Cinematic License

With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, and with John Wayne's birthday (a centennial celebration) coming up in just a few days, expect to see A LOT more than the usual amount of war movies on television.

Today, it's The Horse Soldiers (1959), in which a Union cavalry regiment is sent behind Confederate lines to disrupt and destroy rebel resources, communications and supply centers. The film was directed by John Ford, who has always earned high marks with me when it comes to the attention paid to authentic details in his films.

But that doesn't mean he wasn't ready to engage in a little artistic license, in order to tell a good story. The bulk of the film is inspired by Grierson's Raid, part of General U.S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign.

But, a particularly moving part of the film is taken from another, little known battle, the Battle of New Market ..... you know the scene, in a desperate attempt to hold off the Union forces, the rebel commander drafts the corps of cadets from a nearby military academy ..... it really happened ..... just ask anyone from the Virginia Military Institute.

In the movie, it's an occasion for high spirits, even some laughs, as the cadets seek to close with the seasoned Union troops, voices that have not yet been touched by puberty raising their rebel yells to especially high levels. One of them is even captured, and spanked before the Union troopers retreat, yielding the field and the day's glory to the gallant youngsters.

If only .....

After a four-day, eighty-mile march, VMI's Corps of Cadets did indeed close with the enemy at the Battle of New Market, enduring rifle and artillery fire from the Union positions, meeting and repelling a Union charge, then launching a charge of their own, capturing prisoners and artillery pieces, and spurring a Union retreat.

The field, and the glory was theirs' .... but not at the cost of just a spanking. Ten of the cadets were killed outright, or died later from their wounds. Another 45 cadets were wounded in the action. The boys ranged in age from fifteen- to seventeen-years, though some accounts claim some of the cadets were as young as twelve-years. You can visit the battlefield - virtually - at its website. If you get a chance, though, I recommend actually visiting the site ..... for depth of history, culture and natural beauty, it's hard to beat a tour of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

By the way, I said earlier that I always appreciated Ford's attention to authentic detail. In the movie, the school has been renamed the Jefferson Military Academy. Among those cadets killed at the Battle of New Market was Thomas Garland Jefferson (a descendant of President Thomas Jefferson) ..... not a coincidence, I think.

Sometimes, I Hate to Be Right .....

There are times when I hate to be right ... and this is one of them. NBC announced their 2007 Fall season, with a total lack of 'Raines' in the forecast. I was expecting it in a couple of posts on this blog, here and here.

So, now, I turn my attention to another show 'on the bubble' ... this one, The Dresden Files at SciFi Channel. It's a small-screen adaptation of the novels by Jim Butcher about Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), an ordinary guy with extraordinary abilities. He's a wizard (listed in the Yellow Pages, and everything) who is called upon to help police investigating crimes and criminals that seem to have left the earthly pale far behind.

No word, yet, from SciFi on whether Dresden will return for a second season. However, fans are doing what they can to raise the alarm, and that includes the web, which is a medium Star Trek fans didn't have in their efforts to save that show, back in the 60s and 70s).

Rampage Outrage .....

Hey, kids !!! Now you can go online and play in very own Virgina Tech rampage !!!!!

I'm not kidding ..... this is the latest offering from Tom Fulp at Newgrounds.

Excuse Me? .....

One of the advantages - curses? - of being off-the-job, is the amount of time I have during the day to watch television ..... with all of the rain we've been having the last couple of weeks, I've been focused on chores inside-the-house, mostly spent in front of 'the tube' ..... which is how I came to watch a re-broadcast of all four episodes of Bravo TV's "100 Funniest Movies of All Time."

Here's the top ten .....

1. Animal House
2. Caddyshack
3. Shrek
4. There's Something About Mary
5. South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut
6. Airplane
7. The Wedding Singer
8. Blazing Saddles
9. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
10. Arthur

A complete list can be found here, at "Rotten Tomatoes" ..... sorry, I couldn't find Bravo's official page for the series. I would have liked to find that page, to get some sense of what criteria are used to rate "South Park" at #5, while relegating "Young Frankenstein" to #56 ... to rate "The Wedding Singer" at #7 while "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" languishes at #40.

And I have to wonder about the 'All Time' part of the title, since only two of the movies - "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) and "The Producers" (1968) - were produced before 1970, which seems to me leaves out an awful lot of contenders for the list ..... "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" . "School of Rock" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" are all funnier than anything the Marx Brothers ever produced?

So, How'd It Go? .....

Had a job interview this morning ..... my first since parting ways with NewsWest 9, just over two weeks ago .....

I think it went pretty well ..... I found myself being interviewed by no less than four members of a local newspaper's news department, regarding a position that would draw upon the expertise I have gained in both my print and online work over the years ..... The interview concluded with them heading out to a meeting, and me set-up at one of their work stations, drafting some copy for their review .....

I think it went pretty well ..... but the proof of the pudding is in the reading ..... I'll keep you posted on what I hear back from them .....

First-Line Fun in Philly .....

"What's your favorite first line?" asks Frank, here, at BOOKS, INQ., as does Guy, here, at TheBlogBooks.

For me, it was a toss-up ..... Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche - "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." ..... and Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

A Plea From the Unlettered

Last night, the wife and I marked our wedding anniversary with a night out - dinner at Garlic Press, followed by a show at Midland Community Theatre. The boys are at that age where they can keep an eye on themselves, prepare their own dinner and amuse themselves around the house for a few hours, while we enjoy a leisurely evening spent just with each other ..... all in all, a good night.

Now, with that behind me, let me move on to a rant ..... what is it with the programs they hand out to us at MCT? I can't recall a time, ever, when I - as a member of the audience - have been so poorly served by my copy of the Prompter.

It's embarrassing to admit, that it took me some time to figure out what the heck was happening, and who the people were on stage. And we're not talking about some little-known work of an obscure playwright, someone who never got closer to the New York stage than Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

This was Edward Albee, for crying out loud, and the play, "Three Tall Women," that earned Albee his third Pulitzer Prize. Heck, I even performed Albee in high school, playing the role of Daddy in "The Sandbox" - which, considering the subject matter, should have given me some insight into TTW.

My Prompter was certainly no help ..... no mention of the setting, no mention of who - or what - the characters are (just the names and past roles of the performers), and not even the briefest discussion of what we'll see this evening ..... just an overlong essay by the director about how much this production meant to him and his relationship with his 'Nana.'

Would it be too low-brow of me to offer this plea from We, the Unlettered ..... that we get just a little help to better enjoy the show?

Fortunately, I stuck with it ..... though not everyone did, with several heading out the door during intermission. I say 'fortunately' because, after a very rough first act, the performers finally seemed to find their stride in the second, and the brilliance of Albee's words - sometimes sharp, sometimes poignant - came through.

I'm glad I went, if just for the closing minutes, as A, B and C each deliver their soliloquy, and come together at last for the final heart-rending moment of the show.

Thirsty? .....

A couple months back, in this post, I recommended you "Take a Sip from 'The Fountain'" ..... you'll have that opportunity, Tuesday, when the DVD is released.

Wish Me Luck .....

I have a job interview Tuesday morning ..... I'll have an update for you, Tuesday afternoon.

Continued 'Raines' In the Forecast? .....

Several weeks back, I posted this about a show that premiered this spring on NBC - "Raines," starring Jeff Goldblum as an LAPD homicide detective whose investigations include seeing and speaking with the victims. The appearance of those victims in the detective's mind changes over the course of the one-hour program, as the investigation progresses, and he learns more about their background and the sequence of events that brought them to their untimely end.

At the time of that post, I worried about the show's future ..... and I may have been right to worry. NBC says it will air all seven episodes of the series this summer - but there's no word on its future after that. The consensus I've gained from TV writers around the country - at least, among those posted on the Internet - is that the show will not make the cut for NBC's fall lineup, set to be announced shortly.

That's a shame, really.

In the meantime, you can watch all seven episodes on line at NBC's website ..... here is the link for the first, pilot episode ..... enjoy!

MotherPie Wants to Know .....

"How Are You Different, Real vs. Virtual?" .....

Help Jim, and Others, As THEY Help Others .....

Got a post card in the mailbox this week. announcing that the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) Food Drive - the nation’s largest food drive to combat hunger - will be conducted this year on Saturday, May 12.

I already knew that, thanks to this post from Jim at Serotoninrain, who is himself a letter carrier. Jim's post also serves to remind us that, just as we show our generosity to the needy, with the food we donate, we might also show some consideration to participating letter carriers. In our family's case, we try to meet our carrier at the corner where he parks his truck each day ..... in his case, our carrier walks each block door-to-door, and those groceries can get heavy in the course of a round-trip back to his truck.

Summer Reading .....

Browsing Barnes & Noble continues to be a favorite pastime of mine ..... sometimes I do it with a purpose in mind, while other times, I don't ..... my visit, today, was in keeping with the former - I was looking for some 'summer reading.'

I picked out a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, "The Queen of the South."

According to the author's website, the book "spans continents, from the dusty streets of Mexico to the sparkling waters off the coast of Morocco, to Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. A sweeping story set to the irresistible beat of the drug smugglers' ballads, it encompasses sensuality and cruelty, love and betrayal, as its heroine's story unfolds."

This will be my third book by Pérez-Reverte, having already read "The Club Dumas" and "The Flanders Panel." Based on those experiences, I am genuinely looking forward to this one, though its focus does seem a little different than the two I mentioned, both of which had an old artifact for their focus, and an equally-old mystery that seems to find new life - and death - in the modern world, with the discovery of that artifact.

I'll let you know what I think, sometime this summer.

BTW ..... If you want to read "The Club Dumas," don't be put-off by the sticker advising you that the movie, "The Ninth Gate," was adapted from this book ..... that was a perfectly-awful film adaptation of a perfectly-wonderful book!

ADDED NOTE ..... "When Bloggers Collide" ..... Also perusing the shelves at B&N was Jimmy of Sticky Doorknobs. He was picking up a copy of Garrison Keillor's "Lake Wobegone Days." I'm a great fan of Keillor's spoken word - I want HIS voice when I grow up! - but I've never read Keillor. I'm looking forward to hearing what Jimmy has to say about the book.

A Good Day For Reading .....

There's been so much rain lately, some native West Texans are beginning to wonder if maybe - just, maybe - there's something to that 'global climate change' stuff after all. Being a dang Yankee from back East, I've been enjoying all the rain ..... and the aquifers of our poor, drought-stricken region are still having to play a little catch-up after so many years of so much dry.

Another good day for staying indoors and reading a good book, perhaps sitting in this chair, illustrated by Karen at PEN IN HAND.

Webscabs, Unite! .....

Simon Owens at Bloggasm notes here how the 'Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretches' of the blogosphere reacted to comments by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Howard Hendrix, most choosing to flip the virtual bird at him in response.

What's In YOUR Desk? .....

An interesting sidebar to the news, and the clutter that accrues in the course of a career covering that news. As Brian Williams and the staff of NBC Nightly News prepared to leave their longtime home on the third floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, Williams asked the staff to save their best and favorite 'found' items as they cleaned-out their desks. He reports here on some of their finds, and offers some back-stories on what those finds represent.

'Joyful Noise' Follow-Up .....

Among the comments to this post of mine, was a query from Eric, at Fireant Gazette, about the quote - by Edward Hoagland - that I used in my post.

The folks at 'Prairie Home Companion' - where I had first heard the quote, read by Garrison Keilor - sent me the following ..... "The reading was from 'The Edward Hoagland Reader,' edited and with an Introduction by Geoffrey Wolff. It is published by Vintage Books, a Division of Random House, New York. The section read on the APHC show on February 5th was found in 'Americana. ETC' and found on pages 77-78."

Hoagland may be one of the better writers you've never heard of ..... this interview with Hoagland, by Alden Mudge, offers some insight into why that may be the case .....

I Agree, Frank ..... Certainly Worthwhile .....

... I can hear someone saying, “It’s academic. Rockwell’s world never existed. It was a fantasy Americans created to flatter themselves.”

Yeah, well, Quentin Tarantino’s world doesn’t exist either, but it doesn’t keep people from using his films as a cultural reference.

Frank, at BOOKS, INQ., recommends you read the whole thing: "The Shack-up License" ..... I agree with him.

An Anniversary Largely Unmarked .....

Among the many reports that filled the media in the wake of the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech's campus, was one noting that this seemed to be the time of year for such tragedies, these senseless and deadly rampages, to occur .....

Perhaps ..... there DO seem to be a lot of tragic events such as these during a roughly two-month period, early in the year .....

Jonesboro School Shootings - March 24, 1998
Virginia Tech Shootings - April 16, 2007
Oklahoma City Bombing - April 19, 1995
Columbine School Shootings - April 20, 1999
MOVE/Philadelphia Siege - May 15, 1985
SLA/Los Angeles Siege - May 17, 1975

But, on the other hand .....

Stockton School Shooting - January 17, 1989
Branch Davidians/Waco Siege - February 28, 1993
UT Tower Shootings - August 1, 1966
Ruby Ridge - August 21, 1992
World Trade Center - September 11, 2001
Amish School Shooting - October 2, 2006

I suspect that a more thorough, systematic analysis of such events - and I've listed only a few, here - would probably NOT find a correlation to the calendar that is statistically significant .....

But I do have one to add to that first list, it began in the last month of April, and ended in the first week of May ..... and it took place, quite literally, in our own back yard - the standoff between the Republic of Texas, and State of Texas law enforcement, at the ROT 'compound' in the Davis Mountains Resort.

And it was all going on ten years ago, today. I pitched the idea at a news story meeting, a couple weeks back, at KWES-TV ..... nada.

However, Bob Campbell, at the Midland Reporter Telegram, did produce this fine article, well worth taking the time to read it. I also strongly recommend listening to the accompanying audio ..... it's not very good quality, but it does give some feel for interviewing someone like Richard McLaren - which can be a genuinely weird experience ..... I did it, myself, when I was editor of the Fort Stockton Pioneer, and Big Bend stringer for KWES-TV, and he was still an ROT Ambassador.

More on all this, later .....

XM Moment ..... "Bye, bye, its been a sweet love" .....

Heard today on XM Radio's "70s On 7" ..... the song that made air guitarists out of so many of us, and has found new life with today's "Guitar Hero" crowd ..... Here's Lynnard Skinnard performing "Free Bird" in the studio, courtesy of FRAnK2313 at YouTube ..... but I also wanted to add this clip from KingdomJack at YouTube, a live performance of the song, in memory of that day, back in the 70s, when "The Guitar Army" conquered Albuquerque.

Well, That's It .....

More than a few of you have wondered where I've been for most of the past month ..... and have called or e-written for updates on my departure from NewsWest 9 .....

Well, that's it, I'm gone ..... this past Monday, April 30, was my last day with KWES-TV, NewsWest 9, bringing an end to seventeen years of work, in one capacity or another, full-time or part-time .....

The last few weeks were hectic ones, as a new person was moved into my spot, and brought up to speed, trying to make the transition from the outgoing Web Editor to the incoming Internet Content Director as smooth as possible .....

Actually, Ronnie Marley - who worked graveyard shift in the KWES tape room - was already working on the website, making sure overnight developments were posted on the site ..... between the two of us, we were able to make www.newswest9.com THE #1 online source for breaking and developing news .....

Two months ago, when I gave my 'two-weeks notice,' I had urged the powers-that-be at KWES to give Ronnie's application serious consideration ..... the job is now different from the one for which I was originally hired, in 2000 ..... but it's in good hands which are, in some respects, better suited to its new parameters and new vision .....

- 30 -

... And, Speaking of Joy-ful .....

There's this reminder from XM Radio's "70s on 7" that, after 300+ years, Johann Sebastian Bach still rocks. With thanks to Shawn Herrington at lp2cd.com

So, Whatever Happened with That Tolkien Class, Anyway? Pt. 1 .....

The four CARDINAL virtues which form the foundation of character are : WISDOM, FORTITUDE, TEMPERANCE and JUSTICE.These virtues are natural to all mankind. They are Christian when they are perceived as fruits of the Spirit to help in the pilgrimage to our eternal home. --> -->The three THEOLOGICAL virtues are FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY. These are gifts from God. Our salvation is by faith, faith that Christ has redeemed and imparted

An Opportunity to Make a Joyful (?) Noise .....

He is risen ... Christ is risen, indeed ...

**********

A nearly-full house for early service this morning at First Prez-Midland, and I don't think anyone went home disappointed. The church's staff and ministry did themselves proud today, and the message of Christ's resurrection - and our salvation - was loud, clear and compelling.

There was a little something for everyone ... including me. A small notice in the church bulletin said, "Those who have sung the 'Hallelujah Chorus' and would like to join with the choir in this great anthem, please come to the chancel during the singing of 'The Day of Ressurection'"

I had ... so I did. And, for only the third time in more than thirty years, I sang that awesome piece with a choir. And not just the choir this morning, but accompanied by brass, tympani and organ.

I was a tenor in high school, and I don't quite have the range now, that I did then. The lump in my throat - not the result of stage fright but, rather of exhileration - didn't help either ... it was a wonderful moment. And even as I mangled this note or that, I didn't care ... I was making a joyful noise, nonetheless.

And, I enjoyed it so much that, this year, I came back and sang at late service, as well.

Perhaps what I felt was something like what Edward Hoagland once described ...

"Though I'd seen mobs behave savagely, some of my experience was of the moments when, on the contrary, a benign expressiveness, even a kind of sweetness, is loosed. When life seems to be an unmixed good, the more the merrier, and each man rises to a sense of glee and mitigation, alleviation, or freedom that, perhaps, we wouldn't quite dare to feel if he were alone. The smiling likeness, infectious blitheness, the loose, exultant sense of unity in which sometimes, the mass of people as a whole, seems to improve upon the better nature of the parts."

"This intrigued me."

"Just as with other natural wonders of the world, to which one relinquishes one's self, instead of feeling smaller, I often felt bigger when I was packed into a multitude And taking for granted the potential for mayhem of crowds, of which so much has been written, I was fascinated instead by the clear, pealing gaiety."

"It manifests itself, for instance, in the extraordinary quality that singing by a congregation acquires. The humdrum and unlovely voices gradually merge into a sweet, uniquely pristine note, a note angelic-sounding, hardly believable. Looking about, one can't see who in particular might have such a voice. Everybody in the pew has an expression as if he were about to sneeze, and squawks just a little. It is a note created only when hundreds sing ... it needs them all. No single person is responsible, any more than any individual in a mob lends that its bestiality."

"It's like riding in surf. It's like a Dantean ascent ... one circle up. Suddenly, we like all these strangers, even the stranger in ourselves, and seem to see a shape in life, as if all the exertions of the week really were justified and were a source of joy."

Alleluia ... Amen

**********

With thanks to Florence Sherwood, Chorus Director at Dallas Senior High School, Dallas, Pennsylvania, for her wonderful talent and her incredible patience.

Appearing in Today's Obits Page .....

..... is this notice .....

And, Another Departure .....

A fact of life and work in a television market this size, is the coming-and-going of many, many young people ..... West Texas has always been what we call a 'teaching market' where young media professionals - reporters, photographers, producers/editors, etc. - hone their craft and develop their resumés in preparation for moving-up and moving-on to the bigger markets .....

The latest is Shawndrea Thomas, a reporter at NewsWest 9, who is bound for Columbus, Ohio ..... Shawndrea is also known to local radio listeners ..... we will miss her, but we wish her good luck and Godspeed .....

Of course, that doesn't mean we've seen/heard the last of her ..... West Texas alumni revisit us, in a manner of speaking, through news packages they produce in their new markets, which are then made available to us through NBC's newsfeed ..... like this report from NewsWest 9 alum David Marino, who now reports for KVOA-TV, in Tucson, Arizona .....

Another (slightly) New Look .....

..... and new message for MSNBC's website ..... check it out .....

Another Departure .....

Good luck and Godspeed to another longtime fixture in West Texas media on his departure ..... Doug Cole, general manager at KOCV-FM, at Odessa College - and host of their weekly "Zero G" program - has accepted the position of station manager and operations coordinator of KCCU-FM at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma ..... I will miss "Zero G" - but not as much as I will miss Doug .....

Foregoing Words for THE WORD .....

Something a little different for Palm Sunday service, this morning at First Prez-Midland ..... instead of the usual sermon, we had an extended and dramatic reading from the Gospel of Luke, Chapters 22 and 23 ..... a wonderfully spirited and provocative presentation by Carl and Jane Moore that conveyed to us all why these are not simply words, but The Word .....

Why, YES ... I HAVE Been Going Into Pinky's a LOT, Lately .....

And it's all because of these guys ..... great Kahlua and rum flavorings, added to fine Belgian chocolate, but NO alcohol ..... I see them - if I may borrow a phrase from Mr. Franklin - as proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy!

I Wanna Know ... Have Ya Ever Seen the 'Raines' ? .....

Once upon a time, television featured one big blowout-time-of-the-year, when networks trotted out their new offerings for our entertainment ..... with a few of the didn't-quite-make-it-in-the-fall programs showing-up in the late spring, early summer.

Fall is still a big time for the debut of new shows and new lineups ..... but not AS big ..... one reason is the plethora of cable networks that have been trotting-out THEIR new shows at times that people aren't focused on the 'Big 3' (now '4'?) .....

That strategy has affected the entire industry, with the result that now ALL the networks are premiering new shows almost year-round .....

..... such as my new favorite program, which debuted two weeks ago on NBC .....

"Raines" is a new, weekly program on NBC. According to the show's website, "eccentric LAPD Detective Michael Raines (Jeff Goldblum) uses his unique imagination to focus on every murder case in such a way that the murder victims actually begin to take shape in front of him. At first, he thinks he's losing his mind, but he then uses the constantly evolving hallucinations - which are figments of his imagination and not ghosts - to help him discover the victims' killers. Raines struggles to accept this peculiar gift - or burden - and reconcile it with his daily life."

The show is well produced, relying as much - or more - on the fundamentals, on skilled camera placement and editing, as it does any kind of digital wizardry. It is also, I think, beautifully written. Fans of Goldblum should love the show ..... but even those who find him an acquired taste should give the show a try.

Any concerns or reservations? ..... well, yes, a couple .....

One, can the writer/producers/director/actors keep up the pace that's been set in the first two episodes? ..... this candle burns brightly, but will it also burn quickly?

Two, beginning this week, NBC is moving it from Thursday at 9 p.m. (central) to Friday at 8 p.m. ... which doesn't strike me as a particularly good time to reach out to A LOT of television viewers .....

So, anyway, I urge you to give this show a try ..... get it while it's hot ..... get it while you can .....

A New Look .....

... for the Odessa American's website ..... check it out .....

Short-Timer .....

A little over fifteen days ago, I gave my two-weeks' notice at work ..... the decision to leave brings an end to an association with KWES-TV that began seventeen years ago ..... throughout that time, in one capacity or another, I have been working for NewsWest 9 ..... even when I was living and working full-time in Fort Stockton, editing their newspaper, I was still working part-time for the television station as their 'Big Bend stringer.'

The last few years, I've been the station's website editor ...... and in that capacity, I've learned a lot about the virtual business, and the actual community in which I live and work ..... and new, better ways to serve that community.

But now, that job is growing in new directions, with new parameters and new requirements that I am unable - and, admittedly, unwilling - to meet.

I'm still on board, because ... well, after seventeen years, one doesn't just rush out the door ..... there's the matter of hiring someone to take over, and bringing them up to speed ..... doing your best to hand over the reins, the wheel, the helm - pick your own metaphor - smoothly and efficiently ..... I owe them that.

Most of my co-workers were also my friends .... and it would be hard to find a better bunch of friends. Some of my oldest friends are gone, passed away .... many others have moved on to other jobs, at other stations or in other markets ..... makes no difference really ... they are remembered, and remembered well.

More than a few of you out there, in the blogosphere, have had some hand, at one time or another, in shaping and directing our online product ..... I am grateful to you all for your generosity with offering suggestions, and your patience with the time it took to give the good suggestions their due consideration and application.

So, where to from here? I have no idea. If you know of any prospects, e-mail me. On a related note, if you'd like to try your hand as an Internet Content Director ..... now's your chance.

Watch Out, CNN ..... Onion Goes Vid Today .....

The Onion - a staple of online news satire - is launching a video newscast today ..... the Onion News Network, or ONN, billing itself as, 'faster, harder, scarier and all-knowing' ..... and the ads are funny, too ..... More on the launch, from Variety .....

Thanks to Brian at TVNewswer for the heads-up.

... and While I'm on the Subject of Film Critique .....

Those of you who know me in the actual world know I have the gift - the curse? - of gab, and will talk at length on just about any subject .....

Yet, when I walked out of a showing of "300" last week, all I could say was, "Wow!" At the time, I felt as if my brain was still processing all that I had seen and heard over the previous two hours, and it would be a while before I could put my impressions into words .....

The first word that comes to mind is "sensational" ..... meaning the impact the film's stunning audio and visuals had on my senses ..... it is a truly beautiful film to look at, and what you see is complemented by what you hear, a near-perfect mix of words, music and sound effects .....

Another word that comes to mind is "historical" ..... don't be quick to dismiss a film adapted from a comic book! The creator of the comic book, Frank Miller, was inspired by the story of King Leonidas and his 300 at an early age, and has devoted A LOT of time in researching both the history and the legend of that story. While some of the details of his story - battle rhinos, for example, and the deformities of the Spartan traitor - are creative license on his part, the fundamentals of the film are firmly established in the historical record .....

In talking to a friend and co-worker of mine, who attended the afternoon matinee with me, I noted the similarity between one scene - that of a Spartan soldier, in profile, striding and fighting his way through of host of Persian attackers - and the images that have come down to us from ancient Greek pottery ..... not a coincidence, we decided .....

Another word that comes to mind, especially in light of some of the criticism that has been leveled at the filmmakers, is "apolitical" ..... this is a story that has endured and grown for 2,500 years, without the aid of current political affairs and policy-makers ..... no, I don't see it as a struggle to preserve democracy in the face of an onslaught by ancient Iraqis and Iranians, but something more fundamental, more timeless, more universal ..... rather, I see it as a fight for self-determination against an invader - and that's something all free peoples should understand ..... Leonidas and the Spartans would have resisted any invasion, under any banner, whether it was by Xerxes and the Persian Empire, or George Bush and the Coalition of the Willing .....

Also apolitical - politically-incorrect? - is the decision by Leonidas' wife to, quite literally, 'sleep with the enemy' in order to gain that enemy's support for sending the entire Spartan army north in support of her husband and his 300 men ..... has she indeed, as Eric has suggested, sacrificed her honor for political gain? Or has she thrown life and limb into the fray - as her husband has done, but in the only way a woman can - in defense of Sparta's freedom ...... think about the role of women in ancient Spartan society before you answer. Personally, I think that political opponent's fate would, ultimately, have been the same, regardless of the stand he took on the council floor, or the outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae .....

I will close with one last word that comes to mind as I consider this film ..... "recommended"

What the Post Says the Times Says Their Critics Do .....

It's a common point of discussion among us, especially the last few days of the week, when previews, reviews and interviews about arts and entertainment fill the pages and the aiwaves of the media ..... "Just what was that critic thinking?" ..... "Did s/he see the same movie/play/show/concert that I did?" .....

It's a tie that binds us all together, and encourages discussion among us ..... we may not know art, but we know what we like ..... and we're all happy to share our likes and our dislikes, our picks and our pans, our thumbs-up and our thumbs-down with whoever passes our desk, the water cooler, or our little corner of the blogosphere .....

Most critique of the arts can serve a useful purpose ..... I am, I think, a better film-viewer thanks to the Cinematic Eye series (thirty years ago) on PBS. This series originally included thirteen international classics - Shoeshine, La Strada, L'Avrentura, Hobson's Choice, Man of Aran, Rules of the Game, Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, Jules et Jim, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Torment, Smiles of a Summer Night, and The Battleship Potemkin. Benjamin Dunlap provided a lecture before and after each selection, that covered background information on the historical context, production data, significance, and techniques of the individual films.

That doesn't necessarily limit the scope of critique, though ..... some may believe they are nothing less than "the central arbiter of taste and culture" in their community ..... case in point, the New York Times, which found itself in the news recently for adopting that very mantle ..... a 'discussion' of said mantle is well-covered here by their ink-stained Gotham brethren, the New York Post.

Thanks to Frank at BOOKS, INQ. for the heads-up.

Covering Iraq: Trying To Connect .....

CBS News' Allen Pizzey on a Baghdad correspondent's struggle to talk to the audience back here, in America ..... it makes for compelling reading, though you may not like what he has to say ......
I recommend it.

Thanks to Brian at TVNewswer for the heads-up.

An Unsettling Trend .....

For the second time in one year, I find myself linking-to/recommending a post on Jessica's Well. This time around, it's this post from 'Vaughn' about that pop culture phenomenon, "American Idol" ..... a post that had me nodding in agreement as I read it.

Behind Bars for Good .....

Wallace, at Streams, is going behind bars ... for good.

On April 26th, he'll be going to jail (the Texas Roadhouse Annex) as part of the annual 'Lockup' fundraiser to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

In conjunction with this effort, the folks at MDA have created a Free Bubba webpage to raise the funds Wallace will need to be sprung from the hoosegow.

No word, yet, on whether there's a separate fund to KEEP him behind bars! :-)

Juggernaut Magnum Gets a Clue .....

It was three weeks after it had begun appearing nationwide that I finally got my first glimpse of the new Hammer and Coop campaign, in the form of a trailer that ran before a local showing of "300" .....

And I stilled remained well out of the loop ..... I thought it was a trailer for an upcoming film ..... sort of an irreverant take-off of Knight-Rider-Meets-Starsky-and-Hutch-and-Stroker-and-Hoop ..... and, at first, I thought it starred Jason Lee .....

Now, thanks to a visit to the official Hammer and Coop website, I have a clue ..... and a neat new moniker from the site's Action Name Generator .....

More on the campaign and its webisodes from ADVERBLOG and iMediaConnection .....

You Can Take the Girl Out of the Big Bend, But ...

Cowtown Patty and Kman are "Bringing the Desert to Cowtown"

More Than a Feeling ... A Late Lament .....

I should have posted this last week ..... Brad Delp, whose soaring tenor on songs such as "More Than Feeling" gave voice to the best-selling rock band Boston, has died at the age of 55. Here is the obituary that ran at the time, in the pages of the Boston Globe. It was later revealed that Delp had committed suicide, leaving behind a note in which he described himself as "a lonely soul." More on that, from Billboard Magazine.

Not reaching the audiences enjoyed by either of those publications, I was writing for a pair of Albuquerque, New Mexico-based periodicals - Albuquerque Music Scene, and Record Review - when Boston made the leap from regional favorite to national sensation. Record Review paid its writers with the thrill of seeing their byline in print, and you got to keep the record you reviewed. I still have that copy of "Boston," their breakthrough album, and I still listen to it from time to time.

Biographers of the 70s note that Delp's interest in music started with the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, and contributed to a spike in guitar sales following that landmark television broadcast. He was working in a New England factory when he met Todd Scholtz, and auditioned for the band that would become Boston. Fame and fortune would come - and go - in the years following that meeting.

I'll close with lyrics from "More Than a Feeling," composed by Scholtz, and given life by the voice - now-stilled - of Brad Delp.

"I looked out this morning and the sun was gone,
Turned on some music to start my day,
I lost myself in a familiar song,
I closed my eyes and I slipped away ..."

Major Words from 'Minor' Prophets .....

Our Sunday School lesson, this morning at First Prez-Midland, was on the virtue of Justice, and included a reminder that even the 'minor' prophets of the Bible spoke words of major consequence, that continue to have a major use and impact to this day ..... there are many (myself included) who might recognize the quote, but would be hard-pressed to cite the source (other than the fact that it's somewhere in the Bible) .....

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Micah 6: 8

"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."
Amos 5: 21-25

καταπληκτική επιτυχία .....

A week after it opened, I finally got around to seeing "300" .....

Seeing the actual film confirmed the first impression I gained from the trailers ..... WOW! ..... more, later .....

Erin go Bragh, Y'all .....

To be perfectly honest, those of us who ply our craft in the mainstream media do NOT spend every waking moment raking up muck or (as some local punditz will insist) pursuing some kind of diabolical liberal agenda .....

When we can, we step back from the kidnappings and the auto accidents, from the food drives and the fundraisers, from the sports and the weather, and devote some time to having a little fun .....

Which brings us to this timely report, produced by an Alabama television station last year, but worth enjoying again this year (courtesy of YouTube's botmib) .....

Or you can push back from the keyboard, get out of the chair and dance to this rap from that report (courtesy of YouTube's markslidesquad) .....

Cemetery Blogging 2.0 ...

It's Friday, and that means SpookyRach at Skewed View is "Cemetery Blogging" ..... always worth the visit ..... but, an added delight, this week, with added media ..... check it out!

A Yankee's Toast to Texas .....

“To Texas . . .

Joyous and sparkling,

Evergreen when it rains, enduring in drought,

Timeless, endless in boundaries, exciting,

Home to the adventurous of yesterday and today,

With shrines from the past

And space and spirit for the future.

To Texas.

Everlasting in the hearts of your people!”

I think it was nearly ten years ago when, as editor of the Fort Stockton Pioneer, I was handed a letter from one of our readers, for publication in the next issue ..... a letter admonishing our paper for not devoting adequate space to Texas Independence Day. She may have been DRT (I honestly don't remember for certain), but she was certainly something of a Lone Star zealot ..... a perception of mine that was reinforced by her comment as she handed me the letter .....

"You probably won't realize the importance of this, not being from around here."

Well, actually, I do, and so do a lot of dang Yankees from back east, such as myself. True, I am someone who - to borrow the old saying - wasn't born in Texas, but got here as fast as I could. And the same could be said for Stephen Austin, William Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Mirabeau Lamar and Sam Houston.

DON'T GET ME WRONG ..... I do NOT equate myself with them. But it doesn't hurt to remember that, with the exception of Juan Seguin and his company of Tejanos, there wasn't a 'native Texan' to be found on the Texas side of the revolution.

The Keystone Stater in me would like to point out that there were an estimated 13 Pennsylvanians defending the walls of the Alamo, and offering up their lives for the revolution and the ideals it represented. And well they should. Because it was something that had been important to them their parents and their grandparents for more than half-a-century.

Maybe that's what bugged me about the woman's remark ..... the fact that, 'not being from around here,' I would be unable to understand what was being decided in the Texas revolution ..... it was something that all free-thinking people know ..... or should know. You see, it wasn't just men that came to Texas ..... the ideals adopted at Washington on the Brazos had been conceived many years before, in Philadelphia ..... and the determination to defend those ideals in Goliad and Gonzales, San Antonio and San Jacinto, had been inspired - again, many years before - by what took place at Bunker Hill and Valley Forge, Lexington and Concord ..... and the material needed to pursue that defense came from all over the United States, from the decision by Alabama to strip its state arsenal of muskets and send them west, to the Twin Sisters - a pair of canons donated by the 'People of Cincinnati, Ohio' and arriving just in time to blast a hole in the Mexicans' makeshift breastworks at San Jacinto.

And so, I lift my glass, today, and I will join the toast being heard statewide ..... but mine will be a private affair ..... and while I may follow closely the words printed at the top of this post, I will deviate on one point, and replace the word 'Texas' with 'America' ..... God Bless It!

The Best Blogging in West Texas ...

..... the past couple of weeks, has come from Wallace at Streams. He has offered a unique and personal perspective on a national story, and given us some wonderful, exclusive insights - gained 35 years ago in Viet Nam, and these past few days in Washington, D.C. - into the people and events behind that story ..... and pictures, too!

Take a Sip from 'The Fountain' ...

In less than three months, "The Fountain," a film by Darren Aronofsky (based on his own story and screenplay), will be released on DVD. I'm hoping this DVD release will make the film available to those who missed its somewhat limited, short-term release in theaters this past year.

Only twenty-or-so people turned out at the Friday screening I attended here, In Midland ..... and nearly half of them got up and left before the film was half-over. They may have been the rule, rather than the exception ... one could barely hear the faint clicking of box office receipts being generated nationwide.

Critics' response ranged from the laudatory to the lambasting ..... though quite a few found themselves torn, somewhere in the middle, between one extreme and another ..... "In telling a tale of love across time, Aronofsky is sometimes guilty of creating arty, pretentious psychobabble," wrote Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. "But in visual terms, he's trying to expose his own raw, romantic heart. Folly? Maybe. But a risk worth taking." ..... Lisa Schwartzbaum, of Entertainment Weekly, wrote, "I'm as touched and charmed by its failures as I am transfixed, at times, by its successful inventiveness and audacity."

At the Venice Film Festival, several critics booed the film at the press screening, but the next day, it received a 10-minute standing ovation at the public screening.

Me, I enjoyed the film ..... but, I can see that some would be challenged, even put-off by the structure of its narrative. Imagine three men who are one man, sharing one quest, one desire, one end, then reaching that end by different means, following different paths in reaching their shared goal. Then imagine the film moving back-and-forth between the three, then back-and-forth again, and again.

Tomas, a 16th-century Spanish conquistador, beloved of Queen Isabella of Spain, searching the jungles of MesoAmerica for the Biblical Tree of Life and its promise of immortality. Tommy Creo is a modern-day oncologist, whose research - and his hope of saving his terminally-ill wife - takes an unexpected turn when he discovers the rejuvenative powers of a compound derived from a Guatemalan tree. Tom is a 26th-century traveler, crossing the depths of space in an ecosphere, accompanying an ancient tree on a journey to a nebula that - the Mayans believed - offered the promise of immortality.

Interpretations of the film are legion and diverse. Me? I see in it an affirmation of Christian teachings ..... there is the promise of eternal life, and that promise is delivered, but NOT in this world. It is a foundation that underlies everything else in the film, and provides for pivotal points on which all three tales - and the grand narrative that binds together all three, spanning centuries of time and light-years of space - are at last resolved.

I'd like to know what YOU think, when you've had a chance to see this film.

Cause for Celebration .....

Eric has returned from his sojourn through the Land of Ench-ant-ment, and is once again regaling us with virtual, thoughtful and content-free wisdom at Fire Ant Gazette.

Dodsworth ... A Renewed Acquaintance ...

It was not the kind of book cover that catches the eye and draws the browser in for a closer look, a perusal of the notes on the back of the dust cover, and a more thoughtful consideration of what to buy ... maybe it was the simple title - tastefully set in a simple font on a simple background - that caught my attention, then my hand, then my decision to make yet another purchase from the Friends of the Midland County Library ...

Dodsworth

by Sinclair Lewis

Modern Library

A small hardback, a 1944 Random House reprint of a novel from the man who gave us Babbit, Arrowsmith and Elmer Gantry, among others.

An acquaintance of mine from the University of New Mexico, Robert Fleming, once described Dodsworth as Lewis' most fully-developed novel, bearing his own unique style, but one that blended well with the contemporary topics popularized by Henry James, and the older roots of American literature planted by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Yes, it is ... and it's also a darn good story, a critique of American culture and politics, values and desires, with its multitude of contradictions, presented to us in the lives of people we might encounter on any given day, on the 'Main Street' of our town. (photo is a still from a 1936 film adaptation of Lewis' novel)

On a Side Note ... late in the novel, Sam receives a letter from his estranged wife where, in her quest to become 'European' - she dismisses American life as thin, without tradition ...

"Sam laid down the letter and thought of the tradition of pioneers pushing to the westward, across the Alleghenies, through the forests of Kentucky and Tennessee, on to the bleeding plains of Kansas, on to Oregon and California, a religious procession, sleeping always in danger, never resting, and opening a new home for a hundred-million people."

Not a bad image, really ... one very much in keeping with the image I gained from my history books as a child ... are we still allowed to carry that image with us, and be proud of it, today? ... End of Side Note

For me, the purchase represented a chance to renew acquaintances I had made in high school, with Sam and Fran, Tub and Matey, Nande and - of course - Edith ... all in all, it was a pleasant and enriching experience, and I'm the better for it.

Dog-Gone Story Ends Well ...

The stolen dog has been recovered and is in fine shape! Thanks for getting the word out.

Dog-Gone ... Can You Help? ...

Poster by Eric at Fire Ant Gazette

Welcome to the Bigs ...

A student at a northern New Mexico college is getting an education in the ongoing efforts by 'the system,' its government and its bureaucrats to rein-in and muzzle a free press that might otherwise report information of value to 'we, the people' ... but not to 'they, our handlers'

NMHU VP tells student newspaper editor not to publish police blotter

LAS VEGAS, NEW MEXICO (AP) - The editor of the New Mexico Highlands University student newspaper says a school vice president told her not to publish a police blotter.

La Mecha editor Rachael Ball says Judy Cordova told her the blotters aren't informative and reflect poorly on the university. The blotter contains incidents of crime around the NMHU campus. Ball published the blotter in her first edition, but left it out of the second one after meeting with Cordova.

Ball says Cordova also rejected her idea to publish a story about a campus security officer who was arrested on suspicion of trafficking cocaine.

Ball says Cordova wants to reduce the negativity on campus. Cordova says she wanted the first edition to be upbeat as a way of reintroducing the newspaper, which hadn't been published for more than a year.

Well, There Goes MY Fifteen Minutes ...

Alas, after many developments, much back-and-forth, my chance for reality TV stardom in West Texas has slipped away ... the producers of said venture, rejected in my own workplace, will stay in the market, but will employ another venue ... watched them at work tonight ... maybe I can get on the next season of 'Biggest Loser.'

*****
UPDATE: The folks at Jessica's Well have picked-up on this story.

Blogging from Death Row ...

It's Friday, and that means Spookyrach at SKEWED VIEW is Cemetery Blogging ... this week's post is out-of-town and out-of-the-ordinary ... well worth your visit.

Totally Terpsichorial ...

An XM Radio discovery this afternoon ... if I were to march to the beat of a different drum, I might select this by Michael Praetorius.