Kate Bush Dance Troupe, 2008. Courtesy Jennifer Sullivan

Because who doesn’t want to watch a heartfelt, quirky tribute to one of music’s most beloved, haunting eccentrics?

The Kate Bush Dance Troupe (Samara Davis, Erica Magrey, Cassie Thornton, Kate Scherer, Renata Espinosa and Jennifer Sullivan) will be performing as the closing act of choreographer Chase Granoff’s piece in Nancy Garcia/Chase Granoff at The Kitchen, November 5, 6, and 7. In addition, Garcia and Granoff will each be premiering new works inspired by sources ranging from noise and punk music to the writings of Doris Humphrey and Simone Forti.

The Kate Bush Dance Troupe is an ongoing collaborative ensemble of non-dancers who create dance performances inspired by the music and emotive movement stylings of Kate Bush.

Buy Tickets

The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street
Thursday–Saturday, November 5-7, 8pm
$12
Curated by Matthew Lyons

Michael McConnell, Slings 1, courtesy of the artist.

Tonight: Group opening at Jancar Jones Gallery in SF- Justin Beal, Lena Daly & Kate Owens. 6-9pm.

Artist Mark Dion presents a lecture about his work around scientific presentation and methodologies. Timken Hall at CCA, SF campus. 7-9pm. Free.

Friday, October 16th: Michael McConnell’s Slings and Arrows opens at Gallery BellJar in SF. 6-9pm. 

HYPERSPACES group opening at Park Life in SF: new works by Sean Mcfarland, Paul Wackers, David Kasprzak, Orion Shepherd, and James Sterling Pitt. 7-10pm

Cutters, an exhibition of international collage curated by James Gallagher, opens at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn. 7-10pm

Saturday October 17th: The newly renovated El Museo del Barrio celebrates its grand reopening with free admission and a day of music and activities. 11am-9pm.

The grand opening of SF’s contemporary art space Southern Exposure in its new location, with an inaugural exhibition, Bellwether. 4-10pm

Sunday, October 18th: artist Tamar Hirschl will hold an open studio event as part of Chelsea’s High Line Open Studios event, featuring tours of more than 100 artists’ workspaces in the center of New York’s gallery district.

Monday, October 19th: The Berkeley Center for New Media and SFMOMA presents From A to B and Back Again, a photo and video presentation by artist Candice Breitz. 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley, 7:30-9pm. Free.

Wednesday, October 21st: International curators Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Jens Hoffmann, Hou Hanru, and Dominic Willsdon participate in a panel discussion at the SF Art Institute on Global Art in the Downturn. 7:30pm. Free.

Watch out Stephen Colbert, Glenn Beck is gunning for your gig. I know a lot of people take the crazy like a toxic Fox News firebrand seriously. And I’m not suggesting he’s not a force to be reckoned with; I’m just saying the guy’s a comic genius.

Exuding a passion that falls somewhere between a latter day Jimmy Swaggert and Lonesome Rhodes, the fictional proselytizing media star immortalized by Andy Griffith in Elia Kazan’s classic 1957 film A Face in the Crowd, Beck is one of the most compelling characters to ever captivate a television audience. Of course he started on radio, first as a DJ is Connecticut and later as a syndicated talk host, one of Rush’s band of fright wing rabble rousers that have seized a powerful swath of radio real estate in recent years. But TV is the medium that truly captures Beck’s unique talents: his tears, melodramatic sobs, mock classroom struts, the kitsch visual aids including tote boards and an old fashioned blackboard always at the ready to showcase misspelled conspiracy theories. And there are those great facial contortions that can take Beck’s doughy puss from sincere to crazed in seconds flat.

So what if he shed sponsors like a house filled with Persian cats following his misconstrued comment, “I think President Obama is a racist. He has a deep hatred of white people?” People who loathe him, people who worship him, were either enraged or emboldened by that statement. But I know different. Beck is a gifted satirist. His comedy is so sophisticated, even a savvy media maven may be fooled at first. But watch him for several consecutive nights, and you’ll be hooked on his nuanced comedy, too.

I’m sure Beck was filled with shock and awe to discover his frantic faux ravings helped oust former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones and get NEA Communications Director Yoshi Seargant demoted to a backroom giglet. He must have been flabbergasted to find thousands storm the Capitol last Saturday for his parody 9/12 protest rally. The fact that he was a no-show himself is proof of his comic intentions. He was surely amused to see hordes (the thousands he’d later comically call millions) show up with misspelled jibes and threats strewn across placards as per his secret double probation instructions.

Not since Soupy Sales got kids to swipe money out of their parents’ wallets and send it to him back in the ’60’s has a media personality so affected his audience. Okay, Jerry Falwell outed and nearly blacklisted Tinky Winky, the purple, purse-toting gay teletubbie back in the ’90’s, but the less said about that ugly incident the better.

I have friends who flat-out refuse to watch Beck, insisting their heads would spin uncontrollably and, wherever she is, poor Linda Blair would start spewing nostalgic pea soup. And I must admit–especially since I tend to catch the late night re-broadcast–as I drift into slumber, my dreams have become strange. In one, I am sharing a lunch of Chicken Kiev and Smirnoff vodka shots with Michelle Obama in the middle of Rockefeller Center while Karl Marx and Keith Olbermann wander about affixing hammers and sickles to every painting, statue and tourist.

If you’re not careful, Beck’s deadpan paranoia can creep into your waking life, too. I found myself roaming the aisles of Stop & Shop the other day, locating hidden symbols of propaganda everywhere I looked. I could have sworn the Trix cereal rabbit was luring kids into a life of prostitution (with kickbacks going to the embattled organizers at Acorn); anyone with a half a brain could see Froot Loops were clearly pushing a gay agenda; and who couldn’t see Copunt Chocula was ready to indoctrinate kids into the New Black Panther Party while openly encouraging necrophilia as an alternative lifestyle?

I became slightly hysterical (a state very similar to a little bit pregnant) when I discovered Russian dressing was on sale, a clear sign of a communist plot to clog American arteries as it was brimming with more fat, cholesterol and calories than the healthier and higher priced low-fat Ranch, which symbolizes the freedom of the American west.

Flushed with fever, I fell to my knees before a display of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. the logo on the box surely signifies a socialist stampede against every kitchen and laundry room in America. Then I broke into a rash–a very RED rash–when it dawned on me: these people also make toothpaste. That’s right; there was a socialist, communist, fascist conspiracy to conquer every single American mouth! And all I could do was wait until five to turn on the TV and hear the comforting voice of that great American communicator, that true national treasure make sense of it all.

Okay, so maybe I overindulged a bit. Like with most things in life, a little Glenn Beck goes a long way. Moderation, my friend, moderation. But miss the grand Beck spectacle at your own peril, America. As the maestro of mind control would say, we have to grab the wheel of liberty before the paradigm shifts. And there’s nothing left to watch but Rachel Ray and shamwow infomercials.

Insomniacs will long for the good old days when infomercial diet Guru Susan Powter’s shrill plea to “Stop the insanity!” pulsated throughout the land.

For more commentary from Amy Beth, log onto: www.radiograffiti.blogspot.com

Tom Scott, whose Fall 2009 presentation took place in a garment district storefront transformed into a mannequin-filled drycleaning studio, took a step further in his exploration of fashion presentation as conceptual installation for his Spring/Summer 2010 collection last Thursday.

Inspired by “’some of the old-fashioned things you can find in your grandmother’s house,’” Scott upped the Fashion Week ante by moving the location of his most recent presentation out of the garment district altogether, and into Room 710 at the historic Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan’s contemporary gallery center. The hybridization of art-fair theatrics with clothing design resulted in a environment with charms hard to resist.

In a fully-furnished apartment redolent with the spirit of mid-century domesticity (complete with pink tiled tub, overstuffed couch and an array of milky glass plates filled with sweets on the sideboard), models dressed in Scott’s collection played the roles of glamorous residents in the household vignettes staged in each room. The attention-grabbing detail, beautiful light and authentic tone of the presentation almost overshadowed the understated beauty of the clothes themselves.

Taking cues from the nudes of photographers Melanie Bonajo and Georges Tony Scott, the designer showed knit separates and dresses and in muted flesh and pastel palettes that draped on or exposed on the body in unexpected ways. Notable pieces included a jersey drape-back curtain dress and sheer drape pants.

Visit Tom Scott

All photos by The Totam

Mike Sinclair, Fourth of July #2, Independence, Missouri. 30x40 inches, Archival pigment print. Courtesy Jen Bekman Gallery

Two more days to catch the 2009 First Edition of Hey, Hot Shot!, Jen Bekman Gallery’s twice-yearly showcase for emerging photographers. The exhibition opened September 9th and features the photography of Michelle Arcila, Daniel Cheek, Mike Sinclair, Parsley Steinweiss and Kurt Tong.

With the exception of Steinweiss’ large-format details of stacks of printed material, reminiscent of some of Marco Breuer’s abstractions, the works on exhibit all seemed to touch upon each photographers’ unique relationship(s) with aspects of the natural landscape.

Here are some of our favorite images:

Kurt Tong, Guangzhou Zoo II, 2007. 32x40 inches, Lambda print. Courtesy Jen Bekman Gallery

Michelle Arcila, Faering, 2007. 16x20 inches, C-Print. Courtesy Jen Bekman Gallery

Daniel Cheek, Mercey Hot Springs, Mendota, California. 2009, 8x10 inches, Gelatin silver print. Courtesy Jen Bekman Gallery

Sinclair, Tong and Arcila’s works are also available in multiple editions at 20×200.

Karen Walker tote bags given to the front rows at the show

This past Saturday was a rainy one but that didn’t stop the fashionistas from attending the Karen Walker show for New York fashion week. But underneath all those umbrellas, lucky show-goers managed to snag Karen Walker totes filled with fashion swag!!

Walker is a designer hailing from New Zealand with a definite knack for casual luxury. Her spring 2010 collection was inspired by the British television series ‘The Prisoner’ which aired in the 1960’s, and took place on a mysterious Edwardian seaside village, a prison for retired spies cached as a holiday resort. The dichotomy of an island vacation versus an island in captivity lends itself perfectly into Walker’s work. Her designs appear effortless yet put-together, masculine yet feminine, adorable yet fierce. In this way, it is clear that one of Walker’s many gifts is her ability to balance design. If there is a proper way to layer three different patterns and prints in one outfit, it is walking down her runway.

Her runway was filled with chic and playful designs. I loved the bold use of stripes and their emphasis on a loosely-fitted top or bottom. Paired with a frill or ruffle, the overbearing stripe suddenly becomes chic. The belted dress with cascading layers at the hip is forgiving to any silhouette and brings with it an air of casual elegance.

Tiered dresses, ruffled shoulders, and bubble-shaped jumpers added young coyness and youthful vibrancy to the palette. I love how the light, short, and airy dresses were anchored down with a pop of color from practical boat shoes or a dark, unbashful sock.

Walker’s command of jacket design is astounding. She showcased more than a dozen different varieties of outerwear on the runway - all made of various materials, cuts, and designs. Some tailored, some ruffled ponchos, some trenches, some capes - each jacket had a fundamental statement.

Karen Walker greets the crowd.

The show was a wonderful medley of shapes, lengths, and colors that seamlessly flowed together. To make such incongruity effortlessly harmonize on the runway is a feat that should not be taken lightly. With her stunning spring 2010 collection, Walker has managed to appeal a yacht-full of different personalities and tastes under one label.

Visit Karen Walker

Vena Cava’s Spring 2010 presentation at Milk Studios was equal parts traditional runway show, presentation and happening as models came down the catwalk, then arranged themselves on steel workladders accompanied live by Brooklyn experimental indie duo The Fiery Furnaces.

The looks centered around clean silhouettes in acid wash prints in shades of grey, black and dark brown punched up with details like nylon mesh, laser cutouts and safety-pin trim.

Some of our favorite designs included an orange cupra jersey asymmetrical minidress with a black mesh strap inset, and a sleeveless, halter duster with a rolled collar worn over washed navy leather jeans. The duster’s print was inspired by Ndebele house paintings in South Africa.

Designers Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai cited the character of Maude Lebowski as an inspiration, reflected in the styling of their models (and in Mayock’s hair!) who sported matte purple lips, Robert Clergerie shoes, black sunglasses and mystery-woman visor hats.

Clockwise from top left: Patrick Robinson, The Fiery Furnaces, Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski (photo: Merrick Morton), Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava

Visit: Vena Cava

All photos by The Totam except where credited.

Barack Obama’s up to his audaciously hopeful tricks again. First, he has the unmitigated gaul to seek affordable health care for all Americans. And now–get this–the guy wants to give a televised pep talk to America’s schoolchildren. His plan to urge kids to stay in school, study hard and do their homework has gotten some right wing politicians and commentators to cry foul while some parents vow to keep their kids home on Tuesday to avoid being subjected to the speech.

Sanctioning hooky playing, obviously, undermines the purpose of such a speech. And the hysteria surrounding it is just that–hysterical. A Republican friend (admittedly a moderate) reminded me that the first President Bush made a similar speech in 1991 encouraging science education. At the time, some Democrats decried it as political maneuvering, but there was little brouhaha from parents and the speech went off without much fanfare.

President Obama is under greater scrutiny, it seems, and greater suspicion. Fright wing commentators like Glenn Beck have been warning people for days, “He’s out to grab your kids!” This whole notion that Obama, as Cult Leader-in-Chief is out to indoctrinate America’s youth, claiming them for his socialist agenda is outrageous. One of my favorite explanations for the widespread panic came from former Gingrich staffer turned commentator/PR maven Tony Blankley, who said on CNN last Friday night, “Obama has to fight his image as ‘The One,’ ‘The Chosen.’”

This stuff would be laughable if a lot of sacred, ignorant people didn’t believe it. What are they afraid of exactly? Maybe Obama will use that old movie theatre technique of running subliminal messages. Instead of prompting people to buy popcorn and candy, perhaps messages urging kids to “support health care,” ” cash your social security checks” and “send letters through the U.S. postal service” can run while he speaks of the practical and intrinsic values of academic rigor.

I have no problem, by the way, with educators and parents reading transcripts or screening the actual speech before airing it to classrooms. Some of the controversy has stemmed from the teaching materials that were to coincide with the speech. The original curricular aides included an activity in which students would write ways they could help the President reach his goals for the nation. Here’s where those looking through socialist tinted glasses got all clammy and bombastic and turned to Fox News for comfort. So the revised plan supposedly asks kids to write down their own academic and personal goals. This does seem safer. However, there is nothing wrong, nothing socialistic about the President asking students to become civic minded; there is nothing sinister about our top elected official nurturing national pride. Remember the famous Kennedy quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country?”

The thing people have to realize is whether you voted for him or not, President Obama is our President (and not to add salt to the right wing’s wounds–he did get more votes than any President in history). As President he has certain ceremonial privileges that transcend party lines and politics. As President he is afforded the opportunity to host foreign dignitaries, throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game, pardon Thanksgiving turkeys and speak to American students on the value of education. Given the ignorant reaction, more presidents should have availed themselves of this opportunity in past years.

I read another blogger’s take on the subject with both amusement and dismay. “It’s probably okay if he speaks about education. It’s probably not that dangerous,” he wrote. “But I’m keeping my kids home that day anyway because it just smells a little fishy.”

Sorry, but if something smells fishy, I suggest you check your kid’s lunchbox. You’ll probably find an old soggy half-eaten tuna sandwich.

For more commentary from Amy Beth Arkawy, check out: www.radiograffiti.blogspot.com

Gratis champagne at Lord & Taylor / the adorable cupcakes from the Glamour Treats Truck

The highly anticipated Fashion’s Night Out event that took over New York City Thursday night flashed by in a flurry of shopping, champagne, and models. Follow my journey around Manhattan for the evening.

A still from Jasmin Shokrian's video / courtesy of the designer

I started off the night at Jasmin Shokrian’s video screening of her Draft No. 17 collection. Her latest designs, which will span four seasons, are based on the concept of a slip dress turned into tops, dresses, skirts, etc. Each piece is inspired by the influential ladies in her life. A part of each woman’s spirit, as experienced by Jasmin, is encapsulated in fabric and formed into a garment. The video showcased the actual women that had triggered the collection including actress China Chow, painters Rebecca Morris and Jennifer Rochlin, and fashion designer Mary Ping.

Next it was off to the Meatpacking District to see what else FNO had to offer. Ikea was kind enough to set up a lounge in the middle of the cobblestone streets to offer fashionista girls a place to rest their heels (or at least that was my take on it).

The massive crowds at Tory Burch and Theory

We popped into Theory and it was jam-packed. I’m not sure that people could have even looked at merchandise because there were so many live mannequins crowding the floor. One girl bragged that she bought a jacket (which she was already donning) just so she could get a glass of free champagne.

Along the way to Tory Burch, we spotted the Treats Truck that was sponsored by Glamour magazine and helped ourselves to free cupcakes. How cute!! - “Live for Glamour.”

Tory Burch was overflowing with people both outside and inside. That is probably because Tory Burch teamed up with La Esquina and set up an outdoor taqueria outside her storefront. They dished out free grilled corn and quesadillas all night!! Tory also offered buckets of free Fiji water in addition to the alcoholic beverages inside.

We then headed up to Lord & Taylor for the Vogue event. Liberal amounts of alcohol were being passed out on all floors of this department store and it was definitely necessary. Turns out bigger is not always better because the event seemed basically empty as it was dispersed all throughout the store.

Then we decided to check out Sean John. This was the only event that had a velvet-rope with boys and girls lining up dutifully behind it, hoping to get in. Luckily we had a piece of gum, offered it to the “bouncer”, and stepped right in. The store was packed and everyone was rocking their urban attire (which includes wearing sunglasses at night). The deejay was playing hip-hop hits and some orange drink (most likely mixed with Ciroc) was being served at the bar.

Metal mesh necklace and denim leggings at BCBG

Afterwards, we stepped next door to BCBG and finally did a little shopping! I found this gorgeous Metal Mesh necklace that wears like a glamorous bandana. BCBG also offered a fun array of ponte riding pants and denim leggings.

And with that, let Fashion Week commence!

Organic's spring 2010 presentation

The dark recesses of the famed midtown steakhouse Keens hosted Organic’s spring 2010 presentation earlier today. The collection is designed by John Patrick and in just a handful of seasons, Patrick has created a label that has a strong voice as well as a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nomination under its belt.

Straight out of a scene from Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, Organic’s troop of models lolled and lounged on a stage area and nearby leather banquettes while Shalom Harlow stood nearby at the century old bar in a crisp cotton suit. The girls were mesmerizing, with lush pin-curled hair (courtesy of hairstylist Odile Gilbert), matte red lips (by Gucci Westman) and holding stares (their own). The atmosphere as well as the clothes was highly addictive. Cotton seersucker was abundant and appeared as a casual blazer with rolled up sleeves (an Organic staple) and as a shawl-collared jacket complete with matching shorts. A Laura Ashley lilac floral print graced a 1940’s day dress silhouette finished with shoulder pads. Heavier fabrics were offset by a gorgeous sheer camp shirt in a washed silk chiffon cut splendidly with fuller sleeves. Sumptuous and sustainable, Patrick’s line goes entirely beyond the notion of the organic cotton t-shirt, producing a full collection of beautiful clothing that just happens to be good for the Earth as well.

Shalom Harlow at the bar

All images by the Totam

Visit Organic by John Patrick

Meryl Streep as Julia Child

Nora Ephron missed the gravy boat. Had she chopped off the Julie half of her new film Julie and Julia, while adding a little more spice to the Julia half, she could have cooked up a truly delicious bio-pic of celebrated chef Julia Child. And probably handed Meryl Streep her third long overdo Oscar in the process. Meryl may still get the nod as she magically transforms into the awkwardly lovable Child, embodying her every mannerism, her voice, her height.

Sharing a seat at Julia’s table in Paris in the early 1950’s, watching her eat up the food, the people, the romantic city itself is delectable. Unfortunately, our five star tour takes several jarring 2002 detours to Julie Powell’s drab apartment over a pizzeria in Queens. Julie (in another journeyman performance by Amy Adams) is a frustrated writer who escapes her dreary and draining bureaucratic job by preparing Julia’s classic recipes. Egged on by her adorable and saintly husband, she decides to finish 500 plus recipes in a a year’s time and blogs about it. She goes about her project with a great deal of zeal and a grating (and not in that yummy Pecorino Romano way) spoonful of kvetching. She complains to her hubby, her mother and her far more successful friends. The trouble is we’ve seen this sort of thing before. Hey, some of us have even lived it (well, maybe not the part about making all those recipes). The book upon which this half of the film is based — which is supposed to be based on a true story–may be funny and heartfelt, but on the screen it doesn’t make for a very satisfying meal.

Every time Julie drops a duck breast or laments lassoing a live lobster, I yearn to return to Paris where Julia is dazzling her classmates at the Cordon Bleu while circumventing the snarky woman who runs the school, making demo dinners for her sweet hubby ( the always winning Stanley Tucci), or meeting the quirky characters who will become her cookbook collaborators.

The Julia Child story is filled with so many exotic flavors, so many juicy details. Yet Ephron–hellbent on making a movie about the power of happy matrimony (she does offer a smattering of sweet and savory love scenes)–serves only an amuse bouche. We get a morsel here, a nibble there. Her husband is a diplomat, but we never know exactly what he does. He gets summoned back to Washington, where he’s subjected to a grilling from Sen. McCarthy’s henchman and in short order receives assignments to one unglamourous outpost after another. There is Julia’s contentious relationship with her staunch Republican father and an enjoyable visit from her sister (a nice turn by Jane Lynch). All of these ingredients could be more prominently featured, but there isn’t enough time. We have to, after all, get back to Queens where Julie is angsting over aspics and blubbering over burnt beuf bourginon.

I’m sure another filmmaker will be tempted to serve a five course, five star film–one that captures the richly textured layers of Julia Child’s fascinating life. Sad to say, Meryl Streep’s not apt to be in that one. Maybe Emma Thompson can sink her teeth into Julia. Or Joan Cusack. ( Sorry, Dan Aykroyd, you had your chance on Saturday Night Live). And the service could be faster than you think. Remember those two brilliant Truman Capote films a few years ago? Capote–which came out first–garnered most of the attention and accolades, including an Oscar for Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Toby Jones’ Infamous–lighter and more spot-on–was quickly relegated to DVD and certainly worth adding to your NetFlix list.

If you want to indulge in a foodie movie that will make your mouth water for both the menu and characters, take a bite out of Big Night, the 1996 film about Italian immigrant brothers trying to make a go of the restaurant biz and preparing for a visit by crooner Louis Prima in 1950’s California. Come to think of it this one was co-scripted and co-directed by Stanley Tucci (and Campbell Scott), who also stars as one of the brothers. I sense a party game: 360 degrees (at 2 hours and 14 mins) of Stanley Tucci.

A wafer thin confection, Julie and Julia, is still worth the price of admission thanks to Meryl Streep’s scrumptious performance. Just don’t expect a cinematic feast. Instead you’ll enjoy a tasty snack. One that will leave you hungry for more. And less.

For more commnetary from Amy Beth Arkawy, check out: www.radiograffiti.blogspot.com

Inside the Dossier shop

the Dossier shop in Fort Greene, Brooklyn / Zac Posen's alligator Dossier tote bag

Skye: Yeah, the idea in the beginning was to sort of create a forum for creative people. The first issue in particular is lots of people we know and friends of family. As we have continued the magazine we have expanded beyond that. A lot of contributors now are people we don’t know or people who have come to us and a lot of people we profile are also people we don’t personally know.

Who is the most exciting person who has come and approached you about a submitting a peice?

Skye: While we were working on the first issue, we were discussing with a friend of a friend about what we were doing and all of a sudden Zac Posen came to us with a story that he had styled to see if it was something we would be interested in. Obviously we were super interested and Zac is now a contributing editor for the magazine.

Do you see a reflection of the magazine in the store?

Skye: Oh, yes definitely. Because it is a really small space, we focus on very high end vintage and young local designers. In starting the store, we have been able to get to know a lot of those designers. Samantha Pleet, for example, contributed to this coming issue of the magazine. Jewelry designer Pamela Love is also a contributing editor the magazine. So a lot of the people who have contributed to the store are also a part of the magazine.

Art books and carnival masks / A vintage Saks Fifth Avenue cocktail dress

Tell us a little bit about how you three gals who are also friends work together.

Skye: I think our tastes and interests are definitely different. Katherine is a real vintage fanatic so she takes care of the vintage aspect of the store. Because I work in fashion as a photographer, I help bring in the new clothes and also get a lot of the photo books that are in the store. The third partner of the magazine, Molly, does the ad sales of the magazine. Molly also comes out of the art world, so she gets a lot of the amazing, esoteric art books that we have. The store is like a mix/mesh of all of our different interests.

Do you feel any pressure?

Skye: This is the fourth issue of the magazine, so we don’t really feel as much pressure with it as we do with the store. I remember after the first issue of the magazine came out we were like, “We have to do that again?” And it’s the same thing now with the store – we came out, we did spring, everything was great, we got a great response, and now we are like “We have to switch everything out for fall and do it all again?”

What has owning a shop taught you?

Skye: I think we are learning a lot as we go along. Really our goal for the store is to just put things that we think are interesting and for the most part that has been working out so far. I mean we’ve definitely had some surprises in terms of things that we’ve been like, “I was sure that someone would buy that,” especially with some of the beautiful vintage pieces. Or certain pieces of jewelry - we’re like, “That’s so weird that this is still here.” But we are learning more about our customer as we go.

Has the customer mutated much from what you had expected?

Skye: We do a kind of artsy, fashiony, mish-mosh magazine so we get a lot of artsy, fashiony, mish-mosh people. I guess, the only people that we didn’t, for whatever reason, that we hadn’t thought about – were students from Pratt…which seems silly that we didn’t think about that. But we do get a lot of customers from Pratt.

If you could choose one item in the store to keep, what would it be and why?

Skye: I love this Pamela Love claw cuff. It is amazing. And I love this necklace designed by Aesa.

Aesa necklace and Pamela Love Claw Cuff

Tell us a little bit about your tote project.

Skye: We did a project last year where we gave our tote bags - just the basic bags that we use for our store with our logo on it – to various artists and designers to customize. We had lots of different people, musicians, artists, stylists, and it was pretty cool what people chose to do. We got about 200 of them back and they were on sale through our website.

Scorpio pillow (and other signs) available only at Dossier

Say hello to Skye and her partners at the Dossier store located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn at 244 DeKalb Avenue or visit them virtually here. The fourth issue should be appearing within the next three weeks. Pre-order your copy here or be on the lookout at your local newsstands.

All photos by The Totam

Maybe it’s the diet pills that have Rush Limbaugh dishing out a combustible stew of red meat propaganda, fear mongering and Nazi name calling. The blow hard radio host, who claims to have dropped eighty plus pounds in mere months, can’t stop making ludicrous comparisons between President Obama and Adolph Hitler. To be fair, Rush also likes to call Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a Nazi, too. Just last week he said of his critics, “Why can’t we NOT use Hitler?”

Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s irresponsible and incendiary. Media Matters the watchdog website that tracks all media has archived all of Limbaugh’s defamatory dirges, as well as those of other bloviators like Michael Savage and Glenn Beck (who has been hemorrhaging sponsors from his Fox News Channel show since his incredulous comment, “I think the President is a racist. He has a deep hatred of white people”). But besides MSNBC–where Keith Olbermann stands guard nightly as liberal pit bull–the mainstream media has largely ignored all the rampant racist rabble rousing.

My advice to friends who bemoan such shows is usually to ignore them, too. Change the station, read a newspaper, pick up a book. I’m a big proponent of the First Amendment. I don’t condone censorship; though I try to use and encourage others to engage in self-censorship every once in a while. I’m a radio talker myself. I know the drill. No matter what you say, you’ll never make everyone happy. That’s not the gig. And I know fans will say these guys are just entertainers, provocateurs; they’d say I’d be more successful if I were more outrageous, more obnoxious, more conservative.

That’s probably a fair assessment. But along with the power, afforded by all that wattage behind the microphone, comes some responsibility. To facts, verbiage, society. And when radio hosts–particularly syndicated stars who captivate millions every day–cook up undeniably racist rancor, they must be publicly chastised for it. By those of us in the media.

Limbaugh–who also fueled the whack job ” Birthers” Summer of Obama’s Dubious Citizenship–knows exactly what he’s doing. He wants to work his Ditto Heads into a frenzy. He’s content to sit back, munch on his diet dinners as he watches the petulant parade of the misinformed storm the Health Care Reform Town Hall Meetings in the name of righteous indignation. He loves it when they show up with signs brandishing Swastikas, slogans calling for bloodshed and defaced pictures of Obama with Hitler mustaches.

He rejoices when some nutso burns a Congressman in effigy; when another yahoo shows up at one of these standing room only shout fests with a loaded gun strapped to his ankle in places like New Hampshire and Arizona where such potentially dangerous behavior is inexplicably allowed (and some right-wing Congressmen go on TV, and cloaked in the Second Amendment, actually defend the practice).

Rush has never been one to let pesky facts get in the way of a robust rant; he tosses around “death panels” with fear mongering aplomb and uses fascism, socialism and communism interchangeably without ever explaining the concepts. I don’t think he’s ever outlined the nuts and bolts of the proposed plans or let anyone else do so. Remember, Limbaugh is the guy who called Obama “halfrican American” and stirred the Rev. Wright pot during the campaign.

He’s never disguised his disdain for the President. Put simply: he wants to take Obama down. He’s said from day one, “I want Obama to fail.” I can’t think of a more un-American comment. Had some loco lefty (and there probably was) said that about Bush, Rush and his bunch would have splattered red, white and blue paint all over his/her “unpatriotic” tongue.

Look, I don’t believe in ambush broadcasting. I decried the ex-Air America host–whose name eludes me as her career was quickly kicked to the curb–who called for Bush’s assassination a few years ago, too. I think those so-called “911 Truthers”– who’ve been spewing all sorts of unsubstantiated garbage claiming Bush and Cheney orchestrated the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history all over the Internet for nearly a decade–are deplorable. Irresponsibility and hatred know no party lines.

Those of us in the media have an obligation to vet the facts and be honest with our readers, listeners and viewers. We should encourage spirited, but respectful conversations that create a mosaic of voices that don’t sound like an echo. As Don Russell, a venerable talk host I had the privilege to work with on WGCH Radio always said, “We can disagree without being disagreeable.”

That’s not as provocative, not as entertaining, I guess. But after a summer of tumult, largely caused by hatred and misinformation, I think it’s time to do a reverse Emeril and kick it back a few notches. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even learn something. We might even get a real Health Care Reform bill passed.

Rebecca Taylor's faux-fur vest & Chloé's thigh-high suede boots

One such trend is the thigh-high boot. Think Pretty Woman. With shorts and skirts becoming ever more mini, these puppies will certainly be a head-turner. It is in these rare instances that the more coverage, the more scandalous. If you don’t have the legs of a runway supermodel, opt for above-the-knee length boots that will actually have a slimming effect on your thighs!! These super cute suede boots by Chloé are laced up along the back and fastened on the side with a metal buckle.

Another must-have item will be the fur vest. If you have started your fall shopping, than you already know about this trend. And you have most likely already imagined yourself walking down a tree-bordered leafy sidewalk on a crisp, cool day in October in a long-sleeved mini-dress, casually covered by an unassuming, shaggy fur vest (which is actually the centerpiece of your outfit), while touting a leather messenger bag that is effortlessly strapped across your torso. I tried on this faux-fur vest from Rebecca Taylor and nearly had a heart attack thinking of all the possible outfits this beauty could accentuate.

If you are anything like me, you have probably been programmed to shun the concept of shoulder pads. Who wants the broad shoulders of a man? Well guess what - big shoulders are back…and in a big way. As we are stepping back into the 80’s, keep in mind that the louder the jacket, the better.

Alice & Olivia & Top Shop's military jacket offerings

Michael Jackson military-inspired jackets will not only be an important ode to the late King of Pop but they are also tres in-style this season! Fall in line with some extra flair from elaborate embellishments and oversized epaulettes via Alice & Olivia’s shrunken military jacket.

When I walked into Top Shop last month, I spent over an hour trying on and examining every single sequined trophy jacket that they offered. I love the youthful, unpremeditated look of three-quarter sleeved blazers - and ones that are covered in sequins are no exception. These jackets are the perfect accompaniment to a casual t-shirt and ripped jeans look during the day or over a scanty dress in the evening.

Two years ago, you might have thought these pieces only belonged in the world of high-fashion. This season, however, they are a necessary addition to every wardrobe. With a great pair of thigh-high boots, a fur vest, and an embellished jacket - you will be perfectly (and fashionably) covered for the upcoming fall season.

For more of Jean Hsu’s Essential Luxuries, please visit www.jeanjhsu.com

TONIGHT, August 20th: Artists’ reception for Trains and Trips from Cement to Cemetery at Heist Gallery, featuring Peter Feigenbaum’s model-railroad-scale depiction of outer-borough NYC in the 1980s, and eerie woodland paintings by Marissa Bluestone.

Friday, August 21st: EAI Project Space at X-Initiative presents a video tribute to the late Merce Cunningham, featuring works by Charles Atlas, Nam June Paik and Shigeto Kubota. Noon-8pm, free.

San Francisco artists Lisa Rybovich Cralle and Jessalyn Aaland’s Good News opens at Painted Bird, with music by Jealousy. 8-10pm. Thru Sept. 11th.

Saturday, August 22nd: The 8th annual San Francisco Zine Fest celebrates small-press and DIY publications from the Bay Area and beyond this weekend. At the SF County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park thru Sunday, August 23rd, 11am-6pm, free.

Sunday, August 23rd: One of our favorite storytellers, Juliet Wayne, is spinning a 40-minute tale, “The Moron Years,” about her life which is already the stuff of legend. If you haven’t seen her at various performance events around NYC or Philadelphia, don’t miss your chance this weekend. 6pm, Cornelia Street Cafe, $10. (via Jeff Simmermon)

Monday, August 24th: Your last week to catch I Don’t Believe in Miracles, a group exhibition focusing on the natural elements curated by Alana Celii at Space Womb gallery in Long Island City. Open Thursday-Monday.

Here are a few pairs that have caught my eye:

Sretsis Acid Jeans

Hailing from Bangkok, we have the Agyness denim legging hybrid from the brand Sretsis (which is SISTERS spelled backwards!). The comfort of leggings in a worn-out acid-washed, ripped, 80’s-inspired look.

Want a more classic, clean look? Check out Adriano Goldschmeid’s version of the denim legging - the Tights. Notice the button closure is replaced by a slimming elastic waist band (that doesn’t gather). These pants are literally slipped on just like leggings! The stretch denim conforms to your legs to create a skinny silhouette and will fool anyone into thinking you were wearing a real pair of five-pocket jeans.

Adriano Goldschmeid's The Tights & Nobody's P 2621 Grinder Jean

If it’s not super tight and stretchy, the next best way to wear your jeans is big and baggy. Inspired by the blue-collar worker, this is not your typical boyfriend jean (that only looks good on J. Crew models). Take the boy-fit jeans from Nobody, an Australian label that takes true value in denim engineering, quality Japanese denim, and works to never construct a brand identity. I especially like the tough look of the P 2621 Grinder - there is something to be said about a woman who can pull off this manly, worn-in pant. Wear with feminine pride.

Warehouse's Denim Harem Jean

With denim looking so unique and so effortless, my leggings may need to take a backseat this season!!

For more of Jean Hsu’s Essential Luxuries, please visit www.jeanjhsu.com

-Last week the 2009 Teen Choice Awards hit the airwaves. As expected Britney Spears, the Jonas Brothers, and the cast of Twilight (who won 11 trophies) made those teenage girls on the barricade scream like crazy and of course MILEY CYRUS. I don’t understand why the majority of youth act like Miley Cyrus is Mother Theresa, like seriously? I even scold my niece for praising this girl too much, I mean tears in her eyes for Miley?? C’mon!!

So the show started and Robert Pattinson of Twilight accepted the trophies, the Jonas Brothers made the girls and gays scream, and then, there came the lady in short shorts and boots, singing in a very slutty way. “Is that Britney?” I asked myself, and a big O-M-G pops in my mind. It’s Miley Cyrus. No doubt she’s rockin’ the house but wait… is that an ice cream cart? Ooooo how cute!.. oh!! Miley went on the top and??? WHAT!!!!!! Is this really happening?? She was dancing on the pole on top of the ice cream cart?? Oh-no she didn’t! VERY INAPPROPRIATE!! Seriously, I’m over her. I don’t want my niece to watch her again and have an idea that being a stripper at the age of 16 is cool. I’m done with Cyrus. NEXT!!!

-Comedienne and reality star, Kathy Griffin attended The Teen Choice Awards hand-in-hand with her new toy-boy slash baby-daddy slash the Paris Hilton of Wasilla, Alaska: MR. LEVI JOHNSTON. Yup, the banger of Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol. The 19-year-old cutie and the queen of reality TV both posed for the camera and showed the youth audience the love and connection between them. Levi even planted a kiss on Kathy’s rosy botox-ed cheeks! Isn’t that COUGAR-iffic!! Love it!

- Speaking of being COUGAR-iffic. The Queen of Pop, Madonna celebrated her 51st birthday with her 22 year-old toy-boy Jesus Luz last Sunday. The Madonna clan celebrated at “my pals” (hehe) Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabanna’s private villa in the luxury Italian resort town of Portofino. Cheers to Madonna! Happy Birthday Madge!

-A video of Channing Tatum strip dancing hit the world wide web, specifically in the You Tube arena, last week. Channing, who is starring in the new GI JOE movie, makes me and my sister so excited. He’s not just a good actor but also a sizzling good dancer as well. Shake that booty, hun!! Yea baby!!

Get your daily Martin Torres fix at: www.martinsphere.blogspot.com

Reaching out to the American people at www.whitehouse.gov

For the past two weeks the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have been saturating YouTube, town halls and news shows in an attempt to gain lost ground in the battle of public perception of health reform. The Obama team and liberal Democrats are attempting to avoid the failures of 1992 when closed-door negotiations allowed congressional Republicans to gain the upper hand in the framing of the public health care debate. Yet despite the Obama administration’s large popularity and direct-to-the-public YouTube and town-hall-style meetings, many of those same 1990’s terms, attitudes and general fear of change are beginning to weigh down any possibility of meaningful reform.

Watching Neil Cavuto on Fox News this Saturday, I heard the words “You should be fearful,” over four times in reference to the health reform package in just a twenty-minute span. Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said this weekend of the public plan, “This public plan, this public government plan, don’t think for a minute that that will not destroy the current insurance system.” And Sarah Palin somehow remains relevant by making her “Death Panels” remark about a section of the bill that would have provided government funding for optional counseling on end-of-life care issues such as hospice.

The climate of fear is beginning to drown out the administration’s message of hope. Over the weekend, comments by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the public option was “not the essential element” of comprehensive reform, and those by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that Obama “will be satisfied” if the private insurance market has “choice and competition” show that the administration is largely losing ground.

To be fair, President Obama has long said that the public plan was not a mandate, and that it was more important to get a meaningful plan out of Congress than a public option. But (and I think I speak for many here) we all hoped it was a bluff! We hoped that Obama was going to coax this public plan through by not being dictatorial. None of us thought that he actually meant it!

Whether or not a public plan was a priority of the administration or not, the public concessions by the White House show an administration that is back on its heels in public perception, at least in terms of health care. The President is also fast losing a core base in the health care debate. Although many liberal Democrats will support health care reform even without a public option, they may lose their will to support the White House so passionately in the future.

So why is the Obama administration losing “the hearts and minds” of the American people in this war of words? For one, those opposing health care reform have long had the framework for presenting these issues to Americans. Words like “socialism,” “government-run,” and that most evil of labels “Canadian” have long been ingrained in the American psyche.

Secondly, although the Obama grassroots team is second to none in getting its message directly to the people (often avoiding the press altogether – i.e. town halls and YouTube), the President is not so good when it comes to using the press. Ronald Reagan is often thought of the prototypical people’s President. However, it is more accurate to call him the press’ President. The Obama administration, on the other hand, is often quite removed and distrustful of the press. This statement may sound ludicrous in reference to a President who has given more press conferences in six months than any other President in a full term. However, the Obama administration also controls press access to the President and White House information more tightly and effectively than any administration in recent history. (Read this piece from Vanity Fair.) This has lead to a stressful and a sometimes passive aggressive relationship between the administration and the press. The problem is that those who get their news from traditional sources, such as newspapers and cable television, are having that information interpreted by an increasingly skeptical press corps (This is not such a bad thing after the press being asleep in the early 2000s).

Finally, the most pressing problem for health care reform is the simple reality that people hate to pay for things that someone else is going to use. Look in any tax district in the country. Single people dislike school taxes; young people don’t like medicare taxes; and employed people hate unemployment taxes. If someone is insured, they don’t want to pay for someone who is uninsured. The most difficult and most important message that the administration needs to sell each American worker is that giving everyone health care (and paying for it) will make that individual worker’s life and her family’s lives better. Your tax dollars aren’t paying for someone else. This is how we stomach, after much complaining, what we pay through work health insurance, “I am paying this for my family, not someone else’s.”

In the end, no amount of publicity, political wrangling, and ethical argument is going to make all sides happy with the resulting legislation. However, health reform is without a doubt the most important legislation that this administration will deal with and the Obama administration and Democratic Congress are going to have to draw lines in the sand and take some very real risks if they want to in push through meaningful legislation. Compromise can be a tool but not the end game.

Partygoers outside of Oak in Williamsburg

A ‘zine party held at Oak NYC’s Williamsburg, Brooklyn store was the perfect way to start the weekend last Friday night. Fake Orange, a smallish flip book style ‘zine of xeroxed artwork held an art show of a dozen or so rising artists in the back room, while music was provided by DJ Japanster (spinning Depeche Mode and Talking Heads). Edward Gorey-esque illustrations of odd amorphous creatures by Megan Galante hung near Ellen Frances‘ curious black and white photography and graphics. Projections of a fashion shoot flickered above the makeshift bar which served champagne to an overflowing room of guests. Oak which is known for its tightly curated clothing and accessories by Alexander Wang, Acne, and a long roster of other indie designers proved their adeptness at blending fashion with art and music as exhibited at this multimedia event.

Photography and graphics by Ellen Frances

Fake Orange's artwork held court in the back room.

Copies of the Fake Orange zine

Projections and champagne

Lots of black clothing at the Oak Williamsburg outpost

Oak is located at 208 North 8th St in Brooklyn, NY.

Bill Clinton, the political Elvis

Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better. Former President Clinton, our undisputed political Elvis, swoops in and rescues two American damsels in distress from twelve treacherous years in a North Korean prison. He flies them home aboard Hollywood mogul Steve Bing’s luxury jet, landing in–of all places–Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.

The unofficial rescue mission/photo op with Kim Jung Il, North Korea’s erratic, ailing mad man, was clearly orchestrated by the Obama administration’s chief diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is married to the charismatic former Commander-in-Chief. For reasons–both pragmatic and romantic–Big Bill garnered all of the attention and all of the accolades. Meanwhile Hill and Obama took hits from conservatives for caving to a crazy man. Among the bitter bunch doling out the sour grapes, you have to love John Bolten, the former (sort of) U.N. Ambassador–a hard line liar who pushed Bush’s phony Iraq agenda with aplomb–fretting over the ”dangerous precedent” Clinton’s mission sent to adversaries.

First of all, there really isn’t a new precedent here. Former President Carter, former Ambassador Bill Richardson and Jesse Jackson have all made such trips in the past. And nothing was promised. Whether Clinton even apologized is still up for grabs. But what if he did? Big whoop. Hillary offered a tepid “sorry if they trespassed” weeks earlier. North Korea got their silly little picture; we got our two innocent journalists back. Sounds like a good deal to me. I say, fit Bubba for a cape and let him roam around the world in his new Super Hero gig. He can start by fetching the three backpackers in Iran. The naysayers can’t stomach a feel-good story without a right wing avenger. If John McCain–or their mavericky cover girl Sarahcuda–made the same mission, they’d be singing a different patriotic tune.

Of course in Hollywood you got to keep ‘em busy at the concession stand, and that means you need enough back stories and B stories to keep the popcorn popping. And with Bill Clinton in the picture the stories are endless. One presumably bitter supporting player has to be Al Gore, Bubba’s Veep who many still believe was cheated out of the top spot in 2000 courtesy of a Supreme mistake. Others contend the election never would have been so close had Gore not suffered from voter backlash for his boss’ bad behavior. Gore, who is now the head of Current TV which employs the rescued journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, wasn’t glamorous enough to get the emissary nod. He had to stand tall with a polite second banana smile affixed to his face while the journalists praised their liberator, their hero: Bill Clinton.

Everyone withers in the shadow of Bubba, the global rock star. Even his wife, the Secretary of State. A week after Bill’s international heroics, Hillary Clinton, a formidable figure in her own right–former First Lady, former New York senator, former presidential contender (some say she was robbed of her shot by another charismatic fellow)–erupted into a jealous snit during a Q&A in the Congo. Through a translator, a student asked, ”What does Mr. Clinton think through the mouth of Mrs. Clinton,” about a Chinese loan proffer to the Congolese government? Hillary snapped and barked back, “You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband’s not the Secretary of State. I am. I’m not channeling my husband.”

Forget that the translator got it wrong; the student was actually asking what President Obama thought. Forget that Hillary and the student shared a handshake and laugh later. The damage had already been done. Cable news channels made a sport of the incident, going to the video replay with snarky regularity and offering commentators the chance to note Hill’s “ill-fitting purple-blue suit,” her ” bad hair day,” her “jealous rage.”

Supporters dismiss the outburst as a misunderstanding fueled by jet lag and a grueling schedule including the Congo mission which involves battling poverty, disease and an epidemic of sexual violence. You know, all those down and dirty details of diplomacy that most–on both the left and right–would agree Hillary Clinton is usually quite deft at handling.

Maybe Hillary was miffed she couldn’t be with Bill as he celebrated his 63rd birthday. Maybe she was worried just what her famously high-spirited hubby was doing in Vegas with his cheeky cronies that he hoped would stay in Vegas.

There’s certainly enough Clinton drama (and comedy) to keep Hollywood writers and arm-chair therapists busy for generations to come. What’s not lost in translation? Bubba’s back. And he’s ready to rock the world at a moment’s notice.

For more observations and comments please visit Amy Beth Arkawy at: www.radiograffiti.blogspot.com

Two looks from Kate Spade's new clothing line

“She packed her tote and hit the road,” the Joan Didion-esque caption reads next to one of the looks from Kate Spade’s new clothing collection. The wool A-line marigold shift worn under a boxy short sleeve jacket is part of a fashion time machine that is firmly parked in 1962, the year Kate Spade herself was born. Polka dots, sequins and scalloped lace are also abundant, adorning classic shapes which are paired with unexpected colors (lilac for fall?). Ironically for a brand which heralded the minimalist accessories movement in the early 90’s with boxy black nylon handbags, Kate Spade has evolved into one of the few labels that does color and print very precisely.

The Madeleine Dot Ruffle Placket Dress

Over the years the brand has slowly introduced a scattering of tops, dresses and coats to complement their wildly popular handbags and shoes, though this is definitely the largest and most thought out clothing collection so far. The looks are all very office appropriate, that is if people still dressed this way to go to work. The culture of contemporary work attire has somehow allowed for things like flip-flops to make their way into the office and Kate Spade is notably addressing this issue one ladylike trench coat at a time. A standout piece is the Bisous Stella Chubbie, a plush faux-fur jacket with a removable collar and three-quarter length sleeves.

Zooey Deschanel seems to be their unofficial muse (note the model’s bangs, blue eyes and quirky vintage style). Though avoid the literal vintage over-saturation and stick to one piece at a time. The look book’s suggestions are paired with dark denim, crisp white shirts, a smattering of costume jewelry (Kate Spade as well) and above all a sense of humor.

The Bisous Stella Chubbie

The Embellished Gail Dress worn under the Bisous Michelle Jacket

The Debora Peacoat worn over the Dot Maggie Top

Kate Spade clothing is available at Kate Spade.

Slideluck Potshow's attendees mingle before the slideshow.

Slideluck Potshow is a non-profit organization formed around two great ideas: food and art. Last night in New York City’s spacious Canoe Studios in Chelsea, SLPS put on its thirteenth NYC show. The event started, as the name would suggest, with a potluck dinner. Guests were asked to bring a dish and/or drink to share. I arrived about an hour later than the 6:30pm starting time, but there was still enough food around, a grill for brats and dogs on the balcony and plenty of desserts. DJ Moni provided the mingling music, as guests stuffed their faces watching the sun set over Jersey.

A sampling of the fare at the potluck

Eating and mingling while the sun sets over the Hudson River

The dessert table (with icebox pie, cupcakes, lemon crumb cake...)

Slideluckers wait for the show to begin.

The main event of the evening started around 9:30. The slideshow was simulcast into at least three packed standing-room only gallery rooms. This slideshow was anything but your grandparents’ last summer vacation. Each of the featured artists’ works were multimedia spectacles accompanied by music and sometimes video. The theme of this year’s SLPS XIII was “Now.” The diverse group of artists rose to the challenge wonderfully, from Chief White House photographer and esteemed photojournalist Peter Souza’s photos of the first family’s first year (set to the audio of the President’s Inauguration Address), to San Francisco’s Lisa Wiseman and her The New Polaroid series, a collection of dreamy whimsical images all captured with an iPhone.

An image from Claudio Papapietro's Demolition Derby series. c. Claudio Papapietro

For me personally, many of the most surprising, poignant and beautiful images of the night came from several photographers examining American subcultures. Claudio Papapietro’s Demolition Derby series shows a group of friends as they make preparations for and compete in a demolition derby. Papapeitro’s use of light and composition endows his working-class subjects with subtle nobility. Like Papapietro, Brooklyn’s Kim Reierson focuses on an underside of American culture in her Exotic World Dancer portraits. The photos of the burlesque competition’s contestants range from ages 18-80 and allows her subjects’ beauty to manifest through their flaws, rather than in spite of them. The Chicago-based Brian Ulrich’s Dark Store, Ghost Boxes and Dead Malls is a haunting reminder and warning of America’s financial struggles as photograph after photograph depicts empty malls, weed-plagued barren parking lots, and lonely storefronts with only ghost-letter impressions of the corporate names they used to carry.

I (Lego) New York by Christoph Niemann. c. Christoph Niemann

A major part of what made the collection of slideshows work so well was the juxtaposition of the vastly different artists and mediums. Whimsical and playful pieces like Jonah Sampson’s Pleasantville, a series of toy-like model people engaged in many comically-placed scenes of violence and debauchery, or Christoph Niemann’s crowd-favorite Lego art in I (Lego) New York were placed directly next to heavy, thought-provoking, difficult images like Portrait of a Genocide’s stark and heart-wrenching reminders of the atrocities in Rwanda by French documentary photographer Myriam Abdelaziz.

The evening was a success and a tribute to the work that directors Casey Kelbaugh and Alys Kenny have put into these shows nationally and internationally. I strongly recommend making your best dish and attending the next Slideluck Potshow either in its next return to New York or in the myriad of other locations where they set up a projector.

The spacious Canoe Studios on W. 26th Street hosted Slideluck Potshow's thirteenth New York show.

All photos by Joyce Tota unless noted.

Not in Fashion c. Mark Borthwick

There are photographers who document and photographers who create. Meaning, a photographer either chooses to make images of an event that is already happening or chooses to make images of an event that either he or someone else has created specifically for the image-making purpose. There are exceptions to every rule of course and photographer Mark Borthwick certainly qualifies as an exclusion. Mark’s work does both (documents and creates) and his subjects seem found yet casually staged through discovering and uplifting informal moments. His new book, titled “Not in Fashion,” a contradiction to the fact that he came to prominence as a fashion photographer, illustrates Mark’s insistence of working outside of fashion’s guidelines. There is nothing elaborate about Mark’s fashion work - a plain wall or a park provides the backdrop, light makeup and hairstyling or none at all and few or no clothes round out the atypical (fashion) photograph.

I first came across Mark’s work in the late 90’s when I had just become interested in fashion photography. Images of Angela Lindvall leaning over into a sink which appear in the book depicted the model wearing one of Comme des Garcons’ infamous bump dresses gave me the assurance I needed that fashion photography was not singularly about pretty models and unattainable luxury. Here was a photo of a girl sticking her head into a kitchen sink and not a designer stainless steel one either - a very ugly suburban kitchen sink. Not in fashion, certainly. Mark clearly played a role in a certain type of late 90’s conceptual fashion photography, the anti-flash, the refusal to actually photograph clothes, and the denial of celebrity and glamour in general which magazines like Purple and i-D championed.

Fast forward a few years, I had the great fortune to work briefly for Mark and enter his vastly interesting world. I was never privy to seeing him shoot, though at the time Mark was peculiarly fascinated with sidewalks and their cracks, many of which are shown in his new book. I was presented however with the task of editing his writings (Mark also writes to accompany his work occasionally). Though what Mark had intended as poetic, off-kilter ramblings with made up or strangely spelled words, the computer mistook as typos, sending angry red underlines throughout most of the pages. Again, misspelled words were certainly not in fashion, but were very integral to Mark’s work and creative process.

Mark Borthwick from Not in Fashion c. Mark Borthwick

There are people who Mark photographs regularly and counts as close friends - Kim Gordon, Chan Marshall of Cat Power, Bjork, his wife and two children and anyone who enjoys sitting out in the sun and lolling in the grass. Mark’s work has always been a celebration of the outdoors, powerfully joyful and therapeutic in their bursts of sunlight and greenery. Recently, a technique sprung up where Mark would open the back of his camera to let light in which would leave the impression that a rainbow was trying to sneak its way into the image. What Mark possesses is a true reverence for his subjects and this is obtained by photographing them over and over - trees, sidewalks, lakes, his friends and family. His moments are curiously repetitive though soothing as is the way the book is laid out. Small images float on the pages forming stories, polaroids scatter and writings are in abundance. The collection of all of these ingredients illustrates in a deeply personal way a truly singular point of view of this casually staged life.

Not in Fashion is available through Amazon

Closing tomorrow, Saturday, July 18th: Chris Lux’s exhibition, Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom at Jancar Jones Gallery.

Chris Lux, Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom, 2009, oil on panel, faux mistletoe, 43 x 12 inches. Image courtesy Jancar Jones Gallery

Unlike the artist’s earlier works which teem with bright, faceless figures (think Jonathan Borofsky’s sculptures invading a Hieronymous Bosch landscape) Lux’s new paintings seem to have distilled the color punctuation and movement of his previous works into more contemplative canvases with a kinetic, modernist bent.

Citing diverse influences, from Pieter Bruegel the Elder to Tal R, these paintings have a confidence and naive energy associated with the latter artist’s work, but seem executed with a less-studied, looser hand. Lux’s inventive use of repurposed materials in his compositions is evident in the incorporation of elements like plastic branches and layered glass panels in his paintings, or in the use of fake-marble busts as a pedestal.

Some of my favorites:

The paintings were accompanied by a selection of Lux’s found-object sculptures in a glass vitrine that at first glance recalled Josephine Meckseper’s retail displays. While the sculptures held some interest as possible referents to the artist’s working process, the case, neither large enough to compete with the paintings nor small enough to be supplementary ultimately seemed tangential to the dominance of the 2-D work in the gallery space.

Chris Lux’s Flickr

Jancar Jones Gallery

(photos c/o Aileen Tat unless noted)

“You live and learn or you live and get dumb.”

–Lorrie Moore, “You’re Ugly, Too.”

Life. In all of its twisty excursions, what life brings to people is a plot that sometimes offers strange and unusual solutions. What one “sees” is what one never gets. And in Woody Allen’s latest and forty third directorial film, Whatever Works, the solutions it brings to its characters in this romantic comedy brings in some rather tepid results.

Filmed and shot in New York City–a slight departure (and now return) from Allen’s previous films shot in London (Scoop and Matchpoint) and Spain (Vicky Christina Barcelona–by far, one of his strongest works in recent years)–Whatever Works, as in most of Allen’s films, features an ensemble of famous and infamous actors on screen. In typical curmudgeon fashion, Larry David plays Boris Yellnikoff: a misanthropic and retired Columbia University professor of physics (not to mention, as he claims, a former Nobel Prize finalist) who escapes his failed marriage and affluent life and dives into the bohemian side of living in Greenwich Village. He finds solace with neighborhood buddies, buys groceries and dressed in a disheveled way and–despite Boris’ unabashed commentary–instructs youngsters on the art of chess playing. In fact, Boris enjoys his bleak life until he stumbles upon meeting Melodie (a young and clueless runaway from Mississippi played by Evan Rachel Wood) right outside his doorstep. After refusing to invite Melodie into his loft, Boris gives in and establishes a tender relationship in which he inevitably marries her.

What ensues throughout the film is a series of topsy-turvy and humorous circumstances: Melodie’s mother, Marietta (played by Patricia Clarkson), comes to Manhattan to search for her daughter, strangely accepts Melodie’s recent marriage, and falls into the claptrap of New York City life by transforming herself into a sexually voracious woman and artist; Marietta’s god-fearing ex-husband John (played by Ed Begley Jr.) also escapes to New York in hopes of rectifying his previous marriage and relationship with Melodie but, in turns, meets a local guy in a bar and becomes a closeted homosexual. As for Boris and Melodie’s marriage, the relationship ends after Melodie is clandestinely set-up (?) with a younger chap from Marietta in which, as it turns out, Boris unwillingly accepts.

The problem with Allen’s recent oeuvre is, although sarcastically presented, is that its subliminal commentary on Southern culture and manners seem slightly over-the-top and predictable. In reverse, Whatever Works also directly pokes fun at New York City culture: its self-righteous artists, its holier-than-thou egotism, and its bitter attitude towards outsiders. As one would gather in most Woody Allen films, Whatever Works operates on the same level viewers have seen in previous films: the kvetching shtick displayed from an atypical protagonist, the clueless femme who falls for the narcissistic protagonist, the self-reflexive filmmaking technique (i.e. characters talking directly to the viewer, etc). What the viewer receives in Whatever Works is that one must accept and deal with fate, chance, and, of course, life’s unexpected turns. Whatever Works must simply work. But, as a fan of Allen’s work, it simply does not.

In a recent interview with Teri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air (which you can listen here), Allen initially wrote the screenplay during the 1970s and the leading role was intended for Tony Award winning actor Zero Mostel who passed away in 1977 (Mostel’s death coincided with the release of Allen’s seminal comedy Annie Hall). Forward to four decades later, Allen dusted off the screenplay and decided to give it one last shot. Despite the film’s irreverent yet truthful musings on life from Mr. David, Whatever Works, frankly, should have remain undisclosed.

In 1989, the world stopped to watch throngs of courageous Chinese students make a stand against their own tyrannical government. A live televised image of one student standing in front of tank became a real-life metaphor of doomed defiance against the machine of tyranny. Every reporter on the ground knew that as long as the cameras were rolling the revolution and the students would survive. Thus, the Chinese student revolution died when the lights were put out and the cameras were forced off.

Twenty years later, we are struck by the similarities between those student demonstrations in Beijing and the now week long demonstration in Iran. Both show us a people who are yelling for their voices to be heard and their needs for more freedom to be met. Both show us a government that is terrified of the slightest change in status quo for fear of losing its last shred of legitimacy.

However, the roles the media has had to play in these two revolutions could not be more different. In China, although the student protests had begun nearly a month earlier, the true escalation happened when the world media came to Beijing for the historic trip of Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev. As soon as the first international cameras appeared, the protest became a symbiotic relationship between the students and the international media. As tanks moved into the square, the Chinese government demanded that the cameras be turned off and full media blackout ensued. That blackout continues in China to some degree even to this day as international news broadcasts are blocked each year on June 4th.

Two decades later, the Iranian government has learned its lesson from the Chinese. Their full media blackout began as soon as the hint of election protests began. Unfortunately the western media has been cowed by many recent events (kidnappings, imprisonments and death) and appear all too ready to be compliant. We have come a long way from the days of Bernard Shaw continuing his broadcast from a bombed out Baghdad hotel while hiding from the Republican Guard. Now news anchors in an Atlanta, Georgia studio introduce YouTube clips and provide context by repeating 140 character tweets.

The protesters no longer need the reporters on the ground. They have become their own reporters. Videos stream in of each new confrontation with the security forces. Tweets update every second telling the world where the protesters are, where they will be going and why they continue to protest. The Iranian government seems to be hobbled by its own blackout. On Saturday, the government released news of a bombing at the Khomeini shrine. However, even several hours later there was no video or details, leading many to believe that the story and/or the bomb was government placed.

Perhaps there are two democratic revolutions taking place on the streets of Tehran: one to change an outdated, entrenched and unrepresentative system of government, and the other to change an outdated, unrepresentative and entrenched news media. The television news media which was once built on courageous field reporting has descended into 24-hour bickering talking heads. For every sixty seconds of actual field reporting, the news networks follow it up with an hour of spin.

Iran's Facebook page

In twenty years, the technology has now developed to bypass the traditional media that was once the only lifeline available. The students of China depended desperately on the cameras and the brave journalists behind them to be their witnesses to the world. When the government was able to sever that relationship, the protests were finished. Iran has brought YouTube, Twitter and Facebook into maturity (which for the most part have been glorified toys up until this point). The television news media will no longer be the only path to global consciousness.

One can only imagine the change in global attitudes if these tools had been available to those who endured the horrors of Rwanda or if these resources were available to those currently suffering under the cruel regime in the Sudan. The people of Iran are transcending the 30-second attention span and “Crisis in Iran” byline limitations of news networks by bringing their individual stories directly to the world. Even with only a 30-second clip or a 140-character line at a time, they are taking control of how their story will be told.

TONIGHT: San Francisco-based artist Chris Lux’s solo exhibition Give Me Some Peppermint Freedom opens at Jancar Jones Gallery. Lux’s work was accorded this week’s SFBG Pick for his “new rave sensibility.” 6-9pm, free. Through July 18th.

OMG Gallery Aferro Benefit preview, see below for additional details. 6-8pm

Saturday, June 20th: OMG Aferro Art Party Benefit. Gallery Aferro founders Evonne Davis and Emma Wilcox have been consistently supporting and producing some of the strongest emerging artists’ projects that The Totam has come across in recent years. Funds from the sale of artist-donated artworks and crafts at this inaugural benefit event will be used to cover the costs of finalizing Aferro’s status as a non-profit organization. We strongly urge tri-state residents to enjoy an entertaining evening and buy some fantastic work to support an organization promoting a thriving community of artists in and beyond the Newark area.

Everything is Terrible: The Movie premieres at The Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles. This full-length feature by the group of friends responsible for the popular Everything is Terrible website and YouTube channel promises to be a comic videoclip mashup of weird and epic proportions. One night only. Accompanied by a screening of the 1994 softcore classic, Dinosaur Island. 10:30pm, $10. Tickets here.

Monday, June 22nd: catch Afternoon, the solo project of singer-songwriter Krista Warden at the new Williamsburg music venue Bruar Falls, with Drew Victor. Warden’s accordion, guitar, and bittersweet honky-tonk-tinged vocal sensibility has graced collaborations with fellow Brooklyn notables Drew Victor, Beastheart and Sharon van Etten. 9pm, free.

Tuesday, June 23rd: The opening of X-Initiative’s No Soul For Sale: A Festival of Independents. X has invited more than 30 international nonprofit art spaces to travel to New York City to present themselves, their programs and the artists they support. 1-9pm, RSVP here. Through June 28th.

In conjunction with No Soul For Sale, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) will be unveiling a temporary video project space on X’s ground floor which will be open to the public, bringing new works by emerging artists into dialogue with rarely seen historical treasures from the EAI archives for the summer. Character Witness, the launch program for EAI’s project space, includes works by Kalup Linzy, Alex Bag, Michael Smith, MICA-TV, Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn, and Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson. 6pm, free. Through September 2009.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and I just found this very interesting post from artist Michael Mandiberg about his request to a number of reproduction painters in Shenzhen to copy Jeff Widener’s iconic photo of a man in front of PLA tanks during the Tiananmen Square protests.

Courtesy Michael Mandiberg

Mandiberg posted images of some of the finished paintings, all done in an almost uniform, bland illustration style, along with a quote from the negotiations for the making of the works. The suggestions about composition were funny, but it was most compelling to find that at least one painter outright refused to recreate the image:

Courtesy Michael Mandiberg

I remember going to rallies with my dad in support of the student demonstrations at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown as a kid, and the ubiquity of the tank image in the newspapers and on TV at the time. To Chinese around the world, it seemed the tank photo and reproductions of the Goddess of Democracy were cherished symbols of a freedom worth defending. It was surprising to learn from Mandiberg’s post that this photo has been virtually eliminated from the Chinese media, but not surprising that the Chinese government continues to censor any hint of negativity in all incoming and outgoing communications. I wonder if this will ever improve.

Twenty years have passed since that violent government crack down on the twenty-something college students occupying the public square in pro-democracy protest. Enough time for the protestors’ children to grow up without ever seeing this famous image that was eradicated by the media. It lies cloaked lies cloaked in Google searches, behind the Great Firewall of China.

This famous image did not exist. This was one manifestation of China’s pattern of Internet censorship. Another pattern was that if a scandals breaks out in China, all webpages outside of China are temporarily disabled. During my month there, two regional politicians were caught in corruptions investigations. One of them was sentenced to death, and the other killed himself. The official reports glossed over the details, and focused on the new appointee. The New York Times, on the other hand, did an in-depth analysis, which I happened to read, as I was up at a strange jet-lagged hour. It was gone the next day.

Just yesterday the New York Times published a small series of editorials about the anniversary. And just now they are reporting on extensive shutdowns of most major communications platforms, from the NYTimes.com to Twitter. Ironically, that article will not make it through the firewall either.

Michael Mandiberg is an Eyebeam Senior Fellow and an Assistant Professor at the College of Staten Island/CUNY. Drawing Contemporaries, an exhibit curated by Mandiberg and featuring some of his laser drawings, is on view at Eyebeam until June 9th.

Mandiberg.com

Daniel Salemi, Ikea vs. Beuer, 2009, c-print. Courtesy of Kris Graves Projects.

Not able to see Swoon’s Swimming Cities, or Bruce Nauman’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale in person this year? Well, you could opt to visit what is being touted as the Biennale’s “largest pavilion” here, or just take advantage of an abundance of homegrown activities this weekend and beyond:

TONIGHT: Honey Space hosts a benefit and celebration for Swoon’s Swimming Cities of Serenissima, with a silent auction that includes works by many of the artists on the boats’ crew, and a raffle for original artwork by Swoon and Thomas Beale. 7-9pm, $10 admission.

Artists Daniel Salemi and Austin Thomas have concurrent openings of their work tonight in the main and project spaces of Kris Graves Projects. Salemi’s photographs and Thomas’ drawings and collages share an affinity for architectural forms. 6-9pm

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF presents Big Idea Night, featuring the delicious stylings of Mission Street Food. 9pm-3am. FREE, RSVP recommended.

Friday June 5th: Varnish Gallery hosts a party to raise awareness about eminent domain issues with guests Jello Biafra, Matt Gonzalez, etc. The gallery is one of over 30 local businesses and residences being evicted by a San Francisco city agency under the property law. 7-Midnight, 21+. Free.

Saturday June 6th: As part of Michael Cataldi and Nils Norman’s The University of Trash at Sculpture Center in Long Island City, guest artists McKendree Key and the neuroTransmitter collective have been invited to give public courses at the museum. Key will teach a family workshop on making recycled paper and paper-pulp sculptures, and neuroTransmitter will lead a radio transmitter building workshop. 1pm. Courses available with $5 admission to museum. ($25 materials fee and a reservation for the transmitter class is recommended.)

Your last chance to see Sophie Calle (and 107 other women)’s collaborative breakdown of a breakup, Take Care of Yourself at Paula Cooper Gallery.

Saturday & Sunday, June 6th & 7th: Oakland’s Pro Arts Gallery presents the 2009 East Bay Open Studios. Over 400 artists exhibit their work this weekend and the weekend of June 14th-15th. Visit site for more info.

Sunday June 7: The Exploratorium hosts a talk, reception and book signing by scholar Edward Shanken, author of the new book Art and Electronic Media, interviewed by arts commentator Dorka Keehn. Innovative Bay Area electronics artists Lynn Hershman Leeson, Paul DeMarinis, Ken Goldberg, Jim Campbell, Survival Research Labs, and Alan Rath are among the over 200 artists featured in Shanken’s book. 3pm. Free with Exploratorium admission.

Monday June 8th: David Byrne will perform a selection of music created with Brian Eno at the Prospect Park Bandshell as part of BRIC Art’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival. Other performers this summer include Femi Kuti, Blonde Redhead, Big Daddy Kane and They Might Be Giants. 8pm, gates open at 6:30pm. FREE, first come first served.

Ditto on the cover of Love magazine and inside T Magazine

Beth Ditto’s exhibitionist side, or some might say life has always been on display in concert (she is the lead singer for the band The Gossip). Spandex is her fabric of choice when performing and she is unabashedly a full figured woman. Recently though more than just her concert-goers are getting an eyeful. Ditto graces the cover of the new UK Condé Nast magazine Love with nothing more than a tulle pouf in sight. A week or so later she appeared on the last page of T, the New York Times’ style magazine in just her bra and underwear.

Both images are taken in a similar pose with a very apparent pin-up aesthetic, though neither show much of Ditto’s legs. Even inside Love, Ditto is posed laying down or with only large breasts aplomb. Is a full view of Ditto too much? Posed sideways, Ditto’s expanse just seems baby-fat-like and lovable; whereas onstage, Ditto’s immensity seems aggressive. People are used to seeing larger breasts and tummies; is seeing the entire body of a much larger woman in a magazine taboo? In complete view, Ditto might have seemed too elephantine; meanwhile by showing even a part of her, magazine editors can profess diversity. Thoughts?

The Duke Spirit

British band The Duke Spirit are returning stateside with only three shows including one New York appearance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday, February 16th. Their addictive mix of rock, soul, and blues is even better live as it is on record, mostly due to the band’s lead singer Liela Moss. Moss, who has been featured on such sites as Refinery29 for her style, commands an audience with her sinuous presence and a bewitchingly honeyed voice.

Tickets available through Ticketmaster

The Duke Spirit’s official site

5. Accountability: Hopefully the start to a trend, the bill calls for unprecedented access. How funds are spent, all announcements of contract and grant competitions and awards, and formula grant allocations must be posted on www.recovery.gov. Most importantly, there are no earmarks in this package.
4. Energy: Probably the most import part of the infrastructure rebuilding is the attention the bill pays to rebuilding the electric grid. The bill as it stands now also guarantees loans for renewable energy projects, funding to make federal buildings energy efficient and programs for making low income housing energy efficient.
3. Science: Understanding that the infrastructure of a nation is not simply buildings, roads and wires, the bill as put forth by the House of Representatives provides funding for increased research at the National Science Foundation and American universities. The bill also calls for more money to NASA for projects related to understanding and predicting global warming.
2. Small Business Development: As the credit crunch threatens daily to choke off an increasing number of mom and pop companies, the current bill provides increased funding for guaranteed loans to small businesses and increased long term development focusing on job creation and private investments in rural and industrial core urban areas.
1. Education: The only way to ensure that Americans can continue to compete for 21st century jobs is if we send America’s children to 21st century schools. The bill calls for $20 billion for renovation and modernization of K-12 schools. Also in education, and on the list most likely to be attacked by the right is the increase in federal work study, Pell Grants and student loan limits for college education. This is being attacked as “not relating to job creation” and “liberals using the stimulus to push their agenda.” However, as the economy tanks, parents find themselves less and less able to send their children to college. Without a continuing financial push to get our high school grads through college, we will have no qualified workers for our new 21st century economy.

Ask any Jamaican over the age of 65 and he or she will tell you that they don’t really listen to that Bob Marley guy. What they will explain to you is, he was a Rastafarian, which in their eyes is a poverty-stricken, illegal-drug-using, mountain-man-type who believes in a Zionist cult. Jamaicans of a certain generation do not appreciate that this underclass is now the spokesperson for their entire culture. And so the backlash of the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire has to contend with the same cultural dilemma. How do you appreciate the underbelly of the culture you pride, to be shown to the world?

Slumdog Millionaire is a great movie. You will laugh, you will want to cry, and if you don’t fall in love with at least one of the children in this movie, you have no soul. But to say it is a “feel good movie,” it is not. It is the story of three children in abject poverty whose lives are destined to intertwine. As the main character answers random questions on a trivial gameshow, the answers are played out, violently, in his life story. And even though it showcases the rise of Bombay to the present-day global city of Mumbai, it shows this transition through the eyes of the lowest class, in a culture with a caste system centuries old.

As excited as British director Danny Boyle was to open this movie in India, only 25% of movie theaters seats are occupied. Many prominent Indians are making a very public backlash against this movie. Advocates of Indian culture will explain under colonialism, Indians were referred to as “dogs” and to glorify a movie of the same title by a British director spits in their face. How well do you think “Ghetto Millionaire” by Steven Spielberg would go over in Harlem? Even Spielberg received harsh response from black critics for his portrayal of poor Southern African Americans in The Color Purple. Critics believed that a Jewish director could never tell the truest story of the Southern black experience. All of these negative reviews however, leave out the simple fact that these directors are simply telling a story and not attempting to write a history book.

You can’t help but predict that Danny Boyle was bound to be stepping on eggshells by visiting the slums of another country to cast child actors. But whether the people of India are willing to accept this attention or not, a little movie about a side of their culture that they would rather not discuss is going to take centerstage on Oscar night. I can’t say Indians should embrace this new found spotlight. They can only accept this as another step in their rise as a global powerhouse, underbelly and potential Oscar win included.

5. ‘Unwarranted’ Restrictions on Abortion - President Obama on Friday cancelled the restrictions on US funding to family planning groups abroad that counseled abortions. Also known as the Mexico City Policy, the gag rule originally signed by President Reagan prohibited funding to overseas family planning clinics that provided any services connected with abortion, even counseling. The policy has been a continual ping-pong ball between Republican and Democratic administrations (lifted by Clinton and re-ordered by Bush II).

 

4. Detaining Policy - Creates a special task force, headed by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, to review all future detainee policies. Other members of the task force include the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The task force will consider policy options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer or release of detainees. The group is to submit a report to President Obama within 180 days.
   
   While detractors will say that the creation of a task force is just a way of using bureaucracy to buy time, just the fact the the task force is co-chaired by the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General represents a seismic shift from the Bush years. Also with some of the other big players in the administration, i.e. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, in on the task force, we could see some major changes and disclosure on formerly very hidden arms of the war on terror.

 

3. Interrogation Policy - revokes an executive order by Bush that interpreted Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The Obama order requires that all interrogation of detainees in an armed conflict, by any government agency, is to follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines and to allow the Internation Red Cross access to detainees. The order forbids reliance on any Justice Department or other legal advice on interrogation policies that was issued between September 11, 2001 and last week’s inauguration. The order also creates a task force to review the existing Army Field Manual.
   
   Some from Obama’s side of the aisle are critical of the order, saying that the review of the field manual and what they are calling the “Jack Bauer exception” (a possible exception that might allow for harsher techniques in extreme situations) still allows for too much wiggle room in interrogation practices. However, the scope of the order (and in combination with #1 below) brings a close to one of the biggest black marks on American foreign policy.

 

2. Fuel Efficiency Standards - the New York Times is reporting that on Monday President Obama will issue orders directing federal regulators to move on the applications by California and over a dozen other states to tighten fuel efficiency and emissions standards beyond the federal requirements. The order will require the EPA to reconsider the applications that were previously denied during the Bush years. Once the new standards are approved, the auto industry will have to act quickly to bring fuel mileage and emission standards higher to continue selling in those fourteen states, a move that has been long fought by the automakers.

 

1. Guantanamo Bay - Perhaps the most celebrated of the initial barage of excutive orders is the order closing the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility. The order provides that the facility be closed at a date no later than one year from the signing. The order starts with a review process for each of the current detainees with the goal of disposing of all the detainees before the closure of the facility. The process is as follows: (1) immediate review to see if detainees can be approved for a transfer to a third country in accordance with national security (the order directs the Secretary of State to solicit and coordinate international cooperation); (2) if the transfer is not possible, then review for prosecution, preferrably in an Art. III court (a federal court), but does not preclude possiblity of a military tribunal; (3) for detainees who cannot be transferred or prosecuted, the Attorney General will conduct a review to determine how to deal with them according to law.
   
   Along with the executive order on interrogation, this order should go a long way to repair much of the ill-will directed to the US from abroad and closes the book on the post-9/11 foreign policy coup by the Neo-cons. Critics like Republican Congressman Ted Poe and former Vice President Dick Cheney contend that the closure of Guantanamo Bay will bring “the worst of the worst” to our backyards in American prisons.

Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, nominated for Best Actor

Start your weekend early with our Pop-Ed (Pop Education) edition. Thirteen Oscar nominations can’t be wrong. We’re off to see Benjamin Button. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss:

1/ Oscar nominations were announced today. Biggest snubs appear to be Leo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road for Best Actor and The Dark Knight for Best Motion Picture. Heath Ledger has been nominated though and after his posthumous Golden Globe win, seems to have a pretty good shot. The Totam’s Best of 2008 movie pick WALL-E has been nominated for Best Animated Feature.

Selma Blair and Molly Shannon as Kath & Kim

2/ Kath & Kim, the modern day Ab Fab begins its new season tonight on NBC. Selma Blair’s tacky teeny outfits alone are worth tuning in for. We love this absurd clip from last season.

3/ Frank Rossitano, the trucker hat wearing, slob-savant played by Judah Freidlander on NBC’s 30 Rock has a blog. We love his post on the types of chicks he is looking for (with hilarious ’70s-era paintings to illustrate).

Moving past the Cosmo: The Sex and the City girls.

4/ It’s official. Sex and the City’s leading ladies are all in for the sequel. The Cosmopolitan may be long dead, but nothing can keep these gals out of the box office ($153 million and counting). We can’t wait for opening night again when girls of all ages will stampede the theaters in four-inch heels.

5/ The controversy over American Idol contestants’ prior music careers has always undermined the supposed amateur bent of the show. This season’s contestant Joanna Pacitti is no exception. With a career resume that reads similar to Britney’s (Broadway at 11, signed to a label by age 16), the now 24-year-old is certainly no newcomer to the music industry. In 2006, she released an album on Geffen and was dropped from the label after poor sales. Comeback kid already? American Idol proves once again it is the place to do it.

Today at the State Department, newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, flanked on each side by President Obama and Vice President Biden, announced the appointment of George Mitchell as the Special Envoy to the Middle East and the appointment of Richard Holbrooke as a Special Ambassador to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

George Mitchell, former Senator from Maine, acted as the Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for the Clinton Administration. His participation was considered crucial to the non-violence agreements and the eventual Good Friday Agreement in Belfast in 1998. Mitchell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Liberty Medal for his efforts. Mitchell’s comments at the press conference suggest a strong breakaway ideologically from the Bush administration and more politically conservative approaches to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mitchell referred to the conflict as man-made and stated that therefore it could also be fixed by men.

Richard Holbrooke’s appointment as Special Ambassador to both Pakistan and Afghanistan also suggests a strong change in US foreign policy in the region, with a new diplomatic effort on the mountainous border region between the two nations. This is a significant change in the military only solution on the Afghan side of the border and perhaps more involved cooperation on the Pakistan side than the “carrot and stick” approach of the Bush years.

It is interesting that these announcements are being made before any significant Iraq policy has been discussed or acted on. Perhaps as the new administration drastically shifts the focus of Middle East foreign policy away from the Iraq conflict, President Obama will be given more time to improve the necessary conditions in order to make good on his campaign promises for military withdrawal.

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

During yesterday’s Inauguration events’ center stage was the exclusive jurisdiction of the new First couple. The Clintons seemed but a footnote. The Inauguration is over and reality comes fast to our new President. As the Obamas and Bidens arrived at the National Prayer Service this morning, they were directed to thier front row seats, right next to the Clintons. The picture of that incredibly recognizable front row brings to mind all of the promise and built-in possibility of self destruction of America’s new foreign policy team.

The new President, his Vice President and both Clintons offer the country all that could be wanted in a foreign policy team, but will there prove to be too many cooks in the kitchen? With the domestic front in an economic quagmire, perhaps President Obama will be glad to have strong leaders on the foreign front, giving him time to focus on the turmoil at home; for example, using his clout to get Tim Geithner through the confirmation process and getting the stimulus package unscathed through Congress.

However, who of the remaining players will have the stronger hand in foreign policy? As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s position puts her only second to the President in matters of foreign policy. Through the primary campaign, then Sen. Clinton put forth strong ideas for foreign policy (many that conflicted with the Obama campaign’s). Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy experience ranges from her years as First Lady, her years as a Senator and to her experiences with her husband’s philanthropic work. This probably gives her the widest breadth of foreign policy experience.

But Vice President Joe Biden has foreign policy depth of experience second to none, and as we have seen in the last eight years, the role of Vice President is as amorphous as the people who hold the title. The rumors released (thanks to Jill Biden and the talk show circuit) that Vice President Biden was offered either role of Sec. of State or Vice President seems to suggest that Biden thought he could do more from the role of the Vice. How Vice President Biden will act within the Obama White House and with Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is anyone’s guess, but I think we can be sure that he will not shy away from voicing his opinions whether or not they are welcome in the Clinton State Department. The Vice President’s infamous loose lips will probably give him a strong bully pulpit from which to shape foreign policy.

Former President Bill Clinton remains a wild card (and would we want it any other way?). His foreign connections as President, and even more tenuous foreign connections forged during the years since, will no doubt be a constant boon and annoyance to the Obama White House and the (Hillary) Clinton State Department. The continuing question for the Clintons in general, and more specifically for Bill, is whether they can work for the glory of the White House or will they always be working toward their own places in history.

Don’t think for a minute that the other spouses in this front row to history are merely wallflowers. The First and Second Ladies of America would be formidable in any circle of the best minds. What remains to be seen is what role they will choose for themselves in the new administration. Dr. Jill Biden has decided that she will continue to teach at a Washington-area college. As a Doctor of Education, she may decide in the next few years to turn her position as Second Lady to pursuing national education policy or may decide to play her hand in international education efforts.

As for First Lady Michelle Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate and Chicago lawyer before the campaign, she has said that her focus will be on her duties as First Mom for now. However, the First Lady has said she would like to focus on issues affecting working and military families. But whether or not Michelle Obama decides to have an official role in foreign policy, as First Lady, in a marriage that seems to be a very close partnership, she will always have a strong influence in foreign and domestic policy. Where she finds a strong interest overseas, we can expect that President Barack Obama will find a strong interest too.

The term “Team of Rivals” has already been used far past cliché in its reference to the Obama White House. But as this photo shows, the cliché and the images, hopes and questions it conjures sum up the gang that has been charged with the task of repairing America’s lost influence and reputation abroad.

Photo by AP, Boston Herald

I have been struggling today to come to a perspective from where I could understand Joe the Plumber. It has not been an easy task.

For those who may have been living under that proverbial rock for the last four months, Joe the Plumber rose to fame for his brief, but much replayed, confrontation of the campaigning then-Senator Barack Obama, asking about Sen. Obama’s tax plan and how it would affect his new plumbing business. What proceeded was a full five minute explanation by Obama about his tax plan. The Republican campaign machine seized on to the (planted?) image of the middle-class mid-western plumber challenging the Educated Elite Obama. The fact that Joe wasn’t even a plumber, and would not have been affected adversely by the Obama plan if he actually had been wasn’t even a speed bump in their rollout of the new symbol of middle-class Republicans. He was the perfect Prom King to Sarah Palin’s Prom Queen. Never mind, that their actual candidate was John McCain. They never really liked him that much anyway.

Unfortunately for most of us (and I include mainstream Republicans), after the election, both Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber realized that they enjoyed the limelight too much to return to obscurity. Sarah tried to be the belle of the ball at the Republican Governors’ Convention, and Joe decided to drop the plunger (that he had never picked up) and start his music career. Both of those endeavors were met with about equal success. Gov. Palin realizing that despite her rise in the media, she was still just one of 20 Republican Governors (and despite the state’s relative closeness to Russia, its importance to the party still remained marginal), while Joe the Singer found out he would actually have to sing to be singer (a surprise, since he never had to plumb to be a plumber).

That brings us to now where both Sarah, the once-and-future vice-presidential candidate, and Joe, the ever-searching-for-a-new-surname, have been pushed even further to the right, into the waiting arms of the lunatic fringe. This past week video clips released from John Ziegler’s new “documentary” How Obama Got Elected have brought Gov. Palin back to the (all-too-often unflattering for her) limelight. The Alaskan governor reveals new levels of high school cattiness in her attack of Katie Couric. “Katie, you’re not the center of everyone’s universe,” she said to a video of the CBS anchor’s comment about the previously SNL-scoffed interview.

Not to be outdone, Joe the Plumber has given up his budding music career to become Joe the War Reporter for conservative blog Pajamas TV. Like Gov. Palin, Joe’s new move is once again making him a YouTube star. Also like Gov. Palin, he does it with a complete and utter lack of self-awareness or appreciation of irony. On Monday, from Israel, Joe reported:

To be honest with you, I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war [sic]. … I liked back in World War I and World War II, when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for them. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to down soldiers — our American soldiers, our Israeli soldiers. I think media should be abolished from reporting. You know, war’s hell, and if you’re gonna sit there and say ‘Well look at this atrocity’ — well you don’t know the full story behind it half the time. So I think the media should have no business in it.

Where to start? There is the obvious, that he condemned the idea of reporting while reporting from a war zone. Then there is the more frightening notion behind the obvious: that because citizens don’t know the full story, we shouldn’t neither attempt to nor have a right to report on it. But the most terrifying idea in this whole story is that Joe, even more so than the Governor of Alaska, allows himself to be used and refuses to ever question himself or those who keep putting a microphone in front of him.

From that fateful Ohio day when, whatever the circumstances that brought him to it, when he put a question to now President-Elect Obama, for a moment in the video it seems as if he may have been engaged in the conversation. Maybe he was possibly listening. Maybe for a moment it seemed as if there was true communication between them. However, only minutes later that tape would be played. Five minutes would be edited down to 30 seconds. Joe Wurzelbacher (there was a moment when his profession was secondary to the person) would ask his question. Obama would say only, “share the wealth.” Joe the Plumber was born, to which he quickly discovered his ticket: what played best to “his audience” would only ever be the sound bite.

Perhaps, the lesson to be learned from Joe is that merely putting on a label: “the Plumber,” “the Singer,” “the Reporter,” doesn’t make it so. This is no easy conclusion for me personally. As a blogger and in a world full of amateur news people, part of me wants Joe to be a valid reporter. I want to believe that fancy degrees, perfect hair and network letters on the microphone mean nothing when it comes to telling the truth to my fellow citizen. Perhaps these aren’t the things that Joe is missing. Maybe there is something more to being a reporter. Perhaps real reporting means listening to the answer when you ask the question, checking the facts before reaching a conclusion and looking for the truth before you find it.

I have a weakness for lush, poetic cinematography, the kind found in Wong Kar Wai films, or last year’s No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. By this rationale, Tarsem Singh’s The Fall should have headed my list for 2008. So why did I pick a movie whose plot and characters celebrate the crudest, most low-fi technologies available to the untrained amateur instead? Because Gondry’s Be Kind, Rewind is an entertaining reminder of the modest, playful innocence that feeds the creative instinct in all of us, and the powerful potential of this instinct to bring people and communities together. I felt genuine, unadulterated joy watching Jack Black and Mos Def make a homemade Ghostbusters, a happiness that stayed with me long after the movie was over. (PS readers: I’m not going to get a chance to see Slumdog Millionaire before this post goes live, so let’s just say I’m holding on to my right to change my vote on this one.)

Christopher Tota:
WALL-E directed by Andrew Stanton (Pixar Studios)

In a year in which no story was safe from politicizing, Pixar’s WALL-E was no exception. The film’s environmental message was attacked by writers from the Huffington Post for being too soft, while conservative writers such as Glenn Beck and bloggers on The National Review Online said that it was leftist propaganda. However, WALL-E on its surface is a simply beautifully animated science-fiction tale. The first half hour, where the two main characters and a tag-along cockroach explore a post consumer-induced apocalyptic wasteland, could be considered a silent film classic in its own right. Pixar, the studio that wrote the formula for computer-animated blockbuster successes, strayed from their award winning formula just enough to avoid making this movie Finding Nemo in Space, while still allowing their always endearing characters to steal the show. This was the first film that Pixar used a live-action speaking character. Although Fred Willard’s Shelby Forthright (the CEO of Buy ‘n Large Corp., the company responsible for both the planet poisoning waste and the failed global clean-up) plays a minor role, the addition of a live-action speaking human character acts as a foil of the two heroes of the story, WALL-E and EVA, who are non human, animated, and mostly silent. It is managing to get to the “humanity” of the title character that WALL-E achieves where most other blockbusters this year failed. In the end, when two animated robots hold hands, we actually believe we are watching a love story.

Joyce Lee:
Tropic Thunder directed by Ben Stiller (Dreamworks)

Ben Stiller’s best work always turns a comedic microscope on entirely self-absorbed professions: models in Zoolander and now actors in Tropic Thunder. Part parody and entirely satirical, most of the enjoyment of watching this film is imagining which real-life actor each character is based on. Ben Stiller’s action hero “Tugg Speedman” is a dead ringer for Tom Cruise. Ironically Mr. Cruise gets to shed his image conscious ego in playing a crude movie executive and almost steals the show. Robert Downey Jr. (seeming to parody himself) dons blackface to play a Method actor who goes to extreme lengths for the part. Brandon T. Jackson plays rapper Alpa Chino: the hip-hop artist with a serious acting career (think Ludacris). The beauty of this satire is that while the actors get to play actors in a movie about a movie, the audience is always invited in on the joke. The result is easily the funniest movie of the year.

Hillary Rocker:
The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Bros.)

There are few reasons I go to a theater. Reason number one: I need some bang for my buck. I need something big. I need tractor trailer flipping big, jumping off skyscrapers in China big, car chases that turn into motorcycle chases big. And with all that, I need the actors to act. If someone is saving the world, they better have a damn good reason. The Dark Knight satisfied these needs (and motorcycles that drive up walls!) all while connecting to the child in all of us that read the comics, watched the cartoon and was yearning for a more complex character to carry on our battle of good and evil.

The Dark Knight delivered by re-inventing the superhero genre, creating a hero emotionally at the mercy of his obsession to fight injustice and crime. The Batman of The Dark Knight is almost as psychotically devoted to good, as the Joker is psychotically devoted to evil. This characterization parallels our current wish, need and obsession of the almost impossible desire to change the world. We are faced with what seems like the almost psychotically evil behavior from terrorist, war-mongers like George W. Bush and the greed of Wall Street tyrants. The Dark Knight has encapsulated the past eight years in American society and it has given a glimpse of what the future might hold: a more intense and profound struggle of good versus evil. The times are heavier, and even our superheroes know it.

Aileen Tat:

Miller Carr & The Shalants’ “Hey” (American Dust Records)

Passage Through Wilderness Vol. 2 is one of my favorite albums of the year, and the impressive musicianship of the Shalants is evident in their seamless blend of surf, psychedelia, and soul among other genres heard on the eleven tracks of their second release. I attended one of the band’s shows at Pianos last month at the recommendation of friends, and while original songs like “Katsu” and “The Deserter” caught my interest, “Hey” was the song that reeled me in completely. A short, sweet tune filled with flirtatious promise, “Hey”’s melody has the earnest pull of Roy Orbison’s “Falling”, or Elvis’ “Surrender”, the soaring grandiosity of their vocals replaced by the more contemporary, low-key allure of Carr’s singing. “Hey” had my inner romantic hooked, and the rest of the album did not disappoint.

Hillary Rocker:

Santogold Santogold (Downtown/Lizard King, Atlantic Records (UK))

It’s been a while since one could listen to pop music (excluding M.I.A. & Amy) and at the same time, not be ashamed of what’s playing in your iPod. I have personally had to turn the volume down on quite a few songs (seriously, you’re going to blast Beyoncé?). But with Santgold’s self-titled debut, Santi White has put out a great album of simply fun, cool songs with great beats to jam to, where ever you were the summer of ‘08. She has taken that black girl guilt (the one that forces you to try your best Mariah or Mary J.) and simply brushed her shoulders off. She’s also left all of that nonsense for the kids putting out albums who don’t know who they are yet and are still singing about their first loves. Santi let everyone know, black chicks rock too and made an album that has left record stores stumped as to where to categorize her music. Her debut moves effortlessly from 80s pop to electro-rock to hipster reggae all the while remaining true to her self. She’s simply one artist pushing things forward and with rumors of collaborations with everyone from Jay-Z to Spank Rock, lets hope ‘09 will be an even more dynamic year for Ms. White.

Joyce Lee:

Kanye West “Love Lockdown” (Roc-A-Fella Records)

The voice is a little off (and was way off when West performed the single on Saturday Night Live). However, the slightly geeky charm of the opening is due to the fact that West, who is known for his rapping abilities has chosen to use his singing voice and not perfect it. Nasal and warbled are not two adjectives that usually make a hit pop song, but the highly addictive tune is a sum of all its parts. Just when “Love Lockdown” begins to sound like a soft monotonous love song, massive, crashing drums rush the song into a distraught fever. West’s frustrations are the undertone when the percussion is the main event and the two switch off and on in each other’s suspenseful buildup. The best unperfect song of the year.

Christopher Tota:

Yael Naim “New Soul” (Atlantic)

This year the irony of the modern music industry is embodied in a song about spiritual matters by a virtually unknown bi-cultural international artist that became synonymous with American corporate commercialism and global high-powered advertising. Yael Naim, Israeli-French singer-songwriter, wrote “New Soul” after having a conversation with a good friend about reincarnation. In January of 2008, Steve Jobs personally picked the light and addictive song as the perfect soundtrack to introduce the Mac Air Book, Apple’s newest laptop. Naim had previously refused to allow the song to be used in a commercial to sell chocolate, but she said she gave her permission for the Mac Air Book because computers help to create music (I am sure Steve Jobs’ big check didn’t hurt either). Thanks to digital sales after the release of the commercial, the song “New Soul” shot to number #7 on the Billboard Music Charts, making Yael Naim the first Israeli artist to ever reach the Billboard Top Ten.

The self-titled album , Yael Naim, has many gems on it, including several which shine brighter than “New Soul” (“Paris,” Naim’s first song written in Hebrew is a lovely shade of reminiscent, and her cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” has a haunting depth and sexual soul that the former Mrs. Federline can only ask her producers about). However, “New Soul” is my song of the year because it epitomizes the completion of the computer and iPod takeover of the music industry. That the music marketplace has become instantaneous and truly global allows for an artist of Yael Naim’s talent and versatility to rise above the clatter, though the cost for consumers and the artist may be that we never get beyond the 30-second clip with an Apple logo on it.