Gone for only two and a half days, and it's a buzzkill pile-up in my absence. Russia invading Georgia was inevitable at some point, but with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili appealing to his pals in the West to give him a hand, this could turn into the conflict that ratchets up U.S./Russian tensions to Cold War levels. Only this time, maybe we'll get to use guns!
There were deaths, of course. Producer Bernie Brillstein, who had a hand in everything from The Muppet Movie to The Larry Sanders Show, passed away at 77, esteemed comedian Bernie Mac died at 50--50!--and Isaac Hayes at 65.
About that last one--I admit to not being a huge admirer of Hayes. Or, more accurately, of the guy who wrote and produced Hold On, I'm Comin' and When Something Is Wrong With My Baby, I'm a huge fan, but the cartoonish Black Moses Of Soul persona he adapted later didn't do a whole lot for me, and can we come right out and admit that, camp value aside, Theme From Shaft is worthless? (Compare it to two near-simultaneous blaxploitation soundtracks, Curtis Mayfield's classic Superfly and Marvin Gaye's astonishing Trouble Man; it isn't even close to their league.) Still, he had that killer part in Escape From New York, which will continue to kick ass for all eternity.
Outside of the wider world, it looks to be kind of a busy week for me. No promises one way or another, but posting around here may be a bit erratic. This past weekend was an attempt to find calm before the storm, a journey to find peace and quiet in, of all places, Nebraska. So in closing, when life becomes overwhelming, we should all look to one of Nebraska's native sons, the great James Coburn, to remember how it's done.
