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Our mom knew stuff

1 Corinthians 12

In the ZOOM conversations I have with my sisters about 45 times yearly, I keep learning things about my parents.

Now, we realized early on that our mom knew stuff about finance. She was a bookkeeper in two Binghamton institutions, McLean’s Department Store and Columbia Gas and Electric. Later, she was a teller in Charlotte, NC.

I didn’t know until recently why she did not impart her wisdom to her children. She thought we were more intelligent than she was and that we would “figure it out.”

This sounds utterly Trudy. And it bugs me because we could have used her wisdom in this area. I know I had accumulated credit card debt for a time, which only got wiped out by my wife’s much better handle on finances, a topic that would make MEGO. It was also aided by winning money on a game show a quarter of a century ago.

But I’m also sad because it was her diminishing her gifts, her talents. She saw her husband as gifted in singing, painting, organizing, writing, schmoozing, etc. By comparison, she didn’t feel she had nearly as much to offer. And to suggest that her children know more than she did was incorrect.

Even though she went to church since before I was born, she never embraced the message of 1 Corinthians 12.

The Good Book

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

^“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines….

^”Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many… God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked itso that there should be no division in the body but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

My mom had many gifts, including understanding, compassion, and a fantastic mind for math, which meant the ability to stretch a dollar. I wish she knew how to share the latter. Some of my friends suggest her reluctance was just a generational thing, but I think it was more that she was squeezed emotionally by her husband and her mother. My mom died on 2 February 2011.

Movie review: The Zone Of Interest

The banality of evil

I went to see the Oscar-nominated film The Zone Of Interest. It’s based on Martin Amis’s 2014 novel of the same name. It starts mundanely with a family, a couple with five children and a dog, out on a picnic by the river. They return to their pleasant home with a lovely garden, a greenhouse, and a pool. They must be well-to-do, as they have a few servants, at least one of them a young Jewish woman.

The father has a few of his work colleagues stop over to discuss plans… to build a more efficient way to incinerate people, a technological marvel.

Oh. The father is Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and he is the commandant of Auschwitz. And it’s not as though the camp was a distance away. As Vox noted: “There’s an ambient noise in The Zone of Interest, akin to the hum of a white noise machine — except in this case, it’s omnipresent, the sound of furnaces in the distance, laced with occasional gunshots and howls.” The wall is almost always visible, with occasional plumes of smoke lofting into the sky. “To hear what’s going on in the house, we have to tune them out a little.”

Domestic bliss

The household’s mother, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), is well aware that the niceties she acquires used to belong to someone else, someone imprisoned or, more likely, dead. She leans into being the self-designated Queen of Auschwitz, so she is not unaware of her husband’s job.

I saw this movie at Landmark’s Spectrum 8 theater on Saturday afternoon, January 26. Two folks I knew from church happened to be there. One thought they’d wasted two hours of their life. The other got the gist of it, though they and I were confused by one particular effect. After the lights came up, the five folks sitting behind me remained in their seats as though they were still trying to discern what they had just seen.

When I say not much happens in the film, especially in the beginning, it’s not a criticism but a fact. Then, Rudolf is so efficient at work that he’s designated for a possible promotion, which leads to an astonishing conversation with Hedwig. This is the “banality of evil” writ large.

The music throughout is haunting.

Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a 92% positive review, though audiences were only 79% enthusiastic. A positive review by Robin Holabird: “I watched the movie with interest—not pleasure, but with appreciation for the point and risk it takes.” Edwin Arnaudin, conversely, writes dismissively, “Well, that’s certainly one way to tell a Holocaust narrative.” I get both POVs.

This was interesting: “Director Jonathan Glazer used up to five fixed cameras in the house and garden with no visible crew to capture many scenes, so the actors didn’t know if they were being shot in a close-up or wide shot. They were totally immersed in the scene and enjoyed working in that realistic environment.”

I admired the film. I don’t think LIKING it is entirely possible.

Jan. rambling: worse than you’d think

P.D.Q. Bach

What’s Indoor Air Quality Like in Long-Term Care Facilities During Wildfires? Worse Than You’d Think

The Media Is Melting Down, and Neither Billionaires Nor Journalists Can Seem to Stop It. Across the industry, contraction, layoffs, sales, and labor unrest remind us of 2008 — but insiders are less optimistic this time.

Politicians Must Stop Playing Doctor — Personal ideology should not guide medical care, even for abortion.

Frank S. Robinson’s Book Review of “The Democrat Party Hates America”

The Green Island Power Authority responded to Chuck Miller’s questions. All of them.

2030 Census Planning in 2024

NY County data on detailed race by sex and age

What Happens When a Baby Is Born on a Plane? The unique reality of being—and having—a ‘skyborn’? at 39,000 feet

Pam Grier Set for Career Tribute at Toronto Black Film Festival

Complexly Signs Major Tetris Athlete

“God told me to run a bitcoin swindle on my parishioners.”

The last Salem “witch”

The Bookshop Sketch

9 Issues You Absolutely Need to Fix Before Selling Your Home

How to properly use a semicolon?

Now I Know: The Pregnant Platypus With a Secret and The Jail With a Built-in Breakout Plan (one of my sisters used to live in El Cajon)

Obits and a birthday

The Unthinkable Mental Health Crisis That Shook a New England College (WPI)

Colon cancer is killing more younger men and women than ever.

Norman Jewison, Director of In the Heat of the Night, Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof, The Hurricane, and many others, dies at 91

Charles Osgood, the host of CBS News Sunday Morning from 1994 to 2016, died at 91. I watched religiously. Thank you, VCR and DVR.

Joyce Randolph, Trixie on ‘The Honeymooners,’ Dies at 99

Bill Mumy, who I remember from Lost in Space and episodes of The Twilight Zone, turns 70 on February 1.

SCOTUS on tape

The Supreme Court – now with sound! The Moving Image and Sound Branch of the National Archives is also home to over 300,000 sound recordings. The recordings are organized chronologically. Since cases are often argued over multiple days, cases can be split up between different recordings.

Time, Inc. v. Hill in 1966. The Hill family case was argued by former vice president and future president Richard Nixon. You can hear Nixon argue at about 51:30 in this recording.

Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 required states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The recordings are divided into three parts: question one, question two, and the opinion.
Engel v. Vitale in 1962 decided that school-initiated prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment.
Gideon v. Wainwright from 1963 declared that indigent defendants must be provided legal representation without charge.
Roe v. Wade was argued over two dates: December 1971 and October 1972. The court declared abortion to be a constitutional right.
Loving et ux. v. Virginia struck down state laws that banned interracial marriage in 1967.

MUSIC

The American Dream Is Killing Me – Green Day [graphic]

Otis Redding: “(Sittin’ on) The Dock Of The Bay”, the first posthumous #1 pop song

Peter Schickele, Composer and Gleeful Sire of P.D.Q. Bach, Dies at 88. P.D.Q. Bach – Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Sportscast

Singer Melanie, Who Performed at Woodstock,” Dies at 76. Listen to Lay Down with the Edwin Hawkins Singers; Ruby Tuesday.

Peter Gabriel: Games Without Frontiers

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera film (2004)

Peter Sprague Plays The Wind Cries Mary featuring Lisa Hightower

John Lennon featuring the Plastic Ono Band: Jealous Guy

Coverville 1473: The Footloose 40th Anniversary Album Cover and 1474: Cover Stories for Roxette, Aaliyah and The Ventures

Symphonic Poem on Three Notes by Tan Dun.

Billy Joel: The Stranger

K-Chuck Radio: The Frank Farian Catalogue

Paul Simon: Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

Peter Sprague Plays Ocean Song, Earth Song

2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame Class: Timbaland, R.E.M., Steely Dan, Hillary Lindsey, Dean Pitchford

Ramones Biopic Caught In Crossfire of Heirs’ Clash In Court

Indie Lens Pop-Up

The Tuba Thieves

I have attended two Indie Lens Pop-Up events at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library. What’s that?

“Indie Lens Pop-Up is a neighborhood series that brings people together…for film screenings and community-driven conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS’s Independent Lens, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders, and organizations to discuss what matters most, from newsworthy topics and social issues, to family and community relationships.”

Here’s a list of screening partners. The one for my area is the local PBS television station, WMHT.

The first event on December 6, 2023, was the showing of the first part of A Town Called Victoria. “A south Texas town is thrown into the national spotlight when a local mosque is burned down in an apparent hate crime.” I remember the event. One dynamic shown in the film involved the ethnic tensions of the black, white, Hispanic, and Muslim communities.

The showing was followed by a conversation with the roughly two dozen viewers. A couple in the audience had regularly visited Victoria, so their insights. It was an excellent interaction.

The entire three-hour documentary is available from your local PBS station through mid-April.

On January 3, Razing Liberty Square was presented. “The Liberty Square public housing community in Miami becomes ground zero for climate gentrification.” This was a function of the fact that Liberty City was built on higher ground than the Miami coastal areas. Black people weren’t initially allowed to live on the coastline. With global warming making coastal Miami vulnerable, developers and politicians suddenly targeted the long-neglected area.

It was a good conversation. Sadly, there were only four in the audience, plus the facilitator. The film started airing on PBS starting on January 29.

Upcoming

The following films at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library, 517 Western Avenue, near Allen Street, will be:

Wednesday, February 7, 6 pm: Breaking The News. Women and LGBTQ+ journalists launch startup The 19th* to buck a broken news media system.

Wednesday, March 13, 6 pm: Matter Of Mind: My Parkinson’s. Three individuals navigate their lives with determination in the face of Parkinson’s disease.

Wednesday, April 24, 6 pm: The Tuba Thieves. What does it mean to listen? An exploration of musicality set against a theft.

Oprah Winfrey turns 70

National Women’s Hall of Fame

When someone answers “Oprah” on JEOPARDY, when the correct response is “Oprah Winfrey,” the answer is generally adjudged to be correct. It’s like “Elvis” for “Elvis Presley.”.

Oprah’s A.M. Chicago show, which was much more successful with her at the helm, went national after her “Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for—her performance as Sofia in the film The Color Purple.”

I started watching her program early in its run, around 1986. I did not view it regularly as it was on in the afternoon. But I appreciated seeing her show the empathy that allowed celebrities and regular folks to open up to her.

I know I saw her interviews with the Little Rock Nine, the black kids trying to integrate the Arkansas high school in 1957, requiring the support of troops sent by President Eisenhower. But also participating were a bunch of white kids who jeered the Nine. There was a rapprochement that was truly powerful.

I saw some stars, such as Paul McCartney and Tom Cruise, the latter of whom “jumped around the set, hopped onto a couch, fell rapturously to one knee and repeatedly professed his love for his then-girlfriend, Katie Holmes…

“On February 10, 1993, Winfrey sat down in a prime-time special broadcast with Michael Jackson, who had performed ten days earlier in the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show, for what would become the most-watched interview in television history.” I watched that, too.

Personal

She was an effective interviewer because of her vulnerability and compassion. “On November 10, 1986, during a show about sexual abuse, Winfrey revealed that she was raped by a relative when she was nine years old. Since this episode, Winfrey has used the show as a platform to help catch child predators, raise awareness, and give victims a voice.”

And from 1995, “I was involved with a man in my twenties who introduced me to cocaine. I always felt that the drug itself was not the problem but that I was addicted to the man… I have said many times I did things I was ashamed of in my twenties, and I’ve done things I’ve felt guilty about. And that is my life’s great secret that’s been held over my head. I understand the shame, and I understand the guilt, I understand the secrecy, I understand all that.”

She had segments I enjoyed, such as her Book Club and the fiscal advice from Suze Orman. I was much less enthused by two other folks whom she helped launch, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Phil McGraw.

Oprah became a millionaire in 1986 and a billionaire by 2004. In 1994, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. “Winfrey has won many accolades throughout her career,” including the Kennedy Center Honors in 2010. She was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021.

She aids numerous programs, including an impressive school for girls in South Africa.

Taraji P. Henson Praises Oprah at ‘The Color Purple’ Screening: “She Was There Holding Our Hands.” Oprah produced the Warner Bros. musical remake, which stars Henson alongside Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.