Friday, January 07, 2005
The Envelope, Please?
Cowabunga! Our favorite gay music group ever, NY's Scissor Sisters, have been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, for their inspired neon-bright "reimagining" of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," which channels both the Bee Gees and Kraftwerk. They sure deserve recognition, but they're up against two dance music powerhouses, Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx, and two tabloid legends from opposite sides of the pond, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue. Sadly, my money's on Britney - the Grammy people are that clueless... (eg, Rolling Stones have only won one Grammy, celebrating the album cover art on "Tattoo You"...)Lots more this weekend, I promise... While I bask in home-based leisure... But in the meantime, enjoy these cartoons....
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Thursday, January 06, 2005
Aaron Shrugged
I "read" six audiobooks over the past months, and today I begin a series of book reports with the novel I least enjoyed: Ayn Rand's stiff, heavy-handed, telegraphic, stark-raving right-wing diatribe of a novel, "Atlas Shrugged." My curiosity dated from my teen years, when the dog-eared paperback lay in my parents' basement. That back cover intrigued me with questions such as "Why did a philosopher become a pirate? Why did a brilliant businessman become a worthless playboy, and why does he fight his greatest battle against the woman he desperately loves?" However, the book's epic length dissuaded me.Rand believes that the talented elite drives all human progress and that selfishness and profit are this elite's natural reward. In "Shrugged," this elite 'goes on strike' when the 'looters' of socialism force them to use their talent only to satisfy other people's needs, rather than their own profit; this 'strike' brings the world to a halt. Political objections aside, I think "Shrugged" is bad literature and is better filed under "philosophy." This is because the characters behave like walking concepts and principles, not flesh and blood human beings - the heroes and villains are cartoonish, and given to long expository speeches that underscore Rand's beliefs. Though "Shrugged" is breathlessly paced, and vividly written, its propagandistic stridency was too much for me, and I myself "shrugged" and abandoned ship after 7 of the 10 CDs.
Rand's pro-capitalist fervor made her a hero of the right during their long dark exile in the FDR and post-FDR era (1933-1980), until captialism was championed by Reaganism-Thatcherism and perhaps vindicated by collapse of the cold war. But oddly, "Shrugged" seems even more cartoonish today, since it goes so far to the other extreme - even George W. Bush might be too liberal for this late lady.
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Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Just the two of us... I briefly shared a subway car with a homeless man this morning, sprawled out on the bench-seat, his hand clasping a supermarket carriage filled with clothes, bric-a-brac, and a crutch sticking up into the air. This was between my home stop, 23rd St, and the next stop, Penn Station, where a flood of commuters gushed into the car, turning our happy two-some into an SRO crowd...
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Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Startling new statistics. Last week's trip to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico with Mom was my 19th Mexican trip, not my 18th. Just realized, glancing at my records, that I omitted an investor trip to Mexico in October, 1996. Mexico is now my most visited country, Brazil is 2nd place with 18 visits, and Argentina is 3rd with 14 visits. This makes a total of 86 foreign trips, of which 46 to Latin America.this entry's permalink
Kelly On The Great White Way!
Friends, Romans, Countrymen! Thrilled here to inform you that my friend Kelly AuCoin (left) will make his Broadway debut as Octavius in Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington's Brutus! Previews begin March 28, I'm so excited...Hit The Ground Running: My first day back, kind of congested, and I Nyquil-ed through my 6:15am alarm... Oh well. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...
Can't Put It Down: I am enthralled by "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. Very smart, imaginative, well-paced storytelling and keeps your brain on its toes with all the time-hopping. I now owe you people several book reports...
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Monday, January 03, 2005
Where in the World...
is Aaron Holsberg?Home! That's Where! Woo-Hoo! And all refreshed from vacation.
Btw, Should've included 'Kinsey' on my Best of 2004 list (see my 1/1/05 post for the list, and my 11/21/04 review of 'Kinsey'. )
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Miss My Wheels
Requiem for 'Suburban Car Boy' : - ) In 12 hours I must hand in my silver Chevy and hop a plane to NY. 'twas a delicious, relaxing, sun-drenched vacation. Will miss this level of pampering in the work-heavy weeks ahead.... this entry's permalink
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Short post today - but check out my year-end best of list posted yesterday. Since then, saw Lemony Snicket (pictured left - awesome!) with Danny and Gattaca (also great!) on DVD. Full reports to follow. Back in NY tomorrow night...this entry's permalink
