August | 2013 | dual personalities

August 31, 2013

Abominations of the silver screen

by chuckofish

We blog about movies quite frequently and almost exclusively about ones we love. But what about the ones that make our blood boil? What about the monstrous creations that should never, never have been allowed to see the light of day?

Take for example the upcoming 47 Ronin starring the hapless Keanu Reeves (does he ever make good movies?):

The 47 Ronin, as you know, is probably the most famous story in Japan, where it amounts to a national epic. A true story of profound samurai loyalty. In Japan it has received countless film and TV adaptations, of which the 1941 version is best known. I can’t imagine why, but none of them involves a Japanese/American, witches, dragons, and other monsters. The true story should be graceful and mannered to the point of being (to a westerner) almost excruciatingly slow-moving. The tension mounts, you follow the story in what seems like real time as the ronin wait years to avenge their master:

The Keanu Reeves version is just heresy and probably a terrible movie to boot. I feel the same way about 300 and the upcoming 300: Rise of an Empire

which couldn’t be worse if it tried. Honestly, if people want to make comic book adventures, why pick on history? The real story the battle of Salamis is infinitely cooler and so very Greek (that Themistocles is one crafty guy). Really, go read about it in Herodotus sometime.

I also have to add to this list the many terrible movie versions of Beowulf, which is a fabulous poem that deserves better. If you haven’t read it lately, revisit the beautiful Seamus Heaney translation (R.I.P., Seamus), but don’t ever watch these movies.

I mean, really, Angelina Joli as Grendel’s mother? Some scaly monster. The Gerard Butler movie is pretty — I think it was filmed in Iceland, but it was a terrible mess and ultimately had little to do with Beowulf. Why can’t Gerard Butler make a decent movie anymore?

Last, but not least, I leave you with one of the all-time worst adaptations of a classic story. Troy.

There is so much wrong with this movie that just contemplating the errors exhausts me beyond reason. I can’t list them here so you’ll just have to trust me. Whatever you do, don’t waste your precious life watching it.

Sadly, there are more bad movies out there than great ones, but the worst offenders are the ones that take some iconic story and mutilate it beyond recognition. What would you add to the never-watch list?

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August 30, 2013

Toot! Toot!

by chuckofish

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Zooline Railroad at our famous flyover zoo.

Director Marlin Perkins looks at the plans in 1963.

A golden spike is driven into the ground on August 29, 1963.

Our Zoo is one of the biggest (and the best) zoos in the country and our summers are famously hot and humid. The Zoo train offers a comfortable way to get around the 90-acre Zoo campus. For your $5 these days (the cost was 30 cents in 1963) you get a 20-minute narrated tour weaving through tunnels and past favorite animal exhibits on a 1½-mile round trip. The Zooline Railroad has transported more than 35 million visitors since 1963 and it is still one of the most popular attractions there. (The railroad operates year-round, weather permitting.)

My mother loved the Zoo train. It was one of the few things she was gladly willing to pay for back in the day. We loved it too. After she died, I always insisted on riding the train with my own children, and I still feel close to my mother as I ride around the familiar route.

Our favorite engine for obvious reasons.

I wish I had a picture of my mother on the Zoo train, but, alas, I do not. Instead, here’s a picture of Captain Kangaroo visiting the Zoo! Perhaps this was on the opening day–I’m not sure. (All pictures are from the Zoo website.)

Have a nice weekend!

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August 29, 2013

The Enigma of August

by chuckofish

“The summer ended. Day by day, and taking its time, the summer ended. The noises in the street began to change, diminish, voices became fewer, the music sparse. Daily, blocks and blocks of children were spirited away. Grownups retreated from the streets, into the houses. Adolescents moved from the sidewalk to the stoop to the hallway to the stairs, and rooftops were abandoned. Such trees as there were allowed their leaves to fall – they fell unnoticed – seeming to promise, not without bitterness, to endure another year. At night, from a distance, the parks and playgrounds seemed inhabited by fireflies, and the night came sooner, inched in closer, fell with a greater weight. The sound of the alarm clock conquered the sound of the tambourine, the houses put on their winter faces. The houses stared down a bitter landscape, seeming, not without bitterness, to have resolved to endure another year.”

–James Baldwin

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August 28, 2013

I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

by chuckofish

The collect today is for Augustine of Hippo:

Lord God, the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you: Help us, following the example of your servant Augustine of Hippo, so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Augustine was an early Christian and philosopher who served (396-430) as the bishop of Hippo. Through his autobiographical Confessions (397) and the City of God (413-426), he profoundly influenced Christianity and is considered to be one of the theological fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation and divine grace.

In the Anglican Church he is a saint and today is his feast day.

His mother Monica, however, is considered a saint only in the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed, she is a prototypical Catholic woman–“venerated for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering against the adultery of her husband, and a prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son.” (Wikipedia) She cried a lot and prayed a lot, and, we are led to believe, it paid off. Her sinful rake of a son turned out to be a prince of the church. Not that she lived to see much of the rewards of her prayer. Isn’t that always the way?

Anyway, I thought this was amusing:

This is code to all you sons out there: Call your mother!

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August 27, 2013

R.I.P. Elmore Leonard

by chuckofish

Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) died last week at the age of 87. He was an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into popular films.

None of these literary genres is a particular favorite of mine, but I have always appreciated Leonard as a better writer than most in his chosen field. And, of course, he wrote the novel Hombre in 1961 on which the 1967 movie was based. It is one of my favorite westerns.

In this film Paul Newman plays John Russell, a white man brought up as an Apache. It is a classic tale of strangers on a stagecoach, journeying through hostile territory. The ‘bad guys’ are led by the scary Richard Boone. Unfortunately, the ‘good guys’ aren’t much better. As Boone says to Frederick March (who has billed the government for food for the Indians and then kept the money while the Indians starve to death), “Looks like you did good and we did better…You know, the thing is; [you] ought to be over here with us instead of standin’ over there.” That, indeed, is the crux of the story. Russell/Hombre wants no part of the others on the stage, but they look to him to get them out of their predicament. And as much as he doesn’t want to, he is forced by circumstances (and Diane Cilento) to do “the right thing”.

Hombre is also my favorite Paul Newman movie, along with Cool Hand Luke, which amazingly was made the same year. He is just over 40 and at the peak of his powers. Awesome.

It would be a worthy tribute to watch Hombre in memory of Elmore Leonard. It is an underrated film–I don’t know why–and classic Leonard before he became famous.

You could also watch an episode or two of Justified, an FX show which is based on Elmore Leonard’s novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story “Fire in the Hole.” An evening with U.S. Marshall Raylen Givens would not be a bad idea either.

I’m just sayin’.

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August 26, 2013

O blest communion, fellowship divine

by chuckofish

Daughter #2 went back east on Saturday, and after I dropped her off at the airport, I hurried back to Grace Church for a funeral. An 86-year old friend had died while we were in Wyoming and I wanted to pay my respects to him and to his lovely wife. (Also if I shed a few tears for daughter #2, no one would notice.)

As befitted the passing of a devout cradle Episcopalian, the service included KJV readings and the whole nine yards of communion–just the way I like it. There was a good crowd there to honor Brooke, a retired chemist with 30-something patents, including one to do with medical x-rays. He was also a devoted churchman–a dying breed I’m afraid. His three children all spoke movingly before the service about Brooke. I was impressed. But none of them seemed to know what to do during the service, which saddened me. Clearly none of his sons are devoted churchmen. Ah, well. So it goes.

Brooke once told me, after hearing the boy speak in church about his experience on the youth mission trip, that he thought my son was a “fine young man”. This meant a lot to me, and I can only hope that the boy will someday be as fine a man and churchman as Brooke was.

Speaking of Episcopalians, Ruby, our hostess in Wyoming, is the widow of a clergyman and the daughter-in-law of a bishop.

She took us to a service in the mountains at St. Alban’s Chapel which was officiated by the interim dean of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie.

There were about 25 friendly souls and several dogs at the service.

An elderly chihuahua in a sweater who sat on a pew during the service.

Afterwards we all had a picnic at Lake Brooklyn nearby.

Daughter #2 made a friend.

Fortified with our healthy lunch, Ruby drove us around the Snowy Range 4-wheel drive trails in the Medicine Bow National Forest in her stick shift Subaru. We hiked some too, scrambling over rocks behind her.

Somehow we managed to keep up–not so easy for these flatlanders at 8200 ft.!

Ruby leaves our flyover state in May every year for her house in Wyoming and returns in late September when the weather turns cold. She is a hardy soul, hospitable, gracious and generous. This trip will go down in history as one of the best!

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August 24, 2013

Oh, those Green Mountain boys

by chuckofish

Boy #3 is now at college in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. Everything went off without a hitch. We left at 7am and got there by 10:45. The day was sunny, the temperature in the low 70s, and the campus enthusiastically welcoming (so many smiling, high-fiving student orientation workers!).

Here is the incredible view from Tim’s dorm room:

and the view from the main quad, looking toward the music building (on the right) where he will be spending most of his time:

The room was standard cinder block; not too bad, but certainly not luxurious. Notoriously camera shy Tim peers inside:

We unpacked the car, made his bed, grabbed lunch, which the college kindly provided, and said our goodbyes (I even got a hug). Much to the boy’s relief, we were out of there by 12:15. So hubby and I decided to walk around village (it’s down the hill and about a mile away) and do a little shopping.

It’s a nice little place. We found Marvin’s country store,

which is famous for its maple products and locally made fruit preserves, and where we bought some Wild Blueberry Chutney. Does anyone have a clue what to do with blueberry chutney? Suggestions?

The town also has several beautiful, old churches (picture via google image)

that unfortunately have now been turned into ‘arts centers’ (sigh) — oh, well at least they’re still being cared for.

On the way home we stopped at a couple of antique stores and saw a few VERY NICE pieces of furniture, but it was so hot inside these buildings that I had to give up (we’re talking sweltering 80s and no air-conditioning. It was so much cooler outside). But hey, I’ll just go back in October when I pick up Tim for Fall break.

All in all, it was a very pleasant trip and I think/hope the school’s a great fit for Tim. Over the next four years I will be delighted to spend more time in rural Vermont where there are so many real antique stores, as opposed to rural northern New York where there aren’t.

It sure is pretty, isn’t it?

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August 23, 2013

My diet starts on Monday

by chuckofish

Daughter #2 heads back east tomorrow to move to a new apartment and start her second year of grad school. And I start my diet. We have been quite indulgent over the last 10 days. You now how it is. From frozen flyover custard in our hometown…

to yummy outdoor dining…

to a virtual smorgasbord of delicious trendy restaurants in Denver and to local eats in Wyoming…

to picnics in the mountains…

Well, you get the picture… Have a great weekend!

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August 22, 2013

“The world was hers for the reading.”*

by chuckofish

One of the great things about traveling is discovering new used book stores. We went to four used book stores–one in Denver, two in Laramie and one in Boulder. And, of course, I bought some books!

They usually look like this one in Laramie. One of the small pleasures of life.

Another small pleasure? College/University bookstores!

Don’t you love used books?

*Betty Smith wrote that in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

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August 21, 2013

It’s a Big Country

by chuckofish

Well, daughter #2 and I are back from our trip to Colorado and Wyoming. We did lots of research…

and saw lots of incredible scenery.

Oh brother, what a trip! I have to go back to work today and decompress some and download a lot of photos, but then I will post about this wonderful adventure. Phew.

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Month: August, 2013

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