#Frank Mandel

[tfblovesmusic]

You heard of Elf on the Shelf.

Now get ready for:

“Peach on the Beach!”

Happy Christmas in July, musical theater buffs!

[pink-carnelian]

they scratch the same itch

[radiophd]

various artists -- clicks_+_cuts [album, 2000]

[brokehorrorfan]

Little Monsters will be released on Blu-ray (with Digital) in Steelbook packaging on March 5 exclusively at Walmart for $19.96. Other than the packaging, the disc is identical to Lionsgate's Vestron Video release from 2020.

The 1989 comedy film is directed by Richard Greenberg and written by Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott (Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl). Fred Savage, Howie Mandel, Daniel Stern, Margaret Whitton, Frank Whaley, and Rick Ducommun star.

Vance Kelly designed the Steelbook art. Special features are listed below, where you can also see the interior layout.

Special features:

Audio commentary by Cult of Monster editor-in-chief Jarret Gahan

Isolated score selections and audio interview with composer David Newman

Interview with actor Howie Mandel

Interview with producer Andrew Licht

Interview with special makeup effects creator Robert Short

Vintage interviews with director Richard Alan Greenberg, actors Fred Savage and Ben Savage, special makeup effects creator Robert Short

Behind-the-scenes footage

Howie Mandel makeup transformation footage

EPK & VHS promo

Theatrical trailer

Still gallery

Little Monsters is the story of Brian (Fred Savage), a sixth-grader who’s recently moved to a new town and made friends with Maurice (Howie Mandel) – the monster who lives under Brian’s bed! Maurice introduces Brian to the world of monsters, where junk food rules, adulters aren’t allowed, and the fun and games never end. But when Brian’s brother is kidnapped, it’s time for Brian to get serious and fight the monsters on their turf.

[ganglionassembly]

[cinesludge]

Movie #45 of 2023: Conspiracy

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Seth Mandel

All that was left were the verdicts and sentencing, which we now have for a handful of the defendants. From the wires: “The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O. for public violence against several people.” One of the defendants, a 19-year-old, was treated by the court as a minor.

As in past pogroms, the prosecutor seemed to have more sympathy for the perpetrators than for the victims: “The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by antisemitism,” he said.

To recap: The perpetrators said they were carrying out a “Jew hunt”—in other words, a frank declaration of anti-Semitism. Even if you are the type to whine that the term “anti-Semitism” is overused in order to quash the free speech of Hamasniks on campus, you’d probably admit that “Jew hunt” as a motivation for physical violence is unambiguous. If there is such a thing as anti-Semitism, a “Jew hunt” falls into that category.

To understand the prosecutor’s argument, however, you must understand the role he is intending to play, not the role he is technically assigned to do.

The prosecutor sees himself not as a prosecutor of these defendants but as a defense attorney for the future defendants of this crime. Just as they were the night of the violence in Amsterdam, everyone is on the same side.

But wait. Didn’t the prosecutors ask for more time than was given? Don’t they claim to be disappointed by the sentences handed down? To which I’d respond with a question of my own: Are you interested in purchasing a bridge in Brooklyn? If you, as a prosecutor, argue that acts of violence are understandable acts of protest, you are the one who has reduced the sentences of the accused before the trial is even over.

Here’s another example from the same trial: “A 22-year-old identified as Abushabab M., 22, faces a charge of attempted murder but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment.

“He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while M. sat sobbing as his case was being heard.”

Psychiatric assessment? Is he incapable of not trying to murder Jews because he is from Gaza? That is some kind of defense?

If it sounds familiar, it should. In 2017, a man named Kobili Traoré killed Sarah Halimi at her Paris apartment. He admitted to the crime, and his motive was, as reported by the New York Times, that he “had been troubled by Ms. Halimi’s mezuza.” As he threw Halimi out her own window, he yelled “Allahu akbar” and “I killed the devil.”

[lightsonparkave]

As we enter the season of the dead, some things linger, continuing to live on or at least not quite die.

The theme for Lights on Park Ave Round 55 is the undying.

Here are the prompts:

Tim struggles with his love for Hawk before accepting it after realizing over the decades that he's always had Hawk from Fellow Travelers

A quote about loss teaching us the permanence of love from A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A line from “Disjecta Membra” by Charles Wright about the inability to speak about someone

An excerpt from Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel where the narrator talks about movies immortalizing not just the stars but the actors with small roles as well

Advice on having a physicist speak at your funeral by Aaron Freeman

Lestat asks Louis to be his eternal companion and Louis agrees in AMC's Interview With the Vampire

A Youtube comment by someone who attended Simon & Garfunkel's 1981 Central Park concert who thinks about how he and his now deceased wife are together in the recording

"Thriller" - Michael Jackson

A scene where Steve talks about what a ghost actually is from The Haunting of Hill House

A quote from Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk about the never-ending nature of anger and sorrow

Kimiko comes back to life after dying due to her regenerative healing power as an astounded Frenchie watches in The Boys

The government makes a public announcement lying to civilians about a zombie outbreak in Train to Busan

Lines from "The Third Hour of the Night" by Frank Bidart about the insatiable thirst of the beast inside you

Grace encounters an old woman wearing her daughter Anne's communion dress who speaks in Anne's voice and claims she's Anne in Alejandro Amenábar's The Others

Will tells Lyra he'll love her forever and wander after death until he can find her again in The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Adam comforts a distraught Harry who finds out he died in Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers

Untitled poem by Marina Tsvetaeva from The Stray Dog Cabaret

Photos of Robbie and Cecilia and Briony's reason for making the two live happily ever after in Joe Wright's Atonement

Round 55 will end on October 31, 11:59 PM ET (what time is that for me?).

As always, you’re free to jump in whenever you’d like during the round, a wide variety of work types is accepted, and there are no minimum work requirements. Unfinished works and works for other fandom events are allowed. You can find more information about Lights on Park Ave and the participation guidelines here.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

THEME FROM SUSPIRIA • TAXI RIDE • DREAD • REPULSION • THE KILLINGS • THE ACADEMY • LOCKER ROOM • ERRAND BOY • VERDEGAST • PAVLOS • BEHIND THE SHEET • BEWARE • THE WINE • SHE WALKS AT NIGHT • STALKED • MADAME BLANC • SWIMMING • HUNTED • MISSING GIRL • MEETING FRANK MANDEL • PROFESSOR MILIUS • COUNTING THEIR FOOTSTEPS • MOTHER OF SIGHS

Bandcamp ♪ Youtube

[lingyunxiang]

Howie Mandel has remained a constant force in show business for more than 30 years. He can currently be seen on NBC’s flagship series America’s Got Talent where he has served as a judge for eleven seasons. He recently finished production on his new documentary Howie
Mandel: But Enough About Me. Other recent projects include judging NBC’s America’s Got

Talent: The Champions, CNBC’s Deal or No Deal where he served as executive producer and host and Nat Geo Wild’s Animals Doing Things where he co-hosted with his son Alex. He alsoexecutive produced the Quibi series Kirby Jenner. In 2019 he released his first solo special in 20 years Howie Mandel Presents Howie Mandel at the Howie Mandel Comedy Club.

 

In 2020 Howie teamed up with ePlay Digital Inc. and launched the charity, Breakout the Masks, and mobile game campaign to give back to those involved in the fight against COVID-19. Via Howies’ Games the first challenge is Outbreak where players’ points translate to donations of N95 face masks, portable ventilators, gloves and other Personal Protective Equipment to doctors, nurses and more front line workers. The second game SwishAR has users looking for America’s Got Talent’s, Howie Mandel, to join in a backyard basketball game to shoot hoops.
Both games are available on the Apple App store and Google Play.

 

His additional projects as a host, actor, and/or executive producer include Take It All and Howie Do It for NBC, Deal With It for TBS and Mobbed for Fox. Previously, Mandel received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for Deal or No Deal and a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host for the syndicated version of the show. Mandel’s versatile career has encompassed virtually all aspects of the entertainment spectrum, including television, film and stage. From his work on the Emmy Award-winning St. Elsewhere, to the international animated children’s series Bobby’s World,Mandel has become a mainstay of the American comedy scene. In 2009, Mandel added author to his resume when he released his frank, funny and no-holds-barred memoir, “Here’s the Deal:Don’t Touch Me.” The memoir revealed his ongoing struggle with OCD and ADHD, and how it has shaped his life and career. It made The New York Times bestseller list on its first week and remained on the list for several consecutive weeks. Mandel has done countless comedy specials both on cable and network television. He has also hosted his own syndicated talkshow, The Howie Mandel Show and continues to be a mainstay on the talk show circuit. He alsocontinues to perform as many as 200 stand up comedy shows each year throughout the U.S.and Canada.

[thehotpilot]

bill and frank having gourmet meals and playing music and falling in love and painting the town and making friends and planting a garden is what emily st. john mandel meant when she said survival is insufficient!!

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Richard Attenborough, Ingrid Bergman, my cousin-in-law Janice Brenneman, Kyle Cook (Matchbox 20), Chris Copping (Procol Harum), Reuben Councill, Charles Finney, Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins), Diamanda Galás, Elliott Gould, Carla Gugino, Dick Halligan, Fred Holland, Michael Jackson, Nathan Ernie Lashlee, David Lim, John Locke, Tony MacAlpine, Bennie Maupin, John McCain, Sterling Morrison, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Oasis 1994 DEFINITELY MAYBE album, Mao Oz, Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel, Charlie Parker, Liam Payne (One Direction), Pebbles, Iggy Pop’s 1977 LUST FOR LIFE album, Cliff Richard’s 1958 “Move It!” single, Vivien Thomas, Consuelo Velázquez, Vishal, Dinah Washington, and my friend and early career mentor, composer-keyboardist-trombonist-vocalist Bob Hogins. He made his mark in the 1970s San Francisco music scene, most visibly with Harvey Mandel, Buddy Miles, and Santana. I met Bob after he’d turned his life over to God and devoted himself to classical and contemporary Christian music projects. He compelled me to up my game in musical discipline and expand myself as a bassist and singer.

From 1981-87 I played with Bob almost weekly in an eclectic church worship group. We fanned out into recording, pop-rock musicals, and playing in gospel vocal groups that shared bills with Zoe, a Grateful Dead spin-off w/Donna Godchaux and David MacKay (Ark, Michael Nesmith). As I worked with Bob in various projects, he introduced me to Buddy Miles, Pat Craig (Tazmanian Devils), Frank Souza, Marcus Uzilevsky, and other talents who’d affect my career in varying degrees. I feel indebted to Bob as a talented, warm-hearted musician, and great teacher.

Regrettably I do not have at hand any recordings of work Bob and I did, but here’s one of my favorite tracks that Bob played some sizzling organ on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tgfWBHdig ...Meanwhile, HB BH and thank you for your amazing contributions to all of us.

#bobhogins #roberthogins #trombone #keyboard #gospel #Christian #SanFrancisco #johnnyjblair #birthday #carlossantana #buddymiles

[adamwatchesmovies]

Little Monsters (1989)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

I can’t believe this is the third time I’ve seen Little Monsters. The first time was in 2012. I didn't like it but my review was too short so I re-watched it AGAIN in 2016. I didn’t like it then either. In fact, I gave it a 0 score. Is the third time the charm?

After moving to a new house and new school, Brian (Fred Savage) is miserable. His parents (Margaret Whitton and Daniel Stern) are always fighting, he’s getting blamed for every random thing that happens around the house and his brother Eric (Ben Savage) keeps bugging him about monsters living under his bed. Then, Brian discovers there IS a monster living under the bed. His name is Maurice (Howie Mandel) and he loves to pull pranks.

The worst part of this movie is Howie Mandel. His character is so annoying you’ll reach for your torch and pitchfork seconds after he appears. He’s always talking, always trying to make you laugh, always moving and gesticulating. I won’t blame the actor. I’ll blame director Richard Alan Greenberg, along with writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott. The mantra must’ve been “If someone isn’t talking, the audience won’t be laughing”. They couldn’t have been more wrong. This film only contains one funny joke and to give credit where credit is due, it’s from Mandel. Nonetheless, you can’t stand him. He’s playing this imitation Beetlejuice - one of many we saw starting in 1989. I’ve only ever seen two fast-talking outlandish supernatural sidekicks that worked - The Genie from Aladdin and the aforementioned ghost with the most. Everyone else you want to beat to a pulp with a shovel before burying them in the backyard.

With the main draw being as pleasant as a dental exam, Little Monsters was instantaneously doomed but the problems don't stop there. This film is so mean-spirited you’ll wind up cheering for the villains and hating the heroes. Case and point is an extended scene in which Brian and Maurice travel from one house to another, pulling pranks on children while they sleep. They paint the walls, put plastic wrap on toilets, peanut butter on phones, etc. That doesn’t sound so bad but they shave a cat off-screen and then take revenge upon Ronnie (Devin Ratray), a bully who tormented Brian and his brother earlier. They put cat food in his lunch and replace his apple juice with urine. I know kids pretend that any yellow liquid is piss all the time. The difference is that in this movie, we see Maurice gulp down all Ronnie's juice so he can turn around (away from the camera) pull out his blue monster dick and fill Ronnie’s bottle. the movie goes too far, particularly since we get to see Ronnie attempt to wash down the taste of the cat food with it the next day.

Speaking of Ronnie, I feel like doing a bit of nitpicking. I mean, why not? This movie is mean. It deserves a bit of its own medicine. Here’s how his introduction works. Brian and his little brother are on the bus. After an argument (related to the mysterious pranks around the house), Brian tosses Eric's lunch out the window. That's when Ronnie enters. The lunch hit him in the head. Ronnie threatens Eric, Brian defends his little brother and after a quick verbal back-and-forth, Ronnie is humiliated and gets off the bus. Wait. What happened? Was Ronnie part of the route? Like was he supposed to be picked up by the sassy bus driver? Or did she just let him hop on randomly? Either way, I guess he walked the rest of the way. Eventually, the character returns for the final act when he is recruited as one of Brian’s allies against Boy (Frank Whaley), the monster world’s evil ruler. I know what the movie is trying to do. The idea is that Brian and his bully are setting aside their differences for the greater good. Maybe they’ll even become friends. Inside the movie though, this alliance means nothing. Ronnie doesn’t know Brian was responsible for the cat food and piss in his lunch. He's not "forgiving" anything.

I've become more invested than I should in a movie that doesn’t deserve to be remembered. Little Monsters is mean, gross and ugly. The monsters are unappealing and not even in a “they’re monsters, they should be kind of scary” kind of way. One look and you'll “No thanks”. In fact, you can skip the look. Just say “No thanks” to Little Monsters. (February 10, 2023)

[brokehorrorfan]

Little Monsters' original motion picture soundtrack is available on vinyl for $36 via Enjoy the Ride Records. The score is composed by David Newman (Serenity, Galaxy Quest, Scooby-Doo).

The double-LP album is pressed on three color variants: “Born to Be Wild” swirl/“Dartboard” pinwheel (limited to 200), “Neon Light” splatter/“Overworld-Underworld” split (limited to 300), “Maurice” splatter/“Maurice Mohawk” stripe with splatter. It’s housed in a gatefold jacket with art by Garreth Gibson.

[kwebtv]

From the Golden Age of Television

Project Immortality - CBS - June 11, 1959

A presentation of "Playhouse 90" Season 3 Episode 36

Drama

Running Time: 90 minutes

Directed By Fielder Cook

Written By Loring Mandel

Produced By Peter Kortner

Hosted By Dr. Frank C. Baxter 

Stars:

Lee J. Cobb as Lawrence Doner

Kenneth Haigh as Martin Schramm

Gusti Huber as Eva Doner

Michael Landon as Arthur Doner

Patty McCormack as Ketti Doner

Paul Fix as General Adams

Richard Carlyle as Schoonover

Frank Ferguson as DeKlasch

Barney Phillips as Colonel Bender

Don Keefer as Leech

Frederick Worlock as Dr. Samman

Joseph Sargent as Liggett

Sheridan Comerate as Driver

Azaria Port as Agassiz

Donald Foster as Laniel

William Boyett as Weiner

[dd20century]

The New Formalist: Edward Durell Stone

“A great building should be universal, not controversial.” --  Edward Durell Stone

New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote in his obituary of architect Edward Durell Stone:

Edward Durell Stone's career as an architect was marked by a dramatic reversal of direction. He gave up a position as one of America's leading advocates of the International Style just as that austere modern style was gaining wide public acceptance, and he began instead to evolve a personal style that was lush and highly decorative, the very opposite of the International Style. (1)

This shift would be influenced by a woman, Durell Stone’s second wife, Italian designer Maria Elena Torch. As Durell Stone said, “Maria's fine Italian hand began to show in my attire and my work. Both began to move toward elegance.”

Edward Durell Stone on the right having dinner with (left to right) architect William Wesley Peters, Stone's then-wife Maria Torch Stone, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Photo credit: Charles Rossi.

Edward Durell Stone’s Early Years

Architect Edward Durell Stone was born on March 9, 1902, in the college town of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Durrell’s grandfather Steven K. Stone was a successful businessman, Durrell’s father “Benjamin Hicks Stone (1852-1942) graduated from Emory & Henry College, in Virginia, in 1873 and returned to Fayetteville to run his father's business” (2). In 1885 Benjamin Hicks Stone married Ruth S. Johnson, an English teacher. The couple “had four children, the youngest..., Edward Durell Stone” (2).

Young Edward showed early artistic promise. His mother encouraged him to take up drawing and woodworking. J. William Fulbright was one of Edward’s childhood friends. Fulbright would go on to become a United States Senator. The two men remained life-long friends. Stone attended the University of Arkansas in the early 1920s but was unsuccessful in all of his courses except drawing. His talent came to the attention of the head of the “university's art department, [Elizabeth Galbraith who] recognized Stone's talent and encouraged him” (2).

At that time Edward’s older brother James Hicks Stone was an architect practicing in Boston, MA. Elizabeth Galbraith reached out to the brother asking him “to take an interest in the boy” (2). Edward spent the summer of 1921 in Boston visiting the city’s architectural landmarks with James. The experience made an impression on the young Edward, leading him to his calling. In 1922 Edward moved to Boston and found work as an office boy at the architectural firm of Strickland, Blodgett & Law while he studied at the Boston Architectural Club at night. There Edward met architect Henry R. Shepley who hired him to work as a draftsman at Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott. Shepley would become Stone’s most valued mentor. (2)

Edward Durell Stone, Radio City Music Hall, Auditorium, (1932), New York City. Image source.

Stone’s Early Architectural Career

“In 1925, Stone won a scholarship to Harvard University's School of Architecture” (2) and also studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1927 Stone won the Rotch Travelling Fellowship which gave him the resources to study in Europe for two years. (1, 2) Stone returned to the United States he moved to New York City, just before the start of the Great Depression in October 1929, where he was hired by, “a consortium of architects designing Rockefeller Center. There he worked on what was to be considered his first major early achievement, the design of the interiors of Radio City Music Hall” (2).

 “In December 1930, [Stone] married Sarah Orlean Vandiver (1905-1988), an American tourist he had met and courted in Venice. The couple had two sons, Edward Durell Stone, Jr. (1932-2009), and Robert Vandiver Stone” (2).

Donald Deskey was one of the architects that Stone worked with on the Radio City Music Hall project. This association led to Stone’s ‘first independent commission in 1933, the Mandel House, in Bedford Hills, New York, built for owners of a prominent department store” (2). Deskey served as the interior designer on that project. (2) “The Ulrich Kowalski House, also in Mt. Kisco” (4) was built the following year. With the success of the Mandel and Kowalski Houses, many more commissions followed, and in 1936 (3) Stone established his architectural firm at Rockefeller Center (2).

Edward Durell Stone, Richard M. Mandel House (1935), Bedford Hills, New York. Image source.

Stone and The Museum of Modern Art

From 1936 to 1939 Edward Durell Stone worked on what Newsweek magazine called, "the first large museum in America to be built according to the streamlined, ultra-modern 'international' style of modern architecture."(5) The project was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Stone collaborated with Phillip L. Goodwin. Stone served as design architect while Goodwin produced the architectural drawings. (2) During this time Stone was also designing a home in Old Westbury, NY for MoMA president Anson Conger Goodyear. (4)

In 1940 Edward Durell Stone drove across the United States. Traveling to Arizona and Wisconsin, he met with architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright’s use of materials and decorative patterning manifests itself in some of Stone’s later work. In San Francisco, Stone appreciated the use of natural materials used in regional architecture. His greatest takeaway from the trip, however, was his disappointment at how extensively Americans had marred the natural landscape. Quoting Durell, “I scarcely encountered a place where land was used wisely and where what has been built is beautiful” (6).

Edward Durell Stone's Service in World War II

As the United States had entered World War II, Edward Durell Stone enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in the summer of 1942, “and was stationed in Washington, D.C. Stone entered as a captain and was promoted to the rank of major in November 1943. At his instigation, the Army Air Forces established a Planning and Design Section in July 1944” (2).

As chief of this section Stone was responsible for “the master plans for airfields in Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas” (2).  He also designed the Continental Air Command headquarters at what is now known as Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. (2)

Edward Durell Stone, William Thurnauer House (1949), Englewood Heights, New Jersey. Image source.

Stone’s Post-war Work

After the war, Edward Durell Stone reopened his architectural practice. Most of Durell’s commissions during this time were residential. The most notable were the David Stench House (1947) Armonk, NY and the William Thurnauer House in Englewood, New Jersey (1949). (2) Stone’s homes of the late 1940s ‘indicated the increasing influence of Wright — his buildings became lower, more horizontal, and relied more on the use of wood” (1).

 His non-residential projects included the 300-room El Panama Hotel in Panama City, Panama, “notable for its pioneering use of cantilevered balconies in the construction of a resort hotel” (7). In 1948 Stone designed Fine Arts Center for the University of Arkansas in his hometown of Fayetteville, AK. The center featured works by Alexander Calder and Gwen Lux, friends of the architect. (2)

Postcard photo of Edward Durell Stone's El Panana Hotel (1946), Panama City, Panama. Image source.

Read part two of The New Formalist: Edward Durell Stone.

References

Goldberger, P., (7 August, 1978). Edward Durell Stone Dead at 76; Designed Major Works Worldwide. https://www.nytimes.com/1978/08/07/archives/edward-durell-stone-dead-at-76-designed-major-works-worldwide-a.html

R. L. Skolmen and H. Stone, Edward Durell Stone: Life. https://www.edwarddurellstone.org/

Smart, G., (2024). Edward Durell Stone, FAIA (1902-1978). https://usmodernist.org/stone.htm

Wkikpedia.com, (7 February, 2014). Edward Durell Stone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Durell_Stone

"The Glass-Temple Museum: Modern Art Display Takes Over Own Building in New York," Newsweek (22 May 1939): 32.

Edward Durell Stone, The Evolution of an Architect, (New York: Horizon Press, 1962), 92.

Britannica.com, (n.d),.Edward Durell Stone, American architect. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Durell-Stone#ref81069