Saturday Music for The Gentleman of Leisure

THE FUTURIST! dedicates this Saturday's music offering to his European friend The Gentleman of Leisure, who can claim today as the anniversary of his birth 24 years ago. The song posted below is by Billy Joel and is entitled VIENNA. THE FUTURIST! loves this song and it's Kurt Weill inspired piano tinkling. THE FUTURIST! owns that very Billy Joel album. He feels this song best fits The Gentleman's current life of ease. The lyrics imply not to rush, to enjoy and do what you need to do for just yourself ... Life progresses at the same rate for us all. As THE FUTURIST! understands it, Vienna is a metaphor for a future place of happiness and well-being. Perhaps, THE FUTURIST! will find his Vienna away from Utter Despair, too.

So, this song, with its melancholy instrumental sound imbues a sense of optimism. It fits The Gentleman. THE FUTURIST! sees The Gentleman kicking back in his usual European haunts and sighing with laconic pleasure today. Besides this vision, TF! wants to acknowledge that today is, also, the birthday of his faraway friend Dara Moroney (who you can read about here). Dara is one of the most amiable people, with a driving ambition, THE FUTURIST! knows ... a bit different than The Gentleman oddly. Oh, wait ... today is, also, the birthday of THE FUTURIST!'s friend in faraway Ireland, Detective Cannon of the Galway police department. What a day of birthday cake over eating! Great Pagan Gods ... good thing THE FUTURIST! isn't overseas in their company today. He would have severe sugar overload ... or too much Guinness or whiskey.

Happy Birthday, to all the gentleman mentioned above.
THE FUTURIST! thinks of you all as one this Saturday
and sends you his very best of wishes for happiness.

Listen:


VIENNA
written and performed by Billy Joel

Cannon & McGrath's Most Wanted List

Cannon and McGrath Dutch Angle Style.

THE FUTURIST! was recently befriended by Irish police detectives Cannon and McGrath after he assisted them, and their Chief, with information regarding counterfeit Guinness being mass produced and black marketed overseas by unscrupulous characters in a certain part of New Jersey. How THE FUTURIST! was able to assist them cannot be disclosed except to say that it involved a lot of vomiting. Anywho, since he has made their acquaintance and found them to be quite affable, THE FUTURIST! asked them to give him a list of their favorite television detective/police/crime programs. They acquiesced immediately and sent him the following list:

CANNON & McGRATH'S FAVORITE TV CRIME SHOWS
(list compiled while they were on duty)

McGrath:
The Wire: This one took me a while to get into but it definitely lives
up to the hype. I particularly love the bluesy soundtrack and backdrop
of Baltimore. It's very complex and you get a lot out of watching it
for a second time.

The Shield: Criminally, this one is often overlooked, but I think it's
one of the most thrilling and dramatic shows on TV. Great acting and
the camera work (which I was initially put off by) add so much to it.

Cannon:
The Sweeney: Excitingly basic thrills and gritty storylines make this
an essential '70s British police show. No matter how boring an
episode's plot has been, when it abruptly ends and makes way for the
poignant closing theme, you're always left wanting more.

The Job: A sitcom based in a New York police precinct, starring Denis
Leary. The same team went on to create the much more successful, and
more hard-hitting, Rescue Me. One of the funniest shows around, it
was, of course, cancelled after one series.

Police Squad: A send-up of the police genre which went on to spawn the
even funnier, and tighter, The Naked Gun series. But, there are still
plenty of glimmers of that genius here, not least the "freeze-frame"
gag at the end of every episode.

Columbo: Always on TV on a Sunday afternoon, Columbo is a very
danger-free detective show. We always know who has committed the crime
(as does Columbo), but keep watching for two hours until he tells
them. Typically, they always take it well.

And here is one of their adventures. It begins with one of THE FUTURIST!'s favorite opening shots in film history.