Archive for the ‘Personalities’ Category

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Down Under vs Up Over

Friday, February 25th, 2005

Down Under—

AUSTRALIA will more than double its military commitment in Iraq, deploying a further 450 troops to protect Japanese engineers, as the country’s interim Government struggles to contain a widespread insurgency… Warning that Iraq was at a “tilting point”, Prime Minister John Howard revealed cabinet had approved the plan for more troops only after personal requests from Japanese leader Junichiro Koizumi and Britain’s Tony Blair… A grim-faced Mr. Howard admitted the decision would be unpopular and could lead to the first Australian fatalities in Iraq.

Courageous and strong, these are men of vision. History will judge them as significant and large.

Up Over—

Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Thursday that CANADA will opt out of the contentious U.S. missile defense scheme… Polls indicate that most Canadians are opposed to the scheme. Many believe that the umbrella, when fully implemented, could lead to an international arms race. Prime Minister Paul Martin, who leads a tenuous minority government, has said that Ottawa would not support what he called the “weaponization of space.”

Foolish and weak, these are men in denial. History will note them as peripheral and small.

Posted in Current Events, Personalities, Political Affairs, Space, Technology | Comments Closed

Please leave it to the professionals

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005

I burned out on “reality TV” back when it was invented by Allen Funt, who hid a camera and caught people “in the act of being themselves.” I guess there was a certain authenticity to the captured behaviors, but weren’t the scenarios contrived to produce humor in the first place? Dana observed tonight that the pervasive garbage produced today to create an illusion of authenticity isn’t “reality” at all, but rather people in the vicinity of not-so-hidden cameras “trying to act the way they think they should act, when they can’t act.”

Posted in Dana, Personalities, Television | Comments Closed

Various & Sundry, part seven

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005

— Surprising as it might seem, I never read H.S. Thompson. Maybe it was because I had a back-stabbing co-worker in the 70s who carried on a lot about how great a writer Thompson was. Either that or I just couldn’t get past all the Ralph Steadman, which has been a bit of a mystery, since Steadman’s work was mildly influential for me at a certain point in my development as an illustrator (even though I found something fundamentally revolting about his style).

— Brendan’s new Idiotcam archive is positively super-dooper! Now I have only two major goals left in my life: building a home in the Knobs and making it into the exalted Plastic Mullet Series.

— Something about Mombo’s tribute has really sparked some childhood memories. For some reason I got to thinking about one of the most brattish (perhaps the most brattish) thing I ever did as a child. I was pretty young, so my recollection is rather hazy. I don’t think it was my birthday, so it must have taken place at Christmas. I do remember that I’d been agitating for the only toy I desperately wanted—a firetruck. My parents must have been anticipating the delight that would certainly result from their big surprise. Or maybe it was my Uncle Don who was behind it.

There it was! A bright red steel pedal-car-style fire engine complete with little wood ladders and a silver bell!

I threw a fit. Weeping dramatically, I let it be known that I was totally disappointed. How could somebody have gotten it so utterly wrong? That’s not what I wanted. What I wanted was a little firetruck that I could take out to the sand pile and play with! It was a bitter tragedy. No, it was the end of the world!

I don’t know how much longer it was before the replacement arrived, or what mixed emotions my tantrum must have triggered, but the Tonka fire engine eventually appeared, and it was a beauty. It even had a red hydrant that connected to the garden hose to supply a realistic fire-fighting stream. I have no recall as to what my reaction was. I hope I was appropriately grateful, but I may have just accepted it as merely just and overdue.

Both toys are long gone. Did the pedal car end up at the home of a cousin? Whatever became of the little fire engine? Either toy would be a valuable collector’s item today…

Posted in Angst, Art, Blogging, Brendan, Family, Gratitude, Mombo, Personalities, Playtime | Comments Closed

Gallant fact vs believable fiction

Monday, February 21st, 2005

After the trip to Berea for Mombo’s celebration, Marty came home with us in preparation for his all-night “lock-down” at The Stadium. He had a good time, connecting with two of his old chums from Bate, but was ready to promptly crash upon his return this morning. When he woke up in the afternoon we talked about Josh for a while, got on the subject of Iwo Jima, which was fought exactly 60 years ago, and discussed how the new movie currently in production might be structured. We ended up at a site devoted to medal recipients from the battle, and after reading a few descriptions, both of us concluded that if some of these true-life sacrificial exploits were brought to the big screen, many people would think they were too unrealistic to have actually occurred. Case in point: Douglas Thomas Jacobson, USMC (born the same year as Mombo).

Posted in Family, History, Marty, Mombo, Movies, Personalities | Comments Closed

Dave Garver vs Frankie Dunn

Tuesday, February 15th, 2005

I remember first seeing the word Malpaso on the big screen when I summoned the courage to ask out a college classmate, and we went to see “Play Misty for Me” together. For years, just viewing the word on a field of black would trigger an ample dose of anticipatory delight. After watching “Unforgiven,” “The Bridges of Madison County,” and “Mystic River,” the word now assumed tragic tones for me at the opening of “Million Dollar Baby. Was I prepared for two hours of Eastwood’s lean but effective craftsmanship, wearing at my emotions the way a rough sock slowly rubs a blister on a long run?

Clint’s melancholy original music lingers as I give up on capturing with keyboard the ache I took from the theater tonight. I’m already thinking about what could happen at the Academy Awards, and his upcoming picture—on the subject of Iwo Jima—and how I might feel inside the next time that word Malpaso fades up before me in a darkened space.

Posted in Movies, Personalities | Comments Closed

Various & Sundry, part six

Monday, February 14th, 2005

— Since last week, Dana and I’ve been so tied up preparing for tomorrow’s major presentation that we reluctantly acknowledged to each other over coffee this morning that Valentine’s Day would surely slip away without adequate observation. Million Dollar Baby will have to wait.

— Some guy was on the tube today lambasting authors who come up with another gimmick just to get their diet book on the New York Times best seller list. What was he promoting? A new book about diets that will probably get on the best seller list.

— When our friends Jeannette and Betty were in D.C. for the inauguration, they had a chance to get a picture taken with Ben Stein at one of the gala events. They loaned me the snapshot to scan for them and I think my smile, while sitting here doing the favor, is as big as theirs in the photo. It would be so cool to meet Ben and then score a picture with him in his tuxedo. He has to be one of the most desirable media personalities a non-celebrity could hope to encounter. There’s nothing about Ben not to like, and he genuinely appreciates people. I became convinced of that when I read excerpts from his diary. Anyone who likes to document life’s ordinary experiences can learn so much from how Ben does it. Someday his journals will undoubtedly become one of the most valuable accounts of contemporary American life produced at the turn of the century. He has an extraordinary insight into what makes the world go round. It’s never too late to learn new skills for living, because it’s never too late to screw up your life. There aren’t too many books that everyone should read. Ben’s book is one of them!

Posted in Current Events, Dana, Friends, Holidays, Movies, Personalities, Studio, Television | Comments Closed

Departure of another giant

Friday, February 11th, 2005

That Arthur Miller was a great artist, there is no doubt. Great artists have the ability to touch countless lives far removed from their own circle. Miller’s enduring gift to me was creating the role of Abigail Williams when I was one year old, so that nearly 20 years later I would have my peak experience with live theater, as I watched my sister deliver her astonishing portrayal of the seventeen year-old Puritan girl on stage in Evanston, Illinois. Even now, I’m still thrilled by the memory.

Posted in Art, Family, Fiction, Personalities, Time | Comments Closed

Various & Sundry, part five

Sunday, February 6th, 2005

— Last night Seth showed me a piece of his work that he’d done with a non-linear digital editor and I must say the young man has some clear talent for media. He achieved a nice level of dramatic impact by creatively combining words, music and existing footage. Impressive. The potential is there. I agree with Dana: Given these aptitudes and developing skills, his keen mind, strong voice, and natural good looks, he could chart a course in any number of broadcasting or communication fields. If he wanted to, and it appears that he might want to.

— I watched a stimulating presentation by Sam Harris on C-SPAN today.
First time I’d heard of him, so all I can think of initially to call
him is a “radical agnostic,” but I’d have to say he may be the most
thought-provoking non-believer I’ve encountered since Ayn Rand.

— Took part in the annual Super Bowl Sunday mountain bike ride in
Forkland. Can’t remember the weather ever being this mild, so Dan and I
opted for the longer 20-mile loop. We tackled some remote knobs I’d
never seen before, but fell behind the group, missing our last turn.
Ended up turning it into a 30-miler, with a stop at Penn’s Store. The
light was failing, but we warmed ourselves by the stove, had some good
conversations, and then set off to find our vehicle on Minor’s Branch
before it got dark.

Posted in Community, Exercise, Family, Friends, Personalities, Television | Comments Closed

Mister Phelps vs Colonel Strom

Friday, February 4th, 2005

One of my all-time favorite character actors died yesterday. A staple guest star in the silver age of television, John Vernon brought total credibility to every role I ever saw him play, especially as a villain. Probably best known as the scheming Dean Wormer in “Animal House” or for his parts in Clint Eastwood movies, I’ll remember Vernon more for his multiple contributions to “Mission: Impossible,” and the satisfying finale of “Kung Fu.” More than anything else, though, he’ll enter my personal TV Hall of Fame for his memorable “Colonel Josef Strom” in the M:I episode entitled, “The Exchange.” In a rare departure from the series formula, Cinnamon is captured during a mission and undergoes ruthless interrogation. Barbara Bain and Peter Graves deliver outstanding performances, but it’s the smoldering menace in Vernon’s superb portrayal that made this show the most gripping one I’d watched since the legendary pilot, and that’s saying a lot. I’ll never forget the intensity of the moment when Phelps admits to the other members of the IMF, “They’ll break her, and then they’ll kill her.” With Colonel Strom in charge, I couldn’t help but “believe” they would! I also recall the climactic shock of seeing Vernon’s Strom yank out a submachine gun and cut down our defenseless hero and heroine at the Iron Curtain checkpoint. His masterful wickedness was forever sealed in Mission Legend with the brutal act, prior to our realizing that Cinnamon and Jim were wearing bulletproof trench-coats. Oh, the relief! Cue that immortal Lalo Schifrin score!

Posted in Death, Movies, Music, Personalities, Television | Comments Closed

The Billionaire vs Poor Richard

Monday, January 31st, 2005

After seeing The Aviator yesterday with our friends Lee and David, I was going nuts trying to think of another American who matched the personal attributes and range of talents possessed by Howard Hughes.

I woke up this morning with the same riddle in my head, and then I got it!

The other person in American History who best parallels the characteristics and achievements of Howard Hughes? Recognized as a leading innovator in the most popular arts and entertainment medium of his time, a known womanizer, rebel, businessman, scientist, inventor, and a technical pioneer who possessed enough daredevil in his nature to put his own life on the line when testing his concepts: Benjamin Franklin.

And when you think about it, if Ben was sitting across the table from Howard, he’d likely raise and call, because his winning hand would include diplomat and statesman, having helped orchestrate the founding of the most successful system of modern government.

Admittedly, Howard did become a billionaire, but Old Ben kept his sanity and a glowing reputation for the balance of his life, and beyond…

Posted in Friends, History, Movies, Personalities | Comments Closed

Taking to one’s bosom

Thursday, January 27th, 2005

I was only half paying attention to a sound bite on TV featuring the new Mrs. Donald Trump, and in some sort of accent she gushed about “all the wonnerful mammaries” associated with her recent wedding. When I told Dana why I was laughing so hard, her reply was, “John, she was saying MEMORIES.”

Posted in Dana, Personalities, Television | Comments Closed

Various & Sundry, part two

Wednesday, January 26th, 2005

— While watching a bit of today’s White House press conference, I thought about the meaning of leadership. Leadership is not saying, “We’re all in this together; I understand and appreciate where you’d like to go; Believe in me, because I’m the person to get us there.” Now, that may be the mark of an organizer, a facilitator, or a consensus builder, but a leader, by contrast, is one who says, “I’ve thought about this and I have a vision; We need to go where I’m pointing my finger; Do you see it, too? Follow me and I’ll get us there!”

— When I was in Middle School (used to be called Junior High in those days) I had a teacher who stayed after school to help young guys who wanted to start building their bodies… not the acknowledged athletes, but just ordinary guys who didn’t know anything about weightlifting (and who did in small-town Ohio in 1964?). He showed us how to make our own barbells out of scrap pipe and coffee cans filled with wet cement. He called it “Muscle Club.”

— Jack LaLanne turned 90 last year and he was still working out every day. Here are three of his maxims: 1) Do something healthy and positive each day; little things make a difference. 2) Concentrate on the moment; put all your energy into what you’re doing today and what you’ll do tomorrow. 3) Be a role model; motivate your friends and loved ones by being supportive.

— At lunch today I put a leftover salmon patty, tofu, broccoli stems, soy milk, and two raw eggs into a blender and mixed the resulting goo with oatmeal, wheat germ, and brewer’s yeast, hoping to create some type of health burger. I think I’ll just end this little story now, if you don’t mind.

Posted in Exercise, Food, Personalities, Political Affairs, Presidency, Television, Time | Comments Closed

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