I sat down to watch Chinatown (Polanski, 1974) in the best setting: on the big screen, with my bigger-than-necessary, three and a half foot-tall speakers, and my hookah going strong. I told myself I was prepared to witness Jack Nicholson’s brilliance – but I truly was not. Nicholson is one of only two actors (Michael Caine being the other) who have been nominated for an acting Oscar in every decade since the 1960s. Since being nominated for his performance in Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969), Nicholson has never gone more than 5 years without being an Academy Award nominee; I believe you need not look any further to be aware of his unique and irreplaceable spot in the history of cinema.

As a representation of the Demythologization genre, Chinatown is a representation of the noir genre. Nicholson plays Private Investigator J.J. Gittes. His mission is to get to the bottom of intertwined water and land frauds. A woman goes to P.I. Gittes seeking to spy on her husband, city engineer Hollis Mulwray,” whom she suspects is cheating on her; later we discover she may have been lying about her identity.

Through his investigation, he encounters more characters with misleading and shady motives; I believe director Roman Polanski did this on purpose to match water theme of the movie: murky water is bad news figuratively and literally. Polanski makes a cameo as a henchman working for department security chief Claude Mulvihill. While Gittes sneaks into one of the city’s reservoirs for some real private investigation, Mulvihill catches him; Polanski cuts Gittes’ nose for being a “very nosy kitty cat.” It is one of several dangerous encounters with city officials and policemen that we see the downfalls of private investigation. We see that there are, fittingly, some very dark sides to the noir genre.

Gittes eventually discovers the real wife of Mulwray, Evelyn. During his investigation, Gittes winds up sleeping with Evelyn. In one of the great lines in the movie, Evelyn says (after sleeping with Gittes), “I want to know more about you,” to which Gittes replies, “not right now.” This is a great example of irony: the private investigator, Gittes, is questioned by his own suspect; Gittes then replies as a suspect would. In my opinion, this exchange is a critique of the noir genre. It shows how the private investigator can be broken down quite easily.

Gittes suspects Evelyn of being the real murderer of Mulwray. After sleeping with Gittes, Evelyn acts increasingly suspicious. Gittes engages in a continuing fight with the city’s detectives over who the real murderer was. In the movie’s climax, Gittes asks Evelyn who the girl in her house is, and when she responds, (“my sister!”) he slaps her. She then claims the girl is her daughter, to which Gittes replies with another slap. He slaps her several more times; he then runs upstairs to find out who the girl is, Evelyn breaks and says, “She’s my sister and my daugher!” She breaks down into tears as Gittes realizes he’s been mistaken.

Throughout the remainder of the movie, Gittes bears the mark of mortality: his bandaged nose, and then his scar; this represents the imperfection and mortality of the private investigator in the noir genre.

The movie’s soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score and Cinematography, and with due cause. Each scene is made by its music and cinematography. The camera work, which I saw as an influence to Public Enemies (2009, Mann), was brilliant. Each scene is filmed at eye level with the characters, and the viewer is meant to feel as though they are living the scene. This is where the phenomenal soundtrack aides the feeling greatly.

Nicholson gives a great performance, for which he was, fittingly, nominated. An interesting fact to note, is that Nicholson appears in every scene of the film. Knowing this, it only aides his cause to know he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Polanski gives us his best, in this, his last American film.

Back to Nietzsche. More specifically, back to his stance on nihilism and his wish to hasten its coming only so that he could also hasten its ultimate departure. This is an accurate outlook, but on the wrong subject. It is not nihilism that should be moved along, but life itself. Sort of. However, since life is the only substantial thing that we possess, it is something everybody is quite clingy to and does not like to speed along too much. Fair enough.

This being the case, it would be wise to follow this observation with another one, which can be summed up in a phrase. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious. Thereby, nothing within life or one’s existence should be taken seriously. You really are insignificant, dispensable, and nobody will remember you witticism one hundred years down the line. To quote Jack Nicholson’s character in about Schmidt:

“Relatively soon, I will die. Maybe in 20 years, maybe tomorrow, it doesn’t matter. Once I am dead and everyone who knew me dies too, it will be as though I never existed. What difference has my life made to anyone. None that I can think of. None at all.”

Take heed and listen. You mean nothing in the ultimate plan, which coincidentally does not exist. Nothing that you think is important, is. Despite life being shit, it doesn’t really matter so get comfortable bathing in your own aura of fuck-it.

Anton, Krugan, and Mali the Territory’s new K-9 Officers are ready to work. The three new canines were introduced to the media on Monday and eagerly demonstrated their skills.

Contrary to popular belief the Comptroller announced that the obtaining of a K-9 Officer that specializes in guns and ammunition detection is not an indication that more illegal activities are on the increase in the Territory.

Paris Nicholson of KOPS and Southern Hills Kennel announced that he was in the territory for the introduction of the first set of K-9 Officers in 2003. He announced that three handlers recently attended a two weeks training program, where they were trained with 76 other k-9 handlers in the US. Officer Roberto Harrigan received an exemplary certificate making him the first non-US Officer to receive such certification from the US Police Canine Association.

The new addition of the three canines brings the K-9 Unit to five and also makes the Department the largest in the region.

Nicholson also pointed out that K-9 Officers are important not only because of the illegal items they may retrieve, but because of the deterrent factor they cause. Additionally, he said that because dogs possess an enhanced smelling capability that is 30,000 times stronger than that of humans they make the searching process faster.

Dean Fahie, Deputy Comptroller of Customs with responsibility for Enforcement stated the use of k-9 Officers has been a big help to the Department in the making of a number of seizures and added that the new ammunition dog will be utilize at all ports.

K-9 Anton is a black German Sheppard and he will be handled by Officer Stevens. Both Anton and his Handler will be stationed in Virgin Gorda. He is trained to protect his handler and to detect narcotics.

K-9 Krugan is a brown Belgian Malinois, trained in drug detection dog he will the spot of Atos, the K-9 Officer that recently died. Officer Harrigan will be the handler Krugan.

The third canine Mali is also a brown Belgian Malinois, and is trained for ammunition detection. He was a donation from the KOPS.

LINK/PIC

Oh Lord, blind me! Wer in Großbritannien an die Klimaerwärmung glaubt, ist nicht mehr nur ein umweltbewusster Mensch, sondern von nun an auch Mitglied einer neuen Religionsgemeinschaft, die allen anderen Religionen gleichgestellt ist.

Wie der “Telegraph” brichtet, klagte der leitende Angestellte Tom Nicholson wegen “Discrimination of the philosophical belief about climate change and the environment”, nachdem er aufgrund gesteigerter Missionierungsversuche in seinem Betrieb eine Kündigung erhalten hatte.

Das Gericht gab ihm Recht und verlieh dem Glauben an den Klimawandel Religionsstatus, wodurch es nicht nur offiziell den Ablasshandel wieder eingeführt hat – schließlich können Unternehmen, die sich durch gesteigerte Emissionen an der Umwelt versündigt haben, die Zeit im Fegefeuer durch den Erwerb zusätzlicher Emissionsrechte verkürzen. Nein, das Gericht hob damit ganz nebenbei die religionsneutralität der Schulen auf. 

Jack Nicholson has been a star since the Vietnam era, well before my time. He has been a star since the end of the Charles Manson era, of which his home would briefly play backdrop. He has never gone more than five years without being nominated for a major film award. All that said, I am still not nearly as familiar with him as I should be. Ever since I can remember, my father has not been shy about his admiration for Nicholson — as an actor. I plan to watch 5 Easy Pieces (1970, Rafelson) and Carnal Knowledge (1971, Nichols). So, I believe this will be a great opportunity to connect with my dad by watching the movies he grew up loving. As an actor, he has played incredibly diverse roles; as a celebrity he has never been shy of the spotlight. I will use the archives of such publications as Rolling Stone Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, TIME, and The New York Times in order to achieve a well-rounded perspective on the perception of Nicholson in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.  I intend to explore not only his early acting prowess, but also his burgeoning celebrity, so I may better understand how he became the celebrity he is today. Nicholson’s face is almost instantly recognizable, and he has one of the most unique, distinguished acting styles in the history of American cinema. He never accepted mediocrity; he fought against normalcy, embraced his eccentric qualities and allowed them to flourish. I truly look forward to discovering, and reporting on, the life and times of a young Jack Nicholson.

Stephen Stills,Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper – Season Of the Witch

Potential Nicholson widening. Fifteenth avenue improvements. Possible upgrades to the “stub streets” east and west of 15th. Various sewer projects.

There’s a number of 4th District projects on the agenda for the Public Works and Property Committee meeting at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, October 28, at City Hall. We’ll also discuss potential improvements to 11th Avenue south of Milwaukee Avenue in advance of the 2010 South Milwaukee Downtown Market.

Click here to see an agenda on the city website.

I take my life into my own hands twice a day while dodging rush-hour traffic on Nicholson/Pennsylvania Avenue on the way to work. In 2012, my commute, and the commute of thousands of others, might get a bit easier.

Work is progressing toward a project that will widen the road from two to four lanes from College Avenue south to Rawson.

Utility relocation is scheduled to begin in 2011, and roadway construction will start in early 2012, according to a request for proposals that was sent out this summer seeking design firms.

Fifteen proposals were submitted, and the RFP was recently awarded to Foth Infrastructure & Environment LLC, which will handle survey work, preparation of alternatives for layout and stormwater management, public information meetings and final project design.

This will be a long process, one that involves South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation working together to come up with the best solution for what I believe is a dangerous roadway. I promise to keep you updated on what’s happening with this project as it moves forward.

Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Do you think widening is necessary? If not, what, if anything, should be done? Post your comments below.

Also, check out this post to learn more about the postal facility project planned for College and Pennsylvania/Nicholson. The status of this project — specifically if the USPS decides to pay for some road improvements — will impact the widening effort. But in the end, no matter what happens with the postal facility, the widening is planned to go on. 

(Thanks to City Engineer Kyle Vandercar for providing these updates.)

Awhile back I received a phone call from a client asking me if I could photographer her and her horses for a Christmas card.  I was quite honest with her and told her that I had not had alot of experience around horses and had not ridden a horse in several years.  She was quite kind and still excited to have me as she liked my “style”.  So, here I go trotting off to (no pun intended… well, maybe a little) Mustang and the beautiful pastures where these four legged critters are boarded.  I arrived to find 5 large horses and 2 miniatures.  OMG!  I was in awe.  Each one of them had their own little personality and wanted to do their own thing.  How in the world was I ever going to get them all to look at the camera?  Ah, yes… treats.  YUM YUM!  My assistant shook the container and acted like a mad man while all of the horses perked up their ears and looked over at her.  WOO HOO!  Success.

NOT!!! It was not quite that easy, to be honest.  The poor girl that was handling the horses for the owner while I did the nieces pictures got slammed in the nose by one of the horses. OUCH! I thought for sure her nose was  broken but she insisted we continue and she continued to take care of the horses.  Then we finally get them all wrangled (look at me talkin’ like an Okie) and tried shot after shot. This was take 10 of the session just trying to get all of the horses to look all at once. This image was the work of my assistants magic at getting the horses to look and my magic of making it look like

1)they were all in the same picture

2)at the same time

3)looking at the camera and pointing there ears up

all at the same time.  Talk about a test.  Phew!  But I survived it.  And now I know that I am capable of anything.  Well… just about anything.  hehe

Here are the more relaxed shots, taken of Tonda’s niece.  She was an absolute doll.  These were also her “10th birthday” shots and the brown horse she is posing with is 4th in the country right now for some award.  But that is “Coco” and she was her birthday present.  I told Tonda that I wanted her to be MY AUNT.    What a day!

Update: South Milwaukee City Engineer Kyle Vandercar says Oak Creek has sent a letter to the USPS with a November 1 deadline requesting that they verify they are still planning to fund improvements on Pennsylvania/Nicholson from Hickory to College. As stated below, this all plays into plans to improve the entire stretch of Pennsylvania/Nicholson from College to Rawson. I’ll post more on that effort soon. Thanks for the update, Kyle.

That’s the question I posed to Oak Creek City City Administrator Patrick DeGrave today. The answer? Not much.

“No new information,” he wrote in an email. “We continue to work to get the USPS to commit financially to the design and construction of Pennsylvania. The County is doing the same for College.”

As you’ll recall, the plans, originally announced in 2008, called for construction of an 870,000 square-foot mail processing and distribution facility southwest of Pennsylvania and College avenues, bordering South Milwaukee’s 4th District. Included in the plans were upgrades to Pennsylvania/Nicholson and College, to be funded by the postal service. (You’ll recall that a roundabout at Hickory was among those discussions.)

Since then, the postal project has been put on hold, although there were some rumblings this spring that it was back on again. Where does it stand now? I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.

A big thanks to Mr. DeGrave for the update.

Click here for a Journal Sentinel story on the project from last December and another story from South Milwaukee NOW on project delays in February. And here is a good Q&A on the project from the Oak Creek website.

As the NOW story states, widening on Pennsylvania/Nicholson is still in the works in the next couple of years, regardless of the postal project. And if you’ve taken the circuitous College Avenue lately, you know work there is proceeding to prepare for the installation of the runway tunnel.

Check back here for an update on the Pennsylvania/Nicholson widening project in coming days.

Five Easy Pieces – 1970

Director – Bob Rafelson

Starring – Jack Nicholson and Karen Black

Jack Nicholson has made a career out of playing himself.  He usually does such a good job at playing himself, that I forget he can be restrained and believable as another person.  I was recently reminded of that fact by his rather mellow yet taught performance in Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces.  In it, Nicholson plays Bobby Dupea, who after dropping off the radar of his high society family spends his time working at a crummy blue collar job, drinking with his friends, and cheating on his girlfriend Rayette, played to the hilt by Karen Black.  He works incredibly hard to sabotage his life every chance he gets, ensuring that no one ever gets to disappoint him except himself.

The tone of the film (and Bobby’s life) is rather bleak, however the look of the film is very warm, and almost comfortable.  As a lot of movies from the seventies do, it has the color of memories that one usually associates with old photographs.  With few exceptions the set pieces seem comfortable, warm and inviting.  Everyone in the scenes seemed to be quite at ease, that is except for Bobby Dupea.  Dupea seemed the most at home when the situation had grown uncomfortable, when he was fighting with Rayette, when he was busy working his shitty job, and when he was alone.  Whenever he was put into a comfortable situation, we could see his squirm.  We would find out later that this was a trend in his life.  His past consists of a series of failed relationships with his family, most notably with his father.  This becomes especially relevant when he learns that his father has suffered from a stroke, and he decides to make the trip home to make peace before he dies.

While he’s home, we glean a bit more into the depths of his motivation, although we never truly get a clear picture.  The fogginess of his reasoning actually serves to help the story by creating a barrier between us, the audience, and Bobby.  That barrier mirrors the barrier that exists with each of the other characters.  We can see the futility of his actions, just as many of the other characters in the story can.  Seemingly the only ones who are unable to recognize his cyclical behavior are Rayette and Bobby himself.  Rayette doesn’t see it because she truly believes that he’ll change, and he just chooses not to see it.

This behavior is cemented in place through his sudden in-ability to communicate with his father.  Once this avenue is closed off, all possibility of the reconciliation that he has been putting off since he left is gone.  All that remains afterwards is the limited connectivity that comes with his seduction of the women in his life.  Some of these are successful (Rayette), and some and some are not (Catherine, his brother’s love interest), but the result is the same either way, he remains lonely.  These fleeting relationships (usually self destructive ones) are completely, emotionally unfulfilling to Bobby.  The only benefit seems to be a physical one.  These moments of connection are so foreign and uncomfortable to Bobby that he reflexively, almost instinctively destroys them by driving them into the ground.

By the end, we have man with no options.  Having spent all of his time burning bridges, he is now exiled with himself.  Five Easy Pieces is a complex movie about an unlikable man struggling with the people who are trying to like him anyway.  To define it is far from easy, yet enjoying it is far from difficult.

Aš vėl skaitau daug tekstų ir vėl man akis drasko ir skrandį susuka SP su savo skiedalais. Iš dviračio išlanksto moterį, iš cigaro – JAV administraciją. Ir būk tu man toks kalbos puoselėtojas kaip SP. Ir parašyk tu man taip, ir parduok už lietuvišką pinigą. Per TV rodo amerikietišką “Kliudžiau” interpretaciją, Jack Nicholson kliudė grizlį. Aišku čia jis komunistas – vėpla, kuris niokoja šventosios nacijos gamtos turtus, nes visi žino, kaip neatsargiai rusai kerta savo miškus.

Man labai patinka tinklapis www.aukok.lt – ten galima aukoti visokioms organizacijoms ir visokiems tikslams. Aš tai tikrai ne aukoju, o stebiu, kas ir kiek pinigų surinko. Įdomi statistika: santariškių radijas surinko 3% reikalingos sumos, kad galėtų transliuoti sveikatos patarimus rajonų ligoninėms, jaunimo psichologinės paramos centras gauna spjūvį į jauną veidą ir kelis šimtus litų – už telekomo paslaugas nesumokės, o konsultantai jau mezgasi vilnones kojines, naudodami siūlus, iš kurių caritas būtų mezgęs kepuraites afganistano vaikams. Štai vytauto kernagio portretų paroda surinko beveik visą reikiamą sumą. Galvoju rengti akciją, tikslas – elektriniai antkakliai tiems, kaip juos vadina… seimo vagims (reikia naudotis daugumos psichozėmis). Garantuoju, kad sumą surinksiu akimirksniu. Man labai patinka morališkai ligoti verslo planai. Gėda yra ne blogas tikslas, gėda yra tikslų nerealizavimas, aha.

Jack Nicholson ką tik sakė “Moterų istorijos, kurias išprievartavo jų stomotologai”. Odontologai, dear Jack, odontologai…

Kita man rūpinti visuomeninė aktualija, žinoma, yra oras. Dar per anksti, kad būtų taip šalta. Neatsimenu savęs trumpom rankovėm grėbiančio rudeninius lapus, bet esu įsitikinęs, kad anksčiau taip šalta nebūdavo. O ruduo gražiai nugelsdavo priešais saulę, o ne perpilamas ledinio lietaus.

Šiandien oras toks šaltas, kaip Džordanos Butkutės veidas, kai ji bando išspausti ašarą. Arba kaip Balandžio vaidyba. Arba dar galėčiau vardinti ir vardinti. Kartais atrodo, kad parodijuojame skandinavus.

The  June 2009 firing of Sherwood police Detective Beverly Hughes was overturned Wednesday afternoon by the Sherwood Civil Service Commission. The commission order police Chief Kelvin Nicholson to reinstate Hughes as a detective.

Hughes said she was fired because she filed a sexual harassment complaint against another officer after he told her in explicit detail of a sexual dream he said he had about her. She later filed a complaint with the state Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Chief Kelvin Nicholson said, however, she was fired for insubordination because she would not allow a question to be asked during a polygraph test she was ordered to take concerning the sexual harassment allegation.

Nicholson acknowledged during the civil service hearing that Hughes had answered the question at least four times, in one form or another, during the polygraph exam.

Wednesday’s session was a continuation of a hearing held earlier in September.

Este primer domingo de octubre me ha reportado, además de otro prolongado día de calor, viejas y buenas costumbres como visitar a mi querida tía en su apartamento y pasar el día leyendo apaciblemente un buen libro, además del periódico con tooooodos los suplementos dominicales (aunque la verdad verdadera de esto último era capturar la nueva súper taza de los Beatles modelo “Sargento Pimienta”). Entre sus páginas me han llamado la atención muchas cosas sobre nuestro querido mundo, este mundo de matices, verdades, mentiras, diferencias y contrastes. En primer lugar, me ha llamado mucho la atención cómo las dos primeras páginas del periódico están dedicadas a la publicidad, a página completa y todo color del nuevo modelo de Audi. No se cuánta gente de la que lea esto podrá hacerse una ligera idea de la pasta (y no de comer precisamente) que cuesta esa publicidad en un periódico líder de tirada nacional, pero no deja de sorprenderme, sobre todo en estos tiempos, aunque supongo que la cosa irá bien para algunos, que serán los mismo de siempre… como luego veremos.

En otra página, descubro como mi querida Irlanda por fin dice sí a Europa (empujada por los intereses de algunas conocidas multinacionales…..¡¡derribo por acoso!!) para, por lo visto, ayudar a reactivar la Europa económica y social, esa Europa grande y unida que lleva gente a la cabeza como el amigo Berlusconi, un pseudo-dictador-seductor que tiene a cientos de miles de anti-patriotas “farsantes” periodistas italianos lanzados a la calle luchando contra su mordaza hacía la libertad de expresión (Italia es, tras Colombia, el país con mayor número de periodistas amenazados. Italia está en Europa.), mientras llena de prostitutas sus famosas fiestas para tratar asuntos de estado al cobijo del trabajo sucio que llevan a cabo los militantes del neo-nazismo que fomenta. Hace tiempo que descubrí en qué se basan los argumentos de las películas, y no son precisamente de la imaginación de los guionistas de Hollywood. Ya puestos con lo de contar historias, y volviendo a nuestra querida España, mejor que películas, recomendaría a algunos de nuestros conciudadanos como el Sr.ZP y el Sr.RJ un libro que he terminado precisamente hoy, titulado “Ensayo sobre la ceguera” del maestro Saramago, donde cuenta como de repente todos los habitantes de una ciudad se quedan ciegos, nadie ve y todo se transforma de la noche a la mañana llenándose de corrupción, miseria y mierda (de la etérea y de la física) sin que nadie pueda hacer nada (“…ciegos que ven, ciegos que, viendo, no ven”)

Nada y mucho. ¿Eres tú capaz, sí tú, el que lees, de explicar la diferencia entre estos dos términos? Te lo explico brevemente. La diferencia entre nada y mucho es la polémica diferencia entre los mega cuatrocientos cincuenta euros de ayuda a la gente que no tiene nada o tiene muy poco y la polémica “Goiri-jubilación”, una nueva modalidad para disfrutar de una vida algo más tranquila y desahogada …tres millones d€ v€c€s más desahogadas que el resto de casi todos los mortales, excluidos (of course!!) los otros quince consejeros delegados (¿por qué nadie me explicó que existía esta digna profesión?) de la banca española (sí, esa misma que ahoga a los ciudadanos y empresas a pesar de las ayudas del Estado, o sea de los ciudadanos y empresas) que se repartirán 416 millones d€ motivos para su jubilación. Ahora entiendo lo de las páginas dos y tres del periódico: era para llamar la atención de algunos más pronto que tarde.

Sobre la prontitud y lo tardío no voy a hablar hoy, si alguien tiene interés o maneja alguna duda puede ponerse en contacto con Roman Polanski, está en una celda de Zurich esperando a ver si lo extraditan, más tarde que pronto, para ser juzgado por un delito que cometió hace más de treinta años: ¿robo un chorizo en la charcutería del pueblo cuando era niño? No, violó a una menor en la casa de Jack Nicholson…en mi tierra se diría: “ozú killo que mal rollo” = (curso dan andalú) = “En mi opinión, querido amigo, es un tema bastante delicado y pinta bastante mal”.

Al final vuelta a casa, en lo que queda del día, aterrizado de nuevo en esta nuestra comunidad de Las Yucas, y me enfrento a este soliloquio cotidiano donde me quedo y me oculto, y lo relleno con un poco de música irlandesa y mi BeatleTaza del “Sargento Pimienta”. Por lo demás todo igual, nada nuevo bajo este sol veraniego tardío del mes de Octubre que se apaga lentamente por hoy y me deja con el rumor de fondo de todos los días: cuando no ladra/n el/los perro/s, el grillo se pone a cantar.