vic fortezza

The floating bookshop was open only an hour before the rain arrived. Before then, a Russian gentleman who visits once a month stocked up on thrillers. Spasibo, sir. So it's time for Rain-Out Theater. Here's an excerpt from a short story titled Distinctions, which I wrote in the mid 80's after a raucous night on the town. It was my first full year in the bizarro world that was the commodities trading floor, my work place until November 2007: I was unable to resist desert, pecan pie, although I was stuffed. I resolved to work out harder than usual tomorrow. When everyone had finished his coffee, Joey asked for the bill, which was more than $500. The others were surprised it wasn't greater. I was shocked, although I knew it would be a tax write-off. God bless America, I thought. "How much would it take to get you to walk around the restaurant in your underwear?" said Bobby to Phil. "I wouldn't do it in here," said Phil, blowing smoke over his head, sitting back, legs crossed, an arm around the chair beside him. "Gimme a hundred and I'll do it outside." The same $75 was raised. I felt an acute resistance within me. I was sure Phil would do it, and I cringed at the thought of those who would be offended. And I didn't want to see him make a fool of himself, although he was eager to accept the challenge, to prove his superiority to the others, even...

In 1980 PBS broadcast Milton Friedman's landmark 10-part defense of capitalism, Free to Choose. Last night I caught a one-hour follow up, Free or Equal: A Personal View, examining the ideas to see if they are still relevant 30 years later. It was hosted by a Swede, Johan Norberg. It was great. Then again, it is reaffirmation of my beliefs. How wonderful that someone from a bastion of Socialism would create such a program. The original series can be viewed online. Run a search to see when the new one will air. The most compelling point was in reference to the cell phone, a product of the free market, which has done more to reduce global poverty than all the government programs in history combined. RFK Jr. has continued the character assassination of his dead ex-wife, claiming she beat him. Why do I get the feeling he deserved it? Just when the Mets seemed to have righted the ship, they have lost four of five, including a three-game sweep to the Skanks. All this has occurred since the introduction of their newest part-owner. Is it the curse of Bill Maher? Fans hope it will not last as long as the Curse of the Bambino, which plagued the Red Sox for 80-odd years after their owner sold Babe Ruth to finance a production of No, No Nanette, or the Curse of Billy the Goat, which Cub fans have been suffering since 1945 when a man who brought his pet to the game...

Alfred Hitchcock said: "What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out." The works I appreciate most are those that get life right, the average Joe struggling to lead a good life in a world where temptation lurks at every turn. Most major American films are not interested in this. There are exceptions, of course. Win Win (2011) is one of them. I caught up to it last night courtesy of Netflix. It is the story of a small town lawyer who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach. His practice is suffering, his clients few. His family's bills are piling up. He does something unethical to make ends meet. No actor is more adept at capturing the average Joe than Paul Giamatti, and in this film he is supported by several TV, movie and Broadway stalwarts: Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavalle, Jeffery Tambor and Burt Young. It does have one Hollywood-like aspect - a talented wrestler who falls into the coach's lap, but the script does not go the way of Rocky (1976) or The Karate Kid (1984). It is much more grounded and real. It was directed by Thomas McCarthy, who also wrote the screenplay. It was his third film. I did not enjoy his first, the critically acclaimed The Station Agent (2003). I liked his second, The Visitor (2007), although not nearly as much as I did Win Win. All three focus on human beings, not spectacular events, and for that he is to be applauded. On...

My luck was on automatic pilot today. It started early, when I finally got around to checking my mailbox. The last of the survey checks I'd been expecting had arrived, so it was time to hit the bank. I was in the money even if I didn't sell a thing at the floating bookshop. Then, when I got home from the supermarket and did my weekly check of online stats, I saw that someone had purchased a hard copy of Killing at Amazon. Thanks, whoever you are. It seemed like my luck had run out by mid day when I had to wait 40 minutes for a parking spot to open up, and then when it began sprinkling. I pulled the books under a tree and covered them in plastic, hoping the light rain would be brief. I saw blue in the distance. As I was waiting, Bad News Billy showed and asked if I had a copy of Killing with me, which he had me inscribe to his brother, an educator. Thanks, my friend, and also to the young white male who purchased all the religious books I displayed once the sun returned. Three of them were English/Spanish/Korean/Chinese versions of The New Testament. Here's the first page-plus of an unpublished novel, Present and Past. At the time I was intrigued by how the past was always with us on a personal level. I also wanted to explore a character that believed in nothing but himself, and his contempt for goodness....

Ray Bradbury, 91, lived a productive life. He was the author of more than 500 works - short stories, novels, plays, TV scripts and screenplays. His most popular are The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Illustrated Man and Fahrenheit 451, all of which were adapted to the small or large screen. At present the latter seems to be his most enduring. The title refers to the temperature at which paper will burn. The novel is a cautionary tale, a portrait of a society so dumbed down it begins burning books. Fortunately, that hasn't happened, although in an op-ed piece in today's NY Post Michael A. Walsh likened such a purge to the PC mentality of busy bodies who would gut literary classics of terms and passages deemed offensive. Although I think they're fools, I believe the digital world will save books and free speech from disappearing. The internet is a marvel whose pluses far outweigh its minuses. Even an imagination as fertile as Bradbury's had not foreseen it. He did not go to college, an inspiration to all who did not attend. He taught himself his craft by reading the work of masters in public libraries. Well done, sir. Thank you. Rest in peace. Just whose side is he on? Bill Clinton claims we are in recession and called for an extension of the Bush tax cuts, heresy to most Democrats. This just hours after he appeared at several NYC fundraisers with the President. One pundit - I...