Having beenreleased in 1982, an interesting aspect of it is to look at where the actors are now. Diane Keaton and Albert Finney are, of course, very successful and renown actors. The girls who played the daughters: Dana Hill, who played the oldest, Sherry, died of diabetes complications at age 32; Viveka Davis, who played Jill, the very cute next oldest, best I can determine was about 10, 11, when she made the film, and has had a lot of work across the years (apparently, though, having made nothing since 2001); Tracey Gold, who played Marianne, already had a number of credits and went on to have many more, including playing on the series "Growing Pains"; and Tina Yothers, who played the youngest daughter, Molly, had a few more roles, and wound up playing Jennifer Keaton in the series "Family Ties" for 7 years.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Shoot the Moon
What a depressing movie. Good acting, about human beings at some of their worst. Enough to turn me, were I younger and more naive, against marriage, and men.
Having beenreleased in 1982, an interesting aspect of it is to look at where the actors are now. Diane Keaton and Albert Finney are, of course, very successful and renown actors. The girls who played the daughters: Dana Hill, who played the oldest, Sherry, died of diabetes complications at age 32; Viveka Davis, who played Jill, the very cute next oldest, best I can determine was about 10, 11, when she made the film, and has had a lot of work across the years (apparently, though, having made nothing since 2001); Tracey Gold, who played Marianne, already had a number of credits and went on to have many more, including playing on the series "Growing Pains"; and Tina Yothers, who played the youngest daughter, Molly, had a few more roles, and wound up playing Jennifer Keaton in the series "Family Ties" for 7 years.
Having beenreleased in 1982, an interesting aspect of it is to look at where the actors are now. Diane Keaton and Albert Finney are, of course, very successful and renown actors. The girls who played the daughters: Dana Hill, who played the oldest, Sherry, died of diabetes complications at age 32; Viveka Davis, who played Jill, the very cute next oldest, best I can determine was about 10, 11, when she made the film, and has had a lot of work across the years (apparently, though, having made nothing since 2001); Tracey Gold, who played Marianne, already had a number of credits and went on to have many more, including playing on the series "Growing Pains"; and Tina Yothers, who played the youngest daughter, Molly, had a few more roles, and wound up playing Jennifer Keaton in the series "Family Ties" for 7 years.
Sherlock Holmes
Sketchy recollections of having seen this movie ages ago. Amazed that Billy Wilder made it; think of him more making movies with Jack Lemmon (although he did make Stalag 17 and Sabrina, among others). Here Robert Stephens plays Holmes, and Colin Blakely does Holmes. The film has not aged well; the actors seem to be overplaying the characters, and if there is one thing that typifies Holmes it is subtlety. Perhaps for being a Hollywood film, it seems silly. Still, Holmes is always fun to watch.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Metropolitan
Watched this film (on DVD) yesterday; found it enjoyable. An independently-made film (1990), it shows lack of polish, somewhat stilted acting, and limited range. Yet it works. Its very lack of gloss and narrow range of shooting makes for an effective study of characters and development of story line.
Four debutantes and three escorts are friends. They emerge from a debutante ball at the Plaza Hotel (a motif recurring through the film), and look for a cab. Hailing one, as three of them approach the Checker cab the male sees another male nearby, expresses reservation at taking his cab, and winds up inviting him to an after-ball get-together. The seven, a self-styled Rat Pack, hang out, smoke, drink, flirt, play bridge, go to other balls and parties. The eighth, brought in to make for an even number and to relieve "an escort shortage," is not as rich as the others, lives on the West Side (which was then not as classy a neighborhood), and espouses contempt for the cycle of parties and debutante balls. Calling himself a Fourierist (Fourier, Charles French social theorist who advocated a reconstruction of society based on communal associations of producers known as phalanges), he denigrates Jane Austen, elevates Lionel Trilling's criticism, and, despite professed objections to the empty-headedness of snobby trust-funders (his parents divorce has landed him and his mother on the West Side, exiling him from the East Side and his inheritance), becomes one of the group.
It is a really good film. Its simplicity, its low budget, make for good cinema: the film can not hide behind special effects, an expensive budget, or pyrotechnics; it has to deliver, or it would simply implode.
This review is on the mark: Video Librarian Reviews Along with Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape, writer-director Whit Stillman's 1990 Metropolitan was one of the most acclaimed breakthrough hits in the burgeoning American independent film scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Stillman's original screenplay earned an Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, since his one-of-a-kind study of young, upper-class Manhattan socialites is simultaneously funny, ruthless, and keenly observant about class distinctions that are rarely acknowledged in popular entertainment. Metropolitan serves up a portrait of jaded, over-privileged denizens of New York City's upper-crust society, viewed from the outsider's perspective of Tom (Edward Clements), a middle-class loner who is unexpectedly welcomed into the inner sanctum of preppies, trust-fund brats, and eager-to-marry debutantes during a Christmas break full of gatherings in posh hotels, restaurants, and ballrooms. The film?s strength lies in its combination of scathing wit, literate sophistication, and refreshing lack of judgment against its characters, many of whom could charitably be described as insufferable snobs. Part of the Criterion Collection, this release features a decent transfer and DVD extras that include Stillman's audio commentary (along with editor Christopher Tellefsen and co-stars Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols), which serves as a valuable primer on low-budget filmmaking; outtakes with commentary by Stillman; and an essay by New York historian Luc Sante (placing the film in its proper social context). Highly recommended. (J. Shannon) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2006.
I also found an interview with the director.
Four debutantes and three escorts are friends. They emerge from a debutante ball at the Plaza Hotel (a motif recurring through the film), and look for a cab. Hailing one, as three of them approach the Checker cab the male sees another male nearby, expresses reservation at taking his cab, and winds up inviting him to an after-ball get-together. The seven, a self-styled Rat Pack, hang out, smoke, drink, flirt, play bridge, go to other balls and parties. The eighth, brought in to make for an even number and to relieve "an escort shortage," is not as rich as the others, lives on the West Side (which was then not as classy a neighborhood), and espouses contempt for the cycle of parties and debutante balls. Calling himself a Fourierist (Fourier, Charles French social theorist who advocated a reconstruction of society based on communal associations of producers known as phalanges), he denigrates Jane Austen, elevates Lionel Trilling's criticism, and, despite professed objections to the empty-headedness of snobby trust-funders (his parents divorce has landed him and his mother on the West Side, exiling him from the East Side and his inheritance), becomes one of the group.
It is a really good film. Its simplicity, its low budget, make for good cinema: the film can not hide behind special effects, an expensive budget, or pyrotechnics; it has to deliver, or it would simply implode.
This review is on the mark: Video Librarian Reviews Along with Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape, writer-director Whit Stillman's 1990 Metropolitan was one of the most acclaimed breakthrough hits in the burgeoning American independent film scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Stillman's original screenplay earned an Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, since his one-of-a-kind study of young, upper-class Manhattan socialites is simultaneously funny, ruthless, and keenly observant about class distinctions that are rarely acknowledged in popular entertainment. Metropolitan serves up a portrait of jaded, over-privileged denizens of New York City's upper-crust society, viewed from the outsider's perspective of Tom (Edward Clements), a middle-class loner who is unexpectedly welcomed into the inner sanctum of preppies, trust-fund brats, and eager-to-marry debutantes during a Christmas break full of gatherings in posh hotels, restaurants, and ballrooms. The film?s strength lies in its combination of scathing wit, literate sophistication, and refreshing lack of judgment against its characters, many of whom could charitably be described as insufferable snobs. Part of the Criterion Collection, this release features a decent transfer and DVD extras that include Stillman's audio commentary (along with editor Christopher Tellefsen and co-stars Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols), which serves as a valuable primer on low-budget filmmaking; outtakes with commentary by Stillman; and an essay by New York historian Luc Sante (placing the film in its proper social context). Highly recommended. (J. Shannon) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2006.
I also found an interview with the director.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Gasping for airtime
Gasping for airtime: two years in the trenches of Saturday night live. (2004).
Mohr, Jay. New York : Hyperion.
791.572 M
Mohr, Jay. New York : Hyperion.
791.572 M
Blood Diamond
Excellent film. Serves as a metaphor for the ages-long tragedy of war in Africa; kudos to DiCaprio, a big Hollywood star, for making such a film. This film should be a wakeup call to white American and European audiences, especially, to the ravages of endless fighting, ceaseless killing, and perpetual damage to an entire continent and its peoples. I was moved to tears by the tragedy of a family torn asunder by violence they had nothing to do with. In Tim Butcher book, Blood River, I read about Belgian colonialists chopping off hands of Congolese as a means of exercising control and instilling terror; in this film that fact is spoken by a character, but one so minor that it could well get past most people. It is shown graphically.
DiCaprio are Djimon Hounsou are magnificent in their roles. Leo actually manages to pull off an accent quite well (his character calls it Rhodesian). Djimon is flawless in showing pathos, bravery, defiance, perseverance. Jennifer Connelly's performance is mediocre, and her character is a two-dimensional stereotype. Too bad; she can act well. Overall, a stirring, disturbing, excellent film.
DiCaprio are Djimon Hounsou are magnificent in their roles. Leo actually manages to pull off an accent quite well (his character calls it Rhodesian). Djimon is flawless in showing pathos, bravery, defiance, perseverance. Jennifer Connelly's performance is mediocre, and her character is a two-dimensional stereotype. Too bad; she can act well. Overall, a stirring, disturbing, excellent film.
Hype and Glory
Hype and glory. (1990). Goldman, William. New York: Villard Books, 1990. 791.602 G
Publishers Weekly Reviews Goldman, prolific novelist (Marathon Man) and screenwriter (The Princess Bride) was invited to be a judge at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1989, and then, to his surprise, to help choose Miss America the following September. With a witty storyteller's talents, he here describes these heady experiences. His ruthlessly candid, insider's report on the "hype and glory'' inherent in these tinselly events, is bound to incense the contestants and promoters. Goldman reveals the way movies are selected for competition at Cannes and how compromises determine the winners; his account of how the least likely Miss America was awarded the crown is a satiric blockbuster. Throughout, Goldman weaves reflections on his personal life, including his divorce after 27 years from his wife, Ilene.
Publishers Weekly Reviews Goldman, prolific novelist (Marathon Man) and screenwriter (The Princess Bride) was invited to be a judge at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1989, and then, to his surprise, to help choose Miss America the following September. With a witty storyteller's talents, he here describes these heady experiences. His ruthlessly candid, insider's report on the "hype and glory'' inherent in these tinselly events, is bound to incense the contestants and promoters. Goldman reveals the way movies are selected for competition at Cannes and how compromises determine the winners; his account of how the least likely Miss America was awarded the crown is a satiric blockbuster. Throughout, Goldman weaves reflections on his personal life, including his divorce after 27 years from his wife, Ilene.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
In Bruges
One of the worst pieces of shit I have ever seen. An absolute waste of time. Filled with gratuitous violence and foul language. The only redeeming value was the environment of Bruges. Ugh!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Cuban music
Cecilia Valdes / estudio critico por Raimundo Lazo. (1979). Villaverde, Cirilo, 1812-1894. Mexico: Porrua. [SP FIC Villaverde]
Cecilia Valdés is both a novel by the Cuban Cirilo Villaverde (1812–1894), and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Cuba.
Cited in the liner notes of Cachao: Master Sessions.
[INT 0026] CD CUBA 789.2 CACHAO
Cecilia Valdés is both a novel by the Cuban Cirilo Villaverde (1812–1894), and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Cuba.
Cited in the liner notes of Cachao: Master Sessions.
[INT 0026] CD CUBA 789.2 CACHAO
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
April 4, 1968
April 4, 1968 : Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death and how it changed America (2008)
Dyson, Michael Eric. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
323.092 D
Dyson, Michael Eric. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
323.092 D
Monday, November 3, 2008
3 movies at the weekend
Saw three films over the weekend. Bridge Too Far (1977) was good, but gloomy; Dolemite (film by Rudy Ray Moore) was campy, and, in the end, awful; Junebug was disappointing.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Aggressively funny
Smile when you're lying : confessions of a rogue travel writer. (2007). Chuck Thompson. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2007.
910.4 T
Kirkus Reviews
An aggressively funny account of the world from an acerbic, energetic professional traveler who tells it like he sees it and has no reservations about sharing his stockpile of outrageous (mis)adventures and advice.Thompson spent one year at the helm of Travelocity magazine before being let go, an experience that has clearly left a bitter taste in his mouth. Reacting against the glossy optimism of mainstream travel writing, he reveals the underbelly of the tourism industry, offering unabashed reports on his rollicking and sometimes gross experiences in the 35 countries he has visited. His honesty about the lack of authenticity in the travel business is refreshing, and some of the first- and secondhand accounts make for the same sort of transfixing spectacle as a car crash. Instead of merely focusing on the shockingly bad, he imbues his writing with a satisfying blend of self-deprecating humor and no-nonsense intelligence, underscored by suggestions for readers such as "Stop Feeling So Entitled" and "Hang Up on Morons." Thompson has little tolerance for the superficial, or for marking off checklists of supposed requisites for visitors—he devotes a chapter to explaining why Chinatown, in any city, should be avoided. At his best, this Thompson will remind readers of Hunter S.—provocative and thoroughly engaging, with a manic liveliness. Though the book is hampered by a scattershot structure, Thompson has a talent for viewing both the pedestrian and the extreme with a twisted understanding and sense of humor.A fierce, frank skewering of the travel business and media.
910.4 T
Kirkus Reviews
An aggressively funny account of the world from an acerbic, energetic professional traveler who tells it like he sees it and has no reservations about sharing his stockpile of outrageous (mis)adventures and advice.Thompson spent one year at the helm of Travelocity magazine before being let go, an experience that has clearly left a bitter taste in his mouth. Reacting against the glossy optimism of mainstream travel writing, he reveals the underbelly of the tourism industry, offering unabashed reports on his rollicking and sometimes gross experiences in the 35 countries he has visited. His honesty about the lack of authenticity in the travel business is refreshing, and some of the first- and secondhand accounts make for the same sort of transfixing spectacle as a car crash. Instead of merely focusing on the shockingly bad, he imbues his writing with a satisfying blend of self-deprecating humor and no-nonsense intelligence, underscored by suggestions for readers such as "Stop Feeling So Entitled" and "Hang Up on Morons." Thompson has little tolerance for the superficial, or for marking off checklists of supposed requisites for visitors—he devotes a chapter to explaining why Chinatown, in any city, should be avoided. At his best, this Thompson will remind readers of Hunter S.—provocative and thoroughly engaging, with a manic liveliness. Though the book is hampered by a scattershot structure, Thompson has a talent for viewing both the pedestrian and the extreme with a twisted understanding and sense of humor.A fierce, frank skewering of the travel business and media.
Why smart people do dumb things
Blunder: why smart people make bad decisions. (2008). Zachary Shore. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008
153.83 S
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Shore (Breeding Bin Ladens ), a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, explains why smart people do dumb things in this glib guidebook that is more pop psychology than serious inquiry. According to the author, people blunder because they fall into “inflexible mind-sets formed from faulty reasoning”—or “cognition traps.” Using examples drawn from history, wars, medicine, business and literature, Shore identifies seven common cognition traps such as “causefusion” (“confusing the causes of complex events”), “flatview” (black and white thinking) and “static cling” (an inability to accept change). Shore cites examples of various actors (individuals, corporations and even nations) stumbling into one trap or another with unfortunate results (e.g., a person will compound a blunder through different kinds of faulty reasoning). Shore points to “America’s Iraq debacle” as a kind of perfect storm where “all of the cognition traps... combined to sabotage America’s success.” But Shore remains optimistic that society can learn to avoid cognition traps and inevitable blunders by following his prescription of cultivating mental flexibility, empathy, imagination, contrarianism and an open mind. Despite the clever wordplay, neat categories and accessible examples, Shore mostly recycles common sense in a fancy package.
We all make bad decisions. It's part of being human. The resulting mistakes can be valuable, the story goes, because we learn from them. But do we? Historian Zachary Shore says no, not always, and he has a long list of examples to prove his point. From colonialism to globalization, from gender wars to civil wars, or any circumstance for which our best solutions backfire, Shore demonstrates how rigid thinking can subtly lead us to undermine ourselves. In the process, he identifies seven "cognition traps" to avoid. But he also emphasizes how understanding these seven simple cognition traps can help us all make wiser judgments in our daily lives. For anyone whose best-laid plans have been foiled by faulty thinking, Blunder shines the penetrating spotlight of history on decision making and the patterns of thought that can lead us all astray.
153.83 S
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Shore (Breeding Bin Ladens ), a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, explains why smart people do dumb things in this glib guidebook that is more pop psychology than serious inquiry. According to the author, people blunder because they fall into “inflexible mind-sets formed from faulty reasoning”—or “cognition traps.” Using examples drawn from history, wars, medicine, business and literature, Shore identifies seven common cognition traps such as “causefusion” (“confusing the causes of complex events”), “flatview” (black and white thinking) and “static cling” (an inability to accept change). Shore cites examples of various actors (individuals, corporations and even nations) stumbling into one trap or another with unfortunate results (e.g., a person will compound a blunder through different kinds of faulty reasoning). Shore points to “America’s Iraq debacle” as a kind of perfect storm where “all of the cognition traps... combined to sabotage America’s success.” But Shore remains optimistic that society can learn to avoid cognition traps and inevitable blunders by following his prescription of cultivating mental flexibility, empathy, imagination, contrarianism and an open mind. Despite the clever wordplay, neat categories and accessible examples, Shore mostly recycles common sense in a fancy package.
We all make bad decisions. It's part of being human. The resulting mistakes can be valuable, the story goes, because we learn from them. But do we? Historian Zachary Shore says no, not always, and he has a long list of examples to prove his point. From colonialism to globalization, from gender wars to civil wars, or any circumstance for which our best solutions backfire, Shore demonstrates how rigid thinking can subtly lead us to undermine ourselves. In the process, he identifies seven "cognition traps" to avoid. But he also emphasizes how understanding these seven simple cognition traps can help us all make wiser judgments in our daily lives. For anyone whose best-laid plans have been foiled by faulty thinking, Blunder shines the penetrating spotlight of history on decision making and the patterns of thought that can lead us all astray.
Roads to Quoz
William Least-Heat Moon's new book is Roads to Quoz. I'll get to it, soon. I still remember how much I enjoyed Blue Highways (1982).
Friday, October 31, 2008
Middle-aged women -- Sexual behavior
Sex and the seasoned woman : pursuing the passionate life. (2006). Gail Sheehy. New York: Random House.
Booklist Reviews
After taking a break to analyze the effects of 9/11 on a community in New Jersey in Middletown, America (2003), best-selling journalist Sheehy returns to her Passages (1976) gambit. Here she examines the ways women--and some men--ages 45 and over are approaching sex, love, romance, and marriage. Labeling this stage in life a "second adulthood," Sheehy notes that it is marked by an intense desire to exert greater mastery over one's health, emotions, and vocation. Using her own research and drawing on survey responses, Sheehy examines how older women are coping and classifies her respondents as healthy "passionates" and "seekers," frustrated married women, those resigned to the status quo, and those suffering from lowered libidos. The heart of the book consists of lengthy interviews with seasoned women who talk candidly about younger lovers, online dating, sex-toy parties, bisexuality, divorce, long-term marriages that have been reinvented, and finding a new love late in life. Sheehy sometimes seems stuck in the gee-whiz school of journalism (Women over 50 are interested in sex! Divorce is painful!). And her compressed style may give some readers whiplash ("In the last year Sue's house was repossessed and she was diagnosed as bipolar"). Still, she presents a hot cultural topic in an accessible, highly readable book that will have great appeal for her core audience. ((Reviewed November 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
New Passages for women over 50, who aren't ready to give up on sex. With a four-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal Reviews
Sheehy's stages of sexual and romantic maturity in the tradition of her earlier well-known works (e.g., Passages , The Silent Passage, Understanding Men's Passages ) probably occur far more flexibly than she describes, and her approach based on web questionnaires, interviews, and discussion groups claims indicative rather than statistical validity. Nonetheless, her sympathetic descriptions and recommendations culled from mature women about navigating the challenges of aging toward becoming a “seasoned siren” give this book real value. Her coverage of vaginal atrophy stands out--few books seem to address this common cause of pain associated with sex for older women. Many of her stories focus on the rich, megarich, and even the rich and famous. Yet Sheehy made an effort to include middle-American, minimum-wage, and Bible-belt women, whose solutions to aging and loneliness are sometimes more creative than those of the well-heeled cognoscenti and illuminati of the East and West coasts. For all collections.
[Page 94]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Sheehy, a self-described seasoned woman, set off in search of others like herself. Her premise? There's "a new universe of lusty, liberated women, some married and some not, who are unwilling to settle for the stereotypical roles of middle age." Aside from the question whether the 200-odd women she contacts constitute a representative universe, her claim is hardly revelatory. Older women (especially Europeans) have known from time immemorial that age has nothing to do with desire and an urge to live passionately. What makes a difference these days is the opportunities afforded by online dating sites. Short on research, Sheehy, best known for Passages, makes do by stringing together colorful stories of the women she interviews, drawing inflated conclusions from their lives and claiming it all as part of yet another passage (will it ever end?) to Second Adulthood, with phases like "the Romantic Passage" and "Soul Seeking." The book's most chilling bit of information: you really do lose it if you don't use it. But take heart, ladies; Sheehy provides the name of a doctor who employs a nonsurgical method of rejuvenating the vagina, making it just as pink and open as it was when you were... that's right, young. (On sale Jan. 10)
[Page 40]. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Reviews
After taking a break to analyze the effects of 9/11 on a community in New Jersey in Middletown, America (2003), best-selling journalist Sheehy returns to her Passages (1976) gambit. Here she examines the ways women--and some men--ages 45 and over are approaching sex, love, romance, and marriage. Labeling this stage in life a "second adulthood," Sheehy notes that it is marked by an intense desire to exert greater mastery over one's health, emotions, and vocation. Using her own research and drawing on survey responses, Sheehy examines how older women are coping and classifies her respondents as healthy "passionates" and "seekers," frustrated married women, those resigned to the status quo, and those suffering from lowered libidos. The heart of the book consists of lengthy interviews with seasoned women who talk candidly about younger lovers, online dating, sex-toy parties, bisexuality, divorce, long-term marriages that have been reinvented, and finding a new love late in life. Sheehy sometimes seems stuck in the gee-whiz school of journalism (Women over 50 are interested in sex! Divorce is painful!). And her compressed style may give some readers whiplash ("In the last year Sue's house was repossessed and she was diagnosed as bipolar"). Still, she presents a hot cultural topic in an accessible, highly readable book that will have great appeal for her core audience. ((Reviewed November 15, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
New Passages for women over 50, who aren't ready to give up on sex. With a four-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal Reviews
Sheehy's stages of sexual and romantic maturity in the tradition of her earlier well-known works (e.g., Passages , The Silent Passage, Understanding Men's Passages ) probably occur far more flexibly than she describes, and her approach based on web questionnaires, interviews, and discussion groups claims indicative rather than statistical validity. Nonetheless, her sympathetic descriptions and recommendations culled from mature women about navigating the challenges of aging toward becoming a “seasoned siren” give this book real value. Her coverage of vaginal atrophy stands out--few books seem to address this common cause of pain associated with sex for older women. Many of her stories focus on the rich, megarich, and even the rich and famous. Yet Sheehy made an effort to include middle-American, minimum-wage, and Bible-belt women, whose solutions to aging and loneliness are sometimes more creative than those of the well-heeled cognoscenti and illuminati of the East and West coasts. For all collections.
[Page 94]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Sheehy, a self-described seasoned woman, set off in search of others like herself. Her premise? There's "a new universe of lusty, liberated women, some married and some not, who are unwilling to settle for the stereotypical roles of middle age." Aside from the question whether the 200-odd women she contacts constitute a representative universe, her claim is hardly revelatory. Older women (especially Europeans) have known from time immemorial that age has nothing to do with desire and an urge to live passionately. What makes a difference these days is the opportunities afforded by online dating sites. Short on research, Sheehy, best known for Passages, makes do by stringing together colorful stories of the women she interviews, drawing inflated conclusions from their lives and claiming it all as part of yet another passage (will it ever end?) to Second Adulthood, with phases like "the Romantic Passage" and "Soul Seeking." The book's most chilling bit of information: you really do lose it if you don't use it. But take heart, ladies; Sheehy provides the name of a doctor who employs a nonsurgical method of rejuvenating the vagina, making it just as pink and open as it was when you were... that's right, young. (On sale Jan. 10)
[Page 40]. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Are we Rome? : the fall of an empire and the fate of America. (2007). Cullen Murphy.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007.
970.01 M
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007.
970.01 M
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sand Pebbles
Dated, weakened by its being stuck in its own time, this movie manages the most difficult task of all cinema: to have something to say to an audience not its contemporary. It manages to work because of good acting. Its plot sputters and stumbles, but few movies work well 4 decades on -- yet it works: its historical context makes for a compelling story: two dozen years after Sun Yat Sen's revolution of 1912, China is awakening to a nationalist resistance to imperial domination and exploitation by foreign powers, including the US. The Sand Pebbles is an American gunboat plying internal Chinese waters, making its (and the US's) presence known.
Steve McQueen, playing Jake Holman, engineer, does a very nice job, even given a silly high-school dropout accent that is superfluous to his acting. Richard Crenna does a very good job playing the most psychologically complex character of the lot, Captain Collins. Nineteen year old Candice Bergen is miscast, yet does a credible job of acting. Richard Attenborough is wholly out of place as an American sailor, his American accent often slipping into his native British speech.
A satisfying film.
Steve McQueen, playing Jake Holman, engineer, does a very nice job, even given a silly high-school dropout accent that is superfluous to his acting. Richard Crenna does a very good job playing the most psychologically complex character of the lot, Captain Collins. Nineteen year old Candice Bergen is miscast, yet does a credible job of acting. Richard Attenborough is wholly out of place as an American sailor, his American accent often slipping into his native British speech.
A satisfying film.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Paul Newman dead at age 83
Madame X
Good movie. Made in 1937, before soundtracks. Gladys George delivers a stunning performance as a 'cheatin' wife' who is turned out by her husband, becomes a lush, sorta circles the globe, and winds up back in France as a murderess defended by her son (who has no idea he's defending his own Mum, or, rather, Mahmah). Why she did not go on to have a successful career is a riddle I need to answer for my own satisfaction, at the least.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Party girl
Saw the movie last night. Mary is quite the party girl, but needs money to pay the rent. She goes to see her godmother, Judy, the only family she has, who works at a public library. She gets hired as a library clerk. And, through travails and challenges, she learns to love the Dewey Decimal System. Nice movie, a little dated, by real fun.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Playing the enemy
Playing the enemy : Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation.
Carlin, John. (2008). New York: Penguin Press.
Carlin, John. (2008). New York: Penguin Press.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Monsieur Ibrahim
Watched this movie last night, and greatly enjoyed it. The story is of a youngster, Jewish, who lives with his father in a flat in a working-class district in Paris. The youngster watches whores who ply their trade a block away from his window. Finally he acts on temptation, breaks his piggy-bank, and uses his savings to buy a lay. Sylvie is the one prostitute who accepts his offer.
Omar Sharif is magnificent as Ibrahim, the grocer in whose shop Momo shops (and shoplifts).
A 1960s soundtrack is used, featuring some familiar tunes.
Omar Sharif is magnificent as Ibrahim, the grocer in whose shop Momo shops (and shoplifts).
A 1960s soundtrack is used, featuring some familiar tunes.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Cubicle Conversation
This is funny.
To succeed in business, it's not enough to have the sleekest laptop, the latest iPhone and the brightest ideas. You also need the right vocabulary. But don't worry.
If you want to be the boss or "fancy yourself the savviest kid on Wall Street," what you need instead, says Gregory Bergman, associate editor of Equities Magazine, is a vocabulary replete with "BizzWords." That play on buzzwords satirizes the mania for using internal capitalization in corporate and trade names -- SwingLine, ChevronTexaco, HarperCollins -- a practice that is prosaically called "BiCapitalization." (I like to call it "upsizing.")
ExxonMobil, InBev; the list goes on and on.
BizzWords constitute the "emerging vocabulary" of business English, according to Mr. Bergman, and in his book "BizzWords" he offers us a collection of "some of the newest, hippest, and most important . . . terms used in corporate America today." His dictionary "is all you need to sound like a business big shot," he boasts with marketing tongue in cheek. "Now if you could only figure out how to use Excel."
Consider these: chainsaw consultant, "an outside consultant brought in to fire employees"; brightsizing, "downsizing by laying off the brightest workers"; layoff lust, "the desire to be fired from one's job"; and to Nasdaq, meaning "to sharply decline in value or quantity."
Brightsizing is funny; I had layoff lust my last year at MetLife.
Apparently because the worlds of business and the Internet are now so intertwined, "BizzWords" culls several terms from cyberslang, including clickstream ("the virtual path a person takes while surfing the Web"), Zen mail ("an e-mail message without text or attachments") and Dorito syndrome (dissatisfaction felt after wasting time surfing the Net and accomplishing nothing).
I get Dorito syndrome; Zen mail is brilliant.
To succeed in business, it's not enough to have the sleekest laptop, the latest iPhone and the brightest ideas. You also need the right vocabulary. But don't worry.
If you want to be the boss or "fancy yourself the savviest kid on Wall Street," what you need instead, says Gregory Bergman, associate editor of Equities Magazine, is a vocabulary replete with "BizzWords." That play on buzzwords satirizes the mania for using internal capitalization in corporate and trade names -- SwingLine, ChevronTexaco, HarperCollins -- a practice that is prosaically called "BiCapitalization." (I like to call it "upsizing.")
ExxonMobil, InBev; the list goes on and on.
BizzWords constitute the "emerging vocabulary" of business English, according to Mr. Bergman, and in his book "BizzWords" he offers us a collection of "some of the newest, hippest, and most important . . . terms used in corporate America today." His dictionary "is all you need to sound like a business big shot," he boasts with marketing tongue in cheek. "Now if you could only figure out how to use Excel."
Consider these: chainsaw consultant, "an outside consultant brought in to fire employees"; brightsizing, "downsizing by laying off the brightest workers"; layoff lust, "the desire to be fired from one's job"; and to Nasdaq, meaning "to sharply decline in value or quantity."
Brightsizing is funny; I had layoff lust my last year at MetLife.
Apparently because the worlds of business and the Internet are now so intertwined, "BizzWords" culls several terms from cyberslang, including clickstream ("the virtual path a person takes while surfing the Web"), Zen mail ("an e-mail message without text or attachments") and Dorito syndrome (dissatisfaction felt after wasting time surfing the Net and accomplishing nothing).
I get Dorito syndrome; Zen mail is brilliant.
Monday, July 7, 2008
A feel-good film, and a not so good one
Watched a couple of films this past weekend. The feel-good one was "The Republic of Love," directed by Deepa Mehta (who directed a film I watched last weekend and adored, Water). It was a simply cute and fun movie, decidedly a different turn than Water (which she actually made before this one). The not-so-good one was Michael Clayton, with George Clooney: had Clooney not been in it, it wouldn't have worked as well as he mad eit work, and I might've turned it off.
Republic was a story of two people unlucky in love: Tom Avery is a late-night disc jockey who has been previously married (tow, maybe three times), who goes to a support group, and who, when he does have sex, never quites enjoys it. Fay is (supposedly) trapped into impossibly-high expectations by the (supposedly) perfect marriage of her parents. Eventually they meet, and fall in love, Tom much more heavily then Fay. The twists, turns and permutations are funny; I adored the film. Well, adored it too strong, for I adored Water; I really liked Republic. I enjoyed watching it, I was touched by the romance, and I wished the movie was longer.
Clayton, on the other hand, was difficult to like. There were too many subtles twists, too-low voices, and it only worked because George Clooney is such a good actor.
Republic was a story of two people unlucky in love: Tom Avery is a late-night disc jockey who has been previously married (tow, maybe three times), who goes to a support group, and who, when he does have sex, never quites enjoys it. Fay is (supposedly) trapped into impossibly-high expectations by the (supposedly) perfect marriage of her parents. Eventually they meet, and fall in love, Tom much more heavily then Fay. The twists, turns and permutations are funny; I adored the film. Well, adored it too strong, for I adored Water; I really liked Republic. I enjoyed watching it, I was touched by the romance, and I wished the movie was longer.
Clayton, on the other hand, was difficult to like. There were too many subtles twists, too-low voices, and it only worked because George Clooney is such a good actor.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wonderful Film(s)
Burnt by the Sun - a Russian film. Picked it off the shelves at Hewlett.Woodmere Library rather randomly (in the last several weeks, and more, I've been looking for the Foreign Language sticker on the spine of DVD or even VC films, starting out looking for films in Spanish, progressing to other languages, too) -- and came up with a couple of gems.
Last night I watched Offside, an Iranian film about women who want to go to Tehran Stadium to watch Iran vs. Bahrain, the qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup. It had a lot of talking -- in fact, mostly talking, but it was quite good: poignant (knowing that women, as the film shows, have a subordinate (to say it kindly) position in Persian society), funny, absorbing.
Utomlyonnye solntsem is the anglicised title of Burnt by the Sun (Утомленные солнцем in Cyrillic). It was excellent. The story takes place in 1936. A revolutionary hero is enjoying an idyllic time in the country of the family of his younger wife. Together with their 8 year old (or so) daughter, they have a loving family core. In the house are also the woman's grandmother and various other family members.
The relationship between father and daughter is expressed beautifully. Tender, loving, it oozes a love I do not think I have seen as well acted ever before; the little girl was amazing. Too, the relationship between husband and wife drips love, yet shows an underlying layer that shows the complexity of sexual-love relationships between women and men.
There is zany action (a Can-Can with three, maybe four, generations of females frolicking and kicking their legs, for one), there are zany characters (a servant who guards her chest and buttocks with a silver tray to protect said anatomy from pinches and slaps). Young pioneers and gas-attack-protecting civil defense groups add to the multi-tiered plot.
Under all this, a political angle is developed. Mytia, a former lover of the mother, Marusia, shows up and add a strong dose of tension. In order, it becomes clear there is tension. Soon it is made clear that Mytia is not just a weird one, not just an eccentric, but the one who injects Stalin into the middle of the picture (literally).
All along there are references made to balloons being constructed for the glory of the Motherland and Comrade Stalin. And a glowing ball shows up; its symbolism is not entirely clear, but clear guesses ca easily be made.
What makes this kind of film starkly different from many, I'd say most, the overwhelming majority of Hollywood films, is that the acting is subtle and intense, the story and plot are strong and deep, and the razz-ma-tazz is minor: there are few special effects; the eroticism of the love between Mariusia and Kotov leaves a good deal to the imagination, and the sweep is grand.
In the end, Stalin's terror is starkly clear -- yet, again, it is not served with the heavy hand that is so prevalent in Hollywood products. A beautiful film; I gave it a 9 (maybe and a quarter, even a half).
Last night I watched Offside, an Iranian film about women who want to go to Tehran Stadium to watch Iran vs. Bahrain, the qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup. It had a lot of talking -- in fact, mostly talking, but it was quite good: poignant (knowing that women, as the film shows, have a subordinate (to say it kindly) position in Persian society), funny, absorbing.
Utomlyonnye solntsem is the anglicised title of Burnt by the Sun (Утомленные солнцем in Cyrillic). It was excellent. The story takes place in 1936. A revolutionary hero is enjoying an idyllic time in the country of the family of his younger wife. Together with their 8 year old (or so) daughter, they have a loving family core. In the house are also the woman's grandmother and various other family members.
The relationship between father and daughter is expressed beautifully. Tender, loving, it oozes a love I do not think I have seen as well acted ever before; the little girl was amazing. Too, the relationship between husband and wife drips love, yet shows an underlying layer that shows the complexity of sexual-love relationships between women and men.
There is zany action (a Can-Can with three, maybe four, generations of females frolicking and kicking their legs, for one), there are zany characters (a servant who guards her chest and buttocks with a silver tray to protect said anatomy from pinches and slaps). Young pioneers and gas-attack-protecting civil defense groups add to the multi-tiered plot.
Under all this, a political angle is developed. Mytia, a former lover of the mother, Marusia, shows up and add a strong dose of tension. In order, it becomes clear there is tension. Soon it is made clear that Mytia is not just a weird one, not just an eccentric, but the one who injects Stalin into the middle of the picture (literally).
All along there are references made to balloons being constructed for the glory of the Motherland and Comrade Stalin. And a glowing ball shows up; its symbolism is not entirely clear, but clear guesses ca easily be made.
What makes this kind of film starkly different from many, I'd say most, the overwhelming majority of Hollywood films, is that the acting is subtle and intense, the story and plot are strong and deep, and the razz-ma-tazz is minor: there are few special effects; the eroticism of the love between Mariusia and Kotov leaves a good deal to the imagination, and the sweep is grand.
In the end, Stalin's terror is starkly clear -- yet, again, it is not served with the heavy hand that is so prevalent in Hollywood products. A beautiful film; I gave it a 9 (maybe and a quarter, even a half).
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Richard Widmark, Film’s Hoodlum and Flawed Hero, Dies at 93
A good actor passes.
Richard Widmark, Film’s Hoodlum and Flawed Hero, Dies at 93
Mr. Widmark’s debut as a giggling killer made him an overnight star, giving rise to an enduring Hollywood career playing a gallery of chilling hoodlums and flawed heroes.
20th Century Fox
Richard Widmark, left, with Victor Mature in the 1947 film "Kiss of Death."
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Be careful what films you choose
This weekend I have seen three wonderful films. Alas, they are from Chile and Spain, and there is little escapism in any of them. What is it about Spanish and Latin American nations that needs to be tragic?
In the last two weeks I've read a good deal of a book that deals with just that: Forgotten Continent - the battle for Latin America's soul, by Michael Reid. The history and the heritage of Latin America includes much tragedy; it really matters little, in one sense, what the cause is: tragedy is simply a part of the history of Latin America.
These three films testify to, and demonstrate that. El Viaje de Carol (2002) is a story about a Spanish mother and daughter returning -- from New York -- to the mother's native village, somewhere in Spain, in 1938. The Spanish Civil War in nearing its end; Madrid is under siege, and may fall at any moment. Ay, Carmela (1990) takes place during the Spanish Civil War also. The protagonists are entertainers, Republican sympathizers, who happen to be fall into the hands of Fascists. Machuca (2004) takes place in pre-1973-coup Santiago de Chile.
There are deaths, tragedy, sadness. Next time, I wanna choose upbeat cinema.
In the last two weeks I've read a good deal of a book that deals with just that: Forgotten Continent - the battle for Latin America's soul, by Michael Reid. The history and the heritage of Latin America includes much tragedy; it really matters little, in one sense, what the cause is: tragedy is simply a part of the history of Latin America.
These three films testify to, and demonstrate that. El Viaje de Carol (2002) is a story about a Spanish mother and daughter returning -- from New York -- to the mother's native village, somewhere in Spain, in 1938. The Spanish Civil War in nearing its end; Madrid is under siege, and may fall at any moment. Ay, Carmela (1990) takes place during the Spanish Civil War also. The protagonists are entertainers, Republican sympathizers, who happen to be fall into the hands of Fascists. Machuca (2004) takes place in pre-1973-coup Santiago de Chile.
There are deaths, tragedy, sadness. Next time, I wanna choose upbeat cinema.
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