The Mule

John Cassavetes single-handedly gave birth to the modern "independent film" with SHADOWS. Tired of the crappy roles he was getting as an actor and eager to make his mark as a director, Cassavetes raised some money (with the help of legendary radio host Jean Shepherd) and made his own film totally independent of any studio or distributor. It was a pattern he would follow for the rest of his career, using the money he made from acting to finance his films. While the films vary in budget and look, they all have an improvisational feel and are very, very indulgent of the actors. I guess the word that might best describe Cassavetes' work is "raw." Raw in their look and raw in the emotions portrayed on screen. If you've never seen any of his work, you may find them a challenge. They're not very conventional in terms of story-telling and some find their pace slow. As I said, the films feel improvisational, but they're not. Cassavetes always had a script, but it was more of a guidline than text the actors were expected to stick to. The main theme in nearly all his work is love---the need for love, the longing for love, the search for love, the impossibility of love. There is some AMAZING acting in Cassavetes' work, especially from his wife, Gena Rowlands. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE may be the place to start if you're curious. His films aren't for everybody, but if you love actors and acting you may want to take a look.

I'm with Dan on this one! Nobody on my street owns one yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of those obnoxious beasts shows up. Those damn things are everywhere in LA and, yes, mostly piloted by women who can barely see over the steering wheel. Speaking of our esteemed governor, I've seen HIS parked all over town. You know it's Arnold's because it says "The Terminator" on the side. I'm not kidding...

I've had the Inner City lp for years, but I've never seen it on cd myself. Great record! A must for Tristano fans.

One misplaced "i" did it. Guess the "i" didn't have it. Yeah, I guess that's what started it, didn't it?

How'd my thread about meeting Frances Davis get turned into an argument over whether or not Miles was bi-sexual?! Sheesh!

Unfortunately, I am unable to drink a giant schooner of beer at lunch. My lunchtime drinking ended when I moved from Chicago to oh-so-health-conscious Los Angeles. However, the Hamlet serves their soft drinks in HUGE glasses, so I suspect they probably do the same with the beer.

Someone told me she worked there so I went to check it out. As soon as I saw her I knew it was true. She's a striking older woman who still has that dancer's body. She even walks toes-out. I was with a friend and he asked her if she was Frances Davis, wife of Miles Davis, and she smiled and said she certainly was. The conversation went from there.

Oops! It's been fixed. Thanks.

Miles Davis' ex-wife, Frances Davis, works as the hostess at the Hamburger Hamlet on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. She's still beautiful and has the body of a dancer. Totally charming woman. She told me that a guy from Tower records on Sunset just gave her a huge poster of FRIDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BLACKHAWK... ...and they're going to hang it in the restaurant. As she described the cover to me (as if I didn't know what it looked like!) she said, "There's Miles and then there's my head giving him this look like, 'Wonder who he's foolin' around with now...'" We both shared a big laugh at that. She told me she's working on her memoirs and that Columbia Pictures hired her as a consultant on a possible Mile Davis movie, "but that was five years ago" and it didn't seem like that movie was going to happen. She also said that she was considering other opportunities for a movie of her life story. She seemed totally open about who she is and her past with Miles and would probably be happy to chat with anyone about it should they stop by the restaurant. Lovely, lovely woman...

Ouch..... For someone in audio preservation, that's like fingernails on a chalkboard, man. Well, the "garage" is more like a guest house. My house isn't air-conditioned so it's a bit of a wash between the two when it comes to controlling the temperature...

I'd say about 65% is. The first picture is all jazz. In the second picture the shelf all the way to the right is jazz and a lot of the cds on the plank are jazz. Otherwise it's rock, blues, a little country, world music, classical, and movie soundtracks. About a third of the lps are jazz...

The plank across the two shelves was added last year. This isn't everything. I've got a couple hundred more cds in various places and about 500 lps in the garage. There's also an entire shelf of Mosaic boxes not pictured. I'm hoping to build some custom cd shelves for this room that will go from floor to ceiling and cover two walls of the room...

I need more shelves!!!!

The damn thing was on the charts for weeks and weeks and weeks in the 70s and it's been burned into my brain!!!! Remember the gawdawful electronic "muskrat noises" the friggin' "Captain" created on his synth????

What the hell is muskrat love anyway? Yuck! Ya, just HAD to ask, didn't you? Muskrat, muskrat candlelight Doin’ the town and doin’ it right In the evenin’ It’s pretty pleasin’ Muskrat susie, muskrat sam Do the jitterbug out in muskrat land And they shimmy And sammy’s so skinny And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed Singin’ and jingin’ the jango Floatin’ like the heavens above It looks like muskrat love Nibbling on bacon, chewin’ on cheese Sammy says to susie honey, would you please be my missus? And she say yes With her kisses And now he’s ticklin’ her fancy Rubbin’ her toes Muzzle to muzzle, now anything goes As they wriggle, and sue starts to giggle And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed Singin’ and jingin’ the jango Floatin’ like the heavens above It looks like muskrat love La da da da da ...

"Muskrat Love" - Captain & Tennille Hands down. No debate. Worst. Ever.

"Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett ...hey, I was just a kid!

My local Best Buy has it for $59 and that's where I'm getting it. I figure if I ordered on-line the postage would make it $59 or more anyhow. This is really a great price considering how many films are on the discs and all the extras.

It is Lon Chaney, Sr. as the "vampire" from a silent film called LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. The film, alas, is "lost" and the last known print was destroyed in the 1960s. There is a dvd boxed set of Chaney silent films which has a "reconstruction" of the movie using 200 stills and the original script. The screenplay was available in book form about 10 years ago. LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT was remade in the talkie era as MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (aka: VAMPIRE OVER LONDON; aka: MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE) and starred Bela Lugosi. Here's the link. Dave James wrote: That's so funny! I thought I was the only kid in the world whose parents let him do that... There was something even scarier about watching those old movies half-asleep, almost like they were a dream (or nightmare). I was obsessed with those old Universal horror movies. I had a lot of those Aurora "monster models" from that era and they were all over my bedroom.

I'll be there as well. Grew up watching all of these in Chicago on WGN during "Creature Features" which aired on Saturday nights at 10:30pm. When I was a kid my parents would make me go to bed at my usual time and then wake me up so I could watch them. The opening to "Creature Features" was a really great montage of Universal horror movie moments cut to Henry Mancini's creepy theme from "Experiment in Terror." If you want to read a great book about the Universal Frankenstein series, you should seek out IT'S ALIVE! by Gregory Mank (who I believe does some of the commentaries on the dvds). The book is out-of-print, but you may be able to find it in a used book store or on E-bay. Think I'll also pick up the new dvd of Hammer's FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED which also comes out tomorrow...

Congrats! Wow, your wife's labor sounds a lot like my wife's--although we didn't wind up having to do the c-section. That was almost eleven years ago and my son is going to start *gulp* 6th grade next year! I know it's a cliche, but they really, really, really grow up fast. Cherish this time!!!

I suspect we may be the same age, Maren....

Atomic Dog - George Clinton Should I Stay or Should I Go? - The Clash 1999 - Prince