Blood From a Stone

Tonight, I caught Blood From a Stone, a new play about a dysfunctional, blue-collar family trying to overcome the personal and economic hardships of  daily life and the attempt to shed the interpersonal baggage that each member has endured over time. I have to say it started it off a bit slow, but  the show hits its stride midway through the first act. What really propels the story along, is not the action or events , but  really just watching the characters on stage together and seeing the history of grievances and familial allegiances revealed.  Watching the dynamics between brother and sister, brother and brother, father and mother, mother and son, etc....play out is pretty intense. The anxiety on stage was palpable!  (The scene between Natasha Leone and Ethan Hawke, as brother and sister,  is notable.)

Written  by  Tommy Nohilly, this play stars Gordon Clapp, Ann Dowd, Thomas Guiry, Natasha Lyonne, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Ethan Hawke, as the lead character. The performances were amazing. Try to catch it, if you can....

Ethan Hawke ---yay! 

My Reco---The King's Speech

If you are in need of some royal inspiration, or experiencing supreme difficulty in articulating what you need to say, check out  the new Weinstein film, The King's Speech.  It's about King George VI, played by Colin Firth,  and his long and ardent attempt to overcome his severe stammering.  Geoffrey Rush plays his charming and unconventional speech therapist, who teases out the psychological  junk and childhood anxieties at the root of the problem.

The performances are bold, the casting is phenomenal,  and the storyline is moving--yet sometimes a wee bit manipulative.  Overall, I recommend it!  




...and for some jolly fun, I've added an original recording of King George VI, addressing the British people  in 1939,  at the outbreak of World War II. Colin Firth masterfully replicates this momentous speech in the film.

Nobody's Fool - Yoshimoto Nara

There's a retrospective exhibition of Yoshimoto Nara's work at the Asia Society running though January 2, 2011. I've always loved the tension of the cuddly and the demonic in his art. (In fact, I had a Nara flip-clock that would feature a new illustration as each minute passed by. I kept it at my desk at work till it started making sad clicking noises and failed to actually properly tell time.) Hoping to check out the show before the onslaught of holiday nonsense....

Jason Schwartzman hawks for the New Yorker

This is a bit old, but just stumbled upon it...

His cousin, Roman Coppola, directed this piece of comedy...

127 Hours

Danny Boyle's new "man versus big-ass rock" film is in limited release (slated to go wide in December) and definitely worth seeing.  Based on Aron Ralston's book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, this outdoor adventure thriller really stands out, especially next to the body of cinematic sludge  that has hit theaters as of late.  127 Hours is well-paced, riveting and recommendation worthy.  You (and everyone else in the theater) will cringe, squirm and shut your eyes during some painful-to-watch scenes, but that's the fun of it all.  Bonus: JAMES FRANCO, who by the way nails the role.

Double Rainbow in Dumbo

Cacharel Shades

Heritage and camel are all the rage, but there's nothing like wearing bright color to put some cheer in your day. These canary yellow Cacharel statement sunglasses are a bit theatrical, but should do the trick.


Via: Opening Ceremony 

Don Draper - Flawed and Fallible

Loved this ep....

Computational Rephotography

a.k.a  photoshopping old photos and new photos  together.
These "Then and Now" photos taken by Sergey Larenkov are pretty cool.

Vienna. 1945/2010. Soviet soldiers at the Imperial Palace Hoffburg.

Via: VSL

Gucci: 1973 Mini-Shoulder Bag

Channeling Rachel Zoe... I LITERALLY die.....

Via: Saks.com