Tag Archives: Russia

November 2023 Viewing Diary

After Everything (2018; d. Hannah Marks, Joey Power) In early November, I holed up in a cozy little house in Connecticut with Allison and Carol. I had to work the whole time, which was a bummer but the night was … Continue reading

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Dynamic Duo #38

Marlene Dietrich and Konstantin Paustovsky. This moment occurred after a concert she gave in Moscow, 1964. She had been blabbing to the press about the revered (and sometimes suppressed) author Konstantin Paustovsky from the moment she arrived in Russia, declaring … Continue reading

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For International Women’s Day: Ladies I Love

These women inspire, entertain, challenge, comfort, provoke, or were “there” in my formative years as an inspiration. The list is huge. Below the jump.

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December 2022 Viewing Diary

The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading

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2022 Books Read

Some re-reads this year, but a lot of new-to-me authors as well. New novels written by faves. Been a year of upheaval and transitions. I’ve managed to keep up my regular reading schedule. I just don’t feel right if I’m … Continue reading

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November 2022 Viewing Diary

Something in the Dirt (2022; d. Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson) I really liked this. If you like losing yourself in conspiracy theories – without being, like, a QAnon-type ready to shoot up a pizza parlor – then this is super … Continue reading

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Hey, Moscow, let’s party tonight like it’s 1929!

I am currently re-reading Curzio Malaparte’s The Kremlin Ball. There is no other book like it. A gossipy telling of the “Soviet proletariat aristocracy” of the late 1920s, which Malaparte witnessed firsthand. (“Curzio Malaparte” was his pen name, chosen because … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve been reading

— This L.A. Times essay about Covid brain fog – and so much more – by Mary McNamara is a WILD ride, but it said a lot of the things I’ve been feeling about … everything, everywhere, all at once. … Continue reading

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April 2022 Viewing Diary

When I first got the Raging Bull gig, I began a re-watch of all the Scorsese-De Niro movies – at least the ones clustered around that period. I grew up on these films. These movies were huge to me as … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve Been Reading

Reading for pleasure has taken a hit, what with all the research I’ve been doing, for this or that, and so I haven’t done one of these “stuff I’ve been reading” things in a while. I have barely slept in … Continue reading

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