This will be a short list, mostly because I bought a new computer and lost most of my files during the changeover. They are in no particular order, simply because I don't want to expend the effort necessary to rank them, and especially since I know quite well that, on another day, I might rank them differently!
The Man from Earth: I thought enough of this film to buy my own copy. It's the fascinating tale of a man who tells his friends and coworkers that he's thousands of years old and their response to that revelation. It's one of the best SF films I've viewed in many years. For more information, check out the post I did on it last year.
Doktor Fautus: based on the novel by Thomas Mann about a composer who makes a pact with the devil. I haven't read the novel in some time, so I can't comment on the fidelity of the dramatization. I will say though that it was an enjoyable film, even if much of it seemed strange to me, which might be caused by my failing memory, maybe. . .
1984: finally after many years Netflix found a copy to send me. It's the version with John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as O'Brien. It was quite good as far as it went, but there was no way that any film could present the image upon which the tyranny of Oceania rested--"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
12 Angry Men: starring Henry Fonda as Juror 8, the lone man who, at the beginning of the jury's deliberations, insists that they take time to discuss the case inasmuch as a guilty verdict would result in the death penalty. It's an exploration of the effects of prejudice on our perception of others and the judgements that result. What was equally fascinating was the discovery that there were two foreign versions of this film, both very close to the US version. The Russian version's title is 12, and while it follows closely the US version, there are some differences. The Hindi language version is titled Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, and it is very close to the US version. For more information, see the post I made of the three last year.
A Dance to the Music of Time: based on the novels by Anthony Powell. The film is a condensation of Anthony Powell's series of novels published under the same title as the film: A Dance to the Music of Time. The novels are published in four parts: First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement, and Fourth Movement, and each of the four parts consists of three novels each. A symphony typically has four movements, so that suggests a lengthy and complex treatment of various themes. The film begins with a disparate group of people who meet while they are in school. The narrative follows one man from that point and down the years through the post WWII era. We see how he grows and develops and the way those people he had met during his academic years drop away and then reappear during this period. I found the film absorbing enough to go out and get the books.
Europa Report: an SF adventure/exploration film. It's somewhat reminiscent of 2001 in that the ship is headed towards Jupiter, or to be more precise, Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. It's a skillful blending of NASA film clips and fiction. They have obviously studied NASA technology and methodology to create a very believable film of the way a journey to Europa just might take place. It's one of the better SF films I viewed last year.
Appalachian Journey: One night over a decade ago I was driving home from work and was listening to PBS radio KUAT-FM. It happened to be the broadcast from Lincoln Center, a chamber music event. It featured, among others, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor with special guests James Taylor and Alison Krauss. I was instantly captivated by the liveliness of the music--country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and barnyard melodies. During an interview, Edgar Meyer stated that the program tonight was duplicated on a CD they had produced: Appalachian Journey. I immediately went out and purchased the CD. I then went out and searched for other CDs featuring Edgar Meyer, and I think I now have at least 5. A short time ago, I discovered that the concert at Lincoln Center had been filmed, so I immediately added it to my queue. Now I can listen to the CD and see them in my memory on stage. If you're not familiar with Edgar Meyer and his unique musical universe, you should check it out.
Steel Helmet: one of the few war pictures that I enjoyed watching. It is very different from the usual patriotic war films that came my way. It tells of Sgt Zack, a loner whose outfit had been wiped out by the North Koreans, and his encounter with several stragglers, a Korean boy, and an American unit searching for a Buddhist temple to be used as a forward observation post. The film came out in 1951, during the Korean War, and those expecting the typical John Wayne patriotic war film must have been shocked by what they saw. One reviewer called it an anti-American and pro-communist propaganda film. By today's standards, it probably isn't that shocking, but back then it had to be disturbing to many.
If I were told that I had to buy at least one war film, this would probably be the one.
THX 1138: This was one of George Lucas' early efforts. It's based on the film he produced and directed during his studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It's a fascinating picture of a future USA where being unhappy and feeling any emotion but happiness is against the law. It also has one of the riskiest sequences I've ever seen in any film--a long period of time wherein the characters are set against an all-white background, where even the simple furniture is white. The characters' faces and hands provide a startling contrast. Of course, Lucas has to include a car chase scene, something he couldn't do without, even back then when he was producing films that had interesting plots and characters and weren't just excuses for action, action, action.
It is one of the eight DVDs that I have in my personal collection.
Twelve O'clock High: one of the few war pictures I have watched several times, probably mostly due to the fine performance by Gregory Peck, one of my favorite actors. As an HQ staff officer, he finds it necessary to remove a friend from command of a bomber unit based in England during WWII for he feels the commander has gotten too close to his men and can't make the hard decisions necessary. Peck's character then takes command and isolates himself from the unit, thereby triggering resentment from the men who had gotten used to the previous commander's more paternal style.
Zorba the Greek: I had heard much about this film many years ago and eventually watched it. I found the music so infectious that I bought the soundtrack for the film. I also so enjoyed the story that I bought the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. I was hooked and over the years have purchased as many of his works as possible. I think my collection of his works exceeds ten books. Zorba is a free spirit, and his behavior and attitude might disturb many. The Englishman he mentors is at the exact other end of the spectrum--uptight and constrained--and this provides the conflict in the film. At the end, the Englishman returns to England, but he isn't the same person who came out here.
This is one of the few DVDs that I may add to my collection someday.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Robert Grudin: the perfect comeback--hours later
III.5
"The French use the term 'esprit de l'escalier' ('wit of the stairway') to describe the brilliant comments that occur to us just after we have left the party or meeting where they would have been appropriate. The killing response to an unprovoked insult, the quietus for an aggressive bore, the naughty paradox that would have made you shine, are as useless now as tickets to last night's show. So much is wit the child of time. Still, it is not just our own slowness that makes us think of things too late. Something in the social experience itself, some fear of self-expression or some awareness of wit's proximity to the utterly absurd, deadens our minds and stops our tongues. Besides, the witty remark, whether it denudes hypocrisy or subverts language, is always a miniature revolution, a gesture of reform. The witticism makes its creator, at least momentarily, an enemy of established society; and thus wit is as much a child of courage and as it is of time."
-- Robert Grudin --
from Time and the Art of Living
The first part, the delayed witticism, is a too common experience for all of us, including me. Sometimes the brilliant, killing response comes when I'm walking out the door or driving home or even, occasionally, waking up in the middle of the night (the three o'clock comeback). It is frustrating, but unfortunately a very mundane experience, one that I really don't spend much time thinking about.
Where I part from Grudin is the second part where he states that the delayed comeback is much more than just slowness of thought, that it's "a miniature revolution" or "a gesture of reform." I think that's pushing it a bit far. Does the occasional witticism really make one "at least momentarily, an enemy of established society"?
I don't' know about others, but the few times I've been on time with a comment I never considered or thought out what I was going to say--it just popped out, and I was as surprised as anyone else. The idea that saying that made me "an enemy of established society" never occurred to me, either before, during, or after the incident.
Why does this happen to me? I'm not the fastest thinker around; it takes me time to think about the situation, the book, or the film, and it's only after some time has passed that I am able to grasp the relevant ideas or themes or nuances in question. Generally, I'm just a slow thinker, and if an "unprovoked insult" is the issue, then shock comes into play.
Shock, be it physical or mental, paralyzes one momentarily, both physically and mentally. There's always that moment of paralysis before one takes action. If it's a physical threat, then the responses are usually limited to flight or fight. If it's a mental threat, then the possible responses are multiplied: say something or leave or stay there and bear it, and to say something appropriate is the most complex of possible responses.
I think Grudin is over-intellectualizing here.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Friedrich Nietzsche: on disarmament
#284
"The means to real peace. No government admits any more that it keeps an army to satisfy occasionally the desire for conquest. Rather the army is supposed to serve for defense, and one invokes the morality that approves of self-defense. But this implies one's own morality and the neighbor's immorality; for the neighbor must be thought of as eager to attack and conquer if our state must think of means of self-defense. Moreover, the reasons we give for requiring an army imply that our neighbor, who denies the desire for conquest just as much as does our own state, and, who, for his part, also keeps an army only for reasons of self-defense, is a hypocrite and a cunning criminal who would like nothing better than to overpower a harmless and awkward victim without any fight. Thus all states are now ranged against each other: they presuppose their neighbor's bad disposition and their own good disposition. This presupposition, however, is inhumane, as bad as war and worse. At bottom, indeed, it is itself the challenge and the cause of wars, because, as I have said, it attributes immorality to the neighbor and thus provokes a hostile disposition and act. We must abjure the doctrine of the army as a means of self-defense just as completely as the desire for conquests.
And perhaps the great day will come when a people, distinguished by wars and victories and by the highest development of a military order and intelligence, and accustomed to make the heaviest sacrifices for these things, will exclaim of its own free will, 'We break the sword,' and will smash its entire military establishment down to its lowest foundations. Rendering oneself unarmed when one had been the best-armed, out of a height of feeling--that it is the means to real peace, which must always rest upon a peace of mind; whereas the so-called armed peace, as it now exists in all countries, is the absence of peace of mind. One trusts neither oneself nor one's neighbor and, half from hatred, half from fear, does not lay down arms. Rather perish than hate and fear, and twice rather perish than make oneself hated and feared--this must someday become the highest maxim for every single commonwealth too.
Our liberal representatives, as it is well known, lack the time for reflecting on the nature of man: else they would know that they work in vain when they work for a 'gradual decrease of the military burden.' Rather, when this kind of need has become greatest will the kind of god be nearest who alone can help here. The tree of war-glory can only be destroyed all at once, by a stroke of lightning: but lightning, as indeed you know, comes from a cloud--and from up high."
--Friedrich Nietzsche --
from The Portable Nietzsche
p. 71
A bit naive, isn't he? Could this really work? For example, could the US really unilaterally disarm today? The last paragraph is somewhat confusing. Is Nietzsche saying that only god could bring this about? Is he suggesting that while disarmament is best, humans are incapable of achieving this?
Many years ago I read an SF story in which a character stated that if WWIII is a nuclear war, then WWIV will be fought with clubs and stones. Perhaps that cloud Nietzsche writes of is a mushroom cloud.
"The means to real peace. No government admits any more that it keeps an army to satisfy occasionally the desire for conquest. Rather the army is supposed to serve for defense, and one invokes the morality that approves of self-defense. But this implies one's own morality and the neighbor's immorality; for the neighbor must be thought of as eager to attack and conquer if our state must think of means of self-defense. Moreover, the reasons we give for requiring an army imply that our neighbor, who denies the desire for conquest just as much as does our own state, and, who, for his part, also keeps an army only for reasons of self-defense, is a hypocrite and a cunning criminal who would like nothing better than to overpower a harmless and awkward victim without any fight. Thus all states are now ranged against each other: they presuppose their neighbor's bad disposition and their own good disposition. This presupposition, however, is inhumane, as bad as war and worse. At bottom, indeed, it is itself the challenge and the cause of wars, because, as I have said, it attributes immorality to the neighbor and thus provokes a hostile disposition and act. We must abjure the doctrine of the army as a means of self-defense just as completely as the desire for conquests.
And perhaps the great day will come when a people, distinguished by wars and victories and by the highest development of a military order and intelligence, and accustomed to make the heaviest sacrifices for these things, will exclaim of its own free will, 'We break the sword,' and will smash its entire military establishment down to its lowest foundations. Rendering oneself unarmed when one had been the best-armed, out of a height of feeling--that it is the means to real peace, which must always rest upon a peace of mind; whereas the so-called armed peace, as it now exists in all countries, is the absence of peace of mind. One trusts neither oneself nor one's neighbor and, half from hatred, half from fear, does not lay down arms. Rather perish than hate and fear, and twice rather perish than make oneself hated and feared--this must someday become the highest maxim for every single commonwealth too.
Our liberal representatives, as it is well known, lack the time for reflecting on the nature of man: else they would know that they work in vain when they work for a 'gradual decrease of the military burden.' Rather, when this kind of need has become greatest will the kind of god be nearest who alone can help here. The tree of war-glory can only be destroyed all at once, by a stroke of lightning: but lightning, as indeed you know, comes from a cloud--and from up high."
--Friedrich Nietzsche --
from The Portable Nietzsche
p. 71
A bit naive, isn't he? Could this really work? For example, could the US really unilaterally disarm today? The last paragraph is somewhat confusing. Is Nietzsche saying that only god could bring this about? Is he suggesting that while disarmament is best, humans are incapable of achieving this?
Many years ago I read an SF story in which a character stated that if WWIII is a nuclear war, then WWIV will be fought with clubs and stones. Perhaps that cloud Nietzsche writes of is a mushroom cloud.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Emily Dickinson
This is another of Emily Dickinson 's many poems on death. It focuses on death as a being restful, a safe shore--a common theme in her poetry.
4
On this wondrous sea
Sailing silently,
Ho! Pilot, ho!
Knowest thou the shore
Where no breakers roar --
Where the storm is o'er?
In the peaceful west
Many the sails at rest --
The anchors fast --
Thither I pilot thee --
Land Ho! Eternity!
Ashore at last!
-- Emily Dickinson --
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Edited by Thomas H. Johnson
Poem 4, pages 6-7
Death here is seen as a safe harbor, welcomed after the storm of life--one of the most common themes found in her poetry. I found the reference to the "peaceful west" also intriguing. Perhaps it has to do with the image of the setting sun, signalling the end of the day, which is also a common image used by many poets--our life span seen as a day. For example, one finds this in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXXIII; in fact both the setting sun and the west are present.
"In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest."
Although the poet is not speaking directly of death, death is lurking in the background for this time is that time just before death, the twilight of one's life. And, we see similar elements here: a time of rest and a reference to the west.
While I am clearly in the autumn of my days, I am not looking forward to a rest, just yet.
4
On this wondrous sea
Sailing silently,
Ho! Pilot, ho!
Knowest thou the shore
Where no breakers roar --
Where the storm is o'er?
In the peaceful west
Many the sails at rest --
The anchors fast --
Thither I pilot thee --
Land Ho! Eternity!
Ashore at last!
-- Emily Dickinson --
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Edited by Thomas H. Johnson
Poem 4, pages 6-7
Death here is seen as a safe harbor, welcomed after the storm of life--one of the most common themes found in her poetry. I found the reference to the "peaceful west" also intriguing. Perhaps it has to do with the image of the setting sun, signalling the end of the day, which is also a common image used by many poets--our life span seen as a day. For example, one finds this in Shakespeare's Sonnet LXXIII; in fact both the setting sun and the west are present.
"In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest."
Although the poet is not speaking directly of death, death is lurking in the background for this time is that time just before death, the twilight of one's life. And, we see similar elements here: a time of rest and a reference to the west.
While I am clearly in the autumn of my days, I am not looking forward to a rest, just yet.
Joseph Wood Krutch: a prophecy?
"An obviously unfriendly reporter revealed not long ago that President Eisenhower had ordered removed from the White House lawn the squirrels which were interfering with his putting green, and even so trivial an incident is a straw in the wind. To hold golf courses obviously more important than squirrels indicates a tiny but significant decision. It points toward a coming world where there will be more golf courses and fewer wild plants as well as wild animals--hence to a world less interesting and less rich for those who would rather hunt a flower or watch the scamperings of a squirrel than chivy a rubber ball over a close-cropped grass plot.
The late David Fairchild who was responsible for the introduction of so many useful and beautiful plants into the United States, tells the story of an army officer assigned to an office building in Miami during the First World War.
'I haven't got anyting but human beings around me in that building where I spend my days. Aside from the floor and the ceiling, the doors and windows and desk and some chairs there isn't anything but people.
The other evening when I was feeling particularly fed up with the monotony of the place, I went into the laboratory and as I was washing my hands a cockroach ran up the wall. "Thank God for a cockroach!" I said to myself. "I'm glad there something alive besides human beings in this building."'
It may well be with such small consolations that the nature-lover of the not too distant future will be compelled to content himself. Cockroaches will not easily be exterminated."
-- Joseph Wood Krutch --
from Baja California and the Geography of Hope
I'm not sure why Krutch referred to the reporter as "obviously unfriendly." I wouldn't be surprised to discover to learn that most Americans would agree with President Eisenhower's decision. After all, to put squirrels above golf courses, to consider that other creatures' survival needs might be as important as, if not more important than, human pleasures is ridiculous, isn't it?
Just how significant is the organic world (of which we are apart, which so many conveniently forget or ignore) in our new electronic, digital world?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Thomas Hardy: The Darkling Thrush
The Darkling Thrush
I leant upon a coppice gate
…..When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
…..The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
…..Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
…..Had sought their household fires.
The land's sharp features seemed to be
…..The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
…..The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
…..Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
…..Seemed fervorless as I.
At once a voice arose among
…..The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
…..Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small
…..In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
…..Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
…..Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
…..Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
…..His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
…..And I was unaware.
-- Thomas Hardy --
December 31, 1900
I know I've posted this poem before, but it so fits my mood today that I just had to post it again.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Drew Magary: The Postmortal
Drew Magary
The Postmortal
Drew Magary's The Postmortal is probably the best SF novel that explores the theme of an extended life span that I've read in decades, if not ever. It attempts to realistically depict the effects of the development of an anti-aging medical treatment on society.
A researcher accidentally discovers a gene that controls aging and eventually comes up with a treatment that shuts down the gene. Those given the cure (as it is popularly known) immediately stop aging and remain at whatever physical state they were in when given the treatment. It is not immortality. They can still die from accidents, disease, etc., but they will remain physically the same for an unknown length of time.
The opening paragraph from the novel's introduction:
"A Note about the Text: From the Department of Containment United North American Territories
"In March 2090, a worker for the Department of Containment named Anton Vyrin was conducting a routine sweep of an abandoned collectivist compound in rural Virginia when he stumbled upon an eighth-generation wireless-enabled projected screening device (WEPS.8) that was still functional after charging. Stored inside the device's hard drive was a digital library containing sixty years' worth of text files written by a man who went by the screen name John Farrell."
. . .
"In its entirety,the collection contains thousands of entries and several hundred thousand words, but for the sake of brevity and general readability, they have been edited and abridged into what we believe constitutes an essential narrative, and incontrovertible evidence that the cure for aging must never again be legalized."
The four time periods of the novel:
1 Prohibition: June 2019
The news about the cure had appeared three years ago. The US government, along with other governments, put a temporary ban on its use, saying it wished to study the effects of a drug that would have such an almost unthinkable effect on society. While it is officially banned, it is available for those are willing to search for it and willing to pay for it.
John Farrell, a lawyer. locates a doctor who will administer the treatment. At the same time, violent protests break out by both the pro-cure groups and the pro-death groups. Many doctors who administer the cure are killed.
2 Spread: June 2029
Societal changes appear. The number of marriages has dropped. In the past, "until death do us part" usually meant maybe 40 or 50 years or less, whereas now it could mean centuries. Divorce is still possible, but people don't marry expecting to divorce.
Farrell tells Sonia, who is pregnant and wants him to marry her that "I could commit to you if we knew our lives were definite. But they aren't. I have no earthly idea what's coming next, and I can't promise you that from now until the end of time I'll always be by your side. Because I don't know. And you can't promise that either because you don't know."
Farrell, still working for the same legal firm, has helped to set up a new type of marriage, a "cycle marriage." It lasts for forty years with heavy penalties applied in case of divorce. At the end of the forty years, the marriage dissolves, as agreed upon by both parties at the beginning. They may apply for a new 40 year cycle, but this is rare. Ceremonies and parties are now the standard when an individual takes the cure. The in-place for this is the Fountain of Youth in Las Vegas.
Opposition groups to the cure have developed a wide variety of tactics, ranging from use of the courts to those who throw lye into the eyes of those who have taken the cure, condemning them perhaps to centuries of being blind. These extremists are known as trolls.
Some who have taken the cure now regret it. Farrell's father is one who wishes he hadn't because he misses his wife and is convinced that he will see her in heaven, once he dies. Now, he doesn't know when that reunion will be; it could be centuries.
3 Saturation: 2059
Forty years have passed since the introduction of the cure. The effects of the cure are now widespread and becoming clear to all--just too many people around. One problem that I hadn't considered was human fertility. Prior to the cure, humans were fertile for roughly 40 years, plus or minus a few years depending on the individual. Now, humans are able to have children for as long as they live, which may be centuries, excluding such causes as accident or disease. It's becoming a very crowded and hostile world.
Farrell is job-hunting. He retired from his position at the law firm and partied for a decade or two, and now he's broke. The job turns out to be an end specialist. In the film Soylent Green, the character played by Edward G. Robinson, decides to end it all. He goes to a government facility and assisted by the staff arranges for his death, surrounded by pictures and music of his choice. In The Postmortal, the government has subcontracted this function to various independent firms (always doing their part to support small businesses). On an assignment, Farrell and his partner visit the individual, make sure all the formalities and paperwork are in order, and then provide that person with an end to the cure. Farrell insists he is only a clerk and is there to handle the legalities and paperwork: his partner is the terminator.
Correction: 2079
Society is, essentially, at war with itself. Farrell is still an end specialist, but he frequently works alone. One of his tasks is to do a sweep. He is given a territory, and his task is cover the area and find those who are suffering from sheep flu, which is invariably fatal. He has two vials of medicine. One is free, the one that kills painlessly and quickly. Those who have access to $5000 can buy the cure for sheep flu. Most do not, otherwise they would have gotten it already. Farrell no longer insists on being just a clerk: he has become a full-fledged end specialist. Then he gets an assignment to kill a woman whose only crime is that she's old.
Interspersed among the narrative of Farrell's life, Magary has also provided news headlines and articles that provide a fascinating picture of the effect of the cure on society, its laws, its mores, and reactions of various people in the US, as well as some information about the rest of the world.
--The Vatican threatens cure seekers with excommunication.
--"I'm always gonna get my period."
--Cigarette sales are now at an all-time low.
--Sales of adult incontinence undergarments (you know them as Depends) have fallen 46 percent since 2016.
--Suicide bombings in the Middle East are down nearly 70 percent over the past decade while nonsuicide bombings are up 220 percent.
--In an interview, Russian president Boris Solovyev vigorously denied numerous reports of police executing any Russian citizen over the cure age of fifty.
--Mia Burkhart is 44 years old with a cure age of 29. She's divorced, and her two sons have gone off on their own. She decides she wants another child to raise on her own and contacts the local sperm bank. All goes well. Emilia is a beautiful child, and Mia is supremely happy.
After the child is about 18 months old, neighbors, friends, and relatives begin to notice something strange: Emily is not growing. Concerned, they investigate to find that Emily has been given the cure at age ten months. She will be a ten month infant for as long as she lives, which may be centuries.
--Two large cities in China have been hit by nuclear explosions. The official government story is sabotage. However, rumors persist that China has nuked two of its own cities as art of a radical population control program.
The above is only a small part of the novel. There's so much more.
Overall Rating: Read it. It's the most underrated SF novel, or perhaps just novel, of the decade.
The Postmortal
Drew Magary's The Postmortal is probably the best SF novel that explores the theme of an extended life span that I've read in decades, if not ever. It attempts to realistically depict the effects of the development of an anti-aging medical treatment on society.
A researcher accidentally discovers a gene that controls aging and eventually comes up with a treatment that shuts down the gene. Those given the cure (as it is popularly known) immediately stop aging and remain at whatever physical state they were in when given the treatment. It is not immortality. They can still die from accidents, disease, etc., but they will remain physically the same for an unknown length of time.
The opening paragraph from the novel's introduction:
"A Note about the Text: From the Department of Containment United North American Territories
"In March 2090, a worker for the Department of Containment named Anton Vyrin was conducting a routine sweep of an abandoned collectivist compound in rural Virginia when he stumbled upon an eighth-generation wireless-enabled projected screening device (WEPS.8) that was still functional after charging. Stored inside the device's hard drive was a digital library containing sixty years' worth of text files written by a man who went by the screen name John Farrell."
. . .
"In its entirety,the collection contains thousands of entries and several hundred thousand words, but for the sake of brevity and general readability, they have been edited and abridged into what we believe constitutes an essential narrative, and incontrovertible evidence that the cure for aging must never again be legalized."
The four time periods of the novel:
1 Prohibition: June 2019
The news about the cure had appeared three years ago. The US government, along with other governments, put a temporary ban on its use, saying it wished to study the effects of a drug that would have such an almost unthinkable effect on society. While it is officially banned, it is available for those are willing to search for it and willing to pay for it.
John Farrell, a lawyer. locates a doctor who will administer the treatment. At the same time, violent protests break out by both the pro-cure groups and the pro-death groups. Many doctors who administer the cure are killed.
2 Spread: June 2029
Societal changes appear. The number of marriages has dropped. In the past, "until death do us part" usually meant maybe 40 or 50 years or less, whereas now it could mean centuries. Divorce is still possible, but people don't marry expecting to divorce.
Farrell tells Sonia, who is pregnant and wants him to marry her that "I could commit to you if we knew our lives were definite. But they aren't. I have no earthly idea what's coming next, and I can't promise you that from now until the end of time I'll always be by your side. Because I don't know. And you can't promise that either because you don't know."
Farrell, still working for the same legal firm, has helped to set up a new type of marriage, a "cycle marriage." It lasts for forty years with heavy penalties applied in case of divorce. At the end of the forty years, the marriage dissolves, as agreed upon by both parties at the beginning. They may apply for a new 40 year cycle, but this is rare. Ceremonies and parties are now the standard when an individual takes the cure. The in-place for this is the Fountain of Youth in Las Vegas.
Opposition groups to the cure have developed a wide variety of tactics, ranging from use of the courts to those who throw lye into the eyes of those who have taken the cure, condemning them perhaps to centuries of being blind. These extremists are known as trolls.
Some who have taken the cure now regret it. Farrell's father is one who wishes he hadn't because he misses his wife and is convinced that he will see her in heaven, once he dies. Now, he doesn't know when that reunion will be; it could be centuries.
3 Saturation: 2059
Forty years have passed since the introduction of the cure. The effects of the cure are now widespread and becoming clear to all--just too many people around. One problem that I hadn't considered was human fertility. Prior to the cure, humans were fertile for roughly 40 years, plus or minus a few years depending on the individual. Now, humans are able to have children for as long as they live, which may be centuries, excluding such causes as accident or disease. It's becoming a very crowded and hostile world.
Farrell is job-hunting. He retired from his position at the law firm and partied for a decade or two, and now he's broke. The job turns out to be an end specialist. In the film Soylent Green, the character played by Edward G. Robinson, decides to end it all. He goes to a government facility and assisted by the staff arranges for his death, surrounded by pictures and music of his choice. In The Postmortal, the government has subcontracted this function to various independent firms (always doing their part to support small businesses). On an assignment, Farrell and his partner visit the individual, make sure all the formalities and paperwork are in order, and then provide that person with an end to the cure. Farrell insists he is only a clerk and is there to handle the legalities and paperwork: his partner is the terminator.
Correction: 2079
Society is, essentially, at war with itself. Farrell is still an end specialist, but he frequently works alone. One of his tasks is to do a sweep. He is given a territory, and his task is cover the area and find those who are suffering from sheep flu, which is invariably fatal. He has two vials of medicine. One is free, the one that kills painlessly and quickly. Those who have access to $5000 can buy the cure for sheep flu. Most do not, otherwise they would have gotten it already. Farrell no longer insists on being just a clerk: he has become a full-fledged end specialist. Then he gets an assignment to kill a woman whose only crime is that she's old.
Interspersed among the narrative of Farrell's life, Magary has also provided news headlines and articles that provide a fascinating picture of the effect of the cure on society, its laws, its mores, and reactions of various people in the US, as well as some information about the rest of the world.
--The Vatican threatens cure seekers with excommunication.
--"I'm always gonna get my period."
--Cigarette sales are now at an all-time low.
--Sales of adult incontinence undergarments (you know them as Depends) have fallen 46 percent since 2016.
--Suicide bombings in the Middle East are down nearly 70 percent over the past decade while nonsuicide bombings are up 220 percent.
--In an interview, Russian president Boris Solovyev vigorously denied numerous reports of police executing any Russian citizen over the cure age of fifty.
--Mia Burkhart is 44 years old with a cure age of 29. She's divorced, and her two sons have gone off on their own. She decides she wants another child to raise on her own and contacts the local sperm bank. All goes well. Emilia is a beautiful child, and Mia is supremely happy.
After the child is about 18 months old, neighbors, friends, and relatives begin to notice something strange: Emily is not growing. Concerned, they investigate to find that Emily has been given the cure at age ten months. She will be a ten month infant for as long as she lives, which may be centuries.
--Two large cities in China have been hit by nuclear explosions. The official government story is sabotage. However, rumors persist that China has nuked two of its own cities as art of a radical population control program.
The above is only a small part of the novel. There's so much more.
Overall Rating: Read it. It's the most underrated SF novel, or perhaps just novel, of the decade.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Edward Thomas: The Unknown Bird
I must admit I know little about Edward Thomas, except that he was a friend of Robert Frost, which definitely is a plus for him. I was only exposed to him in the past few years because of Stephen Pentz whose blog is First Known When Lost. His blog focuses on poetry and art that corresponds to or illuminates the poem(s) that he presents. You can easily find his blog by checking the right side of this blog and moving down to the section that contains blogs I follow. I would very highly recommend a visit to First Known When Lost, which happens to be the title of a poem by Edward Thomas.
I guess my way of going through a book of poetry is a bit unusual. I can't start at page one and slowly work my way through the poems one-by-one. Instead, I skim through the poems, looking for one that jumps out at me. I stop there and read it several times. I then let it simmer in my unconscious for awhile and then go back to it. Sometimes I can figure out why this one or that one moves me, but frequently I can't: it just grabs me. This is the first one that jumped out at me.
The Unknown Bird
Three lovely notes he whistled, too softly to be heard
If others sang; but others never sang
In the great beech-wood all that May and June.
No one saw him: I alone could hear him
Though many listened. Was it but four years
Ago? or five? He never came again.
Oftenest when I heard him I was alone,
Nor could I ever make another hear.
La-la-la! he called, seeming far-off --
As if a cock crowed past the edge of the world,
As if the bird or I were in a dream.
Yet that he traveled through the trees and sometimes
Neared me, was plain, though somehow distant still
He sounded. All the proof is -- I told men
What I had heard.
I never knew a voice,
Man, beast, or bird, better than this. I told
The naturalists; but neither had they heard
Anything like the notes that did so haunt me,
I had them clear by heart, and have them still.
Four years, or five, have made no difference. Then
As now that La-la-la! was bodiless sweet:
Sad more than joyful it was, if I must say
That it was one or the other, but if sad
'Twas sad only with joy too, too far off
For me to taste it. But I cannot tell
If truly anything but fair
The days were when he sang, as now they seem.
This surely I know, that I who listened then,
Happy sometimes, sometimes suffering
A heavy body and a heavy heart,
Now straightaway, if I think of it, become
Light as that bird wandering beyond my shore.
-- Edward Thomas --
The Annotated Collected Poems
"As if a cock crowed past the edge of the world,"
and
"Light as that bird wandering beyond my shore."
Does this suggest some sort of mystical experience? No one else could hear the bird sing, nor could any naturalist identify it.
"bodiless sweet"
There, but not there? Insubstantial?
Perhaps it is best to forget the analysis and to simply experience and enjoy the poem.
I guess my way of going through a book of poetry is a bit unusual. I can't start at page one and slowly work my way through the poems one-by-one. Instead, I skim through the poems, looking for one that jumps out at me. I stop there and read it several times. I then let it simmer in my unconscious for awhile and then go back to it. Sometimes I can figure out why this one or that one moves me, but frequently I can't: it just grabs me. This is the first one that jumped out at me.
The Unknown Bird
Three lovely notes he whistled, too softly to be heard
If others sang; but others never sang
In the great beech-wood all that May and June.
No one saw him: I alone could hear him
Though many listened. Was it but four years
Ago? or five? He never came again.
Oftenest when I heard him I was alone,
Nor could I ever make another hear.
La-la-la! he called, seeming far-off --
As if a cock crowed past the edge of the world,
As if the bird or I were in a dream.
Yet that he traveled through the trees and sometimes
Neared me, was plain, though somehow distant still
He sounded. All the proof is -- I told men
What I had heard.
I never knew a voice,
Man, beast, or bird, better than this. I told
The naturalists; but neither had they heard
Anything like the notes that did so haunt me,
I had them clear by heart, and have them still.
Four years, or five, have made no difference. Then
As now that La-la-la! was bodiless sweet:
Sad more than joyful it was, if I must say
That it was one or the other, but if sad
'Twas sad only with joy too, too far off
For me to taste it. But I cannot tell
If truly anything but fair
The days were when he sang, as now they seem.
This surely I know, that I who listened then,
Happy sometimes, sometimes suffering
A heavy body and a heavy heart,
Now straightaway, if I think of it, become
Light as that bird wandering beyond my shore.
-- Edward Thomas --
The Annotated Collected Poems
"As if a cock crowed past the edge of the world,"
and
"Light as that bird wandering beyond my shore."
Does this suggest some sort of mystical experience? No one else could hear the bird sing, nor could any naturalist identify it.
"bodiless sweet"
There, but not there? Insubstantial?
Perhaps it is best to forget the analysis and to simply experience and enjoy the poem.
Monday, December 16, 2013
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: The Last Quatrain
I've stalled around a bit in posting on this quatrain: it's the last one for all editions. I started this project on September 26, 2008 and never realized that it would last for over five years. In fact, I'm also surprised that I did finish it for I tend to lose interest when nearing the end and find reasons for not completing a project.
The second and third editions are longer, at least twenty-five quatrains longer, than the first edition. I did not post on quatrains that first appeared in the second edition, but only those that appeared in the first edition. I haven't decided yet what I will do with those ignored quatrains. Perhaps some time in the future, I may post on those also.
But, here we are--the last quatrain.
First Edition: Quatrain LXXV
And when Thyself with shining Foot shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in thy joyous Errand reach the Spot
Where I made one--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM SHUD
Second Edition: Quatrain CX
And when Yourself with silver Foot shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in your joyous errand reach the spot
Where I made One--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM
Fifth Edition: Quatrain CI
And when like her, oh, Saki, you shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in your joyous errand reach the spot
Where I made One--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM
Fitzgerald made only minor changes over the five editions, and most of them occurred in the first line. In the first edition we see "Thyself" which becomes the less poetic "Yourself" in the second edition. Also, "shining foot" is changed to "silver Foot" in the second edition. "Silver" is much more specific in that it denotes a white foot more clearly than does "shining."
In the fifth edition, we find the most drastic change to the first line. The references to her personal appearance disappear and she is named Saki. In addition, we find a reference--"like her"-- to the previous quatrain where the Moon is depicted as shining down on those in the garden. The tie to the previous quatrain is much stronger in this edition than in the earlier versions in which the quatrain began with "And," which also ties this quatrain to previous one. In other words, he substitutes a direct reference for a conjunction.
The second, third, and fourth lines of the various editions are identical except for a change that occurs in the second edition, when "thy" becomes "your" to match a similar change in the first line.
The sense of the quatrain seems quite clear--remember me with an empty glass, which refers back to earlier quatrains concerning the scene in the pottery shop in which a pot suggests that filling it with wine might restore it. However, there seems to be no possibility of that happening here, for death is the final emptying of the glass.
The second and third editions are longer, at least twenty-five quatrains longer, than the first edition. I did not post on quatrains that first appeared in the second edition, but only those that appeared in the first edition. I haven't decided yet what I will do with those ignored quatrains. Perhaps some time in the future, I may post on those also.
But, here we are--the last quatrain.
First Edition: Quatrain LXXV
And when Thyself with shining Foot shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in thy joyous Errand reach the Spot
Where I made one--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM SHUD
Second Edition: Quatrain CX
And when Yourself with silver Foot shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in your joyous errand reach the spot
Where I made One--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM
Fifth Edition: Quatrain CI
And when like her, oh, Saki, you shall pass
Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass,
And in your joyous errand reach the spot
Where I made One--turn down an empty Glass!
TAMAM
Fitzgerald made only minor changes over the five editions, and most of them occurred in the first line. In the first edition we see "Thyself" which becomes the less poetic "Yourself" in the second edition. Also, "shining foot" is changed to "silver Foot" in the second edition. "Silver" is much more specific in that it denotes a white foot more clearly than does "shining."
In the fifth edition, we find the most drastic change to the first line. The references to her personal appearance disappear and she is named Saki. In addition, we find a reference--"like her"-- to the previous quatrain where the Moon is depicted as shining down on those in the garden. The tie to the previous quatrain is much stronger in this edition than in the earlier versions in which the quatrain began with "And," which also ties this quatrain to previous one. In other words, he substitutes a direct reference for a conjunction.
The second, third, and fourth lines of the various editions are identical except for a change that occurs in the second edition, when "thy" becomes "your" to match a similar change in the first line.
The sense of the quatrain seems quite clear--remember me with an empty glass, which refers back to earlier quatrains concerning the scene in the pottery shop in which a pot suggests that filling it with wine might restore it. However, there seems to be no possibility of that happening here, for death is the final emptying of the glass.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
12 Angry Men: three versions of this film
12 Angry Men, US Film (1957)
This film appeared in the theaters in 1957 and, while a critical success, did not attract an audience and disappeared from the theaters. Since then, however, it has steadily grown in critical estimation and audience appeal.
The plot is simple: a young boy has been tried for killing his abusive father. He claims he did not kill him. The film opens with the judge's instructions to the jury, which then retires to the jury room. The film then never leaves the jury room. Once there, several of the jurors (this is 1957 so the jurors are all white males) are convinced it's an open-and-shut case and call for an immediate vote without having any discussion. Several of the jurors are in a hurry: one has tickets for a baseball game that night and another has to catch a flight for an important business meeting. The vote comes out 11 for guilty and 1 not guilty. The lone dissenting vote is cast by Henry Fonda's character, Juror 8. When pressed for his reasons for voting "not guilty," he says he doesn't know whether the boy is innocent or guilty, but he does feel that, since a guilty verdict mandates execution, there should some discussion about the case.
"Beyond reasonable doubt" is the troublesome criterion facing the jury. A guilty verdict can only be rendered if the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and this is the point that Juror 8 focuses on. Is the evidence strong enough to move a person to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt. If not, then they must render a verdict of not guilty.
The deliberation concentrates on the evidence. Is it strong enough to convict him of murder, thus resulting in his execution? Juror 8 and the other jurors spend considerable time discussing, attacking, defending, interpreting the evidence. Occasionally a juror will say something that involves a personal issue as a way of making a point, but this is rare. The issue is the evidence: is it strong enough to justify his execution?
Juror 8, the Henry Fonda character, is clearly the central character. He is the leader of the gradually increasing group that argues for a "not guilty" verdict. Juror 8 is a familiar character--strong, plain-spoken, confident, calm, measured, determined in behavior-- in other words, Henry Fonda as he has been seen in many roles.
It soon becomes clear that the evidence is only part of what moves many of the jurors to insist on a "guilty" verdict. The other part, which emerges much more strongly as the evidence becomes more and more questionable, is prejudice; however, the target is never really specified. It is always "them." Typical references are "You know what they are like..." I thought that was an interesting tactic as it allows the viewers to plug in whatever group is on the receiving end in their personal experience and doesn't limit the references to prejudice or bigotry aimed at any special group. The optimistic viewpoint of the film seems to be that as the jurors become aware of their prejudices, they are more able to see clearly that the evidence is not strong enough to convict the boy.
In spite of Perry Mason and countless other legal thrillers, finding the "real" murderer does not play a role here. One of the jurors belligerently demands to know who killed the father if the boy didn't. Juror 8 (Fonda) responds that the issue for them is determining the son's guilt and only that, nothing else.
Overall Rating: a superb film, the issues raised back in 1957 are still with us, but not brought out as clearly now as it was then. The attitudes are still here, just more subtly put forward.
--highly recommended.
12, Russian version (2007)
While the basic idea of the film had not been changed, the Russian version contains much more about the back story of the way the boy and the Russian soldier met and how the soldier adopted the him. Some of this was confusing, and I wonder if scenes had been left out. In this version, the boy is a Chechen orphan who was adopted by a Russian soldier and brought to Moscow. Contrary to the US film, there was no suggestion here that the father had been abusive.
While watching the film, I felt that I was missing something. Russians are good at burying unacceptable (to the government, regardless of the type it is) ideas and issues in their poetry, stories, and films that are critical of the official line of thinking in order to get them by the official censors. I suspect that a Russian would have gotten much more out of the film then I did.
Juror 8, as in the US film, is the only one who voted "not guilty" in the first ballot taken shortly after retiring to the jury room. However, he did not appear to play a strong role in what followed. In fact, he was silent much of the time. It was much more of a communal effort with various individuals taking control throughout the deliberations. Again, I may have missed something here--something that suggested he was playing a central role but that in my ignorance of the Russian culture I missed the cues.
Another significant difference was the roles played by individual experience on the one hand and on the other hand the focus on the evidence during the deliberations. Jurors told stories about their experiences and past that did not appear in the US version and sometimes it was hard for me to see the relevance although they appeared to be significant to the other jurors. There was discussion of the evidence, but it seemed to play a lesser role here than it did in the US version.
Another difference between this film and the US version comes up briefly when Juror 8 is asked who else might be the murderer if the boy isn't. Juror 8 responds that determining the boy's guilt is the issue, not the identity of the real killer. However, one of the other jurors offers a theory as to whom the killer might be, but when asked where he got this information, he just smiles and refuses to answer. This comment has an interesting effect at the end of the film, something which does not happen in the US version.
The issue of prejudice and bigotry was also raised in this film but again the treatment differed from the US version in that two groups were brought forward in the Russian film as the targets--Jews and Chechens. Since the defendant was a Chechen, the relevance is obvious. What escaped me though was that the first expression of prejudice was directed at the Jews. Again, perhaps I'm missing something here.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, Hindi language version (1986)
In spite of the wretched subtitles, it seems clear that this version is very close to the US version. Some minor changes have been made, but it is a very close remake. I would guess that the US script had been translated into Hindi. Then the subtitles had been created from the Hindi language script as I could frequently recognize dialogue from the US version. The sequence of events was also the same or at least as far as I could tell.
Juror 8, as in the US version, played the central role in the deliberations. Again, while there were some personal issues and stories brought out, the focus for the most part was on the evidence as in the US film. The problem of prejudice also appeared as a significant issue, but its treatment was almost identical to its handling in the US film. No particular group, aside from vague references to the lower social classes--the poor and the destitute--was named.
The question of who the real killer might be comes up also, but again it is handled the same way as in the US version. The jury's concern is the guilt of the boy, not determining the identity of someone else who might be the killer.
I would recommend viewing all three versions; however, if you don't have that much time, then I would suggest seeing at least the US and the Russian versions, since the Hindi version is very close to the US film.
This film appeared in the theaters in 1957 and, while a critical success, did not attract an audience and disappeared from the theaters. Since then, however, it has steadily grown in critical estimation and audience appeal.
The plot is simple: a young boy has been tried for killing his abusive father. He claims he did not kill him. The film opens with the judge's instructions to the jury, which then retires to the jury room. The film then never leaves the jury room. Once there, several of the jurors (this is 1957 so the jurors are all white males) are convinced it's an open-and-shut case and call for an immediate vote without having any discussion. Several of the jurors are in a hurry: one has tickets for a baseball game that night and another has to catch a flight for an important business meeting. The vote comes out 11 for guilty and 1 not guilty. The lone dissenting vote is cast by Henry Fonda's character, Juror 8. When pressed for his reasons for voting "not guilty," he says he doesn't know whether the boy is innocent or guilty, but he does feel that, since a guilty verdict mandates execution, there should some discussion about the case.
"Beyond reasonable doubt" is the troublesome criterion facing the jury. A guilty verdict can only be rendered if the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and this is the point that Juror 8 focuses on. Is the evidence strong enough to move a person to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt. If not, then they must render a verdict of not guilty.
The deliberation concentrates on the evidence. Is it strong enough to convict him of murder, thus resulting in his execution? Juror 8 and the other jurors spend considerable time discussing, attacking, defending, interpreting the evidence. Occasionally a juror will say something that involves a personal issue as a way of making a point, but this is rare. The issue is the evidence: is it strong enough to justify his execution?
Juror 8, the Henry Fonda character, is clearly the central character. He is the leader of the gradually increasing group that argues for a "not guilty" verdict. Juror 8 is a familiar character--strong, plain-spoken, confident, calm, measured, determined in behavior-- in other words, Henry Fonda as he has been seen in many roles.
It soon becomes clear that the evidence is only part of what moves many of the jurors to insist on a "guilty" verdict. The other part, which emerges much more strongly as the evidence becomes more and more questionable, is prejudice; however, the target is never really specified. It is always "them." Typical references are "You know what they are like..." I thought that was an interesting tactic as it allows the viewers to plug in whatever group is on the receiving end in their personal experience and doesn't limit the references to prejudice or bigotry aimed at any special group. The optimistic viewpoint of the film seems to be that as the jurors become aware of their prejudices, they are more able to see clearly that the evidence is not strong enough to convict the boy.
In spite of Perry Mason and countless other legal thrillers, finding the "real" murderer does not play a role here. One of the jurors belligerently demands to know who killed the father if the boy didn't. Juror 8 (Fonda) responds that the issue for them is determining the son's guilt and only that, nothing else.
Overall Rating: a superb film, the issues raised back in 1957 are still with us, but not brought out as clearly now as it was then. The attitudes are still here, just more subtly put forward.
--highly recommended.
12, Russian version (2007)
While the basic idea of the film had not been changed, the Russian version contains much more about the back story of the way the boy and the Russian soldier met and how the soldier adopted the him. Some of this was confusing, and I wonder if scenes had been left out. In this version, the boy is a Chechen orphan who was adopted by a Russian soldier and brought to Moscow. Contrary to the US film, there was no suggestion here that the father had been abusive.
While watching the film, I felt that I was missing something. Russians are good at burying unacceptable (to the government, regardless of the type it is) ideas and issues in their poetry, stories, and films that are critical of the official line of thinking in order to get them by the official censors. I suspect that a Russian would have gotten much more out of the film then I did.
Juror 8, as in the US film, is the only one who voted "not guilty" in the first ballot taken shortly after retiring to the jury room. However, he did not appear to play a strong role in what followed. In fact, he was silent much of the time. It was much more of a communal effort with various individuals taking control throughout the deliberations. Again, I may have missed something here--something that suggested he was playing a central role but that in my ignorance of the Russian culture I missed the cues.
Another significant difference was the roles played by individual experience on the one hand and on the other hand the focus on the evidence during the deliberations. Jurors told stories about their experiences and past that did not appear in the US version and sometimes it was hard for me to see the relevance although they appeared to be significant to the other jurors. There was discussion of the evidence, but it seemed to play a lesser role here than it did in the US version.
Another difference between this film and the US version comes up briefly when Juror 8 is asked who else might be the murderer if the boy isn't. Juror 8 responds that determining the boy's guilt is the issue, not the identity of the real killer. However, one of the other jurors offers a theory as to whom the killer might be, but when asked where he got this information, he just smiles and refuses to answer. This comment has an interesting effect at the end of the film, something which does not happen in the US version.
The issue of prejudice and bigotry was also raised in this film but again the treatment differed from the US version in that two groups were brought forward in the Russian film as the targets--Jews and Chechens. Since the defendant was a Chechen, the relevance is obvious. What escaped me though was that the first expression of prejudice was directed at the Jews. Again, perhaps I'm missing something here.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, Hindi language version (1986)
In spite of the wretched subtitles, it seems clear that this version is very close to the US version. Some minor changes have been made, but it is a very close remake. I would guess that the US script had been translated into Hindi. Then the subtitles had been created from the Hindi language script as I could frequently recognize dialogue from the US version. The sequence of events was also the same or at least as far as I could tell.
Juror 8, as in the US version, played the central role in the deliberations. Again, while there were some personal issues and stories brought out, the focus for the most part was on the evidence as in the US film. The problem of prejudice also appeared as a significant issue, but its treatment was almost identical to its handling in the US film. No particular group, aside from vague references to the lower social classes--the poor and the destitute--was named.
The question of who the real killer might be comes up also, but again it is handled the same way as in the US version. The jury's concern is the guilt of the boy, not determining the identity of someone else who might be the killer.
I would recommend viewing all three versions; however, if you don't have that much time, then I would suggest seeing at least the US and the Russian versions, since the Hindi version is very close to the US film.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Europa Report: An SF film
Europa Report (ER) is one of the best SF films I've viewed in some time. I actually hadn't heard much about it before I came across it somewhere. It's too bad because it is far more interesting than many of the blockbuster SF films with a huge marketing budget.
It reminds me somewhat of another great SF film--2001: A Space Odyssey. Both feature exploratory spaceships headed for Jupiter and much of the concluding action takes place there. The difference is that ER focuses at the end on the events following the landing on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, while 2001 concludes in the vicinity of Jupiter. Moreover, the ending of ER is much more in line with present day scientific findings.
The design of the ships in both films is complex and not the typical cigar shapes found so often. In addition, the photography has clearly been influenced by Kubrick's film, especially the frequent closeups of the cast in which bright lights are reflected off the space helmets or even on the bare skin of their faces.
The focus of the film is realism, an attempt to portray an actual exploratory journey to Europa to explore the possibility of life there. The film incorporates the latest findings about Europa, especially the recent discovery that, although covered with ice, there is a strong possibility that there may be an ocean underneath the ice cover, much like the lake recently discovered under the ice in Antarctica. NASA photographs have been seamlessly incorporated into the film which add to the realism of the film. In addition, I don't recognize any of the cast members which eliminates the distractions caused by familiar faces.
If you are looking for a recent fact-based SF film about space exploration, take a good look at Europa Report--it won't disappoint you
Friday, November 29, 2013
More Autumn Haiku
The storm has moved on and the sun is now shining on Tucson.
Pebbles shining clear,
And clear six silent fish . . .
Deep autumn water
-- Buson --
You turn and suddenly
There in purpling autumn sky . . .
White Fujiami!
-- Onitsura --
All the field hands
enjoy a noontime nap after
the harvest moon
-- Basho --
The mountain grows darker,
Taking the scarlet
From the autumn leaves.
-- Buson --
Entering autumn.
The painting of flowering plants
A daily task.
-- Shiki --
Haiku 1 and 2
A Little Treasury of Haiku
trans. by Peter Beilenson
Haiku 3
The Sound of Water
trans. by Sam Hamill
Haiku 4
Silent Flowers
trans. by R. H. Blyth
Haiku 5
Haiku: a Hallmark Edition
trans. by R. H. Blyth
Pebbles shining clear,
And clear six silent fish . . .
Deep autumn water
-- Buson --
You turn and suddenly
There in purpling autumn sky . . .
White Fujiami!
-- Onitsura --
All the field hands
enjoy a noontime nap after
the harvest moon
-- Basho --
The mountain grows darker,
Taking the scarlet
From the autumn leaves.
-- Buson --
Entering autumn.
The painting of flowering plants
A daily task.
-- Shiki --
Haiku 1 and 2
A Little Treasury of Haiku
trans. by Peter Beilenson
Haiku 3
The Sound of Water
trans. by Sam Hamill
Haiku 4
Silent Flowers
trans. by R. H. Blyth
Haiku 5
Haiku: a Hallmark Edition
trans. by R. H. Blyth
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Some autumn haiku
The first winter storm has settled down over Tucson for the past two days--temperatures in the low 50s--grey, gloomy overcast skies--rain, rain, rain. . .
Perhaps that explains the temper of these haiku.
Deepen, drop, and die
Many-hued chrysanthemums . . .
One black earth for all
-- Ryusui --
Chilling autumn rain . . .
The moon, too bright for showers,
Slips from their fingers
-- Tokuku --
Rainy-month, dripping
On and on as I lie abed . . .
Ah, old man's memories!
-- Buson --
Gray moor, unmarred
By any path . . . a single branch . . .
A bird . . . November
-- Anon --
On one riverbank
Sunbeams slanting down . . . but on
The other . . . raindrops
-- Buson --
When the sun comes out again, if ever, I'll post more cheerful haiku.
All haiku come from
A Little Treasury of Haiku
Avenel Books, NY
translated by Peter Beilenson
Perhaps that explains the temper of these haiku.
Deepen, drop, and die
Many-hued chrysanthemums . . .
One black earth for all
-- Ryusui --
Chilling autumn rain . . .
The moon, too bright for showers,
Slips from their fingers
-- Tokuku --
Rainy-month, dripping
On and on as I lie abed . . .
Ah, old man's memories!
-- Buson --
Gray moor, unmarred
By any path . . . a single branch . . .
A bird . . . November
-- Anon --
On one riverbank
Sunbeams slanting down . . . but on
The other . . . raindrops
-- Buson --
When the sun comes out again, if ever, I'll post more cheerful haiku.
All haiku come from
A Little Treasury of Haiku
Avenel Books, NY
translated by Peter Beilenson
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Quatrain LXXIV
This is the next-to-the-last quatrain in all three editions. The poet/narrator waxes philosophical as he contemplates his own end as he nears the end of the Rubaiyat.
First Edition: Quatrain LXXIV
Ah, Moon of my Delight, who know'st no wane,
The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again:
How oft hereafter rising shall she look
Through this same Garden after me--in vain!
Second Edition: Quatrain CIX
But see! The rising Moon of Heav'n again--
Looks for us, Sweet-heart, through the quivering Plane:
How oft hereafter rising will she look
Among those leaves--for one of us in vain!
Fifth Edition: Quatrain C
Yon rising Moon that looks for us again--
How oft hereafter will she wax and wane,
How oft hereafter rising look for us
Through this same Garden--and for one in vain!
The most significant changes occur in the first two lines of the quatrain. In the first edition, the poet/narrator compares his love to the "Moon of Heav'n" and suggests that the "Moon of my Delight" is superior in that the heavenly moon waxes and wanes while his love never wanes. This comparison disappears in the second edition and simply states that the Moon of Heav'n is rising. His substitution of "Sweet-heart" for "Moon of my Delight" just doesn't work for me. It is a lapse from the poetic diction found throughout the Rubaiyat. And, in the fifth edition, any sense of personal feeling for the other disappears completely when "Sweet-heart" is replaced with "us" which could signify a friend, someone nearby, or a lover. The focus of the first two lines is now completely restricted to the "rising Moon."
The third and fourth lines, regardless of some changes, still asks how long the rising moon will look for them--eternity perhaps, or will they be forgotten soon. The most significant change in these two lines refers to the object of search. In the first stanza, the poet/narrator asks how long the Moon will search for him while in the second and fifth stanzas, he asks how long the Moon will search for one of them, thus suggesting that it might be him or his lover who will have died.
I would have to go with the first edition and then the fifth version as my favorites. "Sweet-heart" in the second edition is so obtrusive that I reject it immediately. In addition, the sense of this taking place in a Garden also disappears from the second edition.
First Edition: Quatrain LXXIV
Ah, Moon of my Delight, who know'st no wane,
The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again:
How oft hereafter rising shall she look
Through this same Garden after me--in vain!
Second Edition: Quatrain CIX
But see! The rising Moon of Heav'n again--
Looks for us, Sweet-heart, through the quivering Plane:
How oft hereafter rising will she look
Among those leaves--for one of us in vain!
Fifth Edition: Quatrain C
Yon rising Moon that looks for us again--
How oft hereafter will she wax and wane,
How oft hereafter rising look for us
Through this same Garden--and for one in vain!
The most significant changes occur in the first two lines of the quatrain. In the first edition, the poet/narrator compares his love to the "Moon of Heav'n" and suggests that the "Moon of my Delight" is superior in that the heavenly moon waxes and wanes while his love never wanes. This comparison disappears in the second edition and simply states that the Moon of Heav'n is rising. His substitution of "Sweet-heart" for "Moon of my Delight" just doesn't work for me. It is a lapse from the poetic diction found throughout the Rubaiyat. And, in the fifth edition, any sense of personal feeling for the other disappears completely when "Sweet-heart" is replaced with "us" which could signify a friend, someone nearby, or a lover. The focus of the first two lines is now completely restricted to the "rising Moon."
The third and fourth lines, regardless of some changes, still asks how long the rising moon will look for them--eternity perhaps, or will they be forgotten soon. The most significant change in these two lines refers to the object of search. In the first stanza, the poet/narrator asks how long the Moon will search for him while in the second and fifth stanzas, he asks how long the Moon will search for one of them, thus suggesting that it might be him or his lover who will have died.
I would have to go with the first edition and then the fifth version as my favorites. "Sweet-heart" in the second edition is so obtrusive that I reject it immediately. In addition, the sense of this taking place in a Garden also disappears from the second edition.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Han Shan or Cold Mountain: life is short
Two poems by Han Shan on the transience of youth for Spring and Summer swiftly lead to Fall and Winter:
7.
A moth-browed girl in town
how her pendants chime
teasing a parrot before the flowers
playing a lute beneath the moon
her singing echoes for months
thousands watch her briefest dance
but surely this won't last
the hibiscus can't bear cold
8.
A fine young man on horseback
waves his whip at the willows
he can't imagine death
he builds no boat or ladder
the seasonal flowers are lovely
until the day they wither and fade
rock sugar and clarified butter
mean nothing when you're dead
The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain
Copper Canyon Press
trans. by Red Pine
The following notes are abstracted from the collection of poems
7. -the young woman is probably a member of a traveling troupe of entertainers
-the hibiscus is called "the cold-fearing flower" and dies at the first sign of fall
-fall, of course, signifies the approach of winter, the season of death (my comment)
8. -boat or ladder: Buddhists use the symbol of a boat for their spiritual discipline
-ladder refers to the search of wandering Taoists to reach inaccessible places when looking for plants to concoct their elixirs.
-"Rock sugar and clarified butter (ghee) represent the taste of liberation, refined of all impurities."
-In other words, after death it's too late to strive for enlightenment (my comment).
I think Shakespeare would agree:
"Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, all come to dust."
Cymbeline, Act IV, Scene II
7.
A moth-browed girl in town
how her pendants chime
teasing a parrot before the flowers
playing a lute beneath the moon
her singing echoes for months
thousands watch her briefest dance
but surely this won't last
the hibiscus can't bear cold
8.
A fine young man on horseback
waves his whip at the willows
he can't imagine death
he builds no boat or ladder
the seasonal flowers are lovely
until the day they wither and fade
rock sugar and clarified butter
mean nothing when you're dead
The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain
Copper Canyon Press
trans. by Red Pine
The following notes are abstracted from the collection of poems
7. -the young woman is probably a member of a traveling troupe of entertainers
-the hibiscus is called "the cold-fearing flower" and dies at the first sign of fall
-fall, of course, signifies the approach of winter, the season of death (my comment)
8. -boat or ladder: Buddhists use the symbol of a boat for their spiritual discipline
-ladder refers to the search of wandering Taoists to reach inaccessible places when looking for plants to concoct their elixirs.
-"Rock sugar and clarified butter (ghee) represent the taste of liberation, refined of all impurities."
-In other words, after death it's too late to strive for enlightenment (my comment).
I think Shakespeare would agree:
"Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, all come to dust."
Cymbeline, Act IV, Scene II
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Theodore Sturgeon: "The Other Celia"
This is one of those quiet little stories that Ted Sturgeon does so well. The horror is understated and relates not to Celia, be she an alien or another sentient species in hiding on earth. The only too human Slim is the source of the horror in this story. Slim is the type of person who would tear off the wings of insects or birds. But, he wouldn't do it to cause pain or suffering; he would do it out of curiosity to see how a flying creature would react once it had lost its wings. In fact, if someone told Slim he was hurting those creatures, he would be surprised. That would never have occurred to him, and he would probably stop.
As you can see, Slim is not a very likable person. He is a snoop and insensitive to the feelings of others. At times his behavior crosses the line between normal and pathological curiosity. When he was a child, his mother had to appear several times in Children's Court to explain that he wasn't dishonest, that he was just "curious." While curiosity may be a good thing, it can be dangerous if not kept within reasonable limits. In this story we see a Slim whose curiosity leads him to meddle in another person's life and that meddling results in tragedy.
Slim lives in a boarding house. At present he is on medical leave from his job. He was attacked by a fellow employee who tried to bury a fourteen-inch crescent wrench in his skull. Sturgeon does not tell us why the employee tried to do this, but I suspect he was upset by Slim's snooping. Since most of the other tenants of the boarding house are at work, he finds this an excellent opportunity to engage in his favorite pastime--snooping.
"His current situation was therefore a near-paradise. Flimsy doors stood in rows, barely sustaining vacuum upon aching vacuum of knowledge; and one by one they imploded at that nudge of the curiosity. He touched nothing (or if he did, he replaced it carefully) and removed nothing, and within a week he knew Mrs. Koyper's roomers far better than she could, or cared to. Each secret visit to the rooms gave him a starting point; subsequent ones taught him more. He knew not only what these people had, but what they did, where, how much, for how much, and how often. In almost every case, he knew why as well.
Almost every case. Celia Sarton came."
He waited a few days to see what her schedule was. Were there times he could enter her room and feel safe she would not return? He found that she invariably would leave in the morning and return in the evening, just like the rest of the roomers. Therefore he entered her room, but unexpectedly it was two days after he decided it was safe. He kept forgetting about her.
He found nothing in the room to make her an individual--no photos of family or friends, no keepsakes, nothing that would make her stand out in his mind. Several times he found himself leaving the room without looking around for anything: it was as if it was an empty room waiting for someone to enter it.
It was by accident that he discovered that there was something in the room that made her unique. It appeared to be a second skin. Slim had never seen anything like this before, and his curiosity was aroused as it had never been before. So, he acted, not to harm her, but out of curiosity to see what she would do. Thus the tragedy.
A great short story
As you can see, Slim is not a very likable person. He is a snoop and insensitive to the feelings of others. At times his behavior crosses the line between normal and pathological curiosity. When he was a child, his mother had to appear several times in Children's Court to explain that he wasn't dishonest, that he was just "curious." While curiosity may be a good thing, it can be dangerous if not kept within reasonable limits. In this story we see a Slim whose curiosity leads him to meddle in another person's life and that meddling results in tragedy.
Slim lives in a boarding house. At present he is on medical leave from his job. He was attacked by a fellow employee who tried to bury a fourteen-inch crescent wrench in his skull. Sturgeon does not tell us why the employee tried to do this, but I suspect he was upset by Slim's snooping. Since most of the other tenants of the boarding house are at work, he finds this an excellent opportunity to engage in his favorite pastime--snooping.
"His current situation was therefore a near-paradise. Flimsy doors stood in rows, barely sustaining vacuum upon aching vacuum of knowledge; and one by one they imploded at that nudge of the curiosity. He touched nothing (or if he did, he replaced it carefully) and removed nothing, and within a week he knew Mrs. Koyper's roomers far better than she could, or cared to. Each secret visit to the rooms gave him a starting point; subsequent ones taught him more. He knew not only what these people had, but what they did, where, how much, for how much, and how often. In almost every case, he knew why as well.
Almost every case. Celia Sarton came."
He waited a few days to see what her schedule was. Were there times he could enter her room and feel safe she would not return? He found that she invariably would leave in the morning and return in the evening, just like the rest of the roomers. Therefore he entered her room, but unexpectedly it was two days after he decided it was safe. He kept forgetting about her.
He found nothing in the room to make her an individual--no photos of family or friends, no keepsakes, nothing that would make her stand out in his mind. Several times he found himself leaving the room without looking around for anything: it was as if it was an empty room waiting for someone to enter it.
It was by accident that he discovered that there was something in the room that made her unique. It appeared to be a second skin. Slim had never seen anything like this before, and his curiosity was aroused as it had never been before. So, he acted, not to harm her, but out of curiosity to see what she would do. Thus the tragedy.
A great short story
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Nikos Kazantzakis: The Greek Passion
Nikos Kazantzakis: The Greek Passion
Simon and Schuster
Trans. by Jonathan Griffen
Lycovrissi is a small Greek village that is under Turkish control. Every seven years, the villagers put on the Passion Play, the story of the last days of Christ. Six villagers are selected by the village Elders to play the parts of Christ, Mary Magdalen, the Apostles Peter, John, James, and Judas in next year's Play. The story, then, depicts the changes undergone by these six villagers in the ensuing year, as a result of being chosen for a part in the Passion Play. And, they change in surprising, unpredictable, and disturbing ways.
The characters in the novel are numerous and come from all the various social and economic classes in the village. They range from the Agha, the Turkish ruler of the small village, and his household, to the village Elders to the small shopkeepers and farmers. Also present, a thorn in the side of the Elders, are the Wanderers, the survivors of a small village destroyed in the ongoing conflict between the Turkish overlords and Greek freedom fighters. They have been searching for some place to stay. But, led by Gregoris, the village priest, the Elders attempt to force the Wanderers to move on, in spite of their obvious physical weaknesses caused by months of wandering the countryside.
However, three of the villagers selected for the Passion Play--Manolios, Yannakos, and Kostandis, who play Christ, Peter, and James--defy Grigoris and direct the wanderers to a place where they may at least rest for awhile, and perhaps attempt to rebuild their lives. Other villagers give food and clothing. This is the first of numerous incidents in which Manolios, Yannakos, and Kostandis openly challenge the village priest and the Elders as they attempt to act in accordance with the teachings of Christ. In other words, they ask themselves, "What would Christ do in this situation?"
The roles that the six villagers are to play in the Passion Play begin to affect them as they attempt to become worthy of the roles they were selected to play. Unfortunately this also includes Panayotaros. who was chosen to be Judas because of his wild and uncontrolled behavior. Irate, he decides that if they want a Judas, he will be one. Actually he's closer to Satan as he goes about the village, spreading lies, creating dissension, and betraying confidences where and when it will do the most harm.
This novel may be disturbing to some readers. At one point, one of the villagers chosen to be an Apostle, who is the son of one of the richest (and stingiest) men in the village, decides to take some of his father's surplus food and give it to the wanderers. This suggests a frightening idea--those who have more than they need should share it with those who have less than they need. The suggestion that Christ and the Apostles should think this way would seem to be heretical to many.
Part way into the novel, it became clear that this was going to end tragically. This is not a comfortable novel to read.
Overall Rating: Highly recommended.
Simon and Schuster
Trans. by Jonathan Griffen
Lycovrissi is a small Greek village that is under Turkish control. Every seven years, the villagers put on the Passion Play, the story of the last days of Christ. Six villagers are selected by the village Elders to play the parts of Christ, Mary Magdalen, the Apostles Peter, John, James, and Judas in next year's Play. The story, then, depicts the changes undergone by these six villagers in the ensuing year, as a result of being chosen for a part in the Passion Play. And, they change in surprising, unpredictable, and disturbing ways.
The characters in the novel are numerous and come from all the various social and economic classes in the village. They range from the Agha, the Turkish ruler of the small village, and his household, to the village Elders to the small shopkeepers and farmers. Also present, a thorn in the side of the Elders, are the Wanderers, the survivors of a small village destroyed in the ongoing conflict between the Turkish overlords and Greek freedom fighters. They have been searching for some place to stay. But, led by Gregoris, the village priest, the Elders attempt to force the Wanderers to move on, in spite of their obvious physical weaknesses caused by months of wandering the countryside.
However, three of the villagers selected for the Passion Play--Manolios, Yannakos, and Kostandis, who play Christ, Peter, and James--defy Grigoris and direct the wanderers to a place where they may at least rest for awhile, and perhaps attempt to rebuild their lives. Other villagers give food and clothing. This is the first of numerous incidents in which Manolios, Yannakos, and Kostandis openly challenge the village priest and the Elders as they attempt to act in accordance with the teachings of Christ. In other words, they ask themselves, "What would Christ do in this situation?"
The roles that the six villagers are to play in the Passion Play begin to affect them as they attempt to become worthy of the roles they were selected to play. Unfortunately this also includes Panayotaros. who was chosen to be Judas because of his wild and uncontrolled behavior. Irate, he decides that if they want a Judas, he will be one. Actually he's closer to Satan as he goes about the village, spreading lies, creating dissension, and betraying confidences where and when it will do the most harm.
This novel may be disturbing to some readers. At one point, one of the villagers chosen to be an Apostle, who is the son of one of the richest (and stingiest) men in the village, decides to take some of his father's surplus food and give it to the wanderers. This suggests a frightening idea--those who have more than they need should share it with those who have less than they need. The suggestion that Christ and the Apostles should think this way would seem to be heretical to many.
Part way into the novel, it became clear that this was going to end tragically. This is not a comfortable novel to read.
Overall Rating: Highly recommended.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Joseph Wood Krutch on specialists and amateurs, Pt. 2
More from Joseph Wood Krutch on specialists and amateurs. He's found a kindred soul among the specialists.
"The late William Morton Wheeler, one of the the most competent of specialists in a highly specialized field, spoke closer to my own condition when he wrote, not only sympathetically but even enviously, of those who like me have assumed no responsibility:
Our intellects will never be equal to exhausting biological reality. Why animals and plants are as they are, we shall never know; of how they have come to be what they are, our knowledge will always be extremely fragmentary, because we are dealing only with the recent phases of an immense and complicated history, most of the records of which are lost beyond all chance of recovery; but that organisms are as they are, that apart from the members of our own species, they are our only companions in an infinite and unsympathetic waste of electrons, planets, nebulae and suns, is a perennial joy and consolation. We shall all be happier if we were less completely obsessed by problems and somewhat more accessible to the aesthetic and emotional appeal of our materials, and it is doubtful whether, in the end, the growth of biological science would be appreciably retarded. It quite saddens me to think that when I cross the Styx, I may find myself among so many professional biologists, condemned to keep on trying to solve problems, and that Pluto, or whoever is in charge down there now, may condemn me to sit forever trying to identify specimens from my own specific and generic diagnoses, while the amateur entomologists, who have not been damned professors, are permitted to roam at will among the fragrant asphodels of the Elysian meadows, netting gorgeous, ghostly butterflies until the end of time.
I felt the same way when I was teaching various introductory literature courses. While the prescribed works were excellent and noteworthy, I felt that I was missing out on be able to read other works not included in the curriculum. Now, having retired, I am frustrated because I can read only one book at a time. Happiness is good health, a bad memory, and a long TBR list.
"The late William Morton Wheeler, one of the the most competent of specialists in a highly specialized field, spoke closer to my own condition when he wrote, not only sympathetically but even enviously, of those who like me have assumed no responsibility:
Our intellects will never be equal to exhausting biological reality. Why animals and plants are as they are, we shall never know; of how they have come to be what they are, our knowledge will always be extremely fragmentary, because we are dealing only with the recent phases of an immense and complicated history, most of the records of which are lost beyond all chance of recovery; but that organisms are as they are, that apart from the members of our own species, they are our only companions in an infinite and unsympathetic waste of electrons, planets, nebulae and suns, is a perennial joy and consolation. We shall all be happier if we were less completely obsessed by problems and somewhat more accessible to the aesthetic and emotional appeal of our materials, and it is doubtful whether, in the end, the growth of biological science would be appreciably retarded. It quite saddens me to think that when I cross the Styx, I may find myself among so many professional biologists, condemned to keep on trying to solve problems, and that Pluto, or whoever is in charge down there now, may condemn me to sit forever trying to identify specimens from my own specific and generic diagnoses, while the amateur entomologists, who have not been damned professors, are permitted to roam at will among the fragrant asphodels of the Elysian meadows, netting gorgeous, ghostly butterflies until the end of time.
I felt the same way when I was teaching various introductory literature courses. While the prescribed works were excellent and noteworthy, I felt that I was missing out on be able to read other works not included in the curriculum. Now, having retired, I am frustrated because I can read only one book at a time. Happiness is good health, a bad memory, and a long TBR list.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Joseph Wood Krutch: on specialists and amateurs, Pt 1
"Many specialists are very contemptuous of such activities as mine--but not all of them are. Some steal time from their exacting pursuits to be amateurs at something else or even, like me, of things in general. Thus they recapture some of the spirit of the old naturalists who, whether they were professionals like Linnaeus or hobbyists like Gilbert White, lived at at time when there seemed nothing absurd about taking all nature as one's province. And there are even some, eminent in their specialty, who experience a certain nostalgia for the days when the burden of accumulated knowledge was less heavy. "The road," said Cervantes, "is always better than the inn" and discovering is more fun than catching up with what has been discovered.
Your amateur is delightfully if perhaps almost sinfully free of responsibility and can spread himself as thin as he likes over the vast field of nature. There are few places not covered with concrete or trod into dust where he does not find something to look at. Best of all, perhaps, is the fact that he feels no pressing obligation to "add something to the sum of human knowledge." He is quite satisfied when he adds something to his knowledge. And if he keeps his field wide enough he will remain so ignorant that he may do exactly that at intervals very gratifyingly short."
-- Joseph Wood Krutch --
from Baja California and the Geography of Hope
Is Krutch saying that specialists aren't necessary or that they are wasting their time? Who is more useful--the specialist or the amateur--to humanity? It seems at first glance that the specialist is obviously the most important or useful for they "add something to the sum of human knowledge." What does an amateur like Joseph Wood Krutch provide that is comparable?
What is the difference between the specialist and the amateur? Are both important?
I had a friend who was an amateur railroader. He built everything he could from raw materials--wood, metal, paint. He would buy the plans for railroad cars and equipment and buildings and painstaking cut and and sanded and painted. He worked on a huge model train layout in his basement. One day he decided to turn his hobby into gainful employment. He solicited work from architects to build models for the jobs they were trying to get. He opened up a small shop in which he constructed various small objects such as models for display. He prospered and eventually had to hire someone to work in the shop. Shortly after he began this enterprise, he stopped work on the layout in his basement. I lost track of him years later, and now I wonder if he ever went back to it. What happened to his hobby?
Is this something like what happens to someone who is fascinated by nature, wanders about fields, forests, ponds, marshes or beaches, who eventually studies it in school, and becomes a specialist, but no longer wanders those fields and forests and wet places that fascinated him long ago?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Carl Sandburg: Happiness
Happiness
I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me
what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the
Deplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their
women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.
-- Carl Sandburg --
from Harvest Poems
Much too simple an answer, isn't it? At least, I guess, for the 21st century--family, friends, a keg, and making their own music.
I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me
what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the
Deplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their
women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.
-- Carl Sandburg --
from Harvest Poems
Much too simple an answer, isn't it? At least, I guess, for the 21st century--family, friends, a keg, and making their own music.
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