December 22, 2024
# 1690
Adoration of the Shepherds by Dutch painter Matthias Stomer, 1632
Paris Orlando and one more author - Own work
Adoration of the Shepherds by Matthias Stom (c. 1650). Palazzo Madama and Casaforte degli Acaj, Turin, Italy
Love, peace, hope: truisms all. Except at Christmas when, to a person, the world seems to truly refresh itself, temporarily becoming human, or what we define as human. We sing, give objects or services of value to those close to us, buy and decorate stuff, particularly trees, (live or plastic), play seasonal music, go to Church for spiritual edification, gather to share the joy, sing, plan and enjoy great meals, retell magical stories, and watch uplifting films.
Happy Christmas, my friends.
______________________________________
Commentary
The reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris, France, took place on 7 December 2024 following completion of the restoration work five years after the fire that destroyed the cathedral's spire and roof and caused extensive damage to its interior on 15 April 2019.
The most recent fire at Notre Dame Cathedral occurred on April 15, 2019. The blaze caused significant damage, destroying the iconic spire and much of the roof1. Restoration efforts have been ongoing since then, and the cathedral finally reopened to the public on December 7, 2024.
Notre Dame De Paris
Ali Sabbagh - Notre Dam De Paris
The 2019 fire destroyed Notre-Dame's wooden roof and flèche but left the outer structure largely intact.
Wandrille de Préville - Own work
Photo de Notre-Dame de Paris le 15 avril 2019 à 19h17 prise du Quai de Montebello
Sergio_Mattarella_alla_riapertura_della_Cattedrale_di_Notre-Dame_-_08
My, my.
Look at that white.
Centuries of wax and grit were removed to expose the original color of the stones.
Another visit is in the offing.
My Spotify Wrapped for 2024 is exactly what you’d expect from a straight white 26-year-old woman. I have no regrets.
Playlist of My Life
In the era of Spotify Wrapped, wouldn’t it also be a fun project to put together a playlist of your life – songs that propel you back into your fifth grade social studies class or the first time you felt a boy’s hand? Doesn’t mean they’re your favorite songs, just that you identify a very specific moment or person in your life to the piece. A few below, from me:
Constant Headache (Joyce Manor) – My first boyfriend’s favorite song. He was filled with anger at the world but also decent music taste, and at the time I thought he was very alternative and cool. He rode a motorcycle.
You’ll Be In My Heart (Phil Collins) and Because of You (Kelly Clarkson) – My momma. Our relationship contains multitudes!
Space Song (Beach House) – Speeding down the highway with the windows down in the passenger seat of a car packed with college kids when I was a freshman. Epitome of freedom, baby.
anything (Adrienne Lenker) and Sweet Nothing (Taylor Swift) – William. My sweet boy still makes me swoon six years later, and these songs soften my heart.
Dead Sea (The Lumineers) – Singing this with my friend from college at the top of our lungs while in the middle of the Dead Sea during a school trip to Israel / Palestine.
Puff the Magic Dragon(Peter, Paul, and Mary) – My dad told me the story of Puff often when I was a kid. Will make me cry and think of him and the happiest moments of my childhood every time.
______________________________________
Tucker’s Corner
Anora
Sean Baker’s Anora is a movie about the way people look at each other, though it may not seem that way on the surface. It follows an eventful few weeks in the life of a stripper who marries the young son of a rich Russian oligarch, and it has an infectious, freewheeling energy that feels like a comedy that’s gone wonderfully off the rails. It feels like 21st century screwball. There’s certainly some of that, but there’s also a growing network of glances throughout Anora that places it in another tradition. It’s a film about exploitation and labor.
When Ani (Mikey Madison) first meets Ivan (Mark Eidelstein), he’s a kid throwing money around New York’s HQ Gentlemen’s Club and asking for a private dancer who knows Russian. Ani, who doesn’t like to speak the Russian she learned from talking to her immigrant grandmother in Brighton Beach, goes to his side and finds herself charmed by his vivaciousness (and, yes, his money). “This is not allowed, but I like you,” she says, and takes her thong off while giving him a lap dance. He yells, “God bless America!” She pops her bubblegum nonchalantly.
Wisely, Baker has already spent some time showing us the workings of this club and the many different clients who come here: the old married guys, the awkward young guys, the ones who try to make conversation, the ones who remind the dancers of Jeffrey Dahmer. There’s a lived-in authenticity to the setting that clearly comes from extensive research. We see the ways that these women — always exceedingly polite and accommodating, able to put their clients at ease — interact with one another, their moments of quiet solidarity as well as their occasional rivalries. (One stripper gets on Ani’s case about having danced for one of her regular clients.) And so, we understand that Ivan’s youth and energy, as well as his willingness to spend freely, might stand out.
Soon, Ivan is asking Ani to spend time with him outside the club (for a fee, of course) at his absurdly huge compound, at his parties, at his getaways. There are private planes and limos and cocaine and fireworks and dancing and morning-after IV drips; Baker charges through these scenes in an almost hallucinatory frenzy, sweeping us along the way that Ani herself has been swept along. So that when Ivan suggests they get married during a last-second jaunt to Vegas, we want it to be a dream come true, not the start of a nightmare. The hesitation on Madison’s face in this moment, even as Ani finally says yes, conveys layers of confusion and hope.
The truth is that Ani has more in common with the human machinery around Ivan: the cleaners who come to vacuum his rugs and make his bed and tidy his post-party messes, as well as the Vegas hotel maître d who has to kick out the guests who were staying in the room Ivan decided he wanted at the last second. Ani might think she’s crossed over to the other side — she tries not to look at these other workers — but it’s pretty clear that the rest of the world doesn’t see her that way. Sure enough, word finally comes to the family’s minions: “A scheming prostitute married Ivan to cheat him and his family out of their money.”
We spend much of Anora with an ever-growing hole in the pit of our stomachs, waiting for the inevitable. And the men who come to put an end to this marriage fit the stereotype of the murderous goons we know and love and fear from many genre movies. There’s Toros (Karren Karagulian), an Armenian priest who works as the eyes and ears of Ivan’s parents in New York, the burly, bearded Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and the sullen, watchful Igor (Yuriy Borisov). But Baker, a humanist at heart, understands that they too are workers, just trying to get through their day and not get fired. Toros is already in deep shit with the big boss for letting the princeling marry a sex worker.
That’s when the magic of Anora truly kicks in, as things spin out of control and the picture expands in unorthodox ways. Baker’s work always has an improvisatory quality, though I suspect this is largely an illusion. The films resist the structures imposed on them, much like their characters. A scene that might occupy a few choice minutes in a typical movie might here expand to 20 minutes. A moment of tension might get unexpectedly defused, while a throwaway exchange becomes an extended screaming match. There are wild moments in Anora, as there are in all the director’s films, but they don’t feel like calculated escalations — they feel like real life letting itself in through the door and upending the narrative décor.
But the danger never quite dissipates, and the threat of violence still hovers over Anora. Baker never loses sight of the fact that all these people are, in the end, disposable to those with power and money. They each serve a purpose and can be discarded at whim. That too adds to the frenetic energy of the film: For all its charm, Anora is a movie in which just about everybody’s fighting for survival, and they only ever manage to succeed when they start working together. Baker has made a number of pictures about sex workers, and he dedicated his award at Cannes to them. Why is he so fascinated with such settings and characters? I suspect it’s because their world crystallizes the transactional nature of so much of our lives.
______________________________________
Chuckles and Thoughts
Where’s Abe when you need him.
______________________________________
Six Word Stories
Lonely heart seeks love, finds peace.
In the six-word story "Lonely heart seeks love, finds peace," the author conveys a journey of emotional transformation. The narrative begins with a feeling of loneliness and the search for love—a fundamental and deeply human desire. However, the conclusion reveals that the true fulfillment comes not just from finding love, but from finding peace within oneself.
This story underscores the idea that the quest for external validation or relationships often leads to inner tranquility and self-acceptance. It suggests that peace and contentment can be the ultimate outcome of searching for love, and sometimes, this peace may come from within rather than from external sources.
_____________________________________
Maximo Bistrot
We loved our evening dining at Maximo Bistrot in Mexico City: it combines the charming informality of a French bistro with the vibrant flavors of a Mexican haut cuisine.
The ambience is elegantly minimalist with natural light enhancing the warm and comfortable atmosphere.
A lovely dining room to be sitting in.
The restaurant focuses on using fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from local suppliers, with an emphasis on sustainability and quality.
The kitchen gracefully took a moment to smile.
A taste of rigatoni that was spectacular.
Wish i had a plate right now.
_________________________________
Last Comment
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!