Please forgive this punt of sorts but my post on opera was gradually growing from a Puccini one act into my very own Ring cycle so offer up your answers to these political teasers whilst I struggle on like Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald himself. #1) How exactly does Obama win? I’m not saying he doesn’t, his […]
Author Archive
You say two mottoes
Can you list all of your school mascots? My high school and my undergraduate are the same and relatively common but I’ve had some winners along the way. I’ve been a Viking, a Toro, a 49er, and even (shudder) a Trojan. My most recent school has no mascot whatsoever. This was crazy to me. Sure, […]
Danse macabre
Bob Fosse made five films between 1968 and 1973. The first, Sweet Charity, he had directed and choreographed on the Broadway stage in 1966. Fosse won his fifth Tony Award for the choreography of this show, which starred his wife, Gwen Verdon. I was surprised to learn that the book by Neil Simon was based […]
What we talk about when we talk about love
Aside from those more obvious considerations…which could not but occasionally awaken in any man’s soul some alarm, there was another thought, or rather vague nameless horror concerning him, which at times by its intensity completely overpowered all the rest; and yet so mystical and well nigh ineffable was it, that I almost despair of putting […]
Teach them well and let them lead the way
“It’s hard to choose a favorite among so many great tracks, but “The Greatest Love of All” is one of the best, most powerful songs ever written about self-preservation, dignity. Its universal message crosses all boundaries and instills one with the hope that it’s not too late to better ourselves.” –Patrick Bateman I’d never “camped […]
Stigmatic twins
Here’s my attempt at the short reviews format. Make what you will of a qualified recommendation, an eviction from the canon, a queue-topping rave, and a warning you would do best to heed. Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Nonesuch, 1985) I was listening to a minimalist compilation (which, if memory serves me, […]
It was only the darkened house that could contain her
Let it be known that competition for these West Coast spots is fierce. Our editor throws some dates out there and a free for all often ensues. I boxed out my fellow TGW’ers like Carlos Boozer (still averaging a smooth 24 and 11 at 55% from the field, thanks for asking) under the boards to […]
The garland briefer than a girl’s, part 1
Carlos Boozer. Quick, what comes to your mind when you read that name? Off the top of my head, I’d tell you that he’s a power forward for the Utah Jazz who averaged an incredible 24 points and 12 rebounds a game in the playoffs last year. That he’s an injury prone bum whose malingering […]
Hungary
We have a new house. I have my typical liberal identity issues but seem to have successfully fought past these as I gaze approvingly at the new 50” flat screen in the room off of our open kitchen. Did you know that you’re supposed to “break in” a plasma? The first 100 hours should apparently […]
The shirt of Nessus
How good does it feel to be right? How good does it feel to know that you are right? How about this — how important is it that the other guy is wrong? I’m not just talking here about going national on the National Trivia Network’s Buzztime but being on the right side of the […]