"The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" X 2.
Back after a week of recuperating from extensive plastic surgery...did I miss anything?
In honor of the greastest of the "spaghetti westerns" (though it was filmed in Spain):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good:
"The World's Fastest Indian" - DVD. Anthony Hopkins is one of the great contemporary actors, but is also well known for his distaste for the profession of acting. Too many times to count, Hopkins has discussed giving up films to do God knows what with his life. But in this film, I actually think he may have had a good time. He brings great energy and joy to his performance as an aged New Zealander who, during the 1960's, transports a 1920's Indian motorcycle halfway around the world to the Salt Flats of Utah to see just how fast he can go: he goes FASSSSSST! In footage of the real Burt Munro included on the DVD, it is apparent his zest for life and squeezing every last drop of fun out of it. Hopkins does the same, as he beds several woman, befriends a Hollywood transvestite, magically fixes the engines of run down used cars: seemingly sprinkling fairy dust on everyone he meets and making them walk with their chin held higher, a bit more bounce in their step.
Heck, maybe Anthony Hopkins should have played Superman.
He would have been an interesting choice anyway.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bad:
Why do more than a few people with E-Z Pass installed on their cars insist on driving 2 mph through tolls? Do they not realize that this kinda defeats the purpose of having the E-Z Pass? The safety of the toll collectors is the reason to slow down, not the chance that the radar will "forget" to ring up your car. You could be doing 80 and the thing would still work. It's not a good idea, understand, to be driving any more than 10-15 mph through the tolls, for safety reasons. But crawling through, and in some cases even stopping to make sure that the toll is collected by the radar is just silly, if you ask me.
Which you didn't.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ugly:
Cornel West's "Democracy Matters": This is a wonderful book length essay on the past and present of American democracy, in all its complexity and hypocrisy...right up to the pages where Dr. West raises a hatchet and attempts to take down the reputation of Harvard President Lawrence Summers (he's too late). "Democracy Matters" was published in 2004, shortly after West had left Harvard's vaunted Afro-American Studies Department for Princeton due to a fued with Summers, who became Harvard President in 2001. What West's explanation of what happened, and how he felt Summers was completely at fault, has to do with the chapter on youth culture and democracy, I'll never know. I guess he wanted to get his two cents in. Most people accepted that President Summers was the reason for quite a few stumblings by the world's finest university. And Summers will step down from the presidency at the in July of '06 (not that West could foresee this in '04). It would seem unnecessary and a bit shallow that a one of the nation's leading intellectuals like Dr. West would take time out from his book to take pot shots at such an easy target.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good:
Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies" and "The Great Movies II". Having read little of Ebert's written criticism over the years, I knew him mainly as the guy on the PBS show, first with the deceased Gene Siskel, then with that other guy, that seemed to give a "thumbs up" to just about every movie every week. But he can certainly write. These books are a collection of film critiques Ebert's written for The Chicago Sun-Tiimes over the last several years. I can foresee several more volumes, as he hasn't even included "The Godfather Part II" or "Shampoo", "Harold and Maude" or many other classics both recent and decades old. May his health continue to at least hold, if not improve, as I will eagerly purchase the next volume whenever it's released.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bad:
Mike Tyson turned 40 the other day. And unlike another 80's icon, Carl Lewis, Iron Mike did not throw multiple parties in his own honor. Probably didn't have the dough to do much more than order in Domino's for him and his 400 pigeons.
People too young to remember Tyson becoming the youngest ever Heavyweight Champ, following a breathtaking march through the heavyweight ranks in the mid-80's, hear his name and associate it with all the sick and brutal statements and actions and crimes that he has become infamous for. This (no news flash) is a very very sick and unhealthy man with no one to turn to for advice or support, and who has basically dug his own grave, speaking metaphorically.
But he has a past, a very sad one.
After basically living by his wits in Brooklyn as a young boy, Tyson was confined to a home for juvenile delinquents, located in upstate NY, in his teens for multiple violent crimes he committed. Tyson's future seemed reasonably certain: a revolving door of prison, parole, life on the streets, re-arrest, then back to prison. Only one thing was different about Tyson than so many millions of other kids who grew up just like him: he could hit, and hit hard.
Cus D'Amato, an aged but legendary boxing trainer looking for one last shot at glory, was the man who immediately recognizes the potential greatness of the teenaged Tyson. D'Amato treated the boy, who came from nothing and had nothing, like a future prince. If Tyson wanted to steal food from the plate of another boy at Cus's home, then D'Amato said it was all right, since young Mike was the future "champeen of the world." Whenever Tyson ran afoul of the law, or got into some type of hot water in the small town they lived in, D'Amata was there to make the situation disappear, since young Mike was now Cus' meal ticket.
And so began a life of taking and taking and more taking; whenever the mood struck and the opportunity presented itself, for the immature, violent, sometimes sweet-hearted but always combustible Mike Tyson.
The rest of Tyson's story unfolded as it had to to for a man with such immense athletic gifts and so little else. D'Amato died before Tyson won the title. The gangster, convicted killer, and scumbag Don King wormed his way into the champ's life, separating the boxer from anyone who had known him from his youth and cared about him in any way (though there were cetainly few of those folks around). Tyson was known for knocking opponents in the first minute or two during his rise, and for fighting frequently. This was part of Cus' plan to achieve greatness. Under King, the fights became more spaced out, and were made solely for monetary gain, not for attaining boxing immortality. Tyson earned unimaginable purses, much of which were stolen by King and his cronies, and lived the life of a young man with too much cash and too many desires too easily fulfillled. The rest of the tale (the loss to a career journeyman who finally got in shape for his one big chance, the marraige to the wannabe movie star with the dominating mother-in-law as part of the package, the rape, the conviction and years of jailtime, the comeback, the biting off of an opponent's ear, the bankruptcy, the facial tattoo advertising Tyson's madness to all, the quitting in the middle of a bout) is pathetic. But more than anything, it was predictable.
When a young man with no family, no positive influences, no inhibitions, having too much money, and who suffers from bouts of mental illness (mania?, certainly depression) gets paid many millions of dollars to beat people up (but only after the bell and between the ropes), we can only be shocked when he doesn't turn out to be the nightmarish train wreck that is Mike Tyson at age 40.
But I and many others will always remember him in the ring, destroying Spinks and Frazier and Smith and so many others. I am not a boxing fan today, and not just because boxing has become such a cesspool of fraud and deceit, led by King (it was always so, just run by different hoodlums); It appears that a sport whose ultimate achievement is to render the opponent braindead is something that a civilized society should marginalize, if not ban. And now there is guilt over the thrill I got from those Tyson knockouts, way back when.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ugly:
Spotted a ridiculous bumper sticker last week: "Save Maine: Impeach Baldacci!".
I'm sorry.....what? Impeach the governor of Maine? In order to save the state? From what?
If this was an attempt at humor, then I'm sorry but I don't get it.
If this was an attempt at political commentary, then the person who wrote it (and printed it and bought it) should maybe find something more fulfilling to do with their downtime. Baldacci is, from the perspective of someone who reads the PP Herald every day but never watches local news, just another dude. Who happens to be governor of a tiny state up in the top of New England. That's about it. Has he done something unspeakable with a cigar (and a girl)? Has he rewritten the state's Constitution (in his mind.......man, in his mind) like another notable leader here in the US of A?
I didn't realize that there was such passion over the gov. Maybe he should be proud that there are folks who dislike him. FDR is STILL hated by quite a few of the upper crust for giving the non-rich the New Deal. And our other great President, Lincoln, was despised by many folks throughout the fighting of the Civil War, and was only re-elected to a second term due to campaign mismanagement by the opposing parties. So Baldacci, to inspire such a (ridiculous) bumper sticker must be doing something right. I think, anyway.
In honor of the greastest of the "spaghetti westerns" (though it was filmed in Spain):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good:
"The World's Fastest Indian" - DVD. Anthony Hopkins is one of the great contemporary actors, but is also well known for his distaste for the profession of acting. Too many times to count, Hopkins has discussed giving up films to do God knows what with his life. But in this film, I actually think he may have had a good time. He brings great energy and joy to his performance as an aged New Zealander who, during the 1960's, transports a 1920's Indian motorcycle halfway around the world to the Salt Flats of Utah to see just how fast he can go: he goes FASSSSSST! In footage of the real Burt Munro included on the DVD, it is apparent his zest for life and squeezing every last drop of fun out of it. Hopkins does the same, as he beds several woman, befriends a Hollywood transvestite, magically fixes the engines of run down used cars: seemingly sprinkling fairy dust on everyone he meets and making them walk with their chin held higher, a bit more bounce in their step.
Heck, maybe Anthony Hopkins should have played Superman.
He would have been an interesting choice anyway.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bad:
Why do more than a few people with E-Z Pass installed on their cars insist on driving 2 mph through tolls? Do they not realize that this kinda defeats the purpose of having the E-Z Pass? The safety of the toll collectors is the reason to slow down, not the chance that the radar will "forget" to ring up your car. You could be doing 80 and the thing would still work. It's not a good idea, understand, to be driving any more than 10-15 mph through the tolls, for safety reasons. But crawling through, and in some cases even stopping to make sure that the toll is collected by the radar is just silly, if you ask me.
Which you didn't.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ugly:
Cornel West's "Democracy Matters": This is a wonderful book length essay on the past and present of American democracy, in all its complexity and hypocrisy...right up to the pages where Dr. West raises a hatchet and attempts to take down the reputation of Harvard President Lawrence Summers (he's too late). "Democracy Matters" was published in 2004, shortly after West had left Harvard's vaunted Afro-American Studies Department for Princeton due to a fued with Summers, who became Harvard President in 2001. What West's explanation of what happened, and how he felt Summers was completely at fault, has to do with the chapter on youth culture and democracy, I'll never know. I guess he wanted to get his two cents in. Most people accepted that President Summers was the reason for quite a few stumblings by the world's finest university. And Summers will step down from the presidency at the in July of '06 (not that West could foresee this in '04). It would seem unnecessary and a bit shallow that a one of the nation's leading intellectuals like Dr. West would take time out from his book to take pot shots at such an easy target.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Good:
Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies" and "The Great Movies II". Having read little of Ebert's written criticism over the years, I knew him mainly as the guy on the PBS show, first with the deceased Gene Siskel, then with that other guy, that seemed to give a "thumbs up" to just about every movie every week. But he can certainly write. These books are a collection of film critiques Ebert's written for The Chicago Sun-Tiimes over the last several years. I can foresee several more volumes, as he hasn't even included "The Godfather Part II" or "Shampoo", "Harold and Maude" or many other classics both recent and decades old. May his health continue to at least hold, if not improve, as I will eagerly purchase the next volume whenever it's released.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bad:
Mike Tyson turned 40 the other day. And unlike another 80's icon, Carl Lewis, Iron Mike did not throw multiple parties in his own honor. Probably didn't have the dough to do much more than order in Domino's for him and his 400 pigeons.
People too young to remember Tyson becoming the youngest ever Heavyweight Champ, following a breathtaking march through the heavyweight ranks in the mid-80's, hear his name and associate it with all the sick and brutal statements and actions and crimes that he has become infamous for. This (no news flash) is a very very sick and unhealthy man with no one to turn to for advice or support, and who has basically dug his own grave, speaking metaphorically.
But he has a past, a very sad one.
After basically living by his wits in Brooklyn as a young boy, Tyson was confined to a home for juvenile delinquents, located in upstate NY, in his teens for multiple violent crimes he committed. Tyson's future seemed reasonably certain: a revolving door of prison, parole, life on the streets, re-arrest, then back to prison. Only one thing was different about Tyson than so many millions of other kids who grew up just like him: he could hit, and hit hard.
Cus D'Amato, an aged but legendary boxing trainer looking for one last shot at glory, was the man who immediately recognizes the potential greatness of the teenaged Tyson. D'Amato treated the boy, who came from nothing and had nothing, like a future prince. If Tyson wanted to steal food from the plate of another boy at Cus's home, then D'Amato said it was all right, since young Mike was the future "champeen of the world." Whenever Tyson ran afoul of the law, or got into some type of hot water in the small town they lived in, D'Amata was there to make the situation disappear, since young Mike was now Cus' meal ticket.
And so began a life of taking and taking and more taking; whenever the mood struck and the opportunity presented itself, for the immature, violent, sometimes sweet-hearted but always combustible Mike Tyson.
The rest of Tyson's story unfolded as it had to to for a man with such immense athletic gifts and so little else. D'Amato died before Tyson won the title. The gangster, convicted killer, and scumbag Don King wormed his way into the champ's life, separating the boxer from anyone who had known him from his youth and cared about him in any way (though there were cetainly few of those folks around). Tyson was known for knocking opponents in the first minute or two during his rise, and for fighting frequently. This was part of Cus' plan to achieve greatness. Under King, the fights became more spaced out, and were made solely for monetary gain, not for attaining boxing immortality. Tyson earned unimaginable purses, much of which were stolen by King and his cronies, and lived the life of a young man with too much cash and too many desires too easily fulfillled. The rest of the tale (the loss to a career journeyman who finally got in shape for his one big chance, the marraige to the wannabe movie star with the dominating mother-in-law as part of the package, the rape, the conviction and years of jailtime, the comeback, the biting off of an opponent's ear, the bankruptcy, the facial tattoo advertising Tyson's madness to all, the quitting in the middle of a bout) is pathetic. But more than anything, it was predictable.
When a young man with no family, no positive influences, no inhibitions, having too much money, and who suffers from bouts of mental illness (mania?, certainly depression) gets paid many millions of dollars to beat people up (but only after the bell and between the ropes), we can only be shocked when he doesn't turn out to be the nightmarish train wreck that is Mike Tyson at age 40.
But I and many others will always remember him in the ring, destroying Spinks and Frazier and Smith and so many others. I am not a boxing fan today, and not just because boxing has become such a cesspool of fraud and deceit, led by King (it was always so, just run by different hoodlums); It appears that a sport whose ultimate achievement is to render the opponent braindead is something that a civilized society should marginalize, if not ban. And now there is guilt over the thrill I got from those Tyson knockouts, way back when.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ugly:
Spotted a ridiculous bumper sticker last week: "Save Maine: Impeach Baldacci!".
I'm sorry.....what? Impeach the governor of Maine? In order to save the state? From what?
If this was an attempt at humor, then I'm sorry but I don't get it.
If this was an attempt at political commentary, then the person who wrote it (and printed it and bought it) should maybe find something more fulfilling to do with their downtime. Baldacci is, from the perspective of someone who reads the PP Herald every day but never watches local news, just another dude. Who happens to be governor of a tiny state up in the top of New England. That's about it. Has he done something unspeakable with a cigar (and a girl)? Has he rewritten the state's Constitution (in his mind.......man, in his mind) like another notable leader here in the US of A?
I didn't realize that there was such passion over the gov. Maybe he should be proud that there are folks who dislike him. FDR is STILL hated by quite a few of the upper crust for giving the non-rich the New Deal. And our other great President, Lincoln, was despised by many folks throughout the fighting of the Civil War, and was only re-elected to a second term due to campaign mismanagement by the opposing parties. So Baldacci, to inspire such a (ridiculous) bumper sticker must be doing something right. I think, anyway.
posted by joe sweeney at 1:37 PM
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