Bohemians: The Glamorous Outcasts

Customer Reviews:

Rehash of familiar facts and anecdotes........2007-03-26

Another unnecessary tome of the "publish or perish" variety. It merely documents that the author has identified and consulted written accounts of the phenomenon from the last 150 years and patched together a narrative that is very much of the cut-and-paste variety. No original research is evidenced; and where the author had the opportunity to correct gross errors of fact in sources quoted, it's just too much bother. To wit: on p. 237, "La Goulue...still there in the 1930s... In the background..stands an old man...Valentin-le-Désossé, her old dancing partner." Well, La Goulue was dead by early 1929 (30 Jan. to be exact), and her partner Valentin had slipped back into the perfectly bourgeois existence that he emerged from - to die in 1907.
On p. 246, Mrs. Wilson gives us two paragraphs on a "certain" Dr. Walter Serner (1889-1942). She appears to know nothing about him as a writer (of brilliantly unique short stories), but insists that he eventually disappears in the Soviet Union, "perhaps in search of the bohemian's always elusive utopia".
This romanticizing nonsense is especially galling, considering that Serner suffered the usual fate the Nazis had in store for Jews: he and his wife were arrested in Prague in 1942 and murdered a few months later, probably in Auschwitz.
The author's website tells us that she has written an autobiography at age 45, and is a feminist, lesbian and social activist. I'd say stick to it.

haven't read it all yet, but..........2005-12-20

I will be sure to re-review this item when I complete the book, but I felt the need to encourage people to buy this instead of "Bohemian Manifesto : A Field Guide to Living on the Edge" by Lauren Stover. I have actually never read that book either, but having scanned it several times, it seems to me to be a way of making the bohemian conformist and conventional; to a "real bohemian" type it would most likely be laughable. I put this in quotes because it is one of the issues that "Bohemians: the Glamorous Outcasts" grapples with. Having begun this book twice, I can say I was much more interested and understood it better the second time around, after having taken a course in 19th century European art and a survey art course from Renaissance to Modern art, so some prior knowledge of art history may be a large help in understanding

Product Description

This book is written in both Japaneses and English.

A Tree, a Blade of Grass, Okumikawa, the Nippon Alps: Photographs by Shinzo Maeda

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A Tree, a Blade of Grass, Okumikawa, the Nippon Alps: Photographs by Shinzo Maeda

Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0788157515

Auntie nature, uncle tree and cousin blade-a-grass

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Auntie nature, uncle tree and cousin blade-a-grass
Lloyd Garber
Manufacturer: Garber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Voltron Volume 1: Revelations (Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
Average customer rating:

Voltron is Back!

Way Cool!

Voltron Volume 1: Revelations (Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
Dan Jolley , Clint Hilinski , Tim Seeley , and Mike Norton
Manufacturer: Devil's Due Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Voltron Volume 2: Paradise Lost (Voltron: Defender of the Universe)

Voltron - Defender of the Universe - Collection Two

Voltron - Defender of the Universe - Collection One

Voltron - Defender of the Universe - Collection Three

G.I. Joe Vs. The Transformers Volume 1

ASIN: 1932796002

Book Description

In the far future, an interstellar cold war rages as the Earth-based Galactic Union faces off against the vast Drule Supremacy - two star-faring superpowers, each looking for the other's weakness. So when an Earth officer named Hawkins discovers that a mythical, unstoppable war machine might actually be real, he doesn't hesitate to send five maverick pilots on an ultra-secret mission to bring back the legend of Voltron. The journey begins here, as Keith Kogane, Sven Holgersson, Pidge Stoker, Lance McClain and Hunk Garrett arrive on distant Arus, where they meet Allura, princess of the ravaged planet... and unearth the five giant, robotic lions that join together to re-create the metal warrior known as Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Customer Reviews:

Voltron is Back!.......2007-09-21

First fell in love with the Voltron Cartoon back in 84' or so-at the early age of 6. When I first spotted this book on the net-I started fiendin' for those child-hood memories once again. Now, after reading this comic, all those memories from the cartoon start to flourish. All the characters are there:Keith (mission leader-martial arts hobbiest)/Lance (extraordinary pilot)/14 year old-Pidge(systems analyst)/Sven(Combat Specialist)/"Hunk"(engineer). On Planet Arus-Princess Alura has dreams to free her people one day. This is difficult to accomplish when you have evil people-like King Zarkon-Ruler of the 9th Kingdom. He and the evil witch "Haggar" are always up to new tricks to keep the people down.*Reminds me of times today here on earth.* The comic book has great arts/graphics displaying the entire story: Princess Allura can feel "forces converging upon Planet Arus. There is a legend poised to awaken...A champion, an avenger, ready to arise!" That's right it's Voltron! But reborn in a new creation. Gotta get the book to learn more about this mighty legend!

Way Cool!.......2005-06-28

I first learned of Voltron back in '99 when they were airing the Voltron the third dimesion series on tv. I was hooked, when I learned that they were coming out with the comic version I couldn't wait. So far it has lived up to my expectations and it's great. I so recommend this omic to anyone who loves the Voltron Universe. But it's more then that it's a great comic book, it has nice clear pictures and the dialoge is awesome, so for this a definate most read for all comic fans!

Book Description

Published in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art

In the mid-1960s, at the height of his creative powers, Andy Warhol produced hundreds of three-minute cinematic portraits, called "Screen Tests." Although rarely screened now, these short films captured a virtual who's who of the avant-garde, including such cultural icons as Edie Sedgwick, Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali, and Susan Sontag. At last, in the initial volume of the authorized catalogue raisonné of Warhol's films, Warhol authority Callie Angell examines all 189 people captured by Warhol's lens. Stills from many of the films appear here for the first time. Drawing on 13 years of original research into the Screen Test subjects and their relationships to Warhol, Angell provides an unprecedented look at the pop art master's working method, and a unique record of his colorful social and professional life.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Warholia.......2007-05-13

Wow, it's hard to top Billy Name himself writing a review of this, but this book is a real gas and an essential catalog of Warhol's screen tests. You get stills from each of the tests, with a brief bio of each of the subjects. Always interesting and informative, full of surprises and humor, and exhaustively detailed. There were even a few color tests done, and you get stills from each of them too. Some of these people are true shadows and we know little, and some are truly beautiful (Amy Taubin!). I am really looking forward to Volume Two and the "features." Warhol being the most important artist of the second half of the 20th Century, it is even possible that these films may be his most important art works. Mailer said that we wouldn't recognize their value for fifty years, but we've now passed the forty year mark and my impression is that most people would still want to ignore these -- but time will tell.

probably the best Screen Tests reference-not that I'd know.......2006-11-13

Bought it as an anniversary gift. Before wrapping it I paged through and quickly became engrossed. I'm not sure I would have been as interested if I hadn't previously seen many of the screen tests. Author accepts Screen Tests as canonical films whose production details are of tremendous significance. Brief bios and gossipy tidbits cater to shallower retro-interest in the usual superstars, although numerous people cast in the Screen Tests were rich patrons and art industry knobs. Like much of Warhol's oeuvre, the Screen Tests merit sustained viewing only if you're willing to invest a lot in the experience. Vol 1 provides innarestin' background for people so inclined. Might buy Vol 2, if it isn't bloated with stuff on the Warhol-Morrissey productions.

the best film document for warhol .......2006-03-30

callie angell's expert volume 1 of the warhol film catalog raisonne (screentests) is a must for all libraries as the most authentic referrence manual for this ouvre. all information is from direct viewing of the films and interviews with actual participants. it is therefore the primary source for this series of warhol film art. the publication is beautiful and the illustrations, actual stills from the acutal films, are exciting. the text and essays are chock full of technical info on the making of the series, social notes included. a must have for all serious warhol souces. abrams and the whitney museum of american art did a fine job; it's a historical documentary publication in the art world.

Book Description

Crosby, Vallee, Columbo. They are their own trinity. Bing is the universal dad. Rudy the misbehaving son. That leaves Russ. The holy ghost.

New York, 1931: The curtain falls on the Ziegfeld Follies, a victim of the rising popularity of talking pictures; Rudy Vallee, radio’s wildly popular “Vagabond Lover,” worries that increasingly sophisticated microphones and Hollywood-minted heartthrobs will make his megaphone-amplified vocals passé; a pugnacious, hard-drinking baritone named Bing Crosby cleans up his act, preparing to take America by storm on CBS radio; and handsome twenty-three-year-old Russ Columbo, a former violinist dating a Ziegfeld girl, makes his debut on NBC radio.

In an America poised to take its dominant place on the world stage, the Crooner points the way forward. With his heated core of sex appeal wrapped in well-tailored layers of cool distance and cigarette smoke, the Crooner brings something new to the country’s self-image: this is no Yankee-Doodle Dandy, but a suave and seductive figure, sophisticated as any European, flush with youthful strength and energy. It’s all there in his voice, his croon: a soft, intimate, sensual form of singing that combines jazz sensibilities with the smooth and danceable rhythms of the Big Band sound and Swing.

But who would embody the new archetype? Vallee crooned too soon. That left Crosby and Columbo to duel it out over the airwaves. Hailed as “The Romeo of Radio” and “The Valentino of Song,” romantically linked to actresses Pola Negri and Carole Lombard, Columbo is all but forgotten today, his limitless promise cut short in a tragic and controversial accident as he stood on the verge of winning the stardom that Crosby, his great rival, would soon achieve.
In this impressionistic tour-de-force–a musical history combining the drama of a bestselling novel and a soundtrack from the Golden Age of Broadway and Hollywood–master musician and critic Lenny Kaye trains a spotlight on Columbo while crooning a love song to an earlier America–a pitch-perfect evocation of one of the most romantic, creatively exuberant periods of our past–an era whose influence still burns brightly in the music and popular culture of today.

Customer Reviews:

I Call It Madness.......2007-08-22

If you are looking for serious biographical info on Columbo or other male popular singers of the 30s, there are several books (Lou Miano's ground-breaking Columbo bio is tops) available right here on Amazon that will fill that need.

Kaye may love the mystique and voice of Russ Columbo, but he loves his own voice even more, and his bizarre rambling present-tense musings detract from the narrative. I also dislike invented dialogue that belongs in the realm of fiction, not biography. Check out the excerpts and you'll see what I mean. A failed literary experiment, at best, from a rocker who is out of his element (Allen Ginsberg he ain't, despite his pretensions).

There is a reason that this book is available for 59 cents, friends.

wonderfully crafted and interesting book.......2006-08-13

Loved the book, loved the writing, loved the story. It should be a movie!

Goldmine of Information.......2006-02-23

This book is a tremendous source of information about the entertainment industry in the first half of the 10th century.
The central character is Russ Columbo, a man of incredible talent who died tragicly at the start of his ascent to stardom. The book
weaves in the stories of udy Vallee, Bing Crosby, Carol Lombard
and dozens of super stars from that period. Reading it inspired me to search for early films by many of these people and view them.
A wonderfull experience. However, the author tends to go off in
many directions and weave in epsisodes from his imagination. This
makes this a hard read that takes concentration and patience.

read it for the language: reads like my favorite poetry!.......2006-01-10

if you enjoy: rimbaud. verlaines(p et t). ferlinghetti. woolfe. ginsberg. reed. dylan(with a z). or smith(with a p a t t i): then you are in for a major bon-bon! A few thoughts:
the subject coulda been anything and i'd love it as much. his writing's a delight: a view into a mind constantly sparking.
this guy has more than 1 axe.
sure, i'm a child of my times and find it easy to relate to the way mr kaye perceives the universe. so what?
i won't buy my 87 yr old mum a copy, never gave her Howl either. i might be wrong.
my 19 yr old daughter (who finds 'a coney island of the mind' essential) gets a copy of 'You Call It Madness : The Sensuous Song of the Croon' as soon as i can get it to her!
thats all i got.

The author's stylistic choices degrade the book........2005-06-14

Looking for an interesting read on the crooners, I was disappointed with the pretentious, erratic, and sometimes unintelligible writing style of the author. Perhaps there was interesting information buried somewhere in the half-sentences, fictional areas, and the "stream of semiconsciousness," but I was too put off and bored by the writing style to slog through it past the first 40 pages.

Book Description

Electronic games have established a huge international market, significantly outselling non-digital games; people spend more money on The Sims than on "Monopoly" or even on "Magic: the Gathering." Yet it is widely believed that the market for electronic literature -- predicted by some to be the future of the written word -- languishes. Even bestselling author Stephen King achieved disappointing results with his online publication of "Riding the Bullet" and "The Plant."

Isn't it possible, though, that many hugely successful computer games -- those that depend on or at least utilize storytelling conventions of narrative, character, and theme -- can be seen as examples of electronic literature? And isn't it likely that the truly significant new forms of electronic literature will prove to be (like games) so deeply interactive and procedural that it would be impossible to present them as paper-like "e-books"? The editors of First Person have gathered a remarkably diverse group of new media theorists and practitioners to consider the relationship between "story" and "game," as well as the new kinds of artistic creation (literary, performative, playful) that have become possible in the digital environment.

This landmark collection is organized as a series of discussions among creators and theorists; each section includes three presentations, with each presentation followed by two responses. Topics considered range from "Cyberdrama" to "Ludology" (the study of games), to "The Pixel/The Line" to "Beyond Chat." The conversational structure inspired contributors to revise, update, and expand their presentations as they prepared them for the book, and the panel discussions have overflowed into a First Person web site (created in conjunction with the online journal Electronic Book Review).

Customer Reviews:

Drama and New Media Forms.......2004-10-24

What has particularly excited me is the opening chapter on "Cyberdrama"... it discusses approaches to story, game play and engagement in terms that echo what we are trying to achieve in Drama education. Throughout the book (and this is from preliminary browsing) there are discussions about narrative and simulation and disticntions being drawn bewteen perceptual positions of players ... the writers that have contributed to this book have a very clear sense of the notion of "role" and I am starting to think that this book may well serve as the basis for investigation into the role of technology in Drama ( and possibly other) education for the next few years. Other promising looking chapters include such discussions as "Moving Through Me as I move: A Paradigm for Interaction", "Unusual Positions: Embodied Interactions in Symbolic Spaces", "Narrative, Interactivity, Play and Games: Four Naughty Concepts in Need of Discipline", " Videogames of the Oppressed: Critical Thinking, Education, Tolerance and other Trivial Issues", "A Preliminary Poetics for Interactive Drama and Games"

The authors contributing to this book are well known to anyone who's started looking into Drama and technology - Janet Murray , Espen Aarseth and Brenda Laurel are all there, alongside more familiar "drama' voices such as Richard Schechner...

As a high school drama teacher, I have a keen interest in new media applications in Drama education - it seems that many of our number are still focussed totally on their Drama classrooms and while they have an interest in technology are not actually making much headway with developing knowledge in the area - this retards developing discussions when there isn't a common language and some basic concepts upon which to build our discussions and investigations...

I think this book "First Person" is probably as good a starting point as is available at the moment. It provides a broad overview of the scope of "new media" interactions and there is definitely what I would call a "drama sensibility" contained within it.

The other book I've just started looking into is Marie-Laure Ryan's "Narrative as Virtual Reality"

Narrative As Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media

What looks promising here is Chapter Nine: "Participatory Interactivity from Life Situations to Drama". I've yet to properly digest the chapter - I've been intrigued by some of the statements I've encountered, for instance "For interactivity to be reconciled with immersion, it must be stripped of any self-reflexive dimension"... I'm not sure that is exactly what we are trying to do with Drama (or any form of) education - we are generally trying to become aware of the symbolic forms we are engaging with... although in a Stanislavskian sense, it might just be that this ne dimension of building belief is somehow well placed in Drama... I tend to think the Brechtian requirement for distance might be better suited... but that can be a discussion for another day... for the time being we need to start to come to grips with some key concepts in the new paradigm we have the opportunity to define...

Once again... as Drama people we know the need for social constructivist approaches... I'm hoping we can live that rather than just posit it....

We are trying to establish a special interest group called DramaPlayShop.org... you're welcome to drop in!

Worthy sampler of an evolving area.......2004-06-15

A great overview of the intersections of games, linear stories, and interactive artworks. This book almost inevitably leaves you with a richer perspective, because the range of articles (the uses of voice synthesizers to the Sims) makes it unlikely that you are familiar with all the terrain. The commentary discussions parallel to the main text give a feeling like chatting with your smart friends about some brilliant lecture you just saw. Thought provoking and fun.

Book Description

This lively introduction to television documentaries spotlights their history, production and reception, principal forms and functions and their adaptation to today’s programming needs. What impact has television's growing commercialisation had on the type of documentary broadcast? What has led to the introduction of an increasing number of hybridised forms? These questions are addressed within an examination of the role of institutions, documentary’s 'special relationship' with the real, and an insight into how audiences interpret the documentaries they view. Confronting reality has been written with the requirements of media studies students in mind, yet it is a must for everyone concerned with recording reality in the fast-changing world of television today.

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