Nowhere Boy, Nowhere Man

The Latest Non-Beatles Beatles Film

Years ago I discovered the 1994 film Backbeat about The Beatles before they became famous. That film was directed by Ian Softley and starred Ian Hart as John Lennon, Stephen Dorff as Stu Sutcliffe, Sheryl Lee as Astrid Kirchherr, Kai Weisinger as Klaus Voorman, Gary Blakewell as Paul McCartney, Chris O'Neill as George Harrison, and Scott Williams as Pete Best. (Mr. Hart had played Lennon in an earlier film, The Hours and Times (1991), a fictionalized account of what may have happened when John Lennon and Brian Epstein, who was gay, went on holiday together to Barcelona in 1963.) Not only did Mr. Hart look like Mr. Lennon, but he was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, and spoke with a Scouse accent—supposedly closer to Irish than English. The tagline of Backbeat was "5 guys, 4 legends, 3 lovers, 2 friends, 1 band."

The plot of Backbeat takes The Beatles to Hamburg, where Stu Sutcliffe, a very close friend of John's from the art school in Liverpool, and the original bass player, develops a relationship with free-spirit Astrid, who took some classic photographs of The Beatles. When Stu leaves the band for Astrid, John is at a loss, and the suggestion is made that John loves Stu which is clearly true. (Astrid's former lover, Klaus Voormann, displaced by Stu, later played bass on John Lennon's album Imagine and designed The Beatles' Revolver album cover.) When Stu dies of a brain hemorrhage, John is inconsolable, but the band plays on, with Paul switching to bass and Ringo replacing Pete Best as the drummer. The music for the film was generated by Don Was, who assembled a band that was probably better than The Beatles were at that time. He could not use any Lennon-McCartney songs so he used Long Tall Sally and the like. I liked the soundtrack so well I bought it as well as the DVD.

Anyhow, Backbeat was then, Nowhere Boy is now. The film was released last fall in the U.K. but will not be released in the U.S. until October, 2010. It has already been released on Blu-ray disc in the U.K., which I how I saw it. I was interested in the earlier work of Aaron Johnson after seeing him in Kick Ass a few weeks ago. After learning he was British I looked through the Amazon.co.uk catalog and came up with a few things he had done. One was Gurinder Chadha's (Bend It Like Beckham) film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008)—sort of a chick flick. The other was Nowhere Boy (2009).

Nowhere Boy starts earlier than Backbeat, even before there was a group called The Quarrymen. It stars Aaron Johnson as John Lennon, Kristin Scott Thomas as Mimi Smith (Lennon's aunt who raised him from the age of 5), Anne-Marie Duff as Julia Lennon (Lennon's mother), Thomas Sangster as Paul McCartney, and Sam Bell as George Harrison. This debut feature of Sam(antha) Taylor-Wood tells the never-seen-before story of John Lennon's childhood. It was nominated for four BAFTA awards, and won other awards for both Aaron Johnson and Anne-Marie Duff.

At the beginning we see a directionless John Lennon at 15, failing at school and pulling pranks, living with his stoic aunt Mimi and boyishly playful uncle George. When George dies suddenly, John is shaken. Mimi is hard to approach—similar to my own English aunts. At the funeral John sees his mother among the mourners, but does not pursue her. A short time later a friend takes him to his mother's home nearby which she shares with her two daughters and their father, Bobby. Julia Lennon seems to have the hallmarks of a manic depressive. She introduces John to rock'n'roll, telling him the name means sex, and teaches him to play the banjo. They travel to Blackpool and have a blast, but it feels uncomfortably close to a date. But she is neglecting her daughters and pissing Bobby off. It is Mimi who buys John his first guitar, for £7, but she later takes it and sells it when he neglects his studies. Julia gives him the money to buy it back.

The plot gets heavy when we learn how Mimi took possession of John at the age of five as Julia bottoms out when John's father wants to take him to New Zealand and nearly kidnaps him. Julia's death after being struck by a drunk driver occurs just after the two sister reconcile and just before John's 17th birthday. The Quarrymen at this point have Paul McCartney, who lost his own mother and consoles John, and George Harrison, the youngest of the lot, whose age would become a plot device in Backbeat, and are developing a following. John mentions that his apartment is sparsely furnished but has some of "Stu's artwork." However, we never meet Stu in this film, and the only Pete in the film is not Pete Best, though John announces to Mimi that the band is going to Hamburg. The name The Beatles is never spoken.

The film does start, however, with the opening chord of A Hard Day's Night (TWANG!) with John running as if away from a bunch of screaming girls, but it is only a dream—and a clever script device. There are complaints that Aaron Johnson is too handsome as John, too much older than Paul and other boys in The Quarryman, and without the edge displayed by Ian Hart in the two earlier films. I think Ian Hart did the better job, but Lennon is younger here. Thomas Sangster as Paul McCartney looks young, is a bit fey, and is too goody-goody. (The real Paul claimed to have sex at 15 with an older baby sitter.) The film has an overvoice of the real John Lennon in a couple of places, and has him singing his song Mother at the end. Yoko Ono is thanked among the credits. Paul McCartney reportedly made some suggestions regarding the script, but did not participate and is not thanked. To its credit the film captures Liverpool in the 1950s pretty well. We see ferries on the Mersey, a quick glimpse of a Strawberry Field sign, John's school, and John's house.

IMdB.com has the film rated at 7.0/10.0. I might go a notch higher. All in all I liked the film, and plan to watch it again.

Mr. Johnson, then 18, got Ms. Taylor-Wood, then 42, pregnant. There is a brief scene in the Extras on the disc that show them together, looking like a couple. (Supposedly the child was due in January, 2010.) In the extras, Taylor-Wood states that Mr. Johnson was one of the first to read for the part, and she wanted him, but that she interviewed many to satisfy others with a stake in the film. One has to wonder what was on her mind from the beginning.

Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies

And Some Sophisticated Gents, As Well

Road trip! Road trip! Road trip! It was a long day, but worth it.

I was on the #1 train at 6:15 AM headed to 33rd street, and jumped to the #3 express train at 96th street only to learn that 42nd was the last stop on the #3. So I had to wait at 42nd for the same #1 local train I had just left. I ended up in my original seat on the #1 to travel one stop. An inauspicious start. But that was the only screw-up during a very pleasant day.

The Bolt bus left the corner of 33rd and 7th Avenue on time at 7:30 headed to Washington, DC. My friend Bill had started off at 4 AM from New Haven, CT, to join me on the trip. We got to the bus site at 10th and H in DC at 11:30 and took a cab to 12th and U for a lunch at the famous Obama hangout Ben's Chili Bowl (1213 U, www.benschilibowl.com), which celebrated its 50th year as a U Street ("Black Broadway") institution in 2008. Bill and I each ate a chili half smoke (beef-pork sausage with mustard, chopped onions, and pungent brown meat chili, $5.20) and shared a basket of cheese fries ($4.10). We both left full, and left some cheese fries behind in the basket. The staff is very friendly and the food is truly excellent. We visited the gift shop, which is above Ben's Next Door (1211 U), a new restaurant recently opened. Then we headed next door (1215 U) to the Lincoln Theater for a 2 PM performance of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies.

I had heard an interview on NPR's All Things Considered between Maurice Hines (tap-dancing sibling of the late Gregory Hines) and Michele Norris in which he described his recent discovery, tap-dancing siblings John (17) and Leo (15) Manzari who would perform with him in his choreography for the production of Sophisticated Ladies. I immediately looked up several YouTube videos of Mr. Hines and the brothers and decided that a trip to Washington was in order.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126802535

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhxi4JrTiwY (Maurice Hines introduces the Manzari Brothers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ElA7KUPPA (John & Leo Manzari improv)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYIaDt46S0&feature=related (Sophisticated Ladies ad)

As you can see, both Manzari brothers are pretty sophisticated tapping gents even as teenagers!

John is a senior at the Field School, an independent day school in DC with about 300 students. His brother Leo is a freshman at the Field School. In interviews (see NPR above), John has said that he wants to attend Marymount Manhattan, some four hours away, but he still hopes to continue dancing with his brother.

So, Bill and I were obviously disappointed to learn that John Manzari was sitting out this Sunday matinee performance. The good news was that Leo was taking his place in some dance numbers. But we would not see the brothers in a duet. Bummer? Not as it turned out.

There were eighteen Ellington numbers in the first half and seventeen in the second, all played by a big band that was onstage in the background at all times. They included Take the A Train, Caravan, Drop Me Off in Harlem, In A Sentimental Mood, Satin Doll, Mood Indigo, It Don't Mean A thing If It Ain't Got That Swing, and Sophisticated Ladies. We need not have worried about the missing Manzari brother. The rest of the young cast were pros and knew a lot about tap as well! Leo had his red-brown floppy hair pulled back when he was dressed in a suit but it was let loose when he was less formally dressed. And he was a hoot!

http://www.localkicks.com/marketHome/images/insidePhoto/5032.jpg

http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/.a/6a00e553a80e1088340133ecaae944970b-500wi

Maurice Hines may be 67, but his feet have not slowed down at all. His outfits—as were all the costumes—were gorgeous, as was the staging. The Lincoln Theater is a refurbished palace from the 20s, with brass railings and carved ceiling. It was the perfect stage for a classy Ellington retrospective.

After the performance I stood in line at Ben's for a couple of take-out chili half-smokes while Bill remained outside. While he was waiting, Leo Manzari exited, in shorts, looking, according to Bill, like the typical 15-year-old. After being congratulated by audience members he walked off down U Street with some friends, incognito. But he and his brother John will be famous soon. Gregory Hines mentored tap-master Savion Glover, and reportedly told Maurice that some day he, too, would mentor prodigies. He has done so. And one has floppy red hair.

The Bolt bus back to New York City was absolutely full, and the driver did not stop as had the driver on the way to DC. Bolt buses (a division of Greyhound) have free Wi-Fi, AC sockets, and $20 fares (+/-). Bill slept. The guy to my right watched a DVD of Zoolander on an ASUS laptop from beginning to end, while the woman next to him watched an episode of Glee. I watched part of Avatar on my iPhone, read part of a book using the iPhone Kindle app, and checked email and Websites. I love my iPhone! Still, the trip back seemed longer than the morning ride. Luckily the #1 train came quickly, and I got a seat immediately. Bill, poor guy, had to get an 11:20 train to New Haven. But he texted that it was worth it.

I got home a few minutes ago. It was a long day, but I would do it again!

A Day of Rest

Dr. Steve

Entertained Dr. Steve with stories about Chris, Pete and Nick Kowanko. Fond memories.

Independent Film Center

Perrier's Bounty

I had read about the film Perrier's Bounty somewhere, perhaps IMdB.com, and so I noticed the review in the New York Times. It is sort of a Guy Ritchie Rock'n'rolla-type film starring Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine), Jim Broadbent and Brendan Gleeson. The Times noted that these three can make something insubstantial into something substantial. So I hopped the A train and headed down to Greenwich Village to the old Waverly Theater, now the IFC Center.

I was the only one in the small theater. That is a first here in New York City. Like the Quad Theater, the films there seem to be projected digitally from a DVD, or possibly a Blu-ray disc.

As I expected, I enjoyed the film. Jim Broadbent as Murphy's dad is perfect. He first tells his son he is going to die of cancer, but we soon learn that he had a dream in which the devil sat at the end of his bed in a suit and told him that he would die the next time he falls asleep, so he spends the rest of the film trying to stay awake and acting recklessly, as if he didn't care. Gleeson plays the Irish mobster Perrier to the hilt, his red-brown wool long coat the color of his hair. There is a lot of violence, as with a Guy Ritchie film, but I liked it.

A reviewer from IMdB.com said:

I picked up on a couple of reviews of PERRIER'S BOUNTY in the daily newspapers and thought — that is worth a look over!! Good cast — Brendon Gleeson Liam Cunningham Jim Broadbent Cillian Murphy et al - and a story of the shady underworld inhabiting Dublin......drugs, guns, violence, dog fights and other such delights.

So today I packed myself off to the local multiplex and gladly bought my ticket.

The premise goes that Michael (Murphy) owes Perrier (Gleeson) a sum of money, which he hasn't got - two of Perrier's thugs tell him he has four hours to find the money - or he will have two bones broken. That sets him haring off to the local dive looking for The Mutt ([Liam] Cunningham), the local loan shark. The Mutt tells Michael he is short — but is doing a job that night and needs a third man ...

So starts a hectic forty eight hours for Michael as he has run-ins with his father (Broadbent), the girl in the flat below, her on/off lover, two sadistic car clampers, the local dog fraternity, the snooker hall drug pusher, the [cop]-dodging car thieves ... I could go on, mentioning the double-crossing and the underlying love story triumvirate.

Funny in parts but more chuckle-some than guffaws, the whole leaves you wanting more meat to chew over — there is not much to bring you in to the story completely. When it concludes —and I had a doubting question over the way it ends, up in the hills (not to give it away but there WOULD be repercussions after the fact) — it leaves you with a sense of it having just petered out.

I give this film a seven out of ten — the violence is gritty and realistic — Brendon Gleeson is a marvel! - but is bogged down by unnecessary plot angles and sidelines. A tighter script would have made this experience more enjoyable.

I, myself, might go as far as 8 out of ten.

Vampires

For some inexplicable reason I re-watched the film Twilight: New Moon. Maybe it is the energy of the young cast that I enjoy, having now been out of the classroom for almost an entire school year.

John Ritter, Encore

Second Town Hall Concert, May 20th

As I indicated yesterday, I enjoyed the Wednesday night John Ritter so much that I bought an ticket for tonight. It seemed a bit odd that a center aisle, fourth row ticket would be available at such I late date, but I grabbed it.

The opening act tonight was not the California band Dawes, but Annie & the Beekeepers. Annie & the Beekeepers is a three-piece band (guitar, fiddle, upright bass), and much more sedate than Dawes. More folky. As a result, perhaps, many remained in the foyer drinking rather than in the audience. The noise was considerable, and it made it difficult to hear Annie.

The Josh Ritter concert that followed was about the same as it was last night, but not exactly. Instead of singing Springsteen's The River Josh did a solo version of Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel No. 2. Hearing the words "Giving me head on the unmade bed" coming out of his cherubic mouth sounded a bit strange, but the audience loved it.

The Edgar Allen Poe poem was read by bass player Zack Hickman, rather than Michael Shannon, with more dramatic effect.

One of the encore numbers from last night was moved into the concert, and Josh did not sing Moon River tonight, but the concert was still excellent. It was a different experience sitting in row D orchestra than it was in the center loge seat. The crazy fans were up front, and were standing up dancing until ushers got them to sit down. After the lights were down, and Josh asked for a "sunrise," one audience member made soft, early-morning bird calls that were quite nice. Josh asked for them again in a later number. At that point there were additional owl- and crow-sounds.

A review of the Wednesday night concert was published by one of the entertainment weeklies. You can tell the author, Jeff, was impressed:

There’s nothing cynical or contemptuous about Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, and at New York’s Town Hall last night, the Idaho-bred folk-rocker bounded on stage like an exuberant puppy freed from his leash. In an elegant 124-minute show, the earnest singer with the earthy voice and hyper-literate lyrics delighted what sometimes felt like an intimate gathering of friends. Ritter reveled in Town Hall’s history, expressing awe at the legendary performers, like Paul Robeson and Igor Stravinsky, who’d helped make it famous, but by the end of the night, the house was his.

It didn’t start out that way. Despite Ritter’s buoyancy, his first song, “Change of Time,” from his latest album, So Runs the World Away, suffered a few mechanical glitches that stunted some early momentum. It’s not unusual for Ritter’s shows to begin quietly anyway, a reflection more of the mild-not-wild NPR listeners in his audience than the band’s fervent energy. After the fourth song, “Folk Bloodbath” (“It’s a comedy,” deadpanned Ritter), he acknowledged the staid setting and warned the crowd not to get too comfortable in their velvet red theater seats. “This is Town Hall and everyone is wearing tuxedos and drinking martinis,” he joked. “But it would really help if we could all scream like … like….” “Like wild banshees!” volunteered a voice in the dark. That seemed to do the trick. The band quickly launched into “Right Moves,” a rollicking number from 2007’s album, The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter.

From there, the band quickly put to rest any concerns that songs from the new album lacked the rock ‘n’ roll oomph of Historical Conquest. (Only “Rattling Locks” landed flat, judging by its unspoken designation as the show’s “bathroom song.”) Stomping to a thunderous beat, Ritter added an urgency to “The Remnant” that the recorded version lacks, transforming it into a pounding, crowd-pleasing delight. Midway through the show, he revisited his gorgeous, winding rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “The River” and then showcased some real vocal versatility with an acoustic version of “In the Dark.”

Ritter has said that he plays “rock ‘n’ roll with lots of words,” and he found the inspiration for So Runs in Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and, in the case of the melancholic “The Curse,” the Egyptian Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So it was appropriate but no less surprising when actor Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) ambled on stage before “Another New World” for a mesmerizing reading of Poe’s tragic poem, “Annabel Lee.” Simply epic.

After delivering a knockout version of “To the Dogs or Whoever” to close the set, the band returned for a three-song encore, highlighted by a tender version of “Moon River.” An accomplished storyteller and a versatile live entertainer who makes himself at home in any room, Ritter successfully swept aside any Town Hall stodginess, chugging an entire beer at one point during the encore. For Ritter, whose thoughtful lyrics open doors to hallowed halls but whose musical heart and soul reside in front of the neon beer signs of a pub, it was the perfect symbol for a memorable night.

Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band

"He Grinned As Only A Teenager Can"

I heard the quote "he grinned as only a teenager can" on NPR's All Things Considered. And I think that I understood what was meant. But tonight I attended a concert by Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band at Town Hall, sitting in a center loge seat, and politely have to disagree. Josh Ritter is 33 but he not only grins like a teenager he can make his voice grin. His concert tonight was the best I have heard at Town Hall, even better than the two Judy Collins concerts I've heard there.

His latest album So Runs the World Away (from a line in Hamlet) is his most literate album to date, according to reviews. He did several of the songs from that album tonight.

At one point the band left the stage and Josh asked that all the light be turned down except for some sconces on the balcony. He then did several solo number on an acoustic guitar, one of which he performed at the stage edge with no mic and with his guitar unplugged, which is possible in Town Hall. He really connected with the audience which sang along with the song Lantern.

At one point actor Mike Shannon, who was not a band member, came on stage and, with no explanation, read Edgar Allen Poe's last poem Annabel Lee with some musical accompaniment and percussion by the band.

Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of ANNABEL LEE;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me-

Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-

Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

The context of the Poe poem became clearer when the next number the band performed was Another New World from the new album about an explorer and his ship called the Annabel Lee:

Another New World (Annabel Lee) Lyrics - Josh Ritter

The leading lights of the age all wondered among themselves what I would do next,

After all that I'd found, in my travels around the world, was there anything left?

"Gentlemen," I said, "I've studied the maps, and if what I am thinking is right,

There's another new world, at the top of the world, for whoever can break through the ice,"

I looked 'round the room, in that way I once had, and I saw that they wanted belief,

So I said, "All I've got are my guts and my God," then I paused, "and the Annabel Lee."

Oh, the Annabel Lee, I saw their eyes shine, the most beautiful ship in the sea,

My Nina, my Pinta, my Santa María, my beautiful Annabel Lee...

That spring we set sail, and the crowd waved from shore, and on board the sailors waved caps,

But I'd never had family, just the Annabel Lee, so I never had cause to look back.

I set the course north, and I studied the charts, and towards dark I drifted toward sleep,

And I dreamed of the fine, deep harbor I'd find past the ice, for my Annabel Lee.

After that it got colder, and the world got quiet. It was never quite day or quite night.

And the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice.

After that all around us was vastness, one glassy desert of arsenic white,

And the waves that once lifted us, shifted instead into drifts against Annabel's sides.

And the crew gathered closer, at first for the comfort, but each morning would bring a new set

Of tracks in the snow, leading over the edge of the world, 'til I was the only one left.

After that it gets cloudy, but it feels like I laid there for days, or maybe for months

But Annabel held me, the two of us happy, just to think back on all we had done...

We talked of the other new worlds we'd discover as she gave up her body to me,

As I chopped up her mainsail for timber, I told her of all that we still had to see.

As the frost turned her moorings to nine-tails and the wind lashed her sides in the cold,

I burned her to keep me alive every night in the loving embrace of her hold.

I won't call it rescue, what brought me back here to this old world to drink and decline,

Pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine.

But sometimes at night, in my dreams, comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,

And I smile in my sleep, thinking Annabel Lee's finally made it to another new world.

Yeah, sometimes at night in my dreams comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,

And I smile in my sleep, thinking Annabel Lee's finally made it to another new world.

Towards the end of the song Harrisburg, the bass player took the lead and intertwined the lyrics of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game, which was a bit of a

surprise.

It is pretty easy yo see why John Ritter is ranked as one of the top living songwriters. As an Oberlin graduate who originally planned to become a neurosurgeon like both his parents he certainly made a wise choice to become a singer-songwriter!

From his website (JoshRitter.com) I learned of a free concert download of a concert on May 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. The content is very much like the concert last night except that one of his solo acoustic numbers was Bruce Springsteen's The River. (A version recorded earlier in Berlin was posted on Springsteen's own site, which says a lot.) The DC download can be found here:

http://www.thefrontloader.com/2010/05/13/josh-ritter-live-at-930-club-5-8-10/

Other recent Josh Ritter interviews can be found here:

Literary Influences: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=01s3f79qeb1

PBS News Hour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/05/josh-ritter.html#more

World Cafe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126833547

The opening band tonight was Dawes, from North Hills, California. There was some tight harmony between the lead singer/guitarist, the drummer (his younger brother), and the keyboard player. I enjoyed them so much that I bought their CD North Hills for $10.

I just checked about a ticket for tomorrow night's performance at Town Hall and found an aisle seat in row D with my name on it, so I am going back tomorrow night. The tickets were pretty cheap at $29 for the best seats. I've paid more for one concert than for the two nights of Josh Ritter, and not received as much value!

Iron Man 2

Earlier yesterday I saw Iron Man 2 and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. There are certainly worse ways to spend your movie cash!

More Ruminations About Bronx Science

More Recent Posts on the NYTimes Bronx Science Blog

A couple of students have come forward with addition comments about Bronx Science and its principal, Valerie Reidy:

[http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/bronx-science-complaints/?apage=3#comments]

1. 
   66.May 17, 201011:58 pmLink

   “The alumni association at Bronx Science will do nothing about Ms. Reidy. They hate bad publicity because it harms fund-raising efforts.”

   Then maybe we just have to show the alumni association how Reidy harms fund-raising efforts…

   http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2ljsfdBxn1qzt59go1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1274240793&Signature=emj2sew9TSDX0s3SvGb5g2piliM%3D

   — BxSci Alum
2. 67.May 18, 201010:07 pmLink

   During the past four years I’ve watched this school transform into an Orwellian police state. As a result of heightened security measures, the individual freedom of a Bronx Science student has ceased to exist. With that put aside, I agree that problems within the administration have created an environment that is hostile and counter-productive. Although I wouldn’t take sides on this matter publicly, I’d like to say that Mr. Lynn is incredibly bright and skilled, he has no place in the affairs of the math department.

   - John Galt

   — Another Senior

I like Sarah's suggestion in 66. Unfortunately the link has expired. It linked to a photo of her holding an alumni contribution request card and a self-addressed Bronx Science Alumni Association envelope. On the card she had written, if I remember correctly, "I'll donate when Reidy leaves."

My own participation in BxScience alumni forums was curtailed when old forums were abandoned and new ones created in which the moderator(s) refused to post my contributions.

The alums want to bask in the glow of the fabled Bronx High School of Science with its many Nobel Prize winners from the past. They certainly do not want to have their statement "I went to Bronx Science" followed by a question, "Yeah, what's all this I hear about Korean parents up in arms, faculty abuse, student bomb-making, suicides and drug overdoses? And what about that nasty principal?"

When I got to Bronx Science I felt the same as an English teacher who wrote in his letter of resignation several years ago that he could not believe in his good fortune to teach there, but left reluctantly. It should be a perfect place to teach. The facilities are reasonably modern and in good repair, and the students are excellent, though there was evidence in my final year that the level of disrespect in the general population was finding its way there. But the problem is the micro-managing administration.

Martha Szporn, my AP at the time, recommended me as a college mentor after my first semester at the school, and I wrote around 100 letters for students over two years. There were some complaints, usually because students don't always follow the rules.

One high-strung young lady wanted a reference letter from a research director included with my mentor letter, which was against the rules, and she started crying when I refused her request. (I was later told by the Guidance AP to include the letter, so I did.) Ms. Reidy seized upon such complaints even though the girl got into MIT, Caltech, and the University of Chicago, among other schools.

Another girl left separate parts of her materials on my desk at different times when I wasn't there, which was against the rules, including a personal check for an application, and then was upset—as were her parents—when I missed a deadline. The rule was that you bring only completed application packets to me, with check inside, and hand them to me during my mentoring hours. Nothing was to be left on my desk when I was not there. She missed the deadline because she was irresponsible, but Ms. Reidy blamed me.

Another student complained that he had given me his materials early but that his letter and transcript were not sent out until much later. The truth is that I could not write his letter until his "rave" forms were returned to me from family, friends, teachers, employers, etc. Without the data I needed I could not write his letter. It was, by the rules, his responsibility to check on the return of rave forms, and to make second and third rave requests of his references, if necessary. But Ms. Reidy blamed me.

Bronx Science teenagers, like other teenagers, can be scatterbrained, even when it affects their future. And for many parents it is their first time having kids applying to college. All the more reason to pay attention to the rules!

My teaching ratings at Bronx Science are still posted on RateMyTeachers.com:

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/bob-drake/217150-t

There are no current chemistry teachers that exceed them. And there is at least one current chemistry teacher with half my ratings. Of course Ms. Reidy had the RateMyTeachers.com website blocked from Bronx Science. Only she gets to rate teachers under UFT and DOE contract rules. And she did not, I am sure, enjoy her own low ratings.

Darien, Pronounced Like "Mary Ann"

But Darien Ain't No Lady

Wikipedia has some interesting facts about Darien, Connecticut:

• A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast," it is one of the most affluent towns in the United States.
• With a median home price of approximately $1 million, Darien is one of the most expensive places to live in North America, and was rated one of the best places to live in America by CNN in 2005.
• The public library in Darien … has consistently ranked in the top ten of its category in the Hennen's American Public Library Ratings Index of libraries.
• Darien is primarily a Republican town, voting for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and John McCain in the 2008 election.
• An ambulance service, known as "Darien EMS – [Explorer] Post 53" is the only ambulance service in the nation staffed and run entirely by high school student volunteers [who are Explorer Scouts].
• Chapter 14 of English author Nigel Williams 1994 travelogue From Wimbledon to Waco tells of his difficulties in reaching Darien from Interstate 95.
• Film director Gus Van Sant went to high school in Darien.
• One infamous native of Darien is convicted rapist Alex Kelly, who fled the United States to escape prosecution.

One of the facts about Darien not in Wikipedia is that the High School just lost it second opportunity to hire me.

As I noted several days ago, Darien contacted me to be a long-term substitute teacher, replacing a former Stamford colleague who was going on extended jury duty.

But that came to a screeching halt today at 5:20:

The explanation:

Hi Bob,

I truly appreciate your willingness to sub for us as well as the time and effort you’ve invested in the paperwork. Unfortunately, the situation has changed and we will not need your assistance at this time. The projected length of the trial has been reduced and the district has arranged to fill the position with one of our interns.

I apologize again for any frustration I’ve caused due to these uncertain and confusing circumstances. I hope that we may have another chance to work together down the line.

Best regards,

Dave

My response: (*Sigh*)

David,

Thanks for the explanation of why the long-term sub offer was withdrawn.

Consider this: not only was there the paperwork for the sub position, but there was also the opening for the Chemistry 7-12 position you posted several months ago. Do you realize how long it takes to fill one of those on-line applications, and to write your three specific essays, and to upload all the documents? Then you changed your mind and decided you really wanted a physics teacher.

Then you came to me last week asking me to be a long-term sub. I had to call CT Unemployment to learn how it would affect my payments. I had to fill out 8 pages of documents, then scan my birth certificate, then, today, my passport for Diane.

I made (and then canceled) an appointment for a drug test.

Also, Diane explained to me that HR is no longer accepting applications for regular sub positions because the current roster of subs is not getting enough work. So that application packet is dead, too.

I am REALLY good at what I do. I have 40 years of teaching experience and a research chemistry Ph.D. My Praxis II Content score was 200 (E). My Essays were 200. My week of subbing at SAR HS in Riverdale was nothing short of miraculous. Yet I am sitting at home, filling out applications that come to naught.

As I said to Nxxxxx earlier, I am glad I took my blood pressure pill today.

If you ever get truly serious about hiring the best chemistry teacher in NY/CT. Give me a call.

Thanks,

Bob

At least I made the right decision not to get fingerprinted earlier today, and not to drive to Norwalk for a drug test. Those would have cost me $19.25 in cash for the first, and gas and time for the second.

And another fact about Darien:

• According to the Darien Historical Society, the name Darien was decided upon when the residents of the town could not agree on a name to replace Middlesex Parish, many families wanting it to be named after themselves. A sailor who had traveled to Darién, Panama, then part of Colombia, suggested the name Darien, which was eventually adopted by the people of the town.

Even then they couldn't make up their minds!

The Sword of Truth

Legend of the Seeker

Over the last several nights I have been watching episodes of the ABC series Legend of the Seeker. I am not sure where I first heard of it, since I don't watch much TV. It is based on the book series Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind which, according to Amazon.com, has 10+ books in the series. Online reviews of the series relative to the books have not been kind. Since I am starting with the TV series I am pretty well pleased. ABC is owned by Disney, and the DVD set is from Buena Vista, which is no surprise. The series was recently canceled for 2010-2011. Season 2 is just ending, so there are 22 Season 2 episodes which I hope will make it to DVD.

The Seeker series is filmed in New Zealand, so the mountain vista scenery is stunning. Years ago (1997) there was a series with the name of Roar that starred the late Heath Ledger that was shot in Queensland, OZ, that had a similar rustic, pre-history feel. It only survived for one season, but it explains why Heath Ledger was so comfortable on horseback in Brokeback Mountain. Luckily Roar became available on DVD, so Conor lives on forever.

Seeker also reminds me of the current BBC series Merlin, where a young Merlin is the manservant to Prince Arthur in a place where magic is banned, so Merlin (Colin Morgan) has to keep Arthur (Bradley James) safe while keeping his powers undercover. And then there is the matter of the dragon chained up in the basement (voiced by John Hurt). For the castle sequences, Merlin is filmed in France at the Camelot-like Château de Pierrefonds, Oise, with the rest shot in England (Kent) and Wales. Since Colin Morgan/Merlin is Welsh, and there is a lot of Arthurian legend associated with Wales, and BBC Wales is producing the series, it seems fitting. At least Merlin has made it to Season 3.

There is a bit of Lord of the Rings to The Legend of the Seeker, too. The documents in Seeker all seem to be in a rune-ish script. And, of course, the Seeker is on a quest.

From IMdb.com:

Roar (1997): Conor [Ledger] is the orphaned heir of one of the many tribal leaders of hopelessly divided Hibernia (ancient Ireland). With his faithful but unenthusiastic servant and protector Fergus he wanders trough the island, fighting injustice and aspiring to unite the druidic, yet internecine Celts in order to free the country from Roman rule. Most dangers and opponents he faces are largely or completely mythical, the most remarkable being Longinus, the eternally cursed but immortal, cruel and vindictive Roman centurion at Christ's crucifixion who forges evil alliances.

Legend of the Seeker (2008): Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told. Now, enter Terry Goodkind's world, the world of The Sword of Truth. In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-to invoke within himself something more noble [his destiny as The Seeker, the first for a thousand years]. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.

I guess I just need some escapism these days, to take my mind off the fact that I am not teaching. I have been reading a lot and watching DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and HD DVDs that I have collected but never had the time to view.

In any case, back to The Legend of the Seeker: to say that the series is multi-ethnic is selling it short. The lead characters, Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), Kahlan Amnell (Bridget Regan), and the wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Bruce Spence), are all white, but many supporting characters are Maori or Indian, or exotic in some way. Bruce Spence seems familiar. He was in Peter Pan (2003), and Australia (2008) and will be in the next Chronicles of Narnia.

Craig Horner, as Richard, is an Australian from Brisbane, and seems compact, but is incredibly chiseled in terms of muscle definition, so he is often shirtless while sword fighting. Mr. Horner seems to have spent his adult life in Australian TV series since he has been in six of them over the last ten years. Bridget Regan as Kahlan the Confessor is an American from San Diego who attended the North Carolina School for the Arts. Her hair is reportedly naturally red and curly, but it is black and straight in Seeker. Too bad, I really like redheads! So now she looks like a black-Irish colleen. Gorgeous eyes! And she is 5'8", and looks tall standing near Mr. Horner. Guesses online for Mr. Horner range from 5'9" to 5'10". But I'd guess 5'8". Since Bruce Spence, the wizard, is 6'7" they both are dwarfed by him.

The series starts with Richard learning that he is not the son of the man who has raised him, but the Seeker, a truth-seeker, the first of his kind in a thousand years, who was taken from his mother as a new-born, when all the other male babies were slain, by the wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander who gave up his wizard ways to live near the boy as a protector. Now the time has come for brash, young Richard to become the Seeker, whom the prophecies have said would slay the tyrant overlord Darken Rahl with the Sword of Truth. (Zeddicus has kept the sword hidden for many years.) Richard does not have much time to learn what the Seeker should know, so on their journey to find Darken Rahl, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander gives "Seeker lessons" to Richard, many of which seem made up on the spot. (One sword-fighting lesson is remarkably like Luke Skywalker's lesson in using his lightsaber in Star Wars IV. ("Use the Force, Luke.")) Along the way there are various diversions. With 22 episodes in Season 1 there are many diversions. The characters are all easy to like. The special effects are laudatory. The scenery is gorgeous. What's not to like?

But I'd rather be working than escaping!

And if I had the Sword of Truth I would not use it to slay dragons! I do have several targets in mind.

A Horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!

A job, a job, my sanity for a job!

The job market for teachers is shite, as the Irish would say. I have several headhunters looking and no one has anything to offer. Actually a couple of positions right down my ally were on offer, but independent schools like Riverdale Country School practice age discrimination by specifying that positions are "entry level." By definition that excludes old farts like me even though that is illegal. The referral process is kept secretive. The headhunters want to please their clients, the schools, so they do not forward the credentials of other-than-entry-level candidates. And you never know that back-room dealing is going one. Another school wanted a science department head and chemistry teacher. I was a Natural Science and Math Department ("Gnat Sigh") head at Lees College in Kentucky, and, of course, I have taught a bit of chemistry, but I was not given an interview by the school even though we were both under the same roof at an open house. The Riverdale Country School blew me off at the same open house. Too bad. I could walk to Riverdale Country from my apartment. Their loss. Their students' loss.

Which brings up Darien, CT. Several months ago, Darien High School advertised a chemistry position and I spent hours completing the on-line applications, complete with multiple essays and credential uploads. Then the chemistry position was canceled, and a physics position popped up in its place. Gone!

Last year, a parent of one of my Stamford students took it upon himself to call the principal at Darien High School to sing my praises because he knew the principal's parents. My student spoke with him also. The principal was so moved that he emailed me to tell me about the call:

"One of your former students, XXXXXXXX (whose parents I know well), spoke with me yesterday about how much she enjoyed your chemistry class a few years back. She told me you are looking for a position as a chemistry teacher, and though we currently do not have an opening at DHS I promise to keep my eyes open if one becomes available here or at a neighboring school.

"I just wanted to share with you how warmly she spoke of you and what a powerful impact you had on her love of chemistry.

"Good luck with the job search."

Just for the record, he did not tell me about the chemistry position at Darien that I mentioned earlier, or the one in Greenwich, or any other.

So, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, I was surprised to get a call from the science department head at Darien High School who offered me a long-term sub position replacing a former Stamford colleague now at Darien who was to go on jury duty for several weeks. It was supposed to start this coming Tuesday or Wednesday.

The pay is $90 a day, the substitute rate, which is less than I get from CT Unemployment, but, I learned, that CT Unemployment would subtract 2/3 of what I make away from my weekly allowance and then send me the remainder. So I said "yes."

I spent hours filling out the 8-page substitute teacher application, including tax forms, right-to-work form, and direct deposit form with canceled check, etc. I rushed it into the mail. I made arrangements for the finger-printing, the drug test, the hepatitis-B titre, only to learn on Friday afternoon that the whole thing might end before it begins due to an out-of-court settlement. So I have to cancel the drug testing pending the outcome.

But since I had filled out the forms I should be considered for future substitute positions at Darien High School, right? No. Darien is not accepting new applications for substitute positions because existing substitutes are not getting enough work due to cutbacks in classroom teacher professional development opportunities. So, my application efforts may well have been a complete waste of time. Shite!

As they used to say, "Tune in next week..."

A Day At The Movies

The Not-So-Evil Empire

My movie theater of choice is the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street near 8th Avenue. Why? If you sign up for a MovieWatcher card you can reserve tickets on line with no fee. And there are gifts associated with a certain number of tickets: free popcorn, free drink, free ticket, and free night at the movies (all three). Today I earned a free ticket. Also, showtimes before noon are $6, no matter what your age, every day of the week.

Robin Hood, the Prequel

I'm a Robin Hood freak, what can I say. I have all the versions released on DVD, including the silent version, and The Adventures of Robin Hood on Blu-ray, one of the magical three-strip Technicolor films that also include Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Red Shoes, and The Black Narcissus. I watched the black and white Richard Greene series on TV when I was a kid, and purchased the U.K. version of it on DVD because, according to Amazon comments, it is less cobbled together than the U.S. version. But my favorite series with the hooded man is Robin of Sherwood, the Goldcrest/Samuel Goldwyn version starring Michael Praed (Series 1) and then Jason Connery (Series 2), Sean's son. Praed moved through Sherwood like a feral cat, and Marian (Judi Trott), with her strawberry blond hair, was truly a vision. The great Ray Winstone was a perfect Will Scarlet, and the late Robert Addie played a comical Guy of Gisbourne. In fact, the whole damn cast was perfect. When Praed moved to the U.S. to star in Falcon Crest, a blond Jason Connery replaced him. Connery was less charismatic than Praed, but adequate, and he kept Robin of Sherwood on the air.

Another reason I was drawn to Robin of Sherwood was that the Irish folk-rock group Clannad created the themes of the soundtrack. The calling card for their work here was their album Magical Ring, which included a movie theme they had written for a film called Harry's Game. That song caused Bono of U2 to pull his hearse to the side of the road because he was overcome by its beauty. I had the same experience with a car full of students years ago when I was asked to pull over so they could hear it better. The Robin of Sherwood soundtrack was a big hit for Clannad. In the days of LPs and cassette tapes I used some soundtrack tracks to fill out the side of the tape of the short Magical Ring LP.

More recently the BBC brought Robin Hood back for three seasons in a high definition series with a bearded Jonas Armstrong in the title role. Since England is short on black forests these days, Armstrong and his more-crazy-than-merry men roamed through Hungarian forests, and the extras in the villages looked terribly Slavic. The first season was good, and available in Blu-ray, but Friar Tuck was AWOL from the beginning. Richard Armitage played a nasty Guy of Gisbourne, and Keith Allen played a diabolical Sheriff of Nottingham. But when Marian (Lucy Griffiths) wanted to leave the series after Season 2, they had to kill her off, presenting a rather major problem for both Robin and the BBC. It did not survive Season 3.

Hollywood has not done as well as Robin's homeland in honoring his legacy. In the Kevin Costner version of the myth, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin passed from the white cliffs of Dover to Hadrian's wall in a short walk. And Costner made no effort to conceal his American accent. Morgan Freeman showed up as Azeem, a Muslim—a role that had no precedent before the assassin-turned-ally Nasir in Robin of Sherwood. Robin Hood: Men in Tights does not bear serious mention. Robin Hood is a serious topic! Mel Brooks would never understand!

Which brings us, finally, to the Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe Robin Hood epic currently in theaters, which I witnessed myself today. At 46, Crowe is the oldest gent ever to play Robin. Even Sean Connery was a bit younger when he reprised Robin in his senior years in the Richard Lester film Robin and Marian, with Audrey Hepburn. According to Entertainment Weekly, Mr. Crowe lost weight and buffed up for the role, but he lacks any definition and looks his age. His "merry men" are just fellow archers in King Richard's army. Will Scarlet has red hair (a first!). Little John is tall (not new!). And Alan-A-Dale does sing songs and play the lute. But all the action takes place before Robin takes refuge in Sherwood. So Little John does not battle Robin with staves, and Friar Tuck does not carry him across a stream. Robin himself is Robin Longstride, son of a mason, not from Locksley/Loxley, and not named Locksley/Loxley, until he assumes the identity of Marian's (Cate Blanchett) deceased husband, Robert Loxley, at the suggestion of her father, Sir Walter (Max von Sydow). The only inspired casting in this Robin Hood is Mark Addy as the bee-keeping, mead-drinking Friar Tuck. And maybe Will Scarlet as a redhead. Avatar did a lot more with two and a half hours of your time than Ridley Scott does, though Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C-.

I might go with a C or C+. The 2.5 hours do not pass as quickly as they do in Avatar, but it is obvious that a lot of money was spent on the film. It was filmed in the British Isles, even if a gray cliff-lined beach in Wales has to pass for the white cliffs of Dover, and until the English greenwood is trampled into muddy oblivion. But it is hard to get used to a salt-and-pepper bearded, gray-backed gorilla of a Robin. At some point soon I will get my Acorn Media DVDs of Robin of Sherwood out to reset the clock back to the real Robin, circa 1983.

Kick-Ass Kicks Ass

Mark Strong is the perfect "baddy." He was a baddy in the recent Sherlock Holmes and also in the present Robin Hood. And he is a baddy daddy in Kick-Ass, too. Today I sat through four hours of Mark Strong and lived to tell about it. Right here.

I really liked the Kick-Ass film. A had never heard of Aaron Johnson, the lead, playing Dave Lizewski. I was surprised to learn, via IMdB.com, that he is English, and that he is not yet 20, so he made a more believable high school student than Russell Crowe did a Robin Hood. His girlfriend, Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), was also unknown to me, but I really liked her. Nicolas Cage has his best role in many years, and makes the most of it. The rating is an R, probably because of the BLOOD, the masturbation jokes—"When my hormones clear up, stock in Kleenex will drop like a stone," says our hero as he tosses a second handful into a wire wastebasket—and the sex he has with Katie hoisted waist high, bouncing on a handrail outside a restaurant, after he finally gets around to tell her that he is not gay. Did I mention the BLOOD!

In Yorkshire Brit-speak, the initial Dave would be described as "gormless" = lacking intelligence and vitality; dull. But Dave redeems himself nicely in the end. I can see why both Johnson and Fonseca have signed up for a 2012 sequel. (Hopefully the world will not run out of Kleenex in the meantime.) I plan on being in the audience in 2012.

A little research about Mr. Johnson revealed that the 19 year old got the 42 year old director, Sam Taylor Wood, of an earlier film, Nowhere Boy (2009), pregnant. Looks like he's trying to follow the career path of Ashton Kutcher. But Ms. Taylor Wood is not Demi Moore.

P.S.: From a quick search it appears that Lizewski is a real Polish surname. I am sure that, other than the Kick-Ass film Lizewski family, the rest pronounce it "Li-SHEFF-ski" not "Li-ZOO-ski."

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Darien Called Today

The bad news is that the chemistry position they had posted was changed to a physics position after they counted up their needs. Unfortunately my credentials are in chemistry in both CT and NY.

The good news is that there is a long term substitute position over the next several weeks and they want me to fill it.

The bad news is that that required that I complete and sign eight forms, provide a scan of my birth certificate (or other allowed documents), drive to Darien to be fingerprinted and to submit to a drug test and a hepatitis B titre.

All this for $90 a day, less that my unemployment benefits (which will fill in the rest).

And I will be taking the place of a former Stamford colleague who moved to Darien, and who will be on extended jury duty.

Hunter College High School

I learned that the application I had submitted to Hunter College High School a month ago was put in the "physics search" pile instead of the "chemistry search" pile. I have now been assured that all is well. It only took a dozen calls to reach a real person in their voicemail maze!

So if you are the praying kind, pray for Hunter College High School and me to get together!

A Day of Rest

No Post Today

Glee, All the Rage

Glee, The Series, Takes Me Back

I caught up on some missed episodes of Glee on-line recently. With the recent self-outing of Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakenings) and his appearance on Glee mentioned in the Newsweek article by Ramin Setoodeh (see my previous post) I decided to pick up where I had left off last fall viewing Glee on line. Mr. Groff was also in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock where he played the promoter Michael Lang, sometimes on horseback, always unflappable. On Glee he is introduced as a suitor for Rachel, as the lead singer for a competing high school's show choir. My verdict: handsome, yes, nelly, no. And he really can sing. And, earlier in my life, so could I!

Grace Episcopal Church, Providence

When I was a boy I sang in the Grace Church Choir of Boys and Men in Providence from the age of 8 to the age of 22. So at 8 years old I was taking the city bus by myself from home into Providence three days a week for 4 PM rehearsals. On Sunday I got a ride to church with the organist, Fred Cronhimer and his wife Barbara. Services were at 9 and 11 AM. On Easter Sunday there was also a 6 AM sunrise service, and on Christmas Eve an 11 PM "midnight" service. (Fred always played Charles-Marie Widor's Toccata from the 5th Symphony as the postlude every Christmas. It really wasn't Christmas without Widor, my favorite organ piece. Sorry about that Johann Sebastian!) My dad was a cameraman-technician with the local NBC affiliate, WJAR-TV, and they often broadcast the midnight Christmas service from platforms built over the pews and the choir did a long procession around the church. (O Come All Ye Faithful was always the processional hymn because it has so many verses we could complete the circuit. And the recessional was always Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, for the same reason.)

I sang my last soprano solo as a 13 year old and had my voice change over the summer, returning as an alto in the fall. Later I sang tenor. Besides the choir and bell choir (Whitechapel Foundry bells), Grace Church had a marvelous double Casavant organ, with 6000 pipes in the gallery and another 2500 in the chancel, and Fred, who studied under Marcel Dupré, knew how to play it. When the Québécois group Arcade Fire released their album Neon Bible I recognized the sound of a Casavant organ on it, and traced it to a 1915 instrument in Église Saint-Jean Baptiste, Montréal. The net is amazing for what you can find!

Classical High A Cappella Choir, Dr. Louis Pichierri, Conducting

While at Classical High School I was a member of the A Cappella Choir, which was not always a cappella. We sang a world premiere of a Vivaldi piece that the director, Dr. Louis Pichierri, had unearthed while studying in Italy. Another piece that I remember we sang was Orazio Vecchi's madrigal Fa una canzona in Italian. (I still remember the words!) Since he claimed it was a bit ribald, Dr. Pichierri would give only a hint of a translation, but, of course it is available now on the net. (http://j.mp/9PAqTi) I can remember traveling by bus to a music educator's convention in Buffalo with the choir, and making a recording, which was pressed as a LP, and which I still have, somewhere.

Providence College Glee Club: The Amazing Tom Sullivan

At Providence College I sang in the Glee Club—yes it was called a glee club—my freshman year. I don't remember much about it except that the blind entertainer Tom Sullivan was a member and he was pretty amazing, both because of his extraordinary voice, and because of the way he navigated the campus unassisted, by counting steps and listening for echoes from finger snaps. He transferred to Harvard after that year, and later appeared on The Tonight Show and more recently on ABC's Good Morning America. He has starred in several movies and TV episodes, and was a consultant for the Ben Affleck film Daredevil.

http://www.sullivanspeaks.com/default.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sullivan_(singer)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0837945/

Tom also recently wrote a novel called Together with actress Betty White about a boy who loses his sight and thinks his life is over. Yes, THE Betty White, who "discovered" Tom playing in a bar, and even introduced him to his wife, 40 years ago. (Tom now uses guide dogs, and Betty is a big animal lover.) Tom was a bit of a pain in the glee club, however, because he could not see the director's signals, so every once in a while, when Tom got carried away, he would sail on past the rest of us in an impromptu solo. He was so likable it was hard to get angry at him.

So Glee really does bring back old memories, and I just shared a few of them with you.

The Tempermentals

Good Stuff West of Broadway

Tonight I trekked west of Broadway to the New World Stages at 340 West 50th, also home of Avenue Q and Naked Boys Singing to see the play The Tempermentals which had been recommended by the New York Times. If I had read what it was about it was long ago and I had forgotten, but the number of older, male couples gave me a hint.

The play encompasses the earliest part of the gay movement prior to Stonewall, with the founding of the Mattachine Society in 1950 in L.A. by Harry Hay, who had come out as a "tempermental" (code for homosexual) at Stamford in 1931, along with his lover, fashion designer Rudi Gernreich (identified at the time only as "R"), Dale Jennings, Bob Hull and Chuck Rowland, the five characters on stage in the play. The Tempermentals follows Mr. Hay and friends from 1950 through his being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 because of his earlier membership in the Communist Party.

Rudi Gernreich, who was Austrian, and whose topless swimsuit rocked the fashion world (and is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art), and who appeared as himself in an episode of the TV series Batman, was played by out actor Michael Urie, known for his role on the recently ended ABC series Ugly Betty in which he played a gay character Marc St. James. After the performance there was a discussion on stage with Michael Urie and another 30-ish actor, Cheyenne Jackson, both gay, and moderated by Frank DeCaro of Sirius/XM radio (also gay).

I am unfamiliar with Cheyenne Jackson's work on 30 Rock and other TV shows and the film United 93 in which he played the hero, Mark Bingham, who was also gay, and had never watched Ugly Betty. Cheyenne's partner, Monty, was in the audience. Michael said he was "recently involved." During the discussion, Michael said how much he liked the writing on Ugly Betty. On the show his character mentored a young (originally 11), show-tune loving, is-he-or-isn't-he kid, Justin (Marc Indelicato) on screen over the 4 years. In the next-to-last episode, at a wedding, Justin (now 15) stepped onto the dance floor with his boyfriend, Austin (Ryan McGinnis). Nothing was said. Michael liked the way the series handled Justin's coming out.

They also discussed the recent Newsweek article in which a columnist, Ramin Setoodeh, said that gay guys, like Sean Hayes (Will & Grace, Promises, Promises), and Jonathan Groff (Glee, Spring Awakening) could not convincingly play straight guys on screen or on stage. Kristin Chenoweth, a avowed Christian, who has costarred with both Mr. Hayes and Mr. Groff, had written a scathing rebuttal in which she outed Mr. Setoodeh and called his column "homophobic." Those on stage also expressed their outrage and agreed it was an exercise in self-loathing. A New York Times entry sums up the Setoodeh situation: http://j.mp/amQnai.

[May 11, 2010: Comments made by Michael and Cheyenne during this interview can be found here: http://j.mp/bkfIsN]

Most of the audience stayed for the discussion. It certainly added to the evening.

Happy Mother's Day

Tehilla, Glad to See Yah!

Got to spend some time today catching up with my former Bronx Science colleague Tehilla Rieser. After retiring from Bronx Science she has continued teaching at the SAR High School in Riverdale. In February I had the honor of teaching her classes for a week after her father died when she was sitting shiva. It was a wonderful experience for me not only because I got back into the classroom and because she has such wonderful kids, but also because she works with some wonderful colleagues in a great facility. It was bliss for a week, and which such cooperation I had great success teaching gram-mole-liter conversion problems. When I gave the college-level quiz on Friday (five problems to set up and solve), 14% of her Regents classes got 100, 51% got 95 or above, and 65% got 90 or above. The performances pleased us both, and her supervisor who wrote me a very nice letter of reference.

We ate lunch at a Kosher Mexican restaurant near SAR as we compared the conditions of some used, rare books on the history of Riverdale, Kingsbridge and Sputen Duyvil by the Rev. William A. Tieck that we both had bought, discussed the movie Avatar, which she has not seen, and then discussed the Baba Brinkman rap performance of Darwin's theory of evolution that I described yesterday, and of which I had bought a CD. Then we went back to SAR so she could show me the masterful, fun PowerPoint presentations she has prepared on acid-base chemistry, both theory and titrations, which any book publisher should love to get their hands on. The humor and craft are both Tehilla hallmarks. Her motion illustrations of blue litmus paper turning pink when dipped in base, and pink in acid are terrific. I have no idea how he does some of her transition effects.

Tehilla also told me about the website Dirpy.com which aids in the conversion of the soundtracks of YouTube.com videos into MP3 files. I have always downloaded the QuickTime versions of the YouTube files, exported them as MP3 files using QuickTime Pro, then edited the resulting files in Fission. Dirby.com allows all this pretty much in one step.

Talking with Sis on Mother's Day

I got home from my SAR jaunt to find a phone message from my sister saying she really wanted to chat as we both remembered our mother today. (Mom would have been 96 this year on March 22nd.) We both caught up on current events, then she told me about an interesting film she had seen on the Sundance Channel called Hotel Gramercy Park, which sounds interesting. I am familiar with a bit of the history of Gramercy Park, but not about the intrigue in the movie. Like the Chelsea Hotel, it has had its cast of characters over the years.

David Pakter vs. Godzilla (The DOE version)

Tomorrow there is a hearing at Tweed Courthouse on the matter of DOE vs. David Pakter in which an impartial hearing officer will listen to tapes secretly made by Mr. Pakter in dealings with the DOE. From my own experience I learned that the DOE claims that only they can make recordings of DOE events, and then they charge you for copies of the old-fashioned audiotapes. David made his own. David was lauded by Mayor Giuliani as Teacher of the Year in the past, only to be banished to one of the infamous Rubber Rooms, not for something he did (the first time) but for seeing something he wasn't supposed to see. The second time it was because he committed the DOE "crime" of generosity, both to his students and to his school. Luckily David has the resources to make the DOE sit up and take notice, which, of course, only pisses them off even more. Teachers are expected to roll over and play dead while their careers are sabotaged. Good luck David!

The Tempermentals

Tomorrow night I head down to (off) Broadway to see The Tempermentals, which the New York Times recommended.

I hope y'all had a pleasant Mother's Day!

Performance, Feedback, Revision

White Rapper from Vancouver, BC, Brings Darwin to NoHo

I read Olivia Judson's Opinionator column (...on the influence of science and biology on modern life) "Darwin Got It Going On" in the New York Times on May 4th and was immediately intrigued:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/darwin-got-it-going-on/

"The lights go down. The room fills with music — a pulsating hip-hop rhythm. And then, over the music, you hear the voice of Richard Dawkins reading a passage from 'On the Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin: 'Whoever is led to believe that species are mutable will do good service by conscientiously expressing his conviction. For only thus can the load of prejudice by which this subject is overwhelmed be removed.'

"So begins one of the most astonishing, and brilliant, lectures on evolution I’ve ever seen: 'The Rap Guide to Evolution,'by Baba Brinkman."

Within minutes I had a front row center seat reserved at the 45 Beekman Theater in Noho for $22.50 with fees. Cheap.

I just returned from the performance and was as entranced as Ms. Judson. And bought Mr. Brinkman's CD The Rap Guide to Evolution (which bears the notation "For Education Use Only") for $10.

Mr. Brinkman introduced himself by explaining that he had gotten a bit of a reputation in the rap community by rapping the works of Geoffrey Chaucer (available from iTunes!) and was contacted by a gent in the UK in 2008, who was also a rap fan, asking Baba if he could construct a rap performance of Darwin's work for a Centenary Celebration in February, 2009. There was a catch. Since the professor was putting his own reputation on the line by presenting a Canadian rapper, Baba would have to submit his notes ahead of time for critique. In other words, as Baba proudly proclaimed, his Darwin rap is the first to be successfully peer reviewed, like a scientific paper. (And at the end, as with any good paper, he projected the references from which he constructed his performance!)

This being New York, and with a capacity audience due, no doubt, to Ms. Judson, Baba's internal rap references were not as obscure as he claimed they were in more rap-deprived venues, so his introduction of a vintage rap called "Survival of the Fittest" was immediately attributed by an audience member to Mobb Deep (1995). During another, "I'm A African," by Dead Prez (2000), the audience repeated the chorus, since, as Baba pointed out, the ancestry of all people can be traced to Africa.

Since Ms. Judson has already "been there, done that," while taking notes, I will repeat her description of the goings on:

"It is also, I suspect, the only hip-hop show to talk of mitochondria, genetic drift, sexual selection or memes. For Brinkman has taken Darwin’s exhortation seriously. He is a man on a mission to spread the word about evolution — how it works, what it means for our view of the world, and why it is something to be celebrated rather than feared.

"To this end, he has concocted a set of mini-lectures [10 on stage, 16 on the CD] disguised as rap songs. When he comes to human evolution, for example, he has the audience sing along in call-response fashion to 'I’m a African' — a riff on an earlier song of that name by the radical, pan-Africanist hip-hop duo Dead Prez. The point of Brinkman’s version is that because humans evolved in Africa, we are all Africans: pan-Africanism meets population genetics. A few moments later, he’s showing a video of individuals [cells] of the social slime mold Dictyostelium discoidium streaming together while rapping about how cooperation evolves.

"(Dictyostelium is notorious, in some circles, for its strange life-style. Usually, an individual Dictyostelium lives alone as a single cell. But when food is scarce, the single cells come together and form a being known as 'the slug;' this crawls off in search of better conditions. When it finds them, the slug develops into a stalked fruiting body, and releases spores. But here’s the mystery: not all members of the slug get to make spores [only the ones at the top] — and thereby contribute to the next generation — so why do they cooperate?) ...

"The lyrics are, for the most part, witty, sophisticated and scientifically accurate; and they lack the earnest defensiveness that sometimes haunts lectures on evolution. I spotted one or two small slips — a confusion of the praying mantis with the Australian redback spider (oh no!) — and there are a few moments of poetic license that a po-faced pedant might object to. Otherwise, it’s pretty rigorous. [Tonight Baba discussed BOTH the praying mantis and the Australian redback spider.]

"Brinkman can’t resist taking a few pot-shots at creationists ('Darwin got it going on / Creationism is … dead wrong …'), and he devotes one rap to refutations of creationist arguments. But by and large, he proselytizes about evolution not by attacking its deniers, but by revealing the subject’s scope, from natural selection to the evolution of human culture and language. At the same time, he teases the audience, sends up post-modernism, mocks himself and satirizes the genre of hip-hop, all with fizzing energy and spell-binding charisma. Like I said, astonishing."

Baba explained that he is of Dutch Calvinist ancestry, some of which are still in Holland, and about 20% of which—including his sister—don't really believe in Darwin's point of view. But it is certainly not from Baba's lack of effort!

He announced that he would invite people back, but his final performance at 45 Bleeker is sold out, due to Ms. Judson, no doubt. Videos of some 2009 segments of his Darwin presentation are available on YouTube, and downloads of his CDs are available from his website, www.Babasword.com (note, NOT Babasworld.com) and from iTunes.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

More Trouble In Mudville

A new post on the NY Times Bronx Science blog indicates that both Rosemarie Jahoda (AP) and Valerie Reidy (principal) are far from contrite regarding the fact-finder's findings:

60. May 7, 2010 6:24 am Link

I posted early on and now want to add three things.

1. Although there has been some backbiting that’s inappropriate, most of the commentary by the students has been thoughtful and is clearly deeply felt. This is what makes me reluctant to leave the school even as the hostile work environment makes me want to leave.

2. And now another outrage: we have just heard that on Monday, our chapter leader, Peter Lamphere, is being brought up on disciplinary charges by AP Jahoda (and, of course, implicitly by Reidy).

I would assume that, ultimately, down the road, any impartial arbitrator, would see that charges against this fine teacher are driven solely by personal hatred and anti-union animus. But this is Reidy’s supervisory method.

An intelligent supervisor would have made this problem go away a year ago. At virtually any point in this process, Reidy could have sat and broken bread with the, frankly, very reasonable staff of the Math Department, and said, “however we got here, let’s go forward together, collaboratively.” But that’s just not in her psychological make-up at all. And it’s killing us as a school.

3. Finally, it amazes me that the DOE doesn’t see that they are destroying one of the supposed “crown jewels” of their system through their support for this woman. Give us a real educator, Mr. Klein, find us a manager who knows how to manage, not rule. Right now, this ship can still be righted. But not for much longer. Teachers and students both (and call us “rats” if you must) won’t stay on this floundering ship much longer.

— just another bxsci teacher

Mr. Lamphere, the UFT Chapter Leader, has the additional unfortunate assignment of being a math teacher the very department ruled by Ms. Jahoda. "Give us a real educator, Mr. Klein, find us a manager who knows how to manage, not rule." How sad. But how true.

Foyle's War, Season Six

Just received Season Six of the BBC series Foyle's War. There are only three episodes in this series, but it was supposed to end at Season Five so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. Only the first episode, The Russian House, appears to have been written by Anthony Horowitz, author of the Alex Rider (Stormbreaker) and Power of Five series of books. The description of Season Six states, "The war is over in Britain and Foyle, among many others, must find his way in this new world. His hopes of retirement are dashed due to a shortage of senior men and he finds himself investigating international conspiracy, betrayal and military racism." I can hardly wait!