Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader would remind you all that on this day in 1965, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill died at his home in London, England.

Churchill has always been a personal hero of your Maximum Leader’s. Your Maximum Leader was quite disappointed with Time Magazine when they didn’t select him as the “Man of the Century” for the 20th Century. (Okay, he had already been declared by Time Magazine the man of the half century in 1950… But still… BTW, does anyone care about Time Magazine anymore?) Sadly, your Maximum Leader is finding that many of the details of Churchill’s life that he used to be able to cite from memory are slipping from his memory. (As are so many other tidbits…) Your Maximum Leader has decided, as a result, to relearn what he’s been forgetting. He’ll pull some volumes out of his expansive Churchill Library and set himself to reading.

You all should, in the words of the monument set inside the main doors of Westminster Abbey, “Remember Winston Churchill.” Without Churchill there is no telling how much worse off the world would be today.

Carry on.

PS from your Maximum Leader: Mitt Romney is the only Republican presidential candidate who has pledged to return to the Oval Office the bust of Churchill returned to the British Ambassador by President Obama. Why can’t we get a debate moderator to ask the rest of the candidates their position on this esoteric (but important to your Maximum Leader) issue?

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader heard this song about 2 weeks ago. He’s listened to it quite a bit since then. It was only when Villainette #1 accused your Maximum Leader of only liking the song because of the dancing girls in the video that he learned the song even had a video…

Here it is…

Your Maximum Leader does like the dancing girls.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader mentioned in the post below that Mrs. Villain is with her father right now… While she is gone your Maximum Leader has been listening to this song and thinking about her…

He’s also listening to “our” song…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that the month of January is nearly half spent and he’s hardly blogged at all. He’d thought that he’d devote a little more time to blogging in 2012.

But fate has conspired against him.

Your Maximum Leader is not trying to elicit sympathy from any of you out there that are still reading… But…

2012 (and frankly the tail end of 2011) have not been particularly good for your Maximum Leader.

After Christmas, Villainette #2 got pretty sick and was not feeling well for a while. That was a downer during the period from Christmas to New Years.

Right after New Years your Maximum Leader’s dear father-in-law saw his doctor for some chest pains. He (father-in-law) has had some cardiovascular issues in the past and has a number of stents in various arteries around his heart. After an examination we all thought that there would be more stents inserted into arteries around father-in-law’s heart. Well… That was wrong. Upon closer examination, father-in-law required double bypass surgery. That was the bad news. The good news is that father-in-law is a model of health and vigor and has come through the surgery very well and is now recovering at home. In fact, Mrs Villain (and a fully recovered Villainette #2) are with him now to help him and mother-in-law get all settled in.

As if that was not enough…

He hardest blow has been what has happened to your Maximum Leader’s graduate school buddy and one-time roommate, Frank S.

The Wednesday after Christmas your Maximum Leader received a call from a friend. She had just been called by Frank’s father. Frank was in the hospital. Frank had had a massive stroke. Frank was in a coma. Frank’s prognosis was unclear, but likely bad.

Sadly, my friend Frank’s condition is unchanged. He has suffered massive amounts of brain damage. He is still in a coma. His prognosis is still somewhat unclear, although doctors say any recovery is highly unlikely.

Frank is 44 years old.

I last spoke to Frank over Thanksgiving weekend. We had agreed to chat in January and set a date to go and see the hoard of Saxon gold at the National Geographic Society. I was going to bring the family along and we would see the gold and then get some Indian food near Frank’s apartment in Arlington.

I have visited Frank a number of times in the past few weeks. Some days I believe he might be “aware” of my being there and talking to him. Most days I don’t know. Sadly, as I have already mentioned, it is my understanding that Frank’s condition will not improve.

So there is that…

Sorry your Maximum Leader hasn’t started off 2012 with a burst of creative output. But he doesn’t have it in him.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wishes you all a happy new year. He hopes that your 2012 is going better than his…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader hopes that you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah. Your Maximum Leader had a fine time. He got a video game for the PC (Total War: Shogun 2) and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” Sadly your Maximum Leader has not devoted too much time to either. He’s done a few of the tutorials for battles and such on the game. He hopes to spend a little more time playing this coming weekend.

As for the movie… Your Maximum Leader has watched about half of it. Then events conspired to keep him from finishing the film. So far, James Franco’s performance is flat. John Lithgow is great. Frieda Pinto is beautiful but her character is underdeveloped. And Ceasar (the ape) is awesome. Your Maximum Leader hopes to finish the film one night this week.

Continuing to pull a play from FLG’s book… Your Maximum Leader is listening to the album version of this song:

Here’s a question… Would you consider the above linked song (Will Hoge’s “Too Old To Die Young”) a rock song or a country song? Your Maximum Leader heard it for the first time on Elizabeth Cook’s show on Outlaw Country on Sirius/XM. But when he bought it on iTunes it was listed as Rock. He played it for Villainette #1 who said it sounded sort of like rock. Mrs Villain says country…

The taxomony problem in music is sometimes aggrevating. If only we could have a musical Aristotle or Linneaus who could conclusively answer these vexing problems for us…

Another vexing problem… Roast beef… Your Maximum Leader overbought standing rib roast for Christmas dinner. (He thought he would have more dinner guests than he did…) So he put a whole 3 rib roast in the freezer and still has just less than 2 ribs worth of Christmas dinner remaining. (He cooked a very robust 4 rib roast on Christmas.) He’s been eating roast beef at every meal since Sunday night. Not that he’s complaining mind you… (Not exactly anyway…) But it seems as though his family decided to eat other things starting yesterday. So last night for dinner it was your Maximum Leader feasting on roast beast, warmed over Yorkshire pudding, green beans and salad while his family had hot (fresh) rolls, salad and soup. Your Maximum Leader can’t imagine passing up roast beef that is just sitting in the fridge! (NB: Your Maximum Leader suggested to Mrs Villain that he cook the frozen roast for New Years, but she’s put the kybosh on that.)

Since we will not be having roast for New Year’s… Your Maximum Leader isn’t sure what he’ll be eating over the weekend.

He can hope for ham…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wishes you all a very Merry Christmas (and he’ll do it now in case he doesn’t get around to blogging again for a day or two).

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader will pull a page from FLG’s playbook.

Your Maximum Leader is now listening to:

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that Kim Jong-Il has croaked. Your Maximum Leader can’t say he’s sorry at all to hear of Kim’s passing. One supposes that we’ll have to watch North Korea carefully to see what happens in the coming days.

One wonders who, if anyone, the US will send to the funeral (assuming we’re invited). Your Maximum Leader would likely send Bill Richardson if we send anyone above a functionary with the State Department. Of course, anyone other than Richardson, Sectretary Clinton, Vice President Biden or a former US President would likely be viewed as insulting. Which it would be in fact.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was in the new Villainmobile yesterday listening to the CBC. (He has a demo of SirriusXM radio for a few more months and he’s found that he listens to the CBC once and a while.) While listening to the CBC he heard a number of commentators reminiscing about the life of Christopher Hitchens. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t recall who was speaking at the time but the individual was commenting on how, contrary to his public persona, Hitchens was a consummate gentleman with impeccable manners. The speaker (who now as your Maximum Leader thinks about it, might have been David Frum) said that he visited Hitchens a few weeks ago and even though Hitchens was weak and ravaged by cancer and its side affects, he (Hitchens) stood up from the sofa on which he was laying down and attempted to offer his visitor a seat. The speaker indicated that Hitchens was always the gentleman in private.

This prompted your Maximum Leader to recall that many years ago he met Hitchens in DC. They ran into each other in a hotel lobby. Hitchens was going to a party, your Maximum Leader to a different party. Your Maximum Leader introduced himself in the lobby and we rode the elevator together. We exchanged small talk about some goings-on in town. Somehow the conversation was drawing down and we exchanged emails. Your Maximum Leader later mailed Hitchens a short polite email thanking him for sharing an enjoyable elevator ride. To your Maximum Leader’s surprise, Hitchens responded the next morning with an equally pleasant email. That struck your Maximum Leader as showing a civility that was often missing from public people.

In closing, your Maximum Leader will restate that which he quoted earlier. The world is a whole lot dumber (and less interesting) without Christopher Hitchens.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that Christopher Hitchens has died. (Good WaPo obit here.) Actually, your Maximum Leader learned of this earlier today. But he wasn’t sure what to write.

Your Maximum Leader thought of titling this post “Hitchens - RIP” or “Fare thee well Christopher Hitchens” or any one of a number of other normal titles that include some variation of resting or moving on. But in the end your Maximum Leader decided that all these potential post titles implied some sort of belief in something more beyond death. Of course, Hitchens did not believe in God, the afterlife, or anything like that.

So your Maximum Leader decided that the best thing to do was to just announce it. Christopher Hitchens is dead.

As Anthony Bourdain tweeted earlier, the world got a whole lot dumber today. That is true. The world was better off for Hitchens being in it. Your Maximum Leader didn’t always agree with Hitch, but he was thoughtful, exciting, combative, entertaining, and a hell of a writer.

Because your Maximum Leader can’t help it… Rest in peace Hitch.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is giddy as a schoolgirl.

Your Maximum Leader hears you all asking yourselves, “Self, why would my Maximum Leader be so giddy?” Well let him tell you. He got tweeted by the lovely and talented Lola Astanova. Yup he did. You can click here and see it. Okay. It is a short tweet (as they all are he supposes). But still. She was surprised that anyone was coming from Virginia for her show. Since your Maximum Leader isn’t in the NYC area, and Miss Astanova doesn’t seem to travel down to DC for any performances, it seemed like a good time to go to NYC and catch her performance.

Ah the wonders of social media.

Perhaps your Maximum Leader will get extra lucky and she’ll invite him to meet her after the performance for a photo. That would be cool. (Doubtful as he’s sure that there are many more wealthy patrons who will vie for her attention afterwards.)

So, as it stands, your Maximum Leader will be travelling to NYC with Villainette #2 in January, 2012. We will be seeing the lovely and supremely talented Lola Astanova’s Carnegie Hall debut as well as seeing the town. The two of us are very excited to be able to take the trip.

If you are interested, you can follow your Maximum Leader on twitter at: @maximumleader.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wrote yesterday about his desire to go to New York City and see the lovely and talented Lola Astanova’s Carnegie Hall debut on January 19, 2012. He speculated that he would go with Mrs Villain.

Well… He is going to go to New York to see Miss Astanova’s Carnegie Hall debut. But he is not going with Mrs Villain. He is going with Villainette #2.

Villainette #2 has always been fascinated with the whole idea of New York City. The tall buildings. The crowds. The hustle. She has been after your Maximum Leader for about a year to take her to New York for a little trip. Well. This concert became the trip. We will likely take the train up to the city on Thursday morning and return Friday night. We will probably hit the Empire State Building and the Met while we are there.

And Carnegie Hall of course.

Tickets to the concert are purchased and tickets on the train are next. Then comes the tough part. Finding a decent hotel that will not cost a kings ransom.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is considering trying to take his lovely wife up to NYC for a concert on January 19, 2012.

Your Maximum Leader’s platonic crush, the lovely and supremely talented Lola Astanova, is giving a benefit concert (proceeds to the American Cancer Society) at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, January 19, 2012.

If you live in greater NYC area you should consider going. Tickets available from Carnegie Hall here.

Carry on.

UPDATED: Your Maximum Leader just learned that this concert will be Lola Astanova’s Carnegie Hall debut. This might push him a little harder to try and see this show.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, in the comments to the previous post, was asked by Arethusa what his favorite films of the plays of Shakespeare.

That is a tough one. It really depends on your Maximum Leader’s mood. There is, however, a small pool of absolute favorites that keep popping up. Allow him to ennumerate them in no particular order…

1) Richard III - Ian McKellen’s version. Richard III is your Maximum Leader’s favorite play. The name of this blog comes from the play in fact. This version is great because of the 1930’s setting. Also, it is edited down and rather short at a little over an hour and a half. If your Maximum Leader wants a Shakespeare fix on the quick, this is the film he grabs.

2) Hamlet - Kenneth Branagh version. If your Maximum Leader’s memory is correct, this is the only version of the whole play on film. That is one of the reasons this film clocks in at about 4 hours long. It is wonderfully acted and the sets are beautiful. This is an exquiste film and probably the best filmed Shakespeare ever.

3) Richard III - Laurence Olivier version. Again, this is your Maximum Leader’s favorite Shakespeare play, so it seems right that it should be on the list twice. This version is a more conventional film than the McKellan version. (Conventional in that it has the feel of a play put on film.) You can’t beat Olivier for talent. Olivier was the greatest Shakespearean of our times (our “times” being roughly 1900 to the present - and in a pinch your Maximum Leader might argue that Olivier was the greatest Shakespearean actor since David Garrick).

4) Ran - by Akira Kurosawa. This might be something of a cheat. Ran is an adaptation of King Lear set in medieval Japan. Your Maximum Leader will stretch the category a little and include this film in the list.

5) MacBeth - Orson Welles version. Although it has been ages since your Maximum Leader has watched this film, he does remember it very fondly. He’ll have to see about renting it and rewatching to see if it is as he remembers it.

6) The Merchant of Venice - Pacino version. Pacino himself is a little over the top in this performance (as all of his performances on film since 1990 have been). But this is a wonderful adaptation of the play. Also, many exterior shots were filmed in Venice - which makes it a joy to watch.

7) Romeo & Juliet - Zefferelli version. This is a conventional choice. It probably makes everyone’s list. But it is well done and as your Maximum Leader remembers it, this was the first Shakespeare he ever saw (play or film).

8 ) Taming of the Shrew - Taylor/Burton version. Come on! Taylor! Burton! Need he say more?

9) Titus - Julie Tamor version. Your Maximum Leader loves the cast of this film. Anthony Hopkins. Jessica Lange. Alan Cumming. They are great actors and do so well in their part. Tamore’s setting and costuming is sort of wierd, yet interesting (not as over the top as her stage version of The Lion King, but interesting - perhaps influenced by McKellan’s R3).

10) Henry V - Branagh version. Wasn’t this the movie that really put Kenneth Branagh on the map so to speak.

So those are the top films of Shakespeare’s plays according to your Maximum Leader. Feel free to dispute as you like in the comments.

Carry on.