Althouse: It's intermission.

November 20, 2011

It's intermission.

You can talk about anything you want.

31 comments:

m stone said...: The #Occupy Madison crowd at night...; 11/20/11, 9:04 PM
Chip S. said...: Makes me crave an Orangina.; 11/20/11, 9:06 PM
traditionalguy said...: Was it a play or a symphony concert?

I hope it wasn't Prairie Home Companion.; 11/20/11, 9:10 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: When I saw the pepper spray come out orange it made me imagine how great that would be for fried eggs and curries.; 11/20/11, 9:12 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: When I saw the pepper spray coming out orange it made me imagine how great that would be on eggs and curries.

(Blogger keeps vanishing my words); 11/20/11, 9:19 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Chip S.,

Makes me crave an Orangina.

Jesus, I haven't had one of those in years. Love 'em.

That looks just like the kind of gathering I'd be making a beeline to escape. Sweaters, and guys in corduroy - sheesh.

Point me to the nearest bar, or a construction site or something, so I can feel normal.; 11/20/11, 9:28 PM
MadisonMan said...: Mannheim Steamroller?; 11/20/11, 9:32 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: I'm surprised more people didn't cover the GOP debate this Saturday. I guess people would rather pretend social conservatives do not exist.; 11/20/11, 9:34 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: From The Magazine Antiques:

The first myth to be dispelled as you enter Crystal Bridges is that it is all some vanity venture, a well-meaning folly rising in the middle of nowhere. Though some of the art comes from Alice Walton's private collection (and by all accounts she has highly developed, even exquisite taste), most of it has been acquired specifically for the museum by a curatorial committee initially led by John Wilmerding, the doyen of American art. In this regard Crystal Bridges is less like the Louvre or the Uffizi (that is, a hodge-podge of royal collections in which greatness and mediocrity hang side by side) than it is like the National Gallery in London. That collection, founded in 1824, was assembled by a group of curators with an almost metaphysical instinct for excellence, all the more rare in that it required expertise in every arena of European painting from Duccio in the thirteenth century to Turner in the nineteenth.

...

The curators have set themselves the difficult task of acquiring works that are at once historically significant and visually beautiful, and they have succeeded on both grounds. In fact it is hard to recall any recent collection, or many older collections, in which the now conservative criterion of beauty is so heroically defended in the face of a cultural mainstream that prefers confrontation and the spurious appearance of "relevance."

I expect to see all of you serious art people in Northwest Arkansas at some point. (Though I imagine those who can afford it will wait until the luxury hotel near the museum is completed.)

More:

Though the museum's mission is the display of American art, rather than contemporary art as such, I am aware of no other collection of the latter that-through a commitment to beauty-makes so eloquent a case for its enduring consequence.

and

At Crystal Bridges Alice Walton has embarked on what may well prove to be one of the most ambitious acts of cultural development in modern times. She has sought to create, and she has succeeded in creating, perhaps the finest single collection of American art in the world, housed in a world class museum.; 11/20/11, 9:36 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Oh, and admission is free. Yes, free. Thank you, Walmart.

We went a week ago, and it really was spectacular.; 11/20/11, 9:38 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The photo is from last week. We saw/heard Midori play Shostakovich. There was also some Hatdn and Ravel.; 11/20/11, 9:45 PM
TmjUtah said...: I have always wanted to hear the Leningrad Symphony live.

Having said that, is any body else restructuring their portfolios away from Euro debt tomorrow?

Not many places left to move money to, besides maybe the mattress or a tin box under the fire place flags.; 11/20/11, 9:54 PM
As my whimsy leads me.. said...: The Columbus Sympthony Orchestra played Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff last weekend. No doubt they were unaware that Friday was Veteran's Day. Oh, well. Shostakovich did have to put up with a lot from Stalin and his crowd.

Crack--do you know Andrae Crouch? Just wondering; I like his music, and I haven't heard much about him in the last several years.

Freeman--thanks for sharing! Arkansas is one of the few states east of the Rockies that I haven't visited. That's a good reason to make a trip.

What's everyone fixing for Thanksgiving? Anybody want my Cranberry Crunch recipe?

Toy

Toy; 11/20/11, 9:58 PM
Synova said...: No doubt we've got a long way to go to optimize our use of the new telescope, but we managed to attach lenses and view Jupiter and four of its moons. Yay!; 11/20/11, 10:21 PM
A. Shmendrik said...: Eagles win!; 11/20/11, 10:26 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: No doubt we've got a long way to go to optimize our use of the new telescope, but we managed to attach lenses and view Jupiter and four of its moons. Yay!

Neat!; 11/20/11, 10:38 PM
David said...: Can't we just go home?; 11/20/11, 10:44 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: As my whimsy leads me,

Shostakovich is a favorite. I don't know Andrae Crouch personally, but I know people who do. I'll drop a note on Facebook and get back to you.

My cousin just passed - another artist of note. I swear, my family is just bursting with them,...; 11/20/11, 10:48 PM
Milwaukee said...: Why is it, when we all had private insurance, the liberals forced mandates for cancer screening on us, and now when the Feds are going to pick up the tab, cancer screening is a bad idea? Cancer screening is an good idea for an individual, but bad for a group. A negative result is good for an individual: You're clean, no cancer. But for the group picking up the tab, that was a waste of money. If there is a positive, whether true or not, it will require more tests, and more money. Some of those tests have negative consequences because the tests are invasive, exposing the patient to further damage. If the positive was false, chasing test results to prove it was a false positive can be dangerous and expensive.

But mammograms are expensive. If Insurance companies only charged women for them, then the companies must hike the premiums. If there is a state mandate that everybody pay for mammograms, even men who most usually don't need them, then that hikes insurance premiums, but gets individuals their mammograms. See the liberals were making other people pay. Now that the Government might have to pay, they think screening is not a hot idea. The best revenge is to live a long life.; 11/20/11, 11:00 PM
gadfly said...: I would have held out for Chip Davis and the Mannheim Steamroller.; 11/20/11, 11:01 PM
As my whimsy leads me.. said...: Crack, I'm sorry for your loss. You are, indeed, from a talented family.

Toy; 11/20/11, 11:11 PM
bagoh20 said...: I'm on my new kindle fire,which is nice so far,except for my fat fingers. Bought it due Althouse bringing it up.; 11/20/11, 11:47 PM
edutcher said...: Sherlock presented a dead mouse to
Herself.

Much like Queen Victoria, She was not amused.

Ann Althouse said...

The photo is from last week. We saw/heard Midori play Shostakovich.

Who won?

TmjUtah said...

I have always wanted to hear the Leningrad Symphony live.

The Blonde and I go to see the Moscow Ballet do "The Nutcracker" the end of next week. It's our annual Christmas tradition.

A. Shmendrik said...

Eagles win!

Yay! It's always so nice to hear the Birds have won. anyone who spent most of their lives listening to how they blew it can't get over how things have changed.; 11/21/11, 5:52 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: So civilised.. not confiscating recording devises.; 11/21/11, 6:54 AM
paminwi said...: I'm sure many of you have already seen this - but it is amazing how sometimes Chris Matthews can not stop talking. He is going to be slapped back for a while - maybe a short while but it is interesting nonetheless.

http://tinyurl.com/7pq2hor; 11/21/11, 6:56 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Sorry about your loss Crack; 11/21/11, 6:56 AM
pm317 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/21/11, 7:29 AM
pm317 said...: We saw/heard Midori play Shostakovich.

I had a CD of Shostakovich with a composition about death.. it had a haunting repetitive sound like a death march. Music was heavy and beautiful at the same time. I can't locate the CD and don't remember the title or any other searchable info except for something about death. My searches have been futile. Any Shostakovich experts here who can shed light?; 11/21/11, 7:33 AM
Sofa King said...: Intermission; 11/21/11, 9:41 AM
David said...: Crack, sorry about your cuz. Is there someplace we can hear his music? I grew up (or tried to) with doo-wop. There were some great groups from Pittsburgh that no one has ever hear of. Would love to hear his music.; 11/21/11, 1:37 PM
TmjUtah said...: @edutcher -

Moscow Ballet as in "in the new Bolshoi?"

Wowsers. Good on ya.

I like what I have heard of Shostakovich; not any kind of expert. The guys who cut my hair when I lived in San Mateo were Ukrainian emigres, and veterans of the Red Army. They celebrated Victory Day...and the day that Paulus surrendered Sixth Army at Stalingrad... and the day that Leningrad was relieved.

All the other drinking was just cultural.; 11/21/11, 5:59 PM