Over the last few years ESPN has made some very strong documentaries. The 30 for 30 series was very well received and deservedly so.
This fall they have begun again with a six week series of docs. Last week they ran a feature on Renee Richards. Richards born male, and named Richard Raskind had felt conflicted on her gender identity her whole life. In high school Raskind was popular and dated a girl in a serious relationship. He goes to college, still conflicted, he goes on to become a well respected optometrist but is still conflicted.
It is hard for those of us who have not felt such confusion to know how he felt. In the late sixties he almost had the surgery but after dressing as a woman and taking female hormones he backed off and eventually actually married and fathered a son. Still by the mid seventies he followed through and Renee Richards was born.
Proclaiming a desire to be private she moved to California but soon made an interesting choice for a person wanting to be private. She started entering tournaments on the Western tour. Friends told her tennis players as strong as her did not drop out of the sky and that questions would be asked . They were right, a couple of easy calls and an investigative reporter uncovered the truth.
If you grew up in the seventies you knew about this story. The ESPN version is extremely well done. We see interviews with people, friends and family, that beleived in what she did and supported her and those that while caring about her felt her decision was wrong and bordering on selfishness. Her son was affected and has been his whole life by her decision.
The interviews with Richards are done well, she speaks plainly and does not hold back. Even she admits that perhaps she should not have been allowed to play tennis against women but at the time she felt differently. Certainly if she had not played she would most likely have never become a public figure. In Richards case it seems clear that their was a certain amount of needing and wanting to prove to the world what she had done. Despite her need for privacy it becomes apparent that this is so and now looking back as a seventy five year old woman she admits that might well be the case.
One can think what they want about someone who changes genders. One must also recognize however that folks who do this are tortured. No one would willingly and in carefree way choose this path. It is not for me to judge how they feel. For Richard Raskind to do what he did at the time was a brave and defiant act. It was also to those in his life selfish. Sometimes I guess one can be both.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Mockingbird Time by The Jayhawks
I love the Jayhawks. A band that never quite broke huge on the commercial scene they were very influential on a great number of bands. Albums such as Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass are still high on the playlists of many fans, myself included.
In 2003 the album Rainy Day Music was released. With only one of the original two singers present the album was cohesive and strong, still my favorite Jayhawks album.
Recently an anthology was released and its success caused the band to renew their efforts and record a new album of material called Mockingbird Time. I was very excited about this and had looked forward to this fall release all summer. After having listened to the album several times in the last week I have to say that this is one reunion that need not have happened, perhaps a tour but the new music is weak. I am not sure why, the harmonies are still there and I am sure they try. Still it is easily apparent they had little to say. Hide your Colors has been the first single and while acceptable, nothing to hate for sure, it is nothing to remember either. That is probably the nicest one can say about this. You do not hate it but you do not remember it. You have no knowledge of it after you hear it.
This was a huge disappointment.
In 2003 the album Rainy Day Music was released. With only one of the original two singers present the album was cohesive and strong, still my favorite Jayhawks album.
Recently an anthology was released and its success caused the band to renew their efforts and record a new album of material called Mockingbird Time. I was very excited about this and had looked forward to this fall release all summer. After having listened to the album several times in the last week I have to say that this is one reunion that need not have happened, perhaps a tour but the new music is weak. I am not sure why, the harmonies are still there and I am sure they try. Still it is easily apparent they had little to say. Hide your Colors has been the first single and while acceptable, nothing to hate for sure, it is nothing to remember either. That is probably the nicest one can say about this. You do not hate it but you do not remember it. You have no knowledge of it after you hear it.
This was a huge disappointment.
JFK
This movie was released in 1991. Directed by Oliver Stone, this still controversial movie centered on former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison who filed conspiracy charges against a Clay Shaw in the murder of President Kennedy.
This movie has so many different plots and moving pieces it is hard until the end to discern who Stone is actually theorizing was involved in the President's death.
One thing is clear not just from the movie but from many different sources and that is that the Oswald story makes not much sense. From his being in the military, going to Russia as a defector and then his return to the United States shortly thereafter. Oswald might well have been a spy and might well have been a patsy. The easiest shot on Kennedy was clearly before the turn in Daley plaza but that was not the shot used. The magic bullet theory is all but impossible to believe. The bullet that turned up in Washington, not Dallas on a stretcher defies belief. The stories of the autopsy are documented, the removal of the body from Dallas. The tens of police cars that show up to arrest a man that refused to pay for a ticket to a movie in Dallas seemed to be forewarned. What this all means, who knows. The fact that a memo was issued days after LBJ took office removing any limits on our moving into Vietnam is troubling.
We now will never know what happened but one wonders if that was the beginning of Americans distrust in their government. Once one stops trusting it is hard to regain that trust.
The movie should not be taken as fact, it should not be taken as even a complete theory. It is merely a representation of the fact that for many the case is not solved, the story given is not true and that we will never know the truth.
For entertainment purposes the movie is a winner. Kevin Costner is strong as Jum Garrison but it is the supporting actors that make this movie click. Sissy Spacek is wonderful as his feeling neglected wife. Joe Pesci is brilliant in his role as a small time gun runner caught up in the conspiracy. Donald Sutherland has one scene in the movie playing Mr X, an informant Garrison meets on the Washington Mall, and crackles in his scene. To me the two best performances are Jack Lemmon as an associate of Guy Bannister, someone who operates on the fringe of many of the anti Castro movments. Lemmon was a wonderful actor and as he talks with Garrison at the racetrack years after the death of Kennedy and still frightened advises Garrison that he does not know what he is getting into he shines. Playing a small time attorney who says one thing to Garrison and then another on the stand is John Candy. With his constant cigarette, sweaty face, sunglasses and cool cat demeanor Candy explodes off the screen, you cannot stop looking.
Many watch the movie and take it as history. It is not. It is a depiction of events that could have been but should be taken as entertainment only. Still I do not know anyone who thinks the Warren Commission was truthful.
This movie has so many different plots and moving pieces it is hard until the end to discern who Stone is actually theorizing was involved in the President's death.
One thing is clear not just from the movie but from many different sources and that is that the Oswald story makes not much sense. From his being in the military, going to Russia as a defector and then his return to the United States shortly thereafter. Oswald might well have been a spy and might well have been a patsy. The easiest shot on Kennedy was clearly before the turn in Daley plaza but that was not the shot used. The magic bullet theory is all but impossible to believe. The bullet that turned up in Washington, not Dallas on a stretcher defies belief. The stories of the autopsy are documented, the removal of the body from Dallas. The tens of police cars that show up to arrest a man that refused to pay for a ticket to a movie in Dallas seemed to be forewarned. What this all means, who knows. The fact that a memo was issued days after LBJ took office removing any limits on our moving into Vietnam is troubling.
We now will never know what happened but one wonders if that was the beginning of Americans distrust in their government. Once one stops trusting it is hard to regain that trust.
The movie should not be taken as fact, it should not be taken as even a complete theory. It is merely a representation of the fact that for many the case is not solved, the story given is not true and that we will never know the truth.
For entertainment purposes the movie is a winner. Kevin Costner is strong as Jum Garrison but it is the supporting actors that make this movie click. Sissy Spacek is wonderful as his feeling neglected wife. Joe Pesci is brilliant in his role as a small time gun runner caught up in the conspiracy. Donald Sutherland has one scene in the movie playing Mr X, an informant Garrison meets on the Washington Mall, and crackles in his scene. To me the two best performances are Jack Lemmon as an associate of Guy Bannister, someone who operates on the fringe of many of the anti Castro movments. Lemmon was a wonderful actor and as he talks with Garrison at the racetrack years after the death of Kennedy and still frightened advises Garrison that he does not know what he is getting into he shines. Playing a small time attorney who says one thing to Garrison and then another on the stand is John Candy. With his constant cigarette, sweaty face, sunglasses and cool cat demeanor Candy explodes off the screen, you cannot stop looking.
Many watch the movie and take it as history. It is not. It is a depiction of events that could have been but should be taken as entertainment only. Still I do not know anyone who thinks the Warren Commission was truthful.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
April 1865 by Jay Winik
The month that saved America is April 1865 says Jay Winik. Winik writes with great skill and passion on this month in which everything changed.
In this book Winik takes us through the events of the month. We see Grant chasing Lee through Northern Virginia, Lincoln's visit to the fallen Richmond, his trip to Ford's theatre, we see Booth do his deed, escape and eventually be caught, and we see Johnson assume the Presidency.
Along the way Winik offers us looks at some compelling figures such as Robert E Lee, U S Grant, Generals Sheridan and Johnston, Lincoln himself and his partner in infamy John Wilkes Booth. We see how Lincoln's death became an event which changed the course of history and perhaps affected the black population more than any other group as Reconstruction was a much harsher process than what perhaps might have been under Lincoln.
In the epilogue Winik offers an intersting feature where he looks in on many people who became historical figures of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
A strong analysis of the history or civil wars and what happens to the countries that suffer them shows how rare the reconciliation of the United States was. Also shown is that in the history of the United States up to that point, talk of secession was not new and was not " out of the realm of discussion" as a viable option.
One could argue that the flirting of the Federalists with Great Britian during the War of 1812 was as potentially treasonous as what happened in the War Between the States.
A very good book from a very good writer and historian.
In this book Winik takes us through the events of the month. We see Grant chasing Lee through Northern Virginia, Lincoln's visit to the fallen Richmond, his trip to Ford's theatre, we see Booth do his deed, escape and eventually be caught, and we see Johnson assume the Presidency.
Along the way Winik offers us looks at some compelling figures such as Robert E Lee, U S Grant, Generals Sheridan and Johnston, Lincoln himself and his partner in infamy John Wilkes Booth. We see how Lincoln's death became an event which changed the course of history and perhaps affected the black population more than any other group as Reconstruction was a much harsher process than what perhaps might have been under Lincoln.
In the epilogue Winik offers an intersting feature where he looks in on many people who became historical figures of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
A strong analysis of the history or civil wars and what happens to the countries that suffer them shows how rare the reconciliation of the United States was. Also shown is that in the history of the United States up to that point, talk of secession was not new and was not " out of the realm of discussion" as a viable option.
One could argue that the flirting of the Federalists with Great Britian during the War of 1812 was as potentially treasonous as what happened in the War Between the States.
A very good book from a very good writer and historian.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Brian Williams on Letterman
Watched Brian Williams on Dave Monday night. Mr. Williams is on these shows alot. both Letterman and Fallon can call him regulars. I say it every time but I feel it strongly. This is a very funny, and very intelligent man.
His interactions with Dave are always funny, their chemistry is real. This is, for me, a man to admire.
His interactions with Dave are always funny, their chemistry is real. This is, for me, a man to admire.
Hobson's Choice
This 1954 movie was directed by David Leen. That in itself is really all I need to know to know that I want to watch it. Leen directly after this filmed The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. Those three films taken together might be the best three films any director has produced consecutively or perhaps even over a career.
This movie is of a much smaller scope. Starring Charles Laughton as a widowed bootmaker in Victorian England of the late 1800's. Running the shop with the help of his three widowed daughters and liking the drink a bit too much Hobson is being bothered by his daughters that they would like to be married.
Accepting that his two youngest can be married off he rationalizes that his oldest, at 30 is a bit old for marriage, and is inwardly glad to have her to take care of him. She has other ideas however and soon has collared, almost figuratively. the boothand that works for her Dad. He is timid and shy, but also very talented at his profession and she sees a future. After telling him he is to marry her he becomes in time more convinced of his self worth and does indeed, with her help become successful.
This is an understated movie. A few attempts at slapstick, mostly revolving around the alcoholism of the father ably played by Laughton, but most of the move is intersting for its character development and the relationships portrayed. The eldest daughter is a strong woman and a strong character. The scene of the marriage night is cute and sweet in a way we of this time can barely relate to but to see Willie's face the next morning is to see a man changed and imbued with confidence in himself.
Not a life changing movie but an intersting one. A nice change of pace.
This movie is of a much smaller scope. Starring Charles Laughton as a widowed bootmaker in Victorian England of the late 1800's. Running the shop with the help of his three widowed daughters and liking the drink a bit too much Hobson is being bothered by his daughters that they would like to be married.
Accepting that his two youngest can be married off he rationalizes that his oldest, at 30 is a bit old for marriage, and is inwardly glad to have her to take care of him. She has other ideas however and soon has collared, almost figuratively. the boothand that works for her Dad. He is timid and shy, but also very talented at his profession and she sees a future. After telling him he is to marry her he becomes in time more convinced of his self worth and does indeed, with her help become successful.
This is an understated movie. A few attempts at slapstick, mostly revolving around the alcoholism of the father ably played by Laughton, but most of the move is intersting for its character development and the relationships portrayed. The eldest daughter is a strong woman and a strong character. The scene of the marriage night is cute and sweet in a way we of this time can barely relate to but to see Willie's face the next morning is to see a man changed and imbued with confidence in himself.
Not a life changing movie but an intersting one. A nice change of pace.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is one of those shows that is violently hit or miss. At times we watch and wonder whonactually thought a skit was even remotely funny. Then other skits are very funny, and at times even laugh out loud funny. This is rare but it does happen. This last weeks episode was a little better than average.
Melissa McCarthy the sceme stealer from Bridesmaids and the new Emmy winner for Mike and Molly is a funny woman and her skits were funny. They were not intelligent skits, more they were squim skits that are funny but make ounfeel a little squirmy. In this case McCartgy played often to type as th e big girl....but she is a very funny lady.
Tivo was invented for a show like this. Weekend Update is still worth watching each week. All in all it is no longer must see tv, though when Zach Galifinakas is on it is, but it is still surely must tivo tv.
Melissa McCarthy the sceme stealer from Bridesmaids and the new Emmy winner for Mike and Molly is a funny woman and her skits were funny. They were not intelligent skits, more they were squim skits that are funny but make ounfeel a little squirmy. In this case McCartgy played often to type as th e big girl....but she is a very funny lady.
Tivo was invented for a show like this. Weekend Update is still worth watching each week. All in all it is no longer must see tv, though when Zach Galifinakas is on it is, but it is still surely must tivo tv.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
