your mellow ease, And the dear honour of your amity

With you a part of me hath passed away; 

For in the peopled forest of my mind 

A tree made leafless by this wintry wind 

Shall never don again its green array. 

Chapel and fireside, country road and bay, 

Have something of their friendliness resigned; 

Another, if I would, I could not find, 

And I am grown much older in a day. 

But yet I treasure in my memory 

Your gift of charity, your mellow ease, 

And the dear honour of your amity; 

For these once mine, my life is rich with these. 

And I scarce know which part may greater be,— 

What I keep of you, or you rob of me. 

 

 [George Santayana {1863-1952}, II. from 'To W.P.', in Sonnets and Other Verses)]

rain has the power to hypnotize

1. If you could have witnessed one event from your family's history, what would you want to see? 

    my parents' wedding. There are not many photos, but those that I've seen look happy, silly, and so very different from my life's experience. My parents were dancing! And my paternal grandfather, who died before I was born, looks bluff and hearty, a little drunk, and full of joy and spit and vinegar.

2. If you had to name the one thing that most frightens you about growing old, what would it be? 

    living too long, past my social and practical and emotional utility, alone. Becoming an old person in all the hardest ways.  

3. If you could give hair back to any balding person you know, who would you pick? 

    my big brother. He's fine without it, and would certainly never ask for it, but he's a good guy and might like to have it back. Plus, it would keep his noggin warmer in the winter.  

4. If you had to name some things that really make your day, what would they be? 

    good sleep, a tasty apple, real personal mail, a winning scratch-off lottery ticket, a bonus at work, or indoor plants blooming (especially when it is unexpected). A nice, hard rain, especially when there's nowhere to be but home. 

5. If you could have the chance to see what has become of one childhood friend, who would you choose to find out about? 

    I haven't had a drink, or whatever, with The Emerald Man in far too long. 14 years or so?! We keep apprised of major developments on FB, and I follow him on IG (though he doesn't know it), and rumor has it he reads here from time to time. Face to face, though...it's better.

6. If you had to describe the perfect retirement home, what would it be like? 

    quiet, peaceful, and in a walking-friendly neighborhood. Safe, accessible, and easy-care. Located in a town with good options for service providers of all kinds, such as home maintenance and hairstyling and medical. Grocery delivery. Great lighting, especially near a state of the art, ergonomically advanced jigsaw-puzzling station.

7. If you had to eat the cooking of one person you know personally for the rest of your life, whose would you want it to be? 

    my mom. She makes all of the family specials that cannot or ought not to be explained to or shared with anyone else. She can make gravy that will make anything in the world taste even better. Her breakfasts are plentiful and wonderful, and an indelible reminder of growing up. And she can cook with a pressure cooker—!!!—to bring out the juicy deliciousness of my favorite home meal, roast beast.

 

[from If2: 500 New Questions for the game of life; the title quotation is by Haruki Murakami, from South of the Border, West of the Sun]

have you got an aspirin? / No, but I got a headache

Average rating: 8.25 - including a new 10!

Chaos (2006) - "A veteran detective is teamed with a rookie cop when they are sent to negotiate with a bunch of criminals holding a bank hostage. It transpires that a master thief has planted a computer virus that will drain funds from the bank's accounts. The detective faces a race against time to catch the thief and stop the randomly evolving computer virus, which models its behavior on the bewildering principles of chaos theory."
length: 1 hour, 46 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's been a while since I've seen it (never reviewed)
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 57%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "[puts business card into his pocket] ...a list of things you can put in my mouth."

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Tony Giglio

my notes: ridiculously twisty, filled with excessive action and stylized violence, now and then overtly sexual but not quite achieving sexy, and surprisingly smart. Statham is as delicious as ever—and, as always, his character's home is filled with books and light and open space. I wonder if that's in his contract? Ryan Phillippe is an unexpected and very smart choice as the partner. Snipes is not to my taste (that hat, Jesus H. Christ.) but carries it off. My favorites: Justine Waddell (Teddy) and Nicholas Lea (Vincent).

overall:  recommended

Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - "Key lieutenant of South Side Chicago crime boss Johnny Lovo, Tony Camonte is an ambitious and reckless gangster who ignores warnings not to mess with Irish gangs on the North Side. When the North Side retaliates, Tony essentially massacres them, leaving him on top of the world. Worried about Tony's overconfidence, however, Johnny orders him killed, but this also backfires, and Tony finds himself even closer to becoming king of the city."

length: 1 hour, 33 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: I'd seen the 1983 "loose remake" (reviewed here) and was curious to compare this more critically-acclaimed original
IMDB: 7.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 98% Audience: 86%
my IMDB: 7/10

AFI: 100 Years … 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Villain #47

    10 Top 10 (2008) Gangster #6

MPAA rating:  Passed

notable quote: "...expensive, huh?"

directed by: Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson

my notes: distressing. The story is all right, the direction is good. For 1932, the camera-work is terrific. Some of the acting—particularly George Raft as Guino Rinaldo and Ann Dvorak as Cesca Camonte—is outstanding. I also liked Osgood Perkins, an odd choice for mob boss Johnny Lovo. The lead character, though, is just a stereotypical mess of anger and violence, as played by the wooden Paul Muni.

overall: reluctantly recommended

The More the Merrier (1943) - "Due to a housing shortage in Washington, D.C., during World War II, Connie Milligan (Jean Arthur) agrees to rent part of her apartment to wealthy retiree Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn) and soldier Joe Carter (Joel McCrea). Although Connie is engaged to the unexciting Charles Pendergast (Richard Gaines), she becomes fond of Joe. When Dingle notices their interests in each other, he attempts to play matchmaker—but instead causes problems for the entire apartment."
length: 1 hour, 44 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: I wanted to see more of Joel McCrea
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 82%
my IMDB: 10/10

notable quote: "She thinks you're dumb, but cute."

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: George Stevens

my notes: the best romantic film I've ever seen. Before it was through, I bought a copy for myself. Funny, adorable, and heart-rending. It has the joyous, ridiculous matchmaking of The Palm Beach Story (1942, reviewed here), the intense wartime romance of The Clock (1945, reviewed here), the fast-paced deadpan humor (and underlying tension) of Sullivan's Travels (1941, reviewed here), and the unsubconscious masculinity of Four Faces West (1948, reviewed here).... I love it.

Academy Award winner: Best Supporting Actor—Charles Coburn
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actress—Jean Arthur

• Best Director—Stevens

• Best Writing, Original Story—Frank Ross, Robert Russell

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster, Frank Ross, Robert Russell
overall: most highly recommended

Greg Davies—The Back of my Mum’s Head (2013) - "Inspired by his mother's insistence that he's 'not normal', comedian Greg Davies puts everyone under a comedic microscope during this live comedy performance."
length: 1 hour, 23 minutes

source: streamed on Peacock
I watched it because: I adore Greg Davies
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: N/A%
my IMDB: 910

notable quote: "You will not remember Dave. You will only remember Darren. You will not use Twitter."

MPAA rating: NR

directed by: Greg Davies, Tim Kirkby, Paul Wheeler

my notes: there's something incredibly charming about a comedian who can't help but laugh at his own jokes. I varied between hysterical laughter and smiling until my cheeks hurt.

overall: highly recommended

 

[the title quotation is from The More the Merrier]

people are islands, she said. They don't really touch. However close they are, they're really quite separate

11. Take four minutes and tell your life story in as much detail as possible. 

    last child of the family. Loved school, playing outside, and reading. Late to develop, a little kid quite a bit past when my friends became big kids. Silly, boy-crazy, energetic. Loved science. College turned that upside down; love history. Met H, who became my husband 2 years later. 4 years of living in The Mitten, 15 years on the Flat, a professional degree and another academic degree. Divorce. Long-term dating. Short-term dating. Moving house x17. Profound loss. Now, back to the hometown.

12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? 

    lottery prediction. 

    Or, if it has to be something real, I'd choose "not squeamish."

23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?

    80% of my immediate family is close and relatively warm, and the other is an iceberg covered with camouflaged shards that will both freeze and cut if you are anywhere near. 

    My childhood was happy, which is not solely a function of the closeness and warmth of the people with whom I lived. Childhood is about more than just that. Anyway, there are plenty of people whose upbringing was far less happy than mine.

24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother? 

    good

35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why? 

    this is literally unanswerable, and I think it's kind of awful to think about it

36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen. 

    this is the final prompt in the series, and the one that's demanded the most thought before I respond. Usually I've just read the prompt, adapted it to the blog (turning it outward and making it general, rather than the couple-facing and specific intention of the exercise), and drafted my answer. This one, though... I've looked at it a dozen times without getting past the question itself.

    My inability to answer, and discomfort with it, is as telling as anything else could be. I'm out of practice with sharing a personal problem with a partner and asking advice for how they might handle it. It happened a lot at first, and then slowed to every now and then, mostly related to work decisions. At some point (OK, it was a very obvious point) it became apparent that it wasn't right anymore.

     As for reflecting back how I seem to be feeling, that's another hard truth. Understanding, accepting, and accurately reflecting what my emotions might be... that, specifically, is not going to happen.

 

[based on "The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings" by Arthur Aron, et. al, and adapted from "The 36 Questions That Lead to Love: Modern Love" by Daniel Jones, published January 9, 2015, a 9-year-old article that remains behind a paywall here but is republished in plenty of other places; the title quotation is by Ian Fleming, from Casino Royale]

the restrained hand in love and in anger

What was there is no longer there: 

Not the blood running its wires of flame through the whole length 

Not the memories, the texts written in the language of the flat hills 

No, not the memories, the porch swing and the father crying 

The genteel and elegant aunt bleeding out on the highway 

(Too black for the white ambulance to pick up) 

Who had sent back lacquered plates from China 

Who had given away her best ivory comb that one time she was angry 

Not the muscles, the ones the white girls longed to touch 

But must not (for your mother warned 

You would be lynched in that all-white town where you grew up— 

The one, the only good black boy) 

All that is gone— 

The muscles running, the baseball flying into your mitt 

The hand that laid itself over my heart and saved me 

The eyes that held the long gold tunnel I believed in 

The restrained hand in love and in anger 

The holding back 

The taut holding 

 

Bruce Derricotte, June 22, 1928-June 21, 2011 

 

[Toi Derricotte {1941- } ‘Elegy for my Husband’, from “i”]

seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space

    I am fascinated by the sorts of quizzes designed to help a person know more about who they really are. One of my go-to's is the free insightful personality test at VisualDNA, a fairly in-depth (10-15 minutes, depending how stream-of-consciously you take it) test of preferences, no hard thinking needed. 

    The first time I took it (results here) was almost a decade ago, and my result was exactly the same! The stuff with which I particularly agree is in italics, and most highly apt are in red bold. 

    You are kind, generous, giving and loving and you often put the needs of others before your own so it sounds like sainthood is next on the agenda!
    You're open to new things, and can be persuaded to try anything twice, all in the name of experience of course.
    We've got you down as a bit of a dreamer, you're probably zoning out right now, pay attention, and read on.

    You are the master of indifference and possess the power of delay. It's clear from the foggy expression that you are completely unclear. So which way now?
    You want a healthy relationship to form the cornerstone of your life. And you are prepared to put more work in; we can picture you penning sonnets, rolling truffles, and strumming tuneless love songs.
    Find an outlet for all that pent up creativity. If that means running bare foot howling at the wind, then that's... er.. cool, but also welcome a bit of structure into your life. Word to the wise: you've got good ideas, find your voice, but always take advice.
    Nothing beats fresh air—except maybe water. But they are both essentials. You can't be cooped up for long; you thrive off wide-open space. You answer the call of the wild with a primal scream; else a wander up a hill with a flask will do the trick.
    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy! 

    If you want a job doing... maybe ask someone else? You are so close to being a reliable grown-up, so it's time to pull your socks up... or stockings. I mean, whatever you are in to.
    Seemingly you're motivated, committed and equipped enough. You are a jack-of-all-trades but maybe the master of none?
    When you think a problem through and see a solution you can get frustrated when no one else sees it too (baring your gums gives it away). But unless they are mind readers you are going to have to learn to pipe up shy boots.
    An average day can pass with you sort of trying hard... if you... you know... really try hard to try hard: yeah we get what you mean. But you're a bit too cool to sweat it.
    Now, we could tell you to reimagine your long-term goals (do you have them?), understand the wider impact of your decisions (did you make any?), but we don't need to tell a dude like you what to do: you are heading in the right direction. You need to be able to see the big picture, but you can have a tendency to get carried away with an idea without examining all the facts. Push yourself a bit by being more rigorous, make sure you've really investigated things before you get too involved.
    Life is not non-stop excitement—and if it were, you wouldn't take it. Learn to love the ordinary and embrace the mundane... doesn't sound too enthralling I know.
    Handing out tough love today.

    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy!  

    Climb out of the duvet cave and step into the light.
    Mornings seem a little stressful, but the day has to start somewhere and here seems as good a place as any.
    Leave the teddy too.
    Downtime? You get away from everyone. Sure you love your folks, friends and colleagues (ahem)... but guys, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
    Life is a little stretched at the moment so whilst it's easier said than done—try to relax. If that did not make you come out in a cold sweat and shut down your browser then here is a little more advice. Take it easy. You put yourself under massive pressure, life is becoming a long list of things to do, and you are losing sight of how to enjoy it.
    So once in while, ignore an email and don't take a call—sit down, gawp out the window and do nothing—it feels good.
    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy!

    Let's talk love. When that special someone shows, a wallet is the bulge you want to see—who says romance is dead, hey?
    You believe in deep connections, and like to surround yourself with people you really understand and are sensitive to your feelings.
    Probably you look for a friend, not a partner first. You seem to be willing to ride through the bad times, as long as you get to the really good ones soon-ish. A realist when it comes to love, in a long-term relationship you need strength, security, friendship, and both joint and separate bank accounts. Sure, that might not sound sexy, but you want your love to last longer than a paycheck.
    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy!

    You're the type to lose your shoes, go gluten-free and talk a lot about 'letting go'. One of those people who can look beyond material things: until your mobile goes missing, then you will switch back to a possession hungry magpie. But hey, a couple hours of repenting or a dose of primal scream therapy will get you back to your carob-eating self. You like to care for those around you and if they're happy, you're happy. You appreciate that both highs and lows make up the balance of life, and always try and stay spiritually strong and focused.

    One thing is for sure—you ain't no philistine! You are bookish, or maybe a tad square, depending how to look at it.

    You can't put a price on experience. But when it comes with king-sized bed, plush décor, and poolside dining, we're not talking budget. You happily leave rickety shacks and dicey street food to the gap year crew.

    Taking responsibility for a problem isn't top of the list... you've got to mull it over, check your Facebook, have a cuppa, stare into space.

    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy!

    If you are not immersing yourself in literary criticism, getting lost in a concerto, or drinking in the latest work by some deeply challenging young artist (that probably defies logic or even ability) you are what? Probably surfing gossip news on the net... come on... we're right?!
    Seems like your nose is never far from a book: a pulp fiction, or a Mills and Boon—you've studied the great works of our time. And if you haven't, then you just watch the DVD.
    Put down the gilded harp and hold off on the bandit hold-up. Seems like you are richer in time than you are in hard cash. But money maybe is not the problem, more the goals you set your sights on?
    When life deals you a dud card you can laugh. That time you lost your phone, that time you scratched your car, that time you fell off your chair... oh yeah, laugh it up.
    We've picked out a few books we think you'll like and put them on your shelf below. Enjoy!

 NOTE: access to VisualDNA can be difficult to maintain without a very strong internet connection 

 

[the title quotation is by Italo Calvino, from Invisible Cities]

your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you

    This is the next of several (seven?) posts that springs from an article, essentially listing "the most [x] book I've read." Having worked through the list in book form (e.g. here), I've decided to do the same with movies.   

 

The classiest movie I saw: It Happened One Night (1934)

    Falling in love is impossible to explain to anyone who's not in it with you, but you know it when it happens. And so it was with It Happened One Night, a knockout film that won the Big Five Oscars, charmed my socks off, and happens to feature my Hollywood-leading-man crush: Clark Gable. Witty, smart, romantic, and rated PG, it is practically the definition of classy film.

    (I've seen it a couple of times, but never reviewed)

 

The loneliest movie I saw: Amour (2012)

    Some beautiful things are beautiful because of their newness or youth: flower buds, a car just off the concept pages, a wedding, a tattoo on skin still pink and swollen. Other beautiful things, the more rare sort of beauty that only some people care to recognize, are beautiful because they are no longer new or young or fresh. Like the film Ghost (1990), special because it recognizes death and grief. And like Amour, a movie about two elderly people approaching their end. The loneliness... well, it is integral to the story, so I'm not going to explain it. I will say that I cried, hard, through much of the film. It's not a movie for the shallow, for "entertainment". But it is beautiful.

    (reviewed here)

 

The most devastating movie I saw: Schindler's List (1993)

    I worry about the mental health of anyone who could watch this film and not be devastated. Brilliantly composed for maximum impact, it jabs the viewer in all the most tender places. It's fascinating to me that humans seek out these feelings in entertainment, as if we're not getting enough of it in our own, real lives. That's a wonderful combination of curiosity and empathy.

    (reviewed here)

 

The most seductive movie I saw: Labor Day (2013)

    Critics disliked this movie, but I thought it was pretty good—and terribly seductive. Not in an overt, sexy, sleazy way, not physically, not obviously. It is seductive because it offers an alternative to all that. The element of chance in the connections we make. The triumph of hope over experience. The fact that it's possible to do bad things but to be honorable. It seduces not on the basis of "I could have sex with Josh Brolin while making a pie," but instead "I could fall in love with someone who seems totally wrong for me." Sigh.

    (reviewed here)

 

The most fearless movie I saw: Inglourious Basterds (2009)

    Quentin Tarantino's movies really go for it; part of what makes him unique is the "all in" nature of his filmmaking. This is the best of that. From the writing to the acting to the editing and sound, no one involved with this movie held back or tried to pretty it up. I think that's very brave, and that the result is unusual and refreshing.

    (reviewed here)

 

 [based on this post; the title quotation is from Roger Ebert]

no ticket given free

When you and I 

were young, we did not know 

the mental pennies spent 

would buy the humans 

we'd become. 

 

The trip we took, 

against a beating sea, 

demanded we explain 

a wider world in words, to prove 

the passage paid—no ticket given free. 

 

[Paul Walsh, '"Bon Voyage"', from You and I and Others: Tilting Windmills]

good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment

1. If you were to name an aspect of your own personality that you have the most difficulty explaining to other people, what would it be? 

    I need to be solitary a lot of the time, but that does not mean I don't like my friends or want to spend time with them.

2. If you were to recall the biggest error you have ever made in the judgment of character, when would you say it was? 

    a girl with whom I worked at the library and sort of 'took in' when she was in a really tough spot turned out to be a user and a flake. The funny part of it is that when I introduced her to my college BF, she recognized library girl's flaw from the first moment. It was a sharp reminder that I'm not infallible about people, and conveying convincing sadness doesn't mean concern or care when I am hurting.
3. If you could ask a psychic one question, knowing you would get a true answer, what would you ask? 

    "Was I wrong?"

4. If you had to articulate the biggest misunderstanding between you and your parents, what would you say? 

    it would be either tattoos on women or the logic of my divorce. The former is trashy, and the latter remains bewildering and slightly hurtful, though they've come around a great deal in the intervening years.
5. If you could witness a miracle, what would you choose to see? 

    sustained civility in political belief and action in this country. Far too many people have adopted the stance that their way is the only way, and everyone else is a fucking idiot who deserves to burn in Hell, or worse. Being an asshole doesn't make you right, treating other people badly doesn't make you better, and insulting the intelligence of people you profess to like or care about or be friends with means you're a jerk.
6. If you were to choose one television show to be banned for moral reasons, which would you pick? 

    not "on moral reasons", but I would for sure eliminate the first (and every subsequent) reality show from human memory. I think they are manipulative, fatuous, predatory, humiliating, encouraging of the worst aspects of humanity, a pointless mind-suck, and most of all: they are not entertaining.

7. If you had to select one thing you wish you hadn't witnessed or experienced in your life, what would you say it was? 

     ever so many things. The most recent was a series of photographs, viewed for work, that I wish no one had ever needed to see.

[from If: Questions for the Soul; the title quotation is by Rita Mae Brown, from Alma Mater]

you're a swell dish. I think I'm going to go for you

Average rating: 5.25. Crabby reviews can be a joy to write!

No Highway in the Sky (1951) - "Theodore Honey (James Stewart) is a mathematician charged with discovering what caused the crash of a 'Reindeer' airliner. As he travels to investigate, he realizes en route that he's flying on the very same type of airplane. Convinced it will suffer a similar accident, he deliberately sabotages it once it lands, and soon finds himself defending his sanity in an English courtroom. Fortunately, a sympathetic actress (Marlene Dietrich) and a stewardess (Glynis Johns) come to his defense."
length: 1 hour, 38 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I don't recall having seen any Marlene Dietrich movies before
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 68%
my IMDB: 3/10

notable quote: "If you believe something is right, you have to do something if you want to live with yourself. If you don't, you'll have to pay for it sooner or later."

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Henry Koster

my notes: Oooh, a relatively unknown Jimmy Stewart movie, with Marlene Dietrich to boot. This should be good, right?

    Wrong. Stewart plays an annoying, faltering, stereotypical bungling professor, which is so terribly much like the bumbling, stuttering Harvey in Harvey (1950, reviewed here), and the maladroit and stammering Shepherd in Bell, Book and Candle (1958, reviewed here). He doesn't appear remotely plausible as a scientist, far less so as a father, and not at all as a romantic love interest for both Dietrich and Glynis Johns—each of whom was terrific but wasted in a poorly written, limited role. It's also, at heart, just a dumb, unbelievable, overtly propagandistic idea for a movie.

overall: not  recommended

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari {Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari} (1920) - "At a carnival in Germany, Francis (Friedrich Feher) and his friend Alan (Rudolf Lettinger) encounter the crazed Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss). The men see Caligari showing off his somnambulist, Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a hypnotized man who the doctor claims can see into the future. Shockingly, Cesare then predicts Alan's death, and by morning his chilling prophecy has come true—making Cesare the prime suspect. However, is Cesare guilty, or is the doctor controlling him?"

length: 1 hour, 17 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD through the public library
I watched it because: it was discussed in a book that I'm reading, and caught my attention
IMDB: 8.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 96% Audience: 89%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "I must know everything. I must penetrate the heart of his secret! I must become Caligari!" [from intertitles]

MPAA rating: NR

directed by: Robert Wiene

my notes: really, really creepy. It's not black and white, but rather moodily colored, scene by scene, each frame of film painted in an overlay shade to match the main character or location in that scene. The police station, and each person in it, is yellow. The girl's room, and the girl herself, is pink. 

    It's not an intricate story; it relies on mood, expression, and music to convey the majority of emotion. 

    Is it worth seeing? Definitely. Is it believable that modern horror films exist because of this one, creating the genre? Absolutely. Is it tense and even frightening? Yup.

overall:  recommended

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) - "In the third of the 'Mad Max' movies, Max (Mel Gibson) drifts into an evil town ruled by Turner. There he becomes a gladiator and gets dumped in the desert where he is rescued by a band of feral orphans who have been looking for help for years. When several of them take his appearance as a sign and go off into the desert, he follows them back to the town."
length: 1 hour, 47 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I've seen the first 2 recently (reviewed here and here), and wanted to get the whole series under my belt
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 81% Audience: 49%
my IMDB: 5/10

notable quote: "Listen, all! This is the truth of it. Fighting leads to killing, and killing gets to warring. And that was damn near the death of us all. Look at us now! Busted up, and everyone talking about hard rain! But we've learned, by the dust of them all... Bartertown learned. Now, when men get to fighting, it happens here! And it finishes here! Two men enter; one man leaves."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: George Miller, George Ogilvie

my notes: worth watching for Gibson's (long) hair alone, this movie takes the crazy violence of the first film and the wacky Australian music video of the second film and combines them with vicious farm animals, several little people, a heap of grubby children, and a monkey servant.

overall: marginally recommended

The Public Enemy (1931) - "Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers (James Cagney) and Matt Doyle (Eddie Woods), rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away."
length: 1 hour, 23 minutes

source: I borrowed through the public library
I watched it because: I wanted to see "a Jean Harlow movie" ...
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 85%
AFI:  100 Years … 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Villain #42

    10 Top 10 (2008) Gangster #8

my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "You are different, very different. And I've discovered it isn't only a difference in manner and outward appearances. It's a difference in basic character. The men I know—and I've known dozens of them—oh, they're so nice, so polished, so considerate. Most women like that type. I guess they're afraid of the other kind. I thought I was too, but you're so strong. You don't give, you take. Oh, I could love you to death."

MPAA rating: Passed

directed by: William A. Wellman

my notes: I loathe James Cagney. He was either a very good actor, convincingly transforming himself into reprehensible characters, or he was actually (at least in part) that man. 

    Edward Woods was remarkable as sidekick Matt Doyle. I also liked Donald Cook as Mike Powers. The ladies—Harlow, Joan Blondell, and Mae Clarke—were wasted in tiny and stereotyped roles. The story is entertaining, the directing heavy-handed, the score reasonably good, and the sets and props quite basic.

Academy Award nominee: Best Writing, Original Story—John Bright, Kubec Glasmon
overall: reluctantly recommended

 

[the title quotation is from The Public Enemy]

the night is full of stars, and the stars, blue, shiver in the distance

1. Other than when you're sick, have you ever spent an entire day in your pajamas? When was the last time? 

    it happens all the time when I'm working on a particularly engrossing project. I get a notification when I've got in coming mail (Informed Delivery is a terrific development) so a lot of the time I don't even go out to check the mail. I'm not proud of it, and always feel more productive and "normal" when I do get dressed in outdoor clothes—just accepting the reality that sometimes it doesn't happen.

    When was the last time? Well, as I write this (at 3:15 PM on a non-work day) I'm still in jammies, albeit in a lounge-wear sense as opposed to sleeping garb.  

    I do have a personal boundary about this. I won't leave the house in PJs, because I think it looks bad on me. Not even just to take out the trash or move the car.

2. What was the last thing that happened that made you think you'd dodged a bullet? Who was there? 

    so, there's this guy.... A friend from a former life, with whom I've always and only ever felt friendship feelings. When we met, we were each married to someone else. Those marriages have ended, and our friendship has persisted. However, he has some stronger, different feelings about me. I've had to smack him with the fact that those feelings are not shared and that the expression of them is completely unwelcome. The sad and frustrating part of it is that I've had to repeat that smack a couple of times, and avoid him sometimes, too. He just doesn't seem to get it. I dodged a bullet when I stood up for my own feelings, regardless of his unwillingness or inability to actually hear it.

3. What's your favorite Elvis song? Why? If you don't have one, why not? 

    "Suspicious Minds." It is quite different from the rest of his catalog, and the combination of Country and Pop appeals to my sensibilities. The story of why and how it was recorded is pretty cool, too.

4. Should all things Christmas be illegal until December first? 

    if not actually illegal, I think it would be fantastic if we could wait for one holiday or season to end before launching the next one. Whatever peculiar quirk of human nature makes this happen is warping kids into believing in a weird, unrealistic idea of temporal fluidity.

    For what it's worth, I think the rest of us should be able to kick anyone playing Christmas music before December. They are so damned smug about it, as if the rest of us are curmudgeons and they're completely reasonable.

5. What subject taught in school have you used most in life outside school? 

    English.

6. In what location would you most like to sleep under the stars? 

    have been thinking about this lately, as the seasons change. In my next (?) place to live, I'd like to be in a somewhat more out-of-town setting, so that I can leave windows open sometimes during the spring-summer-fall months. It's lovely to have windows open, get a cross-breeze, air out the homestead. I could do that where I live now, but there are a few drawbacks. The screens don't fit tightly in the windows, so it is an invitation for creepy crawly visitors. There is an unofficial path past my house, so it's not quite secure and can be unexpectedly noisy. Finally, I'm about half a block from a U.S. highway. It's a fairly busy road (for which I tried to find usage statistics but ended up in a rabbit-hole of DOT data that was both fascinating and useless to my purposes) and at certain times is quite loud.

    I'd like to live someplace quiet and peaceful, where having the windows open (especially at night) isn't an invitation for anything except nature sounds, wind, and a view of stars from my bed.

7. Do you like marmalade sandwiches as much as Paddington Bear does? 

    I'm not fond of marmalade, though I will eat it in a pinch. I prefer raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry jam.

 

[from 3000 Unique Questions about Me; the title quotation is by Pablo Neruda, from "Tonight I Can Write (The Saddest Lines)"]

it is a rich month

Love, we are a small pond. 

In us yellow frogs take the sun. 

Their legs hang down. Their thighs open 

like the legs of the littlest children. 

On our skin waterbugs suggest incision 

but leave no marks of their strokes. 

Touching is like that. And what touch evokes. 

 

Just here the blackest berries fatten 

over the pond of our being. 

It is a rich month for putting up weeds. 

They jut like the jaws of Hapsburg kings. 

Tomorrow they will drop their blood 

as the milkweed bursts its cotton 

leaving dry thorns and tight seeds. 

 

Meanwhile even knowing 

that time comes down to shut the door 

—headstrong, righteous, time hard at the bone 

with ice and one thing more— 

we teem, we overgrow. The shelf 

is tropic still. Even knowing 

that none of us can catch up with himself 

 

we are making a run 

for it. Love, we are making a run. 

 

[Maxine Kumin {1925-2014} 'We Are', from Our Ground time Here will be Brief]

I wish someone could tell me

    I am fascinated by the sorts of quizzes designed to help a person know more about who they really are. One of my favorites is Gretchen Rubin's Quiz: The Four Tendencies, a short (5 minutes maybe?) test of personality impulses, some consideration needed. "The Four Tendencies explain why we act and why we don’t act." I've taken it three times—the first in 2015, with results shared here (note the further results in the comments). This time, my results have changed from both of the above—yay! The stuff with which I particularly agree is in italics, and most highly apt are in red bold. 

 

    According to your answers, your dominant Tendency is Questioner.

    The “Four Tendencies” framework describes how we respond to expectations. We all face two kinds of expectations:

        - outer expectations, such as meeting work deadlines or observing traffic regulations, and

        - inner expectations, such as quitting napping or keeping a New Year’s resolution.

    So what does it mean to be anQuestioner? 

    Questioners question all expectations, and they respond to an expectation only if they conclude that it makes sense—in essence, they meet only inner expectations. They’re motivated by reason, logic, and fairness. They wake up and think, “What needs to get done today, and why?” 

    They decide for themselves whether a course of action is a good idea, and they resist doing anything that seems to lack purpose. 

    Because Questioners want to make well-considered decisions and come to their own conclusions, they tend to be intellectually engaged, and they’re often willing to do exhaustive research. 

    If they decide there’s sufficient basis for an expectation, they’ll follow it; they won’t follow it if they think it’s arbitrary, inefficient, or ineffective. They tend to take direction only from people they respect. 

    When making a request of a Questioner, be sure to include plenty of justification. “We need to get the car inspected by the end of next week. Otherwise we could get hit with a big fine or risk a breakdown during our upcoming road trip.” Arguments such as “Everyone has to do this”, “You said you’d do this”, or “Because I say so”, or “I’m the doctor” aren’t compelling to a Questioner. 

    At times, people may feel overwhelmed by a Questioner’s relentless appetite for information and justification. Their constant questioning may be perceived by others as disrespectful, defiant, undermining, or showing a lack of “team spirit.” Skillful Questioners learn to ask questions in a way that seems constructive. 

    Questioners sometimes suffer “analysis-paralysis” when they find it difficult to make a decision or move forward because they keep wanting more and more information. They can manage analysis-paralysis with strategies such as setting deadlines, establishing limits, or consulting trusted authorities. 

    Ironically, many Questioners dislike being questioned. They consider their actions carefully so they find it tiresome or explain to be asked to justify their decisions. 

    Once Questioners believe that a particular habit is worthwhile, they’ll stick to it—but only if they’re satisfied about the habit’s usefulness.

    As outlined in Better Than Before, the book about habit change, certain strategies for habit change tend to have special appeal for Questioners. For instance, if you’re trying to exercise more, you might: 

        - Design a habit very specifically to suit your particular character and idiosyncrasies (Strategy of Distinctions) 

        - Consider exactly why and how a particular habit should be kept (Strategy of Clarity) 

        - Get more information about your habits by wearing a pedometer or charting your exercise (Strategy of Monitoring). 

    When we understand ourselves and how our Tendency shapes our perspective on the world, we can adapt our circumstances to suit our own nature—and when we understand how other people’s Tendencies shape their perspective, we can engage with them more effectively. 

 [the title quotation is by Raymond Carver, from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love]