A Long Bumpy Journey to Jury Duty in Lowell (But Much Better Than New York)

It has been a very long day for me. I had to rise at 4 a.m. to prepare myself for jury duty. 

The reason I had to get up so early is by virtue of living in Cambridge. You see while Boston is in Suffolk County, Cambridge is in Middlesex County. Had I still lived in Boston it would have been simply a question of going downtown. But because I live in Cambridge, I had to report for jury duty in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

I first became aware of Lowell, Massachusetts in the late 1980's when I read Jack Kerouac's On The Road as Lowell was Kerouac's birthplace. Little did I know I would one day have to go up there to perform jury duty. 

I've been to Lowell several times. Once to see a Lowell Spinner minor league baseball game in 2001. Four years later, I saw America in concert up there for the very first time and got to meet both Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell following the concert (but that is another story for another day). The last time I was in Lowell was this past July to see Fanny: The Right to Rock with my friend Don Hammontree.

Needless to say, today's journey wasn't one of reverie. I had to catch the 5:47 a.m. commuter rail train to North Station. Complicating matters was heavy rain and darkness. With seconds to spare and out of breath, I made my train. 

Upon arriving at North Station, I immediately made a rush for the 6:10 train to Lowell. When I arrived in Lowell just after 7 a.m. it was light out but still raining. Fortunately, my recent trip to Lowell last summer made it relatively easy to find the courthouse. I was the first person to arrive. But that was the problem - the courthouse was closed.

Fortunately, I did not have to wait long. A security guard who was reporting to work let me in through the metal detectors. Glad I was the only one there because I was wearing several layers and had a lot in my pockets. From there, it was smooth sailing. The court officer who handled the jury pool was very professional. He had an ample supply of water and encouraged us to use the facilities. 

This was as far removed from my experience with jury duty in New York City back in October 2019. Let's just say I was not the first to arrive and that the court officers and staff were quite sullen and abrasive as they advised us that we went to the bathroom at our own risk. 

The only complaint I have is how they kept emphasizing that people who had served on a jury before said they would gladly do it again. If you are summoned for jury duty you are obliged to go or be at risk of criminal sanctions. The people who said this on the video we were shown were not very convincing.

But I must emphasize this is a minor complaint the grand scheme of things. 

Unlike my previous jury duty experiences in Boston and New York, today I never saw the inside of a court room. Although there were a dozen cases pending all of them were settled without trial. After nearly five hours in the jury pool, we were dismissed and thanked for our service. 

I would have to spend another hour in Lowell before I caught the train back home. Unfortunately, Lowell has seen better times. The courthouse is only steps away from skid row and I can scarcely imagine what it would be like at night. 

Notwithstanding Lowell's bleak atmosphere, if and when I am summoned for jury duty again, I would much rather do so in Lowell, Massachusetts than in New York City. The verdict is unanimous. 

Wayne Shorter, R.I.P.

Jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter passed away today at the age of 89. 

Shorter must be considered among the most important figures in American jazz of the past 60 years. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers eventually becoming the group's primary composer before joining Miles Davis Second Great Quintet along with pianist Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums. Shorter also collaborated with Davis on his jazz fusion albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. He would then further explore jazz fusion was a co-founding member of The Weather Report along with fellow Davis collaborator, keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Shorter was also an accomplished bandleader in his own right while working as a frequent collaborator with Joni Mitchell.

Earlier this year, Shorter was bestowed with his 12th Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on "Endangered Species" on the album Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival which was released last year. I leave you with Shorter accepting his 2019 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album with Emanon. R.I.P.

I First Heard "The Dark Side of the Moon" on 8-Track

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd's landmark album The Dark Side of the Moon (colloquially known as Dark Side of the Moon).

It would only be a slight exaggeration to say I have been listening to Dark Side of the Moon my entire life. The album was released less than six months after I was born. My first conscious memories of Dark Side of the Moon would probably have been in 1976 before the birth of my sister. 

First among those memories was that our family's copy of Dark Side of the Moon was on 8-track tape. Thus, it probably wasn't until I was about 13-years old that there wasn't a break in the middle of "Time" as it changed tracks with that distinctive double click to get to David Gilmour's guitar solo.

Dark Side of the Moon also represents the first time I ever heard the word bullshit. 

While Dark Side of the Moon is best heard in its entirety, the one song which stands out for me is "The Great Gig in The Sky" with its wordless vocals. Yet Clare Torrey's anguish could be understood in any language. For some reason, I remember my dad being of the opinion that it was a man who sang Torrey's part. While there are men who can sing at very high octaves, to my young ears the voice sounded female. My ears have rarely failed me since.

In the five decades which have followed, I have learned a great more about who and what was involved in making the album. Through legal action, Clare Torrey would eventually share songwriting credit with Rick Wright on "The Great Gig in the Sky." Alan Parsons was the recording engineer on Dark Side of the Moon and while David Gilmour and Roger Waters have occasionally tried to minimize Parsons' contributions, it was he who separated Dark Side of the Moon from the rest of Pink Floyd's great catalogue through its space-like sound. After all, it was Parsons who suggested Torrey sing on "The Great Gig in the Sky".

Then there is the question of Roger Waters who wrote the lyrics for Dark Side of the Moon and much of the music. Waters is living proof that one can be a musical genius and a perfectly awful human being full of bigotry and malice. In Waters' case, he directs his bigotry and malice towards Jews. Indeed, just yesterday, the city of Frankfurt saw fit to cancel Waters' performance because of his history of anti-Semitism.

From where I sit, I am content to listen to Dark Side of the Moon and other Pink Floyd albums. I certainly don't need to see him Waters in concert, nor do I need to hear his forthcoming re-recording of Dark Side of the Moon without the knowledge of either Gilmour or Nick Mason. It would be like Leonardo da Vinci repainting the Mona Lisa or William Shakespeare rewriting Romeo & Juliet. 

Dark Side of the Moon stands on its own and will continue to stand on its own. There is no need for improvement because there is no way to improve upon perfection. Just listen for yourself. Then again you probably already have. But why not listen once more?

Two Reasons Why We Will Never Know What Caused COVID

Amid a report from the U.S. Department of Energy in which it concluded it had "low confidence" that COVID was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan, China rather than through bats at a wet market, Republicans and Fox News have seen fit to ignore the "low confidence" part of the equation. 

The awful truth of the matter is that we will never know what caused COVID. For this there are two reasons.

First, there is the Chinese government. They have not been forthcoming according to FBI Director Christopher Wray (who subscribes to the lab leak theory) as one would expect of a totalitarian state. So long as they remain a totalitarian state then nothing shall change. If the facts do point to a lab leak, I suspect it is likely due to incompetence rather than a sinister plot notwithstanding the low regard for human life the Chinese government holds for their own people. 

This brings me to the United States, specifically the aforementioned Republican/Fox News alliance which never met a conspiracy theory it did not embrace. Let's keep in mind this segment of the population cannot bring themselves to admit Joe Biden is President of the United States much less accept the veracity of vaccines or acknowledge that COVID has claimed more than 1 million lives. If we cannot bring ourselves to agree to the most basic of facts then how will we ever know what caused COVID?

Of course this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to look for answers and bring pressure to bear upon the Chinese government. But the results, whatever they might be, will have little meaning to the Republican/Fox News crowd who have no interest in the facts and only want to be told what they want to hear.

My Memories of Betty Boothroyd

Betty Boothroyd, best known for serving as Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1992 to 2000, passed away on Sunday at the age of 93. She remains the only woman who has served in that role in over seven centuries.

While I had seen her on television when I would watch Prime Minister's Questions, I had the chance to see Boothroyd first-hand when I worked as a parliamentary intern in the British House of Commons back in 1995. 

When she would enter the Commons, all business would cease. She always had a smile on her face. But when it came time for Prime Minister's Questions, she was all business. Boothroyd did not suffer fools gladly and would put anyone who got out of line in place with a stern, "Order!!!"

First elected as a Labour MP in 1973, Boothroyd commanded respect on all sides of the aisle and comported herself with good humor. I remember Boothroyd being the guest of honor at the annual Parliamentary Beer Club dinner which I attended. The beer of choice that evening was Speakers' Ale. Although I did not meet her in person her presence was a cheerful one and all assembled were more than glad to come to order.

After stepping down as Speaker in 2000, Boothroyd was appointed to the House of Lords as a crossbencher and became known as Baroness Boothroyd and remained an active member of that chamber openly criticizing former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's behavior following Brexit and Partygate. Yet Johnson was among the seven former Prime Ministers who paid tribute to Boothroyd upon learning of her passing. No doubt she would have called him to order from beyond the sky had he not done so. R.I.P.

Gordon Pinsent, R.I.P.

Actor Gordon Pinsent passed away yesterday at the age of 92. No cause of death has been released. 

While better known in his native Canada, Pinsent spent some in Hollywood in the late 1960's and early 1970's appearing in movies such as The Thomas Crown Affair and Blacula as well as TV shows such as It Takes a Thief and Cannon. 

However, Pinsent chose to return to Canada to pursue his own projects such as The Rowdyman which was shot in his home province of Newfoundland and would later play Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor in the TV movie Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper. 

Pinsent would have a recurring role on the Canadian-U.S. TV series Due South and was a regular on The Red Green Show. He would also spoof his serious persona with occasional appearances on This Hour Has 22 Minutes particularly when he dramatically read portions of Justin Bieber's autobiography. Pinsent would also receive acclaim for roles in Hollywood movies such as The Shipping News and Away from Her. 

Here is a short excerpt of an interview Pinsent did with the CBC in 1978 discussing his reasoning for leaving Hollywood to return to his home and native land. R.I.P.

Before There Was a Hungarian Charles Bronson There Was a Chilean Charles Bronson

 

Until last night, I hadn't been to the Harvard Film Archive in 15, maybe 20 years. What prompted me to go for the first time in many years was a showing of a documentary called The Chilean Charles Bronson (Or Exactly Identical). 

Directed by Carlos Flores del Pino and released in 1981 (but shown in the United States for the very first time), The Chilean Charles Bronson tells the story of Fenelón Guajardo, a boxer who won a celebrity lookalike contest on a popular Chilean TV show in 1975. At the time of this contest, Bronson was the biggest box office attraction in the entire world. So walking down the streets of Santiago looking like the spitting image of Charles Bronson at the height of Bronson's fame was a sight to behold. 

Fenelon (who preferred to be called Fernando) wants to have an international film career just like Charles Bronson. Towards the end of the movie, Flores del Pino directs a scene envisioned by Fernando for a Chilean Charles Bronson movie. The idea isn't bad, but the execution is absurd. The barfight between the Chilean Charles Bronson and the bad guy somehow ends up in the countryside. 

Yet I have to keep in mind that this was a low budget movie made over several years. There is one scene where Fernando is talking to several men about his experiences as Chilean Charles Bronson. But they are on a rooftop and they must pace and back and forth. The fact that they must do this detracts from the content of their conversation. 

You could have heard a pin drop when the movie concluded. Nothing. Just nothing.

The main reason I went to see The Chilean Charles Bronson is because Fenelon Guajardo (who apparently died in 2013 about 10 years after Bronson passed away) had the right idea at the wrong time. Because there is a Hungarian actor named Robert Bronzi who also looks like Charles Bronson and has been making several direct to video Bronson inspired action films beginning with Death Kiss in 2018. 

I have not seen this Bronzi films except for clips on Facebook and YouTube. But it is fascinating because Bronzi really does look like Bronson came back from the dead to make new movies. 

Bronzi is 72. When his time comes will there be a new Charles Bronson to take his place? If there is a market for those films, then yes. In which case, where will we find him? Indonesia or Indiana? So long as there is bloodlust and a death wish then there will be a need for someone who looks like Charles Bronson.