Devil May Care

The James Bond character has become an iconic part of Western culture. Invented by writer Ian Fleming in the heat of the Cold War, Bond was the quintessential British spy, fighting evil wherever it is found, using state-of-the-art gadgets created by the best technical minds in the service of good, doing it all with a flash and style that women swoon over and men strive to emulate. At least in the books his women swoon.

In those Cold War days there was a lot of fear, and readers of the Bond books could take comfort in knowing our side was doing what it could to save the world. These were the days of Spy vs. Spy comics in Mad magazine, and of fallout shelters in basements.

More than once over the years I've heard a speaker at a writers conference reference Ian Fleming as an example of how to make fiction come to life. Attention to detail is key.

My father, an avid reader, was himself a fan of the Bond series. Fleming was already internationally famous when John F. Kennedy stated that From Russia With Love was on the short list of his favorite books, which naturally put Fleming firmly on the map in this country.

When I was about fourteen my mom saw that I was reading From Russia With Love and she said, "Oh Eddie, you're not reading that, are you?" Around page 20 there was a scene with a tall blond Russian fellow, the arch-villain pathological killer, getting a back rub while lying naked beside a pool. She'd put the book down at that point and never picked it up. I, on the other, could not put the book down, but agreed to let her make an appeal to my dad who assented that the books were not salacious and I was "old enough."

Bond did bed his women, but Fleming spent more time building tension in his stories than getting male readers to drool to distraction.

I bring all this up because another Bond novel was released last year on the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birthday. This book, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, is a very good read. I've not looked at a Bond book since high school (and I read every one of them that dad had available -- Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker, Dr. No, For Your Eyes Only, The Spy Who Loved Me, etc.) Faulks doesn't tinker with the style or create new characters. This is James Bond, and M and Miss Moneypenny, and those really evil, wholly dedicated bad guys.

A few critics call Faulks' book a joke because it is simply a parody of what a Bond book would be. But to some extent you could say the same about Fleming's later Bond books, and certainly many of the films were, well, knock-offs made for the fun of it. If you keep this perspective, Devil May Care is a fun read.

While talking spy stuff, I will put in a plug here for the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. Spies and spying are as old as the days of Moses, actually. Remember when Israel, wandering in the wilderness for forty years, sent twelve spies into Canaan to check out the situation there? The Revolutionary War had its share of spy business, as did the Civil War, and every conflict since. If you have kids, and enough time, be sure to add the International Spy Museum to your list of things to see and do in D.C. on your next visit.

NOTE: I created the image at the top of the page by placing my pallet face down on a large sheet of paper at the end of a painting session. As I looked at the result it seemed to me that there was a figure of oo7 crouched forward in the upper left quadrant of the picture. Can you see him? The piece is titled Spy vs. Spy.

Why Broadway Costs So Much

Musicals are not only big box office draws, they are also big spectacles to assemble and fund. And the recession has made a decidedly noticeable impact so that a number of popular award-winning shows have had to shutter their doors, including Spamalot and Hairspray.

I remember when my brother and his wife went to see Yul Brynner in his second last Broadway performance of The King and I. When all was said and done, it cost a pretty penny, but those second row seats (or was it front row?) were worth every dime they said. $120 a seat if I recall correctly.

A recent article in The Economists outlines the costs associated with putting on these productions, and frankly I was somewhat floored. Shrek: The Musical, currently running, purportedly cost investors 20 million to stage. The revived West Side Story cost 14 million. A resurrected Hair was put together for under six million, but you don’t have to do too much math to understand why those Broadway ticket prices were so hefty.

I used to think, too, that the actors and actresses liked Broadway as a place to hone their skills, and interact with audiences, but guess what? I think they like the paychecks just as much.

Here are ticket prices for a few of today's current shows.

West Side Story $45 – $120 Yes, Leonard Bernstein's musical re-telling of old Bill's Romeo & Juliet is back.

Mary Poppins $30 – $120 Ashley Brown, Gavin Lee in Edwardian London; the umbrella is still magical.

Memphis $40 – $125 Chad Kimball and Monego Glover. A black singer and white radio DJ come together in 1950’s Memphis.

Mama Mia $60 – $120 Critics give it a 3.1, audiences a 4.6 Four good seats: $486

A Steady Rain $85 – $128.50 Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman star as Chicago police officers struggling to reconcile a tragic event. Craig, most noted for his admirably presented James Bond, is performing in his first Broadway show for a limited time only. A first class evening for four will cost you just under $600, not including dinner or parking.

Actually, production costs might explain why a lot of Vegas shows have such steep ticket prices for a ninety minute or two hour event. When magician Steve Weyrick a number of years ago opened at the Sahara I heard that the casino spent 25 million dollars just to build the elaborate set where he performed. Sadly, the night I saw him there were only 30 or so in the audience. Not a strong ROI for the Sahara.

If you really want to see a Broadway musical, I'm hearing pretty good reviews from people who've seen Jersey Boys. Unlike some of what's playing now, this one is being sold out week after week, 101.2% last week and 4.8 out of 5 stars by audiences, despite what the critics say. The cheap seats start at $95, so you might want to go for broke and get the $125 seats if you can. And no, it is not about my brothers and I, though we did enjoy being Jersey boys while growing up.

Ever seen the lights on Broadway? What did you think? Now you know what they mean when they say, "It's showtime!"

Callouts: the Quiz

In magazine or book publishing, a callout is a quote or fragment of text extracted from an article that has been set apart in a larger or contrasting font. It is often used as a design element to break up a page while also serving as a mechanism for hooking a reader more deeply into the story.

What follows is a multiple choice quiz. See if you can match the callout to the magazine it was extracted from.

1. “Publishers only want to save on printing costs and lock in a path from their hard disk to your wallet.”
a. Wired
b. TNR (The New Republic)
c. Technology Review

2. The management of the human genome should not be left to powerful business players, lawyers or scientists to resolve alone.
a. Wired
b. Popular Science
c. Technology Review

3. RCA used its patent portfolio to quash competition and lay the foundation for a broadcasting monopoly.
a. Wired
b. Technology Review
c. Popular Mechanics

4. Craigslist is Firmly Stuck in 1999, Just the way Craig and Co. Like It
a. Wired
b. Technology Review
c. The New Republic

5. Entire markets have been transformed by products that trade power or fidelity for low price, flexibility, and convenience. –Erin Biba
a. Wired
b. Popular Science
c. Technology Review

6. “We’re having many fewer accidents, but the ones we do have are being caused by threats much harder to detect,” says James Pardee, the director of the FAA’s new Accident Investigation and Prevention Service.
a. Wired
b. Popular Mechanics
c. Popular Science

7. A stripper turned screenwriter pens a flick that’s taking off.
a. Wired
b. The New Republic
c. Harvard Business Review

8. As construction on the Burj Dubai began – with one floor added every three days – the client kept asking: Can it be taller? Taller still?
a. Wired
b. Popular Science
c. Harvard Business Review

9. The demo was not going well. Again.
a. Wired
b. Technology Review
c. Harvard Business Review

10. People who have mastered their emotions are able to roll with the changes. They don’t panic.
a. Wired
b. Technology Review
c. Harvard Business Review

Well, did any of the callouts make you want to read the articles? If so, here are the answers.

1: Technology Review (letters to the editor page); 2: Technology Review; 3: Technology Review; 4: Wired; 5: Wired; 6: Popular Mechanics; 7: Wired; 8: Wired; 9: Wired; 10: Harvard Business Review

In the meantime, have a great day. May your inner sun be ever rising. But if there's a temporary storm, roll with the changes and don't panic.

And if you like quizzes like this, maybe we'll do it again sometime.

A Moment's Reflection

SHORT STORY MONDAY

"All too often life is but a tragic mirror that disassembles our best intentions." ~A. Sourbet

A Moment's Reflection

He woke that morning with the pain stronger, not sharp but throbbing dully the length of his lower jaw to where it meets the hinge. His head ached slightly from the pressure on his inner ear, the nerve hurting all the way up alongside his skull. He was aware also of the persistent ache in his lower back where he had pinched a nerve two summers before while moving a table in the basement.

But for the moment he was happy. Piano music rolled over him in trills, a ginger introduction to the new day.

The girl finished three Chopin Etudes and then put her hands into her lap, folding them together within the folds of her dress. She bowed her head slightly, waiting for his response.

"Beautiful. Really beautiful, dear," he said, stepping toward her and placing a glass of icewater onto a small trivet on the corner of the piano. He threw his head back and laughed.

"What," she said.

"This is such a pleasant surprise, this is. Having you home with us again is such a lovely surprise for all of us."

"Oh, go on." She lifted her hands and stretched her fingers, then made two fists and put them back in her lap.

"Play Mozart."

"Of course. Of course." She stood up, pushing the stool away with the backs of her legs. "You play."

He turned and inadvertently caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He was not intending to see himself at that moment and was taken aback at how much older he looked. How grey he had become, and so stupidly stooped.

"What is it, Father? Are you in pain?"

Heino @ the Red Mug

If you're at all acquainted with the Twin Ports art scene you will no doubt be aware of the Red Mug, a gallery/coffee house in the basement of the old Superior City Hall. The operative word is cool, or maybe warm (the vibes), or chic. One patron here called it "an artsy little coffee house." And tonight, we've got a special event on tap... an art opening for John Heino's photography exhibition called Fleeting: Excerpts from Infinity.

Heino is probably better known for three decades of keyboard antics with the Centerville All Stars, as well as the original song compositions that flooded the tracks of his first CD, Not Dead Yet. (He's written more than 300 songs not yet in circulation.)

It only makes sense that the mood being established here weaves both art and music. From 5-7 a local jazz team called Perfectini created two hours of sweet melodious riffs to fill in the background. From 7-9 the All Stars then assembled to perform a two hour set called Centerville Unplugged.

Perfectini is composed of Robert Linnemann on sax and Darin Bergsven, electric guitar. I had heard about town that they were special and now I know why, their soothing sounds offering hints of Miles and Wes Montgomery or Billy Bernard.

Of Heino's photography Lance Coultier, lead singer for the All Stars said,"Wonderful, gosh, I'm very impressed. And I do like the titles for the pieces."

The titles are quite entertaining actually. Splash, Composition D, Red Thread, Fish Camp, Multigrain, After Flow 30, Leave Them Kids Alone, Abode of the Vital Force and more. O.K., you get the picture. This guy is having fun. But he's not just funnin' us. It's serious work and a joy to engage.

I asked Centerville guitarist George Zissos what he thought of John's photography and he said, "I didn't know about this side of John. I'm amazed."

"He's got an eye for the right shot, especially the color photos. I could never take a photo like that," said Gary Koski while pointing to a spectacular image titled Manitoba Twilight.

The artist's reception here is nice, but even a slow roll through his online gallery at JohnHeino.com will give you a pretty good picture of what you missed.

Ansel Adams purportedly stated that "twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." The 35 images here challenge this limitation and I'm confident you'll enjoy seeing the world through this particular lens. It's all good.

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh

"If a man is worth knowing at all, he is worth knowing well." ~Alexander Smith

A book that has garnered a fair share of buzz this year is the six volume Vincent Van Gogh: The Letters, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luitjen and Nienke Bakker. It is a work into which a team of scholars invested fifteen years of their lives to produce.

This is not the first attempt to translate the world's most famous impressionist's letters. An earlier English translation appeared in 1952. This one, however, includes the accompanying drawings which appear on many of the sheafs. And to the delight of art lovers, the results are accessible online.

David Ng of the L.A. Times introduces his readers to this find in a Nov. 3 story: "File this under impossibly cool art websites. In what is perhaps the first project of its kind, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has put English-language translations of 902 of Vincent van Gogh's personal letters on line."

I myself got turned on to this site via an article in the current Economist.

THE story of Vincent van Gogh’s life is more heartbreaking, and heart-lifting, than the romantic myth that has enshrouded him for decades. It is told, in his own words and works, in the six-volume “Vincent van Gogh: The Letters”. His 819 surviving letters (and the 83 addressed to him) form the core.

The site itself enables you to dig with a variety of tools. For example, you can go chronological and read the letters by periods of his life, from the Hague to London to Paris etc. Or you can read the letters by whom he corresponded with, from brother Theo to Emile Bernard to Betsy Tersteeg to Paul Gaugin. If preferred, read the letters by place... and finally, see the letters themselves with sketches.

The site has keyword search capabilities as well, so you can look for themes. But it is not a perfect search tool yet. For example, I typed in the word "pain" and within seconds I was delivered links to 88 letters where he mentions pain, which is more than 10% of his correspondence. But when I examined the first letter, it had highlighted the first four letters of the word paint or painter. In other words, 10% of his letters mention painting. No surprise there. These were not about pain.

Not to let go of it, I did a search for the word suffering. And this time there are 94 letters found, even more than in the search for pain. When you hold your cursor over the link, a little box opens and extracts the sentence in which the word that you have searched for appears. A quick review of ten of these showed that he was often conveying to brother or friend or relative the sufferings of others. Examples, from letters to brother Theo:

...him as a worker with signs of sorrow and suffering and fatigue on his face, without form or glory...

...finally be an end to that long and terrible suffering. Goodbye Theo, write soon, old boy, if you...

Oh, how much sadness and sorrow and suffering there is in the world, both in the open...

...and what shall I say? It was a long and terrible suffering that was his lot.

...and sensitivity in her; one can see that suffering and going through hard times have refined her...

But sometimes it is of himself he speaks:

...it’s the shortest hours in which one dies of suffering...I’m broken, I can’t go on; it doesn’t...

...feel cowardly in the face of anguish and suffering – more cowardly than is justified, and it’s...
...I have, I think of so many other artists suffering mentally, and I tell myself that this doesn’t...
...I am not indifferent, and in the very suffering religious thoughts sometimes console me a great...

The website -- vangoghletters.org -- is a treasure... and it's free.

If reading letters is not your thing, but you still want a portrait of the artist, he did many, possibly more than thirty, and every one is wonderfully evocative. You can find a very nice collection of Van Gogh self portraits here on Wikipedia. Each one is worth further study and every picture tells a story.

Portrait of Van Gogh at top is from the Whitney collection.

I Live My Life In Growing Orbits

Are people into poetry less than they used to be? Or has poetry always been something only for the few? Since I never lived in a previous age, and am uncertain whether there is any research data on this, I will assume nothing except to note that somehow poetry, like opera or abstract painting perhaps, is something a lot of people don't get into.

As for me, I enjoy poetry. And one of my favorite poets is Rainer Maria Rilke. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Rilke, followed by one of my favorite poems of his.

Rainer Maria Rilke (also Rainer Maria von Rilke) (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926) is considered one of the German language's greatest 20th-century poets. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist poets.

He wrote in both verse and a highly lyrical prose. His two most famous verse sequences are the Sonnets to Orpheus and the Duino Elegies; his two most famous prose works are the Letters to a Young Poet and the semi-autobiographical The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. He also wrote more than 400 poems in French, dedicated to his homeland of choice, the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

I Live My Life In Growing Orbits

I live my life in growing orbits,
which move out over the things of this world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt.

I am circling around God,
around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for a thousand years.
And I still do not know
if I am a Falcon,
or a storm,
or a great song.

~ R. M. Rilke