Sydney Pollack

Yesterday, Sydney Pollack died, and for some reason I feel compelled to write about him. I didn't know him, though he is on my list of celebrities I've encountered. My sister's brother-in-law worked as his assistant for The Interpreter, and it sounds like Sydney treated him well.

There were a lot of things about Sydney Pollack I liked. I'd seen him interviewed on "Inside the Actors' Studio," and I liked his thoughts about film-making, finding the "spine" of the story. Recently, he made an ad that plays in movie theaters right before the feature starts, admonishing a character not to talk on the phone during the film. I like that. As much as anything, his persona seemed to be that of a bright, decent person.

Most of all, though, I liked his films. The two that readily come to mind are Out of Africa and Tootsie. But after checking IMDB, I learned he'd directed a number of films I'd admired: The Electric Horseman, Three Days of the Condor, and Absence of Malice. Until The Big Lebowski usurped it, Tootsie had been my favorite comedy. So last night, we watched it. Frankly, I can't think of a better way to remember an artist.

Here's how I encountered Sydney Pollack. During the pentultimate New Orleans Film Festival, Nicole and I had gone to see Al Franken: God Spoke at Canal Place. We were lined up outside, and seating for the film was running late, really late, 40-minutes late. I'd asked at the box office what was going on, and they said the director was talking about the film in there. Turns out, it was Sydney, talking about his Sketches of Frank Gehry. As he was leaving, he walked right past us. Usually when I see celebrities, I leave them alone, and that's what I did in this case. What I would never do is try to befriend them in some way. If I genuinely liked their work, I may tell them--that's it. So as I watched him walk by me, I thought about going up to him and saying,"Tootsie was a great film." But I thought what he really wanted was to be left alone, so I did. But now, I don't know, I wish I'd told him I appreciated his work.

Integral Theory

Recently, I read this interview of Ken Wilber and found it fascinating. If you have a philosophical inclination, I highly recommend considering it.

Wilber is the founder of integral theory, which is his attempt to make sense of our disparate bodies of knowledge. With integral theory, he offers a model about how many fields, from physics to biology to psychology and spirituality, relate and have meaning for our lives. This appeals to me. So I read a primer on his theory The Integral Vision. Now I'm reading Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: the Spirit of Evolution, which is an exhaustive examination of this subject. Maybe you'd like this, too.

O'Reilly

This video below is hilarious. In it, Bill O'Reilly of Fox News fame goes apeshit back when he was on "Inside Edition." It's also great to see him in a toupe.

Nika Art Glass

Nicole and I have just updated her web site, NikaArtGlass.com. Check it out.

Resumption

Yesterday, Nicole began blowing glass. She's started a four-month residency at the Living Arts Centre. I'm glad she's back into it, and she is, too. So, yesterday, I took the train out to the studio to meet her at the end of her shift. From there, we went to pick-up her parents who were returning from Spain after being away for six months. They were happy to see us, and it was nice to see them, too. They've been very helpful to us. Today, I also pick up my computer which has been in the shop for a week. We've been sharing Nicole's tired, old mac, and that's been rough sledding.