Under a Red Roof

Green Porno

November 11, 2009 in Admiring, Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | Permalink

Hi friends – welcome to a mid-week make-up for missing last week’s Spotlight. Though I sat and sat at the keyboard, no flashes of brilliance came my way, and thus, no post.

I recently took one of those magazine quizzes telling me what I should do with my life. I know, I know. I’m a sucker for them. The result? Pursue a career in writing or some other creative endeavor where I can work independently and further my knowledge of the world. Well, hot damn, I’m already doing that! Thank you for the positive reinforcement.

To be quite honest, I am a knowledge junkie. I love learning about all manner of things – people, birds, flowers, bees, history, geography, you name it. Well, maybe not sports (this is always the hardest category in Trivial Pursuit), except tennis. I like tennis, other sports are beyond my capacity for understanding and enjoyment; though I do admire anyone who is really good at a particular sport, born for it, so to speak, like Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, or Michael Jordan – these people make me cry with admiration. This is also true of people being born for their time, like all of the fellas of World War II: Patton, Churchill, Roosevelt (his wife was pretty terrific, too), and even the wicked ones, Rommel and Hitler, for without them, we would not have known the superior logic and strengths of the former (and our brave countrymen), would we?

So to knowledge, made even more lovely when it is fun. That’s what I’m finally getting at – fun facts. It can be in the form of trivia, tongue twisters, or Isabella Rossellini. If you’ve seen what I’m getting at, you already know. But let me digress for a moment. Isabella Rossellini. I’ve had a girl-crush on her for ages. She’s so fascinating, has a divine voice (I could listen to it all day), and beautiful features – eyes, skin, and lovely lips with just the right shade of lipstick, always (see above photo). Not to mention that certain je ne sais quoi that her mother had as well. Lucky lady.

Now we are the lucky ones to benefit from her love of learning and film making. Have you ever wondered about the mating habits of bees, starfish, shrimp, or maybe even a preying mantis? Do you have two minutes? Isabella delves into the lives of all of these creatures and more via very short films, “becoming” each creature and showing how they live (sometimes die) and reproduce. They are funny, fact-filled, and lively jaunts, but not for the squeamish, easily offended, or children. It’s not called Green Porno for nothing. If I were a knowledge seeker, I would watch and learn. Watch for yourself: Green Porno.

Tags: Movies

Herb and Dorothy

October 16, 2009 in Admiring, Inspiring, Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | 2 comments

I am spelling out the following number for emphasis: Four thousand seven hundred eighty-two. This set of digits is hardly impressive when one considers population, drops of rain on my red roof, or annual salaries in America. However, when one ponders the fact that it is in relation to how many works of art were amassed by Herb and Dorothy Vogel in their tiny New York apartment over the course of forty years, then it expands into something nearly unfathomable. Holy smokes – 4,782!

The absolutely adorable couple (they still hold hands and find each other cute), a now retired librarian at the Brooklyn Library and a postal worker, began collecting in order to follow what was, at least initially, Herb’s passion. He worked nights at the post office, would sleep a few hours, and then go to the library and read everything he could about art, as well as take a painting class or two. Dorothy, wanting to share in her husband’s interest, decided she would paint, too. Soon, the walls of their apartment were covered in their work, but then, in 1962, after realizing they could live humbly off of Dorothy’s salary and purchase art with Herb’s, they marched forth with gusto, visiting galleries and studios all over the city and purchasing inexpensive works by unknown artists.

Their criteria were simple – they must like the piece, be able to afford it, and it had to be carried via foot, bus, or taxi to fit in their apartment. They weren’t looking to collect anything just for the sake of it; they had to love it as well, and love they did. They covered every possible surface with art: walls, ceiling, floor, amassing piles and rows, squeezing it in among their fish, cats, and turtles, a wonder of physics if the truth be told. Dorothy remarked, “Not even a toothpick could be squeezed into the apartment.” She was right.

In a bold and quite generous move, the couple decided to donate their entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the site where it all began, the first museum they visited together as husband and wife. Of all the museums clamoring for their collection, all of them willing to pay princely sums, I might add, the Vogel’s chose the National Gallery because quite simply, as Americans, it belongs to everyone. The works will never be sold and anyone can visit, for free, furthering their belief that wonderful art can be both affordable and accessible, just as it was to them.

It is a marvelous portrait of love – for each other and modern art. It made me weep at how having a benevolent spirit and following our passion is rarely about how much money we have but what we choose to do with it.

Tags: Movies

Inspirational Men

October 2, 2009 in Inspiring, Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

Two great movies for you today, gems received via our Netflix queue. Oh heavens, please don’t you ever go away Netflix. What on earth would these two Portland film addicts do without you?

Let’s start with fashion and the man who works magic with red, Valentino Garavani. Forty-five years of gorgeous gowns with equally gorgeous women donning them. While I hardly have enough moolah to be able to purchase a couture gown such as these (nor an occasion to which I’d wear it), it was a sheer delight to observe a bit of the process that brings them to life. A dream in a man’s head, a sketch, and a klatch of women with talents I can only aspire to. No sewing machines, no fancy equipment, just divine talent with a needle and thread.

Follow bits of Valentino’s life since launching his career in the 1960s: the bankruptcy, the huge success, the sale of his company in the 90s, the dresses (oh the dresses!), the pugs, the houses, and one very sweet, loving, and patient man with my favorite name in the Italian language, Giancarlo, Valentino’s partner for more than fifty years.

It is a love story about style, fabric, and men who share the same exquisite passion to make women feel a bit more beautiful and, of course, glamorous. There are lots of surprises, and I shed a few tears, inspired by the drive and success of these lively and talented Italians.

And now for a little something from Italy’s neighbor, France. It is quite a different story, yet it rings of the same truths, that passion, dedication, and perseverance bring sublime rewards.

It’s a story that begins in a dimly lit dentist’s waiting room, when a young man with an aching tooth spies, in a magazine, an advertisement for the yet to be built Twin Towers. A tight rope walker, he decides, then and there, that he will walk between the towers, drawing, rather symbolically, a crisp line between the buildings. Thus, he sets forth on a plan that will take him thousands of miles and hundreds of feet above New York city.

Though the fact that he walks the tightrope is a foregone conclusion, it is a delightful journey to follow the route to his achievement. There’s footage of the preparations, including his victories over Notre Dame and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. As well, we meet his accomplices, friends and protectors, eager and willing to pay the high price to accomplish one man’s dream. Another joy to watch such determination and dedication to a particular and quite electrifying goal.

Tags: Documentaries, Movies

The Beat that My Heart Skipped

March 20, 2009 in Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

Ooh, this is an interesting one about the transformational power of art, in particular, music. A man, Tom, played perfectly by the dreamy Romain Duris, is a bit of a creep. He gets in bar fights and uses women. He’s in real estate, but not what one typically thinks. His is the shady underbelly of the business in Paris, where he and his colleagues have no qualms about making deals in the night or using unorthodox means to entice people to leave their homes. He’s his father’s son.

In stark contrast, his deceased mother was a rather accomplished classical pianist, and one night he, rather serendipitously, meets her former agent, where he, surprisingly, remembers Tom and his talent as a young man and suggests an audition. Tom need only pick the date.

What ensues is Tom’s progression from thug to real man. He begins to distance himself from that which is most destructive, making choices more akin to a man of integrity, with some missteps, too. He’s not perfect.

Now to what I love most about this movie – Tom’s deep connection to music of all kinds. He’s always listening, but it is more than that – it’s a visceral and emotional experience. He puts everything he has into the listening and the playing. In many ways, after that fortuitous meeting with his mother’s former agent, it becomes his compass, leading him to a better life.

Tags: Movies

The Accidental Tourist

February 27, 2009 in Spotlighting, Watching, Writing by Colleen | 1 comment

Here’s another quirky film, my friends, The Accidental Tourist. Boy, oh, boy do I love this one.

The story centers on Macon Leary, an often mystified and somewhat cold man who lost his son to murder and his wife to the ensuing, yet quiet, upheaval. It seems he will never exit the rather stodgy Leary groove of safety, sameness and unsociability, until…of course until. There’s always that. Otherwise, there would be no story. Until Macon’s dog, Edward (an adorable Corgi), still grieving the loss of his son, starts biting people.

Enter Muriel Pritchett, dog trainer extraordinaire and, quite possibly, his polar opposite. Her life is anything but “Leary Safe.” She lives in a rough neighborhood, has a son allergic to practically everything under the sun, wears quirky clothing combinations (like my sweet friend Bridget), and sports the longest fake nails known to man. Not to mention the fact she is utterly and completely forthright, giving him her telephone number to, “Call. Just talk. Don’t you get the urge to do that?” Rather bewildered, he tells her, “Not really.”

As Muriel enters his life, Macon slowly transforms, going from a physically and emotionally rigid man, speaking in staccato tones, to someone who smiles, laughs, and even dances. But will it last? For the Leary groove is a rather potent one.

Watch it and see, and when you do, you’ll also witness the the Learys and their awful sense of direction, alphabetizing the pantry, expressing concern for properly sized envelopes, the consumption of GORP (or glop, depending), and discussing their work: “I make bottlecaps. It isn’t half as exciting as it sounds.” The movie, however, is – full of laughs, crazy moments, and, of course, a few tears.

Tags: Movies