Journey's End

Lead me to the field of dreams
Where our souls can bask in splendor
Not knowing any loneliness
For tis only love there rendered.

Lead me to your open arms
Your waiting warm embrace
Where safety and security
Is found within that space.

Loose me in your loving gaze
Where time is stilled forever
Let me glimpse inside your soul
Where deception lies surrendered.

O’ lead me to that field of dreams
Where our hearts become as one
Knowing we’re at journeys end
And our search for love is done.

copyright 2012 TLS

*** November Rain ***

When I look into your eyes I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you, don't you know I feel the same? yeah
Nothin' lasts forever and we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain, ooh yeah
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An' no one's really sure who's lettin' go today, walking away

And if we take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine, all mine
So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin' in the cold November rain

Do you need some time on your own?
Do you need some time all alone?
Everybody needs some time on their own
Don't you know you need some time all alone?

I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal the broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you?

Sometimes I need some time on my own
Sometimes I need some time all alone
Everybody needs some time on their own
Don't you know you need some time all alone

And when your fears subside and shadows still remain, oh yeah
I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness we still can find a way
Nothin' lasts forever even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody...

'L'Eclisse' (1962)

One salient stylistic feature that struck me about this film was its sparse use of music. Aside from the Italian song, followed by the eerie orchestra music playing during the opening credits of the film, music does not appear until about a half hour into the film, when we hear the diegetic African drum beats on the record player. The next time we hear diegetic music is about 45 minutes into the film, coming from the stereophonic at the bar at the landing strip. Around an hour and a half in, we hear the upbeat diegetic music of a pianist while Vittoria (Monica Vitti)and Piero (Alain Delon) are walking through the park, although this music is carried over and becomes non-diegetic as they run through the park. About ten minutes later, non-diegetic piano music returns, but this music is sad and eerie, as Vittoria turns around to see that Piero is not standing in the street; he has disappeared. About an hour and 45 minutes in we hear the diegetic music of the same Italian song from the opening credits playing in Piero's bedroom. About ten minutes later we hear eerie orchestra music similar to the opening credits and the moment in the street when Vittoria sees that Piero is gone. This same eerie music plays at the end of the film, when we are shown that Vittoria and Piero's meeting place is empty; neither of them have shown up. This music gets loudest during the last shot of the lamp post, finalizing that it is now dark and late, much past their meeting time, and that neither are ever going to show up.

I think the dramatic sparseness of music during the film serves to not only emphasize the importance of the rare moments when music is used, but also to emphasize the emptiness of the characters’ lives when music is not used. The African drum beats, the stereophonic sound at the landing strip, the upbeat pianist, and the Italian song all mark moments when Vittoria is relatively happy during the film. When she is with her friends, looking at beautiful landscapes, dressing up and joking around; after she flies on the plane with her friends and sees aerial scenery; when she and Piero are carefree and messing around in the park; when she explores Piero's childhood apartment and bedroom. Yet, the times when the dark and eerie orchestra music is used all mark moments when Vittoria is brought back to the emptiness of her life and the realization that she doesn't know what she wants or who she wants because she is incapable of truly being in love.

One eloquent feature that struck me about the film was its juxtaposition of chaotic stock exchange scenes with quiet, landscape scenes (both portraits and real locations). There are many shots of landscape portraits of exotic and beautiful places in Vittoria's friend’s apartment, which obviously intrigue Vittoria. There are also many shots of the architecture in Rome: the aerial views from the plane, the shots of different places throughout the city, the park, as well as many sites of uncompleted architecture and construction. These quiet, serene shots are contrasted with the loudness and disorder of the stock exchange. I believe that it is through these scenes that Vittoria's incompatibility with Piero becomes clear. 'You never stand still,' she tells him. He is a cog in the stock market machine, and he can never stop, or the whole machine will collapse. Whereas Vittoria does not wish to be a part of some system, she does not want to play the part of the doting wife. She does not want to simply be a role.

* Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Emmanuelle : The Final Chapter

Dutch actress, Sylvia Kristel (1952 – 2012) died of cancer at age 60.
Kristel, was a model who turned to acting, who had performed in over
50 movies, but was best known for playing the titular character in four
of the seven erotic, 1970s 'Emmanuelle' films. She had been fighting
cancer for several years.
Kristel was born in Utrecht, Netherlands, the elder daughter of an
innkeeper, Jean-Nicholas Kristel, and his wife. In her 2006 autobiography,
'Nue', she claims to have been sexually abused by an elderly guest at
the hotel at the age of nine, an event which she has refused to discuss
in detail.
Her breakthrough came in 1974 in 'Emmanuelle', the erotic tale directed
by Frenchman Just Jaeckin, about the sexual adventures of a man and his
beautiful young wife in Thailand. She later hit the US market with the
success of 1981's 'Private Lessons'.

'Habitat 67'

'Habitat 67' is a model community and housing complex in Montreal,
Canada designed by Israeli–Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It was
originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at
McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, the
World's Fair held from April to October 1967.
Safdie's design for 'Habitat 67' began as a thesis project for his
architecture program at McGill University. It was 'highly recognized'
at the institution. 'Habitat 67' comprises 354 identical, prefabricated
concrete forms arranged in various combinations, reaching up to 12
storeys in height. Together these units create 146 residences of
varying sizes and configurations, each formed from between one to
eight linked concrete units. The complex originally contained 158
apartments, but several apartments have since been joined to create
larger units, reducing the total number... and each unit is connected
to at least one private terrace.
It is located at 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy on the Marc-Drouin Quay
next to the Saint Lawrence River. 'Habitat 67' is widely considered
an architectural landmark and one of the most recognizable and
significant buildings in both Montreal and Canada.
I have very dear friends who have lived there since the early 1980s'
and the inside of these units are just as eclectic as the outisde...

Sir Sean Connery

Thomas Sean Connery was born in the Fountainbridge district of
Edinburgh, Scotland on August 25, 1930. He grew up impoverished.
The son of a truck-driver, he came from a background very different
from that of his most famous screen alter-ego.
After leaving school, he joined the Royal Navy, but was released
due to ulcers. He had many jobs, including laborer, lifeguard and
model for art classes. But it was his career as a bodybuilder that
led to his representing Scotland in the 1953 Mr. Universe contest,
in which he placed 3rd. This in turn led to a job in the chorus
with the touring company of South Pacific. He appeared in several
stage productions, and made his television debut in 1956. He signed
a movie contract with MGM in the late 1950's, which led to a string
of film roles.
He was cast as the first cinematic James Bond in Dr. No in 1962.
He won the role over Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Trevor Howard, Patrick
McGoohan and Roger Moore, even though Ian Fleming was quoted as
saying, 'He is not exactly what I envisioned' ... as the fictional
British agent. However, the film was a success, which led to 3 more
Bond films in the next 5 years.
Tired of being identified only as 007, Connery quit the role after
'You Only Live Twice', in order to devote more time to his family
and to golf. The next Bond film starred George Lazenby, but Connery
was persuaded to return as Bond in 'Diamonds are Forever'. With that
role, he said he was finished as Bond, but he returned in 1983's
'Never Say Never Again', which was not an 'official' Bond film, as
it was produced by Kevin McClory instead of Eon. This film did not
help his relations with Bond producer Cubby Broccoli, with whom
Connery was feuding.
Connery has played many varied roles in films over the years,
working with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and
Brian De Palma. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
as well as the Golden Globe award in 1987, for his role as the Irish
cop Malone in 'The Untouchables'. He was also named People magazine's
'Sexiest Man Alive' in 1989.
Connery is an avid golfer (he learned the game for 1964's Goldfinger)
and in 1996 won the Lexus Challenge golf tournament with pro Hale Irwin.
In 1990, Connery received the British Academy of Film and Television
Arts (BAFTA) Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1995, he received the Cecil
B. DeMille Award for 'outstanding contribution to the entertainment field',
given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
In 1997, he was honored with a Gala Tribute by the Film Society of
Lincoln Center in New York and in 1998, received a British Academy
Fellowship from BAFTA. He was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1999.
He became Sir Sean Connery in July 2000, received a knighthood from the
British government, despite being refused the honor 2 years previously
for political reasons. He has also received awards in France, including
the Legion d'Honeur, and the Commandeur des Arts and des Lettres.
He has been married twice. His first wife was actress Diane Cilento.
In an ironic twist, their son, actor Jason Connery, portrayed James Bond
creator Ian Fleming in the film 'Spymaker'. Sean has been married to
French artist Micheline Roquebrune since 1975.

'The Elemental Fact'

'The elemental fact, present in our consciousness
every moment of our existence, is: I am life that
wills to live, in the midst of life that wills to
live....
The essence of the humane spirit is: Preserve life,
promote life, help life to achieve its highest destiny.
The essence of Evil is: Destroy life, harm life,
hamper the development of life.' ~ Albert Schweitzer