Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 48

A wedding soundtrack

I've needed a while to be ready to write a few blog entries about Sarah's and Ben's wedding, but now I'm there.  I think.

I thought I'd start with a little soundtrack.

The processional songs began with Phil Cook's "Ain't It Sweet," to which parents and grandparents entered.



Ben joined to a song I wholeheartedly believe he deserves, Josh Ritter's "Good Man."  I could not be happier to have Ben in our family, though I feel he's been a part of it for years.



Sarah and I entered--yes, I had the privilege of walking her down the aisle--to Tom Petty's "Wildflowers."  Trite as it is to say, I will never hear this song again without returning to that moment and to a love for Sarah so powerful that I am continually amazed my body can hold it.  The song is true for me: no other will ever compare with Sarah.

Oh, yeah:  we were walking outside, which made it only better.



After the ceremony, the recessional was the lovely "My Whole Life Long," one of many great songs from local wonder Delta Rae.  Sarah, Ben, I, and many others in our extended family all love this group.



At the dinner afterward, Sarah's and Ben's first dance was to a song, "My Favorite Place," from another family favorite, Stephen Kellogg.



Last in what I'll play--the evening contained a great deal more music than what I'm including here--was the song to which I danced with Sarah in the traditional father/daughter dance.  Even typing these words, my feelings about those moments with her are so intense that I am tearing up.  The story behind her choice of this song is a whole blog entry on its own; I may even have written it.  I could write another whole entry about that dance, and maybe I will.

The song was John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith In Me."  I can tell you that from the moment she was born I have had for Sarah all the faith I am capable of mustering, and then some.



I have said it for all of Sarah's life, and I will keep saying it until the day I die:  I have the best daughter in the world, and I am the luckiest father in the world to have her.  I have spent every day since her birth trying to be worthy of her.

My face is now wet, so I have no more to give tonight save this:  Sarah, I will always reward any faith you give me.  I love you.

Most nights, not tonight

Most nights, sitting alone in my brightly lit office, the world outside in darkness, working, writing, reading, I am as close to centered as I typically get.

Not tonight.

Tonight, I'm ready to crawl out of my skin, itching for sad songs and fight songs and long drives and hard fights, the kind that leave you bloody and glad to be alive.  I'm not angry, or, rather, I'm no more angry than usual.  I'm more sad than normal, but not by much.  I'm just full to bursting, my body crammed with more emotion and more different emotions than it should be able to hold.

This kind of night is a very good time for me not to venture into the world.

So, though the allure of driving fast at night calls to me, I'm going to spend these wee hours inside, in bed, reading, thinking, centering.

Sully

is a dramatization of the 2009 "Miracle On the Hudson," in which pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed an airliner, whose engines were dead from birds flying into them, on the Hudson river and saved the lives of all 155 people on board.  I've wanted to see it since it came out, and tonight I finally had the chance.

I loved it, though not without some reservations.

All the actors turn in strong performances within the limits of the roles they have, but of course Tom Hanks in the title role shines.  It's a perfect match for him, and I can't imagine anyone doing a better job with the character.

Director Clint Eastwood assembled a note-perfect film and created a bad guy, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), where real life didn't offer one.  (From the quick online scan I did, the real NTSB folks were nowhere near as mean; they were just good people doing their jobs.)

The movie's greatest joy, though, comes from the pleasure of watching competent, intelligent people do their jobs under stress competently and intelligently.  Making the NTSB question their handling of the situation only made you cheer for them more.

What reservations I have come from the handling of the NTSB and from a few scenes in which the angst was just too much.

Overall, though, it was a gripping, upbeat movie that made you want to cheer for all the main characters and for the host of minor characters representing the many New Yorkers who responded to the water landing and helped make sure everyone made it home.

Go see Sully before it leaves the theaters.

The Hurt Business

is a documentary about mixed martial arts (MMA) that played for one night at a local theater as a Fathom Events offering.  A small group of us went to check it out.  I confess that I expected it to be an attack piece, because so many documentaries these days seem to exist to push the agendas of their creators.

I was wrong.

The Hurt Business pursued no single narrative.  Instead, it chose to give a quick overview of just about every narrative in the MMA press today.  From steroid use to concussions, from fights as acts of barbarism to fighters as noble warriors striving to be the best, the filmmakers chose to cover every key topic lightly.  You won't find depth in this movie, but you will find information on a lot of different aspects of the sport.

I walked out with almost no new knowledge, which left me a bit disappointed, but I still enjoyed seeing what the filmmakers had created.  If you're new to MMA, though, I expect you'll leave with a great deal more info than you had before.

Storm night

The rain can't decide how hard to fall, one minute pummeling the skylights, the next lightly dancing across them.  Thunder provides the bass to the concert of the storm.  Sitting in my office, I close my eyes and smile.

I love thunderstorms.

My electronics do not.

So that is all.

I'm going to have to give in and watch streaming series

I've been avoiding streaming series, because, as
I am about to start compromising, though, because I don't want to wait years to watch the new series, Luke Cage.  Eric turned me onto this newest trailer for the series, and the show looks like too much fun for me to ignore.



Drat.

If you still think you don't need to vote for Clinton, watch or read tonight's debate

I couldn't bear to watch the debate.  I just couldn't.  I knew staring at Trump's smirk for two hours and listening to his outrageous statements would make me angrier than I want to be.

I also, though, couldn't resist knowing how it went, so I read an NPR transcript of the debate.

Stupid, now angry me.

If you're already clear that we must not let Trump into the White House, and that the only way to stop him is by voting for Clinton, then stop reading--but don't forget to vote.

If, though, you're considering voting for Trump or for Johnson, or if you're disgusted by the whole thing and want to stay home on election day, then do yourself--and all of us in the USA--a favor and read or watch the debate.  Look at all the crap Trump spews.

This man lives in a bubble full of people who endorse his view of the world, a view that is simply not in line with reality.  He acts as if it's his right to do anything he wants and to claim as fact anything he feels like saying.  That's scary with anyone, but it's incredibly frightening when the person might well become President of these United States.

We need to stop Trump.  We need to vote for Clinton.  It's that simple.

The birthday pig-picking

At a time near his birthday each year, Dave holds a celebratory pig-picking.  A group of us gather at his house to enjoy an entire slow-cooked pig, as well as various dishes that people bring as contributions to the meal.  This year's pig-picking took place today, and it was a fine example of its type.

Dozens of folks showed up to enjoy the party and the meal, and I have to say that it was a particularly delicious pig.  Kyle and I cut up the meat today, a process that involves standing over a low table and hacking away at a beast that deserves better butchering skills than we possess--but that was incredibly tasty nonetheless.  I meant to take pictures, but I messed up and failed to do so.  Sorry about that.

I've been going to these events for a few decades now, and I've always enjoyed them.  Most of all, I'm struck time and again by how very lucky I am to have friends with whom I get to enjoy a broad range of traditions.

Happy birthday, Dave!

The Magnificent Seven: exactly what I wanted it to be

Good take on the classic plot?  Check.

Denzel Washington being his bad-ass yet ultimately sympathetic self?  Check.

Stunning shots of people on horseback riding across wonderful plains, mountains looming in the background?  Check.

Add a diverse cast, Chris Pratt managing to deliver both comic relief and some intensity when appropriate, and a plucky group of villagers, and you have exactly the movie I had hoped to see.

If you know this story, nothing in the movie will surprise you, but as long as surprises aren't what you're seeking, you'll be happy.  If you aren't familiar with the underlying plot, you probably still won't be surprised, but you will also enjoy the ride.

If you like westerns, this story, or action-packed ensemble flicks, go see The Magnificent Seven.

The movie I most hope to see this weekend

It's an obvious choice, but I do want to see it.



I know it can't be as good as the Kurosawa source film, but I still have high hopes for it.