Day Two Hundred and Fifty - Ken Burns: Prohibition, Episode 3, "Happy Days are here again! Also the St.Valentine's Day Massacre."

Alright, I admit, I've probably gushed a bit too much about Burns' Prohibition documentary. For three days straight have my viewing habits on Netflix been strictly relegated to his compilation of newsreels, testimonials, and famous people reading character voices... and I love it.

I'm sure, dear reader, that you've become a little bored of my tenure with the documentary, hoping for some variety instead of post after post populated by Peter Coyote's respectable narration. As such, I think this particular entry will be short and sweet so that, on the morrow, we can make a clean break and move on to something different.

Perhaps Hellraiser... or Zack and Miri Make A Porno.

But, that's tomorrow. Today we're going to finish Ken Burns' Prohibition strong if, however, briefly. Key notes for the final episode, I think, are the rise of the Flapper and the decadence of the New York Speakeasy, the political problems of Hoover and the Great Depression, and the dominance of the Chicago gangster in headlines and the consciousness of every American.

I really find it fascinating that Lois Long was openly cataloging the excesses of the age in the New Yorker and a lifelong Republican, Pauline Sabin, was a driving force in the anti-Prohibition campaign, vehemently speaking out against the Womens' Leagues that had championed (and still did) the 18th Amendment just a decade previous.

The role of women both in its institution and its repeal is, by far, the most interesting and fulfilling fact of the documentary. They had won the right to vote, helped start the Great Experiment, and also helped its downfall. If nothing else, it is a testament to the power and relevance of women in our society, that they were so passionate, both for and against, this divisive issue of the early 20th Century... be they as mothers, wives, or independent women.

While the episodes previous only hinted at the mobsters of the Chicago scene, choosing to focus on the gentlemen bootleggers of the early era, like Olmstead and Remus, Burns let the floodgates loose on Capone in this, the final installment. I suppose it makes sense, considering the chronological long view that the documentary takes. Even so, we're finally given the story of Chicago Boss and his attempts to profit from and dodge the responsibilities of illegal booze during Prohibition.

On the politics side, it's interesting to see the effect of the Depression on the Hoover administration and how, despite the defeat of Smith thanks to his being a Wet supporter, a City-man, and (perhaps, most horribly in the eyes of the rural Protestant) a Catholic, just a few short years later, another New Yorker would take away his second term... Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It's strange to see Roosevelt in those early newsreels at the convention, making mention of his support for beer. His mannerisms seem almost alien as he nods and smiles, a testament to the change in body language that has occurred in the intervening years thanks to television.

Finally, I'd like to make mention of Jazz, but only for a moment... because I have no doubt that, sometime in the future before the year is up, if Ken Burns' Jazz is available for the stream, I shall be watching it. I loved seeing the Cotton Club show in the section on New York Nightlife during the first act of the episode. I love Duke Ellington and to hear Lois Long proclaim him the top made me smile broadly.

Overall, the series is as great in its finish as it was in its start. Burns, et al., always produce riveting and informative documentaries and this is no exception. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be stepping back to fiction for a while after this three day sojourn into history, but don't let that fact make it seem like I regret the decision to spend the last couple of episodes of Couchbound on the subject. It's well worth the watch and I enjoyed every second of it.

And it seems that I've dragged on just as much as I have for the rest of the series. So much for "short and sweet."

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Forty-nine - Ken Burns: Prohibition, Episode 2, "Scofflaw!"

Alright, I admit it... I'm hooked. Burns' documentary keeps me awake and interested as his narrator Peter Coyote (with the help of historians, authors, scholars, and actors) profiles both lawmen (and women) and criminals flaunting the 18th Amendment and doing so on a massive scale.

Familiar voices of course included Sam Waterston, whom I heard quite a bit last night, but standouts in this episode for me were John Lithgow and Paul Giamatti. Their turns giving voice to the Scofflaws of the time really worked with the narrative.

The culture of the time is also examined and, in one bit, I find it hilarious that tens of thousands of people entered a contest to create a word for people openly flaunting Prohibition and invented the word "Scofflaw." It was also laughable that prescription whiskey was still allowed as well as hard apple cider so housewives could "conserve their produce" Well, you learn something new every day. I think, the icing on the cake was the tremendous increase in sacramental wine, which was still permitted, jumping to millions of gallons.

The Ohio Gang destroys the mystique of the romance of the bootlegger, showing quite frankly that the graft rose pretty much all the way to the top, with even President Harding enjoying whiskey with his Poker Cabinet. In contrast, the ideal was kept going in the Pacific Northwest with an enterprising former police lieutenant named Olmstead who made a fortune in Seattle until a private detective and an engineer, hired by the mayor of Seattle's enemies to tap all the offices, lead to Olmstead's downfall.

While he didn't plummet quite as far personally as another bootlegger, a former lawyer named Remus who based himself in Cincinnati (my hometown) and who spoke of himself in the third person, Olmstead, despite being a gentleman about his illegalities, still fell to the hammer of justice, even as the country (particularly those in power) openly accepted bribes and skirted the law.

I find that I liked Olmstead so much more, despite the sensationalist nature of Remus' eventual imprisonment over his bootlegging and the betrayal on the part of his wife... whom he eventually murdered and successfully pleaded not guilty by insanity. Remus was tabloid fair, but Olmstead (at least, in the presentation of the documentary) was just a reasonable American breaking what he saw to be an unjust law and making a tidy profit because of it.

I mean, what's more American than that? It's amazing how easily I can rationalize away so much graft and corruption when it comes to Prohibition.

There's a small section for Capone, but Burns spends more time on the figures that the general public probably doesn't know... and I think that's to the better considering how much the myth of the Chicago Gangster influences our views on the era.

Remus and Temporary Insanity and Olmstead and Wiretapping are the key standouts, I think... as well as the row in the Democratic Convention  between two candidates who split the vote so much (The Prohibitionist KKK versus the Wet New Yorker) that the compromise over the third candidate may have ultimately cost the Democrats the election, putting Coolidge into office.

As with yesterday, Burns' Prohibition is a prime documentary that keeps me coming back for more education on a history that I know so little about. Just one more to go before I'm done. Maybe I'll complete it tomorrow... or maybe I'll give you, dear reader, a break and go for a movie instead.

We'll see, I suppose.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Forty-eight - Ken Burns: Prohibition, Episode 1, "Sometimes it's just a day for a little History."

Ken Burns documentaries are pretty much the Gold Standard of educational specials, I think. For what has to be over 25 years, he and his crew of dedicated, methodical researchers, scholars, and voice actors have put together so many quality programs focusing on key elements of American history. From Baseball to the Civil War to Prohibition, I have always found Burns' documentaries to be tremendously interesting.

Sadly, I think many of my classmates in the 80's and 90's used those in-class showings to sleep.

Narrated by Peter Coyote and featuring character readings by the likes of Sam Waterston, Patricia Clarkson, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Blythe Danner, Oliver Platt, and so on, Prohibition's first episode covers the historical beginnings of the Temperance movement. Starting with the cultural shift and wave of alcoholism and public drunkenness caused by the switch from low-percentage by volume ciders and beers to high-proof distilled liquors like whiskey and rum, Temperance began with small town outrage and a religious push back by Protestant preachers against the mostly Catholic immigrants and their demon drink.

Both the Women's Crusade and Carrie Nation with her hatchet had stirring movements that eventually died down after their initial success... and as movements rose and fell, a new industry was booming thanks to German immigrants creating large brewing companies and forming lobbying groups to help them fend off the somewhat sporadic and spontaneous attacks by the morally outraged country women.

The Free Lunch was created by saloons and billiard halls where just that were served (later spawning the counter saying "TANSTAAFL" or "There ain't no such thing as a Free Lunch"), replete with salty meats and cheeses meant to entice thirst from men looking for a meal gratis, almost guaranteeing sales of alcohol.

The brewers attempts at fending off Temperance didn't last forever, though, as groups became more organized and politically savvy. With the antics of the Anti-Saloon League, I'm reminded quite a bit the Tea Party and other divisive movements in history and its tactics to pressure using "with us or against us" tactics. Politicians soon had to weigh the risks of being on the wrong side of the issue as voters were perfectly happy to show them the door if they didn't vote Dry.

It's hard to imagine that the Income Tax was the death knell for brewers and a victory for Temperance and Prohibition, but that's just what it was. It's also hard to imagine that World War One and anti-German sentiment helped destroy the beer garden and put the final nails in the coffin.

As an avid drinker, myself, I find myself almost misting with tears whenever I see the newsreel footage of protesters and G-men cracking kegs and smashing bottles, burning barrels and dismantling stills. It oddly hurts to witness this violence against property... almost as much as it does to see man hurting his fellow man. Maybe it's because I hate to see such waste. Maybe it's because an affront to one freedom is an affront to all. Either way, it's a personal subject for me.

This first episode covers pretty much everything up to the point of the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, only barely hinting at the troubles to come during the proper years of Prohibition... the era of the romance of Chicago crime... gangsters and bootleggers, the tommy gun and the speakeasy. I look forward to completing the series and hope to do so soon, not getting distracted by other offerings in my queue.

If ever you wanted to learn just how deeply interconnected our history is in America in regards to alcohol, this documentary is for you.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Sixteen - Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill, "In heels, no less!"

I'm going to come right out and say it now (in case you get bored with my gushing)... this has to be the greatest comedy set that I have ever seen.

Now, to be fair, I've seen it before, as Eddie Izzard is my favorite standup comedian and Dress to Kill is my favorite set of his... I own it on DVD and force my friends and occasional girlfriends to watch it at least once a year. In the case of the occasional girlfriends, it's my first pick for the inevitable "Movies on the Couch" date which crops up around two or three dates in. I have no idea if this fact moves up the timing of their decisions to eventually stop dating me.

We may never know.

Even so, it is very much available on the Stream and is just as grand a performance here as it is on DVD. I only wish I had been there when it was recorded.

If you don't know him (or, perhaps only recognize him from his film and television roles where he's not in a dress and "tarted up a bit"), Eddie Izzard is a transvestite who brokers really intelligent humor that spans the gamut of human existence. Fashion, Sex, History, Language, it's all there.

I particularly love him because he owns his alternative lifestyle without necessarily banking on it. While, yes, his transvestism is a major part of the act, it's not played gratuitously, nor does he fawn over himself. Instead, he has a very humble but confident demeanor that is both self-effacing and unapologetic.

This particular set was filmed in San Francisco and it's hilarious to hear all the hissing at the beginning of it, a bit of heckling that he smartly defuses without losing the audience. I find the feat very impressive due to the fact that he makes quite a few claims about the alternative lifestyles in a town that's very touchy about said lifestyles.

Now, fair warning, it's a long set... clocking in at six minutes shy of a full two hours! But, every single bit of it is engaging and entertaining. From puberty to the druids to the British Empire... Clinton's impeachment to Speed to The Great Escape, it's all hilarious, if a bit dated.

I mean, c'mon, the set is almost fifteen years old at this point, it's going to be a little dated.

I've watched tons of standup specials on Netflix (though, I've only reviewed a few)... and this is still the only set where I'm so deliriously happy that he comes out for an encore... mostly in French, I might add... and done in such a way that even a big dumb American, like me, who hasn't had a lick of French since elementary school, can still follow along (for the most part, as I still don't get the Monty Python in French bit).

My final recommendation is for you to WATCH THIS... IMMEDIATELY... with a quick shout out to my dear friends Todd and Tina for introducing me to Eddie's comedy a decade ago.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and Twelve - A League of Their Own, "A little schmaltzy, but still a decent nostalgia/period film about baseball."

A flashback movie starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks about the women's professional baseball league that was started in the tail end of World War Two, when many male MLB players were overseas fighting in Europe or the Pacific, A League of Their Own is less a baseball movie and more a tale of family and female empowerment.

That's not to say that there isn't a decent amount of baseball drama both on and off the field, but the in-game scenes are mostly montages... and brief ones at that.

Anyways, the main thrust of the story is the family drama between sisters Dottie (Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty), both fast pitch softball players in Oregon who are scouted for the new women's league by the wonderfully acerbic Jon Lovitz. As they head to tryouts in Chicago's Wrigley Field (renamed "Harvey Field" to get around certain legalities) and are eventually picked, you can tell there's a lot of rivalry between them. This is mostly on Kit's part as she's jealous of always living in her talented older sister's shadow. Some of that is justified, but most of it feels played up for the drama of the movie.

The other main role is that of the reluctant coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), who starts off as a souse but turns into a competent and enthusiastic leader over the course of the film, mostly due to the subtle reforming and competition that Dottie gives him.

To the side there are quite a few good supporting players like Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna, Megan Cavanaugh, Bitty Schram, and David Strathairn. As an ensemble, everything works pretty well, even if there are a few awkward sequences here and there.

I think my main beef with the film is two-fold.

First, Madonna has top billing, occupying the general cast roll and poster as the third lead over Lori Petty. I find this to be a grave injustice as, at best, she's a supporting actress, not a lead. I don't give a good goddamn that her star power may have helped the film along or that she won a Golden Globe for her tie-in song. The headliners for A League of Their Own were Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Lori Petty... AND THAT'S IT.

My second issue was how little actual baseball was in the film. Major League came out a few years earlier and, despite it not being a historical piece, was a better baseball film... even though it was a silly underdog sports comedy. Hell, Tom Selleck's Mr.Baseball is a better baseball film than this. I really shouldn't give A League of Their Own as much crap over this as I do as the story is more about female empowerment than the actual sport, but still.

Overall, Penny Marshall did a pretty darn good job with this film. She managed to pull together a terrific ensemble with lots of great leads and supporting actors (even including Madonna... she may not have the best reputation, but her performance here worked). Brother Garry is great in the few scenes we see him as candy mogul Harvey and David Strathairn is just fine as well. Honestly, he always delivers and whenever I see him on a cast list, I'm happy.

While there could have been more bonding scenes between Dottie and Jimmy, I was decently pleased with their back and forth. There may have been more left on the cutting floor as the running time was pretty long for a nostalgia dramedy like this, clocking in at over two hours, but you can't always get what you want without overbloating a film. If I had all the baseball and personal drama I wanted, it probably would've broken three hours.

I can definitely recommend A League of Their Own. You just have to forgive the first five minutes' schmaltz before the film flashes back to the Forties and starts proper. Also, kudos to Penny for finding elder actresses who really did look like aged versions of Geena Davis and Lori Petty. It (and the dub job) was so convincing that I was trying to look for makeup lines the whole while.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Fifty-seven - Cosmos: Episode 7, or "Beyond Pythagoras and the Backbone of Night"

I really love Cosmos.

If I had children, when I have children (should I be so lucky), I would/will show it to them the moment they start to reason and understand. There's just something about the way Carl breaks down such complex topics as our place in the stars and relates it to the history of man, civilization, and science that makes it so interesting and awe-inspiring.

This particular episode of the series talks about not only the early concepts of the Earth, the Sun, and the stars, but also deals with a lot of the pushback that has occurred in history concerning science.

Now, you'd immediately think from that sentence that he went after the Dark Ages and the Inquisition and the like, but no. Instead, he explores and explains a source of suppression that I really wasn't expecting... especially since it comes from a name that I've been taught to revere for decades thanks to its intimate connection with how we learn mathematics.

Pythagoras.

Yes, the man whose name reminds us of one of the most fundamental formulas in algebra, was party to the suppression and persecution of observational scientists whose ideas and experiments may have contradicted his belief in the five perfect solids.

I'd never known... or, at least, never absorbed the information before that one of the hallowed forefathers of math and science was himself a sort of mystic who considered the fifth form, the dodecahedron, to be too dangerous for the public to consume and thusly had to be hidden from their hearts and minds. That sort of behavior seems antithetical to me.

Yet, here we are... and there I was, learning about it from Carl as he traced the line of thought from Aristarchus to Kepler to today.

I was especially fond of this episode's classroom sequences, where Carl speaks to a room full of elementary students about images taken by Voyager of the other planets in our solar system. To see the wonder in their eyes and hear their excitement as he passed out the photos, then see the gears turning in their minds as he gave a quick demonstration on detecting planets by their star's wobble.

Fun stuff!

As I said before, I love Cosmos. Every episode fills me with a sense of wonder and understanding, even as I know that I am thoroughly ignorant, a babe in the woods. This episode is no different from the others in giving me that feeling.

One thing that does stand out, though, is one of my favorite Sagan lines... that "the sky calls to us... if we do not destroy ourselves we will, one day, venture to the stars."

My main fear in life and living is that his couched warning will come to pass... that our current and continuing willful disregard for ourselves, our neighbors, our future generations, and the nature, fauna, and planet we call home will lead us to destroy any possibility of spreading out to other stars and worlds... that we will be a footnote in the cosmic history, doomed by our own hubris and petty jealousies and bickerings to die out, having poisoned our world beyond sustainability before we step out into the stars.

I think that and despair... yet, somehow, I still have some small measure of hope.

I wish he were still here with us, but I'm also glad he's gone so he wouldn't have to live in this current anti-science climate.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~