tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50838782011-12-14T21:46:36.913-05:00Cinema Current Events Criticism Architecture ThoughtYuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.comBlogger661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1105508183502810792005-01-12T01:30:00.000-05:002005-01-12T00:36:23.503-05:00

Now that I think back on watching the Godard film last night - probably the most memorable aspect of it - beyond the actual film - which was everything one could say about a great work of art (except that it was made for 'enterntainment' purposes) - was that the cinema itself was empty!!! At 7:30 pm empty. Empty except for me and three other viewers. And this in the what we and many others

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1105424145448643202005-01-10T23:15:00.000-05:002005-01-11T01:15:45.446-05:00

Godard's Notre Music is one of the most fitting closing thoughts to the 20th century and a good thing he took his time to make it. A broad Dante like reflection on the nature of human interaction, this film meditates on the possiblity for rebirth after the trauma of war. Dense, passionate, honest, clear and at once cryptic, this film is, in the tradition of Godard, a visual and aural essay on

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1104707932879166452005-01-02T18:16:00.000-05:002005-01-02T18:18:52.880-05:00

The two main NY Times film critics - A.O. Scott and Manhola Dargis discuss movies, films and cinema in the last year.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1104299024574620062004-12-28T23:53:00.000-05:002004-12-29T01:30:43.106-05:00

It was with great sadness that I read that Susan Sontag died here in Manhattan today. She was a towering figure in late 20th Century thought and a controversial figure who did not give up. I read "On Photography" and "Against Interpretation" at NYU and based two essays, one on the relationship between Theater and Film and the other on Godard's Vivre Sa Vie based on her essays. These works were

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1104129953289864732004-12-27T01:44:00.000-05:002004-12-27T01:45:53.290-05:00

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1104085158519086732004-12-26T13:14:00.000-05:002004-12-27T01:44:25.020-05:00

A visit to the rebuilt Museum of Modern Art in New York City was my Christmas Eve treat. The most famed and venerable museum of the 20th Century has now been reopened in a new home - an expanded its spatial framework that will allow it to be prepared for another century of leadership in the art world. There has been a huge amount of anticipation in advance of this opening. Not just because a

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1103415863474401352004-12-18T18:35:00.000-05:002004-12-18T19:25:02.356-05:00

On the very last leg of my most intensive European trip yet. Almost 3 weeks on the road - with so many stops in so many countries it's hard for me to even remember where it all started. But I will remember tomorrow, as I head back to Paris to pick up the late night flight on Monday back to NYC. The blur of European cities is racing in my mind - Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Koln, Munich, London,

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1102178502045218442004-12-04T11:26:00.000-05:002004-12-04T11:48:03.650-05:00

I am sitting in De Jaren...deemed my favorite cafe in Amsterdam. It is a placial modernist place, sprawling over two floors next to the Hotel D'Europe and with floor to celing windows looking onto the River Amstel, for which Amsterdam is named. Multitudes of people fill the place with a constant buzz of conversation in a full array of languages. The warmly lit multi tiered open space with a huge

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1081667963969261542004-04-11T03:19:00.000-04:002004-04-11T23:26:41.590-04:00

For a student of film, which officially I still am, I can say that I am not obsessive about the medium I love. I can go for a while without seeing a movie, and somehow function just fine. I never feel like I am going cold turkey or giving up something essential. I think that is how I have kept film relevant and magical all these years, despite the academic interest and involvement. I can still

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1079248835113826892004-03-14T02:20:00.000-05:002004-03-14T02:26:18.513-05:00

Though I usually don't write about technology (I don't know why I am totally into it...), I have to write about Skype. I have been using it for a few months now to talk to family and friends, near and far, and but for a few gliches and some moments of lower quality, Skype has been AMAZING!!! The notion that you can download a piece of software that was designed by some real geniuses and then

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1077515821925630132004-02-23T00:57:00.000-05:002004-02-23T01:00:01.543-05:00

Yes...and woe is us if this is the 'solution' to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Chomsky comes out swinging in a New York Times Op-Ed... hard to disagree...wall were never the answer and never kept out the danger. Just an illusion of security with no peace.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1077510912469564292004-02-22T23:35:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:54:59.983-05:00

So it goes...another iconic show ends as its herione walks 'into the sunset' down the streets of her beloved New York engulfed by the crowds on our busy sidewalks to a new phase in her life...so it goes... What is interesting to me, one who really didn't follow Sex and the City AT ALL until the basically the last season (when I gorged on it 'On Demand' in back to back viewings in night after

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1077509094332268612004-02-22T23:04:00.000-05:002004-02-22T23:08:21.013-05:00

Arnold was on Meet the Press this morning in an interview with Tim Russert. To be honest, as someone who was a knee jerk opposer to the idea that Arnold should be Governor, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by his wit, his intelligence and his focus. All taken together, it seemed that he has the potential to be a very formidable poitical force in the country going forward. I didn't

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1075900577071305162004-02-04T08:16:00.000-05:002004-02-04T08:18:11.060-05:00

A new and interesting article by Paul Goldberger in The New Yorker on the architectural process at Ground Zero.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1074975383082414432004-01-24T15:16:00.000-05:002004-01-24T15:20:54.000-05:00

This must be the most pretentious, needlessly over-the-top melodramatic feature of the year. Much ado about totally nothing. This film's stereotypical caricatures of supposed real people is based on totally one dimensional writing and way over done acting, that is not even camp, it's just plain ridiculous. Maybe Ben Kingsley has flipped out, but how can he seriously utter such horrible lines as

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1071706916403393212003-12-17T19:21:00.000-05:002003-12-17T19:22:49.076-05:00

Great little piece in the Guardian with trivia regarding man's first 100 years in the air.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1070855629167297462003-12-07T22:53:00.000-05:002003-12-07T22:54:31.640-05:00

A funny piece in the Guardian about Gwenyth Paltrow and Chris Martin .

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1069653085902077992003-11-23T23:51:00.000-05:002003-11-24T01:27:47.466-05:00

This isn't the memorial people hoped for.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1069651041109203582003-11-22T23:17:00.000-05:002003-11-24T13:37:13.436-05:00

I cannot for the life of me understand how a film like The Station Agent has received so much good press! I mean, I like Aki Kaursmaki too, but as Lloyd Bentsen said to Dan Quayle in 1992 "I worked with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. And senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." I guess the moviegoing public is ready for the divine quirks of another Fellini,

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1069307073394377562003-11-20T00:44:00.000-05:002003-11-20T17:30:32.200-05:00

Great all around survey of the result to the WTC Memorial Competition on the New York Times Web Site, along with an audio and written commentary by Herbert Muschamp which I actually agree with. My sense, viewing all the entries that were judged as finalists, is that there was nothing in any of them them which really resonated with the kind of depth, emotion, intelligence, sensitivity and

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1069200393836821562003-11-18T19:06:00.000-05:002003-11-18T19:07:52.060-05:00

As usual the Guardian presents us with the most original, thought provoking and effective response to a news (worthy ?) event - George Bush's official state visit to the UK (the first since Reagan's in the 80s). By publishing diverse letters of people from both the UK and the US reflecting on and reacting to the visit, we get a real sense of this latest chapter in the ever complex British -

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1069048479916744902003-11-17T00:54:00.000-05:002003-11-17T00:55:19.436-05:00

Another salvo in the battle for the soul of Ground Zero, in NYT description of the struggle between Daniel Libeskind and David Childs of SOM for design control over the project. All as a reflection of the struggle between Governor Pataki and the developer Larry Silverstein.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1068967842898255352003-11-16T02:30:00.000-05:002003-11-24T01:25:18.186-05:00

Finally got around to seeing Lost in Translation tonight . Felt that rather than running to see it with "everyone" post the NYT article about Sofia Coppola, I would wait till the hype dies down as well as the crowds...with the hope that I wouldn't have to fight for a good seat. Well the surprise is: the hype hasn't died down and the crowds are still filling the theaters on Saturday night in

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1068967103702018642003-11-16T02:18:00.000-05:002003-11-16T14:42:46.466-05:00

The Guardian's The world's 40 best directors is a good list of the current crop of mostly mainstream but still interesting directors working in the world today. The majority are American and there are definitly some ommisions (like for example Olivier Assayas or Amos Gitai) but all in all the list is solid with a sharp Euro eye for the quirky, and David Lynch gaining the top spot. Strangely, a

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1068270802832076402003-11-08T00:53:00.000-05:002003-11-08T00:53:20.336-05:00

The debate over the future of ground zero continues on. This time, strike up one very interesting and big point in the Muschamp column. His analysis of the current state and direction of the Liebeskind Master Plan is incisive and erudite and continues his by now (in)famous assault on Liebestkind's design, philosophy and carreer, this time taking it to new and ironic heights with strong allusions

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1068006544965065002003-11-04T23:29:00.000-05:002003-11-04T23:36:45.463-05:00

First off, it's important to say that I have been a huge Coen Brothers fan since being blown away by Blood Simple almost 20 years ago. I can still remember seeing it for the first time and thinking to myself "Wow! That's different and amazing!" . It might be said that this is one of the films that affected my thinking about cinema, one of a New Wave (though small) of my generation, along with

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1067050119090319702003-10-25T00:01:00.000-04:002003-11-24T01:23:03.530-05:00

My current favorite online newspaper The Guardian has published its list of the 40 greatest US bands today and it's quite an interesting bunch. I have to be honest and admit that a certain percentage of the bands I have never heard (of), making me somewhat unhip, I know. But alas, that is life, one grows older and somehow less in tune, less in touch with the things rising in pop culture. And that

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1066494391461246642003-10-24T22:26:00.000-04:002003-10-24T22:43:29.733-04:00

Finallly saw the Israeli film, Yossi and Jagger about the love affair of two officers in the Golani infantry. Not bad. The most intriguing aspect of this film is it's accurate depiction of Israeli army life...the boredom spiked with moment of terror, panic and horror, the incestuous relationships, the tension between the sexes, the insidious faux informality of relationships between ranks. It

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1066491252426961822003-10-18T11:34:00.000-04:002003-10-18T12:21:32.486-04:00

People's Voice The People's Voice is an initiative to help stop the bloodshed in the Middle East which caught my eye. For some reason it has a different feel to it. The notion that at the end of the day, peace might have to emerge through some kind of popular non-violent uprising, not through the vision of politician, seems fresh again. Even if one might consider that notion a bit naive, given

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1062192368721880222003-08-29T17:26:00.000-04:002003-08-29T17:27:25.246-04:00

VOANews.com

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1056819274831025432003-06-28T12:54:00.000-04:002003-06-28T12:54:34.860-04:00

The Many Faces of One Woman in Hitchcock’s The Birds - Part 2 For Part 1 see below. In this film, there is not really one true sympathetic character. Everyone is frightened, distressed, overwhelmed and distraught. Hitchcock paints an unusually dark picture of humanity. This is a film dominated by women and in many ways they are ‘the birds’. Along with Melanie we have two other central female

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-1056254239144464252003-06-21T23:57:00.001-04:002003-06-21T23:59:26.416-04:00

The Many Faces of One Woman in Hitchcock’s The Birds - Part 1 Hitchcock’s portrayal of women in his films is probably the single most controversial and complex aspect of his work. Given the multitude of scholarly writings on the subject it is a challenging task to add much to this; and yet the subject does not cease to intrigue, does not cease to perplex and provoke thought. In her defining

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2002596122003-05-08T01:51:00.000-04:002003-05-20T01:10:32.000-04:00

Russian Ark dir. Alexander Sokurov (2002) Captivating almost 2 hours in one movement through the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alexander Sokurov gives us a tour of Russian history, art and architecture of breathtaking dimensions. Some may find it amazing, some may find it bewildering, some may even find it boring (a friend of mine called it an ad for the Hermitage), but to me, it's one

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2002141132003-04-29T00:48:00.000-04:002003-04-29T00:48:55.553-04:00

Ground Zero/The New World Trade Center (Part 4) This piece from the New York Observer reads like a cross between a gossipy cheap novel and an international intrigue thriller...fascinating...but the bottom line: Libeskind is in control.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001919542003-04-24T02:53:00.000-04:002003-04-24T02:54:35.000-04:00

Here's something "cheery" from the Guardian.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001651222003-04-18T02:09:00.000-04:002003-04-18T02:09:23.246-04:00

Seattle is so liberal....

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001647592003-04-17T23:17:00.000-04:002003-04-18T02:14:42.000-04:00

Dr. Atkins: The Grand Non-Conformist So after praising the Doctor, now we mourn him. Kind of a senseless death, the man slipped and fell. on an icy New York City sidewalk after that last bizarre snow storm at the beginning of April, at the very end of winter. (I remember that Monday...it was one of those moments when one wonders whether the persistence of winter is actually foretelling

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001486092003-04-15T01:46:00.000-04:002003-04-15T02:29:03.000-04:00

In Seattle I am taking a break from the Big Apple for a couple of weeks and sitting high above the Puget Sound looking out at the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and it's capital city, Seattle. On the dining table of a friend's home on Capital Hill, I spotted The Economist's open to a Lexington note about California's (temporary?) irrelevance in a post-9/11 world and I couldn't help thinking

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001484792003-04-15T01:00:00.000-04:002003-04-15T01:38:21.000-04:00

Six Feet Under (part 2) The New York Times ran two articles about 'Six Feet Under' this weekend. The first is a mildly interesting reflection on the show's depiction of the LA art world (mostly from a student's perspective, owing to the fact that Clair is going to LAC-Arts (a backwards reference to the real CAL-Arts, ...). This article did a decent job of highlighting the authenticity of the

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2001248332003-04-10T00:34:00.000-04:002003-04-10T00:34:17.743-04:00

So is the war over? Hard to believe...but beware the euphoria. And let's avoid the gloating. The hard work and true humility is still ahead. At the end of the day, let's face it...200 Iraqis dancing on a Saddam statue does not a victory make.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000995832003-04-04T18:34:00.000-05:002003-04-04T18:38:38.000-05:00

All about Atkins The doctor continues to mystify everyone, from his critics to his company's executives, to the writers at Business 2.0. The bottom line, from one who is on it: It works!!!! Great site too.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000838212003-04-02T01:06:00.000-05:002003-04-02T01:25:38.000-05:00

The Power of Precision Six Feet Under HBO Original Series It’s hard to write about Six Feet Under without resorting to praise that’s almost cliché – everyone is doing it, and has been, since the show debuted two years ago on HBO. Glorious upscale prime time soap opera that it is, abounding with great writing, fantastic acting, inspired production and direction, it represents a creative zenith

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000770572003-04-01T01:19:00.000-05:002003-04-01T01:26:18.000-05:00

What's Wrong with this Picture? After almost 13 days of watching this war on TV…listening to all the "analysis", the "details" and the embedded truth...after all that: the true picture of the war is more elusive, more mysterious, more scarey than ever. What is clear at this point, is that the mainstream media cannot help but be manipulated by the US government as they control the flow of

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000388572003-03-24T16:06:00.000-05:002003-03-24T16:51:41.000-05:00

Oscar Just a word about this event of little real importance. (Usually I don't think it is even remotely relevant to comment on the Oscars, as we all know that it's just a Hollywood PR event par-excellence). But something exceptionally nice happened there yesterday night that counters the arm twisting tactics of the Studios (large and small, read Miramax) to get awards regardless of the

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000333152003-03-23T15:26:00.000-05:002003-03-23T15:26:06.406-05:00

On the Possibility that Saddam will not be President of Iraq by the end of March: Tradersare betting Saddam futures on Tradesports.com. According to an article in this week's New Yorker more and more organizations are reverting to a market environment, called "decision markets" which seem to be the most effiicient system for forecasting the outcome of events as well as other forecasts. Today

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000314532003-03-23T09:48:00.000-05:002003-03-23T10:56:06.000-05:00

Apropos the Surreality of the e-war and the sanitation of suffering... From Susan Sontag's new book Regarding the Pain of Others: ''To speak of reality becoming a spectacle is a breathtaking provincialism. It universalizes the viewing habits of a small, educated population living in the rich part of the world, where news has been converted into entertainment. . . . It assumes that everyone is

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000294282003-03-22T14:44:00.000-05:002003-03-22T14:44:55.936-05:00

Interesting piece about the growing spectre of anti-Semitism that is accompanying this war.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000276612003-03-22T14:19:00.000-05:002003-03-22T15:28:33.000-05:00

This Surreal E-War and it's Mediation So if you thought the 1st Gulf War was one of the most surreal "real time" experiences ever (if you remember it...) ...well here is the great sequel : Gulf War Part II, bigger, better, more advanced, more technologically dazzling, and much much more virtual and scary. As has been the case probably since the Kennedy assisination in 1963 and then the Vietnam

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000208542003-03-20T23:22:00.000-05:002003-03-20T23:32:42.000-05:00

Saddam Gone? Watching Saddam's first televised response to the Anglo-American attack on Iraq, my immediate thought was that this was not him. This man who looked generally like Saddam seemed just that - "generally like" Saddam. It was one of those pathetic moments when you can see the desperation to seem normal, reflecting anything but: the thick glasses covering the face, the statement read

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-2000069172003-03-18T18:04:00.000-05:002003-03-18T18:10:48.000-05:00

Nick Denton has some interesting comments regarding the war

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-908613132003-03-17T11:39:00.000-05:002003-03-17T11:44:31.000-05:00

...and on a "lighter" note... Could this be the beginning of the end for the British monarchy? Talk about explosive...the reports of a secret video diary Diana made for her "own" records and the quotes from it in the Sunday Mirror are beyond juicy...: The Diana Tape

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-908529382003-03-17T11:30:00.000-05:002003-03-17T11:33:59.000-05:00

...apropos France... Despite my clear stand against any kind of boycotting... NO ONE here thinks the French have taken their position on moral grounds...it's all about their interests. So here are some quotes regarding the French from a friend of this blog (thanks John Mueller): "Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." --Norman Schwartzkopf "France has

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-3908297052003-03-17T00:27:00.000-05:002003-03-17T00:59:44.000-05:00

From the I Ching 7th Hexagram: The Army (Wilhelm Version, Bollingen Press, Princeton University) "...war is always a dangerous thing and brings with it destruction and devastation. Therefore, it should not be resorted to rashly but, like a poisonous drug, should be used as a last recourse. The justifying cause of war, and clear and intelligible war aims, ought to be explained to the people by an

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-907633102003-03-15T13:53:00.000-05:002003-03-15T14:12:08.000-05:00

Boycott France? It only hurts US. There are a thousand reasons why NOT to even think of boycotting France, but the most important one is the ones have to do with not betraying the very principles this country was founded on: The right to free speech and free thought. The idea that because France does not agree with the policies of the Bush adminstation (a policy which many Americans don't

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-907451412003-03-15T01:08:00.000-05:002003-03-15T09:54:09.000-05:00

"Whispers blaming the war on a Jewish cabal have got a little louder" - Lindbergh Lives - The Economist Mar 13th 2003

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-907270032003-03-14T15:46:00.000-05:002003-03-14T19:09:54.000-05:00

Thoughts On the Coming War. Part 2 What if the war goes bad? Then the Jews are really in trouble. That's is the growing sense that I have, the more I read about the furor over comments made by Jim Moran regarding the role Jews in the Bush Administration have in pushing for a war with Iraq, and the intellectual sub-debate regarding the extraordinary shift towards conservatism and the unusual

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-904565442003-03-10T10:04:00.000-05:002003-03-12T18:42:47.000-05:00

Thoughts On the Coming War. Part 1. Nothing is sacred it seems, in the eyes of the Bush administration. Not public opinion, not the deep and intricate balance of diplomacy , not the essential relationship with our allies (their people not just their governments), not the American democratic tradition, not history, nothing! They are hell bent on going to war, for reasons, with evidence and with

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-904106372003-03-05T12:07:00.000-05:002003-03-06T11:18:32.000-05:00

Interesting discussion on CNNFn (of all places) about the relationship between public opinion and the war. The participants are academics, so there is supposedly no political "bias". The basic argument they are making is that the case against the war has not been convincingly made, and that the sheer number of protesters is not an argument in and of itself; the anti-war camp hasn't offered

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-904034262003-03-04T01:36:00.000-05:002003-03-04T01:38:47.000-05:00

The capture of Mohammed and the war in Iraq While the world obsesses about Saddam, the CIA is out hunting and capturing Al Qaeda’s leaders. So, is the threat of war on Iraq one of the great Red Herrings in history? If so, then the Bush Administration isn’t as incompetent as we think. Come to think of it…they are in power without having won the election outright...

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903980802003-03-02T22:58:00.000-05:002003-03-03T00:20:27.000-05:00

All or Nothing (Mike Leigh, 2002) In returning to the familiar territory of post-Tory working-class UK, Mike Leigh steps back into the world he left for the amazing, witty and delightful Topsy-Turvy. And a harsh return it is! Many a reviewer. has hailed this as another Leigh master work, at once bleak and loving, brutal and sensitive. For me, it was just bleak and brutal. The story and the

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903963702003-03-02T15:35:00.000-05:002003-03-02T15:53:50.000-05:00

Ground Zero (P4) An interesting reflection on the nature and development of the memorial space and it's specific relationship to GZ by Kirk Johnson in The New York Times: The Very Image of Loss at Ground Zero.

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903768162003-03-02T10:07:00.000-05:002003-03-02T11:11:22.000-05:00

Seeing Polanski's The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002) brought on a slew of emotions and thoughts. That in and off itself makes it worthwhile. I must confess that as Holocaust films go (in the genre - see below)- I did find this latest iteration more precise creative and compelling, even more interesting that any fiction Holocaust film I have yet seen (as "Shoa" is still the greatest of them all

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903910152003-02-28T17:51:00.000-05:002003-03-02T15:41:07.000-05:00

Ground Zero (P3) Unrepentant! And Muschamp still thinks he was right, justifying conflict!!!!

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903908392003-02-28T17:08:00.000-05:002003-02-28T17:27:54.000-05:00

The NY Times Repents!!! So much for the crass burst of favoritism that was Herbert Muschamp's essay trying to discredit the brilliant Libeskind design, with something that was more akin to a plug for Think than honest and unbiased opinion. Now that the winner has been chosen, the NY Times is eating it's own words. It's probably also time to rethink Muschamp as architectural critic, he not only

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-903816602003-02-26T23:25:00.000-05:002003-02-26T23:39:31.000-05:00

Libeskind Wins!!! Bravo to the LMDC for an inspired and courageous choice!!! And Congratulations to the people of New York and the world for a great present to arise on the ashes of our tragedy! The monumental task of designing the site of the WTC has been awarded to the great Berlin-based architect Daniel Libeskind. Knowing the depth of Libeskind's thinking, his great creative mind and past

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5083878.post-3903713592003-02-25T21:30:00.000-05:002003-02-26T00:05:19.000-05:00

This blog will aim for multifaceted, intertextual, cultural commentary, (and I include some politics, business and free association in this definition). My intention is to try and provide a rich forum for opinions and ideas (mostly) and to include friends and readers. the focus will definitely be on the arts: starting with cinema, but with forays into the world of books, music, fine arts and

Yuvalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18324555846784521758noreply@blogger.com0