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For the first twenty minutes or half-hour of Things We Lost in the Fire I thought that Susanne Bier, my current favorite director, had succeeded in transferring her wondrous Danish idiom into a big-name Hollywood production. I loved the unusual but profound relationships, especially between Brian Burke, the real-estate developer, and his childhood friend and…
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Ludwig Wittgenstein, the renowned philosopher whose strict stringent strictures about language inadvertently destroyed my youthful interest in philosophy, wrote in one of his less rigorous moments that "a man's own name [should be] sacred to him. Surely it is both the most important instrument given to him and also something like a piece of jewelry…
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There is unfortunately very little of the often superb Danish director Susanne Bier in this darkish Hollywoodish comedy. She's so much better when she stays closer to her native themes. The plot is built on an antique and hallowed cliche: northern Europeans migrate to southern Italy to find freedom and to re-awaken love. In this…
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There's Sir Charles Barkley, of course, leading the way, and all those Kings (Bernard, the king of Kings, but also Albert, Stacy and a score more). Dozens of Earls, including the diminutive Boykins, and my favorite, nomenclature-wise, Acie Earl. Also Brevin and many other Knights. Nor can we forget Marques Johnson or Marquis Teague. And Mel Counts,…
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I've written before about occupations that are not for me. Among them are tour guide (because of my directional dyslexia), trapeze artist (i'm terrified of heights), surgeon (frightened of gore), and dog groomer. I've also discussed possible options for future employment, such as my plan to become a power forward in the NBA. However, I'm now starting to think that, what…
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i've been following the Bridgegate scandal – the vindictive sabotaging of traffic entering the George Washington Bridge by Governor Christie's staff with the connivance and wink-wink approval of the governor hmself. I'm appalled — is this the kind of man to whom we should offer the bully pulpit? I've even gone so far as to read the internet comments…
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Friends of long standing know that Vivian de St. Vrain, alter ego and nom de blague, makes two boasts that go a long way toward the establishment of a substantial worldly identity: a) I've never eaten a McDonald's hamburger, and b) I've read all forty-seven of Anthony Trollope's novels. Old info for old friends, but for those internet pilgrims…
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We have goats, two Nigerian pygmies, ex-boys, 9 weeks old. Ella ((10), returning home from a session with the kids. "The black goat totally tried to eat my pants." A perfect sentence, utterly original, utterly wonderful.
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Amnesia movies continue to thrive. This latest, The Vow, made a bunch of money but was widely panned. And should have been. It's a sad sad day when the amnesia is more credible than the male lead. The Vow purports to be based on the story of Krickitt (sic) Pappas, who lost the memory of…
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It had been a long time since I'd read a decent hyena book, so I opened Mikita Brottman's Hyena (London, 2012) with great anticipation. I'm sorry to report that it was a bit of a disappointment: not nearly enough biology and too much undigested "reception history." Yes, it's true that hyenas are regarded with almost…