"Nothing is new under the sun"!
Oh really?
One could say, "Look who's talking!", or "Consider the source!", the latter being my favorite go-to maxim.
For if anyone is averse to "the new", it's been me.
Born in 1944, I've always referred to myself as a "50's-60's" person.
Meaning, I STILL see Bob Dylan, the Beatles & the Stones, Janis & Jimi, and yes, even the Haight-Ashbury as starting points to the definition of ME!
(Not forgetting Henry Miller, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, The Graduate, Easy Rider, and I Love Lucy!!)
But what about NOW?
Today?
The NEW?
And more to the point, how do I move from THEN to NOW, without removing the foundational entities that formed, and TRANSformed, me?
Let me give you some examples.
In 1964, before I turned 20, I "discovered" the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Almost back to back.
First, of course, came the Fab Four when they appeared on (and I saw them!) on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Followed soon thereafter by their movie "A Hard Day's Night", and their having several Number One Top 40 singles.
Then, a few weeks later, I was on a blind date with an attractive "Beat" girl--meaning she wore a white turtleneck sweater and black fishnet lace stockings and boots ("made for walkin'"??).
We were in a cafe, talking, and listening to a "folkie" singing a Dylan song.
My date asked if I like him.
"Not familiar with him."
"Oh, you have to get his new album, "Freewheelin'"!
Long story short, I go to a "record shop" the next day and ask the clerk for the new Bob "DIE-lynn" album.
That was the LAST time I mispronounced Bobby's name!
(P.S. That girl and I never dated again, as I recall!)
So that was how it all started.
Me discovering "the new".
But being that "60's guy", it was a long time before anyone REALLY new entered my world.
And then it became like a tsunami, as author after author, and band/singer after band/singer took the "60's" from my register and made it the 60's AND the 90's and the 2000's!
But let's return to the 70's for a minute.
That was when I "found" Kurt Vonnegut.
It again took a girl to open up my narrow world.
(This girl was then my best friend, and had been since we met in the Fillmore West on July 5, 1968!)
Lee (the girl) had been asking me to read Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" since it came out in 1969.
And I'd refused, telling her I wasn't into "cult" authors, and didn't like books (or movies) about war!
Finally, in 1975, when I was working in a used bookstore in Arcata CA, I "found" Mr Vonnegut!
I read "Slaughterhouse Five", and LOVED it!
But I loved not just THAT book, but Vonnegut's writing style, his seemingly simplistic overuse of repetitive words or phrases, like "So it goes.", or later, in "Slapstick", his "Hi ho"s.
So I went back to "Player Piano", his 1952 novel, and worked my way through all of his (then-) 11 published novels & collections.
I still consider Vonnegut my favorite novelist.
In moving from the 60's to the 90's--from the Beatles to "the new"--I wasn't completely ignoring "the now".
I liked The Police, Tom Petty, Joan Jett, among a few others.
Fast forward to about 2002, to Lincoln City OR, where I was a cashier in a Chevron Food Mart.
I was then about 57 or 58, and had a young (19 or 20) co-worker, a guy.
One day, we were hanging out waiting for customers, listening to the radio.
I told him I liked whatever song was then playing.
It was sung by Sheryl Crow, whom I knew nothing (or almost nothing) about.
So, similar to that 1964 blind date experience, I found myself in Astoria OR in a "CD" store searching out Sheryl Crow CD's.
I found her Central Park concert, where she played with several name musicians, among them the Dixie Chicks.
You guessed it!
Loving Crow (and about to eat it---so to speak! LOL), I ALSO then sought out the DC, and "found" their "Goodbye Earl", my favorite Chicks song to this day!
Speaking of "Earl", I'd also seen around that time the DC's video of that song, starring "NYPD Blue"'s Dennis Franz as Earl.
You guessed it again!
Since the show began in 1993, "NYPD Blue" had been my favorite TV show, with Franz my favorite actor!
See how all of that came together?
From "Blue" to Crow to the DC--boom, boom, BOOM!--and I'd moved 30 years into "the new".
BTW, that same guy told me I would "love" a group called Garbage!
I thought---a band called GARBAGE??!!
But again, I bought their first CD, and fell in love with Shirley and the gang!
In 2007, I found myself in jail for 4 months.
(The last time I'll ever spend behind bars!)
Anyway, seeing 120 days standing before my eyes, and not liking my "roomies" or the lousy movies they let us watch, I turned to my old standby, books, to save the day(s).
In those 120 days, I read 107 books!
Yes, that's correct--I said 107 books in 120 days!
(I'd kept a list of all of them!)
Since my selection was limited, I had to turn to "new" writers--ones I'd heard about (having worked 9 years in bookstores!), but hadn't read!
(Besides "cult" writers, I was also somewhat averse to "popular" writers, and "best sellers".)
Well, among those 107 books were titles by....
Janet Evanovich
Robert B Parker
John Sandford
J A Jance
Sue Grafton
Patricia Cornwell.....
and maybe 2 or 3 others!
Yes, I'd again "found" someone(s) "new", and loved them!
Well, let's bring this story to the present day!
Because I've AGAIN found some "new" to add to the "old".
And I have Netflix, Xfinity, Amazon, and Rolling Stone to thank for introducing us!
I have a habit of buying books and DVD's, but then taking weeks, even months, to get around to reading or watching them!
Same goes for my two magazine subs--Track and Field News, and Rolling Stone.
I sometimes have a backlog of several MONTHS of issues sitting around unread!
So one day recently, as I was working my way through the spring and summer months of RS's unread issues, I "found" their review of Courtney Barnett's CD "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit".
Then I read their big article about her.
Yep, I went online to Amazon, and ordered that CD.
I got it, listened to it once, and Ms Barnett became an instant love affair!
(She's an Australian lesbian--outed, with a long-term partner--so my chances with her, however limited they were--dropped to ZERO!! LOL)
I then bought her "Double EP" CD, and love that one too!
I Googled her, and found FULL concerts of her on YouTube, and various short interviews---all of which I LOVE!
This, all in just the past few WEEKS!!
I own over 700 movies on DVD!
(Never liked to rent!)
But however varied--and great!--my private collection is, I want more!
Thus, my joining Netflix, taking them up on their 30 day free trial offer!
(I'll probably cancel before having to pay!!)
In just the past ONE WEEK, I've discovered two TV shows I'm adding to my list of All-Time Greats!
First came the Australian (sic!) "women in prison" drama called either "Wentworth" or "Wentworth Prison".
In the space of less than 3 days, I watched all 34 episodes from its 3 seasons of existence (2013-2015), with each episode running about 50 minutes!
One ep after another after another!
Each one "forcing" me to watch the next!
(Their 4th season begins next April!)
After "Wentworth", I still had 3 weeks left on my Free Trial!
So, having loved Jane Fonda in "Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding", I found her "Grace and Frankie" show, new this year, and a "Netflix Exclusive".
I've seen just the first 3 (of 13) episodes so far, but Sheesh!, I just started watching it TODAY!!
(Well, about 10-12 hours ago, just after midnight!)
You can safely bet I'll have the other 10 episodes gobbled up, like I plan to gobble up my turkey & trimmings Thanksgiving meal in a few days!
Another title/author/singer/ARTISTIC ENTITY to define my "new", always keeping the "old" (and once-upon-a-time NEW!) as my BFF!
How about you?
What (or whom!) is NEW in YOUR life?
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
This Writer's Changed World
Is it too late?
Is the WRITTEN word doomed?
(I ALL CAPPED "written" for a reason. Keep reading.)
I was late coming to computers.
July 2009, to be exact.
At age 65.
(I was also late coming to other "modern" techno products, but that's another story.)
Before entering (Quite reluctantly, I might add! Call me a Luddite!) the "computer age", I was a WRITER!
Yes, that means I used a BIC pen to place words & commas and such on pieces of lined notebook paper.
After a revision or two, I would then TYPE the final copy---on a TYPEWRITER, using 20 lb bond paper.
My favorite writer's quotation speaks to this.
Truman Capote was said to remark on Jack Kerouac's "On the Road"--"That's not writing! That's typing!".
And how close to the truth he was!
For Kerouac actually DID type his signature novel!
It's well known he typed the book in just a few days on a scroll of paper!
My Hero Bob Dylan also used a typewriter---a MANUAL one, no less!!--to write his "memoir" (Chronicles: Volume 1) a few years ago!
But I digress.
Isn't writing---writing---no matter the tools used?
A typewriter.
Pen or pencil.
Computer.
NO!
For over four decades, I wrote my poems, song lyrics, novels, essays, autobiographies, reviews and critiques using that aforementioned BIC and that cheap lined paper.
Only a few times---and then only as an experiment!---did I TYPE my first draft of whatever I was writing.
However, I found typing a first draft to make editing and revision difficult---and in a sense, redundant.
After all, my TYPED copies were normally my FINAL copies!
So I went back to my paper & pen.
Until July 2009.
Then I began putting words on my computer's screen---or monitor.
(Sort of ironic---IMO---that the computer keyboard is the same as the typewriter's!)
I had a printer, which later broke, so I removed it.
But I'm glad it broke, because I didn't like how my words looked on the paper.
Maybe it was my inability (or refusal!) to learn "computer technique"--meaning ways of making your words appear the same as they would coming off a typewriter.
Maybe it was just being used to how those words looked coming out of my Smith-Corona XL1900, a machine I'd been using for DECADES!
I just couldn't see computer-"written" words as WRITING!
The words didn't translate from mind to screen the same way they did from mind to pen & paper.
There seemed to be a deflector that caused my words to veer off course.
They'd not only LOOK different---they WERE different!
As Capote inferred about Kerouac, I was TYPING (but on a computer's keyboard, NOT a typewriter's!), not writing!
The "sound" was wrong.
The "flow" seemed dammed up!
The "rhythm" was off-key, atonal.
There also emerged a problem with continuity of theme or idea.
My concentration, my focus was off kilter.
For the past 6 years, I've "written" most (about 99%!!) of my works using my computer.
But unsatisfied with the appearance of my words on a monitor, I knew I couldn't leave them there.
(For one thing, what if my computer crashed? What if ALL computers crashed?)
Yes, I feared losing my (self-)valued "works of art"!
(Forget my refusal to learn ways to "save" computerized "writings!" See Luddite note above!)
One other misnomer when attempting to define words on a computer screen.
When are those words nothing more than the manic scribblings of a child who has yet to learn the alphabet, let alone any rules of grammar?
(Check out most blogs and Tweets---or writings on Facebook---and you'll find NUMEROUS spelling and grammatical errors! The use of "to" in place of "too", or "their" instead of "there", for example! It's rampant, like a PLAGUE!!)
Before beginning my blogs (Aaron K's Track and Field Record Book and this one, My Cultural World), most of my "writings" were merely comments on various websites, whether of a political, cultural, or sports-oriented nature.
I'd "post" my comments, or reply to another person's "post".
(That---"post"---is another word that was redefined in the Computer Age.)
Most of what I "posted" was drivel!
(Do NOT say a WORD!! I realize and accept that you might believe THIS is drivel!!)
Sometimes, it was one word.
Not to mention a whole other language--especially when I started on Twitter in April 2013.
(One example of how Twitter has messed up meanings is the use of "LOL". I've learned it means "laugh out loud"---OR---"lots of love". How the Hell is your recipient to know which one you meant??)
But I've found a solution!
Since I see MOST of what I "post" as being NOT-writing, I decided to NOT save most of it!
(Wait until the monkey types the Encyclopedia Britannica before copying anything he/she "writes" It's called "discretion"---or "taste".)
That which I deem "art"---or something RESEMBLING art!!--is copied (using my trusty----and CHEAP!!---BIC pens and CHEAP college-ruled lined notebook paper!) onto paper, THEN, after doing my needed revisions, is TYPED---using my refurbished Smith-Corona XL1900---onto my typing paper!
Then---and ONLY then!!---do I see my words as WRITING!!
(Same difference---sort of!---between reading a book that you hold in your hands---made of paper & such---and "reading" a book using "kindle" or listening to an "audio-book". If I were Capote, I'd probably say--"That's not READING! That's HEARING!")
I hope this "Computer Generation" realizes the difference between using a MACHINE to "write", and letting the words flow from your heart and brain using a simple instrument like a pen or pencil.
Imagine a painter trying to paint his landscapes or her portraits on a computer!
Van Gogh might have cut off BOTH ears if he'd lived in this era!!
Even with my strong editing process---and my strict rules of selection---I'm still dis-satisfied with my choice of what I've saved---and count as part of my oeuvre, my "collected works".
I compare my "pre-computer" writing to what came after, and they're two (almost!) entirely different animals!
It's like my writing entered a black hole, and coming out the other side, found itself in a whole different universe, with a whole different form of communication!
I wonder if any other "elders"--especially you fellow Luddites!---understand what I'm saying!
One probable result from this is that I haven't written any poems or song lyrics for many months--in fact, YEARS!!
(And I'd written a couple of THOUSAND of them prior to 2009!! The only ones I "wrote" since were on Skype, during my "cyber-relationship" with an Italian woman living in Texas (!!). They were just part of an on-going conversation we were having.)
Will kindle and computers and "text messaging" and such mark the end of libraries and archives where WRITTEN works are kept?
Not in MY world!
Not in MY apartment!
(Look around, and about HALF of what you see here are BOOKS and a 4-drawer file cabinet FILLED with my WRITTEN works!!)
You know what they say about money?
That it's not worth "the paper it's written on"?
Same with the SHIT that passes as "writing" in the Computer Age!
Alas.
Is the WRITTEN word doomed?
(I ALL CAPPED "written" for a reason. Keep reading.)
I was late coming to computers.
July 2009, to be exact.
At age 65.
(I was also late coming to other "modern" techno products, but that's another story.)
Before entering (Quite reluctantly, I might add! Call me a Luddite!) the "computer age", I was a WRITER!
Yes, that means I used a BIC pen to place words & commas and such on pieces of lined notebook paper.
After a revision or two, I would then TYPE the final copy---on a TYPEWRITER, using 20 lb bond paper.
My favorite writer's quotation speaks to this.
Truman Capote was said to remark on Jack Kerouac's "On the Road"--"That's not writing! That's typing!".
And how close to the truth he was!
For Kerouac actually DID type his signature novel!
It's well known he typed the book in just a few days on a scroll of paper!
My Hero Bob Dylan also used a typewriter---a MANUAL one, no less!!--to write his "memoir" (Chronicles: Volume 1) a few years ago!
But I digress.
Isn't writing---writing---no matter the tools used?
A typewriter.
Pen or pencil.
Computer.
NO!
For over four decades, I wrote my poems, song lyrics, novels, essays, autobiographies, reviews and critiques using that aforementioned BIC and that cheap lined paper.
Only a few times---and then only as an experiment!---did I TYPE my first draft of whatever I was writing.
However, I found typing a first draft to make editing and revision difficult---and in a sense, redundant.
After all, my TYPED copies were normally my FINAL copies!
So I went back to my paper & pen.
Until July 2009.
Then I began putting words on my computer's screen---or monitor.
(Sort of ironic---IMO---that the computer keyboard is the same as the typewriter's!)
I had a printer, which later broke, so I removed it.
But I'm glad it broke, because I didn't like how my words looked on the paper.
Maybe it was my inability (or refusal!) to learn "computer technique"--meaning ways of making your words appear the same as they would coming off a typewriter.
Maybe it was just being used to how those words looked coming out of my Smith-Corona XL1900, a machine I'd been using for DECADES!
I just couldn't see computer-"written" words as WRITING!
The words didn't translate from mind to screen the same way they did from mind to pen & paper.
There seemed to be a deflector that caused my words to veer off course.
They'd not only LOOK different---they WERE different!
As Capote inferred about Kerouac, I was TYPING (but on a computer's keyboard, NOT a typewriter's!), not writing!
The "sound" was wrong.
The "flow" seemed dammed up!
The "rhythm" was off-key, atonal.
There also emerged a problem with continuity of theme or idea.
My concentration, my focus was off kilter.
For the past 6 years, I've "written" most (about 99%!!) of my works using my computer.
But unsatisfied with the appearance of my words on a monitor, I knew I couldn't leave them there.
(For one thing, what if my computer crashed? What if ALL computers crashed?)
Yes, I feared losing my (self-)valued "works of art"!
(Forget my refusal to learn ways to "save" computerized "writings!" See Luddite note above!)
One other misnomer when attempting to define words on a computer screen.
When are those words nothing more than the manic scribblings of a child who has yet to learn the alphabet, let alone any rules of grammar?
(Check out most blogs and Tweets---or writings on Facebook---and you'll find NUMEROUS spelling and grammatical errors! The use of "to" in place of "too", or "their" instead of "there", for example! It's rampant, like a PLAGUE!!)
Before beginning my blogs (Aaron K's Track and Field Record Book and this one, My Cultural World), most of my "writings" were merely comments on various websites, whether of a political, cultural, or sports-oriented nature.
I'd "post" my comments, or reply to another person's "post".
(That---"post"---is another word that was redefined in the Computer Age.)
Most of what I "posted" was drivel!
(Do NOT say a WORD!! I realize and accept that you might believe THIS is drivel!!)
Sometimes, it was one word.
Not to mention a whole other language--especially when I started on Twitter in April 2013.
(One example of how Twitter has messed up meanings is the use of "LOL". I've learned it means "laugh out loud"---OR---"lots of love". How the Hell is your recipient to know which one you meant??)
But I've found a solution!
Since I see MOST of what I "post" as being NOT-writing, I decided to NOT save most of it!
(Wait until the monkey types the Encyclopedia Britannica before copying anything he/she "writes" It's called "discretion"---or "taste".)
That which I deem "art"---or something RESEMBLING art!!--is copied (using my trusty----and CHEAP!!---BIC pens and CHEAP college-ruled lined notebook paper!) onto paper, THEN, after doing my needed revisions, is TYPED---using my refurbished Smith-Corona XL1900---onto my typing paper!
Then---and ONLY then!!---do I see my words as WRITING!!
(Same difference---sort of!---between reading a book that you hold in your hands---made of paper & such---and "reading" a book using "kindle" or listening to an "audio-book". If I were Capote, I'd probably say--"That's not READING! That's HEARING!")
I hope this "Computer Generation" realizes the difference between using a MACHINE to "write", and letting the words flow from your heart and brain using a simple instrument like a pen or pencil.
Imagine a painter trying to paint his landscapes or her portraits on a computer!
Van Gogh might have cut off BOTH ears if he'd lived in this era!!
Even with my strong editing process---and my strict rules of selection---I'm still dis-satisfied with my choice of what I've saved---and count as part of my oeuvre, my "collected works".
I compare my "pre-computer" writing to what came after, and they're two (almost!) entirely different animals!
It's like my writing entered a black hole, and coming out the other side, found itself in a whole different universe, with a whole different form of communication!
I wonder if any other "elders"--especially you fellow Luddites!---understand what I'm saying!
One probable result from this is that I haven't written any poems or song lyrics for many months--in fact, YEARS!!
(And I'd written a couple of THOUSAND of them prior to 2009!! The only ones I "wrote" since were on Skype, during my "cyber-relationship" with an Italian woman living in Texas (!!). They were just part of an on-going conversation we were having.)
Will kindle and computers and "text messaging" and such mark the end of libraries and archives where WRITTEN works are kept?
Not in MY world!
Not in MY apartment!
(Look around, and about HALF of what you see here are BOOKS and a 4-drawer file cabinet FILLED with my WRITTEN works!!)
You know what they say about money?
That it's not worth "the paper it's written on"?
Same with the SHIT that passes as "writing" in the Computer Age!
Alas.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Evoking Emotions
I'm what people call a "heart on sleeve" man.
You know the type--they LOVE Lifetime Channel movies, seek out "tear-jerker" novels, and weep just THINKING about a movie they've seen or a book they've read.
I've always loved Vincent Van Gogh's art.
But upon reading several biographies about him, and then reading his collection of Letters to Theo (his brother), I came to FEEL for Vincent the MAN, the PERSON, the SOUL!
I had a girlfriend in the late 70's--an excellent, serious, and successful artist in her own right--who also loved Van Gogh.
She told me of the time she went to Europe, and saw her first VG painting in person!
She reported having wept for 10 minutes just standing before this great work, mesmerized!
I'm now a lonely old man.
My last girlfriend and I split up over 9 years ago.
(Though I had a VERY interesting "Skype affair" since then that lasted almost 2 years (!!), and involved LOTS of "cyber-sex" and even "words of love". POSSIBLY a post about THAT in the future??)
Anyway, sad to say, my only "involvement" with others (except for casual "Hi, how are you, the weather is....!"-type conversations) is with characters in novels and movies.
But maybe those intimate connections shouldn't be blamed on a lack of "the real thing" in my physical existence.
After all, I've ALWAYS felt this connection with the novels & movies I've immersed myself in!
Ask anyone who's gone to a movie with me---I am 100% involved in that movie--with or without anyone sitting beside me!
Same with a book.
When reading, the rest of the world could disappear, and it wouldn't matter!
Okay, just a WEE bit hyperbolic!!
But you get the picture!
Who ARE these characters, and WHAT is their story--that raw deep feelings emerge through their voice or their image?
Why do I cry because a make-believe person is going through something traumatic in their lives?
Why do I fear for their lives when I see that villain out to kill them?
Why do I care that an abused woman or child finds safety in a shelter or in the sheltering arms of a gentle nice new love?
Sure, it probably takes the ability---and the WILLINGNESS!!--to leave "reality" behind and to dive into the "story" being told.
Most people probably don't become so involved.
They can watch a horror movie and not be scared.
They can read a romantic novel and think only that this match was NOT made in Heaven!!
Why are THOSE people allowed to be entertained by these fictional life tales--without wanting to SAVE the person in danger from harm, or without wanting to offer HIS love to that woman so much in need of a warm hug?
Why can't I just sit there and ENJOY the book or movie--without needing a napkin to wipe my tears away---or even feeling a bit SILLY sitting there CRYING because a FICTIONAL CHARACTER was having a bad day??
I mean, Jeez!!
Of course, seriously, it has to do with the author, or the actors (or a combination of actors & director, etc) being so great and in control of their craft that they evoke these emotions from their audience.
It's not how they place words in a sentence, or images on a screen.
It's not whether the story is "based on a true story" or not.
It's not even on whether YOU are susceptible to the manipulations of the writer or creator of this work of art.
Did Van Gogh ever cry at another's paintings?
(Based on Kirk Douglas's hammy portrait of VG in "Lust for Life", I'd say YES!)
Why did my ex-lover weep standing before one of his paintings?
Why do I cry while reading a Nicholas Sparks novel, or watching a movie based on his books?
Does HE cry while writing such a tome?
The "ability" to FEEL---to have every emotion evoked by a fictional work of art--comes from many places--for several different reasons.
Sure, "craft" has something to do with it.
After all, another novel or film telling the SAME story can leave you cold and tearless.
The images of the facial expressions---especially the eyes, or the quivering jawline--can bring these emotions FROM them TO you!!
Having experienced something similar to their tale in your own life can contribute to such deep involvement!
Especially those rare times you truly believe that THIS book was written about YOU---or FOR you!!
(I've thought that a lot while listening to Bob Dylan!!)
And sure, some of it is just "wish fulfillment"--the living out of a dream or fantasy.
You really BECOME that Detective who always saves the day!
You ARE that friend who tenderly consoles the grieving new widow--and winds up sleeping with her a few hours after she's buried her ex!
But you know what?
I LOVE feelings and emotions being evoked from mere words on a page or connected images in a two hour movie.
I sometimes have asked friends WHY I have to FEEL so much, when life would be so much easier if I could just shovel a movie or book in and out of my life like so much dirt in a field!
No, my friends.
I wouldn't have it any other way!
"The ghost of 'lectricity HOWLS in the bones of her face---where these Visions of Johanna have now taken her place!"
Bob Dylan, from Visions of Johanna
You know the type--they LOVE Lifetime Channel movies, seek out "tear-jerker" novels, and weep just THINKING about a movie they've seen or a book they've read.
I've always loved Vincent Van Gogh's art.
But upon reading several biographies about him, and then reading his collection of Letters to Theo (his brother), I came to FEEL for Vincent the MAN, the PERSON, the SOUL!
I had a girlfriend in the late 70's--an excellent, serious, and successful artist in her own right--who also loved Van Gogh.
She told me of the time she went to Europe, and saw her first VG painting in person!
She reported having wept for 10 minutes just standing before this great work, mesmerized!
I'm now a lonely old man.
My last girlfriend and I split up over 9 years ago.
(Though I had a VERY interesting "Skype affair" since then that lasted almost 2 years (!!), and involved LOTS of "cyber-sex" and even "words of love". POSSIBLY a post about THAT in the future??)
Anyway, sad to say, my only "involvement" with others (except for casual "Hi, how are you, the weather is....!"-type conversations) is with characters in novels and movies.
But maybe those intimate connections shouldn't be blamed on a lack of "the real thing" in my physical existence.
After all, I've ALWAYS felt this connection with the novels & movies I've immersed myself in!
Ask anyone who's gone to a movie with me---I am 100% involved in that movie--with or without anyone sitting beside me!
Same with a book.
When reading, the rest of the world could disappear, and it wouldn't matter!
Okay, just a WEE bit hyperbolic!!
But you get the picture!
Who ARE these characters, and WHAT is their story--that raw deep feelings emerge through their voice or their image?
Why do I cry because a make-believe person is going through something traumatic in their lives?
Why do I fear for their lives when I see that villain out to kill them?
Why do I care that an abused woman or child finds safety in a shelter or in the sheltering arms of a gentle nice new love?
Sure, it probably takes the ability---and the WILLINGNESS!!--to leave "reality" behind and to dive into the "story" being told.
Most people probably don't become so involved.
They can watch a horror movie and not be scared.
They can read a romantic novel and think only that this match was NOT made in Heaven!!
Why are THOSE people allowed to be entertained by these fictional life tales--without wanting to SAVE the person in danger from harm, or without wanting to offer HIS love to that woman so much in need of a warm hug?
Why can't I just sit there and ENJOY the book or movie--without needing a napkin to wipe my tears away---or even feeling a bit SILLY sitting there CRYING because a FICTIONAL CHARACTER was having a bad day??
I mean, Jeez!!
Of course, seriously, it has to do with the author, or the actors (or a combination of actors & director, etc) being so great and in control of their craft that they evoke these emotions from their audience.
It's not how they place words in a sentence, or images on a screen.
It's not whether the story is "based on a true story" or not.
It's not even on whether YOU are susceptible to the manipulations of the writer or creator of this work of art.
Did Van Gogh ever cry at another's paintings?
(Based on Kirk Douglas's hammy portrait of VG in "Lust for Life", I'd say YES!)
Why did my ex-lover weep standing before one of his paintings?
Why do I cry while reading a Nicholas Sparks novel, or watching a movie based on his books?
Does HE cry while writing such a tome?
The "ability" to FEEL---to have every emotion evoked by a fictional work of art--comes from many places--for several different reasons.
Sure, "craft" has something to do with it.
After all, another novel or film telling the SAME story can leave you cold and tearless.
The images of the facial expressions---especially the eyes, or the quivering jawline--can bring these emotions FROM them TO you!!
Having experienced something similar to their tale in your own life can contribute to such deep involvement!
Especially those rare times you truly believe that THIS book was written about YOU---or FOR you!!
(I've thought that a lot while listening to Bob Dylan!!)
And sure, some of it is just "wish fulfillment"--the living out of a dream or fantasy.
You really BECOME that Detective who always saves the day!
You ARE that friend who tenderly consoles the grieving new widow--and winds up sleeping with her a few hours after she's buried her ex!
But you know what?
I LOVE feelings and emotions being evoked from mere words on a page or connected images in a two hour movie.
I sometimes have asked friends WHY I have to FEEL so much, when life would be so much easier if I could just shovel a movie or book in and out of my life like so much dirt in a field!
No, my friends.
I wouldn't have it any other way!
"The ghost of 'lectricity HOWLS in the bones of her face---where these Visions of Johanna have now taken her place!"
Bob Dylan, from Visions of Johanna
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Two Top 15 Movies Lists
In my introductory post (My Cultural World-December 10th), I stated I have lists of Top 15 Movies, by year of release, for all the years of the Sound Era (1927 to now).
Obviously, I can't present ALL the lists in 1 post, so I've chosen 2 of them.
From 1938 to 1969, my Top 15 lists cover 2 year spans, such as 1938-1939 or 1968-1969, and all the ones in between.
So I've chosen what I consider the BEST two year grouped Top 15, that being the years 1956-1957.
But I wanted to present some more recent years too, so I chose the year 2012, which also is filled with excellent movies.
(Some of my Top 15's are NOT all as filled with "great" movies.)
The latter years are, as noted, separate lists.
Well, there's lots to cover, so let's see if YOUR Top 15's might match mine!
I'll list the movies in inverse order, giving the title, then a brief comment on each flick.
1956-1957
15. 1984 (Great rendition of the Orwell book. This movie would be Top 5 on MANY of my other lists!)
14. Attack! (I grew up watching westerns & war movies, and this is my favorite of the latter. One of Jack Palance's best!)
13. The Amazing Colossal Man (Those 50's sci-fi's are the greatest. Who needs digital/computerized Special Effects?)
12. The Curse of Frankenstein (Maybe the UGLIEST Frankenstein monster! But also one of the best in the genre.)
11. 12 Angry Men (An intense drama starring Henry Fonda as holdout juror.)
10. Hollywood or Bust (I also grew up going to all the Martin-Lewis movies. They've faded a bit in my liking of them --Abbott & Costello are now my top-rated comedy duo!-- but this one was one of their best!)
9. Forbidden Planet (Critics rate this much higher than I do, but I love Robby the Robot. I used to try to draw him a lot! Also, this movie best illustrates the then standard inclusion of gorgeous women with permed hair being found in jungles or on other planets!)
8. Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley at his "finest"!! That scene with the title song is a Classic!!)
7. The Delicate Delinquent (Jerry Lewis broke with Dean Martin, and this is probably his best solo movie!)
6. Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (The 2nd "movie" put together from the Disney shows starring Fess Parker as Crockett. This one's more fun then the first, and almost certainly has less truth in it!)
5. The Great Locomotive Chase (Another Disney flick starring Fess Parker, only this time he plays a spy during the Civil War. Great action scenes. The book is good too.)
4. Moby Dick (This would be Number ONE on most of my lists! Sure, the book ain't the movie, and vice versa, but see this! Gregory Peck's Ahab is pure insanity. The scenes with him on Moby are unforgettable! I've watched this movie---well, uncountable times, but almost certainly close to 100!!)
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (After you've seen this one, do NOT watch the others! There's NO comparison. This is THE scariest movie I've EVER seen!! And the novel by Jack Finney is THE scariest BOOK I've ever read!!)
2. Lust for Life (Kirk Douglas hams it up like no other, and sometimes that takes away from my enjoyment of this interpretation of Irving Stone's historical novel. But as a HUGE Van Gogh fan, I LOVE this flick! Seeing many of his paintings on screen is mind-bending. What a sad but brilliant man!)
1. The Ten Commandments (My All-Time favorite movie, of any genre, from any year! A CLASSIC in EVERY sense. Whatever your religious beliefs, or whatever you think of the Hollywoodization of serious subjects, you MUST see this movie!!)
Now we'll move about 55 years forward, to.....
2012
15. Liberal Arts (Only seen this once, so maybe opinion isn't fully formed. It's a nice romantic comedy, but not THAT good. Enjoyable, but you've seen it all before.)
14. This is 40 (A long--134 minutes!--dramedy about a married couple and how things change at that age. Lots of great bits...and many not-so-great. Overall, worth seeing.)
13. Trouble with the Curve (Clint Eastwood stars. Enough said? In most cases, yes! In THIS case, he throws us a curveball--pun very much intended!!!--as this one wraps his usual brand of humor with some great dramatic scenes. I MIGHT move this one higher with more viewings!)
12. Veronica (A sexy sleeper. On;y seen it once, and really can't remember much about it! Some "sex" movies are like that!!)
11. Save the Date (I'm a HUGE fan of the TV show "Masters of Sex", and especially Lizzie Caplan. So seeing her as the STAR of this movie almost automatically rates it high! This movie deals with sister-sister love...and dysfunction.)
10. The Sessions (Surely would rate higher on other year's lists. Helen Hunt is a sex surrogate, who has sex with a polio victim. Sweet, sexy, funny, will make you laugh and cry!! William H Macy has the funniest lines.)
9. Fast Girls (I'm a HUGE track and field fan---my other blog is all about that sport!!--so this movie gains points with me. It's not the most realistic track movie ever, but it IS fun. Somewhat surprisingly, there's NO sex scenes or nudity!!)
8. Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding (What a HOOT Jane Fonda is as a hippie mother to a seemingly uptight NYC lawyer. The story's locale is the infamous Woodstock, but modern day, not 1969. I absolutely LOVE this movie, and have watched it MANY times!)
7. Margarita (About a Hispanic lesbian who's a long-time nanny to a family, including a now-grown teen girl. Don't be put off by the lesbian theme. This is a great RELATIONSHIP movie...about SEVERAL different kinds of relationships!!)
6. The Artist and the Model (Comparable in some ways to "La Belle Noiseuse" from 1991, this is a sturdy drama about an ageing artist who hires a girl to pose nude for him in exchange for room and board. Takes place in 1943 in France, and part of the plot centers around the war, and its effects on people and culture.)
5. Girls--1st Season (I include seasons of TV shows on my lists. I list them in the year when the season ENDS! I LOVE Girls---the TV show AND the gender!! As the show has evolved, Jessa has become my favorite character. Like any full season of a show, the episodes are hit and miss. Otherwise, this would probably rate higher!)
4. A Perfect Ending (On any given day, this movie can be interchanged with any of the ones above it! It's by lesbian icon Nicole Conn, and rates as one of my best lesbian-themed movies. Yet the 2 main characters are NOT lesbians. One is a 50-ish woman who's never had an orgasm. The other is a young high-end call girl, who is hired to provide same! Their scenes are intense, highly sensual and sexual, funny, and sad. The stars are from TV--Barbara Niven and Jessica Clark. A bit too artsy-fartsy, especially in the first 5 minutes or so! But hang in there--the rest will evoke all your emotions!!)
3. Kiss Me (Another "lesbian movie", but also about family. A 30-ish woman, just engaged to a guy after 7 years together, meets her dad's fiancee's daughter at her dad's 60th birthday party. The daughter is an outed lesbian. Their relationship is one of the most realistic ever shown in a movie---of ANY kind of relationship! It's a Swedish movie, so you'll need to know Swedish, or don't mind sub-titles!! Some really sexy scenes!)
2. Now is Good (Dakota Fanning is dying!! She is a young girl who decides to, among other things, lose her virginity before she dies. But her "bucket list" goes much deeper than just sex. This is a VERY sad movie, yet what is life without being able--and WILLING--to feel EVERY emotion? It's insane to say you LOVE a movie about someone dying--especially one so young--but I DO!! Watch it once, then put it away for a year or more. It might take you that long to regain the courage needed to watch it!)
1. Ruby Sparks (I'm a writer, so I UNDERSTOOD this movie, and this fact greatly added to my enjoyment of it! Miss Sparks is a character in a novel Paul Dano (the actor) is writing. And suddenly, she's alive.....and in his house!!! What does he do? How can he explain "her"? This is one of THE most creative---and HILARIOUS---movies I've ever seen!! Zoe Kazan, who plays Ruby, is soooooo sweet and loveable, you really WANT her to be REAL!! And wait till you see the ending!! As PERFECT a movie as I've ever seen!! Would rate high on ANY year's list!!)
Well, hope you enjoyed this post.
And try some of these movies/TV shows---if you haven't already!
Feel free to comment below!
Obviously, I can't present ALL the lists in 1 post, so I've chosen 2 of them.
From 1938 to 1969, my Top 15 lists cover 2 year spans, such as 1938-1939 or 1968-1969, and all the ones in between.
So I've chosen what I consider the BEST two year grouped Top 15, that being the years 1956-1957.
But I wanted to present some more recent years too, so I chose the year 2012, which also is filled with excellent movies.
(Some of my Top 15's are NOT all as filled with "great" movies.)
The latter years are, as noted, separate lists.
Well, there's lots to cover, so let's see if YOUR Top 15's might match mine!
I'll list the movies in inverse order, giving the title, then a brief comment on each flick.
1956-1957
15. 1984 (Great rendition of the Orwell book. This movie would be Top 5 on MANY of my other lists!)
14. Attack! (I grew up watching westerns & war movies, and this is my favorite of the latter. One of Jack Palance's best!)
13. The Amazing Colossal Man (Those 50's sci-fi's are the greatest. Who needs digital/computerized Special Effects?)
12. The Curse of Frankenstein (Maybe the UGLIEST Frankenstein monster! But also one of the best in the genre.)
11. 12 Angry Men (An intense drama starring Henry Fonda as holdout juror.)
10. Hollywood or Bust (I also grew up going to all the Martin-Lewis movies. They've faded a bit in my liking of them --Abbott & Costello are now my top-rated comedy duo!-- but this one was one of their best!)
9. Forbidden Planet (Critics rate this much higher than I do, but I love Robby the Robot. I used to try to draw him a lot! Also, this movie best illustrates the then standard inclusion of gorgeous women with permed hair being found in jungles or on other planets!)
8. Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley at his "finest"!! That scene with the title song is a Classic!!)
7. The Delicate Delinquent (Jerry Lewis broke with Dean Martin, and this is probably his best solo movie!)
6. Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (The 2nd "movie" put together from the Disney shows starring Fess Parker as Crockett. This one's more fun then the first, and almost certainly has less truth in it!)
5. The Great Locomotive Chase (Another Disney flick starring Fess Parker, only this time he plays a spy during the Civil War. Great action scenes. The book is good too.)
4. Moby Dick (This would be Number ONE on most of my lists! Sure, the book ain't the movie, and vice versa, but see this! Gregory Peck's Ahab is pure insanity. The scenes with him on Moby are unforgettable! I've watched this movie---well, uncountable times, but almost certainly close to 100!!)
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (After you've seen this one, do NOT watch the others! There's NO comparison. This is THE scariest movie I've EVER seen!! And the novel by Jack Finney is THE scariest BOOK I've ever read!!)
2. Lust for Life (Kirk Douglas hams it up like no other, and sometimes that takes away from my enjoyment of this interpretation of Irving Stone's historical novel. But as a HUGE Van Gogh fan, I LOVE this flick! Seeing many of his paintings on screen is mind-bending. What a sad but brilliant man!)
1. The Ten Commandments (My All-Time favorite movie, of any genre, from any year! A CLASSIC in EVERY sense. Whatever your religious beliefs, or whatever you think of the Hollywoodization of serious subjects, you MUST see this movie!!)
Now we'll move about 55 years forward, to.....
2012
15. Liberal Arts (Only seen this once, so maybe opinion isn't fully formed. It's a nice romantic comedy, but not THAT good. Enjoyable, but you've seen it all before.)
14. This is 40 (A long--134 minutes!--dramedy about a married couple and how things change at that age. Lots of great bits...and many not-so-great. Overall, worth seeing.)
13. Trouble with the Curve (Clint Eastwood stars. Enough said? In most cases, yes! In THIS case, he throws us a curveball--pun very much intended!!!--as this one wraps his usual brand of humor with some great dramatic scenes. I MIGHT move this one higher with more viewings!)
12. Veronica (A sexy sleeper. On;y seen it once, and really can't remember much about it! Some "sex" movies are like that!!)
11. Save the Date (I'm a HUGE fan of the TV show "Masters of Sex", and especially Lizzie Caplan. So seeing her as the STAR of this movie almost automatically rates it high! This movie deals with sister-sister love...and dysfunction.)
10. The Sessions (Surely would rate higher on other year's lists. Helen Hunt is a sex surrogate, who has sex with a polio victim. Sweet, sexy, funny, will make you laugh and cry!! William H Macy has the funniest lines.)
9. Fast Girls (I'm a HUGE track and field fan---my other blog is all about that sport!!--so this movie gains points with me. It's not the most realistic track movie ever, but it IS fun. Somewhat surprisingly, there's NO sex scenes or nudity!!)
8. Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding (What a HOOT Jane Fonda is as a hippie mother to a seemingly uptight NYC lawyer. The story's locale is the infamous Woodstock, but modern day, not 1969. I absolutely LOVE this movie, and have watched it MANY times!)
7. Margarita (About a Hispanic lesbian who's a long-time nanny to a family, including a now-grown teen girl. Don't be put off by the lesbian theme. This is a great RELATIONSHIP movie...about SEVERAL different kinds of relationships!!)
6. The Artist and the Model (Comparable in some ways to "La Belle Noiseuse" from 1991, this is a sturdy drama about an ageing artist who hires a girl to pose nude for him in exchange for room and board. Takes place in 1943 in France, and part of the plot centers around the war, and its effects on people and culture.)
5. Girls--1st Season (I include seasons of TV shows on my lists. I list them in the year when the season ENDS! I LOVE Girls---the TV show AND the gender!! As the show has evolved, Jessa has become my favorite character. Like any full season of a show, the episodes are hit and miss. Otherwise, this would probably rate higher!)
4. A Perfect Ending (On any given day, this movie can be interchanged with any of the ones above it! It's by lesbian icon Nicole Conn, and rates as one of my best lesbian-themed movies. Yet the 2 main characters are NOT lesbians. One is a 50-ish woman who's never had an orgasm. The other is a young high-end call girl, who is hired to provide same! Their scenes are intense, highly sensual and sexual, funny, and sad. The stars are from TV--Barbara Niven and Jessica Clark. A bit too artsy-fartsy, especially in the first 5 minutes or so! But hang in there--the rest will evoke all your emotions!!)
3. Kiss Me (Another "lesbian movie", but also about family. A 30-ish woman, just engaged to a guy after 7 years together, meets her dad's fiancee's daughter at her dad's 60th birthday party. The daughter is an outed lesbian. Their relationship is one of the most realistic ever shown in a movie---of ANY kind of relationship! It's a Swedish movie, so you'll need to know Swedish, or don't mind sub-titles!! Some really sexy scenes!)
2. Now is Good (Dakota Fanning is dying!! She is a young girl who decides to, among other things, lose her virginity before she dies. But her "bucket list" goes much deeper than just sex. This is a VERY sad movie, yet what is life without being able--and WILLING--to feel EVERY emotion? It's insane to say you LOVE a movie about someone dying--especially one so young--but I DO!! Watch it once, then put it away for a year or more. It might take you that long to regain the courage needed to watch it!)
1. Ruby Sparks (I'm a writer, so I UNDERSTOOD this movie, and this fact greatly added to my enjoyment of it! Miss Sparks is a character in a novel Paul Dano (the actor) is writing. And suddenly, she's alive.....and in his house!!! What does he do? How can he explain "her"? This is one of THE most creative---and HILARIOUS---movies I've ever seen!! Zoe Kazan, who plays Ruby, is soooooo sweet and loveable, you really WANT her to be REAL!! And wait till you see the ending!! As PERFECT a movie as I've ever seen!! Would rate high on ANY year's list!!)
Well, hope you enjoyed this post.
And try some of these movies/TV shows---if you haven't already!
Feel free to comment below!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Things that bother me
Haven't posted here since my initial post, and don't really have one central subject I want to pursue here.
So, just to keep the bed warm, I'll name a few things that bother me.
Movies with no ending
God, don't you hate it when a movie keeps you riveted for the first 99 minutes, then in the final 60 seconds (before the credits roll), it just.....stops?
Just saw "Gone Girl", and loved the first 99% of it.
Then it just ....didn't end.
Well, there WAS an "end", but I couldn't figure out who was guilty, who wasn't, and what would happen to these two assholes after.....the end.
(Haven't read the book, and can only hope it explains things! Books of movies sometimes do!)
High Heeled Porn
You know the type.
The woman comes to bed with 7 inch spike heels on....and nothing else.
Come ON!!
What woman goes to bed with HEELS on?
In fact, what woman doesn't REMOVE her heels the very moment she leaves the party or the board meeting?
And what MAN would RISK going to bed with a wild woman wearing those heels.....afraid he'll get impaled on them during the passionate sex to follow??
Stop that, Porn directors!
Fifth in a series
You know what I mean.
Just look at the latest USA Today Top 150 Best Selling Books list!
How many of those 150 are novels that state it's the "fourth in a series" or "fifth in a series".
And what's the story?
It's generally some form of love affair....sometimes with vampire elements.
So you read the blurb that says "Eve and Adam have sex." and go, SO??.
Why did it take FOUR fucking books to get to the......fucking??
What happened to novels that started.....and finished.....inside the covers of ONE book??
(And I'm NOT talking here about Detective series that have different stories involving the same characters!!)
Lesbians who say Lesbian porn doesn't show what THEY do in bed
I watch LOTS of lesbian themed porn!
I much prefer that kind to heterosexual porn.
(I've been straight my whole life!)
And I especially like lesbian-meets-straight woman porn.
But I've seen (or read) interviews with "real" lesbians, and invariably, they all say that the sex shown in lesbian porn is NOT how THEY have sex!
Have you seen the mainstream lesbian movie "Blue is the Warmest Color"?
I have, and I loved it (and the graphic novel by Julie Maroh).
I thought the sex was real....and HOT!!
It showed one girl eating out the other, with her face stuck between her ass cheeks, while the other did the same.....you know, the old "69" thing!
So if "real" lesbians don't do that in bed, what DO they do?
Don't they use strap-ons, like the actors do in lesbian porn?
((And even "amateur" lesbians do too....in "homemade" porn!)
Don't they "trib".....rubbing their vaginas against each other?
Don't they suck breasts, lick assholes, do "69"?
And if they don't, I again ask, What DO they do??
Please, tell me your secrets, ladies!!
Well, folks, I'm going to end this now.
But I'll be back.
Maybe sooner than you think.
And maybe with something....to talk about!
So, just to keep the bed warm, I'll name a few things that bother me.
Movies with no ending
God, don't you hate it when a movie keeps you riveted for the first 99 minutes, then in the final 60 seconds (before the credits roll), it just.....stops?
Just saw "Gone Girl", and loved the first 99% of it.
Then it just ....didn't end.
Well, there WAS an "end", but I couldn't figure out who was guilty, who wasn't, and what would happen to these two assholes after.....the end.
(Haven't read the book, and can only hope it explains things! Books of movies sometimes do!)
High Heeled Porn
You know the type.
The woman comes to bed with 7 inch spike heels on....and nothing else.
Come ON!!
What woman goes to bed with HEELS on?
In fact, what woman doesn't REMOVE her heels the very moment she leaves the party or the board meeting?
And what MAN would RISK going to bed with a wild woman wearing those heels.....afraid he'll get impaled on them during the passionate sex to follow??
Stop that, Porn directors!
Fifth in a series
You know what I mean.
Just look at the latest USA Today Top 150 Best Selling Books list!
How many of those 150 are novels that state it's the "fourth in a series" or "fifth in a series".
And what's the story?
It's generally some form of love affair....sometimes with vampire elements.
So you read the blurb that says "Eve and Adam have sex." and go, SO??.
Why did it take FOUR fucking books to get to the......fucking??
What happened to novels that started.....and finished.....inside the covers of ONE book??
(And I'm NOT talking here about Detective series that have different stories involving the same characters!!)
Lesbians who say Lesbian porn doesn't show what THEY do in bed
I watch LOTS of lesbian themed porn!
I much prefer that kind to heterosexual porn.
(I've been straight my whole life!)
And I especially like lesbian-meets-straight woman porn.
But I've seen (or read) interviews with "real" lesbians, and invariably, they all say that the sex shown in lesbian porn is NOT how THEY have sex!
Have you seen the mainstream lesbian movie "Blue is the Warmest Color"?
I have, and I loved it (and the graphic novel by Julie Maroh).
I thought the sex was real....and HOT!!
It showed one girl eating out the other, with her face stuck between her ass cheeks, while the other did the same.....you know, the old "69" thing!
So if "real" lesbians don't do that in bed, what DO they do?
Don't they use strap-ons, like the actors do in lesbian porn?
((And even "amateur" lesbians do too....in "homemade" porn!)
Don't they "trib".....rubbing their vaginas against each other?
Don't they suck breasts, lick assholes, do "69"?
And if they don't, I again ask, What DO they do??
Please, tell me your secrets, ladies!!
Well, folks, I'm going to end this now.
But I'll be back.
Maybe sooner than you think.
And maybe with something....to talk about!
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