Friday, January 16, 2009

John Mortimer


Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey series, both book and DVD, has been delightful, poignantly humorous and keenly telling of our frail and always hypocritical natures. These books will become classics as, like the Bard, they universally point out the inevitable failings of human intentions, but also illuminate the basic goodness of common people.

There is an honesty to these books that is rare. This wasn't the flat, pretentious hipper-than-thou cynicism you read in contemporary writing. Mortimer never sugar coated the buffoonery, greed or malice of his characters. He cut to the vein of truth. But still had a compassion for them despite their immense flaws. Plus, he made me laugh at the pathetic posturing of social climbers, idiot judges, religious pomposity and the high commands of She Who Must Be Obeyed, Rumpole's loving wife Hilda.

God love you, John Mortimer and thanks for a debt I cannot repay.


Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Lance the Surfer


"Lance on the forward 50's was a famous surfer from the beaches south of LA. You look at him and you wouldn't believe he ever fired a weapon in his whole life."

Sam Bottoms passed away last month.

Apocalypse Now fans knew him as Lance.

Evidently Sam and his brother Timothy had a long film history together going back as far as East of Eden.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Winter Pages Redux

This time of year. It's just plain nuts. It gets you thinking though.

Visits with old friends (old and not any wiser) who generously take us on elaborate rum tours. Long rum tours that end in the wee hours. And we don silly jackets we happen to find.

Or new friends. No enthusiasm for Christmas can match a 6 year-old's. They make us appreciate the simple joys in life. Like camera phones!


Or making treats that are heavenly. How many calories do we consume during this season? There's so much food, food, food. I have become a blimp.



Or taking time to see the simple beauty of nature, intelligently designed or otherwise.







Or the person who, at the end of the day and despite all of our flaws, really loves us.