BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK * THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON

Bill Cunningham New York - One of the best movie documentaries I've ever seen. Bill Cunningham is the fellow who photographs and writes the On The Street column for the New York Times. I'm listening to the Velvet Underground's I'll Be Your Mirror as I write this, trying to think of words that could do justice to this film about a man who has been able to spend his life following his passion, answering to no one. He smiles all the time, and there is a kindness and humility in his eyes that will make you wish that you knew him. It will make you want to read the Sunday Times, and it will make you want to dress in amazing creative ways. Mostly it will leave you with a good feeling about the world and the people in it. The booklet inserted in the DVD package is worth the read and the extra scenes on the DVD are as well.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - Kate did it to me again! Once into this novel about Grace Bradley, in service to the Hartford family at Riverton House, I was hooked. Then the 1920s came along, and there was just enough about the fashions, decor and Jazz Age goings on that I couldn't put it down until I saw it through. Which I did this morning. Never mind that there are so many unfinished threads around here, that it's a beautiful sunny day outside, I was at Riverton today.

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - "If a body catch a body, comin' through the rye". Iconic. This was my favorite book for most of my life. At a time when I'm reading so many wonderful and enriching stories, to revisit Holden Caulfield is like coming home. My copy of the book is the same one that Aunt Lu sent me when I was 11 years old, and it's literally in pieces, and I'd tucked J.D. Salinger's obituary into the front cover last year. It's still brilliant, and the honesty that Holden craves in the world resonates as much as it ever did. Peter is reading this for English class, and he likes it.

When I first read it, it was like Holden was talking to me. He was like the cool big brother I craved. He knew himself really well, and he was honest, and he liked kids and understood them. He was fearless and had adventures. He was his own man.

This is my book. I'll have it always.

MONEYBALL * THE NEW TV SHOWS

Moneyball - I love a baseball story, and when you have a good baseball story with Brad Pitt, it gets even better. Moneyball is the story of Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics in a year when they lost the playoffs in 5 games, and then lost their three best players. Something had to be done, so Billy turned to a guy played by Jonah Hill, who believed and wanted to prove that baseball players' performance could be evaluated by math and statistics, rather than by personality, averages, looks and gut feelings, which is how the scouts were recruiting players at the time. It's good.

The new TV shows have been really fun to watch this fall. Here's a quick line up, and don't even ask when I find the time to watch all these shows. I'm not sure, and the DVR is really busy, and sometimes it's stressful because there might be three shows on at a time, and I can only record two, so I have to find the third show playing at a different time and record THAT. I multi-task by reading my line up of magazines and non-fiction books from the library while watching.

Pan Am - You've heard about it, we've only seen one episode, and it's charming. The Stewardesses are lovely to watch and just as glamorous as they seemed when I was a little girl.

Playboy Club - After two episodes, this show has a little more meat, and isn't as sweet as Pam Am. There's a murder, a cover-up, a prosecutor who walks a fine line, a jerky manager, and some strong women. I like it!

New Girl - Zoey Deschanel. Need I say more? After one show, this might turn out to be a favorite. Quirky and sweet.

Two Broke Girls - The cupcake making broke girl needs to tone it down a bit, but the rich broke girl is perfect. I watch the show for her. It's a fun show.

Glee - I love Glee!

Millionaire Matchmaker - It's been good this season. I'm always stimied by Patty's helpers with their crazy hair and uninformed ways. I don't understand why this show works, and why I continue to watch it. But I do. It must be that old lotto mentality where you watch because you want to see a winner, and you never know when you might see one. In this case a winner being a love match.

American Pickers - I love these guys. They are so American and so nice, and so respectful of the people they find to buy stuff from. Picking would be my dream job if there was money in it and I had more energy.

Project Runway - Michael and Nina continue to annoy me and Heidi half annoys me, but I love the designers and the sewing and the clothes. It's still the best of the design genre. Can you believe that stony Olivia from The City was a guest judge last night? That's all we need. She was only to happy to sharply shoot down any looks she didn't like.

The Office - It's still good, but finding its way without Michael Scott to make crazy. It's not that you miss him, it's that the show doesn't seem to have the same center. Which is just how it is in a real life office when someone important leaves the fold.

Parks and Recreation - Leslie Knope. Gotta love her and all the people in the parks department.

Awkward - I just discovered this MTV show at the end of its season, so I'm waiting for on demand choices or even a DVD of it. It's about a high school girl, a love triangle, a maniac counselor, a really young mom, and it's fabulous.

Modern Family - It needs a mention because it's a favorite.

The Middle - I love the people in this family, especially the middle sister Sue. The episode about when their neighbor called them on vacation to say that someone had broken into their house, and when they came home, it was just that their house was so messy, was hilarious.

Suburgatory - This is the show they're putting on in between The Middle and Modern Family, and it's great! On the order of Awkward but more obvious about going for the laughs.

Survivor - Still watching still loving.

60 Minutes - How do you know that? A couple of my friends are always asking. I don't know how I know. Do you read the paper? Do you watch 60 Minutes? It's a way to know. And damned interesting too. Hey, I think that's the first time I've ever sworn in my blog. For Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer. They were and are the real thing.

I hope these are the only shows I watch, but this is from memory only, and there are more. You will notice an absence of Idol, Dance and Sing shows, which don't appeal to me. They take too long! There is no story! Speaking of which, I have the final three All My Children episodes recorded and waiting for me as a special treat one of these days.
I never watched the very final Oprah show either. It's waiting too. One of these days....

127 HOURS * THE LONLINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER

127 Hours - This movie is a modern day Reader's Digest Drama in Real Life and although the filmmakers made it as edgy as possible, I didn't have fun watching it. James Franco stars in this true story about an adventurous canyoneer who gets himself in serious trouble. You know that he is going to make it, but you don't want to know (and see) how he does it. But you watch. I'm glad I saw it, because Franco was great, I didn't know the details of Aaron's story, and the music and flashbacks were so well done. So... well done.


The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - This 1962 English film was based on a story by Alan Sillitoe, which I will read soon, and which no doubt I will enjoy more than the movie. It's about a boy from a poor family who ends up in reform school. While there, it becomes known that he is a great runner, so the headmaster pins all his hopes on the boy to win the Cross Country race that the reform school is going to have in an athletic day against the local Public (Private) school. Peter wouldn't watch it based on the title, but once I heard the title, I had to see it. Film noir for runners.

FRENCH LESSONS * CLOSET INTERVENTION BEFORE & AFTER

French Lessons by Ellen Sussman - This book is divided into three short stories about three French tutors in Paris, who give French Lessons to adults. I didn't love it, because it starts out with a really nice tutor whose student is a young woman who had an affair with a married man. The whole story tries to justify the affair by the man saying that he loves his wife and will never leave her, and that he is a "good man". Please. The next two stories are better, but it was too late for the book for me.

Today is a rainy Saturday, so I am going to go through my closet and really pare it down to the things I wear. It's divided into sections by season and then by type of garment. I also share this closet with my son, since it's in his room. He has about 10" of hanging space, and I want him to have more than that, because as things are now, his closet is on the end of his bed:
on top of his dresser:
and behind his doors:

Oh, no, the sun is coming out. If that happens I might be derailed. If not, though, here are the before pictures for my closet:
I know that it doesn't look so bad from here, but in Jeff Lewis' closet (he's on the reality show Flipping Out on Bravo), Zoila has to make sure that each hanger is exactly 3/4" apart. I've got all new beautiful hangers from my Auntie Kaye's closet - they are silver metal and look gorgeous. I'm so happy to be done with the fabric hangers and plastic hangers I'd had for years. The fabric hangers took up too much space and the bows on them would come undone making them look messy, and the plastic hangers, well, they didn't look as good as these metal ones. I sold a bag of the old hangers at my yard sale last spring. Today I'm going to make a pile of clothes for next spring's yard sale.

It's 2 hours and 20 minutes later, and my closet is so much better! I didn't really finish the job which would entail switching out sandals for winter shoes and bringing all the winter sweaters down a shelf, but I did streamline the whole operation and find room for more of Peter's things. I found a few rogue hangers, and realized that in addition to the metal hangers, I had three sets of the new slim line hangers. I was able to get all my summer clothes on either metal or beige slimlines, and was able to take out a set of brown slimlines that will go into Steve's closet, replacing many of his plastic hangers. There is a small pile of things to sell, and a small pile that I'll save for other projects and inspiration. If I get into a purging mood, I have a good idea of exactly what will go next. For now, though, I can work with this. I even found all the white tee shirts that I was missing! (They were in my summer clothes drawer, but now at least a few of them are in the closet on hangers and ready to wear.) I also found the B. Makowsky purse I carried last year, and took pictures of it, and am going to post it to Craigslist right now.
Here are my after pictures:
As soon as I treat myself to the 12 games of Scrabble that await me on Facebook, I'll have some cherries and Fage yoghurt. Doesn't that sound yummy?

A LESSON BEFORE DYING

A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines - This was the summer reading book assigned to Peter to prepare for Sophomore English. I always read Peter's books if I haven't read them before, so I wasn't sure what to expect except that since it had been an Oprah's Book Club choice, it might be better than some of what I've considered to be very dry high school reading. Told in the first person by Grant Wiggins, the teacher to the children in a one room school house on a plantation in the 1950s, this story is written honestly and with heart, although Grant might not want his reader to think so. This story brought me to tears as no other book has in a long long time. Most of what you need to know about what the book is about, is right there in the title. I'm so happy that Peter read this book, and that he studied it, and hope that it caused him to think about precious life and what it means to become a man, and all the different ways that there are to be a man. I hope that the death penalty is abolished around the world in his lifetime, because what man has the right to take the life of another?

BIG CITY * CONVICTION

Big City - I'm still watching the wonderful movies on TCM. Big City (1948) is about three men, a reverend, a cantor who lives with his mom, and a policeman who adopt a foundling. The deal is that the first of them to get married will the raise her with his wife. She gets to be about 12 years old, and the policeman meets a cabaret singer named Shoo Shoo. The girl (Margaret O'Brien) and Shoo Shoo love each other, but the reverend and the cantor and the mom get very jealous and don't like Shoo Shoo, and especially don't want to lose the girl, Midge, to the couple. In the meantime the cantor and the reverend fall for the girl's beautiful teacher, to see if they can get married first and get Midge for themselves. Then at the end there is a trial. This was a fabulous movie starring George Murphy, Danny Thomas and Robert Preston as the cop, cantor and reverend.

Conviction - Hilary Swank never disappoints. In Conviction, she plays a woman whose wild brother is sentenced to life in prison for murder. Throughout the movie, you're never sure whether or not he committed the murder; he is one of those guys with no impulse control who will make you very, very uncomfortable. Still, Betty Ann knows that her brother could never do such a thing. So she devotes her life to exonerating her brother. When she can't find a lawyer to take the case through the elaborate appeals process, she goes back to school, gets her GED, gets a college degree and graduates from law school, so that she can figure out a way to set her brother free. The minute she passes the bar exam, she gets to work. This is a true story and a great movie. Now THAT'S a reason to go to law school.

ONE DAY

One Day by David Nicholls - I finally read my first eBook, and I'm sorry to say that it was a less than satisfying way to read a book. I read it on my new iPad, using the library's Overdrive app, which allows one to check books out of the library for 3 weeks. On the iPad with Overdrive, the pages turn by tapping on the screen, rather than with that cool turn the page look that you sometimes see. There are a few brightness settings for the screen, none of which was ever great, but I will say that the words were clear and easy to read. Holding the iPad is a pain, because I like to read on my side in bed, and the screen kept turning to horozontal while I was trying to read it vertically. See the cover art on that book? It shows a dark haired girl, but in the book, Emma had light hair. (I'm pretty sure). Each chapter follows two characters on July 15 of each year for 20 years from the 1980s to the 2000s. Dex is a handsome partyer , and Emma is a lovely but plain earnest girl who loves to write. They are English and the book is written with a decidedly British voice and accent. It's an OK book, one that I would have loved when I was in my 20s. I can't wait to turn the pages of a real book tonight!

THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH

I woke up somewhere north of 3 am with an amazing and severe headache; I lived and dreamed with it for awhile before I realized that I had it and took an Excedrin. Back to bed to wait for it to go away, but it continued, and it seemed cruel and unusual (to Steve) to turn on the light to read in bed, so I came into my office to finish The Boys of my Youth. Headache faded but was still there at 4, but another Excedrin took care of it. I'm still wide awake at 5 something having finished the book, which started out good, muddled through the middle and went out with a bang. I'll be crashing at some point today. My plan is to make it through the day and go to bed early-ish so that I can get on the day shift and off the afternoon shift. Sometimes a night like this throws me onto the night shift.

The Boys of my Youth by Jo Ann Beard - I loved Inzanesville. The Boys of my Youth is short stories, but it's more about best-friendship than it is about the boys. The boys are in there, but ultimately, they're the supporting cast to the girlfriends who understand you or pretend to understand you so that you'll understand or pretend to understand them back. Much of the glue that holds our best friendships together is talking about, dreaming about, obsessing about boys. Brenda, you are my Elizabeth, and when you read the last story, also titled The Boys of my Youth, you'll know why. It's also about Jo Ann herself, her love of dogs, her family, her sister, her mom, the cars, the music, the parties, and getting a book written. I love Jo Ann's voice, and as long as she wants to keep writing these stories about those times, I'll keep reading them.

Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, and so a day of reflection and continued disbelief. I stayed in, Steve sailed all day, and then at 5:00 we met Linda and Dana and Nancy and Johan at the harbor for the sunset sail that Linda won at the Family Service Center benefit last spring. Jeanne contributed the food and drink, and the evening was memorable for conversation, friendship and nature in the form of the sun and the moon and the lake, that was like smooth glass.....

Just below these words, it says that I posted this at 3:15 am, which is not true. I've been up since 3:15, but I started writing around 5:30, and am just finishing up at 7:00 am. Why does it take an hour and a half to write something that you can read in two minutes? Because during the blog writing, I went through the 85 pictures I took last night, rotating and deleting, creating a post-card like email for Linda, Nancy and Jeanne with the best photos, then emailed Linda and Nancy separately with more photos, looked up stuff, emailed Linda and Nancy old blog posts about books we were talking about last night, including the one about that island in France that you could only get to when the tide was low until 1971, because it turns out that Nancy's son actually stayed on that island last summer. (What are the chances?) etc etc. Now the sun is up, and I'm starting to get tired. What did we do for insomnia before computers?

DREAMS OF JOY * THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WALK IN THE WORLD

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See - I loved it. This is the story of Joy, a Chinese American girl, an only child, beloved by her small family, and especially by her mother and aunt. It takes place in the late 1950s, and starts out with Joy's mom and aunt revealing a long held secret. Joy reacts to the secret by running away to live in China, now a socialist/communist country. It's told from two perspectives, and takes place in the city and in the country, and it's a fabulous story, as well as a great way to learn about the struggles and privations of the Chinese in Red China under Chairman Mao. I didn't want this book to end.

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter - This non-fiction book called out to me after watching Midnight in Paris, since it's about the author's walking tours of Paris. He's a story collector and teller, lover of Parisian history, and this little book is amusing, and might be fun to read next time you're in Paris. It was a nice follow up to Dreams of Joy which I wanted to savor before jumping into something new and engrossing. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is like sitting next to a knowledgeable traveler at a dinner party. Little stories and anecdotes make up a book that didn't really come together for me.