Daily photographs by HANS VON RITTERN, with humorous, artistic and social commentary on life in the big city.

Archive for July 15, 2013

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN’S “NOT GUILTY” VERDICT WAS BULLIED BY JUROR #B37 !

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN’S “NOT GUILTY” VERDICT WAS BULLIED BY JUROR #B37 !

Go to CNN’S Anderson Cooper interview with her Monday 7-15-13 evening.

In only 1-½ days juror B37 has secured herself a book deal, claiming not because she “wants to profit from this”.  . . and I am the pope! Her husband is a lawyer – HOW did she get  on the jury?? She is also a right wing gun advocate and a proponent of the hideous Florida “stand your ground law.” One of the blind who firmly believes “race had nothing to do with it.” She claims she knows what happened that night. Listen to her words very, very carefully. The hesitations and voice say a lot more than what just her words say.

She is an older white woman, (very privileged white, doesn‘t need to work) to the point that she refers to blacks as “they” and “them” and felt sorry for the defense witness “poor Rachel Jeantel”. There was a huge racial and age gap: “She had just used ‘phrases’ I had never heard before.”

She told Anderson Cooper the jury entered the deliberation room 2 for manslaughter, 1 for second degree murder  2 likely guilty – but she was “convinced“ from the very beginning that “George”  was innocent. “No doubt about it.” (It is also disturbingly cozy that she does not refer to the defendent as ‘the defendent’, ‘George Zimmerman’ or ‘Mr. Zimmerman’ – but as “George”). “We just couldn’t reach a verdict 3 to 3. So I worked so hard to go over the evidence again and again.” “Again and again“ translates as “bullied” for her right wing gun toting agenda! Remember she was the only one that was convinced from the start that ‘George’ was innocent. She was the alpha female in the group that swayed the jury to go her way, so she could write the book on how she fought to carry them to the light of the truth! BINGO = book deal 1-½ days later!

Of course towards the end of the interview, as all right wingers do, she threw in some required quivers in her voice and supposed tears. “I feel sorry for both of them.” BOTH. I say ‘supposed tears’ because her face was blacked out. When Anderson asked her why she didn‘t want to show her face, she said because wanted to be “cautious.” We know this about her: the woman has lived in the Sanford, Fla., area for 18 years and has two daughters – a 24-year-old pet groomer and a 27-year-old college student. During jury selection, she said she had been called for jury duty four times previously but never selected to sit on a case.

Never selected for a case – yet this one she seemingly was “perfect” for and swayed the whole case. If you are angry, if you feel this is as unjust and embarrassing as I do – direct your anger at her – JUROR #B37 !

PS – The case is also a sad confluence of bad things. Teenager Rachel Jeantel was interviewed on CNN’S Piers Morgan afterwards. To everyone’s surprise she IS a well spoken, intelligent (street smart) religious girl, respectful of her elders. Why sadly did Rachel not pull herself together and show herself as she was on Piers Morgan Monday night? Because she said she was angry, didn’t want to be incourt, couldn’t deal with Trayvon Martin’s death and is very afraid of death. How very, very sad that this young innocent boy lost his life due to such a “Chicago” (movie) like trial. The film, by the way, is based on a true 1924 story of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan. In all this time, almost ninety years later, it still rings true in America, get a more clever lawyer and you CAN get away with murder.

Juror #B37’s book, ‘George Zimmerman Is Innocent’ written with the assistance of her lawyer husband,

will be out later this year.


Mondays on Memory Lane: PLEASE HELP GIVE CAROL CHANNING A 2013 KENNEDY CENTER AWARD

CAROL CHANNING LEGEND

Mondays on Memory Lane: PLEASE HELP GIVE CAROL CHANNING A 2013 KENNEDY CENTER AWARD – If you are of a certain age, or you know your entertainment history, there are certain voices that on first note you recognize instantly. The Brooklyn of Jimmy Durante, the heart of  Louis Armstrong, the belt of Ethel Merman, the breathiness Marilyn Monroe, the growl of Eartha Kitt, the shaky quality of Katherine Hepburn, the accent of Marlene Dietrich, the staccato speech pattern Bette Davis and above all the big hearted gravely “hello” of Carol Channing!
Carol is larger than life, she is a living caricature of herself, a favorite of the best caricature artist of all time Al Hirschfeld.  She is also living Broadway history having created two of the most iconic characters in theater history, Lorelei Lee of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and Dolly Levi of ‘Hello Dolly’. No matter who you remember playing these characters on screen, Marilyn Monroe or Streisand – Carol originated them! But above all, there is no other creation like Carol herself. You fall in love with her the moment you set eyes on her.
HIRSCHFELD DOLLYhirschfeld_carol_channing LORELEI LEE
At age 92, nothing has changed, her saucer eyes, her broad grin, that bowl cut hair style, the platinum blonde hair, that child-like enthusiasm with a heart of gold and above all, above all – that voice!  I have had the thrill of seeing her on stage many times in my lifetime: 3 times as Dolly in 1970, 1978 and 1995. Once as Lorelei Lee the ultimate diamond loving gold digger the 1974’s ‘Lorelei’, the musical stage version of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. In film she will be forever remembered as Muzzy Van Hossmere in Julie Andrews’ ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ as Carol sang in a vocal range from a high ‘C’ to the lowest note possible in ‘I’m Just A Jazz Baby’ and ‘Raspberries!’
On April 30, 2011, my good friend Jeffrey Shonert and I had the thrilling absolute surreal honor of sitting in front of Carol Channing and her late husband  Harry Kullijian at the premier of her life story documentary “Larger Than Life” at the Tribeca Film Festival here in New York. This was thanks to the larger than life heart and love of my dear friend, entertainer and author Richard Skipper. As the film ran I could hear Carol commenting on the film to her husband – two Carol voices at once – surreal!! Richard, I am forever indebted to you!
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2011
Once a year The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C hands out lifetime achievement awards to the greats of entertainment. Since their inception in 1978, in all this time, Carol Channing has never been honored. How they have overlooked and bypassed this legend is a travesty and embarrassment. What to me makes it worse, last year seemingly having run out of names to give it to, they gave it to mad magazine poster child David Letterman. How throwing watermelons off a roof while stupidly grinning into the camera merits a lifetime achievement award over the life’s work of  Carol Channing is beyond me! She has entertained us since the 1940’s, has worked tirelessly for Arts In Education. She IS theater!
228549_167645113293705_4137456_nRICHARD SKIPPER right
My dear friend Richard Skipper, personal friend of Carol Channing, is championing the cause to finally having Carol be given her due. PLEASE, if you love Carol, are a friend of mine or just a show biz lover, please sign the enclosed petition to correct this unjust oversight and GIVE CAROL CHANNING THE 2013 KENNEDY CENTER HONOR ! Please sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-kennedy-center-honors-give-carol-channing-a-2013-kennedy-center-honor
Thank you !
Hans Von Rittern
The trailer for ‘Larger Than Life’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_aQMAP5xM
Two of the biggest hearts in show business, both Hello Dolly’s themselves – Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey = priceless! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcazoYIRIoo