Arts & Entertainment

Guest Writer: Narbeh Minassian

The dramatic augmentation of social media in recent years has paved the way for an unprecedented means of written expression. Facebook and Twitter are constantly bombarded by status updates and posts, which have inadvertently revealed that the general grasp of the English language is indirectly proportional to the growth in the use of such social media.

By Kim Watkins

To many New Yorkers, basic tenets of wellness, like weight management, nutrition, muscle strength, flexibility, and hydration, are a persistent source of stress. Much like the frenetic sense of urgency we city folk invoke to work as hard as possible, in order to achieve as much as possible, the body's best condition is pursued with an advanced level of commercialism.

By Elvis Duran

Everyone knows that summer is about lounging around the pool with your friends while enjoying tons of cocktails and eating fabulous BBQ! However, the most important thing you must have to enjoy your summer is an amazing play list to really set the mood. Here are my top five picks for the hottest songs of the summer:

1. Cher Lloyd “Want U Back”
Cher is already a huge artist in the UK where she placed third on the seventh season of “The X Factor”,but she is now starting to make her impact across the pond! Her song “Want U Back” is making some waves on the U.S. charts and definitely has the power to become her big crossover hit. It’s bubbly, fun, and just makes you want to mimic her sexy grunting noises by the end of the song! UH!

2. P!nk “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”
P!nk is finally back in the game after becoming a new mom last year and guess what? She is back and better than ever! Her career has taken a new turn since her comeback in 2008 and I absolutely love her new sound. She is at the top of her game and this new single shows P!nk doing what she does best, rocking out without any regrets!

By Bob and Sandy Nesoff

July 28, 1945, a few months short of the end of World War II, dawned with a dense fog.  Even though the country was still on a war footing, New Yorkers prepared for their normal daily routine. By 9:45 a.m. most had arrived at their jobs and despite the lack of visibility the day was just like any other…until that moment.

By Alexander Berki

Modern New York is often seen as a mixture of people from different cultures and nationalities. One may be in the chicest nightclub in the city and catch a glimpse of an A-list celebrity sitting at the next table over from some unknown hipster from Williamsburg. What brings these people together is common interest of food, music or simply a good time. They may not even address each other let alone be acquainted, but they are at least in the same venue at the same time. However, the social world of New York during the Gilded Age was very different from what we know today.

By Barry Bassis

Harvey

1944 was a good year for alcoholics. Not in real life, but in the arts. Charles Jackson’s novel, “The Lost Weekend” was published to acclaim and made into an Academy-Award winning film the following year. At the same time, Mary Chase’s play, “Harvey” was a big hit that won the Pulitzer Prize. The two works could not be more different. While Jackson’s work and the Wilder film treat the subject as painfully honest with the protagonist enduring humiliation and experiencing the DTs, Chase’s play is a gentle comedy about a small-town drinker whose best friend is an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey. Chase has been lucky with casting. The original had vaudevillian Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd and the movie starred James Stewart (who later reprised the part on Broadway). One fact that distinguishes Dowd from Don Birnam in the Jackson novel is that he doesn’t have to scramble for money. He inherited the family fortune, further arousing the resentment of his sister, Veta Louise, who wants him committed to an asylum so she can gain control of the finances and avoid the embarrassment of having him showing up at inopportune times. She also wants to find a suitable suitor for her daughter Myrtle Mae. The Roundabout Theatre’s new production, directed by Scott Ellis, doesn’t quite overcome my reservations about the play but the revival does provide a winning cast. Jim Parsons is charming as the courtly tippler, Jessica Hecht is hilarious (if occasionally a bit over the top) as Veta and Charles Kimbrough is a delight as the initially confident and later frazzled head of the sanitarium. The play dabbles at fantasy (suggesting that Harvey really exists) and also that the insane may be better off with their delusions. In any event, if you can accept the whimsical premise of the play, the work provides a steady stream of laughs.

By Barry Bassis

Legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans died in 1980 but a live recording made in 1968 was recently discovered. The lavish double CD set, “Bill Evans at the Top of the Gate” (Resonance Records), captures an outstanding performance with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums. The CDs have pristine sound, thanks to the exceptional engineering of the original performance by George Klabin (who was then a student at Columbia University and head of the jazz department at the college’s radio station). The set contains a 28 page booklet with essays by Nat Hentoff, Gary Burton, Eddie Gomez, Marty Morell, George Klabin and Raphael D’Lugoff, photos and historical documents. The set contains 17 tracks: Emily, Witchcraft, Yesterdays, ‘Round Midnight, My Funny Valentine, California Here I Come, Gone with the Wind, Alfie, Turn Out the Stars, In a Sentimental Mood, Autumn Leaves, Someday My Prince Will Come, Mother of Earl and the first trio version of Here’s That Rainy Day.

By Rory Winston

For all his flaws, Sergei Diaghilev was the quintessential impresario. Beyond scouting out the most exceptional talents of his day, he inspired them to traverse what were otherwise strict boundaries. He created interdisciplinary collaborations that brought diverse artists the likes of Stravinsky, Nijinsky and Picasso under one roof. Whether or not Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Art Center (BAC) is capable of catalyzing paradigm shifts to the degree that has been ascribed to the legendary Ballet Russes is too early to tell; but, what is evident is that it operates under a laudable ethos – one that places the growth of the respective artists over the demands of their creations. While Baryshnikov shares Diaghilev’s fervor for odd juxtapositions, he never pressures his residents into turning out ‘marketable products’.

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By Christopher A. Pape

Selena Gomez’s song, “Love you Like a Love Song,” might be the perfect title for describing America’s top radio host, Elvis Duran. Elvis, who is intimately aware of Selena’s song, would probably agree that it’s fitting that I should equate him to a Top 40 song. After all, he is the arbitrator and tastemaker of pop songs for a whole generation of Americans.

By Christopher A. Pape

Meeting Eileen Fulton is emblematic of a time when a star was a star. One knew one’s place; certain rules of decorum were expected and obeyed. Ms. Fulton, of “As the World Turns” fame, adheres to the mantra of always being one’s best.She is the consummate professional. It doesn’t hurt that she is beautiful in person as she is on screen, and had the most charming Southern accent imaginable.