open mic nights

For a while now, I've wanted to try performing at open mic nights. I may not be a prolific songwriter, but I've written a few good ones.* The problem is that I'm not a good guitarist. My singing? As a singer I'm a wonderful guitarist. Still I've been having the itch.

But the inertia is strong in me, and I haven't been up for trying to figure out where there are open mics that are convenient to me.

But a friend, not knowing that the whole thing was on my mind, mentioned that she goes to an open mic near where she lives in West Hempstead, at a place called "Creative Corner" and maybe I'd want to come? It seemed practically like  bashert. That's me below, performing "Never Kill a Man Twice" at this week's showcase. As billed, my guitaristry is nothing to write home about. And I'm struggling to sing anywhere near in tune. But I'm having a great time.

I have been there twice. The first time I didn't bring a guitar -- I was planning to just watch. Get the lay of the land and all that hooey. I don't need to be the best performer there, but I don't want to be so egregiously worse than everyone else that I get remembered as the guy who sucked. At any rate, it was a really cold evening, and the crowd was a bit sparse. They ran out of performers, so Blair and my friend (and her other friend) started encouraging me to sign up. I had been put at ease that I wasn't copmpletely outclassed by the other talent, so WTH. I borrowed a guitar and did three songs -- "Music No One Else Can Hear," "Never Kill a Man Twice," and "Five Missing One." I didn't do well. Either I was too far from the mic, or I didn't sing loudly enough, or the mic level wasn't high enough. Whatever it was, no one could hear my vocals.

But I had fun anyway.

So I was back this week, prepared to improve my performance. I will be heard, I had decided. The crowd was a bit bigger, but still pretty sparse and nonthreatening. So, two songs -- "Five Missing One" and "Never Kill a Man Twice." And I could be heard. Flaws and all. But it was great. Next week, I think I'll do "Jackpot" and some other song to be decided on at the last minute. Maybe "Bionic Joe Theme" or "Funny in My Head" if I can finish writing it. I'm also tempted to ask if anyone cares to join me -- "the chord structure is simple -- watch me for the changes."

The thing about these open mics at Creative Corner is that people seem to be there to have a good time. They're not there to judge. They just want to enjoy some music even if it's not expertly played. And I'm cool with that.

*By "a few," I mean five. But I have a bunch of good songs in various states of progress. And I've written a shit-ton of bad songs, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

it's zmedsday!! (xiv)

super bowl thoughts

A few thoughts about the Stupor Bowl.

• Some shmigeggy is suing the NFL over the pass-interference non-call that probably changed the outcome of the NFC championship game. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's stupid. I understand the frustration of Saints fans. And of any football (or other sports for that matter) fans who don't like to see bad officiating have such an obvious and immediate effect on the outcome of a championship game. But that's the way the ball bounces. There's a system for officiating, and it's not perfect. Too frickin' bad. Unless there's evidence that there was purposeful chicanery, there's no chance of this lawsuit having any effect beyond being a nuisance.
  
• A ten-year old in Kentucky devoted his school science project to the question of whether Tom Brady cheated in 2015 (Hint: remember deflategate?). It's kind of a cool human interest story. The kid hates Tom Brady (who doesn't, these days?) and wants him to get caught. The problem is that, despite the reporting, the science project doesn't actually prove that Tom Brady cheated. At most he proved that under-inflated footballs can be thrown farther. From what I recall about deflategate, that was never in question. But he didn't prove that Tom Brady was throwing underinflated balls (I don't recall what the outcome of the investigation was, and I'm too lazy to look it up). And he certainly didn't prove that Tom Brady knew that any balls were underinflated. Did Brady cheat? I dunno. But the kid didn't prove it. In all fairness, he's ten years old, so it's not like you can expect his science project to be up to Technion standards. Still, enough with adults saying that he proved what he didn't. Oh, hell, I'm being a poopyhead. The kid's right. Burn Tom Brady!
  
• When the Pats were playing against Atlanta two years ago, and Philadelphia last year, I was rooting for them. They lost in the Superbowl to the Giants. Twice. I kind of liked the idea of Brady having lots of wins, and having his only losses be against the Giants. I cherished the image of a geriatric Brady in an old age home, cursing at his inability to beat Eli Manning in the big game. Now that the Eagles beat Brady last year, the magic is gone. Still, I'm rooting for Brady in father-in-law's memory.
  
• A guy I know at work roots for Brady. He says there's something beautiful about someone who's the best at his job being the best. I can't really argue with that.

it's tunesday! "the twomp" by halibuts

cinema history class: black jack

Session: Spaghetti Nightmares, Week 2
Movie: Black Jack (1968)
Directed by Gianfranco Baldanello

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
Jack Murphy's gang pull off a daring bank robbery, but can't agree about how to divide the proceeds. The gang rapes and kills Jack's sister* and leaves him for dead. So he comes for revenge. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
Compared to the prior week's show (Cut-Throats Nine), this was much more of a traditional Spaghetti Western. But what made it stand out is the level of barbarity -- high even by Spaghetti Western standards. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, when Tuco wants to hang Blondie, he puts him on a stool and plans to shoot the legs of the stool. In this, Jack is left standing with the noose around his neck, and one of (formerly) his gang shoots him in the legs so that he can't support his weight.

At its heart, this is a revenge film -- admittedly, many Spaghetti Westerns are. And in a way it reminded me of I Spit on Your Grave. The whole thing about hunting his gang down one at a time. And if we're willing to extend the comparison to the remake of Spit, there's the added similarity of bringing one of the victims' daughters into the mix.

The ending kind of surprised me. I correctly guessed that Jack's remaining friend, Peter, would end up stabbing Jack to death, thus ending matters. But I expected that it would be some kind of redemptive moment for Peter -- remembering what happened to his girlfriend (who was Jack's sister) who wasn't going to let another innocent woman die the same way. Instead, it was explained as Peter hallucinating. So, having stabbed Jack, he begs for Jack's forgiveness. I think I would have preferred the twist I was expecting. But, I guess, Spaghetti Westerns aren't about redemption.

Ratings:

Me: 8.8

Dave: 9.3 - 9.4

Ethan: 8

Joe: 9.8

Sean: 2 out of 4

*Seriously, WTF? She had nothing to do with anything.