One of the gifts that I got last year in my Christmas stocking was a calendar with a collection of facts, quotations, and interesting tidbits about Abraham Lincoln – one for each day. I’ve kept the calendar at work all through 2011, and have enjoyed what it’s had to offer.
Yesterday’s quote stopped me in my tracks. It’s one of those every day, throwaway details that subsequent events can make weighty. Here’s what it said – “Allow Mr. Ashum & friend to come in at 9. A. M. to-morrow.”
These words were written in Lincoln’s hand sometime in the afternoon or early evening of April 14, 1865. A small thing – and yet, how momentous and poignant in hindsight! By “9 AM tomorrow” the entire world had been turned topsy-turvy and Mr. Ashum and friend were forgotten in all the uproar.
But it made me curious about who Mr. Ashum was, and what he would’ve been meeting with Lincoln about. I found a very interesting website about President Lincoln and his friends, which includes a blog (not recently active) and offers some insight into Mr. Ashmun (including the fact that the President apparently did not know how to spell his name).
Ashmun also met with President Lincoln at the White House shortly before he went to Ford’s Theater on night of assassination. According to White House staffer Thomas Pendel: “On the fourteenth day of April 1865, in the evening, just previous to the time when the President and Mrs. Lincoln were going to the theatre, George Ashmun of Massachusetts, called on Mrs. Lincoln, and I showed him into the Red Parlor, took his card upstairs, and soon the President and Mrs. Lincoln, with Mr. Colfax, then Speaker of the House, came downstairs and went into the Red Parlor where Mr. Ashmun was waiting. They all entered into a lively local conversation, and came out of the Red Parlor presently, and stood in the inner corridor. Their conversation was about the trip Mr. Colfax proposed to take across the continent. They then passed out of the corridor into the main vestibule, and stood in the main entrance, where they again chatted. Mr. Colfax bade the President and Mrs. Lincoln good evening, and went upstairs to see the Private Secretary, Mr. John G. Nicolay. Mr. Ashmun went out on the portico with the President and Mrs. Lincoln, said good-bye, and started off downtown. Ned Burke and Charles Forbes, the coachman and footman, respectively, drove over to a private residence, and took in a coach Major Rathbone and Miss [Clara] Harris, who was the daughter of Senator Ira Harris of New York.”1010
In their conversation that night, President Lincoln first rebuked Ashmun for seeking a commission to adjudicate a cotton claim and then promised to meet with him the next morning. By then, Mr. Lincoln was dead. Ashmun later served as a director of the Union Pacific Railroad.
There’s also quite a bit about Lincoln’s final day on a WordPress blog titled Symon Sez … lots of fascinating details! And lots of other blogs … this could KILL my day! This last blog is by Geoffrey M Elliott, who has studied and written about Lincoln for many years. The blog includes a review (by him) of a book titled A First-Rate Madness. The subtitle is “Uncovering the Links between Leadership and Mental Illness.”
The author is psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi – a professor at Tufts School of Medicine. Lincoln is profiled, along with other leaders like JFK Franklin Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi. I absolutely loved the book Lincoln’s Melancholy, and am intrigued by the thesis that mental illness – and how individuals cope with it – can contribute to greatness. Who knows what we’re medicating away – what kind of poetry, inspiration, and insight – as we try to protect people from the pain of the human condition.
Oh, and here’s something to look forward to … Daniel Day-Lewis as Mr. Lincoln … sometime next winter, I believe.
Not bad, eh?
And one final bit of trivia … Lincoln was once challenged to a duel … “but the challenger accepted his apology when the much taller and smarter Lincoln chose broad swords as the weapons for the duel.”
But enough of this. I’ve got to move on, set all this Lincoln talk aside, find a couscous recipe, and get my day underway!
Okay, so we’re winding down 2011 here. What to say about this year?
Maybe I don’t need to do this today – let it wait till tomorrow? Nah, I’m sure there’s something I can say now.
It’s been a year of flying time and of finding my place. The moments speed by, and I am busier than ever, and yet when I slow down and am still, it can be so damn refreshing!
I feel like I have been gathering myself together this year – connecting with the little lost girl who stood on the outside looking in (even if that’s not how it may have appeared to others … it’s how it felt always and ever).
She has needed to talk to someone for a long, long time – and I’m so glad to be providing her with the opportunity!
And it’s been a year of craziness, as the Republicans play whack a mole with their candidates and as state legislatures around the country (New Hampshire is in the forefront here) dismantle any semblance of a safety net or of compassion or of sanity in state government.
It’s very scary, what’s happening – and sadly enough, football didn’t really provide any respite for me this fall/winter! The Eagles were weird and my fantasy teams pretty much sucked.
In terms of writing, JordanCornblog has suffered since I’ve been working in other venues. I miss the blog and continually hope to get back to it. Maybe as I carve out a better schedule for myself, 2012 will bring more JordanCornblog time. At any rate, I need to stop apologizing here, as I’m sure it gets tiresome.
On the personal income front, I’m encouraging HollyCornblog to start selling some of her photographic notecards, so you may see something along those lines here in the not too distant future. Also, quite miraculously, I heard that a JordanCornblog apron found its way into a holiday gift package this year. Christmas surely is a magical time, is it not?!
It’s great to see Boltgirl back in the saddle, as it were. Transition times suck, eh?
So anyway, 2011 is winding down and as you can see, no deep thoughts from this corner of the world.
I’ll keep trying, and will surely let you know if anything springs to mind. 🙂
This is a painting sold at a charitable auction sponsored by Jimmy Rollins and other phantastic Phillies.
The painting is by a tattoo artist by the name of Seth Mushrush of Baker Street Tattoo out of Media.
CharlieHopbrew’s nephew was kind enough to give HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew a poster, made from the painting (and signed by J-Ro) for moi. So psyched … and of course absolutely convinced that it means a World Series win for the Phillies (and also a win for the Eagles this Sunday).
Why? Because it takes only the smallest hints from the universe to convince me of these things …;>)
PS I wrote this on Sunday, late morning and am scheduling it to post Monday morning … so we’ll see if the Eagles’ part of the prediction comes true.
Ahhhh, so life is good. The sun is out … we are preparing to thoroughly confuse the dogs by dragging a tree into the house (again), RPE is flying back to the States tomorrow (for 3 weeks – yippee), the UConn Huskies have a must-see-TV kinda game tonight, and the WPS is sanctioned again, just barely.
The requirements for WPS to continue beyond this year?
“No longer can the league contract and get away with still operating. One condition of the sanctioning: WPS must secure a sixth team for the 2013 season and field at least eight teams in 2014.”
No easy feat any time – and in this economy? Hope they can do it.
I am considering going more paperless, as I look for ways to make info more easily accessible (than piles of paper in boxes in the basement might be). As exciting as the concept is to me, I am finding that it takes time (of course) … so implementation will be a gradual process.
Scanned a few photos just now … this one’s from a dusty album. Summer of 1956 … a lllllooooonnnnnggg time ago!
Yup, it’s December. We’re heading toward the winter solstice, yours truly is a year older, and RPE has visited home from Dublin, briefly, for the holiday.
I’ve been to the Lake and to HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew’s house. We had a really nice Thanksgiving gathering of family and friends here at the house, including HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew, who drove over from New York (HollyCornblog with her hand all bandaged up after carpal tunnel surgery). And so it goes…
Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Eagles suck! (But being from Philly and all, you really do kind of get used to that.)
Earlier this week, while I was still on vacation, I went to see a really wonderful movie with my friend Alice. (Sadly, for now, the primary mission of this blog – entertaining Alice – remains more or less on hold, as Alice has been entertaining me more than vice versa. I keep hoping to change that and become more regular about my writing here, but apparently that doesn’t happen magically. Not fair, but there’s not much I can do about it.)
So anyway, Alice and I saw this great movie called “Hugo” – Martin Scorsese film that was absolutely magical. The only bad thing about it was we had to go to the local multiplex to see it rather than to Red River theaters. I highly recommend it though – an engaging story and an absolute feast for the eyes. You have the option to see it in 3-D, and is also a regular version showing there. I highly recommend the 3-D version.
Life rolls along, doesn’t it? Caleb is growing up into a great big bruiser of a Bassador. At 7+ months, he’s made his peace with the cats, seems to understand that he’s not supposed to pee or poop in the house, has learned about chipmunks and squirrels, much to his delight, and is generally becoming a pretty responsible citizen of the family. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be going to some obedience classes in a few weeks. ChristopherCornblog will be taking him, and we anticipate that it will be a male bonding experience, extraordinaire!
I had a good span of time off, and seem to have discovered, at least judging from my most recent two vacations, that free time throws me just a bit. I think it’s a result of being so busy in my day-to-day life. When I get a break, I’m really not sure what to do with myself. So this vacation I became obsessed with “Friday Night Lights” and am up to season 4 as I write this. (During the summer it was Jodi Picoult novels …) Normally vacation times are more productive for me – so it can be a bit challenging to feel like I’m “wasting” time. In reality, I suspect that I really do just need to relax.
So anyway, a new month! As I said, how’s it going? Me, I’m full of new resolve. Love that feeling of starting a new month.
What will it hold? I’m thinking eggnog, for sure. Some pudding shots, too … and THAT’S definitely a tale (and perhaps a recipe) for another day!
Back in the day, when many of us were wearing bell bottoms and granny glasses … when Vietnam was a roiling mess and many of us thought that we knew quite a bit more than we may think we know now … Veteran’s Day was not something that gave me pause. Not at all – except maybe as more reason to be mad at the government, Nixon, and all the folks who were screwing up the world.
I knew my father was a WWII veteran, though he never talked about it much. For me it was one more reason to feel judgmental and alienated from him.
And now I think how sad for me! Can’t go back, but I’d have so many questions for him now, were he alive. I wonder about what it was like to decide, as a 19-year-old college freshman, to enlist in the army. I wonder about what it was like to ride a train to boot camp, then head overseas … what did he think about in the quiet moments?
We were raised to think that Dad was uninteresting at best. So anything that he touched or that related to him took on a that cast. My perspective was shaped by my Mother’s perspective … and it’s taken years to slowly remove that filter from my eyes and look around with more clarity.
So anyway, because of its association with Dad, Veteran’s Day is definitely an olive drab holiday in my ken … would be so even if the colors weren’t absolutely appropriate for the day.
But what does it mean to me now? Well, the word duty comes to mind … a word I’ve thought terribly uninteresting for at least 5 decades … but am coming to appreciate more and more. Is it personal growth, accrued wisdom, or simply the piling of the years that has made me see it differently? (Like to think it’s the former … but not so sure it isn’t merely the latter.)
Anyway … Dad did what was necessary. He did what he thought he ought to do. He did his best. I see that now. He made everything possible, quietly, while Mom railed and complained and mourned the losses of what-might-have-been. Flamboyant, mercurial, hurtful, dramatic … she was everything that Dad was not … and oh-my-goodness did she denigrate him!
So, from the vantage point of my family, Veteran’s Day, like Dad, never had a chance. And while I cannot ever celebrate war or honor the men in suits who use the men in uniform as pawns … I do celebrate the people like my father who, as young men and women, do what they think is right.
Perhaps I wish that they would have developed a more nuanced and critical view of the world and its events, and would have found other ways to ‘do what’s right.’ But as I think about my father today, I feel great tenderness and respect for the 19-year-old who put down his books and his football pads and did what he believed he should.
The immense silence of the morning. That’s the phrase that kept going through my head this morning as I stood in the dark waiting for Ruby and Caleb to do their business and come back in for breakfast.
The eastern horizon had a dim glow, illuminating the trees in silhouette as the stars slowly receded with the coming light. Looking out, looking up, all I could think was how immense the world is and how, ultimately, silent. All the noise of our activity, all the drama, all the strife – swallowed into the silence – in the end.
While that thought feels fundamentally true to me, I see how I dance around it, experiencing a whole range of feelings, often diametrically opposed to one another. Sometimes I find peace and sometimes terror in this train of thought.
Sometimes standing in that immense silence, I feel a part of the universe. Other times, I feel alone and at sea.
But the other thing I’m realizing, that feels so powerful to me, is that I have some choice in what I feel. When I embrace my feeling – even if it’s fear – I accept and explore and ultimately, come to some peace with it. When I try to avoid it or turn away, it dogs me, draining my energy and feeding my fears.
So greeting the immense silence of the morning feels like a positive stance to take in the face of everything – absolutely everything. In the face of inevitability, there is always and ever … choice.
Along these lines, I’m very very psyched to report something that I learned from a friend yesterday. The amazing and wonderful book “The Finding Stone” by Christin Lore Weber is now back in print and available on Amazon.
If you’re interested in having a book that you want to keep and savor forever, nourishing yourself, and finding new meaning every time you dip into it, you want to give this as a gift to yourself.
PS Alice, Chris, and Holly (soon!) – I already got it for the Kindle!
Well, let me say right from the get go, I kinda wish Hope hadn’t gone all nekkid on us … but then again, I am old(er) and perhaps a bit set in my ways.
Just the same, this commentary from Zennie Abraham is excellent and highlights the kind of anti-strong-woman sexism that permeates our culture. Here’s the You Tube Video …
You can check out all of Zennie’s posts about Hope here.
And here’s last week’s dance …
Lots ‘o drama, eh? Problem is, I can’t bear to sit through the show … but I do try to vote each week (just gotta do it before 11 AM on Tuesday at the ABC DWTS website).
I dunno … maybe we just need more soccer and less dancing …
Been thinking a lot about life lately. Prompted by the untimely death of someone I’d known years ago, an approaching birthday, and basically just the passage of time. As the seasons change, days pile, and wisdom accrues (of course … it has to accrue, doesn’t it?) … I find myself looking back and wondering about the many-threaded tapestry of moments and memories that is my life.
If I pick out one thing … my mother, let’s say, just for discussion’s sake … I notice that my perceptions of her are prism-like. Depending on the angle and the play of light, she can look like about 16 different people … adored, hated, and, as you may have guessed, 14-other things in-between. Delving into the rich compost of memory and feeling, when I look in her direction, my view is determined entirely by my vantage point.
So, as I’ve pretty much always suspected, it’s all about me … in the end.
And yet, that’s no simple thing, because the eyes of the adoring youngster of 22-months can hardly comprehend what the snarly 17-year-old sees. And then add in the eyes of the 50-something adult and you’ve got quite a mix! Who am I and what do I see and feel … about anything? There’s no linear logic that comprehends or contains it.
In fact, even if I start exploring single-mindedly, right now, why I am the way I am … I won’t ever ‘know’ in a clear or circumscribed way. No, one door opens to another, and then another. You peel away one layer, then the next and the next. Maybe you get to the end, but then that simply casts new light on another layer … which in turn revises your understanding of the next.
I used to think (speaking of my mother again) that if I could just figure out why she was the way she was I could ‘fix’ it and things would be fine. Now I’m coming to see that I’ll never know why she was the way she was. And even if I could, it wouldn’t make a whit of difference.
… because it’s all about me … and the layered mystery that I am. Exploring, unfolding, coming to know and befriend myself at each turn.
Yeah, that’s it … and, as my father would say … “Oh, Geez.”
This morning I started my usual routine a bit later than usual … ah the luxury of sleeping in!
So it wasn’t ’til 6:30 that I let Caleb out of his kennel and he and Ruby trailed outside to do their ‘business’ then raced back in for the excitement of BREAKFAST!
After feeding them I pulled out the old Flip video in hopes of catching some playtime. Unfortunately, they were mostly either lethargic or overly interested in the camera (guess they’ll have to get used to being movie stars).
I finally managed to snag a couple of snippets …
… and will get better at this, I promise!
As for the disturbing info, it has to do with the carbon footprint of the internet. I had been complacently thinking that somehow my obsession with gadgets was justifiable as the Kindles and Sonic G-Tabs of the world were helping us to cut down on activities that contribute to global warming.
Come to find out, instead, that those little thoughtless “Googles” that I do throughout the day are costly …
Say you do a Google search. Your query kicks into action about 1,000 servers at various Google data centres. Those computers scan billions of web pages already in Google’s archives and spit out an answer.
Total time elapsed: 0.2 seconds on average. Meanwhile, Google’s data centres are also constantly combing the Internet to update their archives of web pages.
All those computers have a voracious appetite for energy, especially for cooling equipment to prevent overheating.
Apple’s 46,000-square-metre iDataCenter is set to open in North Carolina this spring with a price tag of $1 billion U.S. It will use an estimated 100 megawatts of power – as much as about 100,000 Canadian homes.
Apple’s mega-facility is part of a cluster of gigantic new data centres coming on line in North Carolina that are powered largely by cheap and highly polluting coal power. Google has a 44,000-square-metre data centre in the state that will eventually consume an estimated 60 to 100 MW. Facebook has a 28,000-square-metre facility under construction there that will eat up 40 MW.
Greenpeace calls the three facilities “North Carolina’s dirty data triangle.” Coal, it says, is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and the world’s single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
“The technologies of the 21st century are still largely powered by the dirty coal power of the past,” the environmental group said in a report card on the IT sector in April, titled How Dirty is Your Data?
Licorice Pizza: I'm starting anew here and have now been, twice, to Vax and Snax at Red River. These are Thursday night movies for vaccinated and masked folks, and you can get POPCORN! But I digress...Licorice Pizza was a sweet, coming-of-age in The Valley in the Seventies sort of movie that managed to include waterbeds and Jon Peters and two new stars -- Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman).
If Beale Street Could Talk: Quiet, beautiful, heartfelt, devastating. America wears many masks. This movie strips a few of them away. It shines a light on quite a lot of ugliness. As well, it illuminates dignity and resilience in the face of a system built on the abuse of privilege and power. A perfect movie to see on the eve of what is hopefully Donald Trump's last SOTU.
Shoplifters: A beautifully honest, quiet movie that is at once uplifting and devastating. Universal questions are raised and left open for pondering. What is a family? How do people survive in our world today? And how do we judge their choices?
Green Book: Very enjoyable movie and yet deeply flawed. The white guy comes across as the hero in ways that are typical for the American movie industry, and comfortably misleading in terms of the realities of our culture. Especially in the current socio/political atmosphere, can't we do better than this?
On the Basis of Sex: We applauded, we cried, we felt so glad that RBG was as prescient as she was. And I felt personally glad that her love of opera clearly predates her connection with Scalia. What an inspiring woman -- and a good movie about her early years as a student, professor, and attorney.
The Favourite: Did I say that being a queen was no fun? This definitely seems to have carried forward to Queen Anne's reign. Strong performances again, and more belly laughs than you'd think. And right along with it, grief, emptiness, ambition, and gouty excess.
Mary Queen of Scots: Being a queen was no fun in the 16th century. Excellent, complex performances in this one. I found Elizabeth especially compelling. Very unclear who actually wins out in this one.
Another Year: Loved this one! It's about a couple, and their friends, and their lives – painful in spots, and wonderfully everyday and enriching, to my mind. Great performances – and who knew there was so much wine being drunk in England!?
Tiny Furniture: A young woman (aka Lena Dunham) comes home after graduating from college and tries to find herself – or not. A character study that I found humorous and touching – and sometimes a little disturbing and/or self-indulgent. It's definitely a privilege to have the leisure to "find oneself." After this..."Girls."
Rabbit Hole: Painful/powerful movie about loss and grieving. Hard to watch but well worth the effort, with a strong cast and an especially on the mark performance by Nicole Kidman. I continue to be glad to see that she is clearly outstripping Tom Cruise as an artist. You go girl!
The Kids Are Alright: Very enjoyable movie with great performances and an excellent cast. Two kids whose moms are lesbians decide they want to find out something about their "father" – and everything moves on from that point.
The King's Speech: Warm, funny, inspiring – and apparently a bit of a rewrite of history, to boot! Colin Firth puts out an amazing performance – and was well rewarded for it. Everyone else is great too, and if you're one of the few people left who hasn't seen it, it's definitely worth a look!
Black Swan: This is a disturbing movie that I really loved – and in case you haven't noticed, I do have a tendency to like disturbing movies. What's real and what isn't? You be the judge. Also, be on the lookout for Winona Ryder – you'll never recognize her!
Blue Valentine: A couple in trouble – how they started and how they got to where they are. A good movie with excellent performances that left me wondering, especially in Michelle Williams' case, whether she was thinking about what's his name (her partner who died suddenly – the guy who starred in Broke Back Mountain – for some reason I can't remember his name – oh yeah, Heath Ledger).
Shutter Island: A dark period piece that has the creepy feel of the 1950s (creepy to me at any rate) and has stayed with me more than I would've thought. A movie with surprises – definitely worth a look.
Cyrus: I don't remember this one so well, but have a vague recollection of walking out of the theater feeling not so enthralled. I believe it's supposed to be funny – but as you can tell it didn't really make an impression.
I Am Love: Really beautiful, sumptuous movie that made me hungry, just watching it. A keeper!
The Girl Who Played with Fire: The second in the three part series involving the girl with the dragon tattoo, this movie was much harder to watch than the first, as Salander's triumph isn't quite so clear at the end. Painful, painful, painful.
Scott Pilgrim Versus the World: I loved this comic book take on young love. Went to the movie on a whim and came away very happy to have seen it! Quite a few laugh out loud moments – and touching, as well.
Going the Distance: A very lightweight romcom that kinda left me feeling like I had just spent an hour and a half reading People magazine. In other words, pretty much a waste of time.
Never Let Me Go: Wow! This was an amazing, stark, and moving movie about kids who are basically raised to become organ donors. Very much worth seeing.
The Town: Ben Affleck's movie about bank robbers. It's okay. Not great, but okay. It does make me curious about Charlestown – will have to go there one day.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger: A Woody Allen movie that I honestly don't remember very well. It's pretty much about adults behaving badly – something that Woody knows a little something about.
The Social Network: The movie about Facebook. I found it very interesting and well done, and was especially fascinated/disturbed by the window on the incredible privilege and elitism still thriving at undergrad Harvard.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Number three in the Dragon trilogy. I found this, in many ways, the weakest of the three movies – although that's not to say that it was weak. Perhaps my enjoyment was affected by the fact that I hadn't read the book. Anyway, it's a great trilogy and I was sorry to see it come to an end.
Fair Game: The movie about the Valerie Plame affair. One of the things that I found most interesting was how it uncovered my own biases, as she was clearly a very serious and talented agent, but because of her blonde haired beauty, I pretty much assumed that she was a lightweight in real life. I appreciated, also, the depiction of her husband as a bit of a media hound, which was how he seemed to me at the time. And of course, there are the despicable characters of the Bush administration. Glad they were on display in all their glory!
City Island: This was a fine, if predictable, movie about a family in which everyone has a secret and is telling lies. I mostly loved it because it gave me a glimpse of where my friend CB lives!
Winter's Bone: Wow! Unrelenting, stark, and ultimately uplifting – at least to my mind. This is a painful movie about life when you're the daughter of someone who runs a meth lab. Winter's Bone is a perfect title. J-Law is amazing!
Please Give: Quirky, sweet, slice-of-life movie. I loved the low-key character development and good humor of it all. Enjoyable, with a great cast and few false notes.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Tho' parts of the book were missing, this was an excellent rendition of an excellent book. Not for the faint of heart, tho'! Lisbeth Salander is an Emma Peel for the 21st Century (watch for more from Noomi Rapace - I will be)!
Me and Orson Welles: Or was it Orson Welles and me? (If Orson had anything to do with the title, I'm guessing the latter.) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even as it reminded me of why the world of the theatre holds absolutely no appeal for yours truly! Nice to see Claire Danes back ... still have to finish watching Temple Grandin, too!
Crazy Heart: I left this movie thinking ... "Eh?" but it has stayed with me. Jeff Bridges does give a wonderful performance. The amount of smoking and drinking was nauseating - as I guess it was supposed to be - all in an understated, Jeff Bridges sort of a way.
A Single Man: One of the best movies of the year in my book. Haunting, beautifully acted and filmed ... marred only by an unnecessarily heavy-handed ending, IMHO. That was the only flaw in an otherwise brilliant bit of artistry. Colin Firth was perfect, and this was an amazing writing/directing debut for Tom Ford! See it!!!
Young Victoria: I am eternally grateful to have not been born the heir to a throne. Life was confusing enough! This was an enjoyable, tear-jerker of a movie that left me wanting to know more about the details. Perhaps a bio for Bookeaters?
Precious: Wow, wow, wow. Two weeks in a row - another amazing movie at Red River. This is a challenging and important movie ... about life in America ... every single day ... everywhere.
The Messenger: Wow, wow, wow. This is one of the best movies I have seen in quite some time. Its focus is on two men who notifiy NOK (next of kin) when a soldier dies. It is a raw, wrenching, unflinching and uplifting journey - not to be missed. Seriously
Damned United: This was a study in soccer, ambition, and friendship. For soccer buffs who actually know the players (I'm a late-comer to the game) the movie would be that much better. I loved it, though - and recommend it highly.
A Serious Man: The Book of Job envisioned by the Coen brothers evoked the early sixties and suburbia with humor, pathos ... and a slightly nauseating quality that tells me they pretty much hit the nail on the head. As one of the goyim, I am sure there were hundreds of nuances that were lost on me ... but I loved it (nausea aside) nonetheless!
Cold Souls: The premise of this movie is deeply strange, yet it is presented in an entirely believable way. It's by turns very moving and then hilarious (in ways that, in retrospect, are hard to capture/explain). The ending leaves a puzzled feeling - but that's not really bothersome. In many ways, puzzled is the appropriate way to walk out of the theater after "Cold Souls." Check it out!
Adam: Nicely done! Not a movie that will stay with you for a long time, but I liked it. The father (Peter Gallagher) seemed a tad overdone -and unnecessarily so. Unmemorable soundtrack - but since I mention it, does that make it memorable? Now I'm starting to feel like Steven Wright - not necessarily a bad thing!
Taking Woodstock: Even going in with low expectations, this offering from Ang Lee just wasn't good. Vilma was a high point in an otherwise shoddy effort. Harsh, eh? And watch out, world - it's only 6:30 AM!
Julie and Julia: I was not as bothered by Julie as some reviewers were - maybe because I liked seeing a blogger hit the big time. Meryl Streep was amazing as Julia .. and this is definitely not a movie to see on an empty stomach! Never have I enjoyed watching people eat as much as I did watching this flick!
500 Days of Summer: I think I wasn't supposed to, but I loved it. Engaging characters and script, great soundtrack. Not as quirky and lovable as "Away We Go" - but not far behind, either.
Whatever Works: People either like or hate this latest offering from Woody Allen. I must admit that it's a little weird to see this May-December relationship on-screen, feeling so creeped out by Woody's real-life choices. But I'd say he pulls it off. There are some really great lines throughout the movie, and while not entirely believable, I didn't mind being along for the ride. A pleasant diversion for sure.
Goodbye, Solo: Interesting movie that basically contrasts life energy and death energy, IMHO. Solo is the epitome of resilience - love him! Meanwhile William seems bent on being miserable, for reasons that the movie leaves mysterious. I didn't find him very a likable or compelling character - but Solo makes up for it.
Moon: I hesitate to write this one up, as I was tired when I saw it - and missed portions. But form my bleary vantage point, this seemed an intriguing movie set on the moon and exploring themes of identity, isolation, etc. It was not my usual fare - and I wasn't up to snuff - but at least had the wherewithall to be able tell that it was quality work!
Cheri: I liked this a lot better than Easy Virtue - maybe because I went into it having already seen EV and had my expectations lowered. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates are fun to watch as always - and I liked Rupert Friend in the title role. It all got a little too serious at the end - a tone-shift that didn't quite fit with the bulk of the movie. Still - a pleasant diversion on a rainy July evening!
Away We Go: This was an excellent movie in every regard. Great dialogue and plot line, endearing cast/characters, heartwarming/funny story that avoids tipping over into overly-sweet territory ... and great soundtrack, to boot! See it, if you haven't already.
Easy Virtue: Not my cup of tea - but I suspect it would have helped, going in, to know that this was a movie based on a Noel Coward play. The characters felt stilted and unbelievable to me, as it was - and I couldn't muster much concern for what became of them. All things considered, I'd rather have been in Philadelphia!
Sugar: Sugar is a baseball flick that is sweetly and realistically done - and definitely like no Hollywood film on the subject. The characters are real and the life is hard - and the film depicts it all in a matter-of-fact way that brings the realities home more surely than something more "dramatic" ever could. Two thumbs up on this one!
Sunshine Cleaning: Director Christine Jeffs has a winner in this tale about the hard times and resiliency of the Lorkowski family. Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin shine in this movie about a bio-hazard clean-up company. Yes, that's correct. And the movie had the potential to cross the line into sappiness several times but demurred. For that I am eternally thankful. (Okay, eternally may be a little over the top.) Darn good flick, though - check it out.
Milk: Sean Penn deserves an Oscar for his amazing portrayal of Harvey Milk. It actually didn't even feel like a portrayal - more a channeling. Such a loss - that yet another creative and energetic and good leader, was senselessly murdered all those years ago. Fear, hatred and guns - why don't we remove at least the last ingredient in the tragic mix?
Doubt: Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman are amazing, and Viola Davis is a heartbreaking revelation in this battle royale. I was left with less doubt at the end than some of my compatriots ... but that took nothing away from the experience. Meryl Streep deserves an Oscar, IMHO ... and I definitely want her on my side, always!
Slumdog Millionaire: Just a great movie, start to finish. Magical,epic, and a nail-biter (even though you know what's going to happen ... pretty much. The dancing at the end did my heart good - and having M.I.A. in the soundtrack didn't hurt, either!
The Secret Life of Bees: Or was it The Secret Lives of Bees? Anyway, whatever - I want Queen Latifah to be my mother!!! (What was Bill Clinton thinking, throwing her under the bus all those years ago?) The movie was entertaining but not a home run by any means. Too predictable ... but Alicia Keys was wonderfully cranky-verging-on-scary and the Queen was queenly and the honey looked delicious and it was nice hearing India Arie in the soundtrack!
Happy Go Lucky: I think I was supposed to like this more than I did. Perhaps it suffered by being seen pretty much on the heels of Rachel. I found Poppy to be a sometimes intriguing and sometimes annoying character. The relentless joking and "upbeatness" felt distancing and unnecessary. I didn't hate this movie by any means - but something was missing for me.
Rachel Getting Married: Jonathan Demme and an amazing script and cast just blew me away with this effort. The characters are fascinating and complicated and most every interaction in the film left me engaged and wanting to know more! Debra Winger was stupendous - although it's been so long since I've seen her that I kept trying to find the bull-riding Urban Cowboy persona within the steely, distant mother of this wedding movie. (She's not there.) Margot at the Wedding was very good - but Rachel puts her in her place. I highly recommend this to everyone!
Religulous: Bill Maher skewers the rampant "illogic" of religion in this free-wheeling film. His wit is right on target and as barbed as you'd expect. I found myself squirming every once in awhile. I don't mind you picking on the Pope, Bill ... but same as with Michael Moore ... sometimes when you set up "common folks" to look like fools, I cringe. Still, Religulous is worth a look for sure. The best point Bill makes? That conservatives of a religulous bent are about finding answers - while liberals are about asking questions. I can go with that!
Roman de gare: This was an intriguing, surprising, suspenseful, funny, quirky movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters and plot lines are deftly developed. You should definitely check it out if you get the chance!
Young at Heart: YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE! It's a documentary about a choral group of octogenarians in Northampton, MA. Very inspiring ... definitely something to check out!
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: Enjoyable, light fare with a stellar performance by my favorite police chief, Frances McDormand!
The Visitor: Now this was an excellent movie ... from start to finish. It was similar to Smart People in that it had an academic as the main character. However, all similarities ended pretty much right there. In this warm, funny, and wrenching movie, the characters are well and subtly developed, the plot is (unfortunately) believable ... and there are no false notes. I would urge you to see it - you won't be sorry!
Smart People: Looks like we're getting back on track with our Tuesday night movie schedule ... for the time being. Smart People was enjoyable but left me unenthralled. (It probably didn't help that we ran into a totally enthralled movie-goer on the way in who was seeing it for the second time. High expectations may have killed this one for me.) Overall, I found the characters exaggerated and mildly unlikeable ... the dialogue stilted and self-conscious, perhaps just the way smart people talk. But then the lessons about loosening up and being less self-absorbed weren't exactly ground-breaking. Overall, it wasn't a wasted evening ... but not a movie I'll be putting at the top of my list, either.
4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days): Winner of the Palm D'Or at Cannes, this film by Romania's Cristian Mungiu certainly deserves the accolades it receives. It's a realistic and emotionally unflinching story of a woman who helps her friend obtain an illegal abortion in 1987 Romania. The story is harrowing, the acting wonderful, and the cinematography amazing. This film makes Juno look like Disney pablum!
Taxi to the Dark Side: This was a harrowing and eye-opening look at what our country has become under the leadership of Bush/Cheney after 9/11. The "road taken" has definitely been a trip to the dark side. Disgusting and important to see ... as we make our way back toward the light!
Michael Clayton: What an excellent movie! Engaging, engrossing, well-acted. Tilda Swinton certainly deserved an award for her protrayal of what I have to think must be the secret, inner life of Condi Rice.
Persepolis: This animated memoir is an engaging, heartbreaking, uplifting, realistic look at life in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Go see it! It humanizes what our current regime so consistently tries to dehumanize. An important movie, Persepolis is based on the book by Marjane Satrapi.
Margot at the Wedding: Dark, funny, tough to watch and very well acted.
I'm Not There: Bob Dylan's not my favorite, but this was a fascinating movie to watch (albeit long) and since he wasn't there, I couldn't very well feel annoyed by him. Cate Blanchette was just amazing - and I loved the surreal, Fellini-esque feel of the Richard Gere parts.
Atonement: Lush, compelling, painful - I especially loved Vanessa Redgrave's starkly powerful 5 minutes - and the Fellini-esque (can you tell I love Fellini?) flavor of the scenes of the evacuating troops on the beach - complete with ferris wheels - somehow depicting the disorienting horror of war in ways that blood and gore never could. Great movie!
Juno: Well, I went to see it. I totally agree with my friends who found the clinic scene extremely misleading, off-base, and gratuitously negative in its depiction of the women's health movement and its workers. In an otherwise nice movie, this was a thoughtless lapse ... and I was sad to see so many women in Juno's age group in the theater (one of them actually pregnant) ... who'll be coming away with a false impression that could so seriously affect their lives!
The Savages: Wow, what a good movie! Philip Seymour Hoffman has had an amazing run this year between this, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," and that other movie with Tom Hanks ... the name of which is escaping me at the moment ... Charlie Somebody's War. Anyway - he and Laura Linney are just wonderful as siblings dealing with their aging/ailing father. Painful and real ... and set in gritty, wintry Buffalo ... in perfect contrast to Sun City. (The latter looks like a setting that would do David Lynch proud.) Check it out if you haven't seen it!
These words were written in Lincoln’s hand sometime in the afternoon or early evening of April 14, 1865. A small thing – and yet, how momentous and poignant in hindsight! By “9 AM tomorrow” the entire world had been turned topsy-turvy and Mr. Ashum and friend were forgotten in all the uproar.
Oh, and here’s something to look forward to … Daniel Day-Lewis as Mr. Lincoln … sometime next winter, I believe.
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