D.C. Radio’s Last Rock Overturned – washingtonpost.com

Legendary Classic Rock DJ Cerphe Signs Off as WTGB Switches Formats – washingtonpost.com

No more Zeppelin. No more Skynyrd or Tom Petty or Rolling Stones. And not a whole lot more Don Cerphe Colwell, either.

Classic rock and the DJ who brought that music to local radio audiences long before the rock was considered “classic” are both fading from the airwaves. Beginning Monday, Colwell’s station, WTGB (94.7 FM, “The Globe”), will switch to playing contemporary pop tunes. With the demise of the region’s only classic rock outlet, the music that helped transform FM radio into a cultural force in the 1970s will become just another baby boomer memory.

Just 2 years ago I blogged about the new format for 94.7 to “The Globe” featuring classic rock. Lots of goals for a greener more community based station. As I suspected, it didn’t last.

Radio in DC sucks.

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Tags: music, radio, Washington DC, rock, pop, culture, life

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Shameless Plug #10: Obama portrait at the National Portrait Gallery

Outlaws at the Art Museum (and Not for a Heist) – NYTimes.com

I should have mentioned this one last week but I just forgot.

See the photograph above: The three gentlemen work for the registrar’s department at the National Portrait Gallery (left to right – Dale, Mark and Todd). Normally they don’t dress this well to install art but it was a special occasion. Besides, it’s nice to know they scrub up so well and are still able to lift large art with style. The title above the portrait and the hidden label to the left of the portrait were created and installed by me.

The portrait was recently given to the museum and installed the Saturday before the inaugural. It was a pain to do at the last minute but I really love this piece. It really outshines the Bush portraits.

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Tags: Art, Popculture, Culture, Life, portrait, NPG, Smithsonian

 

Birth Of Rice-A-Roni: The Armenian-Italian Treat : NPR

Birth Of Rice-A-Roni: The Armenian-Italian Treat : NPR

I’m a child of the 1960s and I remember Rice-A-Roni TV ads so well. Although very salty (as most packaged products are) I love this stuff – more than Kraft Mac-n-Cheese.

The podcast/article talks about the origins of the product from an Armenian grandmother and how it came to be a packaged product.

Definitely worth the read if you are into pop culture or are a foodie.

Oh yes – what I didn’t know was the connection between the theme song and Barney Google.

Read on.

Tags: food, popculture, ads, life

 

Christmas greetings!

Like Charlie Brown, Christmas depresses me on the whole. Perhaps because the build-up is so long and disappointment is practically guaranteed by the time the day arrives. I agree with Loudon Wainwright III on this one:

Outside it’s positively balmy
In the air nary a nip.
Suddenly it’s Christmas
Unbuttoned and unzipped.
Yes, they’re working overtime
Santa’s little runts.
Christmas comes but once a year
And goes on for two months.

I’m not complete humbug about it all. I love buying, wrapping and giving gifts. I love getting them all the more. However, it’s just the length of the holiday that gets me down and know that a long winter is about the begin. Too bad Christmas doesn’t come in the middle of winter – something to look forward to during the long, cold, dark days.

I’m not a Christian but I do appreciate the wonderment of the occasion.

Merry Christmas. “God bless us every one.”

Tags: life, christmas, commercialism, holiday, Loudon Wainwright III, pop culture, Charlie Brown, depression, cartoon

 

"The Simpsons won. Good night, John Boy.”

The Guys Who Go With the ‘D’oh!’ – washingtonpost.com

Here is a fun article from today’s Washington Post talking about the Simpsons.

On the campaign trail in 1992, George H.W. Bush promised voters that if he were reelected president, “we’re going to strengthen the American family to make it more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons.”

The Simpsons won. Good night, John Boy.

“When Bush said he wanted us to be the Waltons, we thought, what? He wants us to be poor and sleep in the same bed?” This is Al Jean, one of the founding writers for “The Simpsons,” which has been a pop culture trademark for 18 years and 400 episodes on the Fox network.

“We also wondered, why the Waltons? Weren’t they, you know, set in the Depression?” This is David Silverman, one of the original animators for the show and now director of “The Simpsons Movie,” opening nationwide on Friday.

It’s a fun article with info about the early Simpson development on the Tracy Ullman show and some teaser info on the movie. Give it a read.

technorati tags:Simpsons, funny, silly, television, pop-culture, comedy, family, Washington-Post

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Got my copy of Harry Potter #7!

Arts & Living: Hogwarts Hub – The source for all things ‘Harry Potter.’ (washingtonpost.com)

Yes, I’m one of those people. What can I say, it’s a good yarn and I want to know the end. I reserved a copy at Borders but while I was at Target this morning, there it was for $17.88 and no lines, either.

I’m already a third of the way through (it’s a quick read) and I think I will probably finish it this weekend. Don’t tell me the ending!

I am amazed that this was the front story of the Washington Post this morning.

technorati tags:Harry-Potter, books, storytelling, pop-culture, Washington-Post, wizard, Target, fiction

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Hairspray is back in Baltimore but I still miss Divine!

iWon News – `Hairspray’ Returns to Baltimore

The original Hairspray (1988) is one of my favorite movies and not because it stars a lovely fat girl (Rikki Lake) or because it takes place and is filmed in my hometown of Baltimore. It was released when I was living in Brussels and really missing home. To hear all the great Baltimore accents and see all the locations was wonderful for a homesick American.

I’m sure John Travolta makes a great Edna Turnblad, but Divine was the thing! No one will replace Divine in my estimation. Big hearted and big bosomed, worn but warm, Divine’s Edna is a great mom.

Will I go see the new Hairspray? Probably. But I know it was filmed in Toronto and I bet very few of the actors will do that accent.

technorati tags:Hairspray, Baltimore, Divine, movie, John-Waters, Travolta

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Hooray for Springfield Vermont – Home of the Simpsons!

A ‘Simpsons’ frenzy in Springfield, Vt. – USATODAY.com

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer town.

http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html

Sumigirl in Simpsons form

technorati tags:Simpsons, Vermont, Movie, silly, cartoon

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Framing Memory: shameless plug 3

Portraiture That Paints Engaging Images – washingtonpost.com

Here is the third exhibition to open at the National Portrait Gallery in recent months.

This one is the second installment of the Portraiture Now exhibition space that focuses on contemporary portraiture and loaned art. To quote from the article:

Known primarily as a history museum — where the selection of pictures on the wall is based more on the sitter’s accomplishments than on the artist’s message or merits — the National Portrait Gallery has, since its reopening last summer, devoted a small corner of the building to just the opposite. “Framing Memory,” the second installment in its long-overdue “Portraiture Now” series, presents five contemporary artists, each given a small room (and in one case, a hallway) devoted to work whose engagement with portraiture is less didactic and more lively than we have come to expect from the museum.

It’s an interesting show. I had my doubts while prepping for it but you really have to see the pieces in person to truly appreciate them. I really love the quilts of Faith Ringgold but I’ve been familiar with her work for years. I think what initially put me off was the color of the rooms – very intense, almost fluorescent, greens and oranges. It’s hard to work in rooms painted entirely in these colors, especially on the eyes. However, once the artwork was hung, I understood the choice. The color does draw in the visitors, too.

technorati tags:Smithsonian, museum, portrait, contemporary, art, tourism, DC

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Goodbye, Gilmore Girls!

Is This Really Goodbye, ‘Girls’?

Is This Really Goodbye, ‘Girls’? – washingtonpost.com

Yes, I could comment on the death of Jerry Falwell or the fact that the Nationals have won 4 games straight (a minor miracle), but I won’t.

Tonight was the last episode of the Gilmore Girls so I honored it the best way I know – wearing pajamas and eating junk food (Hostess cup cakes, BBQ spare ribs and Ben and Jerry’s Fossil Fuel ice cream – in that order). A fitting end to such a comfy, indulgent show.

The show didn’t disappoint me except in the fact that it is the end. The characters aren’t wrapped up in a neat package but you know the gist of the future and it looks okay.

I can now move on. Goodbye Gilmore Girls!

technorati tags:sitcom, TV, goodbye, Falwell

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