Westerns: Man vs. His Environment

MUSIC: Ennio Morricone

This is another posting where I am trying to write out notes that have been on my notepad and in my head over the last few months. The most important thing is that I have to make time no matter what to write. It has not been easy.

The Western movie genre is one that reflects the American culture over the last century. Although quite a few Western movies were remakes of Japanese samurai movies. Two examples were the films from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven. Yojimbo was remade as A Fistful of Dollars, the movie that started the Clint Eastwood “spaghetti westerns” trilogy. Interesting side note the movie starred an American actor, directed by an Italian, and financed by German investors. I think what makes the Western an intriguing genre is the story is essentially a question of “moral” action. It is usually about the lone man who is battling his circumstances. These movies use scenes of a harsh weather environment as the background to the story. Another reason why this genre continues to endure is because these movies have men who for “good or bad” live by a personal code of conduct. These are men of their word. And they are willing to do what it takes to survive. These films lead the viewer to some form of escapism. It is a chance to watch what they long for in their own lives.

Here a few Western Movies I like that reflect this idea of my mine. But I am sure many have had the same thought out there.

Unforgiven: Clint Eastwood takes a revisionist look at the Westerns he helped to make popular. This film questions the idea of what does it take to really shoot a man.

The Wild Bunch: William Holden is the leader of gang of bank robbers who is becoming aware that the ways of the West are coming to end in early 1900′s America.

High Noon: The Gray Cooper classic of man who has to take a stand for a town not willing to do it for itself. I read once that this film is the one that is screened the most at the White House.

3:10 to Yuma: Both versions. The 1957 and 2007 releases. They both are about what a man is willing to take on in hard times in order to provide for his family.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: It may not really fit into my idea. However, it is really is just an entertaining Western to watch. Paul Newman was just wonderful in this movie. He was a man of action and had a sense of humor. Like in this scene.

There was another film that really defines my premise entitled The Proposition. If you like the Western genre then this movie should be in your NetFlix queue. This film is not set in America but in the Outbacks of late 1800′s Australia. This movie does fit into American Western genre. The screenplay for this movie was written by singer Nick Cave. I know most people will not immediately recognize his name. His song Red Right Hand was featured in all of the Scream movies and The X-Files. Personally, I am a big fan of his song The Mercy Seat. His songs are mini stories within themselves. His songs are about damnation and salvation. He uses Biblical ideas in many of songs. The Proposition is basically an updated retelling of Cain and Able to even more extremes. In this movie, Charlie Burns (Guy Pierce) who is a wanted criminal must save his younger criminal brother from the gallows’ pole. However, in order to do this he must hunt down and kill his older psychopathic brother. This movie is very harsh and violent at times to watch. I think every now and then you should watch a film that challenges your own sensibilities. It is healthy. Here is the trailer for the film.

 

There is another example of a man vs. his environment. However, this time it is neither a Western nor even a movie. It is also an odd choice given my current mental state to read. It is a book titled The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic America. (It is never explained how America came to be this) In this story, a man and his son are traveling a road trying to find a better place. The post-apocalyptic state is also another genre that seems to be popular from time to time. Watch the Mad Max trilogy. I think it is popular background to stories for man is basically reduced to his primitive elements. Survival is crucial and man does not have all of his extra items available in order to do it. It is about what a man is willing to do survive. Life is reduced to the essentials. It is about what a man is willing to endure in order to survive. I think that this genre attracts people because deep down they want to read or hear stories in which no matter what happens in the end “Hope” survives.

Now how did I come to the movie and this book? The Proposition was directed by John Hillcoat who directed the upcoming movie adaptation of the book The Road. The movie should be out sometime this year. This movie has had its released date changed several times. I think the film studio behind this is having a hard time trying to find the right time to market. I say just release it already. A good story will eventually find an audience. And keep finding one.

And also read Nick Cave’s book And the Ass Saw the Angel.

January 30, 2009 | foley | 1 Comment »

Listening to Myself

MUSIC: Glen Hansard

I have been having a hard time sleeping lately. The truth is that after all of these years I should be used to it. I have a lot in my head lately. I find writing one way to attempt to deal with what is my head. I also was thinking about podcasting. I got a new MP3 player and did an experiment this morning with voice recording function. I have been listening to lot of different podcast. The Moth is a site with a lot of interesting storytelling podcasts on it. I was thinking about something in that frame. (Possibly) This was just a quick idea I had. The idea or premise needs work. (I did not expect to hit a home run on the first attempt.) I was going to record my thoughts as I drove into work in the morning. I need to do something creative with my time. The music on the radio for the most part is the same shit over and over again. Talk radio is a waste. News channels have more commercials than actually news. These channels do nothing for me other than to have something to yell at. So why not record for my 10-15 minute drive? This morning I did. It was definitely an experiment. Call it my “Morning Brew”. And the results are too rough to share. The 15 minute drive made a 43MB file. Not something people would listen to willingly. So I need to find a sound file editing program to condense the file. I also need to format or plan better because there was a lot of “dead air”. The biggest thing I need to do is to get comfortable with the sound of my own voice. It is surely does not sound like it does with in my own head. But with all the “voices” I have it was nice to only hear one this time.

And the coffee needs to be stronger for the ride. I do not sound awake.

The best sound was when my truck hit the monster pot hole.

I do say “Fuck” a lot during my morning commute. But it is not my fault. It is the fact, the other guy drives like an asshole. WARNING: They let anyone drive a school bus.

The MP3 player did record better than I thought it would.

But this format idea is in the development phase. And I am not sure what will end up being developed.


January 20, 2009 | foley | No Comments »

Personal Weather Forecast Update

MUSIC: Social Distortion

The last few days brought some really, really cold air to area. It was the cold that just runs right through you. It kind of fueled my already low mood. As Shakespeare might say “Now is the winter of discontent…” And the book The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck is on my “to read” list.

I also had yet another repair to do last week. The windshield of my truck cracked. Last summer, a truck kicked a stone and put a small chip in my windshield. Two weeks ago that chip became a ¼ crack. And driving to work last Wednesday morning the crack grew right across the windshield as I was driving about 60 MPH. I want to make the commute to work just once without having to say the phrase “What the Fuck?!” This was just the latest in series of breakdowns I have been experiencing over the last 2-3 months. I am completely drained of energy right now. And I learned another item a couple of days ago (which I will not mention because the circumstances are not completely my own to talk about) that I am hoping will resolve itself. However, the only approach that can be taken is “wait and see”.

I have also been having major problems staying focused and resolved on my writing. Every time that I resolve myself to spend time just doing nothing but writing it seems a “problem” comes that needs to be addressed immediately. It also happens every time I also resolve to clean the apartment too. There seems to be some unknown force in my life that wants to “clutch defeat from the jaws of victory”. There are many days in which I come home with low energy and doing something I enjoy would be a good idea. I.E. writing. However, I fear that dreaded problem phone call. I do not want to get defeated. And I end up just “vegging out”. Surprise! This method does not work well either. But I need a “cease fire” and to a chance to work out what I already need to work on. I do not want to get crushed yet again by interruptions.

It is hard to explain to people about my writing. It is an internal manifestation for me. People I think may try to understand it stand it if there was external cause for my writing. They would understand it if the writing was done as an assignment. Many people also need to see something external like a pay stub. It seems like there needs to be something hanging on the wall in order for them to acknowledge it. I think they feel there has to be something external in order for them to feel it is validated. Acknowledgment and validation has been a struggle for me to achieve. I am always looking at my blog stats to see what is being read. My web host logs, Word Press stats, Googling myself and other sites all give a different report of what is being clicked on. I heard an author once say that such tools were invented to torture writers. And they do.

I heard an interview on the radio the other day with comedian Robert Schimmel. He was talking about how he made through some tough personal times over the last few years. This is what he said that caught my attention. “When people start dictating their definition to you and if you do not live up to that then you are not successful. Then you need to come up with your own definition of success.” I come from a family and also have friends who seem to imply that success is being “married with children”. I am not married. But I do have a “child” in a sense. What is a child? A child is something that you create that is something that is bigger than yourself. It is a love-hate relationship. But you want it to grow and will do anything for the “child”. My “child” is my writing. I wish I could find a way to show this point better to others. But there will always be “the loneliness of the long distance runner” when it comes to being a writer.

Remember even Hitler’s father had “The World’s Greatest Dad” coffee mug in the cupboard. Think about that.

I heard once that you know you are in the right profession when you are willing to do it for free. That maybe true but this logic does not work when I have to pay the web hosting fee.

I have also watched a couple of movies this week that also seem to fit into this concept of struggle. What can I say? If I am going to “veg” I might as well be watching some movies. They were both fight movies. One was martial arts and the other was a boxing movie. I think this movies fighting is used more as metaphor for the struggle within. The first was Redbelt, the latest film from David Mamet. I like his writing because he is willing to push boundaries. I like his works because it is about people struggling within their own circumstances. Read his work Glengarry Glen Ross. The other movie was Rocky Balboa. It was sixth movie in the series and the best one along with the original. The character of Rocky is one of the best film characters. I know the series had a lot of ups and downs. I know this character has been the subject of parody over the years. But you need a good character in order to have good parody. A bad character will just be lampooned. And there is a difference between parody and lampoon. Rocky talking to his son says, “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward.” This quote best sums up the story line for the movie. It think why the character is still relevant today is because it is about a person who just wants a chance to compete. To compete whether or not it ends up being a “win” or even a “lost”. And run those Rocky Steps.

And I want to leave with a laugh. This clip is kind of a metaphor on my current status courtesy of Ren & Stimpy.


 

 

Finally, I am looking for help painting two vacant apartments next weekend. The quicker I get it done the sooner I can get back to writing.

 

 


January 18, 2009 | foley | No Comments »

Maybe Plan C will work? And other absurd things and observations

I just want to start with three items that are completely absurd things I experienced last week.

I have a co-worker who leaves his hunting magazines around the warehouse in where I “work”. And I was bored like usual so I was paging through one the other day. Outdoor Life magazine announced their 2008 Editors’ Choice for “Ammunition of the Year”. This was the first line to the article. I did not make this up. It said, “No gun is better than its load. That’s what does the job.” I then looked at the cover to make sure I was not reading Penthouse Forums. I am just pointing this out for I now have a new approach for this year. Hopefully the line works.

Yesterday, I was in a local home improvement store. I could not believe it. They were closing out the winter items and putting in the spring items. It is January 10th in Buffalo, New York. Winter does not usually end until the annual St Patrick’s Day in March. We have two more months of winter here roughly. And we will need things to deal with it. Like say rock salt. I had to buy if I wanted to make sure I have it. Sadly, it probably will not be enough. But I will not be able to buy it. However, lawn furniture will be available for purchase though. Here is a clue. I do not think about lawn furniture in January because I cannot see my lawn. There is 2-3 feet of SNOW on top of it! Here is another observation. The economy of this country may be slowing down because stores are not stocking the items we need for the season we need it for.

The other thing happened to me today in a store. I was behind a woman who thought she was the only person who existed and she had issues with everything. She was draining the life force out from the place. And there was not that much of it to begin within there. All I could think was that I found the woman who was the inspiration for the term “bitch slap”. I am not advocating violence. But you have to admit that there are indeed people who have it coming to them.

On now with the post. And I have a lot of things to say in this one.

Henry Rollins re-issued his 1991 album Live @ McCabe’s. It is hard to believe I bought that album when it came out. It was and still is a very influential album for me. This is a “spoken word” album where he is not playing any music. It is not stand up comedy per say but there are funny moments. There are also parts that are hard to hear him talk about. It is about the story and trying to come to some insight. It is something to that inspired me to combine that drama with laughter. I am not sure it has always come off in my writings. But I that is what I am trying for. And the experiment continues.

 Trying to find to find some insight to an awkward situation.

I was watching Magnum Force last week. The film ends with another famous Dirty Harry quote. Watch. (Sorry I could not embed this clip)

 Yes! A man needs to know his limitations. Too many times that knowledge comes the hard way.

Like many out there I planned some resolutions for the New Year. And now I feel like the Lloyd Bridges character in the classic movie Airplane! who picked the “wrong week”

 

I wanted to start the year off with an effort to curtail some of my many vices. Vices that will go unnamed at this point in time. It is a bit frustrating. Not that I believe in such things but I was reading my horoscope in a local freebie paper. It said that I should, “Add some compassionate sarcasm and loving satire into the mix, and you will generate lots of sweet karma”. What is that supposed to mean? I do not have a clue. I want to talk about an event in my life that forced major change but I cannot. Simply because “whatever you say can be used against you in a court of law”. I have a situation which most likely has to be resolved by the court system. It has been a frustration beyond frustration for me. It changed my economics drastically and quickly. But back to the horoscope for a moment. The industrial complex where my job is located was sponsoring a blood drive. And I wanted to call to say I have some “donors” for them. But I was informed that I could not “donate” other people’s blood for them. It is a crime. I said it would be easy for them because all they would have to do is hold a bucket under where I punched these “donors” in the head. I do not think that this is “compassionate sarcasm” that “karma” was looking for. But I am curious to know how many punches it takes to get a pint. We know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop!

I seem to have to a lot of crap to deal with over the last 2-3 weeks. But I listened to an interesting talk about poop though last week. (Episode 874) I know have a lot of crap because a few days before Christmas my sewer line backed up. Talk about getting a lump of coal in the stocking. But I found it to be a religious experience. I prayed all night for the sewer not to back up and out of the sump pump hole. And my prayers were answered. Just wished it did not cost me what it ended up costing. Prayers answered so I had to put money in the collection basket. I maybe a five time lapped Catholic but it all came back to me.

And speaking of breaking down my MP3 player volume control broke on me. (And not to mention the small crack in my truck’s windshield that is slowly growing.) I had to replace it with a new one even with my current tight economics at the moment. Having a MP3 player helps make the work day move along and saves me from having to listen to a lot of useless conversations. Podcasts have helped me to learn a lot over the last year. It makes me feel productive. It is also bigger so I can listen to more things. It also plays videos. I need to find out if there is a way to convert DVD’s to watch on it. I am not sure. But with all that I need to do this can wait a bit. But if you know how it can be done please e-mail me. It may save me some time and frustration. I am short on the first one and abundant on the other at the moment.

I found also found an interesting music podcast called HamRadio. It features a very eclectic listing of music. I like that it not the same music over and over which seem to be the format to most radio stations these days. There is nothing new to radio and that maybe why people are abandoning it for podcasts. Radio is too afraid to challenge their audience. Repeating the same songs over and over is boring. No one wants to spend time being bored. If you like interesting playlists check out Harmony in My Head
or Roots Rock Radio.

But HamRadio turned me on this song for this posting.

MUSIC: Chemical Brothers

I think the hardest part is the situation caused my economic shift rippled through other things. There are a few things that I wanted to do that I have had to put on hold and may even have to cancel for this year. It is January and I am already sounding like a Buffalo Bills fan. “Maybe next year will be better?”

There is part to letting people in. However, if things do not look right it is hard to share. I know my website could and should look better. I was going to hire a web developer to get the website into shape. I know I should learn for myself and someday I might. But my job is to write and create. Web developer job is to format site. I can only cover so much ground. And I have to learn to stop trying to cover all the ground on my own. There are lessons to learn. But I have to find people out there who are willing to be teachers even partners in the process. In other words, I need more doers than talkers. And that is the opposite purpose of talk radio.

I also wanted to get a video camera because I miss working with one. So the digital camera will have to do for now but I wish it had a better zoom lens. Beggars cannot be choosers. Unless you are the automotive or banking industry. So I need to figure how to put four wheels on my problem or convince someone that my change jar is indeed a bank. I need to be really creative here. But here is to hoping for federal emergency funding.

Something happen to me at the end of last November. It became official. I achieved something that I thought would happen later in life. I became “Too old for this shit”. It lead to my latest bathroom reading book entitled Rules for Aging: A Wry and Witty Guide to Life By Roger Rosenblatt. It was a Christmas gift from my aunt. But I am stuck at the moment attempting to read Chapter 3 called “Let Bad Enough Alone”. So I am going to have to increase the fiber in my diet to focus on reading the book. And she also gave me the book The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht. But I am pretty sure in the short term I am not going to need to how to deal with escaping quicksand, how to wrestle free from an alligator or knowing what to do if my parachute failed. Call me optimistic. But I am still crossing my fingers. Just to be safe.

I want to leave with posting my playlist.

Simon and Garfunkel-Sounds of Silence. I may come off a quiet person in person but I do not deal well with silence. But this does not mean I want to be subjected to constant chatter. Especially when I am trying to watch a movie.

Husker Du-What’s Going On?

Tom Waits-Hold On. For two lyrics. “You live it up you won’t live it down.” And “You don’t meet good girls in coffee shops”.

Black Label Society-The Blessed Hell Ride

The Headstones-Three Angels. “The problem with living is when you get there you’re seldom forgiven”.

Soundgarden-Room a Thousand Years Wide

A Perfect Circle- The Noose, Disconnect. Just listen to their The Thirteenth Step album.

Tim Wilson-One Idiot Away. Had to throw in a song for a laugh.

Screaming Trees- Dollar Bill. Sometimes you just come up short.

Tres-Writing on the Wall

Mr. Bungle-Chemical Marriage. Sometimes a nonsensical song just simply works.

Bruce Springsteen-Dead Man Walking. “Between our dreams and our actions lies this world.”

Our Lady Peace-One Man Army from the album Happiness is a Fish You Can’t Catch

Neil Diamond-If I Don’t See You Again.

Quiet Riot-Metal Health. Had to end with 80′s retro classic

 

Finally, let me end here. There is an old adage that says, “It is always darkest before the dawn”.

That may be true. But you have to know where the horizon is so you can be looking the right way.

And here is to putting more mileage on the grindstone.

January 11, 2009 | foley | No Comments »