WATCHING: La Vie En Rose.
When Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, I felt slightly miffed on behalf of the American more experienced actresses who had been nominated: Laura Linney. Cate Blanchett. Julie Christie!
Then, over the weekend, I saw the movie. It was gorgeous. Cotillard the movie star was virtually invisible; all I could see was Edith. Fragile, belligerent, talented, love-starved Edith.
From a scene on the beach in California in the '50's, where a reporter is interviewing Piaf:
What advice do you have for women?
Love.What advice do you have for young ladies?
Love.
What advice do you have for girls?
Love.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
READING: What is the What, by Dave Eggers.
I've had this book on my must-read list for months. Now it is breaking my heart, one masterfully-written page at at time.
From page 199 (paperback edition):
Death took boys every day, and in a familiar way: quickly and decisively, without much warning or fanfare. These boys were faces to me, boys I had sat next to for a meal, or who I had seen fishing in a river. I began to wonder if they were all the same, if there was any reason one of them would be taken by death while another would not. I began to expect it at any moment. But there were things the dead boys might have done to aid their demise. Perhaps they had eaten the wrong leaves. Perhaps they were lazy. Perhaps they were not as strong as me, not as fast. It was possible that it was not random, that God was taking the weak from the group. Perhaps only the strongest were meant to make it to Ethiopia; there was only enough Ethiopia for the best of the boys.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
EATING: Kumquats. Whole: seeds + skin + all. I can't get enough of their bitter-sour-sweetness. I know I should slice them thinly and toss them in a salad; infuse them into something exotic; make them into a glaze and brush it over a hunk of meat. But they taste too good naked to fuss with them, so I don't.
And with sincere apologies to anyone who thinks that I am Very High Minded All of the Time, I can't help but wonder:
Don't kumquats sort of resemble... boobies?
