Spaniard Luis Buñuel collaborated with Salvador Dali in the 1920s making one of my all-time favorite films, “Un Chien Andalou.” Teen boys will love the eyeball scene in which an apparent human eyeball is slit with a straight-edge razor. Un chien andalou
Both Buñuel and Dali show up again in one of my new favorite films: Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” this time as themselves. This is perhaps the best film of it’s type since “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” They show up in the clubs and salons drinking with Earnest Hemmingway, F Scott & Zelda, Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Joséphine Baker, T.S. Elliot, Gertrude Stein and many of the names you’ve read about in art/literature history classes – about Paris in the 20s.
Owen Wilson is perfect as a Hollywood writer on holiday in Paris with his soon-to-be and her parents. Like Alice through the Looking Glass, Wilson somehow steps through time and finds himself – not in modern Paris but Paris in The Golden Age, 1920s – 30s. A Grand-automobile stops to pick him up after a night of drinking and motors him to a club where he meets those great artists and writers.
Adrian Brody kills as Dali and Marian Cotillard is beautifully magnetic and believable as Adriana, Picasso’s lover. The gangs all here: Gertrude Stein (No one but Kathy Bates could have been cast for the role of Gertrude Stein,) Alice B. Toklas, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, Matisse, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, TS Elliot, Gauguin, Man Ray, Degas on and on. Olivier Rabourdin as Paul Gauguin and Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway bring a sense of vintage-style and richness to the film. What in the hell does that mean?
The night scenes are also rich and luscious like the afore-mentioned, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.”
Some of the daylight clips seem to be washed-out. Can’t imagine the woodster effing-up. Maybe he had a reason. The only other negative thing about this movie is that it’s too short – 100 minutes.
Here’s a YouTube of THE SCENE from Un Chien Andalou – The original “shock” movie.
The author of this story is not a journalist, just a plain joe with an opinion.
The radio woke me up after I fell asleep listening to the all night coast to coast show. Morning talker Peter Boyles was yapping about the newest (part two of the latest ) Denver Sex Scandal. It’s reported that the current sex business includes a leading mayoral candidate, lawyers, a district attorney as well as so-called business/community leaders of the Denver area.
The following is compiled from hearsay and information from printed text, from a couple of sources. It’s a synopsis gleaned the past three days from the radio, the pages of Westword.Com and KHOW.Com.
Since the following is politically tainted it very well could be a political hit-job. In other words the story could be totally fabricated in order to affect the outcome of a mayoral election. Keep in mind that politicians generally don’t have a working ethical-compass like artists, carpenters, doctors/scientists, electricians, musicians and the like.
“MAYORAL CANDIDATE HANCOCK LINKED TO PROSTITUTION RING” – from KHOW.Com radio Several years ago Denver Judge Edward Nottingham was accused of involvement in a prostitution sting. He resigned his gavel amid accusations that a prostitute *”claims he asked her to lie to investigators and hide[sic] that he paid her for sex.” Seems that one of the call-girls from the same or similar prostitution ring dropped a dime on Denver Mayoral candidate Michael Hancock after recognizing him in the media. The exact date is unclear. The mayors race will be decided very soon – today June 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM Mountain Time. Hancock is expected to win. The leading opposition candidate – Chris Romer – is the son of former Colorado Governor, Roy Romer – whom after leaving Colorado went on to become superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Printed records indicate that Hancock’s personal phone number and name turned up on a journal page along with information that he paid $275.00 for services, more than once. Hancock was a councilman at the time. These records can be accessed here
If Hancock wins this election and these allegations are proven, Denver is going to be in deep Kim Chi to use a well-worn phrase.
Let me say that this is not about trying to nail Hancock. He appears to be a good guy. In fact I would say that he appears to be a really good guy. Also I don’t have a problem with hookers per say. The real crimes here are the crimes of the better-than-thou lawmakers breaking the law. Doesn’t this sort of thing promulgate anarchy. Doesn’t it create anger and mistrust in the community.
I agree with the morning talkers that the double-standard is in overdrive here (my words.) When the legal bitches – and I don’t necessarily mean females – went after the Denver Johns (This was a prostitution sting that focused on poor working class “johns” that were hooking up with street hookers for a few bucks – their names and photos were routinely published on a television program called Johns TV.) nothing was covered up, nothing was glossed over. The Denver Johns were mostly poor, minority dudes. How come the main media is not publishing the names and photos of the so-called stellar community leaders? Huhh! C’mon Denver Post, radio and TV news stations, publish the damn names and photos. Let it fly… Whether or not Hancock is involved, shine a light on these hypocrites. I for one am not holding my breath. Keep in mind that these lawmakers jail and fine offenders for the same “crimes” that they are guilty of. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
This same double standard has been going on for years and years. The old-boy club’s rules have been in effect for years and years. How DEEP is the cover-up. Why don’t YOU find out – and demand that the names and photos be published.
I was in Patsy’s last night. I was in a need-to-be-in-Patsy’s mood so I drove to Patsy’s Italian Restaurant on Denver’s North-side. Years ago South-sider’s referred to the Northwest part of Denver as West Denver, but who’s counting. Huhh?
Entering the restaurant is like stepping into a time-machine back to the gay 20s. Uhh, not that one.Enter the restaurant through Patsy's bar area.
Photo from Patsy's
The excellent photo – originally from Patsy’s site and snipped – above, is from a site who’s authors weren’t that crazy about the food. At least they agree with me that the restaurant looks like an authentic movie set, it is…authentic. Better then a movie set, it’s the real thing.
The restaurant has been around since 1921 or something like that, and it looks like it. Patronizing Patsy’s is like eating and drinking in an antique – not an antique-store, an antique. And I like that. The bar is boot-leg cozy with an old varnished wooden surface behind a half-round arm-rest, spinner-stools with red-vinyl (?) tops and mirrored back-bar. Don’t know if it’s true, but I heard that the name came about – changed to Patsy’s – after WWll when Italians weren’t exactly on America’s A-list and, well, Patsy’s sounds Irish, so… I also heard that the original owner, Chubby Aiello, referred to Mussolini as “Hitler’s patsy” so the restaurant was therefore named Patsy’s – as a patriotic gesture… Like the Kennedy Assassination, Roswell, Osama and so on and so forth, we’ll never know, so ask someone if you have a need to know.
Patsy’s pipes in appropriate period/style background music. The music savvy tech-guy went to Hollywood High, so says he. He does have excellent and thoughtful play-lists.
About the food, I think “those chicks” are accustomed to a different set of taste sensations. I am completely satisfied when I dine on the big, fat, home-made noodles with Patsy’s garlicky, red-sauce, a couple of balls, bread, salad and a glass of a solid red. Deal me in baby. What – you were expecting a piece on military-artillery. Not going to happen here.
The word cozy comes up again when mentioning the restaurant booths. Easy-in, hard-out. Easing into the booths, your eyes catch a glimpse of the little shaded light on the wall behind the booth. It sooths. It isn’t an expletive high-school classroom with mind-scratching fluorescent lighting.
Patsy's main dinning area
“Patsy’s was named one of the 10 “Reasons to Return” to Denver by 10Best Inc.
And here she is…
Patsy's Italian Restaurant
Patsy’s Italian Restaurant
3651 Navajo Street
Denver, CO 80211
(303) 477-8910
Navajo Street Art District
Patsy’s is the anchor for about a half-dozen art galleries within a block or so. There’s even a little theater. The area is called The Navajo Street Art District.
First Fridays of each month feature the First Friday Art Walk: The galleries do an open-house with cheese and wine thing from around 5:00 PM until around 9:00 PM. Actually that would be tonight – June 3, 2011. The art ranges from primitive-barely-art art to sophisticated, luxurious oils. There is some avant-guard, edgy stuff. Be sure to check out D-Gallery on 36th and Navajo. It’s a great way to spend a Friday night in Denver. Do cocktails and dinner at Patsy’s then stroll the galleries for a couple of hours, and buy some art. Support your local artist. Even if he/she’s from Brooklyn, New York.
by Arlington National Cemetery Amphitheater - Photo WIKI
From the Official Memorial Day Holiday Website: “Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.”
“Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.” read more…
Jeanne D'Arc - Image - BiographyOnLine
Jeanne D’Arc – AKA Joan of Arc – was a 19 year old French chick who was burned at the stake in France in 1431. Jeanne D’Arc connection, May 30, 1431. Source, revdrron.blogspot.com/.
“On this day in 1431 Jeanne d’Arc (1411-1431) perished at the fiery hands of her English foes. She was subsequently declared innocent by the Inquisition on July 7, 1456 after a lengthy re-trial process which was initiated shortly after the English were finally driven from Rouen, thereby allowing access to the documents and witnesses associated with her trial; the presiding Inquisitor, Jean Bréhal, ruled that the original trial had been tainted by fraud, illegal procedures, and intimidation of both the defendant and many of the clergy who had taken part in the trial, and she was therefore described as a martyr by the Inquisitor.”
“After the usual lengthy delay associated with the sluggish and questionable process of canonization, she was beatified on April 11, 1909 and canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920.”
“For some Christians of a different tradition than me, today is the feast day of St. Joan of Arc. Interestingly, it comes on the heels of Memorial Day. I was reminded that many female Christian soldiers wear a medal of Jeanne d’Arc along with their dog tags, seeing as how she was the patron saint for female soldiers (and any female military).”
“So, while keeping all service personnel in your prayers, today on the feast day of Joan of Arc, keep in mind the American women who have gone to serve and not returned home.”
“St. Joan refused to follow any command but God’s!”
NEW MATERIAL HERE – REVISED, Friday May 27th at 10:00 PM Mountain time.
Bob (Robert Zimmerman) Dylan
From The LA Times Music Blog
Bob Dylan turns 70: ‘I’m younger than that now’
May 23, 2011 | 11:59 pm
Somehow, a chorus of “Happy Birthday” just doesn’t cut it for Bob Dylan, the Poet Laureate of his generation, today as he hits the milestone of 70. First and foremost, Bob didn’t write it.
Not surprisingly, the momentous occasion is being observed in many quarters. Rolling Stone magazine has devoted the cover of its latest issue to him, for a story listing the 70 greatest Bob Dylan songs as selected.
Tonight at the Grammy Museum here in Los Angeles, author and historian Sean Wilentz (“Bob Dylan in America”) and journalist-author Mikal Gilmore will lead a musical and philosophical exploration of Dylan’s legacy following a screening of Murray Lerner’s documentary “The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965.”
And—gulp!—AARP magazine, the publication of the American Assn. of Retired Persons, also has a Dylan cover piece in which the editors coaxed Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Judy Collins, Mavis Staples and Martin Scorsese into writing a few words in recognition of their peer/hero and/or friend.
Not to be outdone, Pop & Hiss views the occasion as a chance to offer up a salutary bonus episode of Dylan’s brilliant radio series, “Theme Time Radio Hour.” Number-conscious guy that he is, Dylan signed on with XM (now Sirius XM) satellite radio and delivered exactly 100 shows from 2006-2009, each devoted to a broad swath of songs reflecting a given theme, such as the Devil, Christmas, Cadillacs, Jail. Then it was time for he and those famous boot heels to be wanderin’. (TTRH had still been part of the Sirius XM lineup in reruns until, ironically, this month. It’s been taken off the air to make room for the Earle Bailey show.)
So with all humility, here’s a chronologically organized playlist of 70 minutes’ worth of Dylan songs spanning nearly 50 years, songs that reference various facets of age, a topic that’s surfaced repeatedly in his music over the decades: birth, death, youth, maturity, fate, heaven, hell, existentialism, spirituality, generational differences, paradise, past, present and future. read more from The LA Times on line…
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I’m going to add to the story. I was still living with my parents when I first heard Dylan on AM radio. I don’t remember the song, maybe “Subterranian Homesick Blues?” Whatever it was the jacket was on the wall above my bed and I listened constantly. It was like the second coming. I’d been through Elvis and that was really cool. Dylan did it again. I listened – and played and listened and played from the Dylan music that appeared shortly after the “Minneapolis hotel tapes” as I understand through his 70th Birthday.
I still have questions. How did he do it? Where did the music/poetry come from? Knowing Dylan’s apparent clear honesty and crystal integrity why did he change his name? Did he have an issue with his being Jewish?
One word to describe Robert Bob Dylan Zimmerman: BRILLIANT! The closest I ever got to Dylan was at The Tropicana Motor Hotel in Hollywood in the 70s. I was checking in and he was checking out. My understanding was that he came down from Malibu with his kids. I recall that he was driving a station-wagon. Chuck E Weiss and Tom Waits were there…
THE GIVERS AND THE TAKERS
From WIKI:
“At this point, music manager Albert Grossman began to take an interest in Dylan’s business affairs. Grossman persuaded Dylan to transfer the publishing rights of his songs from Duchess Music, whom he had signed a contract with in January 1962, to Witmark Music, a division of Warner’s music publishing operation. Dylan signed a contract with Witmark on July 13, 1962.[18] Unknown to Dylan, Grossman had also negotiated a deal with Witmark. This gave Grossman fifty percent of Witmark’s share of the publishing income generated by any songwriter Grossman had brought to the company. This “secret deal” resulted in a bitter legal battle between Dylan and Grossman in the 1980s.”
"From the cesspools of excitement, where Jim Morrison once stood..." go lyrics from the Frank Zappa song "Tinseltown Rebellion." Not a cesspool, but equpped with a swimming pool, the Tropicana Motel, at 8585 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, California, was a place where Morrison stood, ate, and did other rock-star things. Other rockers favored the location as well. The median strip is the former right of way of the Pasadena and Pacific Railway, later the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Boulevard/West Hollywood line, and finally the Southern Pacific West Los Angeles branch. The motel was torn down within two years after this photo was taken. 4/7/1985"
From The Infamous Tropicana Motel Hollywoods's Facebook pages:
The Tropicana Motel
At one point, this hotel/motel was the property of baseball great Sandy Koufax. Sadly, it was torn down in 1988 and an unattractive Ramada Inn built on the site.
In the 1960's and '70's, the Trop was the West Coast base of many musicians. It was often the first hotel sort of place many band members stayed at on their first trips to Los Angeles. There were several bungalow [sic] behind the motel that offered more private lodging.
The Tropicana was basic and affordable. It was located on Santa Monica Boulevard close to the clubs in West Hollywood and the west side.
There are many stories of long, late-night parties going on there in the '60's and '70'. Jim Morrison of the Doors lived there, and would often spend days sleeping off his party binges. Chuck E. Weiss, Tom Waits were residents too. Frequent guests included Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Bruce Springstein, Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys, Jim McGuinn of the Byrds, Led Zeppelin, Guns and Roses, Martha and the Vandellas, and Frank Zappa, whose "freak-outs" were legendary. It was a first stop on the way up the rock and roll ladder, as well as a place to stay once you'd made it. The big record companies grew on Santa Monica Boulevard and the Sunset Strip during this era, and made LA the rock and roll recording center of America.
info source: LA Time Machines
Dukes Coffee Shop was located at the Tropicana motel on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.
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“Rapture: the end was not nigh, after all”
“The apocalypse did not arrive at 6pm on May 21st, despite the predictions by Christian doomsday prophet Harold Camping.”
Harold Camping
"Harold Camping, the 89-year-old retired civil engineer, who founded Family Radio Worldwide, an independent ministry that has broadcasted his prediction around the world."
From The Telegraph
By Laura Donnelly, Bonnie Malkin and David Barrett 7:01PM BST 21 May 2011
"Given that the end of the world was supposed to be nigh, it perhaps wasn’t surprising that Christian doomsday prophet Harold Camping had shown some reluctance to take advance bookings.
The 89-year-old Californian preacher and radio host had prophesied that the Rapture would begin at 6pm May 21st in each of the world’s time zones, with non-believers wiped out by rolling earthquakers, as the saved ascended into heaven."
"His refusal to schedule a media interview for the following day - “It is absolutely going to happen. There is no way that I can schedule an interview because I won’t be here.” - was being replayed by media as the world firmly stayed standing."
"On the microsite Twitter, groups of atheists and sceptics were last night swapping tales of After Rapture parties, with one group, in Tacoma, Washington, branding their celebration “Countdown to Back-Pedalling”.
Mr Camping’s doomsday prediction wasn’t his first. He blamed an earlier apocalyptic prediction which passed quietly in 1994 on a mathematical error, last month saying:" “I’m not embarrassed about it. It was just the fact that it was premature.” read more from The Telegraph
Some say that the beginning of the END will start on May 21, 2011.
Plan your Rapture parties now, if you wait it will be too late.
“Judgment Day begins and the Rapture on May 21, 2011… The end of the world on October 21, 2011… Are you crazy? You’re just another one of those lunatics like Nostradamus or the Mayans who say the apocalypse will be in 2012 and all the other crazy, absurd people who have predicted dates for the end of the world throughout history only to be proven wrong each and every time. And doesn’t the Bible say that no man knows the day and hour? You’re just playing on the fears of people because you’re some kind of a sick control freak or something.” read more from May-212011.Com
From FullMoon.Inf
“Full moon will be on Tuesday! For many Buddhists this is a special day, because the annual holiday Vesakha is celebrated worldwide. According to tradition, Buddha was born on this fourth full moon of the moon calendar, became later enlightened and also passed away on this same day. Although, you may belong to another world religion or no religion at all, you might find some cause for thought in some of Buddhas sentences. We, for example, liked this sentence: “The greatest prayer is patience”. Who could not take some practice in this?”
From Western Washington University
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months.” Two Native tribes are mentioned here – click the WWU link to access more information.
From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
“Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.”
“Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.”
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name for May’s Moon is: Full Flower Moon – “Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Some Algonquin tribes knew this full Moon as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.”
“Moon and the Gods”
“The Moon is rich in history and folklore, and to many sky watchers, the Moon is home to the gods.” read more from The Old Farmer’s Almanac…
The photo at top is of the Full Moon over an abandoned Adobe – near the border at Tucson, AZ.
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