Then I was sick and my great piece of home footage was put on the shelf and severely delayed. But there was one advantage to this. While lying, delirious in bed with fever, a brilliant idea came into my head. I decided to set the video to a Country & Western theme.

It was lucky for me that this week's challenge on VlogsUp was to sing. Yey!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH!

Unul dintre cele mai marfa filme vazute de mine (si trust me, am vazut destule)!!!! Un western japonez!!! Mult mai mult decat atat. Este in primul rand un tribut adus filmelor "spaghetti western" (inca din titlu,"suriaki" fiind un fel de spaghete japoneze), dar realizat de un japonez, in stilul inconfundabil al lui Tarantino-care pe langa faptul ca si-a "bagat coada" la greu in realizarea proiectului asta, joaca si un rol secundar in film, in care se distreaza grozav, vorbind engleza cu un pronuntat acent japonez. Filmul mixeaza cu succes cliseele westernurilor italiene, atmosfera dementa din "Moulin Rouge" , onoarea impinsa pana la extrem a samurailor lui Kurosawa si modul de filmare "made by" Tarantino din "Kil Bill" ......Isi mai aminteste cineva  de "DJANGO" ( ala din 1966, cu Franco Nero)?? Ei bine, Takashi se pare ca si-a amintit, si impreuna cu Tarantino au realizat un remake original dupa acesta, si totodata un omagiu adus lui Sergio Corbucci si tuturor spaghetti westernurilor care ne-au incantat aproape tuturor copilaria. Si au reusit cu varf si indesat. Povestea, la fel ca si in "DJANGO" este aceeasi, un pistolar singuratic ajunge undeva intr-un orasel stapanit de doua bande rivale, unde evident nimereste la mijloc, in confruntarea dintre acestiea. Avem de toate, un orasel tipic de western, dar presarat cu pagode din loc in loc, japonezi imbracati in cowboy care vorbesc cu accent, dueluri cu pistoale si sabii, umor dement, sange in valuri, un "shot-down" monumental al sfarsit, cadre si culori specifice lui Tarantino, toate astea pe o coloana sonora care te face sa-ti amintesti mult timp dupa, ca ai vazut filmul asta. Nu trebuie sa fii neaparat fan Tarantino sau nostalgic dupa "spaghetti western" ca sa-ti placa filmul asta. E mult prea bine realizat ca sa nu mearga la sigur !!!! In concluzie, va zice fratilii vostru, vedeti trailerul (cu sonorul la maxim) si decideti singuri dupa aceea. Sincer, VEDETI TRAILERUL !!!

Gemäss Hersteller besitzt diese neue Version ein Griffbrett aus Barinesischem Palisander – ein extrem hartes und dichtes Holz, dass rotbräunlich in der Färbung ist.

Die Gitarre besitzt eine 25“ Mensur, 14 Bünde, ist in der Parlor Form gebaut und nur etwa 35cm breit. Diese Form erlaubt es auch bei kleinen Abmessungen einen vollen Klang zu erzeugen. Der Korpus besteht aus entweder Mahagoni oder Koa und einer Sitka Fichtendecke. Von Werk aus ist die Gitarre mit Elixir Phosphor Bronze Saiten aufgezogen.

Die Aloha Koa Parlor Gitarre ist bei allen Goodall Guitars Läden in den USA oder bei den internationalen Distributoren erhältlich – details dazu können auf der Website des Herstellers gefunden werden: http://www.goodallguitars.com/.

Offizieller Verkaufspreis $2,995

"Country" was the commercial version of the hills music of the southeast. The music was often fairly traditional and conservative, although there were many wild personalities involved. Instrumentation was pretty much exclusively electric and consisted primarily of string instruments. The country scene eventually centered around Nashville.

"Western" was much less traditional, although it descended from the plains and desert music of the southwest. Western also had a big swing jazz influence and many of the most popular acts had big horn sections and few string instruments. The western scene centered commercially around Los Angeles.

These two genres had one big thing in common: most of the listeners were dirty hicks that loved hoedowns. Hank Williams was one of the first to combine elements of the two genres, although it wasn't a musical combination. Rather, he introduced the Western look to the country scene. Today we take it for granted that dirty hicks from the south wear cowboy hats but before the 1940s it just wasn't common practice. Most of the southern states weren't suited for raising cattle and cowboy attire just wasn't a natural part of the culture.

Eventually, the two major dirty hick genres drifted toward each other and Nashville's country machine absorbed the western genre. Horns disappeared but western musical forms like boogie dances became quite common. The End.

kicknz

Os desavisados que não conhecem a dupla Bud Spencer e Terence Hill podem presumir, ao assistirem a primeira cena de Trinity é Meu Nome (Lo chiamavano Trinità, 1970), que é só mais um Spaghetti Western, tão popular no final dos anos 60/começo dos anos 70. Porém,  assistir a esse filme está longe de ser apenas tiros, socos e sujeira em quantidade, como na maioria dos filmes do gênero.

O filme é uma grande paródia de tudo o que existia no gênero, naquela época. Trinity (o ótimo Terence Hill) é um charmoso bandido de olhos azuis, chamado de "a mão direita do Diabo", e o atirador mais rápido do Oeste. Bambino (o espetacular Bud Spencer), seu irmão gigante (chamado de "a mão esquerda do Diabo"), finge ser o novo xerife do povoado, mas na verdade está à espera da sua gangue para executar o roubo dos valiosos cavalos selvagens do Major. Quando o Major resolve tentar roubar as terras de pacíficos fazendeiros mórmons, Trinity e Bambino vêem nisso uma oportunidade de se darem bem duplamente: ao derrotarem os homens do major, seria mais fácil o roubo dos cavalos para Bambino e sua gangue, enquanto que o malandro Trinity poderia se dar bem com as lindas filhas dos fazendeiros.

Usando de todos os clichês do gênero, o filme consegue arrancar boas risadas durante boa parte de sua duração. Em muitas cenas é possível enxergar nitidamente que Trinity é uma caricatura dos personagens de Clint Eastwood em vários filmes de Sergio Leone. Inclusive, em várias cenas até o ângulo pelo qual o personagem é filmado é o mesmo. Bud Spencer cativa com seu jeito turrão e grosso, mas principalmente quando enfia a porrada em alguém, como na cena abaixo.

O filme fez tanto sucesso que uma continuação foi inevitável. Em 1971, Trinity e Bambino estrelaram Trinity is Still My Name, com enorme sucesso também. Depois disso, Bud Spencer e Terence Hill repetiram a parceria em inúmeros outros filmes. É interessante notar também que os dois faziam um humor 100% politicamente incorreto, ao melhor estilo Trapalhões. Inclusive, vendo o filme com minha namorada, numa das várias cenas de briga ela comentou "nossa, a sambada do Mussum ficaria perfeita nessa cena!".  Bons tempos em que o politicamente correto ainda não tinha estragado o humor.

Discuta esse post no Fórum Omega Geek.

Okay, so if you haven’t hopped over to NEW MYTHS and read “The Merry’s Dalliance”, go do it, okay? I’m very fond of this piece. In fact, there will be more with these characters, and they’ll get their own website soon.

I’m posting the GDRs for 2009 later today. If you haven’t participated in the Goals, Dreams, and Resolutions before, give it a read. Even if you don’t use them, they might get you thinking.

Worked a lot on The Big Project yesterday. It’s going well, in spite of having to stop to fact check every now and again. Tasha’s a lot funnier than I expected, and tougher, but it works for the piece.

And Josiah, in the Western, just keeps surprising me, in the best possible way. He’s going to reveal his agenda when HE’S ready, not when I need it for the writing. He might have to get shot or something to shake him up. Not fatally, just to remind him who’s the creator over here! ;)

Seriously, though, I am going to have to toss chapter two yet again and restructure it to get where I need.

A lot of this week will be spent prepping for the Muse Conference, which starts next Sunday. Since I’m teaching AND signed up for too many workshops . .well, you know how it goes.

I’m doing a live chat on Wednesday at 7 PM over on FireDrakes Weyr. I hope you’ll stop by so I’m not talking to myself, or the wallpaper.

I hung out on Nano forums, very dangerous, playing catch up with former buddies. One of last year’s N3s is actually mentoring this year and said she had a good mentor last year – I was pleased that some of that tough love was useful last year. I think I’ll mentor a handful, even if I don’t do the traditional Nano. I’ll definitely write 50K or more during the month, so . . .

Lara tagged me, so here it goes:

If you have pets, do you see them merely as animals or part of the family?
I am owned by three cats, currently, and they are definitely family. Personally, I think they should get out there and start earning some cash to help with the cat food/litter/vet expenses, but hey, they were worshipped in Ancient Egypt and never let me forget it.

As soon as I get my house, I’ll have more cats and a few dogs. If I have enough land and a barn, I want to add in some rescued horses and maybe a few alpaca.

Yeah, I’d have to learn how to shear and spin, but it would be worth it!

And I spend so much time shoveling metaphorical manure that the real thing isn’t a problem!

If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?
Earn enough money to buy enough land, buildings, and hire a staff for an animal refuge. Of course, I’d prefer to support that refuge with my writing! ;)

What is the one thing most hated by you?
Acts of deliberate cruelty.

What would you do with a billion dollars?
Pay off debts, invest WISELY, and set up the above-mentioned animal refuge. Maybe combine it with an artists' retreat.

What helps pull you out of a bad mood?
Sex, friends, or chocolate.

Choose one letter out of your name and come up with a word to describe yourself:
V – volatile. In every sense of the word.

What’s your bedtime routine?
Depends on who’s waiting in the bed!

What kind of books do you buy?
A wide range, everything from science to research to historical to all genres of fiction. I read almost anything. A lot of my book-buying is dictated by whatever project I’m writing.

Where do you want to be in ten years?
Living in my dream house on the Cape, with a second home in Montreal (or maybe Iceland), traveling as much as I want, and continuing to live the writing life, but with less financial stress.

What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Sweet, generous, loving, smart, kind, compassionate, and very, very funny.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Move cats off various body parts on which they’ve climbed.

What’s your favorite food?
I have to pick one? Then it’s chocolate.

Formal wear or Casual Wear?
You mean I have to get dressed? ;) Seriously, I love wearing yoga clothes to write, but my life requires a wide array of clothing, and I’ve learned to enjoy all the different wardrobe requirements. While I hate shopping for clothes, I love wearing clothes that make me feel great. And I’ve culled everything from my closet that doesn’t.

Trust me, when you attend the Tony Awards, you want to look delicious.

Sports: Football or baseball?
Can’t stand either one. I’m an ice hockey and horse racing fan. And sailing. And archery. And fencing. And skiing. And . . .whatever sport they’ll pay me to cover!

What do you consider your guilty pleasure?
You mean something I’m willing to post on the internet? Because there are a few you’ll never know unless you know me really well in person! Actually, come to think of it, I don’t feel guilty about anything that gives me pleasure.

People I’d like to tag:
How about Lori and PJ?

Back to the page.

Devon

Western Novella – 8,168 words out of est. 30,000

8 / 30 (26.7%)

The Big Project – 5,195 words out of est. 75,000

5 / 75 (6.7%)

Devon’s Bookstore:

Hex Breaker by Devon Ellington. A Jain Lazarus Adventure. Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, hoping to put to rest what was stirred up before more people die and the film is lost. Tough, practical Detective Wyatt East becomes her unlikely ally and lover on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
$4.00 ebook/ $6.00 on CD from Firedrakes Weyr Publishing.
Visit the site for the Jain Lazarus adventures.

5 in 10: Create 5 Short Stories in Ten Weeks by Devon Ellington. This ebooklet takes you from inspiration to writing to revision to marketing. By the end of ten weeks, you will have either 5 short stories or a good chunk of a novella complete. And it’s only 50 cents, USD. Here.

Writing Rituals: Ideas to Support Creativity by Cerridwen Iris Shea. This ebooklet contains several rituals to help you start writing, get you through writer’s block, and help send your work on its way. It’s only 39 cents USD. (Note: Cerridwen Iris Shea is one of the six names under which I publish). Here.

Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. This is a collection of short stories, poems, and other pieces by a writers’ group of which I am a member. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois. You can download it free here</a

The Western genre has been struggling to survive for some years now. 3:10 to Yuma shot some life back into the genre, and The Assassination of Jesse James showed us a Western Art Film is possible and can be beautiful. And then we have Appaloosa.

Viggo Mortensen stars alongside Ed Harris as Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole respectively. The pair are hired guns of sorts. The go to towns in need, get the laws changed to make their operation legal, and proceed to clean up the town. Jeremy Irons plays Randall Bragg, the source of the city's, for with the film gets its name, problems. Bragg has murdered some deputys with no witnesses, at least willing ones. The duo have been working together for a long time at this venture, and do it fairly well. It wouldn't be fair to call this a "buddy-Western" film, because what Hitch and Cole share is more than that. This is a film about deep friendship in the vein of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They've been friends for years, and nothing will ever come between that. Enter Renée Zellweger as Allison French. She comes to town shortly after the two begin cleaning, and soon catches the eye of Virgil. Soon they're building a house and planning a life. I don't want to give the impression that romance is a central theme throughout the film. The entrance of French is analogous to Josephine sparking Wyatt Earp's interest in Tombstone. The rest of the film plays out fairly predictable for what we're given at the beginning. Arrest Bragg, Transport Bragg to Jail, uh oh trouble. Its similar to 3:10 to Yuma in that instance. 

The film doesn't really try to do anything new for the genre. It just takes pieces of old and new Westerns and builds on them. I wouldn't call it a classic Western because it really doesn't try to be a typical Western. At one point the expected gun fight occurs and finishes abnormally quick with a remark that, "everyone could shoot." Ed Harris does a fine job in his second directorial debut, and his acting is always top-notch. Viggo Mortensen fits nicely in his role which I must say is a nice turn around from Hidalgo. Zellweger is... well, I really don't care for her in anything, but she plays the role with no complaints. The editing seemed very jumpy. One scene jumped quickly to the next scene without any real transition. I'm not sure if it was finished too quickly, or perhaps too much got cut, but it feels awkward at times. I could critique the story, but the characters keep it interesting enough to not really focus on the weak and disjoined plot.

When I left the theater, I really dug this film. However, the more time that passes, the less the film sticks with me. There isn't anything that really sticks out as memorable or outstanding. Nothing was done horribly wrong in the film. Everyone did their job fine. Being an adaptation, perhaps too much got cut or couldn't be included. I got the feeling that Everett had a lot more inner dialogue in the book, and it was probably his viewpoint of events past and present that really drove the novel. As it stands, Appaloosa is a worthwhile flick for fans of the aging Western. With such a drought of Westerns, it is hard to properly judge the film on modern merits. It does something different, but not as much as last year's Assassination of Jesse James. I recommend it to fans of Westerns, Viggo Mortensen, and Ed Harris. Those looking for an action packed film like 3:10 to Yuma need look elsewhere. 8 out of 10.

Logan foi o filho da puta que colocou o Lee Marvin junto ao Clint Eastwood num faroeste musical, nisso quem saiu ganhando é a Jean Seberg, mais uma vez encarnando a musa libertária dos anos 60, casando com Clint e Lee ao mesmo tempo. Muitos o classificam como pior musical de todos os tempos, do que discordo prontamente não apenas porque o adoro, mas principalmente porque o pior musical de todos os tempos é Xanadu.
Só porque Logan tinha colocado o Richard Harris para cantar em Camelot (o Franco Nero não, ele fora dublado) achou que podia com tudo, Férias de Amor (Picnic) e Nunca Fui Santa (Bus Stop) se tornam irrelevantes perto do mito Paint Your Wagon. Por alguma razão desconhecida Logan ficou traumatizado e nunca mais pisou num set de filmagem depois deste filme. E se você não gosta dele, MORRA!

Nota: Essa obra prima rendeu um dos melhores momentos dos Simpsons, s9e11 All Singing, All Dancing,
com um bônus do Lee Van Cleef

An article on PC World yesterday claims that Fujistu is looking to leave the storage media marketplace and is hoping that Western Digital is looking to buy. If the deal goes ahead, it could leave Western Digital entering 2009 just five percent behind rival Seagate in terms of market share.

The news, taken from a report in Nikkei Business Daily, claims that the two companies are in the “latter stages of negotiations” and are looking to finalise the deal before the end of the year. The deal would include Fujitsu's manufacturing capabilities in Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand and set Western Digital back an impressive £376 million to £565 million depending on how good the company is at haggling.

Neither company has commented on what precisely has triggered Fujitsu's desire to sell, with no reports of higher-than-average failure rates or particular failed ventures preceding the news. However, with the financial markets worldwide still suffering from 'uncertain times', the cash injection could prove beneficial for the remaining aspects of the Fujitsu corporation.

It's harder to see what Western Digital would get out of the deal: despite an increase in market share, the deal leaves the company catching up to but not surpassing current market leader Seagate. Whether the company is planning to utilise the increased manufacturing capability the deal would bring to increase production and lower costs, or whether Western Digital would prefer to close down the plants and continue to use its own facilities exclusively remains to be seen. For the sake of the 15,000 employees of the facilities, I hope it's the former.

Do you wish Western Digital luck in its acquisition, or is less competition in a given market always a bad thing? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

Oh, dear. I had to stop working on the western for a bit. It seems the character I’d decided was the villain of the piece, Josiah, has decided to be the hero. Which means I have to toss out Chapter Two entirely, rewriting it with him as the main focus of it. Poor Ben, the sheriff who was supposed to be the hero! He’s about to be pushed out of the way by a far more interesting character. I wondered why I was having trouble with the outline, and how I was going to get Amanda and Ben together. It’s because Amanda’s supposed to be with Josiah.

Well, crap, now I have to back and do rewrites and get even farther behind!

So I rewrote chapter two and part of chapter three. I may have to revise chapter one again, and I’ll definitely have to rewrite chapter two YET AGAIN. It’s not working, using alternating points of view. It needs to all be from Amanda’s POV. Which means I lose some cool dialogue and character revelation, but it serves the overall story, gosh darn it, so it needs to be done!

Sigh.

I forgot to mention that I grabbed Sharon Shinn’s READER AND RAELYNX on Friday in the city. I started it on the train and read a good chunk of it today – I reward myself with a few chapters every time I hit a writing goal. I want to just sit and read it straight through – the Twelve Houses books are among my favorites – but I need to get a lot done. Of course, when I’d written myself out for the day, I sat up until well after midnight to finish it.

I did quite a bit of work on the new ebook, too. I want to have that out by midweek, provided I can get a good design figured out by then. And I got out a few submissions.

Started The Big Project this morning. Because I have to fit into material that’s already been created by others, I have to keep stopping to look things up. But it’s all good. Again, the characters are surprising me, but in the best possible way.

I just completed some author interview questions for a blog, and I’m doing a live chat with FireDrakes Weyr on Wednesday at 7 PM EST. Once I have the chatroom link, etc, I’ll post it.

Lara, you’re absolutely right about Nano. I think doing it this year is taking on too much and spreading myself too thin, in light of the other deadlines. Part of me wants to do it anyway – last year I hit 50K in the first 13 days, went well over 70K by the end of the month and also finished TRACKING MEDUSA. But that was extraordinary, and I wasn’t under the same deadline pressure. Plus, I didn’t rely on the writing income as completely as I do now. Taking a month off for Nano from paying work, right before the holidays in this economy? Not a smart move.

I still WANT to do it; I just don’t think it’s sane or practical. Plus, I get burned out and frustrated every year, in spite of the fun. So it might be good to skip it for a year and go back next year or some other year when I can clear the calendar and devote myself to it without worrying about anything else.

I know I can write 50K in a month. I’ve proved it three times with Nano, and, when I look at the amount of writing I do every week and month, it comes out to more than that anyway. I have nothing to prove.

But I do like the writing-in-community part.

Back to the page.

Devon

Western Novella – 6,300 words out of est. 30,000

6 / 30 (20.0%)

The Big Project – 2,664 words out of est. 75,000

2 / 75 (2.7%)

It takes true grit to make a western in 2008. The rules of the game are more clearly defined than in any other genre. Every element is a cliché before you start shooting–the veteran lawman, his loyal depute, the eloquent bandit, the faithful horse, the raucous saloon, the hard-traveled whore, the genteel damsel, the cruel Apache, the bumbling townspeople, the stark landscape, the six-shooter, the showdown at noon. But it is not only these set pieces that restrain the hand, themes and plots do so as well. The western must deal in the old virtues, things like justice, loyalty, courage, and honor. Love can rarely be involved centrally. Rather emotions must be involved to draw the heroes into more bleak moral landscapes–to make it that much harder to do the right thing. Every good western sees right and wrong as black and white then paints the town grey and leaves the hero to find the contrasts. These conditions are so restrictive that to work inside this genre effectively demands a mastery of the medium. The past masters were so proficient that making a western in the shadow of Ford, Leone, and Eastwood is like trying to compose epic poetry in the shadow of Homer, Virgil, and Dante. And so, as of late, the genre has deservedly waned in the estimation of the movie going public–there has not been a master since Eastwood made Unforgiven.

I am afraid Ed Harris is not the long awaited messiah, but the co-writer, director, producer, and star of Appaloosa certainly has grit. It is necessary to sketch the field in which he is working because although I cannot call this film great, I found it quite satisfying and enjoyable. Appaloosa stars Ed Harris as Vigil Cole–the veteran lawman, and Viggo Mortenson as Everett Hitch–his loyal deputy. They are a great duo. Very relaxed as a team–and this is crucial to any western pair–they are able to dissipate as many situations with their confidence and sly wit as with their guns. Harris’s force allows Mortensen’s reserve the perfect shadow to play in. Hitch is always there covering the trouble-makers with his 8-guage and supplying the big words when Virgil gets stymied.

In the opening scene renegade cattle baron, Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), kills three men with little provocation then Cole and Hitch ride into town on cue to set up marshal law and keep the peace. As an opening it seemed a little lack-luster, not because it was ordinary, but because it lacked anything startling. The director of a modern western (or any film really) has about 60 seconds to prove to the audience that they should spend the next 2 hours sitting in the dark. Witness the opening shots of The Proposition–hands down the greatest western made so far this century. The camera is dropped into the half light of a shack as bullets punch holes in corrugated metals all around our heads. Asian whores and the dirtiest cowboys you have ever seen scramble for cover in the dirt while bottles and lamps explode on every table–this film has my undivided attention. On the other hand, Harris’s mundane opening sets the tone for the rest of the film. Every element seems spot-on but a little too familiar to be really arresting.

When we meet Virgil Cole in the opening scenes he is presented as the classic, ruthless, wry, honor-bound, unflappable lawman. Yet when Allison French (Renee Zellweger) gets off the train she turns him into something much more talkative and careless. Although they are still working on riding the town of Bragg, Cole and Hitch end up a bit preoccupied. As Virgil falls (unrealistically, I felt) for this girl Hitch emerges as the real hero. This is probably the best turn of the film, allowing Mortensen to silently steal the show. And this he does by playing Hitch with superb subtlety. Despite his daguerreotype looks, complete with van dyck and symmetrically parted hair, Everett Hitch is the grounding force in the film. Mortensen excels in roles that depend more on his aura than on his lines–consider the way he created Nikolai in Eastern Promises. Here he brings depth to this character that must play second fiddle to a man that is in many ways his inferior. Virgil Cole is an imposing man with more raw talent, but Hitch is smarter and calmer. Hitch keeps his feelings hidden and repeatedly reveals his character by taking the lower place and the long way around, all for the sake of his friend.

In a film that focuses on trust, betrayal, and friendship, the relationships between characters are crucial. Harris brought this out with excellent use of framing. The friendship and exchange between Cole and Hitch was shown in many medium length two-shots of them talking side by side rather than cutting between close-ups of their faces. At crucial moments Harris’s long shots utilized the whole canvas, background and foreground, to show several characters acting at once in relationship to one another. And in the final scene one brilliant shot frames all the major players in descending order of value from right to left.

Appaloosa is really a very reserved film. There were many sequences where I felt the tension could have been pulled tighter by building a little slower and adding a couple more seconds per shot. And the climaxes lacked the visceral gut-punch that a good western’s climax should have. But by taking aim at 50 yards rather than 100, Harris ensures that he hits the mark. This was probably a wise creative strategy. If you are not Leone you had better not try to make The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. In the end I like westerns, and I liked Appaloosa. It is a modest, even-paced, classic western about friendship and honor, I can only wish that it had hit a little harder.

MONKEY RATING: TWO MONKEYS

(For a brief explanation of the Monkey Review rating system, click here.)

A bien des égards, Le dernier des mohicans fait écho à La dernière caravane. A plus d'un titre, le cinéma de Michael Mann répond à celui de Delmer Daves. Même lyrisme, mêmes échappées élégiaques, mêmes trouées dans l'âme humaine. Sans raconter la même histoire, La dernière caravane et Le dernier des mohicans parlent du même sujet, l'impossible cohabitation et l'incommunicabilité entre les races, mettent en scène le même personnage investi de deux cultures (Daniel Day Lewis et Richard Widmark).
Western somptueux réalisé par l'auteur de 3h10 pour Yuma, tourné en scope et en couleurs (parmi les plus belles vues sur un écran), La dernière caravane raconte la survie en territoire hostile, celui des Apaches mescaleros (de magnifiques montagnes escarpées), d'un blanc élevé par les Commanches recherché pour meurtres, d'un jeune garçon et de sa grande soeur (délicieuse et sensuelle Felicia Farr), de deux soeurs (l'une blanche, l'autre métisse), et de deux jeunes hommes. Des personnages qui ont droit à beaucoup d'attention de la part du réalisateur. A commencer par celui joué par Widmark, héros né de la tragédie : sa femme et ses enfants, Commanches, ont été massacrés par des blancs, d'où les meurtres commis pour les venger. Sans oublier l'autre héros de l'histoire, le père de la métisse, guide de la caravane mais aussi guide spirituel de la communauté, modèle d'intégrité, modèle à suivre.
Si le film laisse entrevoir la question de l'héritage (la métisse revendique le sang de sa mère, notablement à travers ses vêtements chatoyants), La dernière caravane n'est pas pour autant un western "pro-indien" mais le récit d'une aventure humaine dont l'épilogue est un intense plaidoyer, celui du personnage de Widmark comparaissant devant ses juges, et dont le pic émotionnel est un frère portant le corps sans vie de sa petite soeur tuée par les Apaches.

The movie is based on the novel written by bestselling author, Robert B. Parker. Parker has been writing the adventures of Spenser, a private eye born in Laramie, Wyoming, for years, and Spenser is as rough and tumble as any gunfighter in the Old West. Lately, the author has successfully dipped his quill into the Western arena.

I read the book when it came out a few years ago and had a good time with it. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the two heroes in the novel, and was pleased to see it reflected in the movie. Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole, one of the most feared and respected lawmen in the Old West. Viggo Mortensen stars as Everett Hitch, Cole’s dedicated and deadly right hand man.

The book creates a tight plot line with a lot of twists and turns. When I read it, I saw how easily it could become a screenplay. Parker writes lean, muscular prose. Obviously Ed Harris saw the same thing because he negotiated the rights to star and direct in the film.

Appaloosa starts off with a bang. Three of them, in fact. Bragg, a powerful man in the small but growing town of Appaloosa, faces the town marshal and defends two of his men that raped and killed a man and his wife. When the marshal doesn’t take no for an answer, Bragg kills the marshal and his two deputies.

Virgil and Everett arrive and Harris takes advantage of those couple moments to establish sweeping shots of the desolate countryside. Harris stays primarily with the characters and the action, but there are a lot of opportunities to shoot the sweeping landscape. The action takes place in Appaloosa, outside of town, in the hills and mountains, and in another small town with Mexican architecture.

I loved the detailed Old West setting. The bar and buildings look and feels well-researched. The house Virgil is buying on the outside of town is incredibly small by today’s standards, but Allie (Renee Zellweger) acts excited about having it built.

Of all the characters in the movie, Zellweger – in my opinion – has the hardest time pulling off her role. The character is complicated because she bounces between a sympathetic and naïve woman to a cold and calculating one. This type of female character often shows up in Parker’s work, so long-time fans won’t be surprised to watch her in action. However, Zellweger’s performance actually softens the character from the book.

Parker likes showing the dichotomy between the strong, silent male and one that can be twisted around a conniving woman’s little finger. Many of his characters have suffered through that in his novels. That paradigm is understated and succinct in the movie, but it still works well.

The author has also penned a sequel that came out this year, Resolution. He has one more planned that will tie up Virgil and Everett’s saga.

The film’s action is compelling. The movie and the actors keep a lot of balls in play. The sound effects on the gunshots are especially well done. Many viewers might not be able to tell it, but the gunshots sound like heavy thumps, from coarse black powder rather than the cleaner-burning cordite all of today’s rounds are made with.

There is a moment of brief nudity and the language is rough in a couple places, but not in any way that will be overly offensive. I think Appaloosa is a modern tribute to yesterday’s Western movies in a lot of ways. The heroes are brave and noble, but they’re also flawed. Harris and Mortensen play those iconic lawmen to the hilt with a hint of swagger and elegance by the bushelful. If you’re a Western fan, this is a movie you’ll enjoy. And if you haven’t seen a Western in a while, this is one you don’t want to miss.

El Gran Robo al Tren se transformó en el primer western importante y uno de los que lo establecieron como género particular. La estructura narrativa "crimen - persecución - castigo" es el patrón de la mayoría de los films del Oeste que lo siguieron.

La película se estrenó en el Huber's Museum, un vaudeville de clase baja de la calle 14 de Nueva York.
Los dueños del teatro no pensaron que fuera a tener mucha repercusión, pero el público comenzó a gritar "otra vez! Otra vez!" hasta que finalmente se encendieron las luces para que la gente se fuera.

Película completa
Duración: 9 minutos 42 segundos

"The Great Train Robbery" became the first important western and the one that established the western as a unique film genre. Its dramatic, narrative structure of "crime -- pursuit -- retribution" set the pattern for almost all future western films, and its success confirmed for the fledgling movie industry that the rising popularity of the story film was commercially viable despite its increased production costs.

"The Great Train Robbery" had its debut at Huber's Museum, a low--class vaudeville house on 14th Street in New York City. When the film was announced the theater's patrons were indifferent. But, according to G.M. Anderson, when the movie began the audience came alive. "They got up and shouted and yelled, and then when it was all over they yelled, 'Run it again! Run it again!', until [the management] finally put on the lights to chase them out." Within a week it was booked into eleven theaters in and around New York City, including the prestigious Hammerstein's Theatre at 42nd and Broadway, where it received a "rousing, rousing reception".

PLOT:

When his hired men abandon him for the lure of the gold on the Ruby River, almost to the Beaverhead River, in the mid 1870s, a central Montana cattle rancher near the town of Bozeman, Wil Andersen (Wayne), faces the prospect of financial disaster if he can't find any cowboys for his yearly 400-mile long cattle drive to the railhead at Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

Andersen goes looking for help at the other ranches in the area, but can't find any help. He rides into a deserted Bozeman and goes to the saloon and provisions store of Anse Peterson (Pickens). Anse seems to be the only man left in Bozeman, the gold fever has taken every able bodied man to the Ruby. Anse suggest that Wil put off the drive to next year and take credit from stores to see him through. Andersen refuses to "go on take". As the two men pass the schoolhouse, Anse thoughtfully suggests that Andersen hire the local school boys as cowboys. Anse gets Wil to go to the school to look. The two men observe for a few minutes but, after Homer (Mike Pyeatt) scares a young girl with a frog, Wil leaves having seen enough and unconvinced.

Soon Anse tells the schoolboys about Andersen's need, and the boys show up at daybreak one morning. They admit to not being true cowboys, but they say that they can all ride, most can rope, and a couple are pretty good shots. To test the boys Andersen says that if the can stay on a green-broke filly horse, named Crazy Alice, to a count of ten, he'll keep that in mind come hiring time.

As the boys are taking turns on Alice, another young man, Cimarron (A Martinez), shows up. Cimarron is Hispanic, cocky, older than the others, and doesn't go to school. Cimarron rides the fight out of Alice, and insultingly hands the reins to Charlie Schwartz (Stephen R. Hudis), saying he can handle her now. Charlie says, "keep it", Cimarron swings at Charlie, and Slim Honeycutt (Robert Carradine) jumps on Cimarron and two start to fight. Andersen, who is impressed with his handling of Alice, has to think about Cimarron because he can tell the young man has something to prove.

After thinking about it for some time, with some help from his wife, Annie (Sarah Cunningham), who reminds him of what he was like at that age, and thinking about his two late sons, Matthew and Lucius, Andersen changes his mind. He goes to the schoolhouse again and tells the boys to show up, at the ranch, the first Monday after school is out. When the day comes, the boys are there at the ranch, and so is Cimarron, but after he pulls a knife while fighting with Slim, Andersen tells him to clear out.

While Andersen is training the boys to break horses and getting cattle ready for the drive at the ranch, a group of men led by "Long Hair" Asa Watts (Dern) shows up asking for work. Andersen would like to hire these more experienced and seasoned men, but feels uneasy about them, and then when he catches Watts in a lie about who he has worked for in the past, Watts comes clean that they are fresh out of prison and can't get a job. With his suspicions confirmed, he tells Watts that he won't use him and will stick with the boys. Jebediah "Jeb" Nightlinger (Lee Browne), a Moorish Black camp cook arrives with a chuck wagon, making Anderson's trail crew complete.

With Nightlinger's arrival the training has to continue while out on the trail to Belle Fourche. Under Andersen's tutelage the boys learn to rope and brand livestock and on the trail, how to herd the cattle and horses. But nobody is aware that the gang of cattle rustlers led by Watts, who want easy money like the men looking for gold, but don't want to work that hard to get it, are shadowing them.

REVIEW:

When I chose to view this film this morning, I'll admit I didn't know what to expect. I knew it was a western starring John Wayne with music by John Williams, but that was about it. After I finished watching it, I must admit that I was pleased.

A story about young boys who more or less come of age on a cattle drive through Montana, complete with their father figure getting killed, ambushing the uncle figure, and getting revenge on the villain. How much better can hyou get than that.

A few things bothered me, though. It's pretty obvious that the story revolves around John Wayne and the boys with Roscoe Lee Browne thrown in to add some flavor, but after a scene with the boys drinking, we get spot shots of them here and there, some even fall off the screen except for what equals the role of a stand in. I don't know, that just seemed a bit odd.

The other thing was why couldn't they find his grave at the end? Now, it is quite possible that rains could have washed it away, but they way they made it feel was that he got up and was still living somewhere. Maybe I've just seen to me movies where that was the case, though.

This is one of John Wayne's last roles. He's obviously an older statesman by this point in his career, but no less of a screen presence. That alone is worth watching!

4 out of 5 stars

If you haven’t yet read “The Merry’s Dalliance” over on NEW MYTHS, please hop on over there and do so. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.

It was in the 30s last night, and the building scumbags actually provided heat without us having to place a call to the Health Department. Imagine that.

Dashed into the city yesterday, ran my errand dashed back. Got some work done on the Western, but not much. I’m trying to figure out how to bridge this section to the next section, and it’s slow going. The ironic thing is it’s slow going because I have to keep up the pace because the word count is limited, and the story would like to unfold a little more slowly than I need it to.

Got out a few pitches for some interesting-sounding jobs. One, in particular, I know I have more varied and relevant experience than anyone else who’s applying – because I’ve worked in several fields relevant to the job that the majority of copywriters have not. But I’m worried that they can’t afford me, even at a discounted rate. And there’s a certain point where I have to say, “sorry, I can’t work for this price.” So we’ll see.

Sorted through a few boxes from storage; found a bunch of good stuff I’d forgotten about. So I did a load of hand laundry, freshened the unwashables, and figured out where to put thing. One of the items I found was a pair of red velvet opera gloves. I’m a huge glove person – I adore all kinds of gloves. So you know I’ll look for an excuse to wear them over the holiday season! I also found a pair of small lavender crocheted gloves, great for spring.

I need to get a lot of writing done today, but maybe I’ll give myself a break in the afternoon and take a walk on the beach. The leaves in the park should be turning by now, and, although cold, I bet it’s going to be beautiful out there. Maybe I’ll get inspiration for some more “Dogs on Beach” stories. Or another Congress Corners story – in the votes, Aunt Doris and her young Italian boyfriend walked away with the most votes, so I’m figuring out something to do with them!

I’m still on the fence about Nano. I’m on too tight a deadline to be able to put something aside November 1st to do something new. I have a novel, a novella, and a play due during the month, plus I’ve got to get ANGEL HUNT cleared up and out. It doesn’t make sense. I know I’ll miss the sense of writing in community, and I don’t like it when people go, “oh, well, I’m not REALLY participating in Nano, I’m just going to work on something I’m already working on.” That’s not the point of Nano. The point of it is to start something fresh and write 50K in 30 days in community, not just do whatever the hell you want.

I signed up; the site crashed (of course, Mercury is retrograde), and I’ll just see how I feel closer to the date, and where I am with my deadlines. I want to do it, there are several pieces that would be appropriate, but I’m afraid I’ll blow some of these wonderful opportunities with which I’m being presented. I’ve spent the whole year saying “yes” to almost everything, so this will be an exercise is saying, “no” and finishing a bunch of projects and getting them into the world on time.

I watched the premiere of SANCTUARY last night. I like the production design a lot. I like most of the cast – a few of them still need to grow on me. I thought the first forty minutes were intriguing and wonderful, but then it slowed down and I got ahead of the story, which annoyed me. I wanted more surprise and delight (even a dark secret can be delightful when properly presented). I hope it will continue to have interaction between what happens in Sanctuary and the real world – the detective that Will worked with in the opening is great, and I hope he’s a recurring character. His world-weary “you’re a freak, but I kinda like you and I’m trying to watch your back” take on the material worked well. I have some logistical questions, like does Will keep his apartment, or has he moved in to Sanctuary? The design of the apartment was so terrific – even though it was a small space, the books and the art and the details were so telling about Will’s character – I want to see more of the apartment because of the production design! And I want Helen’s office/library. I’ll definitely watch more episodes, but I didn’t fall in love with it the way I wanted to.

I’m also really glad that LIFE is back – one of my favorite shows last year.

None of these shows make me change my schedule to accommodate them, but if I’m home, I’ll watch them.

I put up the Samhain decorations yesterday – the apartment looks cheerful, and I added even more stuff than usual to the front door – it’s got the special wreath, the bagua mirror AND a cut-out of an enormous black cat. The workmen better not splatter my stuff with anything . . .or they’ll wish they hadn’t! I’ve got my garland of ghosts up – I made them years ago, using Styrofoam balls stuck onto popsicle sticks, covered with handkerchiefs and tied, then with those paste-on moving eyes, and fastened them all to a strand so I can hang them. It’s one of my favorite decorations. Each ghost has a distinct personality, and they fascinate the cats.

Back to the page.

Devon

"Egyptians do not understand what al-Qaida truly is," began a freelance journalist who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, "so when someone asks people here how they view the organization many will indeed say they support or view them favorably."

The journalist believed this is due to a lack of information. For example, she talked about how it was not until watching a large amount of Western news sources – including CNN and the BBC – did she become aware of the full intentions of the terror network.  >>>>>

In other words, it is not that the journalist is unaware of reality, it's just that the journalist here had not been brainwashed about al-Qaeda until watching CNN and BBC.  Many people have a different take on al-Qaeda because the news in the Middle East happens to be a lot less editorialized and inclusive of fantasy and fiction.

There is a lot more objectivity and accountability for what one rights.  The people of these lands have far less exposure to news such as the Western addiction to 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week, up-to-date news viewing and commentary.

Even CNN and CNN International do not cover the same things, nor do they cover the same news item the same way. The Westerners believe that they have better news coverage than anything else in the world; but other news organizations around the world would probably say something to the effect that "'frame-for-frame', and 'reel-for real,' they are far better because there is more objective news whereby journalists are more accountable.  Heck, most major news sources can point to their adversary and show how 'they are not real news sources,' for a host of reasons.

The people around the world are paying attention to the differences, quality and content of information they are getting.

Incidentally, Egyptians are Arabs, and therefore, includes a great amount of Christians as well, all living in a secular, not religious society.  Many Westerners fail to recognize this point, as they fail to recognize that the largest religious group of Arabs in the U.S. are Christian, and not Muslim.  This poll includes Christians is my point. (In case readers point to 'those people' would naturally support al-Qaeda.

This film presented an interesting concept:  outlaws mixing with regular guys mixing with railroad and law men.  Ultimately, what stands out for me are the interactions between Wade (Crowe) and Evans (Bale).  What was striking in this film was the depiction of Wade as the ultimate outlaw "boss" with a string of devoted henchmen who go to great lengths to protect him.  What develops throughout the course of the movie is a similar type of respect developing between Wade and Evans.  And the ending of the film tells the viewer that respect goes a long way with these men-of-the-West.  The lengths to which Wade goes in order to maintain Evans' honor is equal to the lengths to which Wade's own men go in order to rescue him from the train to Yuma prison.

Something else that struck me throughout this film was how often people were told not to talk to Wade while they were all sitting around with each other, on the perilous journey to the train.  "Don't talk to him."  This draws attention to the fact that Wade was well known for his sly tongue, much like that cunning cat Odysseus who could talk his way out of anything.  Wade is equally dangerous because behind his quick wit are a quick draw and a posse of outlaws (hey, that rhymes).  But over and over again, despite being thrust into the middle of a family dinner table, or a campfire, people were consistently being encouraged to not talk to Wade. 

What is it about insisting upon not talking to the enemy-in-your-midst?  What I figured out by watching the rest of the film was that when "reasonable" people talk to Wade, it becomes obvious that he's actually almost like a regular guy, with a twist of course.  He's a cold-blooded killer with a deep-seated pathology (which the viewer and a few of the characters find out is ultimately a result of being abandoned by his mother when he was a very young boy).  He learned to separate survival from emotions--reasonably expected under the given circumstances.

Young William Evans (the oldest son of Bale's character) is the character who points out, towards the end of the film when they're all holed up in the hotel, that Wade seems like a nice guy.  After all, he helped them (his captors) escape from the Native Americans who had attacked them, and he didn't try to escape when they were all fleeing the railroad thugs.  Wade's response was that if he had a gun, he would have shot them and escaped.

The viewer may have doubts about this--whether Wade would have done that--especially once the final scene has brought things to a close.  Wade's absolute adherence to his unspoken "word" to Evans--who in an earlier scene had looked Wade in the eyes and said that no one ever thought of him as a hero--proved itself to be a stronger bond than he had with his own henchmen.  In fact, it was his 2nd in command who ended up shooting Evans in the back, not knowing he and Wade had a "deal" to get Wade onto the prisoner's car. 

But Wade kept his word--he got on the train, and Evans goes down in this film's diegetic history as the hero who did what no others could do.

But it's not so much the bond-of-honor that strikes me as profound as much as the allegory I see throughout with Wade--the one no one's supposed to speak to, who is so abominable and atrocious that merely talking to him will cause your demise, and yet he is the MOST noble, and most honorable of them all (aside from Evans, perhaps, though Evans sought something resembling "glory" where Wade merely followed his code til the end, no "glory" as a goal, just holding tight to one's word). 

Could it be that Wade represents the ultimate "other" whom we fear for his seeming a-moral otherness?  Where the misconception about "morality" or codes of conduct is at the very heart of the problem?.  Can the problem be in our definition of morality and in our assumption that what appears to be a-moral very well might be the exhibition of the highly moral?  In fact, Wade, despite his outlaw ways, was the individual who exhibited the most "character" and the most venerable qualities based on an inherent system of conduct.  Granted, one can't brush aside all the murders he was responsible for.  But, can we attempt to respect Wade's Honor Code for what it is:  his own morality?

This, to me, is also a central concept in No Country for Old Men.  Despite my feelings about the overall quality of the film, as I've said in an earlier blog post, Chigurh has a particular Code (or set of morals) that he sticks to:  agree with his code or not, he follows it to a "T." 

This idea about morals or codes of conduct appears to be a central theme to quite a few films lately.  Even the Joker in The Dark Knight follows his own prescribed set of rules, which I talk a little about on this blog.

Are we moving toward trying to better understand others' morals and behaviors in an attempt to de-otherize, and put into perspective our different definitions of morality?   It makes me wonder what the 'absent cause' is here?  An interesting thought to ponder at least.

All of this talk of morality and codes of conduct reminds me of the TV series, Dexter.  While I haven't written about it on this blog, I do watch the show.  And Dexter's set of morals, while perverse on "normal" standards, is still a highly "honorable" set of rules.

I'm no theologian, nor am I one for telling people what's right or wrong, but isn't it God alone that is meant to judge people by their actions and deeds...?

I must have missed the news stories that reported when 'God' gave certain people this power...

The meteorologists promised it wouldn’t rain over the next few days, but it looks like the clouds will spit up any minute.

Yesterday was a good writing day, in spite of the Verizon Fios guys showing up again and stating they’d have to drill holes in about three different locations to run lines for other apartments. I firmly and politely told them no and escorted them out. I’m not living with a bunch of patches in my wall simply because it’s convenient for them in the moment.

I immersed myself in the western. I love westerns – so yes, I’ll be going to the movies to see APPALOOSA in the next few weeks. I love watching them, reading them, writing them. The writing went more slowly than I would have liked, because I had to stop and research. This story takes place several years earlier and in a different region than anything from THE WIDOW’S CHAMBER or ELUSIVE PRAYERS, so I had to research details of dress, habit, etiquette, place. Like WC, I’m researching on the fly, because I’ve got a tight deadline and I don’t have three or four weeks to devote to research and then write. I’m writing, pausing when I hit a glitch, researching, writing it in, and moving on. It will need a heavy revision and probably a lot of cutting in the next go-round, but I’m putting as much in this draft as I can.

It’s a new set of characters, all with their secrets, and none of whom are sure who to trust, so it will be interesting to see how it develops. I’ve got the basic outline of the story arc, and I’m limited to 30K, so we’ll see what happens.

I have to dash into the city quickly for an appointment this morning; then it will be back to the western and, hopefully, I can get a start on THE BIG PROJECT, on which I am behind.

As disappointed as I am about the cancelled trip, I’m trying to make use of this gift of time. If I was on the road all day yesterday, and settling in to the place in Philly, less writing would have gotten done.

And, I pitched several jobs, and found a very intriguing one to which I will create a detailed proposal. Again, I’m going for the slightly off-the-wall gigs. The problem is that most of them can’t afford me, and it can’t cost me to work.

Devon

Western novella – 4,778 out of est. 30,000 words

4 / 30 (13.3%)

Devon’s Bookstore:

Hex Breaker by Devon Ellington. A Jain Lazarus Adventure. Hex Breaker Jain Lazarus joins the crew of a cursed film, hoping to put to rest what was stirred up before more people die and the film is lost. Tough, practical Detective Wyatt East becomes her unlikely ally and lover on an adventure fighting zombies, ceremonial magicians, the town wife-beater, the messenger of the gods, and their own pasts.
$4.00 ebook/ $6.00 on CD from Firedrakes Weyr Publishing.
Visit the site for the Jain Lazarus adventures.

5 in 10: Create 5 Short Stories in Ten Weeks by Devon Ellington. This ebooklet takes you from inspiration to writing to revision to marketing. By the end of ten weeks, you will have either 5 short stories or a good chunk of a novella complete. And it’s only 50 cents, USD. Here.

Writing Rituals: Ideas to Support Creativity by Cerridwen Iris Shea. This ebooklet contains several rituals to help you start writing, get you through writer’s block, and help send your work on its way. It’s only 39 cents USD. (Note: Cerridwen Iris Shea is one of the six names under which I publish). Here.

Full Circle: An Ars Concordia Anthology. Edited by Colin Galbraith. This is a collection of short stories, poems, and other pieces by a writers’ group of which I am a member. My story is “Pauvre Bob”, set at Arlington Race Track in Illinois. You can download it free here: