tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post1381527225345491347..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Go Wuss, Young Man…Ken Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-39435170479950308162009-02-15T08:18:00.000+00:002009-02-15T08:18:00.000+00:00Hello Ken, I would like to inform you that my post...Hello Ken, <BR/><BR/>I would like to inform you that my post about you has won first prize...Thanks for the support. I had wanted to write that post about you months ago,,,lol..<BR/><BR/>Happy blogging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-50394257193027740482009-02-14T17:16:00.000+00:002009-02-14T17:16:00.000+00:00I did see Hanks in "The Right Stuff". I like most...I did see Hanks in "The Right Stuff". I like most Hanks' movies. He's working now on the "sequel" to "The Da Vinci Code" called "Angels and Demons". Funny thing is, the sequel was written first and is actually a better read!<BR/><BR/>As for that woman vs. man tears stuff, supposedly women benefit from a chemical readjustment after a good cry. I guess we reboot by letting it all go in the form of teardrops.<BR/><BR/>The first tears I ever shed were due to a t.v. movie called, "Brian's Song". It was before disease-of-the-week-movies got started and it was based on the true story of a football player with cancer. To this day when I hear that theme song I tear up...and I was 12 when I saw it.hopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03306622656461205674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-57207373287641109172009-02-14T10:50:00.000+00:002009-02-14T10:50:00.000+00:00Laura: Your view frequently make my day so keep '...Laura: Your view frequently make my day so keep 'em coming whenever your in this neck of the woods.<BR/><BR/>I went to see the movie Poltergeist on the first night it ever came out and, at a pretty scary part, my friend reached forward and GRABBED the shoulder of the guy sitting in front of him. He had never even seen this guy before. The guy nearly died. A very dangerous thing to do but he got away with it. I would have been killed/killed had I tried this. Point? Well, sometimes the dark corner thing *is* possible.<BR/><BR/>Just saying...<BR/><BR/>Mike: I guess we're all getting older. I just wonder what I'll be misting up at when I turn 60... if... :)<BR/><BR/>Aislinnoc: I couldn't choose between both your comments 'cos there's such good things in both, so I put 'em both up. ER is no easy ride sometimes, that's for sure. I've been watching it from the start and seen a lot of people flatline... :) Interesting about exposure not lessening the effect, I'd better stay away from 'Philadelphia' in company in that case.<BR/><BR/>Linc: Uh oh. I've gone all 'touchy feely' again haven't I? Well, look at you, offering friggin' Valentine's Day advice over at your pad. You may dress it up as 'recipes to get laid' but I bet you're all gooey-eyed and simpering in your little love nest today.<BR/><BR/>BTW: I forgot to answer Susan's question in the fist comment. Crying? Cathartic? No, I can't say it is. My sexist view is that this is one of those primary differences between Men and Women (this and the 'fingernails thing') simply, that women can gain some solace through tears while men can not. Care to discuss?<BR/><BR/>Jenn: It was you who reminded me of missing Susan's comment. Your view is the male view (I think) thought the rest of you is undoubtedly female (hubba) :). I mean that you veer away from tears, as I would. There's no good in tears at all, in my view.<BR/><BR/>Belongum: Rabbit Proof Fence is a movie I know well and like very very much. My wife and I both have a soft spot for 'I am Sam' We saw the middle of it once then sought it out to see the rest. Sean Penn does it a little like Rain Man and l'il Dakota Fanning is spookily good but it's a sad funny flick and people could do a lot worse than watch it.<BR/><BR/>As for your PM apologising, God, if you couldn't shed a tear then I don't know when you could. The drugs sound good too - 'any left? :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-13899798893479393962009-02-14T05:21:00.000+00:002009-02-14T05:21:00.000+00:00I've done a lot of work with damaged kids Ken,...I've done a lot of work with damaged kids Ken, and I now have two boys of my own - 1 & 3. Anything involving kids really hangs it on me at the best of times, but mostly - before my kids came along - I used to be able to tough it out! In a resigned kinda way I guess.<BR/><BR/>That movie with Sean Penn - "My Name is Sam"... well, that did it for me! Anything that shows the emotion of a kid being taken from their parent is a killer for me. <BR/><BR/>Rabbit Proof Fence (an Oz film) hits the top of the charts for me though... it's a little too 'close to home' and has very real connotations with my own family.<BR/> <BR/>A year ago, the day saw me blubbing in hospital as our new Prime Minister apologised to our Aboriginal and Islander peoples. I blame the drugs as I was recovering from surgery - and like you - I'd much rather a pint!<BR/><BR/>I'm such a (soggy) girls blouse Ken - ahhh the shame ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-75572038240286481652009-02-13T19:30:00.000+00:002009-02-13T19:30:00.000+00:00I am a stupid sucker for Frances Hodgeson Burnett'...I am a stupid sucker for Frances Hodgeson Burnett's A Little Princess-- whether it's the movie version done in the 90s (which was beautifully done) or the Shirley Temple version.<BR/><BR/>I read this book as a kid, too, and cried a LOT.<BR/><BR/>I am not a person who likes to cry at films. In fact, I avoid them like the plague.<BR/><BR/>Except for this one. Don't know why I do it to myself.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10883854503294092142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-28475444079760613982009-02-13T14:55:00.000+00:002009-02-13T14:55:00.000+00:00A blubbering mess?!! Well, I prise myself on my ma...A blubbering mess?!! Well, I prise myself on my masculinity - however, the infamous 'zipper scene' from "There's Something About Mary' came to mind immediately!<BR/>BTW - I know I never came for your man card last time but that no entitle you to keep pushing your luck. Man up Nancy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-59542280991037539982009-02-13T11:44:00.000+00:002009-02-13T11:44:00.000+00:00If you tend to cry more as you get older, I'm in d...If you tend to cry more as you get older, I'm in dire straits! I'm only 18 and I cry at anything and everything - sad films, books, tv shows, anything really. Even a particularly moving song can choke me up a little.<BR/>Besides which, exposure doesn't lessen it at all, I'll be in floods the first or the fifth time I've seen something.<BR/>It's somewhat a subject of ridicule in my family, I cry at everything, and my sister tends to laugh at me.<BR/>Still, she wasn't laughing when my brother got married - she was all teary-eyed too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-20512913174518182122009-02-13T11:41:00.000+00:002009-02-13T11:41:00.000+00:00If you get more wussy as you get older I'm in dire...If you get more wussy as you get older I'm in dire straits!<BR/>I'm only 18, and I'm the biggest wuss I know. Any kind of swooping music has me in tears.<BR/>Even ER last night had me sniffling.<BR/>I don't tend to find crying cathartic though, because generally the first sign of a tear will have my sister pointing at me and laughing.<BR/>Not fun.<BR/>=(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-58426284340058039312009-02-13T06:26:00.000+00:002009-02-13T06:26:00.000+00:00You are so right about this; I get more sappy ever...You are so right about this; I get more sappy every year. And my wife and I still talk about "Philidelphia" and how it was so heartbreaking. Just the other day, I was watching "October Sky" and got a little choked up. Must be getting old...<BR/><BR/>peace,<BR/>mike<BR/>livelife365Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06619996824958462393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-56951186065016704562009-02-13T04:26:00.000+00:002009-02-13T04:26:00.000+00:00I think you are right about feeling more something...I think you are right about feeling more something you have experienced. There are things I can't even talk about rationally due to past experience. When the experience is closer to you (in time and space) you will have more care about it than someone who only thinks it was an entertaining or really lame TV show. <BR/><BR/>Of course there are also the oddities like myself who can't even watch horror because I'm sure it really is possible there is something around that dark corner even when there never has been any time before. <BR/><BR/>I don't have to make sense I'm just a blog commenter, here for the view.Laura Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06774385463320319572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-239908038594962472009-02-12T22:14:00.000+00:002009-02-12T22:14:00.000+00:00Jim: Hi! you sliped in there behind my last comm...Jim: Hi! you sliped in there behind my last comments. One flew over the cuckoo's nest will always be one of my favorite films and, for quite different reasons, favorite books too. You have good taste in tears.<BR/><BR/>Rachel: Don't cry. You'll set me off. Damn. :)<BR/><BR/>Reese: It was sweet, yes, but then it became heart-breaking. It touched a raw nerve that I sisn't know existed. Thanks for replying.<BR/><BR/>Hope: Nice Hanks linkage there. You don't just chuck this stuff out, do you? Did you see, 'The Right Stuff?' That captured the valour of the space programme really well, I thought.<BR/><BR/>Tashabud: Interesting. I don't know The Long Grey Line. Must keep a wee blue eye out for it. :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-60767268774064532322009-02-12T21:38:00.000+00:002009-02-12T21:38:00.000+00:00Hi Ken,I'm a very sensitive old woman who cries ve...Hi Ken,<BR/>I'm a very sensitive old woman who cries very easily at poignant scenes. Yes, I cried in "The Notebook." The book that made me cried so much was "Three Weeks With My Brother" by Nicholas Sparks. But the movie that made me cry so much was a black and white movie called "The Long Gray Line." It's a story about this couple who immigrated to America from Ireland. If you haven't yet seen it, I think that you'll like it when you see it.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen "Philadelphia". Perhaps, I'll try to rent it one of these days.<BR/><BR/>Tashatashabudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17707659728810975773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-66322824714046543002009-02-12T21:24:00.000+00:002009-02-12T21:24:00.000+00:00Interesting that "Band of Brothers" came up. It g...Interesting that "Band of Brothers" came up. It got me...whether due to the sadness of seeing young men killed in war or the fact that it was based on true stories, with the "real" men interviewed at the end. Same with "From the Earth to the Moon", which was about the space program, narrated by Hanks.<BR/><BR/>Both had "real" persons involved in the telling. I remember crying when a couple of the old soldiers died right after the film was released. It was like losing a friend somehow. Same with astronauts. Then again, I grew up when a space launch was something which made you cross your fingers and toes while saying a prayer they'd lift off safely. I read 3-4 astronaut biographies after that movie and shed tears again as some of them passed away.<BR/><BR/>That old saying, "With age comes wisdom" needs to be widened to include, "and leaky tear ducts signaling it's okay to be human." ;)hopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03306622656461205674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-80545355695008962912009-02-12T21:03:00.000+00:002009-02-12T21:03:00.000+00:00No, no distress at all! I remember the ending you...No, no distress at all! I remember the ending you talked about with the home movie clips of his childhood. It was very sweet.Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673945616719205743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-81539957724519464262009-02-12T20:58:00.000+00:002009-02-12T20:58:00.000+00:00Pretty much everything makes me cry...especially o...Pretty much everything makes me cry...especially once I get into a tearful mood.<BR/><BR/>You're right about your response changing once your perspective has. Painful business...and nothing can undo it once it's changed.<BR/><BR/>xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-39037483540848671792009-02-12T18:02:00.000+00:002009-02-12T18:02:00.000+00:00Susan: Share a box of tissues? Okay... I'd rathe...Susan: Share a box of tissues? Okay... I'd rather a pint but one takes what one can get... :)<BR/><BR/>Mike: Very True. The opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan (filmed here in Wexford) captured the mess that young people can get thrown into, mostly without warning. It's as good a reason to weep as any, I guess.<BR/><BR/>Reggie: I don't think I'd have ever qualified as a 'hard' kid but it's a nice image.<BR/><BR/>K: You're right, the Bruce song is Great but the Neil Young one has something 'special' about it.<BR/><BR/>Jena: I read 'The Notebook' but haven't seen the movie, I'd be afraid I'd have a meltdown. :)<BR/><BR/>Henson: I never got into the Ghost Whisperer, maybe I should stay away from it in case of localised flooding. :)<BR/><BR/>Reese: Thanks for your comment. You illustrate my point very well and very sadly. Your own terrible experiences mean that the bots of the movie that didn't hit me too hard really connect with you.<BR/><BR/>I hope my lightweight 'slagginoff' of the movie didn't cause you any distress. None intended for sure. Thanks again for adding a deeper level of reality to my point.Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-76665453261746722722009-02-12T18:01:00.000+00:002009-02-12T18:01:00.000+00:00Things that have made me cry ... hmmm, Well, disco...Things that have made me cry ... hmmm, Well, discounting <I>Lobo the Lonely Wolf</I> (the first film I ever saw in the cinema and howled over - BTW that's not its correct title), the first film I remember crying over was when I was seventeen. It was <I>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</I>, the bit at the end. I've seen the film a good half-dozen times and I still get choked up over it. My claim to fame used to be that I saw <I>E.T.</I> and <I>didn't</I> cry but I can't say I was unmoved either; it felt like a point of honour. Unlike you I cry a lot less these days. It takes a lot to affect me. Which is a shame because a good cry is a great release.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-17311108487722198032009-02-12T17:18:00.000+00:002009-02-12T17:18:00.000+00:00Philadelphia turned my into a complete sobbing blo...Philadelphia turned my into a complete sobbing blob by the end of it. It was particularly heartbreaking because my husband's brother, Tommy, died of aids in 1990. We faced a lot of the discrimination that was portrayed in the movie while we were in the hospital. I'll spare you the details. Let's just say the doctors lacked compassion. Another film on the same subject that always gets me is "And the Band Played On." (I think that's the title) It's a docudrama starring Matthew Modine about the beginning of aids and how society ignored the disease and its victims in the early years. sorry for the long post. I'm pretty passionate on this issue <BR/>=o)Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05673945616719205743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-91039100096215402272009-02-12T13:44:00.000+00:002009-02-12T13:44:00.000+00:00Please...I blubber over TV commercials all the tim...Please...I blubber over TV commercials all the time...and I'm even embarrassed to admit...I even choke up a little at the end of almost every episode of "Ghost Whisperer"...and yes, for some reason, I really like that show...as corny and melodramatic as it is, there's something fascinating about the concept.Henson Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488179170722007018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-67868447509832500982009-02-12T10:12:00.000+00:002009-02-12T10:12:00.000+00:00Hello Ken,Don't worry, almost everyone who is gett...Hello Ken,<BR/><BR/>Don't worry, almost everyone who is getting "old" ....ouch...he he he...gets mushy, maudlin and lachrymose with films and songs.<BR/><BR/>Whenever I hear Danny Boy, I feel like I want to cry, lol.... You're right about being indifferent when one is younger. <BR/><BR/>Now, I cry very easily, just watching soap operas, movies and reading books. <BR/><BR/>The last time I cried so hard was when I watched the movie, "The Notebook" , lol...I imagined myself at their age and it made me cry harder...lol....<BR/><BR/>It maybe because we are now acutely aware of our own mortality and that someday , we too will go, and would anyone even care? <BR/><BR/>Happy Valentine's day in advance Ken, best regards to the family.Jena Islehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609925272840089993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-39657822313264015882009-02-12T05:32:00.000+00:002009-02-12T05:32:00.000+00:00Philadelphia has a great Bruce Springsteen song, t...<I>Philadelphia</I> has a great Bruce Springsteen song, too.<BR/><BR/>In 1993, our family was flying somewhere and I watched <I>Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey</I> with my two boys, who were 8 and 6 at the time. Somewhat disbelievingly, I found tears rolling down my cheeks at the end of the movie. That's the only time a film made me cry.K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10222703055177237209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-74569111585370437102009-02-11T23:37:00.000+00:002009-02-11T23:37:00.000+00:00Ok so I couldn't read the whole thing because I ha...Ok so I couldn't read the whole thing because I have never seen the movie and I want to.... but I guess it makes sense that if you were a 'hard' kid growing up you'd be more sensitive now. But I know people who used to be wusses when they were younger and have grown to be extremely cynical and 'hard' as adults so I guess it works both ways.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you're the former ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-15891904562370390862009-02-11T23:06:00.000+00:002009-02-11T23:06:00.000+00:00What usually does me in now are war movies, especi...What usually does me in now are war movies, especially when they deal with how young our 'fighting men and women' are when they go to war. Before I had kids, they never bothered me, but now, I'm scared to death my kids are going to want to grow up to be soldiers. Black Hawk Down, Band of Brothers, pretty much anything that focuses on the people rather than the action is likely to throw me to tears. Sometimes it's sorrow, sometimes it's anger, but I'm always emotional at the end of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-78538445412244137562009-02-11T22:53:00.000+00:002009-02-11T22:53:00.000+00:00You and I can share a box of tissues one day---I'm...You and I can share a box of tissues one day---I'm the same! And you're right, it used to be easy to simply watch, or even to snicker at the weepy parts, but now I'm just pouring tears for everyone. It doesn't take much: even that big git Harry Bailey gets me every Christmas. My kids look at me like I'm nuts.<BR/><BR/>Here's a question: do you feel worse after crying over a film, or is it cathartic for you? My mother used to love a good cry; I hate it.Susan at Stony Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10385202649291774852noreply@blogger.com