Here’s why. Although I’m not an Academy member (unlike Roger), I’m in 100% agreement with this: I’m fed up with the Oscars and everything they represent. The sight of red carpets, particularly celebrities mouthing off on red carpets, makes me … Continue reading →
—John Updike: we may skate upon an intense radiance we do not see because we see nothing else. Delmore Schwartz was a mid-20th-century poet with a tragic life but a wonderful gift. In fact, Saul Bellow wrote the novel Humboldt’s … Continue reading →
Yesterday and today, on the comments thread to this post I put up last night, there was a great deal of discussion about the reactions of the security guard at Parkland who failed to engage the shooter or even enter … Continue reading →
[NOTE: If it’s not clear what Ammogrrrll’s post and my rejoinder are referring to, please see this.] I confess. I stole and ate Ammogrrrll’s Key Lime Pie, even though I wrote an email to myself saying I didn’t. But I … Continue reading →
Commenter “Steve57” asks: I was goofing around on the intertubes. I came across this nugget [of ballet dancer Diana Vishneva as “Carmen”] and I was captivated… She wasn’t one of the “Dueling Carmens” you wrote about in June 2013 (Svetlana … Continue reading →
[Part I can be found here.] This next clip is an example of an element of Fonteyn’s specialness that’s extremely subtle. It’s not even a dance step; it’s more a bit of acting expressed through movement (acting through dance was … Continue reading →
It’s called 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos, and it’s been #1 for much of the time since it was released on January 23, 2018. As I write this it has over 600 customer reviews and, astoundingly, almost … Continue reading →
I saw this Kirkland/Barishnikov performance live on TV in 1978 when it first aired; I’d also seen the two do the same ballet in person. They were a magical pair in the short time they were partners. They were a … Continue reading →
I can’t imagine why 🙂 : As a child, I would have practically killed for those costumes and those fans. But my ballet teacher, who was British, had a very austere attitude towards recitals and fancy costumes: none. Here’s the … Continue reading →
The difference between these two speeches is abundantly clear: Trump offered bleakness, hostility, bigotry, and division. Kennedy offered hope, honesty, integrity, and unity.#SOTU — Charlotte Clymer???? (@cmclymer) January 31, 2018 Made me think of the first paragraph of Hans Christian … Continue reading →
“The Most Happy Fella” is a musical by Frank Loesser (I wrote about Loesser and his oeuvre here) that opened on Broadway in 1956. “Fella” is an odd bird in that it requires many operatic voices. Perhaps that’s why it’s … Continue reading →
Ever since I first saw the play “Noises Off” on Broadway around 1984 I’ve been deeply impressed by Michael Frayn, its author. I’d read about the play before I attended it. It was said to be very funny and very … Continue reading →