JOE DOLCE NEWSLETTER
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Friday August 21st, 2009
The War Mouse
"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do.
The hard part is doing it."
Norman Schwarzkopf
Folks,
Shutter Up You Face
Picture Italy – Photograph Melbourne
Gotta-a camera? ‘Rome’ around Melbourne and show us what makes your Melbourne Italian.
Is it your favourite Italian chef and his or her restaurant around the corner? The Roman inspired architecture in Melbourne's CBD? Or the old photos of your family migrating to Melbourne from Italy? The ideas are endless and you can be as creative as you like.
To enter, join the Shutter Up You Face Flickr Group and upload your photos.
The best shots will be showcased at Melbourne Museum along side The Melbourne Story exhibition. Regular prizes will also be up for grabs including tickets to see A Day in Pompeii and dinner for two at Grossi Florentino! Mamma Mia!
http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/discoverycentre/pompeii/shutter-up-you-face/
(thanks to Ernie Gruner - www.erniegruner.com)
FAVOURITE LETTERS OF THE WEEK
Joe,
RE: ‘ 1. While sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift
Your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air
With your right hand. Your foot will change direction.’
Thanks for nothing Joe, this nearly drove me insane. I have been drumming for longer than my accountant would like and felt sure I could do this; just an independence exercise surely ? ... wrong ! ....... I slowed it down so much I looked like I was doing a Marcel Marceau impersonation.
My little one is seven now and loves music, but some of her interpretations of "the classics" used to put me in stitches .......... ie " You are the egg men, I am the War Mouse jooma jooma jooma .. " ( I think John would have liked it !)
Glad you had fun at the "awful tower" ...... I love coming home to "The Harder Bridge" ( Tabitha at 3)
Regards, Stephen Dunlevey
Joe,
Ah ha! Apparently I am smarter than my right foot!!!:-) Beth H
Hi Joe,
Met you ages ago at several festivals. I'm also a singer songwriter - Glenys Anderson - with the long blonde hair. Anyway I usually read your news and enjoy your ramblings. Got intrigued with your draw a circle with your right foot in clockwise direction and a figure six with your right hand. Well I BEAT THE ODDS. I CAN ACTUALLY DO IT AND MAINTAIN IT WITHOUT CHANGING DIRECTION. And I managed to maintain it for a long period. Now I am curious as to what great "whatever" I have that allows me to do that. Can you research it and let me know. Am I unique? Am I weird? Love to know. Take Care and sorry to hear about your Dad. Its never easy to deal with the loss of a parent.
love, Glenys
http://www.myspace.com/nffsongwriters2009
(Note: Well, Glenys, you and Beth should get together and give Stephen some tips. I can’t do the damn thing either. Maybe its a male-female thing. But, hey, after years of typing instead of writing, I can barely draw a six freehand – period.)
Joe,
Did not appreciate Stephen Cumming's dig at you in his new book.
At least you a musician who gives a rats
oh so rare nowadays
keep up the good work.
Cheers, paulie stewart
(Note: As I've said before, Paul, I don't care what people like Stephen Cumpings say about me as long as they spell my name right.)
Joe,
We went to see the movie The Cove last night, as there was a special screening here in Broome, after the movie, Ric O' Barry came to talk to everyone, as Broome turns out to be sister town where all this Slaughter is happening and can hopefully make a difference, but the movie was so so sad, I could not sleep all last night, both Donny and me were very affected . Here is some links to the movie and subject xoxox Sahyma
(Note: It’s said that this film is a cross between Flipper and The Bourne Identity. The trailer is thrilling – guerilla film-making at its cutting edge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo&feature=fvst
Hi Joe,
I don't have any idea how my organisation's email address got on your database, but your newsletter was a pleasant surprise. Don't
unsubscribe me, and thanks for the pizza tip. (Oh, and I really like the poem too.)
Cheers,
Laurice Gilbert
National Coordinator
New Zealand Poetry Society
Dear Joe -
RE: Post-Moderism
. . .me, i'm post-humus, because there was a very long strike by the rubbish collectors, and i am standing behind the large pile of extra compost which developed during that time. . . ..and post-hummus from having just eaten some chick-pea paste and pita. garlicky breath too...
crackling on the line--haha!!!! avant garde, joan b
NASA 'Can't Cope' with Killer Asteroids
NASA is supposed to seek out almost all the asteroids that threaten Earth but lacks the money to do the job, a federal report says.
That is because even though Congress assigned the space agency this mission four years ago, it never gave NASA money to build the necessary telescopes, says the report released on Wednesday by the National Academy of Sciences.
Specifically, NASA has been ordered to spot 90 per cent of potentially deadly rocks hurtling through space by 2020.
Even without the money, NASA says it has completed about one-third of its assignment with its current telescope system.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/5801333/nasa-cant-cope-with-killer-asteroids/
‘SHADDAP YOU FACE’ IN ITALIAN-AMERICAN SONGBOOK
Shaddap you Face has been included in the New Italian-American Songbook along with such classics as Al Di La, Arriverderci, Roma, Mambo Italiano, O Sole Mio, Santa Lucia, That's Amore... and many more. Some people are still under the illusion that many Italians find the song embarrassing but here is a letter I received from Frank Stella, in the States (who wrote If You Want to Be Happy For the Rest of Your Life) when he found out I had changed his lyrics around and was recording his classic song:
“Frankly I never dreamed anyone could come up with such a great and incredibly different arrangement. Sure, the new lyrics are excellent but the whole Italo-Anglo melodic fusion is absolutely fantastic. As a hard-nosed and proud Italian-American, I do not in anyway find it offensive or demeaning. Would you believe that I am a charter member of the National Italian American Foundation and not more that two weeks ago, I informed our president in Washington, D.C., Frank Stella, that Joe Dolce's next release would be one I wrote!!'
http://musicbooksplus.com/italian-american-songbook-p-10889.html
What I’m Watching This Week
THE UNIT – Season One. Created by David Mamet. This is my second viewing of the first season and it is still my favourite US ongoing tv series. Gets better on repeat viewings, too. You have to watch this on DVD however – not on television – so you can get through multi-episodes at one sitting. This sustains the momentum better and is blessedly free of the interruptions of commercials. The series is based on the Delta Force special ops counter-terrorist unit in the US Armed Forces, which was set up along the lines of the British SAS. I have now watched series one through four of The Unit, plus read the book, Delta Force, written by the man who originally brought the Unit into being, Colonel Charlie A. Beckwith, and, in addition, read the book, Inside Delta Force, that was the inspiration for the tv series itself, written by one of the founding members of the elite group, Eric L. Haney, who is also a co-producer of the tv show. A question I ask myself is: why - if I am so opposed to the US war machinery and the Iraq War – am I drawn to movies like 24 and The Unit? For the same reason I am attracted to Star Trek, the Terminator and science-fiction in general. Because it is not real – it is what could be. Or what could have been. In other words, fiction. Make believe. The reality of the real Delta Force is a boring and depressing nightmare of short-circuited missions, failed objectives and soul destroying bureaucratic red tape. A serious boy’s club. No women’s stories. No at-home family dramas. The fictional series is an idealized and romanticized sequence of tales, all exciting, with enough technical detail, non-stop action and dramatic moral dilemma, featuring a group of noble and high-minded warriors, portrayed by skilled actors, much like the Seven Samuari, who always succeed in their mission and never leave a man behind. David Mamet and his writers have come up with an integrated dramatic and fictional world where the wives stories – also portrayed by gorgeous and excellent women actors - are as important, tender and in direct counter-point to the soldiers stories. But in the books, there are no women’s stories whatsoever. Watching the series makes you want to join up. Reading the actual account in the books makes you want to keep as far away from these folks as possible. Like the difference between the Godfather movies – and the real mafia.
. . Meanwhile, back to reality . . . .
Soldiers Who Just Say No
by Jon Letman
KAUAI, Hawaii
Six months into Barack Obama's presidency, the U.S. public's display of antiwar sentiment has faded to barely a whisper.
Despite Obama's vow to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq before September 2011, he plans to leave up to 50,000 troops in "training and advisory" roles. Meanwhile, nearly 130,000 troops remain in that country and more than 50,000 U.S. soldiers occupy Afghanistan, with up to an additional 18,000 approved for deployment this year.
So where is the resistance?
In independent journalist Dahr Jamail's "The Will to Resist: Soldiers who refuse to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan" (Haymarket Books), Jamail profiles what may ultimately prove to be the United States' most effective anti-war movement: the soldiers themselves.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/08/17-8
Important Commercial for Eyeglasses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2YjzQsSsY
(thanks to Paco)
Paco also sent me this which some of you might have seen before but it’s still funny.
John Hinckley's Recovery
John Hinckley was a seriously deranged young man who shot President Reagan in the early 1980's.
Hinckley was absolutely obsessed with movie star Jodie Foster, extremely jealous, and in his twisted mind, loved Jodie Foster to the point that to make himself well known to her, he attempted to assassinate President Reagan. There is speculation Hinckley may soon be released as having been rehabilitated.
Consequently, you may appreciate the following letter from Nancy Reagan to John Hinckley:
To: John Hinckley
From: Mrs. Nancy Reagan
My family and I wanted to drop you a short note to tell you how pleased we are with the great strides you are making in your recovery. In our fine country's spirit of understanding and forgiveness, we want you to know there is a nonpartisan consensus of compassion and forgiveness throughout.
The Reagan family and I want you to know that no grudge is borne against you for shooting President Reagan. We, above all, are aware of how the mental stress and pain could have driven you to such an act of desperation. We are confident that you will soon make a complete recovery and return to your family to join the world again as a healthy and productive young man.
Best wishes,
Nancy Reagan & Family
P.S. While you have been incarcerated, Barack Obama has been banging Jodie Foster like a screen door in a tornado. You might want to look into that.
Nazi Camp Brothels
Dave Graham
BERLIN (Reuters) - In 1942, the Nazis decided that forced labourers in concentration camps would work harder if they were promised sex -- so they made female prisoners work in brothels for them. The brothels form the subject of "Das KZ Bordell" (The Concentration Camp Brothel) by Robert Sommer, a book that has been hailed as the first comprehensive account of a little known chapter of Nazi oppression in World War Two.
Sommer's 460-page work, due to be presented at the Berlin state parliament Wednesday, explores the origins, structure and impact of the "Sonderbauten" (special buildings) run by Heinrich Himmler's SS in Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe.
"In the collective memory and written history of World War Two, the camp brothels were for a long time taboo," the 35-year-old Berliner told Reuters. "The former prisoners didn't want to talk about it: it was a difficult subject to handle.
"It didn't fit so easily into the postwar image of the concentration camps as monuments to suffering."
Beginning with the Austrian camp at Mauthausen in 1942, the SS opened 10 brothels, the biggest of which was in Auschwitz, in modern Poland, where as many as 21 women prisoners once worked. The last opened in early 1945, the year the war ended.
The chapter is separate from the annals of the Holocaust of European Jews. Jewish women were not recruited as prostitutes, and Jewish men were not admitted to the brothels.
Sommer estimates around 200 women inmates in total were forced to work in the brothels -- initially offered the prospect of escaping the brutality of the concentration camps.
"They were promised release after half a year if they served in the brothel. But the promises were never honoured," he said. "Later, the SS just selected women they felt were suitable."
"Jews were not allowed in. Neither were Soviet prisoners of war," he added. "Jewish women did not serve as sex workers."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5833013
HOW TO CALM DOWN IN 10 SECONDS BY SPIKE MILLIGAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJo5K2mlyo
(thanks to Stefan Abeysekera)
~ FAMOUS DOLCES OF THE WORLD ~
Dolce Kosher
Bakery and Ice Cream Store
Via Fonteiana,18d - Rome
Quality Kashrut:
Pat Israel, Chalav Israel on request.
http://www.jewishitaly.org/detail.asp?ID=314
RECIPE
Garlic Chives with Oyster Sauce
I was walking down Russell St one day and saw a Chinese man eating this in a restaurant window. They are an Asian chive with the bud still attached. Hard to find but when when you see them, give it a try. Quite sublime and only takes a few minutes to prepare.
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp chicken stock
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp chicken stock
1 bunch garlic chives, tied in a bundle with string
Method
1. In a small saucepan, combine the oyster sauce, chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour mixture. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat.
2. Blanch the garlic chives in a saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from the pan with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on a serving plate and remove the string. Tie one of the chives around the bundle. Pour the oyster sauce over the vegetables and serve.
Two Bears
Once
after a hard day's forage
two bears sat together in silence
on a beautiful vista
watching the sun go down
and feeling deeply grateful
for life.
Though, after a while
a thought-provoking conversation began
which turned to the topic of
fame.
The one bear said,
"Did you hear about Rustam?
He has become famous
and travels from city to city
in a golden cage;
He performs to hundreds of people
who laugh and applaud
his carnival
stunts."
The other bear thought for
a few seconds
then started
weeping.
~ Hafiz ~
(The Gift - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
THE FINAL HURRAH
GOLF
An elderly couple were having dinner one evening when the husband reached across the table, took his wife's hand in his and said, 'Martha, soon we will be married 50 years, and there's something I have to know. In all of these 50 years, have you ever been unfaithful to me?'
Martha replied, 'Well Henry, I have to be honest with you. Yes, I've been unfaithful to you three times during these 50 years, but always for a good reason.
Henry was obviously hurt by his wife's confession, but said, 'I never suspected. Can you tell me what you mean by 'good reasons?''
Martha said, 'The first time was shortly after we were married, and we were about to lose our little house because we couldn't pay the mortgage. Do you remember that one evening I went to see the banker and the next day he notified you that the loan would be extended?'
Henry recalled the visit to the banker and said, 'I can forgive you for that. You saved our home, but what about the second time?'
Martha asked, 'And do you remember when you were so sick, but we didn't have the money to pay for the heart surgery you needed? Well, I went to see your doctor one night and, if you recall, he did the surgery at no charge.'
'I recall that,' said Henry. 'And you did it to save my life, so of course I can forgive you for that. Now tell me about the third time.'
'Alright,' Martha said. 'So do you remember when you ran for president of your golf club, and you needed 73 more votes?' .........
(thanks to David Lyon)