I just noticed that I am

reading:
Man Without Qualities
and have seen the following two movies in the past month:
Man on a Train
and
Man Without a Past

This is a lot of Men.

Books I is reading or has read during the last few weeks:

Between East and West --Anne Applefield -- travels along what used to be the borderlands between Russia and Europe.

Closing of the American Mind --- Allan Bloom-- Who are we today and how did we get to this dismal intellectual state?

A Problem from Hell --America and the Age of Genocide -- Samantha Power -- Race Murders in the twentieth century --Armenia Cambodia, Holocaust, Bosnia, the Kurds, Kosovo, Rwanda. But remember genocide goes back much further than the 20th century.

The DaVinci Code-- a great page turner-- a lot about the Catholic Church, the Virgin Mary Cult, Mary Magdellan, Knights Templar, Opus Die...

Starting The Man Without Qualities Robert Musil -- This will be my second time around. .

Greg Peck, Hume Cronim, and Larry Doby all died this week.

Larry Doby's name reminded me of Grand Admiral Karl C. Dönitz, last leader of Nazi Germany; (remember him?)
too bad his middle name wasn't Duncan. mek

born on 9-16-1891 in Berlin, Germany
expired 12-24-1980 in Aumühle-Bilenkamp, Germany age 89

Maria and I will be headed north on Sunday. Looks like we'll be staying in Great Neck after a week at the Montauk Yacht Club with the pension fund. (actually 2 days with the Pension Fund. The other days are on me.) If we have any money left we'll go to Maine at the end of July because I need lobster...

Breathing class today. Imagine if my Dad or Grandfather knew that I paid money to learn how to breath. I learned that I am a shallow breather and I will have to learn how to breathe properly--but, Maria and I are going North, so I may not learn before next fall. In the meantime, I'll be holding my breath.

My Dad used to take the family to Toots Shor's for Sunday dinner. My sister and I would have Oysters and a lobster or Roast Beef. Dad always had a scotch and roast beef, I think. The Men's and Lady's room were staffed by a married couple. When my sister and I returned from camp one year, why Hattie and Ozzie weren't in the RestRooms. Apparantly Hattie had shot and killed her husband over another woman. (If I have the names wrong, please correct me). The maitre'd was a pal of my Dad's. His name was Joe Harrison. Corrections appreciated. Reach me at Gratwicker@aol.com

Dinner with Howard and Bill. Talked about Catholic Bishops and reporting of misbehavior by priests. Restaurants. The sad state of the Democratic Party.

the computer draws me and traps me....

Here are my movies to see as of this week.

Man on a train --A mysterious man arrives in a small town in France and is befriended by an elderly retired schoolteacher. 4 1/2 stars out of 5. worth seeing

Man with no Past -- another man gets off a train in Finland and is mugged causing him to totally lose his memory. Contrast the aid he receives from strangers and the aid he fails to get from the State. A very moving and inspiring film. 5 stars out of 5. a must see

The Dancer Upstairs: well-made docudrama (almost a docudrama) about a detective attempting to find a terroist in an unnamed South American country. 3 1/2 stars out of five. worth seeing.

Blue Velvet: Mysterious, violent, psycho-sexual, hidden 5 stars out of five

My job today is to re-file or toss all of my files. At present I have laid them all out on my dining room table in an effort to sort them. Looking at the mass of materials is making me very anxious. Bloggerbasic still hasn't answered me about sprellschek.

Sent a message to Bloggerbasic asking about sprellchek.

This is the beginning. Fathers Day. June 15, 2003. Ft. Lauderdale.

Oh, oh! I don't see spellchek. This is going to be a problem. I'll have to be very careful.