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  • Thoughts on Rogue One and Andor

    (I guess there might be spoilers here.)

    I wasn’t sure what to make of Rogue One when I saw it in the theatre. I honestly thought I was going to see the first in a series of tentpole movies in the Star Wars Universe. Such as every two years there would be another Rouge One movie, with this gang of characters going out to cause shit against the Empire. I had no idea that I was about to see a new version of The Dirty Dozen, except on this suicide mission, everyone actually does die. And it did take me awhile to come around and think of Rogue One as a good movie. I never thought it was bad, but I did go in with an expectation that wasn’t met. Mainly, the good guys live, because the good guys always survive in Star Wars. As time went on, I did come to appreciate Rouge One, and I do think it is the best of all the new Star Wars movies. And I’m not just saying that because part VII, VII, IX, were a fumbled, muddled mass of garbage.

    The one thing that I did think Rogue One nailed from the first time that I saw it, was that this movie made the Empire evil and menacing again. After having grown up with Star Wars, and watched or read just about all of its major iterations, the Empire had become “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.” Outside of Vader and the Emperor, they were more incompetent than evil. Rogue One reminded us all that the Empire was far reaching, powerful, ruthless, and unstoppable. Then there was that Vader scene, which was cool, but also terrifying.

    Watching the latest episode of Andor last night, I was reminded of those same feelings I had watching Rogue One when it came to the Empire. That the reach and control of the Empire is so great, there is no escape or relief from it. But Andor adds an additional element to the evil of this Empire, which is to show us the mid-level people who are the ones who truly exercise the oppression on the population of the galaxy.

    I went looking online this morning to see if others are seeing it the same way as me, and I am not alone in this view. I did also notice a debate on whether Andor is holding a mirror to the current politics of America and the rise of authoritarians in the world. My opinion is that the Empire in Andor, and Star Wars as a whole, is still using Nazi Germany as its inspiration. I think inferring anything else is a bit of projection by certain viewers. BUT! I will say that Andor’s detainment, arrest, and sentencing was eerie parallel about American mass arrests and mandatory minimum sentencing. Who cares about criminals, right? They must deserve it, or they wouldn’t be there in the first place.

    I am looking forward to seeing where Andor is going. Ultimately, we know Mon Mothma leads the Rebellion, and Andor dies, so I am curious as to how the suspense and peril will be rise as this story continues. But what is coming into focus is why people would risk everything to fight the Empire.

    (And this is when I ask you to like, share, comment, or follow this blog. The numbers have been going up, so thanks in advance. Or if you are a bot… I welcome out Bot overlords!)

  • Short Story Review: “Tiny, Meaningless Things” by Marisa Silver

    (The short story “Tiny, Meaningless Things” by Marisa Silver appeared in the October 24th, 2022 issue of The New Yorker.)

    Photograph by Eliza Bourner for The New Yorker

    I think Paul Thomas Anderson said that when he starts to write about a character, he tries to imagine that character doing simple mundane tasks, as those actions truly reveal how that character honestly perceives the world they live in. (I think I got that right, but I won’t go and look it up because it was a Charlie Rose interview way back in the late 90’s.) As you can guess, Marisa Silver’s short story “Tiny, Meaningless Things” is not about tiny, meaningless things.

    Let me just cut to the chase here; I loved it, and you should go and read it. And let me tell you why…

    First of all, this is the type of story that I wish I could write. Silver finds drama in the simple acts of life – the melancholy beauty of everyday events, that when one steps back from them, we can see the profoundness. Or at least we hope they are profound when we look back on them.

    The story is about Evelyn, who is a widower and a divorcee, and lives alone in an apartment building. She has a nearly daily visitor of a seven-year-old boy named Scotty, who arrives and helps with Evelyn’s chores, though they rarely converse with each other. Scotty’s reward for helping is a piece of cinnamon toast, which he prepares for himself. Evelyn has grown daughters and grand children, who are present in the story, but stay on the periphery, except for her youngest daughter, Paula. Their relationship is strained, but they clearly still care and love each other.

    All of these pieces come into play, as we all know they would, and the end result is an interesting picture of who Evelyn is, and what she chooses to be involved in, and who she chooses to be honest with. It’s a great insight, as I asked myself why I am willing to confront some people in my life, and why for others I avoid any confrontation at all? Does the level of confrontation equal who I care more about?

    I was left very impressed with the degree of skill and honesty that Marisa Silver was able to pack in this story. (In the end, I felt rather ashamed that I didn’t know more about her, or her work.) And the completeness of the story, in a structural/theory sense, landed so succinctly with a question about the actions that happen to a person, and would those memories linger and still influence them later in life, even when that person isn’t sure where that memory came from?

    Just top-notch story telling.

    (So, friend; if you have made it here, might I impress on you a slight request? For my success, I am in need of certain acts of approval from you. Such as give a like, a comment, a share, or even following this blog. Your actions would do a great deal to move the needle of acceptance in my favor. I thank you for your time.)

  • Personal Review: One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

    I had received One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak as a Christmas present back when it came out a couple of years ago. Friends had recommended it to me, saying that this is a really funny book that I’d love. So, I have kept it close to me on my night stand over the years. It even moved cross country with me, but I never got past the reading the first few stories. Not because they were bad, or that they weren’t funny. Just, something would come up, I’d put the book down, and then time would pass before I would pick it up and try again.

    I made a promise to myself that this year I would get back to reading as much as I can, and I am up to about a book a month now. (Last year I read two books, and this year I should complete twelve. That number might not be something to brag about, but it is a vast improvement from the year before.) I am also trying to clean out my huge back log of books that I bought or received and never read. Hence how One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories got back in the rotation.

    I read through it pretty fast, and I appreciated that many of the 64 stories were short; two or three pages. The writing was impressively efficient, both in storytelling and humor. There weren’t crap sentences filling the space, everything felt like it was there for a reason. It made me feel that Novak was very seriously not trying to waste my time while making me laugh. That’s not to say that he didn’t have longer stories, or jokes that had huge set ups, but in both cases, they landed.

    There was one minor issue that had had with this book. It was the final story, “J.C. Audetat, Translator of Don Quixote.” There is nothing wrong with the story, so to speak. It’s a longer piece, that isn’t knee slapping hilarious, but it is very witty and which makes a fine point. The issue I have is its placement in the collect, as the last story. (I am aware that “Discussion Questions” is the last piece, but that is more of a running gag, and not a complete story.) For a book that had so many, for lack of a better word, laugh out loud funny stories, I found the choice to end with an “internal acknowledgement of wit” type of story rather than choosing a story that would garner an external involuntary laugh, odd. Maybe the choice was made because “Translator” was the longest story in the collection, and that seems to be the unwritten rule of short story books; you end with the longest one.

    It’s a minor complaint, and I enjoyed the running gags between stories, and the sense that I was being included in a very funny ride.

    With someone as talented as Novak is at writing stories, I wonder is why he hasn’t written more books? I know he did the “Book with No Pictures” as we have that one in our house, and my daughter loves it. And not too long ago he wrote and directed the movie Vengeance, So I guess he’s been busy. It would be nice to see another collection is all.

    (Okay, we all know how this works. I am in need of “likes” and “shares” and “comments” and followers. If you enjoyed what you have read here, then if you could, please, do one of those four things. I appreciate it. Thanks.)

  • Forgetting Things

    I’m here on Sunday night trying to create a blog that I will publish on Monday morning. Normally, I write something and publish it same day, but tomorrow I’m very busy and I still want to write five blogs this week, so I am trying to get a jump. The funny thing was that earlier in the day I had an idea that I wanted to write about, but being that I was in the middle of making lunch for the family, I thought I would take care of it a little later.

    And you can guess it; I forgot the idea. Sadly, I even have a category in my Notes app on my phone for blog ideas, and I was so sure that I would remember it and I didn’t need to write it down.

    It’s moments like this that I start to wonder if my minor forgetfulness is normal, or is it a sign that I’m getting older?

    I’m only forty-five; I’m not that old. But I’m also not young anymore either.

    I say all of this because I know I am at the age that I have to start have sections of my body, organs, and appendages examined, in some cases, annually, to make sure that I am healthy. I have had my heart checked, and my lungs. I know I need to get my colon looked at, well as my eyes, and I am due to see the dentist, so it’s like I’m getting looked at from both ends.

    But also, I have strange aches and pains. If my left arm of shoulder has the slightest pain, then clearly I’m having a heart attack. I’m having trouble seeing small print, which must mean that I am going blind. Sure, the easy thing to say is that I’m a neurotic hypochondriac, but I like to think that I’m just being very observant of my body.

    I am sure that there is a balance out there that some people achieve, where they age gracefully and enjoy the next phase in life, but…

    It was B.J. Novak’s book of short stories! I finished reading it this weekend and I wanted to write about it.

    I’ll write it down and do it tomorrow.

    (Umm… the thing with “like the blog” and stuff. It would be cool if you did that. Thanks.)

  • ODDS and ENDS: Times Square Casino, ANDOR, Tottenham, and UK Prime Minister

    (A Certain Point of View)

    As a New Yorker who stayed here during the Pandemic, I watched the City empty out, especially in Midtown. Though things are getting closer to being how they were before, there are still neighborhoods in Manhattan that have not economically recovered. Office buildings are sitting semi-empty, and ideas have been kicked around for the past two years about changing these spaces into apartments as there is a housing crisis in NYC. (Though I just read that landlords are warehousing 60,000 rent stabilized units that they refuse to rent.) But the idea that seems to be picking up steam is a casino in Times Square, because, clearly, there are not enough tourist there. Or the old Times Square hookers are looking to make a comeback. If this were to happen, I know two things will come true; One, no self-respecting New Yorker will be setting foot in Times Square (not that we ever did), and Two, the Disney-ifcation of Times Square is officially over.

    I have noticed that when my friends recommend a new great show, they always add the qualifier – get through the first three episodes. I have heard this more times than I care to count, and sadly Andor on Disney+ is following the same pattern. I think it is the reason they released the first three episodes when the show debuted. That having been said, I am truly enjoying Andor. This is the Star Wars for grown-ups who grew up with Star Wars, and now know that not all issues are light and dark. This is a universe that thrives in gray. Diego Luna is great as Cassian Andor, which is not surprising as Luna is an amazing actor. (Check out him in Y tu mama tambien if you haven’t already.) As the show has progressed, I have found myself more interested in the B-plot; Mon Mothma forging and leading the rebellion. It helps that Genevieve O’Reilly has the ability to play the smartest person in the room who is hiding the fact that she is the smartest person in the room. Not to mention that there is this whole subtext of the difficulty a woman faces trying to lead an ideological and physical movement. It seems the patriarchy needs to be fought all over the galaxy as well.

    Okay, I’m going to lay off the Tottenham stuff. It’s not because they lost to Man United, and Ronaldo walked out the end of the game like a little whiney bitch. No, it’s not that. The team has taken up a great deal of my mental space, and I think I need to narrow it down to a more compact form. That’s not to say that I won’t be writing about the World Cup in November, or any of the Champions League stuff… It just might be a little more truncated.

    My opinion: Ozzy for UK Prime Minister.

    (Speaking of Ozzy. The life blood of any blog is engagement. So please, make sure to like this blog, or share it, leave a comment, and if possible, follow it. And for doing that, I will remind you that Randy Rhoads was one of the greatest guitarists of all time!)