Author: JWF

Round-up: Books & Film

JWF Leave a comment

Books

My recent reading has ranged from the very serious to the quite serious to the more frivolous.

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor. Sound depressing, but it wasn’t. Yes, Ms. Fechtor did suffer a brain aneurysm at the tender age of 28, but her optimistic spirit and determination along with time in the kitchen saw her through a 2-year recovery period. There are medical details here, but also wonderful passages about the role of food and the emotional as well as physical sustenance good cooking can provide. She is a PhD candidate at Harvard as well as author of the Sweet Amandine food blog.

Consequence by Eric Fair. This is a memoir by a former soldier and contractor who was posted to Iraq and served as an interrogator. It is a disturbing, unsettling read, but one I couldn’t abandon. Mr. Fair grew up in Bethlehem, Pa., was active in the First Presbyterian Church there, and after college became a police officer before serving in the Iraq War.

With its spare, unemotional style, it’s almost as if Mr. Fair is writing about someone other than himself. He made a series of poor choices from high school onward and while stating that he made them and acknowledging that some of them were unwise, he doesn’t seem to own them. And he did things at Abu Graib that he feels guilty about and that haunt him, but he has not reached any closure. It probably took some courage to write this book (neither the military nor his contractor company come off very well), but I found it hard to applaud him for doing so.

Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George. Hard to believe, but this is the 19th Inspector Lynley mystery. Inspector Barbara Havers is the primary mover with Lynley in a more supporting role as she and Nkata delve into the murder of a noted feminist author and the convoluted relationships she had with her personal assistant and her publisher. Not her best, but still entertaining.

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan. This is a novel about food and restaurants, but even more so about the trials of being a stay-at-home mother of two young children constrained by a husband’s demands that she remain inconspicuous and invisible. Craig LaBan is the longtime restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and originally from New Orleans like Sam Soto in the book. For my Philly foodie friends, this lighthearted fare will have you guessing which restaurants are being reviewed!

Film Fare

Eye in the Sky. There are several female actors whose films I would see no matter what and they include Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren. In this film, Helen Mirren is the British colonel in charge of a missile strike on some key terrorist leaders who are holed up in a house in a residential area outside Nairobi. She, working with the general played by Alan Rickman, must evaluate how great are the odds of injury or death to nearby civilians (including a young girl) and get all the stakeholders to agree to the timing of the strike. The stakeholders are scattered from England to Nevada and both British and U.S. leaders and politicians are involved or need to be consulted. A sobering and suspenseful look at how warfare by drone is carried out.

Love & Friendship. This one’s for Jane Austen fans of which I’m one. Based on her short novel, Lady Susan, it’s not a great film, but an enjoyable one. There are lots of characters, the principal ones introduced with name, title and relationship in the opening scenes, which makes for a somewhat slow beginning. The pace picks up once Lady Susan, schemer extraordinaire, is installed at her sister-in-law’s country estate, and begins to weave her web to ensnare Sir James Martin for her daughter Frederica and Sir Reginald deCourcy for herself. But, complications ensue, her true colors start to emerge, and what ultimately results is a complete turnabout.

 

Manhattan Meandering: Fashion & Food

JWF 1 Comment

AT THE MET

A good friend came into the city for the day and she and I were engrossed for several hours viewing two exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a rainy Friday and the corridors were packed with people. Fortunately, the first exhibit hall was less crowded so we could get a close up view of the paintings. Vigee le Brun was a French artist who lived from before the French Revolution into the 1840’s. Initially dismissed because she was female, she became popular in her day and was portrait artist of choice for many royals including Marie Antoinette. After her death, her work seems to have been overlooked or ignored for many years. Certainly, she was unknown to me until this exhibit. Some of the portraits were really stunning and I also enjoyed seeing the several self-portraits she painted over the years.

The Costume Institute exhibit, Manus ex Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, was dense with museumgoers which made seeing the gowns occasionally challenging.  It is a fascinating study of the hand crafts (embroidery, pleating, beading, feathers, etc.) involved in the creation of haute couture over the years along with the use of the latest 3D printing to create nylon mesh and other unusual fabrics. Gowns by the Houses of Chanel, Dior, and Lagerfeld shared space with very edgy ones by the likes of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.  The alcove spaces and the ethereal background music gave the whole experience a church-like feel. This exhibit runs until August and is definitely worth seeing.  For more info see The New York Times’ review article which also includes photos.2016-05-06 15.35.11

Flying Saucer Dress
Flying Saucer Dress

2016-05-06 15.11.19 2016-05-06 14.41.14 2016-05-06 14.45.11 2016-05-06 15.01.48

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FASHION IN FILM

Following on the fashion exhibit, we went to see Andrew Rossi’s new film, First Monday in May.  Note that Rossi also directed the compelling documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times, about the challenges of staying relevant in the age of the Internet.  First Monday is a sumptuous, gorgeous look behind the scenes at the creation of the Met’s 2014 costume exhibit on China and the extravaganza of a gala that precedes the opening.  Stars here are Anna Wintour (her dresses and suits are almost as much fun to see as all the historical and contemporary gowns) and curator Andrew Bolton.  Running through the film is the idea that fashion equals art, and that it is only in recent times that fashion has been recognized and accepted as such. Visual treats!

 

DINING

Three new places for cozy dinners.

Café Loup on West 13th St. We sampled the chicken with tarragon and the fish and chips and were happy with both at this white-walled French bistro.  Also good were the mesclun salad and the house green salad.  It was crowded the night we were there with what looked to be lots of academics.2016-05-08 19.25.04

Doma na rohu.  A rustic German restaurant on 7th Ave with wood tables and an inviting bar.  Happy hour specials include the usual beer and wine and also pretzels with sausage and mustard.  Skip the veal schnitzel (dry and unadorned), but do tuck into the great sides—German potato salad, reminiscent of my grandmother’s version; very tasty browned spaetzle; and the so-called bowl of greens—a salad with cubes of beets, cherry tomatoes and a few slices of cucumber.

Trattoria Pesce Pasta.  On Bleecker Street, this is comfort food incarnate and perfect when you’re tuckered out from a long day—for us, said long day included a bus trip to Bethlehem and back.  We skipped salads and just enjoyed the sole with artichokes and sundried tomatoes (very saucy and not fancy) which hit the spot.   Sides were a choice of sautéed broccoli or spaghetti with red sauce. One of us was healthy and the other couldn’t resist the pasta which was surprisingly good!

 

All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Header photo:  Jackson Square

 

 

Manhattan Moments

JWF 1 Comment

MOSTLY HEARTWARMING

We missed seeing this film at the Sarasota Film Festival and so were pleased to catch it here in Manhattan. The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on events in the life of genius mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Ramanujan was a poor man from Madras with no formal education who saw the world in numbers, patterns of numbers and equations. No one in India understood his work, but a colleague referred him to one of the professors at Cambridge University. The film portrays the prejudice, academic jealousy, and indifference he faced while at Cambridge, initially even from his sponsor, Professor Hardy. Dev Patel of “Marigold Hotel” fame is engaging as Ramanujan and Jeremy Irons plays the condescending, socially clueless Hardy. Interwoven with Ramanujan’s amazing story is an appreciation for the beauty and elegance of complex math. Ramanujan’s work is still being used today.

Colorful plate at Santina
Colorful plate at Santina

EATS

We have some favorite restaurants in the West Village, but are attempting to broaden our scope and intersperse some new ones midst the familiars.  So far there are two new places which we’d definitely recommend.   Rosemary’s serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we were there for dinner. It’s a bare wood floor, bare wood tables room with lots of glass and a lively (somewhat noisy) vibe. The food is what I’d call rustic Italian and there were some different (read not ordinary) dishes on the menu. Especially lovely was the linguine with preserved lemon, Parmesan, and a bit of chili; the lemon really provided some zing.  Also good was the shrimp starter with jalapeno, mint and breadcrumbs. Our waiter was a very pleasant young man from Minnesota.

We also sampled the Brazilian cuisine at Berimbau, a tiny, very casual restaurant that makes up in friendliness what it lacks in space.  The Chief Penguin is a fan of caipirinhas, the de facto national drink of Brazil, and immediately ordered one which he pronounced most satisfactory!  We had the fried calamari (not exactly Brazilian) and the chicken stroganoff (apparently stroganoff with poultry is more popular than the traditional beef) and the tropical salmon served with rice with diced vegetables.  Both were very good.

We also went back to Omar’s, Santina, and Frankie’s, all restaurants we’d enjoyed previously. Omar’s was quiet and lovely, Santina a very happening loud, but delicious, venue in the Meatpacking District, and Frankie’s, also very popular, where I had some of the lightest and best gnocchi I’ve ever had anywhere!  Given the demographics of this neighborhood, we are becoming accustomed to being the oldest folks in the dining room.

G NOTES

One of the joys of this stage of life is spending time with grandchildren. We are now blessed with two girls, one almost 4 and the other a mere 6 weeks old. There is nothing quite so soothing as sitting with a small baby snug against your chest, her heart beating against yours as she snoozes, occasionally emitting little squeaks. F. spent two hours asleep like this as I sank deeper into the couch.

E. can be a motion machine, but lately she has been content to sit close to me or her grandfather, always in physical contact, for a story or conversation.  She is also drawn to Grandpa’s shirt pocket from which she can pluck a few Cheerios. This week I got to see her and about seven other girls and one little boy in action at their ballet class. The girls all in leotards or tutus, still one moment, twirling or jumping the next. There is a mirror so the parents can watch the proceedings without being seen.  Fun.

 

Photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

Tidy Tidbits: Asolo & Morland

JWF 1 Comment

BACKSTAGE AT ASOLO

We had the opportunity to take a backstage tour at the Asolo Repertory Theater’s Mertz Theater earlier this week and it was fascinating.  There was a tech rehearsal in progress (just what it sounds like, all the technical aspects of the production—lighting, sound, projection, etc.—run through), and we got a peek at the set for the upcoming musical, Josephine as well as having the chance to walk around on stage and in the wings.  We also toured the costume shop (could have spent the rest of the morning here!) and Cook Theater which is the home of the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (what a mouthful, that is).

This three-year graduate program is one of the top ten in the U.S. and accepts only 12 students each year.  As part of their training, in addition to a season of plays at Asolo, they get six weeks of theater in London, the chance to make presentations in New York, and earn their MFA degree and an Equity card.  Impressive!  I really knew nothing about this program and wonder how many people in the area are similarly uninformed.  Next year, we’ll be sure to go to some of these student productions.  Kudos to Sarasota and to our tour host, Scott Guin.

JOSEPHINE

Josephine Baker was an American singer and dancer who became famous in Paris as a star performer at the Folies-Bergere during the 1930’s and 40’s.  A poor black woman from St. Louis, she was not welcomed or wanted in the white nightclub scene.  This is preview week for Josephine and we were there on the second night.  The production is an ambitious one for Asolo and both demanding and challenging for the technical team as well as the actors.  We enjoyed the show, as they say, but overall feel it will benefit from some more tweaking and tightening up as the week unfolds.  Less than two minutes into the opening scene, the fire alarm went off (probably due to stage smoke) and everyone, audience and actors, had to exit the theater for about 10 minutes.  I imagine this had an effect on the actors.

Despite everything I would recommend seeing it and wish that I could see it again in several weeks.  See it for the intricate sets and creative use of projection (newsreels, e.g.), see it for the stunningly gorgeous costumes and headdresses, see it for the four guys who have a heck of a lot of fun dancing, see it for Prince Gustaf of Sweden and the swan bed, see it to hear Deborah Cox as a multi-faceted Josephine.  Other standout performances were Lynette DuPree as the brassy, but savvy Bricktop, and Tori Bates, the simply amazing 11-year old who plays young Josephine and practically steals the show with her vigorous tapping and big voice.

 

IMG_8226

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES THRIVING

“These are heady days for independent booksellers, whose ranks have grown to 1,712 bookstores operating in 2,227 locations in 2015, compared with 1,410 bookstores in 1,660 locations in 2010, according to the American Booksellers Association.  Even Amazon.com Inc. has opened a bookstore in Seattle and has a second planned for La Jolla, Calif.”  One bookstore featured in this Wall Street Journal article has reduced the size of the stock on its shelves, but added a print-on-demand device, Espresso Book Machine, which provides access to hundreds of thousands of titles.  (April 20, 2016, “How Tech is Bringing Readers Back into Bookstores,” by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg).

NOT QUITE BEACH FARE

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a prolific British novelist fascinated by history.  Over the past decade or so I’ve been reading my way systematically through her Morland Dynasty series.  Set mostly in Yorkshire, the first book, The Founding (published in 1980), opens in 1434 with a marriage that launches the dynasty and covers the period of the War of the Roses.  Each novel builds on the previous one and together they constitute a detailed lesson in British history—wars, social issues, governments and politicians, food and dress, all intertwined with the lives of successive generations of Morlands and their home at Morland Place.  The writing is straightforward and her characters are quite engaging, but sometimes the plots tend toward the formulaic.

To her credit, Harrod-Eagles has done extensive research and often you feel like you are part of the time being evoked.  I found the novels that dealt with the women’s suffrage movement especially absorbing.  Other times, I got bogged down in the specifics of yet another military battle.

I’ve now almost completed Book 33, The Dancing Years, set in 1919, which juxtaposes the club high life of the rich with the harsh realities of unemployment for others.  The series was popular from its inception and the scope kept being expanded partly because Harrod-Eagles covered shorter intervals of time in each book.  I read it was to continue up to WWII, but Book 35, the latest one, is set in 1931 so we’ll see.  She has also written a mystery series, several contemporary novels, and, most recently, a separate WWI series.

Header photo:  Mertz Theater (www.asolorep.org)