More Maggie!

Back by no popular demand whatsoever.

The More You Know....

Legend has it that Michael Stipe upon seeing how R.E.M.'s song Radio Free Europe was put to use in the 80's comedy sex romp The Party Animal shouted, "Birthday party cheesecake jelly bean boom!"

Appropriate response, right?

When The Robin Lays His Nest

One of the only operas I've ever seen is Madame Butterfly. It was during my Freshman year of college and it wasn't even live but taped. Pretty much everyone in my Humanities class openly hated it, jeering and laughing the whole way through. They had a point, watching a VHS copy of a staged theatrical event is pretty tedious and hardly a substitute for the real thing. But I remember feeling slightly sad and bitter knowing that all their hearts and minds were closed from the get go*. It was a general elective class meaning everyone had to take it which created a high school like atmosphere. Lots of students who did not want to be there, were. Maybe if they had spoon fed us with Malcom Mclaren's Hip Hopra take things would have worked out better.

Personal highlight: Cho Cho San's modernized lament
"Gotta have something to believe in/ My white honkey, I do miss him"

Wow, and I thought Weezer's Pinkerton album was THE final word on pop culture's reappropriation of Puccini's masterpiece.

* But their hearts and minds were not closed to say Incubus or Dashboard Confessional and often showed up to lecture in pajamas with frappachinos and ringing cellphones in hand. HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Childhood

Plaid Van

There is no shortage of critics who have observed and recorded the dissolution of public discourse in America and its conversion into the arts of show business. But most of them, I believe, have barely begun to tell the story of the origin and meaning of this descent into a vast triviality. Those who have written vigorously on the matter tell us for example, that what is happening is the residue of an exhausted capitalism; or, on the contrary, that it is the tasteless fruit of the maturing capitalism; or that it is the neurotic aftermath of the age of Freud; or the retribution of our allowing God to perish; or that it all comes from old stand bys, greed and ambition.

- excerpt from Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman WRITTEN IN 1985! If only he knew what a prophet he became.



For the record: I enjoy both these shows immensely.

Maggie's Party!