[Click the pic for more]
6.30.2009
6.28.2009
6.27.2009
6.26.2009
Michael Jackson 1958-2009
My friend called me when the news broke yesterday evening.
My friend: Is it true?!
I was walking down the street, heading to a play reading.
Me: I don't know. I just heard he was rushed to the hospital.
A couple had parked their car along a curb a few feet away. The husband was stuffing quarters in the meter just as I was telling my friend:
"Cardiac arrest"
They both turned and gave me a knowing look.
Dude: Yea, it's true. They just announced it on the radio.
Me: (To the couple) Ohhh, no.
Wife: Yea. I don't know whether to be happy or sad ...
Me: Oh (WTF?!)
So I can only assume she was referring to Michael's boy-frolics in the last 10 years of his life. (The ones we know about.) I hit up google images to find a picture of MJ, and the first couple of pages are dominated by his most recent face. Some of them have his pointy nose falling off while he speaks. A gaping black hole is left behind. It took a few clicks to find the above image.
Jackson was a weird dude. I don't think he was ever "normal". He was a world-wide star. It's a feeling I think very few artists know. Before you hit me, let me explain. Jackson was one of the few celebrities who was celebrated and loved across the board. Black, white, young, old, Reagon, Russia ... I mean, the dude got very little hate at the peak of his career.
Lots of parents and "moral police" criticized The Beatles, Elvis. Barbara Streisand got death threats. There was always a movement of angry folks coming after icons for "being wrong". Michael didn't get that. If he did, it was overshadowed by the adoration.
I'm not surprised he cracked. Britney and Lindsay cracked under a sliver of that media attention. The speed at which gossip & new travels is considerably fast these days. Michael had the advantage of being in a "bigger" world. We didn't have technology to send unflattering pictures or cell phone video around the globe in a few minutes. He was the last old skool superstar in the universe.
AND, he was so damn good. An amazing performer. Most of the people in my generation rocked some kind of MJ fashion--genuine or clowning around. We've all worn one glove, moonwalked, or pretended some off-brand mess was a Thriller jacket. (And if you didn't, you know you wanted to.)
So, like so many others across the internet, I'm sharing a few of my favorite MJ moments.
I was a HUGE J5 fan when I was a kid. I watched the first half of Moonwalker a million times. Michael was so cute and such a soulful performer. Even if he didn't believe the love songs he sang, it seemed as if he found some kind of truth in them. I think performing with his brothers was the truth for him. I mean, he looks pretty happy.
I love this video, because he's a lil dorky! He hadn't really gotten his moves together, but there are glimmers of it during the breakdown when the Jackson triplets arrive.
This is the best. He honed his moves so that they flowed like water poured from a glass. The dude had his sh** together in this one. I still don't quite understand the orgasmic interlude. Was Annie really that important?? But it's a classic video.
R.I.P MJ.
They'll never be another like you.
My friend: Is it true?!
I was walking down the street, heading to a play reading.
Me: I don't know. I just heard he was rushed to the hospital.
A couple had parked their car along a curb a few feet away. The husband was stuffing quarters in the meter just as I was telling my friend:
"Cardiac arrest"
They both turned and gave me a knowing look.
Dude: Yea, it's true. They just announced it on the radio.
Me: (To the couple) Ohhh, no.
Wife: Yea. I don't know whether to be happy or sad ...
Me: Oh (WTF?!)
So I can only assume she was referring to Michael's boy-frolics in the last 10 years of his life. (The ones we know about.) I hit up google images to find a picture of MJ, and the first couple of pages are dominated by his most recent face. Some of them have his pointy nose falling off while he speaks. A gaping black hole is left behind. It took a few clicks to find the above image.
Jackson was a weird dude. I don't think he was ever "normal". He was a world-wide star. It's a feeling I think very few artists know. Before you hit me, let me explain. Jackson was one of the few celebrities who was celebrated and loved across the board. Black, white, young, old, Reagon, Russia ... I mean, the dude got very little hate at the peak of his career.
Lots of parents and "moral police" criticized The Beatles, Elvis. Barbara Streisand got death threats. There was always a movement of angry folks coming after icons for "being wrong". Michael didn't get that. If he did, it was overshadowed by the adoration.
I'm not surprised he cracked. Britney and Lindsay cracked under a sliver of that media attention. The speed at which gossip & new travels is considerably fast these days. Michael had the advantage of being in a "bigger" world. We didn't have technology to send unflattering pictures or cell phone video around the globe in a few minutes. He was the last old skool superstar in the universe.
AND, he was so damn good. An amazing performer. Most of the people in my generation rocked some kind of MJ fashion--genuine or clowning around. We've all worn one glove, moonwalked, or pretended some off-brand mess was a Thriller jacket. (And if you didn't, you know you wanted to.)
So, like so many others across the internet, I'm sharing a few of my favorite MJ moments.
I was a HUGE J5 fan when I was a kid. I watched the first half of Moonwalker a million times. Michael was so cute and such a soulful performer. Even if he didn't believe the love songs he sang, it seemed as if he found some kind of truth in them. I think performing with his brothers was the truth for him. I mean, he looks pretty happy.
I love this video, because he's a lil dorky! He hadn't really gotten his moves together, but there are glimmers of it during the breakdown when the Jackson triplets arrive.
This is the best. He honed his moves so that they flowed like water poured from a glass. The dude had his sh** together in this one. I still don't quite understand the orgasmic interlude. Was Annie really that important?? But it's a classic video.
R.I.P MJ.
They'll never be another like you.
6.25.2009
Baby Bloggin ...
I choose a new theme for my baby blog.
Have you been by to see it?
It misses you. Asks about you all the time ...
Have you been by to see it?
It misses you. Asks about you all the time ...
6.24.2009
Female playwrights, plays by women, plays about women ...
Doesn't matter how you spin it, the news ain't good.
I read the nytimes and new york mag articles reporting the research results gathered by economics student Emily Glassberg Sands. (She'll present her work to a larger audience on the Colbert Report next Wednesday night.)
Some things that caught my eye:
- 82% of plays produced are written by men; 18% by women
I believe it.
- Only 32% of playwrights are women
This one kind of shocked me. Most of my mentors and peers are pretty sucessful female playwrights. I expected this number to be a bit more even. I know the American Theater of John Guare's or Eugene O'Neill's time held a boy's club stature, but I didn't realize it remains the norm. Huh.
- 26% of plays are female-written
A number that suggests men are more prolific. They churn out play after play while women take longer. It's hard to know. Sands based a portion of her research on doollee.com, and I can tell you my profile is old. Sands mentions that doollee isn't the best resource.
- Plays about women less likely to be produced
I believe it.
- Plays and musicals on Broadway sold 16% more than male counter parts.
That's cool and everything, but only 11% of shows on B'way were written by women. And that's in the last decade.
- Four unknown plays by successful female playwrights were stripped of its author's name and assigned a male pen name and a female pen name. The scripts were sent to 250 American theaters selected at random. The scripts with the female pen name were considered to be lower quality. The exact same, dang script with a male pen name was more favorable. And the kicker: the respondents were female artistic directors and literary managers.
*Speechless*
You can get a pdf of Sands powerpoint presentation if you click the nytimes link above. It's interesting stuff.
Yay to Julia Jordan for sounding the horn. I hope this conversation sparks change so that ALL parts of America are represented on American stages.
The sad thing is that the numbers are probably more dismal when one looks at the break down of playwrights based on race, sexuality, sexual identity, and the differently-abled.
But I'm optimistic. I have to be. I choose to be.
I read the nytimes and new york mag articles reporting the research results gathered by economics student Emily Glassberg Sands. (She'll present her work to a larger audience on the Colbert Report next Wednesday night.)
Some things that caught my eye:
- 82% of plays produced are written by men; 18% by women
I believe it.
- Only 32% of playwrights are women
This one kind of shocked me. Most of my mentors and peers are pretty sucessful female playwrights. I expected this number to be a bit more even. I know the American Theater of John Guare's or Eugene O'Neill's time held a boy's club stature, but I didn't realize it remains the norm. Huh.
- 26% of plays are female-written
A number that suggests men are more prolific. They churn out play after play while women take longer. It's hard to know. Sands based a portion of her research on doollee.com, and I can tell you my profile is old. Sands mentions that doollee isn't the best resource.
- Plays about women less likely to be produced
I believe it.
- Plays and musicals on Broadway sold 16% more than male counter parts.
That's cool and everything, but only 11% of shows on B'way were written by women. And that's in the last decade.
- Four unknown plays by successful female playwrights were stripped of its author's name and assigned a male pen name and a female pen name. The scripts were sent to 250 American theaters selected at random. The scripts with the female pen name were considered to be lower quality. The exact same, dang script with a male pen name was more favorable. And the kicker: the respondents were female artistic directors and literary managers.
*Speechless*
You can get a pdf of Sands powerpoint presentation if you click the nytimes link above. It's interesting stuff.
Yay to Julia Jordan for sounding the horn. I hope this conversation sparks change so that ALL parts of America are represented on American stages.
The sad thing is that the numbers are probably more dismal when one looks at the break down of playwrights based on race, sexuality, sexual identity, and the differently-abled.
But I'm optimistic. I have to be. I choose to be.
6.19.2009
6.18.2009
6.17.2009
Benjamin Bixby
I'm probably super late on this, but GQ mag mentioned Andre3000 as one of the Best New Designers in America
[Click the pic for more]
[Click the pic for more]
Ummm, WTF?
From People magazine:
"Sean Penn is going on an indefinite hiatus from acting to spend time with his family, specifically his two teenage children, daughter Dylan, 18, and son Hopper, 15.
The time off comes as a surprise, especially to the producers of what was to be his next two films, the Mafia-thriller Cartel, and the hotly-anticipated Three Stooges, where Penn was to portray curly-haired dimwit Larry opposite Jim Carrey's Curly and Benicio Del Toro's Moe...."
I don't think I would've chosen the phrase "hotly-anticipated" ...
If you need a point of Stooges reference:
"Sean Penn is going on an indefinite hiatus from acting to spend time with his family, specifically his two teenage children, daughter Dylan, 18, and son Hopper, 15.
The time off comes as a surprise, especially to the producers of what was to be his next two films, the Mafia-thriller Cartel, and the hotly-anticipated Three Stooges, where Penn was to portray curly-haired dimwit Larry opposite Jim Carrey's Curly and Benicio Del Toro's Moe...."
I don't think I would've chosen the phrase "hotly-anticipated" ...
If you need a point of Stooges reference:
6.15.2009
N.E.R.D - Maybe
I like this video for two reasons: Pharrell looks so damn sincere when he lip syncs; and I'm all kinds of excited he has a dark-skinned female lead in the video. Plus, she looks like a regular chick. I mean, she's cute and all but she doesn't look all sexed up--unlike the lead in N.E.R.D's other video "She Wants to Move".
[Click the pic to see the video]
6.12.2009
6.09.2009
6.08.2009
Acoustic Bench
I've never heard of the Magistrates, but I think this acoustic version of their song "Heartbreak" is very nice & chill:
.
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Yay, Billy!
David Alvarez, et al, picked up a Tony award for their role in Billy Elliot. I posted about him a few months ago. He seems like an awesome kid. Yay, David! Via nytimes.
6.07.2009
Cradling Text
I just finished reading Black, a book of poetry by writer George Elliott Clarke. He's Black & Canadian. Also a really lovely writer. The way he handles language and structure is inspiring.
I also enjoyed the physical touch of the book. The last page tells us that it's made of "%100 post-consumer recycled fibre". The typeset and design was quite lovely, too. These observations may be a sign that I don't read poetry books often. It's very possible that the layout and design of Clarke's book is standard in this genre, but nevertheless it's inspiring.
I finished his book yesterday.
This afternoon, I read an interesting article in today's nytimes by Dwight Garner who hadn't seen any of the Broadway plays nominated for Tonys this year, but got his hands on all the scripts to simply read the text.
It's the type of thing that used to go down back in the day: if you couldn't travel to NYC or afford a ticket to the show, you'd pick up a copy of the play to read.
So, the magic of holding a book (not made up of post-consumer fibre), reading the play USED to be a thing non-theater people USED to do. Huh. Reading a book of poetry used to be a thing non-poets used to do. Huh.
(This is a messy post that's more about me processing rather than declaring.)
There's something magical about reading "living text" on the page. What do I mean by "living"? Sometimes when I'm reading a play--and this time while reading Clarke's book--I catch myself reading out loud. The text forces its way out into the world. This happens with fiction, but it mostly occurs when I read plays or poetry.
When I check out books from the library I usually grab the older publications (pre-1960s), because the typeset, font, book design is usually more appealing. The tactile spirit of the text is fuller if I'm holding a neat-looking book.
There are lots of self-publishing companies on-line these days. Also, there are a few journals and books that serve the art & craft of plays meant to be read. McSweeney's publishers, in my opinion, put out some of the most interesting book designs.
Holding, cradling text. Speaking the text. Holding a play. Touching poems.
It's all very interesting...
I also enjoyed the physical touch of the book. The last page tells us that it's made of "%100 post-consumer recycled fibre". The typeset and design was quite lovely, too. These observations may be a sign that I don't read poetry books often. It's very possible that the layout and design of Clarke's book is standard in this genre, but nevertheless it's inspiring.
I finished his book yesterday.
This afternoon, I read an interesting article in today's nytimes by Dwight Garner who hadn't seen any of the Broadway plays nominated for Tonys this year, but got his hands on all the scripts to simply read the text.
It's the type of thing that used to go down back in the day: if you couldn't travel to NYC or afford a ticket to the show, you'd pick up a copy of the play to read.
So, the magic of holding a book (not made up of post-consumer fibre), reading the play USED to be a thing non-theater people USED to do. Huh. Reading a book of poetry used to be a thing non-poets used to do. Huh.
(This is a messy post that's more about me processing rather than declaring.)
There's something magical about reading "living text" on the page. What do I mean by "living"? Sometimes when I'm reading a play--and this time while reading Clarke's book--I catch myself reading out loud. The text forces its way out into the world. This happens with fiction, but it mostly occurs when I read plays or poetry.
When I check out books from the library I usually grab the older publications (pre-1960s), because the typeset, font, book design is usually more appealing. The tactile spirit of the text is fuller if I'm holding a neat-looking book.
There are lots of self-publishing companies on-line these days. Also, there are a few journals and books that serve the art & craft of plays meant to be read. McSweeney's publishers, in my opinion, put out some of the most interesting book designs.
Holding, cradling text. Speaking the text. Holding a play. Touching poems.
It's all very interesting...
6.02.2009
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