A Pioneer Passes
RIP writer/director Lina Wertmüller, 93. Born in Rome to an aristocratic family as Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spañol von Braueich, she was the first woman ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Direction, Seven Beauties (1975). There are 37 titles under her name at IMDb in the category of Writer, 33 as Director. Her golden period was the ‘70’s. Her film career spanned 1963–2004, her last movie Too Much Romance… It’s Time for Stuffed Peppers. Her work was political in nature but humorous. She also did theater. She is the subject of a biographical film directed by Valerio Ruiz, Behind the White Glasses (2015). She was married to art designer Enrico Job, who worked on several of her films, from 1965 until his death in 2011. They had one child. Hai fatto bene, maestra.
Headline from foxnews.com: “Michigan schools with mask mandates have ‘similar’ COVID case rates as schools with no mandate.” I have no idea what’s right regarding Covid, but my gut tells me the wrong path has been taken regarding the young, who seem no more vulnerable to the virus than to the flu.
I don’t know how many root canals I’ve had through the years. I had another last night at a new dentist. In two visits I’ve yet to see a male staffer. The procedure went smoothly. The three women in the room communicated to each other in Russian. I was surprised that two x-rays were taken during the process. I guess the doctor wanted to make sure everything was going right. The only drawback was that I have to return to have the temporary filling replaced by a permanent one. I no longer feel any pain while drinking something cold. Now the worry is if I’ve picked up the virus while there, despite being fully vaxxed.
I feel myself starting to cave, ego prevailing, regarding my 200-page target regarding Curious Sicilian. It is now 160 after I took the air out of the Google Docs file. I remind myself that I listed Class of ’67, which is 120 pages, at only $4, hoping buyers wouldn’t feel cheated. I’m wondering if listing CS at six bucks or less would be fair. Of course, no one would be forced to purchase it, so the point may be moot. I also may enlarge the print to 14-point, a good option a short work allows, which would add to the page count. Decisions, decisions.
Another unusually mild December day led to above average return for the floating book shop. My thanks to the kind folks who donated, swapped and bought stuff. Here’s what sold: four DVDs, four CDs; The Juror by George Dawes Green; The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth; a compilation of four condensed novels issued by Select; a travel book on Athens; a pictorial in Russian; The Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell; Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock (sounds like a porn star’s name); an Einstein bio; The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson.
My Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Fortezza/e/B002M4NLJE
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts
Read Vic’s Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza
