Multitasking, People!
Or not finishing a lot of things simultaneously. Since I’ve been home I’ve been immersed in cleaning, fixing and organizing. I don’t think there’s an end to it on any level. Inside and out. House and self. There doesn’t seem to be any beating the slow breakdown of the structure. Frame or body.
I can add things or take things away. I can repair or replace.
I’m finally getting my tooth. I’m not even sure I need it anymore. It’s a molar and I’m doing okay without it. I’ve come this far though. I’ll add it to my head.
Trying to honor my New Year's direction of actively trying to enjoy and have a life as opposed to just burning through days engaged but not appreciating.
I’ve been really appreciating film noir lately. I’m not sure why. I’ve watched the ones I’m supposed to have watched being a ‘fan’ of film. I’m just not sure I appreciated it. It all seemed dated and hard for me to let in. I’ve watched The Glass Key, The Gun for Hire and The Blue Dahlia in as many days. William Bendix seems to be some portal to a continuum of me.
When I was a kid I had a book called Immortals of the Screen. It was a book of pictures of actors and their bios. They were all from the black and white era going back to the silents. I was obsessed with the pictures of the actors. It was published in 1965. I knew all the old actors by their faces. It did not lead to an obsession with the films they were in. It was just a window into another time that I found fascinating. I remember William Bendix, Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Slim Somerville, Bogart, etc. I could look at the pictures for hours. I don’t know why it did not lead me to the movies. I think I just wanted to know who the actors were. Weird.
Well, I now know William Bendix was amazing. I finally want to watch all the old movies that these faces appeared in 45 years after having the book and almost a century after the films were made.
I went online and I found a copy of the book. It’s being sent. I will reconnect with the images that had a profound impact on me for reasons I can’t really understand and I will watch the films. I don’t know what this full circle means. I don’t know if receiving the book will be some kind of closure or a harbinger of my end.
I do know that Alan Ladd was great and Veronica Lake is transcendent. I’m looking forward to engaging with these films, with feeling. Odd.
Today I talk to the singular Katt Williams almost exclusively about standup. On Thursday I talk to my To Leslie costar Andrea Riseborough about acting and her life.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
Pictures.
