Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.
John Lennon – Happy XMAS (War is Over)
Music article at PowerPop
Here is another article from a good friend in virtual world, Max at PowerPop. This is one of my favourite contemporary XMAS songs which I listened to countless times as a kid. Christmas day 2021 passed here 2 days ago, but that doesn’t mean we can’t soak some of our wretched hangovers with a bit of John & Yoko Christmas passion!
In 1969 John and Yoko had rented billboard spaces in 12 major cities around the world, for the display of black-and-white posters that declared “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko”. Two years later this slogan became the basis for this song when Lennon decided to make a Christmas record with an anti-war message…plus John said he was sick of White Christmas.….(Read entire article here)
Everybody Looks into the Mirror
Prose at Intellectual Shaman
Intellectual Shaman is a regular here at News on The March and I am always enlightened to read his poetry. He is so gifted and I hope some day he will be published in actual books.
All one must do in the current state of humanity
is to go to a public place
and wait.
If you don’t think about your dreams
you start to gather a sense of the people.
I go to the gym
where everybody watches each other
inside of mirrors.
The girls look good, with their legs, and pullies, and iPods
and they admire their bodies, and the men talk about sports.
The freak on the treadmill makes strange sounds
and I think about what I want
It all boils down to feelings…
like a chemical soup—sex, fame, adventure, and a good death.
(Read entire prose here)
Robin Williams – The Complete Pioneers of Television Interview – Steven J Boettcher
Video interview at Pioneers of Television
Robin Williams is not one of my favourite comedians, but his ability to be innately funny, eccentric and unpredictable on the spot is mightily impressive. You can see here how his mind takes him to strange, but interesting places and also his humility and transparency to go deep down on how he got to be the legend he became was a pleasure to witness.
Robin Williams talks about improvising in high school, his time at Julliard, working with Christopher Reeve and John Housman, developing standup, “Mork and Mindy,” Pam Dawber, Richard Pryor, Jonathon Winters, Johnny Carson, Mort Sahl, “Happy Days,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Awakenings,” “Good Morning Vietnam,” entertaining the troops in Afghanistan, and Shakespeare. (Watch entire interview here)
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Thanks for the link Matt…. Robin Willaims…nobody but Winters was like him. His Mork and Mindy stories are priceless. His quick thinking was amazing.
I never saw Mork and Mindy and wish I did. I don’t think they came out in Australia when I was growing up.
Robin Williams’ thinking on the spot baffles me. I think he is intuitively one, if not the best comedians of all time.
It was NOT a great show but…watching the chemistry between Robin and Pam Dawber was good…when Winters was on it…it was so far out that not many people could catch up. He described it perfectly.
I agree with you….and when you watch Winters….you can tell he inspired Robin.
Winters who inspired him right according to the doco? Williams couldn’t say enough about him.
I still think much of Robin’s comedy and success was down to his being impulsive and innate, by his own means. Not to denigrate Winter’s influence on him.
Matt….watch this if you can….this is a comedian trying to get a bio of Robin off the ground. The guy in channeling him….it’s pretty cool.
It’s uncanny how much this guy resembles Robin, especially the voice. Very impressive. Thanks Max.