Selling My Books on the Streets of Brookyln 1.27 - Beauties

Saturday we ventured to South Jersey for my great nephew Ronnie’s 17th birthday. It was a fun day filled with good food and good cheer. Ronnie, a junior, has taken up golf and will try out for the school team. I think this means he’s given up hope of getting anywhere in baseball. When he told me at Christmas that he’s been sharing a friend’s clubs, I immediately thought of the bag of old ones I’ve had stored in a closet for heaven knows how many years. I was glad to give them to him and he was thrilled to have his own set and bag. He will be taking the road test for his driver’s license this week. And he is practicing guitar each day and actually prefers bluegrass, like his dad, although I heard a lot of rock riffs coming from his bedroom. He has 9000 songs in his new Iphone, going back to Billboard's top hits of the 50's. His sister Danielle, a freshman, actually saw some playing time in a JV basketball game the other night and recorded an assist. Yeah, Dani!

While digesting the meal I parked myself on the couch and watched Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), one of Paul Newman’s breakout parts. He plays middleweight champion Rocky Graziano, who many may remember as a spokesman for car repair. “Take care for your transmission,” he’d say in his pronounced New York accent. Whenever I watch the film I am touched by the sweetness of Pier Angeli, who plays the suffering wife, her only notable role. She was the twin of actress Marisa Pavan. Originally, the part of Graziano was to have gone to her former lover, James Dean, who died in that famous car crash a few months before the beginning of production. That affair was broken up by her mother, who steered her toward singer Vic Damone, whom she eventually divorced. She married and divorced a second time as well. Her career never really took off. She died of an overdose of barbiturates at 39. I can't help but wonder if she and Dean would still be alive had they wed, which would have been a major change in the course of their lives. Given the track record of Hollywood marriages, it is doubtful they'd still be together. Still.... Here is a pic of the Italian beauty:

Clare Bowen, third female banana, sweet Scarlett, in ABC’s Nashville, was profiled in today’s NY Post. I was shocked to learn she is Australian, classically trained, forced to give up opera when her voice changed. She is so genuine as a southern working class belle trying to make it in the business. The show’s greatest strength is its authenticity, especially in the song snippets. Her musical partner in the show, Sam Palladio, is a Brit! It is amazing how many Brits and Aussies carry off roles as Yanks with ease: Russell Crowe, Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Toni Collette, just off the top of my head. Here’s a pic of the lovely Miss Bowen:

The floating book shop opened for the first time in five days, and for the first two hours it looked as if it would come up empty. A tall young man donated seven CDs, five of which are in Russian. I sold the other two, one by DePeche Mode, the other unknown. I also sold an oldies CD I'd burned to Sue, a regular customer, And a young woman bought the Twilight series. Thanks, folks.
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Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3