Our first several days here in the Big Apple have been cold, cold with highs of just over 30 degrees and the occasional gust of wind. Not days for long walks, so we tend to hibernate and catch up on reading or watch promising new films or the latest seasons of favorite drama series. Here are my thoughts on a new film and a nonfiction tome about the brain.
NEW MOVIE: POMP AND POLITICS VATICAN STYLE
Conclave (Apple TV+)
Based on a novel by Robert Harris (author of Pompeii), Conclave is the story of choosing a new pope. It is a deliberate, secretive process, often rife with tension, competing priorities, and wildly divergent candidates. As dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence manages the selection process. As played by Ralph Fiennes, Lawrence is thoughtful, concerned with doing it the right way, and sometimes conflicted about his role and his own desires.
His closest colleague and friend is Aldo Bellini, wonderfully played by Stanley Tucci. Bellini receives some votes on the early ballots, but not as many as far-right outlier Tedesco or the disgraced Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow). As the voting drags on, secrets and intrigue simmer in the background.
The initial pacing is slow with strong visuals of the cardinals all in red—-assembling, robing, or just listening to the dean. A scene where they all carry white umbrellas is especially striking. The viewer may think she has it all figured out, but there is an unexpected twist at the end. We found it fascinating viewing. Recommended!
Note: You can rent or buy this film without being an Apple TV subscriber for about the price of two movie tickets.
WHAT I’M READING
Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz
A talented and creative neurosurgeon, Theodore Schwartz has spent most of his career at Cornell’s medical school and hospital in New York. His book, Gray Matters, takes up a daunting, but fascinating topic for the lay reader. It’s a text on the anatomy of the brain; accounts of the injuries and brain surgeries of famous individuals from Abraham Lincoln to Natasha Richardson, Robert F. Kennedy, and JFK; a discussion of sports injuries and CTE; and a thorough explanation of those deadly glioblastomas. Along the way, he provides personal history of how he got from aspiring to be a musician to becoming a brain surgeon.
His writing is both accessible and engaging, and he uses good analogies to help his readers picture the distinct parts of the brain. While not everyone will be interested in this level of detail about brain injuries, it is comprehensive and informative. Reading it, I hope never to hit my head hard on anything—pavement or other! Recommended! (~JWFarrington)
HOLIDAY CHEER
Since we haven’t yet been down to Rockefeller Center to see the tree, here are two trees from the streets of downtown Cary. Plus penguins!
Racing flag tree
Sugar candy tree up close
Christmas penguins
Note: All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.). Header photo is Santa’s reindeer in Cary, NC.
After a week that left many of us sad, disappointed, bruised, angry, and scared about the future, I decided that we needed a movie that would be fun and take us a bit out of ourselves. On Friday night, the Chief Penguin and I watched Love Actually,a film from 2003. It has a stellar cast including Hugh Grant as British Prime Minister, Emma Thompson as a beleaguered wife, Bill Nighy as an irreverent aging rock star, Colin Firth as a lonely writer, and Liam Neeson, as a widowed father with the most angelic-looking cute kid.
I’m sure we saw it when it was released, but I’d forgotten that it takes place in London leading up to Christmas, making it appropriate for November viewing. It’s funny, inane, irreverent, romantic, poignant, and ultimately, feelgood viewing. But not for kids. You will also be hearing “Love is All Around” in your head for hours at least.
Watching it, I was transported to another time and place. It felt cathartic. Recommended if you need to escape!
RITTENHOUSE SQUARE AND BEYOND
Sundial sculpture at entrance, Rittenhouse Square Fall morning, Rittenhouse Square
Last week we headed north for a family event and had a short time in Philadelphia. For us, this was a rediscovery of Center City and a reappreciation of how much we liked our time working there and living in nearby Swarthmore.
We stayed close to Rittenhouse Square and spent several hours in the park soaking up the vibe, observing Halloween partygoers and dog walkers, and admiring the fall foliage. Having lived in Florida for ten years, I delighted in autumn’s color spectrum, from muted to vivid. At the park’s entrance corner is the Evelyn Taylor Memorial Sundial by Beatrice Fenton, sited in 1947.
This park has existed since the late 17th century and was one of five open space parks planned by William Penn. From the late 19th century into the early 20th, several wealthy families lived around the square including John Wanamaker of department store fame. Rittenhouse Square has an intimacy not found in Manhattan’s Washington Square. Here, the paths between facing benches are narrower and you feel closer to those nearby.
Being in Center City meant that a stop at our favorite coffee shop was essential. Even I, not a regular coffee drinker, think this coffee is supremely good. La Colombe. We got our fix with cappuccinos and then purchased two bags of beans to take home.
The weather was gloriously warm initially and then there was a cold spell, but we walked and walked traversing familiar streets and checking in on old haunts.
Curtis Institute of MusicCrowds in Reading Terminal Market
We have fond memories of when violinist Leila Josefowicz was a student at Curtis. We routinely got to hear her play before a concert tour and hosted her and her family for several Thanksgiving dinners. This year, the Curtis Institute of Music is celebrating its 100thanniversary.
We checked out the famous LOVE sculpture, now mounted on a frame for easier photos, and watched families see themselves on screen in faraway places in Philadelphia’s new video portal, Bridge to a United Planet.
My friend Hilda and I would occasionally meet for lunch at Reading Terminal Market, a crowded and wonderful assortment of ethnic food stands, produce markets, and meat and fish counters. Although the Reading Terminal Station is now Jefferson Station, the market retains its Reading name. We threaded our way through the throngs on a busy Saturday, inhaling smells of baking bread and garlicky pizzas and just plain salivating at all that was on offer.
Continuing our exploration, we strolled past Independence National Park and made our way to Washington Square and the former home of Curtis Publishing. Washington Square is quiet and just enough removed from the Center City bustle to be peaceful.
We walked back up to Rittenhouse Square through the Thomas Jefferson University campus. Silhouettes of the man hang above the street, and he looks jaunty with a bit of a swagger in a life-size statute.
Jefferson – Lloyd Lillie (1987 cast)
DINING IN THE CITY OF LOVE & PRINCETON
While in Center City, the Chief Penguin and I enjoyed some great food at restaurants all new to us.
This combo of Italian restaurant, café, and shop, Gran Caffe L’Aquila, is on Chestnut Street. We liked it so much after our first night in town that we returned for our last dinner. We sat outside on Halloween in one of their sidewalk private dining spaces. I ordered and loved the agnolotti filled with meat and veggies in a butter sage sauce, topped with truffle gelato. It may sound heavy, but it was marvelously light. C.P. indulged in his favorite veal saltimbocca and pronounced it the best ever!
On our return visit, we ordered the same entrees (yes!) and added flash fried artichokes and the house salad with endive and radicchio to start. Yum!
Located just a few steps from Schuylkill River Park on 24th Street, Ambrosia offers outside dining in cubbies as well as inside tables. C.P. had the crispy gnocchi with squash and pancetta while I found my crispy skin salmon with arugula perfectly done. Thanks to our friend Ed for introducing us here.
It’s somehow right that the City of Brotherly Love has a restaurant named The Love. It’s near Rittenhouse Square and is wildly popular. The menu features American cuisine, and fried chicken is a specialty. In the opinion of two diners, the chicken was fabulous and delicious! My shrimp & scallop “cacio e pepe” was equally satisfying. The hush puppies with a bit of Aleppo pepper hit the mark too.
In large cities like Philadelphia and New York, restaurants serve brunch, not lunch, on Saturdays and Sundays. I’ve never been a brunch person, so I look for menus that include a few non-egg, non-breakfast items. Fortunately, The Dandelion, a kind of upscale British pub, serves salads and sandwiches in addition to omelets and eggs Benedict. We sampled the Waldorf salad and the chicken paillard salad along with fish and chips and enjoyed our meal. In addition to downstairs seating, there is a fairly large upstairs dining room that was full, but not cheek by jowl.
I’d call Winberie’s in Palmer Square an upscale casual place. We were part of a large group for dinner where we were bowled over by what we ordered. The Chief Penguin, a connoisseur of chicken pot pies, ordered theirs and couldn’t stop exclaiming how good it was–from the flaky crust to the amount of tasty chicken inside. I tried the shrimp and penne Genovese which was delicious and included spinach, pine nuts, and red chili flakes.
The menu also offers the usual range of burgers, salads, along with fish, and plenty of veggie options.
This week I share a novel that deals with life in East Berlin before the Wall comes down and a chilling film about a Nazi Commandant who lives with his family just outside the camp at Auschwitz. For my local friends, thoughts on another Indian restaurant.
In 2015, the Chief Penguin and I spent a week in Berlin. We stayed in a hotel in what had been East Berlin. The entire visit was an amazing experience and a dive into WWII and Cold War history. Not that long ago, I read The Chancellor, a nonfiction work about Angela Merkel’s life and career by Kati Marton. Merkel grew up in East Germany and this book provided some further insights about the politics of the 1960’s and 70’s. I mention all this as background for approaching German author Jenny Erpenbeck’s latest novel, Kairos.
Opening in the late 1980’s in East Berlin, Kairos is both a turbulent love story and a political one about the denouement of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall. A chance encounter on a bus between 19-year-old Katharina and mid-50’s writer and radio broadcaster Hans leads to long-running affair. Katharina is still a student, Hans is married to Ingrid, and their meetings are clandestine and eventually less frequent. It’s an affair marked by bitterness, tension, infidelity, and tenderness too. Simultaneously, life in East Berlin is changing as the governmental infrastructure fractures and cracks before breaking.
“Berlin will be wall-free”, August 1988 (theatlantic.com)
The lovers’ story is told through reflection, diaries, and Katharina’s listening to cassettes about them that Hans has recorded and given to her. Woven into their feelings and actions are references to literary figures (Bertolt Brecht, e.g.), mundane details about the topography of the city, and descriptions of political events. Throughout their affair, Katharina matures while still fantasizing about having a child with Hans someday. Meanwhile, he remains married to Ingrid and simultaneously castigates Katharina and makes her suffer for her infidelity.
I found Erpenbeck’s writing dense, and for me, reading this novel was very slow going. It’s been so highly praised and nominated for at least one award, that I was determined to finish it. Parts of it were wonderfully written, but I wished I had a richer background for some of the finer political points.
Kairos, the title, is a Greek word for “the right time” or “a time when the conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action.” Go, Went, Gone, Erpenbeck’s earlier novel, was also translated from the German. (~JWFarrington)
Nominated for five Academy Awards, the German film Zone of Interest won Best International Feature. It is a quiet horror film and an uncomfortable one to watch. The awfulness of what is happening the other side of the garden wall is known and is heard and seen with random gunshots, a constant rumble, and occasional flames. And yet, Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Hoss and his large family have an idyllic life just the outside the Auschwitz camp. Wife Hedwig has plenty of household help, and she takes great pleasure in tending the lush flower and vegetable garden she created. Their children romp and play in the sunshine and the pool, pretty much ignoring what’s happening close by.
All together, this family is building the perfect life in the Polish countryside while Hoss is implementing the Fuhrer’s heinous goals. Watching it is a chilling experience, but it’s so very well done, it’s worth the investment of time.
Continuing our sampling of Indian fare in Cary, we joined a group for lunch at Cilantro, a longtime local favorite. While Cilantro started more than ten years ago with sandwiches and then chicken tikka sold behind a gas station, today it boasts a two-level contemporary space with flowing white drapery.
The vibe is casual, and you order your meal at the counter and then it’s delivered to your table. Spice of some type is the name of the game in almost everything. The Chief Penguin and I sampled the vegetable samosa, tasty with a bite. He enjoyed the very spicy chicken tandoori while I tucked into the Bihari coconut chicken curry. Even my “medium” spicy curry was quite hot. Rice and naan and some form of chickpeas, usually Moroccan hummus, are the accompaniments. Many dishes are also made with lamb, and for those who want less spice, the pan seared fish looked equally tempting. Staff were welcoming and everything was delicious!
The highlight of this past week was certainly the eclipse on Monday afternoon. We were not in an area for a total eclipse but were expected to get 80-84% coverage. It was a lovely sunny day with lots of blue sky. The Chief Penguin and I walked to the downtown park, partly for better viewing, but mostly to be with other people. We arrived just before 2:00 pm and quickly snapped up two of the electric green Adirondack chairs near the fountain.
Several options for viewing
Not much happened for quite a while; then wearing our approved cardboard eclipse glasses, we gazed up and saw the sun being nibbled at by the black moon. As time went on, more kids and families and couples gathered and found places to sit. The blackness kept encroaching until around 3:10, we had just a fingernail sliver of golden sun left. Quite something to see.
Snoozing or studying the sky?
It never got dark here, but the sun did get dim and the air cooled a bit. The weather was so salubrious, we stayed on awhile longer, checking every little bit to see the process slowly reverse as more of the sun emerged again. An amazing experience! The next one isn’t for another 20 years—odds are we might not see it!
INTERLUDE—MUSIC & FILM
Cary Town Band
One of the perks of living where we do is a wide assortment of free musical events and movies. This week it was a concert by the Cary Town Band. In existence since 1987, the band is made up of all woodwind instruments and boasts 50 plus players, all volunteers. It’s led by a former member who brings enthusiasm, knowledge, and a bit of fun (think the occasional theme costume) to her conducting.
This program featured music from composers like Sousa and Verdi to Elton John and John Williams all under the umbrella of people’s jobs. Pieces included selections from the Lion King, Superman,Phantom of the Opera, and Die Meistersinger among others. Cary Town Band presents four or five concerts a year including one for the Fourth of July. This was a fun evening!
The previous week we enjoyed a showing of the German film, Beyond Silence, released in 1996. It centers on Lara, a young girl interested in music and particularly the clarinet. She hears, but both her parents are deaf. They three communicate by signing, and Lara’s parents rely on her for translating in interviews with her schoolteachers or when watching TV. She aspires to study the clarinet in Berlin, and there is tension and then a rift with her parents. It’s a sensitive portrait of coming of age and learning to navigate boundaries and limits.
If the premise of this film sounds familiar to you, it may be that you’ve seen or heard of the 2021 American film, CODA(Children of Deaf Adults), which has some similarities, but the girl in it has a talent for singing. Interestingly, CODAis actually considered to be a remake of the French-Belgian film from 2014, La Famille Belier, where the girl is also a gifted singer. For those who are intrigued, it’s possible to buy or rent any of these films from Amazon or other sources.
I watched one episode of Nolly, aseries about an early British TV sitcom star who was suddenly let go from her show. Much as I like and admire Helena Bonham Carter as an actress, I didn’t really get engaged with this production. Nolly wasn’t very likable, too much of a prima donna, and the other characters seemed stale and dated to me. Maybe the humor is too British or maybe it gets better in future episodes, but I had enough.
Perhaps you think you’ve witnessed enough breech births and had too much sweetness and light to continue with this series. The Chief Penguin occasionally has felt this way—but he continues to watch Call the Midwife with me. So far, after three episodes, I think that Season 13 is a winner.
Midwife often deals with serious medical issues of the 1960’s; in previous seasons it included Thalidomide babies and lung-infecting black mold. This season when stalwart Fred becomes seriously ill, everyone is reminded of the importance of an up-to-date tetanus vaccine.
After all these years, I’m fond of many of these characters from Sister Julienne to Trixie and Nurse Crane, and even Miss Higgins, who has loosened up somewhat. They make for a winning cast of characters and continue to delight viewers like me! Recommended!
