January 28, 2023

Musicmatch

Musicmatch Jukebox

 MusicMatch Jukebox was an audio player made by San Diego-based MusicMatch, Inc. It contained features commonly found in jukebox software such as the ability to manage digital audio files and playlists, audio file conversion, an online music store, Internet radio, music CD playback and ripping software and managing media on portable media players.
MusicMatch Jukebox was bundled with the Apple iPod as its music manager until the introduction of iTunes for Windows in 2003. In September 2004, Yahoo! announced the acquisition of MusicMatch Inc. for a reported price of $160 million. Following the acquisition, the application was rebranded Y! Music Musicmatch Jukebox. On August 31, 2007, Yahoo! discontinued MusicMatch services in an effort to move users to its own music services.

-Wiki

Queen Elizabeth II has died

On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, dies at age 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The crown passes to her eldest son, now King Charles III.

27-year-old Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was crowned on June 2, 1953, after the death of her father, King George VI. At her coronation, her four-year-old son and future king Charles was present. Charles took the oath at his coronation on May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey, along with his wife, Queen Camilla.

“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” King Charles said in a statement after his mother died.

Over her seven decades of rule, Queen Elizabeth became a beloved international figure and traveled frequently around the world. She saw public and charitable service as an important part of her role as monarch. Elizabeth was linked to more than 600 charities, military associations and professional and public-service organizations. In her personal life, Queen Elizabeth raised four children, and had many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The Queen maintained close relationships with leaders of the United States. In her condolences to America after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she delivered one of her most memorable quotes: “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released a statement upon Queen Elizabeth’s death. “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch," the statement read. "She defined an era.”

-History Channel

 

August 23, 2022

Literary Pick (**)

 In Cold Blood
-Truman Capote


August 21, 2022

The Panic in Needle Park (1971) Trailer

 


August 17, 2022

Photograph of the Day

 A man begging for his wife's forgiveness inside Divorce Court. Chicago, 1948.


 

August 2, 2022

Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino, ‘Goodfellas’ Actor, Dies at 83 

Sorvino died on Monday of natural causes.

Veteran actor Paul Sorvino, popular for his role in Martin Scorsese's gangster epic "Goodfellas" and the father of Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, has died. He was 83.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sorvino died on Monday of natural causes.

"Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage," his wife, Dee Dee said.

Mira took to Twitter to pay tributes to her father.

"My heart is rent asunder - a life of love and joy and wisdom with him is over. He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much. I'm sending you love in the stars Dad as you ascend," she wrote.

Publicist Roger Neal said Sorvino died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

The actor, who made his debut with Carl Reiner's "Where's Poppa?" in 1970, starred in films such as "The Gambler", "The Brink's Job", "The Firm", "Nixon", "Romeo and Juliet", and "The Cooler" in his career spanning 50 years.

His on-screen partnership with actor-director Warren Beatty was especially of note as they collaborated on films such as "Reds", "Dick Tracy", "Bulworth" and "Rules Don't Apply".

Sorvino also starred in one season of the NBC series "Law & Order", on which he played the role of Detective Phil Cerretta, the partner of Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth).

Also a tenor, the actor's dream came true when he performed for the New York Opera at Lincoln Center in 2006.

Back in 1973, Sorvino received a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as the immoral Phil Romano in the original Broadway production of Jason Miller's "That Championship Season", winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Almost 10 years later, he reprised the role for a film.

He played the coach in a 1999 Showtime telefilm, which also marked his directorial debut. In 2012, Sorvino starred in and directed his only feature film "The Trouble With Call", which he based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the setting of "That Championship Season".

But, it was his role of Cicero from the 1990 biographical "Goodfellas", adapted by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese from Pileggi's 1986 non-fiction book, that earned him most recognition to the point that he once said people think "I'm actually a gangster or a mafioso".

Sorvino was born on April 13, 1939, in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, to his father who was an Italian immigrant working in a robe factory, and mother, a housewife and piano teacher.

The actor was always fascinated with the human voice and sang in Catskills hotels as a teenager. He even took lessons to realise his dream of becoming an opera singer, but an affliction with asthma forced him to focus on acting.

A student at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Sorvino cut his teeth with theatre roles making his Broadway debut in the musical comedy "Bajour" in 1964.

His first TV role came in 1975 with "We'll Get By", a CBS show created by Alan Alda, which he followed up with "Bert D'Angelo, Superstar". He also starred with Ellen Burstyn and Kevin Dillon on the 2000-02 CBS dramedy "That's Life".

More recently, he played Frank Costello on the Epix series "Godfather of Harlem".

Sorvino married his third wife, Dee Dee Benkie, a GOP strategist and former aide to President George W Bush, in 2014.

He is also survived by his other children, Amanda and Michael, and five grandchildren.

-Free Press Journal

 

July 25, 2022

Crescent Street station (BMT Jamaica Line)

 




For the demolished station actually at Crescent Street and Liberty Avenue, see Crescent Street (BMT Fulton Street Line).

The Crescent Street station is a station on the BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Crescent and Fulton Streets in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, it is served by the J train at all times and the Z during rush hours in the peak direction.  

History

This station was opened on May 30, 1893 as part of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad's four stop extension of the Lexington Avenue Line to Cypress Hills.[2]

Joint service with the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch existed between Norwood Avenue and Crescent Street stations with a connection built at Chestnut Street in Brooklyn. This allowed BRT trains to access the Rockaways and Manhattan Beach while affording the LIRR a connection into Manhattan to the BRT terminal located at Park Row over the Brooklyn Bridge (this service predated the opening of the East River Tunnels to Penn Station). This service ended in 1917 when the United States Railroad Administration took over the LIRR, and classified different operating standards between rapid transit trains and regular heavy rail railroads such as the LIRR.[4]: 59  The ramp was taken down in 1942 for World War II scrap. A tower continued to stand west of the station to control trains using the incline until it was taken down sometime after 1970.

This station was renovated in 2007. As part of the station renovation project, the stairs were rehabilitated, the floors were renewed, major structural repairs were made, new canopies were installed, the area around the station booth was reconfigured, the platform edge strips were replaced, walls were replaced, and a high-quality public address system was installed.[5] The renovation cost $8.43 million.[6]

This elevated station has two tracks and one narrow island platform. An arched canopy covers the eastern half (railroad north) of the platform.

An artwork called Wheel of Bloom – Soak Up the Sun by Jung Hyang Kim was installed in this station during a 2007 renovation. It consists of stained glass panels on the platform's sign structures showing subway train wheels lit by sunlight.

A sharp S Curve moves the line from Fulton Street to Jamaica Avenue immediately north of the station. The first turn, from Fulton Street onto Crescent Street, ranks as the sharpest curve in the B Division, and second sharpest in the entire New York City Subway, second only to the City hall loop on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line.[7] From the late-1950s into the 1960s the New York City Transit Authority had a proposal to realign the BMT Jamaica Line from this station (actually from Grant or Nichols Avenues) northeast to 80th Street and Jamaica Avenue, west of the 85th Street station. This would have also included an express track. The realignment was never carried out.[8]

Exits

The station's small, single station house is on the extreme eastern end of the platform. It has a turnstile bank, token booth, and a single staircase going to an overpass below the tracks that splits into two staircases going down to either side of Fulton Street between Crescent and Pine Streets.[9]

 -Wikipedia 

-Untapped New York 

July 23, 2022

Literary Pick (***)

 If I Live Until Morning: A True Adventure, Tragedy and Transformation
-Jean Muenchrath

 

Poltergeist "You only moved the headstones!!!"

 


Literary Pick (****)

 The People Look Like Flowers At Last
-Charles Bukowski

 

July 17, 2022

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

 

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of Edward Albee's 1962 play of the same name. It stars Elizabeth Taylor as Martha, Richard Burton as George, George Segal as Nick, and Sandy Dennis as Honey. The film depicts a late-night gathering at the home of George, a college history professor, and his wife Martha, the daughter of the university's president. The guests are Nick, a new biology professor at the school, and his wife, Honey.

The film was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Mike Nichols. It is one of only two films to be nominated in every eligible category at the Academy Awards (the other is Cimarron). All four main actors were nominated in their respective acting categories, the first time a film's entire credited cast was nominated. The film won five Oscars, including a second Academy Award for Best Actress for Taylor and Best Supporting Actress for Dennis.

In 2013, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]


July 16, 2022

Literary Pick (***)

 A Cheaters Guide to Love
-Junot Díaz

 

Tony Sirico, Paulie Walnuts in “The Sopranos”, dies at 79

  Actor Tony Sirico, best known for playing Paulie Walnuts in “The Sopranos”, died at the age of 79 old.

This was confirmed by his family on Friday in an official statement (via Deadline) which states the following: “It is with great sadness, but with so much pride, love and fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico inform you of his disappearance on the morning of 8 July 2022”.. The cause of death was not disclosed, but Sirico’s health had deteriorated in recent years.. The actor died in a retirement home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Sirico is a familiar face on the screen thanks to the role of Peter Paul Gualtieri, affectionately known as Paulie Walnuts, in “The Sopranos”. Paulie is one of Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) loyal henchmen and appears in all six seasons of the series. Sirico would return for the 2021 prequel ‘Holy criminals’, but his health conditions prevented him from doing so. In addition to “The Sopranos”, his filmography includes titles such as Martin Scorsese’s “One of Us”, “Cop Land” or “Mickey Blue Eyes”, as well as He was a regular visitor to Woody Allen’s films (‘Taking Harry Apart’, ‘Bullets Over Broadway’, ‘Mighty Aphrodite’, Café Society, etc.). In the 1970s he also appeared in series such as “Kojak” or “Miami Vice”. In recent years he has lent his voice to the animated comedies “Family Guy” and “Father Made in the USA”. Before being an actor, Sirico was a real mobsterwhere he served under Carmine ‘Junior’ Persico, and he had been arrested up to 28 times, spending several periods in prison for his criminal activities (assaulting a Brooklyn nightclub, possession of weapons, drugs). It was in prison that he became interested in acting thanks to an acting group made up of former inmates. During her stint on “The Sopranos”, she shared two SAG Awards for best ensemble and received seven nominations. Farewell to “The Sopranos” After the news of Sirico’s death, the cast of “The Sopranos” wanted to express their condolences through Deadline. According to Michael Imperioli, who plays Christopher Moltisanti in the acclaimed HBO series, “There was no one like Tony: he was tougher, more loyal, and had a bigger heart than anyone I’ve ever met. I spent a lot of time by her side: in good times and bad times. But above all good. And we laughed a lot. We have found a rhythm like Christopher and Paulie and I am proud to say that I have done my best and most fun job with my dear partner Tony. I will always miss him. It was irreplaceable “. 

  The creator of “The Sopranos”, David Chase, calls Sirico “a gem, in the Buddhist sense: supernatural and teacher. But certainly not a Zen master”and adds: “He was so outrageous, funny and so talented. I’m so glad he found out in his 50s or 60s just how talented and loved he was.”. On the other hand, Steven Van Zandt, who plays Paulie’s best friend Silvio Dante in the popular gangster drama, describes the actor as “legendary” Y “a great character both on and off the screen”. 

Lorraine Bracco, psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi on “The Sopranos”, who also worked with him on “One of Us”, says: “I loved him. A legal uncle who always had my back and loved my children and my parents very much. I have a lifetime of memories with Tony. I hope he’s in heaven making everyone laugh. I love you friend”. Jamie Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano, the daughter of the protagonist, remembers the day she met him: “I met him when I was 16 and He made it clear to me from day one that he would be my protector forever, and he did.. I will remember him for his enormous talent and his energy impossible to ignore. “ Finally, Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri in the series), calls Sirico “unique in the best possible way. A loyal friend with a knack for making people fight. We will miss him very much.”.

-FashionVibes

July 15, 2022

The Voice of WBLS - The Quiet Storm

Vaughn Harper


Vaughn Harper (March 7, 1945 – July 9, 2016) was an American broadcast announcer and DJ. In 1976, Harper became a nighttime Radio DJ for WBLS (107.5 FM) in New York City. He was known for his soft voice so he was nicknamed "the Quiet Storm". He was an active basketball broadcaster for small teams.[1]

Harper died from complications of diabetes on July 9, 2016 in Syracuse, New York, aged 71.[2]

Wikipedia

Literary Pick (**)

Love With A Chance Of Drowning
-Torre DeRoche 

 

July 14, 2022

James Caan

To Truly Appreciate James Caan, You Have to Watch “Thief”

Caan, who died on Thursday, was best known for "The Godfather," but the 1981 Michael Mann film is the true testament to his talent.

James Caan died yesterday at the age of 82. If you know movies, you knew him. He was probably best known for playing Sonny Corleone, the eldest son in the crime family at the center of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy — mostly in the first film, but with a cameo in the second and an unseen ghost in the third (his illegitimate son becomes a major character). His Godfather character, combined with his weathered physicality, made him a go-to for crime pictures, especially later in his career, when his face alone offered easy tough-guy shorthand. This meant he could slip easily in junky action movies like Bulletproof or Eraser (both in 1996), or comedies like Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and Elf (2003). The best of these later-period roles is probably his hilarious work in Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket (1996), where he plays a landscaper and criminal dabbler who indulges the caper fantasies of Dignan (Owen Wilson) in order to further his own illegal activities. 

Before he became character-actor fixture, though, Caan was a leading man in a number of dramas, including The Gambler (1974), Comes a Horseman (1978), his directorial debut Hide in Plain Slight (1980) and — after an extended break in the ’80s — his somber Coppola reunion Gardens of Stone (1987). These days, the most-watched entry from this period of his career is probably Thief, a Michael Mann crime drama from 1981. It’s currently streaming on the free ad-supported service Tubi, and for anyone who knows Caan primarily as a working-actor archetype, it’s a revelation. For Caan himself, it’s a concise tribute to his talent as both an actor and a movie star.

Thief owes its lofty reputation to Michael Mann cultists, and it’s easy to see why: It has his signature masculine procedural professionalism, richly visualized in images that sometimes resemble a series of paintings: portraits, landscapes, occasionally abstracts. Caan plays Frank, an ex-con and current jewel thief who owns a bar and a car dealership as a front for his more lucrative, illegal operations. He embarks, of course, on one last job, intended to finance a new life with his girlfriend Jessie (Tuesday Weld). 

Yet despite his slick professionalism and well-ordered cover story, Frank is rougher around the edges than most of Mann’s subsequent protagonists. Off the job, he can be short-fused and coarse. Hoping to adopt a child, he tries to bribe an adoption caseworker. An earlier date scene with Jessie is hilariously unpleasant, with Frank impatiently haranguing her about what he does for a living. “Let’s cut the mini-moves and the bullshit,” he says, “and get on with this big romance.” The conversation moves to a coffee shop overlooking the highway, and they’re still brusque with each other, but as they exchange information about their personal hardships, both of them soften slightly. As they open up, the scene starts to resemble an early draft of the famous coffee-shop détente Mann would later stage for fellow Godfather players Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat. Weld is good in the scene, but it’s Caan who leads, as Frank tells the story of his prison time in a way that somehow projects bravado, stoicism and wounded regret all at once. He’s pleading without quite admitting it. 

In some of his later roles, Caan had more presumed authority: a glowering figure who needs to be impressed or avoided. There’s some of that here, including a memorable scene where Frank barges into the office of someone who owes him money: “I am the last guy in the world you wanna fuck with,” he says, and it’s a line that could belong to any number of less memorable Caan characters over the years. It may well have, in fact; who can remember what the bad guy from Bulletproof says? (Whatever he says, he’s also named Frank, so there’s a start.) Thief is slicker than many of Caan’s crime pictures while zooming in on a character whose slickness has the same limits as so many working people: opportunity, temper, time.

When an actor becomes such a constant, familiar presence across a hundred or so movies, it’s easy to forget about those limits. It’s not that James Caan seemed like he could play any character in any time period; rather, he often seemed immovable, even in lighter fare. Think of Honeymoon in Vegas, where goofball-everyman Nicolas Cage must run a strenuous gauntlet just to romantically out-maneuver a Caan character who firmly knows what he wants: Cage’s fiancee. Despite his position as the conniving heavy of the picture, Caan has moments of gentleness, even politeness; Thief, then, is far from the only movie with vulnerability beneath his tough exterior. But it may be his most striking balance of character-study detail and crime-movie iconography. It’s no accident that the way Caan holds his gun in that office scene became a signature image for the film’s advertising. Frank’s skills and instincts ultimately take over; at the end of the film, he moves through the home of an enemy with coiled precision, after he’s lost much of what he’s worked for. As with a lot of Mann’s criminal characters, the badassery has undercurrents of tragedy. Back in that diner scene, Frank lays his personal urgency on the Formica table: “I have run out of time… I can’t work fast enough to catch up, I can’t run fast enough to catch up.” Frank has his personal failings, but this isn’t one of them; Caan worked fast enough, and time still caught up.

 -InsideHook

 

May 30, 2022

Las Siete Semejanzas

 El Vocero



Literary Pick (***)

 Lost In The Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods
-Cary J. Griffith
 

Ray Liotta, star of Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, dies aged 67

The actor, whose films also include Something Wild, Marriage Story and Hannibal, died in his sleep while shooting his latest project in the Dominican Republic
 

Liotta was born in New Jersey and abandoned at an orphanage before being adopted at six months. “At first, I didn’t understand how a parent could give up a child,” he said to People magazine. “So I had that kind of energy of just being like, that’s fucked up. And then when I finally met my birth mom in my forties, by then, I wasn’t as angry about it. It’s just another journey.”

After small roles in TV and a small role in 1983’s The Lonely Lady, Liotta received a Golden Globe nomination for 1986’s Something Wild. He went on to star in Field of Dreams in 1989 before taking on the role of Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.

“If you got one movie that people remember, that’s great. If you got two, that’s fantastic,” he said to the Guardian in 2021 about his association with the gangster drama.

Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese paid tribute to Liotta in a statement on Thursday night, saying he was “absolutely shocked and devastated” by his death.

“He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor,” he said in a statement. “Playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot. He absolutely amazed me, and I’ll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture. My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early.”

The 1990s also saw him star in thriller Unlawful Entry alongside Kurt Russell, Cop Land with Robert De Niro and family drama Corrina, Corrina with Whoopi Goldberg. He also received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for playing Frank Sinatra in 1998 TV movie The Rat Pack.

The following decade included roles in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Joe Carnahan’s Narc and an Emmy for a guest appearance on ER.

Liotta was offered a role on The Sopranos but turned it down. “I didn’t want to do another mafia thing, and I was shooting Hannibal,” he said to the Guardian. “It just didn’t feel right at the time.” He later starred in Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark in 2021.

In a statement, The Sopranos creator David Chase called Liotta’s death “a massive, unexpected shock” and paid tribute to “a very warm and humorous person” and “a really superior actor”.

Despite being known for his tough guy roles, Liotta has admitted that he is far from what people see him as. “I have never been in a fight at all, except for during sports, and that’s just pushing and goofy kid stuff,” he said in an interview.

His more recent work included Marriage Story and Amazon’s small-screen remake of Hanna. His final roles, still to be seen, include Apple thriller series Black Bird with Taron Egerton and Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks.

Tributes have started to appear online from those in the industry. His Goodfellas co-star Lorraine Bracco tweeted that she was “utterly shattered” to hear the news. “I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas,” she wrote. “Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same … Ray Liotta.”

Jamie Lee Curtis, who starred with Liotta in 1988 drama Dominic and Eugene, tweeted that “his work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being” and that he was “a gentle man”.

James Mangold, who directed Liotta in the 1997 crime drama Cop Land and the 2003 thriller Identity, also tweeted: “Shocked and saddened to hear of Ray Liotta’s passing. Beyond the tough guy exterior and the tightly wound emotions of his signature characters, he was a sweet, playful and passionate collaborator and brilliant actor.”

Viola Davis also wrote “RIP Ray Liotta!! Loved your work” while Rosanna Arquette tweeted: “I’m really sad to hear that Ray Liotta has passed away. He was an friend back in the day and it’s very sad. We had a lot of laughs Rest In Peace My friend.”

Liotta is survived by his fiancee Jacy Nittolo, who was with him while he was filming, and daughter Karsen.

-The Guardian

 

May 14, 2022

Vintage Commercial

1987 commercial: "Hey Love: The Classic Sounds of Sexy Soul"


May 11, 2022

Literary Pick (****)

 I Had To Survive
How a plane crash in the Andes inspired my calling to save lives.
-Dr. Roberto Canessa

 

April 14, 2022

Gilbert Gottfried, comedy legend, dies aged 67


Gilbert Gottfried, the beloved stand-up comedian and actor, has passed away at the age of 67. After a long battle with sickness and health-related complications, Gottfried died in Manhattan on Tuesday, April 12th.

Born in Brooklyn, Gottfried was drawn to the world of comedy since he was a teenager and he started performing amateur stand-up routines when he was 15. Developing a strong reputation for his unique brand of humour and his comedic sensibilities, Gottfried became famous in New York City by comedy enthusiasts and was often called “the comedian’s comedian”.

In addition to his career in stand-up, Gottfried also did voice acting on several iconic projects and he is still remembered for his wonderful performance as Iago in Aladdin. Over the last few years, he continued to make appearances on various projects such as shows and podcasts including a unique collaboration with John Oliver.

According to the reports that have surfaced, Gottfried passed away because of complications caused by myotonic dystrophy type II which led to recurrent ventricular tachycardia. This was confirmed by his friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz who shed some light on the comedian’s battle with illness and the health conditions.

Gottfried’s family released a statement via social media to confirm the news as well. “In an addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children,” the statement reads. “Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honour.”

-Far Out
 

April 3, 2022

Literary Pick (***)

 Brat: An 80's Story
-Andrew McCarthy

 
 

Lutheran Hospital

Exterior view of Lutheran Hospital buildings. Inscription on verso: " The old Lutheran Hospital at East New York Avenue & Junius St., Brooklyn 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 

Literary Pick (***)

 Living with Evil
-Cynthia Owen

 

April 1, 2022

About Last Night (1984)




Literary Pick (***)

 In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
-Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers 


March 20, 2022

Aqueduct Race Track

 Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States.[1] Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing meets are usually from late October/early November through April. The racetrack is located adjacent to a casino called Resorts World New York City.

The track itself has three courses. The main track (dirt) has a circumference of 1+18 miles (1.8 km). Inside of the main track are two courses: the 1 mile (1.6 km) Main Turf Course, and the Inner Turf Course measuring 7.065 furlongs (1.421 km). The track has seating capacity of 17,000 and total capacity of 40,000.[3] The facility houses the New York Racing Association's headquarters. 








 

 
 
 
 

Literary Pick (***)

 Make It Nice 
-Dorinda Medley 


Broadcast News And MCU Star William Hurt Is Dead At 71

 Unquestionably one of the greatest actors of his generation.

The film world lost a spectacular talent today, as it has been announced that William Hurt – the Academy Award-winning actor best known for his roles in Broadcast News, The Big Chill, Body Heat, and as Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – has passed away. He was 71, and died of natural causes.

According to Deadline, William Hurt's son, Will, shared the news of his father's passing with an official statement, which says:

It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.

William Hurt's career was one of many remarkable accomplishments – among them being a string of Best Actor nominations from the Academy Awards in the mid-1980s. In 1986 he won the Oscar for his performance in Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman, and in the two years that followed he was nominated for his turns in Randa Haines' Children Of A Lesser God and James L. Brooks' Broadcast News. In 2006 he earned his fourth nomination, competing for Best Supporting Actor in celebration of his sinister turn in David Cronenberg's A History Of Violence.

A graduate of the Juilliard School after a brief time studying theology at Tufts University, William Hurt's acting career began on the stage, but was forever changed once he starred in Ken Russell's Altered States in 1980. He followed that breakout performance starring opposite Sigourney Weaver in Peter Yates' Eyewitness, and then teamed with writer/director Lawrence Kasdan for two notable hits: 1981's sexy thriller Body Heat and 1983's intimate drama The Big Chill.

After starring in some of the best films of the 1980s, Hurt became one of the most reliable Hollywood talents through subsequent decades, and in the 1990s and 2000s he made a big impression on the sci-fi world – starring in Alex Proyas' Dark City, Stephen Hopkins' movie version of Lost In Space, and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He was also one of the first big name stars to sign on as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, first playing Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross in Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk before reprising the role in the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed trio Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. He most recently played the part again as a member of the cast in Cate Shortland's Black Widow.

In the last 13 years, William Hurt has continued to be a presence on the big screen, but he also did a lot of work on television. In 2009 he had a recurring role on the critically-acclaimed FX series Damages, and he followed up that series with shows including 2015's Humans, 2016's Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, Condor, and Goliath

He is part of the cast of the upcoming AMC series Pantheon – starring Paul Dano, Maude Apatow, and Taylor Schilling –  which started filming in late January. 

We here at CinemaBlend wish to extend our deepest sympathies to William Hurt's family, friends, and fans during this painful time, and hope that everyone takes solace in the fact that his spectacular talent will be remembered forever through his remarkable body of work.

Literary Pick (****)

 Drinking: A Love Story
-Caroline Knapp

 

March 12, 2022

Emilio Delgado, Luis on ‘Sesame Street’ for 45 years, dies

(AP) — Emilio Delgado, the actor and singer who for 45 years was a warm and familiar presence in children’s lives and a rare Latino face on American television as fix-it shop owner Luis on “Sesame Street,” died Thursday.

His wife, Carol Delgado, told The Associated Press that Emilio Delgado died from the blood cancer multiple myeloma at their home in New York. He was 81.

As Luis, Delgado, a Mexican American, got to play an ordinary, non-stereotypical Latino character at a time when such depictions were few and far between on TV, for adults or children.

“There really wasn’t any representation of actual people,” Delgado said in a 2021 interview on the YouTube series “Famous Cast Words.” “Most of the roles that I went out for were either for bandits or gang members.”

That changed with “Sesame Street,” where a diverse cast interacted with a diverse group of children, along with Jim Henson creations Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo and Grover.

Delgado joined the show starting with its third season in 1971. He said the producers embraced his suggestion to sprinkle Spanish terms into the script.

“The first time that I saw Big Bird walk on, my line was, ‘Big Bird!’” Delgado said in the 2021 interview. “But I didn’t say ‘Big Bird,’ I said, ‘pájaro!’”

After a quick meeting in which Delgado explained that “pájaro” meant “bird,” the producers decided to keep it in.

“I called him ‘pajaro’ from then on every time I saw him,” Delgado said.

Delgado was born in 1940 in Calexico, California, near the U.S.-Mexico border and raised a few miles away in Mexicali, Mexico.

From his home, he could hear music into the night from a pair of beer gardens across the street.

“I remember going to sleep to the sound of mariachis,” he said in a 2011 interview on the public television series, “Up Close with Patsy Smullin.”

He was enchanted, and decided to become a performer, singing whenever possible and appearing in school plays, with the full support of his proud parents.

As a young man he moved to Los Angeles to become an actor, and had little luck. He received a call out of the blue from the producers of “Sesame Street” in New York.

After an interview with “Sesame Street” producer Jon Stone, in which he spoke to Delgado, but didn’t ask for any kind of audition, he got the job.

“He didn’t want actors,” Delgado said in the 2021 interview. “He wanted real people.”

He would remain on the show for 45 years, an integral part of the childhood of generations of children, and for Latino kids a rare character that looked like them.

“His warmth and humor invited children to share a friendship that has echoed through generations,” the Sesame Workshop said in a statement Thursday night. “At the forefront of representation, Emilio proudly laid claim to the ‘record for the longest-running role for a Mexican-American in a TV series.’ We are so grateful he shared his talents with us and with the world.”

“Sesame Street” would also allow him to sing regularly, and sometimes play his guitar.

Luis Rodriguez (the adult characters had last names, though they were rarely used), would marry the show’s other prominent Latina, Maria Figueroa, played by Sonia Manzano, in a ceremony on the show in 1988. The storyline allowed the show to teach children about love, marriage and childbirth.

“Luis and Maria were the first Latinos I ever saw on TV,” Rosy Cordero, a television reporter for Deadline, said on Twitter. “They were a huge part of my family. They paved the way.”

He would leave the show when his contract was not renewed during a retooling in 2016.

Figueroa made frequent appearances in the theater and on other TV series during his time as Luis.

He played a recurring character on the newspaper drama “Lou Grant” from 1979 to 1982, and made multiple appearances on “Quincy M.E.,” “Falcon Crest,” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

His death was first reported by TMZ.

Delgado was diagnosed with multiple myeloma late in 2020, but was still making appearances and giving interviews in 2021, until his health started to decline.

-NewsCenter1