The Misanthrope – miscellaneous musings

“A man in my position can’t afford to look ridiculous.”
Jack Woltz, Hollywood mogul in “The Godfather”

Blogging. Toner Mishap is reminding me of the Johnny Cash song “Ring of Fire”, because the numbers are dying, crashing is more like it. I am going down, down, and the flames are growing higher. I feel a bit like the boxer who gets back in the right after retiring. He should have stayed retired. (Don’t worry mom, I am going to keep doing this a bit longer.) My mother, who I thought gave up reading Toner Mishap since we were writing only when the mood struck, informed me she was delighted to see I was posting again. When I asked how she knew, she said that she checked every morning as part of her routine. I did not intend to tell her because I feel a bit self censored, but I suppose I shouldn’t feel that way. I think I blogged about this last year, I was talking to my mother on my cell phone when I was cut off getting onto the freeway and I let fly a string of expletive deleted words that only Dick Cheney would only use when talking to Democratic senators, then I realized my mother was still on the phone, oops.

The Rolling Stones. The Chinese government is taking a cue from CBS or whatever network aired the Superbowl and they are censoring five Rolling Stones songs including "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Woman," "Beast of Burden," and "Let's Spend the Night Together” and the new song “Rough Justice.” Hmmm, obviously the Chinese authorities are not familiar with the Stones’ catalog, so if Mick Jagger were truly rebellious and not just into his faux rebellion nonsense, I would recommend that he play: “Star Star,” “Some Girls,” “Bitch,” “Rocks Off,” and “Sparks will Fly.” But, it’s only about money for Mick and the guys.

Jazz. On the Mark and I went to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts last night to see the jazz legend Sonny Rollins. Stupendous. Rollins' playing conveyed his love of the music and his extraordinary talent. He is 76 years old and he was on stage with his saxophone for a solid two hours without sitting. Joshua Redman’s show at Catalina’s Jazz Club earlier this year was amazing, but Rollins took the jazz to another level altogether.

Stones Update. Maybe I am too hard on Jagger. According to the New York Times, the sold-out performance brought together cosmopolitan Shanghai at its richest, in more senses than one. With the cheapest seats going for about $40 — and most priced at 5 to 10 times more, well above monthly salaries for most people here — the cost ensured that well-heeled foreigners dominated the crowd.

Mick Jagger, the group's lead singer, acknowledged as much himself in a news conference the day before with a comment meant to address two of the most delicate issues surrounding the event, the heavily foreign audience and the restricted song list.

"I am pleased the Ministry of Culture is protecting the morals of expatriate bankers and their girlfriends," Mr. Jagger said, adding that he had 400 other songs to choose from, so "it doesn't really matter."

A popular blogger here (in Shanghai), Wang Xiaofeng, is typical of the group for whom the Stones are a relic of another era. "For most Chinese rock 'n' roll fans, the Rolling Stones are not even as attractive as a domestic pop singer, or the Super Girl contestants," referring to a television show that resembled American Idol. "In the eyes of fans, the Rolling Stones have more meaning as a rock 'n' roll symbol than as a kind of music. They are as unfamiliar as they are familiar."

(note: the mother and son picture at the top is not Mother Misanthrope and son, it's an old depression era photo.)