JOE DOLCE NEWSLETTER

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Friday November 6th, 2009


Pink Taxi
   "Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman,
    but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force."
Dorothy L. Sayers

Hi folks,

It’s good to be back after a couple of weeks in Japan and Okinawa. The Happy Flower Beach Party Festival, in Okinawa, turned into the Happy Typhoon Beach Party after some mind-boggling winds and rain swept the beach clear of teepees and kiosks. But not to be dissuaded, a colourful group of alternative Japanese musicians, hippies and fans crowded into the little fishing sheds along the beach to continue late into the night. There was a roast pig cooked over an open pit and some magnificent homemade tofu and vegetable curries. Lin Van Hek and I performed, along with Alicia Bay Laurel, and an audience filled with eager hula dancers, and some outstanding Japanese folk singers. The festival was in Nago which is also home to one of the largest aquariums in the world with 77 tanks. The big one surrounds you like a living IMAX theatre with stingrays, sharks, whales and entire schools of fish all weaving in and out of each other as they go around. You can also sit at tables and have lunch although understandably there was no sushi on the menu. We had another show in Okinawa at Café Unizon, in Naha, which is also home to the largest US military base on the island. No soldiers showed up for our peace-themed show but two of the women we went to dinner with worked on the base.  

Our final show was back in Tokyo at the Yukotopia Deadheads Club which is a kind of performing shrine for the Grateful Dead, especially Jerry Garcia whom everyone refers to  simply as ‘Jerry.’ Huge photos cover the walls and there are shelves with every known bootleg and record from the Dead’s extensive touring career. Even hairy Jerry Garcia dolls are for sale.  It was a stoned-out shownight reminiscent of the peace and love light shows of the early 70s with young Japanese counter-culture people enthusiastically encouraging us on. We had local translators for every performance so it was easy to communicate the ideas and themes of our songs to the primarily Japanese-speaking audience.  These folks were very expressive and enthusiastic which is a far cry from the audience we saw back in the 80s at a Laurie Anderson concert which politely sat there and clapped as though they were at a business meeting. Japan is loosening up bigtime. And the food – both in restaurants and fresh on the street - is still spectacular. Some imported fruit can be expensive. Ie. a cantaloupe can sell for $200. (Hey, I can live without cantaloupe.) But bright red dragonfruit is locally grown, and cheap, as are papayas.

Toolangi C J Dennis Bush Poetry Contest Winner
My poem, ‘The Darking Bog,’ took the Second Place trophy in the C J Dennis Bush Poetry Competition a couple of weeks ago at the Toolangi Festival. To my great dismay, I was notified of the award while I was in Japan so I couldn’t attend but my poem was read for me, in my absence by Jan Williams, who is the caretaker for the gardens of C J Dennis. Dennis joined artist Hal Waugh on an expedition to Toolangi in 1908. Dennis stayed on after the expedition attracted by the ambience of the area.  In 1915 he purchased 3.5 acres for 22 pounds. This included a mill house. Over a period of 10 years, with the help of a local handyman, they converted the mill house to a two storey house named “Arden”. The house and gardens later was purchased by Melbourne filmmaker, Frank W. Thring, who made a movie of ‘The Sentimental Bloke,’  the poem CJ Dennis wrote at Arden. Thring Senior left the property to his son, Frank T. Thring, best known, as a stage actor, for playing Saturninus in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre production of Titus Andronicus with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Anthony Quayle,  Captain Hook opposite Peggy Cummins' Peter Pan and Captain Ahab in Orson Welles's Moby-Dick. Thring Junior’s most well-known movie role was as Pontius Pilate in Ben-Hur and in his later years, screen roles included the Collector, in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  Thring had no respect for Arden and let it fall to ruin, selling it not long after. Apparently he didn’t care much for the small town of Toolangi either preferring the fast life and debauchery of Melbourne (ho ho.) I met Thring a couple of times and he wasn’t much to meet. I think he thought he was Oscar Wilde, but without the talent. The people who purchased Arden from him had even less respect for the place turning it into a virtual rubbish dump. The house eventually burned down. Jan and Vic Williams acquired the property in 1969, and rebuilt on the original site. They have lovingly restored the property and erected a memorial to CJ Dennis on the grounds. It is a stunning place now known as 'The Singing Gardens’,  surrounds a Tea Room, and is open to the public.  I was especially honoured that this beautiful woman read my poem in my absence.  Here are the details of Arden if you want to take a daytrip up there. It is smack dab in the middle of a sea of blackened forest but somehow escaped the recent bush fire devastation.
Arden
1694 Main Road
Toolangi Vic 3777
(03) 5962 9282
Open Thurs-Sun

‘The Darking Bog,’ inspired by a noisy neighbor, is reprinted down at the bottom of the newsletter.

CONCERT FOR YOUTH
Fundraising Gala Koorie Heritage Trust Inc.

with
Kevin Kropinyeri – Compere and 2008 Deadly Funny Award winner
Tom Long - Actor
 Little G – Rapper
 Jada Alberts – Singer
 Constantina Bush and the Bushettes – Drag Act
 Shiralee Hood – Comedian/2009 Deadly Funny Award winner
 Rachael Maza Long - Actor
 Kylie Farmer – Actor/Singer
 Cath Jamison - Australia’s leading female magician
 Noel Tovey – Dance, Actor and Choreographer
 Paul Norton – Singer
 Wendy Stapleton – Singer
 Isaac Drandich – Actor.

The Koorie Heritage Trust was established in 1985. Its objective is to protect, preserve and promote the living culture of the Aboriginal people of South-East Australia. The Trust aims to bridge the cultural gap between Koories and non-Koories by generating greater awareness and understanding. I will be joining an array of special guests and performing the aboriginal language version of Shaddap You Face at this gala on:

Monday Nov 9th
7-9 pm
Atheneaum Theatre
188 Collins Street
Melbourne

For more info:    (03) 8689 2264 or 0421 300 718
bookings: 9650 1500 or 136 100



FAVOURITE LETTERS OF THE WEEK

Dear Joe,
First – a very belated thank you for keeping Ultravox off the top of the UK charts…
 I’ve long been a fan of Australian movies, and I’m under the distinct impression that I saw you in a film where you were the lead actor. It was about an immigrant from Eastern Europe who arrived in Australia and tried to get on there, despite the hostility of the locals…he lived in an empty city office block being the one thing I can remember…this was in the mid-80’s, and the cold welsh air has obviously had its effects on the grey matter over that time, as I can remember little of the film, other than you were the star and it was very good.  However, I can find no reference to this movie anywhere..any ideas ?
 Cheers, Dex Stewart
Ps: I tried living in Perth – but I missed the rain…

(Note: Dex, I was the featured lead in only one movie, ‘Blowing Hot and Cold,’ an Australian production in the 80s, that co-starred Peter Adams and Elspeth Ballantyne, for which I also composed the soundtrack.  I played an Italian immigrant, Nino, who tries to rip off a small town petrol shop owner (Adams) and has to work off the debt by helping him around the station and going on a little adventure to rescue his daughter from a drug dealer she has run off with. I did have a nice kissing scene with Denise Drysdale in the film and I asked the director, Marc Gracie, to make sure to do about ten takes, which he did. Thanks Marc.)

Joe,
RE: Other Movie Titles
A few years ago (could have been about 20 or 30), a national magazine here introduced a contest. You had to string several movie titles together in a novel way.
By the time I came up with this -- 8-1/2, 10, A Man Called Horse--
the deadline had passed. Perhaps you could revive the contest; your readers might enjoy it.
At the least, it would keep us busy while the newsletter is on hiatus. Bill Lempke

(Note: Bill, Here’s a few. It kept me busy.
The Package, Anaconda, Two Hands.
Who’ll Stop the Rain, Weeds, The Constant Gardener.
The One O'clock, Number Two, 3:10 to Yuma, The Devil at 4 O'clock, Slaughter House Five, Six Bullets, Seven, 8 and 1/2, 9 Queens, 10, The Eleventh Hour,  Midnight Express.)


Pink Taxis
The West Australian
Joel Merino

 
Each pink taxi comes with a beauty kit, a GPS system and an alarm button.
The new fleet of 35 cabs in Mexico's colonial city of Puebla are driven exclusively by women and don't stop for men. The cabs cater especially to those tired of leering male drivers.
"Some of the woman who have been on board tell us how male taxi drivers cross the line and try to flirt with them and make inappropriate propositions," said taxi driver Aida Santos, who drives one of the compact, four-door taxis with a tracking device and an alarm button that notifies emergency services.
"In the Pink Taxi they won't have that feeling of insecurity, and they feel more relaxed."
Women's rights activists are aghast at the cars' sugary presentation and said the service does not address the root of the harassment problem.
"We are in the 21st century, and they are saying women have continued worrying about beauty and nothing more," said Vianeth Rojas, of the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Puebla. "They are absolutely not helping eradicate violence against women."
The new taxis, however, undeniably open up to Mexican women what has been an overwhelmingly male profession.
Forty-year-old taxi driver Lidia Hernandez, who previously worked at a petrol station, called the pink Chevy compacts "a new and attractive source of employment."
Women-only taxis have been catching on in cities from Moscow to Dubai.
In Puebla, privately financed Pink Taxi de Puebla invested 5.8 million pesos (about $A480,600) to start the service and the Puebla state government provided licensing and training.
If the program succeeds, officials plan to expand it to other cities.
A proposal to create a pink taxi service in Mexico City failed to get off the ground in 2007, but the crime ridden metropolis offers women-only buses and subway cars at rush hour.


Mum Accused of Assault With Wooden Spoon
A mother in Victoria has been accused of assault after using a wooden spoon to discipline her nine year old daughter.
Police warned Claire Davidson she could be charged with assault with a weapon.
The incident came to light during an anti-bullying discussion at Yea Primary School, north of Melbourne.
Her daughter told year three students her mum smacked her.
A support worker reported the conversation, and police took action by speaking to the family.
Ms Davidson said, "When we went there they took Anna aside, and they had a word to her. They were satisfied no major abuse occurred."
"However it is an offence to smack with a wooden spoon. I was told it was acceptable to use an open hand on the backside, however nothing else."
She told the Herald Sun, "We only use [it] when she is being naughty and we give her fair chance to rectify the situation."

(Note: I do not condone hitting children with perfectly good spaghetti spoons. It’s no good for the child and no good for the spoon. However, I attribute in part my solid sense of rhythm to my mother smacking me with her spaghetti spoon. She used to hit me in short sharp bursts while she yelled at me like this:
I – told – you- not- to – go – out – and – play – in – the – street – with a smack on every syllable.
But I try to look on the positive side.
I developed a solid sense of rhythm from this technique and, luckily, my mom did not know many big words.)


FAVOURITE FACEBOOK ENTRY OF THE WEEK
Songwriter, Eva Popov, wrote:  
‘Reading about Tenzin Palmo who lived in a cave alone for 12 years meditating.
Tried to start meditating but ended up on Facebook. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.’



What I’m Reading This Week
Lustrum – by Robert Harris. The second novel in the Cicero series. The first book was titled ‘Imperium.’

What I’m Watching This Week
The Diary of Anne Frank – 2009 BBC adaptation, five half-hour episodes, in association with France 2, of The Diary of a Young Girl, written by Deborah Moggach. An extremely human and family-oriented look at the well-known story, with focus on the interaction of the people sharing the confined attic space with the Frank family for the two years until their discovery by the Nazis. I enjoyed this very much. Her father, Otto, was the sole member of the family to survive the concentration camps. He inherited Anne’s diaries after her death and arranged for their publication. He died in 1980.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Frank

 

Night Watching – by Peter Greenaway.‘2007 film about the artist Rembrandt and the creation of his painting The Night Watch. The film stars Martin Freeman as Rembrandt, with Eva Birthistle as his wife Saskia and Jodhi May as his lover Geertje. The music is by Włodek Pawlik. An associated work by the same director is the documentary film Rembrandt's J'Accuse...! (2008), in which Greenaway addresses 30 "mysteries" associated with the painting, illustrated by scenes from the drama. The film is centred on the creation of The Night Watch, Rembrandt's most famous work, depicting civilian militiamen who wanted to be celebrated in a group portrait. The film posits a conspiracy within the musketeer regiment, and suggests that Rembrandt may have immortalized a conspiracy theory using subtle allegory in his group portrait of the regiment, subverting what was to have been a highly prestigious commission for both painter and subject.’ wikipedia.
While not a big fan of Greenaway’s work, I liked this one a lot. The cabbage-and-lips english accent Greenaway gives Rembrandt (much in the same way as Mozart’s American accent, in Amadeus) took awhile to get used to but Martin Freeman brings out a very flesh-and-blood and  foul-mouthed interpretation of the painter. This actually reminded me of the few contemporary Dutch painters and artists I known of who are all lusty and irreverent souls. The score by Włodek Pawlik is very good.


OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies  is a French film directed by Michel Hazanavicius. It is a parody of the spy film genre. The film follows the exploits of a French secret agent, OSS 117, in Cairo in 1955,
and is a continuation of the OSS 117 series of spy films from the 1950s and 1960s, which were in turn based on a series of novels by Jean Bruce, a prolific French popular writer. However, instead of taking the genre seriously, the film parodies the original series and other conventional spy and Eurospy films, most noticeably the early James Bond series right down to the cinematography, art direction and costumes of the 1960s. For example, driving scenes are all filmed with obvious rear projection and camera movements are simple, and avoid the three-dimensional Steadycam and crane movements that are easily accomplished today. The main character in the OSS 117 series is a secret agent of the Office of Strategic Services, Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, also known by his code name OSS 117. The character is played by French comedian Jean Dujardin. This type of comedy has been tried before, most notably ‘Get Smart,’ and ‘Austin Powers’ but this one is the masterpiece of the bunch due to the brilliant cinematography and art direction which recreates the 50s and 60s perfectly.


What I’m Listening to This Week

Beyond Living – by Alicia Bay Laurel.  Having just done three concerts with Alicia in Japan and Okinawa, these tunes are still floating through my head. A very unique artist and ahead of her time writer.
http://www.aliciabaylaurel.com/

Bob Dylan Turkey Album

I mentioned a few newsletters back that Dylan was putting out a Xmas album.  Here’s some good news about one of the purposes for it:

MORE THAN 4 MILLION MEALS TO BE PROVIDED DURING HOLIDAYS
Bob Dylan has released a brand new album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart. All of the artist's U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year's holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity. Additionally, the artist is partnering with two international charities to provide meals during the holidays for millions in need in the United Kingdom and the developing world, and will be donating all of his future international royalties from Christmas In The Heart to those organizations in perpetuity.

(Note: I heartily support this generous move. And transforming Bob’s recent music into turkeys-for-the-hungry is probably the best possible use of it I can think of.)


Left 5-Star Job to Feed the Mentally Ill

"I don't feed beggars. They can look after themselves.
The mentally ill won't ask anyone for food or money,'
says N Krishnan who has been feeding them thrice a day for the past seven years.

N Krishnan feeds 400 mentally ill people on the streets of Madurai three times a day, every day, all 365 days of the year. The 28 year old has been doing this for seven years via a charity called the Akshaya Trust.
A look into the kitchen reveals a spotlessly clean room. Sparkling vessels stacked neatly, groceries and provisions all lined up in rows -- rice, dal, vegetables, spices -- all of the best quality.. One would think this was the kitchen of a five star hotel. Maybe Krishnan achieves that effect because he was once a chef at a five star hotel in Bengaluru.
"Today's lunch is curd rice, with home made pickle, please taste it," he says, serving me on a plate made of dried leaves.The food is excellent.
"I change the menu for different days of the week. They will get bored if I serve the same food every day,"
he says with an enthusiastic and infectious smile.Krishnan cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner with the help of two cooks. He takes it himself to his wards on the street each day.
"I don't feed beggars. They can look after themselves. The mentally ill won't ask anyone for food or money. They don't move around much too. I find them in the same place every day."
That morning he put the food in a large vessel, the pickle in a smaller one and loaded it into a Maruti van donated by a Madurai philanthropist.Ten minutes later we stopped near a man lying on the ground by a high wall. Krishnan put the food next to him.
The man refused to even look at it, but grabbed the water bottle and drank eagerly. "He will eat the food later, looks like he was very thirsty," said Krishnan.
At the next stop, he laid the dry leaf-plate and served the food. He then scooped some food and started feeding the mentally ill man himself.
After two morsels, the man started eating on his own.
We then crossed a crowded traffic signal and stopped the vehicle. On seeing Krishnan, four individuals moved slowly towards the Maruti van.
They stood out in the crowd with their dirty, tattered clothes and unshaven beards.
They knew this Maruti van meant food. But they did not hurry, knowing that Krishnan would wait for them.
Krishnan served them under a tree and carried water for them. "They are not aware enough to get their own water," he explained.
And thus we went around the city till the Akshaya patra was empty. Of course, it would be full again for dinner later in the day.
As we returned, a startling fact hit me. Not a single mentally challenged person had thanked Krishnan.
They did not even smile or acknowledge him. Still Krishnan carried on in a world where most of us get offended if someone doesn't say thank you, sometimes even for doing our jobs.
The food costs Rs 8,000 a day, but that doesn't worry him. "I have donors for 22 days. The remaining days, I manage myself. I am sure I will get donors for that too, people who can afford it are generally generous, particularly when they know that their hard earned money is actually going to the poor. That is why I maintain my accounts correctly and scrupulously."
He then pulled out a bill from the cabinet and showed it to me. It was a bill for groceries he had bought seven years ago.
"This bill has sentimental value. It is the first one after I started Akshaya."
The economic slowdown has resulted in a drop in the number of donors. Earlier, they sustained meals for 25 days.Software giants Infosys and TCS were so impressed with his work that they donated three acres of land to him in Madurai. Krishnan hopes to build a home for his wards there. He has built the basement for a woman's block which will house 80 inmates, but work has currently halted due to a lack of funds.
This, however, is not the sum of his good deeds. Krishnan also performs the funerals of unclaimed bodies in Madurai . He collects the body, bathes it and gives it a decent burial or cremation as the need may be.
He gets calls, both from the municipal corporation and general hospital for the funerals.
He recalls with a little prompting how one day he saw a mentally ill man eating his excreta.
He rushed to the nearest restaurant and bought the man five idlis. The man ate voraciously, and then smiled at him. The smile made Krishnan want to do it again and again.
Krishnan has not married and wonders if anyone would want to marry a man who spends his days cooking food for others. He is firm that his life partner has to agree to this kind of life.
His parents were initially shocked, but are now very supportive of their son.
They advise him about the cuisine and also about how he can streamline the process.
One wonders why he left his job in a five star hotel to bury the dead and feed the mentally ill.
To this he just smiles and says, "I like doing it."
For more information on N Krishnan's trust: http://www.akshayatrust.org/
(thanks to Stefan Abeysekera)


Joan Anderson Interview 2009 (aka Joni Mitchell)
A Documentary portrait of Joni's Life and music

How to download the RADIO Interview with Joni Mitchell:
This is not a video file. It is a radio interview in mp3 format.
It downloads as a ".rar" file, which opens to mp3 after you expand it - with Stuffit Expander or UnrarX.
These are free applications– if you haven't got them just google them and download them to your Applications folder –for future use.
Once it is expanded, inside the folder is the mp3 file, called Joan Anderson (her maiden name)
Parts One and Two Combined
Mp3 Format 192 kbps, Duration: 1hour 45 minutes
Source Program: Into the Music ~ Presented by Robyn Johnston: ABC Radio National
File Size: 89.7 MB
This two-part series is a revealing personal and professional portrait of Canadian-born singer and composer Joni Mitchell, who describes herself as a painter who makes music.  As pure an artist as can be found in the entertainment industry, her confessional lyrics and lilting, soaring soprano have inspired countless musicians. In a career that has spanned four decades and has ranged from folk to rock to jazz, she has long been regarded as one of the finest singer/songwriters of her generation.  Episode Two begins in the early '70s with the release of her classic album Blue, and follows Joni's creative life through to the present day.
Download Here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/300289410/2sidedthen.rar
Password: ozmosis
(thanks to Maireid)



STARWARS BLOOPERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqwnWZvlt4k&feature=related

~ FAMOUS DOLCES OF THE WORLD ~


JOE DOLCE
New York Editor and Publicist

A little about his childhood and upbringing.

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/01/growing-up-italian

RECIPES AND TIPS

Tokyo-Style Garlic Clove Satay Sticks
This is a simple idea I saw in a Tokyo street stall. Simply parboil some cloves of garlic for a few minutes and skewer them in between the meat and vegetables that you put on your satay sticks. The grilled garlic cloves add an amazing flavour to pork, chicken, beef, fish or tofu and vegetable satays.

Rolling Sushi Rolls
Here’s an easy way to keep rice from sticking to your bamboo mat when rolling nori rolls. Cover the mat with plastic wrap on both sides. It keeps all the flexibility but the rice does not get stuck in the bamboo and the mat stays clean.

THE DARKING BOG

‘Twas earl a morn
it zoofed a horn
and hunched the yarrit log,
bereft of sense
atop the fence,
squirched a darking bog.

My nerves were shearit
my ears were fearit
my eyes were tearit with slog,
as I trumped the floor
to me deaf neighbour’s door
to complain of the darking bog.

The hinge made squeakit
the door made creakit
two eyes squint peekit the nog,
from a fly flecked face,
as I fetched my case
re: the neeze from the darking bog.

His lips pursed ‘O’,
his eyes drooped low
his head shook ‘No’, agog,
his finger shook
‘twas my mistook
he’d got no darking bog.

I wouldn’t budgit,
‘Yer mind’s gone fudgit,
yer cudgit’s lost a cog,
my eardrums blister
from the fogging fister
of the squark of yer darking bog!’

Well, he scroomed a roar
& with a 2-be-4,
tried to nobble me nog,
I ducked the swoosh,
and give him a push
back on the darking bog.

The mad bog yellit
and screamed and fellit
his eyes popped jellit his nog
a slurping gurgle
from the flattened furgle
then silence, the darking bog.

Ten years flewit,
the firbuds grewit,
the rain renewit the slog,
now only heard
was the burpéd slird,
no more the darking bog.

~ Joe Dolce ~

THE FINAL HURRAH


Conference of the Beers

At a National Conference of the Australian Hotels Association, the General Managers of:
Cascade Brewery (Tasmania),
Tooheys (New South Wales),
XXXX (Queensland),
CUB (Victoria) and
Coopers (South Australia)
found themselves sitting at the same table for lunch.

When the waitress asked what they wanted to drink,
the GM of Tooheys said without hesitation: "I'll have a Tooheys New.."
To which the GM of Coopers rejoiced: "I'll have a Coopers, the King of Beers."
And the GM from Cascade asked for "a Cascade, the cleanest draught on the planet."
The GM of Carlton & United paused a moment and then placed his order: "VB Please."
The GM of XXXX smiled and said: "I'll have a Diet Coke."

The others looked at him as if he had sprouted a new head.

"Well," he said with a shrug, "if you bastards aren't drinking BEER, then neither will I."
(thanks to Jim Testa)