THE CLOSER, TRUST ME, AND AN EARTHQUAKE!

Last night, I had the worst migraine in the world (although it was not the worst migraine I have ever experienced in my lifetime, I knew it had to be the worst migraine anyone on the entire planet was experiencing at that precise moment. That's the power of the migraine talkin', baby.). The migraine started in the back of my head and then wrapped around the right side of my skull and parked itself inside my right eye socket. With ice packs wrapped around the back of my neck, I made my way upstairs into the beautiful lightness of my darkly lit bedroom. There's something about darkness that dispels the urgency of a migraine. As I slipped under the covers--Kitty Von Kitty nestling herself beside me--I felt the migraine losing its feverish grip upon my sanity. With a deepish in-breath (not too deep; didn't want to strain the already fighting muscles wrapped around the skull), I envisioned the tension in my body and released it on the out-breath. I repeated this four times, much like one would repeat the wash and rinse cycle while shampooing.

At 9 PM, after having expelled most of the migraine into the ether, I turned on the television and watched The Closer-- perhaps the most original detective series created since Prime Suspect. I must say that Chief Brenda Johnson's (Kyra Sedgwick/The Closer) obsession with eating food on the job is quite reminiscent of Superintendent Jane Tennison's (Helen Mirren/Prime Suspect) obsession with eating food on the job. Mirren and Sedgwick worked together on Losing Chase (directed by Sedgwick's husband, Kevin Bacon) back in the early 1990's. Is the food obsession a coincidence? I certainly hope not. This wonderful episode of the Closer ended, as usual, with Brenda breaking the case by relating the circumstances of the case to the goings on around her household--namely by listening to her fiance talk about this or that.

After The Closer, I began watching Trust Me, a modern day version of Madmen. I have been a lover of all things Madmen since the first episode, drawn to the show because of its truthfulness to the era it portrays: the language, dress code, blatant sexual discrimination, and sexual infidelities. Madmen portrays an America on the cusp of exchanging sexual repression for a sexual revolution. As I watched Trust Me I was waiting for a clincher--something that would pique my interest and make me want to watch the show for an entire hour. Minutes passed and no clincher: just another show about dysfunctional relationships and coworkers. Anyone interested in watching that treatment done to its fullest potential, go rent all six seasons of THE WIRE; the best cop show no one was watching until the sixth season and everyone should have been watching since McNulty uttered his first drunken word.

At around 10:30 PM my world was (literally) rocked. My bed began to rock from side to side. The stained glass angel hanging from my window-lock began banging against the window. Kitty Von Kitty awoke from a purring slumber. I muted the TV just as my Mom yelled upstairs, "Did you feel that? What was that?"

"It felt like an earthquake to me!" I yelled downstairs.

"I'm turning on the news," Mom yelled back.

The tremor only lasted 2-4 seconds. Thoughts raced in my mind, "Did a large truck just fly over the speed bump in front of our house? No...that would have caused the bed to shake up and down. What about an explosion far away? No...again, the bed was shaking back and forth, as if the floor was sliding back and forth beneath it." My mind was still contemplating the movement of the house as I turned the volume back on the TV. I watched the last half hour of Trust Me both in awe of how interesting the experience of the earthquake had been and how far off the mark Trust Me came from rocking my world. Two great actors a great show does not make.

The local papers confirmed that a .03 earthquake had occurred in Rockaway, a town twenty minutes from my house. I live 45 minutes west of New York City; a city that literally sits on hollow ground (the subway system) which itself is seated upon a fault line. Could the scientists predictions of an earthquake hitting New York City be correct? Anything can happen in a world where flowers bloom.

Books on the Nightstand

Here's a list of what I am currently reading:


BOOKS ON THE NIGHTSTAND:

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
I have finally finished this classic, but I feel I must write a blurb in honor of its greatness: Crime and Punishment has kicked Call It Sleep to the number two position in my all-time-favorite-book category. I cannot tell you why, but Raskolnikov, the murderous protagonist who set out to prove his theory that certain people can get away with crimes--as long as they are not the 'lowly' ones, touched my heart in a unique way. I don't admire his actions, yet I can understand why he felt that he had to commit murder: he was either going to go crazy thinking about committing murder or he was going to go crazy from the guilt of having committed murder. Either way, he stood to lose. In great Dostoevsky fashion, the reader is drawn into his world--albeit repulsed and disgusted with his choices--but there is sympathy; again, the work of a great writer. Crime and Punishment has not only knocked Call It Sleep off the summit, it has also helped me decide once and for all that I do love Dostoevsky's work more than Tolstoy's work. If you are a lover of fiction and have never read Dostoevsky's work, start with The Brother's Karamazov to get a sense of the literary themes he explores with great magic. Then, take a shot at Crime and Punishment. I guarantee--you will be pleased.

CANDIDE (Voltaire)
I promised myself I would read this classic as soon as I finished Crime and Punishment. The time has arrived. I am about thirty pages in and, from what I’ve read so far, I’m loving it; very entertaining, witty, odd, and unique. I can only hope the book’s momentum keeps building so the ending is as great as the beginning.

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER; ESSAYS AND APHORISMS
I am currently contemplating issues of mortality and human kindness as research for a short story I have outlined in my head. I find Schopenhauer’s writing to be a great catalyst for such mental inquiries. Schopenhauer is, to me, the mystic's philosopher.

THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD: First Complete Translation (Translated by Gyurme Dorje; Edited by Graham Coleman with Thupten Jinpa)
After realizing the Truth of the Self within, I think it is only natural that one would want to explore how we came to have birth in this human body, and how our soul makes the transition from death to rebirth (if rebirth is necessary for the fulfillment of enlightenment to occur). I am interested in the space between death and rebirth. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an important book and should be on every spiritual aspirants bookshelf (or, better yet, on their nightstand). This 'first complete translation' is a boon, to say the least. I've spent countless days reading and contemplating its pages. I would venture to say the Tibetan Book of the Dead is as important as the Bible, The New Testament, the Kuran, and the Torah. It's one thing to contemplate our origin and the reason for being born; it is equally as important and enlightening to contemplate where we are going, and to help steer our souls in the direction we wish to go after death.

A POWER government cannot suppress (Howard Zinn)
Howard Zinn should be required reading for all American citizens-- especially with the way today’s administration bypasses the wants and needs of democratically elected officials (i.e. Congress) to meet their own needs. Yes, we as adult citizens have a right to vote, and we do wish that our elected officials will carry out our will while voting on the House and Senate floor; but there is only so much that elected officials can do—especially, as stated above, when the leader of our democratic society decides do his own will, rather than the will of the people. In reading Howard Zinn’s work, we realize that we, the people of the United States of America, do hold a power that even George W. Bush’s administration could never suppress: we have the power of unity, the power of numbers, and the power of the knowledge that this great country deserves to be represented by someone who loves and promises to uphold the dignity of the democratic society. I am currently exploring my options as an American citizen; learning what rights I have and what I can do to make sure that the will of the people is being done. This is why A POWER government cannot suppress sits on my nightstand, waiting patiently to be devoured.

A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY (Kurt Vonnegut)
Pairing Vonnegut with Zinn is like putting ice cream on birthday cake: you just can’t have one without the other; different genres and approaches to the same problem. The great factual historian meets the sarcastic cynic and everyone’s happy. Well, at least I am. I grew up reading Vonnegut when he was still a ‘Jr.’; I wouldn't be the person I am today if I had never read Vonnegut's work, that's for sure. His writing is whimsical, cynical, and necessary. A Man Without a Country is supposed to be his best work in years. Here’s a quote from the book we are now discussing:

“Do you think Arabs are dumb? They gave us our numbers. Try doing long division with Roman Numerals.”

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS (Don Miquel Ruiz)
When you are sick of trying to please everyone else, and finally come to the realization that living a spiritual life doesn’t mean being a doormat for everyone who comes knockin’, it’s time to read this book. I know it will be on my night stand for a long time: I know I will need a refresher course every now and then.

What's on your nightstand?

tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, Schopenhauer, Howard Zinn, A POWER Government Cannot Suppress, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Kurt Vonnegut, The Four Agreements, A Man Without a Country, Voltaire, Candide,

Congratulations Are In Order For Helen Mirren

Congratulations to my all-time favorite actress--Helen Mirren--for taking home the Oscar for Best Actress during last night's Oscar ceremonies. Did any of you happen to catch her acceptance speech? 'So classy.

After I congratulated Ms. Mirren for taking home the Golden Globes for Best Actress (in both a movie and a made for TV mini-series) just a couple of posts ago, I promised my readers that I would list some of my favorite Helen Mirren roles (in both film and TV). Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you my favorite Helen Mirren movies and TV series roles:

The Queen: If you have never seen Helen Mirren act before, I suggest watching The Queen, Prime Suspect, and Losing Chase all back to back. The only thing that could possibly remind you that you are watching the same woman act in all three roles is the sheer calibur of acting. Forget about knocking it out of the ballpark; she knocked this one out of the universe!

Prime Suspect (1-7) This series is a MUST SEE for anyone who enjoys Helen's acting, or just great acting in general. The stories are as terrific as the acting! If you've never seen Helen in anything except The Queen, start here!

The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover--I actually walked out of the theater with 5 minutes to go during it's run in New York City (circa 1989). However, I rented it a while ago just to see Mirren's work. There is one scene in particular, where her husband is berating her at the dinner table; she stops paying attention to him, looks across the dining hall towards her lover and gives him a smile. This is the single greatest act of defiance I have ever seen on film--she used only her eyes to convey the fact that she had the upper hand in the marraige, and that she was the one with all of the control. Incredible. Warning: This movie is not for the squeemish.

Losing Chase: I don't think I've ever seen or heard it mentioned with regard to Mirren's filmography; regardless, this is one of my favorite Mirren movies. In it she plays a married woman who finds herself stifled in a marraige: she knows that she has never truly known love before. Her family and friends think she has lost it, yet she's only coming to find her true self.

The Pledge: Who wouldn't love the chance to see Helen Mirren and Jack Nicholson on the same screen? Great plot; incredible acting.

Some Mother's Son

Where Angels Fear to Tread

The Comfort of Strangers

Mrs. Greenfingers

So there you have it: a glimpse of some of my favorite Helen Mirren movie (and TV) roles. There's a little bit of something for everyone within the list: Mirren has a diverse a filmography as she has acting chops.

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!

tags: Jaibhakti, bhakti brophy, Helen Mirren, prime suspect, movies, oscars, The Cook the Thief The Wife and Her Lover,