The Liberal Reader

Nostalgia

2009-07-14T23:10:00.004-05:00

I was intermittently weirdly cool as a child, probably because I so didn't give a crap about the things that I ignored. Stuff like New Kids on the Block. I think we can agree that I made the right call on that one. (All those Jonas Brothers fans are going to know what I mean in 5-10 years.) However, there were also things I was into that made me cool. Guns N'Roses was one of those things. Yes, heavy metal can keep you cool even when you're reading Dickens, wearing knee-high socks (thanks mom), and ac(e)ing every test. Ah, "November Rain," you saved me.

I hate prom

2009-07-14T16:50:00.004-05:00

I finally figured out why I never really got into Eric Clapton. Two words: "Wonderful Tonight." Can you blame me? Of course, it's a charming, mushy, sentimental song, and his guitar sounds as good as it always does, but it was a staple of the painful junior high and high school slow dance. A girl putting on her makeup, a boy telling her she looks wonderful... Ugh, ugh, vomit. I still can't listen to it without a shudder.

Happy birthday to me

2009-07-13T23:49:00.002-05:00

My birthday present to myself came today, two Czech Queen LPs. Why Czech? Well, Queen vinyl is very collectible, but of course, since LP collecting is odd, colored vinyl is exceedingly collectible. And so are rarities. Foreign releases often combine the two. I decided recently to collect Queen vinyl, since my dad has tons of vinyl that I will inherit someday, all classical and light music. I already had a Radio Ga Ga single and the Jazz album with its wonderful centerfold photo of the band in the recording studio. Now I have Queen I, with a marbleized white LP, and Queen II, with a black-stained green LP. Good times. Of course, someday when my ship comes in, I will get the pink vinyl Ecuadorean greatest hits or the Holy Grail of Queen collecting, the 7" limited promotional blue vinyl Bohemian Rhapsody single.

Installation heaven

2009-07-09T23:02:00.004-05:00

I finally went to the new wing of the Art Institute of Chicago today, the modern wing. Airy, glassy, white-boxy; it's much like any other modern art museum you've been in, but newer. There was actually a moment looking at Miro paintings when I forgot where I was and wondered if I was in the Tate Modern (I've been multitasking too much lately, I guess).

But well worth your while. Some of the good old familiar pieces have been moved, like Picasso's Old Guitarist, the Roy Lichtensteins, the Gaudier-Brzeska stag sculpture. But the installations in the post-1950 galleries are great. There's a gay marriage room -- no, really -- as well as a room with a gigantic carved sculpture of a fallen cypress that was designed by the artist and made by woodworkers in Japan, and a very interesting installation room reflecting on America post-9/11. Pardon me for forgetting all the artists' names; I was clearly in a semi-hallucinatory state. I enjoyed my quick run through and will have to go back another day to see the Architecture section.

Gangster epic

2009-07-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

I went to see the movie about John Dillinger, Public Enemies with Johnny Depp last night, the first time I have been to an opening weekend in I don't know how long. Now here's a saga for you: I've been aware of this movie for a long time because it was partly filmed in Oshkosh (which I recognized in the film). My friends in Oshkosh told me to come up, sleep on their floor, and be an extra -- casting calls had gone out for women sizes 2-12 or something odd like that. Of course, I pointed out that they were likely not looking for Asian extras, unless they needed Native Americans (which judging from the movie, no, it was mostly Midwestern, especially the Oshkosh-filmed sections). Anyway, they were more excited about David Wenham, who played Faramir in Lord of the Rings, than Johnny Depp.

For good reason, as it turns out, because there wasn't really any conviction or point of view in Depp's performance, or Christian Bale's for that matter. No, I take that back. Bale had a point of view, but no ability to convey inner struggle through subtle facial expression. Whatever happened to him? He was so good at that in American Psycho. Marion Cotillard, however, was almost too great as Billie, Dillinger's girl. She has a kind of ferocity and intelligence as an actress that only Rachel Weisz also has that I can think of (what an awful sentence). This isn't to say that those are the best things to have; they're also limiting. I can't imagine either of them playing some of the roles that Kate Winslet has, for instance, and it was almost too much for a two-bit coat check girl to be an epic heroine. But it worked here, because this was definitely more of an epic than an action movie or a gangster flick.

The one really moving moment to me didn't even have Depp in it; it's the scene where Billie has been smacked around and 'tortured' during her interrogation, and Bale comes in and expressionlessly releases her and carries her out. It wasn't too hammer over the head in the parallels to Guantanamo, and nothing was said about our moral downfall as we pursue justice, etc. It had the bones of a great scene.

Really quite well made, which no doubt accounts for the storm of good reviews. Beautiful art direction, interesting hand-held style cinematography, a little bit heavy on the epic music. Compared to summer popcorn fare, it's practically arthouse. But I can't figure out how it managed to be a pretty decent movie without great acting from the two male leads, not much chemistry between the romantic leads, and not enough time ever to get to know some of the cooler side characters.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

2009-07-03T13:46:00.003-05:00

The Statue of Liberty's crown has just reopened to tourists, albeit bagless, guided by Park Rangers, and limited to 30 at a time. While this might significantly improve the experience, let me tell you right now: it ain't worth it. I was about ten years old, I think, when we took my aunt and uncle to see it. I remember the interminable climb, which was not so much a climb as a standstill. I was sitting on the stairs at my uncle's feet, suffering in silence till the next time we got to climb a few feet. Then when we got to the crown, they were shuffling us through, so I got a quick glimpse through the small windows, which I recall not even being perfectly clean, and that was it.

In contrast, the pedestal is still a great view, it's open so you can smell the sea breeze, it's elevator-equipped for the handicapped, and you can walk all the way around. No contest.

Big babe singing

2009-06-30T21:17:00.006-05:00

Have been watching Wimbledon -- that's where the post title comes from (big babe tennis being the winning style of play there).

Have found a new favorite Broadway belter, Kerry Ellis, the British Elphaba in Wicked. I don't really like the over-the-top belting, which is odd considering that I do like opera singers who give it 110%. But the overdecoration and the rip-out-the-vocal chords type of singing, it's not for me. Idina Menzel is a prime example (in Wicked, not in Rent). I love her emotion, but I'm always half expecting that she's going to do herself an injury.

I came across Kerry Ellis by YouTubing Brian May performances -- he guests with her a lot, because she sang in We Will Rock You, and I guess he liked her. Like I said, belting itself is not my favorite type of singing, but she's pretty good, and better when she shows some restraint. She does not show said restraint in this Royal Variety performance, but it is Wicked, after all, and Brian May's there, so it's all good.

Rock opera

2009-06-28T11:19:00.003-05:00

I love rock opera. I think it works as a genre. Whether or not it works as a film rather than an album is a question not resolved by finally watching The Who's Tommy, which I enjoyed but found occasionally boring. That's a problem with some of the songs, at least for me. The psychedelic look and feel of the film definitely works, especially with my two favorite numbers, Eric Clapton's song and Tina Turner's. Yes, I liked them even better than Elton John's appearance as the Pinball Wizard, because while he's fantastic, there's just so much in Eric Clapton's appearance as a guitar-playing preacher of the cult of Marilyn Monroe that both the music lover and the cultural critic in me were thoroughly satisfied.

It was a lot of fun to see The Who scattered through the film, with Keith Moon having way too much fun playing the perverted uncle. Roger Daltrey was unbelievably convincing, particularly in Tommy's catatonic stage. I can't say I really loved it, but it's an interesting piece of musical and cinematic history.

Stunned

2009-06-26T00:15:00.003-05:00

I was shocked to be informed at dinner that Michael Jackson had died. I didn't believe it at first -- I was not reading the news all afternoon. I will always remember him both as a cautionary tale about uncontrolled fame and an unbelievable performer. My brother and I used to breakdance in the basement when I was maybe five or six. Still, I wouldn't say that I was hugely into him until that video for Black or White came out, relatively late. That was just a fantastic, cutting-edge video for that time, and then I retroactively got into his Thriller days, then in college the Jackson Five Motown days, and finally settled on my favorite, "Billie Jean." Jackson was just... I mean, regardless, I think it's all right to feel sad about his death, both for the loss of the music legend and what went wrong in his life.

The green race

2009-06-24T17:51:00.002-05:00

Time magazine, which I don't read very often, had a half-decent article on the coming competition in green technology. Of course, they had to slip into old Japan-bashing habits by making it seem like a race between an evil Asian axis and the poor, underfunded U.S., mentioning Europe as a kind of afterthought and completely ignoring the role of transnational corporations. However, anything that raises American awareness of the growing importance of developing better and greener tech is, I suppose, good.

Reinvention

2009-06-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

I've started Toni Morrison's new novel/la, A Mercy, set in earlier slavery days than any of her previous works (I think). It's a new departure for her stylistically as well as topically, but I was not wowed by the start. I'll post again when I make my way through.

At least the dog is cute

2009-06-18T13:40:00.002-05:00

Are you kidding me? I thought it was bad enough when the media followed Obama to Five Guys -- and I think for PR's sake he'd better quell those outings for a while, as it's distracting people from the work he's doing -- but all these news stories about him killing a fly during some interview have me completely baffled. Why? Has the 24-hour news cycle really gotten that unfillable?

Meh, mistborn, mess

2009-06-17T00:48:00.004-05:00

I'm always looking for fun reading for the cardio machines, but Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy doesn't seem to be doing it. When I make it halfway through a book and have no impulse to finish, it is not good. Aside from the fact that few of the characters are compelling, their interactions are not that interesting, and the magical universe is not terribly fun, the writing is beyond repetitive and clunky. Let me give you an example: one of the primary ways that the magicians, for lack of a better term, work is by burning metals that give them specific powers. They can fly through the air by Pushing or Pulling on metal. (Great terminology.) This is painstakingly explained the first time that the hero does it, balancing himself with a coin dropped here, a window sash there, a guard's armor hither, a thrown coin thither. You get the idea, right? Well, then we go through it yet again when the hero teaches the scrappy gutter girl with amazing powers how to do this, and we have to hear her first-time experience -- which adds next to nothing. I blame the editor as well as the author.

Freshwater madness

2009-06-12T22:47:00.005-05:00

The Tampa Aquarium doesn't have much in the way of big marine life, and none of your classic dolphins, belugas, etc., but they do have a really adorable pair of river otters who like to tussle:

Also, in the coral reef area, which is a series of small tanks, they feature these incredibly weird sea dragons, which look more like floating plants than anything else. They swim with tiny, almost invisible transparent fins. They would not do well in a hurricane.

Storm about to break

2009-06-12T10:56:00.003-05:00

I was fairly disgusted when Arlen Specter switched to the Democratic party for reelection purposes, so I was very interested indeed when I heard that Congressman Joe Sestak (from the district right outside Philly) wants to challenge him in the Democratic primary, against the will of the Dem leadership and possibly even the Obama administration, saying it would take an "act of God" to stop him.

Sestak is a retired admiral and a bit of a... say it with me... maverick, which is why he is bucking the will of the party. I can't say I blame him. The question is whether as a second-term congressman with much less money than Specter and low name recognition can make it. I found this article on philly.com very interesting, particularly the poll in which voters read a list of characteristics about the two went for Sestak.

The Dems will want to avoid a dogfight primary, but I don't know what they could offer Sestak to get him to stand aside, and you'd have to shoot Specter. This will be well worth watching.

New blog

2009-06-09T23:03:00.003-05:00

Rather than inflicting it ceaselessly on all of you, and to have a record for myself, I've started a new blog to track my entry into the world of guitar-playing. Check it out: http://mayandme.blogspot.com/

In case you couldn't figure it out, from the About this Blog:
"The URL mayandme is a tribute to my all-time favorite guitarist, Brian May, as well as that movie about Ben Franklin and his mouse... don't ask me why it popped into my head when I was starting the blog. I fell in love with his sound when I was young and have never loved another the same way... though I did, like everyone else at math camp, go through a 'Stairway to Heaven' Phase."

Koreatown, FL

2009-06-08T20:43:00.002-05:00

I'm visiting a friend in Tampa this weekend, and we sallied forth in search of ethnic enclaves yesterday and today. There's a Koreatown of sorts on Hillsborough in west Tampa, dispersed among strip malls. Hair salons or supply stores, Kim Brothers grocery ( a fantastic Korean grocery), a noraebang (karaoke). Finally, we wanted dinner, and headed for Rice, a huge restaurant in a big strip mall that is so big that it was rented out for a private party for a baby's 100-day ceremony. Luckily, my friend has an iPhone, and we found the oddly spelled Sa Ri One, where we pigged out on very well made Korean food. Today, we found a new Indian restaurant near USF called Jai Ho (presumably after the Slumdog song), which had the most expansive menu I've ever seen, including Goan specialties, north and south Indian, and Indo-Chinese food. Tampa is a palm tree strip mall expanse, but there's gold in them there malls!

Upholding idiocy

2009-06-05T14:19:00.003-05:00

I think I'm going to buck the Twitter trend with short blog posts.

Sadly, I find that I do not love the new Green Day album. I hope that it will grow on me, but I don't feel that it has the sound variety I was hoping for. Billie Joe Armstrong's voice is just so distinctive, and that fast thrashing guitar sound gets a bit repetitive. Maybe I'd also like it better if it weren't through my faintly tinny computer speakers. Oh well. I still prefer their last album, American Idiot.

Seeing what the fuss is all about

2009-06-02T22:56:00.002-05:00

I only read Neil Gaiman after seeing the movie Stardust, and then, hearing all the praise for what an imaginative prophet of modern life he is, I thought I should read some of his more serious work. (Stardust, while fun, is decidedly a light novel.) Having now read Anansi Boys and most of American Gods, I think I can pronounce that he is good, if not quite as earth-shaking as I'd been led to believe. Anansi Boys in particular manages to balance myth with a lot of real-world themes like failed parenting, individualism, finding a truly suitable partner in your life, and so forth, while being a good fun adventure chasing crooks around the world. Anansi's son, Charlie, leads a very boring life in London, which is turned upside down when his more godlike brother shows up... and turns out to be, quite literally, his better half -- or at least more fun, more daring, and more problematic than anyone could imagine, forcing Charlie to become pretty godlike himself. It's fun.

Guitar gods

2009-06-01T23:59:00.003-05:00

Having nothing but free time [sarcastic look here like you can't believe; only about five writing projects on the burners, and more in my head], I am really thinking of finally taking the plunge and learning how to play guitar. I've toyed with the idea on and off for years, but now's the time. I thought that it would be fun, and even if I only ended up taking a few lessons or being very, very bad at it, it would enhance my musical appreciation.

In college, I took about five voice lessons -- it couldn't have been more -- and I really had no intention of becoming a wonderful singer. That was just an accident. [!] But it taught me so much about vocal production and technique in only that short time, and it's really paid off in my listening ever since.

Now that was mostly for opera. With guitar, for me, it's all about the rock. And my serious contemplation of playing guitar has already paid off. I found this video of Brian May, my own personal guitar god, demonstrating the solo from "Bohemian Rhapsody," and other than the fact that I would watch the paint on his guitar dry and find it enthralling, I have already learned about guitar technique. My ignorance is so vast that I didn't even know you could bend the strings; I thought that sound was from vibrating the fretting finger, not the picking finger. I really can't wait to learn more.

Late to the party

2009-06-01T18:28:00.004-05:00

Kill me now, I finally joined twitter. I have to admit, tweeting does appeal to me a little bit -- IF I kept it topical, like this blog, rather than tweeting about the banana peel that I slipped on two minutes ago, etc. have not put up a tweet of my own yet. Am skeptical of the whole thing. If I thought people would actually read it, I could see tweeting "I must read Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth!" But I don't think anybody would read it. Would you?

I do enjoy following the clever tweeters. Right now, I'm following Stephen Fry, the White House, Rainn Wilson, Jim Courier, Green Day, the Killers, and a couple others. Stephen Fry tweets excessively well, as he does with pretty much anything to do with the English language. Some other Brit comedians I like also tweet (Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross), but they do so much responding (the @soandso posts) that you really can't follow the conversation. I

Like I said, I like the content, but I do feel that the supposed instantaneous communication with your favorite celeb that it provides is rather pernicious. I must be the wrong age bracket for normal folks to tweet. Maybe teens are all following each other in addition to celebs.

ETA: all right, already getting exasperated with trying to find the real celeb instead of the fake one. I couldn't quite decide about aasif_mandvi, but decided to follow him for now. I just think he'd have more followers if it were the real guy from the Daily Show, but I thought the same thing about ice skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, and those accounts are the real deal. Huh. This must be somewhat of an ego risk for anyone vaguely famous.

An ode to NYC

2009-05-30T22:35:00.002-05:00

Ah, New York, you muse of novelists and filmmakers... you've done it again, in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. I'm a little late to the party on this one, I admit, especially since I've taught her short story collection The Interpreter of Maladies. But I have to say that reviews bear some responsibility. I can only see the words "coming of age" so many times before I start thinking I can put off reading this oh-so-important novel. However, Namesake is worth it, and the great thing about modern coming-of-age novels is that they can portray important times of life like high school and college without being treated as un-serious. The hero, Gogol Ganguli, struggles with his name and all it represents: his family's complex history and immigration, relationship to art, adjustment to life in America. It handles the issues of a second-generation child and his interracial dating without ever becoming too symbolic or cliched, which in itself is a true feat. And, since Lahiri is nothing if not a fun descriptive writer, there's also lots of loving portrayal of NYC's urban desert and yummy Indian desserts.

I'm looking forward to renting the movie that was made by Mira Nair starring Kal Penn, late of House and soon of the White House.

Only Arsenio?

2009-05-26T23:29:00.004-05:00

I just watched a kind of politicians' wrap-up on the Tonight Show, all the pols that Jay has had on in his seventeen years. And... no Bill Clinton. That's odd. Was that before presidential candidates were really hitting the talk shows? Perhaps Clinton and his sax on Arsenio were really the first of that wave.

I also wonder if Clinton for some reason didn't like Leno, maybe some of his jokes, etc., because I know he's been on Letterman since his presidency. It would have to be very specific, though, because Letterman also did so many Clinton jokes that he ran a 'Clinton Classic' every day in the days leading up to the end of his presidency.

Based on nothing

2009-05-25T20:49:00.004-05:00

Or next to nothing... I don't follow American Idol, but I did hear that Queen (visualize the air quotes that I always have around the present-day version of the band) was on the finale, so I YouTubed it. Based on this three minutes, there's simply no comparison between the two finalists. Adam and his eyeliner all the way, man.

Whitmania

2009-05-11T23:53:00.004-05:00

A post from the not-so-distant past, when I went to Camden and finally saw Walt Whitman's house, the house he lived in toward the end of his life and died in. It's well set up inside by the Park District, but being rather out of the way and unassuming, I don't know how much foot traffic it draws. It's in a little row of houses -- I didn't take the best photos, as you'd have to step out into traffic to get a good angle. Combined with the Camden Aquarium, it's a nice day.

The house is well set up inside, but no photos are allowed. A fair amount of Whitman's own possessions are scattered about to give the air of authenticity. I particularly recall a pair of his boots. The garden out back is lovely, and if you're a Whitman fan, you will recall that Horace Traubel spends quite a lot of time detailing the social gatherings that would happen in the garden and at this house generally.