New Blog o' Mine

I just opened up a third blog, believe it or not. It's called Criterion Reflections - a place for me to record my thoughts about my ever-growing collection of arthouse DVDs released by the Criterion Collection. More explanation is provided there - I'm just letting you know. There's also another link in the right-hand sidebar in case you forget to bookmark the new blog immediately upon reading this!

The Obama FISA Thing

What follows below are writings lifted from a series of emails I've written the past couple days regarding Barack Obama and the FISA legislation that's moved through Congress this week. I assume that you the reader have some background on the issue and the controversy it's triggered within some of Obama's supporters on various liberal/progressive netroots websites. If you need more background, try this column to start. Or do your own research. These comments may be a bit redundant in some places, since I've spliced a few messages into one piece, without spending much time editing it all down. - DB

The Obama FISA thing. Disappointment is a good reality check and an important right for Obama supporters to reserve. He would do well to come out with a clearer statement on these surveillance issues - the tricky part is that it's not all that obvious on how it will play out politically. I'd like to see him be bolder in accusing Bush of criminality but that wouldn't play too well in the "center." He has to fend off the "raving liberal Marxist soft on security" albatross that some will try to wrap around his neck.

The new element here is that Obama is now experiencing power he's never had before. And he's also got be be very careful in how he positions himself - he's playing it safe and centrist, and perhaps, realistically, not distancing himself from the executive authority that Bush's precedent may end up giving him. Calculations we're not really happy or comfortable seeing him make but that's the position he's in.

The HuffPo article (linked above) notes strains between Obama and his supporters in the netroots. Felt mostly by the activists at this point - while I'm sympathetic with the dKos perspective and would be happy to see Obama be as fearless and all out in his opposition as Dodd and Feingold, I'm not surprised to see him playing it cautious. The one thing that I just don't know about the warrantless wire-tapping is just how extensive it really was - I have a huge mistrust of the Bush Admin. on the gut level and expect that they've abused their authority on countless occasions. Obama's campaign though has really not been about "impeaching Bush" or otherwise going after the bastards in a take-no-prisoners style. In their primary runs, Kucinich and even Dodd tried that approach and they certainly got some interest from me as candidates because of it - but that's not Obama's thing and I can understand why. If he were to turn attack-dog now it would limit his prospects and in a way risk lending credence to this idea his opponents are trying to pin on him of being a "typical politician."

Reality is that Obama has to avoid creating too obvious an opening for the smear campaigns that have done such a good job taking down the Democrats since 1968. Think about it - only Nixon's impeachment and a substantial wildcard from Ross Perot mixing things up gave the D's a chance to occupy the White House in the last 40 years. Obama's chances are pretty good now but he's neither impervious nor invincible. I totally get the frustration of the activists and BushCo is so badly overdue for the humiliating takedown they have earned and deserve. I just don't know that it suits Obama or the Democratic Party so well to have Barack be the guy leading that effort. If the Democrats are evenly split on supporting this crappy legislation, is Obama really strong enough in the "backroom" sense of the word to turn them around? He's still establishing his power-base - I hope he sees the need that many of us have for him to begin exercising his clout in a way that isn't content to merely inspire, but also to confront when confrontation is necessary. This situation also offers some definition of what is needed from a potential vice-president - someone who can go out and make a passionate, ass-kicking statement that is in sync with Obama's message but does so with a different/complementary style.

My intention throughout this campaign is to almost certainly give Obama much benefit of the doubt on managing his political efforts - he has earned my confidence in knowing how to maneuver through the Scylla and Charybdis of a national election and that's the most important thing he can focus on at this time - winning the vote. His current lead in national polls and the way he compares so positively against John McCain, along with our own yearning for a bold progressive champion to realign the national discourse can, I think, serve to obscure from us the fact that Obama is still working against formidable odds when it comes to him and Michelle actually moving into the White House next January. My hunch is that 98% or so of the people criticizing Obama for "capitulating" on FISA are white and don't have anything close to the level of pressure, scrutiny and tripwires surrounding them that Barack has, and has had to live with throughout his adult life... so I doubt that they can really identify with what he's dealing with as he makes his decision on how to handle this legislation.

I think he's actually quite wise to avoid making a particular piece of legislation his moral/ethical/principled "line in the sand" - especially an issue that, frankly speaking, is much too subtle and complex to convey to the majority of voters who probably still don't feel too threatened by concerns that the government is spying on them. I've heard some of my own relatives say things like "I have nothing to hide so I don't worry if the government hears what I'm saying on the phone." Not that they are pleased with that prospect, but it's just not a gut-check issue for them compared to other things like the economy, the war, gas prices or the general direction that the country is going in. This is an issue that resonates much more strongly with idealists and reform-minded types like ourselves and needs to be kept in a "big picture" perspective.

Spring Clearance Post

Very quick rundown on things I could have blogged about if I'd felt like it...

Derek had his graduation open house.



































I attended a poverty simulation workshop.

Had a pleasant Father's Day.



I watched some pretty good movies from the Criterion Collection (my favorite media-related pastime these days): Schizopolis, Pandora's Box, Good Morning, The Blob, Andrei Rublev, Walker, Fishing With John, Diary of a Chambermaid, Band of Outsiders... I think that pretty well covers what I've seen since I watched Contempt (most recent blog post here.)

I'm reading John Updike's Rabbit Redux (slowly working through all four of the Rabbit novels.) This one is set in the late 60's - an interesting time capsule to read a book written at that time that covers the state of affairs in American suburbia regarding attitudes on marriage, the space program, the Vietnam war, race relations, sex, drugs (but so far not rock-n-roll so much) and all that stuff. I was just a kid at the time, a few years from having my eyes opened and my mind blown as I came into fuller contact with the world as it really is.

Work is full of angst, uncertainty and excitement as the agency consolidates programs, erects new buildings, reassigns job roles, cuts positions, hires new staff, loses others and looks down the road to a time when we just might be able to settle into some new routines. I'm writing grants, doing trainings and thinking about my present and future possibilities.

One of my sons just got a job at Pine Rest.

I got my stimulus check. It's pretty much going to pay for some car repairs and bills. Just threw it in the account with everything else, no special purchases planned but $1200 always comes in handy I suppose.

Barack Obama seems to be well on his way to a successful bid for the presidency though we still have a lot yet to happen before we really know how it will all turn out.

I think that sufficiently covers it for now.

Le Mepris (Contempt)

Jean-Luc Godard's films of the early 60's turn out to be a wonderful and rewarding discovery for me. As my explorations of the great works of cinema over the past 80 years or so continues, it was only a matter of time before I got into the French New Wave. As a child of the 60s myself, I find it fascinating to see what was considered edgy and innovative at the time I was coming into the world. My first exposure to Godard was in his debut feature Breathless. Shortly after I picked up that rewarding and entertaining DVD, Criterion released Pierrot Le Fou, which I bought based on good reviews, a discount price and a $25 certificate to Amazon.com. Pierrot Le Fou became a major source of inspiration to me - I blogged about it earlier and continue to replay various scenes and sequences in my mind, and occasionally on my computer and DVD player as well. As I studied Godard's career, I learned that Contempt (Le Mepris) is even more highly regarded by critics and fans alike. So I made that my third choice for a Godard DVD (and I've since purchased Une Femme est une Femme, which I've watched and enjoyed and will write about some other time.)

Watching Le Mepris twice now, once with the commentary track, made a significant effect on my understanding of marriage, particularly what goes on when misunderstandings, miscommunication and unmet/unspoken needs lead to a loss of respect (or "contempt") between spouses. That's the essential problem at the heart of this story, though I'll mention in this review many other dimensions meriting exploration.

Set in Rome, and later, on the island of Capri, the plot revolves around a French writer (Paul) who has been hired by an arrogant American film producer (Jeremy Prokosch, played by Jack Palance) to take charge of the script for an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. Prokosch is unsatisfied with the "arthouse" approach to the material favored by his German director (cinematic pioneer Fritz Lang, playing himself, though he's a character in the film - this production is fictional.) Prokosch is highly driven, egotistical and highly controlling - all essential ingredients to his success in the film industry, of course. He also takes leering notice of Paul's beautiful wife, Camille (played by Brigitte Bardot.) Unlike Bardot's usual sex kitten roles, her character here is modest, somewhat provincial and doesn't enjoy the attentions and flirtations of men other than her husband. However, in the first encounter involving the couple and Prokosch, Paul commits a serious blunder in allowing Camille to ride without him in the producer's loud red two-seater sports car. Stemming from this incident, and others that compound her dismay, Camille sees Paul as lacking strength and appropriate concern for her as he allows her to be alone with the American for an unacceptable length of time while he tends to other matters on his way over to the producer's villa. This significant breakdown between the two of them opens a fissure that grows ever wider throughout the course of the film, as Paul exasperatedly tries to understand what bothers Camille and only adds to his frustrations by his unsuccessful attempts to repair the damage.

There are three basic sections to the film - the first (after a very memorable and sweetly intimate prologue with Paul and Camille talking in bed) is set in a film studio in Rome, where we get to see rush clips of the Homeric epic in progress. This establishes a nice literary tie-in where the tensions between Paul and Camille are played out against the background of separation and tensions involving the mythic Ulysses, his wife Penelope and the suitors who vie for Penelope's affections. Godard also offers his own insights and commentary on the state of contemporary cinema as a multicultural milieu where things like financing, artistic freedom and creative control don't always work so well - note the various nationalities mentioned above. The film handles the cultural mix in a realistic though unconventional approach (especially at that time) with a polyglot soundtrack featuring characters speaking their respective languages to each other, facilitated by a secretary/translator who mediates between them all and provides some subtle variations via her interpretations of what they say to each other - a small touch that I really enjoyed, even though I'm as much of a dummy monolinguist as the stereotypical American portrayed in European cinema!

The second section is a long (half-hour or so) sequence set in Paul's and Camille's apartment where their relational collapse is played out in a naturalistic, non-stagy manner. They more resemble a couple at home speaking words that don't require full explication or dramatic framing to get their point across. As the commentary track pointed out, in a standard Hollywood movie, the exchange would take place in a few minutes, with standard over-the-shoulder shots as the performers looked directly at each other, music would cue us to know that something sad or shocking or bold had been stated and the plot would quickly advance to its next stage. Here instead we are given a more extended study of how moods and attitudes fluctuate, shift and are settled into as one and then the other says just the wrong thing, internal choices and calculations are made, and an undeclared course of action is established in the privacy of each mind while the other struggles to read the cues of what they might expect to see from their spouse. The filming, colors, staging and script of this section are quite remarkable and I can imagine that I will return to this section in the future just to get more insight on the interrelational dynamics explored in the scene. Though I haven't seen many other Bardot films, her acting here was excellent. One of the short bonus features on Disc 2 of the package is titled "Paparazzi," filmed at the time Le Mepris was being shot, that showed just how crazy popular Bardot (introduced as "the most photographed woman in the world" was at that time. She reminded me of no one else as much as Britney Spears, and I can't help but think that Britney's stylists must have studied Bardot's career - the resemblances are too much to be a coincidence.

After the apartment scene has run its course, the action shifts to an amazing locale, a large fortress-like home built on a rocky outcropping on the southern edge of Capri. The blue Mediterranean waters, the breathtaking scenery, impressive architecture, more "film within a film" of actors in Homeric garb, and BB's demure nude sun-bathing on the chateau's terrace roof - well let's just say there are some memorable images for the camera to focus in on. This section brings all the drama to its tragic climax as Paul, Prokosch, Camille and Lang all have their moments of encounter, confrontation and disclosure. As with most Godard films, one is often reminded that we're watching a film - even though most of what we see is very naturalistic, there are moments of high stylization and the camera work is often so deliberate and self-conscious that the viewer has no choice but to take note of it. Godard's deep knowledge of cinematic history, technique and possibilities have drawn me in quite swiftly and I am eager to continue delving into more of his work!

End of the Road

No, this post has NOTHING to do with the presidential aspirations of Hillary Clinton! I will do my own blogging on all that some other time. I have to catch up on what I did Monday night right now - keep it all in order.

So the end of the road for two heroic endeavors came on the same night, at the same event as a matter of fact. The famous American rock band Van Halen finished up its 2007-08 World Tour, and I wound up my career as a volunteer worker for the Wyoming Park Marching Band, at Grand Rapids' own Van Andel Arena (actually, Grand Rapids' mayor had officially renamed it the "Van Halen Arena" for that day - such a special occasion!)

Let's cover the band first, since that's more likely to hold your interest. Van Halen has been around for a long time, over 30 years as a matter of fact. Their debut album came out in 1978 and one of my favorite stories to tell from all the arena concert going I did back in the 70s was that I saw Van Halen on their first national tour when they opened for Black Sabbath. The LP had been out for awhile and anyone who's ever heard it knows just how blazing and bodacious the guitar solos are on that album. Even though Eddie Van Halen's guitar techniques are now quite familiar, widely copied and part of the hard rock canon, at the time, his sound was so innovative and new that I and many of my friends cynically figured that it had as much to do with studio tricks and overdubs as it did with what the dude could do on stage. So when we shuffled our way to the general admission floor of the Oakland Coliseum, we were utterly blown away just moments after the lights went down and this maniacal human cyclone named David Lee Roth sprang out leaping and flailing his body around the stage while a completely huge brain rattling roar buzzed every molecule of air bouncing off 10,000 or so pairs of eardrums. Van Halen, we learned, were not just your ordinary band of hard rockers. Eddie and his accomplices were indeed producing, live and on stage, those totally freaky sounds we'd been hearing on our turntables and cassette players in the weeks leading up to the gig.

So that was my first acquaintance with the band, and even though I went on to see them perform live a number of other times over the years, nothing I ever saw from them topped that glorious first impression. And I really don't think they ever got any better, though they produced some pretty catchy tunes over the years and became a truly larger-than-life presence in the annals of rock history. Part of that story though was the ignominy of what VH eventually devolved into, as Roth became a frivolous and silly showboat, Eddie struggled with alcohol and drug abuse and in many ways ran out of ideas for how to use his prodigious guitar-playing gifts as his compositions became increasingly pedestrian and he seemed to stop growing in musical imagination. Of course, the acrimony between Roth and the rest of the band grew to the point where the singer was booted out and replaced by a shouter that I never really cared much for, Sammy Hagar. And the saga continued for awhile, though I lost interest for the most part after their second album, following the remainder of their career from a distance, hearing their pre-Roth-split albums mostly due to their ubiquity on the radio or in friends' collections and paying little heed to the Van Hagar era in general.

Still, when I heard last year that at last, David Lee Roth was returning to perform the songs he helped make famous, I thought it was a good thing. (Not everyone agreed.) I had a chance to work the previous Van Halen show a couple years ago at the Van Andel, and I enjoyed the chance to listen in on a bit of Eddie's pre-concert jam session. But when I heard Hagar singing songs from those first few albums, I didn't think he did them justice, and as far as I was concerned, those were the only tunes that really moved me. Getting Roth back as their front-man, and replacing departed bassist with Eddie's (and Valerie Bertinelli's) son Wolfgang, was the right move - even though VH had no plans to record new music. They were, in effect, a very loud, technically proficient oldies band with a right to select freely from a pretty impressive back catalog of songs.

Well, there are many such groups who fit that description coming through the arena circuit these days. Yes, I'm talking to you, The Police! ;o)

Anyway. I hadn't really even planned on working this show. My days of needing to raise funds for my high school sons' band expenses ended late last year and to be honest, the lineup of shows I had to choose from and the more restrictive expectations for volunteers had taken some of the fun out of it for me. Plus a lot of the folks I used to work with had also moved on. So it wasn't feeling much like my scene anymore. I figured I was done.

But a couple months ago, I was called in desperation - the boosters needed more bodies to work the Jonas Brothers show (they had opened the same place for Hannah Montana earlier this year) and I agreed to help out in a pinch. Then, at the graduation ceremony last week, I was told that they still had room to add workers for Monday's Van Halen show. Realizing that I had begun my VAA career working a Metallica gig, I quickly understood that it just didn't seem right finishing up with a Jonas Brothers concert. Van Halen, on the other hand, provided the perfect bookend to a rather memorable and enjoyable sideline that helped pay some of my kids' educational costs.

And it so happened that Grand Rapids was the very final show in their tour! It was the last city listed on the bottom of the commemorative T-shirts, though I have no idea why they wound it up here. I do know that the concert had been postponed so maybe they just tacked it on at the end. I would've thought something happening in LA would have provided a more rousing homecoming, but for all I know, maybe they've worn out their welcome there and would rather finish things in front of a bunch of fired up, formerly mulleted midwesterners...

So I got to hear the show from the back of the arena, working a steakburger stand that wasn't the familiar stomping grounds where I'd spent most of my time working over the past several years. But it worked for me. The crowd was a lot mellower and less intense than I was expecting, judging from previous metal shows (including the earlier VH gig I mentioned, which was kind of a disaster as I recall due to malfunctioning beer taps, etc.) Maybe it was due to it being a Monday night - or that the Detroit Red Wings were possibly on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup and people were preoccupied with that (though they went on to lose in triple-overtime late that night, the Wings did get the job done in Pittsburgh tonight, as I was writing this post as a matter of fact!) But whatever the reason, the scene wasn't the madhouse I thought I might have been in for... which was fine with me.

What I did enjoy, aside from the always enjoyable banter with customers out to have a fun night listening to some of their favorite music, was hearing that classic Van Halen sound, coming through the amps loud and clear, with Roth's trademarks yelps and howls playing off the arpeggios and glissandos flicked out by Eddie's flying fingers. The band was tight and dynamic, and stuck firmly to the early albums, from the debut up to Roth's finale with the band, 1984. (They also threw in a nice cover version of the blues classic "Crossroads" made most famous by Cream, but based on Robert Johnson's "Crossroads Blues.") I figured that there was no way that Roth was able to keep up with the acrobatics and beyond-embarrassing flamboyance of his younger self, but after our stand had closed down and I'd been released from my behind-the-counter bondage, I snuck into the bowl to get one last glimpse of a free concert, just in time to hear the set finale, "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" followed by the encore "Jump!" And that was a pretty cool ending to the thing as the mirror ball gleamed and giant confetti cannons shot off all around the stage filling the arena with millions of colorful fluttering scraps. Even though my suspicions were correct - Roth by that point was just marching around the stage, not hurtling himself through the air either by leaping or suspended from wire cables - he still has considerable stage presence. And Eddie Van Halen looked healthy, fit, happy and able to genuinely enjoy himself. Playing up there with his son has to be an incredible kick for him - I think of the satisfaction I get from seeing Derek graduate with such distinction! At the end of the regular set, and then after the encore, the band members took their applause and gave each other long and genuinely heartfelt hugs. They are, after all they've been through, survivors - making essentially youthful, free-spirited music that for many captures a time in life where those sounds fit just perfectly with what was going on in and all around us. Though the band's future is very much up in the air, Roth asked the audience if they'd be up to seeing them again "the next time"... so I guess it remains to be seen just to what extent Van Halen will continue to run with the devil, dance the night away, get hot for teacher, rock the cradle or just plain jump.

(Here's the Grand Rapids Press' review of the show. I think mine is better and I only got to see two songs!)

June Flowers

Some pictures from around my yard from yesterday afternoon...

Brian and Linzy's Wedding

Ordinarily I wouldn't bother to post wedding pics on this blog but last night our family attended a really nice wedding for my niece Linzy (my wife's brother's daughter, the last of four to be married) and her new husband Brian who is my favorite guy to hang out with at family gatherings with the in-laws. I'm so glad he's married in now! They are a fun and totally wonderful young couple and I have a few pics to share so bear with me...

The couple chose a nice spot for an outdoor wedding - Linzy's backyard! Her family has a place out in the woods and I applaud their choice for the location rather than the traditional church where I've been to sooo many weddings over the years. I always like it when a couple tempts fate and plans an outdoor ceremony here in Michigan. It was storming hard on Friday morning and a bit rumbly, damp and windy on Saturday morning - but when it came time for the big event, everything was PERFECT. Above you see the arbor where they said their vows. What a lovely spot, and everything took place just after 7 p.m. when the light had that warm and special glow coming down through the fresh green leaves.

Here's a close-up of one of the big arrangements that Julie made - yes, she's a florist who does very excellent work. Anyone privileged to have her do their wedding flowers will be highly satisfied - they always are!

Here are my three sons (Curt, Brandon, Derek) and Daniel, the piano player, all lined up for the garter toss. Curt and Derek nervously scan the crowd looking for more eligible bachelors who will reduce the odds of them having to catch the dreaded omen of impending marriage, while Brandon contemplates whether it's more impolite to stand with his arms crossed or his hands in his pockets.Linzy has three beautiful sisters, Christin, Emily and Kate, all of whom are married (Emily is actually the youngest) and what a lovely bunch they made standing in Linz's honor. Of course, Julie made that arrangement too.

And finally, here's the celebrated newlyweds themselves. Aren't they just about the sweetest lil' couple you've ever seen? I'm so happy to be their cool Uncle Dave!