multi-media notes

several false starts on reading longer, well-reviewed, awarded prose, so obviously my fault. I've given up, recently, at least for now, on the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Robert A. Caro's The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York.
Moses, of course, has surfaced in regurgitated news these past 24 hours with the announcement of Walter O'Malley's impending induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (O'Malley apologists insist that Moses' ego and intransigent nature are most responsible for the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles). and Caro, of course, later authored the trilogy of excellent tomes on Lyndon Johnson (I read all of those).
one thing I learned in the bare openings of these books is that both Moses and Oppenheimer attended the Society for Ethical Culture School (interesting enough).
wish me better luck on John Sayles' Anarchist's Convention.

I don't seem to have any problem making it through DVDs.
the last movie I ever saw: My Favorite Year (you know, the physical comedy of supposed drunks just doesn't age well. and who decided to give Mark Linn-Baker such a big part)
the one before that: Babel (serious, circular, circular, serious and unfortunately not too much for Cate Blanchett to do)
the one before that: Bobby (better than I expected)
the one before that: Waitress (because if you work for minimum wage and are stuck in a bad marriage (I mean, the husband is completely irredeemable (not very realistic)), you must be Southern, right? but I did enjoy Andy Griffith's character and aspire to his aged contrariness)
the two before that: The Godfather and Godfather Part II (not perfect ("That's easy for you to say, Tom, he's not your father!" in One and the whole "Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage, it was an abortion. An abortion, Michael. Just like our marriage is an abortion -- something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Michael. I wouldn't bring another one of your sons in this world. It was an abortion, Michael. It was a son; a son, and I had it killed 'cause this must all end" in Two (major yuch there)) but close)

video games? I know Wii's hot stuffs right now (even Nintendo World at Rock Center's out), but the games, a couple I'm looking for on behalf of relatives, seem to be non-existent (Guitar Hero III, for example), and there's no Rock Band at all
(yes, I'm muchly happy with my Playstation 3 Rock Band though we hit the drums, hard, tonight and unfortunately were called out, deservedly, by our downstairs neighbor who (I learned when going down to apologize) is now pregnant. ouch!).

and then, and then, and then . . . there's the "Possibly 4th Street" series.
we taped Nicole Atkins (currently promoting her Neptune City album) on Thursday at a kids' soccer camp (indoors thankfully) and Zookeeper (currently promoting the Becoming All Things CD) on a First Avenue rooftop.
the sessions with Nicole and Zookeeper caused me to wonder what had become of my photographic abilities (if they ever existed; perhaps I just got lucky and stayed lucky for a while). and while in hindsight I still don't believe either will stand among my best work, I'm thinking at least part of the problem on Friday (Zookeeper) was that it was so damn cold I couldn't keep the camera still (see above).
but session Six, Tara Jane O'Neil, (also a cold recording, though nothing like last Friday) posted that day on the Voice blog.
and Michelle Shocked should post in both print and blog tomorrow.

Happy Hanukkah!