Has storytelling ever been more palatable?

These Dan Brown debunking books offer interesting concepts which vaporize, somehow, at the end. I read Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, and I found, on our common hall radiator, a copy of his Deception point which I'm currently reading.

Here's what I remember of the first two: The lead character was able to successfully parachute from an ascending helecopter into the Tiber river. That description is too delightful for words. Also, the story imploded into its plot -- I'm thinking of the Angels and Demons illuminati conspiracy. By revealing it as a hoax, enacted virtually solo, the author is one step from admitting that it is the product of his own imagination. And does he, perhaps, pander to my desire to say, "Leaders protect us from their own attacks."

The DaVinci Code leaves behind no memory except the feeling that I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. I kept thinking he was going to say something interesting. He must have. Oh, the grail's underneath I.M. Pei's glass pyramid. The buried apocraphal writings tell the true history of the outrageous behaviouralist, Christ. Oh, that's right, Christ's progeny are uniting still, they are the real sangreal, that most precious sacred blood.... Oh yes, Matthew's Gospel, first paragraph, establishes Jesus descending through Joseph from the house of David, and in the second paragraph describes Mary's immaculate conception.

Both books are written to occur within 24 hour segments, which enhances their urgency. I suppose part of my disbelief and awe arises from that achievement. Also, the wind is described blowing an increasingly familiar crew over a glacier in the page I've reached in Deception Point and I enjoy that too.

The theme of books left on the common lobby radiator seems to be the arctic. The last one I found there was Smilla's Sense of Snow. That one revealed a tendency toward leaving us in the snow near a living meteor, comparable to the realization of a dead end in the foreign film (pre Todd Graff reworked) version of "Vanishing."

I remember an Aristotelian requirement for tragedy being that it occurs within 24 hours.

In other news of pop culture:

The movie, 2010, was on TV. HAL the computer, by cooperating with orders, is redeemed. 2010 was released in 1984.

Winged Migration was on the Starz channel. Those geese are stars! One species travelling earth's 12,500 miles, reveals the true meaning of the term, "Bi-Polar."

Coming soon, the new TV show, "Soul Search" tm...

The Turner Classic Movie Cable Station broadcasted the 1941 WB film, Dive Bombers
What about the smoking? Everyone in the film connects with a cigarette. Shockingly technicolor footage makes sense when the support of the us airforce is so apparent. The footage is authentic. The comraderie plays almost romantically. As always, Alexis Smith bears the brunt of female intervention. I'm not sure if she has any better outcome than in leaving the men to their own concerns, our concerns, our country's..., and turning for masculine attention to THE MARINES.

The airforce G tests have increased dramatically, but then, so have the physiques, thanks to what, less smoking?

The film's other female appearance is comic relief as one of the wives attempts to get her alimony and finding her husband in the sick room; eventually he must remain there after he's exposed there to someone with measles. His language-comedian friend has dinner with his wife, meeting her at the familiar apartment housing development she need only mention by name, the parker towers? Her outfits anticipate Marisa Tomei's in MCVinny.

According to the fine headline review of this film, which considers Flynn's possibly traitorous involvement, was it therefore not San Diego but rather Pennsicola Florida where the authentic air/naval base footage was shot?

A performance of Warner Publishing's "What's New" plays in the background during one of the neglect-the-woman-but-attend-to-their-lipstick-dispenser scenes. It is a beautiful green enameled gold lipstick dispenser.

My Diana attributes incremental technological advancements of the last 60 years to the alien visitation at Roswell. How else can we explain the computer chip?

Another good early airplane film, released eight years earlier in the wild 1930s when it was Howard Hughes running air traffic control: Flying Down to Rio.

“Not all the costume changes in the world will matter if the messenger has squandered his treasure by altering his message to suit the convenience of the audience." Edward T. Oakes.

Dear Friends,

I received a year-end newsletter-in-a-holiday card and, rather than just copy from it, I'll attempt one here.

Almanac, 2004:
Earth's northern hemisphere's shortest day approaches, suggesting a sun birth, something along the lines of, "For unto us a sun is born..."
The days enlarge through the winter, but December is named for the 10th month (sept, oct, nov, dec)? So 11 is Jan and 12 is Feb, and this year's 12th is a leap year. Happy upcoming birthday, leap year babes! It is also our real New Year's Eve!

As for now, Happy Kwanikamas! (tm antifolk.net)

Cinema VII has a handy review of year 2003 at http://www.cinemavii.com/Events/EventHorizon.htm.
May I here highlight the wedding of Diana and Peter? Remember, to those who think it will never happen, stay alive!

This year's Jean Cocteau offshoot, the ballet with dialogue, "The Marriage at The Statue of Liberty," is now available to help fundraise the statue's reopening. Post production of four colorful performances has resulted in a watchable video/dvd!

Olive Juice Music released "Songs of The Golf Wars," which has received favorable year-end attention by The Yale Herald and London based TrakMARX.

Now, when shall we see each other? -- perhaps at one of the following events appearing in the near sunrise event horizon:

INVITETONIGHT
Yes, there's a reading at the Lambs Club, and I'm sure Don Flynn, the author, will benefit from your feedback. It's an out of the bag secret... it's at 7, it's called Cleopatra's Eyes, the readers include Diana Dizozza and Peter Dizozza... 3 West 51st, 5th floor...

Friday, December 19th, the first night of the 8 days of candle light and
"I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel. The spinning don't stop when you LEAVE the cradle, you just slow down..." (Don MacLean)
I'm the collie at the Lambs, 3 West, 2m. 5th floor. 8pm

SATURDAY at midnight at SideWalk, 94AveA I'm playing Sinatra songs with Eric LaCaine, and You are Singing so bring your sinatra songs.... "you keep saying you got something for me, something you call love but confess...."

and Earlier that Saturday Evening:
Olive Juice Music and Boog City Holiday Party
Sat. December 20, 9:00 p.m., $7
The Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery
NYC
13 NYC musical acts reinterpret the classic holiday album
A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector
---------------
One more show: I'm doing a set before Jon Berger on Tuesday, December 23rd at SideWalk, 94AveA, see you there at 9!
-------------
here's the rest of the Phil Spector Show Info:
White Christmas Derek Richmond
Frosty The Snowman Bad Teenage Moustache
The Bells Of St. Mary Knot Pinebox
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Aaron Seven
Sleigh Ride Peter Dizozza
Marshmallow World The Leader
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Phoebe Kreutz
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Schwervon!
Winter Wonderland Trouble Dolls
Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers Recording Angels
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) The Domestics
Here Comes Santa Claus Brer Brian
Silent Night Huggabroomstick
With readings of Jewish-themed work by Jewish poets
Nada Gordon, Bob Holman, Erica Kaufman, and Ian Wilder
We'll also be lighting the menorah for the second night of Chanukah
A portion of the proceeds will go to a charity helping to prevent domestic violence.
Hosted by Olive Juice Music head Matt Roth and
Boog City editor David Kirschenbaum
For further information call 212-842-BOOG (2664) or
email editor@boogcity.com
Directions: F train to Second Avenue, or 6 train to Bleecker Street. Venue
is at foot of 1st Street, between Houston and Bleecker streets, across from
CBGBs.

Yours truly,
Peter Dizozza

I went to Orin Buck’s new residence on East 49th Street tonight to dub his video of "The Marriage at the Statue of Liberty" (TMATSOL) the latest addition to the Cinema VII Catalogue of projects. For the past three days I've enjoyed editing the different tapes. There are three, two are of the last performance, the other, Orin's, from the performance the night prior. Both nights contained and lacked different elements of music, movement, dialogue and song. By editing the two performances, there was the possibility of assembling a complete version of the play.

The digital formats copy, full length, into the computer, and the VHS dub of Orin's rather professionally shot tape copy into the computer 3 minutes at a time, which made the assembling process somewhat primitive, like editing in 35mm with 400 foot reels of film.

I was editing in my old fashioned way with the modern computer system. Before computers, I edited film that had sound already printed on it, recorded on a magnetic stripe, or, preferably, visible to the eye on an optical stripe. Film sound is ahead of its image. In digital video the sound is married to the image. I don’t think it has to be. A program, proprietary in that it must create its own files, called Final Cut, has separable sound/video capabilities. I've chosen, instead, to edit a big "avi" file, perhaps the product of Avid, that familiar word in film production over the past 20 years, and I'm using a program called Videowave. I use the program, maybe, because it came with the purchase of my videocard, and maybe I like it because its video graphics have film sprockets.

As to why bother, two reasons, the first being that I wrote to our Mayor suggesting that the show, A Modern Ballet with Dialogue, could be used to assist in fundraising for the reopening of the Statue of Liberty. The second is a phenomenon created by the dance troupe involved. They performed the last of their three dances in blacklight, assembling the statue with different pieces in white.

Being a "hands on" videographer, if I am also the subject of the video I tend to make horrible mistakes that result in faulty preservation, the best example being forgetting to press a record button.

The last night was the best night, of course, and there are two videos of the last night, both incomplete. About 40 minutes before the performance I pressed record on the one-hour tape in the camera used by my wife, Diana, giving me the first 20 minutes to work with. Roy's fiancée, Linda, has a public access cable show so I got her tape at first off the TV, and eventually from her video camera. She chose random moments to video but got about half the show, perfect to splice in with Orin's complete tape, with Diana's adding additional angles. Orin, however, although not already familiar with the show, did a good job. He laid mikes on the floor, and he even taped the whole show! I needed his original to match the originals of the more arbitrarily taped versions.

This essay is called Incidental Terrorism...

Ah, what part of myself shall I choose to reveal today? ?

Finally, something of more than purely personal news, a box of art with a stray piece by Rockwell Kent went from 20 to 16000 at the public administrator auction yesterday. Thanks to Diana, I got the signed music by Richard Strauss. No one knew who Dwight Frye was. The direct prints from the complete alice woodcuts were a pleasure to behold. The Knabe piano was a great one. Furniture, chandeliers,
all the ghosts were there.