Monday, January 6, 2020

101 Years Gone - Theodore Roosevelt


"The old lion is dead."
- cable from Archie Roosevelt to his brothers serving in Europe, 01/06/1919

Theodore Roosevelt passed on January 6, 1919.  He was only 60 years old.

The passing of the famously active and robust Roosevelt could be attributed to a few things.  That bullet he famously took before he gave a speech actually did harm him and left him with ailments that worsened over time.  His tour of the Amazon had left him with malaria and took much of the wind from his sails.  The man of action who had made his reputation in the Spanish-American War, and who believed the manliest thing one could do was go fight in a war, took a post-presidential tour of Europe which forewarned him of the coming conflict and the scale at which is would occur.  When the US finally entered the fray, he encouraged his sons to enlist.  When he and Edith lost Quentin Roosevelt in air-to-air combat in July of 1918, it's said TR began to slide.

TR died before he could once again run for president, which he was, of course, considering.  And which I think would have altered his legacy, win or lose.  We never really saw a feeble TR, and the memory of the uncompromising figure TR was becoming as he aged is mostly forgotten, mixed with the blustery figure of his younger days.  Still, he'd surprised the world at every turn since his youth, so who is to say what an octogenarian Roosevelt might have looked like?

The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and he'd defied death since his childhood as an asthmatic prone to long spells of sickness, been shot at, survived disease and exotic and dangerous adventuring.  Blinded in one eye while boxing (during middle age) and regularly found ways to engage with life in ways I can scarcely imagine.  At only 60, his life and legacy produced more door-stop-heavy books than most anyone in US History. 

If all of us are contradictions, this is one more area where TR lived larger than life.  And I won't dwell on it here - but he did leave a fascinating legacy and history in the multitudes he contained.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

PODCAST: "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker" (2019) - SimonUK and Ryan blab on about Episode IX



SimonUK and Ryan were already standing around the kitchen talking about "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker", so they turned on a microphone and recorded themselves. What follows is a semi-incoherent conversation by two 40-something guys pondering the final installment of a decades-spanning storyline.



Music:
Fanfare and Prologue - John Williams, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker OST
Ewok Celebration - Meco, some 45 I had a as a kid


SimonUK Playlist"




Saturday, January 4, 2020

Signal Watch 2019 Subjective Opinion Movie Awards - 2019! (The Mellies!)


We've already shared the breakdown of all the movies we watched last year, so now it's time to talk about some of our favorite things and to drag some movies we maybe didn't like all that much.

We don't just talk about movies that came out in 2019, we try to talk about all the "new to me" movies we saw, and maybe a special selection or three of movies we'd seen before, but which deserve special mention.

The Mellies are nominated by and voted upon by the only opinion that matters:  mine.  They are also not reflective of the panoply of films released in any given year - because I may watch a lot of movies, but I don't have that kind of time.  And, honestly, I'm just not that interested in a whole lot of what comes out.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Signal Watch: Movies By the Numbers - 2019 edition


Well, 2019 was certainly a year that we mostly lived through.  As years go, I'm not giving it very high marks, but I did watch a lot of movies.  Which, boys and girls, is not so much an achievement as a thing which occurred.

In 2019, I watched 204 movies (click that link to see the spreadsheet).  This is likely a lifetime high, and I don't really know how or why that happened, because 204 is a good 20 more movies than last year.

I also wrote a post or recorded a podcast for, I think, every movie I watched in 2019.

This 204 number includes movies I saw more than once.  Example:  I saw Avengers: Endgame three times this year, so it is counted thrice.

The figure does not include partially watched films, half-watched Hallmark Christmas movies, or matter that I watched on TV that some people might consider a film, but I happen to not consider a film.

As always, I may have missed a movie or two.  It happens.  The data is accumulated from the blog - so if I forgot to post on a movie, it is not reflected here.  Also, dates watched on a movie reflect the date upon which I completed a movie, as I watch many movies broken up over 2-3 viewings.

Now, into the nitty-gritty.

Dog Watch: Togo (2019)


Watched:  01/03/2020
Format:  Disney+
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's

Disney Watch: Frozen II (2019)



Watched:  12/30/2019
Format:  Alamo Slaughter Lane
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  2010's

Not to be overly dramatic, but after seeing Frozen II (2019) the first time, I knew I'd need to watch it again before I'd do my usual posting.

The reviews were kind of lukewarm, so going in, I had my expectations set for "it'll be okay", and so... when the movie ended and I was having all the reactions I deeply *want* to have after seeing a movie, I'll admit that I kinda-sorta didn't trust my own reaction and figured it would fade after a day of thinking about (or forgetting about) the movie. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Documentary Watch: Ernie and Joe - Crisis Cops (2019)



Watched:  12/31/2019
Format:  HBO Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's

A while back our own PaulT - who does many things in the film and TV industry - worked on a documentary called Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops (2019).  I believe he was a/ the sound mixer on the film, which - in documentary land - is no small feat.  Especially when you're talking police situations, moving cars, and open classrooms.  So, hats off to Paul.

The movie is currently streaming on HBO, and, if you get a chance, give it some time.  The movie follows two police officers from the San Antonio Police Department's Mental Health Unit at work and in their lives.

Noir Watch: This Gun For Hire (1942)



Watched:  01/01/2020
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM on DVR
Viewing:  Unknown
Decade:  1940's

Noir Watch: Criss Cross (1949)


Watched:  12/30/2019
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM on DVR
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940's

Eddie Muller introduced Criss Cross (1949) as an exemplar of noir and an underrated movie, and he's absolutely right.  I'd seen this movie a while back, and it's absolutely stuck with me - so when it made the programming list for Noir Alley, I was thrilled to watch it again.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Happy New Year, Every Buddy


Here's to a year where, hopefully, we all learned something, even if it was a hard-earned or hard-fought lesson.  Here's to a year where the shadows seemed to grow darker, and where we found light, it shone brighter.  Here's to knowing what the coming year can bring, and not being on our heels this time when it comes.

Every night has a morning, and the sun always comes up. 

Let's get our game faces on and be those lights shining brighter. 

Let's extend a hand and help others to their feet.  Let's stand between those who are looking to strike and those who can't raise their hands.  Let's do it because we know the right thing to do, even when it's hard.

I have a lot of improvements I want to make in 2020.  Now, we're gonna try and make this work.

May we all be the people we want to be in 2020.