Roger O Green

Movie review -Kedi (Nine Lives: Cats in Istanbul)

“I grew up in Istanbul and I believe my childhood was infinitely less lonesome than it would have been if it weren’t for cats.”

For the Daughter’s birthday recently, her mother and I took her and her friend to the Spectrum Theatre to see the documentary Kedi. From the description:

“Hundreds of thousands of cats roam the streets of Istanbul, free, without a human master, as they have for thousands of years. They wander in and out of people’s lives, affecting them in ways only an animal who lives between the worlds of the wild and the tamed can… Cats are such an important part of the city’s personality that everyone who grows up in Istanbul or lives there has a story about a cat—stories that are memorable, sometimes scary, sometimes spiritual, but always very personal. Istanbul-born director Ceyda Torun, in her debut, has created a heartfelt love letter to both cats and the beautiful city of Istanbul…”

Watching this movie, one can gets all philosophical about life. Should cats be owned? (And as someone with two cats, one doubts that they CAN be.)

What is abundantly clear is that taking care of the cats and their kittens bring joy and even healing to those people of Istanbul who are in their lives. These humans more aware of life and their place in it than the average American. “Cats are the mirrors to ourselves.”

The citizens fret that with greater number of sterile highways and high-rises, the very nature of the city will be irreparably altered for the worse, not just for the felines but for the people as well. An apartment-dwelling cats using a litter box are nothing like the street cats.

The director wrote: “I grew up in Istanbul and I believe my childhood was infinitely less lonesome than it would have been if it weren’t for cats – and I wouldn’t be the person I am today. They were my friends and confidants and I missed their presence in all the other cities I ever lived in. This film is, in many ways, a love letter to those cats and the city, both of which are changing in ways that are unpredictable.”

Kedi works in achieving its modest goals. Here’s the trailer.

Music Throwback Saturday: Mozart Requiem

:Mozart’s widow Constanze was responsible for a number of stories surrounding the composition of the work.”

One of the most popular composers in movies and television today is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Pretty impressive for a guy who’s been dead for over 225 years. Check out out his over 1,275 credits in the IMDB.

And of those, more than 100 are for the Mozart Requiem in D Minor K. 626, including The Big Lebowski and Robot & Frank. The movie Lucy used the Introitus: Requiem Aeternam. Life of Brian went with Dies irae. Both Eyes Wide Shut and The Wolverine were fond of Rex Tremendae Majestatis. Here is X-Men 2 using Dies irae.

Of course, the movie Amadeus used several movements, including Dies Irae, Rex Tremendae, Confutatis, and the segment I hear most often, even in car commercials, Lacrimosa. Here is the Lacrimosa scene in Amadeus.

The movie also explains, as does the Wikipedia, that the Requiem was incomplete upon the composer’s death on December 5, 1791 at the age of 35. “Mozart’s widow Constanze was responsible for a number of stories surrounding the composition of the work, including the claims that Mozart received the commission from a mysterious messenger who did not reveal the commissioner’s identity, and that Mozart came to believe that he was writing the requiem for his own funeral.” However, the film took some liberties with the facts.

I love requiems in general, and, as I’ve noted, the Mozart Requiem is one of my favorite pieces of music I was in choirs that have performed it thrice in my life, in 1985 and at some point in the 1990s at Trinity United Methodist Church, and in 2002, with Albany Pro Musica, as part of the commemoration of the first anniversary of 9/11. So I never used Cyberbass to learn the work, though it could be useful for you.

Listen to Mozart Requiem In D Minor K. 626
recording
Arsys Bourgogne live performance

New Sanctuary for Immigrants

Xenophobia is expensive.

There was a piece in our church bulletin recently about a dinner/fundraiser for a group called the New Sanctuary for Immigrants. I actually missed the notice, but my-eagle-eyed spouse caught it, and we went Saturday night to this church I passed literally thousands of times but had never entered.

The group assists immigrants with groceries, school registration, translation services health care, etc. It also retains the services of a local immigration lawyers when necessary.

The event ran from 6-8:30 p.m. When we got there at 6:15, the food was laid out. It was plentiful and delicious. There was a series of singers to entertain. I was only half listening, but one was Pride (in the Name of Love), the U2 song.

WE were sitting on a bench before some folks got up from a table, at which point we got to sit across from a man from Turkey, his wife from this area and their daughter. The woman told the frighteningly, irritatingly familiar story of traveling difficulties. One thing she noted was that she preferred traveling with him because they felt he was even more vulnerable traveling alone. I TOTALLY get that from some of my own experiences in racialized America.

I was talking Michael Rivest, the photographer of the above picture. He talked about how he felt “so… American being there.” I totally agree. Was it the melting-pot nature of the participants? I’m not sure, but it felt that our action being there was simple, yet important.

Coincidentally, I noticed that there was a story on NBC Nightly News on Sunday about the decrease in the number of undocumented people from Mexico, and an INCREASE from Asia, making the WALL useless.

I think about this issue, not just on a humanitarian level, but as a wide-eyed economic calculation. Obviously, the idea of sanctuary cities has created a disconnect, as this story points out. You WANT undocumented people to speak out about real crime, not sit silently.

I’ve mentioned previously the brain drain this country is developing, plus losses to some of the most prestigious colleges, when foreign students are afraid to come.

People don’t want to come to this America, costing the US billions. And many of these are western Europeans, less likely to be hassled. Xenophobia is expensive.

No wonder Canada is planting a privacy hedge along the entire US border. OK, not really.

But xenophobia IS leading to sped-up weddings — and prenups
***
Then Michael posted this on his Facebook, and he let me ~~steal~~share.

Last night’s class on Islam. I got talking to one of my students, a Muslim from Yemen, in the U.S. for two years. He’s a delight in my comparative religion course. I asked him if he was staying with family:
J: No, I have no family here.
ME: Have you been back to visit?
J: No, I had planned to go after this semester, when I will have the money, but I can’t now.

The reaction of the rest of the students was worth more than any three-hour lecture. He’s the first Muslim they’ve ever known, spoken with, laughed with. Now HE is normative for them, rather than a Bill Maher joke.
Without any prompting from me, they asked him to chant the Qu’ran’s opening surah. I took a seat. They were moved. So was he. Mission accomplished.

“Endangered Species? The Future of Journalism and the 1st Amendment”

Where does responsibility lie for the provision of authentic and credible news?

A joint program of the League of Women Voters and the Women’s Press Club of New York State

When: Thursday, April 20, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Avenue, (at the Four Corners), Delmar, NY

Who:
Panelists
* Rex Smith, editor of the Times Union and host of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio’s “The Media Project”
* Rosemary Armao, director of the University at Albany journalism program and a panelist on WAMC’s “The Roundtable”
* Robert Heverly, an associate professor at Albany Law School.
Moderator
*Angela Ledford, professor of political science at The College of Saint Rose and professor in residence at the state Assembly.

Why? The forum will consider the challenges to the First Amendment and the practice of journalism in the current political environment. Possible answers to the following questions will be discussed:
*How does social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, affect the news that voters need to receive in a functioning democracy?
*How do we distinguish “fake news” from the real news?
*Where does responsibility lie for the provision of authentic and credible news?

How to Participate: The public is encouraged to attend this compelling program. There is no charge for admission, but donations are encouraged. After costs, all donations will go toward programs sponsored by the two organizations including Women’s Press Club scholarships for young journalists going into the field. Come and be part of an ongoing public discussion of this important issue.

About the Program Sponsors:

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The Women’s Press Club of New York State, Inc. is a nonprofit organization formed in 1966 by a small group of women journalists committed to supporting women in journalism and communications.

Emergency blogcast system

Camping was something I HAD to do as a kid

This is a test of the Emergency blogcast system. If this had been an actual emergency…

As some of you know, my blog transitioned from one carrier to another the last week of March. I’ll get into more details soon – probably on my 12th anniversary, coming up in May. But the bottom line was that:

1) The blog was down over 24 hours right after the spring equinox, which meant…

2) I got far fewer comments about my ABC Wednesday post – about my amazing now-teenaged daughter! – than I have in years

3) I got NO responses to my most recent Ask Roger Anything, for which you are supposed to, you know, inquire about stuff from me. You still can, BTW .

This means that I had to make a cataclysmic decision. I’m going to:

Do a Facebook meme

Hey, it’s fast.

Learn 40 things about your friends and let them learn 40 things about you.

1. Do you like blue cheese? I can eat it, but like it, not so much.
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? Maybe 25 in 1977.
3. Do you own a gun: No.
4. What flavor Kool-Aid? Haven’t had it in years. Probably grape when I was a kid.
5. What do you think of hot dogs? Most of the ones I eat tend to be turkey. I like them when they’re cooked outdoors on a grill.

6. Hamburgers? Please, If it’s not too late, Make it a CHEESEBURGER.
7. What is your favorite movie? Probably Annie Hall.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water. Then mixed orange juice and cranberry juice.
9. Can you do a push-up? Probably not.
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Not my thing. All I have is the wedding ring.

11. What is your favorite hobby? Is singing in choir a hobby?
12. Do you have ADD? Possibly. And I’m good at subtraction too. But don’t ask me about Birthday probability.
13. Do you wear glasses? I have for decades.
14. What was your childhood favorite TV show? TOUGH! Perry Mason. Or The Millionaire.
15. Name your current thought? Worrying is highly overrated.

16. Current worries? See #15
17. Name three things you did today – work, blog, created world peace
18. Current hate? the current regime’s policies
19. Favorite place to be? I’m really getting into sleeping. I’d had such difficulty, and the noise machine helps a LOT.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? In Oneonta for First Night with the in-laws.

21. Where would you like to go? Everywhere – Italy, France, UK, Japan, Do one of those DNA things and add some more.
22. Name three drinks you drink regularly. Iced tea, water, hot tea
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, but I’m not sure where they are.
24. What color is your shirt? Red checks.
25. Do you like sleeping in satin sheets? Never tried ’em.

26. Can you whistle? Yes. Anyone Can Whistle.
27. Where are you now? Not quite here.
28. Would you be a pirate? Sure, the Pirates are probably my favorite MLB team not based in New York State.
29. Favorite food? Lasagna
30. How many different states have you lived in? two, both 2-word states starting with the letter N

31. Do you have a passport? Yes. Just in case.
32. What’s in your pocket? A very folded $1 bill, coins, a plastic spoon, keys
33. Last thing/person that made you laugh? Peter Shickele, who discovered PDQ Bach
34. What’s your favorite animal? Cats
35. What’s your most recent injury? My left knee

36. How many TVs in your house? 1 that works to get TV, 1 that the Daughter uses for DVDs
37. Worst pain? Broken rib
38. Do you like to dance? Not a whole lot.
39. Are your parents still alive? No.
40. Do you like camping? No. It was something I HAD to do as a kid, and putting up the tent was something I sucked at EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Also hated the bugs.

Oh and this: One of those memes on FB directs one to pick the sentence on the fifth line on page 56 of the nearest book. I did this once and page 56 was left “intentionally blank”! “In the typical sample of a political poll, the laws of probability dictate that 95 times out of 100 the reported results will be within 2.5% of what would have been found if the entire population were interviewed.”