All Things Scottish
I noticed a lot of talk about Scotland and the Scots in several threads recently, so I thought it might be time to put up a video of one of my favorite SNL running bits:
Continue reading →Category Archives: Arts
Ringo Starr, ordinary lad
I’ve never been one of those folks who seek out and soak up obsessive details about rock musicians—the minutiae of their lives and loves and drug habits and the like, although I realize it’s somewhat of a cottage industry. But … Continue reading →
Donald Trump says buh-bye…
…to Corey Lewandowski. NOTE: For those of you who don’t get the “buh-bye” reference, it’s from this 1994 Saturday Night Live sketch (I can’t find the whole thing to embed; this is just excerpts): [ADDENDUM: Here’s a link to the … Continue reading →
The other Pavlova…
…is Nadezhda, a Russian ballet dancer who burst onto the scene in the 70s dancing with the Perm Ballet and then the Bolshoi, and who revolutionized the “look” of ballet. I remember the first photos I saw of Pavlova, she … Continue reading →
Astaire and Rogers: Follow the Fleet
When I was a child there were a lot of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies shown on TV. I probably saw all of them (some, many many times), and I loved them. Most of these movies displayed Astaire and … Continue reading →
Forensic Files: the Robards case
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve taken to watching the TV program “Forensic Files,” often as background while I’m writing or reading online. I used to use cable news stations for that purpose, but no more. I haven’t watched a single … Continue reading →
The rewrite: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Pierre Menard
I can’t remember why I was doing it, but the other night I was researching the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe and I discovered a few surprising things. The first was that Stowe had seven children in addition to writing … Continue reading →
Ballet coaching: Ulanova and Maximova
Ballet roles can be learned through video, but it’s insufficient. Most leading ballet dancers are taught their roles by coaches, ordinarily well-known retired dancers. It’s not usually a question of teaching technique; that is already firmly in place. It’s expression, … Continue reading →
One of the reasons we’re in this predicament: talk shows
Talk shows seemed like a great idea at the beginning. And in many ways they still are. I’m not against them, or saying they should stop. They provide a gathering place and information for political junkies, a forum for a … Continue reading →
The Gershwins and dual talents
[NOTE: Once in a while I recycle an old post just for fun. At this point, I’ve published so many posts—10,542, according to trusty old WordPress—that even I have forgotten some of them. This one was very enjoyable to research—so … Continue reading →
Violette Verdy in Balanchine’s “Liebeslieder Waltzer”
It’s no secret how highly I think of the late and very great ballet dancer Violette Verdy (here’s a list of my previous posts). She was exceptional. I hadn’t seen this video before. It’s a production of Balanchine’s “Liebeslieder Waltzer” … Continue reading →
Dealing with the consequences: the road not taken
People on the right who refuse to vote for Donald Trump are commonly met with the response that they must then bear some responsibility for electing Hillary Clinton, and that as they watch her presidency unfold they will have to … Continue reading →