For you young whippersnappers who have no memory pre-1990, that's Katherine Hepburn on the left, in a Vermeer.
Obviously, I'm in a bit of ferment over creating this new line of HollyArt for Lola to sell in her cafe, and also on line. I am, however, also confronting the dilemma of trying to capitalize and reinvest while concurrently needing the (quite modest) profits to supplement my income, particularly as the first round of selling to friends and readers has pretty much come to a close.
Still, I file all of this under "quality problems." Three months ago, the Hy-Art was just for fun, and now,(thanks to my sister's Christmas gift of the first set of cards) I'm a small businessman. A dealer again, of a product that causes no harm and much pleasure. Somebody pinch me!
Onto other things. I thought Obama's speech was brilliant, case closed. Can we now get back to important things, like the direct correlation between the trillions spent in Iraq and our economy getting screwed like an Emperor's Club call girl? And then we have John McCain, traisping through Iraq in Cheney's wake, talking about a hundred year occupation.
You would think that a man who knew firsthand the hell and torture of Vietnam would not have exactly the same outlook on its sequel war as the man who did his very best to make sure he never came close to fighting. But I would venture that McCain has never been able to internally reconcile what he went through with the eventual futility of our mission there. I think his adamant posture on Iraq is an attempt to force an outcome that would give some sense to all the waste of blood and treasure, no matter how insane the cost of obtaining that result.
What I think is really happening, on a level McCain is certainly unaware of, is that he's trying to justify what he went through in Vietnam via Iraq. It's like someone who was beaten as a child growing up to beat his own children, as the only way to internally justify his own pain. The mind tolerates nothing less than meaninglessness.
If the electorate goes Republican again in '08, I'm moving to France.
MCO 2008
P.S. My favorite director, Anthony Minghella, died at the tender age of 54, cause as yet unreported. One of the few people in the business I really hoped to meet and perhaps work with. Very sad. If you want to see a great movie, rent "Truly, Madly, Deeply."
Ms. Hepburn looks so at home in the Vermeer. I think that I recognize her costume, so I'll venture a guess, her role as Eleanor of Aquitane in "The Lion in Winter?" Or is her dr4ess all courtesy of Vermeer? I do so look forward to having a long chat with you over coffee one day about movies.
I think that your analysis of McCain's subconscious motivations in his support of the war in Iraq are so on target.
I loved Obama's speech; I found it quite cathartic. As you state so succintly, I also hope that we move on to matters of substance in this campaign like access to health care, the balloning recession, and the Iraqi war; however, I also hope that we are beginning a new epoch characterized by honest and respectful dialogue about the gaping wound that is race relations in this country.
Oh crap, if this country goes Republican again, I don't have any place to move to. My French is a bit rusty, but if I promise to keep my room clean, may I come with you?
BTW, I had not learned of Minghella's death. What a loss, not only to his family and friends but to the world of cinema.