Snail mail
by chuckofish
I do love receiving a card in the mail.
Don’t you?
dual personalities
Category: Uncategorized
October 10, 2012
Just for the record: fun facts to know and share
by chuckofish
Interesting fact for the day: Ralph Richardson, Yul Brynner and Orson Welles all died on October 10–Richardson in 1983 and Brynner and Welles two years later in 1985. What about that?
Ralph Richardson
All three were great actors and leading men, known for their fine speaking voices (back when that was valued in the movies). Yul Brynner was arguably the only superstar. Richardson, however, was knighted in 1947, a year before Laurence Olivier!
Brynner and Welles acted in one movie together: The Battle of Neretva (1969).
Have you seen it? Neither have I.
Brynner and Welles both acted in film versions of Faulkner novels with Joanne Woodward. Welles in The Long Hot Summer (1958) playing Will Varner and Brynner in The Sound and the Fury (1959) playing Jason Compson (with hair).
All three (separately) appeared in big-scale religious movies. Welles played Saul in David and Goliath (1960). Brynner appeared as Solomon in Solomon and Sheba (1959) and as Rameses in The Ten Commandments (1956).
Richardson was especially memorable as Simeon in Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
Richardson and Welles participated in many filmed versions of an array of Shakespeare’s plays. Brynner did not. It is some consolation that Brynner at least got to play Dimitri Karamozov.
Richardson, of course, played God in Time Bandits (1981). I don’t know about you, but that is how I always picture God. A Cambridge man. Brynner played a god, or at least a pharaoh, in the aforementioned Ten Commandments. Welles famously played a megalomaniac in Citizen Kane.
And Welles was in the original Muppets Movie (1979).
Point and game to Welles?
I think not. All three made great movies and also some really bad ones. Let us remember the great ones: The Four Feathers (1939). Citizen Kane (1941). The King and I (1956). A toast to our absent friends!
October 9, 2012
This and that
by chuckofish
On Sunday morning I was the second lector in church and read the second lesson which was from Hebrews and included the following:
But someone has testified somewhere,
“What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet.”
I love the vague attribution by the writer. The quote is, by the way, from Psalm 8. You may remember the less politically correct and gender-neutral version:
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet…
King James Version (KJV)
And while we’re on the subject of humans being crowned with glory and honor, let’s give a big shout out to Mike Matheny, the new skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals.
You’re doing a great job, Mike. And you’re cute. But I’ve always been partial to catchers.
On a side note, the rhododendron bush in our yard has thrown out a few flowers. It normally blooms in early April. What a crazy year!
October 8, 2012
Embarrassing picture Moday
by chuckofish
Well, it’s that time of year again when the old Halloween pictures come out, much to the chagrin of some people. Here is a picture of daughter #1 (age 5) and the boy (not quite 3) in 1989. Daughter #1 is (yet again) a witch, wearing the costume my mother made for her a few years earlier. The boy is (of course) a super hero. He is happily wearing his sister’s leotard and tights and her old white snow boots, which he loved and wore frequently–and why not? They were the next best thing to cowboy boots. He is also wearing the Batman kerchief (as a cape) that he wore every day to school that year. Yes, the boy always displayed a unique personal style.
P.S. I also want to let you faithful readers know that the concert I went to on Friday night was possibly the best ever.
I have seen Dylan, Springsteen, Sting, Haggard, Knopfler, Lyle Lovett (several times), and Guster (to name a few), but Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives were awesome. It didn’t hurt that I was sitting in the fourth row of a smaller venue. But it was wonderful. Great musicians all, they were in fine voice and having fun. Priceless.
And earlier that evening the Cardinals beat the Braves!
October 6, 2012
Historic House of the Week
by chuckofish
Since I can’t go to Saturday morning estate sales with my dual personality, I have to comfort myself by visiting one of my favorite web sites, Historic Properties where I peruse the many wonderful old houses for sale. This week I was in the mood for a nice Midwestern brick Italianate and quickly found one in Champaign Illinois.
all photos from Historic Properties website
The house was built in 1867 and remodeled in the 1950s. It does need some work
but you can buy it for a mere $250,000. In the dining room there are nice built-in cupboards, although the pink walls would have to go.
Some unspecified room (judging from the pink walls, perhaps the dining room) has a cool marble fireplace,
and the staircase looks solid:
I like this house. It’s spacious without feeling like a hotel; it has excellent architectural details without being ornate and it’s not oppressively gloomy. With a little fixing up it could be a great family home. I just hope someone out there wants to live in an old brick Italianate in Champaign Illinois — it would be a shame to let the house deteriorate further. What do you think? Would you live in a house like this?
October 5, 2012
It’s Fat Baby Friday!
by chuckofish
This photo of my eldest son, James (not Jim) was taken last week over twenty years ago and for obvious reasons has been a family favorite (perversely, we enjoy getting laughs at Dad’s expense). Although never really a fat baby, James could sure pack a punch.
Enjoy your weekend, but beware of deceptively cute babies and their squeaky toys — they’re both more powerful than they look.
October 4, 2012
Fabulous Superlatives
by chuckofish
My ship has come in. An email from a co-worker came around asking if anyone wanted 4 free tickets to see Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives on Friday night. I jumped. No one else probably knew who Marty is.
BUT YAHOO.
He’s been touring since he was twelve years old, and I’ve been a fan almost that long. For awhile Johnny Cash was his father-in-law. How cool is that?
Besides being a country music star and famous musician, Marty is a renowned collector of artifacts that represent the history and cultural heritage of country music. As such, he donated a treasure trove to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. “The costumes, the guitars, the set lists, the manuscripts that the Country Music Hall of Fame couldn’t get to out in the hinterlands, I simply bought and stored,” he said. “I still see it as American culture-and our culture, as country musicians.” A collector and a generous one. My hero.
Rock on, brother! I can’t wait to see you on Friday.
Here’s Marty on David Letterman’s show…Watch the whole thing and notice who the drummer is–Harry Stinson!
October 3, 2012
It’s the Great Pumpkin, right?
by chuckofish
Despite the fact that I visited Eckert’s Farm on Saturday where there was a cornucopia of fresh produce for sale, including pumpkins, on Sunday afternoon I ventured to our neighborhood “pumpkin patch” at the Methodist Church.
This is where I always buy my pumpkins, because, well, I like to support the Methodists. This year they had a huge supply of orange beauties which were surprisingly reasonably priced.
I only bought one (not three as I used to), but I picked a doozy.
“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”
–Henry David Thoreau
(This pumpkin would not really be good for sitting on, but Thoreau’s point is well taken.)
P.S. The Cardinals clinched the wildcard spot! Hello, post-season!
October 2, 2012
Just stop all that
by chuckofish
Despite the spelling mistake and questionable grammar, I think Joyce Meyer is right on, don’t you?
So here is the thought for today: Embrace the life you have!
October 1, 2012
A weekend adventure
by chuckofish
On Saturday three friends and I took a little road trip and crossed the Mighty Mississip into the Land of Lincoln and went to an art fair.
There were some very interesting booths–even a “mobile” vintage store. Quelle great idea, right?
There was everything from handmade baby shoes (cute!)
to holiday yard decorations made out of re-purposed pan lids. Even though I try to be green whenever possible, I passed these up. Great idea for you DIY-ers out there though!
It was a beautiful day for strolling around
and there were lots of exotic food choices. I chose the vegen rice bowl–yummy!
I collected lots of business cards from different artists, most of whom have Etsy shops to check out (at my leisure) later. Isn’t the variety of cool cards amazing?
Carla, our driver, had the super idea of going down the road to Eckert’s Farm in Belleville, home of pick-your-own apples. Becky, armed with her smart phone, navigated. Clearly lots of people had the same idea as there were hundreds of cars there on this beautiful Saturday and men directing traffic, but we got the Bomb Spot right by the door!
We did not pick apples, but we went to their huge country store and garden center. There were pumpkins galore
and apples by the bushel
and gooey butter cake!
I can’t believe I have lived (almost) my whole life here and never made it to Eckert’s before this Saturday. It’s always fun to do something new! What did you do this weekend?
