« July 2009 | Main | September 2009 »
August 31, 2009
Eat The Rich!
Here's a new song called "Eat The Rich!," which is not to be confused with the Aerosmith song of the same name. In fact, I waited until I finished writing before checking out the Aerosmith version to see if there were any similarities, and I think I'm OK. There's also a Motorhead song by this name, but I could only get through one minute of the video. My song is about excessive corporate greed. Here the link: (It's the last song when you scroll down, #9) http://www.myspace.com/danmargaritamusic
Posted by dmargarita at 12:12 PM
August 25, 2009
Y Not?
Congratulations go out to Caster Semenya of South Africa, who won the gold medal in the women’s 800-meter race at the World Athletics Championship. The only thing she apparently needs to do now, is prove that she’s a woman.
According to several media outlets, there has been murmuring that her deep voice, muscular build and astonishing records are due to the fact that she is actually a man.
Is this poor sportsmanship, racism or sexism? Probably a bit of all three, but elite athletes have certainly been questioned about their true gender before. People of a certain age will remember the snickering over the “female” athletes of the former Eastern Bloc, whose masculinity made them appear more imposing than the famed “Steel Curtain” defense of the great Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970’s.
Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall did we officially learn that these poor creatures (I can only describe them that way) were, unbeknownst to them, given steroids, which caused those masculine appearances and later, major health issues. They wouldn’t have looked out of place with bolts on their necks.
Some pre-steroid era attempts were made to just plain cheat in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Polish sprinter Stella Walsh, dubbed “Stella the Fella” at the time, was discovered upon her autopsy, to possess male genitalia. That is, she was a man, not some bizarre collector of male genitalia.
The Nazi’s, eager to prove the superiority of the Third Reich, entered a high jumper named Dora Ratjen, who later turned out to be a man named Hermann. I guess you could say she was “Dora the Gender Explorer.”
At least Dora/Hermann gave up the ruse after the Olympics, while spent Stella kept up the masquerade until her death. Whether that was simply a lifestyle choice or a reluctance to admit that he’d competed against women in the Olympics, is unknown.
It didn’t work anyway, as Dora/Hermann finished fourth, meaning that he probably had to endure taunting from his friends for being beaten by three girls.
“’I thought something was a bit funny,’ recalled one athlete, ‘because she had a deep voice and snored in her sleep. What's more, she also had to shave her face,’” quotes the British newspaper the Daily Mail.
This does not appear to have been the case with Semenya, as medical science is now aware of medical conditions in which gender identity is not so clear-cut. Oh, the things you can find out on the Internet.
The Mail also rhetorically mused, “Surely, one would think, determining one's sex is as simple as removing one's underwear and taking a look.”
Apparently not. Maybe one should look at the underwear itself to find out. Is it a jock strap or a jogging bra?
Another UK paper, The Guardian (The Brits seem much more up on the kinky stuff then us Yanks), one in 15,000 people born have a condition where they are born with male XY chromosomes instead of female XX chromosomes, but due to a protein mutation, appear as female. This means that next time you’re at a ballgame at Fenway Park, there will be two people there who might seem like attractive women, but are actually dudes.
“They would look and behave like a girl," Birmingham University Professor Wiebke Arlt told the Guardian, specifically referring to people with this condition, and not women at Fenway Park.
"Many models and film stars have this disorder. They are very tall and slender featured, very beautiful with peachy skin,” he added.
And you thought it was all plastic surgery.
Conversely, the opposite can be true and a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia may cause one to “look on the outside like a boy," says Arlt, "but once a month they may have blood in their urine.”
The teenage years are tough enough for anyone to deal with, never mind finding out that you’re not the gender you thought you were.
Traditionally, children born with duel sex characteristics have been known derisively as “hermaphrodites.” With modern medicine making the public aware that this is a natural, albeit unfortunate and rare condition, they are now referred to more compassionately as being “intersex.”
Fortunately, we live in an age when many of these issues can be discovered early and corrected.
When the next Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue comes out, I will certainly look at it with a jaundiced eye…but I will look at it.
Posted by dmargarita at 12:47 PM
August 24, 2009
Download Me!
Hey Gang,
As subscribers to this website you get to be the first hear cuts from my forthcoming CD "Kill The Messenger." With some help from some friends, I now have a myspace music page which contains eight tracks from KTM, all of which you can download for free! Among the tracks are the studio version of "Jenny's New Number: 555-5309" and "Stitches & Nudity," for which videos can be found on Youtube. The CD should be available in 2-3 weeks, and instructions on how to purchase the whole CD (hey, I gotta make some money back) will be announced. So listen and (I hope) enjoy.
Thanks,
Dan
OOPS!!!...I forgot to include the link!
http://www.myspace.com/danmargaritamusic
Posted by dmargarita at 10:09 AM
August 15, 2009
Discount Variety Show
Hey Gang,
Just a reminder that I’ll be performing a show this coming Thursday night at the CinemaSalem Café in Salem (surprise), Mass. At 8:00. I’ll be performing songs from my forthcoming CD “Kill The Messenger." I’ll paste the info and a link to my video below,
Thanks,
Dan
Discount Variety
Thursday, August 20
CinemaSalem Cafe
One East India Square
Salem, Ma
8PM - 10PM
Admission: $5
Dan Margarita: After a career in stand-up comedy, working at clubs and colleges across the nation with such noted comedians as Judy Tenuta, Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle and Barry Crimmins, Dan Margarita has turned his focus to music. His forthcoming CD Kill The Messenger, contains songs with humor, personal loss and social commentary.
Josh Gondelman: An unabashed dork, Josh Gondelman consistently earns the right to hang out with the cool kids by making them laugh until they snort milk out their noses. Josh blends a sharp and quirky sense of humor with a genuine good nature, the result of which is a hilarious and accessible blend of “some holds barred” comedy. Josh is the comedian that your grandmother would love, even if she didn’t get the jokes. Josh just finished his degree in English and Creative Writing at Brandeis University, and he performs standup, sketch, and improv comedy at clubs, colleges, and theaters all over the country. Josh Gondelman. He can talk smart without sounding smarmy. He can talk family without sounding familiar. And he can talk sex without being sexy. Wait. Scratch that last one. He’s very sexy. Just don’t tell grandma.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPTgrEUpU
Posted by dmargarita at 3:55 PM
August 11, 2009
Macca Gets Back-a!
Paul McCartney maybe a grandfather (and possibly a great-grandfather, for all I know), but he can still rock & roll.
The hassle of the MBTA’s Green Line didn’t deter me from grabbing a last minute ticket to see the former Beatle at Boston’s Fenway Park this evening. Hell, these days if I get to my destination alive via the Green Line, that qualifies as a success.
I’m guessing that my grousing about the service, or lack thereof, at the MBTA Lechmere stop on the Green Line probably had nothing to do with agency head Dan Grabauskas resigning the next day. However, it may have been my grousing about the two-car trains going only as far as Park Street Station on the way back that did it. Then again, it was more likely the deaths, injuries and millions of dollars in damage caused by incompetent or negligent train drivers that forced him to resign.
I wasn’t planning on going to McCartney’s first show but after hearing that tickets were still available, I went online and grabbed the cheapest ticket possible.
Normally a right field roof box seat might not be the most desirable for a concert at Fenway, but after a 91 degree, humid and sweltering day, the breezes this locale provided made it better than the more expensive seats.
When the Beatles famously played Shea Stadium in 1965, not only could the fans seated in the stands (and not on the field like Fenway) barely see the Beatles but also couldn’t hear them over their own screams. For that matter, the Beatles, playing a stadium before stadium sound system technology was invented, couldn’t even hear themselves. Fortunately for me that problem has been overcome and the booming sound and large screens made my distant vantage point irrelevant.
McCartney had all the veteran rock star points down pat, clearly doing his homework in making the proper references.
“Is that the Green Monster?” and then “Is that Ted’s red seat?” he inquired, along with other frequent mentions of Fenway and the Red Sox.
He came on promptly at 8:00 p.m. and played a solid two-and-a-half hour set, which included two or three encores, peppering the show with songs from his vast Beatles and solo career. The Liverpudlian also threw in some new songs, a couple of which were pretty good. McCartney didn’t make the mistake that even many veteran rockers make, however. Too often performers introduce a new song with a phrase like, “This one’s from our new album” which to many in the crowd serves as a cue that it’s a good time to go and take a leak. People come to hear the songs they know and love.
Sure, the majority of the crowd were recipients of the AARP newsletter, but there were a few younger people there as well, as McCartney noted. Not that time hasn’t taken a bit of a toll on some of the high notes that Macca strained to reach, but the fact that he’s willing to try for them is admirable.
The next night’s show, McCartney followed almost the exact if not the exact same song set, as well as most of the same jokes and stories. He even mentioned Babe Ruth along with Ted Williams. If he had mentioned Jimmy Piersall, I really would’ve been impressed. He certainly was given the proper notes to hit, and I don’t just mean musically.
I’m wondering if I perform on the road if I’ll have to learn the local landmarks and references.
“Hello, Bradford-on-Avon, United Kingdom. It’s great to be here at Kensington Stadium. Is that where Graham Gooch scored 40 wickets against Winsley?”
McCartney appeared a bit tired the second show but being a solid professional, he soldiered on and gave the crowd their money’s worth. Doing two shows in a row at his age is admirable but certainly must be exhausting.
Just try and picture your parents or grandparents at age 67 grabbing an electric guitar and rocking out with songs like “Helter Skelter” or “I’m Down.”
I hope that when I’m his age I get to do something I love and get paid for it. I hope at my age I get to do something I love and get paid for it. Hell, I hope that I get to his age, period.
Posted by dmargarita at 12:13 AM
August 6, 2009
Macca Rocks Fenway!
Paul McCartney maybe a grandfather (and possibly a great-grandfather, for all I know), but he can still rock & roll.
The hassle of the MBTA’s Green Line didn’t deter me from grabbing a last minute ticket to see the former Beatle at Boston’s Fenway Park this evening. Hell, these days if I get to my destination alive via the Green Line, that qualifies as a success.
Normally a right field roof box seat might not be the most desirable for a concert at Fenway, but after a 91 degree, humid and sweltering day, the breezes this locale provided made it better than the more expensive seats.
McCartney had all the veteran rock star points down pat, clearly doing his homework in making the proper references.
“Is that the Green Monster?” and then “Is that Ted’s red seat?” he inquired, along with other frequent mentions of Fenway and the Red Sox.
He came on promptly at 8:00 p.m. and played a solid two-and-a-half hour set, which included three encores, peppering the show with songs from his vast Beatles and solo career. The Liverpudlian also threw in some new songs, a couple of which were pretty good. McCartney didn’t make the mistake that even many veteran rockers make, however. Too often performers introduce a new song with a phrase like, “This one’s from our new album” which to many in the crowd serves as a cue that it’s a good time to go and take a leak. People come to hear the songs they know and love.
Sure, the majority of the crowd were recipients of the AARP newsletter, but there were a few younger people there as well, as McCartney noted. Not that time hasn’t taken a bit of a toll on some of the high notes that Macca strained to reach, but the fact that he’s willing to try for it is admirable.
I hope that when I’m his age I get to do something I love and get paid for it. Hell, I hope that I get to his age.
Posted by dmargarita at 12:22 AM