Sunday, August 10, 2008
To all the posts I didn't write
"In the world according to her father, Jenny Garp knew, we must have energy. Her famous grandmother, Jenny Fields, once thought of us as Externals, Vital Organs, Absentees, and Goners. But in the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases."
By Edward Copeland
Energy is something I've sadly lacked for most of the year, one that prevented me from celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of John Irving's The World According to Garp in April. My computer access was further hampered in May when I was hospitalized, where I remain today. Thanks to my contributors, particularly Josh and Jeffrey, who have helped keep the blog breathing during my health crisis. I'm sparing you the details because I don't want to make this a pity party. I just want to talk about what I didn't get to write.
What caused me the most pain wasn't the anniversaries I missed or the reviews I didn't get to write, but the appreciations I was unable to do. The first hospital I was in finally got tired of my complaining about their inadequacies and coughed up a laptop for me to borrow, so I was able to post on Sydney Pollack and Harvey Korman.
Unfortunately, a little more than a week later I was transferred to a long-term care hospital that not only didn't have computers, the building didn't even have WiFi. The death that caused me the most anguish was George Carlin, my favorite comic since high school. I'm not ashamed to admit that for about a week after his death, every time I saw a clip of him on TV I would burst into tears. Of course I'm such an emotional basketcase, I do the same thing when that Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial comes on. I wish
I could have acknowledged the passing of Don S. Davis, better known as Major Briggs on Twin Peaks. He also played Scully's dad on The X-Files. This piece alone took me so long to finish that Estelle Getty, Bernie Mac, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Isaac Hayes fell through the cracks. Of course, this blog survives mostly on reviews, reviews I've been unable to provide. The last film I saw in a movie theater, perhaps the last film I'll ever see in a theater, was The Counterfeiters, which won this year's Oscar for foreign language film. It was very good. At the first hospital where I was imprisoned, they also tried to buy my silence by bringing a DVD player in my room, so I was almost able to write my 60th anniversary appreciation of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and my 30th anniversary piece on the movie Grease. The most ambitious project that fell through was my 25th anniversary of the U.S. release of Fanny and Alexander as well as comparing it to the longer version Ingmar Bergman made (and preferred) for television.I also regret not writing about the 20th anniversary of Die Hard, the 30th anniversary of National Lampoon's Animal House and the 25th of Risky Business. While I am back (sort of), my posts will be infrequent and I don't know what form they will take since I won't have access to things to review. I'm just grateful to be back in cyberspace.
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Labels: Abbott and Costello, Books, Carlin, Fiction, Foreign, Ingmar Bergman, Irving, Misc., Sydney Pollack, Twin Peaks
Comments:
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Eddie...
Sorry to hear of your health crisis, and I'm hoping you convalesce quickly. It's just not the same when you're not ridin' herd on the blog.
Sorry to hear of your health crisis, and I'm hoping you convalesce quickly. It's just not the same when you're not ridin' herd on the blog.
We're grateful as well - your leadership has been sorely missed. Welcome back!
# posted by 
: 11:46 PM
: 11:46 PM
Oh my word, this is terrible news! Here's hoping you recover and are able to get back to the cineplex--and more importantly, your life. We're pulling for you.
# posted by : 9:50 AM
: 9:50 AM
Edward --
Wishing you well, and glad to have an update on one of my favorite film (etc.) blogs. I'm sure that a lot of us will be glad for any blogging you can do, when you can do it. Take care.
Wishing you well, and glad to have an update on one of my favorite film (etc.) blogs. I'm sure that a lot of us will be glad for any blogging you can do, when you can do it. Take care.
# posted by : 7:13 PM
: 7:13 PM
Hey Ed --
Just stumbled on this now, but just want to say I'm glad to hear you'll be back and hope whatever it is is all over soon. Take care of yourself.
Just stumbled on this now, but just want to say I'm glad to hear you'll be back and hope whatever it is is all over soon. Take care of yourself.
This is quite a special spot and I've always enjoyed reading your comments. So sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope things improve for you. Do take care.
# posted by : 4:38 PM
: 4:38 PM
Ed - I had no idea! I certainly hope everything improves. I have no money to speak of (four kids, bankrupcy) but I could certainly contribute if you need all of us to get you a portable DVD player or something. Is there anything like that you need that you can't get right now due to financial constraints? I know we could all chip in and get you a good one and surely someone in the film blogosphere has enough connections to get you screeners of current releases in theaters. If you'd like something like that to happen let me know and I could start an email chain to get things going.
Edward, I was abroad for most of August or I would have spotted and responded to this much sooner. I had long been wondering why a blog I liked so much had gone silent, and I am most sorry to hear it's for such burdensome health reasons. I am sending you the best healing vibes I possess, as your strong clear voice is much missed.
Jonathan, thanks for the thoughts, but since I wrote this I have been moved home and am receiving home health care. Believe it or not, my access to computers has been even more infrequent than in the hospital, but at least I have my DVD player back.
Edward, I had been checking your blog every once in a while and had wondered what had happened, as you were always so passionate and you seemed to just have disappeared without a trace. I am glad to hear you are back home. You are in my thoughts. I hope you are doing well!
Cheers, mate!
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Cheers, mate!
# posted by : 3:56 PM
: 3:56 PM << Home
