Weblog 162

March 15, 2009~ 12:00am
I have two movies to write about, both about extraordinary men-- and both were martyrs-- (though I can imagine some hate groups disclaiming that idea.)

Each lived in stressful times-- and each stepped up to the plate and batted one out of the park-- dying in the process.

I watched 'Milk'



at last... and yes, Sean Penn deserved his Oscar. There's no doubt in my mind. Rarely has an actor so embodied a personality that one forgets it's only a movie...forgets entirely. (Philip Seymour Hoffman did this in 'Capote') - and Penn in this one.

Harvey Milk was likeable...no...make that so 'loveable', my emotions were completely engaged and I often found tears leaking out unexpectedly. You simply can't help but get caught up in his impassioned pleas-- his joyful and boyish enthusiasms and his charming ability to get grins even in the most adversarial circumstances--- and you can't help but dread what you know will be the end of Harvey Milk at the end of the film.

This immediacy is due in part to the talented way the director seamlessly splices old news video into the film itself --and this is no mean feat! So often it's a technique that can be intrusive, but in 'Milk' it floats effortlessly right into the story and actually adds to the film's veracity.

In one of the closing scenes, when Dan White- played impeccably by Josh Brolin as the uptight conservative to Harvey's light effervescence- walks into Harvey's office with gun in hand, the heart sinks down a shaft of despair unlike any other, because he's killing a friend. I honestly felt that I'd lost a friend when the movie ended- and I daresay you will too. No matter what your moral stance, "Milk" creates an entire human being intact, and he was infectiously optimistic; committed and controversial, without once being boorish. Harvey had such gentleness at core, and wanted only the best for all of us-- the old, the poor, the disenfranchised-- not only the gay community, and in all ways, Harvey loved life.

This evening, we watched the 2003 documentary, "Bonhoeffer".



I knew nothing about the man- (but Wayne has held him in esteem for years...since waaaaay back in his college days...lol.)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a theologian and pastor who served as double agent during Hitler's reign in Nazi Germany. A thoughtful and brilliant scholar absolutely committed to the church being called to actually live the beatitudes as given to us by Christ in his the Sermon on the Mount, Bonhoeffer saw the necessity of a Church actively engaged in the realities of contemporary life, working to help the oppressed. He believed to follow Christ is a call to death if need be; that helping the aggrieved and persecuted is what Christians must do: that peace, true peace, is never a seeking of calm but a participation that often leads to personal hazard.

Very near the war's end, Bonhoeffer was finally confined to Buchenwald, then hung by the Nazi's in 1945 for his participation in several Resistance attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

For a more in-depth study of this remarkable man, visit this site.

It's strange when what we're exposed to within a short period of time, so often will form a clear message. In the past couple of weeks I've been given many impromptu gifts by the kindest people.....books, DVD'S... postcards with original poetry on them, emails... and what I've felt is love and connection; even one of the books sent to me by my son- "Gates Of Fire"- is a novel of the Spartans' stand at Thermopylae. (See? More self-sacrifice)- more laying down of life for one's brothers.

In the most extreme examples, 'giving' may mean one's own life-- but 'giving' itself, in thousands of small ways, is something that softens and enriches life and a certain way to build bridges to one another. It's sharing our light-



- and suddenly, the full richness of one another's reality becomes warm and accessible. When we reach out to help....to lend comfort...to teach....to share



life is transformed, and we are not alone. When we are for one another, we are never alone; only those who turn away from the idea of community



are left in a bubble of loneliness... and by their own choosing, suffer apart. We all have heartbreak. We all need reinforcement by those who step in to support us and who validate our importance, even when we've lost it for a time....especially when we've lost it. Giving is what it's all about.



Remember this lovely book by Shel Silverstein? A 'giving tree' that gives her love to a boy to provide for all his needs: a place to climb in childhood... shade to cool him in the heat, even her wood to build a boat and sail away.... and in his old age, her stump, still there to provide a place to rest his aging bones.

How I love and admire the givers of this world, and how very much they teach me. For this...I am forever grateful.




March 17, 2009~ 11:45am
To continue with things that make us feel joyous, yesterday someone here at work sent me a link to the T-Mobile Dance. (If you haven't heard of it or seen it yet, it's commercial that was filmed at the Liverpool station in Great Britain. The dancers for the commercial certainly had their routines well-choreographed... but the many many commuters of ALL ages, had no idea what was going on. They just knew IT MADE THEM HAPPY, and before you know it....


TMobile

everybody was joining in. For whatever reason, I've been a 'crier' recently. Anything that moves me, produces tears. LOL!! But these were well worth it....especially since the very first song is one of the TWO that I cannot help but dance to when I hear it....(two left feet or not)....I just GOTTA!

How very alike we are the world over....joy attracts joy. Happiness....happiness. There's something so reassuring in that.





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