Critique of Henri Cole's 'Figs.'

 Overnight the figs got moldy and look like little brains --

or Ids without structure -- that say something dark

about our species not really laying down a garden

but living out the violent myths.

An insect chorus, almost diaphonous

in a neighbor's yard, says something, too:

'American began in tall ships that glowed from within,"

but, for the wretched, it still wretchedeth every day."

As the bright day goes around the sun,

why do our days grow

more aggressive and difficult?

Why do the world's shadows

come so close

as its wonders beckon?

Cole has a distinguished career as a teacher. Too bad he was never a newspaper reporter with a hard-hearted editor looming over him. Had that been the case, Cole would have sent those two awful lines about tall ships to the chopping block. They break up and distract the poem. Placed in the middle of an otherwise intriguing piece, those two wretched lines were probably meant by Cole to actually contain the real meaning of the whole poem. Or perhaps they are meant as a verbal collage; if so, they do not succeed in adding anything to this particular piece of art.

The whole subject of figs, of course, is fraught with sexuality. But Cole elects to be didactic and obscure. So if you'll excuse me I'm going for some fig newtons and a glass of milk in the kitchen.

Cole and supporters, please feel free to repeat this rejoinder about the above critique. On your social media accounts and elsewhere:

"Mr. Torkildson fails as even a poetaster in his own versifying. It's only natural he should want to cut ineffectual capers around the towering literary achievements of  Mr. Cole."

Morbius: Give This Movie A Miss.

 

The box office performance of Morbius


Title:Morbius

Daniel Espinoza is the director.

written by Matt Sazama, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Burke Sharpless

Availability: April 1, 2022

Marvel Universe on Sony is available in the country.

Cast: Tyrese Gibson, Jared Harris, and Jared Leto

the PG-13 rating

Category: Action

Budget for box office data: $75,000,000.

Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Arad Productions, and Matt Tolmach Productions provided the funding.

International box office: $89,207,071 Domestic box office: $73,793,072

Synopsis

A good vampire is impossible to subdue.
especially when he is a respected physician who takes medication to treat his weak blood.
Unfortunately, the treatment is worse than the condition, and the doctor unwittingly turns into a neck nosher.
an undead.

There are others who want in on the action because vampirism is a trend.
They are able to consume some of the potion, allowing them to swoop in and deliver lethal hickies.

The big magilla comes out at the end when the good doctor defeats the bad guys and learns to live with his vampirism by repeating each evening as he emerges from his coffin, "Every day, in every way - I vant to suck your blood, blaah!" However, since this film is a part of the Marvel universe, there has to be a big magilla about it, with bats, blood, and blondes thrown together willy-nil

And are the bad guys, the bloodsuckers who have no remorse, actually dead?
A brief shot in the movie's conclusion implies that you shouldn't stake your entire future on it.
Thus, a new sequel is created.


The lackluster response to Morbius at the box office does not prove that people have no feelings for vampires.
Instead, it demonstrates that viewers are still picky about Count Dracula and his family.

We know what we want in a vampire, and when we don't get it, we usually leave the theater like cemetery fog rather than watch a dull retelling of the same old tale.

Because, let's face it, without a consummate performer like Christopher Lee or a pixie director like James Whale, the vampire motif becomes tedious.

It might be instructive to take a look back at what those old fogies created before there were blue screens and when the Breen Office was still in power. YouTube has some of the old Universal vampire movies up and running (until the copyright lawyers catch up to the posters).

There are the character actors first.
Not the big names; do you believe Clark Gable would be discovered dead sporting a widow's peak?
however, that army of specialized actors who oozed weirdness with every breath, like John Carradine and Lionel Atwill (or lack thereof.)
Sure, Matt Smith and Jared Leto can emote, but can they slither?
Doubtful.
Additionally, they don't have the ghoulish sense of humor that the undead and their henchmen enjoy using before wildcatting a jugular vein.
The characters were overly serious and stereotyped, which is largely the fault of the script writers.
The cast plays Morbius as though they are all suffering from a severe hangover.
Who knows, maybe they did with that kind of dreck staring them in the face every day.

The background music is another crucial component of a vampire film.
Due to their lack of sound, vampires do not prowl around like the Frankenstein monster or howl at the moon like the wolf man.
Therefore, the music must convey something about the vampire's hopeless immortal despair.
In the 1940s, Frank Skinner and Hans J. Salter produced truly monstrous music at Universal Studios.


Well, it's just a vampire movie, after all.
Right?
Some mindless entertainment to block out the outside world for a while.
Let's avoid overanalyzing it.
In addition, when you consider the cost of a movie ticket and a box of popcorn, movie theaters themselves are the real bloodsuckers!

Box Office Revenue

With a $75 million production budget and a worldwide box office that was 2.2 times the production budget, Morbius made $73,793,072 domestically and $89,207,017 internationally.

In its opening weekend, Morbius played to 4268 theaters and earned $39,005,895 (52.9% of the overall gross).

The movie received a domestic audience of 4268 theaters and received a domestic share of roughly 45.3%.

After dominating the box office during its opening weekend, Morbius dropped to second place the following weekend and experienced a -58% change in earnings by the sixth week. The film ran for a total of 10 weeks, earning an average weekend domestic gross of $53,597,201 based on an average run of 4.3 weeks per theater.

Morbius was released internationally to a total of 23 nations, with Mexico, the United Kingdom, and France serving as the film's three largest markets, with lifetime gross totals of $8,080,155, $8,043,226 and $500,000, respectively. 

Pink Sauce

 

What is pink sauce? Tell me true!

Is there merit in this goo?

It's for dipping, marinades;

and for TikTok mass charades.

Do not treat it as a joke --

you'll be labeled as un-woke!

 

A free bowl of chilled Thai noodles

 

Several people have told us, as if it were an accusation, that we said we wouldn't be serving any meals during the week, only on weekends. Well, for the most part that's going to be true.

But today Tim had a flashback to his days as a missionary in Thailand, and recalled fondly a dish the Thais loved to make ahead of time to serve at parties or whenever they didn't feel like cooking in the evenings.

So he decided to make a big bowl of it today to share for free with anyone who'd like to try it tonight at 5 p.m. If you're uncertain, please come by for a little sample, to see if you like it!

CHILLED ASIAN NOODLES WITH CHICKEN

Here's how it's made:

Parboil ramen noodles. Drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl combine the noodles with diced chicken, diced celery, diced onions, and diced pineapple. Mix thoroughly. Add a dressing of seasoned rice vinegar, pineapple juice, and mushroom flavored soy sauce. Mix again. Chill in the refrigerator until serving time. Garnish with cilantro and honey roasted peanuts.

Doesn't that sound scrumptious? And all you have to do is show up at our door with your own bowl at 5pm!  First come, first served.

The Torkildsons. Apartment 115.  Valley Villa. Provo.  Utah. 

An Invitation to a free Thai Breakfast meal.

 

We did it again! We made way too much Thai rice porridge with chicken this morning. So we invite you to come get a free helping of this exotic and savory dish for brunch at 11:00 a.m.

This is the favorite breakfast meal of the Thai people. When Tim lived in Thailand, first as a missionary, and then as an English teacher, he had a steaming bowl of it every morning.

The dish calls for a mixture of white and brown rice boiled and then simmered into a porridge consistency. Chicken is added. Then saffron, garlic, galangal, ginger, some green peas, and a dash of salt and pepper. Each hearty serving is then garnished with salted cucumbers, marinated turtle beans, and a bit of crushed peanuts. Once you taste it, you'll never want cold cereal for breakfast again!

So bring a bowl to our door this morning for a taste of authentic Thai cuisine. When you go to a Thai restaurant you'll never see rice porridge on the menu -- because the staff cooks it and eats it themselves back in the kitchen!

The Torkildsons. Apartment 115. Valley Villa. Provo. Utah.

Narrative Poem: My Feet Became Impaled On Blades Of Grass.

 

My feet became impaled on blades of grass.

And I was stuck fast in the backyard, 

hidden by a row of cedars that ran 

parallel with the fence.

It had been a beautiful summer

up until then.

I went everywhere barefoot.

The bushes ran with sap you could

lick up like honey.

Hot dogs were so cheap they

were given away to strangers at 

bus stops. With packets

of ketchup and mustard.

 The clouds danced

and

not a single baby 

ever got diaper rash. 

I was a little upset at first that 

no one ever came looking 

for me.

Not my wife or my kids.

Not the police. Not even

my Amway distributor.

But finally I just figured

that I had never been real

in the first place.

I was someone's dream.

The seasons passed. 

My feet turned to roots.

My skin to bark.

Birds nested on the top of my head.

Squirrels pushed walnuts into my ears.

And I was content.

 

Then the grass dissolved around 

my feet.

I fell to the earth with a sob.

The birds left me. Their eggs

smashed to yellow pieces.

I walked back into the house.

How many years had passed?

"Did you find that sprinkler connection?'

Amy asked as she sliced a tomato.

 "How long have I been gone?" I asked.

"Ten minutes. Maybe less" she replied.

"I lived a whole different life while I

was outside just now" I told her. "I

have had visions and dreams."

Then the children came running into

my arms.

And I forgot my dreams for 

a sweeter more solid reality.

 

 

 

Narrative Poem: Thou Shalt Not Name!

 

It's a wonderful find.

In the ancient city of Lachish

archeologists found some

scrolls dating back five

thousand years.

They are written in Sumerian.

They are religious texts that

shed new light on the Old Testament.

In these Lachish scrolls there is an

account of the Garden of Eden.

It says "And the Lord said unto

Adam and Eve: Thou shalt not name

any living things. Neither animals,

nor plants, nor fish, nor birds,

nor creeping crawling things." 

It goes on to say that mountains

and valleys and minerals, and rivers and cities

and even countries are forbidden

to be named.  Everything is to be

referred to as 'this thing' or 'over there.'

When Adam asked the Lord if this wouldn't 

create some confusion, he and Eve

were tossed out of the Garden on their 

ear.

When I read about this in

a science journal I thought

to myself:

this makes a lot of sense.

No names means not bigotry.

No class. No barriers. 

We could live in nameless peace

and harmony. 

So I'm starting a movement to remove

the name of everything -- animal, mineral, and vegetable. 

It's to be called  ~

 

 

I know something I can't tell

 I know something I can't tell.

Something big and deep and swell.

From my studies long and hard

comes a secret avant garde.

Sharing with the world my lore

would cause riots evermore.

So I keep it wrapped up tight

until I find an acolyte.

Circus Memories: And now for something patriotic.

 

 

this is what i said in fast & testimony meeting today, but greatly expanded.

fifty years ago God blessed me with the most wonderful job in the world. i was a clown with ringling brothers circus. it was the biggest show there was. we had over a thousand performers. many of them came from behind the iron curtain. you remember the iron curtain? countries like poland and hungary were controlled by russia -- nobody got in or out without their say-so. a lot of the best circus schools were behind the iron curtain so we had a swede named trolle rhodein who went over to those countries to look over the talent and bribe the government to let an outstanding troupe of acrobats or jugglers spend a season in the united states. but those cagey iron curtain governments made sure that each group that came over here left behind a hostage -- grandparents, a kid, or even a spouse. that was to insure they would return behind the iron curtain when their tour was done and not seek asylum with uncle sam. which they all wanted to do. those iron curtain performers loved america better than i did.

i was just an 18 year old punk back then, and had never thought too much about the blessing of living in a free land like the usa. in fact, while i was a senior in high school i had contacted an anti-war group and got a bus ticket to canada, in case my draft number was too low and they called me up. no way was i going to vietnam.

luckily my draft number was very high so i was never called up. instead i got to join the circus as a first of may -- a first year clown.

so one day in clown alley mac the bus driver came by to deliver the mail. he got paid five dollars extra a week for stopping by the local post office to pick up any general delivery mail for performers. one of the clowns got a love letter from the irs -- telling him he owed a bunch of back taxes. he didn't take that well. he began ranting and raving, cursing the president and congress and vowing to never ever pay one red cent to the crummy corrupt government which was full of crooks and blankity-blank mother lovers. 

just then stancho, a bulgarian acrobat, was walking by clown alley (which was cordoned off from the hallway by nothing more than cheap blue cotton curtains) and heard this clown blow his top. Stancho burst into clown alley and picked up the cursing clown right off his feet.  need i mention that stancho was a big husky fellow? anyway, he shook that frightened clown like a rag doll, all the while saying in broken english: "you shut up your face! america is great place! lots good things here for you and you free to go where you want, do any what you want. not me! i got to go back to stinking bulgaria and those curvas (a nasty russian obscenity) and listen to them barking at me! you shut up and be glad you here, not in bulgaria!"

my clown compatriot quickly settled down and begged stancho's pardon. otherwise i think stancho would have punched his head down into his shoulders.

but that got me thinking about my country. and i've been thinking about it ever since. and this much i can tell you (remember that this is fast & testimony meeting);  Jesus Christ is lord and master of the whole earth, but he has a special interest in our land. it says so in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. when he comes back to rule and reign he will come back to this country, this land of ours, to begin his millennial administration. until then his prophets speak for him, and we'd better listen to them or we're liable to be picked up and shaken like a rag doll ourselves!  Amen.

(BTW: stancho did get to stay in america. he was corresponding with a lady pig farmer in iowa and when the show played des moines he took off, found her amidst the sows and slop, and began pitching woo. they were married in a few weeks. stancho quit the show, studied for his citizenship test, and passed with flying colors. you never saw a man so happy to be standing knee deep in pig shit. american pig shit.)

Thailand Mission Memories: I get punched in the nose.

 

amy has gone up to idaho to do chores on her sister's farm.  whenever city life gets her down -- which is about once a month -- she takes off for idaho to milk the cow and feed the chickens and talk to her sister about the kind of esoteric religious subjects 'The Encyclopedia of Mormonism' never covered.  in the past i have gone with her -- i even gave amy's sister a rocker recliner for her living room so i would have someplace comfortable to sit when i was there. but this time i had to say, as lovingly and as kindly as i know how, "enough is enough."

it's not that i don't like my in-laws. it's just that i have worked to make our apartment a comfortable place for us to be. now that the damn bedbugs are finally gone, i don't ever want to go anyplace overnight again. i cherish the blessing of sleeping in my own bed every night, and preparing food in my own kitchen every day. today i'm trying a new recipe for roast pork in the slow cooker.  i have covered the roast with a thick greasy flap of pig skin (which cost exactly 89 cents from the butcher.) the french call this kind of cooking 'lardon.'  it's supposed to keep the roast pork very tender and juicy while adding an intense layer of flavor to it.

and i'm on a reading binge with rex stout's great detective nero wolfe. 

in other words, i'm comfortable and happy -- and why should i uproot myself for several days just to smell the manured fields of wendell idaho? 

so amy has gone and i'm here at home, with plenty of quiet peaceful time to do as i please. and what pleases me is to write write write. 

so this is the story of the time i got punched in the nose on my mission.

it was all president brown's fault. i was no great shakes as a baptizer and my memorization and recitation of the discussions in thai was always pretty shaky at best. but president brown got it into his head that i had a special talent for straightening out 'problem elders.' so for a period of several months i was assigned to various elders who were getting close to being sent home because of their bad attitudes and disobedience.

i was assigned to work with elder johnson. back in colorado he was an apprentice to his father, who was a plumber. as i've always suspected, plumbers are robbing us blind, because even as an apprentice elder johnson made an obscene amount of money doing nothing but tightening leaky faucets. or so he said.

he slept in late. he stole food from the kitchen that was meant for our dinner. he had a serious relationship going on with a thai girl and was always trying to duck out on me so he could go see her alone.  i was very mild and non-judgemental with him. then one day he put his scriptures on top of the refrigerator. now you must understand that there was a mission rule that the top of the refrigerator was to be kept clear at all times. a memo had gone out to each companionship emphasizing this little housekeeping commandment. i have no idea why the mission office wanted to emphasize this bit of nonsense so much, but they did.  so we kept the top of the fridge clear. so when elder johnson put his scriptures up there one afternoon i gently reminded him of the mission rule and asked him to please take them off.

that's when he punched me right in the nose. luckily he telegraphed his move so i could step back. his punch didn't even draw blood, but it hurt like hell.  i wanted to strike back at him, of course.  but the spirit whispered to me to be as meek and mild as a lamb. so i just said "i wish you hadn't done that" and walked away from him.

i guess my reaction was the straw that broke the missionary's back, because a few moments later he came to me in tears to apologize and promised he'd straighten up and fly right from that moment on.

well, he did improve for the next few weeks. he got up on time. left the food alone in the kitchen. even ditched the thai chick. then it was time for transfers and i never saw him again except at the annual mission conference. 

i imagine that elder johnson went back to colorado after his mission with the light of the gospel shining in his eyes, married a good woman, had half a dozen children, became a bishop or stake president, and got filthy stinking rich as a plumber. 

May his tribe increase.  now it's time to go answer all the emails amy has been sending me this morning . . .