Snapshots

— Deeply engrossed in reading Christopher Hitchens’ Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. I have read most of these essays before, since I used to follow him religiously, but it is wonderful to encounter them again. The depth and breadth of his knowledge is daunting. I am proud when I know his references. It is pretty much required that you be well-read if you want to keep up. That’s part of the fun of it. He threw in a Catcher in the Rye reference in one of the essays, without mentioning the title of the book, or the author; the reference had to do with the ducks in Central Park, and I knew, “Oh. Catcher.” and had a moment of being grateful for my excellent public school education.

— When my cousins Ken and Susan were little kids one of their favorite games to play was called “Hersher”. It was a word they made up and it meant “very very busy”. So when they “played Hersher” they would race around the den, pretending to vacuum and dust and clean. Why this means “Hersher” we will never know, but it is now a word that is part of the lexicon of the Sullivan side of my family. Susan and Ken had a cat they named Hersher. And at any family gathering, you will hear the word mentioned, casually. “How have you been?” “I’ve been a total Hersher these days.” And that gets an understanding approving nod from the listener. You’ve been a Hersher? Say no more. All of this is to say, I have been a total Hersher over the last month.

— I watched Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette the other night and fell in love with it. I loved the editing. I loved the music. I loved the color scheme and the tableaux. Being able to film at Versailles was a coup. Gives the film a grandeur. I thought Kirsten Dunst was amazing, but then I’ve always felt that way. She keeps getting better and better. And what of Marie Antoinette herself? I feel real bad for that dame.

— I miss Mitchell. He was here visiting for two weeks. Along with our experience meeting Peter Bogdanovich, we had dinner out at David and Maria’s, which was fantastic, just like old times, and also dinner at Brooke and John’s. I love my friends. I am very lucky.

— I’ve been listening to a shit-ton of Doris Day these days.

— A minor obsession I have been courting these days is that of top-notch under-the-radar character actor Elias Koteas. He is always good. The interrogation scene in Zodiac works on multiple levels (the script, the setting, the editing), but it wouldn’t work without two of his key reaction shots. I’ve always said this, about these character actors: The offensive players (ie: the movie stars, the leads) need good defensive players (i.e.: the character actors). If you throw a ball and nobody’s there to catch it, nobody says, “Wow, what a great offensive play.” They say, “Wow, that play sucked.” You are only as good as your defensive players. Any sports fan knows that. Elias Koteas, in those two reaction shots in Zodiac, one while looking at the subject of the interrogation, when he says, “What?” (meaning: “Did I just hear you right?”) and the other in response to looking at the watch, shown to him surreptitiously by Anthony Edwards. Without those two moments, the full impact of that scene would not be present. We NEED him. And he comes up BIG. But then again, this is no surprise. Elias Koteas always comes up big. He is one of my favorites.