Yesterday, Jude had his first big track meet. 18 Catholic schools from the Greater Los Angeles area. Jude did great. No medals, but he really did well for himself, and totally bested his personal bests. For a brand new track team, they definitely made their mark. But this is all beside the point of this post.
Through a peculiar series of events, I somehow volunteered to give a ride to the meet to a 7th grade boy, Luke, who Jude kind of idolizes. Luke is very fast, a quality which Jude values very highly. Luke is from a very lovely and ...hmmm...quiet...family. Mom's a librarian. Dad's a surgeon.
So we picked up Luke and headed out to El Puente, CA, which is an armpit of Los Angeles. I'm sorry if anybody is actually from El Puente, but really...armpit. Far out on the 10 freeway in the middle of the dregs of suburbia.
Jude and Luke were awkwardly chatting in the backseat - Jude was trying to seem cool, Luke was extremely sweet and polite to the little 3rd grader. I was driving, and Jimmy was riding shotgun.
Suddenly, our favorite radio station started a salute to Levon Helm, the late great drummer/sing for The Band, who passed away a couple of days ago.
I, of course, reached down and cranked up the radio to near airplane decibels when they started...
Jimmy started passionately playing air drums. I was singing along with Levon. When The Band hit the chorus, we joined in with rousing two part harmony at the top of our lungs.
I glanced in the rear view.
Luke was watching us, stunned, eyes wide, mouth open.
Jude?
Was holding his head in his hands, slowly shaking his head back and forth.
For a second, I considered the situation.
The damage was certainly done. We were clearly established as the weirdest parents around. Maybe, if we stopped singing/air drumming immediately, we could regain some semblance of...
Oh wait, here's the chorus again...
"The niiiiiiiiiiight they drove old Dixie down....And all the people were singing, they went...laaaaaa, la, la, la, la, la...."
We will try to make this up to him at some point in the future. Ideas?
Welcome to Second Blooming Happy Hour! As Aunt Grace says "It's always 5 o'clock somewhere!"
Because you people mean SO much to me, I have, at the sacrifice of the health of my liver, spent a great deal of time this week trying out cocktail recipes! It was difficult, but somebody had to do it.
The big trend lately in all the hot bars, is a return to the "Classic Cocktail", libations created back in the heyday of the cocktail - the 1930's through 1960's - possibly inspired by the popularity of Mad Men. And truly, I always feel a little bit like Joan or Betty when I've got my hand wrapped around a martini glass.
And so, I have for you my own personal Classic Cocktail Guide, each recipe carefully researched and enthusiastically taste-tested.
Before I begin, I have a few important words of advice before you start your own exploration of the cocktail...
Invest in some equipment. A nice shaker, appropriate glassware. It really does make a difference. And if you don't have a shaker, at least get a cocktail strainer. But a shaker is way cooler.
Buy good liquor. You don't have to go broke buying only top shelf, but with these old-style cocktails, the liquor really is the star, and the better the booze, the better the drinking experience. So don't go rockgut.
Absolutely DO NOT forgo the garnishes!!! The garnish is the BEST PART. Well, the best part after the booze. But seriously, what's a martini without the olive? A Manhattan without the maraschino cherry? Ah, the cherry is my favorite part! Plus, I can do this naughty bar trick which involves tying the cherry stem in a knot with my tongue. Always impresses the gentlemen!
That said...
The Second Blooming Classic Cocktail Guide:
Tom Collins
Betty Draper's drink, but new to me. A real surprise - super refreshing and summery. Sort of like a mojito without the mint. Or the rum. Or the lime. Well okay, not that much like a mojito, but really delicious. I recommend.
2 oz. gin
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 sugar cubes
splash of club soda
1 slice orange
1 maraschino cherry
Drop sugar cubes in a tall glass. Add gin and lemon juice. Stir. Add plenty of ice, and top with a healthy splash of club soda. Garnish with orange slice and maraschino cherry.
Sidecar
I went through a phase of drinking Sidecars many years ago, and I'd forgotten how delish they are. Makes you feel very sophisticated.
2 oz. brandy
2 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 strip orange zest, for garnish
Fill shaker with ice. Add brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice. Shake well. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with orange zest. Mmmm.
Whiskey Sour
Every time Pop takes us out to Hoi Ming, our favorite Chinese restaurant in New York, I order a Whiskey Sour. I think of it as my special treat. So every time I drink one I expect somebody to walk around and offer me a hot towel.
2 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup (see below)
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
Fill shaker with ice. Add bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake, shake, shake your booty. Strain into glass. Technically, you're supposed to use a special sour glass, which looks like this...
...but since few people actually own a set of sour glasses, you can use a martini glass, or if you prefer, serve it on the rocks in a highball glass.
Simple Syrup -
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Stir together in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool. Can be kept for months in a jar in the fridge.
Greyhound
Basically, a more sophisticated version of a Screwdriver. I'm thinking it would make a tasty brunch beverage.
2 oz. vodka
4 oz. grapefruit juice
Add ice to a tall glass. Add vodka and grapefruit juice. Garnish with a slice or grapefruit or a twist of grapefruit peel.
Manhattan
I ALWAYS have a Manhattan when I'm in...you guessed it...Manhattan. I just can't help myself. I suggest using a good bourbon, Maker's Mark or Knob Creek. And as I previously stated, don't miss the cherry. If you want a lesson in cherry stem tying, shoot me an email, and I'll help you out.
2 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry
Fill shaker with ice. Add whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Shake like crazy. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with cherry. Drink it while remembering how fabulous you are.
White Russian
Okay, I have to admit that I can't drink these without thinking about The Dude in The Big Lebowski. But I have fond memories of drinking these back when I was in my twenties, and not worried about cream intake. They really are delicious, and a fun after-dinner nightcap.
2 oz. vodka
1 oz. Kahlua
1 oz. light cream
Add ice to highball glass. Pour vodka and Kahlua over the ice, then top with the cream.
Old-Fashioned
I think that this may officially be my new favorite cocktail. It has that perfect balance of sweet/tart/bitter. Plus, it's fun to make - kind of complicated (makes you feel like a real mixologist), and it involves muddling, and who doesn't love to muddle.
1 sugar cube
2 dashes bitters
splash of soda water
1 slice orange
1 slice lemon
1 marachino cherry
2 oz. bourbon
ice
Drop sugar cube in the bottom of an old-fashioned highball glass. Soak the sugar cube with the bitters. Add a healthy splash of soda water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Drop in the orange slice, lemon slice and cherry. Muddle together. I don't own an actual "muddler", so I use pestle from my mortar and pestle (which then gets me started saying that line from The Court Jester "the vessel with the pestle holds the pellet with the poison"...or is it "the vessel with the pestle holds the brew that is true" or...sorry, I have gone off on a tangent). Add bourbon, stir. Top with ice. Delish.
Alright. We have now come to the end of our lesson. I hope you have found this informative. You will notice that I have refrained from providing an actual Martini recipe, mostly because they are so subjective, and have so many options (gin/vodka? olive/twist?).
But I will leave you with a little Francis Albert. Just because it's damned good.
Bottoms up.
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I'm telling you people, this week you've ABSOLUTELY got to check out the other spinners - we're talking cocktail recipes here! And there are some humdingers. Check out each and every one!
We all love to get them. I tend to be poor at remembering to give them. And I often find myself in that awkward social moment when somebody says "You look so good!" and then I need to say "You too!" back to them, but then will they think I'm just saying it because they said it to me? Should I have said it first? And what if they really don't look good? Do you say it anyway? Will they be able to tell that you really ARE saying it just because they said it? Sigh.
What's the biggest compliment you ever recieved? Do you hold it dear or does it embarrass you? Was it from a parent? Spouse? Friend? Child? Stranger?
Are you free with compliments? Or do you hold them close?
And what about as a parent? Do you feel you might over-praise your kid? Can a kid be over-praised?
You know the drill. Put your spin on it. Post it before Friday. Leave me a comment letting me know, and I'll link it up here.
Share your spin! Highlight the code. Copy to your HTML. Et voila! Linked!
For me, the best thing about pregnancy, aside from the whole miracle-of-life thing, was that I was...The Star. It was all about me. Well, me and that tiny life I had growing in there.
You see, all of us only children were raised to be the Center of the Universe. Unfortunately, at some time around our first car payment, we realize that this is a misconception. It's a terrible disappointment. But during pregnancy, we once again become the Center of the Universe, which is a delightful place to be.
Everyone is nice to you. "May I open the door for you ma'am?" "Why certainly!" "Let me carry those bags for you, miss." "Oh, how kind..." A pregnant woman holds all the cards, and has the best excuse in the world to do nothing. "I'm sorry, I am unable to clean the house today, because I'm busy CREATING LIFE." And everyone knows it's true - the world is in awe of us. Woman = Maker of Life.
Throughout my pregnancy, Jimmy treated me like a queen. The man rubbed my feet every single night. Every. Single. Night. He brought me take-out food. He cleaned out the kitty box daily. He fluffed my pillows. He deferred to me regarding...everything. Because I was carrying his progeny in my womb. I had given up both alcohol AND caffeine, so that the fruit of his loins wouldn't come out with two heads or something. I had gained 60 pounds so his child would thrive. Okay, actually, those 60 pounds may have had more to do with my daily intake of nachos than about the kid thriving, but still...
But I must admit that during this time I felt a little sorry for Jimmy. As I asked him to rub a little more to the left. Because he was most decidedly NOT The Star. He was a Supporting Actor. I'm thinking he'd have gotten third billing.
So when it came time for the actual birthing, I decided to assign Jimmy a task. A purpose. Because for men, once the seed is planted, so to speak, their job is pretty much done until the birthing is over. I decided that it would make him feel more involved if he had a function. A nice production job. I made him Music Coordinator.
This was the perfect job for Jimmy. He went to work, spending a tremendous amount of time creating the soundtrack for Jude's birth. A birthing playlist. Music he believed would enhance and facilitate his child's delivery into the world.
He planned it all out very carefully from beginning to end. We'd heard that the delivery rooms at Cedars-Sinai Hospital had terrific sound systems, so he filled a little case with carefully selected CDs.
During the hours of my labor, he carefully switched CDs to enhance my relaxation experience. Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon. Elton John's Madman Across the Water. Dixie Chicks Home. I must say, he did quite a good job, playing music that I liked and took my mind off all of that pain business.
At 6:28 am, it came time for Jude to make his appearance. I pushed. Jude popped out.
In a flash, Jimmy RAN to the CD player and pushed in his final CD. He had clearly been planning this. It was his moment. The room was filled with...
While the kid was being cleaned and measured, and I was birthing placenta and such, the nurses and the doctor all sang along at the top of their lungs..."Nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah naaaah, nah-nah-nah naaaah, Hey Jude!" People from down the hall popped their heads in to see what all the fun was. Happy, happy, joy, joy.
Jimmy had done his job well.
And since then, he hasn't rubbed my feet again once.
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Now go visit the other Birth Spinners! I mean it! Go NOW! It's EASY! It's good manners. It's good for your karma. Because I said to.
Jude's school is on "Easter Vacation" next week (it's a Catholic school thing), but for the rest of the nation, you've all just finished your Spring Break. So tell us what you did! A recap could be in store. Or maybe, you can share a Spring Break from your past.
I'll never forget a particular Spring Break when I was in college and I went camping on the beach at Padre Island with a bunch of my fellow drama majors. The trip was a horrible disaster for three reasons.
1. We foolishly assigned beverages to these guys...
...that's Doug and James. Who brought nothing to drink but...beer. So we were drunk for the entire week.
2. On the second night, a storm blew in and filled every crevice of our bodies with sand. We had no showers. So that was pleasant.
3. As light beach reading, I chose The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. What can I say, I was young. And soon...depressed.
So you've got your topic! Spin with it! Any questions? Click on the link up top. And LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE WEEKLY SPIN CYCLE TOPIC EMAIL.
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Prompt #4 - On "The Bachelor" a rose is given to the women he could really see himself spending the rest of his life with. What six things in your life would you like to give a rose to and why?
And so, in my own personal rose ceremony, I am hereby asking the following things to stay with me for the rest of my life.
Grandma's Iron Skillet -
For many, many years, Grandma's iron skillet lay unused in a drawer. I was suffering from Fear of Iron Skillets. I had been seduced by the promises of Teflon. Then a few years ago, I pulled Grandma's skillet out of the drawer and put it into use, and we have been living happily ever after. Things to know about iron skillets - 1. They are not dirty. 2. They are not hard to clean. 3. They are easy to "season" - a quick Google will give you about 5 million how-to demos. 4. They heat so quickly and evenly that you will never want to ever use a lousy Teflon skillet again. For everything you ever wanted to know about the Iron Skillet, please visit Michele's post HERE.
Lavender Blue Tablecloth -
Every year, a French linens company called Lavender Blue sells their wares at Jude's school's Christmas boutique, which I run/organize. A couple of years ago, I spent hours staring and thinking and worrying and fretting and finally deciding to actually purchase one of these gorgeous tablecloths. It cost way more money than I should have been spending on a tablecloth for MYSELF right before Christmas, but I just couldn't resist. It's pretty and timeless and WASHABLE. And it fits my dining room table perfectly, no small feat. I use it all the time. And it's so classic and well-made that I like to think that some day, Jude's family will have it on their table and it will be referred to as "Grandma's tablecloth".
Ugly Old Comforter -
It's old. It's ugly. I love it. This ugly old twin comforter was on my bed back in college. At the time, it had matching curtains and a pillow sham, now long gone. It's made of a faded peach floral print. Remember when when everything was peach? Is peach even a color any more? It is now terribly worn and very soft. It goes on every camping trip, and is what I want to wrap myself up in when I have a cold.
The Necklace -
Several years ago, I stuck these three gold charms on one chain, and started wearing them all the time. I hadn't realized that I was really wearing it ALL THE TIME, until one night when I didn't have it on, and Jude gasped "Mom! Where's your necklace?!" I love each of these charms very dearly. The one on the left is a James Avery open heart charm, which Mama and Daddy gave me for my high school graduation. James Avery is a beloved Texas Hill Country jeweler. The middle charm is a Miraculous Medal, which Jimmy gave me just after Jude was born, and the charm on the right is a Black Hills gold cross, which Mama and Daddy gave me for my baptism. I love them all, and sort of feel naked without them.
The New Throw -
Okay, I know I've only just started it, but already, I know that the new throw that I am knitting will be a KEEPER. I started it on Ash Wednesday as a replacement for the stupid games I have given up for Lent, and here it is so far...
...it needs to be finished and edged and steamed. It's soft "like buttah" and the coolest kind of grayish/greenish color. Can't WAIT to get it finished and curl up with it!
My Church Choir -
I've been singing in the A Cappella Choir at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood for 12 years now, and I can't imagine ever wanting to leave. I'll end up being that little old church lady who, despite an aged, crackly voice, still sings in the choir until her children move her into "the home". It's always a joy, always challenging, always a learning experience. I adore the people. I adore the music. I adore being an active, productive part of my church. And I love my weirdly liberal Catholic church.
Here are a couple of recordings I have dug up, which hopefully will illustrate to you why I love my choir so much. First is from The Seven Last Words of Christ by Theodore Dubois - The First Word. Our baritone soloist is John Schaefer and our tenor soloist is Louie Ulanday...
In 7th Grade, my English teacher, Mrs. Dahlquist, decided that a groovy way to get us interested in poetry analysis would be to have us analyze a contemporary song. I chose Killing Me Softly With His Song, by Roberta Flack.
Though I was a straight A student in English, I remember this being a humiliating experience. I somehow completely misunderstood the song. I'm afraid that poetry and song interpretation is not my thing, and frightens me. In situations like this I tend to get a wee bit over-analytical, and sound slightly officious, even though I don't have any idea what I'm talking about. Looking at the lyrics now, I can't imagine how I could have gotten things wrong, but I remember the very kind Mrs. Dahlquist writing a rather lengthy explanation when she graded it. I did NOT get an A.
And so, in an attempt to right my failure from the past, I, a middle-aged white woman, will now analyze a contemporary song for you.
I have chosen Young, Wild & Free, by Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg.
Young, Wild & Free
Written by: Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg
"Young, Wild & Free" by Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg is an American rap song, which is, on the surface, a drug anthem, a celebration of teenage drug use, specifically the use of cannabis. But through the clever use of repetition, structure, diction, simile and irony is a paean to the carefree days of a lost youth.
The song lyrics are divided between two very different men. The first, voiced by Wiz Khalifa, aka Cameron Thomas, is very young and enthusiastic about his freedom and joie de vivre. His repeated use of the phrase "So what?" indicates a lack of adherence to cultural expectations. He is clearly reveling in his simplistic life, "When you live like this you’re supposed to party, roll one, smoke one, and we all just having fun." Living a relaxed, carefree time with his dear friends and having fun with the ladies ("Keep it real with my n-ggas, keep it player for the hoes.") while partaking in large quantities of illegal drugs.
The second man, voiced by veteran rapper Snoop Dogg, aka Calvin Broadus, is a much older man, looking back with fondness and longing upon a youth spent in the same vapid endeavors as the first man, but with the knowledge that his led a pathetic life during which he killed too many of his brain cells. The fact that Mr. Dogg is decidedly not young (he is 40), nor wild (he is a married father of three) and often not free (he has been arrested 7 times for marijuana possession, most recently on January 7, 2012) leads me to theorize that this part of the song is meant to be ironic.
Through a clever use of rhyme and simile, the older man laments the loss of his youth ("It’s like I’m 17 again, peach fuzz on my face.") and the squandering of money ("Dippin’ away, time keep slippin’ away, zippin' the safe, flippin’ for pay, tippin’ like I’m drippin’ in paint.") And with the line "Oh my god, I’m on the chase, Chevy, It's gettin’ kinda heavy" the writer is clearly commenting on the man's advanced years by referencing Chevy Chase, a cultural icon of the '70s, and well-known pot user.
Throughout the song, the use of the simplistic, inane, irritatingly repetitive chorus effectively illustrates the influence of longterm marijuana use on the human brain.
In the end, the two men come together, while the older man sings of...a lot of things with initials ("T-H-C, M-A-C, D-E-V, H-D-3"), clearly representative of...the initialness of our world. And then they become resigned to their life of stonedness and choose to "roll one, smoke one, When you live like this you’re supposed to party, Roll one, smoke one, and we all just having fun." Which must certainly be interpreted as an analogy for the meaningless nature of the modern American teen culture.
Maybe I should have stuck with Roberta Flack.
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Afterthought...
The other day, when this song came on the radio while Jude was in the car, I quickly changed the channel, wanting to protect him from lyrics such as "So what we get drunk? So what we smoke weed?" Actually thinking the sentence "These young people and this terrible rap music!" inside my head. Later that night, when we were all sitting down to eat dinner, Jude started singing in a loud, happy voice "Everybody must get stoned!" Yep, Daddy had been listening to Dylan with him!
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This post influenced by...
Prompt #2 - Analyze a popular song you heard on the radio…what exactly does it all mean?
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If you missed this yesterday, PLEASE take a moment to take my SURVEY. I'm working on some changed to upgrade The Spin Cycle, and could REALLY use your input. Thank you SO much!!
To my husband, Jimmy, movies work like a balm to his soul. He may be in a dark, miserable mood, but turning on a favorite movie will completely shift his view of the world. He reacts to a beloved movie in a passionate, visceral way.
The films on this list are not necessarily Jimmy's picks for the best movies ever made (though some of them certainly qualify). They are the movies that he most loves and connects with on a deep, personal level. These are the movies that, though he's seen them each a hundred times, if he's channel surfing and happens upon them, he can’t turn them off, and he ends up sitting and watching the whole thing. They are all extremely personal for him, and served as seminal moments in his life.
I tried to make this a top 10 list, but he had such a hard time wheedling the list down, that I let him go with 11, or 12 if you count the Godfathers separately. And the quotes are pure Jimmy. Here they are in alphabetical order...
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948 - Directed by Charles Barton, Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr.)
A favorite of Jimmy's since childhood. Part comedy, part classic horror movie, Jimmy says this movie still always manages to make him laugh and scare him to death. For him, it's serves as a movie version of comfort food. Sweetly, the thing that Jimmy says has always touched him most about this movie is Abbott and Costello's friendship, that "amongst all the monsters, they always tried to help and take care of each other." When he was a kid, the part when Abbott goes back to save Costello always made him cry - "they were best friends even in the face of death".
Casablanca (1942 - Directed by Michael Curtiz, Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman)
Aside from simply being great film, Jimmy loves that it's hopelessly romantic. Romantic with a capital R. Not just the romantic love story, but also Victor Laszlo's heroic conviction to his cause, and Bogie's sacrifice for the greater good. This movie also happens to be Pop's favorite movie of all time.
The Godfather, Parts 1 & 2 (1972, 1974 - Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro)
Both movies sweep you up and into the world of the Corleones. Coppola created a combination of sounds, smells and images that bombard you every moment. The thing that gets Jimmy is the beautiful paradox at the core of the films, that the story is really about a family like any family, they eat together and laugh together, but they're murderous gangsters, which sets them apart from the rest of the world. The tragedy of Michael Corleone was that his life could have gone another way, but it didn’t. His father meant to do well, he tried to do everything for Michael, but in the end, he made him someone just like himself. Vito Corleone wasn’t a vicious man, and yet he was a murderer. We knew what he was doing was wrong, and yet here was a gentle man who loved and cared for his family. The beauty about Brando was that he had so much pathos about him, and that made the viewer confused. Brando brought that to it. "Any other actor wouldn’t have brought that to it, but that cat? Come on."
GoodFellas (1990, Directed by Martin Scorcese, Starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci)
Jimmy's first reaction when thinking about this movie was a deep exhalation. "Edgy. GoodFellas is edgy, it’s sharp, scary, sexy." It has a similar family element like The Godfather, they all stuck together and took care of each other. But in GoodFellas,"these people weren’t family, they behaved like a family because of their business, because of money. And when you realize that at the end of the movie, when they all start to rat on each other, as an audience member it destroyed me. Because you thought that their life was just grand. But they were vicious, vicious people." Unlike the poetic Don Corleone, these people had no pathos, they were cold-blooded killers and didn’t pretend otherwise. And yet, "Scorcese did it again. He made such a great film, that you can’t stop watching it."
In the Heat of the Night (1967 - Directed by Norman Jewison, Starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger)
"Explosive. Great acting. Great story." Poitier and Steiger's performances are "an acting lesson", they were both at the peak of their talents.
La Dolce Vita - (1960, Directed by Federico Fellini, Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg)
A brilliant Fantasy. "Marcello Mastroianni is poetry in motion." The dream sequence is "one of the most brilliant and frightening scenes I’ve ever seen on film". Watching Fellini’s film "was like going to Coney Island."
Last Tango in Paris (1972 - Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, Starring Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider)
"Tragic. Romantically tragic. Sexually tragic. Psychologically tragic." And yet, there was a beauty underneath the whole film. "The score really lit up the beauty, and heightened the emotional life of the characters." Beautiful and sad and raw. A journey into the human conditions. It's always fascinated me that when Jimmy was 16, Pop and Mommy took Jimmy and his friend Scott to see this movie, which was, at the time, notoriously rated X. After the first scene, when Brando and Schneider meet and have sex, Pop leaned over to Jimmy and told him "You and Scott. Other side of the theater." Apparently, Pop didn't mind him watching the movie, just not watching the movie while sitting with his mother!
"When Annie Hall came out, it was ground-breaking in that nobody had ever seen a movie like that, and nobody expected Woody Allen to make a film like that . Then, with Manhattan, he took it to another level. It has a class to it, a maturity." He matured as a director and in the subject matter. Manhattan hit a deep spot in me about how we can take loved ones for granted in relationships and not realize what you might have. "The intellectuals on the Upper East Side with all their problems fascinated me." It was extremely funny, and very sad. "Mariel Hemingway was a gem. I met her right before they did the pizza scene but I didn’t know who she was. My cousin Aurelio was an actor in the scene, he played the pizza parlor guy and I went to visit him the day they shot it at John’s Pizza in the Village. I hung out there all day. And I’m sitting on the ground, talking to this girl and I thought 'Oh what a cool chick.' and then all of a sudden one of the grips came over and said 'Mariel, we’re back on the set now.' And she left. We rapped for about 20 minutes.'"
Raging Bull (1980 - Directed by Martin Scorcese, Starring Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci)
Scorcese brilliantly captured the violence of these people. Not just in Jake LaMotta and his brother, but in the whole culture. "Just really scary and upsetting , but it was beautiful violence. The violence itself wasn’t beautiful, of course, but the artistry of the film made it beautiful. The photography was exquisite. As was the editing and the acting. You can only watch Raging Bull maybe once or twice a year tops because it’s too disturbing."
Swept Away (By an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August) (1974 - Directed by Lina Wertmuller, Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato
Life-changing. It was a "special era" in Jimmy's life. In the summer of 1975, HBO was just coming onto the scene, and Swept Away was one of the first movies they showed. "It blew everybody’s minds and I turned everybody on to it that summer – Swept Away summer was a golden summer. A lot of romance in the air. Like we were just waiting for it, and it was perfect timing." The film was voted the most controversial film of the seventies. People were talking about it around the dinner table. From Manhattan all the way to the suburbs of Long Island, where Jimmy was. "I fell in love with Giancarlo and Mariangela Melato. Everybody had a crush on her after this movie. You wanted to fuck her and slap her at the same time. It was sexy watching this movie. It was hot."
[Jimmy wants me to make it clear that he is NO WAY condoning the horrible Madonna remake of this film. "It was disgusting. She ruined a masterpiece. A fart must have got into her brain. I can’t even discuss it, it’s so horrible what she did!"]
The Third Man (1949 - Directed by Carol Reed, Starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles)
Sinister. Filled with "intrigue and style." Anton Karas' zither music was "darkly romantic and fit the movie like a glove – genius."
Okay, I expect you all to go immediately to Netflix and line up the ones you haven't seen in your queue!
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Please do the polite thing and visit all of this week's spins on the topic "The Movies"...
We will be eating the traditional pancakes for dinner tonight here in the Second Blooming house. So while everybody is preparing your jambalaya and King's Cake, why don't you listen to some Professor Longhair...
...and I'll try to entertain you with some Random Tuesday Thoughts...
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And since today is Fat Tuesday, that means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the dreaded Lent. I have come to the painful and frightening decision to give up computer games for Lent. Now, I realize that for most people over the age of 16, this is perhaps not a serious sacrifice, but I'm ashamed to say that for me...it is. I spend a ridiculous amount of time playing Facebook and Pogo games. I'm totally and completely addicted. It's really very stupid. I try to justify this silliness by saying that the gaming is my rest and relaxation time. But when I think about what I used to do before I started obsessing over Gardens of Time or Pogo Addiction Solitaire, my rest and relaxation time involved doing things like reading, and knitting. Which I miss. Plus, I find myself easily distracted from doing things like WRITING because I find a sudden pressing need to check and see if the Silver Arrow I was crafting in Castleville was completed, or if it's time to feed the geese again. So no games it is. I'm afraid my little Castleville villagers will just have to fight off the gloom without me for 40 days. Wish them luck.
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To help me get through this difficult lenten time, my first errand this morning will be to the yarn store to start a new knitting project. Have y'all been to Ravelry? It's the best knitting website (thank you Aimee!!). I found a pattern there for a throw blanket I really like...
I like the pattern because it's complex enough to look interesting, but easy enough for tv knitting. I can't decide what color yarn to go with. I'm thinking either a taupe or eggplant or maybe a kind of moss green. I'll keep you abreast of my progress.
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And speaking of finding ways to occupy myself for the next 40 days...
I have done something a little shocking and out of character. I can count the number of books I have stopped reading mid-stream on one hand - I always just plow through them to the end, no matter how little I am enjoying them. It's an issue I have, and I'm afraid it's become a bit of an issue between Jude and I - I always make him finish any book he's started. But now...
Several years ago, I bought Stephen King's then-new hardback, Under the Dome. I don't know exactly why, but I think I thought it would be fun, and I used to love reading stuff like The Shining and The Stand, back in the day. This book is 1074 pages long, and weighs about 20 pounds. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but the thing is damned heavy. I started reading it a couple of years ago, and stopped when I got vertigo, and couldn't hold the book up. I then, stubbornly, started it over again a couple of weeks ago, determined to finish it this time. I'm about a quarter of the way through it, and I just can't take it. It's too damned heavy. I love to read in the bathtub, and I just can't do it with this thing. This is the PERFECT BOOK FOR A KINDLE. But I fear I can't take it any more. And also, it's kind of gruesome and mean-spirited (it is a horror novel, after all) and after the third rape and the thirtieth time I stopped all feeling in my hands trying to hold the thing up, I have cast it aside.
I have instead started The Hunger Games, which I'm really excited about. I know, I know, I'm way behind here, but I want to read it quickly before the movie comes out. I've just started it, but I'm loving it!
But yesterday, Jude noticed me with new new book, did a double-take and walked over to me with a questioning, accusatory look. "Why are you not reading Stephen King's Under the Dome?" And yes, that is exactly the way he said it. I hemmed and hawed and told him something about how heavy the book was, and how it was hurting my back...But I don't think he bought it. The kid was on to me.
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Like many of you, I am presently mourning the end of the season of Downton Abbey, though I am VERY EXCITED about the way the season ended, and I'm looking forward to the arrival of Shirley Maclaine as Grandmama (pronounced Grand Mah-Mah, with the emphasis on the last Mah, please). But in the meantime, I'm thinking I am liking this Smash show. It's like Glee for grownups. I'm loving the music and the acting is terrific. And truly, I would watch it just to see Debra Messing clothes. She's just smashing (pun intended) in everything...
God, I love that pulled together, sophisticated New Yorker look!
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I just watched the HBO documentary The Union, and absolutely loved it. It's about the making of the album of the same name in which Elton John got together with his idol Leon Russell, basically dragging him out of retirement. It's a beautiful film about music and love and respect and friendship and aging. Definitely watch it if you get the chance. Anyway, I can't get The Border Song out of my head. And since it's not a bad song to have stuck in your head, I'll leave you with this...
