tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4501973966376854957..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Random blogservations...By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51067131086307809082012-02-27T09:54:00.884-08:002012-02-27T09:54:00.884-08:00Hey Ken, I'm 61yrs old and I found the 84th Ac...Hey Ken, I'm 61yrs old and I found the 84th Academy Awards show boring. The only movie I saw was the Bridesmaids(funny). As a black woman I'm tired of seeing Billy Crystal get away with doing black face comedy, if that was a conservative you'd never hear the end of it and enough of the Republican jokes, as if no one in the audience is a Republican.flygirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12235213949646287366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32670011586488423532012-02-27T09:03:43.763-08:002012-02-27T09:03:43.763-08:00D. McEwan said...
"Well Ray had seen it befo...D. McEwan said...<br /><br />"Well Ray had seen it before. He's writen several timnes of how seeing Phantom of the Opera in its original release in 1925 when he was five years old transformed him, and warped his view for life..."<br /><br />I hadn't known that fascinating fact about Bradbury. Imagine seeing Phantom of the Opera at five. I must say the kid had guts.<br /><br /><br />"Calling me Douglas is fine with me, and has been since birth. The literal translation od "Douglas" is "Blood River," referring to a river through a battlefield, running red with the blood of fallen warriors. Such a butch name."<br /><br />Thanks. Douglas - a good strong name and a bit easier on the ears than the drama of "Blood River"<br /><br />Never a Bob, I'm Robert or Rob. Middle name is Christian (my parents tried, poor dears).RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44970215387000087462012-02-25T21:09:41.777-08:002012-02-25T21:09:41.777-08:00Well Ray had seen it before. He's writen sever...Well Ray had seen it before. He's writen several timnes of how seeing <i>Phantom of the Opera</i> in its original release in 1925 when he was five years old transformed him, and warped his view for life. Another reason to be grateful to Lon Chaney. (Bradbury has often said how Lon Chaney captured his imagination and heart like no one before or since.)<br /><br />Calling me Douglas is fine with me, and has been since birth. The literal translation od "Douglas" is "Blood River," referring to a river through a battlefield, running red with the blood of fallen warriors. Such a butch name.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29759684308664338342012-02-25T14:42:54.662-08:002012-02-25T14:42:54.662-08:00"What you know about RCP is nil also. I know ..."What you know about RCP is nil also. I know little about RCP either, except I know he has vastly more taste and intelligence than whomever you are,"<br /><br />Although an amoeba would have vastly more taste and intelligence than Anonymous, thank you, Douglas (if I may be so bold. If not, let me know - I try to be careful not to overstep Internet bounds). At any rate, I've been really enjoying your comments and also "talking" with you "on the threads."<br /><br />Glad you (and Ray Bradbury) were able to experience Phantom of the Opera in a real theater.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90558136279327339222012-02-25T05:19:36.253-08:002012-02-25T05:19:36.253-08:00Maybe Billy will do it again on The Oscars!
After...Maybe Billy will do it again on The Oscars!<br /><br />After all, the odds favor <i>The Artist</i> winning Best Picture (Though it seems certain to lose Best Sound), and the last (only) silent movie to win Best Picture was <i>Wings</i>, Sir Paul's <i>other</i> band.Tallulah Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46723018284797526912012-02-25T05:08:40.118-08:002012-02-25T05:08:40.118-08:00Billy Crystal did the "Who is Paul McCartney&...Billy Crystal did the "Who is Paul McCartney" bit 30 years ago on SNL.MattAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43265571976787544572012-02-24T18:48:08.407-08:002012-02-24T18:48:08.407-08:00"Anonymous said...
Hey, old man! You dropped ...<i>"Anonymous said...<br />Hey, old man! You dropped a name! Oops! You dropped another one! And another one! Jesus, I think you have a hole in your pocket, grampa! And there's another one! Hey, is this Norman Mailer one yours too? It was in the gutter, there. Holy... Here's a George Takai! That's probably yours too. Probably forgot ya had it.<br />Sorry, McEwan, but it seems you never learned a primary lesson.for those living in Los Angeles Proximity to greatness does not rub off, nor does it raise your stock in the eyes of others"</i><br /><br />Still with the agism, which invalidates every word you type. The facts that I am older, more-experienced, and wiser than you are good things, and that Life Experience is good, will genuinely never sink in past your botched facial work to where your brain ought to be.<br /><br />Never met Norman Mailer. That one's yours. George Takai, no, I've just run into him at the Music Center once in a while and had a small chat or a wave.<br /><br />But Groucho and Gore are men I've worked with on radio. Both have read work of mine and complimented it highly, and Gore, on three occasions, was happy to sit and shoot the bull with me for extended periods of time, something he does not do with anyone who bores him, and thus they represent legitimate refutations of your charge that people are eying the exits for a quick getaway like they do when trapped in a room with you, rather than look at a man with an un-"enhanced" 61 year old face. Barry Humphires has not only entertained me privately on numerous occasions, and corresponds with me, but wrote a blurb for my first book, thereby intentionally working to raise my profile with others. Joe Heller, another like Gore who did not tolerate fools or bores, didn't need to spend half an hour sitting and chattng with me alone, but chose to, so he also was a legitamite refutation of your scurrious charges.<br /><br /><i>"Anonymous said...<br />RCP:<br />'I suspect you're right in your theory that Anonymous has had work done - and now resides beneath an opera house somewhere. "I'm not hiding, I just couldn't pass up the cheap rent!"'<br /><br />Perhaps, but I think it's safe to say that my alleged lot in life still carries more dignity than yours:<br />Sitting alone in a section 8 apartment, masterbating with the ashes of Lillian Gish.<br />Sometimes eBay is a tool for evil."</i><br /><br />What you know about RCP is nil also. I know little about RCP either, except I know he has vastly more taste and intelligence than whomever you are, still hiding behind your Anonymity, in that Section 8 apartment you have revealed you occupy (Who knew they had Section 8 residences below the Paris Opera House?) I assume you're masturbating into the ashes of someone who died young, since you are so age-and-intelligence-phobic. <br /><br /><i>"RCP said...<br />D. McEwan said...<br />'...the best version still remains the silent one.'<br /><br />This is the version I'd like to see in a theater, accompanied by an actual organist."</i><br /><br />I had that experience once, back in 1971 at a revival house now long-gone in Hollywood. It was the first time I'd gotten to see the entire movie, and it was a glorious way to experience it, though that print did not have the color sequences in color. The DVD I have of it now is superior to the print I saw that night. It was also fun, when the lights came up, to learn that the man in the seat in front of mine over whose white hair I had been viewing it turned out to be Ray Bradbury. Just a great, memorable evening all around.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69061108092075920052012-02-24T14:30:20.717-08:002012-02-24T14:30:20.717-08:00D. McEwan said...
"...the best version still...D. McEwan said...<br /><br />"...the best version still remains the silent one."<br /><br />This is the version I'd like to see in a theater, accompanied by an actual organist.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54626463408491326342012-02-24T14:21:11.916-08:002012-02-24T14:21:11.916-08:00Anonymous said...
"Perhaps, but I think it&#...Anonymous said...<br /><br />"Perhaps, but I think it's safe to say that my alleged lot in life still carries more dignity than yours:<br />Sitting alone in a section 8 apartment, masterbating with the ashes of Lillian Gish.<br />Sometimes eBay is a tool for evil."<br /><br />Head down, Anonymous, it's Quiet Time.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45427526830572055742012-02-24T12:56:33.603-08:002012-02-24T12:56:33.603-08:00Jane Fonda looks fantastic after a couple of face ...Jane Fonda looks fantastic after a couple of face and neck lifts. And she got the boob job for Ted when they first married.<br /><br />I love "Justified," but I think they've jumped the shark this season. The Neil McDonough character doesn't feel organic at all. There's too much violence for violence's sake and the villians are too one dimensional.<br /><br />Who's gonna get the Dodgers, Ken?Fan of Kennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61041842611179020342012-02-24T12:18:10.882-08:002012-02-24T12:18:10.882-08:00RCP:
"I suspect you're right in your the...RCP:<br /><br />"I suspect you're right in your theory that Anonymous has had work done - and now resides beneath an opera house somewhere. "I'm not hiding, I just couldn't pass up the cheap rent!"<br /><br />Perhaps, but I think it's safe to say that my alleged lot in life still carries more dignity than yours:<br />Sitting alone in a section 8 apartment, masterbating with the ashes of Lillian Gish.<br />Sometimes eBay is a tool for evil.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55797991724023461822012-02-24T12:10:01.631-08:002012-02-24T12:10:01.631-08:00McEwan:
"Anonymous, you still-craven coward,...McEwan:<br /><br />"Anonymous, you still-craven coward, since you're still anonymous, just because people a relooking for the exits whenever you open your mouth doesn't mean it happens to everyone. Gore Vidal wasn't bored chatting with me the three different times we worked together on radio. Neither was Groucho Marx or Barry Humphries or Joseph Heller. Have your Mommy tell you who those people are. I've had lunch more than once with a guy named Ken Levine, so I guess he was fascinated to stare at my pointy head."<br /><br />Hey, old man! You dropped a name! Oops! You dropped another one! And another one! Jesus, I think you have a hole in your pocket, grampa! And there's another one! Hey, is this Norman Mailer one yours too? It was in the gutter, there. Holy... Here's a George Takai! That's probably yours too. Probably forgot ya had it.<br />Sorry, McEwan, but it seems you never learned a primary lesson.for those living in Los Angeles:<br />Proximity to greatness does not rub off, nor does it raise your stock in the eyes of others, outside of those who stand around outsIde of Grauman's trying to get a picture of their cousin Reemer standing next to Spiderman.<br />So, avoid embarrassment by keeping your desperate anecdotes to yourself outside the state of Arkansas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22402139054211313642012-02-24T06:48:44.667-08:002012-02-24T06:48:44.667-08:00Charlie Sheen is right, the Kutcher concept is abs...Charlie Sheen is right, the Kutcher concept is absurd.Mike Barerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447874605833321732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4166511557478218332012-02-23T14:09:39.381-08:002012-02-23T14:09:39.381-08:00"RCP said...
I suspect you're right in yo...<i>"RCP said...<br />I suspect you're right in your theory that Anonymous has had work done - and now resides beneath an opera house somewhere. 'I'm not hiding, I just couldn't pass up the cheap rent!'"</i><br /><br />You went and made me laugh again, but what a terrible calumny on poor old Erik the Opera Ghost. Okay, he had a terrible time trying to change a lightbulb in his chandelier, but he was such a lover of fine music, except in the Andrew Lloyd Webber version.<br /><br />How ironic that, in a story set in the world of opera, with operatic music central to the plot, and so far filmed 8 or 9 times, the best version still remains the silent one.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31270131753902898372012-02-23T08:35:21.898-08:002012-02-23T08:35:21.898-08:00Anonymous said...
"Do you know what that tel...Anonymous said...<br /><br />"Do you know what that tells me, RCP? That tells me you be one crazy grandmotherfucker. However, apparently there are a lot of you here, so let's stop fussin' and GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!"<br /><br />Wrong again, Anonymous. The court psychiatrist determined at my trial that I was as sane as anyone walking down the street. But your idea for a party is not a bad one.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26152277670051284072012-02-23T08:31:08.041-08:002012-02-23T08:31:08.041-08:00D. McEwan said...
"What a terrible fate to w...D. McEwan said...<br /><br />"What a terrible fate to wish on interesting people. He may meet them, but only for as long as it takes for them to flee from him."<br /><br />I suspect you're right in your theory that Anonymous has had work done - and now resides beneath an opera house somewhere. "I'm not hiding, I just couldn't pass up the cheap rent!"RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77792040069635150002012-02-23T07:32:33.846-08:002012-02-23T07:32:33.846-08:00Speaking of the great Cab Calloway, PBS is running...<i>Speaking of the great Cab Calloway, PBS is running an American Masters show on Cab's life and career next week (Here in LA, it's on next Monday on KOCE. Check your local listings) and I for one can't wait. Turned out some of my grandparents' generation made great music.</i><br /><br />You can hear a lot of Cab (and Louis, Bing, the Boswell Sisters and more) on "The Big Broadcast," which comes from WFUV-FM in New York (90.7 FM, http://www.wfuv.org), and can be heard every Sunday night from 5 to 9 (Pacific). It's been on for nearly 40 years, and recently celebrated its 2,000th broadcast. The host, Rich Conaty, quips that it's designed "for the old, and the old at heart," but its appeal transcends generations; one of its fans is none other than Marshall Crenshaw of '80s rock fame ("Cynical Girl").<br /><br />Such cross-generational popularity for old music and classic movies (I see all sorts of blogs on the Golden Age of Hollywood that are run by teens, many of whom have shown incredible knowledge of the topic) is heartwarming to me. And just as the flame is kept for Calloway, Armstrong, Crosby and the Bozzies, so is it being kept for '50s stars such as Elvis, Chuck, Buddy, Don and Phil and '60s stalwarts such as the Beatles, Stones, Miracles and DC5.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84833542618878085042012-02-23T03:50:33.454-08:002012-02-23T03:50:33.454-08:00"Anonymous said...
Really, McEwan, wouldn'...<i>"Anonymous said...<br />Really, McEwan, wouldn't you like to have a conversation with someone, face-to-face, during which they were not distracted by your pointy head? Wouldn't you, for once, like to converse with someone during which they didn't think to themselves, 'gee, I have a lot of vinyl records in my garage, wonder what I could get for them on eBay? The reason I say this to myself is because this guys head reminds me of a large phonograph needle.'</i><br /><br />Anonymous, you still-craven coward, since you're still anonymous, just because people a relooking for the exits whenever you open your mouth doesn't mean it happens to everyone. Gore Vidal wasn't bored chatting with me the three different times we worked together on radio. Neither was Groucho Marx or Barry Humphries or Joseph Heller. Have your Mommy tell you who those people are. I've had lunch more than once with a guy named Ken Levine, so I guess he was fascinated to stare at my pointy head.<br /><br />Your unrelenting agism leaves me realizing that you are still a child. What are you? 15? Go back upstairs to bed, the grown-ups are trying to talk, and no dessert for you for a week. But congratulations for knowing what a phonograph needle is, since they stopped using them before you were born.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14514448338863349702012-02-22T21:30:12.959-08:002012-02-22T21:30:12.959-08:00RCP:
"You know what's crazy, Anonymous? ...RCP:<br /><br />"You know what's crazy, Anonymous? I actually sit down to watch films with actors like Spencer Tracy and Ruth Gordon, who - gasp! - aren't 25! In fact, I'll take 10 seconds of Maggie Smith over 2 hours of this month's 22-year-old flavor any day (same applies to men)."<br /><br />Do you know what that tells me, RCP? That tells me you be one crazy grandmotherfucker. However, apparently there are a lot of you here, so let's stop fussin' and GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW-ADgjRdCU&feature=youtube_gdata_playerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58545674741147426512012-02-22T21:18:39.404-08:002012-02-22T21:18:39.404-08:00Look here, McEwan, I've had just about enough ...Look here, McEwan, I've had just about enough of your retardian histrionics. I was simply reminding you of the facts. Pounding your.pin head into a paste is a well known plastic surgery procedure, so sorry if you considered my suggestion that you proceed with the surgery as some kind of threat. The fact is, I was just trying to help you. <br />Really, McEwan, wouldn't you like to have a conversation with someone, face-to-face, during which they were not distracted by your pointy head? Wouldn't you, for once, like to converse with someone during which they didn't think to themselves, "gee, I have a lot of vinyl records in my garage, wonder what I could get for them on eBay? The reason I say this to myself is because this guys head reminds me of a large phonograph needle."<br />So, you see, McEwan, you're lashing out at a total stranger who is trying to help you. And that is a sad story, McEwan. A sad story indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47685721728017825582012-02-22T16:55:49.043-08:002012-02-22T16:55:49.043-08:00"Thomas said...
Of course the old crankies ar...<i>"Thomas said...<br />Of course the old crankies are amazed that a single person alive does not know who Paul McCartney is."</i><br /><br />Because it is amazing - and appalling. I was born 5 years after World War II, but by age 10 I certainly knew who Guy Lombardo was, and Cole Porter, and George & Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern, and Victor Herbert, and Richard Rogers, and Irving Berlin, and Kalmar & Ruby, and Cab Calloway. Hell, I even knew who Kay Kyser was, and his later obscurity was well-deserved. I may have been listening to Elvis and Frankie Avelon and all the rest of the 1950s boppers, but I knew who the hell they were, because I didn't belong to a generation so naracissistic that they had zero interest in anyone or anything from before they were born. <br /><br />We Boomers are often slandered by the generations we made the mistake of siring (Not me, though. Me gay.) as "The Most-Narcissistic Generation Ever," but that title rightly belongs to today's young people, who feel the need to Tweet what they had for breakfast, and every time they go to the bathroom must be included in a Facebook status update, and God Forbid they should learn of anything that existed before they did. Black & White movies? Ew. Music with melodies? Yuck. Singers who sing rather than loudly, monotonously chant obscenitites? Gross.<br /><br />Speaking of the great Cab Calloway, PBS is running an American Masters show on Cab's life and career next week (Here in LA, it's on next Monday on KOCE. Check your local listings) and I for one can't wait. Turned out some of my grandparents' generation made great music.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55688176478659185512012-02-22T14:06:16.421-08:002012-02-22T14:06:16.421-08:00Of course the old crankies are amazed that a singl...Of course the old crankies are amazed that a single person alive does not know who Paul McCartney is.<br /><br />In 45 years, I suppose I will be cranky when a single person does not know who Adele is. (Or whomever happens to be most influential from the current pop plop.)Thomashttp://www.radicaldog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71588385407767292862012-02-22T13:22:18.591-08:002012-02-22T13:22:18.591-08:00Does anyone know if Charlie Sheen has had plastic ...Does anyone know if Charlie Sheen has had plastic surgery? If so, he may have left a comment.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52517658298925074572012-02-22T12:52:14.471-08:002012-02-22T12:52:14.471-08:00"RCP said...
Anonymous ... Try expanding your...<i>"RCP said...<br />Anonymous ... Try expanding your horizons - you'll meet more interesting people."</i><br /><br />What a terrible fate to wish on interesting people. He may meet them, but only for as long as it takes for them to flee from him.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33164534137689305242012-02-22T12:49:30.181-08:002012-02-22T12:49:30.181-08:00As long as you remain anonymous, Anonymous, your r...As long as you remain anonymous, Anonymous, your ranting and scattershot insults at everyone over 35 mean zilch. You remain a loudmouthed coward.<br /><br />Your hilarious insults about my looks might, I suppose, sting if you had any idea what I actually look like. I'm 61, and do not look as ggood as I did proir to 50. So what? Having work done to make me into a plastic surgery freak would only make me look grotesque and narcissistic, whereas my natural aging face has the dignity of earned experience. Not everyone on earth wants to be 25 forever.<br /><br />And as for pounding my head into pulp. Try it, asshole. You have my name, and you're still hiding behind your anonymity, like the slimy yellowbelly you are. In any event, your threatening me with violence: 1. Shows that my remarks about you hit the bull'seye. 2. Instantly cedes me the moral high ground. So thanks.<br /><br />As for your insistence that every woman over 40 who hasn't' had narcissistic vandalism done to their faces should be made to wear bags over their heads, which is what you lengthy rant boils down to, well, you may notice that your amazingly deep superficiality has won you no friends here.Douglas McEwannoreply@blogger.com