My Token Summertime Movie



Circa 1967



Set to the music of Simon & Garfunkel, The Graduate would be a film very representative of 1960’s California and affluence. Benjamin, played by Dustin Hoffman would be a young man in between his college years and his career in limbo living at his parents’ home. He begins a torrid affair with the wife of his father’s friend and one that leads him through all the trials and tribulations involved in this kind of deviance. Mrs. Robinson played by Anne Bancroft is very easy on the eyes, seductive, worldly, well spoken, cool, and lonely. She retreats to her booze and seduction of Hoffman in the film leading him to fancy hotels as they embark in passionate interludes and steamy taboo. That is until her daughter is set up with Hoffman on a date courtesy of their parents and he becomes enamored. He is defying the norms at his place in life and like many young people in the 1960’s is starting to embrace an alternative lifestyle wherein one does not have to be anything at all, just be. Ms. Robinson only reinforces this.

The film, by Mike Nichols, gained importance not only for it being a fair and enticing representation of the mentality of this era but also because it was so well acted. The roles played by Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in particular proved be dynamical and the movie is full of lust and passion due to these characters. The soundtrack would be the perfect complement to this film as Simon & Garfunkel captured the spirit and essence of this film in the songs for example when Benjamin is floating in the pool while Sounds of Silence rambles along. Mrs. Robinson was well written and a song that matched the weight of the film in that they both proved to be great. The film would be one of the first which would exhibit a changing Hollywood, one in which would become more socially aware. It divided the younger and older generations in the way that the characters were portrayed. The parents came across as very traditional and tended to care about their class in society as well as titles and distinction where the younger generation during this period did not. To the older generation image was everything as was keeping up with the Joneses. Benjamin becomes a refuge for Ms. Robinson as she finds herself lost in her upscale lifestyle that has no depth or meaning as she lacks the attention of her husband and the drive to be dedicated to her family is lost through her alcoholism and feelings of self worth.

His cavalier attitude makes for an interesting first date where he kills Elaine with recklessness and buoyancy. Mrs. Robinson is obviously upset at him taking her daughter out and it is evident on her face. The daughter is shown as a youthful version of her mother and cast in a positive light in contrast to her mother who begins to take form of the enemy. He almost tries to scare the poor girl away and his efforts in the end work with her crumbling with humiliation after being taken to a bar featuring a girl review in scantily clad, barely there outfits. The movie will progress as Benjamin realizes this move may have cost him someone he begins to have feelings for as he finds himself in a very compromising position as he is giving into temptation with her mother. He eventually ends the affair and she doesn’t take it well. No amount of opposition will keep these two apart in the end. She tries to persuade Elaine and spats off and hits her, she is angry but comes to the realization she is no match for her daughter who willingly will also defy her parents. Finding himself emotionally in ruin he heads to Berkeley to win Elaine back and finally succeeds on the day of her wedding to another man as they tangle with family and end up riding off into the sunset together in the back of a bus. The ending finds them on the brink of what’s next? And an uncertain future but is also very light hearted as they are careless and seem to not be concerned with what the future holds. Together they have gone against their parents and are now willingly able to share and start their new found life together. Maybe this was the point all along, with the driving force being to stand on their own two feet and defy their parents, not each other.

June Bugs

Sarah Ban Breathenach declares June the month to "Dunk strawberries and romance your flaws."

I for one will be doing neither, lately I am not into making peace with my flaws rather I am playing Ms. Fix it. I have set out to make a slew of strawberry cakes this month, first there was this colorful throwback next up I am heading over to Smittenkitchen to try this one on for size to see if I could top last summers Strawberry Shortcake Cake.
June so far has been full of gnats. They are everywhere, flying in my face, skydiving in my drinks, waiting in the wings to dive head first into dinner plates. Okay maybe I am exaggerating but it's getting old. At least it's not as bad as my ex brother in laws trailer aka "Lord of the Flies" which didn't leave the Sandy Beach in Rocky Point for three months, in fact I don't know if he left the trailer.I still don't know how anyone could coexist with the hundreds of flies that made the trailer their home, oh and the humidity..I think it may very well have been the closest to hell I have seen.
I would love to linger in the summers day, admire the fireflies and kiss the full moon. But this is Arizona, void of fireflies and car seats that burn your ass. Oh how I miss tearing their buts off and making light up buttons out of them. Actually I never did that my friends did, the thought of tearing their buts off grossed me out. I would catch them and keep them next to a jar by my bed, until one day I realised I didn't leave enough air flow and they all died, that was the end of that.
This is wedding season for those of you that don't know or who perhaps like me found the first available homeless man and took him to the 24 hour chapel in Vegas. It could have happened.
Summer is the time of year where I like to take what I call a time out. Cooking food that reflects the seasons, contemplating what new art work I will be buying and this year I am taking this time out to redecorate and revitalize the rooms in my home. I will be launching my cooking website after the Summer semester and because I flaked out on our family reunion this July I will be taking my vacation in California beach side instead. This coupled with a handful of road trips up North and who knows where as we take our Diners Drive Inns & Dives expedition.
Or maybe I just might embrace a more radical lifestyle..

Ryan McGinnis



Memorial Day Weekend 2k11

 Johnny Cash

Gourmet's Chicken & Dumplings

Bluberry & Lemon Pancakes

Zannies Blackeyed Pea Dip

Blue Valentine

Lotte & Doof

Sarah Lee Frozen Apple Crumb Pie

Reading about Berlin enjoying Mountainside Coffee Company & The Magnificent Almond Twist & Homemade Granola



The Original Badass



Warren Beatty was very easy on the eyes and had a commanding presence in Hollywood. His interpretation of the notorious story of Bonnie and Clyde would be another big budget studio film, and one in which he was eager to make. He pairs up with the cool and uncanny Faye Dunaway as Bonnie and the two prove to have an undeniable dynamic which screams on the screen. The adrenaline rush of a film is set in the 1930’s in America and is a depiction of the real life story of Bonny Parker and Clyde Barker, historic criminals for which this film gained them even more of a cult following. It is glorified violence in perfect Hollywood fashion. They feed off of each other with Clyde committing the robberies at first to impress and drive the object of his affection, Bonnie crazy with this feeling of possibly getting caught met with lust and desire for her man which seems to grow as the crime wave hits full swing. They are on the run terrorizing everyone who comes their way hitting up small town to small town they will not be caught but instead consider themselves not only above the law but untouchable. Their ego and drive are fueled by one another and they are as magnetic as they are as foolish as love is blind.

They tangle with the law back and forth. The public is concerned, frightened and fans all at the same time. Kidnapping a Texas Ranger they join forces with some unlikely comrades and the film then becomes a classic gangster film similar to which was so ever present in Hollywood some 30 years prior. It captures 1930’s America effortlessly and transcends the viewer into another time and place with simplicity yet features violence like never before seen on the big screen up until this point. There is blood, there is gore, and the public find this fascinating. In watching this film some 50 years later it is still considered to be very violent. It had to be a shock to the system of America and Hollywood when it first came out. Warren Beatty played Clyde with a youthfulness and attitude which helped solidify his star status. The beauty and rough around the edges style that is Faye Dunaway helped the cavalier and cool actress to not only get noticed but become bankable in Hollywood. The best case scenario for this big budget film was to be able to gross a ton of money and by doing so it was the acting of these two that carried it into such a successful spot. The shock and awe was just a byproduct of this.

It also was made to appeal to a much younger audience much in the same way many of the most popular films during this era were. Because the film relayed the message that it was honorable to perhaps steal from the rich while giving to the poor just fueled the fire of defiance of the norms and values that was ever-present in 1960’s America where there was a clear division of young and old but also of the classes. Younger people in America were focusing less on material things and money and wealth therefore they were able to read that message in this film and recognize its worth and appreciate it. The violence in the film however was contradictory to this and showed that aside from all of the new ideals and trials and tribulations that people were still able to be amazed and entertained by the shocking effects of cinema. One might think that in a society so hell bent on non violence and peace and one that was in strife over the effects of the Viet Nam war and our perception of it being never ending that it might not have been appropriate for this movie to have taken such a violent approach. Movies are interesting for a variety of reasons to an audience and one of the reasons that the film was to be so successful is perhaps America wanted to be entertained wanted an escape from al of the conflict unanswered questions and distrust that we held in the government. Movies seek to entertain and captivate., This could be by telling the tale of a beautiful love story which touches our heart, taking us to a place we have never been before, making us feel an emotion that we normally do not entertain like fear or lust or even, although shocking, by violent means.

Long Weekend....

Bon Appetempts Strawberry Cake courtesy of Saveur

Pretty Eggshell Blue Manicure

Water Park

Grilling Steaks

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

A Big Pizza

Spa

Yoga

A Long Meditative Walk

A Cool Breeze

Boutique Popcorn

WSJ Magazine

Bon Appetempts Strawberry Cake Via Saveur

Sleepovers

Boys Rowdy Boys Sleepy

Such is a day in this beautiful life...2 days left to the weekend...wonderful

05/27/2k11

In Fort Worth, Texas there is a drug clinic which takes people off the streets and helps them get over bad LSD trips. They don't use any traditional medical treatment whatsoever. All they do is play the patient our Smiley Smile album and apparently this acts as a soothing remedy which relaxes them and helps them to recover completely from their trip. - Carl Wilson, (1970)



Casey Anthony On Trial... Finally

First let me say that definitively there are two kinds of people on this earth. Let me also say that the devil is alive and well and living amongst us. Forget guilty until proven innocent. Forget all the bureaucratic hoops that our legal system is set up on to discourage punishment where punishment is due. The question has been asked a zillion times how can somebody hurt their child, any child for that matter. How is it that if a person has gotten themselves into such a bad place that they won't reach out to someone for help, leave the child with a family member, anyone...someone. It is true that sometimes these may be acts of desperation or helplessness.. committed time and time again by a single mother with too much on her plate.. the question always remains where is the father? Who is this little girls father? In this case we have a mother who killed her daughter for reasons which we may never know. What we do know is this wasn't the case of a desperate young woman under pressure who just one day snapped. This is a young woman who methodically planned the murder of her daughter. This is a woman who lied in every possible scenario to everyone around her, to the police, to her parents about the whereabouts of her daughter when she knew all along she killed her. This is a woman who showed no remorse, who hoped that people would stop asking questions and that one day it would all just go away. Who longed so desperately to have freedom from this child that once she eliminated this responsibility she celebrated, she partied, she got a tattoo.. The body of her daughter was in her vehicle for an unknown period of time.. rotten pizza and a dead body are not easily mistaken for one another. Who do these people think they are kidding. Her parents knew this the day they made that fateful 911 call. her father, being an ex police officer and having recognized the smell in her vehicle was the reason for their panicked demeanor. They knew something wasn't right. Now we have a case of this young woman, a sociopath, who has dragged her parents into her web of lies by accusing her own father of molestation and blamed these poor people for covering up the death of Kaylee. More lies upon lies.. but the truth is still as apparent as it was on that first day and no matter what cockeyed stories her sad legal defense may come up with no matter what evidence or lack there of that they may present. The writing is on the wall this woman is guilty of taking the life of this beautiful child. The question we will all be left to wonder when all is said and done is simply why? Because this woman is evil, fact is people who do these horrible things to children are nothing short of the devil alive and well and living on planet earth, time and time again we hear the heartbreaking stories. We as a society need to..have to find the means to put a stop to these monsters that hurt, touch and kill our children. What we have in place fails time and time again miserably. Tougher sentences do not seem to offer much of a deterrence. The death penalty not only needs to be imposed but the red tape needs to be eliminated so that as prisoners they can meet their maker and face their own judgement day in a short period of time, off of this earth..castration would be too kind. All we can do is be aware of the people and the situations around us, and try to prevent these incidents from happening wherever and whenever possible. Hold fathers accountable..keep men out of the lives and homes of single mothers who don't belong there..mandatory parenting classes for young mothers under the age of 21..no tolerance laws keyed to keep sex offenders off of our streets and away from our children the first time..better care for the mentally ill who live among us without the proper treatment and medication..child protective services that do not operate with their hands tied.. these are just some ideas but it's a start. Our society cannot just idly sit by and allow our children to get hurt any longer. Any punishment that Casey may receive will not bring this beautiful little girl back but it may very well someday put an end to her life as well, which in my opinion would be long overdue.