The Last Knight of Camelot

It is the end of an era, there is an immense sense of sorrow, an emptiness, a void where once there were men and woman who were made bigger than life through their dreams and ambitions not just for themselves but for the world. The icons of our times, the princes and princesses we created, have fallen one by one.

The style and grace of Jackie, Princess Grace and Princess Diana will always be remembered. Jackie’s knight was vanquished but his dream was not. Princess Grace lived the fairy tale until the end and Princess Diana found her prince had turned into a frog.

The Princes of Camelot, although bigger than life in our memories, have once again been vanquished by human frailty. The eulogy for Bobby Kennedy as given by Teddy personifies perhaps more than anything else why these men, these American sons, these Princes of Camelot, inspired love and respect and why they were worth loving, worth respecting. Those who publicly aspire to change hearts and minds, those who forge ahead against the odds and who not only demand a better world but who personally strive to create one in which dreams become reality alter not only themselves but the course of history.

The world is a poorer place without the dreamers. It is important to have ideals, to make moral choices, to strive for a better world for our children. It is important to have leaders with the courage, strength and resolve to make dreams into reality. Leaders, who, despite setbacks, roadblocks and personal stumbling keep on. Who, despite detractors, threats and those whose only interest is in tearing things down, seek to build things up.

The worth of a human being is not measured solely in their accomplishments but even more so in if and how they pick them self up after their failures. It is in where they chose to go from there. Every one of us caries scars, some on the outside and some within. Scars can harden and turn to bitterness or bring strength and resolve to do better.

Unlike John, Bobby and Martin Luther King Jr., Teddy Kennedy lived to see the dream come to pass. Camelot may have receded into the mists of history but the torch has been passed and it’s up to us to see that it continues to shine brightly, lighting the way for those who come after. If history does nothing more than inspire youth to do better it serves a purpose and it serves it well. Like the Camelot of old filed with daring deeds and dragons, marred by human failings, glorified by imposable quests, the Camelot of the Kennedy era has become more than it was and less depending on the aspect stressed but both Camelots remain, at least in our hearts and minds something to strive for, to emulate and to inspire.

Like a video game in which the players have jumped steps to advance as far and as fast as possible to achieve their goal, once reached it is time to go back and consolidate the win, to solidify the base on which it was constructed into a concrete foundation so strong, so imperviable that the win is real, the goal is actualized not just for us but for those who come after. The original dreamers may have died but their dream has not and will not. The dream lives on, multiplied exponentially, inadvertently or intentionally by us through our children and their children and their children’s children. Fairytales and myths serve a purpose, changing those who grew up with them and their world forever.

The last Knight of Camelot has left the building. Rest in peace Teddy.

Inglourious Basterds

QT revved up and on a roll, strutted to the front of the house, his comments geared to his demographic who ate it up and gave a standing ovation. Inglorious Basterds however is a must see, feel good, film of the year for everyone. The movie is intense, romantic, funny, fabulous and above all entertaining. It may not be what’s real but it’s what we all wish were real. Opening like a Spaghetti Western, a French twist is soon established and we’re gonna kill us some Nazi’s! Taking the typical film noir of machine guns and moles, murderers and madmen Inglorious Basterds takes a humorous look at serious subject matter.

When it comes to the human condition nothing is ever as simple as stereotypes make it out to be however, by simplifying and dividing a whole person simultaneously into their component parts, each one dimensional character exemplifying specific character traits of the whole, a comparison can be made. Not every person makes the same life decisions to survive yet every choice has its own unique set of consequences. The true horror of the Nazi regime was its ability to break otherwise honorable human beings in the name of survival by giving them impossible choices. Not every ally was a hero and not every Nazi was a villain. Tarantino takes great pleasure in turning stereotypes on their heads.

Everyone starts out idealistic and young, with nationalistic pride unquestioned. Growth however, is often twisted by survival, rationalization and reality. We can all see ourselves in these situations. We can relate. We want to be the tough guy who fights back, who immediately sees right from wrong, but more often then not we aren’t. Blind to reality, compromises are made. We rationalize. Above all we make choices. We can deny our decisions or we can own the consequences, be honest with ourselves or fabricate a reality we can live with.

Refreshingly honest about the brutalities of war, every time we flinch and cringe with horror, a disarming alternative is humorously provided allowing us to laugh at the insanity. Helter skelter violence that is graphic rather than gratuitous tells a story of human choices between country and honor, survival and innocence. Humanity burnt away, empty husks filled with immense intense anger and myopic goals that no longer fit into rational, peaceful society remain. People who have participated in horror are permanently scarred, not just the villains but also the heroes. Life would be so much easier if the scars we carry on the inside were reflected on the outside. If like the picture of Dorian Grey, we wore our choices, our decisions like marks of Cain or scarlet letters on our foreheads and faces just think how much of a deterrent it would be.

Not since Cat People has a Bowie song been used to such classic effect, with such intensity or romanticism. The lady in red, the tragic heroine, sweeps us up in a rollercoaster ride of thrills, chills and glorious retribution. There is a God after all.

Brad Pitt’s southerner doesn’t have the polish and sophistication of a Selznick hero but then it wouldn’t work half as well if he did. Attention to detail: champagne glasses, scars, pipes, fountain pens, color schemes, poodles and cats add depth and perspective. Little actions promote disgust or compassion. Close ups of eyes speak volumes. Subtle references through similarity of actions, facial features and situations abound.

The French are not the only ones who respect great directors. Quentin Tarantino said, “I think… I hope I deliver.” And he does.

Nostalgia at 45 RPM

Amoeba Music claims to be the world’s largest independently owned music store and I believe them. On Sunset Blvd. between North Cahuenga Blvd. and Ivar Avenue it takes up an entire city block. With vinyl record albums taking up about a third of the store, walking through the doors is like doing the time warp.

Sifting through the albums brought back sounds, pictures, smells, parties of two and parties of two hundred, revelations, revolutions, fantasy and history. Shared experiences dovetail between music and movies, between cultural clashes and cultural celebrations, between reality and dreams. It was a shared odyssey of the senses, a journey of new experiences, new sounds, new images, new ideas, challenges and growth. The kind of growth through experience that Mother never taught us. Some of us made it and some of us didn’t. We were in free fall and didn’t realize it until we hit the ground.

There were some albums and experiences everybody had. Who could forget Carole King’s Tapestry, Chicago’s big chocolate bar, and Jefferson Starship’s Red Octopus, a many tentacled heart. Everyone spent a night at the Hotel California with the Eagles. Frampton came alive, Elvis died and the Beatles officially broke up.

Queen rocked us, Led Zeppelin showed us the way to heaven and Lynard Skynard taught us how to fly free. Billy Joel was a stranger and Neil Young said not to let things get you down. AC/DC was back in black and Johnny Cash was the man in black. Rod Stewart told us that with love the first cut is the deepest and the Stones fought off wild horses in the name of love. We learned that if you don’t eat your meat you can’t have any pudding. The building of a wall was documented and another wall came tumbling down.

Bruce Springsteen was born to run and Tommy ran away from it all, retreating into his own world. George Carlin said the seven words you can’t say on radio and Richard Prior set ears on fire with his language and himself on fire with a lighter. We fought killer bunnies and searched for the Holy Grail while some days a hard rain just fell.

Barbara Streisand was born a star, Stevie Nicks vamped it up like a gypsy princess, and Cyndi Lauper just wanted to have fun.

Electric Light Orchestra evolved from a neon hood ornament into a space dock. Jefferson Airplane became a starship. We had aliens from France, Mork from Ork, Wookies and Trekies. Aliens ate meatloaf and Meatloaf flew like a bat out of hell.

Today you can buy an LP to digital music converter, change your old LPs to MP3s and listen to your personal collection on your iPod. You can even share your playlist by docking your MP3 player, but the experience of vinyl still can’t be beat. It’s not just audible, it’s also tactile, visual and above all memorable. It’s a group experience, a cultural sharing rather than an individual, solitary journey. John Belushi went on a road trip and never found his way home, Peter Fonda & Dennis Hooper went looking for America and didn’t survive the trip, but we went looking for America and we found it… in our music.

Wasabi Ice Cream, Spider Rolls and Potato Pizza

It’s impossible to talk about Los Angeles without mentioning sushi. From Tiki bars to sushi bars Los Angeles has always experimented with alternative cuisines. There are 210 sushi restaurants listed within 14 miles of the center of Los Angeles which works out to be a sushi restaurant approximately every 100 yards. There is even a Sushi Academy that offers a California Rice Scholarship to those who wish to attend the courses which range in intensity from one day to twelve weeks.

At one time there was talk of the Japanese government sending inspectors to rate the authenticity of sushi restaurants here in the United States. The Japanese fear that with Americanized fusion cuisine such as California roll, caterpillar roll, dynamite roll, rainbow roll, spider roll, Philadelphia roll and Seattle roll becoming synonymous with sushi in the United States the authenticity of the experience would be lost. However, wherever there are cross cultural connections the sharing of edible delicacies becomes inevitable.

The key to globally accepted cuisine seems to be simplicity. While the basics of a dish are retained, regional ingredients and tastes are added in an explosive evolution of gastronomic delight. To those who wish to be Kill Roy’s and complain about the bastardizing of culture specific cuisines all one has to do is take a look at food throughout the centuries. The origin of any type of cuisine is questionable if one goes back far enough.

Some foods such as ice cream, pasta, pizza, and sushi have gone around the world and back again. While Americans have adopted Japanese sushi and made it their own, the Japanese in an unintentional cultural exchange have adopted American pizza and done the same. Examples of this can also be found in Los Angeles. While the Japanese may frown on our interpretation of sushi we would find their idea of pizza quiet odd. Here in Los Angeles some alternative items listed in an Asian pizza place as toppings are: Alfredo Sauce, asparagus, bamboo shoots, BBQ chicken, blue cheese dressing, boiled eggs, calamari, clams, crab, cream cheese mousse, cubed beef and steak sauce, lettuce, mayonnaise, nacho chips, octopus, orange marmalade, potatoes, seaweed, sour cream, strawberry dipping sauce, sweet potato mousse, tuna, shrimp, squid ink and sweet corn. Although not all these items are offered on one pizza even one or two of them mixed together on a pizza crust probably would not appeal to the average American.

Cinematic efforts have portrayed this mixing of culinary culture in a humorous vein. It has become popular in cartoons such as Samurai Pizza Cats who fight crime in Little Tokyo while running a pizza place, animated wasabi as both the bad guy in Chop Socky Chooks and the good guy in Sushi Pack and real wasabi used to humorous effect in the movie of the same name.

From preservative method to fast food to culinary art, where presentation is as important as taste and combinations of ingredients are chosen for their color and texture and taste enhancing combinations, such foods as sushi, pizza, pasta and ice cream have captured the palate and imagination of the world. Globalization of culture is reflected in the evolution of culturally specific cuisines worldwide being adopted, reinvented and perhaps even rejuvenated by cross culture adaptations.