JOE DOLCE NEWSLETTER
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Friday October 2nd, 2009
Tikkun Olam
"One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them,
to have the right ones form themselves into the proper patterns
at the right moment."
Hart Crane
Hi folks,
Here’s another jewel from my five year old grand-daughter, Misty. I have come to look forward to the next Mistification, so to speak, her unique views of the universe. Her parents took her to the Melbourne Show this week, and she got to pet a baby lamb. When her mother asked her how she liked it, Misty replied, ‘It’d probably taste good.’
I got some great feedback on the Ode to a Wombat poem, by Becca Kellaway, including an email from the author. I have asked permission to reproduce the entire poem and hopefully will have something for you next week.
Now, here’s another favour I want to ask from any readers who lived in the Painesville, Ohio area during the late 50s and early 60s. There was a horrific racetrack fire that trapped an entire stable of horses in their stalls. I remember as a young boy walking through these stables and looking innocently and blankly on all those half-burnt horses. (I guess no one stopped kids from doing things like this in those days.) But I have never forgotten those images. If anyone remembers this fire or can help me find some details on it, either on the internet or from newspaper clippings of the time, please let me know.
FAVOURITE LETTERS OF THE WEEK
Dear Joe,
like many of your readers I have no idea how I came to be on your mailing list (maybe through Kath Tait) I read them sporadically and enjoy what I read but my favourite part is the Final Hurrah - unfortunately, in the last few newsletters a section of the joke has been missing and there has been a page line insert - amazingly enough I have just solved this problem by writing to you because in scrolling down to check where the page insert was, I've noticed that it has gone in the version below my reply -
problem solved!
Best wishes, Maggie Casey
(Note: Maggie, I think sometimes the emails truncate depending on the size of the photo I attach. It also could be in your email Preferences which might limit email size or length. In any case, you can always find the entire newsletter online on my webiste.)
Joe,
Thanks so much for your newsletter this week and every time ! I love it ! x Neda
http://www.myspace.com/neda
Love your stuff Joe,
keep it up. Dennis Williams
Hi Joe,
I'm a 33 year old male, from South Africa now living in Hong Kong. I love music, but unfortunately never took myself seriously enough to study it, but I am a DJ and getting into producing my own music.
I just recently rediscovered your song "Shaddap Your Face" due to the wonders of the internet and knew that I had to write you and tell you that this song means so much to me. It is in fact the first song that I remember in this life. I was only 4 years old when it came out and I still remembered the chorus.
Thanks for that. You helps shape my love of music. BTW, I also took a listen to some of your other songs while on your site. Really nice stuff. :) I particularly like Cocaine Lil and St. Valentine's Day. Keep up the good work. Regards, Ryan Ashton
Hi Mr. Dolce,
Just wondering if you are going to be doing any live shows in the New York City , New Jersey area? If so when? I would love to see you!
Also do you still preform "Shaddap You Face" live? Thanks!! Michael Salvati
(Note: Michael, I wish I was doing some shows in New York and New Jersey. A local group from Jersey called ‘The Howya Doin’ Boys’ did a cover version of ‘Shaddap’, which I liked. I usually only perform the original version of the song in Italian-themed concerts. Often, for folk festivals and more contemporary events I do an aboriginal language translation of the song which no one recognizes until about half way through. I still love it as much as ever but it confuses a lot of people. What can you do?)
Hey Joe,
Do you have the TV series "Fringe" there is Australia? It is fantastic. Beth H
(Note: Yes, Beth. I have the first series. I love things like this – Eureka, 4400, even The Last Mimzy.)
FAVOURITE GRATUITOUS MENTIONS OF THE WEEK
‘ I have not yet been to John's Pizza, but I just heard that they have Joe Dolce's "Shaddap Your Face" on the jukebox, and for that, they deserve five stars already.
Don't you dare mark "useful" on this review. This is not a useful review . . . .
- UPDATE: I went! The pizza was good, the garlic bread had 5 sticks of butter per slice (heaven), we were treated to 1983 style place mats with puzzles and mazes on them like we used to get at Pizza Hut, AND, as promised. Joe Dolce was on the jukebox! OK, you can mark "useful" now!’
http://www.yelp.com/biz/johns-pizzeria-ristorante-and-lounge-chicago
“Kevin Rowlands was one of the 500 names on the guest list for EMF's comeback show. There he was, waiting in line, going bald. But then, none of us is as sprightly as they were 11 years ago. Back then, EMF had an impish sense of humour, those hats, those hair extensions, that cover of "Shaddap You Face" that sounded like Joe Dolce being pushed down the stairs.” The Independent, UK
(Note: Hey, that’s not fair. Nobody pushed me. I tripped.)
Tikkun Olam
In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER.
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena Sendler. During WWII, Irena got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ulterior motive ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize .... She was not selected. Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
Irena Sendler and students from Uniontown, Kansas, have chosen to repair the world (Tikkun Olam). This web site shares the legacy and life of Irena Sendler, plus her 'discovery' for the world.
http://www.irenasendler.org/
(thanks to Frank Dolce)
Another Apostle crumbles in Victoria
By Michelle Draper
Victoria's Twelve Apostles now number just seven after another of the rock formations tumbled into the sea off Victoria's west coast on Friday.
A tour operator contacted Parks Victoria early on Friday and reported the small stack had disappeared.
A spokeswoman for Parks Victoria later confirmed the collapse. "It's a small stack just out from the ... Razorback Lookout," Jo Curkpatrick (Curkpatrick) of Parks Victoria told AAP.
"We have had some fairly stormy weather but it's sort of natural that the (lime)stone wears away."
The lookout is located near Loch Ard Gorge and Port Campbell.
Friday's collapse follows the crumbling of another rock formation, the Island Archway, which fell into the sea on June 11.
"Certainly the coast has taken a bit of a beating this winter," Ms Curkpatrick said.
Although another stack had disappeared, she said the formations would still retain their name.
"It will always be the Twelve Apostles," Ms Curkpatrick said. "It remains unique no matter how many apostles come and go."
The last time one of the Twelve Apostles collapsed was in July 2005.
In 1990 two tourists were stranded on the outer part of London Bridge - another limestone formation off the Great Ocean Road - after one of its two arches collapsed.
No one was injured, and the tourists were rescued by helicopter.
They started to form up to 20 million years ago as erosion gradually attacked the limestone cliffs of Port Campbell.
JOE DOLCE SONGS ON CANADIAN PEACE & PROTEST COMPILATIONS
Here are the links for two of my songs that were included on Canadian peace & protest compilations. Both were winners in song contests. Both of these CD have some fantastic songs. There are audio samples. All proceeds are donated to United Nations Foundation.
‘Gift – from One Iraqi Child’ - from Peace Songs for a Better World
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/briangladstone7
‘Did You Get Stupid from Being Ugly, or Ugly from Being Stupid?’ - from Protest Songs for a Better World
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/briangladstone6
What I’m Reading This Week
Poetry of Les Murray. http://www.lesmurray.org/
‘Asynchrony’ - the poetry and short prose of Josephine Rowe. I first met Josephine at the performance of Difficult Women where she was one of the folks who got up read poems during the break. She made an instant impression on me then as she read a nice poem - something with the image of ‘The Gideon Bible’ in it – and I had just written a song with that title. We exchanged a couple emails about that. Time went by. Quite awhile. One day, I saw a poem in The Age I liked and cut-it out. It was by someone named Josephine Rowe but I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember how I knew that name. Blank. Even, later when I stumbled upon her little red volume in Kris Hemesley’s ‘Collected Works’ poetry bookshop, and again was impressed with the writing, I still didn’t connect the dots. All I knew was that the poems got through to me. I looked her up on the net, discovered her quirky website and bingo! I remembered where we first met. Life sure am strange. This is the one I saw in The Age:
The Painting Room
(for Betty Langley)
The ancient wooden palettes
hung from a nail in the wall
oil paint dried around their edges
in cracked swatches of
cadmium yellow for grevillea
alizarin crimson for Sturt desert pea.
The brushes left standing in glass jars
of grey water, linseed oil, turpentine.
Her canvases painted over, easel folded
and propped against the locked door.
My grandmother has forgotten
she was ever an artist.
She crushes the petals
of the lilies I take her
watches to see their white flesh bruise
in the shape of her thumbprint.
~
Here is Josephine Rowe’s website and some more samples of her writing:
http://www.cherryfoxmantle.com/josie.html
‘Ifferisms’ - by Dr. Mardy Grothe
I have been on Mardy’s weekly newsletter list for a long time. He is one of the four or five people I turn to regularly for material. Many of the quotes I lead my own weekly off with are taken from his seemingly endless collections.
This great little book, published by Collins, is a collection of brilliant and mostly little known aphorisms that begin with the word, ‘if’ - hence, ‘Ifferisms.’
Some examples are:
‘If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle.’ - Rita Mae Brown
‘If you look like your passport photo, in all probability, you need the holiday.’ - Earl Wilson
‘If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine Floor.’ Paul Simon
‘If poetry is like an orgasm, an academic can be likened to someone who studies the passion-stains on the bedsheets.’ Irving Layton
‘If I had to wear high heels and a dress, I would be a mental case.’ K.D. Lang
If you need a gift to put in your horse’s mouth, look no further.
You can learn more about this publication and subscribe to his free weekly newsletter here:
http://www.drmardy.com
What I’m Watching This Week
Gomorrah – directed by Matteo Garrone, based on the book by Roberto Saviano. It deals with crime and the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. The film is nowhere near a good as the book but still worth seeing. I particularly found interesting the fact that the local kids emulate and make heroes out of the characters from The Godfather and Scarface movies – and then go out onto the street and actually live it for real. One of the highlights for me is in the Extras. The writer of the book gives an in depth talk about his intimate experience of gang reality in Italy including the Scampia Feud of 2004. Scampia Feud - between the Camorra gangs in the neapolitan quartiere of Scampia in 2004 and 2005. The fight was between the Di Lauro clan, from Secondigliano, and the so-called "secessionists" (Italian "scissionisti"), a breakaway fraction from the once all-powerful Di Lauro clan in the northern suburbs of Naples that tried to assert its control over drugs and prostitution rackets in the area. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scampia_feud
Melba – Mini Series (1987) – starring Linda Cropper miming Yvonne Kenny, and a young Hugo Weaving. Produced by the ABC. A good, if slightly romanicized story of Melba.
Her headstone bears Mimi's (La Boheme) farewell words "Addio, senza rancor" (Farewell, without bitterness).
The Commander – BBC Series – written and produced by Lynda La Plante, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series. She also wrote one of the best new mafia stories I have seen, Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), about the revenge of the women of a family that has had all their men wiped out. In this series, Commander Clare Blake has risen to the top of her profession in the male-dominated Metropolitan Police Service and is now the head of the serious crimes unit. Some years previously she arrested James Lampton for murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison but is now out on parole and is a successful author with a best-selling book. Blake's colleagues however, especially DCI Mike Hedges, believe Lampton is responsible for another murder and are out to prove his guilt. Things become complicated when Blake and Lampton become intimate and the question arises whether he is being honest with her or is simply a master manipulator.
HARPO MARX’S LEGENDARY LEG-UP SCHTICK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va5bxk4BVVA
(thanks to Frank Dolce)
~ FAMOUS DOLCES OF THE WORLD ~
Dolce Joe's Hot Dog Stand Hot Dog Roller Grill with Bun Warmer
As low as $39.99 from Home Depot
Description: Enjoy stadium style hot dogs at home with Dolce Joe's Hot Dog Stand Hot Dog Roller Grill with Bun Warmer. Great fun and perfect for after school snacks! Cook up to 4 regular sized hot dogs and warm up to 4 regular sized buns for a meal that the whole family can enjoy
http://appliances.pricegrabber.com/small-kitchen-grills/Dolce-Joe-Hot-Dog-Stand/m85889547.html
(Note: Hey, don’t laugh. Here’s a pic of me as a kid behind the counter
at my aunt and uncle's hot dog stand. I started warming buns at an early age.)
RECIPE
Pickled Watermelon Sylvia
INGREDIENTS:
Watermelon cut and cubed ( red only part)
Big gallon Jar
Celery Stick
Carrots
4 gloves garlic
Green peppers
3 tablespoons pickling salt
2-4 tablespoon of pickling spice
4 heads of dill
INSTRUCTIONS:
With this recipe you just layer it all like you would lasagna: dill, watermelon, pickling spice, garlic. Half way up the jar add some celery, green pepper, and carrots on the sides to keep the watermelon from floating. When you are done you should end up with dill at the top. Fill jar with filtered water or distilled water cover and let sit on the counter for 3 days. It will start to get cloudy. Shake. Sit for one more day then place it in the fridge.
(thanks to Sylvia Norris)
FAME
We were at dinner in SoHo
and the couple at the next table
rose to go. The woman paused to say
to me, I just wanted you to know
I have got all your cookbooks
and I swear by them!
I managed
to answer her, Ma’am,
they’ve done you nothing but good!
which was perhaps immodest
of whoever I am.
~ Les Murray ~
THE FINAL HURRAH
The Power of Nooky
(Nyoyki is the japanese onomatapoeia for 'it is growing'.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jlv8F9cerA&feature=related
