“Trust but Verify”
In the past few weeks, we have discovered (in John Gerarde’s 1598 book The Herball) a true contemporary portrait of William Shakespeare….Apparently! An excellent new book of poems, by a promising newcomer, called Waiting for the Past…This promising newcomer is, perhaps, unlikely to win any awards, but he is full of promise nevertheless. Les femmes d’Alger (Version O) (1955), one of Picasso’s ugliest, ickiest, run-of-the-Matisse grotesques, sells for $US179m, proving again that money can’t buy brains. And one of Pablo’s intrinsically worthless and ugly series of ceramic tiles was expected earlier this year by Christie’s London to fetch up to £50,000. O Tempora, O…
Continue Reading →Essence of Dick
"Let Me Make Something Perfectly Clear" (1970 photo of Nixon by Jack E Kightlinger)
“A place in the national firmament… Greatness is more than government. To make exciting mischief or dull salt; Hazard the chance of ruin, lay on fault, Set the highest stakes through piracy But who the hell to handle it, to cut free; To build me a mad image, up to anything Other than domestically, one who’ll thus bring A welcome beard. Under my dark sun, hold hard! The one you serve was dealt the bleakest card.” (What serves power, if one’s form at flood Is splendidly bedight yet daubed with mud? And the ‘new King’…
Continue Reading →Citizen Kane
"I'd make my promises now...if I wasn't so busy arranging to keep them"
(Dir. Orson Welles) (1941) The Most Famous Best Film in the World. Stunningly modern, stunningly Big, even today: when the RKO Radio signal and production credit fades, there it is in silently screaming faux neon: CITIZEN KANE. No film has ever made good on such immense ambition, no film has ever been so radically fresh in structure, tone, staging. It may take another art form to produce something as pure in its radical and daring arrogance. The opening is a morbid montage right out of S.T.Coleridge & Hammer Horror films – a “No Trespassing” sign, unofficial thematic emblem; an ascending cyclone fence, some iron tracery and…
Continue Reading →Birthday Boy
Birthday cheer
Richard Wagner (b. 22 May 1813) Happy 202nd anniversary to the Old Fellow! We present an image of the artist as a young Lohengrin, hope Placido sings a little Swan-King today and look forward to Wagner Society SA bash on Sunday (see below). “Mein lieber Schwann!” Sunday afternoon, 24 May, the Wagner Society of SA hosted a lunch and talk by Gillian and Nicholas Braithwaite. Jill is a violinist of note and Nicholas is the highly esteemed conductor (he led ASO from 1987 to 1991), he has recorded and conducted all over the world. The Braithwaites gave a sparkling talk on the…
Continue Reading →Eurovision Song Contest
The Varnished Culture cites this as exhibit ‘A’ in our defence against a charge of snobbery. L introduced P to it some years ago and ever since, every late May, we settle down to score the finalists. TVC scores each song but has a separate scoring system we call The Euro Points System, in which extra points are given for: 1. Dry ice 2. Contortionists 3. Bad Dancing 4. Any item of Clothing being Torn Away 5. Dwarves 6. Angel Wings or Mock Flying 7. Clowns 8. Piano as Furniture 9. Bearded Ladies 10. Puffs of Smoke. Euro Drinking Game # 1: Every…
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