THE CAT’S PAWS

This film, like the James McBride book it’s based upon, is excellent. Folks, this one is REALLY good. It’s a true story based on the American invasion of Italy that historians since–and commanding officers then–realized was an entirely unnecessary component of the invasion of Europe in ‘44. The ‘value’ of the campaign that engrossed troops made largely of African-Americans–the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ from the Army’s Negro 92nd Division… (more…)

The Commerce Department and politicians/pundits give out what sound to be low unemployment rates these days. ‘Employment’ means just that–people working. It does NOT mean that the jobs provide health insurance. For a more real picture on that, we can get a better picture by looking at the older boomers and where they now are in the work force… (more…)

I wrote an identical message last October; this makes year #4 of consecutive decisions by our symphony leadership to omit from their holiday program the performance of Handel’s masterpiece The Messiah. For the fourth consecutive year, people, the SLSO apparently still isn’t up to performing it for a scant weekend during the Christmas season. We in StL–and the symphony–better start worring now that our patrons will entirely forget who Handel is, let alone recall his masterpiece. (more…)

You and I can think of a few smarter things to do with $700 Billion than seive it through Washington, where Congress takes what it doesn’t own. I must say, though, that some of the Congressional leaders are asking some pretty taxpayer-oriented questions, like:

‘Why in the hell are we doing this?”, Better, there’s this one:

“Just why in the hell do we only have less than a week in which to decide whether we pull the trigger on this?” More along the lines of hitting it on the head, there’s:

“Heck Joe, if we don’t understand this, how in the hell can the average American fathom it?” (more…)

The Bloomberg Press, in announcing the news of Sid Barret’s death in July of 2006, offered a bit of detail regarding how the Cambridge, UK band’s founder named his band Pink Floyd. The writers of that article share what I’m certain is an error regarding how Barrett arrived at the name. The article states:

‘He is believed to have named the band after two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, whose music was included in his record collection’.

Nope. I don’t doubt that these guys were in Barrett’s music collection, but I’m not going by version written by two Bloomberg.com writer lads easily ten years my junior. More accurate is what I read in one of those ‘rock music stars’ mags that I saw when over at a (Barrett-like) friend’s house back, oh, in the early eighties or even late seventies, and that version of the story, down on brownish paper, was vintage even then. Granted, Barrett was out of the picture nearly ten years prior to the rock mag’s story, but it’s all about age over beauty. I’m going with what the article we read (and re-read) told us.

So how did Pink Floyd really get it’s name? ‘Pink’ and ‘Floyd’ were Barrett’s pet cats. Evidently he liked cats, enough to own two of them, and just like that, two felines became the supergroup’s namesake.

SO..what does this mean? I’ll share: If I ever am in charge of a school trivia night event, SCREW the standard television category. Can you see a thirty-something (lady) social studies teacher frowning to ponder the the question: ‘How did the English psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd get it’s name?’ I’d be generous and would accept the wrong answer.

This would have been a considerably better movie–and this says alot because it’s very good–if it wasn’t so seriously tainted by uncalled-for vulgarity. I didn’t say ‘profanity’..the insertion of curse words in a movie’s screenplay automatically ‘upgrades’ mainstream flicks to an ‘R’ rating, and ‘R’ rated movies draw more at the box office. I find it surprising that the three very classy stars, who perform wonderfully, didn’t veto certain lines’ language and suggest softer insertions that wouldn’t have comprimised, but rather could have enhanced, the movie’s otherwise entirely extraordinary presentation of what is NOT a plot of cliches’. (more…)