Mashomack Estate,
Upsate New York,
Summer 2003
The slow decay and decline of an agricultural industry - iron twisting and turning, paint peeling wood turning grey, green weeds thrusting through brick stone and concrete, nature taking back control where mans eyes have been averted.
The magic of the teeming boardwalk, the flash of light and burn of the sun, tacky signs beckoning you to the screaming thrill of the rides or the fascinating charade of the freak show, and the sour smell of sweat and Nathan's hot dogs.
Coney Island
July 2003
Ripley's Game is a 2002 feature film (released in the uS on DVD in 2003) based on the 1974 novel of the same name, the third in Patricia Highsmith's "Ripliad," a series of books chronicling the murderous adventures of con artist Tom Ripley. It is set in Venato Italy 17 years after The Talented Mr Ripley
John Malkovich stars as Highsmith's anti-hero, opposite Dougray Scott and Ray Winstone. Malkovich is slitheringly evil and magnificently manipulative
The director is the veteran Italian filmmaker Liliana Cavani, whose career dates back to the 1960s and includes one of the 1970s' most controversial movies, The Night Porter.
This is a great overlooked psychological thriller and has switched me onto Highsmith which will be the focus of a coming post.
When Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson died in 2004, he left behind three manuscripts, all featuring computer nerd Lisbeth Salander, one of the most startling, engaging and sometimes perplexing heroines in recent memory.
Larsson seeks to explore and explode the moral deficits, irresponsible government and extremist movements that characterize postmillennial Europe and he does it with a cinematic Hollywood - American pop culture style. This is a great thriller with a strong moral heart. The translations sometimes needs a tougher edit
Arguably Japan's best-known contemporary artist and recipient of a major retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum last summer, Takashi Murakami returns with three new works for a solo show that's shrouded in mystery. Gagosian Gallery proffers neither a press release nor preview images, but the mystique of the show's offbeat title and Murakami's celeb factor should be enough to reel you in.
Half-sour, full sour, dill, sweet, bread-n-butter — and that's just the cucumbers! Head to this annual Lower East Side fest for tastes and demos from all of your favorite vendors, who are pickling up a storm: fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses from around the world all get the briney treatment. Costumes are also encouraged at this year's pucker celebration, so be sure to don your "sexy pickle" costume before coming on down.
Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
New York, New York
(212) 505-5555
Join master photographer Joel Meyerowitz
for a talk and book signing and discover the hidden pockets of
wilderness that still exist within the urban environs of New York City.
This event takes place on the occasion of the publication of Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks
(Aperture, October 2009). This compelling body of work is the result of
a unique commission Meyerowitz received from the New York City
Department of Parks & Recreation to document, interpret, and
celebrate one of the city's greatest legacies: nearly nine thousand
acres of parks in the five boroughs that still exist close to their
original pristine state, as well as areas within parks that have been
left to revert to wilderness.
An exhibition of this series will be on view at the Museum of the City of New York, October 9, 2009-March 7, 2010.
A powerful, gripping account of one families struggle in the aftermath of Katrina. An indictment of the Bush era America - at times I felt like I was reading about the Soviet gulags. Everyone should read this
Calle 13 - performed at a steamy Summerstage Central Park
Their new single la Perla:
"La Perla is a barrio that is protecting Old San Juan," says Rene Perez, or "Residente," who makes up half of Calle 13.
La Perla is the subject of the duo's latest song, a collaboration with salsa legend Ruben Blades.
The song describes the slum, with its hundreds of colorful makeshift houses stacked together, one on top of the other. It's mostly known for being a drug-dealing haven, and for being a place where murder is almost an everyday occurrence.
"You can see it both ways," Perez says. "You can see it like society put out La Perla — literally, they are outside the wall, but also you can see La Perla as a barrio that protects Old San Juan."
The neighborhood also has a jaw-dropping view of the beach, making it the perfect setting for a video shoot, but it's not easy for a stranger to stop by. La Perla is completely governed by the drug dealers, and is off-limits to almost all outsiders, even the police.
Even with a guide, reporters have to follow strict rules and ask permission to take pictures and interview the residents. Many of them love Calle 13.
"They hang out with us like we were family," said Sonia Miruet, a resident of La Perla. "I really like Calle 13's songs because the messages in their songs are things that are really happening and things that people are living."
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