Buy 92Y Webcast: Christopher Hitchens and Tariq Ramadan Debate: Is Islam a Religion of Peace?
On October 5, 2010, famous atheist and prolific author Christopher Hitchens and accomplished scholar Tariq Ramadan debated one of the most pertinent questions of our modern age: “Is Islam a Religion of Peace?” With the Obama administration in its nascent years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proving as intractable as ever, relations with Iran reaching a boiling point and the political landscape changing rapidly both in the United States and the Middle East, wrestling with the issue of Islam is more crucial than ever and will be a defining feature of the 21st century. You can watch an excerpt above and purchase the full webcast for just $1.95.
Yulya Dukhovny of Scope Toy Theater, composer and creator of A Real Elephant, will present her 30 minute performance - a combination of imaginary sets, shadows and original soundtrack. Following the performance is a 30-minute toy theater workshop with Vita Tzykun, a professional production and costume designer, which combines a conversation and an assignment that will encourage children to create a small paper set for single simple storytelling performance. Get your tickets here.
Upcoming Russian Sundays events: My Paper Chase: True Stories of the Vanished Times (Dec 5); Russian Jazz with Misha Tsiganov and Guests (Dec 19); The Yale Russian Chorus: Diplomats of Song (Jan 30, 2011).
Parallel tracks as a pianist and psychiatrist would characterize the following 20 years of Dr. Kogan’s career until 10 years ago, when he was asked to present a symposium on musical creativity and mental illness at the American Psychiatric Association. In preparation for the symposium, he studied detailed biographies of composers he had played all of his life, such as Beethoven, Schumann, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, and discovered that many of them had experienced symptoms and syndromes that were similar to those of patients he had treated. He also recognized the enormous influence their illnesses had on their work and conversely the positive effects music had on their mental health. For example, Schumann’s bursts of creativity seemed to coincide with hypomanic episodes, characterized by sharpened imagination, increased energy, and decreased need for sleep, whereas when he was depressed, he almost never composed.
“We would say [today] that he suffered from bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness,” Dr. Kogan, 54, said in a recent interview. “Some of the most distinctive characteristics of his music, like the rapid oscillations and abrupt transitions, seemed to emerge naturally from the composer’s mood swings. Tchaikovsky, who faced ongoing depression and used alcohol to blunt his emotional pain, once said, ‘Without music, I would go insane.’ Beethoven demonstrated mood volatility, persecutory delusions, and suicidal ideation but showed a remarkable psychological resilience in transcending the trauma of his deafness through his decision to fulfill his artistic destiny.”
With a distinguished career both as a concert pianist and as a psychiatrist, Dr. Kogan will present a lecture and recital on Sunday, November 21. He will explore the connection between the mental illness and the creative genius of the composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856). Tickets are just $10 for the show.
Writing on the Edge: Great Contemporary Writers on the Frontline of Crisis
Writing on the Edge is a collection of 14 first-hand accounts of life inside conflict zones where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, provides emergency medical care. The book takes readers on a harrowing tour of countries in crisis, profiling people struggling to cope with war, disease, and lack of access to basic health care.
Hear the poignant accounts of contributors Tom Craig, Damon Galgut, Hari Kunzru and Dr. Greg Elder on November 18 as they discuss their experience documenting the humanitarian activities of Doctors Without Borders.
Some upcoming Politics & Current Event lectures coming up: Alan Dershowitz and Bret Stephens in Conversation: Is Peace Possible with a Nuclear Iran? (Nov 4): The Glantz Lecture: Noah Feldman with Jeffrey Toobin: The Supreme Court Then and Now (Nov 7); The Michelle and Norman Lattman Lecture: Has Obama Failed? (Nov 10)
Paparazzi outside Michael Douglas’ apartment building in Manhattan / Photo Credit: Jezebel
Gawker Media’s Jezebel.com recently assigned a writer to trail a paparazzo for a day in Manhattan. The intent was to offer their readers “a behind-the-scenes look at the juggernaut of today’s ‘celebrity’ industry.” If you haven’t read it, we recommend you do; the report was oddly fascinating and endlessly interesting.
For even more involved discussion on celebrity, Remy Stern, Editor-in-Chief of Gawker.com, author Elizabeth Currid-Halkett (Starstruck: The Business of Celebrity) and Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales will be at 92YTribeca on November 11 to really delve into the topic. They’ll begin with the questions: “What exactly is celebrity and how does it function? Why do we care about some people more than others?”
Do you have any questions for the panelists? Submit them here in the comments and we will forward them along for consideration during the Q&A!
Daytime: America’s Sweet Tooth with Francine Segan. Trace America’s sweet tooth back to 1776 when ladies sold brandy and fruit flavored “Election Cakes” outside polling centers.
Photo: “This Is What The New Feminists Look Like,” from More magazine
The image above comes from the latest issue of More magazine, on newsstands today. The photo features ten young feminists, (Karin Agness, Lena Chen, Megan Evans, Allison Kasic, Shelby Knox, Jen McCreight, LaToya Peterson, Morgane Richardson, Julie Zeilinger and Tracy Clark-Flory) and accompanies an article on “the new feminists.” Track Clark-Flory, photographed above, added an interesting viewpoint in Salon yesterday, when she reported she showed the photo to her roommate, “...a lesbian and reproductive rights activist.” Her roommate responded: ‘Where are the butch girls?’ “Indeed,” Clark continued, “it’s a safe, commercialized vision of young feminism.”
In a talk that likely will address this issue and others, Author Naomi Wolf joins More editor-in-chief Lesley Jane Seymour and panelists Lena Chen, Allison Kasic, Shelby Knox and Jessica Valenti [Ed. note: Jessica will not be attending] on November 10 at 92YTribeca for a provocative discussion: How do the young leaders define feminism? Is blogging the new march on Washington? What do the conservative feminists believe? And will the intergenerational clash ever end? Tickets are available here.
Upcoming Talks at 92YTribeca: A Conversation with Edward Burns (Oct 27); Y + 30: The Future of Retail (Nov 1); Rob Williams’ “The Mystic Chord” (Nov 3).
Renowned artist Anselm Kiefer was born in Germany at the close of World War II, and studied art informally under Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Academy in the early 1970s. An exhibit of his work will open November 6 at The Gagosian Gallery, 555 West 24th Street. Sophie Fiennes’ film on Kiefer, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, an ”intriguing, near-wordless documentary,” is now showing in the U.K. after screening in Cannes. It is scheduled to jump the pond in 2011.
Before the film arrives in our city, and four days before his exhibit opens at Gagosian, Kiefer will be here on November 2 for a talk moderated by Sir Norman Rosenthal, former Secretary of Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Tickets are available here.
Project Runway‘s breakout star Tim Gunn has a new book out, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work. The book has been causing hushed tones amongst the fashionista set in Manhattan for the scandalous gossip Gunn dished. In particular, the story Gunn repeated about watching Anna Wintour being carried down five flights of stairs set the stylish set abuzz and made it all the way to Page Six. SFGate.com recently asked him about this, anxiously inquiring: “...aren’t you afraid of [Anna’s] wrath?” “I certainly wouldn’t be honest,” Gunn told them, “if I didn’t tell you I had apprehension.”
Hear more from Tim on November 14 when he stops by the 92nd Street Y to talk about his work as a mentor on Project Runway, his sense of style and becoming an overnight sensation after 25 years in the business. Take the 92Y Tim Gunn Trivia Challenge for your chance to win two tickets to the event!
And tomorrow night, on October 26, don’t miss Sarah Jessica Parker in Conversation with Leonard Lopate.
Video: Anchorman: The original audition tapes for ESPN
In 2004, Will Ferrell starred in Anchorman, a film about Ron Burgundy: “San Diego’s top rated newsman in the male dominated broadcasting of the 1970’s.” At the time, Slate called it “messy, crude, and brilliant.”
On November 4, a panel of film critics (Jessica Winter, Scott Foundas, R. Emmet Sweeney, Nick Dawson and Christian Lorentzen) will screen the film at 92YTribeca and argue the question: “Was Anchorman an important turning point in contemporary cinema?”
What do you think? Start the discussion early, and leave your comments below.
The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Vertigo with Howard Oboler, MA. View and discuss scenes from these and other Hitchcock movies to appreciate his genius and style.
Dance Education Laboratory Open House and Live Webcast
Live webcast stars at 1:30pm on Sunday, Oct 24. If you encounter problems with the player, try clearing your browser’s cache and start again.
Calling all dancers and dance educators from around the globe! Join us for the exciting launch of the 16th season of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center.
Get a taste of this year’s course offerings. Meet DEL master dance educators:
Jody Arnhold – “Foundations of Dance Education”
Martie Barylick – “A Dance Technique for Every/Body”
Tina Curran – “Language of Dance Fundamentals” and “Dancing with a Ballet Master: Mr. Balanchine and the Blueprint”
Martha Eddy – “Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention Using Dance”
Ana Nery Fragoso – “Foundations of Dance Education” and “Classroom Management: A Dance Teacher’s Essential Bag of Tricks”
Kathleen Isaac – “Losing Your Lesson Planning Hang-Ups: Moving from Challenge to Success!”
Catherine Gallant – “Classroom Management: A Dance Teacher’s Essential Bag of Tricks”
Andrea Markus – “West African Dance and Drum”
Ellen Robbins – “Growing a Dancer”
Lucy Winner from SUNY Empire State College will present important information about college credit opportunities through DEL. And, Virginia Guarella of the NYC Department of Education will discuss New York State certification in dance.
The webcast will feature a special Skype presentation from the 12th Annual National Dance Education Organization conference in Tempe AZ. Celebrate dance education and community!
To attend in person or for more information, call 212.415.5551.
Webcasting of the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory Open House is underwritten by the Arnhold Foundation.
Part of the Funny People series, Andy Borowitz was here on Wednesday night (along with friends Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Toobin and Judy Gold) for the Borowitz Report: Midterm Madness! Before everyone came out to join Andy on stage, he gave a stand-up routine for about 20 minutes. Watch that above.
Our friends the Panel Nerds were in attendance and filed a report on the whole evening. They were particularly pleased with Borowitz’s comedy preceding the talk. Borowitz, “as usual,” they wrote, “set the tone for the night with hilarious stand-up comedy about current events.”
Up next in the Funny People series is Adam Carolla: An Angry, Middle-Aged White Guy on November 2. That’s followed by Lewis Black with Connie Chung on November 27.
Tablet Magazinelooks back at National Lampoon, reprinting in full The Joys of Yiddish, a famous parody written by National Lampoon‘s first editor Gerry Sussman. Sussman helpfully began the instructions:
“The important thing to remember in learning Yiddish, is that many words have a “ch” or “cheh” sound in them. It is similar to the Scottish and German “ch,” only thicker, heavier and juicier. If you are having trouble pronouncing the “ch,” simply put your index and middle fingers as far down in your throat as you can, as if you were inducing a vomit. Bring up a little sound. You are now doing the Yiddish “ch.”
On November 11 at the 92nd Street Y, Meyerowitz will join other well known alumni of National Lampoon, such as Danny Abelson, part of the first writing team, Sean Kelly, the poet laureate of the Lampoon, Arnold Roth, star cartoonist, and Michael Reiss, former Lampoon editor who has been head writer for The Simpsons since it first aired. Tickets can be purchased here.
Upcoming Arts & Entertainments Talks coming up at 92Y: Sarah Jessica Parker in Conversation with Leonard Lopate (Oct 26; leave your questions here!); Gloria Vanderbilt with Wendy Goodman (Nov 21); Steve Martin with Deborah Solomon (Nov 29); Lynda Barry and Maira Kalman: Words and Pictures (Dec 2); and Chautauqua in Residence at 92Y: E. L. Doctorow, Jim Lehrer and Marsha Newman with Roger Rosenblatt (Dec 5).
Yes, he did. His name is Peder Losnegård, and performs under the name LidoLido. (check out his Myspace). The song in question is called Writemode, and has not yet been released, though Lido told us a video is coming soon.
He was at 92YTribeca yesterday for Import/Export, the Internation Hip Hop CMJ showcase presented by Digiwaxx, The Bloom Effect, Miz Metro & CMJ Present.
By the way, the lyric in question? “Don’t even say my name right like Beyonce. Can’t be I’m me, coz they a product of a team. All hands on deck, Thierry Henry.”
Tonight at 92YTribeca, we have a special CMJ show with Brooklyn’s soulful singer/songwriter Maya Azucena, who will perform a night of duets with Chris Rob, Big Brooklyn Red, Honey LaRochelle, Jahstix, Hasan Salaam and Mark Shine.
Facebook
Twitter
eNews
Parallel tracks as a pianist and psychiatrist would characterize the following 20 years of Dr. Kogan’s career until 10 years ago, when he was asked to present a symposium on musical creativity and mental illness at the American Psychiatric Association. In preparation for the symposium, he studied detailed biographies of composers he had played all of his life, such as Beethoven, Schumann, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, and discovered that many of them had experienced symptoms and syndromes that were similar to those of patients he had treated. He also recognized the enormous influence their illnesses had on their work and conversely the positive effects music had on their mental health. For example, Schumann’s bursts of creativity seemed to coincide with hypomanic episodes, characterized by sharpened imagination, increased energy, and decreased need for sleep, whereas when he was depressed, he almost never composed.
