tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79119782012-02-03T19:30:35.979-08:00Observations and Musings (Mostly About Pop Culture) by Jim Chadwick<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.comBlogger751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-19189464484670831272011-02-17T21:33:00.005-08:002011-02-17T21:58:35.800-08:00

Let there be joy and laughter and dancing in the streets. PJ Harvey has released a new album, her first "solo" venture in over three years. The name of it is (as it says in the title above) "Let England Shake." (Solo in quotes because she and long time collaborator John Parish shared the credit for 2009's "A Woman A Man Walked By" on which Mr. Parish wrote the music and Ms. Harvey sang the words.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-22738527299968621642010-12-18T12:02:00.003-08:002010-12-18T12:19:06.894-08:00

Takes a lot to get me back on the blog again. Usually someone dying. And yesterday, one of my great musical heroes, Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, happened to succumb on my birthday. I was having kind of a fucked up day anyway, and this really pushed me over the edge. But as my old friends and fellow Beefheart fan Robert Terrell told me (and I'm paraphrasing), it's kind of fitting in a way

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-45897122121810713592010-03-28T16:38:00.001-07:002010-03-28T16:41:24.117-07:00

Yesterday morning, I drove up to Beverly Hills to attend the memorial service for my old friend Mike Valerio, which was held at the Writer’s Guild. I drove up with Laurie, who of course has now known Mike a long time, through me. One of the first people I ran into was Mark Evanier, who passed on the news of the death of Dick Giordano. Not entirely a surprise, as I had been in touch with Dick’s

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-51748551832121205562010-03-28T15:39:00.002-07:002010-03-28T15:42:26.338-07:00

I spend so much time on Facebook these days that I end up ignoring this blog quite a bit. Really, if you have an interest in what I am up to on regular basis, you need to join Facebook and add me as a friend.On the other hand, when really big things happen, I feel I would be remiss in not noting them on this site. Of course I’ve done that quite a bit in the last couple of years, with some matters

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-51407727188377285132010-03-16T08:16:00.003-07:002010-03-16T08:22:23.212-07:00

Mike Valerio directed and wrote or co-wrote and directed two feature films, neither of which ever got into general release. Below is the trailer for 1999's CARLO'S WAKE. This was based on a play his then wife Rosie Taravella wrote and starred in. I went to see a live performance of the original a few years before this film was made. (Rosie's acting teacher, Charles Nelson Reilly, sat directly in

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-8222971085122522332010-03-14T14:22:00.003-07:002010-03-14T14:31:02.060-07:00

Years before it became hip and fashionable, over a decade before the release of GOODFELLAS, Mike Valerio was a huge Martin Scorsese fan. RAGING BULL was released in December of 1980, the year we were living in the same group house in Stamford, Connecticut, just a few months prior to my move to Philadelphia. I don't think I'd be exaggerating too much to say that Mike was a bit obsessed with the

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-84521651427547237182010-03-14T13:25:00.007-07:002010-03-14T13:45:52.584-07:00

Yesterday and today, I've been mourning the sudden passing of one of my oldest friends, Mike Valerio. The above photo was taken just about 23 years ago, in March of 1987, about a year or so after Mike (on the right) had moved to Los Angeles. I was visiting on a vacation, and stayed with Mike for most of the week.Mike died sometime overnight in his sleep, March 12/13, apparently the victim of

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-59101806281256791362010-02-28T21:03:00.002-08:002010-02-28T21:22:09.376-08:00

Sorry, this week's "Sunday Night 60s" is a bit of a cheat. I had planned on following up last week's Tim Buckley's spotlight a couple of days later with what I'm going to do here. But that got away from me just like the day did today. It's a bit late and I'm really tired. Too tired for the research, the links, etc. My all time favorite Buckley song is "Song to the Siren" from his 1970 album

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-55229295425398312010-02-21T22:59:00.002-08:002010-08-07T21:53:56.488-07:00

Two weeks ago, when writing about the group Earth Opera for this new, (hopefully) regular feature on THE BLUE CHAIR, I mentioned some four song cassettes I received from my Aunts Rose and Margaret for my Birthday/Christmas when I turned 12. Earth Opera was one of those. Another was a collection of songs by singer and musician Tim Buckley. Like Earth Opera, I had never previously heard of this

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-78660110302262136632010-02-15T09:28:00.003-08:002010-08-07T21:55:39.530-07:00

Back in January, I wrote about the 30th anniversary of the release of London Calling by the Clash. Frequently sited by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time, it certainly played a big role in the soundtrack of my own life. But today––February 15, 2010––marks the 30th anniversary of the release of an album that was even more important to me: Get Happy by Elvis Costello. More even than

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-83808883985567130512010-02-07T23:06:00.005-08:002010-02-15T07:47:54.195-08:00

In the winter of 1968, my aunts Rose and Margaret got me a birthday/slash Christmas present. (A not unusual combination in my childhood, as my birthday and Christmas were a mere eight days apart.) The present was one of those new-fangled cassette players. At the time, two forms of tape playback systems were competing on the market place: 8 tracks and cassettes. Most people had the former and it

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-33502573177521026222010-02-07T22:25:00.005-08:002010-02-07T23:06:22.627-08:00

In as much as I do anything regularly on this blog these days, I'm going to attempt here to launch a regular feature. As some of you may know, I have a particular sentimental fondness for the music of the late 1960s. It's not the sort of blind adoration of your typical aging baby boomer. I get nostalgic about multiple musical eras from across the past five decades. And I wasn't a drug using,

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-57551028695710013422010-02-06T17:11:00.003-08:002010-02-06T17:15:50.756-08:00

Forget all the bitching and moaning about Sam Raimi no longer directing the Spider-Man film franchise. Nor do I much care which action film flavor of the month director ends up ultimately taking the reigns. THIS is a Spider-Man I'd pay good money to see and would get in line for at the midnight screenings on opening day.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-79666207089253025652010-01-10T21:12:00.003-08:002011-01-09T21:27:02.786-08:00

This past week marked the 30th anniversary of the U.S. release of London Calling, the landmark double album by the British rock band, The Clash. The album has frequently been named by critics as one of the greatest of all time, and Rolling Stone magazine listed it as the best album of the 1980s . That’s an interesting choice, considering it was released at the dawn of the decade and is hardly

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-36557358966228755162009-12-17T23:50:00.002-08:002009-12-18T00:01:23.401-08:00

The last couple of years, I've written posts of my birthday which were generally maudlin in tone. This year, I feel much different. A year ago at this time, I was in a pretty dark place, facing a difficult personal crisis, struggling against a difficult move, and feeling like I was in one of the low points of my life. And less than two weeks later, my beloved old cat Moose passed away, rather

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-4527618132242534312009-11-29T17:24:00.007-08:002009-11-29T17:49:53.843-08:00

At times it seems like just about every recording artist releases a Christmas album eventually, some more than once. But if there's someone on the list of artists you never expect to do one, I guess you'd have to include Bob Dylan. Dylan's religious beliefs have always been a bit confusing; he's gone through both born again Christian and a born again Jewish phases. Plus, this is the guy

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-62439703177774382432009-11-08T10:53:00.006-08:002009-11-08T14:00:08.100-08:00

Hey, I'm about a week late on this, but at least I'm posting this before Thanksgiving.Last Saturday was Halloween, and as I had the previous year, I attended the annual Halloween bash at The Tickled Trout, my regular bar/karaoke hang out, located in the Ramada Hotel in the nearby Mission Valley section of San Diego. As I did last year, I threw together a fairly half-ass costume at the last minute

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-27608093349963472102009-11-04T22:10:00.003-08:002009-11-04T22:15:16.120-08:00

And all is as it should be in the universe. Everybody hates the Yankees. Hell, even a lot of New Yorkers (Mets fans) hate the Yankees. So it's even more satisfying when they win. This almost eases the sting of 01, 03 and 04. Those bad memories are in the past. This is today and I'm going to savor it. Don't know when I'm going to go to sleep. I just want to watch highlights all night and take this

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-10664422821372395022009-09-24T21:08:00.003-07:002009-09-24T21:11:14.980-07:00

Doing fine. It's Thursday night, which means I've almost made it through my first full week back to work without incident. Been kind of stressful, what with my bottomless workload, but I'm feeling good, feeling strong. Get the occasional twinge in the surgical area, but it passes quickly, and the incisions sometimes itch and irritate, but now I'm blaming that on the sudden heat wave that's moved

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-72227496512821932982009-09-19T12:30:00.000-07:002009-09-19T12:31:20.223-07:00

On Monday, I returned to work after a month long absence, following my kidney surgery and subsequent recovery. I tried easing back into the routine, spending about half my day wading through e-mails, many of them discussions of issues that had already been resolved while I was gone. I really just spent the day getting organized, trying to get up to speed on where every project was and what were

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-67006005947408176682009-09-10T18:23:00.002-07:002009-09-10T18:35:10.212-07:00

I have an official release from my doctor to start work on Monday. However, since that means I'll be jumping right back into a 5 day week, I thought it would be a good idea to do a sort of rehearsal or warm up, getting back to the office. Waiting for rush hour to pass, I drove into work. This was by far the longest I've driven since before surgery. It all came back to me very quickly. It seemed

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-66358482523382213092009-09-07T15:12:00.002-07:002009-09-07T15:21:04.462-07:00

Actually, I'll drive it myself.I haven't driven my car in close to a month. It's been sitting idle in the driveway since the day before surgery, collecting dust. (And a new scratch. Hmm where'd that come from, guy who parks next to me?) The longer I've been away from it, the bigger the mental intimidation has been growing. I asked Laurie to come by today because I wanted a passenger with me just

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-35687868786652638832009-09-07T10:41:00.002-07:002009-09-07T10:49:49.952-07:00

Last Friday, I thought I might be feeling well enough to return to work after Labor Day (today). I phoned my doctor to get his okay and that was when we had the conversation about taking things day to day. But as of now, I don't think that's happening. After a steady rate of improvement, I seem to have hit a plateau where I'm not getting any worse but I'm not getting better either. On Saturday,

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-83739617394637021822009-09-02T20:03:00.002-07:002009-09-02T20:13:43.636-07:00

I'm closing in on the three week anniversary of my surgery and today I feel like I may finally be turning the corner. Today was the first day in I can't remember when that I actually had three full meals--breakfast, lunch and dinner. Trying to walk a little everyday, but we're having a bit of a heat wave here right now and the sun is brutal. I went back out at dusk and discovered that my favorite

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-39107084307409416962009-08-30T16:38:00.002-07:002009-08-30T16:51:37.494-07:00

Well, life goes on. I continue to see some improvement day by day and slowly, ever so slowly, my appetite is creeping back. I just made myself what I think was the best meal I've had since the surgery. I had a small spinach salad, about a half cup of black beans, and two min-burger patties with some mini-burger buns I got from Trader Joe's. I'm trying to be all about iron now, which my doctor

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-33427675205812802782009-08-27T16:57:00.001-07:002009-08-27T16:57:49.591-07:00

I realize that it's been barely two weeks since my surgery, but I am reaching a high level of frustration. When I visited the doctor the other day, I also left a blood sample. The results of the sample indicate that my blood count is pretty low. Apparently, I lost more blood in surgery than I had been told--almost borderline to the point that I might have needed a transfusion. This sort of

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-35781471240510396072009-08-25T21:02:00.002-07:002009-08-25T21:09:12.547-07:00

Today was my first visit to the surgeon following my release from the hospital, one week ago. The news was incredibly uplifting. Turns out that the tumor on my kidney, which had been "acting" cancerous was in fact benign. Interesting that my first Urologist was "90% certain" that it was cancerous, based on the MRI and his past experience. But I can't knock him because he suggested the second

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-11475643058507036942009-08-18T22:30:00.001-07:002009-08-18T22:30:39.202-07:00

I came home from the hospital today, Tuesday August 18. My stay ended up being a bit longer than the doctor originally told me. All told, I was in for four nights and a bit more than 4 days. The folks at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest were all quite wonderful.The operation was a roaring success. My surgeon, Dr. Vapnek, assisted by the DaVinci robot, got in there and cleaned out all the

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-9536579202334504202009-08-10T07:16:00.002-07:002009-08-10T07:26:09.800-07:00

Haven't been here for a while. I was thinking that there may be a handful of you out there who sometimes check this blog and aren't on Facebook, where I spend most of my online time, sharing small chunks of information. Anyway, there's something very big going on with me that I thought I should share.I am going in for surgery at the end of this week, Friday, August 14. I have a small, cancerous

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-46842993986185045992009-07-29T07:13:00.002-07:002009-07-29T07:26:25.862-07:00

I recently discovered a website called Wolfgang's Vault that archives and allows you to stream a wealth of old concerts, some of them pretty impressive. I just discovered that they have the November 1, 1978 performance of Van Morrison at New York's legendary and dearly departed Bottom Line. I was at that show. This was Van's return to touring after a lengthy absence, during which I happened to

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-44386143127106171912009-06-22T07:09:00.002-07:002009-06-22T07:24:39.588-07:00

Polly Jean Harvey, John Parish and their band gave a great performance last night. Surprisingly (at least to me) was that they didn't do one single song from PJ's solo career. She stated right up front that they were only doing material from the two albums under her and Parish's name.Nice to see Eric Drew Feldman still playing with PJ, on bass and keyboards. Feldman played with her the one and

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-40537159992180795222009-06-20T11:54:00.003-07:002010-06-28T22:36:58.520-07:00

This is very sad and I am surprised that I have never seen this before. From October 10, 1985. Orson Welles doing an interview with Merv Griffin, just a couple of hours before he died. Welles had turned 70 five months earlier, and of course much of the conversation is reflecting back on the past, including a couple of touching remarks about ex-wife Rita Hayworth and good friend Marlene Dietrich.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-68398365460354630072009-06-11T23:49:00.002-07:002009-06-12T00:08:38.383-07:00

I haven't really been much into video games for the past 6 months or so. Honestly, there haven't been a lot of new releases that really have gotten me all that excited and I've played my old games so many times that it's hard to pick them up again. When I first started playing games seriously about five years ago, one of my favorites was a game called Red Dead Revolver. In hindsight, it wasn't

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-35926318420394562672009-04-15T07:12:00.003-07:002009-04-15T07:23:12.601-07:00

"The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" The DecemberistsIt's early in the year, but The Hazards of Love, the new album by The Decemberists, is way out in front as my album of the year. Even more so than 2006's The Crane Wife, this album clearly shows the influence of the best of "Prog Rock" from the past, yet is sounds modern and fresh. This particular track is one for which I keep hitting the rewind

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-13379610061656520912009-04-12T21:08:00.006-07:002009-04-12T21:55:26.306-07:00

Well, so much for my plan to be on here the last two days, posting Easter themed songs. I was actually mostly busy having an active social life, which is always preferable, particularly since no one pays me to do this and hardly anyone is here to read this.I did have some free time at home yesterday. I was in a distracted state of mind (long story, can't explain here, sorry) and was only up for

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-42277320425301448852009-04-08T07:02:00.004-07:002009-04-08T13:51:02.408-07:00

(I posted this a couple of days ago on Facebook, where a lot of my former Malibu Comics colleagues hang out. I sometimes forget that not everyone who reads this blog is on Facebook. So, this being the anniversary of the event I commemorated in this piece, I figured it was appropriate to run it here too. And it's probably also a fitting way to jumpstart this blog too.)This coming Wednesday, April

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-29700420610683758412008-11-07T09:42:00.031-08:002008-11-07T13:40:55.638-08:00

It won the other night, as you no doubt heard. Although it was a California issue, it had national implications. (Here's the wording of the amendment, and here's little background.) I am obviously still angered and upset and possibly a bit naively surprised by its passage. I have read the words of people trying to make rational arguments for why they supported it, or why in fact, it didn't

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-19360299264833533412008-11-07T08:42:00.004-08:002008-11-07T08:45:56.103-08:00

This has been on my mind lately. One of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, an early one. One of those rare songs that works equally well, whether you're feeling joyously celebratory or are in despair and need a sense of hope.Oh the time will come upWhen the winds will stopAnd the breeze will cease to be breathin'.Like the stillness in the wind'Fore the hurricane begins,The hour when the ship comes

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-64350642236945420672008-11-04T00:12:00.002-08:002008-11-04T00:25:09.379-08:00

Okay, I lied. I decided to do one more post with a headline worded in such a way as to perhaps make a No on Pro 8 ad appear, or at least make this pro one go away. (Something's gone wrong with my friggin' access to this Google Ad sense account, otherwise I'd just shut the whole damn thing down.)Again, I am emphatically opposed to California Proposition 8. If they put this issue up for a vote one

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-91332090680219226192008-11-02T20:54:00.001-08:002008-11-02T21:20:21.724-08:00

We’re coming up on three years in this apartment. We weren’t really thinking about moving or not, although frankly the cost of this place has been a bit of a financial bind. But now it looks like we’re going to have to exit, as we just got a notice that the rent is going up by almost $400 at the close of our lease at the end of December. If that sounds like an outrageous jump to you, I couldn’t

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-32909713320487911532008-10-12T23:34:00.005-07:002008-10-12T23:57:02.875-07:00

The weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous: moderate temperatures, low humidity, slight breeze. I kind of even needed a sweatshirt, for the first time since last spring. I love this kind of weather--it's almost impossible for me to feel depressed. So while Laurie was off getting her hair done, I loaded up the ipod with some mellow music, grabbed the digital camera, and took a stroll onto

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-10012868072998744982008-10-12T11:28:00.002-07:002008-10-12T11:32:57.686-07:00

I had a strange dream this morning. It was about my friend Patrick. We’re coming up in three months to the tenth anniversary of his death. He died under circumstances that have never been fully explained, at least to me. His car went off the road into a small lake in Delaware and he drowned. I was living in L.A. at the time and flew back to be with his family and attend the funeral. Pat and I

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-33582313731513061222008-10-12T10:30:00.005-07:002008-10-12T16:24:46.839-07:00

Updated at 4:30.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-52031351077354710162008-10-05T20:39:00.010-07:002008-10-05T21:35:33.458-07:00

This is a really chilling video from PBS station KCET in Los Angeles. Much has been written and said about the housing crisis, but this really puts it into perspective, I think. One in two homes sold last month in California were repossessed. 700 families a day lose their homes. This report focuses on an area of Riverside County known as the Inland Empire. Riverside County is one of those areas

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-26089948259005878912008-10-05T20:13:00.004-07:002008-10-05T20:18:41.149-07:00

This has been all over the web. I received it as a PowerPoint in an e-mail attachment. But in case you haven't seen it, click on this link. Funny...but not really. Sad and infuriating? Probably a better assessment. But as humans, this is what we do: laugh and make fun of stuff to psychologically try and diminish its power over us.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-80704676873207542432008-09-27T13:22:00.006-07:002008-09-27T13:45:27.068-07:00

Sad news today. As if the world wasn't currently fucked up enough already, we just lost one of the classiest guys on the planet and a dedicated philanthropist to boot. He was 83 years old. Have we just seen the passing of the last of his kind, a true Movie Star? I'd personally put him up there close to if not equal to Brando. Like Brando, he seemed to represent one of the bridges to the modern

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-73710049912039056212008-09-21T00:23:00.002-07:002008-09-21T00:37:00.204-07:00

Yes, it's a three year old song. I do remember seeing this on MTV a lot during my Summer of Unemployment between my Sammy Studios job and my DC Comics job. I liked it a lot at the time. For some reason, it's seeped back into my consciousness lately. In fact, I sang it at karaoke last night, with some help from my friend Ben. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to remember all the changes, but I think it

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-18997401695647590762008-09-18T20:57:00.001-07:002008-09-18T22:40:33.392-07:00

So I haven’t done many of these yet and I am already running into a thematic roadblock. While there was a lot of great music that I feel ran under the radar in the 80s—especially in terms of the cultural histories of the 80s that dominate the entertainment industry—I find myself only able to defend about half the decade. Compiling my list of artists, songs and videos to feature in this recurring

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-54641439641521659262008-09-18T20:57:00.000-07:002008-09-18T20:58:59.624-07:00

And just so I am clear on this…Universal health care would be a bad idea for America because it would socialize the health care industry.Government regulation of the financial markets is also a terrible idea because it’s counter to free market capitalism and, again, leads us down that slippery slope to Socialism.But government ownership and the effective nationalization of major financial

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-31229580787885938502008-09-02T17:42:00.003-07:002008-09-02T17:45:27.238-07:00

About a month ago--in my report on the 2008 San Diego Comic Con--I discussed meeting Israeli cartoonist Rutu Modan, who had just won the Eisner award for “Best Graphic Album-New”. I purchased a copy of her award-winning book, Exit Wounds, got it autographed, and told her I was looking forward to reading it. Having now done so, I’d like to give you my impressions.Let me just put it right out

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-79669511655203265212008-09-02T15:25:00.001-07:002008-09-02T15:39:55.815-07:00

My other, current favorite TV series is back tonight. The Shield begins its seventh and final season on FX. As I’ve probably stated several times in the past, I’m not a big fan of series TV. I just don't like to have the obligation to watch all the time, whether it’s during a show’s original airing or as part of a backlog of DVR entries. But The Shield is a rare, edge-of-my-seat show that I just

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-73583375670431319822008-08-29T17:59:00.001-07:002008-09-01T14:08:15.022-07:00

Tanita Tikaram released her debut album Ancient Heart in 1988. I didn’t hear the album until the following year, but when I did I immediately fell in love with it and became pretty intrigued by her. Tikaram was almost a textbook definition of an “old soul.” Though only 19 at the time of its release, her husky voice, thoughtful lyrics and sophisticated arrangements made her sound mature beyond her

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-26661334822784699492008-08-26T07:41:00.005-07:002008-09-01T14:08:57.862-07:00

You have to understand that in terms of 1960s pop music, time moved very differently than it does today. The single was still king and despite the fact that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band woke up the general public to the fact that an album could be something more than just a collection of singles (it had none, actually), most albums remained just that. Even as late as 1968—the year after

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-36699105956991341522008-08-24T14:28:00.002-07:002008-09-01T14:09:17.327-07:00

Time has prevented me from adding prior to this a word about the recent passing of Isaac Hayes. I cannot claim to have been a fan, like my friend Larry Reynosa . But I do find it sad that for a generation of people under the age of 35 or so, he will only be remembered as the voice of Chef on South Park, or maybe, if they can get their short attention spans to dig a little deeper, the guy who

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-76190617170017105322008-08-20T23:37:00.006-07:002008-09-01T14:07:47.721-07:00

Watch any of those ubiquitous VH1 specials or read almost any cultural history of the decade that is almost 20 years gone now, and we are somehow lead to believe that the music scene was all about Michael Jackson, Madonna, bad metal hairbands or whatever songs were on the soundtracks to various John Hughes movies. Well, I'm here to wage war against that facile, lazy and attention grabbing

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-52174943857684310712008-08-15T08:20:00.001-07:002008-08-15T08:22:40.113-07:00

Robbie Greenberger, son of friend and former colleague Bob Greenberger, died last night after a long battle with leukemia. He was only 20 years old. 20. I was thinking that this week marks the 18-year anniversary of when I first started at DC Comics. That means when I first met his dad, Robbie was only 2. When I moved to California 3 years later, he would have been 5. All those years seem like a

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-871875912298363952008-08-08T14:12:00.018-07:002008-08-08T16:30:44.459-07:00

The view from outside, Thursday morning.Two weeks on, I think the acceptable time limit for 2008 San Diego Comic Con stories has just about expired. The fact that I have been saying I would talk about it is about the only motivation I have for revisiting that territory. Instead of any sort of detailed report, I’ll share some randomly recollected stories with you. There will be no real cohesive

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-30177363774364959092008-08-03T21:56:00.001-07:002008-08-03T22:00:09.462-07:00

I had good intentions regarding blogging this weekend. Specifically, I wanted to post a couple of things about my Comic Con experience. The web is already filthy with media reports and personal reflections of the show, and the consensus is that it’s a subject that has worn out its welcome and that everyone is sick of. So I really didn’t want to wait much longer to add my own two cents.But things

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-66955761015285842922008-07-20T21:56:00.006-07:002008-07-20T22:24:33.090-07:00

I watch a lot of television, but not a lot of series TV. I just don't like to have the obligation of "having" to watch too many things.Perhaps my favorite series on TV these days (and one which I wrote more extensively about here almost a year ago) is AMC's Mad Men. I don't personally know that many people who watch it, but I was pleased to see it lead this year's Emmy Award nominations with 16.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-52658877648926373432008-07-17T23:57:00.007-07:002008-07-18T00:26:59.903-07:00

Full disclosure: I am an employee of DC Comics and got to see The Dark Knight at an advance (but not exclusive) screening last night. So, if you think I’m being a company man, well, you don’t know me. Homey don’t play that. I found Batman Begins to be highly over-rated and a bit of a muddled, narrative mess. I didn’t like the villains and found the whole plot to have Gotham City destroy itself to

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-47425234186274087502008-07-13T23:29:00.010-07:002008-07-14T00:20:03.593-07:00

Lately, I haven’t been making a point of jumping on line to get my own two cents in every time someone famous dies. I mean, I felt bad about George Carlin, admired his intellect and enjoyed his performances whenever I caught him on HBO, but wouldn’t exactly characterize myself as a Big Fan. And what gratuitous observation could I add that you didn’t already know?Also, as you get older, you start

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-31372924226613547612008-06-06T07:05:00.002-07:002008-06-06T07:16:12.271-07:00

Unemployment takes its biggest jump since 1986, hitting 5.5% on the same day that Oil hits $134 a barrel. The housing meltdown continues. Heck, even Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure. Anyone else get the sense that the sequel nobody wants to see-- "The Great Depression II"--is on its way? Meanwhile, Lame Duck President Nero continues to fiddle away in the White House.But don't worry: we've got a

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-6514455608791315682008-06-01T23:13:00.002-07:002008-06-01T23:27:43.901-07:00

...that I officially moved to California. Well, that was the day I actually moved into my apartment in Westlake Village. For about 10 days prior to that, I had been staying with an old Philly friend named Dave Bleiler in Studio City while I looked for a permanent place to live. It was one of the more tumultuous periods of my life. As with most things in the past, I tend to gloss over the bad

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-58404524949226121542008-06-01T23:11:00.001-07:002008-06-01T23:12:43.566-07:00

Spent the day on Friday at BEA in Los Angeles. BEA is the Book Expo America. It’s the big trade show for everyone in the book publishing business. I guess it’s to book people what Comic Con is to comics and geek culture or what E3 is to video games. BEA was held in the Los Angeles convention center, where I attended E3 in ’04 and ’05 and where I’ll be returning in about a month for Anime Expo

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-74102909049173498582008-05-23T00:11:00.002-07:002009-03-15T21:51:55.696-08:00

We break now from modern music and even the occasional time trip back to 1968 to jump ahead two years to 1970. For on May 22 of that year, I attended my first rock concert and for some reason on this particular anniversary, I feel like finally reminiscing about it.My parents were kind of odd about certain things. Odd and inconsistent. While my dad controlled our behavior with an iron hand—to the

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-9301483290389153112008-05-16T00:06:00.006-07:002008-05-16T00:24:12.134-07:00

It seems harsh to say bad things about Scarlett Johansson. Obviously, she is very beautiful. But she has an extra appeal beyond your average, incredibly attractive and sexy movie star because you get the sense she actually has a brain in her head and is not given to the excesses of celebrity. (Well, not yet at least.)He choice of projects reveals (usually) a willingness to collaborate on

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-59592408513948260182008-05-15T08:04:00.005-07:002008-05-15T08:15:49.545-07:00

Almost 22 years after its release, I had totally forgotten that the band Los Lobos played on Paul Simon's Grammy Award winning Graceland album. Now Steve Berlin from the band recounts the experience...and it wasn't pleasant. Simon evidently floundered around with little idea of what he was doing, and basically viewed his collaborators as...well, as sources of material he could steal, apparently.

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-56259711806892391032008-05-03T01:43:00.005-07:002008-05-03T01:57:00.884-07:00

The year 1968 marked something of a turning point for the Rolling Stones. Not yet emblazoned with the long since worn out title of “Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,” they were about to enter a phase in which they would surely earn the honor. The Stones started out under the heavy influence of rhythm and blues, and stood in scruffy contrast to their chief competitors of the era, The

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-40304983745473275582008-04-28T21:35:00.009-07:002008-05-03T01:55:33.131-07:00

It's been a while since I picked up the 1968 Anniversary thread. What can I say? Back again, let's return to the subject of music, As a young boy, I wasn't all that into popular music and resisted it for some time, despite my friends and classmates at least acting like they were up on the latest and greatest. (We seemed to be community that was pretty much sold on the Monkees for a while.) I

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-25310513307751655172008-04-28T00:37:00.008-07:002008-04-28T00:55:54.670-07:00

This Tuesday, April 29, RockStar Games releases Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest entry in its controversial video game series. The setting for this version moves from the previous edition’s fictionalized California (called San Andreas) to a re-imagined New York called Liberty City. Instead of living the life of a California gangsta in the early 90s, you are now in the present day, trying to

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-12599767843820983572008-04-26T00:44:00.004-07:002008-04-26T01:09:48.757-07:00

In case you missed it on the news, a man was killed by a shark today, off the coast of nearby Solana Beach. It is believed that the retired veterinarian was attacked by a great white shark. Holy crap. A Great White. As in Jaws. As in, call Robert Shaw and have him scrape his fingernails on the blackboard. That's pretty freaking scary. Not that I ever swim in the ocean myself, but it's still

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-12174387493295514062008-04-24T23:24:00.009-07:002008-04-24T23:49:34.018-07:00

It is now time for me to torture you with the musical stylings of...me.On the night of Saturday, April 5, 2008, Laurie and I joined a group of friends for a birthday celebration for our friend Michael at our usual karaoke spot, The Tickled Trout, in the Mission Valley are of San Diego. We brought along Laurie's Cyber-shot camera, which actually has a little video feature on it and we grabbed

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-29714804152850276562008-04-21T13:41:00.006-07:002008-04-21T14:05:16.353-07:00

Speaking of Entertainment Weekly, the most exciting news I read in the latest issue had nothing to do with the upcoming summer blockbusters. Believe it or not, it was actually news about a future Woody Allen movie. Not the one he has coming out the end of August. That one's called Vicky Christina Barcelona and is Woody's 4th straight film set in Europe (this time jumping from England to Spain)

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-43806726702974484922008-04-21T12:10:00.011-07:002008-04-21T12:59:04.199-07:00

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m a nervous flyer. Not to the point where I freak out or anything and behave in such a way that I would scare people in the airport or on the plane, but when I am airborne, I always have a sense of dread. And if I things start to get bumpy, I do get extremely tense and start to do things like tap my fingers and or feet. A big part of it has to do with my

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911978.post-28509422498605451982008-04-21T12:00:00.003-07:002008-04-21T12:09:34.519-07:00

I just read it again and I think it may be possible to interpret my comments in the previous post as meaning that I got sick on my flight. I did not. I got sick on Friday night/Saturday morning, after staying out late at a very enjoyable party in someone's New York loft. I really didn't drink much. One beer and a diet coke, I think. It was either jet lag catching up to me, or I caught something

<b>Jim Chadwick</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/07237098818013734780noreply@blogger.com0