Monthly Archives: September 2012

Pianist & Composer Fred Hersch – New CD & On Tour

From the moment you click onto the website, you'll be streaming the lucid, light, deep and delicate jazz piano compositions of composer & 3 time Grammy nominee Fred Hersch, whom Vanity Fair has described as "the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade..."  This music has whole conversations between the keys, and the opportunity to listen in is provided on his newest cd:  Fred Hersch Trio - Alive at the Vanguard.  This is not a throwaway title.  (more…)

How to Survive A Plague (film)

If you've ever felt a deep, burning commitment to a cause, but weren't sure how to begin to speak out about it, see this documentary for outright inspiration.  Then, like so many heroes we meet in this film, do something about it in a bold way.  The men and women on the early battlegrounds of the AIDS epidemic/plague/CRISIS were the essence of humanity as they stood up against egregious infractions to all of our civil rights.

How to Survive A Plague, journalist David France's gripping documentary chronicling the birth of ACT UP and the strides it made in getting AIDS treatments out of the laboratory & into the bodies of the infected & dying, opened last week at the IFC in New York and has a robust schedule of screenings across the country in the coming weeks. The images I have posted only begin to channel the energy of the late '80s and early '90s carrying through this 109 minute tale.   (more…)

Support the Robin Hood Tax!

It's the Financial Speculation Tax, H.R. 6411, but it's become known as the Robin Hood Tax, and it's a very sane tax of 0.05% or less on the transactions and speculative trades of Wall Street.  This includes all transactions involving stocks, bonds, foreign exchange currencies, and derivatives (i.e. futures, swaps and options.)  The amount is way less than a penny, yet it could easily generate enough revenue to end the AIDS epidemic, support other needed medical care, support small businesses, fight climate change, and so on.  What kind of revenue are they talking?  $350 billion per year. PER YEAR! (more…)

Public Speaking (movie)

Okay, this movie came out two years ago.  And it runs about an hour & a half, primarily of Fran Lebowitz talking - just giving her opinions on life.  It's insightful and sometimes hilarious and some of the points she makes are indeed debatable.  But why am I bringing this up now?  How, exactly, does it connect to the theme of this blog?  She talks about history - her personal history in the culture of NYC.  And as you know, she came up through the ranks via Interview magazine and Andy Warhol.   So yeah, she was deep in "out" culture when AIDS hit.  And she takes a moment to remember what happened.   (more…)