PatchChords: Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht…

November 20, 2018 By Gary Lutz

One of the most enjoyable experiences of the Holiday season is listening to or performing the enormous body of celebratory music lovingly written for the Holidays over the centuries. And, each Holiday season, scores of worshipful singers re-create Silent Night, a song born in humble, desperate, eleventh hour circumstances, two centuries ago this year.

And therein lies a tale.

On Christmas Eve, 1818, celebrations of the Christmas holiday were very much on the minds of the people of Oberndorf, Austria as they prepared to gather together for midnight Mass to celebrate the birth of Christ with prayer and song. Foremost on the mind of Curate Joseph Mohr of the Church of St. Nicholas, however, were more worrying concerns; he had discovered that the church organ was badly damaged and, no matter how hard the pedals were pumped, only a scratchy wheeze could be cajoled from it. And repair of the aging instrument in time for the Christmas celebrations was, alas, out of the question. [Read more…]

Frames Of Reference: The Time Machine (1960)

December 26, 2017 By Gary Lutz

New Year's Eve, 1899. The dawn of a new century. Four Victorian gentlemen assemble on a cold, snowy night to accept the invitation of their mutual friend, George, to dinner and a demonstration of his "time machine", as he explains to them the novel concept of the "fourth dimension".

What happens next challenges their "modern" perceptions and understanding of science, and George is plunged on a fantastic trip backwards and forwards over humanity's past and future, all the while observing it all through his learned, scientific and Victorian eyes.

Otherwise a relatively faithful adaption of H.G. Wells's original novel, the film eschews Wells's cynical observations about the British class system and about mankind's ultimately insignificant place in an indifferent cosmos, and features the young Australian actor, Rod Taylor in the lead role (giving the character youthful, optimistic and idealistic qualities) and an increased emphasis on heroic action and adventure. The other ingredients in the mix are the Academy Award-winning special effects of the day (blue-backed traveling mattes, double-printed background sets, time-lapse photography, and models and miniatures), and a story of love across time, not to mention a glimpse of the Victorian era as seen through the eyes of a 1960's design sensibility. And the idea of fantastic technology archaically wrapped and realized in brass, rivets, art nouveau arabesques, and crystal mechanisms can arguably be seen as an influence on today's steampunk genre.

And, as the final drop of celebratory champagne, one of the film's final lines presents the ultimate question for the avid bibliophile; consider…which three books would you have taken?

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and…

More New Year’s-themed films

Holiday Crafts

December 15, 2017 By Jessica Brown

Winter is here and so are the holidays. Crafts are a great way to get creative, de-stress, and get into the holiday spirit. Are you looking for some DIY inspiration? We can help! Crafts can include anything you’re inspired to create to get you into the holiday spirit – homemade gifts, holiday decorations, and DIY wrapping paper, to name just a few. In our Holiday Collection we have many options to help you get started. Craft books such as Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Inspirations and Holiday Crafting and Baking with Kids could jump start your thinking.

Like to work with yarn? Check out Holiday Knits or KnitSimple magazine. We have other holiday themed magazines as well, such as Martha Stewart Living, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and Cook’s Illustrated.

There are more DIY craft ideas with tutorials that are available online. In this YouTube video, Elaine shows you step by step how to make several holiday crafts such as styrofoam trees, candy stick vases, and yarn hat ornaments, using things from the dollar store. Looking to repurpose things from around your house? Try this Wrapped Flannel Holiday Wreath to use up any old shirts or fabric scraps. If you have too many Mason jars lying around (as if there could ever be enough Mason jars), try upcycling them into Snowflake Mason Jars or giving them as gifts with hot chocolate mixes inside like this. Another great idea for Mason jars is making candles. Here’s a great tutorial for a pine-scented candle.

Homemade gift wrap and holiday cards are fun to make too. Here’s a simple video tutorial on how to turn wrapping paper into a gift bag. You could also use kraft paper and stamp it to create a unique design like this polka-dot wrapping paper. Lastly, feel free to bring your own materials into the library to make a holiday card or snowflake banner using our Cricut machine. Sign up for DIY time here. For more ideas and inspiration, check out Pinterest.

Happy Holidays!

Frames Of Reference: “The Uninvited” (1944)

October 2, 2017 By Gary Lutz

On the cliff tops of atmospheric Cornwall, while the sea rages and bursts over the rocks below, a happy-go-lucky brother & sister pair of urbanites stumble upon an isolated house, and they decide to pool their resources and purchase it. And the owner, much to their surprise, lets them have it for a relatively low price. But the ghosts of the past, quite literally, lurk within the house, and all is not as it seems…

Based on Dorothy Macardle's best-selling novel, The Uninvited was one of the first Hollywood films to treat the subject of ghosts and haunting in a serious way, a treatment which, today, seems commonplace. Prior to it, the subject had been treated and exploited by the storylines of Hollywood films as a scam or as an object of derision. And always, in the end, a rational and natural explanation was provided.

For fans of Daphne Du Maurier's book and Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rebecca, the Cornwall setting, the lingering and stifling worship and love of the departed, and the unraveling of a notorious and historied murder mystery will no doubt invite inevitable comparisons. Dedicated fans of the mistress of Manderley will, nevertheless, be in for an enjoyable coda returning to that same story territory.

The film's score, by Victor Young, also gave birth and rise to the American standard song, Stella By Starlight, revered for its haunting and rich harmonies, and recorded numerous times in both instrumental and vocal versions. And the visual experience of the moody, masterful, Academy Award-nominated black and white photography and lighting, the hallmark of a cinematographer at the height of his craft, alone is worth the price of admission.

Packed with judiciously paced and orchestrated jolts, shudders, chills, and tangles of romances, The Uninvited will lend some unique spice to the season’s Halloween festivities. All because of one simple, perhaps overused word: atmosphere.

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