So, following my late-night heart-to-heart with my dear neighbor below, as I wrote about the other day, I decided to ask my neighbor next door -- with whom I share a wall where my TV is -- if I owned her an apology. I didn't know if she was in the Night of Long Talk and had been annoyed by it. No, she said, she wasn't in. Why, what was the problem??
I explained that the fellow below had -- and she interrupted me. "Oh, him? Right below you? He's the guy who yelled at me about my parking space." What a guy! Well, I was certainly sorry to hear that, but at least I knew I likely had someone on my side... Anyway, I explained that he had come up at 10:45 at night ("What??!") to complain about me making too much noise, and had stayed for an hour. She had a quizzical, almost bug-eyed look cross her face for a moment. And then she said, "What is he talking about? You're the quietest neighbor I've ever had." And then when I said how he had come up that night because he was complaining that my TV was too loud, I asked if I've ever bothered her with my TV. "No," she said really bluntly. "That's because...I've -- never -- heard --your TV." I didn't know whether to laugh or bang my head on the wall. Halfway mode won out, and I just rolled my eyes to heaven. "He's a punk" was her description. "He just complains." Another county heard from. I did mention to her that I'd bought an extension cord so that when it's actually late, I can plug in headphones. "You shouldn't have to do that!," she said. "And besides, you're really quiet." But I said it was as much for me, as my deal pal below, that if it made my life easier, much as I though it idiotic to do, I was fine with it. Anyway, at least I know if that the owner or manager or whoever else might get involved, I now have both my other direct neighbors in full support. I was pretty sure of it (I'd spoken with the neighbor on my other side, as well, the day before), but it's nice to have that certainly in your hip pocket. And I've sent off my overwhelming polite, but just as blunt and pointed letter to the building owner and manager. Just to thoughtfully keep them apprised of the situation. So, while my dear buddies below complain, I'm doing my best to build a force field around me while also recruiting an international coalition army. I do not anticipate a ground war. Though being on the floor above, I can't swear that there won't be drone strikes.
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For the longest while, the only video that was available online of the very moving memorial for Jim Henson was when the group of Muppet performers one-by-one sang a heartbreakingly beautiful version of the song, "Just One Person," which I posed here. A few more videos of the memorial have now made their way into the world, and this is one of the best of them. It's Caroll Spinney as Big Bird performing an absolutely spellbinding rendition of Kermit's iconic song, "Being Green." Just his entrance alone is beautiful by itself without a note even being sung. The most remarkable thing about the performance is how Caroll Spinney made it through without breaking into tears. And it seems like he came close a few times. Note the color of the neck ribbon that the big yellow bird is wearing... Tonight (Friday) on PBS, Live from Lincoln Center will have a concert version of Sweeney Todd starring the great Welsh tenor Bryn Terfel.
I saw him doing this show about five years ago at the Chicago Lyric Opera when he performed the role for the first time, so it was big news, and he was quite wonderful. The production was very good, though the actress playing Mrs. Lovett wasn't right. She was an opera singer, so her singing was great, but the role calls far more for a comic actress, like Angela Lansbury in the original. Well, for this Live from Lincoln Center production, they had the wise sense not to cast an opera singer, and instead the role of Mrs. Lovett will be played by...Emma Thompson! Set the DVR. In Los Angeles, it begins at 9 PM. I'm sure the time will vary from city to city -- and maybe even the date. I don't tend to use ebook readers all that much, though last year at a press event I was given one by the company Kobo, so I occasionally take it when I travel. Kobo isn't all that well-known in the U.S., though it's reasonably successful in other parts of the world. It's a perfectly nice ebook reader, though I think the Kindle and Nook probably have advantages. Anyway, a couple months ago, I was coming back from one of my trips to Chicago, had the Kobo with me...and left it in the seatback on the plane. The problem was that since I rarely use it, I just didn't think of checking for it. I immediately called lost-and-found - though "immediately" is somewhat a misnomer, since trying to find the phone number of an airline's lost-and-found is a numbing process. At least it is with American. Why on earth they make it so difficult, and just don't list each airport is beyond me. Lost-and-found has to be a heavily used number. Anyway, cutting the story down a bit because it's unimportant to this tale, after leaving a bunch of messages (you only get a recorded message), I actually got a phone call back from that they thought they found my Kobo ebook reader! I figured I must be one of 12 people in the U.S. who ever had his lost item found. Though I still had to confirm it was mine. But it was found around the date I'd lost mine, and might have even been on the flight, so I felt pretty confident. The rep had to check first, and she read off the books on the reader, and -- none of them were mine! Aggghh!! I was gnashing my teeth. What were the odds of finding a second Kobo around the same time, and even perhaps on the same flight?!! So, regretfully, I said it wasn't mine and hung up. What were the odds, indeed? And the more I thought about coming so close, the more I thought about those odds. It just didn't seem likely. I'd mentioned the story to a few people, and they hadn't even heard of Kobo. So, those odds, again -- finding two of them??? It had to have been mine. It had to. But those books -- they weren't on my reader. So, how in the world could... And then it hit me. Most, if not all ebook readers try to sell you other books to buy, and they list them on the main page. I suddenly became nearly absolutely certain that the rep was reading the names of those books to me...and never hit the icon that says "Library" off near the bottom. I became near 100% certain that that was my Kobo ebook reader that had been found...and I sent it back!! I tried calling the airline's lost-and-found back, and left a whole bunch of messages, even to the point of saying that I was sure they'd sent it off to their clearing house by now, but could they call me back with the number of that. But alas no call. It's one thing to lose an item. I didn't like doing that. But what really mortified me was that I'd done the near impossible -- I'd actually found it in an airline's lost-and-found...and gave it back!!!! When I went to the IFA Berlin tech trade show, I told the story to my friend Ed Bott, who I often mention here, who is one of the most tech-savvy people I know. And he absolutely agreed with me, but was even more certain that that had been my Kobo ebook reader. And so too were a group of people who should know better than almost anyone. And it was those people from whom luck smiled. It was the people from Kobo. At one of the events I attended at IFA Berlin a few weeks ago, there was a room filled with vendors from about 50 companies. And one of them was Kobo. I made my way around the room, and eventually got to the Kobo booth. Once there, they began showing me their latest products. Now, as I mentioned above, I had been given the Kobo ebook reader at a press event last year -- it was at a special gathering at IFA Berlin, thrown by Kobo. And as it turned out, several of the same people from last year were at the Kobo booth, and we remembered each other. I told them my tale of woe -- and to a person they all agreed, with zero uncertainty, that that had absolutely been my Kobo that was found. They knew for certain, better than anyone, that it was rare to find a Kobo in the United States. And that, yes, there are other books promoted on the main page. And that's when the mortifying tale had a happy ending. They had a new model they were bringing out. It was almost identical to the one I had lost, the Aura. The difference was that this one was waterproof -- and called the Aura H20. If I'd like to review it, they said, we'd be happy to send you one. Huzzah! Yes, I said, and I have it now. By the way, I usually fine waterproofed products a bit of a gimmick, but an ebook reader is one of the few that actually makes sense. People take their ebook readers to the beach, or sit by a pool, or even sit on a rubber raft in the pool with it. Some people (the Kobo people told me) even take them in the bath, wrapping them in plastic first. So, this is really a smart idea, and it's the only one on the market that's manufactured to be waterproof. So, I think the company has a very intriguing product. I had intended to tell this story, but other things got in the way, and I hadn't gotten around to it. But then I saw a video about KLM lost-and-found, and it was so utterly wonderful that I immediately knew I had to post it here. And posting it here, it was clear that the ideal lead-in was my Tale of the Kobo Ebook Reader. And by the way, as loopy as the ebook reader tale is...I think this video trumps it. But then, I think this video trumps a lot. I should not that what I love too is that this is for KLM. That was the first airline I ever took as a little kid on a family trip, so I have wonderful memories of it. And I hadn't flown the airline since -- until I took it two years ago to my first IFA Berlin. It was a wonderful flight in both directions, and the best of all my three trips. I also blew away the flight attendants since I still had the little gift I was given as a kid. It was a portable chess set, like a small portfolio, with the KLM logo on the front. They all were stunned to see it, and said it was far better than the gift they give kids today. And then, they asked if I'd like one of those gifts, as well, to sort of round out things. I thought it was only proper to accept -- and they were right, my chess set was far better. The point here is that I really like KLM. And after this video, I like it even more. Watch it to the very end. Really. As long as we're in New York with Derek Jeter, I thought it appropriate to have someone pretty synonymous with the city, as well, though from another angle. So, here's a new "Mystery Guest" segment of What's My Line? with Ed Sullivan. The thing about this is that Ed Sullivan, whose nickname was "Old Stoneface" is the last person you'd expect to go off the wall and be lunatic. And yet...there he is, in a way you'd never expect. In a way the studio audio clearly never expected. By the way, this particular broadcast is so old that Sullivan's show is still called Toast of the Town. Today, barring a rainout, is Derek Jeter's last game in Yankee Stadium. He's retiring after the following series in Boston against the Red Sox, thus ending a year-long, non-stop, near god-like, caravan tribute of the Yankee captain. I like Derek Jeter well enough, at least as much as I can like any Yankee. He's had a great career, the sixth most hits by any player with 3,461, and a lifetime batting average of .310. And he's been pretty classy throughout. But -- my head is numbed from the unrelenting praise which has always struck me as wildly over-exaggerated, bordering on head exploding. (Not whether is a terrific ballplayer -- he is -- but there are people debating whether he's the Greatest Yankee Ever. The greatest!! Keep in mind that this list includes Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe Dimaggio, not to mention Mickey Mantle.) That said, while I believe my opinion here to be reasonably objective, I couldn't swear that my anti-Yankee bias was creeping in. And then happily I saw this from Keith Olbermann, which he did I believe on Tuesday. I don't always agree with everything he says about baseball, but I do agree with much of it. And even when I don't agree, and he's being a bit hyperbolic or holier-than-though, I still tend to note how well-thought out his opinion is. And Olbermann is a New Yorker. While he shows a fairly even-handed side in his baseball opinions, it does tend to shift a bit to NYC. But then, he's also a baseball historian, so I suspect that came heavily into play when he sat down to speak his peace. (Technical note: he refers several times to "WAR." That stands for "Wins Against Replacement," basically a statistic about how valuable a player is to he team compared to when another teammate plays in his place.) Even if you don't follow baseball, I think Olbermann is pretty compelling here. In fairness, he could have mentioned the statistics I did above, which are Jeter's finest. But then, Olbermann wasn't making a case that Jeter wasn't a wonderful ballplayer, just that the monumental over-hype...well, bordered on head-exploding. This was about hype and perspective. |
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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