Star Wars Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Ramblin' with Roger

Kennedy Center Honors 2015

I remember buying my copy of Tapestry somewhere in Binghamton, NY, along with Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones.

As I’ve noted over the years, I LOVE the Kennedy Center Honors. The event generally takes place in DC the first weekend in December and is broadcast on CBS-TV at the end of the month. The celebration of the honorees’ Lifetime Artistic Achievements took place on Sunday, December 6, and will be aired on CBS on Tuesday, December 29 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT. This year’s honorees are Carole King, George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa, and Cicely Tyson.

Rita Moreno – if she were in nothing but the movie West Side Story – a pivotal film in my life – I’d be a big fan, but she accomplished so much more and, as she indicated in this interview, had to fight the Latina actress stereotypes.

She’s won the EGOT:
OSCAR: Best Supporting Actress (1961) West Side Story (Anita del Carmen)
GRAMMY: Best Album for Children (1973) Electric Company
TONY: Best Featured Actress in a Play (1975) The Ritz
EMMY: Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (1977) The Muppet Show; Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series (1978) The Rockford Files

Even though I was in college by then, I was a huge fan of The Electric Company, and she was a big reason.

WATCH:
West Side Story-America
Electric Company – STOP!
Muppet Show – Fever
Rockford Files
***
George Lucas – the writer/producer/director made a bunch of movies I enjoyed tremendously. The first was American Graffiti; a couple of the movie’s actors ended up in 1950s-based sitcoms, Ron Howard (Richie on Happy Days), and Cindy Williams (Cindy on Laverne &…) The film also featured some carpenter-actor named Harrison Ford, who later starred in Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy, and the Indiana Jones trilogy, all of which I enjoyed (except Indy 2, which I’ve never seen).

All that hate for Star Wars 1: I didn’t enjoy it, but it was just a movie. All that nerdy nuance about the films, some brought on by Lucas himself – Han shot first! – is beyond my interest. Oh and he likes Star Wars 7.

I see Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson, on CBS News frequently.

WATCH:
American Graffiti (1973) – Original Trailer
Star Wars (1977) Original Trailer
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Theatrical Trailer
READ:
The Other Side of The Other Side of Midnight
***
Cicely Tyson – I wrote about her at length only a couple of years ago.

WATCH:
The Bold Move That Left Cicely Tyson’s First TV Director Speechless And Sparked A National Movement
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Cicely Tyson on Roots, Grief and Strength
The Marva Collins Story (1981)
***
Seiji Ozawa – Though he had been the conductor for the San Francisco Symphony early in his career, I know him best from him leading the Boston Symphony. I’d see him on TV fairly often, and as he got older I recognized him as much for his style, and his coif as anything.

WATCH:
What’s My Line? – Seiji Ozawa (1963, TV Show)
Tchaikovsky Overture 1812
Beethoven Symphony No 5
Seiji Ozawa’s 80th Birthday
***
Carole King – Her life was so amazing that they turned it into a hit Broadway musical, Beautiful, which will be going on a national tour shortly. She is a songwriter, early on primarily with her then-husband, the late Gerry Goffin; they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I found this list of 17 Popular Songs You Never Knew Were Written By Carole King, with links, but mostly, I DID know.

If you went to college in the US in the early 1970s, either you had a copy of her massively successful album Tapestry, or your roommate did; it may have been mandated by Congress. I remember buying my copy somewhere in Binghamton, NY, along with Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones. Tapestry was number one on the Billboard 200 for 15 consecutive weeks, and on the charts for over five years in a row.

Her Jazzman was covered by Lisa Simpson in an early episode of the TV cartoon The Simpsons. Where You Lead was the theme song of the TV show Gilmore Girls, sung by one Louise Goffin, daughter of Carole and Gerry.

LISTEN to Carole King:
Jazzman
It’s Too Late
So Far Away
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, with the Mitchell-Taylor Boy-and-Girl Choir

The Everly Brothers -Crying In the Rain (1962)

A STAR WARS quiz

I’d like to be a Rebel librarian.

This was completed by Jaquandor and SamuraiFrog. I’m going to do it anyway!

1. Which film is your favorite of the Original Trilogy?

I’ll steal Jaquandor’s answer, in part: “The one that started it all, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I know, most people consider The Empire Strikes Back to be the greatest of the Star Wars films, but for me, it’s the first one that always has that special something, the one that took us into that amazing universe for the first time.”

BTW, I HATE the retronym numbering and naming of the first film released.

2. If you enjoy the prequels, which one is your favorite?

I saw Episode 1 and was bored to tears. Never saw the other two. And while I wasn’t thrilled by Jar Jar, he wasn’t as offensive as I thought – or more likely, I was told beforehand how TERRIBLY offensive he was, and the actual wasn’t as bad as the anticipation. BTW, Arthur didn’t like Episode 1 either.

3. How old were you when Episode 1 came out?

I was 46.

4. Which of the movies have you seen in the theater?

Four, five, six and one, i.e., every one I saw. I want to say I saw the original at the now-defunct FOX Theater in Colonie, NY, but have no idea about the others.

5. Did you go to any of them on opening night?

The original I saw MONTHS after it opened, but it was still playing first run. I doubt I saw any of the others opening night since the number of films I’ve seen opening night, or in preview, is about five.

6. Who is your favorite character from the Original Trilogy?

Yoda. He’s green. And wise.

7. Who is your favorite character from the prequels, if you have one?

Obi-Wan Kenobi.

8. Have you read any of the books or comics?

I read the Marvel series when the original films were coming out. They were, as I recall, quite entertaining in that they filled in holes that the movies left.

I have at least one novel, still, but it was long ago since I read it, and don’t specifically remember it.

9. Favorite book or series? Favorite SW author?

Archie Goodwin, probably.

10. Favorite comic?

I remember the first few dozen issues of the Marvel series than the latter ones.

11. Favorite character from the Expanded Universe (EU)?

n/a

12. Favorite villain from the EU?

n/a

13. If you had your own ship from the Star Wars Universe (SWU), what would it be? It could be a mash-up/ugly.

“The Millennium Falcon. Is there another possible answer?”

14. Would you rather be Sith or Jedi?

Jedi.

15. Would you rather be a Rebel or a member of the Imperial Navy? What would your role be?

I’d like to be a Rebel librarian, looking up strategies.

16. If you could be any species from the SWU which would you be?

Wookie.

17. If you could date any species from the SWU which would you pick?

n/a

18. If you could date/marry any character from the SWU who would you pick?

n/a

19. If you were going to bone just one Star Wars character and you never had to see them again, who would you pick?

“Oh, come on.” Hmm. Finding out that you’re not the Rebel Alliance, you’re actually part of the Empire and have been all along.

20. If you could BE one SW character, EU or not, who would you be?

Han Solo.

21. What would your SWU name be?

Roger Bookbinder.

22. What color would your lightsaber be, what kind would it be (double-bladed, single blade), would you dual-wield, and what kind of grip would it have?

How about green?

“As for grip…just a standard straight grip, I guess.”

23. Do you own SW merchandise?

Possibly, but not sure.

24. How much, to date, do you think you’ve spent on SW merchandise?

Mostly the comics, when they were brand new and cheaper and I was getting a work discount. Maybe $40.

25. What is your favorite SW possession?

n/a. But you might be interested in The Collector’s Show episode with Mark Bellomo, who “has written hundreds of articles about toys from the 1980s and a whole library full of books on vintage action figures and pop culture. Most recently, he wrote The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars: 1977-1985, a book that covers every action figure, accessory, creature, mail-away, playset, vehicle, and weapon system from Kenner’s original Star Wars toy line, along with a wealth of flavor text discussing the history of the characters, spaceships, and settings within the Star Wars universe.”

26. Do you have a favorite SW artist? If so, who?

Howard Chaykin.

27. Are there items you do not own but covet? What are they?

Nope.

28. Are there items that are not made but that you wish were made? What are they?

Nope. Off-topic, I like this issue of Brevity. And this one.

29. Did Han shoot first?

Of course. And George Lucas’s revisionism is unnecessary.

30. Did Boba Fett, in your opinion, ever leave the Sarlacc, or did he die there?

One of those mysteries.

31. Are there things about the movies you wish you could change? If so, name three.

Lucas has been doing too much fixing that I haven’t thought much about it. Jaquandor, of course, has been fixing the prequels at length.

32. Which era would you want to live in?

“There doesn’t seem to be a huge difference between the eras in the films (and why would there be, they’re only separated by about twenty years), so sometime in there would be fine. Preferably on one of the outer worlds where the Empire hasn’t quite got ‘round to totally taking over yet.”

33. What SW games have you played?

Possibly one years and years ago.

34. Do you play/own Star Wars Miniatures?

No.

35. Favorite SW costume for men?

Maybe some Lando Calrissian outfit.

36. Favorite SW costume for women?

I can’t visualize any save Princess Leia, and the gold bikini is a classic.

37. Have you ever dressed up as an SW character? Who/When/Why?

No.

38. Do you ever have SW sex fantasies? If so, have you ever acted them out?

No.

39. Do you Ship any SW characters who aren’t together? Who/why?

To break up this string of “No” answers, check out the Hello Internet podcast, with Star Wars interviews for episodes 26 and 27, and possibly others.

40. Have you ever written SW fan fiction? Can we read it?

No.

41. Have you been to a Celebration or plan on going to one?

Haven’t, but I might.

42. Have you ever been to Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World?

No.

43. Do you wish they had Star Wars Weekends at Disneyland?

Not particularly.

44. Best section you’ve experienced on Star Tours?

n/a

45. What initially brought you to the SW fandom?

I saw the original when I was 24 or 25, during a period I was also reading the comic books. I just enjoyed that first picture, thought it was entertaining.

46. Do you consider yourself a SW Fanboy or Fangirl?

No.

47 Have you seen Fanboys? Favorite character and/or quote?

Nope.

48. Do you wish they would make 7, 8, and 9 or do you think they should be done with it?

“Obviously this quiz originated before the Disney sale and the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. I’m fine with it.” I’ll probably see #7, and decide from there.

49. If they ever made 7, 8, and 9, do you think it should continue the Skywalker Legacy or use entirely new characters? Or something different?

“As long as there are Star Wars stories being filmed under that include “Episode [number]” in the title, they should be about some generation of Skywalkers. Other tie-in movies? Fine. But I want Skywalkers. They’re totally central.”

50. Do you watch The Clone Wars?

I have not.

Frank Oz is 70, tomorrow

Frank Oz directed films such as The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), Housesitter (1992), and In & Out (1997).

Also O for Oz with ABC Wednesday, Round 15:

Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear on The Muppet Show. Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover in Sesame Street. These were all creatures performed and co-created by Frank Oz, born Frank Richard Oznowicz. He has also performed Sam Eagle and Animal on the Muppet Show, and Yoda in the Star Wars movies.

Sesame Street, which I was too old to watch, but I did anyway; the various Muppet TV shows and movies; and the original Star Wars trilogy have brought me hours of joy.

I’ve indicated my favorite Muppets recently, all originally voiced by the late Jim Henson. But what would Ernie be without Bert? The Pig has added new dimensions to Kermit’s personality. Henson and Oz were almost each other’s alter egos.

Oz directed a few films that I’ve watched and mostly enjoyed, including The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), Housesitter (1992), and In & Out (1997).

Yoda-speak is so distinctive that there is a Yoda-Speak Generator. Actually, more than one. People actually study Yoda’s peculiar subject-verb-object order that Oz captured so well.

There are tons of videos of Frank Oz doing these characters. I picked these two:
Frank Oz at work with Miss Piggy, Roger Moore, and Jim Henson
Peter Gzowski sits down with Frank Oz and Cookie Monster

I also liked hearing from the real Frank Oz.
A Conversation with Frank Oz Pt. 1, which starts with a video montage
Frank Oz speaks at the Jim Henson Memorial

George Lucas is 70

George Lucas is now an advocate for more creative education.

I’ve only seen a relative handful of films created by George Lucas. Most I enjoyed greatly, though, and so I need to note him turning 70.

1973 – American Graffiti (Director, Writer) – a great film that not only launched a lot of careers (Harrison Ford, e.g.) but gave new life to others (Ron Howard, who would star in the period TV show Happy Days). And a neat soundtrack too.
1977 -Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (D, W, Executive Producer) – yeah, the later films might be better. But I remember standing line at the FOX Theater in Colonie, NY, weeks after it had been released, and coming out saying the wait was totally worth it.

1980 – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (W, EP) – except for the original, I’ve never seen a Star Wars film a second time. Probably should rectify this.
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark (W, EP) – this was so much fun. BTW, never saw the second film; I think the buzz about that scene that essentially created the PG-13 rating dissuaded me.
1983 – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (W, EP). A suitable ending. No, the Ewoks didn’t bother me.
1986 – Howard the Duck (EP). FantaCo, the comic book store I worked at, sponsored the premiere in town. Who knew it’d be such a commercial and critical bomb?
1989 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (W, EP) – I have great affection for this film: its theology, and the relationship between father (Sean Connery) and son.
1999 -Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (D, W, EP) – Did not like it. It wasn’t just that one annoying character. I got BORED by this film. It felt too talky, to me.

So that’s it. Never saw any other iteration of Star Wars, so when Jaquandor wants to fix the prequels, generally I have no idea what he’s talking about. This void, now that I think of it, has its upside. I don’t have to pay attention to the nasty fanboy hate sessions that Lucasfilm experiences all the time. Here’s Every Star Wars Fan Complaint About Episodes I through III In A Music Video Parody.

George Lucas has sold Lucasfilm to Disney and now is an advocate for more creative education. He has three grown children, plus a young daughter, born in 2013, shortly after his marriage to financial guru Mellody Hobson.

March Rambling: Accidental Racism, Verb Tenses and Marvel Movie Boycott

The Kind Of Intellectual

(From The Bad Chemicals; used by permission)

God is a second-rate fiction writer. “There are true stories, short stories, fabrications, misrepresentations, novels, insurance reports, family sagas, testimonials, memorials, fairy tales, myths and arguments, the point of all being some kind of narrative persuasion. It’s a kind of stubborn, human-nature way of insisting things be seen from my point of view because that particular point of view is more entertaining, or more valid, or funnier or more beneficial.”

“When the news broke that ‘This American Life’ was retracting the episode ‘Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory,’ Ira Glass made an effort to be clear that the show has verification standards, but that they fell short in this instance.”

The sequence of verb tenses: “You get to decide which verb forms to use based on your intentions and your understand of the language from reading, speaking, and hearing it.”

Dangerous Konymania, and that was before the story got really weird
On the other hand, Carl Weathers is not your enemy, plus more fun examples of accidental racism.

The Nazis’ rules for jazz performers.

The Othello rap (via HERE).

From Robert Reich: “America’s problem isn’t a breakdown in private morality. It’s a breakdown in public morality. What Americans do in their bedrooms is their own business. What corporate executives and Wall Street financiers do in boardrooms and executive suites affects all of us.”

Interesting piece on body image.

Albert Wood and the secrets of the funeral reveal

Advance review of the new John Grisham novel about baseball, Calico Joe.

Jim Shooter explains The Cory Doctorow Doctrine and Other Techno-Tectonic Upheavals HERE and HERE and HERE.

The Marvel Super-Heroes cartoon series (1966). And re: those superheroes, Steve Bissette on boycotting Marvel/Disney movies such as The Avengers because of the treatment of Jack Kirby HERE and HERE.

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

Military STD Posters, 1918-1945.

Do you want to know a secret? Secrecy News: a favorite source

A maker in Scotland has created an elaborate, steampunk-style, hand-cranked corkscrew. Rube Goldberg would be pleased.

Plane 101, verified by Snopes, no less.

Whatever that guy said? Do the other thing! Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation gets the short end of EVERY conversation.

Here is a video of a person in a Darth Vader mask and cape, and a Utilikilt, riding a unicycle, playing Star Wars music on a bagpipe, in Portland, OR, which took you longer to read than the video runs. Plus, Seussical Siths.

In honor of Robert Sherman, who died this month, one of his and his brother Richard’s most famous compositions, It’s a Small World (via HERE). Oh, and some more Sherman Brothers songs.

Eddie discusses how he sells stuff on Craigslist, much of which could be used selling on eBay, e.g.

GOOGLE ALERTS

From Australia: ROGER Green may be a modest man, but for Vicki Doherty and many others in the Clarence Valley, the well-known Grafton musician is a living treasure.

Unemployment numbers down for sixth straight month: “Roger Green is also looking for something more. ‘I’m an ex-felon, it’s been pretty hard for me personally,’ Green said. He has a part-time gig now but wants to find something full-time. This morning, he’s feeling inspired.”