Swine flu threat?
It’s always possible, of course, that this time it will be the terrible pandemic that is feared. But I wonder. When I did a search of this blog for “influenza,” for example, I came up with this post from the … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
I didn’t know I was pregnant: you be the judge
For those of you who read this post of mine—including all those doubters—and who want to judge for yourselves whether those women who gave birth without having known they were pregnant are ignoramuses or whether their stories make sense, the … Continue reading →
Till the fat lady sings
By now, most of you who use computers—and if I take a wild guess, that would be all of you—have probably heard of Susan Boyle, the dumpy 47-year-old from Scotland who stunned the world with the beauty of her voice … Continue reading →
“In Treatment”—and Byrne—is back
Last year I wrote about the HBO show “In Treatment”, featuring fictional therapist Dr. Paul Weston, his sessions with patients, his private life, and the hours he spends talking to a supervisor/therapist of his own. It’s not for everyone, that’s … Continue reading →
Updike on the Kennedy assassination
When writer John Updike died last January I wrote this tribute to him, as well as this discussion of his brave and well-articulated stance on the Vietnam War, a position that estranged him from many of his friends and the … Continue reading →
They laughed when she stood up to…
…sing:
Continue reading →“I didn’t know I was pregnant”
No, not me. This TV show on TLC. I watched it last night. And lest you think this was some sort of joke, let me say the show was in deadly earnest—and quite fascinating. How could these women have been … Continue reading →
The evolution(?) of extreme ballet
This article documents a trend I’ve noticed for decades: ballet lines have become more exaggerated over time. This is especially true of what is known as “extrension”—that is, the height of the nonsupporting leg when it is raised. But it’s … Continue reading →
Obama and the disturbing influence of Frank Marshall Davis
Much has been written about the fact that Frank Marshall Davis was a mentor to the young Barack Obama. But Davis was an unusual role model for a boy; not only may he have been a sometime pedophile, according to … Continue reading →
The Girl From Ipanema returns
[NOTE: While we’re talking about Brazil (and why not? I’m tired of talking about Obama) let’s revisit an old post of mine with a Brazilian theme: “Lost in translation: the girl from Ipamema.”] A while back we had a discussion … Continue reading →
Obamlet?
Sam Schulman offers an interesting notion of Obama as Hamlet. We differ on certain things; Schulman does not believe Obama to be a radical, whereas I currently strongly favor that interpretation. But the following sounds about right: [Obama] is a … Continue reading →
In my continuing quest to find…
…a way to make us all forget our drab and wretched post-recession lives, I hereby offer some fashion resonances. People have been stunned by this puzzling look sported by Beyonce: Parisian designer Thierry Mugler has managed to do to Beyonce … Continue reading →