In which we spend a rainy afternoon

Speaking of Robbie Robertson… 

Having been retired for over a year now, I have my routines pretty down pat. I’ve been doing lots of writing, as well as retrieving and archiving old family materials and the like. Throw in a nice long walk to listen to my latest audiobook and a good night’s sleep without any alarm other than Tik (pronounced teek) to force me up early, and I’m really not looking to fill any empty hours. Before the quarantine, I did pop down to a movie theater in the afternoon every couple of weeks, because I love movies, but obviously that has stopped. My point is that I find myself feeling guilty if I settle down to watch a movie at home in the afternoon. I should be doing something productive, sez I to me. On the other hand, there was a really cold wet day last week that seemed absolutely perfect to watch The Irishman. I mean, the damned thing’s three and a half hours long, and in a remarkably uncharacteristic move on Martin Scorsese’s part, it’s all about gangsters, so when else was I going to watch it? So I popped some corn, settled myself in, and went for it. 3 ½ hours? Passed like a minute. Never bored for a second. Of course, if Scorsese doesn’t know how to tell a story by now, he’s never going to. The aging/unaging of the actors worked quite well. In fact, the only uncanny valley moments were centered around DeNiro’s not-blue-in-real-life eyes. Suddenly they’d be sticking out more brightly than anything else on the screen. Anyhow, a strong recommendation for your own rainy afternoon. Or sunny afternoon, if it comes to that. 

Robbie R, to answer your question, did the music for the film. I also happened to see this, 

which is fun for old Band fans. And I was listening to an odds-and-ends Band collection from the vaults this week, so I’ve had Robbie up the wazoo. 

Speaking of Martin Scorsese, The Last Waltz happens to be one of the few concert movies I’ve ever gotten into. Kaz and I watched it together not that long ago. 

And one other strong recommendation: the Marco Polo app. If you've got distant family, this is a joy to capture not conversations but simply the fun active moments of the day. With an almost-three-year-old in London, daily Marco Polos are a lifesaver. For the record, we use Google Duo for video chats. 

What would we have done if this virus had hit 20 years ago? Or 40 years ago? The bind moggles.