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The Fringe of the Fringe
Re “On the fringe of the Fringe“—
After a dozen years covering the Fringe, Janet Anderson’s car theft story is the worst I’ve heard.
There’s another thing I learned while covering events at places like Temple or West Philly on dark cold nights. I always bring a guest and never travel alone to the odd spots we intrepid critics go. A companion might have made that awful wait a little less scary for Janet.
So sorry that happened, but it sounds like she uncovered some good stuff in the process of fringe-ing the Fringe.
Merilyn Jackson
South Philly
September 23, 2009
I agree about keeping the Fringe Festival safe. There was crime all around and not much police presence.
Right by the Hub, where the Festival Box Office and Festival Bar were located, my friend’s car got broken into. Also right there, another friend saw a group of people beat up a man. My bicycle was vandalized—nothing major, fortunately.
I never felt safe alone there on those streets. But that was the center location of our activity!
Jamie Simons
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
September 23, 2009
Janet Anderson replies: I haven’t talked with a woman yet who doesn’t have exactly the same reaction— it is your worst fear when running around to all these odd places. There are simple things that the Fringe Festival can do to improve the safety issue so more people want to attend:
1) Have the entrance well lighted. Greene Street Studio has no exterior lights, and its windows are covered with photos, so that no one can see in or out.
2) Have someone at the door, and keep it open to make sure people are getting in and out of the space with no difficulties.
3) If something bad does happen, have some kind of helpful response. Saying, “Yeah, stuff like that happens,” does not help.
An American travesty
I only wish Jackie Atkins’s scourging of the Gosselins had been longer and harsher. They deserve every ounce of vilification that can be heaped upon their child-pimping heads.
And the media that adoringly chronicled their every step along their supremely self-centered path to tinhorn celebrity deserve even more.
At least the Loud family of PBS, the archetype for this nonsense, was interesting. The Gosselins only seem to echo Michael Douglas’s American mantra that greed is good. God save us from them and ourselves.
Bob Ingram
Burleigh, N.J.
September 23, 2009
Christopher Callahan and the Barnes legacy
Victoria Skelly’s “One painter who bought Albert Barnes’s vision” is a really great description of the “inside the Barnes.” It seems that Chris Callahan’s work shares common thread with other Barnes students and certainly recognizable influences by the great artists’ works at the Barnes.
The Barnesian reference raises the possibility that there may be a real Barnes genre among today’s painters. While the Barnes culture has changed, if not died, at least there are a handful of artists whose works reflect and illuminate the Barnes collection and teachings. Their collections and their stories would provide a rich Barnesian experience of its own.
Tom Callahan
St. Petersburg, Fla.
September 22, 2009
George Crumb turns 80
Re “George Crumb: 80 years young,” by Tom Purdom—
I have attended only one George Crumb concert, and that one many years ago at Penn. I remember being transported by the music to the lonely edges of the universe, and beyond. I don’t even remember the name of the piece, only that it was breathtaking.
At one point, the woman I was with— much more musically knowledgeable than I was or am— whispered to me that Crumb himself was sitting several rows behind us. She described him, and I rubbernecked around and had a good look at him— awed.
Happy Birthday to another American original. Long may he live and create.
Bob Ingram
Burleigh, N.J.
September 23, 2009
Big bad bankers
Re “Financial ingenuity in hard times”—
Incentives to die are what capitalism is all about, and thanks to Gerald Weales for pointing out the latest twist on the subject. It is tedious to make the point, but we are in a depression, not a recession. A perfect time to be selling securitized death insurance!
It’s a disservice to Al Capone, however, to associate him with Credit Suisse. Capone and his associates provided an actual product— hard liquor, for which there was public demand. Banks provide only money, which they don’t produce or even transport (you have to come to them to get it).
The federal government should have taken over the banks last winter (if not in Andrew Jackson’s time), when they became insolvent or, in some cases, unwilling to lend. Banks have no God-given right to refuse credit; they hold money that isn’t theirs only for the purpose of redistributing it, and if they refuse to lend it (or have none left to lend) they have no business continuing to exist.
Only a tidal wave of anger is going to keep us from enduring a decade of economic disaster. Instead of public outrage, however, No-Drama Obama preaches bland homilies to Wall Street while allowing structural unemployment to harden, our infrastructure to crumble, and our environment to decay.
Robert Zaller
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
September 23, 2009
Editor’s comment: As I discovered while researching my biography of Anthony Drexel, The Man Who Made Wall Street, most people— and even many financial writers and bankers themselves— don’t really know what bankers do. Essentially, bankers are fund-raisers: They raise capital from depositors and investors for the benefit of corporations, homebuyers and others who need funds. These are valuable services that are indeed greatly in demand. Bankers deserve to suffer the consequences of their mistakes like everyone else, but painting them as cartoon caricatures solves nothing. Neither does “a tidal wave of anger.” George Jones, the first editor of the New York Times, put it this way: “There are very few things in this world worth getting angry about, and they are just the things that anger will not improve.”
‘You lie!’
Re “’You lie!’ and the art of insult,” by Rick Soisson—
Members of the British Parliament are expressly forbidden to call one another liars; if they do, they face expulsion. But they find ways of getting around the proscription beyond Winston Churchill’s reference to “terminological inexactitude.” Another member used “economical with the truth” as his cover. And the actress turned politician Glenda Jackson felt that “misleading” was a helpful euphemism for “lying.”
A female member once shouted across the floor of the Commons that Churchill was drunk, to which he replied, “And you, madam, are ugly; the difference is that I shall be sober in the morning.”
Which raises another parliamentary rule: those accusing other members of inebriation risk removal from the House of Commons. Members are, however, permitted to suggest that the clearly intoxicated be described as “tired and emotional.”
Joe Wilson’s intemperate “You lie!” accusation to the president suggests not only the increasing incivility of our political discourse, but also a lack of subtlety and inventiveness.
David Woods
Society Hill/Philadelphia
September 16, 2009
I get that you’re having some fun here, but I’m quite sure that the point hasn’t escaped you that this was a breach of Congressional etiquette and decorum. It is offered in a period when this particular president is being portrayed as every kind of “other,” from Indonesian Muslim to Nazi to socialist.
They haven’t yet called him a “brother from another planet,” but who knows? There is a word underneath all of these labels that
Obama’s critics haven’t said publicly yet. Guess what that is?
It’s no surprise that the loudest voices in this chorus are southern white men. What do you suppose it all means?
Wil Durant
Yeadon, Pa.
September 16, 2009
Rick Soisson replies: My gut instinct is to agree with Maureen Dowd’s assessment in the New York Times, i.e., Wilson meant to say, “You lie, boy!” But I can’t prove that and neither can she. I’d prefer to separate the matters of race and decorum.
Headlong’s more
Jim Rutter’s critique of more evoked the tired question, “Is it dance?” Whatever Rutter’s response to Headlong Dance Theater’s newest work, I suggest that he and every Philadelphia critic catch up to what was a groundbreaking revelation in the 1960s at New York’s Judson Church: Dance can be all-encompassing and doesn’t need to be fashioned of traditionally virtuosic movement.
Pieces that forever changed the field include Trisha Brown’s Man Walking Down the Side of Building, which was, literally, that, or Roof Dance, in which semaphore-like gestures were passed, as in the game “telephone,” over the rooftops of then-developing Soho. Neither of these might have been recognizable as “dance” in their day, but both have come to be seen unequivocally as dance, and as representing the commendable artistic adventurousness of an era.
Lisa Kraus
Blue Bell, Pa.
September 16, 2009
While it’s great that you’re turning your attention to dance, your uninformed review of Headlong reveals that you have more than 40 years of dance developments to catch up on, starting with the 1960s Judson Church events.
Raymond Ricketts
Powelton Village/Philadelphia
September 17, 2009
Jim Rutter replies: I’m well familiar with Judson Dance Theatre and its history, as I indicated in a paragraph that the editor cut out. Nowhere in my piece (or in my previous dance reviews) did I assert the idea— which I don’t endorse— that dance must only be “traditionally virtuosic movement.” Instead of putting words in my mouth, why not address either of my two main criticisms: the detached, clinical feel of the piece (that the humor failed to overcome), and the failure to evoke the sense of “this is what remains of dance when bodies disappear”?
Editor’s note: To read another response to Jim Rutter’s review, click here.
Nuda veritas
Re Jim Rutter’s review of Melissa James Gibson’s Nuda Veritas—
If I were the mayor of Philadelphia, I would hold a six-hour parade in Jim Rutter’s honor. In a few short, concise paragraphs you have captured the essence of the problems men must eternally endure in trying to establish a fact-based, mutually agreeable relationship with most women.
From love affairs to marriages to simple workplace communication, the uphill effort to find a consistent pattern of empirical or emotional facts to share is a puzzle for most men.
Woman find such experiences with men quite amusing and worth a giggle. Men find such experiences baffling, frustrating and a total mystery. Now we know why men have shorter life spans. It is the medical consequences of trying to understand women!
William Conville
Drexel Hill, Pa.
September 16, 2009
Editor’s comment: In that case, does it logically follow that gay men live longer, on average, than straight men?
Washington’s alter ego
Re “The man who thought he was George Washington,” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
I have worked with Pam and Bill Sommerfield for many years, both as an actor/historian and as the office’s associate producer. Thank you for this lovely article, and thank you for your interest in this odd pursuit of historical interpretation.
Every once in a while, I say to myself, I wish I could be happy with a “normal” job, financial stability and all that. But then I never would have been truly enriched by my association with two of the most ethical, loyal, honorable people.
If you look up the word integrity in the dictionary, there should be a photo of the Sommerfields.
Kim Hanley
Fairmount/Philadelphia
September 18, 2009
Grandfather’s last voyage
“My grandfather’s final voyage,” by Bob Ingram, was a masterpiece of ship’s detail and a gift of beauty from a wonderful storyteller. I can hardly see as I type this; my tears cloud the way.
Dinny Zimmerman
Peterborough, N.H.
September 16, 2009
It is good to read Bob Ingram’s work once again after having lost touch from his South Street Star days. Poignant without sentimentality.
Amy Small-McKinney
Blue Bell, Pa.
September 16, 2009
James Ensor at MoMA
Andrew Mangravite’s piece on the James Ensor show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is welcome— a nice recognition of a disconcerting artist too often reduced to that single painting of skeletons fighting over a herring. Kudos to MoMA as well.
Rick Soisson
East Falls/Philadelphia
September 16, 2009
Concerts to watch
Re “Concerts to watch in 2009-10”—
I respect Dan Coren’s declaration of freedom from the yoke of Orchestra programming, but his conversion this year to contemporary music and jazz in his projected listening is hardly convincing, as there’s almost no jazz or contemporary music in his listings.
How about fully researching what’s out there, Dan, like tuning in to Ars Nova Workshop and Mark Christman’s presenting plans this year. Unbeknownst to most music people in Philadelphia, he’s won national awards and recognition for creative producing of jazz and new music.
I love Dan Coren’s music writing, so I look forward to his
pledged plunge into new territory. Let’s hope he gets there.
Jonathan Stein
Center City/Philadelphia
September 9, 2009
A most unique review
Re Jim Rutter’s review of Fatebook—
Please tell Jim Rutter that unique means “one and only,” so there cannot be a “most unique.”
Michelle Osborn
Haverford, Pa.
September 9, 2009
Jim Rutter replies: A number of cars, homes, and experiences can all be unique (for their own reasons), where “unique” means “highly individualized” or “not usual.” In comparing them, I would argue that it is then possible to speak of the “most unique” out of the bunch. For example, a DeLorean, a Mercedes Gulph-wing and a Lotus Esprit are all “unique” cars in the sense of unusual, stylized or otherwise very differentiated (from other cars), but a car enthusiast could then make the case that one of them is “more unique” than the others, or the “most unique” of the bunch.
In my particular case, the definition of “unique” theater experience clearly does not mean “one and only” (a very limited use of the word, by the way), but “highly individualized.”
Maybe next time I’ll substitute “most extraordinary” for “most unique.” Hopefully, that will please the grammar police.
Editor’s comment: Except those who will ticket you for improper use of hopefully.
Electronic publishing
Re “Writers and publishers in the electronic age,” by Tom Purdom—
Beautiful writing! Some of his best. I’m too lazy to point out his great phrases, well-expressed thoughts and well-developed logic.
William Dorsey
Kennett Square, Pa.
September 6, 2009
The Gonzales Cantata
Re Jim Rutter’s review of my Gonzales Cantata—
To me, The Gonzales Cantata is more about the character of Alberto Gonzales than anything else. The point is not to defend Gonzales or to excoriate him, but to try in some way to identify with this mysterious character. If we look at the facts of his tenure, you’re right, it’s almost impossible to sympathize with a man who brazenly politicized the Justice Department, leading to some of the worst injustices perpetrated by the U.S. government.
What kind of person would do these things? Did he think he’d get away with them? Why didn’t he foresee his own reckoning, which seemed so inevitable?
(His own staff certainly knew what was coming: See the recently released Comey e-mails, which are fascinating and enlightening.)
Part of my impetus in writing the cantata, other than the pure drama of the events, was to ask the question: Is Alberto Gonzales really just like the rest of us? Can a somewhat self-righteous liberal like myself get inside Gonzales’s head and understand what drives a man to do and say the things he did and said?
I don’t claim to fully understand Gonzales’s motives, but I think I made a valiant effort to do so, and I hope my effort encourages others to do the same. I’m not asking you to sympathize with him, but to empathize.
I believe there’s value in trying to understand Gonzales, even if he’s ultimately irredeemable. Maybe understanding will prevent us from repeating the same mistakes. And this may sound a little grandiose, but feeling empathy for someone like Alberto Gonzales makes us better human beings.
After all, without empathy, we become capable of doing terrible things ... like approving the use of torture.
Alternatively, maybe it’s all just entertainment. Did Doctor Atomic have a clear point?
Melissa Dunphy
Northern Liberties/Philadelphia
September 1, 2009
W-era shtick seems so tired. We all need a little aesthetic time and distance, I think (though Oliver Stone, like Dunphy, did not/does not agree). Nice review, Mr. Rutter. Particularly enjoyed your use of the “sack” euphemism.
John Kuebler
Denver, Colorado
September 4, 2009
Bolaño’s 2666
I enjoyed Bob Ingram’s review of Roberto Bolaño’s novel 2666. He makes it seem readable and, God forbid, it may actually be fun.
Any book that comes in a box scares me. But then, I’m weak.
I have read some of Bolaño’s short stories and they are deceptive because they seem so simple and casual in their telling. But the lessons are vast.
Wallace O’Leary
San Francisco Bay area, Calif.
September 2, 2009
A New York disc jockey
Re Bob Levin’s 1955 rock ‘n’ roll memoir—
E-diddly-wow! Just how?… did the redoubtable Mr. Levin get to listen to Jocko in Philadelphia? “The Rocket Ship Show” was New York based, exclusively, I believe.
Bob Liss
San Francisco
September 3, 2009
Bob Levin replies: My recollection is that Jocko started out in Philadelphia and was lured to New York by the bright lights and big money. In return, we received Bob Cerv. I support at least the first portion of that recollection with a Google-searched copy of Jocko’s obit from the Philadelphia Daily News.
Museum admission fees
In “Killing the golden sucker,” Richard Carreño makes the case for free admission to the Art Museum. I have the opposite view. I don’t think there should be any government subsidies for the Art Museum. Nor for anything else, for that matter. Pay as you go!
Lois Linden
Mount Airy/Philadelphia
September 4, 2009
Death and the boxer
Re “Death and the boxer“—
Bob Ingram is one hell of a writer, and I follow all articles in which he appears.
Dinny Zimmerman
Peterboro, H.H.
August 31, 2009
Editor’s note: To read another response, click here.
Waiting for café culture
Re “Waiting for café culture,” by Benjamin Olshin (August 22, 2006)—
We are from Sydney Australia and just came back from a holiday in California. There were plenty of great things to see and do in California, and many of the Californian wines are wonderful. We had a great holiday. But we did notice the lack of a café culture.
In Australia we have a café culture, and you can find many cafés that serve proper espresso machine coffee. I’m more of a tea drinker, with the occasional coffee when I am out somewhere to meet up with friends. In the last two weeks in California I have only had about four cups of tea, and these were normally in restaurants.
In Australia and New Zealand you normally find coffee, tea and milk, plus a hot water jug in hotel and motel rooms. In California, out of the six places we stayed, we only found a coffee maker in one hotel. No tea.
When we travel through populated parts of Australia, we usually find country cafés that serve espresso coffee, tea and good healthy Mediterranean-style food. Traveling on the highways in California, there was an abundance of fast food places, but it was hard to find nice cafés that serve healthy food.
Also, not including sales tax on the price label of an article was an annoyance. In Australia if a label says $10, then you pay $10, as the tax is included on the price tag. Is there any reason for this?
Karen Watson
Sydney, Australia
August 31, 2009
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