Culture – Page 16 – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Ghostlight Is a Must See

One of the best films of the year.

Perhaps it’s because I’m an old theatre hand who knows all the tricks of the trade in what some consider the world’s second oldest profession. Perhaps it’s because I’m just an old guy trying to figure out the ups and downs of life. Either way, the film Ghostlight touched a nerve. It is one terrific story that uses the magic, hilarity, and hubris of making theatre to help tell an unerring tale of humans dealing with a grief so profound it can take your breath away, while breathing abundant life and delivering layers of complexity into a remarkably simple and well told story.

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Ghostlight is a tender and intimate independent film featuring a family dealing with their grief after the suicide of a son and brother. By accident, the struggling blue collar father stumbles into participating in a small town community theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. Eventually his family also folds into the production, while he stumbles further into playing Romeo.

It might sound like something out of the Mischief Theatre Company’s misadventures with the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and The Play That Goes Wrong, but this little backstage adventure takes a different tack to find its way into your heart.

The story takes its time unfolding and revealing its mysteries with great care and surprise. And the surprises are many. The cast is superb and the direction is sublime. Ghostlight is in limited distribution in art houses currently but deserves a wider audience, which I hope it finds once it begins to stream.

If you get the chance or can make one, this is one to see. I expect this to end up on many best of the year lists.

A couple of side notes: The three leads playing the family are a family in real life, adding yet another layer to this marvel. Also, as a Chicago theatre practitioner it was great to see so many Chicago faces in the ensemble all doing remarkable work.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

The world gets meaner, uglier, and stupider, but Sunday mornings are still for reading.

The world continues to spin off its axis. And yet, it is another Sunday. So, here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share.

One of my theatre professors used to say that we weren’t really doing theatre “unless someone with guns showed up at the box office to stop you from selling tickets.” Given how things are going these days those words keep coming back to me. Especially after reading this article about Svetlana Petriychuk and Yegenia Berkovich, who were put on trial by a Russian military court and found guilty of “justifying terrorism.” Check out Valarie Hopkins’ article Russian Playwright and Theater Director Are Convicted of ;Justifying Terrorism.’

Steve Radlauer and Ellis Weiner continue their excellent serialized tale, The Split, with Chapter Thirty-Six at The Wonkette. I highly recommend you check out the entire thing.

You might want to prick up your ears at this one. David Rothkopf discusses America’s Death Wish.

Scammers and Con Artists are in vogue these days. To some it’s the American Way. Check out Priscila, Queen of the Rideshare Mafia by Lauren Smiley. It’s a wild ride.

NatashaMH and David Todd McCarty each recently took a dip into the technology and design pool and how it splashes all over our culture. Natasha took a trip to the what she calls ‘Planet Apple’ via the new Apple Store in Kuala Lumpur and not only marvels at the design of the store but might have lost her Android religion in the process. Check out Taking a Bite of the Apple. Meanwhile McCarty thinks that the further technology allows us to advance the dumber we become in Better Than Ever But Worse Than Before.

Returning to the sentiment that opened this week’s edition, check out White Supremacy With a Law Degree: How Do We Escape ‘The Originalism Trap”? By Paul Rosenberg.

George Dillard says We’re All Hostages of Ego as he discusses the fate of our country and how it relies on the psychology of two elderly men.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.You can also find me on social networks under my own name.

Who’s Spoofing Who In this Ron Perlman ExxonMobil Spoof?

Fun and deadly spoof. But who’s spoofing who?

Ron Perlman is the perfect voice for the oily ExxonMobil ad spokesman in this terrific spoof of an ad from YellowDot Studios. It’s one crazy spoof.

But then again, isn’t this just as much a spoof about us?

Be honest. After watching this tell me there’s anything that you didn’t already know ExxonMobil, other oil companies, and politicians were doing.

Carry on. Or as the ad says, “get off your asses and do something, you fucking peasants!”

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Clowns to the Left of Me Jokers To The Right

What a sticky mess we’re in.

Well this is a fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. The media/political party industrial complex has put us right where they want us to be. Spinning, Whirling, Scared. Confused. Befuddled. Pissed Off.

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As I watch my grandson propel himself around his surroundings this weekend with the reckless abandon of innocence, I can’t help but wonder at the wonder of it all. Watching him realize the consequences of waving an ice cream cone around in the heat of a summer night was a heartbreaking humorus lesson in beginning to see the light. The whirling and spinning only stop when gravity takes over and it all ends up a mess on the sidewalk.

Meanwhile back in the world of knowledge and supposed wisdom, it seems those of us in the rareifed air of adulthood who know better have become unconcerned if not unmoored from the law of physics.

After Joe Biden’s interview on ABC last night it seems we’re completely at the mercy of upcoming news cycles, whether we tune in or tune out. It’s starting to feel like it’s going to be an endless summer, fall and beyond. It’s an unending episode of Lost, where confusion reigns at the expense of narrative and plot. At some point it has to end, but there doesn’t need to be an end, just an endless supply of Special Features.

Sadly, whenver this spins to an end that end that will only help the party of convicted felons and child rapists help us end it all. But that can be spun up and away too.

I’m heartsick that the Democrats have fallen into depths beyond disarray, with new depths still to be plummed apparently. I’m pissed off that what used to be the GOP is happily using this ramapaging forest fire as cover to run and hide from Project 2025, while they continue to scan for more to burn.

The world feels like it’s caught in a lyric somewhere between Tommy Roe’s Dizzy and Stealers Wheel’s Stuck in the Middle With You, with some sort of AI generated click track back beat played by a boy band wearing Supreme Court robes, pretending they understand Hip Hop.

Goodness knows when this will all fall down. But then goodness has nothing much to do with any of it.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Great 4th of July or Any Day Message About the US

Send this to your friends, your enemies, and anyone else who needs some sense knocked into their heads.

If you’re struggling like I am with the fundamental changes happening in this country as we hit the 4th of July, play this ad from John Cena about what it means to be an American.

Don’t just play it, send it around. Every day. Each and every day. Especially to those who’ve lost the plot.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

Steering clear of politics (mostly) here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share.

It’s a tough weekend to put this Sunday Morning Reading column together in the wake of last week’s U.S. Presidential debate. I’ve never seen so many knees jerk so violently at once leading me to assume there are quite a few bruises caused from crashing them against computer desks. So, I’ll be avoiding politics this morning. Perhaps. Maybe. We’ll see.

Did you know that milk is the latest front in the culture wars dividing America? Tony Diver tells us how.

Yes, it’s political but no, it isn’t about recent events specifically, so once again I highly recommend you check out The Split by Steve Radlauer and Ellis Weiner. The Split, now up to Chapter 34, is a terrific serialization of all things political, social, and well… all things.

James B. Stewart and Benjamin Mullen take a long look at the future of streaming in The Future of Netflix, Amazon and Other Streaming Services. It’s a worth your time kind of read even though it takes awhile, but it more than hints that none of the titans of this industry has a clue.

The entertainment industry isn’t the only place run by folks without a clue. Check out The Federal Reserve’s Little Secret by Rogé Karma. Apparently those folks pulling the strings on interest rates don’t have much of one either.

And speaking of titans of industry and god-like powers David Todd McCarty thinks If Someone Asks If You’re A God, You say Yes.

On the Artificial Intelligence front Wired has been doing some good work lately reporting on on that front. Check out Lauren Goode and Tom Simonite’s This Viral AI Chatbot Will Lie and Say It’s Human.

Also check out Elizabeth Lopatto’s Perplexity’s Grand Theft AI. Sounds human to me.

Joan Westenberg has an interesting think piece on the misconstruing and appropriation of the message of George Orwell’s 1984 in “This Is Just Like 1984.” Great piece.

I said I’d avoid the political hot potato of the presidential debate. It’s not that I lied, or changed my mind, it’s that this piece is too good to not recommend. Check out Natasha MH’s view in The US Presidential Debate Reminded Me of My Divorce.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday Morning Reading and mourning insights to share.

Another sweltering summer Sunday morning so it’s time for a little Sunday Morning Reading with a host of topics mostly dealing with the myriad challenges ahead of us and mourning some that are behind us.

Natasha MH reminds that in the midst of tough times there are ways to conjure magic that’s actually within our power to control in When Space Meets Stoicism. A lovely piece that hits home. Good advice in these unsettling times. Or even settled ones.

Speaking of unsettling, Cody Delistraty takes a look at how we Americans do and don’t deal with grief in It’s Mourning in America.

Artificial Intelligence remains a hot topic this summer and will remain so for quite some time. There’s been some excellent points made on all sides of the issues involved and I can’t wait to be a few years down the road and see how that’s all rolled up and regurgitated by some generative AI engine that probably doesn’t exist today. In the meantime check out some interesting thinking on the matter from Wenzel in Apple Intelligence and the DMA, Dan Henke’s take in Beardy Guy Musings, and Tim Marchman and Dhruv Mehrotra’s chronicling of Wired’s adventures with Perplexity, Plagiarism and the Bullshit Machine here and here.

Most of the above centers on the issues surrounding AI and its potential for abuse of creators. Sadly, history proves the heat around that issue will eventually cool down. Perhaps we should examine the heat all of this “compute” needed to power this abuse takes on the planet. Check out Bloomberg’s AI’s Insatiable Need for Energy Is Straining Global Power Grids.

David Todd McCarty gives us an artist’s guide to learning how to listen in It’s Not All About You. It’s not just advice for artists.

As crazy as the political and tech worlds are these days, the entertainment world is just as nuts, especially when it comes to the covering of it. Winter of Content by Kevin Nguyen is a rich piece focusing on print media’s transition to the Internet from within the crazy explosion of coverage of Game of Thrones. Great read.

And speaking of entertainment coverage and mourning, it’s a fun game for this older guy to track the sad news surrounding an artist’s death. You can tell when a typically young writer knows very little about an artist’s body of work by the ludicrous title choices of that artist’s work they choose to run in the lede of the obituary. I doubt AI summaries of this will be any better than the quick scans of Wikipedia these interns obviously do now. With this week’s passing of Donald Sutherland it was particularly entertaining given the breadth and complexity of his career. However, there was one piece that grabbed my attention that bucked the trend. Amber Haley tells her remembrance of working with Donald Sutherland as a young set decorator proving that not only do small details matter, they tell the bigger story. Check out The Set Decorator and Donald Sutherland.

Sunday Morning Reading

AI, politics, culture and a bit of history in some Sunday Morning lake time reading to share.

We’re on lake time this weekend, but there’s always some Sunday Morning Reading to share. Especially when you get to share it from a lovely morning looking over the lake. Lots of AI, some polticis, some culture, and some just fun this Sunday. Enjoy.

It’s Father’s Day weekend, which prompts delving back into memories for me and also comes at a time when the debates around Artificial Intelligence touch a bit on how we collect, save, and share what may have once been memories but might be hallucinations. While this piece from Natasha MH isn’t aimed specifically in either of those directions, it struck some of those chords when I read it. Check out No Proof of Existence.

Speaking of AI, Miles Klee thinks Brands Are Beginning to Turn Away From AI.

Holy moly. Even the Pope is getting into the AI discussion. Antony Faiola, Cat Zakrzewski and Stefano Pirelli take a quick look at How Pope Francis Became the AI Ethicist for World Leaders and Tech Titans. The AP also has a larger report here.

I’ve compiled a large reading list on Apple’s move into AI that it has now branded as Apple Intelligence. It’s way too early in this game to understand or predict the technology and financial games ahead, but as the previous link suggests perhaps not the ethical. Check out Eshu Marneedi’s Why Apple intelligence is the Future of Apple Platforms.

Fascinating piece by Renée DiResta on how online conspiracy theorists turned her into “CIA Renee.” Check out My Encounter with the Fantasy Industrial Complex.

Joan Westenberg does some comparing of our political life between the 1850’s and now in A Republic, If You Can Keep It: How 2024 Rhymes with the 1850’s. The parallels are black and white. The ability for too many to see where this will all lead not so much, as evidenced by this piece from Gregory S. Schneider and Karina Elwood: A School Board Reinstated Confederate Names. It Split The Community Again.

Anna Spiegel reports for Axios on The Folger Shakespeare Library’s Reimagining. This institution is a treasure and worth a visit. I’m looking forward to seeing it again after the new reopening.

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s time to share a little Sunday Morning Reading. Words on Apple, words on politics, words on loss, and some words on photography. Read some words.

This week Apple will hold its annual World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) focusing eyeballs on Cupertino and what everyone expects to be Apple’s big push into the Artificial Intelligence game, now looking like Tim Cook’s version will be called Apple Intelligence. This has been no secret for quite some time. That said, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg seems to have gotten quite a few of the details, whether leaked or planted who really knows, on what’s about to unfold. Check out Here’s Everything Apple Plans to Show at It’s AI-Focused WWDC Event.

As a companion to that check out John Gruber’s take on Gurman’s Epic Pre-WWDC Leak Report. Gruber seems to think it’s indeed a leak and the folks inside Apple aren’t too happy. IYKYK

As I stated the focus will be on AI. I’m thinking it will be just as hard to cleanly view where this is all headed as it has been with announcements from other companies, given that no one has nailed down an AI or LLM that seems to live up to the promises or provide reliably accurate answers. Check out Google’s and Microsoft’s AI Chatbots Refuse to Say Who Won the 2020 US Election by David Gilbert.

Perhaps the best pre-WWDC piece for providing some pre-perspective comes from Om Malik in Apple + AI: What to Expect at WWDC 2024.

Natasha MH has penned a lovely piece about the lives we cherish and the ones taken from us with Weeping For Relationships Made Out of Dreams and Denials. There have been lots of dreams and denials dashed in this last decade. Some very personal and some quite global.

In many ways, Natasha’s piece linked above is a a companion to this David French piece The Day My Old Church Canceled Me Was a Very Sad Day. We’ve gotten far to used to loss and far too accepting of how we’re experiencing so much of it because of the turmoil visited on us by one orange-tinged demagogue. Brenda Wineapple says this is Trump’s Most Dangerous Gift., and that it will never rise to the level of public tragedy. If that’s the case, nothing ever will.

We think it’s all happening to us in the here and now. But while today’s issues are horribly threatening and provoke chatter of Civil War, we’ve had our share of the same from our past. Jon Grinspan takes on a bit of a tour of some long forgotten American history that actually led to our actual Civil War with Long Before the Woke, There Were The Wide Awake.

And as a final Sunday morning palette cleanser check out The 25 Photos that Defined the Modern Age in a piece put together by M.H. Miller, Brendan Embser, Emmanuel Duma, and Lucy McKeon. The pictures are worth thousands of words but the words accompanying the pictures are worth quite a bit as well.

A Must Watch: Ken Burns’ Keynote Address to Brandeis University

Words have meaning. Whether we use them well or not. Here they’re used very well.

Words are being spilled in torrents these days from those who see what’s happening to America as they try to wrestle against the peril we face in our current moment. As acute as the danger is, they often blend together to make noise more than sentences with meaning. That’s not the case here.

Famed documentarian Ken Burns delivered the commencement address to the 2024 graduating class of Brandeis University and, like the work in many of his documentaries, his words cut to the bone with a surgical precision.

There’s lots of talk from the talking heads trying to make the news that Burns’ admitted departure from his position of neutraility is the news here, but I personally don’t find it much of a departure from the stories he’s gifted us with previously. I mean that as high praise.

It’s a terrific address. It’s a serious summation of the moment. It’s worth your time to watch and listen. It’s worth more to heed them.

If you prefer to read it you can find the transcript here.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.