Carmina and the Vonage Commercial

*So many commercials and movies today are using Carl Orff's music 'Carmina Burana' these days, that one would assume it's modern. It isn't. According to Wikipedia: "Carmina Burana..., Latin for 'Songs from Beuern' ..., is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written almost entirely in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces of Old French or Provençal. Carl Orff 1895-1982
Many are macaronic, a mixture of Latin and German or French vernacular...Between 1935 and 1936, German composer Carl Orff set 24 of the poems to new music, also called Carmina Burana." --- From my study of other sources, I know this to be correct. This music, complete with eerie voices, is what has been used in numerous commercials and movies where they want a grand or eerily majestic aura around their words. Selections from the Carmina Burana include: O FORTUNA [Oh Fortune]; FORTUNAE PLANGO VULNERA [I Mourn the Blows of Fortune]; VERIS LAETA FACIES [A Spring Song]; and OMNIA SOL TEMPERATA [the Sun Pure and Gentle]; among others. Enjoy!

*I must be losing my hearing. The other day, in watching a commercial on TV, I thought I heard "Hi! I'm a T-Mobile Orgy!" After several times watching the commercial, I realized that the statement was "Hi! I'm a T-Mobile 4G." I always thought my hearing was pretty good until a few years ago when I heard a commercial with music "...I believe in mail call..." Later I found out it was "I believe in miracles." Modern musicians and advertisers pick lousy spokesmen. They elide too much, and they mispronounce words all over the place. And this is progress?

*Speaking of ads. I saw one hilarious effort from France about Perrier. It shows a pair of woman's hands caressing a small bottle of Perrier. While she continues this, the bottle morphs into a liter bottle. There's more, but not for this blog. You have to see it for yourself. It's on You Tube, just check for French Perrier commercials and watch Culture Pub's Best Water Commercials. It's at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWqtWRL5Hm8&feature=fvst

*And finally, I sent an email to Vonage [which didn't get an answer] about one of it's new commercials. I told Vonage that 'Sucker Shmala' may be a good Indian or Pakistani name to show their World-Wide diversity, but it wasn't a good idea in the states for a commercial. It makes you think of 'small sucker', not a confidence inspiring moniker. Well, as I said, Vonage didn't answer me or hire me to write Vonage commercials, but the commercial noted in my email was taken off the tube and replaced with one with a less International flavor in the names. I wonder how many heads rolled due to my simple email?

*Is it just me, or does Paul McCartney look like an old woman? I mean I liked the Beatles when I was growing up, and the four of them looked okay back in the '60s. But he seems now to be an aging granny. Sad to see. I wonder if great wealth and renown make you look like that?

*It's a sign of aging when I see a film I never heard of, with a cast of people unknown to me, and cameos of people I never heard of. And the movie was absolutely terrible, yet it was given so great build-up by the station that you'd think it was an Oscar winner.

*Back on May 22 [the day after the end of the World], Baseball Hall of Famer Gary Carter announced that his MRI a day or two previously indicated three brain tumors. He'll have another [MRI] later this week. I sympathize with Gary and wish him well. Let's hope they're benign and non-growing. He then stated that he wanted privacy while he determined the extent of the tumors with his doctors and family. Well, if he wants privacy, why did he make the announcement? It's not like the ferreting press was going to find out about it soon. He's long retired, and he wasn't a superstar. Privacy means you keep your trap shut. He could have done that. Consequently, I don't think he wants privacy. He wants the World to know and sympathize with him.

The Atlas Coffee and Bean Company's Untold True Story

*Opening soon is the movie 'Atlas Shrugged Part I' from the novel of Ayn Rand. I probably won't get to see it in a theater, but I look hopefully to an early television/cable showing. The story is just as pertinent now as it was in 1952 when the book was published. The book itself is rather lengthy, so the producers expect to make three parts of the movie story. Although I believe much of the objectivism of Ayn Rand, I don't agree with her religious views. She's an atheist. And I can't understand people who take the atheistic view of life. It's so sad and dreary. And it offers no real hope for anything. Might as well be a rock on the ground.

*A Vonage commercial includes a, supposedly, real customer to spout praises for its Internet phone service. But do you think identifying these people is a good idea? The first one says his name is Sucker Shmalla. That's probably a fine Indian name, but proudly declaring you are Sucker [and a small one at that] doesn't do Mr Shmalla or Vonage much good, does it? Don't the advertisers check these things out before using them?

*Why it's not a good idea for judges to become humorously creative. -- "A lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defense: 'My client merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few trifling articles. His arm is not himself, and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed by his limb.' 'Well put,' the judge replied. 'Using your logic, I sentence the defendant's arm to one year's imprisonment. He can accompany it or not, as he chooses.' The defendant smiled. With his lawyer's assistance he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out." [GetAmused.com] -- Usually it's the criminal who acts stupidly, isn't it?

*More from GetAmused.com - "Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun, but unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. --- In Redondo Beach, Calif., a police officer arrested a driver after a short chase and charged him with drunk driving. Officer Joseph Fonteno's suspicions were aroused when he saw the white Mazda MX-7 rolling down Pacific Coast Highway with half of a traffic-light pole, including the lights, lying across its hood. The driver had hit the pole on a median strip and simply kept driving. According to Fonteno, when the driver was asked about the pole, he said, 'It came with the car when I bought it.'" --- You can tell what I was reading this afternoon.

*A Lyrica ad has a women declaring that she just found out that we have nerves connecting with the brain and sending pain signals. Huh? Doesn't every first grader know that? Just how dumb do these advertisers think the average American is? I'd fire that ad firm post haste if I was Lyrica.

*it just occurred to me. Questions and answers on 'Family Feud' are supposedly based on 'nationwide surveys.' Any of you souls out there ever participated in these surveys? I know I haven't. I don't know anyone who has. So, I wonder whether they ever occurred. Or were they made up?

*Speaking of coffee [we were?], 90% of coffee around older Western movies and television shows seems to spontaneously generate on the set. We rarely see anyone making it. But it always seems to be there. Another thing, while we're at it. Dry beans require at least a day soaking in water before being cooked. Of course, you can also pre-boil them to get them tender, but even that takes three or four hours. I can almost see that happening with a chuck wagon cook, but not the cowboy on the trail. There are always beans available to have with his meat and bread. Bread? Another anomaly.

*'The Conspirator' in the movies is said to be based on an untold true story. Eh? The Civil War has been over 146 years, and no one ever heard the story? Sorry, I don't buy it. Nobody can keep a secret for 146 years only to reveal it in 2011 for a movie. Many people can't keep a secret for more than an hour without spilling the beans. This 'untold true story' had to have been related in a bar scene some place, at some time. Many bartenders have some very tricky secrets under their vests. We find out about them after bartenders' conventions.

*Why do so many people in the movies give up so quickly when they have a gun pulled on them, especially by a known killer? I recognize the unpreventable panic, but in most cases they're going to be killed anyway; so why not give it a last try to forestall it? Another happening in the movies is the chase. Whether it's a monster, an animal, or the bad guys, the chasee always runs in a straight line. Why? Usually, there're woods or houses or somethings to the left or right. He/She can go there. This is especially advisable when being chased by someone in a plane or car. Why get run down. Now I know that Cary Grant had to go in a straight line. There was nowhere else to go on the flat and bare area surrounding him---though in his case, I would have run toward the plane. [But then it wouldn't be cinematic history, n'est pas?]

But if you zig and zag and go at right angles, it seems to me that you'd have a better chance of survival. And for crying out loud, don't stop and look behind you. You know there's someone[s] chasing you. Turning around just lets them close the gap some more.

So, run like hell, don't keep looking behind you, and run into the woods if necessary. In keeping with W C Fields, don't give the sucker [pursuer] an even break.