QUOTE OF THE MOMENT

ONCE LONG AGO

that's me and my mom down front,

behind me my sister Irene, cousin Rosemary (who lived in the next town, Orange, but often stayed with us) and sister Joan,

behind Irene is our grandmother Dempsey who lived with us,

next to her our Irish immigrant grandmother Lally, who lived down the street,

then Aunt Peggy who lived down the street,

behind her Aunt Mary, who lived next door,

the bald guy in back was the boarder in our house, Jack Dougherty,

in front of him my Aunt Rose, Rosemary's widowed mother,

and behind my mom my Uncle John who appears to be grimacing,

he was Aunt Mary's husband, a very kind and gentle man,

but he died fairly young of cancer

and this photo was taken I would guess not too long before that occurred...

all gone now, except for Irene and me, as in most of these old family photos...

JACK LALLY R.I.P.

One of my favorite realities when I was a kid was growing up in a clan with tons of cousins who lived nearby including one of my favorites, Jackie, who passed when I was a young man. Now his son Jack, who looked a lot like his father, has passed as well and a touching tribute by one of his generation of cousins expresses how so many of us are feeling:

"My cousin Jack passed away on Sunday on his 59th Birthday. There were 5 kids in their family, 4 in ours and like most Irish Catholic families of that time we were pretty much all the same age. We grew up in the same town, went to the same schools. Although as adults we don't get to see each other very much, I will always treasure the memories from those days. Jack was a handsome, kind, funny guy and I'm heartbroken for his wife Margaret, their three children, my Aunt Pat, my cousins Carol, Sue, Bobby & Pat and our whole Lally clan" —Michelle Lally Doyle

VITO ACCONCI R.I.P.

I first knew of Vito Acconci in the 1960s as a poet. Then I met him in the 1970s. This is the way I remember Vito. I only knew him slightly, but I certainly knew his performance pieces and other work in the 1970s when I was living in NYC and around the corner from his gallery. I admired him and envied his performance works' cache at that time, it felt like he could do anything and get acclaim for it among our peers. He was a pioneer on many levels. If you want to see why, google his art work, or check out the NY Times obit for some general history.

LATE NIGHT MINI-RANT

The term 24-hour news, especially when it comes to cable new networks, or any TV network for that matter, isn't valid anymore and hasn't been for many years. When CNN began, it actually covered news stories from all over the country and the world, around the clock. That's what other 24-hour cable news networks were imitating, at first. But now all of them are just 24-hour talk shows.

THE LOST CITY OF Z

I went into THE LOST CITY OF Z not expecting much due to mixed reviews, but...I left it grateful I'd seen it, especially on the big screen, finding it difficult to adjust to the reality of the world outside the film afterward.

Based on a true story the film is, for me, a true work of the filmmakers art. The cinematography by Darius Khondji—criticized for murky lighting because he chose to light interiors as they would have been at the time (early 20th Century)—worked so well on the big screen I could have kept watching it long after the film ended.

That goes for the acting as well, with Charlie Hunnam owning his character's determination, discipline and precarious strength so totally I felt like I was watching a much needed update on a classic Hollywood hero type. And Robert Pattison was a surprise, first of all because I didnt recognize him he so embodied his character, but also because he was so natural in every scene, as was Sienna Miller who also updated the classic Hollywood hero's wife role, not just by articulating the frustrated feminism of the time but by displaying strength of character and will that could have sustained my interest for the entire movie if the story had been her character's alone.

Though in the form of an epic—jungle exploration with typical dangers and obstacles, matched by the civilized world's version, class prejudices etc.—each scene broke with the tradition of the genre, especially in the pinpoint historic accuracy of detail and unexpected realism, while at the same time fulfilling the genre's expected settings and tropes but with dialogue that made their juxtapositions seem almost like poetic interludes, that all added up to an inspiring, for me, spiritual surrender to the infinite possibilities of any reality.

NEW FAVORITE QUOTE (MAXINE'S NOT HIS)