ON FEMININE RHYMES
I CONFESS BEING BLISSFULLY ignorant of modern pop music. I got as far as Rasputina’s cello rock and Bikini Kill’s grrrl riot, but not much further. Indeed, I continue to … Continue reading
DEBRETT’S ENCOUNTER WITH ROSEBUD
DEBRETT’S IS A TRADITIONAL British company renowned for publishing Debrett’s Peerage & Baronage, the standard guide to the aristocratic families of Europe. According to Wikipedia, “The last printed edition was … Continue reading
ARTISTS AND THE BALLET
BALLET TYPICALLY CALLS FOR a backdrop of sorts, but not otherwise a great deal of scenery. Nor are its costumes typically elaborate, what with the athletic requirements of dance. Yet … Continue reading
BBC TAKE 2
HERE’S YET MORE on BBC’s hundredth anniversary. Indeed, back in mid-April, I gleaned tidbits from Sam Knight’s piece in The New Yorker. Here in Take 2, I so enjoy Stefan … Continue reading
YOUR HIT PARADE SORTA EVERYMAN’S MTV? PART 2
IN PART 1 YESTERDAY, Frank Sinatra thrilled bobby soxers (and ticked off sponsor Lucky Strike) in the weekly Your Hit Parade show rating popular music. Today in Part 2, we … Continue reading
YOUR HIT PARADE—SORTA EVERYMAN’S MTV? PART 1
IT’S DIFFICULT FOR ME to imagine 1943, what with having been less than a year old for most of that year. However, through the wonders of Sirius XM “Radio Classics,” … Continue reading
YESTERDAY’S TOMORROWS
“THE FUTURE,” SAID Arthur C. Clarke, “isn’t what it used to be.” This was a fitting comment from the science-fiction author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And, almost four decades … Continue reading
STAGING WAGNER
RECENTLY, I NOTED, WATCHING Bergman’s The Virgin Spring reminded me of Wagner staging of medieval interiors. I was thinking especially of the Hunding residence built around a massive ash tree … Continue reading
TIDBITS ABOUT AUNTIE BEEB
BBC WORLD SERVICE is my wakeup call at 6:00 a.m. Pacific, 13.00 GMT. They used to play Lillibullero, but now it’s just a zippy modern sound check. This year is … Continue reading
CELEBRATING TRUFFAUT, BERGMAN, AND BONDARCHUK PART 2
CONTINUING OUR FOREIGN FLICK fling, we devote Part 2 to the single, massive, expansive, (add adjective of your choice) 7 hour 11 minute epic, Sergei Bondarchuk’s Война и мир, War … Continue reading
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