Evelyn Waugh - Master of Action Packed Suspense

Although I have no opinion of the film itself at this point, the trailer for the new big screen treatment of Brideshead Revisited has me scratching my head. It starts off straight forward and predictable enough, but the music and editing in the last third of this trailer had me laughing at the screen as it made you think you were seeing the coming attractions for Die Hard 8. Maybe they wanted to avoid people dismissing it as a Merchant-Ivory clone or big screen Masterpiece Theater. Personally this was never my favorite Waugh opus, and I'd rather see something like Vile Bodies or a proper remake of The Loved One be remounted.

Secular and Sacred

To me, the most spiritual places in the world are not intentional places of worship to but those that are secular and embody the garden stone shown above that is next to my sterling silver roses. Embedded with the Confucian proverb that out of crisis comes opportunity, I am reminded of how true that is in my favorite secular, spiritual places. I prefer the Collesium, with its legacy of human sacrifice as entertainment in a nation that now codemns the death penalty as barabric, over the Vatican. I think the Palace of Fine Arts, with its mourning women atop the columns and testament to the lost San Francisco, far more spiritual than Grace Cathedral.

And it is Grand Central Terminal that I consider to be one of the most spiritual places in the world, a convergence of people from all walks of life, a secular cathedral of comings and goings masking the less grand trains and tracks that rest beneath this sanctuary of Beaux Arts grace and light. Watching the excellent documentary this week on The American Experience that Joe.My.God referenced,

It was born out of crisis after a horrific train accident forced the Vanderbilts train empire to make travel safe and civilized. I was reminded of how it has endured a horrific Abe Beam era attempt to build a ghastly office tower on top of it. If Jackie O has no other legacy worthy of her being an American princess, it is her efforts to save the building that led to greater appreciation of preserving the past. Grand Central Terminal (despite its often being misnamed the departed Grand Central Station in Chicago), is the ultimate case of utility gaining a secular holiness. Every time I walk through it, I get a sense of being a part of something far greater than the sensation of touring Trinity Church, Sagrada Familia or even Ellis Island. A century old marvel that is as relevant, functional and glorious as when it opened, it is a reminder of why I refuse to chase certain marvels of progress when something of such grace still functions.

JT Exclusive: Tru Heads Out for the Evening

A number of my friends and I debate the merits of the two recent movies heralding the continued Truman Capote revival of the past few years, with most of us agreeing that Infamous is more satisfying than Capote. Surprisingly, I never hear mention of 1991's Tru. These final minutes of the play are the most touching and iconic to me. You'll not find it on DVD, VHS or (for now) YouTube, but you can see it if you want to arrange for a screening at the JunkPlex.

Charlie's Angels?

Though I've not watched him in a while, I have generally thought of Charlie Rose as one of the last non-nitwit interviewers. Admittedly dry, I guess I had thought of him as one of the 3-4 saving graces left on PBS. But seeing him following Colin Farrell in Radar magazine's Toxic Bachelors article is definitely worthy of the "Who would ever have thought it" file. Sex and Charlie Rose are two words I never would have thought of putting in one sentence. And he drives a Mini Cooper to boot? That explains why Henry Kissinger has been such a frequent guest, I suppose.

Maybe I'm wiser to stick to Terry Gross. I doubt we'll ever see her chasing 20-something guys.