ONE night, it was Broadway wunderkind Tom Kitt and a huge cast from past and future Brian Yorkey-TK collaborations; the next brought indie recording artist Ingrid Michaelson and her merry band.
Opening up oneself to new musical experiences can be both liberating and enlightening. To that end, consider "Lincoln Center presents American Songbook." The series of concerts, which started in late January and goes through 20 April, is a sort of go-to for learning about all forms of the popular and the arcane.
Tonight, cabaret sensation Meow Meow is on the stage at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, one of the two venues where the concerts are performed. The other is the Allen Room.
Meow Meow. Will she purr or will she roar? Photo from American Songbook Web site.
Tom Morello appeared in the Allen Room as “The Nightwatchman,” a musical activist who uses his voice to make the world a better place. With confederate Rick Costello (guitar and vocals), TM played to a packed house.
Many fans in the audience crowded the stage, sharing the fervor in songs like “One Man Revolution” and “Midnight in the City of Destruction.” TM was a discovery for this old fogey; truthfully, he won’t be on my playlist anytime soon. Nonetheless, the show was spectacularly entertaining. (See video at top).
Another American Songbook “discovery,” Cecile McLorin Savant, also came with a passel of fans. Her repertoire of well-honed Cole Porter classics was beautifully rendered and often inspiring.
Backed by the brilliant young pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Paul Sikvie and Rodney Green on drums, CMcLS channeled Bessie Smith and other greats in the jazz and cabaret tradition. The Miami native was a wonderfully rare find. Look for her on the 2013-14 Jazz at Lincoln Center calendar, http://www.jalc.org/events/event/t-1203#.UVUu6KK-o0E. (See video above).
In this year's extended American Songbook season, there are still opportunities to make some discoveries. Coming to the Penthouse stage on 6 April is Ricky Ian Gordon, headlining Green Sneakers, for Baritone, String Quartet, Empty Chair, and Piano. On the bill for 19 April is the songwriting team of Brian Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan. The duo has made huge inroads on iTunes and YouTube. (See video above).
Closing out the American Songbook season on 20 April is Ben Sollee who uses the cello to merge various musical genres.
Visit http://www.americansongbook.org to learn more about “Lincoln Center presents American Songbook." Rx
IN case you did not get the memo, crime does not pay.
This premise is played out in the long, drawn out psychological thriller, “The Place Beyond the Pines,” which also means Schenectady in a native American dialect. High-wire motorcycle stuntman Luke (Ryan Gosling) learns this firsthand after he runs afoul of the law and into a game of wits with ambitious and possibly unscrupulous police officer Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper).
The film, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, opens in very limited release today in the United States. (See video above.)
Luke’s heart is in the right place when he quits the circus life for a day job at an auto repair shop. He now has a family to support, he learns when he returns to Schenectady in upstate New York and looks up ex-girlfriend or friend with benefits Romina Eva Mendes). She’s had his kid, a boy.
Luke is on the straight and narrow until his boss Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) sees something in him: possibly a sap with a couple of useful skills that he can entice into the bank robbery trade. They throw in together and have some pretty incredible successes. Soon enough, though, the law comes calling.
MARIA GOLUBEVA’S will be one of numerous new names on the roster during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia.
This will be the second season on the runways of Moscow for the graduate of the British Higher School of Art and Design. MG will show her Autumn-Winter 2013 at 5 p.m. Moscow time (eight hours ahead of New York) on Saturday, 30 March. See the video above of her debut Spring-Summer 2013 collection. It is available now.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia jumps off tomorrow at 4 p.m. Moscow time with Slava Zaitsev. UK-based Fyodor Golan closes it out with a 10 p.m. show on 2 April.
ALONGSIDE the strides being made and remembered during Women’s History Month is the small triumph in the northern Ethiopian city of Mekelle and beyond.
School-age girls no longer have to miss school and fall behind in their studies because they can continue to attend classes and have their menstrual cycles at the same time. Heretofore, they were missing school and falling behind because they did not have access to sanitary products.
A sanitary napkin made from Ethiopian cotton. Photo from Girls2Women Web site.
That is changing after a sanitary pad making program was introduced by Columbia University School of Nursing professor Mary Moran through an organization called Girls2Women, http://www.girls2women.org/. In the program, Mekelle stakeholders learned to make pads out of durable Ethiopian cotton. Made in various colors from what's available, the pads can be washed, hung to dry, and reused. It is catching on.
“We’ve heard many of the girls say that since using the pads they are no longer afraid to leave their houses during menstruation,” MM told the Columbia University School of Nursing news. “By giving them the skills to manage their menstrual cycles, we’re improving their school attendance, and providing the next generation of women with more opportunities.”
Rwandan women make sanitary napkins from banana fibers. Photo from Sustainable Health Enterprise Web site.
To a Western audience, this may seem like a small thing but it makes a world of difference in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, Central America and South America where supplies and knowledge are woefully inadequate. Further, in numerous cultures there is a taboo associated with the menstrual cycle.
This taboo, albeit less severe, still exists in parts of the West, particularly in the United States. It is not uncommon to observe an American woman shielding her sanitary product purchases. Men in certain corners of the country will not eat food prepared by a woman having her period. Ramp this up exponentially and it is easy to understand the situation in a Madagascar.
There is a high incidence of African girls missing school because of their period, according to a 2010 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) titled “How to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) into HIV programmes.” The report found that “about 1 in 10 African school-age girls do not attend school during menstruation or drop out when puberty starts, because schools lack clean and private sanitation facilities.” (http://www.1.usa.gov/11InJba)
In much of the developing world access to any facilities, including clean facilities, as well as access to water is a problem. Much of the concern about Proctor & Gamble’s (Tampax, Always) Protecting Futures campaign was around these issues, not to mention the expense and adverse environmental impacts of its product. (http://www.tampax.com/en-US/protectingFutures/protectingFutures.aspx). Indeed, in the final analysis it appears that once taboos against menstruation have been overcome, adequate facilities made available and costs brought down, there is still the matter of environmental impacts of sanitary products.
Papyrus is a raw material used in the manufacture of the Makapad. Photo from Makapad Web site.
With these concerns in mind, solutions abound. In Rwanda, where some 18 percent of girls were missing on average 35 days of schools, Elizabeth Scharpf developed SHE. Through Sustainable Health Enterprise, http://www.sheinnovates.com/, females not only learn about their menstrual cycles, they are taught to make sanitary napkins from the absorbent fibers of banana trees. This is an eco-friendly practice because the fibers come from trees that are cut down after each harvest. As an added benefit, SHE provides jobs. (See video at top).
Another environmentally-friendly sanitary product is the Makapad. Produced from papyrus and paper, the makapad was developed by Moses Musaazi of Uganda’s College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT). Makapads, which are billed as the only sanitary pad made in Africa, cost about 50 percent less than imported brands and are 95 percent biodegradable. The “maka” in makapads is an acronym for Menstruation Administration Knowledge Affordability. (http://www.cedat.mak.ac.ug/research/maka-pads.html)
The Mpower menstual cup is one of two made in Africa. Photo from Mpower enstrual cup Web site.
Considered by many to be the best solution for staying on top of the personal and environmental inconvenience of the menstrual cycle for the entire world, are the numerous menstrual cups on the market. The only two known to be made in Africa are from South Africa: Mpower menstrual cup and miacup (http://www.mpowercup.co.za/, http://www.miacup.co.za/).
The UK’s Mooncup, http://www.mooncup.co.uk/, has the most informative video (above). Made in the EU under Swiss management is the LadyCup, http://www.ladycup.eu/, which comes in a variety of colors, including tangerine. At the moment, Germany’s MeLuna, http://www.meluna.eu/?___store=english, is the only menstrual cup known to be made from TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) instead of silicone.
The DivaCup is a multi-colored thing. Photo from The DivaCup Web site.
The only down side to the menstrual cup may be the adjustment period. It seems to be a solution to all of the issues that a woman in the developing world, or any part of the world, might face. Consider:
1. cost-effective because in most cases it lasts for at least 5 years 2. reusable 3. requires very little water to clean 4. holds significantly more flow than a pad or tampon 5. doesn't cause toxic shock syndrome(TSS) 6. made from environmentally friendly medical-grade silicone 7. often available in various colors and sizes
If an event as seemingly minor as a period can have adverse effects on the life of a female, the aforementioned prescriptions are giant steps for womankind ... Rx
Some of these Stephen Burrows designs want to do a little dance. Photos by Yours Truly.
21 March 2013/NEW YORK – THE colors are as vibrant as they were 40-plus years ago. The designs are current. In fact, they are timeless. Craft is palpable. This is art.
“When Fashion Danced” is a retrospective of the work of designer Stephen Burrows. The exhibit, billed as the first major examination of the designer’s pioneering work, was unveiled at a spirited party Thursday night at the Museum of the City of New York. SB was in the house, and the extent of his public remarks were approximately, "Thank you." He tends to let his work do the jawing.
Still in style but from yesteryear.
The title of the exhibit references an SB trademark. That is sexy, slinky frocks that many of the rich and famous boogied down in at Studio 54. On view through 28 July, “When Fashion Danced” tracks SB’s start in the ‘60s designing for friends before joining Henri Bendel. After Bendel, he struck out on his own and would go on to design for some famous folk who would become friends – people with names like Cher, Diana and Liza.
Divas!
Visit http://www.bit.ly/ZYrJ2t to learn more about “When Fashion Danced.”
Winehouse Foundation & Friends Keep Music Alive
Tony Bennett before he received a very special award from the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Photos by Charles Norfleet.
21 March 2013/NEW YORK – AMY Winehouse died young but she lived her dream.
That is essentially what Tony Bennett asserted during his acceptance speech after receiving a lifetime achievement award at the first Amy Winehouse Foundation Inspiration Awards and Gala.
The singer, who was 27 when she died from alcohol poisoning in 2011, may be gone but she won’t be soon forgotten if Thursday night’s jollification at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is any indication.
SaLaAM ReMi did not escape the notice of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
The celebration attracted high-wattage names from various sectors. Harry Belafonte presented the award to TB. Jennifer Hudson brought the house down and got ‘em on their feet. Sean Lennon, son of John&Yoko showed as did Kiera Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie.
KC is also the Amy Winehouse Foundation world ambassador. Celebrating, too, were a pair of pageant queens, as well as award recipient SaLaAM ReMi.
Soon after the singer’s death her family went to work creating the foundation that bears her name. Its mission is around music therapy and education for children, as well as working to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.
Mitch Winehouse, father of Amy, has his hands full with Nana Meriwether, Miss USA and Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe.
TB, one of the coolest octogenarians on the planet, said of the deceased singer with whom he shares a Grammy: "Even though she had a short life, she had a great life because she ended up praying for the success that she wanted and it happened. This is what this night is about."
Visit http://www.amywinehousefoundation.org/us/ to learn more about the Amy Winehouse Foundation and Amy Winehouse Foundation Inspiration Awards and Gala. Rx
This guy is pretty pleased with himself lounged amongst the flora in the Macy's Flower Show. Photos by Yours Truly.
ONE of the first things that will greet visitors to the 39th Annual Macy’s Flower Show in New York City tomorrow is a 10-foot-tall elephant dressed to the nines.
And for good reason: the show, titled “The Painted Garden,” is “inspired by” India. Hints of that beautiful, mysterious country are redolent in flowers, spices and objects throughout. Pretty incredible that year after year that some of the country’s best floral designers can force plants, trees and flowers to exist in such exquisite, colorful unison.
Enter the tent set up next door to the Macy’s Herald Square flagship store and you will be immediately transported to a faraway place where nothing exists but time and beauty. It is a welcome and inviting respite from the business, bustling big city.
The elephant is dressed for the show.
New York won’t have all of the fun with what has become an annual rite of spring everywhere it has flourished. The Macy’s Flower Show, which is free and open to the public until 7 April, will also be an attraction at flagship stores in four other cities.
There is Center City in Philadelphia, State Street in Chicago, Union Square in San Francisco, as well as Downtown Minneapolis, the Macy’s location that is the granddaddy of all of the flower shows.
For the second consecutive year the New York show has been staged in a tent because of store renovations, leaving organizers with far less space to work with. They scaled downed from 100,000 square feet to approximately 6,000.
There's less to these spices than meets the eye.
“Yet when you’re in here you don’t feel like anything is missing,” show producer Robin Hall asserted yesterday during a press preview of the space.
Less is more.
Visit http://www.bit.ly/ZmKD2M to learn more about the Macy’s Flower Show. Rx
IN “Spring Breakers,” a college ritual is turned on its side, shaken, stomped to within an inch of its life and skinned alive.
Harmony Korine’s biggest and most mainstream film to date has as protagonists four college girls who arrive at spring break in St. Petersburg, Fla. in a very unconventional way: they rob and steal their way there. Increasingly reckless after their bodacious acts, the quartet then proceeds to one debauchery after the other. The film opens in the United States today.
Let’s be clear; HK is not judging. On the contrary, he is holding up a mirror and admiring the grotesque image. "Spring Breakers" represents his utopian view of a dystopian right of passage. Recall “Trash Humpers” and “Gummo.” His camera almost reverently captures the steady diet of the shocking and inappropriate. (See video above).
On a more global level, “Spring Breakers” is a metaphor. It represents the state of our United States at this cultural moment: soulless, selfish and sex-obssessed. These girls possess a colossal sense of entitlement.
Like the culture at-large, they want what they want and they want it NOW with little or no regard to how they get it. It is no wonder they took up stupid crime as a means to a stupider end. They don’t know the meaning of taking responsibility; it is doubtful that they can spell the word.
As if to pervert a perversion – to rub salt into a wound – HK cast as his dangerous little darlings three actresses who have a wholesome reputation: Selena Gomez (Faith), Vanessa Hudgens (Candy) and Ashley Benson (Brit). The character of Cotty is played by the director’s wife Rachel Korine. Rounding out the main cast is the almost unrecognizable James Franco as the lowlife bloodsucker, Alien.
Forewarning to the morally upright: “Spring Breakers” is not yours, your mother’s or your grandmother’s spring break film. It's actually much better; it is also much more disturbing.
Missoni AW 2013. Photos by Ian Gavan/Getty Images.
GET ‘em while they’re young. And guess who’s doing the gettin’: names like Gaultier, Chloe, Cavalli, Fendi, Missoni, Marc Jacobs and nearly a score more.
While much of the fashion world may have been recovering from the grand slam of fashion that ended in Paris a couple of weeks back, the aforementioned brands spent the last couple of days in London participating in what has been promoted as the first ever Global Kids Fashion Week or GKFW.
Besides, why – the answer seems pretty obvious – another apt question may be whether GKFW will have an edition at New York, Milan and Paris like its adult counterparts.
Over the last couple of days kiddos took to the runways in ensembles from the Autumn/Winter 2013 collections of the aforementioned and others, including Paul Smith Junior and Anne Kurris. Also represented were emerging designers.
John Galliano SS 2013.
GKFW was a ticketed extravaganza, meaning that tickets were for sell; the adult shows are free and invitation-only. Ticketholders not only bought their way into the shows, but had access to kid-friendly parties, performances and playful activities.
The brains and brand behind GKFW is the online children’s shopping mart, AlexandAlexa.com. The portal used the event to also showcase its Spring/Summer 2013 collections (http://www.bit.ly/q0bYSs).
Marni SS 2013.
Is the notion of a kids Fashion Week too crass and perverse for words? No doubt, more than a few folk will answer in the affirmative. In any case, Alexandalexa.com founder and CEO Alex Theophanous has given life to some words that make GKFW seem OK.
“Kids' fashion is playful, fun and innovative - we all believe it deserves its own dedicated platform,” remarked a man who has a good point regardless of how self-serving it is. “This is why we are so proud to be supporting the very first Global Kids Fashion Week. With this event, we aim to put children's fashion on the map worldwide.”
Paul Smith Junior SS 2013.
For those who may have been unsure of the whereabouts of children’s fashion, stay tuned. Happily, the styles on the runway were appropriate rather than kid-size versions of way-too grownup clothes.
Proceeds from all GKFW ticket sales will benefit Kids Company, the do-gooder org that helps kiddos in difficult circumstances.
That act of kindness should soften the blow of such an affair as GKFW, no?
HERE’S something to chew on: millions in the United States suffer from food insecurity. Essentially, they may not get three squares and two snacks each day.
“A Place at the Table” examines hunger in this obscenely wealthy country through the experiences of three individuals who really don’t know where their next meal is coming from and have no guarantee that it will be a nutritious one.
Not only do directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush spotlight the issue – talking with numerous hunger advocates and experts – they go underneath to reveal some of the social and economic consequences of what is an obscenely solvable problem. (See video above).
The film continues to open in select theaters across the United States and is available on iTunes and On Demand.
Marriage may not be the healthiest choice for everyone. Photo courtesy of Archdiocese of Balitmore.
REMEMBER that Newsweek nonsense, or screed against a whole gender, from years ago? The one about a 40-year-old woman having a better chance of an encounter with a terrorist than a groom? Yeah, that one.
Well, ladies (and gentlemen), marriage may not be all its cracked up to be. No surprise there. Around half of married couples in the United States has worked out that bit of calculus. It has been discovered, though, that marriage may not do you any good if you are in bad health.
This is the upshot of the results of a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Titled Marital Status, Self-Rated Health, and Mortality: Overestimation of Health or Diminishing Protection of Marriage?,” the article also asserts that married types tend to exaggerate for the better the state of their health.( http://www.bit.ly/y28MNP)
The revelation providing the most buzz, however, concerns married folk in poor health who are just as likely to perish within in the same timeframe as unmarried folk in similar circumstances. (This is not the case for marrieds in excellent and good health.) The unmarried label applies broadly to never married, separated, widowed and divorced types. The finding is contrary to previously accepted studies in this area.
An article in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior makes some surprising assertions about the effects of marriage on mortality.
“We believe marriage is still good for the health of some people, but it is not equally protective for everyone,” study leader Hui Zheng told the Ohio State University (OSU) news service. HZ, an assistant professor of sociology at OSU, undertook the study with Patricia Thomas of the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). “For those who are already in poor health, marriage doesn’t seem to provide any extra benefits.”
All this said, written, discovered and divulged, marriage is still considered more beneficial to the health than being unmarried for various reasons, including the very important one of having a helpmate. Considering this reality, no one should embark on an anti-marriage campaign.
Incidentally, the findings apply exclusively to the United States. Things may be different in Nicaragua and Nigeria. Also worth noting is that the study is relatively old. HZ&Co. drew data from nearly 800,000 participants between 1986-2004. Alas, studies take time, then there is the long publication timeline.
Still, unmarrieds and want-to-be marrieds have a single bit of news in which they can take heart.
Visit http://www.bit.ly/y28MNP to learn more about “Marital Status, Self-Rated Health, and Mortality: Overestimation of Health or Diminishing Protection of Marriage?” and/or purchase the Journal of Health and Social Behavior at select newsstands.Rx
14 March 2013/NEW YORK – IT does not walk the dog and water the plants. Nor does it make the bacon and fry it up in the pan. It does not put the kids to bed or kiss them good night; it does not make love to your partner.
But seemingly the Samsung Galaxy S4, the long-awaited latest-generation smartphone does just about everything else. In a schmaltzy unveiling ceremony at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall called “Samsung Unpacked 2013,” Samsung Mobile Communications President JK Shin revealed the device, calling it a “life companion.”
Rather than a performance from someone with the stature of Kanye West, Samsung went for a purer form of theater in presenting the sundry and many, varied and myriad features of its new product. Through four different dramatic and comedic scenes that included a young man traveling abroad, a bride-to-be and her bridesmaids, as well as a cute-as-a-button tap dancing kid, the lucky few thousand in the Radio City theater got a vivid demonstration of what the Galaxy S4 can do. (See video above of full presentation.)
The smartphone is pretty impressive, so impressive that a couple of days after its debut, Apple saw fit to remind folk of the virtues of its iPhone suite, mainly of its superiority to all other smartphones. The headline says it all, “There’s iPhone. And then there’s everything else.”
While Apple did not directly call out Samsung’s Galaxy S4, it is clear that Apple was throwing “shade” in the direction of its relentless competitor. Some in the know are saying Galaxy S4 edges iPhone 5 and will sell well when it becomes available next month. (http://www.apple.com/iphone/why-iphone/)
The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in black and white. Photo from Samsung.
Samsung hasn’t yet put a price on the head of Galaxy S4, but the scuttlebutt so far has it at $200 to more than $700. Taller, slimmer and better in the ways that count than the S3, the Galaxy S4 is not perfect but is advancing at a good clip in that direction.
Some of what the Galaxy S4 can do and has – in lay terms: 1. Speak 9 languages; 2. Two cameras that can be used simultaneously and a shutter speed that rivals a standalone camera (it certainly surpasses by 10 country miles the speed of the Nokia Lumia 720); 3. Screen that does not freeze if touched with gloves; 4. 2GB of memory (about as much as a certain Dell Inspiron 2200 laptop circa 2005); 5. Pause function that can control what shows on the screen with the human eye; 6. Air gesture feature that allows operator to scroll, take a call, and change music with the wave of a hand; 7. Remotely controls the television.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S4, which does have some smarty-pants superfluous apps (work-play separator), the smartest phone in the world?
The jury is still deliberating, but no one is doubting its brilliance (and audacity).
13 March 2013/MUNICH, Germany – SO why exactly is Tina Turner on the cover of the April edition of Vogue Germany? It hit news stands on Wednesday.
Tina Turner is Vogue Germany’s April 2013 Cover girl.
What’s the hook? She doesn’t have a new record; she’s not about to embark on a tour. She did gain Swiss citizenship in January, but this is old news. (Incidentally, TT renounced her American citizenship to throw in with the Swiss. It doesn’t matter where she has citizenship, though, she will always be all-American..
The deal then with the cover photo, featuring the legendary singer in some nice threads and wearing an odd smirk? Is she channeling the Mona Lisa? Who knows? Maybe the mag wanted to make some history since it has been determined beyond a reasonable doubt that at 73, TT is the oldest woman to grace the cover of a Vogue anywhere in the world. She supplanted another great dame, 60-something Meryl Streep, for the distinction. Betty White is nominated to dethrone TT.
Anywho, under a headline titled “Simply the Best,” TT reveals that she is not – I repeat – IS NOT going on tour again. Of course, she’s made such declarations before. And while she is working on a “Beyond” album, she asserts that beyond that she won’t be too bullish on recording unless she gets some new and fresh material.
Regardless of the reason for TT’s Vogue cover she really is simply the best.
Anna Wintour, portrait of a jobs czarina. Photo from Vogue.
Elsewhere at Vogue, current editor-in-chief and editorial director of Teen Vogue Anna Wintour, the newly minted Artistic Director of Conde Nast, is on a “listening tour” of the publishing group’s various properties. Here’s to hoping herself will also have an open mind to ideas other than her own and that she will not Voguenize every mag in the stable.
Perhaps after the listening tour, AW can will take up a talking tour, explaining to the U.S. public how it is possible for one person to be holding down three well-paying gigs.
Visit http://www.vogue.de/ to learn more about the April 2013 Vogue Germany cover and issue.
Courvoisiology Really Mixes It Up With Cognac
Moses Laboy offers a little Courvoisiology in a glass. Photo by Yours Truly.
12 March 2013/NEW YORK – WHO is that man and what is the brown liquid in the glass he is offering?
That is noted mixologist Moses Laboy. He is also a newly converted Courvoisiologist? Say what? Yes, a courvoisiologist.
A courvoisiologist is an individual who practices Courvoisiology. Of course, what is courvoisiology? Simply put, courvoisiology is the practice of mixing a certain Courvoisier cognac (C by Courvoisier) and cognac blends (Gold and Rose) with other ingredients to create a whole new drink – something that is not a cognac.
The King's Martini comes with spice. Photo by William Gaines.
ML and a colleague were doing their thing Tuesday night at the Courvoisiology laboratory set up at the Carlton Hotel's Millesime restaurant in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The liquid in that glass ML is handing off is “The King’s Martini.” It is made by mixing C by Courvoisier, Black Caraway Tincture, Dry Vermouth and Sweet Vermouth. The caraway tincture gives the drink a spicy flavor profile; it is an odd, yet pleasant taste, and it doesn’t taste like cognac.
Courvoisiology is not only a branch of mixology, it is a very clever marketing campaign. Courvoisier is banking on its program to increase market share to reach more females, younger drinkers and urban professionals who may not be drawn to a straight cognac or who may view cognac as an old foggy's particular poison; it also wants in on some of the action that vodka has been getting the last decade.
Palomino relies on fruits and beer for his distinct flavor. Photo by Yours Truly.
Throughout 2013, the maker of the Napoleonic-era “Revolutionary Spirit,” will host other educational and interactive events under the courvoisiology rubric to further its goal. Viewing homework very seriously, Courvoisier provides a courvoisiology takeaway kit (aforementioned cognac, cognac blends and mixing container) for lab participants. After all, practice makes perfect (and can increase Courvoisier profits).
Another manifestation of courvoisiology is Palomino, a cocktail that is made from Courvoisier Gold, Fresh Lemon Juice, Demerara Syrup and Blue Moon or wheat beer of choice.
The second first. Circa is an Australian circus troupe that, among other things, staged a self-titled show at the NYU Skirball Center more than a decade ago. “Wunderkammer” is the name of Circa’s new show. It has its U.S. premiere this Wednesday, 20 March (through 24 March) at the Skirball Center.
“Wunderkanner,” part of the Visions + Voices Global Performance Series, is a sexy and dynamic spectacle, featuring an ensemble of seven that blends contemporary dance with innovative movement, shifting the perceptions and practice of circus arts. This is not your grandma’s circus act. (See video above.)
Circa's "Wunderkammer" is a mixed-movement piece that pushes against notions of traditional circus acts. Photo by Justin Nicholas.
Under the artistic direction of Yaron Lifschitz, Circa creates genre-bending pieces that celebrate the expressive possibilities of the human body at its extremes.
Visit http://www.circa.org.au/ to learn more about Circa and “Wunderkammer,” including tour dates; visit http://www.nyuskirball.org to learn more about the Visions + Voices Global Performance Series.
Good Times for Common Good at 'Wild Project'
NOW for a walk on the “Wild Project” side.
The Wild Project is a both a venue and a production company. Its goal is to create community by exploring innovative ways to make a better world through entertainment. One production under the the Wild Project umbrella is Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s staging of Sophocles’ “Electra.” It is directed by Amy Wagner and runs through 24 March
The Wild Project features the work of emerging artists and supports green technology. It also showcases theater, film and the visual art year round, including the Saturday morning series, Phoenix for the Family.
OUT of the blue last week, a companion and I launched into a conversation about Halle Berry.
Like just about everyone else, we gave her her due for being beautiful. Some of us admire the actress because she rocks short hair and so do we.
In any case, talk turned to her career. She’s a middling actress; we gave her that. Then we considered her various film roles. Companion did not like her in “Die Another Day.” She thought the acting was off. Frankly, Yours Truly did not recall the acting – it was probably OK – but I vividly remember the scene of her coming out of the ocean a laUrsula Andress in “Dr. No,” the first of the James Bond films. In fact, HB shattered the image of UA for me, I asserted.
Moving along the trajectory of HB’s career, we concurred that we did not like “Monster’s Ball.” Said I: “So often they give Oscars to actors for the wrong role.”
Companion didn’t have too much good to say about “Jungle Fever,” thinking HB woefully miscast. I liked it better. We gave “Bulworth” two thrumbs up and were ecstatic about “Swordfish.” Girlfriend was as sharp as a tack (wardrobe-wise) in that little romp with John Travolta
“Her best film,” I asserted, “is ‘Boomerang’.” Companion liked this one, too, though less so than me. In my estimation, HB has yet to do anything better than “Boomerang.” Hers has been a very uneven career, acting-wise.
Now here comes “The Call,” which opens today in U.S. theaters. HB is 911 operator Jordan Turner. Jordan is accustomed to talking people off of cliffs and keeping them calm in very challenging circumstances. (See video above.)
Those are handy skill sets, and she must call on them and others to
save Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) from the man in her house. He’s not supposed to be there, incidentally. Through a wild coincidence (or poor plot development), Jordan has history with this intruder (Michael Eklund). I know. WT! (What the …!).
While “The Call” is not one of HB’s best efforts – the acting tends toward tepid – she is not the only problem. The film has other issues around plausibility; it’s also derivative. And then there’s the ending. It ain’t thrilling. Better luck next time Halle.
The Marilyn Monroe Collection is geared toward the young, not so much the young at heart. Photo by Yours Truly.
ONE can’t exactly call the utter casualness of the Marilyn Monroe Collection a failing, since its audience is young females – girls, in fact – and they don’t dress up that often.
That written, the denim jacket can work. The pink T-shirt that reads, “Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world” is a keeper. Ditto for the marine blue button-down sweater, tuxedo suit in black and pink, as well as the cap-sleeved “skater” dress in black, pink and red.
That is about the extent of the pieces in the Marilyn Monroe Collection that any female over 30 might feel comfortable wearing. When Authentic Brands Group (ABG) (http://www.authenticbrandsgroup.com/) indicated that it was targeting the so-called milennials – ages 13-30 – in creating the line with LF USA (http://www.lfusa.com/), the company was serious. Market research and anecdotal evidence have shown that the mystique of Marilyn resonates with the young.
A trip to the Macy’s flagship store a couple of days ago, nearly a week after the collection launched online and in 150 of the retailer’s stores, revealed that it is indeed young – very young. The fact that it is ensconced in the Mstylelab department inside the juniors section puts an exclamation on the point. In a press release, Macy’s said the collection offers “affordable fashion to girls who want to look confident, feminine and fun.”
Two words: Cropped. Short. Photo from Macy's.
An eyeball test revealed that the females shopping the collection were in the target age group. Though their spending power has less wattage, so far they are said to be parting with their money – from about $29 to $89 – for gingham, florals, solids and polka dots. Word from on high at Macy’s is that, so far the collection is doing good business overall. No surprise there. After all, a new project with a lot of marketing push behind it is more likely than not to come out of the gate strong.
“It’s doing pretty decent,” a sales associate at the flagship in New York’s Herald Square replied to a query. She declined to give her name. “I am usually here short hours and whenever I have been here, there have been people over there,” she added, nodding toward Mstylelab.
Guess what famous white dress this brings to mind? Photo from Macy's.
Fun, flirty and young are words that can be used to describe the line of mostly casual wear. Words that befit a few looks are cheap, cheesy and tarty. The collection broadly channels the style of Marilyn Monroe in film roles, not real life. The red and navy cropped gingham tops that tie in front seem most reminiscent of Marilyn in “River of No Return.”
While the mood of the collection conjures up Marilyn in ditzier roles (“The Seven Year Itch,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “Some Like It Hot”), the actual look of the collection is the actress in just a few on-the-farm type scenes in "River of No Return" and “The Misfits.” The blue jeans in particular hark to these films. Most looks are an amalgamation.
Women of a certain age can derive a certain level of comfort in the skater dress. Photo from Macys.com.
Stands to reason that if a company is going to use an icon’s name in what some would assert is an unseemly way, it would provide a more accurate rendering. ABT president and chief marketing officer Nick Woodhouse did not returns calls or emails to address such questions. Macy’s was mum, too. As long as the collection sells well why should Macy’s ask or answer questions, right?
Cropping figures prominently in the Marilyn Monroe Collection: halter tops, jeans, jackets, sweaters. If it’s not cropped (or short), it is form-fitting. The ruched mini dress with capped sleeves and bow at peekaboo bodice is so short – clearly a nod to the 21st Century – that it could be a Marilyn bathing costume or foundation garment. It is difficult to imagine Marilyn wearing the wisp of a dress as street clothes.
The ensemble is quite fetching for a very young lady; the dress could serve more tastes if it were longer, though. Photo by Yours Truly.
The b&w striped, detachable spaghetti strap dress with biased, overlapping panels at bodice hugs every curve. Form-wise, it references Marilyn in any number of films, including “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Seven Year Itch.” It’s cute. If only it were 5 inches longer!
Indeed, ABT missed an opportunity to invoke the name of the actress with styles that would attract older women with bigger budgets. While a 38- or 42-year-old won’t be so drawn to the white halter top and denim shorts with cherry print trim, she would cotton to iterations of the after-5 dresses and gowns that Marilyn wears in most of the aforementioned films. This is the case, too, for “Niagara” and “All About Eve.”
The red, ruched frock hanging there out front is a dress, not a tunic or bathing suit in case there was any question about it. Photo by Yours Truly.
Buyer and potential buyer be aware, if yours is a thick or Rubenesque figure, there’s nothing in the Marilyn Monroe Collection that is suitable for you. Despite all of the grumbling that Marilyn’s curves would not fit into these clothes (not true, incidentally), the sizes stop at U.S. junior size 15 or XL (or 42 Europe, 14 Japan and 17 UK). Marilyn was around a women’s 12. Do note, however, that today’s 12 is significantly larger than the one of Marilyn’s day.
ABG has owned the Estate of Marilyn Monroe for about two years. Leading indicators – café and cosmetics – suggest that it may affix Marilyn’s name to myriad pop items. After all, she is a pop icon – though this should not give anyone license to plaster her name on flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict just to make a buck.
Some things in the Marilyn Monroe Collection for bodies of just about any age are T-shirts! Photo by Yours Truly.
In the works: jewelry, lingerie and shoes. It is not clear whether they will be carried by Macy’s or some other retailer. Yet another question that went unanswered by ABG’s NW. One can only hope that coming attractions are less casual, more upscale and more inclusive than the Marilyn Monroe Collection. Further, here’s to hoping that ABG can find that delicate as gossamer balance between pleasing investors and preserving the dignity of Marilyn’s name. A reality show, for instance, just would not do. It would not!
On a lighter note, at least one woman would be open to a height-appropriate interpretation of the smashing black pumps Marilyn sports in “The Misfits,” the last film she completed.
Ahhh, one of the simple things in life: Pot Roast. Photo by Jeremy Keith.
BY TAMARA FISH
TODAY, it’s just you and me here. The New York International Restaurant Show and New York Wine Expo have shuttered.
No one’s looking. No one can eavesdrop. So let’s tell the truth and shame the devil: sometimes, a good old-fashioned shepherd’s pie does the trick. Or a mess of collard greens and cornbread. Or black beans and rice with a side of platanos. Or a hunk of corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots. Or veggie stir-fry. Or lasagna. Always lasagna.
Good, basic down-to-earth cooking, nothing too froo-froo’ed, gussied up, stylized and stacked up like architecture. Not that there’s anything wrong with architecturalized food and other haute cuisine – personally, I’m a fan – but sometimes the soul calls out for the basics. Pot roast.
The same goes for wine. Yes, it’s fun to find a jewel with myriad overlapping flavors unfolding on the palate like origami in reverse. But every day? Really? That ain’t life. That’s theater. And perhaps some people would love theater every day of the week. I’d bet my bottom dollar, though, that after 10 shows even they would love to stay home one night, watch trash TV, order in, and break open a nice table wine.
How to find a nice table wine? Waltz into a reputable local wine store and ask a knowledgeable sales clerk. In my case, Jason Spingarn at Gotham Wines on New York City’s Upper West Side pointed me in the right direction. Beaming from ear to ear, he would give one the impression that he had found the elixir of long life. His choice: Casa Santos Lima’s Quinta de Bons-Ventos, Vinho Regional, Estremadura 2011. JS did not steer me wrong.
Keeping life simple and satisfying with bread, fruit, cheese. And table wine. Photo by Zsuzsanna Lilian.
True to its Portuguese roots, Quinta de Bons-Ventos, Estremadura sports a rich eggplant color typical of its famed varietal, Touriga Nacional. Not for the faint of heart, Touriga’s strong and renegade tartness (heavy tannins) are balanced by other lesser known regional varietals, creating a wine that is easy to drink and effortless to enjoy, but with enough heft to compliment most traditional home cooking.
Imagine this: not-so-sweet dark fruit – more reminiscent of sour cherry than cherry – that unexpectedly opens up, revealing a bevy of other flavors (complexity) atypical in most table wines. As the fruit taste lingers, a thread of black pepper slips in with just the slightest hint of tartness.
No need to let the bottle breathe (allowing the open bottle to sit quietly for 30 min before pouring), for the tannins are nice and smooth. Simply uncork, pour and drink, relishing the fact that the wine with the blue-and-white striped label affects your bottomline by a mere $9. Buy a case and be done with it. Literally.
A winner for the table is Quinta de Bons-Vento Vinho Regional Estremadura 2011. Photo from Casa Santos Lima.
What’s the key? Yes, the varietals, but also the wood. Portuguese winemakers never shy away from aging their glorious wines in oak. While the rest of the popular wine-drinking world seems to eschew the oak for steel, producing more of a fruit-forward or jammy style (intense fruit taste from the first sip, often with high sugar and alcohol content), the Portuguese prefer the more spicy and savory tones imparted by casks.
Now, which would you rather have with home cooking: hearty spices that compliment food, or spiked Kool-Aid? I rest my case.
Casa Santos Lima Quinta de Bons-Ventos Vinho Regional 2011
(Estremadura, Portugal)
$9 at Gotham Wines, http://www.gothamwines.com/
€5,80 online at Weingalerie, http://www.portwine.de/shop/ ... Rx
Meow Meow. Will she purr or will she roar? Photo from American Songbook Web site.
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