Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
one of the coolest guys to come out philly died the other day
i already posed this on the willow house blog but i would like to put it here also. a salute to a man who i owe my partial tennis scholarship look.
when i was a sophomore in high school and we studied 'a clockwork orange' by anthony burgess my class went on an extra curricular trip to the roxy screening rooms to see stanley kubrick's 'a clockwork orange'. i can never forget being blown away that the dude that owned the theater produced the movie and made the j.g. hook thrift store ties i dug.
Posted on Sat, Feb. 23, 2008
Max Raab, 1926- 2008
Designer of fabric and films
By Carrie Rickey
Inquirer Movie Critic
Max Raab, 82, the Rittenhouse Square habitué and maker of trend-defying clothes and trend-setting films, died here Thursday morning after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease.
Over his colorful and peripatetic careers in the rag and movie trades, Mr. Raab invented the shirtdress; owned Villager clothes; purveyed Rooster ties; produced Walkabout, A Clockwork Orange, and the Mummers documentary Strut!, and owned Center City's Roxy Screening Rooms.
He is likely to be the only businessman to have negotiated with Sidney Kimmel and the Beatles. In the 1950s, Kimmel headed Villager's knitwear division; in the '60s, the Fab Four wanted to star in A Clockwork Orange, but failed to finalize the deal.
"Max was an original, a true visionary long before Ralph Lauren came on the scene," Kimmel, the philanthropist and founder of Jones Apparel Group, said of his "dear friend" yesterday. "He was a man who could embrace both classical music and jazz." Not only in music, but in culture and clothes, Mr. Raab appreciated both the traditional and the funky.
The son of a shirt manufacturer, Mr. Raab was born in the Tioga section of the city in 1925. His mother died when he was 12. When he returned home from service in the U.S. Army of Occupation in Japan, Mr. Raab had the first of what would be many intuitions.
"I saw America becoming an increasingly teen-dominated society and an upwardly mobile one," he told The Inquirer in 2005. In the developing suburbs, he saw middle-class shoppers affecting the kind of clothes the gentry wore, not the low-end shirts and blouses that his father made and sold for $1.98.
Mr. Raab hated his father's merchandise. He thought it lacked quality and style. But a job was a job, and at least his sales rounds got him out of the factory.
When, in 1949, he noticed coeds buying men's shirts for themselves at Brooks Bros., Mr. Raab went back to the factory and made a batch of women's-size man-tailored shirts. They flew off the racks. Then he and his older brother, Norman, elongated that shirt and created the shirtdress, a must-have for the station-wagon set. Thus Villager was born. As Mr. Raab told it, "Villager made clothes that didn't upstage the woman."
For 20 years, Villager defined what young American women wore. Wraparound skirts. Ribbon-bound Shetland cardigans. Madras shirts. Seventh Avenue dubbed Mr. Raab the dean of preppy fashion. He pioneered store-within-a-store retailing, setting up plank-walled Villager boutiques within top department stores.
In 1962, David and Lisa was being shot in Philadelphia and its producers wanted Villager clothes for the bookish teen played by Janet Margolin. While observing the shoot, Mr. Raab noticed how films were put together piece by piece, like shirts.
There was a film revolution going on, and Mr. Raab was a revolutionary, befriending emerging filmmakers such as Robert Downey Sr. (who would direct the 2005 documentary Rittenhouse Square for Mr. Raab) and Mel Brooks. Mr. Raab produced several indie films, most notably Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout (1970). An avid reader, Mr. Raab bought the rights to Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange and tried to sell it to the studios. In the end, he sold the rights - for 2½ points - to Stanley Kubrick and it became a monster hit.
As Raab's filmmaking career gained traction, Villager lost ground. He sold the company, valued at its height at $140 million, in 1969. He founded JG Hook, initially a menswear line, in 1974, expanding it to a $100 million company that included designs for women in the workplace.
"Like Max, Villager and JG Hook was preppy with a twist, and that's had a lasting effect on fashion," Ann Gitter, owner of the Knit Boutiques, said yesterday. "Look no further than Brooks Bros., J. Crew and Banana Republic."
Over his last decade, Mr. Raab produced and codirected Strut!, a documentary celebration of the Mummers, and Rittenhouse Square, a musical rhapsody.
Mr. Raab had four significant relationships. With his wife Anita Charkow, there were children Claudia and Andy. With his second wife, Mary Jones, the baby was Villager. He had two sons, Adam Gould and Paul English, with a companion, Nancy English. Since 1980, he had kept company with Merle Levin, whom he married in 1999.
In addition to his wife and children Claudia, Adam and Paul, he is survived by two granddaughters.
A jazz afternoon celebrating his life is being planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson Council Inc., 111 Presidential Blvd., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004.
when i was a sophomore in high school and we studied 'a clockwork orange' by anthony burgess my class went on an extra curricular trip to the roxy screening rooms to see stanley kubrick's 'a clockwork orange'. i can never forget being blown away that the dude that owned the theater produced the movie and made the j.g. hook thrift store ties i dug.
Posted on Sat, Feb. 23, 2008
Max Raab, 1926- 2008
Designer of fabric and films
By Carrie Rickey
Inquirer Movie Critic
Max Raab, 82, the Rittenhouse Square habitué and maker of trend-defying clothes and trend-setting films, died here Thursday morning after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease.
Over his colorful and peripatetic careers in the rag and movie trades, Mr. Raab invented the shirtdress; owned Villager clothes; purveyed Rooster ties; produced Walkabout, A Clockwork Orange, and the Mummers documentary Strut!, and owned Center City's Roxy Screening Rooms.
He is likely to be the only businessman to have negotiated with Sidney Kimmel and the Beatles. In the 1950s, Kimmel headed Villager's knitwear division; in the '60s, the Fab Four wanted to star in A Clockwork Orange, but failed to finalize the deal.
"Max was an original, a true visionary long before Ralph Lauren came on the scene," Kimmel, the philanthropist and founder of Jones Apparel Group, said of his "dear friend" yesterday. "He was a man who could embrace both classical music and jazz." Not only in music, but in culture and clothes, Mr. Raab appreciated both the traditional and the funky.
The son of a shirt manufacturer, Mr. Raab was born in the Tioga section of the city in 1925. His mother died when he was 12. When he returned home from service in the U.S. Army of Occupation in Japan, Mr. Raab had the first of what would be many intuitions.
"I saw America becoming an increasingly teen-dominated society and an upwardly mobile one," he told The Inquirer in 2005. In the developing suburbs, he saw middle-class shoppers affecting the kind of clothes the gentry wore, not the low-end shirts and blouses that his father made and sold for $1.98.
Mr. Raab hated his father's merchandise. He thought it lacked quality and style. But a job was a job, and at least his sales rounds got him out of the factory.
When, in 1949, he noticed coeds buying men's shirts for themselves at Brooks Bros., Mr. Raab went back to the factory and made a batch of women's-size man-tailored shirts. They flew off the racks. Then he and his older brother, Norman, elongated that shirt and created the shirtdress, a must-have for the station-wagon set. Thus Villager was born. As Mr. Raab told it, "Villager made clothes that didn't upstage the woman."
For 20 years, Villager defined what young American women wore. Wraparound skirts. Ribbon-bound Shetland cardigans. Madras shirts. Seventh Avenue dubbed Mr. Raab the dean of preppy fashion. He pioneered store-within-a-store retailing, setting up plank-walled Villager boutiques within top department stores.
In 1962, David and Lisa was being shot in Philadelphia and its producers wanted Villager clothes for the bookish teen played by Janet Margolin. While observing the shoot, Mr. Raab noticed how films were put together piece by piece, like shirts.
There was a film revolution going on, and Mr. Raab was a revolutionary, befriending emerging filmmakers such as Robert Downey Sr. (who would direct the 2005 documentary Rittenhouse Square for Mr. Raab) and Mel Brooks. Mr. Raab produced several indie films, most notably Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout (1970). An avid reader, Mr. Raab bought the rights to Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange and tried to sell it to the studios. In the end, he sold the rights - for 2½ points - to Stanley Kubrick and it became a monster hit.
As Raab's filmmaking career gained traction, Villager lost ground. He sold the company, valued at its height at $140 million, in 1969. He founded JG Hook, initially a menswear line, in 1974, expanding it to a $100 million company that included designs for women in the workplace.
"Like Max, Villager and JG Hook was preppy with a twist, and that's had a lasting effect on fashion," Ann Gitter, owner of the Knit Boutiques, said yesterday. "Look no further than Brooks Bros., J. Crew and Banana Republic."
Over his last decade, Mr. Raab produced and codirected Strut!, a documentary celebration of the Mummers, and Rittenhouse Square, a musical rhapsody.
Mr. Raab had four significant relationships. With his wife Anita Charkow, there were children Claudia and Andy. With his second wife, Mary Jones, the baby was Villager. He had two sons, Adam Gould and Paul English, with a companion, Nancy English. Since 1980, he had kept company with Merle Levin, whom he married in 1999.
In addition to his wife and children Claudia, Adam and Paul, he is survived by two granddaughters.
A jazz afternoon celebrating his life is being planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson Council Inc., 111 Presidential Blvd., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Rare Marilyn Monroe photo? It’s Madonna
Las Vegas man, expert thought nude hitchhiker picture was a rare find
updated 11:57 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 20, 2008
LAS VEGAS - Imitation can be the sincerest form of confusion.
So learned a Las Vegas man who alerted the media this week that he thought he had his hands on a rare photo of Marilyn Monroe posing nude as a hitchhiker. What he had was a famous photo of Madonna.
The image of the Material Girl, who often cast herself as a sort of latter-day Monroe, appeared in "Sex," her 1992 book of risque photography. In it, she posed in heels and handbag, with a cigarette in her mouth.
Lawrence Nicastro, 73, said he found the grainy, poster-size photo last year while going through storage items at his home in Las Vegas. He believed it had been left by a customer at his service station in the Bronx in 1962.
Nicastro and his wife, Phyllis, said they had spent about four months researching the origin of the photograph and called in Chris Harris, a publicist and Monroe expert, for help authenticating it.
Harris said it was a dead ringer for Monroe and scheduled a Wednesday news conference to unveil the image to reporters.
The two men gave The Associated Press a sneak peak Tuesday.
"You're right; it's Madonna," Harris said after being told of the mix-up. Harris said he believed someone had slipped the poster into Nicastro's storage as a prank.
"If there ever was an embarrassing moment," he said, adding that he planned to go ahead with the news conference to "face the music."
There is one person, he noted, who should feel good about the mistaken identity.
"Who wins here? Madonna, of course," Harris said. "She really looks like Marilyn Monroe."
Click for related content
Lohan recreates nude Monroe shoot
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Scoop on Lohan's photos
Feb. 19: Courtney Hazlett talks with Morning Joe's Willie Geist about Lindsay Lohan's provocative photo shoot, plus the new “Dancing” cast.
updated 11:57 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 20, 2008
LAS VEGAS - Imitation can be the sincerest form of confusion.
So learned a Las Vegas man who alerted the media this week that he thought he had his hands on a rare photo of Marilyn Monroe posing nude as a hitchhiker. What he had was a famous photo of Madonna.
The image of the Material Girl, who often cast herself as a sort of latter-day Monroe, appeared in "Sex," her 1992 book of risque photography. In it, she posed in heels and handbag, with a cigarette in her mouth.
Lawrence Nicastro, 73, said he found the grainy, poster-size photo last year while going through storage items at his home in Las Vegas. He believed it had been left by a customer at his service station in the Bronx in 1962.
Nicastro and his wife, Phyllis, said they had spent about four months researching the origin of the photograph and called in Chris Harris, a publicist and Monroe expert, for help authenticating it.
Harris said it was a dead ringer for Monroe and scheduled a Wednesday news conference to unveil the image to reporters.
The two men gave The Associated Press a sneak peak Tuesday.
"You're right; it's Madonna," Harris said after being told of the mix-up. Harris said he believed someone had slipped the poster into Nicastro's storage as a prank.
"If there ever was an embarrassing moment," he said, adding that he planned to go ahead with the news conference to "face the music."
There is one person, he noted, who should feel good about the mistaken identity.
"Who wins here? Madonna, of course," Harris said. "She really looks like Marilyn Monroe."
Click for related content
Lohan recreates nude Monroe shoot
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Scoop on Lohan's photos
Feb. 19: Courtney Hazlett talks with Morning Joe's Willie Geist about Lindsay Lohan's provocative photo shoot, plus the new “Dancing” cast.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Who is our man in Havana?
Fidel Castro steps down as Cuba's president
12:35 | 19/ 02/ 2008
MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Fidel Castro has announced that he will step down as Cuba's president after almost 50 years in power, the Granma daily said on Tuesday.
The leader of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and the man who has outlasted nine hostile U.S. presidents, Castro said in his address to the nation that he could not consent to be elected president of the National Assembly and commander-in-chief of the armed forces due to health problems.
"It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that demands mobility and a total devotion that I am not in a physical condition to offer," his statement read.
"I am not bidding farewell to you. I want to fight on as a soldier of ideas...My voice will be heard," he went on.
The National Assembly is now expected to elect Castro's 76-year-old brother Raul as his successor. There has also been speculation that vice-president, Carlos Large, 56, could become Cuba's new leader.
Castro underwent stomach surgery in July 2006, handing over 'temporary' power to Raul Castro. His appearances have been far and few between since.
In December 2007, Castro announced he would not "cling to power" and stand in the way of a new generation of leaders. The announcement raised speculation that Castro's days as Cuban leader could be numbered.
As one of the few surviving iconic figures of the 20th century, Castro's departure as an active political figure opposed to 'U.S. imperialism' leaves a gap that only perhaps Hugo Chavez, the controversial and charismatic leader of Venezuela, will be able to fill.
12:35 | 19/ 02/ 2008
MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Fidel Castro has announced that he will step down as Cuba's president after almost 50 years in power, the Granma daily said on Tuesday.
The leader of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and the man who has outlasted nine hostile U.S. presidents, Castro said in his address to the nation that he could not consent to be elected president of the National Assembly and commander-in-chief of the armed forces due to health problems.
"It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that demands mobility and a total devotion that I am not in a physical condition to offer," his statement read.
"I am not bidding farewell to you. I want to fight on as a soldier of ideas...My voice will be heard," he went on.
The National Assembly is now expected to elect Castro's 76-year-old brother Raul as his successor. There has also been speculation that vice-president, Carlos Large, 56, could become Cuba's new leader.
Castro underwent stomach surgery in July 2006, handing over 'temporary' power to Raul Castro. His appearances have been far and few between since.
In December 2007, Castro announced he would not "cling to power" and stand in the way of a new generation of leaders. The announcement raised speculation that Castro's days as Cuban leader could be numbered.
As one of the few surviving iconic figures of the 20th century, Castro's departure as an active political figure opposed to 'U.S. imperialism' leaves a gap that only perhaps Hugo Chavez, the controversial and charismatic leader of Venezuela, will be able to fill.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Jefferson Starship - miracles
it's funny i think this might be the song i heard on the jukebox that sent me back to my early childhood. in actuality it most likely was a work force block of miracles and with your love that i am remembering.
Jefferson Starship: With Your Love
i heard this on a jukebox recently and it sent me right back to laying on my tummy playing with my matchbox and hot wheels by the stereo in the afternoon
HARRY SMITH "Early Abstractions" (1946-57)
No. 5: Circular Tensions, Homage to Oskar Fischinger (1950)
No. 7: Color Study (1952)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
new york dolls
if it weren't for jumping jack flash but even with that yeah better than the rolling stones
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Madonna - Burning Up in Dallas on May 3 1985
Birth name Britney Jean Spears
Born December 2, 1981 (1981-12-02) (age 26)
McComb, Mississippi, United States
Origin Kentwood, Louisiana, United States
Genre(s) Pop, teen pop, dance-pop, urban pop
Occupation(s) Singer, dancer, songwriter, actress
Years active 1992–present
Label(s) Jive
Associated
acts The New Mickey Mouse Club, innosense, Jamie Lynn Spears, Kevin Federline
Website www.britneyspears.com
If Not For You - Dylan/Harrison Duet
i love olivia newton john's version best but george and bobby's cut will have to do
Friday, February 01, 2008
Television Personalities live bootleg
i have heard the horror stories firsthand of dan treacy live. i have seen the countless other terrible live clips , but he is still possibly the best songwriter from great britain. this clip works in a way past merely proving the live legend. but if one was measuring on singles and possible singles alone dan wins, he really does. 'could've been bigger than the beatles' in great britain for sure. but to make it in the usa beyond the hordes of bedroom pop fans you gotta be able to smile and descend from the plane. but i like dan just the way he is.
Blondie - Denis
i've posted this song but not this performance before. it's a cover but it is still my favorite blondie song after dreaming.
Blondie - Dreaming
i have said it before and i will say it again. blondie is simply the best american pop group from the east coast. clem burke is probably the best pop drummer after ringo starr.
across the universe
NASA beaming Beatles tune to the stars
Antenna to send ‘Across the Universe’ across the galaxy on Monday
Image: DSS-63 antenna
NASA
The DSS-63 radio antenna, part of NASA's Deep Space Network, looms over the Spanish countryside. The antenna is to be used on Monday to beam the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" toward Polaris, the North Star.
View related photos
WASHINGTON - The Beatles are about to become radio stars in a whole new way.
NASA on Monday will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star.
This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is nostalgia-driven. It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA.
Story continues below ↓advertisement
“Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.”
The song, written by McCartney and John Lennon, may have a ticket to ride and will be flying at the speed of light. But it will take 431 years along a long and winding road to reach its final destination. That’s because Polaris is 2.5 quadrillion miles away.
NASA loaded an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. ET Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. But if you wanted to hear it on Polaris, you would need an antenna and a receiver to convert it back to music, the same way people receive satellite television.
The idea came from Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles-based Beatles historian, who then got permission from McCartney, Yoko Ono and the two companies that own the rights to Beatles’ music. One of those companies, Apple, was happy to approve the idea because it is “always looking for new markets,” Lewis told The Associated Press.
NASA has beamed a McCartney live performance to the international space station, but Lewis said he was surprised to hear that the space agency had never tried transmitting music to the stars.
Click for related content
Paul McCartney plays live to space crew
Cosmic Log: Whale songs beamed into space
"They were very open-minded to it," he told msnbc.com.
Lewis said the event already has generated a lot of buzz — and he's hoping that Beatles fans around the world will play the song at the same time that NASA is transmitting it, as part of "Across the Universe Day."
"I think it's going to turn into quite a fun event," he said, "something positive in our sometimes-depressing world."
Perhaps coincidentally, the song’s launching comes a day before the release of the DVD of the Julie Taymor movie named after the Beatles hit.
This story includes information from The Associated Press and msnbc.com.
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
Antenna to send ‘Across the Universe’ across the galaxy on Monday
Image: DSS-63 antenna
NASA
The DSS-63 radio antenna, part of NASA's Deep Space Network, looms over the Spanish countryside. The antenna is to be used on Monday to beam the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" toward Polaris, the North Star.
View related photos
WASHINGTON - The Beatles are about to become radio stars in a whole new way.
NASA on Monday will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star.
This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is nostalgia-driven. It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA.
Story continues below ↓advertisement
“Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.”
The song, written by McCartney and John Lennon, may have a ticket to ride and will be flying at the speed of light. But it will take 431 years along a long and winding road to reach its final destination. That’s because Polaris is 2.5 quadrillion miles away.
NASA loaded an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. ET Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. But if you wanted to hear it on Polaris, you would need an antenna and a receiver to convert it back to music, the same way people receive satellite television.
The idea came from Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles-based Beatles historian, who then got permission from McCartney, Yoko Ono and the two companies that own the rights to Beatles’ music. One of those companies, Apple, was happy to approve the idea because it is “always looking for new markets,” Lewis told The Associated Press.
NASA has beamed a McCartney live performance to the international space station, but Lewis said he was surprised to hear that the space agency had never tried transmitting music to the stars.
Click for related content
Paul McCartney plays live to space crew
Cosmic Log: Whale songs beamed into space
"They were very open-minded to it," he told msnbc.com.
Lewis said the event already has generated a lot of buzz — and he's hoping that Beatles fans around the world will play the song at the same time that NASA is transmitting it, as part of "Across the Universe Day."
"I think it's going to turn into quite a fun event," he said, "something positive in our sometimes-depressing world."
Perhaps coincidentally, the song’s launching comes a day before the release of the DVD of the Julie Taymor movie named after the Beatles hit.
This story includes information from The Associated Press and msnbc.com.
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
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