dual personalities

Month: July, 2013

July 19, 2013

We come in peace

by chuckofish

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 went into Moon orbit. The following day, July 20, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon at 20:18 UTC. I remember watching on a small black and white television and thinking it all had such a surreal quality to it.

Of course, we joked about the whole thing being faked on some soundstage somewhere.

One small step for man...

One small step for man…

I mean really, doesn’t this have the look of a bad fifties movie? But our joking masked our worry and the strain of witnessing such an amazing event. It was incredibly stressful watching it. Disaster was always imminent.

After about 2 1/2 hours on the lunar surface and seven hours of rest, the crew lifted off and headed home.

A group of British scientists interviewed as part of the 40th anniversary events reflected on the significance of the Moon landing:

It was carried out in a technically brilliant way with risks taken… that would be inconceivable in the risk-averse world of today… The Apollo programme is arguably the greatest technical achievement of mankind to date… nothing since Apollo has come close [to] the excitement that was generated by those astronauts – Armstrong, Aldrin and the 10 others who followed them.

On August 7, 2009, an act of Congress awarded the three astronauts a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Apollo 11 crew at the White House in 2004 with President Bush

Apollo 11 crew at the White House in 2004 with President Bush

Yes, the summer of 1969 was quite a summer. Besides the moon landing, these important events took place within a few weeks of each other:

July 25: Sen. Ted Kennedy received a slap on the wrist (a 2-month suspended sentence) for leaving the scene of a fatal accident at Chappaquiddick, MA.

August 9-10: The Manson murders were perpetrated during a two-night rampage.

August 15-18: Nearly 400,000 people showed up at a farm in Bethel, New York, for a music festival–Woodstock.

August 17: Over 250 people were killed when Hurricane Camille struck the U.S. mainland.

And after all that, our brother headed off to college at the University of Vermont.

Our mother must have been a basket case. At the beginning of eighth grade, I was mostly oblivious.

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July 18, 2013

This is how my brain works

by chuckofish

“[Adamsberg] had recently seen a photograph that had struck him as a clear illustration of his own idea of his brain. It showed the contents of a fishing net unloaded on the deck of a large vessel, a pile taller than the fishermen themselves, a heap of all kinds of things, defying identification, in which the silvery colours of the fish mingles with the dark brown of seaweed, the grey of the crustaceans…the blue of lobsters, the white of seashells, making it hard to distinguish the different elements. That was what he was always fighting, the confused, multiform and shifting mass, always ready to change or vanish, and float off again into the sea. The sailors were sorting out the pile, throwing back creatures that were too small, lumps of seaweed or detritus, and saving the familar useful species. Adamsberg, it seemed to him, did the opposite, throwing out all the sensible items and then looking at the irrelevant fragments of his personal collection.”

–Fred Vargas, The Ghost Riders of Ordebec

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July 17, 2013

For he’s a jolly good fellow

by chuckofish

rpc and car

Here’s our birthday boy with probably the best present he ever got. Knowing his mother, she no doubt sold it at a garage sale when he was at camp, which may explain his latter-day hoarding tendencies.

Here he is a few years later celebrating at my parents house with my dual personality in a festive mood.

rpc and ssc

This year we’ll wish him a happy birthday at the boy’s new house. Sunrise, sunset.

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July 16, 2013

This other Eden

by chuckofish

RIchard II, King of England

RIchard II, King of England

Richard II (6 January 1367 – ca. 14 February 1400) was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the younger brother of Edward of Angoulême; upon the death of this elder brother, Richard—at four years of age—became second in line to the throne after his father. Upon the death of Richard’s father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by agnatic succession, became the first in line for the throne. With Edward III’s death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten. (Read more about him here.)

If you are wondering why you are reading about Richard II, it is because today is the anniversary of his coronation in 1377. Huzzah! The history major in me likes to remind you of these important facts which I fear you may have forgotten. (I had.) And I am always happy to dig out a good Shakespeare quote, especially this one, which conjures up images, not of Sir John Gielgud and Derek Jacobi, but of Leslie Howard as the Scarlet Pimpernel!

“This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty,
this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,–
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.”

― William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1

You remember Leslie Howard at the end of the movie, reciting these lines to Raymond Massey, don’t you?

scarletP

You felt that he meant every word and he did. No one loved England more than he. He proved it a few years later by dying for his country during WWII. (I blogged about that previously here.)

Well, this post is further proof that I can bring just about any reference around to a movie. Who, sir? Me, sir? Yes, sir. You, sir.

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July 15, 2013

Allons enfants de la Patrie

by chuckofish

Yesterday was Bastille Day. Did you remember? While the date is the same as that of the storming of the Bastille, July 14 was chosen to commemorate the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, celebrating the uprising of the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France and what people considered the happy conclusion of the French Revolution.

I am no francophile, despite my French-Canadian great-great grandfather (the mysterious Fabian Blais) and an enduring admiration for Gerard Depardieu,

Gerard-Depardieu

but I thought we would all enjoy this rousing scene from Casablanca.

 

Also I have been reading the latest novel by my favorite French mystery writer, Fred Vargas. (Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau.)

The Ghost Riders of Ordebec is really good! Her mysteries are character driven, not plot driven, which is the way I like them. They are not police procedurals. If you have not read any books by Fred Vargas, I suggest you start with her first Commissaire Adamsberg mystery– L’Homme aux cercles bleus (English title: The Chalk Circle Man). You are in for a treat!

My weekend was a pleasant one. My Episcopal Souffle was a success and dinner on Friday with my compadres was fun per usual.

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I went to several estate sales and bought a few embroidered hand towels and a set of fabric napkins, which you can buy for a few dollars and are usually new, having been put away in a drawer somewhere and never used. They are out of fashion, but I love them–and I use them!

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I worked in the yard, which was hot work, but satisfying. I always feel close to my mother when I toil in the yard, because she used to do so year after year. She frequently had dirty knees because she always wore skirts!

I watched the movie Quartet, directed by Dustin Hoffman, and starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Billy Connelly.

quartet

The movie takes place at a home for retired musicians, where the annual concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents. It was filmed at some beautiful house in Buckinghamshire. I enjoyed it and the setting was lovely. Good music too.

And now it is Monday and it’s back to the salt mines!

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July 13, 2013

Bright lights, big (hot, crowded) city

by chuckofish

It’s hard to believe that just a week ago we were arriving in London after a delightful stay in Devon. As cities go London is really quite nice, but truth be told I much prefer the countryside. Cities have way too many people, who all seem to be going to the same places I am. But let’s concentrate on the good stuff like the British Museum

Before the hordes of tourists arrive

Before the hordes of tourists arrive

where we saw the fabulous Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibit and where I spent the bulk of two days studying my Assyrians.

see how he uses his shield?

see how he uses his shield?

We went to the theater and saw “The 39 Steps” which the incredibly clever staging made truly delightful.

Criterion theater

Though it was a comedy, they stuck to the original story very well and I was not offended on John Buchan’s behalf.

We also went to the Royal Albert Hall to see Verdi’s “Requiem” performed by four soloists and a chorus of over two thousand (yes, two thousand).
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What a place! Since it was a super hot day (maybe 81) and since London doesn’t really do air-conditioning, they moved us from our boiling seats in the upper tier to the pleasantly cool second row, where the view was perfect.

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On our last night, we went to the British Film Institute for their retrospective screening of Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo”. It was an unusually nice film-going experience: no one talked or rattled wrappers and the seats were really comfy.

We enjoyed good pub food

the Marlborough Arms

the Marlborough Arms

and we did a lot of walking…

looking up the Thames from the middle of a bridge

walking across the Thames to the BFI

Sometimes we rode the jam-packed, incredibly hot Underground. No kidding, it was the stuff of nightmares for yours truly, the people/claustrophobe. By the end of the day we all needed refreshment a stiff drink)!

Pub time

at the bar in our hotel

Honestly, though, there’s no place like home. I’m all traveled out — especially since I had one day of jet-lag recovery before driving off to Vermont with Tim for his college orientation. I cannot tell you how nice it was to sleep in my own bed last night!

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July 12, 2013

T.G.I.F.

by chuckofish

This is my first full 5-day work week since I had a vacation week followed by a short holiday week.

I’m not complaining, but I am ready for the weekend, aren’t you?

I am having a few friends over tonight for “Episcopal Souffle”. One friend is bringing her “Holy Spirit Salad”; another will bring bread and another dessert. Add wine. Voila: dinner! Easy-peasy.

Here is the hymn “Come Labor On” (Ora Labora) at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue which includes an improvisation by Gerre Hancock (1934-2012), Organist & Master of Choirsters at St. Thomas Church, for all you organ fans. Perhaps you could argue that this hymn is more appropriate for Monday, but I think it works for the end of the work week. (Also note that yesterday was the feast day of St. Benedict who drew up the Rule of Life: Ora et Labora.)

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July 11, 2013

Into each life some rain must fall

by chuckofish

richscarry

I was talking to daughter #1 yesterday–I was at work and she was walking down Columbus Avenue on her way to work in New York City. It started to rain and she had to run. There were no toadstools to wait under.

AP photo

AP photo

It was rainy as well in my flyover town, and I was reminded of this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).

The Rainy Day

THE DAY is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

But you know, the sun always comes out again…and the tiger lilies are blooming!

lillys

lilys2

lillys3

Who can be sad for long when these wonderful flowers are blooming in our backyard and all along flyover byways?

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July 10, 2013

Where are you, my little object of art?

by chuckofish

“She’s beautiful,’ he murmured.
‘She’s a metre across the hips, easily,’ said Julia.
‘That is her style of beauty,’ said Winston.”

― George Orwell, 1984

fatlady

I have a Metropolitan Museum of Art day-by-day calendar in my bathroom. Every day there is a new art work to view. This piece of ancient Arabian sculpture appeared the other day and I couldn’t help thinking that she looks familiar. Oh, yes, I see her in the mirror every day!

Well, all I have to say is that I totally agree with George Eliot: “It’s an uncommonly dangerous thing to be left without any padding against the shafts of disease.” (Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life)

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July 9, 2013

I learn something new every day

by chuckofish

“Never grow a wishbone, Daughter, where your backbone ought to be.”

–Clementine Paddleford

I read this quote on a blog (of course) and then looked up Clementine Paddleford on Wikipedia to see if she was a real person. Well, yes, she was a real person.

food-editor

Clementine Paddleford (September 27, 1898 – November 13, 1967) was an American food writer active from the 1920s through the 1960s, writing for several publications, including the New York Herald Tribune, the New York Sun, The New York Telegram, Farm and Fireside, and This Week magazine. She was born in Stockdale, Riley County, Kansas and graduated from Kansas State University in 1921 with a degree in journalism. She then studied at New York University’s school of journalism and lived most of her life in New York City, where she introduced her readers to the global range of food to be found in that city. She was also a pilot, and flew a Piper Cub around the country to report on America’s many regional cuisines.

Paddleford’s book How America Eats, published in 1960, was the culmination of her career.

how-america-eats

It was eclipsed, however by The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, published in 1961, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Mesdames Beck, Bertholle and Julia Child the same year.

The afore-quoted admonition, although attributed to Clementine Paddleford, actually was something her mother used to say to her (according to her memoir called “A Flower for My Mother.”) I’m sure they both were fascinating women.

You can read all about Clementine here in The New York Times. I must say I was glad to discover her.

The world is more than we know.

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