Musings of a Dead Parrot

In the corner of the Good:
California Angels
New Orleans Saints
Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops
St. Louis, Phoenix, Louisville, Ball State, Lamar Cardinals
San Diego Padres
Holy Cross Crusaders

In the corner of the Evil:
New Jersey Devils
Duke Blue Devils
Arizona State Sun Devils
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
DePaul Blue Demons

Straddling the chasm between the two:
Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Let the games begin!

We are one week and a few days from June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06. Some might consider that date to be apochryphal. Conservative or evangelical Christians certainly view the number 666 with some amount of concern and trepidation. They consider it to be the mark of the Antichrist. According to my Biblical research, this stems from a single passage in the Book of Revelations:

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev. 13:16-18

Hollywood exploited this situation in 1976 when they released The Omen, thereby subjecting everyone named Damien to years of teasing and ridicule. Trivial aside - according to IMDB, "as part of its pre-release publicity campaign, and to point out the significance of "the three sixes" as The Sign of Satan, the movie was sneak-previewed nationwide in the US on June 6, 1976. While audiences inside the theaters were being scared witless by the film, theater employees were out front, busily putting up specially made posters declaring: 'Today is the SIXTH day of the SIXTH month of Nineteen-Seventy-SIX!' Hokey though it was, the gimmick worked quite well, as many a theater patron literally 'freaked-out' upon seeing those posters as they left the previews."

This year, Hollywood will exploit the calendar again when 20th Century Fox releases the remake of The Omen on June 6. The advertising makes no mistake about the audience it is trying to reach - "The prophecy is clear. The signs are unmistakable. On the 6th day of the 6th month in the year 2006 his day will come."

Let's not be cynical in our critique of Hollywood's exploitation of the fervency of conservative evangelicals. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter plans to release her new book, Godless, about modern liberalism’s rejection of Christianity on that day. And the latest book in the Left Behind series - The Rapture: In the Twinkling of An Eye, Countdown to the Earth's Last Days - will also be released on June 6.

It may be an urban legend but I have heard stories of pregnant women who will not allow their doctors to induce labor or perform C-sections on June 6 to ensure that their baby does not have that as a birthday. Perhaps they should be reminded that the world has survived many prior instances of 6/6/06 (most recently, June 6, 1906 as an example).

Personally, I would recommend that instead of going to the theater to see a remake of The Omen, you should rent the original and watch it as a triple feature with Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. Or perhaps you would prefer to witness the ultimate fight between good and evil in person when the Angels play the Devil Rays (yes, major league schedulers paired these teams to play on 6/6/06 - a very clever feat).

I think it is the sign of a great city that a slightly nerdy corporate drone who grew up in Oklahoma can meet, find common interests and become friends with a beautiful school teacher who can speak Chinese and dreams of being an exotic foreign speaking vampire. It may sound like a fairy tale, but I am here to tell you that it is a true LA story.

Sadly, it is also a true story that the lovely school teacher, Helga Hung, was killed in a car accident on January 14th of this year. Today would have been her 32nd birthday.

I particularly like this picture of Helga because she is wearing the same green dress she wore when we went to the King Tut exhibit at LACMA. It is a welcome memory on a day (today) that I really want to be a good day. Happy Birthday, Helga!

To learn more about this lovely woman, please visit the tribute site established by her friends and family - http://www.helgahung.com

I was selfishly indulgent this past weekend as I blew off all of my chores (laundry be damned) in favor of a Steve Forbert concert, several fabulous art exhibits and a lovely hike in the mountains to a 30 foot waterfall (Trail Canyon Trail near Tujunga).

The concert was at the Getty Center where I was able to enjoy two exhibits before the show. The first was a rare showing of landscape works by Gustave Courbet. The man was brilliant. He really was a bridge between the traditionalists and the impressionists. It was fascinating to get up close and see how he composed his works. I really wish I had been able to share the experience with Helga. I think she would have enjoyed studying the abstract nature of some of his work.

The second exhibit at the Getty comprised works by James Ensor around his monumental Christ's Entry Into Brussels which is in the Getty's permanent collection (and is my favorite piece at the Getty - I try to view it each time I visit). Ensor created art of vivid imagination and sharp social criticism. None more so than a piece that was so shocking I was surprised it was included at all - Doctrinal Nourishment. Figures representing the church, the king of Belgium, the state government and the military sit high on a wall with their backs to the audience. They are crapping into the mouths of the people below. The people appear to be well-norished by what they are fed by these authority figures and are eager for more. A telling image for modern times as well, perhaps. I would love to see the reaction if THAT picture made it onto a newspaper editorial page.


If you cannot view the image at left, you can also see it at http://www.villagevoice.com/art/0122,saltz,25125,13.html