I Am Famous

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1676986/

Works by Gregory D. Ivy and his students

A painting by Gregory D. Ivy




Since November UNC-G's Weatherspoon Art Gallery has displayed a collection of works by Gregory D. Ivy, the founder of both the art department and the museum itself.

On Friday, January 27, the Cultural Art Center's Green Hill Gallery opened an exhibit that displays works by students of Ivy.

La Femme Existentialiste

Pioneering feminist and famed author of the Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir, wrote the great novel I just finished reading.

The Mandarins explores the social and political milieus of French bohemian-intellectual people after the end of the Second World War. Lives have been have been marred by loss and grief and some have more or less abandoned themselves and their principles. The novel closely follows the paths of Paula, the disintegrating singer, Henri, the successful writer, and Anne Debrouillah, the psychoanalyst. Beauvoir seems to have written a lot of herself into the sensitive yet strong and intelletually cogent Anne. The other women seem to display what might be called "The Hysterical Tradition" of female characters.

Many things are learned, many things are lost as we follow their paths, as well as the paths of the men, especially Henri, who finally gives himself over to domesticity.

The novel goes through French and European politics of the time in a rigorous manner - I felt undereducated as I read many of the newspaper-related scenes, which centered around issues of the Resistance, Socialism and France's response to Soviet and American powers. In short, the book made me want to learn more about these topics.

The emotional authenticity of The Mandarins is irresistable. I highly recommend Beauvoir and am planning to find and read more of her novels.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare

I am currently working on my Master's thesis. It will be directed by this man:

That's the esteemed Russ McDonald, ladies and gentlemen.

Don't forget to read the Bedford Campanion to Shakespeare, please.

Gaucho!

This is my friend, Rob Reich's gypsy band, Gaucho.
I believe they played at Djangofest 2005 in San Francisco because he sent me a glorious album of their performance there - and I don't think it was a fake. Rob is tremendously talented and has produced other miraculous albums such as "13 Short Songs About You." I look forward to hearing about his continued progress in the San Francisco music and cabaret scene. Yay, Rob!