Monday, March 2, 2009

Destiny & destinations sometimes cross paths

So kiss me and smile for me,
Tell me that you'll wait for me.
Hold me like you'll never let me go.
'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh, babe, I hate to go.

John Denver
Some lines from his song: "Leaving on a Jet Plane"


Who can ever know the possibilities?

I keep running into individuals who have travel on their minds, and we are not talking just down the road, either. We are talking big time travel. Getting on a jet plane and seeing new places for a while instead of the old familiar. Time waits for no man, someone once said, and my assumption would be the same holds true for women. We all are racing the clock.

With this in mind, I rummaged around and decided to run with a photograph to illustrate a location in the Mediterranean region which might be worth a stopover. Flying on a wing and a prayer, so to speak.

By coincidence, on this day I also decided to post an illustration of one of my ancestors. Fram the First was the first in the family to visit the Mediterranean region. He is shown at the bottom of this page, should you be curious.

There was more to Kim Novak than Kim Novak

I turned television on Sunday afternoon and, after establishing that World War III had not begun, stumbled into "Vertigo." The movie had been running for 30 or 40 minutes, but I was in the mood for it and stayed with it, only losing more of the film when taking time to keep my coffee cup full or to grab an occasional snack.

It has been a few years since I last saw this movie. I notice "Rear Window" and a few other flicks from Alfred Hitchcock frequently playing, but rarely seem to encounter "Vertigo." A few days ago, I commented to the effect that I had an appreciation for the paintings of Henri Matisse, an appreciation that I had not previously experienced. Sunday, it was that way with watching "Vertigo."

Mostly it was from watching Kim Novak and Kim Novak and Kim Novak and some guy. What's his name, again? Jimmy Stewart? Seriously, while watching this movie Sunday afternoon I understood, probably for the first time, that both of them really were excellent actors.

I've always understood the difference between "good" actors and "hot" actors, but not really considered that an actor might be both “good” and “hot” throughout an entire career. This was the case with Novak and Stewart.

Possibly the only good thing to come from cable television is the showing of movies from decades past. There obviously were many lousy movies made in "olden times," but there really are some gems that many of us around today would not otherwise have the opportunity to see and to enjoy and to appreciate.

In the meantime, I am beginning to worry about myself. Matisse? Me, actually appreciating a non-realist style of painting. (There is a girl of his with a blue/green face who is beginning to look really, really good to me.) Novak and Stewart? Re-measuring the skill and appeal of certain actors?

This sort of phenomena actually began two or three years ago. Football has been "my sport" since junior high school. But, abruptly, I began appreciating baseball more than football. Frightening, isn't it? What's next?

Music Note: Listening to Great White ....
Specifically, "Once Bitten" ....

("Save Your Love" -- yes, please)

4 comments:

TheChicGeek said...

Fram the First? You are giving me a giggle again :)
I love St. Peter's Basilica. The first time I walked into the square it was raining and there were hundreds of people with bright colored umbrellas everywhere. It was such an amazing sight. I was awe-struck! It was my first trip abroad so it had a tremendous impact on me. I was there when they were performing the beatification of Mother Teresa...fast-track to Sainthood...lol. The place was crawling with monks, nuns, priests...really a sight to behold.
I think some of the best films around are those old black and white films. They understood the power of withholding and innuendo. Today everything is out there. People are used to so much action today that they forget how magic subtly can be...they need spell check on these don't they :) Drives me crazy. Nice post Mr. Fram :) Have a Great Night!

Fram Actual said...

Kelly -- Fram the First and Fram (probably) the Last have two things in common. We fear nothing except dancing and we love hearing pretty girls giggle.

The only time I walked into the square was pretty much exactly what is shown in the photograph. Actually, I had seen it a day plus a few hours earlier, with only delivery trucks zipping about and no tourists. This was late June 2004. I later read "The Da Vinci Code," and wished I had walked under the square, too. (Really a fun book.)

Love to see you here reading and visiting.

Katy said...

I can really relate to this Fram. It's funny how our tastes change as we get older. Strange, because you think you've got to a point (age, stage) where you know yourself, and then - Ker-Pow!

Maybe it's a kind of on-going sensory refinement or delicate re-tuning? Having always preferred savouries, I've developed a sweet tooth over the last year (ideally for buns with fruit in them and sugar on the top in the main) and a severe liking for blue cheese.

At least breathtaking views and masterful pictures are calorie free. Ho-hum, currant bun...

Fram Actual said...

My sense of appreciation is increasing, I think, Katy.

I feel like I'm seeing deeper beneath the surface of things now than I have in the past. I wonder if I've had life too easy in too many ways, and need to grow in my understanding of others.

Something special ....