It took me about two weeks of commuting and getting around town, to finish listening the 6 discs’ 7.5 hours in the car. I wanted to give up several times, but kept hoping that maybe something worthy will be covered in the next chapter. Occasionally did, but not often enough for me. I think the book was written to someone who never read the (Hebrew) Bible and someone who hasn’t even heard its most famous stories. I was not in that category, so for me it was a mostly boring book. 90% of the first two discs were retelling stories from the Torah and its precursors, myth from other contemporary and preceeding societies; some of which I also studied. Later the proportions became better and there was more original content, but the lingering feeling that I am wasting time by listening to this reenactment rarely left me.

I was also annoyed by the intonation of the narrator, Richard M. David. He had a great voice, the kind that is exciting to hear during trailers of action movies. Here however he attempted to inject pathos into the text and insisted in staying in that mode. The end result of this effort, for me, was that pathos turned into pomposity. I wish he’d stepped down occasionally form the pedestal he was reading from to become more human. This discrepancy between text and tone was the most glaring, when the book was trying to be hip, using terms, the author might have thought as “cool”, while in reality they were out of place here. It just didn’t work for me.

By the end of the book I also realized that it was written not just from a non-Jewish perspective (which could have made it more interesting for me), but also from a Christian perspective. I could have guessed earlier, as the very beginning the author explains why he is using the term “Before Christ” instead of Before Common era”. At the end thought there were even clearer wordings that made the point of view evident. And not in a positive way.

None of the above would have mattered had the book delivered its promise: an explanation of what the Jews gave to the world, backed up by solid proofs. Don’t get me wrong, there were half a dozen good observations in the book. But, from a rigorous academic perspective they were not well-supported and I recognized them from my studies. I understand that it is a popular (social) science book, but still felt dissatisfied.

So what were the gifts? To summarize let me quote from segment 16 of disc 6:

“We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best words, in fact – new, adventure, surprise, unique, individual, person, vocation, time, history, future, freedom, progress, spirit, faith, hope, justice – are the gifts of the Jews.”

I boldfaced in the above the ones that the author even attempted to explain how it was given by the Jews. The rest is purse speculation. Some of it interesting, but none of it original. I wish I had read the book on paper, because then I could have finished it much faster, skipping the parts with no new insights for me

I utterly enjoyed the movie for these reasons:

• The main character, played by Billy Connolly, had a larger than life style, that managed to remain jovial and charming despite its hot-bloodedness.
• A central theme was social justice, which eventually prevailed. That’s dear to my heart.
• The hypocrisy of organized religion, or at least some of its representatives, got what it deserved.
• So did those who systematically abused a twisted legal system.
• The intertwined legal and theological issues legal issues were entertaining and thought provoking. I enjoyed the slight challenge of following the logic of how people’s and organizations interests and words had to collide and collude.

The ending was endearing, if unrealistic. But the reminder that moral victory can be just as important as legal victory is a good memento. It helped of course, that beyond the moral victory there was a series of happy ends, on multiple levels.
—

DVD@ Amazon.com.

IMDB’s summary:  Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, a lawyer who became a fisherman from frustration. When his one piece of property, his boat, is struck by lightning and destroyed he is denied insurance money because it was ‘an act of God’. He re-registers as a lawyer and sues the insurance company and the church under the guise of God, defending himself. The accident leads him to a friendship and eventual relationship with a journalist, Anna Redmond (Davis).

Trailer:

It followed the books pretty close. In many respects the movie looked exactly what I envisioned in my mind’s eye as I was reading the book. I couldn’t decide whether to praise for this the author, Suzanne Collins,  who wrote so vividly or the creators of the movie, who digested the writing and visually replicated the world she created. Then at the ending credits  I saw that one of the three producers was the author. I guess she had a role in ensuring that the movie remained authentic to the book.

But the movie left out important aspects and changed a few details. The most annoying of the latter was for me how the heroine got her pin, that became the symbol for the whole series/movement. Or how she ate on the train: ravenously in the book, barely in the movie. Scratch, the most annoying element of the picture was the jumpy camerawork. It almost made me sick. Just almost, but enough to detract from the enjoyment of the movie.

Then there is the diverging standards of what’s appropriate in books and movies. The book is often categorized as a “tween” book, meaning that its target audience includes young teenagers. The  moviemakers wanted to make sure that their product gets rated PG13, meaning that teens, who are at least 13 years old can view it with their parents. In order to do so the violence had to be heavily tamed in the movie. The book had pretty explicit violent scenes. In the movie, they were abbreviated and shot by the jumpy camera, so you couldn’t really see the violence itself, just some of the aftereffects. Not that I miss the violence, but the result of this confinement was that the product didn’t work for me as an action flick.

On one hand the proportions of the movie was all wrong. Two third of it was set before the games started, while in the book it was the other way around: most of the first volume took place at and during the games. On the other hand there was still no character development. That’s kind of funny/sad considering how much time they devoted to show the background story. What I mostly missed in the movie was showing all the emotions, thoughts and drives of the characters (and how they change over time) that are clear and present in the book and non-existent in the movie.

For all these reasons I didn’t like the movie as much as I wanted to. Visually great, most of the characters well enough played, but it didn’t work as a whole. I kept wondering what do those see, who didn’t read the book. And I kept doubting whether they can get the whole picture.

When we got there the place was not hopping as we hoped for, but the music and the ambience was pleasant, so we stayed. On stage seemed to be three piece band. As we learned it really was two people from the usually five-piece Ash Reiter plus one person from The Blank Tapes. Ash Reiter is both the name of the band and its lead singer, who had a bit of a cold.  She was still pleasant to listen, but what really caught my attention was the drummer’s skills. We caught about 6-7 of her songs, out of which I recorded this four:

Broken Drum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRm5HlwnGy0

Ex-Favorite One:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xXx2oTt1lU

Blue Eyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TnAhSmqeA

Francais:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR1d6-XXDEY

We liked the music so much that we bough her CD. Having listened to it, I can recommend it as smooth modern pop. Her set was followed by The Blank Tapes, but we were way too tired to enjoy this more experimental set, not to mention, that one of the band members acted so weirdly that it alienated us a bit. Here are the two songs I “taped” of The Blank Tapes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSTiwf3y4tE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEHxatDMQg

• 41 of them were Top 1000
• I managed to blogged only about 22 of them.
• 46 of the total was from 2011, 74 from 2010, 32 from 2009, 33 from the rest of the 2000′s; 15 from the 90′s, 9 from the 80′s, 9 from the 70′s, 10 from the 60′s, 11 from the 50′s and 4 from before that.
• 120 of the movies from the USA, 33 from Israel, 23 from the UK and 9 from Hungary.

1. 2048(2010, Israel) – IMDB
2. 100 Voices: A Journey Home(2010, USA) – IMDB
3. 20 Years After(2008, USA) (20 evvel kesobb) – IMDB
4. 2012 Ice Age (2011, USA) – IMDB
5. The 5 houses of Lea Goldberg(2011, Israel) – IMDB , blog
6. A Fei zheng chuan (Days of Being Wild) (1991, Hong Kong) (Vadito szep napok ) – IMDB, Top 1000
7. The Adjustment Bureau (2011, USA) (Sorsugynökseg) – IMDB
8. Agora (2009, Spain) – IMDB
9. Ahead of Time(2009, USA) – IMDB
10. Amos Oz: The Nature of Dreams(2009, Israel) (Amos Oz: Az almok termeszete) – IMDB
11. Anatomy of a Murder (1959, USA) (Egy gyilkossag anatomiaja ) – IMDB , blog, Top 1000
12. AniMen – Triton Force(2010, China) – IMDB
13. L’Annee Derniere a Marienbad (Last Year in Marienbad) (1961, France) (Tavaly Marienbadban) – IMDB, Top 1000
14. Apacsok(2010, Hungary) – IMDB
15. Arctic Blast(2010, Australia) (Amikor megfagy a vilag) – IMDB
16. Area 51(2011, USA) – IMDB
17. Arena (2011, USA) – IMDB
18. The Art of War (2000, USA) (A harc mestere) – IMDB
19. Arthur (2011, USA) (Arthur, a legjobb parti) – IMDB
20. Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes (Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds) (2010, France) (Arthur 3 – A vilagok harca) – IMDB
21. The Asphalt Jungle (1950, USA) (Aszfaltdzsungel) – IMDB, Top 1000
22. Assassination Games (2011, USA) – IMDB
23. Attack the Block (2011, UK) (Idegen arcok) – IMDB
24. Attila (2001, USA) – IMDB
25. Bad Boy Bubby (1993, Australia) (Rosszcsont Bubby ) – IMDB, Top 1000
26. Bandit Queen (1994, India) (n/a) – IMDB, Top 1000
27. The Be All and End All(2009, UK) (Egyszer elunk) – IMDB
28. Becket (1964, UK) (Becket) – IMDB, Top 1000
29. Bena(2009, Israel) – IMDB
30. Berlin ’36(2009, Germany) – IMDB
31. Between Two Worlds(2011, USA) – IMDB
32. Beyond the Time Barrier(1960, USA) – IMDB
33. The Big Bang(2010, USA) (Brillians melo ) – IMDB
34. Big Chill (1983, USA) (A nagy borzongas ) – IMDB, Top 1000
35. Big Combo (1955, USA) (n/a) – IMDB, Top 1000
36. Black Swan (2010, USA) (Fekete hattyu) – IMDB , blog
37. The Blind Side (2009, USA) (A sziv bajnokai ) – IMDB
38. Blood Relation(2009, Israel) – IMDB
39. Bob le Flambeur (1956, France) (Bob nagyban jatszik ) – IMDB, Top 1000
40. Brainstorm (1983, USA) – IMDB , blog
41. Bride of Frankenstein (1935, USA) (Frankenstein menyasszonya ) – IMDB, Top 1000
42. Budrus(2009, Israel) – IMDB
43. Bunraku(2010, USA) – IMDB
44. Captain America – The First Avenger (2010, USA) (Amerika Kapitany: Az elso bosszuallo) – IMDB
45. Casting Minden(2008, Hungary) – IMDB , blog
46. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (1958, USA) (Macska a forro badogteton ) – IMDB, Top 1000
47. The Chronicles of Narnia The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010, USA) (Narnia Kronikai 3. – A Hajnalvandor utja) – IMDB
48. Class of 1999 (1990, USA) (Kiborgtanarok) – IMDB
49. Conan the Barbarian (2011, USA) (Conan, a barbar ) – IMDB
50. Contagion (2011, USA) (Fertozes ) – IMDB
51. Cowboys and Aliens (2011, USA) (Cowboyok es urlenyek) – IMDB
52. Cronos (1993, Mexico) – IMDB , blog, Top 1000
53. Cross (2011, USA) – IMDB
54. Cypher (2002, USA) – IMDB
55. Damnation Alley (1977, USA) – IMDB
56. The Day of the Triffids (2009, UK) (A Triffidek napja) – IMDB
57. Dead of Night (1945, UK) – IMDB , blog, Top 1000
58. The Departed (2006, USA) (A Tegla) – IMDB
59. Despicable Me (2010, USA) (Gru) – IMDB
60. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995, USA) (Kek ördög) – IMDB, Top 1000
61. Dig! (2004, USA) (Dig! – Ezt kapd ki!) – IMDB, Top 1000
62. Doomsday Prophecy(2011, Canada) – IMDB
63. Downstream(2010, USA) – IMDB
64. A Duck’s journey (Dudu Geva)(2007, Israel) – IMDB
65. Les Enfants Sans Ombre (Children Without a Shadow)(2009, Belgium) – IMDB , blog
66. Ever Since The World Ended (2001, USA) – IMDB
67. Evolution (2001, USA) (Evolucio) – IMDB
68. Faster(2010, USA) (Rohanas) – IMDB
69. Ferocious Planet (2011, USA) – IMDB
70. The Forgotten (2004, USA) (Felejtes) – IMDB
71. From Hell (2001, USA) (A pokolbol ) – IMDB
72. From Prada to Nada (2011, Mexico) – IMDB
73. From Tel-Aviv(2009, Israel) – IMDB , blog
74. From Where I stand: The Hank Greenspun Story(2008, USA) – IMDB
75. Futureworld(1976, USA) (Eljövendo vilag) – IMDB
76. The Games They Play(2010, Israel) – IMDB
77. Gantz(2011, Japan) – IMDB
78. Gene Fusion (2011, USA) – IMDB
79. Girl Clock! (2010, Australia) – IMDB
80. Glenn, the Flying Robot (Glenn 3948) (2010, Belgium) – IMDB
81. Godsend (2004, USA) (A teremtes klinikaja) – IMDB
82. The Green Hornet (2011, USA) (Zöld darazs) – IMDB
83. Green Lantern (2011, USA) (Zöld Lampas ) – IMDB
84. Griff the Invisible (2010, Australia) – IMDB
85. Gunless (2010, Canada) – IMDB
86. Ha’Meshotet (The Wanderer)(2010, Israel) – IMDB
87. Hahevra Hachi Grua Baolam (The Worst Company in the World)(2009, Israel) – IMDB
88. Half a Ton of Bronze(2010, Israel) – IMDB
89. The Hangover 2 (2011, USA) (Masnaposok 2.) – IMDB
90. Hanna (2011, USA) (Hanna – Gyilkos termeszet) – IMDB
91. Hannibal (2001, UK) – IMDB
92. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011, USA) (Harry Potter es a Halal ereklyei II. resz) – IMDB
93. Hitpartzut X (Naomi)(2010, Israel) – IMDB , blog
94. Hop (2011, USA) (Hopp ) – IMDB
95. Hugo Pool (1997, USA) (Pancsolj, pancser!) – IMDB
96. The Human Resources Manager(2010, Israel) (A HR manager) – IMDB
97. I Am Not Filipina(2010, Israel) – IMDB
98. I Am Number Four (2010, USA) (A negyedik) – IMDB
99. I Saw Giraffes In India(2010, Israel) – IMDB
100. I Shot My Love(2010, Israel) – IMDB , blog
101. I Was There In Color(2010, Israel) – IMDB
102. In the Prime of Her Life(2010, Israel) – IMDB
103. The Infidel (2010, UK) – IMDB
104. Ingelore(2009, USA) – IMDB
105. Inside Hana’s Suitcase (2009, Canada) – IMDB
106. The Ipcress File (1965, UK) (Az Ipcress ugyirat) – IMDB, Top 1000
107. Le Jaguar (1996, France) (A Jaguar ) – IMDB
108. Je T’aime, I Love You Terminal(2010, Israel) – IMDB
109. Jubanos(2010, Cuba) – IMDB
110. Ka’Avor 9 Shanim (9 years later)(2009, Israel) – IMDB
111. Kafka (1991, USA) – IMDB
112. Kalevet (Rabies) (2010, Israel) – IMDB , blog
113. Kameleon (2008, Hungary) – IMDB
114. Karambol (Collision)(1964, Hungary) – IMDB , blog
115. Kavod (Honor)(2010, Israel) – IMDB
116. Kid’s Haven: Refuge from the Holocaust(2010, Netherlands) – IMDB , blog
117. Kikar Ha-Halomot (Desperado Square)(2010, Israel) – IMDB
118. The Killing (1956, USA) (Gyilkossag) – IMDB, Top 1000
119. Kirot (The Assassin Next Door) (2009, Israel) – IMDB
120. A Labda(1974, Hungary) – IMDB , blog
121. Lantana (2001, Australia) (A szöveveny) – IMDB, Top 1000
122. Last Night(1998, Canada) – IMDB
123. The Last Picture Show (1971, USA) (Az utolso mozieloadas) – IMDB, Top 1000
124. The Last Sentinel (2007, USA) – IMDB
125. Leap of Faith(2009, USA) – IMDB
126. Life Is Sweet (1990, UK) (Az elet oly edes) – IMDB, Top 1000
127. Limitless (2011, USA) (Csucshatas) – IMDB
128. The Long Good Friday (1980, UK) (Hosszu nagypentek) – IMDB, Top 1000
129. Looker(1981, USA) (Szupermodell) – IMDB
130. The Lost Future(2010, USA) – IMDB
131. Lost in La Mancha (2002, UK) (La Mancha elveszett lovagja) – IMDB, Top 1000
132. Love During Wartime(2010, Sweden) – IMDB
133. Ma Part Du Gateau (My Piece of the Pie ) (2011, France) – IMDB
134. Magyar Retro(2010, Hungary) – IMDB , blog
135. Mah-Jongg: The Tiles That Bind(1998, USA) – IMDB
136. Mamma Roma (1962, Italy) (Mamma Roma) – IMDB, Top 1000
137. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, USA) (Aki lelotte Liberty Valance-t) – IMDB, Top 1000
138. Maya(2010, USA) – IMDB
139. McCabe & Mrs Miller (1971, USA) (McCabe es Mrs. Miller) – IMDB, Top 1000
140. Meg Ker a Nep (Red Psalm) (1972, Hungary) – IMDB
141. Le Mepris (Contempt) (1963, France) (A megvetes) – IMDB, Top 1000
142. Metropia(2009, Sweden) – IMDB
143. Midnight in Paris (2011, USA) (Ejfelkor Parizsban) – IMDB
144. Miller’s Crossing (1990, USA) (A halal keresztutjan) – IMDB, Top 1000
145. Million Dollar Baby (2004, USA) (Millio dollaros bebi) – IMDB, Top 1000
146. Monsters (2010, UK) – IMDB
147. Morvern Callar (2002, UK) – IMDB, Top 1000
148. Mother and Child (2009, USA) – IMDB
149. My Darling Clementine (1946, USA) – IMDB, Top 1000
150. My So-Called Enemy(2010, USA) – IMDB
151. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009, USA) – IMDB
152. My Summer of Love (2004, UK) (Szerelmem nyara) – IMDB, Top 1000
153. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006, USA) (A szuper exnom) – IMDB
154. The Name My Mother Gave Me(2008, Israel) – IMDB
155. The Nativity Story (2006, USA) (A szuletes) – IMDB
156. Nausicaa Valley Of The Wind (1984, Japan) (Nauszika – A szel harcosai) – IMDB
157. New in Town (2009, USA) (Miert eppen Minnesota?) – IMDB
158. The New World (2005, USA) (Az uj vilag ) – IMDB
159. Nicky’s Family(2011, Czech Republic / Slovak Republic) (Nicky csaladja) – IMDB , blog
160. Night of the Comet (1984, USA) – IMDB
161. The Night of the Hunter (1955, USA) – IMDB, Top 1000
162. Los Olvidados (The Young and the Damned) (1950, Mexico) (Elhagyottak ) – IMDB, Top 1000
163. Once I Was (The Matchmaker)(2010, Israel) – IMDB
164. One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975, UK) (Elloptak a dinoszauruszt) – IMDB, Top 1000
165. Out of the Past (AKA Build My Gallows High) (1947, USA) – IMDB, Top 1000
166. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976, USA) (A törvenyenkivuli Josey Wales) – IMDB, Top 1000
167. Pal Adrienn(2010, Hungary) – IMDB
168. Pandorum (2009, UK) – IMDB
169. Papa (2005, France) – IMDB
170. Paradox(2010, Canada) – IMDB
171. Paul (2011, USA) – IMDB
172. Phasma Ex Machina(2010, USA) – IMDB
173. Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides (2011, USA) (A Karib-tenger kalozai: Ismeretlen vizeken) – IMDB
174. Potiche (2010, France) (Szuletett feleseg) – IMDB
175. Precious Life(2010, Israel) – IMDB
176. Predicament(2010, New Zealand) – IMDB
177. Priest (2011, USA) (A pap – Haboru a vampirok ellen ) – IMDB
178. Princess Mononoke (1997, Japan) (A vadon hercegnoje ) – IMDB
179. The Producers (1968, USA) (Producerek) – IMDB, Top 1000
180. La Rafle (The Roundup)(2010, France) – IMDB
181. Red(2010, USA) – IMDB
182. Red Faction Origins (2011, USA) – IMDB
183. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011, USA) (A majmok bolygoja: Lazadas) – IMDB
184. The Road(2009, USA) (Az ut) – IMDB
185. The Romantics (2010, USA) (Romantikus lelkek) – IMDB
186. Round Ireland with a Fridge(2010, UK) – IMDB
187. Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) (1953, France) (A felelem bere) – IMDB, Top 1000
188. The Scientist (2010, USA) (A tudos) – IMDB
189. Setup (2011, USA) – IMDB
190. Shank (2010, UK) – IMDB
191. Shrek Forever After (2010, USA) (Shrek a vege, fuss el vele) – IMDB , blog
192. Shtikat Haarchion (Film Unfinished)(2010, German) – IMDB
193. Simon Konianski(2009, France) – IMDB
194. Sinbad And The Minotaur (2010, Australia) (Szindbad es a Minotaurusz) – IMDB
195. Skate of Mind(2010, Israel) – IMDB
196. Skyline (2010, USA) – IMDB
197. Sleep Dealer(2008, Mexico) – IMDB
198. The Social Network (2010, USA) (A közössegi halo) – IMDB
199. Somebody’s Hero (2011, USA) – IMDB
200. Something Borrowed (2011, USA) (Szerelem kölcsönbe) – IMDB
201. Source Code (2011, USA) (Forraskod) – IMDB
202. Splice (2009, USA) (Hibrid) – IMDB
203. Split Second(1992, USA) (Orult Stone, avagy 2008 a patkany eve) – IMDB
204. Spooner (2009, USA) – IMDB
205. Spy Kids All the Time in the World in 4D (2011, USA) (Kemkölykök 4D: A vilag minden ideje) – IMDB
206. Stonehenge Apocalypse(2010, Canada) (Stonehenge apokalipszis) – IMDB
207. Suchimuboi (SteamBoy) (2004, Japan) (Gozfiu) – IMDB
208. Sucker Punch (2011, USA) (Álomhaboru ) – IMDB
209. Super 8 (2011, USA) – IMDB
210. The Switch (2010, USA) (Sejtcseres tamadas ) – IMDB
211. Tamara Drewe (2010, UK) – IMDB
212. Teacher Irena(2010, Israel) – IMDB
213. Team Building(2011, Hungary) – IMDB , blog
214. Technotise – Edit i ja(2009, Serbia) (Technotise – Edit es en) – IMDB
215. Testament(1983, USA) (Testamentum ) – IMDB
216. La Tete En Friche (My Afternoons with Margueritte) (2010, France) (Nem beszelek zöldsegeket!) – IMDB
217. That’s What I Am (2011, USA) – IMDB
218. These Are My Names(2010, Israel) – IMDB
219. Thor (2011, USA) – IMDB
220. Tomorrow When The War Began (2010, Australia) – IMDB
221. The Tourist (2010, USA) (A turista ) – IMDB
222. The Town(2010, USA) (Tolvajok varosa) – IMDB
223. Transformers Dark Of The Moon (2011, USA) (Transformers 3.) – IMDB
224. The Trip (2010, UK) – IMDB
225. The Trotsky (2009, Canada) – IMDB
226. Tulpan (2008, Russia) (Tulpan ) – IMDB
227. Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (M Hulot’s Holiday) (1953, France) (Hulot ur nyaral) – IMDB, Top 1000
228. The Visitor (2007, USA) (A latogato) – IMDB
229. The Warriors Way (2010, New Zealand) – IMDB , blog
230. The Way Up(2009, Israel) – IMDB
231. Westworld (1973, USA) (Feltamad a vadnyugat) – IMDB , blog
232. When the Wind Blows(1986, UK) – IMDB
233. The Wild Angels (1966, USA) – IMDB, Top 1000
234. Wild Target (2010, UK) – IMDB
235. William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe(2009, USA) – IMDB
236. Win Win (2011, USA) – IMDB
237. Wonderful Days (Sky Blue)(2003, South Korea) – IMDB , blog
238. The World, The Flesh And The Devil(1959, USA) – IMDB
239. X-men: First Class (2011, USA) (X-Men: Az elsok) – IMDB
240. The Yankles(2009, USA) – IMDB
241. Z for Zachariah(1984, UK) – IMDB
242. Zerophilia (2005, USA) – IMDB
243. Zohi Sdom (This is Sodom)(2010, Israel) – IMDB

The show as scheduled to start at 10 PM, so we told our baby-sitter, a family member, that we’d be home by midnight. We were dutifully at “Christy’s on the Square“, a downtown bar exactly at 10 PM. We asked at the door when will the show start and was told right away. So we went, in had two mojitos (one virgin for the dedicated driver and one not-so-virgin) and were ready for the show.  When 20 minutes later a woman with a guitar, whose name I didn’t catch, started to play I got concerned. I knew that a guy was supposed to be the support band, so when I noticed the gender of the pre-support band, I realized it would be a long night.  Her name was Ash Thursday, as I later learned from the event’s Facebook page, and played about 20 minutes.

After a short break Dominic East played a half an hour set or so. I never heard of him or the band he seemed to be famous for: Rogue Wave. His songs all seemed to have been twisted love songs, were funny and his style was engaging, but by this time I was too worried about when David J would start. Plus Dominic looked like an overgrown toddler, which made it difficult to consider him seriously. Here is the only song I captured from his set:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYmxLmNMx48

Finally, around 11.40 David J came on stage. Based on the stage setup I immediately realized that it would be a less theatrical show, than the one I attended 2 years ago. Still, his songs can stand on their own, I thought. Right before his set started we positioned ourselves at the edge of the stage, also known as on bar stools. That explains the weird angle of the vidoes I shot, including the very first song’s: ”Crocodile Tears and the Velvet Cosh“.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8W09X_FTYA

For the next song he invited onstage McKenna Frazer, the daughter of a friend of his. As you can hear he also told the story of their collaboration on  ”I’ll Be Your Chauffeur“.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaFuiGhGxec

The third song, “Hot Sheet Hotel“ started right before midnight, by when I was very anxious and conscious of the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDUQql7Rmd4

When it was over we decided to stay for one more song, “Dog-End of a Day Gone“, even though we felt we might be in big trouble with our sitters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W2k6E-D5e0

After this we rushed home. we learned our lesson and next time we’d only go out for a  late night show, if we have the baby for a sleepover somewhere. Despite the circumstances and the evening cut short we had a good time.

Sexepilt azért nem nagyon lehet hallani a rádiókban manapság sem…

Nem játszanak, de ha belegondolsz, az a furcsa, hogy még Európa Kiadót se játszanak, pedig az még most is simán elmenne a Petofi Rádióban, hiszen rádióbarát, kifejezetten slágeres dalokról beszélünk, amik úgy túlélték a nyolcvanas éveket, mint a pinty. Vagy a világ nem változott, vagy ?k, vagy egyik sem. Most a Sexepil miatt elolvastam a régi szövegeket, és ugyanez a szomorú érzés kerített a hatalmába, hogy lehet, hogy baj van, ha ezek még mindig aktuálisak.

 Nemelyik szoveg nem “meg mindig” hanem mar megint aktualis sajnos. Persze a szerelmes dalok azok mindig azok.

Ez itt a legdurvább vadkapitalizmus, amirol akkor azt hittük, hogy ez egy marxista hadova, de nem: ahonnét “el lehet menni”, ahol nincs munka, ahol kamatrabszolgák mennek lesütött szemmel a fal mellett, ez Dickens, meg Móricz és Móra. És most nem is csak Magyarországról beszélek. Azt természetesen sose gondoltam, hogy majd nyithatok cukrászdát Bécsben, de hogy ennyire kilátástalan lesz a helyzet, minden szolidaritás és szeretet nélkül, azt nem hittem volna. Ez a teljes szabadjára eresztés, ez pont az ellenkezoje annak a szarnak, ami a Kádár-rendszer volt.

Ebben sajnos igaza van. Oldal-fuggetlenul.

Disszidálni nem akartatok?

Hú, hát én többször is nekivágtam, már a Sexepil el?tt is megpróbáltam. Mindig megpályáztam a kék színu útlevelet, ami nélkül nemhogy nyugatra, de még Jugoszláviába sem juthattam ki, de mindannyiszor azt írták vissza, hogy “kiutazása közérdeket sért”. Azt hitték, nagyon kibasznak velem, pedig helyette az történt, hogy remekül megismertem Lengyelországot: állva elmentem vonattal Krakkóig, majd stoppal bejártuk az egész országot. Ráadásul pont akkor voltam Gdanskban, amikor a Solidarnosc kibontotta a zászlót a Lenin hajógyárban 1980 augusztusában, szóval csak még több muníciót kaptam a rendszerellenességbol.

En ’81 takejan (azaz 13 evesen) kaptam egy elutasitast hasonlo indokkal. Szoval latom, hogy nem olyan ritkan hasznalta a rendszert ezt a roghoz-koto fegyvert.

Ha meghal egy ismerosöd, akkor kitörlöd a telefonodból?

Soha. Itt van benne a Dönci, a Gasner, a Cseh Tamás, mindenki.

Erre nem is gondoltam, hogy a mobilon (is) tovabb el a halott ismerosok emleke. (Mivel nem nem vagyok nagy mobilozo.) Reszpekt.

Ha összehasonlítasz egy 1992-es, VOLT magazinban megjelent írásomat egy mostani, Magyar Nemzetben megjelent cikkemmel, akkor olyan nagy különbséget nem fogsz látni, maximum az utóbbiban már nincs három “bazmeg”. De ha megnézed az MNO-n a Hegyibeszéd cím? blogomat, azon még olyat is láthatsz. Ugyanazokból a képekb?l állnak az írásaim, mint annak idején. És különben is jobbak az arányok úgy, hogy én is írok egy olyan újságba, ami polgári napilapként definiálja magát.

Beleolvastam a a blogba es tenyleg jol ir, valamint a legtobb irasanak tartalmaval egyet is tudok erteni. Csak azt tartom tevedesnek,  hogy a (mostani) Magyar Nemzet egy “polgari” napilap. A politikai cikekk szovegvilaga kifejezetten uszito mar evek ota. Az en szememben az nem egy polgari ertek.

Más lett volna a magyar popzene, ha nincs Erdos Péter?

[...] ha nincs az Erdos, akkor kit küldünk mi el a picsába? Nyilván valami bankár vagy lemezipari tet? lett volna az, itt meg egy komcsi funkci lett az. Az igazi rockandrollban valakit el kell küldeni az anyjába, nem?

Egyreszt igen, a rakenroll egy lazadas. Masreszt a bankart mas ideologia (“a penz mindenek felett”) mozgat, mint egy komcsi funkcionarust (“az eszme mindenek felett”.) Ugyanakkor a hasonlo is a ket mozgato rugo: a hatalomvagy.

Olvasd el az egesz interjut.