Author's posts
Talking Pictures 2-11-26
“The Housemaid” (2025 Thriller/Mystery) and “The Wrecking Crew” (Amazon Prime Action/Comedy) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Scott Chrisman.
Soundtrack to the Struggle – The Zoot Suit Riots
In June 1943 Los Angeles erupted. Mobs of servicemen, off-duty police, and civilians attack young Latinos, Blacks, and other people of color. Any man wearing a “zoot suit” is fair game. The zoot suit had its origins in Jazz. Oversized and baggy, with wide shoulders and lapels, loose-fitting pants and tailored cuffs, they were wildly …
Soundtrack to the Struggle – Lil Hardin Armstrong Steps Out
It’s September, 1924, and Lil Hardin Armstrong gives her husband, Louis Armstrong, a makeover. She teaches him how to dress for success, and she pushes him to be more of a showman. Then, she persuades the new Louis Armstrong to leave the security of King Oliver’s band to form his first Hot Five. And while …
Clean Up Your Act 2-10-26
Ospreys and peregrine falcons…whose populations in North America crashed in the mid-20th Century…are now doing well in Iowa.
Soundtrack to the Struggle – Ellington and Nixon: An Unexpected Party
On the evening of April 29th, 1969, President Richard Nixon and Duke Ellington stood together in the Easter Room in the White House. Nixon, along with an all-star cast of jazz legends including Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gerry Mulligan spent a night honoring Ellington for his 70th birthday. Honoring the Duke for …
Soundtrack to the Struggle – John Coltrane and Amiri Baraka
It’s July 17, 1967, and poet/activist Amiri Baraka whistles John Coltrane charts from his New Jersey jail cell. He’d been beaten and arrested for his part in Newark’s violent protests – the “rebellion,” as he called it. Music keeps his mind off the pain, and his ears distracted from the tanks rolling in the streets …
Talking Pictures 2-4-26
“Send Help” (2026 Horror/Comedy) and “Marty Supreme” (2025 Sport/Drama) with Hollis Monroe, Phil Brown and Monica Schmidt.
Soundtrack to the Struggle – The Trial of Betty Boop
It’s 1934, and performer Helen Kane sues cartoonist Max Fleischer and this studio. Kane asserts that Fleischer appropriated her physical characteristics, her “baby vamp” performance mannerisms, and squeaky “boop-boop” scat style for Fleischer’s character Betty Boop. Fleischer holds his ground. At the trial, before the New York Supreme Court, he testifies that his true inspiration …