I was on a movie message board, and the question came up? Why was Marlon Brando such an unhappy man?
I answered, wound up going on for a while. Since I think I made a few points relative to me, I'll copy and paste my post here:
I don't think he ever found lasting happiness. I also somewhat
believe he never would have found it, period. No matter where or what he
did.
First and foremost? He was very sensitive. A literal 'empathy rod'. I
know something about this. Share your deepest pains with me? I'm liable
to wind up more depressed than you. Because, A) I now 'feel your pain',
and B) I feel pity for you going through it, but there is no pity for
me! And OK, I'm not that important, got the memo. Which doesn't
alleviate my grief any. And my only real defense is to avoid connecting
with volatile people. Unfortunately, I have more than a couple of them
in my life....family, childhood friends, etc. Not to mention I
occasionally 'take a chance' and wind up back in the frying pan of
someones painful 'drama'.
Of course playing around with beautiful women and having enough cash
to keep me in neverending 'creature comforts' would have been nice,
but, I can't really complain.
And secondly? Assuming I'm correct about him being my sensitive
'brother from another mother'? There is this strange paradox. Imagine
you are passionate about an art form, whether it's music, comedy,
painting, acting, etc. A fire burns brilliantly within you, and you show
incredible intuitive talent. You happen to be in the right place at the
right time, and are lauded for your every move along the way, including
ridiculous acclaim and success. (Let's face it, anyone familiar with
Marlons life knows his 'starving' artist period was short lived. Even
before "Streetcar" he was experiencing success). Anyway, imagine this
'burning passion' coupled with all that success, and all the accolades?
It must've been crazy exciting being Marlon Brando from say, 1945 to the
late 50's. I think to mention Marlon had an unbelievable run of
'personal happiness' during this period is probably an understatement.
Then, almost as quick as it came? That burning fire?
It just goes out. Just leaves. The creative 'passion' just
disappears. That can be a staggering personal blow. Kind of like having a
terminal case of 'writers block', but they still want you to write a
book a year. And what's more? Everyone still thinks the books are good,
if not great. And sometimes they even are. But you know, deep down
inside, they really don't come from the heart, that burning passion,
anymore. So, to you, your books are frauds, pale imitations.
Technically, you write superb, but your hearts not in it. And you can't,
for the life of you, understand how everyone can't see that.
That can be very painful to a very sensitive person.
I think Marlon only really 'found it again' two times after the late
50's, early 60's. Once was "Burn", and the other was "Tango".
Even the "Godfather", where he has great moments? It's an ensemble
piece. Sure, the Vito character set's the tone, but it is surrounded by
well written/directed/acted 'vignettes', including Marlon's
performance. And he had a lot of fun on the shoot, that helped. But as
great as he was in the film, I'm not sure he was as connected to "Vito"
the way he was to "Terry Malloy", or "Paul" from "Tango". Not in the
terms of passionately going to that deep, dark place he once could.
I think there were times in Marlons life when he thought he might
be, even could be, THE WIZARD. But most of the time, he knew he was 'the
little old man behind the curtain'.
Which doesn't mean he wasn't the WIZARD. But if he 'knew' he wasn't,
that can be very unhappy. Fulfilling everyone else's expectations (and
sometimes not), but rarely fulfilling your own.
And one things for certain. Regardless of happiness fulfilled or
otherwise, he lived an extraordinary life. He was a helluva talent, and
an interesting guy, however imperfect he was.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Rolling Stone Jahar cover article synopsis
Rolling Stone magazine was one of my favorites as a teen into my 20's.
As a musician, I kept up on what was hot and what wasn't up until about
20 years ago. My taste in music changed, or more accurately, the 'Hip
Hop/R&B' fusion which now dominates pop music passed me by, so most
music mags became irrelevant to me.
They do, however, have a long history of doing social stories, usually with a liberal slant, but not always. For instance, PJ O'Rourke, an avowed libertarian, ran their Foreign Affairs desk for over a decade.
I do enjoy Matt Taibbi's explanations of the marriage between government and Wall St, although they are rather long and snarky. BTW, Obama has not gotten a pass from him at all.
My niece and nephew (12 and 10) got me a one year subscription to RS about two years ago as a Christmas gift. I did renew it last year, it was really cheap. I think less than 15 bucks. Eventually, probably not long, the print mag will go under.
Once more, I think the glamor cover was in bad taste.
Now, to the article (which I read online, haven't received it yet). There is nothing really new here. It just describes in greater detail what we already have heard.
I'll give my synopsis, far shorter than the article itself, which is loaded with anecdotes from those who knew him.
To all who knew him, this Jahar kid was a well adjusted, well liked Americanized immigrant. However, there were family problems. In fact the article focuses much on a divide between the father and older brother as to who was the acting 'patriarch'. The father comes off in the piece quite like the Uncle, who condemned the boys immediately after the bombing. Just a hard working guy trying to make a go of things, but without the same financial success. The Mom, however, seems quite dominant. The older boy was the apple of her eye, and with his boxing success, the family 'Golden Child'.
The older boy never assimilated like Jahar seemed to, and clearly had a few issues all along. I would almost equate him to a heavy smoker who quits himself, then becomes a pain in the ass to every smoker on the planet. Quite frankly, he's the author of his own mess. His own big mouth derailed his boxing prospects, and out of anger embraced radical Islam. He remained the family 'stud', with the exception of the Father, who didn't like it at all. The Mother, in turn, nurtured this. She, BTW, seems like a bit of a nut herself. Very outspoken, once upon a time into extreme American fashion, then following the son into radical Islam, yet arrested for shoplifting clothes, then running out on the charges. A real extreme personality.
In fact, this is essentially the point of the article, I believe. This entire family was chock full of 'all or nothing' personalities. They were either totally for something, or completely against things, irrationally so.
Driven by anger, even rage. Jahar seemed to be the exception, but clearly wasn't
The article does make the casual connection to the older one being involved in a homicide, which, if so, seemed to be a result of his friend 'dissing' Islam. They also point to growing evidence this man was quite well known as a radical in his native land, and the Mom is likely the same.
In the end, this Jahar appears to have been fully committed for quite some time, yet adept at hiding it. I equate it to the 9/11 terrorists, who were at titty bars one day, on planes slashing peoples throats the next. It seems the tragedy came together quickly. I get the idea the brother said "OK, it's time now", and that's all there was to it. Jahar just flew right into action as his own belief system told him to.
It doesn't so much sympathize at all with this kid. The scariest part is, the article's intention is to find out where this mans head was at, and can't come up with any rational answers. He fooled everybody.
BTW, much is made in the article of Jahar assimilating seamlessly into adolescent life in Cambridge, noted for it's liberalism and diversity. It's also worth noting the article hints these were nothing more than malcontents who used radical Islam as their 'Avenue' to vent their anger.
They do, however, have a long history of doing social stories, usually with a liberal slant, but not always. For instance, PJ O'Rourke, an avowed libertarian, ran their Foreign Affairs desk for over a decade.
I do enjoy Matt Taibbi's explanations of the marriage between government and Wall St, although they are rather long and snarky. BTW, Obama has not gotten a pass from him at all.
My niece and nephew (12 and 10) got me a one year subscription to RS about two years ago as a Christmas gift. I did renew it last year, it was really cheap. I think less than 15 bucks. Eventually, probably not long, the print mag will go under.
Once more, I think the glamor cover was in bad taste.
Now, to the article (which I read online, haven't received it yet). There is nothing really new here. It just describes in greater detail what we already have heard.
I'll give my synopsis, far shorter than the article itself, which is loaded with anecdotes from those who knew him.
To all who knew him, this Jahar kid was a well adjusted, well liked Americanized immigrant. However, there were family problems. In fact the article focuses much on a divide between the father and older brother as to who was the acting 'patriarch'. The father comes off in the piece quite like the Uncle, who condemned the boys immediately after the bombing. Just a hard working guy trying to make a go of things, but without the same financial success. The Mom, however, seems quite dominant. The older boy was the apple of her eye, and with his boxing success, the family 'Golden Child'.
The older boy never assimilated like Jahar seemed to, and clearly had a few issues all along. I would almost equate him to a heavy smoker who quits himself, then becomes a pain in the ass to every smoker on the planet. Quite frankly, he's the author of his own mess. His own big mouth derailed his boxing prospects, and out of anger embraced radical Islam. He remained the family 'stud', with the exception of the Father, who didn't like it at all. The Mother, in turn, nurtured this. She, BTW, seems like a bit of a nut herself. Very outspoken, once upon a time into extreme American fashion, then following the son into radical Islam, yet arrested for shoplifting clothes, then running out on the charges. A real extreme personality.
In fact, this is essentially the point of the article, I believe. This entire family was chock full of 'all or nothing' personalities. They were either totally for something, or completely against things, irrationally so.
Driven by anger, even rage. Jahar seemed to be the exception, but clearly wasn't
The article does make the casual connection to the older one being involved in a homicide, which, if so, seemed to be a result of his friend 'dissing' Islam. They also point to growing evidence this man was quite well known as a radical in his native land, and the Mom is likely the same.
In the end, this Jahar appears to have been fully committed for quite some time, yet adept at hiding it. I equate it to the 9/11 terrorists, who were at titty bars one day, on planes slashing peoples throats the next. It seems the tragedy came together quickly. I get the idea the brother said "OK, it's time now", and that's all there was to it. Jahar just flew right into action as his own belief system told him to.
It doesn't so much sympathize at all with this kid. The scariest part is, the article's intention is to find out where this mans head was at, and can't come up with any rational answers. He fooled everybody.
BTW, much is made in the article of Jahar assimilating seamlessly into adolescent life in Cambridge, noted for it's liberalism and diversity. It's also worth noting the article hints these were nothing more than malcontents who used radical Islam as their 'Avenue' to vent their anger.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
10,000 miles with the NY Giants
Well, well, well.
On October 17, 1971, my father took me for a ride into the Bronx, to view an NFL NY Giants game at old Yankee stadium. I've been hooked ever since.
Earlier this year, what was probably something of an 'off of the cuff' offer, turned into a magical trip back into my childhood.
In a world where the phrase "it's who you know" means more now than ever before, I know someone who knows someone. I know a guy, who knows the guy, who owns the printing press that prints tickets.
My friend has blessed me with amazing tix to the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Islanders, even the US Open Tennis Tournament. Broadway shows as well. The seats are always topnotch. When I would ask him about where he got these great seats from, he was always vague, and would only say he could get anything except Super Bowl tickets.
For the passed two seasons, I went to both Indianapolis and New England to watch the Jets both lose, and win. Not being much of a Jet fan, it was rather half heartedly. Sure, I enjoyed the games, but never really felt I had a stake in things, as I was a diehard Giants fan.
Earlier this year, my friend said he had an option on Super Bowl tix. Not being much of a sports fan (unbelievable, right?), he wanted to know if I would take the tix this year. He had no interest in going to Indianapolis, but was intrigued by the prospect of both a New Orleans 2013 and New York 2014 Super Bowl. He's totally more about 'pomp and circumstance' than the games, but didn't want to pass up an opportunity to get on 'the list', so to speak. That's it. "If you could go, would you?" I figured, what the hell, you only live once, I might never get this chance again. Plus, I'd been to Indy before, and had myself a good ole time at the Slippery Noodle Blues Bar. It would be expensive, but, again, not having to pay an arm and a leg for a scalped ticket had to be worth something.
Now, I should mention, I'm something of a regular to Giants games at the Meadowlands. In the past 5 years, I'm probably averaging 2-3 games a year, this year more like 5. As everyone knows, the Giants season was up and down, and no one was predicting a deep run into the playoffs, never mind a Super Bowl.
Through accidental coincidences, I managed to get to both the Jets game and the Dallas game, both at the end of the year. I almost didn't go to either, as I had no interest in a Christmas Eve MTA travel debacle for the inter city rivalry, and certainly didn't want to commit to a meaningless game on New Years Day.
Well, suddenly we were playing better and made the playoffs. In yet one more amazing coincidence, a season ticket holder I knew couldn't make the home playoff game against Atlanta, so my cousin and I secured them at face value!sb
After the home win, I actually started daydreaming about the possibility of my team playing in the SB. I felt it wasn't likely, as all 3 teams left had beaten us in the regular season. But, it was possible.
My cousin came up with the idea of going to Green Bay. He and I had been at the regular season loss together, and knew we could at least play with them. We got 4 guys together, kept costs down, flew to Chicago Saturday nite. Rented a car, drove 3/4 the way up, and stayed at a total fleabag hotel..
...to be continued
On October 17, 1971, my father took me for a ride into the Bronx, to view an NFL NY Giants game at old Yankee stadium. I've been hooked ever since.
Earlier this year, what was probably something of an 'off of the cuff' offer, turned into a magical trip back into my childhood.
In a world where the phrase "it's who you know" means more now than ever before, I know someone who knows someone. I know a guy, who knows the guy, who owns the printing press that prints tickets.
My friend has blessed me with amazing tix to the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Islanders, even the US Open Tennis Tournament. Broadway shows as well. The seats are always topnotch. When I would ask him about where he got these great seats from, he was always vague, and would only say he could get anything except Super Bowl tickets.
For the passed two seasons, I went to both Indianapolis and New England to watch the Jets both lose, and win. Not being much of a Jet fan, it was rather half heartedly. Sure, I enjoyed the games, but never really felt I had a stake in things, as I was a diehard Giants fan.
Earlier this year, my friend said he had an option on Super Bowl tix. Not being much of a sports fan (unbelievable, right?), he wanted to know if I would take the tix this year. He had no interest in going to Indianapolis, but was intrigued by the prospect of both a New Orleans 2013 and New York 2014 Super Bowl. He's totally more about 'pomp and circumstance' than the games, but didn't want to pass up an opportunity to get on 'the list', so to speak. That's it. "If you could go, would you?" I figured, what the hell, you only live once, I might never get this chance again. Plus, I'd been to Indy before, and had myself a good ole time at the Slippery Noodle Blues Bar. It would be expensive, but, again, not having to pay an arm and a leg for a scalped ticket had to be worth something.
Now, I should mention, I'm something of a regular to Giants games at the Meadowlands. In the past 5 years, I'm probably averaging 2-3 games a year, this year more like 5. As everyone knows, the Giants season was up and down, and no one was predicting a deep run into the playoffs, never mind a Super Bowl.
Through accidental coincidences, I managed to get to both the Jets game and the Dallas game, both at the end of the year. I almost didn't go to either, as I had no interest in a Christmas Eve MTA travel debacle for the inter city rivalry, and certainly didn't want to commit to a meaningless game on New Years Day.
Well, suddenly we were playing better and made the playoffs. In yet one more amazing coincidence, a season ticket holder I knew couldn't make the home playoff game against Atlanta, so my cousin and I secured them at face value!sb
After the home win, I actually started daydreaming about the possibility of my team playing in the SB. I felt it wasn't likely, as all 3 teams left had beaten us in the regular season. But, it was possible.
My cousin came up with the idea of going to Green Bay. He and I had been at the regular season loss together, and knew we could at least play with them. We got 4 guys together, kept costs down, flew to Chicago Saturday nite. Rented a car, drove 3/4 the way up, and stayed at a total fleabag hotel..
...to be continued
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I don't write much.
No, I don't.
But, I'm going to start.
I was a construction worker, got hurt on the job, and was awarded what is basically an early retirement. I'm bored shitless, and out of shape. At the same time, my mind has never been sharper, even though my attention span is dismal.
What to do, what to do.
We shall see!
But, I'm going to start.
I was a construction worker, got hurt on the job, and was awarded what is basically an early retirement. I'm bored shitless, and out of shape. At the same time, my mind has never been sharper, even though my attention span is dismal.
What to do, what to do.
We shall see!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)