Frame tale, Realer Than Real

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Harry Brake

Taming of the ShrewA frame tale, a story within a story, I love it.  Often Shakespeare does this among countless other strategies that draw you in, and I certainly did not see all the magical ways Shakespeare reinvented life scenarios, and humor, combined with the bitter truth that love often offers and Stratford Festival’s Taming of the Shrew was no exception.

The Lunario certainly is a magical place – and this evening seated at a table of young women from France, it didn’t get any better than this.  With that flair in the background, and setting the scene for a great evening, and as you witnessed the crowd settling in at the Stratford Festival, you thought you might see a disturbance, and yes, you do – a man in the audience began to hassle or be hassled.  The the slight disturbance becomes a ranting about how the Shaw house is actually serving to the wrong crowd, the audience member with two theatre workers stumble on stage, the actor preparing for the play are aghast, all in in disarray and there you are, wondering WHAT the HECK is happening?  The actors preparing for Taming of the Shrew  plot (after the unruly audience member is knocked out) to revolve a scenario to convince the out cold audience member that he is actually a lord, convince him that he is not insane, and a man dresses up as a woman to be convincingly his wife, (sound familiar?)  The play hasn’t even started due to this unruly audience member, and the cast members, are putting on another play before the real play starts – this all was quite awesome – and just went to lengths to show how intricate not only Shakespeare can be, but also members of the Stratford Festival.

Once the intricate and magical music played by the musicians proceeds past the first mini drama that unfolded on stage, the second main drama, The  Taming of the Shrew begins, leaving you with still the talented threads of music that made the very first aspect of this production, even before the unruly audience member and his tale, and mockery, began.

This was highly acclaimed on so many points, one strength is just not possible, there were numerous reasons.  The participation that the audience was sought out for, perfect every time, from the glances, to pulling a boot of of one of the actors, to the looks that accentuated the sarcastic moments, you are involved no matter where you are sitting in the house.

The INCREDIBLE tension that Deborah Hay brings to the stage, almost gives you a migraine seeing the tension she works through and is able to maintain, BRILLIANT. if there ever was a Cate, it is and was Deborah Hay – from the expressions she pushes out in anger, to he most amazing soliloquy bringing a summation of the play, you are praying to someone in thanks for her being on the stage.  She is able to turn a theme of hate, anger, and pain into one of beauty with a tension in the beginning, you ask, no way, how will this happen?  it does and then some.

Ben Carlson.  Whoa.  I mean, not only playing the audience -rowdy Christopher Sly, (I did not KNOW that was HIM!) – and of course, a Petruchio that makes you follow him that much more closely, here is the second frame tale.  In real life? – Ben Carlson and Deborah Hay are MARRIED.  Can you imagine playing this role on real life, as warring War of the Roses husband and wife,and going home and discussing this ?  I can’t – AMAZING.  I love they are couple on and off stage, and you wonder, do they sleep soundly after this energy thrown at each other in harms way on stage.  I think YES – with a resounding YES!

Every single character in this production can be talked about for paragraphs and pages, the legendary Peter Hutt, mesmerising Sarah Afful, Brad Rudy as Curtis, EVERY SINGLE ACTOR had hilarious moments of involving the audience 100%  and the story of dueling competitions for Bianca, and two stories within this main story, frame, frame frame – stories that rely on each other and yet it is all as clear as day thanks to the quality of every single dominant and supporting actor and musician, every single one.  The laughter that rises to the top from everyone around us was evident of all this.

When I walked out of the Lunario and the cool wind, the starts above, another amazing night, I realized I had a fame tale of my own.  Coming to Mexico was a dream in itself, from songs to movies, of course I had rumors of what Mexico was, and having that idea blown apart, and pleasantly, I still have not gotten over the story within a story that Mexico has added to my life.  Many expect just coming to Mexico will change you, it certainly does alot in that process yet seeing the values and freedom Mexico gives you to dream and fulfill those dreams, you realize, Mexico can’t make it wonderful for you, but you need to have the desire and dreams of projects, plans, and creativity to take the encouragement that Mexico gives you, and run with the opportunity to do crazy great things.  IF YOU HAVE THE Initiative to take the good with the bad in life, you will see the beauty Mexico offers for you to fulfill many a dream.  

Being able to actually converse a bit in French, be surrounded by amazing individuals from France, be in Mexico and experience Spanish and a host of other languages at any one time, it certainly is not the Mexico that was painted to me growing up, and I am thankful for that.  It makes Mexico even more magical when you realize the true Mexico all around you.  More on this in the next post, but being a part of a magical wedding last week, being asked to help translate scripts from German and Latin to English and opportunities to just BE in Mexico I never imagined – there certainly has been quite a frame tale that intertwines with the intricate, deep, and hysterical scenarios you find in Taming of the Shrew.

I once, when I was in college remember seeing a version of Taming of the Shrew in Pittsburgh, with Mary Robb Jackson, in 1988, an amazingly cool slanted stage that came towards the audience, a news anchor was in this production and this has to be in the 90’s.  It never left me.  This version of Taming of the Shrew  will stick to me just as long, the combination of personal and amazing wrapped up into what Shakespeare can bring to so many is indeed timeless and this production was as well.  

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“Libraries” = Creating+Preservation + Creativity+Risk Taking+ Discarding the Box

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Harry Brake

As a 2016-2017 school year approaches, there is MUCH to look back on and use as a springboard to what is to come.  Of course, as you well know, it is QUITE easy to miss these past activities and let them be just that, the past.  OR, you can become a new person and allow those moments, those experiences, to shape you in ways that not just push you into the future, but PROPEL you into rooms you never knew existed.

Back in October of 2015 (yes I actually remember this) – a colleague sent me an article titled – Reinventing the Library.  Going back to March 0f 2015, an even better article on what gets kids reading was another complement to an idea.

Looking back is an amazing tool and this is why in a few examples:

We were amazingly asked as a student magazine, Repentino., to cover an experience using the Google cardboard/Google Expeditions experience at our school.  I have purposely been waiting to develop and release those articles for several reasons and also realized sometimes ideas need to percolate before releasing them.  It was an amazing experience to have CTE come to a student organization, such at Repentino., to have responsibility of taking adventures and covering them, and really processing them.  Truly, the processing became students being involved in a project-based task and processing, linking, and brainstorming how this could end up going larger, into the public forum.  I LOVED that this occurred in our Upper School Library.  As articles developed, other events began to appear.

Summer school. Wow.  I volunteered at first and thought after,ugh.  WHY? WHY WHY WHY?  My summer, needs to be summer school free!  – and yet.   I had the unique opportunity to grow in ways I never expected, ever.  Sure all groups of people are headed in all directions and I wanted to be counted as part of that.  Then after the final week, I realized I HAD BEEN traveling in directions I never expected and didn’t realize!  One of the Math courses combined the use of Aurasama to recognize individual created POSTERS, (I thought of this being a QR code- with no QR code and total images being recognized, it was Screen Shot 2016-08-09 at 5.26.30 AMCRAZY GREAT!) – and then later seeing students work through the challenges of Wintercroft masks that used math every single step of the way.  THIS WAS JUST ONE CLASS!

The Yo-Yo class sounded hysterical on paper, yet, when you saw the interaction, the LOVE of learning something, and then seeing these students perform to music as a show, it was amazing.  Then you would see students taking a new skill, and turning around and teaching each other, on their own – a skill that stemmed from a Yo-You and actually tapped into how students become educators themselves.  Watching the dance classes start with Thriller but seeing the students break out of a shell that could not be cracked through many experiments – it was unexplainable.

Math also utilizing current cuttings of plants we grow here and developing conservation-based  ideas with products we have growing and maintaining here on the roof – which led to students writing grants to help sustain projects tied to this initiative.

From my own experience in Reading and Writing, we started to dig into projects that would go beyond the classroom, that would actually interact with future, potential community projects, and we discovered Jane Goodall’s Institute and began experimenting with reading and writing in the summer school classes, applying what we were learning to our classroom and then beyond through a program called Roots & Shoots.  Add to that students writing articles tied to art out of Reading and Writing, (their work becoming published) and again, paths never conceived before.  I had become the student, the student, the teacher.

As the summer ended, I had completed one graduate course acknowledged by the University of Colorado, at Boulder, acquired 20 Professional Development hours, and walked away with a curriculum, ideas of projects that could change small and large communities, and redefined what the term LEADER meant based on how you inspire projects to affect learners in a social, educational, and personal way.

ALL THE WHILE, a student and I started a path to creating an internship program that would impact communities in Mexico, acquire young teachers that would be part of a growing intern initiative, and eventually turn into an academy where students from all over the world would TRUMPET back to Trump’s claim that to make American great, you need to build walls, need to move away from those living outside of the United States, and as Trump went on putting down anything that was defined as America (in his terms) outside of North America, forgetting America was STILL Central, Latin, South, North and yes, even Greenland, student around me were developing projects that brought students here to acquire the true Mexico, breaking DOWN stereotypes of what Mexico specifically means to others, and what Mexico IS.  Students were developing real-life answers to real life problems that began in streotyping – that started with adults.  This was an amazing summer of possibility that would begin to turn into a reality check – and students were responsible.

All of this in one summer, ONE summer, that has led to so many possibilities, for the future – that if you look where it started, it started with the library s a hub.  A hub for discovering how technology can be used in the community, used among each other for pushing creativity and technology, reaching out to ideas that at first seemed dreams, and realizing, libraries were centers for technology, media maturity and interpretation, discovering how to hone your skills in research, discovery, application, an area to discuss future potentials of hands-on project based learning, oh, and yeah, we also have books.

There are game changers in life, yet some prefer to wear masks and hide themselves from what can be a game-chnager in lives of those around us.  I was lucky enough to be part of so many amazing discoveries this summer, those around me decided we need to grow this to latch onto this and make these discoveries a reality.  Students around us I found, turn the instructor into a student, if you are lucky enough.  In turn, the classroom becomes a laboratory, where students conduct experiments to see how they can impact the largest laboratory of all, the world.  The Library, the Media Center, the creative makerspace, despite a myriad of titles, if you simply consider a library the storehouse of all things literary, you are only truly  teacher, and not an educator, which – believe me, the world needs educators more than teachers.

I am still finding to stay refreshed and amped up all year long, instead of being asked at the beginning of the year to find the curriculum that leads to better test scores as a goal, to be led by students and be a leader due to the dreams, ambitions, contributions and ideas, and potential leadership students have, turning the educator, BACK into student.  This is what a library does, turns the “outside the box” ideas, throws the box away, and creates a product recycled from cardboard, ideas, dreams, and technology, and redefines learning.  It is looking to be a very bright 2016-2017 year  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Roaming Roma…

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Harry Brake

It was an idea given to me by a former colleague, she asked, why don’t you cover all the new restaurants located in the Northern Roma area and provide a guide.  That is a very cool project, so while I was thinking on how to creatively approach that, I just noticed people walking, talking, in Roma, a volume I had never seen before as individuals from outside Roma, like never before have been making it a small metropolis, like never before.

Where do they go?  What do they see as so attractive?  For once, I thought I’d just play visitor and see what my own neighborhood would tell me, take me, that I had as of late maybe taken fro granted. So here we go…

Walking out of my door on Cordoba, I found myself walking down Tabasco, past the Buddhist temple full of meditation this early evening, and right onto the doorsteps of

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Silvestri on Tabasco

Camino Silvestre, my favorite hummingbird tienda.  As soon as you walk, listen, pause, the continue

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Goethe Institutein you are surrounded by the songs of birds, and the massive collection of bird supplies envelopes you.  The staff here is amazing, helpful, and always helps me out with the questions I have and provides the right answers.  As I had used them as my personal reference text today, I left and headed up to Tonala, past the

in, you are surrounded by the songs of birds, and the massive collection of bird supplies envelopes you.  The staff here is amazing, helpful, and always helps me out with the questions I have and provides the right answers.  As I had used them as my personal reference text today, I left and headed up to Tonala, past the Goethe Institute.

 

IMG_6457 I realized how cool of a place this institution was hosting the documentary film festival and tons of cool and new events from film, literature pop culture, and so more, there is always something happening new here. When you walk along this neighborhood, you really notice the IMG_6459freedom of casually opened windows, amazing architecture, and a solace among the quietness and peacefulness.  It is simply Roma.IMG_6458.jpg

 Heading down to Tonala, and speaking of architecture, you find your nose leading you to one of the

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La Puerta Abierta

 best bakeries (and there are four within walking/smelling radius) right in front of you.  La Puerta Abierta offers a wide range of IMG_6461.jpgtasty baked good but also cooking classes for young and old in some of the best recIMG_6465.jpgipes you’d want to have in your own home.  Looking at the selections so late in the day today, you realize, you could always find a home here.  The smell of the Apple Tarts hovers right above you and after that there absolutely is no turning back.  There is always nostalgia also on the streets, in the form of architecture, IMG_6468.jpgor in the form of say, vehicles.  An old Wagoneer took me aback to being around 8 years old on a winder day, being able to get through any snowy road thanks to its tough durability.  IMG_6466.jpgIt seems this Jeep Wagoneer easily endures now through the now snowy temperament of Mexico City !  You also will undoubtedly pass some of the best street stands for Queso, tortillas, and a hundred
items at one of these famous stands.  The Oaxaca cheese? I have this problem with eating it before I get home.  Head ing towards Alvaro Obregon, you notice the bustle of young musicians into IMG_6469.jpgBoicot Cafe, my favorite new find.  A great and artsy establishment, with a back area dedicated to community artists, you feel the excitement of a Friday evening filled with dropping off of intruments, setting up equipment, and a Bohemian experience of music and art blended into one cafe awaits. The Chai Tea there is addictive and that is not the only thing that will keep you up all night thanks to an entertaining venue found in this cafe.Go a little futher, down and left, and then Orizaba come up on you faster than you IMG_6470.jpgexpect.  Walking south, you see the former gym has been replaced by a new upscale version of business, Mint & Tea, the not yet opened employees teasing passers-by with thIMG_6472.jpge preparation of vibrant colors, found normally in glasses and plates of exotic Mexican food,  and being soon available for home decor.  Go a few steps further, and you see on your right a former half-ram-shackled
garage turned into a collective of enticing restaurants of seafood, burritos, and more.  Within roughly three weeks the transformation that occurred on this corner was amazing.  The neighborhood, within four years has transformed itself, and for some reason I notice the transformation here more than past neighborhoods in the United States, not exactly alarming,but just always something to wow you.  As you make your way down Orizaba, you run into the spectacular IMG_6474.jpgPlaza Luis Cabrera.  Spectacular because of its overwhelming ability to calm you, as well as draw you in to the establishments that classically surround this plaza.  Today, the exhibit about the facts of individuals making the Exodos

 

from their own countries for survival and preservation of their lives.  The statistics stun you, make you stop, and appreciate the such basic surrounding we have and find in our own neighborhood, often those I take for granted on a walk with less observations than on this particular evening. Leaving the park reluctantly, and heading back to Merida, you stroll past one of the best office of Ophthalmology in IMG_6481.jpgMexico City.  Having pretty much the worst eyesight since I can remember as a child, and being able to see perfectly the sunsets, the sunrises, beaches with perfect views, that is pretty much a miracle in itself.  Then being given the information ahead of time of what it going to happen,how, and what to expect in detail, and hearing the newest investigations that are being researched and IMG_6482discussed, Dr. Ramon Naranjo Tackman?  Not difficult how he is easily one of the best in this country and many others.  Go a little further and look up (I often simply forget to look up to see the skyline and the art that can be above you), and you see Roma has impressions of expression and art in every direction. Creativity, of course, can be found in food as you

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Ice Cream Nation

come down Merida and onto the coolest Ice cream preparation using liquid IMG_6485.jpgnitrogen, and there is always a line.  Period. Ice Cream Nation has so much to offer in plain old cups of ice cream filled with amazing concoctions, to the classic milkshake that fills you up as if you just had a full array of selections.  The show is not bad either as the Nitrogen does its work – and you know you’ll be filling that punch card up quickly. Crossing Alvaro Obregon and leaving the sounds of countless cups of ice cream behind, and really looking down the middle walkway IMG_6486.jpgof Alvaro Obregon, you appreciate the mix of efficiency of Ecobici and trees that line Roma, and bring its welcome home feeling to you as you just wander.  To your left is the scent and reliability of the flowers IMG_6487.jpgyou have always frequented for ceremonies at ASF, and a little further the multifaceted corner of tacos, but even beside that, the attraction of Casa Franca, who provides spectacular jazz in evenings above and below, as well as delicious pizzaIMG_6488.jpg and more entrees from the personable owners on the ground floor, who you will occasionally see arrive on his UK. scooter.  Roma itself has so many personalities, this is but one brief (brief taking almost 2 hours) to take it so many accents that present themselves to the average individual in Mexico City.  Priceless, definitely.  Forgettable? Not in the slightest.

 

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Turning, Spinning, Reeling…Life

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Harry Brake

Screen Shot 2016-07-11 at 6.23.27 AMPericles.  I never heard of this Shakespeare play, so as I was literally running with 2 minutes to spare, (yes it was one of those days, walking in Plaza Cabrera, passing by a camera crew, then stopped by a camera crew and asked if my dogs could be used in the photoshoot & subsequent movie, and I was, ” um sure!”, forgetting I had to be at the Lunario for tonight’s Pericles).  Leaving my house at 5:22 for a 6:00 Pm start, boy did I remember….

As I made it into the Lunario at the nick of time, even with a cool background bio on this play, I was anticipating boom or bust. it seems always a gamble to run into a play, never read or seen by Shakespeare, to see on stage.  Yet, I recall my Graduate Degree course where we travelled to Stratford for this Festival, (thank goodness for Rachela Permenter’s influence) and knew the excitement that came from many an unknown Shakespeare play then – most of the time it was amazing – with a few disappointments.

True experiences grip you, shake much emotion out of you, and leave you with a flood of recollections that sometimes leave your mind racing.  Mediocre to average experiences begin to stir possibly a flutter of a recollection of the past, of events/individuals that have influenced you but then keep on passing you by.  For some, these “experiences”are in the form of dramatic productions, I live for the movies, plays, sometimes a musical, the art of the word in a book, music, and of course, an insightful conversation.  For others, it comes in the form of a variety of mediums, be it art, certain trips, objects, today – posts of conversations found in the arena of politics, careers, the future, and past and present history.

I also recall the days when I would take Shakespeare, even back to the days in high school and feel as if “If i can just make it through this class, this jumble of old English, I’ve got it made.”  Then of course at Slippery Rock University, I met Dr. Edward Kopper ,

 

what seemed like worksheets with word after word after word of symbolism in words that came from the words of Shakespeare, were worksheets that revealed so much I never knew before, coming from those very words that stupefied me, changed everything in how I viewed reading and Shakespeare and I realized how much treasure Shakespeare has hidden between lines, between words, between acts, and why and how elements of his writing were timeless.  This of course opened me to plays, and other forms of writing as well, and a door that have always been unlocked swung wide open.  Those are instructors you will always remember.  

Somehow, even before Slippery Rock University, my very first experience with public theatre, when I attended a one Butler Community College, the transcripts/admissions faculty at the time, older in years, and yet an avid theatre-goer, who could not drive, I found and became her Driving Miss Daisy, actually driving her to Pittsburgh Public Theatre in exchange for the ticket and meal afterwards, I learned so much.  I think now, who had opportunities like that, ever?  Little did I know then, how much it would change me years and years later.

Present – The Adventures of Pericles.  Already you might have guessed.  An unknown production that already has opened the floodgates – this is a powerful production.  As Pericles opened, the set resembled the proclamation of one as a narrator, coming to the stage, announcing a take that all must truly experience.  Little did I realize the symbolism  of the bride that would sit with me through the whole memory of this production.  What I did realize was that to read Shakespeare you see unrealistic events that in real life, hardly ever happen by chance as they happen the way Shakespeare pens them, in order for one brother to meet up with one sister, on the same shore, BY CHANCE, now someone, really? How possibly could this happen where it “works out” so well?  Of course, that this the aspect that seems hard to find a takeaway, the Hollywood part of a movie, the drama we will never quite find in the frequency Shakespeare presents it.  Yet, there is that element of takeaway you can’t deny.

The hits keep coming.  One also has to wonder how many detrimental, negative aspects have to happen, as if in a modern-life Job, to also feel as if it is possible in real life.  Yet, I can attest, they might not come in rapid succession as Shakespeare presents, but yet life does indeed roll out the trials, does hand out the tribulations, that most characters see in three hours, and often just when you feel you are rising the next trial, the next conflict, another stronger than the one before comes to attack. True life disguised as a picnic and revealed as the most perfect meal covered with ants.

The magic of this element, of life being presented in so much trial, so much tribulation, and yet to be dealt with in the most human ways that are apparent, and sometimes more valiant than others will deal with – it sinks into you.  No matter the number of storms Pericles faced, the number of deceitful and envious actions taken against him knowingly and unknowingly, the number of disappointments that broke his will, the perseverance towards something he did not know, the end result was absolutely astounding and could not go without notice to anyone as a spectator.  

Now true, much of this is in the pen of Shakespeare in this amazing Tempest-like tale and yet, MUCH more is in the heart and control of the actors and actresses involved.  The level of emotion that was brought forward to the stage, along with this impounding sense of doom, surprise, rise to glory, and return to a life-can-go-on possibility, could never, ever go on without the power of this cast.  Seeing the tears in their eyes and the amount of anguish that was brought to the stage, not only from the main characters but also from the supporting cast, it would be 100% impossible to pick out a specific actor/actress for achieving this, because for one of the first times, I never witnessed so much emotion that was channeled, reined in, bridled, then let go in the right places, the right moments, an in the right way.  

You take the tale of Odysseus, wrap it into the elements of The Fall of Troy, and end with the tale of a 12th Night finish with the most powerful enzymes you know of, and you come close to what this production does for its audience.  Out of a three year experience with all things Lunario, by far, this (hard to believe!) is the most powerful, influential, and moving production I have ever seen due to the acting, the emotion, the expertise, and of course, the content.  To have the experience and benefit of receiving this message, as well as imagining what it would be like to be in the audience at Stratford, as when those realizations hitting you so many years ago for the first time, that trip to Stratford, this experience with Pericles, priceless and no explanation can draw it out of you on how it makes you feel. 

In a larger frame, there are so many individuals that do not realize how lucky they are to go through something difficult, that opportunity there is there to make something better of themselves through that experience, and to what end they will walk away learning more about themself.  I will pout myself at number one on that list, and that is a whole other post.  The complaining, the gnashing, the biting life presents, that is real life.  That continues to exist from day-to-day. I often succumb to allowing myself to soak some of that in, and affect me, the actual complaining others do, seems often to soak into me and I allow it to affect me and then I come away with that very unattractive disposition.  It changes me, bogs me down, and creates an individual I often do not even recognize.  When away from that element, I slowly transform into someone else, and feel better as well, inside and out.  I build up my resistance to expecting that element, often seeing someone else complain and being able to put myself outside of that characteristic shocks me into realize I do not want to become like that, at all.  Whatever it takes, it is vital to surround yourself with the most positive of influences to avoid falling into that trap of change that threatens everything that surrounds you in life. This ultimately results in depression, lethargy, apathy, and a personality hat becomes unattractive to friends and everyone around you.

All of this from this very production of Pericles?  Absolutely.  When done right, thanks to the tools of an acting set, Shakespeare’s true message comes out loud and clear.  True as well, this particular production seems to be shared with other writers, and not solely Shakespeare.  However, even more so the reinforcing of what occurs when you combine talents and possibilities with like individuals.  Would I see this production again tonight, the last showing of Pericles?  Absolutely, it was THAT good.  Consider it, and consider the thoughts as you watch Pericles battle and brave what seems like unearthly trial after trial – you will find your impossible horizon of success as well.  Just give it time and find that chance to rise about every wave that comes your way, even when they come so close to drowning you.

 

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Hamlet…To Be.

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Harry Brake

When you see a version of Hamlet that leaves you wanting for more, the one that is spectacular is even more spectacular.  Such was the case with Stratford Festival’s Hamlet at the Lunario on the Fourth of July.  In the beginning, you sense, Hamlet, played by Jonathan Goad, would be wither a bust or a hit.  He keeps the silence and you are waiting to see what this Hamlet will be.  You find out that getting the audience to laugh, lean in, and sympathize with his character is not difficult at all, he starts off with no hint of extra spectacular ability and you begin to notice, he is able to play the lines, emotions, and swings of Hamlet perfectly and bring you along with every onrush of emotion.  He easily stole the role of Hamlet and that was satisfying in itself.

Add to the character depth the ability of Claudius, played by Geraint Wyn Davis, and Gertrude, played by Seana McKenna, to continually frustrate and rise your ire, nonstop, with the disappointment you feel immediately in Gertrude, and the hatred building, building, building for Claudius, again played perfectly.

Tom Rooney as  a very strange and quirky, fatherly, priest-Polonius is able to pull off the perfect shadow of someone Hamlet continually uses for sport and marvels at – a perfectly made and played character by Rooney.

Tim Campbell as Horatio, Steve Ross as Guildenstern, Sanjay Talwar as Rosencrantz, Brad Rudy as Barnardo, all an amazing job of being Hamlet’s allies as well as his foe at times.  Their emotions, genuine and being foils to Hamlet, as well as bringing our Hamlet’s secrets, all played smoothly and invitingly on stage.

One disappointment was Laertes, played by Mike Shara.  While he is a definite looker ladies, at times his emotions seemed forced, not genuine, and a little stiff.  Reactions to Ophelia’s death were the biggest area I had problems with, yet the interactions with his father as well as sister, and rage at Hamlet all seemed to be right on par.

Yes, the gravedigger, absolutely great played by Robert King.

The players of the troupe – just the way you would want them, amazing, funny, dramatic they were also a show within itself.  I remember the last Hamlet we saw, and it seems as if they were a secondary, and minor, aspect of the play.  Not sure in this version of Hamlet, as you can feel the building up of tension as they get closer to bringing out the truth through the plot of their play, playing the conscience of Hamlet, on stage.

Then there is the magic of the Stratford Festival itself.  I had the pleasure of going two years, and it is MAGICAL.  The hotel with terriers and classic wooden floors, the four stages you can rotate plays, the magical Art in the Park show, the awesome Down the Street pub/cafe where you can catch the directors, players, and just the FEEL of being there during this festival, as well as the beauty of the town – you have to experience it.  Having been lucky to meet Timothy Findley years ago, thanks to then SRU Writing Center colleague Carrie,  I am lucky to have many many magical memories I hope to revisit at this Festival soon. I discover every time I witness Shakespeare, if done creatively, is similar to viewing  for the vert first time.

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Uninvited Acts of Kindness

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Harry Brake

 There’s so much I have missed out on. Yet, I thought I was not missing anything at all!   Famous last words. Case in point. Heading to the short story, rescuing a dog in the last week, with a damage/broken leg, war-torn from neglect, not in my plans. Period. Over the course of the last week some major observations that really hit home.

Observation 1 – Initially, taking “Dane” our recovering patient outside to walk, I seemed to be angry all the time – from the looks. Yes Dane had visible ribs and so shrunken a stomach – he looked like a walking skeleton, understood. Add to that the fact that his leg was badly damaged and he could not walk – and his leg and limping also drew attention to him. However, you could definitely tell the looks of disgust from the looks of pity.  

Observation 2 – When taking “Dane” to the vet, I thought the lady waiting in Spanish was remarking on Dane and his reasons for being at the vet. Turns out, thanks to the owner of Walking Dog, Andres, he informed me that the lady actually was saying she didn’t want Dane near her dog at all – there is the reasoning of being contagious of something, understood. Then there is the tone of voice that you don’t need to understand when you reflect on it, that certainly doesn’t refer to that reasoning. I need to learn much more about really understanding Spanish AND coming to terms with people’s views.

Observation 3 – Dane walking by himself, being carried downstairs fur fights every day, carried back up, he appreciate it, tai wagging etc.. However, when we went outside, he did his business, immediately turned around and wanted to be back inside. No tail wagging, it is obvious to see animals do indeed feel depression.

Observation 4 – Dane always has his tail wagging when introduced to Kinah, Amaya, and Wriggley, and Kinah, Amaya, and Wriggley are a little scared of Dane, it is like me as a 7 year old living in the country, nearest neighbor seems to be light years away. When I went to school I was always in trouble for talking too much (shocking) jumping all over the place (even less surprising) due to just BEING around kids my own age after being by myself for so long. Hence, Dane.

Observaton 5 – Noting observation 4 – with a former student and her family visiting in Mexico, we took all four dogs, together for a walk. MUCH anxiety. Dane is wagging his tail the whole time, and allows himself to be pulled back when he gets too close, and the “pack” allows him to be a part, as they are used to walking with other dogs as well – thanks to the friends walking the dogs and thanks to Kinah, Amaya, and Wriggly, Dane feels part of the pack and I think his tail will fall off from wagging.

Observation 6 – During the DAY – daylight, with everyone around to see, and knowing how I feel about the stares, I decide to do it. We walk, and when I say we, I mean, WE WALK the furthest Dane has ever walked, as a pack, never hesitating once with the pack leading on and expecting him just to fit in. THIS time, people stare but they see a healing dog with three afghans, no one offers looks of disgust, Kinah, Amaya, Wriggle change everyone’s minds about who he is and if he fits in. Dane has never changed his mind about who he is and is determined to walk waster with three healthy legs than those with four healthy legs.

Observation 7 – Despite a perfectly good bowl of water poured for Dane, he looks on to the bowl that Kinah, Amaya, and Wriggley are drinking from. He wants nothing but the same – you can almost hear, “I am part of the group- please treat me like everyone else.”

Observation 8 – Kinah, Wriggley, Amaya, Dane, walking past what looks like a timid dog, he lashes out in anger and scares all of them with much aggression. Owner seems happy, almost satisfied. Kinah, Amaya, Wriggley, Dane, all seem to be exuding the statement, “Fine, go through life aggressive, scary, and you lose a great pack like us.”

Observation 9 – Walking Kinah, Amaya, Wriggley, challenging enough. Add a recovering emotional and physical Dane to the mix, it seems like WWF with Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. At a corner, attempting to use a doggie bag for Amaya, the pretzel twist is one, each dog taking their leash and intertwining them like Tetris. Add to the fact Wriggly, gets my grip loose from the grasp, manages just to hover at the edge of the street tempting and rubbing in the fact he is loose, (and he knows it) – and an oncoming car approaching, Wriggley ready to lurch away on any attempt to regain him back to the fold. An uninterested bystander across the street, seeing this whole scenario play out, hurries across the street, grabs Wriggley’s leash, holds him there and tells me to go ahead and finish cleaning and then hands me Wriggley’s leash, smiling. Perhaps one of the nicest things that wipes the anger and disgusted stares I received over the last few days with Dane, and proud that Dane continued to be his canine self, and let any and all stares bounce off of him as he overcame his own obstacles.  There is hope in the smallest, and largest, of observations.

I could be reading things into the above observations as well, but one thing I do know, you can sense the changes in feelings and attitudes in animals, if you allow yourself open to the time to just feel. As I look at the above observations, it is impossible for me to see the progression of change in the first observation to the last one, as well as realizing everything observed and felt, can be applied to what occurs among people among other people. Lessons to be learned there, is real time, that can’t be explained and put into words, but just known.

Looking back on a cool event, the American School lock in, I remember bring back nostalgic items such as the Atari, complete with a high score sheet for Kaboom,  Screen Shot 2016-06-11 at 11.25.31 AMand classic like Kaboom, Pac Man, Frogger, and more, and realizing I never sat down with these particular students before, both a mixture of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, and this was being one of the most fun nights I could recall – it was the highlight of the year opposed to thinking that going into an all nighter would be a all nightmare, not even close. The sunrise that spread across Mexico was a perfect touch to a great great fun-filled night. Despite summer, I am finding being away from those that exude negativity and complaints, throwing myself into a mercy mission of rescue, and simply taking in experiences that were not planned for my summer? – I am in a healing process as well, and grateful for it.

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Unfinished Business.

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Harry Brake

Father’s Day every year is like that moment when you come into the apartment, you out your feet up, and that one cat sneaks up on you and scares the living daylights out of you. Every year, Father’s Day sneaks up on me without warning, and yet, realizations every year I never reflected about enter my mind. Yes sometimes they scare, me, but other times, they just instill me with wonder in how much I am still learning about myself – and that becomes this question in my mind – did my Dad ever realize how much he had given me by his example? Most times I think not, but that always manages to put a smile on my face.

There is a lot in my DNA I simply can’t explain, my metabolism, but constant wondering of ideas, projects, and wanting to develop this or that, often my restless spirit, and of course, I have realized, look back on the past year (part of 2015 and what we have here of 2016) there is so much I am discontent about, it often bothers me personally, when there seems to be some type of mistreatment. Honest, I try to let things roll over me and not take them personally, but it’s just amazing how they simply come back despite that attempt.

However, enough of that I digress, instead of profound conclusions, I am going to mention some of the realization that still impact me thanks to my Dad, who seemed to also be everywhere at once, able to help hundreds of people just thinking about them, and here, years later, I am lucky enough to see what I feel are impacts of his very being.

No one believes how many children my Dad actually fathered, but to be completely honest, I recall how hysterical it was to him that every year at the fair, he would be the one that could win the fair event of a father that could fill up a school bus with his children. Speaking of buses, I still remember the school bus we used to travel back and forth to motor cross events; looking back I often think we were the inspiration for the show The Partridge Family.

Dad’s reluctance to drink or smoke always impressed me, while everyone around him did, he didn’t touch the stuff, and yet, he was the most popular person around everyone, many who needed to drink and smoke to relax and be fun to be around, which again, strikes me as ironic as I see the same today and his unwillingness to do either – albeit his strength and how others looked up to him – that spoke more than any words can be put down.

Animals, geez, could we have enough pages to go on about that topic? From raccoons in diapers that would wander around our house, to foxes on the mend, to deer he took in, to the thousands of dogs we had that seemed to always be Saint Bernards, to cats from every direction, of course that element still runs through our lives today.

I always wondered how he managed to say so little, I mean little. Despite the “darndest” things that would get anyone’s temper off in a flash, he would walk away and I heard it said around, me, but thought it often, what kind of war was going in that he was able to keep all away from view – and yet just worked through so many frustrating moments.

No one will ever realize what it is like to be among so many children during Easter, Christmas, and then as I grew older, add to the mix nieces, nephews, and truly, having enough numbers to fill a public park, I have to tell you, there is and was nothing like it. Amazing. When you thought you were too old to play baseball or horseshoes, you realize, you aren’t when you are surrounded by that much family.

The ironic thing is this is just the tip of the iceberg, I remember a time when my parents separated that I did not really understand what having a father was, for most of my life that ranged from 1st grade to well, 12th – I remember walking out from graduation and it was just – I can’t explain it. There was my Dad. I mean, seriously, there was my Dad, and after that – those 12 years seemed to reappear and just – poof – just like that. I think then and there I realized how fast life can pass before you, and in realizing this – you can either make the most out of it so you will remember the best details or just it continue to pass you by in a haze, which may still do.

The ironic thing after my Dad passed, which I still know to this day altered me considerably and had me reeling in more ways than I ever realized, that to this day I am still realizing more and more about myself. I find myself becoming more solitary but to the affect that I am resisting things and situations that just don’t feel right. Or I don’t want. Or I just want to not be a part of. I have spent so many years giving 100-150% of myself to everyone around me, as my Dad did, but I began to take back and resist the very things I don’t like, disagree with, or just make me feel bad. What is totally opposite of my father, is the ability to keep inside the injustices I see and feel – ranging from so many places, people and situations, it is not worth going into specifics. That is something I will probably work on for a long time, trying to deal with the things that bother me, that happen to others, that others do to others, and I find myself helpless to improve. To me, that is one of the most frustrating things I just have an issue with.

Well maybe this as well, the ability to not maintain such high expectations of others. I just do this naturally, and expect a high threshold from so many people around me, which I think honestly, comes from myself. I expect to represent my Dad in the best light as an obligation to the many countless hours, minutes he spent, every minute, working working working to make things better for so many people. I still marvel at how he was able to be in all the places he was and do all the things he did for so many, it is just – it seems not possible. However, what he has left behind is this ability to contemplate what he did provide for his family when he was alive, and when he passed, and as everyone in our family knows, he has never left from the things very things he has instilled in us.

In retrospect, there are many people that never maybe knew their father true. However, I have been lucky enough to always find several father figures in the form of teachers, coaches, colleagues and more, and I am so so thankful for those individuals that helped fill in the gaps while I floundered in those years before reconnecting with my Father, as well as being handed down an invisible code to live the best possible life one could live.

I am doing better on working through so many of these contemplations I have mentioned above. Take today. It has been an uphill battle for me to just get back in the routine of running like I used to in the states, sticking to regiment of fitness that kept up with my energy level, but today biking that 34 miles? It reminded me of Rubes Run in Prospect, Pennsylvania, that fateful year I finally placed first in my age group – and giving that trophy away years later to an exchange student that just – well the sentiment carried forward to her. But all of those things, my father was in the middle of all of that – for various reasons, and it feels good to be back in taking care of my body and just doing more things for me.

Then it dawns on me, fathers, whether you had one, whether you knew one, whether you didn’t but simply being fatherly? – that changes things. It changes people, it changes situations, and it changes you. Sometimes I am simply so angry at how ignorant others treat others in so many situations, there is simply no consideration for others towards others sometimes, it kills me. Sometimes things happen just so – the last few weeks I have this churning, burning, anger that sometimes has just wanted to take me over, and trying to find a place to put that, all if us know, it affects our demeanor with others, our own periods of rest, and more. Quite by accident, I came across Bob Dylan’s Chronicles, volume one, perfect.  Dylan has an outrage to so many things during his time, taps into those things, and his angry feelings rise, and his words, reading them, his disappointments, his anger – how he did and didn’t fit in so many places, perfect reading for the perfect time in my life.

Between that discovery of a angered voice directed at injustices and the return to putting myself into training to jump back to the physical self I was when I was in Cross Country – sometimes you just hit on the right things at the right time. Just as I finished my 34 mile biking test today I sat down, pulled out Dylan’s book, opened it and what comes on the restaurant speakers? I kid you not, Dylan’s “How do you feel?” – and just ironic moments like that – means nothing to some, means everything to others. The individual sitting next to me asked to look at my book and over the next 10 minutes, he just was examining parts of it with a huge smile on his face, like a sense of recognition and the thanked me before he left. I can’t put it into reasons exactly, but that was just perfect.  Reasons I can’t explain, but it was a great moment.

All of this above, all of what I think about and reflect about, yes, my Dad is in there as well, sometimes I can explain and other times I can’t. I do know I wish sometimes I could sit him down and see what I can see right now, and he’d laugh that big laugh of his in just seeing how unexpected life can be and has become. Yet, his ability to provide confidence without often even saying a word? – there is magic there.

I know I have been lagging with posts and so much has happened over the last few months, so yes, I need to get back at it. I once said that when there is this long lag in posts when I blog, it is me taking in so many aspects of so many events, I just want to word it right, “right” being the way it feels right to me and to represent it correctly and not just dashing something off to just have another blog post.

Looking back the end of this school year, there is so much that hasn’t been reflected on and sure, I’ll get to it and maybe some of you will agree with me about it, that is pretty awesome – but the real impact that matters is that feeling of moving forward in a world that can be turned upside down in so may arenas, political, cultural, social, and more, and still being true to yourself and those around you. Luckily I can look to my Father for sure whether he is here now or not, and of course, my Mother. I have been lucky to have parents that did things in their own way, but always provided a path for me to see the best option to build myself up and do the same for others. That is the right way to live a life, and oh what life it has been.

So as Father’s day comes to an end, you do not have to agree with is at all, because this seems to me just my take on it. But I have been seeing Father’s Day as a day of embarking on that return to realizing what elements you continue to build on and strengthen to continue to serve as a father figure to those around you. Whether you base this on a father you know, a father you symbolized with, or simply being a father, as much as we try we can’t change the world by ourselves, but lending that attitude of fathering everyone us, many realizations begin to truly set in and extend beyond ourselves. There doesn’t seem to be a better gift out there.

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A Five Year Musing, but Years of Depth…

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Harry Brake

“How do you say something to someone every time you see them?”

Screen Shot 2016-05-20 at 10.58.16 PMAs I watched “When We Were Knights”, alot slipped into place.  “You either live a genuine life true to who you are or you don’t.”   So much comes from so much that surrounds us, I guess I live for these quotes that just – zam – zap in memories and experiences that, if you are lucky, are bought back tp life by a trigger word or a phrase.  In watching another Go Pro movie about a man who has grown up with a Grizzly – and one individual thing also reached out to me – the narrator, Casey, stating how his parents letting him just go out and roam.  I never realized how fortunate a childhood I did have being able to catch organisms in jars and bring them home, plant all kinds of found plants and being them back in pots and that was tolerated, just being able to run through fields that looked as if they kissed the sky, I was allowed hours into the wild, and it had effects on me later I just took for granted, but I am thankful for those moments just the same.  I find the Go Pro camera bring you even closer to life through photography, the same as writing, people, experiences, and that music does for me. 

So many moments bring me back to moments that yes, I night have taken for granted, but I am fortunate enough to have the time to celebrate them again and revisit them due to a life change and geographical change, allowing me to experience some pretty great people, and having the time, time to just relax, reflect, and add to those past experiences that still allow my present and future to be connected by them – and to help define me.  Let’s talk music – seeing Slash three years ago in Mexico as my first concert in Mexico, then again having the ability to see Guns ‘N Roses the first night in April here in Mexico – I have to tell you, I loved it.  The sound of Axl was – just – how could he sound the SAME as when I was in high school?  Yet it was, the night, despite the pouring rain, despite Axl being confined to a wheel chair due to a broken bone, nah – all of it, was not a revisit of things that reminded me of being older, it reminded me of being younger.

Star Lake amphitheatre. (Now called First Niagara Pavilion – now THAT is a shame).   I am sure everyone has similar experience, similar places where they went to many a concert and sat on the lawn, taking in the night to a great great concert.  From the first concert of Starlake’s history,

“That would have been right around 6:30 on the evening of June 17, 1990, when the traffic for the Billy Joel concert, the first national act there, looked like the road to Woodstock.”

(Billy Joel as parachutists came down in to the middle of the grass with the American Flag) to seeing Jimmy Buffet, Reba McIntire, George Strait, Steve Miller Band, Toby Keith, Van Halen, Phil Collins, The Eagles, Amy Grant, just to name a few – those moments with friends at those concerts were priceless – the smells, the nights, the stars, it defined and redefined music for me in a whole new way.  I am lucky to have had such close friends that the few and in between concerts I do go to now, (two in five years) still hold a chance to remember the concerts I witnessed and those same nostalgic moments from way back beyond, friends, starts, the smell – you knowit don’t you, of summer…

I also underestimated the benefits of having so many teaching experiences, both in a day-to-day struggle and also more rural, and urban areas altogether, when it came to my experiences today.  I am so grateful for the amazing colleagues and students that helped mold me as time went on, and I had no idea one day I’d be standing on the rooftop of my apartment during a thunder/rain storm, in the middle of MEXICO of all places and yet, it is true, your heart will take you to places you have never dreamed of.  Here I am, and I am here due to the amazing time that so many of the above mentioned have given me through the years.

There is much I miss, but I realize, I am not sure I can ever fully thank all involved for the moments they gave me, because as mentioned, it has brought me here, to be surrounded by individuals I could never dream of not meeting, and do not want to let them go.  The miracle of still being in contact in some form, with these very individuals through all these years, that is a gift all of itself.

I recall seeing the thunder storm on the horizon of the Canadian/United States border and hearing the sound reach us moments later, the amazing life of living in the middle of the National Allegheny Forest, so isolated, yet, amazed when a deer bounded out right in front of me on the many walks through a wilderness that can’t be captured in film or described in words, the amazing scene of mountains unfolding themselves and the nights when you can’t see 5 feet in front of you in that same forest with a blizzard – the night Amish neighbors came to my rescue when a wheel fell off and they give me a ride and helped me fix my wheel and I was forever in their debt…

Thousands, thousands of stories, thousands of moments, and I count myself lucky for the times where I thought I hit a dead-end, thought I led a monotonous, boring life and in reality I have led such a magical life thanks to the beauty of nature, individuals that have an inner beauty and so so much potential and energy that runs through my DNA, these five years in Mexico now matched to the five years I spent at Seaford, are the longest I have spent at any institution.  Within those five years at both places, I still can recall the smell of pine as I worked my way through the Chapel Branch sanctuary now known as the VInce Morris Trail, I still can recall the first day I landed in Mexico and became lost from Zona Rosa to Roma Norte to now how it seems like all in the palm of my hand, there is so much that was new that still feels that way thanks to so many individuals, moments, and the time to appreciate it all. 

I see a future when one day I will have my own ranch land, my own time to visit with all these individuals who have shaped me into who I am, time to go back and visit these sacred places that also shaped me, but most of all, realizing that the time to give back is as powerful as the time of making these memories.  I look forward to magical moments of celebrating graduations of dear dear friends,  clubs, teams, classes, projects, that I saw born, if you can believe that, to making opportunities to give back to those areas.  I realize it is never to late if you make certain moments and places a priority.  The hard part is the realization.  I am lucky enough to have countless individuals that help me remember that day after day. 

 

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Pockets of Brilliance, In Between.

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Harry Brake

It was Canada.  It was winter.  If I am 80% accurate, it was the winter of 1994 or 1995.  Maybe a year or two later, we were attending Edinboro University.  A high school buddy of mine and I decided we needed to go somewhere for Spring Break, and we had decided to travel to Canada, ultimate destination, Niagra Falls, then circle back to see my favorite basketball team, the Michigan Wolverines, then pick up a friend from Pittsburgh attending Duquesne University, and then head to West Palm Beach in Florida, and back.   No matter that at the time I was driving a 1972 Ford Torino, no matter that we had no idea how much that would involved.  (I do remember that was a 19 hour trip to Florida from Pittsburgh and we were able to get alot of Basketball on the Game Gear in – taking a rental car for that leg of the trip) – but through it all, it all came back Friday, May 14th evening.  This is how.

On that leg of the trip to Canada, it was of course in the winter time, and we wanted to see Niagra Falls in the winter.  Once in Canada, we stopped and parked at night ( I remember in a huge ice path that was a parking space) and happened into a small restaurant that was playing music.  For the life of me, I will always remember the live music that night, a mashup of some of the best classic and American folk and rock music.  I am not sure what we were expecting to happen upon, but it was a great performance.  Fast forward to May 14, 2016.  

Thanks to a current colleague, we were able to attend an evening concert at El Pendulo, in a small, intimate theatre that I did not know existed, we attended the concert being announced, and I checked it out here, known as Faralae.

I was surprised because it seemed tobe a mix of so so much, French, Spanish, American, all put together into some amazing sounds.  I had no idea what awaited me.  I fell in love with the area as we entered, as was said by another colleague, intimate, personal, and not a bead seat in the house.  Comfortable, living room-like seating, the numbers all stitched into every chair, and a balcony, but the stage was pretty much right in your lap. You get the sense of a secret speakeasy club, as it just lies behind the walls of the upper balcony desk of the restaurant.  AWESOME!

What would happen next was just unexpected.  The singer – dressed in one of the most revealing and seductive dresses you could imagine, literally, shocked everyone (no it was not the dress). The ability to imitate the trombone, (check out 4:08 here) a variety of instruments tat involved keys, and pitches of high and low that are normally NOT made by a human, – you have to experience it to believe it.  Yet, add to that element and ability a piano player who could fly over the keys, two violinist players tha brought the stage to life and emotion, a banjo and guitar player that burned through the strings, a clarinet player that added the jazz and soul to so many of the performances, a drummer that added just the right beat, rhythm, and flavor to the overall performance, and add the mix together – with songs that you can imagine a group from New Orleans performing, a recreated tune from Elvis Presley, the blues and jazz era resurrected and SO MUCH more, again, this was a performance that you could only witness to truly absorb.

I think one of the hardest to believe, is this was right in our backyards of Mexico City.  Walk one block from my house, and here this experience was.  All over Mexico City, you have this opportunity, either at La Franca, Pata Negra, or Zinco Jazz Club, and you have some of the BEST jazz experiences you can find in Mexico City, that represent some of the farthest reaches of blues and jazz in the world.  These pockets are worth delving into, worth experiencing, and will stick with you longer than you can imagine. It stuck with us that night in Canada all the way back from in the mid 1990’s, and we can only be so lucky to have those same experiences in our youth, still visit us today!  Check out the Foro de Tejedor at El Pendulo on Alvaro Obregon, you won’t regret or forget it.

 

 

 

 

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Your Heart On a Screen…

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Harry Brake

Movies.  I have mentioned how much they align with things I see, feel, and just relate to – and yes, they are just movies.  I am just a movie junkie – meaning I can’t stop feeling and easing into the movie theatre, and – I completely LOVE the feel of a movie – everything, even in a bad movie, there is something about being in that theatre.  Lately, I have neglected some amazing flicks that have emerged and wanted to address some of those here.

Sometimes you get lucky with films.  Sometimes you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about them and on a hunch you go.  This happened Saturday, bumping into a colleague, mentioning the film – Youth, by a fantastic director, Paolo Sorrentino.  I am clueless and I like, love, and am addicted to movies and am unsure who Paolo Sorrentino is (I have to get on that).  Yet, something push me, so I took the bite. 

The cinematic beauty of the photography, the scenery, the music, – you just HAVE TO see it to believe it  I am not saying there was not some strangeness to the film, that there definitely was.  Yet, the strangeness in The Grand Budapest Hotel has plenty and it was pretty great.  There is much adult humor and coming of age jokes, and yet the scenes have this floating sense that add to a beauty you can really only view.  The commentary on life as a whole here – left me speechless combined with the filming but I walked away with so much I did not know – David Lang doing an amazing job on the soundtrack that I – I have to have that soundtrack.  A very strange pop star in the name of Paloma Faith (She SO reminds me of Amy Winehouse – I WANT HER ALBUMS!!!!!) .  A totally mesmerizing Sumi Jo singing Simple Song #3 –
I feel complete
I lose all control
I lose all control
I respond

I feel chills
I wake
I know on those lonely nights
I know on those lonely nights

I know everything
I lose all control
I get chills
I know on those lonely nights

I die
I hear all that is left to be heard
I wish you would never stop
I’ve got a feeling

I live near
I live for you now
I leave no sense behind
I feel complete

I’ve got a feeling
I wish you moving like rain
I’ll be there
I’ll be there
I lose all control

[violin instrumental]

When you whisper my name
When you whisper my name
When you whisper my name, whisper my name
When you whisper my name

Ooooooooh (x3)

Whisper …

When you …
Whisper …

When you …

and if that does not put chills up and down your back – than WATCH THIS FILM.  Amazing is ways that can’t be put into words, but it will stick in my memory always.

In the timing, I lost a dear dear fried this past weekend with his valiant fight against so many fights physically, and I have to say, his spirit his enthusiasm, his life was stamped all through his movie – so for not just the above reasons – but his life alone, I think I will never forget the beauty that came out of this film.

~

Captain American Civil War – I DID not go see Batman versus Superman because I heard such dreadful things about it.   However, I would have regretted NOT seeing this Marvel Comics film.  The plot – was detailed and I have to say as perfect as I could see it unfold on the screen – my heart was thumping constantly all throughout the film and this WAS SO WORTH THE VIEW and THEN some.  Was it the Captain American Cup I received with the free Hershey bar before I went in? (I had no idea that was part of the whole package) 🙂  Yet no, you will not be disappointed in what this brings to the theatre, which is a WHOLE heck of alot.  WHOLE.  HECK of ALOT.  A guarantee.

~

Allegiant – I love this series.  I love Shailene Woodley, despite the fact that she might be shallow, but I can’t help it.  The action continue and truly  did not seem to wear out, fade out, or dissipate.  I need to keep up with reading the series, but I want the films to keep coming, not disappointed in the least.

~

Room – I cannot say this film did not freak me out to the extreme, the acting, superb.  The plausibility,  very real.  You learn what to be thankful real fast in this film, and that thankfulness reaches out to so many aspects of your life, and those you love. When I think of this film, I think simply, bittersweet.  It is amazing to me a boy so young can pull this quality off so well – look forward to see what will be next for him.

More to come!

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