Brendan Shea's Blog, page 38

I’m Not Ashamed

I was 32 when the news reported the Columbine massacre. There had been many such events in the past, but it seems that Columbine marked the onset of these events becoming disturbingly commonplace; the tip of the iceberg or edge of a precipice.

There was a song that resonated with me at that time, and two young women involved in the event, who were noted for having persisted in their faith in the massacre despite the deadly outcome. One of these was Rachel Joy Scott. She was said to have been a Christian who not only tried hard to live out her faith, but also firmly acknowledged it on penalty of death.

I’m Not Ashamed tells Rachel’s story, and what is more, it is not a story about the massacre, but it is about the life of someone seeking to be genuine.  It culminates with that fateful day at her high school, but has much more to say about life, love, struggles, and her journey.

The song is about the other young woman, Cassie Bernall. I encourage you to check out both the movie and the song, if it seems like they would be of interest to you.

Best,

FitzGerald Press/Reblogged

Money Monster

FITZGERALD DVR

Jodie Foster hits this one square off the directorial bat, and George Clooney is one of my favorites. Julia Roberts is a great foil for him, and Jack O’Connell does very well as the possibly justified antagonist, Kyle Budwell, in this tale of a hostage situation sparked by an investment gone terribly wrong.

Clooney stars as Wall Street guru Lee Gates who prognosticates loudly and with overdone pizazz, to the affectionate chagrin of his director, Patty Fenn, played by Roberts. My notables in the supporting cast were Christopher Denham as put upon producer, Ron Sprecher, and Aaron Yoo as Quant, Won Joon.

I’m a big fan of Giancarlo Esposito, who played police pointman, Captain Marcus Powell, but while ‘Marcus kept a tight rein on the dangerous unfolding events, I feel Foster could have made better use of him. Lenny Venito is a favorite from TV’s short-lived sci-fi comedy, The Neighbors, and got a bit more development as the main cameraman, Lenny.

Caitriona Balfe and Dominic West also figured key, but I did not see as much contrast in their performances. While this might speak to talent, it’s more likely that as in a painting or photograph, the characters in a story should not all be viewed too pronouncedly. In short, their performances were perfect, and so Money Monster paid off for me.

Last but not least, and there are many more besides, the talented Emily Meads does a great turn as Kyle’s girlfriend, Molly, and I always enjoy the too seldom seen Dennis Boutsikaris, who had a brief but key part in Crocodile Dundee, as adversarial CFO, Avery Goodloe.

The story was written by Alan Di Fiore and Jim Kouf, & Jamie Linden lent them a hand for the screenplay adaptation. There is some very mature content that is definitely at least rated R. I cannot recommend that content, and the language is pretty bad. If I can comment, “aside from that… ” then aside from that, this is a strong, well-told story.

Are the stories of our times worth the telling with their lurid content, or is it truthful and cathartic to tell these stories and learn from them? I’m not sure of how the scales balance here. Please chime in if you have input.

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Marley & Me

We had a black lab growing up named Finn. His full name after the Irish Legend was Finn MacCool or Fionn mac Cumhaill to do his name proper. He was our hero, our friend and our protector. Especially the protector of my sisters, and the one I still have.

Once in particular, my stepfather took us on one of his outstanding, roughing it with wisdom and preparation, camping trips. We were at Mono Lake if I recall. My sister and one stepsister ventured far out on the lake, and feigned drowning. Finn was no dummy, but even he was fooled.

He dashed to the water’s edge, leapt in, and had swum out halfway to come to their rescue when their raucous laughter broke the spell of deception, and Finn knew he’d been duped. He may have continued his trek out to them, or non-chalantly returned to the shore, I don’t recall.

2008 was not the best year for me. I was missing some people who were no longer nearby, I’d suffered a health setback, and the only bright spot was having hit an intellectual home run in my logic course at college.

I led the class with the highest “A”, and also developed a logic process shortcut that I wish I’d pursued to a trademark, but it’s irrelevant now, and I’m not 100% sure it would have weighed heavily in academia. I was in a deep depression and things weren’t great.

I’m not certain if I saw Marley and Me at its debut in the theaters or if later on video. I know it was released on Christmas Day of that year, and that I saw it before long. I happen to be a big fan of Owen Wilson, and am not sure if he’s anything like the writer of the book, veteran journalist John Grogan, but I felt he was great in the role.

Jennifer Aniston plays John’s wife, also a professional journalist, with her usual skill and charm, and the movie as a whole was outstanding in my book. I don’t require a movie to approximate Kurosawa or Fellini, though that can be neat, just for it to have a good story, mystery, romance, humor, or other element to entertain or comfort.

A canine fellow named Clyde played Marley in most of his scenes as a grown up, and did so with aplomb. The story follows the young couple as they work in journalism in Florida in the 1990’s, have kids, and relocate later in the story. The audiobook version is read by the author, and is excellent, in my estimation, a fun and touching read for sure.

I can’t say we had many of our pets growing up as long as the Grogan’s children had Marley, but some of them did live long lives, even beyond our leaving home, as our parents and other relatives took over for us, in taking care of them. I can say that if you are a sentimentalist and an animal lover, it would be hard to imagine this story not working for you.

If you didn’t catch this flick years ago you may want to check it out… or maybe you’ve been reminded you’d like to see it again.

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1967/1993 The Fugitive

Nineteen-Ninety Three was a special year for me. It was the year I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Tricky thing that… Savior is once and done, but if He is really Lord of one’s life there should be a growing obedience despite persecution, and that is the road to sanctification, following which, one shuffles off this mortal coil, prepared for being received in Heaven. “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful with little, I will put you in charge of much…”

The longer I live, the more aware I am of my own wretchedness. Sin is one thing, and sin can be forgiven; character and how one lives, is something else. So what does this have to do with movies? I’m not sure. I would recommend the films of the Kendrick Brothers as being more germane to the pursuit of encouragement and Godly living, but wanted to make mention of the significance of The Fugitive for me:

The night after I was born, my Mom was watching the last episode of the classic David Janssen TV series, The Fugitive. The mystery of the series was finally fully revealed and solved. The morning of my birth had been a bright and sunny day, my Mom has often mentioned. Late in August.

The Fugitive TV series ended that night in August of 1967. In March of 1993, I came to the realization that I was not God, much as I tried to be and failed, and that I had wronged God and others terribly. I told Jesus my life was His, and I asked His forgiveness.

That my life seems to have been quite a mess, might be more attributed to my shortcomings and also the wrongs done to me, but I do often doubt God’s love for me (not His Word however), forgetting in my angst that trials can actually make one whole.

Hollywood director Andrew Davis’ film version of The Fugitive¹, was released in August of 1993. Thus I was born in the year the TV series concluded, and reborn the year the film version was released.

Am I a fugitive? On the run from my own sin, from original sin? From the sins of my fathers? From the cruelty and indifference of others? Perhaps all of these things. If you are a fugitive, you may find solace in Christ.

Matthew 11:28-30 New International Version (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Best, FitzGerald Press

¹with Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Jeroen Krabbe, and Jane Lynch.

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Few if by Heaven-Scent

FITZGERALD PRODUCTS REVIEWS

For all who’ve been solicited by various and sundry purveyors of  what might awkwardly in this context be called eau de toillete, you’ll understand… I’ve used the quality Febreze Sprays and also favor the Pure Citrus Orange spray, but am landing now on the ever more natural Mrs. Meyer’s and Fresh Wave bathroom sprays and even cleaning products.

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I was at work a couple of months before COVID-19 hit, and using some effective Lysol Disinfectant wipes to clean off my desk area when I inadvertently got a big whiff of the stuff, and within the day, had a headache and a bad sore throat. By the next day, my sore throat was worse, and I felt somewhat feverish.

I’m not saying to avoid products such as Lysol, which have their purpose and place, but I began to use the Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning products I’d then requested at work, and not only did they smell great and not make me ill, but when I used the natural cleaning spray on my computer keyboard’s porous wrist-rest, it was much more effective than the Lysol.

Enter the Bathroom: Now when I spray deodorizer in the bathroom, I don’t have to worry about getting stuff in my eyes. We use the Fresh Wave spray at home, and it is a bit pricey, but lasts a long time, and once I got to loving the scent, I also found that it does not seem to operate as an irritant in my experience.

I have not been impressed with the more passive Fresh Wave Gel, but won’t deride it here. Febreze works great if you are okay with some chemicals and possible eye irritation, and Pure Citrus Orange spray has a nice, Orange Creamsicle type aroma, but Fresh Wave spray, and Mrs. Meyer’s spray and cleaning products are par excellence.

The British Avengers

If you are an old fogie like me, you’ll probably remember the BBC show that debuted in 1961, The Avengers. By the time The Avengers first color episodes hit the USA in 1967, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s legendary comic book was already on the scene, but the offbeat spy show with Patrick MacNee & Diana Rigg¹ was wholly original and a definite must-watch at each prized opportunity.

First, many boys my age must have wanted to be like John Steed, who was intrepid, debonair, and had impeccable taste and everready clever quips. Next, there was Emma Peel, Steed’s highly attractive, ginger to black-haired, karate-chopping partner in crime. Finally, quirky villains hatched unusual plots, for Steed & Peel to foil with elan, to a funky, sixties-type score.

Pre-COVID-19, I was in Santa Cruz, CA, on a well-worn jaunt with my wife, and happened on a boxed set of the first six color episodes to hit the USA as mentioned above. The discs were reverse-labeled, which I like all the more, rather than being a detriment, kind of like a Revenge of the Jedi poster, or a comic-book double cover, but otherwise, the $5 find was new and accordingly mint. I sat through these episodes over several days, relishing each one.

There is some innuendo and a bit of risque content, but overall, the show is clean, well written, and a lot of fun. A romantic spy show with a touch of the Twilight Zone, Doctor Who, and James Bond in the mix. And The Avengers predates all but the Twilight Zone.  Props to creator Sydney Newman, and here’s to but a few of the talented writers, many of whom later worked on Doctor Who: Terry Nation, John Lucarotti, Dennis Spooner, Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks.

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¹Honor Blackman played Cathy Gale, John Steed’s original counterpart, but Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel will always be Steed’s partner to me…

…just as Tom Baker, my quintessential Doctor Who, will always have his onetime wife, Lalla Ward, as his Romana.

 

Rocketman Soars

I nearly missed out on learning about the fascinating if not always easy to witness, story of Reginald Kenneth Dwight, better known to millions, as Elton John, as Rocketman, put on the small screen during Shelter-in-Place by my wife, but while he first appeared onscreen in a highly disturbing outfit, it was hard to resist watching a true story about a tortured young musical prodigy, especially as portrayed by the excellent Taron Egerton (“Eggsy” Unwin of the brilliant if disturbing Kingsman movie series).

(mild spoiler alert)

Despite misgivings and discomfort, I am glad to have watched the film. The trials and torment that Reggie experienced were awful, but the kindness and support of his close friend and lyricist, Bernie Taupin, was extraordinary and touching. Taupin was not homosexual as was his friend, but he was unafraid to be Reggie’s best ally amongst what are portrayed as respectively spiteful and cruel distant parents, and a manipulative manager, only significantly offset by a mercifully supportive grandmother.

It is tragic that Reggie’s Mom and Stepdad only came to him when they needed money, and that when he visited his Dad’s new family replete with 2 youngish son’s, the three were disdainful of Reggie, and his Dad called him “strange”. Reggie replies, “Actually, I think I’m okay with strange.” While Elton John’s brand of strange is not really my cup of brew, his Dad’s attitude towards his son was to me, wholly unacceptable. We all fall short, but his parents and manager are portrayed as pretty low on the spectrum.

I can’t unequivocally recommend Rocketman due to the sheer lurid nature of content, but the story if accurate, is compelling. Reggie, at his lowest point, encouraged by his steadfast friend Bernie, confronts his inner demons and makes peace with himself. It was worth the lurid content to witness the conclusion, but again, the journey was pretty rough.

 

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Only Angels Have Wings

My favorite Howard Hawks movie growing up was Bringing Up Baby, with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, but this film co-stars Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell, six degrees of my favorite Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, and it’s cousin, You Can’t Take it With You.

The movie opens with Noah Beery Jr, a favorite from star James Garner’s The Rockford files, and Allyn Joslyn’s supporting characters warming up to a newly arrived Bonnie Lee (Arthur), as she arrives at the fictional South American port of Barranca on an overnight stop.

They take her to the local hostelry, tavern, restaurant, post office, bank, and airport, all located at the same site, generally overseen by “Dutchy” (Sig Ruman), but run in fact by the relentless and seemingly unmerciful Geoff Carter (Cary Grant).

One of my all-time favorite movies is the Hitchcock/Grant collaboration, North by Northwest, but Only Angels Have Wings actually scores on more levels than the Hitchcock classic. Where North’ has a tremendous impact, ‘Wings adds more of the heart.

Mitchell (Uncle Billy in It’s a Wonderful Life) plays Carter’s aging business partner, well-respected and full of wisdom, and Rita Hayworth & Richard Barthelmess enter later in the movie, as a former significant other, and persona non grata respectively, to various at Barranca.

Most of the men in the movie are pilots, who fly items point to point, in perilous conditions, and the crux of the movie centers on those dangers, and how they impact loves, finances, and health. The film doesn’t pull any punches, while remaining quite clean.

This movie is highly touted, and won’t disappoint, unless you require CGI, and unless something predating the ‘eighties is ancient and irrelevant. Some have asked if this is the best Hollywood movie ever made. It certainly comes close in my book.

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Free Recipe for My Readers & Followers

Dear readers, I want to offer you something free since in this time of Shelter-in-Place, budgets are strained, times are tough, and people are helping each other. If you want to buy a copy of this book, priced “cheap” at $1.99, that would be great, but regardless, please enjoy this recipe free exclusively to FitzGerald Press readers with my thanks:

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Cooking with Grandma

My Grandmother supported me as a grandson, an employee, an artist, in troubles, and in my faith. She also cooked me a lot of great meals when I visited, and was not reluctant to share her recipes with me…

Grandma’s Tamale Pie


4 fresh beef tamales or 4 cans beef tamales
1 can Chili
1 can creamed corn
1 can pitted black olives
1 can mild green chiles, diced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 pint sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350℉. Break up fresh tamales (canned should already be very soft), and place in a large, oven safe bowl. Stir in the other ingredients save for the sour cream, and cover the bowl with aluminum foil. Place the bowl in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot throughout. Add a dollop of sourcream.

This is a quick, easy, inexpensive and hot meal. Good with a bit of cornbread and my grandmother’s Simple Salad if you’re really hungry. Thanks Grandma!

ꔰ

Thanks for Following My Blog…

With only 3,892 views in the USA since 2012, and only 158 followers where popular blogs have thousands, FitzGerald Press blog is not exactly a media dynamo. However, I’m very proud and blessed to have those followers because they are unique individuals who are kind and interested enough in my writing, to check in, view, and occasionally like or comment on my site.

Additionally, I’m excited that FitzGerald Press has been viewed by readers in 71 countries worldwide. That means that one or more persons hailing from each of 34% of the world’s nations has visited my site. A third of the big blue marble as us fiftysomething plusses may recall.

Also, my company FitzGerald Press, has published six books on Amazon in various formats. They include two short mystery novels, a sales booklet, a memoir, a book on the rudiments of solar for first time buyers, and a cookbook for people bored during Shelter-in-Place.

If you are wanting to learn more about how to publish your work, please comment below. I am a Christian, and I’m not super uptight, but there be some content and genres I tend to shy away from thoroughly. If you are still interested, please contact me via LinkedIn.

Whenever you came into the picture and became part of the readership, whether one-time or long-term, thanks so much for your investment. My hope is that it yields a great return for you… whatever you are seeking. May your goals be lofty and your future bright.

Let’s let love spread like wildfire, and stamp out the pale and sickly virus that would steal our health and joy. We are sent to the afterlife by many things, but God does not seek to dishearten the good.

God bless, FitzGerald Press

 

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