Thursday, September 25, 2014

A PIMPERNEL OF LAUGHING SCARLET



BAD
I hate, Hate, HATE, the 1934 film version of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL starring Leslie Howard.  It is very stagey and profoundly boring.  My sister, for some unfathomable reason, loves it, which is the only reason I ever agreed to watch the wretched thing.
She also loves the 1905 novel by Baroness Orczy, so much so that her paperback copy had been read over and over to the point of disintegration.  In 2011, I stumbled upon a majestic hardcover edition in the discount section of Half Price Books in Omaha, NE.  Being a fantastically thoughtful brother, I purchased it to replace her well-read paperback.

 
 

GOOD
With this inexpensive generous act, I knew there would be a higher price to pay.  I would have to read The Scarlet Pimpernel, and this I did, somewhat grudgingly, with my sister.  I was fully prepared to despise it as much as I did the film.  Shockingly, I soon realized I was seriously enjoying this tale of adventure, intrigue, romance, and the French Revolution.  There was urgency to the story and it seemed that every revealing chapter ended with me wanting more!  It pained me to admit this to my sister, because anyone with siblings knows, you can't let them know they are right about a subject you have been vocally against!

 
 
After finishing the exciting novel, I figured I really should watch the film again.  I did, and found it even more heinously boring.  It was a literary crime to turn such a thrilling novel into the equivalent of a cinematic sleeping pill.  Though by comparing and contrasting the novel and film, I was able to pinpoint an overall problem.  The film, much like most versions of Dracula, failed to utilize the title character as a peripheral figure.  In the novel, the story is predominately seen through the eyes of Percy Blakeney's wife, who is ignorant of her husband's secret life as the Scarlet Pimpernel.  The film, on the other hand, is all about Percy, and thus played by Leslie Howard, sucks all the mesmerizing intrigue from the plot.

ALSO GOOD
Now it is 2014 and, thanks to my sister, I've seen various versions of The Scarlet Pimpernel, none of which have lived up to the novel, but have generally been better than the 1934 version!  I've also been able to read e-books for the first time, which lead me to look for Baroness Orczy's other Pimpernel books.  I actually thought of searching before my sister suggested it, because, as previously stated, I am fantastically thoughtful.  So it came to pass that my sister and I read THE LAUGHING CAVALIER from 1913, which is a prequel detailing "the story of the ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel.”
The Laughing Cavalier is a surprising entertaining book, full of everything I enjoyed about The Scarlet Pimpernel.  Here is the brief review I wrote for it on iTunes...."An entertaining prequel to The Scarlet Pimpernel with equal amounts adventure, romance and intrigue!  Not to be missed!”

If there is a lesson to be found in these laughing scarlet ramblings, it must be to never say never.  I truly assumed I would hate the novel of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and even figured The Laughing Cavalier would be a lackluster prequel, but I was proven so very wrong.

“Dreams and memories are stronger than reality”  - from  The Laughing Cavalier  by Baroness Orczy

Be Well, Readers, & Freak Out,
JLH

Shadow Place / Toxic Kisses



I’ll find you in the shadow place
Coated in grit and grime

Clean you off with toxic kisses

Until I know that you are mine
 
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For an audio/video experience of this poem, click VINE VERSION
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For another poem experience, click SKY


Be well & Freak Out,
JLH

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Within my grasp...



Your beautiful, sweet words
Provocative, enigmatic
Open to interpretation
But I know their meaning
Whispering next to me
In misty, intimate dreams

(for my MM)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JLH

Saturday, September 13, 2014

September 12, 2014


The phone call ends and I stay seated

Staring into space, thoughts racing
Seeing nothing, feeling everything
Knowing no matter what comes next
This will always be the day we first spoke

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JLH 

Monday, September 8, 2014

Burning Words


(just some short subjects from last night, September 7th, 2014 –interpret them as you see fit)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I need sleep but words are burning through my soul.
Escaping onto page before causing permanent damage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In time we shall dance
Bodies swaying under
the same delusion
of forever
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I obsess for it is new
So unusual for me to feel
Anything other than nothing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eyes closed
Perpetual dreams
cascading
swirling
overlapping
reaching out
Finding you
within
and
without me


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Safe from my words for now
Feelings released into the universe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be well, Readers, and Freak Out,
JLH

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Ain't no jive in 1975!



I traveled back in time to 1975 by watching the pilot of STARSKY & HUTCH.  This 90 minute (with commercials) episode was surprisingly entertaining.  It had intrigue, humor, a freakin’ awesome car chase, and a clever, twist-filled plot.  Oh, and an extremely memorable moment with Huggy Bear at an adult theater!

A few things that need to be said...

The opening scene must have raised the bar for violence on television.  While not bloody, it is a shocking experience considering the television time period.

Eat your heart out, Quentin Tarantino!  Two decades before his hip, pop culture spoutin' characters graced the silver screen, there were the Triggermen.  They are two unapologetic hitmen doing what they are hired for while riffing on John Wayne.  Too cool for school!

This show proves that LIFE ON MARS (the UK version) truly captured the gritty-glitz that crime shows from the 1970's radiated.  I kept expecting Gene Hunt and Sam Tyler to pop in for a cameo.

Full disclosure: prior to this, I had only seen one later episode of STARSKY & HUTCH and the ridiculous Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson film.  While they didn't leave much of an impression on me, the pilot sure did.  Another visit to 1975 is definitely in the cards, and that ain't no jive, sucka!
 
Bonus Material To Get Clicky With (and there may be a test, so pay attention):
S & H Pilot Episode

Life On Mars Opening Credits

A different show from a different time…


Be well and Freak Out,
JLH