If you are into Scrooge and Christmas Carol, here is an opportunity to enjoy it with your family. It is playing in Ford’s Theater now till Jan 3rd of 2010. The Charles Dickens Novel is adapted by Michael Wilson, and directed by Michael Baron,

Here is the trailer

• When:Mon 11/23 – Sun 1/3/10 (12PM)
• Where: Ford’s Theatre
• Location: 511 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004 Washington, DC Map
• Search for Tickets here
This production is appropriate for ages 5 and up.

Here is their schedule till Jan 3rd:
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 2:30pm
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7:30pm
Saturday, December 26, 2009 2:30pm
Saturday, December 26, 2009 7:30pm
Sunday, December 27, 2009 2:30pm
Sunday, December 27, 2009 7:30pm
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 2:30pm
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 7:30pm
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 2:30pm
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 7:30pm
Thursday, December 31, 2009 2:30pm
Friday, January 1, 2010 2:30pm
Friday, January 1, 2010 7:30pm
Saturday, January 2, 2010 2:30pm
Saturday, January 2, 2010 7:30pm
Sunday, January 3, 2010 2:30pm

Speaking of Ford’s Theater, here are two great behind the scenes of the place:

On Christmas Eve, an angel shows George Bailey what life would be like without him, hoping to prevent George from taking his own life.

Directed by – Frank Capra

Written by – Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Jo Swerling, Philip Van Doren Stern, Michael Wilson

Starring – James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, Virginia Patton, Charles Williams, Sarah Edwards, William Edmunds, Lillian Randolph, Argentina Brunetti, Sheldon Leonard, Ray Walker, Edward Keane, Carol Coombs, Karolyn Grimes, Larry Simms, Jimmy Hawkins

It was finally time to sit down and watch It’s A Wonderful Life and what a treat it was. Such a great movie with a light touch of comedy and a huge heaping to tear-jerker moments. The last 5 minutes of the movie almost had me in tears, almost, big Will no cry! HAHA! It begins by following George Bailey’s (James Stewart) life as he grows up in Bedford Falls, showing us just how giving a person George really is. He saves his brother from drowning, prevents a grieving pharmacist from accidentally sending out bad medicine and how he continuously has to put his dreams on hold for the people around him.

Mr. Potter, the biggest villain you could imagine.

George eventually begins to run the building and loan that his father started, not so much to carry the family business but more from a hatred of Mr. Potter, the local bad guy who’s managed to buy up the rest of the town. At this point things begin to go bad for George, not that there isn’t moments of happiness in his life, but when Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses 8,000 dollars, George reaches his breaking point. Faced with prison for misappropriating funds and the closure of the building and loan, George thinks that ending his life will spare everyone since his life insurance policy can cover the bills. That’s when Clarence (Henry Travers), the angel, steps in and shows George what everyone’s life would have been like without him.

The acting is superb in this one, with James Stewart’s performance able to pull the tears right out of you and Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter makes you want to reach into the screen and ring his neck. The movie was just over 2 hours long but I never even noticed it. I enjoyed every minute of it and when I realized that it was almost over I was wishing for even more. As you watch Georges life and then see the drastic changes that would have come if he hadn’t been born you’d have to be made of stone to not be moved.

The Bailey clan comes together for their happy ending.

I love a great old film. The clothes they wore, the hairstyles, the slang of the time. The settings are always beautiful to look at and there always seems to be a kind of honest wholesomeness to life that you don’t get from films nowadays. It’s A Wonderful Life has all that and more. The overall theme of kindness and how it never pays to be selfish is powerful and is summed up very well by Clarence the angel in a note he leaves for George at the end of the film that reads “No man is a failure who has friends.” It goes to show that being a good person is always rewarded ten fold in the end. A perfect holiday flick that I’m sure I’ll have to watch again before Christmas comes after enjoying it so much last night.

Under the mistletoe – Will

By Alexander C. Kaufman

Technological advancement seems to be ebbing always at the average attention span; brevity dominates and defines modern nonfiction, abridgment hastens the intake of fiction.  So it makes sense that late Hartford (Conn.) Stage Company director Michael Wilson’s arrangement into a nine hour epic of Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Horton Foote’s entire dramatic oeuvre would be appropriately cutting-edge to be reviewed by Gregory Lamb.

Wilson, who had a close professional relationship with Foote, had originally wanted to perform each of the latter’s nine plays. In late 2007, Lamb reported, Wilson got to agree to Foote to condense his work into three, three-hour plays as to make them all viewable within a day.  At the time of his death last March, the playwright had completed the three part saga entitled “The Orphan’s Home Cycle.”

Here is how Lamb describes the “Cycle”:

The plays track the life of Horace Robedaux from the time he is a young boy whose father has died to the time after the death of his father-in-law when he becomes the family patriarch. Like a classic hero, Horace must meet a series of challenges from an early age. Yet he manages to survive and eventually prosper. The character of Horace is based on the life of Foote’s own father.

Among the themes Foote explores are the elusive search to find “home” and the question of how people face adversity. Horace is on an “Odyssey,” Wilson suggests in program notes, “as profound and epic as Odysseus’ return journey.”

The three-part play, divided into “The Story of a Childhood,” “The Story of a Marriage” and “The Story of a Family,” closed in Connecticut last month, but reopened in New York on Nov. 5, where it will run until Mar. 28, 2010.

Alongside recent technology and book reviews, Lamb’s write-up of Wilson’s production is relevant to his state-of-the-art beat.  The Broadway industry grossed $943 million from 12.15 million tickets between 2008-9, according to data collected by the Broadway League, an organization for the theater industry, enforcing the idea that the thespian is perhaps as much a part of modern culture as Lady Gaga and “Slumdog Millionaire.”

In fact, there exists a parallel between Wilson’s production and Lamb’s own work.  Journalism–and Lamb’s writing is a testament to this–is becoming increasingly trimmed down in order to make the information more palatable in an era where an instant feels like a year.  Likewise, many journalists are now considering a standardized shortening of articles to 500-words or less.  This trend of condensing written work seems to be part of a new wave for briefer written word.

One of my favorite actors is Will Ferrell.  His movies are some of the best comedies ever.  I can’t get together with my friends without quoting cinematic gems such as Anchorman, Old School or any of his awesome skits on SNL.  A true comedy icon.

Last week I came across a video put together by his company, Funny or Die.  The video pokes fun at the insurance companies in a tongue-in-cheek way.  Clever, but not truthful.  I’m convinced that insurance companies will make money no matter what system is in place as the government could never manage even a simple option.  They will need help from somewhere.  I doubt the pow wow at the White House with all the Health Insurance Execs was simply to scold them.  I believe it is self preservation.

These guys want a public option.   I find it curious that Moveon.org is involved in this project.  Not surprised, but curious.

Michael Wilson, writer for Big Hollywood, had an interesting perspective:

The actors and comedians in the PSA could literally buy health insurance for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of uninsured Americans. And they don’t even have to wait for the government to take their money at gunpoint. They can just do it. And they should. It’s clearly being positioned as a moral issue, so is it immoral for these folks to hoard money while children are suffering?

Well, the answer is “no.” It’s their money. And I think Will Ferrell should be able to keep as much of his dough as possible, even if he uses it to buy a mini-zoo in his back yard for exotic animals like a white tiger or Pygmy horses. If he chooses to buy me and a hundred thousand or so of my fellow uninsured Americans some insurance, it would go a long way toward establishing credibility. It would also prove that we don’t need government to force Americans to help each other.

It’s always nice to see things in perspective.  I’m sure Mr. Ferrell and his friends could buy and sell the Health Insurance Executives.  I am like Mike Wilson on this one, who cares how much money someone makes.  This is America and that should be part of the deal when being or becoming an American – unlimited potential to make as much money as you want.

As a counterpoint, some very creative people did a spoof of the Funny or Die video.   Very funny.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Buddy Miller

Conventional wisdom is you build a star through hits.  Be it “hits” with motorcycle models or music songs.

These days the media is busy parading the faces of barely pubescent “artists” in front of the non-caring public while true musicians are doing what they’ve always done.  Play!

Hey, there’s a concept… perfecting your craft until their so great people become “infected” when they listen to that magical concoction of musical sound which penetrates your body.  We can debate through the night what’s good intellectually, but when someone starts to play and they wring out a good feeling from their guitar, like being in a bar way past midnight wanting the evening to never end because tomorrow is drudgery…. you get a feel good smile on our face.

That’s what Buddy Miller’s music is about.  Defined by the music “machine” as country, yet that’s not the only format his music belongs.  He isn’t good-looking enough for a fashion spread in “GQ” or a multi-page foldout in “Rolling Stone”.  Buddy Miller is 56 years old.  He’s a heart attack survivor and like many people in their mid-life he’s viewed as being on the downhill slide, but he’s just starting to hit his stride!  He didn’t give up or quit and go into his daddy’s business.  Instead he focused on the music.  Recording it and playing it live.  As a craftsman he goes into the studio when inspired vs. when label’s want to sell more and lay’s down something truly great.  I’m a fan.

What’s my point, you ask?   It involves motorcycles and is specific to Buddy Miller’s aluminum neck electric guitar.  Made in Italy it’s a 1960’s vintage called a “Davoli.” You can see/hear about his guitar HERE or read more information at Vintage Guitar.

Briefly it all started with Wandré Pioli who began designing and building guitars in the mid-50’s.  At some point during those early years, Wandré hooked up with Athos Davoli, whose company at the time was part of a conglomerate known as Radio Elettromeccanica Krundaal, located in Parma, Italy. The two worked on developing the electronics that eventually appeared in Wandré guitars.  As a pioneering guitar designer, Wandré was attracted early on to aluminum and it’s structural material.   As a motorcycle enthusiast he restored motorcycles and was often seen riding the Italian countryside.  His interest in motorcycles was reflected in the design and workmanship of his guitar vibrato system. Either a triangular or diamond-shaped affair was attached to the aluminum core and faced outward with a cast metal “W”… it looked very much like a motorcycle medallion of the day.  However, most of the guitar production used pickups made by the Athos Davoli company. These were large, trapezoid-shaped pickups with stamped metal covers that said “Davoli/Made In Italy.” The Davoli pickup cover imprint was often the only identification found on Wandré guitars, contributing to the misinformation that they are “Davoli” guitars.

It seems much of life is drudgery.  We worry too much and it’s why we’re searching for gems to get us through.  And when we find one, we tell everybody we know.  So, here is a shout out to the motorcycle loving master craftsman Wandré and his eccentric guitar design.  And to finding a real gem playing that guitar is Buddy Miller and a brilliant song.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wilson.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

The entire set of photos from the Sethway promotional shoot are now available to view in the main gallery of my website. As mentioned before, it was a fun shoot with a mixture of the silly and the serious…

…if anything what I took most from the shoot was an experience in working with an open minded band.

The night beforehand I was out at Sabrina Egerton’s birthday in Auntie Annies, where she had asked local Ska band Pocket Billiards to perform – it turned into a great night and if there is a more perfect live band for bouncing along too on the dance floor, please name them.

…equal parts mad and cutting, the band’s most recent highlight was playing as the openers for And So I Watch You From Afar’s album launch at the Mandela Hall, where they went down a storm. News has it that the battalion of musicians that make up the band are hitting the studio this Summer, which (based on their amazing selection of energetic tunes on the live circuit) should yield some interesting results.

Despite starting bright and direct, the sun during the day ended up being hidden behind the clouds, losing us a lot of the natural depth that we were aiming to capture – bold colours and big primary shapes between the four members of Ballymena based band Sethway being the two things I was keeping most in mind throughout the day.

It changed our approach, particularly in the middle of the shoot – but didn’t distill our original outlook – for a band as cheeky and youthful as Ricky, Adam and the two Michaels are, need to be presented with a balance of the serious against natural exuberance in my opinion. It’s all well and good talking about preparing a strong image (which any band should seriously consider over the long and short term, General Fiasco being a perfect example of having a focused outlook on their image), but I believe bands should look to accent themselves in the beginning, giving them some time to ease into caricature and progress then, onto more elaborate constructions.

The band themselves wanted to instill some inventive elements, and whilst keeping it succicent (the antithesis of the elaborate and brash American style band images that you see floating around – such as the Elliot Minor promotional material, or even Senses Fail) it worked quite well to highlight this particular moment in Sethway’s life. I’ve always found that it’s not the amount or prominence of props in an image that matters when doing this, but as with everything else, simply a case of efficient use.

Hopefully the full set should be uploaded to the gallery by the end of the day.

I spent today in a haze of recovery, toiling with my senses in an attempt to portray an outward appearance of normality – all the while spending time in the frisky company of young Ballymena based band Sethway (expect photos of prancing velociraptors eating cheese; going by my hapless random directional calls - “move a little closer, Adam, a little more to the right, pretend there are cheesy raptors behind you – no, great big fucking dinosaurs, climb you beasts, climb!”)

It was an interesting shoot, and I feel that somehow, the hand of fate once again had dealt me the correct demeanor for the job – just the right amount of infantile idiocy that only the sleep deprived can tap into. The wild stare, the inconsistent speech patterns, I had it all.

The bus ride over from Belfast was entertaining, and set the entire day up. I was straining the limits of control, trying desperately not to scare the lady in the seat across the aisle with my twitching - And So I Watch You From Afar’s album (on loud repeat through my headphones) was all that stood between me and the nightmarish scenario of losing it completely.

…the driver almost ran into an overtaking people carrier on the M2 coming out of Belfast, and I almost cried with joy at the thought of being flung forwards into the rows in front, dribbling like an idiot in my mind’s eye as those around me screamed through the onslaught of metal marrying flesh.

Today’s lesson however ended up being fairly straightforward – and much less bloody.

I was reminded of just how fluid and shifting relationships can be when Michael made a simple comment around lunchtime – making light of how the social circles of the music community play out; and I realised just how many amazing, influential people I have met over the last year who hopefully will continue to be there for many a year to come.

Michael Wilson, the writer/producer/director of the 2004 documentary “Michael Moore Hates America” wrote this excellent article about President Obama’s arrogance towards fathers and fatherhood every Father’s Day.

President Obama’s righteousness about fatherhood comes from the recognition that his own dad was, indeed, a douchebag. He knocked up Obama’s mom and quickly fled the country, only meeting his son once, and bringing him a basketball. There are fathers like that out there, but they’re few and far between.

To read more, click here.

Title: Planet of the Apes
Year: 1968
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Writers: Michael Wilson & Rod Serling, based on the novel by Pierre Boulle
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Distinctions: currently #246 in IMDb’s Top 250
Synopsis: damn dirty apes
How I saw it: on video, a lot (used to have on VHS), most recently July 2008
Subjective Rating: 8/10 9/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for special effects/design)

I love this stuff. It’s the quintessential science fiction film of an era (for all the right reasons), and a damn good movie besides that. As for the special effects/design point – I don’t care how groundbreaking the make up and costumes were at the time; they look like rubber masks to me.  There really isn’t any way to make a live action movie about talking animals look convincing, even today.  And besides having production values only slightly better than Star Trek, I do not understand why the Ape city is modeled after Bedrock.

It was wrong of you to fire Geoff Dean, said the Civil Service Commission to Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks. The sheriff fired Dean for preparing to run for Brooks’s office when Brooks retires in 2010. Dean gets back pay and is the apparent frontrunner in the race.

There is a special election on May 19. It’s about the California budget. Most people don’t like the ballot measures and will vote against them according to a recent poll. This will disappoint the governor.

Californians are not happy: 77% said the state was headed in the wrong direction, 80% disapprove of the legislature’s performance, and 57% disapprove of Governor Schwarzenegger’s performance. Perhaps this is why 81% of people support Proposition 1F, limiting legislative pay during deficits. It’s the economy, stupid.

In a completely unrelated story, Governor Schwarzenegger said he would not run for political office again, since the Constitution forbids foreign-born presidents. Republicans were relieved.

Most drugs sold in Ventura County come from Mexico, say law enforcement officials. Perhaps Rush Limbaugh should buy a sombrero and move south, closer to his suppliers.

The Ventura County Supervisors graciously voted to accept $2.7 million of Barack Obama’s stimulus money this week. It will be used to buy up houses that have been foreclosed and sitting empty. They will be sold to lower-income and middle-class people. Thanks for help Ventura County, Mr. President.

Stimulus money might save police and firefighter jobs in Ventura, but only if they are still around. The Ventura City Council voted to use reserve funds to keep the officers and firefighters employed. Mayor Christy Weir, pinching pennies, voted against it.

Evangelical apocalypse enthusiasts infiltrated the military and George W. Bush’s White House, said filmmaker Michael Wilson during a screening of his movie Silhouette City in Thousand Oaks. They don’t like gays and want to “reclaim the nation for Christ.”

Minutes after rescuing a man who had fallen onto the subway tracks at the Penn Station stop on Monday, Mr. Lindsey managed to melt back into the anonymity of the city, escaping the notice of the police, paramedics and subway workers. (NY Times).

Most of my readers probably know who Michael Moore is, but you might not know who Michael Wilson is. I didn’t either. Wilson is the writer and director of a 2004 documentary called “Michael Moore Hates America”. Actually, the movie is also a spoof of Moore’s own breakthrough movie, “Roger & Me”. In that movie, Moore chases around  a millionaire, then-CEO of General Motors Roger Smith to try to interview him about the harm that GM’s downsizing did to Flint, Michigan, but is unable to get the interview. (In fact, Moore did get to engage in a question and answer session with “Roger” at a GM shareholders meeting, which he chose to leave out of his film.)

Wilson’s movie is much the same, except this time it is Wilson chasing millionaire Michael Moore to interview him about alleged anti-Americanism in his movies. Like in the Moore film, Wilson never gets his interview.

The reason I mention all of this is to set the stage for the link below. Michael Wilson has an outstanding blog post up on Big Hollywood, in which he outlines the major differences between the Michael Moore philosophy and the Michael Wilson philosophy. I heartily commend it to your attention:

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mwilson/2009/03/09/michael-moore-trashed-my-movie-my-response/

One need not be a member of the anti-Moore fan club in order to appreciate the simple logic of Wilson’s points. Wilson bluntly defends himself from charges that he belongs to some sort of right-wing conspiracy, noting that if he were a member, he certainly hasn’t benefited from it.

The good news is that despite their best efforts, the Left has not yet succeeded in wiping out free speech in this country. Which means that Michael Moore can respond in defense of his own point of view.  And if he does, and someone cares to call it to my attention, I will post it on this thread as a comment.

David Byrne | New York, New York | December 2003
photo by Michael Wilson

this should be pretty amazing. i’m hoping to be @ the louisville or indy (or both) shows.

09-16 Bethlehem, PA – Zoellner Arts Center
09-17 Baltimore, MD – Lyric
09-18 Newport News, VA – Ferguson Center for the Arts
09-20 Atlanta, GA – Chastain Park Amphitheatre
09-21 Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
09-22 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
09-23 Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theatre
09-25 Austin, TX – Paramount
09-26 Austin, TX – Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-28 Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
09-30 Phoenix, AZ – Orpheum Theatre
10-02 San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
10-03 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
10-04 Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre
10-06 San Francisco, CA – Davies Symphony Hall
10-08 Santa Rosa, CA – Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
10-11 Park City, UT – Eccles Center for the Performing Arts
10-12 Denver, CO – Buell Theater
10-14 Minneapolis, MN – State Theater
10-15 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
10-17 Omaha, NE – Kiewit Concert Hall
10-18 St. Louis, MO – Fox Theatre
10-19 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
10-21 Louisville, KY – Palace Theater
10-23 Cleveland, OH – Allen Theatre
10-24 Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
10-25 Indianapolis, IN – Clowes Memorial Hall
10-26 Chicago, IL – Civic Opera House
10-29 Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
10-30 Montreal, Quebec – Metropolis
10-31 Boston, MA – Wang Center
11-01 Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
11-03 Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie Theatre
11-05 Albany, NY – Empire State Plaza
11-07 Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Music Hall
11-08 Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theatre

*Brian Eno is not a part of the tour.

Desperate to win in the upcoming March 4 primaries, both leading Democrats, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made commitments to renegotiate NAFTA if elected. This sounds pretty good to anti-NAFTA states like Ohio. But sources reveal that this all may be rhetoric. Obama staffers have communicated to Michael Wilson that these comments should probably be taken with a grain of salt. We don’t like salt.