Chrome

From E! online: The Passion of Andy Kaufman by Jennifer Godwin May 14, 2004, 5:50 PM PT It's only May, and it's already been a big year for resurrection in American pop culture: First Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, and now Andy Kaufman…as himself? Having promised to return from the grave on the 20th anniversary of his death, Kaufman is due back on the mortal coil on Sunday--and at 7:30 that evening his friends are throwing him a welcome-back party in Hollywood. Bob Zmuda, screenwriter, comedian and Friend of Andy tells the LA Weekly that Kaufman first broached the idea of faking his own death back in 1980. "Andy said, 'You know if some celebrity really did this, do you know big it would be? How legendary it would be?' " Zmuda's charity organization Comic Relief rolls out the red carpet at the House of Blues for Andy Kaufman: Dead or Alive?, which can only be described as a happening--sort of an event, sort of an performance and almost certainly a conga-thumping hootenanny. But there's no help-the-homeless angle here--the $250 VIP tickets are strictly for those who simply must be there when Kaufman rolls back into town. Best known as Latka Gravas, the foreign man from no place in particular on TV's Taxi, Kaufman was one of the most eccentric comedic performance artists of the '70s and '80s. He impersonated Elvis and Mighty Mouse, created the character of venomous lounge singer Tony Clifton, wrestled women and took Carnegie Hall out for milk and cookies. Toward the end, while appearing to die from lung cancer at age 35, he mused aloud about the best gag of all--staging his own death and reappearing 20 years after the fact. Zmuda, Lynne Marguiles (Andy's girlfriend) and George Shapiro (Andy's manager) are taking Kaufman at his word and throwing him a homecoming party. Should Kaufman choose to once again grace the Sunset Strip with his presence he'll be greeted by his friends and compatriots, his old band--Tony Clifton and the Cliftones and His Steamy Cliftonettes--and famous funny people galore, including Rodney Dangerfield, Caroline Rhea, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, Paul Rudd and wrestling mogul Jerry Lawler. "We're taking out hundreds of personal ads in newspapers across the country and abroad, reminding Andy of the date, and what he said," Zmuda tells the LA Weekly. "So, hopefully he'll see one of them." Plans for the shindig include roasting Kaufman until he emerges from seclusion to defend his comedic honor (or not), a performance by the Cliftones and the world premiere of a never-before-seen Kaufman film, which is presumably not 1999's Milos Forman-directed Man on the Moon, which starred Jim Carrey as Kaufman, Paul Giamatti as Zmuda, Courtney Love as Marguiles and Danny DeVito as Shapiro. There was no word as of press time about what miracles Kaufman might perform upon his return, or if he would be joined by post-life pals Elvis Presley and John Belushi A limited number of tickets are available through the House of Blues Website (www.hob.com) and Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com); general seating is available for $99.95, standing room can be had for $50 a pop. And, as R.E.M. once sang about a certain man on the moon, "See you in heaven if you make the list."

Officials issue appeal to ID abandoned girl 'I want my mommy' Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Posted: 11:17 AM EDT (1517 GMT) Editor's Note: Officials asked anyone with information about Courtney or her family to call the Department of Social Services at (410) 361-2235. The child, pictured here on Monday, told authorities that her name is Courtney and she is from Brooklyn. [see photo below] BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Authorities appealed to the public to identify an abandoned 3-year-old girl who says her name is Courtney, she's from Brooklyn and she wants her mommy. The little girl was found May 5 when the father dropped her off with a stranger at an unknown location in Baltimore, Sue Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Social Services, said Monday. He said he was leaving to cash a money order, but he never returned and the stranger called police. The child told authorities she is from Brooklyn, New York. She said she and her father had been living in a Baltimore warehouse. The girl has been in foster care since she was found. Fitzsimmons said Monday that if Courtney's relatives do not come forward to claim her, she will be permanently placed with a family in Baltimore. "We want to do everything we can to find out who she is," Fitzsimmons said. "We hope someone is looking for her." In New York, police Sgt. Kevin Hays said Wednesday that the NYPD had no leads at this time on the girl's identity. He said Baltimore authorities continued to investigate. At Monday's news conference, Courtney played with toys and posed for pictures wearing a black-and-white summer outfit, her hair in neat cornrows. When a reporter asked her a question, she wept and said: "I want my mommy." With that, Fitzsimmons picked her up, and the news conference ended. The girl was also featured Wednesday on NBC's "Today."

Another great pianist is the Japanese Junko Onishi. The late Joe Henderson helped her to promote her career. At the early 90's she began recording for Blue Note and she recorded 5 CDs for the label. To the best of my knowledge she is back in Japan and she's recording for a local label.

Thanks, guys ...

That album kicks some serious ass ... I'll often pick one CD to listen to for the entire day at work ... with the phone calls/interruptions, I don't get bored with it, and I find that I can get a deeper appreciation of some of the music than I would with just a single listen.

I can remember when this was in the news ... changed my whole opinion of Tony.

Anyone familiar with the organist Ronnie Foster or know what he's up to? I'm spinning my disc of "Two-headed Freep" and was curious...

I never heard of this either ... I appreciate the tip!

From Slate: This is worth reading just for Kerry Wood's last quote ... Why Do Athletes Pee on Their Hands? Does urine really toughen the skin? By Dan Kois Posted Monday, May 17, 2004, at 2:03 PM PT In a recent interview with ESPN's Gary Miller, Chicago Cubs outfielder Moises Alou revealed that during baseball season he urinates on his hands to toughen them up. Alou, one of the few major leaguers who doesn't wear gloves while batting, is backed up by Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who says, "You don't want to shake my hand during spring training." Even Cubs hurler Kerry Wood mentioned on a local radio show that he's tried the technique to remedy blisters on his pitching hand (though he wryly added that there's also a well-known clubhouse cure for headaches: "crapping in your hat"). Does urine really toughen the skin? Quite the opposite. Proponents of urine therapy—and there are enough of these to have populated three World Conferences on the subject—believe consuming one's own urine boosts the immune system, and they also recommend using it as a skin treatment. But most say urine softens the skin, rather than hardening it. Plenty of traditional doctors and professional skeptics will tell you that urine therapy is a crock, but when it comes to skin care, urine-therapy devotees may be correct. Urea, a major component of urine, is a compound also used in many commercial moisturizing creams as a skin softener. It's an active ingredient, for example, in Carmol 10 and 20 and in Dermal Therapy Lotion. (The makers of these lotions are not distilling urine, by the way; their urea is manufactured in a lab.) But that doesn't necessarily mean you can save money on moisturizer by drinking a ton of water. As a delivery device for urea, lotion is much more effective than pee; in order for the urea in urine to have an effect, you'd need to soak your hands long enough for the urea to be absorbed by your skin, at least five minutes. While there's no hygiene-related reason not to do so—"Urine is sterile, if a bit gross," writes Stanford dermatology professor Dr. Alexa Boer Kimball in an e-mail—those with eczema or dermatitis may see their conditions exacerbated by contact with urine. So, why do baseball players do it? Athletes, especially baseball players, are superstitious creatures. If Moises Alou thinks peeing on his hands has helped him hit .301 in his 14-year major league career, who are we to tell him otherwise? Wood noted in his ESPN radio interview that he experimented with urine only when he had blisters that wouldn't go away, and he was desperate enough to try anything. "Someone tells you something works," Wood said, and you give it a try, because saving your career is worth any sacrifice—even peeing on your own hands."

I finished "The Element of Crime" last night and WOW ... not only is the look of the movie fantastic, but the plot was great, too. I don't want to be a spoiler, so I'll just say I love that kind of added twist in the story line. Re "The Kingdom": I've been waiting for that to pop up on Netflix ever since the Stephen King version came out, and so far no luck. Has that been released in the states yet? As far as "rough stuff": my wife and I also saw "Bowling for Columbine" this weekend and she literally could not sit through that. I barely could. The video from inside the high school was unbelievably horrible ... my heart was in my throat during the whole scene. And Heston at the Denver NRA rally was just disgusting. This should be "must" viewing for everyone in this country.

I saw that when it was on CNN, too ... there's got to be other forms of life out there, and just in case there are, you might want to check this out:Don't get probed!

I don't know, Claypone ... I think you might have an over-inflated opinion of Pam.

That's pretty good, but I thought his novel "Blindness" was even better ... way better, I'd say. The plot of "All the Names" seemed a little too much like he was borrowing from Kafka.

I'm always worried it's going to implant subliminal messages in my brain ... "Buy Kenny G discs ... buy Kenny G discs..."

I can think of at least two reasons why this is "big" news ... Pam Anderson U.S. citizen LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson became a U.S. citizen Wednesday, her lawyer said. Anderson, 36, who was born in British Columbia, underwent an interview and passed a 10-question citizenship test. She was then sworn in at a private ceremony, her attorney Barbara Federman said. "She did fabulous," Federman said. Anderson moved to California in 1989. Federman would not say why she sought U.S. citizenship. Immigration officials said the actress also retained her Canadian citizenship. Anderson is currently a columnist for Canadian Elle magazine. She starred on "Baywatch" and has since worked in various films and TV shows, including the animated television series "Stripperella." She has two sons with her former husband Tommy Lee, a member of the band Motley Crue.

Pete La Roca/Simms is definitely one of those guys I wish recorded more as a leader ... I've got his "Swingtime" and "Turkish Women at the Bath," and they're both excellent. Does any know the story behind him changing his name? I understand it was to capitalize on the Latin jazz thing, but why him? I mean, I don't know of anyone else in jazz who did this ... of course, my not knowing something about jazz is often par for the course.

Last night I started watching Lars von Trier's "The Element of Crime" and I'm about halfway through it ... has anyone else seen this? It's pretty far out stuff.

I plan on taking advantage of the latest BMG "all discs are 70% off" sale ... I'm looking at: Larry Young - Mother Ship Sam Rivers - Fuschia Swing Song Jaki Byard - Last from Lenny's maybe the newest Christian McBride.

I voted for the Basin Street disc ... it seems to have a "sharper" edge to it that I really enjoy. The version of "Love is a many-splendored thing" is fantastic.

And as amazed as I was that they decided to do this in the first place, I'm even more surprised (but glad) they're backing off.

Finally, a reason to like the Yankees ...

I can't believe it's come to this ... 05/05/2004 9:14 PM ET MLB, Spider-Man join forces By Mark Newman / MLB.com The Spider-Man 2 logo will adorn bases during games. They are two longtime entertainment forces that have enjoyed blockbuster box-office success lately, and they both use webbing around the hands to pull off heroic feats that occasionally make you spill the popcorn. Now they will be united when Major League Baseball and Spider-Man 2 take the field together June 11-13 at the 15 different ballparks hosting games during that Interleague Play weekend, it was announced Wednesday. Major League Baseball Properties has teamed with Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios for an unprecedented marketing partnership to support the highly anticipated national release of that motion picture, a sequel to the fifth-highest grossing movie in U.S. history. It will be the latest in a series of events this season that are being jointly coordinated for fans across MLB, including the first Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 and this Sunday's Mother's Day festivities to support the Big Bam! Foundation, a series of activities designed to raise awareness about breast cancer and breast cancer prevention. During Spider-Man 2 Weekend, which has been scheduled during a segment of the 2004 Interleague Play schedule, ballparks will feature in-park and on-field Spider-Man signage and each Club will feature special Spider-Man promotional events, including giveaways with the world-renowned web crawler. A web logo will appear on bases and on-deck circles during the game, highlights from the movie will run on stadium video boards to promote the motion picture's June 30 release, and MLB Properties and the 15 participating Clubs will promote Spider-Man locally in each market and nationally. "This is the perfect alliance between two quintessential national pastimes -- baseball and movie-going," said Geoffrey Ammer, president of worldwide marketing for the Colombia TriStar Motion Picture Group. "This partnership celebrates superheroes, whether they are on the field or on the big screen and we are extremely excited about the opportunity to create this unique promotion with Major League Baseball." Clubs that will be host to Spider-Man 2 Weekend include the Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. Some clubs will participate for the entire weekend, some for a day, and fans at SkyDome will be able to participate in a Spider-Man sleepover as part of the superhero celebration there. "Over the past year and a half, we've been doing substantive research to determine the best ways to market the game into the 21st century, and we have overwhelming evidence that we have a property that's . . . never been stronger," said Jacqueline Parkes, senior vice president of advertising and marketing for MLB. "One thing that came out of the research is that we have a huge opportunity with kids, to bring them into the game. We needed to engage them in relevant and meaningful ways. "(The first Spider-Man) was a phenomenal hit not just to kids but to all generations. . . . The reason we embarked on this relationship with Sony (Columbia's parent company) and Spider-Man 2 is the fact that the brand equity of Spider-Man and Major League Baseball marry up perfectly. They both have huge generational appeal, Americana, so we've got good values." Bob DuPuy, president of Major League Baseball, said the signage placements for the movie will not detract from the integrity of the actual games. In fact, he said there had been discussions during the year-long talks with Sony to place a web in the netting behind home plate, and that it was rejected. "It doesn't detract from the game, it adds to the entertainment value of the game," DuPuy said. "We've been accused over the years of not marketing to young people. Spider-Man . . . will be a popular movie across all demographics, and it was a natural fit. It's an effort to provide some modest entertainment and modest excitement and promotional giveaways in a way that doesn't detract at all. Logos on bases won't even be seen from ground-level cameras; it would take an overhead shot." There will be a web logo on home plate as well, but it will be removed for the start of the game. He added that although this joint-marketing effort around all MLB parks will certainly be a trend that goes through the season -- followed by Father's Day, Fourth of July celebrations of America and then the All-Star festivities -- this does not indicate in any way that Major League Baseball is ready to become one big NASCAR car. "It's part of our effort to market the game in a holistic style, but mostly to market it to a whole demographic: kids," DuPuy said. "I don't think this portends a significant trend to where promotional opportunities or advertising might be going with baseball. We went through a period, after a century of outfield signage, where we went 20 or 30 years with no outfield signage, and then gradually the outfield signage has come back. It adds a unique flavor and color to each of our individual stadia, which are each unique in their own way. "The TV eye signage (behind) the plate has become a regular feature of the game, but I don't think this particular promotion, which is again a confluence of the movie industry and baseball with its product, necessarily portends any trend or suggests what next step might be." There will be similar signage for the next immediate joint marketing effort around MLB parks, this Sunday's Mother's Day celebration at all home ballparks. The tops and sides of bases will feature a pink ribbon with a silhouetted batter, in recognition of the widely known icon for breast cancer awareness. If recent history is an indication -- and especially with 14 World Series rematches on tap this June -- most ballparks will either be at or near capacity that weekend. So this marketing partnership is not so much about trying to lure fans to a ballpark as it is to add even more entertainment value once they arrive. "We strategically picked this weekend because kids are out of school, it's a hot day, and we wanted to make sure kids could watch and attend," Parkes said. DuPuy said all 30 clubs ultimately will receive an equal portion of proceeds given to Major League Baseball Properties for this promotion, with an additional sum going to the home teams that are involved, based in part of their individual level of promotion. "As with every innovation, the clubs generally have their own ideas," DuPuy said, when asked how individual clubs responded to the idea. "But I would say that this was enthusiastically embraced." Parkes said the idea of this marketing partnership was brought to Major League Baseball a year ago by McCann Erickson, an advertising agency shared by both Sony and MLB. "They were working on their promotional package for Spider-Man 2," Parkes said, "and they came to us with the opportunity to work with Sony on how to leverage this phenomenal audience they have and this phenomenal audience we have."

As alluded to in the Zwerin article (thanks for posting it mmilovan!), I think it comes down to, unfairly, a mainstream perception of Duke = classy, high-brow, intellectual vs. Count = down-to-earth, low-brow, simple. Plus, another "let's face it," there is/was probably an element of racism involved. I would bet for a lot of the mainstream public, especially in decades past, Ellington was more palatable to whites than Basie. For me, I usually prefer Basie.