2023 Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Ramblin' with Roger

The EOY health report for 2023

The benefits of root canal

Here’s the EOY health report for 2023:

Vision: I went for my eye exam on December 7. My doctor noted that, eventually, I’m going to need cataract surgery for both eyes, especially the left one. I’m going to get a diabetic eye exam in six months. Why not at the time of my last visit? Because my eye insurance paid for one service, and my medical insurance will cover the other, I couldn’t do both simultaneously.

Meanwhile, I recognize I need more illumination. I couldn’t read the name of the third movie playing at the Madison Theatre from the Mobil station, which was far away. But it was after 4 pm, and the sun was on its descent.

Likewise, I was ordering a watch for my wife for Christmas because her extant timepiece ceased working. I could read the word TIMEX on her current item but not Indiglo below it. Well, not until morning, when the natural light from outdoors aided me.

My wife told me that the last time she ordered glasses for our daughter at the same optometrist’s office, the spectacles were ready that day. Mine didn’t even start to be processed until the 13th, and it wasn’t ready on the 22nd when I called. I did not get them until after Christmas.

Heart: that thing is okay for another six months. No open-heart surgery THIS year. Yay.

No children were harmed.

Knees: My always achy left knee has been particularly aggravating me. At church a couple of weeks ago, I was heading towards the loo when some small human unexpectedly zigzagged toward me. It was all I could do to avoid falling on top of said small human. That would have a headline: “Fat old man falls, crushes small child in front of church bathroom.” But not falling, I pulled something, not only in my knee but my left ankle.

I actively avoid falls. My insane cat, Midnight, runs in front of me into the kitchen two hours before he is scheduled to be fed. I don’t want a dead feline on my conscience, either.

Last week, my neighbors allowed a garbage can to be filled with water. Then they tipped it over, with some water puddling in front of our house, and then freezing. Fortunately, my wife put down rock salt.

I’ve avoided getting a cortisone shot, determining that it only masks pain rather than truly treating it. But masking the pain may be the way to go if the discomfort continues into the new year.

Teeth: I had a cavity filled in November. When I went to the appointment, I misremembered it and thought it was just for a cleaning. The oddly comforting thing is that it didn’t hurt much after having a root canal in the area a few years ago.

Thus endeth the report.

Sunday Stealing looks back at 2023

not for the last time

This Sunday Stealing looks back at 2023. But it has very little overlap with my annual reflection which I stole from Kelly.

1. Who did you spend time with this year?

In sheer number of hours: my wife, my church choir, my daughter.

2. Anything change with the pets in your life?

Midnight went to the vet for the first time in nine years. After his previous visit, the old vet refused to see him again. The new vet was convinced that the office could examine him by combining a mild tranquilizer in the cat’s food and a better-trained staff. This proved not to be the case. the new vet concluded, “Your cat is crazy!” We knew that.

3. What was your job like this year? What do you do? Did any roles or assignments change? If you aren’t employed, base this question on your work at home or volunteering

For more than a decade, I was in charge of the Black History Month activities at my church, save for the luncheon. The February 2023 season was particularly difficult to book for various reasons., though it took place. The Anti-Racism Task Force at my church became a continuing committee and will be taking over the event, much to my delight.

4. What was the best book you read this year? How many did you read?

Not many. I really liked The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

How terribly strange

5. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Did you feel differently?

I was 70. Three score and ten. Yeah, it was a big deal.

6. What political or social issue stirred you the most?

The risk of the end of democracy in America.

7. Who was the most interesting new person you met?

They know who they are.

8. What changed in your home?

The nob to the basement came off. A whole bunch of little things need to be fixed in our old house.

9. What have you learned throughout the year? (Other than crafts) Can be a new skill or a life lesson.

How did I ever work for a living? I STILL don’t have enough hours in the day!

10. What was your favourite outfit for warm weather? Cooler weather? What do you wear when you dress up? Any new clothes or accessories you really love?

Clothes don’t tend to make a marked difference for me. The only clothes I bought were three DFTBA T-shirts during Pizzamas. No, I’m not going to explain that.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

11. Did you make or give up on any efforts to be healthier? Diet, water, exercise etc?

In the main, no. Pretty status quo, except in December, when my wife makes Christmas cookies.

12. Fave meals, snacks, desserts, restaurants etc? Eat out or eat in?

Early on, my wife and I used to have lunaversary dinners. Then, it went by the wayside. We have attempted to reinstate it. When we do takeout, it’s usually one of the places on the last block of Madison Avenue: Junior’s (bar food), the Curry House (Indian food), and the new pizzeria, the Pizza Lab, which has other foods as well.

13. Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favourite thing you made?

Nope.

14. What are your hopes and dreams for the new year? (Some suggestions-family, travel, work, lifestyle, hobbies, pets, appearance)

More genealogy. I have plenty of leads I need to follow up on.

15. What was the best new/new-to-you thing you a) bought b) made c) acquired in some other way?

The Reacher Grabber Tool, 32″ Grabbers for Elderly, Lightweight Extra Long Handy Trash Claw Grabber, Mobility Aid Reaching Assist Tool for Trash Pick Up, Nabber, Litter Picker, Arm Extension. It’s great for getting that spice jar that falls between the stove and the kitchen counter. We had one before, but it broke from overuse.

The Kennedy Center Honors 2023

Billy Crystal; Renée Fleming; Barry Gibb; Queen Latifah; Dionne Warwick.

The Kennedy Center Honors 2023 was presented on Sunday, December 3. It will air on CBS-TV and stream on Paramount+ on Wednesday, December 27, at 9 pm ET/PT. Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: actor and comedian Billy Crystal; acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming; British singer-songwriter-producer and member of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb; rapper, singer, and actress Queen Latifah; and singer Dionne Warwick.

I first became aware of Billy Crystal when he portrayed Jodie Dallas on the sitcom Soap. Surprisingly, he appeared on Saturday Night Live in the 1984-1985 season, a show that generally which usually embraced less well-known performers.

Afterward, he appeared in several movies I saw: The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), City Slickers (1991), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Analyze This (1997), and voicing a couple of the Monsters, Inc. movies.

Crystal has hosted the Academy Awards nine times and the Grammy Awards thrice, earning five Emmys for his work as host, writer, and producer on both shows. Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Crystal co-hosted “Comic Relief’s televised fundraising events on HBO, raising $75 million to help supply medical aid to the homeless…

“In 2022, Crystal returned to Broadway with Mr. Saturday Night, a musical adaptation of the 1992…film… The show received… five Tony® nominations, including Best Musical; Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Crystal; and Best Book of a Musical, which was written by Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel; and one Grammy® nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album which featured eight songs sung by Crystal.”

He is also an avid New York Yankees fan and has been a talking head for documentaries about Roger Maris (61*), Yogi Berra, and others.

Soprano

I’ve seen Renée Fleming so often that I struggle to summarize it. I went to her Wikipedia page.

Fleming was featured in the PBS Great Performances New Year’s Eve telecast on Dec. 31, 2020. I saw that. At the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors awards ceremony broadcast on CBS, Fleming sang a jazz aria composed by honoree Wayne Shorter – check. On July 4, 2018, Fleming sang in the PBS telecast A Capitol Fourth from the West Lawn of the US Capitol, performing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and, during the fireworks display, “America the Beautiful” – yes.

She sang “You’ll Never Know” on the soundtrack of the film The Shape of Water. In the 2017 film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Fleming’s Decca recording of “The Last Rose of Summer” is heard in the opening scene and in the middle of the movie. I saw both of those movies.

And those are just the ones since 2016. She is a ubiquitous presence in my viewing of the arts.

BeeGees

I was enough of a fan of the brothers Gibb – Barry Gibb and his younger twin brothers Robin and Maurice – to know they were born in England but moved to Australia. They had some regional hits Down Under, such as Spicks and Specks, before they made it big with New York Mining Disaster 1941 (#14 in 1967), I’ve Got To Get A Message To You (#8 in 1968), Lonely Days (#3 in 1971), How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (#1 for four weeks in 1971), and several others before hitting a fallow patch.

They discovered a new sound in 1975 with Jive Talkin’ (#1 for two weeks), my admitted favorite BeeGees song, before the group exploded with the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever, with the brothers writing not only their songs but others such as Yvonne Elliman’s If I Can’t Have You.

“Gibb was also unafraid to give away songs most performers wouldn’t dare part with, be it Frankie Valli’s “Grease” or younger brother Andy’s “I Just Want To Be Your Everything.” Both were solo compositions, and both became U.S. number ones. The hits continued in the ‘80s and ‘90s, as well as entire albums of platinum-coated, Gibb-crafted songs for the likes of Barbra Streisand (‘Woman In Love’), Dionne Warwick (‘Heartbreaker’), Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (‘Islands In The Stream’), and Diana Ross(‘Chain Reaction’).”

I highly recommend the 2021 documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. It touches on the brothers’ success, including little brother Andy, and how painful it is for Barry that all three of his younger brothers have passed away.

The former Dana Owens

I’ll admit that I have no Queen Latifah albums, though I recognize her musical importance. I had heard Ladies First (feat. Monie Love). She won a Grammy for U.N.I.T.Y.

But I did see her in the movies Jungle Fever, and especially Chicago, where she played the prison matron Mama Morton and sang When You’re Good To Mama.

I’ve occasionally caught her on the TV action series The Equalizer, mainly because it was on after 60 Minutes.

The Bacharach/David interpreter

Dionne Warwick was the pre-eminent interpreter of the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Though some grumbled that she wasn’t singing the songs that black people were “supposed” to sing, she had some success on the RB charts in the 1960s. These are just a few.

Don’t Make Me Over, #5 RB, #21 pop in 1963

Anyone Who Had A Heart, #2 AC (adult contemporary), #6 RB, #8 pop in 1964

Walk On By, #1 RB for three weeks, #6 pop, #7 AC in 1964

Message To Michael, #5 RB, #8 pop, #12 AC in 1966

One of my favorite songs of hers was the pairing with the Spinners, Then Came You, #1 pop, #2 RB, #3 AC in 1974

Her biggest song was That’s What Friends Are For with Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder, #1 for two weeks AC, #1 for three weeks RB, and #1 for four weeks pop in 1986.

I only realized this year that she and the late Gladys Crowder were born on the same day.

Folks turning 70 in May 2023

Oingo Boingo

Here’s a list of notable people turning 70 in May 2023. I’m SO much older than they are.

Tony Blair (6th). I had hope for him when he became the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1997. He worked for a minimum wage, and he supported LGBTQ rights. But in his second term, he supported W’s foolhardy invasion of Iraq.

Alex Van Halen (8th) – the only time I mentioned the drummer of Van Halen in this blog was as Eddie’s brother.

I have one CD by Mike Oldfield (15th), which has nothing to do with Tubular Bells; I have it on vinyl, considered a precursor to new-age music.

George Brett (15th) was a Hall of Fame third baseman, playing over 20 years for the Kansas City Royals. Yet, I still think of him regarding the pine tar incident on July 24, 1983.

Pierce Brosnan (16th) played in a detective series Remington Steele, which I viewed. Other folks watching thought he should play James Bond, and he did in five films, though I saw none of them. I did see him in Mrs. Doubtfire and Mamma Mia!

Oddly, I most remember him by how much he loved his first wife, Cassandra Harris, and her children. Cassie died in 1991, and her daughter Charlotte died in 2013, both of ovarian cancer.

“When your partner gets cancer, then life changes. Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this change. Because you’re dealing with death. You’re dealing with the possibility of death and dying… Cassie was very positive about life. I mean, she had the most amazing energy and outlook on life. It was and is a terrible loss, and I see it reflected, from time to time, in my children.”

Doc Ock

Before I knew who he was, Alfred Molina (24th) was in many movies, including Raiders of the Lost Ark. I saw him in Chocolat, Frida, An Education, and primarily as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man movies. I didn’t know he was born in London.

Danny Elfman (29th) is such a prolific composer of film scores that I don’t know where to start. From the Wikipedia page: “Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, and Gus Van Sant, contributing music to nearly 20 Burton projects, including Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Batman, Edward Scissorhands,… as well as scoring Raimi’s A Simple Plan, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Van Sant’s Academy Award–winning films Good Will Hunting and Milk. He wrote music for the Men in Black franchise films, the songs and score for Henry Selick’s animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the themes for the popular television series Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons.” I’ve seen every single film mentioned above.

“Among his honors are four Oscar nominations, two Emmy Awards, a Grammy,… the 2015 Disney Legend Award… and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Yet I will link to the video for Weird Science by his band Oingo Boingo, which he is now mortified by.

2023 Oscar-nominated shorts

An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake

On two days in mid-February, my wife and I saw some of the 2023 Oscar-nominated shorts at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany, NY. I found some of the films online, which I have linked to.

Live action

Ivalu – DENMARK/16 MINS/2022

Director: Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jørgensen

“Ivalu is gone. Her little sister,” Pipaluk, “is desperate to find her. Her father does not care. The vast Greenlandic nature holds secrets. Where is Ivalu?”

While it was a touching bit when Pipaluk would retrace the locales they used to hang out, it was an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Night Ride (Nattrikken) – NORWAY/15 MINS/2020

Director: Eirik Tveiten

“It is a cold night in December. As Ebba waits for the tram, an unexpected turn of events transforms the ride home into something she was not expecting.”

I liked this piece a lot, possibly my favorite in the category. It was pretty funny, held a degree of danger, and showed real humanity.

More Live Action

Le Pupille ITALY, USA/37 MINS/2022

Director: Alice Rohrwacher

“From… Academy Award® winning producer, Alfonso Cuarón is a tale of innocence, greed, and fantasy. [It] is about desires, pure and selfish, about freedom and devotion, and about the anarchy that is capable of flowering in the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmas.”

As the longest of the pieces, the story is the most complex, taking place in World War II Italy. It is or was on Disney+. I enjoyed it.

The Red Suitcase -LUXEMBOURG/18 MINS/2022

Director: Cyrus Neshvad

“A young Iranian woman at a Luxembourg airport is in a life-changing situation.”

While totally believable, it was most frustrating because we wanted to know what happened next.

An Irish Goodbye – IRELAND/23 MINS/2022

Director: Tom Berkeley, Ross White

“On a farm in rural Northern Ireland, estranged brothers Turlough and Lorcan are forced to reunite following the untimely death of their mother.”

My wife’s favorite, and for a good reason, even though we couldn’t suss out bits of the dialogue. The family tension rang true. It won the BAFTA in this category.

Animated

An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It -AUSTRALIA/11 MINS/2022

Director: Lachlan Pendragon

“When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop-motion animation. He must put aside his dwindling toaster sales and focus on convincing his colleagues of his terrifying discovery.”

This had a Truman Show/end of a Lego Movie vibe. BTW, the ostrich may be correct. I liked it a lot.

The Flying Sailor – CANADA/7 MINS/2022

Director: Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby

“In 1917, two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour, causing the largest accidental explosion in history. Among the tragic stories of the disaster is the remarkable account of a sailor who, blown skyward from the docks, flew a distance of two kilometres before landing uphill, naked and unharmed. The Flying Sailor is a contemplation of his journey.”

I wish I had known the above before I watched it for the first time. NOW it makes more sense.

More animation

Ice Merchants – PORTUGAL, UNITED KINGDOM, FRANCE/14 MINS/2022

Director: João Gonzalez

“Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.”

The comments helped me understand this better than I did on first watching.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse -UK/34 MINS/2022

Director: Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy

It “is a story of kindness, courage, and hope in traditional hand-drawn animation, following the unlikely friendship of the title characters as they journey in search of the boy’s home. Based on the book of the same name.”

I liked the traditional artwork. It’s strange, though; I can believe the talking animals, yet we both had trouble figuring out where the boy came from. How did he not freeze to death? I think this is streaming on Apple+.

Animation with a warning

My Year of Dicks -USA/25 MINS/2022

Director: Sara Gunnarsdóttir // Writer: Pamela Ribon

“An imaginative fifteen-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early 90s. Created by Pamela Ribon from her critically-acclaimed memoir.”

Before it aired in the theater, there was a warning that the content may not be suitable for some. The last time I saw that message, it was some grossly bloody and inartful six minutes.

This was fun in five chapters, the first of which is here. My favorite part, though, was Chapter 5, when the protagonist asks her mom a personal question, and the mom makes the dad explain sex to the daughter. I found it extremely funny.

Documentaries

I didn’t see the docs in the theater, but I did view two on YouTube.

THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS – Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

HAULOUT– Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

Ninety thousand walruses outside your door is a sure sign that the planet’s ecosystem is out of whack.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR? –Jay Rosenblatt

THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT – Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

STRANGER AT THE GATE – Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

I saw a brief piece about a “Veteran’s Return from the Brink of Terrorism” on CBS Sunday Morning. I found this to be a powerful telling of how hate can be turned around. A review of all of the short documentaries states this film “reads a little too optimistic for the current moment.” I have no idea what that means.