Notable People: Gaia Girace, Margherita Mazzucco, Created by Saverio Costanzo
Title: My Beautiful Friend
Grade: Based on the first of four wildly popular “ Neapolitan” novels by Elena Ferrante, the series follows the lives of two girls in post second world war Italy. Fraught with backdrops of post war chaos, the rise of fascism and the local pallor of the Mafia, the how covers four decades in their lives. The extreme loyalties, conflicts and complicated friendships of the times and of the Sicilian temperament, make for unusual scripts. The acting is excellent, the setting exotic and the story lines captivating, though very slow moving- more cerebral than action. Can be very depressing at times, but overall, quite worth the watch.
Notable People: Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren Brandon Sklenar, Darren Mann, Julie Schlaepner, Brain Geraghty, Amina Nieves, Created by Taylor Sheridan
Title: 1923
Grade: The second and most recent prequel to the Yellowstone megahit franchise is the prolific Sheridan’s effort to bring the Dutton family forward from 1883’s trek west (the first prequel) and now settled in Montana and dealing with the post-world war one carnage and dangers of the emerging West. Wonderfully filmed with great attention to detail, very strong scripts and surprising quality performances from Ford and Mirren. Shockingly short first season, that end with a clear implication to continue- but who knows-can they get Ford and Mirren back again? Though there is some formulaic element to this whole franchise-the quality is so good-it is hard not to want more– 1943?
Review: got this book as a birthday gift a year ago from my daughter-lost it-searched everywhere and found it while unpacking on mountain return a year later. Thus, was pretty excited to get at it, especially after reading Doerr’s extraordinary Pulitzer-prize winning first novel, “All the Light We Cannot See”. Well, bummer. Firstly, it is over 600 pages, and although I do believe Doerr is quality writer, I was pretty sure I was done after 50 pages. But, being a glutton and stubborn, I pushed through the whole thing-never feign any better really about it. From what I can make of it, it is a takeoff on an ancient Greek novel that was rediscovered in partial form 1500 years ago, and is a fantastical and sci-fi-ish account of a Homeric journey. So, Doerr takes this metaphor or parable or whatever the hell it is, and spins about a half dozen story-lines on differing characters in alternating chapters, in ancient Greece, in 1400s Constantinople, in modern day Idaho and on a spaceship from earth on a 100 plus year journey to another solar system. All of it is somehow related to this Greek text and to Libraries…don’t ask. Give it a try if you are a better reader than i. Dazed and confused-on to simpler things
“Sun rising over the mountain path- scent of plums” …………………………………………………………………………….Basho
“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning” ………………………………………………………………………………Meister Eckhart
“C’est la vie say the old folks- it goes to show you never can tell” …………………………………………………………Chuck Berry
Been a travelin’ man over the seas…. I remember the night…. Second straight week on the resuscitation of road warrior-ness and between that and raindrops falling on my head…. both tired and a bit mute……so don’t got much this week….
The Canadian Smoke Fest has continued to leave us without much sun along with the start of the who-would-live-around- there Hurricane season, has brought us transference type rain, rain, train…… forecast does not show a rain free day for next to weeks- though we all know the forecasters are basically using a crystal ballad on a dart board….
Father’s day came and went- lots of texts- no children, no grandees……. S…. L…. O…. W……. where are the kids that I used to sport with?……TQ made breakfast and dinner…and watched raindrops in between….
Music has been hot on Monday nights with our wandering leader and resident Gypsy back from world travels….and regular attendance from the grumpy guitarist and the mad mandolinist…plus our resident rain- woman (think Dustin Hoffman) ……..keep going sluggish on Monday nights and the having Mr. Hyde take over, and being one to leave and have to lock the place down…..building towards Bunty band week in early august, when the boys descend from around the globe…..
I seemed to have missed the retirement (maybe even semi-retirement) memo and am back on the horse with five projects of one sort or another…good work…but, make it stop, mama, make it stop…..
This week’s edition had me back on the shores of Gitchee-Goomey, by way of Chicago…determined not to repeat the last 9 hour trip……so I took the six- seater just down the road from here- to Boston- and then on to Chicago-then on to Dan Ryan expressway Hell out to Michiana…work went really well….have new disciples…..travel was indescribable…..first had to call about six- seater for every couple of hours for last 24 prior –to make sure it goes-then go to waiting room that is smaller than my living room, wait while they woke up the local TSA and call him to come in, weigh both my bag and me, wind up the propeller and shout the safety rules……turned out to be really nice day and flight was really pretty ending with a Magnifico view of Boston harbor…..made new Bestie on board –Deadhead, entrepreneurial Strangelove type on board-and we might be friends forever…we did exchange blood oaths- but, hey….Vermont is like that…..
In Boston , I had to make a frantic run to help out a 90 year old couple form the 6-seater with a 45 minute layover to depart for Blue-Hair world, and who were being fucked by the airline bureaucrats and not given back their carry –on bag as it was missing a tag, that the renegade living room TSA had neglected to put on back in la-la land…folks were in tears…so Papi made a mad sprint to the baggage claim, found their bag, reentered through another TSA , traced them to their departure gate and handed them their bag before the gate folk closed the aircraft door in their face…which would have led to postal Papi…got round of applause at the gate and emotional goodbye for my new grandparents…
The trip home broke the previous record and took 10 hours –with an extraordinary 3 hours in and around crazed Friday rush hour to Chi-town to get to the Midway, de-riguer flight delay, and the TQ driving four hours’ round trip to pick me at the live free or die terminal -home at 3 am (but no big deal, I was still on central time) ……
Tried to get in a much needed walk yesterday- and got as far as Java Baba for lunch……before the skies opened again – sat outside under an awning and ate……. watching deluge for over an hour…. the rain shooting off the roof in such massive arcs we thought were at a water park….no walk …nap…. did get in dry moment at Saturday Dump drop where the DM asked for TQ’s hand for the 40th time…. whilst maintaining his best Poncho villa (check the photo) ….DM and TQ sitting in a tree…….
I got no more- happy to be home for a while….plant me a garden, eat a little peaches, get me a home….story for paucity of pix today…..road, rain and accidental deletion conspire to leave not much….though SEE POND in glory….and Papi with each of the bigger grandees…
Off next weekend to The Apple to see all the cousins for first time since pre-Covid- pretty excited….’till then….it’s only me…and you….and a dog named Boo……
“Father, Father- there’s too many of us crying” ……………………………………………………………………………………………..Marvin Gaye
“Being a dad is when you realize you can actually like people who puke in your car multiple times” ………………Zen
“Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch” ………………………………………………………………. Jon Stewart
I got the travelin’ man blues, got the travelin’ man blues…..oh dear sweet mama….I got the travelin’ man blues…….Agreed to take on a project on the shores of Gitchee-Goomey (Lake Michigan) this winter, which seemed innocuous enough when in the heartland…..but now am cavorting to get to New Buffalo, Michigan and Michigan City, Indiana….collectively and affectionately called Michiana (Really)…….which is accessed from here by planes, trains and automobile……takes about a fortnight each way, and includes getting in and out of Chicago during rush hour to get to Midway…..and it always is pouring rain…….and there are 50, 000 sixteen wheelers pushing you off the road……and every flight is delayed…and full…and then it is another 2.5 hour drive back to the mountains…and when the morning sun comes shining in, I get up and do it again, amen, get it up again………
Not that I’m complaining…at least not totally….…. but this does fly in the face of mountain –life, though I have gained a special relationship with a Michiana trans person……and I have, apparently, totally infatuated them…because I live in Vermont with Bernie…. bonus……
Plus, every time I go away…. I come back to find TQ had modified more yard with some configuration of trees, mulch, cardboard and plant-like things…….
Where are the men that I used to sport with………Trying, under pressure from the Monarchy, to make new friends, but every guy I have asked to go for a walk with me…. has said no…apparently, they don’t walk, they don’t eat, they don’t drink…….so I surround myself either with books or with mountain gals mostly…. which this week led me to sit in a room with The Queen and her Court stuffing envelopes for two hours…….…whilst suffering from over-adoration for being the only partner-type who came and stuffed for his semi- betrothed………the food was good, though….
Friday, we took off in search of an evening meal- choice for which have become slim without majordomo drive…….wound up at the Victorian inn at Wallingford, which has a wonderful bistro menu, that is better in print than on the table delivery….were about to leave , when we were summoned by the arrival of our potential new Besties…..the Mad Scientist and his Self-Proclaimed Trophy Wife…so wound up sitting through their 57 course dinner of one of everything on the menu, while we sipped our waters, and had an hour of stimulating discussion about varicose veins and the Kato diet…but, hey…a night out is a night out.
The weather has been mostly gloomy since the F’in Canuck woody cloud came and went, but did not stop us from a day out in the rain yesterday to pursue the live free or die lifestyle and load up on tax free goods…….TQ requires a steady supply of high-end bourbon, which is thirty cents on the dollar across the border…so we drove around the big river in circles to find a walk for Lucy-Lu between rain drops…and contemplated the wild difference the river makes
Happy day to all Papis…be well, stay in touch, do some work.
Notable People: Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot, Nils Lofgren, Neil Young, Produced by: M,T, L &Y
Title: All Roads Lead Home
Review: Three of the four surviving members of The Horse, Neil’s forever backup band, got together over this past winter and laid down these tracks. Molina and Talbot have been the rhythm section and and hearts of Crazy Horse since the late 60s and a teen age Lofgren replaced the deceased genius Danny Whitten after the latter overdosed (The Needle and the Damage Done). Of course, Lofgren went on to be not only Neil’s second fiddle but then Bruce’s. They enticed Neil to contribute a song to the album, and he reputedly plays back ground a on a number of other cuts. The lead vocals are split between the three and are mostly kind of quiet Horse dreamy types- not the blast of what might be world’s greatest garage band of all time. Neil’s one song offering is classic- close your eyes and it is 1973. I was delighted to see these guys still upright and putting out a record after so many years, though, in fairness, you probably have to be a longtime fan to really appreciate this music; a bit dated and minimally produced. But, these guys are top notch musical muse warriors. Viva The Horse.
Notable People: Kevin Janssens, Ini Massez, Robbie Cleiren, Created by Rotem Shamir
Title: Rough Diamonds
Grade: Very well written drama about the orthodox Jewish community running the diamond trade in Antwerp, Belgium. An Israeli and Belgium co-production the plot follows Noah Wolfson, long lost from his family and living a secular life in London, who travels home to Antwerp after the suicide of his younger brother. Upon his return, Noah reconnects with the community he abandoned, while also trying to rescue his family’s diamond trading business from the pressures of organized crime and a zealous local prosecutor. Intense and fast paced, the show is an interesting look at a culture very few of us understand. Probably a one and done season show.
“Courage is the mastery over fear-not the absence of fear”…………………………………………..Fortune Cookie
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”……………The Queen (and Chinese Proverb)
“And you don’t believe- we’re on the eve of destruction….”…………………………………………Barry McGuire
Ba-da-da-da………Ba-da-da-da………..Ba-da-da-da-da (sound it out, please). After that intro, the traditional Chicken Wire Messenger Service bit (I shit you not…did this job for a year…there are living witnesses who can attest- Feel?
Sound out the beginning …and then:
Your son is dead, Got shot in the head, By a red, Boy how he bled…..Da-Da-da-Da-Da
Ok- so it’s been a long day-left early this morning, drove from The Mount to Manchester, NH to live free or catch a flight……rode the magic Southwest bus to Chi-town, shuttled to rental car, spent an insane 1.5 hours getting out of Ms. Windy (though in a new Jeep with 200 miles on it- me be first) and then another hour drive to Lake Michigan….so I ain’t got much, but did not want to shirk.
Basic highlight of Week 3 in the Greens:
Smokin’…we hit AQI of around 90, which is a bit much for the Progs, but quaint compared to 400 plus in the Apple and Philly- was even worse in the Heartland…nevertheless a lot of snifflin’ and hackin’………N-95 anyone?
Made out first visit to the beloved east- for Sunday Chinese last week- oy, the crispy Peking Duck with pine nuts…how does one spend $60 on Chinese for two? Only in Vermont….
Folk club Monday night featured the return of all the missing and wounded Grievous Angels-and was occasion joyueuse- My friend Cheryl showed up for the hoedown and had wrote a song for me called “The Finisher” ……interpret as you like….
Got off kilter this week, slaving at my computer in my renewed effort at being working stiff, whilst TQ planted and planted and planted…and bought more to pant…made a late day trip down to the Okemo gym one afternoon-…only to find a moderately full house- need to semi-retire again to have my own private am gym building….
Am I retied ? semi- retired….poll question…..
After a year of hassling for the autobody grump to replace my damaged fender molding…..he did….but had to listen to 30 straight uninterrupted minutes of grump-speak whilst he did it…not sure who won….
Apple tree very pretty and the apple flower is sweet….TQ had gone over the Appleseed edge…and is now on to rutabaga or some such shit…..
Had out first visitors of the season for drinks and gab ( I did not make that up) from the Southie deniers- that is they are generic Southies to us, but apparently not in the Boston taxonomy of caste or class….sorry ‘bout that J&L- still it was quite the gab, as always, on a lovely indoor porch nite…in da wicker, wicker…..
Yesterday we schlepped up to Lebanon for a free music festival, which was quite nice except for bouts of rain spitting- lovely parkland over the eldest section of the majestic Connecticut river- see the 1700’s stones-music good, people nice, setting tranquil…but the highlight was Wicked Awesome BBQ stop on way home…
And the beat goes on…more next week…gotta see a man about a horse….
Hello, I love you, c/an you tell me your name…..Ferlin’
Notable People: Emilia Schule, James Purefoy, Louis Cunningham, Jack archer, Created by Deborah Davis
Title: Marie Antoinette
Grade: a historical drama produced by the BBC and based on the life of the last queen of France before the French Revolution who was 14 years old when she became the Dauphine of France upon her marriage to the heir Louis Auguste- Louis the 16th– who was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy with the Revolution. Louis was the grandson of the venerable Louis the 14th who is featured prominently in the show. The acting is good, the setting, mostly in Versailles, magnificent and costumes to die for- though there is some question of its historical accuracy. Nice period piece if you like the period. Commissioned for a second season, so, obviously, she has not yet lost her head .
“Having no destination, I am never lost” ……………………………………………………………………………IKKYU
“You have to come to the shore. There are no instructions” ………………………………………………. Denise Levertov
“It is good to know the truth, but it is better to speak of palm trees” ……………………………………Arab Proverb
Well- it’s been a long week and a short distance…35 and blustery to 93 in the shade overnight- and back down to a high of 50…. mountain winds prevail…daily…. but things are settling down on The Mount….
After our first day of indentured servitude on Saturday last, we set out Sunday for our first wander…which took us around the central part of state for the open studio tour. Started in nearby Bridgewater Commons at several studios in an old mill building overlooking one of the state’s magnificent speed traps…and became quickly drawn in by one artist who is a 911 survivor and needed to tell her story, which was intense and lengthy….and led to her work in which she depicts every person killed on 911 in miniature head form…..which sits right next to bizarre paintings of civil war reenactors (see photo #1)….. that, we more or less blew off the studio tour and headed for the woods…splendid day led us eventually to the hamlet of South Royalton, where after years of trying, we finally scored lunchables from the legendary Worthy Burger…giant burgers, a massive pile of hand cut fries…and then a ride to the nearby Creamees joint to top it off…..about tripled my carb intake of the previous month….basically been on an all salad diet ever since.
Monday was machine readying day around the domicile, with every gas powered battleax coming to life without trouble- this has got to be be too good to be true…. nevertheless, the property is swept and groomed … Tuesday resulted in our finally getting Jens car back after 8 days…worth the wait…. a projected 2K plus repair bill in the heartland, reduced to a $500 bargain here…. got to love the mechanic in the meadow and his outdoors repairdom….
Cars good…phone bad…still living with only the erratic WIFI calling due to the latest screw up from the greed infested anthills that call themselves communications companies…. don’t you love communicating with them…. on the hunt for a solution, but living with minimal phone access until we leave the house…make a lot of calls in the car in few places that have cell signals between mountain ranges…ok, maybe a bit more complicated life here in some ways…like phones. mail and finding a place to get takeout without driving 45 minutes…. our three closest options have closed since we left last Fall……Sal’s, Harrys and the Belmont Store…and Door Dash is not driving up the mountain anytime soon…ergo, the salad diet…
The Queen has rediscovered her Court, and disappears for hours at a stretch to cavort with the local Yenta royalty..…in between playing Jenn-EE- Appleseed with latest property improvements..…so TQ connects while p and Lucy walk…finding new dirt road opps every other day or so…..Thursday sucked it in , made a huge list and spent five hours doing town things…..kind of like going in on the wagon in 1840s Montana…..experienced many goods and services, all a success with the exception of the cell phone morons…..Friday looked like a good enough day to take on the much worn deck and its need for good lovin’…so TQ scraped in the am while Papi provide the virtual cure…then we scraped together…then we stained…in a blitz to bat the threatening skies as the therm hit 90 plus….this led to an immediate strip down and first Pond plunge…me and da turtle…
With dubious weather predicted now for next we, we took off yesterday for a southeast Greens tour down the route 30 corridor to Dorset, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Bennington—snuck across the line to Hoosick NY, where we got local store lunch and ate in a drizzle, then discovering actually still in Vermont, so able to ditch the Yankee caps…nice walk at Shaftsbury Lake State Park and on to famous Bennington battlefield, which is neither in Bennington, nor in Vermont, but it is pretty cool…dem’ Ethan Allen boys was fierce…hard to imagine we hated the British that much…but this is indeed hallowed ground….finished the southern part of the loop in historic Salem NY, where we encountered an extraordinary portrait of American Prom decadence going on outside the ancient courthouse…..then circled home with one more dirt road walk in late afternoon sunshine at Middletown Springs….
And now it’s time to get it up and start all over again…Amen…. start it all again…. Amen
Poll question…. if you get held up on the road by official police cars doing traffic control in a private rent-a-cop capacity-can they tell you what to do legally and police you if you don’t? You would not believe ow long that debate went on……
Though I’m guessing there might be some more important questions to answer…. but …until then
