the play what I wrote

 

Fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez filming American model Jerry Hall for Vogue magazine, 1975

[excerpt from Jerry Hall:  my life in pictures.  Quadrille Publishing.  2010.]

Theatre

In the last few years I've done quite a bit of theatre... My next play was another comedy, The Play What I Wrote, directed by Kenneth Branagh.  It was so much fun to do.  Over-the-top Morecambe and Wise humour, and Kenneth is so handsome and a wonderfully relaxed director.  The stars of the play were Toby Jones and Hamish McColl, and they were brilliant.  We toured England and went to Belfast, too.

        After that I did a tour of England playing in Picasso's Women, a 52-minute monologue directed by Andy Jordan.  It was a wonderfully moving play, all about the naughty, dark side of Pablo Picasso, but it was stressful having so many lines to remember.  My next play, at the New End Theatre in Hampstead, was Benchmark, directed by Michael Rudman.  Michael had written it with Bud Shrake, who is also from Texas. ...

        I also entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 for performing in six West End plays in one night; Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Fame, Blood Brothers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Anything Goes.  

Theatre in London really suffered after 9/11, so this was a publicity stunt designed to encourage tourists back into the West End.  

        I was thrilled to do it but it took a huge amount of planning and preparing.  I had to travel from theatre to theatre on the back of a motorcycle, wear clothes under clothes and rush onto stage on cue each time.  My children were really proud of that, and my record still hasn't been broken.

-30-

"stunned" was the word

 

Newport News, Virginia

I was typing in this blog several months ago after I had read the news story about the six-year-old child in Virginia who brought a gun to school and shot his teacher.  (She was injured, but survived.)

        I wrote that I would never want to be a teacher now, because of these types of crazy incidents.

        I was feeling it at the time, but I thought about it later and concluded, 'That was kind of stupid of me to say.'  I don't have a teaching degree - !  It made no sense.

        Also school shootings are statistically rare.

Statistically rare.

But yet it seems like it happens all the time, because we hear it in the news and feel like, "Oh no, not again" -- and also, before Columbine, this type of incident was just about unheard-of.

It was a sort of trick that my brain and emotions used, to try to process the horrifying and unbelievable report of a six-year-old perpetrating such a thing.

The mind races through a bunch of stops - what kind of parents does he have? - why did they let him have a gun? - why didn't the school authorities take the gun away from the child and send him home? - and call the cops? - how could a first-grader be a criminal? - is he an abused or neglected child and so he is acting out? - etc.

Puzzlement and shock and horror collide with each other in your awareness and turn into a sort of mini-tornado of rage.

me:  "I'm never going to teach school!!"

schools:  "Okay."

        LOL

I was thinking, Why did I stop making sense after reading that?  It's like -- the mind tries to handle it and distance yourself from it.  And you can't do anything about it and so you feel frustrated on top of horrified.

Then I saws the lead-in sentence of a news story online that said, "The Jan. 6 shooting of Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News stunned the country..."

        There's the word:  stunned.  I was stunned by the information.

Two points in the follow-up news reports on that topic that made me the most angry:

One -- the parents are insisting "The gun was secured" -- liars! -- if it had been secured, the child would not have had the gun.

And Two -- teachers said they had reported that he had a gun -- the administrators they reported this to, either did nothing, or -- one of them smarted back, "Oh well he has little pockets."

        Administrators who are not trying to listen to what the teacher tells them and then form a plan of action, instead they are trying to battle back against the words that the teacher said.  Just trying to get rid of the person and the information they are bringing.

Somebody who does that is not fit to "administer" anything.

Unbelievably incompetent.

_______________________________

------------------- [excerpts / March 30 news story] ----------

Hundreds of school children, teens and parents gathered at the Tennessee Capitol last Thursday to protest for tighter gun control laws three days after a shooter opened fire at The Covenant School, killing three children and three adults.

At the Capitol, protestors lined the hallways and chanted at the state's Republican-dominated Legislature as they filed in to begin taking up bills for the first time since the shooting.

Chants of "Save our children!" echoed in the hallways between the state Senate and House chambers, with protesters setting up shop inside and outside the Capitol.  Some silently filled the Senate chamber's gallery, including children who held signs reading "I'm nine" -- a reference to the age of the three kids who died in the attack.

...Thursday's rally was led by Metro Nashville Public Schools Parents, reported CBS affiliate WTVF, and those attending were asked to wear orange.

In Washington D.C., Republicans showed little appetite to pass more gun restrictions.  Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican who represents the Knoxville area, said Congress isn't going to fix the problems that led to Monday's shooting.

[March 30, 2023 - CBS news]

at left:  Representative Tim Burchett

                                                             -30-

getting up in the morning - I believe I'll dust my broom

 

-------------------- [excerpt, news article] ----------------

...Prosecutor Christopher Conroy urged Merchan in court to address Trump's recent public statements and what he called threatening communications from the former president, including a social media post nearly two weeks ago in which Trump warned of potential "death and destruction" if he was charged in the case.

Merchan expressed respect for Trump's First Amendment rights and said they are particularly important since Trump is running for president.

But the judge told Trump to "refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest" and not to engage in rhetoric that would "jeopardize the rule of law."  The judge also asked prosecutors to ensure that the state's witnesses moderate their own public statements.

Merchan read Trump a set of legal warnings and informed him that he has an absolute right to attend proceedings in his criminal case.  At the judge's request, Trump acknowledged, among other things, that he could be removed from the courtroom if he became "disruptive" during any court conference, hearing, or trial.

"I don't have any reason to believe that's going to happen," Merchan said.  "Do you understand that?"

Trump said he did.

------------------ [excerpt from Washington Post article:  Former president Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts

written by Shayna Jacobs, Dylan Wells, David Nakamura, and Jacqueline Alemany.  April 4, 2023.] -------------------

_____________________________

Comments under the New York Times article covering this topic:

Sven Svensson

Grebbestad

President Trump is stronger than ever thanks to these ridiculous charges.

Jules 

California

Sorry Sven, I know you're a fan, but stronger?  No.  He's a very weak man.

RC

New York

Were the charges ridiculous when Cohen went to prison for them as well?  You can't pick and choose what laws should be enforced because you like someone or favor them politically.  Now THAT is ridiculous.

Jonathan

USA

Sven Svensson, There are many people who think the law doesn't apply to Republicans, and especially Republicans who are lifelong criminals, such as Trump.  You're not alone.

BothSidesNow

United States

So tired of this man and his tawdriness.  He has no class.  The penultimate drama queen.  He's drawn out the worst in the American psyche and used it to tear us down.  He has no respect for the rule of law.  I hope that this is the beginning of holding him accountable.  Jack Smith is Act II, and can't come on soon enough.

Jourdanton, Texas

Tiresome, yet necessary.  Like cleaning the bathroom.

* The trial for E. Jean Carroll's defamation suit against Trump begins April 25.

-30-

a carousel of attorneys

 

Jackson Heights neighborhood in the NYC borough of Queens

Juan Merchan

When reading news stories, just when I think I know the name of Donald Trump's lawyer, another name will emerge...

Tacopina

Parlatore

        (Where is he finding these barristers, at the Bada Bing?)

        The judge in the first case will be Juan Merchan, a first generation immigrant from Colombia, who grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens.

----------------- [excerpts from CNN article] ------------ Merchan has been described by observers as a "tough" judge, yet one who is fair, no matter who is before him.

...Trump's arraignment is likely to be a spectacle with a show of law enforcement and with the former president already fanning the flames on social media with his views on Merchan and the indictment.

        But in the courthouse, Merchan does not stand for disruptions or delays...and he's known to maintain control of his courtroom even when his cases draw considerable attention.

"Judge Merchan was efficient, practical, and listened carefully to what I had to say," Nicholas Gravante, the attorney who represented [Trump confidant] Weisselberg in his plea, said via email....

        "Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and -- most importantly in the Weisselberg matter -- a man of his word.  He treated me and my colleagues with the utmost respect, both in open court and behind closed doors."

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a private practice attorney who has worked in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, said "[Merchan] doesn't let the prosecutors or the defendants create any issues in his courtroom.  He doesn't let a media circus or any other kind of circus happen.

        "The judge is the kind of judge where he will ignore it and not hold it against Donald Trump.  He's not vindictive in any way like that."

[end / excerpt CNN article]

[excerpts from New York Times article:  Who is Juan Merchan...]

        The youngest of six children and the first in his family to go to college, he began working when he was 9, carrying groceries for tips, and then held jobs through high school that included washing dishes at a diner and delivering kosher meat.  In college, he worked as a night manager at a hotel.

...He began his legal career in 1994 as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan after graduating from Hofstra University School of Law.... The judge is no stranger to high-profile or complex financial cases, but the largely staid proceedings of this type of case is a far cry from some of the other cases that have garnered media attention in his court.

        For example, in one murder case, a Senegalese man tried to call an expert witness whom prosecutors identified as a witch doctor to testify that he killed his ex-girlfriend while under the influence of evil spirits.  

        Merchan also presided over the trial of a suburban woman accused of running a $2,000-an-hour escort service, nicknamed by tabloids "The Soccer Mom Madam."

-30-

bet you gonna find some people who live...

 You tube:

a video titled -- Proud Mary (Live)

uploader / channel: Karl Faulkner

It's Tina Turner performing the song in concert, in 1997, on the Wildest Dreams tour.

At 5:46 an instrumental segment starts. They added that in the 90s. At the end of the instrumental part, Tina and her dancers dance back toward each other and dance back up to the microphone...of course that had to be choreographed down to every move and beat, but they make it look like they just felt like doing that.

Play and enjoy.

-30-

If you go down to the river...

 Playing the original version of Proud Mary on YouTube, I saw these Comments:

Marko Knuutinen

This song never get old. It always sound fresh and flows like River.

Federico Quinonez Ocampos 

esta banda representa a toda la humanidad, sin banderas, sin idiomas, sin epoca, Creedence es lo mejor que le paso al mundo. 

On YouTube go to video titled Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary (Official Lyric Video)

uploader / channel: Creedence Clearwater Revival 

and PLAY!

-30-

reckless rhetoric

 

The Washington Post

Trump warns of 'potential death & destruction' if he's charged in hush-money case

March 24, 2023

--------------------------------------------

[excerpts from the article]

Former president Donald Trump warned early Friday of "potential death & destruction" if he is charged in Manhattan in a criminal case related to alleged hush-money payments....

The posting after midnight on Truth Social, Trump's social media platform, was his latest -- and most explicit -- allusion to violence that could follow an indictment stemming from an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whom Trump called a "degenerate psychopath."

Trump wrote:  "What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?"

In a post on Thursday, Trump criticized those who have called for his supporters to remain peaceful.  Over the weekend, Trump urged a "PROTEST" over his potential arrest in the case, which he wrongly predicted would happen Tuesday....

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) castigated Trump on Friday for his latest comments, echoing criticism by other Democrats.  "The twice-impeached former president's rhetoric is reckless, reprehensible and irresponsible," Jeffries said at a news conference.  "It's dangerous.  And if he keeps it up, he's going to get someone killed."

"We've already seen the consequences of incitement from the former president," Jeffries added.  "He is principally responsible for inciting the violent insurrection that happened on January 6th, but clearly he has not learned his lesson."

...In an email to staff this past week, Bragg said the district attorney's office "will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate."

"We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York," he wrote.

On Friday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said he had not heard Trump's comments, but he said, "There's no place in America for political violence of any kind."

...Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota), chairman of the Republican Main Street caucus, said, "In our system of government ... you should never call for violence.  So, you know, we need to do better."

...House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), when asked about Trump's latest comments Friday, said he had spoken about the issue already previously, and proceeded to talk about an upcoming House vote on education legislation.

McCarthy has slammed Bragg's investigation, but he said Sunday that supporters of Trump should not protest if the former president is indicted.

"Nobody should harm one another," McCarthy said, following Trump's call for protests.  "We want calmness out there."

...Trump resumed commentary on the case on Truth Social about eight hours after his overnight post.

"PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!" he wrote in all caps shortly after 9 a.m. Eastern.

Trump will have another opportunity to criticize Bragg and other state and federal prosecutors investigating his conduct on Saturday when he appears at a rally scheduled in Waco, Texas.

Nearly 30 years ago, a lengthy standoff between a religious cult and federal agents ended on April 19, 1993, when the group's compound near the city was destroyed in a fire.  Nearly 80 people were killed.

-------------------------------------------

reader comments

* This is another fund-raising and publicity scam

* What country is this?  When did it quit being a crime to incite violence?

* ...degenerate psychopath

As we used to say in school:  takes one to know one.

* Trump is a coward, plain and simple.  He yammers on because he's had no serious consequences his entire sordid life.

It is time.

* Trump is inciting the American Carnage he 1st introduced in his Inaugural speech as President

* He needs more attention and the baby sitter is out for the weekend.

* Alvin Bragg just received a death threat.  Way to go donnie.

* Alvin Bragg, whom Trump called a "degenerate psychopath."

Always projecting...

* Threatening "death and destruction" by a person with the public sway that this man has is akin to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater.

* Trump never learns.

* Tfg needs to be taken into protective custody, from himself

* Trump is trying to get Bragg killed.  It's just that simple.

* Arrest this putz for communicating threats

______________________________

-30-