Che Guevara - more than a fashion statement?

No this is not your correspondent! Though if you are female, you probably (and I certainly) hope that it is. Instead this is the actor Gael Garcia Bernal. He played in "Motorcyle Diaries", directed by our very own Robert Redford. I watched it this past weekend and I'm writing in here that it's a great movie. Before you call me a communist sympathizer, which I am, you should watch the movie. Then criticize it. I've never been to South America. But this movie reminded me of many wandering trips I've taken, sometimes aimless, and sometimes planned impulsively. Also, it left me feeling like I really should have been more adventurous when I had the chance... well, I'll leave the interpretation up to you.

Becoming interested in the subject of Che by this movie, I logged onto the Internet to read a biography of Che Guevara. I always like to find out when watching movies based on historical figures, did the movie actually portrayed the figure as he / she lived, or was it a romanticized version. In this case, certainly there are romantic / dramatic aspects to the movie which probably didn't happen in Che's real life. And certainly Che Guevara in real life did not have the teenage heartthrob looks of Gael Garcia Bernal



Yet, still I liked this movie because it showed two young guys being young guys, doing stupid stuff, swearing and chasing women, and didn't dwell on the fact they became famous communist revolutionaries later in life. So, to me, it's a real anti-Hollywood movie in that sense, not overly dramatic, no Hollywood ending, plus a very well-produced one, if you like seeing beautiful mountain and high elevation landscapes from South America. Kudos to Redford, the producer Walter Salles, and the rest of the production crew.

Sean Penn live and in person

Last Saturday night I got to go see Sean Penn give a Question-and-Answer as part of the "Noir City Film Festival" which ended last weekend in San Francisco. The venue was the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, a sort of neo-classical monument at the outskirts of Presidio park (not far from the Golden Gate). Previously, I had seen bikini-clad female bodybuilders posing there in front of the Romanesque columns for photographers. Last weekend, there were just pot-smokers hanging out, so nothing so entertaining ... darned! Anyways, I heard about this event on the radio that same morning, so I wasn't sure I could get tickets. I took along a new friend I'd met on a plan ride to Chicago over Christmas. She reads this blog, too, so no more about her on these pages ... :) She and I stood in line for about 45 minutes before we were told we could get into the theatre. Our wait paid off - we got in! The movie we saw was called "The Pledge" and, quite honestly it wasn't the best movie I'd ever seen. It wasn't the worst, either, so fine, ok, we went to a nice Theatre to see an average movie and then watch some famous guy speak on stage. That's not bad entertainment for $10! The wine at $7 a (plastic) cup was much more outrageously priced. One thing I noticed, and that was the numbers of young women ages 24-early 30s dressed to kill and waiting to see and hear Penn. Many of them left after he finished and before the "midnight screening" began. That's right, they showed us a "freebie" after the event, just for those real "Noir" fans. It was a really old movie with Kirk Douglas called "Out of the Past". Loaded with plot twists and fast-talking dialog, not to mention a bunch of look-alike actors wearing fedora hats and trenchcoats, it was pretty hard to follow. But I guess, a classic, and for the first hour or so (till I had to get a little shut-eye) it was a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood hits I see at the theatre.

In case you were wondering, Sean Penn looks and talks like the Sean Penn I was used to watching movies (my favorite movie he was in was "Carlito's Way", followed probably by "21 Grams"). He is a little shorter than I imagined, and talks sort of like a tripping college professor. Who knows, maybe he was tripping. Well, anyways, Penn is nothing if not interesting to watch and listen to, even if you don't like him.

Skiing in Tahoe

Last weekend I was invited to go skiing up in the Lake Tahoe area with some people I've gotten to know here. Having skied a few times in the last few years, with increasingly more success and less hard landings, I jumped at the chance to see California's premier winter vacation destination. I was not disappointed. The runs were beautiful, the snow was plentiful and the views were fantastic. I just wish I was a better skier. What really gets me is when I am struggling to get down some black diamond slope and a teenager comes whizzing by me, usually on a snowboard. Then I really feel like a ski chump. But otherwise it's fun to be out there and enjoy the mountain, as it were. Only one downside and that is the increasing cost of this activity. I paid $54 for my lift ticket on Sunday at your basic high-elevation mountain ski area, and $64 on Monday at one of those "fancy ski resorts" (Northstar at Tahoe). Kind of makes it an elitist sport doesn't it... well I guess it was always that way, even when I remember paying $35 to ski Breckenridge in 1995. (and I thought that was a lot, too)

Just one other thing to report and that is the long hellacious drive I had on Saturday to get up there. The California Dept. of Transportation was requiring everyone to drive with chains on their tires, in case they were not already operating a 4 wheel drive vehicle. For most people, this means either paying somebody $20 to put on the cables over your tires, or doing it yourself. Being the strapping young man I am, I opted to save the $20 and do this myself. After 10 painful and dirty minutes "clothing" my front tires on my Ford Focus, I was proud to have done it and rejoined the main traffic, advancing at a snail's pace up the pass. Then 1 mile later the chain on my left tire snapped with a sickening "pop". Oh Chr-t I said to myself, getting out and picking up the thin mangled steel cable. It was a mistake to buy the cheap $35 special at the auto parts store. I ended up spending another $69 on the mountain for new cables. These luckily were of better quality and lasted me the whole trip.

On a lighter note

... I realize I may have turned off several readers with that last post. It just has been something occupying my mind, so I used to opportunity and some of my idle time to put thoughts to paper, so to speak. Well, today I did do something moderately interesting, and not computer-related: I took a long bike ride in the city across the bay. If you are familiar with S.F. you might recognize some of the pictures. If not, then I challenge you to show off your knowlege of S.F. trivia. For instance,

- where is the "Fisherman's Wharf" and why is it so named?
- where is "Coit Tower" and is it visible in the pictures? And who recently created a fuss by mentioning it in the national news?
- what is the significance / history of the "Sutro Baths"? Do they still exist?
- what is the "Legion of Honor"?
- do you recognize any other points of interest (besides the obvious Golden Gate Bridge) in the pictures?

p.s. you are allowed to use the picture titles as hints (I wouldn't have used such descriptive names, had I thought ahead of time to do this little "contest"). But that still leaves out the answers to the questions above. I'll tell y'all at the end who won. Happy Monday.

There is no perfect world

I was thinking to myself today. What is it that set me off so much during the Christmas holidays? I was in kind of a "valley" the whole time I was home. At first I thought it was the depressing grey weather we had there. Every day between 30 and 40 degrees and grey. Global warming greeting me every time I stepped out the door. But no - the weather alone doesn't explain it. I've lived through several winters of truly miserable depressing weather in northern Europe, with hardly any of the fun white stuff and no sunshine, either. And I wasn't depressed during all of that. Ok, for 2 of those winters, I guess I was, but I know the weather was not the reason. It was loneliness, and the feeling of inadequacy when you see the world in shades of grey, while everybody else sees color and seemingly passes you by. Hey I don't mean to dramatize what I was going through. That is bygone times and I'm over it.

So what was it this holidays that set me off? The proverbial "Christmas Blues"? The feeling that when you go wherever you go for the holidays, you expect it to be something special - and it just isn't? Because this one was certainly the same old, same old. The same dinner table at my parents. The same relatives in Chicago, bless their souls (and I do, cause they're all I've got). The same ride in the minivan with my parents to church on Christmas Eve. The same people in the half-empty church that feels so without character, warmth, history. It just felt like I'd stuck myself in a time machine and gone back a whole lot of years. Nothing besides my current job and financial situation was any different than it was before.

I know there are people would would kill to have the chances I've been given in life. There are also people with goals in life. People quite a bit younger than me. But that just isn't me. For one, I don't really know what makes me "happy". I don't believe life is all about "winning" and "reaching your goals". For me to stand here and tell you "this and that will make you a happy person" would be complete bullshit. For one I don't even know for myself. Beautiful women? Nice cars? Money? I've tried a little of all. And they're nice. But leave you feeling empty. There is one thing that would be satisfying. That would be waking up to a certain someone every morning whom I'd be so happy to be with and I would look forward to spending my entire day and I would never get tired of talking to or just hanging out with. Well, I had that chance once, and I let her go. Maybe she wasn't the right one. I just really didn't know and the decision to stay in a foreign country the rest of my life was just too tough.

Going back to where I started. I guess what bothered me most about this Christmas was I didn't want to experience it alone, and I ended up doing just that. And spending the Christmas the way I always have, I was reminded of all the situations in my childhood growing up, and got the very strong impression really nothing has changed in my 34th Christmas. Sure I've got the job in California and the apartment and the decent late-model car. But I still don't have "it". Before you think, just plug in "woman" and everything's ok: something tells me that ain't it, either. You don't stop criticizing yourself just because a partner or lover is around. It just recedes in the background for awhile. And comes back at a later, usually inopportune time. So I suppose, I should try something new - anything - anyone - and get over my past mistakes, and my thinking, and soul-searching, and complaining.

Will that do it though?

Manhattan

The New Year is one day old and I like it already. I got back to my apartment last night feeling tired after the long flight from Midway airport (we flew through a snowstorm over the Sierras, and I had a "fear of flying" moment). We landed safely, obviously, so that was the first blessing of 2006. I slept like a dead person yesterday and woke up this morning to beautiful California rain. Examining my apartment, I discovered that my Jade plant on the patio seems to be doing great in this moist weather, despite the dirty Oakland air. The second blessing!

Later in the afternoon, I decided to watch a movie. I chose "Manhattan", by Woody Allen (released in 1979). The movie stars Woody Allen as himself, a divorced 42-year old New York writer dating a 17 year old high-schooler. Besides that, the movie also stars Diane Keaton as a journalist lady friend and mistress of Woody's best buddy. I liked this movie even though I've never been to New York and I still get annoyed by Woody's tendency to ramble on and intellectualize. I give it a 9 out of 10. This is the first Woody Allen movie I ever watched from start to finish. I liked the fact that Woody Allen's character is shown with all his "warts" in terms of his fickle attachment to different women. Also I like the high school girlfriend (Tracy), played by Mariel Hemingway, who was in fact 17 or 18 when the movie was made. To be honest, I probably liked Tracy in the movie because I'm 34 years old and single and she is 17 years old and beautiful, even without makeup or "bling". In fact I like Mariel Hemingway whether she is 17, 18 or 45! (and I like her grandfather's books, too)

In case any of you saw the movie, I thought the ending scene where Woody catches up to Tracy before she leaves New York is wonderful. What happens is that Woody has this "realization" he should never have dropped his young girlfriend (Hemingway) in the first place. So he calls her, gets a busy signal, then runs across town, calling again from payphones along the way (I also love the fact there are no cell phones, and the pay phones of the day actually worked). In the final conversation between him and Tracy, Woody is made to look completely and utterly childish and foolish. I don't know of any living director or actor who would dare to make fun of themselves in this way (in actuality I guess Woody Allen was dating a girl about that age at the time).

About all the discussions whether or not it was "right" to "glorify" a relationship between a 42 and 17 year old - who cares? The movie is a work of art and not a social commentary. Besides, if a guy as nerdy as Woody can date Mariel Hemingway, even in the movies, then it gives us over-30 single guys hope that we can find our princess, too.