March 26, 2024
Haven’t seen the movie “Poor Things?” Want its surprises? Then GO SEE IT before you read this… and in the meantime, click the image below v v v A LITTLE PLUG FOR YOU BOOK CLUBBERS [CLICK!] In their 2018 period comedy The Favourite, Arizonan Emma Stone and Athenian Yorgos Lanthimos gave us clues of mischief…
Haven’t seen the movie “Poor Things?” Want its surprises? Then GO SEE IT before you read this… and in the meantime, click the image below v v v A LITTLE PLUG FOR YOU BOOK CLUBBERS [CLICK!] In their 2018 period comedy The Favourite, Arizonan Emma Stone and Athenian Yorgos Lanthimos gave us clues of mischief…
HEY PLAYSTERS! Apropos of nothing, I want to share with you an excerpt from Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture. Well, not quite nothing. For the most direct route to Trickster essence is through its Great American Icon, Bugs Bunny. When I wrote Disruptive Play, not so long ago, I was certain that…
This year, we observe the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on January 15th. May that transcendent leader for civil rights, a just society, and spiritual growth continue to inspire. But EVERY year, January 17th is International Trickster Day (I hereby declare). No fewer than six of history’s great tricksters were born on this day,…
The Buster Keaton of Baseball Creator: Wally Gobetz <<<<<< SLAPSTICK! It can be defined as the exaggeration of physical comedy to the point of seeming violence—the pratfall, the pie in the face, the collapsing building—but slapstick speaks a language more profound: the conveyance of the child’s premoral playfulness, without any signaling of good or…
The Truth Is Out There Throw a stone at a pile of movies, and you’re going to hit one where slapstick has sneaked in under the tent flaps. Directors and actors with obvious influence include Wes Anderson, Jackie Chan, Bill Murray, Lucille Ball, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Bea Lillie, Max Carol Burnett, Joan Davis, Melissa…
Monkey Catching the Moon Ekaku Hakuin (Japanese, 1685 – 1768) v v v Unreal and Real Announcements . . . v v v I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be part of Humanities Washington’s Speakers Bureau for 2024 and 2025. And we’re booking ahead now! If you or someone you know are in Washington State…