Americana

One  - one - copy of a remarkable document survived the Holocaust: the minutes of the Wannsee Conference at which the Final Solution was delineated and pledged to. I became aware of this reading The Folded Clock - an unusual diary/memoir by the author Heidi Julavits. 

The document outlines in great detail - like board game rules  -  who will be allowed to live and die; how they will be moved; who will kill them; where they will be killed. (Like Thomas Jefferson before them, every effort is made to have their ultimate evil deeds done at their direction, but outside of their view.)  Some "mixed-bloods" can be saved by their attachment to a "German". However, even they will be killed if they look like a Jew or act like one.

It got me thinking about this mash-up of nationality with genetics and religion. In Nazi Germany, a Jew could not also be a German.  How is this? Is this what explains the blindness to Colin Kaepernick's patriotism? Or the refusal to acknowledge Dreamers as Americans in every way except on paper? 

Current events have prompted many to ask what an American looks like. But in this we have a question that has no answer because being an American is a state of mind. My being an American is not tied to the texture of my hair or my spiritual beliefs. Nor is it contained by the boundary of 50 states. Wherever I go, I will be one. Wherever I came from, I am one. Which must mean that anyone can become one - wherever they came from, whatever they look like. It simply must. 

Book Review - My Life with Mr S

In this 2002 memoir, Frank Sinatra's valet of over a decade spills the beans. Or does he? This isn't a gossip book. It pretty much just adds color to the image we already know: talent, women, gangsters, politicians and ultimately seclusion as Sinatra's Hollywood became a thing of the past. 

This is a wonderful time capsule of Hollywood as it names names and addresses. We learn about Mia Farrow's hippie-ness and longing for children, and Marilyn Monroe's poor grooming habits and lack of interest in material things. (Which explains the pictures of her empty bedroom at her death and why she moved to that house.) The allure of Ava Gardener and Humphrey Bogart as well as the shadiness of Joe Kennedy senior is palpable when told by someone who served them drinks and pool towels.  

And Johnny Fontaine, the singer given the Vegas gig by the mob in "The Godfather" film? Yeah, that's totally the Sinatra story.  There may not have been a decapitated horse, but he dealt closely with killers so there was probably a bloody something left somewhere. 

A good read if you are a romantic for Old Hollywood. 

Film Review - Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Poppins Returns SPOILERS

I cannot recommend this. 

So sorry. 

The original was about the sour bite beneath the sweetness of life. The medicine needs sugar and laughing too much might make you sick. Losing a loved one or a house is not needed to ramp up the stakes in life. Think about it: did the Banks family have any serious practical worries? No. The original film is about perspective and attitude - even when you have the elements to make a good life. It is a very pretty picture and some scenes captured the essence. However, there was not enough variety in the score. Angela Landsbury and Meryl Streep should have switched roles. (Can someone please insist that Streep never appear in turban again?) Miranda and Blunt were underserved by the script. They could have innovated a bit more - maybe this time dance with puffins instead of penguins? 

Finally - and this in my book is unforgiveable - I don’t know how ANY writer who loved the original could base the climax and cheer of this sequel on Michael NOT having giving the tuppence to the bird lady.
I wrote this a week ago. Poppins is my favorite Disney film and I admit to being protective and picky, but I think this is a fair assessment. 

 Perhaps some things are masterpieces of their time  and do not need to be re-made. 

Lord help me when Toy Story 4 comes out.