Walking
We have been blessed with continued good weather. This translates to lots of walking and plenty of time outside. Recently, we walked from the West Village to the World Trade Center and back—a serious walk. It was pleasantly breezy and we joined the throng strolling along the grand boulevard along the Hudson River looking toward Hoboken. We hadn’t planned ahead to tour the 9/11 Museum, but did gaze up at the gleaming new tower and spend some moments taking in the memorial park. On another gorgeous afternoon, we romped at Adrienne’s Garden and then the Washington Square playground. I say romped, but actually our granddaughter romped, and I got my exercise following her around and occasionally going up, under or around the play equipment.
Somewhat to my surprise, pumpkins are widely in evidence in the city. Stoops are lined with pumpkins, doorways are festooned with cobwebs, and witches lurk while scarecrows watch. Halloween can’t be far off.
Even dogs get in the act! Sunday was the annual Halloween Dog Parade—dogs in costume in Tompkins Park. Dogs in sweats, dogs in hats, dogs with frills and dogs masquerading as dinosaurs. This being the city, mostly little dogs. What fun!
Music
Besides all this outdoor time, we did see two films and attended a superb performance by Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini, one of the greats, at Carnegie Hall. He played three Beethoven sonatas including my longtime favorite, “Appassionata.” We were part of a most enthusiastic and appreciative audience, and he gave us three encores!
Film
A Ballerina’s Tale details Misty Copeland’s career from starting ballet at 13 to being named a principal at American Ballet Theatre this past summer. Interwoven with her story of determination midst setbacks is a brief history of ballet and some of the reasons behind its extreme whiteness. Interviews with Misty’s advocates and mentors add perspective along with comments from some pioneer black dancers. And, of course, there are wonderful sequences of Misty performing as well as rehearsing. Even my husband, somewhat doubtful about this film, was thoroughly engaged. A nice pairing with Astonish Me, a novel I blogged about several weeks ago.
Steve Jobs. Jobs looms larger than life in most people’s minds and certainly was a creative genius who dreamed big and ultimately achieved in a big way. Adopted as a child, he didn’t expect to be liked. As a parent, he was alternately estranged from and dismissive of his daughter Lisa. He was not a nice man and this film shows him bossing, bullying and often being downright nasty to friends and colleagues. Whether or not it is an accurate portrayal (and several critics have said it is not), it is a very entertaining film which focuses on the activity leading up to the launches of the Macintosh, NeXT, and iMac. Michael Fassbender is compelling as Jobs, and Kate Winslet is tough, supportive, and strong as his right hand woman. She portrays Joanne Hoffman, the smart director of marketing who stands up to his temper and rigorously manages him.
(All photos by the author. Some rights reserved.)
