April 15, 2011 at 11:23 am
Nesting osprey on live camera, in Indiana:
http://blogs.indystar.com/falconblog/
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brian stouder said on April 15, 2011 at 11:24 am
I think Mary just won the thread!
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Jolene said on April 15, 2011 at 11:30 am
“Kate, when I moved back to Oaktree Falls to reunite with my long-lost girlfriend Jessica after she divorced Blake, the millionaire brain surgeon, I never dreamed I’d fall in love with you!”
There’s a CSI equivalent of this sort of sentence. Because the viewer can’t see or understand the forensic clues, everything has to be laboriously explained as in, “Look over here, Jack. The blood spray starts about three feet from the floor and trails off to the left, so the assailant must have . . . whatever, whatever.”
You know that if two investigators were actually looking at such a scene, it’d be mostly gestures, grunts, and monosyllabic exchanges.
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Jeff Borden said on April 15, 2011 at 11:32 am
One of the tricks of daytime television writing was stretching everything out for as long as possible, which meant that there were many questions answered by questions.
Where were you last night?
What do you mean?
You know what I mean. Where were you last night?
Last night? Where do you think I was?
When I was a TV critic, I made it a point to give the daytime dramas a wide berth. The fans were totally into those shows and I had no base of knowledge, but there were a couple of syndicated columnists who concentrated only on the soaps and they were lifesavers.
Speaking of turgid dialogue, the reviews for “Atlas Shrugged, Part One” in the Tribune and Sun-Times today are devastating. Both Roger Ebert and Michael Phillips pillory the enterprise, which means they are both about to be bombarded with angry missives from teabaggers who hold Ayn Rand’s nearly unreadable crap novel to be second only to the Bible in the truths it contains.
Ebert is spot on with his view of Rand’s noxious worldview: “For me, that philosophy reduces itself to: ‘I’m on board; pull up the lifeline.’ “
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Rana said on April 15, 2011 at 11:50 am
I’m so odd – I was watching the awesome dinosaur performer, and all the squealing little kids, and mostly I was thinking about their cute little hats and reminding myself of Australia’s high skin cancer rates (hence the national campaign of Slip, Slap, Slop – slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, slop on sunscreen).
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moe99 said on April 15, 2011 at 11:52 am
Thank you RO Girl for the Was Not Was video. It’s exactly what I was thinking about when I watched the TRex terrorize those school children. How fun!
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Snarkworth said on April 15, 2011 at 12:12 pm
John C, in fiction writing, that technique is called “As You Know, Bob.” As in, “As you know, Bob, you are my only brother, so when our parents died in that freak tornado last year we inherited equal shares of Global Domination Corporation…”
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Jolene said on April 15, 2011 at 12:22 pm
I was a little worried about some of the littlest kids. They were running away like they were afraid they really might get eaten. That dinosaur had a very convincing roar.
Love the Slip, Slap, Slop idea, Rana. Never heard that one before.
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Judbusy said on April 15, 2011 at 12:25 pm
I posted the dino video and my partner now wants that costume:”How cool would it be to hide behind bushes and scare neighborhood kids?” I tell you, I married a gem. (And yes, LAMary wins the thread.)
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Catherine said on April 15, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I know someone who could hook you up with a similar costume, and teach you to use it, for about $3K. Friend’s family business is creating the costumes for characters at theme parks, stadiums, mall shows and so forth. They also hire and train the puppeteers inside. Yes, it’s a business. The stories he tells, OMG… plushies are the tip of the iceberg, my friends.
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nancy said on April 15, 2011 at 12:40 pm
A friend of mine was the Yak for an hour or two one day — the Yak being the Newspapers in Education mascot for the Detroit Free Press, and later others in the Knight-Ridder chain. (This was in Fort Wayne.) The suit was no small thing; it arrived in a rolling case because it was too heavy to carry. She said the kids were horrible, running up and pounding their fists on her midsection. Poor ventilation made it hot as hell, and midway through, she had a claustrophobia-induced panic attack, ran to her car, wrestled the head off and puked down the stomach. I really wish I had seen the Yak running across a parking lot and then barfing. But I’m never where the fun is.
Yak, seen here, obviously post-suit cleanup.
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Kirk said on April 15, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Good to know that yaks yak.
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Dexter said on April 15, 2011 at 12:52 pm
back to yesterday…The candy fire was in Archbold, Ohio, in June , 2001.
110,000 cases of Spangler candy, mostly Dum-Dums, were lost. No people were killed or injured in the fire.
The cause of the fire was not a dirty building or spontaneous combustion, it was arson.
While Spangler candy is produced just a half-mile west of my house in Bryan, the doomed warehouse was indeed in Archbold.
http://www.spanglercandy.com/newsroom/press-releases/archboldohio-warehouse-fire
It is dangerous to run a lathe or power drill press with long hair or even with cloth gloves. I worked on almost every type of press and lathe imaginable for many years and no matter how many injuries, how many posted warning signs, how many safety meetings and inspections…it made no difference. I had a friend named John who was running a small power drill press , wearing terrycloth gloves, a strict safety violation. The drill bit snagged a glove and did awful damage to his tendons and ligaments and tissue…so when I saw another worker wearing that style gloves, I would warn them. Need I state the responses I got? No one paid attention to me.
I was working one night when a woman in her late 20s got her beautiful long blonde hair caught in a lathe. The EMS had her carted off before I heard about it. (She was OK and only missed a day of work)
After that, for a few months, safety ruled. Then the signs got covered in grease and then taken down, and people became careless again.
Yep, I saw lots of accidents but I was retired when a man reached inside a press and the press cycled and killed him.
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Peter said on April 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm
You sure that yak photo is taken post suit cleanup? Depending on what she ate, it could have blended right in.
Years back one of my coworkers had to dress up as the Continental Bank kangaroo. Talk about chick magnet.
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nancy said on April 15, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Here’s the original “Walk the Dinosaur” video. Funny to see Don Was with his original-recipe Jewfro. I guess everyone with the kinky-hair gene learns it sooner or later: Go short or get lock’d.
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alex said on April 15, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I was briefly a fan of the long-gone Guiding Light when I was in college. There were multiple plot lines building up to one big shocking climax anticipated during the week of spring break, which I was spending in NYC but even while on vacation I made sure not to miss one single episode of my story.
Finally the day arrived. Amanda Wechsler’s biological mother was about to be revealed, as was the real culprit in a murder for which said mother was taking the fall. And then the station cut to a special news report: Ronald Reagan had been shot.
So instead of the satisfaction of long-awaited comeuppance for a few of the characters, vindication for others and mysteries solved, I got “As you know, Bob.” Glad to know it’s called that.
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Dexter said on April 15, 2011 at 1:13 pm
The Yak really got around. I suppose the Yak can be viewed as a success.
I always had a vague thought that The Yak and Ribbie and Roobarb were cut from the same cloth…literally.
http://fourhorsementattoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ribbie-and-rhubarb.jpg
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Dexter said on April 15, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Happy Happy , Charlie Chaplin’s 122nd.
Don’t miss the animated Google Doodle.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/04/google-celebrates-charlie-chaplins-birthday-with-an-animated-doodle/1
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4dbirds said on April 15, 2011 at 1:52 pm
I had a young cousin who was accidently backhanded in the mouth by Mickey at DIsneyland. Disney paid for her dental work.
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Catherine said on April 15, 2011 at 2:21 pm
At least she wasn’t groped by Tigger: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5582803/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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Dorothy said on April 15, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Here’s the news story in Australia and a little bit more background info on the dinosaur.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AQb0YARLmw&NR=1
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nancy said on April 15, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Nice video, but depressing to see Oz’s TV reporters act as silly as ours do.
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del said on April 15, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Kirk may be the new thread winner with “yaks yak.”
The Tigger mascot story was depressing. The guy’s up for a 15 year felony for improper touching (through a costume) while posing for a photo. Really? Reminds me of the guy who was aquitted of criminal sexual conduct for slow dancing with a teenager at a Selfridge Air Force Base dance a few years ago. Supposedly had an erection. I know the lawyer who represented him, and though I don’t know the backstory its hard to imagine a felony charge. The Tigger backstory involves a civil lawsuit against Disney. If the state’s prosecution is successful the girl’s family may get civil damages. Isn’t there any such thing as prosecutorial discretion? Maybe the Post Office’s use of the Vegas Statue of Liberty reflects a greater truth about this country.
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Little Bird said on April 15, 2011 at 3:11 pm
I kind of want that dino costume to wear just riding up and down the elevators in my building. Go stalking random hallways. But then I think I would be responsible for more than a few heart attacks among the older folks in residence.
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John G. Wallace said on April 15, 2011 at 3:21 pm
My daughter and I are pretty much banned from the room when my wife watches “Days of our Lives” I’ve watched it enough to have my Stefano DiMera impression dead on. What amuses me is a character will have a baby – you’ll see it around age 2, then a year or so later it will be a 20 something key character.
People will die and be back in a year. Ft. Wayne’s Drake Hogstyn was Roman Brady – old Roman returns, now they shuffle the deck and Roman 2 is an imposter.
Would love to see the family tree and show bible.
I can’t be too critical – I loved the new Battlestar Galactica. Great writing, amazing cast, often reviewed as one of the best shows on TV – the best by TV guide, but try sorting out the multiple versions of the same Cylon models and explaining the backstory to my wife or a new viewer IMPOSSIBLE.
Factor in an ending that jumped the shark and made the Sopranos seem well explained… No better than Days. If they left it where the writers strike had halted production it would have ended with a dark’ cruel twist that was a hallmark of the show.
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Sue said on April 15, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Think I’ll watch ‘Tootsie’ this weekend. Or better yet, ‘Soap Dish’.
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MichaelG said on April 15, 2011 at 4:41 pm
I don’t know about back there but the Spanish language channels here carry Mexican and Brazilian soaps which are the greatest ever. My erstwhile wife and daughter are hooked. I even used to watch.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Funniest soap opera movie is Delirious, with John Candy, mainly because it’s with John Candy. How about Sally Spectra who gave birth at about 60 in soap years, Methusaleh in human years? During a World Series game that the Dodgers were playing. Daytime horror TV. And Eric Braeden as Victor “the Stache” Newman, clearly the male version of Erika Kane. Mr. Braeden was a very good actor who played many Nazi officers on Rat Patrol. My mom watched the Soaps at work, particularly Bold and the Beautiful, as did my beloved ex-wife (same show). I gave them both grief, but watched occasionally. Seems that once every few months and a commercial break recap sufficed to be right on top of the proceedings. I have always felt great admiration for the writing and acting and tech crew talent that made these shows possible, while enjoying the total outlandishness and WSoD involved. Back from the dead? And there was Ridge and Brooke (an insane harpy). Headlines from yesterday’s episode of BandB:
Thomas asks Steffy to support his fight against Ridge.
Thomas and Steffy argue about Bill and Brooke, and Steffy confesses to Thomas that she’s in love with Bill.
Liam gives Bill advice about winning Katie back.
Katie tells her sisters why she left Bill.
the fierce loyalty of the Logan sisters throws Bill for a loop.
Now Brooke and Ridge started up at least 25 years ago, but damn, I bet they still randy as Glen Campbell and Tanya Tucker. And Victor will rule.
I could start watching since I’ve stopped taking any communication from clients besides registered mail, but I’ve got 80 movies in my netflix instant queue, and a new thingy that sends the movies through the ether to my big TV. Soaps are the backdrop of Fahrenheit 451 and more of an opiate than religion, or a religion in their own right, or rite.
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brian stouder said on April 15, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Hey Prospero – very cool F1 logo site the other day; thanks!
And indeed, the Texas two-step occurring in San Antonio is just crazy. The money will flow; it will be dazzling; and then – poof – that’s it/lights out/don’t let the door hit you on the way out/hey – pay this stack of bills!
Bernie Eccelstone went from tee-shirt salesman to billionaire by fleecing governments around the world….some say.(!!)
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Dexter said on April 15, 2011 at 6:20 pm
and ‘fros? You ain’t seen dis shit since the seventies, until last night. This is Coco Crisp, who can play baseball and he can rap, too, Jack…he’s good, too, really damn good.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/extramustard/hotclicks/04/15/odette-yustman-coco-crisp-afro-kevin-na-cards-16/
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Dexter said on April 15, 2011 at 6:22 pm
here’s that tune
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXA9_52wwoE&feature=player_embedded
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moe99 said on April 15, 2011 at 7:21 pm
http://www.wheelmeout.com/5_6.php
Was not Was back in the day….
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 7:30 pm
De nada Brian, wasn’t sure you were the frog-boy effete European type guy that was the F1 fan, but I thought so, and glad you enjoyed that. Those posters would make great man-cave wallpaper. I prefer canoodling during endless sports broadcast commercial breaks. And you know, those drivers don’t have that perfectly spaced timing of clutch accelerator shift sequence down like those monotonous left turn cats. I know you have to brake somewhere in there but I’m not sure where. I think after shifting if required to move the rear end around. My best driving has always been on ice, in snow, where the brakes are deadly, and downshifting will prevent disaster. I assume You’ve studied this driving style. When I was a little kid growing up in Detroit, I followed Jackie Stewart, and McClaren engines as well as Shelbey.
I was attending a UGA football game a few years ago with a brother and my daddy. There was an inexplicable timeout, and I noticed a guy in ref’s clothes standing by the front end of the chain gang. I noticed when he left the field play resumed. When this circumstance recurred it dawned on me that this was somebody from the network timing the commercials. My brother and my dad are great fans of the genius Russell Hoban novel Riddley Walker so I pointed out the unofficial official and said “the little shining man.” My companions agreed, and that appellation is code in my family for the ridiculous three-minute commercial break in televised College football. In Riddley Walker, the little shining man is the spark that ignites nuclear weapons.
Don’t know if any of y’all have read Riddley Walker, but if you haven’t, do so ASAP. It’s astounding. And it is something so brilliant and so much fun I’d like all of y’all to give it a shot. The rest of Russell Hoban is difficult and strange, and probably an acquired taste. It is potentially a great movie, Nancy, if you know about writing screen treatments, which I’m sure you do. I think Road Warrior is great cinema, and anybody that doesn’t get it can go back to For Joshua. Decent movie, I remember foggily, or froggily. Sausage in history class. I’m a contrarian movie fan. I thought the Jake LaMotta movie sucked bigtime. Every other word some part of speech based on fuck? It was bullshit. Not close to Taxi Driver. As far as DeNiro, compare that adlibbing to what he did in Midnight Run, an infinitely better movie. Y’all know more about stuff this than I do. If we were discussing poets, I’d stand my ground. I love the burbling and sometime incendiary intelligence of this website. I learn something every day. Or several things, sometimes.
But on the subject of Detroit bands, I was there, and almost always extremeley conscious. Seriously, Nancy, listen to MC5 songs and claim Jims band could play like that. You can’t. Two of the best guitar players that ever lived: Brother Wayne Kramer and Sonic Smith. This is even close to an argument, WHICH I’D ENGAGE, BECAUSE YOU ARE SO SMART AND FAST ON YOUR FEET. . We used to go see James. When the peanutbutter came out, we figured it was almost time for Robin Trower to Kick Out the JAMS. No way on god’s green earth could the stooges brothers play like this. This was stupidity made into a fetish compared to guys that could really play and had an agenda. Iggy’s band could not play like this in a million years. Neither could the Sex PISTOLS, BUT THEY TRIED.
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Judbusy said on April 15, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Soaps? Dark Shadows. That is all.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Judybusy, we used to have two hours between school and swimming practice. Irresponsible shitheels, but we had the run of the streets and there was the Fabulous Modern Deli where we boht bgfels, one for $.58 and two for a $buck. No shit, and what I think about who’s responsible or shit, I’m fucking right. So, I think you are an entertaining and smart respondent. To whatever moron shit I propose. T’ve read your posts and I think You are both wise and quick. How do we all judge each other? I don’t know/ I’d say for a fact, I think this is a group of people that tend toward peoples feelings, and intend the best, under any circumstances, for everyboddy they care about. I don’t know Judybusy, but I wish I did. Same with Nancy and Beb. 4dbirds. No idea how to include me, but as much as I mean something regarding anything, I realy feel like y’all are family. Or at least somebody i like, however that turns out.
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Holly said on April 15, 2011 at 8:33 pm
Dark Shadows was my favorite when I was little. I had wished my Mom had named me Victoria because I thought that lady was pretty. I also watched General Hospital. I had a day off a few months ago and decided I would turn on GH. I turned it off after a time because I could not stand it.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Holly, it was way good. Barnabas was amazing/ The problem was it was on at the same time as Action.
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Bob (Not Greene) said on April 15, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Hey pros, what’d you swim?
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Deborah said on April 15, 2011 at 8:53 pm
I have melancholy remembrances of soaps. The summer after my mom died my sister and I spent some time at our aunt’s (our mom’s sister) house in KC, MO. It was deadly boring. While my aunt and uncle were at work all day the two of us spent all of our time watching soaps. We got super hooked and knew all of the intricate stories. All of our friends were back home in Miami, FL so we had nothing better to do. As soon as we got back home at the end of summer that was that, I never watched again. But I remember being really caught up in it while it lasted. I was 14.
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Kirk said on April 15, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Both of my grandmothers watched more than one soap every day (I think they both followed “As the World Turns”), and both referred to them not as soaps but as their “stories.”
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 9:04 pm
EWeixa is hilarious compared to Victor.
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Judbusy said on April 15, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Aw, thanks, Prospero. Although I usually feel waaaay outgunned here at nnc. That’s why I mostly lurk. I’ve learned so much here, and enjoy the discourse and banter. I will also always appreciate when everyone showed the love when I shared about sh*theel dad. It meant an awful lot.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 11:16 pm
De nada Brian, wasn’t sure you were the frog-boy effete European type guy that was the F1 fan, but I thought so, and glad you enjoyed that. Those posters would make great man-cave wallpaper. I prefer canoodling during endless sports broadcast commercial breaks. And you know, those drivers don’t have that perfectly spaced timing of clutch accelerator shift sequence down like those monotonous left turn cats. I know you have to brake somewhere in there but I’m not sure where. I think after shifting if required to move the rear end around. My best driving has always been on ice, in snow, where the brakes are deadly, and downshifting will prevent disaster. I assume You’ve studied this driving style. When I was a little kid growing up in Detroit, I followed Jackie Stewart, and McClaren engines as well as Shelbey.
I was attending a UGA football game a few years ago with a brother and my daddy. There was an inexplicable timeout, and I noticed a guy in ref’s clothes standing by the front end of the chain gang. I noticed when he left the field play resumed. When this circumstance recurred it dawned on me that this was somebody from the network timing the commercials. My brother and my dad are great fans of the genius Russell Hoban novel Riddley Walker so I pointed out the unofficial official and said “the little shining man.” My companions agreed, and that appellation is code in my family for the ridiculous three-minute commercial break in televised College football. In Riddley Walker, the little shining man is the spark that ignites nuclear weapons.
Don’t know if any of y’all have read Riddley Walker, but if you haven’t, do so ASAP. It’s astounding. And it is something so brilliant and so much fun I’d like all of y’all to give it a shot. The rest of Russell Hoban is difficult and strange, and probably an acquired taste. It is potentially a great movie, Nancy, if you know about writing screen treatments, which I’m sure you do. I think Road Warrior is great cinema, and anybody that doesn’t get it can go back to For Joshua. Decent movie, I remember foggily, or froggily. Sausage in history class. I’m a contrarian movie fan. I thought the Jake LaMotta movie sucked bigtime. Every other word some part of speech based on fuck? It was bullshit. Not close to Taxi Driver. As far as DeNiro, compare that adlibbing to what he did in Midnight Run, an infinitely better movie. Y’all know more about stuff this than I do. If we were discussing poets, I’d stand my ground. I love the burbling and sometime incendiary intelligence of this website. I learn something every day. Or several things, sometimes.
But on the subject of Detroit bands, I was there, and almost always extremeley conscious. Seriously, Nancy, listen to MC5 songs and claim Jims band could play like that. You can’t. Two of the best guitar players that ever lived: Brother Wayne Kramer and Sonic Smith. This is even close to an argument, WHICH I’D ENGAGE, BECAUSE YOU ARE SO SMART AND FAST ON YOUR FEET . We used to go see James. When the peanutbutter came out, we figured it was almost time for Robin Trower to Kick Out the JAMS. No way on god’s green earth could the stooges brothers play like this. This was stupidity made into a fetish compared to guys that could really play and had an agenda. Iggy’s band could not play like this in a million years. Neither could the Sex PISTOLS, BUT THEY TRIED.
Scott Richardoin was a waY better singer, and hiS sci=fi lyrics were superior to I wanna be you’re BE YOU’RE dog. More interesting. And his band was just so much better. Brian I’m happy you liked that, I thought it was pretty cool,HOK may think Detroit is a disaster and their flatlander asses may think it needs saving, but fuck those assholes, they think they saved Boston too, when it didn;t need fatlander shitheads to save it with another highnd I worked for HOK and Copley Place abd they can shove it, rise, Ever been to Boston? It’s just fine
as can be on the fens. nd these HOK jackasses can shove it, I know a ot about this, And it;s poor design, and it ignores a vibrant cityscape and fucks it over, They have screwed with the best city in the western world, so fuck ’em.
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prospero said on April 15, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Brian Stouder, you seem like a great guy I’d be pleased to be associated with. But I’m a rude bastard you’d prefer not to be associated with. You are ineffably and unfailingly polite, I tend to abrasiveness and intolerance. I generally agree with everything you say, but I always think you should go for the juguoar instead of being Mr. Nice Guy. Becuase you are.And that’s why I love everything you type on this forum. As much as I find these people inexcusable, you makethis is no joke Naancy. Tou know as well as I that the problem these bastards have with Obama is his skin Wrong color, like Jesse and the Titanic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4jliLONDAc rational excuses for their rqcist, shithea asses. I have to say in the long run Brian, you are a saint and these racist assholes can go to hell.
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Crazycatlady said on April 15, 2011 at 11:34 pm
I remember running home from school to watch ‘Dark Shadows’. I’m old. And ‘Ryan’s Hope’ was a favorite of my sisters and me in High School. American kids being taught about Dinosaurs? Textbooks with Creationism, just like that museum where Dinosaur and Humans co-exist and live happily together? We are the laughing stock of the world!
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prospero said on April 16, 2011 at 2:07 am
Crazycalady, but there was also the Raiders on Action. At about the same time. We had to wait hours from when school ended until swimming practice. some ugys watched soaps, some guys watched Action, some of us went more or less wild on Seven Mile, which in those days was pretty lame, but Louis the hatter was on Livernois, so we bought irridescent paisley ties etc. But Raiders ruled, That was one great band. And Barnabas Collins was interesting, but not like all this vampire shit that is so boring without the teenybopper horseshit it is drivel. How did anybody ever figure men and velociraptors shared the earth. The humans were lunch, really quick. Whatever, There is radiocarbon dating, which is of course a vast conspiracy, What the hell is wrong with these people? Whatever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTzA_xesrL8
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Dexter said on April 16, 2011 at 2:16 am
What a nasty night
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Dave said on April 16, 2011 at 6:56 am
“Action”. “Where the Action Is”. Goodness, Prospero, I watched that show, which means I also confess to being old. I don’t know if Paul Revere and crew was one great band but they sure looked like they were having a good time. Action is where I first caught a glimpse of people I had no familiarity with at all, like James Brown. I know I was watching “Action” when I first saw James Brown doing his cape bit.
My memory tells me that it was on earlier in the day, perhaps, doesn’t make sense because of the audience it was aiming at, but that was in Columbus.
I also remember my sister and I watching Dark Shadows. For some reason, the name Lamar Trask rings a bell, I think he was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-type character, possibly played by a actor named David Selby, but maybe not. Kate Jackson was on this show, there was enough reason for me to watch.
My mother was a “As the World Turns” fan, it seemed like it never changed to me. After my grandfather retired, circa 1962, he and my grandmother became regular soap fans.
Totally off-topic and only of interest to those of a certain age who grew up in Central Ohio, and Jeff Borden has told us the first man seen in the video, Chet Long, was a complete alcoholic, but I found this on YouTube the other day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3V_eA5pDt8
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James said on April 16, 2011 at 9:13 am
And Flippo’s real name was, class… Class…?
Yep. Bob Marvin.
My mom used to tell tales of him being involved in a DUI, and killing someone, but I can’t verify that. So don’t spread the rumor around, ok?
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prospero said on April 16, 2011 at 10:50 am
Dexter, Frank’s Wild Years is a spectacular album.
The great songs on Frank’s Wild Years include:
Innocent When You Dream, and
Cold, Cold Ground, (with Kronos Quartet), and
Telephone Call from Istanbul was a favorite of my daughter’s when she was little, particularly the line about “never drive a car when you’re dead.”
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brian stouder said on April 16, 2011 at 11:04 am
I watched Dark Shadows; the actor who played Barnabus Collins visited Fort Wayne one day, and was in a parade (or something); I recall making eye contact with the guy*, who struck me as a (somehow) strange combination of unimpressive- yet-glittery, in real-life.
I realize now, thanks to nn.c’s LA Mary, that he was a classic lollipop guy; diminutive fellow with an out-sized head.
There was a very hot blonde (or so I thought, when I was 10) who played the character Angela** – and the guy who played Quentin Collins*** the werewolf was always likeable. Dark Shadows was Twilight on over-the-air (and in our house, black and white) TV, seemingly centuries ago.
* thanks to Google: Jonathin Frid
**thanks to Google, I think this is the woman –
http://www.laraparker.com/biography.html
*** no thanks to Google; a few years ago I had an “AHA!!” moment when I read that David Selby played Quentin. Selby is a fine actor who pops up in lots of things
edit: from the Lara Parker website – which is a hoot! – this exchange in an interview, where she talks about how she became an author, got me laughing:
13) Can you recount any funny “behind the scenes” stories from DS?[Dark Shadows]
One time I set fire to my eyelashes and almost burned down the set when I lit a house of cards during an incantation. The prop man had poured on way too much lighter fluid and the thing went up in a giant explosion! We were always knocking over gravestones, catching hair on candelabras, waving a fly off a nose, and forgetting our lines. We shot “live on camera” so all our mistakes went on the air.
14) How did writing Angelique’s Descent come about?
HarperCollins decided to try out a series of novels and asked me to write the first one. They thought the name of Angelique would help sell the book. I had written several screen plays in writing class but once again, Dark Shadows (the novels) was my first professional job. I think my editor thought they would have to rewrite my book and they were surprised and pleased that it wasn’t necessary.
15) Who are your writing influences?
Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, the Bronte sisters, Daphne du Maurier.
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Judybusy said on April 16, 2011 at 11:39 am
Prospero, thanks for posting the Tom Waits stuff. I saw Kronos quartet many times ages ago when going to school in Madison, WI. My ex-husband was really into music and introduced me to so much, including Tom Waits. He is older than I, and also watched Dark Shadows after school. We’d rent videos of the show back in the late 80’s.
The last concert we attended together was Tom Waits at the State theater in Minneapolis. It was one of the best performances I’d ever seen. Ornette Coleman and The Art Ensemble of Chicago also come close.
Last week, I walked by our gorgeous jazz club, The Dakota. The sandwich board said Phillip Glass was playing that night. I had had no idea, and it was of course sold out. It would have been incredible–the venue is very intimate. Ach, I can’t think about it too much–it’s really quite upsetting to have missed it!
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Suzanne said on April 16, 2011 at 11:57 am
I always wanted to have a soap opera baby: 2-3 month gestation, nearly painless birth with no sweating (a grunt or groan is all), no 3:00am barfing, and fully grown in 2-3 years. But alas, mine were painful and sweaty, and are still in college.
I watched Dark Shadows, but was warned against it by our parochial school teachers after some kid commented that he was unimpressed by Jesus’s resurrection because, heck, Barnabas Collins did it every day.
I read The Fountainhead way back when and really, all I can remember is a scene where, if I am recalling correctly, the male protagonist sneaks into the female protagonist’s room and pretty much rapes her and she didn’t really mind to much. That struck me as odd.
And, yes, the glitzy Statue of Liberty on the stamp pretty much sums up where the country is right now.
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Deborah said on April 16, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Judybusy, sorry you missed Phillip Glass. I’ve been to 3 or 4 of his performances and greatly enjoyed them. None that intimate though, that would be fantastic. The last one I went to was at Ravinia, an interesting venue in a suberb outside of Chicago. During the performance a woman was playing the cello (if I remember correctly) and Glass completely turned around and watched her intently. I thought that it must have been uncomfortable for the woman. Fast forward a year or so later I found out that she’s his girlfriend and he’s written pieces for her.
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Holly said on April 16, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Who was that red headed lady who played the doctor on Dark Shadow. She had always seemed to have trouble breathing. That or she was a really bad actress.
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prospero said on April 16, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Judy, I’d pay big money to see Ornette and Tom Waits together, that would be an amazing combination, two of a kind tricksters. You have varied and excellent taste. My favorite reed player is unquestionably the flute/clarinet/sax player Yusef Lateef.
Holly, I think you’re thinking of Grayson Hall as Dr. Hoffman. She was also on All My Children, and was in Night of the Iguana(the chaperone for Sue Lyon’s nymphet character) back, way back. I thought she was a hoot on Dark Shadows.
Edit: Grayson Hall died of lung cancer.
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Holly said on April 16, 2011 at 2:20 pm
If I knew she died from lung cancer I would not have made my comment about her breathing. Open mouth and insert foot.
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brian stouder said on April 16, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Holly – at the risk of being accused of whistling past the grave yard, I thought your comment was pretty funny to start with, and all the funnier with Prospero’s detail!
IMO, there’s no shame at all in remembering such a detail about a person – especially given how intrinsic that detail may have been, in that person’s life. (sorta like Edward R Murrow’s cigarette, or Dale Earnhart’s devil-may-care driving style)
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prospero said on April 16, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Why David Stern and the NBA with him running it both suck. As does Kobe. If Rasheed Wallace had said the same thing, Stern would have imposed a one-year ban and tried to get Sheed sent to Guantanamo.
Bar-KAys. Greatest instrumental ever.
Bar-Kays backing Otis Redding.
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Judybusy said on April 16, 2011 at 4:46 pm
That’s a great story, Deborah. About two years ago he was featured on American Masters. I just remember his making pizza in his country home in Nova Scotia (I think.) And of course, the music. My partner doesn’t like him at all, but she was working that night. I remember what I had for dinner and how very happy I was I could soak it all in.
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brian stouder said on April 16, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Here’s hoping Cooz & Mrs Cooz and Lewd (et al) are OK, as the twisters and so on rake over North Carolina. (the news from that state at this hour looks fairly grim)
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coozledad said on April 16, 2011 at 5:51 pm
It was just windy here. I was out broadcasting beans with a hand spreader when the lightning started, and decided to finish up the bag before heading in. Just goes to show that willful stupidity isn’t always fatal.
We had a lot of rain.
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moe99 said on April 16, 2011 at 7:04 pm
This is a mind bender
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9jghLeYufQ&feature=player_embedded#t=225s
This is another avenue to the video if the above does not get you there:
http://hypebeast.com/2011/04/spike-jonze-presents-lil-buck-and-yo-yo-ma/
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Deborah said on April 16, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Moe, that link was amazing. very moving. Wow, I don’t even know what words to use to describe that, thanks for linking, that made my week, no that made this month. Maybe even this year.
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Dorothy said on April 16, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Wow Moe! Thanks for sharing that link. Incredible!
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Jolene said on April 16, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Lil Buck appears to have rubber legs!
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Dexter said on April 17, 2011 at 11:16 am
Here’s how we leave Frank, as his Wild Years phase ends and he pursues new adventures, from the album and story-web that Tom Waits wove around 1986 and 1987.
I saw the production (with the most eclectic ensemble ever) at Chicago’s Steppenwolf.
“One night Frank was on his way home
from work, stopped at the liquor store,
picked up a couple Mickey’s Big Mouths
drank ’em in the car-
– on his way
to the Shell station-
he got a gallon of
gas in a can, drove home, doused
everything in the house, torched it,
parked across the street, laughing,
watching it burn, all Halloween
orange and chimney red…
then
Frank put on a top forty station
got on the Hollywood Freeway
headed north…
Never could stand that dog.”
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/franks_wild_years_for_frankie_z_lyrics_tom_waits.html
All about Tom Waits: http://www.musictory.com/music/Tom+Waits
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Dexter said on April 17, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Why does every tornado season blow harder than in previous years? Last night was horrific in NC.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/04/16/2228781/tornado-roars-through-triangle.html?img=1
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Dexter,
I think that’s supposed to be “chiminey red”, with an extra syllable, like the Appalachian pronunciation, “chimeley”. Ever have a Mickey’s Big Mouth? Really awful malt liquor, favored by serious rednecks. Used to get ’em for second shift lunch when I worked in the Westinghouse transformer plant a lifetime ago.
My Sixteen shells from a 30.06 on my I-phone. For some reason, google for lyrics of this song shows Bob Seger. Maybe he recorded it.
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Dexter,
I think that’s supposed to be “chiminey red”, with an extra syllable, like the Appalachian pronunciation, “chimeley”. Ever have a Mickey’s Big Mouth? Really awful malt liquor, favored by serious rednecks. Used to get ’em for second shift lunch when I worked in the Westinghouse transformer plant a lifetime ago.
My ringtone on my I-phone. For some reason, google for lyrics of this song shows Bob Seger. Maybe he recorded it.
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Judybusy said on April 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm
moe, thanks for posting that. Lil Buck hardly seemed to inhabit the ground–he was incredibly light.
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brian stouder said on April 17, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Very cool, Moe; made me forget about the person with the distracting rackage on Nance’s main post.
Aside from that, here’s another reason I’d never have lasted a week in any journalism organization. The headline I’d have stuck on this article would have been “County works to reap the whirlwind”, or some such
http://pharostribune.com/local/x325992973/Is-wind-farm-coming-to-Cass-County
A developer has moved into the land-leasing phase of a potential wind farm in Cass and surrounding counties.
Edit: and a YouTube non-sequitur that made me say “wow”; some of the dumbest people on the face of the earth have the greatest cats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5sAF8gMN9c0
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Little Buck is amazing. On the other hand, the cello player is the best that ever lived. How cool is Yo-yo Ma. This guy rules.
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basset said on April 17, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Seger has indeed recorded “Sixteen Shells…,” along with “New Coat of Paint” and “Downtown Train,” which is on the setlist for his current tour. “Train” was also released as a single back in February and apparently sank without a trace.
Never could connect with Waits myself, but I have had a few Mickey’s. And Little Kings, and Fehr’s XL, back in Bloomington in a former life.
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Yo=yo Ma is the best cello player that ever lived, and it never occurs to him to act like he’s cool. He’s a trickster, and a wonderful human being. He gets the cosmic joke. and he’s one outstanding mensch. He’s Chinese, but he is just way cool. And that Kronos, it’s entirely likely Yo-yo could play the whole thing all by himself. There is no way to translate how spectacular this guy is. And he thinks it’s hilarious. Awesome character. This guy rules. No matter what anybody says. No shit em. I can’t tell yoou what any of this meqns. Just want to see myy grandson and my keedo. And the guy you think is worth spending your life with. Shit Emilly, how do you act like we aren’t connected? Here’s the deal. I live in condo owned by a trust in my name. Two years ago, it was worth $200grand, Now, who knows, but at least $50grand. i hope you two have a wonderful place to vacation. Bring you’re mom. because I I will always love her beyond comprehension. Ask her about visiting the park with the buffalo in Worcester. I think it’s important you realize how much I loved your mother. Nobody in the same universe. When I met her I was zoned in. She always was everything to me. I’d also point out she was kinda after me. But I always thought she was gorgeous. And glad to be caught. She is a ridiculously beautiful woman.
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 9:01 pm
You see Emily, your mother is my ideal match and we had a perfect child. You are a perfect child. I know that’s kinda silly, but you are so smart and so beautiful, and you’re childhood friend was Sara, who is gorgeous and intelligent, and as good a friend as I’ve ever ad, other than Nancy Patmalee, who was also a very good friend of you’re mother’s.
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Sorry about confusing shit. Are we joking? You really have to be moronic. How does that translate? Are we kidding? just shut the fuck up. We have to be kidding. Some of us actually have the money. You can kiss my ass ye fucking morons. Emily and Matt get all my cash and the property. There’s a problem with that?
Whenyou get right down to it, that’s my last will and testament. Last will and testament of Michael Johnson. Emily Johnson is my sole heir and her husband Matt Giorgetti. Everything I own bwlongs to these two. That is my will. and you have to honor it. What I say’ No joke.
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Deborah said on April 17, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Oh my. I hope everything is Ok. I lost my train of thought, forgot what I came here to say.
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brian stouder said on April 17, 2011 at 10:05 pm
That is my will. and you have to honor it. What I say’ No joke.
But in the meanwhile, Pros, stick around, eh? No need to rush to the hereafter, I always say.
Life moves along at an amazingly quick pace as it is (in hindsight, anyway).
For a genuine example of confusing shit, I can now point to the book Too Big to Fail, by Andrew Sorkin. I’m about halfway through and it’s been enjoyable and informative (at least regarding financial terminology), but the author’s style now has me raising my eyebrows regularly.
He uses real people’s names, and the story is nonfiction, and he is a genuine financial reporter who has actively covered this subject for several years, and indeed the book is slated to become a movie…and from time to time the author attributes thoughts to people in the narrative.
Using quotation marks for conversations amongst two people who are alone in an elevator clearly depended on one of them being the source, yes?
Bottomline – I think I’m enjoying the book too much; it reads so melodramatically that I begin to feel “played”. Whose agenda is being advanced?
The story itself is a tale of distortions and obfuscations; and add to that, that the book has an unsettling habit of making the floor disappear. I’m reading along and enjoying it, and then I begin to wonder how Sorkin knows this particular, or that detail.
Dick Fuld of Lehman seems to be the dramatic center of gravity, so presumeably he is also a key source (or maybe the key source), which brings us back to wondering about the book’s agenda.
The book still strikes me as worthwhile, although it seems to be packaging (or securitizing!) the toxic truths it has to tell, for the profit of a particular interest
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prospero said on April 17, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Well, Brian, are we not men, we are Devo. I have to say, you are one outstanding , And Formula 2 thaat is fairly awesome. And Jackie Stewart is one amazing character and a ridiculously great driver. Who’s to say? I’d say you can’t say who’s a great driver. I think I could do that. Who actually knows about when to hit the clutch and the breaks? Seriously, What’s the perfect spot to decelerate? That is how you drive this shit, right? Do you know how this driving works? I’d like to know. I am prettu sure I’d know how to hit it driving, What do you think?
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 17, 2011 at 11:11 pm
All I know recently about open-wheel racing is that it was implausibly inserted into “Iron Man 2” to be julienned by Whiplash.
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Dexter said on April 17, 2011 at 11:33 pm
“Game of Thrones”. HBO. I watched it. Anyone excited about it? I didn’t pay attention to the buildup and it seemed like half historical dramatization of a time in history and half medieval science fiction…or something.
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moe99 said on April 18, 2011 at 12:27 am
If you haven’t read the series, Dexter, you are missing a great deal. Martin is an incredible writer and although the piece tonight was fun to watch, half the beauty of it is in the language in the books. I’ve been a fantasy fan since 6th grade when I stumbled upon The Lord of the Rings, and there are only two other authors who even come to the toenails of Tolkien for this kind of epic fantasy. One is Martin and the other is Guy Gavriel Kay. After that is Greg Keyes.
Keep an eye on the women, Dexter, several of them come into their own.
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coozledad said on April 18, 2011 at 12:32 am
basset: This was sort of gateway Waits for me, beyond the Fernwood Tonite and SNL slapstick. I’ve always thought what works for Tom is a kind of children’s lit take on the most painful adult interactions.
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Jolene said on April 18, 2011 at 12:47 am
Brian, as a follow-up to the Sorkin book, you might be interested in All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis by Joe Nocera and Bethany McLean. They are both very sharp reporters/analysts, and this book is supposed to be very good on what players did what in the years before the crisis. Would be interesting to see how similar their perspectives are.
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Dexter said on April 18, 2011 at 1:12 am
great song, coozledad…you’d love the 1986 film “Down by Law”, starring Turturro, Benigni (and Mrs. Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi) , Waits, and John Laurie.
Thanks for the info, moe. I won’t read the books, though…this Mark Twain autobiography is killin’ me. I need a discussion group to get through this thing.
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coozledad said on April 18, 2011 at 2:21 am
Dexter: I listened to this band while I built my barn. My wife detests the vocalist because he sounds like one of the silly neurotics who piloted my band to destruction, but I understand him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqj1qxoBr9E&feature=related
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Deborah said on April 18, 2011 at 6:16 am
“Down by Law” is a great Jim Jarmush movie as are many of his early ones. “Stranger Than Paradise” is a favorite, and “Mystery Train”. The later ones are less good IMHO.
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brian stouder said on April 18, 2011 at 9:29 am
Pros, I confess that what race car drivers actually do, and how they do it, is entirely mysterious to me. Leaving aside their basic skill-set, betting your life (or at least your intact body) on every hot lap, that nothing in the car will break when you wrench it through a corner at the fastest possible speed (in addition to trusting the person racing beside you not to foul-up) seems to be an example of selective denial. And in Formula One, the blasted steering wheel is loaded with switches and buttons and indicators of all sorts, which are unique to each team, and which constantly change. A season ago, when Filipe Massa was injured (a part flew off another car during qualifying, and bounded down the track, and into Filipe’s helmet – nearly killing him), other racers got a chance to race in his Ferrari – one of the best cars in the field – and could do nothing with it. Getting the most from a particular F1 car is a multi-layered challenge; Formula One represents (to me) a compelling challenge to produce the very best results from each unique team; the mixture of dare-devil racers and ever-changing rules, and inventive engineers’ response to the rules, and passionate team principals and dogged mechanics – not to mention the sexy cars themselves – are all endlessly interesting.
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basset said on April 18, 2011 at 9:46 am
But… with no American cars, no American drivers, and if I remember right, no races in the USA, at least for now… hard for me to connect with that. ARCA and outlaw sprints, much more interesting.
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brian stouder said on April 18, 2011 at 10:18 am
Basset – absolutely true!
The very best race is always the one you’re in the stands for, that’s about to go green
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Suzanne said on April 19, 2011 at 8:26 am
Brian, I heard Sorkin speak on the book a few months ago. Dick Fuld apparently kept meticulous notes on things and gave Sorkin almost unlimited access. The quotes bothered me, too, but overall I liked the book. I won’t say “enjoyed” because most of it just made me angry. I’d begin feeling sorry for some of the key players and then think about how much money they made every year and how I was worried about my kid paying for grad school, and then I just became angry.
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brian stouder said on April 19, 2011 at 9:33 am
Many years ago, I read Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, and this book (Too Big to Fail) – albeit with updated lingo – is very like it. Excepting that, in Sorkin’s book, when the protagonist experiences his “thump – thump” moment in his limo, it’s the entire US economy that he just ran over, instead of an honor student who doesn’t live in his zip code (or his universe). Indeed, Suzanne, it is an upsetting (and unsettling) read. These people are so sure that they know what they’re doing, right up until they’re not. Jolene, I may add the Nocera/McLean book to the list, much as one might add a snow shovel in the springtime, against the day (which will surely come) that we get well and truly snow-jobbed again, about our recent history.
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