"Col. Frank Slade has a very special plan for the weekend. It involves travel, women, good food, fine wine, the tango, chauffeured limousines and a loaded forty-five. And he's bringing Charlie along for the ride."
IMDb | Scent of a Woman
This is Dean's revenge. I'm sure of it. I didn't get round to answering that mail... God will get you for this, Dean. Mind you, as Dean points out, it's Frank's fault. Wouldn't you guess it? Ah, fuck it, either way, it's my choice so here goes...
Four Jobs I've Had
Clerk Grade 3 South African Airways Okay, so thereby hangs a tale. I needed the job, wrote an aptitude test, and cut my hair. The guy working next to me read a book entitled Die Rooi Komplot (The Communist Conspiracy) and all the manne (males) played jukskei (horseshoes) behind one of the hangars at lunch time. The chief clerk was a dickhead; I went totally insane (whether that was SAA's fault or my and Wendy living in a hard-drinking and drugging commune is debatable—but I like to blame SAA for it), and decided all work and no play would make Jack a dull boy. I retired at 21, but it didn't last.
Sub-editor This meant rewriting several books for South African academics. These people cannot write. They are dumb. They are also wealthy (sub-editors are not). Able to prescribe their texts to students at university level, they're published on promises of prescription and their so-called authors rake in royalties which, in academic publishing, can be considerable.
Sailor South African Navy. I kinda had to go. The alternative was six years' imprisonment. I have strong convictions, but there's a limit... They initially called me up at age 16 to the infantry—from where I'd go on to killing people. I opted for extra time in the Navy, served on three frigates, and have no regrets.
Copywriter / Freelance Journalist (there's a difference?) This was a two-year freelance gig linking 13 years in publishing with what has become an inordinately long time in e-learning content development (didn't know that, did you?). I edited and contributed to a couple of magazines, became a stringer, a critic, a reviewer...it was a gas, but like most of the jobs I've had, it didn't pay.
Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
Apocalypse Now A flawed masterpiece. Highlighting hypocrisy rather than the fundamental lie with which we comfort ourselves, the ending chosen by Coppola is unfortunate, betraying Conrad's intent. Nevertheless, an awesome creative feat.
Natural Born Killers Oliver Stone does Lynch and Tarantino. This movie's a hoot. I mean, look, it came out before George W. Bush came on. Back ten, the broadcast media's ability to define reality was not only absurd; it was funny. I've seen it a few times and still believe it a comedy. Some people think not. Perhaps that's because we now have George W. Bush.
Scent of a Woman He's dumb, he's stubborn, he's sexist, he's selfish, he's insensitive, frightened, overbearing, depressed, hurt and seemingly out of synch with whatever's going down. But, hell, he catches on to the ineffable, wondrous world of enchantment only women can bring to our being. At bottom, he's a hopeless fucking romantic. I like to think I've a lot of The Colonel in me.
The Graduate Dustin Hoffman. What can one say?
There's a raft of movies I could watch again. Directors like Kubrick and Bergman spring to mind. There's a welter of exquisite, gentle, and beautiful movies I'd see again at the drop of a hat. But, I dunno. This little viral exercise should serve some point. These movies reflect dominant themes in my life.
Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
Hill Street Blues It was twenty years ago today... so what? Now that every series is advertised as 'gritty', it's good to remember that this was the first of its kind. Mick Belker was a saint and Buntz... well, Buntz was from the Other Side.
The Simpsons It started when my three kids were the same age as Marge and Homer's. It kinda fit and it's yet to jump the shark. My Maggie (Cathryn) is addicted to the thing, has taped virtually every episode, and watches hours at a time for relaxation.
Homicide: Life on the Street I called it 'Pembleton'. Andre Braugher made that series. A smart guy up against impossible odds, he portrayed a forceful but humane personality suffused with a dignity I doubt any cop possesses. He was my last hero.
South Park The only current affairs program I'll watch.
Four Places I've Been on Vacation
U.S. East Coast With the navy. Charleston enchanted me, Norfolk awed me (there're a lot of big fucking warships there), and New York... well, it's like it was in the movies. I watched one of Dean's favorite movies on returning (this was thirty years ago—when the WTC was a novelty), Three Days of the Condor, and recognized many of the places I'd visited. At eighteen, we didn't do the usual tourist things—we spent most of our time in bars speaking to people who either lived or worked in Manhattan. A weird bunch, seemingly oblivious to the world outside, I really dug their company.
The intersection of the Greenwich meridian and the Equator 0 degrees NSEW When you're out there, you're on vacation. Check it out on Google Earth. A deep green ocean, abundant sea life, clouds piled to heaven, a warming heat that melts butter, and all the fresh air you can suck into your lungs. No crowds.
The South African East and West Coasts The West Coast is flat, dry, scrubby, desert-like. And the water's cold. The East Coast contradicts it. A warm ocean feeds tropical forests in a verdant mountainous wonderland. Both are beautiful.
Malawi God's First Good Idea.
Four Favorite Dishes
Steak A simple man myself, I understand George W. Bush. But steak is ludicrously expensive here. I last had a decent rare steak when in the publishing industry (12-18 hour drunken lunches were the norm) some twenty years' ago.
Biltong Jerky. I salivate when thinking of heavily spiced ostrich biltong. As an adolescent, my favorite meal comprised sticks of biltong and a pint of milk.
Ice cream Why not? Some things are forever.
Peanuts... ...are for monkeys. I know. But there's something about them that could get me into trouble. Eaten by the handful, I'll munch a pound of peanuts daily without thinking twice. Lotsa fat. Lotsa protein. Lotsa carbohydrates. Gotta watch them peanuts.
Four Websites I Visit Daily
Google News For a news update...
InformationClearingHouse For a real-world news update...
Guardian Online For what's going on in the world...
wood s lot For what's going on in my head...
I must add here that, owing to a strange dint of circumstance and use of blogging tools I, like Steve Larsen and select others, get my daily dose of spiritual upliftment from Father Christopher.
It's not so much a case of the mountain going to Muhammed, but Muhammed coming to the mountain. As it were and so to speak. And without wishing to trample anybody's religious sensibilities, of course... (I've a sneaking suspicion Locke has something to do with this, but I've yet to figure it out. Ah well, such is the nature of enlightenment.)
Four Places I'd Rather Be
This presupposes something with which I'm not entirely comfortable, i.e. that I'd rather not be here. Well, let's dispense with that one. I'm happiest at home, with my immediate family, relaxing. And home's Cape Town, a place many people pay too much money to visit ('too much' because most Cape Town businesses are run by a bunch of avaricious gougers). We should rival Thailand, Bali and other high-turnover tourist traps, but the M.D. must have his Merc...
That said, I wouldn't mind being...
...at sea ...which I am, most of the time, but in this instance, I mean the ocean. There's something about the sea... if I knew what it was, I'd probably not enjoy it as much.
...in Baghdad Seriously. I realize I'd have to undergo enormous physical change, learn a foreign language, and mug up on the different forms of Islam if I were to survive, but it doesn't change the fact. I'd like to be over there.
...in Teheran ...before George bombs a magnificent culture to hell and gone. If Iran and Iranians had fair exposure in the Western media, I'm pretty certain the neocons would not be able to implement the next step in their genocide.
...in the Seychelles It's a variation on being at sea. The water's crystal blue. The beaches stretch to forever (like a circle, they would on an island, no?). And then there's the women...
Four Bloggers I'm Tagging
Tamar Jacobson
Peter (the Other)
Bill Connolly
Gaspar Torriero (gone verbose or visual)
"You know, I detect... a fragrance in the air."
Colonel Frank Slade
