Movies and Music

Briefly, since I have a sick kid:
Watched 2 man movies this weekend: Quantum of Solace and Mystic River. Both good. Mystic River had lots to chew on. Loved the closing scenes: Jimmie’s (Sean Penn) wife telling him his heart is so big that whatever he has to do is right, and Sean’s (Kevin Bacon) final phone call from his wife when he finally says he’s sorry. Troubling but thought provoking, while Quantum of Solace is pure entertainment.

Also went to 2 concerts: a Sacred Music concert fundraiser for the beautiful Cathedral’s stained glass windows, repaired after Katrina. The performers were mostly amateurs, talented members of the choir, but the event was invigorating because of an involved audience and a couple of uplifting surprises, including a young tenor, studying to be a dental tech at the AFB but with voice training in the Harlem Boys Choir, who sang “Comfort ye” from the Messiah and left everyone breathless. Followed by a reception with lots to eat, wine punch, and a “sacred art” exhibition (lots of pelicans and water scenes). The crowd was mostly about 30 years older than us, but friendly and generous to the artists.

Second concert: “Tops in Blue,” the Air Force’s free morale boosting song and dance group. Only morale seemed a little lacking, since this was apparently mandatory fun for most of the airmen. The show was very professional, lots of lights, big speakers, fancy dance moves to popular songs with the word “dream” in them since “Dare to Dream” was the theme. Like a rock and roll Lawrence Welk show. The performers were dancing their shoes through, but the crowd didn’t seem to notice. We suspected that a lot was prerecorded, except when the soloists went out in the crowd and sang to an audience member. The kids enjoyed the spectacle, but I was so distracted by thinking about how much $$ was spent to put on this show that so few seemed to be enjoying that I was as unengaged as the students. At least the trombonist, a girl, seemed to be having a good time. Never seen such dancing with a trombone before.

Also finished a cute but not remarkable children's book, Mable Riley, A Reliable Record of Humdrum Peril and Romance by Marthe Jocelyn. The author seemed to try a little too hard to make her heroine be Anne of Green Gables, but Mable's a likable type. Another quibble: the climactic confrontation has Mable pushing a lady down in a skirmish during a suffragist/factory worker demonstration. And all of the events seemed to happen too quickly: a period of 4 months didn't seem long enough for Mable and her sister to get so entrenched in the society of their new town.