Category Archives: Scattergories
Dated Movies I Saw with my Parents in First-Run Theaters
Not counting kiddie stuff like Disney, but movies they actually wanted to see and I got swept up because I was too old for a sitter but too young for them to trust me unsupervised. Mostly those “awkward” years, you may remember from your own experience. Funny Girl (1968)–My mother adored Barbra Streisand, so when …
Two Japanese, Please
An interesting activity, sometimes, is to alternate reading between two short story collections by different authors who are similar but not the same. A good activity for a holiday afternoon when the weather outside is too dreary for other pursuits, and most places are closed down anyway. A day like today, in other words. Today …
Haruki Murakami’s Got His Hooves in Me Again!
I’ve been on a Japanese kick again, reading-wise, triggered by a new Haruki Murakami novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls. And after finishing that typically enigmatic book, I realized that there is a considerable backlog of Murakami (he’s written some sixty books) as yet unread by me. So in I dive! Serendipitously, the next …
Butterflies: Not Free, Evidently
OK, let me get this out of the way right up front–I’m not really an opera guy. I do appreciate classical music and have been supporting it live for many years, but I guess one of the main attractions for me has been the absence of singing. I just get too distracted when somebody walks …
Sunday Rando Springs Occurrence
On a sunny Springs morning when the leaves have finally budded out and every tree is swaying in the mountain breeze to say “How t’cha do?”, I can think of little more satisfying than to stroll downtown for a cuppa my favorite morning brew at my favorite morning brewjoint. So that’s what I found myself …
One-Lane Boulevard
I finally got around to seeing Robin Williams’ last dramatic role, in the 2014 film Boulevard. This makes me part of a select few, because not many people saw this stinker. It had a limited release, primarily on the festival circuit. Even though it is Robin Williams’ swan song, most people probably found the subject …
Life among the Unconsoled
My favorite book, judging by the fact that I’ve now read it twice and I’m contemplating a third go-round, is Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled. Most readers know him from his shorter, more accessible works like Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. Both are excellent, particularly Remains, which spawned a sensitive, understated movie role …
Mad Men Meanders
Like a lot of people, I fell in love early with Mad Men. I fell hard and fast. And I hung in there even as the show seemed to forget its original premise and wander into areas (Betty in a fat suit! Creepy suicidal British perv!) I had little interest in visiting. But after binge-viewing …
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