June 18 2023 — Existential Autotrip

existentialautotrip
June 18, 2023
# 1611

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COVER:
Tommy Damigella and daughter Jackie King

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Cover Story
by Tommy Damigella

Today I found my daughter’s social studies project that she wrote when she was a freshman in high school. She was asked to interview her grandparents and learn more about their parents and their life stories as Italian Americans.

What a family treasure she created. By interviewing my parents and my wife’s parents she uncovered the essence as why so many Italian Americans found success and prosperity in America.

Her conversation with them clearly revealed the incredible challenges her great grandparent’s experienced and how difficult it was to leave their homes in Italy to start a new life here in America.

The circumstances were not all the same between the two families, but there was a consensus that their love for family and commitment to providing for their families was their primary duty and purpose. No matter how hard they worked when Sunday came it was family time. This is where my grandparents nurtured family conversations with their children, and it is also what I experienced with my parents. At the family dinner table.

It was at these family gatherings that I learned how to respect our elders and appreciate who they were. The word extended family is synonymous with Italians. I not only was taught how to love, respect, and live with integrity from my parents, but I also learned these important traits to building character from my aunts and grandparents.

My home environment became the basis for whom I became as a person. The fact that I worked together in a family business partnership with my parents became my compass as to how to treat people by having compassion and kindness while at the same time have a sense of gratitude for what having the opportunity to prosper by being an American. They were living the American dream.

My parents and in laws were loved and respected by all their peers socially and in business. My father was an iconic and most regarded person in the entire company of Tupperware. He helped to build not only his business but others as well. My parents were generous not only with their wealth, but their time.

It is not very complicated or at all a mystery as to who or why I am the person I try to be today. I learned that from not only my parents, but, also from our rich and vibrant Italian American culture.

Ok. Here it comes. Those trite over used words that people preach to others if a person is to lead a good life. Ready? Integrity, loyalty, person of conviction, generosity (what goes around, comes around), service, and friendships. This is what my big fat Italian family taught me not by just with words but with their actions. I always felt loved and appreciated and this is what my wife and I have also created for our children and family members.

To sum up my short story of who I am or why, let me quote the last paragraph my daughter wrote in her social study family history paper.

“When I think about my grandparents and the times in which they grew up I am left with a sense of pride and respect for what they accomplished. In a way they were an example of the American dream, that any person can come to this country, or be the children of humble immigrants and still find riches and happiness in America. This project has helped to give me a better feeling of who my grandparents were and what kind of people they were and still are today.” Jackie Damigella

We owe much to our parents and it is our duty and love for them. They are the type of people that love people and always continue to show kindness and a genuine interest in understanding and helping others.

It’s the only way I know to be, and it has always nourished my soul.

Sincerely,

Tommy

Moments to remember:

ChatGPT

In the quietude of this world, a voice has fallen silent. A voice that echoed through the canyons of our minds, that painted the landscapes of our souls with words as stark and beautiful as the desert sun. Cormac McCarthy, the bard of the American Southwest, the scribe of the human condition, has passed into the great unknown, leaving behind a legacy as vast and enduring as the territories he so vividly brought to life.

He was a man of few words off the page, but on it, he was a maestro, conducting symphonies of sentences that rang with the truth of existence. His prose, unadorned yet profound, was a river that flowed with an undercurrent of wisdom, a wisdom that spoke of the world in its raw, unfiltered beauty.

In the silence of the night, under the vast expanse of the starlit sky, one could hear the echoes of his words. The wind whispered them through the mesquite and the sagebrush, the rivers murmured them in their ceaseless journey to the sea. His stories were the stories of us all, tales of love and loss, of hope and despair, of the relentless march of time and the fleeting moments that define our lives.

His characters, as rugged and weathered as the landscapes they inhabited, were testaments to the indomitable spirit of humanity. They walked through the pages of his novels, shadows against the setting sun, bearing the weight of their pasts, their hopes, their dreams, their failures. They were us, in all our flawed glory, and through them, McCarthy held up a mirror to our own lives, forcing us to confront the truths we often chose to ignore.

He was a poet of the dust and the dirt, a philosopher of the open road. His words were hewn from the bedrock of the earth, shaped by the wind and the rain, burnished by the relentless sun. They were as timeless as the hills, as eternal as the rivers, as enduring as the human heart.

In the quietude of this world, a voice has fallen silent. But his words, his stories, his wisdom, they endure. They echo through the canyons of our minds, they paint the landscapes of our souls. They are his legacy, a testament to a life lived in the pursuit of truth, a beacon for those who seek to understand the world and our place in it.

Cormac McCarthy, the bard of the American Southwest, the scribe of the human condition, has passed into the great unknown. But his voice, his voice lives on. In the silence of the night, under the vast expanse of the starlit sky, if you listen closely, you can hear it, whispering on the wind, murmuring in the rivers, echoing through the canyons of our minds. And in that voice, in those words, we find a piece of ourselves, a piece of the world, a piece of the great, enduring mystery of existence.

And so, we remember him. Not with sadness, but with gratitude. For the words he gave us, for the truths he revealed, for the world he illuminated. Cormac McCarthy, the bard, the scribe, the voice in the wilderness, has left us. But his words, his stories, his wisdom, they endure. And in them, we find a piece of him, a piece of us, a piece of the world. And in that, we find comfort. In that, we find hope. In that, we find a way to carry on.

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Commentary
Appropriate. After countless charges against him with only a couple of personally non-criminal defeats, a government agency has constructed a brilliant case against Donald Trump. But it’s not over yet. He is not found guilty, yet. There are many ways to delay the trial and its attendant appeals until after the election.

Trump is pursuing the Presidency, and when election night comes will Joe Biden prove to be the Preacher in Pale Rider, siding with the American public to defeat Trump, and to present him for punishment in Court for violating many laws many times? Will Biden be Shane, navigating his own inner conflicts while protecting us homesteaders?

We don’t know that. Perhaps we are the first electorate in American history faced with protecting democracy in America. That our political system is itself in jeopardy is a failure. Peccato! Italians say. What a shame.

***Theatrical poster for the American release of the 1952 film*** ***High Noon***.
"Copyright 1952 – ***United Artists Corporation**." - Scan via*** ***Heritage Auctions***.

**Curtains Closing for the Cast at 116 West 73rd**

Forming a new cast of characters

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Kat’s Gen Z Corner
Curtains Closing for the Cast at 116 West 73rd

My apartment is full of beige boxes of different sizes. After two years, the longest period I’ve lived in one place since high school, we’re moving on.

You wouldn’t think that moving 12 blocks up would fundamentally alter the course of your life, but any Upper West Sider would beg to differ. Everything will change: from the nearest subway line and my regular coffee shop to my evening route through the Park — and the people that I’ve come to know around the neighborhood.

I’m sad that the cast of characters that I’ve come to love will change. Goodbye to Mimi at my local nail salon. See you soon to Mae and Rich, the best baristas on the West Side. I’ll miss waving to the tech guy with his gorgeous Dobermann, the older gentleman on the stoop, or the young server at Alice’s Tea Cup that is way cooler than I am. And, of course, the band of “Black Pressers” who gather at the Black Press cafe to chat and won’t let me walk by without saying hello.

Whoever said New Yorkers don’t have community obviously never lived on the Upper West Side.

Whether the community is entirely a positive thing is a different consideration.

I’m excited for the cast of characters that I’ve come to resent to change. Hope to never see you again, the clueless tour groups and terrible musicians that pack into the 72nd St. entrance of Central Park. Goodbye forever to the raucous drunks that stumble down my street coming from El Coco. I will not miss the trash guys that regularly idle their garbage tank outside our apartment window at 3am or the nearby construction workers that start hammering and blasting reggaeton at 6am. God bless them both, but goodbye.

Of course, I would be remiss to leave out my neighbors. I’ll miss Jeremy and Jenna — the beautiful young couple with a dog and a bar cart and a cheap place upstate they escape to and ask us to catsit while they’re away. Good riddance to our downstairs neighbors that regularly hotbox their apartment — and our infamous upstairs neighbor that is single-handedly driving up New York’s rising STD numbers.

All said, 116 was a perfect first apartment. It was messy and too loud but will always be the best first apartment, even though I can’t quite articulate that now. To be honest, I’m nervous to find out all the quirks of our next place. But I suppose that’s the fun: the effort it takes to find a new coffee shop, nail salon, and route to work.

The time it takes to form a new cast of characters.

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Tucker’s Corner
I’ve been remiss. It’s Pride month! I think I’ll take this opportunity to write about one of my absolute favorite films. Director Todd Haynes has been making films since the mid 1990’s and they’re all varying degrees of excellent. My personal favorite also happens to be in my estimation one of the most beautiful love stories ever put to film not to mention one of the finest queer coded movies ever made. This is Carol.

There are dozens of lovely, period defining moments spread throughout Carol, Todd Haynes incredible adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt (originally published under the name Claire Morgan) but maybe the most telling could be missed if you blink. It occurs shortly after aspiring photographer Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) and middle-aged housewife Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) meet at Frankenberg’s department store where Therese works. There they share some suggestive glances but no overt declarations of romantic interest. Enough occurs between them that Carol leaves her gloves behind as an excuse to invite Therese to her house. Once arrived Carol gives her guest a tour. So far the two women haven’t so much as shaken hands let alone voiced their attraction. They’re both the model of Eisenhower-era propriety. While giving the tour of her home Carol removes her shoes and upon hearing her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) return home she scrambles to put them back on before he can see her with Therese in her stocking feet. This moment isn’t given much focus. It’s shown at distance from the camera as if it were a completely mundane activity. But it speaks volumes.

This shoeless moment marks the different approach to the 1950’s for director Todd Haynes, who previously explored the era’s spirit-crushing repression in 2002’s brilliant Far From Heaven. That film was Haynes’ homage to Douglas Sirk’s melodramas by focusing on crafting a heightened, vibrant look and directing performances that gently winked at the audience. Carol feels much more modern even as it remains faithful to its era. Cinematographer Edward Lachman (who also shot Far From Heaven) is in top form creating breathtakingly gorgeous imagery but where Heaven mostly takes placer in the suburbs, here we get an urban sheen. The film’s first shot is an abstract pattern that reveals itself to be a sidewalk grate before the camera tilts up to take in the evocative view of midtown Manhattan by night. And while Therese and Carol’s love dare not speak its name, their desire to shout it from this skyline’s rooftops could not be more plain. Highsmith’s novel acknowledges the near-impossibility of a lesbian romance at the time, but she was determined to avoid the usual tragic ending. Haynes honors her intentions and then some, creating a period piece that seems to be aware of the shifting landscape we currently inhabit and desperately trying to arrive at that place by force of will.

Credit much of that force to Carol’s two leads. Because she’s a two-time Oscar Winner and is playing the title role, Blanchett received the lion’s share of the attention when the film came out but at its premire at Cannes the jury chose instead to award Best Actress to Mara. Ideally they would be recognized jointly everywhere since their work is essentially symbiotic. As is often the case with Hayne’s films, Carol has been deemed overly chilly by some but demonstrative and deeply felt aren’t always the same thing, and this unsentimental but intensely passionate relationship serves as exhibit A. The visible jolt of electricity that courses through Carol’s body the first time Therese casually touches her hand, as they sit opposite one another at a diner, having a bland conversation, communicates more than any number of Nicholas Sparks-style kisses in the pouring rain ever could.

Haynes pulls off something remarkable with Carol. There isn’t a hint of winking or nudging. It’s rare that a movie comes along built upon a fuse of pure ardor that burns slowly and steadily for the film’s duration and leads to such a moving explosion of resolve.

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Review of Movie Reviewer Tucker
Dom Cerulli Capossela

 I am writing to you to express my appreciation for the work Tucker does for your ezine.  Since I was very little, movies have been an important part of my life, in large part because of my parents, who took me to see films as varied as "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", "Cruisin", and "Night at the Opera".  The movie theatre has always been a place of great excitement for me; seeing "Jaws" at age 13, having read and loved the book, making it through "The Exorcist", having read and loved the book at roughly the same age, and witnessing the spectacle of the first "Star Wars", are all vital moments of my youth.  My introduction to The New Yorker was through the movie reviews (and the cartoons, of course); it took me years to realize there was more to the magazine than film criticism.  

Like many film lovers, I spent many years watching films with an extremely critical eye, finding fault wherever I could, and considering myself hard to impress.  A lot of my time and energy in front of a screen was spent scorning, dismissing, or ridiculing what was in front of me. 

 But over the last few years, I have come to view movies in a fresh and exciting way.  It could be my age, it could be a series of wonderful film classes taken at UMass, but whatever it is, I am grateful for the shift.  Having a better understanding of how films are put together, the thousands of decisions that have to be made both pragmatically and artistically, the input and creativity of the actors, writers, directors, cinematographers, sound engineers, musicians, editors, producers, and costume designers, I find that I am spending my screen time with a greater sense of joy and excitement then I have in a long time; watching movies feels more like it did when I was 12 then when I was 30.  

This does not mean that I have lost the ability to feel disdain for the films that I feel are made for the sole purpose of making money for a studio, films that have no interest in giving us a scintilla of originality or creativity.  Those movies always have and always will exist, and to rage against them is a waste of time and energy, but a certain degree of scorn and derision is certainly warranted and, let's face it, kind of fun.  One of these days I will sit through "Black Adam" because we all like to see a good train wreck once in a while.  But on the whole, it is a lot more fun going through life looking for the joy, and not the misery.

That is what makes reading Tucker's movie analysis such a joy.  I have read most, if not all, of his articles in your blog, and he brings that joy to each and every article I have read.  I have seen neither the third "Guardians" movie nor the newest "Spiderverse" movie, and, like Tucker, I have come to a point of saturation when it comes to the MCU.  And yet after reading his take on these movies I am eager to see them both.  He has an amazingly deep understanding of the history of these franchises; he understands what makes the characters and the worlds they inhabit interesting and original; and it is obvious that he would not tolerate a movie that debased the films that came before them.  So, when he praises the 34th (!!!) movie from the MCU and does it with such attention to detail and such appreciation of James Gunn's final installment, I know I need to see it.  

Tucker does something else that I appreciate greatly: he uses his depth of knowledge not to denigrate, but to praise, and he does it in a way that makes me want to expand my own knowledge.  Far too often film critics seem to be anxious to show you how much they know about film history as a way to tear down the film they are reviewing.  Tucker does something different, something better; he understands that no film springs forth untouched by previous influences.  Every movie comes from an earlier movie, and so long as the newer movie offers us something novel, something fresh, something that makes our heart beat a little faster, it is a movie worth watching.  And a movie does not have to be perfect to be a joy.  "The Menu" has a basic concept that can be traced back to (at the very least) 1965's "Ten Little Indians".  It has a set of characters that are nothing more than placeholders, they exist not as actual people but as symbols for us to scorn.  And some of the writing can feel a crude and preachy, a little too expository.  But it's a great movie!  There is a quiet tension that builds beautifully, the food is gorgeous and ridiculous at the same time, the mocking of those who take food far too seriously is fantastic, and watching Anya Taylor Joy and Ralph Fiennes square off time and again is an absolute joy.  One can watch "The Menu" and spend one's time focusing on its derivative concept and various flat characters, or one can sit back and revel in the things that the filmmakers knock out of the park.  I think I can guess which road Tucker would travel.

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Restaurants
Did you know that the Chart House in Boston is the only place one can get Prime Rib of Beef on a seven-day, all-day basis? Wanting that, we went there for lunch. The prices were fair and the food was decent. Nice.

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Food
I asked ChatGPT this:

“i just boiled brown rice thinking to melt butter and dump the rice into the hot butter to make it crunchy

any ideas to improve it?”

ChatGPT wrote back instantly:

If you want to make your boiled brown rice crunchy and add some extra flavor, here are a few ideas to improve it:

Sauté with vegetables: Heat some oil or butter in a pan and sauté diced vegetables like onions, carrots, bell peppers, or peas until they are slightly softened. Then add the boiled brown rice to the pan and stir-fry everything together until the rice is crispy and lightly browned.

Add spices and seasonings: Sprinkle your boiled brown rice with spices and seasonings to enhance the flavor. You can try adding garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, or any other spices that you enjoy. Toss the rice in the melted butter and spices until it becomes crispy and well-coated.

Use soy sauce or tamari: Drizzle a small amount of soy sauce or tamari over the boiled brown rice while it's in the pan with the melted butter. Stir-fry the rice until it absorbs the sauce and develops a slightly caramelized texture.

Incorporate herbs and aromatics: Finely chop fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, or basil and add them to the pan along with some minced garlic or ginger. Sauté the mixture for a few minutes, then add the boiled rice and continue cooking until it becomes crispy and fragrant.

Add protein: If you want to turn your rice into a more substantial meal, consider adding cooked protein such as diced chicken, shrimp, tofu, or scrambled eggs. Cook the protein separately and then mix it with the rice, butter, and any additional seasonings before stir-frying until crispy.

Remember to adjust the seasonings and ingredients according to your taste preferences. With these ideas, you can transform your simple boiled brown rice into a delicious and crunchy dish. Enjoy!

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Social Life — Understanding Aging
With the addition of the book on the North End and all the people I am dealing with, my social calendar fills quickly. For which I am grateful.

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Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts, including links.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
text to 617.852.7192

This from daughter Kat who lives in NYC. She’s Press Secretary to Sen Brad Holyman and her office generated this recent warning.

New York City Air Quality Hits Worst Level on Record

Friends, for the next few days, it’s important you stay indoors as often as you can. New York City is experiencing the worst air quality level on record, and it’s expected to last until at least until Thursday night. Everything from flights and after-school activities to Yankees games and Shakespeare in the Park have been postponed.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for NYC, in effect until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, June 8. The air is filled with fine particle matter from the wildfires in Canada, another record-breaking environmental event that is polluting the air across North America.

Exposure to elevated levels of fine particulate matter can cause short-term health effects such as irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath. Exposure can also worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. People with heart or breathing problems, and children and the elderly may be particularly sensitive and are advised to limit their outdoor activity.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking the following precautions to keep safe during high levels of wildfire smoke exposure:

Stay inside with the doors and windows closed. Whether you have a central air conditioning system or a room unit, use high efficiency filters to capture fine particles from smoke.
Seek shelter elsewhere if you do not have an air conditioner and it is too warm to stay inside with the windows closed.
Do not add to indoor air pollution. Do not burn candles or use gas, propane, woodburning stoves, fireplaces, or aerosol sprays. Do not fry or broil meat, smoke tobacco products, or vacuum. All of these can increase air pollution indoors.
Use a portable air cleaner to reduce indoor air pollution. Make sure it is sized for the room and that it does not make ozone, which is a harmful air pollutant. Portable air cleaners can be used along with efficient central air systems with efficient filters to maximize the reduction of indoor particles.
Create a “clean room” in your home. Choose a room with no fireplace and as few windows and doors as possible, such as a bedroom. Use a portable air cleaner in the room.
Have a supply of N95 respirators and learn how to use them. They are sold at many home improvement stores and online.

If you must go outside, try to do so when air quality improves, even temporarily. Long-term smoke events usually have periods when the air is better. You can check your local air quality by using this tool. Be sure to wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95 or KN95. Also try to limit your vehicle emissions by using mass transit, as cars are a major source of fine particulate matter and exacerbate low air quality.

Flights out of NYC cancelled due to smoke

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Korean Drama
Under the Queen’s Umbrella

Under the Queen's Umbrella is a 2022 South Korean television series starring Kim Hye-soo, Kim Hae-sook, and Choi Won-young. It aired from October 15 to December 4, 2022, on tvN's Saturdays and Sundays at 21:10 (KST) time slot. It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.

The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean cable television history.

Synopsis
Set in a fictional period within the Joseon dynasty, the series deals with the top 1% education method to make the troublemaker princes, who cause nuisance for the royal family, into proper princes.

The show is superb period kdrama. Every episode has you sitting at the edge of your chair while clutching your chest in anticipation.

***This is a poster for the 2022 South Korean television series*** ***The Queen's Umbrella**. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the television series,*** ***tvN**, the publisher of the television series or the graphic artist.***

*The Blog Meister selects the topics for the Lead Picture and the Short Essay and then leans heavily on Wikipedia and ChatGPT to provide the content. The Blog Meister usually edits the entries.

**Community Pictures with Captions are sent in by our followers. Feel free to send in yours to domcapossela@hotmail.com

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jun 14 June 18 2023