(copies) the Stephen Crane poem

In Heaven
 -by Stephen Crane

In Heaven,
Some little blades of grass
Stood before God.
“What did you do?”
Then all save one of the little blades
Began eagerly to relate
The merits of their lives.
This one stayed a small way behind
Ashamed.
Presently God said:
“And what did you do?”
The little blade answered: “Oh, my lord,
“Memory is bitter to me
“For if I did good deeds
“I know not of them.”
Then God in all His splendor
Arose from His throne.
“Oh, best little blade of grass,” He said.

something about the film "American Beauty"

American Beauty is a confused but rich film.

The film's narrator and main character is Lester Burnham. Lester begins the film feeling like there is no place for him: he is unnecessary at work and irrelevant and home. But Lester, a reliable narrator, breaks free. He quits his job, blackmails his boss, and secures a cushy severance package. Then he takes a minimum-wage job with little responsibility and buys his dream car. He devotes his recreational time to smoking pot and working out. Lester asks, What do I have to lose?

Lester's compliment in the film is a neighborhood high schooler, Ricky Fitts. Ricky is a successful dealer of expensive high-end pot (Lester becomes a customer). Through interactions with peers and the adults who supposedly run the world, we learn that Ricky transcends common insecurities. Ricky taps into a life force and finds spirituality in his appreciation of "real" beauty.

Lester's foil is his wife, Carolyn--an ambitious but frustrated real estate agent. She values possessions. She crafts and frets over her image. She covets professional success. She is not happy about Lester's reckless disregard for the "normal" path. She has grown too much concerned with projecting the image of well being, and she forgot how to be well. 

Ricky's foil is his father, Col. Frank Fitts, USMC (retired). Colonel Fitts is a hardline and hard-nosed disciplinarian. He is also a bigot and closeted homosexual. He cannot accept being gay because that is not what he thinks a man is supposed to be. His wife is trapped in a world of interiority. She is scared of falling short of her husband's expectations, thereby making him angry. In one scene, she reflexively apologizes to a house guest for the home's appearance even though the place is immaculate.

Subtext Analysis

The Colonel represents structure, rules, and discipline. Disdain for rules and for being normal are themes in American Beauty. However, this disregard is the driving force behind the commercial market. Are Lester and Ricky heroes? Each of their ego indulgences causes destruction. What are they rebelling against? Being normal.

The film ends up promoting traditional values. Lester first rebels from the trappings of suburban American normalcy and lives to indulge his own ego. But then he chooses traditional values, seeking the warm, blissful familiarity of his family in his final moments.

something about "Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley" by Richard Kaczynski

The first 20 seconds of "Crazy Train" play at major sporting events in stadiums nationwide. That song is a single from Ozzy Osbourne's post-Black Sabbath debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, released in 1980. That seminal album also featured a curious metal masterpiece titled "Mr Crowley". The song was inspired by a book Ozzy read about Aleister Crowley, a controversial figure who can be described as a turn-of-the-century occultist and ceremonial magician from England.

 

Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley by Richard Kaczynski is the complete Crowley biography. (It is not the book that Ozzy read.) Kaczynski is a Crowley fan, and treats this dynamic man seriously. It is to the author's credit that he has written about Crowley without sounding sensational. However, as a reader, I expected to be a little provoked, given Crowley's controversial reputation. Kaczynski's prose fails to tempt the reader into suspending disbelief. The accounts of Crowley's ceremonies and astral projections are unimpressive. This is a shame, as Kaczynski seems like a true believer.

I was surprised to learn that Crowley was an advanced rock and mountain climber, and I enjoyed reading about his early life right through his college graduation. But after that, Crowley quickly morphed into a ne'er-do-well who generated suspicion and conflict through his exclusive club memberships and private rituals, all of which seem engineered to purposefully generate interest. The mystery around Crowley was just smoke and mirrors. Sometimes literally. My lasting impression of Crowley is that he was a petty huckster who took himself too seriously.

Note:
This book is only appropriate if you are into the mythology and magick. This is not a work to be approached with idle curiosity and skepticism.