The last of the film icons I worshipped as a kid has
now passed with the death of Kirk Douglas. He was a hero to a young version of myself
after seeing him as Einar in The Vikings, Mikey Marcus in Cast a Giant Shadow, anything
he did with John Wayne, but mostly for his seminal title role as Spartacus. As
an adult I read his first autobiography The Ragman’s Son and was amazed
at his life. Later in life he finally received the recognition he deserved for
helping break Hollywood’s 1950s black list. It turned out he was a hero in real
life as well. I must be getting really old because there really is no one left
from the era that created the movie nut in me. I’m going to re-watch Spartacus
tonight (for probably over the hundredth time). Thank you Kirk for your life.
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| We Will Remember You |
Now that Iowa has finally gotten around to figuring
out how to count votes there has been a fairly interesting development. Pete Buttigieg
somehow beat out designated Democratic heavyweights. This is another in a
series of rejection of past political experience in favor of new ideas and
thankfully a push towards the center. I’m sure this has the radical wing of the
Democratic Party concerned and probably explains why the results were so long
in coming out. I like what I’m hearing from the little I have seen from him. It
would be nice to have a real choice this November. Sanders is not an option.
The granddaughters were in fine form last evening. I
caught the BRS as she was raiding her mother’s lunch box. The ABFA, since she’s
also eating for BR3, had a liberal amount of snacks stored there. The BRS retrieved
most of them and ceremoniously carrying them to her place at the dinner table.
My Favorite Son was pointing out she had to eat her dinner before the pudding she
had purloined but this didn’t stop the BRS from insisting she have the pudding
first at least 27 times. To my son’s credit he held out, I don’t think I could
have.
The FBR had a rough day. She had a minor altercation
at school when one of her best friends tried to take a book away from her. The friend
now knows how much importance this family places on reading. After enduring the
penance her actions called for she also had to face the indignity of brussel sprouts
for dinner. I can remember being seated at my mother’s dinner table when I was
8 or 9, long after everyone else had left the table, being told I had to eat
those foul vegetables even though getting them near my mouth caused an
involuntary gag reflex. My daughter tried to garner my support for eating the
damnable things saying “Grampa loves brussel sprouts!” adding a very pointed “Don’t
you Grampa!”. I think the FBR could read my eyes when I tried to support her
mother.
I was back at the cinema last to see Gretel and
Hansel. This is a terrible movie. I know it was aimed at female empowerment but
they should have put a female director in charge because it badly misses the
mark. There are some very good visuals, the young star has real screen
presence, and Alice Krige does evil so well but the ponderous pacing and
idiotic script rob the movie of any entertainment value. I think I’ve only
walked out of a couple movies in my entire life but I came very close to adding
this to the list. It’s the same basic story as the original Grimm fairy tale
but Gretel is an older sister now when they fall afoul of the forested witch. After
groaning through the first third to get to that point I thought the pace would
pick up. It got slower. Avoid this as if the cake is laced with poison.
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RECURRING
CHARACTERS
BR3
– inbound
granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel
- second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog
Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA –
Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene
Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene,
NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since
grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to
attract women; Pittsburgh College
Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which
grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two
close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd musquetera
(musketeer); Riggins - also known as
the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals
– female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife
accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member, Favorite Panamanian - the
wife (of course); First Friday –
celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her
single days in Brooklyn
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