Category: TV

Tidy Tidbits: Feeding the Mind

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LIFELONG LEARNING ONLINE

This season we again subscribed to the two Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL) series, Music Mondays, and Global Affairs.  We have in person tickets, but also the ability to watch the presentations online after the event.  So far, we have not felt comfortable going physically and sitting in a church sanctuary for an hour and a half midst a large crowd. It takes more discipline to set a time in the daily schedule to watch, but I’m happy to report that we have now viewed two programs. Both were excellent.  

Music Monday showcased two cellists, husband and wife Emilio and Cara Colon, who reside in Indiana, but are the founders of and forces behind the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico.  Emilio is from Puerto Rico. Together, the Colons strive to offer musical experiences and opportunities to students on that island in a variety of ways including an annual chamber music festival.   A charming pair, they played solo pieces as well as a couple duets.  The streaming version of this event was a high-quality production with great sound. 

The Global Issues program, Pandemics from “What If” to “What Now?” featured Dr. John Sinnott, Chairman of Internal Medicine at the University of South Florida.  He presented remotely. It was the best discussion of pandemics through the ages and the particularities of Covid-19 and how it’s transmitted in the body I’ve seen, heard, or read!  A scientifically based, well-articulated lecture with graphs and charts.  Dr. Sinnott has a You Tube channel, and there you will find several different programs including this brief intro.

MAINE ON THE PAGE

The Northern Reach by W. S. Winslow

(wswinslow.com)

The Northern Reach is a very accomplished first novel set in Maine.  Author Winslow spent a career in communications and marketing and has Maine roots.  Like Elizabeth Strout, she mines her deep familiarity with that state and its people in a series of interconnected chapters.  They are almost standalone short stories, but each one features one subset of a generation of one of four different families.  Ranging from 1904 to the 1920’s to the 1940’s and up to 2017, marriages, deaths, divorces, and disagreements mark these lives.  One family, the Baineses, are quite well off; the others fall between middle class and downright poor.  Overall, it’s a society built on tradition and loyalty to family but made messy with greed, envy, and competition.  

The writing is vivid and the details telling.  My only quibble is that with each chapter set in a different timeframe and with a different set of individuals, recalling the interrelationships between various generations can be tricky. 

My favorite chapter, Smoke Signals in the Aftertime, is about Alice Culligan’s death and the aftermath.  She was ready to die and let go.  She does die, but she remains cognizant of the world around her.  She hears her children discussing her, and not always in pleasant terms, and learns that events she thought she’d kept secret were well known to them.  (~JWFarrington)

“The minutes ticked on, and Alice listened as her children shared stories and swapped reminiscences so that, one finger at a time, they let her go, and as they did, the smoky fetters loosened and untangled themselves.  Alice lingered just long enough to gather up all the things she should have known, blended with it, became it, wafting, whisper, wisp, gone.”

COUNTRY VETS ON THE SCREEN

If you’re looking for something to watch to take your mind off Covid or whatever, this series set in a simpler time is mostly feel-good fare.

All Creatures Great and Small (Season 2, PBS)

James, Helen, Tristan (themes.co.uk)

Years ago, I read several of veterinarian James Herriot’s books and then watched the first TV production of All Creatures Great and Small.  It was enjoyable, homey, and low key.  Initially, I thought watching an updated version of it would be just so-so.  To my surprise and delight, I enjoyed the latest iteration a lot and was then thoroughly captivated by Season 2.  

James is charming and unsophisticated, Tristan is devil-may-care, and his older brother Siegfried, whose practice they have joined, is nothing if not definite.  He has strong opinions and tries to micro-manage his colleagues.  In this version, Mrs. Hall, the housekeeper is a key character with a bigger role, while farmer’s daughter Helen, aka James’ squeeze, is a woman of determination and dedication.  Season 2 contains seven episodes and is good escapism.

Note: Header drawing of an open head sprouting flowers is from feedingtampabay.org

Snippets for Late November

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WATCHING

Family Business (Acorn)

Astrid, Audrey, Sofia (amazon.com)

This French series features an all-female legal firm practicing family law.  Think marriage contracts, divorces, custody issues, and adoption.  Two of the three lawyers are a mother, Astrid, and her daughter, Audrey, plus Sofia, the second partner.  Both partners are single, while Audrey has two children and a somewhat hapless husband.  The cases are serious, but also sometimes bizarre:  a custody battle over a stubborn bulldog, for example.  

Add in a large dollop of sex and you have moments that are fun and frivolous.  Note the fashionable clothes and the always in vogue, stiletto heels.  There are at least two seasons and I’m about a third of the way through Season 1.

READING

Both/And:  A Life in Many Worlds by Huma Abedin

Author Abedin (slate.com)

Many people know Huma Abedin, longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, mainly because of her husband Anthony Weiner.  But there is much more to this woman than her role as a suffering spouse.  With an Indian father and a Pakistani mother, she was raised Muslim and grew up alternating between Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  Her father’s scholarly work and academic career meant they traveled abroad extensively.  Starting her post-college life as a White House intern, Huma quickly advanced to more responsible positions until she became one of Clinton’s closest staff members.  I am about one-third into the book and have yet to meet her future spouse.  

I’ve enjoyed learning about her childhood experiences and reading the details of what it’s like to be an advance person or a trip coordinator for a high-level politician.  Thus far, her perspective on Clinton is positive and almost affectionate.  She is fair and not at all mean spirited about others in her work orbit.   I imagine Abedin’s charmed life will become less so as events unfold.  

DINING REPRISE

Bonefish Grill in Bradenton 

Bonefish Grill is a chain restaurant, founded and headquartered in Tampa, and a consistently very good one.  We frequently dine at their Cortez Road location about a 5-minute drive from home and are seldom disappointed.  The prices are reasonable, there are weekly specials, and the fish is fresh.  

The Chief Penguin is a big fan of their ahi tuna sashimi and the Wagyu beef dumplings, while I like the grilled shrimp and scallop combo or salmon with mango salsa.  The Caesar and house salads (the latter with hearts of palm and black olives) are also good.  If you’re feeling decadent, forget calories with their famous Bang Bang Shrimp.  For drinks, have a glass of Chardonnay or indulge in a smoked old fashioned. The wait staff changes frequently, but the food is always reliable!

Crime, Music & Great Books

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VIEWING: CRIME IN THE UK

Shetland (BritBox)

Sandy & Tosh with Jimmy (radiottimes.com)

Jimmy Perez is back! I missed the Scottish crime series Shetland, when it went into hiatus after five seasons.  I was delighted to discover that Season 6 is now available on BritBox, not sure about on other online services.   New episodes are released on Tuesdays.   The Chief Penguin and I eagerly watched the first episode, and were not disappointed.  Detective Jimmy Perez is at his mother’s funeral when his colleague Tosh notifies him of the death of a prominent member of the community.  As in other seasons, the investigation begins, but is not completed in one episode.  As I think of the many crime series I’ve watched over the past few years, this one ranks among the best! 

The Long Call (BritBox)

Brethren members with Detective Matthew Venn (thescottishsun.co.uk)

While browsing new offerings on Amazon Prime, I came upon this other offering through BritBox.  It’s another crime series set in England, and it’s based on work by Ann Cleeves.  Ms. Cleeves is the very successful author of the Shetland series mysteries and ones featuring detective Vera (also a series, but not one I’ve watched).  Here detective Matthew Venn, a gay man, is estranged from his family.  He grew up in a closed, tightly ordered religious society and left about twenty years ago full of bitterness, anger, and sorrow.  When a young girl in that community goes missing, he and his police colleagues are tasked with locating her.  Like Shetland, this is a compelling drama of relationships as much as it is about crime.  There are 4 episodes in this season.

VIEWING: MUSICAL HISTORY

Oratorio (PBS, etc.)

Scorsese sitting in Old St. Patrick’s (pbs.org)

In the lovingly told documentary, Martin Scorsese brings to life the history of an 1826 opera concert in Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.  Scorsese provides background on the historical figures, Mozart’s librettist, for one, who were central to the concert, and details the concert’s role in forming the city’s cultural life.  The re-creation of this event in 2018 for a modern audience is the motivation for the film.  

Scorsese grew up near the cathedral and has fond recollections of the neighborhood and the role of this church in his life.  As concert plans and preparations are underway, there are interviews and clips with the maestro and soloists of Teatro Lirico Cagliari of Italy who will perform.  Overall, it’s a fascinating piece of history. And, if you are so inclined, you can separately watch the 2018 performance also on PBS.

AWARD BOOKS:  A GREAT READING ASSIGNMENT

I receive Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles’ e-mail newsletter, Book Club, each week.  His take on new literature is always informative, often quirky, and piques my interest in what I might read next. In this week’s issue, he detailed an assignment his high school teacher spouse gives her students.  I think it’s a great assignment and so, I’m sharing it and at the end the books the students will be evaluating.  You can read another issue of his newsletter here.

My wife, Dawn, has started one of her favorite projects with her 11th graders. She brings in copies of the five finalists for the National Book Award in Nonfiction and breaks the class into five groups. Each group reads the first chapter of one of the finalists. Then the students devise criteria for a winning book and explain to the class how well their finalist meets those standards. 

Next Wednesday, just hours before the National Book Awards ceremony, her students will vote on which title they think should win. It’s a fun way to introduce these kids to the country’s best new nonfiction books.

You can follow along, too. The NBA ceremony will stream on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. ET. (free, but donations appreciated). I’ll be there (virtually) to introduce Nancy Pearl, winner of this year’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

NONFICTION FINALISTS

Hanif Abdurraqib, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance

Lucas Bessire, Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains

Grace M. Cho, Tastes Like War: A Memoir

Nicole Eustace, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America

Tiya Miles, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

Watching: Three Superb Series

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With the arrival of cooler weather, perhaps you are spending more time indoors, When you get tired of reading or knitting, I have three top-notch television series to recommend.

Call the Midwife (PBS)

Nurse Crane & Sister Julienne (bbc.co.uk)

It’s hard to believe that this is the 10th season of Call the Midwife.  Early seasons drew extensively from the memoirs of midwife Jennifer Worth.  Successive seasons have built on the premise of an order of nun midwives working alongside secular midwives to serve a poor East London community.  While some viewers may feel that the series is too sentimental, more recent episodes highlight medical and social issues such as Thalidomide babies and domestic abuse.  

The current season, which the Chief Penguin and I binge watched, is both sober and thought provoking.  It is 1966 in Poplar, the Beatles are popular, and England is in the World Cup.  Abortion, Down syndrome, race, and wretched housing condition all figure here.  And yet, your favorite midwives, from the often wise Sister Monica Joan, compassionate yet firm Sister Julienne, and outspoken but oh, so caring Trixie, aka Nurse Franklin, persevere.  As the voiceover before every episode states, it’s definitely for mature audiences.  

Grantchester (PBS)

Leonard Finch (distractify.com)

Grantchester too is a keeper, and the seasons keep coming.  Most of us have adjusted to Sydney’s replacement by Will as the curate since detective Geordie, assistant curate Leonard, and housekeeper Mrs. C. remain in place!  This season, season 6, is a much darker one than the previous ones.  

It is 1958 and while there is a murder in every episode, Leonard’s homosexuality and the U.K. laws in effect are a running story throughout the season.  It is a season with added depth and poignancy and one that made me appreciate society’s greater acceptance of differing sexual identities.  This is first rate television.  Highly recommended!

Maid (Netflix)

Margaret Qualley as Alex (indiewire.com)

Maid is a new offering on Netflix and one also dealing with a serious subject.  Based on a memoir by former maid, Stephanie Land, it’s a graphic and heart-rending picture of poverty and living hand-to-mouth while working.  Alex, the maid, abruptly leaves an abusive relationship with her toddler daughter Mattie.  Without a plan or any support, she is hard pressed to find a job or a place to live.  Some of the social services offices she encounters seem unhelpful or at best indifferent.  Reluctantly, she is offered a job as a maid cleaning houses.  Some clients are wealthy with gorgeous homes; others are realtors having seriously filthy properties scrubbed for sale.  

You can read about what it’s like to be poor in America, but this series clearly depicts how one small incident (a sick child, for example) has a domino effect on everything else from her job to her apartment.  It’s raw viewing, but Alex’s daydreams and her interactions with her kooky artist mother provide some relief.  Margaret Qualley with piercing dark eyes is amazing as Alex, while her real-life mother, Andie MacDowell, plays her mother here. 

Note: Header sunset photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).