#martha glaser

[chansonsinternationales]

Martha Glaser & Erroll Garner

[pittarchives]

John Hammond and Martha Glaser: A Cold Correspondence

This post was written by Adam Lee, graduate student, Jazz Studies.

Erroll Garner famously won a lawsuit against record production titan Columbia Records in the early 1960s, which allowed him to launch his own label Octave records. While the details of this lawsuit have been covered by news outlets such as Variety (The True Story of Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win), the fallout of this suit would continue to echo throughout history in the form of a feud between Garner’s manager Martha Glaser and Columbia Records producer John Hammond.

John Hammond was a scion of the Vanderbilt family through his mother and by the 1930s had become one of the most influential promoters and producers of jazz, acting as a patron to such jazz legends as Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Benny Goodman (who became his brother-in-law in 1942). He is often lauded for his staunch stance against racism through his promotion of jazz in a time in which it was considerably less common to find white people of status working to promote Black artists. Not all jazz artists would receive Hammond’s full support, however, as is made clear with his lukewarm response to Erroll Garner’s work.

Hammond was the producer working for Columbia when the events that led to Garner’s lawsuit came about, and later would become involved again in a Garner reissue project in 1975. Martha Glaser, writing on behalf of Garner, wrote to Hammond expressing her disdain for the way Columbia, and thus Hammond himself, was handling this project in the last few years of Garner’s life.

Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Glaser writes that Garner and she were reluctant to be involved in a Columbia production, understandable from their previous contentious relationship, but initially thought that Hammond would be supportive of the project: “It was with considerable trepidation that we got into the PLAY IT AGAIN, ERROLL project, because of past experiences at Columbia. However, with your reassurance, and Jim Brown’s support, we thought there would be no problems.” Clearly, there were problems and Glaser had no reservations expressing her feelings later in the letter writing: “We are most dismayed that our good friends at Columbia have so little regard for Erroll or myself, that we can’t reach them, or get a reply.” The venom in her language is clear, the Columbia producers are no friends of theirs.

Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Several years later, after Garner’s passing, Glaser and Hammond got into another conflict via letters sent between them. We do not have every record in the archive of this correspondence, but by looking at the letters we do have we can extrapolate some of the content, and it is increasingly hostile. The conflict seems to begin with Glaser’s objection to a quote in George Goodman Jr.’s June 28, 1981 article about Miles Davis titled  ”Miles Davis: I Just Pick Up My Horn And Play.” In the article, Goodman attributes a statement to Hammond (which Glaser notes is not written as a quote, but more as a statement of fact): “To John Hammond, the authoritative critic and jazz patron credited with the ‘discovery’ of such greats as Bessie Smith and Louis ''Satchmo'' Armstrong, Mr. Davis is the only major performer of his generation who broadened rather than contracted the appeal of jazz music.” Glaser vehemently objects to this characterization, and overtly questions Hammond on it in a letter dated the next day, June 29, 1981: “Whether it accurately states your opinion, I can’t tell – but I certainly wonder about it.” Glaser goes on to contradict the assertion that only Davis expanded jazz appeal, referring to Garner’s public success with scathing and sarcastic language: “… if he was ‘contracting’ the appeal of jazz, then I wonder who all those people were in all those SRO audiences through the world for all those years…,” and “Indeed, he was sock box office…despite the heavy-handed treatment of CBS Records, and the subsequent results. I can fill you in, but I am sure you know much of what happened.” Obviously Hammond knows what happened, as he was the head of A&R (Artists and Repertoire) for CBS/Columbia Records at that time.

Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Hammond’s response is dated July 16, 1981 and specifically refutes the Goodman article for the Times, attempting to redirect the ire against him to the Times itself saying, “Why the Times is so sloppy in its music coverage and quotes is beyond belief.” While he could have continued to play diplomat, he instead doubles down on the conflict and writes some very specifically cruel things about Garner and Glaser “…the greatest mistake he ever made was in leaving CBS for purely financial reasons. When I came back there in the very late fifties, I did my best to patch things up, but I must say that I found both you and Erroll greedy, to say the very least.” He follows this with an attack on Glaser alone: “Unfortunately, the nit-picking that went on by you (acting on behalf of Erroll) left you with very few friends in the company. When I tried to sign Erroll in the mid-sixties, I was warned that if I did, I would probably suffer another heart attack and was ordered to cease and desist my efforts.”

Images from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Glaser counters the attacks directly: “’Greed’ was not the reason for the litigation. It was at a great sacrifice – including a financial one – that Erroll was pressed into this litigation by some substantial violations of his contract.” Ever the stalwart defender of Garner, Glaser accuses Hammond of hiding this opinion from Garner behind a smiling face: “I wish you had told Erroll, at the time, or in the almost 20 years subsequent to the litigation, that you thought he and I were motivated by ‘greed’. This might have put a different face on how he reacted to the entire situation, and to you, since he always said – ‘Don’t put John in the middle’, and was concerned about your well-being.” Glaser continued to take issues with Hammond’s specific phrase “nit-picking,” and notes the implications of such language: “I sometimes wonder where such an appellation might be sexist. When a man works as hard and carefully as I have to maintain quality standards, he is considered to be on top of things.” The jarring final statement is loaded with a sarcastic feel, like Glaser is writing pleasantries because these things are included in letters by practice but not by meaning: “I hope we can talk one day. In the meantime, thank you for your attention and response. Wishing you the best with your new enterprises. Sounds most exciting.”

Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

To this letter we do have Hammond’s response, dated September 19, 1981. And once again, venomous statements are bookended with pleasantry. Hammond first apologizes about the greed comment, but by the third paragraph he outright tells Glaser that Garner would have been more financially and professionally successful if they had stuck with him and Columbia Records.

(Above) Images from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.   

The final document in this record appears to be a draft of a letter typed by Glaser before the final version dated September 9,1981. While this document does not have a date, it does follow many of the same points of the dated letter and responds point by point to Hammond’s July 16, 1981 document. This draft has numerous redactions and corrections, and the language in it is much stronger than the one that eventually replaced it, (including one parenthetical where Glaser notes “have to change this” after expressing that Hammond’s letter was “character assassination.”) And it is perhaps for the best that it wasn’t sent, but in it we can see the rage that Glaser had for Hammond and the industry, and the vigor by which she was ready to protect Garner’s reputation and status. This draft letter too shows some significant insight into the things that Glaser thought were important, but (in contrast with the final letter) chose to hold back, almost certainly as a result of professional considerations. She writes “That Mr. Garner, a Black – jazz – artist – with a female manager – in those pre-consciousness raised days – both in the fields of race and sex – had the audacity to go up against a major corporation to defend his artistic rights – apparently didn’t sit well with the corporate heads. It was a ‘first’ and they made it clear he had to be broken and punished. Surely, you were aware of that.”

All in all, through these letters, we can see the conflict between Glaser and Hammond, and the not-so-subtle attempts by both of them to conceal resentment and animosity. Hammond’s position of power and reputation in the industry allowed him to feign magnanimity, but Glaser had neither the luxury nor the desire to sugar coat her arguments, although we can see from the differences in her brutal draft letter from her significantly more (but not entirely) diplomatic final letter version that she did take these things into consideration. In the end, Glaser once again proved that she would stand up for Garner against even industry giants like John Hammond, in a way that was uniquely her own.

Works Cited

Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, AIS.2015.09, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Goodman, George. "MILES DAVIS: 'I JUST PICK UP MY HORN AND PLAY'." The New York Times. June 28, 1981. Accessed April 27, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/28/arts/miles-davis-i-just-pick-up-my-horn-and-play.html.

Ouellette, Dan. "The True Story of Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win." Variety. December 02, 2019. Accessed April 27, 2021. https://variety.com/2019/music/news/the-true-story-of-erroll-garner-the-first-artist-to-sue-a-major-label-and-win-1203413083/.

[still-single]

Still Single / Heathen Disco 2020 End of Year Recap

I guess I’m back! I started gingerly dipping back over into Tumblr to publish some reviews as a means of cutting through all the bondage photos and anime screencaps and people still living on Tumblrs (shout out to anyone still Tumblin', it's alright). I also redoubled my efforts to do great radio shows, and that seems to bother some of you enough to unsubscribe, but I'm feeling great about all that. If you wanna hear those shows, you can go to Mixcloud and listen to your hearts' content. Those 5-6 reviews on here actually turned up worthwhile music in my PO box, so thanks to those who submitted.

This was gonna be the year I reintroduced myself to the world. Don't make plans like that. Things are a lot better now than I thought they'd be, and the time I burnt up on movies and self-reflection this year was probably more needed than another DJ gig or whatever. Radio sustained me, I will freely admit, and finding records out in the wild once shops reopened was really killer too.

Anyway, time for a year-end recap, right?

Top 10 albums, historical (alphabetical): Adulkt Life – Book of Curses (What’s Your Rupture?) Bailterspace – Concret (self-released) The Cowboy – Wi-Fi on the Prairie (Feel It) Angel Bat Dawid and Tha Brotherhood – Live (International Anthem) Home Blitz – All Through the Year EP (Sophomore Lounge) MJ Guider – Sour Cherry Bell (Kranky) David Nance – Staunch Honey (Trouble in Mind) Theo Parrish – Wuddaji (Sound Signature) Schisms – Speech Copy Rap Master (Fort Evil Fruit) Sweeping Promises – Hunger for a Way Out (Feel It)

25 more, just because, also alphabetical: Ana Roxanne – Because of a Flower (Kranky) Clemency – References EP and remixes (2 B REAL) Tara Clerkin Trio – self-titled (Laura Lies In) Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger – Force Majeure (International Anthem) DJ Python – Mas Amable (Incienso) FACS – Void Moments (Trouble in Mind) Green/Blue – self-titled (Slovenly) Gun Outfit – Clean Runs the Thread (Joyful Noise) Janedriver – You Know It’s True EP (self-released) Junk Drawer – Ready for the House (Art for Blind) Lavender Flu – Barbarian Dust (In the Red) / Tomorrow Cleaners (MEDS) … technically two releases, but really just chapters in the same book Lewsberg – In This House (12XU) Melenas – Dias Raros (Trouble in Mind) The Midnight Steppers – Isolation Drives (Radical Documents) Oily Boys – Cro Memory Grin (Cool Death) Optic Sink – self-titled (Goner) Permission – Organised People Suffer (La Vida Es Un Mus) Pool Holograph – Love Touched Time … and Time Began to Sweat (Sunroof) Riki – self-titled (Dais) Sacred Product – Same Old Gag (Eternal Souncheck) The Soft Pink Truth – Shall We Go on Sinning So That Grace May Increase? (Thrill Jockey) Special Interest – The Passion Of (Night School/Thrilling Living) Luke Stewart – Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet (Astral Spirits) Vanessa Worm – VANESSA 77 (Optimo Musik) Jim White & Marisa Anderson – The Quickening (Thrill Jockey)

15 reissues/archival, alphabetical yet again: Dadamah – This Is Not a Dream (Grapefruit) East Village – Hotrod Hotel (Slumberland) The Eighteenth Day of May – self-titled (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube) Endless Boogie – The Gathered and Scattered (No Quarter) Flaming Tunes – self-titled (Superior Viaduct) Anthony Moore – OUT (Drag City) Musica Transonic – self-titled (Black Editions) Naujawanan Baidar – self-titled (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube) No Trend – Too Many Humans/Teen Love box set (Drag City) The Only Ones – Live in Chicago 1979 (Alona’s Dream) Rema-Rema – Wheel in Small Doses Extended Version (Le Coq Musique) Vertical Slit – Live at Browns (Siltbreeze) Vivienne Styg – Rose of Texas (Tall Texan) The Whip – self-titled (Wantage USA) Various Artists – Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground (Captured Tracks)

Top 10 Record Scores this year, A to zed: The Church – Sing-Songs 12” EP (Parlophone) The Equals – Equals Party live promo 12” (Phonogram) HNO3 – Doughnut Dollies 12” (R & S) Annea Lockwood – Glass World of Anna Lockwood LP (Tangent) Optik/Equal Phaze – split one-sided 12” test press (no label) Six Finger Satellite – Severe Exposure LP/12” (Sub Pop) Sweet Breeze – Across the Desert LP (Feathers) Tappi Tíkarrass – Miranda LP (Gramm) Various Artists – Best of the Beat Greatest Hits LP, purple sleeve (Espera) Various Artists – Le Mysterieux 12” EP (Musique Pour La Danse)

Favorite movies discovered in 2020:

“Animals” | 2019, d. Sophie Hyde “Band of the Hand” | 1986, d. Paul Michael Glaser “Bell, Book & Candle” | 1958, d. Richard Quine “Breaking In” | 1989, d. Bill Forsyth “Le Choc du Futur” | 2019, d. Marc Collin

“The City Girl” | 1984, d. Martha Coolidge “Conquest” | 1983, d. Lucio Fulci “Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992” | 2018, d. Jeremy Deller “G.B.H” | 1982, d. David Kent-Watson “Luz” | 2018, d. Tilman Singer

“The Pyx” | 1973, d. Harvey Hart “Ring of Darkness” | 1979, d. Pier Carpi “Rivals” | 1972, d. Krishna Shah (and RIP to Mike “McBeardo” McPadden, who made me aware of it, as he made many people aware of the insane secret histories of genre cinema) “Satisfaction” | 1988, d. Joan Freeman “Savage Three” | 1975, d. Vittorio Salerno

“Simon, King of the Witches” | 1971, d. Bruce Kessler “Swallow” | 2019, d. Carlo Mirabella-Davis “Thief” | 1981, d. Michael Mann “Two Gentlemen Sharing” | 1969, d. Ted Kotcheff “X, Y & Zee” | 1972, d. Brian G. Hutton

Resolutions for 2021: Open things up, share more, care more.

_______ New Year, Doug Mosurock

[hitzerot-prints-and-publications]

Nuart Journal – #4 FREEDOM

“Nuart Journal is a forum for critical commentary on urban art, defined as broadly as possible to include all aspects of both independently sanctioned and unsanctioned art in public space that does not fall under the general rubric of traditional public art practice. Nuart Journal includes traditional peer-reviewed academic papers as well as more experimental modes of research. It is a site for scholars, artists, curators and independent researchers to publish articles, conversations, reviews, projects and opinion pieces on street art and related topics.”

When FREEDOM, the fourth issue of Nuart Journal was published in 2020, the editors as well as the contributing authors of course did not knew that global restrictions of freedom in any imaginable way would follow a few weeks later. So although the main topic is freedom, it is defined slightly different as you might expect in the first place. As stated on the Nuart website the content this time does “critically address ideas related to freedom, democracy and our right to public space – freedom of artistic expression, freedom of movement, freedom from harassment, violence and arrest.“

Just like the previous issues the Journal functions as a open forum for scientific articles, essays and analyzes separated into three main chapters on almost 140 pages: Visual/Experimental, Original Articles and Interviews/Talks/Books. The contributions this time cover topics like the closing of the legendary 5Pointz hall of fame in New York and its aftermath, Graffiti and Street Art on Instagram, the works of Gigo Propaganda or Trainspotting in Helsinki.

I. Visual/Experimental • Roxana & Pablo Allison: Operation Jurassic • Oсколки / Oskolki: „HE“ / „NO“ • Alex Stone, Vanessa Onwumezi & Martin Wakefield: Intervention on the Underground • Julien de Casabianca: Sex Against the Wall • Jonna Tolonen: Paint Like a Girl! Street Interventions Fighting Against Sexual Harassment in Greece And Spain • Anneke Coppoolse, Chan Ka Man & Yu Wing Ching: Contested Canvas • Cybèle Andrei: I Am the Revolution

II. Original Articles • Enrico Bonadio & Olivia Jean-Baptiste: Another Win for 5Pointz: Destroying Street Art and Graffiti Does Not Always Pay Off • Malin Fransberg: Spotting Trains: An Ethnography of Subcultural Media Practices Among Graffiti Writers in Helsinki • Amy Melia: Urban Gentrification and ‘Non-Artist’ Agency: Towards a Working-Class Turn in Anti-Gentrification Art Projects • Katja Glaser: Gigo Propaganda: Framing and Reframing

III. Interviews/Talks/Books • Danielle Karam: Beirut Street Art: Painting a Revolution Against Walls • Lachlan MacDowall: Snitches, Glitches, and Untold Riches: graffiti and street art on Instagram • Political Stencil Crew, Athens: 5 Years of Action • Looking for Creativity in Everyday Life: Martha Cooper and Selina Miles in Conversation with Evan Pricco

Now available at www.hitzerot.com

[didanawisgi]

Omega-3 supplements do double duty in protecting against stress

Study finds high dose of fatty acids may slow cellular aging

A high daily dose of an omega-3 supplement may help slow the effects of aging by suppressing damage and boosting protection at the cellular level during and after a stressful event, new research suggests.

Researchers at The Ohio State University found that daily supplements that contained 2.5 grams of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the highest dose tested, were the best at helping the body resist the damaging effects of stress.

Compared to the placebo group, participants taking omega-3 supplements produced less of the stress hormone cortisoland lower levels of a pro-inflammatory protein during a stressful event in the lab. And while levels of protective compounds sharply declined in the placebo group after the stressor, there were no such decreases detected in people taking omega-3s.

Annelise MadisonThe supplements contributed to what the researchers call stress resilience: reduction of harm during stress and, after acute stress, sustained anti-inflammatory activity and protection of cell components that shrink as a consequence of aging.

The potential anti-aging effects were considered particularly striking because they occurred in people who were healthy but also sedentary, overweight and middle-aged – all characteristics that could lead to a higher risk for accelerated aging.

“The findings suggest that omega-3 supplementation is one relatively simple change people could make that could have a positive effect at breaking the chain between stress and negative health effects,” said Annelise Madison, lead author of the paper and a graduate student in clinical psychology at Ohio State.

The research is published today (Monday, April 19, 2021) in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Madison works in the lab of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State. This paper is a secondary analysis of one of Kiecolt-Glaser’s earlier studies showing that omega-3 supplements altered a ratio of fatty acid consumption in a way that helped preserve tiny segments of DNA in white blood cells.

Janice Kiecolt-GlaserThose short fragments of DNA are called telomeres, which function as protective caps at the end of chromosomes. Telomeres’ tendency to shorten in many types of cells is associated with age-related diseases, especially heart disease, and early mortality.

In the initial study, researchers were monitoring changes to telomere length in white blood cells known as lymphocytes. For this new study, the researchers looked at how sudden stress affected a group of biological markers that included telomerase, an enzyme that rebuilds telomeres, because levels of the enzyme would react more quickly to stress than the length of telomeres themselves.

Specifically, they compared how moderate and high doses of omega-3s and a placebo influenced those markers during and after an experimental stressor. Study participants took either 2.5 grams or 1.25 grams of omega-3s each day, or a placebo containing a mix of oils representing a typical American’s daily intake.

After four months on the supplements, the 138 research participants, age 40-85, took a 20-minute test combining a speech and a math subtraction task that is known to reliably produce an inflammatory stress response.

Only the highest dose of omega-3s helped suppress damage during the stressful event when compared to the placebo group, lowering cortisol and a pro-inflammatory protein by an average of 19% and 33%, respectively.

Results from blood samples showed that both doses of omega-3s prevented any changes in telomerase levels or a protein that reduces inflammation in the two hours after participants experienced the acute stress, meaning any needed stress-related cell repair – including telomere restoration – could be performed as usual. In the placebo group, those repair mechanisms lost ground: Telomerase dropped by an average of 24% and the anti-inflammatory protein decreased by an average of at least 20%.

“You could consider an increase in cortisol and inflammation potential factors that would erode telomere length,” Madison said. “The assumption based on past work is that telomerase can help rebuild telomere length, and you want to have enough telomerase present to compensate for any stress-related damage.

“The fact that our results were dose-dependent, and we’re seeing more impact with the higher omega-3 dose, would suggest that this supports a causal relationship.”

The researchers also suggested that by lowering stress-related inflammation, omega-3s may help disrupt the connection between repeated stress and depressive symptoms. Previous research has suggested that people with a higher inflammatory reaction to a stressor in the lab may develop more depressive symptoms over time.

“Not everyone who is depressed has heightened inflammation – about a third do. This helps explain why omega-3 supplementation doesn’t always result in reduced depressive symptoms,” Kiecolt-Glaser said. “If you don’t have heightened inflammation, then omega-3s may not be particularly helpful. But for people with depression who do, our results suggest omega-3s would be more useful.”

The 2.5-gram dose of omega-3s is much higher than what most Americans consume on a daily basis, but study participants showed no signs of having problems with the supplements, Madison said.

The research was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Additional Ohio State co-authors include Martha Belury, Rebecca Andridge, Megan Renna, Rosie Shrout and William Malarkey.

[tothemaxxx]

My Favorite Films and Performances of 2019

As per, I did’t get to watch everything. But these are the films that did the most for me in 2019. If it’s not on here, I either didn’t have the opportunity to see it or I just plain didn’t dig it.

TOP 5, loosely ranked. I love these deeply.

1. ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, Quentin Tarantino

2. PARASITE, Bong Joon-ho

3. UNCUT GEMS, Josh and Benny Safdie

4. PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, Céline Sciamma

5. MONOS, Alejandro Landes

The rest of the Top 20, in alphabetical order. I loved these.

THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY, Ben Berman

BEANPOLE, Kantemir Balagov

THE FAREWELL, Lulu Wang

A HIDDEN LIFE, Terrence Malick

IN FABRIC, Peter Strickland

THE IRISHMAN, Martin Scorsese

KNIFE + HEART, Yann Gonzalez

KNIVES OUT, Rian Johnson

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, Joe Talbot

THE LIGHTHOUSE, Robert Eggers

LORDS OF CHAOS, Jonas Åkerlund

MARRIAGE STORY, Noah Baumbach

MIDNIGHT FAMILY, Luke Lorentzen

THE SOUVENIR, Joanna Hogg

TRANSIT, Christian Petzold

                                                          —————

I also enjoyed, some with reservations:

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Ad Astra, Arctic, The Art of Self-Defense, Ash Is Purest White, Atlantics, Birds of Passage, Climax, Dark Waters, The Dead Don’t Die, Diamantino, Diane, Dolemite is My Name, Downton Abbey, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Ford v Ferrari, Gloria Bell, Greta, Her Smell, High Flying Bird, High Life, Hotel By The River, Hustlers, I Lost My Body, Les Misérables, Little Women, Midsommar, The Mustang, Non-Fiction, Pain & Glory, Peterloo, Ready or Not, The Report, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Us, Waves, Wild Rose

And these documentaries:

Amazing Grace, Apollo 11, David Crosby: Remember My Name, The Great Hack, Hail Satan?, Honeyland, The Kingmaker, Knock Down The House, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, One Child Nation, Well Groomed

                                                         —————

Did anyone ask for my favorite movies of the decade? No. Will I list them now, allowing only one title per director? Yes.

Carlos, Dogtooth, Force Majeure, Green Room, Inherent Vice, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mandy, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Parasite, Shoplifters, The Social Network, Toni Erdmann, Under The Skin, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Wild Tales

                                                         —————

My favorite performance of the year:

Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems

                                                         —————

Dynamic Duos:

Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton & Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Valerie Pachner as Franziska Schwaringer & August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter in A Hidden Life

Robert Pattinson as Ephraim Winslow & Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse

Vasilisa Perelygina as Masha & Viktoria Mironshnichenko as Iya in Beanpole

                                                         —————

Favorite Ensembles:

Climax, The Dead Don’t Die, Dolemite Is My Name, The Irishman, Knives Out, Les Misérables, Marriage Story, Monos, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Parasite, Peterloo, Uncut Gems, Us

                                                         —————

So many memorable performances:

Alan Alda as Bert Spitz in Marriage Story

Christian Bale as Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari

Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo in Pain and Glory

Paula Beer as Marie in Transit

Annette Benning as Senator Dianne Feinstein in The Report

Juliette Binoche as Selena in Non-Fiction

Damien Bonnard as Ruiz in Les Misérables

Jessie Buckley as Rose-Lynn in Wild Rose

Sofia Buenaventura as Rambo in Monos

Tom Burke as Anthony in The Souvenir

Julie Butters as Trudi Fraser in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Honor Swinton Byrne as Julie in The Souvenir

Louis Cancelmi as Sally Bugs in The Irishman

Chang Hyae-jin as Chung-sook in Parasite

Cho Yeo Jeong as Park Yeon-kyo in Parasite

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera in Knives Out

Laura Dern as Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story

Wayne Diamond as High Roller in Uncut Gems

Julia Fox as Julia in Uncut Gems

Kevin Garnett as Kevin Garnett in Uncut Gems

Rebecca Gayheart as Billie Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Jon Glaser as Mark in Hustlers

Adèle Haenel as Héloïse in Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Julie Hagerty as Sandra in Marriage Story

Tim Heidecker as Josh Tyler / Tex in Us

André Holland as Ray Burke in High Flying Bird

Isabelle Huppert as Greta Hideg in Greta

Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sheila in In Fabric

Karl Johnson as Lord Sidmouth in Peterloo

Lee Jung-eun as Gook Moon-gwang in Parasite

Martha Kelly as the Evaluator in Marriage Story

Ted Levine as John Brennan in The Report

Ray Liotta as Jay Marotta in Marriage Story

Jennifer Lopez as Ramona in Hustlers

Jonathan Majors as Montgomery Allen in The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Idina Menzel as Dinah Ratner in Uncut Gems

Noémie Merlant as Marianne in Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Fatma Mohamed as Miss Luckmoore in In Fabric

Julianne Moore as Gloria in Gloria Bell

Elisabeth Moss as Becky Something in Her Smell

Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name

Julianne Nicholson as Doctora Sara Watson in Monos

Alessandro Nivola as Sensei in The Art of Self-Defense

Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide Wilson / Red in Us

Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa in The Irishman and as Marvin Schwarz in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino in The Irishman

Mary Kay Place as Diane in Diane

Florence Pugh as Dani in Midommar

Keanu Reeves as Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe

Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Franz Rogowski as Georg in Transit

Taylor Russell as Emily in Waves

Andy Serkis as Parker Wembley in Long Shot

Wesley Snipes as D'Urville Martin in Dolemite Is My Name

Song Kang-ho as Kim Ki-taek in Parasite

Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston in The Dead Don’t Die

John Turturro as Arnold in Gloria Bell

Zhao Shuzhen as Nai Nai in The Farewell

          ... and Sayuri the pit bull as Brandy in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

                                                         —————

Favorite older film I saw for the first time in 2019:

War and Peace, Sergei Bondarchuk, 1965

                                                         —————

THE END!

[garudabluffs]

his manager, Martha Glaser (pictured above, right, with Garner)

The True Story of Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win                                      November 22, 2019

“The pianist was forced to sit out two and a half years of recording at the height of his career. Some speculate that the absence is a major reason why he’s not as lionized today as contemporaries like Dave Brubeck.”

“When Garner won his landmark case of making a groundbreaking statement on an artist’s freedom, he received a cash settlement, his masters were returned and Columbia agreed to recall and destroy the records it had released without his approval, although many of those albums ended up for sale on the black market (it’s possible that distributors, rather than Columbia, were responsible for illegally selling the albums).The money funded the launching of Garner’s own independent label with Glaser. With Glaser producing, Garner recorded 12 albums in 18 years for Octave Records. Those albums were distributed by different companies through the course of the label’s existence.“That was also a remarkable feat,” says Peter Lockhart Senior Producer of the Erroll Garner Jazz Project and a vice president of Octave Music. . “As far as we know, that was the birth of an artist doing his own licensing deal.”Kelley agrees. “What Erroll did was set a precedent for artists,” he says. “They could have the rights to their own material.”

READ MORE https://variety.com/2019/music/news/the-true-story-of-erroll-garner-the-first-artist-to-sue-a-major-label-and-win-1203413083/

12 Comments

[omgsouthpark]

Trey Parker Part of Voice Cast for New Adult Swim Show

Via Animation Magazine:

Adult Swim is diving into the mysterious depths of the human mind in the new animated stop-motion series The Shivering Truth, premiering Sunday, December 9 at midnight ET/PT. Created and written by Emmy-winning South Park writer-producer Vernon Chatman, directed by Chatman and Cat Solen (Take My Wife), and executive produced by PFFR (Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter, Xavier: Renegade Angel) with Solen. The animation is produced at ShadowMachine.

[...] Voice cast for the series include: Maria Bamford, Kevin Breznahan, Rachel Butera, Ivy Chatman, Vernon Chatman, Zadie Chatman, David Cross, Andy Daly, Janeane Garofalo, Jon Glaser, Bobby Kelly, Conner O’Malley, Trey Parker, Jordan Peele, Zack Pearlman, Martha Plimpton, John Reynolds, Nicole Rodenburg, Peter Serafinowicz, Miriam Tolan and Julio Torres.

You can check out the pilot at AdultSwim.com.

[dr-archeville]

Upcoming Retro Films at the Carolina Theatre of Durham (January-June 2019)

All movies are on Fridays (unless otherwise stated) starting at 7:00pm (or so), and cost $9.50 for both films.  Most shows also have drawings for door prizes -- submit your name & a film you’d like to see, and you could win a fridge magnet with a scene from the night’s movie (or something else!).

You can also get a season pass for $80.00, which covers the RetroClassics, RetroFantasma, RetroNoir, and RetroTreasures double features, and the new Wednesday Cinema Overdrive shows (but does not include ActionFlix, Anime-Magic, FantasticRealm, or Mother’s Day Film Series, or the Wednesday MovieDiva Film Series).

January 18th-20th (Fri-Sun): Anime-Magic Film Series -- Bruce W. Smith’s Robin Harris’ Bébé's Kids (1992), Hiroyuki Morita’s The Cat Returns (2002), Isao Takahata’s Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968), Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Masaaki Yuasa’s Mind Game (2004), Isao Takahata’s My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), Haya Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997), Isao Takahata’s Pom Poko (1994), Haya Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso (1992), Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2002), and Katsuhiro Otomo’s Steamboy (2004). 

January 23rd (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Sergio Martino’s Torso (1973)

January 25th (RetroFantasma): Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) and Geoff Murphy’s The Quiet Earth (1985)

January 30th (Wed MovieDiva): Alfred E. Green’s Baby Face (1933)

February 1st (RetroClassics): Pal Michaewl Glaser’s The Running Man (1987) and Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993)

February 3rd (Sun): Nevermore Fundraiser -- $12 to see The Wackhowski’s The Matrix (1999) and Mary Harron’s American Psycho (2000)

February 8th (RetroNoir): John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944)

February 13th (Wed MovieDiva ): Maerian C. Cooper’s King Kong (1933)

February 15th (RetroTreasures): Howard deutch’s John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink (1986) and Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl (1983)

February 20th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): J. Lee Thompson’s 10 to Midnight (1983)

February 22nd-24th (Fri-Sun): FantasticRealm Film Series -- Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999), Ken Kwapis’ Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Dean Parisot’s Galaxy Quest (1999), Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984), Richard Donner’s The Goonies (1985), Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Ridley Scott’s Legend: Director’s Cut (1985), Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors: Director’s Cut (1986), Wolgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story (1984), Tim Burton’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Robert Altman’s Popeye (1980), Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs (1987), Bob Spiers’ Spice World (1997), and Ken Kwapis’ Vibes (1988).

February 27th (Wed MovieDiva): Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express (1932)

March 1st (RetroFantasma): Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985) and Harry Bromley Davenport’s Xtro (1982)

March 9th-10th (Fri-Sun): Nevermore Film Festival (20th Anniversary!)

March 13th (Wed MovieDiva): Wesley Ruggles’ I’m No Angel (1933)

March 15th (RetroClassics): Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) and Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959)

March 20th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Menahem Golan’s The Apple (1980)

March 22nd (RetroTreasures): Mike Judge’s Office Space (1999) and Trey Parker’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

March 27th (Wed MovieDiva): William A. Wellman’s Night Nurse (1931)

March 29th (RetroFantasma): David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone (1983) and Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990)

April 12th (RetroNoir): W.S. Van Dyke’s The Thin Man (1934) and W.S. Van Dyke’s Another Thin Man (1939)

April 17th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978)

April 19th (RetroTreasures): Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain (1984) and Susan Seidlman’s Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) 

April 24th (Wed MovieDiva): William A. Wellman’s Love Is a Racket (1932)

April 26th (RetroFantasma): W.D. Richter’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Mike Marvin’s The Wraith (1986) 

May 1st (Wed MovieDiva): Victor Fleming’s Red Dust (1932)

May 3rd (RetroClassics): Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984) and Brian De Palma’s Sisters (1973)

May 10th-12th (Fri-Sun): Mother’s Day Film Series -- Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club (1993), Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women (1994), Lesli Linka Glatter’s Now and Then (1995), Mike Nichols’ Postcards From the Edge (1990), Emile Ardolino’s Sister Act (1992), George Tillman Jr.’s Soul Food (1997), Herbert Ross’ Steel Magnolias (1989), James Brooks’ Terms of Endearment (1983), Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise (1991), Danny DeVito’s Throw Momma From The Train (1987), and Jeff Kanew’s Troop Beverly Hills (1989).

May 15th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence (1968)

May 17th (RetroTreasures): Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Joe Pytka’s Space Jam (1996)

May 22nd ( Wed MovieDiva): Michael Curtiz’s Female (1933)

May 26th (Sun): Fan Appreciation Day -- FREE showing (and FREE medium popcorn) of Peter Lord & Nick Park’s Chicken Run (2000) and Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998)

May 31st (RetroFantasma): John Irving’s Ghost Story (1981) and Ken Russelll’s Gothic (1986)

June 5th (Wed MovieDiva): Edgar Selwyn’s Skyscraper Souls (1932)

June 7th (RetroNioir): Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) and The Wachowski’s Bound (1996)

June 12th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): David Durston’s I Drink Your Blood (1971)

June 14th (RetroTreasures): John Landis’ Trading Places (1983) and John Landis’ The Blues Brothers (1980) 

June 19th (Wed MovieDiva): Marvyn LeRoy’s Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

June 21st (RetroFantasma): John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (1987) and John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

June 28th-30th (Fri-Sun): ActionFlix Film Series -- Luc Beeon’s The Fifth Element (1991), Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), Guy Hamilton’s Goldfinger (1964), Iain Softley’s Hackers (1995), Mark DiSalle & David Worth’s Kickboxer (1989), John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Bruce Malmuth’s Nighthawks (1981), Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), Andrey Konchalovskiy’s Runaway Train (1985), and Steve Barron’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990).

So many amazing films!!!

Carolina Theatre of Durham 309 W. Morgan St., Durham, NC http://www.carolinatheatre.org/

[lkornalijnslij2]

erroll garner & martha glaser. https://www.instagram.com/p/CLeIUxOg299/?igshid=inmgtt4tic6n

[pittarchives]

“WILL THERE BE ANOTHER YEAR FOR US?”: Martha and Erroll’s First Anniversary

This post was written by Deanna Witkowski, pianist-composer, graduate student in Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and author of Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul (Liturgical Press, August 2021).

Image from folder “Correspondence between Erroll Garner and Martha Glaser,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 3, Folder 2, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Martha Glaser wrote this letter to Erroll Garner on May 14th, 1951, one day shy of their first anniversary of working together as manager and artist. By this point, Glaser had been on the West Coast for ten weeks on behalf of Garner, and likely wrote to him while he was on the road with his trio. Her question, “Will there be another year for us?,” may mark a renewal point in Garner’s contract where he had to decide whether or not to continue having Glaser represent him. Without knowing the history of their initial agreement, it is just as possible that Glaser is asking her question in a half-teasing tone reminiscent of a romantic couple. Throughout the letter, Glaser takes stock of the pair’s accomplishments, states her satisfaction in their work thus far, and details the minutiae of daily work she undertakes on Garner’s behalf.

In their first year together, Garner and Glaser had established goals for the pianist’s career, goals that helped to define some of the work that Glaser undertook on his behalf. She calls Garner “the number one piano talent in the jazz field” and details how she has been working tirelessly to procure bookings, to find artists to record Garner’s compositions, and to manage some of Garner’s touring logistics. She expresses the hope that he will “soon occupy a position commensurate with [his] talent.” Indeed, just five years later, Columbia Records would release Garner’s breakout live performance recording, Concert by the Sea, which would sell over one million copies in its first three years of release. Glaser was instrumental in bringing the tapes of the live recording to Columbia executives and convincing them to release the album. While Garner had been steadily moving away from club appearances to larger concert stages, Columbia had not had the foresight to record any of his live appearances. In his liner notes to the album, Columbia producer George Avakian explains, “The reason for the delay [in a live concert release] is simple. No one ever thought of recording a Garner concert before” (George Avakian, liner notes to Concert by the Sea). We can divide the types of labor outlined by Glaser in this letter into several categories: booking performance dates; advising Garner in regard to his composing, tour routing and finances; and inviting other performers to record Garner’s compositions.

Glaser tells Garner that she is adjusting her managerial style to accommodate him, conducting her work “with a little less ‘mothering.’” Yet she also has to take on the necessary role of prodding Garner: she is waiting for him to send a list of his original compositions, presumably so that she can share them with other artists. Towards the close of the letter she asks Garner, in all caps, “ARE YOU COMPOSING?” She also thanks him for sending a $600 check to fulfill their business agreement (leaving the details vague). In a separate letter dated two months later on June 17, Garner authorizes further payment to Glaser of $900 in back salary, as well as reimbursement for “all of her travel, housing, and publicity expenses since leaving New York City for the West Coast” on March 28. Later on in their relationship, Garner would have more direct authorization of Garner’s financial accounts, but in 1951, she notated each detail of financial business to Garner.

Image from folder “ Correspondence between Erroll Garner and Martha Glaser,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 3, Folder 2, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.

Glaser also takes on the role of financial adviser when mishaps arise on the road. Glaser assures Garner that a cleaning company that ruined his clothes must be insured, asks him to send a receipt, and advises him to not “be a jerk” about the affair. She also suggests that Garner have his side musicians take a train from Portland to avoid overweight charges (probably related to flight charges for a drum kit and an acoustic bass enclosed in a heavy travel case).

It seems surprising that if Glaser was indeed functioning as Garner’s tour manager as well as his business manager that certain details were not under her purview, such as the choice of travel from Portland. Perhaps—as this was still only a year into their professional relationship—Garner had given her control over some aspects of his professional work, but withheld others.  Glaser also asks if Garner is fulfilling his scheduled in person radio and television visits, something that would again be taken care of by a tour manager. Imagining Glaser overseeing all of these details while not traveling with her client gives a sense of the many obligations that both she and Garner had to fulfill on a daily basis.

In many ways, Glaser’s role as artist manager is similar to that of a bandleader: articulating a vision; negotiating different personalities in the service of that vision; and juggling many non-musical details that make stepping onto the stage possible. From this letter, it is apparent that Glaser is working relentlessly for Garner. Going deeper into the archives, it is my hope that we will learn more from Garner regarding his feelings toward Glaser and will understand more fully the uniqueness of this particular decades-long relationship between manager and artist.

Work Cited

George Avakian, liner notes to Erroll Garner, Concert by the Sea (Columbia Records, 1956). CD and LP. Accessed February 9, 2021. https://www.cdandlp.com/en/erroll-garner/concert-by-the-sea/lp/r117444600. Permalink: https://perma.cc/32JV-NXMT 

[scienceblogtumbler]

Fat meals hurt mental focus

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate – not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they’re working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study compared how 51 women performed on a test of their attention after they ate either a meal high in saturated fat or the same meal made with sunflower oil, which is high in unsaturated fat.

Their performance on the test was worse after eating the high-saturated-fat meal than after they ate the meal containing a healthier fat, signaling a link between that fatty food and the brain.

Researchers were also looking at whether a condition called leaky gut, which allows intestinal bacteria to enter the bloodstream, had any effect on concentration. Participants with leakier guts performed worse on the attention assessment no matter which meal they had eaten.

Annelise Madison

The loss of focus after a single meal was eye-opening for the researchers.“Most prior work looking at the causative effect of the diet has looked over a period of time. And this was just one meal – it’s pretty remarkable that we saw a difference,” said Annelise Madison, lead author of the study and a graduate student in in clinical psychology at The Ohio State University.

Madison also noted that the meal made with sunflower oil, while low in saturated fat, still contained a lot of dietary fat.

“Because both meals were high-fat and potentially problematic, the high-saturated-fat meal’s cognitive effect could be even greater if it were compared to a lower-fat meal,” she said.

The study is published today (May 12) in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Madison works in the lab of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State. For this work, Madison conducted a secondary analysis of data from Kiecolt-Glaser’s study assessing whether high-fat meals increased fatigue and inflammation among cancer survivors.

Women in the study completed a baseline assessment of their attention during a morning visit to the lab. The tool, called a continuous performance test, is a measure of sustained attention, concentration and reaction time based on 10 minutes of computer-based activities.

The high-fat meal followed: eggs, biscuits, turkey sausage and gravy containing 60 grams of fat, either a palmitic acid-based oil high in saturated fat or the lower-saturated-fat sunflower oil. Both meals totaled 930 calories and were designed to mimic the contents of various fast-food meals such as a Burger King double whopper with cheese or a McDonald’s Big Mac and medium fries.

Five hours later, the women took the continuous performance test again. Between one and four weeks later, they repeated these steps, eating the opposite meal of what they had eaten on the first visit.

Researchers also analyzed participants’ fasting baseline blood samples to determine whether they contained an inflammatory molecule that signals the presence of endotoxemia – the toxin that escapes from the intestines and enters the bloodstream when the gut barrier is compromised.

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser

After eating the meal high in saturated fat, all of the participating women were, on average, 11 percent less able to detect target stimuli in the attention assessment. Concentration lapses were also apparent in the women with signs of leaky gut: Their response times were more erratic and they were less able to sustain their attention during the 10-minute test.“If the women had high levels of endotoxemia, it also wiped out the between-meal differences. They were performing poorly no matter what type of fat they ate,” Madison said.

Though the study didn’t determine what was going on in the brain, Madison said previous research has suggested that food high in saturated fat can drive up inflammation throughout the body, and possibly the brain. Fatty acids also can cross the blood-brain barrier.

“It could be that fatty acids are interacting with the brain directly. What it does show is the power of gut-related dysregulation,” she said.

The statistical analysis accounted for other potential influences on cognition, including depressive symptoms and the participants’ average dietary saturated fat consumption. The women in the study ate three standardized meals and fasted for 12 hours before each lab visit to reduce diet variations that could affect their physiological response to the high-fat meals.

The findings suggest concentration could be even more impaired in people stressed by the pandemic who are turning to fatty foods for comfort, Kiecolt-Glaser said.

“What we know is that when people are more anxious, a good subset of us will find high-saturated-fat food more enticing than broccoli,” she said. “We know from other research that depression and anxiety can interfere with concentration and attention as well. When we add that on top of the high-fat meal, we could expect the real-world effects to be even larger.”

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Additional co-authors, all from Ohio State, included Martha Belury, Rebecca Andridge, M. Rosie Shrout, Megan Renna, William Malarkey and Michael Bailey.

source https://scienceblog.com/516321/fat-meals-hurt-mental-focus/

[uneasylisteningradio]

Audio & Playlist for September 2, 2019: Invisible Labor

Hey I just did maybe one of my favorite shows ever! All day on Labor Day WPRB had themed programming and while that’s nothing unusual for me, I had a hell of a time doing a different perspective on labor than my usual labor show. This show focuses on the invisible, mostly uncompensated work done mostly by women to take care of other people: domestic and emotional labor. This will play next Wednesday on Valley Free Radio but in the meantime you can listen to it right here! Also thanks to the person who called in and 100% got what I was going for with this show (surprise surprise pretty sure they are a woman), AND the person who said I have a great show even though I’m a commie pinko leftist!

link to audio Playlist: Union - Strike

DJ speaks over Holly Golightly - Grandstand

Gang of Four - It's Her Factory Emmylou Harris - To Daddy The Breeders - No Aloha Peggy Lee - I'm a Woman Poison Girls - Crisis

Big Boys - Work Without Pay Sleater-Kinney - Little Babies The Louvin Brothers - The Angels Rejoiced Last Night Peggy Seeger - The Housewife's Alphabet Au Pairs - Unfinished Business Tompall Glaser - Put Another Log on the Fire

Dead Moon - It's OK Vital Disorders - Prams Go-Go's - Skidmarks on My Heart Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard - Custom Made Woman Blues The Barcelona Pavilion - Tidy Up Tidy Up

Billy Bragg - The Milkman of Human Kindness Crass - Dry Weather Charlie Louvin - Hungry Eyes Laura Lee - Women's Love Rights The Fall - Rowche Rumble Suburban Wives Club - Guru Eye

Kate Bush - Mrs. Bartolozzi Androids of Mu - Bored Housewives Loretta Lynn - One's on the Way The Breeders - Don't Call Home Tacocat - Hey Girl

The Pandoras - You Don't Satisfy Nirvana - About a Girl Brandy Clark - Three Kids No Husband Merle Haggard - Mama Tried

Martha and the Muffins - Women Around the World at Work  

[raggywaltz1954]

If there’s one thing anybody who knows me (or anybody who doesn’t know me but lets me talk to them long enough) is aware of, it’s that I’m a Californian through and through, despite my temporary residence in Alabama.  One thing that Alabama has that California does not is seasons, and after suffering through another bleak winter, the weather is warming and the leaves are coming back on the trees.  In celebration of the turning season, I thought it would be cool to dedicate each post this month to the first full month of spring, April.

The Music

Track:  ‘I’ll Remember April’

Recorded 19 September, 1955 in Carmel, California

Erroll Garner:  Piano

Eddie Calhoun:  Bass

Denzil Best:  Drums

‘I’ll Remember April’ is among my personal favorite jazz standards, and Erroll’s interpretation of it is rather unique.  He lengthens the song’s form by adding another verse at the end where ordinarily the song would go to the bridge, inserting a turn-around and then repeating the first 16 bars of the song, stretching what was originally a 48-bar song to what on paper is a whopping 64-bar song.  The added verse works though, and I’m surprised other musicians haven’t explored this form of ‘April’, at least on record.  Garner’s piano playing had swing built into it; his left hand’s strolling four-to-the-bar chording gave the impression that he had a guitar strumming with the group, and his occasional accents really kicked and jumped the music into some in the pocket grooves.  Another interesting thing about Garner’s performance of  ‘April’ is his convoluted introduction of the tune itself.  He frequently improvised intros to songs that had little resemblance to the song he was about to play, keeping the audience and his sidemen in suspense until the moment he began to play the melody of the tune.  When he does finally begin to play the melody here, the audience erupts into applause.  ‘Red Top’ is a neat little blues outing that finds Garner in a humorous mood, throwing quotes in his solo with abundance.

This live album came about by accident.  Garner’s agent, Martha Glaser, noticed a tape recorder running backstage during the concert.  She tracked down the guy who was taping the concert, and about a year later in 1956, Columbia put out selections from the concert on this LP, to a smashing success.  It’s not a rare album in the slightest, and it’s not a highly sought after record, either. It’s a solid album, though, with swinging and stimulating performances throughout.  As an added bonus, we get to hear Erroll Garner speak, in what the liner notes describe as ‘the most succinct curtain speech’ ever.

The Cover

College Jazz Collector Rating:  B

It’s not a bad cover, to be honest.  You definitely get a sense of being ‘by the sea’, and the use of color in the font is tasteful.  Composition-wise, the photo perfectly uses the Rule of Thirds (photographer jargon for aesthetically pleasing balance), putting the woman off to the bottom and side and using the tree to almost frame the photo.  In fact, the use of leading lines (the album title to the pine tree to the rocks in the background to the rocks in the foreground to the girl) makes for visually engaging cover.  Why just a B rating, then?  I’m glad you asked.

A Tale of Three Covers

In 1956 when the album initially was released, the art department decided to use a white model on the cover, a practice that was common back then.  The consensus among the executives was that a record wouldn’t sell if it had a negro prominently displayed on its cover.  Quick sidenote- according to an established white author and poet who lectured at my university yesterday, this sentiment was alive and well as recently as 2010.

The cover used in 1956 and on all subsequent pressings of the record had the white model in what I’m sure was then-fashionable black pants, a white shirt, and a red jacket.  In case you don’t want to scroll back up, here it is.In 1969, Columbia decided to re-release the album in a ‘electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo’ edition.  Most record collectors know to run for the hills whenever they see a fake stereo album; I have this edition of the album, and I can say that fake stereo albums are best left alone.  More on that later.  The album cover on this edition features an updated photograph of the original cover.  That is, a more boring cover.  The font is a droll white that almost gets lost in the equally droll and gray scenery.  The model is again a white woman, and in a reflection of the times the photo was taken, she is garbed in bell-bottom pants, the red jacket replaced by a different red top, and long flowing hair.  Goodbye quaint 1950’s, hello psychedelic ’70’s.  In 2015, Columbia/Sony released the entire concert, blessing the world with 11 previously unreleased tracks in addition to more stage announcements.  The cover art on the CD and vinyl jackets is subtly historic, if not tongue-in-cheek.   The multi-colored fonts are back, and it sports an updated subtitle that tells us specifically when the proceedings were recorded.  The historic nature of the cover comes when you look at the actual photo.  Sixty years after the album came out, Columbia finally thought it was safe to use a black model on the cover.  Dressed in a red shirt and black pants, hands outstretched, and standing on the rocks (albeit on the opposite side), the 2015 cover is both a tribute to the original and a quiet monument to where we are today.  I say quiet, because nowhere in the extensive new liner notes or anywhere else online for that matter does Columbia/Sony mention this change in models.  The kicker is the black model is wearing her hair au natural.  Amen and amen.

And that folks is the sixty-year tale of three album covers and why I gave it a ‘B’ rating.  By the way, on the back of the CD booklet, the model seems to be holding something in her hand.  Surely there’s no symbolism there… 

The Back

Yet another example of the wrong kind of autograph.  Despite being sixty years old, the white back cover is still pretty bright.

The Vinyl

Columbia 6-eye mono labels on heavy deep groove vinyl.  The matrix numbers end with 1C on side 1 and 1A on side 2.  Normally I don’t really care about this, aside from general amusement at where in the pressing process my record came from, but in this case I admit that I have slight case of ‘1st of the 1st Syndrome’.  Being that this record had sold millions of copies by the end of the 1950’s, it’s kinda neat to know that this particular record was among the very first pressed and released.  To get an idea of how many copies were pressed and mastering tapes used, my 1969 copy of this album on fake stereo has matrix numbers ending in 4B and 4D, signifying that the tape used was the 4 times removed from the original.  It sounds terrible.  The original album was sourced from an amateur bootleg recording, so the sound was already low-quality.  Add electronically simulated stereo, and you can guess what the end result is.  Interestingly, it sounds like the tape speed was sped up, giving the impression that music is being played faster than 33 1/3 RPM.  Here’s the original rip from my record from above, and then the rip from my 1969 copy of the same album, same track.  The difference is night and day.

The Place of Acquisition

Sometimes you find gold in the most unexpected places.  Such was the case with this album.  While working at a summer camp in a small town in the mountains of Arizona, some friends decided to visit the Goodwill Thrift shop down the road.  I went along for the ride, and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they have a decent-sized record section, but everything was 99 cents!  I quickly scooped up this and two other records , one being the famous George Shearing/Nat King Cole record.  Incidentally, the original record’s price tag is on the front cover; it went for 99 cents in 1956, and I bought it for that same price in 2013.  How about that?

Concert By The Sea // Erroll Garner If there's one thing anybody who knows me (or anybody who doesn't know me but lets me talk to them long enough) is aware of, it's that I'm a Californian through and through, despite my temporary residence in Alabama.  

[esquireonyahoo]

不可能的願望清單  25件你此生應該去嘗試的事

Edited by Joseph Chien, Leon Guo　Photographs by Grant Cornett　 Set Design by Angharad Bailey　Translation by Joseph Chien

關於如何實現這些「不可能」之前，有幾句話想要先提醒的：慢慢來，多多詢問你的朋友們，並清楚知道你在追尋的是什麼。你會在以下的報導當中，得到更多的資訊。如果它聽起來像是對於你生活上的建議，也許那是因為入住令人夢寐以求的旅館房間或是觀賞難得一見的戲劇，無論你會從中得到（或沒得到）什麼，都會比你決定做這件事的時間要來得短、來得快，以及能量（和金錢）的快速噴發。這些在平凡生活中更為享受的事物，總會讓你感覺到獲得了一些幫助，好面對接踵而來的未來。在此，讓我們來為君子們提供一些幫助……

1.不可能的腕錶 腕錶的收藏家們，總是會分成兩大陣營──追求美觀的，和重視功能的。Double Red這只功能性腕錶的精髓：它由勞力士（Rolex）所研發製成，提供深海潛水員在那時常面對攸關生死狀況的深海裡使用，同時還設計了特殊的排出氦氣閥門，能夠平衡深度變化之間所造成的壓力增減。它們非常稀少，所以價格很少會跌到40000美元以下。這一只在1977年以436美元售出的Double Red，如今在位於亞特蘭大網際經銷商Crownandcaliber.com的售價，早已是當初的100倍以上了。Double Red經常都會被秒殺，不過對於潛水腕錶的愛好者來說，這種的心理虐待只會更加倍增它的魅力。

—Nick Sullivan

Double Red腕錶 by Rolex；西裝_$52,000、襯衫_$10,600 by Turnbull & Asser。

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2.不可能的威士忌 Part 1

日本威士忌 余市12年 近來，日本威士忌早已變得炙手可熱，以至於幾個年份的余市都已從世界各地的貨架上被掃光了。余市12年的那極其微妙，又無懈可擊的泥煤味，是它深受喜愛的重要原因。盡快地品嚐它吧，因為你下次要再來個一瓶，肯定又是下一個12年之後了。

布萊迪黑色藝術第5版 限量只有3200瓶而已。一個總是勇於大膽嘗試的蘇格蘭威士忌酒廠，展現出如何在單一純麥威士忌之中做出創新實驗，將它創造出獨特的品飲風味。

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3.不可能的airbnb 2017年底前獲得訂位的可能性：0 ％ 平均預訂所需天數：辦理入住日前457天 最後確認訂位天數：7天前 最終一分鐘訂位：198天前 （編註：根據2016年11月至2018年3月的Airbnb系統記錄）

• • •15年前，這裡只是個擁有一大片紅樹林聚落的典型沼澤島。2001年，歷經一場超級颶風的摧殘，逐漸破壞了紅樹林，形成一個沙洲。相距大約6英哩外海的一個環礁，內部的生物也慢慢地死亡，因而形成了陸地，只留下了幾棵有著高大樹冠的樹木。

我從事飛蠅釣魚運動已經20多年了，所以我每次到「鳥島（Bird Island）」都喜歡來這裡釣魚。我認為這裡是非常適合飛蠅釣魚的一個營地，因為你可以四處走動，找到符合准釣許可的魚兒，這裡是鄰近地區第二好的釣魚好去處。

所以，這是最初我對於這裡規劃的想法。但是幾年前，當我把它放到Airbnb上面去之後，它就開始轉型了，來的都不是我想像中的釣魚客。

今天，你很少有機會把自己從這個世界裡抽離出來，不論是心理上或生理上的逃離。你也許可以躲進樹林裡，但是裡頭還是有條舖設好的道路，那比較像是在旅行。在鳥島上，這裡是多麼地安靜。你遠離大陸，也遠離人群，有6英哩之遠。這是一種你與土地強烈融合在一起的深刻經驗。我想，會發生在這裡的一切，就是一種感覺，一個男孩和一片海洋之間的關係。它就圍繞在你的身邊，而且它很淺、很原始、很美麗，毫無任何危險或威脅，但是它絕對是會引發出你的自我內省的。男孩啊，我們怎樣都是要倚靠自己的。

─鳥島主人，Fred Arbona

不可能的旅館住房 牙買加Pantrepant農莊 如果你入住牙買加最為時尚奢華的GoldenEye渡假飯店，基本上才有可能會被升等到這間農莊裡的客房。

美國威斯康辛州 Candlewood渡假小屋 當你覺得需要一個完全獨立的，四面皆用落地玻璃構築起來的綠洲小屋時，你至少得要在一年之前預訂下它。

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4.不可能的酒吧 • • • 幾年前，當我們驚訝地穿過沒有標示的門，走進去想要點一杯飲料的時候，我那聰明的朋友立刻說到：「這不是個好聊天的地方；他們有酒牌。」當然，她是對的，但是這並沒有阻止那些毫無創意的酒吧老闆們，繼續消費著這個世界。這些日子以來，最有趣、最獨特的酒吧都不是躲在電話亭後面的。最好的酒吧，都是因為那些額外的設施而有名─像是由主廚和合夥人共同打造的，讓人彷如坐在珠寶皇冠之下暢飲的特殊體驗。而其中的翹楚，應該就是在西雅圖的Office了，在Aviary大樓地下室、擁有21個座位的黑暗房間裡，能夠讓你享受到Grant Achatz調製的實驗性雞尾酒。多年來，Office一直是採用邀請制經營，唯有透過員工的推薦才能讓你走進那扇門。而它絕對是讓你感到值得的：個人化的服務，超棒的氣氛，和一次令人印象深刻的暢飲體驗。2015年，當Achatz的合夥人開設了一個名為Tock，提供餐廳代訂服務的新創公司，因而第一次Office得要挪出一定數量的空位。但是你別以為它們很容易取得，週五和週六的晚上總是需要預訂，而一旦開放訂位，幾乎每個晚上都會在一個月前就售罄。一定要跟Achatz提到你喜愛Chartreuse葡萄酒，因為樓下的酒窖裡，有著全美國最好的收藏品。

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5.不可能的鞋子 當George Cleverley成為了倫敦最知名製鞋匠的那段時期，沒有人有著如英國首相邱吉爾爵士一般的前瞻思考。當時，首相就要求訂製一雙可以讓腳掌輕鬆地滑進鞋子裡穿脫，而外觀仍然看起來相當正式的「懶人鞋」。因此，Cleverley便設計出了一雙有著鋒利鞋尖，側面巧妙地隱藏著可鬆緊調整的皮革面和長效繫帶。如今，「Churchills」已成為眾所皆知的鞋款樣式，一雙全手工訂製的皮鞋要價3600美元（約新台幣115000元），不過在Mr. Porter你也可以找到1600美元（約新台幣50600元）的類似鞋款。

西裝褲_$52,000 by Z Zegna；鞋_$50,600 by George Cleverley；襪子_$930 by Pantherella。

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6.不可能的葡萄酒 （其實也沒那麼珍貴的…） 我們問到了在紐約Agern執業的魔鬼侍酒師Chad Walsh， 關於那些已經一去不復返的美酒們。

Ultramarine 2011 Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Blanc de Blancs 「Michael Cruse是北加州葡萄酒產區的知名金童，Ultramarine則是他的第一個品牌。他2010年的Blanc de Blancs頗為令人陶醉，在眾多釀酒師之間私下的評價算是第二好的一支。2011年的這一支更棒，但是數量極少。」

Sandlands 2012 Amador County Chenin Blanc 「像Cruse一樣，Teagan Passalacqua是在加州另一個很酷的傢伙，不但是Turley相當資深的葡萄園管理者，現在也是一位釀酒師。Sandlands是他自己的品牌，這支白葡萄酒稍微偏酸、很有層次，而且很快就賣光了。我知道少數還擁有它的人，都把它當作Grand Cru（編註：一種法國葡萄酒的分級等級）一般地珍藏著。」

Bollinger 2009 Coteaux Champenois La Cote Aux Enfants 「它是來自於法國Aÿ的一個村莊，單一黑皮諾品種葡萄釀造的酒款。由於當地地勢陡峭，根據傳統都是由小孩子們來摘選葡萄來製造，再以Bollinger的玫瑰來添加顏色。2009年的這支美酒，像勃艮第一樣地美麗，卻能從鼻子一路地讓你舒服微醺到大腦。雖然他們最近年份的數量上增加了不少，但是我還是很樂意以更昂貴的葡萄酒來交換一瓶2009年的。」

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7.不可能的海鮮 從蘇格蘭海岸附近的法羅群島，捕撈上船的野生甲殼類動物，是在餐盤上相當罕見的海之珍寶。隨著時間的不停流逝，這些脆弱的美食一撈捕上船，就必須在48小時之內送到廚師們的手中。一旦超過時限腐壞之後，就無法烹煮上桌了。而惡劣的天氣和海洋條件，大大地考驗著這些漁夫們的技術，和命運。

超大蘇格蘭海螯蝦長得像小龍蝦一樣，但是口感更為細緻。牠的味道非常地鮮甜濃郁，你只要煮個60至90秒，或是快速地燒烤一下，就可以在牠還非常鮮嫩的時候享用。或許你曾經在Milos、Per Se或是Brooklyn Fare的菜單上看過牠。牠們都是來自於同一個地方──北美地區唯一一家能夠將牠活跳跳地直接進口的公司，Solex Fine Foods。

襯衫_$2,700 by & Other Stories，頸環_$12,000 和項鍊_$7,900 by Eddie Borgo，耳環_$7,300 by Agmes，T Two戒指_$50,700 和T Wire戒指_$23,800 by Tiffany & Co.。

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8.不可能的球季門票 職業美式足球隊綠灣包裝工人隊在Lambeau球場的門票，從1960年代起就早已售罄。時至今日，等待的候補名單已是長達128000人之多。威斯康辛州的死忠球迷們，都會在孩子出生的當天，就把他的姓名放入名單之中，因此每年都會增加五千至六千個名額，而一年之內都只有約莫125張的門票會被釋出。現在把你家小孩的名字報上去，大概也要等著一千年才有機會取得門票。

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9.不可能的啤酒體驗 • • • 「沒有一瓶完美的啤酒的。」釀酒商Ron Jeffries一邊跟我說著，一邊敲開一個木桶的封口，裝滿一杯，並把它遞給了我。但是我想，這應該已經很接近了。我來到了Jolly Pumpkin位於密歇根州德克斯特的啤酒廠，即使Jeffries的頂級啤酒在大多數的酒吧裡不太常見，但是在這個有如一艘船之船身的酒桶儲存房裡，彷彿潛伏著許多少見的生物：測試最初成品，再經過多次試驗，再經過調和，就產生了一匹頗具贏家潛力的野獸。我想，我是幸運的，能夠看著我胡亂調配的樣品傾瀉入杯，在玻璃杯中發出光芒。Jeffries倒是有著不同的看法：「沒有完美的啤酒的，唯有在那最佳時刻，才能擁有那最棒的啤酒。」

如果確實有一種完美的啤酒，我已經盡我所能地四處尋找它了。在緬因州波特蘭的一個工業園區裡，我試飲了在樹林裡頭製成的，Allagash天然發酵的Coolship啤酒。在新比利時Fat Tire巨大酒桶的陰影下，我從一個自製水罐裡啜飲了一種具實驗意味，酸濃口感的Le Terroir啤酒。在聖路易斯的工廠裡，我試飲了百威啤酒廠所研發的一種實驗版啤酒。在索諾瑪縣農村，一個用紅木林蓋成的小屋裡，我飲下了用我頭上的木材所釀造而成，名為Moonlight的另類啤酒。是的，我都能夠回想起它們的口感──塵土飛揚的Coolship，彷如電擊的Le Terroir。但更重要的是，我記得那個當下。我們相信，有時偉大的食物和飲料都會超越了當初對他們的設想─想想電影《尋找新方向（Sideways）》裡的場景，當Miles偷偷地把他珍藏的'61 Cheval Blanc葡萄酒，從一個保麗龍杯裡倒進了Burger Joint的漢堡裡─但我想反而是對的。以曾經獲獎的啤酒來說，Russian River的IPA Pliny the Younger是展示架上最接近的一支，我曾經喝過它。我與一群嘰嘰呱呱的啤酒書呆子們，面對面地在一個會議廳裡排隊等候著，而我豪飲了兩盎司的啤酒。它嚐起來是不錯，但是我喜歡它嗎？在啤酒祭的場合裡，我真正想要的是一瓶冰涼的PBR，和片刻的平靜。啤酒可以解決很多的問題，但是它無法在一瞬間就盡現魔法。所以，就去尋找吧，你這飢渴的阿拉伯人。去追逐你夢想中的啤酒，只要記得抓到時要小心對待，至少要使用正確的玻璃器皿。

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10.不可能的絕世名車

1969 雪佛蘭 CORVETTE Stingray L88 由通用汽車專為賽道競速所開發的這輛雪佛蘭Corvette，當年正是著名的「壞胚子」Corvette一手所打造而成的。在Sebring和Le Mans兩大耐久賽的強大馬力展現之後，L88不再顯得神祕──對於收藏家而言，它是彷如聖物一般的經典賽車。雪佛蘭總共只製造了116輛的1969年車式。

1974 保時捷 911 Carrera RS 3.0 這輛美車的市售街道版，共製造了不到60輛而已。賽道版本的車式，在大西洋兩岸的每一項重要賽事裡都是橫掃千軍，可說是911系列車輛的一大高峰。而想要買回這一段歷史，至少得要花費你100萬美元，甚至更多。

11.不可能的藝術鑑賞 詹姆士特雷爾（James Turrell）在羅登火山口（Roden Crater）的藝術創作，簡直就跟查理考夫曼（Charlie Kaufman）的電影一般地傳奇：瘋狂創作的藝術家買下了一座死火山口，夢想著花費將近半生的時間與精力，冀望將它打造成為人生中最極致的代表作。他一直在創作些什麼呢？在亞利桑那東北方約莫一小時車程遠的弗拉格斯塔夫（Flagstaff），一個能夠讓觀賞者完全沈浸其中的冥想。要進入其中，你必須先爬下樓梯，然後躺在地上、抬頭仰望，特雷爾把火山口的邊緣雕刻成了一個拱形的天空，每一吋的刻劃都彷彿與天堂能夠相互呼應，而且它也很難進去。在短暫的時間裡，鑑賞者都可以觀��到他的創作進度，而門票是6500美元。相信當他完成創作、正式對外開放時（先期資助者將可獲得優先觀賞的資格），勢必將會引起一陣熱潮。所以，現在先投資個100塊美元，就能增加你早日取得門票的機率。

羅登火山口實在是非常獨特，因此我們目前只能夠取得它的外部影像。

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12.不可能的餐桌

Narisawa，日本 東京 自從這間高尚的、撼動心靈的偉大餐廳，出現在最新的全球50大美食餐廳名單裡，並且是亞洲地區排名最高者之後，想要取得訂位就變得更是難上加難了。你可以透過網站在兩個月前預訂，但是如同許多日本餐廳的狀況一般，你最好冀望即將入住的高級飯店，有這一項特別的禮賓服務：代客訂位。

Fäviken，瑞典 Järpen 要抵達那裡，才是最困難的部份。先飛到斯德哥爾摩，得要再跳上另一架私人飛機，然後開車進入一片荒原。這間由廚師Magnus Nilsson所主掌的餐廳裡，擁有來自世界各地的產品和器材，被譽為世界上最孤立的精緻餐廳。別忘了，訂席的同時，也要預訂樓上五間鄉村風格套房的其中一間。

Bohemian，美國 紐約 不像是許多位置隱密的餐飲俱樂部，這間餐廳就位在一間肉店的後面，如此選址的原因只有一個：最是新鮮的食材。所以，挑選一位和你喜好口味相仿的朋友，直接訂位，坐進一個如同公寓般的小空間，先點一份日式牛肉片，千萬別錯過了美味的刺身搭配炸肉丸。

旅遊玩家的專業小秘訣： 一張給主廚的親筆手寫紙條

享受假期的空檔時間，前往你無法成功定位的餐廳。詢問一下是否還有候補的可能，沒有？那就留下一張紙條吧。用誠懇的語氣，表達出若是有人臨時取消訂位，你將有多麼地高興能夠有機會在此享受豐富的一餐。這張手寫紙條所傳達出的魅力，有可能讓你直接跳上候補名單的第一位。

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13.不可能的航空公司會員資格 航空公司的終身會員資格，對於商務旅行來說是相當具有價值的，這也就是為什麼航空公司讓它如此難以獲得的原因。在美國，你必須在每年5萬英哩累積里程的狀況下，連續維持20年，白金等級的航程機票。而你會得到什麼呢？黃金終身會員資格，比白金等級的還要低一級…。Delta航空甚至不提供終身會員資格。所以，我們的建議是什麼？如果你還很年輕，就馬上開始在聯合航空（United Airline）加入會員吧。累積到400萬英哩時，你就有資格獲得頂級的全球服務，優惠方案多到航空公司自己都不太願意公開這些服務項目。換個方式來告訴你，它就只需要平均每年20個跨國航線的搭乘里程，飛個40年，你就功德圓滿了。

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14.不可能的蜜月 • • • 當我發現在這裡沒有任何一個紅綠燈時，我就已經決定要來不丹這個國家度蜜月了。在曼哈頓居住了8年，讓我和我丈夫都變成了好似伍迪艾倫一般的性格。不論這個城市讓我們心碎了多少次，不丹這個世界上僅存的最後一個佛教王國，坐落在距離最近一間SoulCycle健身房有8000英哩遠的喜瑪拉雅山脈中，對我們而言都有種療癒的效果。

不丹有時被稱為「最後一個香格里拉」，部分緣由可能是因為它阻隔大量遊客進入的障礙。這個國家每週造訪的遊客人數，差不多和百老匯音樂劇《澤西男孩（Jersey Boys）》的演員們一樣多。想要獲得該國的簽證，必須要有不丹人民的贊助和鉅額的財務擔保（最低限度是每人每天200美元；如果你打算過得奢華一些，一對夫婦的10日旅行至少就得要噴個25000美元）並非難事。接著，想要抵達這個國家，一些從加德滿都和德里等城市出發的航班都所費不貲。前往不丹首府Paro機場的這段航程，真是一段讓人浸潤於焦慮治療的感受，因為飛機穿梭於世界上最高的山峰之間，然後降落在一個滿是鬱蔥綠意的山谷之中，彷如忘記時間一般的難忘氣氛。

這就是人逐漸開始放鬆的時候了。首先，我們來到Como的Uma Paro度假村，仰躺在高級的床單上，凝望著稀薄的微風山嵐。我們在孤獨的寺廟和修道院之間遛達著，撥動著禱告的轉輪，欣賞祭壇前的裝飾壁畫和金黃神象雕像。 這個國家真正的寶藏，其實是人民，他們散發出一種精神上的安寧，在這裡不是根據GDP來衡量進步與否，而是重視「國民幸福總值（Gross National Happiness）」。兩週以來所感受到的那些沈穩、寧靜的氛圍，讓我感覺到達了一個可能永遠無法再尋得的地方，即使是吃下了所有必需的藥物。

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15.不可能的問題：

你有辦法待在梵蒂岡嗎？ 少有凡人有機會可以留宿在教宗所居住的住所/飯店 Domus Sanctae Marthae。這裡也是美國參議員伯尼桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）來到羅馬的商務行程當中，被他的「聽眾」給埋伏突襲的地方。但是前來梵蒂岡參加會議的學者們（像是Jeffrey Sachs這類的人）有時候也會入住於此，所以也許你只需要一個學術學位，一張邀請函和一點點的運氣或詭計，就有機會撞見教宗或某位大人物。

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16.不可能的威士忌 Part 2

St. George 單一純麥Baller 大約裝填出貨了3000瓶。源自於阿拉米達島的一間蒸餾廠，這款日式風格威士忌，最初是奧克蘭的拉麵店所生產。目前剩餘的零星存貨，大多分散在加州的一些酒吧和餐館裡頭，酒莊的貨架上早已被一掃而空了。

指南針盒（Compass Box The General） 裝瓶量是1698瓶。雖然蘇格蘭的酒類法令，禁止天才調配師John Glaser對大眾透露任何細節，但是至少知道其中一支是33年的威士忌。其餘的幾支酒肯定也是很優質的，因為它一上市就幾乎立即從貨架上消失了。有時候…酒類的拍賣網站上，還有機會出現一些未開封的搶手酒品。

鞋_$21,500 by Paul Andrew；絲襪 by Wolfond。

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17.不可能搭乘的航班 • • • 2016年，Tesla特斯拉汽車正式地進軍台灣市場了，而你可曾知道，特斯拉汽車那出生於���非的帥氣大老闆伊隆馬斯克（Elon Musk），還開創了一家名為SpaceX的��空探索科技公司嗎？這間公司成立的宗旨，就是為���成為美國的，也是全世界的第一間「太空載人運輸公司」。沒辦法，因為美國國家航空暨太空總署（NASA）已經沒什麼預算了，所以他們打算把載人的航太服務也給外包了。 2016年底，馬斯克興奮地向大眾公佈了許多人期待已久的新計劃：「行星間運輸系統」。它將會運用的「天龍號太空艙（SpaceX Dragon）」，內裝不僅不如想像中的狹小不適，反而宛如現代噴射客機或豪華遊艇一般，用碳纖維材質打造，包裹以Alcantara人造麂皮的座椅，搭配3個大螢幕可以監看飛行相關數據，在發生緊急情況時，還能手動駕駛控制方向。採用可回收機體的情況下，每人每次太空旅行的費用為20萬美元（折合約新台幣630萬），只是…這張預計飛往火星的太空機票，不知道何年何月才能正式啟航？

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18.不可能的腕錶：One and Only • • • 在高級腕錶業界，有一項創立於2005年、兩年一度的慈善拍賣會，是由摩納哥親王亞伯特二世所發起號召，為裘馨氏肌肉萎縮症研究基金會募款的活動，就是國際著名的「Only Watch」慈善拍賣。這項活動倍受矚目的原因，除了因為全球錶壇的眾多品牌，都會提供出全球唯一一只、獨一無二的專屬錶款進行拍賣，此外由於「錶中之王」百達翡麗（Patek Philippe）的共襄盛舉，讓此一活動消息的能見度大為提昇，無形中也成為了各大品牌暗中較勁的行銷戰場。

不過，有王在此，其他品牌們自然不易搶走它的光采。2015年的第6屆活動中，總共有44個腕錶品牌的參與，而百達翡麗所推出的作品，更是被譽為「天堂級夢幻逸品」。為了這次拍賣，品牌特別將原先已正式停產的「三問陀飛輪萬年曆」大複雜功能腕錶重新製造，並且使用了極為罕見的精鋼錶殼、藍色琺瑯錶盤的設定。這款延伸自著名大複雜錶款Ref. 5016，編號為Ref.5016A-010的拍賣限定錶款，於1993年首次推出，至2011年品牌便已宣佈停產，結合三問報時、陀飛輪與逆跳日曆顯示月相萬年曆等三大複雜功能的此一錶款，估計僅生產了200多只，每只售價多是超過新台幣3000萬以上的價位。

最後，在拍賣會上經過約9分鐘的激烈競標之後，最後以730萬瑞士法郎（折合約新台幣2.38億）的天價成交，相較於全場44項拍品共獲得1120萬瑞士法郎的成果，這樣1打43依然大獲全勝的王之霸氣，不得不令人引頸期盼著，2017年的第七屆慈善拍賣之中，是否又會創下什麼樣的天價紀錄。

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19.不可能的素肉漢堡 美國加州的一家Impossible Food食物實驗室，於2016年正式發表了一個花費8000萬美金（折合約新台幣25.2億元）、5年時間所研發而成的素食肉漢堡。實驗室中的生物化學專家表示，漢堡中所使用的「肉餅」，完全只採用植物材料製造，但氣味卻像是牛肉，並會滲出血水，關鍵就在於「血紅素」。存在於動物肌肉裡的血紅素，其實也能夠從一些豆類植物之中取得，它不僅能產生動物肉類的氣味，更有血一般的顏色，可謂是「全球食物鏈中的重大轉變」。

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20.不可能的照片 愛德華史泰欽（Edward Steichen），一位知名的美國攝影師，曾經想要成為一位畫家，之後16歲受到畫意攝影主義的影響，便開始了他的攝影人生。2006年2月，在史泰欽已逝世30餘年之後，他的作品《池畔月色》（1904年，非第一張沖洗版本），在紐約的拍賣場上，以美金290萬元售出，是攝影史上作品拍賣的最高價品項。它的難得之處，除了僅有沖洗三份，其中兩份已被博物館收藏之外，另一方面是因為是他採用特殊的天然彩色相片技術，呈現出淺色光暈的月光，以及湖中倒影，而彩色攝影技術實是在1907年才正式發明，更顯其稀有性。 P.S.：因為這張照片，實在是貴到敝雜誌社即使押下全數資本額，恐怕都無法買下它，所以還是請您親自上Google首頁，使用下列關鍵字查詢：「The Pond Moonlight Edward Steichen」。

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21.不可能的餐桌：台灣篇 基本上，當各位君子現在看到這篇報導的同時，你才想要拿起電話訂位的話，抱歉了，不是明日請早，是今年6月請早，因為根據2016年底有幸前往這間餐廳用膳的朋友告知，2017年全年度的訂位，已全數售罄！在台灣，是哪家餐廳能夠有如此大的魅力，可以擁有如此暴量的訂席盛況？就是這一間了：「屋頂上的貓」。

這間在台北社交圈頗富盛名的私廚餐廳，原本就是在自家公寓裡經營，一天只接待午、晚餐各一組，每組六至八人的餐飲服務。由於用餐空間氣氛舒適，半開放式的私廚服務，再加上美味的精緻餐飲，立刻引發大量的訂位熱潮。為了服務更多美食饕客每一張挑剔的嘴，餐廳主人R老闆因而決定將原先位於公寓頂樓加蓋的用餐空間，搬遷到國父紀念館旁的逸仙路上，一圓桌、一長桌的設置，總共可以服務18至22人不等的兩組客人。

R老闆表示，開設這間私廚的理念其實很簡單，就是「來我家吃飯」的概念。是朋友、好朋友、老朋友，一般人都會願意邀請來到家中作客用餐，更有一些新朋友，會來作客一次之後，就變成朋友，甚至是好朋友了。口碑行銷的力量，由此可見到最佳的例證。別再錯過了，每年的6月1日早上10點，R老闆都會在電話的那一頭，等待著老朋友、好朋友們在下一個年度的相約再聚。

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22.不可能的腕錶：Lost Forever • • • 人類史上的一些大事，眾人都只記得那位「第一名」，而總是遺忘了在偉大計劃裡，同樣貢獻不少心力的「第二名」，例如說：小愛德溫尤金艾德林（Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.）。沒聽過？那你知道巴茲艾德林（Buzz Aldrin）是誰嗎？還是沒概念？那麼尼爾阿姆斯壯（Neil Alden Armstrong），應該就會有點喚起你的記憶了吧。人類第一次載人登月任務「阿波羅11號」裡，第一個踏上月球的人，就是這位家喻戶曉的阿姆斯壯。而第二位踏上月球表面的呢？就是這位「巴茲」了。不過特別的是，巴茲在鐘錶歷史上，竟也留下了一席之地，那是因為一宗發生在他身上的未破懸案，和一只由歐米茄所打造的超霸登月錶。

為了讓在無重力狀態下執行任務的太空人們，依然能夠精確地讀取時間，好掌握必須幾乎分秒不差的龐大登月計劃，當時的美國航空暨太空總署NASA，找上了鐘錶品牌歐米茄，共同合作開發了專屬於登月任務使用的腕錶，便是後來享譽錶壇的Speedmasters超霸登月錶。巧合的是，當時太空人們從環繞月球軌道的指揮艇，轉移到登月小艇時，阿姆斯壯忘了佩戴他的腕錶，因而就讓巴茲手上的那只超霸登月錶，成為了人類史上第一只登上月球的腕錶。詭異的是，當3位太空人返回地球表面，搭著敞蓬車前往美國國立博物館的路上，巴茲手上的這只登月錶卻搞丟了（或是被偷了），讓這只極具時代紀念意義的高級腕錶，從此成為了鐘錶史上的一宗懸案。不過，若你真的找到了這只腕錶，也別太高興，因為你也無法把它送去鐘錶拍賣公司，冀望獲得一筆意外之財，因為這只腕錶至今仍然被認定是屬於美國NASA所有的國有財產，你頂多只可以領到一筆數額不定的感謝獎金而已。

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23.不可能的安迪沃荷 提起20世紀影響全球甚鉅的藝術家，若要說安迪沃荷（Andy Warhol）是第二，實在想不到還有誰能夠排得上第一。這位多才多藝的藝術天才，是藝術家，是印刷家，是電影攝影師，也是作家。講到探討通俗文化與藝術之間關連的普普藝術（Pop Art）運動，他也是貢獻良多。因此，他身後所留下的作品，每每出現在國際知名拍賣場上，必會引起一陣轟動。2013年底，在紐約蘇富比舉辦的當代藝術拍賣會上，安迪沃荷的《銀色車禍（Silver Car Crash）》在國際眾多藏家的競標之下，最終以1億5百萬美元（折合約新台幣33億2千萬元）的天價，打破之前7172萬美金的成交價，創下他個人作品的最高拍賣紀錄。不像是他以濃湯罐頭、瑪麗蓮夢露、自畫像等題材來創作的知名作品，《銀色車禍》是他在1963年較為晦暗調性的「死亡」和「災禍」系列之代表作，是4幅描繪車禍題材的雙鑲板畫作之一，由於其餘三幅都已被博物館收藏，因此這是唯一一件屬於私人收藏的作品。

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24.不可能的白色聖誕 2016年的1月24日，台北市下雪了。這應該是許多君子們，打從出生以來，第一次在台灣非山區的地方，見到片片的雪花。不過，這還不夠「不可能」（看在這幾年氣候愈來愈異常的情況下……）。根據英國《每日郵報（Daily Mail）》報導，2016年12月20日，在國際著名的撒哈拉沙漠，竟飄下了一整日的雪。一位名為Karim Bouchetata的業餘攝影師，當時在阿爾及利亞境內，海拔高度約1000m的Ain Sefra小鎮，用相機拍攝下了十分罕見的沙漠雪景。人在現場的Karim說道：「每個人看到沙漠裡竟然飄下雪來，幾乎都傻呆了。而我覺得雪片參差地撒落在紅沙土上，也是美呆了。」根據當地的氣象紀錄，撒哈拉沙漠上一次出現降雪現象，已是1979年的2月，且當時降雪僅維持了約莫1小時。

25.不可能（a.k.a.夢寐以求）的女孩 • • • 這幾年，Gigi Hadid有多夯？應該很難再去贅述。2015年Victoria's Secret大秀應是她超模之路的崛起時刻，當時還有點肉肉的她（和那些通常骨瘦如柴的model相比）起初還被網友攻擊不夠格擔任走秀「天使」，但Gigi高EQ的回應深獲大眾好評。爾後她登上各大雜誌封面、玩攝影、搞聯名設計，年僅21歲的她已擁有900萬美金的超高年收入實力，憑藉社群媒體竄起的她無疑重新定義了21世紀模特兒的新樣貌和重塑現代文化中的名模形象。名花有主的她男友便是前One Direction成員Zayn Malik，雖說近期傳出Zayn求婚被Gigi打槍的消息，但隨即Gigi又被拍到指上婚戒，看著他們倆成天在IG上放閃，突然宣告結婚也不意外，真可謂是我們最「不可能」得到的夢幻女孩。