Hello, Dudley Moore

Cemeteries are strange places for all the reasons that you would expect, but also because of the people you discover buried there when you visited for another reason.

I have over the course of my life occasionally sought out the grave of a famous writer. The first was Stephen Crane in Hillside, New Jersey, a bike ride away from my childhood home.

I don't know what I expected to find other than the stone. I suspect that early on I may have thought some inspiration might be there. I was a big fan of Crane's poems and stories in my teen years.

So, imagine my surprise to turn around in the Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and find Dudley Moore.

Oxford-trained classical pianist, comedian from the early 60's in "Beyond the Fringe," and best remembered for his starring roles in 10 and as the drunken, rich man "Arthur" in the I & II films of the same name.

My own favorites of his 40 or so films includes the 1960's Bedazzled. (Don't mention the remake in the same breath or a terrible fate will befall you.) It's a black comedy where Stanley (Moore) decides to end it all when he is stopped by George (Moore's old partner in comedy, Peter Cook) who is actually the Devil. ("You realize that suicide's a criminal offense. In less enlightened times they'd have hung you for it. ") Stanley sells his soul for seven wishes and gets to meet the 7 Deadly Sins.
I also love Dudley in his supporting role (as another Stanley) in one of my guilty pleasures, the comedy Foul Play.

He was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) title by the Queen of England in 2001.

So what is he doing buried in NJ?

He actually attended that CBE ceremony in a wheelchair. Moore moved to Plainfield, New Jersey at the end of his life to be closer to he Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange for his physical therapy. Dudley Moore had Progressive Supranuclear Palsy which affects speech and muscular functions from mobility to the ability to swallow.

Ironically, when his symptoms first appeared, the slurred speech and other symptoms made people suspect that he too had a drinking problem like the characters he had played in Arthur and 10.

Dudley Moore was born April 19, 1935 and died March 27, 2002 from pneumonia (a side effect of PSP) at the age of 66.

Put a pebble on his gravestone.
Watch one of his films. Listen to his music.
Laugh. I think that would make him feel happy.

Great Falls in Paterson Now A National Historic Park

Great Falls of the Passaic River
by Ronkowitz

On January 15, 2009, the Senate approved legislation authored by Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) to designate the Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey a National Historic Park.

“The Great Falls in Paterson is a landmark that deserves recognition as a national historic park. Giving the Great Falls this designation would go a long way toward recognizing the beauty and history of the site and helping preserve it for future generations,” Sen. Lautenberg said.

Sen. Menendez said, “The Great Falls Park is a Garden State jewel -- it has one of the most impressive and picturesque falls in the country and also represents Alexander Hamilton’s unique vision of America come true. No other site in the nation more richly represents the remarkable transformation of our rural agrarian society based in slavery into a modern global economy based in freedom. We want to make sure these natural and historic resources are preserved for generations to come.”

“As a lifelong Paterson resident, I am proud that the Senate approved a national park at the Great Falls among its first acts in this new legislative session. The creation of a national park in Paterson would signal an important return of resources to the urban areas that have been shortchanged for the past eight years. I applaud my Senate colleagues and am eager to move this legislation through the House of Representatives as early as possible,” stated Pascrell.

The Senate approved the bill overwhelmingly, by a vote of 73 to 21. The companion bill, sponsored by Rep. Pascrell, is awaiting action in the House of Representatives.

The measure would designate the Great Falls in Paterson as a National Historic Park, which would enable the park to receive federal funding. The Great Falls is the second-highest waterfall in the eastern United States.

Located only fifteen miles west of New York City, the Great Falls was the second largest waterfall in colonial America. At the Great Falls, Alexander Hamilton conceived and implemented a plan to harness the force of water to power the new industries that would secure our economic independence. Hamilton told Congress and the American people that at the Great Falls he would begin implementation of his ambitious strategy to transform a rural agrarian society dependent upon slavery into a modern economy based on freedom. True to Hamilton's vision, Paterson became a great manufacturing city, producing the Colt revolver, the first submarine, the aircraft engine for the first trans-Atlantic flight, more locomotives than any city in the nation, and more silk than any city in the world.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paterson_Falls
• http://patersongreatfalls.org
  

"Tree of Life"

Darwin's "Tree of Life"
Originally uploaded by speakingoffaith

Darwin's own drawing for the idea of a "tree of life" to show the branching of species and natural selection.

Updike on Rabbit

His given name is Harold Angstrom, but everyone knew him as "Rabbit" including the millions of readers who have read any of all of John Updike's books Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest. (plus a novella, "Rabbit Remembered")

The books follow Rabbit through his lifetime, but much of its appeal probably came from the time periods that make up the settings of each novel and the portrait of middle-class American men and families in that time.

Rabbit was nothing heroic His glory days were always back on a high school basketball court. He's an everyman, the little guy.

His wife, Janice, his son, Nelson, and several women (particularly Ruth and Jill) accompany Rabbit on his journey - but Rabbit does run.

In this clip from 1997 , Updike talks about Rabbit with Charlie Rose.

The Times of Harvey Milk

Did you see the current Oscar-contender Milk with Sean Penn? Well, you might want to check out this 1984 documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk.

This Oscar-winning documentary film is about the successful career and assassination of San Francisco’s first openly gay man to be elected to office.

The Times of Harvey Milk charts the political rise and assassination of the first openly gay city official in the United State, Harvey Milk.

In the election that brings Milk to the board of city supervisors, the people of San Francisco also elect his killer, a former police officer and fireman named Dan White.

After White shoots both Mayor George Moscone and Milk, his defense lawyers convince the jury that White was addled by depression and junk-food, resulting in a conviction for manslaughter rather than murder.

This Oscar-winning documentary depicts not only Milk himself, but also the political and social milieu in which he lived.