Clik here to view.
In Defense of The Irishman
Before we’re finished talking about the films of 2019, I have to weigh in on The Irishman. If you read its reviews you’d think it was very well-received, but I’ve heard so many friends casually write...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Winter of Max von Sydow Being Quiet
I was already thinking about Max von Sydow quite a bit when news came out that he’d passed away this month. He was a dream subject for an obituary writer: an artist with a long, full life rooted deep...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tears For Lombardy
I found myself awake late one night, reading a feature about the epicenter of Italian Coronavirus deaths, around Bergamo, and I was drawn back to The Tree of the Wooden Clogs (L’Albero Degli Zoccoli)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Janke Doodle Dandy
“The basketball court was full of Tyrones.” “Look at the tight pants on Juanita.” “All the milk Mustafa sells is past its expiration.” “Can Shlomo fit any more kids in that minivans?!” It’s an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
American Brands: In Praise of Average
This cup of Maxwell House in front of me is a perfectly balanced pre-breakfast drink all by itself. Funny, because yesterday I noticed its pecan notes pair well an afternoon piece of leftover chocolate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Soviet Cinema Power Couple
If you’re feeling like four and a half hours of emotional horror, watch a Soviet double feature about the worst days of World War Two. I did just that, to “celebrate” the 75th anniversary of V-E Day....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mysteries of Mithras: Klimov, Macfarlane, and You Know Who
In the first scene of Elem Klimov’s Come and See, two boys are digging in a sandbank pulling out Nazi helmets and belt buckles. It’s not clear if they’re in an old campsite or a mass grave. The only...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Like Garlic Mustard? YOU Eat It
There’s an allelopath on the loose in my town, committing crimes in broad daylight, and I’ve been spending a good part of this quarantine handing out vigilante justice. It’s edible, as many people have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Impeachment 2: Why It Didn’t Work
What mystified me most about the Democrats’ impeachment strategy back in January was why Adam Schiff was allowed to talk for so long. In baseball (sorry friends overseas), after you’ve had a bruising...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Deep State Film Festival
Two films I watch about once every year are titles that, I admit, I sometimes hear or say as I’m picturing a scene from the other: The Manchurian Candidate and Doctor Strangelove or: How I Learned to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Going Home to “Return of the Native”
Sitting around an open fire one sunset this fall I proposed reading Return of the Native to my wife, and we took turns reading chapters of it out loud between Thanksgiving and Christmas, till we read...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For the Love of Trees in April
They’re changing costumes like mad! It’s that particular week of spring when daily tree-watching pays off again and again, in either surprising or perfectly predictable ways: the week the trees bud...
View ArticleWhat Birds Do
What Birds Do You talk about birds as if they are calling to you through the window at the bottom of your long list of things to do, the oblong -shaped aspirations, the unfinished sculptures and empty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Clowns Go
I confess that I thoroughly enjoy end-of-year stories with titles like “Those We Lost,” roundups of the best-known celebrity deaths before we move on in the new year, and get on with the business of...
View ArticleMonica Vitti
Monica Vitti, who died at age 90 today, had the delivery of a Redgrave, the poise of Audrey Hepburn, and a nose as gorgeous as Streisand’s. I was not surprised to read, in her obituaries, that she was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sweetness and Power
Yesterday morning, like most days this year, I made tea and toast and read the headlines before attempting to write something. “Made the mistake of reading the headlines,” I often say, since tuning in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lilacs and ‘Ever-Returning Spring’
One morning this week, there was plenty of light in the sky at 6am, and powdery floral odors wafting in the window. On my walk the night before I stopped three times to smell the lilacs in particular....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gone To Kingston
Walking down the street in Kingston, New York this week I was stopped in my tracks by the smell of lilac. It occurred to me that it’s been almost a year since I posted here. I’ve been gone. Gone? It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Revolution and “Revolutions”
Yesterday April 27th was the 377th anniversary of King Charles I’s flight from Oxford to take refuge with the Scottish Army in the North during the English Civil War. The Protestant New Model Army was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smiles of a Summer Night
Last week’s solstice reminded me of the Swedish romantic comedy Smiles of a Summer Night. That’s an understatement. Really any long summer evening with a slow moonrise makes me dream about recreating...
View Article
