Traveling

I was pretty sure I’d seen Side Street (1950) long ago when CBS ran movies at 11:30 PM. Directed by Anthony Mann, whose stature has grown through the years, it is the story of a young father-to-be who succumbs to the temptation to steal, and the downward spiral that ensues. It is above-average but not great. It stars Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell. Tragically, the latter was taken by cancer at 46 in 1970. Granger passed at 85 in 2011. The best aspect of the flick are the NYC locations, especially the chase scene through the Wall Street area, some of it filmed from above, giving the look of canyons. Oddly, the closing credits include the phrase “Made in Hollywood USA.” Another plus is the presence of Adele Jergens and Jean Hagen as amoral beauties. Here are the leads, who were also paired in the highly regarded noir They Live by Night (1948):

Born in the Ukraine, Friedrich Gorenstein is best known for his screenplay for the renowned sci-fi work Solaris (1972). He wrote six other scripts, all produced in the Soviet Union. Wiki lists eleven book titles in his name. I just finished Traveling Companions, copyright 1989. Set in the post-Stalin era. sometime in the ‘60’s, it is the story of a middle age writer, such as the author himself, who meets an old cripple on a train in the Ukraine. The man recounts his life during the long journey. I’m always fascinated by tales of the insanity that was the Soviet Union. This one is middle of the pack, distinguished by the writing. One of its themes is anti-semitism and the author pulls no punches in his portrayal of the sins of Ukrainians in this regard. It includes existential angst but little in the way of intellectualism. Here’s an excerpt: “Life is a doormat at the gate to heaven; before entering paradise, everyone must wipe his feet on it, saint and sinners alike.” And another: “… Jews, who from time immemorial, have a proverb to the effect that anything which can be obtained for money costs nothing…” The translation by Bernard Meares is smooth. I was unable to find much info on him. He was a journalist in the UK and translated other works. Gorenstein passed away at 69 in 2002.

From FN, edited by yours truly: This is Jasmine Harrison, 21, swimming instructor, bartender. The plucky Brit became the youngest woman to row solo across an ocean (Atlantic), traveling 3000 miles in 70 days, three-hours-plus. Awesome, dudette.

As expected, proponents of green energy are in spin overdrive regarding the Texas deep freeze. Remember the guff the press gave W for his flyover of New Orleans post-Katrina. Why hasn’t the mainstream media asked why B isn’t on the ground in the great Lonestar State?

Headline from foxnews.com: “Fauci’s boss hails Trump admin. for ‘breathtaking’ Operation Warp Speed success.”

Knowing precipitation was on the way, I set up shop at the viaduct on Avenue Y. About an hour later it was snowing. I was pissed it wasn’t rain, but later, as I left CVS, the changeover had occurred. My thanks to the gentleman who pulled up on his bike and bought Fortunate Son: George W. Bush And The Making Of An American President by J. H. Hatfield and Nick Mamatas, and to the couple who purchased two books in Russian, one a translation of Nora Roberts.

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