Two movies and Stephen Colbert

I think we made a wise choice to stay away from Manhattan on Sunday, where 300,000 people gathered for the People’s Climate March. Here is what it looked like:

 

In our younger days this would have been a moving experience. I am glad so many people cared enough to be there, yet I have to wonder whether this sort of outpouring accomplishes the goal. I hear the message, but, to be perfectly honest, I wonder how much I am personally willing to sacrifice. Could I live with less heating and air conditioning or less being driven in my own car? Is my pulmonary disease, with lungs that barely function at comfortable temperatures, just a convenient excuse for the heat and air conditioning that leaves a large footprint on the planet? I often ask myself these sort of “what if” questions, wondering what my life would have been like now without the pulmonary disease or the CNS lymphoma. Oddly, though, the questions tend to center on other unfortunate things that may have happened, such as losing my job at Pfizer during one of the waves of layoffs. Perhaps the moral of this story is that none of us can fully know what is around the next curve in the road. But climate change? That, we know. The only question is whether we can or will do anything about it.

After running some errands on Sunday, we then headed over to one of the old movie theaters in Westchester that shows independent films to see “The Trip to Italy.” Two restaurant critics, played by Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan, set off on a one-week drive around the Italian countryside, stayiing ad upscale small hotels and reviewing exquisite restaurants. This is the second such film the pair has done; the first was called "The Trip"and featured a similar excursion in the English countryside. There is much witty banter - unscripted - and a wide variety of beautifully prepared and served food. The amusing conversation and the magnificent images of the green, rolling hills result in a most enjoyable two hours.

We had a terrific last day before the full schedule of three weeks of fall Jewish holidays begins this evening. We had purchased tickets to see Stephen Colbert at the 92^nd Street Y interviewing the heads of Google, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg. It was a terrific chance to see him in what will be his “new role” when he takes over as host of CBS’s “Late Night” program next year. I cannot even begin to do this justice. Steven Colbert was a winning combination of sharp and funny. I had out a pen and some paper thinking I would take notes, but the conversation was so rapid-fire that I could not interrupt my attention to write! They spent some amount of time talking about Google’s plans for the future, including a pair of eyeglasses that have a chip embedded in the lenses that can measure glucose levels, eliminating the need for people with diabetes to be constantly pricking themselves.  

Since we were driving into the City for an event that did not begin until 8:30, we figured we would take this last chance to see a movie, and went to see “The Skeleton Twins,” starring Kristen Wiig (Maggie) and Bill Hader (Milo), which was playing near the 92^nd Street Y. As the movie opens, Milo has slit his wrists and his twin sister Maggie, who has not seen her brother in ten years, flies out to California to be with him. When he is discharged from the hospital, they return to the home Maggie shares with her husband (played by Luke Wilson) in New York. The movie then traces their relationship as they begin to know and understand each other following their long separation, divulging more and more about how they became the troubled adults they both are. It had some funny moments but was certainly not a comedy. Although not an entirely realistic story, it was moving and thought-provoking.

It is time for me to go back to packing for our trip to Sharon when Barry returns from teaching his class. I am not even taking the laptop with me. We will be busy preparing for the rest of today, and the holiday goes through Sabbath. So it will be early next week before I am back on-line, but I am sure I will have something to say; I always do!

Best to all for a happy and healthy and productive new year.

Love,

Rebecca