a pilgrimage, and a movie

Last Friday night I sat in the dark weeping while listening to a four-hour tribute to Luciano Pavarotti broadcast on "Friday Night at the Opera" from KXPR in Sacramento. Transcendent. The next morning I got out the map of Italy to plot a trip to Modena, his birth and burial place. It looks like an easy train ride from Vicenza west to Verona and then south to Modena. We could stop in Verona to look at Romeo and Juliet's presumed balcony. Or not.

Movie of the Day: "Ray". I watched this brilliant film last night. Jamie Foxx WAS Ray, the same way Helen Mirren WAS the Queen. Seamless characterization. I loved watching it; I didn't want it to end. Foxx gave us all the turbulence, talent and, finally, grace of Charles's rich and colorful life. No wonder he walked away with the Oscar for his role. Tonight, for something completely different, "Places in the Heart" with Sally Fields. One of the reasons I want to see this film is to watch Lindsay Crouse. If you have never seen her in "House of Games" (1987) with Joe Mantegna, put it on your Netflix® queue. At the top.