It's 5:05 AM and Vincent Van Gogh, actually Kirk Douglas playing him in a movie on TCM, is about to cut part of his ear off. Gaugin is played with great character by Anthony Quinn. But the movie arrival of Vincent in Arles and setting up shop seems to dredge up something of one's values in life, the simplicity of living, if that is a choice. It's probably just the time-honored custom of Europe, the basics, the healthy things. Light. A place to cook. A routine of work. Decent food.

And for a moment one is reminded where modern appliances fit in. The microwave, its rotating dish just cleaned in a tub of soapy water in the kitchen sink, has just reheated a simple take on a lamb stew, a mishmash of Navarre and Bourguignon style with too much olive oil, but tasty after two days of storing. The microwave, a quick oven. The television, if we still call it that, reminds one of books, the way one travelled through their windows. A good movie shows us things, and here, in this movie shot on location, Lust for Life, we glimpse scenes we would otherwise miss, the realism behind the paintings of Van Gogh in Arles and St. Remy and elsewhere. The guitar, plugged into a new amplifier, becomes a better amplified instrument, like a piano, to the listener who is also playing. The stew tastes good. A mini casserole of zuchini and broccoli and tomato with parmesan heats in the toaster over to finish. The sink has already seen to the cleaning of earlier dishes, and now dirty plates are rinsed and left for tomorrow's batch of hot soapy water. A glass of wine is enjoyed, a Malbec from the Languedoc, as Van Gogh and Gaugin have an absinthe.

For a moment modernity boils down to modern takes, modern adjustments to make up for a lack of a big hearth fireplace to cook over, but essentially the same thing. A little stew when one comes home from work. A glass of wine. A book to travel a bit, a guitar to strum before getting sleepy, before turning in. The bartender known about town relaxes after plying his art and thinks of how to fall asleep, tomorrow another day.