There is nothing worse than an omelet with egg shells in what should be a wonderful mix of variety: mushrooms, onions, peppers or cheese gently cradled within the perfect enclosure. Perhaps the French had an esoteric understanding when they invented a variation, La Crepe, in the specially designed pan to insure the thinnest pancake. A delicate balance of getting it heated properly and using the right amount of butter or substitute and the proper utensil to fill with the batter to ensure uniform consistency. Culinary historians might say the Chinese invented Crepes first, but it was the French that popularized it just as spaghetti was by the Italians.

There is also an art to cracking an egg open, yielding its nourishing contents, vividly portrayed in literature with great focus in Jonathan Swifts’ classic political satire “Gulliver’s Travels“. In the 1960 adaptation of The Three Worlds Of Gulliver, war is waged based on which side the egg should be cracked (the right side).

The ritual when depicted in cinema is often a mesmerizing event filled with audience anticipation. Imagine Angelina Jolie cooking breakfast, intensely gazing at the egg in one hand, with fork in the other, puckered lips, taking a second or two, thinking “What is the best way to crack it?” In fact I can’t think of ever being distracted or semi conscious when preparing to open one. The answer that usually comes to me, “Any way you can to avoid getting the shell mixed in with the eggs.”

Bon Appetit!

References
- Mastering The Art Of French Cooking by Julia Child
- Sophia Loren’s Recipes & Memories

Majel Barrett, the widow of Gene Roddenberry, founding father of the Star Trek franchise, died on Dec 18th from complications of Leukemia at the age of 76 in her home in Bel Air, California. A devoted wife to Gene who died in 1991, she is survived by their only son.

She acted in almost every spin off series from the original classic Star Trek first as Number One in the pilot episode under Captain Christopher Pike. The role stirred controversy among network executives who could not accept a female commander so she was reintroduced as Nurse Christine Chapel, assistant to Dr. Leonard McCoy, with a secret crush on Mr. Spock.

She went on to star in The Next Generation as Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, daughter of the fifth house, holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Ring of Betazed. Often providing a complex dilemma for her daughter, Lt. Commander Deeana Troi, chief counselor and the longtime paramour of Commander Riker. Mrs. Barrett’s last appearance on The Next Generation was in the seventh and final season in “Dark Page”, a complex character study when her meta conscious mind collapses upon itself as a result of awakening guilt over the death of her first daughter, Kestra, an episode that featured a young Kirsten Dunst. It was filled with psychological imagery as Deeana enters her mother’s mind to help her deal with the guilt of the loss of a young child. She also appeared as Lwaxana Troi in Deep Space 9 and as the voice of the computer on TNG, Voyager and in the movies.

Before Star Trek, she had guest starring roles in such shows as Bonanza, The Untouchables and Leave It To Beaver. Ten days before her death it was announced that her voice would be in the new Star Trek film due out in May 2009 in already completed voice-over work. She will always be remembered as The First Lady Of Star Trek.

One of Science Fiction Cinema’s historical treasures is the original version of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Released in 1951, it was directed by Robert Wise in an adapted screenplay by Edmund H. North and starred Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe and Michael Rennie as Klaatu - an actor with a commanding voice, unknown outside his native England, who portrayed a mysterious alien from outer space with a message for Earth foreboding extinction from nuclear proliferation.

Filmed in black and white, the screenplay was based on “Farewell To The Master“, a 1940 serialized short story written by Harry Bates that first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, a magazine that was begun in 1930 during the golden age of Science Fiction. The periodical was part of a genre that included Strange Tales and Amazing Stories, a magnet for many of the Twentieth Century’s greatest science fiction writers. The original story is very different from its 1951 film adaptation, told in a narrative form by photo-journalist Cliff Sutherland who unravels the mystery of klaatu and Gnut, the robot whose name was changed to Gort for the cinematic interpretation.

Part of the reason why the 1951 film worked was because Rennie was not generally known by the American audience. This played well to the premise of the film, an other worldly ambiance to the story with a haunting score composed by Bernard Hermann using two theremin electronic instruments. A being not of this earth who is nevertheless human-looking, who searches for the humanity in the world he came to warn, climaxing in his austere speech at the end of the film to an elite group of respected international scientists. The Day The Earth Stood Still was well received by Hollywood, garnished a golden globe award and is still considered among the best of the Science Films of all time, heralding the era of such classics as Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) and Forbidden Planet (1957).

Now we have the 2008 remake starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, John Clease, Kathy Bates and Jaden Smith. Directed by Scott Derrickson, screenplay by David Scarpa, the film is a dreadful attempt to make money by ripping off the name and some barely recognizable elements of the beloved 1951 classic. It alters the original nuclear premise to that of global warming, justifying the plan to eliminate mankind to save Earth for other species. Reeves has a knack for playing wooden characters, or is it that he just can’t act? His Klaatu is made possible by a premise similar to 1984’s Starman . A DNA sample, abducted in 1928 from a bearded Himalayan mountain climber also played with little emotion in flashback by Reeves, who could have instilled Klaatu in the same way Jeff Bridges‘ alien was imbued in Starman, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination.

John Cleese, known for his Monty Python films, plays Professor Bernhardt who points out to Klaatu: “Most civilizations change when at the edge of the precipice.” This prompts an alteration in the annihilation plan but not before a terrible destructive force is let loose. Gort, here a completely CGI figure and reminiscent of the computer-generated Silver Surfer, is lost in space, somewhere between Central Park and an underground military facility. Although Jennifer Connelly provides the only credible acting, while Kathy Bates, the Secretary of Defence acts with the reserve of a hybrid between Madeline Albright and Hillary Clinton as the President and Vice President are nowhere to be found. The special effects are so lack luster that the end of the film, running 110 minutes, provides the only relief to a nearly empty theater. No where is the line, “Gort, Klaatu Barada Nikto”

If one wants to know why the Earth Stood Still, one should go back to the classic 1951 film and perhaps read “Farewell to the Master” in its original text. The 2008 version omits so much that it fails to relate the important public message that Rennie’s Klaatu came to convey, revealed at the end of the original version which made it so memorable.

For the full cast of characters of both films, and the original short story follow the links below:

The 2008 version: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/
The 1951 version: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/
Farewell To The Master: http://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/bates.html

Social commentary has often been at the center of many films. Morality, insight, wisdom gained from choice, all common themes while reviewing the extensive library of cinematic history. Especially unique are the holiday films involving the myth of St. Nicholas, known by many names in different cultures as Santa Claus or Papa Noel, El Espiritu De La Navidad.

Legend says: “For thousands of years, I have been coming to the planet Earth, a beautiful one to Be, that my spirit came from a very distant galaxy, and lives in the place that today is known as Scandinavia with contagious joy and power of precipitation, who shares with everyone my knowledge of life in other parts of the universe. I am tall, thin and very youthful of stature.”

Like all other legends, this one has meaning and resonance, of sharing and generosity. Santa Claus became the figure of a man always ready to offer millions of gifts every year. “The image of his great wisdom over time reflected as an old man. His body radiated reddish light, giving rise to the clothes of that color that always symbolizes Santa Claus and the traditional characteristics of the cold region which reflect the countries where he resided.”

A variation of this fable, passed down for generations, was explored in a searing 1964 Science Fiction film, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. Directed by Nicholas Webster, screenplay unknown. It received notice at the Canned Film Festival in 1986, and appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000. One of the martian children, Girmar, is played by six-year old Pia Zadora, in her dramatic film debut.

The plot originates on Mars, covers several themes using martian family relationships, exploring how their society educates its youth. Momar and Kimar are unhappy about their kids watching too much Earth TV, especially Old St. Nicholas interviewed on Nickelodeon from his workshop in the North Pole. Seeking the wise counsel of the 800 year old sage, Chochem, he criticizes martian culture for being too strict in the methods of educating their children, “fed knowledge into their brains through machines, they are not allowed individuality or freedom of thought.”

He suggests this path is stifling their creativity. “The only way to correct this control is to allow the children freedom to have fun.” He argues that a Santa Claus figure like the one Earth would give the children the spirit they need, enhancing joy and happiness in their lives.

Unfortunately, as with many, advice is often not interpreted as intended. The leaders devise a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and bring him to Mars to work in one of their factories created for him, to make toys for martian children, and bring laughter and happiness to all the land.

Kimar flies to earth with other members of “the council”, and Torg, a robot, (an anagram of Gort, in The Day The Earth Stood Still, 1951). They use a freezing ray on Mrs. Claus forcing Santa to go Mars.

There are many complex subplots, the special effects, makeup, and robotics are extra cheesy, and some say it is the worst Science fiction film ever made, however the morals conveyed by the movie supersedes all that. Perhaps this film contains wisdom for adults and children alike. Don’t use TV as a babysitter; Be careful how you interpret advice from great sages, oracles and soothsayers; Don’t steal Santa Claus’s from other planets, and “It is” all about education, not assimilation (as in the Borg Collective).

As the film ends Santa is returned to earth as the martians choose one of their own to become the Santa Claus of Mars. Chochem, the guru would probably have said: “Listen up folks, you can’t find laughter and happiness by stealing it from someone else, but by finding it within.”

And so the tale ends as the spirit of Santa Claus conquers Mars, bringing laughter and cheer and a Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas.

The year began with a huge task at hand: all I needed was a subject to write about for my doctoral dissertation. Considering several, I dismissed them as too trivial and yet that’s what also made them interesting.

Working with my adviser on appropriate topics, I had always been fascinated by the color green and how it has been portrayed in culture. Green, synonymous with Ireland, St. Patrick, the great and wonderful Oz, and of course The Guardians Of The Universe, bearers of the ring charged with the light of the Green Lantern. Every twenty four hours, the sacred oath was taken to empower the ring with green energy: “In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night, No Evil Shall Escape My Sight! Let Those Who Worship Evils Might, Beware My Power, Green Lanterns Light”. A strong connotation for a color that is also integral to chlorophyll, the substance of all plant life and a logical choice as the template color for my Blog, Eclectic Commons.

It was exposure to gamma radiation that turned Bruce Banner into the incredible hulk, also green, probably based on the assumption that gamma radiation turns things a shade of growani (old English for green), a result of its cellular metamorphosis. A logical scientific explanation considering that the Hulk was originally gray, but Verde serves well, the imagery of a primitive rage as the Hulk searches for self control and redemption, a significant metaphor.

The only thing that made Clark Kent mortal was exposure to the rays of green kryptonite, remnants of a lost world destroyed by a thermonuclear chain reaction and perhaps by the weight of its own karma. Borne to earth in a rocket ship sent by his father Jor-el to a planet with a yellow sun where he would have powers greater than mortal man. Here, the dangerous side of Green is explored as the audience of Smallville watches Clark’s life threatened by the symbol of ultimate destruction and mutation.

So many things are of emerald color. Imagine going into a store with blue money; a sure way to draw the attention of the FBI. Expressions such as “Green with Envy”, or “Green behind the ears” are associated with emotional attributes and experiences often when used in conversation. The list of references is long, a worthy topic for a doctoral dissertation: Interesting, diverse, and imaginative steeped in culture, but I had made up my mind, it would be written on the most fascinating of obscure topics I could imagine: The Japanese Labor Movement during World War II.

In Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, a Nov 2nd New York Times editorial, Frank Rich draws a comparison between the world Barack Obama came from and the 1967 film of the same name. It was directed by Stanley Kramer and starred Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier.

A poignant look at liberal values tested when the daughter in a white family - portrayed by Hepburn’s real-life niece, Katherine Houghton - introduces a highly educated black man, Dr. Prentice - played to perfection by Sidney Poitier - who she recently met on a trip to Hawaii and plans to marry in one week. A hasty surprise dinner with the future in-laws, controversial for its time with racial tensions on both sides explored with drama and nervous humor. It was also the last of a series of nine films pairing Katherine Hepburn with Spencer Tracy, earning her the second of four Oscars as Best Actress, and marking the final performance in the long distinguished career of Spencer Tracy who died less than three weeks after the film was completed. Although dated, and a bit sentimental in a syrup-ey way, its worth watching if only to see the underlying affection between these two actors with a relationship that remains a legendary part of Hollywood’s golden era, and perhaps seeing some parallels with Barack Obama’s life.

The President-elect seems as if he could be the product of the kind of union portrayed in the film between the Sidney Poitier character and Hepburn’s on-screen daughter. Then divorce and remarriage, transplanted to Indonesia for four years, finally shipped back to live with his mother’s parents in Hawaii,  essentially raised by a white grandmother with a strong Katherine Hepburn liberal sensibility who also understood the importance of bestowing children with self-confidence, independence, the ability to articulate their thoughts and weigh conflicting options so they can make better, more informed choices. Well prepared for the time when there will no longer be anyone around to protect them from the consequences of their decisions.

The loss of a defining relationship such as this (Barack Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham died on November 2nd 2008), is never easy at any age, especially when its the last of the parental figures to die, the final physical link when all the previous familial generations is severed. Memories, previously distant, are brought to the forefront, once taken for granted, now a bit more tangible and meaningful, reaffirming the defining experiences such as the subtler ones formally unnoticed, of things that have evolved from the guidance of the one who is no longer alive. This has a distinct Shakespearean feel especially with respect to the timing of events.

On the eve of winning a crowning achievement when the weight of the world is about to be laid on his shoulders, with only the character that has been developed, awaiting the unknown tests of history yet to come, not only from adversaries, but allies as well.

For more on the distinguished careers of screen legends Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracey and Sidney Poitier, follow these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Hepburn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Tracy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Poitier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%27s_Coming_to_Dinner

Once upon a time in the Fly-pen of the great city of Flyte was gathered all the newborn larvae. It was a protective place where the larvae could hatch and eventually go off into the blue yonder searching for places to fly to and fro. Crawling tree and wall with legs, antennae and wings to avoid becoming a spot of goo on what is black, white and read all over.

Even before transforming into a red blotch, perhaps accidentally flying into a teleportation chamber created by a Theoretical Physicist attempting travel through time and space by disassembling the atoms of objects and reconstituting them in another location. A wonderful premise first explored in the 1958 Science Fiction classic, The Fly, starring the late master of the macabre, Vincent Price, cherished character actor with a diverse array of film credits as Cecil B. DeMille’s overly flamboyant biblical interpretation of The Ten Commandments. This film had a cast of thousands, including Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brenner as the Pharoah. He starred in Edgar Allen Poe’s , The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit And The Pendulum and William Castle’s 1959 Epic ghost-fest, House On Haunted Hill. Price was also known to younger generations as the voice in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album. He had the last line at the very end of the highly acclaimed 1948’s Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein: “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m the invisible man.”

A gourmet cook, respected art collector, historian scholar, and philanthropist, Price acted in classical film and Shakespearean theater with his distinctive and commanding voice, but his sensitive portrayal of dementia in film remains his major legacy. A childhood idol and major influence of director Tim Burton, his 1990 warmhearted take on Frankenstein’s monster in “Edward Scissorhands” provided the actor’s small but pivotal role as its creator in what was to become his final performance.

Although his characters were riddled with oddities, in “The Fly”, he played a normal person - the brother of the scientist, aptly flown by David Hedison who performed a ballet of fright as a transformed accident of a man with the head and arm of a fly. The film was an astounding success, earning over $3,000,000, and Hedison went on to roam the seas as Captain Lee Crane of the submarine Seaview in the television series, Voyage to The Bottom Of The Sea.

In the final climatic moment of “The Fly” - filmed in CinemaScope and Terror-Color by De Luxe in just eighteen days - Price and the Inspector overseeing the crushing death of the scientist, hear a tiny voice coming from a nearby spider’s web. They then make the dreadful discovery of a tiny creature in the form of the scientist’s emaciated head and arm sown onto the body of a fly, shrieking “Help me! Help me!” as it is about to be devoured by a large spider. The inspector, horrified by the sight, mercifully crushes the prey and predator with a stone. An unforgettable image that gave new meaning to transporter malfunctions - a theme suggested in Star Trek less then ten years later as the inspiration for the Transporter Room of USS Enterprise 1701.

A terrifying portrait of science gone amiss; a mistake asking to be made, perhaps akin to cloning; a little known fact of trivia that made the Star Trek saga possible and a post mortem to the fly who couldn’t fly.

For more on the Life and distinguished career of the late Vincent Price see the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Price
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001637/
http://www.houseofhorrors.com/pricebio.htm

As the news spread that Paul Newman, one of the most magnetic actors to be gifted to the film industry, had died on Friday Sept 26th, 2008, from cancer at the age of 83, a sense of passing filled the air as if nature had paused to recognize the last embrace of a defining soul that left a long and important footnote on history.

A modest man, he was the first to admit: “The light that you think you emanate is not necessarily the light that other people see. You think of yourself as a shy, retiring whatever it is, and some other people will see you in an entirely different way.”

Newman on film often played the anti-hero, redefining it to contemporary society, impressing it with endearing character by becoming an affectionate rebel with a cause and earning the awe of the audience along the way. His striking good looks, unmistakable blue eyes and raw male sexuality never detracted from his performances but added a unique angst. His role as Brick in the 1958 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams‘ Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, opposite Elizabeth Taylor, is filled with the energy that only he could have generated by projecting an archetype image of sexually ambiguous anger. This was the part that earned him his first of ten Oscar nominations as his career spanned more than fifty years.

What a career it was. An accomplished race car driver, a tireless philanthropist who created his own brand of salad dressing and donated all proceeds to charity and a fifty year marriage to actress Joanne Woodward who he met in the Broadway stage version of Picnic in the mid fifties. He had also been accepted as a student at the Actors Studio in New York and took lessons with Marlon Brando, James Dean, Geraldine Page and Ms. Woodward.

Life did not come easy to him in his career. Many classified him as a hunk and did not take him seriously as an actor although his early roles on TV provided some landmark performances, it wasn’t until his second lead film role, portraying a disfigured prizefighter in Somebody Up There Likes Me that Hollywood began to take him seriously. His second Oscar nomination came playing Eddie Felson in a brilliant performance as The Hustler. It was this role that finally earned him his only Oscar as Best Actor when Martin Scorsese directed him in a sequel of sorts, The Color Of Money in 1986, opposite Tom Cruise. He also won a career achievement Oscar and the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award. He continued to redefine his career while remaining a sex symbol and distinguished character actor well into his seventies.

He and Joanne lived in Westport, Connecticut, a quiet and private life out of the Hollywood limelight. So much could be said about his legacy that its impossible to articulate all in one article except perhaps to say that he was one of the last of the great cinema actors of the twentieth century who leaves over sixty five films of memorable acting. At least we have these performances to remember a life well lived.

Somebody up there liked him and everyone down here loved him, one of Hollywood’s golden boys. For a full list of his performances, see the links below.

- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092701838.html
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000056/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Newman

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I never thought there would ever be a President that I loathed more than Richard Nixon. George W. Bush fits that visceral category, a reaction to the last seven and a half years of his derisive administration. It’s difficult to know where to begin the list, a complex mix of premeditation and incompetence that pervades his tenure in office, often evoking images in mind’s eye of the 1964 cinematic masterpiece, Dr. Stranglove Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. A Black comedy beautifully directed and co-written by the late Stanley Kubrick and starring George C. Scott, Peter Sellers and James Earl Jones in memorable performances to name just a few.

Based on the novel, Two Hours To Doom - an outrageous Cold War satire of mutual nuclear annihilation. A classic in Kubrick’s array of diverse films that include Spartacus, Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket and what may prove to be an appropriate caricature of the current Bush administration, Eye’s Wide Shut.

Many of the director’s best characters are obsessive compulsive and perverse in their megalomania. Who can forget Jack Nicholson in Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling novel, The Shining, as a failed writer who becomes a caretaker of an isolated palatial white-house-style hotel. Ghosts of the past slowly invade and control his dark side, leaving him ranting and raving through the corridors of the spacious hotel with his demonic expression and symbolic ax.

How easy it is to imagine those in the highest levels of the Bush Administration portraying characters in a Kubrick film as absurdly demented in their creepy similarity. With a collapsing economy, a war based on fabricated facts and turning a blind eye as Earth approaches ecological disaster as the list continues to grow, these administrators/characters think they can convince the public that what they declare about anything is the best path for America’s destiny. Perhaps a more appropriate comparison is Mr. Bush as Emperor Nero, captured on the January 22, 2007 cover of the New Yorker magazine. A wonderful premise for a Kubrick film.

Then a new book, The Dark Side, written by journalist Jane Mayer, who makes compelling allegations suggesting war crime trials against high Bush administration officials (43) who continue to deliberately disregard Geneva Conventions, denying due process, torturing and justifying it when uncovered.

At this point, dawning reality sets in. This is no cinematic experience or Kubrick satire. It’s a collective nightmare and a dark page in American History.

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.”

Sharp and clever writing from the newest addition to the super hero collection of films: The Dark Knight. Co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan, this is a disturbing adaptation of The Batman Myth set with pathological realism reminiscent of the the violent brutality portrayed in Stanley Kubrick’s, A Clockwork Orange (1971). A fast moving detective story that doesn’t depend on the Batman premise for its mystery as Gotham City is held captive by the demented whims of a psychopathic schizophrenic with lip licking depravity in a brilliant performance by Heath Ledger as The Joker; “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

As the film proceeds it becomes unclear who really is The Dark Knight as the drama is less about Batman (Christian Bale) then the deconstruction of a hero Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the white knight, and the complex psychological associations to its antithesis set in motion by Ledgers’ Joker.

When the line of good and evil begins to obscure, Bruce Wayne tells a concerned Alfred well played by veteran actor Michael Caine, “Batman has no limits.” As the audience watches, not knowing how far he will go, constantly taunted by the Joker who attacks his identity as a protagonist, with twisted logic, drawing similarities between them and Dent as the moral pawn, the Joker’s mesmerizing argument of the fine line illustrating the soul of a hero crossing the line into megalomania. “What is he hiding under that mask?” Honor, respect or something dark and foreboding?

The film has strong performances including the transformation of another hero, commissioner Gordon, beautifully played by Garry Oldman in shades of gray. Even the small parts by Eric Roberts and other incidental characters in the plot all convey implied history to their personalities, multi-layered in a mosaic. But it is Leger’s Joker that elevates the film to another level, although at times painful to watch in its cruelty.

This interpretation, two hours thirty two minutes long, is an adult version of the caped crusader that implores the audience to question bravery, heroism and how close the dark side is to the light when inner motives are questioned. Filmed mostly in Chicago, absent is the surrealism of Tim Burton’s Gotham City, or the comic book visuals usually associated with the super hero film. The ambient light, a hazy yellow conveys the dark mood, while the score builds to a nervous constancy as the violent action scenes develop. An outstanding film, Oscar worthy on many levels especially for the well written script, and Heath Ledger in his final performance, a painful reminder of the fragility of life, another theme of this complex four star film.

For a full list of cast see the IMDB data base link.