Hi everyone!
So as most of you who follow my blog know, I'm a bit of a Francophile. My trip to Paris this past spring just further solidified this. If it's French, it's got to be good, right? (Well, maybe not always -- I've never really gotten Johnny Halliday -- but close enough.) Food, wine, fashion, music, film...the French have got it covered.
I treated myself to a French film double-feature this weekend, thanks to Netflix's streaming service, whose selection of French and other foreign language films continues to impress me:
Guillaume Canet's 2010 ensemble comedy-drama "Little White Lies" (Les Petits Mouchoirs) and Florent Emilio's Siri's riveting 2007 Algerian war drama "Intimate Enemies" (L'ennemi Intime).
"Little White Lies" features an all-star cast (Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, Benoit Magimel, Francois Cluzet, Gilles Lellouche, Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin, and others) in a drama that many have dubbed the French "Big Chill". There's some truth to that. A group of friends gather at the seaside vacation house of one of their gang for two weeks of boating, sun, drinking, and lying to each other. Despite their collective veneer of frivolity, no one is particularly happy either with themselves, their significant others, or those whom they wish were their significant others. Hanging like a specter over all of them is the fate of their friend Ludo (effectively played by "The Artist"'s Jean Dujardin) who suffers a horrific accident that opens the film and is confined to his bed in an intensive care unit in Paris while everyone else is soaking up the sun -- and the Bordeaux -- in the South of France.
It's a long film -- clocking in at just over 2 1/2 hours -- but the performances are so effortless, so deeply affecting, and so genuinely real that the time just flies by. Be prepared to laugh, to squirm in discomfort, and to cry...and then go back and watch it all over again. (Which I did actually, the next day.)
There's not a single bad or uneven performance, but there are some definite stand-outs worthy of brief mention: After two viewings, Gilles Lellouche as Eric, Ludo's best friend, steals the show. He's the life of the party who has to deal with the guilt of being the last person to see Ludo before the accident. Eric is a mess but somehow he always manages to maintain a sunny disposition...until he can't anymore. Veteran actor Francois Cluzet as Max, the owner of the house and the boat to which they all gather, is by turns hilarious and very real. Early in the film, his best friend Vincent (a quietly effective Benoit Magimel) drops an emotional bomb on him that threatens to destroy their friendship and the group's dynamic. Cluzet's facial expressions alone are worth the price of admission. And finally, the luminous Marion Cotillard proves once again that she's a formidable presence in any film she's in even when the material requires her to blend into an ensemble.
"Little White Lies" has something for everyone -- and a terrific soundtrack. It's a film to savor and return to again and again.
"Intimate Enemies" couldn't be any more different from "Little White Lies" and yet in its own visceral but understated way, it packs an equally resonant punch. In many ways, this is the Heart of Darkness or "Apocalypse Now" set in Algeria during the French-Algerian War in 1959. A young seemingly idealistic officer (played by "Little White Lies"'s Benoit Magimel) is brought in to command a platoon of French soldiers in the mountains of Algeria. Their mission, simply put, is to track down and kill soldiers of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN). Not surprisingly, the idealism of the young officer is gradually replaced by disillusionment, brutality, and madness.
The cinematography is striking. The violence is shocking and sporadic. And like the very best of war films, "Intimate Enemies" questions the notion and value of war. There are no winners or losers. There's just atrocity. And in the face of man's brutality to man, even the most hopeful of souls finds himself committing acts that he may never have believed possible just a short time before.
"Intimate Enemies" belongs in the same category of such great war films as "Platoon", "The Hurt Locker", "Apocalypse Now" and "Breaker Morant".
Bon soir!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Hot Tracks of Summer 2013
Hi everyone!
As Bollywood bombshell and now international pop star Priyanka Chopra sings in "Exotic," her new single featuring the ubiquitous Pitbull: "I'm hotter than the tropics", that's what the temperature here in Chicago is feeling like these days, though it isn't exactly making me feel exotic, just sweaty and lethargic. But no matter. In honor of the dog days of summer, I thought I'd write about the 5 hot summer songs I've got on repeat play in my Summer 2013 playlist...
Starting at number 5:
5) "Vocal" (Pet Shop Boys). This is the first single off of PSB's latest album Electric. Still going strong after 30 years, the Pet Shop Boys have their finger on the pulse of electronic club-friendly dance music. There's not much depth to the lyrics -- nor is there much of a vocal -- but the synthesized beat is infectious and the song is pretty much guaranteed to whip you into a frenzy on the dance floor...so who needs a vocal really? Stuart Price (of Madonna's award-winning epic 2005 release Confessions on a Dance Floor among other pop classics) is at the helm as producer.
2) "Take Back the Night" (Justin Timberlake). This is the first single off of Justin's second new album of the year, due in September: The 20/20 Experience, 2 of 2. It's funky, soulful, and unlike the tracks he's been laying down lately, you can dance to it. Close your eyes and you might think you were listening to late-70s "Off the Wall" era Michael Jackson, which is no small compliment. Again, the lyrics aren't particularly memorable and the chorus isn't overly catchy, but it's all about the funk and the horns "And the horns say..." and the more I listen to it, the more I like. I'm also a fan of The 20/20 Experience's Cuban-influenced rhythm track "Let the Groove Get In" if you're looking for more Justin this summer.
3) "Tu Ne Le Dis Pas" (Mylene Farmer). Madame Farmer is the French equivalent of Madonna. She's been courting controversy and dance music in the French-speaking world for as long as the Queen of Pop. I'm only now just discovering her. "Tu Ne Le Dis Pas" (You Don't Say) is the second track on her 2012 album "Monkey Me". The lyrics have something to do with a woman telling her lover that he never tells her he loves her, but you don't need to speak French to get into this song. The beat pulses hypnotically, the vocal sails ethereally, and there's a really heavy electronic bass 'dance break' about halfway through that's pretty darn cool. Vive le musique populaire de France!
2) "Exotic" (Priyanka Chopra featuring Pitbull). Fans of Hindi cinema know Ms. Chopra from her Bollywood box office smashes. The rest of the world is starting to know her for her Desi-tinged English-language pop songs. Her first single "In My City" featured will.i.am and was released earlier this year. As much as I wanted to like it, the song was pretty generic and the lyrics were, well, just kind of stupid. But with "Exotic," Ms. Chopra has teamed up with the Miami-based Cuban rapper/DJ Pitbull and channeled her inner Jennifer Lopez. And the result? Muy caliente. It's classic Pitbull with a masala twist. Yes, all of Pitbull's songs sound the same and the lyrics are pretty much identical but, paired with Ms. Chopra's sultry vocals, the package works. This would be my pick for the song of Summer 2013, if it weren't for...
1) "Get Lucky" (Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams). Yeah, this is probably the most overplayed song of the summer but it never gets old. It's cool, funky, and bounces along like any great summer song should. It's also somewhat misleading. "Get Lucky" is a total anomaly on the album Random Access Memories from which the song comes. I took the song, but passed on the album. If you're only a casual fan of Daft Punk, you might too. Nonetheless, no other song this summer comes close to matching the sexy effortless ease of this track. That's why it's my number one.
Ciao.
As Bollywood bombshell and now international pop star Priyanka Chopra sings in "Exotic," her new single featuring the ubiquitous Pitbull: "I'm hotter than the tropics", that's what the temperature here in Chicago is feeling like these days, though it isn't exactly making me feel exotic, just sweaty and lethargic. But no matter. In honor of the dog days of summer, I thought I'd write about the 5 hot summer songs I've got on repeat play in my Summer 2013 playlist...
Starting at number 5:
5) "Vocal" (Pet Shop Boys). This is the first single off of PSB's latest album Electric. Still going strong after 30 years, the Pet Shop Boys have their finger on the pulse of electronic club-friendly dance music. There's not much depth to the lyrics -- nor is there much of a vocal -- but the synthesized beat is infectious and the song is pretty much guaranteed to whip you into a frenzy on the dance floor...so who needs a vocal really? Stuart Price (of Madonna's award-winning epic 2005 release Confessions on a Dance Floor among other pop classics) is at the helm as producer.
2) "Take Back the Night" (Justin Timberlake). This is the first single off of Justin's second new album of the year, due in September: The 20/20 Experience, 2 of 2. It's funky, soulful, and unlike the tracks he's been laying down lately, you can dance to it. Close your eyes and you might think you were listening to late-70s "Off the Wall" era Michael Jackson, which is no small compliment. Again, the lyrics aren't particularly memorable and the chorus isn't overly catchy, but it's all about the funk and the horns "And the horns say..." and the more I listen to it, the more I like. I'm also a fan of The 20/20 Experience's Cuban-influenced rhythm track "Let the Groove Get In" if you're looking for more Justin this summer.
3) "Tu Ne Le Dis Pas" (Mylene Farmer). Madame Farmer is the French equivalent of Madonna. She's been courting controversy and dance music in the French-speaking world for as long as the Queen of Pop. I'm only now just discovering her. "Tu Ne Le Dis Pas" (You Don't Say) is the second track on her 2012 album "Monkey Me". The lyrics have something to do with a woman telling her lover that he never tells her he loves her, but you don't need to speak French to get into this song. The beat pulses hypnotically, the vocal sails ethereally, and there's a really heavy electronic bass 'dance break' about halfway through that's pretty darn cool. Vive le musique populaire de France!
2) "Exotic" (Priyanka Chopra featuring Pitbull). Fans of Hindi cinema know Ms. Chopra from her Bollywood box office smashes. The rest of the world is starting to know her for her Desi-tinged English-language pop songs. Her first single "In My City" featured will.i.am and was released earlier this year. As much as I wanted to like it, the song was pretty generic and the lyrics were, well, just kind of stupid. But with "Exotic," Ms. Chopra has teamed up with the Miami-based Cuban rapper/DJ Pitbull and channeled her inner Jennifer Lopez. And the result? Muy caliente. It's classic Pitbull with a masala twist. Yes, all of Pitbull's songs sound the same and the lyrics are pretty much identical but, paired with Ms. Chopra's sultry vocals, the package works. This would be my pick for the song of Summer 2013, if it weren't for...
1) "Get Lucky" (Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams). Yeah, this is probably the most overplayed song of the summer but it never gets old. It's cool, funky, and bounces along like any great summer song should. It's also somewhat misleading. "Get Lucky" is a total anomaly on the album Random Access Memories from which the song comes. I took the song, but passed on the album. If you're only a casual fan of Daft Punk, you might too. Nonetheless, no other song this summer comes close to matching the sexy effortless ease of this track. That's why it's my number one.
Ciao.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Big Brother Season 15 - Real World Racism and Bigotry on Shocking Display
Hi everyone!
So who's watching Big Brother this season? I know, I know...I should be writing about the Zimmerman verdict (based on the law as explained to the six jurors and the definition of"reasonable doubt", justice was served whether you agree with the verdict or not) or the continual turmoil in Egypt or any number of other more socially significant topics. But the fact of the matter is it's summer and close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and after working all day reading and editing manuscripts about law and socially significant things, I need a mental vacation, which is exactly what Big Brother provides.
For those of you who followed this blog last summer, you know that I am an unabashed Big Brother fan. For three months each summer, it takes over my life -- well, at least my television viewing, encompassing not only the 3 prime-time airings each week but also the "Big Brother After Dark" live broadcasts 7 nights a week, this year airing on TVGN. For me, Big Brother distills the best and worst and -- certainly this season -- the very worst of human behavior. It's a grand social experiment of the old "Real World" model -- sixteen strangers picked to live in a house -- with ridiculous and humiliating challenges thrown in, endless scheming and strategizing, evictions both deserved and undeserved, and endless pure entertainment.
Still only in its third week, this season is proving no exception. However, the train wreck factor is tinged with something a little darker, more disturbing, and probably more emblematic of true society than we've seen before. For a percentage of the house-guests this season, racism and bigotry seem to be the order of the day. So much so that the New York Times and other national publications have featured articles about the show and two house-guests in particular, the blonde fem bot Aaryn (this season's most hated and talked about contestant) and Jersey girl GinaMarie. They don't know it yet, because the guests are completely isolated from the outside world for the duration of their time in the house, both Aaryn and GinaMarie have been fired from their real world jobs based on their behavior on the show. Unfortunately, Aaryn and GinaMarie aren't the only guilty parties.
I'm not going to go into what all has been said, but for a show that is typically billed as mindless summer entertainment, there's a genuine rawness to the emotions and conflict on display here. The house's two African American house-guests -- Howard and Candace -- are the most overt victims of Aaryn's racist idiocy. Sunday's primetime broadcast only touched on the tip of the iceberg. In last Thursday's live After Hours broadcast -- from which most of Sunday's show was based -- viewers saw Aaryn spew one racist comment after another at Candace, who was finally reduced to tears after Aaryn pulled the mattress of Candace's bed, flipped it over, and strew Candace's clothes all over the bedroom, while Aaryn's "acolytes" Caitlin and Jeremy looked on, all the while referring to Candace as "Shaniqua" and mocking her in a stereotypical "ghetto" voice. Candace found consolation in Howard who is battling his own race-based demons. Howard's instinct is to lash out, but he fears what might happen if he were to verbally attack a white woman (Arryn) even out of self-defense. On the live feed, we saw Howard on his knees praying for the strength of restraint. It was powerful TV.
The most telling moment came when house-guest Amanda tried to tell Aaryn that her racist behavior was not only hurting people in the house but was inevitably going to negatively affect Aaryn's life outside the house with "all of America watching". Rather than take Amanda's words into consideration, Aaryn merely rolled her eyes and told Amanda she was annoyed to even be talking about it and that frankly she didn't care.
Candace and Howard haven't been the only victims. Asian American political consultant and this week's Head of Household, Helen, was the butt of Aaryn's "Shut up and go make rice" quip. Andy, who seems quite sensitive, sensible and well-meaning, was referred to as being the house's "token queer" by one of the male house-guests. It's rife, it's shocking, and it seems to be the most prominent plot line this summer, making past seasons relatively benign by comparison.
Is it exploitation? Is CBS focusing on this for ratings? Since these instances were publicized in the national media last week, the show has apparently experienced a big ratings boost. Sure, there may be a bit of this in play. However, more than any other show on network television in recent memory, season 15 of Big Brother is putting the spotlight on the very real social issues this country still continues to face and is doing so in a courageous and commendably uncensored way.
This isn't just a game anymore.
So who's watching Big Brother this season? I know, I know...I should be writing about the Zimmerman verdict (based on the law as explained to the six jurors and the definition of"reasonable doubt", justice was served whether you agree with the verdict or not) or the continual turmoil in Egypt or any number of other more socially significant topics. But the fact of the matter is it's summer and close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and after working all day reading and editing manuscripts about law and socially significant things, I need a mental vacation, which is exactly what Big Brother provides.
For those of you who followed this blog last summer, you know that I am an unabashed Big Brother fan. For three months each summer, it takes over my life -- well, at least my television viewing, encompassing not only the 3 prime-time airings each week but also the "Big Brother After Dark" live broadcasts 7 nights a week, this year airing on TVGN. For me, Big Brother distills the best and worst and -- certainly this season -- the very worst of human behavior. It's a grand social experiment of the old "Real World" model -- sixteen strangers picked to live in a house -- with ridiculous and humiliating challenges thrown in, endless scheming and strategizing, evictions both deserved and undeserved, and endless pure entertainment.
Still only in its third week, this season is proving no exception. However, the train wreck factor is tinged with something a little darker, more disturbing, and probably more emblematic of true society than we've seen before. For a percentage of the house-guests this season, racism and bigotry seem to be the order of the day. So much so that the New York Times and other national publications have featured articles about the show and two house-guests in particular, the blonde fem bot Aaryn (this season's most hated and talked about contestant) and Jersey girl GinaMarie. They don't know it yet, because the guests are completely isolated from the outside world for the duration of their time in the house, both Aaryn and GinaMarie have been fired from their real world jobs based on their behavior on the show. Unfortunately, Aaryn and GinaMarie aren't the only guilty parties.
I'm not going to go into what all has been said, but for a show that is typically billed as mindless summer entertainment, there's a genuine rawness to the emotions and conflict on display here. The house's two African American house-guests -- Howard and Candace -- are the most overt victims of Aaryn's racist idiocy. Sunday's primetime broadcast only touched on the tip of the iceberg. In last Thursday's live After Hours broadcast -- from which most of Sunday's show was based -- viewers saw Aaryn spew one racist comment after another at Candace, who was finally reduced to tears after Aaryn pulled the mattress of Candace's bed, flipped it over, and strew Candace's clothes all over the bedroom, while Aaryn's "acolytes" Caitlin and Jeremy looked on, all the while referring to Candace as "Shaniqua" and mocking her in a stereotypical "ghetto" voice. Candace found consolation in Howard who is battling his own race-based demons. Howard's instinct is to lash out, but he fears what might happen if he were to verbally attack a white woman (Arryn) even out of self-defense. On the live feed, we saw Howard on his knees praying for the strength of restraint. It was powerful TV.
The most telling moment came when house-guest Amanda tried to tell Aaryn that her racist behavior was not only hurting people in the house but was inevitably going to negatively affect Aaryn's life outside the house with "all of America watching". Rather than take Amanda's words into consideration, Aaryn merely rolled her eyes and told Amanda she was annoyed to even be talking about it and that frankly she didn't care.
Candace and Howard haven't been the only victims. Asian American political consultant and this week's Head of Household, Helen, was the butt of Aaryn's "Shut up and go make rice" quip. Andy, who seems quite sensitive, sensible and well-meaning, was referred to as being the house's "token queer" by one of the male house-guests. It's rife, it's shocking, and it seems to be the most prominent plot line this summer, making past seasons relatively benign by comparison.
Is it exploitation? Is CBS focusing on this for ratings? Since these instances were publicized in the national media last week, the show has apparently experienced a big ratings boost. Sure, there may be a bit of this in play. However, more than any other show on network television in recent memory, season 15 of Big Brother is putting the spotlight on the very real social issues this country still continues to face and is doing so in a courageous and commendably uncensored way.
This isn't just a game anymore.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Summer 2013 Reading List
Hi everyone!
With tomorrow's unofficial start to the 4th of July "weekend" I thought I'd use this column today to highlight some of the books I've been reading -- or are on my summer beach reading list -- in case any of you are looking for a great read while working on that tan at the beach. These aren't in any particular order. Some I've read, while others are waiting to be read on my ever-growing stack of must-read books.
1) "The Son" by Philipp Meyer. I raved about this epic American western a couple weeks ago before I had even finished it, and now that I have, I'm still raving. A sweeping yet compellingly intimate novel spanning close to 200 years that's as vast as the Texas landscape it describes. For fans of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian", Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove", and Edna Ferber's "Giant", it chronicles four generations of a Texas ranch family. The characters are uncompromising, violent, and utterly unsympathetic in their thoughts and actions, yet somehow Mr. Meyer makes you care about these people and long to cut loose on the harsh but beautiful Texas range. I'm recommending this book to anyone and everyone I know -- a truly Great American Novel.
2) "The Fortunes of the Rougons" by Emile Zola. This is the first novel in Zola's classic 20-book series about the rise and fall of the Rougon-Macquart family, set against the backdrop of Bonapartism and Empire in late 19th century France. I'm about two-thirds of the way through Brian Nelson's excellent new translation and as an entree into mid-to-late 19th century French literature, this is a grand read. With the exception of the star-crossed (and yes, doomed) young lovers Silvere and Miette, this is another novel filled with characters who aren't naturally sympathetic--in fact, what they do to each other is downright rather despicable--but Zola is a master of social realism and revolution. European history buffs will enjoy reading about Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat of 1851 through the lens of fictional characters caught up in the ebb and flow of history. Fans of "Les Miserables" will enjoy some of the parallels between this novel and Victor Hugo's epic classic (and appreciate, I don't doubt, Zola's relative brevity). Not traditional beach reading to be sure, but once you get into it, the story is unputdownable.
3) "Diaghilev: a Life" by Sjeng Scheijen. After having enjoyed the Diaghilev exhibition currently on display through the summer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., I was curious to learn more about the great Russian theatrical impresario and his famous and influential Ballet Russes. Scheijen's recent biography presents Diaghilev's larger-than-life persona with a panache worthy of its star and its supporting cast is equally as fascinating -- Stravinsky, Nijinsky, and Coco Chanel are just a few of the cultural icons who figure into the story. For lovers of ballet, art, theatre, and 20th century Russian history, "Diaghilev: A Life" is a feast.
4) "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris. For those of you looking for something on the lighter side, you surely can't go wrong with Mr. Sedaris's latest collection of essays. The title alone let's you know you're in for another treat. I haven't read it yet, but Sedaris is one of the few humor writers today who invariably makes me laugh out loud. A perfect salve to restore your faith in humanity and a celebration of all life's foibles.
5) "Defending Jacob" by William Landay. This is legal fiction at its finest. Landay elevates the somewhat tired genre by infusing his novel with a pathos and sensitivity not usually found in legal thrillers, while still keeping you impulsively turning the pages. I'm not going to give away any of the plot other than to say that the story is eerily topical, covering some of the same territory as Lionel Shriver's brilliant novel "We Need to Talk about Kevin", with an ending that for me ranks right up there with the devastating final paragraphs of Ian McEwan's "Atonement". Like Shriver's and McEwan's novels, this is another that will haunt you long after you've read (and reread) the final page.
Happy summer reading!
With tomorrow's unofficial start to the 4th of July "weekend" I thought I'd use this column today to highlight some of the books I've been reading -- or are on my summer beach reading list -- in case any of you are looking for a great read while working on that tan at the beach. These aren't in any particular order. Some I've read, while others are waiting to be read on my ever-growing stack of must-read books.
1) "The Son" by Philipp Meyer. I raved about this epic American western a couple weeks ago before I had even finished it, and now that I have, I'm still raving. A sweeping yet compellingly intimate novel spanning close to 200 years that's as vast as the Texas landscape it describes. For fans of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian", Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove", and Edna Ferber's "Giant", it chronicles four generations of a Texas ranch family. The characters are uncompromising, violent, and utterly unsympathetic in their thoughts and actions, yet somehow Mr. Meyer makes you care about these people and long to cut loose on the harsh but beautiful Texas range. I'm recommending this book to anyone and everyone I know -- a truly Great American Novel.
2) "The Fortunes of the Rougons" by Emile Zola. This is the first novel in Zola's classic 20-book series about the rise and fall of the Rougon-Macquart family, set against the backdrop of Bonapartism and Empire in late 19th century France. I'm about two-thirds of the way through Brian Nelson's excellent new translation and as an entree into mid-to-late 19th century French literature, this is a grand read. With the exception of the star-crossed (and yes, doomed) young lovers Silvere and Miette, this is another novel filled with characters who aren't naturally sympathetic--in fact, what they do to each other is downright rather despicable--but Zola is a master of social realism and revolution. European history buffs will enjoy reading about Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat of 1851 through the lens of fictional characters caught up in the ebb and flow of history. Fans of "Les Miserables" will enjoy some of the parallels between this novel and Victor Hugo's epic classic (and appreciate, I don't doubt, Zola's relative brevity). Not traditional beach reading to be sure, but once you get into it, the story is unputdownable.
3) "Diaghilev: a Life" by Sjeng Scheijen. After having enjoyed the Diaghilev exhibition currently on display through the summer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., I was curious to learn more about the great Russian theatrical impresario and his famous and influential Ballet Russes. Scheijen's recent biography presents Diaghilev's larger-than-life persona with a panache worthy of its star and its supporting cast is equally as fascinating -- Stravinsky, Nijinsky, and Coco Chanel are just a few of the cultural icons who figure into the story. For lovers of ballet, art, theatre, and 20th century Russian history, "Diaghilev: A Life" is a feast.
4) "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris. For those of you looking for something on the lighter side, you surely can't go wrong with Mr. Sedaris's latest collection of essays. The title alone let's you know you're in for another treat. I haven't read it yet, but Sedaris is one of the few humor writers today who invariably makes me laugh out loud. A perfect salve to restore your faith in humanity and a celebration of all life's foibles.
5) "Defending Jacob" by William Landay. This is legal fiction at its finest. Landay elevates the somewhat tired genre by infusing his novel with a pathos and sensitivity not usually found in legal thrillers, while still keeping you impulsively turning the pages. I'm not going to give away any of the plot other than to say that the story is eerily topical, covering some of the same territory as Lionel Shriver's brilliant novel "We Need to Talk about Kevin", with an ending that for me ranks right up there with the devastating final paragraphs of Ian McEwan's "Atonement". Like Shriver's and McEwan's novels, this is another that will haunt you long after you've read (and reread) the final page.
Happy summer reading!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
In the wake of SCOTUS's Ruling Against DOMA, Transgenderism and the Law
Hi everyone!
In the wake of yesterday's historic Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, I thought I'd share an article I wrote that was published in last week's issue of Publisher's Weekly about the changing field of LGBTQ-related books.
For those of you who don't know, I'm an Executive Editor for the Flagship imprint of ABA Publishing, the book publishing division of the American Bar Association. Next month, we will be publishing a groundbreaking book on transgenderism and the law. Here is my piece in full:
"One thing I've noticed, at least in national media, is the rise in prevalence of stories relating to legal and personal challenges faced by transgender individuals. A population that heretofore seems to have been relegated by the press to the fringes of collective social conscience is gradually starting to come to the forefront. As a result, I think we're going to see more books being publishing (both non-fiction and fiction) that address the very real challenges transgender individuals face on a daily basis.
This July, ABA Publishing (the book publishing division of the American Bar Association), is going to be publishing what I think is a truly groundbreaking work. Transgender Persons and the Law, written by transgender attorney Ally Windsor Howell, brings together--for the first time ever--a comprehensive overview of the laws and landmark court cases involving transgender individuals in a variety of legal situations, including housing, military service and veterans benefits, family law, education, health care, personal safety, employment, immigration, and criminal justice. It also discusses the myriad legal documents transgender persons need to understand before filling out paperwork in order to change their name, birth certificate, and gender identification. As an added benefit, it includes a CD with a complete set of legal forms for all fifty states and the District of Columbia for name changes and, for those jurisdictions that allow it, changes to birth certificates. To my knowledge, this has never been done before.
It makes for very compelling -- as well as often distressing -- reading. What it also does is help raise awareness to the fact that an entire segment of our population may not be fully cognizant of their rights in addition to being underserved and underrepresented by our legal community. This book -- and others like it -- will hopefully make strides toward providing not just transgender individuals and the lawyers who represent them with the legal information necessary to preserve those individual rights, but will also further educate the population at large.
I believe it is our duty as publishers and thought leaders to educate and inform the public on all socially relevant issues. And while we have certainly made tremendous strides over the past 10-15 years in providing tools for greater understanding and appreciation of the concerns and issues faced by the LGBTQ population as a whole, we still have a long way to go."
The article is also available online at the Publisher's Weekly website: www.publishersweekly.com. But in order to access it, you do need to be a subscriber...
Ciao.
In the wake of yesterday's historic Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, I thought I'd share an article I wrote that was published in last week's issue of Publisher's Weekly about the changing field of LGBTQ-related books.
For those of you who don't know, I'm an Executive Editor for the Flagship imprint of ABA Publishing, the book publishing division of the American Bar Association. Next month, we will be publishing a groundbreaking book on transgenderism and the law. Here is my piece in full:
"One thing I've noticed, at least in national media, is the rise in prevalence of stories relating to legal and personal challenges faced by transgender individuals. A population that heretofore seems to have been relegated by the press to the fringes of collective social conscience is gradually starting to come to the forefront. As a result, I think we're going to see more books being publishing (both non-fiction and fiction) that address the very real challenges transgender individuals face on a daily basis.
This July, ABA Publishing (the book publishing division of the American Bar Association), is going to be publishing what I think is a truly groundbreaking work. Transgender Persons and the Law, written by transgender attorney Ally Windsor Howell, brings together--for the first time ever--a comprehensive overview of the laws and landmark court cases involving transgender individuals in a variety of legal situations, including housing, military service and veterans benefits, family law, education, health care, personal safety, employment, immigration, and criminal justice. It also discusses the myriad legal documents transgender persons need to understand before filling out paperwork in order to change their name, birth certificate, and gender identification. As an added benefit, it includes a CD with a complete set of legal forms for all fifty states and the District of Columbia for name changes and, for those jurisdictions that allow it, changes to birth certificates. To my knowledge, this has never been done before.
It makes for very compelling -- as well as often distressing -- reading. What it also does is help raise awareness to the fact that an entire segment of our population may not be fully cognizant of their rights in addition to being underserved and underrepresented by our legal community. This book -- and others like it -- will hopefully make strides toward providing not just transgender individuals and the lawyers who represent them with the legal information necessary to preserve those individual rights, but will also further educate the population at large.
I believe it is our duty as publishers and thought leaders to educate and inform the public on all socially relevant issues. And while we have certainly made tremendous strides over the past 10-15 years in providing tools for greater understanding and appreciation of the concerns and issues faced by the LGBTQ population as a whole, we still have a long way to go."
The article is also available online at the Publisher's Weekly website: www.publishersweekly.com. But in order to access it, you do need to be a subscriber...
Ciao.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Paula Deen and Race in America
Hello everyone!
Paula Deen. Yeah, yeah, I know. The media has been going haywire over this story since it broke on Friday and frankly, I've never seen Paula Deen's cooking shows or been to any of her restaurants or made a single one of her recipes. On the surface of things, I really don't care. But I suppose this whole hoopla raises a series of interesting issues. Obviously race in America is still very much a hot button topic. The "n-word" is dreadful. It should be barred from the English lexicon. What I find so interesting though is that Ms. Deen is receiving support from some of the African American community who seem to accept her apologies on the basis that Ms. Deen grew up in a different, less enlightened, time, that she has publicly apologized for having said the "n-word", and that this does not necessarily brand her as racist.
It brings to mind a thoughtful conversation I had this week over dinner with an author friend of mind in town from Birmingham, Alabama. I mentioned to him that whenever I've been in the South -- albeit limited to the wealthier suburbs of Atlanta -- I've always been struck by the sense that there is a greater 'integration' down there between whites and African Americans. There's a looser kind of camaraderie between the races, at least within the circles among which I've traveled, than exists here in Chicago, which to me is very much a Northern city.
He explained that because--especially in Birmingham which was and is the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement--integration was and is so heavily enforced, the barriers between whites and blacks just, at least on the surface, fade away. Here in Chicago, there's still a noticeable division between the "black neighborhoods" (the South and West sides) and the "white neighborhoods" (downtown, The Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, and the North Side) that the city has been branded one of the most segregated in the United States.
Chicago's seemingly endemic gun violence that tops international headlines is pretty much relegated to African American neighborhoods on the South and West sides. I live in the West Loop. My parents live in Lincoln Park. I work in River North. I exist pretty much in a white bubble. But it's only nine minutes on the expressway from my house to West Garfield Park, one of the most underprivileged and violent neighborhoods in Chicago. Over the span of about a year I spent at least part of every week day student teaching and then tutoring African American high school students in an at-risk public school. At first I didn't know how I was going to cope. The prospect terrified me. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, I'm about as white as they come. How was I ever going to get four classes of inner-city African American high school seniors interested in British Literature, let alone take me seriously?
But you know what? Somehow, it happened. I fell in love with those kids. I saw a whole side of life that I'd previously been sheltered from. Not a single one of them had been unaffected by some major trauma in their young lives -- the shooting deaths of friends and relatives, teenage pregnancy, broken families, homelessness, and/or a combination of all of the above. I listened to them. And while I couldn't necessarily relate, I empathized. I gave them a voice. I told them about my own experiences and I found a way to relate 19th century British literature to these kids. Behind the swagger and the tough-guy/girl veneer, most of them just wanted someone to listen to them, to talk to them, to give them a positive role model. They accepted me and I accepted them.
It's been more than a year since I last stepped foot in those classrooms. I've given up on teaching because, at least in the public schools here in Chicago, the system is run by petty and bureaucratic administrators who can't look past race and only care about preserving the status quo. But I think about those kids often and I'd like to think I made a difference -- however small -- in at least one of their lives, because they certainly made a difference on mine.
In getting back to Paula Deen....is she or isn't she a racist? Should she or shouldn't she have been fired by the Food Network? It's not for me to say. The only thing I will say is that we are all guilty -- whites, blacks, whatever -- on some level of using race as a barrier and an excuse for failing to see that beneath the color of our skin, we are all human. We all have the same desires, the same fears, the same hopes, the same longing for validation. This is what the media should be exploring. There's certainly a lesson to be learned here...probably several lessons. It's time to limit the accusations and the finger pointing. It's time to really engage and listen.
Somehow though I think this is too much to ask. I hope I'm proven wrong.
Ciao.
Paula Deen. Yeah, yeah, I know. The media has been going haywire over this story since it broke on Friday and frankly, I've never seen Paula Deen's cooking shows or been to any of her restaurants or made a single one of her recipes. On the surface of things, I really don't care. But I suppose this whole hoopla raises a series of interesting issues. Obviously race in America is still very much a hot button topic. The "n-word" is dreadful. It should be barred from the English lexicon. What I find so interesting though is that Ms. Deen is receiving support from some of the African American community who seem to accept her apologies on the basis that Ms. Deen grew up in a different, less enlightened, time, that she has publicly apologized for having said the "n-word", and that this does not necessarily brand her as racist.
It brings to mind a thoughtful conversation I had this week over dinner with an author friend of mind in town from Birmingham, Alabama. I mentioned to him that whenever I've been in the South -- albeit limited to the wealthier suburbs of Atlanta -- I've always been struck by the sense that there is a greater 'integration' down there between whites and African Americans. There's a looser kind of camaraderie between the races, at least within the circles among which I've traveled, than exists here in Chicago, which to me is very much a Northern city.
He explained that because--especially in Birmingham which was and is the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement--integration was and is so heavily enforced, the barriers between whites and blacks just, at least on the surface, fade away. Here in Chicago, there's still a noticeable division between the "black neighborhoods" (the South and West sides) and the "white neighborhoods" (downtown, The Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, and the North Side) that the city has been branded one of the most segregated in the United States.
Chicago's seemingly endemic gun violence that tops international headlines is pretty much relegated to African American neighborhoods on the South and West sides. I live in the West Loop. My parents live in Lincoln Park. I work in River North. I exist pretty much in a white bubble. But it's only nine minutes on the expressway from my house to West Garfield Park, one of the most underprivileged and violent neighborhoods in Chicago. Over the span of about a year I spent at least part of every week day student teaching and then tutoring African American high school students in an at-risk public school. At first I didn't know how I was going to cope. The prospect terrified me. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, I'm about as white as they come. How was I ever going to get four classes of inner-city African American high school seniors interested in British Literature, let alone take me seriously?
But you know what? Somehow, it happened. I fell in love with those kids. I saw a whole side of life that I'd previously been sheltered from. Not a single one of them had been unaffected by some major trauma in their young lives -- the shooting deaths of friends and relatives, teenage pregnancy, broken families, homelessness, and/or a combination of all of the above. I listened to them. And while I couldn't necessarily relate, I empathized. I gave them a voice. I told them about my own experiences and I found a way to relate 19th century British literature to these kids. Behind the swagger and the tough-guy/girl veneer, most of them just wanted someone to listen to them, to talk to them, to give them a positive role model. They accepted me and I accepted them.
It's been more than a year since I last stepped foot in those classrooms. I've given up on teaching because, at least in the public schools here in Chicago, the system is run by petty and bureaucratic administrators who can't look past race and only care about preserving the status quo. But I think about those kids often and I'd like to think I made a difference -- however small -- in at least one of their lives, because they certainly made a difference on mine.
In getting back to Paula Deen....is she or isn't she a racist? Should she or shouldn't she have been fired by the Food Network? It's not for me to say. The only thing I will say is that we are all guilty -- whites, blacks, whatever -- on some level of using race as a barrier and an excuse for failing to see that beneath the color of our skin, we are all human. We all have the same desires, the same fears, the same hopes, the same longing for validation. This is what the media should be exploring. There's certainly a lesson to be learned here...probably several lessons. It's time to limit the accusations and the finger pointing. It's time to really engage and listen.
Somehow though I think this is too much to ask. I hope I'm proven wrong.
Ciao.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
6.16.13: My Top 5 for the Week
Hi everyone!
Here's my Top 5 list for this week. Enjoy!
1) Emad Burnat's incredibly moving documentary "Five Broken Cameras". This film was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It is extraordinary. Over the span of five years -- 2005-2010 -- Mr. Burnat used 5 videocameras to document his West Bank village Bil'in's weekly protests against Israeli settlement expansion. Each camera was destroyed by an Israeli soldier (bullet, tear gas canister, fist) but Mr. Burnat found another camera and continued to film. Unlike anything I've ever seen or read about the Palestinian protest movement, this film humanizes the conflict and distills it into everyday experience that anyone can appreciate if not relate to. What results is an incredible narrative of one man's/one village's fight for freedom, dignity, and survival. "Five Broken Cameras" is a tragic and visceral film but what emerges most is Mr. Burnat's inspiring resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. For anyone who follows and/or cares about what's going on in the Middle East, this film should be required viewing. For more information please click onto Mr. Burnat's website www.emadburnet.com.
2) And while we're on the subject of documentaries, Jeremy Scahill's just released in theaters and On Demand film "Dirty Wars" is another of my top picks for the week. I wrote about it at length the other day so I'll keep my commentary brief. "Dirty Wars" follows Mr. Scahill's journey to Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia to understand and document the covert underbelly of the US War on Terror. The film is riveting for the questions it asks and the footage it shows and Mr. Scahill, a journalist for The Nation, is an expert and compelling tour guide.
3) From the sublime to the slightly ridiculous, I just finished the last two of episodes of "Game of Thrones" Season Three. As a big (but rather critical) fan of George RR Martin's novels upon which the series remains impressively faithful, I found this season suffered from the same fundamental defect of its source material. We're getting to a point where there are simply too many characters and too much plot that the storytelling is getting too spread out and the pacing somewhat cumbersome. However...the infamous Blood Wedding sequence that closed out Episode Nine was as shocking and defining as it was in the book. And the final scene of Season Three with Daenarys Targarian (Khaleesi) being lifted into the collective arms of the liberated slaves of Junkai is one of the all-time great Game of Thrones moments, right up there with the Season One finale when Daenarys emerges naked from the ashes with the baby dragons. It is so ridiculous you have to laugh but at the same time so deliciously audacious. Other Season Three highlights: any and all of Arya (Maisie Williams) Stark's scenes. This little girl is a fantastic actress who seems to be really growing into the role; Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister. We didn't get much of him this season but Mr. Dinklage's ironic line readings especially in response to his nephew, mad king Joffrey, are priceless. Best line of the season, also from the final episode: "Killed a few puppies today?"; Lena Headey's ice queen Cersei continues to steal every scene she's in as does her on-screen brother, Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) Lannister. As despicable as Jamie is, Mr. Coster-Waldau manages to bring out a strange kind of humanity in the guy that has you kind of cheering for him despite all his rather egregious nastiness. Since I know what's coming, having read the novels, Season 4 should be epic.
4) Philipp Meyers' novel "The Son". If you're a fan of Cormac McCarthy or "Lonesome Dove", you gotta read this novel. I'm about halfway through so I can't give a complete review, but I will say this will most assuredly be one of my top fiction picks for 2013. Three generations of one great Texas ranch family set in 1850, 1917, 1945, and 2012. Meyers's prose is understated, assured, and driven, a hybrid of "Little Big Man" and "Giant" but wholly original. It just hit the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List at Number 10 and I can guarantee it'll be one of the most talked-about books of the summer if not of 2013.
5) The roofdeck bar of Trump's Sixteen in Chicago's Trump Tower: some of the best views in Chicago (if not some of the most expensive drinks!) I know it's summer in Chicago when the roof deck is open. Sure, the place is a bit overpriced but it's so perfect that you almost forgive the trumped-up price. And the Wagyu beef sliders ain't bad either. Enjoy!
Here's my Top 5 list for this week. Enjoy!
1) Emad Burnat's incredibly moving documentary "Five Broken Cameras". This film was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It is extraordinary. Over the span of five years -- 2005-2010 -- Mr. Burnat used 5 videocameras to document his West Bank village Bil'in's weekly protests against Israeli settlement expansion. Each camera was destroyed by an Israeli soldier (bullet, tear gas canister, fist) but Mr. Burnat found another camera and continued to film. Unlike anything I've ever seen or read about the Palestinian protest movement, this film humanizes the conflict and distills it into everyday experience that anyone can appreciate if not relate to. What results is an incredible narrative of one man's/one village's fight for freedom, dignity, and survival. "Five Broken Cameras" is a tragic and visceral film but what emerges most is Mr. Burnat's inspiring resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. For anyone who follows and/or cares about what's going on in the Middle East, this film should be required viewing. For more information please click onto Mr. Burnat's website www.emadburnet.com.
2) And while we're on the subject of documentaries, Jeremy Scahill's just released in theaters and On Demand film "Dirty Wars" is another of my top picks for the week. I wrote about it at length the other day so I'll keep my commentary brief. "Dirty Wars" follows Mr. Scahill's journey to Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia to understand and document the covert underbelly of the US War on Terror. The film is riveting for the questions it asks and the footage it shows and Mr. Scahill, a journalist for The Nation, is an expert and compelling tour guide.
3) From the sublime to the slightly ridiculous, I just finished the last two of episodes of "Game of Thrones" Season Three. As a big (but rather critical) fan of George RR Martin's novels upon which the series remains impressively faithful, I found this season suffered from the same fundamental defect of its source material. We're getting to a point where there are simply too many characters and too much plot that the storytelling is getting too spread out and the pacing somewhat cumbersome. However...the infamous Blood Wedding sequence that closed out Episode Nine was as shocking and defining as it was in the book. And the final scene of Season Three with Daenarys Targarian (Khaleesi) being lifted into the collective arms of the liberated slaves of Junkai is one of the all-time great Game of Thrones moments, right up there with the Season One finale when Daenarys emerges naked from the ashes with the baby dragons. It is so ridiculous you have to laugh but at the same time so deliciously audacious. Other Season Three highlights: any and all of Arya (Maisie Williams) Stark's scenes. This little girl is a fantastic actress who seems to be really growing into the role; Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister. We didn't get much of him this season but Mr. Dinklage's ironic line readings especially in response to his nephew, mad king Joffrey, are priceless. Best line of the season, also from the final episode: "Killed a few puppies today?"; Lena Headey's ice queen Cersei continues to steal every scene she's in as does her on-screen brother, Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) Lannister. As despicable as Jamie is, Mr. Coster-Waldau manages to bring out a strange kind of humanity in the guy that has you kind of cheering for him despite all his rather egregious nastiness. Since I know what's coming, having read the novels, Season 4 should be epic.
4) Philipp Meyers' novel "The Son". If you're a fan of Cormac McCarthy or "Lonesome Dove", you gotta read this novel. I'm about halfway through so I can't give a complete review, but I will say this will most assuredly be one of my top fiction picks for 2013. Three generations of one great Texas ranch family set in 1850, 1917, 1945, and 2012. Meyers's prose is understated, assured, and driven, a hybrid of "Little Big Man" and "Giant" but wholly original. It just hit the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List at Number 10 and I can guarantee it'll be one of the most talked-about books of the summer if not of 2013.
5) The roofdeck bar of Trump's Sixteen in Chicago's Trump Tower: some of the best views in Chicago (if not some of the most expensive drinks!) I know it's summer in Chicago when the roof deck is open. Sure, the place is a bit overpriced but it's so perfect that you almost forgive the trumped-up price. And the Wagyu beef sliders ain't bad either. Enjoy!
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