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Sunday, December 21st, 2008
Watching John Ford's The Searchers last night I was struck by a curious parallel to Gopnik's reading of Babar -- I was only able to watch it as if it were a dark satire about Confederate racism. But I am far from sure the movie is intended this way. Wayne's character (and to a lesser extent, every other character in the film) seemed by turns creepy and darkly hilarious; but instead of laughing I kept asking whether Edwards is being put forth as a hero, and whether audiences in 1956 would have taken him that way. I mean the story-teller definitely portrays Edwards as having some problems; but does not seem to think he is evil through and through. So as a viewer I'm in this uncomfortable position -- am I being asked to sympathize with this jerk? There were moments in the film where I did sympathize with him; but then the next minute I would recoil when he said the white women who had been captured by the Comanche were no longer white, and no longer human. Is this recoiling the point of the film? I never saw Ford tipping his hat.
posted morning of December 21st, 2008: 2 responses
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Saturday, December 20th, 2008
Do you believe in any of what you're saying, It's not a question of believing or not believing, everything we go on saying is added to what is, to what exists,... when I get to the end of what I'm saying, I have to believe in my having said it, that's often all that's needed, just as water, flour, and yeast make bread.
I read a lot more of The Stone Raft today and am pretty well cured of my fear (sort of silly on its face) that Saramago was going to turn the story into a conventional unconventional romance. I still feel concerned about the way the two female characters were brought into the story each to hook up immediately with one of the men -- it seems to diminish their roles as independent characters, when the male characters had a hundred or so pages to develop themselves solo, not as part of a couple. (Also I'm still wondering about Maria Dolores -- why was she brought into the story and given an identity if she was not going to play any role going forward?)But maybe the romantic pairing is necessary -- it gives me as a reader a familiar element in this very alien story. I like the characters and I'm ok with them getting together. Joaquim is still immature and petulant -- he has not been cured of that by his liaison with Maria Guaivera. And yet I respect him, since he is the one who set this whole pilgrimage in motion. Something I'm wondering about: When Pedro tells of the stone ship he found at the coast, it reminds Maria of an old story that "saints landed on this coast in ships made of stone, coming from deserts on the other side of the world." Is this a real story? I'm going to try and find out more about it -- Maria references St. James as one of the sailors in question. ...Yes, a real story. celticcountries.com says, Further details about Saint James' late whereabouts were given in the Historia Compostellana [sic] commissioned by Archbishop Diego Gelmirez of Galicia in the 12th century. According to the Historia, after St. James was martyred in the Holy Land his disciples carried his body to Galicia in a ship made of stone. Like St. James, many other Celtic saints such as St. Matthieu or St. Malo in Brittany navigated also across the Atlantic in stone vessels.
(later, the travellers "are following the old route of Santiago," who is St. James, as they move slowly through the villages south of Lugo.)
posted evening of December 20th, 2008: Respond
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"Let's work hard and cheerfully and we'll continue to be happy," the Old Lady tells the elephants, and, though we know that the hunter is still in the woods, it is hard to know what more to add. Adam Gopnik has a good article in the current New Yorker about de Brunhoff's Babar books -- "Freeing the Elephants" addresses complaints about the colonialist worldview in Babar by calling the books "a self-conscious comedy about the French colonial imagination and its close relation to the French domestic imagination." I'm not totally convinced that this describes the spirit in which the books were written -- Gopnik doesn't really make an argument, just an assertion -- but it does seem like an excellent spirit in which to read the books.Next week we're going to see the exhibit at the Morgan Library. The library's website features a digital reproduction of de Brunhoff's first, hand-printed copy of Histoire de Babar.
posted morning of December 20th, 2008: Respond
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 I found out about this Mexican band by a circuitous route -- reading Alejandro Rossi's essay about Octavio Paz' Labyrinth of Solitude made me interested in finding out more about the book; and I came to learn that Botellita de Jerez had written a song with the same title.
The lyric (as far as I can understand it) refers to Paz' essay "Los Hijos de la Malinche", which I think is about Hernando Cortes' mistress, her role in turning Mexico into a Spanish colony, her place in the Mexican imagination. Here is another fantastic song from Botellita de Jerez, "Niña de mis ojos":
posted morning of December 20th, 2008: Respond
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
 Ellen tells me she has gotten me two books for Hanukkah, both featured on this year's reading list: What Can I Do When Everything's on Fire? by António Lobo Antunes, and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. Thanks El!
posted morning of December 18th, 2008: Respond
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I wrote a brief review of Stroszek for The Great Whatsit's Thursday Favorites column. Check it out! If you're coming from there and want to read more about Stroszek, click the link below.
posted morning of December 18th, 2008: Respond
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Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
 Lots more photos up at the READIN Family Album, of Ellen's and Sylvia's vacation in Florida.
posted evening of December 17th, 2008: Respond
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We're thinking of seeing a couple movies this weekend -- Milk and Cadillac Records. Have you seen those? Worthwhile, or do you have a different recommendation? Let me know. (A friend recommended Slumdog Millionaire in pretty glowing terms, but I don't know if a trip in to the city is going to be feasible.)
 Oh, look at that! Slumdog Millionaire is playing in Montclair -- maybe I will lobby for that. Cadillac Records looks like it might not be that interesting.
posted morning of December 17th, 2008: Respond
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The Wooster Collective features some art from Peter Fuss of Poland, including this billboard, which reminds me a bit (as so much else is doing these days) of The Stone Raft:
 (Seen in context at Fuss's site the message is a bit different.)
posted morning of December 17th, 2008: Respond
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
 Just a note: my new yo-yo is about the easiest and most fun to spin of any yo-yo I've tried. It will come back in situations where most yo-yos would not. If you're looking for one to learn on or if you know how to do it and want to have some fun, I recommend this model.
 (Note: It is not as heavy as a classic Duncan Imperial or Duncan Butterfly, so it will not sleep for as long as them; I mostly like doing looping tricks where sleeping is not as important.)
posted evening of December 16th, 2008: 1 response
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