I feel compelled to say that I hated “Parasite.” I walked out of the theater before it was over, something I have only done twice in my life. To call it a comedy is to define comedy so broadly that it includes using tomahawks to chop up children at a birthday party. It is grisly, tragic and unrelentingly ugly in its depiction of the human spirit. Neither the rich nor the poor are likable and, indeed, the primary lesson of the movie is that we are all capable of murder in order to improve our lot in life. It angers me that the academy chose this film over the many other fine films of the year. I consider “Parasite” a toxic cultural product that teaches us only that we are doomed and deservedly so. Never have I felt so removed from the value system of those who decide the “best” movies of the year.
Last weekend I drove through the Bohemian Alps to St. Benedict’s Retreat Center near Schuyler. Every January I go there with my daughter-in-law Jamie. We read, write and reflect on the year that is past and the year to come. This year we shared the Center with Los Pescadoros from Grand Island and a Mindfulness Meditation group on a silent retreat.
Once a year for two days Jamie and I are spared all responsibility. We sit in the solarium by the fire and read fat books. We take naps. Meals are provided and we need not speak to anyone but each other.
This year on Sunday snow sifted down on the lake and the pines beyond. By the end of the afternoon, I felt as though my inner landscape was as calm and pure as that of the snow-filled quiet world outside.
Last night, I walked on Holmes Dam. As the sun set far in the south, I walked through stubble on this 65-degree evening. The ice-covered lake matched the silver half-moon high in the sky. Feathery pink clouds appeared in the east. The Canada geese that winter here flew across the moon. As they called out their goodnight greetings, I could smell mud with a hint of spring. The Senate trial of President Trump is almost over. Tomorrow Iowa has its caucuses and Tuesday is the State of the Union. The new coronavirus will likely cause a pandemic. But on Holmes Dam I can only hear twilight sounds and the distant traffic. I am so grateful for this lake I could cry.
Happening right now outside my publisher's office...
www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/nyregion/fashion-district-seesaws.html
There Are Glowing Seesaws in Midtown and New Yorkers Are Losing It
www.nytimes.com
A quick pick-me-up (and drop me down!) in the heart of the busy city.