Goodnight Everybody

There was a tradition when we first opened the hotel that I started with our second executive housekeeper. It was inspired by sound business practice involving team building skills and the end shift line up where our GM would say goodbye to a cluster of us, by name, individually.... like when the Waltons would wish each other good night. It was called The Walton Family Dinner. And usually involved ordering Chinese food in.

I loved the Waltons. I always wanted a big brother like John Boy because I never knew what was going on in the world. I knew home life. I knew my responsibilities but I didn't understand much of anything outside of school and our small town. I had a great dad. He wasn't as present as John Walton since he had so much to do on his own without the help of a set of grandparents to help while my mother was sick. So I looked to the TV dads most like my own for the kind of guidance I needed. One of my favorites was John Walton.

He didn't understand John Boy, who as the oldest I felt quite akin to, but he still supported him. I remember the episode when John Boy got his approval and support. And a bunch of notebooks to start writing in. The quote is from that episode. John Boy got what every odd kid in the family needed. That isn't to say that there were no struggles between father and son when the needs of the family clashed with the needs of the muse. There were issues. But John Boy always had his support.

I had a hard time getting that support from my dad. Or anyone else in the family. Substitute art for writing and there you have it. A bunch of people who don't know anything about the art trade trying to make me fit into the things that they did know. It was an uphill battle. And I held onto this moment between John Sr. & Jr. for almost all of my life because I needed to know that I wasn't nuts. That you could do something completely different from your family if only you would apply yourself. If I was gonna do art I needed to do art. And I needed to try to be the best. That takes a lot of practice. And sometimes that practice takes precedence over anything else going on in the family.

In many respects my dad was a lot like Mr. Walton, it jus took him a little longer to understand my life direction than it took John. John Walton was a lot like my dad. He really only ever wanted what was best for his kids, even if he didn't know what that best should be.

And now they are both gone...

 With Walton reruns and his appearance as Gibbs' dad on NCIS it is easier to bear up without my dad. The words that I need are there. The relationship is visible. It's funny.... before I saw any of this news on facebook I had woke from a terribly restless night wracked with the grief of those in my family who have gone before me. And I am living that restless grief again today.

I'm certainly going to be bleary eyed for Valentines with the boyfriend. I almost don't want to go because the grief is so profound. It really has felt like I have lost my dad all over again. In a way, more than any other day that I envy my boyfriend's relationship with his parents, I envy him the discipline of those parents who had them in bed before they could get attached to this TV family. He's never seen an episode. And doubtless.... will not be able to truly grasp the pain in my heart. But he will hug me nonetheless.

God help me when Leonard Nimoy goes.


Goodnight Pa
Goodnight Everybody.

A Food Geek Is Born

So there was a discussion about PBS shows we watched as kids at work. Then there was the weird random follow up conversations in random places which then lead me to thinking about the sources of my interests. Cooking came from my Grandparents to start with. I was taught beginning when I was 4. My first dish was scrambled eggs and I made a mess because Grampa made me nervous. And I got recipes and cookbooks for gifts periodically as I grew up. But then there was PBS.

At the same time I discovered Dr. Who, I found this man, Jeff Smith.



My first cooking teacher. Dad and I watched him every Saturday. I'd made a mention of him on Wordpress and it was recommended that I keep in mind links. So I found links. Which lead me to what amounts to an half season's worth of episodes which take me right back to being in high school.

If ever there is a time to recapture a little of the glory of those days, it is when you approach your period of mid life crisising so that you can maybe do things a little different than you did the first time. For instance, I hid who I was in high school. Lots of years an lots of advice later I am not hiding. And I am telling you guys to come out and be yourselves. Hiding is bad.

Let me tell you a story.

I hid my interest in food for a long time. Classmates were comfortable with me being an artist but not too comfortable with me being interested in as many "grown up" things as I was. So I didn't talk about the Frug (pronounced; froog). I'd been watching him since about 7th grade. And to show you how dedicated I was to hiding from my classmates, I declined invitations to go out, blaming a babysitting gig, so that I could stay home with my dad to cook. Dad decided that I should put this education to use. We would watch the Frug and then shop for the ingredients to make some of the meals I'd taken notes on. It took about 6-8 episodes to come up with the recipe that we figured we could afford to try.

In 12th grade my best friend started to threaten me with an education on cooking. I'd been cooking for the family for about 3 years at that point. About a year after high school she earnestly began to teach me to cook. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I already knew. So for the last 25 years she has taken credit for the work that this man did and for the patience that my father had in letting me have control of the kitchen on the weekends that I didn't work.

If you want to learn how to cook he is a good place to start. Information, humor, grace (there is no yelling) and context for everything that he talks about. Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart will break down the recipe and get the food on the table. But the Frug will get the food into your soul.

As the Frug ended his show, I shall end this post: I bid you peace.

 

 

Undershaw

I'm just a 40something kid from northern Michigan and very far removed from the politics of small foreign communities so there is little reason to listen to what I have to say. There is very little reason for me to believe that my voice matters at all. True, alone, it is nothing. Having made my disclaimer let me say that added to other voices I can change the world. And so, after years of wondering what I care enough about to which I could add my service & and apply my heart, I find a cause in Undershaw. But why?

Well, because I was once a 12 year old artsy kid that was too scared of the world to leave the house until I found Holmes as a protector.

When I was a 12 year old kid I found that I loved a good mystery, a puzzle of the non-jigsaw variety, and learned that observation is everything. First in art: you can not draw if you can not see. Second: introverts get run over in social situations because they do not see. True, some of us do not understand what we see when we see it. Mostly though we fail to see what is in front of our faces because we are too busy looking inward. Observation is survival. I learned all about observation through one of the purportedly greatest minds in history: Sherlock Holmes.

Of course like most American kids I got to Holmes through the torture of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, some Scooby Doo mysteries and sundry elementary adventures. It was my freshman year in High School that solidified Holmes as a literary hero. He had already been a larger than life legend for me as my mother recounted his exploits based on her memories of Basil Rathbone films. I was wonderfully surprised to find, through Mr. Trapp, that Holmes was really real and not just a Hollywood concoction. And for the entire reading of "The Speckled Band", which to my absolute horror was about a snake, and the biography of Conan Doyle as a means of introduction I was convinced that Holmes was real. And since it seems he is based almost solely upon Joseph Bell, a professor of Conan Doyle's, I shall maintain for myself the solidity of his person. I could not solve the Speckled Band as Mr. Trapp encouraged us to do as we read. In my defense I would have to have had encyclopedic knowledge of the animal kingdom as known in the Victorian era as it was a rare Indian breed that performed the hideous deeds. What was not, however, defendable, was my failure to recognize the human behaviors described by Conan Doyle and the Old Testament evil housed in the mind and body of Grimsby Roylance.

And that is where Holmes has made his most significant mark on me. Observe!

"You see but you do not observe."

& "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

The one that gets me every time:

"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."

We assume. Or we do not care. Holmes taught me a lot about observations and how to formulate theories after observations rather than before. In truth, the failure to observe one's surroundings is likely the single most self-destructive thing that we can do. Mostly we blunder through our lives recovering from missteps more than we do following some kind of a plan. Cagey criminals and ruthless relations whose motivation is to prey on the unobserving masses create a maze of life situations that, were we more observant, could be avoided.

Holmes taught me to be aware of my surroundings at all times. He taught me how to protect my poor little introverted heart from the vagaries of those ruthless individuals who would prey upon me before submitting to the favor of praying for me. When I have suffered the most is when I have laid down Holmes' rules for the sake of civility or emotional satisfaction. When I assume something can not happen I am almost always proven incorrect.

Observation and Logic can make a cruelly solitary and cold life of once vibrant individuals. And so we have Watson to remind us of our human hearts and the compassion with which facts can be disseminated. Watson is the introverts guide through Life the Universe & Everything Human. Between the two of them I think we have the best teachers of social navigation. And neither of them would exist without the writing life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The writer's life informs every word written, every word that survives the red pen before it gets to the editor. Conan Doyle's literary life was lived at Undershaw for a decade. And what a significant decade it was. Arthur Conan Doyle took on the persona of his own creation, Sherlock Holmes, and solved two mysteries that lead to over turned convictions & were helpful in establishing Britain's Court of Criminal Appeal in addition to penning most of the Holmes adventures. Undershaw has welcomed literary friends and peers such as Bram Stoker, Virginia Woolfe and J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame. One does not have to spend much energy imagining what vivid conversations may have taken place while Conan Doyle was in residence at Undershaw.... nor what characters future vivid Undershaw conversations might beget.

If  there is a future.

Undershaw had been slated for redevelopment until a group of passionate fans and conservationists began the fight to block demolition and rehabilitation as luxury flats. In 2012 development was halted after a heated legal battle. Now the battle to fund the preservation and restoration ensues with the Undershaw Preservation Trust at the helm. http://www.saveundershaw.com/ Various campaigns around the world have begun to find funds for the venture. The latest one to come to me was in my Facebook feed this morning. I did not hesitate to sign this petition. Though I did hesitate to donate to the ipetions page.  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_undershaw/I prefer to send money directly to Undershaw. Should you chose to send a gift, here is a direct link http://www.saveundershaw.com/pledge-page.html

True, Conan Doyle lived many places in England. Some of them are now private residences, there is a Sherlock Holmes museum. The argument for not registering the home as a historical landmark due to lack of architectural interest is certainly valid. In its glory days it was not that much different than any other manse of its time. Undershaw was not supposed to be a grand architectural statement like the home of Edith Wharton here in America. Undershaw was to be Mrs. Doyle's retreat to recover from illness and a place for Conan Doyle to write. The architecture is not the thing.

The Literature is the Thing!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the writer's residence part of Undershaw were preserved? And not because Sherlock is a cultural icon, not because Hollywood needs another monument to its ability to franchise the hell out of anything but because the Literature really is the thing. A Writer's Residency program would be a tremendous tribute to Conan Doyle. While Thomas Hardy can be credited with the birth of the detective genre, and in fact was instrumental in creating Scotland Yard, Arthur Conan Doyle is definitely its most acclaimed teacher & proponent with many acclaimed authors in England and around the world following in his footsteps.

For my own part, living in a city that takes great pride in retrieving buildings of historic significance from the jaws of Decay and Despair while promoting respectful economic growth, I am partial to the idea of usable preservation beyond simple preservation. We are too numerous a species to let things sit upon a shelf so to speak. We must use what we love and love the things that we use. Selfishly, I would love to spend some bleak, misbegotten November at Undershaw under the pretense of writing my great American novel when in fact, I would simply be letting my spirit roam free in hopes of communing with whatever energy the man left behind. If I were to get a novel out of it all the better.

The following link is another blogger's take on Undershaw.
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/03/holmes-home-saving-undershaw
I would hope that one of us would have some influence on the reader's here at 6° of Geekdom and spread awareness. There are a lot of things in this world that need our attention. Saving a smallish building may not seem like much in comparison to saving the Sea, Rainforests, Organic Farms, Wetlands, Endangered Species and our Sanity. It is in the small things that we find a voice and strength to then tend the larger things. Let this be a place to wet your toes before jumping into the ocean to rescue the whales if that should seem to large a task. Small steps lead to larger ones.

Happy Birthday

 

 

 

Today, being the second of October, is Sting's birthday. I am listening to "The Last Ship" on Spotify right now. I've never not had money for a new Sting CD so thankfully there is Spotify for the foreseeable future. It's been 10 years since his last album of original tunes. And a lot has changed in those 10 years.

 

At once they seem to have been the longest decade of my life and the shortest. I measure my life in milestones more than in years. It seems, with the notable exception of Matthias Reim to hold my heart in time of heartache, Sting is the soundtrack underscoring those milestones. When I find myself inconsolable at points in which the losses in my life are so poignant there is always an album which lets me do my grieving and find the strength of hope to get through the hardest part of the process: the letting go and getting back to life. Most of that time, when I miss someone most, I return to Soul Cages.

 

 

Soul Cages got me through Dad's sickness and passing. It is difficult to describe all those feelings. Anyone who has lost someone knows them... knows them well. Anyone who has been there knows there is little that can be said to make it better. The Hallmark­­™ card to hold all the sentiments for those occasions would be as tall as the Statue of Liberty and still not be able to convey the support a grieving person needs. Or desires. In fact the grieving person usually doesn't know what would help until the help arrives. Cue Sting.

His father passed and Soul Cages was his process  to deal with it. You don't just miss the person in the flesh from the moment of passing. You miss the whole thing: the times that you shared and the times that you blew off. There are things that our fathers tell us that we do not heed when they are with us that we cannot then ask them to repeat once they are gone. You grieve for that. Then you feel the guilt. Here's the thing though, you also miss yourself.

Soul Cages looks at what life was like growing up in Newcastle, especially "All This Time" which is one of my favorites in his entire body of work. When a parent passes you miss those times that you remember fondly, pictures play in your mind like a fading 16mm film. You miss the places you were when you were there. You miss your hometown and the way it was while you were growing up. You miss the vision of yourself when you see those films in your mind. Looking through old books in rainy weather is torture; and much needed. In less than two weeks I will mark the 8th year of my father's passing. Soul Cages came to me a year before he passes, it paved the way for the process to come. I bought it the same year that Sacred Love came out, the same day it came out.

When my father did pass two weeks after his 90th birthday I remembered the CD, the liner notes Sting wrote. For a month I only listened to Soul Cages. I planned the funeral with the director alone. I made mistakes that alienated my cousins on my father's side. I gathered the pictures for the memorial alone. I talked to the doctors about his condition and was the only one of the three of us to know that he was not coming back. I stood alone in the hospital room with no one to hold onto. I survived those horrible moments with Sting's dulcet voice in my head... singing me through the breaths that I would have to take to make it downstairs to my car without upsetting the whole hospital. My brother wailed onto his wife's shoulder while my sister was on the plane to get here. The German patient, bless his heart, calmly ordered his meal from the bed next door.

Everything changes when you lose the last of your parents. If you haven't prepared yourself very well you lose your entire self. As prepared as I was I lost a good chunk of who I was and what I thought my life would be. In the process of settling his affairs I lost a lot of the security that we expect to have out of life. And having lost that I lost my faith in myself. I never really realized how tied into my father my own thoughts of my self identity were. Thanks Freud, but it isn't about sexual maturity (which I know because my "type" is completely different from my dad. My dad actually influences whom I gravitate toward in the realm of spiritual assistance~ Sting. My dad is mostly Welsh.) In many ways, Mr. Sumner and my dad are a lot a like. Mr. Sumner was a milkman and my dad a farmer and neither of them understood the artistic drive in Sting and me. But by the end, they both gave blessings for each of us to be what we wanted. I can not say if this is the case with Sting, but I still feel that even with the blessing to go forth and create art I am somehow disappointing Dad. For the first time in my life, and lasting these last 8 years, I have considered being something other than an artist.

That would be like considering being something other than human. Oh I would love to be a Time Lord. But I am human: frailly, blessedly and incontrovertibly human. And I shall need a hefty dose of Sacred Love to help me find myself as I have always imagined myself to be and to be what my Dad blessed in his last conversation with me. But I am not ready for that just yet. If I were I would not have been so eager to distract myself with Matthias Reim these last 4 years. So as I listen to The Last Ship, I find the sequel to Soul Cages that I was looking for.

I wish that I had the liner notes that come with the CD. But alas.... not until I have some money to go get the CD. And that brings me to the reason that I am writing about Dad and Sting today. It being Sting's birthday, and that birthday falling smack in the middle of the Season of Loss™, there is no better day to think about who I still have in my life and how thankful that I am for them. Especially Sting.

 

 

Sting,

 Happy Birthday.

I am so thankful for you, for your art, for your willingness to put your heart, soul,

experience into song to share with the rest of us. I do not know how I would have

gotten through so many of my life's experiences without your words

to comfort or convict and pointing the way under the Dog Star.

Thank you.

 

 

 

I owe someone else a birthday greeting. It is hard to write this one though because I feel so much empathy for him and one of the things that he struggles with... I wasn't really expecting to get that involved with that particular greeting. But I am an Aquarius and I am waking up from a long spiritual slumber so it probably should surprise none of us that I'm more involved than I should be. 

Ponderous

One of the things that creative people, especially creative Geeks, is how to navigate the world without giving up on your own personal vision of your life. There is a balance between what must be done to "pay the mortgage" and what must be done to "placate the soul". Geeks throughout time immemorial have struggled with fitting in and following the Muse. And in following the Muse most creative die penniless and starving. However most of them have left a permanent mark on the world. So then it becomes the matter of "What matters to you?"

Lately the struggle has been more pronounced than ever. And lately the world has been throwing Bill Watterson me every couple of days. Calvin and Hobbes was the best part of every day of high school. I have a couple of the collections. I wish..... as I have said forever now...... that there were Calvin and Hobbes emoticons. I want Merch so that I can wave my freak flag even higher, or more colorfully. Whichever. There is a  reason that there is no merch. And I had 5 great years of camaraderie with Calvin. But since he keeps coming up in conversation so much since the announcement of a documentary on him, I thought I would take some time to listen to the Master of Observation himself.

The link is to a college commencement address from 1990. I've added the blog that I found it on to the reading list at the right. I would parse the meanings that I derived from it but I think that it would do well for you to find your own gems within.

For myself: I need to show up. I am so focused on the daily grind because I have been forced to take on a "REaL" job that I have neglected some of the things that feed the creativity that I want to be the source of my livelihood rather than the real job. No one of greatness gets anywhere waiting for Fate to intervene. You pretty much have to have your hat, coat, wellies, on and suitcase in hand waiting at the door (or in the case of Pond, sitting in the garden) for Fate to show up cause she isn't going to wait for you to get ready.

Broadchurch Today

which, as it is Sunday, I find to be highly ironic. Broadchurch is the closest I've been to church on a Sunday in years. BBC-America gave us a preview of Wednesday's premiere. I have to say I am hooked. 20 minutes into the first of 8 parts and all the teasing on Tennant's official fan page seems less mean than it did two weeks ago when I went looking on Netflix and couldn't find it. Not out yet. Duh!

My first thoughts

• David Tennant is a chameleon and his abilities to portray a character "out of the sort" that is "typical" for him should be dismissed immediately
• Alec Hardy will never say "Allon-sy"
• I wouldn't let Alec have a sonic screwdriver either. Never trust a man with such a weapon if his expression is not softened with the offer of ice-cream.
• Bad tempered and Moody Ten doesn't last long. Thank God.
• Fun as Ten is; I believe Alec Hardy would be able to deduce a mystery faster than Ten. Except on a Sunday. Sunday's are so boring in most places that Ten should be able to concentrate enough to find a Dalek before it says Exterminate.

On cinematography

• I know it is a seaside village but does the camera have to be all wibbly wobbly?
• Dorset either never sees the sun even in Summer or the director sucked all the light out of this for mood. Atmospheric indeed.

On Plot

• I need more facts to form any kind of a hypothesis. However... I have found several bits of great importance though their significance at this time suggests nothing but a deeper mystery.

In General, Broadchurch is going to give goose-bumps with every showing and I will most likely need a box of tissue handy. Surely this is one for mystery geeks every where to sink their deductive teeth into. Oh... and it is not a PBS Mystery co-production. It is being done in conjunction with Masterpiece.

For those of you wondering, still: Yes, I am Euro-centric. There was a time before Bruckheimer and Stargate when I would only watch PBS. And that is where my love of English Literature renewed itself. It would seem that with the repetitive programming in American television and the formulaic treatment of characters and plots even in the shows that I look forward to here in America, my Euro-centricity is regenerating.

One of the girls at work asked what I was doing here in America. Genetic lottery baby. I belong in Germany (as long as it is not against the law to sing the Sound of Music on an Alpine foothill), my taste for architecture an culture lies across the pond. America has turned out to be the great copy-cat and regurgitator* of all that it has called vanity in the past.



*regurgitator: person or thing that regurgitates. I just made that up but feel free to add it to your lexicon. I am.

Happy Birthday!

Today our new Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch, turns 37.


He is a remarkably talented young man. I've seen him in many productions over the year. I've thought he was marvelous though he had not hit the radar deep enough for me to make a connection between the young boy in the "Other Boleyn Girl" and the brusque man in Sherlock. Of course, in those other roles, he was not portraying a character with which I'd had any prior connection. When one signs up to be Holmes, one must be examined.

I've written about the best Holmes, Jeremy Brett and his Watsons David Burke and Edward Hardwicke. So you all know that the Holmes bar is set rather high. And I must reiterate why that is so. With the Granada programs, the aesthetic was taken directly from print. Each person involved in those productions read the original stories. The very words of Conan Doyle determined every detail from the wardrobes, set dressing, script and the mannerisms of each of the actors. Very few productions remain true to the original. Beyond that, a great many productions operate using the producer's impression of what the stories are. I despise that.

Not because I am a purist, or a puritan, as I've said before. But because it is a lack of originality. If you want to build a detective build one, give it a new name. Give it the faith of your own writing to let it stand alone. But no, most of these people create a character, slap a familiar name on it and hope that everything will travel the road to riches. If you are going to do Holmes do him right. Basil Rathbone was Holmes in a Bond disguise. And every other Holmes, until Brett, has been some facile facsimile of the original.

Between the original writing and Brett's example, Benedict has had a great deal to live up to. I am always determined not to like a new Holmes. But I have to say, it didn't take too long to like him. And once I liked his performance it didn't take long to love his Holmes as much as I love Jeremy's. And you know me... once love has set in fealty is not far behind.

It's been mentioned in many places that he feels overwhelmed by the sudden sex symbol status. And I guess a bit perplexed by it all. But what can we say? Geek is chic. And there is not a geek in modern pop culture who has lived as long as Sherlock Holmes. There is a built in fan base and all he has to do is not screw it up.

To ensure that he does not, he read all the stories. So now he is Holmes personified. And that is how he is a sex symbol. He is a living breathing Sherlock Holmes. Of course, as with all actors and their parts, he is more than the sums of those parts. And it is easy to forget that he isn't just his characters. And I think that is why people are so interested in him personally. We are getting savvy as fans. The Geeks have a great example of how awesome a star can be in the Wheaton. And he has taught us that our heroes are in deed human. So we are getting better at being good fans.

We want to know more. Knowing more can make us better fans upon the meeting. No one wants to be mobbed at dinner with requests for autographs and photos. No one wants to be accosted on the street while they are shopping for sundries and the like. So in knowing more we can be better fans. That is naïve on my part I know. Because that is also how crazy stalker people are made. But I do hope that we fans realize how gracious the stars are these days. Despite annoying paparazzi, the stars are more approachable than ever. And that kind of grace requires grace in return.

So for his birthday, I send out the wish and hope that while Benedicts popularity grows he meets only grace and kindness on his journey. And that the Queen Mum gets her act together and gets that man a knighthood!!!!!!!

First Words on Into Darkness

I've seen it twice. I loved it both times. And a more complete commentary is in the works. Right now I feel a pressing need to say something to Mr. Cumberbatch.

Sweetie, (can I call you that even if you've not played The Doctor on TV? hmm... )
It is my personal and considered* opinion that your "nude" scene was cut in deference to Mr. Pine. As Cumberbitches must out number Pinenuts at least 6-1 and your performance overshadowed that of the entire cast, the inclusion of your "nude" scene would have been his utter undoing.

I mean, my God man, you've worn nothing but a bed sheet and a snarky smile in a reasonable facsimile of Buckingham Palace as Holmes. How could you not have been "buff enough" as Harrison? No. It was to save Mr. Pine's honor and numbers that the scene was cut.

By the by.... where did you hide that ashtray? ;)

Looking forward to the next series of Sherlock,
Sincerely,
a Cumberbitch




*it is a considered opinion because I have spent a good deal of time considering it.

Obsessions

They are part and parcel of geek life. Most of mine are healthy obsessions, outlets for creativity or inspiration for my art work. I am not one of those people who likes fan fiction. I wrote my share when I was younger. When I realized that all I was creating was 1 new friend and 1 or 2 new enemies for the Enterprise-D and just parroting the crew I gave up. Not because it wasn't good to exercise my writing muscles, but because they were not the stories that wanted to come out of me. And the stories that want out are taking their time getting here. But that is fine. They will come when they are ready.
I am however one of those people who likes to learn all there is about the thing for which I am a fan and to experience the creative fan love of other fans.

My latest obsession, if I haven't mentioned it before, is Richard Armitage. And as usual, I find none of my immediate geek friends even know who I am talking about... until we mention the Hobbit. But apparently in my little recessed corner of Geekdom, because Thorin is not the hot bodied character that the elves or Aragorn are no one has noticed him. Of course I notice him because I spent 3 seasons drooling over Guy Gisbourne. But I can't seem to convince my girlfriends a. that he really isn't a dwarf, b. that if he is a dwarf he is the tallest one in history, c. that of all the dwarves he is the cutest one and that d. no actor is ever the sum of a single role and he totally deserves a thorough look see. To prove my point, I posted this picture from the internet (I honestly have not figured out how to link back to anyone. So should the copyright holder like to come forward I will gladly give proper attributions)

I guess since I have not been terribly persuasive I will have to enjoy his artistry along with the fans in other parts of the world who think that I am slow to board the Armitage Train. And thus I am brought back to one of the prickly parts of the Geek puzzle: how? how is it that I am so alone in my obsessions?

 I know that I do not comprise the entirety of the Armitage Army, I am not the only RDA fan on the planet. But apparently in my little corner of Michigan I am the only Matthias Reim fan and the only Richard Armitage fan and the only one who can watch BBC programs and recognize character actors on sight. Oh, did I mention that I have a horrible habit of listing a nearly complete filmography in the processs of OMG OMG OMG OMG-ing?  I did get my roommate to join me on the last few episodes of Robin Hood. And while she concurs that he is the most likeable and sympathetic of Gisbournes, this is not her kind of TV. Which might mean that I will have to have her watch North and South. Between the two of us we might have all the most recent versions of English Lit on Film. So that would be worth sitting through. Can't help it, I love a good swashbuckler.

In my expanded geek circles, the circle that encompasses the group of friends I had in high school who went some where outside of Michigan to seek their fortunes it is quite a different story. I was the only trekkie in the group. But I am not alone in my love of British TV.... except that I am still the only one on this side of the pond who actually knows who Jeremy Brett is and mourns his loss even with the wonderful new Holmes that we have in Benedict Cumberbatch.

I guess that is always going to be the way of the Geek. The Venn Diagram just can't cover everything and everyone. But does that center shape have to be so friggin empty? Who knows, may be by being the geek that I am and loving the things that I love the way that I do and without apology, without hiding it from family who will not understand, I will meet more people who share the things that I love. And the magic will happen with the gift of the Internet if it will not happen with the blessing of physical proximity.

At any rate, if you have never met one of his characters you do yourself a disservice. He is wonderfully in tune with every character that he has portrayed that I have seen. It is said that once in character he does not come out of character until filming is over. That kind of dedication to the craft is very much evident and makes him all the more valuable in an ensemble. And he is also one of the most fan-friendly stars. It seems to be the way of the non-American types. If you get a chance to meet him, be respectful of his time. But at least smile and send a cheerful wave of support his way. People don't like to have tea interrupted or be groped by strangers, but a show of solidarity is always good karma for both parties.

Well off to find more RA videos on You Tube. Guy and the Sheriff mashed with Pinky and Brain is priceless.

Narf!

A Collection

One of these things doesn't belong here. One of these things jsut isn't the same.

And you can play two ways. One CD is not Matthias Reim. And one CD is not music but it is Matthias Reim.

Today was day three of my vacation. And for a very pleasant surprise, the mailman delivered four of the CDs you see here. Sensationell, Wolkenreiter and Morgenrot which replace some of the seven that were stolen a few years ago and 10 Jahre Intensiv which is new to me.

It's been a great vacation day. I have missed these CDs. Matze has a great range of performing styles. And I love all of them. Ahem, even the country songs. Sensationell and Wolkenreiter are my favorite to relax with. There are quite a few toe tappers. But its the slow songs that make these albums for me, especially "Ich denk on Dich". From Wolkenreiter I prefer "komm ich nehm' dich mich", "mein herz ist kein hotel", "ich vermiss dich" and the title track.

Vermiss dich always makes me cry. It's one of the first songs that I heard that I didn't have to look up half the words. I knew what the song was about from the start. It was a song that helped deal with Sir Knight in our initial catastrophic failure. I love this music. As with Sting, he is a masterful storyteller and encourager during Life's troubles and the Heart's aches. They are songs that come from experience. And as much as I love these songs, I really hope that he is done having heart ache. Someone who has been through so much should sing more songs for joy like "nie mehr ohne Engel" and "Lebenslaenglich" and of course last year's Christmas album.

And maybe somehow, with the funny way that the Universe works, he will be able to do a project with Sting. How awesome would that album be!?!?!?!?!?!

Do I Hear the Horsemen?

If you've ever read Revelations then you know that you will know the end of the World As We Know It is signalled by the blowing of 7 horns, the breaking of 7 seals, the unfurling of 7 scrolls and something about 7 lamps (God's way of turning the idiot light on? dunno) and then the thundering hoof beats of 4 Horses bearing Riders (and pestilence, famine, war and some other horrible thing). If you felt the world shift under your feet today and your friendly neighborhood seismologist swears it was NOT an Earth quake, tremor or temblor, be assured it was also not your imagination.

I got an apology today. Someone who was mad at someone else dropped a verbal assault on me Saturday. I had a retort. But... true to my nature, two seconds after said person left the room I was reduced to a puddle of tears. I should not have been yelled at. But in Person's defense: a. I am a safe place to unload baggage. I joke all the time about pets, kids, horses, old men and carious "crazy" people dumping on me because I am safe. And if I don't get the emotional baggage dump then they just get close and soak up my sun. Which is fine... I know how to get more. Anyway.... b. the person he was mad at could not have taken any of that even though she deserved it. And this has been a situation a long time in coming so it was bound to happen sooner or later. and c. I needed to be jolted a bit.

I have spent the better part of this year replaying events in my head and having all manner of small incidents and larger seismic events fitting together like clues on NCIS. I have a clear picture of just how much of a chump I have been with this woman. Every night that I was homeless this Winter and realizing if I had not done her a favor by splitting hours with her I would not have been homeless. And with every catastrophe she instigated my frustration with myself and her being allowed to continue to behave that way grew. I've gained weight trying to stuff the anger, fear and loathing down so that I could put on a happy face for all and sundry. And I have not let myself fall apart on a regular basis. I won't quit because I know that this is a position worth fighting for until I go to school. But I've been a chump.

I was played. Granted I will still win. But just like when I play chess on a board I take heavy losses to gain every win. And I am spending a lot of resources here to win by so slim a margin. And when I got yelled at my dams broke.

Thankfully I knew I was mad at her and not the other Person. And thankfully, after a couple of days to my self, I realized that Person was not mad at me at all. I served my cosmic function of diffusing a difficult situation. I did not really take the damage and it was not a critical hit. Person's job is impacted every time that she fails to consider ALL of her duties. And that is where the frustration came from that drew out that response. But it took me days to realize it.

and this morning Person found me and apologized most sincerely. And asked nothing in return from me. Did not even stick around to wait for me to accept the apology and give absolution. So I have to do it here even though the words will not reach Person's ears. The energy will get there nonetheless.

"I figured out that you were not mad at me. And when I figured that out, I looked at all the times that I thought you were mad, and I realized you were only really mad once. And that one time I did deserve to be corrected though I could have been done so more gently. No matter what you say about what you Think You Deserve, you & everyone else on this planet has to have safe place to detonate. Now that I know that is how I function in your life, I can accept the rapidly changing moods. I do not like it when I have my own crap to deal with. But I accept it.

So I accept your apology. And if the PTB talked to you about any issues that arouse after the minor explosion, I apologize. But know that when asked, I told them that I would handle this one myself. And when the one returns I will make sure that he knows the situation is rectified. I have to as it is my lead in to talk to him about a solution to the situation.

And thank you. I did not expect, nor did I hope for, such an apology.  I am glad to have it though. And you deserve my forgiveness... no matter what you think about what you do and do not deserve. You deserve it and you have it. Our time is too short to hold such petty things against one another. Since this is my cosmic job description if not the one on the handbook. And you are still on the list of My Favorite People that I Have Met in My Life as well as the list of People I Will Miss Forever when it is time to part ways. This is not the time. And little blow ups like that will not be held against you."

And the other good thing about this episode is that having figured out what the rant was about, and then having it confirmed for me during the apology, is that Person will be the model for a character of contrasting strengths and weaknesses for this November's NaNoWriMo...

which reminds me...
please excuse me while I go register my  feeble fingers for the faint hope of future glory.

 

Requiescat in Pace: Stephen J. Cannell

epilogue added on 10 12 2010

I am sad again today. This celeb's passing took me by surprise because I have seen him on Castle and no indication of him being ill. Stephen J. Cannell built the world that I lived in for most of my youth. From Rockford Files, to Riptide and Stingray to his appearances on Castle, he taught me anout people.

Riptide might have been the least known and most ridiculed of my TV shoe choices in highschool, but there was a nerd I could relate to. You had the hot Tom Selleck styled Perry King and the reserved and adorable Joe Penny to attract the right demographic and Thom Bray attracting the likes of me: the geek squad before it was a registerd trademark. Bray's character seemed constantly befuddled by the way the world behaved even though they were pivate detectives andm ade their living dealing with the crzy wa the world behaves. Nick or Cody would alwas try to 'splain things to Murray. Even though Murray didn't always get the concept, I did.

Stingray, as stated many times before, was the heart throb show of shows for me. A vigilante with a cool car and a cooler concept. I loved that Ray had the World's back even when the world preferred heading to Hell in a handbasket. He didn't let people cave into their fears either. I was much braver then than I am now with those lessons so fresh after a Friday nihgt viewing.

I don't know if the world really works the way Stephen says it does. But it works that way often enough for me to say that there isn't a more observant writer in the world. And that is where the real magic in a writer's gift is: to see into the truth with veryl ittle detail and without judgement. Not only can a good writer build a world of belief in his head and share that world. But a good writer can see into the soul and find the thing that makes his subject tick, bring it to the surface and the subject is never the wiser.

I didn't expect all the tears. And while my first reaction was to hide them from my Sweetie I found that I could not. It will be good conditioning for when Nimo passes. And look out!!!! The Great Flood is puppy piddles next to the deluge I will cry when that happens.


10 12 2010
Last night Castle made a special tribute to Stephen. The show ended with his signoff in a letter box so that they could write there goodbyes to him. It was a wonderful tribute and it made me miss him even more. It is hard to believe that television will ever be the same with out him. I wouldn't want to be a pessimist and say its all downhill from here... but unless there are hundreds or thousands of aspiring screenwriters who list him as their number one influence, I am afraid that reality will slowly kill TV.

New Blog

Have I mentioned how much I love the TV show Castle? Not in a while? Well here we go. I love the show. Most of all, I love how the show is now a thing. If you follow on Facebook you get the website administrator, someone who posts as Castle as if Castle has a life outside of what we see on the show and thus some pretty interesting insights into the City of New York itself. That said, I'm kinda digging the NYC scene. Today on the Blogs of Note, The King of New York City Hacks gets the nod.

He is a native born and bred New Yorker, yellow taxi driver and the eyes and ears of the city he calls home. Great sense of humor and community. I've read everything on his page and followed. I particularly like his thoughts on the whole Goldman Sachs thing. Puts me in mind of the Robber Barons from the early part of our Industrial Revolution. Just like our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago, we are sitting around waiting for someone else to mete out justice. If they had held a gun to your head and held up your train you'd fight them. But they do it within the parameters of law and commerce, which is to the Robber Barons the new "you're too stupid to grasp this" as theology was to the dark ages church. So we believe we are too stupid to question their imperatives and they keep robbing us blind. The King puts it a bit differently but the sentiment is the same.

Totally worth a trip to the site even if you don't decide to follow. http://kingofnewyorkhacks.blogspot.com/

Threat Made Good

Thanks to DernWraithslayer at Youtube for posting this clip. http://www.amazon.com/ has the complete Granada production series available.

Some time ago, I made a list of all the things that I've been meaning to share. Part of the delay has been a lack of techno know-how. Another part of that has been a lack of focus. Surprise! Today as I have been trying to find some peace to talk to peole without that quakey "My life is taking a shit I'd rather be onto the next life. Don't mind me."voice, I realized that I know more about blogging and links than I did a year ago and that I should get busy trying to do some of these things. So here we are.


I once threatened to reveal why Jeremy Brett is the best Holmes ever. I still maintain that Rathbone is a James Bond version of the most well known consulting Detective in all of Brittish History, neigh! the world. But I can't really tell you how great Brett is (saddly, that should be was as he passed in 1995). He defies description. So instead I will show you. This is from the middle of an episode called "The Musgrave Ritual". It was always one of my favorite stories because of the puzzle. It was rather Doctor Jones before we ever met Indy. As you watch this clip (it's a full 10 minutes) you'll see Brett's obeservant Holmes. He is always looking. Edward Hardwick's Watson is a great foil as I have said before. But he isn't the dolt that Hollywood made him out to be long ago. I give you... Holmes at his finest.


http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/ for Museum hours. In my special features from the Granada collection, the museum seems to be endorsed by the grandchildren. According to Wikipedia the whole family is not entirely behind the venture. That said, I would still go to Baker street and hang out for a while. Admission is a mere 6€ for adults. Cheaper than a movie in the States.

Geek sigh [facepalm]

Just caught a preview for the Green Hornet. I knew it was coming because there was a fan vid being promulgated on Twitter last Summer. The fan vid was cool, a case for Nathan Fillion as the Green Hornet. So now youtube has the previews. Wanna guess who gets to be the Green Hornet? Seth Rogan. Really?

See the problem with everything that I saw is that the Green Hornet from the serials my mother watched while the world revcovered from the Big War and the comics that I read as a kid is that GH was not... ever A COMPLETELY BUMBLING IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess this movie will make a case for the sidekick being more adroit than the hero which will make all of us who are struggling with the inane obscurity of our lives feel a bit better about punching in at work.

But the hero is someone to look up to. You aren't supposed to want to hide under your theater seat because the hero is a moron. Your eyes are supposed to be glued to the screen enjoying the action and soaking up the exemplary behavior, learning to emulate while your admiration deepens. You are NOT supposed to watching your life line splintering in the palm of your hand!!!!

Now I wonder how Hawaii 5-0 is going to be ruined. Thank God they were kind to the Holmes story. At least not EVERYONE in Hollywood is a baseless coward, afraid to do something new and adventurous. In a case like this if their were an honest way to do futures (see previous post on subject) then I wold totally take the bet against this one and send some unnamed Guido on a leg breaking trip.

The good thing about this. And it is the ONLY good thing. In the fall when Big Bang Theory comes back Sheldon will have something wickedly scathing and derisive to say about this that will entertain me for weeks thereafter.

The coffin of my youth

Add another nail.
Walter Cronkite has passed. And for the most part, everyone is sad. I've heard a few people lambaste him for the Vietnam War. I know I wasn't there. I know that I don't know that much about the whole thing. But I do know that winning isn't everything. If your win costs you more than your resources, if it costs you your soul and your friends then the win is nothing. And I do think he knew that. Walter Cronkite was the voice that calmed our chaotic house every night around 6. Nobody was yelling at anyone else. And when he talked about something, you knew he had a clue. Some may think that wasn't the case with Vietnam... fine. But with everything else, he spoke with authority because he educated himself on a subject until he had it.
Specifically, for me, it was Space. The final frontier didn't seem so strange and foreign. With Richard C. Hoagland at his right hand, Cronkite brought the distant stars into view with his grasp of the technology that NASA employed to stretch the scope of human endeavor beyond our thin stratosphere. If you want to balme anyone for the solidity of my Trek fandom, blame Cronkite. The wonders of the Enterprise seemed so much closer to me as a child than t hey do now because he told us what NASA was doing to advance our understanding of space and its idiosynchracies. With Cronkite at the helm of public support, NASA flourished in appropriations committees until their complicity in militaristic campaigns became known.
His was the voice of so many important occassions in America both sad and joyful. He told my mother about Kennedy and Monroe. He told me about Elvis, Crosby and Grace Kelly. He ended every broadcast with "And that's the way it is." But, oddly, I never took that to mean it would never be any different. He sign off was not the resignation of defeat but the acknowledgement that the way it is today is today. Until he retired, I was an optimistic person. The crazy defeatest thing settled in afterwards because no one was ever certain that the present was just the present.

State of Shock

Noveldoctor Steve says never submit your rough draft. Given that the subject is sensitive, I think I will beg forgiveness. Michael Jackson died today.
I don't know that I can really describe what part he and his music played in my life any better than the research paper I wrote for Mr. Trapp after his autobiography came out in 1988. I recall the cover page design using some of his sketches from the book, the cover of the book, that it was the 1st hardcover book I ever bought myself. And I remember what Mr. Trapp told the whole class while looking right at me about our heroes.
"There comes a time when we all denounce the heroes of our youth. He will do or say something that will shatter your image of him, no matter how great a fan you are. It is inevitable."
And when the weirdness overshadowed the music and the way the lyrics reflected, encouraged and soothed my own innermost being... I denounced him as predicted. It was not harsh as all those who had triumphantly proclaimed him the most disgusting person on the planet as I always kept a prayer for him. Nonetheless, I could not be excited about everything that he did, not like in high school... not like 1984.
When Thriller dominated the Grammy nominations and he was expected to open the show, it was all we talked about in school. I remember Julie Janis being uber excited in her circle. The boys scoffed at all of us. But I went home that day, rushed through my homework and dinner. We actually ate in the kitchen at the table. The TV was in the living room. As soon as the first beat of Billy Jean started, I flew to the living room. I got there fast enough to see that first Moonwalk and there was nothing about the Grammies that I remember after that. The night was about celebrating the success of someone whom I cared about because the music made it seem as though he cared about me, all of his fans. He seemed to understand where we came from emotionally and where we wanted to go. Of course where we wanted to go was Neverland, ranch or children's fable.
As a girl who felt her ugly duckling status everyday, PYT and The Girl is Mine gave definition to the faint hope that someone, somewhere, someday would think feel and say those lyrics for me. As a kid who never felt strong enough to stand up for herself, though plenty strong to clock someone who picked on her sister, Beat It and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin emboldened and empowered. Billy Jean just moved through my body like a balm. I had horrible health issues and this album was the thing that helped me to mentally control the pain. For that alone he should have been considered a god(send). Since I lived a rather dark life before his music came into my life, the joyful, playful and exuberant expressions of music and lyrics brought me out into the lightness of being who you are and not being ashamed of it.
I could have been a fan forever. I could have followed him as I follow Sting. But his lyrics never matured with his body and responsibilities. And he did the one thing that I thought someone with his joy couldn't do. He stabbed his friend in the back. The current spin is that the Beatles Catalog purchase was misunderstood and that he and Paul were okay. But they never worked together again. Michael said that he bought the catalog as a birthday gift. Problem was, at the time, he didn't present it as such until after the papers reported the purchase. He made it a gift after he got busted... he betrayed a friend, profited from someone else's work. And then trashed the work by doing things with it that the creators would never have done. It was shrewd. And rude.
And I had hoped that BAD would be redemptive. It wasn't. The more I thought about the catalog, how it was dissected for product promotions the more I realized that I couldn't like him anymore. Paul has gotten more graceful over the years while Michael digressed into something that I don't recognize. I still am thankful that he was there when I needed him. I treasure those strengthening years. And I wish that he could have gotten a clue.
I am sad. Any chance that he had to make a comeback and recapture the joy that he once embodied is gone. And that may be why I am saddest. Well, that and the fact that a major 80's icon is gone. He is the drum major leading the 80's parade to the end of its route.

celebrate your heroes

So I waded through all of the posts for the last 12 month. And I found tons of things that need addressing. I guess I must have hit a wall with the dark days of the year because my frequency dropped dramatically. One of those things that needs addressing is the subject of Heroes. I only managed to wax fangyrl about Richard Dean Anderson. If you watch the Simpsons then you know that every chick in the free world loves MacGyver, and my humble voice gets drowned out in the chorus of praise singers. So heres a partial list of persons who you can look forward to meeting if you've not met them yet. On the heels of Scifi's stupidity, I think it is important to reiterate the good in the genre.
Dr. Helen Magnus
Dr. Major Samantha Carter, SGC
General Jack O'Niell, SGC
Dr. Daniel Jackson, SGC
Andrea Thomas/Isis
Sherlock Holmes, Jeremy Brett
Professor Charlie Epps
Captain Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise
Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager
Spenser
Professor Charles Xavier

Yes, the realm of geekdom is vast. Yet it is not its size that insures its future glories and continued successes. The realm is under attack by an enemy from within. If we do not celebrate our Hereos we lose them to the mists of time. If we fail to recognise the heroic in others we then lose the ability to see it in ourselves, becoming victims of circumstance.

Jarod again

I almost forgot that the best part about jarod is his compassion. I only know of one episode in which MacGyver helps his worst enemy. In every episode Jarod is trying to put everybody's life back together that the Centre tore apart... even the people hunting him. Mis Parker would shoot Jarod in the back and he keeps sending her clues about her past and little menaingful gifts that [spoiler alert] by the end of the show have taken the edges down to little round bumps.
Jarod genuinely cares about people. He wouldn't purposely hurt the people who operate the Centre. He won't hurt Syd or Parker. But he is firm in his convictions that no one should suffer and if nobody else will stop the hurts then he will and he won't let them stop him.
Excellent. I only wish I had as much conviction in me as he has in a single strand of his hair.

Sunject: sexy geekiness

It's a hot button topic at Wheaton's blog today. And I have two cents to throw in. of course we all know the thing I've always had for Mac Gyver. Cute. Geek. Humminna humminna humminna. Add to that the Pretender Jarod. Working on digesting the first two seasons. There was a lot in that show that I missed the first time. Obviously Michael T. Weiss is gorgeous. But he is talented enough to get you passed what he looks like in whatever capacity Jarod espouses for an episode and into the heart of the topic. It would be a good show no matter who you put there because what really stands out is the writing. Especially of you are a geek.
The first episode that I could watch [technical difficulties have been addressed but it was painful to experience at the time] Jarod's persona was a Dr. Holmes. The Way he played it was rather like a grown up Doogie Houser without the "I'm all that" 'tude. Dr. Jarod was trying to find out who and how a patient was killed. Can you say Sherlock? I remembered noticing that when I saw the episode on TV. ButI wasn't always submerged in the plot to pick up all the geek. So now I'm watching for stuff like that.
Firefighter: O'Leary [I can here ACG groan]
Cop: Starr (short for Starsky?)
Pilot: Cocheran
Romance novelist: Heart

I got so into the plot that I forgot to pay attention for as many episodes as I've seen. I've go back and make a compendium. The one that has me stumped is Cocheran. The only "popular" aviator/aerospace pilot I know of is Zepheram Cocheran, engineer of the Pheonix rocket that brough Earth and Vulcan together for the first time. The only way this could be where the reference lies is if the writers were Trek geeks.Of course some one gave him the LL&P thing and Jarod didn't know what it was.
That' the kind of thing. Jarod is always leaving clues for hte people who are hunting him. Then he has to puzzle out the thing itself and then the third puzzle is always how his training fits with what he has been doing in his persona. So the subtleties are easily lost when one is trying to get into the show.
But then there is Jarod's personality. Jarod has all the innocence of a child as he is experiencing for the first time all the things we take for granted. For instance, it took him a whole espisode(6 Jarod days) to figure out the relationship between Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat. But he can be whatever he needs to be to help someone. Jarod is a genious- translate uber ubergeek. Jarod has compassion and a sense of guilt because he feels like all the bad things that happen in the world are his fault. And for someone who was used the way Jarod was, sadly, they probably are.
its a great show with characters that grow and develop over time. In Jarod's case, the more he learns about the world the more he feels for those who are victimised by the upper eschelon. That may be the most unrealistic aspect of the show. He has no fancy car like Stingray. And like MacGyver, his most dangerous weapon is his mind. Jarod, being separted from the world for his entire life, is an innocent wiht the uncanny ability to understand evil. I think that makes him one of the scarriest good guys I've ever seen.