[NOTE: This small poetic effort of mine has become somewhat of a holiday tradition at the blog. So here it comes again—just like the holiday itself.] ‘TWAS THE BLOGGER’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through … Continue reading →
I was in high school when I first read a Russian novel; it was Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The book immediately grabbed my attention – here was something to really sink my teeth into, something that dealt with the Big … Continue reading →
Twenty-six year old Luigi Mangione has been detained as a person of interest in the murder of United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson, and he’s emerged as a popular figure with a certain segment of the left. Call it the romantic … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Please see UPDATE in this new post.] The jury is deadlocked on the charge of manslaughter in the second degree after three days of deliberation. Penny is facing a second lesser charge as well: criminally negligent homicide, which carries … Continue reading →
When I was a kid and the internet didn’t exist, I used to spend a lot of time listening to records. That’s why, to this day, my brain still has access to the entire scores of many Broadway musicals and … Continue reading →
Chopin wrote this piece when he was eleven years old. It’s his earliest surviving work, but not the earliest he wrote. He was a child prodigy not just in playing but in composing: I think the pianist is thirteen here.
Continue reading →Ever since the election there’s been a sea-change, an atmospheric something that’s a bit hard to describe but has the whiff of possibility. I think everyone feels it to a certain extent. The left dreads and fears it, and perhaps … Continue reading →
Statuesque Alvin Ailey dancer Judith Jamison has died at the age of 81. She was a towering figure in the dance world – pun intended, because she was very tall – and there are plenty of tributes. This is mine. … Continue reading →
I saw this the other day. It’s quite well done, particular by the male dancer: It’s actually an old trick that appears in many ballets, as well. For example, Coppelia (here she’s pretending to be a doll to fool the … Continue reading →
Whose decision was it that Beyoncé appear at Harris’ Houston rally to endorse her but not to sing? Not even one little itty bitty song? After all, isn’t Beyoncé like, you know, a singer? And when singers appear at political … Continue reading →
If you look at the topic broadly, probably more than half of popular songs are about heartbreak or love gone bad. But I was thinking about a particular sort of heartbreak – the lover who was never sincere, the one … Continue reading →
Or how not to film ballet. I admit it’s a very difficult task. Film flattens a three-dimensional highly spatial art into two dimensions of flatness. Dance’s impact can only really be made in space, which allows for perspective and weight. … Continue reading →