Brendan Shea's Blog, page 41

Literary Evolution

From children’s hardbacks to scholastic books, and from handed down classics to serious adult fiction, one’s reading tastes can change and evolve, and also sustain their preferences. Books can provide entertainment, comfort and even hope.

I remember reading Lloyd Alexander’s Welsh Fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain and C.S. Lewis’ classic, The Chronicles of Narnia, as a boy. Both were well-crafted tales of good versus evil, inspiring and fun to read.

As I grew up, I tried mysteries, reading Dick Francis’ racing tales, Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books and the stark works of Nicolas Freeling set in Amsterdam. The protagonists were agents for good, and the stories well written, but the content was often gritty, and could be depressing. Less so with Francis.

Douglas Adams’ famous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series was hilarious and fun if cynical, but it was his The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul that was both startling and funny, perhaps giving some window to the late authors’ view of morality and eternity-though he died unexpectedly and was known as a radical atheist.

When I began studying acting, I read Shakespeare, who made one think, David Mamet and Tom Stoppard, who were clever if dark. But it was Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, which diverted, stimulated and encouraged.

My family was the first major influence on my reading tastes and choices for much of my life, and having later discovered for myself the greatest book of all time, the Holy Bible, I began to read and rediscover afresh, works like ‘Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Looking for mysteries that would be uplifting, I went online and found Randy Singer and Randy Alcorn.

Singer writes legal thrillers from a Christian perspective, and his earlier books blend mystery, humor and faith. Alcorn’s include the same, but the main characters in his mysteries are journalists and a police detective, and include the authors perspectives on heaven and hell. Both write their share of non-fiction, as well. Throughout the sometimes tragic outcomes and most dark elements of these more recent reads blazes a hope and light of triumph for the good guys.

Because of the content, tone and impact, I would not recommend all of my past reads, but I like to keep elements like fantasy, mystery and humor in the mix. Good books can be like old friends, though, so I try to choose ones that, for all their light or shadow, bring me to a better place.

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My New Booked Ranked Highly on Amazon!

Dear readers, as far as I’m aware, none of my books have ever ranked nearly as high on Amazon. That is not the be and end all, but I’m excited. Thanks for your support!

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #467,034 Paid in Kindle Store

#862 in Theater (Kindle Store)

#249 in Psychology of Creativity & Genius

#771 in Popular Psychology Creativity & Genius

 

Six Movies from the 1970’s*

I viewed a lot of campy movies and write here about several seen in the mid to late 1970’s, and one in 1980. As you can tell when reading this article, there are a lot of connections between them, including writers, actors, producers, and directors. What’s more, when I selected these few films, I had no forethought of the common threads. I just wrote about a few I’d been thinking of. I hope they are ones you’ll enjoy. There is a bit of mature content in some of them, so please be warned, in case that would cause you to stumble. That is not an outcome I want for my blog.

Heaven Can Wait

Warren Beatty stars in this delightful romance about a football player who dies before his time and appeals to the Heavenly authorities to correct the error by allowing him to take over the body of a millionaire businessman who is “nearly” murdered. Jack Warden is the faithful coach, James Mason the authority, Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin the murderous couple, and Christie the kind Englishwoman appealing to Beatty’s supposed ruthless millionaire to implore him to save a small community in her native Great Britain. Heaven Can Wait has an offbeat, poignant, and humorous way about it. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Scored by Dave Grusin.

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Silver Streak

Gene Wilder’s acting was always great, but this is my favorite movie with him aside from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Wilder’s character, vacationing writer George Caldwell meets Ned Beatty’s salesman character, Sweet, on a train ride from L.A. to Chicago. Sweet later warns him of a villainous game afoot, but not before Caldwell meets and falls for Jill Clayburgh’s warm and lovely character, Hilly Burns. Enter Patrick McGoohan as Roger Devereaux, a mysterious art collecting passenger, discussing various plots & scenarios, and flanked by “associates” played by Ray Walston, Richard Kiel and Stefan Gierasch, that last of which, appears as The Professor, whom George thinks he sees murdered, but shortly after sees alive…

Later, after being thrown off the train two or three times, as he follows the clues and gets too close, Caldwell, has various adventures, chief of which involves Richard Pryor’s Grover Muldoon, a  thief with a good conscience, who becomes allied with George in his attempt to save Hilly and foil the bad guys’ plot.

Silver Streak was produced by the team that brought us Happy Days and other TV shows. The production values parallel a TV movie, but the movie is funny, romantic, suspenseful, well scored, and action packed. I love when filmmakers are not content with a monotone style, and manage to tell the story with variety and style. One critic panned the film and it also had some questionable content, but even then, I hope many will agree that the talented cast made something good come of it. With a fun score by Henry Mancini of Pink Panther fame. (1980)

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Hopscotch

Walter Matthau plays an aging CIA field agent who’s told he’s being put to pasture behind a desk. Unhappy at being tethered after years of excellent service, and still at the top of his game, he decides to get revenge on the entire intelligence community by publishing his memoirs, consisting of chapters and chapters of sensitive top-secret information. Aided by his girlfriend played by Glenda Jackson, he traipses around the world, constantly giving his enemies the slip. Hopscotch is original, hilarious, full of plot twists, and very well written & acted. On recent previewing, a little cynical and dark, but maybe I should re-watch the whole thing. Also starring Ned Beatty, Sam Waterston, and Herbert Lom. With music by such like as Mozart, Puccini and Rossini.

(*1980)

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The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers

Many have seen the 1993 version with Tim Curry, Chris O’Donnell, Keifer Sutherland and Oliver Platt, & according to Wikipedia, there have been at least 25 versions of the movie, 10 animated versions, and a couple of dozen spin-offs and sequels. I am not sure if any other fictional story has been recounted in more film treatments than has Dumas’ epic swashbuckling tale.

My favorite version is the 1970’s Richard Lester directed production with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Spike Milligan, Roy Kinnear, Geraldine Chaplin, Simon Ward, and Jean-Pierre Cassell.

The ’70’s films follow writer Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 story with impressive accuracy. The book is also a favorite of mine, and Dumas, whose mother was a slave and whose father was a nobleman, wrote many musketeer tales including Vingt Ans Apres (20 Years After), The Man in the Iron Mask, and also penned The Count of Monte Cristo. Nearly 200 of Dumas books have been adapted for film! With music by Michel Legrand.

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Superman The Movie

Produced by the same team who brought us my favorite version of the above movie, the Salkind’s, Superman The Movie’s cast, production, cinematography, soundtrack, writing and more, are superlative. They would have to be for me, because I’m really more of a Batman guy on the DC Comics side. When you see the movie with Marlon Brando as Jor-El and Susannah York as Kal-El’s Mom, Lara; Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter as Clark Kent’s parents; Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, & Jack O’Halloran as Superman’s nemeses, Zod, Ursa, and Non; Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder, as Daily Planet staff Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, & Margot Kidder; Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, & Valerie Perrine as foes Lex Luthor, Otis, & Eve Teschmacher; and many more, you might not see that while they are singularly talented, a star-studded cast is not necessarily enough to make a good movie.

This is to their credit, but the direction by Lethal Weapon helmsman Richard Donner, the writing of Tom Mankiewicz, Robert Benton, Mario Puzo, and David & Leslie Newman, combined with stunning, cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC, also made for classic cinema. The movie never stumbles, while naturally cheesy in some of its comic-book antics. Superman the Movie is a gem. It is also related to The Three Musketeers in that one of its producers is ‘Musketeers’ director Richard Lester, who also helmed Superman II and III . Scored by John Williams of Star Wars fame, and you may note that those two films’ scores can be woven interchangeably in a very cool way.

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Foul Play

Goldie Hawn plays Gloria Mundy, a twenty-something librarian caught up in a mysterious plot. The late Burgess Meredith is excellent as Mundy’s elderly but capable and watchful landlord. When Gloria’s apartment is burgled, the detective who investigates, played with aplomb by Chevy Chase, is extra careful to ensure the beautiful Ms. Mundy is kept safe. Marlilyn Sokol plays Mundy’s librarian friend, who offers her protection in the form of brass knuckles and mace to supplement Gloria’s thwacking yellow umbrella.

Dudley Moore plays an unusual fellow who inadvertently gets tied up in the caper, and while he played some irreverent parts, especially here, Moore’s real-life story seems a poignant one. Whatever you do, don’t miss the hilarious scene involving an encyclopedia salesman. Veteran actress Rachel Roberts’ character heads up the cadre of bad guys, and this side-splitting romantic romp careens to a great finish amid car chases, love scenes, and funny lines. Look for an intentional plot duplication element with Foul Play’s production team sibling, Silver Streak. With a theme song by Barry Manilow.

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My New Book! The Actor Who…

Dear FitzGerald Press readers. Please feel free to preview and purchase my new book, The Actor Who…

During my years in the food service industry, I transitioned to working full time in the theater. It was inadvertent as I’d always wanted to be a movie actor, but I ran into a guy who worked in theater in Brooklyn, New York, and started attending a class a former teacher of his taught in Manhattan. From there I was hooked, and it was many years before I lost the acting bug. Actually, I still love the theater, but you can read more about my journey herein…

Best,

FitzGerald Press

You Overgeneralize, Thucydides

Romans 14 New International Version (NIV)
The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

 every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]

Courtesy of Bible Gateway and God’s Word.

(23: So don’t exert pressure on the weak to do something they are uncomfortable with; will God condemn someone who is crushed by peer pressure? Also, Thucydides was wrong.)

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“He shall choose our inheritance for us.”

Evening

“He shall choose our inheritance for us.”

Psalm 47:4

Believer, if your inheritance be a lowly one you should be satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is the fittest for you. Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition. A ship of large tonnage is to be brought up the river; now, in one part of the stream there is a sandbank; should some one ask, “Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line?” His answer would be, “Because I should not get my vessel into harbour at all if I did not keep to the deep channel.” So, it may be, you would run aground and suffer shipwreck, if your divine Captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession. Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little, you are put there by the loving Husbandman, because only in that situation will you bring forth fruit unto perfection. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your lot, you would soon cry, “Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows.” Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. Down busy self, and proud impatience, it is not for you to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

“Trials must and will befall–

But with humble faith to see

Love inscribed upon them all;

This is happiness to me.”

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon – Morning & Evening

Courtesy of Bible Gateway – 11/11/2019

Sock ’em!

About fifteen years ago, I was at Costco with a friend of mine, and I saw some thick, comfortable-looking socks for around $17. There were eight pairs in the package, and they looked super-comfy.

I decided to take the plunge and buy a pack. Since then, I’ve purchased 2-3 packages of standard, 6 count tube-socks, and various casual & dress pairs. The Gold-Toe casual pairs are excellent, but the standard athletic socks only last a few years.

I purchased the Kirkland Costco athletic socks in 2005, and 15 years later, I still have 4 pairs of these awesome socks. I’ve never had socks hold up that long. Not only that, but you can walk around in them for hours comfortably in the right shoes.

If you’re looking for an excellent value in high quality, super-comfy foot-huggers, look no further. If Cosmo Kramer commented, he’d probably say, “Oh, I’ve got the best socks, Jerry, oh yeah!”

These are some magical socks.

Felix Francis’ Front Runner

Having read about forty of his Dad, the late Dick Francis’ mysteries, I am gaining more and more respect for son, Felix Francis’ mystery romps. Front Runner has some different plot strings, and a unique story machination element, with romance, suspense, and aspects of horse-racing as always.

Front Runner follows Francis’ serial character, Jefferson “Jeff” Hinkley, a British Horse racing Authority (BHA) investigator as he currently investigates tax fraud and race fixing, and finds new love after being single and depressed for some time.

The story is set in both England and the Caribbean, and tells of Jeff’s married sister struggling with cancer; the focuses of his investigations: jockey’s possibly being blackmailed, and people wrangling with HM Revenue and Customs; and a lovely young heiress whom Jeff is falling for.

Without a particular spoiler-alert, I will say that Francis brings back a character from one of his Dad’s books in a cameo, and also makes reference to another, the latter being an artist. I know the latter was just a reference because while his craft and domicile are the same, his surname was distinctly different.

I hope you enjoy the Dick Francis/Felix Francis books. They maintain realism without being terribly dark, and are fun, suspenseful reads.

-FitzGerald Press

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