: of or relating to the Greek philosopher Aristotle
: of, relating to, or given to walking
: moving or traveling from place to place ; itinerant
Well, fall is almost here. Events in the household include:
- Julia continues, despite the obstacles against her (of whom we won't name), to plow forward with her dissertation, attempts to attend conferences, and teach.
- Gabriel was sick yesterday. He's feeling better today.
- Our dog, Daisy, got terribly injured Monday night. At the vet's yesterday, she was sutured and stitched up; apparently, the glass or barbed wire she came down on sliced through a tendon and nicked an artery. She's feeling better but she has to wear one of those neck collars (that no animal likes) in order not to try the rip the bandage off her paw. Terrible!
- How'd my football picks go this past weekend? 10 for 16. Not bad. 62.5%.
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The Iranian film A Separation, which won last year's Foreign Language Oscar, is a stunner. Many won't see it because 1) it's subtitled, and 2) it's set in Iran. It's rich and suspenseful, and it's the rare film that actually allows the audience to see the viewpoints of and empathize with every single character. Set and shot in Tehran, writer-director Asghar Farhadi's film centers around a married couple in the process of splitting up (the woman wants to leave Iran, the man wants to stay and care for his father, who's in the grip of Alzheimer's), their daughter (who is torn between them), and a pregnant woman who cares for the dad. An incident, the pivot of the entire story, occurs between the married man and the female help... That's all I'll say. Check it out.
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I'm glad Parenthood is back, so glad. One of the flat-out best, and most underrated, shows on TV. There was some talk that NBC wouldn't renew it for its fourth season, which would have been a shame - and very telling (as if we need further proof) of what a silly TV-watching culture we are that we can make hits of the network's other formula-drenched dreck like America's Got Talent and The Voice.
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Another entry in my 500 Best Performances of All Time, you demand? Sure.
Meryl Streep
as Karen Silkwood in Silkwood (1983)
I really need to go back and watch Mike Nichols' film again; from what I remember, it was captivating and exciting, and a great showcase for the endless talents of Meryl Streep (oh, yeah, and Kurt Russell and an Oscar-nominated Cher are excellent too.). She plays the real-life Silkwood, who was tortured and poisoned when she started making complaints against the devastating effects she and her co-workers were being exposed to at the plutonium plant she worked at. Streep has an accent here - as she always seemed to in the 80s - and she chews gum, wears a come-hither trampish look, sometimes coming across shrill - but it never seems, to me, like she's acting. She invests the character with so much distinct personality and color, so much realism and nuance, that her fears become the audience's fears.
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A word quickly about Alfred A. Knopf (born on this date in 1892), the Jewish-American who, at the age of 23 (!), founded one of the great publishing companies in American history: Founded in 1915, Knopf - with its distinguished book design and production - has the greatest roster of literary talent imaginable. Well, let the word be a list. Among the authors that Knopf (long run by Alfred, his wife Blanche, and their son, Alfred) have represented over the last century:
Willa Cather, Julia Child, Michael Crichton, John Updike, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anne Tyler, Richard Russo, Anne Rice, Thomas Mann, Albert Camus, Elie Wiesel, James Ellroy, Langston Hughes, Kahlil Gibran, John Cheever, Alice Munro, Cormac McCarthy, Carl Hiaasen, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jane Smiley, Walker Percy, and Wallace Stevens.
Not too shabby.
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Finally, in what will be a weekly feature.
What Interesting Bird Was Spotted in Bulloch County This Past Week?
Orchard Oriole
- smallest North American oriole
- adults have rich chestnut color that make them appear very black
- long tail
- thin, pointed beak
- nests in gardens, orchards, suburban areas
Images:
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/4500000/Meryl-in-Silkwood-meryl-streep-4552878-640-340.jpg
http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/PASSERIFORMES/Icteridae/pics/Orchard%20Oriole.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z5rUI3K0WuA/TqlGiaab66I/AAAAAAAAAvM/tBrf2aj_GMU/s1600/2011_a_separation_Leila_Hatami_Peyman_Moaadi-.jpg
Information:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orchard_Oriole/lifehistory
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