The Tyger

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Every time I read this poem by William Blake, I am impressed anew by its greatness. Its very simplicity is deceptive, as it hints at levels of mystery and savagery that underlie our workaday world. I have posted this poem before, but I continue to be mightily impressed by it.

The Tyger

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 
In the forests of the night; 
What immortal hand or eye, 
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies. 
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears 
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Totem

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Detail from Totem Pole in Victoria BC

Totem poles are some of the most accessible images of aboriginal spirits. The best I’ve seen were on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, mostly in Victoria and Cowichan. After seeing them, I read Franz Boas’s book Primitive Art (1927). As I wrote in a previous blog, “It’s a difficult read, but like many difficult reads, eminently worthwhile.”

One of the reasons that totem poles are so stunningly impressive is that they are still being made by Indians in the U.S. and First Nations members in British Columbia. Unlike Hopi Kachinas, which are also still being made, they are a public art form; and many old poles have been gathered together and put on display.

I would love to visit the Alaska panhandle to see the Haida totem poles on Prince of Wales Island, and perhaps also the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia north of Vancouver Island.

Totem Poles at Cowichan in 2004

One could stand in front of a totem pole and try to guess at what the images are signifying. For instance, in the loincloth-clad figure on the right above, he is cradling a fish (probably a salmon) in his left hand while wearing an oversized hat with blue and red strips along the bottom. What does that mean?

If I were to go back to Cowichan for another look, I would be deeply disappointed. When I did go back a few years later, the totem poles were looking uncared for and there was talk of turning the tribal facility into a conference center. I wonder if that ever happened.

AI Gets Stupid

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I was doing some research on a film, so I decided to ask Google if there were any movie sequels to City Across the River (1949). At the top of every Google response is what is called the “AI Overview.” What I got in this overview made me guffaw:

There are no direct movie sequels to the 1949 film City Across the River, but other films with similar themes, like the 1956 film Don’t Knock the Rock [Not similar at all], shared some elements or settings with the movie. There is also a more recent film, Across the River and Into the Trees (2022), which may be what you are looking for [It isn’t], although it is not a sequel.

Here are some other movies with “River” in their titles that might be relevant:

Across the River and Into the Trees (2022): a more recent film that might be the one you are thinking of. [No!]
Take Me to the River: New Orleans: The second film in the award-winning series “Take Me to the River” which celebrates the musical history of New Orleans and Louisiana. [NO!!!!!]
The River (1984): A film starring Mel Gibson about a farming couple in the face of economic hardship. [No No No]
Deliverance (1972): A film starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds about a canoe trip that goes horribly wrong. [Correct me if I’m wrong, but is “River” in the title?]
The River Wild (1994): A film starring Meryl Streep as a woman whose family is taken hostage during a river rafting trip. [Nope]

All of the titles suggested by Google’s AI are totally off the mark. City Across the River is about a teenage gang in 1940s Brooklyn. The word “River” is in the title, but has no bearing on the film’s story.

As it happens, there was—sort of—a sequel to the film. It was called Cry Tough (1950), though it changed the locale and virtually everything else that was in Irving Shulman’s sequel. Instead of Jewish Brooklyn, the story is set in Spanish Harlem with a Puerto Rican gang.

Now if I had believed Google’s bumbling AI overview, I would have been laughed at. And I would have richly deserved it.

At Saint Sophia

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Details of Mosaic at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral

This was the second Greek Festival at Saint Sophia since the end of the Covid-19 lockdown. It wasn’t like it used to be before the epidemic hit. Nonetheless, Martine and I enjoyed ourselves with some excellent spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese in a pastry).

We spent an hour in what is the most beautiful church in Los Angeles, whose building was spearheaded by American movie executive Charles P. Skouras. During services, Skouras controlled the lighting in the church from his reserved pew in the left aisle. Never mind that he was a bit of a control freak, but his splendid church is worth visiting. It sits on Normandie one block south of Pico Boulevard.

As America turns from being a country that welcomed minorities to one that imprisons and deports them, it is inevitable that, as time passes, the celebrations will become less ethnic, the food less authentic, and the parishioners more English-speaking. Also, we miss Father John Bakas who served for twenty-seven years as Dean of the Cathedral, but who retired in 2023.

I’ll still try to show up at the festivals, even though I am Hungarian and Martine is French. We love Greek food and find Orthodox Christianity more genuinely welcoming.

Saint Sophia’s Greekfests used to be held during the summer. The temperature today was perfect (in the mid-seventies).

A Moment of Adrenal Insufficiency

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Lethargy Struck Yesterday

It happened a little differently yesterday. After breakfast, I started feeling extremely lethargic. Instead of doing anything, I just sat on the couch staring at the wall … at the television which was off … at my feet. At one point, when Martine came into the room, I told her I was suffering another adrenal episode, meaning that I was not getting any adrenaline.

Usually when that happens, my digestive system goes out of whack with explosive vomiting and diarrhea. Followed by blacking out. Not this time. Fortunately.

I knew what to do. I was able to stand up and walk to the kitchen, where my 10 mg Hydrocortisone HCL pills were stored. I took three tabs with cold water and returned to the living room couch.

After several hours of s-l-o-w-l-y diminishing lethargy, I got all better. But I took it slowly. There’s no way of rushing the cure.

Because I have no pituitary gland, there are times when my body is just not getting the adreno-cortico-tropic hormone (ACTH) it needs. In the past, I was usually admitted to the emergency room when this happened, and I had to hang out there for several days while the cardiologists who usually run the ER tried to puzzle out what I had and how it affected their specialty. (It doesn’t really.)

This morning I felt good so I went downtown and attended the Thursday Mindful Meditation session at the Central Library. After, I went across the street and had a big bowl of pho at the Downtown LA Pho Restaurant. I was back to normal.

Preparing for Halloween

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British Gothic Novelist Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823)

Usually, I spend much of the month of October each year reading gothic or horror fiction. I have already started reading Ann Radcliffe’s The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797), after which she quietly stopped writing and spent the last twenty-six years of her life as a private person. I have fond memories of reading her novels The Romance of the Forest (1791) and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).

Also, I will inevitably read one of Joyce Carol Oates’s underrated gothic novels or collections of short fiction. Other possibles are Thomas Ligotti and Robert Aickman. And I will certainly re-read some of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories.

In November, I will write a post detailing with gothic/supernatural/horror titles I have read.

Klassics for Kids

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Martine with One of Many Classic Chevies

We hadn’t been to a car show for several months, so when Martine handed me a flier for the Klassics for Kids Benefit Car Show sponsored by the Calas Park Volunteer Association in Carson, I jumped at the chance. It was a cloudy and muggy day (another of those Mexican monsoons), but it was an interesting event.

For one thing, Martine and I were probably the only gringos in attendance. No matter: It was a neighborhood event, and the people in attendance were super friendly.

Neighborhood Girls at the Klassics for Kids Car Show

Most of the cars being exhibited were souped-up classic Chevrolets, many of which were purchased from Giant Felix Chevrolet on Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles. There were the usual hot rod modifications, including hydraulics, chain link steering wheels, and numerous artistic modifications. This is only the second show we have attended that concentrated on Hispanic car culture. It was an interesting experience.

Side View Mirror Art (with Martine’s Straw Hat)

Afterwords, Martine and I stopped at a Jollibee Foods Restaurant on Carson Boulevard. It was another cultural experience, this time of a culinary nature. Jollibee’s is a Filipino chain which is expanding rapidly in the United States. Based on the quality of their burgers and their chicken, I think they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams. I first encountered them at the food court of the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. I didn’t sample their food then, but was curious at the loyalty of their customer base and the long lines at their restaurant.

Potato Eggplant Curry

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This recipe came to me through the “How to Cook Great” site on YouTube. Click here for an instructive video that produces almost exactly what I will describe in this post. The following recipe will make 4-5 servings of a delicious vegan curry.

For some of the ingredients, you will need to shop at an Indian grocery—especially if you want the dish to taste authentic. These ingredients are marked in the text by IND in square brackets: [IND].

I typically use a largish nonstick pot that has a cover for the final stage of cooking.

On to the recipe:

  1. Put several tablespoons of sunflower seed oil in the pot and turn to heat to moderate high.
  2. When the oil is hot, add a several tablespoons of black mustard seeds [IND] and cumin seed (also known as jeera) [IND] and watch the seeds pop. Stir for up to a minute.
  3. Take two largish russet potatoes, peel them, and cut into pieces slightly smaller than 1 cubic inch. Stir for several minutes.
  4. Add a large dollop of garlic ginger paste [IND] and stir in.
  5. Add salt to taste,
  6. Slice one medium size red onion and stir into the mix. Stir for a couple of minutes.
  7. Add the following three spices, approximately one heaping tablespoon of each: (a) haldi turmeric [IND], (b) cumin, and (c) (if desired) a hot chile powder. For the chile powder, you can substitute Hungarian paprika if you can’t handle the heat. Stir.
  8. Dice into pieces a medium to large eggplant and add to the mix. Continue stirring.
  9. If you like spicy food, mice one jalapeño or two serrano chile peppers.
  10. Cut up four or five small tomatoes and add to the pot. Stir.
  11. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and cook for ten to twenty minutes.
  12. Chop a handful of cilantro and add before serving.

Color

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Harriet Andersson and Jarl Kulle in Bergman’s All These Women (1964)

Yesterday I posted about my love for black & white films. Today, I would like to redress the balance by talking about the pros and cons of color film. With the new motion picture and video cameras, color is, for the most part, what the camera is programmed to shoot, especially when the camera is digital.

There was a brief time in the 1960s when film directors made some exciting use of color film stock. I am thinking of such films as Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Red Desert (1964), Ingmar Bergman’s All These Women (1964), and—going back a couple of decades—Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Black Narcissus (1947).

In fact, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has released a list of 275 films “with Amazing Use of Colours.” The list includes some well-known titles as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), Robert Zemeckis’s Forrest Gump (1994), Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), and Steven Spielberg’s E.T. (1982). Interestingly, there are scores of titles of films of which I have never heard: In each case, some film-maker wanted to make something different and succeeded.

As digital film becomes more prevalent, the temptation is for producers and directors to not attempt anything special. This is particularly true of films released by HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and others in multiple parts. Most of these productions I frankly ignore. Graphically speaking, most are failures.

Even films released as features for the theaters are not necessarily any better. In the old days of the Hollywood Studios, interesting cinematography was a matter of institutional pride. But that was then….