Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 249

Roll Over, Beethoven: New Edition of Book--And Movie Coming to NYC!

UPDATE #3  Now comes word that the film (I am associate producer) will open in NYC in October after playing maybe 20 others cities.  Next major screening is in San Luis Obispo on July 10.  Another rave from local paper there.

UPDATE #2  Of all the ironies, Kerry's film debuts on the 24th anniversary of the attack in Tiananmen Square in China--and one of the four segments of his film covers how Beethoven's Ninth was used by students there to rally their spirits and resolve.


UPDATE  Rave review for Candaele's film, as premiere arrives in Santa Barbara this week on June 4.  "In addition to accomplishing the important task of bringing these four inspirational stories to light, Following the Ninth succeeds on another level, that of brilliant filmmaking."

Earlier:  Just out today in print and e-book editions (for Kindle, iPad etc.  and the Nook):  An expanded new edition of  Journeys With Beethoven: Following the Ninth, and Beyond , which I wrote with film director Kerry Candaele, published by Sinclair Books.   It's just $3.99 for the e-book and $11.99 for print.  It includes an exciting new chapter on the role Beethoven played when the Berlin Wall fell (with Leonard Bernstein in a key role).   

Kerry has a great documentary Following the Ninth, which I helped a little on--and earned some kind of producing credit--premiering in a cool theater in Santa Barbara on June 4  (see trailer below).   Both the book and the film  follow the Ninth Symphony and it's enormous cultural and political influence around the world today.  So they take us from Chile to China and Japan and Germany, plus a stop in London for a full chapter with Billy Bragg, and then back in the USA.

In the "Beyond" section of the book I explore my own obsessive "travels" with Ludwig, as a longtime rock 'n roller, in recent years, via concerts and movies and CDs -- but also through new "Beethoven delivery systems" (YouTube, web forums, Twitter, etc.)  I also interview at length pianist Jeremy Denk. 

Those who know me from my infamous Crawdaddy and Springsteen days might be a bit...surprised?  Maybe it's now, "Roll Over, Chuck Berry."  In any case, it's a totally unique book on Beethoven--a Beethoven for our time, at last.  Again, e-book here and print here.  And here's Kerry's trailer:

Wendy's Sneaks

I've often directed you to fun Amazon product reviews, but they're usually for silly, apolitical products, like banana slicers.  But now:  Folks weighing in on the type of Mizuno Wave Rider sneakers worn by Wendy Davis the other night.  A few quips:

--The next time you have to spend 13 hours on your feet without food, water or bathroom breaks, this is the shoe for you. Guaranteed to outrun patriarchy on race day.

--When I first began wearing these shoes I thought my reproductive rights were secure. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. Luckily these shoes are really great for kicking republican legislators out of office! They want to shut down reproductive and health care facilities for the poor in Texas? Use these shoes to shut down the state capital!

--One star: I tried on a pair at the local mall and suddenly Texas Republicans started telling me what to do with my genitals. They started explaining reproduction to me like I was a seventh grader. Unfortunately, being male, I had no way to shut the whole thing down. I'm so confused...

--An essential tool for running down the clock in a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long! These shoes are perfect for those days when you must spend 13+ hours standing, not lean on your desk or take any breaks - even for meals or to use the bathroom. The snazzy hot pink color brings out your inner badassness and helps you to "humbly give voice to thousands of Texans" and stop a "raw abuse of power" in its tracks. Raise a feminist army and lead the charge when your competitors cheat and change the rules on you. These Mizuno's are built to protect your feet from mudslinging and add sunshine to the political process. Highly recommended for fierce women and anyone who's not a Greedy Old Prick (GOP)

Today's Tragic Tale from Gun Nutty USA

Thursday's installment one of the worst yet:  a murder-suicide case in Ohio

Matt Taibbi on 'Advocacy Journalists'

That is, in his view, all journalists.  His new piece for Rolling Stone properly hits Andrew Ross Sorkin and David Gregory (as I have) plus others who have their own bias, often damaging.   This quote on a distant subject got me thinking about this in a different way: "Try as hard as you want, a point of view will come forward in your story. Open any newspaper from the Thirties or Forties, check the sports page; the guy who wrote up the box score, did he have a political point of view? He probably didn't think so. But viewed with 70 or 80 years of hindsight, covering a baseball game where blacks weren't allowed to play without mentioning the fact, that's apology and advocacy. Any journalist with half a brain knows that the biases of our time are always buried in our coverage."
  

Gay Marriage Contagion--the Movie!

Hysterical parody World War G from Funny of Die, imagines gay infection of entire world after SCOTUS decisions--first major film from Rick Santorum's new studio!
World War G - watch more funny videos

MoveOn Asks for Money for Wendy

MoveOn sent out email today to contacts, soliciting funds for state Rep. Wendy Davis's next run for office in Texas--whatever the office!  Here's part of the text:

On Tuesday night, the nation's eyes were on Texas state Senator Wendy Davis, who bravely stood on the floor of the Texas Statehouse for 11 hours—without food or water—filibustering a bill that would have been a devastating setback for women's reproductive rights.

Earlier in the day, when hundreds of protestors packed into the Statehouse, the Legislature shut down their testimonies. So Sen. Davis stood for them. With support from Democratic allies, she launched her filibuster, reading aloud the stories of those who didn't get to testify.

That's what a true leader looks like. Let's make sure champions like Sen. Davis know that when they stand up for what's right, we've got their backs.

Will you show Sen. Wendy Davis you've got her back by making a pledge to support her in whatever office she runs for next?  We must build on the groundswell of support we saw Tuesday, and stand together to fight back against these restrictive policies. And that's why building a war chest for Sen. Davis is more important than ever.Let's show Republicans that—like Sen. Davis—we aren't afraid, and we won't back down.

Gov. Perry's 'Teenage Mother' Comment on Wendy Davis

In speech to National Right-to-Life confab a few minutes ago.  "She was the daughter of as single woman, she was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate. It is just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters."

Deep in the Heart of Texans

My new piece at The Nation: "Texas GOPers--'Sanctity of Life' for the Unborn But Let's Execute Another Prisoner."

Join NSA for Sexy Talk

Funny or Die paraodies those late night TV sex service commercials, starring former porn queen Sasha Grey, with guest appearances by "Edward Snowden" and "Barack Obama."  Join NSA and you get to listen in on Charlie Rose's phone chats! Check out their hot PrismTube site!


Sexy NSA Commercial With Sasha Grey from Sasha Grey

Wrong on Davis--and Texas Bill

Melinda Henneberger has written plenty of fine pieces over the years, but in her Wash Post column she is so anxious to declare Wendy Davis "wrong"--she even declares, "I have to stand with the cheaters"--in her filibuster that she reveals she is mainly ignorant of what was actually in the Texas abortion bill.  Yes, it limits later-term abortions, and yes there is much public support for such limits.  But she ignores the other two key aspects of the bill: it requires, as the The New York Times summarizes, "abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers and mandate that a doctor who performs abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital."  This would probably shut down 90% of the clinics in the state, leaving five, super-stressed.  And you know what that leads women to do.

She then compounds her errors by citing meaningless polls that allegedly take issue with Davis's stand--since those polled also had no idea of the full extent of the Texas bill.  She also wrongly says such limits exist all over Europe--again, ignoring the provisions in the Texas bill that go beyond the "term limits."

UPDATE   A couple of comments from "friends" responding to her piece on Facebook.

Sherry Sereboff:  I have a novel idea! Why not report the facts? SB 5 would have imposed the toughest abortion restrictions in the nation. The bill would have required physicians to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of an abortion facility. Required abortions--even drug-induced ones-- would have to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers and required doctors to administer those drugs in person. When was the last time you drove 1000 miles Melinda Henneberger? The Lone Star State is a big ole place, and SB 5 would have shut all but a few clinics in the entire state, forcing girls and women--including those who were pregnant due to rape and incest--to drive over 1000 miles to have access to a medical procedure that is constitutionally guaranteed. Yep, facts are always a good place to start. I'm surprised your editors at the Washington Post don't agree.

Thomas Dewar: You cannot be serious. First of all, women favor reproductive choice by a solid margin, which is one of the primary reasons the GOP consistently faces a gender gap each cycle. And yes, there are deranged, homicidal people in our society, just as your church unleashes predators upon children. I bet most reasonable people can agree, however, that the issue in such cases is the deranged mind of the perp, and not theology or reproductive choice or homosexuality, any more than Jeffrey Dahmer's issue was not being a vegetarian. It's irresponsible, hamfisted, and intellectually dishonest to pretend otherwise.   I look at polling and work on campaigns all over this country for a living, for one. For another, you cannot out of one side of your mouth imply those who disagree with you somehow make common cause with the likes of Gosnell and out of the other indulge your martyr complex about being "vilified." Respect is a two-way street, sister.