Somehow it became known that our little Kate had never seen “Titanic,” and I told her it was time, and so we paid our money, unpacked our 3D glasses, and settled in for “Titanic 3D: The Sinkening.” Like Edelstein, I liked it better this time, and I can’t say why.
No, I can: I liked it better because I’m 15 years older and no longer think it’s worth wasting energy disliking it. And having endured the Ballad of Jack and Rose part once, I’m free to waste my mind’s back channels wondering what I would do in a similar situation. Don’t we all hope we’d be heroes? That we’d make sure the right people got into the boats, and we wouldn’t be horrible, and we might even go down with the ship (and a brandy in hand, like Benjamin Guggenheim)? With one’s mind so engaged, I was less bothered by Billy Zane’s character calling Rose’s Monet canvases “finger paintings.”
The film does have one indelible image, for me — the debris field of corpses, floating in their life preservers, their cries gradually going out, like candles.
Friends, I am crushed on my other fronts, and will be for another week. After that? Smooooth sailing. (I hope.) Can you forgive a few more days of lameness? Because I don’t have much more. There’ll be dibs and dabs, but for now, for me, it’ll be work and iPad solitaire until I fall into a heap.
May Day, we’ll have a parade.
Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 1:11 am
I disliked it without ever seeing it, and never spent a joule on disliking it. It was that song. Maintenant Nancy. From a far better movie, like tears in rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_saUN4j7Gw
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Dexter said on April 12, 2012 at 2:02 am
I liked the old black & white films about the Titanic better, but I did see the color film too…didn’t hate it, didn’t get excited much either.
With Real Spring here, I was browsing around checking out some bike rides. My two brothers are already registered for Chicago’s Bike the Drive on Memorial Day weekend.
For years I have been aware of Ann Arbor Bicycling Touring Society, a very busy bunch of cyclists I have accidentally come across out there on their rides a few times way back in the past…they’re still around. If I lived closer and gas was a couple bucks a gallon I might …nah…that has passed me now. Anyway, here’s their schedule.
http://www.aabts.org/interactive/AABTS%20April%20May%202012%20Ride%20Calendar.pdf
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MaryRC said on April 12, 2012 at 2:10 am
I saw Titanic when it first came out because it was an event movie that the family could go to, including my teenage nieces, my parents and my grandmother. That doesn’t happen very often any more. It was a great evening, actually. We all agreed that my oldest niece looked like a brunette Kate Winslet (she still does).
I don’t have any desire to see it again. It wasn’t bad but I couldn’t help thinking during that seemingly interminable business of Jack being handcuffed and Rose rushing around to find an axe to free him that this was the sinking of the Titanic. Did Cameron think he had to make it more dramatic? Or that his story would be more interesting than any one of the hundreds of real stories that happened that night?
Not to mention that Jack died within minutes of entering the freezing water and Rose almost died. But there they were, wading through knee-high water inside the ship without so much as a shiver. It was the same water.
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Jolene said on April 12, 2012 at 3:08 am
I watched one of the PBS documentaries about the Titanic on Tuesday evening, and it made me think more than I had previously about the crew. In particular, they showed a map of a working class neighborhood in Southampton, the main departure point, with dots showing where crew members had lived. There were many, many homes where someone had been lost, which meant that, with neighbors and relatives included, there was almost no one who was unaffected by the loss of the ship. There had been a long strike in the coal mines around Southampton, which meant that the out-of-work locals were especially eager for the shipboard jobs.
Also mentioned was the chef of the main dining room, an Italian who’d had success as a restaurateur in London. His position on the Titanic was a career-capper, and he’d selected his best waiters and recruited more to staff the room–all Italian. All were lost, and the film showed a memorial in Italy in their honor.
Can’t quite imagine what it would be like to face imminent death in that way. There’s a certain amount of stoicism in my character, so perhaps I could make it to the end w/o embarrassing myself. At this point in my life, it’d definitely be easier to give up a place in the lifeboat than it might have been when I was younger.
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Deborah said on April 12, 2012 at 3:45 am
I didn’t see the movie and have no opinion one way or the other. I probably won’t see the 3d version either. Jolene, interesting angle about the crew.
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Will Reichard said on April 12, 2012 at 5:23 am
On those indelible images: I’ve long argued that Titanic really is a great movie, partly because it’s really two movies: the first, a schlocky Hollywood standard that is nevertheless a perfect representative of that genre, and the second, a very sophisticated story told in a series of still images and small vignettes (the couple holding each other in their cabin as the water rushes in, the corpses in the water, etc.).
If it were just the first, I’d have ignored it too, and if it were just the second, none of us would have ever seen it.
Just as with Avatar (which one could say virtually the same things about), Cameron is concerned with _imagining_. Empathizing, viscerally.
I think he may make these movies just to leave us with those few images.
Or I may be giving him too much credit. Anyway, thanks for a thought-provoking post (as usual!).
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alex said on April 12, 2012 at 8:05 am
Never saw it, never will and never dissed it any more than I do Hollywood product in general. My problem with such films is that I become too absorbed with picking apart their flaws and inconsistencies to enjoy them much. That, and it’s ten dollars and two hours of my life I’ll never get back.
Maybe I’ll go see “Bully” if any theater here in Podunk bothers to show it.
So anyone catch the Lugar vs. Mourdock debate last night? I was surprised to learn that Mr. Tea Partier was fairly articulate, even if his ideas are ludicrous. Even more surprising (or maybe not) was seeing Dick Lugar descend to his level and talk the same shit. The two were pretty indistinguishable as the media are pointing out this morning, although Lugar seemed to stray into minutiae that would be lost on most people while Mourdock kept it simple enough for a Republican to understand. This election could be interesting.
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beb said on April 12, 2012 at 8:14 am
I’m with Roger Ebert that 3-D sucks. I have no idea why Hollywood insists on bringing back successful 2-d movies that they’ve converted to 3-d. Though I suppose if they bring out a 3D version of American Pie I might go — but only if I get to wear a raincoat.
Kudos to the Florida special prosecutor who not only decided to press charged against Mr. Zimmerman but also organized his surrender to the police in a timely fashion. The pundantry seems to feel that there’s no chance of a conviction under Florida’s ‘Stand your Ground’ law so I suspect thereal justice will come a civil case of Wrongful Death, just like with OJ Simpson.
And speaking of The Simpsons, Matt Groining has finally revealed the home of Springfield – Oregon.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/-simpsons–springfield-location-revealed.html
What with mountains, canyons, deserts, glaciers and a seaport I long figured Springfield had to be on the West Coast. I just assumed it was a fictionalized L.A.
And now that Rick Santorum has dropped out of the race Charles Pierce won’t have the opportunity that he used to have to reminded people what a dick Santorum is. So let me close by reminding you that Rick Santorum is a dick.
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Joe Kobiela said on April 12, 2012 at 8:46 am
I told my daughter the movie critic that if Rose would have just got on the damn lifeboat, Jack could have floted on the door instead of Rose and they both would have lived.
Pilot Joe
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Julie Robinson said on April 12, 2012 at 8:47 am
And what did Kate think of Titanic? It was made for girls her age, but I think the current generation is more sophisticated than 15 years ago, as well as not in love with the young & pretty Leo, since they only know the old & meh version.
Speaking of sunk, life’s not very fun these days for John Edwards: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-john-edwards-isolation-is-a-symbol-of-his-downfall/2012/04/11/gIQAnHKQBT_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
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Dorothy said on April 12, 2012 at 9:02 am
Julie beat me to the question I was going to ask – Kate’s opinion? Seeing the movie with my daughter led us both to read more about the real story and the real people who perished, and I much prefer their stories over some contrived romance that James Cameron could dream up. But you couldn’t help but be dazzled by the modern movie technology to recreate the icebergs ripping into the ship, and all the subsequent mayhem. The old couple in their room holding each other as the water swirled around them affected me much more than Kate & Leo’s story. Multiply those old folks, and all the non-wealthy ones below deck and you have more than enough sadness right there for a story.
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brian stouder said on April 12, 2012 at 9:42 am
Missed the Mourdoch/Lugar debate; attended a meeting at North Side High School regarding a new district-wide grading system last night, beginning at 7 (when the show from Indianapolis started).
To me, the most compelling thing on the May 8 ballot is the FWCS referendum question for funding school repairs.
As for Lugar and the political/electoral ice berg laying dead ahead – either we steer to the right and scrape the damned thing (and seal our fate), or we steer right for it and smash right into it. This will cause lots of grief, but more of us will be better off for it
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Jolene said on April 12, 2012 at 9:48 am
NPR has several short articles re the Titanic, one of which argues that the passengers didn’t panic because there was time (more than two hours after they struck the iceberg) for the social norms of the era to assert themselves, unlike in the sinking of the Lusitania, which sunk in only about twenty minutes with widespread panic among the passengers. An interesting answer to the question of how we might behave under the circumstances.
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Bitter Scribe said on April 12, 2012 at 9:52 am
I’ve only ever seen it on TV, and that in bits and pieces, but those floating corpses got to me, too.
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adrianne said on April 12, 2012 at 10:05 am
Christine Quinn, the speaker of the New York City Council, had a grandmother in steerage on the Titanic. While her fellow Irish girls were on their knees praying for deliverance, she ran to the lifeboats. Apparently, she was so distraught when the Carpathia landed in New York City that her siblings had to carry her off the ship.
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MichaelG said on April 12, 2012 at 10:36 am
Yesterday I had to drive up to Truckee. Good thing I specified a 4wd SUV for my rental. It snowed to beat the band on the drive up the hill. Visibility was terrible until we got over the summit. Luckily the snow wasn’t sticking to the road.
Santorum isn’t a real dick. He’s just a dildo.
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Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 10:58 am
Robert Reich explains how the Bain Private Equity scam worked.
Mourdock sounds like the name for a misshapen, hideous, evil race that lives underground and emerges only at night to kill and devour the beautiful Eloi.
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Angela said on April 12, 2012 at 11:00 am
I’m interested to see how many Democrats will vote in the Republican primary. And if so, for whom? Lugar, as a more palatable alternative to the Tea Party candidate? Mourdock, in hopes his Democratic challenger can beat him? If Mourdock wins, they’ll have the knowledge they helped put him in office. A conundrum, it is.
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alex said on April 12, 2012 at 11:27 am
This part of Indiana is under one-party rule and there aren’t really any Democratic candidates to choose from in any of the races that matter. Being a Democrat in the northeast counties is like being a Republican in Chicago. Might as well vote in the other party’s primary because you’ll otherwise have absolutely no say in who gets elected.
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Jen said on April 12, 2012 at 11:28 am
I was the perfect age when “Titanic” came out the first time – in 7th grade, 12 years old and wild about Leonardo DiCaprio. But I actually enjoyed the story too, and since I hadn’t seen a bazillion movies with similar romantic/disaster storylines, I was surprised by many of the “twists” (which really weren’t twists at all, if you’ve seen very many movies). “Titanic” got me to watch and care about the Oscars for the first time – something that has continued into adulthood – and, I think, had a hand in my becoming a hardcore movie fan.
So, of course, I went and saw it in 3-D, and I’m really glad I did. It held up pretty well. The story doesn’t really tread any new ground – the poor little rich girl who falls in love with the low-class guy is nothing new – but DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as Jack and Rose have good chemistry, Billy Zane as Rose’s fiance is a delightful villain and all of the supporting characters are fun even if they are a little bit stock. Plus, the movie is absolutely beautiful to look at. “Titanic” was made in that perfect sweet spot for special effects, when filmmakers were still using sets, models and miniatures and tweaking them with computers instead of rendering absolutely everything in CG. It is a GORGEOUS movie. Add a big dash of movie nostalgia into that, combine with a couple of good friends who also enjoyed the movie and a huge bucket of popcorn and you have the recipe for a pretty great Saturday night.
Oh, and I just shake my head at my dear father, Pilot Joe, and laugh at the fact that because he knows so many details about “Titanic,” he actually must have watched it at some point.
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LAMary said on April 12, 2012 at 11:38 am
I heard a discussion on NPR about movie ticket sales. Apparently it’s not a good situation for theatre owners and some of them are blaming it on 3D. Many of the movies in 3D are appeal to kids or teens and they don’t have the bucks to pay the higher ticket prices 3D creates. Parents of mulitiple children don’t want to spend the money to take a kids to see some action superhero movie at the current prices.
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Little Bird said on April 12, 2012 at 11:40 am
I have not seen the movie and have no plans to, but I’ll pass on the one thing I read about the 3-D version. Cameron changed one detail in the re-release, the night sky that Rose is apparently looking at while she’s floating in the water. A friend told him that the constellations in the first movie were not accurate to what she would have seen at that location and time. So Cameron corrected it.
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velvet goldmine said on April 12, 2012 at 11:48 am
That movie is like five years away from being the new “Rocky Horror,” with participants slumping across their seats and murmuring “Paint me like one of your French girls, Jack!”
The moment that is genuinely powerful for me is the little Celtic flute montage where the ones who know they can’t get out wait for death — the old couple, the maid clutching her two children on the cot …
When Titanic came out originally, it was the first night out my husband and I had in years. We chose the movie for its epic length, and left the toddlers with my parents. Just when the ship hit the iceberg, there was a fire in the popcorn machine and the theater was evacuated. Wah-wah.
I finished the date by myself the following weekend, and could only wonder why there wasn’t enough room for both Jack and Rose on the door, or whatever was floating. Couldn’t she have sat in his lap or something?
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Julie Robinson said on April 12, 2012 at 11:51 am
Roger Ebert has written quite a bit about his many reasons for disliking 3D. Me, I can’t focus well with those dang 3D glasses and end up feeling nauseous.
Jen, it’s interesting that Titanic made you watch the Oscars for the first time. My hubby asked the kids (high school seniors) in his Junior Achievement class about the Oscars, and not a one had watched. That’s probably okay, because after this year’s geriatric fest I don’t think they would ever watch it again.
Edit: as I recall, the door wouldn’t support both of them and started to sink. But I haven’t seen it in many years.
And does anyone remember the controversy about Kate Winslet’s bazooms? Families wanted to take their children to the movie but were staying home. When it came out on video there were specially edited versions (unauthorized) that had been sanitized of the splendors of Kate.
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alice said on April 12, 2012 at 11:57 am
http://www.cynical-c.com/2012/04/12/today-on-twitter/
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brian stouder said on April 12, 2012 at 11:58 am
And indeed, if you get the chance to see the Titanic display of artifacts and so on, you should. I found that collection to be enthralling in the smallest details; very human.
At COSI they also had re-enactors in period dress at various points of the display, and they would give their speel and then step aside (not sure if that was just a COSI thing, or whether that’s part of the travelling exhibit). Cheesey as that may sound, it was really quite good.
As for the conundrum presented by voting in the other party’s primary, if I did that I’d always pick the best candidate (in this case, Lugar) and not the worst.
By a certain age, most of us learn what certainly will happen, if you get in the habit of tempting fate
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Joe Kobiela said on April 12, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Velvet and Julie, read my reply @ #9.
Pilot Joe.
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Angela said on April 12, 2012 at 12:14 pm
I really enjoyed the juxtaposition just now of Julie’s comment on Winslet’s “bazooms” (which were impressive indeed) and Brian’s comment about the enthralling display of Titanic artifacts.
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nancy said on April 12, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Kate liked it. I can tell because she didn’t get up to pee once, and the movie is 3+ hours long. But is she putting a Leo poster up on her wall? No. We talked about it afterward, and she seemed most interested in the historical angle — why this was the beginning of the modern age, the end of the gilded, etc.
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Catherine said on April 12, 2012 at 12:26 pm
The Painter of Shite — apparently there’s a death premium: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/12/11146864-kinkade-products-er-paintings-flying-off-gallery-walls?lite
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Jeff Borden said on April 12, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I was kind of a Titanic buff for years after reading Walter Lord’s “A Night to Remember.” We watched the Clifton Webb – Barbara Stanwyck version of “Titanic” on NBC Night at the Movies when I was a kid and I saw the 1956 British film based on Lord’s book on a late, late show. I even built a model of the R.M.S. Titanic. The discovery of the wreck by Robert Ballard and the footage taken with the submersibles were amazing and, of course, blew a lot of theories out of the water.
The most recent film version is fine for what it is and I enjoyed seeing it. I even agreed Cameron earned the best director nod because of the immense attention to detail the film observed. It was immensely tacky, however, when he called on the audience at the Academy Awards to observe a moment of silence to honor the Titanic’s dead.
At the time, I disliked DiCaprio as a whiskerless pretty boy and teen idol, but now I think he is one of our finer actors.
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Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Mr. Higher than the President Security Clearance crazy Alan West channels Tail-Gunner Joe. I believe this mofo is actually clinically insane. He’s parbly busy trying to figure out how to deport Ozzie Guillen, which actually might not be a bad idea. Of course, when Cubans have nobody to compare Castro to but the evil feudal lord Batista, the old war horse might not look so terrible.
A great movie about the Titanic. With an early role for Honor Blackman, aka Pussy Galore and John Steed’s first partner, Catherine Gale. The Brit Garbo.
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alex said on April 12, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Off topic, but I’m in a joyful mood this date. The unemployed alcoholic freeloader who has overstayed his welcome at the house across the street by about three years finally got the heave-ho, led away in handcuffs yesterday by county mounties. Today he appeared in court charged with domestic battery and my neighbors were granted an order of protection, so I doubt we’ll be seeing this insufferable louse again, praise be. Okay, back to bazooms and shite.
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Dexter said on April 12, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Michael G…I have driven through Truckee a few times, long ago. All I remember is a drive we took on the North Shore Road dropping down to Lake Tahoe. It’s a beautiful sight, seeing Lake Tahoe from a distance for the first time.
My first east-to-west cross-USA drive was taken just after the Kent State killings in 1970. I was told at a gas station in Cheyenne that for the past three days I would not been allowed to go across the mountains if I did not have chains. Snow was scraped high as I drove through on dry pavement, straight through to Monterey. It was May 7.
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beb said on April 12, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Little Bird @22: That wasn’t a ‘friend of Camerion’s’, that was astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/titanic-night-sky-adjusted-after-neil-degrasse-tyson-criticized-james-cameron/2012/04/03/gIQAZyZItS_blog.html
And it’s something of a tribute to Cameron that he actually fixed a problem that most people would not have noticed.
Velvet Goldmine @23: bouyancy. With Jack on the door it would have sank into a couple feet of water, freezing them both.
The Henry Ford Museum has the Titanic artifacts exhibit currently. Makes a nice day trip for you Hooisers. I don’t work for the Henry Ford tho I am a member….
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Little Bird said on April 12, 2012 at 1:07 pm
I think it’s great that he fixed the scene to be more accurate. I still don’t think I’ll be watching the movie any time soon. It’s hard to fit those 3-D glasses over my regular glasses.
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Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Titanic songs:
Jamie Brockett http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4jliLONDAc
Michelle Shocked (with her dad) https://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&shva=1#inbox/136a77bb68edcc03
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DellaDash said on April 12, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Liked ‘Titanic’ well enough, but was more fascinated with my 2 nieces, around Jen’s age at that time, who each claimed to have seen it at least 13 times (a few times together, though they lived in different parts of the country).
Gonna pass on the 3D version. However, just brought home ‘The Watch That Ends The Night’ from the library yesterday.
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velvet goldmine said on April 12, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Thanks, Joe and Beb. It’s certainly true that there were more than a few maddening “what-if” moments in the film (i.e. refusing the lifeboat), but I suppose some of the non-fictional victims made some equally boneheaded moves. It’s the nature of catastrophe.
I still think they could have thought of something. Involving the bazooms, perhaps?
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Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 3:14 pm
That’s adipose tissue Velvet. Very buoyant. Grand Tetonics.
Hermanator just keeps on giving to the GOPer cause.
When does Ricky Frothy issue his RMoney endorsement?
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Deborah said on April 12, 2012 at 3:34 pm
No Herman Cain is giving to the Democratic cause by saying things like that. Keep it up Herman, keep widening that gender gap. I hear it’s an 18 point difference among women voters with Obama way ahead. Us poor women won’t worry our little bitty ole heads about a thing.
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Charlotte said on April 12, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Jolene — my grandmother’s grandparents went down on the Lusitania — she washed up onshore (where the superstitious Irish didn’t pinch even one of her many diamonds), and I think they found him near the wreck. Huge funeral in Chicago (the Swifts sent the refrigerated containers for the Chicago victims). Too bad the family fortune mostly went down with them — although my grandmother (who is 101 now) still has her mother’s uncashed reparations check in the box full of newspaper clippings etc …
I remember liking the Titanic movie okay — it was a big, spectacular Hollywood movie. Not art, but very entertaining …. probably won’t go see it in 3-D … but I was never either for or anti …
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Prospero said on April 12, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Recorded on April 12, 1954.
How GOPers like Scott Walker hold back America’s economic recovery.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 12, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Boy, are we having an interesting day in my neck of the woods.
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120412/NEWS01/120412001/-Dangerous-psych-ward-patient-still-loose
Each time I think this is just getting ginned up for panic-driven ratings, we get new information that makes me check on my son and remind him to lock up everything. It’s been my main activity since 8:10 this morning.
Somewhere up in Minnesota or somewhere I recall a class of middle schoolers doing the math, and calculating with a chilling degree of possibility that if they’d all worked together, with an acknowledgment from the time the captain was clearly certain the ship would found, that they could have filled the boats, roped them in a ring, and filled the space between with canvas and piled it high with chairs and mattresses, and easily floated the entire complement, fairly dry, until the first rescue ships arrived.
But the captain and crew couldn’t imagine doing it any other way than how they’d always done it. Each boat had its own commander, and set sail on its own, full or not, and good luck to those aboard. There’s a lesson there . . .
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Jen said on April 12, 2012 at 6:04 pm
As far as 3-D went, “Titanic” was done well. I don’t really get much out of it, but at least it didn’t give me (or my two companions) a headache. James Cameron definitely uses the medium well, even if it’s ultimately unnecessary.
I agree with Charlotte, though – it’s not really “art,” at least not in the way Cameron wants you to believe it is. (We could argue for weeks what constitutes “art.”) I felt the same about “Avatar.” “Titanic” and “Avatar” are both cut from the same cloth, actually – good-looking, fun to watch, but more than a cliche in the story.
I was definitely interested in the historical angle after seeing “Titanic,” too, being a history buff since I was pretty young. A couple years after the movie came out I remember going to a big “Titanic” special exhibit at the Museum of Science & Industry with a friend, and really enjoying it.
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alex said on April 12, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Meanwhile, in the so-called liberal media, Ms. Rosen is being accused of bashing housewives when she was simply pointing out the fact that Ann Romney is part of the One Percent and has no idea how most women live. The Romney camp, it turns out, is trotting out an ad campaign that humanizes Mrs. Romney and reveals a bout with cancer and a life cursed with multiple sclerosis, things few people know about. I certainly didn’t. But her outrage about Ms. Rosen’s comments is phony baloney. Michelle Obama has never done anything so undignified and I’d bet the farm she’ll never let herself sink that low.
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coozledad said on April 12, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Alex: It’s a replay of the Republicans jumping on Kerry’s perfectly decent statement about how Dick Cheney loves his lesbian daughter and mining it for shithead gold. I don’t know why Republicans feel they must fight for the moron vote. They’ve had it sewn up since 64.
EDIT: And this business about Laura Rosen being an Obama campaign adviser was pretty skilfully defused. Romney’s people have to be desperate coming out of the primaries with 47% intraparty approval. Skinhead outreach hasn’t chummed up enough for them.
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Bitter Scribe said on April 12, 2012 at 8:59 pm
They pulled this same shit when the students at some women’s college rolled their eyes over Barbara Bush being the commencement speaker. The students pointed out that Barbara hadn’t really done anything except marry a guy who went on to be famous, and this got spun into an attack on motherhood. (They got a lot of people who should have known better, like Mike Royko, to go along with it.)
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coozledad said on April 12, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Bitter Scribe: If there’s a motherhood worth attacking, it’s Bab’s. The problem is, we won’t know the full extent of the damage her Skinner box experiments wrought until we’re absolutely certain none of her other spawn will be looting the treasury or flooding another middle eastern country with a few billions of dollars of non-reclaimable military hardware and personnel.
Fortunately she wrote the checks for the boys to abort the products of their wild years before any occurence of a deletion of the critical family genome through stray contact with empaths.
Otherwise we might be confused as to whether they’re all assholes.
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Jolene said on April 12, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Friends, it sounds like our Moe might not be with us much longer. See the most recent post on her blog, written by her daughter.
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Minnie said on April 12, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Jolene, thanks for posting about Moe. I’d read her latest post (yesterday?) but had not seen her daughter’s. So glad to have met Moe, a woman of great strength, good sense, and humor, if only online.
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Sue said on April 12, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Oh, Moe…
I thought we had a little more time.
Love you, girl.
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Laura Lippman said on April 12, 2012 at 10:19 pm
I taught Billy Zane how to swim at summer camp. I say that every time I get a chance.
Meanwhile, although I don’t feel I’ve put the time in here to be a true member of the community that Nancy has created, I’m so sorry to hear about Moe.
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beb said on April 12, 2012 at 10:35 pm
I had hoped, and continue to hope that moe, who chose as her handle the name of one of the three stooges would be able to see the new movie about her favorite characters.
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Deborah said on April 12, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Oh Moe, my thoughts are with you. Peace to you my dear, peace to you.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 12, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Moe, we love you. You’ve told us about what to do when you thought you had other plans, and its always been a blessing. Even for smart aleck occasional preachers with disturbingly traditional leanings (you can always chide me whenever you think it’s called for).
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Crazycatlady said on April 12, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Peace, love and comfort to Moe.
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alex said on April 13, 2012 at 12:49 am
MOE, I hope you can hear/see/feel what all is being said here tonight. We came of age in relatively the same time and place and I’ve felt a kinship with you for years even if we’ve never met face to face. May peace be with you and those who surround you at this moment.
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