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Saturday, July 4, 2015
Magic Watch: Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
I won't ponder too long the lack of an Oxford Comma in the title of this movie, but I will say I lost a full two minutes making sure of comma placement in this post.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) is one of those movies that you hear about a lot, but not one I ever had any particular interest in seeing, aside from a cast that includes some great talent. A just-post Vertigo Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak (yowza), Elsa Lanchester (formerly the Bride of Frankenstein), and a pre-Some Like it Hot and The Apartment Jack Lemmon. I actually quite like casual magic/ shadow magical cultures in my movies (see: Mary Poppins), but I dunno. I watched Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie growing up, and I wasn't quite sure what all I'd get out of this that's different - aside from the cast.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) is one of those movies that you hear about a lot, but not one I ever had any particular interest in seeing, aside from a cast that includes some great talent. A just-post Vertigo Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak (yowza), Elsa Lanchester (formerly the Bride of Frankenstein), and a pre-Some Like it Hot and The Apartment Jack Lemmon. I actually quite like casual magic/ shadow magical cultures in my movies (see: Mary Poppins), but I dunno. I watched Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie growing up, and I wasn't quite sure what all I'd get out of this that's different - aside from the cast.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Patriotic Watch: Johnny Tremain (1957)
When I was a wee lad, I remember being a fan of this 1957 Disney production. Back in the day, Disney did a lot of live-action movies of varying quality (seriously, Disney, where the @#$% is my BluRay edition of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?), and often featured stories set in the past.
Originally intended as part of the Disneyland TV series, Johnny Tremain ended up better than anyone was figuring, so Walt decided to repackage it for theatrical distribution.
The movie probably left a greater impression on me than I realized, because in rewatching the movie three decades later, I kept saying "oh, yeah, right!" and remembering scenes as they unfolded. But I doubt I'd thought about the movie for at least the last fifteen years. I do recall that we watched a lot of Wonderful World of Disney growing up (and early Disney Channel) and read our share of historical fiction, so we got a lot of the G-rated high adventure stuff in our diet that, wonder upon wonders, fit pretty neatly in with the Disney World "Liberty Square" look and feel for history.* If it was intended to make a tri-corner hat wearing nerd out of me, mission accomplished, Walt.
Originally intended as part of the Disneyland TV series, Johnny Tremain ended up better than anyone was figuring, so Walt decided to repackage it for theatrical distribution.
The movie probably left a greater impression on me than I realized, because in rewatching the movie three decades later, I kept saying "oh, yeah, right!" and remembering scenes as they unfolded. But I doubt I'd thought about the movie for at least the last fifteen years. I do recall that we watched a lot of Wonderful World of Disney growing up (and early Disney Channel) and read our share of historical fiction, so we got a lot of the G-rated high adventure stuff in our diet that, wonder upon wonders, fit pretty neatly in with the Disney World "Liberty Square" look and feel for history.* If it was intended to make a tri-corner hat wearing nerd out of me, mission accomplished, Walt.
Today you should thank James Madison for the Bill of Rights
So. The Bill of Rights.
It's not that the idea of a listing of citizens' rights hadn't been a part of government documentation before. The states had included similar language in their own constitutions. But when we got close to wrapping up our own Constitution, James Madison himself - the guy who brought the Constitution draft to the meeting that became the Constitutional Convention, didn't see the point.
Madison thought that we had that stuff sorted and that the Constitution already covered what the government considered a right. But... not so much. Figuring out what was important, what people would fight over, etc... was seen as a hindrance in just getting our feet under us, and so it became the work of the first Congresses to sort it out.
The Anti-Federalists really did want that Bill of Rights, and made their case loudly and often as it would help protect individual liberty. You'll notice the Bill of Rights gets brought up a lot still today when it comes to how we relate to how our Government is allowed to deal with us (although people tend to cite their favorite Amendment while ignoring others, and interpret the Amendments to suit their own needs as often as they do their religious text of choice).
When the first Congress went into session, the Bill of Rights was the hot topic, and even James Madison eventually decided this was a good idea, if for no other reason that to belay the likelihood NOT having such a thing would lead to another go at an all-new Constitution, and we'd never get on with it as a Country. This is one of those places where you realize people are talking past one another, or are in "violent agreement" - seemingly arguing but actually wanting the same thing for different reasons. Madison agreed that we should have those Amendments so long as they were there to define personal liberty, and - apparently the only one willing to do any heavy lifting - Madison also drafted the Bill of Rights, but as inserts right into the body of the Constitution.
And, welcome to government work kids, because now it went to committee. And to the House and the Senate and back to Committee, all the while with our favorite workaholic, Madison, shepherding the process along.
Then, of course, you have to go out to the State legislatures for ratification... and... ugh.
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| He's here to protect your personal liberty (millennials, this is Bill the Cat and he was very relevant at one point. This sight gag is hilarious to your elders). |
It's not that the idea of a listing of citizens' rights hadn't been a part of government documentation before. The states had included similar language in their own constitutions. But when we got close to wrapping up our own Constitution, James Madison himself - the guy who brought the Constitution draft to the meeting that became the Constitutional Convention, didn't see the point.
Madison thought that we had that stuff sorted and that the Constitution already covered what the government considered a right. But... not so much. Figuring out what was important, what people would fight over, etc... was seen as a hindrance in just getting our feet under us, and so it became the work of the first Congresses to sort it out.
The Anti-Federalists really did want that Bill of Rights, and made their case loudly and often as it would help protect individual liberty. You'll notice the Bill of Rights gets brought up a lot still today when it comes to how we relate to how our Government is allowed to deal with us (although people tend to cite their favorite Amendment while ignoring others, and interpret the Amendments to suit their own needs as often as they do their religious text of choice).
 |
| Having done everyone's work and worrying for them, this is Madison at age 32. |
When the first Congress went into session, the Bill of Rights was the hot topic, and even James Madison eventually decided this was a good idea, if for no other reason that to belay the likelihood NOT having such a thing would lead to another go at an all-new Constitution, and we'd never get on with it as a Country. This is one of those places where you realize people are talking past one another, or are in "violent agreement" - seemingly arguing but actually wanting the same thing for different reasons. Madison agreed that we should have those Amendments so long as they were there to define personal liberty, and - apparently the only one willing to do any heavy lifting - Madison also drafted the Bill of Rights, but as inserts right into the body of the Constitution.
And, welcome to government work kids, because now it went to committee. And to the House and the Senate and back to Committee, all the while with our favorite workaholic, Madison, shepherding the process along.
Then, of course, you have to go out to the State legislatures for ratification... and... ugh.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Comedy Watch: Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Jamie informs me that we're getting eight "episodes" of all-new Wet Hot American Summer on Netflix, and I have no idea what that means. Because as far as I knew, until about 8:30 tonight, it was a movie I've seen once or twice and that I've always liked.
But way back in 2001, a pretty colorful group of actors and comedians came together to make a movie that, by all appearances, was intended to make them laugh, and if anyone else liked it, all the better. The movie was a spoof on the cliches of both summer camp movies (a brand of movie that I suspect has died out except in weird echoes as kids movies. I don't even need to Google it to know there has to be a Air Buddies movie where the puppies go to camp.) But there was a time when there were enough of those sorts of movies that they had their own cliches, I guess.
But way back in 2001, a pretty colorful group of actors and comedians came together to make a movie that, by all appearances, was intended to make them laugh, and if anyone else liked it, all the better. The movie was a spoof on the cliches of both summer camp movies (a brand of movie that I suspect has died out except in weird echoes as kids movies. I don't even need to Google it to know there has to be a Air Buddies movie where the puppies go to camp.) But there was a time when there were enough of those sorts of movies that they had their own cliches, I guess.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Putting Together the Constitution
After the British had thrown in the towel, the United States was faced with the same problem every teenager faces that day when they move out of their parents' house - sure, you have a whole of freedom, and that also means you've got the freedom to actually totally botch this whole "we're on our own" bit.
We started off with something called "The Articles of Confederation". A pretty solid document that took 3 years to ratify. It also almost immediately demonstrated that a gentlemen's agreement to act like a country sometimes but to have completely separate entities doing their own thing with only a bare central government doesn't for a nation make. Believe me, I work across multiple universities in a sort of handshake agreement, and you can lose a mind-boggling amount of energy corralling people when they have no real responsibility to each other. And I'm not out trying to make treaties with France.*
Sometimes a little central authority is a good idea. Like, when you need a central navy, maybe, and not just folks in boats with cannons saying "oh, yeah, we're the Cleveland navy. Totally legit."
There was also no real authority for taxation, which meant no money in the treasury to pay debts, defend ourselves in the future, etc... And foreign policy can be a bit sticky when you have no real head of state.
 |
| "Seriously? No one brought even one pen?" |
We started off with something called "The Articles of Confederation". A pretty solid document that took 3 years to ratify. It also almost immediately demonstrated that a gentlemen's agreement to act like a country sometimes but to have completely separate entities doing their own thing with only a bare central government doesn't for a nation make. Believe me, I work across multiple universities in a sort of handshake agreement, and you can lose a mind-boggling amount of energy corralling people when they have no real responsibility to each other. And I'm not out trying to make treaties with France.*
Sometimes a little central authority is a good idea. Like, when you need a central navy, maybe, and not just folks in boats with cannons saying "oh, yeah, we're the Cleveland navy. Totally legit."
There was also no real authority for taxation, which meant no money in the treasury to pay debts, defend ourselves in the future, etc... And foreign policy can be a bit sticky when you have no real head of state.
Happy Birthday Debbie Harry
Happy 70th Birthday to Debbie Harry, the ever-cutting-edge lead singer for Blondie, solo artist, actor, model, fashion icon, artist, former Playboy Club Bunny, CBGB overlord, pop goddess of the punk and new wave scenes, etc... et al...
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Another Eric Jonrosh masterpiece has resurfaced - The Spoils Before Dying
Finally. At last. Eric Jonrosh's most controversial work makes it to television. Jonrosh is a bitter pill for much of America to swallow, but swallow it we should, for Jonrosh's work isn't just about America. It's about US.
A spiritual sequel to The Spoils of Babylon, I cannot wait to see Jonrosh's look at a very different America finally get it's release.
Here's the trailer for Babylon, if you've somehow missed it.
A spiritual sequel to The Spoils of Babylon, I cannot wait to see Jonrosh's look at a very different America finally get it's release.
Here's the trailer for Babylon, if you've somehow missed it.
The Preamble to the US Declaration of Independence is the Most Boss Copy Put to Parchment
I kind of assume most Americans are aware of the situation as of July 4th, 1776. Maybe not.
War had broken out between England and the Colonies. The work of the First Continental Congress had not been able to persuade King George that rebellion was imminent were the Intolerable Acts not repealed. In the wake of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775, ready to begin forming an organized effort behind the military action already underway.
Curiously, it took some time for the Colonists to decide that the gunfighting between their own soldiers and British armies might mean they really needed to formally break with England. Granted, some of this was due to the long process of managing communication between the colonies and their representatives in Philadelphia.
Finally, in June 1776 the situation logically seemed to call for a formal statement, something to be shared not just with the public, but which would communicate the intentions of the Continental Congress to the world.
Thomas Jefferson was tapped to write the document. The work would receive word-smithing from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, but you can't argue with the results.
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| "Yes, but instead of 's', let's use 'f' everywhere. I think it'll really take off." |
Monday, June 29, 2015
Happy Anniversary to My Folks
Here's to The Admiral and KareBear, two of the finest people I know and the best parents I ever had.
Today marks their 46th Wedding Anniversary, I think. Something like that. I'm sure someone will tell me if my math is wrong.
Like all great romances, my parents met at a bar. My dad was in the Air Force, post-Vietnam, stationed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My mom was a local, finishing up college. I guess romance blossomed or some such. Booze will do that for you.
Soon, my dad got out of the Air Force and my mom married my dad and she moved to live with him in Miami, which I figure had to have been a heck of a culture shock. He was from Hialeah and went to community college for a while and my mom worked, then they both got into the University of Florida where my mom got her Masters in Education while teaching and my dad went straight from his undergrad to his Masters in Business. I think he was working at a 7-11.
Anyway, they've really managed to make this marriage business work. It ain't Ozzie and Harriet, but they do that teamwork thing as well or better than anyone I know.
In addition, they basically didn't mess up raising two kids of their own while helping with countless other kids and grown-ups via my mom's jobs teaching, through their church work, through philanthropic work, through friends, random people they meet, and countless other activities. And that's not to mention all the stuff they did for me and Jamie over the years (and my brother and his wife, too). And now they've stepped up as terrific grandparents for my nephew, Raylan.
If you want to know why I think a do-gooder like Superman is a pretty good idea, I grew up living with these two. They never asked for recognition or thought they were doing much more than what you were supposed to if you had the ability to do so. Good folks, my folks. Hard standard to live up to.
Happy Anniversary to a great set of parents.
I forgot to get you a card.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Monster Watch: Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)
The film classic Gojira (1954) has a completely different version known stateside as Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956). Released a while after the movie's initial Japanese showing, it features Raymond Burr cut into the movie as journalist Steve Martin - providing US audiences with an American-minded perspective on Godzilla's debut Tokyo stomping.
I feel like I must have talked about Gojira at length in the past, so I'll shorten the plot synopsis: a giant monster shows up in Japan, reaches Tokyo, f's it up something royal, a very cute girl is caught in a love triangle between a square and an eye-patched rogue scientist, they figure out how to kill Godzilla. Until the sequel.
I feel like I must have talked about Gojira at length in the past, so I'll shorten the plot synopsis: a giant monster shows up in Japan, reaches Tokyo, f's it up something royal, a very cute girl is caught in a love triangle between a square and an eye-patched rogue scientist, they figure out how to kill Godzilla. Until the sequel.
Lifetime Watch: A Deadly Adoption (2015)
I have now seen A Deadly Adoption, and... I can only tell you, it is something you must witness for yourself.
The thing about the movie is... it's totally a Lifetime movie. With other actors, nobody would bat an eye. It's some of the particulars of the algorithmic dialog of the script and the presence of Ferrell and Wiig that tip the game in any way, shape or form. There's no mugging, no pauses for laughs, just... you know, that's Ferrell and Wiig and completely bizarre style of high-stakes domestic melodrama that Lifetime has made their trademark.
Not too long ago, Wiig and Ferrell participated in a short series called The Spoils of Babylon that emulated the epic TV miniseries of the 1970s and 80s. There was no mistake what was going on there, and the framing device of Ferrell as fictional author/ director/ wine-enthusiast Eric Jonrosh reminiscing about the creation of the series just took it to the next level.
If this is the next phase in the Wiig/ Ferrell evolution, I'm all for it.
And, really, it says a lot about the network that they seem to have financed the movie and they're broadcasting it. I tip my hat.
Super Watch: Superman (1978)
So, yesterday, I journeyed to the Alamo South Lamar for a "Kid's Club" screening of Superman: The Movie (1978).
It's impossible to know how many times I've seen Superman, but I figure I'm pushing triple-digits at this point. Or maybe it's been a mere 70 times. Who knows? I've seen it in the theater so many times I've lost count - but I figure it's at least 10 at this point, and I would have skipped this one, but after going to Metropolis and reading that Larry Tye book, it just felt like serendipity that the movie was screening, and I should probably go.
"Kid's Club" screenings are always fun. As much as I enjoy the evening throw-back screenings of movies at the Paramount and Alamo, seeing movies with the original intended audience is always amazing. Superman runs something like two and a half hours, and I didn't hear a single anxious kid nor a peep out of anyone aside from some mild excitement during properly exciting scenes. There's a sweet spot you can hit where the movies are not as dull as some kids movies, but without over-stimulating kids with just too darn much going on up there on the screen - because I have absolutely witnessed that phenomenon, even in a Harry Potter movie, and the kids start just blanking out and futzing with their chairs or asking for Cheerios or whatever. And despite our weird idea that "kids are so advanced these days"*, the kids certainly don't know about or understand the difference between CGI FX and in-camera or practical effects. They just don't care, even if they're vaguely aware this doesn't look like other movies. And I've seen this again and again, including favorites like The Time Machine, Fantastic Voyage and Batman '66.
The kids even totally dealt with the "Can You Read My Mind" scene at face value. No ironic snickering, no groans of disapproval. It was kind of nice.
One other weird factoid about "Kid's Club" - they show the movies in 35mm, so the print yesterday was beat to hell, discolored in places and had audio issues, but nobody cared, including the kids. It may be the last time I get to see Superman in 35mm, so it was a nice treat.
Anyhow, it was a fun screening. I may want a break between screenings for a while as I did just watch the movie, like, three months ago, but I didn't regret going. Got to hang with Simon and his lady-friend, Tiffany, and we got some nifty plastic Superman rings from Toy Joy.
*what? Kids got better at being kids? That doesn't even make sense. They're just fine with adapting to the world they were born into that has stuff their parents didn't have at the same age.
It's impossible to know how many times I've seen Superman, but I figure I'm pushing triple-digits at this point. Or maybe it's been a mere 70 times. Who knows? I've seen it in the theater so many times I've lost count - but I figure it's at least 10 at this point, and I would have skipped this one, but after going to Metropolis and reading that Larry Tye book, it just felt like serendipity that the movie was screening, and I should probably go.
"Kid's Club" screenings are always fun. As much as I enjoy the evening throw-back screenings of movies at the Paramount and Alamo, seeing movies with the original intended audience is always amazing. Superman runs something like two and a half hours, and I didn't hear a single anxious kid nor a peep out of anyone aside from some mild excitement during properly exciting scenes. There's a sweet spot you can hit where the movies are not as dull as some kids movies, but without over-stimulating kids with just too darn much going on up there on the screen - because I have absolutely witnessed that phenomenon, even in a Harry Potter movie, and the kids start just blanking out and futzing with their chairs or asking for Cheerios or whatever. And despite our weird idea that "kids are so advanced these days"*, the kids certainly don't know about or understand the difference between CGI FX and in-camera or practical effects. They just don't care, even if they're vaguely aware this doesn't look like other movies. And I've seen this again and again, including favorites like The Time Machine, Fantastic Voyage and Batman '66.
The kids even totally dealt with the "Can You Read My Mind" scene at face value. No ironic snickering, no groans of disapproval. It was kind of nice.
One other weird factoid about "Kid's Club" - they show the movies in 35mm, so the print yesterday was beat to hell, discolored in places and had audio issues, but nobody cared, including the kids. It may be the last time I get to see Superman in 35mm, so it was a nice treat.
Anyhow, it was a fun screening. I may want a break between screenings for a while as I did just watch the movie, like, three months ago, but I didn't regret going. Got to hang with Simon and his lady-friend, Tiffany, and we got some nifty plastic Superman rings from Toy Joy.
*what? Kids got better at being kids? That doesn't even make sense. They're just fine with adapting to the world they were born into that has stuff their parents didn't have at the same age.
Signal Reads: Superman - The High Flying History of the Man of Steel (audiobook)
When I was driving between Indianapolis and Metropolis, Illinois, I cooked up a plan to listen to the audiobook of the fairly recent Larry Tye book Superman: The High Flying History of the Man of Steel. I've read a few comic and Superman histories before, and still hold of the Les Daniels book as the gold standard, with Gerald Jones' Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book as absolute and required reading. But it'd been a while since I read either and there's been a lot of history since then.
The book is very well researched and is a fairly complete and comprehensive but detached history of the character as a property, focusing on the origins and multiple iterations of the character from the influences on Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to the multiple forms of media the character has taken on and arguably conquered, to the ever-changing nature of Superman and the societal factors at play.
The book is very well researched and is a fairly complete and comprehensive but detached history of the character as a property, focusing on the origins and multiple iterations of the character from the influences on Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to the multiple forms of media the character has taken on and arguably conquered, to the ever-changing nature of Superman and the societal factors at play.
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