• Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

What was read and viewed during the sad, bad month of November 2021

3 years ago

Was it a sad, bad month, November? I read Athan Theoharis' "Abuse of Power", watched "Once Upon A Time in…

  • Idle Reflections

Tour of Turret Two of the USS New Jersey

3 years ago

The Turret Two Tour of the USS New Jersey was a moment to reflect on the astounding machinery of war.

  • Reading Journal

Cynthia Ozick’s “Trust”: Exegesis | Tom Hanks on Jimmy Kimmel Live

3 years ago

Ruminations on Cynthia Ozick's knotty, profound prose counterposed to some armchair commentary on Tom Hanks' eminently forgettable appearance on the…

  • Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Read, Viewed: October 2021

3 years ago

When you begin the month with a film like "Incendies," it's downhill for the remaining 30 days. Luckily I started…

  • On Film, Movies, Cinema

Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies” (2010): Seeking Expiation

3 years ago

In Denis Villeneuve's 2010 film "Incendies" siblings seek a brother and father never known to deliver letters from their recently…

  • Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Read, Viewed: September 2021

3 years ago

During September I finished reading "Shadow of the Torturer" a short story by Adalbert Stifter, luminary of 19th century German…

  • On Film, Movies, Cinema

René Clément’s “Forbidden Games” (1952): Mourning as Indifference

3 years ago

"Forbidden Games" (1952) tells a story of how children, uninitiated in the rituals of mourning, recognize the loss of those…

  • Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Read, Viewed: August 2021

3 years ago

Moments of grace: finishing Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars," Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome", and viewing again the 2000 film "Sexy…

  • Monthly Reading, Viewing Report

Read & Viewed: July 2021

3 years ago

What I read—James. M Cain, Galileo—was more memorable than what I viewed—"The Glory Stompers," "Marnie"—during the month of July. The…

  • On Film, Movies, Cinema

Ain’t it cool?!: “John Wick” (2014)

3 years ago

The culture of the exotic, fascinating underworld thrills us in "John Wick," not merely the well-choreographed gun-fu.