Cross Town Thoughts
Early Sunday morning backyard. Mrs. Wild Turkey looked like the manager of a World Cup team. Which way is that goal?
Nederlanders kicked the ball backwards for most of 120 minutes. Costa Rica’s team and goalie waged a mighty defense when the ball did come their way. Tall guy beats short guy in the end. Really?! Silly game.
Recipes for the 4th. RecipeDetours. Cookout at Cathy’s. Kielbasa and cake. Birthday paloooza. mAdBen home. Weekend bon.
Maureen Dowd addresses the Cannes Lions about storytelling. Best and brightest global MadMen amass on the Côte d’Azur as the world wrestles with another blunder into Iraq. Could it be that Biden was right? PartitionStan. Hillary and Barack are holding Town Halls today. What will they say?
Joey3Sticks will play with the Yankees this afternoon. Yup. The Bronx Bombers, not the BoSox. World turned upside down? Fargo finale and then… bringing an old SanFran friend’s novel to read on the beach. Clam Bar, Ho! À bientôt.
Episode 7 of MadMen7. Matt saved his best for last. Focus on the AdBiz. Ditch ancillary characters. Megan mercifully ends the charade. Pete consoles Don with the line of the night. “Marriage is a racket!” Don sheds his Dick (capital D), and returns to being fabulously Draper. Betty & the kids dismiss that phase. Peggy loses her surrogate son. Will her real kid with Pete show up again?
Nuclear Ad family is back. Don’s creative partnership with Peggy recaptures its heart and soul. Joan remains my favorite bottom line girl. So to speak. Roger takes advantage of bittersweet circumstances to enter the M&A era and keep Sterling Cooper intact. Under McCann Erickson. I thought Don would spin himself and a few others off. But, this works in the historical context even better.
As the Sixties ends with everyone gathered around their televisions to watch the first lunar landing in awe, song and dance man Bobby Morse takes us and Bert out in style. The Moon Belongs to Everyone. The Best Things in Life Are Free. See ya next year.
Weekend in Manhattan. 5-star Broadway play. Lobster. Sun. Son. Especially son. Best Mother’s Day. Central Park. Blissful getaway.
The Realistic Joneses. Fatalistically familiar. Giggled for hours after. Will Eno wrote a modern day Godot meets Gonzo. It spoke to my inner voices. That’s good. Well… Toni Collette & Tracy Letts epitomized long-married dynamics in crisis. Marisa Tomei stole the heart of the piece with her languished anguished random musings. Flawless comedic timing. Michael C. Hall’s non sequiturs held the most truth. An experienced cast enhanced a beautifully written play about life and free restaurant mints.
Photo by: Ben Levine
Obamas kept following us around on Friday. As we delivered Strahl Brisket mid-town, Barack was giving a talk on the next block. Checked into our Hotel Giraffe, while Michelle and PrezO were dining down the street at Maialino. After our pre-theater supper at Bobby Van’s Grille, we took in Of Mice and Men. Around the corner, yup. First couple catching Denzel in Raisin in the Sun. Thought those crowds, sirens and security were just for us.
Of Mice and Men. Broadway debuts of both stars. James Franco as George Milton was perfectly subdued and resigned as keeper and friend. Chris O’Dowd stole the show as Lennie Small. A fine balance of sweet emotion and slow-wit. Steinbeck’s poetic words were delivered with flawless cadence. Sets and direction brilliant. Although obviously a hopeless plot, for me this play shone a little glimmer of humanity. If only we treated people as well as we do animals in the end. Tours de force. Still in previews, I predict rave reviews on Wednesday.
James Franco made a cameo visit to his KimYe bromance partner Seth Rogen on SNL last night. Cross-stalking is lots of fun!
Spring. Schming. Forty degrees. Snow. Wind. Crocuses can’t conquer obstinate snowbanks. Parkas. Gloves. Another Nor’Easter next week. Doorknobs. Scarves. Too soon? Poor Mick. Theo James. James Franco everywhere. Vogue.
After 12 days, Malaysian Plane Still Missing is not Breaking News. Freeze media anchors’ assets and send them to Siberia. Crimea still Putin on the Ritz. Harvard beats fifth seed Cincy. St. Joe’s almost stuns UConn. College ball is the best. Wisconsin still in. Bon weekend.
St. Patty’s Day. Go Green. ZooMass in the bracket race. Nothing new in the world. Malaysian plane is still missing. Crimea is still part of Russia. Don’t care about South African murder case. Eschewing stale TV, retreated to reading.
Finally finished The Deptford Trilogy. Last novel, my favorite, World of Wonders, is a tragic intricate tale told by kidnapped boy turned magician. It takes us from the depths of Deptford, Ontario to London, Paris, the mountains of Switzerland. The most colorful book of the three, life in carnivals and theaters explores human frailties that manifest in good and evil. Full review on TrekBooks. Good writing stands the test of time. Thanks for the journey, PithyV.
River? Russia needs the port. It’s a done deal. Putin doesn’t care what anyone says or does. He ain’t leaving Crimea. Ukraine can kiss it goodbye. Kerry gets to put on a lot of air miles. That’s about it. In other news…
Trump’s new Doral is getting a soaking as Tiger and Phil have a lackluster start. June Squibb was great as Hannah’s grandmother on Girls. Maggie’s family looks to play a pivotal role in the finale of True Detective. There is no reason to continue to watch American Idol. Worst contestants ever.
Dr.Husband thanks all who donated to Baystate Children’s Hospital. Hoping for warmer weather in the Big A. Bon weekend.
1970’s literary departure. Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business. The first of his Deptford Trilogy. Pre-WW I through WW II, the evolution of small-town Canadians’ intertwined lives. Sullen narrative with prosaic nuggets.
MarchVanityFair. Rupert Murdoch’s ex-Wendi Deng story. Riveting. Scientology scion wife mystery. Intriguing. How does General Hospital get away with calling its resident nut house ‘Miscavige Hospital for the Criminally Insane’? Hilarious.
Downton finale. Already? SoapOpera digested. Mary has become insufferable as she commands her two suitors to spar for her hand. At least she didn’t spill the beans on Bates. An uneven season ends with royal romance, avenged violation, new baby on the landscape. The Levinson’s tour portends tremors to come. Hughes-Carson liaison doesn’t quite resonate. We wait for Barrow’s next move.
Bye bye. Sochi Games. February. Putin. Russia-Ukraine alliance. Won’t miss ya. MauDowd’s brilliant NYTimes column on leadership. Thoughtful Inaction vs. Thoughtless Action. Obama vs. Bush doctrines. Christie as future king.
Is Spring around the corner? Happy and positive prospect. mAdBen captured the sentiment from his mAd office window. Can MadMen7 be far behind?
Side Trek . NYC 