Early voting

Hi! I'm waiting in line to vote early at the Broward County Library. It's a beautiful day, so I don't mind the long wait outside.

 

Look who I bumped into at the polls!

 

I think I know who is getting my duck friend's vote . . .

Cronin, Doreen. Duck for President. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.

New Haven Rock City

Guess what? Cracker is touring this summer with Bare Naked Ladies, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, and Blues Traveler---and they are going to be right here in Palm Beach County!

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven are my all-time favorite bands, of course, but I also really like Blues Traveler. John Popper is one of the best harmonica players in the whole world. He's a Connecticut boy, too.



Back in 1991 my friend Barbara Shepard (from The Fabulous Who Who's) and I were in a short film with him. It was called Mr. Personality and it was about a talk show host's nightmare. I promised the director Tom E. Brown that I'd never post Mr. Personality online. (However, Tom is very proud of his film Das Clown which also starred Popper and was screened at Sundance.) John Popper played one of the talk show guests on Mr. Personality. Barb and I sang the show's theme song "Simon Says" which was originally recorded by the 1910 Fruitgum Factory. We had some pretty slick dance moves, too.



Barbara Shepard started The Fabulous Who Who's back in 1989, and they are still going strong. Barb is an amazing singer, songwriter, guitar player, and she's also the funniest woman in New Haven. I sang back-up vocals with the Who Who's for a couple of years while I was going to grad school. The wildly talented Kriss Santala was/is also a Who Who. She also performs as a solo artist. In 2007 she released her own album Lost Souls Road which is absolutely beautiful. Visit www.independisc.com/krisssantala.htm and listen to "One Good Thing."


My old friend Scott McDonald from Jellyshirts recently posted this newspaper ad from the beloved old New Haven venue, The Moon. If you look closely, you can see that The Fabulous Who Who's (and Scott's band Jellyshirts) are on the same page as Reverend Horton Heat, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, and Miracle Legion.

Scott and I used to work at Cutler Records with Robin Andreoli, Dean Falcone and Al Lotto. Al now has his own record store called Exile On Main Street. It's the coolest place--he even sells 45's! Celebrate Record Store Day a month early and shop at Al's store online: exileonmain.com. You will really like his website . . . and his store.

ps. Robin was a deejay for the University of New Haven radio station. It was (is?) the coolest station. It's where townie kids like me learned about Madness, The English Beat, and The Specials long before there was any MTV.

pps. Kevin Day is another Connecticut musician I knew back in the good old days. (Actually, I knew his brother, but I'm sure we must have bumped into each other at some point.) Kevin Day is in the AWESOME band Gigglejuice. Gigglejuice are so great that they've even opened for Cracker! Check them out:

http://www.gigglejuice.com/buycdhere.html

ppps. It was an old boyfriend and lifelong friend who first introduced me to Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. We met when I waited on him at the record store.

pppps. As you probably guessed, the title of this post was inspired by

and

Klosterman, Chuck. Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota.
New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

The Last Exorcism

About the theater experience:

Marc and I went to see The Last Exorcism last night. (It was funny, but not all that scary.) We are not big horror fans--we chose to see it because it was playing at the fancy theater. Tickets are $22 each, but you get free popcorn, valet parking, and a reserved sofa or a really big comfy chair. Since they serve alcohol, you have to be at least 21 to get in. It's usually a very mellow affair, but last night's crowd was a bit rowdy.


When the show started, one couple was having a noisy conversation that had nothing to do with the movie. When an old guy shushed them, one of the talkers replied, "you white people are so retarded." The old guy said, "What did you say to me?" The old guy's wife wisely told everyone to knock it off and watch the movie. So everyone did. Until the end when there was some booing. One person started cursing and complaining about the movie before it was even over. The main complaint was the ending. It was abrupt and it came about too soon. (When you pay $22 for a ticket, you want to get at least 2 hours worth of entertainment.)


About the movie:

The Last Exorcism is a fake documentary about a Louisiana preacher who earns extra cash doing fake exorcisms. The acting is excellent. I predict that Caleb Landry Jones will win some "Best Supporting Actor" awards. (Until I looked him up on IMDb, I would have sworn that he was a real local, not an actor.)

As I mentioned earlier, the movie is more funny than scary. Since it's short and the ending is disappointing, I would not recommend seeing it for full price. Try to catch a bargain matinee or wait for the DVD.


If you want to see a really good movie about a Louisiana preacher, check out The Apostle. It stars Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton (he's an idiot, but a pretty good actor), and June Carter Cash. My cousin Nicholas Anderson has a part in it, too!

Nicholas Anderson

Lenny Bruce on Judaism

Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965.

" . . . if you live in New York or any other big city, you are Jewish. It doesn't matter even if you're Catholic; if you live in New York you are Jewish . . . Italians are all Jews."
--Lenny Bruce

Since I live in Boca Raton, and Boca Raton is known as The Sixth Borough, I guess you could say I'm Jewish. I'm also Italian-American and Catholic.

One time when I was waiting in line at Walgreens, I overheard the person behind me griping about how "the damn, cheap-ass Jews take over Boca every winter." I turned around and asked loudly, "What did you say?????" The person in front of me said, "Are you Jewish?" I boldly answered, "Yes." Someone else in line said, "Do you know where I can buy a yahrzeit candle around here?" I answered "Publix, aisle three near the gefilte fish."

And we all lived happily ever after.

Skipper's Smokehouse

Marc and I just got back from Tampa where we saw our very first Cracker show. Skipper's Smokehouse is my new favorite venue. We met some really, really, really nice people (see above), ate some great BBQ, and, of course, we got to see the greatest rock band on the planet! It was pure Cracker heaven.

Mandy Patinkin

Last night my friend Jill and I went to see Mandy Patinkin in concert at Miami's Arsht Center. I wasn't all that familiar with his work, but I never turn down a free concert ticket. (Jill won them from a radio contest.)

Patinkin, Mandy, and Paul Gemignani. Dress Casual. New York: CBS Records, Inc, 1990.

The guy has an AMAZING voice. He's right up there with Caruso, Caputo, and Pavarotti. It's hard to believe that he is in his mid-50's--his voice is liquid. He hits notes that are too high for some prepubescent choir boys. To hear for yourself, visit mandypatinkin.org.

Like most one-man shows, Mandy's performance was pretty intense. He talked about growing up in Chicago, friends he lost to AIDS, and the melancholia he experienced while studying at New York City's Julliard School. (My grandma went there, too!)

Rodgers, Richard, and Oscar Hammerstein. Carousel Song Album. London: Williamson Music, 1956.

He performed an amazing rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Soliloquy, and he talked about how Carousel was the first play he ever performed in when he was a young teenager. (Me, too, but I was just a chorus girl.)

Carousel, 1982.

My favorite part of the show was when Mandy sang a medley of Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, and Gershwin tunes in Yiddish.

ps. Here's John Raitt's rendition of Soliloquey. Mandy Patinkin's is better, but you gotta love Bonnie Raitt's dad.

More city stories

Here are a few more great books about life in the Big City:

Christmas in New York by Chuck Fischer

Fischer, Chuck. Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005.

City Chicken by Arthur Dorros and Henry Cole

Dorros, Arthur, and Henry Cole. City Chicken. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Blume, Judy, and Roy Doty. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. New York: Dutton, 1972.

Chicken and Cat by Sara Varon

Varon, Sara. Chicken and Cat. New York: Scholastic Press, 2006.

Abuela by Arthur Dorros and Elisa Kleven

Dorros, Arthur, Elisa Kleven, and Sandra Marulanda Dorros. Abuela. New York: Puffin Unicorn, 1997.

And speaking of big cities . . .

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline. New York: Viking Press, 1967.

Free Man in Paris is one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs. Check out this video:

Joni's got Jaco Pastorius*, Pat Metheny, and Lyle Mays up there with her. Talk about an all-star band!

Mitchell, Joni. Shadows and Light. Los Angeles, Calif: Asylum, 2003.

Here's the original, studio version from Court and Spark:

Mitchell, Joni. Court and Spark. [Los Angeles, Calif.]: Asylum, 1980.

*Did you know that Jaco Pastorius was from Broward County? Next time you're in Florida, be sure to visit Jaco Pastorius Memorial Park in Oakland Park.

March

Mom's backyard (March 2009)

Ever since I was a little girl growing up in Connecticut, I've hated cold weather. Although New England autumns are extraordinarily beautiful, they used to make me a little sad because I knew winter was right around the corner. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to live in Florida now.

My backyard (March 2009)

Miami Dolphins

My neighborhood is like a ghost town tonight because most people are inside watching the Fins vs. Jets game.

I wish I understood football. For the longest time I thought Brett Favre was a hockey player.

Mooney, Martin J. Brett Favre. Football legends. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1997.

I also couldn't understand why so many people were naming their sons Peyton.

Metalious, Grace. Peyton Place. New York: Messner, 1956.


Bradley, Michael. Peyton Manning. New York: Benchmark Books, 2004.

One time a player from the Colts visited the library, and I got mixed up and told the kids that he was a member of the Ponies.

Meister, Cari, and Amy Young. My Pony Jack. Viking easy-to-read. New York: Viking, 2005.

Stewart, Mark, and Jason Aikens. The Indianapolis Colts. Chicago, Ill: Norwood House Press, 2006.

Voting in Florida

It's really hard to vote in Florida. Yes, I'm one of the idiots who voted for Buchanan by mistake in 2000. Allow me to explain. I had never seen a butterfly ballot before, and I was in a rush because I was on my lunch break. As soon as I spotted Gore's name, I quickly punched a hole. When I went back to double-check before submitting my vote, I saw that I had poked Buchanan by mistake. I tried to get one of the poll workers to help me, but no one was around. After a few minutes, I gave up and punched a gazillion holes in the correct box for Gore, and rushed back to work.


The second time I voted in Florida, I WAS TURNED AWAY AT THE POLLS. I showed my voter registration card which stated that I was in the right place, but the poll worker took one look at me and said I had to go vote someplace else. I showed him my card again, and he said that it was wrong, and told me to go vote down the street. I said, "where down the street?" and he shrugged his shoulders. I asked to see a supervisor, and he told me that the supervisor was busy, and then he shooed me away! Boy, was I mad. When I got to work, I called the County Supervisor of Elections, and they told me to come to their office to vote. When I arrived at the office, they checked the computer which showed that I HAD BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG, and they apologized profusely for the misunderstanding.

The next time I tried to vote in Florida, the poll worker told me that my signature was wrong. He called over another worker who agreed with him and said that there was no way that my signature was the same as the one on my card. They called over the supervisor who had me sign again, but at a higher surface. He determined that I was in the right, apologized for the knee-high table, and let me vote.

I finally figured out how to avoid being harassed at the polls--I either vote a few days early, or I send in an absentee ballot.

Drive south, John Hiatt

I'm so grateful that I live in South Florida. Please excuse me for gloating, but the weather is absolutely glorious.

If you need a break from the cold, please consider visiting our state. We aren't seeing as many tourists as usual this winter.

You don't have to worry about getting bored down here in Florida. If you get tired of the beach, you can always visit an art museum, go to a concert, catch a show, or just wander around and drink beer at an outdoor festival. There are lots of great Cuban restaurants, too.

Can't afford a plane ticket? Take John Hiatt's advice and just drive south.


Isn't that a great song? It's from the album, Slow Turning. Buy it, you'll like it.