This week's topic was my suggestion.
I have always been a movie buff and from my grade school days at Carlile Elementary in Pueblo, Colorado I have loved stage plays. The local Junior College regularly staged plays for kids. I have fond memories of walking from Carlile to PJC for the show. I saw things like Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and many others. Those were fun. times
Of course I was also laying the groundwork for my love of films with classics like The Thing, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Tarantula, the Bowery Boys and too many more to name. Gotta love those Saturday matinees at the Uptown Theater. I still remember the first movie I ever saw in a theater - Tarantula. The first one at a drive in was Hell and High Water.
Jump ahead to 1976 - Lynn was offered a promotion to Hartford and we were in striking distance of New York and Broadway. Back then it did not cost a month's salary to see a show. Our first was Sherlock Holmes. Dinner at Mama Leones (Italian) and tickets combined were an affordable $75 or so for us and we had a great time.
By then I was also a big fan of musicals on the big screen. I saw them all - my favorite being Camelot. My folks used to buy records of the soundtracks of the Broadway shows so I regularly listened to those along with the pop/rock standards of the time. I knew all of the songs to West Side Story, Camelot, Music Man and the rest. An off Broadway show called The Fantastiks was a favorite of mine.
Here is a tune from that show - performed by an amazing octogenarian -
Of course I kept up with regular movie going - in fact rarely a month went by when Lynn and I did not see at least 2 movies. We made a deal early on - she would sit through the guy movies and I would sit through her chick flicks. In almost no time we were fans of both genres.
Somewhere along the way stage productions became so elaborate the cost of seeing one grew out of our reach. There were a couple of exceptions, both Camelot. We saw touring productions of Camelot in San Francisco with both Richard Harris and Richard Burton as King Arthur. Burton was the most famous stage Arthur and Harris owned the role on film. Truth be told, IMHO Harris owned the role on stage as well.
The last musical films I recall seeing were Darling Lily and Paint Your Wagon. The genre was almost nonexistent from those two until recently when musicals have made a comeback of sorts.
If given a choice between the latest blockbuster film and a stage production I would opt for the stage production almost every time, especially if it is an older show. It makes sense if you consider the fact that I prefer live music to studio recordings.
Be sure to check my cohorts blogs to see their take on this topic. Ramana, Pravin and Maria
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Time
This week's topic was suggested by Ramana - Time. Merriam Webster offers several definitions - I think I will borrow a few.
a moment, hour, day, or year as indicated by a clock or calendar what time is it
a moment, hour, day, or year as indicated by a clock or calendar what time is it
- conditions at present or at some specified period —usually used in plural times are hardmove with the times
- an opportune or suitable moment decided it was time to retire
- the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues : duration
- Then there is the question - can we bend time? Is time travel possible in theory or otherwise? Since we cannot bring back the past is time really anything more than the present? Is the future real before it becomes the present? It is all so confusing. But in confusion there can be beauty.
- That is it for the shack take on time. I hope you enjoyed the brief musical interlude. If you really want to know about time, go here. To see what my LBC cohorts have to say, check their blogs - Ramana, Pravin and Maria.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Do Dreams Create Reality?
Our topic this week was suggested by Pravin.
Dreams. Reality. Chicken. Egg. Freud. Wow - that is a bunch of one-word sentences. Hopefully the method to my madness will become clear as you read on.
For a dream to create a reality the reality must follow the dream and the dream should, by necessity, be lucid dreaming IMHO. That is, the dreamer should be self aware of the dream. Dreams are known to have the ability make a creative thought occur or cause an inspiration - either of which could aid in the creation of a dream-based reality.
It is my opinion that a dream cannot create a reality but it can inspire a thought or action that does create a reality. I have known people that occasionally awaken in the night and jot down a dream - or the idea that came in that dream so that it could be followed up on the next day.
I suppose a very esoteric, spiritual discussion on dreams and their meanings could be had. Maybe if I had a history of dreams that were not easily explained I would be inclined to engage in such a discussion, but I simply haven't had them. My dreams are fairly easily explained, most recently being mainly about Lynn. In my dreams she disappears and I spend the dream searching for her. Frankly it does not take a rocket scientist to analyze those dreams. And they certainly will not create a reality - Lynn has been gone for over three years and I know exactly where she is. And, I simply do not have the faith required to be sure of seeing her again "on the other side". I would really love to believe that, but I cannot. The irony that one of Lynn's all-time favorite movies was Ghost is not lost on me.
Dream interpretation has gone from the belief they were supernatural communication (Egypt, Greece) to today's psychological/neurobiological schools of thought. Freud still carries much influence in dream interpretation as does Carl Jung. Science? Pseudo science? We know what their supporters think.
To circle back to the topic, again do not believe dreams create realities. The closest dreams can come is by being the inspiration that gets the ball rolling on something. To me that is a far cry from the causal dynamic the topic asks about.
Be sure to check the other LBC posters - Ramana, Maria and Pravin for their take on the topic.
Dreams. Reality. Chicken. Egg. Freud. Wow - that is a bunch of one-word sentences. Hopefully the method to my madness will become clear as you read on.
For a dream to create a reality the reality must follow the dream and the dream should, by necessity, be lucid dreaming IMHO. That is, the dreamer should be self aware of the dream. Dreams are known to have the ability make a creative thought occur or cause an inspiration - either of which could aid in the creation of a dream-based reality.
It is my opinion that a dream cannot create a reality but it can inspire a thought or action that does create a reality. I have known people that occasionally awaken in the night and jot down a dream - or the idea that came in that dream so that it could be followed up on the next day.
I suppose a very esoteric, spiritual discussion on dreams and their meanings could be had. Maybe if I had a history of dreams that were not easily explained I would be inclined to engage in such a discussion, but I simply haven't had them. My dreams are fairly easily explained, most recently being mainly about Lynn. In my dreams she disappears and I spend the dream searching for her. Frankly it does not take a rocket scientist to analyze those dreams. And they certainly will not create a reality - Lynn has been gone for over three years and I know exactly where she is. And, I simply do not have the faith required to be sure of seeing her again "on the other side". I would really love to believe that, but I cannot. The irony that one of Lynn's all-time favorite movies was Ghost is not lost on me.
Dream interpretation has gone from the belief they were supernatural communication (Egypt, Greece) to today's psychological/neurobiological schools of thought. Freud still carries much influence in dream interpretation as does Carl Jung. Science? Pseudo science? We know what their supporters think.
To circle back to the topic, again do not believe dreams create realities. The closest dreams can come is by being the inspiration that gets the ball rolling on something. To me that is a far cry from the causal dynamic the topic asks about.
Be sure to check the other LBC posters - Ramana, Maria and Pravin for their take on the topic.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Pals
This week's topic comes from the fertile - er - stagnant? imagination of yours truly. Pals can mean different things - to me pals are close friends. The closest. In my case that includes Brian, Dave H. and Ranger Rick. I have known those guys for well over 55 years. Our 50th year high school reunion is in October of this year.,
I have written before how the weekend after Lynn died, Brian, Dave and Rick showed up on my doorstep in Ft. Worth just to hang out with me and assure my well being. After 10 years of caregiving, the last 18 months of which were brutal, I was a basket case. You see - Lynn gve up on life when she received her diagnosis. She literally refused to fight or resist the ravages of Huntington's Disease. She physically attacked our daughter and I fairly regularly as HD robbed her of her personality and focused her anger on us both. Yes it was the disease, not Lynn, but when you are regulrly blocking left hooks I assure you that fact is easily lost. Stifling your anger becomes increasingly difficult. Stress levels rise to seemingly impossible heights. The last time I saw my wife of 43 years (together for over 45) she was being zipped into a body bag and about to be transported to the mortuary.
I received a phone call during the week and was simply told the guys would be arriving Friday night and I should be ready to go when they arrived. There was a bit of fun as they used their phones to get directions to our place from Dallas' Love Field - but they made it. And so began the 3-day period that literally saved me and made me want to get on with life. Isn't that what friends are for? I will admit to a fair amount of alcohol being consumed and lots of reminiscing. And - perhaps surprisingly - a lot of relaxing.
That is the Cliff's Notes version of 3 days that literally saved me. It defines for me why old friends - pals - are so important.
Be sure tosee what my LBC cohorts have to say on their blogs. Ramana, Pravin and Maria.
I have written before how the weekend after Lynn died, Brian, Dave and Rick showed up on my doorstep in Ft. Worth just to hang out with me and assure my well being. After 10 years of caregiving, the last 18 months of which were brutal, I was a basket case. You see - Lynn gve up on life when she received her diagnosis. She literally refused to fight or resist the ravages of Huntington's Disease. She physically attacked our daughter and I fairly regularly as HD robbed her of her personality and focused her anger on us both. Yes it was the disease, not Lynn, but when you are regulrly blocking left hooks I assure you that fact is easily lost. Stifling your anger becomes increasingly difficult. Stress levels rise to seemingly impossible heights. The last time I saw my wife of 43 years (together for over 45) she was being zipped into a body bag and about to be transported to the mortuary.
I received a phone call during the week and was simply told the guys would be arriving Friday night and I should be ready to go when they arrived. There was a bit of fun as they used their phones to get directions to our place from Dallas' Love Field - but they made it. And so began the 3-day period that literally saved me and made me want to get on with life. Isn't that what friends are for? I will admit to a fair amount of alcohol being consumed and lots of reminiscing. And - perhaps surprisingly - a lot of relaxing.
That is the Cliff's Notes version of 3 days that literally saved me. It defines for me why old friends - pals - are so important.
Be sure tosee what my LBC cohorts have to say on their blogs. Ramana, Pravin and Maria.
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