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 →
Take a look at this photo of dancer Isadora Duncan and see how powerful it is. I challenge you to find anything remotely like it in a contemporary dancer. But then, Duncan was sui generis even in her time, or … Continue reading →
It seems that Hillary is tired of playing Ophelia to Obama’s Hamlet. At least, that’s the story. I’m even inclined to believe it’s at least partially true. I’ve always felt that Hillary had more on the ball (and has more … Continue reading →
Here’s something to relieve the gloom. Many years ago I watched a documentary entitled “The Treble.” It was about Welsh boy soprano Aled Jones and the crisis he faced on the brink of puberty with an imminent change of voice … Continue reading →
I believe I have done a great service to the world in unearthing the provenance of Mel Brooks’ immortal “Guten Tag Hop Clop” from the musical version of “The Producers.” You may have thought it was merely a ridiculous German … Continue reading →
Yesterday I went to a performance of a highly condensed (one hour long) English-langauge version of the opera “Hansel and Gretel” at Boston’s Wheelock Family Theater. I was one of the only people in the crowd without a child or … Continue reading →