tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113209902008-08-06T17:51:13.346-05:00tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-75616236775638841932008-03-13T21:17:00.006-05:002008-03-16T08:50:52.882-05:00

I have a long and intense history with the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Burt & Angie Dickinson are still my illusionary romantic ideal. This has been covered in depth here, and this back story is what makes the following story so monumental. Oddly enough, the back story ends on the same note that becomes a climax of this story. My friend Jim Staicoff had been talking of an amazing

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-59101948153875053912008-02-09T14:28:00.000-06:002008-02-09T14:53:21.392-06:00

Raquel Welch has been out promoting a new sitcom she appears in. A friend sent out an urgent bulletin to beware her talk show appearances, as she's virtually unrecognizable with her newest face. Seeing photos of Miss Welch during Fashion Week triggered a Hollywood trashtastic memory of Raquel and Mae West (above) in the gloriously bad classic Myra Breckenridge. As documented here, Raquel Welch

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-12321651447151242662008-02-02T15:34:00.001-06:002008-02-02T16:21:46.303-06:00

While doing research with a nice stack of Vogue magazines from the very early 1960s, the above ad made my spine tingle because it was so fierce. My first thought: is that a drag queen? My second thought: this is so Fabulon. Fabulon is my favorite non-celebrity gossip blog because it covers everything else that's just as crucial to my upkeep. In quick, bite-sized chunks, he either eggs on my

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-15562271937763921162008-01-23T18:11:00.000-06:002008-01-23T19:07:49.374-06:00

Every time an artist dies, I remind myself that I never knew them personally, and the way that I know them lives on forever exactly as it always has, just no new output. That usually helps with the sadness. But what rationale can I use for a shocking death like Heath Ledger's? On the night of his death, with full details still fully unknown, the bitchy but very fair gossip god Ted Casablancas

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-49018534553633373612007-10-16T17:33:00.000-05:002007-10-16T17:35:11.146-05:00

Along with John Mayer and Suzanne Somers, today I celebrate a birthday. The most delightful of all b-day surprises was an e-mail I received saying that B.E.L.T. made their list of Top 100 Architecture Blogs. B.E.L.T. comes in at #48 in the "Niche" category. My pal Andrew Raimist also made the list for his exemplary site, Architectural Ruminations. Congratulations to him, and my thanks to

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-55043495596545052282007-09-23T13:11:00.000-05:002007-09-23T14:20:38.481-05:00

A piece about the grand opening of the Ellis Hotel in Atlanta introduced to me the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire tragedy. This introduced me to the riveting photo shown above, and that it could be the last photo of this lady. Who took the photo? While contemplating that, the iconic image above instantly came to mind, another jump from a building, this one intentional. For decades, this photo has

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-67315545179530605412007-06-06T21:55:00.001-05:002007-06-07T08:39:14.376-05:00

Bob Barker filmed his last Price is Right, but there’s a time delay between his retirement and regularly scheduled programming. June 6th is a sad day, yet the big, bawling farewell is over a week away. It’s akin to pulling off the Band-Aid very, very slowly. I think I’m goin’ back To the things I learned so well In my youth* Making physical contact with the past can be curiously

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-87112165636111396812007-05-28T09:32:00.000-05:002007-05-28T09:34:19.580-05:00

As Bob Barker's retirement is just days away, I've been wallowing in nostalgic television research, which naturally brought Charles Nelson Reilly into the equation. I'm just a tad freaked that as I've been remembering how much laughter he brought me as a kid, he then ups and leaves this mortal coil. I have promptly ceased all thoughts of Brett Somers and Richard Dawson, hoping to avoid a

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-65632024127561555482007-04-19T18:15:00.000-05:002007-04-20T09:48:00.644-05:00

Even before Sanjaya got the boot, I was thinking of his future possibilities. My first thought had been reviving Dan Rowan & Dick Martin's Laugh-In for the 21st century. The update would be: Donny Osmond & Sanjaya's Laughin' Topical humor, skits and songs with a regular cast including Jessica Simpson, Kimberly Stewart, Stephen Dorff and George Hamilton. Andy Dick as the new Artie Johnson. We're

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-33766530798786598182007-04-15T09:33:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:24:22.355-05:00

I’ve finished reading the final issue of Premiere magazine. Upon hearing it was laid to rest, my first reaction was, “Hey, I paid for a 2 year subscription!” My second – and lingering - reaction is sadness. The death of another magazine is disturbing on so many levels. On a personal level, my mother’s movie magazines are some of my first memories (especially being spanked for scribbling in her

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-57390051355335020802007-02-10T17:44:00.000-06:002007-04-20T17:25:43.767-05:00

Other than my next door neighbor just securing a ticket for the Anna Nicole Baby Daddy Sweepstakes, I have nothing new to add to the Dead Anna media saturation. But I do have a complaint: The Marilyn Monroe comparisons are just plain wrong, and lazy. Trying to make a shallow connection between Anna & Marilyn is insulting because it disses Jayne Mansfield. It was the masterminds at Guess evoking

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-22398067608418008962007-01-29T07:29:00.001-06:002007-04-20T17:26:24.757-05:00

VIDEO "Recent Linear Landscapes" by Finn's Motel The astronaut is Thomas Crone. The Indian is me. The clown is Joe Thebeau, the leader of Finn's Motel. REALTED The Gateway Arch

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-88489867325835143272007-01-14T15:52:00.000-06:002007-04-20T17:27:09.689-05:00

New issue of Entertainment Weekly First Thought at First Glance: What is Eddie Izzard doing on the cover with Mirren & Streep? Second Thought: Oops, that's Judi Dench. Third Thought: Probably the first and last time we'll ever see ladies with their natural, aging faces on the cover of this magazine. But here's proof that present-day Dame Judi and mid-period Eddie Izzard do share a certain

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1165685241073454072006-12-09T11:26:00.000-06:002007-04-20T17:29:01.418-05:00

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie visit Falling Water on Thursday, and by Friday afternoon, we're told about it, and given the classic photo op (above). They took a two-hour tour which ended with a private birthday (his) celebration afterwards in the living room. This isn't a case of the media finding out and letting us know. This is clearly a case of Brad and His People making a concerted effort to

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1163275240549957682006-11-11T14:00:00.000-06:002007-04-20T17:29:58.701-05:00

Here is Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney on November 9th, at Tony Bennett's 80th birthday celebration. The sheer perfection of this moment took my breath away. While simmering down from the 1000x star wattage, I reflect on how Out Of Sight, the Steven Soderbergh movie they co-starred in, is one of my ultra-favorite movies. I've seen it, easily, 10 times, with my most recent viewing being about 3

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1161186140371635032006-10-18T10:35:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:30:17.742-05:00

A third title has just been added to my tiny Blogging Empire. Song Line The title comes from a Tim Finn song about musical heritage, and is my chronological musical memoir. If you know the songs, and know (something) about the time periods covered, then there's something to be had from it, even if you don't know me.

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1158318243895084482006-09-15T05:53:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:31:05.361-05:00

It's slightly unnerving to see Winona Ryder & Kate Moss hanging together, as they're both Johnny Depp ex-fiances. Makes me think of... Ava Gardner and Lana Turner forming an ad hoc "Ex Wives of Artie Shaw" club. Or Liz Taylor finally making amends to Debbie Reynolds more than 40 years after she stole her husband, Eddie Fisher. Then again, the thoughts inspired by new BFF Winona & Kate are far

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1156158065309611522006-08-21T07:30:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:34:05.101-05:00

A new record from the New York Dolls is a dicey proposition. 3/5 of the original band are dead, and what they spawned has been so diluted over the decades that trying it again would be like trying to get another cup out of a spent teabag. Then Steve Scariano let us know that One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This was absolutely great. No, it’s not a New York Dolls record, but it is

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1155673855426861972006-08-17T19:11:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:34:35.276-05:00

Fidel Castro is an expiring creature, so they tarted him up in a track suit and clown makeup in a half-hearted attempt to assure Cuba that he's still in charge. Along with fantasies about traveling to Cuba in 2007, I wondered why that AP photo of Fidel kept poking at the Cultural Connection section of my brain. Hours later, the connection roared onto the radar screen: Fidel reminds me of Uncle

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1152664106771975922006-07-11T19:35:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:35:40.537-05:00

The Bangles House of Blues, Chicago, 7.8.06 A group of 8 of us made a road trip from St. Louis to Chicago to see The Bangles. Considering the broad musical diversity of the people involved, Steve Carosello posed an unanswerable question: What other band could get everyone in this group to Chicago for a show? (Above, Vicki Peterson) The lowlight of the trip up was when Jon Bitch learned that

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1152028995992630532006-07-04T10:52:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:36:27.986-05:00

The culmination of this journey brings Marilyn to my house. Demetrie Kabbaz's exhibit of Marilyn Monroe paintings at the Barton Street Lofts started on June 1st, Marilyn's 80th birthday. The opening reception was glamorous and lively, and it was the perfect setting for a predestined moment 3 years in the making: Could I Now - Finally - Have A Marilyn Painting? As soon as I spotted The Painting

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1150769358292916812006-06-19T21:03:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:37:57.598-05:00

Yeah! is the most appropriate album title since Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols. While the Pistols’ made a declarative statement, Def Leppard simply went with the gut response one gets at some point during each of their cover choices. It feels both weird and titillating to be energized in the summer of 2006 by a band that had some of my attention for a few years in the early

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1150080254648965372006-06-12T19:48:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:38:54.763-05:00

Legal wars over who owns the phrase "Bat Out Of Hell" is not only a wasteful misuse of the justice system, but highlights just how idiotic certain kinds of "rockers" are. Rather than come up with anything new, former musical partners Meatloaf and (the poor man's discount Phil Spector) Jim Steinman have been whoring out Bat Out of Hell for 28 years (there's even a live symphonic version!). But

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1145804989907633632006-04-23T19:57:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:39:36.060-05:00

Tom Petty's vanity issues have always intrigued me more than his music has. He's never been what you would call good looking, but he has usually looked like a rock star, and that's the most important part. He began his careering aping the Dwight Twilley look (above). That's an awesome aspiration, but far greater looking men have tried and failed to scale those heights. Still, Petty's hair was

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11320990.post-1145196723749203862006-04-16T09:02:00.000-05:002007-04-20T17:41:11.036-05:00

Much like calculus, yard work or NASCAR, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is unimportant to me, so I only just now got around to watching Blondie being inducted into it. Blondie being “honored” in such way was a big yawn… until I was genuinely moved by parts of Shirley Manson’s introduction speech: “Blondie will enter the hall of fame as one of the coolest, most glamorous, most stylish bands in

tobyweiss.comnoreply@blogger.com