Blogcritics Section: Culture

Who Are the Nudes?

Kelsey Marcussen — Fri, 5 Dec 2008 07:30:06 EST

Naked is what one is when stepping out of the shower. It is candid. Nude is premeditated.
Ever since there have been tools with which to make sketches, drawings, paintings, and other types of visual representations, there have been images of nude subjects. There is, however, an essential difference between being nude and being naked. Naked is what one is when stepping out of the shower. It is candid. Nude is premeditated. Yet throughout...

Theater Review (London): The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes at Wilton's Music Hall

Natalie Bennett — Fri, 5 Dec 2008 04:29:56 EST

The waning days of the repressive Protectorate being replaced by the hysterical gaiety of the Restoration is a period with great possibilities.
When you call a play "the Tragedy of [name of famous philosopher here]", and get the Royal Shakespeare Company to stage it, the origins on which you're drawing can hardly be mistaken. And in the waning days of the repressive Protectorate, the hysterical gaiety of the Restoration, and the overlaying memories of Civil War, you've...

Theater Review (LA): A Man's A Man by Brecht and Mueller at the Odyssey Theatre

Robert Machray — Thu, 4 Dec 2008 15:49:06 EST

It's not the shocking piece of agitprop it once was, but Brecht's ode to man's inhumanity still makes for an interesting and engaging evening.
The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, under the able direction of Ron Sossi (who gave up a successful career in television to pursue his theatrical dreams), first presented A Man's A Man in 1969 in protest of the Vietnam War. Mr. Sossi states, “Now it seems timely to present it again.” A Man's A Man tells the story of Galy Gay (the...

Theater Review (NYC): Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit by No Tea Productions

Ethan Stanislawski — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 21:11:32 EST

In a financially starved Off-Off-Broadway scene where quality is a crapshoot, No Tea Productions has emerged as one of the few sure things.
Say what you will about the depressing state of Off-Off-Broadway theater (and it certainly is depressing), one thing you can’t complain about is the unprecedented quantity of theater that currently exists in New York City. Quality theater, and quality coverage, is what’s missing, and venturing Off-Off-Broadway has increasingly turned...

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Wed, 3 Dec 2008 21:11:32 EST

Theater Review (LA): Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist by Neil Bartlett at A Noise Within

Robert Machray — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 08:40:19 EST

It is wonderful to see this familiar tale presented so theatrically that the characterizations and staging are as fascinating as the story itself.
A Noise Within has brought us another Dickens for the holidays, Neil Bartlett’s Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Bartlett sets his tale in a Victorian music hall where the actors sit onstage, play various roles (including roles of the opposite gender), and sing a few songs by the talented David O. The show is a real crowd-pleaser in its...

Home Equity ID Theft Ring Points To A Bigger Problem

Ed Dickson — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:11:57 EST

Was it too easy for a multi-national gang to steal millions in home equity?
On Monday, Federal authorities informed the public of a series of arrests where identity theft was used to steal the equity out of homes. I guess we've already lost so much money in the mortgage crisis, they figured it wouldn't matter? The four arrested on Monday were Derek Polk, Oluda Akinmola, Oluwajide Ogunbiyi, and Oladeji Craig. The...

Bagger On Fire

Joe Harris — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 12:00:07 EST

The torments and exploits of a typical day for retail's most antisocial, stone-faced smart ass. Work is a desperate battle and leisure is a drunken victory.
A dream come true is a delusion to be medicated. I went to the asylum in cuffs. My dream was to break free from cashiering and hence society by becoming a night stocker. Grandeur is a state of mind and socializing is slavery. After many rejections spanning several years, I was made one of grocery's elite. Many times we climb the mountain...

Theater Review (LA): The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane at the Kirk Douglas Theatre

Robert Machray — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 10:39:02 EST

Julie White triumphs again, bringing her Tony-winning performance to Los Angeles.
Much laughter and applause is greeting the newest production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Los Angeles is being treated to the Tony-nominated The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane. The play started off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre and later moved to Broadway for a disappointingly short run. The star, Julie White, playing a ruthless,...

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Tue, 2 Dec 2008 10:39:02 EST

The World's Most Powerful Word

Kyle West — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 07:09:17 EST

Taking a lesson from the "yes man."
Once upon a time, in 2003, there was a young man named Danny Wallace. Perhaps you have heard of him. Anyway, after his girlfriend broke up with him, he became reserved. He rarely went out. Instead of calling someone, he texted them, and instead of meeting with someone, he called them. He became comfortable with just loafing around the house and...

Interview: Purnima Kashyap of the World Food Programme in Zambia

William Lambers — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 21:03:56 EST

Soaring food prices have directly affected the school feeding programme in Zambia.
Zambia, ranked 165th on the Human Development Index, is one of the world’s poorest countries. Zambia’s population of 12.8 million is faced with one of the highest adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world (16.5%). The recurrent droughts and floods experienced in recent years, particularly in southern Zambia - Eastern, Southern,...