America: Today

Neil Diamond was just  honored for a spectacular career. He is deserving. My favorite performance, though there are many, was singing America in the movie, The Jazz Singer. Timely and inspirational. If you haven’t seen the film, see it. Enough said.

R.I.P. Paul Newman

Sometimes there really are no words to do someone justice. He was a mega star and a philanthropist, a sportsman and a champion of the needy. I’m gonna miss him.

Tonight in Singapore, the first ever Formula 1 night race in history will be run. I have a feeling there will be a fitting tribute before the race. RIP Paul. Thanks for being here.

Trekking in Singapore – The Singapore Flyer

I finally got a chance to check out the Singapore Flyer which, at 165 meters tall (536 feet) is the tallest ferris wheel in the world. One revolution takes 30 minutes and that’s how long the ride is. The wheel goes slow and it never stops. You board while it moves through the boarding area. Normal cost is $29.50 Sing dollars and $23.50 for seniors over 60. I should have waited another 5 months.

I went as part of a city tour package that included a boat tour on the Singapore river, the Flyer ride, and lunch at a hotel afterwards. We travelled by tour bus and our first stop was the river.

This shows the boarding area along Clark Quay. It’s a clean river lined with outdoor restaurants, pubs and shops.

The boat enters the harbor and passes the Singapore mascot, The Merlion, with the 5 star Fullerton Hotel in the background.

Behind the Fullerton is the main financial district skyline.

At the mouth of the harbor is the flyer. In the foreground you can see the bleachers for the floating stage, again, the largest of its kind in the world.

Under the loading area at the base of the flyer is a beatifully landscaped waterfall and jungle area complete with Koi pond and lush tropical plants.

Also just below the Flyer they are building the pit and grandstand area for the Formula 1 track. Singapore will host its first F1 race next year.

This shot looks out over the adjacent golf course to the main shipping lane where cargo vessels wait to enter the main port for loading and unloading. Singapore and Hong Kong switch back and forth as the busiest cargo ports on the planet.

From higher up I could see the area where the race cars will enter the pits from the main racetrack. As you can see, the entrance is right after a sharp left turn. The cars will be travelling from right to left in this area.

This car was next to us and I took this shot as it reached the very top of the journey. Each car can fit 28 people but we only had about a dozen in ours.

This area under construction is where the new Integrated Resort and Casino is being built. It will include a 3000 room hotel, casinos, shops, parks and a lush garden on top from which there will be a spectacular 360 degree view. In the background is the port.

Here you can see the floating stage, currently being covered with a full sized soccer field for an upcoming event. The two round structures beyond that is the Esplanade Fina Arts theater where major concerts and shows are held.

I took this shot as we were coming back into the boarding area. On the left is a model of the resort hotel and on the right is the actual city. The scale model of the resort was only about 12 feet tall but it looks as though its the same size as the city skyscrapers in the background.

Finally, this is what it’s gonna look like once the track is completed. I can’t wait.

In Memorium – George Carlin

George Carlin, the king of alternative comedy has died at the age of 71 of heart failure. He was perhaps best known for his ”Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” routine which became the center of a landmark Supreme Court case.

He hosted his first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975, and starred in a number of HBO comedy specials over four decades. He also appeared in occasional movie roles, including Dogma and Cars.

In the past 10 years, he achieved success as an author, publishing three best-sellers. The audiobook of his most recent, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, was nominated for a 2006 Grammy in the Spoken Word category. Just last week, Carlin was named the recipient of the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

To me, Carlin was like a white Richard Pryor, always going where no other comedian dared to tread. He loved to make fun of the church and hold a blow torch under the feet of the Bush administration. He was in a class of his own and I’ll miss him.

The Art of Bob Dylan

The talent of this man knows no bounds. H/t to 9 Pound Hammer for this gem.

After a successful art show in Germany last year, the songwriter has an art show opening at the Halcyon Gallery in London next week, featuring a collection of over 200 pictures, mostly color variations on the artwork published in “Drawn Blank.”

Speaking to the London Times about America, Dylan had this to say.

“Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval,” he says. “Poverty is demoralizing. You can’t expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we’ve got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up…Barack Obama. He’s redefining what a politician is, so we’ll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I’m hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.” He offers a parting handshake. “You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future,” he notes as the door closes between us.”

John Rambo

I just watched Rambo IV. It was brutally graphic, nonstop action and I just loved it. As Rambo, albeit an older, well seasoned one, Stallone still has what it takes. As a younger man I would have called it kickass. 5 stars.

Memory Lane: Easy Rider

It’s Sunday night and as usual, I’m surfing through YouTube looking for some nice music to end the week. I ran across this and just couldn’t resist.

I’m certainly no movie expert although I do watch my share of films. I just know what I like and what I don’t. It’s been amost 40 years since Easy Rider was released. I still enjoy the movie and its great soundtrack. Like Woodstock, Vietnam, Kent State, The Black Panthers, Mario Savio, The Beatles, and so many other people and events, I think Easy Rider helped define those times.

It was nominated for 10 awards including two Oscars and it won a few. It opens with the great Steppenwolf song, Born to be Wild. Here’s a video I found with a few of the other great songs from this memorable movie.

Bless the Fools and the Drunkards

Today is Mother’s Day in Singapore – tomorrow for you Americans on the wrong side of the international date line – but it is also the birthday of several folks of renown. Irving Berlin was born on this day as was Doug McClure and Louis Farrakhan. Mort Sahl and Salvadore Dali share this birthday as does the legendary Phil Silvers.

Another May 11th guy was the great Foster Brooks, although he was usually too drunk to remember. Here, Brooks happens to run into Dean Martin, another lush of some celebrity.

Brooks had struggled with alchohol in his early days but gave it up in 1964. He says a guy bet him $10 he couldn’t quit, and he really needed the money. He drew upon his past to create a most unique and successful character. He died in 2001.

At the movies

I watched several movies this week that were nothing more than big name actors in mediocre films. I’m not going to review them here other than to say that I was disappointed in Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford with Brad Pitt, Michael Clayton with George Clooney, No Country for Old Men with Tommy Lee Jones and Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks. Sure, there is some good acting, even some exceptional acting, but I like to be entertained, not bored. And these bored me.

On the other hand, these are my gems of the week.

Cloverfield–4.5 stars. Very unusual scary thriller about a group of partiers in new york who get caught up in an invasion. Entirely filmed as if by a camcorder held by one of the group, this is my favorite scary movie so far this year.

Redacted–3.5 stars. Like Cloverfield, this is filmed as if from a camcorder held by a soldier filming the real life story of his squad in Iraq. The value of this movie is that it effectively shows the horror and brutality of the war and the horrendous impact it is having on our young soldiers. I’m bias but, if the media and the government won’t let us see what is really happening in the war, then at least we should watch movies like this that make a strong attempt.

Across the Universe–4.5 stars. This nice boy meets girl story is told through beatles songs and is simply elegant and excellent. If you like the beatles and want a little romance blended in, you’re gonna love this.

American Gangster–3.5 stars. Not half bad movie about a mob drug king and the cops trying to take him down. Denzel and Russell Crowe.

The Brave One– 4.5 stars. A keeper. Jodie Foster as a woman who seeks revenge for a brutal attack. Put this high on the list.

Hero Wanted–3.5 stars.  Cuba Gooding Jr., one of my favorite actors as an apparent hero twice over. Not his best ever but a good story with an unusual ending.

The Great Debaters–4.0 stars. Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker team up in this cheer-the-underdog true story about a black debate team from a tiny college that goes for the big time. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

If you’re not already using emule and www.sharethefiles.com to download movies, try it. If that’s a little high tech for you (and it’s not really very high tech) then www.surfthechannel.com has a great selection of streaming movies and TV shows that you can watch just by clicking on them. Enjoy

At the Movies

I’m not a big fan of science fiction and I normally don’t get too excited about fantasy movies unless they are exceptional like Lord of the Rings and King Kong. But I just watched two of that genre that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Water Horse tells the “real” story of the Loch Ness monster and the boy who raised him. If you liked Free Willie, you will like this one. I give it 4 stars.

The Golden Compass is even better. This movie, which will obviously have a sequel, follows the exploits of a young girl who possesses the last golden compass, a device that only she can read and which tells the reader only the truth. The special effects are great and Lorek the Ice Bear steals the show. 4 1/2 stars.

Also watched –

War with Jet Li was a typically violent drama with lots of action and a nice plot twist. No oscars here but entertaining if there’s nothing better to do. 3 stars.

The Bucket List teams two of Hollywoods best – Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in a heartwarming story of two old men from totally different backgrounds who are dying and decide on a few last flings. The story is so-so but Nicholson is always worth a watch. 3 stars.

Gone Baby Gone was surprisingly good. Directed by Ben Affleck and starring Casey Affleck as a PI investigating the kidnapping of a 4 year old girl. Morgan Freeman is the police chief (jeez, he is in everything these days!) but Affleck is the show stealer here. 4 stars.