Cronenberg time. Shivers (1975)

Spies, officers, khans, explorers. Everyone is scheming or fighting across deserts & mountains in Central and Inner Asia. Narrative history at its finest. Peter Hopkirk’s The Great Game (1990)

Watched L’enfance Nue (1968). This lost-youth film hits very hard.

Path in Snow - Eyvind Earle (1916 – 2000)

Tibet, Himalayas. By Nicholas Roerich. Tempera on canvas, 1933.

A film about underground resistance. Andrzej Wajda’s masterpiece Ashes and Diamonds (1958). One of the greatest Polish films of all time.

Lermontov depicts the morning before a duel: Having ordered the horses saddled I plunged into the cold water of the Narzan ...I felt my bodily & spiritual powers returning ... fresh & bright as though preparing for a ball. Tell me that the soul & body aren’t connected after that!

Scott Addis (American, lives in Canada, 1963) “There, that place” n.d. Oil on canvas 40x30

Read Cold Crematorium (2024) by journalist Jozsef Debreczeni. A careful, detailed Holocaust memoir that avoids cliches. First published in Hungarian in Yugoslavia in 1950. It helped me clearly understand the real horrors, without oversimplifying them.

Viggo Mortensen doesn’t get enough credit for his acting range. A shape-shifter.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July .. .

A fascinating little movie. Coppola made this slow-burn ’70s paranoia thriller between the first two Godfather films. The Conversation (1974)

Political diary by the Shah’s confidant on deck. Thanks for the rec, S Sebag Montefiore. Arrived today.

Munich (2005) is Spielberg’s most morally ambiguous film, which makes it stand out for me. Then there’s the exquisite camera work, which rewards a few re-watchings. The sheer craft is undeniable.

Delhi mornings…

My best tip for anyone trying to get back into reading is to remember that you can read books to avoid other responsibilities in your life, and it can become a vice if you play your cards right.

Mark Grantham (Canadian, b.1966) A Time for Reflection, 2017.

Banff national park in Canada 🇨🇦

Runaway Train (1985) has held up really well. Just as exciting now as when I first saw it in '86. Intense, violent & full of thrilling moments. Jon Voight plays criminal Manny Mannheim, a superb characterization in his most atypical role. Nominated 1986 Oscar for Best Actor.

Hey Jason Burke - fantastic book. Especially sharp on West Germany’s radical Red Army Faction. Learned a ton.