California in the 70s Week

Comments allowed...hooray!

Panache. Wish I had me some. Loved that scene in In The Line of Fire (wasn't John Malkovich a good baddie?)when Clint Eastwood explains to Rene Russo that the serial killer they're protecting the president from has "panash" and she haughtily corrects him, "Don't you mean panahsh?". He says "Yeah, it means flamboyant." "Yes, I know" she says icily and he replies "Really? I hadda look it up."

California has so many "parts" that several years ago the California Tourism Board even split marketing the state into more than a handful of regions. I think Martha Sherill takes some libertieswith California in the 70s...

California in Ruins:
A rakish bachelor and his introspective daughter survive the 70s -- California style.

The Family Ruin, as described by the precocious young Inez Ruin, is a complex one. Her father, Paul, is self-obsessed, intrusive, opinionated, and profligate. He's also brilliant, adoring, magnetic, and liberating. Unable and unwilling to sustain a monogamous relationship, he's divorced from Inez's mother, Connie, and claims that he will never marry again, since "marriage is a bad deal for everyone -- particularly women." His intriguing personality and movie-star good looks mean that he's never alone, and many varied female identities are paraded before Inez in the form of a never-ending string of girlfriends that her father loves and then leaves.

Inez swings between two worlds -- one represented by her mother, Connie, an ex-star flamenco dancer, and Connie's mother, Abuelita, a Peruvian immigrant whoworks devotedly as a housekeeper for a recording-industry executive, and the other by Paul's mother -- old-money Grandmother Ruin, who invites Inez for horse-riding outings and tea parties that are really lessons in refinement. Bouncing between an innocent, secure life with Connie and Abuelita, and premature, though thrilling, exposures to an ultrasophisticated and unregulated life during her visits to her father in San Francisco, Inez attempts to find a reality that is somewhere in the middle.

As Inez progresses through high school, we are witness along with her to the preoccupations of Californians of the age: drugs, sex, art, surfing, love beads, Nixon, motorcycles, and the goal of not making a big deal out of anything. Inez encounters them all in her climb toward maturity, culminating in a trip to Hawaii that becomes a perilous slide into drugged oblivion. She makes it out in time, but her beloved half brother doesn't -- and her ascension to adulthood occurs in the task of rescuing him.

Martha Sherrill's ability to reconstruct time and place in absolute pitch-perfect detail allows for a remarkable rendering of an exhilarating and confusing decade of American life.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1594200807

But not all the reviews of Sheriill's most recent book at the Powells site are as positive:

Sherrill describes Inez's world with reportorial precision, but the accumulation of detail doesn't always contribute to the narrative's momentum, giving the story a memoirish rather than a novelistic feel.

LindaLoo, will you share your panache recipe with us?

If Sherill's book is made into a movie, will music by the Eagles be included in the soundtrack, or would that just seem too obvious?

Themes--excellent idea, Joel!

I just know my family would love this, if I had the energy to facilitate it. I picture the family coordinating costumes, cuisine, and recreational activities for, say, Tale of Two Cities Week, or The Grapes of Wrath Week, or The Great Gatsby Week. California in the 70's week would be fun, too. Great costumes, but many of the appropriate recreational activities are illegal.

They were illegal back then as well. Did that stop anyone?

A friend just e-mailed me this link to Roger Ebert's top 10 movies of the year--only there's a lot more than 10. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/COMMENTARY/512180302

What's depressing to me is how many really good ones there are that I never heard of (Junebug, Nine Lives [told in only 9 camera shots!!], Yes, Millions, plus an amazing "second tier" of must-see films: Downfall, Match Point, The New World, the Three Burials of M.E., Cache, Capote, Firecracker, The Upside of Anger...even a new Ingemar Bergman, fer cryin' out loud. How the hell am I supposed to get any boodling and web surfing done at this rate? Jeezy peezy.

It seems to me that if I followed Joels advice that my theme "is that I'm James Bond", I would not be able to tell anyone.

I would maybe tell people that my theme is that I'm a shoe salesman. Yeah, that's it, just an ordinary shoe salesman.

Bayou Self,
I nominate The Grateful Dead as the soundtrack. However, that may be equally obvious.

Holy macanoly Curmudgeon that's one fine list. My must see is CAPOTE. His guest appearances on Jack Paar and Johnny Carson's Tonight Shows were fascinating and surprising. I didn't expect the author of In Cold Blood to be so, well, cute. Such droll wit, interesting conversation, unique mannerisms and style. Actually, Truman Capote is what I would have thought to be a "curmudgeon". That is, BEFORE omnigood posted that definition.

Phil Lesh - But the Dead are just a San Francisco thing, man, a Bay-area thing that doesn't speak to the entire California thing, man.

Thing and man. Two big words back in the day. They were the thing. Man.

Theme Week for the blog? Don't we first need a theme song? Cowguy or C'mudge could handle it or my suggestion would be Mr. Blue Skies, ELO.

To this day, I still use 'man' on a regular basis. Especially if I can't remember a name (another result of the seventies).

"Hey, long time no see. How are you doing...er...um...man?"

FM was on TV a few nights ago. I always thought it was the ultimate 70s movie, but then I am not familar enough with the 70s (except for Saturday morning cartoons) or California to suitably judge the level of verisimilitude. The soundtrack however is awesome. The titular Steely Dan number, Hotel California by Eagles (heavily edited), and concert footage of pre-family-friendly Jimmy Buffett and pre-buffetline Linda Rondstat.

hey! i was born in ca in the 70's! (see how i make everything about me!)

great list 'mudge! i love that his fav was crash - that movie just blew me outta my chair!

k-guy - re: your previous boodle question re: dc movie cliche's - the one that bugs me the most is in Die Hard 2 where they have DC cops in Dulles airport as local cops... freakin Dulles Airport is 45 minutes away from DC!!!!! sheesh! and then when they have the planes circling cuz they can't land due to the snow... um... hello, there are a ton of airports around dc within 10-20 minutes!

"...spending more time reflecting upon whether chronic self-indulgence is keeping me from focusing on my deeper feelings about myself..." is great, and reminded me of a review I read this morning of Sarah Silverman's movie, Jesus is Magic (her take on 9/11 is: "It was devastating, especially for me.")

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/weekend/13505989.htm

I want to see Capote, too, Nani. I love Hoffman as an actor, especially in Almost Perfect and Big Labowski. He's one of kinds of actors I especially like--not the leading man types bu all those second-tier character actors that don't get the attention the pretty boys get. Hoffman always takes risks, and I don't think he's ever, ever phoned in a performance. I'm glad he's getting due recognition for this one.

I saw 40-Year-Old Virgin last week (was disappointed)--but the female lead in it, Catherine Keener, apparently plays Harper Lee in "Capote." I revere the book and movie "To Kill a Mockingbird," but have always been disturbed by the rumors that Capote supposedly wrote some or all of it. Of course, Capote is the model for the little next door neighbor kid.

The notion of a theme song is rolling around in the back of my noggin, newkid, but so far the muse is elusive. But we have plenty of time.

Hoffman was good in State and Main, which I believe was underrated, or maybe I'm just easy where Alec Baldwin is concerned.

yello - Soundtrack from FM works for me and would be just the thing, man.

*putting on his curmudgeon hat*

Here's a real news flash: Microsoft has announced that Windows has a "severe" flaw in it.

("A previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system is leaving computer users vulnerable to spyware, viruses and other programs that could overtake their machines and has sent the company scrambling to come up with a fix.")

Uh, Joel, can you check with the technology desk and see if they don't just roll this story out about once every six months or so? I think this is the 47th time I've read this story. I think the first time was in "My Weekly Reader" during the Eisenhower administration.

bc, can you come up with a generic Microsoft press release? Kind of a fill-in-the-blanks thing?

*grumble grumble*

"But if we give up our Windows systems, the terrorists will have won!"
The K-guy chuckled softly as he typed the words into the Mac G5 with its dual processors...

Going to California
-------------------
Spend my days with a website so kind
Smoked my stuff (OK, it was the patch) and typed another line
Made up my mind, make a new start
Goin' to California with an achen' in my heart
Someone told me there's a blog out there
with insight and fun and hardly even a care

Took my chances on post without shame
Never let 'em tell ya that they're aw-ooh-all the same
Hoh, the carbucks was red and the sky was grey
I wonder how tomorrow could ever follow today
Mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shake (we call that an earthquake!)
The children of the boodle begin to awake (after the holidays, that is)
Now
Watch out

It seems that the wrath of the gods (or intelligent designers) got a punch on the nose
and it's startin' to flow, I think we might be sinkin'
Post me a line, if I reach it in time
A kit without comments is almost a high crime (and misdemeanor?)

Find a link to our achen-king
They say he plays guitar and cries and sings, la-la-la-la
Ride a white mare (So, are the horse lovers happy?) in the footsteps of Hal
Tryin' to find a classic entry that doesn't involve a cow
Standin' on a hill in the mountain of dreams (or achens, or toms)
Tellin' myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems (Yes it is! I do not see how Cow Town or 'mudge do this on a semi-regular basis)
Mm-mm, now
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ahh-chen

(Plagiarized from the original, unbutchered lyrics by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant)

John Bonham? It's you Dreamer, isn't it?

ok - i HAVE to point out this quote from ebert's description of nine lives cuz it gave me goose bumps - dreamer, you'll appreciate this one:

"I miss the subtle sympathy that Garcia has for all of his characters, who are permitted those tender moments of truth by which we learn what a tease life is -- so slow to teach us how to live it, so quick to end."

No, 'twas not dreamer...

mo -- I copied out that exact quote from Ebert, it is wonderful.

Well Bonzo, 'twas lovely. Thanks for the "white mare".

"She laid a hand on the Mare's neck. In the rolling of years, it would be white, like milk. Now it was the grey of the rain that had fallen in the morning, shot with dapples like flecks of snow. The Mare snorted lightly and tossed her head. She could smell the stallion. It was her season, the strong one that waxed with the moon in spring and would wax and wane slowly with each moon all the summer long, and in winter sleep.

She snorted again and pawed, impatient to be going. Her rider eased a little on the broad grey back, freeing her to spring forward. The wind tangled in her thick grey mane and silver tail and sent it streaming out behind. The pounding hooves blotted out the drumbeats. They raced the wind then, swift over the new grass, into the westering sun."

Nor was it:
Achenfan, Tom fan, 'mudge, kguy, Cow Town, jw, pj, bc, TA, mo, sara, Nani, Reader, Loomis, Tim, Science Tim, mostlylurking, yellojkt, Bob S., ot, omnigood, omnigoof, omnibad, omnigasm, RD Padouk, nellie, TBG, firsttimeblogger, Bayou Self, Boondocklurker, Silvertongue, slyness, Scottyynuke, LP, newkidontheblog, dr, melvin/a, suecris, Cassandra S, omodudu, LB, Hunstman, Historian, Caged Rabbit, Pixel, mizeroc, Wilbrod, and I will mention mo and sara again just for good measure.

I am NOT the 'loper. Although I have been accused of being so twice lately (join my club silvertongue!). I'm cool with the thing, man.

I am the alpha and the omega (among others).

I would say that I *heart* you all but, I am not comfortable enough in my masculinity to say that. I will just say that I enjoy everyone's comments and please don't feel slighted if I missed your handle on my weird list above (haven't been around long enough to be an archivist).

*snort*

We souless guv'mint drones in our section got an "early out," so it's time to run for the bus.

Have a Happy New Year, boodlers all!

kurosawaguy,
Here's my recipe for panache that you requested (at 11:17):

2 cups flare, sifted
3 Faberge eggs
1/2 teaspoon, Nutmeg of Consolation
3 ounces, trompe l'oeil (extra virgin)
1 soupçon, joie de vivre
Dash (that's all--just dash)
2 zephyrs, indifference
1 sigh

Gently fold etheral ingredients until blended, then add emoluments; whisk lightly until piqued. Allow to bask indulgently one hour, until flushed.

*snort*? I almost *heart*'d you and all I get is a *snort*?

Once again, i thought i was playing nice??

I *heart* Faberge eggs!

That is the only thing that I asked for for Christmas (and Easter) but my significant other did not get me one.

Alas, my castle gates have been thrust open early as well. I will now take my leave and dial in later from the summer palace to find out why I was *snort*ed.

Great recipe, o descendant-o-mine.

What, Loomis, no insouciance in your panache? I really like the Nutmeg of Consolation, but you really must take out an insouciance policy, preferably no fault.

This place has so many dead historical figures posting lately it feels like the green room for Steve Allen's _Meeting Of The Minds_.

"My guests today are John Bonham, Nicholas I, Julius Caesar, and curmudgeon. Our topic will be parodies of 1970s heavy metal pop songs."

I thought the *snort* was mo's horse impression!

Happy New Year and Peace to all.

i'm sorry! please don't take umbrage at my *snort* - i shoulda said *chortle* - i didn't wanna do LOL... (and i got mentioned twice! now i really must *heart* you!)
you aren't comfortable in your masculinity to *heart* us but you can *heart* faberge eggs? hmmmmm...
sadly i'm a contractor for the gubment - no such early out for moi...

During the 1970's I was a teenager living in the Pacific Northwest. California was rumored to be a land full of decadent women and readily available intoxicants. None of this shameless self-indulgence managed to seep up North. I am still rather bitter about this.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND BEST WISHES TO ALL! (yes, even the loper)

K-guy writes:
"What, Loomis, no insouciance in your panache? I really like the Nutmeg of Consolation, but you really must take out an insouciance policy, preferably no fault."

Note: Nathaniel's Nutmeg may be substituted for the Nutmeg of Consolation. Insouciance may be added, but adjust to suit your own taste. A splash of élan, if you desire.

Thanks mo! I listed you and sara twice Due to the fact that you both were the first to greet me and welcome me when I first started commenting (under my clark-kent type handle). The conversations between the two of you back in September or October drew me towards the light of achenaddiction.

As I was driving home, I thought that *snort* may have been a type of laugh. I wondered if my attempt at clarification might come across as snarky.

Why would I *heart* Faberge eggs and not strangers? Hmm? I love the historical ramnifications of the oppulence and excess of a doomed dynasty. Not to mention I really *heart* anything that could bring millions at Sotheby's.

My love of history has betrayed me. I should have posted as Nicholas II. Poor Nicholas I never saw a Faberge egg. Czar Alexander III was the first recipient and Faberge only made one a year for him. When Nicholas II took the throne, the production was upped to two per year. I feel that this has been my worst SCC to date.

Julius Ceasar - also an anscestor of mine.
How 'bout you LL?

Time to attend to real life.
If I do not check in again, a very happy new year to you all.

NO, I am NOT an automated robot!
And I can barely read these test numbers..

Well, I might as well reveal my secret as the old year comes to a close:

I am an automated robot.

K-guyy, if you add insouciance to the panache recipe, it tends to curdle the zephyrs of indifference (they are very fragile, and like to be left alone). One could theoretically neutralize the insouciance first by adding a small slough of despond, but chemically they cancel each other out, so why bother?

If you do purchase an insouciane policy, be sure to get the hill and gully rider.

For California in the '70s, don't forget "California Split" by Robert Altman. And maybe his "The Long Goodbye" as well.

I actually spent some time in California in the seventies on trips. We traveled from San Francisco to San Diego on one trip in a camper. We visited all the tourist spots like Yosemite, La Brea tar pits, Universal lot, and Anthony's fish resturant in SanDiego. On another trip I was in a sailboat race near San Diego. It was a great state to visit as a tourist. I think I would rather live in the safe midwest than on the left coast, however.

I saw my one yearly movie - Walk the Line -which is great if one likes Johnny Cash. Wall St Journal's ten best movies (Joe Morgenstern) in alphabetital order are:Cache, Capote, Grizzly Man, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Head-On (in German and Turkish), Junebug, Millions, Walk the Line, Wedding Crashers. He also mentions Hustle & Flow; Howl's Moving Castle; Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit; the Beat That My Heart Skipped; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; Brothers; The Upside of Anger; Cinderella Man; Mad Hot Ballroom; Touch the Sound; Murderball; Ballets Russes;Dreamer; Rize; Duma; Downfall;Up and Down; Saraband; Turtles Can Fly; Nobody Knows; The World; Oldboy; Kings and Queens; Look at Me.

Since I rarely see movies I have no idea what any of these are like but if one likes suggestions there are a few. I enjoy hearing about all the movies all of you see I just don't often attend them. I like to read mysteries about quaint British detectives.

Loved your recipe for panache, Linda Loo.

Happy New Year to all from the boondocks.

bdl

bdl -- are you familiar with this writer?

http://www.margeryallingham.org.uk/

bdl - I'm trying to see more movies this year. A friend of mine has an Oscar party - actually it's just a couple of us sitting around watching the show and drinking wine - but I'd like to be a bit more knowledgeable! So far I've seen one on the WSJ list - Wallace and Gromit (loved it). Wedding Crashers? My kid's girlfriend said it was funny, but just wrong! I'd like to see Dreamer - it's about a horse, Nani. I would like to see Walk the Line, King Kong, Munich, and Syriana.

The Post critics' top 10:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123000343.html

Here's a link to an article in today's Post about my favorite cuddly animals:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/30/AR2005123001418.html

Oh, and Brokeback Mountain - I want to see that too. And I did see Goodnight, and Good Luck - very good.

Hello, I hope you don't mind if I join your blog. I just recently discovered this very fascinating way to exchange ideas (and recipes, of course). Here's the thing: I moved from DC to California in the 70's! It was the biggest culture shock of my life. I lived in one of the Maryland suburbs until 1972, went to school in Pennsylvania for a year and my family moved out here. I'm still here. What really shocked me about California was how everyone looked like a slob to me, dressed in jeans and boots even in downtown SF. And no one ever talked to their neighbors. All the houses were surrounded by 6' wooden fences so you never had to see another person. Then, of course, there was the heat. My family was living in a house with no insulation and it got up to 100 degrees in the summer and I thought I would die, but everyone said "it's dry heat so you don't feel it as much ..." hah! It took me a long time to get accustomed to this place. In fact, I'm still not accustomed to it. I married a native Californian (rare species) and so I guess I'm stuck here ...

BTW, I thought Crash was an excellent film. My 14-year-old son pronounced it "depressing up to the last five minutes" but I'm still thinking about it.

Welcome hulination! Yeah.. I've always loved that "dry heat" line. My husband is a transplanted California native. He hasn't been back there for years. I was born in DC but moved to Va. when I was 2. What does that make me, I wonder?

I always cross out the word "state" on forms where I have to say where I was born. That's my big political statement. In fact, I submitted a DC license plate design with the words "Taxation Without Representation" in 1980 to a Washington Post design "contest" and was publicly mocked for it by then-columnist (ugh) Bob Levey (I still have the clipping). Today's DC license plates now sport that very declaration. Sigh... I guess I'm just a woman ahead of my time.

Happy New Year to all!

two things here:

1. Dry heat? San Francisco. what moron, um er excuse me, what idiot, er um my bad, again, what IQ challenged (is that OK) person thinks SF is DRY.

and: 2. TBG can you post your letter and Levey's response. I usually liked his column, but when he got it wrong, boy oh boy, did he get it wrong.

og.

PS, if it takes a bribe, I'll buy you a drink at the next BPH.

pps OYSTER SHOOTER!!!

oh yeah, about that state thing: being a current resident of DC, I leave the state blank but put "Washington DC" as the city.

LOL

Loomis, I'm not sure which I like more, the pancake recipe, or the panache recipe!

If we have a 70's theme week, I wish I would have kept my happy face belt buckle, and my bother's pullover sweater vest which I scarfed (to steal in Canadian) from my brothers laundry pile and proceeded to wear for the next 2 years, till my mom bought me my own. It was navy blue, it was soft and it was coveted. To my extreme pleasure, he never said a word to me, since my brother refused to acknowledge the existence of sisters for most of the 70's.

If you are channelling 70's does this mean we shall have to wear plaid pants? If it does, we should re-think this whole channel the 70's theme thing.

I was given a copy of "Memoirs of a Geisha" for Christmas. I have read about a third of it, and am still waiting. This is the first book in a long time which has made me feel like I was reading "Gone with the Wind" where I have never gotten past the picnic part. I am having a really hard time connecting to the characters and I can't say why.

I think I am going to be in the minority not liking this book.

dr, I just read Memoirs of a Geisha - I didn't think it was so great, either, but the movie was worse, in the not connecting with the characters aspect (it's beautifully filmed and acted). There just are no characters to really like, even the main character. Her situation seems so hopeless. At least the book ends better, in my opinion. The movie brings in American soldiers, then ends abruptly - the book went on a bit and was more satisfying to me, as to how she developed as a person over time.

dr - Plaid pants have gone out of style?

hey, everyone--it's almost midnight here on the east coast. actually, I am a little bit east of the east coast, but still dry tonight and havin a grave time.

I'd like to write a poem, all full of wit
But after much champagne, well, this is it

That's good RD P.

It's a new day here EST!!!

HAPPY NEW DAY!!!

Hurray

Let's have some cheer
For the Great New Year!

Let's hope for Peace
and that strife will cease!

May the Kit prosper in the year "ought six"
and the Boodle thrive with the new year's tricks! (that was a stretch)

We just added a second to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
That extra second means time is in line!

From the boondocks to the right and left coast,
For the Boss and the Boodlers, a New Year's Toast!

I second your Happy New Day to all, omnigood.

bdl

Microsoft notifying consumers that their products have problems, shortcomings, and vulnerabilities is like OPEC reminding people that gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines produce air pollution.

Happy new year, everyone!

bc

Alcohol Mars President's San Antonio Visit

Drunk with Power?: Pair of Marines, who claim to be part of presidential flight detail, are arrested on River Walk

Web Posted: 01/01/2006 12:00 AM CST
Brian Chasnoff
Express-News Staff Writer

Two U.S. Marines may have forgotten the slogan "the few, the proud" -- especially the proud -- early Saturday while being arrested in connection with a chair resting at the bottom of the San Antonio River, according to Park Police.

About 1:20 a.m., a waiter at a Landry's restaurant on the River Walk told police that two men had thrown a "designer metal chair" into the river.

A police officer, spotting two men running on the River Walk, shouted for them to stop. They turned, looked back and ran up the stairs in front of the Rainforest Café, the report said.

"I again yelled 'Stop! Police!'" an officer wrote in the report.

One of the men halted, but the other kept running north on Crockett Street. Grabbing the fleeing man's left arm and shirt, police noticed he was "not steady on his feet" and smelled of alcohol, the report said.

"I am a U.S. Marine and we fly the president of the United States! You don't know who you have!" the man said, according to the report.

"I can't wait to get overseas because every time I shoot one of those people with my .50-caliber gun I will picture your face on them," he reportedly told a police officer.

While being handcuffed, the other Marine told police he was "one of the persons who flies the president's aircraft," the report said.

Zachary Burns, 22, of Quantico, Va., was charged with criminal mischief. Daniel Hubbard, 23, of Monrovia, Ind., was charged with evading arrest and public intoxication.

A White House press officer said Saturday night that the two Marines would not be part of the president's trip to San Antonio today, but she could not say whether the men were part of his usual travel detail.

An official with Marine public affairs said the corps had just learned of the arrests and would not be able to comment until after the holiday.

Bond for each Marine was set at $800.

The recent notoriety of our famed River Walk continues to grow...
(This from local metro columnist Ken Rodriguez's end-of-year musings this past week...)

I'm not sure what happened on Christmas Eve between that downtown bicycle cop and San Antonio's most famous couple. But I'm certain it's the most publicized traffic ticket in Alamo City history.

For driving without a Texas driver's license on Houston Street, Spurs guard Tony Parker makes news in China.

For making some alleged [foul-mouthed] comments (which two nearby pedestrians told a TV crew they never heard), ["Desperate Housewives" star] Eva Longoria makes headlines in Australia.

Readers accuse the Express-News of desperate journalism, then devour the front-page article for details. The story received nearly 30,000 hits the first two days on MySanAntonio.com. Versions of the piece ran in almost 100 newspapers around the world.

Happy (and safe) New Year, everyone!