Uncategorized | dual personalities

August 13, 2016

The great floodgates of the wonder-world swung open*

by chuckofish

It’s going to be a soggy weekend. We’re expecting thunderstorms to bring “up to seven inches of rain” by Sunday evening (North Country Now).

What a way to end a drought. I sure hope the sump pump doesn’t break.

In other news, son #2 completed his Lego room project. Remember when it looked like this?

Look at it now!

He’s inspiring, isn’t he? He did all that while finishing up his Master’s thesis and packing his belongings preparatory to moving to Syracuse. Assuming the floods haven’t washed us away (ha, ha), his old decrepit parents will be helping him and his girlfriend move there on Monday. They’ll be living at “the Plaza”.

On the grounds that I’m a delicate flower, I’ve volunteered to stay with the truck and direct traffic, while others do the actual lifting and carrying. I think their apartment is on the third floor…

Have a great weekend and think of us singing,

*Herman Melville, Moby Dick

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August 12, 2016

10,000 Reasons

by chuckofish

The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes

As you know, I listen to Christian radio in the morning as I drive to work. (Stop rolling your eyes). It keeps me focused and positive, especially during this freakazoid election cycle.

Anyway, listening to Matt Redman’s song “10,00 Reasons,” based on Psalm 103, reminded me of how important it is to remember all the reasons to praise the Lord. It may not always seem like there are 10,000 (or even 10) reasons to praise the Lord, but there are.

You might want to make a list. Here is a start: 1. Frederick Buechner turned 90 in July!

2. You have a thousand books on your shelves at home to read.

3. You could barbeque tonight if you so desired.

4. There are still people in the world who make exquisite things like this.

5. GIFs like this make me laugh:

6. Good things are coming.

7. The geraniums are still going strong.

8. The Bible is online and you can look up scripture at will and in your choice of translation.

Over the weekend (another blessing) I’ll be working on my list. How about you?

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name

Have a good weekend!

(The painting at the top is by Karen Mathison Schmidt via Pinterest.)

4 Comments

August 11, 2016

Throwback Thursday

by chuckofish

Mary CC.jpeg

This picture of our mother circa 1930 at “The Farm” in New Hampshire should bring a smile to your face.

And we could all use that, right?

“I wish I could leave you certain of the images in my mind, because they are so beautiful that I hate to think they will be extinguished when I am. Well, but again, this life has its own mortal loveliness. And memory is not strictly mortal in its nature, either. It is a strange thing, after all, to be able to return to a moment, when it can hardly be said to have any reality at all, even in its passing. A moment is such a slight thing. I mean, that its abiding is a most gracious reprieve.”

―Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

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August 10, 2016

What are you reading?

by chuckofish

My scholarly dual personality is too modest to tell you that her book has just been published!

It was six years in the making, but now it is out!

Gregory Urwin of the University of Oklahoma Press writes:

I am pleased to announce the release of Volume 55 in the Campaigns and Commanders Series that I edit for the University of Oklahoma Press — The Campaigns of Sargon II: King of Assyria, 721-705 B.C. by Sarah C. Melville.

If you think you know the Assyrians from fleeting references in the Old Testament, think again. Melville has plunged deep into the sources, which are more extensive than most of us would think. She mastered Akkaidian, the language of the Assyrians, so she could read the clay, gold, silver, copper, lead, and lapis lazuli tablets on which these people recorded their history, along with inscriptions on freestanding steles, natural rock formations, walls, doors, thresholds, and bull colossi of palaces. She also deciphered palace reliefs, consulted archaeological studies, and reviewed the documentation left by the Assyrians’ enemies.

The result is a history that depicts the Assyrians as a much more complex race of warriors. They could be cruel in war, but they devised much more sophisticated means to hold their empire together than beheading defeated warriors and sending conquered peoples into exile. I found the brand of geo-politics that Sargon II practiced to be surprisingly modern.

At a time when ISIS fanatics are attempting to obliterate the pre-Muslim history of the Middle East and south Asia, the appearance of Sarah Melville’s book could not be more timely. Impeccable research and a lively writing style makes this the definitive look at the Assyrian way of war.

It is with no little pride that I see this volume take its place in my series. Part of that pride rests on the fact that Sarah is also the first woman historian to publish with Campaigns Commanders. It was about high time that happened…

So get your copy of The Campaigns of Sargon II today! I have mine and I look forward to finding out all about Sargon II.

On the fiction side of things, I finished the Grantchester book this weekend and also re-read Olive Kitteridge, the wonderful novel by Elizabeth Strout. If you have not read this great book, I highly recommend it.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

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August 8, 2016

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”

by chuckofish

Greetings from the lazy ol’ Big Muddy River. I am enjoying daughter #2’s visit with Nate, as we go full speed ahead on wedding plans for July 2017.

Zut alors!

There is much to do, grasshopper.

*Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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August 6, 2016

Hats off to Yul!

by chuckofish

Last night son #2 and I treated ourselves to a Yul Brynner movie called “Escape from Zahrain”. In this fictional ‘Arab’ country, Ahmed (Sal Mineo) helps rebel leader, Sharif (Yul), escape from a prison truck. In the process, they are joined by Jack Warden and another convict. During their subsequent flight, they hijack an ambulance, complete with a pretty nurse (Madlyn Rhue). The rest of the movie amounts to a chase across the desert and one of Sal’s better death scenes. We enjoyed our viewing experience immensely, especially since Yul wore this unique headgear throughout the entire film.

Let’s take a closer look:

What…what is this hoodie-hat-shirt?

We were not sure of its purpose, but it got us thinking about all the other head coverings that Yul endured over the years. Take this fluffy white sheepskin confection from Taras Bulba.

Seriously. Only Yul could pull this outfit off and look proud to wear it!

or this alluring Egyptian Nemes headdress.

So sexy.

Sometimes he got to wear something more conventional like a navy captain’s cap

I like that turtleneck, don’t you?

or a cowboy hat.

Despite the headgear Yul sometimes sported, you have to admit that he was at his perfect best when his bald pate shined free, preferably with accompanying bare chest. Like this,

or this.

One thing’s for sure. No matter what exotic B-movie part he played, he always played it straight and gave it his all. Here’s to Yul Brynner, a consummate professional and awesome manly man. They sure don’t make ’em like you anymore!

3 Comments

August 4, 2016

Scots Wha Hae*

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of Harry Lauder (August 4, 1870 – February 26, 1950)–famous Scottish music hall performer.

Lauder was, at one time, the highest-paid performer in the world, making the equivalent of £12,700 a night plus expenses. During the First World War Lauder promoted recruitment into the services and starred in many concerts for troops at home and on the western front. His entertainment activities were made ever the more poignant by the death in action of his only son at the end of 1916.

Our pater was a big fan of Harry Lauder and I recall him listening attentively to his scratchy 78 records, losing himself in a sentimental and, no doubt, alcohol-inspired fog. Frequently we would run from the room.

Anyway, here is Harry with Danny Kaye!

And here he is with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

And here’s Robin Williams dressed like the good Scotsman he was. (He bears a certain resemblance to Sir Harry, don’t you think?)

Since we’re on a roll, here are some other great Scots in suitable attire.

Cheers to Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor, Gerard Butler, and the boy (in a kilt at his 8th grade graduation)! and to…

Roamin’ in the gloamin’ on the bonnie banks o’ Clyde.

Roamin’ in the gloamin’ wae my lassie by my side.

When the sun has gone to rest, That’s the time we love the best.

O, it’s lovely roamin’ in the gloamin!

*The title of a poem by Robert Burns

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August 2, 2016

“The days of wine and roses”*

by chuckofish

This made me laugh.

Well, it is AUGUST! We are on the downward slide of the year.

On TCM it is Summer Under the Stars month and every day the schedule features the movies of one star. Today, for instance, they are showcasing the films of Lucille Ball. So check it out and set your DVR accordingly. Personally, I am looking forward to August 27 when it is James Garner day.

In other news, today is the birthday of Ernest Dowson (2 August 1867 – 23 February 1900), English poet.

He is famous for the phrases, “days of wine and roses” and “gone with the wind” and “faithful to thee in my fashion”. Here’s his poem Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae:

Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,
But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,
Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.

If you prefer, you can listen to Richard Burton reciting it:

Poor Ernest led a sad life (see above photo). Both his parents committed suicide and he died at age 32. After Dowson’s death, Oscar Wilde wrote: “Poor wounded wonderful fellow that he was, a tragic reproduction of all tragic poetry, like a symbol, or a scene. I hope bay leaves will be laid on his tomb and rue and myrtle too for he knew what love was.” Oh brother.

On that note, try to enjoy your Tuesday.

*Ernest Dowson, from “Vitae Summa Brevis” (1896)

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August 1, 2016

“Not everything in life could be considered material for a sermon…”*

by chuckofish

I had sad news over the weekend. My old friend and rector, the Rev. Ken Semon, died last week as the result of a biking accident at the age of 70. (You can read about it here.)

After leaving flyover country twenty years ago, he had answered a call in Arizona and was still working as an Episcopal priest in Santa Fe at the Church of the Holy Faith, the oldest Episcopal Church in New Mexico. He was really the finest minister and one of the best people I have ever known.

He was also a fraternity brother of Harrison Ford at Ripon College, a fanatical skiier, a PhD in English Literature, and a convert to Christianity. Maybe because he came to Christianity by choice and not by birth, he took it very seriously. A little too high church for my tastes, he was nevertheless a true Christian in every way and in my mind a rather saintly person.

It is appropriate that I have been reading Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death, the first book in the Grantchester mystery series, upon which the PBS series is based.

The author James Runcie is the son of the Rt. Rev. Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury from 198o–1991, and the protagonist, Sidney Chambers, is based on his father. You will recall that Robert Runcie served as a tank commander in WWII and earned the Military Cross for two feats of bravery in March 1945. He was also the only tank commander to capture a submarine.

Anyway, the Rt. Rev. Runcie came to my old church as the Holy Week preacher in the 1990s when Ken Semon was the rector. Runcie was a nice man and a good preacher. (I had lunch with his wife and I thought she was a bit of a pill.) It is nice to know that his son must also be a good guy and an Anglican.

I am enjoying this book a lot and I recommend it.

…but the plain fact was that even before he had involved himself in this criminal investigation he had had too many things on his plate. His standards were slipping and the daily renewal of his faith had been put on the back burner. He thought of the General Confession: ‘We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done…’

He started to make a list, and at the top of the list, as he had been advised at theological college, was the thing that he least wanted to do. ‘Always start with what you dread the most,’ he had been told. ‘Then the rest will seem less daunting.’ ‘Easier said than done,’ thought Sidney as he looked at the first item on the list of duties.

As you know, I do not believe in coincidence. I believe in the whispering voice saying, “You’re doing fine.”

Into paradise may the angels lead thee, Ken, and at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.

*Canon Sidney Chambers, “Grantchester” by James Runcie

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July 30, 2016

Not waving but drowning…

by chuckofish

A few days ago, after a lot of fruitless flipping through Netflix, my son and I settled on a Norwegian disaster movie called Bølgen (The Wave). I mean, really, who could resist this?

Geirangerfjord_from_Ørnesvingen,_2013_June

Geiranger Fjord, Norway (via Wikipedia)

The film is set in Geiranger Fjord, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the biggest tourist attractions in Norway. According to Wikipedia, one of the mountains is threatening to collapse into the fjord and cause a tsumani that would flood several local towns within ten minutes. Now that’s a scenario that screams disaster movie. The first hour was pretty good at setting the scene with fabulous scenery, happy but oblivious locals, and one nervous scientist set to leave the area the very day the rock hits the water. Unfortunately, after the tsunami strikes, the movie heads into preposterous plot territory and just becomes stupid.

In many ways, the Norwegian flick was a rip-off of 2012’s far superior, The Impossible, a film that chronicled the true story of a family caught in the terrible Indian Ocean tsunami of Boxing Day 2004.

It is not for the squeamish.

The actors deserve awards for enduring the filming, although there is something disquieting about attempting to recapture such an event so soon after it happened. Perhaps that’s why it didn’t do better at the box office. Somehow, one feels that we owe the dead and the survivors their peace.

If you’d prefer what one reviewer called a “thinking man’s Hollywood disaster flick”, why not try Peter Weir’s mystical and strange, The Last Wave (1977)?

Part mystery, part apocalyptic prophecy, part social commentary, The Last Wave will certainly bend your mind. Richard Chamberlain plays a lawyer assigned to defend 5 Aborigines accused of drowning one of their own. Over the course of the movie, Chamberlain’s understanding of reality is pushed to the brink. The final scenes, in which he frantically attempts to escape an endless sewer system, are truly creepy and, of course,

include suitable homage to the Third Man.

In case you are wondering, (spoiler alert) Weir saves the actual wave for the very end of the film.

Doubtless I have omitted other movies, whose plots involve big waves wiping out civilization (or part of it), but this will do for starters. What would you add?

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