Happy St. Pat's + "Husbands" by Cassavetes + "Hell Or High Water"

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I'm off tonight, so I am writing from home, hence the later start time. I hope you had a nice St. Patrick's Day. Did you wear any green, or all black? :) I wore black and grey myself. I don't think I have any green clothes, lol, but anyhow, that is a great photo that you posted of The Giant's Causeway. Those rock columns look like huge posts that have been pounded into the ocean floor. I hope you get to go back soon. I would love to go someday myself. :):)

No hikes today or yesterday, though I did take Pearl & Kobi to Lake Balboa yesterday and we had fun feeding the birds (and the Kobester) once again.

Last night at CSUN we saw a film called "Husbands" (1970) by John Cassavetes. Okay, SB......I have described the Cassavetes style to you. His films are chaotic and emotional, shot often in close up. Everyone talks, and talks, and talks some more, and always very loudly. When they are not doing that, they are laughing hysterically. I described "Faces" as being "In Your Face".

Well, "Husbands" is "Faces" on steroids. Without going on a tirade about it, even though I should, I will present you with what I thought about it today, the day after. Thinking back to last night, I thought it was fairly excruciating to sit through. There is a single scene, of the protagonists (three men who are lifelong buddies) getting drunk in a bar. They begin to act very boorishly, over the top obnoxious, and this one scene goes on for over 30 minutes. I mean, I can't even describe the viewing experience to you. Watching this movie is like getting decked, like Cassavetes is trying to knock you out cold.

It is overlong, almost 2 1/2 hours. But I thought, "you know....as hard as that movie was to sit through, it really stays with you the next day. It affects you. It's not a bad movie, in fact, it's probably a very good movie that could have been great if he had trimmed it down to, say, an hour and forty five minutes. Even then it would have been excruciating because of the characters, but it could have been a masterpiece like "Faces".

And that's what is weird about my reaction to "Husbands", and to Cassavetes style of filmmaking in general : "Husbands" is maybe the first film I have ever seen that I did not particularly "enjoy" watching, but that nevertheless left a lasting and positive impression on me. It's a film I will never forget, in a good way.

So how weird is that? Most people wouldn't last through 30 minutes of "Husbands", because it is so loud and obnoxious, and because people simply aren't used to seeing a film that looks like a drunken abomination. But there is this weird effect with the John Cassavetes' movies, where, if you do watch them all the way through, even though they can be extremely difficult, they are ultimately rewarding - they hit you like a ton of bricks later on, and the next day you go : "Man......that was one hell of a movie".

Tonight I saw a wholly different kind of film, with a standard structure and storyline : "Hell Or High Water", which I thought was excellent all the way through. It's not an art film, but a modern day Western about two brothers who are bank robbers. They have an ulterior motive, however, and a fairly righteous one at that, which causes you to root for them. Jeff Bridges is the Texas Ranger who, along with his American Indian partner, is hunting them down. There are a lot of social issues explored in the script, and it just shows once again what you can do in a little over 90 minutes with top-notch writing. These are characters you care about, and you are hooked into the story. The flat plains of Texas look both dreary and intimidating. I have always loved movies about Texas and Texas culture because it fascinates me, though I would not want to live there. It's like it's own country with it's own rules, and it's own kind of people. This movie exemplifies those things, and it is directed, acted, shot and edited at the highest level of skill. A big thumbs up from me.

Anyhow, that was really all the news since yesterday. I will be off till Sunday morning, so I'll see you in the morning, right back here at the pad.  :)

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Film Seminar + Medal For Being A Cheesehead + "Sully"

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I liked the photo you posted along with your notice about the seminar next week. I am guessing it is a still from the short film you mentioned? That is a beautiful doggie in the picture with you, and he or she is definitely tuned in to your wavelength as they say.......it's a really nice photo of you both.  :)

I hope you get a good turnout next Wednesday (and I bet you will), and I hope that those of us who can't be there (like me) will get a chance to see it also.  :)  Both films, I mean : yours with Tina, and the one in which you acted.

I also saw the post via James - his photographic paean to The Sacred Grilled Cheese, replete with a side of Cheese-Its.  :)

I predict he will soon be given the Cheesehead Medal Of Honor, or whatever is the highest order of valor in Wisconsin, for his unflagging loyalty to, and promotion of The Sandwich.

I used to pound boxes of Cheese-Its in my younger days, so I hope I've contributed something to the cause.

I had a nice hike at Aliso Canyon this afternoon, 2.75 miles. I should call it a walk, because compared to a real hike like O'Melveny, that's what it is, just a flat-ground walk for the most part, but it's always beautiful, and the water is still running, four weeks since the last rain. Amazing!

Tonight's movie was "Sully" by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks in one of his best roles. Everybody remembers this story, although in cities outside New York the full extent of what happened was not as well known perhaps. Eastwood presents it simply and factually, but he breaks the story up to build the drama, and doesn't present the plane crash right away. Instead, he begins with an NTSB investigation into Sully's decision to land the plane in the Hudson River, in order to find him at fault. This is what I mean when I say that we, in other parts of the country, may not have known all of what happened. I did not know that he was even investigated by the NTSB; I just thought he was acknowledged as a hero and that was that.

But this aspect, the investigation and the attempt to place blame versus what he actually did to save everyone on board, is the real thrust of the movie. As a true life story, it's one of the best I've seen in recent years. Hanks is so great, as is the supporting cast, and it will put a lump in your throat in many places throughout the film.

That's all I know for tonight. Finishing up the LBJ book while listening to the new Mike Oldfield.

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Excellent Work! + Sunset

Happy Late Tuesday Night, my Darling,

I saw your post just a few minutes ago, about an event you are going to, the "State Of State Filmmaking", and I see that they are gonna screen some of your work, too. That is awesome, and I know you already have some recognition within the local and University film communities. I also was looking at your professional website, and I saw a section I had not seen before, devoted to corporate work. There were a lot of photos from what looks like a convention, and you got some fantastic shots, the kind of wide shots of convention hall audiences and people mingling, from many different angles, that you might see in a company brochure or catalogue, or on a company's website. Those pix looked great! I saw a badge on one guy that said something like Dept. Of Agriculture, so maybe it was their convention? Whatever the case, you are covering all the bases with your photographic work, from concerts to fashion to corporate to nature. I also saw a short segment in your highlight reel with Coors beer glasses being set down in front of one another. I don't know if that was part of a commercial job or not, but once again, the "look" of it was 100% Pro, as always.

Your pro site is well presented indeed.  :) And I am glad you have the library seminar upcoming.

No hike for me, cause it's Tuesday, but on the way home I noticed a lot of jet contrails (or chemtrails, take your pick) in the Western sky, as well as the remnants of some wispy clouds, and I could already see some color building up, so as soon as I got home I grabbed my camera and headed over to the nearby CSUN parking structure that I always use for my sunset pics. It's just a five minute walk from my apartment, and I was up on top of it just in time to get some good shots. Now, as the legendary Mr. Ibach (my photo teacher) would say, "You didn't do that; God did" - and as I have noted before, I agree with him.

But it's still nice to get a picture of it, and I always like to look for "little special parts" of a mega-sunset, and then zoom in on those for a special pic. So : Mr. Ibach, I Love Ya, but I've still gotta take sunset photos, every chance I get.....

And in the sky over Chatsworth, not far from the Pacific Ocean (perhaps 20 miles as the crow flies), we get the added ingredient of lots of Jet exhaust (and maybe a few UFOs too), which adds to the flux of color and enhances it in all kinds of ways....

That was all the news for today. No movie, but I did watch an episode of "Fear The Walking Dead". Tomorrow I will try to get out for another hike, and hopefully some more shots. I am loving this 90 degree weather and blue skies after all that overcast and freezing for months, and the smell of orange blossoms is everywhere.

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Happy Monday + O'Melveny Trail + "Knight Of Cups" (oy)

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I hope you had a nice day and that all projects are going well. I had a great hike today, one of the best I've had since last Summer. I had a little extra time, so I went to O'Melveny Park and went way far up the trail, 1.75 miles in! That's the farthest I've ever gone on that trail (super steep in places), and I was way up high on the mountainside. That trail ultimately leads to Mission Point, and I was probably 3/4ths of the way there! The quicker way is to take the DeCampos Trail that begins on a residential street down the road from the park. From there, you can get to the Point in 40 minutes. But it was a blast to go so far down an unexplored part of the O'Melveny Trail, especially on a gorgeous 90 degree day. So now I am getting back into hiking shape. I will go to the top of The Point by my birthday next month.

Tonight's movie was "Knight Of Cups" (2015) by Terrence Malick. You may have seen my brief quip on Facebook regarding my thoughts on the film. To be honest, I only sat through it all the way because it was directed by Terrence Malick, who back in the late 70s I would have said was one of the greatest directors ever, because of "Badlands" and "Days Of Heaven". After "Days", he didn't make a movie for 20 years. Who the heck does that? But he did, and then he finally came back with "The Thin Red Line", which was a philosophical WW2 movie, a bit flawed but still great.

But then, things began to get a bit sketchy. He took seven more years to make "The New World", about Captain John Smith's expedition to America and his meeting Pocahontas, and that one was pretty bad, though not terrible. Then in 2011, he made "The Tree Of Life", which I didn't like the first time I saw it, and then the second time I thought it was a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, that will not happen with "Knight Of Cups", or it's predecessor "To The Wonder". You can't just throw endless vignettes of scenery, buildings, and people walking around looking mesmerised and call it a movie. And, at some point, you have to have a scene that lasts longer than seven seconds, and you have absolutely got to have a stationary camera sequence at least once in your film. The way the camera swoops and sways in Malick's post "Thin Red" films, you will need some Dramamine to avoid getting seasick.

I wanted to like "Knight Of Cups". It looks beautiful, for one thing (no one ever said Malick is not great at putting incredible pictures onscreen), and it's got great actors : Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Wes Bentley, Natalie Portman and Brian Dennehey.

But they have nothing to do, because there is no story. I don't mean that the story is thin, or not filled out.

I mean that there Is No Story. Period.

If this film were by another director, it would have been one of the worst films ever made.

The only saving grace was it's message at the end, which was however so obvious that one did not need to spend two hours of one's life getting seasick whist absorbing an ultimately meaningless story filled with blowsy philosophical musings.

So I'm sorry to report that, in the last 20 years, Terry Malick has made one tremendous film, but also two pretty bad ones and one awful one.

But, in my book, if you've made even one tremendous film, you are a Great Director, and he is still that.

I just hope he snaps out of whatever is causing him to make these "montage movies", where it looks like he pasted a bunch of short snippets together of his camera swinging around, and called it a movie.

I think I need a lobotomy now. Would you please get Dr. Ben Carson on the phone for me?  :)

That's all for tonight, SB. I will see you in the morning.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Sleepy Time Change + Good Singing + Good Post + I Might Be A "Young Earther" Now, Too

Happy Late Sunday Night, my Darling,

I hope you had a nice day. I'm a little tired today because of the time change. I was okay this morning, but once the coffee wore off I've been a bit on the sleepy side, lol. Good singin' in church this morning, however. We were down to just six singers in choir (also cause of time change, no one showed up), but we knocked it out of the park. A good rehearsal, too. All of that "car singing" is paying off, I tell ya.....  :)

You should come hear us one of these weeks. I know it's a bit of a drive, but I guarantee it's worth it...

:)

I saw your Taya Iv post, and I know she is a proxy for Sweet Babyism (I mean, I think so....right?), and she always has great pics - "peeking out from behind the scenes". I also saw - just now - your post via Brian from I Prevail. That is a great post, but......the first thing I would tell him is the obvious "don't let Internet posters get to you". From what I can see, he is in a band that has been placed in some festival gigs - not too shabby compared to a ton of other bands out there - and so to even respond to clowns who, over the Internet, make unkind or untrue comments, isn't worth his time. If you are a musician, or any other type of artist, once you start to make it, you've got to not pay any attention to what anyone is writing about you. That's one of the first things you learn : don't read criticism, good or bad. Don't waste your time. There's always gonna be people saying "we love you, you're great" and there's always gonna be people saying a lot of critical stuff, and often for reasons of jealousy. Usually, if a person is not a fan of someone's music, or art, they do not bother to write a critical post. They simply don't listen to the bands and types of music they don't care for, but would not bother to criticize, because they are not otherwise bothered. And they are too busy living their life and listening to music they do like.

And so there you have it : people who write crap on the Internet (a wholly recent phenomenon that did not exist 20 years ago) are just venting jealousy, and by reacting to it, your friend in I Prevail is giving it some small bit of acknowledgement, which it doesn't deserve. So I would again tell him, just keep focusing on your band, and getting gigs, and don't read crap that people write about you, because there will always be a lot of it, both good and bad.

Now having said all of that, the rest of his post was right on the money! He talks about being 100% focused on his goal, and that's the way it's been for every successful musician I've ever read about. In the Van Halen biography I read last year, there are all kinds of stories about Edward, and how literally all he ever did was play his guitar. He told the same story : during High School, while his friends were out at parties on the weekend, he was home, playing his music. Same with George Harrison of The Beatles. People who knew him said they never saw him without a guitar, even at the dinner table, haha. As for the business aspect, there was a famous local story of the band Poison in the '80s. They may have been a Hair Band and not really my style, but they were known for doing whatever it took to make it - spending nights putting up flyers all over town, calling clubs day in and day out, just unrelenting in their pursuit. And they did make it. They made it big.

So your friend's post is right on. I'd just say to ignore the idiots, because they will always be there, and they will sap your energy, which is what they would like to do. The Internet made it easy for Stupid People to come out of the woodwork, because they can hide behind a computer......

But anyhow : congrats to your friend, and to all of you guys, and especially to You!, for going for it; for choosing to do what you want with your lives. We have talked about it and talked about it, and we know you made the right decision, and so have your friends, and I think that it awesome.

And I should know, because my life has been rock and roll (well, at least 90%)!

Well, I guess that's all for tonight, SB. I should probably try to get some sleep in a few minutes.

I've been reading my books today - no movie - and now that I am almost finished with the 1100 page "Genesis, Creation and Early Man" by Fr. Seraphim Rose, I can say that it's probably one of the greatest books I've ever read. Anyone who reads this book will never believe in evolution again.

But if you think that's a controversial statement, I've got another one for you.

I may be a "Young Earther" now, SB. I mean, I'm not sure yet. I always thought that the Earth, and the Universe, were millions and billions of years old. Why did I think that? Simple. I thought that for the same reason everyone else does, because science told me so. Therefore it must be true.

But now I am reading about Radiometric Dating, and how it works, and what it can do and what it can't do.

And there is no way to prove anything in the Universe is billions of years old. It is merely a hypothesis that comes out of the philosophy of evolution.

The Creationists readily admit that there is no way to prove the Earth is only 7500 years old, but they do present a lot of evidence for Catastrophism, which is a subject I have been interested in for a long time.

I won't go on a tirade (or maybe I already did!), except to say that it's a shame that when people think of Creationism, they think of a bunch of dumb Fundamentalists from somewhere like Kentucky or Tennessee.

Try arguing evolution with an Orthodox Christian master like Fr. Seraphim, who was educated at one of the Claremont Colleges. That is how Creationism should be percieved, and a rightful (and correct) alternative to evolution, which, when any thinking person stops to consider it, is just plain ridiculous.

Well, I see I did go on a tirade. Sorry about that! But anyway, I am gonna get a book or two on "young earth theory" (only high level books, mind you) and see what I think. Then I'll get back to you.  :)

See you in the morn. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Time Change + Another Shot Caller Dog + Summer + Charlie Chan + LBJ

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I'm writing a little bit earlier than usual due to the upcoming time change, which I am pretending has already happened, in order to psych myself out so I can get to bed at a reasonable hour and not be complete toast in church. So, right now it's 12:11am, but it's really 1:11. And I've gotta be up at 8. I can get by with 6 hours sleep, or even 5 1/2, but after that............the Toast Factor starts to accrue.

I like the other time change better, when you get an hour more of sleep, but then it's all mixed up, because really that time change is worse, because then it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, which sucks.

This time change - Spring Forward - sucks for one day, but then starting tomorrow night the nights are longer, and man do I love those lingering twilight evenings in Spring and Summer. So, overall, I'll take the Spring Time Change, and Daylight Savings, over the Fall Time Change, even though I lose an hour of sleep tonight. We have an easy song in church anyhow, which I can sing in my sleep, lol. It's a traditional Irish melody called "I Sing As I Arise" (for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day), and the irony of the Time Change is in the title!  :)

I liked the photo you posted this afternoon. That dog is classic! He looks like a Shot Caller just like Kobi, and you are right : he is perturbed by the overall situation he finds himself in, and is thinking "Someone will pay later".  :)

It's funny because I was always used to big dogs. We always had Labs, and a Shepherd, and big dogs are so Large and Friendly, and they are like your big pal : "Hey! How's it goin'? I'll just park myself here on the couch until it's time for you to feed me. Everything's cool, though".  Big dogs are relaxed, but they aren't as "in charge" as little dogs. I only discovered that when I got to know The Kobester, and of course I jest somewhat, but only just a little. There really is a difference in temperment due to the size of the doggie, and the little guys are definitely calling the shots.

I see you guys are back in the throes of Winter after enjoying warmer temps earlier in the season. Hopefully the cold is temporary. For us, Summer seems to have begun. Though it's not roasting, about 85 degrees, I have had to use my air conditioner the past two days, and it looks like it's gonna be around 90 next week. That's how it works out here, there no "warm up", no slow changeover. One day you're freezing to death and the next it's Summer. But I'm sure we've got some sweatshirt weather left, probably in April when cool and breezy conditions prevail.

Tonight's movie was "Meeting At Midnight", yet another Charlie Chan flick starring the great Sidney Toler. This one was a blast, concerning a murder that takes place during a seance. The subject of seances was big in the movies of the 40s, when mysticism was becoming part of the popular culture. Anyway, Charlie goes through his usual superior detective procedures and ends up holding his own seance, with all the suspects, to solve the crime. The movie features, as always in this series, the hijinks of Mantan Moreland, who is an absolute riot. I have now seen five Charlie Chans, every one the Library system has, but I like 'em so much that I will have to start ordering more from Amazon. It turns out they made a couple dozen in all.  :)

Today, a hike at Santa Susana, and my usual reading. I am blown away by the LBJ book, and I hope that one day all his crimes will be exposed to America and the whole world. He was so awful that, had he been the leader of a less free country, like Russia or China, he very well might have been as bad as Hitler or Stalin. He was a demon who took over America, and to this day his crimes have been mostly covered up, and we are still paying for it psychically, in the sense of The Princess And The Pea......

End of brief LBJ tirade, for now anyway.....

And that's really all for tonight. On account of the time change, I must now attempt to get to sleep.

I will see you in the morn, and then again after choir practice at 1pm.

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

Traveling Partner + Feed The Dog + "Track Of The Cat"

Happy Late Friday Night, Sweet Baby,

I take it that you posted your photo this morning, of your friend, at least partially in response to my question, about a traveling companion? I mean, it was an excellent picture as always, and perhaps you and she just did a photo shoot, but because of the timing, I figured it was also an answer to my question.  :)

If so, I am glad you guys are gonna go together. I know you are pretty adventurous yourself, but it is better to go to a remote place like Iceland with another person, and especially a best friend (or BFF as they say nowdays).  :)

I also saw your post, via Joel, about "working a 20 hour day and getting 3 hours sleep" but being stoked anyway because you love what you do. That's what it's all about! (although do try to squeeze in a 5 hour sleep now and then, haha).

I saw one other post, via "Josef" Stalin (didn't know he was a musician, lol) about an album due out in June, so I thought perhaps you meant your album will be ready then, or maybe just that you are working on your album, hence the 20 hour days. If I am right, then I am getting pretty good at reading the messages in the posts. I used to be expert at it, and then I kind of lost my touch, but maybe I've still got it. It sounds like things are going great, however, and that is always nice to know.

Today I took The Crew to Lake Balboa. Our theme song was "Feed The Birds" from "Mary Poppins". We brought along some bread, and that song kept running through my head as the ducks and coots gathered around. Later in the day it became, "Feeed the dog......tuppence a can", because if you don't Feed The Dog you are gonna be in for a heap of trouble. He's the Shot Caller around here; I just do what he tells me. And, I've probably mentioned it before, but he thinks Dog Food is The Greatest Invention Of All Time. He is always suggesting I try some, though I have yet to take him up on his offer........

Tonight's movie was a weird, psychological Western called "Track Of The Cat (1954) directed by the legendary William Wellman, starring Robert Mitchum, and shot in widescreen Cinemascope in some of the most beautiful outdoor Technicolor I've seen, up in the mountains of Colorado (or Northern California, it wasn't clear which location).

The movie looked fantastic, and Mitchum was good as always. You can see why they named a deodorant after him; he is Ultra Macho. And the supporting cast was good : Beulah Bondi, Teresa Wright, Tab Hunter, Diana Lynn.

But it was One Weird Movie, and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It was a superstitious, gothic Western about a terribly dysfunctional ranching family, led by middle brother Mitchum. He is on the hunt for a mysterious "Black Panther" who is killing the family cattle, and at the same time he is at war with his two brothers, who he sees as wimps. A snowstorm rages throughout the film, set high in the mountains. Meanwhile, the Mom (Beulah Bondi, famous character actress) rails against youngest son Tab Hunter's girlfriend while quoting the Bible, and the Dad simply downs one glass of Whiskey after another throughout the film. Also, a caricature "Old Injun" lives with the family, and he is supposedly the only one with enough wisdom to know how to track the elusive Panther, and yet he stumbles around half senile and deaf for 90% of the movie.

It started out really good, seemingly a snowed-in dark story about a troubled frontier family with a killer cat on the prowl. But then it devolved into a bickering match between the Mom and most of her family members, with endless shots of Dad pounding Whiskey. There was never once a "Cat" shown, despite the title, and the ending was a complete cop out, with Tab Hunter heading out to find his older brother Mitchum, but he finally kills the unseen "Cat" in the process, and the movie ends right there - with no mention if he found his brother or not, or if he even cared.

I thought......."Hmmmm, I'll give this movie a 6 out of 10, just for the photography and the Weirdness". Then I thought......."no, that ending was ridiculous. I'll give it a 4".

But now, I'm back up to a 6, or maybe even a 6.5 or 7 out of 10, just because it was One Unusual Movie.

I have never seen such a Western, like a Soap Opera with dark, gothic undertones.

A lot of it was terrible, but a lot of it was really good. So, I will give it Two Thumbs Up and Two Thumbs Down at the same time.  :)

That was all the news for today. I went to Aliso for my afternoon walk. It is becoming my "go to" for the afternoon part of the walk, and I love it. The water is even still flowing, though much slower, three weeks after the last rain.

See you in the morning, SB. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)