Clara Riddles

 Biographical Stuff  6 Responses »
Aug 262010
 

To borrow a cliche, it was a day like many others…

My co-workers and I had made our usual lunchtime journey over to the CNN Center for a bite to eat and to rail at the talking heads on the giant monitors hanging over the food court.  It was a sunny day – warm, but not too hot – and one of the rare occasions where things were running smoothly at the office and life seemed pretty good.

To say we are regulars at the Center would be understatement – we eat there so frequently that, “I’ll have the usual,” is an acceptable order, and our relations with the food court crews have long belonged to the Southern formal,”How’s your mom-and-them?” Continue reading »

My Thoughts on the Mosque

 Political Stuff  2 Responses »
Aug 172010
 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Every single American should immediately recognize, and adore, the above quote – if you do not, you have failed to honor your first responsibility of citizenship.  The first amendment, the cornerstone of the United State’s Constitution’s Bill of Rights, lays out, in no uncertain terms, the core truths that “We the People” hold self-evident. Among these are the key freedoms necessary for a healthy Democracy: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and most pertinent right now, freedom of religion.  Particularly the free exercise of religion – the very act of worship.  There are no caveats or footnotes, no fine print or “out” clauses; the United States was founded with the express intent of ensuring that no single religion be denied the right to exist, nor any religion be declared more “true” than another. Continue reading »

A Look Back: “Dinner at Eight”

 Film Stuff  Comments Off
Aug 082010
 

Note: This post was originally published by my friends Scott Jordan Harris and Simon Mason at The Spectator Arts Blog: “Touching From a Distance,” a wonderful pop culture an entertainment blog based in the U.K..  If you love film, music, literature, theatre, and the fine arts, TFAD is a site for you.

After the positive reception and well deserved 1932 Best Picture Oscar for the excellent ensemble drama Grand Hotel, MGM sought to replicate its success by enlisting the talents of David O. Selznick to produce an equally star studded and flamboyant followup.  Turning once again to Broadway for inspiration, Selznick acquired the rights to a play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, hired George Cukor to direct, and had Herman Mankiewicz and Frances Marion write the adaptation (with Donald Ogden Stewart adding some additional dialogue.

The result was Dinner at Eight, a slickly produced film featuring some of Hollywood’s best actors at the height of their abilities.  While not as artistically or financially successful as Grand Hotel, Dinner at Eight would go on to earn a rightful place in cinematic history, becoming a classic largely on the strength of its performances, the acuity of its observations, and a particularly legendary double-take and retort from one of the screen’s truly grand dames. Continue reading »