Saturday, March 30, 2019

Alexander Schmorell

As this entry is the first entry into the category of Cool Persons, I suppose I should explain this series just a little bit. Whenever we feel like gushing about a very admirable person, either Anna or myself will write a short biography. We originally were going to do this every two weeks, but we just became too busy. By 'Cool', we mean an especially inspirational, holy, brilliant, patriotic person. As I said, 'Cool'. The honor of first entry falls to a very wonderful and brave man. Alexander Schmorell.



Alexander Schmorell was born in Russia on September 16th, 1917. His father was German and his mother was Russian. In fact, she was the daughter of a Russian Orthodox priest. Schmorell was baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church soon after he was born. Although his mother died of Typhus when he was two, his Russian nanny Feodosiya Lapschina (ain't that a mouthful) made sure he grew up bilingual and also that he retained his faith. In 1920, Schmorell's father married again and the next year the whole family fled Russia from the Bolsheviks and moved to Munich.



After military service before the war, Schmorell began studying medicine in 1940. At university he met Hans and Sophie Scholl, two siblings who founded the White Rose movement. The White Rose was one of the only anti-Nazi German resistance groups to be founded in World War II. Through secretly made pamphlets and graffiti on walls all over Munich, The White Rose stood up to Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. As Inge Scholl put it in her book 'The White Rose':

" 'They stood up for a simple matter, an elementary principle: the right of the individual to choose his manner of life and to live in freedom.' "


Although all five founding members of The White Rose deserve their own articles, as they were all immensely brave and good people, I'm just here to talk a little bit about Mr. Schmorell. As I am fortunate enough to own Inge Scholl's book, 'The White Rose', I'm going to take advantage of that fact and use an excerpt from the text describing Alexander Schmorell better than I ever could. Inge Scholl (as you might have guessed) was Hans and Sophie's younger sister. This was what she wrote about Mr. Schmorell:

" 'Among the students Hans also met some who shared his sentiments. One especially among them caught his attention because of his tall figure and his totally unmilitary, elegant, and carefree bearing. This was Alexander Schmorell, son of a well-known Munich physician. Soon a close friendship developed between them, starting from the instinctive unanimity with which the two of them were always ready to disrupt the dull barracks life with their practical jokes and clever tricks. There can be few men who had Alex's radiant, relaxed humor. He beheld the world with eyes full of imagination - it was as if he saw it anew each day. He found the world beautiful, fresh, and filled with captivating delights, and he enjoyed it in an open, childlike way, without questioning or calculating. He was at once totally receptive and unstintingly generous, dispensing gifts royally. Sometimes, however, there appeared behind his cheerful, untrammeled manner something else - a questioning and seeking, an ancient, deep-seated seriousness.' "


What a guy! I don't have much to add to that except a short account of his imprisonment and execution. Because, yes, he was executed, along with all of the other members of The White Rose. After Hans, Sophie, and Christoph Probst (another member of The White Rose) were arrested, Alexander Schmorell attempted to escape to Switzerland, but he was recognized at an air-raid shelter and then arrested himself. At the second trial against The White Rose, on April 19th, 1943, he was sentenced to death. While in prison, he tried to console his family with letters saying that he was at peace with his fate and not fearful of death. On July 19th, 1943, at the age of 25, Alexander Schmorell was put to death by guillotine at the Munich-Stadelheim Prison, a martyr for what he believed in.

Alexander Schmorell remained an Eastern Orthodox Christian 'til the day he died, and so, on February 5th, 2012, he was glorified a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. That's right, Alexander Schmorell is not just a person you'd casually call a saint because of their seeming goodness and holiness, but he is officially a legitimate saint! 

Schmorell was a medic in the war, so that's why there's a red cross on his arm.
That's about all I have to say for now, folks, except that Alexander Schmorell was certainly a great guy. God bless him for his sacrifices and keep him safe. God bless you, and have a wonderful and blessed day!


                                                                                                            

And here's one last picture of Alex with a horse, because it's really sweet and I love horses.

 - Irene



Friday, March 29, 2019

Irene's Top Ten Favorite Actors

                                    

In no particular order...

  1. John Wayne
          It's no accident that John Wayne was and is an American icon. Everything about him, from head to toe, was just plain cool. He's been one of mine and my family's favorite actors since..... Well, since forever. It is virtually impossible for me to choose just one of his films as my favorite, so I'm just gonna cheat and say my three favorites are True Grit (1969), The Alamo (1960), and The High and the Mighty (1954), although I often change my mind on that account. My favorite role of his is probably Jacob McCandles in Big Jake (1971).

     


      2. Gary Cooper
       
          I was never a big fan of Gary Cooper. I mean, I'd seen him in a few movies and he seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't really consider him one of my favorite actors. But then I saw Meet John Doe (1941) and I was impressed! Like, really impressed. He made me laugh and he made me cry, and in my book, that constitutes a good actor. My favorite movie of his is probably Friendly Persuasion (1956), and my favorite role is Longfellow Deeds from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). 





     3. Conlan Carter
    
         Conlan Carter is Doc. Doc is Conlan Carter. That's enough to make him one of my favorite actors ever. Doc, from the 1960's television show Combat! is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters, and Conlan Carter plays him wonderfully. In fact, he once received a Emmy nomination for his work in the Combat! episode: The Hostages, so that's pretty impressive. He also starred in numerous other films and t.v. shows as well, but Doc will forever be the role nearest and dearest to my heart.





  
  4. Alan Ladd

      I saw Mr. Ladd in the movie Shane (1953) a looooong time ago, but I didn't appreciate it at all. I knew that Shane was played by this random guy called Alan Ladd, but I didn't know at the time that it was THE Alan Ladd. And now, thanks to a blog I discovered recently, he's managed to push himself into this list! My favorite movie of his is a tie between And Now Tomorrow (1944) and Branded (1950), while my favorite role of his is Dr. Merek Vance, from the formerly mentioned movie.                                                                                             



5. Ben Johnson

    I first grew rather attached to Ben Johnson when I saw him in both Wagon master (1950) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Then I learned that he used to be a stuntman, not an actor, and he worked especially well with horses. Considering how well he can mount, it's easy to see why I like him. He's also got a nice accent, so...... Yeah. My favorite movie of his is Wagon Master and my favorite role is probably a tie between Travis Blue from the aforementioned movie, and Trooper Travis Tyree, from Rio Grande (1950). I guess they thought Travis matched him, eh?



6. Martin Milner

    I remember watching the t.v. show Route 66 with my sisters, and that show was a wee bit weird, so it didn't exactly inspire a great love for Martin Milner, who played one of the main characters, Todd. We saw him in some movies and guest star roles here and there, and I liked him okay, but he wasn't on this list. But then, one fine summer day (it was actually about ten thirty at night), I saw my first episode of Adam-12, and I loved him. From that first episode of that lovely show Martin Milner has held a place in my heart. My favorite movie I've ever seen him in is the Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) where he just plays a little part, and my favorite role of his is Officer Pete Malloy in Adam-12.



7. Richard Armitage 

    As the only 'current' actor on this list, Richard Armitage is very special indeed. I first saw him in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), although I didn't know it at the time. The first movie I *remember* seeing him in was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) where he lent an epicness to Thorin that I don't think anyone else could've pulled off. My favorite movie of his is a tie between The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) and North and South (2004), while my favorite role is Thorin.
    




8. Robert Stack

    While being adorable in his earlier films, and amazingly cool in his later ones, Robert Stack is undeniably one of my favorite actors. I saw him first in the great comedy To Be or Not to Be (1942) when he was quite young, but, like Richard Armitage, I didn't know it was him at the time. The first movie in which I recognized him to be Robert Stack was A Date with Judy (1948). My two favorite movies of his are The High and the Mighty and First Love (1939). I would say his best role would be John Sullivan in The High and the Mighty, but my favorite role of his is probably as Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski in To Be or Not to Be.




9. Rudolph Valentino.

    I just recently discovered Mr. Valentino, but he has certainly captured my heart! He never made a movie with sound, but that just highlights his acting ability all the more. My favorite movie of his so far is Moran of the Lady Letty (1922) and my favorite role of his is probably Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan in The Sheik (1921) no matter how creepy he is at the beginning!







10. Dana Andrews

      Nobody, but nobody, could where a trench coat and fedora like Dana Andrews. He's one of the classiest actors ever and I've loved him ever since I saw him in Laura (1944). After I saw him in that, I looked everywhere on the internet for any of his movies that were available for free (no matter how much I love an actor, I'm not gonna pay four dollars to watch a movie of their's online. Call me cheap). My favorite movies of his are Laura and The Purple Heart (1944), and my favorite role of his is Mark McPherson, also from Laura.

J.R.R. Tokien: A Poet



A Tolkien Blog Party. What could be better?
My first entry into this delightful blog party hosted by Hamlette, from The Edge of the Precipice, is dually a write-up celebrating and squealing over Tolkien's genius, and a post to add into mine and Anna's 'Cool Persons' list, which is sadly lacking in cool persons at the current moment. Very advantageous for all parties concerned. Anyway, on to the bio/squeal-fest.

J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. That's right, Tolkien was African. Betcha didn't know that, huh? I mean, he was a British citizen, but he was born in Africa, so that kinda counts, right? 

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When Tolkien was three years old, he went to England with his mother and younger brother. His father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, was to come with them, but he died of rheumatic fever before he had the chance to join them. This left the family without any source of income so Mabel Tolkien took her two children to live at her parents house in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Mabel taught her sons at home (that's right, Tolkien was homeschooled 😎). As you can probably guess, Ronald, as he was known to his family, was a keen and intelligent pupil. Tolkien enjoyed botany and the drawing of landscapes and trees, but what he most enjoyed were his lessons concerning languages. His mother taught him the rudiments of Latin very early on in life. Mabel Tolkien was received into the Catholic church in the year 1900, which lead to the stopping of all financial assistance from her staunchly Baptist family. In 1904, when Tolkien was 12 years old, his mother died of acute diabetes. She herself was only 34 at the time, which is about as long as a person with diabetes mellitus type 1 could be expected to live without treatment. Insulin would not be discovered until two decades later. And as the Tolkien's now had no money, Mrs. Tolkien could not afford treatment. 9 years after her death, Tolkien wrote this: 
'My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it is not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping the faith.'
 And here I end our short biography, as Tolkien's love of languages leads me to my post about his (and my) love of poetry. I encourage you to read a book or an article about Tolkien's full life story, as it is truly incredible. 

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Mr. Tolkien was surely a master of words. There is no doubt about that. It's one of the reasons I love his work so much. It's incredibly beautiful, guys! But although Tolkien's everyday, humdrum, prose is beautiful in itself, what is even MORE amazing is his poetry! Allow me to share with you some of my favorite lines and poetry of his and listen patiently while I explain WHY they're my favorites.

Two stanzas from 'The Dragon is Withered': 

The stars are far brighter
Than gems without measure,
The moon is far whiter
Than silver in treasure:

The fire is more shining
On hearth in the gloaming
Than gold won by mining,
So why go a-roaming?

Isn't that just beautiful? In those two little stanzas one is come over with a feeling of adventure, touched with nostalgia. I can see the stars, smell the pine needles, feel the cold wind of night. And then we are brought back to earth by the last three lines, making us think of a warm, crackling fire, and a comfortable armchair. Tolkien tells us that the gems and treasures of nature that we are given by God and the comforts of a good home are worth far more than any material treasure or wealth we could gain by roaming and adventuring. Or the modern parallel of adventuring, the desire to become the richest and most powerful CEO of some big company and be known for you endless ambition. I love this whole poem so much, but these just might be my two favorite stanzas.

Quotes

Most everyone know the famous 'All that is gold does not glitter' poem, but sometimes we forget to think of it in the context of it's place in the book, and even of whom it is written. So let's do a quick re-cap. When the hobbits arrived at the inn of the Prancing Pony to meet Gandalf, they discovered to their dismay that he was not there. But unlike in the movie, where Gandalf just doesn't show up and they are thrown into the clutches of Strider knowing nothing about him, in the book Gandalf has left the hobbits a letter (which, consequentially, old Butterbur, the innkeeper, forgets to give to them at first). Very considerate of him. And in that letter, Gandalf informs the hobbits that they are to be taken to Rivendell by a man named Aragorn, who is also known as Strider. This poem describes him:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not whither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

An incredibly beautiful and mysterious poem. Arwen quotes the last four lines in the movie 'The Return of the King' when Anduril is being made whole again. The entire poem embodies the essence of Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Dirty and bent up on the surface, but pure gold underneath. He has no desire to be a king of men, but he will rise to the challenge when called. Why? Because that's what heroes do! Sorry, just had to say that.

'These are not holes,' said Gimli. 'This is the great realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. And of old it was not darksome, but full of light and splendour, as is still remembered in our songs.'

And so the Song of Durin commences. Gimli chants it to his companions while journeying through the Mines of Moria. It is a glorious remembrance of greater days, and a sad lament of the times that are now gone. What strikes me most about this poem is the parallel between the first stanzas and the last two. Rather bookendish.

The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.

He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadow of his head.....

(............)

The world is grey, the mountains old,
The forge's fire is ashen-cold;
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;

The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dum.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.

From the beginning of the poem and throughout the middle, Tolkien tells us of the splendor and wealth of the dwarves. He tells us of their gold and gems, their works of great art and beauty, the very peak of Dwarven civilization. We walk with Durin, until the end. You can completely feel the fall of all that is great and splenderous in the last two stanzas. It's like night fell and Durin is now standing alone looking over a dark pool with a cold wind whipping his hair and fur-trimmed cloak (despite the fact that Mirrormere is windless). The rise and fall of Dwarvin majesty put into one poem. And certainly a very lovely poem. Clamavi de Profundis, a channel on Youtube, does a very worthily Dwarvish version of the Song of Durin. You can check it out here.

Jrr tolkien quote jrr tolkien print watercolor wall art | Etsy

Yet another favorite of mine, the poem that Bilbo recites, with long awaiting anticipation fulfilled, after he lays his eyes on his own little hobbit hole in the distance. This one is rather like 'The Dragon Is Withered' in its mood, I think.

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.

Just like 'The Dragon Is Withered', 'Roads Go Ever On' speaks of adventure and wandering, but inevitably finds itself back home, in familiar woods and meadows. Makes me sigh with longing and content. And I have to leave you with another link to Clamavi de Profundis, 'cause I like their version of this poem even better than the Song of Durin.

So, I'm just flipping through The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit right now, and I am realizing that if I write about all the poems I would LIKE to write about, you'd be snoozing with boredom before you'd even finished half of this post. So I'll just tell you that I LOVE both the Lament for Boromir (a worthy lament for an awesome warrior who came into honor when the time came) and the Lament for the Rohirrim. In fact, just give me a lament and I'll probably adore it. But there are so, SO, many more works of Tolkien's I would love to share with you, but that is for another time. Most likely a period of several years. Or even decades. Yeah, I could definitely talk about that guy and his creations for several decades. So instead of doing that (after all, I have other things to do in life than talk about Tolkien. Lame, I know.) I'll just leave you with one more lovely poem. This poem Legolas sings when the war for the One Ring is all over and done with, and many comrades are bidding each other farewell. Legolas tells his friends that he shall walk in the woods of this fair land, but maybe soon, maybe in a hundred years of Men, he shall go down to the shore and cross the great water to the land across the sea. And Gimli will probably come with him. Hopefully.

To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressea, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!



                                                                                                         ~ Irene 


This has been Horseback to Byzantium's blog entry into 'A Tolkien Blog Party. Anna and I hope you enjoyed it :D 



~

Happy Birthday, Mr. Tolkien.