Marriage Story

What the fuck? This Photoshoped image of Time’s Greta Thunberg cover was created and released by the official Twitter account of Trump’s re-election campaign!

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Drenching rain resumed yesterday at 10:30 and it was dark (!) outside. It was awful. But days like yesterday are rare in spite of everyone thinking we get rain all the time in this part of the world.

By mid-afternoon the rain stopped. The clouds remained thick and ominous overhead, but I got my shopping done and my will is signed, witnessed and filed. And there was a bonus at the lawyer’s office: Madeline’s five-week old baby, Otis, who really took to me, and me to him. Madeline was absolutely delighted to see how warmly Otis responded to me. I was in heaven. I love babies.

When I got home I burned an Aubergine perfectly. I harvested all the warm, gooey, juicy pulp to mix into the risotto. (I also add browned small squares of Aubergine later.) And I baked some soft tortilla wraps I’d cut into strips. They’ll add crunch to the avocado salad. And I made the meringue for the Pavlova (and it’s the best meringue I’ve made yet). 

But the big task of the day was de-leafing a pound-and-a-half of Brussel sprouts. I consider myself a lucky fellow because all my life—even in childhood—I’ve loved vegetables more than anything except fruit. And Brussel sprouts are a favourite. But this is the first time I’ve made a dish that involves removing al the leaves. 

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I watched Marriage Story on Netflix and now I’m an Adam Driver fan. He sings! He sings Sondheim! And it’s in an extraordinary scene.

The movie is excellent! I loved it and the whole thing is basically Mr. Driver and Scarlett Johansson. She’s great too, but she’s joined the legions of actors who’ve bought themselves new perfectly aligned, perfectly shaped, perfectly white teeth and it’s off-putting. 

The movie is fabulous, even though its almost like a documentary about how a marriage fails. But its structure, dialogue, cinematography and editing are ideal. And it’s not all dreary. It’s a very clever mix of comedy and tragedy. And oh how I bawled at the end! 

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Does anyone believe Andrew Scheer left his position “to spend more time with his children and family?” He’s still lying, even as he leaves office.

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OH MY GOD!  I love Rowan Atkinson. I love Mr. Bean. Charlise Theron? Well, she’s sure pretty. And that’s why Dior hires her to represent their brand. She adores, Dior. Well, some genius has taken Theron’s latest Dior ad and replaced her face with Mr. Bean. I find it pant-wetting funny! Here’s a link.

This is detail of an absolutely gorgeous mosaic of a tribal rug that is draped
over the grave of Rudolph Nureyev. I had the privilege of seeing  his dance
"Paradise Lost" with Dame Margot Fonteyn.