One of my favorite pastimes, especially when I should be doing something else, is moseying around the blogs of my readers. You may have noticed that when the name of a poster is displayed in blue, that means it's a link -- usually to the author's blog, although you might be surprised. Assembled here is a distinctive readership of interesting people, not least because I am vigilant about never posting idiotic or perfunctory comments. A certain civil tone is (usually) maintained, avoiding the plague of flame wars.
More than a year ago, when the blog was somewhat new to me, I wrote: "Your comments have provided me with the best idea of my readers that I have ever had, and you are the readers I have dreamed of. I was writing to you before I was sure you were there. You are thoughtful, engaged, fair, and often the authors of eloquent prose. You take the time to craft comments of hundreds of words. Frequently you are experts, and generous enough to share your knowledge."
After now having posted more than 36,000 comments, I have only confirmed that judgment. You are everyone, and you are everywhere. Collectively, you know everything. They say if you have 36 people in a room, it will be someone's birthday. I say if you have 36,000 comments in a blog, one of those posters will know who A. W. Wainwright is, or how a flagellum works, or what you will see if you stand at the edge of the universe and look out. And several will provide me with practical advice about how to improve my computer's speaking ability.
I got it into my head to write a report about my rummaging around on your blogs. I had no idea what riches I would find. Many of you will not find your splendid blogs listed here, because there are simply too many. This entire entry is culled from blogs I found only on my two most recent entries, which as of this moment total only 293 comments. Some of you complain you get started on reading a thread and lose track of time. With this blog, you may have to check the calendar.This proviso: These blogs are listed in no order, and there is no favoritism. I copied their URLs in the order I found them, and they've been written in the same order.
This winter Grace Wang will miss strolling in a summer dress
One of my favorite blog writers is Grace Wang, of "Etheriel Musings," who is an attorney in Toronto. She's a natural writer. You sense no angst or hesitation in her prose. It sparkles like conversation. She attended the Toronto Film Festival, and her entry on "City of Life and Death" will not be bettered by any other critic.She saw "Mr. Nobody," and wrote: "I don't know where to even begin with describing this beast. And it is a beast of a film. Running at two and a half hours, your brain constantly racking and racing, synapses firing at lightening speed to try to keep up with the plot, which fragments and spins in a thousand directions into just as many plotlines, skipping back and forth in time and universes, it is not an easy watch." Knowing what you know about me, you can understand how she made me eager to watch this film by writing: "The film is simply sumptuous, a feast for your senses. It references the big bang theory, the nature of time, superstring theory, and memory - the thought that the universes splits whenever you make a decision, and allows countless versions of yourself to exist simultaneously, in parallel universes, living out every possible version of your life. What an idea. What a concept."
An ambitious project has been undertaken by Paul J. Marasa at "The Constant Viewer," subtitled "Excerpts from an Imaginary Cinema Diary, 1876-2009." I hope he doesn't plan to see every film ever made. Paul teaches at Knox College in Galesburg. What sort of a writer chooses such an undertaking? He describes himself: "Lost, lonely, and vicious. Fast, cheap, and out of control. Good, bad, and ugly. I married a monster from outer space, a communist, a vampire, a witch, an angel. I was a male war bride, a prisoner on Devil's Island, a fugitive from a chain gang, and many many teenage things."
Here is his imaginary moviegoer's diary entry about "Transformation by Hats" (1896): "A simple vaudeville performance, as a man dons and doffs a series of hat-and-nose-or-whiskers disguises in rapid succession. I am finding more and more that these little scenes are uninteresting per se; what makes them memorable is the associations they engender in me, either of other moving pictures, occurrences in my own life, or some other sudden connection. Here, I was drawn inside the mechanics of cinema, individual images streaming along, creating the illusion of motion. And as the performer went through his routine, he reenacted that mechanism, but not to produce a single smooth action, but a series of images--of himself, to be sure, but different, shifting suddenly from one self to another. Somehow this also puts me in mind of the demolished wall un-demolished, images changing with no logic, but only as unexpected as a magician's trick, in which, of course, one expects the unexpected."
Seongyong Cho of South Korean is known here for his perfect command of English. In many cases, if his name were concealed, you'd mistake him for an American or British film student, hanging out with his friends and reporting on a favorite bartender. In South Korea, as is only reasonable, he writes in Korean. Here is his review of "Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains."
Andrew Dobbs, at The Deliverators, writes evocatively about his former job as a projectionist at a dollar house. He regrets the way video is pushing out film through celluloid: "I think the work of projection is a beautiful thing, a quiet job fit for studious and ascetic types. There will be no projectionists in a few years, and this is sad to me. There will be nobody haunting those hallways above the magic, standing at the last rung of the entertainment business ladder to make your movie happen."
Our friend S. M Rana is a surprise. We think of him as a source of concise, pithy comments. On his blog he is revealed as the author of extended, eloquent essays on such as Tarkovski's "Solaris," von Trier's "Antichrist" and Shakespeare's Hamlet.
S.M. Rana's recommended noodles
But all is not profound on S. M. Rana's blog. He grows poetic on the subject of an instant noodle cup named Maggi Cuppa Mania. In the spirit of my entry about the wonders of the rice cooker, he writes: "This miracle of convenience would not have been possible but for the Morphy Richard 500W kettle which has the water boiling in little more than a jiffy. Respect the virginity of the kettle by using it for nothing besides boiling plain water and it may stand by you for ever making it well worth its thousand rupee cost."And he equals the great film "Tampopo" in this description of eating the noodles: "Talking of Mania one must not forget that lovely yellow plastic fork another wonder which one discards not without a tinge of regret. Now how best to eat them since complexities are involved. Being so chill-hot it takes a good many seconds to travel from cup to fork and in the slow journey of the tubelets across your lips and gums down the throat there is, by the laws of the physics of (the high specific heat of water) a chance you might blister your gums . One way is to drink the soup first which gives a chance for the temperature of the noodles to drop faster."
Improving (in my opinion) on the inspiration behind "Julie and Julia," where a blogger set out to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, Matthew Dessem of "The Criterion Contraption" has set out to view and write an extended essay, in depth, detailed, profusely illustrated about every single film in the Criterion Collection. Here is his index of the films covered so far. I'm especially pleased with his defense of Criterion's inclusion of Kevin Smith's" Chasing Amy."
John Van Dyke, of Dave Van Dyke fame
Not the least of the surprises at Dave Van Dyke's site is that his name is John Van Dyke. He is a man of many gifts. He leads "The Van Dyke Revue," a rock and country band popular in Michigan and Indiana, and is a sculptor. We know on the blog that he's also a teacher. His blog is the only one of those listed here that has a sound track. I liked it instantly, and was inspired to order his latest CD from Amazon. Only days before, the Revue performed at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, where he admired the classic Golden Hawk.Paul Sampson is an old friend from the University of Illinois and O'Rourke's Pub. Now relocated to Los Angeles and drinking Diet Rite, he offers in his site a miraculous cancer care. I was pleased to read this cure and confirm that he is still the same old Sampson.
Kevin (KET) writes a blog titled "For When I'm Bored." That must be rarely. A recent entry is titled, "On Congee, Gai Lan, Pearl Milk Tea, and Jennifer 8 Lee." Jennifer is the star of an amusing video about the historic role Chinese restaurants have played in American life. "If apple pie is thought if as American, ask yourself how often you eat apple pie, and how often you eat Chinese food." She is formidably well-informed and entertaining. Only on a blog like this would you learn that fortune cookies (1) are unknown in China, (2) were invented in Japan, and (3) were manufactured in the U.S. by Chinese when the Japanese were interned during World War Two.Kevin (KET) also writes on anime, Malaysian and Indian topics. He lives in New Jersey and explains: "I started this when I took a month away from Final Fantasy XI, an MMORPG and found myself bored way too easily, but with no desire to play again. It's just too depressing, my difficulty finding a job, so I just decided to start one of these to pass the time when I have nothing to do...which is quite often."
Larry Rand was one of the key singer-songwriters of the Chicago Folk Revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and has always been a splendid writer. He was a mainstay of the legendary Earl of Old Town, and recalls that when Earl Pionke was asked by a drunk for his name, he replied "Earl," and when asked for his last name, replied "Town."
Larry's blog, "The Seven Piles of Wisdom," includes a terrific memory of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary. Larry opened for her one night in Washington, D.C. He remembers: "The gig at the old Cellar Door nightclub started with a bang. Mary was traveling with a four-piece band and her two daughters; needing more space than a cramped dressing room, she had invaded the office of the head of Cellar Door Productions, which booked most of the large venues in DC. One of her young daughters kept busy by using a paper punch to make pretty patterns in papers on the boss's desk; they turned out to be an $11 million Rolling Stones multi-concert contract. Loud words were spoken -- but Mary did not vacate the premises. She knew how many tickets she had sold and stood her ground."I first met my old friend Joe Leydon when he was the film critic of the Houston Post. When we see each other at the Toronto Film Festival, we are usually the oldest active critics in the room. He often seems to be in conversation in the aisle next to my favorite seat in the Varsity 8. These days he teaches and writes reviews for Variety. He links to his reviews on his "Moving Picture Blog," which includes a great many other things, including this no doubt authentic trailer for the 1951 adventure serial, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Joe goes way back. He just posted "The Day I Asked Roman Polanski Why He Might Want to Return to the U.S." from an interview he did at Cannes in 1986. Polanski should have said, "Today. When I saw how the French reacted to my new movie with Walter Matthau as a pirate, I knew anywhere would be better than here"
One recent poster wondered what it would be like to have such as Randy, Tom, Bill and Keith Marie Haws all together in my living room. I suspect Marie might be the cheerful peacemaker. Oooh! Oooh! She is such a gifted painter, drawer, animator and photographer. Her paintings and photographs of Venice, my second favorite city, are superb. I'm a little disappointed that she doesn't say much on her blog so I could quote it -- it's mostly dedicated to her portfolios -- but I am consoled that she says so much here. See two of her works below.
Randy Masters is revealed on "Lick Creek Photography" as not only a determined defender of Intelligent Design, but a gifted photographer. He as recently updated his blog to include a portfolio of photos from his Air Force career, in response to aspersions for which Indian Idiot has now sincerely apologized. Randy is a good fellow for many reasons, not least for his key role is extending our debate on Darwin to a current total of 3,600 comments. He also traveled to Champaign-Urbana for my Ebertfest 2009, something I hope Indian Idiot will also do. (I know what you're thinking. No, to my disappointment, Indian Idiot doesn't have a blog. Nor do Bill Hays, Tom Dark or Keith Carrizosa, more of Randy's sparring partners).
A reader who was chagrined by not being mentioned in the Randy-Tom-Bill-Marie-Keith connection was Paul Arrand Rogers, who would certainly be invited to the party. His blog, "Careful With that Blog, Eugene," ranges from reviews of "Funny People" ("no minor entry in Apatow's canon") to this TV commercial by former pro wrestler Ric Flair.
Serdar Yegulalp says, yes, that is his real name. His "Genji Press," is "of the Far East, Near West, and a great deal in-between." He is an "author, music lover, reader and critic, nipponophile, and information technology journalist," and has written several books, including his latest, Summerworld,a fantasy novel.
"The Michael Jackson Hair Accident Hoax" is exposed by Richard Voza. at "Brainsnorts." Oh, yes it is. He includes Jackson photos from before the accident ("notice the corners developing on the sides of his forehead? notice the balding that has begun? he's losing his hair, so he's taking pieces of the remaining hairline and greasing the hairs on his skin to cover up the bald spot.") Then there's the famous fiery video footage, in which you can't see if it's really Jackson. Then "after" photos: ("back then, people who had hair transplant surgery had to wear bandages around their heads to cover the scabs and bleeding following the surgery. today, the technology is better, but not then. jackson, who was so freaky about his appearance, was ultra freaky about his hair. losing it was the biggest obstacle for his 'forever young' attitude. he couldn't walk around with bandages or the surgery would be obvious. he needed an explanation, so he came up with the fake fire accident. Not convinced? look at these pictures of him in the years after the accident. look how much better his hair looks, how thick, how straight. that's because it wasn't his hair but the hair from the transplant surgery.")
Marilyn Ferdinand, from FerdyOnFilms feels deep sympathy for Farrah Fawcett, and doesn't write yet another obituary tribute but a moving essay on her best work, "The Burning Bed:" "It came as an enormous shock to the cultural system when Farrah Fawcett, pin-up supreme of the 1970s, smashed her Barbie Doll image by playing the smashed-up wife of an abusive husband who eventually murders him by setting fire to their bedroom as he sleeps off another drunk. Blondes are supposed to have more fun, right? Fawcett didn't see it that way, and her choice to take on this savage tale that would see her beauty hidden beneath bruises, blood, and K-Mart clothing was a bold statement about herself, her art, and perhaps even her view of domesticity. The Texas belle herself married and divorced one time only and endured a severe beating at the hands of Hollywood producer James Orr in 1998 after spurning his proposal of marriage. Francine Hughes, the character she plays in The Burning Bed, must have haunted her thoughts in the wake of her own battering."
For articulate, soul-searching autobiography, Conor Woody has the beginnings of a good book. Go to the link and read the first two entries, "My first robbery, my first guilt, and my first life goal" and "My aspirations, my first rebellion, and the sound track from a dull childhood." I also admired his entry about how the experience of seeing "Pulp Fiction" awakened his mind at a young age and set him on a new course for life.
In another entry, he writes: "I am in the most introverted state I've been in since... probably ever. The last few days I've been in this existential funk like I've never been in before. I like to think of myself as thoughtful, but never like this. It's gotten to the point where I'm annoyed with myself. I can't get out of my own head. My head physically feels like it's compressed. Like it's about to explode. The world around me is inconsequential. This is a dangerous state to be in, obviously, but I'm embracing it because I think it's just a stage."
Vivek at "Off the Mark" writes a great deal about Indian films, and also such Western films as "The Decalogue." Like the majority of bloggers, he doesn't supply about of himself, and his "About Me" entry is oblique. Notice here how little you learn about Vivek and how much you learn about cricket:
"Many years later, facing a platoon of androidal bulldozers demolishing earth to build an inter-galactic ring-road, I would recall the day in Bangalore when I first discovered ice-cream. I would also recall my: Cricket. Tendulkar's hook (when he plays it) and his upper-cut over third-man, Leg-spin, Asgiriya at Kandy, Gibbs' flick, Laxman's flicked straight-drive, Francis Thomson's Lord's, Vaughan's cover drive, Donald's action, Metronome McGrath, Lara's dance down the wicket, Martyn's square cut, anything from Gayle that is played across the line.Cinema. Seventh Seal, Jalsaghar, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, My Neighbour Totoro, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Yojimbo, High and Low, My Best Fiend, Pushpak, Taxidriver, Fitzcarraldo, Children of Heaven. Achievements. 1. 3rd rank in 1st standard. Last rank in 11th standard. Only Ravi Shastri's batting order has seen more places .2. Won many Rs. 40 cheques from Indian Express while in school. Never encashed them. 3. Won a floppy (a big one, green in colour) from Indian Express. I gifted it to an auto driver. Thus began my attachment to interior decoration. Thus it ended. 4. Have had more dreams of falling from a building than real experiences of falling from a building. 5. Watched Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat four times. Still couldn't get it. 6. Was the best Book Cricketer in class 9B."
Michael Mirasol at Flipcritic came to my defense last May when I wrote negatively about a Filipino entry at Cannes, "Kinatay." Outraged Filipino readers accused me of xenophobia, racism, stupidity and worse. He discusses the dust-up here.
Like a great many overseas readers and bloggers, he has an understanding of American pop culture that would shame many an American. Here he has well-written appreciations of George Carlin, Cyd Charisse, and Stan Winston.
And I have more blogs here, but, Reader, it is late and am weary. I am also in awe. No wonder I go to the incoming comments every day with true appreciation. I'm asked, "How can you read all those comments?" How can I not? They're from the best and the brightest. You.
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Compose lyrics for "Blog of my blogs" to this tune:
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How to create a blog with Blogger in 1:59
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A likely story: How to make money from your blog
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A photograph and a painting by Marie Haws: "The Glorious Decrepitude" and "Girl in the Coat"
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A Wordle Cloud created from this entry. (Thanks to Marie Haws)
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I find it incredible that I have never seen this done before (the blogger checking out his commenters' blogs).
Whether that speaks to the power of your readers or to yourself we'll never know. It's probably a mix of both.
Way to go, Marie Haws...
I never thought I would become addicted to the Roger Ebert comments section of this blog, of all places, but here I am, checking back every day. I appreciate this blog because it is thoughtful, interesting, and enhances my appreciation of movies and the film industry. Also, as we've already seen, has a lively, intelligent cast of characters populating the comments section.
Wow, I hope to be write as well as they do some day! My blog just hit 25 followers, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I find it difficult to post regularly, probably because being a junior in college leaves me quite pressed for time. Anyway, this certainly is inspiration for me!
Ebert: Not only is yours an infectious blog, but...the sheet music for "Top Hat?" Yes!
I love your blogs, Mr.Ebert. It tides me over until your reviews come out. Do you watch Mad Men? If you wrote a blog about that show, which is incredible, my brain would explode from euphoria. Keep up the great work!
I must be honest Roger. I come here to mostly read the comments to your blogs...you've provided a wonderful forum for those who love movies to share their insights and to debate with careful thought and precision. Sometimes it is done on-topic with your typically well-written and varying blogs and sometimes it goes another way and that makes it a worthwhile destination from the comforts of my laptop. Blogs and comment sections have all too often degenerated into Zero star affairs...but not here. There's an early scene in Noah Baumbach's "Kicking and Screaming" when Jane (Olivia D'Abo) tells her boyfriend Grover (Josh Hamilton) that she's moving to Prague after graduation and he scolds her about Prague and then she properly responds that he's never been to Prague. He replies "Oh, I've been to Prague. Well, I haven't "been to Prague" been to Prague, but I know that thing, that, "Stop shaving your armpits, read the Unbearable Lightness of Being, date a sculptor, now I know how bad American coffee is thing... ”
Well, I've been to blogs, and I know that blog thing...that, narcissistic vitriol, stop respecting everyone's comments, read only posts that support your own opinion and then flame about how bad this blog is thing...
Not here. One of a kind. Thank you sir.
Well,
Now this is a topic I didn't see coming (and with you, Mr. Ebert, I've come to expect your often out-of-bounds topicality).
Blogging is a thing that is more far-reaching than the general web publisher is ready to admit until they've done it a while. I'm convinced it will be blogs that vanquish traditional websites.
(JH)
THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH, ROGER! I coulda danced all night if it wasn't morning when I read the big news or sanged in the rain if it waren't not rainin'. You are generous by nature and what more can one say about a guy? It's an honor and as well as vast encouragement to have one's amateurish greenery gleened by a master. It firms me to continue writing what I can. Sixty three is as good an age as any other to start an affair. Thanks also for your many lessons on film and the art and craft of writing. I had a long supressed 'itch' to write and it feels good to be scrathin' finally.
I count as one of the greatest priveleges to have a seat in this distinguished gathering of similarly inclined individuals--a virtual banquet of socratic flavour so cheers!
I do love finding good new blogs to read. And I do like Marasa's The Constant Viewer.
And, like many people have said, isn't it interesting that the blog portion of Roger Ebert's has quickly become as important, for both him and us, as his reviews?
It rather boggles the mind to consider how many hours you've spent reading not only comments, but entire blogs behind comments. And that you occasionally watch a movie as well!
I have been a long-time and largely quiet reader, but in the spirit of this post, I throw myself into the mix. Prost!
This is such a spectacular and open-hearted thing to do.
I've always appreciated Ebert reviews (even when I disagreed), in part due to your openness. Since reading the non-movie related things here, such as the above, I've come to see this good nature involves more than just film.
Thanks for this.
Hi Roger. This has been a very trying year for Filipinos. The matriarch of our democracy, Corazon Aquino, passed away a few months ago. Now Tropical Storm Ketsana (or Ondoy in the Philippines) has ravaged the capital. It has been depressing to say the least.
Not trying to trivialize those moments at all, but this lifted my spirits up. I truly am touched. Thank you.
This can't be true.
As I just got my blog up and running -- haven't even found enough time to publish my TIFF posts yet... but they're coming -- this list you have here is a dream come true Roger. I've been looking for these people all my life. Here they are compiled. Thank you!!
And now for a quick story you may enjoy... Three or four years ago, as I began reading your reviews/ becoming obsessed with film, I had few-to-no friends to talk passionately about film with. Certainly none that would sit around reading anything I wrote about a film.
But on Facebook there is an application called 'Flixster' -- you don't need to be on Facebook to join up and use it though -- where thousands of movielovers, from casual to the more intense, join up and write amateur reviews. They say amateur but I began to spot some unusually articulate and intelligent ones that were also thorough. (I'll add that I usually found them under recent reviews for a Bergman movie...) So I added these people, saying I hoped to read their reviews regularly. They accepted and we'd comment on each other's reviews for months to follow...
Eventually I began to chat with these people here and there. (Nothing excessive like the worst of fanboys who can spend hours arguing with a stranger about some trivial detail.) These people were encouraging for me, not exactly coming from a film literate culture, and they continue to encourage me, give me hope for the future of film and, by extension, the world. In particular this one reviewer astonishes me time and time again and if you have the time to check out his reviews, please do, they are incredible and original in the angles he finds. This is his "Inglorious Basterds" review: http://doormouseetc.blogspot.com/search/label/Inglorious%20Basterds
(Though, note, he's not just some Tarantino fanboy. He writes about *everything and anything*. This just happens to be one of his best latest.)
He lives in California. I live in Ontario. It gets you thinking about the possibilities of the world coming together somehow...
Ebert: He uses an abundance of stills and writes to them specifically. That takes a lot of time and shows in-depth thinking.
Hopefully my blog will be on your reading list one day! :o)
Respectfully,
Don't Be a Plum
This is only blog i ve seen, where the "blogger" has actually taken the pain to go thru the comments and eventually come with a blog on itself !!!
Though i ve been reading your blog for quite sometime... this is my first comment and now u know why !!!
A very generous and kind thing to do, Roger. Getting the word out on other writers you enjoy (who, in turn, equally enjoy your work) is awesome and highly commendable. Thanks for helping us all out. We are highly appreciative.
As if I don't already invest too much time reading your blogs. Now, I'll be investing time reading all these other blogs. Of course, the key word here is "invest" not "spend."
Omer M
I'd write a blog if I knew someone, anyone, anywhere would read it and treat it with some sort of respect or intelligence.
Ebert: It's a big, wide, wonderful web.
As if I don't read enough blogs, now I have more to check out! I guess I know what I'll be doing when I have some free time.
As for this blog, I can't wait for the next meaty topic to be discussed! And, of course, people can check out my blog by clicking on my name.
Ebert: "Dreams of Literary Grandeur" is one heck of a blog. I see you came aboard here last summer but haven't posted in three weeks. If you'd been in the last two threads I'm sure you would have been included.
I suppose it's appropriate that you post a blog about getting to your readership better by exploring their online personas around the same time you review 'The Surrogates'. Cool idea. I'm glad you haven't delegated your comment reviewing down.
Wow, you included my blog on your list. What an honor. Though I think you might be off a little by describing it as discussing Malaysian and Indian topics. Right now, I think I'm thinking I'm spending too much time talking about Thai movies I've seen. Though the next film I want to see is a Japanese film called The Taste of Tea.
You have a pretty optimistic view on blogging, having once commented that you felt that people talking about their experiences (especially about movies) helps people to think critically. Then in the other post in your journal, you commented that you felt fanboys who blogged about their fandom were generally well informed compared to those who simply troll forums.
I read a rabbi's discussion on online social networking sites, though I couldn't bring it up now if I had to cite it. On the one hand, he has similar ideas that other people have that it is feeding on desire to be the center of attention online, as if people really care about our daily rituals. On the other hand, he also felt that, in a way, it also makes people appreciate their lives more when they realize just how interesting it can actually be to talk about their experiences. He ended the article joking about how Twitter must be Anti-Semitic because you cannot write a whole sermon in 140 characters.
If nothing else, it has been a nice outlet for things to talk about for somebody who has difficulty sleeping at night because of racing thoughts, no matter how trivial or mundane.
What a great idea! This should become a regular feature. I'm always searching for great new blog reads and you've just given me many.
Ebert: Your blog, "Left Coast Cowboys," is without a doubt gloriously bookmarkable. What a rich and world-embracing idea we get of your life on the ranch.
I guess the thing to do is start clicking on those blue names.
Marie, check out her jam recipe.
It's real cool that you'd make a post like this. This is definitely my new favorite blog.
Ebert: And you... are a stand-up comic in Washington, D.C. Nobody boring here.
Aww, and here I was hoping for a plug from the great Roger Ebert...
(sad face)
Ebert: Consider this one. "Lucubrations of abstemiousness," indeed!
In my humble opinion, one of the most important functions of a Democracy is debate and discussion, as well as the ability to have your voice and opinions heard in a public forum. In America, this seems harder and harder today as people with opposing viewpoints generally act like opposing magnetic forces, where shouting matches ensue and viewpoints are ignored if it doesn't gel with the opinion of another. The town-hall style Q&A sessions around the country showed how ugly our debate can be even over something that shouldn't even be considered controversial. How encouraging then to see that real debate and discussion is still going on in this country, it has simply moved to an on-line format instead of town-halls. What I find most interesting, however, is that many of the posters on this blog and the ones you have listed above are from the international community. Perhaps in the long run we can reemerge as a better functioning democracy in our own country, by finally listening to the voices and opinions of those from around the world and not just our neighbors and TV personalities. Over time Americans seem to have lost this ability to conduct rational national debates. It feels ironic then, that we have an opportunity to relearn our abilities to discuss not through verbal communication, but written and with our neighbors from around the world. Thank-you for fostering a great variety of discussions on your site, and now promoting some of the dedicated bloggers that contribute to yours, while fostering discussions of their own. Perhaps what we are really seeing is the infancy of a new world-democracy where intelligent debate and world views help to dictate the course of our own.
We are quite a cast of characters! All tied together by the privilege of knowing you in cyberspace on the best of all blogs.
Thanks for the mention, and for letting me meet the others, virtually.
Good show, Marie! I felt as though I was thumbing through the work of 10 different but equally wonderful painters. Diego Revalico will just have to accept that he's been bumped back one place on my personal best(I don't think he'll mind).
This is a brilliant idea. It also confirms my argument that, despite how things may appear sometimes, there are utterly fascinating people out there on the web. That, by the way, explains why I get lost online sometimes too.
Roger,
I bow in humility to be included among this happy few. Thank you.
Paul
Dear S. M. Rana:
You sent me salivating to search the web for Maggi Cuppa Mania. They are for sale in the U.S.! Can you believe the first hit was a site connected with the Wall Street Journal?
http://www.livemint.com/2008/04/01193846/Maggi-Cuppa-Mania-Nestle-laun.html
I don't know if I should thank you for bringing so many great blogs to my attention, or curse you for giving me so many more excuses to procrastinate.
I think I'll stick with the former, but if you find a way to cram 36 hours into a day, please do share.
Ebert wrote: "one of those posters will know who ... what you will see if you stand at the edge of the universe and look out."
It's like a bubble: finite but has no edge. So the question is meaningless. But you probably know that and are just toying with us.
Ebert: Exactly what I was told!
Now you've done it, Roger. Or rather I've done it. In my half-awake stupor of 10:30 in the morning('twas a long night)I've created my own blog. Had no idea I'd have to actually post a blog in order to complete the process of creating the space, so I do believe my inaugural posting reaches a stream-of-consciousness quality that Kerouac would have approved of, if not envied.
Oh Roger, I just settled in my chair after a wet, arduous, and long commute to work, slightly shivering from the chill of untimely AC that fills this monochrome space with sterile, recycled air. Even that morning cup is not doing me its usual favors. Then I check your blog (morning habit), and see this. Needless to say the world (or the tiny bubble surrounding my desk) just got a lot brighter. I cringed a little at my picture - thank you kindly, but it's weird to see myself unveiled on such a public forum.
I can see how you may have thought so, but I feel that I have to confess that I'm not an attorney (yet), but only a meek articling student. Articling, a concept unfounded in America I believe, is a sort of legal apprenticeship that happens after law school and before you can get sued. A wavering little bridge, so to speak. And there I stand.
I think this is universally known to your readers, but feel that it should be acknowledged publicly how amazing such a forum, and your proses and encouragements as its conductor, is in the shaping of this symphony of a world as we know it. It's the butterfly effect, a drop in the pond. We may not see it. But every single writer you have recognized above will be even more energized in their writings. And every aspiring writers who read this entry, and that of others who walk alongside them, will be inspired to write. I have no doubt that it is happening as I write this. Change has started with your words, and it will not end there. I wonder if the next Pulitzer winner is quietly budding here somewhere?
Personally, I know your writing and comments have helped me to clarify my direction in life. I've said it before, and I will say it again: Thank you.
Ebert: We've got to get you out of that air conditioning!
I see that my damnable spellchecker took the word "etheriel" in the title of your blog and "corrected" it to "ethereal." :)
It's wonderful the way the internet has democratized the spread of words and writing. We always hear laments about how internet "journalism" is displacing daily newspapers and television, or how teenagers spend too much time on the internet, or any number of other apocalyptic opinions about the web. But one thing it has done is enabled those who have something to say, and can say it well, to be heard by just about anyone. Personally, as a reader, I am grateful beyond description for this blog and many others, including many of the great ones written by your readers.
I've been told time and again that I could make money for my blog, but I don't see how. I think in order to blog the way that would make money for someone would be to never leave the house. I can't do that, and I'm a computer geek.
I also believe there are fascinating people on the web to read, it's just hard to separate those who are interesting and those who simply are just blah.
Ebert: I think to make money from a blog it has to be very useful at a particular task, such as evaluating grades of Portland cement. One person who does make money is the Hollywood business writer Nikki Finke, who has an awesome track record of scoops. There is a price to pay. She reportedly rarely leaves her house, and spends hours and hours working the phone.
I think this is a terrific idea for a blog post. Writing weblogs is a wonderful outlet, because you can actually have a conversation with readers. When I post about parenting, education, or books I am thrilled to get tidbits of knowledge and experience from a diverse (though small) group of people -- the comment thread is often better than my original post. :-)
This is an interesting idea, I agree with the others. I have a blog of film reviews, called The Flick Pick Monster, which I started two years back. I aspire to be a professional film critic when I am able to, since now I am only 13. You have largely inspired me to come to this point. I have three Roger Ebert movie yearbooks, and I have probably almost every review in two of them, and also the festival coverage and Answer man section. Even if you don't comment on my post here, and even if you don't decide to click the link and check out a review or two, I thank you principally in inspiring me to become a critic.
Sincerely,
Nick
Ebert: Could I write that well when I was 13? No way. Your mistake is in revealing your age. A reader would take you for a college graduate. Indeed, many a college teacher can't write anywhere nearly that well.
I don't know how much of a future there is in writing film reviews for a living. But you can write anything.
I figured as much - you wouldn't be so careless. The Gall of those virtual spellcheckers! :)
Nick Duval: I aspire to be a professional film critic when I am able to, since now I am only 13.
You're 13? I echo Roger. Incredible. I'm linking you.
I don't know if this counts as a blog, but I consider it my own even if it's a "comments section" on a website like IMDb. I've been writing reviews on it, as of this weekend, for ten years, and I don't know if it'll be my profession. I just enjoy doing it, seeing movies and dropping my two cents for people who may or may not peruse. Only downside is the "is this comment useful" option, to which many smart-asses have used to their own will.
Thanks for all of the postings in your blog, it always entertains and informs, which is what a blog should do if it needs to be done.
Ebert: IMDb gets lots of readers. The "is this comment useful" option is interpreted by too many as "do you agree with this comment?"
I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I feel a certain kinship with the others in their sentiments to Roger's honoring us. I'm still kind of shocked.
Like Grace, I feel that there is no doubt that somehow we have a responsibility to our writing.
Like Vivek, I'm in disbelief.
Like Matthew, I have been encouraged many times of my talents and how I should continue on.
With this post, I don't have any excuses anymore. I'm glad Roger that you put this up. Not just for the recognition, but so that we can each other's work to look upon, to learn and draw inspiration from, and perhaps to remind each other of what enlightenment we gather from our words.
Once again, thanks so much for this. It means a lot.
The blogosphere is full of wonderful people. It really eases my mind knowing that the death of old media is leaving something even more wonderful in its place.
Ain't our species grand?
Very nice of you to pay respects to the blogosphere. I've been running a film review site for the past three months and have worked into a routine of five reviews per week - three theatrical releases, one film I've already seen and one older film I've never seen. I'm still trying to find a more personal footing, but I'm currently reporting once a month on the Ottawa film scene and I'm looking forward to covering some festivals.
I'd encourage anyone starting up a film-related blog to check out The Movie Blog, where they can pick up 20 very helpful tips. So much of blogging about films and actually having your stuff engaged with comes from connecting with other bloggers out there. Thank you for leading by example.
Thanks, Roger, for alerting everyone to these wonderful blogs. I've discovered in writing my film and evolutionary psychology essays that the web provides for a very rich experience for the reader in that film clips and other media can be inserted at their proper place so as to emphasize specific points in the writing. I'm just wondering how well this stuff will translate when collected in a regular print format.....I think someone needs to invent moving/talking books that will play embedded video at the appropriate cue in the text (maybe Kindle could do that someday?).
The one blog I follow other than Rogers is the "Slacktivist".
He's spent the past several years page by page dissecting the "Left Behind novels", detailing exactly why and how they are not just bad books, but bad theology and where a lot of the wacky notions the authors have about what constitutes a "literal" reading of the bible come from.
After he finished up the first book the eponymous "Left Behind", he also did the first movie based on the book, which has it's own unique set of flaws. He starts that here.
http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2008/11/lbtm-thats-our-buck.html
I find his writing to be quite witty and surprisingly educational.
Ebert: Don't get me started.
Some fascinating blogs to check out, here! The only one I'm familiar with is FerdyOnFilms which is an amazing film blog with some of the best writing on the 'Net. The recent post PUBLIC ENEMIES and SEA OF LOVE were particular stand-outs.
Isn't it remarkable where blogging can take you?
I started "Runesmith's Canadian Content" as my 2007 New Year's resolution, intending it to be a place to deposit my movie reviews, to comment on the state of Canadian film and television (thus the title), and generally to 'learn to write by writing'. But as culture and politics are completely inseparable in Canada, I found myself blogging more and more about political affairs. Which led to my volunteering to help re-elect our local candidate. Which led to my joining the party riding executive, and spending as much time participating in politics as I do blogging about it.
Now I have a paid gig as part of a group blog on Canadian foreign affairs, bringing me to a total of four active blogs. I'm still writing movie reviews for the local paper (once a month, 150 words, $25 plus the cost of the ticket), I do research and write reports on local issues for our new candidate, and apparently I'm going to be running for Town Council next year.
All in less than two years. All from reaching out and engaging in this strange and wonderful form of public discourse. Wow.
(Heh. Looking back into my archives, I just realized that my second blog post ever was entitled "Just Call Me Roger".)
Ebert: So you can make money by blogging.
Ah, yes: Cannes in the 1980s. Those were the days, my friend. Remember how we thought we were so cutting-edge with our Radio Shack Trash-80 laptops? (And remember -- as you noted in your book about Cannes -- how often we had trouble making them work with the phones over there?) And speaking of memories: As I recall, the large ship that was docked at Cannes in 1986 to promote Pirates remained there for one or two more festivals, because -- well, because the producers couldn't afford to move it. Indeed, it wound up serving as a cautionary reminder to the folks in attendance that, yes, dreams can so easily turn into nightmares...
Ebert: It was like a ghost ship.
Roger,
Thanks for the brief visit. I really am largely behind in any sort of maintenance for my blog. I've had the toughest time getting any sort of readership there. I don't appear to be very good at it. A few months back I was writing a short review of every movie I watched, but would have dozens without a single reply. I'd love to get back into it if I had any idea of how to make it worthwhile.
This is my blogspot. So far I have 25 movie reviews since February.
As a regular reader of your blog and reviews, I can only thank you for the attention and respect you show to us, your feeble followers. I find myself returning daily to check the latest postings and comments although usually as an observer and not an active participant - which I hope to remedy soon. My behavior here seems to mirror my behavior with my own blog. I read up on my follwers' blogs and will comment occasionally, but when it comes time to actually write a post of my own, well, it just doesn't get done. So I'm hoping to fix that with more posts as well as get over my voyeuristic tendencies here on this blog. As Grace Wang said in her comment above, you have been a guiding light to all of us and our words will never be enough to thank you. But believe me, we'll keep trying. :)
Roger you should check out my blogspot. It's http://wuxlwuxl.blogspot.com/. Tell me what you think. It's been well-received so far.
Dear Roger,
Please forgive me. I know this isn't the proper forum for asking you this question, but I can't seem to find your email address. On the other hand, I can be sure you read these comments.
Firstly, thank you both for your entertaining and thoughtful blog and, more generally, your whole body of work. I've spent the past few years going through it, a few reviews at a time, and have been uniformly delighted, even if I disagree with your opinions. In addition to your enviable talent for prose, your care and respect for your readers (not to mention the films) impresses me to no end, and I think is sadly lacking in film criticism.
Secondly, I started a project which with some work and some luck will turn into a quarterly print publication. It consists of long-form interviews with people involved across the film industry--directors, critics and scholars, actors, producers, art and technical crew--in the hopes of showing a broad cross-section of the field we call 'film'.
I realize that this is an ambitious task. For one thing print media has announced it own death in pretty much every way and almost never stops writing about it, and for another, getting funding together to publish a quarterly journal of interviews was never easy even in the most generous of economic climates. I'll also have to think of some ingenious way to incorporate new media--one thing at a time, I guess. But to my mind it never hurts to have a concrete goal, however far away.
It would be an honor to interview you for this project. I know you must be incredibly busy--one can tell from the blog alone. If possible, we can have a conversation via email, which can be extended for as long as need be. If that's not possibe, I wonder if you have any advice for me (people that you'd like to see interviewed, whether you think this goal is worth pursuing, whatever comes to you.) I admire your work and respect your opinions, and I would be more than happy to hear any feedback you have.
Thanks so much for your attention, and I'm looking forward to hearing back from you.
Best,
Derek
Derek Strick
dstrick@gmail.com
It's interesting how blogging can become a social network- I only started one because I wanted to read the blogs of other people that I'd been on a now-defunct movie message board with, though I got into the habit of writing my own stuff pretty quickly.
Re: what someone else said about making money blogging, there are a few monetizing things- Amazon Associates, Google Ads, etc. Of course, when it comes to making *significant amounts* of money, well, that's another issue altogether.
This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I showed my students this today.
David
Ebert: So you can make money by blogging.
What is it they used to call it... milk money? It's better than nothing, but it will be a while before I can give up my lucrative career in the movie rental business.
Thank you so much for the link! It's a pleasure to be in such august company, and I'm looking forward to losing many hours on the other sites you've written about. Perhaps I'll read them in order and create a blog about them.
Ebert: Don't bite off more than you can view.
I'll second (or tenth) that I've never seen a blog writer write about his blog commenters, and knowing the number of people now in the present day whose blog is their job, its nice to have a "blogger" acknowledge the people that help build the conversation (other than comments to comments, which you also do well). Id say it was free publicity, but its more like a mutual respect.
I also wanted to say, I never really paid attention to who was posting on the comments, but after this entry I'm like "oh, hey that looks familiar...oh I've referenced that person/artwork in school or as a precedent or even just read their entries for fun." Just the weird "we are all connected" thing.
As a long-time anti-blogger who believes people have far too many important things to write than to list the details of their personal (and often trivial) existences, I've locked onto a few blogs I can't manage to avoid. Mainly yours and the one by Stephan Pastis (of Pearls Before Swine, found at http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/) who conveys it best through Rat urging him to "Have some pride."
As blogs achieve more popularity, how will they effect our future? Will/do college professors assign their students to research blogs instead of textbooks? Haven't Twitter and Facebook done enough to mangle the English language? Did we need more platforms for any joe to pronounce himself an authority? Did we have to make it harder for writers with actual talent and skill to be published?
(My blog name should be predictable by now.)
-- Becker
Your blog entry on blogs has finally inspired me to start my own blog, linked to my name above. Its a silly first piece, not very inspired, nor verbose, about the best animated films of this decade (though with 2010 rounding out this particular decade).
Anyway, there it is.
Miles Blanton
Four years ago, Myspace and Xanga were, I suppose, the most populous blog-creating websites. Now that garter seems to have been stolen by Blogger- at least, from where I stand. But the blogosphere is always shifting; I can already sense the next blogging website taking its amorphouse shape.
Well, great. I had just made a resolution to stop wasting so much time online, and now this comes along!
I spend way too much time reading and posting on blogs, to wit:
Our Lovely Roger
Tomato Nation
The Dairi Burger
Television Without Pity (more of a site now, but I post there the most)
Basic Instructions
MST3K Discussion Board
...to name but a few. And now all this?? I'm just going to have to quit my job and bear down!
Sailing to Byzantium
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
— Those dying generations — at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing masters of my soul.
Consume my heart away; sick with desire
And fastened to a dying animal
It knows not what it is; and gather me
Into the artifice of eternity.
Out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
W. B. Yeats
Ebert: Is that you, S. M. Anonymous?
Hi Roger,
Outraged Filipino readers accused me of xenophobia, racism, stupidity and worse.
Oh no! Someone wrongly accused you or racism and xenophobia? Wow, that can't have felt good.
I can relate. :)
Just ribbing you a little...
Randy
Roger,
Do you ever make it over to Wil Wheaton's blog? He's a prolific blogger and writer, and has managed to make money off of his blog (by collecting his better posts into books which he self publishes and sells online).
While I'm sure the palatial Ebert estate doesn't currently require a cash infusion to fund the purchase of a new Ming dynasty vase, I could see you selecting some of the best posts(and comments) and compiling them into some sort of compendium.
Best wishes on your health - I'm inspired by your wit, intelligence, and stamina. Keep up the great posts.
Best,
Dan
Also - I was wondering about your take on the new Tucker Max movie, but I haven't seen a review. Are you just choosing not to review it? It does look like a hot mess, but that hasn't stopped you before.
Plus, everybody loves bad reviews.
Except Rob Schneider.
Ebert: I've been sort of using some entries as notes toward a memoir.
I had a blog but it ran away.
Thankya Jesus I've forgotten where mine is. It's enough to be playing around with you people.
By Matt r K on September 28, 2009 12:01 PM: "I've had the toughest time getting any sort of readership there. I don't appear to be very good at it. A few months back I was writing a short review of every movie I watched, but would have dozens without a single reply. I'd love to get back into it if I had any idea of how to make it worthwhile."
You might feel better if you added a counter to your blog. People visit my site--and, I always assume/hope, read--without adding comments. I have few comments, but get a decent number of (non-me) visits every day--although that number's made quite a jump recently. Then again, I've been Ebert-ized! And kids, you can too.
Ebert: I don't recall Ebert-izing "Anonymous."
Thanks for pointing out these interesting other blogs. I run one on mathematical recreations myself, which is kind of hard when a disdain of math and science is the norm.
How generous you are, Roger Ebert! This is what makes the commenters keep coming, that you would read, and then salute them. Thank you for finding a way to make your writing connect with so many. I love movies, and can't think of anyone else writing now who cares so deeply for them, and for their ability to connect the way you have in your blog.
With great admiration.
Patricia Markert
Oh my! Thank you so very, very much Roger for this wonderful call out. I love what I do and working with my blog partner, Rod Heath, but to have it recognized by you is a great honor. I hope to tell you in person at your special presentation at CIFF. (You wouldn't happen to share what film you're showing with me, would you???)
Ebert: One of the funniest films I've ever seen, "The Castle," Print from Australia.
This has been a terrific honor, something I'll never forget. I've loved your reviews and writing since I was a kid, and lately I had been losing faith in my writing ability. When you commented on my comment last week, it gave me a buzz that lasted for days. Thank you so much.
Now we've got to start updating the site, I guess...
Great post! I've bookmarked some pleasant new blogs.
P.S. As you are probably aware, the search function on your main site has gone haywire once again. Over the weekend it seemed to be returning random results, or no results at all.
Ebert: Curses.
To find a title in a jiffy, use Goggle and type "Ebert title of movie."
Roger,
Great blog! I believe you may have made a couple of blogger's day!! Someone else posted this question and I hope you answer it! What do you watch on television?
Cheers,
Susan
Ebert: Movies, news, Charlie Rose, Letterman, Leno, Daily Show, Colbert, the rare operas on PBS, pro wrestling.
Roger,
I have always enjoyed reading your reviews because of your love and dedication to film. But only within the past few years have I been able to indulge so much more of your fine writing. A midwesterner myself, I smile at your musings of Steak 'n Shake and share your affinity with Chicago, a city I often visited but only recently had the luxury to live in as a graduate student at the University of Chicago.
And now, not two weeks ago, I started my own blog because I enjoyed reading yours so much. You have deepened my love for both writing and for film.
Thank You.
Carter
Ebert: I was a U of C doc candidate in English for one of the happiest years of my life.
Wow, I am Korean, I didn't know about Seongyong Cho at all. Thanks for recommending a great film blog, Mr. Ebert. However, I am little bit puzzled that all the links you wrote about his writings are written lead me to posts written in Korean. I wanted to check his works written in English, but nothing really showed up when I googled. Shall I assume that you are not just the master of cinema but also Korean language?
Sincerely yours,
Miles K.
P.S. I didn't know you are a fan of pro wrestling. Do you also personally review each wrestlers' performances in acting and actions?
Ebert: Don't know a word of Korean. I found it amazing when I went there and found a big review about the Jimmy Carter doc. I fear some recent products of the American educational system don't know North from South. Not Korea--in general.
I just watch wrestling for the spectacle. Can you tell me how a wrestler "fakes" being thrown from the ring onto a concrete floor?
Ebert: Don't know a word of Korean.
Here's a handy one: "Speak English please!"
"영어로 말해!" (Young Uh Roh Mahl Heh!) = order
"영어로 말해요!" (Young Uh Roh Mahl Heh Yo!) = nearly an order
"영어로 말하세요!" (Young Uh Roh Mahl Ha Seh Yo) = acceptable if your audience were students/kids
"영어로 말해주세요." (Young Uh Roh Mahl Heh Joo Se Yo.) = more polite way, equivalent to "Please speak English"
"영어로 말씀해주세요." (Young Uh Roh Mahl Seum Heh Joo Se Yo) = Very polite way.
You could simply say "영어로!" (Young Uh Roh) which means "In English!"
i have a widget on my blog that shows a visitors' time of arrival, duration of visit, and city, state, and country. it shows mac or pc, if they arrived directly or through a browser, which browser they used, and what they might have typed into that browser before they clicked on my blog.
it's cool to know that if i type "there's no such thing as a.d.d." in google, my writing usually comes up first or second. it's also cool to see countries i've never heard of and towns around america, especially others in new jersey. when i saw "chicago, illinois" recently, i remembered that you once left a comment and thought it might have been you.
i'm honored at the mention, but i'm still short.
Ebert: Yeah, I have tracking software like that. It can drive you crzy, although during the Olympics I thought it was cool that the little world map showed lots of dots from China. But few of them have returned. Lots from Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and especially India, but mainland China? Uh, uh.
Any feedback on the alleged Michel Jackson's hair hoax?
Roger:
"Pro wrestling" - I can't figure out if this was sarcasm, which is my favorite kind of sarcasm. After forwarding your Transformers 2 post a few times, a buddy and I decided to take on your challenge to catch it on IMAX. Here's the vid of our Sunday afternoon shenanigans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVeKl6kIom8
Ebert: Movies, news, Charlie Rose, Letterman, Leno, Daily Show, Colbert, the rare operas on PBS, pro wrestling.
No Conan? once your past the monologue and skit (most of the time), its ten times better than letterman
"The Castle"? Good on ya! I saw that at Ebertfest. Remember the spontaneous callout from the audience when you got an award. "Right to the pool room!" That was a laugh!
its funny. i watch conan and craig ferguson. i think they are much funnier.
Ebert: I've been sort of using some entries as notes toward a memoir.
I eagerly anticipate that book. One of my favorite blogs, Josh Wilker's Cardboard Gods (the link in this post is to his blog not mine) is, apparently, being expanded from a series of autobiographical ruminations on 30-year-old baseball cards into the author's memoir. I admire writers whose first drafts are as impressive as yours, and look forward to seeing how those first drafts become a memoir upon further reflection.
Others may have said it before, but your voice has never been stronger than on this blog.
I think it's amazing and wonderful that you actually read what we post. Your article's have been so interesting. You have me watching stuff I would never have considered.
Didn't expect to see my blog here. :-(
I didn't know you watched wrestling either Roger. I love that. I've watched wrestling all my life and continue to be a fan to this day. I also happen to write music and film reviews for a couple different websites. What's funny is, I always get derided by friends for watching wrestling. Their comments are usually something along the lines of, "How do you like all this 'artsy' cinema and music, but still watch f---ing pro wrestling."
If nothing else, I can now at least feel a little better about my guilty pleasure.
-Jordan
As if I don't already spend enough time checking my web counter two see it increase by only two hits a day, now I have to wonder if Roger Ebert is one of those two guys.
I must say I found your entry moderately humbling, Roger. To think, I've always included my blog when I comment hear in the hopes that you or someone else might take a gander, but never before have I taken the time to gander at the blogs of other commentators (which I'm now doing - there's some really great stuff here already). Kinda selfish now that I think about it...
So there really is a Grace Wang! I have a beloved novelist friend who writes me the most beautiful letters and Grace's style is so similar I thought it was her in disguise.
HEY KIDS! NOW YOU CAN MAKE $$$$$ ON THE INTERNET TOO! HERE'S HOW:
Have something to sell you really, really believe in and start a blog or a private e-letter where people can talk about anything. Anything. Caveat: be really interesting. And make damned sure this thing you're selling that you really, really believe in is also something people really, really want.
You bet this is the funnest blog I've ever played with, thanks to this pyramid of talent with Roger at the capstone. My other best experiences were (and are) through private e-mails. Some were so absorbing I let my work suffer to read a hundred a day at peaks; one that did indeed make money the way described above, was a genuine "ROFLMAO" private e-mail letter for singer Melissa Ferrick, whom I'll always keep plugging. YouTube that girl, she's WOOONDERFUL. What we did was organize an impromptu sales program and report how many people we talked into buying her CDs. It worked great.
I s'pose that if there aren't now, at some point there'll be hired bloggists, those talented enough to draw and keep an audience. That's how newspapers and magazines used to work, if they're not working so well now. I'm all for the reduction in paper usage and the turning off of televisions (plus an increase in Snopes staff).
PS Roger, BIG kick out of your review of "Surrogates" and rundown on Michael Moore's latest. A writer named Ellen Rogers, who is very, very sharp, an economist and attorney to boot, has the scoop on the mortgage thing. About 60% of those defaulted on their mortgages may get away scot-free by challenging where the paperwork is. A ruling in Kansas just confirmed that. Those sub-prime schemers may have painted themselves into a corner and for once, the bad guys could lose.
PPS: didn't I already offer wise instruction on how a wrestler "fakes" getting slammed to a concrete floor? First: get really really really tough. Second: make sure you can tell it's coming. Third: make sure your insurance is paid up and includes getting slammed to the floor.
I love this man. Ask this man. Write this man:
http://www.rowdyroddypiper.com/
I wonder Mr. Ebert if you're familiar with Outlaw Vern. Who aside from perhaps Drew McWeeney and the crew at the AV Club is my favorite online film critic.
He's an ex armed robber whose written a serious consideration of works of Steven Seagal. He spends half his time reviewing forgotten 80's genre pictures and Direct To Video movies, and the other half is focused on some of the most challenging movies being made today. It's not rare to go to his site and find a review for The Substitute 2 and The Girlfriend Experience.
He's one of the most entertaining film critics I know. And every film fan would be happier with his blog embedded firmly in their favorites bar.
www.outlawvern.com
I've been blogging myself, for about a year now. Poorly for the first six months or so, and better now. I find the trick to blogging well is similar to the trick of exercising. You have to make it part of your daily routine. I try to get out a 500 word column everyday, disaster permitting.
The result is something of a personal collage. One day it's Altman, the next it's samurai movies, or country music. I just finished a 20,000 word series on an anime series I haven't revisited since adolescence.
One of the added benefits of this constant writing is that I've found both my grammar and spelling have improved steadily. I remember Stephen King's advice to would be writers "Read three hours a day and write for three hours a day."
I don't know if my blog will ever be as great as the one's you've pointed out. I just know that I have plenty of fun doing it.
Reply to: Marilyn Ferdinand, from FerdyOnFilms: "Farrah Fawcett smashed her Barbie Doll image by playing the smashed-up wife of an abusive husband who sets fire to their bed as he sleeps off another drunk. Blondes are supposed to have more fun, right? ...The Texas belle herself endured a severe beating at the hands of Hollywood producer James Orr in 1998 after spurning his proposal of marriage."
The new film critics hosting "At The Movies" have been operating under a handicap. Most of the recent movies have been terrible.
What I'm looking for... is a historical event that American audiences would pay to see acted out on the big screen. Like the sinking of the Titanic. A movie that uses spectacle and emotions and... yes, conflict.
“Scene”: A group of beats which result in an action through conflict that turns the lives of the characters around into another direction. There are 40 to 60 scenes in a screenplay.
Which means there are 40 to 60 opportunities for supporting characters to go through their own magic moments... in every movie.
Transformation: When the hero hits rock bottom, he realizes he has to change the parts of his personality that have been holding him back.
(1) Jimmy Stewart realizes that his desire to travel and see the world has blinded him to the important things in Bedford Falls.
(2) Rick Blaine puts Ilsa on the plane to Lisbon.
From a site: It was one of the best classes I ever took on screenwriting. Every week we had to come up with three loglines and stand up and read them aloud to the class. We each put a dollar into a pot and the class voted on the best premise of the night. I learned worlds about what a big story idea needs to be....
How many Hollywood movies are set in Los Angeles or New York? How many involve a threat from space aliens? (Yes, James Cameron, I'm talking about "Avatar.") Aren't there any true stories from India, South Africa, the places where our various bloggers live? Stories of emotional transformation, where people actually had to relinquish some deeply held belief in order to achieve a greater goal. The Inner Journey of the Hero is more interesting to the audience, but it rarely dominates a movie... except for the ones that win the Best Picture Oscar.
Reply to: Micha: This has been a very trying year for Filipinos. Corazon Aquino passed away. Now Tropical Storm Ketsana (or Ondoy in the Philippines) has ravaged the capital.
There could be dozens of transformations from those two tragic events.
Oh wow. You've made my day again. I'm going to use this on my journalism teacher. When she criticizes my writing, I'll just show her this and say "Oh, well I think a certain Pulitzer Prize winner thinks my writing is just fine...."
Just kidding. Really, though, do you realize how happy you've made everyone you've mentioned?
Thanks! "Etheriel Musings" is a fantastic new discovery for my nighttime reading list.
Roger,
Thank you for this post. Now I know exactly where to look to streamline my daily Internet perusals. If the links come from readers here, I know they must be worthwhile.
Having read your blog essentially from the beginning, I completely agree with your assessment of the posters here. They are undoubtedly the most intelligent, thoughtful and interesting bunch on the Web. I often learn more from the comments than the post itself. That is a compliment to the readers, not to the original author.
Though I do not have a blog myself, I hope my contributions to the discussion here has been worthwhile. I have not been able to post much lately, considering I am back in school and spending nearly every waking moment I have at the paper. Nevertheless, I look forward to more thought-provoking conversations in the future.
Thank you, Roger. And even more importantly, thank you, readers.
Best,
Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond
Wow, I take my post back! Not that her blog isn't wonderful but in the last five minutes I've checked out just a few more and realized how much I am missing! Great blogs everyone!
No that wasn't me anonymous. I gave that up months ago.
Roger, thank you so much for the mention - and the shout-out in the form of the cover art from "Summerworld", too! I'm deeply flattered I made the cut, as it were.
I'm looking forward to perusing many of the other blogs listed here. I'd started peeking at some of the sites curated by other regular posters (the comments section of any Ebert post is always a good place to start for such a thing), but this should help speed things up a bit!
Is there any case where a book or a movie changes the course of someone's life unless it is for worse or to take that up for a career?
Ebert: Anybody have any ideas
ebert: Any feedback on the alleged Michel Jackson's hair hoax?
no feedback yet, but it was always a no-brainer to me. i have enjoyed MJ's music since i was 7, and so was he at the time. i've followed his career with amazement and defended him staunchly because i don't believe he was guilty of anything except not realizing how his good intentions were twisted against him. however, the hair thing, too obvious. if you're dancing down a set of steps and then hit with such a burst of heat that your hair catches fire (as seen in the video), wouldn't you react? wouldn't you get knocked over or at least duck? i don't believe you would just continue to prance down the steps.
First, Roger, thank you for your delightfully entertaining blog. I now have several more to add to my ever expanding list.
I'm not absolutely positive, but I'm pretty sure that you and your wife were directly ahead of me as I exited a screening of [i]The Invention of Lying[/i] tonight at the AMC 600 North Michigan 9. If that wasn't you, I can officially declare that I've lost my mind.
Ebert: I don't know who you were behind, but we were indeed at that screening.
What'd you think of the movie?
I have said for years that the First Rule of the Internet is "Never read the comments." I stand by that as a general principle, but your blog has always been a welcome exception.
In the Renaissance, the playwrights used to keep what they called "Commonplace Books", where they would store ideas, lyrics, and favorite passages.
That is how I imagine my blog, and many others. Our own safe havens to write about what we find beautiful, or what we despise, or what we, you, I, ever so choose to pick out.
Just great, bringing everyone together like this.
Wow, those are some fantastic blogs. I especially loved Mr. Dessem's essay on "Chasing Amy."
The funny thing is for years I would write essays mostly in message board forums but never thought to publish a blog. I figure most of the folks who would want to read what I thought were posting there so it would be the most convenient place. And plus as a reader I find myself actively responding to other people's blogs rather than seeking out a conversation starter.
Though when I was an active myspace user I did publish film blogs every so often (including a gushing blog about the time Mr. Ebert published a letter of mine.) I always thought about transferring some of my favorites and start a new, legitimate blog. And maybe go back into those message board forums and cut and paste some of my film essays into a blog, too.:)
Earlier today, I pulled off the mother of all miracles and to celebrate, bought some of my favorite Irish ale -
- which is now sitting next to me in a pint glass as I type.
For the past week, I've been dangling precariously over an edge beyond which lay a deep and scary abyss: no money for rent. Or anything else. I confess, I thought the end was nigh. But just as the hourglass was about to run out, just when all hopes seemed lost - suddenly, a last minute reprieve from the Gods.
Am I solvent once more! I had to walk on hot coals and over broken glass to achieve it, but achieve I did. My sense of relief cannot be put into words; oh, life as an artist. There's never a dull moment. :)
And what do I find upon my arrival here, but to see not one but TWO of my pictures on display! A photograph and a painting - the latter so big, I bet you could see it from space! The world is full of surprises and today it comes flattery and praise. What a lucky star I must have been born under. I'm feeling quite blessed now by all this good fortune.
I'm tempted now to stop cursing Roger's spam filter - but I'm sure the feeling will soon pass, as I'm not so grateful as that. :)
I will however, mentally gather Roger up in my arms and squeeze him in massive Canadian bear-sized hug! I may be struggling to find work as an artist but at least someone thinks I can paint. And that's worth its weight in gold, for I know he collects Edward Lear's stuff which gives me a good idea of his measuring stick. And so I am genuinely, profoundly flattered.
@ Dan Brown, Russell…
Thank-you very, very much for the compliments. And I mean that, I can be drunk and sincere at the same time. Sip, sip... slurp....
Roger: "Marie, check out her jam recipe."
JAM?! (insert sound of running feet...)
OMG! The universe has just expanded: there’s something in it called "tomato marmalade." Grabbing recipe!
"One recent poster wondered what it would be like to have such as Randy, Tom, Bill and Keith Marie Haws all together in my living room. I suspect Marie might be the cheerful peacemaker. Oooh! Oooh! She is such a gifted painter, drawer, animator and photographer. Her paintings and photographs of Venice, my second favorite city, are superb. I'm a little disappointed that she doesn't say much on her blog so I could quote it -- it's mostly dedicated to her portfolios -- but I am consoled that she says so much here." - Roger Ebert
Encouraging my verbosity is a dangerous thing to do. :)
Note: animators draw the actual animation - all those increments of movement, frame by frame. Whereas animation "inkers" - and that's what I did - interpret a line, give it a thick or thin look, the way Batman comics are "inked" as opposed to being a thin pencil line without any variation.
In terms of classical animation, this is an animators "drawing" - a single frame with notes as to cel paint colors:
http://www.animationarchive.org/pics/mgm01.jpg
This is an "inked cel" - all the black lines: this was 2 foot long pan cel!
http://www3.telus.net/thiliasspace/Marie/Portfolio/jester_flying.jpg
I just needed to make the distinction because "to animate" isn't the same thing as to "ink". Animators are a breed unto themselves and have been known to drink a beer or two, so you don't want to p*ss them off by taking credit for their work. :)
My tummy has just growled! Oh jeepers, it's 9:40 pm! Hey, ya know what goes well with Kilkenny? FOOD. And a movie! But what to watch..?
Ooo! I know!
"Waking Ned Devine." :)
Ebert: Don't have another Kilkenny and get any wild ideas about motorcycles.
To paraphrase from your earlier entry on Studs Terkel. I find myself more and more free associating myself away from where I was pointed, toward where my curiosity leads me. And maybe that's not always a bad thing. Surely not when it applies to Marie Hawes and
Larry Rand.
@Marie Hawes-
Thanks for your recent comments. I too was a veritable human SPONGE during my Old Town days. Just a cocky but green, 20 year old, downstate kid, I did a lot more listening, watching, learning than anything else, particularly early on. And it was a hell of an education and more fun than you could imagine.
Been thinking in 40 year cycles lately. 40 years ago I was in Old Town. Had a job at a nondescript bar on Clark street. Would open in the mornings. Rarely had anyone ever there. But there was one rather diminutive,always well dressed, older fellow who took a liking to me and would stop in frequently. Told great stories of life in the Chicago during The Roaring Twenties." What I remember most was his reaction when I mentioned the St. Valentines Day massacre which had occurred not far from where we were at. He went ballistic. Again he was a little guy, reminded me a bit of old Donald Meek in Stagecoach. He appeared like bible salesmen, but was in fact whiskey drummer. And tough as could be. And how he hated those mobsters from the 20's. After a couple of stiff ones, he would swear like a scalded Saskatoonian even at their mention, called them every name in the book, and some that were not even in the book. I loved it.
Now 40 later he is surely gone as I will be 40 years hence. Studs would have loved this guy if he ever met him and he may very well have. I'm sure you'll be around in 40 years. Hope its also a nice time and place, and you can tell stories about our day now. Studs and Roger will be there too. Be sure to introduce them to your friends.
Also most taken by your portfolio. Remembered immediately that Pere Lachaise was where Jim Morrison is now permanently stationed- among a staggering number of other famous souls, and I'm talking just the expatriates. Must be a quite a place to (only) visit. Your photographic choices seem exemplary. Also curious, if I might be so bold, to inquire who the subject might be for your intriguing female drawings.
Your Harold and Maude reference(Roger panned it.I still sorta like it) got me thinking of Ruth Gordon. Here's where my curiosity led me astray, only to return again to the point, albeit another point entirely, if that makes any sense. Ms. Gordon was a 72 year old media darling in 1968 after she picked up an Oscar for Rosemary's Baby. Young Ruth(Wikipedia has a great 1919 picture of her,sporting a monocle and using her then married name no less) had wed a stage actor who died of heart disease at 36 in 1927. He appeared in but two films, the last being "The Show Off"(1926) which Roger mentioned watching recently. Wondered if Roger might have been aware that he had been watching the lost love of Ruth Gordon's youth,just as she would have remembered him?
From Roger's blog and other sites I have lately found photos of people,many forgotten, frozen in time, just as I remember them from that time and place so many years ago.
But Larry Rand isn't one of them.
@Larry Rand-
'Wingnut Version of Burning Man Festival' immediately hooked me to your blog. Admittedly it might help to be familiar with the saga of the Burning Man. Whatever. I found it both laugh-out-loud funny and quite perceptive. Then 'Cronkite and Murrow? Don't think so?' Great stuff indeed-duly bookmarked and recommended to all. But I thought you crossed the line in the Amy Winehouse entry. I like Amy. Admittedly I heard her before I ever saw her, or her offstage shenanigans seems to have gotten the best of her-like that never happened before. But I thought that voice would have found a prestigious spot somewhere in the Old Town of the bygone day-a uselessly debatable premise for sure. Yet your allegation in the same entry that young Leonard Cohen was somehow romantically linked to Mrs. Calvin Coolidge was way over the top. It is well known that Grace Coolidge was strictly the John Phillip Souza type. Leonard wouldn't have stood a stance.
Amy,maybe.
Ebert: "The Show-Off" is quite entertaining. Which actor did she love?
Is there any case where a book or a movie changes the course of someone's life unless it is for worse or to take that up for a career?
Ebert: Anybody have any ideas
Could you rephrase the question? I don't understand it.
It is the saddest thing in all the world when an aging intellectual discovers the internet. Beautifully intelligent people in their own right, they are nonetheless completely ignorant about what the internet actually represents. Roger Ebert hasn't discovered some previously unknown abundance of burgeoning talent, merely the same cringingly amateur whitebread bloggers the rest of the world got sick of back in 2003. Anybody with even a casual understanding of internet culture wouldn't indulge their ceaseless white noise and insipid opinions. These blogs are violently dull, I believe the internet can be better than this and I believe Roger Ebert can be better than this.
Ebert: I am sure my readers, would be humbly grateful if you would provide the URL of one example of this overlooked greatness. For me, as an aging intellectual, it may already be too late.
Ebert: Yeah, I have tracking software like that. It can drive you crzy, although during the Olympics I thought it was cool that the little world map showed lots of dots from China. But few of them have returned. Lots from Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and especially India, but mainland China? Uh, uh.
Rog,
Just to let you know, Your site on "great movies" is recommended reading for students of my film club at the state university I teach at in Beijing China. Your review of Zhang ke's "the world" even inspired some of the students to re-visit the theme park and see it with a more surrealistic perspective.
Ps. our last movie viewed was "City Lights". It was a hit
Ebert: That's nice to learn.
According to SiteCatalyst, rogerebert.com has had 49,537 visits so far this year from mainland China, but I believe you're my first post from China. Of course if someone doesn't mention where they're from, I have no way of knowing. I'd love to hear from you more often, and see films through the eyes of your club members.
Thanks for posting these great blogs! As many have already said, reading through your blog comments is just as fun as reading the blog posts themselves, especially knowing that you read through and comment on them, too. I am a big fan of food blogs, especially ones that pair beautiful photography paired with salivating recipes that send me to the kitchen on a quest. If you like food as much as I do, you might check out http://pinchmysalt.com/ or http://inpraiseofsardines.com/ although the latter has not been updated since his restaurant opened.
I am touched by your generosity and voracity for writings of fellow humans.
Ebert: Don't have another Kilkenny and get any wild ideas about motorcycles.
4 Kilkenny's later and still safely on solid ground, although my keyboard seems to be moving in and out of focus. :)
@ john in denver -
"Also most taken by your portfolio. Remembered immediately that Pere Lachaise was where Jim Morrison is now permanently stationed- among a staggering number of other famous souls, and I'm talking just the expatriates. Must be a quite a place to (only) visit. Your photographic choices seem exemplary. Also curious, if I might be so bold, to inquire who the subject might be for your intriguing female drawings."
Mille grazie! And those drawings were inspired by the work of famed 20th century American photographer Edward Weston:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Weston
I needed a model you see, and couldn't afford one. So I went to my local library looking for suitable reference material; and found this shot in a book of photographs...
http://www.tvo.org/photographycontact/images/cal_img/Peppers_and_Nudes.jpg
As for Jim Morrison... did you know that an underpaid and overworked policeman sits guard over his grave to prevent tourists and the like, from chipping pieces off as souvenirs! So too, to prevent any vandalism; as nearby graves were being splattered with graffiti - mojo rising and all manner of colorful phrases.
Pere Lachaise is my favorite place in Paris. The cemetery was established by Napoleon I in 1804 and they basically tore down the buildings, but retained all the original streets, chestnut trees and cobblestones - even the posts with street names! And so it's like a little neighbourhood frozen in time, but with mausoleum and crypts instead of shops. At night, feral cats come out to play amongst the tombstones. :)
"Your Harold and Maude reference (Roger panned it. I still sorta like it) got me thinking of Ruth Gordon..." - john in denver
I loved her in "Harold and Maude". I hadn't seen Rosemary's Baby yet, and so there was nothing to interfere with my enjoyment of what he described as the "...the same wise-cracking operator out of the side of the mouth that we met in "Rosemary's Baby" quote unquote. :)
As for the film itself:
"And so what we get, finally, is a movie of attitudes. Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life's hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes everyone look fresh from the Wax Museum, and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby, filling the place with a cloying sweet smell. Nothing more to report today. Harold doesn't even make pallbearer." - Roger Ebert
And so I say again, "all is opinion in the end, eh?" For if it's possible for someone to like Harold and Maude and for someone else to dislike it, what does that say about the film, if not that "good" is in the subjective eye of the beholder?
Ie: I don't think he's actually wrong about it. How could he be? He was watching it through his eyes, not anyone else's. To each his slice of truth. In the same way his beloved wife Chaz really likes "A Clockwork Orange" - a film he can't stand! Chuckle!
Note: for her, he watched it again, willing to concede that "maybe" he might have missed its merits the first time around. Nope; it still sucks. Laugh!
Ie: are you willingly to admit when your wrong, Mr. Ebert? Yes - and if ever it happens, I'll let you know.
Chuckle!
"Well, if you want to sing out, sing out. And if you want to be free, be free 'cause there's a million things to be. You know that there are..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYxOWPzZXBM
I think it's an anti-war, anti-establishment, counter-culture cult classic, myself. :)
Darn... you and your readers have done it again, Roger! It is now 1:00 am and about half an hour ago I promised myself I would just read your post only and go to bed...
Anyway. Cheers everyone, and thanks again for another great and generous post, Roger. You've given me a great idea, by the way. I'll show you later. (Oh, it'll be in Spanish, in case anyone does not read Korean...)
I stumbled upon your journal entries a few months ago quite by accident and bookmarked your site immediately. It couldn’t have come at a better time as I was beginning to despair of Netflix’ suggestions of movies I would “love”. (I suppose I have no one to blame but myself for that since I supply their data with my movie ratings. Ah, well...) I have spent most of my working years in the technology field and blogs were simply those places I went to in the desperate attempt to find an answer which would help me put out the latest fire threatening my installation. This meant blearily finding, during those wee hours, a solution in the single, lonely post an enterprising computer geek was kind enough to share. Incredibly helpful, yes, but entertaining reading, I would have to say, not quite. A few days back, I noticed that some of your contributors’ names were live links and I had to explore. I knew Marie was an erudite and hilarious writer - plus a baker of the truly fabulous Killer Chocolate Cake – but she is a wonderful artist as well. Thank you, Roger, for all of your efforts on our behalf, for allowing these very interesting bloggers an opportunity to shine, and for offering the rest of us the chance to read them. It’s a whole new world!
Interesting to see the diverse array of writers that make up your online readership. I too have a blog (for film reviews), but it's pretty staid and conventional compared to a lot of these. I've never seen actually seen someone of your stature engage their readers/fans like this before. Very nice.
There was a career advice book I remember from years ago called 'Do What You Love and The Money Will Follow". This would apply to blogs, with the money part being less the point. I think we can tell the difference between someone who had a passion and THEN discovered blogs, rather than someone who discovered blogs and went searching for a passion.
My blog is devoted to laziness and procrastination, with a hope towards creating a greater understanding for Type B's the world over. I'll send a link when I create it.
Ebert: Yeah, I have tracking software like that. It can drive you crzy, although during the Olympics I thought it was cool that the little world map showed lots of dots from China. But few of them have returned. Lots from Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and especially India, but mainland China? Uh, uh.
No wonder it felt like someone was spying on me! Not that I was doing anything wrong, mind you. (^_^)
I haven't posted much on here, but I read every entry and as many of the comments as I can. This seems like a good opportunity to thank Roger for an excellent blog that is always a pleasure to read, and thank the readers for providing such intelligent comments that really enhance the content already on display.
Hey Roger! I just recently took over the administration of the Facebook Fan Page "roger ebert". This page has posted links to your reviews, but not much else. Do you have anything else that you would like to tell your fans? I did not find that you have a twitter account. If there is anything that you'd like to have posted on there, drop me a line!
On a side note, have you seen http://www.filmbabel.com and/or http://www.filmwise.com? Great online film quizzes!
Thanks,
Brian
Ebert: Thanks for taking on such a task. Actually, whatever I have to say, I say here. And I am not a Twitterer.
Isn't it a shame that the commenter using the moniker "Artemio Cruz" chooses to hide behind it? He/She is smart enough to know what the moniker represents and uses it to feign sophistication, when all he or she does is come across as fatuous, envious, and annoying.
Come now "Cruz". If you know better, share it and spare us your bile.
I love Randy Masters' photography. I singled him out among the others mentioned because of his resilient defense of ID that you, earlier, singled out. Based on his stalwart politeness, I should have guessed he was in the armed forces.
Though I am on the other end of the Darwinian debate, I've become quite the fan of Mr. Masters. Also, thanks for showcasing the other talented individuals so I can become fans of theirs as well.
I search for the right words to describe this blog and have found nothing eloquent to express my feelings. I will have to settle for the most accurate descriptor that keeps rattling forward, past the others: "cool." It was mighty cool of you to do this, Roger.
Thank you very much, Mr Ebert. Review for Jimmy Carter documentary was actually happy coincidence. I made crucial choice, and my future is uncertain now. But I have lots of time for a while, so I could write this review and others.
First of all, I have to be frank with you. I have been a black sheep in my laboratory. My major is Biology and I probably can explain to you the mechanism of flagellum.... after checking my textbooks(is it 9+0 or 9+2 structure?). I have been studying unfruitfully on proteins associated with DNA, and you will be marvel at how they protect genome thoroughly while providing the path to evolution through small imperfection. Problems is, I was amazed for a while but not so passionate about them.
And, at present, I am in sort of banishment at the library and will be kicked out soon with certification for course completion. I have not been honest to myself, and, for gaining comfortable place for reading books and watching movies, I sold five years of my life and got lots of stress as collateral damage. Even advising professor said I seemed to have more passion in books and movies. I tried to believe that was just compulsion or hobby and tried to suppress it. However, that was futile and, after banishment and following thoughts, I concluded that I will have to prepare for other careers. Now I am searching for new ways. I am also meeting psychiatrist every two weeks for my eccentric and misanthropic character in real world. I am very suspicious about Asperger's syndrome, but cannot confirm it because I am not a doctor.
Meanwhile, my journey with movies has been going at full speed. Many of Kim Ki Duk's movies were immediately reviewed, and then EBS International Documentary Festival followed last week. On TV, they showed Jimmy Carter documentary, "Unmistaken Child", "Stranded"(Do you remember "Alive"?), "One Man Village", and so on. Especially, I was very delighted to watch Werner Herzog eating his shoe last Saturday. It was part of "Tribute to Werner Herzog", and then they showed "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", and then "Grizzly Man". When Mr. Herzog said "I have seen this madness on a movie set before", I could not be more amused. On Sunday, "My Dear Fiend" was another fun, and the last one showed on TV was "Encounters at the End of the World".
I watched "Wonder Boys" again in August, and I reflected on my life in campus. I did not make my choice for quite a long time. Well, I made my choice this time, and decided I really want to become a critic. I will do anything necessary for that. I am from affluent family(Thank God), and my psychiatrist said I am still 26 and still have potential and future. I believe in my choice, but I have been not so sure about my ability. That is why your latest entry helped me a lot. I am really, really grateful for inclusion of me among many wonderful bloggers.
P.S.
For visitors frustrated with Korean, I want to show these photos for compensation.
http://kaist455.egloos.com/1535369
And I made new category "Photos" at left side. Entries in this category will not require English, I think Just see them, and don't care about copyright.
Ebert: I am not the ideal source for career advice. But I know, speaking for myself, I am happy I haven't spent by life doing a job I did not love.
Tom Dark- that's a first! It sounds like an awfully big compliment though...as your friend sounds like quite a writer and letter writing is such a lost art these days. Be consoled that you weren't that far off, I do love penning ink on paper to close friends, snail-mail is the term, quality of which you would have to ask them.
Casey Nicole - your second comment sent my heart plummeting...until I finish reading it in entirety. It made me realize how fragile my ego is, and that as much as I try to rid myself of such superficial vainness, I seem to remain entangled. Quite a self-epiphany moment actually. So thanks for that.
Oh, and all this Kilkenny talk has got me thinking. It used to be one of my favorite beers (still is...kind of..ok read on), but when I was in Dublin earlier this year, on my first foray into a pub with friends, disaster struck. I was the first to order. Being put on the spot...without thinking I asked for Kilkenny, my standard dark beer choice back home. The bartender made this face that I'll never forget - part disdain part...scolding? He asked me if I was from America - no, Canada, I politely responded. Then he proceeds to tell me that Kilkenny is a touristy drink and that no one orders it except American tourists, and that if I want a real pint, I should have a guinness or one of the house ales. Needless to say my face was burning like hot coal. I laughed it off and picked one of the house ales, which was nice. My mates wouldn't let me live it down the rest of the night. Then as we stumbled out of the place hours later, I turn around to see...what? That's right - a glowing Kilkenny sign in the window. I was too tired to go back in at this time, but I never ordered Kilkenny in Ireland again. And even though I drink it here still, it's never tasted quite the same. My choice has shifted to Guinness, which I have come to love so I guess it's a semi bitter-sweet happy ending.
The mind is a funny, funny thing.
Ebert: I once made the mistake of asking for Tullamore Dew in Ireland. You know, the one that comes in the nice little pot with the real cork? It is a fine drink but in Ireland you will find most people ordering Jameson's or Bushmill's or Paddy's or the like. I gather the Dew is also somewhat touristy.
http://www.1-877-spirits.com/store/images/large/TullamoreDew-Crock-lg.jpg
I feel kind of sorry I don't have a blog.
I like your memoir idea. The material is certainly here. You might want to browse through actor Bruce Campbell's first book, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor", which evolved from comments he originally posted on his website in the good ol' "weblog" days.
Would it be too self-indulgent to call your future book: "No &, Just Me"?
"Greetings", if any of you spuriously aging pseudointellectual interlopers deserve, or even understand, that much.
As anyone meaningful would know, this is SNIPPY, the youthful INTERNET COLUMNIST. To ensure strict objectivity, SNIPPY always refers to himself in the third person. It is not owing to a damaging event between himself and his mother at an early age, as has been falsely RUMORED.
As MISTER ARTEMIO CRUZ has objectively suggested, you GERIATRIC WHITEBREAD HIPPIES, BUMPTIOUS BABY BOOMERS, MEDIOCRE MIDDLE-AGE CRISIS PRONE POLITICALLY PERISTALTIC, CULTURALLY CONCUPISCENT TUMESCENT TROLLING COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS have been clogging our Internet for too long. You are hogging up our BANDWIDTH and impressing our GIRLFRIENDS.
This must cease. You do not understand that you SUCK. That life SUCKS. That EVERYTHING SUCKS. That you are to blame for EVERYTHING SUCKING.
This is too obvious to all but you RICH, AGING INTELLECTUALS IN YOUR EXPENSIVE WOOL SWEATERS WITH NOTHING ELSE TO DO. Consider yourselves notified once and for all. Now get off the Internet. WE DESERVE OUR TURN TO SUCK.
That is all. Thank you.
Snippy, the Internet Columnist
(blog under construction)
Ebert: We are happy to impress your GIRL FRIENDS. We find they are EASILY IMPRESSED.
@Roger-
Gregory Kelly who played Joe Fischer. Had remembered her talking about him on one the old talk shows, probably Cavett.
They met as the leads in a 1918 hit Broadway play(225 perf), "Seventeen." Described as a gentle, turn of the century, comedy based on Booth Tarkenton's 'famous' novel of puppy love. Bet you ain't read that one.
They appeared together for the last time in another Tarkenton based play, called "Tweedles" in 1923. And listed in a featured role was none other than Donald Meek. Talk about one hell of a coincidence(see my earlier comment).
Gotta love these modern search engines.
Ebert: Nice to know. They're the two on the right here. The Show-Off himself is on the left.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/silent%20actor%20Gregory%20Kelly/schukina/CINEMA/LouiseBrookswithGregoryKellyLoisWil.jpg
* Is there any case where a book or a movie changes the course of someone's life unless it is for worse or to take that up for a career?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Ed Fugg, that entry of SM Rana baffled me, too. If my guess is correct, I think what SM Rana meant to convey was this:
Is there any [ other ] case where a book or a movie changes the course of someone's life unless [ if ] a.) it is for the worse, or b.) that it was taken up as a career?
I'm not really sure if I got that right, Ed. Calling SM Rana.... calling SM Rana.
Roger, thank you for this post. Of the ten or so blogs added to my favorites list in the last few months, half came from your links and half came from Left Coast Cowboys links probably right after Blogher convention in Chicago. Wide variety to be sure. Newest is Grace's. Had to send the Ireland post to an extended family member who is leading a small herd of us south of Dublin next summer. And I have started re-reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in some moments when not glued to the couch and laptop.
Ebert: I was a U of C doc candidate in English for one of the happiest years of my life.
I spent all of last year as an exchange student (in English) at U of C. Definitely one of the best years of my life.
Now I'm considering applying for a PhD there once I finish my master's back in Paris. Or perhaps I'm looking for any excuse to go back to Chicago.
Ebert: Hyde Park is a particularly interesting university community. Philip Roth's novel Letting Go, now 40 years old, evokes it so well.
One thing I appreciate about this site is how, unlike most message boards that devolve into name-calling and nastiness, people gather to share their love of movies. And even in the negative reviews, which are fun to read and write, there's still appreciation for the medium and derived entertainment from something that was otherwise a waste of time.
@Ed Fugg
People may want to take journalism or cinema as a career. Spielberg was reportedly inspired by Lawrence of Arabia to become a movie maker.
The negative influences of certain movies and films at formative stage are often mentioned, like movie inspired crime.
The question( which, thanks to you,has become embarrassingly lengthy and complicated) is as regards the power of films etc. to effect a lasting inner transformation. Movies can mould people negatively. Can they positively?
Now please answer.
This is wonderful stuff. Thanks for showcasing so many unbelievably talented writers.
"Violently dull. I believe the internet can be better than this."
-Artemio Cruz
I think I'm going to put that on my blog's banner.
Artemio Cruz:
It is the saddest thing in all the world when an aging intellectual discovers the internet. Beautifully intelligent people in their own right, they are nonetheless completely ignorant about what the internet actually represents. Roger Ebert hasn't discovered some previously unknown abundance of burgeoning talent, merely the same cringingly amateur whitebread bloggers the rest of the world got sick of back in 2003. Anybody with even a casual understanding of internet culture wouldn't indulge their ceaseless white noise and insipid opinions. These blogs are violently dull, I believe the internet can be better than this and I believe Roger Ebert can be better than this.
I try my best not to engage arguments in forums or comments, but I felt obligated, as another active member of the internet community, to disassociate myself with you and your comment. I love the internet for its diverse opinions even though I agree that many people who blog are incapable of writing. Mr. Ebert's list is full of thoughtful writers coherently conveying their ideas to their readers. Coherence is the first sign of a writer's skill.
You assert that their blogs are dull. I can see why you'd say that based on your colorful writing style. Since we are conversing over the blog of a film critic, I’ll present an appropriate analogy to explain the differing writing styles. While their writing unfolds and explains ideas, like a well paced drama, yours explodes with an abundance of flashy special effects (i.e. adjectives, adverbs, modifiers), like an action movie. I don't believe either style is incorrect when appropriately utilized, but I can see why you don't like theirs. I personally find many of the writers that you found dull, sly and clever. I find their styles to be an extension of themselves, explaining, and explaining well, how they view things. I can tell that the tone of their writing is the tone of their thoughts. They offer themselves and their ideas to readers. They are the valuable sort of internet writer.
You, on the other hand, borrow. The tone of your comment is aggressive, similar to that of Maddox’s Best Page in the Universe, though your syntax is not as concise. You slap loud words onto otherwise efficient sentences. I cringed when you used the word “cringingly.” What an awful word, unnecessary too. You chose to use “what the internet represents” when I think you meant “what the internet can offer.” Because, really, what does the internet represent? You also used the worn-out internet phrase “violently dull,” once creative, now clichéd. For fun. I put “violently dull” in quotes and Googled it. The search returned 269 separate uses of the phrase.
Your vocabulary seems robust, but misused, missing connotation and nuance. Your vigorous tone could use refining. Overloading your readers with modifiers and trigger words is the syntactical equivalent to bullying. It’s a pathetic tactic. To help you improve your writing, I’ve provided a list of writers you may want to read: Grace Wang, Paul J. Marasa, Seongyong Cho, Andrew Dobbs, S.M. Rana, etc.
Ebert: Owned.
I have suspected you were a pro-wrestling fan since reading your review of The Wrestler. Thanks for confirming my suspicions and making that information public. WWE consistently has some of the highest rated programming on TV and sells more arena tickets than most touring bands, but somehow no one I meet will fess up to being a fan. Strangely, if I mention some current wrestler or storyline from a WWE show everyone seems to know exactly what I'm talking about.
I digress. It's always great to find other intelligent adults who will admit to appreciating the (dare I say) art form. I would love to see a blog devoted to your feelings on that industry. Or better yet, maybe you could do a guest review of a pay-per-view for us over at pwtorch.com! Drop me an email and I’ll make it happen.
Ebert: I don't recall Ebert-izing "Anonymous."
Oops; that was me, encouraging another blogger to hang in there. It seems my false humility has led to unintentional anonymity. I hate when that happens.
Then again, I'm up to my parietal lobe in first-year papers. Surprised I cn stl spel.
I know it's a touch off topic, but someone mentioned it and it made me think; Roger, do you watch TV shows? I love film but recently I have enjoyed buying boxsets and watching an entire series over the course of a few months. I am just finishing series 7 of West Wing, 24 is an ongoing pleasure, Mad Men is just amazing, Generation Kill, Band of Brothers... the list goes on and on.
I didn't put the link in the URL the first time I posted, but this time I did so you can just read it by clicking my name. I also re-wrote it just now. I'll leave it be.
Ebert: Your first blog. Why does the title somehow not surprise me?
Aww man, I shoulda started writing my own "Great Movies" and "Movies That Changed My Life" posts months ago. Now when you log on to my site, all you'll find is a Jay-Z responding to Lil Mama. FAIL.
This was a really interesting entry, and I love that you're willing to devote as much time to you're readers as we do to you. That being said, I have a bone to pick with Matthew Dessem.
"Chasing Amy" is my favorite movie of all time. I won't even pretend to be unbiased, or objective. It affected me in a way no other film has, and continues to do so every time I watch it. There are so many things I love about it, and almost all of them were ignored by Mr. Dessem in his essay. Here are a few of them:
Its completely spot-on portrayal of male insecurity and the effect it has on relationships. The sincere, utterly natural performances by everyone in the cast, my favorite being Ben Affleck (his best work to this day, in my opinion.) Its complete openness in regards to sexuality, especially regarding gay relationships or lifestyles (you may think we've come a long way since the '90s, but I think there are just as many close-minded people now as there were then.) The characters, all of whom had hopes and dreams and quirks and flaws, just like real people. The dialogue, which featured Smith's typical brand of literate, witty wordplay, but was also sometimes poignant (the speech Holden gives Alyssa about the painting, which Mr. Dessem politely tears apart in his essay, is for my money one of the most beautiful confessions of love ever captured on film. ) I could go on, but I'll stop there before I start to ramble.
"Chasing Amy" was the first movie I saw that made me realize movies could actually be about something, something that pertained to real people and real issues, as opposed to government conspiracies and corrupt cops and car chases (when I was younger, I only watched thrillers.) And to say its only value is that it's of its time, because of the music and the clothes, is belittling, and completely missing the point. The problems in the film will be around as long as human beings have relationships, whether we're wearing flannel or not.
Anyway, I had to get that off my chest. I did enjoy reading the essay; it was very well written and at times funny. But I couldn't remain silent while you tore my favorite movie apart.
S.M.Rana writes: Movies can mould people negatively. Can they positively? Now please answer.
I am but a poet and observer who has yet to blame any movie for my successes and failures. I only speculate that those who on their windblown leaves falling to their destinations protest that they are "masters of their fates, captains of their souls" may claim differently.
Read mine Mr. Ebert! I have two:
jennarocca.tumblr.com
jennarocca.blogspot.com
Ebert: Another Torontonian. Has anyone ever mentioned your list of top 10 painter is eclectic?
1 - Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres
2 - Salvador Dali
3 - Warhol
4 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
5 - Édouard Manet
6 - John William Waterhouse
7 - Edgar Degas
8 - Gustav Klimt
9 - Michelangelo Caravaggio
10 - Raphael
Grace Wang wrote: Tom Dark- that's a first! It sounds like an awfully big compliment though...as your friend sounds like quite a writer and letter writing is such a lost art these days. Be consoled that you weren't that far off, I do love penning ink on paper to close friends, snail-mail is the term, quality of which you would have to ask them.
---I even asked her if she was Grace Wang and coyly, she didn't reply. Maybe a crass way to gauge the size of my compliment, but she's lately won a 7-figure settlement for theft of one of her works.
---You, pen-and-ink letters too? How I used to love to answer all my letters with a thin-nibbed calligraphic pen. I got beautiful at it even if I say so. Yet internet correspondence superseded it necessarily, so over time I was down to a single paper-envelope-mail correspondence with an artist & writer whose penmanship was even more laudable. He died last year at 89 and I must find some other reason to use up the bottle of ink I bought.
---Keith, are you sure about 145 bpm? That's about tempo for ska and punk. Most people dance on the average at about 120 bpm, unless it's cossacks celebrating destroying a village.
---RE: the couple discussions rounded up as "Do what you love, then comes the money." On my blog, which can now be construed as legendary since I forgot the password and kinda can't remember what I called it, is a little essay about a man named Karl Eller. As he was chairman of the board for Paramount Pictures -- or was it Columbia -- Roger might know that name. Eller's still a billionaire, last I heard, and a philanthropist. Title, INTEGRITY IS ALL YOU'VE GOT. I s'pose he argued with his ghost writer about not making it "Integrity is all you have."
---Eller's advice was the same, illustrated quite well. He was taken by Burma Shave signs on the road to Tucson from Chicago with his divorced mom when he was a kid. When he grew up he got into billboards and got rich.
---Then he got grabby. He conglomerated and metastasized and corporated like The Blob. Sure, he made a billion, but went too far and wound up $100 million in personal debt. So he got back into his first love, billboards, from point minus-zero, and sure enough, made his billion again.
---The moral of this story isn't to learn to love billboards, tho' what Burma-Shave signs there still may be are fun to see. What you love, you understand instinctively. Useful knowledge grows around it. You don't do anything but get better at it. Too bad cranberry shortcake is my great love. People just don't seem to want any.
(thanks Bob and Ray)
---The other moral of the story is that the AZ Daily Star offered me the job as Economics columnist for my story and I'd written it just for fun. Never take a job just because it means status. On Saturday I accidentally shorted my handyman, Bud Kafka, $100 because I can't even count. If your favorite Sesame Street character was The Count, that may be a clue toward your career love.
---Hey, 13-years-old: if movies are pumped directly into people's heads by the time you're of job age, there'll still be a demand for a good Critic of Life. You'll need all the talent you're developing right now.
Roger, thanks ever so much for your invitation to Ebertfest, nothing would give me more pleasure than to be there in such esteemed company as yourself and among various other film lovers (and also to test if I have'nt turned into a full blown agoraphobe, which is a very real possibilty); there are however a number of difficulties, first - Europe was not my first destination of choice for studying, it was the U.S., unfortunately, my plans conincided with the aftermath of 09/11 and the ensuing panic - I applied for a student visa to the U.S. twice and was refused both times, I still don't get why, I'm an Indian, one who fulfilled all the necessary criteria, perhaps the guy who rubber-stamped my passport as denied was having a bad day, oh well..never mind I say, but it might affect future applications on entry to the U.S., so I'm not entirely happy about it, oh well..I was very disappointed, but as I said previously, my need to go abroad came from a sense of displacement and was a need that required fulfilling and so off to Europe I went, they say everything works out for the best - I'm not sure, yet and I don't think I'll ever be. There are also now upon me substantial financial constraints given the sort of life I have chosen to live, though perhaps through some serendipitous accident I might make it to Ebertfest, I don't think you could possibly know how much it would mean to me to be able to breathe the same air as you, I'll hope for a change in circumstance which could facilitate such a privilege and hope that you can forgive me if this change does'nt come about.
I don't write a blog, because..well there are so many reasons, it would further plug me into the world, which is the last thing I want, it would mean being responsible in so many more ways, which I'm not sure I could handle and last but by no measure the least, I have been observing that I have been sometimes intentionally and at others unintentionally revealing more and more about myself in commenting here alone, so, to be a regular blogger would mean this would become much more inescapable + blogging for a "normal" person like me would translate into pseudo-journalism, something I also have little interest in.
Apart from that, I just finished watching "The Girlfriend Experience" of which you did a great review and found that "the holy moment" in the film for me, is when the metaphor of flesh trade comes full circle at the end i.e. - politicians and the religious=buying/soliciting, businessmen/traders=pimps and Sasha Grey=the souls of the not so innocent public/pagans being bought and sold, because most people who do wrong, know that they are so doing. There is only a cursory nod to religion at the end of the film because in this phase of world history it is a back-seat driver and is often kicked out of the car altogether, or so I thought anyway. Soderbergh strikes a good balance, even his worst films are sort of better than a lot of tripe that gets put out there. Good film.
It is a great honour to know that you hope I would attend Ebertfest, one which could only be exceeded by actually meeting you.
If the stars are aligned and all that, here's hoping..
a legal alien in India,
Indian Idiot (H.W.)
P.S. I love all the same TV programming as you Rog (+ some more like Weeds etc.) and when my internet connection used to work better I used to watch them all. Letterman is amazing, we get him on TV here, on a Murdoch owned TV station no less - recent jokes from Letterman, "..the same coin that the supreme court tossed to decide the election.." & from a recent Top Ten List - "..should we have dinner in Alaska or Russia..?" LOL. He cracks me up does Dave.
Ebert: I am enraged when an American sees a man in a turban and assumes he's a terrorist. I want to shake him by the throat and scream, Listen up, you blithering moron! Number one, If you're judging by his ethnicity, there are well more than a billion people in the world who look like that, and if they're all anti-Yankee terrorists, our goose is cooked! Number two, if it's the turban that offends you, that probably means he's a Sikh, and they're good people and not our enemies!
Roger,
This post is a terrific idea. As an avid blogger myself, I look forward to checking out the work of others. I've already taken a gander at Grace Wang's site and forwarded an article to my sister. She did her master's thesis on the "rape of Berlin," so I think that she'd find it very interesting.
Thanks for using your public figure/celebrity status to champion the work of others. I'll definitely spend some time checking out those links.
-Adam
Aaron Reese - that was one of the finest rebuttals I've ever read. Gracefully invigorating, I think, is the term I would use (googling turns up 10 who are more original than I, but I can live with that). You would make a great speech writer in politics.
Roger, I didn't come across the Dew in the Emerald Isle either. You are right Jameson or Bushmill is the standard.
I've tried starting three blogs - on violence in movies, baseball and football, three of my favorite things (well, complaining about violence is one)...and gave up because I was repeating myself, and didn't really have anything new to add. (One more post about the NFL draft and I would have run my head into the computer screen face first.)
Congratulations on not only having many things to say (and well) but having readers (myself not included) who have the same attributes.
Is there any case where a book or a movie changes the course of someone's life unless it is for worse or to take that up for a career?
I know several people in publishing who said All the President's Men inspired them to go into journalism. It was the equivalent of Bob Dylan making everyone pick up a guitar.
Personally, I don't think a movie changed the course of my life, but many movies have helped me get back on track in times of distress, specifically Restoration and The House of Mirth.
Living in Chile, I have learned to be patient, movies come slowly. The end of September, 2009 will always be remembered for the first time I saw "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"...I was stunned, stimulated, thankful, drawn into a world created by the sound of tommy Lee Jones voice. Bardem was excellent and deserved recognition-BUT T.L.Jones was not only excellent he dominated the picture with his scenes, with his voice. For him to not get an award or even a nomination is criminal.
Compare this movie with There Will be Blood reveals the quality of No Country..And Lewis got the award....pitiful...
I hope Tommy realizes the magnificent performance he created.
Best performance I have seen in decades. I am haunted by the movie.
Hi Aaron Reese.
Thank you for the kind words on my photography. It's just a hobby, sometimes. A way to behave when I was on the road, often. A passion, when the picture that only I see is right there for the taking, too rarely.
It makes my day when someone enjoys a picture that I've taken, and you made my day in spades today. Thank you again to Roger for graciously posting the link.
I agree with Grace, by the way. That was a fine rebuttal. I particularly liked this:
Your vocabulary seems robust, but misused, missing connotation and nuance. Your vigorous tone could use refining.
It gave me an esoteric flashback to a section of one of my favorite songs, by Harry Chapin, called "Mr. Tanner" - about a singer. A passage in the song where Mr. Tanner, having mortgaged all to sing in the Town Hall, gets a bad review. The passage ends with: "Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order". I imagine that you have to hear it though. And I had the privilege of hearing Harry sing it in person three times! I may have to pull out that album tonight...
Aaron, I'll see you back on a Darwin thread. :)
Randy
“He (Joe Leyton) links to his reviews on his "Moving Picture Blog," which includes a great many other things, including this no doubt authentic trailer for the 1951 adventure serial, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." - Roger
I've spent most of the day reading blogs and following links; whew! And the above made me laugh, after watching said trailer! For here's what was said about it, by the guy who'd made it:
"What if Raiders of the Lost Ark was a 50s film serial? Who would be best suited for the role of Indiana Jones? How would his villains translate to this era? What would the film's musical score sound like?
Thankfully, since George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created Raiders as a homage to classic serials, these questions are easily answered. Both directors have acknowledged that specific films influenced key sequences across all four Indiana Jones films. I tried my best piece these films together and create a loose narrative. I hope you enjoy this homage to "Raiders" and the many great films that inspired it.
This "premake" is a mash-up of old trailers and clips found all over Youtube. It is not endorsed or connected to Paramount Pictures or Lucasfilm. It was made as a purely technical exercise and for laughs. Here is the recipe:
The 10 Commandments, Prince Valiant, Naked Jungle, Secret of the Incas, Jungle Queen, Zulu, Look to Lockheed for Leadership, Casablanca, The City of Brass, Mr. Moto takes a Vacation, Star in My Crown, A Pain in the Pullman, On Dangerous Ground, Patton, King Solomons Mines, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Greatest Show on Earth, David and Bathsheba, The Screaming Skull, When You Know, Mysterious Mr. Moto, Lawrence of Arabia, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and Superman at Bay." – whoiseyevan on You Tube
Chuckle!
Meanwhile...
"Artemio Cruz" was a moniker? Really? Checking… ah; it’s a character in story set in Mexico etc. Anyhoo, not sure why they were being such a cranky pants let alone bothering to share as much in here, but perhaps they were feeling low yesterday, and needed to stand on something so as to feel taller.
@ Grace Wang –
“…The bartender made this face that I'll never forget - part disdain part...scolding? He asked me if I was from America - no, Canada, I politely responded. Then he proceeds to tell me that Kilkenny is a touristy drink and that no one orders it except American tourists, and that if I want a real pint, I should have a Guinness or one of the house ales. Needless to say my face was burning like hot coal. I laughed it off and picked one of the house ales, which was nice. My mates wouldn't let me live it down the rest of the night. Then as we stumbled out of the place hours later, I turn around to see...what? That's right - a glowing Kilkenny sign in the window. I was too tired to go back in at this time, but I never ordered Kilkenny in Ireland again. And even though I drink it here still, it's never tasted quite the same. My choice has shifted to Guinness, which I have come to love so I guess it's a semi bitter-sweet happy ending.”
Grace, the minute I read that, my mouth filled with words and for quickly thinking of every sharp and cutting retort I’d have tossed right back into his face; the sententious basterd!
Kilkenny Cream Ale is made at the St. Francis Abbey Brewery in Kilkenny, Ireland and was originally developed for export. THAT’S why the bartender was being a d*ckhead about it.
“Kilkenny is very similar to Smithwick's Draught; however, it has a nitrogenated cream head similar to Guinness. The 'Kilkenny' name was originally used during the 1980s and 1990s to market a stronger version of Smithwick's for the European and Canadian market due to difficulty in pronunciation of the word 'Smithwick's'. It now refers to a similar yet distinct beer.” – wiki
Taking issue with a beer because you don’t approve of its pedigree? Did you learn your snobbery from the English? Or were the Irish the ones who taught it to them and also how to be a shyte?
I’d have started with that and gone on from there! For make no mistake about it; it’s NOT about the quality of the beer. I simply cannot stand snobbery or the need to “pick a side” so as to fit in. Or any attempt to tell me where my place should be. PHUCK you and phuck that. Just because I drink your beer, pal, doesn’t mean I long to shove your country up my @ss.
Chuckle; see? I have my dark side! And were it not for the spam filter, you’d have really heard something! If you like Kilkenny, Grace, but the memory of that day has left a bitter taste in your mouth you can’t fully wash out, here’s what you do to get rid of it!
1. Draw a rough cartoon of said Irish bartender and pin it to an exterior wall.
2. Now grab some mud, and make yourself some balls.
3. Star drinking Kilkenny’s.
4. Commence firing!
Ebert wrote: “I once made the mistake of asking for Tullamore Dew in Ireland. You know, the one that comes in the nice little pot with the real cork? It is a fine drink but in Ireland you will find most people ordering Jameson's or Bushmill's or Paddy's or the like. I gather the Dew is also somewhat touristy.”
Jameson’s and Bushmill’s is definitely the most popular from what my British brother-in-law had to say about it. It’s worth noting however, that whatever you drink, the Irish will take your money - which immediately undermines and negates anything they may feel compelled to share about “what” you want in exchange for it. :)
Ebert: A premake.May be a useful new word.
Did you give Capitalism any stars or not? None appear on the review.
(I smiled when I read it because your review mentions one of my favorite people.)
Ebert: That's just the interview with Michael Moore. Review later this week.
It's fine Roger, don't worry about it. No harm. No foul. I'm not turbaned and sshh Roger, I still maintain that I am gender ambiguous here, unless proven otherwise :) It probably had nothing to do with my being a Sikh, the guy did'nt seem to take his job that seriously though, I mean would you come to work at the embassy of the U.S.A. in a loud multi-coloured Hawaiian style shirt? LOL. This guy sure did :) There are'nt that many Sikhs in the world, just over 22 million if Wikipedia is to be trusted and out of that I suspect approximately half are men and out of that I suspect a substantial number above half are not turbaned Sikhs. You're very right about Sikhs, all those that I know and plenty that I don't, are generally quite a happy bunch, most Sikhs who live in the west celebrate Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving and participate in all such western religious festivals.
Anyhow, I'm only a Sikh in name anyway, being born into it and all that, I chose quite some time ago not to be a religious person. Besides, even if I were a turbaned man and that was his reason for not allowing me in, I can't say I could really have blamed him, because Americans were living through a pretty traumatic event, also, I got to live in Europe for quite some time (hooray!) which was no small consolation and mostly a barrel of laughs, the parts where I was miserable, I might've been the same in India, or the U.S., or Peru, or, Monaco or, anywhere really :)
Such is life,
full of surprises,
moments of punishment punctuate
others of cherished prizes
I appreciate the sentiment, thank you kindly, if everyone were as enlightened as you dear sir..if only..the world should be a far nicer place. Oh well..
Indian Idiot (H.W.)
I believe I need to start writing a blog.....-:)
S.M. Rana writes: "The question...is as regards the power of films etc. to effect a lasting inner transformation. Movies can mould people negatively. Can they positively?"
Yes, they can. This is going to sound horribly cliched, but here goes:
I was a young churchgoing man, brought up to believe that the good opinion of God and others was greatly to be desired. So I danced the dance, learned the language, and let my own soul go to waste for almost 30 years. I let the love of my life [at the time] slip through my fingers because it wouldn't have been "appropriate" to say anything.
Then a good friend, James DeSantis, suggested that I should watch "Harold and Maude." He said in no uncertain terms that it would change my life. I had never heard of it, wasn't sure about it, gave it a shot.
So I watched it. I watched crotchety old Maude living life on her own terms and conditions, not giving a damn. I watched poor Harold trying to reconcile his rebellious spirit with his desire to be "normal", and I felt a more-than-average kinship with him. I watched that spectacular shot of the graveyard, the camera zooming out, out, out, until the people were lost among the headstones.
And at the end of the film...I don't know how else to describe it without sounding like a religious nut. Something clicked. My heart soared. I couldn't feel my feet. I wept.
I firmly believe that it is SPECIFCALLY because of that film that I am now living a happy life. Not perfect, but terribly happy. A ten-year relationship with a woman I love, a friend/family support structure second-to-none, a life that has had its fair share of mistakes but no regrets.
That's how a movie changed my life. "Harold and Maude" made me realize: Mistakes are inevitable. Regret is a choice. That's what I learned from that movie, and I'm a better person because of it.
Miguel
For the love of God, I simply cannot find the link to one of your readers blog, mentioned a few weeks ago, where he reviews films that have a distinctly Darwinian current. The latest one posted at the time was a terrific take on Straw Dogs. Memory says his user name was/is "darwinina" but I can't find this anywhere.
Any help is much obliged.
Who wants to bet that our friend Artemio Cruz has a blog though not the conjones to show it?
Nothing's worse then a dose of medicine half taken.
I loved, loved, loved this post. You really are one-of-a-kind! This post exemplifies your generosity. A generosity that made me fall in love with your reviews even when I thought that Roger Ebert of "AT THE MOVIES" was a very beige tone of waspy.
J
Ebert: WAS, yes. P, no.
What a wonderful post and such fodder for more exploration. Now I can't decide if this is inspiration to finally start a blog or confirmation that my abilities would be eclipsed by so, so many more interesting!
Kevin
H Man wrote on September 29, 2009 7:08 PM -
"For the love of God, I simply cannot find the link to one of your readers blog, mentioned a few weeks ago, where he reviews films that have a distinctly Darwinian current. The latest one posted at the time was a terrific take on Straw Dogs. Memory says his user name was/is "darwinina" but I can't find this anywhere... Any help is much obliged."
Here ya go!
http://darwingoestothemovies.blogspot.com/
hey mr ebert,
top ten books of all time....go!
Ebert: Damn. Tripped over the starting line.
HW! A Sikh! Yes we shed the restraining skins of the religions of our births, but we do maintain the echoes of what we know was ever nobly intended about them. There are Sikhs down the road from here who run a general store. Good men with noble faces. I'd want them on my side. This area also has fake Sikhs, disenfranchised middle class Americans who like the costume but haven't the soul.
India is lately the old United States, Squared, in population and idealisms. Few have any real idea what squabbling madmen wiped away the natives and resettled this country. If you can solve your problems as Jefferson did ours to the extent he did, well... you will one day also have an Elvis, but even bigger. A few of your writers have macheted the path.
SM Rana, Movies directly influencing my life? Lord, so many. Let me think.
Robocop triggered my decision to become invincible. Like everyone else, I was long aware of "Superman," but the true appeal of invincibility didn't hit me until I heard the theme music for "Robocop." Nowadays all I have to do is hum a few bars of it and I can change a tire with my bare hands -- even tighten the lugnuts with my fingers. It's very handy. Also when someone steals a parking space I mean to pull into, I can simply rip one of their wheels off with my bare hands to teach them a lesson.
The Silence of the Lambs was instrumental in my decision to quit eating people. I'd had only one so far, when this movie made me realize that there could be complications in going any further, such as where to store the severed heads, and always being on the run, even as clever and sneaky as I was. If only Jeffery Dahmer had seen it in time.
Cool Hand Luke similarly prompted me not to take bets on how many hard-boiled eggs I could eat. It was a word to the wise. But for a very long time I'd go around saying the phrase "yeah... well..." in response to anything witless my friends would say, inflected just like Paul Newman did. (He dated the mother of a high school girlfriend. She married the wrong man.)
Doctor Strangelove convinced me that it is not always a bad thing to behave like a psychotic blowhard. Once in awhile it falls upon a man to take over a confused situation.
The Shining showed me the wisdom of avoiding taking a winter job in a deserted old hotel.
There have been many, many movies that influenced me in these above ways. Yet I can't think of a single one I could have used as a reason to set me on my present path.
Books, the same. I've imitated the style of many writers, but the only book where I have taken a hint and done as the author did was BOUND FOR GLORY by Woody Guthrie.
Woody hitchhiked across the United States as a young man with a guitar, so I decided to do the same.
Coincidentally enough, while I was sitting at an outcropping at Bright Angel Point at the Grand Canyon composing something that might fit a view one mile straight down, a man came over and sat down next to me to listen. He invited me to his campsite to pick a little guitar and pluck a little banjo. His name was Billy Faire, and it so happened he'd traveled across the country with Woody Guthrie.
I don't know whether the bouquets of coincidences in Kurt Vonnegut's stories influenced me in that way, but I've certainly met a lot of them here in reality.
Ebert: "Macheted the path."
Send it in, collect $5 from the Readers Digest for Toward More Picturesque Speech.
So often the blogosphere is misconstrued as a series of meaningless, uninformed ravings. It certainly can be that, but thank you for recognizing that it can be something more.
About a year ago, I decided that I would love to be a film critic. My dad's response was simple - start a blog! I haven't posted as often as I would like, but the experience has made me a better moviegoer and a better writer. And it's refreshing to connect with other people my age, and discover that there are teenagers who like 8 1/2 and The 400 Blows.
@ Jenna Rocca -
“6 - John William Waterhouse”
Oooo! Waterhouse! London, Tate Gallery – actually saw his “The Lady of Shalott”. Awesome.
I also like Lord Leighton: I’ve got a poster of “The Music Lesson”… and if you paint, looking at the folds in his fabric is akin to a religious experience…
http://cfs12.blog.daum.net/image/19/blog/2008/03/11/19/27/47d65e7db700d&filename=Leighton_Music_Lesson.jpg
@ Sean Kelley –
"Chasing Amy" is my favorite movie of all time. I won't even pretend to be unbiased, or objective…”
OMG - DUDE! Okay, you know the scene at the comic book convention??
Banky Edwards: How should I sign this?
Little Kid: I don't want you to sign it, man. I want the guy that draws Bluntman and Chronic to sign it.
[snatches the comic away]
Little Kid: You're just a tracer. (an INKER.)
Collector: Tell him, little shaver.
[Banky is strangling the Collector]
Collector: You're mucking with a G, you f*ckin' tracer.
Banky Edwards: I'll trace a chalk line around your dead f*cking body, you f*ck!
Holden McNeil: [to Security Guards] Will you get him out of here!
Collector: [as he's being dragged away by Security Guard] Hey wait a second! He jumped me, you f*cking tracer!
Banky Edwards: YOUR MOTHER'S A TRACER!
Sean? I was an inker. Inkers do not trace. But they will encourage karma to find pissants like that little kid for sneering at it. Grin. I loved that scene! And while it’s not my favorite movie, it’s in my top 100 list. I don’t have a favorite movie because it changes too often. Now a wee word as to your name… ever see a film called “The Matchmaker?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBRsotXC4Ig
David O’Hara plays the romantic lead and his name is “Sean Kelley.” Chuckle! I love irony.
@ Indian Idiot (H.W.) –
“Europe was not my first destination of choice for studying, it was the U.S., unfortunately, my plans conincided with the aftermath of 09/11 and the ensuing panic - I applied for a student visa to the U.S. twice and was refused both times, I still don't get why, I'm an Indian, one who fulfilled all the necessary criteria, perhaps the guy who rubber-stamped my passport as denied was having a bad day, oh well..”
Awwww… suckage. Pity you didn’t think to come to Canada instead. It might have been easier then to visit the U.S. for already being in North America? Maybe if you hid your turban under a BIG cowboy hat..?
Ebert: I love Lord Leighton:
http://images.google.com/images?q=lord+leighton&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=4dDCStnQH8iMtgei_NnnBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1
And his house, near Notting Hill stop stop:
http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/LeightonHouseMuseum/General/default.asp
hey mr ebert,
its ok. ill give you another chance...go!
Ebert: Oops! My laces came undone!
@ Indian Sikh(H.W.)
Couldn't resist commenting. Read awhile back about the so called The Battle of Saragarki. 21 Sikh soldiers chose to fight to the death against a surrounding force of some 10,000 Afghan fighters. Yep, Afghans. This happened 112 years in the very same North-West province where we find ourselves so heavily involved this very day.
Why these brave men chose to give up their lives at that time and place is over my pay grade. Reportedly their efforts saved the day, at least temporarily. Suffice it to say that this event,as well as their well documented bravery in the two 20th Century world wars, their many contributions toward creating the Indian State, all taught me much about the Sikh character. The British Crown, to their credit, fully recognized the gallantry of the valiant Sikh soldiers by awarding each of the 21 with their equivalent of our U.S. Medal Of Honor,the only time a whole command was so duly and aptly honored that I know of.
You have much to be proud, sir. Hope you can somehow make the Eberfest one day. Like you said yourself, life is full of surprises.
There might be a name for us "Ebert-fans" (though I don't think Roger would like encouraging this).
Pauline Kael's devotees were "Paulettes." Are we "Ebertricians?"
"Rogerlings?"
Ebert: I do indeed discourage that.
I know which one my father, an electrician, would vote for.
@ M.E.Rodriguez –
“Then a good friend, James DeSantis, suggested that I should watch "Harold and Maude." He said in no uncertain terms that it would change my life. I had never heard of it, wasn't sure about it, gave it a shot.
So I watched it. I watched crotchety old Maude living life on her own terms and conditions, not giving a damn. I watched poor Harold trying to reconcile his rebellious spirit with his desire to be "normal", and I felt a more-than-average kinship with him. I watched that spectacular shot of the graveyard, the camera zooming out, out, out, until the people were lost among the headstones.
And at the end of the film...I don't know how else to describe it without sounding like a religious nut. Something clicked. My heart soared. I couldn't feel my feet. I wept.
I firmly believe that it is SPECIFICALLY because of that film that I am now living a happy life. Not perfect, but terribly happy…”
Cat Stevens sings “Trouble” in the closing moments of the film; which are wonderful blend of poignant images. And that’s the scene that does it for me; every time. Harold and Maude was the first film I watched after losing my mom in 2006. It helped me say goodbye to her. Ie: finish processing the loss. Here’s that moment…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bHv9bi7C60
I’ve seen Harold and Maude about 42 times. When you love a thing, you just love it, eh? :)
Meanwhile...
"top ten books of all time....go!" - Luke
"Let's not mince words: literary lists are basically an obscenity. Literature is the realm of the ineffable and the unquantifiable; lists are the realm of menus and laundry and rotisserie baseball. There's something unseemly and promiscuous about all those letters and numbers jumbled together. Take it from me, a critic who has committed this particular sin many times over. But what if — just for argument's sake — you got insanely rigorous about it. You went to all the big-name authors in the world..." - Tom Wolfe
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1578073,00.html
Smile.
Hi Roger,
I'm playing hooky on the Longest Thread tonight to hang out here. Chilling out to the Van Dyke Revue on my CD player. Surfing Grace's delicious brain-candy writing. Enjoying the night.
I'm remembering my blogging history. I've had several. Two that you know about. The Dad blog - that I really should keep up and invest time in. The political blog that I write only for myself to vent. A couple of niche blogs that had a good following, one that won a surprising award.
Most surprising tonight...I rediscovered one of my blogs that I forgot that I had!
Back in November 2005 I participated as a lark in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Write a novel in one month, from scratch. Word count was all that mattered, but I gave it a shot at writing something interesting. I wrote all month and got what I considered to be half a novel. First draft. It was a blast.
Best part: I blogged it. Each post was a chapter. It kind of looks like a novel, anyway.
Click on my name and you'll see it. It's called "Upsidedown Man".
I was surprised to see that the blog still exists! One of these days I'll have to write chapter 19...
Randy
Luke,
Concerning Mr. Ebert's favorite books: in his Siskel and Ebert review of Portrait of a Lady, he refers to it as his favorite novel. Although that was thirteen years ago and opinion changes over time.
@ Indian Idiot
I knew you were a Sikh. Me 50% gearless, as many refugees from Pak. Manmohan too, the nicest PM in quite a while. And Khushwant Singh, that grand old man of letters of India. Saw movie Singh is King?
Punjabi samajhde ho? Now come on ,we know, so off the cape and down the hood!!
Folks, they are our Irishmen.
Ebert: Gearless?
S.M. Rana:
My noodles are in the mail.
Ebert: "Macheted the path." Send it in, collect $5 from the Readers Digest for Toward More Picturesque Speech.
---Fiddle dee-dee! Not even a Shiny New Dime could add to the pleasure of laboring it into existence.
(I kind of like "Ebertarian." Reformed, or Orthodox?)
hey mr ebert,
third time's a charm...go!
Ebert: Remember to load your starter's pistol the next time.
Reference to By Tom Dark on September 29, 2009 8:46 PM and many other entries.
Whew Tom: all that, 20,000 movies, and the best supporting character on the Ebert Blog. You seem to have managed to squeeze four life-times into one.
----
BTW as a member of the audience, I'd like to see a return of Snippy the Internet Journalist.
Ebert: Uh, do you think Tom knows Snippy?
@It is the saddest thing in all the world when an aging intellectual discovers the internet. Beautifully intelligent people in their own right, they are nonetheless completely ignorant about what the internet actually represents. Roger Ebert hasn't discovered some previously unknown abundance of burgeoning talent, merely the same cringingly amateur whitebread bloggers the rest of the world got sick of back in 2003. Anybody with even a casual understanding of internet culture wouldn't indulge their ceaseless white noise and insipid opinions. These blogs are violently dull, I believe the internet can be better than this and I believe Roger Ebert can be better than thisArtemio Cruz.
Ageism, like any prejudice(irrational by definition)can be extended to any subset of individuals, sometimes to teens and children. Wheras the body's aging is a natural and to be welcomed process, mental decrepitude can onset at any age.To quote :
The struggle against aging is a struggle against cowardice, the propensity to shun new challenges. It is a struggle against our complacent belief that we have done enough, an egocentric unwillingness to help younger people develop, and an attachment to our past glory. Aging sneaks in through such chinks of our soul. The life of one who continues to challenge to the end remains youthful, ageless, and victorious.
In India we are celebrating what is being called "joy of giving" week. Ebert is generously sharing of his endowments. Whatever his belief, it is a Christian and Buddhist sentiment which impels him. Islamic too, I am sure.
Your own comments smack of a fundamental human disrespect. When we lose that, we are left with nothing. Talentism, unless fired by a vision of a better world, is no yardstick to measure people. A sage has used the word "talented animals". It's not necessary to be Orson Welles.
One of the best things about the blog is how all of the "regulars" seem so, well, civil. Maybe that's one of the reasons it's so enjoyable.
Luke,
One thing's for sure...we know THE DA VINCI CODE & the LEFT BEHIND series aren't on the top 10 list! That's at least a start...
That being said, I agree with Marie & Tom Wolfe. Such a list is little more than a fool's errand.
I propose a different question:
Roger, what are some of the most personally meaningful films you've ever seen? The ones that really moved you, emotionally, intellectually, or both?
Also Roger, I'm curious:
Have you ever walked out of a film for any reason other than an emergency? (i.e because it was so bad, so infuriating, so asinine, etc.) The only one I remember walking out of was JERSEY GIRL, & I so WISH I had walked out of THE MARRYING MAN all those years ago.
Thankfully Alec Baldwin has recovered nicely since then...
Thanks,
Deacon Godsey
Omaha, NE
Ebert: I avoid making lists. There is no end to them.
That said, with this question, you could start with the works of Bergman, Ozu and Bresson.
@Films that influenced me in a positive way
Most of my favourite films only made me want to watch more films. From films in regional Indian languages like Accident (Kannada) and Nayagan (Tamil) to international films like Taxidriver, they all pushed me towards developing an interest in the craft of filmmaking.
But the one that altered my life significantly was a film called Gunda which I saw when in college. It is, as they say, a B-Movie, full of weird characters, garish costumes and with a clear disregard for anything high-brow.
I saw it at a time when we would force ourselves to believe that from the point on, there was only hard-work towards a glowing career, that Ayn Rand was the one to be read and quoted, that there was to be no playing sports and no watching cricket eight hours a day.
Then, I saw Gunda. And laughed and laughed my heart out for days and didn't feel the need to read Ayn Rand either.
Ebert: I tried to read Ayn Rand. I got discouraged because she so clearly thought her novel was About Something.
I'm sure she thought the Social Contract was a fairy tale.
hey mr ebert,
...bang!
Ebert: That guy from Jamaica cut me off.
"....the thought that the universes splits whenever you make a decision, and allows countless versions of yourself to exist simultaneously'....Grace Wang
Wha a profound and insight laden statement ! Our universe is continuously being reborn in the agony of our decion processes and it's a statement for free will. It's consonant with Soka philosophy.
@Ed Fugg
"I only speculate that those who on their windblown leaves falling to their destinations protest that they are masters of their fates, captains of their souls" may claim differently."
I've always appreciated your minimalist style. I think Grace's eloquent above quote is a direct reply to yours--expressing the view that we are not puppets of fate and hence responsible for everything. Whenever we stretch the bow and release the arrow, the universe splits like a log of wood.
Ebert: "Whenever we stretch the bow and release the arrow, the universe splits like a log of wood."
Worthy of Bartlett's. Somebody should be compiling this stuff. A year from now, I'll bet my subconscious steals that line.
i thought you would like to see this, it is titled Siskel & Ebert: Sega Fight! http://suckonthisroger.ytmnd.com/
Ebert: Wouldn't have missed it for the world.
"Gearless?"...Ebert
Meaning headgear. The turban and beard are among the traditional visible symbols of the Sikh faith. Nowadays many have dispensed with it, specially youth. Leading Bollywood figures like the matinee idol Dharminder and Gulzar, the lyricist for the Oscar winning Jai Ho from SDM are Sikhs who chose to forego this symbolism. Please remember these are things people are extremely sensitive about.
I was born in Lahore, Pakistan. We shifted to India during the 1947 partition when I was less than a year. We followed a mixture of Hindu and Sikh rituals. Later I studied in an Irish Christian Brothers school and had a fairly strong dose of that.
In that sense I was a 50% a Sikh by birth in terms of familial affiliation but never adopted the external symbols of that faith. At the age of 31 I discovered the Soka philosophy.
Ebert: So when you say the Sikhs are India's Irishmen...you've known some Irish.
Roger... You really must blog about Polanski's new arrest... You because I feel I've come to this point by reading your writing, seeing your Great Movies. Somebody like you must say something?
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2009/09/father_polanski_would_go_to_jail.html
That article is well written and well meaning but a joke, exemplary of every reason why people have such low opinion's of religious zealots. Too many see things in black and white. His closing point is that there's a double standard. Well duh.
Here's a great double standard for ya. God created us, loves us...
Won't talk to us or help us out.
But do I hate God for that? I, naturally, don't believe in God but if I did I'd say no.
He (and why is he a He I don't know but He is and he) can't solve every problem for us otherwise we're never alive. (Although, that's a whole other debate, free will versus determinism..)
Anyway, it's a double standard because it has to be in order to be fair. That's life. We're all hypocrites.
Step one to equality is admitting that we're all capable of anything. And this author is clearly not past that.
And this exactly an attitude I have no tolerance for.
Though I'm sure I would have said the exact same things if I was him.
And some have said this is exactly why God doesn't intervene. Because he knows this. He watches at a distance because it is the only morally correct thing for him to do. ...I think that's pushing it a bit, just as the idea of God is pushing it. But if you're gonna be truly loving, you have to be able to see past the black and white, right and wrong, laws and justice, all that.
"The best lack all conviction." - Yeats
From Keislowski's "Red":
The Judge: I wonder what I'd do in their place. The same thing.
Valentine: You'd throw stones?
The Judge: In their place? Of course. And that goes for everyone I judged. Given their lives, I would steal, I'd kill, I'd lie. Of course I would. All that because I wasn't in their shoes, but mine.
***
^That I posted to a person I've been debating with online. I've been trying to explain to her that I think the whole system is messed up and that would be my first reason for not wanting this Polanski trial. My next would be that the victim herself says she's moved on. My last would be that more good will come from the tragedy that is Polanski's life if we continue to let him make films. At least then we have the films amidst all the other terrible things that happened to him and the crime he committed.
But this person I'm debating -- who has actually sat on a jury for rape crimes before -- believes the law must be followed to the best of our ability, no exceptions ever if we're doing our jobs. She has her point. How else do we maintain some sort of control? Or as Kate Winslet put it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANm4sqQUsG0
But this absolutism is also the kind of thinking that led to the greatest atrocity in human existence, which Polanski was a victim of.
I don't know what your opinion on all this is Roger, I'm not asking for agreement but, please, you're such a great writer, can you please say something about this? I know that if I read between the lines of your reviews of "Chinatown" and "The Pianist" that you already have... I know you empathize.
Adrian Veidt: You understand, don't you?
Jon Osterman: Without condoning... or condemning. I understand.
I know you're Jon in this situation. But please put it out there. This Polanski case being dug up again basically sums up all the greatest challenges -- many about forgiveness -- that mankind has always faced and continues to.
And people still react strongly to films about these challenges as evidenced by how the world reacted to this movie...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkK39ADFQSM
People deserve to hear your thoughts on this... Please, please blog something.
(Also of interest, filmmakers from the Dardenne Bros. to Scorsese-- and Tilda Swinton -- who have banded together so far, not to defend Polanski but to defend against his arrest: http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=13432)
I'll be begging Emerson also I suppose... Thought I'd try here first.
Ebert: I should. Here's what I think:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/REVIEWS/694288051
Ebert: Uh, do you think Tom knows Snippy?
Tom knows quite a lot, but even he probably doesn't know Snippy. But I'll bet you've got Snippy's email address around somewhere. Just tell Snippy CanInDeed loves his witty sarcasm, and I'm sure he'll rush back! : )
So is this a sign that it's ok for us to pimp our blogs? * "casually" gestures towards the blog link * ;)
Ebert: Your first link is a doozy.
@ Minnesota Noodle Girl
Dear Noodle Girl,
Welcome to Mania!
Maggi Noodles, in their half a dozen incarnations, have been a rage in India for a decade and more and bring together young and old, rich and poor. Must be raking billions, considering their ubiquity.
Be sure to thoroughly read my instructions about how to eat them. Put enough water to cover the noodles and 3/4 inch extra height of water for the soup. Because of the excess water it won't cool fast so you can have it slow, alternating slurps of the spicy liquid(straight from the plastic cup of course), with small hauls of noodle, using the fork provided.Keep shaking with the fork otherwise the condiments tend to settle at the bottom.
The most important thing is learning how to divide the tubes into two when a long one or two is hanging precariously from your pressed mouth. You have to use the LIPS( not gums as I absurdly stated on my blog-post)to hold them vice-like stationary and divide it into two with a gentle snip of the teeth, allowing the outhanging portion to drop safely into the plastic can. Never ever make life easier by crushing the dry noodles into smaller bits. We're talking noodles, not rice.
Would appreciate your feedback!
Ebert: I find they are apparently famous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggi_noodles
And for sale on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/Maggi-Masala-Noodles-400g-Quad/dp/B000JSM362
And I wonder if this is where you found your photo of the cups:
http://rajeshaithal.blogspot.com/2008/04/maggi-noodles-25-year-journey-in-indian.html
Blast it all, if I could eat, I'd have a dozen coming to me in the mail. You have tantalized me.
Mr. Ebert,
Allow me to gush for a sec:
I cannot convey the admiration, warmth and respect I have for your reviews and this blog. I often find it difficult to connect with people day-to-day. That's why I'm so fond of movies, and especially appreciative of this forum you've created. Your dedication to cinema and web-intellectualism has inspired me on too many levels; I now write reviews for my university's online newspaper. I've published two reviews so far.
There. Done.
Now: have you heard of Herzog's Rogue Film School? How cool!
Thanks, sincerest regards,
Aidan Stone
Ebert: His what?
Awww, man. You're making me blush. Though I probably shouldn't since I think I've only posted two short replies on your blog, neither of which was all that in-depth.
That's alright. I will take the compliment nonetheless, since those two innocuous replies make me technically both a reader and a commenter.
Incidentally, I've remarked before upon a message board far, far away from here (well, okay, the Rotten Tomatoes forums) how funny it is whenever I stumble across you using Internet slang ("Troll", "Flame War") with the same casual ease as anyone else. 'Aging intellectual' or not, you now seem downright internet savvy.
I haven't heard the one about 36 people in a room. Did you make that up? What I do know is that if you have 23 people in a room the chances are just over 50% that two of them will have the same birthday.
Ebert: Yes, but 23 didn't go with 36,000. One improvises.
Ebert: I am not the ideal source for career advice. But I know, speaking for myself, I am happy I haven't spent by life doing a job I did not love.
Oh, No, I have never thought of you as advisor, except in case of drinking and movies. I just babbled a lot because I thought I did not deserve to be mentioned in spite of joy. Well, I know people who can give me helpful advices, and I will go on.
'That is why your latest entry helped me a lot." was inappropriate description of my feeling and I think that gave you wrong impression. Others expressed same kind of feeling more judiciously in short phrase than my long babbling. And I like their blogs a lot.
"THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH, ROGER! I coulda danced all night if it wasn't morning when I read the big news or sanged in the rain if it waren't not rainin'."
- S.M. Rana
"This can't be true."
-Vivet
Aaron Reese:
"To help you improve your writing, I’ve provided a list of writers you may want to read: Grace Wang, Paul J. Marasa, Seongyong Cho, Andrew Dobbs, S.M. Rana, etc."
Probably someone can use Google translator in case of my blog, but, when I tried it several times with my entries, results made me very amused. They were funnier than some lame comedies.
Ebert: Hmm. Here you are on "Next Day Air:"
The foreground real absurd to start the settings, and just as absurd to open it. In California, once the gang boss is home-delivery service (! Philadelphia drugs, trying to send accept that if they why, stupid? Nevertheless, such a dumbfounding incident settings, beginning with the movie to be. split into practice moments of the appearance of the characters of the dialog Tarantino, but not as much as his comeback, but here, and follow the important characters are all in the same place where a. [baby to tame the screws ball comedy official website is this simpleton like a comedy, alive.
Makes more sense than many an English-language blog.
Roger Ebert, are you Aaron Reese?
I've read you for too long to be fooled. But then, it is 4am.
If you're not Aaron Reese, then Aaron Reese, please send me the titles of any novels you've written. You're a beautiful writer!
I take it back. I found other Aaron Reese comments that lead me to believe he is his own person. I'm your new fan, Aaron.
Ebert: I love Lord Leighton
There are many forms of heroin: some are literary, others musical or in the case of the Leighton, all it takes to shoot-up is using your eyes. :)
As I love him too! Have you got this book..?!
http://www.phaidon.com/Default.aspx/Web/the-art-of-lord-leighton-9780714829579
If you don't, I can recommend it; it's got everything! Paintings, sculptures, etc. I've happily seen examples of both, and in person while in London; God lives in his paint, he's that damn good.
I've also got a big poster of "The Lament for Icarus" by Herbert Draper (Tate Gallery)
http://www.tate.org.uk/collection/N/N01/N01679_9.jpg
Some books I own:
"The National Gallery of Art" in Washington DC.
"Renoir: His life and His Letters"
"Renoir's Portraits"
"The Pre-Raphaalites" - Christopher Wood
"Paintings at the Louvre" - Gowings
"J W Waterhouse"
"Walt Disney: The Art of Life"
"Lalique"
"Van Gogh"
"Monet"
"Edward Gorey" - I LOVE Edward Gorey.
"Art of the Western World"
"Venice: Art and Architecure" -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Venice-Art-Architecture-Giandomenico-Romanelli/dp/383311066X
That one is MASSIVE! If you dropped it onto someone's head, you'd kill them. It's hardcover. Chuckle!
CanInDeed: BTW as a member of the audience, I'd like to see a return of Snippy the Internet Journalist.
Ebert: Uh, do you think Tom knows Snippy?
---Someone appears to be studying me. Is that you, Incrediboy? I did know of a "Snippy the Columnist" years ago, but I'd heard he died in an accident where his home appliances turned against him. The low quality humor by the poster above suggests it's probably just a writer from The Onion.
Ebert: Help me out here. Wasn't there some movie about a madman who conquered the world by taking control of all the home appliances?
Nick Duval: I aspire to be a professional film critic when I am able to, since now I am only 13.
I'm with Grace (and Roger) on this one. I didn't have as much insight into films at 13 as you do, and I couldn't write as well. In fact, your insights about film are better than some of the ones I have right now. I have also linked to your site.
And yes, I realize that there have been a ton of comments since that comment was posted, but I don't have much free time these days, which is why I usually write my blog on Sundays. Funny how busy one can be when most of one's time is one's own. ;-)
Finally, thank you, Roger, for your generous praise of my blog. Funny how the shortest comment I've made to your blog resulted in your first reply to me :-) At the same time, receiving such a wonderful comment was such a surreal moment, like graduating or winning an award, that I keep reading your reply over and over again, as if to give the reality of the moment a chance to sink in.
Ebert: You are correct about Nick but way too hard on yourself.
Consider your entry, "No Man Can Write Who Is Not First a Humanist"
http://dreamsoflit.blogspot.com/2009/09/no-man-can-write-who-is-not-first.html
With the number of concurrent, unconnected threads on this forum I'm finding it difficult to decide if it's more like an Altman or Lynch film (I can't say I favor either). As much as I'd like to comment on ageism, racism, and Darwinism... my focus is definitely more in the realm of film and so I'll just say, politely, "Would you people shut up?"
I wanted to ask you two questions.
1) How do you go into a theatre without preconceptions? After being bombarded with advertisements and pre-release hype, I often times feel as though I know if a film is any good or not by the teasers and (what seems like a 5 minute long, tell the entire story) previews. If you're walking in to see a Clint Eastwood film, are you more likely to assume beforehand that it will be good than a film by Paul Verhoeven? Asking you to be impartial seems a lot like asking the Simpson jury not to have any bias.
2) How come you haven't written a film since 1979? After the Grindhouse releases and throwback films like Jackie Brown, maybe the world is ready to go back Beyond the Valley!
Brian Starr
http://www.filmbabel.com
Ebert: Conversations do wander.
(1) Not without any preconceptions, but hopefully with an open mind.
(2) Although I greatly enjoyed my work with Russ, and even more my friendship, I have decided I am best suited to be, not a manufacturer, but an end-user.
Here, Roger, as an ardent fan, I will pre-emptively list your five WORST books of all time, simply by having paid attention over the years (supporting evidence provided):
5) The Godfather ("Puzo is a good storyteller, but no great shakes as a writer")
4)The Bridges of Madison County ("Its prose is not distinguished")
3)The World According to Garp (" John Irving's best-selling novel, The World According to Garp, was cruel, annoying, and smug. I kept wanting to give it to my cats.")
2)Love Story ("Segal's prose style is so revoltingly coy -- sort of a cross between a parody of Hemingway and the instructions on a soup can -- that his story is fatally infected.")
1) The Da Vinci Code ("a potboiler written with little grace and style")
I am sure someone can do the same for your fave books.
Ebert: You do my work for me!
No problem on the assist with your WORST books. It brings to mind Kael's response to the question about why she didn't write an autobiography....
Ebert: Readers: I am re-posting this comment by Karl-Heinz from my blog "All by ourselves alone." It contains two invaluable (to me) links.
A couple of years ago I decided it was time to travel more, and more. Once this decision is made, little signposts tend to pop up giving you hints about places you should see and things you should experience. Your blog has been one of those signposts, and so has your delightful little book "The Perfect London Walk". My library didn't have a copy, but I found a well used addition online for about $12 (4$-book,8$-shipping). And so, after a flurry of museum visits and walking tours amongst the busy downtown streets, I went on your walk for my final day in London. A perfect end. And yet a beginning, because I still have lots of places to see. Many names of which, I have taken from your writing. I'd like to thank you for that generosity. Perhaps you'd like to take that walk again, right now?...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHM8nY5FvXM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z80-JrQDVOM
Karl-Heinz All by ourselves alone
Ebert: I cannot possibly tell you how evocative those videos are, especially since, in my current physical condition, I can walk all right but will never again be fit enough to take that beloved and ritualistic walk.
A perfect summer's day. Other people strolling. The mysterious old iron fence around the tumulus, for no purpose other than to signal that someone years ago considered it worth encircling.
I first took that walk in January 1966 and at least annually from 1968 to 2005. Send me a comment with your mailing address (which I won't post of course) and I'll send you an autographed copy of the book. This was a tangible, immediate, emotional reward from this blog.
Karl Heinz: of the two youtube links, that was one of the kindest things I've ever seen somebody do for somebody else.
Ebert: Help me out here. Wasn't there some movie about a madman who conquered the world by taking control of all the home appliances?
There's Arch Obeler's The Twonky, about the TV set from the future or whatever that serves its owner--Hans Conreid, God blessim. (I couldn't remember the title, so I snuck up on it on imdb by going to Make Room for Daddy. Degrees of separation.) It's still not on Netflix--it may not even be on video at all--but I discovered there is an episode of the Nickelodeon science geek cartoon Jimmy Neutron in which invading aliens are called "Twonkies."
This is, though, not the movie you were thinking of; could it be G-Force? Feh.
Ebert: I'm actually thinking it was in the past year.
Roger, it's I who can't express how I'm touched. I've read of your health adventures, kept track while you were nip-and-tuck, but seeing you say you can't take this walk any more has struck me more than the lot of it.
So I've taken time out to follow your walk on these videos, knowing what mine have always meant to me. That's a good path, old soldier.
A strange thing, maybe, but as I've read so much of your writing so often I could rather sense your thoughts still hanging in the air on this path -- as mine still do for me when I've revisited one old home or another, retracing my old steps on a beloved brood-route.
Wellsir, you're lucky I don't know where you live. I'd be hammering at your door about taking a walk the way a movie character tries to keep his friend from falling asleep while they're lost in an ice-cold blizzard.
Oh Roger, you must be Superman. I've rarely seen someone of your status take the time to talk to your readers. How do you do it?
If I'm going to be honest, there's a lot of... well, garbage on the internet. Sifting through this mess is frustrating (your article on the dilemmas of reading online newspapers was a good one!), but here, you have collected a little oasis bursting with insight and eloquent prose, far outstripping my pedestrian ramblings.
Thanks. It means a lot.
Ebert: "Here, you have collected a little oasis bursting with insight and eloquent prose.:
That's why I do it. I enjoy it. If it were work, I'm outta here.
What a fascinating and enjoyable entry! I am increasingly astounded and inspired by the amount of excellent, impassioned prose you generate, Roger. And, more and more, it seems to strike a deeply personal chord with me.
I had previously tried to comment on your post about AA, as I too have overcome alcoholism in order to pursue and achieve my writing dreams (due to some sort of error, that comment never went through). Now I come across an essay in which you lovingly pay tribute to your devoted readers.
You have long been a hero of mine, but your extremely open and down-to-earth journal entries of late have encouraged me think of you as more of a kindred spirit, or even, a friend. Thanks.
Ebert: Post the other one again. I didn't reject it.
Ebert: Reposted from "All alone by ourselves"
Hi Roger, Thank you very much. I would love to have an autographed copy of your book. My (very) used copy is ready to fall apart already. You can send it to... [address] I must say again that your book was a delight. It allowed for a certain amount of discovery. Even though the instructions were very clear you had to keep your eyes open to what was ahead of you and what was surrounding you. Unlike some other walking books that I had taken along, yours didn't rely on an actual map. This was an excellent choice on your part. I wasn't following a series of road signs, but moving from landmark to landmark in an explorers fashion. Well done!
The Heath was a welcome relief from busy downtown, and you were so right about there being 'characters' at the hill summit. Like the guy practicing karate with his dog (who I chose not to film). The tumulus was mysterious indeed, especially since I had wiki'd it's story before I got there. I walked it's perimeter and resisted the urge to hop over the fence, though I'll make no promises for the next time I'm there. The only thing I couldn't find was the solitary birch. Perhaps it's been removed. I looked for about 30 minutes, but hunger got the better of me and so I proceeded to the Spaniard's Inn. And what a wonderful Inn it was. On the day I was there, they had a two Scots and a Frenchman working behind the bar. There is something about Scottish bartenders that makes me cheerful. They served an excellent lunch.
Highgate was a wonderful near-finish to the walk. It put me in a reflective mood. Our Friends of Highgate guide pointed out some wonderful little details and even allowed us to venture into the catacombs in Egyptian Avenue. Very creepy. I noticed most of the group turning back before we reached it's chilly, damp end. Emerging afterwords into the sunlight of the neighbouring park was refreshing and peace inducing. Onward I went, and as I stood before the little stone cat I was ready to retrace my steps and do the walk again in reverse, but alas, by this time my feet would not allow it.
This was my first time in London. I know that it will not be my last. I could see myself living there for a year. I have much more to discover about the place and now I have places I want to revisit. I understand your point about 'touching bases' perfectly, and I understand the ritual of a walk. I'm so glad you enjoyed those videos. My goal was take you along with me, so that it might bring a little smile to your face. I was certainly smiling away, under the warm sun and against the cool breeze.
Ebert: Ah, ah, yes. Did you make it past the bakery a block before Keats Grove without ordering a pastry?
Years ago the Catacombs had their own bespoke lecturer, a hunchback who shuffled forward out of the gloom. Dickens' daughter is buried in there.
The Friends of Highgate Cemetery once went through a ferocious power struggle over their leadership. Volunteers who labored in a haunted cemetery in all weathers were fiercely jealous of each other.
Kathyb - if you find yourselves on the west coast of Ireland I highly recommend visiting Doolin for at least a few nights, and trek from there to the cliffs of moher. Most ppl drive there by car and you may be seen as fools walking alongside endless stretch of roads, but it's one of the best things I did in Ireland. A most harrowing experience too - we got lost (directions were nil), what should've been 2.5 hour turned out to be 4, climbed over sheep fences (almost electrocuted), wandered amongst hills and meadows, finally got picked up by two nice German sisters who dropped us off at the Cliffs. Then we had to hitchhike it back to Doolin - again, met the nicest Irish couple who ended up staying across the road from our hostel (Aille River Hostel, an absolute gem). So I guess not if there'll be children or elderly in your herd but if not, I highly recommend! Also, Aran Islands off coast of Galway - rent a bike and just go. Stuff dreams are made of.
Tom - is there a link to her work? I'm curious now. If this is too public you can email me...
Marie! haha thanks for that inventive little bad-taste ridding game. I would do it if I wasn't so lazy :). C'est la vie. Everything has a beginning and end and I'm not too bummed about it anymore. Maybe I'll learn to love Kilkenny again some day. For now Guinness do me just fine :)
By the way that "Girl in the Coat" is my favorite of yours.
Randy Masters, I also love #22 of your popular photos. One of these days when I'm out of my student debts I'll be asking both of you for price quotes.
Are we "Ebertricians?" "Rogerlings?"
Roger I adore you but dear god...no. I'm glad you disapprove. This sounds like a cult.
And lastly...Karl Heinz...*hand over heart*, you are a good good person.
Ebert: Once I visited the Dingle Peninsula, which is as far west as you can get in Ireland. First time I visited, I looked our the plane window and thought, ohmigod, the grass really is emerald! A green unlike any other grass I have ever seen.
I did indeed make it past the pastry window without ordering anything, but I noted it's location for future reference.
A shuffling hunchback you say?! (jealous) Our group had a young fellow leading it. He didn't mention Dickens' daughter. That would have been an interesting point. I would have asked him for a specific location. We couldn't walk around the old section on our own, though I got the impression these rules are easily broken if you get along well with the volunteers. What surprised me was the fact that the cemetery is still in use. We came across three new tombstones. One was just placed there the week before I arrived.
But I have to ask you about that solitary birch on the Heath. Was it still there the last time you took the walk? I was so happy to find the knobby tree with the post beside it, right after Parliament Hill (as you know, it's no longer 'on' a path but beside it, mostly covered with bush). I just happened to look backwards just after I passed it and there it was. I really wanted to find that birch too.
Ebert: It was. But they had two windstorms that blew down a lot of trees.
Being that I'm a screenwriter, I have found that it can cost a great deal of money to get coverage on a script. Have you ever thought about reviewing scripts for a fee? Wouldn't it be great if you could tell Hollywood not to waste the time and money to make a movie from the get go?
Brian Starr
http://www.filmbabel.com
Marie,
I love that scene, too. I actually just finished reading the screenplays for both "Chasing Amy" and "Clerks." Right now, I'm taking a break between screenplays to read "My First Movie," which is a really interesting series of interviews with twenty well-known directors, including Kevin Smith, all of whom discuss the experience of making their first film (I'm almost done with my own first script.)
And you used to be a tracer? That's awesome, and kind of random; there really are an interesting group of posters on this blog. I loved the artwork on your website, especially the paintings and drawings (I'm not much of an artist myself, but I was a big doodler in high school.) I want to try to put together a website soon myself; I'm not sure exactly what I'll have on it, but it will probably include reviews, some essays or random musings, hopefully some short films - I purchased a Canon GL2 on ebay recently but I still have to buy a program for editing - and maybe a couple scenes from my screenplay, just to get some feedback. Anyway, it may take me a little while, but hopefully you'll check it out when I get it up and running, and I'll definitely continue to check out your art (and posts.)
RE: Roger--Movie featuring 'home appliances gone wild!'
Demon on the Island(Le Demon daus l'lile) 1983.
On a small island, electrical appliances go haywire. Dad slices his finger off with an electric carving knife...a little girl is stabbed in the eye by her mechanical Teddy bear's drumstick...mom cooks her hand in the microwave...coffee makers scald...and most horrific of all, particularly to the French audiences, wine glasses shatter,splinter maiming all that imbibe.
No Spoilers Here. I will leaven open whether this horror is contained or spreads, imperiling all of mankind.
Starred the lovely Annie Duperey for those of you who remember "Bobby Dearfield."
Oh ya, does anyone know the French word for Snippy?
Ebert: Something about a mad inventor who controlled all the computers built into the applicances.
@Rand Disciple (re Polanski):
"But this person I'm debating -- who has actually sat on a jury for rape crimes before -- believes the law must be followed to the best of our ability, no exceptions ever if we're doing our jobs."
If I believed that every infraction of the law was pursued over decades and continents "with no exceptions," I might agree with that person. But in such zeal is seldom seen unless the subject is famous enough to generate sufficient controversy and publicity.
I'm not suggesting that anyone be given special treatment because of supposed artistic contributions or whatever; only that it is less than professional for prosecutors to single-mindedly chase after the famous, like paparazzi.
Ebert: Heck, we're not even going to prosecute Bush.
Sean Kelley (way up the page, but I just read your comment),
I can certainly appreciate what Chasing Amy has meant to you personally, although it didn't affect me the same way. You've misunderstood me if you think I was saying that its only value was that it was a time capsule (I was just surprised at how different 1997 looked). I like Jason Lee's performance a hell of a lot, and—to the extent we're talking about the film's cheerful vulgarity and not its portrayal of same-sex relationships—I appreciate its treatment of sexuality as well.
Affleck's monologue seems to be a pretty divisive moment in the film, judging from you and some commenters at my site. I think it's certainly something Holden would say in that situation, but that's kind of why I couldn't believe Alyssa didn't find him insufferable. What he says is almost entirely about him, not her. My personal favorite "confession of love on film" moment is the paint set Tim gives Dawn at the end of the British version of "The Office." (And my personal favorite film about male insecurity is Annie Hall—with an honorable mention for American Psycho).
But like Royal Tenenbaum says, that's just one man's opinion.
If I were Ebert-ized, would that make me waterproof or merely wrinkle-resistant?
Ebert: Both. But it only lasts 27 minutes.
I have said many times in my life that if you weren't already married that I would have pursued you like a crazy woman. This post, and your blog as a whole, are just more reasons why. I adore your writing, and have since I was a Radio/TV/Film major in college. But it is since you started the blog that I have fallen in love all over again. Please keep doing this, it makes my day every time to read your thoughts. I have a couple of favorites that I hit regularly, not every day, and you can see who they are from my wee blog. If only there was time in the day to visit them every day!
Carry on.
Fantastic article Roger! I'm in awe that a busy guy such as you could take time out to not only read everyone's blog/website, but also read enough of them to give a fair and honest opinion of that person's thoughts and writing style. I hope you continue to do these entries from time to time in the future.
Thanks again.
This particular piece warms my heart and makes me smile. And to think I get a buzz for days when you've answered a comment I've posted here. These blog writers must be in some kind of catatonia by now. So generous. You have managed to capture a true camaraderie here, a virtual writers community filled with madcap characters and striking observations. And Marie Haws! My admiration for her grows daily. Thank you, Roger. This felt very much like a brilliant and challenging teacher who stopped to tell others about how far he thinks his students have come along.
ohmigod, the grass really is emerald! A green unlike any other grass I have ever seen.
omgod yes yes yes! That's what I kept on saying too the entire time I was there! Like a crazy person!!
The green from that Galway pic was taken exactly as it was. That's the magic. Felt like I was walking in a storybook.
p.s. A friend of my housemates walked from Dublin to Dingle about 10 years ago, and when I was there he came back to do a memory-down-the-lane trip. Took him about 2-3 weeks. It got too wet though so he had to hitchhike back.
Roger,
I'm impressed that you follow the links from the readers' blogs, much less took the time to comment on them. As a blogless individual, no conflict of interest here, why not add a column to your page with these links?
I'm a not a great blog reader, tend to go to general sites and link from there. Example: I link to yours from MovieCityNews, it really is one-stop shopping. If you had a similar column, perhaps His Laziness, i.e. me, might deign to click on a few of the promising upstarts and learn a thing or two.
With regard to the civility and literacy in the comments to this blog-on-blog entry, I would submit that there is a bias inherent in the system. Most of your readers seem to be able not only to read, but also to write, think, and share a passion or two. The Darwin thread was a refreshing departure from the norm, I enjoyed it immensely and even added a comment of my own. All my life I've found it possible to like people who may disagree with me on loads of issues. You and Gene (rest his soul) were brilliant together, I'm not alone here.
I highly recommend watching Stewart and Colbert on the intertubes the day after. On cable, they're each 22 minutes of programming and 10 minutes of learning that they make sandwiches at Applebee's and serve coffee at Starbux. On the tubes you get the full episode the next morning with maybe three minutes of commercials, a good deal. I'd be interested in hearing what you and your beholders have to say about The Office. Having seen the British version first, I'm here to tell you that I've never seen a finer cross-cultural adaptation of a concept, with brilliant ensemble acting on both sides.
I'm not surprised to hear you watch pro wrestling, Roger. It's a fking art form up there with the Bolshoi and Beijing. I don't watch it much, but have huge respect for these people, they're pretty damn good at what they do. The "fake" talk is fake. Even if you coreographed every move, how many of us mere mortals would survive, much less make it look good? They deserve respect. And for anyone else flirting with an alleged low-brow side of the spectrum, I'll go you one better: NASCAR. I have a brother who covered that for ESPN and a cousin who's third-tier on the circuit its very own self in Tennessee. As with the wrestling, I can only take a few minutes of it ("turn left!), but I've seen the shops and the rigs. These folks know what they're doing.
I'm done for now, but duty requires that I leave a bit of lagniappe, loosely translated as "a little something" for those of you who are not from South Louisiana slash Mississippi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEY6_jcrzI8
Ebert: Now that's fun.
i don't know what http://www.unknownnews.org is, but they now have a link to the michael jackson hair accident hoax on their site. good luck finding it though. you'll see what i mean when/if/should/shouldn't you get there.
a professor in a grad writing class (writing the novel) talked about blogging. she said that although it seems like nobody is reading your blog, don't worry, plenty of people are, and the government is likely on the list. the best part about that writing class is that i crashed it. i showed up early for the first class and told the teacher that i had signed up that day but my paperwork hadn't been processed yet. i kept going every week until she apparently she forgot about it. i learned a great deal about writing a novel, and i made extra sure i contributed as much as possible when providing feedback to other writers in order to justify my presence.
Wow, an opportunity for Roger to read my blog! Let's hope you don't just tear me down and break my little, film critic-aspiring heart.
Ebert: Someone else who gave "Revolutionary Road" four stars!
I can't argue with you there, Roger. "No Man Can Write Who is Not First a Humanist" was one of my better blogs. :-)
As for Karl Heinz, I just saw your videos. Wonderful job, sir, and a very kind gesture. I studied in London for a semester abroad, but your videos make me think I need to go back (once I've bought "The Perfect London Walk," of course).
One of the places I did go to in your walk was Keats House. I thought I knew where it was once I left the station, as my fellow classmates and I had done a walking tour of Hampstead Heath prior to my going it alone (Keats House was closed for renovations on that occasion). Silly me. I ended up walking around for an hour, trying to discover where the house was based on the zone it was in (NW 3, according to my book). I somehow ended up finding the station again, and was about to ask someone there where Keats House was when I overheard some fellow travelers ask that exact question. I also discovered a map on the wall (tip for travelers: maps are our friends). By listening and looking, I was able to find Keats House easily. And because I wrote down my adventure in my diary, I can experience it again with each reading, much like anyone who has been to London can experience their trip again with each viewing of Karl's video.
Quote...Grace;if you find yourselves on the west coast of Ireland I highly recommend visiting Doolin for at least a few nights, and trek from there to the cliffs of moher
See what I mean about signposts?
I know of someone that had similiar advice vis-a-vie Ireland. They did a three day trip on horseback, village to village. I'm still tracking down details. But I've written down three more names on my little signpost sheet, Doolin, Moher and Dingle Peninsula.
BTW- I love the placenames in Celtic areas. I'm suddenly reminded of Dildo, Run-by-Guess and Famish-Gut Newfoundland.
Ebert: Stow-on-the-Wold?
hey mr. ebert,
well played.
...go?
Ebert: "2001: A Space Odyssey!" And...oh, hell! Everyone else is already across the finish line.
Congratulations to Karl-Heinz! (^_^) Roger, I always knew that someone would eventually have your copy of The Perfect London Walk someday. The funny thing is, yesterday evening on the way home from work, this suddenly came to mind once again. It was at a busy interesection while on stop, with the smell of impending rain and exhaust, plus occasional lightnings overhead, that the thoughts came back.
Btw, I missed that blog "All Alone by Ourselves." Will look into it as soon as I have time. It's been hell here, but we work while the sun is still up.
Peter Fawthrop:
I shamefully admit that I'm proud someone mistook my writing for Mr. Ebert's, but it's unfair to him. He is the superior writer, I assure you. There is an indicator that he might be just a teensy-weensy little-bit better. He has a Pulitzer.
I rarely publish my prose on the internet. Instead, if you are interested, I have provided a link to my artwork. Thanks again.
Tom, as usual you're very right, we shed the skin but not at the cost of the flesh. I try and retain even bad things that I pick up from people and cultures if for nothing else to restrain the good in me, so as not to go down the well intentioned road to hell. All in all, balance is apt (I lean more towards disbelief and scepticism with most things, especially organised religion/s) no one actually achieves this magical goal but the point lies almost entirely in the attempt. I hope that someday we get both the actual Elvis and the one in "Bubba Ho Tep" he was if it is possible, more awesome than the original. Each country and group of people take turns at bettering the lot of the human community and sometimes make it worse, on average we've thus far outperformed many other species, which is a shame - mostly because we've been responsible for more than a few of those extinction events, but it's also good because..well we're still here..
Marie, it is a pity I did'nt come to Canada, I would love to visit someday all being well. I don't wear a turban, although I can't help but laugh at the idea of sneaking a turban in underneath a big cowboy hat :) I maintain I'm innocent until proven guilty i.e., I don't admit to having disclosed my gender :)
John in Denver, thank you for your comment. Sikhs were mostly converts from Rajputs and other warrior clans that were almost always fighting some sort of invasion, hence their battle hardiness. Alexander the great, defeated King Porus of said area (Punjab), who was so gracious in defeat that Alexander returned him his lands and back to Greece he went. The spirit of Sikhism is great, the theology is somewhat flawed like almost every other major religion, the founders of the "Bhakti movement" which was a precursor to the founding of the Sikh canon were very interesting people. Again, thank you for suggesting that I ought to be proud, I am largely humbled by the completely random events that resulted in me being born a human being, it truly is quite a cosmological miracle that life as we know it exists on our little blue planet and perhaps if we are so fortunate, some day we shall share the universe with other forms of planetary consciousness. Also, I did'nt say I am a man :)
S.M., thank you for your comment. In my first comment on Roger's journal I stated that I was borne by Sikhs, but have'nt identified with them for a very long time. Organised religion in whatever shape or form is I think to a degree almost necessarily fraudulent, else there'd be few devotees. Manmohan Singh is both very nice and a man of great integrity - a very close relative of mine, used to study with a very close relative of his, I'm given to understand they have'nt been in touch since the early nineties owing to various life commitments. I had my picture taken with Khushwant Singh a long time ago, he's quite the humourist and most erudite. His journalism was good, his other writing is sort of sub-par, he himself has stated this. He's a fine gentleman and it was a privilege to spend some time with him. I have'nt seen "Singh is King" and from the first paragraph of the synopsis of it I read at Wikipedia, I'm sorry to say I have no interest in seeing it. Mainu Punjabi na samjhan na bolan che koi aukh hai (translation - I have no difficulty in either understanding or speaking Punjabi). Again, I am innocent until proven guilty, on the charge of masculinity that is. Go feminists! :)
Oh, and Roger, I did read Rand, in middle school - she was only half bad back then :)
Indian Idiot (H.W.)
Ebert: Help me out here. Wasn't there some movie about a madman who conquered the world by taking control of all the home appliances?
A typical BOURGEOISIE inquiry, pregnant with QUERULOUS INSENSITIVITY.
Behold SNIPPY THE INTERNET COLUMNIST, a critic-at-large so BOUND TO OBJECTIVE JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY he must refer to even himself in the third person -- with the most exacting of fair judgment. SNIPPY has returned briefly to address CERTAIN IGNORANCES.
SNIPPY here acknowledges receipt of the IMPLIED "COMPLIMENT." Nor shall his pinpoint perceptivity be defocused by this toadying.
SNIPPY VEHEMENTLY DENIES WRITING FOR "THE ONION." Nor could his vast personal integrity be impugned with such a charge.
A CONTRIBUTOR WHO HAS EARNED AN EAGLE SCOUT MERIT BADGE and a PULITZER PRIZE, although proof of one of these awards has not been confirmed, and whose typing offers evidence of EXCESSIVE EMPLOYMENT OF THUMBS, has asked a question. It is cited above.
SNIPPY knows of such a movie. Better yet, SNIPPY knows of the origins of this movie. It is about his father.
MANY YEARS AGO, SO FAR AS THE GNAT-LIKE ATTENTION SPAN OF SNIPPY'S UNGRATEFUL READERS MAY BE CONCERNED, there flourished A GREAT VISIONARY, who assumed, innocently enough, that he was a bachelor. His name was SNIPPY THE COLUMNIST.
Unlike the unworthy SNIPPY at present, SNIPPY THE COLUMNIST had long earned the privilege of spelling his name in bold italics. (Heed that, "Mister Pulitzer Prize.")
It was important to him that he remain a bachelor, as the probable perils of his personal plan for WORLD DOMINATION naturally rendered the prospects for parenthood and domestic bliss SOMEWHAT MOOT.
Yet during a series of divine trials and ordeals and astonishing coincidences, SNIPPY THE COLUMNIST unwittingly whelped a healthy, svelte, robust and equally critical male child, through means of the IMMACULATE EJACULATION.
(Unlike certain religious wives' tales, this rare phenomenon is valid and is said to occur once every 3,000 years. It requires the co-operation of an emotionally remote, highly analytical and wily matron who owns a set of clean test tubes.)
DESPITE INAPPROPRIATE DROLLERY sometimes associated with the IRKSOME DEMISE of SNIPPY'S FATHER, and its sorrowful consequences to a world in need of his masked tutelage, ANIMATED AND HOSTILE HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES ARE NO LAUGHING MATTER. Nor was this sight FUN TO WATCH.
SNIPPY THE YOUNGER has run out of time. Shrewd Kantian objectivity impels his indifference toward continuing this revelation.
That is all. Thank you.
Snippy, the Internet Columnist
Ebert: Now trying writing that on an electric typewriter while sitting in the BATHTUB.
By Richard Peterson on September 30, 2009 3:38 PM: If I were Ebert-ized, would that make me waterproof or merely wrinkle-resistant?
Ebert: Both. But it only lasts 27 minutes.
Actually, "Ebert-izing" is the process by which dull bloggers (like myself) are praised by Ebert, resulting in a warm and fuzzy shine that lasts a mere 15 minutes. (I asked Warhol.)
Then again, if John Simon even looks your way, you been Simon-ized, bucko, and that's a tarnish that lasts and lasts.
Herzog's Rogue Film School. Check it out. I'm applying.
Mr. Ebert,
I'm a long-time lurker, but first time commenter on your blog!
Although I'm probably not as big a movie fan as your many other commenters, I still love reading your blog and find it very inspiring. The dialogue between you and your readers is something, I believe, you won't find anywhere else on the internet.
This entry especially reminded me of a quote I read once by Paul Goldberger, the New Yorker architecture critic. He said that a prerequisite for being a journalistic critic is "to love the thing and also to love what it means in other people’s lives, and not only your own." I think you definitely qualify!
Thanks again :)
Tom Dark,
--Keith, are you sure about 145 bpm? That's about tempo for ska and punk. Most people dance on the average at about 120 bpm, unless it's cossacks celebrating destroying a village.
Actually, No...but I am now; thanks, Tom, because, boy, am I glad you asked, because I might not have checked and would have been giving people bad timing! At the time I did that I wasn't too sure, but now I am. It is 138 beats per minute. I'm going to have to change the name of my blog! Thanks again.
http://a.bestmetronome.com/
Go to the link and set the beats at 138. Notice this neat trick. Turn it on and see how it matches the editing of your television exactly! Same for lightning; all that stuff I said in the blog. Somehow it's all connected! Electronics are kind of alive in a sense. Strange--although I've mentioned all this before (that's why Roger said he was not surprised at the name of my blog---which I'm changing now).
I'll have a new entry about this.
What a walk! If I had to visit one place England would have been the choice, if not Ireland. I was reminded of another magic England:
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow
And coughing drowns the parson's saw
And birds sit brooding in the snow
And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit;
Tu-who, a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
Love's Labour Lost
Ebert: "2001: A Space Odyssey!" And...oh, hell! Everyone else is already across the finish line.
Coincidence! I was in the middle of 2001(irritatingly stuck without matching subtitles, which I always feel the necessity of, since my heard English is not good enough) and even maybe to write an essay proposedly titled"Ballet in Space."It is true SF.
One of my favorite Argentine poets, the great educator Almafuerte (1854-1917) wrote: "To the weak, difficulty is a closed door. To the strong, however, it is a door waiting to be opened." Difficulties impede the progress of those who are weak. For the strong, however, they are an opportunity to open wide the doors to a bright future. Everything is determined by our attitude, by our resolve. Our heart is what matters most...Daisaku Ikeda
"Resolve." One's resolution is what splits the universe.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Following the links from this insightful, thoughtful blog to all these OTHER blogs, just as full of good ideas... Well, I'm rambling because I'm getting... not information overload, but something like "idea overload", or experience overload. And I'm nowhere near as articulate as most of you are, so I'm just trying to stumble out the words that, if I was in person, you could just see how open-mouthed and amazed I am. We're so used to the dreary dumbed-down on the internet--just as we are with TV and all the other media forms--that if you actually find the clarity and insight and food-for-thought, you crave, it can be almost too much for your brain to shift gears. This blog is RICH (in the same sense as rich food), almost too rich, and now you've sent me to more, more more.... I was supposed to eat dinner three hours ago, and I'm a family man, not a single student! Look down on those who play video games for hours on end if you want, but is there any difference between me being stuck here absorbed at the screen, while a few feet away my child has been spending those same hours digging out dinosaurs on his handheld video game? Neither one of has moved. No, I'm not complaining: I'm *amazed*, not appalled, at what I've found. I don't want to leave! This place is worth it... but it's the curse of us "intelligent" (thoughtful? intellectual?) people that the idea of "it's worth it! It really makes you think." (which is true!) can defuse our defenses ("I'm not wasting my time...") and then hours later, "It's time to go to bed. Are you STILL on that stupid computer?"
OK, that's not even what I came here to say in the first place. Didn't mean to babble. What I was really going "whoa" about was a hop from Michael Mirasol's blog to another article by Emily Gould, "Exposed." Or, as Michael as subtitles it, "The Dangers of Oversharing Your Life Online". Michael introduces far better than I could:
"It's not the usual stories one hears about, like being taken advantage of by scammers, or petty images being photoshopped. Emily is an experienced blogger who was well aware of such amateurish escapades. What she does detail is the psychological toll it takes on people who thrive on or need such attention.... She has painted a rich picture of what many bloggers secretly or openly crave for. And the very commentary that she has elicited indicates that even those who don't like her writing or her actions, seek to satisfy their own desires to be heard. In the end we're all a little like Emily Gould."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/magazine/25internet-t.html
This blog is a friendly place. So the regulars here like Marie et al can come to seem like just the people you know--you learn their personalities, their quirks. You can let your guard down here. Well, what got to me about Emily's story is how just that familiarity on her blog went a little further, then a little further... until the end it was almost like a reality TV show in print.
I don't want it to sound like a cautionary tale. Please, I don't want the charming tales of food and animation artists and sidewalk tours and all of that to stop! It was just... right after reading about all your anecdotes, then about Emily and her boyfriend and their little events, and the friendly feedback to it on her blog... and what all that led to in the end, was "Whoa."
Ebert: Whoa. I try to keep a rein -- a loose one, but a rein -- on comments. I'm wary about posters getting too personal. Friendly, sure, but not violating anyone else's space.
Roger, please tell people that the first blog is not the right one...and is deleted.
Here is the neat trick...
http://a.bestmetronome.com/
set it at 138 beats per minute and instantly be connected with nature...and your television! It will beat exactly on rhythm with the editing of your television!..Each cut (different camera shot/view) will be right on the beat.
The editing to everything we watch on television or on the computer is connected with the rhythm of the universe.
I participate as "James Hussein Dixon" on this blog:
amcop.blogspot.com
It is for the angry, political days in one's life.
Like everybody else, I'm incredibly flattered that you went out of your way to mention my little slice of the internet. I, too, have one of those little counter devices--the spike in traffic was pretty substantial, but also a little embarrassing since I haven't posted anything particularly useful or even indicative of whatever talent I have as a critic, poet, or budding humorist since the middle of August. You know how I know you actually read my blog? The line you quoted from my review of Funny People is actually the last line of the last post on the first page. Oy, the terribly unfunny YouTube videos you had to go through to get there!
I really didn't want to say anything on this thread till I had something worthwhile to contribute on my own blog, but there really hasn't been time. A lot of posts sitting half-done in the hopper, from Cold Souls to Inglorious Basterds to a four star review of Revolutionary Road (probably 2008's most underrated movie, with Lakeview Terrace coming in second), but school eats up so much time, and sometimes it's nice to just let a movie play without worrying so much about putting my thoughts about that movie in writing. But now there's a poem in the slot Ric Flair occupied, and I can't stop thinking about the boxing game in that YTMND link because I used to own the damn thing. A friend and I made our own boxers, blue and green skinned monsters with names like Paul "The Wall" Rodgers and Matt "The Bat" Bias, so we could mash buttons against the likes of Ali and Foreman. Memories!
Oh, and thanks for all the other links, you veritable virtual drug dealer. We procrastinators have enough to do without being given an incredibly long list of writing worth checking out. I should be looking at grad schools, working on my portfolio, or, God forbid, catching up on sleep; but noooooooooo.
By Richard Peterson on September 30, 2009 2:56 PM
@Rand Disciple (re Polanski):
"But this person I'm debating -- who has actually sat on a jury for rape crimes before -- believes the law must be followed to the best of our ability, no exceptions ever if we're doing our jobs."
If I believed that every infraction of the law was pursued over decades and continents "with no exceptions," I might agree with that person. But in such zeal is seldom seen unless the subject is famous enough to generate sufficient controversy and publicity.
I'm not suggesting that anyone be given special treatment because of supposed artistic contributions or whatever; only that it is less than professional for prosecutors to single-mindedly chase after the famous, like paparazzi.
Ebert: Heck, we're not even going to prosecute Bush.
But we should, to set a standard. And so you've made your point sir.
Polanski has to face up to it at some point, doesn't he? Even if it's advantageous for the world that he continues going on... He did do it. Shouldn't he, in a way, want to go on trial now? Is the only reason he doesn't return because he's that afraid that a contemporary court would not understand his original reason for fleeing? Or is he afraid they'll nail him on why he never did come back? (I mean, he's up in there in age now. When was he planning on dealing with this once and for all?) Or maybe he felt, since the victim was OK with the outcome, he was too? The precedent that sets is not that comforting. It's a slippery slope of relativism.
I hear ya Richard. Deep down, I don't feel Polanski's incarceration makes much of a point when so many walk free everyday. I think it distracts from the real issue society should focus on: how these things happen in the first place. But where do you draw the line then?
Jim Emerson's post put much into perspective to me as I thought about it more over the course of the day. Is there any solution out there more perfect than the opposite ends of each spectrum being disappointed in the sentencing? Is that not justice?
I was arrogant and naive to have argued with that jury member the way I did. I had my reasons. I'm glad I considered them and what truth there may be in them. But today I think they weren't thought all the way through.
I love how Roger can expose that in one line. I hope someday I will be that wise and learned.
Ebert: I tried to read Ayn Rand. I got discouraged because she so clearly thought her novel was About Something.
I'm sure she thought the Social Contract was a fairy tale.
See, I never actually read her work. I just stumbled upon the basic points one night. Dare I say, it made some sense at the time.
But I read up on it a little more today and... I'm not so sure now.
I'm starting to sense something terrible (and alienating) lurking within...
I don't understand why she wouldn't want welfare as a safety net, or some regulation of the rich for that matter. I mean, that's just taking her individualism obsession to a cruel extreme.
And her rigid belief in consciousness sounds similar to the college prof Ed Norton twin in "Leaves of Grass", uptight and naive, egotistic, just trying to prove some point that is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things (as his twin brother knows). I wonder, would Rand have hated the ending of "Leaves of Grass"? Or the slackers in Apatow films?
And I completely overlooked her support of laissez-faire capitalism. Say what? Really? I didn't realize selfishness was the key driving factor of her philosophy and that just doesn't sit well with me, no more than the idea that one should always be at the service of their society. She took the exact opposite stance and that's overreacting.
She's confusing. Elsewhere she notes that it should be asked if it is worth having any values. Good question. But then she talks about not giving into simple, mindless reactions to the world around you. Why not? Why not give yourself up to a catchy tune? Or the delicious taste of a pizza? Or the refreshing, invigorating feeling of crisp, fresh air in Autumn? (At least, I've always felt that way about it.) I also like the B-movie story Vivek told above. She does seem to not place enough importance on enjoying silliness.
And for somebody who 'loves her life' so much, it seems her personal life was riddled with its fair share of unhappy relationships...
But, putting all that aside for the moment, hear this out:
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."
—Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged[5]
Sounds a lot more exciting, thoughtful and sane than what my parents always told me. "You go to school, you get a job, you make money."
She says you aren't a gear in the machine, you can think for yourself, you can go after what you dream of.
And all the rest indicates to me she feels there's no one truth or way to live , that's up to each individual to decide what makes them happiest by reasoning it out. She also advises we don't become too complacent, try to achieve something if we can, maybe build a park for kids before we die.
And as I read that above quote for the first time, what came to mind (other than "Ikiru")?
The work of Kubrick and, specifically, "2001 - A Space Odyssey". Roger, the ending of your Great Movies review for that film -- and this is one of my favorite closings from you -- suggested that the ending of "2001" suggests Kubrick is calling us out to realize "we are not made of flesh but intelligence."
That's not a far cry from Rand saying "reason as [our] only absolute".
Is it?
Or maybe it is. In "Barry Lyndon" and "A Clockwork Orange", Kubrick did seem to believe we're gears in a machine...
Rand seems to have some good intentions and maybe even some good ideas ahead of her time (in that many people today still haven't clued into them, such as the idea of being independent and not following the herd).
But she also has some rather looney conclusions about capitalism, welfare and intellectuals being superior to those who respect the visceral, amongst other things. I like that she says she wasn't against emotion, that she respected it in art... But then she has it has no intellectual value in itself.
Woody Allen would disagree, learning that the hard way.
Anyway, I hope between these two responses I've righted some of my wrongs from yesterday...
Sorry to do this graffiti on your superb Blog about Blogs Roger.
Ebert: Well, she was no disciple of the Social Contract, that's for sure.
Roger, this gesture towards your loyals readers is generous, personal, and wonderful.
I know this is an echo of what nearly 200 people have already said, but I think it is worth repeating ad infinitum.
There is absolutely no affectation or posturing in what you have done. It is instantly recognizable as genuine: it is really YOU who took the time and the trouble to take an interest in your readers and to write up this very personal tribute to them.
You have done something completely unselfish, and that is rare in today's world. Knowing that such gestures are still possible makes me feel good.
Keep writing!
I've been away on a business trip in New York (where I met some of my fellow contributors from The House Next Door, no less), so I've only got to this entry just now. I've been a fan of Marie's work for a long time, but I am glad to have discovered that SM Rana also keeps a blog. And the other links? Say goodbye to the afternoon, Ali. Goodbye to the afternoon, Ali.
Hi Roger,
I always like reading a lot of your film reviews and find your recent dabbling into blogging interesting to read. This is off-topic from your blog-entry, but are you going to be reviewing the Armando Iannucci comedy film "In The Loop" with Steve Coogan, Peter Capaldi and James Gandolfini which was released a couple of months ago?
Sorry about all the beats per minute talk, but it is finalized now, finally.
John D: I don't want it to sound like a cautionary tale. Please, I don't want the charming tales of food and animation artists and sidewalk tours and all of that to stop! It was just... right after reading about all your anecdotes, then about Emily and her boyfriend and their little events, and the friendly feedback to it on her blog... and what all that led to in the end, was "Whoa."
Ebert: Whoa. I try to keep a rein -- a loose one, but a rein -- on comments. I'm wary about posters getting too personal. Friendly, sure, but not violating anyone else's space.
I actually read that article when it was first published...and shared it with a close few friends on my private blog. I laughed that it could never be me because I could never share so much publicly. Then I discovered Roger's blog. Then one day I commented. Then more comments. And now I have a public blog. I can see how it escalates...the easiness you develop with your readers, somehow they appear closer than they really are.
I think writers always struggle with that balance between making a human connection and maintaining your privacy. As thoughtful souls, the thoughts need an outlet, and you can only control so much of where the spill goes. When words used to be only printed on paper, it was easier - it's harder to track an author down when you can't google them. It's also less inviting to track them down when you can't talk back. Internet has changed everything. I go through periods of loathing the endless emails and notifications in my inbox, almost haunting my every minute of free time, to being so absorbed in someone's thoughts, art, or words that I feel like I was right there with them. Should we reach out or bundle up? It's so difficult to say. I feel like I'm on the tip of a pendulum, the ride through the air is thrilling, except the arc is getting dangerously steeper and steeper on both sides.
In the end. None of us can ride that pendulum forever. It is a child's game. And our feet eventually need to touch solid ground.
Ebert: Now you're making me worried.
On the other hand, maybe it's just fun.
I know there are blogs that turn bad. My discussion group on Compuserve in the 1990s was infected by a poster who essentially destroyed it -- or drove me away, in any event.
I wish that I had a blog to share. I suppose this could be the impetus to start one. Still, I should want to write to express myself regardless of readers, rather than to be read by Roger Ebert. Ah. I'll think of something.
I saw "Departures" the day before yesterday, and I still feel like crying when I remember the final scene. My father left when I was young, as well. He left this world, not me. So, the final scene tore me to shreds. I've never left a movie theatre in that condition before.
Marie, your recipes are definitely not the only delicious thing about you. Anytime you're in Northern Arizona, let me know. I need an excuse to make that "Big Night" timpano.
Don't you hate it when you lose your Internet connection? Next to stepping on a slug and squishing him between your bare toes - which has totally happened to me and just as gross as you'd imagine - I hate it when the Net goes down.
And where is "down" anyway? Where does it go…? And more importantly, what makes it leave. And at the stroke of midnight no less! True; it's now officially the month of Halloween. Maybe it was overwhelmed by the sheer anticipation that is seeing the Great Pumpkin! I know I'm already starting to feel anxious - for I'm sure he'll show up this year, rubbing hands together with glee!
Whatever the answer, it's back this morning and the balance of power in the universe is now restored. :)
Except for a small corner of it over at Wal-Mart. Allow me to explain...
Classico Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce. Ever hear of it? It was on sale: $2.97 each! And so there I was, along with my brother - I was making lasagna for dinner and he was paying for his meal by carrying the bags; smile. "Hey! Let's go check-out their Halloween stuff!” he suddenly says.
Now, there's seasonal - and then there's a hole in the fabric of space itself. Something must have ripped open for so much to spill from that alternate dimension into this one - as how else to explain 10 isles of Halloween merchandize and stretching to the far back wall?!
OMG! I... I had never seen such a thing before! One isle alone was bursting with so much Gothic & Medieval plastic weaponry that for a moment I thought I'd stumbled into War Craft. It was like Christmas had turned to the dark side. There was SO MUCH stuff! A vast sea of orange and black as far as the eye could see. Literally everything you could ever possibly imagine or want was on display.
Need a scythe or a grave? There were several to choose from. Cauldrons and kettles, body parts too, along with costumes galore - monsters, pirates, mad scientists and French maids, witches with brooms, cloaks and daggers and horribly disfigured faces in rubber, it all lined the walls or sat piled high upon shelves. Along with all manner of battery operated dancing gargoyle and fog machine. They even had stuff that inflates and sits on your lawn! Dracula in a coffin. And a 16 foot high human skull complete with sound effects. You could even buy a "fake" electric pumpkin. Just plug it in, all your work done for you.
Halloween is my favorite time of the year and ordinarily such a bounty would have made me squeal. But this just felt wrong. I mean, gee dudes - half the fun of Halloween is making your OWN stuff!
Marie's Halloween house!
http://www3.telus.net/thiliasspace/Marie/jpegs/house2.jpg
Cardboard headstones! Ghosts and a kitty too! One ghost even projected onto the garage door and wielding a bloody axe courtesy of a homemade color slide! And there’s candles in pickle jars, real carved pumpkins on the porch… THAT'S Halloween! Making stuff out of crap you’ve scrounged around for! And then stealing candy out of the bowl when Mom's not looking; ssshh.
And now? Now it's all bogus commercialism. And dammit, is nothing sacred?! They already ruined Christmas and the Easter bunny! Well I don’t care how you market it - you’re not sucking me into the corporate pit! I’m gonna kill a real live pumpkin and carve out its guts and you can’t stop me!
For “I” have standards.
By Michael Mirasol on September 29, 2009 9:28 PM
There might be a name for us "Ebert-fans" (though I don't think Roger would like encouraging this).
Pauline Kael's devotees were "Paulettes." Are we "Ebertricians?"
"Rogerlings?"
Ebert: I do indeed discourage that.
I know which one my father, an electrician, would vote for.
I would vote to call Ebert fans "Ebertarians"
I met a pretty girl on a hike in Twillingate who told me she loved Atlas Shrugged. It was such a blot on a perfect Sunday.
Indian Idiot said "All in all, balance is apt (I lean more towards disbelief and scepticism with most things, especially organised religion/s) no one actually achieves this magical goal but the point lies almost entirely in the attempt."
II: You posted this before Roger's review went up, but as far as I can tell you have presciently summarized "The Invention of Lying."
Roger: You mentioned being previously turned off by this movie's trailer. I saw a rapid-fire promo on Hulu yesterday and was repulsed. They snipped together some of the same lines you quoted, but without context they sounded puerile at best. Now I can't wait to see it, and wonder how many other good movies I've missed because of a studio's misguided attempts at promoting them.
Ebert: You'll see why they wanted to misrepresent this one.
Ebert: "You'll see why they wanted to misrepresent this one."
They can't hide forever. Have the crusaders started to organize yet? And when they do will it help or hurt attendance?
[BTW I wish the Name field was mandatory on your Comment form. I hate it when I forget to fill it in and wind up hiding behind "Anonymous." If a name was required, people could still type in Anonymous if they wanted to.]
Whoa again. I gave Emily's article a god's honest try, but it rather made me sleepy, and not because of advancing age. Its energy was limpid. And honestly, the only edifying information it gave me was something I already know -- hiring virtual intellectual children right out of college and into editors' positions -- because they are young women considered obedient and pliable and because they work cheap -- is a reason Simon & Schuster's sales dropped 32% over the past two years, for a single example of many publishers heading down the tubes. Obedient people oughtn't be depended upon to make vital artistic choices; they'll follow the safety rules instead. Even Dr. Seuss was rejected by 27 fearful publishers. It took a wizened, wild character like Bennett Cerf to risk it.
On the other hand, just her mention of her boyfriend playing "noise music" or noizemuzik was interesting. I haven't seen mention of that since doing cassette culture reviews in 1995. A clue. One of these days someone will produce some noise that works commercially. Grumpy old farts' definition of "noise" notwithstanding.
There will always be those who generously sweep their hands across the imagined masses, pronouncing what is best for them, so let it be pronounced, so let it be done, like it or not. My sweeping gestures are the only valid ones I've heard of. Anyhow, werks fer me.
Back in music days I was stalked occasionally by not-too-sane fans who thought a) I was rich and famous, b)I was eager to make them rich and famous too. One sent me drawings of myself being eaten by spiders, another somehow found my phone number and left 25 messages on my answering machine while I was out a few hours; one had just got out of jail after 12 years and had found my home address, all ready to join my imaginary gravy train. Internet communications have been safer, even with a few death threats... though where there's a twisted will, there's a twisted way.
I'm sure Roger that in 40 years you've had a very interesting share of unsettling fan letters and phone calls bristling with insanity, some well-intended, some not so.
My first internet involvement a dozen or so years ago began with a veritable boot-camp of a free-for-all discussion site. No rules, no chosen topics. (I don't think the term "blog" had yet spread.) It ranged from expressions that will probably still be considered deeply vulgar a century from now to the high-falutin'. My hat is still off to an Australian lawyer named "Slander," whose real name, occupation and residence the site owner found because he managed to outrage the lot of us several times a day, every day. More than one participant sincerely wanted Slander dead. Nevertheless, he was never blocked from the site -- my preference.
What mattered was the sheer vitality of the thing. It still does. Artificial cautions do dim it. It's like fencing off a piece of the ocean for a kiddie pool -- yes good for kiddies, but not for the willingly adventurous.
My hat is also still off to the young lady who decided to post her most intimate daily diary on the 'net, some years back, which also made news in the New York Times. Marshall McLuhan would probably call the 'net "a cool medium," yet it does reflect realities closer to home than so called TV reality shows, and so can expand the emotional and intellectual reality of many, to the extent they are willing to use and risk it. All of my risks have so far been worth it, some, spectacular.
As my occupation also entails sitting at a computer screen communicating heart-to-heart with strangers into the night anyhow, now and then I have to shut the damned thing down before it drives me to tears.
Aye, H.W. Aye. And there is always more. Always.
Great Halloween house, Marie!
I see we have two votes for "Ebertarian" now. Looks like a landslide! I've always resisted even the most innocent labelisms, but this one is tempting.
ebertarians works for me. proud to be one. what animal will be "our" symbol? the elephant and jackass/donkey/burro/not-a-horse are taken. gecko is out. toys 'r' us still has the giraffe. trix has the rabbit.
Mike Spearns: "I met a pretty girl on a hike in Twillingate who told me she loved Atlas Shrugged. It was such a blot on a perfect Sunday."
Accepting digression as part of casual, civil conversation, how did Ayn Rand get in this one?
Endulge me for a moment as I relate an Ayn Rand moment at the Atlanta airport, smoking box, en route to pre-Katrina NOLA.
A TSA guy sat next to me and lit up. Pulls out The Fountainhead, more than halfway through. I'd smuggled a beer out of the bar and had it in plain sight.
Paraphrase of real conversation:
"So, you're reading Ayn Rand and wearing that bigass patch on your sleeve. How does that add up?"
"My girlfriend gave it to me."
"Guess you got no choice there. Though I gotta tell you I think Rand was a sociopath and, even worse, f'king boring, worst sin of all."
It probably helped that we had a similar dialect and a kind of mutual respect that passes for manners in some places, so we talked about other stuff for another smoke.
The crux of the matter is that I sure wouldn't turn down a conversation because of Ayn Rand or a movie or a politician or much of anything at all. Hell, it might even start one, and if it's with pretty girls, all the better.
Lagniappe time, it's Aaron Neville singing Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aeMw4ZdbAA
By Tom Payne on October 1, 2009 2:44 PM
I would vote to call Ebert fans "Ebertarians"
I like how it sounds, but I don't think Roger's "conservative" fans would. :D
Thank you for allowing us to leave our URLs in your blogs. Many newspaper websites don't allow this because they still don't get the internet. The sun-times has done well on this.
Matthew Dessem,
Thanks for your response to my comment. Nothing you say can change my opinion on "Chasing Amy" (not that I think you're trying to), but I was struck by your comment on how Holden's speech was mostly about himself and not about Alyssa. I honestly never even thought of that. I still love that whole monologue, but that's definitely an interesting point. You mentioned "Annie Hall" being an excellent film about male insecurity. I agree, although almost every Woody Allen film has that element to it (and in the case of "Annie Hall," the title character was pretty insecure,too.)
And as to your favorite confession of love, I've never seen the British version of "The Office," although I'd like to check it out at some point. I recall another confession of love on film that I found deeply moving, and that was the one Ethan Hawke's character makes to Julie Delpy's character towards the end of "Before Sunset."
Anyway, thanks for responding, and I'll be checking out your sight to read your other essays on the Criterion Collection films (and if necessary, writing long responses disagreeing with you.)
Ebert: Now you're making me worried.
On the other hand, maybe it's just fun.
I tend to be a tad melodramatic post-lunch at work. Afternoon blues.
Anon: You probably missed Evergreen Terrace. Do yourself a favor and see that movie.
The second-best blog on the Internet: Psychedelic Kimchi!
Ebert wrote, Hyde Park is a particularly interesting university community. Philip Roth's novel Letting Go, now 40 years old, evokes it so well.
Added to my reading list. The only Roth I've read was I Married a Communist, which was brilliant, so that should be a fun ride.
Hi Grace,
Thanks for checking out my photos. Can you describe #22 that you liked? Sometimes they move around in order...
Hi Aaron,
I checked out your paintings. I liked "Sails at the Yacht Club". Very nice.
Randy
Ebert: Movies,... pro wrestling.
Pro wrestling?
I'm a UFC fan. The octagon. Cage-fighting. The blood is real.
To each his own...
Tom Dark,
I've changed the name of my blog to 138 beats per minute, which is the right one.
I'm aware of the punk/ska relation because I used to play punk songs with my friends in his garage. I was rhythm guitar; the friend, whose garage we would play in, was the drummer; another was lead guitar; another a singer; no bass player.
Halloween is my favorite holiday--the costumes, the scary movies on television, the legality of scaring people (dish out some just deserts, perhaps), it's kind of a middle finger to lawyers, which adds to the fun spirit.
"...the thought that the universes splits whenever you make a decision, and allows countless versions of yourself to exist simultaneously, in parallel universes, living out every possible version of your life. What an idea. What a concept." Grace Wang
This concept was at the center of a Star Trek (TNG) episode, many years before. The episode I'm referring to is "Parallels".
What a freaky day!
After booting up this morning, my Internet now restored, for reasons which utterly baffle me as I never solved the "why" behind it - this site, the blog here at the Chicago Sun Times, was making first Firefox and then Explorer repeatedly crash! That is not good.
I managed to post about Halloween, but another post before it was lost. So now I'm trying again. It seems stable enough now. But...how "odd". I know the spam filter tends to single me out for stuff. Hmmm.
@ Tom Dark -
"Great Halloween house, Marie!"
Thank-you! I take Halloween very seriously, ya know. The Great Pumpkin sees all. Ooo, carvings! The Hogwarts school crest, and that stuff etched around the "ring" in Lord of the Rings...
http://www3.telus.net/thiliasspace/Marie/jpegs/2pumpkins.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/thiliasspace/Marie/jpegs/pmpumpkins.jpg
Ebert: Help me out here. Wasn't there some movie about a madman who conquered the world by taking control of all the home appliances?
G-Force opened on July 24, 2009 in theaters – are you sure that’s not it?
@ Zach Brutsche - “Marie, your recipes are definitely not the only delicious thing about you. Anytime you're in Northern Arizona, let me know. I need an excuse to make that "Big Night" timpano.”
Chuckle; you know how much it costs to make that recipe, right? :)
I've been to Seattle, Yellowstone National Park, and Manhattan in New York. But never Northern Arizona. Google images....Oooo! Hey, is that from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?! You know, that place Dreyfus tried to make out of mashed potatoes?? Is that from your State?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2099/2057430484_713123ecce.jpg
That Ken Burns's documentary about Great American Parks has been playing on PBS - have you see it? Ie: includes the Grand Canyon. It's not just about the Parks but also the people who created them, and what it says about the country you were - that politicians could be swayed to keep at bay the real estate developers so eager to exploit the land. Gosh, but you were something back then.
Now, let's see what happens if you type in Northern Arizona and recipes... Oh MY....
Smoked Salmon Breakfast Casserole
2 c. small broccoli florets
10 green onions chopped
1/2 pound sliced smoked salmon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 c. packed grated Monterey Jack cheese [about 8 oz]
8 oz cream cheese, chilled, cut into 1/4" pieces
8 large eggs
2 c. whole milk
1-cup buttermilk baking mix [such as Bisquick]
1/4 t. salt
1/ t. ground black pepper
Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Arrange the broccoli and 1/2 of the green onions evenly over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with smoked salmon, Jack cheese, cream cheese pieces and remaining 1/2 of onions. [Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate]
Preheat oven to 375. Mix eggs, milk, baking mix, salt and pepper in blender [or with mixer] until smooth. Pour batter over salmon mixture. Bake casserole until just set in center about 30 minutes, or a bit longer if refrigerated. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
(insert growling tummy.)
@ Grace Wang – “Marie! haha thanks for that inventive little bad-taste ridding game. I would do it if I wasn't so lazy :). C'est la vie. Everything has a beginning and end and I'm not too bummed about it anymore. Maybe I'll learn to love Kilkenny again some day. For now Guinness do me just fine :)
By the way that "Girl in the Coat" is my favorite of yours.”
Oh that’s good to hear - as far better to be “Zen” about such things than not, eh? But if you ever need to get over something fast – don’t hesitate to grab some mud. Works like a charm. :)
As for the Girl in the Coat – thanks! Note: that coat? 100% Cashmere. I could only afford to paint it at the time, chuckle! Actually, that still hasn’t changed. I’ve long since lost the magazine photo reference for the painting, but I seem to recall it was taken in the North Yorkshire Moors. Ever been there..? Me? I got as far outside London as Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Canterbury Cathedral, Leeds and Dover Castles. I’ve never been to Ireland or Scotland.
I must say, I really enjoyed those videos about Roger's walk in London! Thank-God I've been there or they'd have made me choke on my own envy. I've been to London and Venice; I think they're the two most perfect cities for walking around in. It helps if you're inquisitive, too; ie: hey... what's around that sign that says "do not" enter? (That's where all the best stuff is usually hiding!) That, or a really cranky guy. :)
@ Sean Kelley – “And you used to be a tracer?”
Sean? Come here. SMACK!
I was not a TRACER! I hand-inked animation cels! It’s an actual skill - I can prove it! (Laughing..!)
Ren and Stimpy: Big House Blues – production credits
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448204/fullcredits
I inked over half that episode, too! $1.00 @ cel. Ah, the television industry, fame and fortune.
@ John M - “And Marie Haws! My admiration for her grows daily…”
Awwww. You guys are being awful nice to me. I'm sorry I smacked ya, Sean. :)
What's the last letter in your name, John? It's not "e" it is? As then it could be something cool, like "Marple". :)
Note: I don't know about anyone else, but I sorta think of the collective in here as "Ebertonians"- the way "Whovians" describes loyal fans of Doctor Who over at Outpost Gallifrey and where I used to post - until things took a decidedly ominous turn for the worse in the wake of Classic Who vs New.
Man, those former Private School Boys sure know how to wield a scapel, eh?
Seriously; it was frightening.
Hopefully, this Merchant-Ivory film I found at the library won't be. I've never seen this before, it's called "Before the Rains"...? Checking review...
"It's a melodrama about adultery, set against the backdrop of southern India in 1937.... "Before the Rains" is lushly photographed, as we would expect, by Sivan himself. It's told sincerely and with energy. It enjoys its period settings and costumes, and even its conventions. In a movie with plenty of room for it, there isn't a trace of cynicism. I am growing weary (temporarily, I think) of films that are cynical about themselves. Having seen several films recently whose characters have as many realities as shape-shifters, I found it refreshing to see a one-level story told with passion and romanticism.... But I can't quite recommend it. In a plot depending on concealment and secrecy, Henry and T.K. make all the wrong decisions...." - Roger, 2008 2.5 stars.
But wait, what's this? Users: 4 stars
Well now, that thickens the plot. As now it could swing either way. It could sorta half-suck, or be okay. :)
Ooo, the suspense! Off to watch it! And then Vampire Diaries and Supernatural - 'cause you have to cut the better stuff with stuff less potent or your brain will explode.
Grace Wang wrote, ...the thought that the universes splits whenever you make a decision, and allows countless versions of yourself to exist simultaneously, in parallel universes, living out every possible version of your life. What an idea. What a concept.
May I recommend Neal Stephenson's Anathem? That idea plays a large part in the novel.
Ebert: Gael and Grace:
Discussion with myself:
If there is an unlimited number of universes, and that means that whenever you die you are still alive somewhere, does that mean you never die?
No, it doesn't, because those universes are not about you.
Is this somehow flawed?
Hi Roger.
A thought on this:
If there is an unlimited number of universes, and that means that whenever you die you are still alive somewhere, does that mean you never die?
I'm often accused on the Darwin threads of invoking magic when I discuss ID, because it isn't science: observable, measurable, repeatable, etc.
Yet, you often discuss multiverses - or unlimited universes - as if it interests you and it is reasonable and conceivable.
Do you have direct experience with a parallel universe? Can you measure it? Observe it. Experiment on it?
How is it different from magic? If you can invoke theoretical unlimited universes and the inevitability of everything within them - how is that not magic?
Just a thought, bleeding over from the Longest Thread. As you were.
Randy
Ebert: As far as I'm concerned, they're science fiction. I enjoy the logical paradoxes involved.
Ebert wrote, If there is an unlimited number of universes, and that means that whenever you die you are still alive somewhere, does that mean you never die?
No, it doesn't, because those universes are not about you.
Is this somehow flawed?
Well, if the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is true, then you will indeed never die. According to that interpretation, every time an event could go one of two ways, there is a split and two different universes are created (for instance, if you flip a coin, you create a universe where it comes up heads, and another where it comes up tails).
It also means that, whenever an event happens that could kill you but would not automatically do so (say, someone shoots you with a gun that might jam, to take a very simplistic and not entirely accurate example), two different universes are created (one in where the gun fires and you die, another in which the gun jams and you don't). Everything else in those two universes is exactly the same; however, this is an oversimplification, as it assumes that your dying or not is the only event that happens at this specific time, which it isn't. If we complicate it a little further and suppose that both you and another person are about to get shot by guns that might jam, then four different universes are created: in universe A, both of you are dead; in universe B, both of you are alive; in universe C, you're alive and that other person's dead; and in universe D, you're dead and that other person's alive.
Therefore, it doesn't matter that those universes "aren't about you;" they aren't about anything, per se (of course, if the many-wolrds interpretation is true, it does little good to the you that just got shot and died, and who has no consciousness of his other selves in other universes).
This is basically the theory behind quantum suicide and immortality. Here are the wikipedia entries about the many-wolds interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum suicide and immortality. Fun reads, although the applications for everyday life are somewhat limited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide_and_immortality
Ebert: Is there such a thing as a theory that is perfectly sound mathematically, but clearly absurd? With the jammed gun, we're already up to four. Are these universes made of matter? Where does it come from?
Marie, if you ever get the chance you should try and get to Scotland and Wales too. The British countryside is jaw droppingly beautiful. The West Highlands walk in Scotland is both difficult and breathtaking, the various lochs of Scotland are incomparable. Inverness is gorgeous, as is Fort William. In Wales, Pembrokeshire is amazing - I stayed once for a week at St. Bride's castle, no mobile phone reception, no internet and not a soul around but the other guests at the castle, it was one of the most peaceful experiences of my life. Rhossili and the Brecon Beacons and also Snowdonia are sublime in their beauty. York Minster and the old university towns are also places I will never forget. I love nature, a lot and these places hold very special memories for me. If you ever get down to old Blighty again, try and check these places out, they are awesome. Unfortunately I never made it as far as Ireland either, although greatly I would have loved to.
I remember watching Ren and Stimpy and saying to one of my friends, the people who make this have got to have known Mary Jane, he asked me how do you know? and I replied just look at the bulging bloodshot eye shots that are constantly repeated :) That is way cool that you contributed to that show, you rock. I did'nt say it at the time, but your "Spamrant" cartoon was very funny too :)
I hear the Blair Witch is off on holiday, watch out for her ;)
Indian Idiot (H.W.)
Randy - it was the one with two boats sailing into a burnt orange horizon, magnificent lowly hung clouds. I love clouds. so that always kinda gets me.
Marie! (I can't say your name without an exclamation mark now, love it :) Never been to North Yorkshire Moors...haven't been outside of London proper yet in England. Simply too many places to see! You'll love Ireland (who doesn't? except those living there). It is very very very artistically inspiring.
Roger, how do you define death? That is the crux to your statement...
Is it the death of your body? Because that would mean the physical existence of you in that particular universe died. But other universes go on.
Do you believe in a soul? Something that exists beyond the electrical firing of your synapses? If so, are the souls of yourself in parallel universes somehow connected? If the soul is the essence of yourself, then by all means they should be, right? You may have taken a different road, but the essence of who YOU are didn't change (hmm, ok I see how this can be arguable).
I also don't know enough about universes to define what is a universe. That would be important to know in this theory.
The parallel universe scenario just fascinates me even though I'm relatively uninformed about it. I have to start reading all those suggestions now. I'm surprised at how many people caught on to that sentence though...do we all secretly wish we could escapt the universe that we are in now? It's a comforting thought, isn't it? Even better than movies, that would be the ultimate escape (or immortality).
Ebert wrote, Is there such a thing as a theory that is perfectly sound mathematically, but clearly absurd? With the jammed gun, we're already up to four. Are these universes made of matter? Where does it come from?
Actually, we're up to a little more than four. The jammed gun example was (yet another) oversimplification on my part, since there isn't a 50% chance that the gun will jam. If there is, let's decide arbitrarily, a 1-in-a-million chance that the gun will jam, we get 999,999 universes where it doesn't, and 1 where it does. Of course, those 999,999 universes where it doesn't are, for all intents and purposes, exactly similar. Hence my reduction to 2 universes. The example of the coin flip is more accurate (since there is exactly 50% chance that it will come up heads, and 50% chance that it will come up tails), but a coin flip rarely has a lethal result (unless the one doing the flipping is Two-Face).
As for your questions, well, I'm afraid I'm not knowledgeable enough when it comes to quantum mechanics to answer them properly. My understanding, though, would be that yes, those "parallel universes" would be made of matter, and exist concurrently with ours. The problem, of course, is that if they exist, we cannot perceive them and, more importantly, cannot experiment on them. In that sense, the many-world interpretation of quantum mechanics could be misconstrued as similar to ID, except that it is mathematically sound to begin with and doesn't conflict with another theory that disproves it. It seems to me to be more of an interesting intellectual experiment than anything else (also noteworthy is the fact that it presents itself as an "interpretation", never a theory).
Ebert: Ah, interpretation. That helps.
An impossible one, sez I. But I love thinking about stuff like this.
Dear Roger -- I'm a little peeved with you. I like this web site, and I certainly don't read it for the readers' comments, for heaven's sake. I ordered your book subtitled "the best of Roger Ebert," and I was disappointed to find that it is all about film. Before giving it to my friend who cares about film, I began to read the doggoned thing. My movie-going days, same as yours, were in Athens, Ill., 1950-56, where we had two theaters (phooey to Urbana). Now I go to fewer than one movie per year, and I don't watch them at home either. I read a great deal. Nothing would induce me to see a Spike Lee film. I saw E.T. -- maybe Raiders -- no other Spielburg. Yet you write so beautifully that I keep on reading and learning interesting things, so I'm ordering more copies of that diappointing book for Christmas presents. I don't think there's any larger lesson for me in this experience. . .
Iris Knell wrote, Now I go to fewer than one movie per year, and I don't watch them at home either. I read a great deal. Nothing would induce me to see a Spike Lee film. I saw E.T. -- maybe Raiders -- no other Spielburg.
This is perhaps the saddest thing I've ever read on this blog.
Ebert: Is there such a thing as a theory that is perfectly sound mathematically, but clearly absurd?
Actually that is a perfect description of quantum mechanics. Any student in this field who claims to "comprehend" its implications is lying or confused, because the things it tells us cannot be mapped onto the structure of 3-dimensional macro-scale human brains. And I am going to stick my neck out here and predict that human conciousness will forever be subject to the limitations of the physical brain it "runs" on. We can send math ahead to explore beyond our limits (and do that without limit) but we have to accept that reality contains places we cannot peer into, and paradoxes we will never comfortably resolve.
Our unwillingness to accept these paradoxical implications in terms of the bounded reality our minds are equipped to model leads to absurdities as the many-universe "explanation" which is no explanation at all, and was not necessary in the first place.
(I was going to go on but I have an iron clad rule: at least once each day, I close my laptop and look out the window for at least 5 minutes. Amazingly many things manifest there, completely outside the blogosphere.)
Ebert: You know, no matter how many universes there are, this discussion is more fun than the one going on over at the "fringe" thread.
@ Indian Idiot (H.W.) -
"Marie, if you ever get the chance you should try and get to Scotland and Wales too. The British countryside is jaw droppingly beautiful. The West Highlands walk in Scotland is both difficult and breathtaking, the various lochs of Scotland are incomparable. Inverness is gorgeous, as is Fort William. In Wales, Pembrokeshire is amazing - I stayed once for a week at St. Bride's castle, no mobile phone reception, no internet and not a soul around but the other guests at the castle, it was one of the most peaceful experiences of my life..."
I took a trip inside my head just then, after reading the above. Then I Googled it and found the BIGGEST patch I've grass I've ever seen!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SGr7iBBAvmk/RydF40jRhWI/AAAAAAAAAGA/wu4X-JVDzU4/P1000081.JPG
Imagine lying on your back and gazing up at the clouds, watching dragons and pirate ships drift by, the smell of the sea all around you... ahh.
As for Scotland... most people don't know this (that I'm aware) but "where" you are geographically speaking, will have a great deal to do with whether or not it's a good place for painters.
I understand it's got something to do with position of the sun in relation to the angle of the planet and what's called "directional lighting"..? Anyhoo, the south of France has it. Scotland, too! Some the best landscape oil paintings were done in Scotland...
“A View of Tantallon Castle” by Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840), regarded as the founder of Scottish landscape painting:
http://mentalfloss.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Nasmyth.jpg
And what an interesting name for a website, chuckle! Mental Floss. :)
"I remember watching Ren and Stimpy and saying to one of my friends, the people who make this have got to have known Mary Jane, he asked me how do you know? and I replied just look at the bulging bloodshot eye shots that are constantly repeated :) That is way cool that you contributed to that show, you rock. I didn't say it at the time, but your "Spamrant" cartoon was very funny too :)" - Indian Idiot (H.W.)
You have no idea just HOW much Mary Jane went into the making of those cartoons; smile. Classical animation - before the suits ruined everything - was a world unto itself. Roger had the guys at the Newspaper. I had my production crew buddies. He had liquids. I had matches. :)
And yeah, the "spam rant" cartoon... imagine working in an environment where that sort of venting was the norm. I learned how to swear from male co-workers. :)
Ebert wrote: Is there such a thing as a theory that is perfectly sound mathematically, but clearly absurd?
Isn't that "War"..? As in theory, if I have more bombs than you, etc.
@ Grace Wang -
"Marie! (I can't say your name without an exclamation mark now, love it :) Never been to North Yorkshire Moors...haven't been outside of London proper yet in England. Simply too many places to see! You'll love Ireland (who doesn't? except those living there). It is very very very artistically inspiring."
Grace! (smile.)
The Irish live in a beautiful part of the world, but that beauty comes with a price. They haven't destroyed the place and so there's only so much industry and work to be had. It's meant having to court the tourist dollar more than they'd like. So too, contend with the mothership (England) trying to help you; ahem.
And then just to make things interesting, there's the Catholic Church. :)
I do want to visit Ireland, though! I want to walk into a pub and order in a loud, strong voice unwavering and filled with self-confidence:
"EXCUSE ME? But I'd like to have a KILKENNY."
Grin.
@Indian Idiot(H.W)
"I am largely humbled by the completely random events that resulted in me being born a human being, it truly is quite a cosmological miracle that life as we know it exists on our little blue planet and perhaps if we are so fortunate, some day we shall share the universe with other forms of planetary consciousness."
Random or not, it is a miracle. And one has to believe in this miracle playing every moment right before one's eyes. Truly gender and denomination are small things. One needs to work out the awesomeness and absurdity (read idiocy) and you seem to be trying hard. It's a pleasure to hear your intonated parlance in the mother tongue which proves your idiocy is in fact no expression of humility. Maybe one can assume an identity for purely operational purposes.
What can I say? I have a secret crush on you and your website Roger. I don't typically read blogs (I've certainly never posted on one), but yours is sublime. Your fans are fascinating, and eloquent, and so very interesting. I wish there was more time in the day to read every post, I don't know how you do it!
I have been relying on your movie reviews for as long as I can remember. My friends and I have a weekly Tuesday night "movie club", and my job is to compile the listings and distribute. I religiously consult your website to see if Roger (and Siskel in his day) gave it a thumbs up.
When I heard about your diagnosis I was deeply distressed, I am truly grateful that you beat the cancer and were able to return to the work that you so obviously love. The two years that you were not reviewing movies were a terrible drought in my movie-going career. I can consult other websites or reviews, but your reviews are thoughtful, articulate, intelligent, insightful… I could sing your praises all day long. If Roger recommends a film, I know that I have to see it. Based on your review of "Synecdoche, New York" I saw it twice just to be sure, before deciding that I didn't really like it, but you always give me something to think about. I have a copy of your "Great Movies" list which I scan bi-weekly with my DVR ready to catch one. And for a movie geek like me, that is like a gift. I also love Oscar season, and reading your picks. I make it a point to see every nominated film, every year, at least the major categories. Some of the foreign film nominees don't make it to Calgary, but I see what I can.
Roger, you're like a trusted friend who always has an interesting film, book, or blog, to recommend. I hope that you'll always be around to share your wit and wisdom.
Best wishes to you and Chaz!
PS. Seeing the little blank column in the Entertainment Weekly "Critical Mass" was very troubling. Do you think they would add your grade review back in if I inundate them? I have contacted ew.com to tell them that your contribution is sorely missed.
Hi Grace,
Ah, that picture! I'm fond of that one too. I took that one afternoon after a sales call on a business trip. Standing on the Cambridge side of the river (Charles?) looking over at Boston. It's a good memory.
I took most of the pictures on business trips at the end of the work day. Mostly to keep from going back to sit in my hotel room alone, and to stay out of trouble.
I remember every shot. Where I was. What the circumstances were. Years of memories of enjoying that hobby.
Maybe I should start a blog where I make each picture a post and tell a story about how I came to take the picture. Hmmmm.....
Thank you again for looking at my site. :)
Randy
Can't c&p anybody's stuff 'cuz I've got a thing on clipboard I need to use again in a few minutes.
BUT: "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophies, Rogatio."
Now, here's what to do: contemplate "Nude Descending a Staircase no. 2.," 1905, I think. Can't recall the artist, but boy did he have the right idea. He playfully put little tree-limbs on some of the images of the single nude in the act of walking down a stairs. This was his idea of the nature of time. Motion is the act of moving through distinct probable worlds at a time, stacatto, he meant. It's an act of the imagination re-focused a certain way. Grace knows this intuitively, I see. I hope in days to come she'll elaborate on it.
Why aren't there as many universes as you can imagine, hmm? You're the Johnson type, in the famous "I refute Berkeley thus" story, and as a matter of fact, I am too. Except it has dawned on me that there are millions and millions -- as Carl Sagan would have put it, bullions and bullions -- of Johnsons walking alongside bullions and bullions of Boswells booting that stone every which way. These are in the imaginations of people who've thought of that quote. Which of these imagined depictions are less real than any other? That is to say, which of them doesn't matter?
Where matter come from? So far the Large Hadron Collider keeps breaking down, a machine looking for the answer. Hoping to locate a Higgs' Boson particle, I'm sure you've read about that. Right now it's the $2 Billion Dollar question -- the price of the gizmo -- plus the pay of the scientists working at it.
That question, at bottom, without which there wouldn't be the multifloral bouquet of corollary questions, is "matter exists: how can this be?" Tests are devised because so many particles also said to exist are "massless." That is, without the stuff on which you tread across your living room floor without falling through it.
...and at the same time think about half a dozen things that aren't the least bit material at the moment, such as tomorrow and yesterday.
What if Berkeley was right? It's all basically nonphysical? What kind of price tags will the Libertarians put on nonphysical real estate? Will they leave it to the free market?
And now I must protest -- I think. Unless it just didn't go through. But I fear I've been brutally censored!!!! For no reason at all!!!!
Last night I read Marie's last post here and looked at her pic of the halloween house again and responded with an "XOXOXOXOXOX". Okay, to the layman it would appear I'm flirting gratuitously. But I get "XOXOXOX's" every day and I send them to correspondents all the time, even certain men (I'm 99.999% heterosexual). It makes certain other men nervous, so I don't.
I've been spreading the "XOXOX" for decades. It hardly ever falls on misunderstanding eyes, some even after a single exchange of e-mails.
It's a word of its own that ought not be too defined, beyond the childlike hug-and-kiss it means. One tacks it on intuitively. It is not a proposal for either marriage or to meet in a dirty gas station toilet and do socially unacceptable things. It may be spelled many many ways, such as X, O, XO, XOX, XOXO or XOXoxoxOXxoXOxoxXoxoxXOxoxoxoxoxOXXOXOXoxXO.
It ought not be used as a sarcasm, although when it is, it's an unfair curse.
So. Now. Marie, I looked at your hallowe'en house pic, these other jpegs, and I thought "XOXOXOXOXOX." That's what I thought. Delete THAT, you heartless old Anthony Comstock, you.
I'm treating the frequently joyless barrage on the new "festering" thread like an electronic town-hall meetin'. Have been to many in reality, undisturbed in their natural form by TV cameras and national news. People do indeed get riled up, but they're also very proud of their natural deference to Roberts' Rules of Order. They come out feeling like real Americans and so do I. There's no substitute for the experience.
Somewhat off the main thread, but re: Ayn Rand
I remember a cartoon I saw once in which a man says, "I used to be a follower of Ayn Rand. Then I realized I'm just a selfish prick."
The odd thing is that as personal philosophy, Rand has a point, while as social philosophy, she's just insane. When I was growing up, _The Virtue of Selfishness_ had a prominent place on my mother's bookshelf. Once I read it, this made no sense to me, as she was by most definitions the least selfish person I knew. She was always doing something -- big or small -- for people and expecting nothing that I could see in return. When I asked her about this contradiction, she said, "What I choose to do I do because I think it's important to do it. It's selfish, in that sense. I'm acting according to my own standards. I don't expect any reward, except the satisfaction I feel doing something that I thought needed doing. And if I were to do it for something in order to earn someone's gratitude or make them feel indebted to me, that would be not only wrong but foolish." That was how she interpreted Rand's point -- which of course is not the main point I think Rand was going for, and would be unrecognizable to most "objectivists."
Rand's biggest mistake was to see creativity and drive as inseparable from -- and in some ways identical with -- capitalism. Anyone who has a Romantic (intentional Big R) view of the artist probably would find something admirable in Howard Roark, the architect in _The Fountainhead_. He's brilliant, he has integrity, and he's (in the world the book presents) right. Okay, so he rapes the one woman he loves, who then becomes utterly devoted to him -- Rand clearly had some issues on that score. And Rand stacks the deck by making the "liberal" character Toohey such an absurd caricature.
But somehow between _The Fountainhead_ and _Atlas Shrugged_ Howard Roark got transformed into John Galt. Galt is the son of a garage mechanic who as I remember (it's been a while) invents a new kind of motor, but ultimately he allies himself with capitalists whom Rand identifies as the source of all human progress. But in real life the fortunes accumulated by creative geniuses -- those who invent a new vaccine, design a more efficient engine, whatever -- are dwarfed by the wealth accumulated by those whose only achievement is to design ever more arcane ways to accumulate wealth. The idea that a poor but brilliant mechanical engineer would eventually find his place among the 20th century equivalents of the robber barons, or more absurd, the Wall Street speculators of recent decades, is one of the harder to believe transformations in fiction. Of course, it's all in service of Rand's horror of collectivism -- which, given her experience of the Soviets, makes sense.
These days, most of the people I meet claiming to love Rand are just Spencerians (sometimes called Social Darwinists, though their ideas are perversions of Darwin, who bears no responsibility for them) who don't want to pay taxes. They say, "I've worked for my money. People who are less fortunate must be less talented, or lazy, or otherwise inferior." They refuse to acknowledge what Wolf Larsen says in _The Sea-Wolf_, that all the talent in the world won't matter if the disadvantages are great enough. And like Larsen, they decide they would rather rule over their own little kingdoms -- however petty and pathetic -- then recognize that they are part of something larger. To make another literary reference, one that London himself makes, they would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven, like Lucifer. And like Lucifer, they end up in a hell of their own making. The problem is that we are all headed there with them.
@ Marie, that was my bad. I really did think I wrote "inker" (although I did get a good laugh out of your response.)
And is it just me, or are people starting to get a little more rowdy in here? Roger, in so many words, actually told Snippy to kill himself.
I'm not pointing that out as something negative (it was damn funny), but to say that the group on this blog, at least to me, has almost become like a group of friends, who joke and squabble and have actual discussions, as opposed to just spouting insults at each other (although Snippy may disagree with the "friends" part.)
While SNIPPY considers the various bodily and oenophiliac odors inherent in a BIBULATION PARLOR somewhat beneath his STATION, he does not object to the understandable suggestion by a JEALOUS CRITIC that SNIPPY relax among the SOOTHING VAPORS of a COMMODIOUS VESSEL OF HOT WATER to pursue his craft in peace with an ANTIQUATED ELECTRONIC PRINTING INSTRUMENT; so long as this mildly suspicious advice is delivered through a SANITARY MEDIUM.
@Marie-
"Pere Lachaise is my favorite place in Paris. The cemetery was established by Napoleon 1 in 1804, and they basically tore down the buildings, but retained all the remaining streets, chestnut trees and cobblestones-even the posts with street names and so it is like a little neighborhood frozen in time, but with mauseleums and crypts instead of shops. At night the feral cats come out to play amongth the tombstones."
Thought worth repeating. I think even Thomas Gray would approve.
Found this most interesting tidbit. Among the many luminaries buried there, rests the HEART of Countess Walewska, who was kinda Napoleon's version of Condie Rice, but with the sex included. She had died in 1817 at just 41, while the ex-Emperor was still in exile at Elba. She had visited him shortly beforehand. Napoleon reportedly was grievous at news. He would not die till 1821. The rest of her remains were supposedly returned to her native Poland, but when the casket was opened years later, her body was gone. Don't know what to make of that. Can you help me out,Marie?
THE BOAST OF HERALDRY,THE POMP OF POWER,