The year started off like a stinker, from politics to a friend’s kid’s suicide so forgive me if I’m not in a cheery mood. But hopefully you take me in sickness and in health, from gloom to sunshine. I’ve always been an oversharer, when someone asks me how I am I am completely incapable of not blurting it out.
So, when I got on a flight Wednesday, I was hoping to get some distance from it all. Between the killing of Renee Nicole Good and my friend’s daughter has put my balance completely off.
But the thing about grief, there are moments of humor, and normalcy and then torrents of pain, that’s the segue into normal life. And there’s no way to get around normal life, it happens. That’s why I’m going to tell you, just go ahead and tell you what I’ve been up to— as if it was the most normal segue in the world.
What I’ve listened to:
Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me. Verdict: I’m on the fence. Writing is a little too reliant on cliché, generally, while much is intriguing —how does someone survive such a mom—I wish there was more insight than explanation.
What I’ve read:
The Willie Nelson profile in The New Yorker. Really good. Go Willie!
Just beginning The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits, and right off the bat engaging with a familiar voice and I’m kind of jealous of the ease. But now, it’s becoming bulky and overloaded.
What I’ve seen:
Oedipus. I was in the theatre’s last rung so even if I wanted to see Leslie Manville, I barely could (thank goodness for opera glasses). The staging was fantastic. The performances as well. Does the play work as an updated-to-now theme? Yes, mostly. But the tragic ending somehow didn’t seem as earned. Perhaps it really needs a Greek ancient setting to pull that off. However, I am a tough critic. The two straight hours sitting without break was effortless. In the end one of the best pieces of theater I’ve seen in ages.
Marty Supreme:
Did you miss that post? By the way, what I did not know at the time is that the shop owner mentioned in the piece, Jean Baptiste, was an extra in the film.
Where I traveled to: Mumbai! Better late than never; where to go on a 48-hour romp in Mumbai.
Where I ate and drank: Well, Bar Oliver. That was the latest in the What Would You Drink game.
The View— this is your hot tip from me (and Christy agrees.) The rotating bar that Danny Meyer took over atop the Times Square Marriott Marquis is a terrific place to take a friend, an out of towner, a date. A little camp, a little glam, it’s a hoot. And what’s even more shocking is that in a touristy hotel like that, you can even get a decent glass of sparkling wine from Arnaud Lambert; only $18.
I’m sure the cocktails are good too. For snack? Just go for the olives or chips. From what I could see, best leave the food on the menu.
The Disappointing Wines of the Week:
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