I started writing this blog six years ago, having no idea
where it might go. And it's gone all
over the place, following, mostly, my personal views. It's become a journal, a diary, albeit a
public one, a place where I've been able to say my piece, unfettered except for
some self-imposed censorship to safeguard family and friends and some past
history.
Two primary reasons I write this is for accountability and
to remember details that get washed away with the years. Even if I wrote this privately, the latter
might be achieved in part; it's so much more constructive to form views, and to
remember them by the process of writing.
Probably that's why I've increasingly written "reviews" of
plays I've seen and books I've read, although it should be noted that I do not
write about everything I read or see.
It's better to forget the more marginal ones. And as I've said in my disclaimer at times,
these are all personal views. I don't
pretend to be a critic.
Accountability is something else. My opinions are there for all to plainly see,
and when I wrote them. Some I'd like to
erase (although I've never removed anything written in the blog), such as a political
view I might have expressed, one I might now feel somewhat differently about, but
that is where I was at the moment.
Collectively, this blog of, now, 372 entries constitute a
significant slice of my life, and as I've been dealing with some health issues,
potentially serious ones, I may not be getting to the blog as often. I've learned that the best medical advocate
is not one's Doctor, but oneself. It
takes time.
But looking back over the last six years, I'm basically
satisfied by where the blog has gone.
These entries, including the photographs, would fill volumes of printed
pages, but it is important (to me) that the search engines bring
"visitors" to my "little" blog (that is, small by the
number of visitors, typical of a blog that is more personal than professional,
or subject focused). By Google's count,
I've had more than 48,000 "page views", with the most popular entries
(no surprise) mostly being descriptions of trips we've been on, which include
many photographs (and frequently accessed through Google Images).
Then there are the are the emails I receive (I have disabled
the comments section of the blog as I have no interest in a debate with
strangers) but I have always included this
email address and over the years I've received some very interesting notes
from people all over the world. I never
fail to respond, even to the few that were not complimentary, but critical of
what I wrote. This one came quite
recently, even though I wrote the
entry it refers to more than a year ago. I was delighted that my efforts
reach out across the globe:
Dear Lacunae,
Thank you for
publishing these pictures of Operation Sail Bicentennial they are truly a
treasure to me as I was a crew member on the warship in front of the Statue of
Liberty. The ship is the frigate SAS
President Kruger (SAS being South African Ship).
We anchored in front
of the Statue of Liberty on the afternoon of July 3rd 1976 after sailing up
from Norfolk Naval Base in three convoys of warships. I can still remember the excitement of
sailing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on our arrival and steaming up the
Hudson River to our anchorage. I still
think we had the best anchorage.
On the 4th July
1976 after the sail past of the Tall
Ships at approximately 4pm we lifted
anchor and sailed to Manhattan and tied up at pier 40 for 5 days.
Whilst berthed in
Manhattan I had the privilege of going up to the top of the World Trade3 Centre
and walking around on the observation deck and also a trip up the Empire State
Building.
What impressed me the
most was the friendliness of the people and the helpfulness of the police, this
was a trip that I shall never forget!
I live in South Africa
in a town called Kommetjie just outside Cape Town. It is near the Simons Town Naval Base.
Again Thank you for
posting these pictures,
Kind Regards
Kjell Hvidsten
Thanks to the Web, we've truly become a world community.
I'm also pleased that my write-ups of the Dramaworks productions, in the aggregate, would place them among the top entries. I said that I don't bother
"reviewing" productions that have marginal interest to me. Ever since I began including plays among the
topics I cover, I think I've covered every Dramaworks production, as all are
relevant and inspired, as professional as one would expect to see on Broadway
or the West End.
Rummaging around in my old files I found the "first
review" I ever wrote -- it was for my college newspaper -- and for a while
I was their "film critic." I
wrote several, but only one survives in my files, so I scanned it and include
it here. It was written when I just
turned 20. Interestingly, to this day I
think of This Sporting Life among the
best films I've ever seen and no doubt, just writing about it cemented that
opinion in my consciousness.
So, from fifty years ago, a little sophomoric, but a
beginning....
'Sporting Life' Brings 'True Life' Approach
by Robert Hagelstein
Man's acceptance and
rejection of life is the theme of "This Sporting Life," which
presents a realistic if not shocking approach to motion pictures. The plot
begins violently as Frank Machin, star rugby player, battles his foes in a ball
game. He is helped off the field with six broken teeth, blood pouring from his
mouth.
The challenge of the
rugby game is juxtaposed to the challenge of life. Frank accepts both and deals
with them in the only manner he knows how: using brute force.
Although a vigorous,
powerful, and relentless symbol of strength throughout the film, he is unable
to dominate life entirely. His desire for his young, widowed landlady, Mrs.
Hammond, is futile. Though later she accepts him physically, his quest for
spiritual love remains unreciprocated.
Mrs. Hammond's husband
has died a year before the action of the film. Furthermore, there is an
indication that he committed suicide. Unable to accept reality, she remains
forever in mourning. However, she continues to clean her husband's boots and
place them by the fire, secretly expecting his return.
Spiritually, she has
already relinquished life. Thus Mrs. Hammond can't accept Frank, who epitomizes
the turbulent and the unpredictable aspects of living. The conflict between
these two personalities eventually results in Mrs. Hammond's physical death.
Incredulous of her
death, Frank returns to the house to search for her. He is enveloped by the
same malady from which Mrs. Hammond once suffered: the refusal to accept
reality. However, this is not sustained. Grievously afflicted by her absence,
he kneels in the empty house and his thoughts wander. Once again he hears the
roar of the crowd and the juxtaposition of the rugby field reappears. The
analogy to his present situation is explicit. Knocked down by the opposing
team, he is stunned. Weary, but not beaten, he picks himself off the turf and
once again plays the game of "this sporting life."
The previous scene
demonstrates the superb technique which Lindsay Anderson, a fine new British
director, employs throughout the film. Much of the action is revealed in
retrospect as Frank lies dazed on the football field or as he sits unconscious
in the dentist chair waiting for remnants of broken teeth to be removed. The
film is logically constructed, moves rapidly, and the significance of the theme
reaches the viewer with tremendous impact.
The acting is
especially good. Richard Harris, as Frank Machin, is excellent. Acclaimed the new Marlon Brando, Mr. Harris
surpasses his American predecessor. His portrayal of Frank Machin is sensitive
and highly expressive. Rachael Roberts, as Mrs. Hammond, also does an admirable
job. She handles the role of an emotionally disturbed woman sensibly and does
not carry it to an extreme. Her depiction of a human who runs from life is
memorable.
The striking,
realistic approach of the film certainly illustrates that motion pictures can
be a highly developed art form. It is one of the finest films in years.
And on a final anniversary note, for thirteen years our
friends, Ray and Sue have made their way to our home on their boat, departing
Connecticut, arriving some 10 to 12 days later at our dock in Florida. As Ray swings the boat around for docking, with
Sue on the bow to handle lines, we customarily exchange a greeting, "It's
a miracle!" And when you think
about the challenges of living on a boat year round as they do, making this
journey up and down the Intracoastal, with some off shore cruising, docking at
our home, and then out to the Abacos in the Bahamas where they spend most of
the winter before returning to Connecticut, it truly is a miracle to make these
trips safely and with such efficiency. Of course it is primarily a testimony to their
teamwork and boat handling. We made the
trip with them the first time they brought their boat down in 2000, but we took
a few weeks to make the journey and to smell the roses along the way. By Ray's reckoning, they've put about 42,000
miles on the boat since then. It dawned
on me to take a little video of their arrival this year, never knowing what
year could be the last.
They left this morning from our dock on their way to the
Abacos -- this screen shot from their GPS FindMeSpot system earlier this
morning. Indeed, an anniversary of sorts!
