I really enjoyed #WhyWeFight & soon to be released Reagan doc, EugeneJarecki's #NYTimes quote w/D. Solomon

Right. On.

Looking Forward to a Release.

Choke this Friday!

I Am So Happy....

....to see Chuck Norris is not the only celebrity to stand behind Mike Huckabee.

What a wonderful moment for transgender people to see The World According to Garp's star John Lithgow in full drag with his big girl shoes standing up to all who would say the GOP is a party of exclusion.

You go-go, girl-boy.

Film Capture: The World According to Garp

Looking Around Town

Hello.

It has been a long time since I last posted a note here. Honestly, between therapy, work, and recovery, I feel I have little time left for me.

While Netflix has provide entertainment in the mail box, they made me laugh via their website today.

I decided to click on their Grand Rapids link to see what "members in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan are currently renting...."

Soylent Green!

I laughed at the top movie choice of my fellow G-Rappers.

And Netflix adds that this title is "much more than other Netflix members."

It was good to laugh.

Snowed In This Weekend?

Stranger Than Fiction is on DVD and it is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a while. Will, Emma, Maggie and Dustin are all wonderfully created characters.

I am sorry I missed this one in the theatre...but I was spared a tear stained face in public as the credits rolled on my TV.

Rent This DVD.

Pfleghaar Posts My 2000 Documentary

Michael has informed me that he has posted the 2000 documentary I directed about the creation of his large oil on canvas artwork, "Living Large"

Please enjoy and drop a note here if you enjoyed it. I guess due to You Tube guidelines he had to post it in two parts so be sure to catch the whole doc.

I am very proud of it.

Part One


Part Two


For info on Michael's art, visit:
www.pfleghaar.com

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Holiday Season

It is Christmas time again.

And how nice it is to see the rematch battle of Christmas v. Happy Holidays has been determined by Wal-Mart.

But before the madness of 4 AM big box store specials, the endless muzak of the Jessica Simpson Cali Home for the Holidays CD or even the annual race for an overpriced manger side Jerusalem hotel room takes hold, just take a deep breath and relax.

It will all be over in 25 days.

All Things Considered "Mary"

I cannot sleep this morning so I snapped a pic from my new rehab hospital, Mary Free Bed. Over the past week I have been in terrible pain as I try to sleep.

And while I am sure I will fnd much to laugh about down the road, right now, there are few broken pelvis jokes to laugh and chuckle about today - "So I am tossing in my bed tossing and arrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhh! " (One gets the picture.)

But while on my "Breezy" Wheelchair ride to my rehab class, I stumbled on this historical item and thought I would share it here on the blog.

History of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
"Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital originated in 1891 when a small group of Grand Rapids women recognized the need for medical care for patients of limited financial means in our community. They embarked on a fund-raising campaign to secure the use of a free bed in one of the local hospitals. The group solicited financial support from the Grand Rapids community, asking for contributions from everyone named Mary, as well as from those having friends or relatives with the name.

They soon raised enough money to endow a free bed, which subsequently became known as the Mary Free Bed. "

The nurse just popped in to say I should turn out the light. I might as well since I have to retype everything four times due to my inability to write under these circumstances.

Thanks again for all the nice comments and cards. It really keeps my spirit light.

BLOG INTERACTIVE: a "Mary Chain - anything and all things Mary"

1. Mary by Scissors Sisters

Or if sticking around in town.....

...go see Little Miss Sunshine.

With the 2006 summer film schedule clogged with so much vein blocking, steroid juiced celluloid junk, this film is just what is needed to restore one's faith in the power of American cinema.

This small film is big on laughs. So much so that even after the film, I found myself just busting out in laughter as images from the film popped into my head.

While this may not be a sweeping visual film on the level of Lawrence of Arabia, it is a film that spans the landscape of the human heart.

And like my friend Melissa said in an email, "At one point I (and everyone else in the theater) was laughing so hard – stomach pain hard. I guess anything that makes that happen is worth spending $8 on."

SEE THIS FILM!

Trailer: Little Miss Sunshine

Weekend Discussion Point: Permission Video

Ok, so it is getting too hot to do much in the day except enjoy the lazy days of summer.

If one finds some free time to wander about the internet, might I suggest clicking on the photo to the left and viewing a short piece sent to me via Google Video. (It is on You Tube.com as well)

I have to say the beauty of visual language is sometimes they take us to places we had no idea where we would land.

This piece made me step back and look at this issue in a whole new light.

So click, view, discuss (repeat)

MOVIE LINK: Permission on Google
OR
The Visit The Media That Matters Film Festival for this and other short films.

"Thanks Mary for sharing this clip."

In Focus: An Inconvenient Truth

After sending off my August On The Town articles, I jettisoned off to Studio 28 to see An Inconvenient Truth. I have not been to film in some time and after weighing the options, I felt this was the one to see.

Turns out it was the right choice since it was eye-opening. Given how terrible I was doing last week combined with my no news fast and fragile emotional state, the film is one filled with a slivers of hope and humanity. I really do believe all the hype now.

A lot of documentaries can render one to a state of paralysis. This film was edited in a way to allow the viewer to digest each science portion only giving enough data for one to chew on for a moment before returning to the hard data.

While other filmmakers have tried to employ this technique, I think it works beautifully here.

In a funny aside, my father and I was talking today and he brought up that he takes 17 pills a day. As we talked about the film and he began to cast doubt since Al Gore was a part of it, I simply said, "Let me see if I get this straight. You trust scientist when they tell you to take 17 pills but scientisst who tell you to cut your environmentally damaging lifestyle you ignore?"

Until this moment I never saw the argument this way. It is fun sometimes to have a hard line right wing father.

Most times he ends our calls with a bit of laugh as he says, "You are my lovable liberal son."

For a hard liner, he can be pretty cool. And I am sure he imagines right after our calls I race out to hug a tree.

And just like I told my father to do, this film should be required viewing for every American.

Visit: ClimateCrisis.net

Spotlight: Amy Sedaris

Over the years I have enjoyed watching Amy Sedaris in various acting roles.

She is probably best known for her character Jerri Blank, a boozer, a user and a two time loser, who returns to high school at the age of 47. The TV show Strangers With Candy ran for three seasons on Comedy Central before being made into a feature film.

I do not want to be guilty of saying it is must see entertainment, but for anyone who remembers the silly drama of the afterschool special, this is just the ticket.

Be sure to also visit one of the best waste of time spots on the 'net, YouTube.com for further viewing of Amy Sedaris. Stand outs include her David Letterman interview from 2005, her PETA anti-fur video with Todd Oldham and the funny tumbling episode on The Colbert Report.

Its summer, so have fun and talk with food in your mouth!

Tommy for Vendetta

I have been thinking for days how to respond to the powerful film, V for Vendetta.

In the end, I have been speechless but really torn up over this powerful film that I highly recommend seeing in the theatre.

So yesterday after reading the public pulse comment in The Grand Rapids Press I think this letter says it all. See this film!

Harmful about homosexuals

I am responding to Philip Lewis ("Pushing gay agenda," Pulse, March 24). Mr. Lewis objected to the supportive position which the movie "V for Vendetta" takes toward homosexual people. First, homosexual people were targeted by the Nazis and exterminated in the camps. Therefore, their similar depiction in the movie is legitimate -- hardly "absolutely ludicrous." I have several gay friends, all of whom knew from childhood that they were different and have had to endure the shaming and bruising of language like Mr. Lewis' for their entire lives: "deviant," "vile," "sewer water," "damaging to society," "not natural." This kind of talk is profoundly hurtful to many people, including children. Finally, regarding Mr. Lewis' concern: "Where is it going to end -- with another Sodom and Gomorrah?" I offer this: A gay male couple lives near to me. They have an incredibly beautiful garden. My elderly father and I often walk by and admire it. Whenever we catch one of the men in the yard, they are always exceedingly kind and conversational. They are an asset to the neighborhood. Mr. Lewis would be greatly relieved to hear that of all the people I have observed enjoying the garden, not one yet has become a pillar of salt.

GEORGE BARTNICK/Grand Rapids
from the Grand Rapids Press, May 1
Letter to the Editor

A Place Where Nobody Dared To Go....

They called it

And now, open your eyes and see
What we have made is real

The Xanadu Preservation Society
(What's your guilty pleasure?)

One by One: A DVD Review

Last weekend I rented the DVD, The Girl in the Cafe' from HBO Films.

Not knowing exactly what to expect other than this film was written by Richard Curtis, the brilliant writer of Love Actually, I pressed play and sat back for an entertainment ride.

Ride is the right word as this film, while about love, it is about much more than that...or better how far will your love go...you will go to make a difference in another's life.

For those who have seen Love Actually, then one knows Richard is able to weave social commentary into stories that on the surface can come across as a poofter piece.

Who can forget the inspiring press conference scene where the Prime Minister tells the U S President to watch himself. England in the hands this fictious Prime Minister will not allow the U S President to bully them into submission. It felt like he gave the President a Time Out warning.

On The Girl in the Cafe' Richard again takes a shot not just at the U S but at all the nations of making up the G8. The G8 has the power to set the global tone for years to come as they sift through hours of negotiations. But I am getting way ahead of myself here.

I would rather not spoil anything but this is one of the most beautiful examples of how writing can actually have the power to pull our focus and change minds. This film does not have the classic Hollywood scene stealing moment that says, "Look at me and remember me come awards season time!"

All one will find is a small, gentle film that reflects so much life that is like having a mirror to the soul. The reflective quality of this film spills over into the performances giving us the best acting witnessed in a long time.

Because the film's production schedule was not a long one, some of the scenes were shot with a single camera angle. This relaxed unedited approach allows the actors to reveal themselves giving the viewer sense of voyuerism. This intimacy will play out later in the film as one discovers a genuine sense of familarity with the characters.

And this pace allows the characters' story told against the background of the G8 conferance. The film mixes often back and forth from the love story to familar news headlines that the film becomes lifelike.

The intimacy set up in the first part of the film combined with the reality of what is at stake when the G8 assembles equals a powerful payoff at the end of the film.

They could have easily delivered The Girl in the Cafe' to the theaters and have it become the next Lost in Translation. In the end, the director decided the distribution from HBO would get this film out faster...and to more people.

The real beauty in watching this film is at some point in our lives we all have a little of Lawrence (Bill Nighy) and Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in us.

Sure it is only a film, but if a film has the power to inspire, then one by one we might be able to change the world for the better.

Now is not the time to lose focus or become jaded. These are words that even I have trouble swallowing.

Rent. Play. Reply.

Link: The Girl in the Cafe'
Link: Read more about the One Campaign

Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.
You can be that generation.
Nelson Mandela, 2005

Oscar Is Sure To Overlook - But I Didn't!

Best Naked Dance Wearing Only A Santa Hat

Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead

He has my one big vote!


Link: Watch Jake's Mad Moves Here

Finding Brokeback Mountain

Today I find myself in a strange mood. Last night was the opening for Ang Lee's new film, Brokeback Mountain.

Many weeks ago I read this story and was so moved by the author's sparse use of language to convey such deep emotions and yet travel vast miles of life.

I remember writing to a close friend that "I could not put it down for it's pain and honesty was truly breathtaking. Here I sit at work, having secretly completed my book and I am on the edge of tears. This is beautifully devastating literature. I think one would be hard pressed not to moved by such an amazing story."

Having just seen the film’s interpretation I still feel the same way.

As an artist I must always be honest by honoring the glow of the heart and allow these feelings to pierce my soul with the light of truth. The path these emotions carry me are much like the rolling terrain Jack and Ennis wander through on Brokeback Mountain.

One cannot help but be moved to those private moments in each of our lives when we feel a connection to another. It is a feeling that defines all labels and in becoming is our own.

There is one scene in the film where Jack reunites with Ennis after many years. Their embrace spans so much time and the kiss that follows is like a powerful stream’s current that pulls our bodies in a direction where we have no control. When we let go and just flow in this moment a kiss can take us places our feet cannot travail.

And a kiss is the one thing that will haunt us for many years even after the sweet taste has left our lips. We will remember this moment through the embrace of time as history changes the present to iconic.

Our feelings will rise and fall and will take many turns over time. Sometimes we bury them under the sands of times and other times they may actually take flight allowing us to reach new heights. Most of all it is nice to carry these memories with us of a time when we connected with something...someone.
In the end the theme of “what you can't fix, you have to stand it” can take over. The standing is hard, painful, sorrowful, but it may be all it was meant to be in the first place. And in between the landscape we will travel to this destination can be breath taking...all the while reminding us that we are alive.

“You must remember this a kiss is still a kiss” – As Time Goes By


Brokeback Mountain Movie Site

Syriana

Last night was a good night to head out to the movies. Since much buzz has been generated about Syriana it felt like the best choice.

It turns out that the feeling was correct.

Syriana while laboring along in rapids cuts only gives the audience member a clue to the bigger picture here or there as a handfull puzzle pieces are placed in your lap. (unless you were the idiot who brought a 14 inch pizza and bread sticks to create their own strange version of dinner theater.)

The film is very complicated in the way it is presented but it is meant to do so to remind the viewer of the maze one must truly wander in the international oil race. Contracts are signed, leaders are wrongfully accused and yes, people will die either physically or morally off the radar.

There are wonderful elements of symbolism as well but at the risk of spoiling it, I will allow the viewer to wander down this path of discovery on their own.

Most of all this film will inspire dialogue many hours after the credits have ceased rolling. Even now I find it hard to divorce what I have seen in a fictional story with what appears in the news headlines. Syriana is worth the ride and as John Douglas of The Grand Rapids Press says it should be moved up to the top of your must see film list.