I wanted to make this a Link of the Day, but I can’t figure out how to do that.

Instead – feast your eyes and ears upon:

Stan Lee reads “The Raven.”

Two great tastes that go great together.

Best ever Potato Salad (more…)

Best-Ever Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies (more…)

Fresh Mango Salsa (more…)

Last night, I heard a performance of the recently-debuted collaboration between Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing. The piece provides a musical setting for some twenty poems. The poems are by Cohen, the famous Canadian singer-songwriter (who, for example, wrote the song “Hallelujah” that shows up in the first Shrek movie at the point when all of the main characters are separated and depressed) and sometime Buddhist monk. Glass, composer of various operas, symphonies, film scores (The Thin Red Line, Notes on a Scandal, The Hours, Kundun, The Illusionist, Candyman, etc.), and less traditional musical forms, supplies the orchestral and vocal score. (more…)

I don’t think Kathy Griffin is very funny. But I do find her entertaining. I especially love how she makes fun of celebrity. And some of the pranks she pulls remind me a tiny bit of Andy Kaufman. Of course no one could ever come close to his level of genius. But Kathy swore at the Extreme Home Makeover team when they beat her at the Emmys and stormed out. And she arranged a bunch of dates with other celebrities just for the publicity. This is good stuff.

But my favorite current comedian would have to be Jim Gaffigan.
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How hard can it be? I’ll get us started.
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Actually, I don’t think I want to ask why you should listen to jazz. Better is, why should anybody make the effort to give jazz a try. I think ultimately there’s an aesthetic payoff–jazz is both fun and challenging, and the challenge makes the fun that much better–but there are other musical forms that are also challenging, other forms that are also fun, and even some that are both. So let me offer two contradictory reasons, plus a third for United States kulturbloggers. (more…)

What color do you associate with each number? Do you think any are universal? Write your answers and compare with others.

NOTE: this is a self-indulgent post about my history as an artist and designer. It’s probably too long for you to enjoy but I thought it might be interesting to see the evolution of one mindframe to another. My feelings won’t be hurt if you aren’t interested in my personal history.

It was in junior high that I first realized I had artistic skill. It puzzled me to see other people in art class failing so miserably at drawing the most basic objects. I had always assumed that drawing (the most basic and perhaps most important skill an artist can have) was something everyone could do. Therefore when my classmates turned in the chicken scratch they called still-lifes I convinced myself it was because they weren’t really trying. (more…)

Lately, I’ve been feeling the need to expand my music collection to include classical music, but I don’t really know where to start since I am hardly an aficianado when it comes to this genre. I generally know which composers I really like (Debussy, Chopin, Mozart). The problem is choosing from among the zillions of different performances of [insert your favorite composer here]. I really don’t know quality when it comes to buying classical.

So, I am selfishly asking a little help from anyone here who knows his or her way around classical music recordings. Do I buy based on the performer rather than the composer – for example, if I like Bach, how much difference does getting a Bach CD with Glenn Gould make? I’m sure there’s tons of Bach recordings out there – how do I tell what’s quality without having to do a ton of research? Or do I have to do a ton of research?

I guess the another factor with classical music recordings may be the production value of the recording. I dunno. Please help me out! I am especially interested in Debussy and Chopin simply because my piano teacher made me play a lot of that on the piano growing up. Thanks!

Take the “Kultur” quiz on Mozart at the BBC. Post your score. And in honour of Herr Mozart, watch the wonderful Amadeus.

I remember the day I realized that Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety were all voiced by the same person. Mel Blanc was a vocal genius beyond compare (except, perhaps, for his role as Twiki in Buck Rogers). But with the recognition of the singular actor, the illusion of the cartoon was gone. The struggles of the cat and bird meant nothing — they were all the same! (more…)

If I had to choose the most important class I took in college I’d say it was Basic Drawing. Anything that I’ve learned since then (both undergrad and graduate work) are just appendages of what I learned in that class.

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Have you ever bought a CD or record entirely because of the cool cover art?

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Are you ready for some hip action?

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Another plug for my project from last year, Mormoniana has received another beautiful review, in Sunday’s Salt Lake Tribune, which can be found here.

Mormoniana

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I spent last Saturday morning wandering through Central Park enjoying Christo and Jeanne Claude’s The Gates. What with all the ink that has already been spilt in praising, criticizing, and assessing this project, I’ll refrain from saying too much and will instead gather some resources for those that are interested in commentary.  I will report that Cirila and I were absolutely enchanted, as much of the (disproportionately European) crowd seemed to be.  As the fabric was unfurled, gate by gate, the throngs cheered and grinned.  If nothing else, it was a "happening," as they used to say — ambitious, provocative, and unashamedly modern.  Everyone had a camera, and we were no exception.  I’ve posted some of our snapshots below.

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You can read more about it all over (here’s the NY Times’ latest).  The passing of the best playwright in American history should not go unmentioned.  I remember reading The Crucible in high school, watching Dustin Hoffman’s fabulous portrayal in Death of a Salesman, and wondering how closely his great work After the Fall mimicked his real-life dramatic marriage to Marilyn Monroe.

Will there be another playwright as great as Miller?  Others come close in their wordplay: Mamet in particular.  But few are able to wordsmith and touch the heart of the American mindset as well as Miller did.  Rest in peace.

I really enjoyed Steve’s post with the NY Times article about Ruth Gershon.  The article and all of your comments got me thinking about about what makes one an artist, and the eternal "struggle" between following your dream and having a career. 

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I know very little about art. Who are some of your favorite artists?

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For years the graphic design icon Stefan Sagmeister had a sign in his studio with the equation "Style = Fart". I always loved that quote for how it so eloquently encapsulated the problem with style. As my design cohorts and I raised our metaphorical fists in unison, we decried the evil god of style by the power and authority of Sagmeister. Empowered we were, boldly advancing to a better communicating world. "Just think, by 2005 graphic design will be totally devoid of all it’s extraneous elements. Pure communication! Yay for us!"

The sign is no longer there.

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