Take Up Your Spade

Yom Kippur

I meant to post this yesterday and forgot.

I'm posting this video of excerpts from the Northern Exposure episode "Shofar, So Good" which is a Dickensian take on Yom Kippur. I generally identify with Joel Fleischman (apart from not having a doctorate and a few other ponts). Even if you are not Jewish, I hope you take the time to reflect during this time of the year (even if the Days of Awe have now technically passed). Shanah Tovah.

Poem of my Loneliness

May it be known that the following poem is my intellectual property and should not be reproduced or distributed without my permission, however you may link to this page should you so desire. Seriously, I'm extremely paranoid about the lack of privacy or respect of property on the internet and I take an awful risk even posting this. But as I've tried and failed several times to see it published, I produce it here. If it is misused, I will not hesitate to take it down. Please do not steal my words or ideas. This poem in its earliest draft is at least 5 years old.

"Sometimes"

Sometimes

I don't want someone to talk to.

I want someone to sit beside for hours

With that favorite T-shirt feeling,

Knowing love in comfortable silences.

And when it's you with me, we hold

Hands unconciously, or just touch fingers

Sometimes

Sometimes

I call you 

By nicknames from books you've never read

And you like it, though you don't

Like to read. So, I read them to you

Sometimes

Sometimes

When I vacuum I lift the rug

And unearth the letter E from when

I wouldn't let you cheat at Scrabble

So you threw all the tiles in anger. It's been

Hard to play without that E but

You still insist I let you win. So I don't

Sometimes

Sometimes

I freak out

And you're there. You hold  me

When I'm paranoid. I'm glad

You're watching me, even if they are too

Sometimes

Sometimes

I'm not around

When you find a spider. I come in

And you have bravely slain it. You're quick

Though to let me know you'll only do it

Sometimes

Sometimes 

I study the freckles sparkling beneath

Your eyes like pavement sun sprinkles

And think of how far down they go in places 

I can't see when you're dressed.

I think about connecting them like stars

While you sleep. And I do

Sometimes

Sometimes 

I imagine a world where

Your name is a swear word

And I swear

All the time.

thoughtful spot

Cut to Black

It was reported today that actor James Gandolfini has just died. As I did a little tribute to Jean Stapleton, I thought it worth mentioning Gandolfini as well. Admittedly, my first thought was, "Was it a heart attack?" and that seems to be the case. For a big guy to die suddenly, it seemed the likeliest cause.

Gandolfini is best known to audiences as Tony Soprano, though he was also a very versatile actor who could do comedy as well as intense drama. He managed to avoid extreme type-casting, playing nice guys as well as tough guys; heroes with a hard edge and sympathetic villains. And he made that one Christmas movie with Ben Affleck, but that's all we'll say about that one.

I was never a regular viewer of The Sopranos, though I admire his work. So instead, I thought I would take this opportunity to promote one of my favorite James Gandolfini roles: the under-appreciated film The Last Castle. This movie came out when I was in college, and I actually saw it in the theater. I can't remember if it was based on a trailer or if I just went in totally blind. Either way, I had little to go on and quite enjoyed it. It's a movie that doesn't get talked about and maybe once in a while shows up on basic cable. I'm not saying it's some masterwork of cinema, but I thought it was pretty good.

The movie stars Robert Redford as a man who is sent to a military prison run by James Gandolfini's character. Redford plans an escape, and it's a battle of wills between him and Gandolfini. I really wish the movie had done better or were remembered more. There's this great dramatic moment involving flying a flag upside-down. And while Redford is obviously the protagonist here, it's Gandolfini that really made the movie for me. If you've never seen it, I think it's definitely worth checking out. It's not quite The Shawshank Redemption, and it won't shatter the foundations of cinema or anything, but it'll make for a nice movie night.



As the summer heat rolls around, I encourage you to seek out other James Gandolfini performances and see how much more than Tony Soprano he was. Ultimately, it's the work that will live on, and I think we honor the legacy of great actors when we watch and enjoy them.

Cue "Don't Stop Believin"...
Cut to black.

Jean Stapleton

Actress Jean Stapleton died this weekend. My first experience with her was in the Disney Channel original movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, in which she played Mother Goose. It was this bizarre star-studded project from Shelley Duvall. I wonder if she retained the rights, since the VHS did not come out through Disney. That's one I'd love to see get a DVD release.

But while she's played other roles such as Eleanor Roosevelt, most people know her from her Emmy-winning performance as Edith Bunker on All in the Family.



She always managed to make Edith a real person and not a caricature, even while playing the broadest comedy. She brought a sensitivity to the show that helped balance some of the gruffer "I-can't-believe-he-said-that" moments, and you always felt she and Archie really loved each other. Her comic timing was excellent, and while not exactly a comedienne, I think she's sometimes overshadowed by great comic actresses like Carol Burnett. She was a real talent, and she will be missed.

Easter

Well, I figured it was only fitting to put up another of the "Give Up Yer Aul Sins" videos after the Saint Patrick one. This is one of the best ones, and it's about the crucifixion. I had meant to put it up on Good Friday, but forgot.

It's amusing to see what children retain from the way they are taught these stories (and the way the are embellished by teachers).