Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I hope you had a nice day and that all is well heading into the new year. Today was technically the January 1st holiday, so we watched the Rose Parade as we always do here at Pearl's. Most often we have bright blue skies to show on TV, but today it was overcast with heavy clouds, and continuing sub-zero temps. The Parade was great as always, though we missed the presence of long time hosts Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards, who retired last year.
The rest of the day was low key. I'll be glad when the days get longer and the weather warms up so I feel like my Outdoor Self again.
Tonight's movie was "A Taste Of Honey" (1961) from Criterion, directed by Tony Richardson. Like last night's film, this is again a realistic look at the lives of working class people, in Northern England this time, and it all looks kind of grim. Rita Tushingham (again) is a teenager still in school, living with her neglectful mother, who frequents bars and chases men. They don't have money for rent and have to move. In doing so, she meets a young sailor and has a brief fling with him before he sets out to sea. He is black, and this film caused quite a sensation at the time because of the black/white relationship. The story focuses on outcasts, and so, after Rita gets a job at a shoe store and moves out on her own, the next man she meets is gay (played by the brilliant Murray Melvin, who was in "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick, and a bunch of other movies). She and the gay man move in together, and she finds out she is pregnant. Not by Murray Melvin, but by the black sailor who departed earlier.
There are all kinds of class and social issues in this film, just as in "The Catered Affair". The late 50s to early 60s were a time to explore all kinds of issues not previously discussed in movies. Director Richardson was known for his realistic look at English life after WW2, and from the location shooting in Manchester in 1961, it looks pretty grim. Old brick buildings and cramped living quarters, cities that look like tentaments, just like New York at that time. Very industrial looking. But Richardson always adds a lighthearted touch. Tushingham's character is depressed, but can snap out of it at any moment and find happiness in any spoken thought of bit of conversation. This is another case where I can truly say "they don't make movies like this anymore", and in this case they can't, because life isn't like this anymore - it doesn't even look the same.
The movie looks like someone took a camera and filmed real people in a real period in time, early 1960s economically depressed England. And it's a lost time, and a lost look, all of which makes a movie like this a real treasure. Shot in Fantastic Black & White, it's a small classic all the way, especially for an Anglophile like myself. I will be looking for more by Tony Richardson, and Rita Tushingham. The song I posted on FB tonight was also from the movie. :):)
I saw your post about "Time/Money/Energy" via Joel Wanasek. Though the punchline to that graphic was about the life of a music producer, lol, the other stuff could apply to things we have long talked about.
Just from my own perspective - and because it's my own, it doesn't fit everybody - I would say, after years of experience, that energy is the #1 thing you want to have a lot of when you get to be My Age (Man, I hate when people My Age use that phrase, which is why I capitalised it, but in this case I had to use it!).
I had to go on a tangent, because it's really weird, SB. Here's what's weird : when you get to be My Age, you still feel like you're Your Age. I mean.....you do! It's really weird. You don't think of numbers, or How A Person Is "Supposed" To Feel At A Given Age. You just plain Feel Like Yourself, as you always felt. Ever since you were Your Age.
Except : you do get tired easier, which is why I put "Energy" as my #1 criteria. Without energy, you got nothin'. And it doesn't matter if you've got all the time in the world, without energy.
So, to finish up, Energy is #1 for me, followed very closely by Time at #2. You've gotta have Time, and it's gotta be Your Own Time. Of course we have discussed the need to pay bills and all of that. But think about it, SB.........time.
Think about that. It's really all we've got, the most precious commodity.
Energy surpasses time from a personal standpoint, only because you cannot enjoy your time, nor make the best use of it, without good energy. This is the reason to take care of yourself both physically and mentally.
But Time is a commodity, something that is limited and runs out eventually, and so it "Trumps" money on the list of the three things in that post.
Again, this is my viewpoint only, but I am glad that I literally was born without a materialistic gene. This doesn't mean I don't like or appreciate nice things. But I have been able, as I grew into my life, to realise things for what they are. A car is a car, for instance. If a car gets me where I want to go, it has done it's job. And a house is a house. If it provides shelter and privacy, and comfort, it has done it's job.
Would I rather have a Ferrari than a jalopy? Certainly. And I'd probably prefer something in the middle. Just like I wouldn't want a Mansion vs. The Tiny Apartment, but rather a nice house in between.
But my point is that I do not - and cannot, by my nature - focus on materialism, because my mind and heart and spirit are all focused on the non-material side of life, and the questions that lie therein.
We have been over many of these questions : What it means to Be Human, most importantly. And I won't belabor them tonight.
But definitely, as to your post : Energy > Time > Money.
That's all I know for tonight. I will see you in the morn.
I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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