Fall for Fun!

Last September, I wrote about events to anticipate during the fall season. Many of last year's favorites return in the next four weeks. What a month of anticipation and enjoyment!

It could be the best reason to own a television! Pushing Daisies is finally returning to the air on October 1st at 8 pm on ABC. There simply is no other show like it. Ned the pie maker, his true love (at a distance) and his unrequited love (named Olive Snook!) will be back in brilliantly colored high definition before you know it. Season two has a lot in store for us. Olive (pictured) becomes a singing nun, Chuck creates quite a buzz as an undercover 'bee girl,' and you'll dim sum and lose some! Personally, I can't wait!

Pushing Daisies is so cleverly written that you can't just watch it once. Recording the show is essential to catch every nuance of their brilliant writing and visual puns. Instructions: Repeat often and enjoy more and more! Each episode is a gem in itself. For die-hard fans, this fall's treat is doubled. All the episodes of Pushing Daisies' first season, including last year's amazing Halloween episode, are scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 16th on DVD and hi-def Blu-ray disc.

September will also be filled with music thanks to WLIW Productions on Long Island. Look for two of their presentations on your local PBS stations:

Carole King will welcome you into her living room starting Sunday, September 6th with an hour-long concert embracing her most famous signature songs along with her catalog of American standards that have proved successful for so many others. Her smiles alone will make this evening special.

Only a day later, Cape Breton's most famous lassie, Natalie MacMaster, will dance the night away fiddling a full round of new jigs and reels. Natalie will share the stage with several members of her talented family along with banjo legend Bela Fleck. Hayley Westenra adds her vocals to a memorable and haunting version of Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now.' What a weekend this will be! Look for Natalie starting Sunday, September 7th on PBS.

This autumn will be exciting on the big screen, as well. The highly-anticipated movie version of Jeanne Duprau's City of Ember is scheduled for release on October 10th. When the lights go out, Lina and Doon will be seeking clues to save the city in a big, big way! Stephenie Meyer's best-selling first novel, Twilight, will debut as a movie on November 21st just in time for Thanksgiving. Girl loves vampire. Love and blood...or is that love of blood? It should be a wild ride, we all agree!

Girls Like Carole, Joni and Carly

On a hot summer day in August of 1973, Carole King performed before tens of thousands of people in the middle of New York City's Central Park. The concert began at 7 pm, but the crowd began to gather hours and hours beforehand. I joined a bunch of friends from my high school to queue for most excellent viewing at about noon. We staked out a choice spot right in front of center stage. A better time you couldn't create if you tried!

Seven hours is a long time. We were lucky enough to watch sound check, at about 1 pm, consisting of a few fragments of Carole's songs performed to a near-empty lawn. We had a chance meeting with one of our very favorite high school teachers Alice Gold. My good friend Doug and I also had a casual conversation with an intriguing long-faced blonde woman who had something to do with the concert. Chatting near the performance stage, with a police department sawhorse between us, we talked about music, about the crowd and about life in general. It was interesting but seemingly insignificant. We didn't think much about our encounter at all.

Carole played a long show including nearly every song from her classic album Tapestry. As the day turned to dusk, Carole's performance shot electricity into New York City. Standing in the middle of a huge meadow, with 60,000 other fellow fans, the feeling was remarkable. New York's music lovers were celebrating in unison!

The show ended at about 9:30 pm and we picked up our blankets and headed home via the subway. It occurred to us that, if we made it home on time, we could watch coverage of the concert on the 11 o'clock TV news. I arrived home a few minutes before 11 and turned on the set. The Carole King story was the big item of the night and detailed coverage was everywhere. We saw footage of Carole performing, people in the audience, and (holy cow,) the blonde woman we talked to during the afternoon. It was Joni Mitchell!

Fast forward 35 years! As if a Freedom of Information Act request had been fulfilled, author Sheila Weller has now revealed everything you ever wanted to know about Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, James Taylor, David Crosby and the entire neighborhood of singer-songwriters of this genre. Her book, Girls Like Us, feels like a miraculous detailed dream of full-access to the longest rock tour of your life. You are surrounded by all the talent you could ever find in the 60s and 70s. Better still, you know everything about them: their lovers, their passions, their emotions and their struggles with artistic competition. This is an amazing book.

Ms. Weller would make an exceptional private investigator. Her book is filled with meticulous and inquisitive research leaving no stone unturned. She interviewed every personality, every friend and acquaintance and every passerby. She painted her story with the detail of a Where's Waldo? portrait. Not a soul was missed! Everyone is there and the stories are addictive. This is not a casual showbiz biography or the mere tale of three women who defined the music of their age. It is snapshot of an entire era perfectly capturing how life felt before, during and after the Summer of Love.

Sheila really knows how to tell a story. Open her book and begin a 600 page real-life mystery. New revelations abound! (Her vocabulary alone is inspiring.) Curious about Carly's romantic fling in France? Joni's days as a budding fashion model? Carole's teenage days at the Brill Building? It's all here! This book is more fun than a carnival ride that never ends. Trust me! I often felt like a little kid crying "Tell me more! Tell me more!" How I wish every book was like this.

Completely involved in this masterwork, I ordered a copy of Carole King's recently released Tapestry- Legacy Edition two CD set. One disc is her classic album now with full digital clarity. The bonus disc contains the entire album (except for Way Over Yonder) recorded live at concerts in 1973 and 1976 including the Central Park happening. Listening to this live CD brought me full-circle. I had stepped back in time more aware than I could ever imagine. 37 years later, Tapestry is still fresh and delightful.

Sheila Weller leaves no hanging threads! Her coverage of the lives of Carly, Carole and Joni continues to present day. Girls Like Us is only the start. For those who want to travel further, Sheila shares her journal detailing the creation of each chapter and provides an endless bibliography for your use. This book is entertaining, a great source of reference and a keeper. Pick up a copy before it's too late!

Bush Tree !

Just east of downtown Port Austin, Michigan, along the north side of Pointe Aux Barques Road, there is a miracle to behold. It's not just a bush. It's not just a tree. On first examination, there appears to be only one trunk! Somehow the bush and tree are one! It's the bush tree - Port Austin's most amazing natural wonder - now captured in exclusive pictures for Write or Karl Me! How did it come to be? The mystery may never be solved!

His Last Lecture

Randy Pausch died yesterday. At 47 years old, he is survived by his wife, Jai, and their three children.

His passing brings sadness but it was not unexpected. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago. A well-known professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, he became renowned for his developmental work in the world of computer graphics. Pausch did not resign from his life after learning his fate. His predicament inspired him to write and present a last lecture encouraging others to achieve their childhood dreams. Randy lived to see his.

Pausch preached a mantra focusing on the importance of family, mentoring and creating a thoughtful legacy for oneself. In his words: "We can not change the cards we a dealt, only the way we play our hand." At face value, his talk pivoted on what many of us consider common sense peppered with his undying joie de vivre. His Last Lecture gained its popularity from the way it was delivered, not necessarily due to its novel content.

The Last Lecture was recorded for posterity as Randy's goodbye to the world. He simply wanted to create a vehicle to be remembered by for his family, friends and associates. The nearly two hour recording was posted on You Tube and became a phenomenon. His edgy assertive style and die-hard positive attitude quickly gained fame by word-of-mouth and media spin.

For a few months, Randy seemed blessed. His medical condition improved. He was invited to reprise his lecture across the country. The lecture was transcribed into a best-seller book. Now his flame has gone out but his love of life lives on.

We would all be blessed if our work, thoughts and beliefs were so universally received as Randy's. He was granted his last wish. If you are looking for new drive and direction in your life, The Last Lecture is a good place to find it. Spend two hours reading Randy's thoughts or watch him in action. You will be glad you did and that is exactly what he had in mind.

Mamma Mia!

Have you ever been to a party where nearly everyone is in on a private joke and you just don't get it? Now, through the miracle of modern cinema, this very uncomfortable feeling has been captured in 108 minutes of on-screen horror. It's called Mamma Mia! which is the probable reaction of every viewer who does not possess the required amount of estrogen necessary to embrace this mess within its designed framework. What were they thinking?

Mamma Mia! is based on a song which became the basis of a long-running Broadway musical. Now it's a screenplay! Its foundation is the remarkable catalog of music written and performed by ABBA, one of the most successful pop music groups of all time. Somehow this sure-fire train of success has become hopelessly derailed. A generic storyline of young people in love, combined with many beauty shots of romantic Grecian islands, kept the uninitiated viewers (like myself) occupied for the first two or three reels. Visual and aural pain followed!

The casting defies logic. Mamma Mia! is jam-packed with ABBA tunes at every appropriate (and inappropriate) moment. Yet, none of the main players can competently carry a tune. At least, to the audience I sat with, this deficiency was completely acceptable. It doesn't matter that she can't sing! That's Meryl Streep up there as the promiscuous mother of the bride-to-be! (Oh, brother!)

I completely confirmed this theory at the very end of the film. After 45 minutes of thinking to myself 'Please make it stop!' the entire ensemble appears on screen, decked out in disco attire, for a finale to accompany the credits. The song finally ends. The credits end but the movie doesn't. Meryl comes out of character, into a close-lens shot, and asks the audience 'Do you want another one? Huh?' More credits followed with more tuneless singing and new over-the-top costumes. This produced a final high-five between the movie and its assumed endearing audience.

The marketing geniuses at Universal should have subtitled this flick Postcards From The Edge II - The Greek Love-Child Wedding. ABBA's music was misused as an awkward vehicle for all the miscast stars. This is the Hollywood equivalent of an often-used vacation time strategy: Put ketchup on it. It will taste better. Meryl Streep, and her leading man Pierce Brosnan, should be turning red! Superstars or not, this movie is simply inedible.

Please keep in mind that I am not a subscriber to this gag so my kvetching maybe irrelevant to your potential enjoyment of this movie. Mamma Mia! has earned record-breaking box office numbers since its release propelled by the charms of its cast alone. Rest assured: It's not the plot. It's not the performances. Mamma Mia! indeed!

Cans, Bottles, Tires and Bolts

Do you need to open a paint can, open a bottle or remove a bicycle tire? Have I got a tool for you! It's a cleverly designed lightweight paint can opener that is incredibly useful. Take a look at the picture. I received mine free when I bought a pint of white paint at Hein's Hardware in Port Austin, Michigan. They can be purchased for less than a dollar. The rounded end has pressed edges that open bottles easily. At the other end, the curved edge pries up paint can lids quickly and effortlessly. I also use it to persuade bicycle tires off their rims! It's about five inches long and should be in everyone's tool box. A great find!

One challenge I had this summer: Replacing old toilet seats. This is a job that is pure misery by design. Older seats used metal bolts to hold the seat to the ceramic bowl base. What do you do when the thread of the bolt is hopelessly corroded and the nylon nut will not be moved? Get out your old soldering iron! Maybe I was completely frustrated, but I got results fast! I applied the tip of an old high-heat soldering iron and melted the nylon bolts into a couple of places. A little bit of persuasion with a gas plier broke the plastic nut off in no time. How thankful I am that new seats are supplied with nylon bolts and nuts! One manufacturer, Bemis, now offers a nifty quick remove and replace system allowing you to change seats, without ever bothering with a bolt again, in less than a minute.

Hot Coco

Colbie Caillat is not your average valley girl. OK, she did work as a receptionist in a tanning salon and she was no stranger to Malibu surf, but Colbie was not going to limit herself to the boundaries of Thousand Oaks, California. She knew the world had more to offer and she wanted to explore it. At 19 years old, Colbie began to write songs and learned to play guitar. She was really good at it.

Her Dad is a renowned recording engineer and record producer and an inspiring coach. As Colbie learned the basics, she got a chance to do some demo work for some of her Dad's clients. She also took voice lessons from Michelle Mindel and auditioned her compositions to her friends. With a little experience and refinement, it all started to make sense. Maybe Colbie really could make a living with her music.

It was time to switch gears. Instead of recording other people's songs, she started to record her own material. In between takes for demos, Colbie would casually sing her own tunes. A couple of times recording engineer Mikal Blue, on the other side of the glass, rolled on Colbie's warm-ups and an informal demo reel of her own was formed. Her Dad heard some of these takes and was taken! She really had a lot of potential!

Word of mouth can be a wonderful thing. Colbie's friends also loved her songs and helped her post them on-line. Her quiet MySpace Music site, www.myspace.com/colbiecaillat, began to attract a lot of attention. First, dozens of people dropped by every day, then hundreds and then thousands. Do you think people like her music? The last time I looked, Colbie was approaching 30 million total hits! Her first CD, entitled 'Coco' will soon reach double platinum in sales. In her words 'it's a diary of my life and all my emotions put to music.' It's also really sweet listening.

Two songs already are memorable radio standards. Colbie's playful 'Bubbly' is a delightful expression of new love. If you realized how 'Realize' was written, you'd have to laugh. Colbie had the basic riff and needed to build up the song. She handed it over to her friend who actually wrote the core of the lyrics. Colbie did not realize until later that the song was addressed to her! I especially enjoy the syncopated groove of 'Feelings Show.' You are bound to find your own favorite. Colbie offers refreshing diversity in her fresh well recorded debut. 'Coco' has been high on the charts since it was first released a year ago. Her fame is deserved. You simply can't miss.

Not only is it a big seller, 'Coco' is also very important from another aspect. Colbie's CD reaffirms that the traditional music industry, ruled by large media corporations, no longer has a monopoly on America's music. Thanks to the open public access of the Internet, Colbie truly is a star created by her peers. We have been waiting for this liberating revolution for decades. Finally, new acts have a chance to emerge based on quality instead of promotion dollars.

Colbie has a busy year or two ahead. She'll be touring America this summer opening for John Mayer and also performing as a solo act. In September, she'll earn more frequent flyer miles visiting many cities in Europe followed by a four gig tour in Japan. In the studio, Taylor Swift is teaming up with Colbie to write and perform a song on Taylor's new album. Colbie is also readying her own second CD for release in the summer of 2009.

Can't wait? Check out Colbie's pure fun cover and video of the Little Mermaid classic 'Kiss the Girl' recently released by Disney. Colbie has also leaked a couple of versions of a fresh song called 'Droplets' to be released as part of her new CD next summer. It's a duet with her songwriting pal Jason Reeves that is so genuine it's bound to be embraced. You'll also hear Colbie on the best-selling Christmas song of 2007 called 'Mistletoe' available digitally on-line. Listen carefully to Jason Mraz' third album 'We Sing, We Laugh, We Steal Things' and you'll hear a familiar voice on track three called 'Lucky.' I'll know what I'll say when 'Coco II' is ready for pre-orders: "Will you count me in?'