South Of Someplace

Thursday, January 7, 2016

What Happened To The Gifts?

A child is born. A bright star lights up the sky. Three wise kings see the star as a sign that something significant has happened.

The kings organize caravans. They travel for twelve days until they find the child, his mother, and her husband making the best of their stay in a stable.

The kings realize that the boy is special. A Messiah. A Saviour. They give to him the finest gifts that they have to offer: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And then the kings depart. They go back to their respective lands. But what happened to the gifts?

Granted, two of the gifts were not durable. Myrrh is a scented oil. It has to be used to be appreciated. Perhaps the myrrh was used from time to time to anoint the child.

Frankincense gives off a fragrance when it burns. Perhaps it was used to cleanse and purify the child's home and quarters.

Gold, on the other hand, is one of the most durable materials in the universe. It doesn't tarnish. It doesn't react with other materials. Gold lasts forever.

What happened to the gold that was given to the boy? As a young man, he worked as a humble carpenter. There's no mention of material wealth at this point of his life, no portfolio of precious metals.

Was the gold spent over time to take care of basic family needs? Was it lost? Stolen? Gambled away? Was it used for bribes in an effort to keep the boy safe from Herod's soldiers?

And what of the kings? Did they ever return to look in on their young protégé? Were they interested in his progress? Did they see intervention in his life as unnecessary? Or did they meet their demise before they could return?

So many unanswered questions! Unfortunately, none of the extant accounts were recorded as the events occurred. The Gospels were written decades later.

Over the centuries, people have kept the tradition of giving gifts. We give gifts on the anniversary of the Christ child's birth. We observe the Epiphany twelve days later in honor of the travelers who gave the very first Christmas gifts - gifts presented by kings to a newborn infant sleeping in a stable.

Monday, January 4, 2016

The Oregon Embarrassment

Calling these Oregon protestors terrorists would be an insult to terrorists. They don't have any guts. They're not prepared to give their lives for a cause. They don't even have a cause. They're immature bullies beating their chests in defiance of a non-existent enemy, a bunch of overgrown three-year-olds playing army.

The Waking City

I love the city when it's waking up, the beginning of a new day, a new week.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Birdman

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's new movie 'The Revenant' goes into general release on January 8th. I'm looking forward to seeing it in a good theater; the cinematography is rumored to be groundbreaking.

Since I didn't have to work on New Year's Day, I decided to do a little bit of research on Iñárritu by watching his last film, 'Birdman'.

'Birdman' won last year's Oscar for Best Picture. On the surface, it's is a story about actors and acting - a subject that might have appealed to Academy voters. Personally, I found that my empathy for the acting profession started to wane after about 45 minutes - just about the time that Emma Stone's character chimes in and suggests that acting isn't as important as actors think it is.

(That was a nice touch by the writers. It was an excellent performance, as well. Stone won an Oscar for her part, and she deserved it.)

Michael Keaton plays Riggin Thompson, a movie actor who, decades ago, played a superhero in blockbuster action films. Now, Thompson wants to re-establish his relevance and his credibility by directing and starring in a Broadway play. The play, adapted by Thompson from a book, depends on ideas and dialog rather than stunts and special effects. This is a stretch for an action star, and the risks, both financial and professional, are significant.

The irony of 'Birdman' - and perhaps this is by design - is that it's the technical brilliance of the film that separates it from the pack. The camera technique is unlike anything that I have ever seen. - I'm not going to describe the effect; it has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Further, unlike Thompson's spare and dour play within a play, the film uses CGI extensively, producing effects that range from the subtle to the amazing.

The acting is phenomenal in just about every spoken part (probably a good thing given that it's a movie about acting). Keaton, Stone, and Edward Norton put on insanely good performances. I lost interest in the "you don't know how hard it is to be an actor" theme along the way, but I do admire the brilliance of a compelling performance.

Friday, January 1, 2016

New York Minute 24 - Gridlock Alert

Traffic is heavy in New York during the holiday season. Tourists, shoppers, and people going to shows add to the normal commuting and business traffic. It's not uncommon for gridlock to occur at busy intersections.

Gridlock occurs when cars going in one direction (for example, East or West) can't make it all the way through an intersection before their traffic signal turns red. With the East/West vehicles jamming the intersection, the North/South vehicles can't get through. Or worse, they squeeze partway into the intersection causing a two-dimensional traffic jam that's difficult to clear.

In an effort to prevent gridlock, the city deploys police officers to direct traffic at hundreds of intersections. The cops make a big difference, but some drivers become impatient while waiting for their turn to pass through.

One morning a couple of weeks ago, I saw this guy speed through an intersection despite the fact that the cop had signaled to him to stay where he was. I saw the guy, because he came within two feet of running me over.

"Asshole!" yelled the not-so-impressed cop.

Unfortunately for the impatient motorist, he only made it another fifty feet before he got stuck behind another column of traffic.

"Get his tag!" the cop yelled to his buddy up the street.

It's always fun when Santa stuffs your stocking with a nice three-point traffic violation!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

My Favorite Simon and Garfunkel Song

I treated myself last evening to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant. Within two minutes of my being seated, my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song played over the sound system.

"Hey, let you honesty shine, shine, shine, now
Da-n-do-da-n-do-da-n-do-da
Like it shines on me
The only living boy in New York
The only living boy in New York"

What a delightful experience! :-)

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Winter Weather Lyric

Walking in the rain today, I recalled a lyric from a song that I wrote in the winter of 1980-81.

"The mornings are hell
After the dreams, you're just a reality
Don't wince at the finality
Don't be surprised
I've taken wavering steps for a long time."

On the surface, the song is about Vincent Van Gogh and his fatal struggle with mental illness. I included some of Vincent's own words taken from letters that he had written to his brother (e.g., "my steps are wavering").

Suddenly, I'm intrigued with the idea of recording this song. After waiting patiently for half a lifetime, it deserves to see the light of day. 2016 objectives list, here we come.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Gender-Based Social Conditioning

A video making its way through the social media lately documents comments that are made to women but not to men. The video calls this treatment sexism. Perhaps it is, but I would lean toward calling it gender- based social conditioning. Boys get just as much of this treatment as girls, and it begins at an early age.

We are told that we have to be tough, brave, rugged, and resourceful. We are encouraged to be bold, daring, and aggressive. We are STRONGLY discouraged from a young age against showing our emotional responses to things unless those emotions support the aggressive, combative ideal to which we are supposed to aspire. We are taught to respond to insults with physical violence, despite the fact that such violence can get us into trouble. If we don't respond aggressively, or if we simply choose to avoid conflict, we are taunted mercilessly with any number of demoralizing labels - wimp, sissy, pussy, weakling, baby, loser, quitter. "Don't be such a baby! You're acting like a little girl!" - Boys hear this kind of judgmental criticism every day. We hear it from our peers, from our friends, and quite often from well-meaning adults.

Do you really believe that women are being treated worse in this regard? Why? Because they get comments on their appearance? If someone said to a boy, "Oh, look at you! You're so handsome!" it would feel awkward, but it wouldn't be as soul crushing as being called a pussy in front of a group of our peers. Maybe we should accept that both sexes endure conditioning based on gender stereotypes.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Denying Benefit to 9/11 First Responders

What is it that Republican lawmakers hope to gain by denying benefits to 9/11 rescue workers? What do they hope to gain by denying benefits to the disabled veterans that they sent into battle with such fanfare are the 9/11 attacks?

How is this blatant inaction seen as a positive by Republican voters (and the talking heads who tell them what to think)? Is this part of that greedy, petty "they don't deserve special benefits" perspective?

When Mexican immigrants and Syrian refugees became convenient scapegoats, Republicans claimed that we should take care of our homeless veterans instead. Okay, great! Put your money where your mouth is, Republicans, and HELP SOMEBODY! Somebody other than your billionaire donors, that is.

All I can infer from watching this spectacle of unwavering stinginess is that America has quietly morphed into Dickensian England, a place where greedy Scrooges hold all of the power, desperate Bob Cratchits work themselves to the bone for poverty wages, and the truly needy - personified by Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol' - wait in vain for the assistance that would alleviate their suffering.

God might have blessed America once, but that's not who's in control here today.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

How America Makes Policy Decisions

The Problem: Two radicalized Muslims armed with AR-15 assault rifles kill fourteen people in San Bernardino, California.

Proposed Solution: Send ground troops to Syria and ban Muslim refugees from entering the USA.

Focus the blame on: Islam

Problem: A man armed with an AR-15 assault rifle kills six adults and twenty kindergarten students in a Connecticut elementary school.

Proposed Solution: Do nothing. Guns keep us safe.

Focus the blame on: Schools, for not permitting teachers to keep a loaded gun in the classroom.