Five Years and Counting

This blessed month of spring (in our city it is spring) is my fifth at Renaissance Man.
How can that be? It feels still new after all the days, months, years. What sustains me are these things:
- The good people who walk in and bring their sunny disposition, their lively engaging discussions, and of course their wallets. (Lets not bring into this the other ones, those who are the complete opposite and are on this earth to test my endurance).
- The wonderful men who love their clothes enough, even after they can no longer enjoy them, to bring them for consignment, with good natured hopefulness and understanding the limitations of this business.
- The time I get to read in between bouts of business.
- The fact that this little shop is MY domain. That is a true privilege (and I do pay for it, dearly).

So - here's a toast to this little shop of mine:
May you prosper and sustain your owner in good health and fortune. Amen.

A Night at the Opera

A kind friend gave me a ticket to COC (Canadian Opera Company) last night. I dressed up nicely to play along, and sat down for an evening of Florentine silliness, all by my lonesome self. I've not been to the opera in many years, I'd rather go to a dance performance when funds allow, but I do enjoy being there when it happens. It's a curious thing, opera. Basically a theatrical play, with difficult singing and fantastic orchestra at the bottom of the stage.
This one was a double bill, 2 short ones. A Florentine Tragedy by Zemlinsky, and Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. Both sets are done beautifully, a minimal set to transport the audience to the opulence of Florence, where passion and materialistic impulses run high. Gianni Schicchi is funny, I was surprised. There's a solo for one young lady, this famous piece where everyone bursts into applause at the end, it's probably the most recognizable areas of all time. Here it is by the immortal Maria Callas. The words, compared with the supreme singing, are so mundane, the joke is on us.

Mothers Day Flowers

Accompanied by a silly love limerick and a quiet dinner at home - this bouquet was the perfect Mother's Day gift. To get the flowers to last now we must keep the hunting cats away.

New Arrivals

I got some beautiful things recently. People, you must come and take a peek.
This is a gorgeous linen Armani jacket, the picture doesn't do it justice - brown and light blue line, but the feel of it is like butter. The blue shirt peeking through is a fine Ralph Lauren thing. Goes together like nothing else.
Other fine additions to my collection:Grey and lavender pinstripe suit, Black Zegna suit, Aquascutum jacket in a fabulous light grey, a Versace black mid size duffle bag, Shoes by David - black with side buckle. And many many more.

The Deep Blue Sea

This is a film about obsession. An observation of the beauty and sadness of a love obsession. This is such a compelling subject of literary and film exploration, I can quickly come up with other works that deal with it, with beauty and depth.
But - I don't know why so many of the figures I came up with deal with the obsession and the surrender of the woman:
Madame Bovari, Anna Karenina, Adele H., Ophelia in Hamlet, Cathy in Wuthering Heights, The French Lieutenant's woman and countless more. On the men's side there is of course HH from Lolita, but this is more of a fetish then love, I suspect.
Do men not obsess about women? I'm sure they do. Do people want to witness this on screen or read it on the page? probably. But it seems in either cases they would rather see the woman destroyed or punished in some way, the crime of passion - like in Othello, or the man gone mad, like Hythcliff, or a mutual destruction like in Romeo and Juliet. Why is the woman described in so many works as the fallen angel? Does it make the work more attractive?
I don't know. The simple fact is that we keep watching.

Elegant Grandmothers

I look at this picture of my grandmother in my sister's wedding from long ago, and I am shocked to see her beauty as I have not seen when I was a girl. I considered her then an old lady, hard working and worrisome.
I guess the stretch and distance of time make it possible now to see her as a remarkable woman and appreciate her in a way that was not available to me all the years she lived with us.
I was one of those lucky people who have access to their grandparents all their childhood. My children don't have that luxury, living as we are in a country far away from the rich extended family we have. I know now how much richer my life has been as a result.
I owe her a lot - she was one of those rare women who face life's lessons and live on, not giving up for one minute. She deserves a story written about her.
A poor widow for the last 30 years of her life, she maintained a sense of dignity and elegance, finding beauty in everyday details.
That fur coat was borrowed from a neighbour, she could have never afforded nor justified such a frivolous purchase.

May Day

Why does the old distress code insist on May Day? I should check this out and get back on that.

The following s the ideal model for a balanced life. My blessing on this May Day, since I do belong to the working class after all, despite what some people may think - is that every one of us will achieve this kind of fine balance in our lives.