Archive for November, 2010
Photo diary: non-traditional marriage
November 21, 2010
In this week’s New Yorker
November 21, 2010In the Thanksgiving-related Food Issue, Burkhard Bilger writes a fascinating long article about a culinary trend new to me, fermented foods. I was fascinated to see that the article centers on an old acquaintance of mine from ACT UP and Radical Faeries, Sandy Katz, author of “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved.” (Go, Sandy, aka Sanderkraut, aka Sandorfag!). Besides providing a glimpse of life at a pseudonymous Radical Faerie sanctuary in Tennessee, the article definitely speaks to my own sentiments about the silliness of modern-day germ-phobia:
“In the past decade, biologists have embarked on what they call the second human-genome project, aimed at identifying every bacterium associated with people. More than a thousand species have been found so far in our skin, stomach, mouth, guts, and other body parts. of those, only fifty or so are known to harm us, and they have been studied obsessively for more than a century. The rest are mostly new to science…Given how little we know about our inner ecology, carpet-bombing it might not always be the best idea. ‘I would put it very bluntly,’ [UMass Amherst biologist Lynn] Margulis told me. ‘When you advocate your soaps that say they kill all harmful bacteria, you are committing suicide.’ The bacteria in the gut can take up to four years to recover from a round of antibiotics, recent studies have found, and the steady assault of detergents, preservatives, chlorine, and other chemicals also takes its toll. The immune system builds up fewer antibodies in a sterile environment; the deadliest pathogens can grow more resistant to antibiotics; and innocent bystanders such as peanuts or gluten are more likely to provoke allergic reactions. All of which may explain why a number of studies have found that children raised on farms are less susceptible to allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. The cleaner we are, it sometimes seems, the sicker we get.”
Bilger also bravely sits down for lunch with opportunivores, people who eat roadkill and do their grocery shopping by dumpster-diving. Yikes!
In Talk of the Town, Elizabeth Kolbert writes about the scary ignoramuses angling for power in the newly established Republican majority in Congress: “John Shimkus, of Illinois, is one of four members now vying for the chairmanship of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. At a congressional hearing in 2009, he dismissed the dangers of climate change by quoting Genesis 8:22: ‘As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.’ He added, ‘I believe that’s the infallible word of God, and that’s the way it’s going to be for His creation.’ ”
Aside from the fabulous Roz Chast cartoon (above), my favorite thing in this issue is this poem by Clive James:
“Whitman and the Moth”
Van Wyck Brooks tells us Whitman in old age
Sat by a pond in nothing but his hat,
Crowding his final notebooks page by page
With names of trees, birds, bugs, and things like that.
The war could never break him, though he’d seen
Horrors in hospitals to chill the soul.
But now, preserved, the Union had turned mean:
Evangelizing greed was in control.
Good reason to despair, yet grief was purged
By tracing how creation reigned supreme.
A pupa cracked, a butterfly emerged:
America, still unfolding from its dream.
Sometimes he rose and waded in the pond,
Soothing his aching feet in the sweet mud.
A moth he knew, of which he had grown fond,
Perched on his hand as if to draw his blood.
But they were joined by what each couldn’t do,
The meeting point where great art comes to pass —
Whitman, who danced and sang but never flew,
The moth, which had not written “Leaves of Grass,”
Composed a picture of the interchange
Between the mind and all that it transcends
Yet must stay near. No, there was nothing strange
In how he put his hand out to make friends
With such a fragile creature, soft as dust.
Feeling the pond cool as the light grew dim,
He blessed new life, though it had only just
Arrived in time to see the end of him.
Theater review: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
November 20, 2010My review of Daniel Sullivan’s production of The Merchant of Venice has been posted on CultureVulture.net.
I didn’t manage to see the show when it was first staged in Central Park last summer, in rep with Michael Greif’s version of The Winter’s Tale, but I’m glad I caught up with it on Broadway.
Lily Rabe, Al Pacino, and Byron Jennings in "The Merchant of Venice"
“It’s a deep and upsetting rendition of one of Shakespeare’s darkest comedies….Sullivan’s subtle yet pointed staging made me unusually aware of the numerous contractual agreements in the play and how each of them comes loaded with some element of whimsy, perversity or downright cruelty. The scene where Shylock gets his day of reckoning could be considered the climax of the play, followed by some light-hearted comic business. But in this production, that tense scene launches an increasingly sickening series of humiliations, and nobody gets off the hook.”
You can read the complete review online here.
Playlist: iPod shuffle 11/15/10
November 16, 201011/15/10:
“Always Departing,” Brad Mehldau
“Ode to Billie Joe,” Clydie King
“Fuck and Run,” Liz Phair
“Change of Time,” Josh Ritter
“You Only Live once,” the Strokes
“Lift Me Up,” Bruce Springsteen
“No Sleep Blues,” Incredible String Band
“Simple Twist of Fate,” Jeff Tweedy (I’m Not There OST)
“Temperamental (Pull Timewarp Remix),” Everything but the Girl
“Hari Mar,” Snatam Kaur
“Pump,” The B-52’s
“Billie Jean,” Shinehead
“The Warwick Flag,” Suzzy & Maggie Roche
“A Fish on Land,” Lhasa De Sela
“That’s Where I Belong,” Paul Simon
“Love Came Here,” Lhasa De Sela
“Eleven Days,” David Byrne & Fatboy Slim (featuring Cyndi Lauper)
“Easy,” Joanna Newsom
“Ray,” Aimee Mann
“You and the Moon,” Judith Owen
“Could You Be Loved,” Bob Marley & the Wailers
“Water No Get Enemy,” Fela! OCR
“Curtains,” Hem
“Fred Jones Part 2,” Ben Folds Presents the West Chester University of Pennsylvania Gracenotes
“Much More,” Barbra Streisand
“Triphallus, To Punctuate!,” Of Montreal
“Tell Me What You Want,” Teddy Thompson
“Golek Lambangsari,” Java Court Gamelan
“I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone,” Teddy Thompson
“Top of the World,” Patty Griffin
“I’ve Got the World on a String,” Ella Fitzgerald
“Sleazy Bed Track,” the Bluetones (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World OST)
“Love You Better,” God-des & She
“Down with Love,” Barbra Streisand
“Addicted to Distraction,” Peter Salett
“Tenochtitlan’s numberless bridges,” Andy Partridge & Harold Budd
“He Miss Road,” Fela Kuti
“I’m in Love,” Doris Day
“The Life Is The Red Wagon,” Jane Siberry
“Railroad Wings,” Patty Griffin
“Fire,” Lizz Wright
“You Won’t Forget Me,” Sachal Vasandani
“This Is the Dream of Win and Regine,” Final Fantasy
“The Blue Ghazel,” Rickie Lee Jones
“All the Lovers,” Kylie Minogue
“Braided Hair,” 1 Giant Leap
“I Can Let Go Now,” Alison Kraus
“Suite III Overture,” Janelle Monae
“The Happy Time,” Liza Minnelli
“Girl Named Hello,” Of Montreal
“You Belong to Me,” Chaka Khan (with Michael McDonald)
“Don’t Smoke in Bed,” Patti Smith
“ROUSSEL: Coeur en peril,” Regine Crespin
“Feed the Light,” Lizz Wright
“So Happy I Could Die,” Lady GaGa
11/15/10:
“Always Departing,” Brad Mehldau
“Ode to Billie Joe,” Clydie King
“Fuck and Run,” Liz Phair
“Change of Time,” Josh Ritter
“You Only Live once,” the STrokes
“Lift Me Up,” Bruce Springsteen
“No Sleep Blues,” Incredible String Band
“Simple Twist of Fate,” Jeff Tweedy (I’m Not There OST)
“Temperamental (Pull Timewarp Remix),” Everything but the Girl
“Hari Mar,” Snatam Kaur
“Pump,” The B-52’s
“Billie Jean,” Shinehead
“The Warwick Flag,” Suzzy & Maggie Roche
“A Fish on Land,” Lhasa De Sela
“That’s Where I Belong,” Paul Simon
“Love Came Here,” Lhasa De Sela
“Eleven Days,” David Byrne & Fatboy Slim (featuring Cyndi Lauper)
“Easy,” Joanna Newsom
“Ray,” Aimee Mann
“You and the Moon,” Judith Owen
“Could You Be Loved,” Bob Marley & the Wailers
“Water No Get Enemy,” Fela! OCR
“Curtains,” Hem
“Fred Jones Part 2,” Ben Folds Presents the West Chester University of Pennsylvania Gracenotes
“Much More,” Barbra Streisand
“Triphallus, To Punctuate!,” Of Montreal
“Tell Me What You Want,” Teddy Thompson
“Golek Lambangsari,” Java Court Gamelan
“I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone,” Teddy Thompson
“Top of the World,” Patty Griffin
“I’ve Got the World on a String,” Ella Fitzgerald
“Sleazy Bed Track,” the Bluetones (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World OST)
“Love You Better,” God-des & She
“Down with Love,” Barbra Streisand
“Addicted to Distraction,” Peter Salett
“Tenochtitlan’s numberless bridges,” Andy Partridge & Harold Budd
“He Miss Road,” Fela Kuti
“I’m in Love,” Doris Day
“The Life Is The Red Wagon,” Jane Siberry
“Railroad Wings,” Patty Griffin
“Fire,” Lizz Wright
“You Won’t Forget Me,” Sachal Vasandani
“This Is the Dream of Win and Regine,” Final Fantasy
“The Blue Ghazel,” Rickie Lee Jones
“All the Lovers,” Kylie Minogue
“Braided Hair,” 1 Giant Leap
“I Can Let Go Now,” Alison Kraus
“Suite III Overture,” Janelle Monae
“The Happy Time,” Liza Minnelli
“Girl Named Hello,” Of Montreal
“You Belong to Me,” Chaka Khan (with Michael McDonald)
“Don’t Smoke in Bed,” Patti Smith
11/15/10:
“Always Departing,” Brad Mehldau
“Ode to Billie Joe,” Clydie King
“Fuck and Run,” Liz Phair
“Change of Time,” Josh Ritter
“You Only Live once,” the STrokes
“Lift Me Up,” Bruce Springsteen
“No Sleep Blues,” Incredible String Band
“Simple Twist of Fate,” Jeff Tweedy (I’m Not There OST)
“Temperamental (Pull Timewarp Remix),” Everything but the Girl
“Hari Mar,” Snatam Kaur
“Pump,” The B-52’s
“Billie Jean,” Shinehead
“The Warwick Flag,” Suzzy & Maggie Roche
“A Fish on Land,” Lhasa De Sela
“That’s Where I Belong,” Paul Simon
“Love Came Here,” Lhasa De Sela
“Eleven Days,” David Byrne & Fatboy Slim (featuring Cyndi Lauper)
“Easy,” Joanna Newsom
“Ray,” Aimee Mann
“You and the Moon,” Judith Owen
“Could You Be Loved,” Bob Marley & the Wailers
“Water No Get Enemy,” Fela! OCR
“Curtains,” Hem
“Fred Jones Part 2,” Ben Folds Presents the West Chester University of Pennsylvania Gracenotes
“Much More,” Barbra Streisand
“Triphallus, To Punctuate!,” Of Montreal
“Tell Me What You Want,” Teddy Thompson
“Golek Lambangsari,” Java Court Gamelan
“I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone,” Teddy Thompson
“Top of the World,” Patty Griffin
“I’ve Got the World on a String,” Ella Fitzgerald
“Sleazy Bed Track,” the Bluetones (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World OST)
“Love You Better,” God-des & She
“Down with Love,” Barbra Streisand
“Addicted to Distraction,” Peter Salett
“Tenochtitlan’s numberless bridges,” Andy Partridge & Harold Budd
“He Miss Road,” Fela Kuti
“I’m in Love,” Doris Day
“The Life Is The Red Wagon,” Jane Siberry
“Railroad Wings,” Patty Griffin
“Fire,” Lizz Wright
“You Won’t Forget Me,” Sachal Vasandani
“This Is the Dream of Win and Regine,” Final Fantasy
“The Blue Ghazel,” Rickie Lee Jones
“All the Lovers,” Kylie Minogue
“Braided Hair,” 1 Giant Leap
“I Can Let Go Now,” Alison Kraus
“Suite III Overture,” Janelle Monae
“The Happy Time,” Liza Minnelli
“Girl Named Hello,” Of Montreal
“You Belong to Me,” Chaka Khan (with Michael McDonald)
“Don’t Smoke in Bed,” Patti Smith
“ROUSSEL: Coeur en peril,” Regine Crespin
“Feed the Light,” Lizz Wright
“So Happy I Could Die,” Lady GaGa
“ROUSSEL: Coeur en peril,” Regine Crespin
“Feed the Light,” Lizz Wright
“So Happy I Could Die,” Lady GaGa
Quote of the day: POETRY
November 15, 2010POETRY
Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.
— Marianne Moore
another eye opens 