Notable People: Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Steve Zahn, Jake Lacy, Created by: Mike White
Title: The White Lotus
Review: this limited six episode HBO series was sent my way by Feel the Connoisseur. It’s a very quirky show focused on the guests and high level employees of an exclusive Hawaii resort. The characters are just the right side of believable, but the relationships are potent. Nicely shot and with flashes of humor that make it not be tedious. The ensemble cast is quite good and Murray Bartlett as the closeted, coke snorting, out of control – yet impeccably behaved Hotel manager is well worth the price of admission. I had no idea while watching that this show dominated the 2021 Emmys in its category- would never have guessed, but it has been renewed for a second season to take place in Sicily, with some cast member returning, and a wacked out who’s who of others.
Review: This 1996 novel is the second in Perry’s unusual Jane Whitefield series. Jane is a Seneca Indian in far upstate New York who infamously makes people disappear who need to not be found by people with very bad intentions. The development of the main character from the first to the second book is significant and the story of Jane’s attempt to save an orphaned young boy, who is inheriting millions, form a cutthroat syndicate keeps us hurtling back and forth across the country with abandon and glee as readers. I’m hooked on the series now. thanks to my lit mentor, Professor Neil.
“The fireflies’ light. How easily it goes on. How easily it goes out again.” …………………………………Chine- Jo
“From the evening breeze to this hand on my shoulder, everything has its truth” …………………. Albert Camus
“Seeking Love” Letter of the Year (From Vermont Seven Days):41 y/o loner male, formerly moderately handsome, now world weary, depressed and socially isolated——– looking for 30-50 y/o female to share time with. I’m considerate, but years of depression and self-doubt have rendered me something of a self-hating loner. Interested to hear about you and your story. Hmmmmm……………………………………
The Greens continue to unexpectedly remain mostly Green in this extended drought year, tho hints and teases abound. Have settled into a week of mostly perfect fall days and very brisk nights……I can feel the color, but not see it…. next big rain…. for The Pond…. for The Leaves……. For The Soul……………………….
We started this week last Sunday night with a potluck dinner at some activist friends of ours………………………………… activist enough that the lady of the house at one point said “ I spit on republicans”…….so probably not going to work across the aisle, per se…..there were five couples of a certain age (mine) in a rainbow of colors….the most distracting of which was a very nice 82 year old man who was the absolute doppelganger of Gus Frigh from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul….despite being a very kind and witty man, I was afraid of him all night….being in Vermont, every single person brought a dish that featured corn and tomatoes (last of season)…and we had bread that the Retired Postal Mensch had waited at the Woodstock Fahmers Mahket for 4 hours to get….every person aside from us had read the NY Times start to finish that morning…whilst I was reading a steamy detective novel…..all quite stimulating…
My stunted work life took a turn while doing a 4 hour on-line live training session this week on some new Zoomish platform with almost three hundred people…I did put on a nice shirt along with my uniform of lounge pants and sweat socks…. was everybody wearing lounge pants out of sight? ………………………………Still?
Spent hours this week trying to find someone to fix my injured auto body…. best I could do was some guy telling me I could leave my car with him for three weeks and he could then probably get it done by mid-November vs. next March……this guy also featured a major junk yard and a snarling dog outside his door and………… never took his feet off his desk while we talked…there were many guns mounted on the wall……car care in Vermont….
Big birthday week…for Jenn, Sister Jane, Ry and Lauren…all in 2 days……HB to all………………
I broke down this week, after a month of some form of sciatica and related countless home remedies, and got a message. The Masseuse in the Trailer is not up to it right now, so went up to our friend Linda’s abode, where a host of feral young adults coalesce. One of them happens to be a licensed massager. So picture this—-walk in to have a message with a stunning and underdressed 25 y/o woman…………and start thinking it would be good if Phil were here to see this………… I already had my silent mantra ready in the event of any overstimulation, but upon arriving found that I has recently sat in something that smelled like poop, so had to run into the bathroom and clean my inner and outer garments, to avoid total smelly diaper embarrassment. KS, the massager, is really quite good, but 25 and, thus, somewhat distractible…..so she had to refrain from digging deep into the problem gluts because (I later learned upon inquiry) at some point she apparently had a vison of sailboats, which intuitively led her elsewhere (these are her exact words)….when I was done, dressed and emerged…..the whole kabob of ferals was outside to greet me and my washed out underwear. It’s possible this is too much for gentleman of my years….
For The Queens big day on Thursday, I had a shakily-conceived plan for fanciful takeout, but when time came …had two local places tell me they were “too busy for takeout” …is this really a thing????…..the whole supply chain-understaffed scenario has lost it sheen with me…..so- zipped down to the Wallingford to see Mr. Sal and his red gravy extravaganza……….for gifts, got her a Retro, a Currently Fashionable and a Future……..quiet evening in the mountains….
So, Saturday was actually the birthday extravaganza. After a quick stop to exchange insults with The Dumpmaster and his cronies, we picked up an unparalleled Turkey Town grinder from Curmudgeon Bob at Baba’s and had the Ludlow Cemetery lunch overlooking the reservoir and then a hike…. then meandered our way up to tiny Reading to the Hall Art Foundation- which is a middle of nowhere relation to MOMA and has galleries in New York, London, Paris and Nowhere, Vermont. These rich folk bought a zillion acres back in the 80s and turned all the old barns into spanking new state of the art galleries, along with acres of grounds with statuary. For this season, thy were featuring the sublime, bucolic water colors of the still-painting, 95 y/o Lois Dodd- set against the tyranny, fright and anger of the Golem-like woks of Leon Golub. Serene-Intense………………Lucy was allowed in for the birthday and is becoming quite the art hound. We finished off our day out with birthday-dinner at the Maple Kitchen…….high up on the mountain access road to the once world renowned Ascutney Ski Area….which has fallen into disrepair but still hosts a colony of enthusiasts…local Roast Duckling, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Harvest Salad and a decadent Lemon- Raspberry cake- all concocted by an imported Moroccan chef.
And that’s about all I got. The Erstwhile Russian Spy and the Worlds’ Most Beloved School Marm are coming for dinner tonight, and we are off this week to the Northeast Kingdom for our first fall-outing of this year….
The harder they come, the harder they fall…. for one and all…..
Review: Oh boy, this is one very strange show. Could not bring myself to rate it, though got totally sucked in to this well acted mixing of soapy drama, mysticism, supernatural and full out bizarreness. The plot centers on an isolated island community that experiences supernatural events after the arrival of a mysterious priest. Creative shooting in the remote setting lend to the isolation and sense of evil from the get-go. Not for everybody, but I was pleased to get this referral from my friend, Bob (who happens to be my financial advisor). Definitely a one and done series. If you like kinky supernatural, this one may be for you.
“I pack no provisions for my long journey- entering emptiness under the midnight moon” …………….Chinese Sage
“I exist as I am, that is enough” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Walt Whitman
“We’re on a Mission from God” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………Jake and Elrod Blues
A thumb goes up; a car goes…. by It’s nearly 1 AM and here am I………………… Hitchin’ a ride…………………………. Well, it’s been a busy week here in Mt. Holly- Begone, our home town (sometimes)……Started the week in recovery from a 48-hour experience with a sweet 2-year-old and it was suddenly very quiet here on Monday. Had a neat threesome (not that- get yer mind out da gutter) at Folk Club that night- rainy and nasty and no one else showed up, but got to spontaneously combust with Claudine and Dennis, who are both mighty musicales, so all I had to do was keep da beat……. boom, chuck…boom, chuck…. boom, chuck……
Speaking of rain, we had out first real soak since spring with two days of yuck……but, ah (De Doova) ……The Pond rose a foot …leaving only a minor crater in our yard…….and setting off a small seismic shift in foliage…may yet change colors this year….
The Queen (the remaining one that is….so long to the mighty one) had asked me to block off a day this week and we scadoodled down across the state line to Williamstown, Mass….the quaint home of lovely, bucolic Williams College…for a day of art….School had just started up, so we grabbed an outside table on the street to watch the co-eds do their mating rituals , while feasting on a some very real-deal Mexican chow…again marveling at the diversity that exists once you leave the Tidy-Whitey of the Greens (can’t believe I strung those words together)…….
From there…………… is was on to the college’s museum- which allowed Lucy to tour the galleries with us………….thinking she was a service dog because of her bright orange harness…who are we to disagree…and she LOVED the floor sculptures….cool little museum…then around the town to the bull- goose- magnificence of The Clark Art Institute …which is a like a lil’ Louvre in the midst of the Berkshires…..and was featuring a once in century retrospective of Rodin….it was almost like being at the Musee Rodin a’ Paris…..almost….not quite……the rest of the Institute houses what may be the finest collection of classic Europa art I have seen this side of The Pond (not ours, THE BIG ONE)….
After such a fine day, the next day was marred by my having my first car crash in years- albeit a fender bender….woman turns in front of me, decides to stop turn-hits her brakes half way through…I role into her….my front, her back, my fault……no like….no like…..stopped at a body shop in Root-land to get an idea of what it would be for self-pay…and for a few small scratches/dents and a broken headlight….around $3400….whoa, is this the twin of Big Pharma or what….and…..they can put me on the calendar for late January-maybe……we have transformed to bizarre….
After a day of brooding about the whole car mess we hopped over to the mountain ville pf Shrewsbury on Friday night for a Harvest Moon Walk with the local landed gentry………. picture a group of woman who came to Vermont to commune in the 60s and stayed……………. with long gray braided hair…. talking moon cycles… Lucy loved it….and there was homemade pies and ice cream on the porch of a circa 1802 beauty as reward…plus a big ol’ red moon over the hillside……………. I came home and got out the I-Ching……
Followed that up with a drive and walk on a picture perfect Saturday afternoon…stopping at the Golden Honey Festival in Proctorsville…one of 4,977 Fall festivals in Central Vermont….schmoozed, snacked….and then over the hill to wonderful Springfield Lake (another incredibly expensive undertaking by the Army Corps of Engineers- which I believe is really a Masonic secret society)for late day walk…..momentum and hangry carried us over yet another mountain range to the utterly out of place, surreal Brownsville Butcher Block…a New York style and priced store in the absolute middle of nowhere- that has really great $15 fried chicken sandwiches….
And, so it goes…. how ‘bout you? Wishes to all for a week of light……
Notable People: Camille Cottin, Gregory Montel, Thibault de Montalembert, Liliane Rovere, Nikolas Maury, Fanny Sydney, Created by: Fanny Hererro
Title: Call My Agent
Review: I had seen this show around and ignored if for years as fluff, but it was highly recommended to me by my dear find and literary/TV bon vivant, Deb Hodges, who needs this stuff living in the wilds of northern Michigan during the winter. THANK YOU, Deb-O-Rah…..this show is magnificent. Premier film and music agency in Paris handles the trials and tribulations of all kinds of celebrity whack-jobs, who are unbelievably and cheerfully presented by an extraordinary array of famed French actors charmingly making fun of their celebrity: think Isabelle Hubert, Jean Reno, Isabelle Adjani. The show is beautifully set in Paris and the ensemble cast is too good to be true. Maury is to die for as the hyper agent-assistant Herve. When we reached the last episode, we waited two weeks to watch it as we could not stand for it to end. Perfect blend of sensitive drama with knee buckling comedy. Good news is that after the final show aired, the uproar was so great it is coming back for a fifth season AND a feature film. You gotta check this one out.
Review: I was reading a review of a current mystery writer I am interested in and they referred to this book as one of the best ever-so got the library to track it down and gave it a read. MacDonald’s Lew Archer, which he wrote from mid-40s till his 1983 death, is the heir apparent to Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe- think dark noir, one of the great literature types to emerge from the American canon. This book is riveting from start to finish, which you will do quickly. Don’t like murder mysteries? Don’t be fooled. In a retrospective of his work, the LA times said “MacDonald should not be limited to connoisseurs of mystery fiction. His worth and quality far surpass the limitations of the form”. This is great stuff- and Archer is the true /American archetypal hero in every way.
“The place you are right now, God circled on a map for you” …………………………………………..Hafiz
“The butterfly counts not months but moments……and has time enough” ………………………Rabindranath Tagore
“Even Richard Nixon has got SOUL” …………………………………………………………………………………..Neil Young
Well, it’s been a thing here on The Mount for the last week, filed with wonder, discovery, and the long slow coming of autumn. The Greens are turning to a lesser green daily (de-greening?), but not much color, which may be the result of our extended drought (oh, the poor POND) or in general protest of the effect that Herr Trumpster is still on the loose.
And, what a couple of g-daughter weeks, not only did Sloanie-Baloney start pre-school, but our oldest, the grand Quin-Lily traipsed off to kindergarten, starting her journey towards adolescence, when we will find her temporarily psychotic for 6-7 years. Time flies, NO?
Monday we made the trek to Albany in almost 100-degree heat- it’s a lot hotter down there than up here- to get Sister Jane off and back to Cow-Town and wandered home with stops at the Grand Wally world and the classic Diner drive through (ostensibly for lunch, but mostly for the Greek rice pudding to die for) on way home and got back to the contemplative life (well, not The Queen, who got busy with Monarchy duties).
I made my fourth trip to try and find a primary care doc in either Vermont or Ohio since my beloved doc of 42 years had the audacity to retire….it appears one has to find a 20-year-old kinder-doc to be assured they won’t die or retire before you…. I am just about done answering questions about my bowel movements (regular)and use of recreational drugs (never-how dare you).
Thursday, we made the long awaited trip down to the bowels of Connecticut to check off one from my bucket list and see Van the Man in Bridgeport. The trip down I-91 is a breeze until you hit the crazed Northeast corridor once south of Springfield, Mass. And then it is suicide bomber central- but we made it to the fair Grand Marriott and then had a gorgeous night in cosmopolitan B-port…where we saw more people of color in five minutes than in the last three months in The Greens. Wandered around the late urban afternoon sunlight and found a Jamaican food dive where we had best Rasta food outside of Caribbean (for less than the cost of one beer inside the amphitheater). The Hartford Health amphitheater is a beauty- around 2K seats with a dome cover for rain and wonderful acoustics and they even let me go back to the car (despite a hundred NO-REENTRY signs) to get my glasses.
What’s there to say about Van the Man? He is a legend in our time (and clearly in his own mind). Two hours of musical magic with an over the top down and dirty 11-piece band –and a surprise visit-from Irish R&B legend (and Van protégé) James Hunter. That is way upside for The Man who has released 56 monumental studio albums since 1966. Downside? He is one the worlds’ great curmudgeons, never smiling or having any contact with the audience (not even a nod) and barking at the terrified musicians who must never last more than one tour…a genuine a-hole of a human, but-oh-the vibe-……Van played a gutful of harmonica and sax, which is unusual these days, and closed with a rousing Gloria from his 1966 album The Them. After he rooster-strutted off stage with nary a nod, the band kept at it for a full 20 minutes- clearly, freed from tyranny, and gleefully soloing, even working in an extended Moondance riff.
Checked off the bucket box-one and one- love the musician, can do without the man.
Morning after had the GRAND buffet breakfast at the hotel along with all the band members, who clearly stayed and traveled separately on a tour bus, while Van was at some penthouse and being chauffeured to the next gig.
Got back Friday afternoon, having had as much time away as we could stand from our third, Ms. Lucy- Lu; we get melancholia leaving her behind when she generally goes everywhere with us. And since out weekend guests, had postponed arriving for a day, we went down to Okemo for the annual visit of the Beatles Wannabes at the free mountain concerts. They still have the same two brothers leading the outfit for years (John and George) but the new Paul was around 90 and the new Ringo around 14, and it was definitely a downhill trend. My late, great friend, Steve (the Jewish Fish Monger) was rolling over in his grave at the dishonor to his beloved Fab Four I’m sure…………………but a gorgeous night on the mountain with picnic and frolicking mutts everywhere.
Late Saturday, my young friend and former Yard boy (all time 1st ballot YB hall of famer) Marcus arrived with wife Sara and little 2 y/o Maddie–and we spent a delightful weekend traipsing around. Headed into Rutland on Friday for Ramuntos pizza pick up and dining al fresco at my chiro’s office by the lovely pond and then in search of Creamees before closing which we scored at the West Rutland snack bar. Sunday we coaxed Maddie for a walk on the Appalachian Trail-and lasted as far as the magic swinging bridge and rock throwing in the dwindling river, then home for nap. Spent the afternoon at the annual Blues/Folk fest at the Calvin Coolidge historical site, which could not have been more perfect- with classic fall day and the mountains surrounding in the background.
The Queen did her toddler-whispering with lil’ Maddie and won her over, though she seemed to regard Papi as potential Cookie Monster right up until leaving time this morning, but she was transfixed by the kitty Kats. And we got to visit with our old friend, big Lucy, who is in decline, but was our Lucy’s first mentor when she was a pup. They took off this am for the Vermont Country Store for tchotchke heaven -and the trek back to Philly -and we are now trying to settle back in after all the excitement- and it’s a perfect rainy day for it.
Was sitting at a stop sign coming back from the Fest yesterday, when some guy in a badass pickup (foreshadowing?)- turned right, going by me and putting head and hand out to shoot me the bird-out of nowhere- which made me reflect on the level of unprovoked hate we live with these days. Tell me baby, why you been gone so long?
It’ be a long time comin’…gonna be a long time gone……
Notable People: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Birgitte Hjort Sorenson, Saren Malling, Pilou Asbaek, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Created by: Adam Price
Title: Borgen: Power and Glory
Review: The revival of this wonderful Danish show that originally ran for 3 seasons from 2010-2013, picks up almost ten years later with Birgitte Nyberg now returned to politics as the Danish Foreign Minister and the leader of the New Democratic party she founded a decade earlier. One of the best ever tv revivals- which are usually superfluous, but not here. Searing portrait of living with power and public vs. private life wrapped in a treatise on losing an re-finding your moral compass-all set around the discovery of a massive oil strike in Greenland, which brings the worlds super powers into greedy conflict. Knudsen continues to be magnificent as the evolving Nyberg and the whole cast is stellar. Really nicely shot in Copenhagen and Greenland. Great show
Notable People: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman, Alia Shawkat, Created by: Robert Levine and Jonathan Steinberg
Title: The Old Man
Review: Jeff Bridges shines in this tale of an aging rogue CIA agent who has been living a secret life off the grid for 30 years and is outed. Bridges is the definition of a suave and gentle deadly force even in his old age. The flashbacks to the origins of his story amidst the tempest of 1980s Afghanistan is well set and the intensity of the story well developed. Lithgow lead a sterling supporting cast. A perfect rebound vehicle for the recently recovered Bridges and the most watched show ever on FX. Just renewed for second season.
