A Question About the Census--A Short Take for Monday

U.S. 309,148,017
World 6,817,346,883


Something funny has been on my mind:

If the census Bureau knows how many households have or have not returned their census forms, then why do we even need to do the census?

I also wondered what happens to the census forms that are sent to foreclosed or abandoned homes.  Are the forms automatically forwarded? 

And can the census cross-check data with the IRS and Social Security?

My rhetorical questions aside, I did find a few articles that addressed the issue, especially one on a site about Bank Foreclosures:

According to census officials, they expect that many of their mailed census forms would not be returned by households who have abandoned their foreclosed homes and by immigrants who have concerns about their immigration status. Officials also added that sending personnel to make personal follow-ups on unreturned mailed census forms is expensive.

The constitution mandates the counting of citizens in order to assure electoral votes are distributed fairly, communities that qualify can get the government funding they need, and districts can be drawn properly.  The information is supposed to be strictly confidential; many who refuse to respond are afraid that sensitive information will be used against them.

It should be particularly challenging this year. And yet, I ask myself, too, even with 100% participation in the census, in this economy would the money that communities need be available?  And wouldn't we still have districts drawn in outrageous fashion for political reasons?

"El Secreto de sus Ojos" a Haunting Love Story--A Short Review for a Saturday

Benjamin, a retired investigator is haunted by the unsolved 25-year-old murder of a young woman, and turns his experience on the case into a novel.  He recalls his relationship with his friends and colleages, especially the beautiful District Attorney, Irene, for whom he has a platonic love. As the novel is completed, he revisits Irene, and as old feelings are rekindled between them, the crime is solved, and the hero learns lessons about living in the past and the questionable value of old memories, and finds the courage  move forward with life.

This Oscar-winning Foreign language film from Argentina starts out slowly, even dryly, but soon finds its promise and becomes a multi-leveled meditation on friendship, revenge, resignation, and the satisfactions of writing, as well as a suspenseful procedural and a moving, hopeful story of love's missed opportunities and second chances.  It is beautifully done, and one hopes its achievements are not so subtle as to be lost on the casual viewer.

These characters are well-drawn and believable, and the performers are all first-rate.  The various plots and subplots are so compelling that viewers may forget they are watching a fiction film; it has the maturity and unblinking honesty of "Z", and the low-key suspense of "The Lives of Others".  It's also filled with human foible and humor, surprising twists and stunning action sequences.  The chase through the soccer stadium is masterfully directed and photographed; the interrogation scene is sly and revealing in more ways than you can imagine; and the climactic revelation which solves the mystery is creepy without resorting to gratuitous violence.

This is a worthy albeit surprising addition to the Academy's slate of Foreign Film winners. It is an effective character study and mystery for adults, and although it succeeds on that level, it lacks a certain aesthetic excitement that characterized the classic winners in this category.  It's definitely not for the action and mindless-comedy crowd, and so it will need a long exposure, good word-of-mouth, and perhaps its Oscar seal of approval to reach its intended audience. 

"Billy Elliot" Is Like A Friend's Embrace

Broadway's "Billy Elliot" arrived in Chicago amid the most enthusiastic fanfare. 


I was drawn to the show immediately during last Spring's Tony Awards, where this musical adaptation of the 2000 Film cleaned up with 10 wins.  I enjoyed the movie;  although I had not seen it for a while, the goodwill I had for this story, of a boy in an English mining town who must fight to realize his dream of learning  ballet,  remained with me and continued to inspire.  Friends who had seen this musical in New York or London raved.  My expectations were high, but I felt an anxiety that the show might not live up to them.


Happily, "Billy Elliot" is a smashing example of classic musical theater, its topical edge nicely balanced by its brilliant music and clever staging.  It challenges, or champions, our attitudes (depending what you bring to it) while never forgetting to entertain us. It is exciting, and pleasantly comfortable. It dazzles us with fresh music, heartbreaking beauty, surprising humor, and wry political statement, in a conventionally well-paced story about a spirited and talented young underdog.  No wonder "Billy Elliot" is so well-loved; you root for it like the friendly, non-threatening kid you once knew in school.

Those who have ever had an all-consuming artistic passion, or at least a dream to create or perform, can't help but identify with Billy and his struggle to convince his family members, who are challenged just to  survive during a 1980's miner's strike, to let him pursue his talents. 

Gay people, especially those who have had to struggle to live genuine lives of honest self-expression, will recognize Billy's attempts to dance the ballet, while trying to convince the naysayers in his midst (as well as, maybe, himself) that he is not a "poof".  It is a story of discovering who you are, and having the courage as well as the support to realize your true calling.  The way Billy and his family overcome their preconceived notions and prejudices and rally together against a backdrop of violence and ignorance, form the heart of this dazzling production.

It is an intricate and successful combination of earthy backdrop,  graced with an appreciation of the higher arts.  With a light touch and carefully worked-out characterizations and music, it all succeeds beautifully. 


Credit must go to Elton John and Lee Hall, for their Music, Book, and Lyrics, for their understanding of the milieu, as well as their deep identification with the story's personal elements; to Stephen Daldry, who has adapted his film and made it buoyant for the stage, expertly controlling the shadings, creating a welcome and lighthearted first act, darkening a bit in the second before the expected warmth and triumph of the conclusion; and to a lively and uninhibited cast, especially young J. P. Viernes as Billy, and Armand Schultz as his rich-voiced, working-class dad.  The designs of the sets and the lighting turn a dreary industrial setting reminiscent of  a modern-day "Oliver" into something familiar, more colorful and fantastic, its set pieces delighting audiences of all ages and making this reviewer often shout with child-like laughter. 


Although Margaret Thatcher is spared no scorn, the show is not heavy or political, but personal, one of great joy and hope.  I left feeling like everything in life for me is still possible. I wondered how the play would provide the exposition necessary to help American viewers understand the context of the story; and so, emblematic of the show's simple yet brilliant creativity, documentary film clips are used effectively as a backdrop to a rousing opening number ("The Stars Look Down"). 

In fact, the tunes are terrific and many of them deserve to become standards (in a world where it is still possible to enjoy a variety of music and where great songs stay relevant through the ages).  "Dear Billy" runs through the show as a motif, a moving dialog of love between boy and mother; "We'd Go Dancing" is a Grandmother's bawdy reminiscence of her late "bastard" husband, typical of the show's method of taking us to the point of pathos and sidestepping it in surprising ways. "Angry Dance" introduces metal elements and folds in themes from"Swan Lake" for a pulse-pounding climax to Act One, all fire and frustration and dashed hopes, leaving us hungry for the second act.

Billy's discovery of his talent under the awed eye of the comic Mrs. Wilkinson (Emily Skinner) takes the show into a new phase.  Initially, the all-girl ballet class, with its zany intructor,and slovenly (yet surprisingly nimble) piano player Mr. Braithwaite (Blake Hammond), is a cheery, bright, slapstick setting of perpetual movement where Billy gets lost, but quickly finds his way, and himself.  The developing relationship between Mrs. Wilkinson and Billy, as she becomes a teacher, mentor, friend, and surrogate mother, is one of the loveliest story arcs in the musical.

Of all of the numbers, two stood out as especially significant to this writer, touching chords of my own efforts at re-invention.  First is "Express Yourself".  This is a loopy duet between Billy and his best friend, Michael (Gabriel Rush).  In Boxing Class, Billy and Michael are reluctant sparring partners.  Soon, we learn that Michael prefers to wear colorful, hilarious dresses,  grand gowns and boas, and to dance to show tunes.  Billy, who has almost accidentally discovered his natural affinity for ballet, is happy to join his friend.  The number becomes a kid's-eye view of a lavish Broadway show, complete with gigantic dancing dresses and a silver lame curtain. When Michael finally kisses Billy, we know Michael's longing, and although Billy doesn't quite understand, something keeps him drawn to his admiring friend.  These are not violent fighters, but budding artists.


(Personal digression: in school I was made to wrestle a boy in gym class, and during the match I hit him in the eye with my elbow.  I was mortified as he cried in pain, while the Instructor screamed at me to finish the match and pin him.  The boxing sequence here recreated that distaste for violent sport with amazing honesty.)

The second and most awe-inspiring number is a duet between Billy and an older "self", a mature version of Billy years hence, physically developed, graceful,  forgiving of the youngster's eager exuberance, and tenderly supportive of the kid's development.  With a single spinning chair for each as a prop, and "Swan Lake" swelling from the orchestra, it builds to an emotional climax of uncommon excitement and power. It was so warming, so imaginative, that when the bigger, stronger dancer lifts Billy, who literally soars above an empty, fog-swept stage, the profoundly personal way this number touched me was almost too intimate to describe in words. 

The backstory involvong the mineworkers' strike and the heartbreaking result of their resistance offers a backdrop that wisely does not intrude on the essentially comic and inspiring story of Billy and his dreams.  We have come to know these people, faults and all, and we have been invited to join them in "solidarity" with each other as they forget their differences to help this boy follow his heart to the Royal Ballet.  During Billy's school interview, when he's asked what dancing feels like, he responds "it's being hungry and full at the same time".  Exactly.

"Billy Elliot", like the  title character's friend Michael, enthusiastically and generously reaches out to plant a kiss on its audience; and like young Billy, you might be tempted to run back on stage and return that embrace.

GLAAD for A Single Man--Tuesday Short-Take

The major GLAAD Media Awards were presented last Saturday in Los Angeles, so Award Season continues....

...and there was a comfort in knowing that "A Single Man", my favorite film of 2009 (covered in these pages, links below) was recognized for Outstanding Film in Wide release.

See winners in all categories here.

Although I maintain that awards in themselves neither add nor detract from any creative work, and as hard as I have struggled to regard arts (film, literature, music, all of them) on their own merits and NOT in terms of awards, I admit I felt a vindication of sorts, not necessarily for any prestige carried by the award, but to have a work I loved finally recognized...as though it is still alive in the public consciousness, and that in some wierd way, by extension, so am I. 


I identified so much with the story of  the writing and filming of "A Single Man", with the story of Christopher Isherwood and the circumstances surrounding the conception of this work; and Isherwood's influence on my budding passion for film, because he created the work that would become one of my powerhouse favorites and a film I still hold dear, "Cabaret".


Some may assert that GLAAD is singing to the choir, and that the Media Award will have little influence on mainstream audiences to give the film a chance.  Maybe so.  I, myself, have not always agreed with GLAAD's choices (and I'll stick my neck out now to say that I hated "Little Miss Sunshine", a recent recipient).  And, thinking back on Movie Year 2009, there were not too many wide releases that would merit award attention, so even a mediocre film could have been honored.


Fortunately, "Single Man" remains in my estimation a terrific piece of cinema by any measure.  And so I am happy to have a new, and relevant, reason to showcase it once again on these pages.

http://tom-samp-journal.blogspot.com/search/label/Christopher%20Isherwood


http://tom-samp-journal.blogspot.com/2010/01/single-man-part-2-film-review.html

http://tom-samp-journal.blogspot.com/2010/02/oscar-2010-my-actor-of-year.html

Animal Testing--An Unexpected Sunday Journal

I intended to launch my defense of "Citizen Kane" today, but found something that begged for my prior attention:

This morning I read a HuffPost blog by Lee Schneider about Animals, Medical Testing, and Compassion.  This topic usually rouses my passions and  philosphical musings.   It's a complex topic;  and yet I land firmly on the side of alternative methods of drug and medical testing that do not involve the potential suffering or death of animals.

Schneider is an executive producer, writer and director, who founded DocuCinema, a company that produces non-fiction films on social issues.  Two recent productions include SHELTER, "about architects and designers bringing solutions to issues of homelessness and disaster relief. He is also directing a movie called The Incredible Power of Chance Events, which is about the science and mystery of destiny, chance and karma."

Comments on this post were quite passionate on either side of the issue, so  I had to lend my voice to this.  You can find my comment below, or read all of the comments (including that of yours truly) by clicking on the above link.  Just look for Bassetthound:

Animals provide us with opportunities to answer elusive questions about our better nature as humans. We are in a slow process of breaking through ancient attitudes about man's dominance over earth's creatures, and with any change of this magnitude, there are those who cling to established methods, ideas, and attitudes against sensible progress..


Technology is allowing us to study many areas, including health, without the need to torment or kill those innocent beings who are the subject of testing. We tend to hear more about the technologies that are used for our entertainment, but little about really important life-sustaining developments.


I just read a link on this page about Dr, Geffen's development of Bio-Engineered tissue as an alternative to performing drug and other testing on animals.
http://indyposted.com/18098/bio-engineered-tissue-could-replace-animal-testing/


I am not a scientist, but this motivated and inspired me to do some research on the viability of human stem cell tissue as material for testing that would provide more appropriate results for human users.


As a dog-lover and animal shelter volunteer, I am witness to all manner of abuse that animals suffer at the hands of human beings. Why should our educated professionals continue what is essentially the same practice?


I hope the professional community will set a precedent by establishing legal and ethical guidelines against potentially hurtful or fatal use of animals, creatures that can give us so much if we see them as our companions in this life, instead of unfeeling objects for our disposal.