Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

* John Massengale highlights a couple of obscenely awful new building proposals. Terry Teachout thinks that the new MOMA might as well be a shopping mall. The Guardian reports on a neighborhood in Malmo, Sweden, that has the design and architecture worlds a-twitter.

* Kris wouldn't mind a cigarette.

* Robert Altman's rambling line of artist-director baloney never fails to entrance me. Here's a nice passage from a recent interview with him:

I often wish I could make a new film and have it come out without my signature on it so that the critics couldn't open up and say, 'Well. This certainly wasn't Nashville.' But that's what happens - you get compared to yourself because you are yourself and, ultimately, so what?

Indeed!

* Zen-monk poet/troubador of depression Leonard Cohen is almost broke, evidently robbed of millions of dollars by his personal manager. Hmm: I just remembered that Cohen did the music for my favorite movie, Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller."

* Neil Kramer opts for clitoral stimulation.

* Connoisseurs of far-out movies will want to waste a lot of time at Exploitation Retrospect.

* Essential skimming, at least for a certain set of film nuts: this page devoted to the nutcase-genius, ever-over-the-top German actor Klaus Kinski. Kinski's autobiography is pretty essential in its own right. It's one of the most whacked-out actor autobiographies ever written, more a riveting pornographic performance piece than a work of nonfiction. That's a recommendation, by the way.

* Jill discovers an efficient way to relieve anxiety.

Best,

Michael

Based on the Altman quote I finally understand: he is the chaos he projects.

Posted by: ricpic on September 1, 2005 08:02 PM

Mighty good at giving himself permission to go where he will, wouldn't you say?

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on September 1, 2005 09:26 PM

Do you have any info on how the art museums in the New Orleans area are faring?

Posted by: beloml on September 2, 2005 08:18 AM

No, sorry. I did see some news items about musicians though: as of when I last looked, Fats Domino and Alain Toussaint hadn't been heard from. Very sad. Let's hope it's just a matter of their cellphone batteries dying.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on September 2, 2005 09:58 AM

Great article on Leonard Cohen and his very interesting reaction to the situation. I agree with you about "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". The movie is one of the few movies that I've considered as being a work of art on the par of great symphonies and novels - I just sat there stunned at the sublime ending. When they say they don't make movies like they used to - this is one of those "used to's".

Posted by: Jim L on September 2, 2005 01:36 PM

Is Neil Kramer always that funny? That particular piece is hilarious.

Posted by: Friedrich von Blowhard on September 2, 2005 06:29 PM






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