Some Quick Recommendations
Two TV shows and two books
Living in Rome for the past couple months with no job, no responsibilities, and very little money has given me plenty of time to stream TV and read books. Here a few things I’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks:
1. Rough Diamonds on Netflix. A Belgian show about a family of Hassidic diamond traders in Antwerp who get mixed up in the Albanian cocaine trade to save their family business. Also featuring: a psycho British grandma, and the lead, Kevin Janssens, looks like a Yiddish-speaking Hugh Jackman. If the premise sounds implausible to you, it probably means you’re an antisemite. Some terrific performances and bad wigs.
2. Sanctuary on Netflix. Japanese show about life in a sumo house. Antisocial loser/ former local judo champ Kiyoshi gets recruited to a failing sumo stable. The show is kind of like Rocky on 10,000 calories a day. Lots of fun and a cool look into the world of professional Japanese sumo, which I knew absolutely nothing about. Also a neat look into Japanese culture as a whole. Some of the performances are, at times, truly terrible, but the world is so interesting that I found the over-emoting easy to overlook. If this doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you would enjoy, you’re probably an antisemite; don’t ask me to explain that because I can’t.
3. Dinner in Rome: A History of the World In One Meal by Andreas Viestad. This book, written by a Norwegian/South African food historian, traces the histories of various yum-yums over the course of a single meal served at an old-school trattoria. The book is as much about anthropology as it is about food and makes a convincing argument that our human history is formed much more by what we eat than who we fought. As an aside, the book takes place at La Carbonara, which we decided to try after reading the book and it’s every bit as good as the writer says. A highly digestible read. Unless you are an antisemite, which it, increasingly seems like you might be.
4. Uri Geller: Magician or Mystic by Jonathan Margolis. I found this 1998 biography of Geller at The Open Door, a used English language bookshop near where I’m staying. (I think it was reprinted in 2013 as The Secret Life of Uri Geller: CIA Master Spy?) All I really knew about the Israeli-born Geller before picking this up was that he got famous for bending spoons with his mind. I mean, what? But yes, he became a worldwide phenomenon in the 1970’s for this weird parlor trick. If Geller and Margolis are to be believed, however, spoon bending is only the tip of the iceberg with Geller, who is also a remote viewer, Mossad spy, ET encounterer, and occasional teleporter. Yes, he teleports. When I got done with the book, I honestly didn’t know what to think. Margolis is no hack. He’s a regular contributor to scores of British publications and shows up on TV a lot to discuss stuff. If you read this and think the whole story is too bonkers to be true, I will not accuse you of antisemitism, but I still think you’ve got some serious soul-searching to do. If you love weird-o shit like me, you’ll love this one.
By the way, I harbor no ill will towards you at all. You’re a good person leading a good life. Any jokes contained above are just jokes. I love you.
Reactions
1. Not my type of movie genre.
2. Checked it out. Looking forward to watching.
3. Bought it. Started it. Like it.
4. The Amazing Randy was a family friend so I am indoctrinated against Geller. May give it a try on your recommendation, though.
Do you want typo comments? if so, "If Geller and Margolis are to believed..."
If not, this is fine. I knew what you meant.