jerry springer: the opera

this picture is not what it looks like. it is a chorus line of dancing transexual klansmen in jerry springer: the opera. and what's giving me the most shits and giggles is that this is playing at carnegie hall. (for the ny times, click review here)

in a similar vein, i stumbled across some of the new lyrics for the too much coffee man opera. while i might not get to play a
diaper fetishist, this show might yet give me the most atypical opera character i'll play...

from shannon wheeler's livejournal:

The sequel opens 2 years later with the Barista married to a Martian and now she's bored with that too....

BARISTA: (slowly)
Love is like bondage with the safety word forgotten
Two people playing chicken until the chicken’s rotten
And so the hours thicken, we dare each other to stay
This way…

things that make you go hmm...

While spending geek time in The Aria Database, I decided to read the translation of Monostatos' aria from Die Zauberflöte. Wow. To be sure, it presents an interesting challenge to a director and cast. I had learned from Zerd that Monostatos is a Moor, but I didn't know the extext to which race is present in his lyrics. The few productions I've seen have whitewashed the translation, erasing all traces of race issues. I wonder, however, if a better approach would be to reveal and challenge the biases of that era rather than try to erase them.


The transation from The Aria Database is as follows:

Everything feels the joys of love,
Bills and coos, dallies, cuddles, and kisses,
And I should have avoided love,
Because a black person is ugly!
Was I then not given a heart?
Am I not of flesh and blood?
Always to live without a little wife,
Would truly be the flames of hell!

Thus, I want, because I am living,
To bill and coo, kiss, be tender!
Dear good moon, forgive me,
A white woman captivated me,
White is beautiful! I must kiss her;
Moon, hide yourself for this!
Should it vex you too much,
Oh, then close your eyes!

Speaking of more race politics in opera, I read an interesting article in all that's fit yesterday on a new jazz-style, Katrina-set Porgy and Bess. Realizing I didn't really know much about the plot, I took a trip over to wiki. Again, Wow. To be sure, it presents an interesting challenge to a director and cast. Porgy and Bess is some kind of messed up when viewed in the context of plot and characters, but at the same time it is such an important piece of work when viewed as an œuvre in greater social context.

So much to think about.

(The image here is a print of Monostatos from the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry .)

don't drink the water

...well, at least not if it's hot water from the tap. it sounds like a myth that drinking hot water from the tap contains higher levels of contamenants, but then it does makes sense, and the ny times is saying it's true. granted, we can't trust everything the ny times says (see blog entry below), but i'm hoping this is a subject they actually researched before reporting.

out of touch at the ny times

those crazy kids at the ny times have done it again -- they done gone and went and belied their total lack of knowledge in the realm of pop culture. that and they revealed their apparent belief that facts are totally unnecessary when "reporting" on mainstream/pop culture topics.

in this article in today's times on the new wave of temporary tattoos, the reporter chooses the following as her list of "heavily tattooed" celebrities noteworthly of citation in the article: gwen stefani, amy winehouse and jeremy shockey.

hmm. gwen stefani has no tattoos. i'm still trying to figure out that math.

the other two have some tattoos, but they are hardly what i would call "heavily tattooed", nor are they celebrities with huge impact on fashion trends among the masses. if we're talking about trends here, shouldn't the people cited in the article be trendsetters?

oh, ny times, give me a break! if you can't find staff who know anything about mainstream culture, please just don't report on it!! if you feel you can't leave these topics to E! and *must* cover it yourself, at least get your freaking facts right. a couple minutes of internet research would help you a) report accurately and b) not look like a totally out of touch fool. the bottom line is that this kind of disregard to the basics of good reporting in one area, however unimportant the topic might be in the grand scheme, does shed doubt on the quality of reporting in all areas.

teeth

i am interested in seeing this sundance winner called teeth. it looks mighty interesting.

i came across a review of it in today's ny daily news. the reviewer liked it pretty well, but e gad were there hostile comments from readers. seems some people are really shook up by the idea of a vag that's equipped to defend itself. my favorite is the comment about how terrible it is to subject young males to watching the depiction of young males being castrated. i guess subjecting young females to the depiction of young and adult males trying to rape a young female is totally kosher.

as my blood pressure was rising and i was again losing all hope in humanity (as i did reading reader responses to a page on racist disney characters), i distracted myself by trying to find a trailer. the reader comments at imdb restored my faith that some people, in fact many people, do actually own brains and know how to operate them. yeah!

calling gloria

oh, gloria, i admit i have been unhappy with you at times this last decade or so. however, thank you for this op-ed piece in the all that's fit on the intersection of sex and race and how it's playing out in electoral politics.

sidebar: i continue to be thoroughly puzzled, angered and distressed by the widespread denial of sexism that is clogging our cultural discourse and our psyches.

taking marriage private

i love when people talk sense. i love it when people have a conversation about contemporary issues and put it in a historical context. thus, i enjoyed this article. i hope you will too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/opinion/26coontz.html

what a shocker...

... i'm a liberal. weird. i never saw that one coming.

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 10% Conservative, 90% Liberal Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal