da liberry......

I have been catching up on a lot of reading these past few weeks. When Borders as closing down the stores near me were having a ton of sales- One store had all books a dollar each, another did a buy 20 books for 10 dollars deal. Needles to say I took advantage of these deals.

I've also been doing a lot of kindling as well, probably about 60/40  hard copy to kindle. I was on the road for a week and I will admit that the kindle did come in handy- I usually would bring about 4 or 5 books along on a trip, now just my lil' e-pal.

I heard an interview with photographer Annie Liebowitz the other day, she's promoting a new book of photos, and she was saying that all the photos in the book were taken digitally.She made the point that she didn't have a romantic notion that film is superior to digital- Content was the most important thing, not how you created it.

Good point.......I guess.

Here's two things that keep me connected (romantically) to books;

I'm just about finished reading a book about the history of Jewish Delis- a very enjoyable look at food and culture and history and pastrami- As I read it I have about a dozen people that I would like to share the book with, as in walk up to them and say "You have to check this out" and then hand them the book. "Oh! check out the story about kasha varnishka on page 128."

I'm sure that e reader sharing is on the horizon (if not already here) , but I'll admit it I am attached to the object.

As far as I am concerned , since the dawn of time there are two perfect , elegant inventions- books and bicycles. Some day , I'll go into greater detail about that thesis.

Here's another romantic book notion;

As a  fund raiser for a theater group I work with, A friend of mine has started selling used books, what started out as a shelf or two of volumes has turned into a very impressive collection. She sells them during the intermission, you can get a coffee, a snicker candy bar, and a Tom Clancy novel.

Every once in a while she'll bring me a book that someone has donated and say that it's a book that I have to have. The other day she gave me a paperback copy of The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood. It's a pocket sized book in immaculate condition, it was published in 1949 by the Board of Education of the City of New York and given to students as a gift.

A Beautiful book with illustrations by a student, complete with that "old book" smell. Heaven.

There is a wonderful introduction written by Regina Burke, associate superintendent of elementary schools. Here's a bit of it,

"Are you fortunate enough to have a library of enjoyable books in your home? It isn't necessary to possess hundreds of books to set up "a library" Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin began theirs with just one book. This book is all yours. I hope you will add it to your home library, or use The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood to begin one"

Thanks Miss Burke

you talkin' to me?..........

I've had a few nights off this week, so I've been catching up on some movies that I had Tivo"d over the past few weeks. Some old favorites- Roseland, a Merchant Ivory film from the late 70's, set in the legendary dance Hall. Brian DePalmas Dressed to Kill - eeeeek. I also watched the big two part Woody Allen Documentary by Robert Weide that they played on PBS this week. Incredibly (mercifully) they were not begging for donations,so you could enjoy it from start top finish without interruption- 3 1/2 hours of bliss. It makes you want to lock the door and watch all 40 or so of his movies non stop.

If you are a fan you will love it, and the best part of the whole thing is the absolute last line, which Woody delivers himself and then laughs out loud. perfection

One of the movies i watched is Stolen Kisses, by Francois Truffaut. During his career he made 5 (I think) films which featured the character of Antoine Doniel. He began with the classic 400 Blows which saw Doniel as a schoolboy and then he would revisit the character every five years or so to see what he's up to.

The character became a bit of a dual autobiography of Truffaut and the actor who played him,Jean Pierre Leaud

At the start of Stolen Kisses, Doniel is thrown out of the army and spends the rest of the movie moving from job to job, trying to figure out what he should be doing with his life. At the same time he is trying to figure out ........women.

Who am I? What is love? Why am I here? .......... all your classic young man questions.

About three quarters of the way thru the movie he finds himself idolizing his bosses wife, while still pining for his sometime girlfriend, while continuing his quest to figure out who the hell he is.

This leads to this extraordinary scene= Antoine in front of the mirror, speaking the names of both women and his own. A single shot, 90 seconds- it becomes an aria as he builds to a wee bit of rapture searching for an answer. An incantation.

Watching it out of context you get a feel for what it's all about, but when you see it in the movie it nearly takes your breath away.

let's make a pact; we'll all promise to see one of our favorite movies this week. Something you haven't seen in a while, an old pal.

the rockwell in question....

“Saying Grace,” Norman Rockwell. 1951. Ken and Katherine Stuart Collection. ©1951 SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN | Norman Rockwell Museum

a fifth freedom.......

I stopped into a local restaurant tonight for dinner. The girl up front tells me I can sit anywhere. I head towards a table in the back. I notice a woman with two "tween age" children,  their food is on the table, their heads are bowed.

Wow, it's like that Norman Rockwell picture of the family saying grace in a coffee shop surrounded by.....

Never mind, they were, all three, texting. Illustrate that Norm.


ps  Hey! put down the phone, you're dinners getting cold

was ist das?.......

Earlier this week I took a trip up to Fairfield University to see John Malkovich perform a theater piece that he's been touring around the world the last year or so.

John Malkovich, Two Sopranos, and a 30 piece Baroque orchestra.

It's called The Infernal Comedy;Confessions of a serial killer, and it's based on a true story of an Austrian Serial Killer, who had been imprisoned for murder and then 15 years later made a convincing case that he had been rehabilitated, redeemed.

After he was released he became a novelist and a playwright and theater director and a journalist, all quite successfully. He was charming. He was a celebrity.

As a journalist he wrote a series of articles about a killer who was targeting prostitutes in Vienna. He came to Los Angeles and wrote an article about the sex trade in California.

Six prostitutes were killed in Vienna and three sex workers were killed in Los Angeles.

............... can you guess who committed these crimes?

correct. (I won't insult you by confirming your suspicion )

The Orchestra enters and tunes up and then plays a bit of an overture, the singers are introduced and then Jack Unterweger (Malkovich) enters and welcomes us. He is going to give a reading of his new book, his memoir. He is charming and seductive and funny as hell. There is also a bit of tension between him and the other people on stage, but no matter, he has work to do.

I saw a clip of this on youtube (the previous post) and knew that I would have to keep an eye out for it. I love   theater that defies a category- It's not a one man show, it's not a musical, It's funny but hardly a comedy. In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Malkovich refers to it as an opera.

There is always that great unexpected feline grace and silkiness in the way he moves- There is a wonderful sensuality in the way he wears clothes, you really get the feeling that he chooses his outfits not just for the way they look but more importantly for the way they feel.

About halfway thru the show it came to me- he reminded me of the famous photo of Truman Capote on the cover of his book "Other Voices, Other Rooms" (give that a google)

He has a great awareness about the way he moves-much is made during the show about how he walks off stage- sometimes he slithers ,other times he all but stomps off. At one point he wanders into the orchestra and lays down among the cellos.

At the end of the evening there are no great insights into the criminal mind, no grand conclusions to be drawn, but it was a fun way to spend an evening

Sometimes I enjoy walking away from a show wondering "what was that?"

a coming attraction.........

hey rube......

" Oh No, It's that cop we set on fire."

That's a line from "The Rum Diary"  the movie based on a novel by Hunter Thompson. If such a thing is possible, the movie is  a long distance love letter to the good Doctor.

The theme of the movie is basically a writer looking for his "voice". The Thompson character ,Paul Kemp, talks about that search a number of times throughout.,  All the elements of his eventual style are on display, drinks, drugs, general excess, FEAR, . A Sancho Panza like sidekick. A healthy disrespect for authority , the bastards, Nixon.

There is also a romantic angle , a love interest for the love of God, something that seldom if ever appears in his later writing . Off hand I can't think of (m)any females in his writing, his was a boys club of debauchery. According to his biographies there was an abundance of female companions, but seldom did they make it to his work.

Of course , years later, when he finds his "Voice" it is one of the most recognizable of the 20th century. After the first paragraph you know whose hand is on the Selectric.

I discovered Thompson like many with Ffear and loathing in Las Vegas".  I'm reading, I'm thinking- Who the hell is this guy? Is this for real? Could any of this possibly happen? Can any human possibly tolerate this much abuse?
.
After a bit , it starts to sink in, it might not all be factual, but it's all true. On first blush it seems that he is the center of all his reporting, (and many blushes later as well) but as you continue you see that he's telling the bigger story, The tales of Fear and Loathing. Betrayal, Lost Hope, Lost innocence.

For all his savagery he often comes across as wounded by greed and deception. Kurt Vonnegut wrote about Thompson and said he was a canary in a coal mine, the first one to register distress. sounds about right.

I was a huge fan, but I had no delusions, I knew that if I ever met him , I would last maybe five minutes.

Here's a bit of evidence to prove my case: Bill Murray played Thompson in the Movie "Where the Buffalo Roam"  They met poolside at some hotel before the movie , Thompson tied Murray to a lounge chair (securely) everyone is laughing,he then pushes Murray into the pool.Nearly drowning the star of his movie.

Exhibit 2: He's going to meet Johnny Depp at the Woody Creek Tavern (his hometown bar) Depp is in the back, Hunter makes his way through the crowd with a cattle prod and taser.

Back in 76 he came to speak at Fredonia, where I went to school. This was right around the time his fame began to become Myth. He was feuding with John Denver (of all people) and Garry Trudeau had introduced the character Duke into Doonesbury. In attitude and appearance Duke was Thompson. Hunter was not amused, what did he think of Trudeaus tribute? "I'll tear his lungs out" Hyperbole? Maybe.

In the two weeks before he reached us Thompson was making national news, he was on a college speaking tour and most nights , if he showed up, were turning into drunken rampages as he would attack the audiences for mentioning Doonesbury.

I couldn't wait. Finally the day arrived, it was part of a weekend long journalism conference, only a select group of about 200 were allowed in, the air was electric. Oh did I mention, it was 10 am. He was coming directly from the Buffalo airport, was he a morning person.

At 10 am on the dot , he entered the room- in full regalia, Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses (which stayed on), chuck Taylors. He was introduced by the moderator , my journalism professor, I can't remember his name, but he was a bow tie, tweed jacket, tortoise frame, kinda guy.They were perfect, the two of them sitting behind that table in the lecture room.

From his airline bag Thompson took out a bottle of whiskey and a six pack. Next came a small cocktail pitcher and a bag of ice. Ice in the pitcher followed by the whiskey. Popped open a beer, light a cigarette and told us that he didn't have any prepared remarks , but he would be happy to answer questions. And for the next 90 minutes he did.

He had the rumble- mumble of a voice even then. He was funny and charming and loved to talk about papers and politics, I think he might have even answered a Doonesbury question. During those 90 minutes he finished the six pack and put a major dent in the whiskey and remained "sober" throughout.

It was a thrill. I'm glad i got close, but that was close enough.

I was heartbroken years later when he died. In failing health he shot himself- no surprise I guess , surrounded by guns and drink and drugs  that might qualify as natural causes.

Even in death he was one of a kind- google his memorial service overseen by Depp. .