Notable People: Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone, Vritika Gupta, Alyana Goodfellow, Izzy G. Created by: Quinn Shephard
Title:Under the Bridge
Review- Based on the highly acclaimed story of fourteen-year-old girl from Victoria, BC, who went to a party with friends but never came home. The show delves into the secret world of the young girls accused of the murder and reveals shocking facts about the improbable killer via the eyes of the local girl turned magazine writer who comes home to her troubling past and her teen best friend (likely lover), now a local police officer. This was hugely popular book and the mini-series is well cast and well-acted. It is a frightening portrait of teen angst in modern times-and of an incredibly biased and subjective justice system with echoes of alienation and bullying, as well as the trials of cultural adaptation. Though it as very powerful, it took us a long time to finish it as it was really hard to like almost any of the characters-teens or adults. Very, very dark portrayal of modern states of anomie (look it up). To be fair many people liked this a lot more than we did. Keogh and Gladstone are both very talented but seem to be getting pigeonholed in similar role ruts.
Review: the critically acclaimed final work of beloved Vermont fiction by Howard Frank Mosher, who died in 2017. Mosher continues his 30 year, 14 book odyssey exploring the story of centuries of the Kinneson family of Vermont’s loosely disguised remote Northeast Kingdom fictionally, Kingdom County). The setting, which has often been the focus of Mosher’s four-decade-long career, is brought up to the 21st Century. Through a series of stories rooted in Northern Vermont, Mosher captures the essence of rural America with dead eye commentary, subtle observations on people and relationships and a masterful dry wit. I periodically pick up one of these book at the library and always become immediately entwined in his fabled Kingdom community and its irreverent characters. Vermont’s fiction laureate in my book.
“Who knows this morning what will happen tonight?” ………………………Chinese Proverb
“Autumn coming is felt not only in the autumn breeze” ……………………..Hokushi
“Coma, coma, coma, Chameleon” ……………………………………………Boy George
OMG…did I miss a week?……………………..Did you miss the week? Did we all miss the week?……………………….too, too much Juju …nowhere to run, nowhere to hide……. Time has come today……TIME…….
As you might imagine, the birthday six weeks for The Queen has taken up some bandwidth and put me in arrears…in a rears?………..so, the gala had continued since we last spoke unabated, with a trip to Les Left Bank in Weston, for a decent diner in an elegant dining room at haute Paris prices…then back to our fave, The Hub, for the monthly FREE lunch…yes, my friends, there is the free lunch (are you hearing me, Feel?)….a magnificent offering, I might add, in this uniquely renovated old Vermont farmhouse , and then on to the Eastern townships of Quebec, for three days of Franco immersion…you might wonder if we are on the stretch run, yet? Non, mais Non. ….still have a fancy ass diner, two more fall outings and an overnight concert trip to go…..I hear the train a comin’, it’s comin; round the bend, and I ain’t seen the sunlight, since…I don’t know when….
The free lunch was surrounded by an inspired day of roaming the hills with The Southies…..who joined us, and got the place to open up the bar for them , at the free community duffer lunch…and patently drove around in circles with us for several hours…..ah…the leaves…ah, the leaves….
After that, Papi was off for three days to CHITOWN, via the hated drive to Hartford, to find The Bear…..stayed in the River North area and wandered my old haunts from my five year run there a decade ago….and did eventually find the Bear’s Italian Beef shrine……dined outside on a lovely fall night at a traditional Italian family joint, watching the big town crowds stroll by well towards midnight…not Kansas anymore, Dorothea…..got to site visit a 28 million dollar neighborhood community mobilization program deep n the hood, that was beyond awe-inspiring…..art, music, podcasts, science, theater, journalism……all for inner city kids to deter them from the system pipeline….take a moment and google –“Build- Chicago”….a testament to the power of vision and positive regard…and hope, hope, hope…..
Came home long enough to spend a day, wash the clothes, pick up the little woman and the hound…and of course, checked in on the return of the grievous Dumpmaster after his two week absence…spent an hour sitting next to him in front of the garbage compactor to see if he would rise to assist…..which he did not, but offer a profound running commentary for each and every dump patron….thinking maybe this is a job for em next year?
From there it was on to cross the border……though it is certainly not the Trumpsters’ border…Les Quebecois are happy to have is…and our own border guards remain proficient at practicing total intimidation, rudeness and inability to smile …I tried several jokes which came close to landing me on a transport to Mexico…but in the end we crossed back thru the quietest crossing on earth …one border guy was snoring in his chair…and managed to bring Lucy back in without being imprisoned…bit, I digress….ah, Quebec….two hour drive to cross the border and within five minutes, into a French immersion course…no anglais, non anglais……found our lil’ chalet in the forest and started our tour…highlighted by L’Abbay du Lac de Benior….a 200 year- old Huguenot order of Benedictine Monks (the silent types) that is magnificent and fully self-sufficient, set in a valley surrounded by the Laurentian’s range….bought a bag of their orchard grown apples- for three bucks American…dollar is bustling north of the border….wow…wandered around the townships in search of Gamache…..and fining somewhere to eat (Sunday thru Tuesday having become a dining wasteland in our necks of the woods)…but managed to find a spectacular Patisserie for les deserts and French cook at home dinners. Then a Parisian sidewalk café in Sutton pour les dejeuner, in the extraordinary afternoon fall sunlight… even having dinner at golf course (only place open for Monday dinner in a 40 mile radius) …food ok- but with a incredible deck view of the sunset mountains in every direction…all accomplished in mumbled Francais.…oui, merci, bon, tres bon, bien, tres bien…ou est la toilette, Merdi, d ’accord….i think that’s about it, non?
So good, we are considering a return trip Les Quebecois instead of annual trek to Maine coast………….
Still waiting for a painter…….
Pond now down four feet- nor rain in a month- and still 70 plus daily….no climate change here……but really, hard to complain…fuck the grandkids…..let them worry about it………
Finished our meanderings with trip down the northeast 91 corridor to nowhere, Connecticut for our sixth annual Bronx reunion………..which is akin to being on the set of Good fellas…….guns and pasta abound…..but re-connecting with friends of 65 to 70 years (no shit!) …Priceless…two unable to come this year…but we still mythically reminisced of the bygone glories of 1950-60s Bronx life……and all the legends that go with it…pas the braciole…..
Got back in time for our annual showing, in our tiny library, of the Manhattan Shorts Film festival……Mt. Holly is one of several hundred venues around the globe, along with Paris, London, New York, Berlin…and us…………. how weird is that? My vote for this year’s best picture of the ten finalists we saw (we all get a vote- even in Belmont, which crowns the international winner)-was for a four minute film, that was able to show a near-tragic and hilarious and heartfelt story in that amount of time…that is brilliance in my book….I’m gonna work on becoming such a storyteller…imagine reading the Blog in four minutes…….
So on to sister Jane’s annual fall visit this week and Cider Daze, our crazed fall fest, next weekend…..hear the sound of the men working on the ch…aainn gang……and, The Beat Goes On…..
Notable People: Liev Schreiber, Nicole Kidman, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson, Meghann Fahy, Created by: Jenna Lamia
Title:The Perfect Couple
Review- I know that a lot of people really liked this mini- series from the popular 2018 novel by Erin Hillenbrand- but we found it was more of a guilty pleasure/eye candy-similar to our secret years of closet watching the shameless “Revenge”. Schreiber and Kidman (in an outstanding and complex role) make this eminently watchable and the supporting cast is good, the two police detectives are perfect as comic relief (masters of the eye roll), but in the end, it seemed pretty formulaic, though hard to figure out as a whodunnit. Hard to imagine Liev doing this after his brilliant turn as Ray Donovan, but he pulls it off, though he could sure use a shave. Hard not to watch, but not all that redeeming.
Review: This interesting fifth novel from a psychiatrist/ author has been the rage of our local mountain libraries. I got on a wait list for it, waited for a month, started reading it, and was ready to be done after first 25 pages. Not my style to give up, so persevered-and it got a lot better, though still obtuse at times. Story of a single house and its occupants in a rural area of Western Mass., for centuries, starting with what seemed to allegorically (or not) be the garden of Eden with the book’s apple orchard initial setting and related bad behavior, and then gravitating into an unending line of seriously dysfunctional generations of inhabitants. Got a lot more interesting in the pre-post civil war years and then faded some in modern times. Mason writes more like a shrink than a man of letters from my point of view, but the story is unusual and many of the characters are captivating. Could have been 100 pages shorter for my money……and have a bit less forbidden fruit.
“Whiter than the stones of Stone Mountain- autumn wind.” ………………………………………………………………………………… Basho
“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone” ………………………………………………………………………………………Alan Watts
“Autumn’s first morning! The bare foot knows it on the newly washed porch” ……………Ishu
Mama said there’d be months like this, there’d be months like this my Mama said. We are in the thick of six weeks of b’day, having now completed half of the BIG-8 of bedazzlements……are we there yet? The Queen is taking it all in stride with a wink and a smile….and, of course, a few extra property makeover tasks…lately focusing on the clearing of yet another area out back to become a NEW (yes, NEW) grassless garden extravaganza of some hybrid ilk…….so been hacking and sawing and digging and…finally……bolt cutting 100 year-old fence….which has revealed the original stone wall….yes, there are stone walls in Vermont (everywhere)…..I was so moved by this unveiling, that I got a broom and swept off the 175 years of old wall detritus….which to my great fortune, nobody saw me doing….or would have had a scarlet F (Flatlander) on my breast for the rest of my days………..
So…how about a week of lists? Ya know, ya LOV that, right…………. wham, bam…………. thank you, m ’am……..
TQ BIG-ASS Birthday Adventures
Sunday was a God-day……78, sunny, puffy clouds, big blue windows behind the stars, yellow mon on the rise, big birds flying across the sky……. took the A-train (The magnificent Route 3o Lake Champlain Valley corridor of Beauty) up to Middlebury for Art (Lucy in alleged service dog mode for entry) (“why is she with you when your wife has the emotional support needs?) (Answer” we are practicing to help her in small increments not be so dam needy”) ……after art and walks it was twilight dinner on the VARANDAH….at the Waybury Inn, which is like eating on the set of the Newhart show (which it was)
Tuesday was High Tea (Really, no shit) at The Hub at Weston…. with us and 50 local blue bloods- we had to take a crash course on speaking in erudite for this, you know the audio books you go to sleep with) and…practice drinking tea with pinky appropriately extended. Jenn was the youngest person there by several decades and I may have been second……the menu was entirely based on The Queens’ (not ours) Cookbook and was carefully curated between each course, as to which reign each offering came from…and ……. we had to wear little Elizabethan hats…… PRETTY COOL…wit Pym’s cup for cocktails (really)
Tonight is Le Dejeuner Au Le Banke au Gauche (they’ll ban me for that spelling) ……at the newest de-riguer offering for southern Vermont…. pied la terrase…………can I still wear shorts and flip flops? After that, we are back on track this week for the Master and Elusive Free Lunch and next weekends’ escape to Quebec
And in between, we fit in a dinner party, with ten guests, almost none of whom we had ever dined with or had in our house before (though The empress was here) ….and included our local Corn-fed, Cornhusker Elder Who May Be The Only College Educated Nebraskan Jew To Go To Vietnam (CCEWMBTOCENJTGTV).……was that Abe Vigoda in our house? Despite no one knowing anyone, we had a splendid dinner. Highlighted by the blueberry cobbler from outer space made and offered by the Once Shicksa- now converted bride of the CCEWMBTOCENJTGTV…………………
Observations of the Week
The Circle Remains Unbroken-as the folk club has taken its weekly muse to the deck of our critically ill longtime member……paying it back or forward, not sure which……but providing a weekly respite from the grief and dying process……. a humbling and highly magical experience
The Dumpmaster can stand at his work-as evidenced by his return to duty and being paired with the again subbing retired town official (won’t go into that nickname again- got a lot of shit for that in last week’s blog…. like responses to the “60 years in the closet” …. ugghhh…did it again)
John Adams was the bomb
Chickenshit, I’m the Best __ ever President, woman really love me, fuck the rest of the world, Pretender n’ Chief is refusing to have another debate with Kamala……No Mas, No Mas……….let’s get this over with and put him out to pasture, please…with an orange jumpsuit, of course…..thinking Attica…..
It takes, on average, about 18 months, to find a person willing to start painting your house…and only after 17 no shows….I found a crumpled up note with a phone number on the road and called the number on it to see if was a heavenly sent painter…….
Vermonty Shit
The Greens become less so in September
No-one really knows what makes it a good or bad foliage year…. too cold/too hot…. too dry/too wet……. not enough Bernie sightings in home state…poor sales of Birkenstocks and /or Subaru’s…maybe it is random???!!??/
If you head out at 5 pm and look for a dirt road to walk on …. you will see G_D……money back guarantee….
Apple Cider Donuts……’nuff aid
THE POND essentially disappears after not a drop of rain for a month
Pot luck dinners almost always wind up with an abundance of one food genre…. often dessert…. but can also result in everyone bringing a SPREAD (open for interpretation of category)
A badly sharpened chain for the saw is almost like sitting through a formal Passover Seder before you can eat
How can a town with 640 people have three fine dining establishments and a noted atge tatter?
Do blue bloods actually still wear those little hats anymore?
People are VERY friendly when it is 72 degrees and sunny every day
Signs, signs everywhere a sign…do this…don’t do that…can’t you read the sign………
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to THE QUEEN…………… …Long live The Queen………………
“Master your instrument, Master the music, and then forget all that Bullsh*t……and just play”….Charlie Parker
“Da-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da…Da-Da………DA, DA, DA……’…you say it’s your birthday” …You Know Who!!
“Out of intense complexities, simplicities emerge” ………………………Winston Churchill
Oh…. what a beautiful morning…………………………. Perfect for the start of The Queen’s birthday month…. Feel and Mo just hit the road after a splendido overnight to kick off the birthday celebration……… on their to two (TUTU? weeks in Maine, and started their journey with their annual visit, they took us out for Jenn’s birthday to the magnificently decadent Homestyle Hostel in Ludlow.……………. For previously unheard of libations and the grand gastronomy…………. we are all still feeling like we are carrying the weight of the dinner 12 hours later………
So, with the game afoot for six weeks of birthday activities to get started with today, The Blog will need to feature assorted random thoughts……….
Let’s talk about the immensely popular text response trend of “Loved, Liked, Laughed, Questioned”, as an apparently necessary time saving mechanism for our very busy daily lives……………. Firstly, I have finally acclimated to learning how to interpret both mimes and the cute little letters like LOL, TTYL, OMG…. which took me years………and now we have these nutcake responses……such as “Liked” to my text of “cannot talk toady, attending a friend’s funeral OR, “Loved” to “feeling sick, going to the doctor” OR “Laughed “to “I’m really worried about our democracy” ……well you get the drift…SO, what the F___…I may be a luddite………………but OMG…. REALLY? /??//
TQ and sister Jane had a wonderful week of not eating or drinking much of anything at an all- inclusive in Cancun (Best customers ever for the resort’s bottom line)…and I got the week of cat care…my one goal to keep Gracie alive for the week…..not dying on my watch…which requires multiple pills daily, cleaning up her projectile vomiting before she re-heats it, and sitting with her for nine required feedings a cay so he might deign to eat …this is TRAUMA….The Trailer Masseuse came over to help a few times, and was a but paralyzed to not hurt her…so we freaked together…then …The Empress came over, grabbed her, told us both to suck it up and shut up, and jammed her pill down her throat…MORE Trauma…no mas…no mas…MORE TRAUMA…
BOTTOM LINE….al six pounds of GRACIE MAY LIVES!!!!!!!!!
And how about TQ The Terrorist…busted coming and going by customs for “RANDOM” bag checks and “special persons of interest” boarding…. did not appear very likely to make it home…and managed to arrive near midnight Friday…after 13 hours of travel….to Albany International (they fly to Montreal?) ….
AND…………. Birthday month is now Birthday SIX WEEKS…….
Can Sam Spade be alive? Check out bizarre new show on Netflix with the retired gumshoe played by Clive Owen (Bogey he is not!) ….
Does Papi like being home alone?……total engagement in dirt road/leaf peeping obsession with walks with Lucy…and peak late day autumn light time……Oh….DA LITE….OH, DA LITE….Livin’ on sponge cake, watchin’ the sun bake…..in one week I had dinners of fried fish platter (twice), franks and beans, leftover tuna casserole, and some breakfast for dinner at 10 pm omelet concoction…………and watched 65 hours of baseball…..all of which may have compensated for cat feedings, medicines and litter boxes….one day i went to Rutland and forgot to come back……If only there was a nearby White Castle….that would be PERFECT…..
Speaking of late night and Albany airport pickups……let home with Lucy at around 8 pm Friday….and had found not much one for dining/time killing……but this one weird little Italian joint, Giuseppe’s, up on hill that we regularly pass, and wonder about , on the 7 in nowhere land……was open till midnight….not shockingly, turned out to be more dive than classic road hose….but hey, you play the cards you are dealt…..so had a nice dinner actually, including a piece of chicken parm that was clearly one whole chicken..…which I ate all of (pattern?)… …a nice Chianti (fave beans anyone) …and when it came the time to pay discovered it was cash only…. NOT…. So gave the owner my meager $20 so waitress could get tip and could pay at least part of my tab and they insisted I skip the rst….no worries…so, although we have learned there is clearly no FREE Lunch…there is, apparently, free dinner…but, oh the SHAME…. SHAME…. time to ill…. Catskill….
And Saturday, The Dumpmaster was absent along with ADM…. replaced by the Murmuring- Never Look At You, Been-In- The- Closet –for- 60 years- Retired Town Treasurer (MNLAYBITCFSYRTT)- who actually stood up when cars arrived with trash and recycling……. which The Dumpmaster never does……fortunately TDM was gone for the week, and not gone to meet his maker…WHEW……
And The Pond…best late season ever……starting to look like Monet’s’ Giverny…No?
So- good for you? Good for me! Got to go see a man about a horse…. upward, onward…Today’s b’day events: art in Middlebury and dinner at the Waybury Inn (filming spot for the last Newhart show) …much more B’day to come, which you no doubt will wait for reporting of with baited breath…as will we…and The Queen goes on……80 and sunny……
“You are not allowed to travel at night, but you must arrive by daybreak” ……………………… ZEN
“Life does not worry about Life. Only the mind does that” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Mooji
“Don’t remind me of my failures, I have not forgotten them” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………Jackson Browne
Well, it’s been a longish week, starting with the end of Labor Day weekend, thru the determined march of change of season…………………… Into the feel of autumn’s quietude, and now facing a week of relative solitude, catch-up duties, full freedom of time and place………. the cat goes away………. Leaving mice -boy to play…………………………
Left the metropolis of Albany this morning in 75° sunshine……… to reach mountain gloom in early afternoon, creaking out at a chilly 5 5 and heading down………………… made for a cuddle and couch nap with Lucy-lou and various unwanted cats crawling on me.……………… After depositing The Queen at the Airport pre-dawn for a weeklong jaunt in Cancun, with Sister Jane……………………. guessing warmer there than here……
Left behind with the honey-dew, two needy cats whom I usually try to ignore, but for whom I need to play Florence Nightingale for coming week…. And see who survives……… But, generally…might be a rest time for Papi……so aiming for short and sweet on the blog front for this edition…….
Spent Monday, Labor Day, checking out Vermont’s newest dispensary, down in Chester, which despite neon lights and caviar, was nothing special……………………. But there was free lunch……. Returning from that, we finally tracked down Norm, the elusive paint –meister, to talk about more house painting without our taking on that full-time obligation again……………………… He was excited to see us, proclaimed having painted our house many times, and was eager to come take a look……………… Which he soon did, offering us great closure on this giant project, but he said he could start immediately and finish very soon for a quite reasonable price……………………. He showed up the next day, fully emulating one of the dwarfs from the hobbit, with his elfin wife……. only to let us know that he was not there to paint…. but…. that his wife had experienced great trauma with her parents (we need to know this why?) which we learned was Old George who occasionally has mowed for us……. and whom, they could not be around……. ever…. even for a minute…………………… So painting job out…………. How hard can it be to find someone to paint your house…………………. Apparently a rhetorical question here on The Mount……………………… Talk about deflating…………………
Mountain tradespeople……………………………. Can’t live with them……. Can’t live without ‘em……
Is there anything better than late afternoon autumnal light?
My self-image to the contrary………………………… I have become a huge fan of The Price Chopper…no shit….
And, what’s not to like about spending an afternoon on Rutland’s miracle mile for the weekly take the wagon to town-shop till you drop…………………………………. A little spaceship car wash………………………… A little Birkenstock at the Co-op, a quick stop at Ramuntos……………. a few catch up calls as I mosey along in the autumn sunshine………………. Oh, give me a home- where the buffalo roam……….
TQ was unable to hook in her favorite contractors for a variety of must do, before she leaves…. projects …………….so Papi quit working on Friday and got out the recalcitrant chainsaw, the circular and the Zaw….and the big –ass hybrid nail-screws and tackled the we-0have-to get-this dome last minute list ………………
So, Saturday completed the work week, dropped off the hound, let his Dumpmaster –self hug TQ goodbye and headed down the 7 to Albany- town for the night, to get The Queen off to the Tropics on the Sunday dawn-ish flight………………………… spent the night at the Marriott…which, as it turned out, was just what the Dr. ordered…………………… Bumped to a top floor suite in loyalty- royalty status (they know A Queen when they see one) ………………… We arrived there for a rainy Saturday afternoon and never left the room……………………. Napping, watched a movie, got a bit tipsy…. and ordering what may have been the best delivery Mediterranean takeout food in history for in room dining………………was it really that good…………. or you know, you know………………but, it was damn good………………….
Then the alarm goes off 4:00 AM, then the front desk calls 10 minutes later for the 4:30 shuttle ride …………. And then the moron calls again at 4:28 after she has left the room……………. Rousing an unhappy sleeping…. Recouped for a bit more Z’s, got out for a brisk run, hit the mediocre breakfast buffet……………. and hit the road………………. Picking up Lucy at the Masseuse trailer and arriving home to the crazed cats……………
And now, Papi done in……. now it’s time to say goodbye to all out family…. M…I…C …see ya real soon……………K…E…Y………why, because we love you…….
Back on the train now………………. Diners, Drives and Dive-ins…. we had it all, we had it all……………
Notable People: Joey King, Logan Lerman, Amit Rahav, Henry Hughes, Hadas Yaron, Robin Wiegert, Michael Aloni, Created by: Erika Lipez
Title:We Were the Lucky Ones
Review- this one was recommended to me by my CUZ, and is a real sleeper. An eight episode, one-shot miniseries; it is an adaptation of the 2017 book of the same name by Georgia Hunter, inspired by the story of her own family, and depicts the perspective of the Kurc family of Polish Jews, beginning in the surreal shift in1938, as the Poles are being harassed by the Nazis, and goes through 1947and the end of this extraordinary decade. It is a story almost too hard to believe, of immense courage, fortitude, perseverance and love- pitted against tyranny, hatred, inhumanity and evil…and evil, it is… portrayed in stunning details. This is not an easy show to watch and I wept through most of the final chapter. Humbling and equilibrium challenging, and can make our daily troubles seem rather minimal. The cast is stunning and settings and cinematography magnificent. I was initially put off by the use of English with heavy Polish accents instead sub-titles of Polish, but I got used to it and it seemed genuine in these people. This is one powerful series.
Notable People: Ken Burns; narrated by David McCullough
Title:The Civil War
Review I’ve said before that Burns is the greatest documentarian in film history, and watching this epic (latest for me, old hat for him) does nothing to alter that. I sometimes think we should chuck the one-sided garbage we teach kids in school history classes and just have them watch all of Burns’ films. An absolute master if the craft, who his able to provide a rapturous experience, even for a time period, that prevents any actual any action footage. You can feel the schism that rocked this country viscerally as the story unfolds, and the characters come to life through anecdotes and historical narrative. It takes about 25 hours to watch this thing, which we do in short increments, but well, well worth the time. Brilliance.
