Fall is here

Well, it seems like fall is here to stay. The leaves have begun changing, the air is nippy, and the sky is clear and crisp. Nature brings us beauty exactly when we need it and gives us what we need to pick us up. So here's my contribution to the internet's grand collection of fall foliage.
A couple of weekends ago I got a chance to explore the Noland Trail in all of its multi-colored beauty. Here are a few shots that I liked most:

Fallen Leaves

Reds, oranges and browns

Bridge to anywhere

Fade to red
Hint of Autumn

Nothing like a good old fashioned walk through the woods to give you some peace from the worries of the day (or week...or month...or year)!

"Every one has a wild side. Even a legend."

It started my Sophomore year in college. I stumbled across a class simply entitled 'The History of Film: 1900-1954.' In that class I found an obsession for most silent movies. I love them, to be honest. My favorites? Well if it isn't obvious by now, I suppose I'll have to smack you over the head with it: silent comedies! It's as if we lost something in translation when we introduced talkies. I'm not sure what it is, but now we rely way too much on the spoken word and not enough of the media worth a thousand words (pictures).
My favorite, all-time silent film comedian is of course the late, great Charlie Chaplin (pictured above). I've written several papers analyzing his work. More than that, though, is that whenever I'm down, I can always count on a good Chaplin short to cheer me up.

But let's be honest. The quality of the films is generally not the best. They are all over fifty years old, many more than that, so such a thing is to be expected. So, how do you get the beauty and simplicity of good old fashioned Chaplin, and yet the satisfication of watching something longer and meatier than 5 minutes? You watch a biopic, of course.

Ah, the biopic has jumped back into mainstream movie-making recently, though these new movies have focused more on the life and times of musical stars like Ray Charles (Ray) or Bob Dylan (I'm Not There). The biopic, Chaplin, left, that I recently stumbled upon is from 1992 and stars Robert Downey, Jr. (of Iron Man fame).

It was actually quite hard for me to picture the loud, obnoxious and arrogant Tony Stark in such a quiet role. And yet Downey somehow pulls it off perfectly, capturing both the ethereal hilarity of Chaplin's The Tramp and his off-putting obsession with the next cute, usually much younger, girl.

Boasting the tagline that is also the title of this post, Chaplin begins in black and white. You watch as The Tramp goes from being the doorway-framed sillohuette of the world-famous character (see movie poster below) to a man wiping his stage makeup off. In this opening scene the creators of the film offer you the knowledge that this is not a movie about The Tramp (his most famous character who many thought was the way Chaplin was in real life), but about Chaplin ... the man. What strikes me is how much like The Tramp Downey is in his portrayal throughout the film. It makes for a wonderful beginning to an interesting movie. And later, you see Downey as Chaplin the man, and its obvious why making this movie was so off-putting for his daugher (who starred as Chaplin's mother) at times.

For the rest of the film, told from the viewpoint of an elderly Chaplin working with his editor to nail down the final touches to his biography, the movie recalls Chaplin's life in his own words. With guest appearances from Anthony Hopkins (his editor), Kevin Kline (the comedian Douglas Fairbanks, who was Chaplin's best friend) and Geraldine Chaplin (Chaplin's real-life daughter who plays his mother in the film), the movie is actually a stark representation of how Chaplin became who he was. He, of course, is not without his problems, and yet the movie still holds his art to be the most important topic, as I believe obsessive-compulsive Chaplin would consider it to be.

My favorite scene: Chaplin's description of the birth of The Tramp.

Most poignant scene: His fight with his brother over why Chaplin must make "The Great Dictator."

Bottom line

From the opening scene to the final credits, it's a great movie. Watch it, if you can find it. If not, find some Chaplin movies to watch in the meantime. I recommend "The Gold Rush," "The Kid," "Modern Times," and (if you want to see him talking) "The Great Dictator."

National Blog Posting Month

Oh yeah, I'll be doing National Blog Posting month. This means that for 30 days straight I will post every single day on my blog. My hope is to keep the level of 'professionalism' that I've attempted to strive for on this blog. By professionalism, I basically mean I'm not going to tell you long meaningless stories about how my day was, cause really I don't care and I'm pretty sure the blogging world doesn't care. Besides, this isn't a journal (I already have one of those) and it's main aim is to share my thoughts on our culture: life, books, movies, photography, art, music, and even food when the notion so crosses my mind.

Alrighty then: I'll see you right here every day for the next 30 days! (Though my schedule means that checking this will likely have to happen at night since that is when i have the most time.

Missing Morroco...

I miss Morocco more than I ever expected I would. While it was a challenging experience (It was the first country I visited that had a native language that I could not speak), I would never have traded it for the world. The food, the colors, the people. They all hold a special place in my heart.
It is only lately that I have found a way to remember this beautiful place without just going through my pictures yet again.
An American woman named Maryam writes a blog called My Marrakesh in which she writes poetically about her life living in the city she loves. I recommend visiting her blog for some gorgeous pictures and beautiful words.
For now, here's some of my memories of Morocco:

Hope of Children

Friendship

Mint tea at the Port of Tangier

I will cherish many of my experiences...

...The bright and joyful colors of Morocco...

...The cats sleeping on every corner...

...The plants that grew out of stone...
The sunsets that put everything in perspective...

...The barriers I was forced to break through...And the beauty on the other side...

...The knowledge that a simple flower can make crumbling walls beautiful.

I think I gained a part of myself I never knew I had through my Morrocan experiences. And I left a part of my heart with those friends I left behind. For more photos of my time in Morocco, see my Flickr site.

Eating pizza for breakfast..

What can I say? I'm fairly lazy these days. Even though I've vowed several times in the past few months to start making more of my own food and stop going out to eat so much, I sometimes cannot help myself.
For example, after sleeping in with the boy, we both got hungry at the same time and decided to get up (I admit it) at about 1:30 pm. After debating, we head to Cracker Barrel for an affordable yet filling breakfast and some of their always-fresh coffee. Sadly, the wait was 30+ minutes long and our stomachs could not stand the delay. Instead we headed to Silver Diner, hoping that they wouldn't have drawn so big of an after-church crowd (churches are lazy here...apparently they don't get out until late in the afternoon).
Let me just pause and explain Silver Diner. Though it is a very corporate and flashy place, they tend to have some really unique ideas on food. Case in point: The boy ordered Maryland Crabcake Benedict. He found it delicious, though almost too sweet (which can happen with crab). He pumped it up with some hot sauce and was quite satisfied. They have several twists on American diner classics (like the egg's benedict and omelettes). My best description would be: 'Classic diner fare with 21st century flavor'. Good, no?
I love the omelettes (and the biscuits are slowly improving, too) and that is where my eyes first fell. Until our waitress pointed out a monthlong special: "Blueplate '08." Does this seem oddly like a campaign slogan? Well I think that was the point. For the month of October Silver Diner, a company based only in Virginia and Maryland, offers two unique omelette variations:
"Obamalette - Inspired by the candidate's favorite hometown food, Chicago deep dish pizza, the Obamalette is filled with basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, onions and sausage. Topped with parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce, home fries and a biscuit."
AND
"McCainlette - Indicative of the candidate's home state of Arizona, as well as his favorite way to cook, Barbeque, the McCainlette combines sweet BBQ chicken, cilantro, onions, peppers, and jack cheddar. Served with a side of salsa, home fries and a biscuit."
The interesting part of this promotion is that Silver Diner tallies up the number of votes (orders) for each candidate (omelette) and posts them online every night. At the end of the promotion on Oct. 29, Silver Diner will make a prediction on the presidential campaign. So far Obama is leading with 1,026 votes (orders) to McCain's 485. Which did I order? Well, the temptation to eat 'pizza' for breakfast was too tempting. And I was well rewarded. While the Obamalette was not overly out of the ordinary (mozzarella is a little too bland for me), the marinara sauce was fantastic. Combining that with the omelette brought the dish to a whole new level and complemented everything perfectly.

Don't forget to read my other blogging project with Janelle for what this experience reminded me of.