the Plough And The Stars

The above words, amazingly, come from none other than Hanna Sheehy Skeffington. A feminist, suffragete and left-wing nationalist. The subject of her comments is Sean O’ Caseys play, The Plough And The Stars. When we think of the riots the play kicked off, often its easy to imagine a ‘mob’ of religious and conservative nationalists. Sheehy-Skeffingtons opposition shows things were a little more complex.

If anyone was read O’ Caseys book on his time in the Citizen Army, The Story Of The Irish Citizen Army, they’ll know he never held back with his criticism of what he seen as the failures of the movement (Normally, of course, with biting satire and wit)

Sean O’ Casey famously put a motion forward within the movement calling on the Countess Markievicz to “sever her connection” with the nationalist movement if she was to remain active in the labour movement, which fell. After this, O’ Casey resigned his position was Honorary General Secretary.

The motion read:

“Seeing that Madame Markievicz was, through Cumann na mBan, attached to the Volunteers, and on intimate terms with many of the Volunteer leaders, and as the Volunteers’ Association was, in its methods and aims, inimical to the first interests of Labour, it could not be expected that Madame could retain the confidence of the Council; and that she be now asked to sever her connection with either the Volunteers or the Irish Citizen Army”

While many of you have likely seen the play before, its return to the Abbey is most welcome and this promises to be a fantastic production.

For me, the prize moment is always Jack singing Nora to his wife. Nobody has ever come near to the late Ronnie Drews fantastic rendition.

Look here, comrade, there’s no such thing as an Irishman, or an Englishman, or a German or a Turk; we’re all only human bein’s. Scientifically speakin’, it’s all a question of the accidental gatherin’ together of mollycewels an’ atoms

I’ll see you there!

The Plough And The Stars Opens At The Abbey On July 27th,2010
Sean O’ Caseys ‘The Story of the Irish Citizen Army’ can be read free online at Libcom.org

Thomas Nast illustration, Harper's Weekly

Image from Cannonba!! at York Blog (local history section)

HEART CHIMES IN HOLLY TIME.

AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TO CAPT. CHARLES L. EASAM, 15th REG. KY. VOLL.

We are waiting, brother, patiently awaiting
To feel thy fond, fond kiss upon our cheek;
And breathe the welcome words we fain would speak
To thee — the hero, who the tide of battle
Strong, hast breasted since the last time greeting.
We are waiting, patiently awaiting.

We are waiting, brother, hopefully awaiting,
Within our dear old home the childhood light
Is burning cheerily for thee to-night.
Seasons are weary since our New Year parting,
And changes many since our last fond meeting.
We are waiting, hopefully awaiting.

We are waiting, brother, anxiously awaiting,
Ever through the long, long night we’re pining.
Thou comest not while stars are sweetly shining,
Nor yet at morning in the glory light.
And when the sunshine and the day is waning
We are waiting, anxiously awaiting.

We are waiting, brother, tearfully awaiting,
White as snow, thy mother’s cheek is failing
While listening to the chill wind wailing.
The Christmas hearth-lights burn but dimly — faintly!
Cold dew-damps gather fast, and hope is dying.
We are waiting, tearfully awaiting.

Hark! hear the watch dog bark! we are not waiting!
We hear a manly voice so soft and tender –
We raise our own to meet thy dark eyes splendor –
That heart beat — then Christmas chime is sweeter,
Lights are brighter and the hearth stone, glowing.
Thank God! we are not waiting, vainly waiting.

Yes, we are waiting, hopelessly awaiting.
A messenger came with that cruel letter:
“Be patient, mother dear. I am not coming;
No leave of absence yet — no home returning.”
For me no Christmas chimes, no hearth light burning.
Only waiting, hopelessly awaiting.

Dear brother, through this agony of waiting,
“While the old year lies a dying” — waiting!
Other forms we love may come without thee!
Thy vacant place, ah! none can fill it!
Thy voice is silent — again to hear it!
God grant we may not thus be ever waiting!

SALLIE J. HANCOCK, of Kentucky.

The Portsmouth Times (Portsmouth, Ohio) Jan 9, 1864

Image from http://wp.tastebudchicago.com

From the Wilkesbarre Democrat.

A PARODY.

Turkies! who on Christmas bled,
Turkies! who on corn have fed,
Welcome to us now you’re dead,
And in the frost have hung.

“Now’s the day and now’s the hour,”
Through the market how we scour,
Seeking Turkies to devour,
Turkies old and young.

Who would be a Turkey hen;
Fed and fatten’d in a pen –
Kill’d and ate by hungry men; –
Can you tell, I pray?

Lay the proud old Turkies low,
Let the young ones run and grow,
To market they’re not fit to go,
Till next Christmas day.

The Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) Dec 27, 1831

Image from http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com

CHRISTMAS DAY.

Let this day see all wrongs forgiven,
Let peace sit crowned in every heart;
Let bitter words be left unsaid,
Let each one take his brother’s part;
Let sad eyes learn again to smile, –
A day is such a little while, –
Of all days this the shortest!

Let rich and poor together meet,
While words of kindness fill the air;
Let love spread roses in the way,
Though winter reigneth everywhere;
Let us know naught of craft or guile,
A day is such a little while, –
Of all days this the shortest!

Let us help, each with loving care,
Our brothers on the way to Heaven;
Let’s lay aside all selfishness;
Let pride from every heart be driven,
Let Christmas-day bring many a smile, –
A day is such a little while, –
Of all days this the shortest.

Indiana Weekly Messenger (Indiana, Pennsylvania) Dec 22, 1880

Image from www.operationlettertosanta.com

The Christmas Jubilee.

We can almost hear the chiming
Of the joyous Christmas bells;
Almost feel the mirth and gladness
That the Christmas tide foretells.
We can almost hear the echo
From Judea’s distant plain;
Almost hear the bursts of music
That will float in sweet refrain.

Everywhere in expectation
Hearts are beating with delight,
And in childhood’s happy kingdom
Every eye is beaming bright.
Soon the dawn will be upon us
As from out the night it wells,
And the earth will hear the music
Of the merry Christmas bells.

Soon the wondrous star of glory
Will illume the Eastern sky,
And the angel bands of heaven
Will sing paeans from on high.
Soon the story of the manger
Will be heard throughout the earth,
And each heart will leap with gladness
O’er a loving Savior’s birth.

Soon the chiming bells of Christmas
Will be ringing sweet and clear,
Pealing forth the joyful message
To all nations, far and near.
Soon the lofty dome of heaven
Will resound with music sweet,
As the bells of earth exultingly
The old-time song repeat.

Hail we then the joyful Christmas –
Happiest time of all the year –
With its sweet and ringing music,
With its mirth and boundless cheer.
Every lip is singing praises;
Every fireside rings with glee;
Every heart is shouting “welcome!”
To the Christmas jubilee.

– G.C. RHODERICK, JR., in Middletown Register.

The News (Frederick, Maryland) Dec 21, 1891

Image from www.gutenberg.org

Yule-Tide in Many Lands

by Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann 1916

Chapter IX – Yule-Tide in America

Water Lilies, 1916

On a wall in the lobby of the Abbey, near the cloakroom, sits a discrete plaque, unveiled by Sean Lemass in 1966.  It commemorates the seven company members who downed tools to take up arms in the 1916 Rising.

One of them, an actor named Sean Connolly, was the first Irish casualty of the Rising, shot by a sniper as he attempted to take City Hall with a small Citizen Army force. Also amongst them was Peadar Kearney, the author of The Soldier’s Song. Three of the seven were women, including the Abbey’s first leading lady, Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh.

Nearly a century on from their decision to replace (or augment) cultural activism with revolutionary action, it seems that the Abbey might come – ostensibly – full circle, and move to a new home at the GPO on O’Connell Street. In vivid echo of the contribution of these seven, the Abbey would become a living memorial for the Rising, and an ongoing statement of the republican ambition of the signatories of the Proclamation.

The idea of moving the Abbey to the GPO was first touted publicly earlier this year by David Norris. Its appearance in the revised programme for government appeared to smack of tokenism and distraction; but now it seems that the Minister, Martin Cullen, to judge by comments reported last week, is not only fully behind the move, but has done extensive preliminary studies on it. He expects a government decision to back the move, at a cost of €80-90 million, within a few months.

The fact that this option is being considered at all is testament to a prolonged, dual failure on the part of both the Abbey and the government, stretching back over a decade.

The first, most obvious failure has been to get a new Abbey Theatre built. Since Patrick Mason’s practical and well-thought out proposal in 1997 to rebuild on the existing site, the theatre has been the victim of a combination of political procrastination, rising property prices, hubris (on the part of both management and government), and clientelism.

Both the rebuild on the Abbey site, and a subsequent prospective move to the Coláiste Mhuire site on Parnell Square, were quashed because of the prices being quoted for adjoining properties. A touted move to Grand Canal Dock (where the spanking new Daniel Libeskind theatre is soon to open) would have taken it out of Bertie Ahern’s back yard, and was blocked. A government-approved move to the IFSC stalled amidst confusion over the site’s footprint and technical requirements.

All along, the most attractive site for the theatre was clearly that of the old Carlton Cinema on O’Connell Street, but this was tied up in legal action for most of the past decade.

The move to the GPO, therefore, has immediate and obvious attractions: it replicates the advantages of the Carlton site with its prime location, and adds to it the considerable weight of the GPO’s existing status as a historical and architectural landmark.

But there are risks, however. The GPO is probably the country’s most functional “monument”: without any explicit “attraction” in place, thousands of citizens visit it each day – many more than would visit a theatre. Its epic proportions and beauty have a more tangible aesthetic impact on ordinary lives in the course of its everyday use as a post office than it might as a theatre.

The other risk is one of historical confusion. The legacies of the GPO and the Abbey may overlap (most notably in the actions of Sean Connolly and his comrades), but they are crucially distinct.

This is most obvious in the Abbey’s role as a site of dissent: when audiences rioted in 1907 at the premiere of ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ and, again, in 1926, at the premiere of ‘The Plough and the Stars’ they did so because the Abbey’s vision of the nation challenged – and even spurned – that upheld by the mainstream. There is a risk that relocating the Abbey to the GPO would subsume the former’s dissenting identity.

(The way to obviate this risk is obvious, however: stage something scabrously satirical as the inaugural production at the new Abbey in 2016.)

The second failure in the debate on the Abbey’s move has been, ironically, the lack of debate. There has been an utter failure to seek any civic participation in the question of the Abbey’s location, and as a result there has been none of what is now often called “stakeholder buy-in”.

Something critical, but largely unobserved, happened at the time of the Abbey’s crisis in 2004. As the Abbey teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, with a lame-duck board that was in the process of dissolving itself, the government made a decision that more properly should have been made by the theatre itself: that it would move to the IFSC.

For a company founded by Yeats and Lady Gregory as an independent, intellectual voice of Irish revival, that was an extraordinary coup.

Martin Cullen appears in a hurry to progress the move to the GPO. But haste has laid waste to previous plans. What is vital is that, this time, the assessment of the viability of the move includes a forum for public participation, and a survey of key constituencies, such as the Abbey company as a whole, the wider theatre community, and historians.

Dissent is a key element in the legacies of both the Abbey and the GPO. On this issue in particular, we need to hear it.

Carlos Torano Churchill
7X48
Cameroon Wrapper
Nic/Honduran Filler

Wow is all I can say. Another Torano hit for me. I picked these up a few weeks ago and got a damns teal for a five pack. Sporting an African wrapper with Honduran and Nicaraguan filler, this cigar has a fine, soft and sensual taste. Not as oily as the previous Torano Signature I reviewed or the La Riqueza I’ve yet to review but just enough . The flavor profile changes in thirds, starting out with an earthy sweetness that builds up to that oily tastiness. Smooth chocolate flavors round out the end.

The draw was a little tough but that may have been my fault. The cigar lit well, has solid construction and will be one I’ll keep in my humidor for awhile. I enjoyed it with nothing as I’m too broke to buy beer or scotch right now LOL! This is a well balanced cigar with a changing profile.

From Cigar.com

he Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon is a cigar that pays homage to the family’s roots. Using a rare African wrapper and the finest Honduran fillers, the cigar stands out as one of the best cigars ever made by the Toranos. The aroma is tangy and spicy with a medium to full-body. When enjoying this cigar, it is easy to think about the rich history of the tobacco industry and the dedication of the blenders and rollers. The Carlos Torano 1916 in particular provides a glimpse into a bygone era when cigars were a staple of class and sophistication. This cigar is among the best Cameroon cigars available and is ideal for cigar lovers who enjoy tobacco from the Cameroon region.

I have to agree. The Cameroon wrapper is just so tasty Smoke time was about two hours. The price is definitely right too at about $7 a stick from Cigar.com.

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch December 9, 1916) is an American actor and film producer recognized for his prominent cleft chin, his gravelly voice and his recurring roles as the kinds of characters Douglas himself once described as “sons of bitches”. He is the father of Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas. He was #17 on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.

Trivia:

Recipient of American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement award, with screening of 16 his films, Decemer 1999. 

Ranked #53 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list, October 1997. 

Born Issur Danielovitch to father Jacob Danielovitch, and mother Bryna, from Russia, who came to America in 1912. 

Suffered a stroke in 1995 that made it very difficult for him to talk. Speech therapy over the years alleviated the problem greatly. 

Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter on 17th January 1981. This is the highest US honor a civilian can receive. 

Turned down two Oscar-winning roles: Lee Marvin’s in Cat Ballou (1965) and William Holden’s in Stalag 17 (1953). 

Father of 4 sons: Michael Douglas, Eric Douglas, Joel Douglas and Peter Douglas. 

Earned $50,000 for saying the only English word at the end of a 1980s Japanese TV commercial: “Coffee”. 

Speaks German (fluently, but not accent-free) and also French. 

Survived a helicopter crash on 23 February 1991 in which two people were killed. He was left with a debilitating back injury. 

Kirk has celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twice. Once, obviously, when he was 13 years old and the other time when he was 83 years old. 

President Class Of 1939, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. Graduated with a degree in English. 

Received a UCLA Medal of honor 14 June 2002 from the University of California, Los Angeles, during school’s graduation ceremony for theater, film and television students. Previous recipients include former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and actors Laurence Olivier and Carol Burnett. 

Granddaughter Carys Zeta Douglas born April 21, 2003. 

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1984. 

Father-in-law of Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

Was originally cast to play Col. Sam Trautman in First Blood (1982), but walked out on the project. Douglas wanted substantial changes made to the script, specifically that John Rambo die at the hands of Trautman, like the character did in the novel. The writers held their ground and refused. Richard Crenna was eventually cast in the role. 

He was voted the 36th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. 

He wore lifts in many of his films, which made him appear about 5′ 11″ or 6 feet on screen. Once, as a prank, Burt Lancaster found Douglas’s lifts on a film set and hid them from him, which allegedly infuriated the shorter actor. 

Kirk had a fully Jewish upbringing, but did not practice extensively as an adult. This changed when, in his 80s, he had a second Bar Mitzvah, reaffirming his faith and causing him to practice again. 

Was named #17 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute. 

Had a pacemaker fitted following a heart attack in a restaurant in August 1986. 

President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. 

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970. 

He and Burt Lancaster acted together in 7 movies: Victory at Entebbe (1976) (TV), Tough Guys (1986), Seven Days in May (1964), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and The Devil’s Disciple (1959). 

He was not as good of a friend with Burt Lancaster as was often perceived. The closeness of their friendship was largely fabricated by the publicity-wise Douglas, while, in reality, Lancaster was often cruel and dismissive to Douglas. 

He had both knees replaced in 2005, against the advice of his doctors. The operation was a success. 

After his son Michael Douglas was fired from the stage production of the play “Summer Tree”, Kirk bought the stage and film rights to the story and gave it to Michael to star in. 

Grandfather of 7 children: Cameron Douglas (b. 13 December 1978), Dylan Michael Douglas (b. 8 August 2000), Carys Zeta Douglas (b. 20 April 2003) (children of his son Michael Douglas), Kelsey (b. 1992), Tyler (b. 1996), Ryan (b. 2000) and Jason (b. 2003) (children of his son Peter Douglas) 

Former father-in-law of Diandra Douglas. 

Appeared in a stage production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and later bought the film rights. He didn’t make a movie of it and eventually turned the rights over to his son Michael Douglas, who was able to secure financing and produce the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). 

If he had not heeded wife Anne Buydens’s advice, he would have been on producer Michael Todd’s private plane in 1958 when it crashed and killed all onboard. Todd’s wife Elizabeth Taylor was also scheduled to be on the plane but canceled to to a bad cold. 

Met his German wife-to-be, Anne Buydens, when she applied for a job as his assistant on the French location shoot for the movie Un acte d’amour (1953). 

He was awarded the American National Medal of Arts in 2001 from the National Endowment of the Arts. 

He lived in Palm Springs, CA, for more than 40 years. In October 2005 the city honored him by naming a lushly-landscaped drive “Kirk Douglas Way”. It winds around part of Palm Springs International Airport. A lavish ceremony and party was given by the Palm Springs International Film Society and International Film Festival and was attended by the actor, his wife Anne Buydens and their three surviving sons. His son Joel, also a Palm Springs resident, was responsible for the campaign. 

Gave up his two- to three-pack-a-day cigarette habit in 1950 after his father died from lung cancer at the age of 72. 

In 1955 he was among the first actors to set up his own production company. He called it Bryna, after his mother. 

He and his wife Anne Buydens renewed their wedding vows in California around the 50th anniversary of their 1954 marriage. They reaffirmed their vows before 300 friends and family members at the famous Greystone Estate in Beverly Hills. Guests included Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Nancy Davis and Tony Curtis. Douglas walked into the traditional Jewish ceremony to the tune of “I’m In The Mood For Love” and later sang a tune he’d written for the occasion, “Please Stay In Love With Me”. 

Attended the state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, Gov. with Charlton Heston, Tom Selleck and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on June 11, 2004. 

Helped break the Hollywood blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo, a member of the “Hollywood Ten”, to write the screenplay. Despite widespread criticism from many in the industry, including John Wayne and Hedda Hopper, Douglas refused to back down and Trumbo received a screen credit under his own name. When presenting Douglas with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996) (TV), Steven Spielberg thanked Douglas for his courage. 

Attended the premiere of Basic Instinct (1992). 

Fell out with his close friend, former President Jimmy Carter, over Carter’s 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid”. 

His idol was President Harry S. Truman. 

Confirmed his retirement from acting after making Illusion (2004). 

While filming The War Wagon (1967) in September 1966, Douglas enraged his co-star John Wayne by recording a television advertisement for Edmund G. Brown, the Democratic Governor of California, after Wayne had recorded an advertisement for Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. 

Admitted he made The Big Trees (1952) for nothing just to get out of his contract with Warner Bros. He later said, “It was a terrible movie.”. 

In his last book, “Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning”, he expressed regret at turning down William Holden’s Oscar-winning role in Stalag 17 (1953), Stephen Boyd’s role in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Lee Marvin’s Oscar-winning role in Cat Ballou (1965). 

He was a close friend of Jack Valenti. 

He was originally cast in John Wayne’s role in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), but pulled out in order to make Champion (1949). 

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. 

Is an avid user of the Internet and is registered with MySpace. 

Best of friends with Karl Malden (who was also very close with his son Michael Douglas), with whom he co-starred on “The Streets of San Francisco” (1972). After he died, Douglas remarked that their acquaintance was the longest he had with anyone in his life, lasting 70 years.

Originally found on Venezuela Analysis on November 23, 2009.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for the formation of a “Fifth International” of left parties and social movements to confront the challenge posed by the global crisis of capitalism.

The president made the announcement during an international conference of more than fifty left organisations from thirty-one countries held in Caracas over November 19-21.

“I assume responsibility before the world. I think it is time to convene the Fifth International, and I dare to make the call, which I think is a necessity. I dare to request that we create my proposal,” Chavez said.

The head of state insisted that the conference of left parties should not be “just one more meeting,” and he invited participating organizations to create a truly new project. “This socialist encounter should be of the genuine left, willing to fight against imperialism and capitalism,” he said.

During his speech, Chavez briefly outlined the experiences of previous “internationals,” including the First International founded in 1864 by Karl Marx; the Second International founded in 1889, which collapsed in 1916 as various left parties and trade unions sided with their respective capitalist classes in the inter-imperialist conflict of the First World War; the Third International founded by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, which Chavez said “degenerated” under Stalinism and “betrayed” struggles for socialism around the world; and the Fourth International founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938, which suffered numerous splits and no longer exists, although some small groups claim to represent its political continuity.

Chavez said that a new international would have to function “without impositions” and would have to respect diversity.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in San Carlos.

Representatives from a number of major parties in Latin America voiced their support for the proposal, including the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) of Bolivia, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) of El Salvador, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua, and Alianza Pais of Ecuador.

Smaller parties from Latin America and around the world also indicated their support for the idea, including the Proposal for an Alternative Society (PAS) of Chile, New Nation Alternative (ANN) of Guatemala, and Australia’s Socialist Alliance, among others.

Sandinista leader Miguel D´Escoto said, “Capitalism has brought the human species to the precipice of extinction… we have to take control of our own destiny.”

“There is no time to lose,” D’Escoto added as he conveyed his support for the proposal of forming a fifth international. “We have to overcome the tendency of defeatism. Many times I have noted a tendency of defeatism amongst comrades of the left in relation to the tasks we face,” he continued.

Salvador Sánchez, from the FMLN, said “We are going to be important actors in the Fifth International. We cannot continue waiting – all the forces of the left. The aspiration of the peoples is to walk down a different path. We must not hesitate in forming the Fifth International. The people have pronounced themselves in favour of change and the parties of the left must be there with them.”

Other organisations, including Portugal’s Left Block, Germany’s Die Linke, and France’s Partido Gauche expressed interest in the proposal but said they would consult with their various parties. A representative of the Cuban Communist Party described the proposal as “excellent,” but as yet the party has made no formal statement.

Many communist parties, including those from Greece and Brazil, expressed strong opposition to the proposal. The Venezuelan Communist Party said it was willing to discuss the proposal but expressed strong reservations.

The Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) from Colombia expressed its willingness to work with other left parties, but said it would “reserve” its decision to participate in an international organisation of left parties.

Valter Pomar, a representative from the Workers Party of Brazil (PT), said its priority is the Sao Paolo Forum – a forum of various Latin American left, socialist, communist, centre-left, labour, social democratic and nationalist parties launched by the PT in 1990.

A resolution was passed at the conference to form a preparatory committee to convoke a global conference of left parties in Caracas in April 2010, to discuss the formation of a new international. The resolution also allowed for other parties that remain undecided to discuss the proposal and incorporate themselves at a later date.

Chavez emphasised the importance of being inclusive and said the April conference had to go far beyond the parties and organisations that participated in last week’s conference. In particular, he said it was an error that there were no revolutionary organisations from the United States present.

The conference of left parties also passed a resolution titled the Caracas Commitment, “to reaffirm our conviction to definitively build and win Socialism of the 21st Century,” in the face of “the generalized crisis of the global capitalist system.”

“One of the epicentres of the global capitalist crisis is the economic sphere. This highlights the limitations of unbridled free markets dominated by monopolies of private property,” the resolution stated.

Also incorporated was a proposed amendment by the Australian delegation which read, “In synthesis, the crisis of capitalism cannot be reduced to a simple financial crisis, it is a structural crisis of capital that combines the economic crisis, with an ecological crisis, a food crisis and an energy crisis, which together represent a mortal threat to humanity and nature. In the face of this crisis, the movements and parties of the left see the defence of nature and the construction of an ecologically sustainable society as a fundamental axis of our struggle for a better world.”

The Caracas Commitment expressed “solidarity with the peoples of the world who have suffered and are suffering from imperialist aggression, especially the more than 50 years of the genocidal blockade against Cuba… the massacre of the Palestinian people, the illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Western Sahara, and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, which today is expanding into Pakistan.”

The conference of left parties also denounced the decision of the Mexican government to shut down the state-owned electricity company and fire 45,000 workers, as an attempt to “intimidate” the workers and as an “offensive of imperialism,” to advance neoliberal privatisation in Central America.

In the framework of the Caracas Commitment, the left parties present agreed, among other things, to:

• Organise a global week of mobilisation from December 12-17 in repudiation of the installation of U.S. military bases in Colombia, Panama and around the world.

• Campaign for an international trial against George Bush for crimes against humanity, as the person principally responsible for the genocide against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Commemorate 100 years since the proposal by Clara Zetkin to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, through forums, mobilizations and other activities in their respective countries.

• Organise global solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution in the face of permanent imperialist attacks.

• Organise global solidarity with the people of Honduras who are resisting a U.S.-backed military coup, to campaign for the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya and to organise a global vigil on the day of the elections in Honduras, “with which they aim to legitimise the coup d´etat.”

• Demand an “immediate and unconditional end to the criminal Yankee blockade” of Cuba and for the “immediate liberation” of the Cuban Five, referring to the five anti-terrorist activists imprisoned in the United States.

• Accompany the Haitian people in their struggle for the return of President Jean Bertrand Aristide “who was kidnapped and removed from his post as president of Haiti by North American imperialism.”

With the collapse of the Philadelphia dynasty after 1914, the Red Sox assumed the mantle as the American League’s premiere team. It was a position they would hold through 1918. In that period they would play in and win 3 World Series. The first 2 were in 1915 and 1916.

There were some significant differences in the 1915-16 Red Sox and the team that won in 1912. Catcher Bill Carrigan was now the manager, Everett Scott had moved to shortstop and the pitching staff had a major overhaul. Joe Wood was still around, but Rube Foster (no, not THAT Rube Foster) and Ernie Shore were now the aces. Babe Ruth (yes, THAT Babe Ruth) was now the lefty. Interestingly enough, the Sox appear to have experimented at least a little with a closer. Carl Mays pitched 36 games, but started only 6 and led the league with 6 saves (a stat that hadn’t been invented yet). They faced Philadelphia in the 1915 World Series and won it in 5 games losing only game 1 to Grover Cleveland Alexander (who, frankly didn’t look much like Ronald Reagan). Most of the games were close, only game one being decided by more than one run, but the Sox outhit the Phillies .264 to .162 and hit 3 of the four home runs (Harry Hooper led with 2).

The 1916 team was substantially the same team except that they had traded center fielder Tris Speaker to Cleveland (where he would win the 1920 World Series as the player-manager). The only other major change saw former A’s shortstop Jack Barry installed as the new second baseman. By 1916 Mays was  a starter and Ruth was the team ace with 23 wins and 170 strikeouts. He was 3rd in wins and 2nd in strikeouts, losing to Walter Johnson in both cases.

They again took the Series in 5 games, Brooklyn winning only game 3. The first 3 games were close, but Boston began to pull away in the last two games. Ruth began his record setting run of consecutive scoreless innings pitched in this Series, winning 2 games. As an aside, Brooklyn wore what has to be the ugliest uniforms in Major League history. Maybe we all owe the Sox a vote of thanks. If Brooklyn had won, we might have been stuck with those ugly uniforms for years.

The Sox fell back in 1917, finishing 2nd by nine games. The dynasty wasn’t over quite yet. A couple of quick fixes and the stage was set for 1918.

“In French it means “hobby horse”. In German it means “good-bye”, “Get off my back”, “Be seeing you sometime”. In Romanian: “Yes, indeed, you are right, that’s it. But of course, yes, definitely, right”….The word, gentlemen, is a public concern of the first importance.” -From the dada manifesto read by Hugo Ball at the first public Dada event on July 14, 1916

And with that declaration, Hugo Ball launched one of the most influential and important (anti-) art actions of all time, Dada.

Zurich of 1916 was the gathering place for refugees from war-torn Europe, a place where people came to find peace and stability.  It was also a relatively permissive environment that had a history of accepting the revolutionary ideas of Europe’s disillusioned intellectuals, including Lenin who was preparing his own revolution in 1916.  Therefore, it’s no surprise that artists, political activists, intellectuals, and regular citizens weary of the fighting and death in their native lands swarmed to Zurich, getting together at bars and cafes, planning new revolutions (political and otherwise) and discussing till all hours of the night the “future society”.

Among these refugees were Hugo Ball, his soon-to-be wife, Emmy Hemmings, Tristan Tzara, the Janco brothers, (Marcel, George, and Jules), Arthur Segal, Jean Arp, and Richard Huelsenbeck, the future founders of Dada and its home, the Cabaret Voltaire.  Many of the group’s original members were Romanian Jews escaping the ultranationalist and anti-Semitic tendencies rapidly taking shape in Romania, while others were Germans escaping the war.  They were united by their conviction that the horrors around them, the death and destruction, were rooted in outdated bourgeois values that still governed Europe, and that that societal order, with its inequalities and brutality, needed to be destroyed for another, more human, to be created.

And it was with this desire to destroy accepted values and tradition that Hugo Ball went to the owner of a bar in the old town of Zurich, the Hollandische Meierei, to ask its owner, Ephraim Jan, for the back room, to be used for a new project: a cabaret with singing, theatrics, music, visual art exhibitions, and all sorts of other performances that would disturb bourgeois sensibilities.  It was called the Cabaret Voltaire after the French philosopher who once had also challenged the status quo with his enlightened ideals, it opened for the first time on February 5, 1916.

This first event was not much different from the cabarets or soirees that Ball had organized before in Berlin.  Most artists involved came from an expressionist or futurist background, while the music was relatively tame and mainstream in those modern art circles.  But with time, the performances became more and more daring, pushing the limits of respectability to the ultimate climax on July 14, 1916, when the first soiree essentially dada took place.

Most of these artists, specifically Ball, Tzara, the Janco brothers, and Huelsenbeck, were well read in contemporary political theory, and sympathized with anarchic ideals.  Hugo Ball was a great admirer of the Russian anarchy theorist Mikhail Bakunin, who had also spent time in Zurich , but a few decades earlier in the 1870s.

Influenced by Bakunin’s ideas, Ball and his friends started to apply his theories, which Ball considered “to be Dada in political disguise”[1], to their new mode of art creation, whose name they also conceived anarchically, by chance.  The legend goes that the name for what they were doing was adopted by randomly sticking a knife into a dictionary and finding under the blade the noun dada, hobby-horse in French.  Conveniently enough, the name also means “yeah, yeah” in Romanian, or “yeah, right”, an obvious slap in the face to the tradition of “isms” epitomizing theory, order, and reason in the early 20^th century. Once dada became an international phenomenon, with adherents in all major world cities, artists started debating the origin of the name, claiming it as their own finding.

In the introduction to the first and only issue of the publication called the Cabaret Voltaire, where the idea of dada first appeared formally at the end of May 1916, Ball wrote a humorous account of the process of launching the cabaret, “When I founded the Cabaret Voltaire, I was of the opinion that there ought to be a few young people in Switzerland who not only laid stress, as I did, on enjoying their independence, but also wished to proclaim it. I went to Mr. Ephraim, the owner of the “Meierei” restaurant and said, ‘Please, Mr. Ephraim, let me have your hall. I want to make a cabaret.’ Mr. Ephraim agreed. So I went to some friends of mine and asked them, ‘Please, let me have a picture, a drawing, an engraving. I want to have an exhibition to go with my cabaret.’ And I went to the friendly press of Zürich and said, ‘Write a few notes. It shall be an international cabaret. We want to do some beautiful things.’ And they gave me pictures, and they wrote the notes. … It is to exemplify the activities and the interests of the cabaret, whose whole endeavour is directed at reminding the world, across the war and various fatherlands, of those few independent spirits that live for other ideals. The next aim of the artists united here is to publish an international periodical. This will appear at Zürich and will be called ‘DADA Dada Dada Dada Dada.’”

Unfortunately, the cabaret soon closed in June 1916, but dada was just beginning.  The Dadaists, despite an internal conflict brewing among them, rented a room for one night at the Waag Hall and there they held the historic July 14 Dada Soiree, which officially launched dada with Ball’s first version of the manifesto (anti-manifesto), Tzara reading his own manifesto, Huelsenbeck reading his phonetic poem, more wild performances, absurdist literary readings, avantgardist works of art, and general chaos.  Every gesture and every move was calculated for the most impact and shock in the audience, thus ensuring the group’s aim of destruction and negation of acceptability, aesthetic, and reason.  If art until then had been based on aesthetic, then dada was anti-art, and these performances were hideous and disturbing, like the war around them.

After the closing of the Cabaret Voltaire when Mr. Jan could no longer take the madness, the artists associated with dada moved on, first hosting regular exhibitions at Galerie Dada in Bahnhofstr 19, which also closed soon thereafter in June 1917, then to other cities bringing dada ideas with them and establishing local dada branches.  Those that didn’t remain Dadaists went on to create great work in other movements, particularly Surrealism.  However, Hugo Ball, who actually separated himself from Dada in early 1920, turned to Christianity and retired to Ticino until his death.  Tzara went on to establishing the Dada school of thought and become its main promoter and leader.

Since its closing in 1916, the building housing the Cabaret Voltaire on Spiegelgasse 1 has gone through many transformations.  In 1989, the space was a Teen ‘n’ Twenty disco, with only a plaque with the word dadaismus on the building, commemorating the cultural revolution’s origins.  But in 2002, while the building’s owner was considering turning it into offices, a group of artists, among whom Mark Divo, a conceptual artist now living in Prague, squatted the building and started a series of dada performances and festivals to raise awareness of its history and importance.

The excitement generated by these events were noticed by Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, and along with the Zurich City Social-Democratic Party and architecture magazine “Hochparterre”, petitioned the city government to open an arts center dedicated to dada at the location.  Swatch promised a few million francs in funding over a five-year period, with the expectation to sell its dada watches in the center’s shop.

And thus, in 2004, Cabaret Voltaire, funded by the city of Zurich and private funders, opened its doors as an institution.  What would have thought the fanatically anti-establishment dadaists about this institution dedicated to what cannot be institutionalized?  In one of his letters to Tristan Tzara after his break with Dada’s  direction under Tzara’s leadership, Hugo Ball, the original co-founder of the movement wrote, “I have another system now. I want to do it differently….I declare hereby that Expressionism, Dadaism and other “isms” are the worst type of bourgeoisie.  All are bourgeoisie, all bourgeoisie.  Evil, evil, evil” (Ball, Briefe, September 15, 1916, p 62-63).

This week the Comic Cast sat down for a cup of tea with comics writer and artist Gerry Hunt. Gerry’s comics include In Dublin City, Streets of Dublin and the recently released Blood Upon the Rose – a retelling of the events of the 1916 Easter Rising published by The O’Brien Press. Here he talks about how he went from architecture to comics, working with BrenB (a frequent colourist of his comics), the importance of Irish made comics being set in Ireland and his next comic about the viking undead. Enjoy.

Download Show: The Comic Cast 09/10/09

Show Links:

Blood Upon the Rose (site at O’Brien Press)

Blood Upon the Rose (view a PDF extract from Gerry’s latest comic)

BrenB on the Comic Cast (our interview with Gerry’s frequent colourist)

Ya se van sabiendo más cosas acerca del proyecto cinematográfico de la actriz y productora Nicola Charles sobre el Levantamiento de Pascua de 1916, ‘Easter Sixteen’, del que hablamos hace unos meses.  El rodaje empezará en Dublín siete meses más tarde de lo previsto: será en abril de 2010. Junto a Guy Pearce (Patrick Pearse) e Ian Hart (Thomas Clarke), será el actor británico Gary Oldman quien encarne al tercer líder de la rebelión, el sindicalista James Connolly.

El reparto lo completarán Chris O’Donnell, Elaine Cassidy y Anthony La Paglia, mientras que el propio director Jason Barry interpretará a Roger Casement, el diplomático revolucionario.

Palo, Ia. Nov. 13, 1916

Dear Merl: Just a line to let you know all well as usual. Every body busy getting ready for winter. Bert’s have a new boy baby. Schools in Fine-mont (?) Twp. closed on account of the infantile paralysis also small pox in neighborhood. I can see rabbits in orchards. Our men are about through husking corn. Are you sliding on your sled. Send best regards to all. Write soon. Lovingly, Alma Edwards (?)

This postcard from 1916 is terribly touching. It is written in November, and as the winter approaches the ‘men’ have almost finished husking the corn of the harvest. Our correspondent looks out upon her orchard and surprisingly sees rabbits! A vision filled with hope, as is the new baby boy in the neighborhood. But all so fragile . . . for the schools are closed due to not only one, but two! diseases we don’t worry about too much here today: smallpox and infantile paralysis – which is polio.

The note ends with a question about sledding. A whisk down a hill, on a toy made by our powers of imagination, some wood and some steel! And in the final address, a call to action: Write soon! and the letter is signed . . . Lovingly,

A postcard best left to speak for itself. We can eat an apple a day but sometimes that’s not all it takes.

And while we may not have the answers to everything,  a spiced mulled cider can certainly keep our hands warm while musing on it all.

Love,
Karen

Spiced Mulled Cider

Heat cider to just below a simmer with your choice of flavorings stirred in: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, orange zest, lemon zest, almond extract, rosemary.

If you really need thinking time, whipped cream can be added on top.

Unul dintre cele mai mari stadioane ale Europei se pregateste de mare meci mare. Iar in unul dintre cele 6 vestiare identice, cel rezervat oaspetilor la Croke Park, am simtit ca Franta va avea o seara fierbinte in 14 noiembrie pe o ultramoderna arena pe care candva s-a tras in multime si care e  oferita temporar de Gaelic Athletic Association si pentru jocuri de fotbal ori rugby.

Parte a turului de prezentare a Croke Park, vestiarul ce va fi folosit de Franta e in mod normal intesat cu tricourile cluburilor de hurling din liga All-Ireland, cluburi patronate de Gaelic Athletic Association, aflata la 125 ani de existenta si fiintand la acest stadion, unul al tuturora

In 1 noiembrie s-au implinit 125 de ani de la fondarea Gaelic Athletic Association, cea mai mare organizatie sportiva si culturala din Republica Irlanda, incorporand jocul national, hurlingul, practicat cu crose si o mingiuca, dar si versiuni ale fotbalului si handbalului, nu cele pe care le stim cu totii. Gaelic football…

Legatura cu fotbalul nostru o face stadionul cu 82.300 locuri Croke Park, inima nationala a traditionalului si mult iubitului hurling dar si sediu al GAA, ce imprumuta arena federatiilor de rugby si fotbal, din 2007 incoace si pana la finalizarea reamenajarii, vara viitoare, a vechiului Lansdowne Road, unde Romania incheia cu un 1-1 campania de calificare la Coupe du Monde ’98.

Peluza estica, Hill 16, dealul 1916, are scaune detasabile si muzeul GAA in pantece. Cu un istoric al asociatiei, jocurilor de All-Ireland hurling si Gaelic football, si al insasi nasterii Irlandei moderne, independenta

Anii au trecut iar finalista la zi de mondial Franta, de trei ori egala Romaniei in nici un an si jumatate, va descinde pe Croke Park intr-o seara de sambata, cu gandul la Africa de Sud, impartasit si de verzii lui Trapattoni, veniti dupa remize aici in 2009 cu Bulgaria, Italia si Muntenegru, in grupa. Irlanda – Franta, la Dublin, in prima mansa a barajului. Inca un egal?

Cert este ca la o zi dupa meci portile cu plasa vor lasa loc buturilor, pentru jocul de rugby Irlanda – Australia, din seria de toamna patronata de Guinness, semn ca Gaelic Athletic Association este intr-adevar o gazda buna cu federatiile “verisoare”. La ora partidei cu francezii, casa hurlingului va pune deoparte tricourile zecilor de cluburi angrenate in jocul cu crosa, altfel expuse pe locurile din vestiarul ce va fi ocupat de “Cocosul Galic”. De fapt unul dintre cele 6 vestiare, absolut identice, de pe Croke Park, dovada ca arena nationala reuneste toate culorile jocurilor de hurling si Gaelic football.

Tribuna nordica, Michael Hogan, purtand numele capitanului de hurling ucis pe acest teren, in care iau loc oficilaitatile. Cliseul, din "gura" tunelului Muhammad Ali

De-acolo, printr-o sala cu teren sintetic “invelita” in plasa, francezii vor intra pe gazonul reasezat in vara, dupa cele trei concerte ale localnicilor U2 ce-au strans 160.000 oameni, prin faimosul tunel Ali, denumit in cinstea pugilistului ce a boxat pe “Croker”, cum ii zic localnicii, in ’72.

Tunelul iese dintre tribunele Maurice Davin si Michael Cusack, denumite in memoria primului conducator al GAA respectiv al initiatorului constituirii Gaelic Athletic Association. Ei au pus bazele iar la inaugurarea arenei, in 1913, a existat o unica tribuna, peluza Cusack din zilele noastre. Iar apoi si-a intrat in rol istoria, in urma Revolutiei de la Pastile din 1916 toate daramaturile ramase din inabusirea rebeliunii de catre ocupatorii britanici fiind adunate intr-un imens damb, ce a constituit a doua tribuna de pe Croke Park. Hill 16. Dealul 16.

O crosa de hurling, in muzeul Gaelic Athletic Association

Mingi de Gaelic football si un cliseu cu Croke Park la primul meci in nocturna, tot in muzeu

In versiune actuala, peluza Hill 16 este unica tribuna neacoperita a arenei, laudandu-se in schimb cu cel mai mare ecran panoramic de pe stadioanele Europei si avand scaune detasabile, ca prin Bundesliga, utilizate la jocuri sub egida UEFA ori FIFA dar lasand loc unei peluze in picioare, plina ochi la meciuri de hurling sau Gaelic Football.

Pe firul istoriei, a urmat Duminica Sangeroasa din 21 noiembrie 1920, cand trupele de ocupatie britanice au descins inclusiv cu tanchete pe Croke Park, intesat la un meci Gaelic intre Dublin si Tipperary, ucigand 13 spectatori si pe capitanul oaspetilor, Michael Hogan, al carui nume e purtat de a patra tribuna, cea rezervata oficialitatilor dar si bancilor echipelor, si in care, pare-se, treptele spre inmanarea trofeelor sunt si mai numeroase decat pe Wembley. “Pedeapsa” venea aici tocmai pentru ca sub flamura GAA se reuneau jucatori si oameni de sport din lumea hurlingului si a Gaelic Football militand pentru independenta Irlandei.

Echipe de fetite jucand hurling pe latul Croke Park, in preajma tunelului Ali

Acum, din inaltul Hogan Stand, “Dealul 16” pare micut, insa cate nu spune, de-acum aproape un secol, in fascinantul muzeu al GAA din incinta, cu peste 40 de aplicatii multimedia dar si obiecte de arhiva…

In versiune 2009, stadionul este o adevarata fabrica ecologica, recicland pentru surse alternative de energie inclusiv apa de ploaie dar si exceland printr-un lux functional. De la zeci de mii intrand pe 10 euro, tata plus fiu, ori adultul pe gratis ca insotitor al unui grup de 10 copii, si pana la cele 250.000 euro anual platite pentru una dintre cele 65 loje a cate 60 locuri din braul celor trei tribune acoperite. Iar daca vrei un loc individual pe Croke Park, mia anual dar, vorba aceea, cu intreg tacamul. Caci arena gazduieste peste 60 de evenimente pe an, de la traditionalul hurling si Gaelic football al locului, pana la rugby ori concerte. La vizita noastra, echipe de fetite jucau hurling pe latul terenului. Portile, ca de fotbal dar cu “H”-ul rugbyului drept coarne…

O macheta a arenei, sugestiva in privinta diferentei dintre "U"ul celor trei tribune acoperite si "dealul" 16. Care, in timp, din venituri sporite incasate cu gazduirea diverselor evenimente, ar putea fi extins prin cumpararea proprietatilor din spatele peluzei

In tunelul Ali, “Cocosului galic” i se va face pielea gaina sambata pe 14, la opt… Cum se vor simti apoi francezii, in sala de receptie a oaspetilor, cu candelabre sub forma a 62 de mingi de hurling si Gaelic football reflectand culorile echipei vizitatoare? Albastri oare?

Pe sub tribuna a doua trece nu doar o cale ferata, ci si Grand Canal, delimitand sub forma unui cerc buricul Dublinului, cu raul Liffey pe post de linie de centru, strabatand capitala de la vest la est, in port. De pe Croke Park, patru zile mai apoi caravana fotbalistica Irlanda – Franta va trece marea, pentru retur, iar marele stadion cu scaune albastre se va reintoarce la menirea sa. Hurling si Gaelic football.

"Spatele" tribunei a doua, cu cai de acces pietonale si pentru vehiculele de intretinere si aprovizionare suspendate peste calea ferata si Grand Canal, ce da ocol zonei centrale a Dublinului

Ca irlandezii sunt pasionati de sporturile lor traditionale, hurling si Gaelic football, stau marturie tabelele cu invingatoarele competitiei, expuse intr-un pub de la intrarea in faimosul Phoenix Park.

Dublinul si portul limitrof Dun Laoghaire leaga estul Irlandei cu destinatii in Marea Britanie si Franta. Unde irlandezii lui Trap vor descinde in returul din 18 noiembrie, cu gandul la Africa de Sud 2010. Henry ori Given? In ultima trecere prin Dublin, Henry semna un 1-0... Ce va fi sambata 14 noiembrie?

My Top 10:

1. The Battleship Potemkin
   

   The Battleship Potemkin (1925)

2. Greed
3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
4. The Birth of a Nation
5. The Gold Rush
6. The Phantom of the Opera
7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
8. Foolish Wives
9. The Last Laugh
10. The General
    

TSPDT Consensus Top 5 Films:

• #8 – The Battleship Potemkin
• #27 – The Gold Rush
• #30 – The General
• #51 – Intolerance
• #64 – Greed

AFI Top 100 Films:

• The Birth of a Nation – #44 (1998) – not on 2007 list
• The Gold Rush – #75 (1998) – #58  (2007)
• The General – #18 (2007) – not on 1998 list
• Intolerance – #49 (2007) – not on 1998 list

Nighthawk Awards:

• Best Picture: The Battleship Potemkin
• Best Director: Sergei Eisenstein (The Battleship Potemkin)
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Greed (from the novel McTeague)
• Best Original Screenplay: The Gold Rush
• Best Actor: Charlie Chaplin (The Gold Rush)
• Best Actress: Lilian Gish (Broken Blossoms)
• Best Supporting Actor: Donald Crisp (Broken Blossoms)
• Best Supporting Actress: Zasu Pitts (Greed)

Ebert Great Movies (in order that he added them):

• The General
• The Battleship Potemkin
• Greed
• Broken Blossoms
• The Last Laugh
• The Birth of a Nation
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Faust
• Safety Last
• Nanook of the North
• Cabiria
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
• Souls for Sale

1912 is where I begin this project because it was in 1912 that Richard III, the earliest surviving feature length film was released.  1926 is where this post ends because the Academy Awards began in 1927.  So this pretty much covers the pre-Academy era of feature films.

Because these are the pre-Academy years no group existed to decide what was the best film of each year.  So if you’re looking to try to figure out what films to watch from this era, there are several ways to go about it.  First, you can look at TSPDT and their list of the Top 1000 films of all-time.  It’s a good place to start, though it leaves a lot to sort through.  You could try the AFI list which, between the two versions of 400 films in consideration, included 19 different films from this era (aside from the 4 films on the two versions of the top 100 they also nominated Richard III, The Cheat, The Poor Little Rich Girl, Broken Blossoms, Within Our Gates, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Kid, Safety Last, Sherlock Jr., The Thief of Bagdad, The Big Parade, The Freshman, Greed, The Phantom of the Opera and Ben-Hur).  There are 13 films from this era that have been featured on Roger Ebert’s Great Movies list.  You could also try focusing on one director in particular.  Charlie Chaplin began in this era making short films, eventually starting his feature directing career, though his only true classic during this era is The Gold Rush.  D.W. Griffith was the top director of the era and almost his entire career was done before sound ever made it to the screen.  There is Erich von Stroheim, who made far fewer films than Griffith, but each film is worth seeing.  Then there are the foreign directors, the ones who get missed if you stick to AFI, like all of the great silent work of Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau.  While the #1 film on my list (and TSPDT) is Russian, 5 of my top 20 are German films (1 Lang, 3 Murnau and Cabinet).  But really, it’s hard to go wrong.  I’ve seen over 100 feature length films from this era and none of them are bad and only 2 of them are as low as **.5 (Dream Street and The Idol Dancer – two of Griffith’s weakest films).  Films that have managed to survive from this era usually have survived for a reason – either because of their director, their historical value or their quality.

To me, among the actors there are four main names that stick out: Charlie Chaplin, for his amazing ability, Lon Chaney for the way he would disappear into his characters, Emil Jannings, who in the silent era proved that language was irrelevant and Erich von Stroheim, who maintained a dignified air about him even when he was acting the complete cad.  Among the actresses, there was only one; Lilian Gish rises above everyone else in the profession during this era.

Of course, there are highlights of film history all through this era:

• 1912 – Mack Sennett releases the first Keystone Kops films / Carl Laemmle organizes several independent companies into Universal
• 1913 – Lon Chaney begins working in Horror films / D.W. Griffith leaves Biograph after over 500 shorts / Cecil B. DeMille rents a barn that will later become Paramount
• 1914 – Chaplin first appears on-screen as the Tramp / Louella Parsons becomes the first movie columnist
• 1915 – Film debuts of W.C. Fields and Douglas Fairbanks
• 1918 – Warner Bros. release its first film  (Four Years in Germany) / first Tarzan film
• 1919 – Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks and Griffith form United Artists / Oscar Micheaux becomes first African-American director
• 1920 – Marriage of Fairbanks and Pickford
• 1921 – Fatty Arbuckle trial
• 1922 – Will Hays appointed head of MPPDA / release of Nanook of the North
• 1923 – Introduction of 16mm film by Eastman Kodak / Hollywoodland sign is erected
• 1924 – Metro, Goldwyn and Mayer form to become MGM
• 1925 – Soviet Union begins to finance national filmmaking
• 1926 – Death of Valentino

My Top Film from each calendar year:

• 1912 - Richard III
• 1913 – Ingeborg Holm
• 1914 – The Avenging Conscience
• 1915 – The Birth of a Nation
• 1916 – Intolerance
• 1917 - A Man There Was
• 1918 – The Spiders Part I: The Golden Lake
• 1919 – The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
• 1920 – The Golem
• 1921 – The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
• 1922 – Foolish Wives (Nosferatu is my #1, but it’s Oscar eligible in 1929)
• 1923 – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• 1924 – The Last Laugh
• 1925 – Greed
• 1926 – The Battleship Potemkin

Overlooked film of 1923:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (dir. Wallace Worsley)

Lon Chaney as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

I had actually planned to write about the 1922 version of Oliver Twist, also starring Lon Chaney.  I had begun with talking about how if you have only seen Chaney in horror films, then your film horizons need to be expanded, how Chaney was one of the greats of the Silent Era, how he was the first great film Fagin but in spite of his acclaim, today it is easier to find a still of Ben Kingsley or Alec Guinness (or even Timothy Spall) when you Google the words “Fagin” and “Chaney.”  But then going through all the lists I came to a realization.  Hunchback is obscenely overlooked.  Ebert hasn’t covered it, it isn’t included in the Top 1000 (or even the doubling the canon extra 1000 films you can find there though the inferior 1939 remake is) and wasn’t among the 400 films by AFI under consideration for either their original list or the 2007 version.  Yet it is an essential Horror film (and made it to #19 on my Top 25 Horror List) and ranks only behind Phantom of the Opera in the Chaney pantheon.  It is an excellent early example of how books could be translated onto film and how the images we see up on the screen stay with us through our voyages in literature.

Have you read the book?  The odds are no.  Victor Hugo is much talked about and much adapted, but seems to be rarely read.  Les Miserables has been memorably translated into many different forms, but at 1463 pages (longer than War and Peace) isn’t read particularly much.  And of course, Hugo didn’t write a novel titled The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  The actual title of the book is Notre-Dame de Paris.  Hugo’s title emphasizes the cathedral’s place as the center of the book.  But films didn’t go for that.  The first film version was titled Esmeralda and this film pretty much set in stone the notion of Quasimodo as the central character and Hunchback as the title (which is what you will usually find on current printings of the book).

The film certainly wanted to focus on Quasimodo and to give Chaney free reign to show his incredible talent (both for acting and for makeup).  The first shot of him, a couple of minutes into the film, captures him high in the frame, up on the balcony of Notre Dame, watching the proceedings of the Festival of Fools.  Then we cut to a somewhat closer shot and get the first hints of his grotesque looks.  Then there is the title card announcing the character and actor.  Then we cut again, this time to a close-up and we get our first real look at the hunchback: curved spine, distorted face, scar for a right eye, wild hair, rough hands covered with thick, dark hair.  It is a brilliant simultaneous slow and quick reveal that prefigures the same kind of theatrical effect we would get from the first look at the Phantom’s face only two years later.

Movie audiences hadn’t really seen anything like this before.  Here was this grotesque monster, leering and mocking the people below him, later stripped to be punished and determined to be grotesque through and through; yet their sympathies were touched.  He is so gifted that he is able to climb down the outside of the cathedral.  He is so devoted that he will go to any lengths to please those whom he feels he serves.  His love is so strong that in the end, death is more pleasurable than the concept of existence without his beloved.  He is so much more preferrable to Phoebus, has so much more honesty, courage and even dignity.  While it was Chaney who had conceived the project, even having say over the cast and director, and thus no question that his monster would be the center, it is his performance rather than any ego that makes him the star.

When Chaney died in 1930, death was already no stranger to Hollywood; yet no death before Chaney had robbed cinema of so much.  Valentino was revered by women everywhere and good films had been made by Ince and Stiller, but it was Chaney who had the most future to offer to film fans.  This film was the beginning of the crowning of Universal Studios as the champion of Horror.  Great Horror films had been made in Germany (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, The Golem), but nothing like this had been seen in the States.  His Phantom would cement his reputation as the Man of a Thousand Faces and we can only imagine what kind of makeup we would have seen had he been around to perhaps star in Dracula or Frankenstein or The Mummy or The Wolf Man.

But instead he died.  We were denied the chance to see him become a huge Horror star in the sound era.  And he could have done it.  “No dialogue.  We didn’t need dialogue.  We had faces.”  Norma Desmond says that, of course.  And it’s true most of all about Chaney.  He had a great voice as was proved in his one sound film, but he didn’t dialogue.  He had that face, those moves, those natural abilities.  He was always a star, even if people don’t seem to remember the film that truly made him one.

Hoy tengo el honor de difundir la ponencia que nuestra amiga Sol Santander presentó sobre “Republicanismo y femineidad: las mujeres del Levantamiento de Pascua (Dublín, 1916)” en un congreso de Historia de la Universidad Central de Venezuela, en Caracas en 2003. Sol Desireet Santander Mendoza (Maracaibo, 1979) es Licenciada en Biología (Ecología) por la Universidad Central de Venezuela, Máster en Agroecología y Agricultura Sustentable por la Universidad Agraria de La Habana y actualmente trabaja como Profesora en la Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. Pero su pasión es Irlanda y la historia irlandesa. Por eso quiso participar en ese congreso historiográfico acercándose al compromiso revolucionario de las mujeres de 1916.

Mientras las sufragistas en los países más avanzados estaban aún muy lejos de triunfar, en Irlanda siete hombres firmaron la proclamación de la República Irlandesa encabezada con la llamada “Irishmen and Irishwomen” (Irlandeses e irlandesas). Sol va tirando de ese hilo hasta desvelar la participación de muchas mujeres en el Levantamiento de Pascua, ignorada durante mucho tiempo. Entre todas ellas destaca la figura de Constance Markievicz, una condesa republicana y próxima al pensamiento socialista de James Connolly, fundadora de la organización juvenil Na Fianna Éireann. O la actriz Maud Gonne, musa de W. B. Yeats y fundadora de la organización feminista Inghinidhe na hÉireann. Pero hay otras menos conocidas aunque de trayectoria también apasionante. Sin duda, cada una de ellas merece un espacio propio en este blog.

Precisamente fue el sindicalista Connolly quien abrió sus organizaciones a la participación de la mujer, incluso en la milicia sindical Ejército Ciudadano Irlandés (ICA), donde las mujeres tomaban las armas igual que los hombres y podían alcanzar puestos de mando, lo que no ocurría en los Voluntarios Irlandeses. La condesa Markievicz y la Dra. Kathleen Lynn fueron oficiales del ICA. De hecho, durante el Levantamiento de Pascua, el parque dublinés de St. Stephen’s Green fue tomado por el Ejército Ciudadano, con Markievicz como segundo oficial al mando. (Del total de 120 voluntarios en aquella posición, 35 eran mujeres). Enfermeras, cocineras, mensajeras y también combatientes, las mujeres irlandesas también fueron protagonistas heroicas de aquella rebelión en la Pascua de 1916 que condujo a sus líderes ante el pelotón de fusilamiento, pero que levantó al pueblo irlandés hasta conquistar su independencia.

Si queréis saber más, os invito a descargaros este interesantísimo trabajo de Sol Santander en pdf: Republicanismo y femineidad: las mujeres del Levantamiento de Pascua (Dublín 1916).

Gracias a nuestra amiga Carmen, re-descubro la exposición on line de la Biblioteca Nacional de Irlanda sobre el Levantamiento de Pascua de 1916: personalidades y perspectivas. La exposición se basa casi exclusivamente en las propias colecciones de la Biblioteca Nacional, incluidos sus ricos fondos de libros, periódicos, fotografías, dibujos, proclamas y, no menos importante, el material manuscrito. En total, más de 500 imágenes han sido seleccionadas para el estudio y análisis. Se trata de una información útil para los estudiantes y los lectores en general interesados en este período apasionante de la historia de Irlanda. Sólo tenéis que pulsar aquí.
Por medio de documentos de la época, “Levantamiento de 1916: personalidades y perspectivas” se centra en los escenarios de los acontecimientos de la Semana Santa de 1916 y sus protagonistas, los siete firmantes de la Proclamación de la República irlandesa, los otros ejecutados a consecuencia del levantamiento, las víctimas y los supervivientes. Aquí podemos encontrar una gran cantidad de recursos, interesantísimos en su mayoría. No olvidéis visitar esta exposición on line.

En svensk expedition har hittat en engelsk ubåt utanfö Dagö skriver SvD. Ubåten försvann 1916 och dess öde har varit okänt tills nu. Under båda världskrigen var ubåtarna ett dödligt hot för fiendens ytfartyg, men den var också farlig för den egna besättningen, inneslutna, oftast långt under havets yta, som de var när de råkade ut för anfall. I en artikel om det tyska ubåtsvapnet under 2:a världskriget anges det att:

…the Allies sank almost 800 U-Boats and over 30,000 of the 39,000 German sailors who put to sea, never returned – the highest casualty rate of any armed service in the history of modern war.

Något frimärke, som visar en ubåt från 1: världskriget har jag inte, men väl ett engelskt med en ubåt från 1901 av “Holland type”. Det ingår i en serie från 2001, som minner om att “The Royal Navy Submarine Service” existerat i 100 år.

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om engelsk, 1916, farligt vapen,

Kauza Štefánik

Legendy, fakty a otázniky
okolo vzniku Česko-Slovenskej republiky

Emil Karol Kautský

Prvá svetová vojna sa skončila. Na Slovensko sa vra-
cia najvýznamnejšia osobnosť česko-slovenského za-
hraničného odboja Milan Rastislav Štefánik.
Napriek tomu o predpokladanom prílete generála
takmer nikto nevie. Prvý Štefánikov dotyk s milova-
nou rodnou zemou sa stáva aj dotykom posledným…
Havária lietadla Caproni neďaleko Bratislavy, pri kto-
rej generál M. R. Štefánik spolu s tromi talianskymi
letcami zahynul, vyvolala množstvo dohadov a natr-
valo poznačila vzájomné slovensko-české vzťahy.
Neskoršie vyšetrovania udalosti neodhalili pravé
príčiny tragédie, práve naopak, vynorili sa ďalšie
otázniky. Vzápätí nasledovali ďalšie náhle, zdanlivo
náhodné a vzájomne nesúvisiace úmrtia. S čím moh-
li súvisieť? Akú úlohu v procese formovania nového
štátu zohrávali Štefánikovi „spolubojovníci“ T. G. Ma-
saryk a E. Beneš? Priali si vôbec jeho návrat do vlas-
ti? Aký bol asi ich vzťah k predstaviteľom slovenských
a českých politických strán?
Nie na všetky otázky sa vždy podarí nájsť odpoveď
priamo doloženú písomnými dobovými dokumentmi.
Emilovi K. Kautskému sa však s použitím prameňov
z českých archívov, anglickej a francúzskej diploma-
tickej korešpondencie, podarilo netradičným, no o to
šokujúcejším, zaujímavejším a pútavejším spôsobom
odkryť záhadné, znepokojujúce súvislosti Štefániko-
vej tragickej smrti, ktorá ovplyvnila ďalší chod stre-
doeurópskych dejín azda rovnako výrazne ako jeho
rušný život.

OBSAH

Prológ . . . . 5

KAUZA ŠTEFÁNIKOVEJ SMRTI
Chcel byť M. R. Štefánik viceprezidentom v Bratislave . . . . 7
Tabu vo vzájomných vzťahoch . . . . 8
Postoj historikov k Štefánikovej smrti . . . . 8
Akého ťa vidia, takého ťa uctia . . . . 10
Má oživovanie Štefánikovej kauzy zmysel? . . . . 11
Vynútené oneskorené vyšetrovanie . . . . 12
Bojové manévre novinárov . . . . 16
Hľadanie dôkazov . . . . 19

DO AKEJ VLASTI SA ŠTEFÁNIK VRACAL
Pripojovanie Slovenska k „historickým zemiam“ . . . . 20
Vojenská okupácia Slovenska . . . . 24
Atentát na ministerského predsedu . . . . 25
Spory o velenie čs. armády pokračujú . . . . 26
Štefánikov návrat do Európy roku 1919 . . . . 29
Štefánikov konflikt s Benešom . . . . 31
Štefánik rieši spor Piccione – Pellé, ale do Prahy nejde . . . . 32
„Uvážme – jednajme“ . . . . 35
Beneš: Zbavme sa Talianov a Štefánika . . . . 37
Apríl 1919. Štefánik ide do Talianska . . . . 39
Štefánikov posledný vojenský rozkaz . . . . 40
Odvážnemu šťastie vždy nepraje – let na golgotu . . . . 42

VYŠETROVANIE HAVÁRIE
Rozbor správy z roku 1927 o vyšetrovaní havárie . . . . 44
Ako zostreliť Caproni 450? . . . . 45
Strieľalo sa na Caproni 450? . . . . 48
Bol niektorý z letcov poranený streľbou? . . . . 52
Prelet z Udine do Bratislavy bol úspešný, ale . . . . 53
Kto musel byť do atentátu zasvätený? . . . . 54
Úloha Štefánikových pobočníkov . . . . 58
Dilema medzi ľudskou solidaritou a hrozbou vojnového súdu . . . . 59
Lietadlo čudne blúdi v okolí Bratislavy . . . . 61
Svedectvá o páde lietadla . . . . 63
Aké bolo počasie? . . . . 65
Poloha „prístavišťa“ . . . . 66
Záver k údajom o pohybe lietadla . . . . 68
Ako pasujú do popisu letu výpovede svedkov? . . . . 69
Poznámky k správe ZVV z roku 1927 . . . . 75
Správa kapitána Zapelloniho . . . . 76
Poznámky generála Čečka ku katastrofe . . . . 78
Kritika iných rozborov havárie . . . . 80
Čierna skrinka a čierny Peter . . . . 83
Svetový ohlas na smrť generála Štefánika a následný odsun talianskych
dôstojníkov . . . . 85
Sovietske intermezzo v Maďarsku . . . . 87

PÁTRANIE PO PÁCHATEĽOCH
Usvedčovanie páchateľov . . . . 90
Zaostrené na pána prezidenta . . . . 90
Mal pán prezident motív? . . . . 95
Ak by pravda vyšla najavo, tak . . . . 96
Masarykov podiel na legendách . . . . 100

VOJNA A REVOLÚCIA 1914 - 1918
Rozbeh súkolia prvej svetovej vojny . . . . 101
Tajomná rola profesora Dr. T. G. Masaryka . . . . 102
Astronóm Dr. M. R. Štefánik vo vojenských prípravách . . . . 104
Rodinné a názorové problémy profesora Masaryka . . . . 111

VOJNA V PLNOM PRÚDE
Štefánik chce byť letec . . . . 114
Jeseň 1914. Masaryk zháňa peniaze, správy a cestuje . . . . 117
O charaktere Dr. Edvarda Beneša . . . . 120
Štefánik vojnovým letcom . . . . 123
Masaryk volí Jana Husa ako symbol . . . . 126
Štefánik na srbskom fronte . . . . 130
Z Talianska do vysokej spoločnosti v Paríži . . . . 133
Štefánik členom Masarykovej akcie . . . . 134
O vzniku Česko-slovenskej národnej rady . . . . 138
Jar 1916. Štefánikov letecký nábor v Taliansku . . . . 140
Česká družina a zajatci v Rusku . . . . 142
Štefánik na čele druhej misie do Ruska . . . . 145
Česko-slovenská otázka v Rusku . . . . 146
Situácia na bojiskách v lete 1916 . . . . 151
Súboj Dürichovej a Štefánikovej misie v Rusku . . . . 151
Koniec roku 1916. Štefánik v Rumunsku . . . . 154
Štefánik opäť v Rusku, pád carizmu . . . . 155
Štefánik končí svoju misiu v Rusku . . . . 158
Masaryk chce byť svedkom ruskej revolúcie . . . . 159
Masarykovo revolučné krédo . . . . 161
Prečo sa Edvard a Vojtěch Benešovci cítili byť ohrození Štefánikovým pobytom
v USA . . . . 162
Hádky krajanských spolkov . . . . 164
Nábor dobrovoľníkov v USA . . . . 167
Českí a slovenskí zajatci v Taliansku . . . . 170
Masaryk a ruská revolúcia . . . . 171
Boľševici preberajú moc, Masaryk neutrálny . . . . 172
Vojvodca Masaryk . . . . 173
Štefánik zápasí o štatút čs. armády vo Francúzsku . . . . 177
Marec 1918. Masaryk uteká z Ruska do USA . . . . 178
Apríl 1918. Masarykovo tokijské memorandum . . . . 180
Apríl 1918. Masaryk v Amerike . . . . 182
Štefánikov diplomatický zápas o čs. zajatcov v Taliansku . . . . 183
Apríl 1918. Prvá zmluva, uzatvárajúca ČSNR . . . . 185
Apríl 1918. Kongres utláčaných národov Rakúsko-Uhorska v Ríme . . . . 187
Česko-slovenský zbor v Taliansku preberá zástavu . . . . 188
Máj 1918. Diplomatické využitie zmluvy s Talianskom . . . . 189
Čas pre intervenciu v Rusku dozrel, Wilson ju blokuje . . . . 190
Leto 1918. Masaryk v USA . . . . 192
Beneš a Hlaváčkov prípad . . . . 193
Dvaja generáli pôjdu do Ruska . . . . 195
Štefánikova cesta do USA roku 1918 . . . . 196
Legionári s novým heslom: „Na Západ“ . . . . 198
Reakcia USA na príchod dvoch generálov . . . . 201
Nesúhlas Štefánika s Masarykom ostáva pod povrchom . . . . 202
Štefánikova cesta do Japonska . . . . 204
Štefánik varuje pred štýlom Benešovej práce . . . . 205
Načo potreboval Masaryk Vladimíra Hurbana? . . . . 206
Október 1918. Benešov trik s Dočasnou čs. vládou . . . . 210
Masarykova Washingtonská deklarácia . . . . 211
Koniec nemeckých nádejí očami Hindenburga . . . . 214
Národy opúšťajú rakúsko-uhorskú loď . . . . 215
28. október 1918. Prevrat v Prahe . . . . 217
Štefánik číta v novinách, čo vraj podpísal . . . . 217
Amerika obviňuje Francúzsko . . . . 219
Prezident Masaryk sa vracia do Európy . . . . 220
Masarykov triumfálny návrat do Európy . . . . 222
Janinovo a Štefánikovo sklamanie na Sibíri . . . . 224
Ako hodnotiť Štefánikov pobyt na Sibíri? . . . . 230

MASARYKOVA REPUBLIKA
Prezidentove právomoci a národný štát . . . . 232
Republika či samoderžavie? . . . . 234
Vymyslený puč – „čierny piatok“ . . . . 235
Smutný koniec sibírskej epopeje . . . . 237
Albertína Štefániková verzus prezident Masaryk . . . . 239
Prípad Rašín . . . . 246
Prípad Gajda . . . . 250
Prezident odmieta ísť na Bradlo v roku 1928 . . . . 255
Prípad Čeček a úmrtnosť dôstojníkov . . . . 260
Memento mori – nástupnícky boj . . . . 269
Tragický prípad Karla Čapka . . . . 272
Národní hrdinovia . . . . 273
Štefánik a Slovensko . . . . 276

Epilóg . . . . 277
Použitá literatúra . . . . 278
Výberový menný zoznam . . . . 281
Skratky organizácií a úradov . . . . 295
Doslov autora k druhému vydaniu . . . . 296