Queena Kim meets Ricky Jay ... Martin Eisenstadt talks back ... Mateo Stoneman's secret: "I learned to be a mariachi in prison!" ... Dinner Party Download makes you smarter, AND more intelligent ... Andy Rooney STILL hates Christmas ... Early peek at Downey and Law in "Sherlock Holmes."
Mateo Stoneman's Secret
Mateo Stoneman made his Anglo media debut in March of 2008 on Off-Ramp. The white mariachi, who I said has "the voice of an angel," was the biggest hit we ever had. Hundreds of listeners bought his CD because of the broadcast, some of them a dozen at a time. For an LA Times profile, the reporter did something I never thought to do -- a criminal background check -- which revealed ...
... where Mateo really learned to play guitar. Now, he tells us the whole whole story, including details the Times left out.
Mateo doesn't have a website, but you can buy his albums, or book him for a wedding or quinceañera, by calling him at 323-215-6479 or emailing him at ml_stoneman@hotmail.com.
The first piece of audio is Mateo's first appearance on Off-Ramp in 2008; the second is an exclusive recording of him playing Frenesi for Off-Ramp listeners. The third is the new interview, and below is an exclusive video of Mateo playing a tune he wrote in prison.
An Early Look at the New "Sherlock Holmes"
Off-Ramp host John Rabe (left, with pipe) got an early look at the new Warner Brothers film, "Sherlock Holmes," and finds it reasonably Canonical.
I am something of a Sherlock Holmes geek. Not as deeply involved as some, but I’m probably in the top percentile of all US citizens. I come by it honestly and by pedigree, my father, WT Rabe, having been a very active Sherlockian from at least the 1940s to his death in 1992.
So I was interested and a little worried about the upcoming movie "Sherlock Holmes," directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson. I was worried because Warner Brothers is hyping the movie thus:
In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.
Great, another "League of Extrordinary Gentlemen"-type film with a senseless plot, a bombastic score, lots of guys with little round tinted glasses, young actors with bad accents playing British dressup, with luxurious fabrics abounding.
I saw a preview of “Sherlock Holmes” last week on the Warner Brothers lot.
Yes, the score and the sound design are bombastic. Note to Guy Ritchie:
Just because you have Dolby-9.11-Superrumble-Extrabada** doesn’t mean you have to crank the mid- and high-end on every door that closes and every locket that snaps shut. You might be surprised to learn that people – even kids today – can hear okay with the volume at 6 instead of 11, and since we can see the door closing, we can develop our own emotions about it without the sound design telling us what to feel about it. And the camerawork is far too busy. Again, I’m pretty sure kids can enjoy a 30-second scene without 90 cuts, ten zooms, and three flashbacks.
But as I wrote to my friend Peter Blau, “Black Peter” in the Baker Street Irregulars, probably the most prominent Sherlockian group (he’s 33rd from the left in this picture):
Dear Peter,
Overall, I was relieved and pleasantly surprised.
Both Holmes and Watson are rather more physical than is commonly understood from the Canon, and they spend a lot more time fighting baddies. But, one could say Watson was a former soldier in Doyle’s stories, and Holmes was an expert in "baritsu" and something of a boxer, so their being active is not illogical. Irene Adler is not quite the Victorian lady of the Canon ... since she is an accomplished kickboxer and thief. That said, I'm rather tired of the Victorian ladies who are always fainting or screaming and letting themselves get tied to railroad tracks while the men have all the fun. No ladies scream in this movie.
Inspector Lestrade is very nicely played by Eddie Marsan (the driver’s ed teacher in "Happy-Go-Lucky" and the evil dude in "Hancock"), and he’s much less the bumbler than Doyle depicts him.
Speaking of bumblers, other movies have already corrected Nigel Bruce’s moronic Watson …
…but Jude Law’s Watson is very nearly Holmes’ equal in most areas, and better in some. This is good because, as other commentators have pointed out, it makes no sense that a man like Holmes would hang out with the idiot that Doyle (and Bruce) make of Watson. In the new movie, Holmes and Watson have a very nice intimate relationship, much more like brothers than master and apprentice, which I also find refreshing.
The plot also takes some nice jabs at the Da Vinci Code movies, and there’s a very funny joke about a certain modern device.
For all the action and loud music, there are many nice subtleties in plot, script, acting, and the design of the film. To name just one, Her Majesty does not appear.
The only true blunder/liberty I spotted is that in the movie, Watson is engaged to Mary Morstan before Holmes meets her, when of course, in Doyle, they got engaged after a case Holmes solved.
Using the Leonard Maltin BOMB-4 stars scale, I'd give it 3.5 stars.
- John
Martin Eisenstadt Speaks Out in New Book, "I Am Martin Eisenstadt."
In "I Am Martin Eisenstadt," fictional conservative commentator from the Harding Institute, finally tells his side of the story. Off-Ramp host John Rabe speaks with his creators, filmmakers Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish.
Andy Rooney Doesn't Like Christmas
Andy Rooney tried, but he just doesn't like Christmas.
("Celebrity" voice impersonated.)
Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery
Sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay is staging a new show at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood called "Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery." Here’s the set-up. On stage, Jay will display vintage posters and playbills of old-time vaudeville and side-show acts. The posters and playbills are from Jay's collection and span hundreds of years. Audience members choose a poster and that triggers Jay to perform a sleight-of-hand trick or tell a story about the poster. Jay told Off-Ramp producer Queena Kim that it could be his most personal show yet.
Play the NPR Name Game
Do you have an "NPR" name, a given name with a certain savoire faire that raises you above the John Smiths of the world? Off-Ramp host John Rabe talks with a blogger and her boyfriend who have perfected a way of changing chopped liver into Corey Flintoff.
Dinner Party Download
Brendan Newnam and Rico Gagliano make you smarter, faster, handsomer with Dinner Party Download, called "the Vergnügungszug of radio shows" by Stern magazine.
Youth Finance: Who's Teaching Kids to Manage Their Money?
With the economy - or the mis-management of it - emerging as the biggest story of our time, Off-Ramp contributor Andrea Domanick tries to figure out why nobody is teaching kids about personal finance.
Andrea meets up with Chuck Currier, a high school finance teacher, at the mall to find out what kids know, and don't know, about personal finance. Then she confronts her mother. While Andrea learned the value of earning what you spend, she asks her mom, why didn't you teach me how to spend it responsibly?
Rabe Takes on World, Universe in Blog
Off-Ramp host John Rabe has a blog that's been called a "must read," and not just by him. Check it out, and please comment.