Talk To Me

On a cold winter’s day a couple of weeks ago, The Leopard and his two cubs were strolling on the streets of Harlem when, stopping at traffic light, I spotted an elderly homeless woman, dressed in mounds of rags shouting directly into one of those 9 1/2 foot futuristic kiosks you see on many street corners in NYC these days. They were made to replace payphones and provide wi fi service, and are charging stations for cell phones. 

These metal totems bring to mind the obelisks seen in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey,  - only equipped with large, brightly lit touch screens featuring colorful graphics – maps and neighborhood info. Also there’s a red panic button installed with an intercom so that pedestrians can call in emergencies via 911 from the street.

As we waited for the long stoplight, I couldn’t help but listen to this lady loudly exclaiming into the kiosk all manner of grievances: first, New York and how filthy it is; how she hated all manner of people who live here and such; and how much in particular she hates her son-in law, her ex-husband, and how much her family in general never appreciated her; also, how she was in the FBI and the CIA and she will soon be revealing to the world secret missions she was sent on by George Bush in the early 2000’s.

As far as I could tell, the person on the other end of the conversation (if there was one) did not respond to her complaints.

I glanced back at a traffic cop who was about to wave us across the street. She smiled. “She does that every day.  Just shouts into that thing for hours about all kinds of stuff.”
“I kind of look forward to it a little, now. Helps break up the monotony.”

  
  

Woody

When push comes to shove, and the Leopard is asked what my favorite movie is, the same one always seems to comes to mind: Woody Allen’s 2003 film Manhattan. There’s a satisfying mixture of comedy and drama that has simply never been equaled in my mind.

Woody’s ingenuity when seen objectively, is pretty astonishing. Though the great comedian/writer/director is capable of the odd clunker, the majority of his films are quite good and at his best, pictures Annie Hall, Hannah And His Sisters, Midnight In Paris are arguably among most enjoyable films ever made. 

Having just read a wonderful book of interviews, Woody Allen On Woody Allen, I’ve gained even more respect for Allen not just for his inventiveness but his tenacity (as of this writing he’s written and directed over 50 films – over one a year).

Every film he creates, even the weaker ones, uniformly are produced: beautifully acted, intelligently written and well shot. For me, the opening of a Woody Allen films no matter how frequent, is a small event. With The Woodman, you it will always be something worth the price of the ticket.

Verrazano Bridge Blues

As the Leopard was riding the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan a couple of weekends ago, I began to reminisce growing up in the NYC area as a youth.   One of my earliest memories is of my dad occasionally gathering my family when the mood struck him, and as a "treat", we'd pile in our wood-lined station wagon and we'd drive across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge around dawn Friday or Saturday Summer evenings.  He'd look up at the lights and say emotively, "Look--Beautiful"!

As tacky as it sounds, I enjoyed this, because my Dad was seldom around during the week, working two jobs and taking classes. I think it was a a not-so-subtle attempt to bond with my sister, brother and me in some way.