Fire In the Hole and Nietzsche

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that he does not in turn become a monster."
-Nietzsche

Last night, during the read-thru of Fire In the Hole, there was some discussion as to how Joshua Rowen becomes "corrupt," when he begins as a fighter against his corrupt father, Tommy Rowen. A lot was said in terms of what it means to be "corrupt" and why Tommy and Joshua see things the way they do. This quote seemed to sum it all up for me - I see it as a danger of falling to extremes. Tommy can't see the bigger picture, only his family matters. Joshua sees so much of the bigger picture that he neglects his family when he gets older.

Man Has No Choice When He Wants Everything

There is a stunning song I stumbled upon as I was seeking mood music for the wayplays myspace. It's by a Kentucky artist who's on the Oh Brother Where Art Thou & Cold Mountain soundtracks.

I thought the lyrics seem to echo the emotions of some women in the cycles. Particularly the lines "Man has no choice when he wants everything" and "Why would I want him just to lose him again?" stand out for some reason. Is it the primal call for acquisition and procreation in the face of brutality and base survivalism? Yes, why would those women WANT some of those men? Such a strange dynamic they must have had, strange as in foreign - to me at least. You can catch the actual song which plays as the background music at www.myspace.com/wayplays - so beautiful.

The Scarlet Tide Lyrics
Alison Krauss

When I recall his parting words

Must I accept his fate

Or take myself far from this place

I thought I heard a black bell toll

A little bird did sing

Man has no choice

When he wants everything

We'll rise above the scarlet tide

That trickles down through the mountain

And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision

Gets caught up in the mechanism

of swindlers who act like kings

And brokers who break everything

The dark of night was swiftly fading

Close to the dawn of day

Why would I want him just to lose him again

We'll rise above the scarlet tide

That trickles down through the mountain

And separates the widow from the bride

We'll rise above the scarlet tide

That trickles down through the mountain

and separates the widow from the bride.

A night of theater games ….

Sunday, 8/12, we had ‘critical mass’ of the cast available for the first time, including the prior read-thrus & the first week of rehearsal, so a ‘get-to-know-you’ evening of theater games was appropriate. (The two boys were absent, unfortunately, but they’ll start to be integrated in this week.) Some basic name association exercises were employed, with most of the staff & crew present joining in for good measure. The divider between the two rooms was removed on Friday for an event, so we had a large space, which was used to good advantage. We did a version of ‘whisper down the lane’ where the initial actor mimed an action and that got passed down all 20 some actors one by one. Watching it morph from peeling a banana to a banana split with whipped cream to an oral sex act to, seemingly, drinking from an elongated flask was a sight to behold. (OK, glad the boys weren’t there for THAT one.) There were some group problem-solving exercises – ‘stones-across-the-creek’ – which were solved in unique ways by the two groups. (Team B definitely taking advantage of Team A’s experience.)

Laura Hitt started her first week in town as our dialect coach and did vocal warm-ups & exercises with the group. Melissa Carubia, music director, was up next, she had her portable keyboard and did musical warm-ups and lead a chorus or two of The Battle Hymn of the Republic and Amazing Grace. After the a cappella version of Amazing Grace in Stuff Happens last fall, actors joked that every Zeitgeist fall show needs Amazing Grace now – and not a version that will raise the hair on the back of Deirdre’s neck, a la LeAnn Rimes. The groups sounded good – there are a few vocal ringers – so plans for The Kentucky Cycle: The Musical continue as planned!

Meron lead them through ‘Intro to Stage Combat,’ leading Maureen to comment, “I’m never going to let myself get hit on stage, why am I doing this?!” Because it’s fun, Mo, come on! Earlier in the week, Peter Brown had commented that Theater Games make him physically ill. He never left the room to cough up his cookies, so maybe we’ve conquered his fear of ‘ensemble building.’ Near the end, I showed a ground plan of the set design on the chalkboard. Greg Maraio lead applause after the set presentation commenting, “Well we clapped for everyone else, didn’t we?!” Prav Darling, did costumes fittings to wrap up the night.

On her way out, Melissa Baroni observed, “Thanks for tonight, it was fun!” Here’s hoping there’s more nights of ‘fun’ up ahead!!

The Ballad of Jimmy Steele

Lots of good stuff entered since I last visited. Since I don't have internet access at home I'll have to read through a lot of this at my desk during lunch...

I just wanted to share the lyrics of a song written by a dear, late friend of mine. He wrote it for his father who was a miner.

Ballad of Jimmy Steele
By Davy Steele

When I was a young man and just seventeen
I worked doon the pit as a belt-boy
Tae keep the coal clean I shed sweat and some tears
And I did everything I was tell't, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
My life's been coal minin'

Maist o' the miners I worked wi' were grand
Some o' them treated me rough, boys
Some were born wi' a pick in their hands
And I learned the real meaning o' tough, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'

Soon I was a collier, and proud o' my work
I was one o' the Preston Links team, boys
Cuttin' a road oot intae the forth
Tae the heart o' the Dysart seam, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'

A war was soon ragin', all Europe went mad
Hitler had called all our bluff, boys
I could have stayed doon the pit like some o' the lads
But for me that was never enough, boys

So I jined the Seaforths wi' some o' my freens
At fightin' I wanted my chance, boys
The Ladies frae Hell we always had been
But we found oot that Hell was in France, boys

And when it was over, and heroes returned
I stayed in the army some time, boys
But a wife and young family need a permanent hame
So I ended up back doon the mine, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'

I soon settled doon and though minin' had changed
Picked it up, and then came the hitch, boys
I lost an eye and a finger forbye
And I ended up pushin' a switch, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'

Maist o' my life I hae spent doon the black
At pit jobs I've done quite a few, boys
At the brushin' and packin' I never was slack
And I aye gie'd a hand tae the new boys

James Steele I was christened, auld Jimmy I'm cried
I've worked as lang as I can, boys
I never made money whatever I tried
Just your everyday, hard-workin' man, boys

Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'
Coal minin', coal minin',
my life's been coal minin'

listen and see what a mine is like, plus a great Kentucky Coal website!

Hi folks:

Here is a CNN video about what the mine in Utah looks like inside (you may need to download the CNN Video software):

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/08/09/tuchman.inside.mine.cnn


Here is a KUTV segment as well:

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/id/2322979789


Here is an NPR segment about what it is like to be in a mine:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5126100


Lastly, this website has tons of stuff on Kentucky Coal Mining, including pictures of mining in the 1950's, and pictures of coal towns.

Here is the home page:

http://www.coaleducation.org


Here is the word glossary page:

http://www.coaleducation.org/glossary.htm

Brian

"The problem is: Real estate is local, but the money is national."

Tangle of loans feeds foreclosure crisis

Borrowers can't tell where to turn for change in terms

By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff | July 31, 2007

Each month, Stephen and Kim Martinelli sent their mortgage payment to Chase Home Finance, and when they fell behind, it was Chase that launched foreclosure proceedings, with an auction of their Lawrence home scheduled for later this week.

The Martinellis, squeezed by the cost of caring for a disabled son and carrying an adjustable-rate mortgage that boosted their monthly payments by $900 over the past year, pleaded with Chase for a break: for a new payment plan, a lower, more affordable rate, or a delay in the foreclosure, due to hardship.

Chase's answer: "No."

What the Martinellis did not know was that Chase was not calling the shots. Chase merely services the loan, acting as bill collector and administrator.

The mortgage was held by an unknown investor, whom Chase declined to identify and who refused to modify the terms of the Martinellis' loan.

They are among thousands of delinquent borrowers caught in the maze of modern mortgage financing as they desperately try to save their homes. Unlike in the last real estate bust, when local banks and credit unions wrote nearly 80 percent of mortgages in Massachusetts, most home loans issued today pass through a nationwide chain of brokers, lenders, service companies, Wall Street firms, and investors. That makes tracing ownership difficult, if not impossible.

In a rising real estate market, the system worked well, spreading loan risks among various players and expanding credit and homeownership.

But as foreclosures mount, the system is proving ill-suited to respond, analysts said. The reason: Spreading risk muddled responsibility.

"It's perfect deniability," said Patricia McCoy, a University of Connecticut law professor who specializes in financial services. "When there's a problem, each person in line says, 'Don't talk to me, talk to the other person.' "

The system is complicating efforts by Massachusetts officials and housing advocates to defuse the burgeoning foreclosure crisis.

For example, Lawrence Community Works, a nonprofit agency, explored buying some of the vacant foreclosed homes in that city and filling them with graduates of first-time home-buying programs, in an effort to stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by the mortgage crisis.

But Kristen Harol, deputy director of the community group, said her staff can't even figure out whom to call to negotiate purchases of the foreclosed properties.

"We can't get to square one," she said. "The problem is: Real estate is local, but the money is national."

Two decades ago, local institutions primarily originated, serviced, and held mortgages. A borrower struggling to make payments might work out a solution with the same banker who made the loan.

Later, financial markets got involved, seeing an opportunity to turn home mortgages into investments that could be packaged and traded for profit. Lenders bundled mortgages together and sold them to investment banks. The investment banks then sold bonds to investors, promising to pay off them off with cash from mortgage payments made by borrowers. These bonds are known as mortgage-backed securities.

"It's a problem because so many hands touch a mortgage during the process," said Steven L. Antonakes, Massachusetts' commissioner of banks. "The level of responsibility and the ability to effect positive change can vary from relationship to relationship" among the different players.

For example, more than 20 percent of foreclosure actions in Massachusetts in the last year have been initiated on behalf of a unit of Deutsche Bank Group, the German financial services giant, according to ForeclosuresMass.com, which tracks cases. Deutsche, while listed on the deed as the mortgage holder and technically the legal owner, is a trustee for investors such as hedge funds and other financial firms that hold the securities that are backed by these mortgages.

A spokesman said Deutsche Bank has no economic interest in the mortgages and is not responsible for foreclosures or for selling foreclosed property. Such decisions are made by servicing companies, according to contracts with different investor trusts, the spokesman said.

Moreover, mortgage-backed bonds are usually sold with legally binding commitments that create more obstacles for delinquent borrowers. For example, reductions in loan amounts are often needed to keep people from losing homes, but mortgage-backed bonds are usually sold with prohibitions against forgiving loan principal, except in rare cases, said McCoy, the UConn professor.

"Anyone seeking a loan workout is going to have to face these impediments," McCoy said.

The Martinellis bought their single-family home on Beaconsfield Street in 1994 for $92,000. A decade later, they refinanced for a third time, a $274,000 adjustable-rate mortgage, to finish paying for an addition to accommodate their son, Stephen, who was disabled after being severely injured in a car crash. They had hoped to refinance once again before the interest rate reset in 2006, but couldn't because of credit problems related to their son's medical issues.

They fell behind on loan payments this spring, after two rate adjustments within a year had boosted their monthly payment to $3,033, from $2,100. They began calling Chase in May to find a way to catch up. They even sent a partial payment.

But the check was returned, uncashed, and customer service agents at Chase said nothing could be done because foreclosure was already underway. An auction of their home is scheduled for Thursday.

The couple turned to an advocacy group, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, where a loan counselor asked Chase to reduce the interest rate. In July, Chase said the unnamed investor who held the mortgage would not modify the loan.

It was then that the Martinellis learned someone other than Chase held their mortgage.

"It made us feel more than powerless," Martinelli said in a telephone interview. "It made us feel lifeless. It sucked all the life out of us."

But on Friday, after the Globe contacted Chase about the Martinellis, the couple learned the investor who holds their loan had agreed to stop foreclosure proceedings and reduce the rate to the original 7.2 percent. A Chase spokeswoman said news media inquiries have "no bearing on the decisions that are made."

Kim Martinelli said she was relieved, but is still nervous as she awaits written confirmation.

"The really scariest part is what would I do with my son if they did auction my house," she said. "My heart just breaks at the thought of having to put him in a nursing home."

Harlon County, Kentucky

Just came across this documentary on a 1974 coal strike in Kentucky. I recommend checking it out, it's a pretty good movie