Scarier than any horror movie I've ever seen, Eugene Jarecki's Reagan (2011) just premiered on HBO. It's intense and should generate a lot of intelligent discussion. Much to consider. Still absorbing the contents, which are contextualized and very pertinent to the here and now.
Getting in touch with my inner barbarian, my limbic system is lighting up already . . . This is one of those rare sporting events where I like both tribes about equally even though with the exception of Pittsburgh I usually go for the NFC team. All we need are some big scores from the Packers and Steelers both and I'll be happy.
The Packers led by Bart Starr won Super Bowl I in 1967 and the Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys bespangled with Bicentennial patches in Super Bowl X. And all those other championship victories. Laissez les bons temps rouler . . .
Though lucrative in the short run, professional sports are not particularly kind to the participants. A longitudinal study might indicate a lot of health problems for these kinds of pseudo-ersatz-gladiatorial athletes. I remember seeing Cowboys QB Roger Staubach, now 69, up close and noticed his hands, mangled from wear and tear. Boxers and football players take a lot of punishment over the years.
But it's grand theatre, and otherwise rational folks can go crazy for a while like English friends on holiday. Or at a football match. Except for the sacking and burning of the loser's city, it's the Trojan War all over again!
Now might be a good time to round up a copy of Walker Percy's Lost In The Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book (1983). I used to have one, but gave it away to someone who wanted a crash course in Existentialism. I barely remember the details, though I do recall enjoying its contents more than any particular Percy novel. One thing that stuck was how people -- we humans -- can't help but be mesmerized by disasters and epic events, especially if they are far away. There but for the Grace of God go I. When you're in the middle of such things, on the other hand, you have to deal with them directly and immediatetely. By the Grace of God or by simple twist of fate, here I am and how do I get outta here as fast as possible? I swear I'll be good!
Also, happy birthday to William S. Burroughs (1914-1997); a new documentary is in the pipeline (William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, 2010). And finally, RIP to Reynolds Price (2/1/1933-1/20/2011), who died in Durham, North Carolina. He was a favorite of my high school "Southern Writers" English teacher, Mrs. Vick, who dared not utter the name of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman (she was originally from Mississippi and was also a big Faulkner and Shelby Foote fan; we read Walker Percy's 1961 novel The Moviegoer in her class). She cracked me up every time.
Happy 80th Birthday, Rip Torn! He's an actor who gets all the better as he ages. Above, his character Nathan Bryce faces off with David Bowie's alien (Newton) in Nicolas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). One of my favorite Torn characters is the "slightly bombastic" author "Q" in Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys (2000). "I - am - a - Writer," he proclaims. He's got it down perfectly. I'm looking forward to the DVD release of Joseph Strick's Tropic of Cancer (1970) with Rip as Henry Miller.
Happy Birthday, Charlotte Rampling (65), great career actor along the lines of her peer, Catherine Deneuve (67). Whether in Georgy Girl (1966) -- popping out of the screen as Meredith -- or as Dorrie in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980, above) or as Sarah Morton in Swimming Pool (2003), she rocks. Also like Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling has taken on many edgy roles.
RIP, Maria Schneider (58), most famous for her portayal of Jeanne in Bernardo Bertolucci's Ultimo Tango a Parigi / Last Tango in Paris (1972) opposite Marlon Brando, who lived to be 80 and died in 2004. For those who haven't seen it, Last Tango is dark, sandwiched between a suicide and manslaughter with Brando saying many bizarre things in French.
Let's not forget a belated Happy Birthday to Angela Davis, who turned 67 on January 26. She's now Visiting Professor (Distinguished Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and African American Studies) at Syracuse.
Happy Tết, y'all -- Year of the Cat, Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Common Era, 2011. How it will proceed, nobody knows, but it's been a wild start. . .
Will we remain in the United States of Amnesia? Remember all the emotional concerns over the Horrible Truth About Burma(the so-called Republic of the Union of Myanmar)? That was 2009. People forget the year, let alone the country or the issue. Too taxing on the memory, I guess. Tibet (various uprisings; latest reported, 2008)? Katrina (2005) many do remember. The Great Tsunami (2004)? The Great Blackout (2003)? Y2K (1999/2000)? Tet Offensive (1968)?
Year of Catnip? What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
Kinji Fukasaku's Black Lizard / Kurotokage / 黒蜥蝪 (1968).
John Barry (Prendergast, 11/3/1933-1/30/2011), RIP. This gentleman's musical compositions ranged from 007 to Midnight Cowboy, from The Lion in Winter to Ruby Cairo.
Music is a key ingredient in films, TV series, life. Bond music comes around often in the mind, more often than Groundhog Day, and in the best way possible. Is there anything from pop culture that inspires you in this way?
Above: AGENT 007 i ILDEN : "THUNDERBALL" (Danish: Agent 007 in the Fire, 1965).
Goldfinger (1964). This is the first record I remember adoring, as a young kid. Loved it -- still do, especially Shirley Bassey belting out the title song.
Barry broke out the sound synthesizers for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
Red Cross flag, Oak Lawn, Illinois, circa late April, 1967.
VW Beetle in the same area. Something you don't see quite so much these days in the American Midwest. Reminds me of the Coen Brothers. A Serious Man gets at the severe weather angle, and is set in 1967 in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.
