Heroic Deeds

Movie Night

The blog entry is a bit late today because of my best friend Skip's visit, which has altered my normal daily routine a bit.

Among other things, we decided to catch a matinee showing of The Finest Hours, the new film about an epic true-life Coast Guard rescue mission that took place February 18, 1952. It is a really fine film,
of the sort they rarely seem to make any more.

We enjoyed the film very much, but early box office returns have been disappointing, no doubt because there are no superheroes, car chases, or stuff blowing up. That seems to be what moviegoers crave these days, sadly.



I kind of like the fact that the rescue occurred on my birthday (February 18), and just a year before I entered the scene in 1953.

Among the film's many pleasures is the score by Carter Burwell. The soundtrack album from the film is this week's Music Recommendation.

A really good popcorn movie, if that term still has any meaning. Highly recommended.

"You'd never get ME to go on a boat like that. I can't swim."

Me either, old friend...

Birthday Boys

Babe in his natural element...

February 6 is a special day for me because it is the birthday of two of my heroes.

On February 6, 1895 George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

To say that "Babe" Ruth is the greatest baseball player who ever lived is almost an understatement. Even if you want to argue that some other player was a better hitter (and with the plethora of modern statistics, some people try to make that case), none of those guys also went 94-46 with a 2.24 ERA as a pitcher.

...and Ron in his.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.

The greatness of Reagan's political achievements are now acknowledged by all but his most unhinged critics. On his watch the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed and dissolved. The United States enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of economic prosperity as well, with the so-called "Reagan Recovery" inspiring reforms in other economies around the world.

Yup

From the wonderful comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

One of the best things about best friends in when you have similar tastes in music. That is less the case with my best friend, who finds most of the music I enjoy appalling. We do see eye-to-eye (for the most part) on classical music, though (although he isn't quite so fond of Beethoven as I am).

Skip is quite fond of Mozart's famous Requiem, which he began composing in 1791, and which was completed by another composer posthumously. It is of course one of the most beloved sacred compositions in all of classical music.

In 2001 the Rundfunkchor Leipzig and Staatskappelle Dresden produced a recording of the Requiem that is among the best I have heard.



Today's send-off is their performance of Skip's favorite section of the work, the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath). Enjoy...