Notable People: Sandra Oh, Jay Duplass, David Morse, Bob Baliban, Created by: Amanda Peet and Annie Julia Wyman
Title: The Chair
Review: The always entertaining Sandra Oh comes back to series TV with this light and airy performance at the recently promoted Chair of an Ivy-League wannabe English department, and all hell breaks loose. Sweet and charming little show that tackles the foibles of academia and the race and gender politics of organizations. Oh and Duplass are wonderful together and the supporting cast is top notch. Light, but worthwhile fare- not sure if it will return for a second season.
Review: Castillo’s latest in her wonderful Kate Burkholder series is one of her best yet- finding the Painters Mill Police Chief once again embroiled in an extraordinary murder plot amongst the Ohio Amish. Castillo continues to dig deeper and deeper into Amish culture in each book, while far expanding the scope and nuance of her characters. Though her themes may a bit repetitive, the books are so well written and the stories so vivid, they stand out regardless. If you’ve spent time in that part of the world, there is another level of fascination with these books. Castillo is one of the best writing today.
Review: Wow-……Clint is back in his first real western in over 30 years…. WOW……simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max, it is the story of a battered and rundown, former rodeo star with demons abounding in his closet…. who takes on the task of finding and bringing back a young Mexican boy to his slightly sleazy rascal of a father, to whom Clint is in a lifetime of debt. It’s a new kinder and gentler Clint and it suits him as he stumbles along the Mexican desert towns (he is well into his 80s, but still gets in one knockout punch). This is actually a quiet, beautiful film. Minett is superb as the 14 year ol recipient of Clint’s efforts and Yoakum, though a strange fit, pulls it off. I had low expectations so was more than pleasantly surprised with great cinematography, crisp dialog and fine sound track. Well worth the watch. Go ahead…make my day….
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear” …………………………………………………………………………………………Ram Dass
“Each time dawn appears; the mystery is there in its entirety” ………………………………………………………………Rene Daumal
“Did you ever have to make up your mind, to pick up on one- and leave the other behind…it’s not often, easy, it’s not often kind…. did you ever have to make up your mind” ……………………John Sebastian
Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir So that every mouth can be fed…. poor me………. Oh, Oh, Oh…the Israelites…………………………………………………It’s been a slow week returning to the Mountain Groove…………The Autumn Leaves…………. Fall is an unpredictable time in the Greens…. came in a rush in early August out of the blue……stopped in its tracks……start-stop-start……. now inching its way towards glory…. each day a new color …. money time in the mounts……days in the low 70s…. chilled nights in the low 50s
Taken advantage of the slow week to get out and explore multiple times this week….a mid-week trip to Middlebury to see the new Shaman, find lunch at the Café Provence in Brandon, visit The Dispensers, take a walk…..then a Friday outing down to Brattleboro, where the 60’s not only live ….but are thriving (the food Co-Op is the biggest building in town)….put on our masks and snuck over to Big-Red New Hampshire for cheap liquor and dirt roads…stopped along the way at huge Orchard store for lunch, apples, trees AND cider donuts….THAT is the sign of autumn……and then, yesterday, a lazy afternoon trip down to quaint Chester for the annual fall festival…with a fraction of the usual mass influx of Jerseyites, due to The Plaque…… and a Soldier-Tent set up to jab arms for the still recalcitrant……
Speaking of tress, The Queen has stayed on her mission…. buckets of trees abound the property waiting to hit the ground….and we now have a mountain of wood chips ready to join the equally mountainous pile of cardboard on her mission to plant every inch of the property and make our tractor redundant…. which does not even account for multiple home improvement projects taking place here and back in the heartland house simultaneously….no sleep for the Nana…….
TQ had a birthday this week…fifty-something….and though Sister Jane was unable to make the visit, as planned, we had quite the surprise b’day dinner….with a gaggle of her bestie lady friends gathering-seemingly out of the blue- to shock the little woman……Papi managed to secretly slave away in the kitchen all day…resulting in a fine birthday dinner of fish cakes with multiple sauces, harvest salad with my home made Maple Vinaigrette, Eggplant Parm with linguine and da famous sauce (just like fat Clemensa would make it), fresh bread…and a series of decadent desserts made/brought by the co-conspirators…………Returning to my Catskill roots…..I cooked to order, served white cloth style, and ate in the kitchen with the bus boys….even managed a mouth – zipping despite having many opinions in response to the sometimes outrageous conversations spewing forth from the candle lit porch…..birthday soiree?…..CHECK!
Its been an adjustment to be away from our passel of granddaughters again after out two weeks of communing, but had a great portal with Sloane this week and the Cross girls Face-timed Nana on her birthday while taking a break from two weeks at Disney……………
Just got a visit from a big Poodle- something (Big Lucy)-who we have never met, but have agreed to take for five days this week……. friend of a friend, of a friend……mountain horse trading…. should be interesting……tall and dainty girl who will be overrun by our Lucy’s total affection…safe to say we will not see Saffron for the duration………
Our TV watching has picked up with the returns of the intense “Billions” and the magnificent “Sex Education” ……plus a new one with Jeff Daniels, American Rust…have even been firing up the eclectic fireplace at night for couch time………
COVID took its toll this week with an old friend of mines dad getting sick and dying within a week…and our decision to cancel out plans to fly to Madison, WI. next week for my other son, Jesse’s, wedding to his lovely fiancé, Jessica. Really bummed about this but could not feel right about a large indoor wedding with a number of unvaccinated folk……The Prodigal is making the trek from Paradise to fulfill his Best Man obligations……Jesse and Max have been besties since toddler-hood…and the Moons are our second family……so especially difficult is this…but that…is the new world we are living in as long as have so many nitwits abounding…………
Yesterday I was assigned to stop to see The Dumpmaster before closing time to pick up another ream of cardboard he was collecting for TQ……and, while there, drifted in to check out the Belmont Mall (at The Dump) ….…came away with a pair of snowshoes, a spanking new snowsuit and gloves for the arctic…gotta love the Swap Shed………
The POND has remained full to the brim all year long….in an astounding shift of the biosphere….and is dispensing little dancing frogs and toads all over the property…. providing Lucy with endless spaz opportunities……Fall tasks are in the air…and a plan is afoot for three 2-3 day treks over the next month…. money time!
And, that seems like enough for a lovely Fall Sunday……. gotta go see a man about a horse……Stay safe, Smile on your Brother………
“Be Silly, Be Honest, Be Kind” …………………………………………………………………Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I’m alone here in my own mind. There is no map
and there is no road” …………………………………………. Anne Sexton
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where’s
it going to end?” …………………………………………………………Tom Stoppard
Well…. feelin’ a little off kilter with getting back
on the Vermont Blog trip, when we have been gone for most of the last three
weeks…. back to the Heartland, for all things granddaughters…. Can’t remember
much about what was going on before we left….and it’s been a whirlwind since we
got back late Wednesday.
New baby Parker Maxwell is a joy…. both she and Mama
Tess are doing fine. We got in good cuddle time, but spent most of 12 days with
almost –three- year old Sloane…who has decided Nana and Papi are The Bomb…at least
most of the time (she is still in the throes of “two-ness”). We chased frogs,
fairies and butterflies and ate mounds of DQ soft serve…while exploring a good many
of the parks in Central Ohio. Dropped in an overnight to Cleveland to get in
some Harper and Quin-Lily time before they left for vacation in Florida………12
days of 0-4-year-old granddaughters……Nana and Papi came back to Vermont to
get some sleep.
Travels did not stop The Queen from her continuing rigorous pursuit of home improvements….in both places!……. Managed to resume her interrupted- assault on the wallpaper in Delaware as well as setting the stage for her zoom-managed double bathroom remodeling in October……… Back in Vermont, immediately continued her assault on all things garden and the redo of upper hallway. The girl loves her projects…and no Marriott escapes in sight for Papi….
Left here end of August in throes of summer heatwave….
got back to the briskness of Autumn…leaves changing in earnest…. after a few days
of unsettled mess, got back into the swing with couple of nice walks over the weekend
and visits to Rutland to Ernie’s hand carved and the Indian joint in the gas station.
Sister Jane was due this week for resuming annual visitation, but some back problems
put her on the shelf, so TQ will have to celebrate her pending birthday without
big sister (who shares same b’day).
We did both drives- hither and yon- with all three
animals loose in the car for 12 hours each way……. wondering what the truckers thought
looking down at lil’ Saffron taking a dump in the car litter box? 10-4, baby……
Since most of our life recently has been about
our four spirited granddaughters…. that’s all I got on the photo front…and not much
more to say.
I have, however, been pondering some serious life questions lately…so here we go:
What exactly is a “Bin Night”? (Australian TV)
Is it heresy for someone of my ilk and persuasion
to have become really fond of “W”?
Has anyone ever had an uplifting customer
service experience with a cell phone company?
When was the last time you laughed until your cried?
Does anyone wear pants on Zoom calls?
Did we really have Olympics on the middle of a
Pandemic?
Is it fathomable that over 80 million American
adults remain unvaccinated?
Is 70 really the new 40?
Have you noticed that fast food restaurants cannot
stay open because they have no one to work? And, how does McDonalds feel about Trump-era
immigration policy?
Is there anywhere better to be in The Autumn than
the Green Mountains?
Hoping these questions don’t keep you up at
night…..back oi nth bandwagon in full throttle next week. Joy to the world.
Review:
What can I say…. from the strange title and from the very first page, this may
be the worst book I have read in my adult life. My local librarian e-mailed me
to let me know it was in and give em e first dibs, knowing my fondness for Steve
Hamilton books …unfortunately the Hamilton I read and admire (the Alex McKnight
and Nick Mason series) …. only shares the same name. This guy is a former prosecutor
and writes like one……. a bad one. Every line of every page is filled with run-on
over descriptive metaphors of sorts, and a story line almost impossible to keep
up with……after a few pages you start gagging. I had the misfortune of taking this
along as my second book to read on our recent trip to Ohio, so wearily made my way
through the whole damn thing just to have something to read at night. There should
be a cigarette like warning posted on the side of the book. Just awful.
Review:
Who would have thunk that a gumshoe series set in ancient Rome would be a thing?
Obviously, Davis does, and so do a million readers. This is the second in God knows
how many in this series dating back to the late 80s (this one is 1991). Our reluctant
hero, Didius Falco, resumes his nocturnal, clandestine activities and chases after
his beloved maiden, Helena. These books will inform you more than you ever probably
thought you wanted to know about all things of the Roman Epoch. Well written
and dialoged, with compelling characters. A bit of challenge to get the knack of
the language and terminology at first, but I’m moving on to number three.
Notable People: Titus
Welliver, Jamie Hector, Lance Reddick, Amy Acquino, Created by: Michael Connelly
Title: Bosch
Review:
Really sad to write this review as it’s reflecting that this long running
series has ended. We dragged out the final season for months to avoid the end,
which never lost a beat and measured up to all that came before. LA Homicide Detective
Hieronymus (Harry)Bosch and his partner J. Edgar tackle the truly gritty underbelly
of life in LA. Connelly’s books are magnificent and the show does an amazing
job of capturing the nuance of his characters. Welliver, who first appeared in
a recurring role on NYPD Blue 30 years ago, sets the gold standard for lit to
film character capturing. Reddick and Hector bring their grit from years starring
on The Wire to bountiful roles here; Hector is a total 180 from his drug lord presence
on The Wire and Reddick almost restoring the same role. The cast of characters
is fabulous, the shoots are dead on LA mystique and the dialog leaves no room
for snoozing. One of my favorite serials of the last decade. Hoping for some
kind of follow up…but it seemed terminal.
“ The bright autumn moon: sea-lice running over the
stones”………………………………………………………………………………………..Torin
“ You must be present to win”……………………………………………………………………………………………….Casino Sign
“ When people talk about THEIR ISSUES, I start getting sleepy”……………………………………………………………………………Diane Russell, NYPD Blue
Hidden Sunday Treasures- Perfect day last Sunday led us out with no destination….ambled down Rutland way to one of he worlds GREAT Snack Bars in West Rutland for fresh haddock and clams on a bench in the sun…….then went hunting fro a walk, discovering the magnificent Pine Hill Park, tucked away outside of downtown R-town…….hundreds of acres of bike and walk trails with this amazing kids treasure hunt by guided signs….who knew?
Blasts from the Past- Has bayonet seen McCartney 3,2,1 on Hulu? For those of you on Medicare, we grew up with favorite Beatle; mine was originally George for his taciturn coolness. Later it became forced choice ….Lennon or McCartney. I always leaned Lennon, preferring the dark churlish mystery to the bright effervescence of Sir Paul….who i never really cared all that much for…..but his three part doc with uber-producer Rick Rubin…is a total mind changer….at 80ish, still boyish and with this incredible love for the music and the muse….Sir Paul ROCKS…..and incidentally, check out some cuts from Neil Young’s’ soon to be released first in his bootleg series set…a 1971 Carnegie Hall show….solo, acoustic, brilliant…and …those CRAZY eyes….
Babies– Little Parker is now one week old……and proving to be one of the world’s foremast sleepers…. though we have caught her awake and smiling via Portal a few times…. Toddler Sloane is demonstrating some cool big-Sis chops……gearing up for our visit next week …..thinking /I need to recruit little Maddie (Texas- Marcus and Sara) and/or little Ava (Wisconsin- Jesse and Jess) from one of my “foster” sons to complete a transfer and fill out the OSU woman’s team-class of ’39…
The Queen is roaming the manse in search of challenges….in between her extraordinary social calendar……she is roaming in and
out to find trees to chop down, more lawn to cover with gardens…and de-wallpapering
the entire house…. next idea is for some state of the art tree-removing shovel
to carry on our hikes to capture wayward and lonely forest specimens for the
yard periphery…please, make it stop…
The Call of the Wild #52– alter a tow year hiatus, our neighbor up the road, Drunken Dennis,
has acquired another mangy, emaciated cow for his winter butcher block…. the wastrel
is out in the field bleating or mooing or something most of the day and night….
apparently begging for respite…the sounds of country living…
Are we now that old?– Used to be we celebrated
50th anniversaries with much older siblings or parent types…….but ….we
are apparently now them….were invited to some friends’ 50th celebration
this week…an extraordinary collection of blue and white hairs teetering around their
beautiful barn and property…..lots of long, convoluted conversations punctuated
by senior moments (“what was I saying”?)…the senior groom had three pages of note
to his beloved , which he wept through presenting to her….the more stoic ancient
bride had one index card with a few bullets…perhaps this is the balance of 50 years
of bliss?…..we made two new friends that we hung with there…..The Retired
Bolshevik Postmaster and The I-Only-Shop- At -Coops Activist…should you make new
friends in your seventh decade?
Road Trip # 743– Yesterday was hot and muggy and
provided a perfect back drop for day trip- so up early and headed up the magnificence
of Route 100. Stopped in quaint and lovely Rochester for fresh bagels, eaten on
the sweeping town green…. while Lucy frolicked with her newest bestie…another
very short, strangely long hybrid named Mater…. whose parents were expats from Columbus….and
had lived on the same rood as Tess and Jake and the brood……
After a couple of short hikes, we made our way up and over he panoramic
Lincoln Gap to scope out a Peaching operation
we had read about in the Vermont alt. newspaper…which turned out to be quite
the thing…..heading from Warren over to Bristol, we found the farm stand on the
packed-dirt Lincoln Gap road…administered by our newest friend, Todd G….who readily
declared us his gift to his day….Todd is 7th generation Vermonter
and hails from a long stock of farmers and doubles as Young Life (excludes us) minister…we
got to and hear about his house which they moved from an elderly relative two years
ago up the road about a mile….apparently the key to which is lanolin soap (use
your imagination)…Todd regaled us with local flavored stories of young men he has
taken to the darkness of NY state (think Cuomo)to retrieve the bushels…who had never
left the Gap before (think Deliverance) and of his mob- informed nephew from Napoli
(Todd’s brother joined the navy, procreated and never came back )…who could not believe
all the money left trustingly out on porches to pay for the peaches(who gonna leavea
out dissa money and not-a getta stolen)..until our young Italianate had the epiphany
of a “community offa da trust”….we exchanged excitements for a half hour an left
Todd the Minister/Peach-man/House Mover/Exposer of naivetés- to the graces of
reading THE blog on his phone while he waited for his next Gift for the day…..
(are you reading this, Todd?)
Leaving the farmer and heading down the road to Bristol we apparently missed a stop sign, conveniently placed ten yards
in front of a second stop sign…and got to
meet Officer Bruce….who may well have been the most polite an genial copper I’ve
made the acquaintance of….despite his commiseration of eh confusion (and duplicity)of
the back to back to stop signs, he felt compelled to ticket me, though made up
a “no proof of insurance citation” which lowered the fine from a whopping $225 to$ 76 and no points……What
Luck!!!..notwithstanding Bristol’s long known financial hardships –which has likely
led to placing additional ridiculously placed stop signs for Officer Bruce to
collect revenue…we, thus, skipped our plan
for lunch at Bristol, and are now on a two year boycott…
Having spurned the fine cuisine of Bristol, we found ourselves drooling by the Time we passed Wanks Franks roadside stand in Pittsford on the way home …clearly another roadside attraction…where Wank (really) served us up some local sausages with homemade sauerkraut…. which left is only semi-satiated, and required a stop at Ramuntos for a dessert pizza….
And, that just about brings up to this….Rainy
day forecasts approaching as Hurricane Henri makes its way to the eastern
seaboard….and a visit from the Exalted British Hairdresser and The Duchess of General
Electric for dinner and haircuts tonight…before TQ delivers her to Dartmouth tomorrow
for the coach to Boston a the flight back to the homeland…..and we…leave Friday
for 12 days back in the heartland to see
our lovelies…….thus may be down on blogging for next week or two……but….we will …survive……
Review:
The veteran author hits pay dirt with this luminous novel based on the experiences
of her Chippewa grandfather. The year is 1953 and a lunatic senator has decided
to dispossess the Chippewa Indians from their adopted homeland in North Dakota.
The book is a beautifully written treatise on the modern Native experience. Erdrich
has configured wonderful truth- based fictional world populated with an endless
array of compelling characters. We find a hodgepodge of personal stories and complex
relationships set in the cultural context of the Chippewa- and explores themes
of love and death with both lightness and gravity. It also asks the very specific
question of how the American government consistently can abandon treaties with
the Native American population, made in good faith, “for as long as the grasses
shall grow and the rivers shall run”. Good question.
