The Coffee Song

The Coffee Song:

a 1946 song sung by Frank Sinatra, who died on May 14 in 1998 at age 82 of a heart attack after suffering several years of declining health. He lived a long and full life, receiving many awards, is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, and was successful both in his music and film careers. He was married 4 times, had 3 children, and died a practicing Catholic.

He is reported to have said, "I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living his life, and who had good friends, a fine family. I don't think I could ask for anything more than that, actually." I can't think of a better way to be remembered.

Join the drink-related posts over at the T(ea) Tuesday link gathering at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.

Here Comes Louis Smith

Louis Smith is a Memphis-born jazz trumpet player who will celebrate a birthday on the day after tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Mr. Smith! These are from his 1958 debut album Here Comes Louis Smith:

Tribute to Brownie

Brill's Blues

Ande

Stardust

South Side

Val's Blues

Great Expectations (1946 film)

Great Expectations is a 1946 film based on the Dickens novel by the same name. It's directed by David Lean and stars John Mills, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons, and Alec Guinness. I haven't read the book (I'm not sure how that happened), and I can't say how closely this movie follows the book. The book can be read online if you want to compare.

via the Internet Archive:

Senses of Cinema says, "Great Expectations received five Academy Award nominations in 1947 and won Oscars for best cinematography and art direction/set decor. The film established David Lean, along with Carol Reed, as England’s leading director of the post-war era." DVD Talk says, "Great Expectations is an exceptional film and a more than worthy adaptation of one of the 19th century's most enduring works of literature." Empire Online speaks of it as 43rd of the 100 Best British Films Ever.

The Guardian says,

this handsomely designed, unobtrusively edited and thoughtfully acted film moves at quite a clip, reminding us what a fantastic, morally complex, eternally relevant story the book tells us of good and evil, decency and generosity, snobbery and love, of dealing with forces beyond our control, of accepting life and understanding the world.

It's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Roger Ebert considers it a Great Movie and says, "Lean brings Dickens' classic set-pieces to life as if he'd been reading over our shoulder". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.

Germantown Greenway and Wolf River Nature Area

A few days ago I headed to the Wolf River Nature Area for a walk. I'd never been here before, and I enjoyed the time I spent. The Wolf River has its beginning in a pond in Holly Springs, MS, and enters the Mississippi River in Memphis.

Here's a map of this trail, which is along a section of the river in west Germantown (an incorporated town which is a Memphis suburb):

The trail is a bit over 2 miles from start to finish, and I parked at the trailhead and walked to the other end and back. There's also a woodland loop at the western trailhead end and I walked it, so it was about a 5 mile walk in all. There are picnic tables and a restroom close to the little parking lot:

There is an asphalt path the entire way:

And lovely views of the Wolf River:

There are educational stations along the way. This one was Turtle Bayou:

More views of the river:

There are benches located all along the trail:

More views of the river:

The trail runs between the Wolf River and a busy 6-lane road, and this picture gives a good idea of how close the route is to the businesses:

The woodland loop has a beaver display:

The woodland section is also close to the river, but parts of it run closer to the road:

More views of the river:

This is the main trailhead entrance as seen from the road:

Pancho's

Pancho's is a Tex-Mex restaurant located in a shopping center not far from us. It's reportedly the oldest Mexican restaurant in Memphis, but we had never been. Not sure how that happened. The Husband and I ate there on a Friday afternoon recently and were delighted. I tried to get interior photos because the place was so cute, but I didn't want to use a flash and the pictures came out blurry. This one taken in our booth is the best I got:

The food was very good, as was the service. I had the steak fajita quesadilla and a Coke:

We are blessed with a large number of excellent Mexican food places here, and this will go on my rotation.

Their history is explained at their web site. You can order their popular dips online.

Yelp has a 3 out of 5 rating with 22 reviews. Urban Spoon has a 71% rating. Trip Advisor gives it a 3 out of 5 rating.

The Tale of the Two Brothers

The 2015 Read Harder challenge has on its list "A book by an author from Africa". In my effort to avoid buying any books for no other reason than needing them for this challenge, I see The Tale of the Two Brothers available online here, or here, or here. It is an ancient Egyptian story -a fairy tale- of two brothers and the woman who comes between them. Wikipedia says,

There are several themes present in the Tale of Two Brothers that are significant to ancient Egyptian culture. One of these is kingship. The second half of the tale deals largely with Egyptian ideas of kingship and the connection between divinity and the pharaoh....There are also several references to the separation of Egypt into two lands. Throughout ancient Egyptian history, even when the country is politically unified and stable, it is acknowledged that there are two areas

BritishMuseum.org calls it "a style of story that became popular in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC). Similar to a folk tale, the story is less formal in style than those of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1750 BC). It has very human characters whose relationships are very realistic, though many of the events that take place in the story are pure fantasy."

The story begins

Once upon a time there were two brothers of the same moth er and father. Anubis was the name of the elder and Batan that of the younger. Now Anubis was married and had a house while his younger brother was his servant. He at tended to the clothes, and followed the cattle on the pasture, and did the ploughing and the threshing; in fact he did everything connected with the farm. He was, indeed, an excellent workman and none could be found like him in the whole country. He was, besides, a good brother.

Now for a long time this younger brother was tending the cattle according to his daily wont, returning home every evening, having on his back the herbs of the field that he h:id gathered while on the pasture, and setting them down before his older brother who passed the time with his wife in eating and drinking. Then he lay down to sleep in the stable with his cattle as usual. The next day he would bake loaves of bread on the fire and place them before his older brother and take some loaves to the field. Here he tended his cattle, pasturing them and walking behind them. But they would tell him where there were good herbs growing, and he would listen to all they told him and drive them where they could find the good herbs they loved so much. His cattle, consequently, thrived under his hands and their young multiplied greatly.

Now when the time of ploughing arrived the older brother said to him: "Come, let us take our yoke of oxen and get ready for ploughing: for the soil is beginning to appear (after the inundation) and is now in excellent condition for ploughing. Do yon, therefore, go to the field with seed. Tomorrow we will begin to plough." Thus he said, and his younger brother made all the arrangements with which his older brother had charged him. On the following day they went out on the field with their yoke of oxen and began to plough. They were quite cheerful at their work and not idle for a moment.

Now after a few days they were again at work in the field when the older brother came to the younger and said: "Run and fetch us some seed from the town!" Then he went and found the wife of his older brother sitting in the house and arranging her hair and said to her: "Come, give me some seed, that I may take it to the field; for my older brother has sent me saying: 'Run, and don't be long about it!'" But she answered him: "Oh, go yourself! Open the bin and take as much as you need. I am afraid, lest my tresses fall to the ground." So the young man went to the stable and took a big basket, which he filled with as much seed as he needed and put on his shoulder full of barley and spelt. But when he came back with it, his brother's wife asked him: "How much have you on your shoulder?" He answered: "Of spelt I have three bushels and of barley two, making in all five bushels that I have on my shoulder." That was all he said. But she replied: "You are, indeed, very strong. I have for some time already been admiring your strength." And her heart grew desirous, for she knew his strength.

Vathek

Vathek (or Vathek, an Arabian Tale) is a 1786 novel by William Beckford (1760-1844, portrait above). I am reading this because it is available free online and is by an undisputedly bisexual author. Honestly, this idea of choosing a book based on some personal attribute of the author, as this Read Harder challenge suggests, does not appeal to me at all. But in for a penny, in for a pound, and I'll be doing that very thing this year as I read for this task. This particular book, with its caliph, viziers, and genii, reminds me of Arabian Nights-styled fairy tales and is quite enjoyable; and the author is an eccentric character, fun to research.

Since I'm reading the book because of the author's sexual orientation -See? Doesn't that sound bizarre?- I'll quote some information on him from Wikipedia:

William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed at one stage in his life to be the richest commoner in England.

On 5 May 1783 Beckford married Lady Margaret Gordon, a daughter of the fourth Earl of Aboyne. However, he was bisexual and after 1784 chose self-exile from British society when his letters to William Courtney, later 9th Earl of Devon, were intercepted by the boy's uncle, who advertised the affair in the newspapers.

Vathek is an impressive work, full of fantastic and magnificent conceptions, rising occasionally to sublimity. His other principal writings were Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters (1780), a satirical work; and Letters from Italy with Sketches of Spain and Portugal (1834), full of brilliant descriptions of scenes and manners.

Beckford's fame, however, rests as much upon his eccentric extravagances as a builder and collector as upon his literary efforts. In undertaking his buildings he managed to dissipate his fortune, which was estimated by his contemporaries to give him an income of £100,000 a year.

Vathek can be read online at gutenberg.org, Adelaide.edu.au, InternetArchive.org, and ManyBooks.net. It begins:

Vathek, ninth Caliph of the race of the Abassides, was the son of Motassem, and the grandson of Haroun Al Raschid. From an early accession to the throne, and the talents he possessed to adorn it, his subjects were induced to expect that his reign would be long and happy. His figure was pleasing and majestic; but when he was angry one of his eyes became so terrible that no person could bear to behold it, and the wretch upon whom it was fixed instantly fell backward, and sometimes expired. For fear, however, of depopulating his dominions and making his palace desolate he but rarely gave way to his anger.

Being much addicted to women and the pleasures of the table, he sought by his affability to procure agreeable companions; and he succeeded the better as his generosity was unbounded, and his indulgences unrestrained, for he was by no means scrupulous, nor did he think with the Caliph Omar Ben Abdalaziz that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to enjoy Paradise in the next.

He surpassed in magnificence all his predecessors. The palace of Alkoremmi, which his father Motassem had erected on the hill of Pied Horses, and which commanded the whole city of Samarah, was in his idea far too scanty; he added therefore five wings, or rather other palaces, which he destined for the particular gratification of each of his senses.

In the first of these were tables continually covered with the most exquisite dainties, which were supplied both by night and by day, according to their constant consumption, whilst the most delicious wines and the choicest cordials flowed forth from a hundred fountains that were never exhausted. This palace was called “The Eternal or Unsatiating Banquet.”

The second was styled “The Temple of Melody, or the Nectar of the Soul.” It was inhabited by the most skilful musicians and admired poets of the time, who not only displayed their talents within, but, dispersing in bands without, caused every surrounding scene to reverberate their songs, which were continually varied in the most delightful succession.

The palace named “The Delight of the Eyes, or the Support of Memory,” was one entire enchantment. Rarities collected from every corner of the earth were there found in such profusion as to dazzle and confound, but for the order in which they were arranged. One gallery exhibited the pictures of the celebrated Mani, and statues that seemed to be alive. Here a well-managed perspective attracted the sight; there the magic of optics agreeably deceived it; whilst the naturalist on his part exhibited, in their several classes, the various gifts that Heaven had bestowed on our globe. In a word, Vathek omitted nothing in this palace that might gratify the curiosity of those who resorted to it, although he was not able to satisfy his own, for he was of all men the most curious.

“The Palace of Perfumes,” which was termed likewise “The Incentive to Pleasure,” consisted of various halls, where the different perfumes which the earth produces were kept perpetually burning in censers of gold. Flambeaux and aromatic lamps were here lighted in open day. But the too powerful effects of this agreeable delirium might be avoided by descending into an immense garden, where an assemblage of every fragrant flower diffused through the air the purest odours.

The fifth palace, denominated “The Retreat of Joy, or the Dangerous,” was frequented by troops of young females beautiful as the houris, and not less seducing, who never failed to receive with caresses all whom the Caliph allowed to approach them; for he was by no means disposed to be jealous, as his own women were secluded within the palace he inhabited himself.

Notwithstanding the sensuality in which Vathek indulged, he experienced no abatement in the love of his people, who thought that a sovereign immersed in pleasure was not less tolerable to his subjects than one that employed himself in creating them foes. But the unquiet and impetuous disposition of the Caliph would not allow him to rest there; he had studied so much for his amusement in the lifetime of his father as to acquire a great deal of knowledge, though not a sufficiency to satisfy himself; for he wished to know everything, even sciences that did not exist. He was fond of engaging in disputes with the learned, but liked them not to push their opposition with warmth; he stopped the mouths of those with presents whose mouths could be stopped, whilst others, whom his liberality was unable to subdue, he sent to prison to cool their blood: a remedy that often succeeded.

Vathek discovered also a predilection for theological controversy, but it was not with the orthodox that he usually held. By this means he induced the zealots to oppose him, and then persecuted them in return; for he resolved at any rate to have reason on his side.

The great prophet Mahomet, whose vicars the caliphs are, beheld with indignation from his abode in the seventh heaven the irreligious conduct of such a vicegerent. “Let us leave him to himself,” said he to the genii, who are always ready to receive his commands; “let us see to what lengths his folly and impiety will carry him; if he run into excess we shall know how to chastise him. Assist him, therefore, to complete the tower which, in imitation of Nimrod, he hath begun, not, like that great warrior, to escape being drowned, but from the insolent curiosity of penetrating the secrets of Heaven; he will not divine the fate that awaits him.”

The genii obeyed, and when the workmen had raised their structure a cubit in the day-time, two cubits more were added in the night. The expedition with which the fabric arose was not a little flattering to the vanity of Vathek. He fancied that even insensible matter showed a forwardness to subserve his designs, not considering that the successes of the foolish and wicked form the first rod of their chastisement.

The Last Talk with Lola Faye

The Last Talk with Lola Faye is a mystery by Thomas H. Cook. I enjoyed his award-winning The Chatham School Affair. I've also read and enjoyed The Fate of Katherine Carr, but I haven't written a blog post on it yet. This one is fascinating, as the story comes out after two people come together and discuss old times over drinks. The past is never the past, and nothing is quite what you thought it was. The book holds out the hope of redemption.

There may be something about sharing a drink that encourages the sharing of confidences. I'm linking this post to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T(ea) Tuesday link gathering.

from the back of the book:

Middling historian Lucas Paige visits St. Louis to give a sparsely attended reading —nothing out of the ordinary. Except among the yawning attendees is someone he did not expect: Lola Faye Gilroy, the “other woman” he has long blamed for his father’s murder decades earlier.

Reluctantly, Luke joins Lola Faye for a drink. As one drink turns into several, these two battered souls relive, from their different perspectives, the most searing experience of their lives. Slowly but surely, the hotel bar dissolves around them and they are transported back to the tiny southern town where this defining moment—a violent crime of passion—is turned in the light once more to reveal flaws in the old answers. As it turns out, there is much Luke doesn't know. And what he doesn't know can hurt him. Trapped in an increasingly intense emotional exchange, and with no place to go save back into his own dark past, Luke struggles to gain control of an ever more threatening conversation, to discover why Lola Faye has come and what she is after —before it is too late.

favorite quotes:

"It's the bad stuff you mean to do that matters... That's the stuff you can't get rid of."

...

"Life's about how bad luck can just take over and change everything."

...

Mysterious Reviews closes a positive review with this:

The Last Talk with Lola Faye is a perfectly paced novel in the tradition of a gothic thriller, but also a somewhat demanding one, in that information is not always presented in a linear manner, that, like any extended conversation, often goes off on tangents before returning to the central subject, sometimes in a different place and time … and state of mind.

Kirkus Reviews calls it "An improbable tale slow to gather momentum, but darkly powerful in the end". Publishers Weekly calls it a "tightly coiled, intellectual drama".

Sweet Little Thing

Sweet Little Thing:

from the album Tennessee by Memphis band Lucero.

Lyrics:

Sweet little thing,
A constant in my thoughts

Sweet little thing.
Somehow we both got lost
And you tell me that I can't change
And you say I'm such a boy

Sweet Lil thing
Your friends say I'm no good

Sweet little thing
They never understood
The way I'd stay up all night
The way I'd tremble in your arms

A kiss'll make you close your eyes
A kiss won't make you stay
Please don't walk away
Please dont walk away

I like to know you're there
Though there's nothing left to say
Please don't walk away
Please don't walk away

Sweet little thing
Maybe I ain't no good

Sweet little thing
I ain't done what I should
I let'em think what they want
But all I want is you

A kiss'll make you close your eyes
A kiss won't make you stay
Please dont walk away
Please dont walk away

I like to know you're there
Though there's nothing left to say
Please don't walk away
Please don't walk away

A kiss'll make you close your eyes
A kiss won't make you stay
....

Furious 7

We don't often see films in the theater, but we did go see Furious 7 a few days ago. The Younger Son and I are huge fans of this franchise. The Husband humors us. Jason Statham as the bad guy adds a lot here, as does the presence of Kurt Russell. This was great fun! The loss of Paul Walker is still shocking, but I trust the series will be able to continue without him.

Now if we could just get Vin Diesel to finish Hannibal and the next Riddick movie, I'd be happy. Very, very happy.

trailer:

Empire Online gives it 4 out of 5 stars and concludes, "Verdict: A group more bulletproof than The Avengers, causing more mayhem than General Zod. Think Universal doesn’t have a superhero franchise? Think again." Slash Film calls it a "frantic yet respectful goodbye to Paul Walker". Forbes calls it "the best of the bunch". Rolling Stone says, "Furious 7 is the best F&F by far, two hours of pure pow fueled by dedication and passionate heart. This one sticks with you."

Vanity Fair says,

The latest film, which opens Friday, can’t help but take on some deeper meaning, as the death of main cast member Paul Walker, killed in a car accident in late 2013, looms large throughout. But it doesn’t overwhelm—Furious 7 is respectful, even solemn, when it needs to be, but is still, thank God, plenty of crazy fun.

Roger Ebert's site opens a positive review with this: "“Furious 7” is a glorious overcompensation, a film so concerned about its rampant machismo that the casual viewer might miss how it Tokyo-drifts atop soap opera bubbles." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 82%.

Ashes and Diamonds

Ashes and Diamonds is a 1958 Polish film I'm watching because Poland is the Memphis in May honored country this year. Andrzej Wajda directs this movie. The IMDB has this synopsis:

During the German occupation noble, bourgeois and worker's partisan groups lived in peace with another. On the first day of freedom they start to fight each other. In these fights is weaved a most tender love story.

War movies are never my first choice (and immediate post-war movies count), but the story here is a tragic one. Poland suffered through German occupation only to win against the Germans and be thrown to the Russians.

part 1:

Ashes And Diamonds (1958) pt. 1 by karimberdi

part 2:

Ashes And Diamonds (1958) pt. 2 by karimberdi

Senses of Cinema concludes, "In this complex and beautiful film, Wajda finds a way to lucidly express confusion and capture the soul of a people constantly trapped by the forces of history." The Guardian says, "it is the film's ambiguities, as the film-maker tries to come to grips with the myths and legends of the era, that continue to render it fascinating." Time Out says, "Wajda's way is the sweet smell of excess, but some scenes remain powerfully memorable". It's listed in the top 40 of Empire's best films of world cinema and is included in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Wikipedia says, "Ashes and Diamonds is considered by film critics to be one of the great masterpieces of Polish cinema and arguably the finest Polish realist film. Martin Scorsese has cited the film as one of his favourites." The reviewer at RogerEbert.com says, "A great meditation on the nature of resistance -as well as its limits- "Ashes and Diamonds" is a string of classic scenes and moments, most of which became steady points of reference in Polish culture at large". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 95%.

Other Polish films I have blog posts on:

Dead Man's Bounty (2006)
The Pianist (2002) based on the true story of a Polish Jew
Crime and Punishment (2000)
On the Silver Globe (1987)
Przekładaniec (1968)
Tale of the Fox (1930)

West Tennessee Iris Society Garden

In a little triangle of land between a railroad track and a busy street is the West Tennessee Iris Society Garden. Lovely this time of year, it's something I usually just drive past. This day I stopped.

They have flyers telling the history of the garden:

The Pursuit of Love

The Pursuit of Love is a semi-autobiographical 1945 novel by Nancy Mitford. To be honest, I'd never heard of this and only bought it because it was $5.00 fiction in a Modern Library edition with a dust jacket. I'm a sucker for hardcover Modern Library fiction. I love this book! A story of everyday people in England during the period leading up to WW2, with their quirks and class differences. I'm sure I'll read this one again. It's a quick read and very enjoyable.

from the dust jacket:

The Radlett family, which achieved fame in these two witty and mocking stories of the English country nobility, was clearly modeled on Nancy Mitford's own. Her father, David Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, second Lord Redesdale, is clearly recognizable in the terrifying Uncle Matthew, who hunts his children with bloodhounds, grinds down several sets of dentures a year, and believes that "abroad is a sewer." Many people have recognized Nancy Mitford and her sisters in the fictional Radlett children. Although this recognition has added spice to the two novels, they are highly entertaining on their own merits. The Pursuit of Love is the story of Linda Radlett, who, after two unsuccessful marriages, finally finds love (as Nancy Mitford herself did) in Paris.

The Guardian reviewer reads it every year and closes with this: "The lacerating ironies of the very posh have never seemed so life affirming." The Lit Bitch used it to stave off Downton Abby withdrawal and says, "What struck me most about the book was the tone of the narrator and the characters. Bizarre, dramatic, and emotional situations were described with such a detached urbanity and dry wit. Mitford’s style of writing really captures the absurdity of life in an amusing way, and I was often struck by how modern her writing felt."

The Telegraph has an examination of it which says,

Years of pressing the book on friends have taught me some caution, however. Readers who appreciate the novel tend to love it with a dotty passion; others, who escape the enchantment, are apt to despise it with almost equal fervour. The decisive factor, in either case, seems to be the voice – the unmistakable Mitford trill, in whose light, bright cadences an entire hard-to-shock and easy-to-bore view of life is made manifest. This voice is not actually a voice, of course; it is the illusion of a voice, painstakingly created in prose.

The Silent Cry

The Silent Cry is a 1967 novel by Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe. I struggled with this book, putting it down several times to pick up again later. It's bleak, and I didn't find it engaging at any level. I feel almost guilty about it, since it gets such praise, and I know better informed readers might get more out of the experience. I finished it out of sheer stubbornness.

from the back of the book:

The Silent Cry traces the uneasy relationship between two brothers who return to their ancestral home, a village in densely forested western Japan. While one brother tries to sort out the aftereffects of a friend's suicide and the birth of a retarded son, the other embarks on a quixotic mission to incite an uprising among the local youth. Oe's description of this brother's messianic struggle to save a disintegrating local culture and economy from the depredations of a Korean wheeler-dealer called "The Emperor of the Supermarkets" is as chillingly pertinent today as it was when it was first published in 1967. Powerful and daring, The Silent Cry is a thoroughly compelling classic of world literature.

Kirkus Reviews concludes,

Oe is dense, analytical, with a highly modern self-consciousness, though there's real nostalgia here for the dying traditions of pre-Westernized supermarket culture. A picture of fragmenting identity and social breakdown as brutalizing as the 20th century itself.

Afternoon Tea (On the Terrace)

Afternoon Tea:

also called On the Terrace is an 1875 painting by Eva Gonzales, a French Impressionist painter, who died of an embolism on May 6 in 1883 at the age of 34 two weeks after giving birth. She was the only formal student of Édouard Manet.

The New York Times says, "Her life's work was small -perhaps 90 paintings- but those on display at the Marmottan have prompted critics to wonder what masterpieces she might have produced had she lived longer." ArtExperts says, "Some of her favourite subjects were Theatre Goers, and women relaxing outside. It is said that it was her bright colours, and soft brushstrokes which made her paintings successful."

Art Throb says,

Although little is really known about Gonzales, that is not to say she was without talent; she is definitely a celebrity among female artists, but unfortunately not as well known as her fellow male Impressionists. She possessed just as much creativity and observational power, and her work can be compared to the likes of Edgar Degas...

I think if I had that lovely flower garden to have tea in I'd look a bit more content, and I find myself wondering what this woman is thinking. I wonder if she may be worried about something.

You can see more of Eva Gonzales' paintings at The Athenaeum and at WikiArt.

Please join the T(ea) Tuesday gathering at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog, where Elizabeth is talking about the history of Cinco de Mayo.

That's How I Got To Memphis

That's How I Got To Memphis:

sung by Buddy Miller.

Lyrics:

If you love somebody enough
You'll follow wherever they go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

If you love somebody enough
You'll go where your heart wants to go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

I know if you'd seen her you'd tell me cause you are my friend
I've got to find her and find out the trouble she's in

And if you tell me she's not here
You can follow the trail of my tears
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

She'd get mad and she used to say
She'd come back to Memphis someday
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

I haven't eaten a bite
Or slept for three days and nights
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

I've got to find her and tell her that I love her so
I'll never rest til I find out why she had to go

So thank you for your precious time
Forgive me if I start to cry
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis

Geocaching in Memphis

Walking in a local park recently, I stumbled across quite a treasure:

I've been interested in geocaching for a long time, ever since I first heard of it; but I've never had a "smart" phone, and my only gps device is plugged into my car's cigarette lighter and has a battery life of about a minute and a half. It never occurred to me I'd come across a cache by accident. What fun!

Ten

Ten is a 2002 Iranian film. Wikipedia has this plot description:

The film is divided into ten scenes, each of which depict a conversation between an unchanging female driver and a variety of passengers as she drives around Tehran. Her passengers include her young son, her sister, a bride, a prostitute, and a woman on her way to prayer. One of the major plots during the film is the driver's divorce from her (barely seen) husband, and the conflict that this causes between mother and son.

I think this movie is fascinating.

via Youtube:

The Guardian says, "At the end, Kiarostami has subtly built up a portrait of a woman and her world just by observing her driving around town, talking and listening. There's a universal appeal in Ten". BBC gives it 4 out of 5 stars and says, "This is vibrant, gritty filmmaking that proves that Kiarostami is still one of the most consistently fascinating filmmakers of our times." Empire Online gives it 5 out of 5 stars and says, "Verdict: Groundbreaking cinema so affecting it should be emulated around the world." TimeOut calls it, "a quietly audacious experiment" and "unusually forthright viewing".

Roger Ebert says this director's films "for example his latest work, "Ten" -are meant not so much to be watched as to be written about; his reviews make his points better than he does" and says in closing, "The fatal flaw in his approach is that no ordinary moviegoer, whether Iranian or American, can be expected to relate to his films. They exist for film festivals, film critics and film classes."

Entertainment Weekly gives it a B+. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 87%.

Dominique Is Dead

Dominique Is Dead is a 1978 horror film directed by Michael Anderson (who directed Logan's Run) and starring Cliff Robertson (who won the Best Actor Academy Award for Charly and who played the President in Escape from L.A.) and Jean Simmons (whose career lasted from 1944 to 2009 and included an appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation and a Howl's Moving Castle voice credit as Grandma Sophie).

Also in this film are Ron Moody (who turned down a chance to play Doctor Who to his later regret), Jenny Agutter (who, among many other roles, was in Logan's Run and An American Werewolf in London, and was Councilwoman Hawley in the 1st Avengers film and in the 2nd Captain America movie), Flora Robson (whose film career began in 1931 and whose parts included Queen Elizabeth in the 1940 Sea Hawk, Sister Philippa in Black Narcissus, the Queen of Hearts in the 1972 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and a Stygian Witch in her last film -the 1981 Clash of the Titans), David Tomlinson (maybe best known as George Banks in Mary Poppins, and Judy Geeson (who was in 2 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager).

What a fun cast!

This is not bad at all, which I think is pretty high praise for a low-budget 1970's era horror film. There's no violence, no gore, no jump scenes; and yet it maintains interest and develops the plot and characters nicely. The music is appropriate and adds to the film throughout.

HorrorNews.net closes by saying, "the cast delivers fair performances, yet it feels like the sum of its parts have been thrown into a hole."

Probability Moon

Probability Moon is a 2000 science fiction novel, first of the Probability series by Nancy Kress. I've had the third book in this trilogy for years but had never had the first two until I got them this past Christmas. This first one is a good read, alternating points of view between the military team on the orbiting ship and the scientists on the planet. Sometimes I find alternating povs awkward and choppy, but it's smoothly done and well-integrated here. Not every book can be an instant classic or stand up with the great works of all time, and there's plenty of room on my shelf for readable and re-readable books that are good. This will definitely stay on my shelf for a future re-read. This is an award-winning author.

I read plenty of science fiction, but I'll count this book towards the 2015 Read Harder challenge as "A sci-fi novel".

from the back of the book:

A Desperate Bid to Save Humanity

Humankind has expanded out into interstellar apace using star gates -technological remnants left behind by an ancient, long-vanished race. But the technology comes with a price. Among the stars, humanity encountered the Fallers, a strange alien race bent on nothing short of genocide. It's all-out war, and humanity is losing.

In this fragile situation, a new planet is discovered, inhabited by a pre-industrial race who experience "shared reality" -they're literally compelled to share the same worldview. A team of human scientists is dispatched -but what they don't know is that their mission of first contact is actually a covert military operation.

For one of the planet's moons is really a huge, mysterious artifact of the same origin as the star gates ... and it just may be the key to winning the war.

SF Site concludes,

Probability Moon is a deftly written novel with believable characters who make mistakes and learn to live with the consequences. The prose is straightforward and never gets in the way of the story that Nancy Kress has to tell. It's a story that readers of science fiction should find to be engaging, thoughtful, and a pleasure to read.

The Hard SF reviewer "enjoyed the anthropological and mystery aspects of the book." Publishers Weekly says, "This is solid SF, but Kress has written better." Kirkus Reviews closes with this: "Twisty and compelling, brimful of ideas, with Kress’s usual life-sized characters: top-notch work from a major talent".