Tim Burton and Danny Elfman - Live from Lincoln Center - Directed by Andrew Carl Wilk

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Do you know there are few things in this world that could take my attention away from the third game of the World Series, since the Mets were trailing the Kansas City Royals 0-2 in games.

Something just called me away from that sports channel in the strangest of ways.  

Now I sit here the night before Halloween with my globes glued to the telly watching my old friend Andrew Carl Wilk, directing Live from Lincoln Center.

Try as I might, I could not get myself to go back to the game.

The subject of the broadcast was Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, the soundtrack composer for most of Burton's greatest, and or more bizarre, movies.

It was a brilliant mosaic, from a variety of perspectives weaving the story behind the music behind the movie from the quite unusual mind of Tim Burton.

Few people could direct such a demanding show where movie clips cut to a live orchestra and chorus, with a never-ending barrage of interchanging elements.

Anyway, you get the idea.

This was a bona fide horror classic, which could overtake the legendary cult classic the Rocky Horror Picture Show, as an institutional must see for the institutionalized.

 

At least the dress code for the two productions seems similar.  Maybe next year the crazy crowd can come up and sing in front of the giant screen.

As usual, Andrew Carl Wilk, the Wizard of Lincoln Center, cast a magical spell over the viewers with his clever cuts and directing hijinks.

The show was a dazzling string of highlights.

The sequence with the violin soloist in leather was a particularly enchanting segment, probably my favorite part of the show.

When Danny Elfman began singing live, one forgets he used to be in a band, the challenge to Andrew of synchronizing the live singer, orchestra, and choir with the animated clip from the movie was daunting.

Yet somehow, Wilk, the superstar from the Summit, New Jersey that is, was able to give the song "What's this?" a seamless presentation.

As for rating the performance, they simply do not have enough stars to adequately rate this production.

Andrew and wife Heather

It is off the charts.

Therefore, Andrew, you ruined my lifelong record of watching the World Series without interruption, especially with such great teams involved.

When your Wizard's spell forced me to switch from the game, with the Mets trailing by one run, to PBS of all places, I was shocked.

Two hours later when you finally released me from the spell and I turned the game back on, the Mets were leading by six runs.

It seems to me if I had a bunch of your Live at Lincoln Center DVDs, and the Mets were losing a game, I could throw your show on and help the Mets win the World Series.

Bravo Andrew, and buy a bigger trophy cabinet, I sense yet another Emmy and your cabinet long ago ran out of room.

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BP Oil Spill Live from the floor of the Gulf

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As BP works throughout the night to get the Top Kill procedure to seal off the leaking oil pipe one mile below the surface of the Guulf, you can watch the process in real time.

This procedure has never been attempted at this depth but watch as the oil escaping has changed from a black and white plume, black for oil and white for natural gas, to a brown plume representing the mix of the 10,000 tons of mud being pumped into the pipe.

If it is working sometime today, Thursday, the oil flow should slow down and eventually end.

BP cut off the live feed to the press but somehow PBS managed to keep the feed.



This view will be maintained as long as the live BP feed continues.



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Welcome to the Big Leagues Rand Paul - Just ask Sarah Palin for Media Advice

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Newly nominated Senate candidate Rand Paul, a threat to everything the Administration and left liberals stand for if he gets elected this fall, had not basked in the glory of a stunning primary victory for 48 hours before the propaganda arm of the Obama left and Democrats, PBS and MSNBC, began the task of trapping and discrediting the political neophyte.



It was done with surgical precision in a one-two punch by PBS, followed by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC that left the rookie staggering. Much like his father Congressman Ron Paul, who has been a master of communications with our youth and general public but is denied access to much of the national media, Rand Paul takes a rather cerebral approach to news conferences. He actually tries to give an in depth insight into his views and philosophy on issues.



Well the left liberals educated him on why the national media has lost the confidence of the public as they took his words, reinterpreted what he said, and incited national media hysteria over whether he was for or was against the 1960's civil rights act. A little deft editing and the Democratic pit bulls were cut loose trying to force him out of the election before the final primary votes had been counted.



In less than 24 hours he was back trying to do damage control and again he demonstrated he is not quite ready for prime time by trying to explain his position in a reasoned way. Wake up Rand, today's media can only be controlled with sound bites and video clips. Give them 5-10 seconds of senseless patter that keeps you out of trouble and don't get seduced into thinking you can walk right into the liberal lion's nest and be treated with anything but the scorn and fear they have for you.



Now Paul is a fresh face and I have been involved in many political campaigns including running US Senate races and never have I seen such a stupid job by his communications advisors. He should fire his entire communications staff and bring in the pros who can prepare him for the massive scrutiny that he will face throughout the rest of the campaign.



To think that PBS and MSNBC, the national masters of media manipulation and the propaganda machine for the left guard, would give a conservative libertarian a fair interview is just plain stupid. Whoever let him schedule the interviews with the gotcha networks, yes they advertise that they will find a way to smear anyone who does not agree with them, should be replaced as well.

Rand should stay off the air until he gets the right advisors and schedulers and is properly prepped before facing the lions again. He may strike a nerve with the public, but the media is his enemy and he cannot forget it. They have the power to twist your words into anything they believe will hurt your chances to get elected.



Ask Obama who watched the media, who were in his back pocket when he was elected, turn on him. Better yet, ask the most prominent victim of media manipulation in America and one of your first major supporters Sarah Palin what kind of fair break you will receive from the silver screen mouthpieces. She was a trained journalist and proven communicator and look what happened.



Keep your campaign with the people, not the media. Get experienced and good communications and scheduling advisors. And keep your campaign focused on the people of Kentucky and today, not some 1960's law that has nothing to do with the problems America faces today. Lick your wounds and move on, don't keep trying to educate a media that has no interest in telling your story.



We need your independent voice in the Senate. Keep independent of the liberal media and you have a chance. The people of Kentucky deserve no less.

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