Summertime Catsup

Summertime 2016, the livin' wasn't easy. Catfish weren't jumpin' and Dorothy Dandrige was nowhere to be found.

Besides The Big Move (see previous posts because I will never mention it again), the last few months have been filled, quite frankly, with plenty o' nothin', but nothin' wasn't plenty for me.I have no one to blame but myself. This is my pity party and I'll whine if I want to.

The high point was the opportunity to see my son Matt Silber perform his first ever stand-up set at Helium Comedy Club here in Portland. He had taken the Stand Up Comedy 101 course at the club taught by local comic Alex Falcone. The "graduation ceremony" involved performing in front of a live audience and quite frankly, Matt killed, as they say in the biz and I was proud as punch, as they say nowhere.

But other than that outing, I didn't venture very far and chose to be a shut-in for most of the season. Boo on me. I did manage to finish another play and made some headway on a long gestating project, but for the most part, I sat in front the TV so often, my ass skin nearly melded to the leather couch.

I caught up on a butt-load of movies, most notably THE BIG SHORT, SPOTLIGHT, DEADPOOL (almost too meta for its own good but when it worked, it was a nasty delight), CREED (a big and pleasant surprise), THE GIFT, a little British comedy called WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY, HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS (not as cloying as expected and actually very moving in places, mostly thanks to Sally Field) and, best of all, BONE TOMAHAWK, a horror Western with a script that ran circles around Tarantino's bloated  and disappointing HATEFUL 8. Add to the mix a slew of other comic book movies of varying quality-ANT MAN, BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON that I became numb after awhile.

What I found more enjoyable than those were my latest guilty pleasure, craptacular Lifetime movies, particularly those starring Eric Roberts. Here's a guy, a past Academy Award nominee whose career bumps should have propelled him deep into the Dreaded Depths of Despair, throwing caution to the wind and giving his all to wretched material, elevating them with performances so over the top, they are a joy to behold. Check out my personal favorite, STALKED BY MY DOCTOR, and believe me, you won't be sorry. (That is, unless, you're his sister, Julia.) Roberts has to be the modern incarnation of John Carradine. His IMDB lists 443 movie roles, with over 50 in post or pre production over the next year at this writing. A man's gotta make a living, even one as bat shit crazy as this one.

And last night, the Emmy award show proved to be more enjoyable than it has been in years, mostly thanks to host Jimmy Kimmel. While the wins for The People vs OJ Simpson were glorious, I couldn't be happier for my girl, Tatiana Maslany picking up the Best Actress in a Drama Series award. ORPHAN BLACK, represent!

So even though I am sicker than Cujo with some rabid flu I picked up in the last couple of days, bring on the autumn, baby! This illness will pass and it's time to dive headfirst into the best season of the year.

Let's Get Bloggin'!

What a summer so far. Gay marriage, the Zimmerman debacle, Amanda Bynes (an unfortunate mash-up of Britney Spears and Lohan who should go back to her former self, the girl known as "Who?") but hey, no mass shootings this year thus far for which we can all knock on wood, even it's on your rifle stock.
Lindsay

Then there's the Royal Baby. Leave it to the Brits to bring us all together again, whether it's to collectively exclaim ""Awwwwww..." or to shout "Enough with these over-privileged fucks already!" I fall into the former category. I actually like the idea of a monarchy in the old empire. It's rather quaint. So they named the kid George (though I prefer the nickname Digit the Finger Prince) so that England will have another King George someday. This worked out well once...

...and not so hot another time. 

We lost a couple of tough guys recently. Seeing Dennis Farina's name in the credits guaranteed that I would enjoy whatever I was about to watch. The man was an absolute natural and always delivered the goods. Recently, he and Dustin Hoffman made an excellent pair on HBO's ill-fated LUCK. My favorite had to be his portrayal of Ray "Bones" Barboni in GET SHORTY, especially delivering the immortal phrase that pays, "Fuck you, fuckball!"

As for Farina's ponytail wearing co-star in that film, James Gandofini, well whadda ya gonna do? I still watch THE SOPRANOS, not being able to pass by as I'm channel surfing and, to use a phrase from another gang story, he always pulls me back in. I'm just drawn to this giant that walked among us and am so grateful that he did. Check out one of his best post-SOPRANOS performances in Andrew Dominik's KILLING THEM SOFTLY with Brad Pitt.

The Emmys always disappoint, whether in the nominations, the awards or in the craptacle known as the show itself. How can an industry celebrating itself produce such bad television? The nominees are chock full of omissions almost too painful to list (but damn, no love for RECTIFY or Tatiana Maslany of ORPHAN BLACK?). However I have to applaud the recognition of Jonathan Banks (BREAKING BAD), Bobby Cannavale (so goddamn evil on BOARDWALK EMPIRE) and my girl Mrgo Martindale (THE AMERICANS) Then there are two sentimental favorites nominated as well: Bob Newhart on this year's finale of THE BIG BANG THEORY who has NEVER won an Emmy and my boyhood dreamboat Diana Rigg (GAME OF THRONES).Well done, Mrs. Peel. I'd still do ya. 

Finally a big shout-out to my good friend and fellow author Thomas Amo (AN APPLE FOR ZOE and FOREVER ME) who debuted his online radio show 92.6 The Blitz, playing classic rock and featuring the independent arts including authors, filmmakers, musicians and more more more in the words of The Andrea True Connection. Listen Monday-Friday 9-11 PST right HERE.

So that's it on this end, boys and girls. Have yourselves a swell rest of the summer and stay tuned for some big news real soon. Yes, bigger that the birth of a mad, stuttering British baby. 

Performance Artists

At the half-way point, 2013 already adds another year to the Platinum Age of television. Four new shows have added riches to the treasure trove of programming with outstanding performances that definitely must be celebrated.

FXs THE AMERICANS, the Russian sleeper cell saga set in Reagan era America, began as a decent methadone for those jonesing for HOMELAND heroin. Once it picked up speed, it became a definite contender for that spy thriller throne the Showtime show currently wears. Star Keri Russell has definitely put FELICITY in her rear-view mirror and is formidable as a suburban spy mom. But the real breakout star here is the actor who plays her comrade in arms, Matthew Rhys. He drew me into this show and kept me there, mastering a high wire act between hero and villain. Aiding and always abetting is the remarkable Margo Martindale.

Sundance Channel had two major events this year. Film director Jane Campion tackled the small screen with finesse with the mini series TOP OF THE LAKE, a better and more compact mystery than THE KILLING. Elizabeth Moss, taking time off from MAD MEN, definitely had the chops to carry the five hours with memorable moments from Holly Hunter and, tearing the scenery part like a pit bull, the great Peter Mullan.

Also on Sundance, RECTIFY, created by a new force of nature o contend with named Ray MacKinnon, tells the methodically brutal tale of a death row inmate, cleared of murder charges by DNA evidence, returning to his unforgiving hometown. As Daniel Holden, the main character of this candidate for new show of the year, Eden Young is so hauntingly powerful, he makes RECTIFY absolutely unforgettable television.

Another star exploded across the airwaves this spring on BBC America's sci-fi clone series ORPHAN

BLACK. The tour de force performance-or performances, rather- of Tatiana Maslany elevates this show into the stratosphere. This is an actor's dream, recalling Sally Field's SYBIL sensation of the 1970s that put her on the map. Maslany varies each clone of herself with the precision of a master of her craft. She and Eden Young of RECTIFY give the performances of the year and it will be difficult for anyone to even come close to their level of excellence.

But it will be fun to see if anyone can because we, the viewing public, will be so much the richer for it.

While I bitch and moan incessantly about the Modern Age, it is gratifying to witness the flourishing of what was once known as the Vast Wasteland.