dual personalities

Tag: movies

November 13, 2023

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!

by chuckofish

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We should rejoice and be thankful, despite our manifold sins and general wickedness, all year round, but I especially do at this time of year. As always, it is the little things that stand out for me, such as the chip fest we enjoyed on Saturday night when the boy dropped off Lottie while the wee bud went to a birthday party. (Their Mom was in Dallas this weekend.)

Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined the OM and Lottie and me to watch The Gnome-Mobile (1967)–a vintage Disney film in which a multi-millionaire lumberman (Walter Brennan) and his two young grandchildren (played by the kids from Mary Poppins) encounter two gnomes in the Redwood forest of California who are supposedly the last of their kind. Hilarity ensues. Although there is no princess in this film, I think Lottie enjoyed it. At least now she knows what a gnome is.

On Sunday we all went to Sunday School, but then the boy took Lottie to a birthday party and the bud stayed with us through church. He came over to our house after church to hang out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith who joined us for total depravity casserole. Of course, Lottie had told her brother all about The Gnome-Mobile (including the car chase) and he wanted to watch it, but I was like, um no, not right now.

The boy and Lottie came over after her party. We hung out on the driveway for awhile, probably for the last time til next year.

It was another beautiful weekend.

And Mizzou beat the pants off Tennessee! Hometowner Cody Schrader, a graduate of Lutheran South, was the star of the game. According to the AP, “Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the No. 16 Tigers to a 36-7 rout of No. 14 Tennessee.” Normally I could care less about Mizzou football, much less watch a game, but Matt Mitchell gives them so much grief for being in the SEC, I have become an interested partisan. Anyway, I was pleased that they won.

In honor of Veterans Day we watched Gettysburg (1993) which is based on Michael Shaara’s fine book The Killer Angels. It is a good movie, except for the miscast Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. But I much prefer old Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain anyway. As you know, he is a hero of mine.

This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new, this has not happened much, in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, not divided by a line between slave states and free – all the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land, there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value – you and me. What we are fighting for, in the end, we’re fighting for each other. Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. …Gentlemen, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will be personally very grateful.

(Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain)

Well, continue to cultivate gratitude, appreciate your freedom and enjoy your Monday.

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

(Psalm 47:1-4)

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November 9, 2023

Bread from heaven

by chuckofish

We are experiencing Indian Summer this week in flyover country–absolutely beautiful days in the 70s and even 80s with the sun hitting the orange leaves in a really spectacular way. And the leaf blowers are out in full force. I do get tired of all the noise, like a bajillion bees coming in waves to attack us. 🙄

My friend Don sent this photo of his birdbath with “the neighborhood bluebirds”.

I live a mile or so away and I have never seen a bluebird!

As we all know, the streaming platforms are a wasteland and I haven’t watched network tv for years. So I am forced to watch episodes of old shows like the old lady that I am. Lately, however, I have added Harry Wild to my watch list (on Acorn). It stars the lovely Jane Seymour as a recently retired English professor who discovers a knack for investigation and cannot help but interfere with the cases assigned to her police detective son.

Although she doesn’t quite look her age–she’s five years older than I am–she doesn’t hide the fact that she is an old retired lady. She dresses like I do. She drives an old (red) car and drinks (too much) red wine. She knows a lot about English literature. She speaks with grammatical precision and corrects those who don’t. I can actually relate to her. Also the show is filmed in Dublin and I have actually been there, so that is interesting and familiar. The show is not American, so the Irish are not stereotypes.

So I recommend it if you are looking for something to watch. And who isn’t?

Today we must not forget to remember that unsung hero Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) who was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials. As I’ve said before, Lovejoy’s life (and murder) is another reminder to us today of how rough and dangerous life was in my part of the country back in the mid-nineteenth century. And people think emotions run high these days!

We also remember Edna May Oliver who died on this day, her birthday, in 1942. She was an American stage and screen actress who specialized in formidable older women, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Miss Pross in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). She was only nominated once for a supporting actress Oscar, but it was for a doozy–Mrs. McKlennar in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939).

I re-watched this movie recently and was really impressed by it. And Edna May Oliver is great; she never crosses the line into farce which a lesser actress might do. She is always 100% believable.

So enjoy these last beautiful days of fall, watch an old lady in a tv show or movie, remember some history, and praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Help me to see that although I am in the wilderness
  it is not all briars and barrenness.
I have bread from heaven, streams from the rock,
  light by day, fire by night,
  thy dwelling place and thy mercy seat.

–Valley of Vision

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November 1, 2023

A day of small things*

by chuckofish

In the late afternoon of November 1, 1941, Ansel Adams took this black-and-white photo, “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico”. Pretty cool indeed.

Also pretty cool is Lyle Lovett, and it is his birthday today! Happy Birthday, Lyle! Hats off to you–67 years old and still touring.

Today is also the anniversary of the death of Ezra Pound (1885-1972) who was a major figure in the modernist poetry movement. An indulged son of privilege, he was always somewhat “out of key with his time”–another way to say, he never fit in. I was amused to discover that his first job out of graduate school was teaching at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, which he considered the “sixth circle of hell”. Well, la di da.

Not surprisingly, he was asked to leave Wabash shortly after starting there.

Anyway, his “legacy” is certainly a mixed one, and he is mostly remembered for his advancement of some of the best-known modernist writers of the early 20th century. All the cool kids: Eliot, Joyce, Lewis, Frost, Williams, Hemingway, H.D., Aldington, and Aiken, Cummings, Bunting, Ford, and Marianne Moore, who became one of his staunchest defenders throughout his controversial career. He lived a long life and is buried in the Protestant section of the San Michele cemetery in Venice. Supposedly Pound had wanted to be buried in Idaho (where he was born) with his bust by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska on his grave. Tant pis. He wouldn’t have fit in there either.

I would rather toast Noah Beery, Jr. who also died on this day in 1994. He was, of course, a supporting actor best known for playing James Garner’s father in The Rockford Files. However, he acted in a lot of movies, most notably as a pilot in Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and as a cowboy in Red River (1948)–both directed by Howard Hawks.

So on this first day of November, look up at the sky, listen to some good music, read a poem, watch an old movie, embrace your supporting part.

Amen.

*See Zechariah, chapter 4

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October 26, 2023

Fifty-six years of not blinking

by chuckofish

Recently Sir Michael Caine announced that he is retiring from acting.  “I keep saying I’m going to retire. Well I am now,” he said. Thankfully we have all his old movies to watch (and one more new one on the way). Simon Pegg sums up his career rather well:

I read his memoir a few years ago and he is a stand up guy. So hats off to Michael Caine and a toast tonight to his illustrious career. I think I’ll watch Zulu (1964).

Sigh. We are all getting older. Think of the Rolling Stones and ol’ Mick Jagger who is 80. Good grief. Here he is in 1964 making his debut on Ed Sullivan. He was twenty-one.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.

(Psalm 71:17-18)

Chin chin. Do carry on with your mudpies.

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October 24, 2023

Things that go bump in the night

by chuckofish

We find ourselves in the last full week of October–zut alors! Have you watched any of your favorite spooky/scary movies? As you know, I am not a fan of the “horror” genre–I saw The Shining (1980) once and that was enough–but I do have my list of Halloween-appropriate gems. Last week I watched Ghostbusters (1984), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) and The Birds (1963).

All three were highly satisfactory and not really very scary. Yes, we do not recommend watching The Birds if you are 10 years old and by yourself. If you are an adult and watching with friends/family, you mostly chuckle at Rod Taylor’s bulging cargo pants and Tippi Hendren’s Edith Head-designed green suit, which she wears for three days straight. You can easily avert your eyes when there is a shot of someone with their eyes pecked out. You can also do a lot of talking to the screen: “Don’t leave the phone booth!”; “Don’t go upstairs, you fool!”; “Take the children to the basement, not outside, you morons!”

Indeed, there is plenty to chatter about during this movie. Why is Rod’s mother such a weirdo? “I’m not very strong.” Please! What about those townspeople in the diner voicing their idiotic opinions? Especially that blowhard old lady in the beret, smoking her cigarette. And that mother of two traumatized children who wants a ride out of town from the drunk traveling salesman, what? And let’s not forget the kook who keeps saying, “It’s the end of the world!” (Spoiler alert: it is.)

Anyway, it is that time of year when we indulge in this kind of off-brand movie viewing. Next on the docket are The Uninvited (1944), Signs (2002) and The Sixth Sense (1999) and maybe another Hitchcock classic like Rear Window (1954) just because we like it.

Frankly the world is a scary enough place without watching modern horror movies. Read some history for real horror.

What will you be watching?

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October 18, 2023

Stand by me

by chuckofish

Time marches on and it is once again the OM’s and my anniversary. As usual, we will be playing it cool and watching Shane (1953).

I feel no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a gourmet meal at a trendy restaurant. Take out from Chick-fil-a or an omelet will be just fine. I may open a bottle of wine that is fancier than our house wine, but maybe not. À chacun le sien.

O gracious and everliving God, you have created us male and female in your image: Look mercifully upon this man and this woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–BCP, The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage, 1979

Well, I’m an old lady now and this is with whom I identify these days. “Morals over Hussies.”

Granny: “A vegan and a vegetarian are jumping off a cliff to see who hits the bottom first.”

Boys: “Uh huh.”

Granny: “Who wins?”

Boys shrug.

Granny: “Society.”

Read more about the Didiers here.

And here’s a little something in honor of marriage.

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October 2, 2023

Postcards from the weekend

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was summer-y hot, but full of outdoor fun. We stayed cool in the shade watching the little bud run up and down the field in another victory for his first grade team. (Sorry, U. City.)

And Lottie lost a tooth!

After the game we celebrated Mr. Smith’s 1st birthday back at his house…

Lottie made him a birthday card–doesn’t this look just like Mr. Smith?

Mr. Smith got a lot of exercise playing catch in the back yard. Earlier in the day he and daughter #1 had walked up the street to see the U. City Homecoming parade. Field hockey girls never change.

On Sunday we heard a good sermon from a guest preacher. The church was full so the singing was especially robust. I cried as usual. Afterwards the boy and the twins came over for bagels. We sat outside and enjoyed the cooler temperature. Lottie and the bud ran around and quarreled and got very dirty playing on the driveway–good times.

Meanwhile Katie is ready for October with her new festive attire from her aunt Lauren:

I watched some of the Ryder Cup and one really good movie. Cinema Paradiso (1988) is one of my all-time favorite Italian movies (top five) and a favorite movie, period. (Just don’t watch the director’s cut.)

I always cry during the last 15 minutes–what movie lover doesn’t?

Speaking of movies, Charlton Heston is the star of the month on TCM, so be sure to check out the schedule on Wednesday nights!

And here’s Willie Nelson’s new bluegrass version of A Good Hearted Woman:

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September 26, 2023

How’s it goin’?

by chuckofish

It is the last week of September…soon we will enter that long slide to Christmas which will zoom by in a flash. We have got to get organized!

Well, I am sticking to my routine and keeping up with my Bible reading plan. I also signed up for another free Hillsdale College course: “Supply-Side Economics and American Prosperity with Arthur Laffer.” I know you’re impressed, right? I passed the first quiz, so I am hopeful I can keep up. I have to do something to keep my brain cells from mutinying.

It is now that time of year when the Halloween displays pop up in people’s yards. It is quite a competition in my neck of the woods. The OM and I drove by one such yard display that looks like a pumpkin patch–do they really want people coming to their door hoping to buy a pumpkin? Because that’s what it looks like. I guess that growing “ginormous” pumpkins has become a thing as well. It takes a lot of effort.

This article reminded me of the bad experience we had at our Episcopal church years ago. “So, while no one denies that there are bad pastors, almost no one is discussing the fact that there are bad churches. Where are the documentaries and podcasts discussing pastor-destroying churches? There is precious little discussion about the fact that there is hardly a pastor out there who has not been wounded, slandered, bullied, or run off from a church by bad associate pastors and ungodly church members.” Amen to that.

Meanwhile everyone is sick in daughter #2’s family…

…but three-year old Katie is still on top of her game.

I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) the other night on TCM. I had not seen it in a very long time. I am not a big fan of Frank Capra, but I have to say, this movie is good!

Jimmy Stewart is not too gangly and aw-shucks, but just right as the idealistic new senator and Jean Arthur does not whine, but takes charge as needed. It still resonates today with its message of governmental corruption–the swamp. The press comes off very badly. Its patriotic message needs to ring out anew–it should be required viewing for all fourth graders. And it’s a good lesson in basic civics, something about which most Americans are woefully ignorant.

By the way, daughter #1’s Mr. Smith was not named after the Mr. Smith who went to Washington, but the Mr. Smith who was a dog in The Awful Truth (1937).

Enjoy your Tuesday! Watch an old movie, learn something new, pet a nice dog.

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September 21, 2023

“Charles, if the goal was to offer a more interesting anecdote, we’re headed in the wrong direction.”*

by chuckofish

Yesterday I went to my friend’s house to watch I Am So Not Inviting You to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) on her big screen tv.

It stars Adam Sandler, his wife, and two daughters. It is Mean Girls for Jewish girls. I enjoyed it and understood most of the jokes. But it is a lot of seventh grade girls being girls. I lived through those years myself and through my daughters’ early adolescences as well. It was not easy. Now from the perspective of old ladyhood, it is still amusing, but I am glad I am through with all that drama.

I have also been watching season three of Only Murders In the Building with Steve, Marty and Selena.

It started off very slowly, but it is picking up steam and I am enjoying it. I always watch each episode twice so I won’t miss anything, but there are people out there who clearly are really obsessed.

Meanwhile daughter #1 flew to Maryland to spend a few days with daughter #2 and her delightful little family.

Let the good times roll!

*Oliver (Martin Short) on OMITB.

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September 20, 2023

Living the sermon

by chuckofish

The other night I watched 42 (2013) starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. I had seen it before and liked it, but I was really struck by it this time around.

Obviously Jackie Robinson is the heroic figure at the center of the film. He blazed an amazing and courageous trail. But I have to say, I found the character of Branch Rickey, co-owner, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to be equally fascinating. Why did he do what he did? Why did he take it upon himself to integrate the Dodgers and thereby professional baseball? At one point in the film Rickey explains that his inspiration for bringing Robinson on to the team was the ill-treatment he saw received by his black catcher Charles Thomas on the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team, which he coached in 1903 and 1904, and feeling that he hadn’t done enough to help him. Granted, but the movie also seems to suggest that a large part of what motivated him was his Christian faith.

When Rickey decides that Robinson is the man to do the job, one of his main reasons is “He’s a Methodist, I’m a Methodist… And God’s a Methodist; We can’t go wrong.” He is not kidding.

He also tells Robinson after one of many altercations, “I want a player who’s got the guts not to fight back. People aren’t gonna like this. They’re gonna do anything to get you to react. Echo a curse with a curse and, uh, they’ll hear only yours. Follow a blow with a blow and they’ll say, ‘The Negro lost his temper.’ That ‘The Negro does not belong.’ Your enemy will be out in force… and you cannot meet him on his own low ground. We win with hitting, running, fielding. Only that. We win if the world is convinced of two things: That you are a fine gentleman and a great baseball player. Like our Savior… you gotta have the guts… to turn the other cheek. Can you do it?”

I think Martin Luther King would have agreed.

And there is this exchange after the racist manager of the Phillies has bated Robinson mercilessly:

  • Robinson: Do you know what it’s like, having someone do this to you?
  • Rickey: No. No. You do. You’re the one living the sermon. In the wilderness. Forty days. All of it. Only you.
  • Robinson: And not a damn thing I can do about it.
  • Rickey: Of course there is! You can stand up and hit! You can get on base and you can score! You can win this game for us! We need you! Everyone needs you.

Anyway, I salute Branch Rickey: preach!

Bonus: This movie also stars Lucas Black as Robinson’s teammate Pee Wee Reese. “Maybe tomorrow, we’ll all wear 42, so nobody could tell us apart.”

Amen.

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