the list is life

middle of the week...my "to do" list is drowning in the mess of my pocketbook...and my mind wanders...the oscars are over...an end to movie awards season...but i admit, for me one of the guiltiest pleasures in the weeks leading up to the big night is catching old oscar-winning movies on tcm and other networks...they remind me of what sparked my love affair with the movies...the night before oscar, there was another "oskar" on tv...oskar schindler...and there we were watching "schindler's list"...no matter how hard i try for composure the minute itzhak perlman plucks that first string i am gone...and there are other moments...the tears flowing freely during the ending...it is twenty years since the movie won best picture...and as i pause to reflect on what that means i realize that as a society we are approaching a point where there will be no one left from that generation...no survivors...no schindlers...no one who looked the other way...or looked in horror, helpless...no demonic leaders...no sheepish followers...all will be swallowed by time...as a second-generation american...jewish american...there is always unspoken gratitude that my beloved family never bore the tattooed numbers or emotional scars of survivors...and yet, we are reminded yearly, on yom hashoah, and during memorial services...during poignant pleas from the pulpit...that it is our obligation to remember...and i do...

there's no business like snow business...

almost valentine's day and it seems mother nature shot us in the ass last weekend...we all knew it was going to happen...after last year's winter which was a no-show for snow we seemed doomed...but then maybe we all thought after hurricane sandy we were owed one...or two...no dice...there it was...snow...and lots of it...someone answer this one...when did they start naming snowstorms...and who thought of using cute disney names?...nemo was that adorable little fish...ask anyone east of the nassau-suffolk borderline and they will tell you it should have been named "winter storm you're fucked"...and now i see the weathermen (and women) almost whispering the forecast...afraid they will be strangled when they mention the word snow...more days of cold temperatures and frosty precipitation...i found myself closing my eyes and dreaming of southern heat...until i saw pictures of a tornado a mile wide eating up mississippi...mouth agape, subconsciously clicking my heels together...looking for margaret hamilton on that broomstick...then shrugging and picking up my two-ton snowboots and gloves...spring is looming in the distance they say...but i keep thinking....they shoot groundhogs...don't they??

bowling for dollars...

ah, the super bowl...as a kid i used to refer to it as the "stupid bowl"...these days the actual game is almost a sidebar to the ads, the halftime show, the money at stake...and the money involved is staggering...the cost of ad time...the cost of a 12 minute lip-sync fest...the cost of a bag of doritos...as a new yorker there was also a feeling of "who gives a shit" since there was not a giant nor jet on the field...and for me personally, being a huge fan of manning...peyton, that is...well, it was hard to get excited...there was the interesting footnote to "the blind side", as michael oher is a raven and now has that nice ring on his finger...the ads were mediocre at best...a far cry from some clever reveals of years ago...beyonce sang a little...shvitzed a lot...and shook her money maker...but left me cold...oh, and after halftime she announced a world tour...pinch me, i am stunned...then there was the blackout...which seemed suspect as it greatly benefited san francisco...for a while...maybe it was all too much...maybe it was the ghosts of katrina asking for a little humility...when it was over and all was said and done i took two images with me...the funniest was the raven making snow angels in a field of confetti...and most bittersweet...the sandy hook fifth graders showing jennifer, alicia and beyonce how it's done...showing everyone what real courage on the field looks like...now, where are their rings?