Monthly Archives: June 2008

Ask Your Medic About Prozac

  For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. –Luke 12:48 Not to get too Biblical, but that raises a question: What … Continue reading

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Passing Strange Update

A little while back–the very first post on this blog, actually–I wrote about Passing Strange, a foray into Broadway by Stew, the Afro-Baroque singer and once-and-future voice of The Negro Problem. As of now (that’s around 11 Sunday night), the musical … Continue reading

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Writing on Writing: The Prepared Observer

Chance favors the prepared observer. –Marcel Duchamp One of the problems you’ll run into, if you haven’t already, is the “writer’s block” dilemma. The reason for last week’s assingnment, besides getting you outside your comfort zone, is because most of … Continue reading

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John Heartfield

 The Dada painters and poets aren’t exactly on the tip of people’s tongues these days. Styles and tastes change, and what seemed fresh and shocking in 1920 doesn’t have the same impact now that it did then. Hell, things done … Continue reading

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New, But Not Improved.

I panic when I see the words “New and Improved!” or “Great New Taste!” on my foodstuffs. And it’s not just because I find the exclamation mark vaguely offensive, as if some guy from Marketing is screaming at me. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in Crossing Madison Avenue, Food | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Salman Rushdie: The Enchantress of Florence

I remember sitting through a recital and lecture once by pianist Balint Vazsonyi. It was an evening of Beethoven sonatas, with the pianist’s commentary on the pieces, and on music in general, padded generously in between. One thing that he … Continue reading

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Sorta Greek Dressing

This post has nothing to do with Anthony Quinn’s costume changes. Come to think of it, as food goes, it’s probably about as Greek as Anthony Quinn. But I digress. If you like bleu cheese dressing, you might like this. … Continue reading

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Adrian Belew and Robert Who?

Adrian Belew is the musical equivalent of a character actor. Like that face you’ve seen in God knows how many films but you can’t place the name, Belew’s guitar has left its fingerprints from one end of popular music to … Continue reading

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Writing on Writing: Silencing Your Inner Bastard

Last week’s assignment was to write something awful. Not merely bad, mind you. I’m talking truly horrid. In case you’ve spent the last week fretting over the point of that little exercise (I know you weren’t; play along for a … Continue reading

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Thought of the Day

Occam’s Razor: The philosophical principle stating that the simplest solution is often the best. So what’s Occam’s shaving cream?

Posted in Humor | Tagged , | 2 Comments