How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (Watching Sound of Music on Telly)

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Ghost of Christmas Past

Last Xmas Eve got home early to prepare for 35 guests on Xmas, and watched SOM instead, running to the boards to visit, and had a ball with other people whop were watching too. This year, post Xmas, chatting with John Coldspot, we wondered if had been on again. Irony of Ironies, it was on that very night and John emailed me but I never saw it until 10:30 when the von Traps were first caught trying to sneak away, pushing their silent car.

What I'd love to know--and I apologize for the older guy brain flatulence--who were the wonderful people chatting away last year. Again, sorry that I can't remember for the life of me, but it was very much fun. Who was here on the boards visiting so happily?

Regarding the Nun's Story: Laundress, did you notice how eerily prescient it was when the director left the door open in the very last scene after Sister Luke had taken off her habit for the last time. The camera stays glued to the open door for so so long, Luke, now Gabrielle walking away, the discarded veil swaying on the veil rack.

And the door never closed
And the nuns ran out in droves
First taking off their veils
And later leaving the convent in their trials

How absolutely clairvoyant that scene is now in hindsight! eh?

Back to SOM: Kevin, (spellcheck corrects your name--hahah), I get wet cheeks every time I watch it, too. When Peggy Woods sings "Climb Every Mountain," I nearly discorporate. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Reverend Mother
 
Nuns Ran Out In "Droves"

Had much more to do with changes in society and Vatican II than anything else. Starting around the 1970's women simply had more options than to either become a wife, enter a convent or end up in some horrible "pink collar" job where they were under-paid, over worked and under appreciated. Indeed most of the problems many areas of employment are facing (teaching (especially chemistry), nursing, etc are due to the fact women have more employment choices than before.

Vatican II actually encouraged religous persons to become "part of the community" and go out amoung the people, rather than stay walled up and away. Habits were dispensed with along with so many other things, that many nuns and those who considered a vocation began to think " why bother?", I can serve God in other ways.

The lack of persons entering the religous life, especially nuns/sisters has had far reaching effects. Many if not all Catholic hospitals and schools were founded and mainly staffed by sisters and brothers, who were in a sense "free" labour. That is all over and Catholic schools and hospitals find themselves having to pay the going wages to attract and keep staff, all this at a time when most parishes have seen their membership levels fall off the cliff.

Back to "Sister Luke":

Sister Luke's problem is her inability to submit her own self will to that of her vocation and God. She wished to be a nurse first instead of a nun, and as Reverend Mother pointed out, Sister Luke did not enter the convent to become a nurse. Sister Luke also had a problem "obeying" authority and rules, and unlike "The Flying Nun" or other Hollywood creations of religous life, obeying is a huge part of religous life. If you as a postulant was told to read and memorise a chapter of religous text by say the mistress of novices, and you piped up that you already knew said text, that was neither her or there. You were expected to do as you were told, and that was that.

Self will is said to die about 15 minutes after we do, or is it 15 minutes before? Either way the hardest thing to do is surpress one's own desires to do what someone else wishes us to do. Even more difficult when that "someone" is God and his will is coming through his wordly instruments. What would you do if your mother or teacher told you to fail your exams on purpose as an act of humility? Happily for Sister Luke she went on to another convent where another RM told her that the previous request was wrong, but there was lots of that sort of thing in religous life. Do good and leave, in one form or another was part of many religous orders, even Saint Bernardette was given the same instructions during her religous life.

Read the book in high school, and it gives a rather grim picture of convent/religous life. At the time the Vatican was NOT happy with either the book or film. It was felt that it painted a poor picture of nuns and the Church in general, at a time when many, especially in the United States viewed the Church as a bunch of Latin babbling followers of the Pope, who in turn was viewed as living very well off other persons work.

The Nun's Story Trivia:

The book was not written by "Sister Luke", but a woman who met and took up with the ex-sister.
 
On Second Thought

No,

Cannot believe you would make such a common and rather disgusting comment. Tis rather low of you to assume all any woman's problems, be she a religous or otherwise stem from sexual fustration.

Am very disapointed in you, previously held you in high esteem and regard.

L.
 
Oh, come on, it was funny, a joke, grow up. I am not going to apoligize for a joke.

I did not assume "all women's problems stem from sexual frustration," those were YOUR words!

Maria, on the other hand, a film character created by Hollywood loosely based on a real character, is fair game for a joke, in the public domain, about what I think was a pretty schmalzy movie. Free speech and all.

As for your no longer holding me in high esteem, I am not convinced your opinion on that position is that high, nor that esteemed.

Lets put the claws away and recognize a bawdy joke as a joke, and not expand the subtext to an area the writer never intended to go in the fist place.

Regards,

Phil
 
So what are you REALLY after?

Phil, Phil Phil,

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus
The battle of the sexes (genders) continues.

Women just desperately need to love and be loved. It's MEN who want physical relations.
Women use sex to get love and men use love to get sex.
 
I know,Toggles, but I was making a joke about a semi-fictional screen character. Sorry if Queen Laundress had a hair across her ass about it.
Look,if the movie were "The Sound of the Stage," and a gay man had to decide between going into the priesthood or being an actor with his boyfriend director, and the theme song was "How do you solve a problem like Robert" and he eventually married his boyfriend, and I said "Robert needed to get laid, that solved the problem" no one would be offended except Catholic priests.
I have a really base sence of humor about things and I like to make fun of "icons" and things that are corny,(Dont get me started on DisneyWorld) but pretty much, I love and respect women and men and everything in between as children of this Universe who can enrich all of our souls.
But Julie Andrews finnally getting laid is funny, and that's my story and I am sticking to it.
 
Dumpster diving.

I am the last person to be able to judge, but didn't someone recently make a comment about two groups of people that was bordering on being racist?

We all live in glass houses. Let's not throw stones.
 
NOTICE ME! Most actors are exhibitionisitic.

~But Julie Andrews finally getting laid is funny, and that's my story and I am sticking to it.

And the "most wholesome of all" actresses even showed her boobies later on in time, for heaven's sake.
 
Getting back to the Music.

The best version of "Climb Every Mountain" that I heard was when a friend of mine, who lived in the Haight Ashbury area well before it turned hippie, invited me and my mom to attend his church. It turned out to be a predominantly black Methodist Church, and during the service one black women got up and sang that song. It was really good. The people were very friendly, too, but my mom couldn't get past her prejudices and we never went back there.
 
I think everyone is racist,really, and those who think they are totally liberal and gender and race tolerant are not telling the truth. I think it is a tribal self-presevation instinct from long ago. We only like to deal with that which we are familiar. I have found in the most liberal gay world, very racist tendencies twords Blacks and Mexicans. Divertity is a learning process for letting go of fear of the unfamiliar. Many of our religious backgrounds want us to "stick to our own kind" in the subtext or actual text of the Bible. In Leviticus, it is forbidden for a jew to work on the Sabbath, unless it is to cheat the Goyim",yet in another chapter, we must treat a stranger as we treat our family"(sic)
We all have many constructs that influence our subconcious to look for sameness and safety that would never hold up in today's Constitutional Rights. The Bible itself would not be defended by the Supreme Court in a language of law.
 
You have such class in a way that is both astonding and asto

which is why so many of us love way more than our luggage. So tonight I beseech you:

can you show us your magnificent face at least privately.

So classy of Phil to have apologized even though in the wrong forum, knuckleheaded man like me that he is.
 
Group Hugs are nice! Now about Mary Poppins...lets not even go there.
No pictures. "My face is my fortune, that's why I'm totally broke." *

* unsure of source,perhaps Bette Midler?
 
So many thoughts so little time... ATTN Maggie-Hamilton

I have the Sound of Music on Lazer Disk... It is one and a half disks long. I watched it a few months ago, very enjoyable, even with the stops.

I took a Sound of Music trip in High School. Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. It was awesome. I took a Salzburg Sound of Music Tour, I enjoyed seeing the locations, including the gazibo, that were made so famous by the film. I would love to go back, maybe one day.

Finally, Maggie-Hamilton, All of the theatres build prior to the mega-plexes of the late 80s, early 90s are sadly, closed.

Newmarket North and Coloseum Malls have been torn down
The old coloseum-3 is now part of a hotel
The Riverdale sits vacant and has been rumored will be torn down.
As of about two years ago, The Rocking Chair theatre is still there, vacant (My parents last went there to see "You Light Up My Life"), Newmarket and much of South Mercury Blvd. has become the boarder of a ghetto which takes up most of East End. The nearby King James Motel, once known for it's luxury and up town dinning is now a rent by the hour joint. Hookers walk the streets at all hours and many don't feel safe going there. I don't go past 70th street myself in daylight, for that reason. I'll try to go by the theatre sometime this weekend and see if the theatre still remains (I'm curious myself)

I wish that there was some way to save east end with it's potentially beautiful old houses and the Rocking Chair, Riverdale, the King James Motel, and other period buildings with that awesome mid-century style. Unfortunately, Mercury Blvd is in the beginnings of a revitalization and many are being torn down for B.J.s and Lows.... it's a pitty...

For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, sorry for the side journey. Maggie, hope this helps. If you have any more questions about your old stomping ground, feel free to ask.
 
Still trying to find out who was with me here last Christmas

I just wanted to thank you for such a good time. Our old friend Kelly, Mixfinder, gave me luscious ways to gourmet cook tenderloins that night. I heard from him today, and he's as fine and uplifting as ever. God, I wish he'd come back.
 

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