Bolognese Sauce

1 lb. ground meat--the best is a combination of pork, beef, and veal
1 onion diced
3 carrots shredded
2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. white wine
1 c. milk
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
salt to taste
This is a very meaty sauce! To start, saute onions in olive oil in a large cast iron pot. When they start to soften, add the shredded carrots, and 5 minutes later, add the meat. Stir every so often, and when it is on it's way to browning, add the white wine and boil sauce without covering. When the wine has mostly boiled off, add the milk--after it is reduced to almost nothing, add the tomatoes, cook another 15 minutes or so (I like the tomatoes to retain a fresher flavor, so i don't cook the sauce long after that, but to each their own). Salt to taste, and a quart of sauce to a pound of pasta works well. This can also be used in the middle layers of lasagna if you want a meat lasagna.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

This a warm remembrance of a dead friend and inspiration, a look back at New York City in the Patti Smith describes launching herself into an artistic career in the late 1960's in New York City in great detail. She already recognised a divine succession of poets – Blake, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Genet and the Beats – and she wanted to join them. She was creative and liked to write, read and draw. Eventually, she became the renaissance woman of the punks, a great rock singer and composer – but before that she had to fashion her look, her personality and her verse.
And to survive. She got a job working in a bookshop, she met Robert Mapplethorpe, who was the same age and just as poor, and they took a Brooklyn apartment together and set great store by the way they dressed; both had an ­innate and highly original sense of ­personal style. And he was fiercely ­ambitious and coveted artistic success.
In her careful, sometimes painful self-sculpting, Smith had found an inspired and equally determined collaborator in Mapplethorpe.

She obviously has a great gift for ­appreciation-- from the very beginning she was alert to influences that would help her to explore and to firm up her peculiar sensibility, which was at once edgy and lyrical, both demotic and hieratic. She was more relaxed about their ability to survive; Robert was much more ­anxious about money and fame.

Her love affair with Mapplethorpe, to be sure, had its painful moments, ­especially as they were both discovering that he was gay.
Her transition to musician seems, in this account, to have been disconcertingly easy. She bought a guitar and soon knew how to play it. She turned some of her poems into songs. She put together a band – and before long she was a megastar touring the world. Mapplethorpe produced a portrait of her that undoubtedly helped to ­cement her image; with her gift for phrase-making, Patti writes: "Robert was ­concerned with how to make the ­photograph, and I with how to be the photograph." Suddenly, Robert was showing photos in galleries attended by "a ­perfect New York City mix of leather boys, drag queens, socialites, rock and roll kids and art collectors".
Like that art opening, this book brings together all the elements that made New York so exciting in the 1970s – the danger and poverty, the artistic seriousness and optimism, the sense that one was still connected to a whole history of great artists in the past. This was a small community that was carefully observed by the media; it also flourished at the moment when New York was becoming the cultural capital of the western world.

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

Actually, it is not funny, this story. It is a movie about perspective, and how hard it is to come by when you are an adolescent.
Craig (Keir Gilchrist), a bright but depressed teenager who's voluntarily checked himself into a hospital psych ward after having persistent thoughts of harming himself. He is immediately overwhelmed by just how ill all his fellow ward-mates are and wants to be discharged minutes after he arrives. He is befriended by Zach Galifianakis (as Bobby), a man with multiple suicide attempts and little go9ing for him beyond his very wonderful 8 year old daughter. One highlights is when they do a karyoke routine in which the introverted 15-year-old both opens up and glams it up, lip-synching to Freddie Mercury while Zach Galifianakis — sporting a cape during this sequence, the second time he's done so in his past two films — backs him up by pantomiming his way through the Bowie lines. Given the setting and the uptight protagonist, it's a little too on-the-nose. But it also feels kind of right for this movie. A sweet-natured modernized One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest for the teen set, It's Kind of a Funny Story is based on a young-adult novel, so clichés can be expected.
How did Craig get into the hospital to begin with? The pressure of performance anxiety has taken its toll on Craig: he projectile-vomits at the thought of disappointing his dad (Jim Gaffigan) and quietly pines after his best friend's girl, Nia (Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny and Lisa Bonet). Then he meets Noelle (Emma Roberts, Julia's niece), a cute, lanky girl prone to cutting herself.
Craig packs quite a lot into the five days of hospitalization that follow, from recognizing his true talent as a visual artist (I'll even grant him his imagined rock-star status) to curing his dyspepsia, solving other patients' problems, and, yes, even finding a girlfriend. Imagine what he could accomplish if he weren't so depressed! Sure, it's wish fulfillment of a fantastic order, and easy to enjoy the simple and even kind of funny pleasures to be found here.

The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer

I did not read the first book in this series, 'The Tourist', but this book brings back the main character in that book, Milo Weaver, a covert operative for the CIA. Miles is one of the elite spies known as Tourists because, like visitors to a foreign land, “they appeared and disappeared.” Tourists are a secret sect of American agents that have no steady identity, no home, and not much of a moral center. Milo claims that he would rather spend quality time at home with his wife and daughter than traipse around the world robbing, maiming, and killing people. As espionage enthusiasts know, however, it is not that easy to quit.
The narrative opens in Budapest in 2007. A young and not terribly successful journalist named Henry Gray is enjoying the company of his Hungarian girlfriend, when he receives a surprising letter from Thomas Grainger, Weaver’s former boss. The letter states, “The story I’m about to tell you is dangerous to know.” Since Henry is a conspiracy theorist, this communication feeds into his paranoia. And so the roller-coaster ride begins, as Steinhauer dives into a tale of double agents, lies, intrigue, torture, and murder. Milo’s new boss orders to him to vet the statement of a potential defector, who claims that a mole working for the United States government is passing on vital secrets to China. Weaver endangers his already tenuous relationship with his wife, Tina, to ferret out the truth. He would like to close this chapter in his tortured life, but developments ensue that make an early exit strategy unlikely. By the time the last page is turned, it is clear that someone’s need for revenge has brought about chaos and carnage.
Steinhauer’s characters are indelible. Milo has a soft spot for children, but he seems to kill adults with little if any remorse and he commits countless illegal acts in order to survive and carry out his mission. Cynicism is at the novel’s core. Most of the men and women who work for various intelligence bureaus have no clear ethical code; like Milo, they do whatever is expedient. In addition, a powerful American politician pulls strings behind the scenes to further his own agenda. In Germany, a massively overweight, alcoholic, and brilliant woman named Erika becomes entangled in an operation that could have long-range consequences for both Germany and the United States.
The Nearest Exit presents a pesimistic world view without yelling at us that the world is full of bad actors; the author implies that for those who wish to face reality need accept the fact that in the real world, anything goes. Riots are fomented, governments are destabilized, women and children are slaughtered, and wars are waged, often for reasons that have nothing to do with national security. As Henry Gray says about his favorite subject, conspiracies, “If it can be imagined, then someone’s already tried it.” This book is filled with duplicity, violence, and innumerable twists and turns. It is a riveting tale about a man who would probably come in from the cold if only circumstances did not keep dragging him back to the addictive occupation that he claims he is weaning himself off of. It is a great read--I had trouble putting it down, which made for a couple of late nights.

Undertaking Betty (2002)

This is what I would call a lightly dark romantic comedy in the British style Considering the subject matter deals with death, infidelity and revenge, the film achieves a nice balance of the silly and the morbid but it all unfolds rather gently.
It is a comedy about romance and death, via undertakers, in the small Welsh town of Wrottin-Powys, population 7,500, the film starts us off in 1964 as we see a young couple clearly smitten with each other and the atmosphere only ball-room dancing can provide (stay with me here…). The shy young gentleman is close to making his move when a pudgy kid intercepts him. A hesitation that may have cost him almost forty years.
That gentleman is Boris Plots (the fascinating casting choice of Alfred Molina), and he is now 48 and owns his own funeral parlor in town. Still harboring a secret crush on Betty (Brenda Blethyn) and ball-room dancing, he’s still waiting for the perfect chance to make his move…Poor, sweet Betty, meanwhile, has married the pudgy kid, Hugh Rhys-Jones, upon her father’s insistence. While poor Betty has been stuck at home taking care of Hugh’s obnoxious bed-ridden mother, Hugh (Robert Pugh) has become the pompous town mayor and has been carrying on an affair with his secretary sexpot (Naomi Watts).
When Betty’s mother-in-law croaks, during an episode of Jerry Springer no less (a town favorite it seems), Boris finally gets his chance to alleviate a heavy heart. Naïve Betty returns his feelings but wants no harm to come to Hugh and his reputation so an elaborate plan is concocted. They will fake her death and run off together. Simple, right? Hmm...of course not, but that is when you realize you are in a dark comedy, but not too dark a one.
In a subplot that holds the most laughs, Chris Walken and Lee Evans are Frank Featherbed and assistant, competing morticians who think of funerals as “fun-erals”. “The root word of funeral is fun” notes Frank. He is a slightly off-kilter guy who thinks every funeral needs a theme and also likes to offer discounts of the “buy one funeral get the next one half off” variety. A particularly funny episode involves a widow who makes the mistake of mentioning Star Trek as the favorite show of his recently deceased spouse…this pre-dates 'Hairspray', but it is always great to see Christopher Walken dance rather than being super-creepy.
The movie is a 'feel good' movie, with everyone getting their come uppance in the end.

Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

I loved this book. I am not alone. It was perhaps the best-reviewed book of the year in any genre. The great revelation of this volume is not so much what it tells us about the last great queen of Egypt -- she is, after all, one of a handful of women in human history that is still fascinating, despite the near-absence of primary sources of information about her life -- but about Schiff’s ability as a storyteller.She is an authoritative and supremely elegant writer. Really, if you have never liked a biography, try this one.
Schiff’s command of her material impressive, but it is her quietly dramatic writing style, the sentences often building on each other, that is so engaging. “Alexandria is flatter today than it was in Cleopatra's lifetime,” begins one of these mounting sequences. “It is oblivious to its ancient street plan; it no longer gleams white. The Nile is nearly two miles farther east. The dust, the sultry sea air, Alexandria’s melting purple sunsets, are unchanged. Human nature remains remarkably consistent, the physics of history immutable. Firsthand accounts continue to diverge wildly. For well over two thousand years, a myth has been able to outrun and outlive a fact.”
And so it goes--the woman who bore children by two of the most powerful men of her age, Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, while she led her country in a time of peril is still a wonderful story.

Spicy Indonesian Squash Soup

2 tsp. olive oil
8 c. stock
4 c. squash, carrots, or yams
2 potatoes diced
1 c. cilantro
2 Tbs. grated ginger
1 c. diced onion
6 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. curry
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/3 c. peanut butter
salt to taste

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a soup pot. When the onions are softening, add cumin, cayenne, and your favorite curry blend and cook a few minutes more. Then add stock, cilantro, potato, and the orange root vegetables of your choice. Simmer until the vegetables are soft. Add peanut butter, and mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste. Puree, and serve. This is a slightly spicy, slightly nutty, slightly sweet soup. You can add lemon at the end to brighten the flavor up a bit if you like.

The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason

I am not a classics scholar. So my tolerance for potential heresy is very high. An academic might feel differently about a first time author exploring Odysseus alternative narratives.
Mason embraces all of Greek mythology, and the nuance and ingenuity of his riffs and remixes confirm his command of the material. He speaks as Achilles, the Cyclops Polyphemus and the loyal swineherd Eumaios; recasts the story of Persephone and Hades with Helen and Paris in the lead roles; makes Theseus a time-traveler; sends Achilles on a mission to conquer a decidedly un-Greek heaven.
Mason’s renditions of Odysseus is extensive — they are comic, dead, doubled, ghosts, amnesiacs — but when the need arises, he provides an exquisite Homeric version, dripping with all the poetry that that entails. “I will make your friend there as alive as you are,” the hero, referring to a dead Patroclus, assures a “clay simulacrum” of Achilles in “The Myrmidon Golem,” a mash-up of Greek mythology and Jewish folklore. Then, true to his word, he kills the golem. An equally wily, voice-throwing Odysseus fools the Fates into giving him better than he deserves in “One Kindness.” Such moments center the reader, fortify his reserves for the journeys to come and are fabulous to read.
Mason’s imagination soars and his language is wonderful. He is a writer much like his protagonist: prone to crash landings, but resourceful and eloquent enough to find his way home.

Red (2010)

This movie is chock full of overqualified actors who are featured in the graphic-novel-derived, comic action movie, including Bruce Willis, over-underacting as former black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses, John Malcovich, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren, all ex-CIA who have worked together in the past. The short version of this film is that it is very light weight, but true action comedies are rare, and this one does not make you wince.
So, here is the story. Retired Frank has been living a gratifyingly boring and solitary life in the burbs when his home is inexplicably invaded by a high-tech hit squad, which he methodically dispatches. Up until this point he's been periodically amusing himself flirting on the phone with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), the administrator of his pension checks.
On the pretext of a business trip, he arranges a blind date with her. In the wake of the attack, fearing she may also be implicated, Frank converts the date into a kidnapping. Sarah complains, but not too convincingly. Frank, is, after all, more exciting than the losers she's been hooking up with.

Besides Frank, several other top CIA agents, all retired, are also being targeted by, as is soon revealed, their former employer. (The film's title is an acronym for "retired, extremely dangerous.") Joe (Morgan Freeman), terminally ill but still game, is living in a nursing home; Malkovich's Marvin, the unwitting recipient of long-ago LSD experiments conducted by the CIA, stows himself in a camouflaged bunker; Mirren's Victoria, looking like a cross between Martha Stewart and Margaret Thatcher, has a queenly decorum.
In order for it to work, one should not take 'Red' seriously on any level. Whenever it touches on the real world – whenever it brings up torture and terrorism and assassination of US leaders – it loses its bearings.

By not taking themselves too seriously, they provide an alternate-­universe romper room that harks back to the comfy days of cold warriorism. "RED," in fact, features a Russian operative and former cold-war spy, Brian Cox's Ivan, who's as warm and fuzzy as a teddy bear.

The Price of Altruism by Oren Harman

This book presents a wealth of scientific research bearing on forms of cooperation, helpfulness, even self-sacrifice among many species. Altruism was “an anomalous thorn in Darwin’s side,” Harman argues, a conundrum that Darwinians would need to solve, given their view of the ruthless struggle among living beings for survival:
Harman offers vivid accounts of the lives and writings of a number of evolutionary biologists who have sought answers to such questions, showing how they have intersected with the remarkable career of one man who took questions about altruism to heart as few others have: “the forgotten American genius George Price, atheist-chemist and drifter turned religious evolutionary–mathematician and derelict.”
The man had an incredible work history at a very interesting time in science. Born in 1922, he earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Chicago, even as he worked on uranium enrichment in the Manhattan Project. He went on to do research at Bell Labs, then at the Radioisotope Lab at the Minnesota Veterans Administration Hospital, and later at IBM, while engaging in often vehement controversies about topics such as extrasensory perception and U.S.-Soviet relations. It was only in 1967, after he moved to London and was appointed to a position at the Galton Laboratory, that he focused ever more intensely on problems of altruism.
Harman describes (with three appendices that set forth and elucidate the stages of the equation itself in the context of related ones) how Price arrived at his equation, aiming to explain how natural selection works at different levels at the same time, whether among genes, cells, individuals, families, groups, or even species.
The book’s title also bespeaks the personal cost for Price himself of his struggles during the London years--which I hate to sound like a psychiatrist, but I think had a mental health origin. He ended up living in squalor amongst the marginalized people of society. But his work on altruism is fascinating.