Spare Parts

Last night, after ingesting one too many minutes of news, I commented to Joe that this whole world sucks and I could not believe what we’re up against. There is so much to be down about these days that it is a miracle we don’t all have to be medicated for depression. In an effort to stave off boredom, I will touch upon just three stories – two of which are really in the white, hot light of our unified nucleus. As of the last week or so countless news stories have grappled for the headlines, each trying to outdo the other for shock value, offensiveness, or just plain sickness. No, really…plain sickness has hit the front page, the lead story the ‘teaser’. Not since the early days of AIDS have we been forced to be alarmed by an illness. Not even the Bird Flu of recent memory took such a place of honor on our totem pole as today’s latest potential death sentence – the Swine Flu. Not since any of these has it been a good thing to be in the business of surgical mask sales. For all ...

Last December Joe and I saw an Off-Broadway musical. There’s nothing really remarkable about that statement. However, the little musical that could actually did turn out to be one hell of a hit show. And now Rock of Ages has landed itself on the Great White Way amid fiercely popular shows like Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago and pretty much anything with the name Disney slapped onto it. Oh, the suspense! Can the little show that could survive the competition? Does it have what it takes to make it in New York City? Is it the Brave New World of musical theater? I say to one and all, a loud and riotous ‘Hell yeah!’ to that question! When we first went to see the show, I wrote about how I’d had my misconceptions about the likeability of a show wholly built around the words and sounds (noise) of the iconic 1980s hair bands, the female empowerment ditties and the lyrically corny power ballads. Certainly, the hit-makers of those times, Journey, Night Ranger, STYX, REO ...

What is it about The Wizard of Oz that is so enduring? How come a 1939 movie, derived from the L. Frank Baum book written in 1900, is still relevant? I have often wondered what it is about this movie that I love so much. I count it among my top five favorite films of all time. I can still recall the first time I saw it as a young child, on CBS broadcast television before cable, before VHS and DVD and way before HD-TV. I can still bring back the feeling of magical wonderment I experienced as Dorothy walks out of the black and white existence of her little farmhouse in Kansas, into the surreal, colorful, fantastical world of Munchkinland on the outskirts of the Emerald City in the Land of Oz. More so than being simply amazed by the deep hues and pigmentation of early film Technicolor, Oz created an imaginative world of exciting hyperbole and surrealism that allowed you to become immersed in, and wrapped in, the story. What made it unique was the tale’s capacity to lend a kind of belie...

Time is up for Scott MacIntyre. The legally blind contestant, a first for American Idol , was booted off on last night’s episode in what was one of the show’s most emotional exits. MacIntyre, a likable, witty, clever and gifted musician, songwriter and singer, never let being visually challenged come between him and his dreams. However, last night, his Idol dream came to the end of its days. What was most touching about MacIntyre’s departure, was witnessing how truly heartbroken the judges, Simon Cowell among them, were to see Scott go. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Simon is not the Tin Man. He does indeed have a heart! Although they had the option of saving him, a decision they struggled greatly with right up until the last minutes of the show, in the end it was not in the cards for Scott. It was not Scott’s first showing in the much-feared Bottom Three. This week he sat side by side with Lil Rounds and Anoop “Dawg” Desai. Rounds, a powerful singer with a few po...

Folks, we are on our way to the finals. No, not really … but the race has clearly begun. With just nine contestants left (eight after tonight’s results show), it’s time to start picking the favored and the favorites from the bunch. Who is slated to take it all in the end? Well, my fine-tuned opinion gauge tells me that just as last year’s finale, this season 8 of Idol will also end with the last two MEN standing. Who will those men be? Most likely we will see sentimental heartthrob Danny Gokey penned against ambiguously interesting Adam Lambert. Bringing up the third wheel, I believe, will be the consistently annoying and sexually suggestive 16-year-old Alison Iraheta. What can throw a monkey wrench into my carefully laid out predictions? If the frenetic fan base of both Adam and Danny cancel each other out and the teens, ‘tweens and dirty old men of American vote Alison into the top spot. That, my dear friends, would be a travesty! Onto last night’s live performances. I’m going to ...