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Alexander
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Posts posted by Alexander
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My article on jazz in the Capital District ran in the Albany Times Union today. It's the cover story in the Preview section!
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So, as I think I've mentioned before, I've been doing some freelance writing lately. Last week, the Albany, NY "Times Union", for whom I've written many feature articles in the last seven months or so, asked me to write a cover story on the current "state of the local jazz scene". They ALSO asked me to arrange a photoshoot. My suggestion was to recreate the "Great Day in Harlem" photo using local musicians (and, perhaps, others involved in the scene: DJs, club owners, journalists, fans, etc). My editor thought that it seemed ambitious, but encouraged me to go for it. We put out a call (via Faceboook and albanyjazz.com) late last week and currently have at least 50 people interested in attending (the Art Kane photo featured some 57 musicians), so I think that we're well on our way!
Just wanted to put this out there. This is going to be a blast!
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Finally, Sammie has very cool friends who share her interests and personality. She's got a tight circle of female friends (when she had them over for her birthday, they got out her instruments and jammed together), but she also "speaks boy". She was telling us the other day about how she can knowledgeably discuss the finer points of Marvel vs DC comics with her male friends...
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My daughter is a dream come true, btw. Smart, independent, witty, driven (we've NEVER had to tell her to study or do her homework. If anything, we have make her take a break or go to bed), well-read (loves Tolkien; just finished "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and is now reading "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"), has tons of interests (Star Trek, Firefly, Buffy, Arrested Development, Sherlock, The Office (both versions), The IT Crowd, Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh, Being Human (British), Doctor Who, and Supernatural are among her favorite shows) and has a diverse taste in music (she listens to Elvis or Billy Joel when she does math. She also loves musical theater, especially "Les Mis" and "Phantom". Not my thing, but that's okay). She plays violin, guitar, ukulele, mandolin, and piano (self-taught on everything but violin). She acts and sings (her vocal coach says she could major in voice. She's developed an amazing operatic mezzo-soprano range). Can you tell that I'm proud?!
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Still looking for a teaching job and working as a TA in Special Ed. Still acting and improvising. Reconciled with my wife. Daughter just turned 14 and is starting high school in the Fall. In addition to writing about music for Metroland, I'm going to be reviewing theater (I'm doing my first review this weekend) and books. I'm VERY excited to be finally getting paid to write!
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Hey all! I've been away awhile. Some of you might remember me. Anyway, I've just landed a gig writing about music for "Metroland", my local alt paper, and I need something to write about. If you've got an album coming up or will be performing in Upstate NY/Western MA, let me know! Send me a PM here or email me at alexander1228@gmail.com. I look forward to reconnecting with the folks around here.
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I always thought that "Bernadette" really echoed Dylan's cadence:
"They preTEND to be my FRIEND but all the TIME
(Sweet Bernadette!)
They long TO persuade YOU from my SIDE."
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No question...the monitor dropped the ball. She didn't do her job, and no amount of sympathy for the verbal abuse she suffered justifies a half million dollars. Sorry. If she can't handle 12-year-olds, she shouldn't have this job.
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I hate her, because she doesn't link to my blog (Where Dead Voices Gather!) on her homepage. I don't care if she's never read it.
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Hands are the Devil's tools. Do you not remember the Biblical admonition not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing? How can children hold hands without using the left? Answer me that!
Also, gay sex in a bathroom stall doesn't count if you are a Republican member of Congress....
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I've been working with Middle School kids for the last several years and I have to say that I prefer kids at that age. They're still kids and you (the teacher) are still noticeably bigger and more mature than they are. I've always had more trouble dealing with High Schoolers, especially the upperclassmen. I'm only 5'7" (the same as Tom Cruise, btw, who is often ridiculed for his height), so a lot of High School boys are taller than me. It kind of makes discipline a challenge...
Of course, this is a disturbing story. I've been in this position on a few occasions myself, facing down a group of kids who refuse to show the slightest respect. Generally speaking, it's harder to establish credibility once the kids have seen you with your guard down, so I've learned not to show anxiety or distress in the face of such resistence. The best thing to do is be firm and consistent and FOLLOW THROUGH. If you make a threat, you'd better make good on it. You might not regain control in the moment, but if you make the kids face the consequences of their actions, you'll be less likely to lose control again in the future.
As to what this case demonstrates most clearly, to me, is the need for parents to really step up to the plate. These kids didn't get this way by accident. Some of them are sociopaths, I'm sure, but most of them are just kids who were swept along once things got rolling. And they allowed themselves to be swept up because their parents haven't made it clear to them that THEY (the kids) become of the public face of their family once they get on the bus and go to school. If they want their family to look like human beings, they need to act accordingly.
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On the topic of Kurtzman creations, I picked up five issues of "Help", a mid-60s humor mag that Kurtzman did, at a recent comic book convention. Some pretty funny stuff, even though most of it was topical humor. One issue has some early Robert Crumb work and Woody Allen shows up in one of the fumettis.
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Amazing voice...never a favorite, but always respect for her talent. RIP.
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The "Cellar Door" set is the "Cellar Door" set. And "Live Evil" is "Live Evil." One is an historical reissue, the other is an album. Two different animals, two different listening experiences, that use (some of) the same source material...
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Will spin some of his BN output (courtesy of the Mosaic set) later tonight. One of the greats and a true original. Never see his like again. RIP.
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I have a Man Cave in the finished basement. I'm sitting in it right now enjoying Mozart's "The Magic Flute" with Te Kanawa and Eva Lind. Wonderful!
My wife and daughter have come to love this room too, btw. Yesterday morning, I found my wife down here watching "Mad Men" on Netflix, despite the fact that the Big TV is upstairs!
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Awwwww....shucks. You guys remembered! I know I haven't been around much lately. A lot has happened. My wife and I began the process of reconciliation over the summer, and by late fall had decided to stay together! I moved back in at the end of November. We are all very happy about this development. Honestly, being back in the bosom of my family for the holidays is the best birthday present I could have hoped for!
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Right on God, wrong on Iraq.
Hitch...one of the great minds of our times. RIP.
He drank/smoked himself to death.
IMHO, a wasted intellect is more of a tragedy.....I didn't agree with him, but a waste nonetheless.
I'll be joining him, re: drinking and smoking (I'm a whiskey man who smokes a pipe and an occasional cigar). Honestly, if you don't enjoy yourself, what's the point? I'd rather be dead at 65 having had a good time than alive at 90 regretting what I didn't do...
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You know what? The more I think about it, fuck Steve Jobs. What did he do? Made more expensive crap that people can want but don't really need. More things to make white people jizz their pants and show the other white people how superior they are. "I've got the new iTem! It's sleek and shiney! For the next six months (until the new model comes out), I'm better than you! Gaze upon my ability to afford stuff! Better stuff than you!"
What else can we thank ol' Steve-o for? How about the fact that we're all at the office 24/7? Yes, thanks to the iPhone and the iPad, you can be connected and productive, even at home! So get back to work! I want everything now! My expectations are now increased a hundredfold! No, a THOUSANDFOLD! I want your report on my desktop yesterday! Why can't I have everything yesterday? Hasn't Apple put out an iTimemachine yet?
But who cares if we work more hours for less pay, benefits, and vacation time than every other industrialized nation? We have a sleek, shiney gadget, courtesy of Steve Jobs.
Speaking of Jobs, have you noticed that this is the most the word "Jobs" has been used by the media in over three years? Funny...I thought that it was a different kind of "Jobs" that Americans needed. Maybe if all those long-term unemployed put on black turtlenecks and started standing in front of PowerPoint presentations, we'd have paid them more attenton...
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I'm not unemployed. Haven't been in over a year. I've been working with Autistic kids for over a year.
I was going to say that Chris was right; that my assessment of Jobs' life and career was overly simplistic and largely informed by the fact that I'm a contrary bastard.
But you know what? This is just another rich fuck who died. And America loves rich fucks like Steve Jobs. They love him because it confirms their belief in the Horatio Alger myth. That any kid with gumption, moxie and a good idea can strike it rich. Well, they can't. And they won't. You'll never be rich or famous. Steve Jobs didn't get where he was because he was smart or talented. He was lucky. He was in the right place at the right time and got noticed by the right people. He made some good desicions once he was already well in the game, but it's not too hard to take a risk when you've got plenty of capital to fall back on in case you're wrong. Like almost everyone who changed the world, Steve Jobs was a lucky bastard. A one in ten million shot. And I'd personally really appreciate it if people stopped admiring and emulating these lucky bastards. Look to the real heroes; the single mother who works two jobs to feed her kids; the public servant who endures miles of red tape and a hostile public, but still does his best to serve those less fortunate; and, yes, the underpaid teacher who struggles to educate your childen, while meeting resistance from all sides. There's more nobility in the work of a waitress than in a hundred Steve Jobs'.
Written, incidentally, on my Android. Never had any use for any Apple product or their smug users...
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Yeah, I feel like a wet blanket. I mean, I'm sorry that a man died. Especially of pancreatic cancer. That sucks. It sucks for his friends and family. And I certainly acknowledge that by founding Apple he has had a massive impact.
But let's be serious for a second.
Did he invent the Apple Computer? No. That was Steve Wozniak. He designed and built the circuit boards that made the Apple possible.
Did he invent the Mac and its OS? No. Like Bill Gates, he swiped most of the game changing innovations of the Mac (the GUI, the mouse) from the engineers at Xerox PARC.
Jobs actually did such a poor job steering Apple through the initial PC revolution that Apple FIRED HIM.
What Jobs did, brilliantly, was invest in people with good ideas. He invested in Pixar. And once Apple reinstated him, he had the good sense to hire and promote the people who actually designed the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad.
This doesn't mean he didn't make an impact. But he didn't invent anything. So, up there with Edison? Um...no. Not really.
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Don't you hate when Andy Rooney retires? I know I do. You know what else I hate? Record unemployment. That just ruins my day. Doesn't anybody remember World War II? Everybody pulled together then. They should do that now.
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Just to be clear: I think streaming is going to replace DVD rentals, but that DVDs for sale (or BluRay, or whatever format comes next) will undoubtedly continue, precisely because the people who want to own movies want to see the extras. What I think streaming is going to do away with is broadcast television (including cable).
A Great Day in Albany
in Jazz In Print - Periodicals, Books, Newspapers, etc...
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As much as I would have loved to write more, I had a word limit and really had to confine myself to what's happening in the area today. I included the Nick B. stuff because I was able to integrate it into the story without too much digression. This really has been I highlight of my (still burgeoning) career as a writer!