Quite a week for Boston. The director of a major state agency resigns in disgrace after he's caught by the Boston Herald boozing it up in the middle of the day on a taxpayer-funded harbor cruise with several politicos, lobbyists and hangers-on – one of whom, a stunt actress named Gidget Churchill (!), flashes the Herald photographer. Pedro Martinez froths at the mouth before a game over his relationship with Jimy Williams and the Boston media, then is all smiles afterwards. And our favorite local con-on-the-run, Whitey Bulger, makes the FBI's Top Ten. Sports. Politics. Revenge.
Aug. 19
Both kids now have their own e-mail addresses. And they now have reserved two of the five automatic settings on the car radio for their favorite stations; a third, an oldies station, is by mutual parent-child agreement. Something is going on.
Aug. 17-8
Viewings:
*"Leningrad Cowboys Go America" -- perfectly restrained whimsy and finely-tuned absurdity, paced just right. Ah, hell, it's funny: A road movie that becomes, surprisingly, a worthy folkloresque document of American musical stylings, from Tex-Mex to rock to Dixieland funeral march. The, er, title song practically begs to be learned. (Further, although somewhat dubious, information available here.)
*"Fierce Creatures" – too rambling and unfocused to be called a ringing success, but John Cleese as an against-his-will sex symbol gives the film something of a center. Hard to argue too much against lemurs and tapirs.
Aug. 14-15
Preparation for future development on adjacent street results in loss of section of small wooded area -- and two highly upset children, distraught over loss of a sanctuary for adventure and fantasy. (From parents' point of view, of course, the place was a poison ivy-beset, trash-cluttered eyesore). Otherwise, a cloudy, damp weekend, inspiring little in the way of activity, except for a voracious reading of:
"Climb the Wind," by Pamela Sargent – another achievement for the alternative-history genre. Because her take on post-Civil War events is more than feasible, it makes one marvel that the US survived the way it did (although, one hastens to add, not without room for improvement). Depiction of Native Americans as having their own capacity for political expediency also provides more authentic sheen.
Aug. 13
*Viewing: "She's All That" -- reasonably good variation on the "Pygmalion" theme, but sure would be nice to see more teen comedies where the median household income is farther below six figures. And Anna Paquin? Certainly not getting type-cast these days, is she?
*Books recently completed:
=="At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War," by Michael Beschloss and Strobe Talbot -- wisely, the authors are wary of annointing Bush and Gorbachev too much for their dicey navigation through the treacherous landscape. Good anecdotes, e.g., Bush -- responding to aides' comments about White House restraint over the end of the Berlin Wall -- riffing on the Toyota "Oh, what a feeling!" buzzphrase.
=="A Prayer for Owen Meany," by John Irving -- tragic, wistful, sharp-witted, an odd parable in which sacred relics include a baseball and a dress dummy. Almost discomforting at times to see how scars can lodge so deep, and not warn us of the danger of additional injury.
Aug. 12
Michael Moore notes that Buford Furrow, that wonderful fellow who decided to shoot up a Jewish community center this week, was among the neo-Nazis he filmed for a 1995 segment of "TV Nation" (in which Moore brought a group of young dancers to perform to Motown songs outside a convention of neo-Nazis and Aryans). Furrow was apparently one of the most "mild-mannered" in the lot, Moore says. Not a comforting thought.
Aug. 11
The week for k3w1 links, I guess. Or just outright hilarious: http://www.kibo.com/photos/cones.
Aug. 10
I don't often (in fact, probably never did) give links to Web pages for promotional products shilled through infomercials, but after watching this one -- by accident, I swear -- I have to: http://www.rejuvenique.com. Evidently, the Hannibal Lecter/"Friday the 13th" influence has extended to the commercial health-and-beauty products field.
Recent viewings
At home and away, in chronological order:
*"Beloved" -- earnest and compelling, but not quite all there. The allusions and references to classic folk ballad motifs, notably "The Cruel Mother" and "The Unquiet Grave," do give the story a subtle strength.
*"The Late Show" -- talk about lost gems: Shrewd casting and well-measured acting (especially by Lily Tomlin) keep this on an even keel, sliding neither too far toward farce or sentimentality.
*"Fargo" -- sure, we can joyfully cite the "Gophers-Yah?-Brainerd-Crazy up there at the lake" and other quotables, but it's a wonderfully bipolar film, disturbing violence in-between the yuks. William H. Macy, meanwhile, has become one of the most welcome ubiquitous actors around.
*"Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" -- yes, 1980s nostalgia is in full swing. Would've liked a little more Janeane Garafolo, her psychotic directness playing off the leads' ditziness.
*"A Walk on the Moon" -- talk about good timing: saw this almost exactly halfway between the anniversaries of the film's defining events (i.e., the moon landing and Woodstock). Always kind of liked Diane Lane, and found it enjoyable watching her traverse the worlds of New York-Jewish-Catskills and the Shirt Man (who, as LW noted, kept his place very neat for a free-wheeling bachelor). Anna Paquin does well, too.
*"The Blair Witch Project" -- hard now to approach this as a film; more like an out-of-left-field but well-crafted marketing exercise. Which is not to say it's a bad film, perhaps a Gen-X version of "Scott of the Antarctic." But one does wonder, at the end, "so that's it?"
*"Beautiful Girls" -- or "Young Yuckapucks In Love." Pretty much a waste of some good talent, with the possible exception of Rosie O'Donnell. Natalie Portman is given a terrible role, a kind of clumsy Americanized attempt at a Rohmeresque heroine.
*"Simon Birch" -- the trick here is to grasp fully the phrase "suggested by the book 'A Prayer for Owen Meany.'" Truncating the story as it does, the film veers more toward the coming-of-age genre rather than the complex search for spiritual and national identity John Irving undertakes. Largely succeeds on its own terms, but sadly missing: the character of Hester.
*"Waking Ned Devine" -- lacks somewhat the oomph of other rural-village ensemble pieces ("Playboy of the Western World" and "Local Hero" come immediately to mind), but the acting is stellar and the good spirit is infectious. And any film with The Voice Squad as part of the soundtrack…
July 24-Aug. 5: Dazey Laze of Summer
OK, it's not as if we didn't do anything during our trial period as empty-nesters. Getting the kids prepared and out on their respective roads (or flightpath, in OD's case) was a production necessitating a nap later on -- then followed by a lovely fish dinner and the first of many viewings, which will be detailed in a subsequent entry.
Mostly, we experienced the considerable joy of doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, or NOT do anything. So it was that after a day-and-a-half of occasional activity (not including the trip to Malden I had to make in connection with a free-lance Globe piece), we hied ourselves off to Brighton's Greenbriar Pub for a late-night session, meeting some old musical and social acquaintances and making (hopefully) some new ones. And, having scrubbed down the kitchen, we rewarded ourselves with an excursion to our favorite music stores, which resulted in the purchase of a Kentucky-brand mandolin that already makes me feel reinvigorated. Our other major acquisition was of the high-tech variety: A sorely-needed new printer.
YD returned late Saturday, OD the next evening, and we settled back more or less comfortably into our household routines: play-dates, sleepovers, biking to local playgrounds, and a shopping trip that produced an addition to in The Dumb, Stupid Baseball Hat Page.
I'm sure there are revelations and impressions yet unsorted from this idyll, but one's thing for sure: We need more of 'em.
July 23
Right, off on another home-based vacation for the next 10 days, more than half of which will be child-free. Can't imagine what the missus and I will do…
July 22
Terrific Associated Press article in today's Boston Globe on the persistence of dialect in Britain as social class yardstick, and the phenomenon of Received Pronunciation, without which the BBC would no doubt be full of Hounslows and Billerica Dickies.
July 21
New PowerMac G3 for office gratefully received, color scheme and odd translucent designs notwithstanding.
July 20
Recent musical acquisition: "Flesh and Blood," by Maddy Prior -- haven't heard much of her solo work, except the odd bits on radio, but this comes as something of a revelation. The keyboard-driven, relatively modest arrangements complement her vocals in ways rivaling most anything Steeleye Span ever did, such as on "Sheath and Knife," "Hind Horn" and "Boy On A Horse." And an a-capella Todd Rundgren song ("Honest Work") to boot.
July 19
Viewing: "Real Life" -- in the same orbit with "An American Family," "The Truman Show" and Jennicam, but obviously far more irreverent and less inclined to plumb the sociophilosophical issues it raises. But, hey, Albert Brooks is just plain funny, and delightfully self-deprecating. And the state-of-the-art camera ensemble is one of the best contemporary film comedy devices made.
July 16-18
*Another flourish of fire-breathing weather forces us into heat emergency status (i.e., activate air conditioners, close off middle rooms). Kids enjoy fair amount of social activity, while adults work through outpourings of perspiration on assorted projects.
*JFK Jr. tragedy prompts area TV news organizations from summer doldrums. One correspondent eagerly informs us that Kennedy family is finding solace and comfort with one another in private, while strategically-placed news camera just manages to capture actual footage of said privacy.
July 15
Convergence of events: As the legacy of turmoil in Northern Ireland sadly maintains its stranglehold, Boston ends -- albeit not in a unison of voices -- its long chapter of race-based school selection policy. Boston Globe story, in fact, notes how one of the Charlestown natives in Common Ground spoke at a recent forum praising the multiracial school her kids attend.
July 14
Viewing: "Crooklyn" -- a Spike Lee film the whole family can enjoy? Well, yes. The acting, especially Delroy Lindo, is compelling and believable, and Lee's focus on the daughter as primary character is surprisingly well-done and sensitive. One little nugget of amusing, if poignant, cultural irony: The children singing along to those white-bread rock-n-rollers, The Partridge Family.
July 11
Recent musical acquisitions:
*"Foothold," by Denny Bartley, Chris and Jane Sherburn -- perhaps the ultimate compliment is that it sounds exactly like they're sitting in front of you -- the energy and enthusiasm radiate right off the disk. Stand-out tracks include "The Night Visiting Song" medley, "Monaghan Twig/Dinky's Reel" and Denny's rendition of Leon Rosselson's "The World Turned Upside Down."
*"The Wheel," by Whirligig -- great stuff here, including an unnerving, vaguely medieval-sounding "Mr. Fox" and a cracking "Limerick Lasses/Loaf of Bread/Shetland Fiddler's" medley, but it raises the question of when a group's eclecticism can be diffusing as well as entertaining.
July 10
Lovely weather spurs walking tour around Harvard Square with OD and YD, through the by-now-familiar haunts -- i.e., Oona's, Newbury Comics and anime shops. My purchase is duly noted in The Dumb, Stupid Baseball Hat Page.
July 9
Entrepreneurial news: Marco "Son of Slobo" Milosevic and Max Baer Jr. (TV's Jethro Bodine) have embarked on plans to build theme parks. Milosevic's is the recently-launched "Bambipark" -- named not for an Uncle Walt progeny, but a foodstuffs manufacturer near the family homestead -- which is geared to athletics and recreation. Meanwhile, having embraced his Jethroness, Baer is constructing the Beverly Hillbillies Mansion and Casino in Reno, which includes a "fire-spitting derrick," shot-gun wedding chapel and rather lascivious use of Ellie May, according to a recent Financial Post article.
July 6
*Impressive thunderstorm display heralds end of our collective stint in the toaster oven. OD still fighting stubborn temperature, but well enough to head out to library and pick up a few things, including the subject of our night's viewing:
*"The Yellow Earth" -- lyrical bit of early-80s propaganda which also raises interesting questions about the folklorist's impact on those he or she studies. Memorable last scene of young boy literally running against the tide of tradition to embrace modernism (and political ideology).
July 4-5
Notes from the cauldron:
*Poor OD had the misfortune to catch a bug making the rounds, upping her personal temperature to only a few degrees higher than what it is outside.
*During her vegetative state, she happened to be watching "Sesame Street." This episode included Ernie introducing a song on numbers and addition to a beleaguered Bert who, as a Cajun accordion and rhythm section is heard in the background, says, "Why zydeco?" Also, a clip of kids "flying" through a park, accompanied by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers' "I'm A Little Airplane."
*Independence Day fair at nearby Albemarle rather a non-affair, what with sultry weather and sick kid (YD enjoyed herself, at least). Late-day barbecue at friends' house is mercifully in shaded area, fostering lively conversations about kids, schools and fondly-recalled rock events -- including one guest's reminiscences on attending Woodstock.
July 3
*Quote of the week, Dead English Politicians Division: Commenting on the passing of prominent Tory Willie Whitelaw, advisor and counselor to many, Margaret Thatcher said, "Every prime minister needs a Willie."
*Productive day, in which we finally retrieve our family room from its status as Lego warehouse and dumping ground, just in time to install much-needed air conditioner. Later, kids and I take in "Monkey Business."
July 2
*Contemporary folklore in action? According to YD, when one sees a modern VW Beetle, one is supposed to lightly punch one's companion (assuming there is one) on the shoulder and say, quickly, "Punch buggy slug-bug!" Vector for this bit of ritual is a Boston friend, who doesn't recall exactly where she first heard it. Perhaps a visit to alt.folklore.urban is in order.
*Book completed: "Hunting a Detroit Tiger," by Troy Soos -- WW1 vet/journeyman baseball player as amateur detective amidst tumult of post-war Red Scare? Lot of historical and political exposition alongside first-person game accounts, but the proverbial Good Summer Read, nonetheless.
July 1
*So, with the prime of summer now upon us, it's important we remember sometimes to stomp, and sell the roses.
*Viewing: "Brimstone and Treacle" -- a veddy English take on "The Night of the Hunter," evil-evangelist-predator theme (only without the counterbalancing Lillian Gish character). Diverting music video-like sequences, good casting, and the double dose of irony at the end make up for the unpleasantness.
