Boy's State (2020)

The American Legion has run Boys State, a week-long exercise in self-governance using the political system on the state government level, since 1935. High school students are accepted into the program, where they are split into two parties that run political campaigns for several positions, including the top spot of Governor. There are some big name people who have participated in this program, and while not everyone who attends goes on to be a household name, it will definitely prepare one for the highs and lows of the American political system. This is not a documentary that demonstrates that there is good in all people or that left to their own devices people will do the decent thing. Far from it. Since the program is only a week long, the ability to use sensationalism and flat out lying to ones advantage is a temptation too great to ignore. The parties here are the Federalists and the Nationalists, and while they define their own platforms, there are definitely kids who see this as a win at any cost scenario, and with only two parties there is definitely a winner and a loser, and there is none of the "may the best man win" at the end of the day.

A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet

This book is one of two books on the New York Times Best Books of 202 list that I am not entirely sure that I completely understand. The allegory aspect becomes clear, but there is very dark humor afoot in this novel. The book opens with a reunion of parents who knew each other in college, renting a big house on the beach in a seemingly idyllic setting. Evie is the narrator, and she and her little brother, Jack are among the many children who are subjected to the group of grown-ups who spend most of their time drinking and behaving in ways that inspire shame and dread in their children, which leads to them trying to keep their distance. The adults are “a cautionary tale,” observes Evie. On this, we can all agree. It is cringe worthy. Then along comes a big storm, a storm to end all storms. The parents do move to action, but it is all too little too late. Rather than running for their lives, they are boarding up the windows. They fail to grasp that the world is changing in dangerous and fundamental ways and that in order to survive, they too are going to have to change dramatically. The kids realize this and flee, but they are ill equipped to manage on their own, and a serious of unfortunate events occur. The bottom line is that there are many incomvenient truths to be faced and dealt with, or the next generation is going to be left with more than they can be reasonably expected to cope with. Powerful, frightening, and occasionally sweet.

A Moose on the Loose

In the past year I have gone on three trips, and all of them included spending time on the estern side of the Tetons. I have always loved this part of the country. I first went when I was quite young, back in the days when there were black bears everywhere in Yellowstone, and it imprinted on my mind. In later years, after the garbage had been locked up in national parks and bears had retreated to less populated areas (either by choice or y forced removal) I fell in love with the mountains themselves. Do not get me wrong, I still love the wild life and the thermal pools that make Yellowstone so unique, but the Tetons have long been a favorite.

So in this pandemic year, that is where I have spent my time away from home. There are a lot of factors that play into this, but one is hard to quantify, and that is the peace of heart that I feel when I am there. Part of it is surely the house and home and friendships that I find so satisfying. It is then quite fitting that when we were about to leave our newly acquired home there, trying to beat a snow storm before it closed the mountain pass between us and the airport, my very last glimpse was of this guy, who marries the mountain with the lives that live there, in my backyard.

The Mole Agent (2020)

This is a documentary that takes place largely within the confines of a Chilean skilled nursing facility, where residents are not allowed to leave the premises. The mission is to investigate whether or not there is wrong doing afoot there. The question is who to beleive, the resident, who may or may not have her wits about her, and the story told by the facility. The uniqueness comes from the reporter. Sergio, and 83 year old who has just lost his wife of many years, applies for the job of undercover agent to go in and investigate the claims. He is armed with a pen and a pair of glasses that he can film with, but he starts off not knowing how to work his iPhone properly. This is warm and disarming. Not all is perfect in the facility, but it is not bad. Sergio's reporting gives some context to what might explain some of the complaints, but he is also giving the residents an audience to speak to. The film viewer who also gets to learn about various residents, including Perdita’s poetry, Bertita’s love of autonomy, and Marta’s kleptomania. The documentary does not rely on a talking head interview format, and yet it has the same effect when it comes to what the viewer takes away from the film—-here are the thoughts and anxieties of different residents, thanks to Sergio's conversations with them. This is short listed for the Academy Award in both International film as well as documentary film.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

In giving a rating to this book, I am solidly in a four out of five star rating, although at the same time I feel like I might be being a little bit harsh. The reasons are two-fold. One is that the book has an unfinished story quality to it, which is there is a sequel or a trilogy to be had, that might excuse the book ending with all the dangling threads left unwoven. The other is that the story is so rich with depth and yet is so lightly told, that I find myself days later still thinking about the themes that it has raised in my head. Desiree and Stella are identical twins born in a predominantly black town in Louisiana where very pale skin is highly valued. It is unthinkable to marry someone with darker skin that you. Such paleness does not save their father, who they see lynched before them by a group of white men while they hunker down hidden in a closet while he is dragged away. They know to fear white fury. They leave home after their mother takes them out of school and puts them to work in a white home. The unattractive man of the house has no trouble helping himself to groping them, and they have to go or risk even more trouble. And so they go their separate ways, Desiree choosing to live as a very black woman and Stella adopting the role of a white woman. It is a rich, absorbing tale well told.

Tuna and Potato Salami

This is a Marcella Hazan recipe that we made over 390 years ago for the first time, but haven't made in at least a decade until just recently. It is simple, not much to look at, but delicious. Use tuna in oil if you can get it. 1 medium potato 14 oz. tuna in oil 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese 1 egg plus 1 egg white salt and pepper to taste Poaching Broth 1/2 onion sliced 1 stalk celery 1 carrot handful of parseley 1 c white wine salt Aoili 1/2 c. mayonnaise 1/2 lemon zested and squeezed 2 Tbs. crushed and chopped capers splash of fish sauce or 1/2 anchovy shredded sliced black olives salt and pepper to taste Boil the potato until soft through and rice through a potato ricer. Flake the tuna, and add the egg, cheese, salt, and pepper. Divide into 2 equal amounts and form into logs. Moisten 2 pieces of cheesecloth to wrap up the tuna logs (about 1/4 of a store bought package of cheesecloth for each log). Roll up and tie the ends with twine. Put in the poaching broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, then drain and cool the logs in the fridge. Best after 24 hours. Unroll and discard cheesecloth. Slice 1/4-1/2 inch and top with the mayo sauce.

All In :The Fight For Democracy (2020)

I am working my way through the 2021 Best Documentary short list for the Oscars this year. If the past repeats itself some of my very favorite documentaries for the year are on the narrowed list of fifteen movies out of which the final five will be chosen. So I have made an effort to see many of them before the final picks are known. That way I have an opinion. Stacey Abrams is the star of this story, and also of thise election cycle. Her steadfast devotion to access for all people to vote is inspirational, and in this film she gets to highlight her backgrouend, where she is from and what made her into the effective activist that she is today. It is scary story well told. It slowly builds and enforces its thesis that history is repeating itself. THE GOP believes it cannot win a fair election. They have to cheat. Gone are the days of blatantly unpassable literary tests and poll taxes prohibiting non-White people from the ballot box. Instead, the new voting prerequisites come wrapped in concerns about fraud. These new requirements—extra identification, removal from voter rolls for supposed inactivity and closing of polling places—were for your own good, we are told, so that democracy can function fairly and correctly. The Republican thesis is without facts, plays on fears, and is bound together by lies. The only way to fight them is to treat this as what it is, the new civil rights frontier, and in Georgia this year we got a chance to see what the future could hold, which is a democracy where all votes count. Scary and inpiring at the same time.

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

I did not find this book to be exceptionally well written, although it is organized and concise, but it is the book that made me really really angry about structural racism up to and including the present day. Rather than just exploring with the history of racism in America and exploring it's roots, as in Isabel Wilkerson's brilliantly written 'Caste', this book demonstrates the systematic racism preventing African Americans from participating in economic and social growth through the regulation of where they can live. This is the book that made me feel once and for all that reparations are the only way to start, just start, not end, but to start the process of healing the deep, entrenched wounds of slavery. Enough is enough. The country needs to say that we were terribly terrible wrong, that over the last 400 years we have been an oppressive regime for the offspring of former slaves. And it is not just your ancestors that did this, it is going on today. Those of us who say nothing and do nothing bear the blame as well. This book once and for all puts to rest the myth that racial segregation of our neighborhoods has long been viewed as a manifestation of unscrupulous real estate agents, unethical mortgage lenders, and exclusionary covenants working outside the law. No, it is the law and explicit public policy at work. The author breaks down, in case after case, that the truth is private activity could not have imposed segregation without explicit government policies (de jure segregation rather than de facto) designed to ensure the separation of African Americans from whites. The impact has been devastating for generations of African-Americans who were denied the right to live where they wanted to live, and raise and school their children where they could flourish most successfully. The author convincingly argues that the government and our courts, all the way up to the Roberts court, have upheld racist policies to maintain the separation of whites and blacks—leading to the powder keg that has defined Ferguson, Baltimore, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Black Lives Matter.

Green Mango Salad

We had this wonderful salad as part of a Vietnamese feast. It is bright and fresh and crunchy. It is balanced in terms of sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic. 1 large green mango (very firm) matchsticked 1/2 jicama, matchsticked 2 c. green cabbage thinly sliced 1/2 cup cilantro leaves whole or chopped 3-5 large mint leaves chopped FOR THE DRESSING 1 medium garlic clove minced 1 lime juiced and zested 1 1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar 1 serrano chile thinly sliced Instructions Prepare the dressing first for the flavors to sit and blend. Mix the garlic, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce,and chile together. The lime flavor should be noticeable, but not sour and the fish sauce should be noticeable but not overbearing. Do not over-sweeten since there will be some sweetness from the mango. Add sriracha slowly to taste. Peel the mango and cut the fruit into strings. Peel and cut jicama into matchsticks, thinly slice the green cabbage. Place in the bowl with the mango and with the other prepared salad ingredients. Pour about half of the dressing in and toss. If you need more dressing to fully coat the ingredients, add until satisfied. Allow the salad to sit for about 5 minutes for the dressing to set, then serve.

76 Days (2020)

COVID in Wuhan in the early days, this documentary chronicles the staff and patients in one ward on one floor of a hospital in the 76 days that the city was locked down. There are so many things to say about this disorganized and yet telling movie. The first is the reflection on China. From the way patients are talked to and treated to the extreme commitment of the country to staffing the hospital with people from around the country, you can see from the opening of the movie to the end when people are going home that this is an entirely different culture in every aspect. There is a respect for the elderly and a gentleness in how they are cared for in life and in death. There is also a system of care, even though it is a new disease, they are the first to deal with it and they do not know many critical aspects of caring for patients and preventing spread, but the uniformity of care is impressive. China bungled the beginning badly, but they managed the end game successfully. Contrast this with the US response to COVID. As we come up on our second year the daily numbers of new cases continue to be in the high five figure range and more than half a million people are dead from the disease. The danger of making an infectious disease a political football rather than what it is, a disease that cares not what you think of it, have cost so many families so many losses and for nothing gained.