'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Tony Goldmark
By Baron Dave Romm
Passover is the most political of the Jewish holidays. It's the time we say, "we slaves once, and we didn't like it. If there is injustice in the world, it's up to me, personally, to do something about it." There is much work to do. Happy Passover everyone. And now back to our reviews...
Tony Goldmark keeps getting better and better.
His first CD (or at least the first one he talks about), Masterpiece Weirder
contains songs written in High School. You can hear the zits. Most of the songs are put-downs, not true parodies, and don't have the love seeping through of true filk/satire like Weird Al Yankovic or The Great Luke Ski (both of whom show up on the album: the former in homage, the latter as a guest artist). Kill The Backstreet Boys and The Ballad of Carson Daly are okay only if you actually care about The Backstreet Boys or Carson Daly. (And, to be fair, it's not TBB's fault that they're overplayed and Carson Daly is the best interviewer on late night tv. But that's harder to write songs about.) Tony has a good ear for music but all too often sounds like an angry Wally Pleasant.Still, most of us are angry at Tech Support and the parody of It's A Small World, while cruel, is a good jab at the commercialization of Disney World. His Rhetorical Questions are a bit too self-referential but still valid, and The Pirate Song has some good puns. He does a good job mining Monty Python bits in his tribute Penguin on the Telly and the short routine with kids, Ritaline, hits close to the mark about relying on drugs.
Okay, so he gets his Backstreet Boy song on Dr. Demento and graduates HS and what does he do? What should he do? Rage Against the Mundane. His second CD is much better with a wider variety of musical styles, more comedy bits and better parody. Rage Against the Mundane is a bit of a Spike Jones tribute, a bit of an advancement on the freshmanic rantings of the earlier CD and now a DVD (see below) with one of my favorite themes: rejecting reality by being weird. He gets his licks on Harry Potter in two songs: Sorcerer's Stone, a parody of the Shel Silverstein hit for Dr. Hook, Cover of the Rolling Stone, from Voldemort's pov; and Sirius Black, a rap parody from Sirius' pov that ended up as the #2 most requested song of 2004 for Dr. Demento. It is Extremely Unlikely If Not Impossible that Frosty the Snowman will catch fire but you never know. I detect the influence of Work Quartet. The Johnny Explosion trilogy of bits is kinda fun, and reminded be of Stan Freberg's Banana Boat and similar parodies of behind-the-scenes at a record company. He's still angry at Britney Spears and a few others left over from his HS angst.
Tony and a host of others refine their craft on Dementia Radio, which I've never listened to so can't recommend (hey, just come on Shockwave, okay?), but seems like a fun streaming radio station. I'm glad there are more and more places that let people be weird because you never know what you'll get. I met Tony at Marscon (Marscon picture of Tony Goldmark) where he premiered his DVD. Rage Against The Mundane on DVD, much longer than the song on the CD, starts slowly but quickly speeds up to strangeness. (I'd review the whole DVD, which has lots of worthwhile bonus material, but I lost my copy at the con. Grr.)
Everything by Tony Goldmark has been better than his previous effort. I eagerly await the next CD.
Also at Marscon 2005 was Tom Rockwell, front man for Sudden Death, toting their 2002 CD Fatal Accident Zone. I confess to a prejudice: It's all parodies of rap/hip-hop, my least favorite pop genre. For a guy who looks so cuddly, SD [insert rap lingo for "really cuts a groove"]. My favorite cut is Road Ragin', a good angry song that I might actually play in my car whilst driving. Dead Rappers continues a common theme where musicians make more money after they die and Alien Probes is at least stfnal. I should probably put Fatal Accident Zone in an Acquired Tastes column, since if you rap covers you'll like Sudden Death, but I picked it up at Marscon so it lands here. The group has seven CDs which I'm unlikely to pursue, but his cut with Shoebox, Inner Voice, is a lot of fun. (Marson picture of performance of Inner Voice.)
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Reader Comment
RE: Fairy Tales
Marty
Linked To Violent Relationships
Having been a counselor in the Domestic Violence Program for our county and a past Board Member, I was disturbed to read that researcher Susan Darker-Smith of University of Derby, says, "Young girls who enjoy classic romantic fairy tales like 'Cinderella' and 'Beauty and the Beast' are at greater risk of becoming victims of violent relationships in later life."
Susan Darker-Smith paper reinforces the age old idea that a woman is responsible for the domestic violence abuse that she receives. SHE IS NOT. There is only one person responsible for the domestic violence, and that is the abuser, which is usually a male. She can never be blamed for the abuse she receives, no matter what she has done, said, or read as a child in a fairy tale.
The abuser is responsible for their actions and society must come to the understanding that the abuser alone is to blame.
I was also glad to see that at the end of the article, Michael Townend, senior lecturer in psychotherapy at the university said:
"Susan's work is an interesting study which is sure to spark debate, but further research is required in this area."
The key words here are 'an interesting study' and 'further research is required in this area. I should hope so!
MAM
Thanks, Marianne!
Contributor Question
Page Not Loading
I'm switching to a new computer/software and noticed something that I
attributed to security in places I've worked: Bartcop-E doesn't load
below the Itchy and Scratchy gif, though you can see the Free Speech
Online image. Sometimes I can click on something and it loads, but I
shouldn't have to do that. Any thoughts?
Baron Dave
Thanks, Dave!
That's a new one on me. Can anybody offer any helpful suggestions?
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
David R. Francis: US already moving toward a flat tax (The Christian Science Monitor)
Bigger tax breaks for wealth produces a system in which the middle class pays about the same as the rich.
SHAWN STONE: When the Tank Goes Dry (Metroland)
If the peak-oil theory is correct, the world is going to run out of oil soon- will you be ready?
RICHARD C. WALLS: The spook of Providence: H.P. Lovecraft's wretched excess (Boston Phoenix)
The addition of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) to the Library of America's prestigious list of honored authors begs the question whether he really is that good or whether the L of A is just running out of Great American Writers.
Marc Savlov: Kung Fu Hustle:Pulse Quickening Fun (Austin Chronicle)
Stephen Chow's chopsocky offering is a manic, hyper-entertaining blend of classic kung fu tropes, special effects, and outrageous comedy.
National Weather Service
HouseDemocrats.gov
American Government Resources
Basketball Version
No Child Left Behind
1. All teams must advance to the Sweet 16, and all will win the
championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on
probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held
accountable.
2. All kids will be expected to have the same basketball skills at the
same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for
interest in basketball, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities.
ALL KIDS WILL PLAY BASKETBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.
3. Talented players will be asked to practice on their own; without
instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their
instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in
basketball, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like
basketball.
4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in
the 4th, 8th and 11th games.
5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have
the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals. If no child gets ahead,
then no child will be left behind.
Thanks, Marian!
Makes me think of a Kurt Vonnegut short story - 'Harrison Bergeron'.
Reader Comment
National Forests For Sale
Marty
That graphic at the end of your page about National Forests being for sale
is kind of misleading. The sites for sale here in Oregon are not forest
land but buildings. Three houses that were once used by Willamette
National Forest Service workers are for sale in the town of Sweet Home,
Oregon. The 5.2 acre property that they want $3.5 million for is located
in the town of Medford, Oregon. It has six buildings that are being used
for vehicle storage, a radio shop, and a warehouse. The property in the
Angeles National Forest is actually a dilapidated warehouse in the city of
Los Angeles. The properties in Washington state are an old ranger district
complex once used by the Okanogan & Wenatchee National Forests. No actual
forested land is being sold, at least not in Oregon, Washington, & California.
The bad news is that National Forest recreational sites are being closed
based on their popularity. Low ranking sites will be closed, have severely
shorted seasons, or have services such as garbage collection or restroom
maintenance eliminated.
So yes, the Forest service is selling properties but unused and unnecessary
buildings, not trees and the land they stand on. The real tragedy is that
people will no longer have as much access to those forested acres as they
once did before the Reagan years.
Is it just me, or did government entities like cities, counties, schools,
states, etc, had enough money to function and function well until Red-Ink
Ronnie & his cronies took office? Now those same entities have to go
begging for bucks just to keep minimal services going. And some people
think he was a saint. Idiots.
Pam
Thanks, Pam!
I grew up on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest, and it was the first time I'd ever heard of anything of theirs being sold.
Purple Gene Reviews
'The Interpreter'
Purple Gene's review of the movie "The Interpreter" (2005) Directed by Sydney Pollack (Director of - "Havana" - "Tootsie" - Actor in "Eyes Wide Shut" - "Tootsie"):
I had high hopes as I drove to downtown Oakland and went in to the Grand Lake Theater (famous for its' anti War and anti Bush Marquis). I had heard a "Two Thumbs Up" review on Ebert and Roper about the movie "The Interpreter"….how great Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn were…and what a wonderful job of directing Sydney Pollack did…and how great it was that the United Nations, for the first time, let somebody film inside those hallowed chambers (Debbie Schlussel thinks it's a left wing conspiracy) so I sat down with a medium tub of hot unbuttered popcorn and small fruit punch ready to be riveted………………
Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman - "To Die For" - "Days of Thunder" - "Eyes Wide Shut") works as an interpreter in the United Nations having been born in a small, fictional African country called Matobo. One day, just before leaving she accidentally hears a voice whispering something about a plot to kill the rebel leader of Matobo when he comes in three days to appeal to the UN for legitimacy for his regime. When Sylvia contacts the authorities she is suddenly thrust into the hands of the Secret Service who begin doing background checks on her to see if she is credible. They assign a special agent to track her named Tobin Keller (Sean Penn - "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" - "Shanghai Surprise" - "I Am Sam"). Tobin is a sobering sort and he thinks that Sylvia is full of shit and actually forces her to take a lie detector test….which proves inconclusive. They decide to set up a surveillance operation across the street from her New York City apartment. Tobin and his partner Dot Wood (Catherine Keener - "Being John Malkovich" - "Johnny Suede" - "Death to Smoochy") split the day shift and night shift watching Sylvia through her always open curtains.
Things start getting crazy as buses get blown up and people start dying…all somehow associated with the arrival of the rebel leader from Matobo. A lot of action happens in the UN building itself (free photo OPS) and slowly we learn more about Sylvia family history…and just as the relationship between Tobin and Sylvia starts to heat up we find that Sylvia's parents were killed 20 years ago by the rebel leader…we also find that Tobin' wife, who had just left him two weeks ago was killed in a car crash….at this point in the movie I was hoping for Tobin and Sylvia to get it on but she falls asleep in his lap! Shit…that's Nicole Kidman (Mick LaSalle of the SF Chronicle said she had "God given porcelain radiance") well Sydney Pollack and Sean Penn chose skip over that asset and go for sort of a "wooden truism" in a "fictional farce".
~ SPOILER ALERT ~
Cut to the chase…..all hell breaks loose in NYC and the UN and as the rebel leader arrives it seems like a guilty looking Sylvia is just leaving…but nobody can find her…talk about security in the UN….it turns out (I figured this out half way through the flick) that Sylvia had a little bone to pick with the rebel leader and shots are fired in the General Assembly of the UN as the rebel leader starts to speak…so they shuffle him off to a safe room……Oh My Gawd….guess who just happens to get in there with a loaded 45 ready to plug him???? And guess who just happens to arrive in that same room and tries to talk her out of killing the rotten rebel leader…why it's Tobin…….So much for a tight and interesting surprise ending….
Purple Gene give "The Interpreter" 5 five phony wooden African masks out of 10 for being so phony and wooden and a big disappointment!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Steady drizzle for a good chunk of the morning, but a beautiful, sunny afternoon followed.
Found out this morning the Alaskan Grandmother will be dropping by on Tuesday. Literally.
She's flying into John Wayne just before noon and the plane out leaves at 5:30. Add in traffic & we're talking lunch.
Guess I better find the vacuum cleaner.
Now on Postage Stamp
Robert Penn Warren
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Penn Warren now graces a U.S. postage stamp. Hundreds of people gathered in Warren's hometown in southwest Kentucky last week to witness the unveiling of the stamp, the 21st in the U.S. Postal Service's Literary Arts series.
Best known for his 1946 novel "All the King's Men," Warren wrote 16 volumes of poetry, 10 novels, a collection of short stories and college textbooks on poetry and fiction.
Warren's children, Roseanna Warren and Gabriel Warren, helped unveil the new stamp.
Robert Penn Warren
Views 'Lennon'
Yoko Ono
Beatle John Lennon would have enjoyed the musical stage production based on his life and songs because of its complexity, especially the use of nine actors to play him, according to his wife Yoko Ono.
Ono said her late husband would have admired how his multifaceted persona is brought to life by the cast of "Lennon," which premiered this week at San Francisco's Orpheum Theater.
"Lennon" is scheduled to play in San Francisco for a month before moving to Broadway for an extended run.
Yoko Ono
Morrison, Hayek, Bardem on Jury
Cannes
The jury at this year's Cannes film festival includes stars from the screen and the literary world.
Mexican actress Salma Hayek and Spanish actor Javier Bardem will sit on the nine-person panel, along with Noble laureate in literature Toni Morrison, organizers announced Friday.
The jury of the 2005 Cannes festival, which runs May 11-22, is headed by Sarajevo-born director Emir Kusturica. Other members on the panel include Hong Kong director John Woo, maker of Hollywood action-thrillers, along with Indian actress Nandita Das, French directors Agnes Varda and Benoit Jacquot and German filmmaker Fatih Akin.
Cannes
Lining Up Tour Plans
Nicks & Henley
Stevie Nicks and Don Henley have begun confirming dates for a summer tour.
Five shows are on tap so far, beginning June 3 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The tour will feature Nicks and Henley performing in solo and collaborative settings.
Before the Henley trek, Nicks will play a four-night stand at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas beginning May 10, under the moniker "Dreams." Backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last month in New York, the artist said the show would consist of "favorite songs, which you don't always get to do. This is a chance for me to go back through all those many, many years and pick out a few songs I haven't always done."
As for Henley, he will rejoin the Eagles for a new round of touring after the Nicks run, beginning Aug. 11 in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Nicks & Henley
Pixies, Weezer, Panic Set
Lollapalooza
The Pixies, Weezer, Widespread Panic, the Killers, the Arcade Fire, Liz Phair, the Black Keys and Death Cab For Cutie are among the acts that will play the reconfigured Lollapalooza festival, which will take place July 23-24 in Chicago's Grant Park.
Also on the bill are Cake, Dashboard Confessional, Dinosaur Jr., Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, Louis XIV, Tegan & Sara, M83, Los Amigos Invisibles, Blue Merle, the Redwalls, the Changes, Dandy Warhols, Digable Planets, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Billy Idol), the Bravery and Blonde Redhead.
Lollapalooza
Reuniting for Summer Tour
Loggins & Messina
Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina will embark on their first tour as a duo in nearly 30 years with the Loggins & Messina Sittin' in Again Reunion Tour.
The outing has about 40 dates on the books, beginning June 24 at the Idaho Center in Boise. The route includes arenas, amphitheaters, casinos and other venues.
Loggins & Messina
Experts Solve Mystery
Unpopped Popcorn
Eat your way to the bottom of almost any bag of popcorn and there they are: the rock-hard, jaw-rattling unpopped kernels known as old maids.
It's long been known that popcorn kernels must have a precise moisture level in their starchy center - about 15 percent - to explode. But Purdue University researchers found the key to a kernel's explosive success lies in the composition of its hull.
Unpopped kernels, it turns out, have leaky hulls that prevent the moisture pressure buildup needed for them to pop and lack the optimal hull structure that allows most kernels to explode.
For the rest, Unpopped Popcorn
Hit With Opry Fans
Rummy
As members of the U.S. military watched on television via satellite from Iraq, Dolly Parton invited their boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, onstage at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday.
As people entered the auditorium for Saturday's show they were given postcards with "America supports you," printed on them. Audience members waved the cards and shouted their support to the troops watching on television.
Rumsfeld was sitting in the front row as Parton sang her hit "Coat of Many Colors" before he was introduced.
Rummy
Spaniards Read Around The Clock
'Don Quixote'
Hundreds of Spaniards declared their love for "Don Quixote" on the 400th anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes' masterpiece with a non-stop relay reading of the book that ended on Sunday.
Readers of all ages took over 48 hours to work their way through more than 1,000 pages of Cervantes' action-packed novel, which made national icons of the knight who charged at windmills and his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza.
It was the annual "Don Quixote" readathon at Madrid's Circulo de Bellas Artes, a venerable centre for the arts, but there was a special buzz this year thanks to the anniversary which has sparked festivities all over the Spanish-speaking world. The first tome of the book was published in 1605.
'Don Quixote'
In Memory
George P. Cosmatos
Director George P. Cosmatos, best known for box-office hits "Rambo" and "Tombstone," died last week. He was 64.
Cosmatos had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, his friend and fellow director Richard Donner said Saturday.
"George was just a wonderful, bigger-than-life character," Donner said. "You never forgot his entrance and hoped there would never be an exit."
Known for an ability to fix troubled projects and create blockbuster films, he delivered what many consider his finest achievement in 1993 - "Tombstone," the film about legendary American lawman Wyatt Earp starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell.
Born in Florence, Italy and raised in Egypt and Cyprus, Cosmatos spoke six languages and was an avid bibliophile with a passion for cigars and film restoration.
George P. Cosmatos
