Author: DOuG pRATt

James Bond drinks… Red Stripe?

It was first reported that Henry Gates would drink Red Stripe at the White House beer summit, but he had Sam Adams Light.

Red Stripe is Jamaican beer, and that reminded me of “Dr. No”, which was partially filmed in Jamaica.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/AUG/DrNo.flv 480 270]

“Dr. No” is from 1962, around the same time that Ska hit the music scene in Jamaica. After the movie came out there was a Jamaican version of the James Bond theme.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/AUG/JamesBond.mp3]

Ska came after Calypso and evolved into Reggae, thanks in part to a record producer named Leslie Kong. In 1969, a few months before Woodstock, a Kong-produced record introduced America to Reggae and became a surprise hit on AM radio.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/AUG/Israelites.mp3]

Barry Mitchell’s Morty Gunty memories

Morty Gunty and Barry Mitchell 1964

Comedian Barry Mitchell spotted my items about Morty Gunty and he sent a very nice note with a state-of-the-art (for 1964) screen shot. Here is Barry’s YouTube channel. Great stuff, Barry!

http://www.youtube.com/user/barryfunnytv

On a cold January day in 1964, I was did my ventriloquism act on Morty Gunty’s local Channel 9 kiddie show, “The Funny Company.”

It was taped at WOR’s Times Square studio. I believe the address was 1440 Broadway.

Morty asked me my dummy’s name and I told him, “Melvin Mazel.” (“Mazel” is the Yiddish word for “Luck.”)

The attached screen grab is the exact moment Morty asked incredulously, “Melvin MAZEL?” then turned his head and said to an off- camera stagehand, “Irving, he’s from your parish!”

I saw Morty one more time in 1978 when he was performing at a nightclub in Miami Beach. I remember one of his jokes (paraphrasing, here) “My wife is an avid reader. She bought “The Joy of Cooking” and “The Joy of Sex” and brought a brisket to climax.”

Keep Smiling!
Barry Mitchell

I’ll try, Barry! Thanks very much.

He said, she said, they said…

The 911 call to the Cambridge, MA Police makes it clear that the caller was acting at the request of someone else, and she said nothing at all about race until she was asked by the police dispatcher. It sounds as though the dispatcher said, “Are they White, Black or Hispanic?” Listen starting at 2:00 into the audio clip.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JUL/911call.mp3]

This gives her a lot of credibility when she says that she did not speak with Sergeant Crowley at the scene, contrary to his filed report.

Sgt. James Crowley arrest report

And the recording of Crowley’s radio calls does nothing to substantiate his claim that Professor Gates was loud and abusive.

Sgt. James Crowley arrest report

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JUL/radio.mp3]

The big loser in all of this is Obama. He’s lost the backing of cops nationwide, and he’s handed the Right the ammo they needed to question who Sonia Sotomayor will empathize with once she’s seated on the Supreme Court.

Take us out to the ballgame

Eric and I are doing something we haven’t done in a long time. We’re going to Fenway Park to watch a Red Sox game. I think the last time we went the seats were about $75, but now they’re $125. We’ll be back there on August 5 with Carol to see Paul McCartney. Those seats are $100, but fees bring the total up to about $115. The field seats for the show — which don’t exist for a baseball game, of course — are $200.

Well, the Sox lost to the Orioles, 6-2, but mercifully it was a short game, especially because we got sunburned. I’d like to point out two photos that I took. First, in the background of this one is the Prudential Building, commonly called “The Pru,” making it a must for Prue Bury if she ever visits Boston…

The Pru

… and the big Budweiser sign makes me want to point out that the King of Beers now belongs to a company in tiny Belgium. The present King of Belgians is Albert II.

Budweiser sign at Fenway Park