Things That Matter To People Who Matter
Dance films and Isaiah Berlin | Marie Elcin | Bitters | Vacuum tube electronics
Dance films and Isaiah Berlin
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I finally saw Rize and Idlewild, which have joined my list of favorite films with great dance. Meanwhile, I have been sporadically wading through Russian Thinkers by Isaiah Berlin (Penguin). Actually, both the movies and reading have got me thinking about how everyone yearns to be free and where art fits into it all. It's keeping me generally inspired in a world of bad news and miserable wars.
Marie Elcin
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As an amateur embroiderer, I'm so impressed with the work of Marie Elcin. If you didn't pay attention to her work when you first saw it, you'd think it was just a traditional painting. But if you look closer, you'd be well-rewarded. In her work, Elcin combines various forms of transfer, screen printing, found fabric and embroidery to create words, texture and evocative designs. Marie also finds time to give back to the community, currently serving as co-president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, and as a coordinator of the Art and Faith Space at Moorestown Episcopal Church.
Bitters
 Jamie Boudreau |
Bitters are my new best friend. I've been adding the classic cocktail standby to everything I drink this summer. It all started with the gift of a bottle of too-sweet-for-me Lillet and snowballed into trying every old-man beverage in the book and concocting some new ones. I am so weirdly addicted to this strange, ancient ingredient. I've found every cocktail becomes sophisticated and nuanced with just a dash of bitters. It's a very underrated and unexpected flavor. My favorite cocktail involves vodka, bitters, IKEA's new elderberry syrup and seltzer. Perfect on a muggy night.
Vacuum tube electronics
I'm nostalgic for the simpler days of the Cold War — not so much for the politics, but for good old vacuum tube electronics. There's nothing quite like the sound of an electric guitar played through a 40-year-old tube amp screaming for mercy as it's being overdriven to the point of nearly blowing up. I mean this in a good way. As a bonus, you also get Bakelite knobs, big metal toggle switches and inputs for your accordian. What's not to love? My 1963 Reverberocket can kick your VGA3-V GK digital modeling amp's ass. And my mother wonders why I'm single.
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