Disqus - Latest Comments for Ralph

Re: The Festival of Mediocrity

Ralph — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:53:00 -0000

"How will we know when we're scraping the bottom"? Are you kidding me? If anything, the bottom fell out of the Academy Awards when Titanic won best picture and director instead of L.A. Confidential. I can't imagine 'sinking' lower than that!

I must say that I am amazed at the lambasting of the Oscars every year by smarmy people who have such high standards for cinema they can't enjoy a popular film that does not match their narrow template for great cinema. Despite what you folks seem to imply, mediocrity has always been rewarded, while those truly deserving have been snubbed. Citizen Cane, which is hailed as the best motion picture of all time by many, DID NOT win best picture in 1941. According to Wikipedia, "Orson Welles was booed when he picked up KaneÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s only Oscar for the night, for Original Screenplay."

Hollywood is a business, not a salon where art is always prized over commercial success. This reminds me of people who whine about professional sports because it's all about money. Yea, well there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny kids. Time to grow up.

Re: Mike’s World

Ralph — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:11:41 -0000

Yes, he is very good. Check out some songs on his My Space page, then buy the CD. And yes, as a matter of fact, I still subscribe to the Chalkhills (XTC) digest. But, I haven't posted in quite a while. Plan to write about the Fuzzy Warbles collection.

Re: Happy Birthday, Spike!

Ralph — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 22:18:16 -0000

My favorite Spike Lee film is one of his least watched, Crooklyn. It might be because his sister co-wrote the screenplay, and the story is very auto-biographical. It's a tender, thoughtful, subtle film - all qualities that many of his other films lack. I also liked 25th Hour. But there are many recent films I've heard good things about - but have not yet seen.

Sorry to say I am not a fan of his early films, including Do the Right Thing. I was very dissapointed with Malcolm X because it left out so many aspects of his life, so many interesting events -his debates with James Baldwin, his many visits to Africa, and it treated the Nation of Islam way too kindly methinks. And Malcom is presented as a cold, calculating leader - his warm human, frail human side is almost never shown.

Re: Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead

Ralph — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:06:05 -0000

Greg wrote: "The ideology of abolitionism was extreme and didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t fail or have to be moderated. Neither did the idea of deposing kings in favor of representative governments."

I must admit I was wrong about extremism. John Brown and the Abolitionists were the real extremists, not the slave owners. After all, has there ever been a better Capitalist system? US Slavery was the product of free markets and free white men! But they did have to compromise a bit since blacks basically became wage slaves and second class citizens after the Civil War.

And let's not forget those who opposed the divine rights of Kings! Those extremists who wrote the Magna Carta actually wanted the King to be bound by the rule of law! They even wanted subjects to be protected by Habeas Corpus. Of course, the idea that Royal blood is divine and that those who have it are annointed by God to rule is not an extreme ideology.

And thank goodness for The Virtue of Selfishness! That book, and the Satanic Bible, changed my life.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Ralph — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:37:40 -0000

Great Partsy interview. Looking foward to hearing the whole album and offering my two cents. (I'm still absorbing the eight Fuzzy Warbles discs I got for Valentines Day.) Of course I would be very surprised if any type of live performance came from the Monstrance. But hell, you never know, maybe Conan? Funny how my next post also mentions Sputnik -- the real one. Small world.

Re: Reign Over Me

Ralph — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:00:58 -0000

I wanted to like this movie. Even the New Yorker gave it a decent review. But I would not recommend that anyone see this film. The script was written by someone who has seen way too much television and feel-good Hollywood films. There are so many unbelievable aspects to this movie, I don't know where to begin.

First of all the idea that Don CheadleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s character, Alan, never had any contact with Charlie during the decade leading up to 9/11 makes no sense: they were college roommates and friends who were both practicing dentists in Manhattan, but Alan only thinks about contacting him five years after 9/11 because he sees him on the street? And why does Alan have no other male friends? Why do we never see him discussing Charlie with anyone other than his wife?

The beautiful but totally crazy woman who threatens to bring sexual assault charges on Alan for spurning her advances in his dental office is invited back to his office to discuss the problem alone! (Yea, right.) Then we discover that, not only does this crazy woman have the same therapist as Charlie (how clever) but Alan and this therapist set Charlie up with crazy woman at the end of the film -- despite the fact that Charlie has millions of dollars to exploit, and the woman has already proven to be capable of blackmail.

But, you see, in Hollywood world, Charlie just needs to get laid, then all his problems will be solved! Of course anyone who has taken Psych 101 knows that people suffering from such severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder are in no shape for any kind of relationship.

Charlie pulls a gun on a police officer (suicide by cop) and spends only three days in psychiatric evaluation, and is released. This is laughable. Here we have an emotional wreck of a man who has retreated the maturity of his teenage years, who cannot even sit in court without headphones to block out images of his family --- and the judge tells his ex-parents in-law that he'll let them decide his fate. The judge also goes out of his way to insult the lawyer representing New York State as well as Charlie's best friend and legal guardian for no reason.

I wish the director cared about presenting a realistic drama about devastating loss. But this film was a waste of Cheadle and Sandler's talents. Who the hell approves these scripts anyway?

Re: A Reason to Go On Living: That Chord

Ralph — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 22:02:59 -0000

Great post. Chords are magical things. Being a rhythm guitarist, I've always had a soft spot for hollowbodies in general. Owned one in High School for a short while. I don't think any other type of electric guitar sounds as warm to me. Can you imagine Chet Atkins playing a strat?

Re: Kurt Vonnegut’s Greatest Generation

Ralph — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:29:54 -0000

Cat's Cradle's always been my favorite. To me, it's his funniest novel. His cynical eye for dark fatalism depresses me sometimes. The last book of his I read was Mother Night. In the end, the spy becomes the real thing. The moral dilema is never resolved because the 'hero' begins to doubt his innocence. But his guilt is based on a misunderstanding of facts -- yet there is no turning back. Basically, death and judgment befall everyone, no matter which side you are really on. That's kind of a bummer. There's no revelation, no peace, no joy. It's all a sad, hopeless mess. I guess I changed over the years too.

Re: The Arrogance of Physicists

Ralph — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:23:41 -0000

This book should be required for anyone who cares about sound government policies based on objective scientific advice. Of course, this would exclude most conservative Republicans in our country.

Re: Steve Gilliard, 1966-2007

Ralph — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:28:16 -0000

I only met Steve once, I am very sorry to hear this news. He was too young.

Re: 40 Years Ago Today?

Ralph — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:32:47 -0000

People forget that Sgt Pepper was Paul McCartney's answer to Pet Sounds. But I prefer Pet Sounds to Sgt Pepper. But Revolver is, to me, the best pop/rock album ever.

Re: Welcome to Fuckin’ Deadwood!

Ralph — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:48:25 -0000

Damn, Im gonna miss new episodes of Deadwood. Saw that John from Cincinatti show -- it pretty much sucked like LA does.

Re: Welcome to Fuckin’ Deadwood!

Ralph — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:50:07 -0000

Shit, was I supposed to take a shot of whiskey everytime you said 'cocksucker?'

Re: Sopranos Watch: This Thing of Ours

Ralph — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:00:47 -0000

I think it's just silly to think that Tony dies. And what's with this idea that the man at the counter was a hitman? Don't you think you might glance at John Gotti eating at a small diner with his kids. Don't forget, Tony gets ink, people know his face. If the counter guy was a hitman, he'd have walked in, shot Tony and walked out. Hitmen don't linger at the counter, and dash to the bathroom. Sorry folks, but Chase was playing with you. So what happens after that scene? Well, most likely Tony is indcited for that gun charge, and some sort of Rico case is made. That's the set up. I must toot my own horn and tell y'all that I predicted that Tony's crew would get to Phil before Tony gets whacked. And, I knew that Phil's crew didn't want to take down the Jersey Boss anyway, and a truce was made. Chase is telling us that, as much as he didn't like Tony, Phil deserved what he got.

Re: La Vie en Rose, the Movie

Ralph — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:23:38 -0000

I agree that Marion Cotillard is absolutely sensational as Edith Piaf, but the film is a bit too surreal and disjointed to be considered a great movie. I was shocked to see that the film jumps from 1940 to 1947 and never shows a single scene of occupied or liberated France. A bio-pic about Edith Piaf and there's nothing about World War II? Hmmm, methinks the script could have used some work.

Re: Seduced All Over Again by the Superfly Soundtrack

Ralph — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:11:12 -0000

Don't forget his first few solo albums, they are amazing as well. Have Superfly in the original vinyl with the fold-out cover. The turntable is the best way to appreciate that masterpiece of soul.

Re: Antonioni and Bergman Bite the Dust

Ralph — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:06:02 -0000

This post reminds me of people I know who read the first chapter of a great novel and put it down because it's too difficult. What they are really saying is that they are too lazy to invest a little mental effort into the book. So, To all those who think that Bergman films are boring and tedious, how many have you actually watched? I've seen about 6 Bergman films and they are all very entertaining and, yes, they make you think. Sorry if that's such a drag for Online critics. Your loss.

Re: Steely Dan’s Top 10 Guitar Records

Ralph — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:47:13 -0000

I have been a huge SD fan since high school. I love their fusion of soul, jazz, folk and rock. SD albums contain some of the best lyrics outside Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

I think that every album is just about equally great with the exception of Gaucho and, perhaps the last one from 2003, Everything Must Go - which is good, not great.

NOTE: If you love Gaucho, don't read on.

I have to say that, for me, Gaucho is unlistenable. Back in the day, Rolling Stone gave it one star. Yes it has some good songs, but it just has a very cheesy sound to it. I don't mind slick, I just don't like boring - and that album bores me to tears. I would say that Two Against Nature is the album that Gaucho should have been back in 1980. It makes sense that SD took a long break after Gaucho. In fact Fagan's Nightfly and Kamakiriad are also better albums than Gaucho.

Gaucho single handedly created smooth jazz radio (ugh!), and caused many people to decide that they hated Steely Dan. So much so that I played Countdown and Pretzel Logic to an avowed SD hater, and she didn't believe me when I told her that she was listening to SD. "Well, it doesn't suck..." was all she could say.

Re: Steely Dan’s Top 10 Guitar Records

Ralph — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:23:10 -0000

Yea, My Old School is on my top 20 favorite singles of all time. Slamin' piano, funky beat, chunky melodic horns and great lyrics. As most of you know Becker and Fagan both met at Bard College in Annandale, NY. And, after looking at a map recently, Barrytown (that song from Pretzel Logic) is right near Annandale. And apparently Fagan did go back to Annandale when he gave a commencement address at Bard back in the 80s.

Re: RIP Grace Paley

Ralph — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:45:39 -0000

I saw Grace Paley at Vassar back in the 90s. She was a great reader, warm and funny. Here is what Vassar's Website says about her:

Grace Paley, the first recipient of the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit, was born in the Bronx in 1922. She is the author of three highly acclaimed collections of short fiction--The Little Disturbances of Man (1959), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974), and Later the Same Day (1985)--as well as three collections of poetry, including Leaning Forward, also published in 1985. Ms. Paley has taught at Columbia and Syracuse Universitites, and currently teaches at both City College of New York, where she is writer-in-residence, and Sarah Lawrence College, where she has taught creative writing and literature for 18 years. She received a Guggenheim fellowhsip in 1961, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1966, and an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1970. She is a member of the Executive Board of P.E.N. Actively involved in anti-war, feminist and anti-nuclear movements, Ms. Paley has been a member of the War Resisters' League, Resist, and Women's Pentagon Action, and was one of the founders of the Greenwich Village Peace Center in 1961; she regards herself as a "somewhat combative pacifist and cooperative anarchist." Ms. Paley has two children and one grandchild, and divides her time between New York City and Thetford Hill, Vermont. In Spring 1987, Ms. Paley was awarded a Senior Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of her lifetime contribution to literature.

Re: Led Zeppelin To Do A Benefit Show

Ralph — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:46:31 -0000

Yea, 'The Song Remains The Same' must be one of the most boring and silly concert movies. I remember thinking at the time, "man, they got all those great songs, and here they are playing 25 min version of Dazed and Confused and 15 min of Whole Lotta Love. They coulda fit at least 6 or 7 other Zep songs in that same time frame. But then, they'd have to work harder.

Re: A Beach Is A Place Where a Man Can Feel

Ralph — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:06:53 -0000

Quadrophenia is novel set to music, a human story about real people living real lives in post-war England. Tommy, equally brilliant, was about spiritual enlightenment and was filled with heavy-handed allegories. But Quadrophenia hits you where you live - troubled youth trying to figure out how to rebel, fight and survive in the adult world. It's about discovering who the hell you are and whether you even want to stick around in this crazy world of mods and rockers, pills and drink, cold angry parents and condescending adults. The ocean is his connection to Nature, to the timeless universe, a glimse into the mystery of life itself. The working class hero yearns to make something of himself without the benefit of art school or trips abroad on daddy's dime. Hard to believe that the album is neither played or mentioned in "The Kids are Alright" documentary. They have been neglecting it on recent tours it seems as well. Shame. In "A Hard Day's Night" a reporter asks Ringo if he was a "Mod or a Rocker" to which Ringo replies "I'm a Mocker".

Re: Little StevenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Rock and Roll Radio

Ralph — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:04:53 -0000

I am also a big fan of the Underground Garage. I must say that I was surprised to see the Pretty Things singles cover featured in your post. I must point out that the two most neglected gems of the late 60s era are The Pretty Things' "S.F. Sorrow" (the first true rock opera -- pre-dating the Kink's "Arthur" and the Who's "Tommy") along with "Parachute". The Pretty Things just slipped through the singles cracks and never really made it big -- but man, are they worth the listen.

Re: Shep’s Ireland

Ralph — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:59:47 -0000

Hey Gene! I read your book and really enjoyed it. I must admit, I am rather confused. Fast forward to about 30 minutes into the show, right after the commercials in the 3/17/67 broadcast that I uploaded and linked to this article and you will hear Shep himself state that he has Irish blood, and that his grandmother was a Rafferty. Now, maybe Shep was just wanted to be Irish like Norman Mailer, I don't know. If its not correct, I will post an erratum. Cheers!

Re: Shep’s Ireland

Ralph — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:07:23 -0000

Sorry, actually, it's 15 minutes into the show that he talks about having Irish blood (30 minutes are left in the broadcast). It's been a long day.

Re: Shep’s Ireland

Ralph — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:14:07 -0000

Wait, don't we get two grandmothers? What about his other one? Near the end of the broadcast, his Rafferty heritage is mentioned again at the pub.

Looking forward to the new edition.

Seltzer Bottle!

Re: The Desecration of Alistair Cooke

Ralph — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:57:20 -0000

I really miss listening to Alistair Cooke's 'Letter from America' on NPR. Very strange that he, of all people fell victim to this organ harvester. I thought being 95 would make one's organs off limits.

Re: Birthday Present… Wrapped In Black

Ralph — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:35:32 -0000

I recently re-read Watchmen and this film is very faithful to the story and its characters. I must respectfully disagree with most of this reviewer's comments on Watchmen. I think it's in the running for the best comic book film ever made. I do not say that lightly. They had to cut some corners on the back stories and side characters, but that didn't take away from the narrative strength of the film. Watchmen makes the Dark Knight and Ledger's Joker seem like tiny fish in an enormous sea. What we are dealing with here is a "superman" (Dr. Manhattan) who is not a flag waving, boy scout who always knows what's right and wrong, or always feels compassion for humanity. This reviewer wants the "superman" with a heart of gold to rescue the young lady in distress -- but that ain't the world of Watchmen. Sure, there's a place for that traditonal comic book hero, but haven't we moved beyond it? And I suppose it's troubling to him that the only true hero of Watchmen is an abused, violent and cynical vigilante turned detective named Rorschach who is the real driving moral force. The ending leaves the viewer with an uneasy feeling, an ethical puzzle that has no simple answer. Do the ends justify the means, even if that lets the egotistical 'bad guy' off the hook? Obviously, some people are unable to allow that sort of ambiguity to exisit in their pre-conceived comic book hero universe. The very reasons why this reviewer does not like Watchmen, is the very reason why it's considered a great work of fiction. It's the story -- not the art that made Watchmen the greatest graphic novel ever. This film, while not perfect, does the work justice. I cannot wait to pay my ten bucks and see it again. Who watches the watchers? Indeed.