“TV, Sports, and Music”
I neglected to share a couple of poignant pictures from last Sunday – the 30th anniversary of the death of Sebastian Campagna (Diana’s father.)
I like that you can see Diana’s reflection in the first, and yes, that’s one of Amy’s evolving memorial tributes on the table. I can’t remember the correct name for it.
This is as far as Diana got on the torturous Dali puzzle that Adamo bought for her. He definitely gets some sick pleasure out of seeing her struggle away for hours with the challenging ones. I think she has an idea on how to get him back with a Lowry one.
Here’s an interesting sight on the deck at Clorinda’s home. Finn got a kick out of it as his nickname for the store manager at work is the “Big Turkey.”
I watched an entertaining series on Apple TV – “Bad Sisters” is set in Ireland and definitely involves a lot of local humour.
I picked my D up at the airport on Tuesday evening, bringing an end to my ten days of bachelorhood.
There’s an excellent documentary on Leonard Cohen out now. Simply called “Hallelujah”, the film focuses on the album containing that iconic song, that was never released in America. The record executives didn’t think the songs were commercial or good enough. Wow!
The Jeff Buckley version on the amazing “Grace” album, first brought notice to the original song. It’s interesting to hear how that recording came about. Buckley was first discovered when participating in a celebration of his father’s (Tim Buckley) music at St Ann’s cathedral.
The lady who organized the show introduced him to “Hallelujah” via the John Cale “I’m Your Fan” version. The song really got some attention when it was used in the original Shrek movie.
I highly recommend the documentary.
On Wednesday, I watched the NBA finals. The series between Denver and Miami was tied 1-1. Miami showed a lot of promise at home, but ultimately, Jokic was just too much for them. Denver won the series later in the week – the first title for that franchise.
Continuing with sports – on Thursday I watched the ladies French Open semi-final, featuring Swiatek (Poland) versus Haddad Maia (Brazil). I don’t care too much for the long shot rallies that typify ladies tennis, but the second set tie-break was very exciting. On Friday, we were treated to two great sets of men’s’ tennis, before Djokovic ultimately overpowered Alcaraz.
I know, a relatively boring week when I’m talking about TV shows, movies and sports most of the time.
I finished up “Foregone” by Russell Banks. The last third really dragged for me, disappointing after the initial positive impression.
My next book was “Our Man in Havana” by Graham Greene. I’ve enjoyed everything from Greene that I’ve read, and wish I’d come to this book sooner. I thought it was fantastic. Some of the best dialog that I’ve ever read. It speaks volumes that this tale from 1959 still reads like a current novel. Here’s the online plot summary:
“MI6’s man in Havana is Wormold, a former vacuum-cleaner salesman turned reluctant secret agent out of economic necessity. To keep his job, he files bogus reports based on Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare and dreams up military installations from vacuum-cleaner designs. Then his stories start coming disturbingly true…
First published in 1959 against the backdrop of the Cold War, Our Man in Havana remains one of Graham Greene’s most widely read novels. It is an espionage thriller, a penetrating character study, and a political satire of government intelligence that still resonates today.”
The latest release from Tipitina’s record club showed up on my door step this week. Always an exciting event. The new record is solo Dr. John from 1984. Back when jazzfest was held in the Riverfront park, there were after shows aboard a riverboat. This is a live recording from one of those shows in 1984. Just the Doctor and a stand up piano. This is a great album that I’ve been enjoying all week.
Here’s a Youtube show from Rick Beato that details why “Xanadu” is Rush’s best song. I can see you rolling those eyes, Diana :
There’s a lot of interesting commentary in there.
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!