Light On Light Through

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 103, in which I interview Linda Kaplan Thaler. Linda and I wrote a bunch of songs in the late 1960s, including "Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye," which appears on my 1972 Twice Upon a Rhyme album, mentioned from time to time on this podcast. Linda went on to write the world-famous, iconic "Toys R Us" jingle in 1983 ("I Don't Wanna Grow Up, I'm a Toys R US Kid"), mastermind the Aflac Duck campaign nearly two decades later, and work on the political campaigns of both Bill and Hillary Clinton. She has also co-written four books, including The Power of Nice, and the recently published Grit to Great. We discuss all of this and more on the podcast.

You can get Grit to Great here.

Other helpful links -

• Linda Kaplan Thaler on Wikipedia
• Linda sings Skyscraper
• Tony DeSanto sings "Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye"
• video of my 15 August 2015 concert with Peter Rosenthal in Ronkonkoma, NY
• my 2006 interview by Patrick Rands on WZBC Radio, in which I talk about Linda Kaplan and my discography, which Patrick plays
• my Transfer of Power science fiction story, about what really happened when JFK shook Bill Clinton's hand

Lyrics to songs in the podcast -

SKYSCRAPER

words by Paul Levinson

music by Linda Kaplan

1968

Skyscraper

nestled in the quiet vapor

of the clouds

above the crowds

that teem and dream

below you

Skyscraper

set against the pastel paper

of the sky

I wish that I

could see those colors

glow too

(bridge)

Wonder what you see

Looking down at me

Wonder who I am

Wonder what I'll be?

Skyscraper

dressed up in the sparkling drapery

of night, it's always bright

outside for you

always new

(bridge)

NOT YET READY TO SAY GOODBYE

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Linda Kaplan

1968

Things been getting' worse, lately

Been lovin' in reverse, lately

Almost time to say we've had our fill

Seems from here the road is all downhill

Don't you believe it girl, we've something still

(chorus)

Hey, we're not yet ready to say goodbye

"Sure gonna miss you" just won't get by

Goodbye don't make it

We can't forsake it

We're not yet ready to say goodbye

Life's been down on us, lately

Been causin' quite a fuss, lately

Breakin' up would be the simple cure

But the treatment would be mighty poor

Long empty evenings never feelin' quite sure

(chorus)

(bridge)

Can't say so long – it's been so long

Can't say that's all – 'cause that's all wrong

(chorus)

A PIECE OF THE RAINBOW

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Linda Kaplan

1968

A piece of the rainbow

fell to the ground and burst into colors

And I picked up a piece of the rainbow

A pretty little star

I put you in a jar

so I could watch you grow

And I brought home the piece of the rainbow

Enchanted little elf

I put you on my shelf

And hoped that you would glow

And I watched you every day

And you slowly turned to gray

And I picked up my piece of the rainbow

And tossed you back to the sky

And waved a last goodbye

I had to let you go

CLOUDY SUNDAY

Words by Paul Levinson

Music by Peter Rosenthal

1968

Cloudy Sunday

I wake to find you gone

Cloudy Sunday

The bed I sleep upon

is strangely smooth and white

Touched only by me and the empty night

Cloudy Sunday

A fog upon my brain

Cloudy Sunday

condenses into rain

and tears begin to swell

but you couldn't tell that I loved you well

So we loved each other in passing

But I'll keep searching for something more lasting

Like the poet looking

for the once in a lifetime rhyme

Cloudy Sunday

I glimpse a distant form

Cloudy Sunday

I sense that she is warm

but question what I feel –

reflection of me or something more real?

Cloudy Sunday

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 102, in which I interview John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth, about what he sees as a constructive intersection of space travel and religion. The interview was conducted on July 30, 2015 in Senator Glenn's office at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. A transcript of this conversation will be published in the Touching the Face of the Cosmos anthology being assembled by Michael Waltemathe and me - more details about that, including the contents, here. We also discussed John Glenn's response to portrayals of him in the media, and other aspects of his life as an astronaut. *Note added December 17, 2015: the anthology has been published, and is here available here.

In addition to John Glenn, his wife Annie of 72 years participates in the conversation. Adam Sackowitz joins in the questioning. In addition to John and Annie Glenn, I thank Joel Iskowitz, Adam Sackowitz, Peter Bucher, Kathy Dancey, and Fordham University, for each helping in their own ways to make this interview possible.

The photo below of John Glenn, Annie Glenn, and me was taken at the end of the interview.

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 101, in which I review the pilot of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle - that is, the pilot of a series to be streamed on Amazon, based on Dick's alternate history masterpiece. Here's my written review of the pilot.

three time travel novels: the Sierra Waters trilogy

What if the Soviet Union survived into the 21st century,and Eddie and the Cruisers were a real band?

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 100, in which I review Predestination (the movie made from Robert Heinlein's 1959 story "All You Zombies") and the first three episodes of the 12 Monkeys TV series (based on the 1995 movie). Yes, 2015 is starting out as a great year for time travel!

Blog post reviews -

• Predestination
• 12 Monkeys TV series
• Italian review, with reference to "The Chronolgy Protection Case"

three time travel novels: the Sierra Waters trilogy

four more time travel stories (Loose Ends saga)

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 99, in which I review every episode of The Affair - Season 1 - my favorite new series on television.

You can find my written reviews of these episodes here -

• The Affair Premiere: Sneak Preview Review
• The Affair 1.2: Time Travel!
• The Affair 1.3: The Agent and the Sleepers
• The Affair 1.4: Come Together
• The Affair 1.5: Alison's Episode
• The Affair 1.6: Drugs and Vision
• The Affair 1.7: True Confessions
• The Affair 1.8: "I Love You / I Love You, Too"
• The Affair 1.9: Who Else on the Train?
• The Affair Season One Finale: The Arrest and the Rest

• The Affair 2.1: Advances

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 98, in which I play, back to back, my review of Bones 100 (100th episode) as recorded in 2010 and my review of Bones 200 (200th) episode, written just a few days ago and recorded this afternoon. It's fun to see how much and little has changed in Bones in the past five seasons. One thing that has remained constant is the delightlful quality of the show.

For my written reviews of these two landmark episodes, see

• Bones 100: Two Deep Kisses & One Wild Relationship
• Bones 200: Just Like Bogey and Bacall

a different kind of love story and mystery

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 97, in which I explain why, even though I usually support progressive causes, I'm against net neutrality - or the government mandating that all providers of content have equal access to the Internet. In brief, my reasons are the First Amendment, the Utilitarian principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, and the importance of smooth and unimpeded streaming of TV and movies for millions of viewers. This podcast episode gives details on these reasons.

See also my written blog post on this issue:

Why I'm Against Net Neutrality

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 96, in which I review three recent, under-the radar, off-the-beaten track time travel movies: Dimensions, I'll Follow You Down, and 95ers: Time Runners.

If you know of other time travel movies which you think I might enjoy and want to review, just list them here in the Comments section (right below this post).

Here are my written reviews of these movies -

• Dimensions
• I'll Follow You Down
• 95ers: Time Runners

Hey, if you enjoy these sorts of small-scale time travel movies, check out The Chronology Protection Case, available on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video.

and more time travel in Loose Ends, Hugo-nominated novella - "Paul Levinson has taken the brilliant step of combining the emotional impact of two tragic American events ... But Levinson does much more. He creates a love story set against the evocative portrait of New York City." -Michael Burstein, Tangent

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 95, in which I review several pivotal episodes of Outlander, one of my favorite new television series, debuting in the Fall of 2014.

Links to my written reviews of these episodes -

• Outlander 1.1-3: The Hope of Time Travel
• Outlander 1.6: Outstanding
• Outlander 1.7: Tender Intertemporal Polygamy
• Outlander 1.8: The Other Side

and more time travel in Loose Ends, Hugo-nominated novella - "Paul Levinson has taken the brilliant step of combining the emotional impact of two tragic American events ... But Levinson does much more. He creates a love story set against the evocative portrait of New York City." -Michael Burstein, Tangent

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 94, in which I revisit one of the greatest shows ever to have been on television: The Sopranos. The occasion is the release by HBO of The Sopranos: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and Digital HD on November 4, 2014, containing the complete 86-episode run of the series, as well as bonus feautures including a new documentary, "Defining a Television Landmark," in which I'm interviewed. To commemorate this release, I've prepared a special episode of this podcast with my reviews of the final nine episodes of the series, recorded minutes after each episode ended, along with three additional pieces with my thoughts in the days after the finale. These originally appeared on another one of my podcasts, Levinson News Clips, which has been unavailable for the past few years. Enjoy.

See also my written reviews of the final nine episodes of The Sopranos: First of Nine, Second of Nine, Third of Nine, Fourth of Nine, Fifth of Nine, Sixth of Nine, Seventh of Nine, Eighth of Nine, Ninth of Nine: The Anti-Ending Ending

And subsequent thoughts on the ending: The Sopranos, or the Tiger? ... The Sopranos End and the Closure Junkies ... The Sopranos and Hamlet

See also The Sopranos as a Nuts-and-Bolts Triumph of Non-Network TV my 2002 article

And my 90-minute interview with Dominic Chianese And see: The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Press) ... papers and essays from the May 2008 Sopranos Symposium at Fordham University

I was in some good company in Defining a Television Landmark