From the Arizona Notebook--Flight, Films, and Rain.... A Tuesday Journal

Before attending to weightier issues, it seems fitting to revisit last week's travels, to keep the spirit of Phoenix alive for a while longer....Especially since the weekend weather report in Chicago calls for (*gulp*) sleet and snow....

--March 6: On the flight to Phoenix I re-read a chapter in a wonderful book by Michael Pollan called "The Botany of Desire", which I received from our good friend in Maine.  The book is an unusual take on the evolution of plants, and how plants may have actually "used" human desire to thrive and multiply: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes, a motley quartet, are analyzed in depth.  The chapter on marijuana and the way it helps one filter out extraneous stimuli, focus on objects and sensations as if for the first time for an intoxicating effect, seemed relevant to my mindset on the anticipation of our trip:

"I will seek to actively 'forget' my stored-up impressions of past visits and take in the Arizona landscape with fresh eyes, and let it inspire me. I can keep work and home responsibilities out of my consciousness, and exist in each moment.  Of course, it is part of the fun to revisit moments and places I enjoyed before.  This time I  will look at them as though for the very first time."

--March 7: Oscar Night, and not a moment too soon because it rained most of the day, so we welcome an exciting indoor activity.  Ironically, on a night ostensibly meant to honor a photograhic medium, Mark and I took no photos today:

"The word for today was rain---rain, and cool air and clouds.  Better than snow and dreary gray: at least here all is green and not so bitter that walking outside is uncomfortable.  In spite of the disappointment of a sunless day, we share optimism and sheer enjoyment of being here and 'living the life' ,  not as tourists, but as we might in a blissful, self-sufficient, life of leisure without a nine-to-five obligation.......Oscar night was entertaining for the most part, and there were some laughs, if few surprises, save for "Precious" and its screenplay, and an "Argentinian film copping the Foreign language statuette..."Hurt Locker" was a surprisingly predictable win, a worthy, "serious" victor....We watched the film the following night, and it improved with the second viewing...it worked well on the small screen, where the busy camera-work was easier for the eye to follow, and the characters were easier to identify...Jeremy Renner impressed, grabbed my attention.  He has a regular-guy appeal mixed with a mysterious, excitingly dangerous streak...."

Tomorrow:   A few more anecdotes...and a look back.... The fig tree was my Grandfather's prize...and Lucy sat here and greeted the neighbors....

Your Humble Italian Oscar-fan and Arizona Traveler is back...A Look at What's Coming Up!

Buona Sera!

Arizona, like they say, was like a dog's nose last week:  cold and wet a lot of the time.  Although the weather was somewhat unusual (some areas have already had their annual rainfall for the year!) the trip allowed me to rest and recharge my battery for writing, power-reading, and getting on with life. 

Here's what's up in the next couple weeks' worth of posts:
--Pages from my Arizona Journal, especially my musings on old family connections that my trips to Phoenix always  inspire.
--These will no doubt lead to flashbacks to life in a family of Italians...
--On that line, I just started my Italian class, and hope to spice up these humble posts with old-world phrases and charm
--Oscar night!  Somewhat late, I know, but there were a few very happy moments, and a couple of genuine surprises.
--Some short takes...a second viewing of "Hurt Locker", my first viewing (long delayed) of "Ingluorious Basterds".

I also need to weigh in on some ticklish situations in Congress...and the health care vote and how my idealism has been eaten away.... and thoughts on new books, anecdotes from Chicago, and words of greeting and appreciation to my friends here in the blogosphere (and other followers).

Many of you have posted some great stuff..I have a lot of great reading to catch up on.

(There often is no better way to end a sentence than with a preposition!

Mark and I hated to return last Saturday. We had some rain delays in the midwest that got us home rather late....and getting back to work and adjusting once more to the routine, along with losing an hour (or two) for daylight savings time, has left me rather ragged each night this week.

I hope to share some of my writing with all of you from my hand-written journal (still the best way for me to compose...I guess it's hard-wired to my creative brain).

Not only have I continued to fall in love with the new homeless dogs at the shelter, but I have established some significant human friendships there as well!

Anyway, I look forward to my return to Arizona some day soon....In the meantime, I hope to honor your visits with some good writing, interesting thoughts and anecdotes, and a picture or two to elicit smiles.

Arizona Bound--And Logged Off-- See you next week

No computer, no e-mail, no blogs....  Just the TV for Oscars and the paper for news.  Hope to have some good stories to tell on March 15.....

The Oscars: Predictions; If I Had A Ballot; Likely Upsets?

Before I leave for a week in Phoenix Arizona, where I will be enjoying (or cursing) the Oscar show on Sunday in the cozy living room of my late grandparents' condo, I have my predictions, my preferences, and projections for possible upsets. (If you missed 'em, check out my take on the Expanded Best Picture Category,  and my traumatic Oscar Night from 2005.)

PREDICTIONS:  There will be no big surprises in the Top 5 Categories.  Even though Hollywood is doing its best to create some suspense (Will the new Best Picture ballot allow a dark-horse to win?  Will there be a "Hurt Locker" backlash? ), I think those expected to win since the nominations were announced will, in fact, take home Oscar gold;  and a week later,we will all wonder why we expected otherwise.


"Avatar", Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Mo'Nique, and Christof Waltz are going into the record books.  So is Kathryn Bigelow, who should become the first woman to win in the Best Director category.


Yes, even with the convoluted ballot, I just think that "Avatar" will have the edge in popularity, critical acclaim, and a larger volume of voters who worked on the film.  It would be the second year in a row that the Best Picture received no acting nominations.  Seems like a trend, even though the Actors Branch has the most members. And, as we saw in 2005, a film can win all of the precursor awards that point to an Oscar victory, and still fall in defeat. 


I hope I'm wrong!!! I love a worthy upset.

First, IF I HAD A BALLOT, here are my picks:
Best Picture: Of the 8 films I have seen, I loved "Up" the most.  I would rank it first.  In order after that, would be "The Hurt Locker",  with "Up In The Air" and "Precious" in a virtual dead heat, followed by "An Education", then  "Avatar", with "Serious Man" and "Blind Side" in my lowest rankings.  (I just purchased a used copy of "Inglourious Basterds", in case there's time to see it before Sunday).

Best Actor: Colin Firth--no surprise--I have written extensively about "Single Man"

Best Actress: Meryl Streep--Yes, she is exquisite, even in a lightweight drama.  It has been 27 years since her last win.  No one who saw her Julia Child has forgotten it.  

Best Supporting Actor: I have seen not one of the nominees in this category; this has never happened before! A combination of lack of interest or bad timing kept me from the films in this category.  Well, many Academy members apparently vote without seeing all of the films.  Based on the trailer, I'd champion Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger".

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique.  No doubt about it.  An unforgettable performance in a once-in-a-lifetime role.  I did, in fact, see all of the nominees in this category.  Monique's turn in "Precious" is far and away the best, and probably the surest thing come Oscar night this Sunday.

Upsets and oddities to look for:

--If the Best Picture balloting does in fact create an unexpected win for a dark horse, it could be the first time since "Grand Hotel" in the 1930's that a Best Picture Oscar will be the film's sole victory.

--There's a higher likelihood that, if the numbers come out a certain way, there could be a tie for Best picture.

--There is no love for "Nine" this year, but I would still like to see it win for Best Costume Design at least, a category for which is has its best chance at an Oscar win.

--Sandra and Meryl could cancel each others' votes.  Gabourey Sidibe could benefit.  That would be a pleasant surprise.

--Lee Daniels has a very outside chace of becoming the first Black winner of the Best Director award.

--Tired of the hype, and splitting hairs, voters choosing a "slate" could result in a sweep for either "Avatar" or "Hurt Locker". 

Enjoy the show..see you all in one week! 

La Boheme, "Moonstruck", My Grandparents, and Arizona

A wedding picture from 1929. My maternal Italian grandparents, Sam Triolo and Lucy Salvati, occupy my thoughts lately. This year, both of them (had they lived) would be 100 years old.  Married at 19, theirs was a life filled with humor, roaring discord and passion, extended family, food (ah!---long, long tables filled with food), and fierce love for their grandchildren, especially me, for that is how it felt then, and now.


This photo was used on the invitation to their 50th wedding anniversary in 1979. My cousin Peggy and I, both of us creative, with dreams of stardom, presented a skit in which we played the roles of our grandparents on their wedding day.  Sam worked for many years at Nabisco in Chicago; in the skit, my wedding present to Lucy was a bag of Oreo cookies.


Some say that I resemble Sam in his youth, and share his restlessness and volatile temper and humor.  Lucy was regarded as a saint by those who knew her.  I had the good fortune to have been singled out by this quiet, good-natured woman as the "apple of her eye".


I want to remember them in all of their many ages and moods, all of the good sense of safe belonging in the fellowship of colorful and eccentric friends and relatives, the times when hearts were broken and losses were suffered, but mostly when laughter was heard, and everyone talked all at once, and loudly, to my youthful amusument.  I want to share Sam and Lucy with you.  In doing so, I will reveal more of myself, and chart the path from my origins to my chosen roads to reinvention.


This weekend I will travel to Scottsdale Arizona, and stay in the modest home thay made, which they gave to my mother on their passing.  Lucy and Sam's spirits are strongly felt there.  I can hear my grandfather teasing Lucy, making jokes, talking on the phone, and shouting at the television; and see my grandmother playing cards, wearing her sweater even in 110-degree heat, and laughing at Sam's antics.  Being there will allow me to remember them more clearly.

Many brief stories will be posted here in the weeks ahead.  My journal next week (all hand-written, as I am unplugging and leaving my laptop at home) will recall their presence, even as I record our activities and my impressions of each day.


It is easy to romanticize their lives, which had more than their share of hardship.  But whoever I am now, I owe to their genetics, their history, their example, and even their prejudices.  Mostly, I just loved them, and they, me.  Lucy was direct in her expressions, with hugs, or more food.  Sam, always on the go, always with friends--he had a lot of friends--showed his love in a teasing way. 

Their stories will also inform my new-found love of opera, my lifelong obsession with movies, and my attempt to capture and preserve my heritage as I study their native Italian language starting later this month.

Emotions...listening to the Metropolitan Opera's live broadcast of "La Boheme" on the radio on Saturday; remembering how it was used in the movie "Moonstruck" with such mischief, and loving emotion; and how the family portrayed in that film was so much like the characters in our family and myriad friends.  The music was so beautiful it made me cry...and the menories it invoked made those tears nostalgic, and tender.  I will soon review La Boheme, and especially "Moonstruck", one of my favorite films of all time.


And then I remembered with excitement that the trip would be soon....


Tomorrow...my Oscar pics, and thoughts on possible upsets.


In the meantime, enjoy the trailer from "Moonstruck", featuring Puccini's lushly romantic and sentimental aria: