Mental Acid Reflux

My mind wanders . . . a lot. Chasing thoughts down yesterday's rabbit holes is rarely an activity worth sharing - except, perhaps, for today.

The other day I followed my wandering mind to my Grandpa Southard and the adventures we had together. His health has been poor of late, making this all the more apropos.

Most memorable was the glider ride, soaring over Mount Timpanogos some 17 years ago (adventurous as he is, he excused himself from the actual flight part). Next was the road trip to Montana and Glacier National Park. It was a pleasant meander down memory lane.

And then, just like in the movies, it was time for a musical intermission: you know, the time where you get up and get a snack at the drive-in.

Maybe that's a bad metaphor. Really, what was the last movie you watched that had a musical intermission? Ben Hur? Lawrence of Arabia? And who, anymore, has even seen that? There's a new poll question.

Anyway, it was a musical intermission - complete with a man in suspenders dancing in front of (and for) a pig. Not that the imagery was all that important to my wandering mind; it was the melody.

And while I was tempted to get a snack during this musical intermission, I had a mystery to solve (Jinkies!). This melody was somehow connected to my Grandpa. And he wasn't the one dancing in front of (and for) the pig.

This is all like mental acid reflux. Where does this stuff come from?

It didn't take long to figure out the pig movie: how many are there, anyway? Two? Babe and Babe: Pig in the City. Not having seen the sequel, I assumed it was the first Babe I had seen in my mind's eye. Great show, by the way - the movie, not the mental regurgitation.

Now that I had the correct movie, it was time to rewind and listen to the melody. For those of you who go through trying to remember melodies from a movie you haven't seen in years, you know that this is very difficult.

It took me two days.

And then I had an apostrophe. Lightning had just struck my brain. ("Well, that must hurt," says Captain Hook.) It all made sense!

It was Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns' 3rd movement from his 3rd symphony - the "Organ" symphony! (Not a concerto, mind you. The organ is not a solo instrument, but rather a symphony with an organ in it.)

While at my Grandpa's house in Oregon, I was introduced to this Saint-Saëns "organ" symphony. Relatively new to serious classical music, I appreciated this piece for how the organ could rattle the china right off the shelves when played very loud. To boot, the melody is infectious and will stay with you forever. I wonder what the french word for "earworm" is?

When Babe came out, my dad I had an "a-ha" moment and prided ourselves in that fact. It was much like all of those snobby English majors who, after seeing a movie, say "the book is SO much better."

Of course, the suspendered man wasn't merely humming a symphony, but the number 3 song on the UK music charts from 1977.

I can see your eyes getting droopy; it is time for the video evidence.

First, the offending scene from my musical intermission.

That'll do, pig.

At the time, I thought the movie clever for adding lyrics to the Saint-Saëns melody. Little did I know it was an actual pop song some 18 years previous - à la A Lover's Concerto and Bach's Minuet in G.

See how many different "elements" you can identify in this video. Here's what I have so far: Hogwarts school of Witchcraft, A Bee Gee, Reggae, a MoTab organ and the Tijuana Brass.

Now for the actual 3rd movement. The famous melody becomes apparent within the first minute. I apologize for the horn section; they really need to be on a shorter leash.

As always, if you would like to do greater research into the matter, I have both Babe and a copy of the 3rd symphony for you to "borrow."

Movie Review: Young @ Heart

 

We could review Iron Man, but you've already seen it.

We could review Made of Honor, but we haven't enough invective. (Diahan says that I should link to the meaning of invective. Please look up, then come back.)

       

We could also likely guarantee that you haven't seen the movie we will review.

Which is a shame, really, because it is one of the most delightful movies we've seen in many moons.

It's a feel good movie that actually makes you feel good. (Most don't work well on us. Some say we are too critical. We think they're wrong and let me tell you why . . . )

********

It's a shame how self-consciousness robs so many of us of prime living time. As evidenced by our kids' love of life, we certainly aren't born with a worry of what others may think.

Only much later in life do we figure out that no one really cares. Even if we say now that we know no one really cares, we still live like they do.

In fact, they would have cared if only we were a bit more expressive and outgoing.

These pearls of wisdom aren't merely taken from recent fortune cookies, or as a reflection from an inspiring movie,  but from my job.

I work with senior citizens every day, from helping with finances to listening to stories about bombing runs over Germany. It is the most satisfying job I've ever had - precisely because of those I work with (or with whom I work, if you prefer).

With every afternoon I spend in a dusty living room, I walk away marveling at life lessons learned (not by me, of course). Invariably, one of those lessons is to live without fear.

Life's too short, they say.

********

Young @ Heart follows the seven weeks of life and rehearsing before The Big Concert.

Young @ Heart is also the name of the Massachusetts chorus started in 1982 and performing at the upcoming concert.

The average age of chorus members is 80. The average age of songs sung by the chorus: much, much younger.

In other words, they're rocking!

Coldplay, The Clash, Sting, Bee Gees, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown, Pink Floyd. All of them never sounded so good.

You might think it akin to one of those condescending "lighter side" segments on Good Morning America, but it is much deeper than that.

The music is really only the vehicle for us to get to know these individuals and really care for them. And then we wish that we would be as brave someday.

To be sure, it is a documentary. And as a good documentary shows, real life is much more exciting anyway.

It is not forced or cliched. To the contrary, its honesty is arresting and endearing.

Do yourself a favor and rent this one ASAP. You may just get the urge to take yourself a little less seriously. Just like our 3 year old and just like great grandma.

And being like them is always a good thing.

(And please don't rent Made of Honor.)

Inherit the Wind

 

"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." - Proverbs 11:29

A good satire  is timeless by virtue of its utility to the changing times.

Consider Gulliver's Travels: originally written as a parody of the then prevalent "traveler's tales" literary sub-genre, it has been since portrayed as pro-Soviet propaganda and, more currently, a criticism of religious intolerance (among other things).

Borrowing greatly from the satire is the roman à clef (sorry: thinly disguised fiction based on real life people/events).

Inherit the Wind is one of those good romans à clef, relevant to the original subject as well as today's applicable targets.

See, we've been watching so many new movies lately (Persopolis, Waitress, Once, Blue's Clues, etc.) that this week we made a selection from the Hollywood archives - a proper showing of what great cinema looks like.

The historical context for Inherit the Wind was the Scopes monkey trial of 1925, though the authors' parallel was the raging McCarthyism of the 1950s.

As you recall, the Scopes monkey trial tested a Tennessee law banning the teaching of evolution in the classroom. A circus from the beginning, the trial attracted the biggest political and legal names of the era, including the populist William Jennings Bryan and legal beagle Clarence Darrow. It turned out to be a duel of epic and national proportions, dramatically and earnestly captured in the movie at hand.

At first glance, it would be easy to describe the movie as a diatribe against evolutionists and fundamentalism. But as the brilliant ending subtly illustrates, it is a defense of all of the above: evolution, Darwinism, fundamentalism, agnosticism, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

It is a defense of the right to think - and rarely is there a movie equal to the task.

The rapid fire dialogue is the real star, though Spencer Tracy is amazing and Gene Kelly (as you've never seen him before - not dancing!) practically steals the show as the wise cracking allusion to H. L. Mencken - see the first clip below.

I don't quite remember how I came across Inherit the Wind and the play from which it was adapted. It was likely an English teacher of mine - or someone equally subversive.

Now it is our pleasure to share one of our all time movie favorites. More than likely, you'll read into the movie your own parallels - as a good roman à clef allows - because, heaven knows, there are some easy targets out there.

Of course, here is the obligatory note to friends: it's in black and white and all talk. But let us know what you think once you have watched it.

Now to whet your palate with YouTube clips before you rent the movie:

 

Gene Kelly as E. K. Hornbeck, the fictional equivalent of H.L. Mencken, introducing himself and setting the stage for the upcoming trial.

 

Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond, the fictional equivalent of Clarence Darrow, makes an impassioned speech on the futility of the trial.

Fantasia 2000 - From 1999 to Present

When Diahan and I were dating (oh, nine years ago), her parents had a timeshare in Sin City, NV. Somehow we made a trip out of the opportunity (I fully realize I am trying to tell a story here about our past - And I fully anticipate the correct version by Diahan in the comments).

Two things stand out about that trip: the first is that we saw Fantasia 2000 in glorious IMAX at the Luxor. The second memory to stand out was the walk back. I remember loudly singing "It Had to be You" to Diahan - and to the other people walking the street. "Loudly singing" - as volume always makes up for quality.

Nine years later I'm lying in our Luv Sac with a boy on either side of me, watching Fantasia 2000. As much as this was part of the boys' formal music education, it was also a little bit of perfection.

Who would have thought an evening of animated classical music and an impromptu Sin City Serenade would lead to nine years of elation?

Knowing I'm entering sentimental waters here, I'd best close by posting a couple clips from that wonderful evening's entertainment. Fantasia 2000 is not currently in print (locked in the Disney Vault), but nothing escapes YouTube. I bought my copy a couple weeks ago online. Once I received it I realized why it was so cheap: another wonderful Chinese knock-off. Oh, well. The movie was the same, even if the Chinese have no idea how to spell on the DVD case.

*****

The first clip is Respighi's Pines of Rome. You have to hand it to the animators who could match a symphonic poem about trees to flying whales.

 

This next clip is Jack's favorite: Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. This one takes less of an imaginative leap to see the graduation march set to Noah's Ark. But it has Donald Duck.

 

Lastly, is the finale: Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. The music is what makes this amazing, though the story itself is a pleasant attempt at actually incorporating a firebird (the mystical creature, not the Pontiac).

Perhaps to complete the day, I ought to offer Diahan another ear-splitting rendition of "It Had to be You."

Cloverfield Takes Down Manhattan

Cloverfield finally had its day in the sun.

Gone was the competition with indie dramas or classic black and whites. There was no multiple choice, no "but what about . . . Cloverfield, honey?" The dust was blown off the disc and the speakers were practically blown out.

Last night marked the first evening sans wife and kids. Their having flown the coop at 6:00 a.m. left me a lone man in the wilderness, toiling by the sweat of mine own brow - and free to watch Cloverfield.

After a quick visit to our neighborhood grocer (what does he do? Groce?), I was stocked with yogurt smoothies, horchata and Drumsticks - The Original Sundae Cone.

For the Cloverfield uninitiated - I once counted myself among your numbers - this is not your average monster-runs-amok movie. It is so much less, yet more, than that. Call it Blair Witch meets Godzilla - and I have never seen either one of those movies. Blair Witch because it looked dumb; Godzilla because it looked dumb. But add them together and you get le cinema magnifique!

I won't bother with a plot as I have already probably given too much away, especially when you consider how little there is really to give away. (I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Manhattan.)

Fortunately, Diahan was absent. Her place was taken - in the strictest platonic sense - by a neighbor. His wife probably wouldn't have liked it either.

It was loud. There were monsters. It was filmed as if by your own  camcorder (which has an amazing battery life). Lots of screaming. Exploding people. Loud. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!

We loved it. It is in many ways the anti monster movie because the monster is very rarely on film - to a masterful effect.

If you are in the mood for a popcorn film requiring suspension of all disbelief, I highly recommend waiting until the wife is out of town.

Captain Blood

Acting on Jared's recommendation, (which I do often in the realm of movies and books) I read Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini. Now, this, to me, sounded like the kind of book a man likes to read to relive his little boyness (yes, Jared apparently was a little boy once). A swashbuckling tale of escaped slaves sailing the Caribbean at a time when pirating was at its peak. To quote Bernard Cornwell, who wrote the forward to the tale:

To call a tale a swashbuckler is not to pay a compliment. The word was first recorded in the late sixteenth century and meant someone who made a great noise by beating a sword or spear against a shield.

Though nowadays a swashbuckler is a term for an adventure with a great deal of action, this did not really seem like my kind of book. I really can't enjoy a book when I can't picture what is going on, and I know so little about sailing that terms like aft and port and main mast and bow make me skip paragraphs, or possibly even chapters. Likewise, I am not a huge fan of reading about planning of battles, battle strategies, or really the battles themselves.

Because it was my sister-in-law who recommended the book to Jared and, sadly, that one quality this book does have which peaked my interest enough, it is a love story- and I am a sucker for love stories.

And, low and behold, I loved it. Fantastic dialog. Witty and so well written. Plus, the whole battle planning/execution parts weren't lengthy or too detailed, and the sailing jargon was kept to a minimum.

The movie was cheesy as all get out, entirely fitting for this book. I really enjoyed the performances, and it is always fun to see how they adapt a book to the big screen. The movie was produced in 1935- a classic age for this classic tale of good versus evil, of beautiful damsels and gallant gentleman. Though this trailer boasts a new color-dipped version, I would highly recommend the original black and white, as I think when you read the book, you read it in black and white- it is just that classic.

Trailer: Captain Blood

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Myrna Loy Takes Down Monster

It was movie time again the other night - one more opportunity for Cloverfield to be denied. And it was. You'd think I'd learn my lesson.

However, we did watch some fantastic cinema, circa 1941. We're suckers for old movies. Both of us had parents who knew that the older it was generally meant the better it is. That is not to say we don't like our new releases, as cloyingly saccharine as they may be in comparison. After all, there are very few original movies anymore - everything is a remake.

Cloverfield vanquished, Myrna Loy and William Powell took to the screen in Love Crazy. Few movie couples have achieved such prominence as have Loy and Powell. They were the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan of the '30s and 40's - sophisticated and extremely witty. They made 14 movies together. I would put them right below Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and above Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I guess while I'm name dropping, I ought to include my list of greatest screen couples, in no particular order, yet:

(I have no idea how to change the flower bullet points)

• Myrna Loy and William Powell
• Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn
• Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
  
• Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
• Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• Woody Allen and Diane Keaton

Who have I missed?

Any who, back to Myrna Loy and William Powell. These two are famous for the wise cracking Thin Man movie series, which you should run - not walk - and rent. As for Love Crazy, the story was that Loy mistakenly thinks Powell has cheated on her and demands a divorce. Powell, knowing his innocence, decides to fake insanity so as to delay the divorce and win her back. Hilarity ensues as we see Powell turn cuckoo for friends, strangers and the court to see.

It's three and a half out of four stars. The ending is a little slow, but the writing is tight and the comedy madcap.

I have two clips, both of which I cannot embed here. The first is the actual 1941 trailer from Turner Classic Movies. The second is a nine minute movie clip of Powell going crazy at a dinner party. The last four minutes of the clip are rolling-in-the-aisle funny.

Note for my friends: The movie is, in reality, in black and white.

"Real Girl" takes down Monster

Cloverfield came in the mail a couple days ago (it's Christmas every other day in our mailbox with Netflixtm). Diahan didn't know anything about Cloverfield, so I showed her the trailer. I forgot all about the shakey cam thing - and that she is 9 months pregnant. Remembering this - with a little assistance- I still lobbied to watch the shakey-cam-monster-wreaking destruction-J.J. Abrams-scarefest. Fantastically, I was overruled.

Instead, we watched Lars and the Real Girl. She thought it was to be a by the book comedy; I knew it was going to be a different kind of comedy, so I didn't share the trailer beforehand. It probably wouldn't have mattered. WE LOVED IT. Yes, it is PG-13, but a very clean PG-13 largely due to the doll which remains fully clothed - mostly - well never in a bad . . . nevermind.

It's hilarious, thoughtful and a real feel-good movie. It nails small town USA to a tee. Diahan cried - I had something in my eye. Highly recommended. If independent movies are not your bag, you will still like this one.

Disclaimer for some of my friends: there is a lot of talking in the movie. You might be better off with Cloverfield.