Movie Review: The Razor's Edge (1946)

The Razor's Edge has a philosophical look at life. The movie opens up shortly after World War I has ended. America is filled with excitement. There is an understanding that we will become the greatest nation in the world. And, of course, since this movie was made in 1946, the outcome was already known to the audience watching this film. Larry Darrell (Tyrone Power) is a World War I veteran and is engaged to marry Isabel Bradley (Gene Tierney). Isabel's uncle, Elliott Templeton (Clifton Webb), is concerned about the future marriage, because Larry doesn't appear to have any motivation to take part in helping the United States fulfill it's destiny. Instead he wishes to "loaf" around for a period of time on his inheritance of $3,000 a year. Now $3,000 in today's terms is close to $47,000. I suppose depending on where one lives in the United States now this would be considered lower middle class or higher end poverty. We learn that this is also a concern of Isabel's. Larry and Isabel decide to postpone the marriage for a year, which will allow Larry to spend a year in Paris. 

There are some interesting dynamics here. Larry's life was saved by a friend. The friend sacrificed his life for Larry's during the war. This causes Larry to want to examine the meaning of one's life versus striving to make America a dominant country. He is willing to live a simplified life, perhaps eventually taking a low paid job to help better support his family. This clashes with Isabel and Elliot who are wealthy and can't imagine not living with such wealth. Another interesting point is that even though Isabel and Elliot are snobbish about money, it doesn't necessarily prevent them from associated with other classes of society. Somehow Larry and Isabel did meet and fall in love. Isabel also is friends with the Sophie and Bob MacDonald (Anne Baxter and Frank Latimore) who appear to have a middle class lifestyle. 

Homeless in California: Looking to Buy Motels

This LA Times (Aug 5, 2021) article is focused on Gov. Gavin Newsom seemingly playing politics in order to hold off the recall election so is therefore dated, but there was some interesting data points in the article:

The latest state budget commits $12 billion over the next two years to not just more motel purchases and funding for mental health care facilities but also encampment cleanups and hazardous waste removal.

. . . The state assisted local governments in purchasing hotel rooms and apartments for 6,000 people at a cost of nearly $750 million — the largest expansion of shelter and housing for homeless people in the the state’s history.

Bribes for Grades

Sometimes you just need money. The New York Times (Aug 5) has this story:

One math lesson Prof. Edward C. Ennels taught at Baltimore City Community College was, according to prosecutors, pretty simple: $150 for a C; $250 for a B; and $500 for an A.

. . . Over the course of seven months last year, Mr. Ennels, 45, solicited bribes from 112 students, and received 10 payments from nine students, totaling $2,815, the Maryland attorney general, Brian E. Frosh, said in a statement on Thursday.

In another scheme, Mr. Ennels sold online access codes that enabled students to view instructional material and complete assignments, prosecutors said. From 2013 to 2020, he sold 694 access codes for about $90 each.

They didn't add up the selling of access codes. It comes to $62,460. So he was doing this for 8 years. I'm deducing that it was the selling of grades that tripped him up and not the selling of access codes. Maybe students just thought this was an additional fee such as buying books? 

The excuse? He had a gambling addiction and in fact didn't live a "lavish lifestyle." I'm not sure that one could live a lavish lifestyle on $65,000 over 8 years.

Coronavirus: Dementia and Alzheimer's

I recently wrote a COVID-19 blog post about a study affiliated with the University of Oxford that mentioned that "the loss of grey matter in memory-related regions of the brain may in turn increase the risk of these patients of developing dementia in the longer term." USA Today (Jul29) has an article that looks into this, as well. Though the title of the article mentions dementia, the content is more focused on Alzheimer's.

Researchers are concerned about the possibility that lingering brain symptoms might lead to dementia years or decades later.

. . . Dr. George Vavougios, the lead author of one of the new studies, said he's concerned about the frequency of these brain problems. About half of participants in his study and others are showing cognitive problems after infection, regardless of their age.