Wilfrid

Well worth making a reservation to visit the Pace galleries on West 25th for the Sam Gilliam show. Schjeldahl's review sent me there, and the work really is spectacular. I recommend going to the smaller gallery first (nearer 10th Ave) to see his more traditional color field paintings. I think that increases the impact of the drip paintings in the larger gallery. At first glance you'll think Pollock, but he uses a range of techniques (collage elements, very thick paint) to create remarkable depth. The colors dance out at you like the best of Rothko. Unmissable.

Thank you for the MC5 Anthology tip, I wasn’t aware of that collection. William Basinski, Lamentations.

We have some similar horror stories. I had some donuts I was told to pick up from a FedEx office, which was actually closed for COVID. FedEx delivered them a week later, green around the edges. One of my wife’s food orders could be tracked on an amazing route around the country; I don’t know that it ever arrived.

Thanks guys, good suggestions. Looks like Wayla and Kimika need some advance planning.

Any suggestions for comfortable outdoors Asian (not Szichuan), preferably downtown? Was thinking Tuome, but the menu choice is limited if you're not doing the pig-out.

Criterion Channel has some Carl Dreyer, and I just watched Ordet for the first time. It's one of the most intense and gripping movies I've ever seen, especially the second half. For me, the ending (which is supernatural) doesn't detract from the movie's impact. Anyone curious should consult the Wikipedia page, but if you're going to watch it, the plot section will spoil the end for you. The cinematography alone is breathtaking. ETA: Okay, I did laugh out loud when it was revealed that one of the characters had been sent mad by reading Kierkegaard.

I've never eaten chimpanzee.

I don’t care about him changing to a vegan diet. Not only do I respect veganism, it’s also far from a novelty: my wife is a vegan. I find veganism much more ethically reputable than those dumb ideas about “respecting the whole animal” after murdering it. My main reason for being in the thread is that my reasons for choosing to eat meat can’t be reduced to “fuck it.” I’ve actually applied my mind, although of course I may be wrong. I also can never resist raising the question, never answered (and I don’t mean by Daniel) about how livestock would benefit from the mass slaughter which w

I have some frozen fish stock I should use up, thanks for the reminder.

Cowboy Junkies, Ghosts

I continue to be bowled over by the astonishing Maggie Nelson. I have just read the two books about the unsolved murder of her 22 year-old aunt Jane, four years before Nelson was born. The first, a verse collection of such power it reminds of Reznikoff, is a sort of expurgation of the shadow the murder cast over her family and childhood, complete with poetized excerpts from Jane's Journals (Jane: A Murder). Nelson hoped to achieve closure, but around the time that book was published the family was notified that -- decades later -- someone had been charged with the murder. Nelson wrote The

To save your eyes, Wechsberg's collection Blue Trout and Black Truffles includes "The Formidable Monsieur Point" which covers much the same ground (I can't say if it's identical because I don't have my copy to hand): you can buy the book online for less than $5. Assuming you pulled it up online, though, clicking anywhere on the text should make it larger.

That is a cool picture, Stephanie.

As a philosopher. I can do better than "fuck it." Jeremy Bentham famously said of animals,“The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer" and that's been a touchstone of the case for animal rights in general. I think he's wrong, and can be shown to be wrong. 1. It is perfectly possible to slaughter an animal with the animal knowing no discomfort, fear or pain (dogs and cats are humanely "put down" every day). There's no suffering involved there. 2. It's also possible to slaughter a human being without the human being suffering. I think 2. is

Duke Ellington, Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band

People sunbathing in Central Park. I mean in bathing suits. In November.

Belt-busting finale at Foxface. Hare and elk, each two ways (braised and tonkatsu), rich foie and chocolate saucing, mashed potatoes, green salad; cured steelhead trout and (six week) tuna, and a squash soup with huge red shrimp to start; gelato to finish. There was no wine pairing going on because the guest of drinking age was looking for a light white. But never mind, I can always drink a gamey red; but I haven’t had Lievre in New York since Cercle Rouge.

Duh, sorry, I knew that.

Ha, yes, I remember Clementine.

I'm actually referring to the livestock, though. 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered in an attempt to stop BSE, but that would be a tea-party. Unless one supposes that governments would subsidize rearing animals as a hobby, the entire population of livestock would have to be slaughtered, and rapidly--no phasing out (why feed what you can't sell?*). I can imagine some cows being preserved in zoos, but there's no outcome to mass veganism which saves animals lives. I know there are other arguments for veganism (environmental, for example), but I've never had a good explanation of how it help

Bizarre. They have a story on Caracas closing its EV location today. It's also odd that they're sending readers to their main competitor. They do still have three reporters in NYC.

I am repeating myself, but if Daniel's argument was generally accepted it would be very bad news for livestock. Mass slaughter. Perhaps it would be good news for some wildlife, but most hunting would continue as the main aim is to control populations and preserve the environment.

I am more unhappy with Charlie Cook: "The Senate is increasingly less a case of whether Democrats will take a majority, but how large will it be." https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/national/national-politics/dont-expect-contested-election Silver may be overlooking bias, but his forecast still came out about right.

This is from his final forecast, and I don't see the bit where he's wrong: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/final-2020-presidential-election-forecast/

Pete Wells on the future of outdoor dining. His first point makes me uncomfortable. I don't want the distinction between restaurant food and street food to vanish: it's been eroded enough. Outdoor dining in Europe doesn't necessarily mean fast food or picnic items, and it shouldn't here.