i interrupted my current reading list to re-read "dean & me (a love story)" jerry lewis' memoir(w/coauthor james kaplan). i first read this great book when it was published in 2005. luckily, last fall, i picked up a copy for only a buck at the book fair! what brought jerry lewis back to my attention was the incredibly wonderful news that he would receive a special oscar, the jean hersholt humanitarian award, at the ceremonies on february 22. the academy's tribute to him belongs in the "better late than never" category - but, regardless, he's finally getting an "oscar" (even if, not one for acting).
it's a short, fast read. for a team that spent 10 years together and made 16 movies, martin and lewis were superstars before the term was even coined. some of the vignettes lewis relates about their club performances rival the heights "beatlemania" almost a decade later. and the completely happenstance meeting in nyc in the mid-40's - that eventually led to a "team" act within a year, is already legend.
so too is the acrimonious break-up - ten years to the day that they first performed together! but throughout the book lewis is not bitter, not taking pot-shots at dean (or anyone else for that matter). it's clear from page one - until the very last - that jerry lewis genuinely loved dean martin as a "big brother" - decades before the term bromance found it's ridiculous way into the vernacular.
this short book is well worth reading - especially for the casual martin and lewis fan. it's an especially topical read with jerry taking the stage again in a couple of weeks :D
before reading it, check out this wonderful interview with jerry on national public radio.
then read the entertainment weekly story on his reaction to the news of the award.
here is coverage of jerry accepting his oscar at the academy awards!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
jerry lewis: "dean & me (a love story)" book review
Saturday, February 7, 2009
"quadrophenia" movie review
after the blues from the disappointing finish of "the loneliness of the long distance runner," watching "quadrophenia" is the perfect antidote. it took a while for netflix to send it out - tagged with "long wait" when you add it to your queue (a wonderfully ironic word choice for this quintessentially british youth a bay flick). it was a seminal film from my youth; but i wondered if, almost 30 years removed, it would still have the same impact today.
there is a big difference between watching "quadrophenia" as a 17 year old high school student in a theatre with a bunch of friends, than kicking back with the same film it in your living room as a 46 year old (even w/the benefit of high def.) - ha. amazingly, it lost none of it's impact with the passage of time. while i no longer identify with the characters like i once did - way to much growing up (unfortunately) took place for that, the film still stands up! remarkably, it's one of the few films sporting a 100% positive rating at rotten tomatoes!
without treating this as a spoiler, the film comes full circle from the opening sequence where jimmy is seen walking back from the cliff! it tells a story of middle-class british youth in the 60's (here, 1964) - in particular the clash between the mods and rockers - thru the thoroughly disaffected and alienated jimmy. his particular ups and downs during the film are rivetingly played by phil daniels. his haunting, and at times demonically possessed, portrait is intense.
jimmy and his friends (the mods) ride wildly on vespa (scooters), consume massive quantities of amphetamines ("blues"), love american rhythm and blues, and are decidedly anti-authority (and when not rebelling against authority, fighting with the rockers). when this film was released, i don't remember any positive press - if anything it was panned for way too much cursing, sex, and violence! the perfect marketing tool for teenagers - ha.
a major story finds jimmy and his friends traveling to the seaside resort of brighton to relax and have fun over a long weekend. so too do the rockers. the climatic sequence with the mods marching through the streets of brighton, shouting "we are the mods," culminates with a widespread confrontation with the rockers (a riot) - which leaves brighton in tatters. the soundtrack was all "who" - but the proper song for this incredible sequence should've been "anarchy in the u.k." by the sex pistols!
in the midst of that rampage through the streets, jimmy finds himself in an alley hideaway with the girl of his dreams. even more remarkably, they take the time for a stand-up quickie! and, quite pleased with themselves, walk back out into the troubled streets where jimmy gets arrested. what else could explain the look of bliss on his face as he's driven to the police station in a paddy wagon - ha.
but jimmy's life fallens apart from that high point. the sequence spirals downward with a fine (no jail time), kicked out of his house by his mom, losing his job (as a runner in an ad agency), and - the last straw - the girl of his dreams blowing him off in favor of a friend - and drives jimmy to the proverbial (and literal, as we see) edge. here, in one of the best scenes of the entire film jimmy returns to brighton via the train - to the sounds of the who's "5:15" - and without words is positively demonic. this bit alone is worth watching the entire movie!
at brighton, the final shock is his discovery that "ace face" - the coolest of the very cool mods - is nothing more than a lowly hotel bell boy! fellow rock fans will quickly recognize ace face as pre-superstar days police member - none other than sting, himself! jimmy steals sting's scooter and, as they say, the past is prologue, rides it wildly along the cliffs. after briefly thinking it over, the scooter goes over - and we're left wondering "what happened to him" as the credits roll.
the film is a classic. it's 30th anniversary is this year - check it out!
Friday, February 6, 2009
what happened to the 2009 brooklyn half marathon??
UPDATE: the may 30 date has been finalized and race registration is now open (as of today, april 6). i just registered :D
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
boston build-up 20k this weekend, instead of bronx half marathon
i just updated the february race schedule to reflect the boston build-up 20k this weekend, instead of the bronx half marathon. i toyed with the idea of trying to run all 5 borough half marathons in the grand prix this year (did manage that in 2005), but the early august date for the queens half won't make it work for me. i will, however, still run the brooklyn half (my favorite non-marathon race) at the end of may.
i missed the build-up 15k in ridgefield last month, when a weather postponement made it conflict with the manhattan half. but, i can't remember a year when i managed to run all four of the build-up races. par for me, any given winter, is only 2 (3 at best) of the 4 races, plus the blow-out 30k to close out the series. that "2 plus the 30k" may be how the 2009 season shapes up because the 25k conflicts with the caumsett park 50k.
gridiron classic 4 miler: race report
it almost seems like the gridiron classic 4 miler race took place weeks ago because immediately afterwards was the new york ultrarunning grand prix awards brunch and 2 days later, the empire state building run-up. i thought about skipping this race report, but decided to keep it short: just the facts ;)
this race was basically a speed workout. it took the place of the pre-awards brunch fun run on long island. still, emmy and i barely made it to the start on time. from parking east of lexington avenue, then the trek across the park to drop off bags and, finally, the crowd of runners (5300+ finishers!) all headed to the start, we managed to squeeze into the corral with just two minutes to spare. it was a repeat of the frantic rush to line up for the fred lebow 5 miler last month!
my plan was to run 6:40 miles and try, in the last mile, to bring it in under 26:38 (my last 4 miler in the park). the race went off without fanfare and i managed a 6:35 first mile. it was good to get cat hill out of the way right up front. mile two went by in 6:28, for 13:03 halfway into the race. despite the good start, i inexplicably gave back too much time on the west drive with a 6:57 mile 3 - and went into the last mile with a split of 20:00 even.
at that point i had caught up to, and passed, my old wtc teammate, john. i was confident the last mile would be a sub 6:40 and, despite the poor mile 3, happy with my race to that point. then one of the two chip fasteners snapped - argh! suddenly the chip was flopping, annoyingly, side to side on the remaining fastener. i spent a good chunk of time during the last mile looking down at my foot to make sure it was still with me - argh, again!
that malfunction aside, i finished the last mile in 6:43 - a toss up between bad karma with one fastener snapping off and good karma with the remaining fastener keeping the chip with me for the rest of the race. my time of 26:43, 6:41 pace, was mildly disappointing at 5 seconds slower than the holiday 4 miler this past december. but, overall, i was still pleased with the outcome (and the result was much better than my 2008 gridiron classic performance).
here are my race photos.
next up: i had planned on the bronx half this weekend, but will probably switch to the boston build-up 20k in southport.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
john marshall sworn in as chief justice of the supreme court 208 years ago today: february 4, 1801
208 years ago today, february 4, 1801, john marshall took the oath of office and became the 4th chief justice of the supreme court of the united states. he would go on to serve in that capacity for the next 34 years - becoming the longest serving chief justice in supreme court history.
chief justice marshall (also referred to as the "great chief justice") wrote a number of significant opinions during that long tenure. but the one he will always be remembered for, and first year law students still pour over during legal process, is marbury v. madison. that improbable decision jump-started the doctrine of judicial review and established the supreme court as a co-equal branch of the federal government.
here is the quote that upset the apple cart:
"It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each."
so why the post on supreme court history? well, this semester i teach constitutional law. and, tomorrow night, the course material is marbury v. madison and the doctrine of judicial review!
empire state building run-up: race report
i looked forward to the empire state building run-up ("esbru") for one reason; i could wear a singlet for the first time since late last fall - ha. but, seriously, even with the snowfall outside (and we'd finish the climb on the 86th floor observation deck in the snow), the stairwell was hot, humid and (to some) dusty. this would be my second time (the first in 2007) at this event (and my 5th stair climb overall).
my primary goal was to beat my 15:35 2007 finish time. while i really wanted a sub-15, since i hadn't done any race specific training for the event, that target wasn't realistic. when i arrived at the empire state building we were directed upstairs, to the second floor, for check-in. last time around the staging took place in the basement. we moved up in the world :D
the first person i ran into was ruth, who was being interviewed by a local paper. i thought that was a funny coincidence because i first met ruth at this event - and have seen her at dozens of races since then! as i was changing into my running gear, mike, a reporter from the journal news interviewed me for his coverage of the event. that was a lot of fun!
i also ran into another friend, anna, as i waited for emmy (her 7th esbru) and our friend john, to arrive. she came down via metronorth, and john ducked out of work for a little bit to cheer us on. when emmy arrived, she too was interviewed by a local reporter. at this point, with the brokers run-up and preliminary heat having already gone off, it seemed there were as many media on the second floor as runners!
the women ran the first wave. they lined up and were brought downstairs for the start just before the first wave of men (who would follow 5 minutes later). on the ground floor, we could see the women lined up in front of us, and cheered them on when their race went off. notable among them was running legend nina kuscsik - running her 8th esbru! mary wittenburg, was the master of ceremonies.
after the women went off, we moved up to the start line. the toughest part of this event is the actual start of the race. honestly, the greatest risk of injury is in the crush of runners pushing into the very tight doorway to reach the stairs! once inside the stairwell, it's elbow to elbow climbing the first few flights of narrow staircase. by the third story, the staircase widens a bit, but it's still a "wrap-around" climb for each flight of the lower floors. eventually, it becomes a straight climb up to each new floor.
i reached the 43 floor in just under seven and a half minutes (7:26). given the slow going during the crush of the first few floors, it seemed like a decent half way split. but even though the 15 minute goal looked enticing at that point, there was no way i could sustain that pace for the second half. i was already using my upper body to pull myself along via the handrails. plus, the seriously loud breathing of a couple of nearby runners was disconcerting.
i refocused my attention to the task at hand and just kept climbing. aside from two aid/water stations and the occasional photographer, the stairwell was empty except for runners. at one or two points on the way up, the reentry doors were open and there were a few of office workers standing there as "spectators." eventually i felt the first cool breeze of fresh air coming down from the roof!!
the final challenge, after all that vertical distance, was to simply cover the few horizontal steps on the observation deck to the finish line! the snow and wet ground didn't bother me in the least. it was my legs, that had suddenly forgotten how to move forward, that scared me once i had gotten up there! thankfully, muscle memory was intact, and i avoided falling on my face inches from the finish - ha. and the doorway back inside was just a few steps beyond the finish, so had no time to get cold.
after some water, we headed back downstairs (via a pair of elevators) to the 61st floor, where the post-race activities were held. the food included pastries, which given the number i ate, completely negated any exercise related benefit i may have derived from all the exertion to reach the top - ha. my finish time, 15:56 was mildly disappointing (21 seconds slower than hoped for) - but i still had a great time!
here are my race photos.
