My friend Alex took me to Grand Sichuan last Friday night, his local Sichuan jernt of cherce. I liked it so much I took Emily the next day. Mostly, so I could have this dish, cucumber salad with scallion sauce, again:

The dressing, from what I could tell, consists of scallion puree, sesame oil, salt and sugar. Man, is it ever tasty. Worth the trip. So is the cumin beef dish (a most curious but delicious experience) and the pork soup dumplings.  

[Photo Credit: Serious Eats]

…and a few laffs too…

Woody Allen Week

The quirky, complex Woody Allen has had, amongst his many dimensions and vocations,  a 40-year career as a movie writer, director and actor.   With about 60 movies to his credit in one way or another, it might surprise folks to read that he considers Zelig (1983) one of his six favorites.

Zelig was remarkable for its time, a feature-length, theatrical  “mockumentary”.  Prior to Zelig, Allen’s own 1969 release “Take the Money and Run” and Albert Brooks’ 1979 film “Real Life” were probably the most recognizable mockumentaries (even before that term was coined by Rob Reiner for his “This Is Spinal Tap“).  Spinal Tap may have been the more mainstream, commercially-popular example of the genre upon its initial release in 1984. However, Zelig placed its subject in a historical context, and the subject’s actions had an impact on world affairs.  This weighty undertaking was then combined with the standard mockumentary “inside joke” humor, fanciful examples of whimsy, and an actual love story, and encompassed all of that within a technical expertise that predated the digital film-making techniques available beginning in the early ’90s.  Its a heady endeavor for a movie that clocks in at a mere 79 minutes.

Set primarily in the 1920s and ’30s, Zelig tells the fictional story of one Leonard Zelig, a seemingly ordinary man who is discovered to have the unique ability to take on the physical characteristics of those around him.  While the premise might seem too thin or flimsy for a feature-length movie (Forrest Gump, anyone?), Allen presents and portrays Zelig as a damaged soul, who seemingly finds acceptance through his “chameleon” nature, albeit with severe (and severely funny) consequences.

Vincent Canby noted this satisfyingly broad palette in his review:

Yet ”Zelig” is not only pricelessly funny, it’s also, on occasion, very moving. It works simultaneously as social history, as a love story, as an examination of several different kinds of film narrative, as satire and as parody.

Co-star Mia Farrow is brilliantly understated in her role as Dr. Eudora Fletcher, a psychiatrist who wants to help Zelig with this strange disorder. She futilely attempts to hypnotize him, and here the film has some of its most riotously dry and funny scenes, with her and Zelig arguing over whether Zelig himself is a doctor.  Allen’s trademark stand-up intonations, timing and vocal patterns imbue the scenes with pure joy.  (4:00 mark onward).

Eventually, she succeeds in hypnotizing him, and through this discovers that he yearns for approval so strongly he physically changes to fit in with those around him. Fletcher’s devotion to finding a cure for Zelig eventually pays off, but not without complications; now Zelig develops a personality which is violently intolerant of other people’s opinions.

I mentioned that this is in fact a love story, as Dr. Fletcher does fall for the lonely, misunderstood, unloved Zelig. While real-life stories of doctors having relationships with their patients may incur scorn, here the storytelling is subtle enough, and the suspension of “reality” legitimate enough, that this “taboo” is overlooked.  Fletcher’s fierce determination to cure Zelig is set against her unfulfilling romance with a man much higher on the social scale.  But something in Zelig, and something about Zelig, beguiles and enchants her to the point of choosing him.

Meanwhile, because of the media coverage of the case, both patient and doctor become part of the popular culture of their time.   Here the technical wizardry and cinematography really come to fore, as Allen’s character seamlessly interacts with the political and socialite stars of the day, from Fanny Brice to Adolf Hitler.

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By Ed Alstrom

Thanks to you Banterites who responded so nicely to my post! I read all of you every day, and have the utmost respect for all of you. Hell, even the jazz talk is right on point.

I wanted to give you one more Shep nugget to chew on. I mentioned in the post a handwritten poem he had showed me (on his own Yankee stationery), that he had penned after an infamous incident. He showed it to me on the sly, and his real fear about it getting around was that it would ‘get him fired’, so seeing as that’s not an issue now, I’ll take the liberty of issuing this as a ‘Banter Exclusive’.

I don’t think it will get him fired, or me in any trouble (I hope not, anyway), and you all deserve to hear it, Plus, it’s brilliant, concise, and pretty damn funny:

“O, Kevin Brown let his team down
When he fractured his hand on the wall.
Better instead he had fractured his head,
Then it wouldn’t have mattered at all!”

I, too, wish there could be a book of these published. He said he had ‘hundreds’ of them!

Editor’s Note: Bill Madden has a tribute to Sheppard today that includes another poem…Don’t miss it.

Ed Alstrom plays the organ on the weekends at Yankee Stadium.

[Drawing by Larry Roibal]

The Yanks gave the Mariners a whuppin’ today–smushed ’em 8-1–and finished the first half in style, winning another series. They’ve got the best record in baseball at 56-32, just two games ahead of the Rays, and five ahead of the Red Sox.

CC Sabathia was a horse once again and his record stands at 12-3, with a 3.09 ERA. Mark Teixeira drove the Score Truck with four hits, bringing his average to .254, Derek Jeter had a couple of RBI, and Marcus Thames hit a dinger. Yup, a most excellent way to go into the All-Star Break.

Sang it:

[Photo Credit: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]

Yanks end the first half of the season with ol’ CC on the hill.

Go, git ’em, boys.

World Cup Final this afternoon…

By Ed Alstrom

Like most of you, I just got the news of Mr. Sheppard’s passing. I didn’t know him for as long as some did, but over the course of only 5 years he had become a dear friend with whom I shared many indelible memories.

And that speaks volumes, I think. You’ll be hearing his praises sung by all for several days, but I too will affirm firsthand that for a man of his stature, who is so revered and so famous, to be as kind and friendly as he was to me from the very beginning is, well, almost beyond belief.

From the day I met him, when he calmed me down before my frantic first game as organist at the Stadium by extending a hand and a big grin and saying ‘Welcome to Yankee Stadium!’ (in the exact same tone of voice and volume he delivered it over the PA before every game!), to the last time I saw him when my wife Maxine and I visited he and Mary at their home on Long Island about 6 months ago, and we talked about seemingly everything but baseball for about three hours… he was quite simply one of the finest and most genuine human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure to come in contact with.

Think about this – why would you call an man routinely by the prefix “Mr.”? Unless it’s a total stranger, usually you are forced to do so because it’s someone who commands ‘respect’ only by intimidation, rank, or force (e.g., the contemptible CEO of the company you work for). Rarely these days do you address a man as “Mr.” all the time because you just flat-out love and respect him so much that it actually feels disrespectful to call him by his first name. And that’s Mr. Sheppard to me. Nobody at the Stadium ever told me I had to address him as ‘Mr. Sheppard’; that’s just what everyone did as a matter of course.

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The great Bob Sheppard passed away this morning. He was 99. It’s safe to say that he helped shape our memories in the Bronx as much as any player ever has.

He lead a wonderful life–my uncle Fred is 80 and had Sheppard as a drama teacher in high school out in Queens–and will be missed.

So, okay, the Yanks’ didn’t hit much last night. Felix Hernandez was tough again, though not as dominant as he’d been against the Yanks in New York (without Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada in the line-up, he wasn’t facing the team’s best). It eventually caught up to the Yanks when Joba Chamberlain coughed-up a slim, 1-0 lead in the eighth. Gave up a grand slam of all things as the Yanks fell, 4-1 to the Mariners. Shame because Javy Vazquez was terrific–he had a no-hitter through six.

According to Ben Shpigel in the Times:

“He’s a human being that’s giving everything he’s got out there, so I don’t get frustrated,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “I still believe in him. He hasn’t been the eighth-inning guy for a year and a half. Most of the times we’ve had the lead, he’s done a good job. Tonight, he struggled.”

Girardi is correct, in a sense: of the 31 times Chamberlain has entered with a lead, only four times has he departed with the score tied or the Yankees trailing. One other time, he left with the lead, but Mariano Rivera allowed three inherited runners to score. The larger problem plaguing Chamberlain and, by extension, the Yankees is his unreliability. After every implosion, he calls it a learning experience, but does not seem to be learning from it or to have an explanation.

“You’ve got to go out and pitch,” Chamberlain said. “That’s the art of pitching. You’re not always going to have your best stuff, you’re not always going to have your best command. That’s the journey we have as pitchers.”

Tough night. It might not be fair (since when does fairness have anything with being a fan?) but every time I think of Joba these days, this is what I hear:

[Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Froschauer]

The Yanks got served but good by Felix Hernandez not too long ago in New York. They’ve got to face the tough Seattle ace again tonight. Here’s hoping they give him a hard time. Nobody likes gettin’ played a piano twice in a row, even if the “King” is some kind of pitcher.

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Bags]

It’s still warm n muggy in New York but thunderstorms are supposed to cool us off today. Yanks don’t play until late tonight but there are other games on this afternoon, a World Cup match, you know, things.

Hope everyone is having a good Saturday.

[Picture by AB]

According to Joel Sherman, Cliff Lee is not coming to the Yanks.

Update 5:30pm: Now word is the Rangers have finalized a deal to acquire Lee, reliever Mark Lowe, and cash for 1B Justin Smoak, minor league pitchers Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, and minor league 2B Matt Lawson.

While we wait on more Cliff Lee news…

New York Movie, By Edward Hopper (1939)

And from Pops…

Just a quick teaser for what’s coming next week, when we cover one of the Wood Man’s greatest periods, the early Orion run: Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days.

I was always interested in gangsters and people don’t associate me with that because of their image of me on the screen. They think I’m more intellectual than I am, because I wear glasses and I’m built slightly.

But the truth is I came from the streets of Brooklyn. I’m not educated–I mean I was thrown of college in my freshman year. My father was always, you know, a cab driver or a pool hustler. He ran a pool room. He worked for Albert Anastasia for a while, taking bets at Saratoga. I had always had an interest in and a feeling for that.

I’m not a gangster, but I’m more of that world. I’m more the guy that’s home with a beer in his undershirt watching the Television set, than I am pouring over, you know, the Russian novelists. I mean, I’ve read things over the years to keep up with my dates, but the truth of the matter is my heart has always been at the ballpark.

Woody Allen to Richard Schickel

Say Word, Woody!

[Photo Credit: Eclectic Commons]

It’s been nearly two years to the day that Bobby Murcer left us at the age of 62. I should have accepted this tragedy by now–it should have sunk in by this time–but his passing still stings. It still hurts that Murcer is no longer part of the Yankee broadcast booth, not to mention those wonderful Old-Timers’ Day reunions.

In looking for some consolation as we approach the second anniversary of his death, I can take some solace in his 1980 Topps card. For me, this card provided concrete evidence that Murcer had indeed returned to the organization in 1979, after a six-year layoff from the Bronx. That season became a swirl of disappointment, injuries, tragedy, and melancholy, but the return of Murcer represented at least one positive development.

The good news came on June 26, exactly 11 days after the official trading deadline of June 15. In the midst of an off season with the Cubs, Murcer slipped through waivers in both leagues, allowing the Yankees to acquire him for a minor league pitching prospect named Paul Semall. A lanky right-hander, Semall had won 17 games pitching at Double-A West Haven in 1978, but lacked a bigtime fastball. He was a decent prospect, but hardly a blue chipper. As it turned out, he never pitched in the major leagues, not for the Cubs or anyone else. Still, it wouldn’t have mattered much to me if Semall had become a 15-game winner for the Cubs; I was just thrilled that Murcer had returned to pinstripes, where he belonged.

As seen on his 1980 Topps card, Murcer brought a bit of a different look to his Yankee uniform in comparison to his earlier tenure. He now wore a helmet with a protective flap, having abandoned the old-style flapless helmet that was so common in the 1960s. He also brandished a large shin guard on his right leg, something that he had not worn in his earlier days.

Perhaps the extra equipment was a testament to his advancing age. Murcer was significantly older, at least in terms of baseball years. I didn’t much care that Murcer was now 33 and had already begun the declining stage of his career. He no longer had the power to hit 20-plus home runs a season and could no longer play center field the way that he had done for much of his first tenure in the Bronx. Yet, he still had real value as a role player. I figured that if the Yankees were smart, they would use him as a part-time left-fielder, platoon DH, and pinch-hitter extraordinaire off the bench. Those roles could all be filled in 1980, by which the time the Yankees figured to reload for another run at the American League East.

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Cliff Lee pitches against the Yanks tonight in Seattle. Could he be pitching for the Yankees soon? According to a report by Jon Heyman at SI.com:

The Yankees have intensified talks with the Mariners for star lefthander Cliff Lee, sources confirm.

The discussions appear serious, and one source said it’s “quite possible” a deal will be consummated. The Mariners are said to love Jesus Montero, the Yankees’ 20-year-old catching prospect, and have been asking for him all along. SI.com reported Thusrday that Seattle’s asking price of the Yankees was Montero plus two other prospects.

Over at the New York Post, Joel Sherman writes:

The Knicks didn’t get LeBron James, but the Yankees were on the brink of obtaining Cliff Lee late last night for a package that would include top prospect Jesus Montero, the Post has learned.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik have been in constant contact over the last week, but it was only last night that the Seattle GM told Yankee officials he wanted to move quickly, possibly before the All-Star break.

The Yanks were not assured of obtaining Lee since other clubs such as the Mets, Twins and Rangers were in talks. But the Yanks were definitely making the strongest move last night, coming from seeming disinterest into the clear front-runner and last night it seemed they were all but certain to obtain the 31-year-old lefty.

Not to be out-scooped, Buster Olney at ESPN adds:

The Seattle Mariners are pushing hard to complete a Cliff Lee deal, and the Yankees could be closing in on a trade for the left-hander — but as of Friday morning, there was no agreement in place, sources say, and it’s possible that another team could step in and make a more aggressive bid.

The Mariners have been talking with the Rays, Twins, Rangers, Reds and other teams, and news that the Yankees were on the verge of getting Lee — first reported by the New York Post — could spur one of the other teams to strengthen their offer.

All along the Yankees have felt as if no other team matches up better than they would with Seattle in a Lee deal, because they are offering Jesus Montero, who figures to have a long and productive career as a hitter regardless of whether he plays catcher or first base.

….Mornin’. LeBron, who?

UPDATE: Nothing done yet. Buster said the Yanks were getting close, then Ken Dawidoff reported the talks his a “snag.” More to come…MLB Trade Rumors has the latest…

UPDATE: Nothing set yet, but here’s the skinny according to Joel Sherman.

[Photo Credit: Rich Lederer]

Morning Sun, By Edward Hopper (1952)