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Yesterday evening, Monday January 30th, Cliff, your unflappable moderator, happened to be in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to witness the occasion of the final concert of the Hilton Head Orchestra's Beethoven Festival. Highlighting the program was the Beethoven 6th Symphony. During the performance something truly magical happened. Conductor Mary Woodmansee Green, was leading the orchestra through the joyful opus when she and the players began to realize that an actual thunderstorm was brewing outside the concert hall. By the time the orchestra had proceeded to the "Storm" section of the Symphony, the real storm was raging outside at the same time. The orchestra and the audience seemed a little disturbed by this mysterious congruence at first, but within seconds had begun to understand the meaning of the unfolding events. When the entire Symphony had been played, both orchestra, conductor and audience seemed to realize that they now shared a special catagory - those who had witnessed the "Pastorale" played during an actual storm. In all the world there could not be too many folks in that exclusive club. More power to the HHO. This concert will not soon be forgotten.

Dear Reader(s),

January is almost a memory now as the light for 2006 is waxing stongly again. It will soon be time to start gardening in our moderator's little city, as well as time to start watching for Hurricanes. February will bring even more MuseVision your way.

Ida Lupino

Hollywood legend, Ida Lupino, has been considered remarkable and fascinating by your humble moderator ever since he was a little kid. Ida was born in England, and came to America just slightly beyond puberty. Her career in motion pictures ranged from dazzling starlet to respected and venerable director. Her death in 1995 at the age of 77 ended not only a huge show-business career, but an interesting personal life, including marriages to three very interesting men.

As a little boy, I would watch Ida onscreen and her presence evoked great warmth as well as a certain maternal attraction. At the same time, there was this feeling of fearfulness. Later in life, this irony led me to investigate in the attempt to discover, why. The process has produced some curious results.

Ida, the name being shortened from “Aida”, was born into England’s well known Lupino family. Her father, Stanley Lupino, carried on the family profession of performing in Theatre and Music-Halls. The Lupinos had been in England since the 17th century. In other words, they were part of the Anglo-Italian community. This group of people produced some of Britain’s most memorable artists and performers. The Rosetti family was part of this group as well as many musicians ranging from Mantovani to Barbirolli. In most cases, they retained a good deal of ethnic identity, but nonetheless considered themselves truly English. It does well to note that there is a corresponding community of Brits who migrated to sunny Italy just for the love of it. Their adventures are well documented in history and literature.

By the way, yours truly, has been reading “Ida Lupino, A Biography” by William Donati. MuseVision highly recommends this book. It is a good read and is set a good tempo. Every chapter is a treat, and the author gives you the kind of information you will need to “read between the lines”. For example, Ida’s family continually groomed her for a film career starting around the time she got out of diapers. Every step of the way was carefully planned with an almost ruthless logic . Thinking with a practical mind might be another way of describing it. In some ways it will remind you of the way certain musical prodigies were groomed for a concert career. Yehudi Menuhin comes to mind.

Ida’s mother, Connie O’Shea was an outstanding Irish dancer living and working in England. She was known for her energetic performances and her great beauty. Connie came from a long established show-business family, too. Reading between the lines in Donati’s book, one can glean how the O'Sheas and the Lupinos established a “cell” in Hollywood. There was a thriving British cinema community in Hollywood and Ida’s relatives were ready to receive her and Connie when the right time came.

Ida received inspiration and coaching from her Dad, and total physical and emotional sustenance from her Mother. The future star studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, but, of course, that plus 50 cents would get you a cup of coffee in Hollywood. Nonetheless, she was able to get important parts in some British films and the stage was set, so to speak, for the larger goal of an American career. Ida was off and running. The reader must keep in mind that she was barely 14 years old when all of this was happening. At a tender age, Ida was taking off for America and so was her Mother, Connie.

She was able to apply talent, beauty, leverage, and just plain luck, to establish herself in the film business. By the time the late Thirties rolled around, Ida was a big star on the Warner Brothers payroll. Jack Warner, who treated people tyrannically, let Ida take roles that Bette Davis refused to play. This meant that Ida usually played “bad girls”, women with unusual situations and/or emotional problems. Great! Some of Ida’s most memorable roles were from this very genre. “High Sierra” opposite Humphrey Bogart is one of her finest hours. It’s heart-rending final scene is emotionally moving almost to distraction. I have re-run it countless times just to watch Ida act out the most tender, grief-stricken emotional abandon.

Jack Warner was proud of that one too, as it put both of the stars careers over the top. Jack Warner had told Ida that she was “not beautiful” Surely he was watching with his eyes closed. To be fair, I suppose he was looking for a different kind of appearance – larger features, perhaps, which would make her look more significant. Ida never thought much of the “beauty” angle, anyway. Her mind was on the craft of film making. It is said she had a huge capacity for learning. She would study every aspect of film making as she worked and she would learn from every technician and director. She used all of this knowledge in her later Directorial career, which produced some good fruit, especially if you are looking for films which depict socially aware subjects. Socially aware for their time, anyway.

It was not my intention to review Mr. Donati’s book as much as to get to the bottom of my “investigation”. However, there is one more thing that could be interesting to a MuseVision reader. Ida was especially fond of classical music. Chopin and Tchaikovsky were her favorite composers. What else? Ida was complex and high-strung and so were these composers. Ida also wrote songs and played the piano. Some of her songs or other music was actually recorded, possible under a pen-name. If anyone knows where MuseVision can find these recordings, please advise your humble moderator.

Ida’s marriages dissolved one by one, each for different reasons. Conversation, wit, and a certain brand of manners were important to her, but as life’s erosion process took place, her relationships would often turn to tirades, arguments and “throwing down the gauntlet”. Ida’s habit of total absorption in her work led to unmanageable insomnia. Although she had more friends that a lottery winner, she became unhappily reclusive in her later years.

It’s time to get back to my original query. Why did Ida Lupino seem so attractive and yet so fearsome. The background of her personality was surely an important part of it. The Italian gift of dedication to craft and originality as well as high artistic standards gave her a “trueness’ that eludes lesser players. This trueness is attractive. The Irish side of her personality, with it’s gift of music and it’s pure unwavering devotion was an undeniable attraction, as well. Add to this mixture her constant English-ness and you may have a portal into the Ida persona. All of these traits combine in her personality along with a flair for romanticism. Her temperamental nature was quite understandable if at the same time uncontrollable. For all her toughness, she seemed vulnerable, too. She was all heart, basically, and people who are all heart have to learn how to defend themselves, odd as that may sound. Ida was often “too hip for the room” and yet at the same time, she was frustrated by the hurdles of the entertainment industry.

These traits created a genuine simpatico in a little boy from the Fifties who found himself growing up in an east coast community dedicated to middle-class rectitude. They say opposites attract. If you are hungry for a screen performance which is both powerful and delightful – even with second rate material, go see an Ida Lupino movie.

I’ve got a Little List,
I’ve got a Little List….

It’s not the same as the question in “The Mikado”. MuseVision has a different question. Today’s query is simply this: What is the stupidest thing you have ever encountered? Strange thing to ask, you might be thinking, but to my mind everyone should have a list of the stupidest or dumbest things they have ever seen, just to be able to start conversations, or, when the time comes to be asked about their opinions by Jay Leno.

“That’s the dumbest thing I ever saw”, is an old chinwag. Of course, we usually think of these things as subjective, but I’m wondering if there is not a broad base of support for the idea that there is a massive, covert, body of objectively stupid things. “Stupid is as stupid does”, was Forrest Gump’s slogan. This is the kind of thing we adults get from kids. For example, have you ever asked a teenager to wash the dishes, then, left the kitchen only to come back a few minutes later to find the dishes done, but the silverware, glassware, pots & pans, etc., etc., were sitting on the counter completely unwashed. To this end the teenager replies that he was only asked to wash the dishes. Maddening, but clever in a Philadelphia Lawyer sense. At least it’s an understandable stupidity. A more striking example would be how the German Armies fought on two fronts at the same time in two World Wars. This was considered unthinkable, but good thing for the Allies they actually fought that way. How dumb does it get? Read on.

The things I’m searching for have a darker quality. I want to list the myth-making, mind- numbing, almost criminal stupidities we encounter in life. I mean, we all do dumb things and I would not want to make this an ad homonym issue. At MuseVision, we strive to never be hateful or vengeful or rancorous. If you want such things, you can surely find them abundantly available in other blogs.
So, here goes. This is my short list of some of the dumbest things. I would love to see yours as well.

An Amtrak Unisex Restroom
The forces of a certain brand of “correctness” decided to have everyone on the train use the same restrooms, no longer having a separate room for each sex. This was still true in the 80’s. I must confess, I do not know if it is true today. But, let’s face it, Men and Women do not use such facilities in the same way. If there is anyone on the planet who does not get the meaning of my words, surely you must have just landed here from Mars or were born yesterday. If the latter is true, perhaps I could interest you in purchasing a bridge in New York.

2. Granting a posthumous visa to Mohammed Atta.
Someone in the I.N.S. rubberstamped a visa to Mohammed Atta, notorious 9-11 hijacker, several weeks after the infamous event. How is it possible to be so obtuse and ill-advised? Is there any excuse worth hearing?

If we know how dumb the dumb things really are, we will be better able to see and appreciate the moments of true beauty and shining intelligence

Cliff is introducing his "Cliff's Notes". This device will help in explaining what in the world is going on in MuseVision in the first place. Yes- the picture is retro. Sort of a Portrait of the Artist as a Young - whatever. He should have posed for a picture depicting him as he is today, but he was afraid it would damage the camera.

To sum up: MuseVision will soon introduce a biographical feature. We will "puff" all sorts of interesting people's lives with pictures and anecdotes. We are, however, quite aware of the need to never call something by it's ordinary name. Therefore, the word "Zoe-Graph" will appear as a substitute for "Biography". I mean, really- it sounds pretty cool. "Zoe" is Greek for "life" and "graph" is like a picture. Look for the first "Zoe-Graph" in the next installment and check it out. Happy Reading.

The picture shown above is from an oil painting which forms the basis for a video which was made for MuseVision and will hopefully be published here just as soon as our moderator can find the proper hosting for his vlogs. The image portrays one of the violinists performing the "Largo ma non tanto" from the Concerto for Two Violins in d minor by J. S. Bach. Until the vlog can be completed, it is our hope that you will enjoy this still.

Welcome to MuseVision. My name is Cliff and I'm basically a guy from the sixties who has spent a good deal of life's energy on classical music, oil painting and much of the area in between. Fortunately, I also have friends interested in similar areas. I am also the "head" of a large extended family, so I have younger people around to keep me from plunging into total fogie-ism. I admire women of talent and accomplishment, and will be blogging about many of them as time goes by - not that I pretend to understand them at all - anything I write will be like graffiti on the subway. It's just a brief entertainment as we roll on down the line. That's where the "Muse" in MuseVision comes in. As you remember, they were daughters of Zeus, whose mission on earth was to inspire people in the arts and sciences. In this blog, many of their modern and historical counterparts will find a second home over the course of time.

I love to put little videos together - videoblogs, or "vlogs". Sometimes they will contain original art and/or music. Other times they will just be the "droppings of the mind as it flies". I expect to write about some of the interesting ideas that float my way - all derived from others, of course.