February 8, 2008

I have made a photograph of the way I feel.

The telephone pole that wants to be the Manhattan Bridge

(The title of this post is an movie allusion that perhaps only I understand, but if you do, my virtual embrace goes out to you.)

42 comments:

Maxine Weiss said...

An embrace....

Susan Estrich thanks you, profusely.

hdhouse said...

wired? suspended perhaps? sunlight against blue?

Ron said...

On a clear day you can see forever?

Channeling ones inner Streisand?

JackDRipper said...

Maxine was right. You're lonely and regretting the move to Brooklyn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8muNsj1oUpY

dbp said...

"The Unbearable Lightness Of Being"?

Revenant said...

I don't get the reference, but I like the picture.

Maxine Weiss said...

Susan Estrich and I share the same manicurist.

tjl said...

The image of the broken suspension bridge in "I, Robot?"

Trooper York said...

Is that the Pole that bought the Manhattan bridge? He think his name was Stan Kolwolski.

(He didn't want to buy the Brooklyn bridge, because his brother bought it the week before)

Maxine Weiss said...

When a woman gets lonely, this is what she does:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj0Yxs7p3aE&feature=related

Trooper York said...

"I see Pole people."
(The Sick Sense)

Bissage said...

I think I might have once had sex with Susan Estrich.

I’m not quite sure because I was kind of drunk and it might have been my Aunt Ruth.

But anyway, whoever she was, she tasted exactly the same as Maxine.

Trooper York said...

Dude, you just made me call Ralph on the big white telephone. Stop it! Stop it now!!!!!!

No one wants to know what Maxine tastes like. Please.

Eli Blake said...

You guys...

Forget the bridge. Forget the pole. You're overlooking the most important thing in the photo.

The movie reference (from 1945) is here.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

This just in....Trainer claims he injected Clemens wife in the ass..
and not in good way....developing.

David said...

"The Life Aquatic" of course.

Based on the photo, you seem to feel wired, blue, derelict, suspended, polish (pole-ish), shadowy, bright, abridged, dark, light, electric, powerful, powerless, curious, calm.

Oh how I love complex women.

Nice photo too.

Eli Blake said...

Trooper York:

Clemens is what a 'demigod' always turns out to be-- cruel, manipulative, narcissistic and controlling. Maybe even psychotic.

I thought today's USA Today hit it right on the mark when it did the article on the photograph that McNamee took of the evidence and said that as a former NY police detective he had a gut feeling that someday Clemens would betray him.

Yes, Roger Clemens. The perfect Man. Perfect career, perfect smile, perfect body, perfect right arm, just Mr. Perfect. And it's no secret in Texas that Clemens had political ambitions after he finished his baseball career. Which is likely why he is the only player named in the Mitchell report who is fighting to clear his name.

But he won't win, and for once, we can feel satisfied that he was exposed for being what he was.

Eli Blake said...

David:

I gave you the answer at 10:15.

The movie is 'A tree grows in Brooklyn.'

The original (1945) movie, I imagine. Because that 1970's era remake really stunk.

Ann Althouse said...

The allusion is in the title, not the photo.

Bissage said...

Here’s my guess: LINK.

dbp said...

The only other movie I can think of in which photography plays a key role is "Pecker".

I don't remember the title character being at all introspective about his work though.

Bissage said...

And I’d be remiss to mention that movie without linking to this oddity.

May it enable everyone's Saturday morning mellow.

Enjoy.

Bissage said...

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear me!

David at 11:36 already guessed "The Life Aquatic" and Althouse rejected that at 6:12.

My apologies, all around!

(Too much Saturday morning mellow!)

Omaha1 said...

“how I feel”

Here is my amateur psychoanalysis. For me the dominant feature of the photo is the shadows rising from the bottom to engulf the lighter parts of the photo – perhaps representing some ominous, oppressive threat.

Then, there is the feature of the parallel paths of the cables and power lines in the upper part of the photo. The light colored (positive) cables rise and fall gradually, similar to the normal course of a person’s life. The dark colored power lines, which supercede the cables by being in a higher position, rise and then end suddenly, like a life that is cut off by sudden illness or tragedy.

I hope I am wrong but that is how I view the symbolism of your photo.

rhhardin said...

You're supposed to notice that the bridge hangs in a parabola but the power lines hang in a catenary ; a contrast.

KCFleming said...

Requiem for a Dream?

Trooper York said...

Eli, as a big time Yankee fan I have always hated Roger Clemens. He was never a "True" Yankee. I have a gruding respect for him though, because he is a tough guy. In the Series he showed what a bunch of pussies Mike Piazza and the Mets were and are for that matter. In fact he when we played the Mariners he showed me what ARod is all about. Arod was tatooing us in the first two games and his first time up, Clemens buzzed him right under his noggin. Gave him the old Sal the barber shave. Arod didn't do squat after that. So I never really wanted him on the team either. But sometimes you are stuck with guys you really don't like on your team. You know like John McCain.

I wish Clemens would have taken a different approach. He is retired and should have said, yes I took HGH, so what. It wasn't illegal at the time so you can go screw yourself. If you don't vote for me for the Hall of Fame, that's on you not me. It's never the crime, it always the coverup.

The new look Yankees with all of our rookie pitchers is going to be a lot of fun. Joba is the real deal and Hughes looks like the new David Cone. Giradi is a tough manager who is detailed oriented and won't worry about his reputation like St. Joe. He won't be afraid to get down in the dirt and fight to the last dog dies. We haven't had that since Billy.

Pitchers and catchers in 9 days.

hdhouse said...

a tree grows in brooklyn?

assuming of course the the telephone pole is of natural wood...

Charlie Martin said...

Based on the photo, you seem to feel wired, blue, derelict, suspended, polish (pole-ish), shadowy, bright, abridged, dark, light, electric, powerful, powerless, curious, calm.

... and catenary.

(Ann: do a depression screen. If you pass, try writing bad poetry and take a walk. If you are actually depressed, call Rich, he'll know what to do.)

Ann Althouse said...

Seneca, thanks. I took a depression screening test on the NYU website and it said: "Your answers does not reflect the presence of depressive symptoms."

(Their answer does reflect the presence of bad grammar.)

Ann Althouse said...

I am going for a walk.

Ann Althouse said...

Here's the test, in case anyone else wants to take it.

Anonymous said...

Could it be a reference to Funny Face?

    This is Mr Avery.
    These are my friends.

    How do you do, boys?

    Would you mind if I had
    my own conversation with this lady?

    - They don't understand English.
    - You were talking English.

    It's hard to explain,
    but it's all part of empathicalism.

    We don't have to communicate
    with words.

    They understand me through the way
    I feel
, and the tone of my voice.

    - Sort of like a dog.
    - Obviously, you don't understand.

    Who's buying the wine?

*   *   *   *   *
Could the later post about getting a dog be related?  And the earlier one about fashion?

I know this is a stretch—very minor dialog and all—but it's the best I can do.  There are plenty of songs, but movie references to "the way I feel," are pretty slim. This one seems to fit, if ever so obscurely.

Also, if you don't know it, Funny Face is a lovely, addicting film.  Here's the rather unfortunate trailer.  Amazon has the 50th anniversary edition, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Bissage said...

Here’s the test, in case anyone else wants to take it.

And I did so I did.

And here’s what I got: "Your answers reflect the presence of significant depressive symptoms. It is advised to seek a psychiatric consultation, Click here for Referral Information."

And here I thought my symptoms were nothing more than side effects from all that Drāno® I snorted in law school!

Bissage said...

It's good to see that Theo is back!

Bissage said...

And "Funny Face" is now on the list!

blake said...

It sounds so familiar.... I'll get it, but it'll be 4 in the morning....

Ann Althouse said...

Theo, it's an allusion to a spoken line and not to a song lyric. But it isn't a famous line or a prominent movie, which is why I said it was an allusion only for myself. I drew a little penciled graffiti in a carrel at NYU law school a quarter century ago that included the line. Maybe someone remembers seeing that!

Anonymous said...

Professor A: Looking at the songs that include those words made me realize instantly that they would have nothing to do with you! What drivel. That line almost guarantees a bad song.

No, I vaguely remembered something from Funny Face and found the quote from the script, which you see above. That was an obscure quote from a prominent movie.

Well, time to get to work on an obscure quote from an obscure movie. Hoo boy! I remember professors like you who would have us chase for weeks looking up some cryptic reference.

Grumble.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Shaft.