After last night, the computer is tied for the lead with one of the humans. For the next two nights Jeopardy will feature the ongoing battle between an IBM computer named Watson and two of its all-time champions: Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. After the first stage of the three-part competition, Watson is tied with Rutter for the lead. Because last night’s show featured stories about Watson and IBM, they did not finish the first match, and tonight is Double Jeopardy. Tune in to see how it comes out.
IBM has been working on Watson for three years. The competition was taped in January, but we will not know the results until the shows are broadcast. Someone has already written a book about the battle: Stephen Baker’s book Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything.
It is interesting how complex the machine must be to take on humans in Jeopardy. It is not like a program on your computer that already has the answers to play a pre-written game such as Jeopardy or other trivia game. Watson is really “thinking” about phrases it has never heard, processing the meaning of the words, and answering them in the form of a question without access to the Internet. The machine takes up a large room.
But will humans still claim dominance over the machine? Above is Johnny Cash’s version of the song about John Henry, performed live at Folsom Prison. For the warm-up Jeopardy match broadcast last month, Chimesfreedom wrote more about the epic human versus machine battle covered in songs about John Henry. In case you missed it, check out the post here.
Many years ago, a newspaper published a list of the top romantic movies for Valentine’s Day, and the writer included Shane (1953) on the list. At first, the choice surprised me.
I had always thought of the movie as a great action Western. But after reading the article, I focused more on the relationship between Shane, played by Alan Ladd, and Marian Starrett, played by Jean Arthur. And I came to see that the author of the list was right.
The Unusual Love Story in “Shane”
The unrequited love between Shane and Marian is something we do not see in modern movies. The relationship is subtle, buried in hidden looks and unspoken feelings. They both are torn, as Marian still loves her husband Joe and Shane is Joe’s friend.
There are many things to love about the film Shane. It has great scenery, Jack Palance as a villain, the gunfights, and the decent man trying to change his life. But the Shane-Mariann relationship makes the movie more complex than your usual action yarn.
The Shane-Mariann relationship is so subtle that descriptions of the movie rarely mention it. I suspect that a modern movie version might feature a scene of the two having sex to make the same point made in Shane with a few words and glances.
When Clint Eastwood made Pale Rider (1985), largely based on Shane, he avoided a similar relationship in his story altogether. Instead he went for religious overtones, which was probably easier to do.
Shane’s Ending
{Spoiler ahead} The final scene of the movie is a classic scene in American film. Shane explains to Mariann’s son Joey: “There’s no living with a killing. There’s no goin’ back from one. Right or wrong, it’s a brand… a brand sticks. There’s no goin’ back. Now you run on home to your mother and tell her… tell her everything’s alright. And there aren’t any more guns in the valley.”
The wounded Shane rides off into the sunset. And Joey yells after him, pleading for him to return.
Interpreting the scene with our modern vocabulary, Joey yells the funniest line in the movie for those have picked up on the Shane-Mariann relationship: “Mother wants you. I know she does!” Although the child doe not know exactly what is going on, he has sensed some love.
Below is the trailer for Shane, although I do not understand why the trailer maker used the final scene of the movie in the trailer.
Jean Arthur & Alan Ladd
Another unusual aspect of the movie compared to modern movies is that the female lead, Jean Arthur, was more than a decade older than the male lead. Nowadays, too often producers choose older men to be romantic leads with very young women. But at the time Shane was released, Alan Ladd was 40 and Jean Arthur was 53.
Arthur had appeared in several great classic movies, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, but she was reclusive and did not like the limelight. She had retired prior to the making of Shane, and she made an exception to return to make Shane, which was her final film and the only one where she appeared in color.
When You Say Nothing at All
If Chimesfreedom were in charge of music for Shane, we would add “When You Say Nothing at All” to the final credits. The words capture the unspoken relationship between Shane and Mariann.
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me, There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me, The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall; You say it best when you say nothing at all.
The version above by Alison Krauss and Union Station appeared on Keith Whitley: A Tribute Album (1994) and on Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection (1995). A live version appeared on Alison Krauss & Union Station – Live.
“When You Say Nothing at All” was written by Keith Whitley, a singer-songwriter who died at the young age of 34 from alcohol poisoning. Although Whitley only released four albums during his career, he influenced future generations of singer-songwriters. He wrote some beautiful songs like “When You Say Nothing at All.”
And yes, contrary to the song, Shane did leave her.
What other movies feature subtle romantic relationships? What about Casablanca? Leave a comment.
Rumors are circulating that Bob Dylan will perform at tonight’s Grammy Awards with Eminem. If true, it is almost guaranteed to be an exciting collaboration. [Update 2/14/10: It turned out not to be true. Dylan ended up playing with Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers. See video toward end to see where Dlyan joins the bands for “Maggie’s Farm.” It’s a fun performance.]
It will be hard to top Eminem’s collaboration at the Grammy Awards on February 21, 2001. Was it really a decade ago?! At the 2001 show, Eminem performed with Elton John. In light of homophobic lyrics in some of Eminem’s songs, it was great to see the two perform together and hug at the end, reinforcing Eminem’s claim that the offending lyrics in his recent CD, The Marshall Mathers LP, should not be taken seriously.
The 2001 performance was certainly a classy act, especially on the part of Elton John, who showed us that the best force against hate, ignorance, and prejudice is usually a little love. It is the kind of force we saw in action this week, when peaceful protesters were able to topple a corrupt dictator in Egypt. Of course, the 2001 performance by Eminem and Elton John did not change the leadership of the country and did not end prejudice in general or homophobia specifically. And it did not necessarily undo damage Eminem had done with his songs. But it did show the power of music to heal a little bit. It was a lesson the U.S. would need again less than nine months after the 2001 Grammys.
Eminem and John have remained friends through the years, and the rapper even turned to John for help when he was dealing with a prescription drug addiction. Also, in the decade since the Grammy performance, views on issues such as gay rights, civil unions, and gay marriages have progressed in the U.S., especially among the younger generations. Did the 2001 performance have a little to do with that? I don’t know, but I like to think so.
It was Saturday afternoon when Tom Lincoln sent over and asked me to come. They sent for Nancy’s two aunts, Mis’ Betsy Sparrow and Mis’ Polly Friend. I was there before them, and we all had quite a spell to wait, and we got everything ready. Nancy had a good feather-bed under her; it wasn’t a goose-feather bed, hardly anyone had that kind then, but good hen feathers.
Nancy had about as hard a time as most women, I reckon, easier than some and maybe harder than a few. The baby was born just about sunup, on Sunday morning. Nancy’s two aunts took the baby and washed him and dressed him, and I looked after Nancy. And I remember after the baby was born, Tom came and stood beside the bed with that sort of hang-dog look that a man has, sort of guilty like, but mighty proud, and he says to me, ‘Are you sure she’s all right, Mis’ Walters?’ And Nancy kind of stuck out her hand and reached for his, and said, ‘Yes, Tom, I’m all right.’ And then she said, ‘You’re glad it’s a boy, Tom, aren’t you? So am I.'”
And Dennis swung the baby back and forth, keeping up a chatter about how tickled he was to have a new cousin to play with. The baby screwed up the muscles of its face and began crying with no let-up.
Dennis turned to Betsy Sparrow, handed her the baby and said to her, “Aunt, take him! He’ll never amount to much.”
So on that 12th of February, 1809, was the birth of a boy they named Abraham after his grandfather who had been killed by Indians — born in silence and pain from a wilderness mother on a bed of perhaps cornhusks and perhaps hen feathers — with perhaps a laughing child prophecy later that he would “never come to much.”
The above quote from Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln is one of my favorite quotes about Lincoln. Yesterday, we posted and discussed Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait. In that work, when you hear the great words, the building music, and Gregory Peck’s strong voice, it is easy to think of Lincoln as super human. We have this perception that he was something like Superman, flying around in perfection winning the war and freeing the slaves, when the truth is more complex.
A Lincoln Portrait, the Lincoln Memorial, and other monuments to the man are the reasons I like the story about the crying baby. The story reminds us that Lincoln was a human who dealt with many of the same problems we do, and then some. In his own home, he faced depression, marital problems, and the loss of a child while the nation was coming apart. He was imperfect, he had flaws, and he was sometimes wrong (such as early support for colonization of slaves).
Yet, for us today, it is good to be reminded that Lincoln was not perfect. The reminder that Abraham Lincoln was human like us serves two purposes. First, it makes us appreciate even more what Lincoln accomplished because he was not Superman. Second, because Lincoln was once a crying baby just like we all were, it reminds us that we may aspire to a little bit of greatness in our everyday lives too.
Bonus Birthplace Information: The above photo is a cabin enshrined at Lincoln’s birthplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky. I have visited the location several times over the years. Unfortunately, they do not believe the cabin is the actual one where Lincoln was born, but it is a similar one that was found in the area at the time.
To celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, listen to Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait. Copland was commissioned in 1942 to create a composition to comfort a nation at war still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Copland felt overwhelmed with the assignment. But then he came up with the idea to find comfort for the country in the words of the greatest U.S. President.
The composition uses excerpts from several of Lincoln’s speeches, along with original music that samples American folk songs from Lincoln’s time period, such as “Camptown Races” and “Springfield Mountain.”
For a 1943 program book of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Copland explained that the work is roughly in three sections. First, he noted, “In the opening section I wanted to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s personality. Also, near the end of that section, something of his gentleness and simplicity of spirit.”
Copland continued, “The quick middle section briefly sketches in the background of the times he lived in. This merges into the concluding section where my sole purpose was to draw a simple but impressive frame about the words of Lincoln himself.”
In the following recording, Gregory Peck provides the voice of Lincoln.
The composition was not among Copland’s favorites according to a 1953 New York Times article. If I had to choose, I would choose his Appalalachain Spring, which is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time. But I still love A Lincoln Portrait. It is a fitting tribute to the sixteenth president of the United States. Did you know that 2011 was the Civil War Sesquentennial, i.e., the 150th year since the start of the Civil War? On March 4, 2011, it was 150 years since Lincoln was sworn into office. What do you think? Leave a comment.
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