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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

CAB CALLOWAY - Another thing I never learned in school - NOW I KNOW




I accidentally came across the PBS TV American Masters tonight, while working in the kitchen and loved the hour documentary Cab Calloway: Sketches.

I don't know if it will be aired in your area, but it is FABulous. It ran in the month of February, for Black history month, although I saw it tonight (in March).

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I especially loved the dance at 3:30 in this video, which comes at the end of the documentary.

Stever Brodner creates a second sketch of Cab Calloway to Calloway's classic hit "Minnie The Moocher" for the documentary AMERICAN MASTERS Cab Calloway: Sketches, premiered nationally Monday, February 27, 2012. Brodner's completed sketch comes alives and dances alongside Matthew Rushing, choreographer/principal dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In the New York metro-area the film aired Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Watch full documentary online
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Watch Cab Calloway: Sketches on PBS. See more from American Masters.

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

GIVE HIM AN OSCAR - VOTE FOR RICHARD JENKINS FOR BEST ACTOR

It was several years ago. I was sitting in a dark gym, that was supposedly transformed in an atmosphere of nightclub with a jazz band. We sat at large circular tables, found some average food, smorgasbord style and there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling - saying it was expected that there would be some dancing. The music was better than the average high school band. But this school was Moses Brown - a private Quaker school in Providence, Rhode Island. My son was playing tenor saxophone in the Upper School's Jazz Band. And usually I don't mind going to things alone, but this night it felt a little uncomfortable. Everyone it seemed was there with a husband or a wife. And most people had preselected the people that they would sit with. Not me. I couldn't really see the person I was sitting next to well enough to be able to recognize him even if I might by chance have seen him before. So, I asked him what he did. Well, at least I didn't say something lame like "It's been cold lately." So he answered, "I'm an actor."

Well, a little awkward, because I was looking at him sideways, and though there was no smoke in the air to blur his face, I couldn't make out who he was. It was barely light enough to find the plate with my food on it.

I can't remember what I said next. Somehow I got his name. Richard Jenkins.

The Richard Jenkins who in 2009 is one of the five men up for the Best Actor category for an Academy Award.

Now here was my problem that evening. I hadn't kept up with his career. At all. But I knew who he was. But because years and years ago, I had seen him repeatedly in the Trinity Repertory Theatre Company plays. So, all I could come up with in my mind was to mention Trinity Rep and an actor that I also remembered as a stand out at the time, Peter Gerety. There are 84 movies or TV shows that
Richard Jenkins has been in.

He was there with his wife. I remember we talked about Moses Brown and his wife thinking it was important that their son have a good education. His son was a Senior that year. Guess what instrument he played in the jazz band?

Drums.

Just like Richard plays in
The Visitor.

I felt so badly afterward ... that all I could say was that I knew him from
Trinity Rep - the Rhode Island professional theatre company. Geez, I wish I had kept up with his career... so I could have complimented him on his current success. So, there I was, with an opportunity to talk about acting and I squandered it. What a knucklehead.

I love where I live....as I have admitted repeatedly.

I know it may seem silly to be impressed with people we see on the screen (or in this case - somehow missed seeing on the screen), but we are, or at least some of us are. I can't imagine if I had been sitting beside my current favorite actor, Gerry Butler. I would have been blushing in the darkness.

I love where I live, because I have had the opportunity to be close to people that otherwise I wouldn't have back in northeastern Indiana where I was born. Here, Nicolas Cage has a house about 10 minutes from where I live. One of his many, but still he and his wife enrolled their son in a local private school in Newport. Years ago, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward walked past me at Rogers High School's auditorium lobby. They were there because Joanne supported the dance company performing that evening. I was just standing there and knew it was them, but it was such a fleeting moment. And unexpected.

We were in an elevator in New York City where we were spending the weekend once and there was the actor Fyvush Finkel. At the time he had just been in
Picket Fences.

Last summer, I was walking along Americas Cup Avenue with two others on August 8, wearing our STOP GENOCIDE t-shirts and Chevy Chase walked by us. He was there for the Newport Jazz Festival.

Just little moments. But still. Fun moments.

The Best Actor category for 2009 includes
Richard Jenkins
The Visitor

Frank Langella
Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn
Milk

Brad Pitt
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke
The Wrestler

Source: www.oscar.com

February 22, 2009 - The Oscars


Richard Jenkins News

Here are just some of Richard's roles
  1. The Cabin in the Woods (2010) (pre-production)
  2. The Rum Diary (2010) (pre-production) .... Lotterman
  3. Norman (2009) (post-production) .... Doug Long
  4. Dear John (2009) (post-production)
  5. Waiting for Forever (2009) (post-production) .... Richard Twist

  6. The Tale of Despereaux (2008) .... Principal
  7. Burn After Reading (2008) .... Ted Treffon
    ... aka Burn After Reading (France)
  8. Step Brothers (2008) .... Dr. Robert Doback
  9. The Brøken (2008) .... John McVey
    ... aka The Broken (France) (International: English title)
  10. The Visitor (2007/I) .... Prof. Walter Vale
  11. The Kingdom (2007) .... Robert Grace
    ... aka Operation: Kingdom (Germany)
  12. Rumor Has It... (2005) .... Earl Huttinger
    ... aka Rumour Has It... (Australia) (Canada: English title) (New Zealand: English title)
  13. Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) .... Frank Bascombe
    ... aka Alternative Career (Philippines: English title)
    ... aka Fun with Dick & Jane (USA: poster title)
  14. Earth to America (2005) (TV)
  15. North Country (2005) .... Hank Aimes
  16. "Six Feet Under" .... Nathaniel Fisher (19 episodes, 2001-2005)
    - Everyone's Waiting (2005) TV episode .... Nathaniel Fisher
    - All Alone (2005) TV episode .... Nathaniel Fisher
    - Ecotone (2005) TV episode .... Nathaniel Fisher
    - Time Flies (2005) TV episode .... Nathaniel Fisher
    - Untitled (2004) TV episode .... Nathaniel Fisher
    (14 more)
Peter Gerety roles

Regis Philbin talks about Richard Jenkins and The Visitor - Don't Miss This


This Year's Real Underdog - a video interview in Dave Karger's Oscar Watch

New York Times article about Richard Jenkins and The Visitor

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Richard Jenkins on The View
Uploaded by lester94111
Richard Jenkins agent is Rhonda Price

The Visitor

Richard Jenkins ~ Nominee for Best Actor
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The Visitor - Trailer

The Visitor trailer scenes, interviews and on set footage - 25:40

A video - As part of the ongoing Back Stage "Evening With" series, actors Richard Jenkins and Haaz Sleiman spoke to a packed house after a screening of their film 'The Visitor' in L.A. 4:05 www.backstage.com

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What Did I Do?

Where's Tarek
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Drum Circle
Uploaded by overturefilms

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Drum Lesson
Drum Lesson
This video uploaded by starzmedia

Beloved One
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Come On I Need Some Music

I Just Want My Life

Staten Island

Above videos uploaded by overturefilms

This is the text from the overturefilms

Walter (Richard Jenkins) comes home to his apartment in New York and finds an unexpected visitors living there (Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira).

The Visitor

In a world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life. In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent, Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) stars as a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City.

Sixty-two-year-old Walter Vale (Jenkins) is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, he fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattan to attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian man, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else to go. In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him.
Touched by his kindness, Tarek, a talented musician, insists on teaching the aging academic to play the African drum. The instrument's exuberant rhythms revitalize Walter's faltering spirit and open his eyes to a vibrant world of local jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. As the friendship between the two men deepens, the differences in culture, age and temperament fall away.

After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend with a passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tarek's beautiful mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professor's personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance.

And it's through these new found connections with these virtual strangers that Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.
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Call President Obama at 202-456-1111
or 1-800-GENOCIDE
and pressure him to immediately take steps
to ensure the protection of civilians in Darfur!


An example of your phone call text can be found below.
It is encouraged that you make it personally your message. *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And call the USA Secretary of State

The USA State Department public comment line works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Please, call as soon as possible.

Call the State Department's public comment line 24/7 at 202-647-6575


The White House (9 AM - 5 PM EST weekdays) at 202-456-1111


or 1-800-GENOCIDE with a similar message as the one below.

If you have called already, please call again:

* I'm calling to ask President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador Rice to protect innocent civilians in Darfur in the wake of Bashir's arrest warrant. Please issue immediate warnings to Bashir and the government of Sudan specifying consequences of attacks on civilians. Please also prepare an emergency response plan to address further violence and appoint a full-time senior level envoy. Lastly, please stand firm in support of the ICC indictment and veto any delay in the prosecution of Bashir.


Call your Senators and Representative Today!

Find your elected politicians contact information at this link:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genocide Ends

When Enough of Us

Stand Up Against It

JOIN US
1-800-GENOCIDE
www.savedarfur.org
www.genocideintervention.net

www.standnow.org

www.miafarrow.org


Write President Obama
www.whitehouse.gov
You can also call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments to President Obama: 202-456-1111

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


IF NOT,

THEN,

YOUR SILENCE

CONTRIBUTES

TO

ANOTHER

GENOCIDE.

www.savedarfur.org/content

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

HISTORY MOST OF US NEVER KNEW BECAUSE OUR HISTORY TEXTBOOKS WERE MORE PROPAGANDA THAN HISTORY


MUSCLES, SNOW AND DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS....


I have spent the last several hours transferring documents and pictures from my old computer to an external hard drive. It is a personal computer and I have a MAC now, so nothing is going to be usable without my changing it from a "read only" document to another copy that I can edit. I have four mice - is that how you say the plural of mouse in relation to computers? - and the only one that would work at all with this old computer is so dysfunctional that it has to be hit repeatedly and hard to get it to respond. And having a strained muscle in my hand - I unwisely continued to do this for hours.

Just below are pictures of my backyard. Pictured is the second of many snowstorms here this season. One snowstorm a year would be enough for me to feel I had winter. Currently, I have opted to let last night's storm lie where it fell, as I must have pulled muscles in my rib cage the last time I shoveled. It may melt by Saturday and I can drive over it until then.

Pictured below is the same northwest corner of my lot as pictured just above.
I have always loved color...

Portsmouth, Aquidneck Island or otherwise the Island of Rhode Island

Now, down to New Orleans.....
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Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans

Faubourg Tremé premiered Thursday, January 29, 2009. Check Local Listings to see when it is airing on your local PBS station.

At this link http://www.pbs.org/faubourgtreme/ is a short clip of the film. And where I found this text:

Faubourg Tremé is considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Long before Hurricane Katrina, two native New Orleanians, one black and one white — writer Lolis Eric Elie and filmmaker Dawn Logsdon — began documenting the rich, living culture of this historic district. Miraculously, their tapes survived the disaster unscathed. The completed film, Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, which critics have hailed as "devastating," "charming" and "revelatory," brims with unknown historical nuggets. Who knew that in the early 1800s while most African Americans were toiling on plantations, free black people in Tremé were publishing poetry and conducting symphonies? Who knew that long before Rosa Parks, Tremé leaders organized sit-ins and protests that successfully desegregated the city's streetcars and schools? Who knew that jazz, New Orleans' greatest gift to America, was born from the embers of this first American civil rights movement? Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, takes us on a tour of the city — his city — in what evolves from a reflection on the relevance of history into a love letter to the storied New Orleans neighborhood Faubourg Tremé. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, executive produced by Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Nelson, will premiere on PBS in February 2009, a timely addition to the network's Black History Month programming (check local listings).
Irving Trevigne?s Ancestors

Craftsmen on Stoop-Master Carpenter Irving Trevigne's ancestors: Paul, Henry and Peter Broyard with two laborers outside Tremé building, circa late 1880/early 1890s.

Long ago, during slavery, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South and was a hotbed of political activism. Here, black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor cohabited, collaborated and clashed to create America's first civil rights movement and a uniquely American culture. The Tremé district was damaged when the levees broke as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Many Tremé residents are still unable to return home, and the neighborhood is once again fighting many of the same civil rights battles first launched here 150 years ago. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans celebrates the resiliency of this community and explores how it managed to carve out a unique and expressive culture and history that is still enriching America and the world.

Elegant Portrait of an Anonymous Free Man of Color

Elegant Portrait of an anonymous Free Man of Color, circa 1860.

To find out more about Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans please visit http://www.tremedoc.com/...

where this text is from

Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, takes us on a tour of the city – his city – in what becomes a reflection on the relevance of history folded into a love letter to the storied New Orleans neighborhood, Faubourg Tremé. Arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America and the birthplace of jazz, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South during slavery and a hotbed of political ferment. Here black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor cohabitated, collaborated, and clashed to create America's first Civil Rights movement and a unique American culture. Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans is a riveting tale of heartbreak, hope, resiliency and haunting historic parallels.

While the Tremé district was damaged when the levees broke, this is not another Katrina documentary. Long before the flood, two native New Orleanians—one black, one white—writer Lolis Eric Elie and filmmaker Dawn Logsdon, began documenting the rich living culture of this historic district. Miraculously, their tapes survived the disaster unscathed. The completed film, Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, which critics have called "devastating", "charming", and "revelatory" is a powerful testament to why New Orleans matters, and why this most un-American of American cities must be saved.

Elie and director Dawn Logsdon make clear the city's present, up through Katrina, remains steeped in its past- one that, for New Orleans, naturally includes an emphasis on music, heightened here by Derrick Hodge's original jazz score and over a hundred years of New Orleans music. This is a film of ideas, a historical film, a personal film and a celebration of place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genocide Ends

When Enough of Us

Stand Up Against It

JOIN US
1-800-GENOCIDE
www.savedarfur.org
www.genocideintervention.net

www.standnow.org

www.miafarrow.org


Write President Obama
www.whitehouse.gov
You can also call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments to President Obama: 202-456-1111

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

MUSIC MAKES MY HEART HAPPY


Torsten Goods

I wouldn't know this musician, except I saw a movie today - Matchmaker - on cable tv and I was looking for a song called Irish Heartbeat that played at the end of the movie. And while searching youtube for the song ~ I fell upon this.... Great

How fun is youtube (except when it disgusts me....you know when those who are so unstable in their lives that they spread the hate they harbor....anyway...)
Here is a great youtube.

Sharing my discovery....

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Torsten Goods ~ That's What Makes the Irish Heart Beat
Live at Leverkusener Jazztage, Nov 2007 with Jan Miserre-piano
Marco Kühnl-bass
Christoph Huber-drums
Uploaded by goodsi

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Monday, April 21, 2008

THE MUSIC MAN BOBBIE McFERRIN

I first was introduced to Bobbie McFerrin by Charles Kuralt on his TV show Sunday Morning (which was NEVER the same since he left the show ~ since then he's left this earth). It was way before Don't Worry, Be Happy. Bobbie McFerrin was amazing then and just starting his unique career. Soon after I saw him perform in Boston. Just because I like to wander around Youtube, I checked if he was there. Seems he's been around the world, creating his magic.
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Bobbie McFerrin the Marvel Ode to Miles
From: francky85
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I've Got the Feeling by Bobbie McFerrin
From: cachu

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Bobby McFerrin and Yo Yo Ma ~ Ave Maria
From: alvarezsosa

Bobbie sings Drive on his video
Bobbie sings Drive live

Bobbie sings Thinking About Your Body

Bobbie sings By the Sea


Bobbie in Warsaw

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Hold On Performance in Leipzig, Germany with Bobbie McFerrin
2002
From: kuumbasingers


Hush Little Baby with Yo Yo Ma and Bobbie McFerrin


Blackbird by Bobbie McFerrin

Round Midnight

Something Special Bobbie McFerrin

Thanks, Bobbie

...even more if you click on my title...


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