Stix Blog

Boomdeyada! I Love the Whole World

Earthquakes in China, volcanoes spouting in Chile and Italy, stock market queezy, elections looming.  Enough bad news in the world.  Let this make your day lovely for a change.

Hat tip to The Anchoress at http://theanchoressonline.com/

Julia

Ungrateful Heart - for Uncle Junior Fans

Just for Soprano fans who are missing their show.  Here's Enrico Caruso's version of "Core'n Grato", the song that Uncle Junior sang way back at the beginning of the series.   I'll also post a different, more contemporary version, but I think it was Enrico who was Uncle Junior's model or maybe it was Franco Corelli.  The one I could find by Corelli was technically horrible. 

UPDATE:  Turns out that "Core 'n Grato" was  a piece commissioned especially for Enrico Caruso who you will hear just below.  The Jose Carreras version below that was performed by him at a special concert in London honoring Enrico Caruso.  So this tune is particularly connected to these two performers and you have them right here together through the magic of YouTube.  Isn't the Internet wonderful!!!

And here it is by one of my favorite tenors Jose Carreras with only a piano accompaniment.

What follows is the translation of the really over-the-top lyrics.  Almost like our Country and Western songs except for the bit about the priest and the Holy Mother.  Could just as well have been pickup trucks, a bartender and Mama.

UNGRATEFUL HEART


Catari, Catari…
why do you speak to me such bitter words,
Why do you speak only to torment my heart, Catari?
Do not forget that I have given you my heart,
Catari, do not forget!

Catari, Catari, why do you speak just to put me in agony?
You never think of my sadness,
You never think,
you never seem to care…

Ungrateful heart,
you took possession of my life,
and now it's over,
you no longer think of me.

Catari, Catari…
you do not know that even in church
I bring my prayers to God, Catari.
And I recount my confession to the priest:
"I am suffering from such a great love!
I am suffering, I suffer from not knowing your love,
I suffer a sorrow that tortures my soul!"
And I confess, that the Holy Mother
Spoke to me: "My son, you must
never forget, never forget!…"

Ungrateful heart,  you took possession of my life,
and now it's over, you no longer think of me.

And now it's over,
you no longer think of me!

- - - - - - - - -

Ciao !

Julia

The Great Flydini on Johnny Carson

The Times of London is on my list of sites to check every day.  One of the features of their on-line version is a clip of the day.  This one is of the early Steve Martin doing his schtick as the magician The Great Flydini on Johnny Carson.  Try not to laugh, I dare you.

Julia

Redstate guys on Tennessee Politicians

Here's the redstate guys who asked a question at the most recent Democratic debate about Al Gore who is also from their state of Tennessee.

Now here they are talking about Fred Thompson who is also from Tennessee.

You'll have to paste this in your browser - couldn't get it imbedded.

http://redstateupdate.blogspot.com/2007/06/red-state-update-fred-thompson-vs.html

And finally here they are discussing Ron Paul who is from Texas.

Julia

Jack Bauer on The Simpsons

Julia

Walk on the Wild side with Jimmy Smith

On the Steve Allen late-night Jazz program from the early 1960s - the incomparable Jimmy Smith with a live version of "Walk on the Wild Side" without the horns heard on the very popular recording of this piece. Note that jazz musicians at the time were supposed to be poker faced and "cool" showing no emotion at all while playing their music. 

Be sure to click the blue "more" link at the upper right to find out more.  This guy was one of the seminal musicians of the late 1950s and early 1960s.  He went on to do his music for many years, but as others took up the organ that had been his exclusive province he was less well known.  I'll post one of his later gigs in 1990 showing that it became OK to show emotion when playing jazz as time wore on.   

Julia

Julius Caesar on The Colbert Report

Great bit on Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central Show about whether the US is today's Rome.  

I love Stephen Colbert. 

Julia

Tony Soprano as Jake LaMotta, The Raging Bull ?

Very interesting take on Tony Soprano by Dean Barnett at Hugh Hewitt's blog. It really makes sense.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Tony Soprano, the Raging Bull

Posted by Dean Barnett  | 11:14 AM

WARNING – “SOPRANOS” PLOT SPOILERS GALORE AHEAD!!!!

Last night, I had the great pleasure and honor of sitting in for Hugh. The audience is wonderful, and the amazing Generalissimo makes it easy. We covered a range of topics, but by the end of the show I was practically pleading for someone to call in and talk about “The Sopranos.” The last caller did, and she and I together locked in on the same scene from Sunday night that was a small one but perhaps the greatest in series’ history.

The scene I’m talking about will forever be known as “The Raging Bull scene”. Tony, Silvio and Bobby were eating lunch, making preparations for going to war with New York. Suddenly, over the speakers, the classical score to “Raging Bull” began to play. Tony and Sil instantly recognized the soundtrack, and began pantomiming the opening credits to “Raging Bull” where Robert De Niro as Jake Lamotta dances around the ring in slow, almost balletic motion, shadow boxing with his demons as he gets ready for a fight. As Tony and Sil pantomimed the scene, they threw punches in slow motion, laughing, sharing a bit of their heritage.

“Raging Bull” is one of the finest movies ever made and perhaps Martin Scorsese’s greatest achievement. Its protagonist, Jake LaMotta, was a great boxer haunted by demons. Once a lean champion, he grew fat and spiraled into self destruction only to call on his reserves of character and strength to save himself from total ruin at the last moment. The film’s most memorable scene showed LaMotta fighting the more gifted Sugar Ray Robinson for the sixth and final time. It was perhaps boxing’s greatest rivalry, even though LaMotta won only one of their little wars.

In their final fight, Robinson gave LaMotta a thrashing that “Raging Bull’s” magnificent cinematography immortalized. The frame where LaMotta’s blood sprays the first row of the crowd is the stuff of cinematic history. The ref steps in to end the fight, and a beaten but still defiant LaMotta yells repeatedly at the unemotional yet malevolent Robinson, “Ray! I never went down, Ray.”

“Raging Bull” shares with “The Sopranos” an identical overarching theme. At their heart, both are about very bad men who do very bad things and who have limitless destructive appetites. Both protagonists, though, hunger for redemption more than anything else.

IT CAN’T BE A COINCIDENCE THAT “The Sopranos” cited “Raging Bull” at this moment. The characters have mentioned Scorsese several times this season, and Tony Soprano shares much with the LaMotta depicted by “Marty” (as members of the Soprano crew invariably refer to Scorsese). By the end of the movie, LaMotta had lost virtually everything – his wife, his family, his money, his physique. In one heartbreaking scene, LaMotta repeatedly bangs his head against the wall of a jail cell, wondering why he did the things he did. But ultimately, Jake LaMotta never went down.

All great pieces of art engage in foreshadowing. In this season’s first episode, Tony and Bobby mused about whether you hear the killers coming when you got whacked. We knew as they discussed the subject that at least one of them would know the answer by the end of the series.

The Raging Bull scene had to be a piece of foreshadowing. Tony Soprano shares much with Jake LaMotta, from their bloated figures to their coarseness to their cruelty. They also have positive attributes. Each in his own way is introspective. Both are strong men, and both are capable of love and kindness. These are the redeeming qualities that make us root for them, even they both are ugly sociopaths.

When “The Sopranos” channeled “Raging Bull,” I figured it meant two things – Tony would suffer, but Tony would not go down. He has certainly suffered this season. In addition to losing Bobby and Sil to Phil Leotardo’s assassins this week, his family life has shattered. In a way, Tony’s own actions, inactions and miscalculations, like Jake LaMotta’s, have left him alone. He unwisely promoted Christopher, then killed him. His only two trusted and remotely capable associates are dead. His son will never be the man his father hoped he would. His daughter has abandoned her ambitions and is marrying the son of a mobster. His wife is a burden. Even his therapist dumped him.

The question remains whether Tony’s suffering is through. Have we seen him hit his rock bottom yet? In “Raging Bull,” LaMotta lost everything before winning a hard-earned measure of redemption. Will Tony’s rally begin at the start of the season finale, or will we see him sink lower still? I think like Jake LaMotta, Tony Soprano will go on, chastened, wiser, sadder but having at last achieved a small measure of inner peace. Also like LaMotta, he will find some of the redemption that he seeks. But lest you think we’re in for a happy ending, remember this: Tony is such a bad man who has done so many bad things, he is not fully redeemable. Just like Jake LaMotta.

Oh, one other thing. The villainous mobster in “Raging Bull” was played by Frank Vincent, the same actor who plays Phil Leotardo on “The Sopranos.” Things didn’t end particularly well for Vincent’s character in “Raging Bull.”

Source:  http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/618e33ac-f3f0-4403-9ccf-8a3031b6a6ec?trackbacks=true#comments

I'll have to watch that episode, "The Blue Comet", again.  hmmmm

Julia

Mangini eats at Artie's Vesuvio on the Sopranos

Yes, that was Eric Mangini on the Sopranos sunday night.  Here is the story courtesy of Fox 'Sports on-line.

Jets coach makes cameo on 'The Sopranos'

/ Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Eric Mangini had a surprise sit-down with Tony Soprano.

The New York Jets coach made a cameo on HBO's "The Sopranos" on Sunday night - and was lucky to not get caught up in all the bloodshed on the violent mob drama.

"I think 'star' would be a little bit too strong a word," Mangini said Monday with a chuckle. "It was just nice to be a part of a show that I've followed for so long. I've liked the show since it started and to have the opportunity to be part of it, especially here at the end, it was just a great opportunity."

The scene took place at the fictional restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio, owned by Soprano's childhood friend, Artie Bucco. Soprano, played by James Gandolfini, is having dinner with his wife, Carmella (Edie Falco), when Bucco (John Ventimiglia) and his wife approach the couple to catch up on family matters.

"Tone, you know who's in tonight?" Bucco then asks Soprano. "Mangenius."

The camera pans to a table where Mangini, looking dapper in a suit instead of his usual black Jets warmup top and shorts, and his wife, Julie, are enjoying dinner.

"They had food out there, but we didn't eat the food," Mangini said. "We just pretended we were."

Soprano turns to his puzzled wife and says: "It's the Jets coach, sweetie. I should go say hello."

Soprano and Bucco walk over to the table and are seen in the back of the restaurant talking with Mangini.

"It took me a long time to get into character," said Mangini, who watched the episode Sunday night. "Playing me eating dinner is a real stretch, but I worked with an acting coach and I think I really nailed it."

The Jets coach did not speak in the brief appearance on the hit show that will air its series finale next Sunday. The show's casting group e-mailed the Jets a few months ago to see if Mangini would be interested in appearing on the show.

"I was traveling at the time, and I thought it was somebody playing a joke, but I researched it and they were doing the shoot two days later," said Mangini, who told just a few friends about the appearance before it aired. "I called Julie up and we decided to do it."

Despite Sunday night's particularly violent episode, Mangini wasn't afraid of getting whacked.

"I knew the context of what we were doing prior to getting into it and felt very comfortable with being at the restaurant," he said with a laugh. "It's not like Tony and I had any previous affiliation or subsequent affiliation. It was more or less just meeting another person at a restaurant who happened to be a fan of the Jets."

Mangini said Gandolfini and the rest of the cast made him and his wife feel comfortable on the set, but he has no plans to move from the gridiron to the small screen on a regular basis.

"I've always respected TV and the creative part of both TV and film and it's amazing what they're able to do in both of those areas," he said. "But I'm very happy doing what I'm doing."

Source:  http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6886402?MSNHPHMA

Julia

Uncle Junior's Favorite Song

Here's Uncle Junior's Favorite Song "Core 'Ngrato" as sung by probably the best Italian tenor ever, Franco Carelli. It was recorded in 1973 in Tokyo so don't let the brief Japanese lettering throw you off.

And here's Franco Corelli in one of the last scenes of "Tosca". He is playing a painter who is going to be executed at dawn by firing squad at Castel Sant Angelo in Rome by the Tiber River in the year 1800.  The version showing him live has the embedding disabled so you will have to imagin him in his cell at night at the castle which is being used as a prison and was formerly Hadrian's Tomb.

Here's the link for the film version if you want to check it out - I think the recording is better on the one just above., but he is nice to look at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzb9uwfgD1w

Mr. Corelli died in 2003.  He retired young in his early 50's not long after he recorded that concert in Tokyo.  By that time I think he was no longer appearing in operas.   

Julia

Fun with Latin and "Rome" on HBO

I'm still mourning the passing of HBO's wonderful series "Rome".  So I was perusing HBO's on-line info about that series.  There is a guy called "Rome Historian" who helped with keeping the scripts authentic.  He has been blogging during his time in Rome for the fiming.  Here are two posts that should be fascinating to fans of "Rome" or Rome.  [My comments are in Italics. he he he]

Oct 24, 2006  Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum

I like a good acronym. And heard a great one the other day. A script for a love-story, someone confidently told me, didn’t hold up because it lacked URST. Of course I had to ask. URST, he re-iterated. And then, somewhat pityingly, ‘You know URST. UnResolved Sexual Tension.’

I hadn’t seen the script, but it seemed plausible to me. I was confident, not even having read a line, that it didn’t fall down because it lacked CIL, another favourite acronym of mine. But then that’s because CIL stands for Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, and not many scripts in Hollywood fail for lack of that.

The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, or Body of Latin inscriptions, is an immensely bulky, immensely tedious, and very wonderful thing. It cannot be read, it can only be dipped. It currently runs to 17 volumes in about 70 parts and is growing all the time. It contains every known Latin inscription from the entire Roman Empire, some 180,000 of them to date.

The CIL is stuffed with acronyms because that’s the way inscriptions worked. Carving on stone is a laborious business, and of course space is also at a premium. So everything was abbreviated. It’s worth knowing a few of the commoner acronyms because it’s surprisingly easy to decipher some inscriptions once you do, and that adds hugely to the fun of wandering around Roman ruins.

The best known of course is ‘SPQR’ which stands for ‘senatus populusque Romanus’, or ‘The Senate and People of Rome’. But you will also often see ‘VLMS’, which stands for ‘votum libens merito solvit’, or ‘he willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow’. This means that the writer promised to create the monument on which the inscription is carved as a gift to some god, in return for favour perhaps, and has now fulfilled that promise. A third formula I particularly like appears on tombstones, ‘STTL’, ‘sit tibi terra levis’: ‘may the earth lie lightly upon you’.

And herein lies the charm, and value, of the CIL. In amidst, literally, all the dry stones are hints of emotion and feeling we can find nowhere else. When surviving literature is dominated by the sentiments of the rich Roman male, inscriptions are a priceless resource for hearing other ancient voices.

One example: CIL 13.1983. Found in Roman France and dedicated by a labourer to his wife on her tomb. “To the eternal memory of Blandinia Martiola, a most faultless girl, who lived eighteen years, nine months, five days, Pompeius Catussa, a plasterer, dedicates to his wife, who was incomparable and very kind to him, this memorial which he had erected during his lifetime for himself and his wife...You who read this, go bathe at the public baths of Apollo for us, as I used to do with my wife. I wish I still could.”

How tenderly and truly that comes across the centuries. Anyone who’s ever suffered a bereavement or a break-up can recognize that ineluctable sense of pain: ‘I wish I still could’.

Now that would make a love-story.

Posted by: RomeHistorian Oct 24, 2006 1:50 PM EDT

Here's the other post that might grab your attention:

Oct 30, 2006  Seize the Day

You don’t hear Robin Williams speak Latin too often. So when he does it’s worth mentioning. He’s not exactly fluent, in fact he only seems to know one phrase, but I shouldn’t think he’s bothered. He’s hardly about to apply for a job at the Vatican. As the inspirational teacher Professor Keating in Peter Weir’s ‘Dead Poets’ Society” he loses his job in tragic circumstances for encouraging his pupils to ‘make their lives extraordinary’. In the central scene he leads them out of the classroom into the school’s chilly main corridor. Confronting them with the sepia photographs of generations past he urges on these teenagers a sense of their own mortality. Do what you can now, he says, because your lives will soon pass as theirs have done. Seize the Day. Carpe Diem. As Mrs Doubtfire he tries an alternative version. When his false-teeth fall into a glass of water, temporarily undermining his – already unconvincing – drag disguise, he shouts to distract attention. Carpe Dentum. Seize the Teeth. Those who have already seen the Peter Weir film are in on the joke. That you can make a joke out of a Latin tag at all testifies to its familiarity. The phrase, taken from a poem by the Roman writer Horace, is one of very few that have really passed into our language. It’s now most often used as a byword for irresponsibility and short-termism, as if the uncertainty of tomorrow excuses any behaviour today. The original context is far subtler than that. The poem in question, the eleventh Ode in Horace’s First book of Odes, is a complex mixture of the fatalistic and the celebratory. ‘Don’t ask’, it begins’, ‘what end the gods have in mind for you and me...don’t go consulting Babylonian astrologers to find out.’ Here’s the fatalism, a chill tone that is intensified in the next few lines. ‘It could be that this is the last winter Jupiter has granted you, this winter that now pounds itself to exhaustion on the crags of the Tyrrhenian Sea’. In the central part the celebratory tone cuts in. ‘Wise up, have a drink, stop making long-term plans’. And finally the poem turns lyrical. “dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.’ ‘Even as we’re speaking envious time escapes us: seize the day, trust as little as you may in the morrow.’ It’s a beautiful piece. So concise but so varied. An invocation to merry-making, but a melancholy merry-making. No wonder it’s endured. For it captures the essence of the past and its hold on us, the pathos of the past, in a way that Peter Weir conveyed perfectly. That our mortality is always upon us, Horace argues, is not an invitation to recklessness nor a counsel of despair, but a call to cherish while we still can the deepest values of life: companionship, happiness and love. If something stands between you and those things, remove it. And don’t do so tomorrow, but today.

Posted by RomeHistorian 2:35 PM EST In the combox one comment reveals that the word "carpe"  indicates something even deeper than "seize".  I enjoyed this post a lot, however I would just like to point out that "carpe diem" is the most mistranslated phrase in perhaps all of Western literature. The verb "carpo, carpere" means "to pluck" or "to harvest," sometimes "to enjoy [that which is harvested]. This goes along with the other horticultural imagery in Horace's Odes I.11, such as "spem longam reseces [trim back tedious hope]" and "vina liques [strain the wine]." Horace wrote incredible poetry.

So it seems the phrase "carpe diem" means something like "harvest and enjoy and make use of this day" .  Wonderful advice from a dead white guy. It's a lot like the advice to young girls in a more recent English poem to "gather ye rosebuds while ye may".

Here's the link to the Roman Historian's blog where he explains "fasces", background characters in the series and many other things that will make your viewing of "Rome" or your trip to Rome more fun.   The first post on June 12 2006 is at the bottom on page 2, but it isn't really necessary to read them in chronological order.

http://boards.hbo.com/forum.jspa?forumID=800001151&start=15

Julia  

Visit the 24 Set !!!!!!!

What a deal.  You'd better bet quick to get a tour of the 24 set.

Lot #: 3502

Visit the Set of 24

Place a bid Current Bid: $14,500.00 (placed by CGM1) Minimum Next Bid: $17,000.00 Your Max Bid: $ Automatic bidding for up to your Max Bid will occur on your behalf. Need to register? Learn about max bidding. # of bids: 12 (Bid History) Bidding Increment: $2,500.00 Estimated Value: $30,000.00 Time Left: 12 days, 23 hrs, 22 min Started: Mar 20, 2007 9:00:00 AM EDT Ends: Apr 6, 2007 3:00:00 PM EDT

Source:  https://auction01.charitybuzz.com/secure/viewItemDetail.do?auction_item_id=3502

Unfortunately, all bid money will go to the RFK Memorial something or the other.

Julia

Put Down that Ducky!

Here's an oldie but a goody from 1988.    H/T  The Anchoress who also posts a few other favs from the Muppets. 

http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/02/02/ernie-put-the-quacker-down/

Ernie, put the quacker down!

Filed under: TV/Pop Culture/Music

Oh, man…from the golden age of Sesame Street, when the show was still fun and unencumbered by the need to be constantly PC. “Put Down the Ducky” was a great moment, and I believe I was so enraptured by this bit of genius that I did, in fact, make a pledge to PBS.

             Look for late greats John Candy, Madeline Kahn, Celia Cruz, and the great, great (you know how much I love him) Joe Williams! Also, Jane Curtin, Paul Reubens, MY Mets Keith Hernandez (s/b in the Baseball Hall of Fame!) and Mookie Wilson, some assorted NY Giants, Jeremy Irons (charming as hell in his little dance), Itzhak Perlman (I adore! I adore!) Wynton Marsalis, Jean Marsh, Andrea Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Joseph Shabalala.

Julia

The World is coming to an end

Noit another stupid reality show.  Now Simon Cowell is going to pair up celebrities with singers and have them do duets.  This has got to stop, it is ruining our citizens minds.  These shows have no value and are not even close to being entertaining.  It is just an easy way to make a buck.  They is no production cost and you don't need to even pay any one to write for them.  What ever happen to TV.  It is now just a bunch of reality shows that are boring and idiotic, and then you got 15 different CSI shows.  Where has all the inginuity gone.  What ever happened to the people that made "Hillstreet Blues", "Miami Vice", hell even"The Brady Bunch".  Hollywood has not had any good ideas in a while.  The only good shows on tv now are on HBO, "The Sapranos", "Deadwood" and "Rome".  No wonder I only watch sports, The History Channel, Discovery Channel and Fox News.  There is nothing else on except on Sundays on HBO.

Lauper, Gray, Bolton Sing 'Duets'

FOX still lining up celebs to sing with pros

PASADENA, Calif. -- The celebrities on FOX's fall singing competition "Celebrity Duets" haven't been announced yet, but whoever they are, they'll have a fairly deep roster of recording artists backing them up.

A group of singers ranging from Motown legend Smokey Robinson to '80s pop stars Richard Marx and Cyndi Lauper will be taking part in the short-run show, which is being produced by "American Idol's" Simon Cowell. The 13 professional singers will be paired with other famous folks who aren't known for their vocal chops.

The lineup of celebrities hasn't been settled yet, but FOX chief Peter Ligouri assures that "as a public service," the show is making every effort to cast people who can actually carry a tune.

In addition to Robinson, Marx and Lauper, the other singers signed up for "Duets" are Macy Gray, Randy Travis, Dionne Warwick, Brian McKnight, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aaron Neville, Clint Black, Kenny Loggins and Michael Bolton. Songwriter and producer David Foster, who was a guest coach on "American Idol" last season, will serve as a judge.

Each week, the celebs in the competition will be paired with a different singer and perform live with their partners. The audience will vote each week on which famous people go home, and the winner will earn a prize for his or her favorite charity.

"Celebrity Duets" premieres Tuesday, Aug. 29 and will move to its regular Thursday timeslot on Sept. 7. A results show will debut on Friday, Sept. 8. (source)

Stix

Maybe MSNBC Should Air Exorcisms to Compete with FOX and CNN

The Telegraph in the UK has an interesting story about what's crowding the airwaves in the Congo. 

Driving out the devil is a ratings winner in Congo
By Paul Willis in Kinshasa and Michael Hirst  (Filed: 04/06/2006)

The young Congolese woman lay screaming on the dusty ground, arms thrashing wildly as a white-gowned preacher gripped her head and prayed. As she fainted, thousands of spectators in Kinshasa's Tata Raphael stadium roared with excitement - yet another public exorcism was reaching its climax.

In the run-down arena that once hosted the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman, today it is the battle to save souls that draws in the crowds.  Editing footage of the spectacle in a television studio, the Rev Augustin Betu, an impresario of some of Congo's top devil-hounding talent, watched his colleague's performance approvingly.  "The preacher is driving out the demons," he said. "They have taken possession of her and only the power of Jesus can send them away."

Although the Democratic Republic of Congo will next month hold its first democratic elections since its independence from Belgium in 1960, televised exorcisms rather than political debates are dominating the airwaves in a country where the majority of the population still believes in black magic, the broadcast networks are saturated with a dozen religious channels competing for converts, most of them owned by Christian cults led by charismatic preachers.

Mixing the razzmatazz and showmanship of American-style televangelism with traditional animist beliefs, the exorcisms are the centrepiece of most of the stations' output.

At his television studio on a hillside overlooking the capital, Mr Betu - the manager of Radio Télévision De L'Armée Eternelle - was sifting through footage of various "miracles", including a blind woman apparently being returned to sight and a disabled man, who seemed to regain the use of his legs. "If someone is possessed by a demon, it is often because another person has put a curse on them," he said. "Only prayer can drive out the evil spirit."

All across the sprawling city of Kinshasa, shops offering protective fetishes against evil curses compete alongside churches run by the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. Congregations gather daily in their thousands to witness exorcisms. Many are performed by self-appointed pastors, who are keen to distance themselves from traditional African beliefs and talk up their Christian credentials.

"The only tradition we are a part of is the Christian one," said Prophet Naama Sikatenda, the head of the Church of the Living God, which claims to have 65,000 members at more than 200 churches across this central African state. "We are not interested in fetishes and witchcraft. We use only the power of prayer," he said. But not everyone is convinced.

Willy Kabwe, the editor of the Congolese daily newspaper Le Potential, said many exorcists had switched to Christianity because it offered more potent powers of casting out. "The irony is that many of these pastors were witch doctors who have embraced Christianity because the tribal beliefs are now seen as primitive," he said. "Many of their congregations come to the church because it is seen as a more powerful ally if someone tries to curse you. "They retain the same beliefs, but do it under the guise of Christianity." . . . .

One channel was shut down after its leader was accused of inciting his followers to attack members of another cult. And Prophet Sikatenda has drawn criticism for claiming to have cured Aids victims.Human rights groups have long claimed that - away from the gaze of television cameras - exorcisms involve the abuse of orphaned children who have been thrown out of their homes, accused of witchcraft after the untimely death of a parent or other family hardship.

Joel Kabongo, the head of Radio Télé Sango Mala (Good News TV), a religious channel independent of the cults, said: "Whether what they are doing is magic or fabrication I don't know. But they are exploiting vulnerable, naive people."

Julia   H/T Zadok the Roman

Tony Soprano in Limbo?

Alan Sepinwall at nj.com has an interesting take on Episode 2 of The Sopranos.  My only quibble is that I would say Tony is in Limbo not Purgatory.  Purgatory is for people who are already slated to heaven after they pay for their lesser sins.  Tony is hanging between life and death - dramatically that situation of the soul lost in transit but not dead for sure is personified by Limbo - even if the Church recently decided it didn't exist. 

Tony checks into the Hotel California Monday, March 20, 2006 WARNING: This column contains major plot spoilers for last night's "Sopranos" episode. If you're waiting until later in the week to watch, read on at extreme peril. IT'S NOT a dream. It's Purgatory. When I had my annual summit with "Sopranos" creator David Chase a few weeks ago, I complimented him on having the onions to put a major dream sequence like this so early in the season, considering how many fans complain about the dreams. "I, frankly, would not call those (episode two scenes) dreams," he said, which sent me scurrying back to watch my DVD over and over again, until (with some help from my wife) I got it. Here Tony's stuck in Orange County, quite possibly the most personality-free corner of the world, with no way to leave (a k a Purgatory). On one end of town is a shining beacon (Heaven), on the other, a raging forest fire (Hell). Over and over, he stops to assess the worth of his own life, asking, "Who am I? Where am I going?"

Read the whole thing HERE

Sophie Scholl was braver than Edward R Murrow and George Clooney

George Clooney is much in our faces these days considering that the MSM is ga ga over his movie presenting Edward R Murrow as such a brave guy.  Well, he was late to the dance, the decisive standing up to Joe McCarthy had already taken place months earlier - Joe was on his last legs due to other folks actions and his ill health.  And why is George Clooney brave for making this movie about ersatz "bravery" that occured before he was even born.

Via  Amy Welborn at Open Book here's a REALLY brave person who defied HITLER by printing and distributing leaflets calling for people to resist the Nazis.  Sophie Scholl got caught and paid for it with her life.  There's a movie about her, too, but you probably won't get a chance to see it although it has won many prestigious awards all over Europe -awarded by folks who think Hitler might have been a bit scarier than Joe McCarthy. It is only playing in selected places. The Academy nominated it for Best Film, but it didn't win in spite of almost unanimous rave reviews.  Contact the US distributors at  www.zeitgestfilms.com if you'd like to have it shown in your town. 

Here's the link to the website for "Sophie Scholl, the Last Days", the movie made from the actual transcripts of her interrogations by the SS which were discovered in the past few years.

This is Sophie with 2 of her fellow resisters from The White Rose website which tells the story of the "White Rose" movement made-up of young Germans who put their lives on the line to oppose Hitler's war machine.  The subversive leaflets suggest "passive resistance" as the best way to silently encourage the downfall of the "government", all with the same heading: "Leaflets of The White Rose". Each of these documents was more hard-hitting than the last.

The White Rose website has the texts of the actual leaflets they risked their lives to print and distribute.   

Here's what the young students were doing according to the website:

The members of The White Rose worked day and night, cranking a hand-operated duplicating machine thousands of times to create the leaflets which were each stuffed into envelopes, stamped and mailed from various major cities in Southern Germany. Recipients were chosen from telephone directories and were generally scholars, medics and pub-owners (which seemed to puzzle the Gestapo -- but who better to spread the word or post a leaflet!). While Hans and Alex alone drafted the first four leaflets, they counted on Christoph Probst to comment and criticize. Jürgen edited the third and fourth leaflets and traveled to Berlin with the dangerous documents. Willi contributed to the fifth leaflet and did a generous amount of leg-work, getting supplies and trying to recruit support outside of Munich. Sophie worked hard at getting stamps and paper (one couldn't buy too many stamps at one place without arousing suspicion) and also managed the group's funds. Kurt Huber contributed to the fifth leaflet and solely drafted the sixth (and final) leaflet, while Hans was apprehended with a rough-draft of a seventh leaflet written by Christoph Probst. All members traveled throughout Southern Germany  (and beyond) to mail stacks of leaflets from undetectable locations. Hundreds of leaflets were also left at the University of Munich, carefully hand-delivered in the middle of the night.
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On three nights in February 1943 -- the 3rd, 8th and 15th -- Hans, Alex and Willi conducted the most dangerous of all the White Rose activities.  The three men used tar and paint to write slogans on the sides of houses on Ludwigstrasse, a main thoroughfare in Munich near the University.  They wrote "Down With Hitler", "Hitler Mass Murderer", "freedom", and drew crossed-out swastikas... this while policemen and other officials patroled the streets of Munich.  It was, by far, the most public, blatant and dangerous of their activities.
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It isn't certain why Hans and Sophie Scholl brought a suitcase full of leaflets to the University during the day on Thursday, February 18, 1943. Upon reaching the University, they passed Willi Graf and friend, Traute Lafrenz, who were leaving.  They made plans to meet later in the evening, never mentioning the leaflets in the case. Together, Hans and Sophie entered the deserted atrium which, in minutes, would be flooded with students exiting lectures and classes. They worked quickly, dropping stacks of Kurt Huber's leaflets throughout the corridors. With time running out, the brother and sister hurried outside to safety. Then they noticed there were still leaflets left in the suitcase. Deciding it would be silly not to leave the few extra documents, they returned to the atrium, climbed a grand marble staircase to the upper level of the hall and Sophie flung the last of the leaflets high into the air. Sophie herself explained it this way: "It was either high spirits or stupidity that made me throw 80 to 100 leaflets from the third floor of the university into the inner courtyard." The dozens of pieces of paper glided freely, landing in a shower at the feet of students who suddenly poured out of lecture halls into the atrium. And standing somewhere in the crowd was Jakob Schmidt, University handyman and Nazi party member, who saw Hans and Sophie with the leaflets. The police were called, the doors were locked, and Hans and Sophie apprehended and taken into Gestapo custody. By some accounts, Hans and Sophie had plenty of time and could easily have escaped before the Gestapo arrived.  Jakob Schmidt became a momentary Nazi hero and was cheered at rallies after the capture of White Rose members.
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Today, there are many memorials of the White Rose throughout Munich and their story is known to every German.  The White Rose may have been silenced too early but their words echo on...
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"Freedom!"

Top that George Clooney !!! 

Julia

Sopranos Voiceover in first episode 2006

H/T   Amy Welborn's Open Book Here's the text of the voice-over on the first Sopranos' episode last night.  It's about how the seven souls of man meet their death.   Here's the first two:

The ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls.

Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren the Secret name. This corresponds to my Director. He directs the film of your life from conception to death. The Secret Name is the title of your film. When you die, that's where Ren came in.

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power. Light. The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons.

Here's the whole thing                    Julia

PBS vs History Channel

Slate magazine has an essay on how cable is taking over and out-doing what PBS is supposed to be doing for US citizens.  Writer hones in on why the main stream History Channel is more successful than PBS.

. . . But it's the History Channel that must really bother PBS, and not just because the upstart flaunts its illiberal jingoism and paranoia. As its obsession with shocking secrets suggests, the History Channel has much in common with the New York Post—and Oliver Stone. PBS treats making TV shows as if it were noble but tedious missionary work; the History Channel manages to create some comical, intriguing visual rants about "history"—and at the same time attract viewers. If the channel broadcasts downright bunk from time to time, it also curates vast quantities of old—and fascinating—newsreel footage. Sometimes all it takes to make an evocative show is jumpy period film of Antarctic explorers or the angelic-looking Alexei Romanov. With this material available, broadcasting vastly overhyped School of Burns documentaries—wide-angle beauty shots and buttery close-ups of Ivy League professors—begins to seem like a sucker's game.

So, although earnest PBS patrons and executives no doubt look at the devil-may-care History Channel and seethe, they might stand to learn an important lesson from their low-budget rival. In short, the chief ingredient of a good documentary is mystery. PBS doesn't like mystery; it prefers to chronicle What We Know. It's not just the news shows, either. Certainty reigns even on the shows on PBS that are ostensibly devoted to mysteries. A show about sea creatures last week initially seemed cool: genderless blue flat worms fighting with "multiple penises" in order to mate. But the mild show was unexpectedly strident. The writers, it seemed, were so eager to hammer home the absolute truth of evolution—they presumably had unnamed creationists in their sights—that they couldn't just let the worms do their thing. Flat worms are the first animals to search actively for food and sex—just like MAN! As each worm became an object-lesson, the show lost its appeal.

Here's the whole thing.   http://www.slate.com/id/2064540/

I'd also say that I used to watch old movies on PBS on Friday nights.  Now I'm a Turner Classic Movie addict.  Not only do they air really cool Hollywood movies, they also have very informed commentary on the stars, the writers, the producers, the context of the film, etc.  More than PBS ever gives.  In particluar I love the old documentaries that give a peek into how people were thinking about things at the time the film was made.  A movie that blew me away was "The Search" filmed in 1946-47 or thereabouts in occupied Europe.  People were still walking across the continent looking for relatives amid the ruined cities and countryside.   Displaced children were still dodging UN settlement workers due to remaining fear of Nazis.  Watch for it - it'll blow your mind.  The early part of the film is straight documentary and then it focusses on the fictional story of one particular mother and child who had been at the same concentration camp and then were separated.  The entire film was made on location with huge logistics problems.  It stars Montgomery Clift in one of his very first movie roles as a GI who takes in a mistrustful displaced child who doesn't know much about what a "mother" is.  Why wasn't this incredible multi-award-winning movie shown on PBS?   

posted by Julia