Category Archives: Arts
Artist Will Barnet dies at 101…
Will Barnet, a titan of the visual art world, died at his home in New York on Tuesday. He was 101.
His family said the cause of death was old age. “He died peacefully in his home,” said Phil Alexandre of New York’s Alexandre Gallery, which represented Barnet.
Barnet, an art educator and a lifelong champion of the arts, inspired generations of artists and lived long enough to enjoy many honors that most artists receive only posthumously. In 2011, President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor for an individual artist in the United States.
This year, France recognized him with the insignia of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Barnet and his wife, Elena, lived in a duplex at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park in Manhattan. They were without power for a few days because of Superstorm Sandy, and had to move to a warmer apartment.
“Woman Reading” by Will Barnet
Barnet got “a touch of pneumonia” during the power outage, Alexandre said, but had been feeling better in recent days.
His daughter, Ona, said her father visited many art galleries on Saturday, “doing what he loved the most.”
Hard of hearing and unable to walk, Barnet never allowed his physical ailments to limit his love of art, said a longtime friend, Ira Goldberg, executive director of the Arts Students League of New York, where Barnet studied and taught.
He was as committed to his work at 101 as he was when he was a young man making his way in New York, Goldberg said.
Barnett was probably best known for paintings and prints of women with their cats.
[thanks to the Portland (Maine) Press Herald]
Related articles
- Will Barnet, Painter, Dies At 101 (huffingtonpost.com)
- Will Barnet is dead (twocoatsofpaint.com)
- Cat & Art 21 Will Barnet (slideshare.net)
- Will Barnet, renowned painter with Maine ties, dies at 101 (bangordailynews.com)
Favorite Television Shows?
Since I’ve been forced to stay pretty still most of the day I have been watching a lot of television (and thanks to Infinity I can go back and see many shows I’ve missed over the months) and have developed a list of shows I don’t want to miss. Act6ually, I’d repeat watching many of them several times (I often fall asleep before the end due to my condition and I want to find out what happened.)
Yesterday my daughter Cassandra and I discovered we liked a lot of the same shows. Oh, there were differences, but so many of the major ones were on both of our lists that I was sure I had had a child who was just like me.
I know you probably have favorite shows, too. Here is my top seven:
- The Mentalist – I don’t know what it is about this one, but I am totally hooked on it. It’s Cassandra’s number 1 show as well.
“Corky” Corcoran, my favorite “Copper” Cop
Copper – Have you seen this one on BBC America? It’s the story of NYC cops in the 1860s during the late Civil War era and the conflict between the Irish slums of Five Points and the rich folk on 5th Avenue… not to mention the Confederate conspiracy to burn down New York with an explosive called “Greek Fire.” This one has finished it’s 10 shows of the season and is now running repeats. I guess the new season starts in January.
- Suits – New Episodes start in January, but you can see all the older one’s on USA Network‘s web site.
- White Collar – waiting for January for this one to come back for another season… really miss it.
- Covert Affairs – the current season is just ending, but I LOVE this little CIA girl and the stuff she gets into.
- Big Bang Theory – Got to have my favorite comedy in there.
- Burn Notice – which just came back for a seventh season last week. Watching Mike, Sam and the folks at work is sooo exciting.
I like “Vegas” on CBS, but the rumor is running around that it will be cancelled for low ratings. Too bad.
So, what are yours? Do you have the same esoteric crime and conspiracy lust that I do? If they had more shows like PBS’ Broadway Musicals (from 2004) which I have been watching the re-runs from, I’d be watching that stuff more.
I get most of my news from MSNBC and PBS. What’s life without starting the day with “Morning Joe?” or Sundays with CBS “Sunday Morning?”
Related articles
- USA Renews ‘Burn Notice’ (huffingtonpost.com)
- ‘Royal Pains’, ‘White Collar’ and ‘Covert Affairs’ Renewed by USA For New Seasons (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- Dynamic CIA Women: Annie of ‘Covert Affairs’ and Carrie of ‘Homeland’ (buddytv.com)
- Copper on BBC America Fine Television – out on Blu-ray (smallscreensilversurfer.com)
- ‘Suits’ Renewed by USA for Third Season (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- The Mentalist- “If It Leads, it Bleeds” Review (11oclocknews.typepad.com)
- The Mentalist Milestone: 100th Episode (sacramento.cbslocal.com)
Now that the Political Season is 0ver…
After the most expensive and longest and most frustrating presidential campaign in our history, we can now get back to0 the important stuff. To me, of course, that is the Arts, especially Visual Arts and Theatre. To kick off my searches and good feelings, here’s some verse by Kurt Vonnegut that my pal Joe Bratcher uploaded to Facebook:
I agree with you, Kurt. We have enough investment bankers, corporate execs and politicians already. Artists we need more of.
Hey Radio Fans… I’ll be on from 10:30 to Noon today…
This will probably be the last time in the next two weeks that I can be on the air, given my forthcoming hospital visit next week. So… I’ll be thrilled to get your call-ins on “Talk To Me” (304-876-5369).b You can talk about anything you want to, as usual, or make an esoteric music request that you challenge me to find in a few minutes… it’s always fun for me.
If you are not in the 50 mile radius of WSHC at 89.7 FM, Shepherdstown WV, then you can go to 897wshc.org/listen-live. There are folks all over the country who listen, now (and a few friends in other countries) and I look forward to playing for everyone.
So, tune in this morning to “Talk To Me”. BTW, my daughter, Cassandra (from Connecticut) is my guest this morning. You can talk to her, too.
– Bill
Related articles
- My congratulations to Stephen Skinner…My best wishes to Elliot Simon (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- Hey radio fans… we have a special schedule today due to football season: (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
I have such an urge to direct again…
… and what I really am eager to do is a production of the 1953 musical “Kismet“, whose music was adapted from classical work of Borodin.
The wonderful Arabian Nights story of 16th Century Baghdad about a fortune teller, a Wazir, a young Caliph and two very lovely women is something I have loved most of my life.
Many of it’s musical numbers became song classics. “Baubles, Bangles and Beads“, “Stranger in Paradise” and this:
“This is My Beloved.”
The show was a starring vehicle for Alfred Drake and the Broadway debut of Richard Kiley.
Unfortunately, my current physical condition makes it seem like I will never be able to direct again. If the tumor is removed it will probably endanger the part of my brain where cognitive creativity is connected. If we don’t solve the problem and I keep having seizures I will never be able to drive again and won’t be able to put in the solid effort that coordinating a musical production, especially a large and complex one as this, would be very difficult. It could certainly, however, make West Virginia community theatre history.
And then I have to find one of the local community playhouses who might let me do it… find 20 great performers … get a nice piano score for my dear collaborator Ruth Robertas to play from… and find a local choreographer who can bring the dancing girls to life.
If I get through this surgery and all that accompanies it, it will take at least a year before I can even get started (apart from notes I am doing now) putting it together. One can hope. It gives me something to focus on.
Related articles
- STAGE TUBE: On This Day 10/7- Alfred Drake (broadwayworld.com)
- MUSIC: On a November weekend, music to evoke ‘Summer Nights’ (kitsapsun.com)
- Augustin Hadelich Performs Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole (wqxr.org)
We’ve had a lovely afternoon and evening at the American Conservation Film Festival.
We are in the four day period of the ACFF, now celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary of presenting conservation and nature support films here in Shepherdstown.
We saw two films this afternoon, but tonight we saw two films accompanied by live discussions and question periods with the filmmakers.
The most interesting to me was Marion Stoddart whose life and career spent saving the Nashua River was so well presented in the short film “The Work of 1000.”
Filmmaker Susan Edwards broached the subject Can one person truly make a difference? This film tells the inspiring story of how a remarkable woman saved a dying river–for herself, for the community and for future generations–and became an environmental hero honored by the United Nations.
Mrs Stoddart, now in her 80s spent decades getting a very polluted river clean… petitioning, demonstrating, approaching manufacturers and politicians directly, and getting her husband and children involved. Her live presentation with the audience was very involving.
Our Nation’s River: A System on Edge was the second film we saw this evening. Ten minutes long and made by Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of historic natural filmmaker Jaques Costeau. This piece was particularly meaningful for us, since it is about the Potomac River, the water body that forms our northern border and flows from us down to Washington DC.
Ms, Cousteau answered questions but also presented a discussion panel of professionals from the Nature Conservancy and the Potomac River Foundation.
The House was pretty full at Reynolds Hall, Shepherd University, with a number of standers who wanted to catch everything as well. Among the folks there tonight were most of the officers of Sustainable Shepherdstown (My wife is in that bunch, of course), our current State Delegate John Dolan whose work for us has been spectacular and who is leaving office at the end of the session. Steve Skinner, the Democratic candidate for Delegate who, hopefully, will take John’s place, was there as well. Both men realize the importance the Potomac is to our community. Of course, Republican Candidate Elliot Spitzer was NOT there this evening. Preserving our environment is just not a Republican issue… after all, don’t they all think that Climate Change is a joke?
We’re going to some more films tomorrow.
Related articles
- Worst Potomac River Flooding in 16 Years Expected (washington.cbslocal.com)
- Flooding a Major Concern for Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay (washington.cbslocal.com)
- Water still concerns Cousteaus (toledoblade.com)
- Flood Warning Continues For D.C., Coastal Md., Va. (baltimore.cbslocal.com)
Educator and Cultural Critic Jacques Barzun Dies at 104;
Historian, essayist, cultural gadfly and educator Jacques Barzun, who helped establish the modern discipline of cultural history, was probably best known for viewing the West as sliding toward decadence. He died Thursday night at his home in San Antonio. He was 104.
His remarkable curiosity and manifold interests and accomplishments, encompassed both Berlioz and baseball (and many other subjects.) He stood with Sidney Hook, Daniel Bell and Lionel Trilling as one of the mid-20th century’s most wide-ranging scholars. He tried to reconcile the achievements of European philosophy and culture with the very different American intellect and culture.
He wrote dozens of books across many decades, demonstrating that old age did not necessarily mean intellectual decline. He published his most ambitious and encyclopedic book at the age of 92 (and credited his productivity in part to chronic insomnia). That work, “From Dawn to Decadence,” is an 877-page survey of 500 years of Western culture in which he argued that Western civilization itself had entered a period of decline.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Barzun showed little interest in taking political positions. This was partly because he became a university administrator and had to stand above the fray, and partly because he approached the world with a detached civility and a sardonic skepticism about intellectual life.
He traced periods of rise and fall in the Western saga, and contended that another fall was near — one that could cause “the liquidation of 500 years of civilization.” It looks like he won’t be around to see it.
Related articles
- Cultural historian, author Jacques Barzun dies (cnsnews.com)
- Cultural historian, author Jacques Barzun dies (news.yahoo.com)
- Cultural historian, author Jacques Barzun dies (miamiherald.com)
- Author, thinker Barzun dies at 104 (mysanantonio.com)
- Cultural Historian Jacques Barzun Dies At 104 (wnyc.org)
- Jacques Barzun: Historian who believed that Western culture was descending into trivia (independent.co.uk)
- Jacques Barzun, RIP (samizdata.net)
- Jacques Barzun (telegraph.co.uk)
Some words about this blog and me…
I often get e-mail from folks out there in the web world who want to know about Under The LobsterScope and why 
I keep it going and put a major part of each day into it. It is for that reason that I’ve decided to say a few things that will clarify my relationship with UTL and, perhaps, encourage you to get involved as a commentor.
I started this blog through another editing site, Blogspot, during the 2004 presidential election year. I did several thousand entries over five years or so and then something happened. For some reason, someone got into my blog at Blogspot and did some fairly confusing stuff leaving it impossible for me to post on. I cancelled my relationship with Blogspot and over 4000 posts ago I started UTL up again through WordPress where it remains today.
While I was interested in electoral politics (originally in Maryland before my wife and I moved to West Virginia), my biggest interest at the time – and even now, a little – was in theatre directing. I got to do a couple of musicals and some plays at local community theatres and spent a lot of time attending theatre events (one of the reasons we moved to the Shepherdstown, WV, area was to be closer to the Contemporary American Theater Festival which we attend every year.
I also have a great interest in the visual arts… Elly’s background is as a painter and visual artist. That means heading off to galleries locally, in DC and other places. Add to the visual stuff an interest in music and poetry and dance. The arts in general are very important parts of my life.
As to politics, during the past couple of years beginning with the election of Barack Obama, I have become more and more an active Democrat and have felt it is my obligation, since this is a published item read by thousands of people a week, to expose the really awful things Republicans and extreme conservatives are trying to pull off.
Several of you have also noted that I often expose dangerous things being done by religious organizations. As you probably know I am a non-believer… an atheist, a humanist… and cannot understand how people with developed intellectual capacity can believe this stuff. I have no problem exposing things that might make readers see what I see. I am, however, as opposed to pushing my atheism on others as I am of them pushing their religious beliefs on me.
Now that my current age and health keeps me in the house most of the days of the week, I have much time to read other web sites, magazines and other publications, many of which I quote or comment on in the blog. On an average day I do at least 5 posts.
I have established some regular features in this blog that I hope you enjoy. Cartoon(s) of the Week is the one people think of first when I talk about regular features. I have been interested in editorial cartoons for many years. During the current election I have regularly been posting poll results which I see by the search term roundups many of you are looking for. And, of course, there is my regular posting of celebrity obituaries.
If there is any kind of post I do that you would like to see become a regular feature, just let me know and it’s likely to happen.
– Bill
Related articles
- Saturday Morning and I’m getting ready for the 11 o’clock show… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- CATF Plays in Running for National Critics’ Award (prweb.com)
- I REALLY need your help to continue the blog… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
Cartoon(s) of the Week – OK, the campaign is almost over but Romney has made an impression…
Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News:
And Monday night we’ll hear his foreign policy ideas…
– and –
David Fitzsimmons in the Arizona Daily Star:
Then again, Romney seems to present the Voter’s Right To Choose.
– and –
David Horsey in the L. A. Times:
Is there anything Romney won’t switch positions on?
– and –
Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune
Winning and Losing causes great party differences…
– and –
Matt Bors in the Portland Mercury:
And he keeps up his attempt to get women’s votes…
An Architectural Marvel is up for trashing in Chicago…
I am deeply upset with my alma mater, Northwestern University, as they attempt to tear down a particularly special architectural classic from the 70s. This preservation battle has been building for months in Chicago on the fate of the old Prentice Women’s Hospital, a concrete, cloverleaf structure from 1975 by Chicago architect Bertrand Goldberg. Famous architects and designers like Frank Gehry, Jeanne Gang, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien have signed petitions entreating Northwestern, who owns the building, not to tear it down, pleading for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to give it landmark status.
The university says it needs new biomedical research facilities and that Prentice is too small, old and quirky to adapt. A new building would bring to the city millions of investment dollars, create jobs and save lives – that’s Northwestern’s argument.
So here is a suggestion: Build a research tower on top of Prentice. The architect Jeanne Gang has a proposal for a new research tower on top of the hospital:
Why save Prentice? There are Chicagoans that hate it. Concrete buildings from the ’70s are becoming unpopular outside architectural circles, although it’s spreading, and rightly so. Great late-Modernist buildings, innovative and ruggedly beautiful, deserve respect and careful custody. Prentice is a good example.
Architect Goldberg, who died in 1997, used a pioneering form of computer modeling to engineer a tour de force: an open, seven-story maternity ward inside the cloverleaf shell, cantilevered 45 feet from the supporting core.
Great buildings have often survived the wrecking ball by being added to, incorporated into larger structures or updated for a new era — in Rome and Istanbul, New York and Chicago.
Related articles
- Emanuel Doubles Down On Prentice Non-Committal; Jeanne Gang Draws A Possible Solution (chicagoist.com)
- To raze or raise Old Prentice? (danieljluebke.com)
- Prentice Demolition: Brendan Reilly, Downtown Alderman, Supports NU’s Plan To Tear Down Hospital (huffingtonpost.com)
- The war on Curves: From Phoenix to Chicago to London, curvy buildings are under attack (treehugger.com)
- Prentice will get its hearing at the Landmarks Commission (chicagoreader.com)
- More famous architects call for Prentice preservation; NU continues to press phony ultimatum (chicagoreader.com)
- Looking for a Jeanne Gang quote (ask.metafilter.com)
Gosh… did you see the news about recovery of a missing Roy Lichtenstein painting?
Famed Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s “Electric Cord” was painted in 1961. If you weren’t an active viewer of pop art in the 60s, you have most likely never seen it. Why? Because in January 1970 art dealer Leo Castelli sent it to art restorer Daniel Goldreyer for cleaning. It was never seen again.
Lichtenstein, of course, is best known for his paintings based on printed cartoon images. The black and white electric cord painting was announced missing in 2006 by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the artist’s legacy. The Foundation published an image of the black and white work on the front of its holiday card and appealed to its community for help locate the work.
The late Roy Lichtenstein
Last summer, the painting was discovered at the Hayes Storage Facility in New York, where it was being stored by the Quinta Gallery art gallery of Bogotá, Colombia, on consignment from restorer Goldreyer’s widow, Sally Goldreyer. Apparently someone connected with the restorer’s consignments asked her to sell the “Electric Cord” for him. She claims that she offered to sell it to the Quinta Galeria, but refunded the gallery’s deposit when she found a missing notice for the painting posted on the Internet. It was not something she had been aware of.
“Electric Cord” has been returned to Barbara Bertozzi Castelli, Leo Castelli’s widow.
Related articles
- Missing Roy Lichtenstein Painting Returned After 42 Years – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- NY owner gets back $4M painting missing since 1970 (miamiherald.com)
- Lost Lichtenstein art returned (bbc.co.uk)
- NY owner gets back $4M painting missing since 1970 (seattletimes.com)
- Stolen Lichtenstein painting returned to widow after 42 years (todayentertainment.today.com)
- Lichtenstein Painting Missing For 42 Years Finally Returned To Rightful Owner (newyork.cbslocal.com)
- Roy Lichtenstein Chair Produced by Graphicstudio Now at the National Gallery of Art (graphicstudiousf.wordpress.com)
- One Dot At A Time, Lichtenstein Made Art Pop (npr.org)
I REALLY need your help to continue the blog…
…and, of course, I have a free gift for donations of $5.00 or more…
…you get my popular picture font:“Bill’s Victorian Ornaments”
These images created from traditional and period sources are very usable at any size in designs and publications. The font comes for Mac and PC, and I usually sell it for $29.95. It’s my way of saying “Thank You” to offer it to $5 or more donors. Believe me, October is becoming a low income month and I HAVE to get some contributions to keep going.
So many of you have been following this blog since 2004 that I feel we’ve built a huge web community.
I have enjoyed bringing you the Cartoon(s) of the Week, the Quotes, the Political and Arts News, the Blogrolls of the best sites in America and beyond… They are all a joy to put together. Often we get the breaking political stories before you see them anywhere else. And our wide open communication channels with readers can’t be beat. I offer your participation at all times and appreciate the hundreds of subscribers who sign up every year.
Without YOUR help to keep it going, I’m in big trouble. I’m hoping you will make a small contribution, by 
PayPal or credit/debit card, in support of Under The LobsterScope. You’d be amazed at how much $5.00 can do to help me bring more and more to these pages. And it is probably the LOWEST annual subscription fee you will make to any publication… interactive or not. I often receive larger contributions and I certainly appreciate those.
Remember, for a contribution of $5.00 (or MORE) you will receive a copy of my Picture Font, Bill’s Victorian Ornaments and the knowledge that this blog will continue onward.
I should note that even a donation of $1.00 gets my thanks and helps to keep this blog going. By clicking on the DONATE button below, you tell me that Under The LobsterScope makes a difference in your time on the web.
Thanks,
– Bill T.
I’m wondering if Halloween is turning into a sexually demonstrative holiday…
Have you seen some of the Halloween costumes, both for kids and adults, that are popping up on the web looking for buyers to turn on? I’m finding them amazing…what was always, to me, a kids’ holiday with a spooky, witches and ghosts attitude seems to be changing radically.
The first costume I saw that made me look for more was this kid’s costume:
The idea that mothers are going to let their young ‘uns out as contraceptive packages surprised the hell out of me… not that I didn’t think it was hilarious.
Then again, there are adult costumes that are making me wonder what folks are looking to communicate.
Perhaps there are too many things in our society that aren’t getting enough attention… or the conservative attack on a woman’s right to choose has results that appear unnatural.
I’m not about to think of Halloween as an obnoxious holiday… it never has been during my life.
It does seem that some folks are having lots of fun with this. I’m not sure if the penis here is for kids or adults. Whatever, it certainly seems happy.
Can you picture moms and dads in the costume shop with junior shopping for this year’s appearance.
And then there are girl’s costumes, too. A used feminine napkin is something I would never have imagined as something to walk the neighborhood looking for candy as.
When you think of it, there are many similar things which could be turned into Halloween costumes and some designer somewhere is having an emotional roller coaster ride.
How we see members of the opposite sex is something that expresses an 
unusual opinion. Men are, perhaps, looking for ways to make a statement as to how he sees the woman in his life. A joke? An insult? A confused thought? Who can tell?
Then, of course, there are costumes looking for some kind of action. Does it make you wonder what occurs during the free mammogram? One can guess.
There is, however, a view of the man/woman relationship as a plug-in idea… and energy will probably be passed on. This is pretty neat, but still highly suggestive.
So… I hope at the end of the month you have an interesting and revealing Halloween.
Related articles
- Top 10 Trending Social Media Halloween Costumes for 2012 Announced (prweb.com)
- Halloween and the rise of sexy costumes for women and girls (rebeccahains.wordpress.com)
- Kim Kardashian Shows Off Scandalous but Boring Halloween Costume (celebs.gather.com)
- Halloween Costumes Are Sexist (ninjaloungehouse.wordpress.com)
Former TV host and actor Gary Collins is dead at 74.
Television host and actor Gary Collins died early this morning in Biloxi, Mississippi, of natural causes at the age of 74, according to the local coroner’s office. Collins was admitted to the Biloxi Regional Medical Center less than 24 hours before he was pronounced dead at 12:56 a.m.
He starred in the 1970s TV series “The Sixth Sense” and appeared in other series including “JAG,” “Yes, Dear” and “The Young and the Restless,” as well as on “The New Hollywood Squares” game show. Collins had been a host of the Miss America pageant.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Mobley, a former Miss America from Brandon, Mississippi.
Related articles
- Actor Gary Collins dies at age 74 (lfpress.com)
- Legendary Actor Gary Collins Died of Natural Causes (aceshowbiz.com)
- Gary Collins Dead – Legendary Television Actor and Host Dies at 74 (oddonion.com)
- Actor, TV host Gary Collins dies at 74 in Miss. (tbo.com)
Saturday Morning and I’m getting ready for the 11 o’clock show…
Our regular schedule at WSHC (89.7 FM) is back this week, so my show, Talk To Me, is on from 11 AM to 1 PM and I’ll be taking calls from listeners at 304.876.5369. Remember, if you are not in our listening area (which unfortuneately ony covers about 50 miles around Shepherdstown, WV) you can listen live on the web site: http://897wshc.org.
As usual, I am putting together the list of songs I’d like to play on the show, but I expect my regular callers and more will call in with hard to find requests (which I usually pull out of the air) and their music, as usual, outplays mine. It’s really worth listening to if you have a desire to hear work from the 40s, 50s or 60s. Those are the years most of the requests fall into.
I also expect Ralph Petrie to show up around noon for one of my favorite parts of the show, The Petrie Dish. Ralph brings in his historic music list which really educates all of us on the history of rock ‘n roll.
I love the Saturday show and I hope you might as well.
I’m getting more depressed with the latest swing state polls…
It looks like Romney is gaining an advantage… we’ll be seeing in a couple of days what last night’s VP debate does to the calculations, but meanwhile we are here:
Colorado: Romney 48%, Obama 47% (Denver Post)
Florida: Romney 49%, Obama 46% (American Research Group)
Florida: Romney 51%, Obama 47% (Rasmussen)
Michigan: Obama 52%, Romney 45% (Rasmussen)
New Hampshire: Romney 50%, Obama 46% (American Research Group)
No, they aren’t the only polls and we’ll be seeing more later. And lets remember from the Seymour Chwast cartoon above, Romney changes ground frequently.
Cynthia Huntington is a Finalist for a National Book Award
When the list of National Book Award nominees was revealed, I was pleased to see my old friend Cynthia Huntington nominated for her poetry book, Heavenly Bodies. Cynthia was a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown for two years while I was Director there in the 70s. I have kept an eye on her work for some time.
Published by the Southern Illinois University Press, Heavenly Bodies has been described as a blistering collection of lyric poems, which give an intimate view of the sexual revolution and rebellion in a time before the rise of feminism. Heavenly Bodies is a testament to the duality of sex, the twin seductiveness and horror of drug addiction, and the social, political, and personal dramas of America in the 1960s.
Echoing throughout are some of the most famous—and infamous—voices of the times: Joan Baez and Charles Manson, Frank Zappa and Betty Friedan. Jinns and aliens beckon while cities burn and revolutionaries thunder for change.
Cynthia Huntington is the author of four books of poetry, including The Radiant (winner of the Levis Prize), The Fish-Wife, and We Have Gone to the Beach, as well as a prose memoir, The Salt House. A former New Hampshire State Poet Laureate, she is professor of English at Dartmouth College, where she serves as senior faculty in creative writing. She served as chair of the poetry jury for the Pulitzer Prizes for 2006.
I congratulate Cynthia sincerely for her current achievement and look forward to reading Heavenly Bodies (and perhaps pass it on to John Case for his Monday morning poetry program.)
Related articles
- 2012 National Book Festival: Poetry & Prose (gianninabraschi.wordpress.com)
- Dozens Of The World’s Foremost Poets Descend Upon Newark, New Jersey Next Week, October 11-14, 2012 For The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival (sacbee.com)
- Pulitzer winners, U.S. Poets Laureate to participate in Dodge Poetry Festival in Newark this fall (nj.com)
The Opening of “The Book Of Mormon”
I wonder how much Mitt Romney has effected the success of The Book Of Mormon? I don’t think his identity as a Mormon has anything to do with it.
For a little entertainment though, let me give you, my readers, the opening of The Book Of Mormon at the 2012 Tony Awards on Broadway – Hope you enjoy it:
Finding something to do to keep from going mad!
I’ve had a bad day today… physically tripped up by a small seizure while I was doing dishes and an afternoon of trying to stay awake. This is, unfortunately, what life has become… I can’t drive (by law…until I’ve gone a year without a seizure as certified by a doctor) and, since Elly works (which I can’t do outside of the house), I bounce off 
the walls and am bombarded by televised boredom. If it were not for my laptop and the internet I might as well be in a coma.
So I guess I’m going to start writing something outside of my blog. There is a joy in constructing ideas out of words which I am beginning to look forward to each morning. What I do with what I write is not apparent right now, but I expect it will be realized sooner or later.
I’m tending toward creating a radio drama that I might be able to add to my Saturday show at WSHC, or do with John on the Friday morning show. I’ve been researching radio scripts from the 30s and 40s and I find them fascinating. Some are funny, some are adventures, all of them are strongly character-based since there is little opportunity for scenery (other than sound effects) in radio work.
When I get something finished I’ll let you know.
Related articles
- TT: When radio wasn’t (artsjournal.com)
- Lean & Hungry Theater to Perform and Record Radio Drama Version of The Winter’s Tale, December 4 and 5 (prweb.com)
Cartoon(s) of the Week – Does Big Bird sum up the Debate?
Jeff Danziger in the L. A. Times:
So what is memorable from the debate?
– and –
Robert McKee in the Augusta Chronicle:
Are the issues food or labor?
– and –
Nick Anderson in the Houston Chronicle:
Did you see them serve up their achievements or potentials?
– and –
Clay bennet in the Chattanooga Times Free Press:
As displayed by his announcement to cure the deficit by dropping PBS and Big Bird.
– and –
Gary McCoy for Universal Press Syndicate:
Oh well… Halloween is coming. Do you think we can forget politics for a while?
Related articles
- Cartoon: Decision 2012 (englishblog.com)
Keeping this blog going requires your help…
…and I will give you a free gift if you make a donation of $5.00 or more…
…you get my popular picture font:“Bill’s Victorian Ornaments” These images created from traditional and period sources are very usable at any size in designs and publications. The font comes for Mac and PC, and I usually sell it for $29.95. It’s my way of saying “Thank You” to offer it to $5 or more donors.
So many of you have been following this blog since 2004 that I feel like a member of a huge web community.
I have enjoyed bringing you the Cartoon(s) of the Week, the Quotes, the Political and Arts News, the Blogrolls of the best sites in America and beyond… They are all a joy to put together. Often we get the breaking political stories before you see them anywhere else. And our wide open communication channels with readers can’t be beat. I offer your participation at all times and appreciate the hundreds of subscribers who sign up every year.
I really need YOUR help to keep it going. I’m hoping you will make a small contribution, by PayPal or credit/debit card, in support of Under The LobsterScope. You’d be amazed at how much $5.00 can do to help me bring more and more to these pages. And it is probably the LOWEST annual subscription fee you will make to any publication… interactive or not. I often receive larger contributions and I certainly appreciate those.
Remember, for a contribution of $5.00 (or MORE) you will receive a copy of my Picture Font, Bill’s Victorian Ornaments and the knowledge that this blog will continue onward.
I should note that even a donation of $1.00 gets my thanks and helps to keep this blog going. By clicking on the DONATE button below, you tell me that Under The LobsterScope makes a difference in your time on the web.
Thanks,
– Bill T.
Related articles
- Font, TypeFace, TypeStyle, Typefamily, FontType? Whatever. (imjustcreative.com)
- Thanks to Mary Ellen Heinemann and beverle bloch for their contributions to this blog… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
Jon Stewart takes on Fox News
Chris Wallace tried to trap Jon Stewart in a liberal trap, but Stewart’s views of Fox as a conservative ideological network stand up. Stewart wins! here’s the video:
Don’t forget… there’s a Bill O’Reilly vs. Jon Stewart Debate on October 6. It costs $4.95 to hear the 90 minute show live. Hey…cheaper than the movies and probably more entertaining!
Related articles
- Fox News Tries To Ambush Jon Stewart On Television. They Probably Shouldn’t Have Done That. (upworthy.com)
- Video: Jon Stewart to Debate Bill O’Reilly Oct. 6 (boiseweekly.com)
- Stewart: 47% Gaffe Turns Fox Into ‘Bulls#%t Mountain’ (newser.com)
- Bill O’Reilly Announces 90-Minute Debate Against Jon Stewart (perezhilton.com)
- Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart to debate (politico.com)
- Would you pay $4.95 to see Jon Stewart debate Bill O’Reilly? Who will win? (allday.today.com)
We don’t have Frank Zappa to advise us anymore… but we do have Gail
This is for all folks getting involved in politics and for women in particular. Gail Zappa calls up the spirit of her late husband, Frank Zappa:
Many of us have missed Frank for years and celebrate Zappadan every year. It’s nice to hear from Gail in this season of political madness.
Related articles
- Vintage Frank Zappa dental health PSAs (osocio.org)
- FRANK ZAPPA: American Composer (musicbyday.com)
- 10 Odd Things You May Not Know About Frank Zappa (spotify.com)
Under The LobsterScope 