Early Frost and late
Here’s a very early poem by Robert Frost: “The Tuft of Flowers.” And by “very early” I mean very; Frost was probably about 22 when he wrote it (1896 or 1897). You can tell it’s early if you know anything … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Arts
Violette Verdy: once more, with feelings (the Girl in Green)
I recently wrote about ballet dancer Violette Verdy, who died on February 8. At the time I wrote that post, I had not seen the following videos. In my post I mentioned Verdy’s astounding and unique musicality; I think these … Continue reading →
Dueling Concerto Baroccos
In 1941 George Balanchine choreographed the ballet “Concerto Barocco” to Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins. When I write “choreographed to,” I really mean it, because the dance has virtually no plot except to express the music, with … Continue reading →
On being a blogger these days: truth, Trump, and a whole lot of other things
I’m what you might call a mid-level blogger. I’ve been doing this for eleven years, and I’ve reached a certain level of readership that’s more than I ever thought it would be when I began but less than I later … Continue reading →
Limbaugh and Levin, and campaign 2016
I don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh—or to any talk shows, actually—often. But I’ve listened now and then, often enough—to Limbaugh and also to Mark Levin—to get a basic feel for both of them. For example, I’ve noticed that for about … Continue reading →
How many of these most lied-about books have you read?
Here’s the list of the 20 books that people most often think they should have read, say they have read, but often haven’t read. For me the grand total of books on that list actually read is eleven: (1) Both … Continue reading →
RIP Violette Verdy
Last night I got the urge to see a clip of the ballet “Dances at a Gathering,” which is on the short list of my favorite ballets of all time. It was choreographed by the musical theater and dance genius … Continue reading →
Post-debate thoughts on the debate I mostly didn’t watch
I watched about one-third of this evening’s debate. After that I turned it on intermittently, but what I saw convinced me to finally call it quits, and to eat my (very late) dinner in blessed silence. Maybe this really wasn’t … Continue reading →
Dance teachers I have known: Stanley Holden, revisited
A while back I wrote a tribute to a ballet teacher of mine, Stanley Holden. A little recap is in order: One doesn’t ordinarily think of comedy in connection with ballet dancers, but Holden was a master of it, best … Continue reading →
You will not regret watching this
…An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick, unless Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing For every tatter in its mortal dress… O sages standing in God’s holy fire As in … Continue reading →
The most extreme weight-loss TV show of all
It’s called “Fit to Fat to Fit,” and I happened across it by chance when channel-surfing the other evening. The show is scary, but I was riveted. It features a fitness trainer—a new one each week—who contracts to gain an … Continue reading →
RIP David Bowie
Most people seem to be reacting to the news of the death of David Bowie at 69 with shock. I had the same feeling, too. I think it was because he had just put out a new album to great … Continue reading →