Author Archives: Kathy

Shopping with George H. W. Bush

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Kathy

You remember when the first President Bush seemed flummoxed by the scanner at the grocery-store checkout? You can Google “Bush scanner” and read all about it. (Turns out it’s an urban legend, but it made a good story at the time.) … Continue reading →

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His Girl on Friday

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Kathy

Howard Hawks’s His Girl Friday (1940) is not to be missed. It stars Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, and it’s funny. How do they talk so fast? See it at the Cinematheque Friday at 7:30 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the … Continue reading →

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Films, Belatedly

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Kathy

This weekend, after a holiday hiatus, is so chockful of good programs at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, I’ll hardly be able to see all I want to see and am going to … Continue reading →

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BPD Causes, or, My First Use of the Word “Hypochondriasis”

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Kathy

A friend recently sent me an article called “Emotional Hypochondriasis, Hyperbole, and the Borderline Patient” about the etiology (causes) and symptoms of borderline personality disorder, especially relating to hypochondria. Despite their sometimes befuddling jargon, the authors clearly expressed empathy for … Continue reading →

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My Gun Control Letter

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Kathy

I wrote this letter today and am sending it to my two Senators, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, as well as President Obama. Their addresses follow the letter below. If you’re so moved, write or email your own Senators and Representatives, and, please, if … Continue reading →

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A Spike Lee Joint

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Kathy

Up to now, I’ve been shamefully neglecting the movies at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which are often very interesting and unusual. This week gives me an opportunity to remedy that oversight, because the Cinematheque offerings are underwhelming. Or maybe I … Continue reading →

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My Lolita Rant

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Kathy

This week’s Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque offerings give me the opportunity to rant about Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, and, while I’m at it, movies made from books in general. Here’s the thing. Lolita is, in my opinion, a great novel … Continue reading →

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Recommending John Ford, as Opposed to Sex with a Tentacled Monster

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Kathy

The sure thing at the Cinematheque this weekend is probably, once again, the classic film: 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by legendary director John Ford, starring John Wayne, James Stewart and Lee Marvin. It treats serious themes about law … Continue reading →

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Better Than Science

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Kathy

In my Latin class today, I shared a reading about Proserpina and Ceres (Persephone and Demeter, in Greek). I find it necessary to debunk all that the scientific mumbo-jumbo about the seasons, relating to planets and stars and orbits. Forget, … Continue reading →

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Richard Russo’s Difficult Mom

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Kathy

How could Richard Russo’s memoir Elsewhere not intrigue me? I’m already a fan. His novels Nobody’s Fool and Empire Falls, for example, tell heartfelt and funny stories about flawed, even infuriating, but ultimately sympathetic characters. Russo has mastered an assured, … Continue reading →

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