williamaveryhudson

From yesterday’s New York Times - “Musica Tradicional do Norte e Nordeste 1938,” more than seven hours of music, drawn from 1,299 tracks by 80 performers, recorded in 1938 by a four-member research team in northern and northeastern Brazil (Pernambuco, Paraíba, Maranhão, Pará and Minas Gerais).

Now preserved in a six-CD boxed set and, generously, online - audio, photos and text. “The roots of virtually every important style of modern Brazilian popular music, from samba to mangue beat.”

tags: brazil brasil world music Tropicalismo Mário de Andrade

Films in the special-honor category Berlinale Special have been announced:

I Have Never Forgotten You – The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (Richard Trank -USA). From press release: Shot in nine countries, the film contains previously unseen archival material as well as interviews with Wiesenthal’s associates, friends and family, most of whom speak for the first time in front of a camera. The film is narrated by Nicole Kidman. Sir Ben Kingsley and Rabbi Marvin Hier will also attend the documentary’s world premiere at the Berlinale.

La masseria delle allodole/The Lark Farm (Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy/Bulgaria/France/Spain/GB). From press release: The famous Italian auteur filmmakers have again condensed modern historical events into an exemplary tale in . The film revolves around the members of a family who, due to the command to eliminate the Armenian minority in May 1915, have to fight for their lives. The film stars Paz Vega, Moritz Bleibtreu, Arsinée Khanjian, Tcheky Karyo and Angela Molina. (World premiere)

Szabadság, szerelem/Children of Glory (Krisztina Goda, Hungary). From press release: Illuminates how politics and sports interact by portraying what was called “the bloodiest match ever played”, between the water polo teams of the Soviet Union and Hungary at the Olympic Games in 1956. The match took place in Melbourne, shortly after the Hungarian Revolt was put down by the Soviets. The outrage of many spectators was still so great that they attacked the Soviet players. Iván Fenyö, Kata Dabó and Sándor Csányi star in the film. (International premiere)

Day on Fire (Jay Anania, USA). From press release: By happenstance, a Palestinian journalist, a model, a doctor and a singer – unwittingly connect with a mysterious man on a winter day in Manhattan. In a reflective narrative style, the author describes how terror can suddenly intrude into everyday routines. The film’s illustrious cast includes Carmen Chaplin, Martin Donovan, Olympia Dukakis and Alyssa Sutherland. (European premiere)

Sakuran (Mika Ninagawa, Japan). From press release: Based on a comic by Manga artist Anno Moyoco, the film is set in the Edo period and depicts the fate of a young girl who, in the notorious red light district of Tokyo, is sold and then schooled to become a high-class courtesan. Anna Tsuchiya, who plays the leading role, is a famous model and rock musician in Japan. (World premiere)

Madrigal (Fernando Pérez, Spain/Cuba). From press release: Reality and fiction merge in a deliberately stylised production. The first of two tales is set in the theatre world of modern Havana; the second is an account of erotic delirium, set in the future. After a number of successful films (Life is to Whistle; Havana Suite), Fernando Pérez is now regarded as one of Cuba’s most important directors. (World premiere)

How To Cook Your Life (Doris Dörrie, Germany). From press release: Featuring Californian Zen master Edward Espe Brown, this documentary shows how the principles of Zen Buddhism can be applied to the preparation of food – and, ultimately, to life itself. (World premiere)

Comrades in Dreams (Uli Gaulke, Germany) From press release: The trials and tribulations which movie lovers are willing to endure in order to share the fascination of film with others. The documentary portrays major and minor dramas and incidents accompanying film screenings in India, Burkina Faso, the USA and North Korea. (European premiere)

Dnevnoy Dozor/Day Watch (Timur Bekmambetov, Russia). From press release: The second part of his action-packed fantasy adventure Night Watch, which was one of Russia’s biggest blockbusters of the past years and celebrated its premiere at the Berlinale in 2005. In this work, the battle of light and dark forces continues. Konstantin Khabensky plays Anton, who wants to rescue his son from the clutches of evil. The film co-stars Mariya Poroshina and Vladimir Menshov. (International premiere)

Tickets for the Berlinale go on sale via the website on 6 February.

tags: berlin berlinale film festivals movies

The competition films have been announced:

300 by Zack Snyder, USA (World Premiere, Out of Competition)
Angel by François Ozon, France/Belgium/UK (World Premiere) / Closing Film
Beaufort by Joseph Cedar, Israel (World Premiere)
Bordertown by Gregory Nava, USA (World Premiere)
Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Germany/Austria (World Premiere)
El otro (The Other) by Ariel Rotter, Argentina/France/Germany (World Premiere)
Goodbye Bafana by Bille August, Germany/France/Belgium/UK/Italy (World Premiere)
Hallam Foe by David Mackenzie, UK (World Premiere)
Hyazgar (Desert Dream) by Zhang Lu, Republic of Korea/France (World Premiere)
In memoria di me (In Memory Of Myself) by Saverio Costanzo, Italy (World Premiere)
Irina Palm by Sam Garbarski, Belgium/Germany/Luxembourg/UK/France (World Premiere)
La Vie en Rose by Olivier Dahan, France/UK/Czech Republic (World Premiere) / Opening Film
Les Témoins (The Witnesses) by Andr? Téchin? France (World Premiere)
Letters From Iwo Jima by Clint Eastwood, USA (European Premiere, Out of Competition) [Amy & I saw this – very good antiwar film, but some horrible scenes, as you can imagine]
Ne touchez pas la hache (Don’t Touch The Axe) by Jacques Rivette, France/Italy (World Premiere)
Notes On A Scandal by Richard Eyre, UK (International Premiere, Out of Competition)
O ano em que meus pais saíram de férias (The Year My Parents Went On Vacation) by Cao Hamburger, Brazil/Argentina (International Premiere)
Obsluhoval jsem anglickeho krallt (I Served The King Of England) by Jir Menzel, Czech Republic/ Slovakia (International Premiere)
Ping guo (Lost In Beijing) by Li Yu, China (World Premiere)
Sai bo gu ji man gwen chan a (I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok) by Park Chan-wook, Republic of Korea (International Premiere)
The Good German by Stephen Soderbergh, USA (International Premiere)
The Good Shepherd by Robert de Niro, USA (International Premiere)
The Walker by Paul Schrader, USA/UK (World Premiere, Out of Competition)
Tu ya de hun shi (Tuya’s Marriage) by Wang Quan’an, China (World Premiere)
When A Man Falls In The Forest by Ryan Eslinger, Canada/USA (World Premiere)
Yella by Christian Petzold, Germany (World Premiere)

On 1 February, you can begin to fill out your daily planner at the Berlinale website.

tags: berlin berlinale film festivals movies

I can’t add anything to this, from the Wall Street Journal:

NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal

Monday, Jan. 22, 2007

President Bush lost the nation’s ear, leaving him with little leeway to pursue major policy initiatives, especially on Iraq. His approval rating is just 35%.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll on the eve of Mr. Bush?s State of the Union address underscores the extent to which he has lost the nation?s ear. Just 22% of Americans say they want the president to set policy for the country, while 57% want Congress to do so. Two-thirds say his performance in office is unlikely to get better in his last two years as president.

tags: George W Bush

The Rockefeller Foundation is giving nearly a million dollars to teachers, schools, libraries, and community groups throughout the United States to receive free copies of Spike Lee’s brilliant When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which details the scandal and tragedy behind the destruction of New Orleans. I hope you’ll see the film soon - it is a critically important document. And visit the Teaching the Levees website. Read more about the grant.

tags: new orleans; katrina; film; spike lee

Lord & Taylor. Seriously. I spent the afternoon after Kiki Smith at the Whitney and Ehon at NYPL. (Another story - genius!)

Designer suit, boots, shirt, socks & a cap. And afternoon tea. Less than a thousand dollars total - far less. A wonderful scene - a half-dozen people (staff & customers, including a fairly well-known model and a Sicilian tailor) weighed in on my suit selection.

And you have to love those flags.

Is there a better department store? Kadewe Berlin, El Corte Ingles Barcelona… nominations?

tags: new york city;shopping

Across the United States, regular people spoke truth to power. Here are photos from Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Thanks to Moveon.org for organizing.

tags: new york city

Writing in the open-source medical journal PLOS Medicine, scholars from University of California - San Francisco and Mahidol University in Bangkok argue that countries develop bioethical systems using local concepts as they adopt Western allopathic medical practices and technologies.

Using the example of the use of mechanical ventilators in end-of-life care, Scott Stonington and Pinit Ratanakul discuss how Western bioethics do not meet the needs of a Buddhist ethical system based on the logic of karmic morality.

Stonington and Ratanakul create a fictional case scenario based on ethnographic interviews and other fieldwork, in which they offer a brilliant piece of analysis:

Dr. Nok is ready with a strategy for circumventing their dilemma. She tells Lek that together they must help Gaew “let go.” She explains that it is Gaew’s mental attachments that are keeping him alive and suffering on the ventilator. When Dr. Nok says “attachments,” she uses the Thai word for “knot of problems” (bpom bpan ha), implying a gnarled set of worries tangling Gaew’s mind and keeping him from achieving mental clarity and letting go of life. She asks Lek what Gaew might be worried about. Lek replies that Gaew wanted to ordain as a monk before dying. Although they cannot know what is in Gaew’s mind in his new state of consciousness, this is a possible element in his “knot.”

Dr. Nok suggests that Lek go to Bangkok and ordain as a monk for several days in Gaew’s stead, then return to tell Gaew what he has done. She explains that even though Gaew has little brain activity, when all of the senses subside, the spirit may still take in sound. She hopes that when Gaew hears about his brother’s ordination, he may let go and die with the ventilator still attached and running. This way, she and Lek can relieve Gaew’s suffering without compromising their karma.

To understand the importance of this article - and it is important - some context is necessary. “Thailand is a center of cutting-edge allopathic medical care in Asia,” the authors explain. “It has a universal health-care system, which provides many Thais with access to mechanical ventilation. So many Thais are placed on mechanical ventilators at the end of life that it has become one of the largest drains on Thailand’s universal health-care system.”

How can non-Western countries make use of allopathic medical technology without also importing the West’s exorbitant health care costs?

This discussion could have great value to the West as well.

tags: complementary medicine integrative medicine buddhism thailand

Despite problems with referrers (see below), I have to continue posts. Because the Berlinale is beginning to make its selections, including some world premieres.

Yella (Christian Petzold). From press release: After presenting Gespenster (Ghosts) in 2005, the director, who has won a number of awards, will be showing a film in the Berlinale Competition for the second time. Yella tells of a young woman from the former East German province of Brandenburg who begins a new job in western Germany, so as to escape a wretched marriage. But her old life keeps catching up with her. Nina Hoss, Hinnerk Schönemann and Devid Striesow star in the film. (World Premiere)

The Good Shepherd (Robert De Niro). From press release: In his second work as director after A Bronx Tale, De Niro tells the story of an idealistic Yale graduate during World War II who is recruited by the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). The cast features a number of Oscar-winning actors and actresses, including Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro. (International Premiere)

The Good German (Steven Soderbergh) . From press release: In The Good German, George Clooney plays an American journalist who becomes embroiled in a murder conspiracy in postwar Berlin. In this black-and-white film, director Steven Soderbergh has created a homage to the cinema of the 1940s, combining historical archive material with newly filmed scenes. Alongside George Clooney, Soderbergh, whose last contribution to the Berlinale Competition was the science-fiction drama Solaris (2005), has cast Tobey Maguire and Cate Blanchett, among others. (International Premiere)

Irina Palm (Sam Garbarski). From press release: singer and actress Marianne Faithfull plays a 50-year-old widow who is so desperately in need of money that she unwittingly accepts a job in a sex club. Irina Palm is Belgian director Sam Garbarski’s second film; his debut film The Rashevski Tango received much recognition throughout Europe. (World Premiere)

Goodbye Bafana (Bille August). From press release: Following Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997), two-time Oscar-winner Bille August will present his latest film, Goodbye Bafana, in the Berlinale Competition. The international co-production tells the true story of James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes), the white prison guard whose life is profoundly altered when he meets the prisoner Nelson Mandela, whom he ends up guarding for more than twenty years. Dennis Haysbert plays the ANC activist and later Nobel Peace Prize winner. James Gregory’s wife Gloria is played by Diane Kruger. On February 11, 2007, it will be 17 years since Nelson Mandela was released from prison. (World Premiere)

I Am A Cyborg But That’s Ok (Park Chan-wook). From press release: In a psychiatric hospital, a young woman patient, who thinks she is a cyborg, falls in love. The cast includes Korean superstar Rain, who is also very successful as a pop star, and Lim Soo-jung. Director Park Chan-wook first competed in the Berlinale Competition six years ago, with the political thriller Joint Security Area. (International Premiere)

Obviously, I’ll be there.

tags: berlin berlinale film festivals movies

Despite my problem with referrers, I’ll have to continue postings. Because the Berlinale has announced its first selections. You know I’ll be there.

Yella (Christian Petzold). From press release: After presenting Gespenster (Ghosts) in 2005, the director, who has won a number of awards, will be showing a film in the Berlinale Competition for the second time. Yella tells of a young woman from the former East German province of Brandenburg who begins a new job in western Germany, so as to escape a wretched marriage. But her old life keeps catching up with her. Nina Hoss, Hinnerk Schönemann and Devid Striesow star in the film. (World Premiere)

The Good Shepherd (Robert De Niro). From press release: In his second work as director after A Bronx Tale, De Niro tells the story of an idealistic Yale graduate during World War II who is recruited by the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). The cast features a number of Oscar-winning actors and actresses, including Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro. (International Premiere)

The Good German (Steven Soderbergh) . From press release: In The Good German, George Clooney plays an American journalist who becomes embroiled in a murder conspiracy in postwar Berlin. In this black-and-white film, director Steven Soderbergh has created a homage to the cinema of the 1940s, combining historical archive material with newly filmed scenes. Alongside George Clooney, Soderbergh, whose last contribution to the Berlinale Competition was the science-fiction drama Solaris (2005), has cast Tobey Maguire and Cate Blanchett, among others. (International Premiere)

Irina Palm (Sam Garbarski). From press release: Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull plays a 50-year-old widow who is so desperately in need of money that she unwittingly accepts a job in a sex club. Irina Palm is Belgian director Sam Garbarski’s second film; his debut film The Rashevski Tango received much recognition throughout Europe. (World Premiere)

Goodbye Bafana (Bille August). From press release: Following Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997), two-time Oscar-winner Bille August will present his latest film, Goodbye Bafana, in the Berlinale Competition. The international co-production tells the true story of James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes), the white prison guard whose life is profoundly altered when he meets the prisoner Nelson Mandela, whom he ends up guarding for more than twenty years. Dennis Haysbert plays the ANC activist and later Nobel Peace Prize winner. James Gregory’s wife Gloria is played by Diane Kruger. On February 11, 2007, it will be 17 years since Nelson Mandela was released from prison. (World Premiere)

I Am A Cyborg But That’s Ok (Park Chan-wook). From press release: In a psychiatric hospital, a young woman patient, who thinks she is a cyborg, falls in love. The cast includes Korean superstar Rain, who is also very successful as a pop star, and Lim Soo-jung. Director Park Chan-wook first competed in the Berlinale Competition six years ago, with the political thriller Joint Security Area. (International Premiere)