The Skunkeye Consumer Guide

Things have been out-of-sorts for me lately and probably for a good reason, but I have been paying attention to the Corcoran conundrum.

The institution, in the past, has always been a vital counterpart to DC’s Smithsonian Institionalized museum fare. In fact, post-Mapplethorpe brouhaha, the museum has been practically cutting edge.
I am always grateful to have completed a highly satisfying and grant-funded year-long project at Corcoran in 1996-97.
I left the country to pursue other things and came back in 2000 and was muy disappointed by the exhibition line-up at the Corcoran upon my return.

The bulbous Gehry project to me, seems like a vestige of the grandiose bubbly late nineties – and has indeed become a clichee.
DC – ostensibly the world’s nerve center - never can never be re-imagined like Bilbao simply because we are simultaneously known for and governed by our classical and iconic architecture and are deadened by a sheep-man sensibility. Not to mention the division between the classes and daunting housing market… talk about another bubble. The powers that be will never re-imagine the landscape of this city… it seems to be plowing along well despite its lameness.

The populist and hardly-inspired exhibits (Norman Rockwell, Jackie O) have been obviously geared to bring in the revenue to fund the flashy extension.
Sorry, the touristas would rather do Air & $pace Museum.
And the Corcoran has turned off loyal art enthusiasts and educated patrons.

So the plan was to cram the creation between the existing, aged, beautiful - and much need of repairs - building in the parking lot against a highly uninspired 70’s office structure, on a pretty much side sort of street.
I’m all for bringing visibility and excitement to the Corcoran and modernizing DC’s vista, but with homeland security hindering access to much of the public area (the Executive Building and the White House are in direct vicinity), and I don’t see that changing any time soon… and don’t really see the point right now…

I’m actually sad to see Director David Levy go – he has remarkable ties to post mid-century art (Larry Rivers!!!) and, at one time, tremendous vision. I’m sure the craptacular exhibits were a result of appeasing the trustees and bringing in paying visitors and realizing what was, at a certain time, the forward-thinking boon of a trendy Gehry extension.

Anyways, I’m out of a gig too, despite my best efforts.
Contract dropped after almost four years. And I don’t trust nobody.
Off to Upstate New York for a wedding and Vermont for a funeral.
When I get back have to create my own Re-Invention Tour.
Washington Post article for your courtesy about the debacle after the jump.

The other night I caught a late night screening of Looking For Mr. Goodbar. I’d never seen it before; I guess because it stars Diane Keaton, I’d always figured it was a quirky romantic comedy about dating and finding the right mate in the sexually revolutionized seventies.
Ummm, more like a freaky horror tragedy about random sex and finding a gruesome death in the depraved seventies. Seriously, if I had seen this as a kid I’d be scarred for life! Richard Brooks’ film is almost Douglas Sirk-ian in narrative and over-wrought vision and the whole morality play of it – except on ‘ludes! Well worth it as a freak out film and features an amazing, raw performance by Keaton, plus the bonus of support from my fave Tuesday Weld, and vivid, creepily dynamic early turns by Richard Gere and Tom Berrenger as hustlers. Sordid, fascinating film…. a "Decade Under the Influence" indeed.

Obviously I’ve been up to no good lately, but I was able to finally enjoy the girl with the amazing lineage (John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands) Xan Cassavetes’ documentary, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession, which I mentioned some million posts back. The film compellingly chronicles the rise and fall of the fabled 80’s LA cable service and its complicated founder Jerry Harvey. The Z Channel’s regular programming included European art productions and the French New Wave oevre, highlights from the aforementioned "Decade Under the Influence," including Goodbar’s Richard Brooks, overlooked classics from the likes of Sam Peckinpah, Michael Cimino, and restored prints of films that had been cut for theatrical release. Every night was like a film festival apparently; I wish we had something like that with DC basic cable – given the strong educated and international demographics of the city, it would probably take off. And I’m not talking MhZ.
Channel Z was the force behind giving entrée to Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (best known for Basic Instinct) to US audiences, and supplied essential ammunition and audience to many off-beat and under-the-radar filmmakers and releases. The documentary includes vivid testimonials from contemporary auteurs Quentin Tarrantino and Alexander Payne (Sideways), who credit the cable service to much of their film education and influence.
Z Channel: A Maginifacnt Obsession takes a particularly riveting course following founder Jerry Harvey’s mental decline and of course the infamous, and so very LA, murder/suicide.
Guardian article after the jump.

Dios,
I’ve been in a very bad way lately and I’ve forgotten how much a little dose of Tropicalia helps.
Gal Costa’s “Baby” is heavenly and sweet salvation and makes my day brighter.
Also, thank you Os Mutantes – who also deliver stellar versions, songwriter Caetano Veloso and compatriot Gilberto Gil, and while I’m at it thank Sister Maria Bethania.
Besame. Mucho. Amen

Lordy, I’m sick with the strep again and I guess its something I’ll have to deal with every time I get horrifically stressed-out.
My weekend was all about laying down low and trying to beat this thing and I didn’t do or see anything interesting at all. God Bless antibiotics and TV dinners. And television….
While convalescing I did catch Out of Time with Denzel Washington – which I quite enjoyed. And last night the finale of the L Word, which I used to find quite compelling - this has been such a lame second season. The late Ossie Davis appearances were just wrong and the show never managed to make it a fitting final performance in his career. Stop with the Betty stuff, please, L Word producers – they are annoying! The ladies are better-dressed, but, man, hokey season, yawn.
I find the whole Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes business arrangement quite disturbing but oddly expected and natural; and I wouldn’t have commented on it except for the recent developments that the Dawson’s ingénue might probably be cast as Edie Sedgwick in the upcoming biopic, Factory Girl.
I have my own theories about the Cruise-Holmes relationship based on insider information but I don’t want the L. Rons after me.
Umm…
(KH’s ambition + recent sores on KH’s lips = TC’s inability to sire children + Philippine brothels + public image + ambition). I’m really bad at algebra….
I honestly like Holmes but she is soooo wrong for the part. Sienna Miller, who has pulled out due to NYC theater obligations, would have been more appropriate… and blonder and classically trained and she would have been a dynamo-choice to embody the free-spirited but troubled nature of Edie more effectively.
I mean, she channeled Julie Christie in that messed-up Alfie remake so well. Saving grace of that mess.
Holmes is a bizarro choice but lets see how this plays out.
Maybe that she’s just sold her soul (and career) to the devil…might give her take on the role a particular weight. Maybe not.
WOW Report commentary on casting here.
NY Daily News dish after the jump.

(Photo courtesy She’s Bitter)
I’m a bit Feisted out at this point but I have to say DC was treated to an engaging performance last night at the Black Cat. No doubt, Feist will be headlining the gig, with a more substantial turn-out, next time she comes to town.
The presence of Borders “suits” at the club was a bit disconcerting, but it has been interesting to see how the marketing machine is developing this amazing and appealing artist in the US.
Feist performed sans back-up band and armed only with her guitar, an intriguing pedal device, a powerful voice, and loads of charisma. That she is braving the US market with a rawer more intimate approach brings me, a long-time devotee of her smooth and slinky Let it Die, great comfort and a great deal of respect for the artist’s unique vision.
Leslie Feist is quite effective, and courageous, I might add, in employing the tactic of audience participation. Which draws even those unfamiliar with her work immediately and warmly in. She had us clapping, singing along, and thoroughly engaged from the get-go. Feist is truly a charmer and a natural born performer. Last night I sort of felt like I was a summer camp sing-a-long lead by the cool, hot counselor with the guitar and the voice by the fire. She could have been leading us in “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Kumbaya” for chrissakes – it was a great deal of fun and refreshingly communal.
Also, Feist played a bit of her newer material (Let it Die has been out for some time now, and roughly half of the songs on the album are covers) and it is powerful and beautiful and promising!
Yikes, I am such a groupie! Many thanks to Feist for the two wonderful performances yesterday. And also for kindly comping me last night and taking the time to chat for a bit despite a grueling schedule. Leslie Feist is one of the most down to earth and available artists I have ever met.
I had a great time hanging out with She’s Bitter and Information Leafblower and some non-bloggers at the show. My tired old lazy bones had me skipping out on British Sea Power and crawling home to bed mid-set but DCist has provided a good wrap-up.

Ummm, more Feist love here.
I just got back from the Canadian dynamo’s in-store appearance at Tower Records and any reservations I’ve had about going out on a “school night” to catch Feist’s opening gig for British Sea Power tonight at the Black Cat– let’s just say I’m feeling a bit too cool for school right now. Tonight’s performance promises to be spectacular.
This afternoon, Leslie Feist performed an intimate short set of three songs, “Gatekeeper,” “Mushaboom,” and a new number where she made awesome use of a vocal loop device. As always, I am inclined to be a bit stigmatized by my city and certainly the turnout was sparse for such a special event. Feist was a real trooper under the harsh fluorescent lights and with an initially indifferent crowd; she single-handedly disarmed the whole store with her charm and natural gifts as a performer. Casual shoppers lwere iterally stopped in their tracks and were drawn to this amazing talent like moths to a flame. A phenomenon throughout Canada and Europe, the US will no doubt wise up soon to Feist.
For now, I am very grateful to have had this experience today. This week has really been crap for me and Feist stands up admirably to my faith in the healing power of music and art.
Leslie Feist is really down-to-earth and magnanimous, despite a grueling tour schedule, and we chatted a bit. Feist signed a CD for my sister, which I promptly delivered to her office a few blocks away at the World Bank.
My sister has been hearing me rave about Feist for some time now… and in delivering the goods I was wholehearted in my affirmation that this album and talent is something truly special. I think Feist has made my sister’s day too.
Tonight’s gig at the Black Cat is not to be missed!

There has been a bit of confusion regarding the in-store appearance/performance by Feist today, Thursday, May 10, at Tower in Foggy Bottom. I just called the venue and the artist is indeed scheduled to play at 3 pm. Take a late lunch and don’t miss this unique opportunity!
Feist will later be opening for British Sea Power tonight at the Black Cat.
In the interim, here is an interesting review of Let It Die (Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages).

Well, work life this week has transformed from general, lingering malaise to a complete catastrophe.
If this were a bitching blog I’d have a Shakespearian tragedy for you.

Fortunately, I had a great weekend – and I’m just now getting around to posting about it.
It was the first glorious Spring weekend I was able to enjoy this season and I got a lot of exercise and color. Of course I spent way too much money on my garden for some one who is absolutely broke at the moment. Mother’s Day was wonderful and my sister and her husband’s new/1930s style apartment brings new appeal to the Uptown area for me.

I did catch the screening of Jacques Demy’s little seen Model Shop on Saturday at AFI. The experience was kind of trippy, especially since I have not been to downtown Silver Spring in some years – what changes…my teenage destination for vinyl, art supplies, and comic books is really going through a transformer phase!

French filmmaking of a certain “feel” has never translated well into US-based productions, and Model Shop was Demy’s only foray into Hollywood and indeed much of the film is laughable. Especially the dialogue and the earnest but heavy-handed handling of issues faced by youth culture in 1969. However the film is colorfully and vividly shot – a unique time capsule of an era - and one can’t help but be drawn into the maladroit but undeniably sexy leads. The LA rock band Spirit! make an appearance in a pivotal scene and their music provides the backdrop for the production, pushing Model Shop’s groove vibe to a pleasurable maximum.
Did I mention the experience was trippy? The main draw and surprise for cineastes is that Model Shop revisits Anouk Aimée’s character from his first film, Lola. Our one-time cabaret singer is in limbo in LA, abandoned by her hard gambling husband, and posing for semi-pornographic pictures – hence, the Model Shop – to earn airfare back to her native France to be reunited with her son. The film draws parallels with Cecile/Lola’s relationship with the American sailor in Lola with the disaffected architect and draft-facing, George Matthews, played by tragically B-list Gary Lockwood, using the Vietnam War and the draft as a backdrop. The film’s vibe is permeated by acid culture and to see Lola transplanted after all these years in LA lends itself to a kind on what if?/alternate reality situation. And there are several direct references to Demy’s muse Catherine Deneuve. Indeed, Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet (same edition that I own!) is prominently and tellingly displayed in a background bookcase in one scene. Anouk Aimée, of course, played Justine, around the time of Model Shop’s release, in the infamous “Peyton Place with camels” Douglas Sirk production. I’m more than a bit of a Durrell completist so these nods are more than welcome.
At any rate, Model Shop is not for everyone and requires a bit of seasoning to appreciate. I would like to see the documentary made around the time by Demy’s widow, Agnes Varda, high priestess of the Cannes festival. Harrison Ford was the male lead in Model Shop and interviewed in the film, later recast.

So whats a blog post without some Feist love. My favorite Canadian chanteuse/Paris transplant will be making an in-store appearance and performing at Tower Records in Foggy Bottom DC tomorrow, Thursday, May 12, at 3 pm. I’ll be worming my way out of work for that one and hope to catch her later opening for British Sea Power later in the evening at the Black Cat.
My new buddy She’s Bitter has been much better about posting about these types of things this week.

Awwwright, I’m off to Straits of Malaya, which I haven’t been to since they re-opened this year. Gotta make the most of this Spring weather.
Tomorrow morning is the office where I’ll die another little humiliating day.

I’ll be visiting Mexico soon to see MJ but in the interim I was fortunate to celebrate Cinco de Mayo here in DC… with a group of bloggers no less. DCist and Bluestate hosted a fantastic party at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room, just a few blocks away from Casa Skunkeye, last night.
I’ve run out of excuses not to attend these get togethers so I ventured out of my shell to meet the people behind the local blogs that I read and enjoy. On a school night, no less. (And believe me I was crabby at work today.)
It was somewhat of surreal experience but I was grateful to have She’s Bitter to hold my hand through it. She’s muy cool and very sweet. I enjoyed meeting a few bloggers, especially Unrequited Narcissism – who is genuinely simpatico and was very generous in introducing me to people.
The folks from Bluestate provided great music – it was fun playing a bit of “name that tune.” The turnout was impressive.
DCist is such a valuable, entertaining and well-executed service to the community – I must admit I check it several times throughout the day. Big props to them and their excellent work – and they sure know how to throw a good event!

Well, the cat is finally out of the bag (Birkin or Binondo knockoff?)… Kitty Go’s When Chic Hits the Fan: Celebrity and Fashion Confessions of a Former Magazine Editor is taking the Philippines by storm.

Kitty is one of my dearest friends and my former editor and also has one of the most razor sharp wits around. Her insider takes on the media, entertainment, and Manila society are hilarious and so on-the-mark and her stories and emails never fail to crack me up!

The first run is sold out and Kitty promises me I’ll have my copy soon – I cannot wait to read this! I really wanted to be at the book launch party on May 19 just to gauge the reactions. Many of the attendees, no doubt, will see themselves and each other in Chic Hits the Fan.

Here is the synopsis:

As editor of Manila’s Style magazine, Giselle Cordero had a dream job. Or so it seemed. But as someone with a stylish wardrobe, quick wit, sharp observations and little pretensions, she may be too fabulous for "cosmo Manille’s" shallow, unprofessional and social climbing celebrity, fashion and social scenes. Kitty Go does the fashionable thing with a razor sharp fictional account of the Philippine celebrity world only an insider could have experienced. For everyone who has been there or anyone considering a life in the reputedly glamorous media business, this is a must-read. If it doesn’t change your view of this falsely glorified world, at least it will keep you giggling and gossiping for weeks!

Kitty Go’s When Chic Hits the Fan: Celebrity and Fashion Confessions of a Former Magazine Editor is available through National Bookstore.

My former co-worker Gino dela Paz now has a sharp, well-written column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Here is Gino’s conversation with our friend and editor.

Here is a rave reader review from a blogger.

After the jump, Alex Vergara’s take on Chic Hits the Fan, also from the Inquirer.