Travels with Swannie

We will take advantage of the Hazekamp Meats Fudraising opportunity this year.  Our date and time are: Monday, November 17 from 4:45 PM to approximately 8:30 PM.  We need twenty volunteers, at least five of whom should be male.  See Swannie if you will participate.  Let’s get TWENTY!!!

Greatest films are not the same as best films.  I’d feel very “creepy” if I said some of these are my favorites–some of them do not paint a very bright picture of humanity.  But, I think that all of them are made without flaws.  Yes, some of them are older than I am and some are even in black and white.  Greatest = Masterpiece.

In no particular order–

1. Citizen Kane–I believe that this is the greatest film of all time.  It was made by Orson Welles, and it was well ahead of its time.  The storyline, the camera angles, the acting, the set designs–are all worth third and fourth looks.

2. Once Upon a Time in the West—I think this film is the greatest western of all time.  It does require some patience.  Henry Fonda plays the “baddest bad guy” you’ll ever see in a film  And he played Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and Norman Thayer in On Golden Pond.  Sergio Leone created the “Spaghetti Western” and this is THE ONE.  The close-ups, the music used to identify individual characters, the editing, the sound—wow, wow, wow.

3. Mystic River–I believe that this film is perfect.  However, it is very uncomfortable to watch.  Clint Eastwood gets better with age.  He assembled a great cast with Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden, and others–and he wastes no shots in this film either.  The music is his too.  But, as I said, it’s tough to watch.

4. The Natural–the greatest sports film of all time.  Okay, throw out reality; throw in mythology and fantasy.  This film contains the greatest home run you will ever see in a film.  And, like most great sports films, it’s a story about redemption.  And Robert Redford can play baseball.

5. Psycho– make sure it’s the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock version–black and white.  No one made suspense films like Hitchcock.  This movie should be in black and white.  Hitchcock made it that way on purpose.  Watch the shadows and camera angles in this one.  Uh, the censors almost did not allow the shot of the toilet flushing.  Movies have come a long way, true?  Watch this one with the lights on.  Bernard Herrmann uses only strings in the music score.  Wow, wow, wow.

My favorite team sport has to be basketball–I like to watch it, I like to follow it, I try to play it, and wow, wow, wow, do I wish I could dunk a basketball just once!  Yes, I follow the Pistons. 

Just for the sake of “heated argument,” here is my list of all-time NBA 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams.  Hey, these are the topics that ARE important, true?

Center: 1. Bill Russell; 2. Wilt Chamberlin; 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Guards: 1. Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson; 2. Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson; 3. Jerry West and Bob Cousy

Forwards: 1. Larry Bird and Tim Duncan; 2. Kevin McHale and Elgin Baylor; 3. Julius Erving and Lebron James

Most of the time I find myself reading fiction.  But once in awhile, I will remain in the real world! 

Here are some of my favorite non-fiction reads:

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: It’s based on Capote’s research of the Clutter murders in Kansas.  This great American author wrote this book to read like a novel, and he created a new category of literature in the process–the non-fiction novel.  Unfortunately, the toll that this project and all of its ramifications took on him probably contributed to his death.
2. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck: At age 60, Steinbeck took a cross-country road trip with Charley, his French Poodle.  He writes about the experience–it will make you laugh, cry, and think about a whole “lot of stuff” when you read it.  EVERYONE needs to take an occasional road trip.
3. The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer: This is the true story of Gary Gilmore who was executed in Utah for a brutal murder.  Mailer won the Pulitzer Prize for this book.  It was made into a very powerful film with Tommy Lee Jones as Gilmore.
4. Capote by Gerald Clarke: A very in-depth biography of Truman Capote.  Read it after you read Capote’s In Cold Blood.
5. Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon: This one is similar to Steineck’s Travels with Charley, but there’s no dog.  It takes you to more parts of this country than Steinbeck’s book, and it offers some profound insights about our nation and her people.
6. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom: There is so much good “stuff” in this book that I’m not sure where to start.  EVERYONE needs to read this book.  “Love always wins.”
7. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch: (added 08-29-08) First, I thank Mrs. Jacobs for recommending this one.  She said that some of Pausch’s comments reminded her of me. I don’t know about that, but what a compliment.  Unfortunately, Pausch recently died from pancreatic cancer.  He discusses his fight in the book, but his comments about his dad, his wife, his kids, cars (their purpose is just to get you from point A to point B), clothes–buy new ones when the old finally wear out…etc—-are at the heart of this book–and the book is all in Pausch’s own words.  If you can, watch his lecture online.  READ THIS BOOK.  Thanks to MJ.

If you have seen The Bucket List, a recent film with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, you know what’s meant by a bucket list.  A bucket list is the “stuff” you want to do before you die–these activities won’t change the world for better or for worse, but they will be fun for the “listee” for sure.  By the way, see this film.  Well, not right now, but in the near future–it will make you feel good.

 In no particular order, here is my “10-Item Bucket List” for your perusal:

1. Get in a shark cage in The Great Barrier Reef and reach out and touch a great white shark
2. Go on a whale watch in Alaska
3. See Shakespeare performed at The Globe in London
4. Sky dive out of a perfectly good airplane
5. Go to Dzwonek, Poland–it’s where my family originates.
6. Roller blade 100 miles on my 100th birthday
7. Go to Loch Ness, Scotland to see what I can find.
8. Go to Belfast, Northern Ireland to talk to some of the locals.  Maybe we’ll discuss Waking Ned Devine .
9. Work the Cherry Garcia assembly line for a day, free of charge, at Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont–this ice cream is THE ice cream of ALL ice creams.
10. Conduct “Pictures at an Exhibition” with a symphony orchestra

Again, this list won’t change the world, but what fun to do at least a few, eh?

One of my great passions (outside of people, of course) is film.  Here are some of my favorites–not necessarily the best (that’s another list) I’ve seen, but I can watch these many times and never tire of them.

1. Paris, Texas (My all-time favorite–be patient with it.)
2. Wonder Boys (One of my favorite novels too)
3. Love Actually (My favorite Christmas film)
4. It’s a Wonderful Life (Who doesn’t like this one?)
5. Annie Hall (We all need the eggs.)
6. The Usual Suspects (What an ending!  Don’t spoil it.)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (You won’t recognize Jim Carrey in this one.  Forget the Jim Carrey from Dumb and Dumber.)
8. Almost Famous (Watch the Director’s Cut)
9. Jaws (This one  STILL works!)
10. Sophie’s Choice (Meryl Streep is the best that EVER was–period.  This is her best performance.)
11. Waking Ned Devine–I saw this with my dad.  If you are dry-eyed during the “eulogy” scene, you might want to have your tear ducts checked by an eye doctor.  What a “feel good” movie!
12. The Hustler–THIS IS THE MOVIE that made me a fan.  I saw it for the first time at the drive-in (remember drive-ins?) when I was about six.  It affected me then, and it affects me now.  This film and Cool Hand Luke contain Paul Newman’s best performances.

Here’s my current list in no particular order–and like any list, it’s always subject to change!

1. The Once and Future King by T. H. White: It’s my favorite version of the Arthurian Legend.  It contains four books in one volume–the first book is “The Sword and the Stone” which has just been re-released on DVD.
2. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon: It’s about a college professor who is having a mid-life crisis.  It’s serious and funny at the same time.
3. The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Greer: It’s about a man who, as a baby, is born with the body of a 70-year old man.  As he ages, his body “youth-ens” at the same time.  He falls in love with the same woman at three different times in his life.  It’s one of the most romantic and tragic books I’ve ever read.
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey: I can’t praise this novel enough.  It’s about an individual against the establishment, but that only addresses the novel on the surface.  It contains great dialogue, well-drawn characterizations, and wonderfully painted symbolism, to name a few of the novel’s brilliant aspects.  READ IT.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: In my opinion, this is THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.  I’ve probably read it at least  seven to ten times, and I never get tired of it.  Harper Lee wrote one novel–this one.  And, she won a Pulitzer Prize for it.  Not bad.
6. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: In my opinion, Dickens is the greatest novelist of all time.  His novels are filled with many, many richly-drawn and well-defined characters, plot developments, and profound themes.  And the guy knew how to use a semi-colon better than anyone else!
7. Straight Man by Richard Russo: This is another novel about a professor having a mid-life crisis.  It made me laugh hysterically.  Russo is probably my favorite contemporary novelist.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls.  I’ve read all of his “stuff,” and I enjoyed Nobody’s Fool almost as much as Straight Man.
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: It works on so many levels–it’s science fiction, romance, horror, and at it’s most profound level, it raises some deep theological/philosophical questions.  To think Shelley was only about 19 when she wrote this!

Welcome to “Travels with Swannie”