"Rabbit Remembered"

I finished the novella "Rabbit Remembered" by John Updike and found it rewarding if for no other reason than the light it shone on familial denial and the persistence of genetic traits. Oddly, this time (I had read this work years ago but in my old age or sleep-time reading of it forgot much) brought to mind some comparisons with Tony Soprano. Both Tony Soprano and Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom are pathological in their solipsism -- and yet, and yet, we somehow root for them, at least some of the time. Then we shake our heads and wonder how or why. And both the Soprano and Angstrom clans collectively collaborate in the pathological relationships that interweave; sometimes we even see glimmers of hope, new beginnings seemingly free of the tired strands of misery. And then those strands get restrung and interwoven once again. (Which is not to say the others, the lives that these people touch, are any better; often worse.)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is the very first instance of someone showing similarities between Tony Soprano and Rabbit Angstrom. Calling all academics! Here's a great topic for a dissertation!

I like to dog-ear the pages of a book as I am reading it, to remember juicy quotes. (In this case, I have to de-canine-ear the marked pages, since it is a library book.)

Some tidbits from John Updike's "Rabbit Remembered":

Nobody wants war but men don't want only peace either.

If society is the prison, families are the cells, with no time off for good behavior. Good behavior in fact tends to lengthen the sentence.

At thirty-nine, everybody's their own problem.

A grin is held on his face like a firecracker ready to go off.

Being adult, it seems, consists of not paying much attention.

Mobular Prognostications

Last year I discovered we have HBO on a TV upstairs, although we never asked for it (it must've fallen off a truck), so I became a latecomer fan of "The Sopranos." I thought I wouldn't be able to follow it, given all the twists and turns of the previous seven or so years. But, hey, I enjoy it, right from the theme song. (Well, one or two shows this season were total bombs.) It's a great tragicomic epic soap opera with broads and bullets. (Best hilarious line last week: "It doesn't take a gynecologist to know which way the wind's blowing.") It's weird. Just when you begin to sympathize with Tony Soprano, he whacks someone or knocks eight teeth out of someone's skull (with a bit of tooth shrapnel in his pants cuff found when he's at his therapist's).

I'm gonna miss it. Sunday is the finale.

So,

here are

Top Ten Predictions for 'The Sopranos' Finale

10. A.J. becomes the 11th Democrat to run for President (of the U.S.).

9. Meadow gives up pre-law to run The Bada-Bing.

8. Sil recovers from his wounds and opens a hair salon.

7. Vito's son starts a goth band.

6. Carmela has a sex change, readying her for a starring role in the spin-off "The Altos."

5. Christopher's widow produces "Cleaver 2."

4. Dr. Melfi tries to shoot Carmella but misses.

3. The shrink Elliot whacks Dr. Melfi.

2. Tony Soprano enters the federal Witness Protection Program and assumes the name George W. Bush.

and

1. Paulie Walnuts enters the federal Witness Protection Program as Pawlie Kokonuts.

The $250,000 Question

What kind of second home can you get these days for 250,000?

That's the question bothering The New York Times and its impoverished and restless readers. Appropriately enough, the articles was in yesterday's Escapes section.

Yeah. That's the question keeping me up nights.

Truth be told, we would be lucky to get $90,000 for our recently painted house. Clarification: our first house, not our weekend home or summer demesne. Location, location, location. City, city, city.

Of course, those poor unfortunates struggling to buy a second home for 250,000 beans are not considering locations like the urban location of our manor. (Mind your manors! HAHA!) Oh no. It's got to have a view or be near water -- ideally with a view of water on a hillside. And they certainly do not want messy things like people nearby, especially nonwhite, nonupperclass, nonprofessional people. (Animals are okay, though. "We just love the varied wildlife here.")

I'm willing to wager these are the same folks who have fear and loathing of the "wild life" of our cities, who devise terrific policy solutions for our cities, and who proudly sport their so-called tolerant and liberal-minded moral credentials.

How much do you want to bet?

Bets starting at $250,000 being accepted now.

Right here, right now.

As Tony Soprano might say, while grabbing an important portion of his anatomy,

"Right here."