OMG Kevin Spacey in Richard III

Just saw Richard III at BAM with Kevin Spacey as the very bad Richard. The production was fantastic--such interesting staging, great almost-contemporary costumes, and amazing drumming (often by nearly the entire cast). The themes of the play are so timely, what with dictators tumbling around the globe. And it's just another reminder that you can do almost anything with Shakespeare. And, oh, Kevin Spacey was born to play Richard. Watch trailer here.

We Need To Talk About Kevin

I have rarely seen anything more disturbing...

Real/Surreal at the Whitney

If you have some free time this week--maybe after one of your bacs blanc--take a walk over to the Whitney (75th and Madison) and see the Real/Surreal exhibit. I think it will help you clear your minds--or maybe not! The works are kind of spooky and unsettling and will make you look at even familiar works (Edward Hopper, for example) in a different way. Read the NY Times review here.

Failed Leadership

This past Sunday, I was watching the New York Jets play against the Miami Dolphins. Even though I am an avid supporter of the Giants and tend to watch only their games, this game was crucial for the Jets, and hating this team almost as much as I love the Giants, I watched this game rooting against Gang Green. With two minutes left in the game and the Jets trailing the dolphins, New York was giving one last shot at a comeback. However, team captain Santonio Holmes, their star wid receiver, clearly did not have the same intentions. Having been passed to only once all game, Holmes showed his discontent in moody body language and complete lack of effort. At this point, some of his teammates had enough of Holmes' juvenile behavior and one of them yelled at him saying “If you don’t f------ want to play get your a-- the f--- out!”. This sparked a fight in between the two, which culminated with Holmes being taken off the field and benched in the final minutes of the game. From the bench, Holmes, in disdain, kept his attention away from the critical last plays and gave off a very non-chalant attitude as the Jets lost and their playoff hopes came to an end.

As a captain, this type of behavior is unacceptable. No matter how good an athlete might be, he, especially a captain, should never put his own personal discontent above the well-being and success of the team. A captain must lead by example and should put forth model behavior. Holmes has not only failed as a captain, but has failed his entire team and he should be punished. I look forward to seeing what will happen to Holmes during the offseason and hope that he comes to see how wrong his behavior was.

http://thejetpress.com/2012/01/02/santonio-holmes-called-a-cancer-in-locker-room/

The Importance of Dogs

This vacation, my family was forced to put my dog to sleep. He was 19 years old and after a long and happy life, he no longer had any control over the bottom half of his body (legs,bowel movements, etc.) Though he was very old and his death was bound to happen sometime soon, this event was very painful and sad for me. Not only had I ever known life without him but the bound in between a pet, especially dogs (sorry cat enthusiasts), and his owner is one that is powerful, rewarding and wonderful.

For me, the best thing about having a dog is that this little being gives its owner a separate and happy universe, in which the owner can forget about all of the problems in his life. Indeed a dog is an innocent creature, who is completely unaware of the problems that exist in society and whose concerns revolve around eating, running, sleeping and being cuddled. Whether it be an unfair grade, school stress, a sports loss or any form of disappointment, I know that when I walked into my apartment feeling bad about myself or experiencing a rough period, all of my hurt, fears, anger or sadness disappeared when my little Jack Russell terrier came running towards me, his tail waging and his happiness of seeing me exuding out of his body language and cute little face. Whether I took him in my arms and wrestled around with him, played tug of a war with him and his favorite rag or played the classic game of fetch, for those instances, I was transported into his world, one free of all worries, pain or stress. My relationship with my dog is the only one in my life that has not had its ups and downs and has truly been a source of constant pleasure and comfort for me. Even though it might be a primitive form of love, the way in which my dog loved me was impulsive and unconditional; and this was reciprocal. In a life where all relationships (friendly, romantic, family) can be very complicated and overwhelming, dogs provide their owners with a simple and loving relationship that takes very little effort, but which is so rewarding.

This is what I want to thank my dog for. I love him so much, miss him like crazy, and he will forever remain one of the best and most important elements of my childhood. RIP Fergus <3

The Counterfeiters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwr9nCurEEQ

Over the vacation, I watched The Counterfeiters, a remarkable German movie about World War II. Even though the movie is entirely in German, this element did not hinder my appreciation of this foreign masterpiece. The movie describes the story of Solomon Sorowitsch, a Jewish counterfeiter, who is sent to a concentration camp during the reign of the Third Reich. There, the Nazi's exploit his exceptional counterfeiting talent and he becomes one of the most important people to the success of Operation Bernhard, a Nazi plan to forge the British pound and the American dollar and then, from a plane, drop millions and millions worth of money into these countries, as to make the dollar and the pound worthless. The movie follows Solomon and his participation in this form of economic warfare and underlines his inner conflict as he is torn in between his desire to stay alive, and therefore helping the Nazis, and the part of him that knows what the right thing to do is: to sabotage the money and put an end to a bankrupt regime's last attempt at a financial recovery. This exciting plot will keep you at the edge of your seat and this movie accurately depicts the horrors of the concentration camps, though not too vivid and graphic, as films like Alain Resnais' Night and Fog were, and shows how the prisonners of these camps were victim to dehumanizing attitudes and cruel acts on the behalf of the inhumane Nazi officials. I recommend this movie, especially if you are interested in the Holocaust and second World War.

New Yorker spoof on snow days

Here's the link--