The Gales of November Come Early

Today marks 32 years since the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, an event made more memorable than it otherwise might have been because of a hit single released a year later, Gordon Lightfoot's ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

The Detroit News notes today:

The 29 sailors who died when the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 will be remembered at 6 p.m. Saturday at Henri Belanger Park near the Mariners Memorial Lighthouse.

A mail boat will take a wreath out to the Detroit River, lanterns will be lit, plaques will be on display and bagpipes will play for the ceremony. A bell will toll for each sailor.

* * *

The ship broke into two pieces and sank in November 1975 during a violent storm on Lake Superior as the ship sailed to Detroit. River Rouge is hosting a memorial because the ship's maiden voyage was from the city in 1958.

On this anniversary, a community theater group in Manitowoc, Wisconsin (a city on Lake Michigan, for the geographically-challenged) will open a new production of a play about the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy.

According to the Manitowoc Herald:

Exactly 32 years after the Edmund Fitzgerald vanished, local audiences will be able to revisit the maritime tragedy on the Capitol Civic Centre stage.

"Gales of November," the theatrical production about the freighter's sinking, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the theater, which is located at 913 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc.

"This is a major historical event on the Great Lakes and we've got the show on its anniversary. That's a coup," said Christine Kornely, chair of the Capitol's program committee.

Three singers, four musicians and a narrator will bring the story to life. Audiences may recognize some of the performers from the popular radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," Kornely said.

"Gales of November" was brought here because of its appeal to local audiences who live on the Great Lakes and are interested in the history and lore surrounding them, she said.

One reason the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has struck such a chord with so many people is that it "happened at a time when people didn't expect ships to sink anymore. It's a modern shipwreck story," said Prudence Johnson, the show's director and vocalist, in a phone interview from the Minneapolis area.

That article continues:

First produced in 2005, the show is an adaptation featuring music and excerpts from the 1987 hit play "Ten November."

Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Steven Dietz took inspiration from the song and wrote the book, graciously allowing her to borrow from it; Eric Peltoniemi wrote the music.

"I was in the original cast of 'Ten November' back in 1987," Johnson said. "Every once in a while I would take out the tape of the music and every time I would think, 'Wow, that's great music. I would love to sing that again.' "

So she consulted with Peltoniemi, who plays acoustic guitar in the show, and they gathered up fellow cast members, including singer Ruth Mackenzie and electric bass guitar player Jeffrey Willkomm. Rounding out the cast are vocalist Claudia Schmidt, violin and mandolin player Peter Ostroushko, piano and accordion player Dan Chouinard and narrator Kevin Kling.

It's a sunny, blue-sky day here in Charlottesville, with temperatures in the upper 40s -- far from the blustery, chilly weather of the Upper Great Lakes. One of the most profound characteristics of Gordon Lightfoot's songwriting in "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is how he lyrically brings the listener into the midst of the weather and other conditions that led to the tragedy. Echoing the tradition of Irish and Scottish ballads of previous centuries, it is no wonder that the song embedded that event of a generation ago into two nations' consciousness (the two nations being Canada and the United States).

Those who are unfamiliar with the song might check out this video from YouTube, which includes images of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Great Lakes:

Nobody, so far, has said it better.

National Blog Posting Month

It's too late for me, since this is only my seventh post of the month, but I just learned that November has been designated "National Blog Posting Month," with a goal for each blogger to post at least once each day. From BlogBurst:

It’s day eight of a posting fever for bloggers taking part in the NaBloPoMo challenge. For those of you wondering about what type of tongue-twisted soirée you have stumbled upon, the program’s slogan says it all. “Post until the Internet explodes.” It’s not too late to create a blog and contribute to the spirit of National Blog Posting Month.

Organized by avid blogger Eden Marriot Kennedy and inspired by the National Novel Writing Month contest, NaBloPoMo challenges the bloggers to author one post per day for the entire month of November. According to NaBloPoMo’s website, the roster of bloggers has doubled to an estimated 4,000 members since the program’s start in 2006.

Maybe next year I'll have the discipline (and the advance notice) to participate in NaBloPoMo (say that five times fast) myself.

Stewart Stern on 'Peter Pan'

During last weekend's Virginia Film Festival, I had the pleasure of attending three separate events featuring screenwriter Stewart Stern. One was a screening of Rebel Without a Cause, for which Stern contributed the screenplay; another was a shot-by-shot workshop on that same movie. The third was a screening of the 1924 Adolph Zukor production of Sir James M. Barrie's Peter Pan, the first rendering of that story on film.

Stern is the nephew of Zukor, and he had numerous familial connections to the early film industry. It was only natural that, after returning from military service in World War II, that he would join the industry.

At the first screening of "Rebel," Stern told us that he conceived of the three-way relationship of Jim Stark (played by James Dean), Judy (Natalie Wood), and Plato (Sal Mineo) as parallel to that of Peter Pan, Wendy, and the Lost Boys.

Lisa Provence of The Hook sat next to me at that Friday "Rebel" screening, and she took better notes than I did that afternoon. She notes in this week's issue:

Where Rebel without a Cause was born: In a "ludicrous" office painted an "awful" shade of green at Warner Brothers, where screenwriter Stewart Stern had to check in with a cop upon arrival, although he could then sneak out the back way, the 85-year-old tells the audience at the November 2 screening.

The inspiration for Jim Backus' costume in Rebel: Stern dredged up a memory of an apron his own father used to wear for the scene in which James Dean's father, wearing a frilly number, cleans up his mother's dropped breakfast tray.

He shot puppies? Clearly Sal Mineo's character, Plato, was destined for a bad end from the first scene in juvenile detention, where he displays a characteristic commonly attributed to serial killers.

We don't remember it being this campy: "That has to be the gayest movie I'll see at the film festival," says fest regular Richard Sincere.

Stern said much more at the shot-by-shot workshop, and I hope to write about that at length, and soon.

My purpose in this blogpost is to highlight Stern's entertaining and informative remarks that preceded a screening of the 1924 (silent) Peter Pan at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, which had been designated "family day" by the Virginia Film Festival. The auditorium was filled with children and their parents (more children than parents), including a couple of dozen second graders from Broadus Wood Elementary School in Albemarle County, who formed a children's choir to sing new compositions to accompany the film. (Festival regulars Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton provided the bulk of the musical accompaniment, joined by Terri Allard and Paul Reisler.)

Stern has many amusing memories of playing Peter Pan as a child. In the video you are about to watch, he tells of receiving an autographed copy of the first edition of Peter and Wendy, directly from Sir J. M. Barrie himself. He offers anecdotes from his uncles about meeting Barrie in London, and about the nationwide search for the perfect actress to portray Peter, a role that went to 17-year-old Betty Bronson.

But enough text. Watch the video and you'll learn much and smile more.

Part I:


Part II:

If it's not clear by now, let me emphasize that Stewart Stern is a delightful speaker whose knowledge and analysis would be valuable not just to film scholars, but to any film fans. I hope someone is writing his biography; it would be fascinating to read.

Election Day 2007 in Charlottesville

As few would not have predicted, the three Democratic candidates for Charlottesville City Council swept to victory on Tuesday, maintaining the monopoly on power that that political party has enjoyed for the bulk of the past generation. (Only two Republicans have been elected to public office in Charlottesville since 1982.)

Despite voter disquiet about a taxpayer-funded trip to Italy set to begin today, Mayor David Brown and his ticketmates trounced the two independents in the race, Barbara Haskins and Peter Kleeman.

The two top-of-the-ballot races, for state Senate and the House of Delegates, were uncontested, while many voters were surprised to find a three-way race for two seats on the Thomas Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation District, an office that heretofore had not been presented to voters for their choices on election day.

This was also the first time that City Council and School Board elections took place in Charlottesville in November rather than May. Turnout in the city on Tuesday was comparable to that of the last time three City Council seats were up, in May 2004 (when Mayor Brown was first elected, along with retiring council members Kendra Hamilton and Kevin Lynch). As a matter of fact, the fraction of voters who came out to the polls was precisely the same at 27 percent, although (because we now have a greater number of registered voters) the raw number of voters was larger. In May 2004, 5,339 people voted, and on Tuesday there were 6,085. (These figures are based on unofficial totals, subject to change after the canvass of results on Wednesday.)

One highlight for me on Tuesday was meeting a person who is perhaps Charlottesville's oldest living voter: Mr. William Duren, Jr., who is 102 years old. He came out to Alumni Hall Precinct to vote in person, and kindly granted my wish to photograph him (see below) for posterity:



Imagine: Mr. Duren was already eligible to vote when Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States, and Harry F. Byrd, Sr., was Governor of Virginia!

Tuesday was also a busy media day. I was interviewed twice by Lisa Ferrari of WCAV-TV (Channel 19), twice by WVIR-TV (Channel 29) -- in the morning by Jenn McDaniel and in the afternoon by David Douglas -- as well as by WMRA-FM in Harrisonburg and by Carlos Santos of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

During the 6:00 p.m. hour, two TV stations had simultaneous live shots at Recreation Precinct, with David Douglas interviewing General Registrar Sheri Iachetta and Lisa Ferrari interviewing me. Here's David and Sheri:



As usual, there were an array of interesting, amusing, provocative, and bawdy write-in votes for various offices. This was, as one might expect, an especially expansive phenomenon on November 6 because the first two races on the ballot were uncontested. Here are a few examples from the state Senate race:

Former Charlottesville Mayor Blake Caravati, former Charlottesville GOP chairman Bob Hodous, Bozo (2 votes for the clown), real estate magnate and entertainment mogul Coran Capshaw, radio personality Dick Mountjoy, the late Republican councilmember (and park namesake) Darden Towe, "Gay Rights," former Senator George Allen, Gumby, local Libertarian activist James Lark, Albemarle County Republican chairman Keith Drake, king of the pundits Larry Sabato, Mickey Mouse (5 votes), Osama Bin Laden, former City Council member Rob Schilling (5 votes), Delegate Rob Bell, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (3 votes), and Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert.

Also cast in this contest for the 25th District Senate Race were votes for two candidates running in the neighboring 24th District: Democrat David Cox and Libertarian Arin Sime (who had two votes). Full disclosure: I also received two votes in this race, but I haven't a clue as to who cast them. (There were 97 write-in votes in this contest.)

In the race for the 57th District of the House of Delegates, there were write-in votes for Anybody Else (2 votes), 59th District House candidate Connie Brennan, two more for Bob Hodous, Darth Vader, City Councilman Dave Norris, Donald Duck (2 votes), retiring Albemarle Sheriff Ed Robb, "Fair Tax," another for George Allen, God, another for James Lark, Jesus Christ, Councilman Kevin Lynch, three more for Mickey Mouse, the sophomoric homophone Mike Hunt, "Not Toscano," another for the world's most-wanted terrorist (Osama Bin Laden), five more for Rob Schilling, Reason magazine science correspondent Ron Bailey, two more for Congressman Ron Paul, Spoiled Yappy Dog, two for David Toscano's 2005 opponent Tom McCrystal, and one for blogger Waldo Jaquith. There were 107 total write-in votes in this contest.

There were comparatively few -- only 69 -- write-in votes for the Soil & Water District Commissioner race. This is a surprise given that most voters knew little about either the office or the candidates seeking it.

Once again, Bob Hodous shows up, alongside Bob Newhart (presumably the Mark Twain-award winning comic actor), Bozo, and Britney Spears. Others with ticks next to their name were Dolly Parton, "Old Relish Packet," former state climatologist Patrick Michaels, Delegate Rob Bell, Scottish poet Robert Burns, Rob Schilling, South Park fourth-grader Stan Marsh, and (once again) Stephen Colbert.

One would expect that in the highly-contested race for City Council, fewer voters would cast a write-in, since they were able to choose from among five highly-qualified candidates already on the ballot. Yet 97 write-ins were cast for Charlottesville City Council. Among them:

"A Better Candidate Please," School Board chairman Alvin Edwards, former Mayor Francis Fife, "Italian Junket" (and the related "Poggio a Caiano") James Lark (again), local social activists Joy Johnson and Karen Waters (4 votes for her), outgoing City Councilors Kendra Hamilton and Kevin Lynch, former Delegate Paul Harris, former Councilor Meredith Richards, Republican activist Randolph Byrd, former President Richard Nixon, Rob Schilling (11 votes), and "Save Crow Pool."

Finally, in the 7-person race for four School Board seats, there were 98 write-in votes, including several for various versions of current School Board member Charlie Kollmansperger (who chose not to seek a full term on the board after being appointed earlier this year to fill a vacancy). Other votes went to Helen Keller, "Hey Babe Babe," the ubiquitous James Lark, Frodo (the hobbit, I suppose), Dr. Ron Paul, Melinda St. Ours, school-choice proponent and Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman, Rob Schilling (2 votes for him and one for his wife, Joan), "Outskirts Guy," and that champion race horse, Sea Biscuit.

I should add that Robert Brandon Smith, who announced that he was a write in candidate for virtually all offices on the ballot, received various votes in different configurations of his name for each of the available contests, though it is difficult to determine precisely how many of these votes were meant to be his.

All in all, this was quite an election, and now it is time for me to go to bed after a day that began with a wake-up call at 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday and ends at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Virginia Film Festival 2007 - Second Video

The war in Iraq -- specifically the battle for Haditha -- was the subject of the last film I saw on day two of this year's Virginia Film Festival, appropriately entitled The Battle for Haditha, a cinema-verite style feature directed by British documentarian Nick Broomfield. Although in full color, the film brings to mind the pathbreaking 1960s film of the same genre, The Battle of Algiers. (Broomfield told me after the screening that that earlier film was on his mind when he produced his latest work.)

The film uses mostly non-professional actors, including Iraqi refugees in Jordan and veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq.

After the film was screened, the University of Virginia's Michael Smith moderated a discussion with Broomfield and the audience (which was surprisingly sparse given the subject matter but perhaps not so surprisingly, given the late hour).

Here, in two video clips, is that discussion.

(Part 1)

(Part 2)

Virginia Film Festival 2007 - First Video

After the screening of Honeydripper at the Paramount on Thursday evening, local radio personality Dave Rogers moderated a panel made up of actor and UVa alumnus Sean Patrick Thomas, director John Sayles, and producer Maggie Renzi.

Here is a portion of that panel discussion, in which Sayles discusses some of the background of Honeydripper, focusing on the music, the period, and the casting of the film.

There's more video where this came from. It takes time to edit these things, even with something as easy to use as Windows Movie Maker.

Virginia Film Festival 2007 - Day One Photos

There's not a lot of time available at the moment to write about the first evening of the Virginia Film Festival. (It's coming on 4:00 a.m. and I am planning to see a screening of Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers at 10:00 a.m. -- just six hours from now.)

Fortunately, I did snap a few photographs on Thursday night, capturing images of the venue, the crowds, the celebrities, and the news media outside the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville.

Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite for what a more extensive report to come later (probably after Election Day next week):

The marquee of the Paramount Theatre announces this year's Virginia Film Festival, which is competing for attention with Clint Black and a bus-and-truck company of Gypsy.

Festival patrons lined up for more than a block in the middle of the downtown mall to see Honeydripper, the new John Sayles film that was featured as the opening event.

Maggie Renzi (left), producer of Honeydripper, with her partner, John Sayles, who directed the film.

Richard Herskowitz (left), director of the Virginia Film Festival, with University of Virginia alumnus Sean Patrick Thomas, one of the many stars of Honeydripper.

WCAV-TV reporter Philip Stewart interviews Sean Patrick Thomas shortly before the screening of Honeydripper, outside the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville.

Finally, here is a scene from Honeydripper, featuring Danny Glover as Tyrone "Pinetop" Purvis and Lisa Gay Hamilton as Delilah. (Photo courtesy Virginia Film Festival)

According to producer Maggie Renzi, Honeydripper opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 28. It will open in select cities (such as Atlanta and Chicago) for Martin Luther King weekend and go wide in February (on about 300 screens nationwide) in conjunction with Black History Month.

Virginia Film Festival 2007 - Preview

Last night I traveled to Harrisonburg to see a play by Paula Vogel, The Mineola Twins, performed by a local community theatre group, The Playhouse, at Court Square Theatre. The Mineola Twins is a provocative but ultimately unsatisfactory (and unsettling) bit of political satire (my colleague, Tim Hulsey, prefers the term "agitprop"), which sets up two twin sisters as left-wing and right-wing terrorists (though not in as balanced a manner as that nutshell description implies). The play has many pop-culture references that evoke laughs from those in the know (which should be virtually anyone who lived in the '50s, '60s, '70s, or '80s), but many of the jokes fell flat among the audience that watched the show with me.

There were a few highlights worth noting, however, such as the performance of John Michael Schott in two roles, as cousins Kenny (son of right-wing Myrna) and Ben (son of left-wing Myra), both 14 years old and neither inheriting the values of their respective mothers. With a twinkle in his eye and a firm understanding of the emotional crippledness of each character, Schott was the clear stand-out in the gender-bending cast of five.

Live theatre aside, however, tonight is the beginning of what I have come to view as the best weekend of the Charlottesville calendar year: the annual Virginia Film Festival opens tonight with a screening of John Sayles' new film, Honeydripper, which explores the roots of rock and roll music in the American south.

The Virginia Film Festival is in its 20th year (already?) and this year it brings directors, screenwriters, producers, and a few actors to Charlottesville to celebrate the artistry of film and to discuss their craft with fans and aspiring filmmakers. Among those who will be appearing to discuss their films are director Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills), screenwriter Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause), director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), UVa film professor Walter Korte (discussing the films of Luchino Visconti), actor and director John Turturro (Romance and Cigarettes), and many others. (A full film festival program can be found at www.vafilm.com.)

The theme of the 2007 Virginia Film Festival is "Kin Flicks" -- not to be confused with the 1976 novel of the same name, by Lisa Alther -- with a focus on films about families and their relationships.

The Volvo Adrenaline Film Project will be the climax of the festival again this year. This gives teams of young filmmakers an opportunity to produce a short film within a 72-hour period in which they must write, film, and edit it before being shown to an audience that acts as a jury to award the best of the dozen or so films created in those three days. Charlottesville native and film director Jeff Wadlow and his producing partner, Beau Bauman, act as mentors during the project.

Another highlight will be screened on Saturday afternoon: the 1924 silent version of Peter Pan, with live musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin, Joanna Seaton, and Paul Reisler, along with Terri Allard's Kid Pan Alley (local school kids singing original music in chorus). This film, with cinematography by the legendary James Wong Howe, was long thought to be lost, but it has been found and will be on screen at the Paramount.

Watch this space over the course of the weekend for nightly updates -- with photos, video, and text -- on the 2007 Virginia Film Festival.

(Photos and graphics courtesy of the Virginia Film Festival.)

Ron Paul Earns Respect

The audience of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno yesterday was filled with enthusiastic (and vocal) Ron Paul supporters. (For those of you who missed the interview with Dr. Paul, check out the official Tonight Show web site here and choose "October 30" and "Chapter 5." The segment has also been posted to YouTube, but I can't guarantee that it will stay there long.)

There is no doubt that many more American voters saw Ron Paul on The Tonight Show than had seen him on any of the GOP presidential debates. (It's also likely that more Americans heard the term "Austrian economics" last night than have ever heard the term in the past century.)

While media attention matters, so does the fact that Ron Paul's campaign and his principles are earning the respect even of those who disagree with him on some issues.

One example of this is found in an opinion column in The Hoya, the oldest continuously-operating student newspaper at Georgetown University. (The Hoya has been published since 1920. Full disclosure: I contributed a couple of articles to The Hoya as an undergraduate.)

In the article, regular columnist Stephen Kenny, a supporter of Rudy Giuliani, explains "Why Ron Paul Matters":

[Ron] Paul is a model for Americans who support fewer big government solutions to problems, and try to confront difficult social issues with private, community-based efforts and personal sacrifice.

My favorite aspect of Ron Paul’s public service career is his strong fidelity to the Constitution. Too many members of Congress vote for bills that are popular, or support legislation based solely on how much funding their districts will get. Paul actually consults the Constitution to see if a bill falls under the enumerated powers of Congress. The Constitution offers many safeguards against government intrusion and remaining faithful to it is the best way to protect individual and states’ rights. Paul’s profound respect for the duties of his office is something sorely missing from many of our representatives in Congress.

Kenny, a Georgetown College senior, continues:

Ron Paul has definitely played an important role in the Republican debates this year. Aside from his defense of an isolationist foreign policy, Paul has posed uncomfortable questions to the GOP frontrunners that will hopefully be answered during the course of the campaign. Most of the issues addressed by his campaign relate to the domestic response to the terrorist threat, such as the proper balance between civil liberties and security. He also stands resolutely against the use of torture on enemy prisoners and warns of the consequences of the enlargement of executive authority in the War on Terror. The separation of powers, Paul maintains, is an essential component of our Constitution that prevents tyranny and keeps the branches of government answerable to the people. These are principled stances that must be considered by the Republican Party as it formulates its platform for the 2008 presidential election.

Ron Paul's constitutionalist approach to government and his loyalty to the principles upon which this country was built has provided an important contribution to the Republican primaries. Hopefully, he will have a major influence on the direction of the party. His voice for a smaller federal government and individual liberty is a welcome one in the Republican Party, and I am grateful for his strong presence in the debates.

With praise like that from one who supports Ron Paul's leading opponent, what can we expect from uncommitted voters during the upcoming primary elections and caucuses? It is clear that Ron Paul's message is resonating with many people who have been disengaged from politics in the past. An MSNBC report this week noted:

A small sample of Ron Paul’s supporters in Iowa in recent days found them to be a mix of young and old, mostly male, but some women.

They include traditional Christian social conservatives and homeschoolers, and fresh-faced fervent college students such as [Iowa State's Jacob] Bofferding, who embrace his free market ideas and an anti-interventionist foreign policy.

According to another MSNBC report, Dr. Paul told 700 supporters (described by the reporter as "whooping fans") gathered at Iowa State University last weekend:

“There is something rather amazing about the Internet,” he told his Ames supporters, about two-thirds of whom appeared to be under age 25. “I’ve been used to delivering a message very similar to what I’m delivering tonight for many, many years and not getting a whole lot of responses. And all of a sudden, there’s a whole generation of people now very excited about hearing about the message of freedom.”

MSNBC correspondent Tom Curry quotes a well-known political operative on Paul's chances of success in Iowa:

Joe Trippi, a 25-year veteran of Iowa caucus politics who served as Howard Dean’s campaign manager in 2003 and who’s now a top aide to [John] Edwards, said, “From what I see, Ron Paul is doing much better than his better-known opponents think he is doing. He is at that stage of the Dean campaign when all the other campaigns are laughing at him and have no idea of how strong he really is.”

Trippi added, “This kind of candidacy can be surprisingly strong in a caucus state particularly if it stays just below the radar.”

It is just 64 days until the Iowa caucuses. Is the momentum with the maverick from Texas?

Arin Sime Receives Newspaper Endorsement

In what might come as a surprise to everyone except those who have been following the campaign in the 24th state Senate district closely, the Waynesboro News Virginian, one of the larger newspapers in that district, has endorsed Arin Sime over his opponents in next Tuesday's election.

The newspaper's editorial was quoted in a news release from the Sime campaign today:

Arin Sime, Libertarian State Senate candidate for the 24th District, has been endorsed by the Waynesboro News Virginian today in a lead editorial entitled “Fresh-thinking Sime our pick.”

Mr. Sime commented that “I am honored and humbled by the endorsement today of the News Virginian. I think it is incredibly important that we begin to think outside traditional party lines, and I’m very pleased to see the News Virginian’s editorial board agrees.”

In their editorial, the News Virginian had the following to say:

“Among the three, Sime’s views are the most alluring. He favors a constitutional amendment to block the abuse of eminent domain, has compiled a detailed platform on open government, backs school choice and promises he will not raise taxes. Sime supports many of his positions with well-reasoned plans for making them work.”

The editorial continued to say: “Fresh thinking such as his is a rarity in an era of knee-jerk, party-line politics … Our support of Sime is not so much a reflection on Hanger as it is driven by an interest in a candidate whose approach reaches outside traditional boundaries.”

The News Virginian editorial endorsement follows on a complimentary opinion column from veteran political correspondent Bob Gibson of the Charlottesville Daily Progress. (Several precincts of the 24th district are within the Daily Progress circulation area.) Referring specifically to the television ad posted here a couple of weeks ago, Gibson wrote in his regular Sunday column on October 14:

The most honest, positive and straightforward political ads this season, with issues and positions spelled out in plain English, without highly selective, emotional attacks, appear to be those of Libertarians.

Smaller government has an appeal to people that big political parties preach but rarely practice.

Libertarians are honest about not having all the answers - and they don’t think government does, either.

Something for everyone?

Democrats are attracted to Libertarian ideas because they don’t put big government in the bedroom.

Republicans are attracted to Libertarian thinking because it doesn’t welcome big government into everyone’s wallets.

Both major parties spread fertilizer on different roots of the great government oak.

Libertarians are a party small enough for everyone.

Crozet resident Arin Sime, which rhymes with rhyme, is a Libertarian candidate with a message that Charlottesville-area residents are likely to see on TV soon. They can watch it anytime just by Googling Libertarian Arin Sime.

Sime is challenging state Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Mount Solon, in a three-way contest that also includes Democrat David Cox, an Episcopal minister from Lexington.

Hanger’s 24th Senate District stretches from Lexington up the Shenandoah Valley to Rockingham County and east of the Blue Ridge to include Greene County and the Batesville, Crozet and Free Union precincts of western Albemarle.

No mudslinging here

Sime’s television advertising features local families making a simple appeal for preserving family farms, property rights, educational choice, gun rights and in favor of lower property taxes.

The ads do not mention or savage Hanger, who survived a withering series of attacks from an anti-tax challenger in a June Republican primary contest.

Instead, Sime lays out Libertarian positions, with local couples making the pitch for him and his ideas.

“It’s time for real property tax reform,” Crozet homeowner Tina Munchmeyer says in the ad while sitting next to her husband, John.

“It’s time to empower parents with choice in education,” says Earlysville home-schooling mother Silvia Barrett.

“It’s time to protect our family farms,” says Staunton-area farmer Guy Freesen, who regularly sells his farm’s meat at area farmer’s markets and is active in groups seeking to ease regulations on family farms.

Sime appears at the end of his ad and makes the pitch: “If you believe in small government like I do, please vote for your principles.”

One reason Libertarians can be so straightforward is that they don’t govern anything much more than a small party and themselves.

Sime is a computer-savvy small businessman with a relentlessly honest message.

After noting similar ads from Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, Gibson concludes:

More voters will start seeing ads for Sime and Paul, because the Libertarian “purists” have done well in the hard work of raising campaign cash.

Paul raised more than $5 million in the third quarter of 2007, putting his campaign cash ahead of that collected by some of the bigger names in the crowded GOP presidential field.

Sime has outraised Democrat Cox in Virginia’s 24th Senate District.

Sime raised more than $35,300 through August to just over $11,000 for Cox and more than $305,000 for Hanger, the favorite to win another term in the heavily Republican district.

Virginians may get their first looks at Libertarian TV ads this fall and may just like the straightforward messages.

Bob Gibson also discussed the honest libertarian style with Coy Barefoot on "Charlottesville ... Right Now" on WINA-AM. (A later interview with Arin Sime on that afternoon drive-time program can be heard here, courtesy of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.) The News Virginian editorial endorsement of Arin Sime does not yet appear on the newspaper's web site (last updated, it seems, on October 25) but here is a scan of the article as it appears in the print edition:


(Click image to embiggen.)

New Ron Paul Ad for New Hampshire TV

Presidential candidate Ron Paul has a new television commercial, produced specifically with New Hampshire viewers in mind. The ad already has been posted on YouTube, and now you can see it here:

The new commercial has been unveiled just in time for the highly anticipated appearance by Congressman Paul on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 30.

The other guests on The Tonight Show that evening will be Tom Cruise, who is promoting his soon-to-be-released film, Lions for Lambs, and the Sex Pistols, who will perform a song (if that's the right word) from their new CD, Spunk: The Official Bootleg.

In the anti-war movie Lions for Lambs, coincidentally, Cruise plays a congressman who is aiming to win the White House. That could make for an interesting meeting on the couch.

I Should Be Glad I Work from Home

According to Friday's Washington Post, today (Saturday) has been designated "Cranky Co-Workers Day." Whether that's a holiday or not is another question, but the Post's Vicki Elmer describes it like this:

Cranky Co-Workers Day is designated as the time to recognize the role of the unhappiest in our midst.

One blogger suggests that you take that cranky cubicle dweller out for a drink -- a martini -- to try to turn around his or her mood, at least temporarily.

Another says that having the grump as a regular character in your personal blog may help put things in perspective, or at least give you a regular joke that people will find relevant.

We figure most workers have at least one cranky colleague, if not in the same row of cubicles, then in the same building. About three in 10 workers in an OfficeTeam survey say a colleague is rude or unprofessional, and among those, two-thirds say the bad behavior is frequent.

Telecommuting has more advantages than saving gas and reducing traffic congestion, doesn't it?

One more question, though: Why does Cranky Co-Workers Day fall on a Saturday? Don't most people still work M-F, with weekends off? Is this just a way to avoid another office party with stale cake and flat sodas ito celebrate yet another employment-related holiday?

That was more than one question. Here's the last one: What would Samuel Gompers say about this?

Dr. Ron Paul in Sunday's GOP Debate

Courtesy of a Congressional Quarterly transcript posted on line by the New York Times, here are the responses to questions posed by Fox News panelists to Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, one of the candidates for the Republican party's 2008 presidential nomination.

The debate was staged in Orlando, Florida -- home of Disney World and Universal Studios, among other tourist attractions.

The first question directed toward Dr. Paul was asked by the chief political correspondent for Fox News, Carl Cameron. Brit Hume introduced him:

Carl Cameron has the second round of questions.

Carl?

CAMERON: Thanks very much, Brit.

Congressman Paul, to you, on the subject of one of the core debates in the party, over social issues: gay marriage.

You've been quoted as saying, Any association that's voluntary should be permissible in a free society. And you've expressed your opposition to a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Many of your rivals on that stage disagree. Why are they wrong?

PAUL: I'm afraid I haven't been able to get most of your question. I know you brought up the subject of gay marriage, but I didn't get the point of what you're saying. I can't hear it that well.

CAMERON: Why are on those stage who support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage wrong?

PAUL: OK. Well, if you believe in federalism, it's better that we allow these things to be left to the state. My personal belief is that marriage is a religious ceremony.

PAUL: And it should be dealt with religiously. The state really shouldn't be involved. The state, both federal and state-wise, got involved mostly for health reasons 100 years or so ago.

But this should be a religious matter. All voluntary associations, whether they're economic or social, should be protected by the law. But to amend the Constitution is totally unnecessary to define something that's already in the dictionary.

We do know what marriage is about. We don't need a new definition or argue over a definition and have an amendment to the Constitution. To me, it just seems so unnecessary to do that. It's very simply that the states should be out of that business, and the states -- I mean, the states should be able to handle this. The federal government should be out of it.

There's no need for the federal government to be involved in this. You can accomplish this without waiting five or ten or 15 years. The authority can be put in the states by mere voting in the Congress.

(APPLAUSE)

The second question for Congressman Paul came from Wendell Goler, the Fox News White House correspondent:

GOLER: Congressman Paul, you say that insurance companies and government programs have made health care simply unafforable. You objected so strongly to Medicaid that, as a doctor, I'm told, you simply treated patients on your own, at your own expense.

Is charity the way we should provide health care for the poor right now?

And how are you going to encourage doctors to do that -- primary care doctors to do that, when their salaries have been declining for more than a decade?

PAUL: Well, we've had managed care, now, for about 35 years. It's not working, and nobody's happy with it. The doctors aren't happy. The patients aren't happy.

PAUL: Nobody seems to be happy -- except the corporations, the drug companies and the HMOs.

You take care of poor people by turning the medical care back into the system, where people have some choices.

Now, we have a mess because we have -- a lot of people are very dependent on health care. But I have the only way we can afford to take care of people now, because we're going broke, with $500 billion going to debt every single year. And we have a foreign policy that is draining us.

I say, take care of these poor people. I'm not against that. But save the money someplace. The only place available for us to save it is to change our attitude about running a world empire and bankrupting this country. We can take care of the poor people, save money and actually cut some of our deficit.

So you don't have to throw anybody out in the street, but long term you have move toward the marketplace. You cannot expect socialized medicine of the Hillary brand to work.

And you can't expect the managed care system that we have today, which promotes and benefits and rewards the corporations -- because it's the drug companies and the HMOs and even the AMA that comes to us and lobbies us for this managed care, and that's why the prices are high.

PAUL: It's only in medicine that technology has raised prices rather than lowering prices.

(APPLAUSE)

Chris Wallace, moderator of Fox News Sunday, also directed a question toward Ron Paul, eliciting a comment on the Republicans' bete noire, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the all-but-certain and certainly-the-GOP's-heaven-sent-choice-for Democratic presidential nominee.

WALLACE: Congressman Paul...

(APPLAUSE)

WALLACE: Congressman Paul, you're against the Iraq war. So is Senator Clinton. So what are the differences between you?

PAUL: Well, there's a very big difference, and I think the American people, if we as a party realize this and understand it, 70- some percent of the people in America want the war over with. They're sick and tired of it and they want our troops to come home.

Now, Senator Clinton has nothing new to offer. She's endorsing the same policy. She said that the troops would be there for another five years, continue to build this embassy that's going to be bigger than the Vatican, continue to build 14 air bases as are going on there, these private bases going on there, and never change.

PAUL: We in this party have to realize the American people are sick and tired of big government, big government overseas, an empire we can't maintain, the bankruptcy of this country, and also the attack on our personal civil liberties. We don't have privacy left anymore, and Hillary Clinton offers no solution to that, and neither does any of the Democrats. And we are not doing a very good job either.

If we don't recognize that, we don't have a chance because we need to get back to the basics, believe in the Constitution, believe in the rule of law, and not allow our government to spend endlessly and bankrupt this country.

(APPLAUSE)

HUME: Congressman Paul, thank you.

Brit Hume, who moderated the panel and the debaters, asked Dr. Paul to follow up on a question about Social Security and retirement savings for Americans that was posed to another candidate:

HUME: Congressman Paul, your thoughts on these issues?

PAUL: it's a mess. And it proves that the government is not very good at central economic planning, even for retirement.

PAUL: The money was taken from the people with good intention. We should do our best to return it to those that have taken it.

But we need to allow the young people to just flat out get out of the system. Because, I tell you what...

(APPLAUSE)

... if you have the government managing these accounts, it's not going to work.

And the other thing that you have to consider if you're really serious about protecting people's incomes, each and every one of us, is how you're going to protect the dollar. If you don't have the dollar maintaining its value, no matter where you put the money you're not going to have any value. That's where the crisis is coming.

You're going to go up with all these cost of living increases but you'll never keep up with the cost of living because the dollar's going down, the cost of living is going up.

Our dollar today is worth 4 cents compared to the dollar of 1913, when the Federal Reserve took charge of it. And if you don't deal with the dollar there will be no retirement for anybody. We're going to have chaos.

And that is why you have to cut spending. That's why we need a new foreign policy. We need to tie it to people over here in this country, the people who are dependent, but we need to let the people get out, whether it's Social Security or medical care or education. The Constitution doesn't advise that we do any of that anyway.

PAUL: That's the only way we can solve the problem.

(APPLAUSE)

Carl Cameron asked this question of Senator Fred Thompson, and then asked the other candidates, including Congressman Paul, for their opinions on the same issue:

CAMERON: Senator Thompson, violence escalated again today on the Turkish-Iraq border. The terrorist group, PKK, took Turkish soldiers hostage. If as President Bush says, we are fighting terrorists in Iraq to protect our homeland, shouldn't the Turks be able to go into Iraq to protect their own?

Dr. Paul's reply:

PAUL: This is a -- this is a result of a foreign policy of interventionism. The founders advised non-interventionism. And even our president won the election in the year 2000 to have a more humble foreign policy, not to go into nation-building, and not get involved in the internal affairs of other nations.

And we won an election on that.

But here we are. We're over there and we've invaded this country and this is just another unintended consequence. The war is spreading, the war is likely to go into Iran, nobody's willing to take anything off the table.

What would it be like if somebody came in here into Mexico and did some of these things -- say, like, putting missiles in Europe? We're just looking for trouble. It's so unnecessary. And we jeopardize ourselves. And, quite frankly, we're not able to afford this.

So we don't need to go looking for trouble. We don't need another Cold War. And all we have to do is start talking to people and trading with people.

We don't need to assume that the world is going to blow up. Just think of...

(AUDIENCE BOOING)

PAUL: When I was drafted into the military, and I served five years in the military, the Soviets had 40,000 nuclear weapons.

And here, we're now learning about agitating and putting missiles in Europe.

PAUL: It's the Turks' business. It's not our business.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

(APPLAUSE)

The last question addressed to Dr. Paul came from Wendell Goler, and it really gave the congressman a chance to shine: The question, intentionally or not, sparked a brief summary of the political philosophy and policy stance that has drawn so many activists to the Ron Paul campaign (or, as it is affectionately known from coast to coast, the "Ron Paul Revolution"):

GOLER: Gentlemen, I want to ask you a series of questions on no particular subject. These are simply questions I haven't had a chance to ask yet.

Congressman Paul, I want to start with you. You have drawn some of the strongest reactions of any person on the stage, both pro and con, sir. When Ronald Reagan became a Republican, he said he hadn't left the Democratic Party, the Democrats had left him.

Given your differences with the other gentlemen on the stage, has the Republican Party left you? Have these gentlemen left the Republican Party?

PAUL: I think in many ways they haven't followed our platform and they don't follow the Constitution. So they're really not following (inaudible). I think in many ways we have become big spenders. Republicans are the big spenders. Our big-government conservatives, they're part of the neo-conservative movement. They've lost their traditions about traditional conservatism and the Constitution.

We have benefited for so many years and decades by having a position of less use of force. Eisenhower won his election in 1952 by trying to clean up the mess that Democrats created in Korea. Nixon won in '68. We continuously won in taking this position of a more commonsensical foreign policy.

Like I said, even George Bush won criticizing this interventionism, and now all of a sudden, just in this short period of time, we have accepted the Democrats' position on foreign policy, on entitlements, on deficits. I mean, we have lost our way.

No, I think that the position of the Republican Party today has not fulfilled their traditions.

And that's why we lost last year. And if we don't go back to our traditions and believe in the Constitution, limited government, personal liberties, and a foreign policy that's noninterventionist, that won't bankrupt us, so that we can defend this country -- we can't even defend our own cities while we're prancing around the entire world.

(APPLAUSE)

Dr. Paul also appeared with Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes on a post-debate wrap-up show, and he was in excellent form for that interview, too. When Hannity tried to pooh-pooh the cell-phone/text message poll that showed debate viewers favoring Ron Paul with 38 percent of their votes, Dr. Paul explained that this was just the enthusiastic response from discerning Fox News viewers across the country.

Dumbledore Is Gay!

While the New Criticism tells us not to care -- authorial intent be damned! -- word comes from New York that J. K. Rowling has pronounced that the beloved character of the Harry Potter books, Dumbledore, is gay.

Reuters reports:

J.K. Rowling has outed one of the main characters of her best-selling Harry Potter series, telling fans in New York that the wizard Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts school, is gay.

Speaking at Carnegie Hall on Friday night in her first U.S. tour in seven years, Rowling confirmed what some fans had always suspected -- that she "always thought Dumbledore was gay," reported entertainment Web site E! Online....

Rowling said she had read through a script for the movie adaptation of the sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and corrected a passage in which Dumbledore was reminiscing about past loves by crossing it out and scrawling "Dumbledore is gay" over it.

The author says so; so it is. (New Critics be damned!)

Tinky-Winky was unavailable for comment.

Someone Is Searching for Your Burritos

There is a (probably) apocryphal story, dating back four decades or more, about the Reader's Digest, whose editors had hired a consultant to determine which of the magazine's articles were most popular, and how they could use that information to increase sales, especially at newsstands and supermarket check-out lines.

After researching several years of editions and sales, the consultant came back with a report that the most popular items in Reader's Digest were biographical pieces on Abraham Lincoln, human interest stories about household pets, tales of Cold War espionage, articles about Nazis, and first-person accounts.

To maximize sales, the consultant suggested, the magazine's cover should place this headline prominently:

"I WAS A SPY FOR ABE LINCOLN'S NAZI DOG"

This came to mind when I saw a Reuters report this week on the most popular Google search terms around the world. The dispatch, datelined Berlin, begins:

Internet users in Egypt, India and Turkey are the world's most frequent searchers for Web sites using the keyword "sex" on Google search engines, according to statistics provided by Google Inc.

Germany, Mexico and Austria were world's top three searchers of the word "Hitler" while "Nazi" scored the most hits in Chile, Australia and the United Kingdom, data from 2004 to the present retrievable on the "Google Trends" Web site showed.

Chile also came in first place searching for the word "gay," followed by Mexico and Colombia.

Reuters lists the top ten search terms (and the countries where they reign highest) as follows:

"Jihad" - Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan

"Terrorism" - Pakistan, Philippines, Australia

"Hangover" - Ireland, United Kingdom, United States

"Burrito" - United States, Argentina, Canada

"Iraq" - United States, Australia, Canada

"Taliban" - Pakistan, Australia, Canada

"Tom Cruise" - Canada, United States, Australia

"Britney Spears" - Mexico, Venezuela, Canada

"Homosexual" - Philippines, Chile, Venezuela

"Love" - Philippines, Australia, United States

Pulling up the rear on Google's list -- as reported by Reuters and other sources -- were these eight search terms:

"Botox" - Australia, United States, United Kingdom

"Viagra" - Italy, United Kingdom, Germany

"David Beckham" - Venezuela, United Kingdom, Mexico

"Kate Moss" - Ireland, United Kingdom, Sweden

"Dolly Buster" - Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia

"Car bomb" - Australia, United States, Canada

"Marijuana" - Canada, United States, Australia

"IAEA" - Austria, Pakistan, Iran

Except for "Dolly Buster" (which was unknown to me but seems to refer to a Czech-born porn star popular in Central Europe), all of these key words are fairly mundane. Only in the context of where they are popular do they raise eyebrows.

As frequent readers of this blog know, there are some odd search terms that bring people here. Some are odder than others, and some become less odd through repetition and the formation of patterns. For instance, from among the last 4,000 visitors, there were a cluster looking for presidential candidate Ron Paul in various configurations:

ron paul, tom coburn
ron paul, thoughts on global warming
ron paul university of virginia
ron paul tinky winky
ron paul thoughts on gay people
ron paul satanic hand gesture symbol
ron paul opposes dadt
ron paul on gay and lesbian issues
ron paul minority gay individual rights
ron paul judaism
ron paul don't ask don't tell catholic
ron paul and dadt
ron paul "reading list"

This should be expected, given Ron Paul's high profile on the Internet. (By the way, it is now confirmed that Dr. Paul will be a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC on Tuesday, October 30. Check your local listings.)

Then there is another cluster of search terms, all of them focused on the male torso:

shirtless teen idols
shirtless students photos
shirtless rudy guliani
shirtless robert redford
shirtless ricky nelson
shirtless prince william
shirtless prince harry
shirtless pictures of ricky nelson
shirtless pictures of jeremy sumpter
shirtless pictures of daniel radcliffe
shirtless pics of jesse palmer
shirtless missionary calendar
shirtless male postings
shirtless malcolm frankie
shirtless lou taylor pucci
shirtless josh hutcherson pics
shirtless josh hutcherson
shirtless hunter parrish
shirtless dave
shirtless college students
shirtless blogs

Most of these terms are too specific to show up on Google Trends. Some of these, however, might rate a Google Trends report:

penis size report
penis size percent
penis size debate
penis size blog
penis length in vergina
older women and penis size

At least "penis size" without qualifying terms shows up there. (It turns out Australians are most interested in penis size, followed by Americans, Canadians, Britons, and Indians.)

A lot of readers like to put their searches in the form of a question. Either they are used to playing Jeopardy or they cut their web teeth on Ask Jeeves. Here are some of those questions, just those beginning with the word "is" (and not, so far as I know, dependent on what the meaning of "is" is):

is virginia an open primary state
is this the right way to say fish fry's
is sweeney todd appropriate for preteens
is ron paul gay friendly?
is joshua bell circumcised?
is josh hutcherson circumcised?
is jeremy sumpter circumcised'
is hunter parrish gay?
is harry potter circumcised?
is frankie muniz circumcised
is former porn queen jennifer wells evading taxes?
is cuba theocratic
is bob fosse still alive
has bob fosse been found?
is aaron carter circumcised?

Then there are just the inscrutable search terms -- some of them in the form of a question, some not -- that just boggle the mind. What were they thinking? What were they really looking for?

how to say the american national anthem in pig latin
homoerotic spelling bees
hayek et olim meminisse juvabit
10 reasons why frankie muniz sucks
mike huckabee "respects" sexual deviants
family bestiality
yiddish translation for underpants
what is it with judy garland and gays?

And, finally, there is this recent search, from a reader in Kenya:

pictures of circumcision in progress in uganda

Check back in a few months. This collection will grow and grow and the time will come to revisit the topic.

By the way, thanks to Vodka Pundit for linking to my recent post on Sir Ian McKellen's appearance on the Craig Ferguson show. That link has more than doubled my traffic this week.



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Sir Ian McKellen on Coming Out and Cannabis

Sir Ian McKellen, star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the X-Men series, and Gods and Monsters, among other movies, is appearing on stage in Los Angeles in productions of King Lear and The Seagull.

Sir Ian (who is openly gay) appeared on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS Wednesday night (or was that Thursday morning?) to promote the two plays and to talk about his career. During the course of the interview, he endorsed -- perhaps inadvertently but clearly not insincerely -- the importance of coming out for gay people and, in the process, suggested that it would be best if marijuana were decriminalized.

Here is a partial transcript that I made from the interview. (There was some cross-chatter, so this transcription may not be completely accurate.)

Craig Ferguson: You've been touring a lot with this play, you're going around everywhere, right?

Sir Ian McKellen: We started in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born and where the Royal Shakespeare Company has its home. Then we went up to Newcastle in England, then we went to Singapore.

CF: Singapore! How lovely!

IM: Do you think so?

CF: I've never been, no.

IM: I was really looking forward to Singapore. I'd heard you couldn't chew chewing gum ---

CF: No, there's no chewing gum in Singapore.

IM: -- and there's a very, very strict regime that organizes the country. Of course, it's only a city on an island, a bit like Manhattan, but the rules are very strict, and I didn't realize as a gay man that I would be a criminal once I arrived because it's illegal for a man to make love to another man --

CF: Really?

IM: -- in Singapore. And I was rather naughty because I was on an early morning show. You know, the sort of show that happens all over the world on TV where you get a couple who are clearly not married or related in any way but flirt all the time --

CF: Yes, yes, that's right.

IM: -- usually an elder man with a younger woman. And at the end of the interview they said, what was I looking forward to doing whilst I was in Singapore, so I looked at the man who was clearly straight and I said, well, can you recommend any decent gay bars?

(audience laughter)

IM: -- which of course would be an illegal thing in every possible way. I looked at a playback of the programme afterwards and I've never seen the credits come up so quickly.

CF: You've been quite outspoken about gay rights, haven't you? Do you feel --

IM: Well, you have to be, if you go to places that are going to point at you and say, because of the way you've been born you should be illegal, it's like pointing at cannabis (pause) Don't you love it --

CF: Cannabis?

IM: -- when politicians pointed at a little weed in the road and said, "That is illegal." Isn't that rather up to God, and not the politicians?

(audience applause)

CF: Yes. I'm beginning to feel like a breakfast television presenter in Singapore. I've been put on the spot a little bit. But ... but you are quite outspoken about that. You've been outspoken about gay rights in the UK and in the U.S., as well. Do you think that it ever has worked against you as an actor? Do you feel you've ever lost work because of --

IM: It did before I came out and was honest and said I was gay. I certainly lost a couple of jobs, I know. But since (thoughtful pause), no. Everything's taken off --

CF: Well, not in Singapore --

IM: -- no, not in Singapore, no.

CF: I have to ask, by the way --

IM: So you say.

CF: -- did you break the law when you were in Singapore? I don't know why I have to ask, but I feel I do.

IM: Let's say I tried.

CF: Right, ok. I think that's fair enough.

(audience laughter, applause)

This interview -- along with another he did with Michael Caine a couple of nights ago -- solidifies in my mind the notion that Craig Ferguson is the most intelligent of the late-night chat show hosts on the major networks. His monologues are well-written and actorly (not just a series of jokes from a stand-up comedian, but playlets with a beginning, middle, and end), he asks serious questions of his guests even while maintaining a light and convivial atmosphere, and he clearly engages his guests in conversation rather than merely asking them questions culled from a pre-interview by producers.

A recent poll on AOL asked readers to rate their favorite late-night hosts, and Ferguson only scored about 14 percent. He deserves far better than that.

Seeing Sir Ian on television reminds me of something I observed five summers ago, during the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center.

It was the opening performance of Company, and Lynn Redgrave was playing Joanne ("The Ladies Who Lunch"). As you might recall, Redgrave co-starred with Sir Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters, and received an Academy Award nomination for her role.

During the interval -- intermission for you Americans -- I strolled out onto the Kennedy Center terrace along with much of the rest of the audience. The terrace overlooks the Potomac River and has several fountains, as well as long marble planters with flowers and shrubbery, which serve as benches for people who wish to sit.

I was seated on one of these marble benches when I noticed, to my right, a young male couple -- probably 18 or 19 years old -- in a rather intimate composition. (I think one was sitting with the other laying his head in his partner's lap.) Both young men were, by anyone's account, attractive.

As I turned my head in the other direction, I saw an older gentleman exiting the lobby through to the terrace, and his eyes were fixed on the young couple I had just seen. He was walking toward me, but his head was turned in their direction; his body moved forward while his head held steady. He was about to trip over me when I thought, "This man looks just like Ian McKellen."

At that very moment, before he tumbled over me and the others seated nearby, his attention was shifted when someone called out, "Sir Ian! How are you?" He regained his bearing and began to chat with his acquaintance.

I had to smile to myself.

Colossus of Idaho?

According to a news story in the Idaho Statesman in Boise:

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig was honored Saturday evening for his many years of public service at an Idaho Hall of Fame ceremony.

David Leroy, the emcee for the ceremony and former lieutenant governor, noted at the opening of the event that the board had been criticized by media outlets nationwide for its decision not to pull Craig from their group of inductees, which includes Gov. Butch Otter and Boise State University President Bob Kustra.

"The Idaho Hall of Fame board has well considered each of these nominees," Leroy said, adding later that the Hall of Fame honors a history of achievement.

In his introduction of Craig, he entertained the audience with quotes about the price of fame, including one by author Truman Capote, who said, "Fame is only good for one thing — they will cash your check in a small town."

Given what Senator Craig has told us about himself, does this honor make him the "Colossus of Idaho"? Take a look:


Just asking.

From Toledo to Putnam County

As I have previously done with Tonye Patano and Caroline Stefanie Clay, yesterday morning I interviewed (by telephone) an actor who will be performing in a play at the National Theatre in Washington. In this case, the actor was Kevin Smith Kirkwood, who is -- like me -- the product of eight years of Jesuit education. (He attended St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo and Fordham University in the Bronx, while I attended Marquette University High School in Milwaukee and Georgetown University in Washington.) So we immediately had something in common to drive the conversation.

What follows is the article, based on our interview, which I have submitted to The Metro Herald for publication in next week's issue. The play Kevin is performing in, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, opens in Washington on October 23.

From Toledo to Putnam County:
An Actor’s Journey
Rick Sincere
Metro Herald Entertainment Editor

(WASHINGTON) --- A Catholic priest was the catalyst that led Kevin Smith Kirkwood from Toledo, Ohio, to the Broadway stage and, this month, to the National Theatre in Washington in a Tony Award®-winning musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Arriving as a new student at St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo, Kirkwood “had never done a play.” Then the late Father Ron Torina, S.J., persuaded the freshman to join the chorus of Hello, Dolly!, and his life has not been the same since.

Speaking to The Metro Herald by telephone from Detroit, where “Spelling Bee” is on tour, Kirkwood said that “the Jesuits were instrumental in getting me into the theatre.” Father Torina, he explained, “was the one who pointed me in the direction of New York and said I should consider theatre as a career.” (Kirkwood also attended a Jesuit college, Fordham University, which landed him in New York City.)

“I give [Father Torina] all the credit for being in this business at all,” Kirkwood said, adding with a chuckle: “I wanted to be a lawyer.”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, in which Kirkwood plays Mitch Mahoney, was his Broadway debut, but the musical theatre veteran already had several major productions under his belt, including a European tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and a national tour of Godspell.

Kirkwood has also appeared at the Weathervane Theatre in New Hampshire, the Actor’s Playhouse in Miami, and the Engeman Theatre on Long Island. “Spelling Bee” marks his first appearance in Washington.

For those unfamiliar with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Kirkwood offered this summary: “The show takes place at a spelling bee – the 25th anniversary, of course -- and it's a qualifying round for nationals. There are six spellers who are regular characters,” played by professional actors. There are also four volunteers from the audience, which “makes things more spontaneous.”

“That's a big selling point for the show,” Kirkwood noted. “Thirty minutes before the show, members of the audience can sign up. It gives the audience someone to root for.” The audience participation also, he said, “keeps it fun and fresh for us every night.”

The character he plays, Kirkwood said, “is a young, African-American, urban guy who's probably in his early 20s. He’s definitely an adult, and he comes from a different side of the tracks than all of the spellers” in the show. Mitch, he said, “brings a different perspective on life to the Bee. He probably has had some issues with the law and he comes with a chip on his shoulder; but he also grows up and learns some things about himself over the course of the show.”

With regard to Mitch and the others, he continued, “all of the characters are archetypes; it would be easy to slip into stereotypes. I know guys like Mitch. I knew them growing up in Toledo. I portray him with as much humanity as I can, but he has an edge to him.”

Kirkwood added, for emphasis: “I'm serious when I say I know this guy. He's definitely real to me and he has a definite [character] arc throughout the show.”

Over the course of the play, he said, “we learn about the lives of the six characters through flashbacks and vignettes, and through great quirky melodies by William Finn.”

Asked if he had any final words for Metro Herald readers, Kirkwood replied;

“The show has something in it for everyone. It has a lot of heart that you sometimes don't expect because it's so funny. Definitely prepare to laugh.”

“Spelling Bee” is directed by James Lapine, the Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winner (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) who also directed the Broadway production. The musical, conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with additional material written by Jay Reiss, features music and lyrics by Tony Award®-winner William Finn (Falsettos, Elegies, A New Brain) and a Tony Award®-winning book by Rachel Sheinkin. “Spelling Bee” features scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Jennifer Caprio, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier and choreography by Dan Knechtges.

In addition to Kevin Smith Kirkwood, the cast includes Katie Boren, James Kall, Andew Keenan-Bolger, Justin Keyes, Vanessa Ray, Eric Roediger, Dana Steingold, and Sally Wilfert.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opens at the National Theatre on October 23 and runs through November 4. Tickets are priced $41.50 to $86.50, with a limited number of premium seats at $151.50 (all plus applicable service charges). Tickets are available through Telecharge at (800) 447-7400 and online at www.telecharge.com. Tickets are also available at The National Theatre box office. For groups of 20 or more, call (866) 276-2947. For additional information, call (202) 628-6161 or visit www.nationaltheatre.org.

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(Photo of Kevin Smith Kirkwood as Mitch Mahoney by Joan Marcus; courtesy of the National Theatre)