During my recent bout with infirmity, I dusted off some old videotapes of the 1970 BBC series “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” and watched it. I had fond memories of it from my original viewing over forty years ago, … Continue reading →
Phoebe Snow has died. For those of you who might not be familiar with her, she was a young phenom in the 70s, a singer/songwriter with a uniquely bluesy style. Her life was not an easy one; a hydrocephalic daughter … Continue reading →
Ballet specializes in transformations. After all, it changes the human body from a lumbering earthbound thing into an ethereal yet steely and gravity-defying, lighter-than-air, transporter of the audience into realms of beauty and transcendence. Yes, it can be corny, especially … Continue reading →
I recall a performance of the Moiseyev Dance Company’s “Partisans” as the single most exciting theatrical experience of my life. It occurred back when I was a little kid and the company was on its very first visit here. A … Continue reading →
From the inimitable Julia Child. Just a mite creepy (although peppy. And peepy.):
Continue reading →Okay, so sometimes I watch it. So sue me. And last night the results show—always milked for maximum drama—was more than usually dramatic because judge-favored songstress Pia got the boot from the viewers. Ah, America, ye of little judgment, according … Continue reading →
Boy, have they gotten old. And it’s Garfunkel’s voice that’s been most affected by the passage of time, although he still appears to have much of his always-formidable hair. But that high clear angelic sound is a bit grittier than … Continue reading →
The lottery. “The Lottery.” “The Babylon Lottery.”
Continue reading →Those of you who are not into frivolity, skip this one. But as for me, I welcome the chance to watch Ralph Macchio, the long-ago “Karate Kid,” do a credible jive on “Dancing With the Stars.” He’s fun to watch. … Continue reading →
It’s a bit funny to me that the film “Black Swan” is about doubling—a woman taken over by another self—and that Portman is being haunted by a double in real life: Sarah Lane, the woman who alleges she did 95% … Continue reading →
The short answer is: no, he’s making a joke. Jack Cashill, whose book Deconstructing Obama has come out recently, believes that the joke (or, as he puts it, the final “retreat into irony”) hides the preceeding truthful admission: With his … Continue reading →
This kind of Georgian, and this sort of knife: I don’t know which seems more dangerous, the leaping up and crashing down on the knees, or the throwing of the daggers. I do know, however, that I agree wholeheartedly with … Continue reading →