Friday, April 04, 2003 UNDER FIRE- From the New Yorker of March 31st 2003 The New Yorker makes for a hugely entertaining read, especially after a period of intellectual starvation. Two weeks of relentless exposure to an avalanche of tightly screened military briefings, ‘embedded’ videophone reporting, and a pundits galore gathering in the heart of the current crisis in the Middle East; I was reinvigorated by the New Yorker’s vast sprawl of spirit and wit. From the ‘Goings On About Town’ section, some selected quotes: -- BARBRA’s WEDDING –A comedy by Daniel Stern ‘If Seinfeld was a show about nothing, Daniel Stern’s comedy is a play about nothing- although this nothing is really something.’ O JERUSALEM –A play by A.R.Gurney- ‘We are all in this thing together,’ Hartwell says, but his dilemmas don’t really help us to understand how we got into this thing in the first place, much less how to get out of it- but then that’s not only a problem for playwrights.’ MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP ‘Morris called it ‘Resurrection,’ he says, because the main girl accidentally gets shot, and then she reappears and shoots the guy. Then he comes back to life, and there’s a big apotheosis.’ The dancers wear pajamas by Isaac Mizrahi.’ ‘HIP HOP KHASENE’ –music by David Krakauer- ‘This superb clarinettist may have the klezmer strains of his forefathers deep in his bones, but he’s not stuck in the past.’ GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM –Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle’- ‘There’s nothing fake about Barney. Would that there were. A touch of the charlatan (or of humor, God forbid) would prove that he cares what other people think. As it is the show is seamlessly hermetic: a solipsist’s house-party. Barney’s achievement appears to be a richly upholstered dead end. But to miss this landmark event is unthinkable. If not a major artist, he is certainly a major case.’ ASIA SOCIETY –A retrospective of paintings by Montien Boonma, A Thai artist- ‘One look at the serene expression on the face of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, lounging comfortably on the edge of a rocky cliff as if it were a La-Z-Boy recliner, and the benefits of meditation are obvious.’ ‘FLESH TONES’ –Photography exhibition at Mann Gallery- ‘A strikingly, multiply exposed image by Michael Spano gets to the point of all this nakedness by showing two people engaged in various moments in the confusing mess of sex.’ QUERCY –Restaurant review- Quercy’s big front window looks out on a liquor store and oncoming traffic. But Fraysse, who has been spotted counting dinner receipts and wandering through the place in a warm leather coat, seems blithely unaware of any defects. Perhaps, this Gallic disregard is just the thing to break the curse.’ MUYBRIDGE’s LEGACY –Angel Orensanz Foundation- ‘The New York Institute for the Humanities considers Muybridge’s role in modern society, with a symposium, which among others will feature the neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, who will entertain the theory that Muybridge's creative genius may have stemmed from a head injury.’ DAREDEVIL –Movie review- ‘Affleck seems a put-on movie star, a lazybones puffed by helium bursts of publicity.’ TODAY TOMORROW TOYOTA –A Toyota ad featured in the New Yorker- ‘Our hope is that one day every vehicle in the world will be as environmentally advanced. Who knows? In the future, the only effect felt from driving a car could be the wind in your face.’ -- posted by Walter at 4/04/2003 Tuesday, April 01, 2003 IN THE DARK -- Wild Wilder The Wild Into the Wild Wilderness Now Deadhunt Deadfall On the Precipice Over the Precipice Edge The Edge On the Edge The Bear Roared The Bear and the Brain Bloody Betrayal -1997 Twentieth Century Fox movie title proposals- -- Attending a covert meeting : An information broker A head waiter A bookworm A man nicknamed Push A sleeper barbarian A patsy A long haul truck driver Their combined initials: G – L – A – D – I – C- E -- Different appearances evoke different accusations As global media have been starved off their respirator So has emerged a different language Statements riddled with ambivalence Compete for mass approval Method politics offer a gruesome sanctuary To the incapacitated and ignorant Corporate concerns and the quest for relevance Have become shrouded and tangential The operators of the machine convene in Industry boardrooms and Hollywood cutting rooms A cast and crew caught up in an apocalyptic Whirlwind of scripted suspense. -- posted by Walter at 4/01/2003