Back in October, I reviewed the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Thomas Adès new opera, The Exterminating Angel, noting at the time that I’d also be reviewing the November 18 performance as broadcast in movie theaters—thanks to the continuing miracles of the digital age, Met performances are broadcast in high def to theaters in 70 countries…
I hate the New York Times! They make me agree with John Stossel!
I’m not a big fan of John Stossel, who hangs his hat, and his moustache, which was once the property of Harry Reems, at “Reason” magazine. John was once a hyperventilating talking head, à la Sixty Minutes, hyperventilating in the name of mainstream liberalism, until he saw the light à la Milton Friedman, and now…
Thunk!—“Bemsha Swing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugcpK8U9OBM Stephen Gauci, Tenor Saxophone; Kenny Wessel, Guitar; Michael Bisio, Bass; Jeremy Carlstedt, Drums. Recorded in Brooklyn, 2013 Posted by Stephen Gauci
Real presidents effectuate regime change
When did “regime change” become the mark of a “real” president? Well, not to keep you in suspense, but it was in the brief reign of George Herbert Walker “Bad Ass” Bush. While still a mere VP, Georgie wanted President Reagan to green light the removal of Panama strongman Manuel Noriega—basically a CIA “asset” gone…
Carol D. Leonnig, John Wagner, and Ellen Nakashima, babes in the wood
Carol, John, and Ellen are reporters with the Washington Post. They have an article in today’s paper, “Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president”, filling us in on what John Dowd, President Trump’s lawyer—or one of them, at least—has to say about the president’s latest…
Gentlemen may cry “Truce! Truce!” but there is no truce
E. J. Dunne has a column up at the WashPost with the unfortunately accurate head “Our political foundation is rotting away” . Noting how Republicans are pushing through a tax bill that is both utterly abysmal and far ranging for no other reason than to garner Big Donnie a “win”, regardless of the number of…
Mauro Vicino Trío—“Bemsha Swing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaZVnvUQk_o Mauro Vicino, guitarra, Cristian Ferreira, contrabajo, and Hernán Mandelman, batería. Posted by Cristian Ferreira
The Apotheosis of Paul Ryan is the Apotheosis of Hypocrisy
It is likely that Republicans in Congress will pass something resembling House Speaker Paul Ryan’s tax package—because if they don’t they’ll look like complete fools, and they’d rather fuck up the country than look like that. It’s “amusing” that everyone, even me, has pointed to the massive Republican hypocrisy of having spent eight long years…
Dix pour cent? More like sept!
What if? What if “they” made Entourage for middle-aged, upper-middle-class Parisian cinéphiles instead of, you know, “Turtle”? Well, they did, and they have, and it’s called dix pour cent (“10 percent”), or Call My Agent! as Netflix has it, and I gave the first season a qualified thumb’s up last April. Why the “qualified”? Although…
Polite Conversation
(Editor’s Advice: If you don’t know who Colly Cibber is, you probably shouldn’t read this piece.) In one of W. H. Auden’s essays, he remarks that English literature had a strong tendency to become a sort of cozy, family affair, full of in-jokes that bound everyone who was in together and excluded all those who…