life is like a movie. Write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending

🎭 Which Muppet Should You Date? 🎭 

Ever wondered which Muppet would totally get your vibe? 

Take the Which Muppet Should You Date? quiz 

and find out if your heart belongs to 

 💘 Animal’s chaos, Beaker’s brilliance, Kermit’s calm, or Rowlf’s warmth. 

 It’s slyly romantic, scientifically un-serious, 100% fuzzy fun. 💘 

Because love comes in many forms— 

sometimes green, sometimes furry, 

and sometimes loudly banging on drums. 

---

1. Your ideal date night is:

A. A moonlit walk by the pond, sharing quiet laughter and tea. 

B. A cozy piano lounge with mellow jazz and good conversation. 

C. A science lab "experiment" that may or may not involve sparks (literal or emotional). 

D. A wild night at a rock club that ends with glitter in your hair.  

 

2. What’s your love language?

A. Words of affirmation—gentle encouragement makes your heart sing. 

B. Acts of service—you melt when someone just quietly takes care of things. 

C. Quality time—even if it means surviving a few accidental explosions together. 

D. Physical touch—hugs, headbangs, and drumming side-by-side.  

 

3. What do you find most attractive in a partner?

A. Emotional honesty and a calming presence. 

B. Loyalty, warmth, and the ability to listen without judgment. 

C. Curiosity and intelligence—even if communication gets... squeaky. 

D. Passion, unpredictability, and a refusal to follow any rules.  

 

4. When life gets stressful, your coping style is:

A. Taking a deep breath and finding your center. 

B. Playing music, taking a walk, or helping a friend. 

C. Diving into a project until it’s all figured out (or explodes). 

D. Screaming it out and moving on—life’s too short to bottle it up!  

 

5. What’s your idea of “forever”?

A. Building a simple, genuine partnership where both shine. 

B. Growing old together, still sharing music and laughter. 

C. A lifetime of creative chaos, but never a dull day. 

D. Burning bright, loving hard, and leaving the world with great stories. 

 

🧡 Sometimes, true love isn’t about finding the perfect person; 

it’s about finding the perfect puppet. 🧡 

 

 [custom-designed just for me by ChatGPT; the title quotation is from Jim Henson]

your uncle molests collies

Average rating: 8.25

The More the Merrier (1943) - "It's World War II and there is a severe housing shortage everywhere—especially in Washington, D.C., where Connie Milligan rents an apartment. Believing it to be her patriotic duty, Connie offers to sublet half of her apartment, fully expecting a suitable female tenant. What she gets instead is mischievous, middle-aged Benjamin Dingle. Dingle talks her into subletting to him, and then promptly sublets half of his half to young, irreverent Joe Carter—creating a situation tailor-made for comedy and romance. "
length: 1 hour, 44 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's been too long since I've seen it!

    previously reviewed here and watched again a month later, here
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 81%
my IMDB: 10/10

MPAA rating: Approved

notable quote: "'I'm sorry, mister, but I prefer sharing my apartment with a lady.'

    'That's fine; so would I.'"

directed by: George Stevens

my notes: clever, witty, politically astute, shaded by the reality of war, this is also one of the most romantic films I have ever seen. There is a scene on a sidewalk, and then the stoop of a building, that is enough to make me swoon. And I've never seen a piece of luggage so packed with sweet, delicious woo.

    Charles Coburn is genial but grumpy, surprisingly smart, and sly as Mr. Dingle. Jean Arthur (Connie) is a tiny sprite, dances divinely, and has such a way with complex dialog. And Joel McCrea... tall, handsome, quick-witted and self-deprecating, dry and ironic. Mmmmm. He gives Joe Carter life. 

Academy Award winner: Best Supporting Actor—Coburn 

Academy Award nominee: 

• Best Picture 

• Best Actress—Arthur 

• Best Director—Stevens 

• Best Writing, Original Story—Frank Ross, Robert Russell 

• Best Writing, Screenplay—Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster, Frank Ross, Robert Russell
overall: most highly recommended

 

Caddyshack (1980) - "Danny Noonan (Michael O'Keefe), a teen down on his luck, works as a caddy at the snob-infested Bushwood Country Club to raise money for his college education. In an attempt to gain votes for a college scholarship reserved for caddies, Noonan volunteers to caddy for a prominent and influential club member (Ted Knight). Meanwhile, Danny struggles to prepare for the high pressure Caddy Day golf tournament while absorbing New Age advice from wealthy golf guru Ty Webb (Chevy Chase)."
length: 1 hour, 38 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's a guaranteed mood-boost

    previously reviewed here, and mentioned another dozen times...
IMDB: 7.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 73% Audience: 87%
my IMDB: 8/10

AFI: 100 Years…100 Laughs (2000) #71 

    10 Top 10 (2008) Sports #7

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "'Where'd it go?'

    'Right in the lumberyard.'" 

directed by: Harold Ramis

my notes: it's not supposed to be great cinema, just a good time. Chevy Chase is marvelous in this persona, believably and attractively loosey-goosey. Ted Knight had such a delightful presence, a way with the supercilious and over-the-top. Rodney Dangerfield (never my choice) was so unabashed and brave! It's one big funny, silly, ridiculous laugh. 

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I disagree.

overall: always recommended

Wrath of Man (2021) - "Having barely passed the qualification exam, taciturn, inscrutable, and physically intimidating Patrick Hill (just called "H") starts working for Fortico Security, an armoured vehicle company specialising in guarding and transporting millions of dollars across Los Angeles. But, in this business, nobodies like H are the prey and not the predators, and before long, armed-to-the-teeth assailants try to rob his truck, only to die at his hands with pinpoint accuracy, in a flawlessly orchestrated ballet of bullets and death. Indeed, there is more to H than meets the eye, making Fortico's instant hero someone you don't want to mess with. Whose side is he on?"
length: 1 hour, 59 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I've seen a lot of martial arts and historicals lately, and wanted a more standard action film 

    previously reviewed here
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 68% Audience: 90%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: R (sometimes I don't even bother verifying)

notable quote: "'What you want us to do?'

    'You can do whatever the fuck you like.'"

directed by: Guy Ritchie

my notes: bleak, black, dark. My favorite of Jason Statham's films are about revenge and redemption. They revolve around the heart at the center of a storm. This one is different. It's not about a heart, though it's not empty space, either. Hard to understand, harder to describe, this is an engrossing, fascinating movie. H is a deep, chilling cat. His colleagues at the armored car company are a little silly, very competitive, clearly scared and hiding it, and also bitter as Hell. My favorites of the cast, besides Statham: Eddie Marsan (mild, smart Terry), Gerald Tyler (small-role/big impression Armourer), Darrell D'Silva (unique Mike), and Babs Olusanmokun (frightened but cheeky Moggy). And Andy Garcia (Mr. King).

    The RogerEbert.com review is here, which I found funny (and accurate). 

[H's] cell phone’s ring tone is a sample from Wagner’s "Ride of the Valkyries", and there’s zero indication that H picked it because he thought it was funny. He looks like a guy who laughed four times in the 1990s and decided it wasn’t for him.

overall:  recommended

Wasabi (2001) - "Jean Reno stars as Hubert Fiorentini, a gruff, world-weary French police detective whose life takes an unexpected turn when he’s summoned to Japan for the reading of his former lover’s will. There, he learns that she has died under mysterious circumstances—and that he has a spirited teenage daughter he never knew existed. As Hubert tries to connect with her amid Tokyo’s chaotic energy, he’s drawn into a web of corruption and intrigue tied to her mother’s past, blending sharp action, fish-out-of-water comedy, and moments of surprising tenderness."
length: 1 hour, 34 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's been ages since I've seen it, and I was surprised to realize I hadn't reviewed it
IMDB: 6.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 44% Audience: 69%
my IMDB: 8/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "'Does 'Takanawa' mean anything to you?'

    'Yes, of course!'

    'You will find him inside ... lying down. He and a few of his men were trying a holdup, so I had to ... dissuade them.'"

directed by: Gérard Krawczyk

my notes:  Wasabi is silly, stylized, violent chaos, and I love it. Jean Reno is baleful, world-weary Hubert, a cop with a serious anger management issue. This is revealed through his dramatically excessive punching and creative weaponry. See, e.g., the exquisite golf club scene (below). 

    I was charmed by Ryôko Hirosue as Yumi. She excels at a wide range of emotional work; the scene at the crematorium is brilliantly subtle. I also liked Michel Muller as Momo, a classic Reno sidekick with excellent timing and expression.

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I strongly disagree—even though it is hilariously written.

It is a thriller trapped inside a pop comedy set in Japan, and gives Reno a chirpy young co-star who bounces around him like a puppy on visiting day at the drunk tank. She plays his daughter, and he’s supposed to like her, but sometimes he looks like he hopes she will turn into an aspirin. 

overall:  happily recommended

 

 

[the title quotation is from Caddyshack]

my love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees

1. If you could have any view in the world visible from your bed, what would it be? 

    a backyard filled with wildflowers and trees—surrounded by a wall 50 feet high and embedded with razor wire and broken glass 

 

2. If you were to pick a city whose character best represents your own personality, which would you choose? 

     Lawrence, Kansas: bookish, goofy, foody, liberal, walk-friendly

 

3. If you could have a single button beside your bed that did one thing, what would you want it to do? 

    change the temperature inside the bed 

 

4. If you could have prevented one book from ever having been written, which book would it be?

    there is no good answer to this question. There are easy answers that require no thought (e.g. Mein Kampf) and hard answers that reveal more about one's personality but are still, in essence, judgmental and pro-censorship—and none that satisfactorily grasp the spirit of the exercise. 

 

5. If you could have had one person in your life be less candid than they were (or are), who would it be? 

    Nick was candid to the point of brutality, albeit unintentionally. The guy used a snowplow where a spatula would do.  

 

6. If in order to save your life, someone you know had to donate their heart to you (without dying), whose heart would you want inside yourself? 

    my former physical therapist, the most open and sunny soul

 

7. If you could cause any single person to change their mind about one thing or on one topic, who would you pick?

    the current vice president of the United States.  

 

[from If2: 500 New Questions for the game of life; the title quotation is by Emily Brontë, from Wuthering Heights]

beautiful as days can be

My sorrow, when she’s here with me, 

    Thinks these dark days of autumn rain 

Are beautiful as days can be; 

She loves the bare, the withered tree; 

    She walks the sodden pasture lane. 

 

Her pleasure will not let me stay. 

    She talks and I am fain to list: 

She’s glad the birds are gone away, 

She’s glad her simple worsted grey 

    Is silver now with clinging mist. 

 

The desolate, deserted trees, 

    The faded earth, the heavy sky, 

The beauties she so truly sees, 

She thinks I have no eye for these, 

    And vexes me for reason why. 

 

Not yesterday I learned to know 

    The love of bare November days 

Before the coming of the snow, 

But it were vain to tell her so,      

    And they are better for her praise. 

 

[Robert Frost {1874-1963} 'My November Guest'. This poem is in the public domain.]

for a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

More accurate than a Buzzfeed quiz; less accurate than your therapist’s raised eyebrow.🤨

 

🎃 Which Halloween Vibe Haunts Your Soul? 👻

 

Ghostly glam, creepy chaos, or pumpkin-spice mischief? 

Take this spooky-fun quiz to reveal your true Halloween alter ego!

---

👻 1. What’s your ideal Halloween night plan?

    A. Hosting a killer costume party 🍸

    B. Exploring a haunted house or graveyard 👀

    C. Passing out candy in your coziest PJs 🍫    

    D. Pulling harmless pranks on friends 😈

 

🧛 2. Pick your Halloween aesthetic:

    A. Gothic glam — lace, candles, and mystery 🕯️

    B. Classic horror — blood, fog, and shadows 💀

    C. Cute & cozy — pumpkins, blankets, and cocoa 🎃    

    D. Chaotic trickster — glitter, masks, and mayhem 🌀

 

🕷️ 3. What’s your candy personality?

    A. Reese’s — sweet, smooth, and popular with everyone 🍫

    B. Sour Patch Kids — bold and unpredictable 🍋

    C. Candy Corn — nostalgic and underestimated 🌽    

    D. Snickers — satisfying, but with a mischievous bite 😏

 

🧙 4. How do you decorate for Halloween?

    A. Full haunted mansion, fog machine and all 🏚️

    B. Minimal — just a pumpkin and some candles 🕯️

    C. Whimsical — cute ghosts and smiling bats 💜    

    D. Over-the-top — skeletons in every room 💀;

 

🦇 5. What scares you most?

    A. Losing control 👁️

    B. Being forgotten 🕸️

    C. Total chaos 😱    

    D. Real-life people 😬

 

Results in the comments!

 

[quiz generated by chatGPT; the title quotation is by William Shakespeare, from Macbeth]

every limit is a beginning as well as an ending

For a long time, I was the fascinated one, and he the admired. 

 

I marveled at his ease, his sureness, the way his confidence filled a room and left no corner uncertain. I watched with rapt attention. I wrote letters, small devotions in ink on paper. I scoured the earth for the perfect gift. I traveled to visit him. He cooked for me. He liked to feed people—meat seared, wine poured—and I, in turn, fed him with words. 

 

This blog was the one place where our balance reversed. Here, he became the reader and I, the voice. For years he read everything, faithfully, each post a continuation of our conversation. You make me think, he said once. You're so smart, and still so fun. 

 

Then, over time, he stopped following. "I really need to catch up," he'd say—but never did. "I really ought to take a weekend to read everything." That was the quiet red flag, when the mutual interest began to leak out through invisible seams. 

 

At first I mistook my hurt for vanity, my ego stinging at being less admired. But that wasn't it. It wasn't about being read every single day, every single post; it was about being prioritized. Mutual attention and admiration had been the bridge between us, and when it fell into disrepair, I realized how much of myself had been crossing it. How much of the effort had been mine alone.

 

What I felt was not wounded pride, but the grief of unreciprocated curiosity—the powerful ache of loss when someone stops wondering about you. Because love, at its most alive, is made of wonder: not only "I love who you are", but "I love the revelation of who you are becoming". 

 

When that discovery ended, something within me turned its face toward a different sun. I began to write (and blog) more, not less. I formed new patterns, habits, and small rituals just for me. I sought spaces where my own curiosity could breathe freely again—places where thought could stretch without waiting to be met. 

 

He had been the admired; I was the fascinated. 

But somewhere along the way, I became both, for myself: the question and the answer, the seeker and the seen. 

 

[the title quotation is by George Eliot, from Middlemarch]

angel of wishing, angel of fortune

How will it feel months from now

when the pink sliver of sky swims in 

through the window and you hear 

the high notes from the opera singer 

one story below. Angel of wishing, 

 

angel of fortune, the cart overturned, 

the small animals from the back 

of the truck flooding the highway. 

The keys keep making the piano be. 

 

I have only ever wanted the red sky 

to turn blue. It’s so beautiful 

when it sinks in. Hold me, closeness 

says. As long as I have sight, I’ll see. 

 

The walls of time dissolve whenever 

the lights are turned off. The lights 

that made the day so easy to be with. 

I fold myself away. No mirage 

 

of sirens hammering the glass front 

of the hospital down the block. 

Stars guide the eye across the sky. 

It will be like that. Again, and again. 

 

[Mary Jo Bang {1946- } 'How will it feel months from now', originally published with the Shelter in Poems initiative on poets.org]

what if you got all your whys answered? Would you be satisfied then?

1. Have you ever had a work-related dream or nightmare? 

    all. the. time. That's how my work stress keeps itself at a minimum--by playing out in my dreams. Some of the recent ones:

    * getting in trouble with a temporary supervisor for engaging in Teams chats outside those he created, and being screamed at (in chat form) by him that my regular boss (Lord Farquaad) and I are "bad communicators"

    * attending a conference which seemed to involve nothing except my three regular coworkers (Blackbeard the pirate, Lord F., and the gentle monkey) and me getting together in a vast conference room filled with round tables, but each of us just sitting on the floor in our own corner of the room, doing our own thing. We'd each brought one of our hobbies along, and were just quietly playing by ourselves. Each evening, we'd get together at the hotel's nice restaurant for a few drinks and a fun meal. The next day, we'd do it all over again. 

    * just working in my dream, knowing that I'm not supposed to be working outside of work hours or over my state cap of hours but doing it anyway, even sometimes knowing I'm sleeping but not being able to stop. It's not a nightmare, but it's also not the most relaxing sleep. 

 

4. What is something that you find completely adorable? 

Mr. Matt McCarthy

    Mr. Matt McCarthy's surreal cat art. I recently acquired one of his micro cat prints, and I'm in love. I've followed him on IG for ages. He seems like the kind of person I'd like to know in real life. His art is surprising, sometimes funny, and often soothing in a way that is hard to describe and wonderful to feel. 

 

3. If you could change one thing about your workplace, what would it be? 

    the need to work with certain people. Every job has its social incompatibilities, and the funky communication needs and patterns of remote work seems to make it even harder to get along sometimes. 

 

5. What is the craziest thing you have ever done to attract someone’s attention? 

    at the time I suppose it didn't seem crazy.... 

    I left a party in the dead of winter during a snowstorm wearing a shirt and jeans under a normal coat, but in only my infamous Eastland boat shoes and no socks. I followed a guy who was both attractive and infuriating from the party to his house, arguing and kicking snow at him. 

    He's still infuriating (and attractive) but in the intervening years we've learned to channel all that into what is prehaps one of the finest friendships ever to develop.  

 

6. Which family event would you love to relive? 

    my wedding. I'd love to be able to go back to that day and actually enjoy it all—but from the outside looking in rather than as the focus of attention. It's the last time I would see some of those people, and I'd do it in an instant if I could.

 

7. Which of your current (or most recent) significant other's friends do you find most attractive? 

     a big, blond, pink-cheeked farmer. He's very handsome, kind, and interested in me as a person. If things had been different, he and I might have made a pretty good couple.

 

8. Who in your office would survive a zombie apocalypse and why? 

     Blackbeard, for sure. He's not a "prepper" or a weapons nut, but he's more ready than most people for whatever might come busting through the door. If I were choosing sides, he would definitely be my first pick for anything hand-to-hand or survivalist. 

 

[from here, divided and adapted; the title quotation is from Jayant Chopra]

you're so cool ... and so stupid

Average rating: 7.25

Tokyo Raiders {Dong jing gong lüe} (2000) - "Is anyone who he says he is in this caper that moves from Hong Kong and Las Vegas to Tokyo? Takahashi (Tôru Nakamura) doesn't show up in Vegas for his wedding; his disconsolate bride, Macy (Kelly Chen), heads home for Hong Kong and finds Yung (Ekin Cheng), an interior decorator, waiving a check of Ken's that has bounced. She leaves immediately for Tokyo to find her businessman boyfriend, and Yung tags along. Ken's flat is teeming with members of a gang led by Takeshi Ito (Hiroshi Abe), who are also looking for Ken. John and Macy escape, with the help of a crew of look-alike cuties who work for Lin (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), who claims to be a private investigator. He too is looking for Ken. Where is Ken, why has he disappeared, and who will find him first? "
length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: Tony Leung Chiu-wai is on the must-watch list
IMDB: 5.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 53%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

notable quote: "Morons! ...messed up my hair."

directed by: Jingle Ma

my notes: insane, stupid, funny, and kind of wonderful. Leung plays off his handsome suaveness beautifully. He captures a unique mix of (the cartoon) Inspector Gadget, Val Kilmer's supremely unselfconscious silliness in Top Secret! (1984), and some Sean Connery James Bond vibes. He is comical, terrifically skilled with martial arts and flying, and always manages to keep his hair looking smooth.

    Cheng was a surprise to me. He can hide his light under a bushel, but when he lets it out it's powerful stuff. I also liked Abe as the jittery, wacked-out mob boss Ito

overall:  recommended

 

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) - "It sure is fun when Charlie Brown and his Peanuts pals get together for the big Halloween celebration. In fact, it's downright spooktacular. ....
    "This Halloween is very special for good ol' Charlie Brown. He's finally been invited to a party! Snoopy gets to join the fun, so look out, Red Baron! Linus will find out once and for all if the Great Pumpkin will rise up out of his pumpkin patch 'with his bag of toys for all the good children.'"
length: 25 min.

source: I own the DVD (set)
I watched it because: it's that time of year again

    previously reviewed here
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 90% Audience: 85%
my IMDB: 9/10

MPAA rating: TV-G

notable quote: "'You don't believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting.'

    'Welcome to the 20th century!'"

directed by: Bill Melendez

my notes: cute, clever, and sweet, this is such a sweet memory of childhood. I love it.

Daytime Emmy Award nominee:
• Outstanding Children's Program—Lee Mendelson, Melendez 

• Special Classifications of Individual Achievements—Melendez (director) 

• Special Classifications of Individual Achievements—Charles M. Schulz (writer) 
overall: highly recommended

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) - "Detective Riggs (Mel Gibson) tries to settle down with his pregnant girlfriend, Lorna (Rene Russo), while his partner, Murtaugh (Danny Glover), comes to grips with the marriage of his pregnant daughter, Rianne (Traci Wolfe), to fellow cop Butters (Chris Rock). But they find themselves and their families targeted by Chinese mobsters, led by Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li). Riggs, Murtaugh, Butters and private eye Getz (Joe Pesci) decide to go on the offensive before the gangsters get to their loved ones."
length: 2 hours, 7 minutes

source: I own the DVD (set)
I watched it because: I've seen the rest of the series this summer, and wanted to get the whole experience at once
IMDB: 6.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 53% Audience: 64%
my IMDB: 6/10

MPAA rating: R

notable quote: "You sure picked a strange angel, baby. But I got the message."

directed by: Richard Donner

my notes: it starts in such a wonderfully intriguing way, with the Van Halen-spewing, flame-thrower-wielding, armed-with-automatic-weapons guy. Just too bad that energy couldn't continue. This is a slog. Far too many random, "heartfelt" moments at the most implausible times. I'm also not a huge fan of Chris Rock in this mode, particularly when paired with the abrasive Pesci. I did enjoy Rene Russo (she kicks butt) and of course Jet Li (gorgeous, strong, and flexible).

    Roger Ebert's review is here, by which I was amused and charmed. "Martial arts fans will enjoy a newcomer named Jet Li, who has a lot of neat moves."

overall: very mildly recommended

It's Magic, Charlie Brown (1981) - "Taking advantage of a newly acquired magic tricks kit, Snoopy decides to put on a magic act. For the finale, he turns Charlie Brown invisible, but he can't change him back right away. While Snoopy searches for the counter spell, Charlie Brown struggles with this bizarre problem, but realizes that he has a golden opportunity to finally kick Lucy's football. "
length: 24 minutes

source: I own the DVD (set)
I watched it because: it's on the Great Pumpkin disc
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: N/A%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: [approved]

notable quote: "You two'd better settle down. The owner of a cat next door just called. He complained about the racket that you two were making. He says it's upsetting his cat, and for you two to stop this racket."

directed by: Phil Roman

my notes: this is a "special feature" on the Great Pumpkin disc. I think I've seen it before, though it was not memorable. It's pleasant enough, but it didn't knock me over like the holiday entries. I did particularly like Snoopy's giggles. 

Primetime Emmy Award nominee: Outstanding Animated Program—Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez
overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Tokyo Raiders]

my hour for tea is half-past five, and my buttered toast waits for nobody

1. When was the last time you stubbed your toe so hard it brought tears to your eyes? 

    my toes aren't that pain-sensitive, as evidenced by my ability to break one of them twice by tripping over a stack of books next to my desk. Like, two different times, I did the exact-same stupid thing. And didn't learn the first time not to set stacks of books next to my desk. 

    More likely to bring tears to my eyes: hitting my knee on the under-side or leg of the dining table, or the corner of a coffee table. My knees are extra-pointy and that pain is shocking.

 

2. What are you "a natural" at doing? 

    • driving country roads

    • buttering toast

    • polishing my toenails

    • alphabetizing

    • cooking without detailed recipes

    • picking up the distinction between some accents, like Australian from New Zealander from South African. I know, nothing could be more useful!

    • making snap decisions (especially about expensive things, and more especially after excessive dithering prior to the actual decision step)

 

3. What's the story behind a time when you got locked out? 

     I can only recall being locked out of my dwelling once. It resulted in breaking a window and missing a birthday-gifted Cubs baseball game. And it was not my fault. 

 

4. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "fun"? 

    exhaustion.

    This is probably not a good mental space to inhabit for very long. At the moment, though, it's shoring up my reserves and getting me back to fighting strength. 

 

5. What has been your best work of art?
 

    The best work of art I've created is probably a photograph, possibly the one shown here. Or maybe the blog, as a whole. While a lot of the posts have been casual and off-the-cuff, some are beautiful, touching, heartbreaking, funny.... There's no other situation where I can imagine feeling comfortable saying this, but, sometimes I think my writing is pretty amazing. 

    The best work of art I own is infinitely debatable. Is it a print of a world-famous painting? Is it a photograph taken by a friend, professionally printed and framed just for me? Is it a hand-turned wooden bowl, brought back from Peru for me by my former father-in-law? Is it a snapshot of me with a friend, long passed, both of us bursting with affection? 

    The best work of art I've seen in person is a cross between one of Monet's water lily paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago or Mark Rothko's intense works at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

 

6. What's the worst tasting thing you've ever eaten? 

    probably something sour, a sensation of which I am not fond except a handful of exceptions (lemon tea or water, dill pickles, green olives). Or chicken mole, a flavor combination that confuses my mouth.  

 

 7. What magazines do you subscribe to, and how many of those do you actually read or look through? Do you throw any of them away unread? 

    Consumer Reports, which is a long-time gift from a family member, and the ABA Journal for a few months every couple of years. I read them, though not every single article in every single issue. I read CR more comprehensively than the Journal. No, they don't get pitched unread. Why acquire something on purpose, and then discard it without using it?

 

[from The Complete Book of Questions : 1001 Conversation Starters for Any Occasion; the title quotation is by Wilkie Collins, from The Woman in White]

you'll remember that it felt like nothing else you've felt or something you've felt that also didn't last

You'll be driving along depressed when suddenly 

a cloud will move and the sun will muscle through 

and ignite the hills. It may not last. Probably 

won't last. But for a moment the whole world 

comes to. Wakes up. Proves it lives. It lives— 

red, yellow, orange, brown, russet, ocher, 

vermilion, 

gold. Flame and rust. Flame and rust, the 

permutations 

of burning. You're on fire. Your eyes are on fire. 

It won't last, you don't want it to last. You 

can't stand any more. But you don't want it to stop. 

It's what you've come for. It's what you'll 

come back for. It won't stay with you, but you'll 

        remember that it felt like nothing else you've 

felt 

        or something you've felt that also didn't last. 

 

[Lloyd Schwartz {1941- }, 3. from 'Leaves', in Goodnight, Gracie]

commuters give the city its tidal restlessness

More accurate than a Buzzfeed quiz; less accurate than your therapist’s raised eyebrow.🤨

 

💻 What’s Your Work-from-Home Alter Ego? 🛋️

 

Working from home has its quirks—

some of us thrive, some of us improvise. 

Take this quiz to identify your WFH alter ego.

---

1. Your desk setup looks like:

    A) Immaculately organized, ergonomic perfection

    B) Couch, laptop, blanket—done

    C) A careful balance of tech gadgets and snacks    

    D) Wherever the WiFi signal is strongest today

 

2. Your go-to Zoom attire:

    A) Polished from the waist up

    B) Pajamas all day

    C) Comfy but presentable    

    D) Constantly changing because laundry is chaos

 

3. Midday break means:

    A) Quick stretch or walk outside

    B) Nap, obviously

    C) Coffee refill + scroll social media    

    D) Tackling house chores while on mute

 

4. Biggest WFH struggle:

    A) Overworking—hard to turn it off

    B) Staying awake

    C) Distractions (internet rabbit holes)    

    D) Background chaos (kids, pets, neighbors)

 

5. At 5pm, you:

    A) Shut laptop, log workout

    B) Realize you haven’t moved in hours

    C) Order takeout    

    D) Keep working, but promise to stop soon

 

Results in the comments! 

 

[quiz generated by chatGPT; the title quotation is by E.B. White, from Here is New York]

never stop fighting til the fight is done

Book Review 

 

Rating * * * *

 

Title: Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago 

 

Author: Max Allan Collins & A. Brad Schwartz

 

Published: this nonfiction book was published in 2018; I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Harper Collins Audio; read by Stefan Rudnicki; 18 hours, 43 minutes) 

 

What is the story? 

    In 1929, thirty-year-old gangster Al Capone ruled both Chicago's underworld and its corrupt government. To a public who scorned Prohibition, 'Scarface' became a local hero and national celebrity. But after the brutal St. Valentine's Day Massacre transformed Capone into 'Public Enemy Number One,' the federal government found an unlikely new hero in a twenty-seven-year-old Prohibition agent named Eliot Ness. Chosen to head the legendary law enforcement team known as 'The Untouchables,' Ness set his sights on crippling Capone's criminal empire.
    Today, no underworld figure is more iconic than Al Capone and no lawman as renowned as Eliot Ness. Yet in 2016 the Chicago Tribune wrote, "Al Capone still awaits the biographer who can fully untangle, and balance, the complexities of his life," while revisionist historians have continued to misrepresent Ness and his remarkable career.
    Enter Max Allan Collins and A. Brad Schwartz, a unique and vibrant writing team combining the narrative skill of a master novelist with the scholarly rigor of a trained historian. Collins is the New York Times bestselling author of the gangster classic Road to Perdition. Schwartz is a rising-star historian whose work anticipated the fake-news phenomenon.
    Scarface and the Untouchable draws upon decades of primary source research—including the personal papers of Ness and his associates, newly released federal files, and long-forgotten crime magazines containing interviews with the gangsters and G-men themselves. Collins and Schwartz have recaptured a bygone bullet-ridden era while uncovering the previously unrevealed truth behind Scarface's downfall. Together they have crafted the definitive work on Capone, Ness, and the battle for Chicago. --from Amazon.com 

What type of language does it use—technical, complex, standard, or colloquial? standard and colloquial

 

Does the level of language make it easy or difficult for the reader to follow? very easy. This is a smoothly-written book.

 

Did you like this book? I did, albeit from a bestseller/consumer standpoint, more than the historian point of view. 

 

If you could change something, what would it be? I think it's just a limitation of the audiobook format, but I lost the thread now and then given the massive "cast of characters". I needed to go back and forth between internet searches and the book at times, to re-grasp which side certain guys were on. 

 

Eliot Ness

What were your favourite parts? Eliot Ness is more compelling to me than Capone is, so I liked the background and action that was focused on him. 

 

Who stands out, among the characters? Ness, of course—an intellectually curious introvert who could fake extroversion when he had to. Frank Nitti, the logician behind the Outfit. Bugs Moran, the Northsider with a tendency to hide out when things got hot, who narrowly missed being a victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

 

What is your recommendation? great for fans of true crime, Chicago history, The Outfit and other connections, and of course for investigative law enforcement

 

5 adjectives you would use to describe this text: fast, thorough, fascinating, violent, satisfying

CAVEAT: the introduction of this book is terrible. Loudly and offensively dismissive of other works on these subjects—including the 1987 fictional feature film—that came before. There's just no need for that, especially in a book that takes itself very seriously.

    If any of the blog's readers decide to try the book, please just skip the self-aggrandizing intro, which isn't at all necessary to (and seriously detracts from) this work. 

[book review template 5 adapted from here; the title quotation is attributed to Eliot Ness]