Straight Up | Jan Herman

The author William S. Burroughs used to say that nothing happens in reality unless a writer writes it first. I take his meaning in a metaphorical sense, but he was speaking more or less literally. So was the poet Wallace Stevens in a signature poem, “The Idea of Order in Key West”: And when she […]

Two very different kinds of reviews, and we love them both: Martin Bernheimer’s quick dissection of “Die Walküre” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Clive James’s probing analysis of “Cyrano de Bergerac” at the National’s Olivier Theatre in London. Bernheimer’s lede: The Ring fanatics are here and night after night they’re filling the house. These […]

If you haven’t heard by now, this is a reminder: “The country’s largest owner of television stations … has ordered its eight ABC affiliates not to carry tonight’s ‘Nightline’ broadcast, in which the names of hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women killed in Iraq will be read as their photographs appear on-screen.” “Nightline” anchor Ted […]

Is someone at CNN reading us (and taking notes)? You decide. CNN flashed these words across the tube on Thursday morning: “not under oath,” “no stenographer,” “no transcript,” “no recording.” Straight Up on Wednesday morning in < FONT color=#003399>LIP SERVICE: “Not under oath. Not in public. No recording. No transcript. Two note takers only.” Both […]

Give the BushCheneySloganator a try: “It’s unpredictable / I hope you have the time of your life.” If you’ve heard this joke before (and even if you haven’t), forgive us: George W. Bush, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso have all died. They arrive at the Pearly Gates more or less simultaneously. Einstein is the first to […]

Romance Mathematics Smart man + smart woman = romance Smart man + dumb woman = affair Dumb man + smart woman = marriage Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy Office Arithmetic Smart boss + smart employee = profit Smart boss + dumb employee = production Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion Dumb boss […]

To our regret, we missed “The Jesus Factor,” which knocked a friend of ours out of his chair the other night. But not to worry: “Frontline” says the whole thing will be posted Saturday online. Here’s a taste: “On the day that George W. Bush was sworn into his second term as governor of Texas, […]

The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday about whether U.S. citizens may be imprisoned without trial or legal representation if they’re declared by the little fucker to be “enemy combatants” in the war on terror. The righter-than-rightwing editorial page of The Wall Street Journal warned the court not to let its “sense of its own importance” lead it to […]

I see that fellow ArtsJournal blogger Terry Teachout “watched the first part of ‘The Letter,’ William Wyler’s 1940 film version of Somerset Maugham’s short story.” He offers faint praise: “It’s not bad, and Bette Davis (of whom I’m not usually a fan) was quite good, but I’d rather read Maugham than watch him, so I […]

Don Wycliff wants to know: “Why is the Democrat-loving, Republican-hating, pond scum-swilling, lower-than-the-rug-on-the-floor, biased, liberal [curl upper lip when pronouncing] press protecting George W. Bush?” Good question. It’s bugged me for a long time, too. To put it another way, Wycliff has an interesting take today in the Chicago Tribune on how “an inarticulate president” […]

Not under oath. Not in public. No recording. No transcript. Two note takers only. Those are the peculiar ground rules when the ventriloquist and his dummy take their act to the 9/11 commission tomorrow morning. If that’s not clear enough, a White House adviser to the dummy explains: “He is not testifying, he is talking to them. […]

Herewith the latest from Leon Freilich: INCURIOUS GEORGE “This is historic times,” he notesIn one of his more memorable quotes.The rugged cowboy CEO,Not known for his desire to know,Distrusts ideas and words alike,Shunning both on his exercise bike.

Kyle Gann, postclassical composer extraordinaire and fellow ArtsJournal blogger, says he gets no kicks from public performances of his music. So where does he get them? Alone, in the studio, writing his stuff. Here’s the stuff he writes. We get our kicks from listening to it, especially his piano studies. Stuff like “Nude Rolling Down […]

For any folks who have nothing to do and no money to do it on: There’s a free prepostclassical concert Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Alice Tully Hall (Broadway at 66th St.) in Manhattan. We have it on good authority that several postgrad Juilliard conductors are to take turns leading the Juilliard Conductors’ Orchestra in […]

We don’t usually get to read what people in the Ozarks are reading. When an editorial from last week’s Arkansas Times came our way, we realized they’re reading what we’re reading. Have a look: Scroll down to the second bullet or digest it here. It’s taken from an interview with John Hess, author of “My […]

Unless I’m wrong, pandas at the zoo get more press attention than the winners of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. This year’s winners were named over the weekend. They included Henry Wiencek in history, for “An Imperfect God,” and Ishmael Reed, who received the Robert Kirsch Award for “Blues City: A Walk in Oakland.”  Did […]

Once upon a time Ernest Hemingway wrote a tribute, “On the American Dead in Spain” (scroll to page 37), to the 800 members of the American Lincoln Brigade who gave their lives for the Republican cause against Franco’s fascists during the Spanish Civil War. His tribute begins: “The dead sleep cold in Spain tonight. … It was […]