Sally's greatest ride

I was saddened to hear of the death of astronaut Sally Ride. She certainly went far beyond the "glass ceiling," becoming the first U.S. woman in space. Here’s her Sesame Street appearance on YouTube, as posted on a friend’s site:

http://sesamestreetblockparty.blogspot.com/2012/07/will-will-miss-you-sally-ride.html

And now she’s on the greatest mission of all. We’ll miss you, Sally.

============================================

NOT SO "MISERABLES": I fulfilled a "theater bucket list" item recently and finally got to see the complete musical "Les Miserables." I know there are a few punctuation marks missing in that title, but it seems that the Google typeface for blogger is quite limited. You know the musical I mean.

And it was fabulous. As with "Phantom," it was easy to understand why "Miserables" is such a popular show. It’s a very moving story filled with equally moving music. I got to watch it with some dear friends from the theater, who filled me in on a few backstage notes - notably, the difficulty in staging a certain death scene. Thanks to strobe lighting and good acting, the effect came off quite well. The scene ended with applause, and my friend whispering to me, "Now it’s like we’re clapping because he’s dead!"  But it was a great show, and I certainly felt less miserable after seeing it. Definitely worth seeing.


=============================================

AGING QUICKLY (or) THE SPIRIT OF 72: On Wednesday, I added the Mister Rogers “Garden of Your Mind” video to my favorites folder on my YouTube page. Later, I clicked on my YouTube page link on the blog, only to find that my YouTube page was not there. They had put up an empty page for me. There was a little space on my "blank" YouTube page that gave my age as 72 years old. Talk about adding insult to injury! I’m not quite 72 yet. That’s about 30 years away for me (I hope). I have no idea where they got 72 from. Now, 72 is a fine number. 72 is 12 multiplied by 6. I was actually alive in 1972. I’m not against 72. Lord willing, I’ll be 72 one day. It’s just not my age yet.

The bad link has been removed, and I’m debating whether or not to fix the link. It may just be easier to post the links to the videos here on the blog, rather than forcing you to scroll through my favorites folder to find the video you want. I can keep the YouTube account for my own sake (none of my personal videos are there yet, just links to other people’s videos) and as a way of keeping track of the videos I link to from the blog. That may be the way it rolls from now on. We’ll see.

When it isn't on itunes

Record Store Day is this week, on Saturday. Why does it matter? Well, let me tell you. . .

Two favorite albums from my youth were released on CD in March- the “Sesame Street Old School CD set volume 1” is a must-have for “Sesame Seeds” like myself. It includes the first Sesame Street album, as well as “Bert and Ernie sing along,” which I believe is the funniest children’s album ever made. It is certainly one of the most creative. (The set also includes “Big Bird Sings,” which while not a specific favorite, deserves mentioning.) So this was a set I wanted- but I decided to buy it locally rather than online. I’m not against ordering online, but when you buy things locally, you get them into your greedy little hands faster. Yes, you do. But this created an issue- exactly where should I get it? This isn’t an easy question to answer. Here’s what happened on my escapade:

1. My first attempt was at secondspin.com. Their store is easily the largest in my area, and while they don’t have everything, they’ve got a lot. It’s easy for a music browser to waste an hour or two looking around. I felt that this was a reasonable first choice. But no dice. The album wasn’t there.

2. While I didn’t really expect to find it at Wal-Mart, I felt it was at least worth a peek. Wal-Mart is the 21st-century answer to the “general store.” You can generally find everything you will generally need. Need a shirt? Need a book? Need a movie? You can find them all at Wal-Mart. The problem is, you may not find THE shirt, THE book or THE movie that you were looking for. The more specific you get, the less likely you are to find it at Wal-Mart, or Target or any of the similar stores. This case was no exception, I couldn’t find the CD set there.

3. At last, success. The “Old School” set was found in. . .a local independent music store. Not a children’s store. A store for music fans. This store isn’t the biggest music store in town. But biggest isn’t always best. I don’t think the store was making a specific effort to bring Sesame Street to the masses (in fact, there was only one copy in the store). But I do think the store was trying to have as good a selection of music as it possibly could. If that means offering a Sesame Street CD set, so be it. And in this case, they found someone eager to buy. I’m glad I was able to buy it at an independent store. I wish that other stores would see the importance of trying to offer as much as they could in store. It works.

The saga of music stores over the past few years has been interesting. Incidentally, Hollywood Video has been having some issues as well, closing several stores in an effort to bounce back from bankruptcy. Their struggles demonstrate how even the movie rental industry has changed. Check my archives for more about music stores.

================================================

BEYOND THE POINT OF NO RETURN: Longtime comic book fans will remember the “What if” series of comics. They featured stories that tried to answer what would happen to a particular character if things were slightly different. For example, the first issue was titled, “What if Spider Man had joined the Fantastic Four?“ Another was titled, “What if Wolverine had killed the Hulk?“ It was a fun series, but composer Andrew Lloyd Webber may have just created the most elaborate and expensive “What if” of all.

In the movie “Phantom of the Opera,” based on Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, there is a point where the Phantom has the opportunity to make love to Christine. (It isn’t the best opportunity, as Christine has just fainted). But he doesn’t do it. He draws the curtain down and lets her sleep. Well, in the new musical play “Love Never Dies,” we are given a “what if” scenario. What if the Phantom and Christine had been intimate? Or perhaps a better title would be, “What if everyone strongly suspected that the Phantom and Christine had been intimate?” It’s an interesting idea, and it has many longtime “Phantom Phans” in a bit of an uproar. Admittedly, it doesn’t seem to fit with the original story very well. I can just see the Phantom drawing the curtain down, then saying, "Oh, what the heck?" and pulling it up again.

But to be fair, it isn’t the first time someone has had the idea for this plot twist. It appears notably in Susan Kay’s novel “Phantom,” although in that case the story was changed slightly to allow a time and place for the intimacy. I’ve read Kay’s novel & enjoyed it- it certainly should also be viewed as a “What if” when compared to the musical, as it contains events and characters that weren’t included in that production. If the phans can accept phantom phiction like “Phantom”, perhaps they can phind it in their hearts to phorgive this latest production. Phew!

If you check out the forums at phantomoftheopera.com, you can see some pictures from the “Love Never Dies” production. One of these pictures features Christine and the Phantom standing in front of what one poster says looks like. . .a part of the female anatomy. As the poster says, “I can’t make this up.” The play has debuted in England to mixed reviews. At least the music seems to be quite beautiful (you can hear one song in my Favorites folder on my Youtube page). I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing this play, but whether it will affect me the way “Phantom” did remains to be seen. But if it’s an enjoyable show, Mr. Lloyd Webber, that’s all I can ask of you.
　
========================================================

ON YOUTUBE: ERNIE AND BERT GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS. It’s about time I featured this one. The audio comes from my own recording, posted to YouTube by jonnytbirdzback. It’s one of many fun lost Sesame St. skits that as of now hasn’t been added to the clips on Sesame Workshop’s site. But it’s still early. . .You can check it out in my favorites folder on my YouTube page, and if you want to see more of the same you can check out Sesame Workshop’s site for cool classic clips.

　

Carrie and the captain

If you’ve been keeping up with the Neighborhood Archive blog (and please do if you’re a Mister Rogers fan), you’ve seen some pictures from when Fred Rogers visited Captain Kangaroo (The Captain also visited Mr. Rogers on his show). Not to be outdone, I wanted to put up an image from when Carrie Fisher visited the Captain, taken I believe from the same book (“Good Morning Captain”) that the Fred Rogers pictures were taken from. Speaking of Captain Kangaroo, I’ve been disappointed to realize that virtually NO episodes from the classic show are available to buy, rent or trade. Nobody seems to have any extra episodes of Captain Kangaroo. There are probably more episodes of “Kukla, Fran and Ollie” currently available than “Captain Kangaroo.” It’s sad because it is such a historic show- almost everyone who knows anything about TV history has heard the name “Captain Kangaroo.” But if you’re looking for examples of his work, they haven’t been seen in years. This is one classic show I definitely wish we could see more of. Blu-ray release! Blu-ray release! If by any chance you have rare episodes of Captain Kangaroo, please let me know! We might be able to work out a video trade. You can contact me on my YouTube channel (in the links) or through my face book page. Search for “Steve Sesameguy.”

====================================================

THE RETURN OF MUSIC STORES: A new music store has opened in the Ontario Mills Mall. Called “Secondspin.com,” it is obviously linked in with the Web site and owned by the company that owned Warehouse music, which has now since gone away. If you remember what it was like shopping for used music and DVDs at Warehouse, then you know what it’s like shopping for used music and DVDs at Secondspin. Even the price tags still look the same! Anyway, I see this store opening as a good thing. Even if most of the music is used, the fact that there’s a store there at all points to a desire to keep physical music stores around for a while. The store seems to be relatively successful as well, with several people almost always browsing the racks of Cds. It’s a nice change of pace that I hope will continue. You can see what the new store looks like here:

http://www.secondspin.com/stores/ss/about/about-ontario.jsp

=============================================================
　
BAD VIBRATIONS?: And speaking of music, you may have heard that Brian Wilson will be completing a few unfinished compositions by George Gershwin. I heard “Smile” for the first time this year and enjoyed it a lot (classic Beach Boys fans, get it!). But despite Wilson’s talent, not everyone is pleased at the idea of him going Gershwin. Lee Hartsfeld from MY(P)WHAE blog has voiced concerns over this situation, pointing out that it seems to be more money-driven than artistically inspired. Plus, of course, there’s the fear that “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Good Vibrations” just aren’t going to mix. I definitely understand the money-driven angle as well. You have to wonder which is more important these days. . .product or publicity. So there’s definitely mixed feelings about all this. My attitude, though, is inspired by Fred Rogers - wait and see. It might work, it might not. Admittedly, Brian has big shoes to fill - but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it. He’s got talent, and perhaps this is a chance for him to shine. Again, we’ll see. But be sure to read Lee’s take on the situation at his blog post here:

http://musicyouwont.blogspot.com/2009/10/rhapsody-in-coup-or-give-em-money-thats.html
“Is Wilson's talent comparable to Gershwin's? No, not remotely. Wilson made some fabulous Top 40 singles that I love (and will always love) but every time he's tried to move "beyond" the pop song format, the results have been mediocre to unfortunate.”

==============================================================

ON YOUTUBE: TILL I HEAR YOU SING (ONCE MORE): And speaking of “Wait and see,” we won’t have too much more of a wait to see the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.” It’s a production which is unfortunately upsetting many fans who think that Webber should leave well enough alone. Admittedly, I don’t see much of a need for the sequel either. . .unless it’s really good, which it might be! I think “wait and see” should definitely set the tone for this one as well. Incidentally, I’ve been good and put off listening to the reading of “Phantom of Manhattan” so far, but that may change next year, when “Love Never Dies” debuts in England, then later that year on Broadway! I did, however, listen to the first song released from the soundtrack. Titled “Till I hear you sing (once more),” it’s a great tune which hopefully is just one of many from the show. It’s in my favorites folder on myYouTube page. Check out my links section to find it.

=========================================

COMING SOON: One song, I have but one song, one song, only for you. . .

Christa McAuliffe

Everything I write in this posting is written with very sincere admiration and respect for Christa McAuliffe, her family, friends and admirers. As always, no offense is intended to anybody.

On January 28, 1986, I had just come home from high school after taking a final exam. As I walked in the door, my mother told me that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded. I was surprised on a few levels - I wasn’t aware that the shuttle was taking off that day. I knew there was going to be a launch soon with some teacher on board, but that’s about it. I remember tuning in to watch a replay of the launch. As Challenger took off, I remember thinking, “I’m not sure if I want to see this!” But I did, and the images of the disaster are stuck in my memory forever, as they are in everyone who lived through that day. Those who died in the disaster were F. “Dick” Scobee, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis and S. Christa McAuliffe.

Other notable memories from that day include Dan Rather with a model of the space shuttle on his desk, trying to explain what might have gone wrong. Later on, I got to endure a few sick Challenger jokes from my high school “friends.” It’s better to be alone, man. It really is. Okay, I need to save that rant for later. Ahem. Later that year, my family took a trip to Florida and we got to see Cape Canaveral and the launching pad for Challenger. I bought a Challenger patch and some buttons with the crew on them. I made sure to buy the one with Christa alone on the button as well.

Now why do you suppose they did a button with just Christa on it and none of the other crew members? Well, obviously Christa was the “celebrity” on the flight, being the first civilian set to go up in space. But there’s another reason. A secret reason. A reason nobody has ever dared to mention - until now. Christa makes a pretty picture. Because Christa McAuliffe was pretty. In fact, she was gorgeous! You hear me, world? CHRISTA MCAULIFFE WAS CUTE!

Dang, it feels so good to get that off my chest.

I don’t think that “attractiveness” was the criteria that NASA was using to choose who would be the first civilian in space. However, I don’t think it hurt that Christa was attractive. NASA obviously wanted someone who wasn’t particularly camera-shy, who would be able to present herself to the world with some degree of poise. They couldn’t pick just ANY teacher.

Sadly, there’s some degree of truth to the idea that the “teacher in space” plan was a big PR stunt by NASA. Remember that at first, they were considering taking up a celebrity. John Denver was considered, as was “Big Bird” puppeteer Carroll Spinney! (See the links below for more about that) And while they thankfully chose to focus on sending a “non-celebrity” up there, you can’t help but consider that they would want that “non-celebrity” to be someone who had the potential to be a celebrity. Think of it- the same skills that are used to hold the attention of a class can be used to hold the public’s attention on a grand scale. A teacher who can present her views clearly to a class can also present those views to the American public.

There’s not one particular thing that made Christa attractive. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Look, if I were going out on a blind date, and Christa McAuliffe showed up, I would not be disappointed! She was pretty, smart, seemed to have a good personality - dang, what more could you want?! Of course, Christa was a wonderful person no matter how she looked. Note the word “personality”. When I think about girls that I like, I realize that attractiveness alone isn’t enough. All the beauty in the world won’t work if the person isn’t right for me. I never met Christa, so I can only pretend what she might have been like to know. It seems like at the very least, she would have been a wonderful friend.

I refuse to believe that I’m the only guy (besides her husband) who thinks Christa was attractive. Come on, guys, I KNOW you’re out there! I guess out of respect for Christa and for what she did, we guys don’t want to “take away” from her legacy by adding her to our list of “hot chicks.” It’s commendable to remember Christa for her bravery instead of her beauty. But in the teeny tiny footnotes of history (where this blog probably will eventually go), someone needs to note, “and she was pretty, too!”

Christa was obviously a strong woman in many ways. She was a teacher, first and foremost, and wanted to use those skills on the Challenger. Her intent was to write a diary of the trip. How I wish we could have read that diary. But someday, I believe I’m going to get to actually meet Christa (along with several other people I never got to meet in this lifetime). When I do, I hope to tell her that I cared for her and that she was an inspiration to me. I’d like to think that Christa would forgive me for this blog. :)

Here are some more sites with information about Christa:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcauliffe.html

http://www.starhop.com/cm_bio.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe

http://www.life.com/Life/space/mcauliffe/mcauliffe01.html

The documentary “Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars” is probably the best one about Christa herself. You can learn more about it at the site below:

http://www.traipsingthrufilms.com/

For more about the celebrities who almost got to ride on the Challenger, enjoy my previous post.
http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/05/big-bird-and-space-shuttle-challenger.html

=======================================================

THEY SAID IT: While researching this post, I came upon an interesting page of quotes about space and space travel that I hope you will enjoy. It features quotes from Christa and many others, and asks a notable question about Neil Armstrong’s famous “one small step” quote. Could it be he got it wrong? Check it out.

http://www.skygod.com/quotes/spaceflight.html

Space is for everybody. It's not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That's our new frontier out there, and it's everybody's business to know about space.

— Christa McAuliffe, December 6, 1985.

=====================================================

PHANTOM DISAPPEARS, THEN REAPPEARS: Once upon a time, there was a Web page dedicated to the “Phantom of the Opera.” Although it was obviously inspired by the Andrew Lloyd Webber production, it welcomed comments about all of the various phantom-related items over the years. From the original novel to the Lon Chaney film to the recent high school productions, this site was a valuable resource for Phantom fans. And it even had an easy address to remember: phantomoftheopera dot com.

But as 2008 began, the Phantom site disappeared. There was nothing there but a message saying “this account has been suspended.” And the fact that it was there for a few weeks seemed to verify that the site wasn’t coming back. It was quite a popular site, with several new comments from readers coming in every day, and updates on “Phantom”-related news. (Think “Muppet Central”, only about the Phantom) It makes you realize that not every site is going to be around forever. We all have those sites that we really enjoy visiting - our little “neighborhood” on the Web where we can keep up with certain people or things. So let’s take a moment to be thankful for those who keep our favorite sites going. And uh, by the way. . .thanks for stopping by here every once in a while as well.

But by mid-January, the Phantom site had returned in all its glory, much to the relief of Phantom fans, teenage girls and theatre critics worldwide. There seems at this point to be no official explanation of what exactly happened. Obviously, there was some kind of billing issue at stake, but how that issue appeared in the first place is another mystery only the Phantom can answer.

Have you noticed how many Web sites are only managed by a handful of people? Whereas a movie or TV show can have thousands of people working together to make it happen, a Web site doesn’t really need all that many. Even a regularly updated site only needs a handful of people to make it work. In some ways, that’s a big plus for Web sites. “One man” can make a difference. You don’t need a crowd to shout out loud. But then there’s the down side: If that one person goes away. . .

Check out the 2004 movie to find out why “Phantom” is so popular. You can read about it in my post here, which also has a link to the Phantom site mentioned above:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/08/phantom-of-opera.html

==============================================

MEREDITH IN TRAINING: You didn’t think I could just let THIS one go by, do you? Meredith Vieira mentioned Sesame Street in her blog!

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/2008/01/friday_qa_manny_blogging_sesam.html
Sharp-eyed fans will note that Meredith appeared in an episode of Sesame Street this season. You can read about that here:

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Meredith_Vieira

=============================================

BROCKETT’S BATHING SUIT: Who could have known that mild-mannered Don Brockett, who played Chef Brockett on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, had a wild side? Well, at least I think he did. You’ve got to be a teeny tiny bit wild to run around in a tiger-skin swimsuit, right? Just think about Ginger from “Gilligan‘s Island.” I do it all the time. Uh, think about Ginger, that is. And Courteney and Meredith and . . .Well, anyway, you can see a photo of Don in his swimsuit in this entry from the “Making Mister Rogers and Me” blog. And be sure to read that great quote from Linda Elerbee on why TV is “often so shallow.”

http://mrrogersandme.blogspot.com/2008/01/mister-rogers-chef-brockett-me.html

Spidey to sing, but beware the cat!

Here's the short review of “Spider-Man 3”: It's great, see it.

But if you prefer theater, there's some interesting news: They're planning a musical about Spider-Man! I guess we shouldn't be surprised. There is a “Superman” musical which can still be seen on campuses once in a while. (and it was once made into a TV special!) Spidey is another fine choice for the musical theater, although I fear it may be hard to hear someone singing underneath that mask!

And to give the music a little “edge,” the music for the Spidey musical could be written by the Edge and Bono from rock band U2! You can read about that at the links below, as well as get an idea of what the finished product might be. Here's a preview from the first post- click on it for more lyrics:

I have climbed tallest buildings

I have swung through the streets

Only to fight with you … only to fight with you …



I have run, I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls … these city walls …

Only to fight with you …


But I still haven't found

Uncle Ben's killer

But I still haven't found

Uncle Ben's killer

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/04/look_out_here_comes_the_edge_a.html


http://www.playbill.com/news/article/87231.html


And speaking of Bono, it's time to repeat my favorite Bono joke. (It's clean, don't worry.) It's dedicated to my pals over at Amy and Greg's house:

It seems that this man died and went to Heaven. He was being led around Heaven by an angel, who was introducing him to many of the famous singing stars of yesteryear who have since passed on – Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, etc. Then, as they go along, the man thinks he sees Bono walking by. The man is surprised. He asks the angel, “Has Bono died, too?” The angel replies, “No, that's God. He likes to dress up like Bono once in a while.”

I need to tell this joke now, because after Bono passes away, it won't be funny anymore. :) Here's to you, oh frontman of U2.

========================================================

KITTEN ON THE KEYS: I like cats. Cats are cool animals. Very cute, relatively low-maintenance, reasonably quiet. But cats can cause problems, sometimes. One of my favorite memories of our cat “Moony” was the day she walked right across the side of our house - just after we put the wet cement in! We kept a few of the footprints in there as a reminder of that classic moment. “We’re going to have roast cat tonight!” my uncle said. (Note: We didn’t.)


Some of you are familiar with the book titled, “The Cat Ate My Gymsuit.” But this has got to be the king of all “the cat screwed everything up” stories. It seems that a cute little kitten named Otto climbed up on the piano one day - and destroyed the score to a future Andrew Lloyd Webber musical! Read about it here:



Andrew Lloyd Webber is working on the sequel to The Phantom Of The Opera, but theatre-lovers will have to wait a bit longer to see it, as Lloyd Webber’s kitten has proved the score’s most dramatic critic.

According to reports in The Daily Mail, Lloyd Webber, 59, was working on the score at his computerised grand piano when his six-month-old kitten Otto climbed inside it and deleted everything he had written so far.

The digital Clavinova piano has an inbuilt computer and the ability to play back thousands of songs from its memory. Somehow Otto pressed all the wrong buttons and Lloyd Webber was unable to recover his work from after the kitten had been removed.

Otto is a rare-breed Turkish Van, a breed also known as the swimming cats, which cost up to £400. Lloyd Webber had wanted to own one for some time, so was delighted when Otto joined the family in January.

Says the composer, “I was trying to write some new music; Otto got into the grand piano, jumped onto the computer and destroyed the entire score for the new Phantom in one fell swoop.”

“I’ve got to write another show soon or I’ll go mad. The most important thing is the plot, so I’ve been writing it with Freddie,” he said, referring to Fredrick Forsyth, author of the novel Day Of The Jackal, on which the new musical is partly based.

http://www.pethealthcare.co.uk/Kitten_Disrupts_Lloyd_Webber_Musical_511/AllComments/


Now it isn’t too hard to figure out the motives of this kitten. Some may say he’s just another harsh music critic. Au contraire! Some may say he’s a “Phantom Phan” upset at the idea of a new musical about the Phantom. Not at all! He is, in fact, jealous that Lloyd Webber chose to do a sequel to “Phantom” before he did a sequel to “Cats!”

=============================================================

AND SPEAKING OF ‘SPOILING’ THE PHANTOM, a few weeks ago I gave in to the “thrift store shopping bug” again, and lo and behold what did I find but the audiotape version of Fredrick Forsyth’s “Phantom of Manhattan.” This is the novel that Lloyd Webber’s musical will be based upon. I can’t tell you much about it because I haven’t listened to it yet! This is an incredible test of will-power! But I’m going to hold off on it until later just because I can, and also because there are plenty of other things to do around here.

BUT - I did read the synopsis on the back cover. You may enjoy reading this yourself as a possible preview of what the musical will be like. So SPOILER ALERT! Do not read this if you want to be 100% surprised at the new play. But if you’re content with just being 90% surprised, here you go:

It is 1906. Erik, the creature with the hideous face but poetic heart, has escaped to America, to a life that begins in misery, but in time makes him incredibly wealthy and brutally powerful. But he never forgot the obsessional love of his life, Christine, the understudy who became a mega-star due to his coaching. Then a mysterious, life-changing letter arrives from Paris and he determines he must see her again. . .a decision that leads to a vortex of passion, love, sin, death, and redemption.

Passion, love, sin, death and redemption. Sounds like a hit to me! :) We’ll find out for sure later (much later, now that Andrew has to start from scratch! I’m hoping his “memory” is strong!). There are plenty of rumors about “Phantom 2” going around right now, involving the possible return of Sarah Brightman as Christine! Keep up with the latest on the Phantom at the link below. And keep the cat away from your computer.

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/news/

And for more about Sarah Brightman, here’s some info about her PBS special:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/12/sarah-brightman-justine-blogging-from.html

=========================================================

SOUNDS OF SUMMER: Do your baseball memories go back to those golden days of watching “The Baseball Bunch?” Well, mine don’t really, either, but I do remember the show. Featuring big-league players along with the famous chicken, the show has been gone & mostly forgotten for many years. But earlier this week, I got an e-mail from Eric at justmyshow.com. Thanks to the world of podcasting, you can listen to an interview with some of the kids on the show, as well as the chicken himself, “in the feathers!”

http://www.justmyshow.com/baseballbunch.html

If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out the other fine shows Eric has to offer, including a “Great Space Coaster” reunion show! And for more about the chicken, enjoy my posting in the January 2007 archives:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/01/chicken-in-praise-of-poultry.html

===========================================================

OPENING COMMENTS: You mean you didn’t go to the opening of the Creation Museum last month? Shame! Neither did I. But if you want to listen to the opening ceremony, you can do so at the site below. At the very end, there‘s a nice song by Buddy Davis called “He makes dreams out of nothing” :

http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/2007/05/26/creation-museum-officially-opens/

The "Thing" about comic books

IF THIS POST is supposed to be about Captain America’s recent "death," why is there a picture of “the Thing” up here? The answer will become clear as you read on!

If Captain America were a real person, the world would be mourning the news of his recent death in the comics right now. But no one is truly mourning. Nobody seems to be taking this the way a real death would be treated. “But Cap isn't real!” you cry. Very true, but you miss the point. If Cap's fictional “death” is unimportant, doesn't that mean his fictional “life” was unimportant?

Listen to this quote from the E-online Web page:

"This is the end of Steve Rogers, the meat-and-potatoes guy from 1941," (Marvel publisher Dan) Buckley told the wire service. "But Captain America is a costume, and there are other people who could take it over."

http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=e8c80ae9-7938-4ce5-97bc-4a71a2c47b0c

“Captain America is a costume.” It reminds me of a line by Iron Man's alter ego, Tony Stark. “Anybody who wears the armor is Iron Man.”

“Captain America is a costume.” That's the attitude these guys have toward these icons. Anyone can do it! Now if ANYONE can leap tall buildings in a single bound – then what makes Superman so super? I'm reminded of the movie “The Incredibles.” If everyone has super-powers, then doesn't that mean that NO ONE does?!

From a business perspective, why should they expect folks to keep buying comic books if it really doesn't matter what happens to the characters? Would you keep watching a show if you didn't really care about the characters – if you knew that whatever happened to them ultimately didn't matter? Hey, if I could come back from the dead, I wouldn't expect anyone to worry too much about my own well-being!

“Captain America is a costume.” With an attitude like that, it's no wonder that these characters are not treated like real people. But they should be. We seem to be turning away from realistic psychological characters in favor of graphic violence. The early Marvel comics featuring characters struggling with personal “real-life” issues don't seem to hold much sway with the current comic book crowd.

Let me tell you the story of my friend Benjamin J. Grimm. You know him better as “The Thing.” To put it mildly, the Thing has lived a rough life. You probably already know about his troubled youth and his exposure to cosmic rays, but let me tell you about what happened to him in just a three-year (or so) time span.

1. He and his friends get kidnapped and taken to a faraway planet and are forced to do battle with a bunch of super-villains. (“Marvel Super-heroes Secret Wars”)

2. After the battles, he decides to stay on the planet to sort things out in his life. While there, he meets an attractive woman and goes through various (G-rated) adventures with her. He is torn by his love for Alicia, his original girlfriend back on earth. But he is later attacked by HIMSELF – the original Ben Grimm, who was somehow psychologically cut off from “The Thing.” He wins the battle, but his attractive girlfriend ends up dying. (“The Thing,” issues 11-24)

3. He returns to Earth to learn that his best friend has stolen the heart of Alicia, his original girlfriend! He gets into a huge argument and (pardon the pun) storms out of the Fantastic Four.

4. He lives as a recluse for a time, then suddenly has to endure a painful physical change into a different kind of “thing.” His solo comic book series ends with him crawling away moaning something like, “Goodbye, cruel world!”

5. About a year later, he is back to his original form as the Thing, and back in the Fantastic Four! He even becomes best man at his old girlfriend's wedding!

You can read a better-written account of all this at the site below:
http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/t/thing.htm

Now if all of these things happened to a regular person, he would be an emotional wreck! I know that “to forgive is divine,” but for all that crap to happen to somebody without any kind of leftover emotional pain is just too ridiculous to believe. It's easier to believe in “The Thing” than it is to believe that anyone could endure all of this and bounce back none the worse for wear.

And that's the issue here. If people in comics aren't allowed to go through realistic emotional growth, then it makes them seem, well. . .like a cartoon. It's no coincidence that “Fantastic Four 300” pretty much marks the end of my “golden age” of comics. At that point, what more can you say? Apparently you can get beat up and attacked by virtually everybody, and your best friends can betray you, and you're still supposed to go on as if nothing happened.

No thanks. We need to be allowed to grow a little sometimes. You shouldn’t be surprised if someone leaves you after you abuse them.

So don't worry too much about Cap's death. Besides, it seems they'll be making a movie about him pretty soon. So even the folks at Marvel agree. You can die, and it doesn't really matter. When Stan Lee dies, it's no problem. He's just a “suit” anyway. Somebody else will be able to take his place. Right?

Right? . . .

You disagree? Well, then maybe you've outgrown comic books, too.

============================================================

Blogging friend Fred Hembeck knows what I’m talking about. This is a link to a comic strip of his that shows why it’s a good idea not to take comics too seriously.

http://www.hembeck.com/Dateline/AuntMayUncleBenGhosts.htm
==============================================================

My personal “best picture” of the past year would have to be “Phantom of the Opera,” which I saw for the first time and fell in love with immediately. It’s such a great story that I don’t feel there’s much that can be done to improve it. That’s why I was a bit taken aback by the news that there may be a sequel in the works!

From BroadwayWorld.com:

Andrew Lloyd Webber "99.9% Sure" for Phantom Sequel!

Tony Award-winning composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber speaks in his latest video blog about his return to the Paris Opera House with a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. He notes that the sequel would follow ideas developed with Frederick Forsyth, who release a sequel to the show in novel form The Phantom of Manhattan in 1999. Webber goes on to say that "there are various things in the plotting that I'm not happy with, but I think that I solved them." Forsyth is said to be "away at the moment" but Webber is hopeful that they'll be able to work it out upon his return since he's "pretty buzzed up about it."

http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=16287

Wow, talk about mixed feelings. Many people on the Phantom message board (link below) don’t like the idea at all, and I can understand why. “Phantom” is a very complete story. There doesn’t seem to be any need for a sequel. It’s sort of like making a sequel to “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.” While it may be possible, it just doesn’t seem necessary.

Not only that, sequels to classics don’t always go over very well. You’ve all seen the 1939 classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” but have you seen “Return to Oz?” No? Hmm. Well, how about “Journey Back to Oz?” No? Hmmmmm. Well, there’s the sequel to “Gone with the Wind.” It’s called “Scarlett.” Did you see the TV movie? No? Hmmmmmmm. Well, did you at least read the book? No? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

There was a musical sequel to “Annie.“ You didn’t see that one either, did you? I could go on “Hmming,” but you get the idea.

However, sequels are not always bad. It’s possible that another moving and powerful story could be told about the Phantom. It’s possible that the new play (assuming it is made) could be something good. Let’s reserve our judgment for now and go on with our lives. If it’s a great play, hooray! If it’s not - well, we still have the first one. :)

Here’s the great Phantom message board where I first heard about this:
http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/news/

If you’ve never seen the 2004 movie, please do! It’s one of my favorites, and you can read about it here:
http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/08/phantom-of-opera.html

Phantom of the Opera

I first heard the music from "Phantom of the Opera" on, of all places, the Jerry Lewis labor day telethon. They showed a video clip of "Music Of the Night." The beautiful song stuck with me, and I eventually got ahold of Michael Crawford's "Andrew Lloyd Webber" album, another real treat. But I never actually got to see the play, and I didn't get to see the Phantom movie when it was in the theaters. But I enjoyed the music that I had heard, and so one evening recently I decided to rent the movie.

Let's see. . .I think I cried about three times. Something like that. And it's been a long time since a movie has brought me to tears.

The story is about a young woman named Christine who becomes a popular singer at the Paris opera house. She even has her old boyfriend, Raoul, come to visit her and share his feelings of love for her. Sounds like a charmed life, right? But all is not well. You see, lurking beneath the opera house is part of the reason that Christine is such a great singer. She has been taking lessons from an "Angel of Music" -- an angel that was promised by her father before he died. Could this "Phantom of the Opera" be a true messenger from beyond?

Some of the most moving moments in the film come in places you wouldn't expect. At one point, Christine pays a visit to a cemetery. The song "Wishing you were somehow here again" shows us the heart of Christine and demonstrates her struggle to let go of the past. So we get a peek into the hearts of both Christine and the Phantom (and even a bit into Raoul's heart - his love for Christine is true. At the climax, he urges Christine not to "throw her life away" for his sake!)

At the end (I'm trying hard not to give anything away, folks, but it's not easy), the Phantom is brought to see the error of his ways, but the way this is brought about is completely unexpected. It has to do, I think, with the sharing of one's heart with someone else. It was a way of showing the Phantom, "You are not alone."

This film is awesome. An all-around great movie. Incredibly moving and beautifully filmed and acted and sung. I'm now a fan and have been keeping my eye out for Phantom-related information. I bought the soundtrack album and a cassette of the Broadway version (also awesome!). The movie was all I had hoped it would be - a beautiful, tragic story set to some beautiful music. Sadly, it seems a lot of "Phantom" fans don't like it for various reasons (It's not Michael Crawford, I hate her dress, etc.). Friends, let's not throw away something that's good just because it isn't perfect.

I've been humming the music to myself for days. I'd love to be in this show, but the problem is I want to play too many people. I want to be the Phantom, Christine, Raoul, Carlotta, those two opera owners, the cast of "Masquerade," etc. Hey, maybe I could do a "one-man" Phantom concert! Hmmm. . .

Here are some comments from two old friends of mine:

ERNIE: Hey Bert, what does he EAT? How does the Phantom eat?
BERT: I don't know. Maybe he catches fish in his little moat down there.
ERNIE: Oh, there are no fish in that water, Bert.
BERT: How do you know?
ERNIE: Well, he lives under the city, right?
BERT: UGH! The Phantom of the toilet!
================================================

Anyway, if you're looking for a great musical, I'd definitely recommend this one. Just watch out for that chandelier. . .

==================================================

Here's the official movie site:
http://phantomthemovie.warnerbros.com/

Yes, it really is still playing! Here's the web site of the play:
http://thephantomoftheopera.com

You can commune with other Phantom fans here:
http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/news/