Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Knick


The Leopard's current favorite show is Steven Soderbergh's The Knick. Set in 1900s New York, it’s a about a cutting edge hospital called The Knickerbocker which was one of the first to practice then – new surgical procedures. The story is loosely based on an actual place. Stars Clive Owen as the addicted and alcoholic head surgeon. Don’t want to give away anything else away, but the cast is excellent and the entire production – cinematography, costumes and the extraordinary electronic score by Cliff Martinez are all flawless - and it never ceases to surprise. Highly recommended.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Spider-dad


Years ago when my second cub turned 5, The Leopard arranged to have an actor friend surprise him at his birthday party in a New Jersey fast food place as his favorite superhero, Spider-man. Unfortunately, I got the call an hour before show time he couldn’t make it. So not wanting to disappoint, I put on the suit, and unceremoniously drove into the Burger King parking lot in an ill-fitting costume. I’ll never forget striding across the lot, entering the restaurant and the look on my little boy’s eyes,while doing my best Spider-man crawl-walk. I couldn’t talk of course because he’d guess it was his dear old dad. And maybe he guessed anyway. But it didn’t matter. Driving home in my 2001 Honda Civic, under the Spidey mask, I was smiling.