recent articles - late November

Plans for a green dance club in Rotterdam. Christopher Lee in the Washington Post reports on the USDA relaxing regulations on GMOs. Also in the Washington Post, Anthony Faiola talks about the recent crackdown on bad sushi. Doreen Carvajal in the International Herald Tribune discusses French youth radio expansion (yes, this is about Skyrock). James Vaznis in the Boston Globe reports on library attraction/expansion in the USA via cafe culture.
Kristin Downey in the Washington Post reports on Watters v Wachovia Bank, due to come before the US Supreme court.

Philippe Noiret passed away (From an early role in "La Pointe-Courte" under Agnes Varda's direction, to the Uncle in Louis Malle's "Zazie dans le metro" to a few of William Klein's films: as a reporter in "Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?" and as Moujik Man in "Mr. Freedom", as well as a few films directed by Marco Ferreri, several films directed by Bertrand Tavernier including "Coup de Torchon", and the murky conspiracy thriller "L'Attentat").

Midnight Eye interviews Satoshi Kon.

Wesley Yang writing in the Los Angeles Times reviews 'The Trouble With Diversity' by Walter Benn Michaels. Doug Harvey writing in LA Weekley looks at the spate of Streetsignism.
Recent looks at the Whitney's latest from Christopher Knight in the Los Angeles Times and Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker looks at Kiki Smith. Sarah Lyall in the New York Times reports on the London Review of Books obnoxious personals. In the Dallas Morning News Lawson Tattie, Theatre Critic and Tom Maurstad, Media Critic, discuss why so many contemporary playwrights are writing for television.

Rachel Cooke in last week's Observer UK had this to say about looking at art. Grayson Perry in the Times UK on recent concepts.

recent articles

Robert Tait in Tehran writing for Guardian UK discusses Bestsellers Banned In Iran. Susan Brink in the Los Angeles Times discusses the portrayal of health and medicine on the small screen. Benedict Nightingale writes in the Times UK on the recent work of playwright Caryl Churchill. Marc Fisher in the Washington Post says the NEA thinks NPR is making a mistake. Debra Craine writing in the Times UK of an intersting collaboration of dance and architecture. Tim Page in the Washington Post discusses the plethora of Opera reissues. Robert Kyle reports in the Art Newspaper of the government seizing work made by New Deal artists. Diane Garrett writing in Variety reports the death of VHS. Nick Hasted writes in the Independent UK of a recent trend in films that treats recent German history with sympathy. Elizabeth Williamson in the Washington Post reports on the USDA's refusal to recognize American hunger.

The CBC reports on a rare case of Scotch.

Life Through the Lens: Film as Politics

Interesting series on the BBC right now:

"Films have never just been about entertainment - they have also been a powerful force for social change. So what a pity that the gulf between cinema and politics has never been greater. By David Puttnam

Does political cinema mirror life? How much impact can a movie have on its audience? To what extent is it able to influence the way we think about politics? The relationship between cinema and politics, often troubled, has recently become far too distant.
[...]
there's no doubt that films such as this can play a crucial role in generating a better-informed, more lively political and social debate. For years, stories that tackled controversial and complex issues were second nature to film-makers. Sadly, that is becoming increasingly rare. My reason for wanting to make the radio series was to convince myself that cinema still has an important role to play in exploring society's truths - as well as its myths.

We need to convince a whole new generation of film-makers that this is a challenge worth accepting. And we need to convince politicians that, from time to time, they should heed the message."

full article here.

David Puttnam's three-part series for BBC Radio 4, Movies With a Message, starts on Sunday 1 January at 10.45pm, with repeats the following Wednesday from 8.45pm

pasting together older material

backcatalogue:

"Going on from here—going on from now. It’s better if its done quietly, while there is still time left. Look out to the corridor, look out to the street, ask yourself a lifetime of riddles, but in the end you cannot argue, you cannot escape this bliss. “I’ve never felt it before.”, you say. It’s new, its foreign, but its not going away and its so indescribably wonderful! You’re at a loss and drained of thought for the most part. You wait several seconds to find out what might happen next. It hasn’t subsided, the sensation is still there—you’re actually able to relax for what must be the first time in your life."

At this point i want to re-assess some older fragments in the hope of rescuscitating the whole. Its not as cold as it was here in New England. I've got "Gemma Bovery" (Posey Simmonds 'graphic novel' retelling of Flaubert in a contemporary setting) and Timothy Garton Ash's "Free World" to read. That is, apart from all the other books in my room. I watched another episode of SPACED on DVD before putting this together. What a brilliant show! I normally don't watch television but I have a soft spot for certain programs.

Alright-- I'll keep this short for the first post.