Current Events

Mini-reports of recent happenings:

1. Saw Brokeback Mountain (yawn). Found it rather dull, and cannot at all understand how it is sweeping the rewards. I did not think that the relationship between the guys was either very believable or interesting, and thought the physical scenes a bit embarrassing. I thought that Michelle Williams (is that her name?), who played Ennis Delmar's wife, was fantastic.

2. Ate at Nora's (sort of a sad salad, followed by a terrific filet mignon, with obsequious and not very attentive service), Shanghai Garden (always good), Logan Tavern (should rare tuna be brown? no.) and Mt. Everst in Adams Morgan (best Nepalise food on 18th Street).

3. Sorry that the Czechs (boo, Jagr) beat the Slovaks (yea, Bondra)

4. Went to the Nextbook evening on Bernard Malamud (who? Bernard Malamud?), which was a passable but not exciting three way conversation between three author/intellectuals that for the most part left the audience out. The main question was why Malamud, who won a Pulitzer and National Book Award, is read less now than in the 50s and 60s, and whether is changing or should change. More about Malamud on my next posting.