Courage

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“So, eleven hundred men went in the water; three hundred sixteen men come out. The sharks took the rest.”

The above is a quote from the movie Jaws, when the character named Quint (played by actor Robert Shaw) told the tale of being on the USS Indianapolis during World War II. I don’t know how I ended up on this particular site, but last night I read about the torpedo sinking of the Indianapolis in 1945.

It is still considered the worst naval disaster in United States history.

The story wasn’t totally unfamiliar to me; I vaguely associated the Indianapolis with sharks. I knew that some of the men thrown into the water (and who languished, unrescued, for days) were eaten by sharks. The terror they must have felt is unimaginable. But even more amazing are the stories of the survivors.

One such story was told by Woody James. Read this if you have time today. It is a testament of the will to live finally winning over the desolation and horror of being left for dead, and watching (and hearing) your friends die around you.

Several twists make the story of the Indianapolis even more interesting. For instance, this was the ship that delivered the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima to end the war. A Japanese sub destroyed the ship while it was on its way back home to prepare for a subsequent invasion of Japan…

Then there’s the story of the court-martial of the captain of the Indy, with survivors going to their graves swearing that it was the Navy — and not Capt. McVay — who disgraced the country with “conduct unbecoming.” McVay’s story (and you really must read it all) ended like so:

McVay was found guilty on the charge of failing to zigzag. The court sentenced him to lose 100 numbers in his temporary rank of Captain, and 100 numbers in his permanent rank of Commander, thus ruining his Navy career. In 1946, at the behest of Admiral Nimitz, who had become Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary Forrestal remitted [forgave] McVay’s sentence and restored him to duty. McVay served out his time in the New Orleans Naval District and retired in 1949 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He took his own life in 1968.

McVay’s experience parallels that of the only other naval captain to be court-martialed for decisions based on conditions beyond his control. William Turner, captain of the doomed RMS Lusitania, was also used as a scapegoat by his country’s navy.

The final oddity concerns the very person who yelled “Fire!” (in Japanese, of course) and caused the Indianapolis tragedy. He would return to the lives of the survivors in a strange and intensely personal way.

Every now and then, we need to be reminded of the bravery of people who did and saw things in the name of their country that you and I could likely never comprehend. And some, like McVay and Turner, endured humiliations perpetrated by their own governments that rivaled their suffering in battle. Take 30 minutes and read about their incredible courage. You won’t be sorry. In fact, you’ll be better for it. And smarter.

Fink out.

Photo and stories: ussindianapolis.org, lusitania.net

Cinéma diabolique

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Yeah, I’m on about Sweeney Todd again. Who knew? Actually, I watched a DVD extra from the film (thanks, Sam), and it got me thinking about a genre of theater that only lasted about 50 years, but made a big impression — obviously — on many filmmakers of our generation.While making Sweeney, director Tim Burton envisioned a movie reminiscent of the Grand Guignol tradition of live theater. So, what was this deliciously evil brand of entertainment, anyway?

Grand Guignol (let’s first get the French right: it’s pronounced “grawn geen-yol”) was the name given to a type of play performed in Paris, beginning around the turn of the 20th century. Its creator, a controversial playwright named Menetier, bought an old chapel and converted it into a theater where he could freely show his works, which often depicted the dregs of society doing scandalous things. He eventually sold the theater to another guy, who decided to convert the Theatre du Grand Guignol into a horror palace.

The plays got increasingly macabre and violent. More and more liberties were taken to see just how realistic a murder scene could become. Grand Guignol was in its heyday, and the theater often attracted the high society of Paris, as well as its share of tourists — all of them looking for the ultimate gross-out. They got it. The actual plot of the story didn’t seem to matter, as long as it was gruesome, bloody and realistic.

It had the desired effect, too. In his book, The Grand Guignol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, Mel Gordon says:

At one performance, six people passed out when an actress, whose eyeball was just gouged out, re-entered the stage, revealing a gooey, blood-encrusted hole in her skull. Backstage, the actors themselves calculated their success according to the evening’s faintings. During one play that ended with a realistic blood transfusion, a record was set: fifteen playgoers had lost consciousness. Between sketches, the cobble-stoned alley outside the theatre was frequented by hyperventilating couples and vomiting individuals.

Awesome.

The GG eventually died out in the 1960s, but it’s enjoying a renaissance out in San Francisco right now.

Indeed, the effect of Grand Guignol on mainstream film was felt long before Burton’s Sweeney Todd – many times throughout the 50s and 60s, most notably.

But hey, remember the movie, Interview With the Vampire ? It’s based on one of my all-time favorite series of novels (The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice). Here’s the original trailer for the 1994 film, starring Tom Cruise. Brad Pitt was in it too, and it also featured a very young Kirsten Dunst. I loved it. Anyway, in that movie, there is a scene in which the vampires of Paris put on a play in the Théâtre des Vampires — a takeoff on the Grand Guignol Theatre.

The only difference, of course, was that in the play they performed, the audience had the unfortunate experience of slowly realizing that the human sacrifice depicted onstage was, in fact, quite real…

So rent Interview this weekend and watch it with your hunny. I might blow the dust off my VHS copy of it and share a cinematic memory of days gone by, when Tom Cruise was actually *not* a wackjob.

Vive la Grand Guignol!

Le Rongeur de Finque

More dumb famous people

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Now friends, this is why I scratch my graying head. Amy Winehouse, talented singer and repeat arrestee, was recently voted by UK teenagers as their “ultimate heroine.” That’s ultimate heroine, as in someone we totally admire and want to emulate. It’s not the bizarre face or the tats or the rat’s nest bouffant wig that bug me; I don’t care about any of that. Rather, it’s the tremendous hash she’s made of her life. This is hero material? Slurring your way through a horrible set at a club, not being able to remember the words or stand up straight? Yeah, that’s great stuff. I’m all over that. Sheesh.

Note to UK kids: aim higher.

Much has been written about why these stars — who seemingly have everything going for them — find their way into so much trouble. The reasons range from dealing with a lot of money all at once, to living the life they only dreamed about while growing up in the projects of South Los Angeles. Regardless, many of them suffer from the dreaded recidivism; they just keep getting in hot water, over and over.

How many of us have said something akin to, “Man, if I had that kind of fame and money, I wouldn’t screw it up by beating somebody up or hiring hookers or committing armed robbery.” Makes me wonder if people like Gary Dourdan (star of CSI) ever said that. He has a hit TV show, he’s handsome (although not in this particular photo, taken the night of his arrest), young, and rich. Why on earth would he get caught with not only heroin, but cocaine and ecstasy too? Are we dumm?? Or is it just because celebrities’ lives and troubles are plastered all over the media, making it more noticeable?

I can understand the Kurt Cobain mentality. I mean, at least the guy stood for something. Like it or not, he was a pioneer. He was the archetypical disillusioned, tortured, talented, angry young rocker, and lots of kids identified with that. That he met an untimely and violent end by his own hand only jacked up his mythical status. I’m not talking about that stuff. I’m talking about idiotic actions that make you look not only stupid, but ungrateful and immature. OJ Simpson thought some guy stole some of his memorabilia, so he broke into the man’s hotel room and threatened him. That was dumb enough. The fact that OJ and his buddies had loaded weapons? Uber dumb. Dumb’s daddy. The mother of all things dumb. Simpson is just another face in a long line of arrogant celebrities who think the laws don’t apply to them. I’d say the boy has gone to the well one too many times…we’ll find out in September, I guess.

Maybe it’s as simple as this: these people just have too much time on their hands, and too much money to throw around.

Oh, to be so unfortunate…

Fink out.

Green, you say.

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“Green” is the new buzzword. Have you noticed? Corporations, cars, movie stars…they’re all going “green.” Personally, I think it’s a great idea — especially in America, where the “throw-away” culture is the world’s worst.

I hadn’t realized exactly how many things are recyclable until I read a feature by the Weather Channel called Forecast Earth. I mean, I recycle my aluminum cans, newspapers, plastic bottles and jugs, cardboard boxes and glass jars/bottles, but this article really widens the spectrum.

How about big pieces of machinery that no longer work? Strip down a machine of its metal and copper parts and take it to a recycling or salvage place. You’ll make money. A student of mine just made $600 doing it. Really. Ask him (Kevin P.). All it takes is time and the conveyance to get it to the recycling center. If you live in north central Ohio, there are several.

Every time I see someone throw away a Gatorade or water bottle, I cringe. I really really want to reach into the garbage can and take it home with me. But then my students would really know I was a wackjob. Can’t have that. And speaking of bottled water, if you loved me, you’d do this:

If you absolutely must have bottled water, buy one case of it. Then, wash out, dry, and save the bottles and caps, and buy a huge, water-cooler-sized jug of purified water. Refill your bottles from that, or even from your kitchen sink, as most communities have tap water that is fine to drink.

[There is even research that suggests that some of the plastic water bottles we buy and reuse are not safe. A google on unsafe water bottles reveals much. No wonder everyone has cancer.]

The thing about recycling is that in order to use recycled materials, people have to actually recycle what they use. Don’t throw away your Gatorade bottles or green bean cans. Do your part. You might think it’s small — which it is — but many parts make up the whole.

I could go on and on about this subject, and maybe I will some other day. But that’s all for now. Now go and root through your garbage.

Green Fink

Why email is good

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I recently had an ongoing email conversation with a friend; we were trying to sort out an issue that required some back-and-forth contact. In it, he mentioned that he didn’t like email because it was hard to decode; it could sometimes be ambiguous or misleading.

I beg to differ — sort of.

I submit that ambiguity in email is not email’s fault, but rather, the fault of the writer. That sounds a bit harsh, I know, but really — if you are going to say a thing, you need to say it with clarity and with the appropriate tone. Email (or journaling/blogging) is the perfect practice ground for doing exactly that.

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One of the most pervasive problems I see in my high school is poor writing skills. Gone are composition courses at the middle school and high school level. No more spelling tests after the 8th grade. “Writing Workshop” classes are nowhere to be found. Teachers have to struggle to cram all the information they can into a short time in order to get the students ready for standardized tests. It’s a bigger problem than you might think. What’s the saying about every action having an equal and opposite reaction?

I know people with masters degrees who couldn’t diagram a sentence at gunpoint, or who honestly don’t know the difference between their, they’re and there. Some may say to me (and have said to me), “So what? It’s just a word.” Wrong, sir. As I’ve likely ranted here before, I believe that how a person writes reflects how he thinks. Not that you have to be all English professor all the time (that would be boring), but cripes, when you have a serious thing to say, don’t munge it up by using horrible grammar. Learn the parts of speech, fuh cryin’ out loud.

The Good Book says that whatever we sow, we shall also reap. That means if we don’t teach our kids to express themselves in a cogent and intelligent manner when they are children, what will the business and professional world look like when they are grown and leading our country? That, my friends, is what I mean when I post my favorite graphic:

</tangent>

Ok. <<straightening hair and skirt>> Where was I? Oh yeah. Email.

I think email is a great exercise in learning how to communicate in writing. Instead of saying, “Ah, I’d rather just call or talk in person,” try writing. If you can’t seem to say what you want to say, keep working. Use trial and error. Revise; edit. If you’re a terrible typist, there’s no time like the present to practice.

Please try not to think of me as overly critical. I have plenty of personal work to do, so I ain’t no stone-thrower. I just worry about a nation of leaders with an innate aversion to punctuation, and who can’t do much more than write text message shorthand.

Writing a nice, sizable email (or a blathering, bloviating blog post like this one) is good for you. Now take your medicine. There’s a good luv.

Mama Fink