Sold Out!...& swashbuckling

Well, it happened...Yosi & The Superdads have finally sold out completely...every seat at The Jewish Museum in NYC that is. Pretty exciting show today, this President's Day. We arrived at the museum to set up a couple of hours before show time. It was extremely chilly & he wind was freezing as we loaded in. We were told more than half the tickets were sold. But by show time the place was packed. Extra chairs had to be brought in. The crowd was lively & positive. Two new songs were added to the live show. "Bulbes" a traditional Yiddish Klezmer tune & "This Land is Your Land" which capped off the concert with a patriotic yet ragtime/blue grass feel. The joint was a-jumpin'. Next stop Germantown MD...3/3 Sat., 1:00PM, "Yosi & The Superdads" Black Rock Center for The Arts.

Oh, BTW, all three Levin boys have been immensely into Star Wars. Thanks to HBO having all the movies available this month & mama gettin' her boys light sabers. It's electric swashbuckling here at our home. May the force be with ye lads.

Planet of The Apes

Flipping channels on Sat. night I came upon the Planet of the Apes. Nik sat down next to me on the couch & said, "what's this, Dad."
"Oh, an old movie about apes ruling the planet & humans as animals, with Charlton Heston overacting (especially at the end)."

Now, I haven't seen this film since my early teens on the ABC 4:30 Movie.
I think Nik dug the costumes & kooky action/chase scenes. One particularly great moment is of course when Mr. Heston captured in a net exclaims, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" The 14 yr old part of me wanted to yell, "You tell 'em, man!" Funny, how that visceral reaction is there toward injustice & cruelty.

Seems I've forgotten some of the major socio-political (albeit, heavy-handed) points of the film: science clouded by religion, evolution theory as heresy, separation of church & state, man's destructive nature, respect for all living creatures, etc. I assume these topics must've made quite a stir in 1968. Do they stir the audience today? Seems the issues haven't gone away. I just don't see them in movies anymore.

George Taylor: Doctor, I'd like to kiss you goodbye.

Dr. Zira: All right, but you're so damned ugly.