VIP Ladies

Christie’s Leads in Asia Week Auction Sales

Lucas Blumenthal — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:40:14 +0000

NEW YORK—Asia Week auctions this March earned record-breaking prices. Auction houses reported a spike in interest and spending this year, with a total of $140 million in purchases made.

Combined with the $30 million spent with the 40 dealers and galleries participating in Asia Week, and the parallel organization of dealers in Asia Week New York, $170 million was spent on Asian art.

This was the busiest New York Asia Week weve seen in many years, James Lally of J.J. Lally & Co. said in an Asia Week New York press release. L

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“My life dope? (straight cocaine)” [On Killer Mike]

Poppy Edge — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:27:36 +0000

The Damon Albarn Appreciation Society is a series of twenty focused observations, conversations, and thoughts about music. This is the eighteenth. Spending some time writing about what I don’t like about the political music of dead prez got me thinking about what I do like in terms of political music. O

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KidTunes: Mo Phillips Wants a Monster Suit

Dakota Fetherstonhaugh — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:28:36 +0000

“If I had a monster suit, I tell you just what I’d do. I’d find all the bad guys and I’d yell ‘boo!’ And if I had a monster suit, I tell you just what I’d do. I’d run down the hills of this town yellin’ whoooo. In my monster suit.” –Mo Phillips

“Monster Suit” is the last—and shortest—song on Mo Phillips’ latest kidtunes collection, also titled Monster Suit. It is a fitting ending to an album that starts the smiles right from the start (in fact, I burst out laughing at the “singing time” of the opening song, “Toes”). If imagination is a good thing (and it

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DVD Review – Battle Royale 2

Lucas Blumenthal — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:28:08 +0000

I loved the first ‘Battle Royale’ film, even despite its quirky Japanese traits! So I always knew I needed to check out its sequel at some point! But poor old ‘Battle Royale 2′, you tried so hard, and I mean really hard, but you fell so short!

By taking the elements of the first film and mixing in war themes, freedom fighter themes, and turning the melodrama up to 11, just didn’t work! Also add in a shockingly over the top performance by Riki Takeuchi as the teacher figure, which doesn’t even come close to being a tiny bit as good as Beat Takeshi in the first film, and you really are left with a mess of a film, and 2 1/2 hour mess of a film at that! Was

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Spinoza and me

Poppy Edge — Sat, 05 May 2012 03:00:33 +0000

Baruch de Spinoza

It’s amazing how much things can change over the years.

This morning, I came across a blog post I wrote in the beginning of 2008. In it, I talked about how I struggled to understand Spinoza’s Ethics and that until I could get a firmer grasp, I’d probably stick with Maimonides’ proofs for the existence of God.

Well, I’m happy to report that this past fall I finally sat down and made my way through all of Spinoza’s propositions, proofs, corollaries and notes in Ethics. I also read

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‘How To Grow A Band’ At Real Art Ways

Dakota Fetherstonhaugh — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:47:49 +0000

In 2008, Chris Thile of the superstar bluegrass band Nickel Creek decided to branch out into a new direction. He set off with his new band, The Punch Brothers, on a tour with his new string quintet for bluegrass instruments. This is the journey chronicled in “How to Grow a Band.”

Mark Meatto’s documentary, about the demands of the music business, about a star trying a new genre, and the cameraderie of a band, will be shown Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, at Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St.

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Literary Happenings: Maisie Dobbs mysteries’ author to sign latest book

Poppy Edge — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:21:40 +0000

Ojai author Jacqueline Winspear will visit Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks at 2 p.m. Saturday. The creator of the award-winning Maisie Dobbs mysteries will sign “Elegy for Eddie,” the ninth title in her series set in England between the World Wars.

In “Elegy for Eddie,” psychologist Maisie Dobbs revisits the working-class neighborhood of her childhood to investigate the violent death of Eddie Pettit, an old friend of her father’s. After her probing questions uncover lies by people in high places, including the husband of her closest friend and a politician named Churchill, Maisie must decide whether her pursuit of justice comes at too high a price.

Due to the author’s popularity, advance orders are recommended; call 374-0084.

Mysteries to Die For is at 2940 E.

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Destination music: The best festivals you never heard of

Dakota Fetherstonhaugh — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:17:52 +0000

Music festivals are big business in the travel world. Passionate fans are willing to journey across thousands of miles and drop thousands of dollars to see their favorite artists and submerge themselves in their preferred musical genres. The marquee festivals — like Montreal Jazz, Chicago Blues, Coachella Valley — are great, but they represent only a handful of the destination music events in North America. There are dozens of other festivals that are richly deserving of wider exposure. Let’s call them “hidden gems” — events cherished by those in the know, but routinely overlooked by the national media. Here’s a look at six of our favorites, with dates, locations, plus tourism recommendations for the surrounding areas. Get more info…

Former Clancy’s chef to open Annunciation restaurant in New Orleans’ Warehouse District

Lucas Blumenthal — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:46:59 +0000

Steve Manning has been cooking New Orleans food for nearly three decades. Most of that time hes spent as the chef at Clancys, where the dishes Manning helped turn into signatures the fried oysters with brie, the smoked soft-shell crab, the lemon icebox pie are better known than he is.

That is likely to change early this summer, when Manning opens Annunciation, his own restaurant in the Warehouse District. The restaurant will be located at 1016 Annunciation Street, in the old Deanies Restaurant space .

Were going to emphasize New Orleans seafood, not so much fried and boiled but Creole seafood, Manning said of Annunciation.

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Staten Island’s 120 Bay Cafe keeps some precious cargo

Lucas Blumenthal — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:43:46 +0000

120 Bay Cafe, 120 Bay St., St. George; 718-273-7770; website under construction

Menu: Pub grub and eclectic bites that spin off the old Cargo menu and fuse some flavors of DaNoi

Atmosphere: Seriously casual with a partially open kitchen, a main dining room with a bar and long, comfortable table in the middle of the room to eat/drink/hang out over. Back room is for dining and entertainment which includes theme nights around board games, etc.

Hours: Kitchen open Sunday-Wednesday, noon to closing around midnight; Thursday-Saturday, noon to 2 a.m. Get more info…

The Radical Difference of ‘Radical Something’

Dakota Fetherstonhaugh — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:48:41 +0000

Social Media is everywhere these days and has proven to be a big plus in the world of entertainment. The industry is changing so everyone is looking for new ways to branch out, network, and be heard/seen. Music is no exception. Social Media can be a valuable tool for artists. The band Radical Something is a perfect example of this. They have an excellent social media presence as well as a genuine interest in the digital social world.

I have been enjoying their music for a while now, ever since I was introduced to them by Holly Marie Combs (Pretty Little Liars, Charmed, Picket Fences).

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This Week in Panels: Week 132

Poppy Edge — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:48:23 +0000

It’s Sunday, so that means it’s time for This Week in Panels! Lot of good stuff came out this week.

Usually, I’d be accompanied by my usual crew of contributors like David Brothers, Was Taters, Space Jawa, Jody, luis and the others, but recently it’s been brought to my attention that none of them are real. They’re all figments of my imagination, linked to my amazing ability to make mathematical connections. Lately, I’ve been taking pills to help me with this problem, so I should be okay.

And go!

Amazing Spider-Man #544 J. Michael Str

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Emanuel Litvinoff, poet who rebuked T. S. Eliot, dies at 96

Poppy Edge — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:23:22 +0000

I would be remiss if I did not mark the passing of Emanuel Litvinoff, a Jewish poet who publicly rebuked T.S. Eliot’s anti-Semitism in 1951. Litvinoff, who lived in London, died late last month at the age of 96.

Margalit Fox wrote an excellent obituary in The New York Times and you should read it. There’s a great kicker at the end about Mr. Eliot and his appreciation of Mr. Litvinoff’s work.

‘The War We Are Living’ At YWCA

Dakota Fetherstonhaugh — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:40:37 +0000

The YWCA Hartford Region, together with Charter Oak Cultural Center, continues it “Women, War and Peace” series of free film screenings on Tuesday, April 3, with “The War We Are Living.”

The documentary chronicles the efforts of two women in Cauca, a mountainous region inColombia’sPacific southwest, to prevent their people being forcibly displaced by war.

It will be shown at the YWCA at 135 Broad St. Showtime is at 7 p.m. A discussion will follow.

To RSVP to the event, e-mail LeahF@ywcahartford.org or call 860-525-1163 Ext.

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The Lewis Chessmen: Humor Is Cultural

Lucas Blumenthal — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:14:38 +0000

NEW YORK—The diminutive, delicately carved, 12th century Lewis chessmen face off in an endgame at the Cloisters, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art of the Middle Ages.

Their expressive faces, with bulging eyes, down-turned mouths, and gestures with their tiny hands prove a counterintuitive notion. Comical, even adorable, toy-like artwork can achieve historical and international significance.

The exhibit, The Game of Kings: Medieval Ivory Chessmen From the Isle of Lewis, brings 34 of the world’s most famous chess pieces from the British Museum to New York City.

More than 70 chess pieces were unearthed in 1831, buried in a stone chest on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland. Bas

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