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- “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me…” — poet Paul Laurence Dunbar
- “[Poetry is] a way of trying to come to peace with the world.” — poet Lucille Clifton
- “The films that I love are very straightforward stories, like really old-fashioned stuff.” — Paul Thomas Anderson
- A Personal Memory: or: What Dog Day Afternoon Means to Me
- Happy Birthday, Hediyeh Tehrani
- “All I actually wanted was for my work to be useful.”–Claudius Afolabi Siffre
- “I knew that I had a facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts.” — George Orwell
- “People are always asking me if I thought Elvis was a handsome man and my answer is ‘I am not blind you know’!” — Millie Kirkham
- Physical Media Booklet Essay: The Podcast
- “And the role of the fatal chorus / I agree to take on” — Anna Akhmatova
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Category Archives: On This Day
“I only got a seventh-grade education, but I have a doctorate in funk, and I like to put that to good use.” — James Brown
It’s his birthday today. I did not fully understand James Brown until I saw The T.A.M.I. Show, and I heard ABOUT The T.A.M.I. Show for years before I could actually SEE it. Such was the Gen-X kid dilemma. During The … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“It’s the sexiest toughest chord change in all of rock ‘n roll.” – Steven Van Zandt on “Rumble.” Happy Birthday, Link Wray
When Link Wray wails “Have you heard the news? There’s good rockin’ tonight” in his version of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” … it sounds like a threat that could topple civilization. And when he goes up the octave? Forget about it. … Continue reading
“I still get a chill when I sing, ‘You Don’t Own Me.’ I find some new feeling in it every time.” –Lesley Gore
It’s her birthday today. Below you will find a clip of Lesley Gore, performing “You Don’t Own Me”, on the now-mythical 1964 T.A.M.I. Show, directed by Steve Binder (who also would end up directing Elvis Presley’s phenomenal 1968 “comeback special”). … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“If one devalues rationality, the world tends to fall apart.” — Lars von Trier
It’s his birthday today. So … happy (?) birthday to this provocative sometimes-maddening always-fascinating auteur. Question mark due to the doubt that “happy” has anything to do with the Danish film director, who has been poking the bear from the … Continue reading
“A woman came up to me after one of the screenings with tears pouring down her face and sobbed, You’ve defined my entire life for me on the screen.” –Jill Clayburgh
This was part of a larger series. I would throw a name at Mitchell, ask him to describe that person in “one word” and then we would discuss. Here’s our discussion on Jill Clayburgh, whose birthday it is today. SOM: … Continue reading
“Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.” — Tom Lehrer
It’s his birthday today. Tom Lehrer was a staple in our household. Just like the Raunch Hands were. We had a Tom Lehrer songbook and we’d play it on the piano. I had no context for him. It was like … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day, Personal
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“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson
“Ninety-nine percent of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukebox play.” – Willie Nelson Legend. It’s his birthday today. I will never ever forget his performance of “America the Beautiful” in the telethon … Continue reading
“I don’t cook and I don’t care.” — Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret entertaining US troops in Vietnam, 1966 Today is Ann-Margret’s birthday. Her autobiography, Ann-Margret: My Story is wonderful. What a career. And it’s still unfolding. There are so many classic scenes. Tommy. Carnal Knowledge. Of course, too, there is the … Continue reading
“When April’s here and meadows wide …” — Jessie Redmon Fauset
“Better the wound forever seeking balm Than this gray calm!” –Jessie Redmon Fauset, from “Dead Fires” Jessie Redmon Fauset, whose birthday it is today, was a “forgotten writer” for many years, after her heyday in the 20s and 30s. Her … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Anne Spencer, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, poetry
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“I have been done in by both men and women. I don’t have any preference.” — Anita Loos
“I’ve had my best times trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I’ve always loved high style in low company.” — Anita Loos Anita Loos’ screenwriting credits are so extensive it’s impossible to absorb them. She’s most well-known … Continue reading