Review: The Greatest does The Greatest. If you haven’t made time for this yet, you should. A brilliant primer on the life and times of Time’s Man of the Century, from his humble beginnings in Louisville, to his three world heavyweight titles to his ultimate role as a world leader on challenging race relations in this country and around the world. Incredibly complicated portrait of an incredibly complicated man; once maybe the most reviled figure in the US to become an absolutely beloved part of our collective conscience. Brilliantly told, as always, by the Master, Burns, and friends, this four-part series (around 7-8 hours) will leave you laughing, riled up and weeping- a major chronicle of the times. Wonderful.
Review: The first in Perry’s Jane Whitefield, published in 1995. Jane is a Native American guide who leads people out of the wilderness–not the tree-filled variety but the kind created by enemies who want you dead. She is in the one-woman business of helping the desperate disappear. She is a member of the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe in the northern Adirondacks and grown up to be trained to fool any pursuer or cover any trail, and is an expert at providing her clients with new identities, complete with authentic paperwork. This is an unusual series both in its cultural setting and very unique heroine, both of which I liked a lot and found fresh and new. The story itself started out like gangbusters, grabbing my attention, but waned a bit in the latter part of the book, though the twists, turns, and curves kept me interested. Perry is a good writer, who drifts into extend verbiage at times, but I am eager to try a few more editions in this unusual series.
“Twenty thousand roads I went down, down, down-and they all led me straight back home to you” …………………………………………………………Gram Parsons
“Lying with his arms legs outstretched, how cool, how lonely.”……………………………………………………………………………Chora
“Along the seashore fall the waves, fall and hiss, fall and hiss.” ……………………………………………………………………………Izen
“The River is everywhere” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Herman Hesse
My fellow Americanos:
We have outlasted the darkness of the past winter and climbed back up to The Mount (Holly, that is!), arriving this past Monday after no shortage of trial and tribulations……just in time for celebrating our nation’s birthday, which a lot of people may be struggling with celebrating at the moment……… given the recent assaults on liberty and freedom……. but…. I digress (or do I?) ……will undoubtedly come back to this…. but for now…. Well, the Blogster is BACK…so Happy Sunday to all…………………….
As most of you know, have been skirmishing with The Hated C Word this winter, but just finished six weeks of immunotherapy in Cowtown, and have discovered the wonder of broccoli sprouts, so very optimistic that all is on wellness track…tho the journey has not been without bumps………but, C’est La Vie say the old folks, you gotta know you never can tell….
The journey here last weekend proved its usual mystifying self. Hit the road without too much stress after two hour detour to find lost oil cap down that fell into wheel well of the car, then easy drive on fine summer day to our Usual in Binghamton…where we managed to lose our 15 year old, frail cat, Gracie May at the hotel while loading the car up to leave…after two hours of searching the property, Jenn found her having somehow never left the room, and she had got behind the unmovable bed and up into the mattress through a hole in the box spring……you can’t make this shit up….thought we were likely going to be doing Groundhog day with trying to leave town…..Despite all that- arrived in time for Drew Plumber-God at noon on Monday…Drew has quit his father s business four times since we have lived here…aahhh….but the call of the pipes is just too grand….
Next traumas involved a dead fridge and leaky well…. but thanks to Papi’s remarkable talents with hammer therapy in precise places…the fridge is working good as new (for the moment) and the well is only leaking about 20 gallons an hour……and then…. UGGHHHH…. THE Pond, which looks like October rather than late spring/early summer……. where have all the waters gone…. a tale of two waters…way too much in the well, way too little in the drying Pond……
And…then…the neglected property, where thankfully- The Queen has eliminated a third of our lawn to cardboard murder and prickly plants….she has little mini- surprise plantings in rock surroundings all over the place….one of which was apparently a flock of green onions….that is no more after Papi took to the Whack Job……Tears of Rage?………..and how about the Japanese Knot Weed….this is a thing/who knew……..and our driveway is almost closed off from Its overhang…….is this some form of macabre climate change ordeal?……………..The Yard has been field mowed by Old George, which works well for a meadow, but led us immediately back to the machines…and a lot of raking……………….The Country Jew shockingly had another successful opening campaign with all power machines up and running after an hour….….and despite a zillion mouse turds everywhere……We did have Linda’s boy, Young Dustin, generously come down and push mow around The Pond, to get down the five foot weeds, before our return….and both he and the mower wound up in The Pond….a first in recorded town history…..
By Wednesday, we were overflowing with gar-baj, and recyclables so headed out to see the Dumpmaster and friends, who was very concerned with my health, and insisted for us to make a plan for him to move in with The Queen once I have moved to the next plane…..very touching…..tho not as touching as my return to Monday night music at folk club, and the resulting sustained round of applause as I walked in for the first time……humbling and bit weepy. We got to get back on the horse with our routines when not totally overloaded with getting re-settled so late in the season…….Went for massive grocery shop (how ‘bout them prices, boys and girls?)….and stopped at the beloved Ramuntos for slices…..but they were closed- apparently hung over from the day before’ s office summer party…..so had to settle for carb-friendly three foot grinder from Gill’s Deli…..
Saturday marked our first outing…after getting The Pond Irrigation Extravaganza up and running….headed out to Rutland and Brandon…..finally getting the Ramuntos Jones fulfilled, hitting a trio of used appliance stores (TQ has no faith in Papi-Repairs) -none of which had any used appliances…then on up to Brandon for their holiday reopening of the downtown area, which has been in repair disaster mode for ten years…..hit a couple of silent auctions….I bid bit on something, but cannot talk about it (Silent!), an ultimately found a really nice dirt road for spending warm/no humidity summer walk up a mount…with only the relentless black flies for company……
So, here we are…….me and you and you and me, the way they tossed the dice it had to be…. TQ is out reclaiming her throne in town and prepping the float for the six-minute parade tomorrow and later we are planning a trip down to Garden tour sign hanging and Sausage Manna in Londonderry………
It’s good to be back…..though dealing with major jonesing of missing granddaughters and time that cannot be replaced…….but still……you I have missed. Be well, stay calm an carry on.
Notable People: Van the Man and his Cracker Jack Band, Produced by: Himself
Title: What’s It Gonna Take?
Review: For my recent BIG Birthday, I got this new Van issue-along with tix to see him in Connecticut labor day weekend, on a rare US tour. Though I have very mixed feelings about his politics and his persona, I have no such reservations about Van the Man’s music. His 43rd (Holy Buckets!) studio album, features 14 new compositions that collectively reflect his indefatigable drive to record and perform live in front of audiences. The album was produced by Morrison and is preceded by the single “Pretending,” a gorgeous, restless, soul song. Somewhat of a departure from his most recent releases that were focused more on Jazzy numbers, this one is master lesson on blue-eyed soul and R&B. Van takes up the guitar mostly in lieu of his beloved sax and surrounds himself with a very talented groove-laden backup band and heavenly voices. If you’ve ever been a fan or just like Brown Eyed Girl, this is a good one.
Review: We inexplicably really liked this show. The five Derry girls are a hoot; the supporting cast is beyond eccentric and it is often sadly very funny- a large extended family of mismatched parts in contrast to the intensity of living in ravaged Northern Ireland during the 1990s. There is an underlay of cultural frame of reference here that I’m guessing you have to be from a very Irish family to fully appreciate, but after a while, you kind of get it. This is a great half hour antidote to intense serial dramas you may watch. No indication of a third season as of yet.
Notable People: Titus Welliver, Mimi Rodgers, Madison Lintz, Stephen A. Chang Created by: Eric Overmyer, Tom Connelly
Title: Bosch: Legacy
Review: Welliver returns to the wonderful role of LA detective Hieronymus Bosch- based on the Connelly novels of the same name and building on a slew of seasons on Amazon. The Amazon series ended with a disgruntled Busch retiring from the PD and more or less rising off into the sunset- and his series picks up several years later with a much more grizzled Bosch as a private dick. Rodgers and Lintz reprise their roles as the brilliant lawyer, Honey Chandler and as Bosch’s daughter, Maddie, now grown and a rookie LAPD beat cop. The show’s transition seems pretty seamless and the addition of Chang as a techno-sidekick to Bosch is good. The drama and storytelling remain strong and Welliver and friends are great. The show misses some of the regular characters that did not come back for the revival, but a few of them make regular cameos which is a nice touch. The show now airs on Freevee, an Amazon derivative that used to be IMBD TV. Clear expectations for a second season.
Notable People: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Created by: Tony McNamara
Title: The Great
Review: The Great is a historical black comedy about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider, imported from Germany as a bride, to become the longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. The series is quite fictionalized and portrays Catherine in her youth and marriage to Emperor Peter III of Russia (the son of Peter the Great), focusing on the plot to kill her depraved and dangerous husband, and her desire to create “a better Russia”. All that said, any historical accuracy is quite loose in this gender-bending dramedy, which is a good thing. The plots and dialog are hilarious and the rapport between Fanning as Catherine, and the crazed Hoult as Peter, is mesmerizing. This is a “Court” you will never forget. Absolutely delightful and Hazzah, for the decision to have a third season.
Notable People: Anneke Von der Lippe, Amos Tamam, Andrea Berntzen, Daniel Littman, Created by: Kyrree Johannessen and Ronit Berkowitz
Title: The Girl from Oslo
Review: Very intense Norwegian/Israeli drama that takes place in Gaza and involves a terrorist kidnapping of a Norwegian girl from Israel. It’s a harrowing portrait of life in a constant war zone and the extraordinary craziness and enmity between ISIS, The Israelis and Hamas. Not a particularly pleasant show, but well done, well-acted and gripping. Living here in America, this is a reminder of what life is like in many places. Somewhat brutal experience, this show. Half sub-titled- half in English. Surprisingly, seemed to leave the door open for a second season.
Review: The fist in this wonderful series. Begun, in the early 90s, featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police. Recommended to me by my all-time book guru (and Freshman English Instructor at Ohio State in 1970!!!, Neil Berms. …..which makes it a given that it is going to be good. There are a lot of these books and I am eager to dive further into the streets and canals of this magical city as the Commissario, who is a bit like Martin Walkers’ Bruno of Southern France, fights the forces of evil with a twinkle in his eye and a shrug of his very, very Italianate soldiers. Great mystery story as an aside featuring the death of a famed Maestro at the Venice opera house. A definite keeper.
Notable People: Nicola Walker, Jamie Sives, Katie Lunge, Ukweli Roach Created by: Sarah Solemani
Title: Annika
Review: Based on the popular Scottish, Annika Strandhed novels, this PBS Masterpiece entry stars the wonderful Walker (Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax) as the very in-over-her head newly minted leader of the Glasgow Marine Homicide Unit. Walker is alternately imbecilic, brilliant and hilarious with her mismatched team of investigators. Another in a long line of BBC DI- somethings, it’s worth the watch and promises a second season.
