REVOLUTION.... TWO OF US... THE BEATLES

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: BRAND NEW ME

Groovin early on a Sunday. Thinking about the friend that inspires me the most and how lucky it was that we met. Also how much gratitude I feel for all of the opportunities that are coming my way and the new and old friends that support my many projects and inventions.

GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

One of my biggest heroes of all time is Painter Georgia O'Keeffe. Here was a woman born in the late 1880's who was an independent artistic soul that was born with ambition and drive to create her own world.

No picking the perfect husbnd and then following in his path for Georgia. She was intense and complicated. Normal rules did not apply to her life. Male dominated institutions she ignored completely.

After she met and married the famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz she opted to keep her own name. Not even a hyphen for Georgia.

I am watching the new Lifetime film about Ms O'Keeffe and as good as Joan Allen is I am not convinced she can pull this part off. It would seem that Joan may be too feminine for the much more masculine O'Keeffe. Georgia was tough and did not suffer fools.

Stieglitz’s first (nude) photographs of his young protégé catapulted O’Keeffe into the public eye. The great photographic avatar — the pair wed in 1924 — used these early images to encourage and promote a sexualized interpretation of her painting. As a public relations ploy, it worked spectacularly, creating an art world sensation. Everybody knew her name.

But O’Keeffe — just 29 at the time — hated anything that detracted from her self-image as a self assured, serious artist. Publicly silent, she was in no position to object.

“He’s like the voice of New York,” said Barbara Buhler Lynes, the exhibition’s co-curator and director of the O’Keeffe. “He had all the power. Furthermore, she believed in him and she was in love with him.

Georgia and Steiglitz did split living quarters with Georgia living in the South West and Alfred remaining in New York City.

After Steiglitz died Georgia outlived him by 40 years. She remained in the Southwest and left the majority of her estate to her devoted assistant and protege Juan.

TOM LUBINSKI'S BIG BIRTHDAY BASH

What a blast RK had last night at the Motor City Music Factory Birthday bash for Tom Lubinski, Richard Peardon, Gary Adams, and more. Tom has so many friends and I knew almost all of them and met some new friends as well.

Photos: Dan Sultana

Rob King my new friend and famed drummer from Ann Arbor's wild band Destroy All Monsters came out to the Factory with Kimmer to play drums. Ron Cooke fantastic bass man of Dead City Prophets, Detroit, Cactus, Gang War and more... was there to jam for Tom's Party.

Rob has played drums for a very long time and was really having a great ime jamming with his friends. It was just terrific to see. Here is a little video I shot with my Handycam. Please forgive my lack of training as I am learning how to shoot video and my tripod hasn't arrived from Hong Kong yet....

See Dan on Flicker HERE


Photos: Dan Sultana

Got to meet one of my facebook pals Len Beste. Len is a fabulous photographer and shot that cool picture of RK filming at the People's Art Fest two weeks ago.

Richard Peardon did a nice job on the grill cooking burgers and hotdogs for everyone. Ton's charming wife Diana saved me from being lost in Detroit forever.... thanks Diana!

Ron's lovely wife Pam and I met back in the 70's at the awesome Gallup Park free concerts in Ann Arbor. Ms Pamela has many stories from the history of rock n roll and knows absolutely everyone from Metro Detroit Rock. Sitting with Pam was a joy for me as I loved hearing the stories of her life in rock n roll.

GOODFELLAS HENRY HILL AND MY BLUE HEAVEN

A lot of people that haven't read Henry Hill's Book do not know that My Blue Heaven the Steve Martin movie was based a lot on Henry Hill's life in The Witness Protection Program.

It seems that Nicholas Pileggi was working with Henry by phone a lot while writing his book Wiseguy. Well guess who Mr. Pileggi is married to.... NORA EPHRON  The fabulously talented writer and film producer.

Guess who was writing My Blue Heaven at the same time as Nick was writing Wise Guy? (Goodfellas)  Henry wrote about being mad that he didn't get paid for being the "star" of MBH In his book.There are an awful lot of similarities although done with great hilarity. One of Henry's biggest complaints in Witness Relocation was that he couldn't get good produce at the grocery stores in Omaha. He is a fabulous cook and need produce like rugula for his Italian recipes.

There is a scene in MBH where Steve Martin is in the grocery store complaining about the very same vegetables. Steve's character Vinnie was always running scams and risking his safety in the Witness Program.

So was Henry... In fact they moved him from Omaha to Kentucky and no matter where they put him he was arrested for "wiseguy" behaviors. So is it coincidence that Nora wrote a very funny version of Henry Hill's escapades? We think not and neither does Henry Hill...LOL

Watch My Blue Heaven again and with Henry Hill in mind... It makes this movie even funnier.

PATRICK SWAYZE RIP

By CHRISTY LEMIRE, AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES – Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into moviegoers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf. Swayze died in Los Angeles, Wolf said, but declined to give further details.

Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot.

Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making "The Beast" because they would have taken the edge off his performance. The show drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.

When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was "considerably more optimistic" than that. Swayze acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease.

MALCOM X IS ASSASSINATED 1963

Of all the radical icons of the 1960's my most heroic was Malcolm X. He was right and his words resonate to this day. As I was living up in Northern Michigan when Alex Hailey's paperback book came out, I had to order it. Once it finally came I couldn't book the book down. Gratefully it was about 1000 pages and was very in depth.

Then Spike Lee makes a flm from Mr. Hailey's book. He did extreme justic to that book and I am getting ready to re watch that fim right now. Of course I love the part where Malcolm is bad and wears the brightly colored zoot suits... It is an amazing journey and Denzel Washington does a miraculous job as Malcolm. Here is a little clip from the film:

Malcolm X: A Legend Emerges

It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. Thats the only thing that can save this country.

These prophetic words were spoken by one of America s most famous and controversial African-Americans just two days before his assassination. His name was Malcolm X.

One could go deeply into the making of this man, born Malcolm Little. So many people, agencies, institutions and organizations have covered this portion of Malcolm Xs brief life on earth. A vast sea of in-depth analyses and biographies on his life and philosophies are available.

This story focuses on all of the facts, suspicions and theories surrounding the assassination of Malcolm X and the impact it has had on the world. Like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, too, had a dream. It began bathed in the tenets of anger and hatred, fostering economic independence on the shoulders of retaliatory separatism. And it ended with the swelling acceptance of a unified brotherhood and the replacement of hatred with peace and of anger with the nagging thirst for international equality for all mankind.

Malcolm, the son of Louise and Reverend Earl Little, was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. Earl Little was a Baptist minister and an active advocate of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The Little family eventually moved to Lansing, Michigan where their house was mysteriously burned down. Rev. Little then built another house for his family, just outside of East Lansing. In 1931, right after an argument with his wife, Rev. Earl Little angrily walked out of the house. His lifeless body was later found on some streetcar tracks. His head had been severely bashed in and his torso almost cut in half by a streetcar. Authorities reported the death as a suicide, but the African-American community believed he was murdered by a white supremacist group.

Louise Little did all she could to take care of herself and her six children. Eventually the stress and strain got to her and in 1939 she was declared insane and institutionalized. Her children were placed in various foster homes. That same year, Malcolms teacher asked him what he would like to be. His answer was, a lawyer. 

The teacher, who had encouraged the white students on their career choices, told Malcolm, thats no realistic goal for a nigger. Malcolm, a good student, quickly became disenchanted. He was placed in a detention home and then dropped out of school, having finished only the eighth grade.

After taking several odd jobs, Malcolm moved to Boston with his fathers sister. He was only fourteen years old and could only find an assortment of odd jobs. He finally landed a job with the New Haven Railroad, which shuttled between Boston and New York City, giving him an opportunity to meet many educated African-Americans. 

Malcolm was fired from this job and once again took on various odd jobs in New York and Boston, while also committing acts of petty larceny. After being caught and arrested for carrying a concealed weapon he was sentenced to prison. While serving more than six years he began educating himself, converted to the Islamic faith and became a Black Muslim in the Nation of Islam (NOI).