I feel like I’m in the Merry Marvel Marching Society again!
Month: March 2023
Ghosted by Ghosts?
Job applicants who never hear back are applying for positions that don’t exist.
Among those who said they advertised job postings that they weren’t actively trying to fill, close to half said they kept the ads up to give the impression the company was growing.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-plum-job-listing-may-just-be-a-ghost-3aafc794?mod=hp_lead_pos12
This raises some questions and concerns. Is the Bureau of Labor Statistics getting accurate information? The Fed is basing its interest rate decisions in part on the “robust job market.”
Speaking of ghosts. When Hanna-Barbera in Los Angeles was at its early peak, Famous Studios in New York was doing better limited animation for television. Wendy performs “The Red Shoes.”
Lord of Lord of the Rings
Super fan of The Hobbit and LOTR Stephen Colbert celebrates Tolkien Reading Day.
Lichtenstein POP ART Productions
Whaam! Blam! Roy Lichtenstein and the Art of Appropriation is now available for online viewing. The documentary receives my highest recommendation, not only for setting the record straight, but for how it presents both sides of the case.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BVJSVN18/
Much of Lichtenstein’s appeal depends on scale, so I recommend watching the documentary on the largest screen possible. Seeing the giant canvases displayed at auctions, in museums and galleries, only to be brought down to size both literally and figurately, makes the praise heaped on Lichtenstein by his apologists in the high art world seem laughable.
This documentary became not only necessary, but possible, by research that’s been done by fellow Westfield State alum David Barsalou. The reference David makes in this brief video clip is to an Art History course that was taught by Barbara Harris.
In this clip Russ Heath, one of the all-time great comic book illustrators, talks about Stan Lee giving him his start in comics.
Whether or not Stan realized that he had, in an indirect way, helped to make Lichtenstein’s fame possible, in 1965 he briefly embraced the Pop Art label, as seen in the corner box at the top of this post.
It’s disappointing that Bill Griffith, who I’m very much a fan of, doesn’t see a problem with Lichtenstein’s comic book appropriations. Griffith, who attended Pratt Institute during Lichtenstein’s initial burst of fame, seems to be expressing more of an art student’s view than one coming from a cartoonist. It was almost sad for me, seeing Griffith’s position undercut so deftly.
That Thing She Does!
Last weekend I was on a Watch Party that Debbie Daughtry was hosting, showing Tom Hanks’ delightfully note-perfect movie that I also love, That Thing You Do! There was a technical glitch, but I figured out a workaround and had a lot of fun. Debbie sounds like she’s up to trying another watch party, and the movie I recommended won’t surprise anyone who knows me.
Today the full story has been revealed about Debbie, Boss Radio 66, and how Tom Hanks came into the radio picture.
“Debbie sends me the playlist and I do a dive on the web for salient and fascinating information,” Tom tells PEOPLE of how he prepares for his sets.
Boss Radio 66 is just the first of several collaborations between Tom and Debbie to come, including a country music and American Standards station soon to follow on TuneIn.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/radio-producer-brooklyn-ended-tom-153400227.html
Here are a couple of movie trailers that were put on YouTube by Johnathon Schaech, who plays Jimmy in the movie. Johnathan apologized to Debbie because he wanted to join the watch party, but then was unable to attend.
Look fast for a young Charlize Theron in this one!
Look fast for an old Ortofon SPU phono cartridge in this one!
Mayberry, RFD Medicine
A fairly regular topic here is the crisis in rural healthcare. In the fifteen years I was traveling for my old job, I visited many small, regional hospitals. That part of my working life ended in the mid-90’s, and since then the difficulties in providing medical care in rural America, for both acute and chronic conditions, have gotten much worse. The PBS NewsHour has started a series on the difficulties facing administrators, clinicians, and patients.