Finally Friday - Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme is a sport comedy movie loosely based on  the life of Marty Reisman, a table tennis superstar.  Timothee Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a wily hustler in New York City. Chalamet has won the Golden Globe and a Critic's Choice Award for his performance, and his nominated for an Oscar. He is very, very good. 

The movie is directed by Josh  Safdie who also did Uncut Gems which starred an award winning Adam Sandler.  I found the  two films to  be very alike - the pacing, the  down and dirty living, the lying, the angst. 

Marty is always robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to  speak. He's trying  to get money to  fly to Europe  for the table tennis championships.  He  borrows here, cheats here, always fast talking. He does work for his uncle's shoe  store, but manages  to screw that up. He's got Rachel, a long time girl/ friend who happens  to  be married, and he gets her pregnant. 

At age twenty-three, the kid is wise beyond his years and deep down is sorta good. Chalamet is likeable with that sweet face, and believable as very smart and talented. But almost too much of a wiseacre. 

I'm glad I saw this movie and yet I found it exhausting and way too long (2-1/2 hours) .  I got the gist immediately and then it just  kept going, and going - literally ping ponging around the city.  Whew! 

 

Whatever Wednesday - Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang

 Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang is a ridiculous romp of a read. 

cover blurb - Succession meets Crazy Rich Asians in this chaotic, darkly funny saga about the lengths a wealthy family will go to ensure the birth of a male heir from the gay black sheep of their clan. 

Re-read that sentence. Now, just picture how ridiculous that statement is for life.  The billionaire Sun clan is nuts. Powerful struggling aunties, emasculated uncles,  scheming cousins,  scandalous secrets, and a fortune teller on  retainer. 

This book is hilarious, nutso, probably has a touch of  reality beyond normal peoples comprehension,  and is  a fun read. It's total escapism, written with a wink and a nod. The family characters are hilarious, sad, pathetic, and yet, empathetic. 

Altogether it's about finding and connecting the right love, making it work, and continuing family traditions (albeit with the right grace note). 

Pure mind candy and that's okay.  Enjoy!  

Monday Moments - All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert

 All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert is a stunning memoir about love, passion, abuse, craving, and redemption. 

cover blurb : In 2000, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) met Rayya Elias. They became friends, then best friends, then lovers - a pair of addicts on a collision course to  catastrophe.  Self-destructive tendencies became the unstable partner.  What if your most devastating heartbreak opened  a pathway to your greatest awakening? 

I have to say this was amazing, frustrating, annoying, and yet compelling to read. I don't think I would have  liked these two in person when they were fighting - way  too intense. Rayya sounds like an intriguing person who could be way, way too much.  Elizabeth Gilbert can be almost too into herself (in my  opinion). And Yet......I found myself turning  pages, shaking my head, and fascinated at watching the trainwreck. Then sad for the finale.  

This would not be everyone's cup  of tea,  but I'm glad I read it (yeah, I sorta speed read through a lot). 

Finally Friday - Sisters: Loved and Treasured

 cover blurb - Beacons of support, understanding, and love, sisters  are there for us through it all - childhood, the formative teen years, and adulthood. Journalist, Deborah Roberts curates a collection  of conversations,  meditations, and anecdotes from  her own sisters, celebrity friends, and everyday people. Sisters shape lives and it matters. 

Here's Lori and me.  She's ten years younger, but we are close.  It's amazing. We have sent each other the same Valentine card. We have similar humor and we just share the bond of the Crowther family. We can just say a word or reference and we know what "crazy" we are talking about.  Our middle brother, David, is in the mix, but sisters bond...oh, it's a thing. 

I enjoyed these essays  from Viola  Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Shonda Rhimes, Deborah Roberts, and so many more. I could identify and appreciate every feeling, every nuance, every special sister moment.  

Sisters Loved and Treasured by Deborah Roberts and her interviews was an engaging read.  I do feel sorry for folks without a sister to share all the special  moments of life. 

Let's Be Friends

 Let's take a beat and think about our NATO allies. Let's think about the purpose, the history, and the power we have to do good.

Beautiful Denmark. Lovely Copenhagen. Long time friends. From what I understand, they let Greenland be Greenland. Let's let them. 

I'm being far too simplistic and idealistic, but why are we messing up a perfectly good situation?

Why sow chaos and discord?  Again - I have no real knowledge or  authority, but I question if there's really a plan?   Like - okay, we have Venezuela....now what?   

That's all.  We'll be back to regularly scheduled book reviews, etc.   I just had to blather what's been stewing in my brain.  

Mange tak   (thank you)

MLK Day Salute

Now is the time to revisit Martin Luther King, Jr - his words, his thoughts, his ideals. 

What would he think of America today? There was progress.  Note the word "was".  I fear the current regime's actions are moving us backwards.  I am a senior white woman, living a fortunate life. However, I do care about all people, and perhaps I'm too idealistic and "woke", but I think it helps everyone if we help those less fortunate, if we "make real the promises of democracy."

How do we work above all the noise out there?  How can we read past what the algorithms dictate? It is hard work to try to find many sources to sort out a story.  And somehow, we still have to have faith in our vote. That's one way to not be silent. 

Armed masked militias - seems cruel to me. Shooting protesters - no! Rounding up working people - no. To me, the amount of time and effort and money in being cruel should be spent on processing folks so  they can keep their jobs - be the roofers, the landscapers, the farm help - so much work that, say, American teens, don't want to do.  It's all complex and above my pay grade, but at this juncture it seems like the border crossings are contained. Now we're just being mean. 

I liked this New Yorker cartoon.  Struck a nerve. 

MLK Day should offer us some reflection. Where are we? What do we lack? How can we be better? How can we bolster democracy?   It will be 250 years in July.  Are the Founding Fathers rolling in their graves? 

P.S. It is very petty to remove MLK Day from our  National Park "free  pass" day.  Seriously?  

It is ridiculous to be removing information from the Smithsonian museums that reference black history. 

WTF
 

Finally Friday - It Was the Way She Said It

 It Was the Way She Said It by Terry McMillan is an excellent compilation of short fiction and non-fiction essays. 

Her book Waiting to Exhale put her on the national stage in the early 1990s. But the works in this volume are (cover blurb) provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of  Black life in America with vitality and honesty. McMillan's inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor, and nuance.

I've always enjoyed her books. Her short stories and essays are really strong. Her characters, her humor, and her candor are eye-opening. 

From her 2016 Life Lessons Essay: When I watch the news these days, the vitriolic tone of some of the  rhetoric feels like we're heading back to the sixties and seventies. I'm not going.

I just want us to respect each other for the content of our character and not  be disrespected because of the color of our skin. We are Americans. 

I highly recommend diving deeper into Terry McMillan's words.