My hero, Calvin, also said:

 "I like maxims that don't encourage behavior modification."

Was a bit wary and not sure I wanted to see the Honest Abe according St. Steven epic.  There are certain people for whom I feel an almost proprietary sense of paternal protectiveness which makes me cringe at the thought of seeing them "re-imagined" as mythical icons when it is their all too human qualities that   most appeal to me.  I never saw the Will Smith as Ali flick, and don't think I will.  And I can't imagine I could ever enjoy a scripted biopic of Louis Armstrong.  But the BlockbusterMeister surprised me.  First, because he didn't make an epic.  It's got all the big hollywood production values, but it's a small scale tale. Rather than a sweeping overview of an entire life or even an era--it's a detailed and almost day by day account of a political poker game where the chips on the table represent the values that formed the pot from which our Post-Civil War country was built. The story of the subsequent Reconstruction period would be an unlikely follow-up considering what an anti-climactic downer that turned out to be. But for a pop-history lesson on how the rusty gears of legislative mechanics grinded through a crucial period in what was then a union machine on the verge of the scrap heap, this seems to work as well as one could expect.Tony Kushner's script is where it all begins, and its a dandy. Arguments and debate play out with careful attention to documented detail and nuance.  The demoralizing and debasing elements of quid pro quo horse trading that is the meat (mostly pork?) and potatoes of parliamentary progress is where Kushner creates his strongest scenes and moments.  Can't imagine anyone other than Spielberg could have convinced a studio to back such a legalistic and semantics driven concept. Some of it verges on the sentimental and hagiographic, and the soaring patriotic scoring doesn't always match the pragmatic subtlety of the action, but for the most part it's pretty terrific and Daniel Day-Lewis is as impressive by what he chooses to conceal in Lincoln's character as by what he masterfully mimics.  It's a real labor of love feast made with mostly natural ingredients, and that's a rare dish to find coming out of a Hollywood Kitchen. 

Into The Woods

One of many Esherick tables with this unique  support design.

The sculptor and furniture designer WHARTON ESHERICK (1887–1970) often said that his favorite carving tool was an ax, and that he let the wood determine the form of the objects he so rigorously fashioned.

I had never heard of  Esherick until I came across an article about his friendship and correspondences with Theodore Dreiser and Sherwood Anderson. He started out as a painter but switched to sculpture and furniture making and worked almost exclusively in wood.  What a revelation.  Everything is hand-carved with an emphasis on simple and natural geometry that pre-dates the Scandinavian movement he inspired.  Gotta go visit his all-by-hand-built house, (now museum just outside Philly)which is considered his greatest masterpiece.  As I am now a humble whittler and wood carver of primitive ability for whom the making of a simple salad bowl is cause for self celebration, seeing stuff like this blows me away. Take a gander...

Esherick home (now museum)

And here's a cool interactive page featured on the museum site where you can move camera around the main room in the house to see every nook and cranny...

http://www.whartonesherickmuseum.org/flash/esherick-livingFS.swf

HOLD THE PRESSES!  THIS JUST IN!

Just learned that Esherick did not use power tools -- except for a bandsaw built with bicycle wheels -- until the 1960s, the last decade of his life. The majority of his works, including the massive ones for which he is most famous, were produced with hand tools similar to those used by eastern Pennsylvania's original pioneer builders.

Just guessing, but I doubt he spent much time watching Basketball on TV, and I'm now searching for info concerning how many herniated discs he had.  Stay tuned.