Kids Are All Right

I took Toni to see the R-rated “The Kids Are All Right,” which lived up to its hype, we both agreed, as the best movie of the summer. Annette Bening (Nic) and Julianne Moore (Jules) are very realistic as lesbians whose teenage son Laser and daughter Joni (named by Nic for Joni Mitchell) get in touch with Paul (Mark Ruffalo), their common sperm donor, a really cool co-op farmer and restaurant owner, an action that upsets the family dynamics in a variety of ways. Jules is trying to start a landscape business and goes to work on Mark’s backyard. There’s a great scene where she is bent over and he admires her thong panties under her work clothes. They end up in bed on her initiative, which, when discovered, threatens his burgeoning relationship with the kids. I understand that some lesbians (although not my friend Anne) don’t like that the two women like to watch gay male porn in bed to get aroused or the heterosexual affair (when Jules first takes a look at Paul’s penis, she makes a sound as if to say, “Where have you been all of my life?”). Some think Nic is portrayed as the heavy, but all the main characters are portrayed sympathetically, albeit with flaws. Joni has a friend who acts like a slut and Laser hangs around with someone who is reckless, out of control, and insulting if Laser questions his judgment. Both “kids” in the end resist being mere followers, and the implication is that their transition into adulthood, though never easy, will go all right and that at some point Paul will come back into their lives.

Watched the Coen brothers’ zany 1987 comedy “Raising Arizona” on cable. A young childless couple, H.I. and Edwina McDunnough (Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter), kidnap one of Nathan Arizona’s quintuplets. When asked by a policeman to describe the kids’ pajamas, Arazona says, “I don’t know – they were jammies! They had yodas ‘n’ shit on ’em.” Questioned by a suspicious FBI agent why he changed his name from Nathan Huffheins, the furniture storeowner says, “Would you stop at a store called Unpainted Huffheins?” My favorite line of Nathan’s: “If a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump its ass a-hoppin’.” Pure Coen brothers. I also caught the end of “The Insider,” about a tobacco industry whistle blower who comes under attack and how CBS News caves in and shelves the planned “60 Minutes” segment out of fear of a lawsuit. Christopher Plummer does a nice imitation of Mike Wallace.

At a White House function celebrating the onset of Ramadan, Obama declared that Muslims have the same religious freedom as anybody else, including the right to build a mosque on private property near “ground zero,” the site of the 9/11 tragedy. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had been my choice for Barack’s running mate, applauded Obma’s “clarion defense of the freedom of religion.” Predictably Republicans, led by Sarah Palin, are trying to make political hay over the issue. The President didn’t actually say whether or not he favors the mosque being at that location. Palin is demanding a clarification, but Obama has emphasized that it is a local matter. As John Updike wrote in “Terrorist,” “racism, a dozing giant, lulled by decades of liberal singsong, [is] stirred anew.” The novelist was referring to WASP airlines passengers reacting to being stopped and searched by black and Hispanic TSA inspectors. One of the main characters in “Terrorist” is from Philadelphia and recalls with nostalgia the display windows in Wanamaker’s department store and Frihofer bread. One sign of decline: pencils made in China with useless erasers. Updike paraphrases Ralph Waldo Emerson’s comment on dying, that at least you’re done with the dentist.

Won two of four board games and might have triumphed in Stone Age but for a stupid move. Tom and Dave play on line, while I am still a novice. We opened Brass, set in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and played half a practice game. Players build such things as cotton mills and coalmines and then try to sell their products. I was totally confused but kept the game so I could read the rules. On YouTube I found a two-part instruction video. The title of the game is from the English expression, “Where there’s muck there’s brass (meaning money).”

The Northwest Indiana Times ran my “Maria’s Journey” article as the lead story in Sunday’s “Lifestyle” section, using three photographs, including the cover photo. In another Maria is flanked by her ten offspring with a photo of her late husband Miguel in the background. A headshot of Maria appeared on page one of the front section along with a blurb on where readers can find the full story. At my suggestion they included excerpts from IU historian John Bodnar’s introduction. The key to Maria’s measure of success, we both agreed, was her resilience. Ray and Trish Arredondo were thrilled and bought multiple copies. Thanks to The Times’ website people can comment and discuss it. Karen T wanted to know why the children spoke Spanish at home. I replied: “On page 63 of “Maria’s Journey” the Arredondos write: “Miguel insisted that the children speak only Spanish in his presence” because of his dream “that he and his family would eventually return to his homeland.”

I learned that FACET founder Eileen Bender suffered a fatal heart attack. Her daughter found out from my blog that I had interviewed her last December and requested a copy. Aaron agreed to burn two DVDs for the family.

I ran into former vice-chancellor of academic affairs Kwesi Aggrey in the library/conference center hall along with his wife and youngest son. After a warm hug, Kwesi mentioned that they had placed flowers at Robin Hass Birky’s gravesite and that they were headed to Savannah Center to take photos at the Robin Hass Birky Women’s Studies seminar room. He has hired several IU Northwest faculty or administrators since taking a job in North Carolina and I jokingly asked whether he was on a recruiting trip. He told me he received the “Retirement Journal” Steel Shavings issue I sent him. In it he comes off smelling like a rose. In five or six years when our new chancellor reties, Kwesi would be the perfect successor.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” with Michael Cera was so terrible I walked out and into “Eat Pray Love,” which was very slow moving until the Julia Roberts character hooked up with Javier Barden (Felipe) in Bali. I wouldn’t recommend it, but perhaps any movie would pale after “The Kids Are All Right.” I almost chose to see it a third time when “Scott Pilgrim” took a turn toward the ridiculous.