vic fortezza

I had another strange dream last night. For some reason, I was sleeping on a couch in a corner of a warehouse and awoke to a mob hit. The gangsters didn't notice me, so I hid behind the couch and covered myself with an afghan my mom knit for me ages ago, which I still use. The most interesting aspect was the clarity of the moral dilemma. I did not want to witness the killing, which would have me face the choice of doing the right thing by testifying or being a coward. I also feared being discovered and killed. Would I whimper and beg for my life or accept my fate like a man in my last act on earth? I couldn't get back to sleep. It was 2:30. Rather than toss and turn, I laid on the floor and turned on the TV, which is my cure for insomnia. One of the access channels was running Classics Arts Showcase, clips from opera, ballet, Broadway. I don't know that I fell fully asleep, but it helped. The only thing I can figure that triggered the dream is the troubling idea of fate, of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like those poor folks in the theater in Colorado. For decades I never remembered any of my dreams. In the past few years those I've remembered have been so vivid. Fascinating. I ran a balance check on my checking account this morning. Sure enough, it had increased significantly....

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from my health care provider, which included a check for $196. One of the facets of ObamaCare is the 80/20 rule. A firm must use 80% of its revenue on customers. It was determined that the company in question allocated only 69%. In a sense, it was fined, forced to make payouts even to those, like me, who had no complaints about coverage. I was happy to have the money, of course, but I expected consequences. Yesterday I received another letter, which informed me the company had applied for a rate increase of 5.3%. I had a scare this morning from my virus checker. I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free and doesn't take up the space on a hard drive that Norton or other software does. It has worked like a charm. I scan every Friday morning. Today the program spotted a Trojan. I wasn't that surprised, as I remember my PC stalling for a moment after clicking on a link, probably from a survey site. It's been just a tad slow ever since. I held my breath as the program worked to remove the virus. It seemed successful, although the machine still seems just a tad slow, but that might be because it's now three years old and has accumulated a lot of debris through constant use. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. NFL training camps are opening around the country. If I were a head coach, the first thing I'd...

I haven't been this hooked by a song in a long time. I heard Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know for the first time last week. It's a tale of love gone bad, the bitterness after the break up. It appears simplistic musically. In this case, the old adage "less is more" is as true as ever. Of course, it helps to have compelling lyrics. They are not as polished as those of the the writers of American standards, but they are intelligent and poignant. I particularly like the couplet, sung beautifully by the female counterpoint Kimba: "...But I don't want to live that way/Reading into every word you say...." Wow. It sort of reminds me of The Human League's Don't You Want Me, Baby, which I like despite its complete lack of subtlety. I was the daytime bartender at Hedges Cafe when it came out, circa 1980, and the fabulous waitresses were crazy about the song. Somebody... is lethally subtle. It is art. Kudos, young man. Here's a link to a clip of the song done live. It is as close to the recording as a live performance ever gets. That's not necessarily a good thing, although in this case it is. Stevie Ray Vaughan's live work occasionally surpassed his studio tracks. Some nights, a great artist will reach a rare height. That may not occur in a recording session. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YzGOq42zLk Speaking of musicians - I learned my great-nephew Ronnie has gotten his first gig under his belt. The...

I caught up to Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011) last night, courtesy of Netflix. Based on a 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, it is solid film-making, but it rarely soars. It is unusually understated for a Spielberg film. It is basically a reworking of Homer's The Odyssey, set during WWI, with a beautiful stallion at the center of the story. One big plus is the avoidance of gore, which probably would not have worked in such a feel-good movie. The deaths of likeable characters occur off-screen. One minus: German characters address each other in English. This is unacceptable in such a big time production, implying that the audience is jingoistic or too dumb or lazy to read subtitles. People at IMDb rated it 7.2 out of ten. I can't decide whether to rate it three or three-and-a-half out of five. The cinematography is beautiful, the characters are easy to root for, and there was a moment when I experienced chills but, overall, I thought it was standard stuff. It was nominated for six Oscars but took home none. Here's something that will likely have duffers, especially male, eating their heart out: Latanna Stone, ten years old, has qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur golf championship. She shot 70 in a recent tournament. She is four-feet-ten. The previous youngest qualifier was 12. Here's a pic of the mighty mite: The weather was glorious and business was good at the floating book shop. Several of my regulars bought and donated today. Thanks, folks....

I caught up to Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011) last night, courtesy of Netflix. Based on a 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, it is solid film-making, but the story rarely soars. It is unusually understated for a Spielberg film. It is basically a reworking of Homer's The Odyssey, set during WWI, with a beautiful stallion at the center. One big plus is the avoidance of gore, which probably would not have worked in such a feel-good movie. The deaths of likeable characters occurs off-screen. One minus: German characters address each other in English. This is unacceptable in such a big time production. People at IMDb rated it 7.2 out of ten. I can't decide whether to rated it three or three-and-a-half out of five. The cinematography is beautiful, the characters are easy to root for, and there was a moment when I experienced chills but, overall, I thought it was standard stuff. It was nominated for six Oscars but took home none.   Visit Vic’s sites: Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3 Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/ Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6 Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f...