​This is a treat.  It's the original Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett -- Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury -- recreating a song from Sweeney Todd.  This stands out because, although there was a taped TV production of the show with Lansbury, it had George Hearn in the title role.  He was excellent (I believe he's who I saw with on when the show played in Los Angeles), it's special to see the two originals.

This comes from a 75th birthday celebration for Stephen Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005 -- a production I was happily at.  And it was all wonderful.  My recollection is that they taped it for possible broadcast on PBS, but for whatever reason it was never aired.

This is the song "A Little Priest," which is when Mrs. Lovett explains to Sweeney her idea of what to do with the bodies he's killed in revenge.

(I have a fond memory of this number when I saw the stage production.  I'd taken a date, and as the song went on, she started sinking lower in her seat.  And kept singing lower.  And lower.  I whispered to her, asking what the problem was.  I said I'd told her the show was dark.  "But I didn't know it was about this," she whispered back.  But I told you it was dark, I whispered.  "But  I didn't know it was about this," whispered.  But I told you it was dark.  "But I didn't know it was about this."  And that kept going on a few more times as she kept sinking lower in her seat.  Ending with, of course, "But I didn't know it was about this."

​Well, just so  you know, it's about this --

So, Trump is now twice-impeached, four-times indicted, found liable for the equivalence of rape, a convicted fraud - and the leading choice by almost 50 points to be the Republican nominee for president.

Meet today's Republican Party.

Trump is worse than just that, of course, but it's a good starting point.  More on that in a bit, since yesterday was a very bad day for Trump.  A twofer, as it were.  But the court-ordered dissolution of the Trump Organization is a really good place to begin.  And it's even far worse, I think, that the news is reporting.

"Far worse" is a bold statement to make when the court has found Trump guilty of fraud without even having to go to the jury.  Their business certificates in New York State have been canceled, and independent receivers will be appointed to manage the dissolution of the canceled LLC's.

This really bad.  But a) that's an understatement, and b) stating the obvious.

To be clear, this ruling can be appealed, and of course it will be.  That doesn't mean it will be successful, though. And adding to the difficulty for Trump's attorneys in their appeal is that the judge sanctioned them for repeating failed argument that were called "borderline frivolous."

"Borderline frivolous" is not something to take lightly, and actually means a great deal more to lawyers than to us folk in the public.  Lawyers, after all, are allowed to make losing arguments all the time.  But when you go so far overboard that the judge repeatedly calls them "borderline frivolous" And Sanctions You for them, it's really bad.  Something that legal analysts have been pointing out.  So, that would seem to add a huge hurdle to any appeal.

How huge?  Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston writes that "A judge calling a lawyer’s argument 'frivolous' is the equivalent of saying it is no better than nonsense from a drunk in a bar, as I teach my Syracuse University College of Law students."

But it's worse than that for Trump's attorneys.  As Johnston adds, "Those lawyers may well find it wise to hire their own lawyers as Judge Engoron’s findings could form the basis of disbarment proceedings, something already underway against Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, the former federal prosecutor, and John Eastman, a former dean of the Chapman University School of Law in Orange, Calif."

So, again, this is really bad.  But, as I said, it's even far worse.  And something that I've heard discussed several years ago in relation to lawsuits against Trump, but not mentioned - yet - about yesterday's news.  But I'm sure it will be.  I discussed it with a lawyer friend, and he confirmed what I said about how "far worse" this is for Trump.

It's that so far, the story has been the dissolution of the Trump Organization.  But left out is that when public entities like banks lend money to someone, or a company, the loan agreement includes the fiduciary responsibility that the bank has to its investor that if whoever receives the loan is convicted of fraud (or perhaps any similar crime)…the bank must call in the loan.  And if the loan can't be repaid, the bank can take over the assets of the company.

The Trump Organization has massive loans they owe to banks.  This is not good for them.  (Yes, I am the master of understatement at times…)

Further, as my lawyer friend noted, although a person is not officially ruled as being guilty until an appeal is finalized, loan contracts are written in a way that don't take appeals into consideration.  If you're found guilty of fraud, they can - or must - call in the loan.  Whether or not there is an appeal.

I'm sure we'll hear more about this as reporters and legal analysts read more of the ruling and digest it.  But for now, it's fair to say - oh, you know.  It's a really bad day for Trump.

The other matter I noted above is much smaller. Something most people didn't even notice, I'm sure.  It's not even anything criminal or even court related.  But it's nonetheless something that's been a bugaboo for me for a long while - in fact, I wrote about it just the other day, again - because I think it has very substantive meaning for Trump, the GOP and the coming election.

Every few months, I write something here or on social media about how the media uses "authoritarian" when describing Trump and the GOP, which bothers me.  That's because, has harsh as "authoritarian," they haven't made the leap to calling it "fascism."  And fascism is the more accurate, more blunt word that speaks much louder (and infuriates Republicans).  While "authoritarian" is accurate, I think it's softer - not only for not being "fascist," but also because it has as its linguistic base the word "authority," which can sound almost good to those not paying close attention.

Welll…Finally!  MSNBC uses the "F" word!  Yesterday, they had a chyron on the screen which read --

Yes, they’ve used the word before – but rarely, compared to “authoritarian.”  And when used, it’s been someone referencing it in conversation.  But far more to the point, I’ve never seen it in a chyron, which I think has much more impact – not just because it means there was a news decision made to use it, but also because (as a chyron) it sat on the screen for about 45 seconds. 

Coming on the heels of that two-minute fascism “ad” I posted last week, hopefully starting to take hold. 

Yes, it was a very bad day for Trump.  Who is now convicted of fraud.

On top of all that, y'know, other stuff.

As we head into the last week of the baseball season, before going into the playoffs, this will be a real treat for longtime baseball fans and most especially those who grew up in Brooklyn when the Dodgers played there.  But it special, period.  For the “Mystery Guest” segment on What’s My Line?” the contestant is the legendary Roy Campanella.  He was a great catcher, now in the Hall of Fame, who was coming off the second of this three Most Valuable Player Awards when this was on TV in 1953.  Five years later, he was in a tragic auto accident that left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair.  That’s how most people have seen him, so it’s a wonderful pleasure to see him in his prime.
 
If you want to jump to the “Mystery Guest” segment, it starts around the 15:45 mark

Back in 2019, I wrote about a great documentary I saw on the unlikeliest of subjects that one would consider "exciting" and moving -- sailboat racing.  But it was.  The film was Maiden, about the first all-female crew to participate in the Whitbread Round the World sailing race in 1989, that sets out from England.

It's airing now on the Movieplex cable channel, and it's next scheduled for this afternoon at 3:26 PM (Los Angeles time).  And then will run again the next day, Wednesday, September 27 very early at 1:37 AM -- again, Los Angeles time.  (It's why God created the DVR...)  

A great thing about Movieplex is that they don't have commercials.  A bad thing is that they aren't on all cable services -- though are on a lot.  These are the services that I believe carry Movieplex.

• Cox
• Spectrum
• AT&T U-verse
• Xfinity
• DirecTV
• Mediacom

If your system does carry Movieplex, here's a link to their schedule for the next two weeks.  The times they have listed are Eastern.  (For Spectrum in Los Angeles, it's on Channel 620.)

Unfortunately, it's not available for streaming on either Netflix or Amazon Prime -- which is why, in particular, I mention it here.  However, it can be rented on Amazon Prime for $3.99, if you want to see it but don't have the Movieplex Channel on your cable system.  You can get it here.

Just so you know that I'm not alone in my love of this movie, it has a 98% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  And a 97% audience rating.  It really is this wonderful.  And exciting.  And moving.

What makes the documentary so great -- beyond the story -- is the access to video they have.  Lots of footage from childhood and growing up of the driven-force and skipper behind the effort, Tracy Edwards.  (Now, Tracy Edwards MBE.)  But also the incredible footage on the boat during the race -- a video crew offered its services to all the competing boats, but no other boat wanted to take them on.  The women, however, figured they had nothing to lose, so what the heck, sure.  It's phenomenal material -- a record of the 30,000 mile race that took about six months!  And then, to top it all off, there's the story and its twists and turns.

Again, it's great.

Here's the article about the documentary that I wrote back in June 18, 2019, along with the trailer.

As a bonus, I'll re-post this brief piece I added three months later --

Back in late June, I wrote a rave review here of the absolutely wonderful documentary Maiden that's about the first all-female crew to participate in the Whitbread Around-the-World race in 1989.  The ship's captain, who put the crew together, Tracy Edwards, also founded The Maiden Factor, an organization that works with charities to provide an education for girls who don’t currently have that basic human right.  In doing so, the foundation sails the ship around the world to help raise money.

As I've mentioned here, I occasionally head down to Marina del Rey where my cousin Jim Kaplan has a small motorboat/sailboat, and the two of us tool around the Pacific Ocean.  Yesterday was one of those days.  And as we turned down the basin where his boat is docked and headed towards the main channel, we looked towards what's known as Basin A and what we saw there was --

As we finish Yom Kippur, which starts tonight at sundown, I thought I'd get this in under the wire and repost this video from last year.  It's the song "Avinu Malkeinu" which comes at the very end of the service.

This was one of my mother's favorite songs for the High Holidays, and it's sung wonderfully here by 13 cantors from around the world.  I find some of the visual editing a little distracting, but not the singing.

Avinu Malkeinu means "Our Father, Our King," and the prayer itself is basically one of supplication, while also asking God for compassion whether or not it's deserved.  It can be recited throughout the year, though the prayer is an important part of 10 days of the High Holidays starting with Rosh Hashanah and notably sung at the end of the service atoning at the start of the new year. 

Or something like that.  There are many variations, and even verses, whose order I think maybe can even be flexible, and the different denominations handle it their own way.