dual personalities

Month: August, 2017

August 8, 2017

“Nothing for nothing, kid.”

by chuckofish

The other night I watched Dead End (1937) which I had not seen in years. I was quite struck by it. Based on the Sidney Kingsley play, the screenplay is by Lillian Hellman and it is directed by William Wyler. dead-end.jpgIt stars Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney and Humphrey Bogart, who are all first-rate, especially Bogart who is remarkably vulnerable as the vicious gangster whose heart is broken twice in one day.

Furthermore, the character actors really impressed me. Marjorie Main (Bogart’s mother) and Claire Trevor (Bogart’s former girlfriend)

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each have one scene and they steal them impressively. The young boys in the movie are all good too–they must have impressed someone, as they got their own movie franchise–the Dead End Kids–as a result.

It’s a simple story about haves and have-nots, which takes place in an East Side slum, overlooked by the high-rise apartments of the rich.  Although nobody is preaching anything, we all get the point. It is realistic and gritty and violent–but the grit and the violence are mostly inferred, suggested…

Hugh “Baby Face”: Why didn’t you get a job?

Francey: They don’t grow on trees.

Hugh “Baby Face”: Why didn’t you starve first?

Francey: Why didn’t YOU?

A strong screenplay, a great director and a terrific cast equals a classic movie that never becomes dated, because the feelings that are evoked are still the same eighty years later.

By the way, today is Sylvia Sidney’s birthday, so why not toast her, and, if you have the chance, watch this fine film!

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August 7, 2017

Weekend update

by chuckofish

 

Screen Shot 2017-08-07 at 6.06.42 AM.pngWell, that was a busy week followed by a busy weekend! Daughter #1 and I checked a lot of things off our to-do list and then she went back to NYC one more time on Saturday to tie up loose ends and pack her stuff for the movers who arrive this morning.

Sunday I went to an estate sale and got a couple of things for daughter #1’s new apartment. The OM and I went out to lunch at Denny’s after our first and second choices were too crowded. (Remind me never to do that again.) Then I yakked on the phone for hours with my DP and daughter #2. I finished Longmire #10. The boy came over to show us his new pickup truck–a Ford 150 Raptor–about which I am pretty excited. Finally, a truck in the family!

And by the way, congrats to the great Kurt Warner who was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. You will recall that he was the quarterback of one of the greatest offenses in NFL history, the “Greatest Show on Turf” of the St. Louis Rams back in the early niineties.

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We love you Kurt. We haven’t cared a hoot about football since you were traded to Arizona.

Have a good week!

Lord God, whose strength is sufficient for all who lay hold on it, grant us in your mercy to comfort our hearts and be strong. Humility, temperance, purity, largeheartedness, sympathy, zeal – grant us these evidences of faith, servants of hope, fruits of love; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our strength, our righteousness, and our hope of glory. Amen.

–Christina Rosetti

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August 5, 2017

Moving time

by chuckofish

August seems to be moving month. This weekend the DH and I are helping son #3 pack up his worldly belongings preparatory to moving to Indiana, where he will be gainfully employed as the head sound technician at this pretty Hoosier college. We couldn’t be more proud!

It sure is flat in Indiana.

He won’t read this post, but I’m going to include some moving tips anyway. I mean, you never know, right?

  1. Plan and organize before you start packing. That way you won’t end up with a hundred, half-empty carrier bags full of random objects (I’m recalling that epic move back from college after graduation).
  2. Pack books and other heavy things in small boxes (Ditto the college moving memory).
  3. Use clothes, pillows or bedding as padding for fragile things.
  4. Clearly label boxes to facilitate unpacking.
  5. Get someone else to do the heavy lifting. Well, we can dream.
  6. Don’t move in the rain. Okay, this one can’t be helped, but do keep an eye on the weather forecast.
  7. Get a leash for the cat, so she can’t run away while you’re at a rest stop.
  8. If you’re driving the UHaul and someone else is driving your car, figure out your stops ahead of time, so you don’t have to text or phone while driving!
  9. Find out which hotels allow cats.
  10. Take it slowly. Stop when you get tired and never rush.

That’s about all I can think of for now. Please add your advice in the comments section, and wish us luck!

 

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August 4, 2017

Mission accomplished

by chuckofish

Daughter #1 and I had a great day in Columbia and found a terrific 2-bedroom apartment complete with all the modern conveniences, i.e. closets, washer and dryer, garbage disposal, dishwasher, counter space, garage, and all the things she lived without in Manhattan. She is very pleased and I got to ride around on a golf cart. I didn’t take any pictures though.

When we returned home, the boy and his family came over for dinner. We had lots of twin time. I didn’t take any pictures then either, but here are a few from the boy taken at their house.

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Well, the weekend is upon us. Daughter #1 heads back to NYC on Saturday to pack up her apartment. The movers come on Monday and then she flies home for good on Wednesday.

Quelle summer, right?

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August 3, 2017

“Country life has its advantages”*

by chuckofish

Daughter #1 is in town (finally, after a long, long 8-hour delay at LaGuardia) and we are driving to Columbia today to find an apartment for her.

Missouri_map.jpgLiving in CoMo will be quite a change from the Upper West Side. Hopefully she will be able to have a dishwasher and other modern conveniences. Her bed won’t be in her living room and maybe her kitchen will be used for more than storage.

Huzzah.

*Anton Chekhov

 

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August 2, 2017

The right stuff

by chuckofish

Well, now Sam Shepard has died.

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I thought this article was more on point than some. The Times called him “a true renaissance man. As a playwright, he was the toast of Broadway and a Pulitzer Prize recipient. And he had no trouble making the transition to screens small and large, winning over audiences as an actor and earning respect within the industry as a skilled pen-for-hire. His body of work, rich and varied as it is, reveals a man with infinite empathy and intellectual curiosity.”

“Infinite empathy”? He never struck me that way. To me, Sam was one of those smart, good-looking, very wasp-y guys who was just really cool without trying to be. He did what he wanted. He frequently did not have the lead part in movies and he was fine with that. He supported himself that way so he could do the stuff he cared about.

He was friends with Patti Smith.

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I always liked him. He had a small part in Raggedy Man (1981) but you sure noticed him.

raggedy-man.jpgOther favorites: Resurrection (1980),

resurrection11x.jpgThe Right Stuff (1983),

rs10x.jpgBlack Hawk Down (2001),

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And, of course, he was Dolly’s husband in Steel Magnolias (1989).

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He had the right stuff. Yes, he did.

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August 1, 2017

This and that

by chuckofish

“It’s better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

–Herman Melville

This statement was quoted by House Beautiful Editor-in-Chief Sophie Donelson in her July/August column. She doesn’t say where the quote comes from, but it probably wasn’t from the book on her nightstand. Of course, she was quoting Melville in reference to home decoration and that is valid I suppose, but poor Herman was talking about something different. Sadly, he knew a lot about failure.

Today is Melville’s birthday, so let’s give some thought to how to celebrate. You could check out this website: Melville’s Marginalia Online, a virtual archive of books owned and borrowed by Melville (1819-1891). Amazing! If you are in New York City, you could take the Melville walking tour. Whatever you do, be sure to wear your Herman Melville t-shirt.

Screen Shot 2017-07-31 at 11.44.45 AM.pngAnd by that I mean, please don’t. (Maybe Ms. Donelson found the quote on a t-shirt!)

Well, moving on…we have heard a lot lately about the total solar eclipse that will occur around 1 p.m. on Monday, August 21. The last total solar eclipse here in flyover country was in 1442. As you can see, we are right in line for some great viewing!

Screen Shot 2017-07-31 at 11.02.42 AM.pngWe have, of course, been reminded ad nauseum to obtain special protective glasses if we plan to watch, so I sent off to Amazon for some of these. Am I cool or what? (Well, the OM is a scouter, so I always try to be prepared.)

Are you wondering how I am going to tie up Herman Melville’s birthday and the total eclipse of the sun? Here is a section of his obit in the New York Times of October 2, 1891:

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Sad, sad, so sad.

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Discuss among yourselves.

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