Geraldo Rivera Radio Round-Up: Big Ladies Day on WABC

Beautiful Barbara

love Martha

Geraldo...cute....chasing Barbara to no avail

mad Catholic, Bill O'Reilly

Words of wisdom from Ariana Huffington.......just one of the big ladies Geraldo had on his show today.

Ariana talked about women staying healthy.....the trials and tribulations of the single mom trying to succeed, work hard, raise the kids, take time for yourself and most importantly........getting plenty of sleep.

Ariana shared today that ,in fact, she did have breakdown from not getting proper sleep, fell down and hit her head, woke up in her own pool of blood and eventually determined she had to make a change in her life for her own health.

She feels women can work hard to be successful in their chosen career but not so hard their health and mental capacity or peace of mind is jeopardized.  Ariana says we can have success with balance--without harm to ourselves and our families.

She is recommending a healthy lifestyle of proper sleep and meditation--the upshot of the whole thing--ladies and big ladies--take time for yourself.

Thanks, Ariana, for taking time out of your busy day to give us your take on survival for women in the corporate world.

Geraldo paid tribute to my girl Barbara Walters.....is their anyone with a more touching, hard working and inspirational career.

Geraldo said he really tried to make the move on Barbara Walters during their 20/20 phase but Barbara politely said, Geraldo--you know what, that sounds like fun but right now but I am busy interviewing the President of Panama, but maybe next time.

Well, good try, Geraldo........if their was anyone in the world to interview, Ms. Walters would be this blogger's choice.

Love Barbara Walters, always have and always will.

Talking about the real big girls, Martha Stewart jumped in to tell us her thoughts on nominating people and businesses who are doing good work for America that should be recognized.  More information will be available on her website.

Martha Stewart, the only one who had the chops in corporate to do time and come out smiling and looking perfect--doing her time and continuing to perfect her career.  This is a real strong and successful lady.  Always admire Martha.

Martha's current cooking show on PBS, Martha Bakes the Basics or Martha's Cooking School is the bomb.......no one bakes a cake like Martha Stewart.....it's one of the best cooking shows on television today.

Geraldo is making the point all week that the minimum wage should be raised.

Seriously, is Geraldo Rivera the future of the Republican Party or what........the way he thinks......minimum wage, immigration...these issues have to be addressed......the defining factor is that Geraldo has compassion for the working person and he listens to what the callers say.....it's not an angry show that so often afflicts talk radio today.

Geraldo said more than once this week, "I am giving a new energy to the Republican Party."

Something has to change, right, because the GOP of Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove is only workable if the repubs would like to plan on losing the major election again.

Geraldo commented earlier this week the statement of Karl Rove regarding Hillary Clinton's health were disgusting. This is the reason people hate politics.

Karl Rove is leading the republicans right into the grave.

Could the repubs consider someone like Jon Huntsman........Geraldo, what do you think?

Do the repubs really have a future as the party of the rich, old, angry, white men?

Think about it, who won the last two elections......Jon Huntsman spoke about Hillary Clinton with respect.....Geraldo Rivera is one of the few republicans with a vision, a viable realistic vision for the GOP.

Speaking of minimum wage and it being just an after school job as one caller indicated--school nurse San Diego----the parents often worked at two taco shops to raise and support their kids.

Can't leave out O'Reilly.....the 12 year old Hispanic boys often beat up for gang affiliation.....now what were you saying about white privilege, Bill?

Good show today, Geraldo, thanks for talking about the beauty and skill and talent and hard work of Barbara Walters.

We still need two political parties....it's the political conversation that moves things forward......a little quote from Karl Rove.

Chloe Louise.......Hillary girl forever.

Geraldo Rivera, an attractive face for the Republican Party

.......literally and figuratively............remix:  GOP

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Sir Derek Jacobi on PBS Program Shakespeare Uncovered: “I Believe Edward de Vere Wrote The Works of Shakespeare, Not The Man From Stratford”

February 3, 2013 – 2:44 PM

In case you missed the hour-long PBS program on Richard II — part of the six-episode series “Shakespeare Uncovered” — it’s well worth watching.  Click on the link below to watch.
Most of the episode, hosted by Sir Derek Jacobi, offers viewers an insightful discussion about Shakespeare’s play Richard II and the life of the actual historical figure.
But then around the midway point, just before the 30-minute mark,  Sir Derek takes something of a detour into the Shakespeare Authorship mystery and declares he’s an Oxfordian!  He even pays an on-camera visit to Castle Hedingham.
Derek is well aware that he’s stepping into a minefield.  “Castle Hedingham near London,” Jacobi explains, “is the ancestral home of the de Vere family.  In the course of his reign, Richard proved a very contentious King. He set many cats among many pigeons.  And my presence here at Castle Hedingham may, like Richard, set the fur flying.”
Indeed!
Sir Derek then goes on to state, clearly and boldly:  “I believe Edward de Vere and not William Shakespeare [of Stratford] wrote Richard II and, in fact, all the plays attributed to the man from Stratford.”
Here’s the link.  This makes for very interesting viewing.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2331202211.

By Matthew Cossolotto | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 17th Earl of Oxford, authorship question, Castle Hedingham, de Vere, Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere, Mark Rylance, PBS,Richard II, Shakespeare, shakespeare authorship question, Shakespeare Uncovered, Sir Derek Jacobi, William Shakespeare | Comments (0)

Last Will and Testament — New Shakespeare Authorship Documentary Previews at Shakespeare’s Globe in London November 27, 2011

November 25, 2011 – 3:43 PM

Shakespearean Authorship Trust Conference 2011
http://www.shakespeareanauthorshiptrust.org.uk/pages/conf.htm
The Shakespearean Authorship Trust, in collaboration with Brunel University, hosts an advance screening of a major new authorship documentary, Last Will. & Testament at Shakespeare’s Globe on Sunday 27 November.
At a time when the Shakespeare world is being rocked by the imminent appearance of Roland Emmerich’s feature film, Anonymous, as well as the publication of several books based on new research, including Richard Roe’s The Shakespeare Guide to Italy and Katherine Chiljan’s Shakespeare Suppressed, there comes the first major documentary on the authorship question for 22 years. The timing could not be better, and we are very fortunate to have the film’s director Lisa Wilson with us to introduce the work and answer questions on it. (Lisa was also a consultant onAnonymous, and is a trustee of the SAT.) She will be joined by no fewer than seven luminaries who took part in the documentary: Diana Price, author of Shakespeare’s Unorthodox Biography, Professor Roger Stritmatter of Coppin State University in Baltimore, actors Sir Derek Jacobi* and Vanessa Redgrave*, the Chairman of the SAT, Mark Rylance, Dr. William Leahy, Head of the School of Arts at Brunel University, and Charles Beauclerk, author of Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom.
Last Will. & Testament is a 90-minute film that explores the evolution of the authorship question since Shakespeare’s time, with particular reference to William Shakspere of Stratford and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, though other candidates are discussed. Among those defending the orthodox position are Stanley Wells and Jonathan Bate, both of whom were invited to speak at the conference. The documentary is beautifully shot and has exclusive access to footage of Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous, which is due for general release on 28 October 2011. The film will be shown in three parts in order to give conference attendees proper time to digest and discuss the material as the day unfolds. It promises to be a fascinating and provocative experience, with plenty of opportunity for the audience to engage with guest speakers.
*subject to availability
Date: Sunday 27 November 2011
Time: 11:00 – 18:15 (Tea and coffee available from 10:30)
Venue: Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside,               London, SE1 9DT
Tickets: £35 (including tea and coffee)
Booking: Shakespeare’s Globe Box Office: Tel: 020 7401 9919
Booking opens: 17 October 2011
Click here for the programme schedule in pdf format.

By Matthew Cossolotto | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Anonymous, authorship question, Brunel University, Globe Theatre, Laura Wilson, Lisa Wilson, Shakespeare's Globe,Shakespearn Authorship Trust, Stanley Wells | Comments (0)

Whalen on Greenblatt’s review of Bate in Dec. 17 New York Review of Books

December 22, 2009 – 6:15 PM

Review of a review: For Harvard’s Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespeare biographies must be boldly imaginary.
Richard F. Whalen
Since Shakespeare biographies must necessarily be mostly imaginary, they should be written without anxiety, inhibitions or fear, argues Harvard’s Stephen Greenblatt, a leading Shakespeare scholar and author of his own imaginary biography of the Stratford man as Shakespeare.
In a long review of Jonathan Bate’s Soul of the Age (2008), Greenblatt contends that Bate’s biography, although also mostly imaginary, falls short of his standard of uninhibited, anxiety-free, fearless confidence. “Do it with local color,” Greenblatt commands. “Work in all you know. Make them [your readers] accomplices.”
“Given the paucity of evidence,” Greenblatt says, “that enterprise demands speculation, imaginative daring and narrative cunning.” In effect, if there are not enough biographical facts, dare to trick the reader by cleverly making them up. If Greenblatt prevails, future Shakespeare biographies will have to be shelved in the section for fiction.
Greenblatt’s stinging and provocative critique of Bate’s biography for being insufficiently imaginary appears in the December 17, 2009 issue of The New York Review of Books (56:20) as “Shakespeare in No-Man’s-Land.” Greenblatt’s own imaginary biography, Will in the World (1997), follows his prescriptions for a Shakespeare biography. It opens boldly and unapologetically with the words in capital letters, “LET US IMAGINE”.
In Greenblatt’s opinion, Bate’s imaginary Shakespeare biography is too timid: “The spectacle of anxiety in Bate’s book goes well beyond the ordinary signals of caution.”
Greenblatt notes correctly that the usual qualifiers such as “could have” and “may well have” are the “stock-in-trade of Shakespeare biographies.” He adds that biographers are subject to “professional policing” by scholars intent on catching mistakes and “shaming those guilty of carelessness, rashness, or ignorance.” This threat, Greenblatt says, “can produce a painful aura of fear and inhibition, especially among those whose very gifts make them most sensitive to criticism.” That is to say, Jonathan Bate.
In this belated review of Bate’s 2008 book, Greenblatt complains about Bate’s “skittishness” and his “uneasiness about his own project.” He says Bate’s “nervous” shifting of tenses from dramatic present to historical past “suggests a writer uncomfortable with what he is doing.” Bate tries to use “action prose” of sentence fragments “but his heart is clearly not in them.”
“Where does this leave the beleaguered biographer?” asks Greenblatt. He answers: “In a no-man’s-land of swirling hypotheticals and self-canceling speculations; stillborn claims that expire at the moment they draw their first breath.”
Greenblatt gives what he calls a brief sampling from Bate’s book:

It is not outrageous to imagine…
Could it have been at the same age…?
Could he be the voice not only of Guy but also of William…?
Could he have been Shakespeare’s apprentice in the acting company?
It seems more than fortuitous that…
It is unlikely to be a coincidence that…
Guesswork of course, but I have a hunch that…
I have an instinctive sense that…
It is hard not to notice…
We cannot rule out the possibility that…
Could it then be that…?
One of the two could easily have been…
He may well have been there…
The players may well have been…
This could have been the occasion…
It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that…
…requires us to countenance the possibility that…

It is not very clear, however, how Bate’s alleged anxiety, inhibition and fear as demonstrated above differs that much from Greenblatt’s own style of imagining and hedging. Here is a brief sampling of the way Greenblatt wrote his Will in the World(2004), with emphasis added:

In the summer of 1585, William of Stratford “may have been working in the glover”s shop, perhaps, or making a bit of money as a teacher’s or a lawyer’s assistant. In his spare time he must have continued to write poetry, practice the lute, hone his skills as a fencer – that is, work on his ability to impersonate the lifestyle of a gentleman. His northern sojourn,assuming he had one, was behind him. If in Lancashire he had begun a career as a professional player, he must, for the moment at least, have put it aside. And if he had a brush with the dark world of Catholic conspiracy, sainthood, and martyrdom–the world that took Campion to the scaffold – he must still more decisively have turned away from it with a shudder.

As it happens, Greenblatt and Bate, both leading establishment Shakespeare scholars, are head-to-head competitors in academic publishing. Greenblatt is a chaired professor of humanities at Harvard University. Bate is a professor at the University of Warwick. Each is general editor of a complete, annotated works of Shakespeare: Greenblatt’s from Norton in 1997 and Bate’s more recently from Random House, in 2007. Shortly after its publication, the queen awarded Bate the honorary title of Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
In his own Shakespeare biography, Greenblatt laid claim to frankly imaginary biography that for all its speculations is uninhibited and anxiety-free. “It is important,” he wrote in the preface to that book, “to use our own imagination” since “nothing provides a clear link” between Shakespeare”s works and the life of William of Stratford. (See my review of his book in the winter 2005 issue of Shakespeare Matters.)
Greenblatt repeats that theme in his review of Bate’s book:

. . . despite feverish attempts to comb the archives and find further documentary records of Shakespeare’s life, very little has turned up in the last century. . . . The paucity of new discoveries has not inhibited the constant writing of new biographies. (I am guilty of one of them.) The lure is almost irresistible, and with good reason.

The irresistible lure of course is the enduring cultural importance and the aesthetic power and intensity of the Shakespeare plays and poems. Everyone wants to know more about the poet-dramatist.
Greenblatt says:

Never mind that he left so few traces of himself. Never mind that that none of his personal letters or notes or drafts survive; that no books with his marginal annotations have turned up; that no police spy was ordered to ferret out his secrets; that no contemporary person thought to jot down his table talk or solicit his views on life or art. Never mind that Shakespeare–son of a middle-class provincial glover–flew below the radar of ordinary Elizabethan and Jacobean social curiosity. The longing to encounter him and know him endures.

“Given the paucity of the evidence,” Greenblatt asserts that writing a Shakespeare biography “demands (emphasis added) speculation, imaginative daring and narrative cunning, but these are all qualities that arouse the scholar’s suspicion and anxiety. Bate’s attempts to enter the life-world of his subject are underwhelming.”
As a committed Stratfordian (so far), Greenblatt never questions whether “the paucity of evidence” might suggest that Will Shakspere of Stratford was not the great poet-dramatist and that someone else must have been. He never raises the issue of William Shakespeare’s identity, an issue of which he is fully aware. In this 3,300-word review of Bate’s book, he argues from his position of authority at Harvard that biographies of the Stratford man as the great poet-dramatist can only be imaginary. Oxfordians can certainly agree with that.
The Greenblatt review may be purchased for $3 or by subscription at:http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=23499

By lltheil | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged New York Review of Books, Richard Whalen,Shakespeare in No-Man's-Land, Soul of the Age, Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World |Comments (1)

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Jeremy Irons: Explains Shakespeare To Me.......

The gloriously lovely Jeremy Irons...........

PBS last night:  Richard II, Jeremy Irons does a good job of explaining Shakespeare to the viewer.....me.

Last night Henry Bolingbroke's "friends" murdered the very lovely King Richard II for him, can you believe it?  But, in the long run, it turned into a big mess because King Henry IV ended up feeling sad and guilty his whole life.

Next week we get to see my favorite actor in the whole world, Jeremy Irons, play Henry Bolingbroke, who is now the King, Henry IV.  The cool thing is that Jeremy and the other actors take time to explain the whole thing to us, the viewers.  Right, it's hard to understand, but this Richard II guy was so amazing I couldn't stop watching him.

Dear Henry Bolingbroke......Just wanted to say I enjoyed your show last night on PBS.......I said I will never be able to stay up that late and watch the whole thing, but as you suggested, when Shakespeare is done really well one is so entranced....well, I couldn't stop watching it.  Thank you for explaining the story to me.

You see, I always want to like Shakespeare but, in all honesty, I just do not understand a lot of it.  When the actor keeps explaining it and talking about it, the importance of the story in history and what they are trying to tell the viewer.....well, this is very good.

Good job, Jeremy, for taking time to tell me about the kings and good job to that lovely man that played Richard II.  He is lovely and I could not stop thinking about his performance--totally entranced and thinking about it all night.  Can't wait to see you in Henry next week.     chloe louise and ronnie.....san diego

to Jeremy on his facebook page.......I hope it's the right one.

and a cute picture of "Mr. Hot."

I can't wait to watch Liza in Cabaret this Tues on TCM

I can't wait to watch Liza in Cabaret this Tues on TCM

I can't wait to watch Cabaret this Tues on TCM.

Gosh, Liza Minnelli is fantastic--her talent--in this particular film is unequaled.

I don't think any one could beat her in that role.

Talking about time and place--then and now, I'll give an example--remember the movie Chicago.

Well, I went to see that movie, somewhat reluctantly.

All the actors were very, very good, indeed, but I said wait a minute--haven't I seen this before?

That movie Chicago really showcases Liza Minnelli and her extraordinary gift.  Those people were real good, but as good as they were they only showed how expert Liza was in comparison.  I longed to watch Liza in Cabaret as I watched Chicago.

The whole movie is just about perfect.  Joel Grey and Michael York and Marisa Berensen--I was mesmerized watching it--not having a clue what it was about--it was a movie of my time, of my young adult hood--that always marks the time, who and when of what we are doesn't it?

Liza has the knack of portraying bold and vulnerable at the same time--Joel Grey--gosh--who ever saw anything like that--while he is equally gifted he still serves to show off my Liza.

She deserves the praise--everyone deserves praise involved in that show--who knew it was a musical--that's news to me, as they don't break into song at any given ridiculous moment.  I thought it was just Liza singing a few songs in a club because that's what she does.

The unanswerable question:
Seriously--what was Liza suppose to do as an entertainer given her heritage--how can anyone live up to that?  That's got to be a tough act to follow--she gave it her all, how taxing, she is to be commended for excellence.

What would be do without Liza, Robert and TCM?  As PBS says--Its a gift of art to the viewer and what a gift it is.

It all came together in that show--what a gift of life and talent for all of us---thanks Liza--you deserve it.......cl

copied from TCM................

10:15 PM ET

CABARET

After a box-office disaster with his film version of Sweet Charity in 1969, Bob Fosse bounced back with Cabaret in 1972, a year that would make him the most honored director in show business. And he wasn't the only winner in this case, as the film also brought Liza Minnelli her first chance to sing on screen and an Oscar for Best Actress. With Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound, Adapted Score, and Editing, it holds the record for most Oscars earned by a film not honored as Best Picture.






Cabaret was the first property to travel from book to dramatic play to dramatic film to stage musical to screen musical (Auntie Mame would match that path a few years later). It had started as Christopher Isherwood's short story "Sally Bowles," about an amoral singer living in Berlin during the 1930s, and was later included in his collection, The Berlin Stories. "Sally Bowles" and another story about a gigolo who admits he's Jewish to win the heart of an heiress provided the basis for John Van Druten's I Am a Camera, a 1951 stage play starring Julie Harris as Bowles, which was adapted for the screen in 1955. Then, in 1966, Harold Prince scored a hit with Cabaret, a musical version featuring a different subplot (about a gentile landlady in love with a Jewish grocer) and a new character called the M.C. that made Joel Grey a star.

A film version of Cabaret was inevitable, but it was held up for years when the first deal, with Cinerama, Inc., for an unprecedented $2.1 million, fell through. At the time, off-screen companions Warren Beatty and Julie Christie were considered for the leading roles. When ABC Pictures and Allied Artists finally picked up the rights for $1.5 million, Broadway producer Cy Feuer signed on to produce the picture, with Bob Fosse directing and a budget of less than $5 million.

Playwrights Jay Presson Allen and Hugh Wheeler went back to the original stories to restore the subplot about the gigolo and the Jewish heiress. They also drew on original author Christopher Isherwood's openness about his homosexuality to make the leading male character, a writer modeled on him, a bisexual who shares his bed and a male lover with Sally. Fosse decided to increase the focus on the Kit Kat Club, where Sally performs, as a metaphor for the decadence of Germany in the 1930s by eliminating all but one of the musical numbers performed outside the club. The only remaining outside number is "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," a folk song rendered spontaneously by patrons at an open-air cafe in one of the film's most chilling scenes. In addition, the show's original songwriters, John Kander and Fred Ebb, wrote three new songs, "Mein Herr," "Money," and "Maybe This Time."

The new songs were all performed by the film's leading lady, Liza Minnelli ("Money" also featured Grey). Ironically, she had auditioned to play Sally in the original Broadway production. Some involved with the show say she was too inexperienced at the time (though she had already won Broadway's Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical). Others have suggested she was too big a presence for the role as written on Broadway. By the time Cabaret reached the screen, however, Minnelli was a major film star, having won an Oscar nomination as the emotionally damaged college student in The Sterile Cuckoo (1969).

Cabaret opened to glowing reviews and strong box office, eventually taking in more than $20 million. In addition to its eight Oscars, it won Best Picture citations from the National Board of Review and the Hollywood Foreign Press and took Best Supporting Actor honors for Grey from the National Board of Review, the Hollywood Foreign Press, and the National Society of Film Critics. But the biggest winner was Fosse. Shortly before the Academy Awards, he won two Tonys for directing and choreographing Pippin, his biggest stage hit to date. When months later he won Emmys for directing and choreographing Liza Minnelli's television special Liza with a Z, he became the first director to win all three awards in one year.

Producer: Cy Feuer
Director: Bob Fosse
Screenplay: Jay Presson Allen, Hugh Wheeler
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Art Direction: Hans Jurgen Kiebach, Rolf Zehetbauer
Music: Ralph Burns, John Kander
Principal Cast: Liza Minnelli (Sally Bowles), Michael York (Brian Roberts), Helmut Griem (Maximilian von Heune), Joel Grey (Master of Ceremonies), Fritz Wepper (Fritz Wendel), Marisa Berenson (Natalia Landauer), Elizabeth Neumann-Viertel (Fraulein Schneider).
C-124m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.

by Frank Miller

 
--
chloelouise