Thoughts Day by Day

On Sunday I saw 'Aladdin' - the new Disney musical at the beautifully restored New Amsterdam Theatre.  I enjoyed it. Wonderful romantic music, gorgeously extravagant costumes, beautiful sets and lighting and magical special effects.  I enjoyed the very talented cast.  Newcomer Adam Jacobs was a handsome, energetic and comical Aladdin with a beautiful tenor voice, Tony winner James Monroe Engelhart was an hysterically funny showstopping Genie. His big song and dance number 'Friend Like Me' was unforgettable.  And Jonathan Freeman was a perfectly villainous Jafar.  Two days later the catchy song 'Prince Ali' still sings inside my head.  The magic carpet ride was a wondrous special effect.  My only complaint is that the book  of this musical could have been written with a little more sophistication with a focus on the romance, instead of so cartoon-like with a focus on the Keystone Kop chase scenes. Disney on Broadway altered 'Mary Poppi...

I know I am going to be accused of being racist for this blog post. But here it goes. I just read an article in Yahoo News that stated Blacks are vastly under-represented in Silicon Valley jobs.  Less than 2% in fact. Are companies in Silicon Valley intentionally refusing to hire Blacks? I doubt that is the case.  Are American schools denying math and science courses to Black children?  I doubt this also.  Is race a factor in one's ability to learn math and science?  Doubtful.  And certainly Asians and Hispanics are not under-represented in Silicon Valley jobs. So what is the cause of this disparity in hiring practices?  Where are the qualified Blacks? This made me think for a moment about the frustrations of Blacks in America with regard to treatment by the police - which some say is racially biased.  I am not convinced.  But it is true that the high crime neighborhoods in America, where a higher police presence is needed and where m...

New Year's Eve is just 2 days away.  Time to reminisce about a truly terrible year; 2014.  Were there any good news stories this past year?  I'm sure there were some but they were mostly overshadowed by the following: We lost many great entertainers that I will miss.  The funny Joan Rivers and Robin Williams. Fine actors James Garner, Ruby Dee, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Lauren Bacall.  As a teenager I saw Ruby Dee perform Kate in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".  It was unforgettable.  Directors Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park) and Sir Richard Attenborough (The Sand Pebbles, Gandhi) gave us memorably classic plays and movies, but no more  I still recall the movies I watched as a small child that starred Mickey Rooney and Shirley Temple Black.  How sad that their passing was hardly noted by a press so focused on a new generation that does not relate to these great ch...

Since the POTUS, Mayor De Blasio and Rev. Sharpton failed to say this in any of their statements yesterday - please allow me to do so. Thank you to the NYPD for protecting the law-abiding citizens of NYC, and to all policeman everywhere.  Ninety-nine+ % of you are dedicated to our protection and our civil rights and I applaud you. Also, Thank you to the Grand Jury of the Garner case who spent 3 months examining evidence and listening to and evaluating testimony. It could not have bee n an easy job. You exercised your obligations as citizens and I thank you for that even if the POTUS, Mayor and Reverend failed to thank you. I did not sit on that Grand Jury and neither did the POTUS, Mayor or Reverend. The decision was yours to make and I respect that. The Grand Jury has spoken and we should accept the Grand Jury's decision. I do not dismiss the tragic deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice. But if the POTUS, Mayor and Reverend have forgotten let me remind the...

I am quite upset about the allegations being made against Bill Cosby.  I have always admired him and respected him.  Of course I will stick with the American theorem that a man is innocent until proven guilty. But the accusations made against him, and the number of accusations, is quite troubling.  Among most public figures there is a public and a private persona that sometimes are not in sync with each other. Cosby has always been serious about being an educator, an entertainer, a role model and a mentor to many. He has been critical of the hip-hop. gang and drug influenced street culture embraced by so many African-Americans.  As a self-made man he has always believed that education and hard work can improve ones status in life. He has criticized the embracing of African American Vernacular English (Ebonics) and has preached that it holds back African Americans from breaking through barriers to American success. Several African American colleagues of mi...

Probably less than 20% of my Facebook friends can relate to this – but I can recall exactly where I was on Friday, November 22nd 1963 @ 2 o’clock in the afternoon.  I was sitting in my seat in the 3rd row of my 6th period English class in high school.  Mr. Lattimore was my English teacher.  And if you are in your 50s or older – I have no doubt you also know where you were at that exact, same moment. I was a high school freshman back then. I can also recall exactly how the news unfolded – in little pieces of information announced over my school’s public address system by our school principal, Mr. Beale.  First our principal announced that President Kennedy had been shot. An image came immediately to my mind of a photo I once viewed of the President McKinley assassination. But nothing more was stated by our principal.  Minutes later he came back on the public address system and announced that President Kennedy was dead.  That was an even greater shock. ...

Here's a confession.  I avoid Halloween.  I'm never in the Halloween spirit (no pun intended.)  So after work I went to the movies, then did my food shopping before heading home after the sun had set and the Trick-or-Treaters were all gone.  It is not that I'm too cheap to buy candy (I had a large bag ready just in case) - but I hate the idea of answering the door bell every five minutes all evening long.  Bah Humbug! (or whatever is its Halloween equivalent). I went to see "St. Vincent" starring Bill Murray.  Murray played a bitter, nasty old curmudgeon - probably only because Jack Nicholson, who is usually cast in this type of role, was not available.  It is the type of role the late, great Art Carney could do in his sleep.  The title character, Vincent, is a lying, foul mouthed, drunken, chain-smoking, cheating gambler, with no apparent redeeming features, down on his luck and owing money to the bank, to the nursing home that cares for his ...