October 25, 2009

Ariadne auf Naxos at the Washington National Opera

 
            Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who once lamented that overturning a law criminalizing homosexuality might lead to the invalidation of laws criminalizing masturbation, adultery and fornication, received a little lap dance on Saturday night. Location: The Washington National Opera. The purpose: To further the performance of Richard Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.”
            Scalia was on [...]

October 25, 2009

Embracing Americana

I was on a panel last week at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center. Morris Dickstein, author of Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression was there, and the subject we discussed was his book and its large and fascinating subject.  One point made during the discussion was about the almost reflexive [...]