Hello to all. My name is Terry McCarty; I'm a poet from Los Angeles and in another life, I worked on the lower rungs of the show business ladder (extra/stand-in/volunteer production assistant on student films/videos).
Today, I'm going to make some random observations in the manner of Larry King's old USA TODAY column.
1. I was at a Target in Northridge yesterday and I discovered something wonderful about today's youth while browsing the CD racks. The new CD by the talented it-girl of Britpop, Lily Allen, is outselling the new one by chilly AMERICAN IDOL product Katharine McPhee.
2. If you're curious about poets who fly under the major-publishing radar, I'll recommend a couple of websites to you. The first is http://www.about.poetry.com and the second is http://PoetrySuperHighway.com
3. CNN's Kyra Phillips should go to Fox News. Let's face it, she's just as rabidly conservative as Sean Hannity at Fox; but more low-key in her presentation. Anyone watch the other day when Kyra was cheerleading for the USA to declare war on Iran?
4. Joe Carnhan's latest film, SMOKIN' ACES, which has taken some brickbats from clueless critics/reviewers, is worth seeing--just as good in its own way as his previous NARC. Extra kudos for getting a solid, nonsmirking performance out of Ryan Reynolds.
5. A poet friend I haven't seen in awhile, Helena Lazaro, has a kickbutt blog of her own, plus a link to her Chubby Bunny jewelry site. You can reach Helena at http://www.poethelena.com
6. I'm disturbed by the greatly lowered "man bites dog" standard for cable news. Is Kevin Federline's attempt to back up the Brinks truck and haul $50 million from Britney's coffers that much of a major story? MSNBC, for one, sure thought it was.
7. 25 years of David Letterman--in Spanish, ya basta (enough already). I loved Dave in my college years (early to mid 80s) and treasure his dynamite cameo appearance in Chris Elliott's CABIN BOY, but it's time for Dave to leave network television behind and do a few weekends a year in Vegas at the Mirage and MGM Grand. From what tiny amount I've seen of Dave recently, he seems to be staying on the job solely to keep Jon Stewart yoked to THE DAILY SHOW.
8. First rule of Los Angeles poetry--you can't say anything bad about Los Angeles poets. Second rule of Los Angeles poetry--you can't say anything bad about Los Angeles poets. Third rule-----you get the idea. Sort of like working for a multinational corporation.
9. Two dynamite articles in the current issue of NEW YORK magazine. One is about the fall of publisher Judith Regan from the house of Murdoch (written by a Regan partisan but revealing nonetheless). The other is a compilation piece where writers are asked to analyze George W. Bush's current psychological state of mind (particularly re Iraq).
10. Recommended retro listening: the two-disc Shout Factory Johnny Rivers compilation SECRET AGENT MAN. Rivers, one of the great white soul/rock vocalists of the 1960's/70's, became a star by way of frequent gigs at the Whisky a Go Go (Steve McQueen was a fan). The compilation skips his born-again recording from the 80s, NOT A THROUGH STREET, but has some recently-recorded material at the end of Disc 2.
Thanks for reading. Write me at TerryMcCa@aol.com if you have any comments, suggestions or constructive advice re this blog.
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