Monthly Archives: September 2015

Law Without Lawyers in Ancient Greece

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Lawyers never secured a stable foothold in the societies of ancient Greece. Athenians showed little enthusiasm for the practice of law, although they enthusiastically indulged in philosophical speculations about the nature of legal systems. Indeed, they sought to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law | Tagged ancient Greece, law without lawyers | Leave a comment

Brian Kellow’s “Can I Go Now? The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood’s First Superagent”

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Like Robert Evans (who produced “The Godfather” and ran Paramount), Sue Mengers was one of the great behind-the-scenes figures of ’70s Hollywood. The agent (first at Creative Management Associates, then at ICM) for many of the era’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Movies | Tagged '70s movies, 1970s, biography, books, brian kellow, movies, Sue Mengers | 5 Comments

Archaeology at the Y

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: You can tell things about your surroundings by taking a closer look at objects you’d ordinarily overlook. I was at my local YMCA today, hanging in the lounge waiting for the end of my wife’s workout rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal reflections | 6 Comments

Five Books About The Opera Business

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes: The Toughest Show On Earth: My Rise And Reign At the Metropolitan Opera Joseph Volpe and Charles Michener Volpe was the Met’s General Manager from 1990 to 2006. In retrospect his tenure may have been conservative, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Music | Tagged books, five ways, Opera | Leave a comment

Juxtaposin’: Stairs

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

Posted in Architecture | Tagged Broad Museum, modernism, postmodernism, stairs, traditionalism | 4 Comments

Architects That Don’t Suck: John Gaw Meem

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: John Gaw Meem — native of Brazil, an amateur architect trained as a civil engineer — popularized the Pueblo Revival style in New Mexico. This 1992 New York Times article, which notes that Meem “married the spirit of native pueblo … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged John Gaw Meem, Pueblo Revival style, Santa Fe, traditionalism | 1 Comment

Listing Movies: 101 American Movies

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: In July the BBC published a list purporting to represent the “greatest” examples of American filmmaking. I put the key word in quotes because I’m not sure what it means. The only clarification offered by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Film, listing movies, movies, nerdery | 23 Comments

Linkage

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Some eloquent praise for Nicolas (“Don’t Look Now“) Roeg from the very gifted Bernard (“Candyman“) Rose. I recently caught up with Roeg’s 2006 “Puffball: The Devil’s Eyeball” and enjoyed it a lot. Who was Sue Mengers? Stay tuned: … Continue reading →

Posted in Linkathons | Tagged Bernard Rose, Christopher Lasch, food, Nicolas Roeg, science, Sue Mengers | 3 Comments

Architecture Du Jour

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: One of the gates at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, CA. Click on the image to enlarge.

Posted in Architecture, Movies | Tagged Paramount Pictures | Leave a comment

Classic Soul

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: My kids don’t like it when I tell them I don’t like hip hop music. They think if I don’t like hip hop I don’t like black music and that I am acting racist. I am bothered by … Continue reading →