What I’m reading: Finally wrapped up The Long Goodbye
What I’m listening to: Distant Early Warning, by Rush. Not again and again, but a couple of times.
What I’m watching: The new Chris Rock HBO special, which wasn’t as good as his previous one. Also, we watched Casino. I realized that it’s the first Sharon Stone movie I’ve ever seen. I thought she did a good job, but the movie overall was pointless. I don’t understand what the movie was ABOUT. I mean, it was the story of how the underworld overextends itself and violent retribution gets meted out on as the criminal world eats itself. How that differs from Goodfellas, I don’t get. DeNiro and Pesci are just caricatures; I couldn’t see any motivation for why they acted the way did. They were simply Great Gambler Who Gets To Run A Casino, and Psychotic Muscle Who Reprises His Role From The Previous Scorsese Crime Movie. The behind-the-scenes aspect of the casino world was entertaining, but ONE-HUNDRED-AND-SEVENTY-EIGHT MINUTES? To find out that mobsters will order the executions of other mobsters? Awesome payoff, dude! Anyway, like I said, Sharon Stone was the best part of the flick; maybe I oughtta snatch up one of her earlier movies.
What I’m drinking: Amy & I opened a bottle of Bogle Petit Syrah on Saturday night, but that was the only time I’ve had a drink since Sept. 26 (the day my conference ended). We left a third of it.
What Rufus is up to: Being scared shitless on Sunday by AfroHuskie, the 17-year-old Dog of the Living Dead down the street. I’d heard about this dog from his owner (his real name is Bandit) a few weeks ago, and we finally met him tonight. I have never seen a dog in such a age-induced state of decrepitude; Rufus’ encounter with him was so unsettling that he literally did not crap on his evening walk.
Where I’m going: We were planning to go to Warwick Applefest yesterday, but I was really zonky and out of it and we decided to stay home and veg. No travel plans this week.
What I’m happy about: Shana tova! Happy new year for Jews!
What I’m sad about: The New York Sun was shut down this week, as was the Dirda on Books weekly chat at the Washington Post; at this rate I half-expect the Hernandez Bros. to quit making comics.
What I’m pondering: What to do with my old iPhone. Also, does anyone know if an EMP would wipe out flash memory? I’m just pondering, is all.
I seem to recall the costumes being pretty great for Casino, but I haven’t seen it since the theatrical release. But that is a long running time and a lot of effort for ’60s and ’70s reproductions.
Oh, the movie had great costuming and production, but it was hollow at the core. And THREE HOURS!
What happened to Dirda?? Did they cut the section? Cut him?
He took a buyout a while back, and has been working freelance for them and others. Now they’ve decided to cut the weekly book chat, in favor of some sort of discussion group.
For the first time, I believe the doomsayers … it seems books ARE an endangered species.
Oh, it’s not that BOOKS are endangered; it’s that NEWSPAPERS are endangered. The Star-Ledger is the most recent nearly doomed paper.