BAZ

The thrill of pure visual cinema, giving much deeper, long-lasting aesthetic echoes than Disneyland. Nothing much to do with the book as great written literature, but who cares (except suffering English teachers, who shouldn't watch screen adaptations of anything written). Not useful for subtle people. But thrilling for introverted depressed viewers who still feel the magic of cinema, without CGI sadism. DiCaprio can act, even though he was too pretty as a boy. Rap music slaps Fitzgerald in the face, but he may enjoy being slapped. If you hated "Moulin Rouge," don't see this. If you loved "Moulin Rouge," see it. There's only 2 kinds

DARKENED SCREEN

ROGER EBERT...the passionate, sensitive writer who inspired an army of young film directors to care about cinema as art, and have the courage to make their own personal creative films, has died of cancer. He leaves a gigantic unfillable hole in non-academic serious film criticism, cinema history, and critical awareness....Roger did not inspire me to direct films - Kurosawa, Bergman, and Fellini did - and I didn't always agree with his critical opinions (who cares), but Roger was the eyes and perception that kept me making films, despite the socializing politics and cold greed of Hollywood. Every director I ever talked with, from English-speaking countries, all cited Roger as their "guiding light". He was especially caring of film students and first-time directors who had talent but had no network of support. Now we all must continue to struggle forward, without a kind mentor, but with his powerful spirit by our side.

"LIKE"

Sometimes I "LIKE" a photo but not the words, sometimes the sentiments but not the illustration, sometimes the larger ideas but not the actual post. Sometimes I like the person who posted it, or want to offer my morale support to someone I don't know. Sometimes my finger slips.....There is no way to know what "LIKE" means on Facebook, so it is only a quickie massage of the ego, not a fulfilling meal. Facebook promises communication, but only offers the thinnest surface image of communication, and actually prevents real communication....Facebook is a potentially great concept and invention to soothe loneliness, but it's still in its most primitive stage, leaving the human spirit feel even lonelier.

[Painting by 黃安祖Andrew詩畫家, on Facebook]

FACEBOOK

The Facebook that I see has a flood of streaming photos with cute girls and boys of all ages and persuasions, stunning CUs of flowers and nature, thousands of smiling classmates posing with V-fingers or horror movie faces, a few soft-core effective body photos, political pro-human/anti-evil protests, serious truthful international news from the Colonialist BBC and Muslim TV station, pro-Obama public relations that I want to believe (with the instinctive hateful anti-Obama comments), lots of YouTube videos interesting and not, really funny sites with all levels of humor and social satire, delicious food food food, photos of patterns and of nothing that are real art, graffiti and official museum art, insightful film reviews, a few ads for things I don't use or don't like or can't afford, endless good-feeling sayings and advice that no one who is human can ever follow.

This is my Facebook....hundreds of friends I never meet, and cannot touch with my hands, brain, heart, or spirit. This is Communication in the 21st Century. I prefer the 20th Century, or 18th, or 15th..... except I probably would have died of plague, starvation, war, or torture by now, and wouldn't have been an artist or teacher creating in relative freedom and security.

I'm naively and deeply disappointed in the Facebook God, but not in the Facebook users.

[Painting by artist Andrew, on Facebook]

AMERICAN "ART" FILMS

NEW YORK TIMES                                                                            by A. O. SCOTT and MANOHLA DARGIS

When Do We ‘Get It’?

LOOK past the award-season hype and the current bounty of decent, good, great movies, and one thing becomes clear: We live in interesting narrative times, cinematically. In “Cloud Atlas” characters jump across centuries, space and six separate stories into a larger tale about human interconnectedness. In “Anna Karenina” Tolstoy’s doomed heroine suffers against visibly artificial sets, a doll within an elaborate dollhouse, while in “Life of Pi” a boy and a tiger share a small boat in a very big sea amid long silences, hallucinatory visuals and no obvious story arc. In movies like these, as well as in “The Master” and “Holy Motors,” filmmakers are pushing hard against, and sometimes dispensing with, storytelling conventions, and audiences seem willing to follow them. The chief film critics of The New York Times, Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, consider this experimental turn.        

KUANDU MUSEUM OF FINE ART

KoMoFA (on the TNUA Campus, 1, Hsueh-Yuan Rd., Guandu, Beitou) has world-class artists, often better quality shows than the more famous (and better-funded) downtown Taipei museums.  The previous show had a few of the best modern work I've seen in America, Europe, or Asia.

The current show, "Post-Loyalist of Doomsdayism," well-curated by Huang Wan-Hsuan, is equally wonderful.....

THE WINDLESS DOMAIN – DANCES

THE WINDLESS DOMAIN – DANCES (12/1/13) was powerfully expressive, world-class, physical, emotional, spiritual art…. Complex, controlled, and elegant “No Name” flowed as smoothly as a great Jackson Pollack painting. Seven dancers courageously reached the brilliance of Yang Ming-Lung’s intricate, intimate choreography. (Leung Kim-Fung, Chen Yi-Han, Seu Tu Ming-Hsuen, Wu Jyun-Jhe, Chen Liang Fen, Lee Yi Qi, Yeh Yun)….“Awakening in a Dream,” choreographed by Mui Cheuk-Yin, visualized the elegance, pain and passion of Pai Hsien-yung. ….Superb Hong Kong dancer/choreographer Leung Kim-Fung transformed the cool brilliance of Bach into Asian passion with inspired movements and sequences….Three recent Taipei National University of the Arts (Taiwan)  student presentations in theatre (Fassbinder), performance art (creative director Lin Chin-Hua and 9 others from the Film and Theatre Departments), and The Windless Domain (from the transcendent Dance Department), prove that brilliant, unique, high professional-level work can be done in a university. Personal vision and extraordinary commitment are required.

SIZZLING PERFORMANCE ART

One of the most sensual, non-sexual performance pieces in memory, barrier-breaking in Taiwan….8 men, 1 woman, wrapped only in white towels and clear plastic. Confronting the 11-degree bitter night air for one hour, on the windy mountain overlooking Taipei. Confronting Asian cultural prohibitions against nakedness. Confronting the stares of 100 young happily horny and/or love-hungry men and women fantasizing about their (beautiful) bodies.

GREAT TV SERIES

*

The greatest*, and my favorite 
(good, but not always the greatest), television series:

This is mostly American TV, with some British series. 

All other countries have great art and entertainment series, (especially Korea).

Unfortunately, world popular culture is smothered by American entertainment.

Series quality after the first 2-3 seasons usually goes down, sometimes a lot....

MOVING MASTERPIECE

 New York Times - August 16, 2009

Familial Loss and Proustian Tempura    By DENNIS LIM

DEATH looms large in the films of the Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. The young heroine of his feature debut, "Maborosi" (1995), is haunted by the inexplicable suicide of her seemingly happy husband. In the metaphysical fable "After Life" (1998), the newly dead are asked to pick a single earthly recollection to keep for eternity, displacing all other memories. "Distance" (2001) observes the grief and shame of the relatives of cult members who killed themselves after carrying out a bio-terrorist attack.

VIRTUAL REALITY TV

[ WARNING:  This essay is written in over-the-top American English.... If you do not like this "style," please don't give up reading the rest of the Blog, which is written in more reader-friendly English to communicate clearly! ]

The mega-blockbusters, “American Idol,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “America’s Got Talent” are the Titanics of TV, except they have happy American success-story endings and never sink, unlike America.

“The Voice” invented revolutionary hideously-designed spinning chairs and a beyond-silly singing wrestling ring. It also recognizes excellence, and, unlike some shows, has a beating non-plastic heart.  Of course, unlike Japanese and Mexican boy bands, Idol-with-Chairs contestants don’t have to be tortured into sleeping with Blake or Adam to further their careers. And there are plenty of non-black straight guys who like exaggerated Hispanic rears. “Voice” has a lot to offer everyone, even vicariously.

Play Review: "ICELAND"

ICELAND: A STATE OF HEART

冰島：心的國度

Iceland and Taiwan are both islands.  Iceland has volcanoes and melting ice.  Taiwan has corruption, pollution, volatile politics on the TV Yuan, and China.  Iceland thought it was safebecause it floated away as far north as possible from the insanity of Europe.  Taiwan thought it was safe because America passionately offers its stallion youth to defend democracy and oil around the world.and China.  
冰島和台灣都是島嶼。冰島有火山和融冰的威脅；台灣則要面對貪污腐化、環境污染、立法院搬演的火爆政治秀以及兩岸問題。冰島自認安全，因為它已儘可能飄流北方，遠離荒唐的歐洲；台灣亦自認安全，因為美國用種馬般的精力，積極捍衛全球的民主和石油。