Woody Allen: To Rome With Love, Take Two

Second day, second venue for the Woody Allen tour of To Rome With Love (2012). I liked it both times, but better at the Magnolia at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth for $6.50. Why, I'm not entirely sure. Too many variables. I was sitting closer to the screen. The sound quality was superior. The audience was more responsive. There were negative ions from a passing thunder storm. I knew the plot and now could look at other aspects of the film. Maybe all of the above. How about you? How many times can you watch a movie? Does it matter where, or how? Have you ever seen a movie on a tiny TV screen and then later at a movie house and been blown away? I have. This is why I believe in the cinema. It's not about money at all: one can always find a good deal. It's about choice and preference. Oh yeah, and effort.

Alessandro Tiberi and Penélope Cruz in To Rome With Love (2012) 

It's weird because typically one can easily listen to an album or music download over and over, maybe playing the same tracks immediately in a row or maybe over several weeks or months. We might read the same book two or more times. And here I am watching the same film two days in a row in two different places. In the words of someone I overheard the other day, "Why you do that?" Free country. Better Woody Allen than a shopping mall or Wal*Mart. None-your-business, really. My life, my choice. Now, get out my way and remember this -- to thine own self be true and the devil chase the rest.   

Today's Rune: Separation (Reversed).  

Woody Allen: To Rome With Love, Take One

Italy and Woody Allen. A languid pace, relaxed and low-key. Music, color and people interacting. A touch of magic, a hint of surrealism; gentle, knowing humor. The power of seduction.  

"Opportunity makes a thief" -- one of several traditional aphorisms you might pluck from Woody Allen's To Rome With Love / TO ROME WITH LOVE aka  De ROMA Con AMOR (note the ROMA/AMOR anagram in the Italian poster version).

What does any one person find seductive? Food, drink, sex, money, power, control, authority, celebrity, art, fame, love, beauty, influence, attention, intimate connection, understanding, talent, wit, competition, danger, jealousy, violence, renunciation, fashion, luxury, comfort? One of the above, none of the above, all of the above, some of the above? You tell me.

Today's Rune: Warrior.
   

Thirteen Originals

I. How the Thirteen Originals voted in the 2008 US presidential election. If I did the basic proportional electoral math right, 131 votes went to Barack Obama, 23 votes to "Panama Jack" McCain. Throw in another five for West Virginia, and McCain received 28 total. If you add Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia to Obama's total, it gives him 141 to McCain's 28 in the space of the Original Thirteen.  

II. There were about 3.9 million people in the entire USA of 1790. Now there are just shy of one hundred million in the space of the Thirteen Originals, circa 2010-2011.

III. Nowadays, more than fifty percent of the entire US population resides in ten states in this order: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina.

As of the 1783 peace treaties that ended the American Revolution and closely related wars, the area of three of the four currently most populous states was part of New Spain -- i.e., California, Texas and Florida.

Today's Rune: Defense.  

Thirteen Colonies, Thirteen States

There are many complex facets to the American Revolution, most of them lost in today's fireworks and backyard barbecues. That's a shame, because, certainly in terms of culture and demographics, they are vitally important to consider for a better understanding of North America in the 21st century. 

The war lasted eight years (1775-1783), starting the year before the Declaration of Independence. It was an American Civil War, too: Patriots/Whigs/Rebels vs. Loyalists/Tories. Today, citizens of the USA may not give much or any thought to the Loyalists, but Canadians probably still do. Same in the West Indies and elsewhere in the old British Empire. As for the "Indian Reserve" in the map above? In the wake of the American War for Independence, most members of any First Nation or tribe (aka American Indians) were about to have their own independence curtailed or destroyed courtesy of the USA. How about slaves and slavery? By 1790, the US population, shorn of most Loyalists, was about 3.9 million, including nearly 700,000 slaves. All men were created equal, but apparently they were not intended to remain that way.  

And the legacy? Largely over slavery and the election of Abraham Lincoln, four of the original thirteen colonies/states departed from the United States of America in 1860-1861: South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina (the latter two after Fort Sumter). Then in 1863, a pro-Union part of Virginia split off to form West Virginia. After the four rebellious Confederate states were returned to the Union as a result of the American Civil War of 1861-1865, Virginia never again regained its prominent role in American policymaking.      

"The American Revolution created two countries, Canada and the United States. . . Those that defeated American invaders and local Rebels later came together to form Canada. . . In Canada, British victories at Québec City and Fort Cumberland had saved the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia from conquest, annexation and defined the border with the United States." -- Musée canadien de la guerre / Canadian War Museum. Link: http://www.museedelaguerre.ca/expositions/

Today's Rune: Wholeness.

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens (2006-2008) is an excellent, rewarding documentary written and directed by Barbara Leibovitz; it previously aired as part of the PBS American Masters series. This one bears repeat viewing, because behind the lustre of star power, there's a lot to absorb about the Leibovitz family milieu, Annie's intense relationship with Susan Sontag (1933-2004), and interesting tips about photography and music. Annie Leibovitz has not just found herself in the right place at the right time -- she deploys herself, positions and places herself, finds her way into the action with great initiative and skill. 

A lot to learn, indeed, but on the first run, I thoroughly enjoyed the footage involving Rolling Stone, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Hunter S. Thompson, The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Chris Rock, and even the cover of The Jim Carroll Band's Catholic Boy. Everything's connected -- I loved it, right down to the weaving in of "2000 Man," a lesser known gem penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that was released by The Stones in 1967 -- and also used in Wes Anderson's sly film Bottle Rocket (1996).  

Today's Rune: Wholeness.  

Lucian Freud Exhibition at The Modern

Yesterday, checked out the Lucian Freud Exhibition at The Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Lucian Freud: Portraits

(July 1 - October 28, 2012). The official rendering goes like this: "Lucian Freud is widely considered the greatest portrait painter of the twentieth century. His visceral renderings of people from all walks of life have a painterly and psychological drama that is unparalleled in contemporary art. . . Fort Worth will be the only U.S. venue" (Source: The Modern).

Lucian Freud (12/8/1922-7/20/2011) didn't sugarcoat his portraits. They are brutal. Many of them are hideous. They present a corrective to false advertising, I suppose. For more information, here's a link: http://www.themodern.org/visit/hours-and-admission 

Today's Rune: Harvest. 

See You on Aldebaran: Live at 1919 Hemphill

I finally checked out 1919 in Fort Worth, Texas, at 1919 Hemphill, "a collectively-run, all-volunteer, not-profit, warehouse space . . . around since September 2002." The name brings to mind the end of the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles, but last night it was independent music. Though for legal reasons no alcohol is allowed inside, there are plenty of watering holes in the area, including the 1912 Club across the street (apparently a bar).

1919 reminds me of a similar anarchists' space in Philadelphia, which in turn triggers a memory of Clare Cotugno at Temple University -- because she once said she hated anarchists and Bob Dylan. I find anarchists interesting and have always liked Bob Dylan, so . . . what can you do? Every city needs such social spaces.

But last night's was an intimate show, indeed: I'm guessing that there were no more than thirty people present for any particular band at any one time. That's a shame, because all were worth seeing -- though I may have missed Saint Evie.

When I arrived, Un Final Fatal, a hardcore punk band from Puerto Rico, was thrashing through their set. 

Downstairs at 1919 Hemphill is more of a reading and hanging out area; the music was all upstairs in a hot and sweaty warehouse-style space. Thanks to Un Final Fatal, the floors were shaking, taking me back in mind to a frenetic gig at Saint Anthony's in Chapel Hill in the late 1980s featuring the Flat Duo Jets.

After things settled down a bit, singer-songwriter-filmmaker Eric Ayotte sang, among other songs, "Fallujah," about the Iraq War, and mentioned having adapted some of his grandfather's poems into songs (he did one of these, also).

Also playing were Anti Sociales, a second punk band from Puerto Rico: I thought them high spirited, a bit more like Ramones, perhaps, than Un Final Fatal. Their performance, though brief, stood out. Above is the cover of one of their albums, ¡Adiós, Señor Pingüino!  I picked up a copy, along with their apparently newest record, Las Menos Macabras de las Vidas (Plan-It-X Records).

Inky Skulls did a brief set involving magic and a demonic ex-boyfriend, I believe (i.e. if I heard them right). The "regular" band is some kind of spinoff from Ghost Mice, if I understood correctly, featuring barefooted Emily Rose on ukulele and Chris Clavin on bass guitar -- from Bloomington, Indiana. The elfin Rose reminds me a little of of Jean Seberg in Godard's Breathless / À bout de souffle (1960). They were backed by two musicians from France, Pascaloo (Pascal) on drums and "Geoffroy the Door" on electric guitar. I believe they are also their own group, Besoin Dead. At any rate, I picked up a new "split cassette" after the show that says on the cover, Besoin Dead & Jessica 93 (Mon Cul 2012).

Besoin Dead finished the night with a vibe that reminded me -- in very good ways -- of the cool electric guitar sounds created by East Bay Ray of Dead Kennedys, The Stooges (Ron Asheton) on Funhouse (1970), and Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (1969). Just before the set, Pascal had strapped an electric guitar to one of his drums and then smacked it regularly with a drumstick when they played. Can you dig?

Next stop for the Plan-It-X tour: Austin, Texas. One van has air conditioning, one doesn't. Let's hope they swap off from time to time.

Today's Rune: Fertility.