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Weekend Butler: Derek Chauvin’s ex-wife; the best American hotel for readers; a great unknown movie, and an Oscar podcast featuring.. uh, me
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Published: Apr 21, 2021
Category:
Weekend
THE LINE THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME THIS WEEK (BECAUSE I’M FEELING THAT WAY, AS YOU MAY BE)
All the people we used to know
They’re an illusion to me now
– Bob Dylan, “Tangled Up in Blue”
HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT…
Derek Chauvin’s ex-wife, at 43, became Mrs. Minnesota in 2019.
THE ACADEMY AWARDS… AND ME
It’s almost guaranteed that fewer people will watch the 93rd Academy Awards this Sunday than the 23.9 million who watched it last year, which was 6 million less than 2019. There are many reasons for the ever shrinking audience. One, the show sucks. Two, the nominated movies are increasingly not the top-grossing crowd pleasers. This year, with audiences locked down at home, the nominees are even more rarified. What lies ahead for Oscar? My friend Elizabeth Howard, who has been doing a nifty series of podcasts for ArtsFuse, asked me to mouth off on the Awards. The sound is a bit wonky in the beginning, but then we both get agitated, and I offer facts and figures and ideas — sample: “In 2020, streaming was the new sex” — you’re not likely to get anywhere else. And, of course, I pick the winners correctly. Maybe. To listen, click here.
THE MOST INTERESTING HOTEL IN OREGON
The Sylvia Beach Hotel, in Newport, Oregon, on the coast. “A hotel for book lovers”… with an oceanfront library, and no telephones, TVs, or WiFi in the rooms. “The allure is beach quiet — gathering one’s thoughts, writing, reading, and savoring the wonder of ocean and sky. Unplug, unwind, and sleep with your favorite author.” For a breath of fresh air, click here.
ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK
Bill Irwin, the king of clowns and a great actor, is busking. This time with tap shoes, a drummer, and a brand new hat. The shows are short: 15 minutes. Free, but you need to register to get the location.
Dates and Times:
Thursday, April 22 at 5:30pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm
Friday, April 23 at 5:30pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm
Sunday, April 25 at 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm
Thursday, April 29 at 5:30pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm
Friday, April 30 at 5:30pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, and 7pm
Sunday, May 2 at 1pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 2:30pm
IN HEAVY ROTATION
Mac Miller made this video when he was 16. A decade later, he died of an accidental overdose. My daughter wept. She wasn’t wrong.
THE MOVIE I MOST WANT TO SEE: “LUNANA, A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM”
A young teacher in modern Bhutan shirks his duties because he’s planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, a glacial Himalayan village called Lunana, to complete his service. It’s an eight-day trek just to get there. He finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers. To watch it, you need to register. Here’s the trailer:
THE WEEKEND NOVEL: 192 MAGIC PAGES
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo.
In an unnamed time, a Spanish shepherd named Santiago guides his sheep into an abandoned church for the night. There he has a puzzling dream: While he tends his sheep, a child appears and suddenly transports him to the pyramids of Egypt, where, he is told, he will find a hidden treasure — but just before he finds it, he wakes up.
In an Andalusian town, a gypsy tells the young shepherd he’s to travel to these pyramids, find the treasure and become a rich man. But Santiago is enthralled by the daughter of a local merchant; this isn’t what he wants to hear. Then he meets a man who also seems to know about the hidden treasure. The man radiates light from his chest. And he leaves the boy puzzled about something he has called a “personal legend” — and a “mysterious force” that conspires to keep people from realizing their own.
The boy is young, and his dreams are fresh — he sells his sheep and sails for Africa. Is he naive? Does he make stupid mistakes? All of that, and more, for what is a destiny without a test?
All this is cloaked in a story that moves considerably faster than the camels that take the boy across the North African desert. Warriors appear, and a haunting young woman, and an alchemist, and there is blood and battle and a kind of magic. It’s a hot, dusty, dangerous trip — a spiritual Indiana Jones tale. [To buy the paperback from Amazon, click here. To buy the Kindle edition, click here.]
