Music and Comedy - Timing is everything

Comedy and Music are closely related in many ways, none more important than the issue of timing.

As Mark Twain said, the difference between the right work and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. As I say, the difference between the right timing and almost the right timing in comedy is the difference between a thunder clap and a belch. (Okay, a belch is funnier than thunder, but you get my point.)

Think of the Marx Brothers, the Ritz Brothers, Mae West and Harry Lauder. Now think of how intimately their comedy was entangled in music. Think of Charlie Chaplin's dance with the globe in "The Great Dictator." (As W.C. Fields is reported to have complained, "He's not comic, he's a damn ballet dancer.)

Better yet, think of Laurel and Hardy, whose comedy at times borders on ballet.

This UTube video highlights the way Laurel's and especially Hardy's, talents bridge music and comedy. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOXYWEB7LgA

The Stations of Middle Aging

1. You're almost middle aged when you decide you need to find a doctor.

2. You're middle aged when decide you should schedule an annual check up.

3. You're really, really middle aged when you put your doctor on speed dial.

4. You know you're almost at the end of middle age when you have to write down a list of your medications before you see a new doctor.

5. You know you've left middle age behind when you have to write down a list of your doctors before you see a new new one.

When Sirens sing

When Sirens sing their voices shimmer
Like a mirage above the wine dark sea.

Do they attend their sisters' seductive song                                   
Or only the grunts and gasps of sailors
Belaboring the waves with frantic oars?

Are Sirens aroused by sounds of human lust
Or inflamed merely to engender death?

Do they pity or revel in men's mortal cries
As  sacrificial flotsam sinks like the sun
Beneath the surface of the sea.

What consummation do Sirens ache and strain for
As Ulysses tugs and strains against his chosen bonds?

An Apology to the People of Washington, D.C.

On February 1, I posted a satiric piece, “Ten Days and Counting,” castigating senator-elect Scott Brown on his lack of accomplishments in the Senate nearly 2 weeks after the election.

As I say, this piece was purely satiric since Brown had yet to be sworn in as Senator. Apparently, the newly elected senator took me seriously and hurriedly had himself sworn in shortly thereafter, just in time to cast a procedural vote stalling the confirmation of an Obama nominee.

Mother Nature failed to see the humor in this situation and slammed the Middle Atlantic states, and especially the District of Columbia, with record breaking snow storms. The district’s schools and most federal offices were closed down while the city tried to dig itself out.

I fear that my blog posting on February 1 was the trigger for this chain of events, like the proverbial butterfly in Mexico who beats its wings and causes a typhoon in the Pacific. Although shutting the federal government down for a few days is probably not the worst thing that could happen, the guilt of disrupting the lives of the good citizens of the District is a heavy burden.

I most humbly apologize.

February 19th Fund for Haiti Relief

Happy Birthday to me!

At my time of life, birthdays have lost some of their appeal. So I'm appealing to you to donate to Oxfam America to support Haiti Emergency relief.

I've set up the February 19th Fund on the Oxfam America site to make it easy for you to donate. And to make my birthday more meaningful.

Thanks.

Two weeks and counting. . .

It has been two weeks since Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate. As we begin the second month of his term, it is surely time to look back and see what Sen. Brown has accomplished.

What, in fact, has he done to further the security and prosperity of Massachusetts and the nation? The sad answer is nothing.

Despite the perilous times in which we live, with two wars and wounded national and world economies he has yet to take a single positive action. No bills passed, no legislation proposed, no soul stirring oratory on the Senate floor.

In fact, he has not participated in a single legislative committee meeting or cast a single vote or even attended a single session of the Senate. How does this compare with his campaign promises and electioneering rhetoric? Pretty poorly, I'm afraid.

If Sen. Brown does not get his act together and soon, he will be soundly defeated when his seat comes up for reelection. And deservedly so!

It’s the Economy, Stupid!

The conservative American Enterprise Institute has come up a an interesting analysis of Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s senate seat: http://www.american.com/archive/2010/january/massachusetts-the-educated-class-versus-the-people

The thesis is that college graduates, the “educated class,” voted for Coakley while less educated voters stayed home or voted Republican. The article is thoughtful, intelligent and totally misses the point.

The Brown vs. Coakley election result is a perfect symbol for the Republican country club conservatives’ “culture war” theory: Effete liberals are blind to the needs of hardworking, patriotic Americans. The alternative theory is that deregulation, combined with stupid risk taking by big business, tanked the economy leaving hardworking, patriotic Americans in a world of hurt.

Less educated voters who supported Obama, were hard up economically before the recession and are feeling under the gun. Not surprisingly, their unemployment rate is higher, income is lower, and they feel time is running out. They want their needs addressed NOW. In short, they’re pissed.

Pissed voters are likely to stay home or vote against the party in power.

Brown tapped into this anger and then professional conservative agitators leaped in with campaign money and “independent” campaign ads. The ads offered no practical solutions to the economic emergency. Neither did they offer a practical alternative to the Democrats' attempts at health care reform--the focus for many voters' anxiety and anger. Apparently, they didn’t need to.

That’s how partisan democracy works.