Everybody Wants Some?

Today may be the first truly glorious day of the season.  The sun is so bright, and the temperature seems much warmer than the 59 degrees my weather gadget is telling me it is. I pulled out my retro sunglasses, and strolled on over to the Gossip Coffee Shop where I am now sipping coffee and ruminating, as it hasn't gotten too crowded yet for it to be unbearable.  Yes, I could have stayed home and written.  Sat down in the sun room, scooted up to my desk and worked.  But there's something about getting out amongst the people, away from distractions, forced to follow through with my intention, that feels like I'm "filling the well".  So, it's not a luxury I'm ready to give up as of yet.

Today is a day free of obligation, and when these days come along, I'm doing my best to make the most of them.  Last week I took a walking tour of Washington Square Park, as led by New York's history podcasters The Bowery Boys.  To be more specific, this one was guided by Greg Young of The Bowery Boys, and it's available for purchase by going here, where you will find links to purchase it for just under $4 at CD Baby, and Google Play.  You can also purchase it at Amazon.com or on iTunes, but they are charging nearly twice the price.  I could not recommend it more, as it taught me so much about the park...  that it was a former graveyard where Yellow Fever victims were buried?  And where many still are?  That the Washington Square monument we know and love is a copy?  That famous folks like Edith Wharton, Henry James, and Edward Hopper lived just across the street? Who knew?

Also last week, inspired by my trip to Veselka, and the desire to feast on Beet Soup (I can't bring myself to call it borscht too much, that' such a gross word) I made a huge pot of it.  I proceeded to eat it for the next five days.  I can truly see that I need not have any more of this particular soup for a very long time.  And yet... it lasted for about six meals, and there's more left.  So I was thinking of making another soup today or tomorrow, since soup is both an economically wise and relatively healthy choice.  We will see if I follow through on that impulse.

So, I'm feeling of two minds today.  I'm busy tonight having drinks and dinner with a friend, but my whole day until then, is free.  Will I spend it on the Highline taking yet another walking tour from The Bowery Boys?  Or will I head over to Union Square and see Richard Linklater's new film Everybody Wants Some?  I've been wanting to see The Linklater film ever since I saw the preview, and not just because it features strapping young mustachioed men in tight shirts (which it definitely does) but because it is also a gentle tribute to a particular kind of movie that was made back in the eighties, and I'm a big fan of films that recall those that have gone before them.

As far as reading, I've been trying to get through a tome called City Of Nets, and endeavor I undertook largely because Katrina Longworth, creator and host of the podcast  You Must Remember This, credited it as a very important source for her.  And yet... I find it's format a little hard to digest, as the transitions are difficult to understand, and it doesn't seem to be going in any kind of chronological order.  I've gotten a little over a hundred pages into it, and there I sit, no longer inspired to read, but going back to it like it's the vegetable course of a meal that you're supposed to eat before you get to the potatoes, because it's low in calories, filling, and "good for you".  And as much as I have enjoyed learning about the directors and producers of such great films of the 1940's, I may need to find another way to do it.

Podcast I Love: "You Must Remember This"

I'm an avid reader of Entertainment Weekly's "Must List".  It's loaded with great recommendations for those who devour media, and it doesn't stop at music and movies, but branches out into crazy shit like...theater!!  And podcasts!!  And BOOKS!!!  Yes, they still print em.   And if you actually seek out some of the little gems, you'll feel real damn proud of yourself afterwards.  Occasionally it feels like they have some kind of weird deal with the distributors, but most of the time it feels legit. 

A couple of weeks ago, this caught my eye...

 



It was my lady, once again, in print.  It happens every once in awhile that I catch her image in a magazine (I mean, she lives on peeps.  Her legend is far fucking reaching) and two things happen. 

Thing #1.  My eyes widen and I shriek on the inside like a child at Christmas time.  I'm so excited that she's still being paid attention to in this modern age!  She is RELEVANT! 

Thing #2.  My eyes dart madly across the page, like a meth addict seeking his next fix (yes, I'm watching "Breaking Bad" now, and it's every bit as putrid and crusty as I thought it would be.  It's also compelling television) I seek out whatever trash they may have printed, so I can gird my rage against the turd who wrote it.  Is the word "tragedy" less than three words to the left or right of her name?  Do they bring up the damned pills, yet again??  "WHY CAN'T THEY LEAVE THAT POOR LADY ALONE!!!!)

In this case?  No tragedy, no slander.  Instead they point to a podcast by the name of  "You Must Remember This" which focuses on the untold or forgotten histories of some of Hollywood's greats.  If done well, this little podcast could be a gold mine, and yet, I had pretty low expectations.  I've heard a lot of media pieces on Judy and a lot of them have been salacious, or cheaply produced, and it was quite possible this could be one or the other...and yet?

I went straight to the episode focusing on Garland's later years hoping to love it and fearing I wouldn't.   Verdict?  The creator, writer and host, Karina Longworth has crafted a really thoughtful, very well written and insightful podcast with her unique perspective.  The Garland episode actually made me think about things I'd never thought before, which I certainly should have.  Possible-  Garland's hold on gay men was anathema to the male dominated straight media?  They used the connection to dismiss her and discount her hold on people?  Yeah.  Yeah they did.  Listen to the podcast, as Longworth illustrates it better than I could. 

 One of the great things about this show is that it doesn't just do a blanket bio on whatever star it's currently focusing on.  It zooms in on a particular moment, and unpacks it for the listener.  And she speaks with a very distinctive voice.  She's best when she's looking at the lives of women, as she does in the Garland, Novak, Frances Farmer, and Isabella Rossellini episodes, because you can feel her passion for the topic.

I'm personally hoping she'll do an episode on the weird pictures of Sammy Davis Jr and Jayne Mansfield at some freaky satanic ritual in the sixties.  I need that shit debunked or I'll never listen to Sammy Davis Jr with a completely untainted ear.