Remember the “disaster” that was the movie Heaven’s Gate? Way back in 1980? The critics piled so much manure on it in their reviews that you could have met the fertilizer needs of a small farm with it. Theaters pulled it. The public (possibly because the reviews were so bad) stayed away by the gazillions. The film’s tsunami of expenses killed a movie studio (United Artists) and permanently damaged the career of its director, Michael Cimino. Those early reviews said it was too long, fatuous, boring, repetitive, repellent, ugly, and aimless.
Maybe ten years ago I read about the movie and decided to watch it. Why? No reason but curiosity. Could a film be that bad?
So I bought it, I liked it very much, and now I watch about once a year. About five years ago, folks in the industry began to think more positively about the movie and now it is regarded as not only worth watching, but a classic (at least to some).
A few days ago I watched the movie Babylon. Critics have torn it apart, calling it too long, fatuous, boring, repetitive, repellent, ugly, and aimless.
I liked it. So did Stephen King. He thinks it may eventually be called (what else?) a classic. I vote with King. It is a fascinating look into a world that may or not have existed exactly as portrayed, but I suspect that it is pretty close.
The movie is loud and lusty and pulsating and shocking and highly improper. But if you are going to make a film about people who behaved shockingly and improperly, what to do? If you are going to tell a story about an industry that can be highly destructive of the people in it but produces objects that are often so beautiful, how not to make it sad and exultant at the same time?
It earns a strong “R” rating. No argument there. Perhaps an “R 2.0,”to be more accurate.
Where did I watch it? Amazon Prime, for free.
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Would you like to see something gorgeous? Silly question. Of course you would. As host at her last book club meeting, Robin served up this charcuterie board.
My oh my oh my. You shoulda been.
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Horror of horrors!
We should have guessed it, but we just learned that all that old, beloved, practical Tupperware we’ve been storing our food in for decades is loaded with BPA. Arrrrhggghhhhhh.
Hormone levels. Some experts believe that BPA could theoretically act like a hormone in the body, disrupting normal hormone levels and development in fetuses, babies, and children.
https://www.webmd.com/children/bpa
I might have suspected that I was being overloaded with estrogen when I found myself shopping for a training bra. And here I thought it was just due to my putting on a few pounds.
And when my voice went up a couple of registers and made me eligible to join a local castrati choir? I didn’t catch on then, either.
So if you want to hear me singing as a countertenor, time is limited. Robin and I are going to slowly replace all of the offending paraphernalia. After that I shouldn’t be wearing these choir robes much longer.
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There is a very small lake on the southern edge of town named Chipeta. While Robin hosted book club one evening, I went fishing there. The only things biting were micro-bluegills and mosquitoes, but the setting made up for it that evening.
Turn the photo on its side and it is a Rorschach test.
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One of my favorite cynics has for the longest time has been H.L. Mencken. But when his diaries were opened in 1981, we discovered that he harbored bigoted thoughts toward Jews and blacks and for a time I discarded him as a source on any subject.
Years later I began using his often outrageous quotes once again in this blog. Not to forgive his failings but to accept that very few have never uttered a prejudicial word or had a racist thought. Myself included. If all of us who have sinned in this way were disallowed the privilege of writing there would be some bare shelves in the public library, I think. When reading Mencken reminds me to re-examine my own blindnesses, it does me a service.
Some of our present political problems come from fanatics attempting to put their views up as edicts, and to burn (figuratively if not literally) the books containing alternative suggestions.
The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression.
H.L. Mencken
Some problems, of course, come from the fact that there are politicians who are complete idiots. Quite a few in there right now.
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The hummingbirds at our feeders are really busy right now. There is heavy traffic in the mornings and later in the afternoon and evening. When the midday heat is up they don’t seem to come to feed nearly as often.
Robin has started to make fun of me for watching them as much as I do. She’s right again, of course, because they don’t do anything special beyond sipping that sugar water, but they are doing it just outside our living room windows and I find their flight patterns to and fro are fascinating.
Also, I know sometime within the next month they will be starting out on their migration journeys, and I won’t get to gawk at them again until next May or June. So I soldier on with hoots of derision ringing about my ears.
If you’ve never watched it, there is a film entitled Winged Migration that is so worth your time. Maybe your public library has it, or you can rent it on Amazon Prime for $3.99. Beautifully photographed and mind expanding. The film makers actually flew with the birds!
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Little Home In The Valley 