The Deer Hunter 

Directed and co-written by Michael Cimino

Starring Robert DeNiro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken

Originally released (in LA) Dec. 8, 1978

I hadn’t watched The Deer Hunter since it first came out – almost 35 years ago. I remembered it as a very good movie. But I also remembered that it was a harrowing, almost traumatizing, experience. What I forgot was how long it is: three hours.

Though categorized as an “epic war drama,” The Deer Hunter isn’t very much about Vietnam. It’s about two things that it well and deeply explored: The range of masculine strength and weaknesses. And the depth and tenacity of male friendship.

What I Liked About It 

* The acting – by both the principal and secondary actors.

* The depiction of a mining town in Pennsylvania back then. I knew that part of Pennsylvania a bit, and it looked very right.

* The depiction of how we (draft-age men) spoke and interacted. Every stunt and conversation was very true to my life back then.

* The depiction of PTSD. The event that caused it in the movie was, as far as I can tell, invented. But the trauma displayed by the men coming back from the war was real.

* The photography. It was almost crude. But beautiful.

* The pace. Very slow. A full hour on a wedding! But it created a feeling for how life was in such towns that, again, felt very real to me.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

* The portrayal of Vietnam and the Vietnamese was superficial, almost racist.

* The battle scenes were not particularly interesting.

* The performance of Meryl Streep. This was a very early role for her. I didn’t think she pulled it off. I didn’t know any young woman like the one she played.

Critical Reception 

The Deer Hunter was widely praised by both critics and audiences. The only negative comments referred to the film’s “simplistic, bigoted, and historically inaccurate depictions of the Viet Cong and of America’s position in the Vietnam War.” It won multiple important awards, including five Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTAs. It has also been featured on many “Best Film” lists.

You can watch the trailer here.

Another Parent Thrown Out of a School Board Meeting in Florida

You may have seen something like this before. It’s happening in primary schools across the country. A parent comes to the podium at a PTA meeting and proceeds to read from a book that has been ordered for the school library. “I just want to read what is in this book,” they say. And then…

Click here.

How Reese Witherspoon Became a Billionaire 

A fascinating explanation of how Reese Witherspoon made gazillions of dollars. Not from acting, although she’s done well with that, but from her book club.

The woman doing the explaining sounds like a true marketing expert. I don’t know why she seems resentful of Witherspoon for her business strategy. I think it’s smart and impressive. But you decide!

Click here.

Despite What You Think You Know:

The Facts About the Transgender Therapy Suicide Argument 

One of the common arguments made on behalf of those that support gender transition “therapy” for young people is that, unless you give them the hormones and surgery, you increase the odds that they will be suicidal. That’s a very scary argument. One can understand how compelling it would be to parents. But the facts are otherwise.

Click here.

Patrice O’Neal: Elephant in the Room

Last week, on a walk to give my new fake knee a workout, he began quoting what seemed to be from a movie. He had me laughing.

“What movie is that from?” I asked.

“It’s from Elephant in the Room,” he said. “And it’s not a movie. It’s a stand-up comedy routine by Patrice O’Neal.”

“Who’s Patrice O’Neal?” I asked.

“How old are you?” he said.

That night, he sent me this link to the performance.

It was very funny. As you’ll see if you watch it, O’Neal was one of those comedians, like George Carlin and Richard Pryor (whom he admired) that can get into difficult, potentially divisive material in a way that is unifying and affirming.

Elephant in the Room was one of O’Neal’s last performances. He died of a stroke in 2012, less than a year later.

This Documentary Made Me Proud 

Click here to watch a film that documents the history and journey of the first 25 years of Rancho Santana.

Watching TV vs. Everything Else –And a Recommended Docuseries 

I didn’t watch a ton of TV as a child. I’m sure I would have if I could have, but my parents preferred their children to spend their spare hours reading books.

When I left home, I was, in theory at least, free to binge-watch TV day and night. But I didn’t. By then, I had absorbed my parents’ disdain for the “boob tube.” And when K and I had children, we passed it on to them.

The thing is, it was a lot easier to stay away from TV when I was a kid – and even when our children were young – than it is today. And that’s because there are so many more things to watch. Hundreds more. And a fair percentage of them are GOOD.

Here’s an example…

I’m not a nature guy. I much prefer to vacation in a city than in the mountains. And I carried this prejudice into my TV viewing habits. I don’t think I ever watched a show about nature till just last week. What changed that was giving a Netflix documentary series called Our Planet a try. Within minutes of watching episode one of the first season, I was enthralled.

What makes the series so appealing to me is how amazingly well it’s produced. From the script to the informational content to the photography and the narration, it’s a constantly rewarding way to spend some of my down time.

I watched the first two episodes of Our Planet II tonight. Two in a row. That’s not something I normally do. The last time I did it was at least 10 years ago. I binge-watched 24. (Remember that series with Kiefer Sutherland?)

The episode I just finished is titled “Following the Sun.” The motif is the relationship between the rotation of the sun, which causes significant temperature changes all over the world, and the migration of animals. It’s a topic I’ve never given much thought to. And a topic I probably don’t really need to know much about.

But I watched it. And I learned some marvelous things.

Did you know that many animals – thousands of species – migrate as the seasons change? That would include most four-legged mammals, all sorts of birds, many fish, and many creatures smaller than fish. They migrate because of necessity. If they don’t get to a warmer climate in time, they die. That’s easy enough to understand. What’s surprising, though, is how they migrate.

The episode followed dozens of creatures on their long and super-challenging trips, often traveling thousands of miles populated with predators eager and able to consume them.

Some animals, like lions, don’t move. They just stay where they are and wait for the animals they feast on to migrate their way.

Some sharks travel and some don’t. When it’s time for albatross to migrate, the local sharks hang out along the coastline where the chicks mature into adults and then attack them as they try to lift themselves above the water. This life-and-death fight is amazing to watch. You can’t help but root for the albatross.

Did you know that bees migrate? They do. They migrate when there are just too many of them. A single hive can accommodate 100,000 bees. When it gets overcrowded, a small number of bees act as “scouts” to search out better living quarters, with just the right amount of sun and shade, and of a size that could accommodate a new tribe. The details of how they spread the news of what they’ve found are mesmerizing.

The migration habits of Snow Geese are equally remarkable. Snow Geese lay eggs only once a year, in the arctic summer. The females lay the eggs and keep them warm, while the males protect them from the foxes… and then the bears. Just eight weeks after hatching, the little goslings must make their first flight all the way to the warmth of the Gulf of Mexico.

The stories are fantastic. So, too, is the photography. I have no idea how they managed to get close-ups of, for example, the inside a new bees’ nest as it formed… or lions hiding in the grass as wildebeests passed by, hoping to feed themselves or die.

You can watch the trailer for Our Planet here.

And the trailer for Our Planet II here.

Cops Get Education on Constitutional Law 

This is a new genre of video that is popping up here and there on social media. Citizens challenging police officers that are bullying citizens just because they think they can.

I like this one in particular because the guy doing the challenging is big and intimidating, and because he clearly knows what he’s talking about.

Click here.

Five Amazing Whale-Spotting Moments! 

Click here.