Found this magazine in our hotel room in NYC this weekend ... did a double-take on the title.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Here's one to mull over...
A New York City cab driver last night asked me one of those questions that really makes you think:
"Tell me: Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?"
"Tell me: Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Turning Over A New Leaf...
When I washed up on these shores 13 years ago, I found myself out of step in many ways with the local community. Much of it was linguistic: I drank "pop," called those rubbery things that you shoot at someone "gumbands," and used a "sweeper" to clean the floors. (I have to say, you people talk funny.)
Today, I still use all those words in the comfort of my own home, but I try to conform occasionally in polite society. I’ve found myself allowing words like "dog" and "coffee" to evolve in something resembling an East End way. I’ve also been lectured extensively on "Dawn" and "Don," and had it explained to me repeatedly that the two words are not pronounced in exactly the same—although that particular lesson has yet to sink in.
But there are other phenomena that are stubbornly foreign to me. For instance, the placid acceptance of patronage in local politics. Every instance of someone getting a political appointment, job or other favor simply because of their connections stirs my blood. But most people I talk to shrug and say, "Eh, what do you expect? You get elected, you reward the people who got you there." For the first few years, I frothed and tried to stir up revolution. Today, I’ve scaled it back to simply shaking my head in wonder.
Another thing I confess to being baffled by: leaf pickup. It’s a timely topic, what with the leaves finally beginning to loosen their grip, and Southampton Town preparing to deal with the issue.
With all due respect to everyone who believes fervently that leaf pickup is a God-given right included in Section 3, Paragraph 16, of the Dongan Patent—"Ere, henceforth, the freeholders and commonality of this Towne of Southampton shall nay be troubled by the scrap and land flotsam resulting from harvestime loosening of the flora’s bounty"—I don’t understand the passion on the subject. It seems ridiculous to me.
How is it that we have a right to free and timely pickup of our yard waste but not, say, our garbage? I have heard of municipal garbage collection for years; we even had it in my sleepy little hometown of 1,100 in the woods. (The cost? Eight dollars—every three months.) It makes sense—the last thing a community wants is garbage lying around.
But leaves? Sure, it’s nice to have the town get rid of them free of charge if you rake them to the side of the road. But is it really an essential service? And when the time comes to "cut government spending," as everyone seems eager to do these days, how is this not the first thing to go?
Safety concerns? Please. When’s the last time a serious accident was caused by leaves? And how is piling them at the roadside safer?
I understand there are people who rely on the town’s service and can’t really bag their leaves, or afford to hire someone to do it. But is that really a reason to provide the free benefit townwide, to everyone? Last time I checked, the senior citizen shuttle isn’t making runs to the Boardy Barn on Sundays in the summer. These folks have a right to some special treatment.
I’m not trying to be difficult here—I’m genuinely amazed by this, and I’ve been scolded many times for my position. "It’s the one tangible bit of benefit I get for my tax dollars," one person explained, which is the best argument I’ve heard.
Town officials are squaring off now, and it’s clearly a hot topic for residents. I plan to listen closely, hoping someone will convince me of the error of my ways.
Speak loudly, though—there are a lot of leaf blowers this time of year.
Today, I still use all those words in the comfort of my own home, but I try to conform occasionally in polite society. I’ve found myself allowing words like "dog" and "coffee" to evolve in something resembling an East End way. I’ve also been lectured extensively on "Dawn" and "Don," and had it explained to me repeatedly that the two words are not pronounced in exactly the same—although that particular lesson has yet to sink in.
But there are other phenomena that are stubbornly foreign to me. For instance, the placid acceptance of patronage in local politics. Every instance of someone getting a political appointment, job or other favor simply because of their connections stirs my blood. But most people I talk to shrug and say, "Eh, what do you expect? You get elected, you reward the people who got you there." For the first few years, I frothed and tried to stir up revolution. Today, I’ve scaled it back to simply shaking my head in wonder.
Another thing I confess to being baffled by: leaf pickup. It’s a timely topic, what with the leaves finally beginning to loosen their grip, and Southampton Town preparing to deal with the issue.
With all due respect to everyone who believes fervently that leaf pickup is a God-given right included in Section 3, Paragraph 16, of the Dongan Patent—"Ere, henceforth, the freeholders and commonality of this Towne of Southampton shall nay be troubled by the scrap and land flotsam resulting from harvestime loosening of the flora’s bounty"—I don’t understand the passion on the subject. It seems ridiculous to me.
How is it that we have a right to free and timely pickup of our yard waste but not, say, our garbage? I have heard of municipal garbage collection for years; we even had it in my sleepy little hometown of 1,100 in the woods. (The cost? Eight dollars—every three months.) It makes sense—the last thing a community wants is garbage lying around.
But leaves? Sure, it’s nice to have the town get rid of them free of charge if you rake them to the side of the road. But is it really an essential service? And when the time comes to "cut government spending," as everyone seems eager to do these days, how is this not the first thing to go?
Safety concerns? Please. When’s the last time a serious accident was caused by leaves? And how is piling them at the roadside safer?
I understand there are people who rely on the town’s service and can’t really bag their leaves, or afford to hire someone to do it. But is that really a reason to provide the free benefit townwide, to everyone? Last time I checked, the senior citizen shuttle isn’t making runs to the Boardy Barn on Sundays in the summer. These folks have a right to some special treatment.
I’m not trying to be difficult here—I’m genuinely amazed by this, and I’ve been scolded many times for my position. "It’s the one tangible bit of benefit I get for my tax dollars," one person explained, which is the best argument I’ve heard.
Town officials are squaring off now, and it’s clearly a hot topic for residents. I plan to listen closely, hoping someone will convince me of the error of my ways.
Speak loudly, though—there are a lot of leaf blowers this time of year.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Why I'm Excited About The Hamptons International Film Festival (Part III)
It's here! The HIFF starts tonight, and so I'll simply give you a laundry list of all the remaining films that really caught my attention. If you want to check them out, and see if tickets are available, go to www.hamptonsfilmfest.org. (I'm listing them in alphabetical order to make it easier to find them...)
* Charlotte Rampling: The Look
* Collaborator
* Coriolanus
* Crazy Horse
* The Descendants
* The Price Of Sex
* Scenes of a Crime
* Shame
* The Shore
* Sing Your Song/Belafonte interview
* Undefeated
* Warhol/discussion
* We Have A Pope
* We Need To Talk About Kevin
* The Wholly Family (Terry Gilliam)
* Without
* You've been Trumped
* Charlotte Rampling: The Look
* Collaborator
* Coriolanus
* Crazy Horse
* The Descendants
* The Price Of Sex
* Scenes of a Crime
* Shame
* The Shore
* Sing Your Song/Belafonte interview
* Undefeated
* Warhol/discussion
* We Have A Pope
* We Need To Talk About Kevin
* The Wholly Family (Terry Gilliam)
* Without
* You've been Trumped
Monday, October 10, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Why I'm Excited About The Hamptons International Film Festival (Part II)...
* Special screening of "Election," Saturday, October 15, 1 p.m., Guild Hall (followed at 3:15 p.m. by a conversation between star Mathew Broderick and interviewer Alec Baldwin)
I think Alexander Payne's morality tale set around a high school election is a modern classic--even though I still prefer his "Citizen Ruth" overall. If you haven't seen it, it deserves its treatment here. The added bonus is the after-film conversation...these usually leave me cold, but this one has the potential to be a real fun talk involving two very interesting talkers.
* "The Rum Diary," Saturday, October 15, 8:45 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (2), and Sunday, October 16, 8 p.m., Southampton UA Theater
Johnny Depp famously channeled his friend Hunter S. Thompson in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"; this time he's going to embody a character written by HST--let's cut to the chase: it's still HST--in one of his novels. Bruce Robinson has a nice track record with "Withnail and I" and "How To Get Ahead in Advertising," so it'll be interesting to see what he does with the material. Depp's involvement has the potential to make this a breakout film...so see it here before the buzz begins.
* "Martha Marcy May Marlene," Friday, October 14, 9:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1), and Monday, October 17, 9 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1)
I confess, this is an example of web advertising and buzz both working to promote a film. I had heard some rumbling about the breakout performance Elizabeth Olsen, who is the little sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen...word is that she's amazing in this film, which also features John Hawkes, who is rapidly becoming the Harvey Keitel of his generation--the lesser-known guy with amazing talent whose involvement in a film virtually guarantees its quality. This is a thriller about an upstate cult...I clicked on an ad to watch the trailer, and I admit it looks compelling.
(As an added bonus: For those of you who have never seen them, here are the opening credits for Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void," which I think have now destroyed opening credits for all other directors--this is the greatest presentation of them in movie history. I think it was the Times reviewer who described it as "an explosion in a font factory."):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxgi-PiNFE
I think Alexander Payne's morality tale set around a high school election is a modern classic--even though I still prefer his "Citizen Ruth" overall. If you haven't seen it, it deserves its treatment here. The added bonus is the after-film conversation...these usually leave me cold, but this one has the potential to be a real fun talk involving two very interesting talkers.
* "The Rum Diary," Saturday, October 15, 8:45 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (2), and Sunday, October 16, 8 p.m., Southampton UA Theater
Johnny Depp famously channeled his friend Hunter S. Thompson in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"; this time he's going to embody a character written by HST--let's cut to the chase: it's still HST--in one of his novels. Bruce Robinson has a nice track record with "Withnail and I" and "How To Get Ahead in Advertising," so it'll be interesting to see what he does with the material. Depp's involvement has the potential to make this a breakout film...so see it here before the buzz begins.
* "Martha Marcy May Marlene," Friday, October 14, 9:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1), and Monday, October 17, 9 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1)
I confess, this is an example of web advertising and buzz both working to promote a film. I had heard some rumbling about the breakout performance Elizabeth Olsen, who is the little sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen...word is that she's amazing in this film, which also features John Hawkes, who is rapidly becoming the Harvey Keitel of his generation--the lesser-known guy with amazing talent whose involvement in a film virtually guarantees its quality. This is a thriller about an upstate cult...I clicked on an ad to watch the trailer, and I admit it looks compelling.
(As an added bonus: For those of you who have never seen them, here are the opening credits for Gaspar Noe's "Enter the Void," which I think have now destroyed opening credits for all other directors--this is the greatest presentation of them in movie history. I think it was the Times reviewer who described it as "an explosion in a font factory."):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxgi-PiNFE
Friday, October 7, 2011
Why I'm Excited About The Hamptons International Film Festival (Part I)...
Over the years, the HIFF--which starts next week; watch for the big preview in this week's editions of The Press and at 27east.com--has become one of my favorite things about the East End.
I have had a few of my most memorable movie experiences of all-time at the festival: deconstructing "Citizen Kane," frame by frame, with Roger Ebert; watching a glorious archival print of "City Lights," from the Chaplin estate, with a live band behind the screen playing Chaplin's lovely score for the silent film, at the John Drew; watching one of my favorite films, the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing," on the big screen, then hearing several of the film's principals--including Marcia Gay Harden and Barry Sonnenfeld--discussing the experience. Nirvana for a movie lover.
This year, as usual, there's lots to be excited about--so much, in fact, that I'm going to post a daily update of a few of the items at the festival I'm eager to see (wish I could see them all, frankly). You can see for yourself at hamptonsfilmfest.org, where you can also buy tickets in advance.
So here's Part I of "why I'm excited about the HIFF":
* "Melancholia," Friday, October 14, 6:30 p.m., UA East Hampton Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, noon, UA East Hampton Theater (2)
This is the one movie I've already got tickets for--the Sunday showing, since the Friday night premiere is already in "rush" tickets, and you don't want to take chances when your favorite director's new film is finally hitting the screen.
Lars Von Trier, the Dutch imp who shook up Cannes with some unfortunate "jokes" about Nazis and regular shakes up movie audiences with his remarkable but unsettling films (most recently "Anti-Christ"), might not be my very favorite director, but he's in the final five for sure. His work isn't for everyone, but I think it's some of the most interesting stuff out there.
It's not the American debut of the film--it premiered at the New York Film Festival last weekend, and it allegedly will be available as Video On Demand on some cable and satellite providers starting today (you can bet I'm checking my TV listings as soon as I get home!). But it's still a rare chance to see the film before its limited release in November.
It's got something to do with wedding, and the end of the world, with a planet colliding with Earth. Kirsten Dunst stars. I don't really care--I just know it's likely to be worth seeing.
* East End Films, Saturday, October 15, 10:30 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6); Monday, October 17, 6:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6)
This is bound to be good--we've got so many talented filmmakers based here, including the students who will be featured at the festival--but I'm particularly interested because of one short film, "Two's A Crowd," by former Press intern Tom Isler and his big brother, Jim, who have roots in Southampton. Their documentary is described thusly: The key to Allen and Collette’s midlife marriage has been keeping separate apartments, twenty blocks from each other, in New York City. Soon, financial pressures force the couple to take the plunge and cohabit in Collette's one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. Tom and Jim will both be there for a Q&A afterward, as will the subjects of their documentary.
* "The Bully Project," Friday, October 14, 2 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, 11:45 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1)
Documentary filmmaker Lee Hirsch will be in attendance to discuss his film, which is about a problem that has propped up recently here (see this week's Press) and is a growing topic of conversation nationally: bullying among young people. It's a fascinating topic, and this feature-length film will draw even more attention to an important topic to both adults and kids.
Von Trier
* "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," Friday, October 14, 8:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (5); Saturday, October 15, noon, East Hampton UA Theater (4)
Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky unveil the third documentary in a series on the "West Memphis 3," a trio of Arkansas men who were jailed as teens after being accused of murdering three young boys. I'll spoil the ending: Seventeen years and one ridiculous circus of a trial later, they were finally released this summer. It hardly brings an end to one of the darkest chapters in American justice, one tinged with Satanic panic. (I'll be wearing my "Free the West Memphis 3" T-shirt to the showing, proudly.)
I have had a few of my most memorable movie experiences of all-time at the festival: deconstructing "Citizen Kane," frame by frame, with Roger Ebert; watching a glorious archival print of "City Lights," from the Chaplin estate, with a live band behind the screen playing Chaplin's lovely score for the silent film, at the John Drew; watching one of my favorite films, the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing," on the big screen, then hearing several of the film's principals--including Marcia Gay Harden and Barry Sonnenfeld--discussing the experience. Nirvana for a movie lover.
This year, as usual, there's lots to be excited about--so much, in fact, that I'm going to post a daily update of a few of the items at the festival I'm eager to see (wish I could see them all, frankly). You can see for yourself at hamptonsfilmfest.org, where you can also buy tickets in advance.
So here's Part I of "why I'm excited about the HIFF":
* "Melancholia," Friday, October 14, 6:30 p.m., UA East Hampton Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, noon, UA East Hampton Theater (2)
This is the one movie I've already got tickets for--the Sunday showing, since the Friday night premiere is already in "rush" tickets, and you don't want to take chances when your favorite director's new film is finally hitting the screen.
Lars Von Trier, the Dutch imp who shook up Cannes with some unfortunate "jokes" about Nazis and regular shakes up movie audiences with his remarkable but unsettling films (most recently "Anti-Christ"), might not be my very favorite director, but he's in the final five for sure. His work isn't for everyone, but I think it's some of the most interesting stuff out there.
It's not the American debut of the film--it premiered at the New York Film Festival last weekend, and it allegedly will be available as Video On Demand on some cable and satellite providers starting today (you can bet I'm checking my TV listings as soon as I get home!). But it's still a rare chance to see the film before its limited release in November.
It's got something to do with wedding, and the end of the world, with a planet colliding with Earth. Kirsten Dunst stars. I don't really care--I just know it's likely to be worth seeing.
* East End Films, Saturday, October 15, 10:30 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6); Monday, October 17, 6:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (6)
This is bound to be good--we've got so many talented filmmakers based here, including the students who will be featured at the festival--but I'm particularly interested because of one short film, "Two's A Crowd," by former Press intern Tom Isler and his big brother, Jim, who have roots in Southampton. Their documentary is described thusly: The key to Allen and Collette’s midlife marriage has been keeping separate apartments, twenty blocks from each other, in New York City. Soon, financial pressures force the couple to take the plunge and cohabit in Collette's one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. Tom and Jim will both be there for a Q&A afterward, as will the subjects of their documentary.
* "The Bully Project," Friday, October 14, 2 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1); Sunday, October 16, 11:45 a.m., East Hampton UA Theater (1)
Documentary filmmaker Lee Hirsch will be in attendance to discuss his film, which is about a problem that has propped up recently here (see this week's Press) and is a growing topic of conversation nationally: bullying among young people. It's a fascinating topic, and this feature-length film will draw even more attention to an important topic to both adults and kids.
Von Trier
* "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," Friday, October 14, 8:30 p.m., East Hampton UA Theater (5); Saturday, October 15, noon, East Hampton UA Theater (4)
Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky unveil the third documentary in a series on the "West Memphis 3," a trio of Arkansas men who were jailed as teens after being accused of murdering three young boys. I'll spoil the ending: Seventeen years and one ridiculous circus of a trial later, they were finally released this summer. It hardly brings an end to one of the darkest chapters in American justice, one tinged with Satanic panic. (I'll be wearing my "Free the West Memphis 3" T-shirt to the showing, proudly.)
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