Saturday, May 19, 2012
I'LL HAVE ANOTHER HAS ANOTHER AT THE PREAKNESS
Kentucky Derby winner I'LL HAVE ANOTHER takes the Preakness in an extremely exciting race, with a narrow win over BODEMEISTER.
Bodemeister was leading from the start into the stretch, with I'll Have Another in fourth position most of the way. In the stretch, as Bodemeister was pulling away from every other horse, I'll Have Another began to gain on him. As they closed in on the finish, I'll Have Another caught up to Bodemeister and then passed him just before the finish.
This means the Belmont, the third leg of the Triple Crown on June 9, 2012, will decide whether I'll Have Another becomes the first horse in over 3 decades to win the Triple Crown. (The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.)
PREAKNESS 2012 - COMPLETE ORDER OF FINISH
PREAKNESS TOP FINISHERS:
1- I'LL HAVE ANOTHER ridden by M. Gutierrez $8.40 $3.80 $2.80
2- BODEMEISTER ridden by M. Smith -- $3.20 $2.80
3- CREATIVE CAUSE ridden by J. Rosario -- -- $3.60
OTHER PREAKNESS FINISHERS:
4- Zetterholm
5- Teeth of the Dog
6- Optimizer
7- Cozzetti
8- Tiger Walk
9- Daddy Nose Best
10- Went the Day Well
11- Pretension
TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS
1919 Sir Barton ridden by Johnny Loftus
1930 Gallant Fox ridden by Earl Sande
1935 Omaha ridden by Willie Saunders
1937 War Admiral ridden by Charley Kurtsinger
1941 Whirlaway ridden by Eddie Arcaro
1943 Count Fleet ridden by Johnny Longden
1946 Assault ridden by Warren Mehrtens
1948 Citation ridden by Eddie Arcaro
1973 Secretariat ridden by Ron Turcotte
1977 Seattle Slew ridden by Jean Cruguet
1978 Affirmed ridden by Steve Cauthen
REPLAYS OF THE RACE FROM NBCSPORTS (Complete with commercials)
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/47489251/ns/horse_racing/
THE KENTUCKY DERBY OFFICIAL SITE
QPORIT ON THE KENTUCKY DERBY
THE PREAKNESS OFFICIAL SITE
THE BELMONT OFFICIAL SITE
Labels: Affirmed, Belmont, Bodemeister, Complete Order of Finish - Preakness, Creative Cause, Horse Racing, I'll Have Another, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Triple Crown
SNL -- MAY 19, 2012 -- MICK JAGGER WITH FOO FIGHTERS, ARCADE FIRE, AND JEFF BECK
The season finale of Saturday Night Live is a musical feast with Mick Jagger as host AND musical guest, joined by his musical friends Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire and Jeff Beck! (How are they going to have time to feature all these artists? Perhaps they'll ditch the commercials??? - lol... as if... yeah, right...)
SEE BELOW FOR
A RECAP AND FOR CLIPS
FROM HIGHLIGHTS OF TONIGHT'S SHOW
Here's a hilarious video from one of Mick's previous visits to SNL. (Note/warning! The SNL videos may not work in older or slower browsers.)
Even the promos are better than usual. It bodes well for a terrific show.
Here's the SNL official site:
MICK JAGGER PROMO
Just a little bit of background about the artists: Mick is just a bit older than most of the SNL audience.
MICK JAGGER, an Englishman, more properly known as Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger, once a student at the London School of Economics, once a "bad-boy" now properly knighted, born July 26, 1943 (68 yrs old), has been the lead singer of the Rolling Stones for roughly 50 years.
The Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger became famous (or notorious) for their songs, (including "I Can't Get No... Satisfaction" and "Sympathy For The Devil"), as well as for their sexual liaisons, and their drug use.
MICK JAGGER ON WIKIPEDIA
THE ROLLING STONES ON WIKIPEDIA
Jagger has also worked as a producer, writer, musician and actor in movies and television:
MICK JAGGER ON IMDB
The FOO FIGHTERS is an American band, founded in Seattle in 1994 after the death of Kurt Cobain, by Dave Grohl, formerly the drummer in Nirvana.
FOO FIGHTERS ON WIKIPEDIA
ARCADE FIRE is a Canadian band, known for their use of a multitude of instruments. They won a Grammy for Album Of The Year ("Suburbs") in 2011, along with many other awards.
ARCADE FIRE ON WIKIPEDIA
JEFF BECK (67) is one of the great guitarists of Rock & Roll history! He performed with The Yardbirds, with many musicians including Mick Jagger, and as a solo artist.
JEFF BECK ON WIKIPEDIA
Here are links to some of the movies and music of Mick Jagger, Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire and Jeff Beck!
...
...
...
AND HERE IS THE RECAP OF TONIGHT'S SNL:
This was a pretty good SNL. After a soft open, it came alive whenever Mick Jagger was on, and finished well.
COLD OPEN: LAWRENCE WELK -- Jon Hamm plays a Lawrence Welk Italian romantic singer. The Manneken Pis & Kristen Wiig scene is sort of amusing, but not much heft in this sketch. Not one of the great giggly skits, or super opens.
MONOLOG – Mick Jagger is terrific in one of the best SNL monologues ever. His favorite band, he says in a FAQ he asks and answers himself, (other than the Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, and the Rolling Stones) is… the FreeCreditReport.com band.
AD (real) -- A clever (real) ad for Google Chrome. There were a lot of good film ads on the show. But added to too many not-so-good (not film) ads, it was another night of commercials interrupted by sketches.
GAME SHOW: THE SECRET WORD – Somehow this tired concept seemed fresh and hilarious tonight. Jagger was a hoot as a flamingly fey action hero movie star.
KILT -- Are you BRAVE enough to wear one? Honestly, I’m not sure if this was a clever real commercial for Disney’s BRAVE, or a fake commercial, or a funny fake commercial that’s actually a real commercial. BRAVE is a real animated film, opening wide in June, set in the mythical, mystical Scottish Highlands.
INSURANCE CONFERENCE AFTERPARTY KARAOKE – Jagger plays Kevin, a sad shy soul who can’t get up and sing. Two guys sing Stones’ songs really badly, and two girls love it, while Kevin complains they’re not doing it right. And the girls leave with the guys, leaving him alone. He sings “Satisfaction” really badly to himself… and even when he sings it really badly, it’s terrific, terribly sad, about someone who really can’t get no satisfaction. A classic sketch. Jagger is very sharp, and might think about trading in his day job (or night job, more accurately) for a gig as a comedian and actor. I think he’s been seriously under-used as an actor in films.
LAZY SUNDAY – I never figured out what was going on here. I’ll have to see it again on a clip. Is this a real fake ad for SISTER ACT and Broadway? Or the opposite?
AL SHARPTON & POLITICS NATION – Not a very well constructed sketch, but it had its funny moments. Sharpton calls J P Morgan “gyp Morgan.” Jagger as a financial spokesman talks doubletalk. And Sharpton mispronounces and misunderstands everything. Remember Fractured French? Call this Fractured English.
JAGGER AND ANGEL FIRE – Sounds great. Jagger’s energy is contagious. I heard the words “the last time” many times, but I never quite understood what happened for the last time. Ah lyrics!
WEEKEND UPDATE – Not an especially funny episode. (FYI – Carlton Banks was a character played by Alfonso Ribeiro on Will Smith’s The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.) Stefan has never been funny and gets less funny each time. (But, to be fair, there was one good line – a “roaming dragger” is “a dog with short legs and a long penis”). Not a good choice for the last Update of the year.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE AT AN OUTDOOR MUSIC FESTIVAL – This would have been a terrible sketch, but it was saved, first by the impression of Santana, and then by the role-reversal we’ve been waiting for: Mick Jagger impersonating Steve Tyler (instead of the other way around).
MICK JAGGER WITH FOO FIGHTERS – An even better sound than the first musical set, but the lyrics were repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, re…etc. Ah lyrics!
THE CALIFORNIANS – I like this sketch. It has no big point, but so many little digs at soaps & Californians that it’s still fun.
MICK JAGGER, JEFF BECK AND BLUES. – Sounds fantastic! Jeff Beck is amazing! The lyrics not so much. With the right words this could have been a world class event. I’ve got doubts about the wisdom of the words. Ah lyrics!
GRADUATING CLASS – The last show of the year; some cast members will not be returning. Kristen Wiig has been, for many years and many, many sketches, one of the biggest breakout, most versatile, funniest female (or other) cast members on SNL ever. She was saying goodbye to everyone. (Hopefully, she’ll be reincarnated as a host.)
I enjoyed the show, especially when Mick Jagger was on. I hope we'll see more of him in films! The GRADUATING CLASS sketch was rather touching and a worthy end to the season!
HERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL SNL STORIES IN QPORIT:
SNL -- MAY 12, 2012 -- WILL FERRELL WITH USHER
SNL -- MAY 5, 2012 -- ELI MANNING WITH RIHANNA
SNL -- APR 14, 2012 -- JOSH BROLIN WITH GOTYE
SNL -- MAR 3, 2012 -- LINDSAY LOHAN WITH JACK WHITE
SNL -- FEB 11, 2012 -- ZOOEY DESCHANEL WITH KARMIN...
SNL -- JAN 21, 2012 -- EMMA STONE & COLDPLAY (rerun from Nov 12, 2011)
SNL -- JAN 14, 2012 -- DANIEL RADCLIFFE WITH LANA DEL REY
SNL -- DEC 10, 2011 -- KATY PERRY WITH ROBYN
SNL -- DEC 3, 2011 -- STEVE BUSCEMI WITH THE BLACK KEYS
SKETCH HIGHLIGHT CLIPS
MICK JAGGER MONOLOGUE
MICK JAGGER WITH ARCADE FIRE -- "THE LAST TIME"
MICK JAGGER WITH FOO FIGHTERS - MEDLEY
KARAOKE
SHE'S A RAINBOW -- FAREWELL HOMAGE TO KRISTEN WIIG
Labels: Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, Jeff Beck, Karaoke, Kristen Wiig, Mick Jagger, Saturday Night Live, She's a Rainbow, SNL
Sunday, May 13, 2012
SLEEP NO MORE
Nicholas Bruder as Macbeth and Sophie Bortolussi as Lady Macbeth
Photo by Yaniv_Schulman
SLEEP NO MORE is a hypnotic, atmospheric, brilliant, amazing, immersive, interactive, theater/dance/movement/art-installation/mystery/adventure. It has been said to induce insomnia.
Based loosely on that Scottish play (the title comes from Act 2 Scene 2) plus a dash of Hitchcock, it takes place in a long abandoned, but newly, intricately restored hotel in Chelsea. You, entering this building through a dark corridor, divest yourself of coats and packages, take a playing card which is your entrance key, don a mask -- Eyes-Wide-Shut-like -- embark on an elevator from which you are dropped off on one of six or so dark floors nearly every inch of which contains something strange and interesting, left to examine the space on your own, find the cast of players (recognizable because they are maskless/barefaced), and experience whatever may happen.
What happens is breathtaking set-pieces of movement, fascinating spaces, mostly ominous music, a story that is hard (nay, impossible) to follow on a single visit, and surprises.
The movement/dance in the set-pieces, suggestive of singular moments from the sources, but almost wordless, are fantastic.
See it if you can. See it again if you can.
SLEEP NO MORE, created by Punchdrunk.
Labels: Emursive, Hitchcock, Macbeth, Punchdrunk., Sleep No More
Saturday, May 12, 2012
SNL -- MAY 12, 2012 -- WILL FERRELL WITH USHER
WILL FERRELL, one of the breakout stars from SNL, returns tonight as host, with musical guest, USHER:
This was a consistently funny, sometimes surreal, but rarely outrageous, SNL. Even the Weekend Update, which usually hovers between pretty good and uninteresting, was consistently funny; though to be honest I’m not sure what to make of Liam Neeson. The show was kind of top-loaded; it ended with amusing sketches, but no great finishing punch.
Almost every sketch was a mini-classic in its own way.
Here's a re-cap of the show: (See below for video clips!)
Cold open -- Biden and Barack on gay marriage, toy trains, and Biden’s "imaginary" friend, George (Bush, stuck in a closet these four years looking for a blue butterfly – “ ‘Mission Accomplished’ – That’s what I say when a problem isn’t solved, but I don’t want to talk about it any more."). Great OPEN.
Monolog – a Will Ferrell original Mother’s Day message for his mom!
A COLD MEDICINE (AD) -- Hilarious Will Ferrell sneezing. (“Just sneeze like a normal person!”)
LGBT DANCE – Will Ferrell’s classic – tho’ never very funny – old fuddy-duddy teachers talking and singing and playing piano. Nice sounding song with funny lyrics. Even if it’s not terribly funny, it was nice to see them again.
1994 ESPN CLASSIC WOMEN’S LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP SPONSORED BY MAXIPADS – Funny plugs for maxipads; sidekick who oscillates between honest assessments that deflate the anchor’s hype, and clueless idiocy. Meanwhile a TV on-site reporter is unprepared to report on the OJ driving in the Broncho story.
100TH SNL DIGITAL SHORT – A tribute to the SNL digital short, suckin’ their own dongs & all. (But no laser cats.)
USHER -- Seemed to be having fun! (but was that a little bit of fumbling with the props?) High energy entertaining!
WEEKEND UPDATE – Funny all the way through. Best line – to Time Magazine, on the picture of the older boy standing on a chair breast-feeding -- “You should have photo-shopped out the chair. (Illustration supplied.) In The Cage with Liam Neeson (& Nicholas Cage): Liam seemed less happy to be there than even the real Cage was when he showed up. Most guests seem to be playing along; Liam seemed to be steamed. It was perhaps a great absurdist rendition of an unhappy guest at an imbecilic interview. Cage’s next film: he plays a rogue marble that escaped from hell.
FUNKYTOWN DEBATE -- This surreal debate of candidates for the mayor of Funkytown was played with great restraint, perhaps catching the true spirit of the least useful debates, which still, despite everything, tell us something of the inner nature of the candidates...
BROADWAY SIZZLE -- A local live reality show in which singers come to an open mike. Will Ferrell keeps singing songs that he suddenly realizes, in the middle, should be sung by a girl, not a boy… durn it. An amusing sketch.
USHER – strikes quite a different tone here than in his first number.
HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY -- Strange relatives and stranger strangers grab the mike at a couple’s 25th anniversary party. – (Note: The sketch is OK, but not the most inspired of the night. The show is losing steam. The last ten minutes should be the time for the truly inspired raunchy sketches.)
ALMOST PIZZA (AD) It looks like pizza. But it’s not pizza.
Note: Mick Jagger hosts the season finale.
I enjoyed the show. I'm looking forward to Jagger as host.
SNL - HOME
WILL FERRELL ON IMDB
WILL FERRELL ON WIKIPEDIA
USHER ON WIKIPEDIA
CLICK ON THE ICON FOR ACCESS TO WILL FERRELL'S FILMS:
CLICK ON THE ICON FOR ACCESS TO USHER'S MUSIC:
COLD OPEN - OBAMA VISITS BIDEN
COLD COMMERCIAL
THE 100TH - AN SNL DIGITAL SHORT
FUNKYTOWN DEBATE
WEEKEND UPDATE: REALLY??? - TIME MAGAZINE COVER
FOR ALL SNL CLIPS & FULL EPISODES:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/
Labels: Saturday Night Live, SNL, Usher, Will Ferrell
STREAMING MEDIA EAST 2012 - MAY 14-16
Alas, too many tech events are held out west.
But Hey! Streaming Media East is one of the premier tech events -- it's in New York and it arrives next week!
STREAMING MEDIA EAST 2012
MAY 14-16
For a complete program see:
STREAMING MEDIA EAST -- THE PROGRAM
http://www.streamingmedia.com/conferences/East2012/Program.aspx
STREAMING MEDIA - HOME PAGE
http://www.streamingmedia.com/
Labels: Streaming Media East
Saturday, May 05, 2012
SNL -- MAY 5, 2012 -- ELI MANNING WITH RIHANNA
Eli Manning is the quarterback of the Superbowl winning New York Giants football team.
Singer Rihanna has been called the "Most Beautiful Woman in the World"
The show was a mid-level SNL. It was good humored. Eli was a good sport, and appeared in many sketches, but his flat delivery, which was the impetus for many of those sketches, tamped down most of the results to humorous, from what might have been hilarious.
Here's a brief summary of the show --
COLD OPEN - FOX & FRIENDS -- in a quick and efficient segment they effectively skewered the Fox Morning Show, an easy target to be sure. What would comedians do without Fox? But Fox never changes. (Ridicule, humiliation, and the like may once have been instruments of change -- not so much, anymore. In fact, some careers are built from it.)
OPENING MONOLOG -- Good humored but a bit stiff. “I finally feel like a real New Yorker. “ “I play for the NY Giants and all my games are in NJ”
AMAZON COMMERCIAL – Funny advertising parody. As the family brings in Mother’s Day gifts, the moms are all discovered reading Fifty Shades of Grey. They should get it on their Kindle.
EA SPORTS MOTION CAPTURE STUDIO – The studio is looking to film a signature Touchdown Celebration Move. Eli Manning can’t deliver anything but bland. This is the first of several humorous, but not terribly funny, parodies of Eli’s personality.
REAL KINDLE COMMERCIAL “Light my fire!” (Nice when they parody a commercial before the real commercial.)
TRIAL – Eli Manning gives murder testimony – zillions of messages to women to establish an alibi. But when it gets to revealing his search requests, he’d rather confess to the murder. Humorous.
LITTLE BROTHERS – Eli defends little brothers against their bullying big brothers. “Treat your younger brother with respect, Peyton.” (Note to the sports-clueless: Peyton Manning, Superbowl winning quarterback for the Denver Broncos, is Eli’s older brother.)
WXPD NEWS NY – The Old Reporter on site at Occupy Wall Street. The concept is better than the sketch. They’ve done versions of this sketch before. It’s not funny. Never was. And this version's even less funny than other times.
RIHANNA -- I like the look, but the sounds don't do it for me (baby).
WEEKEND UPDATE – OK jokes. Special appearances by the Tanning Mom (“You look like a baseball glove.") and Admiral General Almadeen, the Dictator (who brought along Martin Scorcese to provide a good review for THE DICTATOR under torture).
WHAT IS THIS? – THE WORLD’S EASIEST GAME SHOW -- This was the best sketch idea of the night, but the execution was a bit lame. Game Hostess is a pretty woman who introduces the 3 contestants and mentions she's been dating contestant #3 (Eli). Contestant #1 is shown a picture of a tree. Q – What is this? A – Tree. Contestant #2 is shown a picture of a house (or anything). Q – What is this? A – A house. Contestant #3 is Eli Manning. Q – So we’ve been going out for 4 months, what I want to know is What is this???
HELGA LATELY - Swedish gibberish. Simple gibberish with an occasional English word (usually about sex). Eli’s flat version of gibberish was actually the funniest.
RIHANNA – “Where have you been all my life?” -- Kind of a ridiculous song and a ridiculous dance, but silly enough to be fun.
DRAGWORLD -- Eli is the second runner up in the DRAG WORLD Pageant. Not winning, he storms off. Host: Where’s your dignity? Eli “I've disappointed my fan.”
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES: Cheech & Chong’s 3rd member, Richard Armstrong. -- Excerpts from Cheech & Chong’s stoner movies with Eli as Richard Anderson, who bales out whenever the dope comes in.
All in all I enjoyed the show. The musical segments looked and sounded better than usual. Eli was a good sport and really did a lot of sketches, most of which poked fun at him.
SNL -- BEST CLIPS FROM OLD SHOWS HERE
ELI MANNING ON WIKIPEDIA
RIHANNA ON WIKIPEDIA
Labels: Eli Manning, Rihanna, Saturnday Night Live, SNL
KENTUCKY DERBY 2012
Kentucky Derby
Purse: $2 Million
Distance: 10 Furlongs
Finish No Horse Jockey ($$Win, $$Place, $$Show)
1. 19 I'll Have Another Mario Gutierrez ($32.60, $13.80, $9.00)
2. 6 Bodemeister Mike Smith ( -- , $6.20, $5.60)
3. 5 Dullahan Kent Desormeaux ( -- , -- . $7.20)
4. 13 - Went the Day Well ,
5. 8 - Creative Cause ,
6. 20 - Liaison ,
7. 4 - Union Rags ,
8. 7 - Rousing Sermon ,
9. 14 - Hansen ,
10. 10 - Daddy Nose Best ,
11. 2 - Optimizer ,
12. 11 - Alpha ,
13. 16 - El Padrino ,
14 17 - Done Talking ,
15. 18 - Sabercat ,
16. 15 - Gemologist ,
17. 9 - Trinniberg ,
18. 12 - Prospective ,
19. 3 - Take Charge Indy ,
20. 1 - Daddy Long Legs
| Winning Owner: Reddam Racing LLC Winning Trainer: Doug O'Neill Fractions: :22.32, 45.39, 1:09.80, 1:35.19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EARLIER TODAY:
Here are my picks (Race live after 6 on NBC.)
Here are my picks (Race live after 6 on NBC.)
FYI-- I've been doing this for years and I've never even been close to being right. (Note 7PM: in () the actual finish)
1 - Gemologist (14)
2 - Alpha (12)
3 - Bodemeister (2)
4 - Dullahan (3)
5 - Union Rags (7)
6 - Creative Cause (5)
7 - Daddy Long Legs (20 - dead last).
Here's a recipe for Mint Julep!
MINT JULEP RECIPE
KENTUCKY DERBY SITE:
Note: Watch QPORIT for late notes on SNL: Live tonight with Eli Manning & Rihanna.
Labels: Alpha, Bodemeister, Creative Cause, Daddy Long Legs, Dullahan, Gemologist, Kentucky Derby, Mint Julep, Union Rags
Thursday, May 03, 2012
ELLES
ELLES is terrific. Juliette Binoche is amazing; this is one of her great performances. Anais Demoustier is lovable. Joanna Kulig is sexy and beguiling.
A journalist (Juliette Binoche) is writing a story for ELLES about college students who use prostitution as their day job (or night job) to pay for college and a better standard of living. Following the journalist for a few days while she researches the story and prepares for a dinner party, we experience an eclectic and wide ranging set of notions about sexuality. The two college students, the lovely Anais Demoustier, and the sultry and flirtatious Joanna Kulig, seem to enjoy their work, while the scenes we see of their lives seem much less idyllic.
Do we believe what they say? Do we believe our eyes? Or are our eyes and the beliefs we bring to the film too (negatively?) judgmental?
At the same time that we are wondering about ourselves, the journalist is wondering herself, contrasting her very bourgeois family life with the lives of her subjects, comparing their lives to the lives of her own children, and their johns with her husband and his friends.
Through the brilliant performances of Juliette Binoche, and the complete cast, we seem to get to know the characters and even their families, and their thoughts and emotions, even when they themselves seem not to understand them.
Most of the judgements/reviews of this movie that I've seen seem to be largely shaped by the (pre-existing?) attitudes of the reviewer as they come in to see the film (as is this review, perhaps), each one seeing a their own personal version of the film; but it seems to me the film is more exploratory and questioning than any single interpretation can capture. And it suggests a great complexity in sexual relationships. I suspect each viewer will bring to the film their own life and see it from that perspective. But I encourage everyone to see the film with as few preconceptions of sexuality and relationships as they possibly can.
Also listen to the film. It has one of the most brilliantly arranged musical commentary I've ever heard. It is a common (and sometimes accurate) cliche to say a film's location is a character; in this case, the music is a character -- akin to the chorus in classic Greek theater.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIETTE BINOCHE
ELLES - ON IMDB
THE DIRECTOR - WIKIPEDIA
JULIETTE BINOCHE - WIKIPEDIA
OUR ARTICLE ON ANAIS DEMOUSTIER
Labels: . Joanna Kulig, Anais Demoustier, ELLES, Juliette Binoche, prostitution, sexuality
Sunday, April 29, 2012
HEADSTRONG
Ensemble Studio Theatre
Tackles Football's Post-Concussion Syndrome
World Premiere
HEADSTRONG
By Patrick Link,
directed by William Carden
with Ron Canada, Tim Cain, Alexander Gemignani & Nedra McClyde
(UPDATE - 5/2/2012) Today's death of Junior Sean, together with a death by suicide of another player within the last month, plus today's news of suspensions of Saints' players for getting a bounty for rough hits highlights the importance, relevance, and timeliness of HEADSTRONG!
Nedra McClyde and Ron Canada
Photo by Gerry Goodstein
HEADSTRONG is an earnest, effective play about an issue that should be of great concern to every parent and every athlete -- the current studies into possible brain damage from recurring trauma to the brain.-- not just major trauma but also repetitive minor trauma.
(Note: following a discussion of the issues of the play, see below for a review which - Warning! -- will containing spoilers!)
(Note: following a discussion of the issues of the play, see below for a review which - Warning! -- will containing spoilers!)
Recent studies have sown suspicion that contact sports like football and even head-banging activities like repeatedly heading the ball in soccer could cause measurable and observable damage to the brain, which cumulatively could express itself in pathological mental behavior.
The play concerns itself with attempts to obtain the brain of a football player who died young after exhibiting behavioral symptoms that suggested he had suffered brain damage.
The current state of medical research is a need to correlate post-mortem studies of a brain with features that might be observable (through specialized MRI's or other brain scanning technologies) while a player is alive.
The most pressing issues are
-- When should a concussion in a professional player prevent them from returning to a game or playing again?
-- What evidence of possible damage to a child’s brain should be sufficient to require changes in the rules of football, soccer, or other sports, or even ban them entirely from schools?
-- To what extent does the value of sports override the possibility of possible injury to the brain?
Following one preview to the play, there was an interesting discussion of these issues with Irvin Muchnick, a leading reporter and writer on concussions in sports & Dr. Annegret Dettwiler-Danspe.ckgruber, Associate Research Scholar at The Princeton Neuroscience Institute.
VIDEOS OF THE POST-SHOW DISCUSSION:
http://ensemblestudiotheatre.org/now-playing/current-productions/estsloan-presents-headstrong/
VIDEOS OF THE POST-SHOW DISCUSSION:
http://ensemblestudiotheatre.org/now-playing/current-productions/estsloan-presents-headstrong/
HERE IS AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE WORK AT PRINCETON:
HERE IS THE BOOK BY IRVIN MUCHNICK:
Damage to the brain from repeated trauma is known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). An organization that is devoted to CTE in football and other sports is the
SPORTS LEGACY INSTITUTE
The play is being performed at EST as part of the Sloan Program (which supports plays that "explore the world of science and technology") at the
ENSEMBLE STUDIO THEATER (EST).
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE SLOAN PROGRAM AT EST:
Performances of Headstrong are Wednesday through Monday at 7:00pm, matinees Saturdays at 2:00pm and Sundays at 5:00pm through May 13. Tickets are $30, $20 for student/seniors.
To order tickets:
Call 866.811.4111
Click www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/134 .
Headstrong Post-show discussion with Neuropsychologist Dr. Jill Brooks & Reuters Health Editor Ivan Oransky: Wednesday 5/2
WARNING!
SPOILER ALERT!
THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
HEADSTRONG is a well acted, well directed, funny, serious, important play.
The play is performed in the signature style of EST, which is straightforward, intelligent, real, and believable. The simple bare stage of EST is well dressed to convey a believable room in a believable, comfortable home. EST does not do kitchen sink reality drama, they do dining room reality drama, and they do it very well!
HEADSTRONG is well written from moment to moment with believable, sharp, often funny dialog. It feels, however, like it could and should be much more rich dramatically.
From the moment the play starts, there is a distraction: the 3 excellent actors sound perfect, but they do not have the physical reality -- not the bulk nor the spunk -- of a very successful pro football star, the wife of a pro football star, or a pro wrestler.
At the end of the play there are some more questions. First, nearly everything in the play seems to have been there just for the purpose of the play. For example, a morsel dropped earlier, when dad gives his daughter a pair of shoes, is just enough off-kilter that it is too obvious there is more to the story. And, sure enough, in the final scene, that turns out to be the reveal: dad is beginning to suffer from memory problems just like those the wife's deceased husband suffered from.
The characters have very little life outside the needs of the play, and where there is some life it is more confusing and contradictory than enriching. In the first scene this gentleman caller uses persuasive arguments to obtain permission to study the widow's husband's brain. In the second scene, he says: maybe she was right to refuse. He pressured and pressured her, yet he doesn't believe it himself? He seems more like a hypocrite than a conflicted soul. In the third scene, the widow tells her dad she is moving out of her dad's place. Then we discover she knows her father is starting to suffer dementia. It makes her seem cruel. The play has told us nothing about her but a few facts related to her late husband and her child; and it has shown us nothing about her emotional life except that she refused permission to study her husband's brain in scene 1, and -- offstage -- gave permission in scene 2.
As the play is not long and has no intermission, it has room to grow and expand the on-stage portrayal of the life of these characters (outside the single issue that defines the play -- getting permission to study the widow's husband's brain). And it would help, I think, if the physical life of the characters on stage matched the outsize life of pro wrestlers, and pro football champions, and their families.
But even with (and to some because of) its single-minded focus on the importance of studying the brains of football players who have died because of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, this is a play that should be seen and talked about.
Labels: Alexander Gemignani, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, concussions, CTE, Ensemble Studio Theatre, EST, football, HEADSTRONG, Nedra McClyde, Patrick Link, Ron Canada, Tim Cain, William Carden
Thursday, April 19, 2012
PLANETARY RESOURCES
Note: (TUE 4/24 10:00 EDT == 7:00 PDT) -- We'll have more information, direct from Seattle, during and after the presentation -- which begins at 10:30 AM today PDT (Seattle time) == 1:30 PM EDT (NY time) Please come back again later for the update!
Note: (TUE 4/24 12:38 EDT == 9:38 PDT) -- There seems to be a public webcast at
http://www.spacevidcast.com/live/
Here is the latest announcement from Planetary Resources:
Space Exploration Company to Expand Earth's Resource Base
WHAT:
"Join Peter H. Diamandis, M.D.;
WHAT:
"Join Peter H. Diamandis, M.D.;
leading commercial space entrepreneur Eric Anderson;
former NASA Mars mission manager Chris Lewicki;
and planetary scientist & veteran NASA astronaut Tom Jones, Ph.D. today at 10:30 a.m. PDT via webcast at http://bit.ly/PlanetaryResources , as they unveil a new space venture with a mission to help ensure humanity's prosperity."
"Supported by an impressive investor and advisor group, including Google’s Larry Page & Eric Schmidt, Ph.D.; film maker & explorer James Cameron; Chairman of Intentional Software Corporation and Microsoft’s former Chief Software Architect Charles Simonyi, Ph.D.; Founder of Sherpalo and Google Board of Directors founding member K. Ram Shriram; and Chairman of Hillwood and The Perot Group Ross Perot, Jr., the company will overlay two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’."
WHO:
Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., Space Tourist, Planetary Resources, Inc. Investor
"Supported by an impressive investor and advisor group, including Google’s Larry Page & Eric Schmidt, Ph.D.; film maker & explorer James Cameron; Chairman of Intentional Software Corporation and Microsoft’s former Chief Software Architect Charles Simonyi, Ph.D.; Founder of Sherpalo and Google Board of Directors founding member K. Ram Shriram; and Chairman of Hillwood and The Perot Group Ross Perot, Jr., the company will overlay two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’."
WHO:
Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., Space Tourist, Planetary Resources, Inc. Investor
Eric Anderson, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.
Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.Chris Lewicki, President & Chief Engineer, Planetary Resources, Inc.
Tom Jones, Ph.D., Planetary Scientist, Veteran NASA Astronaut & Planetary Resources, Inc. Advisor
Here is the schedule of events, according to the Museum of Flight where the event will be held:
Schedule of Events
10-10:30 a.m.
Media & Guest Check-In – Charles Simonyi Space Gallery
10:30-11:30 a.m.
Press Conference
Noon-1:30 p.m.
Lunch and
Presentations by Tom Jones, Ph.D. and Chris Lewicki
1:30 p.m.
Book Signing with Peter H. Diamandis, M.D. and Tom Jones, Ph.D.
ORIGINAL POST April 19:
For just $25 (while tickets last) and a plane ticket to Seattle (or a half-day off from work at Microsoft), you can attend (but will it be streamed?) a presentation (TUE 4/24 10:30 PDT) at the Seattle Museum of Science on the "Future of Space" by
Eric Anderson, Commercial Space Entrepreneur and Chairman of Space Adventures, Ltd.
Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Commercial Space Visionary, Chairman of the X Prize Foundation, and Author of “Abundance”
and Tom Jones, Ph.D., Veteran NASA Astronaut and Co-author of “Planetology”
According to the program: "A new company will be unveiling its mission to revolutionize current space exploration activities and ultimately create a better standard of living on Earth"
Reportedly (see the links), the company's investors include Larry Page and Eric Schmidt from Google, and director James Cameron.
And, according to the twitter feed:
@PlanetaryRsrcs
New space venture with mission to expand Earth's resource base & help ensure humanity’s prosperity. Learn more on April 24, 10:30PT
@MuseumofFlight -
Bellevue, Washington · http://planetaryresources.com
Here's a talk by Peter Diamandis at TED (from several years ago):
SOME MORE LINKS TO INFORMATION (AND SPECULATION):
MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
PLANETARY RESOURCES
HERE IS A LINK TO THE
KECK INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES (JPL)
ASTEROID RETRIEVAL FEASIBILITY STUDY
http://www.nss.org/settlement/asteroids/Asteroid_Retrieval_Feasibility_Study_2012.pdf
PETER DIAMANDIS ON WIKIPEDIA
NEWS REPORTS (AND SPECULATION)
Labels: Eric Anderson, Eric Schmidt, Future of Space, James Cameron, Larry Page, Museum of Flight, NASA, Peter H. Diamandis, Planetary Resources, Space Adventures, Tom Jones, X Prize Foundation
