Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Poe Play - Rogue Artists Ensemble

"To muse for long unwearied hours, to become absorbed, for the better part of a summer's day, in a quaint shadow falling aslant upon the tapestry or upon the floor; to lose myself, for an entire night watching the steady flame of a lamp, to repeat, monotonously, some common word...Teeth, White, Teeth...Enamel...until the sound, by frequent repetition ceases to convey any particular meaning whatsoever. Teeth, teeth. White. My monomania has taken control of my entire existence."

--- Egaeus, The POE Play

"They say you only really die if the person feels it's their time. I know this to be true. Friend, while I was in town today a ghostly sight saw I. My long, lost, love. There in front of me, plain as the day."

--- The Old Man, The POE Play

The POE Play transports audiences into the mind of the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, and is based on five of Poe's darkest tales. This original Rogue production is brought to life in Hyper-theater using puppets, masks, stunning visual effects, and dance set in a dream world of video and sound. The POE Play combines elements from "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," The Black Cat," "The Cask of Amontillado," and the often overlooked "Berenice" to create a new story about one man's journey into madness.

seanysean13 - you tube

Rogue Artists Ensemble

Rob Does Sinatra - Malibu

Rick Does Sinatra - MalibuRick Does Sinatra - MalibuRick Does Sinatra - Malibu

Woonsocket Street - 1970

Woonsocket Street - 1970

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dapper Teens in Costumes - Early 20th Century

Dapper Teens in Costumes - Early 20th Century

Animal Lovers Wear Their Psyche on Their Cars

Ask A DogAsk A DogBear Kar

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Is Open Mindedness Dead?

I have had and have many friends and associates who are republicans and/or religious people. I am happy to be exposed to their alternate perspectives. I don’t enjoy true debate simply to experience the frenzied anticipation of the victory of my team. I do enjoy the authentic discussion of different points of view. For this, I have been continually rewarded with new insights from perspectives I have not formerly considered. Some insights advance my own beliefs; some help me sympathize with the other side.

Political pundits have nothing to say but the obvious. They parrot their side from cheat sheets drilled into their brains by their respective mad scientists. Third political parties are not allowed and their perspectives are ridiculed. There is little true discussion going on in these times of mass, mass communication.

Susan Jacoby’s op ed article in last Sunday’s Los Angeles Time addresses this situation - this blind point in history that we have come to, our new dark ages, where the open-minded are the oppressed.

TALKING TO OURSELVES

Americans are increasingly close-minded and unwilling to listen to opposing views.

As dumbness has been defined downward in American public life during the last two decades, one of the most important and frequently overlooked culprits is the public's increasing reluctance to give a fair hearing -- or any hearing at all -- to opposing points of view.
This spirit of inquiry, which demands firsthand evidence and does not trivialize opposing points of view, is essential to a society's intellectual and political health.
No one but a news junkie has the time or the inclination to spend the entire day consulting diverse news sources on the Web, and the temptation to seek out commentary that fits neatly into one's worldview -- whether that means the Huffington Post or the Drudge Report -- is hard to resist.
As long as we continue to avoid the hard work of scrutinizing public affairs without the filter of polemical shouting heads, we have no one to blame for the governing class and its policies but ourselves.
I yearn to live in a society that values fair-mindedness. But it will take nothing less than a revolutionary public recommitment to the pursuit of fairness, knowledge and memory to halt, much less reverse, the trend toward an ignorant single-mindedness that threatens the future of democracy itself.

Susan Jacoby is the author of "The Age of American Unreason," "Freethinkers," and "Half-Jew."

Talking to Ourselves - Los Angeles Times

Ships in the L.A. Harbor

Ships in the L.A. HarborShips in the L.A. Harbor

Mill River & Harris Pond Dam - Woonsocket 1985

Mill River & Harris Pond Dam - Woonsocket 1985

"In the 1860's Harris undertook his most ambitious project - construction of the Privilege Mill complex near North Main and Privilege Streets. Power for the mill was provided when Harris built a dam across the Mill River to produce the Harris Pond. The vast complex included eighty tenements and a brick mill considered the largest and finest of the day. It was the capstone of his career."

Edward Harris - Woonsocket: My Home Town

Privilege Mill District - Woonsocket: My Home Town

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Hearts in Atlantis (2001) - Stephen King & William Goldman

May 29, 2000

HEARTS IN ATLANTIS

Screenplay by Stephen King & William Goldman

Synopsis by Brian Aldrich

When fiftysomething BOBBY GARFIELD learns his childhood pal, JOHN SULLIVAN, a Vietnam war hero, has died, he travels back to Harwich, Connecticut for the funeral. At the reception, Bobby eagerly awaits the arrival of CAROL GERBER, his childhood sweetheart. However, a RED HAIRED woman, a recent friend of Sully’s, informs Bobby that Carol was killed years ago during the late sixties when the bomb she was making blew up, exploding the house she was staying in. Crushed, Bobby remembers their lives together years ago.

In 1960, Bobby, 11, lives in Harwich with his single mom, LIZ GARFIELD, who works in an office and aspires to become a real estate agent. A bitter woman, she frequently speaks ill of her dead husband, calling Bobby’s father a worthless gambler who spent everything and left them with nothing. Bobby is disappointed that Liz can’t afford to buy Bobby a bike for his birthday. Instead, she gives him a library card. Carol and Sully are his best friends. A retired accountant, TED BRAUTIGAN, comes to live in the upstairs apartment. He introduces himself to them. While Liz looks down on him, Bobby is intrigued. Having bad eyes, Ted offers Bobby a job to raise money for his bike, a dollar a day to read him the newspapers, and to walk around the neighborhood once a day, watching out for strange men in yellow coats, lost pet posters tacked to trees, strange hopscotch marks on sidewalks, large flashy cars, etc. Ted predicts Bobby’s glorious first kiss will be with Carol. Liz worries if Ted might be a child molester. Bobby witnesses Ted being in a trance-like state with his eyes growing and shrinking in his face. Suddenly, Bobby’s perceptions begin to become brighter than before. Atop the amusement park Ferris wheel, Bobby and Carol share their first kiss. Amazingly, Bobby’s sharpened abilities allow him to defeat McQUOWN, a three card monte card shark, and win back his friends’ money. Sully accidentally hits himself in the nuts with his bo-lo bouncer. Bobby starts to see some of the strange signs Ted warned him about, but fearing Ted will leave, Bobby doesn’t inform him. At the park, high school kid, HARRY DOOLIN, and his two goons harass Carol and Bobby. Ted steps in. He whispers to Doolin that he knows his secret shame and will expose him if he doesn’t apologize to Carol and Bobby. Doolin apologizes. Liz has to accompany her BOSS to a seminar in Providence, so she leaves Bobby with Ted for the weekend. Ted takes Bobby to see a movie. Afterwards, Ted stops by a pool hall to make a bet. Old FRIENDS of Bobby’s father tell him his father was a big winner and a man of integrity. Ted predicts Bobby will be with Carol forever. Bobby realizes Ted is planning to use his winnings for travelling money. Ted has known all along about the signs Bobby has seen. Doolin beats up Carol with his baseball bat. Bobby carries her home. Ted starts treating her wounds. Freshly beaten up by her sex crazed boss, Liz returns home, thinks Ted is molesting the kids and kicks him out. Bobby learns Liz has turned Ted into the strange men for the reward. They argue. Bobby says goodbye to Ted and witnesses the men take him away. Bobby gives Doolin a baseball bat beating. When the cops come to arrest Bobby, Liz gives him an alibi. They move out of town. Bobby says goodbye to Carol and Sully, but they do not keep in touch over the years.

Back in the present, the red-haired woman reveals she is Carol, living under another name. Bobby and Carol decide to spend the rest of their lives together, just as Ted had predicted.

Summary Criticism: As a metaphor for loss of innocence and a cloaking device for child molestation, this well-crafted script successfully manipulates these subliminal fears. The characters are sympathetic and the plotting suspenseful.

Hearts in Atlantis (2001) - imdb

Hearts in Atlantis (2001) -wiki

Blanche and Brian at His Confirmation - 1970

Blanche and Brian at His Confirmation - 1970

Wilshire & Veteran - Westwood

North West CornerSouth East CornerSouth West Corner