Ray Stevens is better known for novelty hits like "Ahab the Arab" & "Guitarzan" in the 60's, and "The Streak" in the 70's, and even headlined his own NBC variety show in the early 70's, as memory serves.
But, there was a more serious side to Stevens, steeped in gospel music, and, mixed in with those comedy classics were a couple of tracks that crossed between the gospel and country or pop charts. One was a cover of the traditional hymnal, "Turn Your Radio On", and the other was 1970's "Everything is Beautiful". I remember the youth pastor of a church I attended in the 70's teaching kids the opening lines to "Beautiful", but never making the connection until I acquired a used 45 of the song at a second hand shop after moving to my current abode.
The following clip, culled from Stevens' YouTube channel, was shot in more recent times for a DVD release, and thus you have a different chorus than the original track, which was comprised mostly of Sunday School children, I think.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
In Theatres: Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
Let me just get this out of the way first. While it hasn't been confirmed, a good reason why Marvel Comics put their name on "The Avengers" was to avoid confusion with an ill-received feature film based on the other Avengers, which came out a few years ago. Some people are anal like that.
Enough digression. Let me just summarize "Marvel's The Avengers" for you.
It starts with Loki, the adopted (so he says) half-brother of Thor. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been tasked to locate the Tessaract, which comics fans know better by the more common appellation of the Cosmic Cube. Now, who would hire on Loki to be a courier? Ah, that would be telling, and while most online fanboy critics have already spoiled it, I ain't one of them. Anyway, in the course of hijacking the Cube from S.H.I.E.L.D., Loki subjugates agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and a scientist friend of Thor's to do his bidding. Considering that Barton's backstory for this movie has him as an assassin instead of a carnival archer, this fits.
Confounded and concerned, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) begins assembling the troops, starting with the sexy superspy, Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen), who is herself being interrogated by some enemy agents. Handcuffed to a chair, the Widow still manages to beat the crap out of these guys and make good her escape. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is busy pounding away on a heavy bag when Fury comes a'callin'. The Widow locates Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) in another country. Agent Phil Coulson meets with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), and one surprise is the seeming friendship between Coulson and Stark's secretary-girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Tasty. As Captain America, Rogers locates Loki in Germany and engages him in battle.
Surprisingly, Loki is captured, but that's when the fun really begins, especially after Thor (Chris Hemsworth, "The Cabin in the Woods") takes him out of S.H.I.E.L.D. custody to exact his own vengeance. That leads to the predictable battle royale with Cap & Iron Man. In due course, with Loki back in custody, the seeds of discord are planted among the heroes. Inevitably, Banner morphs into the Hulk and there is something that was left over from ol' Greenskin's last film brought to bear.
The Cube is being used to create a portal that will bring an alien armada to our world. Barton is finally freed from Loki's control by the Widow, and there are hints of the romance that they had shared in the comics way back when. You really need to see what happens when Loki tries to reason with Hulk. In a word, hilarious.
Suffice to say, the invasion is thwarted, Loki, Thor, & the Cube head back to Asgard, and everyone else settles back into their own lives. Well, almost everyone. One casualty to speak of. I won't say who.
Seems to me that writer-director Joss Whedon, the genius who gave us Buffy, the Vampire Slayer 20 years ago, thought one hot agent in a black jumpsuit wasn't enough. It's uniformly necessary for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, particularly Maria Hill (Cobie Smoulders, How I Met Your Mother), cast here as Fury's second in command. The closing credits give us a clue as to what to expect in the eventual sequel, which won't be ready for at least another 3 years. "Iron Man 3" is on the docket for next year.
Clocking in at a shade over 2 hours, "Avengers" works, but drags in spots. All the predictable Marvel touches are there, including the inevitable cameo by Stan Lee.
Among the trailers:
"Battleship" (next weekend). Ugg.
"Dark Knight Rises" (July 20). I don't like Bane's outfit, particularly the mask, but it looks like they hit the jackpot with Catwoman.
"Amazing Spider-Man" (July 6). The wild card may actually be Denis Leary (ex-Rescue Me) as Capt. Stacy, more so than the use of the Lizard.
"Brave" (coming out next month, I believe). A female Robin Hood? Sort of, but not quite.
"End of Watch" (September). Reminds me of "Colors" a generation ago, but with a different vibe.
"Frankenweenie" (October). Tim Burton returns to Disney. That's usually a winning combination.
Speaking of trailers, here's one for "Avengers", compliments of Marvel's YouTube channel:
Rating: A-.
Enough digression. Let me just summarize "Marvel's The Avengers" for you.
It starts with Loki, the adopted (so he says) half-brother of Thor. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been tasked to locate the Tessaract, which comics fans know better by the more common appellation of the Cosmic Cube. Now, who would hire on Loki to be a courier? Ah, that would be telling, and while most online fanboy critics have already spoiled it, I ain't one of them. Anyway, in the course of hijacking the Cube from S.H.I.E.L.D., Loki subjugates agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and a scientist friend of Thor's to do his bidding. Considering that Barton's backstory for this movie has him as an assassin instead of a carnival archer, this fits.
Confounded and concerned, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) begins assembling the troops, starting with the sexy superspy, Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow (Scarlett Johanssen), who is herself being interrogated by some enemy agents. Handcuffed to a chair, the Widow still manages to beat the crap out of these guys and make good her escape. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is busy pounding away on a heavy bag when Fury comes a'callin'. The Widow locates Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) in another country. Agent Phil Coulson meets with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), and one surprise is the seeming friendship between Coulson and Stark's secretary-girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Tasty. As Captain America, Rogers locates Loki in Germany and engages him in battle.
Surprisingly, Loki is captured, but that's when the fun really begins, especially after Thor (Chris Hemsworth, "The Cabin in the Woods") takes him out of S.H.I.E.L.D. custody to exact his own vengeance. That leads to the predictable battle royale with Cap & Iron Man. In due course, with Loki back in custody, the seeds of discord are planted among the heroes. Inevitably, Banner morphs into the Hulk and there is something that was left over from ol' Greenskin's last film brought to bear.
The Cube is being used to create a portal that will bring an alien armada to our world. Barton is finally freed from Loki's control by the Widow, and there are hints of the romance that they had shared in the comics way back when. You really need to see what happens when Loki tries to reason with Hulk. In a word, hilarious.
Suffice to say, the invasion is thwarted, Loki, Thor, & the Cube head back to Asgard, and everyone else settles back into their own lives. Well, almost everyone. One casualty to speak of. I won't say who.
Seems to me that writer-director Joss Whedon, the genius who gave us Buffy, the Vampire Slayer 20 years ago, thought one hot agent in a black jumpsuit wasn't enough. It's uniformly necessary for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, particularly Maria Hill (Cobie Smoulders, How I Met Your Mother), cast here as Fury's second in command. The closing credits give us a clue as to what to expect in the eventual sequel, which won't be ready for at least another 3 years. "Iron Man 3" is on the docket for next year.
Clocking in at a shade over 2 hours, "Avengers" works, but drags in spots. All the predictable Marvel touches are there, including the inevitable cameo by Stan Lee.
Among the trailers:
"Battleship" (next weekend). Ugg.
"Dark Knight Rises" (July 20). I don't like Bane's outfit, particularly the mask, but it looks like they hit the jackpot with Catwoman.
"Amazing Spider-Man" (July 6). The wild card may actually be Denis Leary (ex-Rescue Me) as Capt. Stacy, more so than the use of the Lizard.
"Brave" (coming out next month, I believe). A female Robin Hood? Sort of, but not quite.
"End of Watch" (September). Reminds me of "Colors" a generation ago, but with a different vibe.
"Frankenweenie" (October). Tim Burton returns to Disney. That's usually a winning combination.
Speaking of trailers, here's one for "Avengers", compliments of Marvel's YouTube channel:
Rating: A-.
Friday, May 11, 2012
If you're afraid of going to jail, why do the crime?
"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time"---line from "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow", the theme from Baretta, as sung by Sammy Davis, Jr..
We've seen this happen with these mass murders here, there, and everywhere in this country the last few years. A guy opens fire for no reason, but when he realizes he's going to go to jail, he kills himself to avoid prosecution. Oh, sure, that might save the taxpayers a few thousand dollars in court costs to go through with a trial, but the fact remains that the perpetrator, in essence, took the ultimate escape route.
And, then, there is the case of Adam Mayes, 35, of Guntown, Mississippi, who decided to take his own life rather than be captured by local and federal authorities on kidnapping & murder charges.
Mayes, based on news accounts, had to have been mentally disturbed when he killed JoAnn Bain and her oldest daughter, Adrienne, 2 weeks ago, and abducted Mrs. Bain's other two daughters, Alexandria & Kyliyah, taking them and the dead bodies across state lines from Tennessee to Mississippi, where he tried to pass the two girls off as his own. Mayes' ex-wife and mother were arrested earlier this week for their roles in the case. The ex-mother-in-law, Josie Tate, told an ABC news affiliate that her daughter, Teresa, and Mayes argued over whether or not Mayes was in fact the father of the two girls. In order to prove his claims, then, Mayes decided he had to have them, regardless of the consequences.
Now, if Mayes was of sound mind, and clearly, he wasn't, he could've challenged the paternity of the children. He didn't take that step, probably because he didn't have the funds to try. He became obsessed with the two children, convinced that they were his. Sadly, he opted to take the coward's escape by taking his own life, rather than let the truth come out through a psychological examination. We can only speculate, but it seems there's more to this story, and it'll trickle out in due course. The worst part of it all is, some huckster will sell the story to a certain cable network for a quickie TV-movie that'll get played into the ground within a year of its premiere..............
We've seen this happen with these mass murders here, there, and everywhere in this country the last few years. A guy opens fire for no reason, but when he realizes he's going to go to jail, he kills himself to avoid prosecution. Oh, sure, that might save the taxpayers a few thousand dollars in court costs to go through with a trial, but the fact remains that the perpetrator, in essence, took the ultimate escape route.
And, then, there is the case of Adam Mayes, 35, of Guntown, Mississippi, who decided to take his own life rather than be captured by local and federal authorities on kidnapping & murder charges.
Mayes, based on news accounts, had to have been mentally disturbed when he killed JoAnn Bain and her oldest daughter, Adrienne, 2 weeks ago, and abducted Mrs. Bain's other two daughters, Alexandria & Kyliyah, taking them and the dead bodies across state lines from Tennessee to Mississippi, where he tried to pass the two girls off as his own. Mayes' ex-wife and mother were arrested earlier this week for their roles in the case. The ex-mother-in-law, Josie Tate, told an ABC news affiliate that her daughter, Teresa, and Mayes argued over whether or not Mayes was in fact the father of the two girls. In order to prove his claims, then, Mayes decided he had to have them, regardless of the consequences.
Now, if Mayes was of sound mind, and clearly, he wasn't, he could've challenged the paternity of the children. He didn't take that step, probably because he didn't have the funds to try. He became obsessed with the two children, convinced that they were his. Sadly, he opted to take the coward's escape by taking his own life, rather than let the truth come out through a psychological examination. We can only speculate, but it seems there's more to this story, and it'll trickle out in due course. The worst part of it all is, some huckster will sell the story to a certain cable network for a quickie TV-movie that'll get played into the ground within a year of its premiere..............
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Musical Interlude: A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) (1984)
Last night, I was watching TheCoolTV, and caught a clip of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never". I was then reminded of their other major hit of the 80's, the cautionary "A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)", from their 1984 album, "Instincts". I had never seen this video until now, and until last night, I hadn't seen "Never", either.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
These Weasels have no names to protect them from public humiliation
We are handing out some more Weasel of the Week awards, as Teresa Bloodman's brainless lawsuit in Arkansas was just the tip of the iceberg, if ya will, when it comes to the actions of a few mindless souls.
In Minnesota, an unwed mother and her beau shaved the head of her 12 year old daughter and made her wear a diaper (!) as a bizarre form of punishment because of bad grades. Yo, when I was a kid, a bad report card simply meant I was grounded for a few days. Seems to me that Mama Nutjob may have spent too much time doing anything other than raising her kid beforehand, if ya catch my drift.
In Los Angeles, two masseurs have separately sued actor John Travolta for lewd conduct, which will begin a fresh round of insinuations about his true sexual orientation. Travolta's lawyer says that Travolta was nowhere near California when any of the alleged incidents went down, and that the masseurs might've been fooled by a lookalike, or a reasonable facsimile of one, such that they thought it was the real deal. I was tempted to pockmark this with some classic Vinnie Barbarino schtick from Welcome Back, Kotter (I think you know what I mean), but we'll pass.
Meanwhile, a small hip-hop label is suing the Beastie Boys for copyright infringement due to some samples used on their first two CD's, "License to Ill" & "Paul's Boutique". Problem is, the copyright laws the jabroni label is referencing didn't go into effect until well after those records were released. I won't even waste time mentioning the name of the label to save them further embarassment.
One of my teachers in my senior year in high school said it best. Stupidity runs rampant. Oh, it sure does.
In Minnesota, an unwed mother and her beau shaved the head of her 12 year old daughter and made her wear a diaper (!) as a bizarre form of punishment because of bad grades. Yo, when I was a kid, a bad report card simply meant I was grounded for a few days. Seems to me that Mama Nutjob may have spent too much time doing anything other than raising her kid beforehand, if ya catch my drift.
In Los Angeles, two masseurs have separately sued actor John Travolta for lewd conduct, which will begin a fresh round of insinuations about his true sexual orientation. Travolta's lawyer says that Travolta was nowhere near California when any of the alleged incidents went down, and that the masseurs might've been fooled by a lookalike, or a reasonable facsimile of one, such that they thought it was the real deal. I was tempted to pockmark this with some classic Vinnie Barbarino schtick from Welcome Back, Kotter (I think you know what I mean), but we'll pass.
Meanwhile, a small hip-hop label is suing the Beastie Boys for copyright infringement due to some samples used on their first two CD's, "License to Ill" & "Paul's Boutique". Problem is, the copyright laws the jabroni label is referencing didn't go into effect until well after those records were released. I won't even waste time mentioning the name of the label to save them further embarassment.
One of my teachers in my senior year in high school said it best. Stupidity runs rampant. Oh, it sure does.
Weasel of the Week: Teresa Bloodman
Only in the South would something like this happen.
An Arkansas parent is suing her school district and the high school where her son attends classes simply because the lad was cut from the varsity basketball team.
Now, wait, you're saying. Why is this story coming out now, when high school hoops season ended two months ago or better for most kids?
Consider for a moment the judgment of the coaching staff at Maumelle High in Arkansas. After two preseason tryouts in August, they had their team. 10 out of the 11 players picked, including the son of our subject, were inexplicably cut in favor of players from the football team. No explanation.
Football players in other sports is fairly common at the high school level, especially at my alma mater, Troy High, where football players regularly will segue to basketball once the gridiron season is over. Some players will move on to other pursuits, such as hockey or baseball. As far as Teresa Bloodman is concerned, her son was wronged, and so she wants Maumelle High's coaching staff to explain themselves, claiming her son has a Constitutional right to participate in school sports.
What Mrs. Bloodman fails to comprehend is that while her son was good enough to make the team in summer tryouts, and bear in mind, the lad is a freshman who has three more years of eligibility left, time that could get flushed if mommy goes through with this frivolous litigation. I might add, the coaches still had three months before basketball season, time enough for some of the football players to ask in, and get their wishes granted.
Discrimination? Not a chance. It just happens to be business as usual. However, what gets Mrs. Bloodman a set of weasel ears is the hare-brained decision to file suit. She is doing this on her own, and hasn't gotten a whit of support from the parents of the other players who were cut the same way. It seems to me she is a stage parent who doesn't get it. No matter how talented your child is, he/she is not guaranteed a spot on a team just on your say so. The coaches have the last word, and if you don't like it, don't file a lawsuit. Pick up the phone and talk to the coach and hope for a straight answer. Even Judge Judy would tell you that.
An Arkansas parent is suing her school district and the high school where her son attends classes simply because the lad was cut from the varsity basketball team.
Now, wait, you're saying. Why is this story coming out now, when high school hoops season ended two months ago or better for most kids?
Consider for a moment the judgment of the coaching staff at Maumelle High in Arkansas. After two preseason tryouts in August, they had their team. 10 out of the 11 players picked, including the son of our subject, were inexplicably cut in favor of players from the football team. No explanation.
Football players in other sports is fairly common at the high school level, especially at my alma mater, Troy High, where football players regularly will segue to basketball once the gridiron season is over. Some players will move on to other pursuits, such as hockey or baseball. As far as Teresa Bloodman is concerned, her son was wronged, and so she wants Maumelle High's coaching staff to explain themselves, claiming her son has a Constitutional right to participate in school sports.
What Mrs. Bloodman fails to comprehend is that while her son was good enough to make the team in summer tryouts, and bear in mind, the lad is a freshman who has three more years of eligibility left, time that could get flushed if mommy goes through with this frivolous litigation. I might add, the coaches still had three months before basketball season, time enough for some of the football players to ask in, and get their wishes granted.
Discrimination? Not a chance. It just happens to be business as usual. However, what gets Mrs. Bloodman a set of weasel ears is the hare-brained decision to file suit. She is doing this on her own, and hasn't gotten a whit of support from the parents of the other players who were cut the same way. It seems to me she is a stage parent who doesn't get it. No matter how talented your child is, he/she is not guaranteed a spot on a team just on your say so. The coaches have the last word, and if you don't like it, don't file a lawsuit. Pick up the phone and talk to the coach and hope for a straight answer. Even Judge Judy would tell you that.
Two more to mourn
When we were kids, I think we all read Where the Wild Things Are, which became a movie just a year or two ago. The genius behind that story, Maurice Sendak, passed away earlier this week at 83. The film version of Wild Things may have brought Sendak back into public consciousness, but it wasn't that big a hit here in the US. Despite the author's overall body of work, Wild Things remains the one Sendak's most recognized for.
Meanwhile, game show mavens are mourning the passing of Bob Stewart. You might not know the name, but Stewart became a major player in the daytime game arena after leaving Goodson-Todman in the mid-60's, this after creating a trio of iconic classics: The Price is Right, To Tell The Truth, & Password. In running his own studio, Stewart produced a seemingly endless stream of shows from the mid-60's through the 80's, including The Face is Familiar, hosted by sportscaster Jack Whitaker for CBS, Eye Guess, Three on a Match, Personality, Jackpot!, and, of course, his most famous creation, The $10,000 Pyramid, which underwent a few inflationary title changes under Stewart's watch, and was hosted by the late Dick Clark for much of its run. Subsequent revivals post-Stewart saw John Davidson (ex-Hollywood Squares) and singer Donny Osmond try to fill the host's job that Clark performed so well. Perhaps the only other host who thrived under Stewart was Bill Cullen, who MC'd Eye Guess, Hot Potato, Three on a Match, Blankety Blanks, and the original Chain Reaction, and was the original MC for Price, which might in part explain why comic Drew Carey, who had a Cullenesque buzzcut early in his career, and has since grown it out, was hired to succeed Bob Barker a few years ago. The current Price, marking 40 years this year, isn't quite the same as Stewart's original vision, but it endures just the same.
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
Meanwhile, game show mavens are mourning the passing of Bob Stewart. You might not know the name, but Stewart became a major player in the daytime game arena after leaving Goodson-Todman in the mid-60's, this after creating a trio of iconic classics: The Price is Right, To Tell The Truth, & Password. In running his own studio, Stewart produced a seemingly endless stream of shows from the mid-60's through the 80's, including The Face is Familiar, hosted by sportscaster Jack Whitaker for CBS, Eye Guess, Three on a Match, Personality, Jackpot!, and, of course, his most famous creation, The $10,000 Pyramid, which underwent a few inflationary title changes under Stewart's watch, and was hosted by the late Dick Clark for much of its run. Subsequent revivals post-Stewart saw John Davidson (ex-Hollywood Squares) and singer Donny Osmond try to fill the host's job that Clark performed so well. Perhaps the only other host who thrived under Stewart was Bill Cullen, who MC'd Eye Guess, Hot Potato, Three on a Match, Blankety Blanks, and the original Chain Reaction, and was the original MC for Price, which might in part explain why comic Drew Carey, who had a Cullenesque buzzcut early in his career, and has since grown it out, was hired to succeed Bob Barker a few years ago. The current Price, marking 40 years this year, isn't quite the same as Stewart's original vision, but it endures just the same.
Rest in peace, gentlemen.
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