(1515) Afternoon all, almost evening. Been a busy one, ticking off the jobs one by one, back in to put up some politics etc.
15. Do we really need such things?
14. Who cares for the babies?
13. Natural medicine?
12. Farage and the WEF
11. The weasel words and phrases
10. Moosh corner
9. The horror of halal
8. Steve at 1266
Erik Prince: Venezuela Should Hire Their Own Private Security. If The United States Tries To Hire The Capacity They Need In Venezuela, It Will Be Another Afghanistan/Iraq Type Debacle
Mary Holland: Pharma Is Up In Arms That Bobby Kennedy Would Have The Temerity To Suggest That Vaccines Should Be Treated Like Every Other Drug. They Know Their Profits Are At Risk
Jack Posobiec: They Might Not Admit It To A Pollster But You Know What? Deep Down The American People Love These Raids, The American People Can’t Get Enough Of Them
Joseph Robertson: the question now is who will be the next senior Tory MP to defect to Nigel Farage?
Too much going on today, chaps and chapesses … was due for more politics but ran out of time … long phone call … so film now, final polit post following that.
“Watching On The Waterfront nowadays, two scenes stand out head and shoulders above the rest.
First is the impassioned speech by Father Barry (Karl Malden) to the gathered dock workers in the hull of a ship where he tries to rally them against the mobsters running their lives.
Second is the confrontation between Terry and Charlie Malloy (Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger) in the back of a taxi which ends in one brother pointing a gun at the other and Brando’s now legendary “contender speech.”
Both of them are sequences where the characters do nothing but talk but each is a fine example of what makes On The Waterfront the undeniable classic it is; acting, scripting, cinematography, music, everything fits into one cohesive whole and the end result is a welcome addition to any film collection.
The story here concerns Terry Malloy, a New York shipyard worker who finds his conscience bothering him when one of his friends is murdered. Terry at first is a tough guy with a grim outlook (“you know my philosophy on life, give it to ’em before they give to you”) who despite his inner turmoil refuses to confess anything to the Police as it would make him a “rat.”
However, the arrival of Malden’s headstrong Preacher and the victim’s innocent sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint in her debut appearance) throws his deaf and dumb world into chaos. Soon, Terry finds himself falling for Edie and the Preacher’s words hit home, leaving the angry young dockworker to question what’s really right.
The mob meanwhile aren’t too happy about Terry’s UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP and begin to pile on the pressure, especially his older brother Charlie who’s torn between loyalty to his boss and looking out for his younger sibling. Before anyone can put a lid on things, the dockyard becomes a very tense place to be.
Brando of course puts his heart and soul into his performance. Terry by his very nature isn’t one to carry his heart on his sleeve and so the great Method Actor is left to convey his turmoil through body language alone. It is a testament to how good he is that you can tell exactly what Terry is feeling even though he hardly ever expresses it verbally. Instead his shoulders hunch with resigned indignation and his eyes spark with anger, Brando playing the part so well he more or less disappears into the character completely.
While he may have taken a lot of the credit however, he is far from the only strong presence in the film as Karl Malden’s rock hard Preacher is just as compelling, his depiction of the dignified man of Christ who isn’t afraid to drink beer and smoke cigarettes with the Wharf rats being a refreshingly positive portrayal of a Catholic leader.
Eva Marie Saint meanwhile puts in a convincing portrayal of Edie, but she is hamstrung a little by some old fashioned writing. Her pursuit of her brother’s murderers give her some powerful moments but there are a couple of instances where it becomes all too clear that the part was written by a man. However, she still gives us one of the most touching moments in the film, a confrontation with Terry where most of their chat is disrupted by a tug horn that is achingly sad despite the absence of dialogue.
Acting is only one half of the equation of course and needless to say, the story remains constantly gripping. The murder that opens the film leaves an instant grip on the viewer’s attention and as Terry spirals further into an intricate web of half truths, things get incredibly dark. The New York tenement blocks that tower over the proceedings provide an imposing sense of claustrophobia while the rooftops are a smoke laden jungle of chimney stacks and TV aerials.
However, if you look closely it becomes apparent that the crew still had some fun with the material and there is some subtle humour to be had – a wedding party degenerating into a brawl and a bar full of panicked customers emptying into the streets followed by a shot of one isolated individual desperately jumping into the bathroom.
All in all therefore, On The Waterfront is a film that is thoroughly deserving of its reputation. Brando excels in his role and heads up a highly talented cast giving it their all. Most of all though, it’s an engaging and captivating story of urban paranoia, filled with tough guys spitting out slang in barking New York accents.
“Think you’re a big shot, do ya? Huh? Well do us all a favour and check this one out. Ah enough a youse guys, ged outta here.”
Difficult to define a musical idea if you’ve not done so before with any success and are not a musician.
“Driving drone” is my limited attempt at defining a song construction which does not vary its rhythm throughout, except for a few bars of repetition, minus melody, at one point. That melody is actually a series of melodic interludes overlaying the core driving rhythm … not unlike baroque basso continuo … and it takes skill to blend them.
It’s also a style where the lyrical content is secondary to the rhythm and melodies … yes, the lyrics make short statements of seeming wisdom but you’re essentially in there for that life rhythm, for that soul.
And that becomes apparent when reactors to the songs try to make sense of them, especially young Millennial and Gen Z reactors looking back at these 70s and 80s ventures, realising how much better they were, musically, compared to anything else since in popular music.
Here are three examples of this “driving drone” idea:
So much to say about that … someone wrote that it was elements of funk, soul, jazz, pop, all thrown in together. And the young lady … always a buzz when a student “gets” something and there’s a link established between past and present. Now this one in which the musical break comes at the 4 minute mark:
Now I can quite understand those who think “repetitious mumbo jumbo” … the whole thing again is the driving rhythm which underlays and transcends any lyrical content, also any overlaid melodies until, at 4 minutes, some sort of break is needed.
In the last one below, that needed break or interlude comes at 06:56 and goes for almost exactly a minute, then returning to the original phrasing for the the outro:
Granted … it’s not everyone’s cuppa cha but it’s a distinct genre, most rhythmic, and some of us need that now and then. The closest I can get in RL to that was WN2 and I when, once the rhythm was started by her, I overlaid melodies afap, working off one another … a marriage of rhythm and aesthetics perhaps?
(0723) Late start today … bad in that it sets back the programme, good in that it allows me to at least do the programme. Ditto with your sleep and eating pattern, exercise. (0950)
5. Deep corruption in Texas. DJT has decided not to endorse Paxton to stop this. Juss sayin’.
4. Steve corner
🇮🇷Martial Law In Action.
Video showing heavy military forces taking over civilian areas in Iran to stop protests. pic.twitter.com/BJDdjheJtV
Buying Greenland Could Cost the US $700 billion (JH: But that’s worthwhile money for both parties)
President Trump Confirms he Canceled Strikes on Iran – “Iran Canceled the Hanging of Over 800 People”
After Shutting All Internet in the Country, Iranian Forces Are Now Jamming Starlink Service, While Users on the Ground Try to Bypass This New Censorship
Merz folds to Russia. EU ditching Trump. Dark Macron. Zelensky v Klitschko. Trump gets Nobel prize (JH: That last one is the kiss of death)
BritCard was a smokescreen; UK government has not shelved plans for compulsory digital IDs
Civil Unrest Is One Of The Core Elements Of “The Perfect Storm”, And It Is Starting To Spiral Out Of Control On The Streets Of Minneapolis
Much more.
3. And so it continues
2. DAD at 1265
Anti-EU day.
a) The European Parliament wants to grant the European Commission the power to control arms exports from EU member states to third countries. This initiative, introduced through an amendment, reignites an institutional standoff….
b) Leaked documents suggest that an Hungarian EU Official worked on organizing “Resistance” against Orbán “Regime”.
c) US technology companies that do not like the fines imposed under European digital rules can leave the European market, France’s economy minister said.
d) Censorship backfires: Germany’s assault on Press Freedom.
There is a direct link between our establishment’s struggle against social media and ‘fake news’ and the growing perception of politicians as dishonest.
1. How to win friends and influence people
a. Don’t write a post item like this.
b. We’re not just up against bad players, we’re first of all up against people who:
(i) Are historically and politically naive, without knowledge, plus self-satisfied with the little they do know;
(ii) Are therefore susceptible to the bad players and their highly organised brainwashing, which includes accusing those who resist of the very thing the bad players and ignorati themselves are guilty of.
Gladstone it was who said, of Disraeli: “I absorb the vapour and return it as a flood.” Not interested in what is or what is not but only in the game of parliamentary accusation and eloquent counter-accusation. Meanwhile little children die of starvation in the East End and other neglected slums.
c. These people somehow have the vote, which therefore perpetuates the horror ad infinitum.
d. The moment someone proposes meritocracy, two immediate problems rear their heads:
(i) Who exactly is going to set the test, the exam, the accreditation requirements?
(ii) Who is then going to forcibly introduce and then police those requirements?
How political naivety perpetuates bad policy, esp. if pushed by someone thinking he’s a Great Statesman … an example is the question of China on the US/Canadian border:
From Vancouver Island to Chinese bases above the northern border with Quebec etc., this is an existential threat to the US, just as the US letter agencies in the Ukraine, plus the EU globopsychos, inc. Meloni, are a threat to Russia … and the Iran Regime is a threat to its own area, plus around the world.
(1723) An interesting thing happened this afternoon … more in Fri 16.
19. Moosh corner
18. Steve at 1265 with war room
Bannon: What You See In Minnesota Is Hatred For America, Hatred For American Citizens, And Dare I Say, Hatred For White People. They’re Adamant About Protecting Illegal Alien Invaders! They Invaded Our Country, And They Are Going To Leave
Rep. Chip Roy (R): We Are At War, And The Islamification Of Texas Is The Goal Of The Enemy. The Muslim Brotherhood Has Set Their Sights On Dallas, And They’re Already Entrenched
David Hoch: You Have To Go To The Source Of The Funding For This Fraud In Minnesota And That Is The Minnesota Department Of Human Services! They’re In My Sights Now. They Better Be Shaking In Their Boots Because I Know Exactly What They’re Doing
Terry Schilling: Back In The 60s And 70s, Politicians And Experts Built An Entire Apparatus Of “Family Planning Services,” Which Is A Euphemism For Sterilization, Birth Control, And Abortion That’s Still In Place Today
Frank Gaffney: What We’re Dealing With Here Is Not A Religion. We’re Dealing With A Toxic, Demonic, And Anti-Constitutional Ideology
Pastor Matt Shea: I Believe The Constitution Bans Sharia Law Because The Constitution Says It’s The Supreme Law Of The Land, Yet Sharia Law Claims To Be Not Just The Law Of The Land That It’s In, But The Whole World
17. The importance of foreigners
16. X was down for me this afternoon
About an hour. Asked three people: “Asking a question here of, randomly @Xenosmilus4 or @DerylLynn or maybe @mongsley … this p.m., I lost X on all devices, could not log in … blank screen. Thought X was down. Was it maybe just me?”
Moosh liked my comment, no actual reply. Girls are interesting creatures. Ok, I’m assuming it was just me, which leads to: “Why?” Gab was fine, the sites were fine. There was also this:
Girls are interesting, cute in fact … obviously not going to get a reply, did get this:
Right, I’ll leave it for now … was already planning how to run HQ without X. Wait a mo:
It’s set on a studio lot, a soap opera episode, the acting is atrocious, every single person is insincere in cast and crew, apart from the heroine, Perry and Della … plus the one I like … the crazy fan who gets in where she should not be and inadvertently saves the “legman” along the way. Another I liked was the chief helper, Mimi Hoyle.
The print is poor, otherwise it would not be allowed on youtube, but watchable. As mentioned earlier, it was Raymond Burr’s last episode as PM (1993, seems 80s to me). It was one of those where absolutely anyone could have killed the cad. The girl is charged, the real killer confesses on the stand.
Standard formula but it rightly has a good rating. The reviewer below did not fully get the tongue in cheek joke throughout that a formulaic detection and legal series should have a soap opera as its final episode (for Burr).
“Perry Mason enters the world of TV soap operas to defend Mile High star Kris Buckner (Genie Francis) who’s been framed for the murder of her co-star, Mark Stratton (Sean Kanan). Somebody spiked actress Charlotte Grant’s (Krista Tesreau) lipstick with walnut nut oil, knowing that the actor would kiss her in a scene and, as a result, has an allergic reaction. The crew fetch his allergy kit but that had been spiked too and he dies.
The police figure that Buckner killed her co-star because, on the day before he died, Stratton demanded that her part in the show be drastically cut by having her character go into a coma. In a rage, Kris struck Stratton on the face saying, “I could kill you for this.” To make matters worse, a duplicate allergy kit of the murdered man is discovered in her dressing room and she was seen re-entering the studio on the night before Stratton died.
Mason learns that Stratton was detested by all who worked on the show and many had reasons for wanting him dead. They include production assistant Mimi Hoyle (Karen Moncrieff) who was once Stratton’s lover and she became pregnant with his child. But, he demanded she have an abortion and threatened to have her fired if she did not.
The show’s producer, Evan King (Michael Tylo), also had a strong motive for murdering Stratton because it turns out that Stratton was putting pressure on the production company to axe him from the show so that he could take over completely.
Mason is puzzled as to why Stratton appeared to have so much control over the running of the show because, after all, he was only the leading man. Mason sends Ken Malansky (William R Moses) to the rural town of Cedar Grove – Stratton’s home town – where an unsolved murder from thirty years ago could hold the key to the killer’s real identity.
This was Raymond Burr’s final appearance in his most celebrated role as the Los Angeles defence attorney in what seemed like a never ending series of revival movies that began with Perry Mason Returns in 1985. Burr sadly died in 1993.
Overall with these films, if you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. However, there were a few exceptions where the series successfully broke away from the routine courtroom drama formula, but this one is purely standard fare. If you love the series, as I do, then you will love it and for somebody who has never seen an episode before then its not a bad place to start as the storyline has enough to keep one engaged for a couple of hours and the script generally plays fair with the audience.
The supporting cast, while undeniably second league, is more than competent and Arleen Sorkin is good as an irritatingly obsessive soap fan, Peg Furman, who gets under Malansky’s hair as he does his usual heavy lifting in order to track down vital witnesses and clues for his boss – as ever, risking his life in the process.
Except that Furman, as much as Malansky wanted her out of the way, turns out to be useful, as she unwittingly holds a vital clue to the killer’s identity as a result of her sneaking into the TV studio and stealing a copy of Mark Stratton’s script. A coffee stain bearing the indentation of the murdered man’s personalised mug on the script helps Mason unravel the mystery.”
Don’t know about you … a film certainly has its points … big budget, panoramas, sets, top stars, top director, highly constructed … yes, nice but sometimes an episode or two of a show is just the ticket for a break from the horrors … and two episodes is just what the doctor ordered, Steve and other sore ole bods. The second is a special Perry Mason mid afternoon with an unusual sidekick indeed, pity she only appeared in the one episode … that may have been partly because it was Raymond Burr’s final episode.
(1107) Elevenses going nicely, ipads behaving, got through to the lady with the sick daughter. Cunning plan is for a Simon Templar with Suzanne Farmer. I know some of you prefer Annette Andre. There might be a film too later, see how we go. (1152)
10. Moosh corner
9. Why? Just why?
8. More cyber issues
7. Not so interesting but still highly significant over there
