We Are Family

For many years, my Fourth Of July vacations took me to uniquely American landmarks such as Walt Disney World,Salem,MA, Williamsburg, VA,or the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. I had planned to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,OH in 2018, but on October 27,2017, after the joy of Rosh Hashanah and solemnity of Yom Kippur had disappeared,the Tree of Life Synagogue and two other temples that shared the same building were invaded by a lone gunman who hated then-President Trump, but also espoused the Anti-Semitic, Anti-Immigrant,in short, ANTI-AMERICAN philosophy that had driven his supporters. Although I love rooting against Pittsburgh like any good New York sports fan, I have friends there and I admire their sense of community and brotherhood. I doubt that it's any coincidence that a preacher named Fred Rogers chose that particular city to expand his ministry of love to children's television (If Boston is the city where everybody knows your name, then Pittsburgh is the city where every kid and former kid knows the residents of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and quite frankly, we can use more Mister Rogerses.) or that city has adopted Philadelphia soul belters Sister Sledge's "We Are Family,' originally played at Pittsburgh Pirates games at the request of star slugger Pops Stargell has become the unofficial city song of the Burgh Town. While reliving the shooting is not an easy prospect, HBO Max's cinema verite documentary "A Tree of Life" (TV-MA for Violence and Language) brings the memory of that tragic chapter in American Jewish history closer than ever. As this movie so beautifully illustrates, this massacre affected everybody, even the Muslim community. (One mustn't-miss highlight is "Healing Tones," an original composition by Hannibal Lokumbe performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and featuring an awesome shofar solo, and i don't just mean that to sound cool. by shooting survivor Audrey Glickman.) We are indeed family, and we need to listen more often to God or our neighborhoods than to give Trump the satisfaction of reelection. Kudos to Shark Mark Cuban and actors Michael Keaton and Billy Porter for getting  this  movie off the ground and even Olivia herself, Mariska Hargitay,who gets a well-deserved, albeit too brief, shout-out in the credits. On a scale of "Skip It" to "Stream It," STREAM IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Oh, by the way, when I visited Tree Of Life's temporary headquarters on Pittsburgh's Fifth Avenue,

I told the cantor, who officiated the Sabbath service, everybody at Temple Emanu-El in New York was thinking of them, instead of a kind "Thank you" or "Shabbat Shalom," I got a gruff "WHO'S YOUR CANTOR?!?" For the record, it was Mo Glazman who,today,shares cantorial duties with Associate Cantor Sara Anderson and Cantor Emerita Lori Corrsin, I was more than a little taken aback  by his apparent Pittsburgh 'tude towards Noo Yawkers. Other than that, and the building security being limited to one freelance security agent and an attack dog, I had a beautiful time that evening.)

Shalom!

Steve                                              

Friends, Readers,Steve Fans, Lend Me Your Ears!

 I came to my last blog to praise Temple Emanu-El, its cantors, their High Holy Days playlist on Spotify, and the late,great 95.5 PLJ, not to bury Christianity. I firmly believe in Freedom of Religion and I respect the right of our brothers and sisters to worship as they choose. (Or, as the Doobie Brothers put it, "Jesus Is Just Alright With Me.") I was just trying to put in a good word for the playlist, which is positive and encouraging in its own way, and vent my continued frustration over the end of a trailblazing station like 'PLJ. Like last time, I apologize if I have stepped on any toes. 

Sorry Steve

Open Letter To K-Love

 To The People Who Unceremoniously Eliminated The Best Songs On The Radio From 95.5 FM In NYC:

Although I'm aware our High Holy Days are about to begin and we're about to ask the Lord for forgiveness, I will neither forgive or forget your parent, the Educational Media Foundation's purchase of New York's legendary 95.5 PLJ and other great radio stations then owned by Cumulus Media, which required the total elimination of all secular pop music and a commitment to what you guys billed as Positive! Encouraging! Christian music (I DO love Amy Grant, Jump 5, and Michael W. Smith, but mostly when they sound more like real, honest-to-Billboard pop music.). If you guys want to get back the PLJ listeners you shooed away on May 31,2019 at 7:00 PM EST, you should take a cue, pun intended, from Temple Emanu-El  Associate Cantor Sara Anderson and Cantor Mo Glazman and their playlist, "We Return: Emanu-El Cantors' HHD 5783 Playlist"

While it DOES include music from contemporary Israeli performers and hymns such as "Aveinu Malkenu (Our Father, Our King)" and "Kol Nidrei", it also includes music that used to be part and parcel of the PLJ playlist (Florence and the Machine, Justins Timberlake and Bieber, One Republic), and even going back to 'PLJ's days as New York's Best Rock. (The Byrds, David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust period, and my close,warm,personal friend, Judy Collins.) In short, pop music doesn't have to be all about Our Boy The Late Great J.C. Of Biblical Fame to be positive or encouraging, or even religious. (I refer to a lot of your current songs which tend to hit those of us who don't accept Hay Zeus as our Lord over the head with their message.) To hear what I mean, I strongly suggest you type "We Return" on the Spotify app (from Google Play, the Apple App Store, or the Microsoft Store, unless you believe such modern technology is against your religion) or visit http://www,emanuelnyc.org and get a link from their High Holy Days portal. Once you click on and listen (THREE HOURS OF COMMERCIAL-FREE MUSIC AND ZERO TALK! Kinda makes you nostalgic for those old 'PLJ days, doesn't it? Hint,hint!), you, and the geniuses at Cumulus, will find out the egregious mistake you made when you got rid of all that great, already positive and encouraging music, and don't we all need some positive encouragement at the start of a New Year?

L' Shanah Tovah!

Steve

P.S.: Also wishing you Peace Love and Joy! (See what I did?)

Oops!

I forgot to add the words "since Queen Victoria" when referring to Queen Elizabeth's reign as a widow. My bad!

The Queen Is Dead, Long LiveThe King

 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary,(21 April 1926-8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms from 6 Feburary 1952 for a total of 75 years and 214 days, the longest reign of any British monarch and the second longest of any monarch of a sovereign country.

Enigmatic to the end, we knew less about Queen Elizabeth II's beliefs and convictions than we did about those of  her son and heir, King Charles III, and her many children-in-law, especially the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who was embroiled in the child molestation case against Trump supporter Jeffrey Epstein. 

The first British monarch ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress and the first monarch to reign as a widow or widower, Elizabeth II presided over a transitional era which saw Rhodesia declare its independence and change its name to Zimbabwe, Argentina try to reclaim the Falkland Islands (las islas Malvinas, as they were originally called), and Australia grow closer to the USA in political and economic terms (They dropped the pound in favor of the Australian dollar. and citizens have been entertaining the idea of an Australian Republic.)

In the 1960's she made headlines when she awarded the Beatles the MBE, the highest civilian honor in Britain, (Paul McCartney caused a bit of a stir when he sang,"Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl." in a throwaway ditty at the end of the ABBEY ROAD album, but it was nothing compared to his songwriting partner John Lennon's decision to return his MBE as a result of British involvement in Northern Ireland and Biafra and the punk legends the Sex Pistols  raining on the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 with their own version of "God Save The Queen."

Unfortunately, her long and illustrious career was plagued by many illnesses, including COVID 19, which led to either attending state events virtually or skipping them altogether. On September 8,the world came to a halt when it was announced that the Queen's health was declining and the presence of her children at her bedside was required. A few days prior, she seemed her old robust self as she welcomed Britain's new Prime Minister, Liz Truss,but the reign of the monarch who brought the UK into modern times came to a tragic end,as, after 96 years of life, the Queen left historic Balmoral Castle and a grieving world, in a peaceful fashion. We wish King Charles III the best of luck as he steers Britain through its most challenging economic and political period in recent memory, as well as as his sons William and Harry and their wives Kate and Meghan as they train their progeny for whatever the future may bring.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our British readers and to this author's many British friends.

The Queen is dead, but not the memories.

Long live, and God save, the King.

Steve

Excuse Me While I Scrape All This Egg Off My Face (And Put My Foot In My Mouth)

 I would like to profoundly and profusely apologize to the clergy and management of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York for comments I made in my last post. I am aware that there are more important things in the world than a fictional comic book character inspired by Greek mythology, many of which have to do with daily life. I realize that I have made a mountain out of a molehill (a beautiful, powerful, smart molehill, but a molehill nonetheless) and I wish The Streicker Center all the best of luck with its upcoming offerings including evenings with Justice Elena Kagan, Gloria Steinem, and Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. (For info on THOSE, visit http://www.streicker.nyc.) I'm sorry for not only releasing my inner huckster but also my inner Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Comic Book Guy (a little inside joke for all you SIMPSONS fans out there. I promise I will place events such as the WONDER WOMAN screening in their proper perspective, and, to my fellow members of the sports fan group, I will stick to sports. (Except when the conversation turns to real life super heroes like the president of Ukraine.)

Shame-Faced Steve

PS That last post has been deleted, never to darken your door again.

Steve's Sidebar Blog: If You Love TAKE ME OUT, You'll Also Enjoy...

 SHORESY, a slightly blue but very funny hockey comedy from the producer of the Canadian sitcom LETTERKENNY, about an inexperienced coach who must save the woeful Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs from total oblivion. Watch for cameos from actual NHL stars and talking heads including Jay Onrait from TSN SportsCentre. (Hulu)

BROCKMIRE, starring Hank Azaria as a flamboyant pastiche of practically every play-by-play guy out there. Amanda Peet runs the minor league team whose antics he must chronicle when a scicious vanadal (in-joke for all you Capital Steps fans out there) costs him his job in the "show". Bob Costas, Joe Buck, Michael Kay, and other baseball voices round out the cast. (AMC, AMC+)

EASTBOUND AND DOWN, from the comedy genius of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay,follows former Seattle slugger Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) from riches to rags (How raggy does a spokesman for a BMW dealership  and a public school phys ed coach in the deep South sound to you?) in an HBOnly sports classic only the creators of Ron Burgundy and Ricky Bobby could pull off. Despite the heavy presence of under 10-ers, parental discretion is MANDATORY!

S

Power Play: TAKE ME OUT by Richard Greenberg, Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 West 44th Street,New York,NY 10036 Tickets at Box Office, http://www.broadway.com, and http://www.2st.org (Must close June11!)

 The first time I saw TAKE ME OUT, I didn't think it was a celebration of baseball anymore than I was Johnny Depp, (Thank goodness THAT seemingly interminable news story was finally terminated!) I thought it was more a celebration of the "love that daren't speak its name," as the story revolves around an African-American star of Jeterian proportions who finally comes out of the closet. When it came back, I decided to stay the entire show (especially since they put my phone in a cocoon!), and it IS a celebration of baseball at its best, even when it indicts America at its worst. The performance that really stands out the most is Jesse Tyler Ferguson (MODERN FAMILY) as an attorney who becomes a convert to all things baseball. Although I DID disagree with SOME of the things the characters said about God and baseball, (This blog will be circulated to my sports group and the clergy at Temple Emanu-El.) this revival was as good as the critics say (New York Times Critics Pick and Entertainment Weekly Grade A), if not better. Just as you should stick around till the very end of a Marvel movie for the little Easter egg and in-joke, you should stick around till the very end of this play for a line that pretty much sums it all up, and that's all I'm gonna say about that. Don't take the kids out to TAKE ME OUT, but do take that special someone, even if it IS yourself, but don't make an error, run to this hit before it's going, going, GONE!

Let's Go Rangers!

Steve

Move Over, Immaculate Reception! Time For The Miracle On 59th Street!

 Two weeks ago, as Cincinatti and Los Angeles were getting ready to battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LVI, all of us football fans were talking about our favorite football movies, be they KNUTE ROCKNE: ALL-AMERICAN ("Win this one for the Gipper!") THE WATERBOY ("Stop playin' that fooseball!"), JERRY MAGUIRE ("Show me the money!") or THE LONGEST YARD ("I think he broke his EXPLETIVE neck!")

While the Noor Theatre Company's  world premiere effort FIRST DOWN, (by award-winning playwright Sevan)set in the high stakes, anything-goes world of professional football, makes extensive use of such iconic images as the NFL Shield, team logos, and even an NFL sponsor, Aquafina, (And this time, I'm NOT talking about the Asian-American performer who stole the Super Bowl with a Disney + commercial featuring goats dressed up as famous Disney, Marvel, Star Wars,Pixar,and Matt Groening characters!)it may rub some fervent NFL fans, particularly those who believe the last election was rigged, and owners should sack (as in fire) players like San Francisco 49er Colin Kapernick for taking a knee while the National Anthem is played, the wrong way, and I admit, I was a little bit uncomfortable as the play was just getting started, but, while it questions the National Anthem, and even, what many scribes have decried as the hypocrisy of the league itself (slogans like "It Takes All Of Us" and "Stop Hate" painted on the field and beamed from the Jumbotron while coaches and players have accused the League front office of racism, it takes full advantage of the freedom of speech which the Star-Spangled Banner itself represents (or, is supposed to represent) to tell the story of George Berri, (Peter Romano) an NFL superstar from Montana with the world at his feet who decides to reveal to the world that he is really a Muslim American of Arab descent. by praying to Allah at the Super Bowl. Romano leads a brilliant supporting cast (Larry Bull as his coach who believes football brings out the best in America,Hend Ayoub as his manager who tries to convince him he's throwing it all away, and Olivia AbiAssi, whose desire to hang onto traditions such as wearing a hijab in public,ranks up there with portrayals in works such as FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and PLAIN AND FANCY) who are to theatre what the Monsters of the Midway, the Purple People Eaters, and the Steel Curtain have been to the Super Bowl: a formidable team that requires attention. If you love or hate football, or good theatre,make an end run to 59 E 59 Theatre C (That's both its name and address) before March 5th or score a ticket at http://www.noortheater.org . The Super Bowl may be over and the Combine and the Draft are just around the corner, but this powerful drama, which simultaneously celebrates, indicts, and reflects football, is a great way to get your kicks. On a scale of Fumble to Touchdown, this play kicks the old pigskin, with all due respect to its talented Muslim crew, right over the uprights!

Super Steve

P.S. A tip of the helmet to FOX Sports Play-By-Play Commentator Kevin Burkhardt for delivering the keynote address at Temple Emanu-El's Gather Sports Fan Group's Super Bowl Party, as well as the few, the proud, (Not Marines1) who Zoomed on over to our Super Bowl Party. Stand by for details on our next big event!

Happy New Year?

Hmmmmm, let's see. The Eastern Seaboard was attacked by a powerful Nor'easter with another one predicted,Peloton's image took a major hit when two major TV characters died of heart attacks on its famous bike AND it had to deal with declining sales AND another music industry lawsuit, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Neil's bandmates David Crosby, Steve Stills and Graham Nash withdrew their music from Spotify due to misleading information shared by superstar podcaster Joe Rogan, FOX entertainers have been complaining about the new look for the M&M's ambassadors and Minnie Mouse's makeover by Stella McCartney (As an old Disneyphile from way back, I'm going to have to agree with them on this one!), Tom Brady and Ben Rothliesberger have decided to hang up their jerseys, Novak Djokovic almost ruined the Australian Open with his anti-vax antics, AND Jeff Zucker, who guided CNN into a new era, has handed in his resignation after a relationship with an old business partner from his TODAY show days.

And how is YOUR year going so far?

Steve