Working for the Critics – a guest blogger

Guest blogger today is Steve May. Steve is a missionary, a pastor, and a writer.  He’s also my son.

Working for the Critics

Early reviews of some of the books we now consider classics.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman: ”Whitman is as unacquainted with art as a hog is with mathematics.” –The London Critic, 1855

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: ”Will appeal to sentimental cynics, cynical sentimentalists…Readers less easily thrown off their trolley will still prefer Hans Andersen.” –Time Magazine, 1937

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: “The only consolation which we have in reflecting upon [this book] is that it will never be generally read.” –James Lorimer, North British Review, 1847

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner: ”The final blow-up of what was once a remarkable, if minor, talent.” –The New Yorker, 1936

If you write for the critics or work for the critics or preach for the critics, you’ll end up frustrated and disappointed. Critics often fail to recognize greatness, even when it’s under their nose.

That’s why we must memorize — and learn to live by — Paul’s words: Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

To find out more about Steve May and Project Brasil or to subscribe to his Monday Memo, visit www.stevemay.com.

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From Little Women to Baseball Cards

While enjoying TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar (see previous post) I caught the 1933 version of Louisa Mae Alcott’s Little Women, starring Katherine Hepburn as Jo March.  Ms. Hepburn, one of my favorite actors, was young in 1933 and really chewed the scenery trying to pull off the character of the tom boy sister in this rendition of the 1868 novel.  But more about that some other time.  What caught my attention as I watched was that she was also chewing gum. “Is this out of character?” I asked myself. “Had chewing gum even been invented during the Civil War?”

Not knowing the answers to my questions, I went to tried and true Google.com.  It seems chewing gum has existed for over 5,000 years. Five-thousand-year-old gum, with tooth imprints, has been found in archeological digs in Finland.  The chaw was made out of bark tar and thought to have medicinal advantages.

How did pre-historic man find out it had medicinal advantages? I can’t imagine. Perhaps some caveman thought to himself, “I’m really feeling lousy. I think I’ll chew some bark tar . . . ahh, that’s better.”  But I digress. Back to chewing gum.

We were all told at one time or another that we shouldn’t swallow our gum, lest it stay in our stomach for 7 years. Not true. That is an old wives tale used by mothers for centuries to scare their kids. Gum will travel out of the body just like any other food. However, gum base cannot be digested, so the trip may take a little longer. But not 7 years.

Fleer invented the first bubble gum. It was pink because that was the only food coloring they had on hand at the time.  But this gum was not a success because it was too sticky.  In 1928, a Fleer’s employee discovered a sticky-free bubble gum by accident, as happens with many inventions. The company named it Dubble Bubble and it stuck around for several years. (excuse the pun.)  In 1951 TOPPS added baseball cards to their gum packages, giving Dubble Bubble significant competition.

Chewing gum has brought humanity a  lot of enjoyment with other side benefits.  On an airplane, the chewing can keep your ears from popping. Gum decreases the tears while you are cutting onions. After a meal, gum helps prevent heartburn. It has long been used as a breath-freshener. One of the first gums marketed with this in mind was Adam’s Clove Gum with the slogan, “It takes your breath away.”

Chewing gum has its critics also. Almost unanimously the criticism is that chewers do not dispose of the product appropriately.

Many teachers do not allow gum in the classroom. Chewing gum, the product and the act, is illegal in Singapore. Since 2004 gum of therapeutic value is allowed. Gum can be bought only with a doctor’s prescription. The Soviet Union had a ban on gum for many years, lifted in 1976.

With satisfaction, I clicked on the red X and left the site, knowing more than I ever needed to know about chewing gum.

Thank you, Mr. Google, wherever you are. There’s no limit to your knowledge.

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My Love/Hate Relationship with Television

Some folks may say I watch way too much television.  I might say that myself from time to time.  But the truth is, I have been entertained by what came out of that black box from the time it was a 1952 10-inch snowy tube, until now — when it might be 50 inches wide and weigh 5 pounds.  (The latter doesn’t describe the TV that is in my living room. It has a nice large 28-inch screen, but it weighs 200-300 pounds.  Just ask my sons and grandsons who moved it in for me.)

I still love television, and would probably watch more,  it’s just that much of it is no longer entertaining. I do not like reality TV. I tried Survivor the first season it was on, lo those many years ago, but when they were forced to eat gross things to “survive”, I decided that was too much reality for me.

I love to watch game shows and situation comedies. But nowadays most of the “game shows” are actually reality TV (see above paragraph), and most of the sit-coms are inane.  (I like to see if I can answer the questions on Jeopardy and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. I don’t want to hear the sexual innuendos on Baggage or The Newlywed Game.

I don’t watch blood and gore, so that eliminates many of the current drama series and hospital-based shows.

I still enjoy courtroom drama, Law and Order, Harry’s Law and The Good Wife and cozy mysteries like The Mentalist. I also like Parenthood, though it is a little ‘soapy.’  Notice a couple of those are missing from the current network line-ups — they can be found in re-runs on cable.

A small aside: I find it amusing that over the years some almost cliched events crop up on television dramas.  For instance:

If they order carry-out, it’s always Chinese and they always eat with chopsticks.

The female police officers always have long beautiful hair that they never contain in any way. (However the perp never takes the opportunity to grab her by the hair, like one might think.)

If a man and woman are attracted to each other, they start ripping clothes off regardless of time and place. Slow steamy lovemaking has been out for several seasons.

If there is a funeral, it is always held at the graveside and someone always plays Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.  (In New Orleans? Seriously?)

And so I continue to watch, hoping things will get better.  This season, with the help of Netflix, I will be viewing Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a really good show that lasted only one season, and West Wing. It’s been several years since I’ve seen this excellent drama series starring Charlie Sheen’s Daddy.

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31 Days of Oscar

Sunday afternoon is my usual day to post but today there is stiff competition for my time and attention.

On February 1, Turner Classic Movies began their 31 Days of Oscar Celebration. It’s rather self explanatory: for 31 days they will show films that are Oscar winners or nominees. Since this is year number 84 for the Academy Awards, there are many films to choose from.  A lot of awards are given, both technical and directorial as well as acting.

This afternoon’s offering was Mr. Roberts, a favorite from 1955 starring Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and a young Jack Lemmon.  This was originally a novel by Thomas Heggen adapted into a Broadway play by Heggen and Joshua Logan before it became a movie. It’s the story of Lieutenant (J.G.) Doug Roberts (Fonda), stuck on a cargo ship during World War II with a Captain (Cagney) who is a tyrant.   Mr. Roberts wants to get into the war, serve on a destroyer, but the Captain will never approve a transfer. This movie is funny, touching and a little sad.  The supporting cast of sailors includes Ward Bond and a crew that could be identified as “young actors who will later be big in television.” Though I consider Mr. Roberts an outstanding movie it did not receive an Oscar nomination. Jack Lemmon won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and that’s how the movie qualified for the 31 Days Celebration

On tap for the rest of the day today is Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, The Music Man, with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones (and five-year-old Ron Howard), and My Fair Lady, featuring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

For good movie viewing without commercials, Turner Classic Movies is the place.  They really are usually classics.  To see the line up for 31 Days of Oscar, visit 31Days.tcm.com

The 2013 Academy Awards air February 24 on ABC.

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Dorothy Parker, writer

A few weeks ago when I was reviewing the books I had read in 2012, I mentioned Dorothy Parker, a writer from the early 20th Century.  “She was a poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit and wisecracks … ” (Wikipedia).  In that earlier post I had meant to mention her most quoted poem: Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.

I first heard those lines 50-60 years ago and only recently learned that there was someone to attribute them to.  I assumed they were in the large body of work credited to “Anonymous” or “Unknown.”

Marilyn Monroe almost quoted this poem in the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. What MM said was, “Men aren’t attentive to girls who wear glasses.”  I don’t know why the words were changed. It might have been in the character of the dumb blonde Ms. Monroe was playing, or the writers couldn’t get permission to use it, or “make passes” was one of the questionable phrases the Legion of Decency was censoring that year.

But back to Dorothy Parker.  In her time she wrote for The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Vogue.  Her short stories were gripping and her book reviews ruthless. Her poetry often dark with a hint of suicidal thoughts. Her double entendres were usually obscene.  During her few years as a screenwriter she received two Academy Award nominations.

Here are some tidbits from her work:

“If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.”
“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
“Miss Hepburn runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.” (A review of a Katherine Hepburn play.)
“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”
“I hate writing. I love having written.”

The Dorothy Parker Society has established a website with virtual tour of Dorothy’s home and favorite haunts in New York City. That can be found at www.dorothyparker.com.  You can find “all poems by Dorothy Parker” (that’s what they said) at www.poemhunter.com.

She was truly one of the most interesting characters of the Roaring Twenties era. She died in 1967 at the age of 74.

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