Bad news

The news of his death seemed a killer
Like a 510 lb. gorilla.
In his own Neverland,
Michael seldom was bland;
And we'll likely not see such a thriller.

Michael Jackson's death catches
entertainment journalists unprepared
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times, 6/27/09

Culture clash

As a simple appeal to our hearts
We support a Department of Arts;
But a Government role
Oft reduces the whole
To a sum of much less than its parts.

I submit the above as the Savant's addendum to the online petition in support Quincy Jones' proposal for a new department. Though I see enormous potential for promotion of the arts and enhancing their influence, I am wary when the political culture mixes with the artistic one. Giving government bureaucracy a role in the fragile creative process scares the willies out of me. Remember that the camel was a horse, created by committee. Imagine what they might do to a horse's ass like yours truly!

Weigh in on where you stand in The Savant's latest useless poll to the right. =>

and click on the link to sign the petition if you're so inclined.

Quincy Jones Leads Chorus Urging a Cabinet-Level Arts Czar
By Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post, 1/14/09

And so we would know it was real...

Guess who was singing?

If the voice went a little bit flat,
You're Aretha! We know you're "all that!"
For your power to wow
You can still take a bow;
And, what's more, take a bow for that hat!

[OK, Mark. This one was for you]

A little prayer from the Queen of Soul
By Richard Morrison, Times Online, 1/21/09

World domination?

Well, not exactly.


A day I don’t listen is rare
So today didn’t seem very fair.
Just the luck Limerick has!
While Scott Brick reads White Jazz,
Marco Werman reads me on the air!

Figuring on cruel Clevetown commute this snowy evening. The Savant pops "White Jazz" CD into the mobile music box. Ellroy on a silver platter. To soothe jangled nerves. Typically Mullins and Werman and Bell ride shotgun. Better than a police scanner for taking the pulse of this crazy world.

Not tonight. Tonight it’s Scott "Solid As A" Brick. He’s laying down the staccato rhythms of L.A. dicks and hot chicks. Cool. Gritty. Solid as his name. "Lay it on me, Scottie boy. Lay. It. On."

Suddenly Ellroy's sweet beat is cut short. That familiar cellular buzz. It's Rene. What does she want? "Hello?"

"He's reading you!"

"Wha?'

"Marco. He's reading your limerick! On the radio."

"Shit!"

It's too late. Fingers fumble. Can't switch modes in time. He's gone! "Yeah, I…"

"I'm so excited!" She cuts me off, excited. "I was checking a kiln and I think I hear 'Limerick Savant.' It's Marco Werman on the radio. And then he repeats 'Limerick Savant' and he's reading your limerick! Right there on 'The World!' I couldn't believe it!"

"I sent them an email. I was listening yesterday. You know, the 'Global Hit.' They had on this violinist. Lisa Mullins interviewing this controversial guy. He's like a virtuoso. Plays like Mozart. But he does the cadenzas like 'Turkey in the Straw.' Or Bluegrass. Or Jazz. Whistling. But still Mozart. You know. Still his style. Notes. Gilles Apap. That's his name. So I compose this limerick while I'm driving home. And I send it to them. I do that sometimes. When a story inspires me on NPR I send them the limerick. They never even write back. This time it was PRI. I didn't expect anything. Remember? I sent them that one when they did their April Fools story. The 'exploding maples' story. They totally got me with that one! I thought my limerick was pretty clever. They never answered. But I'm usually listening. Not today. I can't believe it! Of all the times. I think, 'I'll listen to that book from the library.' The James Ellroy. What bitter irony!"

"Well maybe they record it. Can you get it online?"

"That's it! Thanks, doll. Sure. That's where I linked to that Frenchy fiddler story. I'm saved."

"You should write a limerick about THIS."

"Huh?"

"You know. The whole 'missing it' thing."

"Yeah. Sure, babe."

So our savvy Savant is saved. Thanks to miracles of modern tech. He's got the whole story. Downloaded. On mp3. Suitable for play on his iPod. Where he can listen to Marco reciting his limerick over and over. That smooth cool voice. Selected and looped. Deleting the unneeded. A Global Hit. At least in his own mind.

And remember. You heard it here first. Off the record. On the Q.T. And very hush hush.



Beth Rowley PRI's The World
By Marco Werman, The World's Global Hit, 11/21/08
Posted using ShareThis

Gilles appeal

When Gilles Apap plays without fetter
The faces of stuffed shirts get redder.
As they rant and they rave
Mozart turns in his grave
In order to hear all the better!

Global Hit - Gilles Apap
By Lisa Mullins, The World, PRI, 11/20/08

As my old pappy use to say...

"A lie can travel halfway around the world
while the truth is still putting on it's shoes."
---(sometimes attributed to Mark Twain)

No limericks today; just a song to be sung to the tune of the
Maverick Theme music by David Buttolph and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster


Who is that gray-haired, stodgy guy?
Maverick is the name.
They call him that, we don't know why,
Palin's his compadre,
Politics his game.

Slick as a lobby in D.C.
Maverick, John McCain.
Out of touch with you and me;
Part of Bush's cadre.
How is that a change?

Riverboat, blow off steam,
Don't buy into their scheme!
Liberty's the lady they will test!

From Natchez to Duluth
It's time to tell the truth
This "maverick's" the same as all the rest.

His campaign's blowin' smoke,
The concept is a joke!
He's claiming change; oh, surely he must jest!

From Natchez to Duluth
It's time to tell the truth
A maverick is no maverick, self-professed,
And John McCain's no maverick, hope you guessed.

For those of us who remember the 60's TV series, the "original Maverick" was James Garner (no, not Tom Cruise!) and there's no contest when it comes to who we'd rather be swindled by. So, when you get ready to vote this year, remember what my old pappy used to say,
"Always drink upstream from the herd."

McCain relies on his image, avoids issues
By Cynthia Tucker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/7/08

I read the news today; oh boy!

I remember the times seemed so rife
With famine, with war, and with strife.
Then that mind-blowing day
Pepper taught us to play…
Yet, today, it's a day in the life.

'Sgt. Pepper': It Was 40 Years Ago Today
Time, 6/1/07

The Maines event

Down in Dixie, they’ve taken their licks
But they broadened their base in ’06.
Now the band’s been redeemed
This week, so it seemed,
When the Grammy’s made nice with the Chicks.

Grammy Sweep by Dixie Chicks Is Seen as a Vindication
By Jeff Leeds, The New York Time, 2/13/07

Daredevil claims bad rap

Though whatever the jurors believe'll
Determine the fate of Kanyevel ®,
It's a mighty big leap
To say Kanye's a creep
Who's intentions toward Evel were evil.

Kanye made me look evil - Knievel
Paul MacInnes, The Guardian, 12/13/06

Prized Find

You can keep your hip-hop and your punk.
By comparison, all of that's junk.
#1 with a bullet, sir,
And, now, with a Pulitzer;
Give me jazz by Thelonius Monk.

2006 Pulitzer Prize winners
Seattle Post Intelligencer, 4/17/06

Orchestrating a takeover?

The Rosenberg Principle

The brilliant young maestro, James Gaffigan
Is twice the conductor, and half again,
As Franz Welzer Most.
Incredible boast?
Well, yes. I'm just kidding, so laugh again!

A start that's anything but same old, same old
Donald Rosenberg, Music Critic
The Plain Dealer, 1/7/06

See it now!

Issues, present day journalists duck,
Ed Murrow confronted with pluck.
You're searching for heroes
But turning up zeros?
All I'll say is, "Good Night and Good Luck."

Sure to be on many top 10 lists for 2005, this is a wonderfully complex movie that looks at journalistic integrity in the face of political, societal and commercial pressures and even personal vanity. It's worth the price of admission alone for Dianne Reeves' smoky vocals on the soundtrack. (hint to the Savant's friends and family looking for a last minute gift idea)

News in Black, White and Shades of Gray
By A. O. Scott, The New York Times. 9/23/05

All you need is...

Today we're remembering John.
It's twenty-five years since he's gone,
But the legend won't cease.
By imagining Peace,
We insure the idea lives on.

Is Lennon still an icon to the young?
By Stephen Dowling , BBC News, 12/8/05