MikeyK's New Writeups

Grant Green (person)

2003-07-12T00:21:45Z

There was never a dull minute when Grant was playing the guitar.
--George Benson

St. Louis, Missouri-born hard bop Jazz guitarist noted for his impressive melodic ability and adaptations of popular songs jazz standards.

A brief bio + and a little bit of style

Grant Green was born on June 6th, 1935 (though the biography present on his original records state he was born in 1931) in St. Louis and began playing guitar professionally at the age of 13, influenced by Charlie Parker and Charlie Christian (Christian was often cited by Wes Montgomery as his greatest influence) He played the local clubs and bars, recording a few songs in 1959 with friend Jimmy Forrest. In 1961, however, Lou Donaldson heard Green playing in East St. Louis and invited him to go to New York to meet with Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. Green signed on as recording artist and a long partnership began.

…

Augusto Boal (person)

2003-07-10T07:39:14Z

"I believe that all the truly revolutionary theatrical groups should transfer to the people the means of production in the theater so that the people themselves may utilize them. The theater is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it."
--Augusto Boal, The Theater of the Oppressed

Brazilian born theatre practitioner (1931- ) who pioneered the concepts of Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum Theatre, Invisible Theatre, and the Rainbow of Desire.

A brief history

Boal was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1931 and left to study chemical engineering at Columbia University in the late 1940's. He graduated with a doctorate and returned to Brazil at the request of the Arena Theatre company in SÃ£o Paulo. The 1950's were a time of change in theatre, with Beckett's Godot, among other plays, heralding a new, brutal form of existentialist theatre, and Boal's work proved to be no different.…

The Unrest-Cure (idea)

2003-03-25T01:42:11Z

Background
Published in 1911 as part of The Chronicles of Clovis, The Unrest-Cure is one of Hector Hugh Munro's (aka Saki) most often (though still not that often) anthologized short stories. Commentary below, followed by full text (thank you Project Gutenberg).

Commentary

In "The Unrest-Cure," there are elements that have often been satirized by other authors- religious misunderstanding and subsequent persecution, inconvenient visits - but the presence of these is only part of the form. The content itself, the object of the satire, is the humdrum existence the Huddles lead and the fact that only a shakeup of monstrous proportions took them out of their rut. One of the clearest signs that the Huddles are living a preplanned life is the fact that the Huddle sister has "headache days"; the arrival of a strange Bishop forces her to rearrange her schedule: "It was not her day for a…

The Talking-Out of Tarrington (idea)

2003-03-17T23:31:59Z

"Heavens!" exclaimed the aunt of Clovis, "here's some one I know bearing down on us. I can't remember his name, but he lunched with us once in Town. Tarrington--yes, that's it. He's heard of the picnic I'm giving for the Princess, and he'll cling to me like a lifebelt till I give him an invitation; then he'll ask if he may bring all his wives and mothers and sisters with him. That's the worst of these small watering-places; one can't escape from anybody."

"I'll fight a rearguard action for you if you like to do a bolt now," volunteered Clovis; "you've a clear ten yards start if you don't lose time."

The aunt of Clovis responded gamely to the suggestion, and churned away like a Nile steamer, with a long brown ripple of Pekingese spaniel trailing in her wake.

"Pretend you don't know him," was her parting advice, tinged with the reckless courage of the non-comba…

The Baron in the Trees (idea)

2003-03-16T05:53:49Z

"I'm never coming down", he said. And he kept his word.

"The Baron in the Trees" (original title: "Il barone rampante") was written by Italo Calvino in 1957 and forms, alongside The Cloven Viscount and The Nonexistant Knight, the Ancestors trilogy. Some consider it to be his best work; it is certainly among his most entertaining.

Background

Set in the 18th century, the novel follows a style similar to the other two works in this trilogy: magical realism with a splash of historically-inspired elements. It differs from The Cloven Viscount, however, in going past sketched-out settings and form-filling characters, but instead having very carefully crafted 18th century period pieces - Calvino states that this was the "age of the eccentrics" and his characters (both primary and secondary) are direct reflections of this time period. Here time and characters are inseperable - the former creates the…

Alex Chilton (person)

2003-03-08T03:55:47Z

"I've got a pretty nice thing going and I'm happy with the way that I get by, but I don't feel compelled to work to try and make millions you know. As long as it goes on this way, I like it. I feel lucky to be able to do the work I can at all."
-- Alex Chilton, "The Idler" interview

How many artists can claim to have sung a chart-topping hit when they were 17, gone on to front one of the most revered (though unappreciated) rock bands, produced an album for a famous punk rock band, and continue to make solo records of consistent quality today? Not many, but Alex Chilton can certainly claim to have done all of these and more.

1. Give me a ticket for an airplane
Early work

Born in Memphis, Tennessee on December 28, 1950, Alex Chilton played in several bands while in high school - briefly playing with Bill Cunningham, who he would work with later in…