Merry Christmas

Friday Forgotten Song: Cherry, Cherry by Neil Diamond

In the wake of Neil Diamond finally making it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this week (along with a great and worthy set of inductees for 2011), I had to put something together for the occasion. But what was I going to spotlight here? I mean the man had so many friggin' hits in his career, many of them marshaling me through my teen years and the caldron that was high school, how could I pick just one and be representative? Who cares that many dismissed his work for so long because they thought it only epitomized the 'soft' side of rock and regulated it to the 'pop' for the era. They miss the point entirely by not acknowledging how superb his discography (and talent) is in point of fact, or how far-reaching its influence. Besides that, many of my relatives simply worshipped the singer/songwriter/performer. For good reason, too. So I had pressure to make this count. In the end, it came down to what I've played the most of recent. And it's a song I only re-discovered a short time back.

This post has been updated and moved to my current, which can be found here.

It's the Little Things in Wyler's The Big Country

My recent (and likely umpteenth) viewing of one of my all-time favorite westerns on Turner Classic Movies, William Wyler's The Big Country, had the whole family involved some weekends back. It was the first time for both of my children (an experience which they loved, btw). My wife, too, sat through and enjoyed it -- a rare event for only a small number of films, it seems. Not surprisingly, it's considered the thinking man's western. Succinctly, it is a film that makes grand use of the adjective in its title by virtue of the expansive landscape it captured (delivered in glorious widescreen via the Technirama film process) and the subject matter the director successfully portrayed in its storytelling.

"What raises The Big Country above a trite critique of contemporary politics and lends it a timeless relevance is the fact that it’s also an examination of man (or should I say men) and what he’s made of." ~ Livius

The rest of this post has been updated and moved to my current blog, found here.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields

John Lennon: Where were you when?

BBC News asked this question yesterday in their piece for the 30th anniversary of this sad event:

John Lennon's death 30 years ago was one of those shocking, poignant "where were you when" moments that fashion collective memories out of historic events.

I look at my children today, who are both now ardent Beatles fans (to the chagrin of their mother, no doubt), and can't really find the words to express the depth of that moment, or express what it meant to fans (and non-fans) alike when it played out. Perhaps, it's still a little too painful. I have explained to them that John died a long time ago, but it comes off flat. Certainly, Elvis fans should be able to relate since their moment had arrived three years in advance. Even though I was less passionate toward Presley, I can still recall that instant as well. I was driving eastbound on the 10 freeway, just passing downtown L.A., when I heard the news of Elvis' death on FM radio.

It's not a matter for someone to be nostalgic. Shocks to the system of this sort make an indelible impression on human software. So it was for millions when it was announced that Mark David Chapman shot John Winston Ono Lennon in the back when he returned home to The Dakota apartments on this date 30 years ago today. Forlornly, and forever, sealing those two, and place, in time. The passing of the decades since has only increased my appreciation for the artist, and lessened any time I dwell on Lennon's murderer. But, when I do think of him (like today), it is this quote from Michael Mann's The Insider that always comes to mind:

"Fame has a fifteen minute half-life, infamy lasts a little longer."

So where was I? You would have found me sitting alone in an L.A. apartment (a girlfriend's at the time who was away at an evening college course) watching a now ancient 19" cathode ray tube television set. Ironically, that location is less than 2 miles from where I live now. I was viewing the Monday Night Football game, Patriots vs. Dolphins, when Howard Cosell made the sad announcement (a bulletin he did not want to do):



Since my mother had died two years previous in 1978, I thought I had no more tears for anything. I was mistaken.

But I'd Heard There's No Crying in Baseball

A few years back Play.com had as its lead piece, Top 10 list of films that make grown men cry (the original web page has since disappeared). I don’t believe it ever became a ‘official‘ meme, but I’ve seen similar reported on various newscasts over the years, as well as other online pieces on the subject. Including some blog posts, just like this one, where someone adds their 2¢. Let’s not forget this UK site is an online retailer in the business of selling movie DVDs and Blu-rays. Takes no great leap that the site looked to spur film sales than make a point.

The rest of the post has been updated and moved over to my current blog, found here.