“Moving to beef up its film presence after a series of layoffs, the Los Angeles Times has reassigned longtime entertainment editor Betsy Sharkey to serve as a full-time film critic [alongside Kenneth Turan].” Sharkey replaces Carina Chocano, whose position was eliminated in October as part of the paper’s latest set of cutbacks.
Author: Matthew Westphal
‘A Cubist Opera’
Director Jay Scheib and composer Anthony Gatto had the brilliant/daring/foolhardy idea to make Stein’s famously inscrutable “Cubist novel,” The Making of Americans, into an opera. Their effort had its world premiere this past weekend at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
21st-Century Totalitarianism – The Coffee-Table Book
“It’s been two years since Saparmurat Niyazov – the deeply perverse dictator of Turkmenistan, died. At the time of his death, Turkmenbashi (‘father of the Turkmen’) as he preferred to be known, was on the brink of global superstardom… [photographer Nicolas Righetti’s book] Love Me Turkmenistan presents a glimpse of the [dictator’s] personality cult at its peak.”
Peter Brook To Leave Bouffes Du Nord
The legendary stage director, now 83, will give up the helm of the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in 2010. The worn old theater, which Brook rescued from ruin in 1974, is where he has based his International Centre for Theatre Research and where he staged such renowned productions as The Tragedy of Carmen and The Mahabharata.
Some Art Director’ll Catch Hell For This One
“A respected research institute wanted Chinese classical texts to adorn [the cover of] its journal, something beautiful and elegant, to illustrate a special report on China. Instead, it got a racy flyer extolling the lusty details of stripping housewives in a brothel.”
Iraq Recovers Looted Artifacts
“Iraqi officials have seized 228 ancient artifacts, some looted from Iraq’s National Museum, which smugglers intended to smuggle out of the country.”
When Robert Met Merce (For The Last Time)
“In their final collaboration, Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg produced a work that buzzed with ideas, not the least of which was a fierce and disquieting notion of the eternal. And given the lifetime of insight these artists and frequent creative partners bring to bear, it is wise to take heed.”
A Scientific Excuse Explanation For Not Paying Attention
It’s because your brain was disconnected. A U. Michigan researcher “asked volunteers to spend a tedious hour in a functional-MRI brain scanner, identifying letters that flashed on a screen. At times, their reactions slowed, showing that attention was wavering. During these lapses, communication between regions related to self-control, vision and language processing died down.”
The Libretto Is Tight, But There’re Some Wrinkles In The Score
“It is advertised as ‘a satirical opera-tion’ and I’m willing to bet that it’s the first time that penis extensions have featured in the opera corpus. But Skin Deep, a new operetta about cosmetic surgery, revealing the ugly truth about beauty, is cutting a new line in opera chic.”
Two Aubrey Beardsley Drawings Discovered In Bathroom
“An auctioneer who had carried out a routine valuation at the man’s bungalow home only found them when he asked to use the lavatory before he left. He was stunned when he realised the pen-and-ink drawings above the sink were the work of the English artist Aubrey Beardsley.”