Category Archives: Uncategorized

My Lolita Rant

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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Better Than Science

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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A Film Trio

If you haven’t seen The Imposter  yet, I suggest you catch it at the Cinematheque this weekend (Saturday at 9:45; Sunday at 6:30). This crazy documentary tells the story of a lost child who reappears in his Texas family’s life after three … Continue reading

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Ozu’s “Tokyo Story”

Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 Tokyo Story is a quiet, moving film about an essential theme of life: change. It’s not to be missed. Chishu Ryu, Ozu’s iconic actor, plays an elderly father who travels from the countryside to Tokyo with his wife to visit … Continue reading

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A Clown, but Not “Klown”

Maybe I’ll always be recommending a classic film, here, in my weekly musings on my husband John’s film programs. If so, I may get boring, but I gotta be me. I generally want people to read classic books and see classic … Continue reading

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A Collection of Choosers

I discussed the electoral college with my Latin students today, apropos of the Presidential election, of course, and described its Roman historical and etymological roots. As a break from our essential but enervating grammar explanations, such a lesson passes as … Continue reading

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Reflecting on the 47%

By now everybody knows what Republican candidate Mitt Romney said about 47% of Americans. It goes something like this. People will vote for President Obama because they are dependent on government and believe they are victims. These 47%  pay no … Continue reading

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Truth in Jest

My dad, Martin Miller, wrote a weekly column for the Canton Repository, called “Letters from Max.” Sometimes he commented on news and politics, but other times he shared amusing facts about our household. I remember his commenting, for example, that … Continue reading

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Small World

My friend Katie sat across from me at our picnic table. She was dropping off some homemade lentil soup and a loaf of bread a couple weeks after the death of Grace, my husband’s stepmother. Grace was memorable—opinionated, funny, and … Continue reading

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In Memoriam

I was rereading Bobbie Ann Mason’s lovely 1988 novel Spence + Lila today when I heard that my mother-in-law, Grace Ewing, had died this morning. I read this passage soon after the news. Sixty-six-year-old Spence is surveying his Kentucky farm. … Continue reading

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