March 2019 - Page 4 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Actor Victor Garber turns 70

Victor Garber was a member of The Sugar Shoppe, a Canadian sunshine pop vocal group who recorded in the late 1960s.

Back in my early days of blogging, when I was very susceptible to memes, I adopted actor Victor Garber. He fit the mold as as “a character actor, as they are the unsung heroes of the entertainment world.”

In fact, it was almost exactly a decade ago I wrote that post, not realizing at the time how close it was to his 60th birthday. I’ll admit I haven’t been particularly good at “promoting the actor from time to time” since then. So what has he been up to in the past ten years?

Among other things, Victor Garber has been heavily involved in the DC universe on TV and in movies. I haven’t actually watched most of these, though I did see him in a 2017 episode of Supergirl.

Episodes of Glee, 30 Rock, Modern Family, and The Good Wife I’ve seen him in. He’s been Admiral Halsey – love that name – on The Orville, which I’ve caught a handful of times.

I know him mostly as Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador who helped six Americans escape during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980, in the movie Argo (2012)

Supporters of Taylor, who saw the movie at the the Toronto International Film Festival, “were angered by what they saw as Affleck’s American-centric take on the crisis that minimized Taylor and Canada’s role. Affleck called Taylor and the two drafted a postscript that emphasized the Canadian Embassy’s crucial involvement.

“One year later, Taylor did press interviews and traveled the festival circuit to promote Our Man In Tehran, a Canadian documentary that sets the record straight about our embassy’s role.”

Still, I thought Garber’s portrayal, however inaccurate, was rather cool. It was rather like the role for which I best know him, agent Jacks Bristol, spy and estranged father to Sydney (Jennifer Garner).

And not much at all like his first movie role, as Jesus in the movie Godspell.
Godspell trailer
Save the People
Alas for You

Victor Garber’s Internet Broadway Database page, including Sweeney Todd (1979-1980), Damn Yankees (1994-1995), and Hello, Dolly as Horace Vandergelder (Jan 20 – Jul 15, 2018)

The Sugar Shoppe was a Canadian sunshine pop vocal group who recorded in the late 1960s. The Sugar Shoppe – Full album on Capitol Records (1968)

InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Victor Garber (2014)

Ides of March rambling: Jesus Was a Socialist

Workism Is Making Americans Miserable. Understand – Aubrey Logan, Rebecca Jade on background vocals.

Pandora's Inbox — Pandora’s Inbox by Dave Coverly. used with permission
www.speedbump.com

Obituary of legendary Albany activist Vera P. Michelson, known to most everyone as Mike.

Thirteenth (2016 documentary about the 13th Amendment).

Patheos: Jesus Was a Socialist.

Listen, papa: let priests marry.

Buddhist robot priest to dole out advice in Kyoto temple.

Fran Rossi Szpylczyn: I Need Help (First Sunday of Lent).

The best thing to give up this Lent is plastic.

Political Notebook: Stupidity and hope.

The Balloon Pops on His Economic Promises.

How to Spot Fake News Online.

Activity At 2nd North Korean Missile Site Indicates Possible Launch Preparations, so the fact that rump and Kim failed to reach a breakthrough in Hanoi may be for the best.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Five years on, here’s why people still believe the conspiracy theories.

Before We Even Think about Candidates for 2020.

Cartoon: A very Peanuts third-party candidate.

More local meteorologists are using their air time to bring climate change down to street level and communicate what this crisis means for their viewers’ everyday lives.

Where is Congress’ Center on Climate Change?

Workism Is Making Americans Miserable.

Jaquandor: On Writing Longhand.

Think you know Abraham Lincoln? New photos reveal the man behind the legend.

The inspiring story of H’Hen Niê, who won Miss Universe Vietnam 2017.

Do Grammar Mistakes Annoy You? You Might Be an Introvert.

Movement And Breathing Breaks Help Students Stay Focused On Learning.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: robocalls and automation and psychics.

How to make “New York style pizza” at home. (n.b.: too much work for me!)

The People Who Eat the Same Meal Every Day.

Hate tried to come for Brie Larson. Captain Marvel destroyed them.

Boney – a television drama with the worst casting gimmick ever.

Now I Know: New York City’s Secret (Tiny) Subway and Arresting the Rooster and The Writing Was on the Wall and When a Baseball Team Traded for Runs and Too Much Hare in Your Ear and Bernie Madoff’s Other Swiss Bank Account and The Hole Truth About Ballpoint Pens and Domo Arigato, Mr. Robutto and Darts Darts Bo Barts Bananafana Fo… Uh Oh.

STAR WARS: ALWAYS.

AND

Execute order 66.

Loud music.

MUSIC

Understand – Aubrey Logan, Rebecca Jade on background vocals.

The revolution will not be televised – Soul Rebels club mix.

Gustav Holst’s The Planets – Jupiter, scored for five pianos.

Everything Changes – Eytan and The Embassy, also Star Wars parody, plus the identities revealed of the original video.

Coverville: 1253: Tributes for Peter Tork of the Monkees and Mark Hollis of Talk Talk and 1254: Cover Stories for The Who and Townes Van Zandt.

RIP, Hal Blaine of The Wrecking Crew, Hall of Fame drummer.

Andre Previn has died at age 89.

K-Chuck Radio: The “cover band” phase of popular bands and Olivia Newton-John does make you feel mellow.

Monkees Screen Tests

NPR’s ‘Jazz Profiles’, hosted by Nancy Wilson; Miles Davis: ‘Kind of Blue’ (2001).

They Really Don’t Make Music Like They Used To.

The best 40 minutes: ice crystals

I could see the wave of sparkling items in the snow. It felt like looking up in the sky and seeing a panoply of stars.

snowflake It was the last day of February. It had snowed the night before, and I had considered going out to shovel the walk then but I was too tired.

I woke up at about 5:15 a.m. and checked the school closings. Sure enough, both my wife’s and my daughter’s schools experienced two-hour delays. In fact, virtually ALL the school districts had the same, except, of course for the Albany Academies, which were closed. There were four or five inches of snow, but it was slippery underneath.

When my wife’s alarm went off, and she got up, I gave her the news. She proclaimed, “Then I’m going back to bed, ” but not before I grabbed a raggedy pair of pants to shovel snow in. The snow removal timing was geared to the imminent delivery of milk from the local dairy – yes, we have that – and my desire for the fellow not to kill himself on our steps.

As I was removing the snow from the walk, I discovered this magical thing. You know how you can sometimes see the ice crystals sparkle in the snow? That is rather nifty in the day time and indeed was that morning.

But before the sunrise, when the only illumination is the porch light and the streetlight, the lawn area in between is dark. Yet I could see the wave of sparkling items in the snow. It felt like looking up in the sky and seeing a panoply of stars.

Except that one is looking down, and it is much closer, much more intimate, with a representation of the universe at my feet. It was, dare I say, spiritual. I wish I could have taken a photo, but without the skill or equipment, I’m sure it would not have done the moment justice.

As I finished shoveling the sidewalk and cleaning off my wife’s car, the milk truck arrived. I brought him the empties and he handed me a couple bottles. The driver yelled, “This is it for the snow!” From his lips…

A Scriptorium, if it brings you joy

I used to read Russell Baker’s New York Times column religiously, and Growing Up was one of my all-time favorites.

Growing Up.Russell Baker This is a continuation of “I cannot throw out these books,” in response to Jaquandor’s Scriptorium piece. It is a counterpoint to Tidying Up’s Marie Kondo, who has said, “I now keep my collection of books to about thirty volumes at any one time.” That doesn’t mean YOU should have only 30 books, she added, if they bring you joy.

RELIGION

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith – Marcus J. Borg (2003). In many ways, my own story.

The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community – -Eric H.F. Law (1993). In the late 1990s, my wife and were sent to Maryland to get training on multiculturalism by Law himself.

Methodist Hymnal (1851) – an ex-girlfriend gave it to me. It has lyrics but no music because it was ASSUMED that everyone knew the tunes.

The Methodist Hymnal (1935) – it was used by the church I grew up in. Same ex-girlfriend refers to it as the “REAL Methodist Hymnal.” She is correct.

Here and Now: Living in the Spirit – Henri J.M. Nouwen (1994) – In this blog, I have often quoted the birthday section on March 7.

Gandhi, An Autobiography: The story of my experiments with truth – Mohandas K. Gandhi. Written in the late 1920s, published in the US in 1957 and starting to fall apart from overuse.

POP CULTURE

Life Itself -Roger Ebert (2011). Naturally.

The Twilight Zone Companion – Marc Scott Zicree (1982). “The complete show-by-show guide to one of the greatest television shows ever.”

Word Freak – Stefan Fatsis (2001) – a book about Scrabble, which I used to play with my dear great-aunt Deana before she died in the mid-1960s

Uncle Andy’s: a faabbbulous visit with Andy Warhol – James Warhola (2003) – a book about Andy Warhol I got at the Norman Rockwell Museum in the past couple of years

Leonard Maltin’s 2015 movie guide, because it’s the last one

Love Is Hell – Matt Groening (1984). Before there was a single episode of the Simpsons, there was the HELL cartoon book series: Childhood is Hell, School is Hell, Work is Hell, The Road to Hell, all of which I own

MISCELLANEOUS

Roberts Rules of Order – given to me when I was elected Binghamton Central High School student government president in 1970 by the late Pat Wilson/Curry

The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, An Oxford Freshman – Cuthbert Bede. I’ve never read this 1856 book “with numerous illustrations”, but I don’t need to.

Thinking in Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math – Daniel Tammet (2012). I did a talk on this for the Friends of Albany Public Library

The Fate of the Earth- Jonathan Schell (1982). about avoiding nuclear annihilation, a real policy wonk piece. And somewhere in the middle of the book, was some hopeful narrative citing Socrates and Jesus, that was almost poetic in its verbiage, and it made me smile. I even used it at a ceremony once.

Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life – Sissela Bok (1979) – one of the most significant books I’ve ever read

Growing Up – Russell Baker (1982). I used to read his New York Times column religiously, and the book was one of my all-time favorites. I was really sad to note that one of America’s most celebrated writers had died recently at the age of 93

Les and Trudy: Redhead in San Francisco

Many of the wives were talking about the issues of the day: war, politics, and, inevitably, race.

Les and Trudy I don’t think I told this story before. If I have, in the words of an old friend of mine from England would often say, “Toughy buns.”

In the late 1960s, after about six mind-numbing years at IBM and a brief but productive stint at Opportunities for Broome, my father worked for Associated Building Contractors. I’m not quite sure what he did at ABC, but I imagine it had something to do with safety compliance, since that’s what he did at J.A. Jones after he moved to Charlotte, NC in 1974.

One of the perks of the job was the ability to travel. In 1969, give or take a year, mom and dad went out to San Francisco on a business trip of his. While the men did whatever, the “wives” would have lunch.

At one of these events, many of the wives were talking about the issues of the day: war, politics, and, inevitably, race. Some conversation took place on the latter topic, during which Mom listened thoughtfully, but said nothing. One of the wives, wanting to draw Mom into the discussion, said, “Trudy, what do think?”

Mom said, “Well, being a black woman…” Apparently, many jaws hit the table, perhaps one or two literally.

It is true that the red wig that she wore in the 1960s, which was even brighter in color than this one from the 1980s, made her skin appear even lighter. But she never identified as anything but a black woman.

My father tended to be the more visible, the more outgoing in the couple. So when there was a narrative in which SHE was the chief protagonist, mom enjoyed it immensely. She told this story more than once; there were a few anecdotes that she liked to repeat. I never asked him, but I have to think that dad was pleased that mom was out there, gathering information.

Les and Trudy Green were married on March 12, 1950, and were wed for more than 50 years, until my father died in August 2000.