The Unachiveable Myth of The Super-Mom

One of the things my wife does a good job doing is telling other mom's that they're doing a good job.

We live in the land of toddlers, and so a lot of our mom exposure comes from toddler-mom-land as well.

It seems that we encounter a lot of stressed moms...whether they're stay at home moms, working moms, young moms or old moms, most moms seem to carry a burden that they're not doing enough, failing, or not rising to the occasion.

Yet, when it comes to a day like Mother's Day there is an overwhelming sense that most moms are doing something right...a sentiment that it's always shared with Father's Day.

The bar for mom's is set quite high - it's set there by a number of people, but primarily my mom's themselves.

I can come home from work and ask my wife about the day with the kids and she will often share a sentiment that the day lacked something. She might express that she felt like she lost in the world of discipline, or that there wasn't enough high quality encounters with each of our three children, or that something else wasn't quite right.

I usually listen and reassure her. Yet, when my wife is gone and I'm with the kids, I generally feel like the time was a great success. It's not that the day is actually better (it's probably far less productive, coordinated, and organized) but my attitude is different as a father. I reward myself for being there, and don't put the day through two dozen different subjective quality metrics to evaluate the day.

Comparatively, I can look at other dad's and pat myself on the back and reward myself simply for my presence. "I was there, and the kids were lucky for that," I tell myself.

Yet the bar for a woman does not seem to be set so low. Not on account of where other's have placed it, but where the mom has placed it.

The greatest mom's seem to give themselves a "C" score...barely passing, could do better.

Yet, the reality is, they're performing (generally) at an amazingly high level. Mom's make it happen, and do the very best they can, all the time, so unselfishly. My mom certainly did/does that, and my wife does as well. Yet, they are their own worst critic.

There is a myth of a super-mom that seems to pull the best of all moms into a bionic woman who does not exist, yet every (most) mom's are attempting to be.

This might be part of what make's mom's so great...but I hope mom's take time to hear the words "You're doing a great job" and believe it.

Hospitality, Regional Stereotypes, and the Little Blue Truck

When I went to Texas to college, I was pretty off put by the regional stereotype of Southern hospitality. There were times when I would experience this stereotypical hospitality and unless it was through a "logical connection" (say the mother of a fellow student), I would tend to write it off as fake. A person who didn't know you greeting you with big grins, a firm handshake, or a bubbly twangy voice was too much for me. I justified this outward hospitality as a regional stereotype that was as much about putting on a front as a pair of overpriced dress shoes might impress someone in a New York city board room.

I think (hope) overtime, my negativity to hospitality wore off in someways over my years in college and the following years when I still lived in Texas. I came to see that many (most) people were genuine and their friendliness wasn't simply a regional cover-up for the blemished past of Southern culture, or any other sociological or cynical interpretation. In the way values pass from generation to generation I've come to value   many parts of that culture.

Tonight I read my kids the cute and fun story Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry. The story is a simple story (spoiler warning...just kidding), about a Little Blue Truck who is friendly to others and big Dump Truck that is too big, fat and busy for others. When the dump truck get's stuck in the mud, not only does the Little Blue Truck help out, but the farm animal friends who he's been friendly with over time.

The Dramatic Enterance of the Dump Truck in the Children's Story Little Blue Truck

In a more critical time of my life, I might have criticized a stereotype, suggesting the busy dump truck might have a soul, and his presentation as a focused contributor misrepresents the fast paced culture of other areas of the country. I couldn't say such a thing with a sincere face today.

Instead, while reading it to my children, who do not live in the South, I thought about how I would want my children to embody the hospitality associated with the Southern stereotype. I would love for my own children to have a natural hospitality that not only is natural, but also in genuine. They won't have the twang, but they can have the heart.

"Welcome Y'All Image" from Flickr: Unquenchable Fire shared under Creative Commons.

Scheduling A Stop To Smell The Roses

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I find to be hard to do is "stop and smell the roses." To me it becomes almost a Catch 22 type of thing, because to slow down means planning to slow down which means more doing.

This relates to me specifically it seems at my life stage (but feel free to tell me it's more than just that), but at this stage in my life, as a father of three kids under the age of five life goes fast. Between getting the kids fed before work to a frantic rush home to get home take care of the kids while my wife and I slapped hands to say "tag" before I headed off to a meeting, life just seems fast.

I find myself saying "slow down" and "cherish these moment." And even in those quick hand-offs and rushes I look at my kids, my wife, and many other aspects of my life with joy and I say "slow down, brother, appreciate these things."

And it's odd that in the effort to say "slow down" I am practicably saying to myself "seize the day" which is something quite different. The act of slowing down and enjoying these things, like my family, creates the urge to do things...I say "slow down enjoy your kids, maybe you should schedule a vacation to do so," or even in a less time/financial draining way I say "what about a fun picnic trip to the park."

And I like these ideas, vacations, picnics, outdoor adventures, indoor forts, and the works, but some of these desires spring out of slowing down, and they are anything but slowing down.

I think I feel this way when I read about phone apps that are supposed to simply my life (oh look, a new great list maker, or a way to socially engage with other like minded rose smellers, it even captures my GPS coordinates of where I smelled the roses and plots them on an interactive map).

Or, I feel this way when I talk to my wife or friends, because we're all seeing different ways to cherish the moments in ways the eat up the calendar.

Don't get me wrong, I don't just want to sit on the living room floor and have a starring contest with a two-year old in a zen-emphasis of slowing down.

I don't think the answer to stopping and smelling the roses is more pictures - we take more than we could ever reflect on.

And you can hardly schedule a stop to smell the roses.

But I wonder if what I really want when I say I want to slow down, enjoy each moment, cherish the memories and "stop and smell the roses," is that I really just want to make sure that I am present. A sense that "where I am, is where I am." And that if I'm with a friend, my wife, or one of my children that I'm one hundred percent there with them - in all my senses...and maybe not so much my nose, but my eyes and my ears particularly. If I tune my eyes to see the people I'm with, and my ears to hear what they are saying, I'm pretty confident that my mind will follow and tune out the other distractions that keep us from truly stopping and being where we are.

Images: Dog Nose From Giant Freakin Robot post here; Rose Picture from Wallshq found  here.

Boston Bombing - What Is This?

Front page headline of Times-Picayune
(New Orleans, Louisiana daily)

One of the things that I find most challenging about the Boston Bombing is that without much real information outside of the actual tragedy.

The event truly is a tragedy. Between injuries, fatalities, public disturbance, and all sorts of reasonable causes for unrest there's no argument the event is sad.

The Boston Marathon in itself is such a meaningful event for many, not to mention the actual participants, and as a sight for a violent act it is simply shocking.

Yet past shock, I was a little surprised...not entirely surprised, but a little, to see some TV stations today on with continuous coverage, the words "breaking news" at the bottom of the screen, and yet at the same time, no news at all.

Eating my lunch at work there was a television on in the break room  the breaking news banner at the bottom of the screen, and my eyes peeled to see what was breaking. But it was no real news, it was new video footage and information about suspects and witnesses being picked out from a crowded video.

Newspapers all across the country fill their cover page with updates, that aren't really updates at all, and it seems like what they should do, this is the way we cover uncertain tragedy.

Is it foreign terrorism? Certainly if this is an act of foreign terror, the scope of the story is big - there is a feeling that we should feel the echo of previous acts of terror. Clearly the scope is not that of the 9/11 attacks, but I've heard people over the past couple days recall the days after the 9/11 attacks and the impact of the day. Yet it's uncertain if this event even falls into those categories.

Is it domestic terrorism? If it's domestic terrorism, then what's it about. With a highly partisan nation there's a fear that this could be a statement. Is this an outcry against taxes? Gun legislation? Right-wing extremist? Left-wing agitators? Most theories here seem a little ridiculous, because an act of idealism is so far from irrational, and there hasn't been any attempt to clearly connect the events to a cause. The homegrown extremist angle of course creates a whole different conversation and creates different meaning to the event.

Is it a psychotic maniac? American tragedy of this nature often is connected to these unreal characters who perform an act of true insanity on the country's center stage. These James Holmes, Ted Kaczynski, or school house mass shooter, car bombers, and other individual crazies fill the news in new ways every year, and if this is one of those situations, again the conversation changes. If so, this general attack of leisure and the inability to be protected in public certainly will create a flair of fear and further discussion on weapons, concealed weapons, and mental issues.

When the conversation changes, the way we feel about the event changes, and there is a lot of room for details. Those details will not only color the way we feel about the event, but also color the way the news and story progresses going forward.

But in the meantime, I permit the news coverage to die down and let the investigations take place. There is no need for the news to create news at this point, or figure out what to call the event...an act of terror, a tragedy, an attack? There's so many potential conversations, but any of them are really premature at this point. The lens through which this event is viewed still isn't there, so when confronted with the news coverage I think it's hard to know how to watch the news.

Soccer Snacks

My daughter (4 years old) just did a little mini season of Pee Wee Soccer season. It was only four weeks, but something I found interesting is the whole world of post-game snacks.

The group she played with was pretty relaxed, but as I've talked to other parents of toddlers, this seems like a new stressful frontier.

When I did kids sports, I kind of have this memory of getting orange slices and a Hi-C after the game.

In the world of food rules, I honestly would have been fine if they let everyone just be on the own to give there kid a drink and something to eat after the game.

But, somehow the classic orange slices and Hi-C doesn't seem to fly (the orange slices because they're not pre-packaged and potentially not organic, the Hi-C because it's owned by Minute Maid which is owned by Coca-Cola which means parents think it's bad for kids and probably has high-fructose corn syrup in it, even if it doesn't).

So, what's a parent to do?

Becuase snacks didn't come with specific food rules, the snacks and drinks varied significantly. And yes, on her team of 10, one kid was gluten free.

Here's the snacks/drinks she had after her four games.

Week 1: Horizon Organic Milk with Pre-Packaged Apples and Caramel dip
Week 2: Capri Sun with pre-packaged individual Goldfish Crackers
Week 3: Capri Sun with Lays Potato Chips and Sweedish Fish Candy
Week 4: Capri Sun with a Fruit Roll and Fruity Pebbles Treats Marshmallow Treats

Four weeks down, four very different snacks and every one's still alive, and no complaints on our side since we don't have too many food rules (especially when it comes to a one time snack). But it's still interesting and a little stressful as a parent wanting something easy, kids will like, and they're parents will appreciate.

Mr. Selfridge and Today: Items Behind The Counter

The Ladies Behind The Accessory Counter at Selfridge & Co.

In episode 2 of Mr. Selfridge, the main plot point is the tough decision about relocating make-up, face cream and perfume to the front of the department store. One of the decisions is not to put lipstick on display since it has a reputation of being used by "ladies of the night."

Obviously, the times have changed...perhaps in part due to Mr. Harry Gordon Selfridge himself. But it's interesting how much the times have changed.

The other night my wife and I were discussing this, and next thing we know it's a Cialis advertisement on TV. They talk not just about erectile dysfunction  but being ready when the mood strikes, erections that last more than 4 hours, and not impacting when "you've gotta go." It's a mix of casual common terms and phrases, next to medical terminology.

I'm not against old people having sex, much in the same way that people in 1909 didn't appear to have qualms against lip stick. But the lip stick was a behind the counter product, something you wouldn't display on the counter or in a store shop window. It seems to me, that these days, there's not many "behind the counter" products on any more. And maybe it's me, but I wish some things, like Cialis (or legal services for medical settlements or personal injury, stool softeners, or feminine products) would go back behind the counter. I'm not against them, I just don't need to see them advertised front and center.

Related Post: Quick Thoughts on the first episode of Mr. Selfridge

Quick Thoughts on the first episode of Mr. Selfridge

This past week my wife and I watched the first episode of ITV Studio's Mr. Selfridge.

I look forward to watching the second episode tomorrow night on PBS. Here are some first thoughts.

• Unless you're a Masterpiece Classics regular, I think it'd be hard to watch it without comparing/contrasting it to Downton Abbey.
  
• This is not a child of Downton Abbey, it sees to be it's own type of show, and if anything reminds me more in terms of content of AMC's Mad Men (period business/marketing film, strongly creative potentially personality) as opposed to Downton Abbey which seems to be similar only in that it's period British film that airs on PBS.
  
• The title character, Jeremy Piven as Mr. Harry Selfridge was certainly interesting, but I wonder if his strong personality will be interesting through multiple episodes or becoming tiring
  
• Truth is usually more interesting than fiction, but since Harry Gordon Selfridge is a historical person, I wonder if this series will meet a challenge (especially in terms of creating a multi-season show) with the limitation of being based on a true story?
  
• Since the show has already aired earlier this year in England, it would be tempting to cheat and see how things play out, but I'm going to watch this with fresh unspoiled eyes.
  
• The first episode introduced so many characters, I'm curious who's going to be the true supporting players, and really stand out. In episode 1 the standouts seemed to clearly be the supporting females, primarily Aisling Loftus as Agnes Towler (obviously some of the most striking scenes - the gloves, the house visit, the rose suggestion), and Katherine Kelly as Lady Mae Loxley (her dialogue always seemed well scripted to counter-balance Pivens strong over-the-top dialogue)
  
• There's so many great stories to tell, and I think a modern period serial of this type is an incredible way to tell the story of not just a life, but of a time. I'd love to see more projects like this hit prime time.
  
• Between the story, the presentation of the story (including fantastic production value) I hope this show is an enjoyable show to watch the remainder of the season.

Future Fourquels

In 2011, after identifying that the 2011 movie calendar had five films with fourth installments (I call those fourquels - although I understand that they're really called Tetralogy), I took the time to figure out what movies had been trilogies to help identify potential future fourquels.

Since today is April 4th (04-04), I thought...why not revisit this list, although 2013 is remarkably unfourquelesque - just one that I know of, and it comes out tomorrow.

Upcoming Fourquels On the Calendar:

April 5, 2013: Evil Dead (83, 87, 93, 13)
February 7, 2014: Robocop (87, 90, 93, 14)
June 13, 2014: Jurassic Park 4 (93, 97, 01, 14)
June 27, 2014: Transformers 4 (07, 09, 11, 14)

March 27, 2015: The Penguins of Madagascar (Madagascar: 05, 08, 12, 15)

Future Fourquels? Probably Not - But It Could Happen:

• Alex Cross 4 ('97, 01, 12)
• Ape Woman 4 (1943, 44, 45)
• Austin Powers 4 (97, 99, 02)
• Back to the Future 4 (85, 89, 90)
• The Bad News Bears 4 (76, 77, 78)
• Barbershop 4 (02, 04, 05)
• Beverly Hills Cop 4 (84, 87, 94)
• Big Momma's House 4 (00, 05, 11)
• The Black Stallion (79, 83, 03)
• Blade 4 (98, 02, 04)
• La Cage Aux Follies 4 (78, 80, 85)
• Cannonball Run 4 (81, 84, 89)
• Captain Nemo 4 (54, 61, 69)
• The Chronicles of Narnia 4 (05, 08, 10)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon 4 (54, 55, 56)
• Crocodile Dundy 4 (86, 88, 01)
• Dairy of a Wimpy Kid 4 (10, 11, 12)
• Escape to Witch Mountain 4 (75, 78, 09)
• Evil Dead 4 (83, 87, 93)
• Flash Gordon 4 (36, 38, 40)
• The Fly 4 (58, 59, 65)
• Friday 4 (95, 00, 02)
• From Dusk Till Dawn 4 (96, 99, 00)
• Goal! 4 (05, 07, 09)
• The Godfather 4 (72, 74, 90)
• The Grudge 4 (04, 06, 08)
• Harold and Kumar 4 (04, 08, 11)
• Home Alone 4 (90, 92, 97)
• Infernal Affairs 4 (02, 03, 03)
• It's Alive 4 (74, 78, 87)
• Jeepers Creepers 4 (01, 03, 11)
• Jurassic Park 4 (93, 97, 01)
• Look Who's Talking 4 (89, 90, 93)
• Mad Max 4 (79, 81, 85)
• Major League 4 (89, 94, 98)
• Matrix 4 (99, 03, 03)
• Meet the Parents 4 (00, 04, 10)
• Men in Black 4 (97, 02, 12)
• Mighty Ducks 4 (D4?) (92, 94, 96)
• Mr. Belvedere 4 (48, 49, 51)
• The Mummy 4 (99, 01, 08)
• The Naked Gun 4 (88, 91, 94)
• The Never Ending Story 4 (84, 90, 94)
• Oceans Eleven 4 (01, 04, 07)
• Poltergiest 4 (82, 86, 88)
• Porky's 4 (82, 83, 85)
• Predator 4 (87, 90, 10)
• Rugrats 4 (98, 00, 03)
• Rush Hour 4 (98, 01, 07)
• The Santa Clause 4 (94, 02, 06)
• Smokey and the Bandit 4 (77, 80, 83)
• Super Fly (72, 73, 90)
• Toy Story 4 (95, 99, 10)
• Transformers 4 (07, 09, 11)
• Underworld 4 (03, 06, 09)

Luxury Everything - Kind of Makes Me Sick

Have you seen this new commercial for the Acura RXL?

   

As soon as I saw it, I couldn't help but instantly find myself a little sickened.

Luxury Bed.
Luxury Sheets.
Luxury Shower.
Luxury Towel.
Luxury Suit.
Luxury Watch.
Luxury Coffee.
Luxury Coffeemaker.
Luxury Sugar.
Luxury House.
Luxury Car.

It's only 11 luxury items mentioned and for me it's over the top.

Maybe it's conviction because there's time when I like spending a little more for certain items. Who doesn't like a little luxury? I do. Whether it's a low end item like food or high end item like a house. Even if I don't have certain luxury's I can appreciate the quality and style of these items.

But this commercial is trying to say that the Acura RXL makes our other luxury item seem normal, which seems like a great campaign. But I'm left with the question of "Does everything need to be luxury?"

In fact, it makes me kind of sickened how everything (light fixtures, pastries, socks, vacations) can be marketed with luxury appeal...and we buy it.

Yet seeing it 10 seconds of luxury in this Accura commercial makes me want to drink Folgers Coffee out of a Mr. Coffee coffee pot in a matted bath robe from Walmart.

(Except I don't have Folger's Coffee, a Mr. Coffee brand coffee pot, or a bath robe - bummer!)

Reel People: Chadwick Boseman is Jackie Robinson

The film is 42. The sports biopic is directed and scripted by Oscar winner Brian Helgeland (Helgeland won the Oscar for his adapted screenplay L.A. Confidential, and was later nominated for his adapted screenplay for Mystic River).

Jackie Robinson

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 to sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. His middle name was given to him in honor of the late President Theodore Roosevelt who had died earlier in the month.

Jackie was the youngest of five children, and their father abandoned the family in 1920. His mother moved their family to Pasadena, California where the family lived at 121 Pepper Street.

Encouraged to play sports by his older athletic siblings (including his brother Mack Robinson who won the Silver metal at the 1936 Olympics in the 200 meter sprint), Jackie would play sports at the varsity level including baseball, football, tennis, track and field, and basketball. From John Muir High School, he would continue to play these sports at Pasadena Junior College.

While at Pasadena Junior College, major events included being arrested for vocally defending and disputing a fellow black classmate detention, as well as fracturing his ankle. He also grew and increasing reputation for being a great athlete and an involved student.

When he graduated from Pasadena Junior College in 1939 he transferred to UCLA. Continuing his success in four sports (Baseball, Football, Track, and Basketball), he became the first student at UCLA to receive varsity letters in four different sports. Many would say that Baseball was Robinson's worst sport of the four.

As a senior he would meet his wife, then a freshman, Rachel Isum, although they wouldn't marry until years later.

In the spring of 1941, shy of graduation, Jackie would drop out of UCLA and took a job with the government as assistant athletic director to the National Youth Administration (NYA), an agency created during the new deal that had started in 1935. The agency would fall apart, during WWII, and Robinson's time with the NYA was short. He left California in the fall of 1941 to Honolulu to play football for the racial integrated semi-professional team Honolulu Bears.

On the date of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, Robinson had just been in Hawaii for an exhibition game but was sailing back to California on the SS Lurline. He would cease his career with the Honolulu Bears and begin playing football for the Los Angeles Bulldogs, part of the Pacific Coast Football League. The Los Angeles Bulldogs season ended early though as the United States entered WWII.

In 1942 Jackie Robinson was drafted to Army Calvary unit and was stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas were he became friends with heavy weight boxing champion Joe Lewis. After some protest, Robinson and Lewis were allowed into the Officer Candidate School, were Robinson would be commissioned as Second Lieutenant in January 1943. Robinson would be then reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas where he joined the 761st "Black Panther" Tank Battalion.

Robinson's tank battalion was the first all-blank tank unit to see combat, but Robinson did not go to the battle front because while awaiting test from his junior college ankle injury he ran into an ordeal with a bus driver ordering him to the back of the bus, this was escalated to include a court marshal that caused him to be transferred to another unit and delayed his service due to awaiting court proceedings. He was acquitted in August of 1944, transferred to Camp Breckinridge Kentucky coaching Army athletics until he was discharged in November of 1944.

Upon discharge he had a short stint as athletic director at Sam Houston College in Austin  Texas, where he coached the school's basketball team.

The in 1945, Robinson was offered a contract to play for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Baseball league. Disatisfied with the disorganization of the Negro Leagues, Robinson was interested in professional baseball and tried out for the Boston Red Sox, a team which ended up being disinterested in racial integration.

Instead, he ended up developing a relationship with Branch Rickey, general manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was interested in integration, and Robinson, but also wanted to ensure that Robinson would not fight back against antagonistic racial comments if signed. Rickey signed Robinson to their farm team, the Montreal Royals. This was publicly announced on October 23, 1945.

On February 10, 1946, that Robinson and Rachel Isum, whom he had met at UCLA were married.

In spring training in Daytona Beach, Florida, Robinson didn't stay at the team hotel, instead stayed with a local black politician. Johnny Wright, another black player Branch had drafted, played AAA baseball for the Montreal Royals in 1946 as well, and local authorities were resistant to allowing games be held if Robinson or Wright were going to participate. On March 17, 1946 Robinson played in an exhibition game against the Brookyln Dodgers, becoming the first black minor league player to play against a major league team.

It was in 1946 that Robinson would have his first over three children, Jackie Robinson Jr. (His other two children Sharon Robinson and David Robinson would be born in 1950 and 1952).

In 1947, six days before the start of the season, Robinson would be called up to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers where he played his first game as a first baseman at Ebbet's field on April 15, 1947. Robinson's presence on team had mixed reviews from other players on his own team, as well as others. He also received mixed reviews from fans, who were flocking to the games regardless of their opinion. Most notably, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played. But National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler advised the Cardinals that striking players would be suspended.

In 1947, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award.

Later seasons saw a decrease in racial prejudice as other black players joined the league on the Dodgers and other teams in the National and American Leagues (Larry Doby broke the color barrier the same year as Robinson later in the season for the Cleveland Indians).

1949 was a great season for Robinson with a significantly improved batting average, he would take home the  MPV for the National League, as well as be the starting second baseman for the All-Star game.

In 1950 Jackie Robinson stared in a film adaptation of his life in The Jackie Robinson Story. Ruby Dee played his wife Rachel "Rae" Robinson. This didn't sit well with Dodger's co-owner Walter O'Malley who was not interested in this type of exploit. Around this same time Branch Rickey would leave the Brooklyn Dodgers and go to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robinson continued to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, were he did experience racial prejudice, but also spoke out against prejudice's in sports and other areas of American life, such as hotels.

In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers won the world series against the New York Yankees, although this was not his best season.

At the end of the 1956 season Robinson was traded to the New York Giants, but before the trade was finalized he had retired from baseball accepting the postion as vice president and director of personnel at the New York coffee company Chock full o' Nutts. His retirement story was revealed through Look magazine.

Robinson in taking the job at Chock full o' Nutts would become the first black person to have the role of Vice President for a major American corporation.

Following his career he was diagnosed with diabetes.

In 1962, Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first year on the ballot. He was the first black baseball player given the honor.

In 1965 he served as analyst for ABC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecast, as well as other later television telecast of this nature.

The Brooklyn Dodgers would retire Robinson's uniform number "42" on June 4, 1972.

He continued to be active in politics and social organizations like the NAACP, encouraging integration and opportunity for African-Americans.

On October 24, 1972 Jackie Robinson would die of a heart-attack in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 53.

42

The film 42 tells the story of Jackie Robinson, particularly his early days of baseball and signing with Branch Rickey to break the baseball color line.

In addition to Chadwick Boseman playing the part of Jackie Robinson, the film also features Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. Nicole Behaire plays the part of Robinson's wife, Rachel. John C. McGinnley plays sports broadcaster Red Barber.

Baseball players portrayed in the film include Leo Durocher (Christopher Meloni), Pee Wee Reese (Lucas Black), Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk). Baseball player C.J. Nitkowski plays pitcher Dutch Leonard.

A relative unknown performer, will Chadwick Boseman receive award attention, maybe an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of this Reel (Real) Person?

Fun with words: Tricolons

Earlier this year I remember reading in the Guardian someone use the word tricolon referring to the rhetoric of Jodi Foster's Golden Globe speech.

The tricolon shows up in the emphasized portion of the sentence here: "If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you too might value privacy above all else."

In the same ways jokes and fairy tales seem better with characters (a priest, a rabbi and duck walk into a bar, or the three little pigs), somehow a sentence with three strong thoughts seem to stick out in a way that two simply cannot.

Julius Ceaser understood this, and in the year 47 BC he said "Veni, vidi, vici" which means "I came, I saw, I conquered." This tricolon is still repeated today.

Whether it's The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, or the three most important things to keep in mind when buying a house (Location, Location, Location), there's something powerful about the tricolon.

Two will do, three is better, and four is simply to crowded.

It can be famous film lines ("Lions and Tigers and bears, oh my"), or car slogans, like when Chevy said "Eye it, try it, buy it."

Fun With Words: Controyms (or auto-antonyms)

Some people complain that English is complicated, I like to think instead that English is kind of fun. Here's a new word you might not know: "Contronym."

You probably know that synonyms are words that have similar meanings and antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. But a contronym is a single word that can have two opposite meanings.

For example the word "sanction" can mean either to show support of something (give permission, allow, bless) or to not support something (punish, to penalize).  Sanction is a contronym. You talk about a marriage being sanctioned, as well as countries being sanctioned, and it means opposite things contextually.

Here's some other example's of contronyms and some sentences that use the word both ways:

• Cleave (Adhere, Detach): "She loves to cleave tree trunks with her father's old axe, when I tried to buy her a new one she cleaved to it and would not let the old one go."
• Clip (Adhere, Detach): "After she got her hair clipped she clipped in a hair bow"
• Dust (Remove particles, lay down particles): "He dusted off the crumbs before he dusted them with sugar."
• Left (Departing, Remaining): "After the girls left the room only the boys were left in the room."
• Variety (One type, many types): "There was a variety of pears at the farmer's market, but I only bought Red d'Anjou pears because they are my favorite variety."
• Weather (Withstand, wear away): "After years of weathering big storms, the barn became weathered after last year's hot summer."

Reel People: Daniel Radcliffe is Allen Ginsberg

The film is Kill Your Darlings which is the debut feature film directed and written by John Krokidas.

Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg was born in New Jersey on June 3, 1926. His father, Louis, a Jewish school teacher and his mother, Naomi, a communist.

Allen Ginsberg had some unique influences including a father who was interested in poetry and his mother therapy for mental illness. Both of his parents also had a high degree of social concern which they passed onto their son, leading Ginsberg at a young age to take a stand on a number of social and political issues.

In 1943 Ginsberg attended Montclair State College shortly before attending Columbia University on scholarship. At Columbia, through an initial connection to Lucian Carr he had the opportunity to meet beat poets including Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and William S. Burroughs.

In 1948, a defining moment occured when Ginsberg had an auditory hallucination in his Harlem apartment where he heard various portions of William Blake poetry.

In 1954 Ginsberg moved to San Fransisco where in addition to being a part of the beat scene, he also met Peter Orlovsky. Peter had been drafted into the army during the Korean war but was transfered off the front by a psychiatrist to work as a medic in San Fransisco.

Ginsberg and Orlovsky fell in love and began a lifelong partnership in their openly homosexual relationship.

In 1955 Ginsberg stopped doing any sort of traditional work on the advice of his psychiatrist, and he focused strictly on poetry.

Allen Ginsberg had the opportunity to meet many of the famous beatniks of the era and established Beatitude a poetry magazine.

Artist Wally Hendrick approached Ginsberg about participating in a reading and October 7, 1955 an event "Six Poets at the Six Gallery" featured the reading of six poets: Phillip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, Phillip Whalen, and Ginsberg. It was here that Ginsberg read "Howl." This is credited as Ginsberg's most famous and influential poem.

In 1957, Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky left San Fransisco and traveled the world primarily spending their time in Paris where they joined George Corso along with many poets in what was known as the Beat Hotel until it closed in 1962.

Ginsberg helped bridge a gap between the beatniks and the hippies in the 1960s as he traveled in Europe and the United States meeting, reading, and interacting with a variety of poets. Ginsberg also became interested in Buddhism and Khrishnaism at this time.

Ginsberg had gained a degree of fame that continued to grow as he continued to write and publish through out the rest of his career.

At the age of 70, Ginsberg died surrounded by friends as he died of Liver Cancer in New York.

Kill Your Darlings

The film Kill Your Darlings deals with parts of aftermath of the murder of David Krammerer by Lucian Carr in 1944. Lucian Carr was a close friend of Ginsberg at Columbia. Carr had been stalked throughout his life from the older Krammerer. On August 13, 1944, Carr and Jack Kerouac were kicked off a boat they were attempting to sneak on board a merchant ship and when Krammerer later caught up with Carr, Krammerer is said to have made aggressive sexual advances on Carr and Carr killed him.

The event had a dramatic effect on the beat community include Ginsberg who is a key focus of the film.

In addition to Radcliffe playing the part of Ginsberg, the film also features Elizabeth Olsen as Edie Parker. Edie Parker married Kerouac when in jail as a successory of marriage. Dane DeHaan plays the part of Lucien Carr, Jack Huston plays Jack Kerouac, and Ben Foster plays William Burroughs. Allen Ginsberg's parents Louis and Naomi are played by David Cross and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Michael C Hall plays the part of David Krammerer.

Will Daniel Radcliffe's portrayal of the famous poet in his young formative years earn him critical attention and even an Oscar nomination/win for portraying this Real (Reel) Person?

Wearing Green - The Saint Patrick's Day Identity Crisis

I have this dilemma.

I could care less about St. Patrick's Day.

I don't dislike it, but I don't feel the need to connect to an Irish heritage I don't have. I recall hearing once or twice about the real St. Patrick, which if I recall is an impressive story, but I am not going to fake it with a quick Wikipedia check, because St. Patrick is simply not someone I celebrate.

I feel like many people use the holiday as an excuse to drink green beer, which I don't think has anything to do with the real St. Patrick either.

Yet, every year I find myself in an identity crisis in which St. Patrick's Day comes and I feel like I have no choice but to wear green.

To me the choice is either:
1. Seem like a buzz kill not interested in harmless fun
2. Or seem like someone who cares

To most it seems, the choice would be easy. In the end, I settle on wearing green because I decide I don't want to seem like a party-pooper wearing a red shirt that turns a crowd of people into a Christmas scene.

Maybe it's having kids, but this year it doesn't really both me the idea of wearing green, although I still somehow worry people will think that I actually care enough to consciously choose my outfit around the day...but the truth is, I am, be it ever so reluctantly.

But don't worry, if you're free of green I will keep my pinching fingers to myself. You don't need to feel shame at all if you're wearing blue, black, khaki, orange or any color in between.

*Picture from OffBeatBride