"Real" Food

Playing pretend with my niece
pantomiming restaurant particulars
I, the waiter, take the orders
of her and my sister
and I am so vividly recalled
to my child-self I shiver
for thirty years before
as the family sat at dinner
I would disappear from the table
and return with cloth draped forearm
the waiter
refilling waters and inquiring after vittles
the resonance is so striking
I misinterpret my niece's request for real food
which I eventually bring from the kitchen
and she rejects it as she meant real as in tangible
as opposed to imagined, her assorted toy delectables
not a head of broccoli, the most mundane of vegetables.

I wonder what children's fascination is with culinary protocol
it's generational resurgence in practiced play seems nigh on inevitable.

Patience

just waiting is the first thing

being still, not-doing

getting comfortable inbetween

silence is the second thing

being quiet, not-speaking

ceding words becomes routine

lastly there is listening
alertness to reality
discerning the once unseen

add them up
waiting, silence, listening
then virtue patience
becomes near discipline

'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire' A Review

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire is a French historical drama about a young painter Marianne(Noémie Merlant) and her reluctant subject Héloïse(Adèle Haenel) who develop a passionate bond. The film opens with Marianne teaching an art class then flashes back to her journey to an isolated island to paint Héloïse's portrait as part of her dowery. Héloïse refuses to sit for the portrait so Marianne has to observe her as they take walks and pain in secret. As the days pass the two grow close.

Merlant gives a wonderfully natural performance, subtle but emotional. There are long, painstaking yet engaging sequences of her painting with significant focus and patience put on her process. Haenel is more austere, more unknowable, more mercurial which is evocative and mysterious but there isn't a great sense of who the character actually is. The two have a magnetic chemistry but their passion never really boils over, perhaps this is part and parcel of the 18th century setting but for all the patience and silence of the film overall a crescendo of passion would have been a nice counterpoint.  Luàna Bajrami as Sophie the maid is perhaps the most engaging in the limited cast, Marianne and Héloïse are intriguing certainly but despite the dire constraints of the patriarchal system they contend with the addition of feudal economics make Sophie's situation the more interesting and relatable. There's an extended sequence of Sophie contending with an unwanted pregnancy which is more powerful than the leads protracted lusty love story.

Visually the film is absolutely stunning, scenes of painting beautiful paintings cut with scenes in a manor and on a beach that could be in a painting. Each shot seems both meticulously but also effortlessly composed and the limited score, maybe only diegetic if I'm remember correctly, is incredibly impactful.

A quiet but lush masterfully crafted film.

See It. 

Family

All have their share of dysfunction
perpetrated by past injury
perpetuated by rigidity
but there is a great deal to be said
for the vastness of shared experience
accumulated over time,
countless challenges and celebrations
traversed in concert over years-
birthdays, deathdays, confirmations,
bat mitzvahs, weddings, graduations-
not to mentioned the bond of blood
which does not in itself
create connection
but endows kinship
of behavior, thought, and feature
and taken all together
there is a stirring confidence
a knowing
a deep, if perhaps not boundless, well
of love, yes
but perhaps more enduring
intimacy, the weight
of lineage.

'Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)' A Review

Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a DC superhero movie, a spinoff centered on Harley Quinn(Margot Robbie) from 2016's Suicide Squad. The movie is directed by narration form Quinn unspooling the story in a frenetic combination of flashfowards, flashbacks, and cutaways. Quinn in the wake of her breakup with the Joker looses his protection and is hunted by numerous criminal groups, in order to survive she agrees to hunt a pick pocket Cassandra Cain(Ella Jay Basco) who's in possession of a valuable diamond for would-be kingpin Roman Sionis(Ewan McGregor). Quinn eventually crosses paths and teams up with frustrated detective Renee Montoya(Rosie Perez), assassin Huntress(Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and singer/vigilante Black Canary(Jurnee Smollett-Bell).

Casting is stem-to-stern pitch perfect. Robbie's delightfully channels the character's volatility, brutality, and humor. An impressive tight-wire act given how large the character and the amount of voice over. Basco does a good job grounding their relationship and the chemistry is surprisingly subtle and kind. McGregor also goes big but is able to convey some surprising layers, both playful and menacing, charming and psychotic. Although not given the same level of screen time it's always a delight to see the peerless Perez and both Winstead and Smolltt-Bell deliver fully rounded compelling characters.

Better than the casting though is the production design. Wonderful costumes, an effective catchy soundtrack, and incredible stunt work and fight choreography almost all of it practical and more importantly shot to be actually visible. There's a real physical sense to the world and in all the confrontations that create a very substantial experience. Long, intricate fight scenes and action sequences help to elevate the already skillful performances of the cast.

The only misstep is with the script, the titular Birds Of Prey don't actually come together until after the half way point and what proceeds it is periodically sluggish. All the cuts and diversions help to create a fun and appealing pace but it takes just a bit too much time getting to the point. It still works, mostly due to the humor and Robbie's undeniable electricity but some diversions pay off(Quinn's description of the perfect breakfast sandwich, a bizarre music interlude referencing Moulin Rouge!) and some don't(the virtually endless pursuits by various faceless thugs of Quinn, Montoya's precinct troubles). That being said it's certainly worth it.

Another hopeful installment for DC. A stellar cast, inspired production, and serviceable story make this a unique superhero flick in the midst of the great Marvel homogenization.

See It.

A Meditation On Chores

First consider what must be done.
Nothing.
Nothing must be done at all.
Accept this and be freed by it's assurance.
Second consider duty.
What agreements have been made with landlords, roommates, whomever.
What simple obligations have been committed to.
These are not constraints but covenants and there is satisfaction in their upholding.
Thirdly consider time and it's value.
Where is time allotted and how much.
Are all things done worthy of the time and attention given to them.
Consider the necessity of each.
Next consider the various acts utilized for maintaining a household.
Sweeping, moping, dusting, dishes, cooking, miscellaneous errands etc.
Consider the utility of, and effort required by, each.
Any labor, however mundane, performed with care and concentration is right action.
Any act repeated overtime becomes routine.
Routine adhered to overtime is discipline.
Discipline that results in utility is right action.

Everything from pristine sterility through disruptive squalor is endurable.
Consider the quality of living in relation to the orderliness of the home.
Maximize this correlation.

Crosswalk

For a time

I struggled 

with a volatile temper,

anger an easy

even comforting

chaos,

I'd revel 

in the righteousness

that often accompanied rage,

saw it as an asset

a talent

this acuity with ire.

Come to discover

perpetual turmoil

is acidic not empowering,

I began to grapple

with my bile

attempting some contentment,

but progress is always obscure.

Until today

when leaving the grocery store

and crossing the street 

during the appropriately

allotted time

white walk sign ablaze

a mini-van blew through the red light

and seemed about to strike me

I turned, lifted a leg

prepared to brace

for the possible impact

it stopped mere feet away

and I continued on my way

behind me another pedestrian

ranted and cursed

but I found I felt

nothing

no fury, no fear

no put-upon virtue

my day was

unaffected.

And for you perhaps

this may sound 

like inconsequential minutiae

unremarkable

if so I envy you

because for me

this was the triumph

of years of effort.