doppelganglander 11/29/2019 6:15:51 AM

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PaladinPhil 11/29/2019 6:27:55 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 11/29/2019 7:42:28 AM

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Thanks to Kosh for his postings of the "Mack the Knife" selections.  They are both compelling and repulsive; I will have to watch the film straight through one of these days.

I mentioned yesterday that there is a version of "The Beggar's Opera," the John Gay work on which the "Threepenny Opera" is based; it stars Laurence Olivier as MacHeath, and the great Stanley Holloway is in the cast.  It was directed by Peter Brook, who also did the superb film of "Marat/Sade" (full title, "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat, as performed by the inmates of the asylum at Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade"; you can see why it was shortened for convenience).  "Marat/Sade" has much of the same claustrophobic, squirming, crowded quality that "Mack the Knife" has; my recollection (I saw it many years ago) is that "The Beggar's Opera" has something of the same feel.

I note that "Mack the Knife" was written/directed by Menahem Golan, who also directed and partially wrote the film "Delta Force," with Chuck Norris.

Kosh's Shadow 11/29/2019 8:30:45 AM

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The only reason we're going out today is because it's the only day we have to look for new sinks for the bathroom. The faucets (the newer washeless ones) are hard to turn off, but the sinks themselves have gotten rusty underneath the enamel, causing the enamel to flake off, so if we're going through the trouble of replacing the faucets, better to do the whole job.

The idiots who built the setup also made the connections hard to reach.

buzzsawmonkey 11/29/2019 8:57:09 AM

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Kosh's Shadow 11/29/2019 10:21:03 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 11/29/2019 11:20:57 AM

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Notes on Name Symbolism in "Mack the Knife"/"Threepenny Opera"/"The Beggar's Opera":

MacHeath is usually called "Mack the Knife."  He is not merely a thief and murderer; he is a pimp; his "Tango Song" with Jenny describes him living, not merely with, but off of her, while she works as a prostitute.  He uses/abuses/exploits the other women in his life as well.  "Mack" is still slang for a pimp in the black community, probably shortened from the French "maquereau," or "mackeral," which is French slang for a pimp. His sobriquet "the Knife" is also a reference to his sexual prowess in addition to referring to his violent weapon of choice: the term "swordsman" has long been a way of referring to a Lothario; there are countless instances in both literature and film where a knife is symbolic of the male member, and stabbing symbolic of sex or rape, regardless of the sex of the person wielding the blade.  Thus, the name "Mack the Knife" is meant to underscore MacHeath's sexual adventuring as much as his criminal behavior.

"To peach," in British slang, means to rat on someone, to inform on them, or to betray them.  I believe the term appears in Dickens' "Oliver Twist" (another fertile ground for name symbolism), which takes it back almost two hundred years; "The Beggar's Opera" goes back another hundred, but the term was likely in common use that far back.  MacHeath's nemesis, Peachum, informs on/betrays MacHeath; hence the name.

Kenneth 11/29/2019 1:08:19 PM

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Following on the heels of a violent protest against IDF reservists speaking at York University in Toronto, the York Federation of Students (YFS) passed a motion stating that it will actively work to oppose “representatives of the Israeli state” who appear on campus.

Kenneth 11/29/2019 1:10:49 PM

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There was a stabbing attack in London today in which two victims were killed as well as the terrorist. An explosive device was found in a bag in a Paris train station and another knife attack in Belgium.

Sounds like some people planned to make a show.

Kenneth 11/29/2019 1:16:51 PM

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Bill Peters resigns as Calgary Flames head coach after allegations that 10 years ago he used the N word in speaking to a black player.

The player says he complained about it, and was sent down to the lower minor league team & labelled a trouble maker.

In an unrelated story, Justin Trudeau wears blackface costume 3 times and still gets to keep his job.

Kenneth 11/29/2019 1:24:21 PM

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Reply to Kenneth in 10:

Best Tweet on the topic:

PaladinPhil 11/29/2019 1:39:14 PM

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Reply to Kenneth in 8:

York University has become a pestulant sore on Higher learning. The depth that other Toronto institutions are striving to reach.

lucius septimius 11/29/2019 3:33:04 PM

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PaladinPhil 11/29/2019 4:06:02 PM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 13:

According to my better half, that probably counts as "child abuse". Didn't stop her from laughing evilly though. :)

lucius septimius 11/29/2019 4:57:24 PM

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Reply to PaladinPhil in 14:

Hey, if it works ...