Death Valley Days: The Firebrand

It is 1846 in Los Angeles and Captain Gillespie of the US Marines has declared martial law.  The city had surrendered without a fight in August and Gillespie was left as military commander.  Former Governor Pio Pico and his brother Andres Pico meet with Gillespie to protest his measures.  However, Gillespie promises to intensify them.  When Gillespie later arrives at a local saloon to arrest a blustering drunkard, Andres has had too much.  He incites the populace to rise up against the Americans.  Despite warnings from his elder brother, Andres sets out with a force of 80 men to confront the army of General Stephen Watts Kearny.  Though he beats them, he sees the wisdom of his brother's counsel and proposes surrender.  However, when told he would be treated as an outlaw and sent to prison for his attack on the American army, he threatens to fight on.  Meanwhile in San Diego, General Kearny meets with Commodore Stockton, declaring his desire for vengeance and exaggerating the force that defeated him at San Pasqual.  Will Andres and Kearny fight again for a final bloody massacre?

Andres Pico is the titular Firebrand, a man eager to fight an unwinnable war.  The episode leaves out much of the history but gets the gist correct.  Lt. Archibald Gillespie had been left in charge of Los Angeles by John C. Fremont and then promptly triggered a revolt.  The ride of Juan Flacco detailed part of this story.  Andres and his band of Californio Lancers trounced two companies of US Dragoons at San Pasqual in early December 1846 (this battle happens entirely off screen, missing a great chance for some action in this snoozefest of an episode).  Of note, Gillespie had joined Kearny by this time and was present at the battle.  Kit Carson managed to reach San Diego and summon reinforcements from Commodore Stockton to assist/rescue the threatened dragoon column.  Though the show implies this was the only battle, Kearny did get his opportunity to fight.  The battles of Rio San Gabriel (Jan 8, 1847) and La Mesa (Jan 9, 1847) preceded the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga (Jan 13, 1847). 

The casting is uninspired.  These actors are playing random roles with little regard to the real people.  The Pico brothers come off best, which is appropriate as this is their story.  The uniforms aren't correct.  The actor playing Fighting Bob Stockton is bald, the one playing General Kearny has a mustache, and a random Mexican drunkard has a revolver (uncommon in the era).  Overall, I was embarrassed for Ronald Reagan that he did the intro and outro for this turkey.

Skip.

A Diary of the Mexican War

In the summer of 1846, Harvey Neville joined the 2nd Regiment of Illinois Volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War.  He was a First Lieutenant.  His regiment sailed from New Orleans to the Texas coast, being deposited at Port Lavaca in Matagordo Bay on August 1st.  From there, the regiment marched through Victoria and thence to San Antonio by way of Goliad.  The regiment remained in San Antonio from late August until mid-October.  Heading west, the regiment crossed the Rio Grande and made its way to Monclava, arriving in early November.  Five companies were left to occupy the city and the rest of the army continued south.  By early December, the regiment was stationed in Parras.  However, an urgent summons arrived from General Worth at Saltillo.  There was threat of a massive army coming from San Luis Potosi.  As such, Lt. Neville found himself on the march again.  By the 21st of December, the 2nd Illinois Regiment arrived to find no Mexican Army in the area.  However, over the next two months, there were constant rumors of a massive Mexican Army led by Santa Anna enroute.  On February 21st, Santa Anna arrived and the most harrowing battle of the war commenced.  In the wake of the battle, the 2nd Regiment remained in the area for the next 3 months.  In late May, with their 1-year enlistment set to expire, General Wool offered thanks and congratulations before sending them home.  With other volunteer regiments from Arkansas, Indiana, and Kentucky, the regiment marched to the Rio Grande, took boats from Matamoros to the Gulf, and finally boarded ships to take them to New Orleans.  Harvey Neville arrived home on July 12th, 1847.

At only 50 pages, this is a quick read.  Neville is not the best of reporters.  Though he discusses the quality of the soil, the variety of flora, the quality of the water, the dearth of rain, and the distances traveled over good or broken ground, he has little to say regarding his fellow soldiers or the Battle of Buena Vista.  He does not mention General Wool, who has commanded the brigade since San Antonio, except for his parting words when the unit was released.  The same is true of the regiment's colonel, William Bissel.  He does detail a few interesting events, such as the murder of an Arkansas volunteer, the burial ceremony for a soldier, the method of creating tortillas (this is a surprisingly common thing for diarists to describe), and the recent depredations of Comanche near Parras.  He also leaves large gaps in the narrative.  Though he arrived in San Antonio in late August, he offers nothing of his time there and just skips to the middle of October when the army set out.  Then there are a couple of weeks spent in Monclova without entries.  His time around Saltillo is a record of the weather or the latest war news from Scott's march toward Mexico City.

It offers a flavor of the era and gives the views of a man who must surely have been a farmer back in Illinois; who else would have been so concerned with soil quality, what plants grow, and amount of rain?

The Return of Indiana Jones

A new Indiana Jones movie is expected next year, and it got me to thinking when it will take place.  Let's look at the previous movies.

Raiders of the Lost Ark arrived in theaters in 1981, but took place in 1936.  That is a gap of 45 years.  Harrison Ford was 39 years-old.  He is only 2 years older than Indy should be.

Temple of Doom was released in 1984 but took place in 1935.  The gap has widened to 49 years and Harrison Ford was 42.  He was now 6 years older than Indy.

The Last Crusade opened in 1989, taking place in 1938.  That's 51 years.  Ford was 47, 8 years older than Indy.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuted in 2008, but took place in 1957.  That is again a 51 year gap.  Ford was 66.  Again, 8 years older than Indy.

With all this in mind, when will the latest movie be set?  Ford is now 80.  Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. was born around 1899, which means he would be 80 in 1979.  In the TV series from 1992, George Hall played a 93 year-old Indy who would offer an intro and outro to that week's episode.  Of course, if we stick with the 51 year gap from the last two movies, it should take place in 1972.

It is long overdue for Indy to be recast.  Harrison Ford should be taking over the role of George Hall, opening the latest adventure by reminiscing on his younger days.  Also, when is he going to get his eye patch?  I always assumed that Old Indy had lost his eye many years ago.  Don't let some stupid cat gouge his eye like Nick Fury.

Our Army on the Rio Grande

In the Summer of 1846, Thomas Bangs Thorpe sailed from New Orleans to the Rio Grande to explore the setting of the recent battles that opened the Mexican-American War (1846-48).  The book opens in March with the US Army - commanded by General Zachary Taylor - marching south from Corpus Christi and setting up a camp opposite Matamoros on the Rio Grande.  Tensions grow as the Americans build Fort Texas and finally conflict erupts in late April.  Fearing for his supply lines, Taylor marched the majority of his army to Port Isabel while Major Brown commanded the remaining forces at Fort Texas.  On the 3rd of May, the Siege of Fort Texas began.  Taylor could hear the cannons firing and made plans to lift the siege.  On May 8th, his army of less than 3,000 men encountered a Mexican army more than twice as large.  Luckily for General Taylor, Major Samuel Ringgold and his flying artillery were on hand.  Ringgold was a proponent of horse-drawn cannons that could be rapidly redeployed as the situation required.  The ability to relocate artillery quickly to counter enemy charges was decisive in fending off the much larger Mexican army.  Though his tactics won the battle, Ringgold was mortally wounded.  The following day, Taylor pursued the retreating Mexican army to Resaca de la Palma, where the Mexicans had taken a strong position to defend the road to Fort Texas.  Here it was a daring charge of the US Dragoons that broke the Mexican defenses.  Taylor arrived at Fort Texas to learn that Major Brown had died that morning from wounds suffered during the siege.  The fort was renamed Fort Brown.  The US Army crossed the Rio Grande and occupied Matamoros on the 18th of May.

At this point, it becomes clear that Thorpe was on the ground and describes the city of Matamoros first-hand.  He details flora, fauna, cuisine, mode of dress, architecture, government, and more besides.  It is a first-class travelogue that includes a meeting with General Taylor on the banks of the Rio Grande.  In addition to being an author, Thorpe was also an artist and includes numerous sketches of the region.

Here is a really terrific book covering the early days of the war.  Amazing level of detail that includes snippets of Mexican newspapers, dispatches from both Taylor back to Washington and General Arista to Mexico City.  The language used reveals the character of each general.  Long since out of copyright, the book is available for download.

Highly recommended.

The Road to Wigan Pier

The book opens with a foreword by the publisher, Victor Gollancz.  He offers praise for Orwell's documenting the tragic living standards of coal miners in northern England (the first half of the book) but then denounces Orwell's views on why socialism doesn't sell to these lower-class workers (the second half of the book).  Of course, Gollancz praises himself for publishing the book despite his clear objections.  Particularly funny (or tragic) was his defense of the Soviet Union.

It is 1936 and Orwell begins in a boarding house in Wigan where he stayed.  He shared a room with several other men and ate substandard fare.  It is rather bleak, but it gets worse.  He then descended the mine and discovered just how difficult was the miner's life.  He had met several who had been crippled in mine accidents and many more were killed.  Traveling the area, he describes the tumbledown homes that would be marked for demolition but for the paucity of housing.  Then there is the catastrophic unemployment that is worse than the government number indicate.  He provides a detailed accounting of how much a miner might make, the costs of living, the periods of unemployment, and the impossibility of escaping a life of hard labor.

Orwell moves on to discuss why socialism has failed to take hold despite the grim conditions he has just detailed.  He offers several reasons.  First, there is class prejudice.  He himself was raised on the lower rungs of the middle class (middle class in England would be white collar workers whereas the working class would be blue collar.  Middle class in England doesn't translate the same as middle class in the United States) and was raised to have a low opinion of the working class.  He further says that socialist are too intellectual, arguing points that would only be of interest to other intellectuals.  He notes that often socialism intersects with fringe or unpopular ideologies, such as vegetarianism or feminism.  This association gives the impression that socialists are a bunch of cranks.  Though he proclaims himself to be a devoted socialist, he says that socialists are using the wrong arguments to win converts.  He even posited that fascism was more likely to take hold in England in the next 10 years. 

It is eye opening to see the same arguments from today were being argued 85 years ago.  There is nothing new.  That Gollancz was a fan of the Soviets shows that he was in the dark.  He must have read Walter Duranty.  Despite repeated epic failures of socialism, there continue to be proponents for socialism.  Orwell is clearly a brilliant man, and yet he argues for socialism.  By the time he wrote 1984, he had come to understand where socialism leads.  Here, he had an inkling while writing this book.

Excellent book.  Recommended.

Watch Out, We're Mad! (1974)

Kid (Terence Hill) and Ben (Bud Spencer) are both race car drivers of the low budget variety.  They have a contentious history that is not explained.  The two compete to win a red dune buggy and, miraculously, tie.  The dune buggy is signed over to both of them and they must determine how to split it.  They agree on a hot dog eating contest at the nearby amusement park.  While they are eating hot dogs, a small army of goons arrive to trash the amusement park.  The trashing results in the destruction of the dune buggy!  The Boss (John Sharp) intends to put the park out of business so he can build a skyscraper.  Kid and Ben confront the Boss and his crackpot adviser, the Doctor (Donald Pleasence).  They politely request a replacement dune buggy.

"Or else what?" the Boss demands.

"We'll get mad."

There then follows efforts to punish Kid and Ben for their effrontery, each of which results in a slapstick combat that sees waves of goons beaten and battered.  Mixed in between the action routines is Kid's wooing of the tightrope walking beauty (Patty Shepard), continued efforts to bankrupt the park, and Ben complaining about anyone who smokes.  Of course, they do eventually get mad.

A low budget goofball comedy that is truly mindless.  This was the 10th film that started Hill and Spencer.  In Europe, they were a popular duo and went on to make another 8 films together.

Silly but fun.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

It is 1923 on the island of Inisherin and amiable Padraic (Colin Farrell) walks down to the house of his friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) at the usual time to ask him to the pub.  Colm does not answer the door and when Padraic looks through the window, he sees Colm smoking a cigarette and clearly ignoring him.  Confused by the strange behavior, he declares that he'll see him at the pub and departs.  The pub owner is astonished to see Padraic arrive without Colm and asked if they are rowing.  As far as he knows, Padraic says not.  It soon becomes apparent that Colm wants nothing to do with Padraic and takes extreme measures to enforce this separation.

The movie is generally tragic though it has many laugh out loud moments.  Colm's catastrophic confession with the visiting priest is probably the funniest bit.  That the movie takes place during the Irish Civil War (1922-23), it may be an allegory.  Padraic comments that he doesn't understand why there is a civil war and then finds himself in personal one.  Kerry Condon plays Siobhan, Padraic's sister.  She is equally baffled by Colm's behavior but urges Padraic to respect the split.  Barry Keoghan plays Dominic, who is generally viewed as the village idiot.  He's not so dumb as that but is clearly lonely; the island does not appear to have many women of his age who are available to court.  One stand-out character is Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton).  This old crone stalks the island like a figure of doom.  When first met, she asks how long it had been since Padraic and Siobhan's parents died.  Later, she declares that there will be a death by the end of the month, maybe two.  She is very like a banshee.

Banshee: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

It is very well-made and interesting movie, but there are no happy endings or even clear resolutions.  This too may be hinting at the Irish Civil War.  Recommended.