Well, in time I recovered. I still have a slightly wicked cough, which I can use to scare off leering men, but other than that my Bronchitis is on the decline. That’s right, it turns out that it was Bronchitis, not Swine Flu or The Flu or anything related. 2 weeks of abject illness then slight fogginess have brought me to now, so I have good reason for my lack of blog activity, but still, I’m sorry. For the 4th of July I took a break from the ghetto, which I affectionately refer to my neighborhood as, and went to Fire Island. F I was clearly fabulous and I was overwhelmed with nostalgia for Australia. Ah, I miss that place. I miss living somewhere clean and beautiful. Near the ocean. Thus Fire Island was kinda like going home. Pictures to come x
Tony Blair in Person
Posted in politics, talk with tags 92 street Y, africa, aid, churchill, climate change, democracy, hiller, Israel, Mathew Bishop, Middle East, nuclear power, Palestine, the ecconomist, Tony Blair, TonyBlairFaithFoundation on June 23, 2009 by thebrooklynsocialite
Yesterday was exciting, not only did I get to while away the late night dancing to some determinedly old school djs at the Nightlife Preservation Community party, but I also was among the security cleared crowd at Tony Blair’s talk at the 92 Street Y.
Having been a History student and residing in the British empire during much of the reign of Blair, and most memorably during his decision to go to war in Iraq based on imaginary Weapons of Mass Destruction, I was very interested to see what he had to say for himself.
Charming to a tee, it was clear how he had managed (at least in part) to ascend to the highest level of office. Within the span of little over an hour he quoted Rabbi Hillel and Winston Churchill, did impressions of Americans who have mistaken him for the actor in The Queen and of his cockney friend who always gives him good advice.
Where was that helpful mate in 2003 when it came time to issue the command for war? Although Blair channelled him and his other cast of colourful cultural references to please the crowd, he was undeniably uncomfortable when Mathew Bishop the interviewer leading Blair’s Q&A asked him point blank if he regretted the decision.
Blair gripped his chair with both hands and stuttered through a long explanation of how he admits that the intelligence was faulty, but they believed it at the time and any way the world is still “better off without Sadam and his two sons ruling the country.”
When asked whether he thinks that the war in Iraq has actually increased Islamic fundamentalist terrorism and ill feeling towards the west, he said absolutely not. “The responsibility for terrorism lies in the hands of the terrorists.” he said.
At the moment the former PM’s main activities are his work with the recently formed Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the Africa Governance Initiative, the Climate Group and his position as a negotiate of sorts for peace in Israel/Palestine.
On climate, he seemed to grasp that it is a very real and pressing issue, yet one of the main solutions that he proposed is Nuclear power- in my mind a terrible idea.
On Africa, he said that aid alone is not enough, governments have to be taught (by him) how to operate. He proudly asserted that he is working on bottom up state building in Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
On the Middle East. “For Israel the only Palestinian state they will be able to accept is a secure and well-governed state.” Blair said. He is working on state building there as well. Well clearly Britain and its former leader knows best. Perhaps those good old imperialist days are not yet over after all.
He said many additional things about religion, democracy and justice, but I am more concerned with what he didn’t say. Bishop actually selected my audience question, “What was the most significant mistake you made as Prime Minister?” Blair’s response, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” A chilling thought.
The Reckoning-Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Posted in film with tags china, Darfur, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, International Criminal Court, Pamela Yates, President Al-Bashir, Sudan, U.S, UN Declaration of Human Rights on June 15, 2009 by thebrooklynsocialite
Last night I saw the New York premier of The Reckoning. The crowd was quite astonishing. There were two prosecutors from the International Criminal Court, Christine Chung and Fatou Bensouda, both are also featured in the film. The top brass from Human Rights Watch were also present along with one of the prosecutors from the Nuremberg trials. When Pamela Yates, the director, introduced him he got a standing ovation.
The film was stark and penetrating. It discussed the worst war crimes and crimes against humanity of our time, but did so in a rational, rights based justice context. The main character in The Reckoning is the International Criminal Court itself. Founded in 2002, its mandate is to try the perpetrators of crimes that have been committed since the court’s inception. A stipulation exists that the court may only make cases against member states, unless the UN Security Council has referred them to mount an investigation.
In other words, the ICC is based on a treaty, when a country signs on to the treaty, it then formalizes its stand against impunity, and it makes its citizens eligible for possible investigation. However, the process requires the court to be a last resort only applied if a country proves unable or unwilling to try its own perpetrators. Over 100 countries have signed on to the treaty, but the United States, China, Russia, and Iraq have all refused to do so.
Since its founding the ICC has made cases against the leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, war lords in the Congo and the people with the most responsibility for the Darfur genocide, including Al-Bashir, the president of Sudan. They have also built a preliminary case in Columbia against paramilitary leaders and the corrupt members of government who support them.
Like any other court the way the ICC operates is by gathering evidence and using to to try criminals. By insisting upon rule of law in the international arena they are able to combat atrocities in areas of the world where there has been no justice and powerful leaders remain punished for their crimes.
This is an extremely important aim. The film shows the victims of abduction, child soldiers who were forced to be killers or sex slaves, women who were raped and babies that were beaten to the point of brain damage. Distressingly the restriction that the court faces is its lack of an enforcement arm. As the ICC has not been granted a military or police force it must rely on the national forces of each member state or wait for the UN Security Council to agree to send UN forces.
Right now an ICC arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir stands, but his forces will not turn him in, and as Sudan is a sovereign state no other country’s military can enter and arrest him, without it being seen as an act of war. The Security Council could go in and enforce the warrant, but they have yet to do so. As China and the US hold sway on the council its unlikely that this result will occur.
A beacon of hope in the world, the ICC stands as a glass giant in the Hague, but the question the film poses is will its halls be filled with prosecuted criminals, or will it be rendered ineffective as little more than a symbol.
Country Living
Posted in day off with tags antique shopping, Bed Stuy, brooklyn, cooking, day off, Diary entry, hammock, locavore, money, the country, work on May 14, 2009 by thebrooklynsocialiteHunh, I just wrote this whole post and then when I published it it was blank. What’s up with that? WordPress gods swoop down into the country and save me. That’s a command. Not being heeded it seems.
Nevermind, I will just have to start over. My last post was about how strange it is to be in the country. It’s like the polar opposite of my actual everyday life. Rather than dance parties, there is a local brasserie with live harp music tonight. Instead of constant speed, chatter, noise, vibrancy, there is just silence, interrupted by the occasional lawnmower or bird song.
This location is bringing out the chef in me though, soon this is going to morph into a recipe blog, but not yet. I’m holding out, remembering the days of social activity and not letting that woman at the garage sale call me a mom, and get away with it. She really did, it must be the mini-van that I’m driving. Not mine of course, part of the house sitting bundle, I even feel weird using it though, it’s funny, I feel like Where would I go? and Isn’t it a waste of energy to drive? Definitely not a middle of American, surely guilty as charged, I’m a City Folk.
I tried buying baubles at a antique shop and watching hummingbirds and little caterpillars. Actually, these acts were all fun, but I had a visceral feeling of being out of place. Am I allowed to sit around and do nothing but enjoy being alive? That is so faux pas in NYC, let’s face it. Running around, being creative, or trying to make money, or be smart or whatever, that’s kinda the flow in the shitty isn’t it. It’s ok to say yes.
I say this not disparagingly. I miss the place like really a lot. Seriously though, I am even beginning to long for the invasions of space and the irritating little noises and disturbances. They come with vitality, expression — Life. I miss Brooklyn.
As Robyn Has Retired to the Coutryside +Binibon Review
Posted in ella with tags Bermuda, Binibon, change, Dave Chapelle, disneyfication, ella, Elliot Sharp, feeders, jack Womack, John Henry Adams, Les Enfants Terrible, Madonna, New York City, richard Adan, safety, spawn, SVA, The Kitchen on May 13, 2009 by thebrooklynsocialiteI’m Upstate, stay tuned for posts about the caterpillars and hummingbirds I’ve been meeting, in the meantime, here’s Ella!
As Robyn has callously abandoned her friends for a few weeks and retired to the countryside, Brooklyn Socialiting has been left to me for a bit. Braving the Hudson River, or rather, the evil machinations of the subway system, I left my lovely King’s county nest on Friday for an evening of Big City cultural activities. Not just hanging out in bars.
Admittedly, as I was early for the Bermuda art opening in China town, a little bit of Ella-in-Bar was necessary, so I sat myself down in Les Enfants Terrible. Lychee martini is the glass, Pink Martini playing on the stereo and meretricious French barmen multi-taskingly flirting with everyone around the bar. A good way to warm up for a friend’s art opening, which is generally not something that should be attended without some sort of support, alcoholic or otherwise. Because there’s always that underlying terror that your friends are going to be profoundly untalented, and you still have to be nice BUT SPECIFIC about their creative output.
Having reached the age where a disturbing number of my friends are spawning, I’ve found that a parallel case exists with people’s babies. Otherwise funny and open-minded people have a complete sense of humor failure when it comes to their own children, which is why I have had to hold back about how many children I could name that look like Dick Cheney. Even though it’s intrinsically funny. Similarly, otherwise intelligent and interesting people often like and make bad art.
Luckily, this wasn’t the case with the Bermuda exhibit. Put together by students and fellows from the School of Visual Arts, the theme was secondary to showcasing works in progress. While a lot of the work was interesting, the looseness of the theme meant that the exhibition as a whole didn’t necessarily work, despite several really interesting pieces.
Running late, I had to jump into a cab to get to experimental art space, The Kitchen, for the eight o’clock showing of “Binibon”, a new piece of musical theater, based around the early 80’s stabbing of aspiring actor and waiter Richard Adan by John Henry Adam, a former convict whose writing talents had made him the toast of New York’s literati. Back in the bull economy, cabs used to be a part of my daily life, pretty much always charged to my work account. No longer. I’m hoping that relative poverty and strife will successfully translate into me eventually writing something that’s not nauseatingly terrible, and it seems as if the team behind Binibon come at creativity from a similar angle.
At the same time, let’s face it – New York? Not what it used to be. I’ve heard people discuss the matter over organic, cruelty-free yuppie food: “Is New York’s current stability and safety a fair trade for the loss of vibrancy?” Where once the city was genuinely throat cuttingly cutting edge, or was at least violent enough for the frenzy to rub off on the art scene, now it’s a place where people feel OK about raising their kids. Dear lord, even Madonna, a woman my MOTHER listens to, recently criticized the city for losing its edge.
After which, she moved back to raise her children.
Binibon, the experimental musical play put on at contemporary art centre The Kitchen in the west village is part of this debate. Part of, but also symptomatic of. Because while the writer, Jack Womack, brings attention to the Disney-fication of the city that has taken place in the last few decades, the piece can’t escape the fact that it’s a play about a New York that mainly exists in the memories of the things were much realer in the past-brigade. Which brings questions about where the responsibility for the city’s loss of edge lies: I may be wrong, but it struck me as hard to believe that writers and musicians in the early eighties would have put together a piece about a murder in the mid-50s.
Elliott Sharp’s live music works most of the time (though there’s an unfortunate electric guitar solo which reminds me of a Dave Chapelle sketch where he wonders about white people’s love of the instrument), and gives an urgency to the storytelling which is occasionally lacking in the writing. One of the problems, for me, is that the role of several of New York’s literary heroes in the release of John Henry Adams from prison was touched on, but not really examined – despite the fact that their moral responsibility for the death of Adan is at the core of the play’s preoccupation with the city, creativity, authenticity and violence.
The Girlfriend Experience, Fixer, Print vs Blog
Posted in Food, Party, People of Color, film, politics with tags brooklyn, brooklyn blogfest, buttrmilk chanel, choice greene, christian parenti, Diary entry, DJ designer impostor, dj shomi noise, Erin Brochevich, film, Fixer:the taking of ajmal nagshbandi, Food, foreign corespondence, ft greene, house parties, Ian olds, layoffs, mansion, mashable, michael cohen, Party, People of Color, politics, print vs blog, Q & A, Sasha Grey, Sex Lies and Videotape, steven soderberg, still hip, the girlfriend experience, the nation, tony ortega, tribeca film festival, tribeca y, Village Voice on May 3, 2009 by thebrooklynsocialiteIt’s been another busy week friends. Since last I wrote I saw The Girlfriend Experience and Fixer:The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi at the Tribeca Film Festival, went to a Print vs Blog talk at the Tribeca Y, had a poetry reading and danced the blues off at two Brooklyn house parties. Plus, I had another successful meal at Buttermilk Channel, this time brunch. Their biscuits are pretty good, but not as good as mine! I also had a chance to live it up a little bit on Saturday while actually reading peacefully in the sun in Choice Greene’s backyard patio. On the way there I passed an awesome kids clown show on Grand, in front of the Still Hip clothing store. Apparently they are having them every Saturday, if you love costumes and clowns, and environmentally themed, musical children’s performances as much as I do, then definitely check it out!
First a note about Brooklyn house parties and then onto my film reviews. Note: They rule! Ha, ha, no really they do. OMG Michelle played at the one on Friday night, which was at this house called Mansion (not to be confused with the snooty Manhattan club, Mansion.) DJ Designer Impostor played and on Sat, DJ Shomi Noise was awesome. Aside from being my friend, she is also a generally great DJ!
Ok film. So, the two films were extremely different than each other, the first Steven Soderberg’s new opus on high class prostitutes, who give their customers the illusion that they are somehow in a loving relationship with each other, was less than spectacular. Although the directer himself, with huge successes like Erin Brochevich, Sex Lies and Videotape, and Traffic under his belt, was wildly confident during the Q & A after, several elements of the film caused me to take pause.
He typecast, if you will, non-actors to play the roles of the prostitute and her personal trainer boyfriend. He didn’t give them a script and instead set them up with a situation and encouraged them to ad lib. Although this technique was quite successful in Ballast it fell very short in The Girlfriend Experience. Soderberg claimed, during his talk back, that if people didn’t know that was his method, we never would have noticed. I beg to differ.
The holes in the dialogue were obvious. The language was incidental and often seemed forced. Many of the relationships were unconvincing and the main character, played by porn actress, Sasha Grey, was stiff and boring to watch. If you made a film about me walking around NY having somewhat random conversations with strangers, I’m sure I would also be stiff and boring to watch. Why? Because I’m not an actor and films which follow non-actors are usually called documentaries. Why not just call the whole thing off, and make a documentary about a real prostitute who offers the girlfriend experience? Just asking.
Speaking of documentaries, let’s talk a bit about the really good film that I saw at Tribeca. But first, a note about opinions. Yes everyone has one, and some people start blogs and share them, people like me. But Tony Ortega, editor, and Michael Cohen, publisher, of the Village Voice have a bit of a bone to pick with people like us. However, the founder of Gothamist and a writer from Mashable, who sat on a panel with them on Thursday, they kinda think us bloggers are great. If you’re interested in finding out more about this secret society who is bringing down the media oligarchy, come to the Brooklyn Blogfest on Thursday, that’s where most of our upcoming schemes for world domination will be hatched.
No, to be fair, Ortega claimed to support bloggers, to want to maintain the integrity of the Voice, and most shockingly, he insisted that the Voice is still making good money. Strange, those claims seem to run counter to the Voice’s recent massive layoffs and to their stubborn attempt to remain the source of NYC event advice. Unless they become a little more cutting edge with their suggestions, I don’t see people continuing to look to them to find out what’s happening.
But that’s just my opinion, and it’s here in my blog, not pretending to be impartial in some newspaper. Anyway enough angst right? Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi without necessarily seeking to do so, makes a very different and much more compelling argument in favor of the old media establishment. There is absolutely a place for researched, well-sourced journalism, especially in terms of foreign correspondence.
Fixer is a documentary that follows Christian Parenti, a Nation journalist, on a fact gathering trip through Afghanistan. As he travels around the country, meeting with Taliban leaders, villagers and any other potential sources of information, Ian Olds, the filmmaker is in the back seat of the car, a fly on the wall, observing Parenti’s transactions. In order to navigate this active war zone, Parenti requires help from what is known in the journo trade as a fixer.
A fixer is a local person who makes contact with potential sources, estimates the level of risk in traveling to various areas and then facilitates the actual journey by driving the foreign journalist to the rendezvous points and serving as translator while there. More than a middle man, Parenti’s fixer, Ajmal Naqshbandi was a journalist in his own right and as portrayed in the film, was a very savvy and intelligent individual. He died not long after the journey that Parenti and Olds took with him.
On another fixer job, working for an Italian journalist, Naqshbandi and the Italian were both kidnapped by a notorious Taliban leader. This man is known to have kidnapped and brutally executed several people. We are told at the start of the film that Naqshbandi died in this cruel way, but that his Italian employer was released relatively unharmed. The rest of the film navigates how the fixer got to that point and questions why he was not saved.
I was glad to see that Fixer won best documentary at Tribeca. It is truly an interrogative film. It forces us to question A. what is really going on in Afghanistan, B. how much that self-government and democracy actually protects Afghan citizens and C. How we would even begin to answer these questions without the field researched findings of foreign corespondents funded by media institutions.
1 point scored for blogs and 1 for old media. Looks like a tie Tony.
Searching for what’s good
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags Brunch, Dessert, Guide to What's Good, Lunch on September 21, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteMy yesterday got off to a bit of a bad start, it all began with the search for a good brunch spot in the LES. This type of quest can be depressing when you are surrounded by herds of hand holding co-habitues, and blocked on the path by strollers and up-gazing tourists. Harrowing as it was, I managed to settle on a new French place called Regate, where I attempted to swallow my dread under the stream of a very weak latte. (I failed). The search for Lunch in Soho was no easier, after a few false starts, I finally landed at L’ulvio, then journeyed up the west village, towards meatpacking on the look out for a good desert joint. I settled on the Birdbath Bakery, which I’ve always respected for its combination of organic practices and really good cookies. Unfortunately, this time I noticed their excessive use of disposable paper and plastic products and lack off espresso machine- but nobody’s perfect ( least of all me-many snob points were earned today! )
What’s the moral of this story? 1. Another day of leisure spent in vain. 2 Eating all day is weird. or 3. It’s really hard to find good eateries among the cacophony of choices in Manhattan south.
3. That’s right 3 OK, maybe all of the above, but what I mean to say is that after all this search chagrin got in the way of my relaxation, I came to the conclusion that it was high time to draft a guide to what’s good. I needed a voice that I could trust, to help me sift through all the mediocrity, than I realised I could be that Voice. (he he) None of the food spots I visited yesterday quite deserve inclusion in the guide so hold steady, Food picks will come. In the meantime lets talk about Culture: see the next post for how my inspiring evening contrasted with a sadly mundane day.
NYC Adult Spelling Bee recap at Choice
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags Choice, Guide to What's Good, NYC Spelling Bee, Sunday, The Philosopher on September 22, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialite“If you’re looking for an opportunity to hit the spelling bee circuit, look no further. Since staring down 8 year-olds at the Scribbs National Spelling Bee, seems you know, kinda unfair, or just plain creepy, The New York City Spelling Bee is strictly for adults.” read more
I am really not above quoting myself, so that was an excerpt from my flavorpill preview of the NYC Spelling Bee at Housing Works. Now for the review…from the vantage point of Brooklyn
Continuing the conversation of the challenging hunt for goodness in Manhattan, I began to ponder what makes Brooklyn So God-dammed Good. The answer was clear- At least in my neighborhood, the lovely Bed Stuy (which some friends are truly afraid to visit ), there is not a plethora of choice. There is however, Choice bakery. This flaky croissant home to the excellent Mocha, fresh squeezed-one gulp grapefruit hot gourmet to take away-mecca of Goodness exists at the intersection of Grand and Lafayette, in Petit Panam. That is, half a block of stoop sale, Parisian, french African anomaly, contrasted against the hundreds of blocks lined with residences, laundromats and Pentecostal Churches.
I love Choice! As I sat there 5 separate people I knew, came past to grab their Sunday vitals, while I told the Philosopher about my Sat night Spelling Bee. “It was so much more fun than you can imagine,” I said. “It’s a hipster librarian’s ultimate contest, you win book vouchers and feel validated at last!” He just nodded, as philosophers do.
Ballast and The General of the Dead Army
Posted in Book, film with tags Ballast, Book, Books, Bookslut, film, Films, Interview, The General of the Dead Army, the good list on September 23, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteThe General of the Dead Army rightfully earned Ismail Kadare the Booker Prize. It is a stark investigation into loss and lingering sanity, which takes the form of an anti-hero’s quest, while borrowing heavily from the dystopia genre. The protagonist is an Italian General who wanders the emotionally barren landscape of Albania in search of the bodies of fallen Italian soldiers from World War II. His journey into darkness, whether intentionally or coincidentally, references such magnificently tragic journey’s as those that comprised 1884, the Time Machine, C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy and naturally, Heart of Darkness.
After a significant amount of procrastination, I managed to write my review of A General of the Dead Army for Bookslut. That is the first paragraph and the rest will soon be available on their sight. As a B S exclusive though, I wanted to talk about this book and the film Ballast together. I interviewed the film’s director, Lance Hammer, last week and that will soon see the light of print, I promise. Meanwhile- let’s talk Tragedy.
Hammer used non actors, who were local to the two towns in the Mississippi Delta where he shot the film. After 10 years of research, he decided to make a film that as he told me, “wasn’t so much about race, but about universal human suffering.” He chose African Americans to play the main roles, and encouraged them to use their own distinct vernacular. Rather than hand them a script, he gave them a situation and encouraged them to improvise language around that particular scenario. What remains of this method, in the edited movie is a steely, classical, cinematic gem. Like The General of the Dead Army, Ballast is a tragic play of emotions, which seems to take place in real time. It is similarly stark, subtle and quietly passionate.
At the Edge of the World Q&A w/Dan Stone
Posted in film with tags the good list, Films, At the Edge of the World, Obama, Pallin, IFC, Sea Shepherd, film, Interview, Uncategorized on September 25, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI used to live in Melbourne, Australia, not Florida. One day the Sea Shepherd docked on our shores and I got to meet some of the people on board, including former Greenpeace activist, Captain Paul Watson. People in Melb were so inspired by the Direct Action Whale Rescue that the Sea Shepherd crew engaged in. A benefit party was organized, t-shirts were bought and one of my friends even decided to join them on their next mission.
Roll forward to last night in NYC, I saw Dan Stone’s film about one of their Antarctic missions, At the Edge of The World as part of IFC’s Stranger Than Fiction documentary series. I was struck during the Q&A by the apparently contentious relationship that Stone has with Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew. He told us that many of them did not like the final cut. This is a curiosity that I will have to explore further; I intend to interview him and will update this tangent later.
As for last night, I can say that the film was rocky and oceanic, after the dubious Q&A, I ran into an old old NYC activist friend and cracked into some Belgian Beer and lively debate at Vol de Nuit (def on the GOOD list). Obama and Pallin, Stone and Watson, Preservation and Indigenous hunting ceremony, Old gays vs. New Queers, all the relevant rivalries were discussed!
Peaches and No. 7 Greene
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags brooklyn, Food, Guide to What's Good, No 7, Peaches, the good list on September 29, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialite“Do not fear the blogger,” I wanted to whisper into the ear of both Peaches owner, pictured below (with his daughter behind the cashier) and GM/owner of No. 7, not pictured. I wasn’t really trying to be ingognito, maybe the big camera and little notebook completely gave me away. As a paying customer, I felt free to dine as I pleased. For their part though, they seemed a little unsettled by my presence.
I will try to step outside the situation nevertheless and focus instead on squash. At Peaches, I had butternut squash soup with honey and cinnamon for brunch, which reminded me of the way I like to eat oatmeal. Savory sweet, oats with maple syrup and cinnamon, sweet breakie soup, yellow squash puree under a tender little mountain of just raw seared hangar steak, with Chinese broccoli and kimchi perogies- that is what I had at No. 7. Again squash, savory battles sweet again.
Beyond yellow gourds, the two restaurants have precious little in common. No 7 boasts charming wait staff, a competitive wine list, art-deco-blanc interior design and lush food pairings. Peaches remembers it’s in Brooklyn, totally unpretentious, with definite potential, but I’d like to see espresso, alcohol, and a microwave-free promise join their menu.
Day Off- Live Through This
Posted in day off with tags day off, fly, live through this, nicole blackman, self-destruction on September 30, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteSo even socialites eventually need a rest, and maybe even a moment away from Brooklyn. Family called and I have found myself in Connecticut, by a lake being pulled into Bridge games and getting email flack from NY which I’d prefer to ignore. The lake is beautiful, I need to rest my head.
I thought I’d take this opportunity to briefly discuss a book I’ve recently read called Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-destruction Yes, even the very act of reading has become work. Books are assigned to me for review or I solicit them for potential review. Live Though This kind of falls into that second category. My relationship with it remains unclear… but…
Content is all that really matters right? So lets get into it. This book in an anthology of women writers who have experienced abuse, mental illness, self-injuring, basically some form of pain that could have stopped them from creating and maybe instead catalysed them to start or continue to make art. Nicole Blackman, Fly, Bell Hooks, Cristy C. Roads, Daphne Gotlieb, Eileen Myles, Nan Goldin, Patricia Smith, countless women seem to swell the ranks of survival literature, poetry of the oppressed, struggle till it gets better penmanship. To be honest, I don’t know quite what to make of it. I like many of the contributors, and spoke for a bit with the editor, still I guess I feel this crumbling sensation that perhaps past suffering is not what brings these writers together- what it is I reckon is talent, consistent vision and just general ability to kick ass.
Besides my qualms with the premise, I definitely dug some of the submissions, especially Fly and some of the other names I’ve mentioned above.
Blade Runner, Bad tenants, Blue Man Group
Posted in Guide to What's Good, The bad list with tags bladerunner, Books, Films, Guide to What's Good, people, philip k dick, sci-fi, The bad list on October 2, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI finally broke down and saw Bladerunner and I have to say, in light of my love for dystopias, it was a really great dvd. Based on the Philip K Dick book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, it imagined the future in a beautiful post-apocalyptic china town for the senses. I loved it, loved younger Harrison ford, the male on male kiss of death, and most of all the following quote.
“It’s hard to live your whole life in fear, isn’t it? This is what it means to be a slave.” Go Philip! Go Ridley Scott, applause all around.
Which brings me to Bad Tenants (bad list BL) all I can say is avoid them at all costs, they will suck your blood to the very core!
Then Blue Man Group, I don’t know what its about, other than a mild dig against Internet obsession and modern life, something of a plea for a reconnection with the primal, interactive theater loving self. It is mostly just fun and slapstick, and grotesque-dirty. Thoughtful at best, I remember being really inspired by it at 18, this time it felt more like a colorful circus, sadly lacking the bearded lady.
This was my today, now see you tomorrow!
Frontrunners, Gomorrah, Matteo-Garrone Q&A, I’m famous
Posted in Guide to What's Good, film with tags Books, famous, film, fims, frontrunners, gomorrah, Guide to What's Good, teagn and sara on October 3, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteSo I’m famous, according to one of my friends, who was standing with me on the cold street corner when I pulled a copy of New York Press out of the dispenser and found my article on Tegan and Sara in it. I almost started to believe him this morning when i bought a copy of The Progressive and my article on Sgt. Marshall Thompson was in there too. Fame! The illusion started to disentegrate fairly quickly when I remembered that I still don’t know how I am going to pay my already late rent, this month.
Oh well, as we Brooklyn Socialite’s do, at least I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon schmoozing among people who are gainfully employed in the business of being writers and filmmakers. That’s right, the pass wearing journalati who frequent the New York Film Festival. I was on a guest pass at it were, but was let in long enough to see Matteo Garrone’s new Cannes darling, Gomorrah. This is a mafia film, set in Naples, which is made to look almost like a documentary. In fact, the scenes are meticulously constructed and brought to life by local Napoletano theater actors, many of whom are teenagers. In the Q & A Garrone explained that Roberto Saviano, the author of the book on the Camorra, which Gomorrah is based on, had to go under protection, after threats were made on his life. Yet, Garrone has not had to do so becuase, ” People there love the cinema so much, that having a film made about them is something they are happy about, which allows them to forget about everything else.”
I also saw Caroline Suh’s Frontrunners it was fun and simple, very much in the spelling bee, and child dance competition genre. Sort of like the crossword puzzle movie too. It made being an overachiever look cool, in a weird kind of reverse way, and it reminded me that we have our Eton, and the class system in America is certainly not dead.
Gilbert and George
Posted in art with tags art, art stars, Gilbert and George, religion, self-destuction, the brooklyn museum on October 5, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteGilbert and George at the Brooklyn Museum. Are they racist? wonderful purveyors of self-portraiture? or secret germ warfare agents…there is a terrorist in our midst…. more on this in the morning x
OK, I’m back. The large scale pencil drawings which greet the visitor upon entering the exhibition are inviting, lackadaisical, and highly evocative of this sense of a golden summer, for self-reflective intellectuals.
However, as one further traverses the museum landscape, huge imposing brightly colored, cartoon, Ali G style works threaten racial, and religious semi-slurs from every wall. This inquiry, finally descends into toilet humor, with monochromatic representations of shit and dicks.
“Is there a God?” They ask. God save us all.
The Women Generals of the Yang Family and Introducing BS Agent Angie
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags brooklyn, GL, Guide to What's Good, opera, peking opera, the good list on October 6, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteJust to get it out of the way first, I saw a great Peking Opera today. If you’ve never been, give it a try the next time that chance comes your way, which may not be for awhile. These folks came direct to NYU from China and it may be a once a year type gig. When I previewed it on Flavorpill, I predicted great costumes and cool backdrops, that was def. the case. There were also crazy drum beats, shrill high notes and awesome back flips, which bolstered the extremely feminist plot. Basically a hundred year old grandma, leads an army of women and they kick the imperialist enemies out. Go Bubby!
Now, with great pleasure I must announce Agent Angie, as promised, I will be rolling out other writers as I go and now its time for Angie to take the stage. No, she doesn’t wear high-tech kimonos and do triple flips, but she does have a keen eye for culture and from now on will be a valued agent of Brooklyn Socialite reportage.
Get Ready! Here’s her first post.
Agent Angie at the Atlantic Antic
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags antics, atlantic antic, brooklyn, Guide to What's Good, religion, tazza, the good list on October 7, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI woke up chilly Sunday morning– the prospect of sleeping in and hanging out in my pjs with a steaming pot of tea was quite palatable even though I’d already decided to check out the Atlantic Antic Festival in Brooklyn Heights. Luckily, I decided to suck it up, and umbrella in hand braved what was forecasted to be a soggy day, but what turned out to be sunny and delightful, perfect weather for an outdoor event. Atlantic Avenue was the perfect setting for a festival as vast as this one. The beautiful brick storefronts and historic townhouses lining the wide street were the perfect backdrop to the endless line of booths pedaling wares ranging from handmade jewelry to culinary and fried delights of all kinds. Funnel cakes and corndogs abounded .
Atlantic was bustling. We had to take a break from the unyielding pedestrian traffic if sanity was ever going to stay with us. We stepped into Tazza (GL), a cafe with a few outdoor tables right off Atlantic on quiet Henry Street for a break from the crowd. It provided a lovely atmosphere and a nice perk-me-up latte. The staff was friendly and efficient, the décor of dark wood cozy, and the copper bar top—a nice complement to the feel of the historic neighborhood. It was a nice people watching spot—we laughed as a ballsy old lady muscled her way into an outdoor seat that was already claimed.
On our way back to the subway, we passed performers from local churches, including a pastor preaching to intent and curious crowds, and perhaps most mystifying, a woman wearing a Swiss-lederhosen-inspired outfit (back-up dancers in tow) performing raucous versions of various golden oldies. Between the occasional rear-endings from impatient stroller-pedaling mommies and daddies and stagnant traffic jams, we stepped off to the sidewalk and sidled through the pricey antique, furniture, and clothing boutiques. The participation of local businesses (all of which had sales for the occasion) set the festival apart from others of its kind.
-Angie Venezia
A place at the Table-Aly Fourney Benefit-Chelsea Museum-Sandra Bernhard
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags auction, chelsea museum, gay, Guide to What's Good, roseanne, sandra bernhardt, the good list, the l-word, unzipped on October 7, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteThe Chelsea Museum is definitely on my GL, I love that space. Whenever I go there it’s fun, and watching gays bid over hot auction items tonight was obviously, and not suprisingly, amazing. It was so exciting. I had to hold my hands down with some force in order to resist bidding on 3000 dollar tequila parties and trips to P-town. I managed to control the urge, the threat of poverty is very sobering you know!
Then, the joy of seeing Sandra Bernhard was pretty much unparalleled. After watching her as Jenny’s writing teacher on the L-word (yesterday ’cause I own the DVD) and of course Unzipped and Roseanne- it was high time I experienced her comedic revelry in the flesh. My favorite lines were, “I hate Blogs” and “I adore Barak Obama.” then when she said she was praying for the republicans on Rosh Hashana, I felt that my misfired holiday had finally been avenged.
The Seagull on Broadway with Kristin Scott Thomas
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Anton Chekhov, broadway, giveaway, i-phone, kristin scott thomas, peter sarsgard, plays, theater on October 8, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteBroadway is a little far from Brooklyn, but I labored all the way up there for a fun night of flying. Well watching flying, alright they didn’t actually fly on stage, but phlegm from the coughing man behind me did fly into my head and the man to my right did dominate the armrest with his flailing flying gestures. The seagull did not fly, but Chekhov’s poetics flew into my mind.
All soaring aside, I thought it was a great play (GL), and I will have to go back and read it. Yes the production was a bit dry. It was Broadway after all, most of the audience had gray hair and I-phone w/earphones. Still, Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgard displayed their theatrical merit, not to mention good performances by Mackenzie Crook and Art Malik.
The themes also resonated: struggling writers, happy with neither failure nor success, narcissistic mothers, unrequited love, country dreams aside a lake- all in a day’s fun!
Guess What? There will be a giveaway tomorrow afternoon so remember to tune in x
The Same Man-George Orwell & Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revsited
Posted in Book with tags Book, Books, brooklyn, Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell, giveaway, midtown, trivia on October 8, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteWell Folks, I have been busy (!) riding the subway from Beautiful Brooklyn to Hot Mess Midtown, and during all of that time, I have been reading. My latest conquest is The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh by David Lebedoff. Again, despite the fact that the premise is damn near preposterous, (hello? What do these two writers really have in common?), it’s a pretty decent read.
Yes Lebedoff, they were born in the same year, of the upper middle class, Orwell went to Eton and Waugh went to Oxford, but come on! Orwell was an ingenious political visionary and fab writer, who lived barely above the poverty line for most of his adult life. He volunteered as a foreign soldier among the Anarchist-Syndicalists during the Spanish Civil War. Waugh was a self-made aristocrat, Catholic, heavy drinking womanizer, who once dined with Mussolini- a talented writer nonetheless.
Anyway, this brings me to the GIVEAWAY!! I have stated these opinions boldly and will no doubt reiterate some in my review of this book for Bookslut (be on the lookout), yet to be really fair, I have read almost every book that Orwell ever published and can not say the same for Waugh. In order to judge him fairly, I invite you my reader to read his classic novel Brideshead Revisited alongside of me and then to comment widely about your impressions. In fact I have 2 copies to give away to the 2 readers who correctly answer my trivia question. Then after you read it, I will happily post your reactions on the BS!
The question is: What is Goeorge Orwell’s real name? What did he do for 5 years after finishing high School and what incident involving a cane, did he learn something important from?
Tip: a key to finding the answer is included in this post!
Email answers and your mailing address to: carpetbaggerk@gmail.com
More on Orwell- I Heart Brooklyn Girls Party
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags brooklyn, George Orwell, go, Guide to What's Good, i heart brooklyn girls, queer on October 10, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteSince I’m on this Orwell tip lately, I thought I’d share an excerpt from and link to his essay on writing called, “Why I Write”
From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Between the ages of about seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did so with the consciousness that I was outraging my true nature and that sooner or later I should have to settle down and write books. more
Books online are amazing! More to come tonight I promise….and for all the Queers in the house, check out the I heart Calendar Girls Party tonight at southpaw….the whole neighborhood will be there. Here’s a snippet of my Go write-up about it:
I Heart Brooklyn Girls and GO Magazine have teamed up for the exciting launch of the Brooklyn Girls 2009 Women at Work calendar. Famous for depicting real-bodied voluptuous queer femmes who call Brooklyn home, this year’s calendar effectively realizes its reference to 1940s and ‘50s Bettie Page style pin-up girls. It focuses on campy professions; all the ladies are dressed in carefully selected vintage attire and are shot in an ironic work environment. There is the “Baking Beauty,” the “Stitching Sweetie” and “Chemist Queenie” about to measure her beakers, but my favorite is obviously the “Literary Lady.” It’s about time that writers were hailed as sex icons! more
I’ll be sure to review it afterwards x
I Heart Brooklyn Girls recap
Posted in Guide to What's Good, The bad list with tags crap door guys, Dosas, Guide to What's Good, I heart Brooklyn Girls party, Indian Food, Southpaw, The bad list on October 11, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteOkay party people, expect another post from me tonight, but meanwhile I have to give you a little bit of talkback on yesterday’s party.
It sucked!!!…..shhh, don’t tell. The doorman was rude, really Southpaw, its a big city, surely you can find someone who is not a shit-talking homophobe…no? The floor was not quite-lovingly encased in very sticky beer, the entrance price was 15 bucks and although the djs were good, it was too packed to dance until the end. Next year a bigger venue- I suggest anywhere other than Southpaw!
I did go to my favorite South Indian restaurant earlier that night, Dosas and a good chai will cheer a girl up-even when she gets dissed. (ooh!) not saying anything else, I will reveal the location though: corner of Lexington and 26th. Put it on your list girl(boy), it’s on mine. GL
Loulou’s, Winners, Gowanus Harvest Fest
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags ashland, brideshead revisited, brooklyn, flavorpill, giveaway, Gowanus harvest Festival, Guide to What's Good, hippys, loulou, orwell, portland, spice girls on October 12, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteWow, I meant to post last night, but staying up until 5am at and after the I heart Brooklyn Girls party, translated to falling asleep at 8pm last night, while watching the Making of the Spice Girls DVD. Yes, people who are under the misconception that I’m pretentious will be pleased to know that I am not too cool to get a few kicks off watching Posh back when she was a chubby Spice in training. That was one of the fun prizes that came in my Aly Fourney benefit gift bag. But…
The point is that now I have a lot to say. First of all the answers to the Trivia question and winners of Brideshead Revisited are Shannon and Angie- yes it was a sad showing of competitors so Ang you are now officially eligible. The correct answers are:
George Orwell’s real name is Eric Blair, he was an imperial policeman in Burma for 5 years after finishing High School at Eton. When he struck a Burmese child with his cane, for some small slight, and was taunted for this by other children, he realized fully the ills of imperialism and resolved to commit to socialism and writing. Congratulations winners!
I have a new recommendation for the GL, Loulou’s in Ft Greene on Dekalb, is a great little brunch spot (especially if you have fun company like i did). In typical petit panam style, they have pretty decent crepes and all the other necessary ingredients like Mimosas, lattes and cake. The best feature is the garden. Have a long convo out back, suggested topics are education, misfired relationships, intresting court cases and Ashland vs Portland vs Brooklyn (Booklyn wins!)
After my much edited preview on Flavorpill, I won’t bother to link to it cause it won’t even sound like me—the review is that, unless your a city hippy with ten kids, you should probably skip it next year. The yard is a great space though, as I suspected (GL). Go there and bliss out in the sun, while looking at a 5 mile/hour bridge over the Gowanus canal
Bedstuy, Clinton Hill, FT Greene Cafe Contest- BS rundown
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags bedstuy, breadstuy, cafe guide, Choice, clinton hill, ft greene, Guide to What's Good, outpost, smooch, tiny cup on October 13, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI have been long been meaning to do a little size-up comparison of the cafes in this hood. As the Brooklyn Socialite and a writer, let me assure you that I spend many a daytime hour in cafes so I should know a bit about them by now.
We have already talked about Choice- which is where I am now PS- definitely the best option in terms of food, coffee, deserts. In terms of hang out spot though, they get a lower score. Yes wifi, but no, the feeling that its cool to hang out all day on your laptop- it’s a bustling place, people are constantly online to get bread and savorys to take home or eat quickly on one of the outside benches. Another minus is no alcohol, sometimes an afternoon beer helps you get by, what can I say?
Then there is Tiny Cup this was my favorite for a long time until it became clear that the always fresh batch of new staff members would just never stop messing up orders. The amount of times I found jam on my bagel instead of butter, yogurt on my fruit bowl and coconut after I asked for without, or got someone else’s order all together is too many to count. What’s Worse, I have more than once been given food that wasn’t quite fresh enough. Beyond these major faux pas the good things are, the owner Lisa is really sweet and i like her. The crowd that hangs there is often cool, friendly and comfortable. This is def a laptop friendly spot, frequented by work-from-homers. Wifi yes and reasonable prices too.
Which brings me to Outpost. The best things about outpost are 1. spacious outdoor, smoker friendly garden seating and 2. They serve alcohol, beer, wine, even rum and they do really nice fruit juices to boot. Other perks are that they have young gay owners, host cool events like DJ and open mic poetry nights, have wifi and lots of laptop plugs, and similar to Tiny Cup a daytime mostly independent worker crowd. That said, the drawbacks are not very good food, some of it is pretty shocking, coffee that could be better and sometimes the feeling that it is too crowded. Maybe they could spread the tables out a little more?
Then there is Breadstuy which hardly deserves a mention. The main pluses are WiFi, friendly staff and cool clientèle, but the coffee and food are so universally bad that it’s hard to go there for any significant period of time.
The last of the best,( bear in mind that all of the aforementioned cafes represent the best options in daytime hood cafe chilling/working) is Smooch. A bit of a haul from where I live, but they have coffee, good smoothies, and alcohol! Plus some cruisy outdoor seating. The staff alternate between being awesome and surly, but try your luck. When I was last in the WiFi situation was indefinite so will have to check back and gauge whether or not this can really be a work spot. It’s good for a coffee date though.
If you know a place in the hood that you reckon deserves a spot on this list, please let me know!
Literary Death Match- Deadlines
Posted in Book, Guide to What's Good, reading with tags Book, Brand nu day spa, flavorpill, Guide to What's Good, Itty Bitty Titty Committee dvd launch, l magazine, Literary death match, opium magazine, reading, spa week on October 14, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteHello Friends,
Although hanging out in cafe’s is joyful, deadlines are not. I am down to the wire on another one and feeling the burn. I also put my back out- what the? So in honor of Spa Week, I am taking my broke self on down to the Brand Nu Day Spa, I will be sure to report back on it’s level of goodness.
After I stop procrastinating and manifest some genius, (what what!) I will get my back back in gear, I hope, than journey on over to the Kitchen for A Literary Death Match/ Release of Opium Magazine (secret blog fans, stalk me I’m yours!)
This is how I previewed it in Flavorpill:
Competitive-reading series Literary Death Match requires authors to step out from behind their writing desks and show some performance chops. The contestants this time around are Katherine Taylor from the Vermin on the Mount reading series, Thomas Hopkins from L magazine’s Annual Literary Upstart, Dennis DiClaudio of Guerilla Lit, and Thaddeus Rutkowski from Poetry vs. Comedy. Celebrity guests (Ben Greenman from The New Yorker is on hand) judge the participants on literary merit, performance, and various intangibles. more
I will let you know afterwards how it really was. I will also have a report back on the ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE DVD launch party which I previewed in GO. Again, stalkers are welcome x See you soon.
Lit Death Match Recap- to start
Posted in Guide to What's Good with tags Ben Greenman, cookshop, Dennis Diclaudio, Guide to What's Good, i-phone, Katherine Taylor, Lincoln Michel, Literary death match, opium magazine, Thaddeus Rutowski on October 15, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteOK friends I have so many things that I want to recap right now, but my popcorn just beeped in the microwave and the DVD player is waiting. I rented Itty Bitty Titty Committee so that I could find out what all the fuss last night was about. Got to go watch and get back to you.
On to the Literary Death Match, presented by Opium magazine. Well I was going to write a little summary, but when I went back to review my notes, just seconds ago, I realized that they may be better in all their unabridged glory. Courtesy of my new iphone (we’ll talk about that soon) Here they are:
Lincoln Michel
Spit talked and was boring.
Ben Greenman said that be confuses animals and people.He likes airplane catalogs and “long bills”. Kurt says, “tuck in your shirt!”, no eye contact, spoke too fast, this guy Kurt Bodden is funny
Jodi bullock says, “don’t make word definition mistakes.”
Katherine Taylor
Not so funny and yet published in the Times, blonde, I don’t like the way she reads ‘dumb woman style’
“How you know you are a cliché”
Lit merit: greenman says style is hard to pull off but she kinda pulled it off and felt like jokes on Brooklyn writers. “There will be no bad sandwich in your memory”. Kurt; second person imperative voice. Spoonerism… Jodi says Chablis pronunciation, good story. Fear of umbrellas.
Lit matches in Europe
Baby voice
Dennis Diclaudio
Tic tac up the butt story w/therapist
Story is better than reading style
Lots of whiny bratty writer shit
Tic tac is cover for whiny shit.
Thaddeous Rutkowski
Great, funny. Good performer. Vonnegut said respect your audience. He has it memorized and wins. “ceremonial head dress” he says he wants one.
Wow, raw observations are scathing, “I apologize, in advance.” Meanness sucks, really.
The next post will cover Cookshop, and Itty Titty the night and film. Oh and the NU YU spa which by the way rocks!
Itty Bitty review and Cookshop, NU YU day spa.
Posted in Food, Guide to What's Good, Party, film with tags Guide to What's Good, Food, film, clinton hill, Itty Bitty Titty Committee dvd launch, cookshop, Nu Yu day spa, Melonie Diaz, daniela sea, power up, jamie babbit, le tigre, Party on October 16, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI have been experiencing anxiety all day, caused in part by the meanness of my last post, and yet Allen Ginsberg said “First Thought, Best Thought” and there is a man I must honor. So no deletions.
Let’s talk about Itty Bitty. This film was fun. I wrote about 1,000 notes but I will spare you another reprint. In short: Daniela Sea is really hot, the soundtrack was great, I do love Le Tigre. You could tell that this film was very indy, it looked low-budget, nowhere near as polished as Jamie Babbit’s acclaimed feature, But I’m a Cheerleader. However the fact that it was produced by Power-Up and actually depicted culture jamming and Direct Action, despite the fact that the premise was a bit “fanciful,” pretty much makes it a winner in my book. Melonie Diaz is a really fresh young actor, big up to her, and thank you Itty for the mostly positive portrayal of a trans person. Check out the trailer.
As for the party, it looked like a snatch of fun. I can’t really say, because I couldn’t stay long. Before the party, I ate at Cookshop. It was overpriced and not amazing, yet super packed. Things that make you go hmmm. The bread sticks were good?
The exciting place, which does make the GL is NU YU day spa. If you ever really need a massage, in the Clinton Hill area, hit up Courtney, Jules or one of the other lovely staff members. Especially now, as it’s Spa Week and they along with many others across the country, are offering discounts.
Jane Lynch Interview
Posted in Guide to What's Good, film with tags Best in Show, Christy Cummings, Ellen Degeneres, film, Guide to What's Good, Ilene Chaiken, Interview, Jane Lynch, L word, power up, Provincetown International Film Festival on October 17, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteYay! The interview that I did with Jane Lynch back at Providence International Film Festival is finally available online. Here’s an excerpt!
JANE LYNCH studied acting at Cornell University and then went on to act in comedy theater, TV, and film. Her role in The Fugitive introduced her to a wider audience, which led to appearances in major movies and TV sitcoms. However, Jane has remained committed to independent films and to playing lesbian roles whenever possible. She underscores this dedication through her work with Power-Up, a professional organization that “promotes the. visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment.” It was at a Power-Up conference that she first met L Word creator Ilene Chaiken, who asked her to join the cast.
Jane is known for the intelligence that shines through her comedy roles and has recently been honored with the Faith Hubley Memorial Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival. This award is a testament to her talent and versatility. Hilarious yet subtle, Jane is an accomplished actress with many films to her credit, including The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) and the recently released Tru Loved (2008).
I caught up with her at the Ptown Film Festival in June, where I sat with Jane at a screening of Best in Show, a 2000 movie in which she played lesbian dog trainer Christy Cummings. After the movie we talked about her status as an out actress and her work as an actress on the big and small screens.
Robyn Hillman-Harrigan: It was great to watch Best is Show with you in the audience. It was cool to see that it is still funny for you, even though I am sure you have seen it many times before.
Jane Lynch: I have, but I haven’t seen it in about four years, and we all look so young. There is such a difference in how all of us look eight years later. It was fun to watch it, because it holds up so well. I was really struck by some of the performances. Every time I see a Christopher Guest movie, someone’s performance stands out to me. This time it was Parker Posey who cracked me up.
RHH: I understand that it was made in a very non-traditional way, that you were given strong character descriptions, but no lines.
JL: That’s right. We improvised all the dialogue. We shot a lot of film. The art of this comes not only from our performances, I don’t mean to reduce our significance, but it’s in the editing. Christopher Guest creates these movies in the editing room.
RHH: I love your work on The L Word. What’s it like working with everyone on the cast–with Cybill Shepherd, for example?
JL: Cybill Shepherd is great. She’s usually who I work with. Cybill or Laurel Holloman. sometimes Jennifer Beals. I usually work with just one person. I love doing the show. They write really well, I just come in and do my piece, and then I leave. When I see the episode, it is brand new to me.
RHH: In both Best in Show and on The L Word you play a lesbian character. You are highly respected as an actor within the lesbian community; you have many lesbian fans. Is being well regarded by queer women important to you?
JL: Yes, absolutely. Acting is about human nature, so it is all of human nature that I’m curious about, and I know that historically we have been kind of a silent group and we haven’t garnered much respect or acceptance. This is changing now and I think it is really great that people like Melissa [Etheridge], and Ellen [De Generes] and Rosie O’Donnell stood up and were courageous enough to say, “I’m Gay.” Now the rest of us have had a much easier path. So kudos to them, and if someone looks up to me because I’m open and okay about it and they take strength from that, I think it’s great. Read More
Still to come, my review of Nights and Weekends, which I saw yesterday and Angent Angie’s post on the Jorie Graham reading that we attended last night. xx
Nights and Weekends, Mixx, Secret Faggot
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Party, film with tags film, glasslands, Guide to What's Good, in formation, mix21, Nights and Weekends, Party, secret faggot, za martohardjono on October 18, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialite“I don’t respond to sarcastic fun!.” was my favorite line in Nights and Weekends, it captured the eerie gray area that relationships enter after a certain amount of time. In this is a zone, 2 people know each other well, but not well enough to avoid trampling over each others sensitivities. Perfectly capturing that awkward intimacy, Nights and Weekends somehow delivers. True, it appears low budget, the camera work is simple and the scenes are shot almost exclusively in the same 2-3 apartments. Still, it feels like one long conversation, the kind which I have had with my best friends. It addresses the conflict over having babies, being in relationship, being alone fiercely, being lonely, and ultimately falling in love with someone, and feeling kind of out of control about it. This film is a useful meditation on autonomy and what it means to give that up. Check the trailer.
Now a brief shot out to the Mix 21 Queer Experimental Film Festival. I went last night and especially enjoyed a film called In Formation by Za Martohardjono. If you missed it last night Za will have more films screening tonight, so go see for yourself. There are several other good programs being offered, including a cool video art installation. More info here
Finally I ended the night at Glasslands for the Secret Faggot party. Wow, I had no idea that that space was so vaudeville. It did feel squat homey though, and the makeshift bar was even endearing. I guess I was just waiting for the DJ section to begin, and it didn’t until 1:30, by then I was longing for my pillow. Beauty sleep right?
Agent Angie gets round Robin
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Music with tags Add new tag, Angie, avant Garde, Baltimore Round Robin, Beach House, Guide to What's Good, Jana Hunter, le poisson rouge, Lexi Mountain Boys, Music, Santa Dads, Teeth Mountain on October 20, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteThe Baltimore Avant-Garde at (le) Poisson Rouge
I suppose the bands I saw Friday night in the Baltimore Round Robin at (le) Poisson Rouge didn’t overtly define themselves as avant-garde, but they were certainly esoteric enough to be described that way. Furthermore, their pride in their irreverence, marked in many cases by aloofness, to the extent of failing to tell the audience their name (as if they’re so above the current music scene to care if we know who they are), made me think that many of them have quite lofty perceptions of themselves.
Despite my initial aversion to the elaborately esoteric nature of some of these performances, very quickly I began to hear the rhythm and beauty in even the most bizarre of noise bands there that night. Even the Lexie Mountain Boys, a group of women who did all manner of screeching, moaning, and yelping to convince me that I was either at a ritualistic ceremony or a violent orgy, captivated me.
The round robin concept, in which the audience forms in the middle and is surrounded by all of eleven bands, who alternate playing one song after another, was the perfect way in which to experience this music. I couldn’t imagine staying through concerts of most of these bands independent of each other, with the exception of Beach House, Jana Hunter, and possibly Teeth Mountain. The avant-garde elements were accessible because of the alternating and spontaneous form. The round robin is broken up into two nights. Friday was “Eyes Night” and Saturday, “Feet Night,” a night of dance music rather than the more visual music of Friday’s show. (le) Poisson Rouge on Bleeker and Thompson provided the perfect space for this unusual event, getting it on the GL of NY music venues.
I haven’t come close to succeeding in describing this show adequately for you. The bizarre, fantastic, and insane knew no bounds. These elements were all too numerous to describe here, so let me briefly list the highlights:
Beach House: My favorite band of the evening, and the one I was most anxious to see. Read this wonderful reviewof their latest album on Pitchfork.
Lexi Mountain Boys: As I mentioned previously, somehow the orgasmic grunts and howls of this group of women (wearing headdresses of baby doll heads and black perforated veils), became increasingly rhythmic and melodic to me as the night wore on. The blast they were having, that was apparent from their infectious, genuine smiles, took any pretention out of their inexplicable music.
The female drummer from Teeth Mountain: This woman’s sexy, tribal style of drumming and the captivating music it made, blew me away. I could have listened and watched her play all night.
Santa Dads: This band consisted of three people: one man beat-boxing in a cotton, handmade tiger suit, another, wearing a red dress with a Peter Pan collar playing an electric ukelaili, and a back up dancer undulating frantically with a stuffed leopard print octopus. Enough said.
Wish I could have gone to “Feet Night” as well, to get the full Baltimore music experience, but the 92Y Tribeca opening was that night. I wouldn’t have missed if you paid me. Expect a post soon.
Party Like it’s 1992 at Santos Party House
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Party with tags 1992, b-boys, Brooklyn Basement, Fashion, Guide to What's Good, Party, Santos Party House on October 21, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteWell last night my friend lured me out of my warm sewing cove and convinced me to come to the Shitty. On a Sunday night no less! It was kind of worth it though to see all the b-boy colorfabulous fashions that were on display at Santos Party House. If you weren’t wearing hyper color high tops you may as well have been a leaper. The only way to make up for such a grave slight was to rock glitzy vintage rainbow bright party dresses or collage popping hoodies. I didn’t quite make the grade, but i still managed to get myself caught on the dance floor amidst spontaneous vogueing, cap wearing, boot stomping b-boys and heel high glamazons. The drinks were slightly overpriced but the sounds of 1992 were refreshing. I had to call back to the fore several of my retired dance moves but I just about managed to bust a move. Upon departure, I was rewarded with a 1992 t-shirt by local designer Brooklyn Basement.
Trouble The Water Article Interview Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Posted in Guide to What's Good, film with tags Carl Deal, film, Guide to What's Good, Hurricane katrina, Interview, Tia Lessin, Tribes magazine, Trouble the Water on October 21, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteHello! My Trouble The Water article which features an interview that I did with the film’s directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal is now available on line here.
If you have yet to see the movie, please do. It is a very inspiring narrative documentary about a heroic, yet humanistic couple who survived Hurricane Katrina, while aiding their neighbors in the lower 9th ward. This in an excerpt…read more!
“So many people lost everything, their homes and families.” Lessin said. “It is not exactly the time that you expect people to rise above it all, but the truth is that Kim and Scott lived in a community that had failed them all of their lives. They were used to having to be the first response for problems that were occurring in their community. The government had long since abandoned the lower ninth ward. At least a quarter century of right wing attacks on social services set the groundwork for the poverty in their community. So many of the basic things that our country is supposed to look out for, safety, health, environmental and market regulations, civil rights, had all fallen by the wayside. This was the trajectory of their lives.”
Indeed, the scenes that show Kim riding through the neighborhood, pre-storm, affirm her status as caring community member. She knows the names and stories of each neighbor, shop owner, and even homeless junkie. Memorably, she warns one such man to take shelter. Later the film viewer finds out that he was one of the many who died after being unable to leave the city. However, Kim herself, also speaks about the hardships she has endured at various times in life, which have led her to take desperate measures, including selling drugs. Aiding their neighbors and emerging as true leaders, seems to have catalyzed a process of continued change for the Roberts.
According to Deal, “This film was about perspective as much as anything, by stepping outside of their everyday world, Kim and Scott were able to look back in and see themselves in an enhanced manner. They could understand the better parts of themselves and by seeing things in this affirmative light, multiply the positives in their lives. They were the same people they had always been, except more self-assured and hopeful.”
Agent Angie Sings to us
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Music, art with tags 92 st Y Tribeca, Agent Angie, art, Guide to What's Good, John Darnielle, John Vandeslice, Jorie Graham, Lauren weinstein, Mathew Thurber, Michael Showater, Mountain Goats, Music, tom hart on October 22, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialite92Y Tribeca Opening
If you read my review of 92nd Street Y’s Jorie Graham and Yusuf Komunyakaa reading last week you know of my hope that the good ole’ Y could become a little more hip. They book the best literary events around, yet manage to put their audience to sleep. Well, it seems my wish has been granted. 92nd Street Y opened their Tribeca location, on Hudson and Canal, last Saturday. I’ve heard that 92Y Tribeca won’t be hosting many readings in the near future, leaving that to their uptown patriarch. Hopefully that changes, because 92Y Tribeca’s space could potentially excel in providing the intimacy that literary readings need to be as satisfying and exciting as possible (yes, readings can be exciting!).
92Y Tribeca has a fabulous line-up of music events scheduled. Check out their site. John Vanderslice kicked off their series, 18 Nights of Inspiration on Saturday, while also celebrating the opening of the Tribeca location. Michael Showalter opened for and introduced Vanderslice with a stand-up routine. He was a little unprepared but otherwise hilarious as usual (remember Wet Hot American Summer?). Most of his routine recapped the current events surrounding the election.
Vanderslice’s performance was what I was excited about. He put on a great show, visibly elated to be performing at 92Y Tribeca and to be introduced by Showalter, whom he’s performed with before. The San Francisco-based singer/songwriter has intrigued me ever since I heard that he produced Spoon’s Gimme Fiction and two recent Mountain Goats’ albums, The Sunset Tree (2005) and Heretic Pride (2007), which also happen to be two of my favorites. One of the most prolific, yet under-the-radar musicians of his generation, Vanderslice was slated to intrigue, delight, and of course, entertain.
Vanderslice’s lyrics remind me a bit of anecdotal, folkloric/nursery rhymes, in particular “Dear Sarah Shu,” which he dedicated to John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats at the show:
“Dear Sarah Shu,
I leave for you
All i knew about this job
On microcassette for further review
What it meant to me
How you’ll make it dear, hopefully
It’s dangerous here
Yes it’s dangerous here
Peer round corners with dental mirrors,
Heed the threats, taking cautionary measures,
In the end, it is love
You’ll have to learn to survive …”
and “Angela”
“Angela
Don’t be mad
There’s something i’ve got to tell you dear
Before you come back here
I lost, i lost your bunny
I let him out of the cage
He was eating spring mix on the carpet
He jumped through a window into the haze
And hopped down magnolia boulevard
No way he’ll survive
Maybe those last days of freedom
Were the best of his life …”
92Y Tribeca picked a great inaugural act! I had a blast.
The space was very well orchestrated. There are gallery spaces displaying the exhibit “Goddess, Mouse, and Man” featuring the etchings of Lauren Weinstein, Tom Hart, and Matthew Thurber. I went to a reading of Weinstein’s fantasy graphic novel Goddess of War (the etchings of which are currently displayed in this show) at the Strand a couple months ago. She is definitely worth checking out.
Expect some exciting things to come from the Y in the coming months. I’m interested to see what happens.
by Angie Venezia
Harry Shearer Recap, Whoreoween
Posted in Music, Party, The bad list with tags Alberto Gonzalez, Arthur Russell, Book, condaleeza Rice, DJ Sophia H, Harry Shearer, metropolitan, Music, Party, politics, The bad list, The Gossip, Trustafarian, Whoreween, word of the day on November 2, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI hope you are all pulling up as well as I am on this fine, sunny, post-mayhem Sunday morning. The scariest Halloween costume that I saw this season was the guy with the Harry Shearer mask on. No wait, that was really him. As much as I want to jock the 92st Y Tribeca, I have to say that I was far from impressed with my first event there. I’m hoping that was an anomalous experience and will reserve judgment.
Harry Shearer on the other hand, prepare to be roasted! The roast master himself seems to have not quite realized that the very act of mocking our misbegotten president and his team of political pariahs, does not give one carte blanche to use every racial and sexual slur in the Book. I was offended by his likening of Colin Powell to Smooth Jazz, his bashing Alberto Gonzalez with a Mexican ole song, and his repeated references to Condoleeza Rice’s perm. Seriously? Worsened by his descent into toilet humor, and the essentially boring old-timer band that backed him, Harry Shearer’s Songs of the Bushman (rock/jazz/weird Al Yankovic style?) concert blew, to put it mildly. Definitely on the BL
Luckily for me I did meet some nice folks during the ordeal and we commiserated together. Afterwards I checked out Whoreoween as promised, with a quick stop at Metro on the way. I still love that place, go Metropolitan, go community! Well the party was actually pretty fun, the DJ (who doubles as my GO co-worker) was pretty darn fab. Anyone who plays Arthur Russell, next to The Gossip, and on top of old school hip hop is alright in my Book.
Speaking so highly, as I always do, of books and words, I’ll part with a word of the day:
Trustafarian: Someone with a trust fund. This trust fun dictates one’s choice of social activities. Not a Brooklyn Socialite.
Be Like Others, Q & A w/ Tanaz Eshagian
Posted in film, politics, queer with tags Ayatolah Komeini, Be Like Others, CUNY Grad center, film, gay disclaimer, Iran, politics, Q & A, queer, Susan Stryker, tanaz Eshagian, transexual, transgender, transphobic, walter reade theater on November 14, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteIn the lead up to Trans Rememberance Day, whether intentionally or coincidentally there are several trans stories in NYC events this week. As your faithful socialite, I dragged myself uptown to see Be Like Others at Lincoln Center. Eshagian, the Iranian-American filmmaker returns to her home country and films a group of Transwomen who are pre and post sex change operation. Most of the footage is shot in the clinic where there operations take place, with extensive focus put on the doctor who performs the procedure. He is part of a group of men in the government of The Islamic Republic of Iran who have either decided, agreed with or implemented the concept, put in place by Ayatollah Khomieni (the father of the Iranian Islamic Revolution), that sex-changes are permissible under Islam. Khomeini passed a Fatwa to this effect, officially declaring them legal. In a country where homosexuality is highly illegal and punishable by a stoning death penalty, it is surprising that being transsexual is so legal that people are given a new legal name and passport post-op. Take a look at the trailer, only available on her website and a brief interview with her below.
Much of what’s contained in this interview was seconded by the vibe I got off her last night. She didn’t really seem to want to take sides, so to speak. I wasn’t sure if this was just another case of the gay disclaimer, or if she was really a distant outsider, looking in at this story from the perspective of novelty. The film sheds light on an interesting subject that not many people know about. In that sense its investigative journalism, but in terms of its humanity at moments I wondered if Eshagian herself was transphobic, or if she was just somehow hiding behind a lens of impartiality. Questions for the interview, I guess. If you read this, talk back! Maybe she will be at transhistorian, Susan Styker’s lecture at the CUNY Grad center tonight at 6:30? See you there.
Susan Stryker lecture, La Zarza
Posted in Book, Guide to What's Good, Party, politics, queer with tags Book, cuny, drag, geey-goose, ghost dance, glaggs, Guide to What's Good, la zarza, Party, politics, Q & A, queer, Readings, spirituality, Susan Stryker, transgender on November 15, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteYesterday evening I attended a lecture that Susan Stryker gave at the the CUNY Grad center. It was a nice moment for different cool folks in the trans and queer community to gather, talk back and primarily to listen. I really respect the history gathering, voice planting work that Stryker does, she is a leading force in the movement for trans civil rights. This was evidenced during the introductions she received from Paisley Currah and Joanne Meyerowitz, two other academics who work in the field of trans studies. In terms of the lecture itself, I have to say she lost me at times. The part about Foucault and Hobbes, a lot of theoretical words that can’t yet be found in the dictionary, and several ‘this is not cultural appropriation’ disclaimers had me at the point of putting my pen down. The trouble was I really came to the lecture prepared to learn and left feeling befuddled and not quite there yet. The parts which I did find to be insightful, centered around the concept of a trans person sensing a need to transform outside appearance in order to fully realize an inner potential. I could really relate to this concept, even when applied to writing. When I am unable or unwilling to create something that really resonates for me, I walk around feeling un-realized, incomplete. This is a very spiritual concept, the idea of reaching self-realization. Thus the larger premise of the lecture, which was something like, “Ghost Dance: transperson as spiritual leader” sort of followed along the same avenue, implying that the trans person, innately experiencing transformation towards self-realization, is naturally qualified to be a spiritual leader. Interesting. Have I got it all wrong? Or was that the argument? Afterwards I spoke with Stryker, her partner, and a lot of other good folks about the beauty of dialogue, so comment away!
Just a quick note on La Zarza … This loungue space underneath a sort of swanky Nouvau Italian place, is a sweet spot, when the Grey-Goose promotions are flooding and you are somehow on the doorlist. It is still free if you get there early, but otherwise $100 bills may get thrown around. Last night there was a good pop-hip-hop dj and lots of guys in suits and girls in drag. No wait, that wasn’t drag, straight girls really dress like that!
Quicknote2- Things to do this Weekend
Posted in Guide to What's Good, queer with tags cave canem, cindy sherman, Guide to What's Good, i cant think straight, kinsey"s women, Lesbian, mcnally jackson, quad, queer on November 21, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteI sat by the window all day today, waiting for my mac to come, but alas, it did not. So I am only able to use my old about to crash laptop for a quick sec (my German roommate took hers to work today). I have to make a few shout outs. If your in the shitty come down to Mc Nally Jackson, there should be a great poetry reading in progress, or if you are closer to 13th st, mosey on into the Quad for a screening of the new film I Can’t Think Straight its about Lesbians, yay! There will be a Q & A afterwards, or go to the Kinsey’s Women exhibition or the Cindy Sherman show, then catch the midnight screening at the Tribeca 92 St Y… or…or, I can’t even leave the house because I’m paralyzed by all the choices! Promise to find a better computer option soon, and write more then. x
Cave Canem Workshop, Stains Movie,Wild Ginger
Posted in Food, Guide to What's Good, queer with tags 92 st Y Tribeca, bob marley, cave canem, devone hayward, diane lane, Food, Guide to What's Good, ladies and gentelmen the faboulous stains, People of Color, queer, Readings, scallion pancakes, wild ginger on November 22, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteMy fingers have been itching all day, lets face it I’m an internet junkie, the iphone isn’t enough and I’ve been fiending. In an attempt to deal with my separation anxiety, I did what most junkies do, I cleaned my room. After yesterday’s dust film, I figured it was time. I stole a few moments with my broken old laptop and then I did what all good Socialites do, I went out. The first event of the evening was a truly lovely affair. I was overwhelmed, in a good way, by all the beautiful black people in the room. I felt like I was at Aaron Davis hall or in the old BAM. Beyond just staring at beautiful people, which I’m told I have the habit of doing, I heard some really good poetry. The highlights for me were Devonne Heyward, who offered up a shy avalanche of liquid meaning, Erica Mapp, who cautioned us not to pursue those who don’t give freely(amen!), and Amanda Morgan, whose queer suburban tales resonated for me. Pretty much everyone was great though, and Cave Canem seems to be a cool organization. They offer writing workshops for people of color and organize talented writers on a national scale.
Afterwards I got to check out Wild Ginger, a vegan joint on Broome. Prior to entering, I was feeling a little sceptical of its ability to be veganfabulous, but it was indeed. Nice scallion pancakes, mango salad, excellent steamed dumplings, green tea ice cream…all good. The waitstaff are also really cute and human. It’s not pretentious at all and reasonably priced too!
Then I did manage to make it to the Midnight screening at 92 St Y Tribeca of Ladies and Gentlemen the Stains. The leading role in this film is played by Diane Lane and it was made the same year that I was born. Like Times Square, The Stains has a girl power, feminist, vaguely lesbo theme. It’s cool, really funny somehow. Some of the characters include a spoofy, takes itself seriously British band, and a Bob Marley quoting Jamaican band promoter, called lawnboy. He gives a pretty crazy soliloquy at one point. The basic premise it that Diane, her kid sister and her blonde cousin, want to be loved, be fierce, make money and become famous. They realize that the way to achieve all of these goals is to appear on tv and wear incredibly bright eye shadow and no pants. Maybe they’re on to something.
The Last Cigarette-Stranger than Fiction
Posted in film with tags Cigarette Smoking, film, Harvard Beats Yale, IFC, Kevin Rafferty, Stranger than Fiction, The Last Cigarette, Vertigo on November 27, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteLast night I went to my favorite documentary series in NYC, Stranger Than Fiction, and I saw a film called The Last Cigarette. It was directed by Kevin Rafferty, who’s most recent film Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 is currently screening at the Film Forum. The Last Cigarette was made in the mid 90s purely out of news and archival footage. It fits into the documentary genre, yet there are no interviews or original voice-overs and it seems in fact that the filmmaker never once picked up a camera while working on this project. All in the editing room, like a modern day mash-up, it meshes scenes from Vertigo and Psycho with footage from the Congressional hearings, in which the cigarette companies were held to task for selling cancer sticks. The middle aged men, who represent Philip Morris et al. bumble and attempt to euphemize their way out of taking responsibility for smoking deaths. They all actually say that they don’t believe smoking is addictive, that it does not cause cancer, and they swear that their companies have never marketed to children. Interesting. The film serves as a comical, yet frightening glimpse back into the mid-nineties. It is hard to believe how much attitudes towards smoking have changed in the past 15 years. Plus, quite bizarre that people have gone from thinking that cigarettes weren’t that harmful, to knowing they are, and smoking anyway.
Slate Gets Milk- Gus Van Sant’s new Film
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Mr Slate Honey, People of Color, film, politics, queer with tags brooklyn, film, Guide to What's Good, gus van sant, harvey milk, milk, moma, Mr Slate Honey, People of Color, politics, queer, san fransisco, sean penn, Slate Honey on December 3, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteGreat review and thoughtful Analysis of Milk by Mr Slate Honey. Van Sant is giving a Q&A tonight at MOMA- hopefully I’ll get tickets and be able to report back tomorrow.-R
It seems everybody and their gay dads saw Gus Van Sant’s Milk as part of the Thanksgiving routine this year. I was warned to go equipped with tissues and to be ready for problematic portrayals of the few characters of color in the film. (Thanks lover, for the forewarning by the way.) I went prepared with a dewey heart and my critical lenses on.
I have been a committed Sean Penn fan ever since I saw Dead Man Walking when I was a little mister. And I got on the Gus Van Sant train a bit late but his recent films Elephant, Last Days, Paranoid Park have served my grungy emo-homo skater-boy obsession very well.
Cinematographer Harris Savides and Van Sant make a great visionary team. They previously worked together on Elephant, a film with a very precise, clean cinema verité style that transforms violence into real-time horror and renders its viewers innocent witnesses. In Milk, Savides and Van Sant play with perspective, creating layers of consciousness for Penn’s character. Switching perspective and cinematic style, and weaving archival footage into the film, Savides and Van Sant reveal a determined, emotional man at the center of a violent socio-political setting. A particularly lush scene that is classic Van Sant perspective comes early on in the film. Harvey and Scott (played by James Franco) fall in love in a soft-focus dreamscape of close movement, shot all in extreme close-ups set to the soundtrack of their tender conversation. Gorgeousness.
Overall, Milk is very historically accurate. Activist Cleve Jones and friend of Milk’s was on-set during production and connected Van Sant with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who had long been preparing a manuscript. Milk serves as a good personal portrait counterpart to the 1985 documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, directed by Rob Epstein. I had the feeling watching MILK that I could trust the filmmaker team’s attention to detail and the solid sense of collaboration gave the narrative a documentary quality.
So the accuracy and detail of the film bring up a pretty big concern on the race-politics front. I was charmed by Sean Penn’s old-school New York accent and faggy gestures, seduced by James Franco’s flirty eyes and mini handlebar moustache and increasingly worried as Josh Brolin’s character’s passive aggressive repression began to seep out. And the constant influx of characters served well as a distraction from the tragic and narrow development of the few characters of color.
A member of Milk’s activist dream team includes an Asian man who is only referred to as Lotus Blossom despite his many appearances. Random folks of color magically appear in the crowd every time Milk gets a further push forward in the political machine. During an acceptance speech near the climax of the film, a black woman with a classic 70s look complete with afro smiles enthusiastically behind Harvey. She promptly disappears behind a shower of balloons as soon as Harvey wraps up his speech.
Leaving the theatre, my mom suggested that the race politics of the film merely mirrored the San Francisco scene in the 1970s. There just weren’t that many people of color, she argued. And there were barely any women in the film, she added. Historical accuracy? (And, I might add, how much has the San Francisco gay scene departed from a mostly white gay male playground thirty years later?)
The seldom appearance of people of color is one thing. I suppose you can reason this with some argument about accuracy. What is more troubling is the passiveness of the characters of color. Black and Asian extras dot the activist scenes, always with their thumbs in the air and big smiles. Lotus Blossom doesn’t seem to wince at his nickname. And finally, Jack, the one Latino character that makes it on-screen for more than thirty seconds is portrayed as an irrational, mentally unstable, co-dependent, infantile wifey. Jack’s tragedy becomes expected and you can almost hear the characters whispering under their breath “She brought it on herself.” This is fodder for post-colonial theory.
So my warnings were well-heeded. In the end, I cried like a baby, just as hard as I cried when I watched ‘The Life and Times of Harvey Milk’. I left the theatre thinking about the fearless work of an older generation of queer activists that laid some ground for young folks to make demands relevant to what it means to be queer and fight for rights today. I also left thinking about how race politics have systematically been swept under the rug by a white gay and lesbian rights movement in the 70s. I thought about what work that has left contemporary queer activists of color. And how truly far-thinking activists never get comfortable and only keep pushing and questioning. Finally, making my way out of the city back to Brooklyn, I meditated on queer love as freedom, queer survival as civil rights, and a beautiful fearlessness that comes naturally to us.
The writers from Tongues Afire are about to set Brooklyn a-glow
Posted in Guide to What's Good, Mr Slate Honey, People of Color, queer with tags common grounds, Guide to What's Good, Mr Slate Honey, People of Color, POC, queer, Readings, the brooklyn sociaite, tongues of fire, transgender on December 4, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteBy Mr Slate Honey
This year’s members of the creative writing workshop for queer women, trans and gender-non conforming people of color will be presenting new works in two readings. Common Grounds, the cozy Bed-Stuy cafe at 376 Tompkins Ave, will be hosting the first on Saturday December 6th at 7pm. Later in the week, The Audre Lorde Project, sponsor to the group, will be hosting the second reading on Thursday December 11th at 85 South Oxford Street at 6:30 pm. Both events are free and open to the public.
Be sure not to miss these. Excellent artists pass through this workshop and judging from friends who have been in it or who will be reading, I can assure you that it will not disappoint even the most fine-tuned ear. For more information about Tongues Afire and applying to the workshop, contact tonguesafire@gmail.com
Good Photos, VU
Posted in word of the day with tags ally sheedy, chris elam, dance, daniela sea, farm sanctuary, Fashion, Jenifer collidge, misnomer, New York, Voluntary Ugliness, VU, word of the day on December 10, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteHere are the press pics from Farm sanctuary and Misnomer dance


Above Photos by Greg Straight Edge

In light of all the photos beautifully taken, or of beautiful people. I thought it might be a good time to discuss VU. Although it sounds like some obscure venereal disease, it’s real meaning is Voluntary Ugliness. Come on people, don’t do it. Fashions come and go, and there are a lot of people who do take them way to seriously. However, there is nothing more serious than VU. Don’t want to fashionable? Don’t bother! But please don’t give way to VU. All you have to do is find a look that works for you and rock it out. No more glasses that make your eyes pop out, please don’t abuse corduroy or turtlenecks, don’t blame it on money, because you know that you could look cute even in torn shards of fabric if you wore them right. As a person who sometimes takes themselves pretty seriously, I have to give it up for superficiality this one time. Let’s make a pact to try to look our best for just one week, then a month a year, forever. This city really needs some brightening up and so does everywhere. Don’t fall victim to VU, let your beauty sparkle, razzle, dazzle and …ok I’m stopping I promise, but on that note, for the next week I will be posting photos of the bravest VU resisters that I encounter on the streets, cafes and clubs of New York….
Yes Man, Dance Class Contessa
Posted in Party, film with tags 25th birthday, bring it on, dance class, dj prince terrence, film, flight of the concords, magnolia, mamma contessa, montel williams show, Party, peyton reed, rhys darby, saige, thephilus london, webster hall, yes man, zooey deschamel on December 11, 2008 by thebrooklynsocialiteOn the list of things that I want to blog about, but sometimes get distracted from, or avoid out of fear of never sleeping, drinking too much coffee and missing my train tomorrow to upstate New York are:
Yes Man- the new Jim Carey Film and
Dance Class, Contessa’s 25th birthday party at Webster Hall.
Let’s begin, quick before fear gets the better of me…The trailer:
Yes Man was pretty f-ing funny. That means either a lot coming from me, or very little. As it is, that I rarely expose myself to abject humor, preferring the darker, documentary style film, I may not be the best person to judge funny mainstream movies. That said, I did enjoy it. It was kind of a cross between Magnolia, The Montel Williams Show and every other Jim Carrey film ever made. He definitely pulled a lot of faces that I recal from The Mask. Kiwi actor, Rhys Darby, from the Flight Of the Concords was hysterical and Zooey Deschanel was super cute. Plus the songs that her band inside the film play are classic, probably the best part of the movie. They are about things like people respecting the limit on times they are allowed to call, and the guy that she hates becuase he called after 11pm. I guess I wasn’t expecting much from the director of Bring it On, but as a vapid-comedy starved individual, when faced with slapstick and overly simplistic jokes, I will laugh, and I did.
Moving on. Mama Contessa, impresario, dancer, Bed Stuy fashion plate and so much more is celebrating her 25th Birthday at Webster hall tomorrow night after 10pm. DJ prince Terrence is spinning, new pop will be snapping away, go-gos doing their thing, Theophilus London will perform and I’ll be there!x
Check the poster:

Last night I spent the evening with the board of directors of 
















































1.
2
3
4
5
6
