All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
Look, one day I had gone to a little village. An old grandfather of ninety was busy planting an almond tree. ‘What, grandfather!’ I exclaimed. ‘Planting an almond tree?’ And he, bent as he was, turned around and said: ‘My son, I carry on as if I should never die.’ I replied: ‘And I carry on as if I was going to die any minute.’ Which of us was right, boss?
Nikos Kazantzakis
I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.
Nikos Kazantzakis
Keeping a website stocked with content is work. Finding and posting a quote and a photo each day takes time and effort. Researching and writing political posts takes time and thought. Watching and reviewing movies and tv shows and listening to and reviewing music and reading and reviewing books takes even more time. Keeping up with the software versions of the website plug-ins and other features is annoying and confusing. Doing all these things while also working full time in a highly demanding profession in a very exacting company is extremely difficult. But I consider running this website one of the more enjoyable aspects of my life.
As I mentioned in a recent post, I consider it important to socialize with like minded people. And just as important as it is to talk about politics, I find discussing recreational and cultural topics just as important. It’s like the feeling you get from going down to the local tavern and shooting the breeze with friends from town. You can compare notes on what’s going on in the neighborhood and talk a little sports or discuss the local school issues or the state elections. There will be differences of opinion but being likeminded people in similar circumstances with a similar history and world view you mostly have similar opinions. And that’s a comfortable situation.
But nowadays people are always on the move. We move because we lose a job and need to find a new one. Or we move so our kids can go to a better school. Or we move because our town has grown too crowded or because the crime rate has gotten too high. So, we lose that circle of friends we used to enjoy so much.
Another thing that happens is your kids grow up and once they do, you lose track of the other parents whose kids used to hang around with your kids. We all go our separate ways and before you know it, you’re pretty isolated from everyone but a small circle of family and a few very good friends.
So, you start to spend time on-line. You get involved in websites that cater to your interests and hobbies. And that was something that I did. I frequented sites that had to do with my various hobbies. Photography was one of them. Field biology was another. And fantasy and science fiction were a third. And it was fun talking to people with similar interests and sharing information and experiences. I met a number of interesting people. But I also found out that politics was a stumbling block in all these areas. What was true in each of these creative areas was that there existed an orthodoxy that underlaid all the other levels of thought that each of the sites was involved with. And that orthodoxy was a progressive point of view on politics, social issues and even science. It was anti-American (especially on sites that had a heavy European presence), anti-religious, anti-traditionalist, pro-homosexual, stridently feminist, globalist, against gun rights, anti-free speech and it rabidly believed in global warming. I can remember on one particular photography website being banned for saying that Hillary Clinton was a criminal that deserved to be thrown in prison for life. This was during a thread where the same sentiment had been expressed about George W Bush. The second statement didn’t even warrant a comment from the moderator or a warning of any kind. It was after this kind of unequal enforcement of the rules of internet etiquette that I figured out that all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. And I figured out that if I wanted to enjoy discussing political and social subjects in a more or less free environment, I would have to own the space myself.
So that’s why this site is worth the time and expense of hosting it myself. No one can tell me that I can’t say that Hillary Clinton is a criminal. No one can tell me that I can’t say that global warming is a scam. And no one can tell me that I can’t say that gun ownership is what makes this the freest country on Earth. By the same token if someone wants to disagree and say that global warming is a very serious problem, I don’t have problem with that. Let him state his case. If he can prove it to me, then I’ll admit it. If he can’t convince me then we’ll agree to disagree.
If someone believes that affirmative action is fair, let him state his case. I’ll disagree to the last but I’m not in the brainwashing business. If he can have the discussion without foaming at the mouth and calling me names then have at it. I’m not afraid of people giving their opinions. As long as they don’t go off the deep end and start ranting and raving. This site has a definite right-wing slant. I state that right up front. But if someone wants to talk about photography or old movies or old books I don’t particularly care if you’re a communist as long as you can behave like a grown up and contribute to the discussion. I’ve been in discussions about religion between atheists and priests. And they were able to keep it polite and even friendly. They each knew the other wasn’t going to budge but they enjoyed the chance to tell their side and have their say. And it made for an interesting discussion.
So, this is my way of saying thanks to the regulars and to the new readers and to encourage you all to read and comment and have your say. Give and take is fine and is the reason for the whole thing anyway.
Okay that’s enough.
IMDb lists this 1949 film as a romance drama. Today we’d call such a film a “chick flick.” The director,Joseph Mankiewicz was also responsible for “All About Eve,” which was another movie that centered around women. Mankiewicz received Oscars for both of them so it seems this type of movie was his specialty.
The plot revolves around three married couples, the Bishops, the Phipps and the Hollingsways. They live in a suburb of New York City and the three wives Deborah, Rita and Lora Mae, respectively, all have an uneasy relationship with a fourth woman, Addie Ross who has always been admired by their husbands for her beauty, intelligence and taste. As the story opens it’s the morning of the first big country club dance in town and the wives are in various stages of annoyance with their husbands.
Deborah is angry at Brad because he’s going on a business trip and doesn’t even know if he’ll return in time for the dance. In addition, he has selected an evening gown for his wife for the dance that she has discovered is identical to a dress Addie Ross recently wore. Rita is angry with George because he is dismissive of her job as a radio script writer whereas she resents that he works as a low paying teacher at the high school. She is also surprised to see him leaving that morning in a suit, something he never does. And Lora Mae is dismissive of her husband Porter strictly on general grounds. Their relationship is a continuous stream of digs and jibes by both of them.
The wives are engaged that day as chaperones for the grammar school annual outing at the lake. But right before the boat leaves the dock a letter arrives for the three women addressed from Addie Ross. In it she ironically says goodbye to them as her three dearest friends. She’s leaving town forever but as a memento of her life with them she says that she’s running away with one of their husbands.
The bulk of the movie is the reminiscences of the three women on their history together as wives, friends and rivals for Addie Ross. Brad and Deborah Bishop are played by Jeffrey Lynn and Jeanne Crain. Brad is the rich, handsome aristocrat of the story. Deborah is a farm girl that Brad met in the Navy in WW II. She has always been intimidated by the more sophisticated background of his friends and their shared experiences as longtime residents of the town. Honestly, I find these two characters the least interesting of the six. Kirk Douglas and Ann Sothern are George and Rita Phipps. They are the intelligent couple. He’s a school teacher and a wit. She’s a hard-working career mother trying to push George into a more ambitious and better paying career. Paul Douglas and Linda Darnell are Porter and Lora Mae Hollingsway. Based on their way of speaking and information you learn from the story they are both from “the wrong side of the tracks.” In fact, in a comical scene from her past we see that Lora Mae’s mother’s apartment was practically on top of the elevated train tracks adjoining it. Porter is a very wealthy retailer with a chain of appliance stores and a mansion. And when Porter and Lora Mae meet, she is his employee and he is a cynical divorced man on the make. She is a painfully beautiful young woman to his gruff 35-year-old cynic and she skillfully uses her charms to negotiate a marriage. And after he can no longer resist her, he grudgingly agrees to marry her but in terms so unflattering and unromantic that their married life is guaranteed to be a vicious cycle of hurt feelings. Porter and Lora Mae are the most interesting part of the movie. Paul Douglas’s characterization of Porter as the gruff regular guy and Linda Darnell’s Lora Mae as the wise-cracking shrew are very amusing. And Linda Darnell is a remarkably beautiful young woman in this film. A small supporting part in this movie is played by Thelma Ritter as a friend of Lora Mae’s mother and housekeeper to the Phipps. Ritter is always the most interesting character on screen in any scene she is in and this movie is no exception.
The movie has a surprise ending at the country club dance when we find out that love can be found in unexpected places.
One of the things I find interesting about this movie is the “types” that the various characters represent. Brad Bishop and apparently Addie Ross are the “to the manor born” aristocrats of the town. They both have money and refined taste. George and Rita Phipps are the educated middle class. They are the product of the egalitarian World War II generation who believe in the virtues of enlightened modernism. Porter and Lora Mae are from the working class and for both of them buying into refinement of the upper class is one of their highest motivations. Porter is constantly talking about Addie’s “class” and disparaging Lora Mae for her lack of class. And when she goes to Porter’s house for the first time Lora Mae tells Porter that she wants to be a lady so she can have a big house with a piano with a photo of her in the silver frame just like Porter has of Addie Ross. Deborah Bishop is the farm girl who is completely intimidated by Brad and Addie’s sophistication. Instead of aspiring to become like them she just fatalistically assumes that someday brad will cast her aside for her social superior, Addie.
Although Brad is obviously friendly with the Phipps and not noticeably a snob his character is very sparsely sketched in. And likewise, Deborah’s inferiority complex makes her a very one-dimensional character. The Phipps are a more fully drawn pair of characters and their husband/wife dynamic is also more believable and therefore enjoyable. I especially like how Kirk Douglas describes his low status and not very well-paying job as making him a comic figure and almost unmanly. George is the modern man, comfortable with his wife as a bread winner. When she complains that he bought cheaper whiskey because he can’t afford scotch, she hints that she can afford to buy it instead. To this George replies, “I forget sometimes that I’m merely the titular head of the household.” But even Rita is insecure of George’s relationship with Addie. When Rita forgets George’s birthday Addie sends him a present of a rare symphony recording that has a romantic inscription that inspires Rita’s jealousy.
But the most fully drawn characters are Porter and Lora Mae. He is the self-made man who worked his up to success. He is proud of his success and desires to be measured by his material possessions and by the “class” that he tries to surround himself with. Addie Ross is his ideal of an aristocrat who wouldn’t covet his wealth and would add the class that he was born without. He was formerly married to a gold digger and he assumes because Lora Mae forced him to marry her that she is looking for the same kind of “pay day” where she can divorce him for all she can get.
Lora Mae is a woman born poor but blessed with the gift of great beauty. She likes Porter but she refuses to enter into an intimate relationship with him without the promise of marriage. She knows this will torture him but she tells him openly that is her price. When he finally grudgingly agrees, he tells her that she is making a “good deal” without any illusions of love. The bitterness this statement elicits from her is the poison that haunts their every married day with each of them sniping at the other about their shortcomings. Here is an almost Shakespearian scenario where misunderstanding blinds love on both sides.
The movie is quite enjoyable and is an excellent date movie for married couples since the war between men and women is on full display and is resolved very agreeably. I highly recommend this film.
The highest point a man can attain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory, but something even greater, more heroic and more despairing: Sacred Awe!
Nikos Kazantzakis
This is not one of my favorite plays. Part of that is my allegiance to the House of Lancaster. Henry IV and Henry V seemed like my kind of guys so I was sorry to see the House of York pry back the crown from their side in Henry VI Parts I, II & III. But more than that, it’s the spectacle of a monster like Richard crushing the people around him, his family in fact, without any compunction or even much difficulty. His brothers Edward and George are oblivious to his treachery even as it is being accomplished. His other enemies are more aware but equally powerless to save themselves from his malice. He moves from outrage to outrage upping the ante at each stage. Finally, he assigns a merciless assassin to smother his nine and twelve-year-old nephews with their own pillow to ensure that they never have the chance to revenge themselves on Richard for his usurpation of their father’s crown. And then there’s the matter of Lady Anne. She is the widow of the Lancaster heir to the throne, Henry VI’s son Edward. And it was Richard who killed Edward. Having Anne agree to wed Richard is the final outrage that just makes the play a bridge too far for me. I mean, come on! Richard is a hunchbacked, withered armed, monster. Anne spits in his face and calls him a fiend and then willingly marries him. This is a tough play to understand.
Anyway, Olivier plays Richard to the hilt. He is actually comical at certain points in his jocular, two-faced portrayal of the monster. Olivier has surrounded himself with an all-star cast of Shakespearean professionals. Cedric Hardwicke is his brother King Edward IV, John Gielgud is his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Ralph Richardson is Duke of Buckingham and Claire Bloom is Lady Anne. The acting is good. It’s just that I can’t stomach the plot. To see evil just dance along while well meaning people are led to the slaughter irks me. The ending should be consolation enough. Richard gets his comeuppance and pays the price. But the play rubs me the wrong way. It’s the way that good seems to be powerless to resist evil. It’s almost as if it gives up without a fight. Oh well.
So, as you can tell I don’t love this play but I recognize that it’s really about me and my way of looking at the world. I acknowledge that this is a well-acted version of the play and the production is full of nice touches. The chanting monks, the cinematography of the battle scene, the excellent set design, the skill of the cast. Olivier’s elocution and mastery of the part demands it be seen. He gives us a consummate and thoroughgoing villain. All of it recommends this play to the Shakespeare devotee. So, I do recommend this version. It is well done and deserves high praise.
But I’d rather watch Hamlet. I’d rather watch Henry V. Richard III rankles me no little bit.
I think most people reading this post know precisely what I mean by the title. And it doesn’t have anything to do with lockdowns or pandemics or even the upcoming election, even though every one of those things highlights the craziness of the world around us. But I mean to look at the world as a whole and address the larger issue of how we can make our lives better and also add to the effort to push the world toward a course correction away from the madness we see all around us.
The leftists are always fond of saying “act locally but think globally.” In a sense that is what I’m saying. But it’s more like think and act locally, think and act globally. What we will need is a multi-track approach to existence. We can’t use the same tactics with our family and friends as we use with the town government and PTA. And we can’t use the same tactics with the state government as we use for our town. And finally, we have a completely different situation on the national level. There isn’t a one size fits all strategy. Maybe surprisingly, the approach we take with family and friends is closer to the way we handle the federal government. Unless you live in a deep red state there is a lot more opportunity at the national level for the kind of openness you can have with friends and family than is possible in many of the communities, we live in.
There are national organizations that are working to make government policy changes. Look for organizations that advocate for clear cut goals. Forget anything that’s generic Republican. Look for someone who says “we are doing this.” And then see if they say how they are going to do it. And then ask them what they’ve already done to make it happen. Some examples that come to mind are Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Federalist Society. The ADF is known for defending in court individuals who are being prosecuted for laws that criminalize Christian beliefs. Florists and wedding bakers who refuse to create products for homosexual marriages are prosecuted in blue states and forced out of business. The ADF comes to their aid and is helping them to win their rights to religious freedom. The Federalist Society has been a powerful force for resisting the unconstitutional actions of judges who put social advocacy above the law. Many of the lawyers that are members of the federalist Society have gone on to careers as judges on the local and federal judiciary all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Supporting organizations that show results in the causes you believe in is an example of global action you can take. Research the problems that you want solved and find out who is making a difference and then get involved. Be critical and careful about who you support but don’t become pessimistic. Donate money, time, or whatever else you have that can help. Get to know what’s actually out there. Educate those around you about the bad and the good.
Now what about the local side? Obviously, you must get involved in the family and friends around you and do everything you can to protect them from the rot and confusion that surrounds everything in our environment. For the young give them positive role models and provide normal alternatives for the debased entertainment that the popular culture and schools foist upon our young people. Typically, you can find movies and books from the time before the progressive capture of the entertainment industries and many of these are vastly more entertaining than the propaganda currently being pumped out. Sponsor activities that allow parents that you trust to join with you to give the kids healthy activities without the loaded messaging that the sanctioned activities always include in their program. And make sure to get together with your family whenever you can. A Sunday dinner with your children and grandchildren is one of the nicest ways of spending an afternoon. A barbecue with your brothers and sisters and their families is a remarkable way to reinforce family solidarity. Cousins talking about what’s going on in their lives is a great chance to reinforce family ties and lend help and maybe launch a family business.
And for yourself get involved in activities and social organizations that will allow you to find like-minded men whom you can befriend. Build up a circle of friends who will make your leisure time enjoyable. Also contacts of this type allow you to build a circle of acquaintances that may have a range of skills and occupations that you can draw on for your own needs. After all, many of the tradesmen and business owners are on our side of the fence. Why not throw your business to people that you like and agree with politically and culturally?
And finally, if you have the time and the inclination get involved in local politics. This is the most difficult aspect of activism especially if you live in a deep blue state. Basically, you will be in the belly of the beast and surrounded on every side by the enemy. Everything you say and do will be scrutinized by progressives and measured against progressive dictates. It would be like the scenes in that old movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” where normal humans try to pass themselves off as pod people. Eventually some glimmer of emotion or humanity will expose them as “not of the body,” not part of the collective mind. Working under such conditions would be painful and stressful but also has the potential of getting very important things done.
It’s important to make sure that while we’re all fighting the good fight, we also take care of ourselves and those we love. What good is winning the culture war if we lose our happiness? Enjoy your life and your family and friends. Have fun and do good for those you love. Think about what is important to you and make sure you take care of the important things. Go outside and look at the amazing world that exists even in the hellish climate of New England. Say a little prayer of thanks for the good things you have in your life and be grateful for your health and the health of those you love. Use your time wisely and don’t let pessimism and depression get a hold of your mind. Live!
I’ve listed a couple of organizations that I think are doing good work and making a difference to advance our interests, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Federalist Society. If you know of other organizations doing good work then please list them in the comments section along with an explanation of what their mission are. All of us need to share information whenever we can.
Here’s another way to extend your focus range without special gear or software: shoot the scene from a distance using a telephoto lens. And then crop in. This works best when using a camera with sufficient MP that you can have a usable resolution after the crop.
This was shot from around 8′ away at around 180 mm.[img]
[/img]