Review: Another blockbuster documentary from the laureate, Ken Burns on the life a times of the great American author and icon. Amazingly well researched and delivered, like of all of Burns’ master works, this is the fascinating story of the brilliant and enigmatic king of American fiction. No stone is left unturned, and the story gets more and more difficult….a truly tragic and not all that sympathetic figure, whose genius shines through despite his many shortcomings. Getting Jeff Daniels to narrate the Hemingway parts is s stroke of genius- he’s prefect. And the steady narration of Peter Coyote, who does almost all of Burns’ work is compelling, as usual. The old photos and videos are worth the price of admission. Three two hour segments, but well worth the six hour investment.
Notable People: Gillian Anderson, Asa Butterfield, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Created by: Laurie Nunn
Title: Sex Education
Review: Brilliant British show that defies a genre- never sure if it’s primarily a comedy or drama. Extraordinary ensemble cast of young actors portraying life in a an out of control high school in the British highlands. Butterflied, Gatwa and Mackey are pure revelations. The entire cast works on every level, and Ms. Anderson is shockingly funny, in a role that will make you rethink the X-Files or Margaret Thatcher. The music is great, the dialog is great…..this is a don’t miss show…and it has lots of absurd teen sex.
Review: My fifteenth Gamache book by Louise Penny is the first that did not garner an undisputed “A” rating. Though still feeling like returning to a dear old friend, and filled with the wonder of life in Quebec through the kind and thoughtful eyes of Chief Inspector Gamache, this one seemed to drift in story line a bit, and in the end, was just too phantasmagoric for me to really dive fully into; hint: secretive and well veiled effort to ultimately crush the drug cartels once and for all…with one fell swoop. All felt a little much…. but Gamache, with his sandalwood, rosewater scent and his well metered catchphrase: “Tell me what you now”…..remains a literary wonder for the ages.
Maybe it is the winding down of Autumn in the mountains, or the incessant dropping of nature’s majesty signaling the foreboding of winter……. or the re-appearance of our Route 103, clearly visible over the ridge after its total invisibility during the leaf months of April thru October……. but I am finding myself, inexplicably, at a relative loss for words this week. Not total mind you…. just relatively.
So- back to the basics…. THIS I what I learned this week:
It takes about eight hours to mix two studio recordings…and is harder than it seems.
The Queen lives…. she has reappeared after her month long Cider Daze absence……and is back digging up the yard.
There is almost nothing better than a Sunday night family dinner at our beloved East…with the Nave.
Marty, the Retired Vet, cross between Mitch Miller and Burl Ives (much dated folkie reference) ……Bull Goose Curmudgeon -lives on a magnificent quarry outside Chester…. a long overdue visit.
Going to Quebec, which we had considered doing again this week, is still hard to figure out…clearly, with great lodging prices available, the Canucks are eager to let you in……but not so clear the US Border-Plaque Busters, are all that willing to let you back…
Number two granddaughter, Sloane Michael, turned a hard-to- believe three years old this week.
When all else fails, we head to the Northeast Kingdom (yes, that a real thing) for an anti- tourisme- leaf peeing adventure.…which we did for the past three days. Had the usual Kingdom suspect highlights: one breathtaking cornucopia of color after another, bumping over a hundred sacred dirt road highways only found in remote Vermont, deep northern lakes surrounded by the bounty of Autumn’s plate of hues, possibly the worlds best fried chicken dinner at Martha’s Diner in Coventry, the splendid Boulder Beach in the Green Mountain National Forest, the requisite drive- by at our old digs and stomping ground in Groton, the majesty of mist driven, early morning at Island Pond, hip downtown Newport on the American shore of Lake Mempheregog, the secret Amish lost community (and its baked goods) in historic Brownington, the lovely deep autumn beauty of Lake Willoughby…..piddling all over the great kingdom from our little airbnb shack in someone’s backyard in tiny Nurk (Newark) Vermont…..
All too good to be true….too real to be fake……too much too early…………too, too, too……
And the rest…. well…. every picture tells a story…so take a look…
Notable People: Alessandro Novola, Leslie Odom Jr, Vera Farmiga, Michael Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Directed by: Alan Taylor
Title: The Many Saints of Newark
Review: Woke up this morning……found myself a gun……. We revisit the early years of Tony Soprano gangland family in this HBO Max only -compelling prequel, produce by David Chase, and set in the hot summer of 1967, as Newark burns. Full of complicated race relations and harbingers of things to come. Beautifully shot to show the complex times and driven by a great soundtrack, we see the emergence of the mob family that has become part of our lexicon, as familiar as comfort food. The portrayals of the later day characters as their younger selves is extraordinarily detailed and consistent with the original six season show, as we get to know the much younger Silvio, Paulie and Big Pussy…and Michael Gandolfini playing his father as a teenager (in life and in the film) is dead on. The nuances are fabulous and the inclusion of the irascible Ray Liotta as the family patriarch is a bonus, as is the appearance of the original Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore) playing his own father. This was a delightful two-hour watch.
“I’m not perfect, but I’m enough” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Carl Rogers
“There is no solution, because there is no problem” ……………………………………………………………………………Marcel Duchamp
“Woke up this morning, got myself a gun” ……………………………………………………………………………………………Tony Soprano
It’s been a busy week at Lake Queenbegone.
Como estas:
“I’m not perfect, but I’m enough” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Carl Rogers
“There is no solution, because there is no problem” …………………………………………………………………………………………Marcel Duchamp
“Woke up this morning, got myself a gun” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Tony Soprano
It’s been a busy week at Lake Queenbegone. This weekend is the culmination of months of crazed activity by The Queen and her cronies for the return of Cider Daze after two years. The annual Top Ten Fall New England event brings the hordes of masked avengers to our little town green to goggle at the splendor of Vermont mountain autumn, while noshing on local treats, buying an unlimited array of tchotchkes and, of course, slurping up cider from the ancient town Cider press…all of which takes countless meetings amongst The Association Yentas.
So…. not many Queen sightings this week- though she did show up to finish her upstairs six-month hall painting project…and one of her many current yard overhauls…in advance of our visit from The Nave.
Had a blitz of early week workin’ to complete to be able to be free for the Nave’s (aka Earl, Flaco and Steve) arrival on Wednesday……though the call of Fall splendor got me out driftin’ in the laves a bit as chilly wet tuned into brilliant autumnal sunshine and the magnificent glow of the emergence of the cacophony of rainbow of colors……Did I just actually say that?
So, picking up with Wednesday night and Naves arrival, we began our obsession with the baseball playoffs with the captivating and rewarding Sox victory over The Huns from the Bronx, and have stayed glued to the streaming colored box every night since…. though took a break last night to watch the amazing Saints of Newark prequel to the revolutionary Sopranos…. that little thing of ours….
Thursday, Nave and I did the Ludlow thing with a little low rent shopping, lunch at Okemo from Java Baba and a trip to walk and gawk at the beautiful Ludlow cemetery……where Lucy and her BFF, Rosie, were free to go nuts amongst the descendants….In the morning, we had a surprise visit from Tanta Ingrid, the eerily look alike sister of our benefactress, Karen…though for a frightening moment at the door, I was paralyzed to think it WAS Karen, and the house was a mess…and we would be damned to bad buyer hell………………….
Thursday night, we gathered our makeshift Cider Daze Band in the barn for a one-time rehearsal for our Saturday CD gig……we wore shorts and such…and crawled in frozen after two and a half hours…as the mild fall afternoon tuned into a very brisk mountain night……but TQ had reemerged after a day in the mines, to prepare a pot of soup for the cold and starving minstrels
Friday dawned one of those drop dead perfect Fall days…and we planned an easy day of mostly hanging…which went out the proverbial window when our ostensible couple of hours at Mt. Hollywood studios, to remix our August recordings, turned into a five hour marathon of lost files and missing tracks…which resulted in finishing the mix for ONE (count ‘em) song…so came home for a quick very late lunch and romp with the pups, then headed back out to hit the Ludlow Farmers Market foe TQ’s required list, and then on to find Amazing Mike and Cheryl’s cabin up a series of dirt roads in the middle of nowhere to drop off their set list for Saturday…. famous last words: “just find the blueberry hushes”…which we eventually did….On the way back from da mahket we encountered THE PERFECT FALL MOMENT, as we crested the ridge down into Belmont….and had to hump out of the car into the brilliant twilight like a pair of Japanese tourists to snap an endless array of can’t miss photos (see attached) ….one of those rare moments of nature’s bounty….….at the market we were instructed to buy ripe organic radishes, but when we approached the produce monger and asked “do you have any radishes”, he replied in his droll manner…“Go Fish”…which took us an hour to figure out …should have then tried asking for mushrooms…..
Saturday and the grand entrance of Cider Daze was bit off putting….chilly and overcast…..which did not stop the tourist hordes from shopping and noshing….actually saw a stuffed fisher cat, which is the north woods cat killer, but I left reassured that mighty Lucy could take it down if need be….there was a petting zoo, and exhibit of 75 years of country fire trucks and equipment, music throughout (we played a chilly hour and half set featuring fiddle tunes and western swing…a first )…… and the newest Queen and her Cronies creation….a Cow Plop contest (really!) in which a square was laid out/roped off on someone’s lawn with 80 boxes to be bought for ten bucks each…and then Jim and Millicent’s cow (who provides us out weekly milk) was set loose…to plop in a square and make someone rich….the farmers had guaranteed there was no way Miss Liberty (born on the fourth) would not shat in the three hour contest window so as to declare a winner….but she apparently decided to fill the trailer with shat on the way over and then refuse to move bowels….when they finally gave up and put her back in the trailer, she shat all over again…so the industrious festival planners blindfolded some kid and let him drop the treasure in the middle of the erstwhile laid out game board…..FAKE PLOP…winner declared…
And that was enough to send everyone home for the day……WE returned to our crock pot of Farmer Jeff’s’ beef from which the Nave created Eyetalian Beef sandwiches ala Chicago….more baseball….get up and do it again….Amen…..
Out of ink…time to go…take it slow….get out and mow….eat some crow…behold and lo….reap what you sown…mo…mo…mo…
Review: Like extremely well written books? Like France? Like great food? Like wine? Like History?…….I’d say all here in Walker’s most recent (2021) installment of “Bruno, Chief of Police”. Bruno is a character for the ages-you will want to dine with him, drink wine with him, be his friend. Walker crates a kaleidoscope of wonderful characters in the magical French village of St. Dennis in the Perigord region of southern France. Extraordinary grasp of French culture and traditions (he’s a Expat Brit, for Chrissakes) ….and weaves amazing overarching story lines into his already complex mysteries. This one has a cold war spy theme along with a deep dive into the cave dwellers famously discovered in the region. Could not put it down. …. too good for my own words…and really bummed it will be another year for the next one. By the way, the food and wine descriptions will have you want to buy the Bruno cookbooks…and run to your fridge in search of Foie Gras.
Notable People: Mark Warren, Maimee McCoy Created by: Chris Murray
Title: Van Der Valk
Review: Gerity detective drama set in Amsterdam based on the bestselling novels by Nicholas Freeling. Three-part series of 1 ½ hour episodes that may or may not come back (there was a previous iteration that went for many seasons on Dutch TV). Stories are good and ensemble cast does well. Classic PBS Masterpiece type. Did not like the use of British actors in main roles, but really liked the Amsterdam setting which is nicely highlighted. Worth a watch.
“A cool breeze, the grasshopper singing with all his might” ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Issa
“When I argue with reality, I lose- but only 100 per cent of the time” …………………………………………Byron Katie
“C’est la vie say the old folks, you better know you never can tell” ……………………………………………………………………………………. Chuck Berry
“That bedspread looks like it’s from the Bates Motel” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Lauren Butch
It’s been a very slow unwinding of Autumn here in the Greens. Started with an early bang, at the start of August, mind you, but has slowed to a crawl, and now looking for a mid-late October peaking. But, it is Fall, after all, and if you live in northern New England, it is time to get yer arse out there. For 20 plus years, we spent three weeks’ vacation every Fall roaming around the hills and dales of Vermont, and tried not to give that experience up, when we moved up-so we now plan three “fall outings” every Fall to go peeping. This week, was outing number one, up to the coast of Maine, which we do annually, but usually much later in the tourist season, to avoid the masses. Constantly amazed at the miles and miles and miles of wonderful empty beaches along the coast this time of year, and that the tourists all flock to the crowded streets of Olgongiut and Kennebunkport to stay together like moths around a light. Why do we do that?
But, I digress……again……and again……mostly a beautiful week here in the Greens, with classic fall weather, which took us for a hike- hunt last Sunday and resulted in lunch at the weird middle-of-nowhere sausage place down in Stratton and a visit to the Hapgood Pond national recreation area, which is closed for the season, but apparently not for us.
Early week was a blitz of work and home/ hearth chores (The Queen never sleeps) …and then off to Maine on Wednesday. Stayed in Kennebunk at a cute cottage in an old fashioned motor court (which still thrive in New England) and trolled every beach between Portsmouth, NH and Portland, Maine……with the requisite hunt for the world’s best lobster roll. At one point, driving along the coast we looked up and seemed to spot Big Lucy, the dog we cared for last week, at a beach parking area, which turned out to be a run in with the people we dog sat for…on a remote Maine beach…how does that happen?
If you go to that area of Main, it is a must to check out the Rachel Carson (“Silent Spring”) National Wildlife Refuge….an enduring walk in the woods by the ocean…
Got back Friday night after a stop at Claremont New Hampshire for some tax free shopping (Live Free or Die) ……and settled in a for a wet weekend. Enthralled with the end of the major league baseball season with multiple teams going down to the last day for playoff entry…. despite much harassment from my NY family and childhood friends, we have become Sox fans since moving to Vermont……so now root against the hated Yankees……who may well wind up playing each other in a one game play-in wild card for the payoffs. Fall leaves and baseball……what’s not to like?
Had the Erstwhile Russian Spy and the Worlds Most Beloved School Marm over for dinner last night, and got a roaring fire going in the living room….and they stayed for five hours!!!!…. which far eclipsed my usual social boundary…. a three hour max (and five nights for family visiting) ……but it was fine dinner and a good visit…though I was exhausted after five hours of socializing…. I think I am suited for COVID isolation more than most.
The Nave is coming from Ohio on Wednesday for a week’s visit with Lucy’s BFF- Rosie. We will be playing a set next Saturday at the Cider Daze extravaganza…after which there may be a Queen sighting for the first time in a month, as she winds down from her Community Association Czar activities in preparation for the big festival weekend……the prepping of The Cow Plop contest has been particularly time intensive……. then off for another Fall Outing the week after this.
The bathroom remodelings are in full swing back in our Ohio house (how cool is it to have house remodeling done and not be around for the chaos?) ……though the Vermont projects seem to be in half-repair limbo due to The Q’s active pursuit of Yenta-ing…..
And that is about…every picture tells a story, story…and there are a lot of them this week.
Stay safe, have fun, enjoy the change of season…be in touch.
Review: I very rarely read non-fiction, but his book was dropped off to me by friend, and I felt compelled to read it. And, what a surprise…a veritable treasure. McCullough is world renowned historian and has written the definitive text of the settling of the West via the Ohio Territories from just after the American Revolution through the mid-1800s. a captivating and fascinating story focusing on the hardships and endurance of the original New England settlers who found a home along the Ohio River, initially in the quaint river town of Marietta and then later in Cincinnati and into Indiana and westward. What a story! A worthy read even for those of us who prefer fiction. Who knew?
