Hit the Ground Running

i have a million things on my mind this week, and a million things to do. i haven't had time for any posts on culture or politics. the most that i can muster this week is a rambling post about where my head and feet are at right now.

i'm exhausted. we spent memorial day weekend planting a 13x20 vegetable garden in our yard. tomatoes, brussel sprouts, eggplant, green beans, red potatoes, jalepeno peppers, and red bell peppers. oh the horrors of operating a roto-tiller. my arms are just now starting to move back into their sockets. and the rowing. i really, and fully, understand the origins of the old southern cliche "that's a tough row to hoe." all 5 of them were tough rows to hoe. after a lot of sweat and sore muscles the garden is set, complete with a chicken wire fence to keep out the rabbits and deer.

now that the garden is done, i have to accomplish these tasks before leaving for my NEH fellowship in virginia on friday:

i have to prepare a job talk today, which i will give at precisely 10 in the morning. i wrote out a draft last week. today i have to fine tune it and practice, practice, practice.

i have to go to the hamilton library and find, and check out about 10 books.

i have to mail books to wv. i have 22 books assigned for my NEH fellowship. Some i interlibrary loaned, others i had copies of, and others that i'm borrowing from hamilton. instead of sending them all on the plane, along with clothes for a month, i will mail most of them to my mom's and pick them up over the weekend.

i have to shop for clothes, and other incidentals to take on my trip.

i have to take mr. smith to obedience training today. sadly, he's gotten more aggressive since he began behavioral training.

pack, pack and pack. i'm a terrible packer, and end up taking way more than i should. i wrote out a list last week of all the stuff i would need. let's see if that helps me to become more organized.

celebrate my new job. anne is taking me out to dinner tomorrow.

okay, all of this is doable over the next few days.

jb

Another Scary Encounter

At precisely 4:30 on Thursday, May 18th, another strange white man knocked on my kitchen door. This time Smith was in the kitchen with me as well as A. I went to the door, as Smith started to bark, and met a scruffy-looking man wearing a track suit. He had greying hair, gold chains around his neck, and a really aggressive demeanor. Perhaps because of my experience the previous morning, I was a bit reluctant to open the door for him as well.

I said "yes,?" as Smith rushed to the door. "I'm not afraid of dogs," he said, as I managed to pull Smith back and give his leash to A. Again, I said, "Yes"? and he seemed annoyed and bluntly replied, "I used to live here, are you going to let me in, or are you going to come out here"? I have a question for you." I went for the doorknob to open the door, figuring I was safe with Smith by my side, but noticed that this strange guy practically lunged to push open the door. He was too damn eager. I had almost turned the door lock into the open position, but his agressivness scared me, and I decided in a split second to not open the door. I said nicely, but firmly, "you can ask me your question from here." He was even more annoyed and said " there are some brown shutters in the basement, are they still there"? At that moment I didn't know what he was talking about, vaguely recalling the sight of some hideous shutters in the basement shortly after we moved in. Nevertheless, I said "No .....I don't think so." He was pissed and said "no, or you don't think so?" So, I informed him that "No" they were not there. He didn't believe me, and left the porch in a huff.

This guy may have been legitimate . . . he may have lived here at one time because brown shutters were left in the basement. I lied to him because I was put off by his agressive manner, his audacity to drop in out of the blue, and to not even tell me his name, and also because I didn't want to deal with transporting shutters to a strange guy that I dont' want in my house. We have lived here since last July, and all of the sudden he wants to come and collect something that was left behind? Sorry. Should have taken it with you. What is left in a house when it is sold belongs to the new owner.

Anyway, he was scary. If another strange, scary man shows up at my kitchen door today I'm calling the police. I can't take it anymore.

jb

Scary Encounter

At precisely 9:30 this morning, while making coffee, I received a knock on the kitchen door. I was caught off guard since we normally don't get visitors at that time of day, but assumed it was a neighbor, UPS or the local postal service. I rounded the corner and went to the door and saw this rough looking white man standing on my porch. He looked like trouble, wearing a white, touristy t-shirt that said "Orlando, Florida" that had been cut off at the shoulders. He had a scruffy looking pony tail and cut off jeans, and looked like he hadn't had a shower in a few days.

Call it a sixth sense or possibly paranoia, but immediately my instinct said don't open the door to this guy. Looking through the glass door I said, "Yes"? He said "would you like your driveway paved"? I said no, that I really didn't have the money right now, but would consider doing that at another date. He responded by informing me that they were offering dirt cheap prices right now. I stayed firm and said no, but told him to have a good day. Reluctantly, he left.

Immediately, I run upstairs to A., who was still in bed, and asked her to take a look at this guy because he freaked me out. His mere presence gave me chills. He had gotten into the passenger side of a green, chevy cavalier type car before A. could get a look at him, and they slowly drove away. This encounter begs many questions:

1. Since when do people go door to door asking if you want your driveway paved? Don't you have to call actual paving companies for that?

2. Would actual pavers be driving a chevy cavalier to do their paving work? Where do they keep their equipment?

3. Why would someone offer to do paving work on a rainy day? And at 9:30 in the morning?

I don't know if this guy was legitimate, or had something more sinister in mind. It was a strange encounter that left me unsettled.

jb

Match Point

Last week A. and I watched the latest Woody Allen film, Match Point. I haven't enjoyed a Woody Allen movie for years - probably since Interiors (1979) - but I should qualify this by saying that I've never seen Hannah and Her Sisters. I really liked Match Point. I'm sure this movie was well-received by critics, although it didn't receive a lot of attention. I recall some critics saying it was a "return to form" for Allen, and placed it in line with other Allen greats like Manhattan, and, of course, Annie Hall. If they mean it was a return to form because he basically remade his two most acclaimed movies of the 70's, I would have to disagree. Match Point isn't Manhattan or Annie Hall, but it does have the Woody Allen stamp. However, I would place it right next to these films in the canon of great Allen movies.

Woody Allen has left his beloved NYC to make films in London. He has said that he made the change because filmmakers no longer have creative freedom in the U.S, and he grew increasingly tired of working in an industry that only cared about profit rather than art. In the U.S. he said studios want too much approval over scripts and casting, and in London he has complete freedom. The only stipulation about working in London is that a certain percentage of the work crew (actors, technicians etc) have to be English citizens.

Whatever situations or events inspired this relocation, the results are indeed transformative. Match Point, in some ways, is a film based on classic themes encountered in Literature and Visual art for centuries: Love, Betrayal, Greed, Lust and Tragedy. Specifically, it centers on a love triangle between a former tennis star who marries a fabulously wealthy woman from a notable family, becomes employed by her father, and has a lusty affair with an American woman living in London. Allen uses this situation to explore these classic themes, and ultimately presents us with a morality play involving interesting characters, situations and superb acting. The movie is elegant, romantic, charming, amusing and wonderfully engaging. It's a drama, comedy, and thriller rolled into one.

Some aspects I liked best include:

The screen presence of the lead actors, Jonathan Ryhs-Meyers, who is so damn cute, with an Irish accent to die for, and Scarlett Johansson, who is always so beautiful and quietly intriguing.

The setting of London. While London, as a city, wasn't as central as Allen's previous uses of NYC (which was frequently another character in some of his films) it was definitely a formidable backdrop. You could get a real flair and flavor of the city as the characters moved around from museums (always in Allen's movies) to restaurants, to work and to the opera.

The opera music that served as the film's score. At first I was a bit put off by this, never having associated Allen with opera music, and not expecting it to be the entire score. However, it works exceedingly well with the classic themes he pursues in the film, particularly tragedy.

Plot execution. This movie didn't neatly follow the standard narrative plot. No, there was no Quentin Tarantino play with plot, but Allen took is own sweet time with the unfolding of events. The murder virtually happens at the very end of the movie, and the resolution is quick, and somewhat incomplete. He spends most of his time on the exposition, letting us know the characters, their connections with each other, their environment, and their mistakes.

The tennis metaphor. This begins and ends the movie, and this metaphor is sustained. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' character, Chris, is a former tennis star from a working-class Irish background. The film begins with commentary about luck and fate, using the tennis net to make this point. Sometimes, when playing tennis, you hit the ball and it catches the net, and for a brief second, is suspended above it. If you are lucky, it will fall onto the side of your opponent but if you are unlucky the ball will fall back on your side. The point is that you don't know which way the ball will fall, - you have no control over this and it could go either way. Just like life. It turns out in this movie, the main charcter ends up being lucky, with the ball falling on his opponent's side. But I can't reveal the details of this because it would spoil the big event in the movie.

I hope Woody Allen keeps making films in London. He hasn't been this creative in years. In fact, I wish all quality American filmmakers move to London where there still is an appreciation of art, and a not-so-monolithic studio system exerting too much control over the project, worrying about how much money it will make.