The Zeitgeist

          

From left: The new hosts of “American Idol:” Randy, Jennifer lopez and Steven Tyler. The new USA show “Fairly Legal,” PIX 11’s Jodi Applegate, Christina Applegate, Ben Affleck as a nun in “The Town” and Thomas Kretschmann as Adolf Eichmann.

Winter Media Ramblings

One of the few consolations in coming down with a 48-hour bug is being able to spend a lot of time on the couch nursing the malady with soup, hot tea, Halls, tissues and a ton of television. Thanks to the strength of Allegra-D, concentrating on work or the computer was seriously impaired, leading me to the couch and the joys of television and On Demand. Safely semi-horizontal in front of the big screen, wrapped in my favorite blue wool blanket, box of tissues at my side, I devoured a lot of TV. Here are some of my top observations:

Idol

That singing sensation “American Idol” is back for its tenth season sans Simon Cowell and since last year without Paula Abdul or her replacements Ellen and Kara. Randy Jackson (who probably has not a thing better in the world to do with himself except say “dawg” and “dude” all day long) is joined by two bona fide big stars, Jennifer Lopez (“Jenny from The Bronx”) and aging antiquarian rocker Steven Tyler. Tyler will be 63 on March 28^th (save the date) and looks every day of it. Makeup can’t disguise the vida loca he’s lived through the 70s, 80s and 90s as the lead singer of Aerosmith. His musical accomplishments aside, I think his best achievement was fathering his daughter Liv Tyler who is a great actress. Tyler looks like one of the villains from “The Mummy” movie series. This visual mortification is broken up by his crazy outbursts and antics which can only be ascribed to medication of some kind. Lopez is filling Paula’s sweet encouraging role and it’s nice enough looking at her glorious tresses. Innocuous. The show’s audition phase has always been my favorite part where people without a shred of talent and looking for their two minutes of fame will humiliate themselves before a nationally televised audience. Problem here is the lack of edge to the humiliations. Without Simon Cowell as the resident tart bad guy, the show just lacks bite. So there are embarrassments, but no pain, no jabs, no thrusts. Way too nice and that’s not nearly as entertaining. Also, no give and take and bad chemistry between Simon and Paula or Simon and anyone. I watched mostly for Simon and with him gone, I don’t think it’s worth the time.

Fairly Legal

The USA Network has created a quirky drama called “Fairly Legal” with the premise that a young burnt-out late twenty-something plucky cute female attorney can make it in San Francisco’s legal world as a mediator, not a litigator, tweaking the noses of that city’s legal establishment. The show stars Sarah Shahi who is 30, was Number 66 in Maxim magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2006,” a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader (1999-2000), the great-great-granddaughter of the 19th century Iranian king Fath Ali Shah Qajar and is half Mexican on her mother’s side. A delight to look at, Shahi appeared in “The L Word” and “Life,” so she’s not an acting neophyte. What the producers did was essentially create a “Veronica Mars” for the legal set. Our heroine is spunky, edgy, charming, cuts corners when it comes to adhering to the letter of the law and plays off a cast of characters which include her eternally tormented ex-husband who is a D.A. and her tormenting gold digging 40-something hot stepmother who runs her now deceased father’s big law firm. The show also features black people in roles as minstrelsy and stereotypical as anything you might have seen in the 1930s which is actually kind of offensive. In “Veronica Mars” one could forgive the coy behavior, the teasing, flirting and bratty ness because the lead character was supposed to be a high school student. In “Fairly Legal” we have someone pushing 30 and all this immature behavior strikes me not so much as cute as annoying. Why other adults in the show put up with her mishegoss is beyond me, so if you’re going to watch the show you have to suspend disbelief that adults would act this way. David E. Kelley does legal parody much better with “Boston Legal” and “Ally McBeal.” You can catch the first show again this Saturday night on USA.

Pix 11 News at 10

Anchoring Channel 11 (New York) News at 10:00 p.m. now is Jodi Applegate, formerly of News 12, formerly of Channel 5’s “Good Day NY”. This woman gets around. WPIX has her not at an anchor desk but rather in front of a green screen so she appears at times to be floating in space or they have her flittering about the newsroom leaning over desks and chairs. Very casual. News for the new generation. They also show the story lineup YouTube-favorites style. The producers have done this to feature Applegate’s full body for the viewing public, because she is very pretty. They also have her dressed in very tight things (hey, Fox News does this too) and revealing things (hey, Fox does this too, works for them). Kind of fun news to watch. Spunky reporters too. Jodi is absolutely, positively not related to actress Christina Applegate but they look a whole lot alike and share a last name. For a local news change of pace, check her out.

Jets-Steelers

Sunday at 6:30 is the AFC Championships game between the NY Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets beat the Steelers already a few weeks ago. Having plowed through Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the past two weeks, I’m  cautiously optimistic that the Jets can melt the Steelers (in Pittsburgh) and move on to the Super Bowl. Karma just feels right this time. Even if they don’t make it for any reason, they have everything to be proud of this year. At 3:00 on Sunday is the NFC Championship game between two veteran teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. I predict a Packers win which would pit them against the Jets for a dual Wild Card team Super Bowl on February 3^rd.

Movie Briefs

On demand and from Netflix is a docudrama on the interrogation of Adolf Eichmann by the Israelis in the early 60s. It’s called appropriately, “Eichmann.” In the title role is Thomas Kretschmann as Adolf the younger looking stylish in his black SS uniforms and as Adolf and older behind bars in Israel’s Ramle Prison. Aside from Kretschmann, who gives a great performance especially as the younger Eichmann in all his perverted sadistic glory, the rest of the cast is weak to a point of comatose. Playing Eichmann’s interrogator Avner Less is Troy Garity who is devoid of passion or emotion. This is no ‘”Judgment at Nuremberg.”  Produced in 2007, the films meanders on a lot of wasted sub plots on Less’s family life and Israeli politics. In this case less of Less would be more. Best parts of the film are flashbacks to Eichmann’s glory days running The Final Solution. Oddly, the film fetishizes Eichmann’s extra-marital affairs and wartime sex life and presents us with vivid and graphic scenes which are in their own way more disturbing than images of concentration camp inmates. What that has to do with the Holocaust, I have no idea. 100 minutes. Wish it were 80, but worth seeing. 

Also On Demand is Benn Affleck’s “The Town,” from 2010 which is the story of a gang of no account po’ Irish white trash bank robbers from the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. In nearly every film, whether by Mark Walberg, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise or TV series such as “Rescue Me and “Lights Out,” Irish-Americans are portrayed as alcoholics, drug addicts, abusers, criminals, violent, sluts and worse. If I were Irish-American I’d start an Irish-American Anti-Defamation League to combat this plethora of negative imagery. Why do we never see smart, accomplished Irish-Americans (other than the Kennedys)? Having vented on Behalf of Irish-Americans, let me say that the On Demand version of this film is well worth seeing because of the additional 26 minutes of footage that was cut from the theatrical release and for the stellar performances of Affleck (who has needed a great role for a long time now), John Hamm (“Mad Men”) as the lead FBI agent stalking his gang, Jeremy Renner as the psychotic James Caughlin, Blake Lively as James’ sister and Affleck’s sometimes love interest Krista – Lively shows that she’s way more than a “Gossip Girl” in this role – she shows real reach and depth in her portrayal of a drug-addicted tramp and lastly Chris Cooper in a small role as Affleck’s life-imprisoned father Stephen MacRay. A lot of suspense, great directing and cinematography make all 151 minutes of the extended Director’s Cut well worth your time. Opening in theatres this week is Affleck’s “The Company Men,” which looks promising.

Lets Go JETS! 

*****

The Serious Stuff:

Great/Funny Video:

Why Are You Protesting Against Israel?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmerYYdJDv0&feature=related

•••••

Important Video Interview:

 "Son of Hamas"

A penetrating & insightful interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of the new book, "The Son of Hamas". As the oldest son of a founding member of Hamas he had access to vital information that helped thwart dozens of terrorist attempts.

Mosab Hassan Yousef born in Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem, the son of a major Hamas founder, grew up in typical Israel-hating form. Arrested numerous times since age 10, Yousef switched sides in 1997 after Israel's secret service, Shin Bet, proved that Hamas brutally tortured civilians. His top-tiered access hindered dozens of assassination attempts and suicide bombings over a 10-year period. Yousef was granted U.S. asylum this past year for publicly revealing his conversion to Christianity and denouncing Hamas and the Arab leadership.

http://www.jewishtvnetwork.com/?bcpid=533363107&bctid=935463440

•••••

Tunisia's Lessons for Washington:

By Caroline B. Glick

‎"ON THE face of it, the Tunisian revolution vindicates former president George W. Bush's policy of pushing democratization of the Arab world. As Bush recognized in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the US is poorly served by relying on dictators who maintain their power on the backs of their people."  Tunisian president’s regime was not the only thing destroyed. The two main foundations of ‘expert’ Western analysis of the Mideast have also been undone.

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=204051

The Zeitgeist

          

Cameron Diaz in leggings and boots (left). The new FX drama, "Lights Out," The main stars of "Big Love" Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech" and Britney Spears' new album cover.

Things to Love About New York

Yeah, snowstorms and weather in the 20s with a wind chill in the teens is not exactly Margaritaville weather. More like Moscow with Napoleon besieging it. This week we got about nine inches which were quickly dispatched in the City and which is still frosting the suburbs on top of the 27 inches we got at the end of December. Whole bushes in my front yard are still buried in snow. It’s pretty though, as in the ‘burbs the snow doesn’t turn black and gray like in the City, so everything has that Currier & Ives kind of look. If you squint, Long Island can look like New England in the snow. One great thing about this kind of inclement weather is that the fashion gods have devised flattering female attire for it. Just as miniskirts are essential in warm climes, up in the Big Apple women are now presenting themselves in my new favorite outfit – rubber (or leather) high rain/snow boots on top of black leggings and a short-cropped jacket. This has become kind of a uniform on the streets of Manhattan for the svelte and fashionable but it affords a measure of sex appeal to the members of the male gender who in these desperately cold times of indoor hibernation crave some flattering female visages to cast their gazes upon live and in 3-D. All good, ladies, and thanks!

Speaking also of New York, New York Magazine has a “New York’s Greatest Ever Everything” issue this week (Jan 17-24). One of the points being argued by the pundits and editors of that periodical is New York City’s best-ever year. They nominated several for contention: 1898 when the Five Boros came together in the unified megalopolis we see today, 1947 with Brando on Broadway, Toscanini at Rockefeller Center and Jackie Robinson making baseball history in Brooklyn; 1963 with its “Mad Men-esque” appeal, 1978 because “there was nowhere to go but up” and finally 2011 (now). Coincidentally, I just happened to have been living in Manhattan in both 1963 and 1978 and they were very, very different. In ’63 they were burning everyone’s garbage every day in individual apartment building incinerators combined with ConEd generating electricity from coal, cars, trucks and buses running on leaded gas and littering seen as an inherent right. Let me tell you, if you think Manhattan is dirty now, you have no idea how it resembled Dickens’ 19^th Century London smog in ‘63. Yes, everyone was all dressed up all the time, people ate everything bad for them and drank and smoked and drank and smoked and everyone was having a great time in the last days of Camelot. But best ever? In ’78 I was living at 67 East 11^th Street at Broadway and attending NYU. As New York says, things were cheap in the City. My roommate and I were paying all of $360 a month (combined) to share a one bedroom apartment with a huge view of Grace Church. My Dad was upset with me because most everyone else was paying $250 a month for the same size space, but my building was one of the first renovations of those old cast iron industrial factories, so everything was new. The City was disgustingly filthy and crime was rampant. The economy (Carter was President) stank but things were still cheap. Everyone still rented, the subway was 35 cents, steins of beer at McSorley’s on 7^th Street were just 25 cents, you could get a sandwich and ice cream sundae at Schrafft’s on 5^th Avenue for about $2-$3. Best ever? You decide. Here’s the link: http://nymag.com/news/features/greatest-new-york/

New On TV

FX, the network that gave us “Nip/Tuck” and “Rescue Me” premiered a new boxing drama “Lights Out” on Tuesday evening. This is the story of an Irish-American (and who isn’t Irish in boxing in films and television?) family comprised of a retired former champ, his neer-do-well brother, his dad the boxing coach and his hot (yeah, like in “Rescue Me,” the Irish-American women are hot) wife, teenage daughter and extended group of family and friends. Great cast starring Holt McCallany (CSI Miami) in the title role, Stacy Keach (he’s still alive?) as his dad and “Braveheart’s” Catherine McCormack  as his wife. Long story short: Through ineptitude, generosity and mismanagement, “Lights” Leary (our hero) loses all his millions earned from years in the ring and is now faced with the dilemma of how to maintain his wealthy suburban New Jersey lifestyle and support his extended posse. Does he become muscle for sleazy debt collectors? Does he go back in the ring against his wife’s wishes? Will be succumb to injuries from his days in the ring? This is not presented in a black and white fashion. “Lights” Leary is not all good nor all bad, but a complicated character both likeable and despicable in that Tony Soprano way, loving his family but full of human failings and bad deeds. I give this a B+ for execution and photography and a C+ for originality (this story has been done before) but worth setting your DVRs for at 10 on Tuesdays.

Big Hunk of Love

Back on HBO for its final season starting this Sunday (Jan 16^th) at 9:00 is “Big Love,” that HBO drama set in the wilds of Utah’s polygamist Mormon community. Bill Pullman is back as the holy family patriarch (who also just happens to own a gambling casino) with three wives living in three adjoining houses along with his crazy extended family of dysfunctional polygamists living on a “compound” in the Utah desert and following a deviant stream of Mormonism. “Big Love” is “The Sopranos” set in the Southwest and if you’ve missed the prior seasons, shame on you. Easily one of the five best dramas HBO has come out with, and by extension, one of the best on television.

The King’s Speech

Let me say right off that I love British movies, primarily for the chance to hear English spoken at its highest levels by the folks who invented the language. “The Kings Speech” is actually a film about language and the ability to communicate it effectively. It’s the story of King George VI (the current Queen Elizabeth’s father) who suffered from a terrible stutter and speech impediment, particularly in public. This was brought on by a 19^th Century overbearing father (George V) and cold mother and older brother (Edward, played by Guy Pierce) who tormented him. Propelled by events beyond his control, namely Edward’s abdicating the Throne to marry Mrs. Simpson, George (played tremendously well by Colin Firth) is thrust into the limelight. As George V told his son earlier in the film, “It used to be that all a King had to do was look good in a uniform and not fall off a horse, now we have become actors,” as he said that monarchs now had to be the faces of their country because of the advent of mass media. So, Firth’s character needs to be able to deliver speeches on radio. To that end, George’s wife, Mary (the Queen Mum, played with precision by Helena Bonham Carter) seeks out a speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush. Rush’s character is a character of the highest order and therein lies the humor and pathos between the two protagonists. Rush does help George but I won’t say more in case you’ve not yet seen the film. British filmmaking at its best, on a par with last year’s “The Queen.”

Pop Music

Britney Spears, in many respects the Ur-blonde dance music nymphet, is back from her post-partum depression. And because she has kids to support and alimony to pay to K-Fed (or “Fed-Ex”) needs to keep working. She’s got a new song out called “Hold It Against Me,” which kinds of echoes the old number one Country and Western song “If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me?” by  The Bellamy Brothers in 1979 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAVUrq7jvtM). Britney also wants to have it held against her, but in a different genre, pop dance. Pretty decent song that will grow on you. Already all over the radio and number one in 16 countries on the iTunes charts (including the U.S.). Just released, here it is, so please don’t hold it against me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSm_QMO6zA (audio only, video isn’t out yet).

The Wonder of It All

One of my Top 20 favorite films is a Tom Hanks’ production called “That Thing You Do.” It seems to be on TV nearly every day on one channel or another. Probably because it’s the feel good story of four young garage band members from Erie, P.A., circa 1963 and their improbable rise to stardom with a pop tune by the same name. Hanks is in the movie as was the very funny Steve Zahn and the luminescent Liv Tyler. Great tune. I like the whole soundtrack actually. Maybe with this song, 1963 really was the best year ever in New York? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzllVlzzeuo.

But my favorite song in the movie is the only one fronted by Zahn called “Dance With Me Tonight,” which I think is even more rockin’ than “That Thing You Do.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29pZdMDDhJY&feature=related. Have a look and catch the film if you’re one of 10 Americans who hasn’t seen it yet. Will warm your heart.

The Zeitgeist

       

George Peppard kissing Audrey Hepburn in BatTiff; Edwards Maya's new CD cover, Avril Lavigne and the cover for "A Country of Vast Designs."

Dating In The Big Town, Part II

Back for more of my ruminations about dating post-40 in The Big Apple: Best way to describe the situation? How about “Six Degrees of Desperation?” There is an enormity of disappointment, heartache and loneliness out there among New York singles of a certain age. A calcification of the heart so constricting and blocking of daylight that it’s amazing these people manage to function altogether. This is reflected in the near total eclipse of the hearts of so many men and women I meet these days. Masses of them don’t believe in love. Many don’t think they’ll ever achieve what they dream of while at the same time doing everything in their power to sabotage attainment of those dreams.

I’ve had an acquaintance actually “de-friend” me from Facebook for my temerity in disagreeing with her rantingly cynical wall posts disparaging the reality of love and happy marriage. Seriously. Because so many people have been alone for so long and have been so often disappointed or heartbroken they’ve erected sarcastic and bitter defenses on letting anyone in. Because they don’t want to be hurt and disappointed again, they choose not to take risks for love again. It’s an amazing accomplishment, particularly in Manhattan to get beyond a third date with anyone – because after that third date they’ve run out of the carefully constructed scripts they’ve crafted for themselves that they put on autopilot especially during the first two dates. Going to four or more means they might actually have to come up with new stuff or let their guards down and drop their poses, which opens them up to risk of heartache.

This cynicism is manifested by extreme pickiness. They have lists, big lists. Within the lists they have sub micro-lists, mini-lists and nano-lists. If you can break through half the list there is an automatic program that churns out more objections to refill the lists. There is also a bleakness of spirit which really is a numbness to feeling and emotion. It’s as though for many, their lives are really all about going to work, buying things, eating and going places. Consumer Lemmings who’ve become Vulcans – self-contained, devoid of emotion and feeling. As some people have experienced more than 20 years of hurts, any possible slight or failure by a prospective suitor to live up to an unattainable idealized Hollywood romantic ideal is immediately shot down with digital precision. The result of which is putting themselves right back on the hyper-dating merry-go-round instead of making a commitment to anyone or anything lasting.

To quote Gwyneth Paltrow in her new film “Country Strong,” "Don't be afraid to fall in love again, its the most important thing in life." Doesn't mean you can't be happy unmarried but being alone and fahrbisseneh for the next 40+ years is equally sad and also empowers whoever burned these people so badly to keep burning them over and over again. There is little to no self-awareness that by their hyper-pickiness and unrealizable fantasies that they are imprisoning themselves in their gilded birdcages (condos) and sentencing themselves to a life of eternal dating misery with no real emotional intimacy. There are a lot of people in New York who will never, ever, have children. And this is a tragedy. There is a prescription for unbinding one’s heart, and it was written by the late Truman Capote and articulated magnificently by George Peppard in his closing speech to Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” (See embedded video below, worth a few minutes). The joke of it all is that I’ve just come off an awesome heartbreak (divorce) and I’m not down on love, life, relationships, romance and marriage. It’s just that I’m Captain Kirk surrounded in a starship crewed mostly by Vulcans. Scotty, beam me out of here!

New in Culture

Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina, composers and crooners of the monster hit “Stereo Love” (more than 90 million hits on YouTube) have a new one out (only 275,000 hits so far) called “Desert Rain.” A worthy follow-up to their giant hit of the past two years. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY49R8nz01Q. This is what you would call “World Music” in that it’s not identifiable as coming from any one particular place and is not culturally specific to one either, but great beat and lyrics. Also new in music, the ubiquitous Avril Lavigne (pronounced like “Levine” – no, she’s not Jewish…!) who has gone Platinum many, many times has a great new song out called “What The Hell.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlFIqdm75pw. This live video comes from this year’s Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve show, introduced by Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. This is from just this past week. Very fresh. Great girl-rock. Not dance music. “All my life I’ve been good but all I want is to mess around…What the hell.” Speaking of messing around, the late Ray Charles did this really well back in the day with “The Mess Around.” Catch this live video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TgxQg3Z818.

Book ‘em, Danno

Robert W. Merry spent a dozen years as editor of the Congressional Quarterly. He’s also written a bunch of solid histories. Last year he came out with “A Country of Vast Designs, James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent.” Polk was president from 1844-48 and oversaw the Union’s acquisition of the states of Texas, New Mexico and California, all wrested from Mexico in a war that saw U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee and William Tecumseh Sherman all fighting together on the same side and Oregon and Washington pried away from the British without firing a shot. Perhaps bigger in scope than Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase. This is a brilliantly written biography of one of America’s most underrated presidents. He was a Democrat at a time when the Democrats were anti-tax and anti-big government if you can imagine such a thing. A one-term president by choice, he died at 53 shortly after leaving office as a result of the stress and abuse of the job and the terrible political polarization in Congress and Washington that took it’s toll. Merry quotes extensively from Polk’s own diaries and from the newspapers and Congressional Record of the day. If you think Washington is a swamp today, just check out the mid 19^th Century. It was probably worse. Great book.