Meet Up with Old Friends

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Weather in the Tries: Looks like we’re going to be in for more freezing fog for the next week or so. That makes it really feel cold outside as the humidity climbs to 100%. I live in the desert. You know, where we average 5”-8” of rain a year. At least our highs will be in the balmy (by comparison) upper 30s.

Meet Up with Old Friends:

When I first moved to the Tries 17 years ago, I met some really great gals and was invited into their book group. The group did not read the same book each time, instead we reported on whatever books we’d read since the last meeting, and if the book was ours, and we didn’t mind lending it, we’d bring it in case anyone else wanted to read it.

One thing led to another, as happens, and I moved to a different group that met considerably closer to where I lived, and then I moved to Albuquerque. I maintained friendship with some of the gals, and when I moved back to the Tries, I discovered the gals were still meeting. And then Covid hit, and that was the end of a lot of things as we knew them. I joined a Zoom book group, where we do read the same book, but it was, and is a great group with fun people, and I seriously enjoy it.

Then the original book group decided to Zoom, and I was invited to return to the fold. Yesterday was our meeting. It was great fun to see the original gals—one now in Bend, another now in Woodinville, and a third one now on Camano Island. It was really great to meet up with old friends, only one person couldn’t make it. I missed her. 

There are Blessings to Covid. Not many, but Zoom is one of them. If we still met face to face, we’d be minus at least 3. My other book group refuses to use Zoom, so they are missing out on a lot of support and friendship. 

When I zoom, I normally use a head set, and I find it much easier to hear than in a group setting. Especially if we meet in a coffee shop or restaurant (like we used to do). In those places I can’t hear as there is too much noise, even with my electronic ears turned to the proper setting.

Speaking of friends, Auntie Lenora is rich with good friends. I was the featured reader at a poetry group on the 12thJanuary, and it was recorded. A goodest friend cut the recording until it was basically me reading, and it is now up on the Spoken Word. It’s a video, at the top 😉 I was using a background, and someone asked me to put my hat on (over the headset) so it’s perched up there, and as I move parts of it disappear and reappear. Damn! But I love Zoom 😉 A cousin from California was there, an old friend from Seattle was there. Had it been in person, it would have been a small group.

Photo of the Week:

Took this shot a few minutes before sunrise on Saturday, 22 Jan 22

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at Rainy Day Reads

My review of The Forest of Stolen Girls —by June Hur, is posted. Great read. If you like Laura Joh Rawlins’ books, you’ll like this one.

Still slogging my way through Murder at the Mission. My goal is to finish it this week.

Earworm of the Week: Baby tiger grrrooowlls. Dumb me, I figured they’d sound more like a kitten than a grown-up tiger. Fortunately, one of the people in my writer’s group was a reporter and has actually held a baby tiger (you may now color Auntie Lenora JEALOUS!). Thanks to him, I spent a considerable amount of time on YouTube listening to tigers. That was research, folks. Yeah. Research. Writing is solitary but having a group of writers to go over your work is invaluable. Especially when they have varied backgrounds. 

Quotes on Friendship from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/friendship-quotes

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives. —Euripides

The world is round so that friendship may encircle it. —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

I’m still working at getting over my jealous. He got to hold a baby tiger! When Auntie Lenora becomes Empress of the Universe, she’ll get to hold as many baby tigers as she wants! And with her friends, she will share. Honest. Trust me. Oh, sorry, Auntie Lenora was just informed by the Brave Dog there will be NO baby tigers anywhere near. Sigh.

If you pass it, you approve it

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Weather in the Tries: We’ve had a week end of fog and freezing fog, but the week looks to be mostly partly sunny to mostly cloudy with highs all the way up to a heat-inducing sunstroke of 44, with the lows going down to 31. Okay at 44 and mostly/partly cloudy, we won’t get sunstroke. I just feel somewhat snarky.

If you pass it, you approve it:

I wrote this a couple years back, and didn’t get it posted. Something in the news came up that I thought was more interesting. So, I discovered this the other day, made a couple of updates, and here you be:

I’m not sure where I picked up the title, I’ve been using it for several years, and somehow, I don’t think I’m quick enough to have come up with it on my own. But it’s true.

If you pass litter on the street, and don’t stop, pick it up, dispose of it—you approve of it.

If you pass a person in need, don’t stop and help, or at least find out if you can—you approve their need.

If you hear a wrong, and don’t speak out and try to make it a right—you approve that wrong.

Now, in this day and age, I admit, I don’t pick up as much litter as I used to. It’s a long way down, and I don’t always have a bag in which to place it or see a garbage can nearby. Also, I’m a bit leery of picking up masks, etc., without proper gloves &c. But if I see a person in need, I do try to at least find out what’s wrong, and help if I can. Sometimes all that’s really wanted is the acknowledgement someone, anyone, even a stranger, cares. Since I’ve aged, it’s often difficult to impossible for me to pick up trash. Why, just the other day, for the second time since I’ve lived here, I looked out and saw what appeared to be a sick or injured pelican. Perhaps dead floating on the river. On getting the binoculars and looking, I could see it was a white garbage bag with orange ties. No way could I get it, unless I had a boat. Or a warm wet suit. I have neither. 

And in this age of the internet, when I hear a wrong, I send letters to my senators. I also send one to my representative, but he approves of far more than I do, and has the rationales to make him comfortable with his decisions.

And in this age of the internet, and social media, I think there must be a middle ground. If you hear a wrong, voice YOUR OPINION as an opinion, as to why you think it’s wrong. And listen to the other side, who is equally enamored with their opinion, and think theirs is right. There must be a way to reach common ground, besides war.

In this country, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and they are entitled to voice it. What they are not entitled to is to call their opinion fact, when it can be verifiably wrong. It’s hard for people to change their minds on a topic and telling them they’re wrong just forces them to dig in their heels that much harder. It’s difficult to admit you could be wrong. More difficult to admit you are wrong. And even more difficult to change. But as long as you’re breathing, that hope exists. 

Some people don’t like facts. Especially when they differ from their long held personal ideology. Some people can’t accept facts, it causes them cognitive dissonance, which brings any number of ails both physical and mental. And calling them stupid or ignorant will not win them to your side. I have friends who believe one way, and I believe another. In the effort to maintain our years long friendship, we have agreed to disagree, and neither of us tries to convert the other to our way of thinking. Each of us is sure we have the facts, the other doesn’t.

But facts and opinions are different. I have a blog (fact). You’re reading it (fact). I can say just about anything I want (fact). I can’t say anything libelous or claim credit for something someone else wrote (fact). I’m as gorgeous as Sophia Lauren (opinion, laughably so). 

Photos of the week:

Taken on Friday at 0800, 31F Looking at Allen Point of Bateman Island and a park across the Columbia in Pasco WA
Same basic shot an hour later, one degree warmer
0945, 32 Degrees, the island, the trees, the far shore have left. Neither the Brave Dog nor his human wanted to be outside any longer than absitively posolutely cessenary!

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at Rainy Day Reads

Read a couple more novels and am back into Murder at the Mission by Blair Harden. I’m about halfway through the book. If I finish it, I will give it at least 3 stars (That’s a given in my rating system). I can’t really, at this point, give it a high recommendation.

TV: 

Who has time to watch tv. Sometimes I turn on the news while at the computer and if anything really exciting comes up, I stop typing and listen/watch.

Movie:

Still haven’t made it to Matrix: Resurrection. Maybe this next week? But, oh Joy of Joys, in the mail the last week came the movie, Departures. One of my all time faves. AND the K-series, Navillera, one of my all time favorite series, AND, OMG YES, there IS MORE: on Friday I got 9 discs, 25 movies, from Studio Ghibli. I may buy a big box of nibblies and spend a week binging! I won’t, but I can if I wanna! 😉 I fear I either didn’t see the fine print, or didn’t read it, but it looks like they may all be in English. I prefer them in Japanese with subtitles. Oh, well, I’ll find out soon enough.

Came across a recap of The Matrix Trilogy. Not quite an hour and I’m watching it as I write this. I think I agree, if you don’t have time to watch the trilogy again, it’s a pretty good recap.

Earworm for the week:

White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.

Quotes on Littering from https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/littering-quotes-slogans.php

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”—no attribution given

“Leave nothing but footprints. Litter nothing but time.”—no attribution given

And there it is. Another week, another paycheck. Well, for some of you. Those of us permanently unemployed don’t get weekly paychecks anymore. I get mine monthly. Sammy Brave Dog doesn’t get a paycheck at all. What would a dog do with a paycheck? But he does get lots of loves and fed twice a day. He seems happy. 

And the good news is…

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Weather in the Tries: Friday was our first day in what seemed like forever, to be above freezing. It was freezing when I went to bed Thursday night and 40 when I got up on Friday. Now we have rain on the schedule, and a few more freezing days coming. I really don’t mind the cold, though Sammy does. Poor guy. But we both aren’t fond of the rain. I know we need it, but it always seems colder when it’s damp/wet out. And not too much rain, this is the desert, after all.

And the Good News Is…

…I’m not pregnant! Yaaaaayyyy!!!!  Fear leapt and grabbed me about the throat when I saw a blue line AND a pink line on the test strip. The second immaculate conception? Fraternal twins? Then I remembered (thankfully, I still have some memory left and it kicks in every so often) I sneezed on the strip, I didn’t pee on it. Phew!

So, the rest of the news is, I am just about coming off my isolation for covid. Being fully vaxxed and boosted, I’ve not had severe symptoms. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have known, but one of my breakfast buddies called me Tuesday afternoon to tell me he’d tested after he got home (he got a test kit at breakfast) and, he was positive. I checked with a doctor who told me to wait a couple of days before I tested (I isolated those days) and lo and behold, the blue line ONLY meant I was good to go, but I had a pink line, too. The lines do not mean twins (thank whatever gods you choose). Only covid. Well shucks, I survived Basic Training, so I can survive anything—war, pestilence, childbirth, &c, but damn! I’m too old to raise more kids. So today is my last day of isolation, and then as long as I feel okay, I can go about my business, with my good, filtered mask firmly upon my face. Remember we wear masks not so much to protect us, but to protect you!

Other than being a tad more tired than usual, I really feel pretty good. No fever, no aches or pains (I also had my old fartess flu shot a while ago). I am sooooo grateful for all the years the scientists worked on the base of what became our ‘short order’ vaccine, and the National Guard of Washington for sending their medics to jab thousands of people, two different times. And the pharmacist for the 3d jab. 

One of the things I remembered while sitting in my car waiting after the first two, was how good Medics are with needles. I can almost always tell if a pharmacist spent time in the military by the way s/he gives shots. They are the best!

Sad news on Friday: Sidney Poitier died at age 94. He was one of my favorite actors. I never saw him in a movie that wasn’t wonderful. The obituary I read compared him to Harry Belafonte, and the author made a statement that Belafonte had more sexual magnetism than Poitier. Oh, no. No, he did not. Belafonte’s was a bit more ‘bad boy’ due to his singing, but Poitier was the boy next door, the quiet man, the thoughtful and intelligent man. the man who made me laugh with his quiet humor. Rest in Peace, Mr. Poitier, you are sorely missed.

Photos of the Week:

I am not pregnant!
It snowed all over Big Red!
When I took this photo, it was darker than it appears, and I thought those were geese on the ice. Nope, they’re gulls. The ice is melting, but there’s enough there they spend the night on it. The geese ‘raft’ out in the water. The ice is pretty safe, if a cat or coyote tried to get them, they’d get an unwanted bath!

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at Rainy Day Reads

Finished a marvelous new book of poetry, The Tiger Poet: New & Selected Poems —by Amit Dahiyabadshah. I urge you to buy and read the book, but I know not all of you like poetry, so please go to this link and watch/listen to Amit perform his poem, The Tiger’s Last Will and Testament. It is powerful. He performed it for a tv station in his country (India) to use as a fund raiser to save the tigers. Reading Amit’s book will give you joy, sorrow, and a wonderful trip through parts of India. You may order this book from the big box store, or from the publisher, Jules’ Poetry Playhouse.

I am also reading Murder at the Mission by Blair Harden. It is another book about the killings at the Whitman Mission. It’s an interesting book, and Harden brings a much different perspective to the myth that grew out of it—that most of what we think we know was lies told and perpetrated by the Reverend Henry Harmon Spalding. 

Reviewing: I sent my review of Amit’s book to my publisher, in India, and the next thing I know is he wants me to review some of the books in his stable, and sent me one to that end. That makes an old lady feel pretty darn good, ya know? I read the book, short with 43 pages, sent him the review, and he asked if he could send more. And he’s paying me for them!

TV:

Was all set to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show the other day. I looked forward to it. Have never seen it. Today my Favorite Daughter asked me how I liked it. Dohhh, I totally forgot about it. So, it’s there someplace. Now, why didn’t my memory kick in for that?

Movie:

My neighbor and I were going to see Matrix: Resurrection on Thursday, but you know who mucked those plans up by testing for covid ;-). If it’s still here next week, we’ll try to get into a matinee. There are few if any people in the matinees.

There has been an ad on Facebook for a few days, and today I checked it out. I so love plastic. Y’know, you never pay for anything, just give numbers and… Yes, I have ordered the complete set of Studio Ghibli’s childhood movies. I’ve seen some of them and have totally loved each one of them. Some I’ve seen more than once. Yes, Auntie Lenora has (obviously) entered her second childhood. Or maybe third? Fourth?

Quotes via ELLE https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a31891185/coronavirus-quotes/:

“sometimes I wonder if all this is happening because I didn’t forward that email to 10 people.” —from champagnetastehome

“I’m not buying a 2022 planner until I see the trailer!” —from ivf.ninja.mama (LG: I updated the year)

And there you are: my exciting news. I’m NOT pregnant!!! And by the time you read this I’ll be almost through with my complimentary dose of Covid! The snow is almost gone, and Sammy sends pupkisses to everyone who had a hope and a prayer for that.

Happy Twenty Twenty-Two!

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Weather in the Tries: Trust me. You don’t want to visit right now. Wait until May. Unless, of course, you like single digit temperatures. 

Didja notice I didn’t up put a post last week? I figured you wanted a break as much as I did.

I had a marvelous Solstice. Received all sorts of goodies—wine, cookies (they were yummy), some jam, a bookmark, and five books. A friend has a homemade fruitcake for me but said it’s too bitterly cold out for me to fetch. She has it resting in her freezer waiting for me. Wanna know how cold the last week was? It didn’t get above freezing, and the wind chill took the temps down another ten to fifteen degrees.

Did you know that two thousand years ago, in the Mediterranean countries, the Solstice was on what became known as 25 December? Lo and behold! Thank you, History Channel.

There are many different traditions to ring in the New Year. I hope you took advantage of at least one. I had black eyed peas! Had planned on making my version of Hoppin’ John, but due to the ice outside, I didn’t go to the store for more black eyed peas which are not peas at all but are beans. I had some chili mix with black eyed peas in it, and made a mess of beans for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and a few more days, too. Fortunately, beans freeze well ;-).  Eating black eyed peas on the New Year is supposed to bring wealth and prosperity.

Speaking of wealth and prosperity, my short story, Fly Away Woman has been published by Quill & Parchment. I think I get just as excited when something of mine is deemed good enough by an editor to be published as I did the first time I sold a poem or a story. Rejection letters don’t hurt as much, though. I realize it’s my work being passed on, not me 😉 At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

Mark your calendar! I am featured reader 12 Jan at Yakima Coffeehouse Poetry. This will be a zoom affair, and if you’d like to attend, please email or PM me a few days prior so I can get your name and email to the keeper of the Zoom Room. I’ll be reading about 15 minutes. It starts at 7 pm PST.

From the Mail Bag:

Okay, it’s not from a bag, it’s from my email. I received an email from ACME Termite Inspection Co. (I used to own a house) And as my eyes are old, and I was in a hurry, and you know how emails get truncated… I read “ACME Termites Welcome in 2022” Nope, that’s not what they said. On the second, and third, look I saw it correctly. (Wonder if the Road Runner is moonlighting???)

Photos of the Week: 

Took these a couple days ago. This one is the day before the ones following it. As you can tell, it was snowing. Note the horizontal white line off to the right of the island. Those are not round rocks–thats a squadron of white pelicans. The darks dots in the water are geese, ducks, coots, and or cormorants. If the egret was there, I couldn’t see her against the snow. Oh, a Great Blue Heron may be there, also.

Took this one about 5:30 the next morning. Don’t know if that’s dew that is freezing in the air, some sort of snow, or what. It was very fine, more drifting than falling and glittered like diamond dust.

Same basic view as first one, the fog is rising from the Columbia River. Pasco, the town on the far shore has “returned.” It was taken a few minutes after sun-up.

This is later in the day, and I’m petty sure that’s hoar frost on the trees and shrubs on the island. The Columbia is on the other side, the slack water on this side is frozen. This was taken about 4pm when the sun shined and the thermometer read 16F.

Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review it at Rainy Day Reads

I read and reviewed 75 books last year, the last being State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. Political Thrillers aren’t my genre of choice, but this was a hard-to-put-down read! I also re-read a book I’d read earlier, The Queen’s Weapons (Book 11 of the Dark Jewels) by Anne Bishop. I think I enjoyed it more the second time through because as I read, parts of it weren’t as “tense” as I’d remembered. The trouble with Anne Bishop’s books is I can’t read them slowly. Too much good stuff going on and I gotta read them and get to the end and be sure everyone I’m emotionally involved with is alright. 😉 If you’re curious, I have 584 books currently listed on my review blog. So, if you’re wondering what to read next, have a look. Complete with typos.

Speaking of books, do you have a published book you’d like to sell? I’ll gladly show it once here, then list it in the Bookstore (see tab above). Contact me for the information I will need.

TV:

Lord love a duck! I actually watched Christmas movies on Hallmark Mysteries and Movies. And read. Trust me, reading was better.

I went online to see if I could buy the K-Series, Navillera, and I could, so I did. I now own two of my favorite K-Dramas. Poetry (a movie) and Navillera (series). I need to get Departures, a delightful movie from Japan. I ordered it once and it came but was only compatible with Euro players. Now, I know someone who can tell me how to fix my player to play the others. But then, I didn’t, so I returned it. I just bought a used copy I found online. Including tax, still less that $15.00. I coulda bought a new one for $55 plus tax.

New Year’s Quotes compliments of brainyquote:

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” —Oprah Winfrey

“What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others.” —Diogenes

“I never worry about being driven to drink; I just worry about being driven home.” —W.C. Fields

The Brave Dog (and believe me, having to go out into the ice and snow to pay homage to the Grass Gods takes bravery when you’re a small dog with no body fat!) and I wish you all a marvelous New Year. Remember, as Walt Lee said via his Brother Sherman cartoon, “Thou shalt find joy in each new day, even if thou must search until sunset!”

Merry Holidays!!!

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My Winter Letter to one and all:

Merry Holidays!!!

Whatever or Whoever you worship this Solstice Season, do so with gaiety, reverence, joy—whatever is appropriate to you and the deity/deities you worship. I hope it’s a time of Great Joy, even in this time of Covid.  

I am still writing, mostly poetry. Had the marvelous opportunity to see & hear a new (to me) poet, thanks to the wonders of Zoom—Arthur Sze. I became enthralled with his work and ordered the book they were selling before the reading was over, The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems (from the last 5 decades of his writing) and have seen a marked change in my poems. I hope for the better ;-). And for those of you who know me, here is the shocker of all, I bought a Hardback, with 521 pages of poetry! (Last year’s purchase of Lucille Clifton’s Collection out did it, though. She had 720 pages in that book!)

I have been asked to be the featured reader for the Yakima Coffeehouse Poets in January (I think it’s the 12th). If any of you are interested in attending via Zoom, please let me know. I will be reading from my books and newer poems. I’m hoping I can attend in person, if so, we will also be zooming to the audience who can’t make it. Then, again, it may all be zoom. Hello, Covid, and welcome to my neighborhood.

Speaking of my poetry, I am pleased to tell you that my latest book, The Bride’s Gate and Other Assorted Writings has two offerings that have been nominated for a Pushcart this year—the poem, “Mary Oliver Wants to Die When It’s Raining,” and the short fiction, “Dream Time.” Since the book is a collection, it also has “Russell Fehmer’s War,” a short story I wrote in homage to the old tv show, Soldiers of Fortune staring John Russell and (Fehmer) “Chick” Chandler. That story was nominated a few years ago. I loved that show. I was a freshman in high school when my mother remarried, and we moved to Seattle where I became a 9th grader in Junior high. Now, many thought that being a ninth grader I was top tier, but I thought of it as a demotion. I’d been a freshman in a REAL high school Ah, the vicissitudes of teenage life & angst.

Anyhow, I hurried home after school to watch, and escape into, Soldiers of Fortune. I now own the series, and I must admit, it doesn’t hold up nearly as well as, say, Columbo. Still, I had a teenaged crush on the two actors. 😉

The photo on my card is one I took at sunset. I just thought it was a nice photo. With no religious significance. I don’t even remember when. The poem, Darkness Framed, on the other side of the page, was published in Quill & Parchment in October 2021. Alas, I don’t have a photo to illustrate the poem.

Wishing you all the best for this marvelous Holiday Season, and remember, if YOU don’t want that fruitcake, you can always send it my way. Not, mind you, that I need any more calories, but I’ve never, ever, met a fruitcake I didn’t like. 

With Love, Hugs, and a gazillion Pupkisses…

Photo on Card:

Poem on back of Winter Letter:

Darkness Framed

—by Lenora Rain-Lee Good

Darkness hides the fallow meadow,
the trees naked of leaves,
until the motion detector
catches a deer in its lens;
what was hidden
is now seen in ghostly colors
bleached by bright patio lights.

The timer clicks inside and the walls
no longer soft purple of twilight
now reflect the blinding white of
sun-stroked winter’s snow.

No coverings at the glass,
the white walls frame the stark
landscape of night in muted colors.
The deer, alien to my world, and I
stare one to the other and wonder
if we’d really like to trade places.

Books Read This Year: 

74 and reviews begin on http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

My ten most Favoritest: 

Humans of Climate Change —by Kaden Hogan NF
Thinking About Thinking —by Margaret Randall NF
Reparations Now! —by Ashley M. Jones P
The Glass Constellation, New and Collected Poems —Arthur Sze P
Relax and Enjoy Your Food —by Craig Good NF
Magnified —by Minnie Bruce Pratt P
frank: sonnets —by diane seuss P
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents —by Isabel Wilkerson NF
Occoquan —by Gary Worth Moody P
Taro —by Blue Spruell F

NF = Nonfiction         P = Poetry       F = Fiction

My 10 most Favoritest (mostly Netflix) Movies & Series:

Hospital Playlist —Korean series
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay —Korean series
Chocolate —Korean series
Itaewon Class —Korean Series
Navillera —Korean Series
Home to Heaven —Korean Series
Sense8 —US Series (Same people who brought us Matrix)
Lucifer —US Series
My Octopus Teacher —Netflix Documentary
Paper and Glue —MSNBC Documentary

Winter Holiday Quotes

(from https://chatbooks.com/blog/holiday-quotes)

“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” —Mary Anne Radmacher

“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.” —John Boswell

“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.” —Dale Evans

Sammy sends pupkisses and I send hugs and smiles and affections to you all.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog

Sanjuro

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

DVD, Criterion Collection
Toho Film, 1962
96 min

Our hero, Sanjuro, the ronin returns in this second movie of the duology. Kurosawa and Mifune team up yet again for a delightful romp through Japan of the late 1800s. In both Yojimbo and Sanjuro, Mifune’s character is Sanjuro, which means 30 years old. He quips that he’s going on 40, and we’re never to hear his first name as when asked, he looks around and gives the name of whatever vegetation he sees and likes. In this movie he’s Sanjuro Tsubaki (camellia), in the prior movie he’s Sanjuro Kuwabatake (mulberry field). 

Sanjuro makes his entrance by overhearing, and entering, a meeting of clan samurai who are fairly young, hot headed, and determined to clean the upper ranks of perfidy, real or imagined. Sanjuro explains the error of their thoughts, saves them from a planned assassination, and helps them achieve their goals. Again, lots of good swordfights, with the final fight showing the horror of swordfights for all to understand. And again, Kurosawa’s choreography of the fights is pure art and gorgeous. 

If you miss the irony in the movie, watch it until you understand.

Sanjuro trailer 

Yojimbo

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DVD, Criterion Collection
Toho Co. Film, 1961
110m

Rating: 5 out of 5.

One of the many Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune movies, and the first of the duology of Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Kurosawa and Mifune made something like 16 movies together before parting ways, and every one of them are fantastic. 

Mifune play the title character of this movie, and is quite believable as a ronin samurai, who, like all samurai of the final years of the Edo period is down on his luck. (Samurai were disbanded in 1876) He wanders into a village where two men are fighting each other and hiring gangs to fight for them. 

Mifune, being a crafty ronin, sets it up so the two gangs will fight each other and kill each other. Alas, a government official comes, and the two warring gangs must appear to be getting along. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and ronin.

Lots of swordfights, although Mifune prefers to talk when possible. He saves a kidnapped woman, her husband, and their son. The husband lost everything, including his wife to gambling, and Mifune gets them reunited and they almost don’t make it out as they keep bowing to Mifune instead of running away. This, of course, causes some consternation with Ushitora as he wanted to keep her. 

If you liked A Fistful of Dollars, you’ll love the original, Yojimbo 😉

Trailer of Yojimbo