Cancer Survivors Park Labyrinth

Our church had a prayer retreat today at the Cancer Survivors Park. There was a short introduction to the origin of the labyrinth and its use in Christian devotional practice before we walked the labyrinth. Then we gathered again for a time of sharing of our experience. It seemed to be a meaningful time for everyone.

One of our members is a horticulturist and was involved in the creation of the park and its mural. It was interesting to have him there today to share some behind-the-scenes aspects of the park. There is some discussion of the plants and sculptures here. There is a photo tour here.

There are online labyrinths here and here. You can "walk" the labyrinth with your finger here and here or buy a wooden "finger labyrinth" here. There is a Labyrinth Society.

Mother and I walked this labyrinth about a week ago, and the experience was a bit freer with her, as there were just the two of us with no worry about getting in each other's way. We also talked a bit during our walk while the members of the church group maintained a silence throughout. I imagine the walk is different each time depending on the circumstances.

In the Spring there were tulips. Now there are native wildflowers:

Brazil, the "Love Conquers All" version

Brazil is on the yahoo list of political satire movies we're considering for our fun Family Film Festival. We watched the full-length version back in September and have been meaning to watch it again. It's one of those movies that seems to require more than one viewing. For tonight, though, we decided to go with the shorter version not approved by the director -the version with the happy ending. The only problem is that this version makes no sense at all. It's like excerpts from the longer version with some happy parts added, but if we hadn't seen the longer version we wouldn't have been able to make any sense at all of this one. The Husband said, "It reminds me of Brazil," and that's about the most we can say for it.

The New York Times has a review of Brazil here. Slashdot's review is here. Roger Ebert reviews it here. These are not specifically reviews of this shorter version.

The Criterion Contraption's review says,

In Brazil, Terry Gilliam asks the audience to imagine a world where the government wages a never-ending war with shadowy terrorists, a world where civil liberties are being destroyed in the name of security, a world where torture becomes official state policy in order to conduct more efficient interrogations of suspected terrorists. What's more, in Gilliam's fictional world, the central government is not just secretive but incompetent. Mistakes are made, leading to the imprisonment and torture of innocents.
...
Despite the description, Brazil is not a documentary.

Senses of Cinema has a page on director Terry Gilliam.

Edwin of the Iron Shoes

I read Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller because it is the first in a long-running series by an award-winning author. I've read somewhere that this book featuring Sharon McCone is the first literary example of a female private investigator. It surprises me that a book published in 1977 would be the first example of a woman P.I., and it's an important milestone.

from the back of the book:

Private eye Sharon McCone's first case opens when a small-time antique shop owner is found murdered-stabbed with a bone-handled dagger from one of her own display cases. The wirnesses aren't talking, for they are the mute inhabitants of the shop: Clothilde, a headless dressmaker's dummy; Bruno, the stuffed German Shepherd; and Edwin, the little boy mannequin with ornate iron shoes.

Among the suspects are Cara Ingalls, a socialite business tycoon; Charlie the junkman, who had once been the victim's lover...and a group of high-powered real estate speculators, each with his own reason for closing down the curio shops of San Francisco's Salem Street, and each seemingly willing to twist and break the law to get what he wants.

Patronized and discouraged by the homicide lieutenant in charge of the case, Sharon is determined to find the facts behind the death of the shopkeeper, her employers' client. And she is to discover that neither antiques nor people are exactly what they seem.

Bookpage interviewed Muller here.

Tove Jansson

Today is the anniversary of the death in 2001 of Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins, those delights of fine literature. We treasure her memory.

The picture above is from styleserver's Flickr page.

Happy Anniversary, Dark Shadows

On this date in 1966 Dark Shadows premiered. Although it was a while before Jonathan Frid made his first appearance as vampire Barnabas Collins, it was Barnabas I watched it for. Every afternoon I made sure I was parked right in front of the TV, even in the summer when the back yard wading pool was a major attraction. Dark Shadows lasted about 5 years. There were some plots I liked better than others, but Barnabas was there through it all.

There are a couple of video clips here. There has been talk of a remake with Johnny Depp in the role Frid created.

The picture above is from the Barnabas Collins page at CollinWiki.

Duck Soup

We've seen Duck Soup a number of times before but are always happy to see it again. When The Husband saw it mentioned on the yahoo political satire list he thought that was the perfect excuse to get out the DVD.

Duck Soup is a 1933 Marx Brothers political farce. "This means war!" It has the famous mirror scene that was imitated in I Love Lucy:

The laws of the Rufus T. Firefly administration in song:

The last segment of the war with Firefly's constant un-noted uniform changes is hysterical. The movie is #85 on the 1998 edition of the AFI top 100 films list. On the 2007 update of the list it has moved up to #60.

trailer:

Senses of Cinema has a page on this film which begins, "Duck Soup is indisputably the Marx Brothers' greatest film." Empire Online closes with this: "The Marx brothers on top form with their quickfire comedy and banter."

Roger Ebert considers it a Great Movie saying, "The Marx Brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but "Duck Soup" (1933) is probably the best." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 94%.

Political Satire Family Film Festival

The Husband found a list of political satire movies at yahoo, and we decided to have our own private blogathon of sorts with a focus on political satire and questioning authority. We're inspired by these movies and will watch some of them and others that seem to fit a celebration of the revolutionary July 4th.

The yahoo list:

Duck Soup
Dr. Strangelove
The Rules of the Game
Putney Swope
Network
The Road Warrior
Brazil
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Our additions:

The President's Analyst
The Mouse That Roared

The photo at the top of the post is from uhuru1701's Flickr page.

Warhol at the Brooks

We went to the Memphis Brooks Memorial Art Gallery today to see the Warhol exhibit. We hadn't been there long when a tour started, so we tagged along behind them. The tour guide was great, adding lots of historical information and explaining how some of the art was created. The Younger Son's favorite pictures from this exhibit were Red Lenin (which was a much brighter red than is shown in the linked picture) and Ingrid Bergman (the one of her in the hat from Casablanca).

We went through the "Pop" exhibit of works from the permanent collection that had been selected to complement Warhol. I was thrilled to see my favorite piece on display: The Family by Marisol, pictured here: This work was commissioned for the Brooks, and I remember when it was first installed. It isn't often on display, so I was so excited to be able to sit with it a while.

We also looked through the permanent exhibit, or the small portion of the permanent exhibit that is currently on display. It has been a long time since we last did this. The Younger Son had a couple of particular favorites here, too: Sir Henry Raeburn's Portrait of Charles Gordon, Fourth Earl of Aboyne (c. 1785) and Joseph Pennell's Sunset from Williamsburg Bridge (1915). I can't find the first of these online anywhere, but here's the Pennell:

They had an 11 minute 1920 video named Manhatta running in the exhibit hall. I didn't watch it there, but I'm guessing this is the film:

If the car hadn't overheated on the way home the trip would have been perfect.

R.I.P. Tasha Tudor

I am just seeing the news of Tasha Tudor's recent death. She died on June 18. I have fond memories of reading her books to my children. One of my favorites is A is for Annabelle. The Daughter and I enjoyed going through the alphabet with "Annabelle, Grandmother's doll." This picture of Annabelle is from Tasha Tudor and Family. We have lots of books written and illustrated by her. We eventually got rid of a lot of children's books through the years, but hers were ones we always kept.

Her death saddens me, but I'm grateful for her life.

The Tasha Tudor Museum has a website. They are raising money and hope to open the museum by 2010.

I saw the news in The Independent, which begins:

Tasha Tudor was the illustrator of nearly 100 children's books. The rural settings of the past were a constant inspiration in her artistic work and eventually led to her living the life of a 19th-century farmer herself. When not writing or painting, she spun and wove flax into cloth, sewed her own long dresses, milked her Nubian goats and worked barefoot in her teeming vegetable and flower gardens. In time this well-publicised lifestyle turned her into something of an icon of alternative living.

other obits:
Tasha Tudor Legacy
Los Angeles Times
Vermont Public Radio
International Herald Tribune
Concord Monitor
Brattleboro Reformer
AP
NYT
Salon.com

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today is the celebration of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

Luke 1:5-25,57-80

THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

...

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

KJV

The picture at the top of the post is The Birth of John the Baptist by Tintoretto.

R.I.P. George Carlin

George Carlin died yesterday of heart failure.

obits:

Commercial Appeal:

LOS ANGELES -- Acerbic standup comedian and satirist George Carlin, whose staunch defense of free speech in his most famous routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died. Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.

AFP:

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Irreverent US comedian George Carlin, who became known as a voice of the 1970s counterculture and was one of the country's best known funny men, died on Sunday aged 71, US media reported.

Wired News:

Despite his bad-boy reputation, the stand-up comic hosted Saturday Night Live and made more than 100 appearances on The Tonight Show. His counterculture take on the world's sorry state of affairs filled 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials and three books. Carlin won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album, and it was announced Tuesday that he would be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

UPI:

He had been the victim of several heart attacks and had a history of heart disease, "ET" online reported.

CNN
IHT
SFScope
MSNBC
/film
Arbogast on Film
Cinematical
GreenCine
NPR
Dispatches from the Culture Wars
Pharyngula
Positive Liberty
EvolutionBlog
UMPortal

The photo above is by Bonnie and is from Wikipedia.

Longest Day of the Year

Observed.


It was as close as we could get this year, so The Husband, The Younger Son and I took donuts down to Tom Lee Park and watched the sun set over the Mississippi River tonight. We went here last year, too. It is a perfect spot for watching a sunset. Here's a picture of the bridge and the pyramid taken at the same time as the sunset picture above:

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 86

1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

KJV

The Incredible Hulk

The Elder Son treated The Husband to this movie as a Father's Day present, and we all went along. The Incredible Hulk has a few cameo appearances that made the film worthwhile to me, but I still can't get used to movie prices. We paid $7 each for matinee tickets. I was never a comic book fan, but I'm getting to be a big fan of comic book movies. These are lots of fun.

trailer:


6/22/2008:
Oggs Movie Thoughts has a review. He much preferred the 2003 version.

The Big Sleep

I bought The Big Sleep used at a local GameStop for 5 bucks. We weren't far into the side of the DVD containing the theatrical release when it became clear there was a serious problem with the disc. We couldn't fix it, so we watched the pre-release version. It had some minor glitches but not too many. The film is based on a book by the same name by Raymond Chandler. It is directed by Howard Hawks and stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Also in this movie are Dorothy Malone, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Ben Weldon. The Husband picked this film, and we all enjoyed it. After the movie was over we watched the "special feature" documentary on the differences between this version and the theatrical release. That was interesting.

Images Journal has a review, as do Reel Classics, Senses of Cinema, the New York Times and Salon.com. Roger Ebert considers it a "Great Movie".

trailer:

Lotte Reiniger

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1981 of film director Lotte Reiniger. Her animated shorts use enchanting silhouettes. There is an article here. FilmReference.com has a page devoted to her.

Cinderella (1954):


The Frog Prince (1954):


The Little Chimney Sweep (1954):


Jack and the Beanstalk (1955):


Hansel and Gretel (1955):


A short documentary:

The Art of Lotte Reiniger (1953-1971)
Uploaded by baraqueafritz

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

I decided to buy The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith in a new paperback rather than wait to find one in the used book store. That's proof I really like this series. This is #8 in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. #9 is out in hardback. I'm trying to resist.

from the back of the book:

There is rarely a dull moment in the life of Precious Ramotswe, and on Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road many changes are afoot. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni wants be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband, and Mma Makutsi is considering leaving the agency, taking her near perfect score on the Botswana Secretarial College typing exam with her. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe has been asked to investigate a series of unexpected deaths at the hospital in Mochudi. Along the way, she encounters other tricky mysteries, and once again displays her undying love for Botswana, a country of which she is justly proud.

I've read the others:
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7

Pete Seeger

I watched the PBS American Masters Pete Seeger program tonight. I was particularly struck by the timeliness of Bring 'Em Home:



excerpt:

There's one thing I must confess,
Bring them home, bring them home.
I'm not really a pacifist,
Bring them home, bring them home.

If an army invaded this land of mine,
Bring them home, bring them home.
You'd find me out on the firing line,
Bring them home, bring them home.

R.I.P. Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse has died. I heard it on the TV news tonight.

from Singin' in the Rain:


obits:

Cinematical
NPR
Reuters
UPI
MSNBC
CNN
Entertainment Weekly
eonline
GreenCine
The House Next Door
Arbogast on Film
Ferdy on Films
BBC
Edward Copeland on Film
Another Old Movie Blog links to this video:

Theatre Memphis' West Side Story

I'm a recent convert, but I've come to see the value of seeing the stage versions of these big musicals that I fell in love with on film. Chorus Line taught me a valuable lesson. Tonight we saw West Side Story at Theatre Memphis. My one complaint was the orchestra, which overshadowed the singers. We had trouble hearing some of the singers' words. The instrumentalists could back off some without losing anything, and the singers wouldn't get lost behind them.

The play was long, lasting 2 1/2 hours with a short intermission, but we enjoyed every minute. The sets were striking. The Husband and I each commented on that. Not much had to be moved on and off the stage, so there was no distraction from the actors, yet each scene was distinctive. We liked the way the windows were done.

I had wondered how they would cast it, and they cast it with lighter-skinned actors in one gang and darker skinned actors in the other. I heard they had trouble finding enough people (Chris Blank, linked below, notes it), but I wouldn't have known that just from watching and listening. The leads are strong. I'm not sure why the Jets wannabe Anybodys especially caught my eye, but she did. The Husband particularly liked Doc.

Chris Blank of the Commercial Appeal has an article but no review yet. ArtsMemphis has 2 photos. If I find reviews I'll add them.

The photo above is their publicity poster.

6/18/2008: The Memphis Flyer has a review. Chris Davis says, "There's not a harder working cast in Memphis at the moment." On the lighting:

Matthew Strampe's lighting is like a kiss that forgives a multitude of sins. It meshes with the more theatrical elements of McCollum's sets and makes this West Side Story's best moments, such as fight choreographer Pam Hurley's rhythmic rumbles, seem magical.

.

6/20/2008: Christopher Blank has a review in the Commercial Appeal which mentions the 2 characters we were so impressed with:

Leighann Colin is precious as the scampering pipsqueak tomboy Anybodys. Kudos to the marvelous Barry Fuller as Doc, who in the final scene holds the entire weight of the musical on his slumped shoulders.

and notes

an effective set by Christopher McCollum and gorgeous lighting by Matthew Strampe

. He has a link to his video review.