A couple of flicks I've run off in the past few days from my sickbed:
The Game Plan (2007) - Aging but game egomaniacal pro quarterback discovers literally on his doorstep an unknown eight-year-old daughter just as he heads for his last shot at a Super Bowl ring. Hi-larity ensues, at least in theory. Ya know, I have to admit that I honestly like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He's charismatic, reasonably articulate, good-humoured and, seemingly, faintly aware of his own absurdity. But it isn't enough to save this dog, which was thin, cliched and at times downright icky. (Fairly late in the movie it's revealed that the girl's mom - who we are led to believe is away on a business trip - has been killed six months previously in a car accident, thus getting rid of the obvious roadblock in the burgeoning romance between The Rock and the (admittedly) shmokin Roselyn Sanchez, who plays the kid's ballet teacher. The woman who we were led to believe is the girl's mom is, in fact, her aunt.) I was particularly put off by the girl herself, who spoke with that innocent yet cynical Wisdom of the Child attitude that makes me want to reach for a brick. No eight year old talks that way - unless they've seen too many recent movies about eight year olds.
But Tom, you're no doubt saying, this really is just a kid's movie. Lighten up. Well, maybe. But that's another of my beefs. The Rock shouldn't be doing this sort of thing. Instead, he ought to be making more cheesy action flicks about ancient swordsmen, space rangers and bounty hunters. Build up more of a cult following. Then go for the change of pace. Aaaahnold never could have pulled off Kindergarten Cop without all those Conan and Terminator movies and whatnot behind him. Also, if this is what passes for a kid's movie these days, I don't want mine anywhere near them.
Oh, one other thing. The blooper selection (always a favorite of mine) was cast as one of Marv Albert's classic gag reels. (Albert has a small part in the movie.) It was a neat idea, but didn't work very well. I'd rather see the goofs by themselves, not with Marv (or anyone else) talking over them.
One and a half orgles out of five.
L.A. Story (1991) - Steve Martin's "homage" to Los Angeles, sometimes called the west coast counterpart to Woody Allen's Manhattan, although frankly I don't think there's any comparison. I've seen this film only once before, when it first came out. I recall that my reaction then was, "Eh, pretty nice." My reaction now is.....eh, pretty nice. Although every now and again it reaches an almost lyric quality (I like the gravedigger scene in particular), most of this movie is just, well, nice. What else can I say? A bit quirky, a bit flowery, but mostly not all that deep. Although he is obviously a very intelligent and artistic guy, something in me suggests that Steve Martin is not the sort of actor whose work is going to hold up over the long term. I don't think he's anywhere near as subtle or deep as, for example, Bill Murray.
Also, the fact is that I can't stick Sarah Jessica Parker.
Howsomever, I had completely forgotten about Patrick Stewart's extremely funny cameo as the Matre 'D of L'Idiot. That almost was worth the price of the rental alone.
Three orgles out of five.
The Player (1992) Robert Altman's insider-Hollywood story of murder and blackmail. Better than I remember from when I saw it in the theatre way back when. I can't stand Tim Robbins' politics, but he is a very good actor. And I can't stand Altman's politics, but the man sure knows how to shoot a movie.
My only problem with this sort of thing is that there is a certain falsity about Hollywood types doing a movie about the awfulness of Hollywood types. Although the film is loaded with cameos of bigshots purporting to lampoon themselves, my guess would be that they are collectively so far down inside the cocoon that most of them don't even really appreciate what they are doing. Or perhaps they do. That might explain why the rehab centers are all so full.
My only other problem with this film is that it contains one of the most gratuitous trashings of an innocent character - I refer to Cynthia Stevenson's Bonnie - that I can recall ever seeing. Sure, you'll say it is just part of the fallout. But it didn't have to be.
Four orgles out of five.
Want to drop some pounds? Get yourself one of these stomach bugs! After 72 hours of nothing but tea, gatorade and the odd saltine, I clocked in this morning at 151 pounds. My normal weight is up in the 158-160 range. Those of you who have met me know that I'm not all that big to begin with, so nine pounds is a pretty good chunk o' Robbo change.
Of course, I was already a bit low when the bug hit. I've been on travel a goodish bit the past few weeks (and am headed out again next week). I always lose weight on these trips, as 1) I usually only manage one meal a day, 2) I typically sleep terribly, and 3) my already chipmunk-like metabolism gets ramped up an extra notch due to the stress.
Ah, well. The good news this morning is that although the plumbing is still cramping up, the mere thought of food is no longer revolting to me. Past experience says this means that the thing has about run its course. I certainly hope so: the in-laws blow into town tonight and tomorrow we're supposed to go out to din-dins at J. Gilbert's, a local steakhouse. They've got a gimongous Cowboy Ribeye that I always order, and I want to be able to do it justice.
In the meantime, here's a little veterinary humor for Friday. I especially like the coffee theme. Where could I get one of those perkilators grafted on to my head?
1
Yeah, I had a nasty week long flu/pneumonia this past January. I dropped 10 pounds in that week.
Posted by: rbj at May 16, 2008 12:16 PM (UgG6+)
2
A girlfriend of mine in college had a stomach bug and lost 15 pounds. Her friends would all come over to sit in her room and try and drink from her cups, trying to get it. None of them got even a sniffle.
Posted by: Katie at May 16, 2008 12:54 PM (kZVsz)
3
I lost 15 pounds in December because I got giardia (sp?) which is a disease animals get from drinking water with feces in it (which I don't remember doing). I got calls from infectious disease officials and everything. They were like "Have you been traveling?" and I was all "Yes. To Akron." And they were all, "Africa?" And I was all "No. AKRON."
The weight loss was heavenly.
Here's the bad new for you though: You will gain it all back IMMEDIATELY. I tried to keep it off, but it all came back.
4
Pray you are feeling much better for the weekend! Nasty way to lose weight.
Posted by: JB in Florida at May 16, 2008 10:54 PM (S0z6q)
5
On Giardia, the entire day care center was closed for a few weeks due to giardia, nothing to fool around with as it is highly contagious in close settings.
As for your restaurant trip Robbo - may I suggest the "cowgirl cut" this time around? You might appreciate it some time up the road when the question becomes "should we ream his arteries out?"
Normally I leave this sort of thing to the guys over at the Sandcrawler, but as I watched this video of the London police trying (and failing) to deal with Islamist radicals, I couldn't help but thinking of the streets of Rome full of Goths and Vandals in the mid 5th Century.
Britain? Stick a fork in her. I'm afraid she's done.
thanks to four justices on the California Supreme Court, gay marriage has been revived as a point of contention in an election year. Watch Obama and SWMNBN dance around it before denouncing the topic as a mean-spirited "wedge issue" designed to distract voters from the "real issues."
For those of you (among our 3 or 4 remaining regular readers**) who are interested in an update regarding Robbo's stomach bug, let's just say that the ol' tum itself feels a bit better and that my troubles are, ah, behind me.***
(**Yes, I'm beginning to become concerned at the apparent slump in Llamas Preferred. I recognize that this is my own damn fault, of course, but it isn't any less disappointing for all that. I always knew I was the second - or perhaps the third or fourth - string of this little operation, but what with Steve-O's self-imposed hiatus, the traffic figgahs proving it are a bit on the painful side. As Mary Chapin Carpenter sings, "the stars might lie but the numbers never do.")
(*** A baseball joke of a good 25 or 30 years ago. Spot the player involved.)
Not only is Barack Obama having a hissy fit over comments the President made in Israel that didn't even name him, but his fellow partyleaders are completely losing control of their bowels over this.
Hey, I guess if the umbrella fits...
UPDATE: Ed Morrissey explains how Obama and the Dems really screwed the pooch on this one...
Obama and his surrogates drew those connections themselves. Instead of acknowledging the historical truth of appeasement’s failures, they chose to argue with it. Obama could have taken the smart route and embraced it to explain how he understands the lessons of appeasement, which is why his talks with Iran would not result in it. Instead, he got volcanically defensive, which suggests that even Obama sees the parallels between his everything’s-on-the-table approach and the Chamberlain diplomacy which resulted in dismantling Czechoslovakia.
And if Obama considers discussion of foreign policy “divisive”, then he should hie himself right back to Academia. Guess what, Senator? Presidential elections focus on foreign-policy principles, and if you can’t defend yours, then you have no business running for office.
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There is a long held Internet rule (first applied to Usenet and email listserve discussions) that, in a heated argument, the first person to mention Hitler automatically loses--it's just so predictable and unimaginative. I certainly think it can now be applied to blogs as well, if not human discourse in general. So:
You lose.
Loser.
Posted by: Pep at May 15, 2008 03:47 PM (5pD1V)
2
If you are going to be talking in Israel about why US alliance is important, my guess is that the subject of "never again" might come up (especially given the tone of comments from Iran, and Hamas), and when it does come up, I think some reference to 1930's Germany might come up.
The issue of calling people Nazis when you are talking about something completely unrelated to Nazis is problematic. But Iran is acting like the Germans were acting - or they are saying similar things anyway.
I don't suppose you are at all familiar with the types of things that the Germans - the Nazis in particular - said about the Jews in the 1930s. I wouldn't be surprised to find that you never heard of Krystalnacht. While you probably know the name Auschwitz, I would be surprised if you could name 4 other death camps without access to Google. (Dachau, Bergan-Belsan, Buchenwald, Chelmno, ... can you name any others?)
You really need to come to grips with the fact that the Nazis did exist, they did aim to exterminate the Jews, and the Iranian government has stated its goal is to follow in those footsteps. Talking about this, doesn't make anyone a loser.
Saying you can't talk about Nazis and antisemitism in the world today, does make you a loser.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at May 15, 2008 06:07 PM (Dygji)
3
Well, the President was giving a speech and making a salient point. He wasn't in a "heated argument".
Funny thing, Hitler is actually a relevant topic when speaking before a crowd of Jews.
Now it's the Dems who've started a heated argument over...nothing, really.
So:
Being as you're the first person to mention Hitler in a blog comment, not me, that makes you the loser.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at May 15, 2008 09:26 PM (Dygji)
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Wah, Wah, wah...My feeeeelllllinnngss are hurt. That's what I'm hearing from Sen Obama. President Bush was reiterating a theme from time immoral.
And suddenly, Sen Obama, Sen Clinton and the rest of the Democrat Politburo crying their feelings were hurt, false political attacks, etc. Well, if the President of the US can't show any backbone abroad, then the Democrats need to rethink why they are running for President.
Posted by: kmr at May 16, 2008 05:05 PM (pzJbm)
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Obama-Maud'Dib has really thin skin. He takes every damn thing personally. What a douche!
Posted by: nuthinhere at May 18, 2008 05:27 AM (blNMI)
The president did not name Obama or any other Democrat, but White House aides privately acknowledged the remarks were aimed at the presidential candidate and others in his party.
White House officials indicated that the criticism applied to Obama, who has said that as president he would rely on greater diplomacy to improve relations with unfriendly nations.
Oh no! Diplomacy!? Like what Reagan did with the Soviet Union!? How terrifying!
"Privately, White House officials said the shoe fits the Democratic frontrunner."
So someone’s lying:
A) either the White House in their official denials or
B) the White House in their off-the-record remarks or
C) the various press outlets claiming to have gotten the off-the-record remarks.
But if it’s the last option, why hasn’t the White House denounced those off-the-record remarks and demanded the press reveal their sources since, in that case, there are no sources? They’re claiming no one in this administration gave those off-the-record remarks. So if they’re not real they’d undoubtedly want to clear that up right quick.
In other words, the only one that makes sense? The White House is lying when they claim Bush wasn’t talking about Obama.
How unusual. Leave a flaming bag of shit on the doorstep, ring the bell and run away.
If Obama's going to act like a thin-skinned little pussy just because his foreign policy naivety is called into question, he has no business running for President.
9
The same foreign policy--"talk to other countries"--that Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan all held?
Wow! I can't believe you called Reagan a pussy.
Posted by: scott at May 21, 2008 10:18 AM (3HRzP)
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Um, Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan "talked" to the Soviet Union and China. And in each case with preconditions and from a position of strength.
Reagan didn't talk to tin-pot dictators like Khadaffi. He just shut him up but good. With airpower.
Obama isn't a pussy because because of his foreign policy expertise (or, rather, lack thereof). He's a pussy for whining when he's on the receiving end of a little criticism. Go re-read what I wrote, pinhead.
You don't hear Bush pissing and moaning like a little bitch when Obama hits him for "cowboy diplomacy".
If this tool can dish it out and not be able to take it he's in no way qualified to be President. Even some voters in his own party can see that.
11
Um, Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan "talked" to the Soviet Union and China. And in each case with preconditions and from a position of strength.
So...in other words, just what Obama's saying he'd do? Gracious. No wonder you're so upset!
Oh...wait...
Reagan didn't talk to tin-pot dictators like Khadaffi. He just shut him up but good. With airpower.
Um...that'd be the same Khadaffi who's still in power? Yeah, good call, Gary. Boy, did Reagan show him!
But now I'm confused. Are you saying Iran's not a serious threat? So you completely disagree with what John McCain said? And if it's not a serious threat, why are we so scared of 'em?
You don't hear Bush pissing and moaning like a little bitch when Obama hits him for "cowboy diplomacy".
Of course not. He's too much of a coward, so he hides behind "anonymous White House officials."
I love how you don't even bother to argue that the White House didn't lie. Even its most ardent supporters can't deny it anymore. It's just business as usual for this adminstration. What amazes me is that you're fine with that.
Posted by: scott at May 21, 2008 10:47 AM (3HRzP)
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Khadaffi is in power but has been hiding in a hole for the last twenty years. His claim on the Gulf of Sidra was withdrawn and he ceased to be a concern. Actually, that worked out pretty well.
Is "Bush Lied" a Torette's-like tic with you guys are something?
Or do you just throw that one in when you want to change the subject?
Obama is ready to sit down with Ahmadinajad and ask "what can the U.S. do to make you happy so you won't pursue nuclear weapons technology?"
And Hamas just can't wait to have a friend in the White House.
"Gotta Admit..Answers A Whoooole Lot Of Nagging Questions" **
I'm fighting off a stomach bug today, surely the most pernicious of ailments. (How fair is it that one should feel so drained and yet so absolutely horrified by the concept of food at the same time?) So posting may be pretty light.
However, a friend and regular reader sent this to the Tasty Bits (TM) Mail Sack, and I pass it along for your enjoyment:
A History Lesson on Railroad tracks.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England , and English expatriates built the US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.
Why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used that wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break on some of the old, long distance roads in England , because that's the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (and England ) for th eir legions. The roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match for fear of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.
So the next time you are handed a Specification/Procedure/Process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with it?' you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.) Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its laun ch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRB's. The SRB's are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRB's would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRB's h ad to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRB's had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determ ined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a hor se's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything... and CURRENT Horses Asses are controlling everything else.
I've no idea whether parts or all of this are factually true, although it seems plausible enough. However, I've no doubts about what one might call the Greater Truth of the story.
** Spot the quote.
I've been a fan of your blog for nigh on a long time.
Turned on to you from our mutual friend, Steve-o...who, I've noticed, hasn't contributed recently...or at least not very often when I check...which is perhaps weekly.
Can you tell him I miss him? Where is that Llama off to?
Regards,
Barry
Posted by: Vic Barry at May 15, 2008 03:21 PM (v869R)
Posted by: Ed Flinn at May 16, 2008 07:52 AM (vyb7/)
4
The quote comes from the immortal Bloom County. The quote in question comes from a Sunday strip where Milo explains just how Gary Hart will win the 1988 election.
...And yes, I do read too many comics, thanks for asking...
Posted by: Casey Tompkins at May 19, 2008 01:03 AM (RJSy/)
Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution by Mark Puls.
If you're looking for a very quick survey of the life of Henry Knox (and Tom, who isn't?), then this is probably the book for you. But contrary to the jacket blurb by Joseph Ellis, this is hardly what I would call the "definitive biography" of the man.
According to Puls, Knox was essentially the unknown Wonder Man of the Revolution, and "visionary" is not too bad a descriptive term. Knox appears to have been a more or less self-taught master tactical artilleryman, and, if Puls is to be believed, following on Knox's spectacular cross-country movement of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston and his subsequent fortification of Dorchester Heights in 1776 leading to the British evacuation of that city, Washington practically did not breathe without consulting him first. But this vision of Knox's was not confined to the battlefield and did not stop when the last gun had fired: he was an avid organizer of arsenals and supply lines, an early proponent of a military academy at West Point, a critical figure in the establishment of the United States Navy and even a prescient advocate for the total revamping of the Articles of Confederation into a form very similar to the Constitution which was eventually drafted.
Unfortunately, Knox appears to have been less happy in his personal life. Abandoned by his father when a child and forced to fend for himself and his family as an apprentice bookseller, he eventually worked his way up to wed a prominant Boston lady who left her Tory family for his sake. Although they were married nearly fifty years, nine out of their twelve children died prematurely and they were continually plagued by debt and separation. And in one of those goofy twists of fate, the old war hero who had been at Boston, Trenton, Princeton, Valley Forge and Yorktown, died from an infection contracted when he got a chicken bone stuck in his throat at dinner.
Puls throws all this together in a brisk and, to me, far too surfacy manner, sometimes jumbling facts about Knox's personal and professional life in a way that doesn't make immediate sense. He also dances back and forth into pop-psychology about Knox's fatherless childhood and the surrogate father figure that Washington became to him later on, always dangerous ground imho. And ultimately (because, I think, of the style of the book), Puls never satisfactorily answers the burning question: If Knox was one of the foundation stones of the Revolution, why is it that only history geeks have even heard his name these days? Sure, Knox was an ardent Federalist and his fame diminished when that party's fortunes crashed, but so were other now well-known figures like Adams and Hamilton (for the latter of whom Puls seems to display some hostility).
Puls' book also contains some technical flaws. First, there are a number of rayther glaring missprints which suggest a not-too-thorough editing job. Also, Puls has a habit of identifying correspondence as, e.g., "in a letter dated Friday, July 18, 1787" that began to make me twitch after a while. Who cares what day of the week it was written? And if it is important, why so? Puls does not elaborate.
There are also some curious substantive omissions and errors. For example, Puls notes the longstanding friendship between Knox and Gen. Nathaniel Greene, and while he refers in general to Greene's success in the southern theatre, he never once identifies the Battle of Cowpens, Greene's great victory over Cornwallis that was critical in Cornwallis' decision to retreat into Virginia, where he was eventually trapped at Yorktown. I note this simply because Puls does make numerous references to other critical battles in which Knox and his friends did not participate directly, such as those at Saratoga. Also, at one point Puls states that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined by the French Revolutionaries in January, 1793. This is incorrect and just plain sloppy: Louis himself was beheaded then, but the mob did not do away with the Queen until October of that year. Also, there is not a single map, diagram or picture in the entire book. Particularly given Puls discussion of the siege of Boston and Washington's attacks on Trenton and Princeton, I think such aids would have been very useful.
All in all, however, I think the book was well worth my impulsive purchase of it. As I say, a good overview of an interesting man. But those looking for more indepth scholarship might want to seek it elsewhere.
1
Actually, Cowpens was Morgan v. Tarleton, not Greene v. Cornwallis. Maybe you're thinking of Guilford Courthouse, the phyrric vistory for Cornwallis that preceded the race to the Dan?
Posted by: ScurvyOaks at May 19, 2008 05:28 PM (s7sYI)
And for those of you not necessarily interested in religious subjects but who still love the language, nip on over to Whispers in the Loggia anyway to hear the Vatican's chief Latinist Fr. Reggie Foster reel off some common contemporary political buzzwords in the language of Rome, plus see a pic of one of the world's only Latin ATM machines.
Yips! to regular reader Mink Monica for the linkie.
Heh. You know it's a good night at the ballpark when not only does your pitcher get his first win of the season, he also goes three for three at the plate. (Of course, you American League lowlifes wouldn't know what I'm talking about.)
Sorry, Gary, but we needed that one pretty badly.
When you first start working there, you like the smell. You learn how to differentiate the smell of freshly pulled espresso shots from the drip brew from the pound of coffee someone just ground for an idiot who was too cheap to pay out for a grinder, which would have ensured they had the freshest coffee in their home brewer. After a while, you don't notice the smell anymore (unless you work a open to close, and then it just feels as if your pores are expelling coffee grounds by the end of your fourteen hour shift). Then, when you're really sick of working for your coffee overlords, you get nauseated just walking into your store. Fortunately, the minute you quit, you get over the loathing. At least that's the way it worked for me. But by then I was hooked on the caffeine, so I had to get over my loathing: it was medically necessary.
This is probably longer than you were expecting, but you get used to it after a while. You also get used to smelling like it. Particularly your hands: they don't lose the smell of coffee until the coffee-stained calluses you gained from pulling thousands of shots fall off a few months after you quit.
I'm coming over to your house for a cup of coffee.
Posted by: Robbo the LB at May 13, 2008 09:27 AM (C31gH)
3
the pound of coffee someone just ground for an idiot who was too cheap to pay out for a grinder, which would have ensured they had the freshest coffee in their home brewer.
Not quite the freshest. My chef instructor buys his beans green, then uses an old air popcorn popper to roast them one pots worth at a time.
Posted by: Boy Named Sous at May 13, 2008 05:25 PM (IjiHk)
4
We've done that. It's the best way to get my African favorites just right - not too dark, not too light.
Rob's question was entirely rhetorical, as evidenced by Kathy's response - it was the dark master who was cheap and a slave driver whom Kathy had to overthrow, not her dark master the coffee bean, who keeps no hours and shares no sovereignty.
My favorite t-shirt from back in the day said, "There is black coffee. All else is tautology."
Posted by: tee bee at May 13, 2008 06:10 PM (zCu4z)
Damian Thompson has an amusingly horrifying post up over at the UK Telegraph today about Catholic Hymn-Writers Behaving Badly:
Please, please don’t imagine that this blog doesn’t appreciate the riches – nay, the treasures – of modern Catholic worship. A light-fingered friend of mine has just “borrowed” a hymn sheet from the back of a go-ahead parish. Prepare to have your spirits uplifted. The hymn is called “God is Good”. Here’s the chorus:
“God is good, we sing and shout it/God is good, we celebrate it
God is good, no more we doubt it/God is good, we know it’s true.”
But the real poetry is to be found in this verse:
“And when I think of his love for me/My heart fills with praise
And I feel like dancing/For in his heart there is room for me
And I run with arms/Opened wide/Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo”
Yes, that’s an exact quote. Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo. (Presumably during Holy Week the formula is changed to Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo.)
Alas, I can’t identify the latter-day Charles Wesley who wrote these words. There’s no name, merely a note indicating that the hymn can’t be performed without paying copyright. That’s so characteristic of post-Vatican II worship leaders-cum-hymn writers, many of whom have good reason to Praise the Lord every time they check their bank balances.
This is just an idle fantasy on my part, but if we end up with one of the right-on “magic circle” bishops as Cormac’s successor, perhaps Paul Inwood could compose a toe-tappin’ ditty to accompany these lyrics at the enthronement in Westminster Cathedral. All we’d need then would be a few willing souls to perform a Nicaraguan-themed liturgical dance in the aisles. How about Ma Pepinster and her team?
Heh.
Just goes to show that awfulness is truly ecumenical.
As a matter of fact, I have been almost uniformly lucky in my church-going experiences. Over at RFEC, most of the rector's occasional forays into 20th Century stuff - over the strident objections of the musickal director - are met with confused silence. It's true that he sometimes sneaks in "Go Tell It On The Mountain" or the odd Spiritual, but for the most part it's Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts, and a string of solid 19th Century Brit composers.
Meanwhile, in my new Catholic digs there is no nonsense whatsover. The hymns that accompany the "modern" Mass could come straight out of the Anglican hymnal (the pastor seems to have a particular fondness for Bach).
I happened to attend High Mass this weekend, where we were served up musick by one Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), a French organist and composer of whom I'd never heard who rubbed shoulders with Saint-Saens and Cesar Frank. I must say that his musick didn't impress me all that much, despite the fact that Widor felt he needed two choruses and two organs to get his point across. On the other hand, while it wasn't particularly moving, it also didn't require any tamboureens, guitars or liturgical dancers. And had anybody burst out with "hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo" in the midst of the Kyrie or the Gloria, they'd have been immediately turned over to the Inquisition.
1
There's a Widor piece that shows up a fair amount as a postlude in Episcopal churches: the toccata from his Symphony No. 5. Does this sound at all familiar? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKejfYzB3ak
Posted by: ScurvyOaks at May 12, 2008 02:50 PM (s7sYI)
2
Nope, doesn't ring any bells. But it is very much in keeping with the style of what I heard - very French and right on the edge of getting bouncy.
Posted by: Robbo the LB at May 12, 2008 02:57 PM (C31gH)
Hey, put those pitchforks down, someone could get hurt.
Posted by: rbj at May 12, 2008 03:35 PM (UgG6+)
4
I find it ironic that among my fellow evangelicals, I often have to defend the old hymns, yet now I find myself troubled by the depth of your scorn for moder praise music (regardless of the denominational setting). Yes, a lot of it is pablum, but there are also some wonderful songs being written. Not all are the doctrinal-lessons-to-a-tune that the great standards of the faith are, but a few are, and many do a wonderful job of expressing back to God the gratitude and devotion he deserves. As examples I'd offer up Rich Mullins, or Phil Keaggy.
Posted by: Boy Named Sous at May 12, 2008 08:16 PM (IjiHk)
5
Now it isn't really fair to find fault when people want to get paid for their church music.
Bach, one of my favorites, got paid - in that he was basically on retainer - for most of the organ music he wrote, including the liturgical music. And of course every era saw a lot of schlock. We only remember the ones that were good. Not surprising really.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at May 15, 2008 09:35 PM (Dygji)
Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell:
On second thoughts, let's not go to Northumbria. It 'tis a silly place.
(This is a follow up on my comments late last week. Yes, I did finish the book and yes, I feel vaguely ashamed of myself for it.)
I can readily imagine why someone ran this search. According to the radio, Prince William County and the other environs around the Dee Cee area have had something like seven inches of rain since the middle of last week, and it's still coming down. Indeed, my socks and shoes are still sopping from my commute in this morning.
Fortunately, Orgle Manor does not have a leaky roof. Our problem is the basement, into which water finds its way when the bottom of the driveway ponds up. This has been especially bad because the maples are throwing their seed pods now and the damned things keep clogging up the field drains. I don't even want to know what the workshop floor looks like right now.
The immortal Katharine Hepburn was born this day 101 years ago in Hartford, Connecticut.
Kate has always been something of a paradox to me. As regular Llama readers know, we're rayther a red-blooded crew around here, and Robbo's list of stage and screen, ah, crushes is mighty long. [Ed. - Indeed, anything in a skirt, one might say.] Quiet, you.
Hepburn is right up at the top of that list, yet she is one of the very few on it who does not excite what one might call the animal instincts. You (or at least I) can't imagine touching her in any way. Instead, her attraction is pretty durn near sexless. And yet, as I say, very powerful. Hence the paradox.
Posted by: GroovyVic at May 12, 2008 11:55 AM (DVkb2)
2
You are so gosh darn strange...you like her because she'd hurt you....
Posted by: Mrs. Peperium at May 12, 2008 03:43 PM (QkWtm)
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As Jeremy Irons said in that movie about the von Bulows, "You haff no idea."
Posted by: Robbo the LB at May 12, 2008 04:27 PM (C31gH)
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the uber right always seems to lust after the left wing actresses the most
Posted by: John Ryan at May 12, 2008 08:07 PM (TcoRJ)
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I'll go far as to say THE greatest actress of the 20th century. A presence so magnetic, the audience is absolutely compelled to watch whatever performance she gives.
She could go toe to toe with any leading man and make him a better actor for it in the end. Lighting in a bottle.
The Missus announced abruptly this afternoon, after having had to endure an ice-skating birthday party while Self snuck off for the nearly two hour High Mass, that she was going to celebrate Mother's Day by essentially ditching the rest of us and going off to have a spot of shopping, dinner and some new Patrick Swayze movie all on her own.
especially those whose children died for America and her allies. Words are never enough but Abraham Lincoln came the closest in a condolence note to a grieving mother:
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
