Entourage

This week's New Yorker cover from Barry Blitt.

Royal Wedding Kitsch

There will always be an England.

Makonikey Spring

Chilly and grey, but summer promises ahead.

 

Got Drugs?

A rash of home break ins in the historic whaling town of Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard have been committed for the sole purpose of stealing prescription painkillers.  Since first reported, four more houses have been burgled for pills, bringing the total to 16.

"Edgartown Police said seven break-ins, five within the last week, had one characteristic in common. The thief or thieves were looking for only pills.

"Edgartown Police detective Chris Dolby said police are investigating housebreaks all over town. In all but one case, the thieves gained entry by smashing a window or a door during the day, when homeowners were away or at work.

" 'The perpetrators are looking for pills,' Detective Dolby said. 'They are going into these homes. They are going right to the medicine cabinets and kitchen cabinets for pills. No valuables have been taken to date.'

"Detective Dolby called the thieves 'brazen.' "

One of the homeowners wrote this letter to the editor of The Martha's Vineyard Times, offering the thieves a way to get their own prescription painkillers.

To the Editor:

This March, in Edgartown, a half-dozen houses were broken into. While my wife and I were in Costa Rica on vacation, mine was one of them.

The burglar used an axe from my garage to smash my front door ($1,000 deductible . . . oy vey).

They entered, looking for script drugs, but found none.  I have to ask, how did you know of my recent back surgery?

Anyway, I recently received 30 Demerol, great street-value, and placed them in the medicine cabinet on the first floor. No need to break in since we leave the house unlocked. My wife and I work 8–4, Monday through Friday.

Oh, by the way, when we were away so was our pet. He was up at my daughter's house, but he's home now. He's a 125-lb., alpha-male Akita that hates strangers. Just a warning: he's trained to bark once then go for the gonads.

Best of luck.

Dave Alton, Edgartown

Vinyl Vidi Vici?

Today is the fourth annual Record Store Day where the few remaining record stores around the world promote and sell vinyl long-playing (LP) records, as well as an assortment of 7 and 10-inch records.  Bands like Television, the dbs, Big Star, the Dead and many others are releasing remastered albums.  Even Lady Gaga's getting into the vinyl act.

Compared to today's music mode of bits, clicks and downloads, there was something tangible, social and hopeful about record buying.  The trip to the record store with friends, jockeying in cramped aisles to flip through the album stacks, reading the covers, talking with the owner . . . and not really knowing what you'd end up hearing at home beyond the few singles that got all the air play.

I remember buying Beatles, Stones, Doors, Who and Airplane LPs at Kleins of Westport as a boy in the 60s.  Years later there was more rock and punk album buying at Bleecker Bob's on West 3rd Street and Rocks in Your Head on Prince Street.  Then came CDs and megastores like Tower Records and Virgin, which eventually closed too when we all went online with amazon and iTunes.

This year's Record Store Day ambassador is Ozzie Osbourne.


OZZY RSD Ambassador from Record Store Day on Vimeo.

Remember the long-haired, cool t-shirt-wearing record store owners who knew everything?  They're fewer in number but still there.

Sidney Lumet, RIP

I've always been fascinated by obituaries.  And The New York Times does them best, including The Last Word video features.

This one with the late director Sidney Lumet is particularly good because of its honesty and New York ethos.  When asked how he wanted to be remembered his answer was simple and direct.

"Who gives a shit."

Very in keeping with the director who brought Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay for Network to the screen with Peter Finch's memorable "I'm as mad as hell" rant.

Sleep

Another wonder from Eric Whitacre.

Sleep - 2051 voices from 60 countries comprise Virtual Choir 2.0.  Sublime.

From the Los Angeles Times:

"The point of the Virtual Choir is to bring people together, but for some, watching nearly 200 people sitting alone in their homes singing in the first Virtual choir video seemed to accentuate the loneliness of modern life.

" 'I find this kind of bittersweet beauty in that message,' Whitacre said. "When I first saw it, the first thought that popped into my head was message in a bottle. It was almost like these marooned souls on islands all over the world sending out messages in a bottle hoping to connect with someone that understood them. Everything we do is trying to overcome this abyss of loneliness.' "

The Brothers Grimm meet The Chemical Brothers

Home schooling, CIA style.  Hold on to your seat.

Nothing . . .

Sad Stuff on the Street from Nic Ratner . . .

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose