One thing:
1. "Fading Gigolo" (2013) is on Netflix streaming: Written and directed by John Toturro and starring himself, Woody Allen, Vanessa Paradis, Liev Schreiber, Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Tonya Pinkins, and half a dozen or more kid and other excellent actors in a gentle, intelligent, amusing film about two middle-aged men whose businesses have failed and who decide to become a gigolo named Virgil (Turturro) and his pimp (Allen). Allen gets the idea from his dermatologist (Stone), who asks Allen if he could suggest anyone willing to engage in menage a troi with the dermatologist and her girlfriend (Vergara). Allen asks his florist (Turturro) if he'd be interested. The two men tell themselves they're in it for the money, but a tender love develops between Turturro and the young widow (Paradis) of a Hasidic Rabbi with 6 children. The setting, Brooklyn, serves up all kinds of subplots (kids with head lice, Hasidim). I haven't seen such a simply enjoyable movie for a long time. It did not do well at the box office--nothing blows up or lands in a space ship--but I loved it. No pain, no strain. Best Woody Allen role in a long time
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Where do the really old folks of my acquaintance live in the US??
5 things:
1. A friend's mother is age 99, and she lives in a small town in the middle of Montana. She'll turn 100 soon in February, Montana's coldest month. The candles on her cake will surely help her celebrate in comfort. [UPDATE...alas, she died t'other night of "natural causes" at age 99 years and 9 months.] Rest in Peace!!
2. My 2nd oldest brother died at age 89 last year, and he refused to move south from MN when he retired at age 65. He said he loved the snow and cold, and he continued to ride his bicycle to visit his local children.
3. Sister-in-law G.E.M., 96, lives in AZ, where she's active bowling and occasionally, golfing. Until recently, she often won a prize for making a hole in one!. I mean, often--once or twice a month!! But she's not using her golf clubs as much now. Her 95th birthday celebration last year featured oatmeal, her mother's recipe, for the big family breakfast.
4. When checking out the obituaries for central Montana, I noticed at least 1/3 to 1/2 were older than 85. Something about living out in the middle of nowhere that keeps folks alive for a long time.
5. E'en so, It's too cold out there for me. Been there, done that. I don't want to live in the South, however. Too many snakes and bugs.
1. A friend's mother is age 99, and she lives in a small town in the middle of Montana. She'll turn 100 soon in February, Montana's coldest month. The candles on her cake will surely help her celebrate in comfort. [UPDATE...alas, she died t'other night of "natural causes" at age 99 years and 9 months.] Rest in Peace!!
2. My 2nd oldest brother died at age 89 last year, and he refused to move south from MN when he retired at age 65. He said he loved the snow and cold, and he continued to ride his bicycle to visit his local children.
3. Sister-in-law G.E.M., 96, lives in AZ, where she's active bowling and occasionally, golfing. Until recently, she often won a prize for making a hole in one!. I mean, often--once or twice a month!! But she's not using her golf clubs as much now. Her 95th birthday celebration last year featured oatmeal, her mother's recipe, for the big family breakfast.
4. When checking out the obituaries for central Montana, I noticed at least 1/3 to 1/2 were older than 85. Something about living out in the middle of nowhere that keeps folks alive for a long time.
5. E'en so, It's too cold out there for me. Been there, done that. I don't want to live in the South, however. Too many snakes and bugs.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Au revoir, Mr. Mayor!!
5 things:
1. Mayor Marion S. Barry, 78, died last night on his way home from the hospital. Nobody's saying why he went to the hospital two days ago, or why they let him out yesterday afternoon.
2. He stayed in the hospital to watch TV for a while after they said he could leave.
3. And he asked his driver to take him to a restaurant (also unnamed) for a bite to eat before taking him home.
4. He collapsed as he walked in the door of his home. Present was his former wife, Cora Masters Berry, who rode back to the hospital with him in the ambulance after his collapse.
5. We'll miss this man hugely. He knew DC finances better than anyone else, and he was, as Elissa Silverman said, "a voice for the voiceless." Never mind all the nastiness over his arrest for drug use.
Surprise! The man was a sinner--aren't we all?
1. Mayor Marion S. Barry, 78, died last night on his way home from the hospital. Nobody's saying why he went to the hospital two days ago, or why they let him out yesterday afternoon.
2. He stayed in the hospital to watch TV for a while after they said he could leave.
3. And he asked his driver to take him to a restaurant (also unnamed) for a bite to eat before taking him home.
4. He collapsed as he walked in the door of his home. Present was his former wife, Cora Masters Berry, who rode back to the hospital with him in the ambulance after his collapse.
5. We'll miss this man hugely. He knew DC finances better than anyone else, and he was, as Elissa Silverman said, "a voice for the voiceless." Never mind all the nastiness over his arrest for drug use.
Surprise! The man was a sinner--aren't we all?
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Sunday, but no sun!
5 things:
1. I've been reminded that "technically" this is not yet winter. It just feels like it. Wind chill locally 38F. That's kinda wintry for these parts.
2. Doesn't look like it: no snow.
3. Doesn't smell like it. Nose still works.
4. But that's outside. In nature.
5. Inside, it's already Christmas, even in the gift shop at the Kennedy Center: Nutcrackers, decorated pine cones, etc.
1. I've been reminded that "technically" this is not yet winter. It just feels like it. Wind chill locally 38F. That's kinda wintry for these parts.
2. Doesn't look like it: no snow.
3. Doesn't smell like it. Nose still works.
4. But that's outside. In nature.
5. Inside, it's already Christmas, even in the gift shop at the Kennedy Center: Nutcrackers, decorated pine cones, etc.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Life in the Slow Lane...
5 things:
1. Apropos of Bruce Springsteen's gig at the local Concert for Valor on Veterans Day, one of the crossword clues I looked up t'other day was "pan pipes." Pan pipes were a precursor of the HARMONICA. Just about every kid I knew when I was growing up had a harmonica, but only
my friend Michael actually could play music on it. The rest of us just sounded asthmatic.
2. Nothing's free any more. All those People magazines that have been piling into my mail box
(and apparently everyone else's here in this building) are not promos. They come with a hefty bill that is deducted automatically from my bank account. WTF?! Trust me, I did not sign up for this,
and there's no way I would ever subscribe to that magazine, especially with the new shorter, disconnected, article + advertising format. (Is this so they can slap the print edition online without having to change the format?) This is just one more hazard of being older than dirt. Now I get to spend time figuring out how to get off this sucker list.
3. The old guy who had his art studio in the entryway to his living quarters on Wisconsin Ave. when I lived in Georgetown is still there! And still painting! So wonderful! So creative! His wee shop is just a bright white doorway opening to an entry/stairway wedged between two big stores. Door is always open, and he has a little stool and art table so he can reach the opposite wall to paint a small canvas hanging there. What a great idea. It made me happy to see he was still there when I made one of my trips to the Apple Store to buy a new supplement to my disabled Macintosh. If your Mac is more than 5 years old, Apple won't consider fixing it. They call it a "keepsake." How bout them apples???
4. It was raining at suppertime.....very soft, gentle drops but enough to prevent me from searching further for the laundry room entry to one of the other coop buildings across the drive. I decided to
skip the big coop meeting being held there at 7. Every door that could possibly lead inside over there is barricaded because of the recent cement work on the steps. If you don't know how to get in, how can you get there?
5. You do the math. You can buy one roll of TP for $1.50 or 12 rolls in a pack for $5. the 12 for $5 is more economical, but when you're very old, you need the remaining $3.50 more than you need all that TP. You can buy a bottle of orange juice!
1. Apropos of Bruce Springsteen's gig at the local Concert for Valor on Veterans Day, one of the crossword clues I looked up t'other day was "pan pipes." Pan pipes were a precursor of the HARMONICA. Just about every kid I knew when I was growing up had a harmonica, but only
my friend Michael actually could play music on it. The rest of us just sounded asthmatic.
2. Nothing's free any more. All those People magazines that have been piling into my mail box
(and apparently everyone else's here in this building) are not promos. They come with a hefty bill that is deducted automatically from my bank account. WTF?! Trust me, I did not sign up for this,
and there's no way I would ever subscribe to that magazine, especially with the new shorter, disconnected, article + advertising format. (Is this so they can slap the print edition online without having to change the format?) This is just one more hazard of being older than dirt. Now I get to spend time figuring out how to get off this sucker list.
3. The old guy who had his art studio in the entryway to his living quarters on Wisconsin Ave. when I lived in Georgetown is still there! And still painting! So wonderful! So creative! His wee shop is just a bright white doorway opening to an entry/stairway wedged between two big stores. Door is always open, and he has a little stool and art table so he can reach the opposite wall to paint a small canvas hanging there. What a great idea. It made me happy to see he was still there when I made one of my trips to the Apple Store to buy a new supplement to my disabled Macintosh. If your Mac is more than 5 years old, Apple won't consider fixing it. They call it a "keepsake." How bout them apples???
4. It was raining at suppertime.....very soft, gentle drops but enough to prevent me from searching further for the laundry room entry to one of the other coop buildings across the drive. I decided to
skip the big coop meeting being held there at 7. Every door that could possibly lead inside over there is barricaded because of the recent cement work on the steps. If you don't know how to get in, how can you get there?
5. You do the math. You can buy one roll of TP for $1.50 or 12 rolls in a pack for $5. the 12 for $5 is more economical, but when you're very old, you need the remaining $3.50 more than you need all that TP. You can buy a bottle of orange juice!
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Back At It....
5 things:
1. Laptop back in bidness, thanks to new wireless keyboard that sits on top of the old disabled one,
2. Because my "newest" Macbook is more than 5 years old, it's classified as a keepsake, and is not
repairable if anything more serious than a new laptop is needed.
3. Can't figure out what has happened to Minnesota--home of Hubert H. Humphrey and EugeneMcCarthy--and Iowa--which used to be reliably Democratic in the part where I lived. Joni Ernst??
4. Passed the Peace Corps hq on the way home yesterday, remembered my earlier desire to join this
after retirement. Still think it's not possible, but who knows? Go talk to them?
5. Found my photos of Amalfi Coast 2008 on my oldest laptop, and the kind folks at the Apple Store showed me how to use my Passport gadget to save and transfer them to this laptop. (Easier said than done!!) Stay tuned....
1. Laptop back in bidness, thanks to new wireless keyboard that sits on top of the old disabled one,
2. Because my "newest" Macbook is more than 5 years old, it's classified as a keepsake, and is not
repairable if anything more serious than a new laptop is needed.
3. Can't figure out what has happened to Minnesota--home of Hubert H. Humphrey and EugeneMcCarthy--and Iowa--which used to be reliably Democratic in the part where I lived. Joni Ernst??
4. Passed the Peace Corps hq on the way home yesterday, remembered my earlier desire to join this
after retirement. Still think it's not possible, but who knows? Go talk to them?
5. Found my photos of Amalfi Coast 2008 on my oldest laptop, and the kind folks at the Apple Store showed me how to use my Passport gadget to save and transfer them to this laptop. (Easier said than done!!) Stay tuned....
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