Film Noir

All of the movies listed here came out
before 1950. I'm trying to work my way
through the film noir decade, pretty
much the 1940's.
The heroines were generally babes, or
so naive that they wound up dead
five minutes after the titles appeared.
If a babe was married, it was usually
to some old guy who was bound to get
bumped off. The hero was usually
a Private Eye, or a guy who just got out
of the slammer. Everyone smoked, drank,
doublecrossed, all this while making out.
All the babes had great wardrobes although
they never held a job. All the guys wore suits
with very big shoulders. Oh yes, and they
did it in black and white.

1. THE BIG SLEEP (1946) Bogart and Bacall

(Humphrey and Lauren). Detective Philip

Marlowe, blackmail, murder, mayhem, worth

the effort for Bacall's profile.

x

2. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) Fred MacMurray,

and femme fatale Barbara Stanwyck plot her

husband's accidental death. Will they get away with

the loot?

x

3. LAURA (1944) Otto Preminger directed this

enigmatic mystery. A NYC Detective, Dana Andrews,

investigates the murder of Laura, Gene Tierney.

Look for a shocking twist or two. With Clifton Webb

and Vincent Price, getting into trouble.

x

4. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) Orson

Welles, directed, wrote and stars with Rita

Hayworth as the babe married to an older guy

who owns this yacht, so...anyway, there's a

famous "sequence of mirrors" at the end of

the film. Incredible.

x

5. DECEPTION (1946) Bette Davis thinks her lover,

Paul Henreid, was killed in the war. He comes back,

she has to hide her affair with Claude Rains. Drastic

measures ensue. Lots of classical music. Classy.

6. THE BIG STEAL ( 1949) Robert Mitchum

sets out to clear his name for a crime he didn't

commit. Can he do it? Maybe, with the help

of Jane Greer, good hair.

x

7. KISS OF DEATH (1947) Richard Widmark

and Victor Mature (muscles) as two-bit hoods and stoolies

caught in a heist. Nasty Richard was nominated

for an Oscar, his first role. A real creep.

x

8. I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941) Victor

Mature (muscles), caught between Carole Landis,

quickly dead, and Betty Grable as the distrustful

sister, might be a hero, then again..

x

9. THE STRANGER (1946) Orson Welles as a

Nazi fugitive hiding out in a small Connecticut

town. Edward G. Robinson is the detective out

to uncover his identity. Strong photography.

x

10. THE MALTESE FALCON ( 1941) The noir

classic. Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. Trio

of criminals, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet,

Peter Lorre, looking for a priceless bird.

Double-crossing at its peak.

x

x

Unicorn

for: National Poetry Month,

a new effort, not from Two Ghosts.

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTHE THREAD

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One thread, tattered, lies hidden

beneath the surface of the tapestry.

x

Stand away from the wall

Stand back!

The guard protects the expanse

atop the marble steps.

x

Stand back from the wall.

x

The needlepoint, on tour,

gathers round it

the rapt consideration of centuries.

x

A vista of woven Unicorns,

the carpet first adorned a breezy

palace hall,

when each Duchess

dropped a stitch every hundred years.

x

One thread, never pulling free,

not attached to the heart,

a fiber serving no known purpose,

x

Not a bit of it seen,

not being there to the eye,

like being alive and not being somebody,

not only not famous

but a filament detached, floating unbound,

waiting within its perception

to be christened.

x

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c copyright / all rights reserved

Happy Easter !

from: SONGS OF INNOCENCE (1789)
by William Blake
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Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:
x
"Pipe a song about a Lamb!"
So I piped with a merry chear.
"Piper, pipe that song again,"
So I piped: he wept to hear.
x
"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy chear."
So I sung the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.
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"Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read."
So he vanish'd from my sight,
And I pluck'd a hollow reed.
x
And I made a rural pen,
And I stain'd the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs,
Every child may joy to hear.

Triolet

Triolet:
A one stanza poem of 8 lines. The 1st,
4th, and 7th lines are identical, as are
the 2nd and final lines, making the
initial and final couplets identical also.
x
x
xxxxxxxxxxxxxFENCE
X
Do you have to stand so close?
You know it makes me tense
When you strike a languid pose.
Do you have to stand so close?
Certainly you can pass me the rose
Not crowd me against the fence.
Do you have to stand so close?
You know it makes me tense.
x
x
from:
Two Ghosts/ Poems

Translated

from: About.com: Poetry
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In the Spotlight: Poems translated from around
the world, this from Africa, the source of Eritrean
poet Reesom Haile. Translated into English by
Prof. Charles Cantalupo.
x
x
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxOUR LANGUAGE
X
Welcome
To our language.
Taste
the sauce
With spicy melted
Butter.
Berbere pepper
And sea salt.
The bones are big
Not only for flavor.
Take them
Like communion.
x
x
by Reesom Haile

Listing

CHOCOLATE. JUST BECAUSE.
WELL REALLY, BREAD AND CHOCOLATE.
AND DANCING ON THE BEACH.
THAT SAYS IT FOR ME.
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Not having an original thought today, I have
had to resort to "lifting" a list. When in
doubt,"LIST".
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Thank you Willow, thank you Poetikat,
for providing the meme for me to cadge!!
Always grateful for the inspiration you provide!
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The photos somehow may weave into the text.
I sort of mean them to. Oops, one just
disappeared.
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1. Current Obsessions:
a. American Idol. Can't help myself.
b. Inventing a time machine.
x
2. Item from closet wearing most often:
Faded blue denim work shirt from 1990's.
x
3. What's for dinner:
Lentil soup, with big chunks of new
potatoes and carrots, thick. Levain Boule
bread from Balthazar. Ginger tea, mini
chocolate covered donut. Carb freak.
x
4. Last thing bought:
Blue and white striped Capri's from
V's Secret, because I had a gift card.
x
5. What am I listening to:
Album Francais/ Amarcord. One hundred
years of French vocal music. A Capello.
x
6. Favorite vacation spots:
Paris, Fire Island, Rome, Moscow.
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7. Vacation spots I must visit before I die:
Fire Island, San Francisco, St. Paul de Vence
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8. Four words to describe myself:
Hopeful, ready, artsy, reincarnated.
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9. Guilty pleasures:
That I never have guilt.
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10. First spring thing:
Getting ready for my birthday, the second
day of spring.
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11. Best thing I ate or drank lately:
Strawberries and champagne. At noon.
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12. Who would you like to have dinner with?
Living, or gone:
Julia Child, and she does the cooking.
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13. Care to share some wisdom:
" A writer is a person for whom writing
is more difficult than it is for other
people". Thomas Mann/ 1875-1955
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Rules if you want to participate:
1. Rework.
2. Answer questions on your own blog.
3. Replace one question/ add one question.
4. You can tag if you wish, or leave it
up to fate!

REMEMBER: Eat chocolate, eat bread,

and dance on a beach!

Street Life

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxHELEN LEVITT Photographer
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxAugust 31, 1913- March 29, 2009

Helen Levitt, renowned photographer,
died at the at the age of 95. She was known
for her lyrical, dramatic and mysterious
photos of her native New York City streets.
x
She is remembered mostly for her photos of
children, in their street life, dancing and playing.
Her best known photo, Halloween /1939, showed
three children, in masks, setting off for their
celebration.
x
The 1930's and 1940's produced her amazing body
of work showing the drama of street life. The
great photographer, Walker Evans, a giant of
photography, said that only Cartier-Bresson,
Helen Levitt, and himself, had anything original
to say.

Greatly influenced by Bresson and Evans,

she combined Bresson's gift for catching

everyday life, and Evan's direct, spare way

of seeing ordinary subjects.

Many books on her work are in print:
Here and There/ 2004
Slide Show/ 2005, featuring her color work.
And more recently:
Helen Levitt/ 2008

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Saturday in NYC !

xxxxxxxxxx McPherson Clan Plaid
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BITING THE APPLE/ What's happening
today in New York City.
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Today is the Annual Tartan Day Parade. Pipers and
drummers, including the Edinburgh Academy Pipes
and Drums, will make their way across the Avenue of
the Americas, (which we call 6th Av) at 2:00 PM.
In 1998, the United States Senate designated April 6th,
National Tartan Day to celebrate the contribution of
Scottish Americans. The Grandmaster will be the
Scottish actor, Alan Cummings.
But today is April 4th, you say...well hardly anyone
marches on a Monday. Except the St Patrick's Day
Parade, but that's a different story. It's the spirit
that matters!
x
How do I come to the McPherson clan? By marriage, of
course, although that's long gone, but I do like those kilts.
Knees can be sexy. And my children have a
great-grandmother, McPherson. We here in NY love a
parade, honor any tiny sliver of a connection, and proudly
march and wave!
And there was that glorious night ages ago when "WE"
attended a ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Me in full,
fabulous ball gown, and hundreds of knees dancing by!
x
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Also, looking forward to a major event tonight:
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, at The Radio City Music
Hall, in the name of the David Lynch Foundation. Which
"provides funds to teach students how to meditate so
they can change their world from within". Paul said,
" In moments of madness, it has helped me find moments
of serenity".
Joining them will be Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Moby,
and many more.
Sold out, but there will probably be ticket scalpers
milling about outside.
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Have a great New York Day !!
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Fortune Telling

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxA DECK OF CARDS
X
X
I open the Enchanted Deck,
revealing
The Key To The Kingdom.
Touch the top card,
turn it over
to glimpse the nine of Red Hearts.
x
Love is here right now.
x
The back of the cards,
in black and white,
show a lady spider
eating her mate.
x
I shuffle fifty-two widows,
fan them out.
You choose three
to find your fate.
x
A man who is King of Spades,
loves music and power,
will shower you with offerings.
x
The young man called Jumping Jack,
The Red Heart,
has to be careful
not to burn himself out.
But being of fire himself,
he will always rekindle.
x
Queen of Hearts,
here you are at last,
your beauty ever rising.
x
Wisdom floats around you
like the white feathers of your soul.
x
x
from TWO GHOSTS/ poems

And the winner is...

XXXXXXXXXXXXX SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
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X
Having placed my name on the Netflix list ages ago
for "Slumdog Millionaire", I was more than surprised
and pleased to receive it on the first day of issue.
Lucky me! I say this because this is one of the most
entertaining, thrilling, brilliantly acted and directed,
( by Danny Boyle), movies I've ever seen. In fact I
did something I've never done before, and that was,
I immediately replayed the film. I just couldn't
leave it.
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The story, familiar by now, is how a boy from the
treacherous slums of Mumbai, managed to escape his
own tragedies time after time. The film shows how
his past directs him to "find" the correct answers.
The way the movie is cut, and edited, the way time
is interwoven as a stream of consciousness, is a brilliant
choice on the director part.
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Wonderful acting all around, by the youngest, brought
out of a real life environment of squalor, to the
actors, Dev Patel as Jamal, the hero of this epic, and
the transcendantly beautiful Frieda Pinto as the elusive
love, Latika. Wonderful Bollywood star, Anil Kapoor as
the MC of the quiz show, and the great Irrfan Khan as a
detective.
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Larger than life, all absolutely human. Gratitude to all
who said, "Let's make a movie"!