Thursday, September 23, 2010

rhymes with savage

It's been a couple weeks at least since I was truly devastated so here I am in America about to attend my college reunion. I'll be wearing my shock suit, and plan to appear in black&white. It's an unbelievable 30 degrees hotter in NJ than in Frankfurt, so I won't even have to use make-up to highlight the impression of complete ravagement.

As a warm-up, last night I watched "The Road" with my mother. I read the book last year and like many people went completely gaga. Unfortunately, since I'm hell-bent on the negative this week, I found the movie woefully inadequate. It's a textbook case of how the depth and beauty of a book can get lost in the translation into film. My mother kept asking, "did this happen in the book?" And how could I explain that, yes, it did, but the book somehow didn't come off like a sluggish zombie movie. Why didn't it? Because of language! About 15 minutes into it my mother asked, "Why didn't you tell me this was a comedy?" She's a card.

Tomorrow, my alma mater is hosting a lecture on Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian." I read this recently, too, and must admit that although McCarthy writes like an angel on LSD, the gore became somewhat tedious. I'll be attending the lecture anyway because, you know, I just can't get enough.

This morning I'm off to my favorite museum, MOMA. The last couple years something or other has always gotten in the way, and there was that year or more when they were renovating. But thanks to jetlag, today I am up very early and ready to go.

6 comments:

Kathleen said...

You are funny, and I love your mom. (Tell her not to worry that a stranger loves her from afar.)

I have not read Blood Meridien yet, but I will someday. Perhaps I will avoid all the movies....

Sandy Longhorn said...

Good luck with the reunion! Love your "ravagement" statement. Hope the States treat you well while you are here.

Jeff said...

I avoid reunions - would rather face the ravagements of weather than the damages of time.

Have The Road by my bedside but made the unfortunate mistake of seeing the movie first. Now I don't know if I can face the book...

Good to have you over here on this side of the pond. If you like MOMA and contemporary art, head downtown to The New Museum on the Bowery. Some good, some bad, some to leave you thinking.

Enjoy your visit and the excellent NYC walking weather you seemed to have brought along..

- J.

Kass said...

You are a hoot and a half. Hope your classmates appreciate you.

ArtSparker said...

I like that about East to West jetlag, somehow it feels like a gift, those extra morning hours.

ron hardy said...

Black and white. Somewhere between Edward Gorey and Jules Feiffer. But there's way more color in you Sarah. Way more. smile. And your mother is pretty zany. It explains a lot.

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