To help celebrate the Opening Day, we'll start the year as is our tradition -- with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti (in a Cubs jersey) playing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” I think it was done in honor of the Cubs 2016 World Series, their first in 108 years, since the video was posted on November 6, 2016. And the musicians are in street clothes, but many are wearing Cubs paraphernalia or blue. It's a wonderful and fun arrangement, too, not trying to overwhelm such a small, charming song with orchestral bombast, but arranged with an almost old-timey feel. And Muti seems to be having a good time with it all.
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Just to follow-up on Jessie Buckley as ‘Sally Bowles’ in 2022 London production of Cabaret, this is her singing “Maybe This Time.” (The song wasn’t in the original musical, but since the movie it’s officially been interpolated into the show). Her rendition starts lovely and then just grows on you and becomes truly moving. Man, do I hope some video of the production gets released at some point… Ten years ago -- almost to the day, on March 13, 2013 -- I wrote a a semi-facetious article (though only "semi") about how Blue states trying to find a solution to gun violence should take a page out of Red states getting around lthen-egal abortion laws by making the process near impossible. It seems like a good time to repeat it. The Good Thing We Can Learn from Anti-Abortion States
I was watching the news the other day, seeing several more stories about how states are continuing to get around the legality of abortion. Though abortion is legal, the states are writing laws to make the availability of abortion near impossible. These could be from zoning laws, or code requirements and medical licensing. As a result, if the ability to have an abortion isn’t available to a woman, it doesn’t matter how legal it is. You can’t get an abortion. I can only imagine how wrenching this is to women who want to exercise their legal right to have an abortion. Especially if it’s for health reasons. But any reason. After I finished ungnashing my teeth, however, I realized that there’s a lesson that can be learned here – not about abortions, but another issue that’s just as divisive. And using those lessons, it would be possible to start making a dent in a problem that the vast majority of Americans are now saying they want addressed. Gun control. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the most rabid gun advocates and the radical fringe group, the NRA, are right, that the Second Amendment is inviolate and that every American has the right to buy whatever gun they want, no matter how many rounds of ammunition the weapon can fire in 10 seconds. Using the logic and tactics of the anti-abortion activists, however, there is nothing to say that states – or even local communities – can’t take that legal right and make it as unavailable as possible. Some suggestions to start with. Anyone who wants to sell a gun can only do so in a standalone store that has a business license permitting operation. Any gun store must also have a separate license to sell guns. Any license to sell guns is good for only one, specific type of gun. Any license to sell a specific type of gun is good for only one manufacturer. A gun store must meet certain zoning and code requirements: No gun store can be within 1,000 feet of a liquor store, tavern or any establishment that sells tobacco. No gun store can be within a mile of any school or place of worship. A gun store shall be licensed to sell guns only. No other merchandise may be sold, including tobacco, alcohol, soft drinks, chewing gum or beef jerky. A gun store must have at least one bathroom for every employee. No gun store may operate any electronic food devices, including but not limited to a refrigerator, coffee pot, hot plate and microwave. A gun store is required to have air conditioning, sound-proofed ceilings, locked cases in which all guns are kept, and be wheelchair accessible. Only one gun may be removed from a locked case at a time. Ammunition cannot be sold in a gun store, but must be sold in an ammunition shop only. An ammunition shop shall be licensed to sell ammunition only, and no other products. Every box of bullets must be individually licensed. An ammunition shop cannot be within 1,000 feet of a gun store. An ammunition shop cannot be within 2,000 feet of a liquor store, tavern or any establishment that sells tobacco. No gun store can be without five miles of any school or house of worship. The owner of a gun store or ammunition shop must pass an official test to be personally licensed. A gun or ammunition store owner license is good for one year only. The owner of a gun store or ammunition shop is required yearly to take a two-week gun safety course. The gun safety course must be retaken every year. A two-day refresher course for gun safety must be taken quarterly for gun store owners. Any employee of a gun store or ammunition shop must be licensed yearly and take a four-day gun safety course every year. Any owner or employee of a gun store must have a high school diploma from the state in which he or she works. No owner or employee of a gun store or ammunition shop may have ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or more than two traffic violations in any calendar year. Any alcohol-related conviction prohibits someone from selling guns or ammunition for a probationary period of three years. An owner or employee of a gun store must pass a target score at a licensed gun range each quarter with every gun model the store sells. Failure to pass a minimum score for any gun invalidates all other scores and that employee may not sell guns. Neither guns nor ammunition may be sold on the Sabbath. Before selling a gun, the salesperson must get an MRI brain scan and consult with a psychologist to ensure that they understand the full ramifications of their actions. All owners of a gun store or ammunition shop must offer Affordable Health Care to all its employees. As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been a massive fan of Jessie Buckley since before she started to get known here (and probably still isn’t hugely well-known, though much better known). That was when she had a tiny role in Chernobyl, and she leaped out to me from her few scenes, since I thought she’d be perfect for a film project I was working on. When I initially brought her up, the response was understandably, “Who’s she?” Over time, her talent became evident, though she still wasn't well-known. Now, it's "Yes, she's great.” What most people here probably aren’t aware of is that last year she appeared in a limited-run production in London of Cabaret, with Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee. (For accuracy sake, it opened in mid-December 2021.) I dearly wanted to go when I first read about it – probably six months before it was set to open -- but then the pandemic hit, it got delayed, eventually opened during still-difficult travel, and because of the limited run (which subsequently got extended with other actors, because it became a huge hit) and because it was done in a small venue made to look like the Kit Kat Klub, tickets were massively expensive, maybe as much as $500. Both actors won the Olivier Award. Here's her enthusiastic, emotional acceptance speech – I’ve been trying to find video of anything from her performance in Cabaret, but so far nothing. However, there are some selections from the cast album available online – and not shockingly they’re amazing. I get the sense that it was recorded during a performance. This is her rendition of the title song – and it’s remarkable. In part for the purity of her voice, in part for her range, in part for the interpretation of a quality actress, in part for how it builds. Or to put it this way: it’s the performance you’d expect from Jessie Buckley. By the way, lest anyone be surprised how good she is in this, she actually sort of began because of her singing. She was on a reality TV show called I’d Do Anything, a great title for a competition show auditioning for the roles of Nancy and Oliver in an upcoming London production of Oliver! She was 18 at the time and finished second. (And beat out the third-place finisher Samantha Banks, who later played Epinine in the movie of Les Miserables.) So, people shouldn’t be too surprised that she’s got good pipes. (She sings a lot in one of her earlier movies, about a rough, working-class girl who wants to be a country music singer.) But man, does she have amazingly good pipes. There's really not much new to add, again. Again. So, pretty much all that can be done is repeat things over and over again. Again. Because then the points don't go away, and the focus can't be changed to something else. Three schoolchildren and three adults were shot to death in Nashville yesterday. Six people dead, killed by a woman with two assault weapons. Fewer doors wouldn't have helped, she shot up the door with one of her assault weapons and just walked in. A good guy with a gun wouldn't have helped. Assault weapons would have blown that good person away every time, especially if they just have a single-shot pistol. And often the bad guy with the gun (sorry, I mean with the assault weapon) will also be wearing protective tactical gear. "Thoughts and prayers" (tm) won't help, because they haven't helped yet, year after year after year. Though if one is going to send "thoughts and prayers" (tm), at least make them about there no longer being any more mass killings. It's true that now is not the time to talk about safe gun laws -- that time was long before this mass killing. And it again bears repeating, again, that the vaunted Second Amendment grants the right of gun ownership to "militias," rather than individuals, and further, also makes clear very specifically that they not only must be regulated, but "well-regulated." By the way, when people say we need to ban assault weapons, it's important to realize that that's not phrased correctly. What we need is to re-enact the assault weapons ban that was already the law, under which mass killings plummeted, because Republicans and the corporate-owned NRA terrorist organization got it repealed. And it's important, again, to add a reminder about Rep. Andy Clyde (R-GA), again. He's the congressman who thought it would be a really fun idea to pass out assault weapon lapel pins for his fellow GOP-representatives to wear in place of the American flag pin they usually hide behind. No word yet how many Republican members of Congress were wearing their assault weapons pins yesterday. Or if Rep. Clyde was handing out any. Now, I should add one touching statement that released by Republican Congressman Andy Ogles, who represents the district in Tennessee where the mass killing took place yesterday. As you might imagine, the assault weapon mass killing had a notable impact on him. He said -- “My family and I are devastated by the tragedy that took place at The Covenant School in Nashville this morning. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost. As a father of three, I am utterly heartbroken by this senseless act of of violence.” The name "Andy Clyde" might be familiar to you. He's the Republican representative who sent out the follow family Christmas card this year -- It was very nice that Rep. Andy Clyde mentioned his family in his statement, since one can see how meaningful assault weapons are to his family, having twice as many as the two that the mass-shooter had when she killed the three children and three adults. And yes, the use of "mass" in relation to his family Christmas card takes on grisly context. So, between Rep. Andy Clyde and Rep. Andy Ogles, it wasn't a good day for Republican "Andy" congressmen yesterday. Perhaps they can form a club. My friend, the inveterate Chris Dunn was at the WGA Awards a couple weeks ago, where he won for Daytime Drama. I’m going to say that this is his sixth WGA Award, but he’s won so many he’s lost count (and don't even ask about how many nominations) -- though in fairness to the other nominees this year, his show Days of Our Lives was actually the only one nominated. Really. Honest. Needless to say, that makes waiting to hear who the winner is SO less stressful. I like to say that Chris being in the category scared off all the other shows, who figured he's won so often why bother competing. That's not true, of course, but I like to say it. After returning from the event, he sent me this video of Charlie Kaufman getting the lifetime Laurel Award for screenwriting. Kaufman, if you don’t know his name, wrote such unique and eclectic movies as Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, the animated Anomalisa and many others. He gave a wonderful, blunt, scathing five-minute speech about dealing with studio executives, that will make most screenwriters -- and perhaps audience members, too -- deeply appreciative, and so I'm posting it below And as a nice bonus to the video, he’s introduced by the terrific Jessie Buckley, who starred in his most recent film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. I’ve adored here since before she started to get known here, and have recommended her for projects I’ve written before she started to break through. So, it's enjoyable to see her fun, enthusiastic introduction. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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