dual personalities

“A Robin said: The Spring will never come,
And I shall never care to build again.
A Rosebush said: These frosts are wearisome,
My sap will never stir for sun or rain.
The half Moon said: These nights are fogged and slow,
I neither care to wax nor care to wane.
The Ocean said: I thirst from long ago,
Because earth’s rivers cannot fill the main. —
When Springtime came, red Robin built a nest,
And trilled a lover’s song in sheer delight.
Grey hoarfrost vanished, and the Rose with might
Clothed her in leaves and buds of crimson core.
The dim Moon brightened. Ocean sunned his crest,
Dimpled his blue, yet thirsted evermore.”
―Christina Rossetti

Never fear: spring is on the way. How do I know?

The start of baseball season is just around the corner! I am no die-hard fan, but I welcome the distraction of Redbird Nation…

…although I don’t look forward to the inevitable snarkiness regarding Big Mike.

To the haters I say, ‘Hate stirs up trouble, but love overlooks all offenses.’ (Proverbs 10:12)

On another note, I recently watched two movies that were coincidentally both nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor in the same year–1966. This, you will recall, is the same year that Steve McQueen was robbed. But also robbed was Richard Burton for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Alan Arkin for The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.

That year there was a lot of solid competition for Best Actor:

and, of course, the worst performance in the worst movie won. Ye gods! Alan Arkin gave a performance of comic genius–all that fake Russian and broken English:

Very clever little boy. Very, very clever, to see that my friend and I are foreigners here, but of course not Russian, naturally. What would the Russians be doing on United States of America island, with so many animosities and hatreds between these two countries? It is too funny an idea, is it not? No, we… we are of course… Norweegans.

And, oh gee whiz, how could you give the Best Actress to Elizabeth Taylor and not the Best Actor Oscar to Richard Burton? They were both at their dramatic best as the drunken married couple, George and Martha. She was no better than he, but her competition was nowhere near as stiff. This truly was a travesty of justice.

I watched this movie because I had not seen it for a very long time and because I wanted to see how much of Smith College they actually show. (They filmed the outside scenes there in 1966, eight years before I was there.)

The swing was still there in 1974. I wonder if it still is?

Well, anyway, Richard Burton was certainly at the top of his game. Once again, we are reminded that awards mean nothing.

I guess I should watch Alfie–I have no doubt that Michael Caine was robbed as well.

However, there was one Academy Award given that year that was highly deserved: an honorary Oscar to the peerless Yakima Canutt for achievements as a stunt man and for “developing safety devices to protect all stunt men everywhere”. He was an amazing guy! You can read about him here. I will toast him in a few days when we watch Ben-Hur (1959)!

Horse trainer Glenn Randall, stunt coordinator Yakima Canutt (standing in chariot) & Charlton Heston on the set in Rome.

Well, just another reminder, as I said, that:

(photo credit of MM, the Boston Globe; painted stones by rhunt60)