instead of running a few more miles after the stratford sweetheart run yesterday (as i had planned), i sat down and watched "frozen river" that afternoon. i'm so glad i did. what a great movie - and even greater performance by melissa leo - it turned out to be. leo's intense, lived-in portrait of ray eddy, a woman relentlessly determined to keep her family (two sons) together in the bleakest of economic conditions (worsened when her deadbeat husband steals their money and leaves them the week before christmas) should, without a doubt, win her the best actress oscar at the academy awards next weekend.
determined? she followed her husband's car - driven by either a potential "other" woman or car thief - down to an isolated snowbound trailer on an indian reservation to reclaim it. that scene, punctuated by a surprise gunshot, set the stage for how determined she could be - to the point of trying, unsuccessfully, to lash the cars together with rope so she could tow it back home! "i'm not leaving it here" she declared. minutes later she is suddenly, and unwittingly, on a smuggling run (of human cargo) as the two women drive across the frozen st. lawrence river to canda.
as totally preposterous as this sequence of events seems, in hindsight, it's incredibly believable and griping in the real time of the movie story line. in fact, practically no frame of this film is wasted - even the obligatory hard-luck scene where she once more asked the snotty nosed s.o.b. manager of the dollar store to work there full-time (after 2 years part time there). the difference in age, power, and arrival of her less than hard-working (but more attractive) colleague just deepens the viewers immersion in her seemingly no-win situation.
but it's the slow-thaw in the "relationship" between ray and lila, the mohawk indian who took the car ("i though it was abandoned") and took ray on her first smuggling run. the smuggling runs set the framework - and ray's ever increasing dependence on them to earn money for christmas presents, forestalling t.v. repossession, and the balloon down-payment on their new doubled size trailer home (said funds previously stolen by her husband). one run, involving pakistani immigrants, was mesmerizing.
the final run, amazingly, was even more powerful than the one that precede it. without going into the particular details, the ending was in some ways capra-like - while, at the same time, the film itself was practically the singular un-"it's a wonderful life!" at no time whatsoever did ray evince an iota of self-pity. at all times she carried herself with unflinching resolve that the job would get done - regardless of any obstacle.
watch this film. better yet, watch it before next weekend's academy awards. then decide for yourself if this long shot entry on the leading actress list should be the winner. i do!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
"frozen river" movie review
Saturday, February 14, 2009
stratford ymca sweetheart run: race photos and results
cold, but a great day to run! there was a record turnout for the stratford ymca sweetheart 4 mile run this morning. here is the short version: emmy and i won our team age group. kate and brian took third in their team age group. emmy, kate, brian, and chris also took home individual age group awards!
here is my race report.
here are the official results from hi-tek racing.
here are some photos:
race registration.
don
brian and kate :D
kate and a new friend :D
a view from the start ;)
chris and me.
emmy, ronnie, and paul.
sal.
sherry and marty.
chris, me, rob, and emmy.
happy valentine's day :D
happy valentine's day everyone!
chocolate (tons) and peace (not that other thing)
music (loud and rocking)
strange greetings (or greetings from strangers?) - ha
plus, last but not least - hugs and kisses (lots)!
and don't forget to burn off plenty of calories to make up for the chocolate (and release all those endorphins) :D
Friday, February 13, 2009
plaxico burress "situation" with giants "very convoluted" according to his agent.
in a run of recent sports stories that kicked off with a a few salacious leaks from joe torre's kiss and tell book, "the yankee years," which was then kicked off the front burner by the leak of alex rodriguez' steriod use during 2001-03 seasons and, in turn, was momentarily bumped aside by news of brett favre's retirement from the jets (after one lonely season) - we now read the news that plaxico's agent sent word the other nfl teams that burress is available for a trade!!
this particular news should be hilariously inconsequential in view of (a) the giants didn't give burress permission to seek a trade and (b), more importantly, plaxico next move may be from giants stadium to rikers island, if he's convicted of gun possession charges and a mandatory jail term in imposed. there is nothing "convoluted whatsoever about his situation with the giants. his accidental, self-inflicted, gunshot wound triggered the giants late season spiral into oblivion. now plaxico is set to go on trial and, if convicted, possibly serve jail time.
that his agent is already shopping him around may be great forward thinking, in his mind. coupled with the grievances filed on plaxico's behalf by the players union over the 4 game suspension and fines imposed on him by the giants for the gunshot incident, it may finally show team management that plaxico has to go (and not, as they hope, return and play for the giants down the road)!
the giants should redouble the search for their new number one receiver!!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
lincoln bicentennial: 1809-2009
happy 200th birthday, abraham lincoln! today, february 12, 2009, is the big day. the bicentennial even has it's own very official website to coordinate the numerous nationwide activities planned to commemorate the milestone.
aside from the coincidence of having read "tried by war: abraham lincoln as commander in chief" the bicentennial would probably have gone by without comment. i also caught two pbs programs on lincoln this week: "the assassination of abraham lincoln" and "looking for lincoln." the former was well-constructed and visually powerful, but way too sympathetic to john wilkes booth. to rationalize (the word "understand" in this context is insulting) the actions of that despicable coward (who viewed himself as a hero) practically bordered on moral equivalency.
sorry for that rant - but i really didn't care much about the delusions that motivated booth to murder the president. on the other hand, "looking for lincoln" was impressive because not only did it focus on lincoln the myth, but sought to deconstruct the public image and find the real flesh and blood man. led by historian henry gates, we are shown lincoln through the eyes of the scholars who have spent years of their lives researching him. it's a must see program.
so find the time to think about lincoln - and what he did for the nation - today. even if it's as simple as checking out a penny - which, by the way, is getting a "back" lift (4 new images of various stages of lincoln's life will be minted for the reverse side!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
brett favre retirement redux: to leave ny jets after only one season
brett favre, via his agent, who in turn made it official via an email to the jets, has seemingly announced his retirement this morning. all so suddenly (but probably expected) that the jets are hastily putting together an official announcement right now. in the wake of sacking mangini at the close of the season, and his replacement mapping out strategy for the upcoming season, it is decidedly the right thing to do (if, albeit, lamely executed). the 16 game favre era of the jets has come to a close!
not only does it free up 13 million of salary cap dollars that can be applied in the search for a new quarterback, it kicks off the start of the search for a replacement. this is a much better scenario for jet fans than watching favre anguish, hamlet-like, over the decision for the entire off-season. no doubt he still has of supporters, not the least of which happens to be the team's owner. but the unfavorable side by side comparison with his predecessor in the season-ending finale with miami is more informative.
as great a quarterback favre was (and he's headed straight to the hall of fame in canton), he just didn't seem into the game for the second half of the season. the jets need a young quarterback that will develop in tandem with the new coach and his staff.
the news broke on espn, but here is a link the daily news story that goes into the future quarterback question as well.
stay tuned: i'll update this when the jets make a formal announcement later today (scheduled for noon).
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no major news from the conference calls. looks like kellen clemens will come off the bench as the presumptive choice until we hear otherwise.
james mcpherson, "tried by war: abraham lincoln as commander in chief" book review
with tomorrow, february 12, abraham lincoln's 200th birthday, posting this review of "tried by war: lincoln as commander in chief," by james m. mcpherson, is perfectly timed. ironically, i finished the book on monday (a strange follow-up to the jerry lewis memoir, "dean & me") without making the anniversary connection. instead, tomorrow i lecture on executive branch power to my constitutional law students. the book is a fascinating behind the "case law" look what necessitated some of lincoln's more alarming war time measures.
it's often overlooked that lincoln was the only president whose entire term of office was served during war (he was assassination just days after the war ended). during that period lincoln took some remarkable actions under his constitutional authority as commander in chief. probably the most famous ("infamous" is another equally plausible word choice) "infringement" of civil liberties during the war was the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. but lincoln also restricted freedom of the speech, press, and assemble. and, somewhat notoriously, he ordered military tribunals to hear cases against citizens!
it was in the last instance that the supreme court (ex parte milligan) finally decided, in 1866 well after the end of the civil war, to restrain the unchecked expansion of executive authority under the powers of the commander in chief. the supreme court held that military tribunals had no jurisdiction over ordinary civilians when regular civil courts were open - and functioning! thus, mr. milligan was spared execution of the death sentence imposed on him. but this book isn't about legal issues.
"tried by war" is focused on lincoln and his military strategy to win the war. as such, the book is a great primer on the civil war, the president, and the generals who led it. james mcphearson is one of the greatest civil war scholars in the country (authoring no less than the classic, "battle cry of freedom"). he documents in specific detail the length to which lincoln went to urge his decidedly unwilling generals to engage the enemy in combat. if there is one drawback to the book, this thread is constantly repeated, in every theatre of war, in every year of the war.
even if it sometimes borders on "beating a dead horse" lincoln struggled not only to get the generals to fight - but, even more significantly, focus on the enemy armies, not cities. lincoln knew instinctively that capturing land, even symbolic cities, would not win the war. crushing - outright destruction of - the confederate army was the only road to victory. his generals, grant and sherman in particular, eventually obliged him. the book is griping in its description of the rapid national mood swings (almost hanging on the fortunes of individual campaigns).
the single most remarkable point of the entire book is how perilously close lincoln was to defeat in his campaign for reelection in 1864 - and how, in tandem, dangerously close the country came to outright disunion. literally, only one man - lincoln himself - stood between that bleak prospect. for something so distant in our past, the alternate outcome is still chilling to consider, even today.
current reading: joe torre's new book, "the yankee years."
