When people think of ballet—if they think of it at all—they often think of dancing on pointe, something only women do in ballet. George Balanchine, one of the greatest choreographers of all time, famously said, “Ballet is woman.” Then again, … Continue reading →
Yesterday I saw my first one of these: Can’t say as I do. But that’s just me. I was never a big fan, even though I voted for him—twice, with vigor. But in the NH primary of 92, I was … Continue reading →
There are an awful lot of blogs these days (and a lot of them, no doubt, are awful). Technorati tracks about 57 million blogs, with a little over half of them regarded as “active”—meaning that the bloggers post at least … Continue reading →
This is a pair of my old pointe shoes. They are from about twenty years ago, the last time I took a ballet class. I threw out the innumerable other ones, myriad shapes and sizes and makes purchased in my … Continue reading →
It’s a sign of the weariness of our times that
Continue reading →The laconic, elegant, deeply intellectual, and labyrinthine Jorge Luis Borges is one of my favorite authors, and “Funes, the Memorius” from his collection Ficciones is one of his best stories. Borges had a swell of popularity in the 60s. I … Continue reading →
Before Memorial Day became a national three-day weekend in 1971 and the official kickoff to summer festivities, it was Decoration Day. I’m not all that ancient, but my earliest recollection of the holiday is of the latter name. It was … Continue reading →
The news that a sculpture entitled “My Sweet Lord” (after the Beatles song, no doubt, crossed with Tom Waits)—due to debut at a New York Hotel and consisting of a six-foot tall anatomically correct chocolate Jesus—has been canceled, conjures up … Continue reading →
I’m still on a bit of a Leonard Cohen kick, as well as a YouTube fling. Stay with me here, though; this isn’t just about Cohen. As Gerard Vanderleun has noted, Cohen has an even darker side than the one … Continue reading →
I reacquainted myself with the music of singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen recently, as a result of this post by The Anchoress. It links, not to the lugubrious Cohen himself, but to a YouTube video of John Cales singing Cohen’s much-covered “Hallelujah.” … Continue reading →
One of the most famous misunderstood lines in all of literature is Juliet’s balcony query: “Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” As most of you probably know, the archaic “wherefore” means “why.” But the misconception that the word means … Continue reading →
I went out dancing the other night. No, not ballet. My ballet days are over, I’m afraid. And no, most assuredly not the tango. My tango days are over, I’m very happy to say. This was dancing to the music … Continue reading →