Recent Posts - page 5
-
“If my films make one more person miserable, I’ll feel I have done my job”..Woody Allen
Could there BE any movie more depressing than Woody Allen’s recent Blue Jasmine? To see Jasmine (played with breathtaking skill by Cate Blanchett) slipping further and further away from reality- shallow, beautifully self-involved, preoccupied with everything material was deeply painful…. Read More ›
-
Brainy Books
The recent spate of books on the brain and its power, or lack thereof, are slowly undermining my confidence in my ability to think, reason, and decide. And not just because I’m in my sixties. And, since these flaws in… Read More ›
-
Coming of Medicare Age
One of the signal events of my summer was the arrival of my Medicare card. It was easy to request, and arrived in a timely fashion, but the psychological impact was enormous. The card says “You’re a geezer.” Not literally,… Read More ›
-
Close Encounter of the Snake Kind
I have never been a fan of snakes. Like most people I have a bit of ophidiophobia- fear of snakes, I generally avoid the reptile house at the zoo. I tend to look away from snake charmers in old movies… Read More ›
-
Don’t Worry. Be Happy! :)
I worry. A lot. In fact, if they were giving out awards for Champion Worrier, I would be piling up the trophies. I know worry is non-productive. I know that worry never solved anything. I know that worry is injurious… Read More ›
-
The Interestings
The lessons that Jules Jacobson learns in The Interestings, a new novel by Meg Wolitzer, are the life lessons that all 60 somethings (and everyone else) must learn eventually. Fifteen year old Jules finds a group of six friends at… Read More ›
-
Containing My Enthusiasm
Plant a cabbage Get a cabbage not a Brussels sprout That’s why I love vegetables You know what you’re about. -The Fantasticks My father was the quintessential gardener. From the time he bought his first house at age 47, with… Read More ›
-
Fetus frenzy
I wish she’d have that baby already! I’m so tired of the exhaustive and exhausting coverage of Kate Middleton’s pregnancy. There’s something creepy about all the attention being paid her protruding belly and those of other celebrities who appear to… Read More ›
-
Happy Birthday to Us!
In the scheme of things it’s not really shocking that my daughter is about to turn 40. After all, any sixty-something who had a baby in his or her twenties now has an adult child who has hit, or is… Read More ›
-
Wise Up!
The subject of Wisdom- what it is, who has it, how you get it, and what you do with it- is the topic of a number of blogs I’ve been reading lately. One of my favorite bloggers metaphorically throws up… Read More ›