I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
January 04, 2012 - 10:51 a.m.
It's always toughest to start writing when I didn't do anything interesting the day before and I haven't settled on what to write about. It isn't that I lack for topics, it's that I have too many and none are leaping out at me. That's when I start writing about little things and see if something calls to me.
I think I need to talk about food. I tried something new again. I bought these strange frozen chicken wings that were glazed in chicken broth. They were cheap and I don't have to disarticulate them. I then cooked them differently that I usually do. I baked them in the oven instead of on my stovetop grill. I figured as long as I had the oven on for the plantain I was baking I might as well be more efficient. I put the garlic bread in too. Was it as good? No, but here's the thing. I made Buffalo wings. Once I put in the sauce it doesn't make that much difference what I do with the chicken. It was easier on me and greener as I used less energy, and it involved less cleanup, so this might become the norm. It always amazes me that I can make something as good as Buffalo wings. Don't knock Buffalo, the wings justify its existence.
Yesterday was one of those days I didn't leave the apartment. Today I will even though it's freezing. At the very least I'll go to the library. The books I reserved aren't in yet but a book that Leah recommended is actually in my tiny branch, at least the computer says it is. It's Nation by Terry Pratchett. Yes I somehow missed a book by my favorite living author. How? It's in the young adult section. I don't even know where the young adult section is. I'm going to try and find it on my own, the library is small and I might find other interesting things while I look. The books I reserved are Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott, and Grimm's Fairy Tales by well you know who. Why did seeing Striking 12 which is based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl lead me to taking out Grimm's fairy tales not Anderson's? It's a childhood prejudice. I always thought Grimm was grittier. Maybe it was just the name Grimm. I did prefer the movie Hans Christian Anderson to The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm though I loved them both. Ferb I know what we are going to do today; Write about the essential movies of my childhood. These were the films that I had to watch every time they were on when I was a kid. We didn't have DVDs or DVRs or videotapes. If a kid wanted to watch a film over and over again he did it by catching it on TV.
If you grew up in the 60s there were certain films that were shown every year at the same time. They were events. Some had hosts. Well at least the Wizard of Oz did, Andy Williams. I think others would to. Some avuncular figure would be in a cozy looking room with a fire and no TV wearing a sweater and not tell you anything memorable, at least I don't remember anything, but it let you know that there was something special about what you were watching. It's like putting a painting in a nice frame.
First and foremost was the aforementioned Wizard of Oz. It was so important that one year I was allowed to eat dinner while watching it in my room rather than sit in the kitchen with everyone else. I don't think I was allowed to do that any other time till I was an adult. Was there ever anything in any movies as scary to a kid than the Wicked Witch of the West? I remember some years I couldn't look when she was on the screen. That wasn't when I was the youngest either. That fear built up over seeing the film multiple times. Of course I have no memory of seeing the film for the first time. My sisters were watching it before I was. It was always part of me. We didn't have a color set. You'd think that would make a big difference in a Technicolor classic but we didn't know what we were missing so we didn't miss it. I can't say it was a perfect film. I always thought the end was a disappointment. I hated that it was all a dream and I hated the message that you should just be satisfied with what you have. I wanted Oz not Kansas. I still want Oz not Kansas. I was so happy when I read the book and found out that in the book it was all real.
The film I most associated with the Wizard of Oz was Peter Pan. Not that insipid Disney film but the real one, the one with Mary Martin. Now technically this is not a film. It was made for TV. I think it might have even been a kinescope. It didn't have the production values of Wizard and it wasn't as good but it was still filled with magic. I wasn't scared of Captain Hook, I loved when he was on stage. Peter Pan had style. Peter pan had adventure. Peter Pan confused the hell out of me. I could see that Mary Martin was a woman but everyone called her a boy. I thought it was the story of a transgender woman. I'm not sure that word even existed then. But here's the thing, it confused me but not in the ways the family values people think such things would confuse a kid. I was confused because nobody in the story seemed to notice. I had no problem with a woman thinking she was a boy. Why? Because like the WoO I have no memory of seeing it for the first time. It was always part of my reality. That meant that as a kid it was normal.
March of the Wooden Soldiers was shown every year around Thanksgiving. It was not shown in prime time so was not quite the event but I even looked forward to the ads. I got a visceral thrill watching the soldiers march to the classic music. The film stars Laurel and Hardy. I watched their films every week but never considered it a Laurel and Hardy film. This was just a film they acted in. There was a difference and I still think there's a difference. This was another film that scared me. There were years I had trouble watching the Bogie Men. As an adult I discovered that the original title was Babes in Toyland and that they changed it because of a rights dispute. There is another film titled Babes in Toyland that I never liked. I thought it was too childish. Yes as a 5-year-old I was a snob.
I'm not sure when King Kong got associated with Thanksgiving but it did. I might have been a teen. I was hooked on the film before then. I know that there was never a time as a kid that I would voluntarily miss seeing it. This is the answer to "Which of these is not like the others." King Kong is in no way shape or form a kid's film. Guess what, I still won't miss it. There is just something about that big ape, Carl Denning, and Ann Darrow I can't resist. I never liked John Driscoll much. I always loved, "It wasn't the airplanes, it was beauty that killed the beast."
I almost forgot the film that started me writing about this, Hans Christian Anderson. Was that shown around Easter? It's a film I experience differently as an adult. My favorite part now is the Little Mermaid ballet. That is an incredible sequence reminiscent of The Red Shoes which I'm sure was exactly what they were trying to do. I didn't even remember that from when I was a kid. Then it was all about Danny Kaye singing.
There were two Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass movies. I have not seen these as adults and I'm not going to look them up now on IMBD because I have no way of knowing which is which from that. All I know is that there was the good one and the bad one. The good one stars with Alice walking through the looking glass. I didn't like the way the white rabbit looked in the bad one. Since I didn't know which was which I had to start watching if either were on.
These are the films that I don't remember seeing for the first time. The ones that as far I was concerned I was born loving and knew I had to watch. I certainly saw them all before I was six and was probably much younger, two or three.
Hey not bad on a day I didn't know what I was going to write I end up with a 1500 word edition of Wise Madness. I got reminded to write it now by the Brother's Grimm but the inspiration was talking to Carey yesterday when we were playing on turntable.fm when I attempted to play March of the Wooden Soldiers but the song ended up being part of the Nutcracker. Carey saved the day by playing the Victor Herbert.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Horvendile January 04, 2012
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