#Dr. Jay Schwartz

[denimbex1986]

'Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, you’re undoubtedly aware that award-winning director Christopher Nolan has released a new film about Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb” for leading the group of scientists who created that deadly weapon as part of America’s World War II-era Manhattan Project. The film has earned widespread attention, with large numbers of people participating in what’s already become known as “Barbieheimer” by seeing Greta Gerwig’s hit film Barbie and Nolan’s three-hour-long Oppenheimer on the same day.

Nolan’s film is a distinctive pop cultural phenomenon because it deals with the American use of nuclear weapons, a genuine rarity since ABC’s 1983 airing of The Day After about the consequences of nuclear war. (An earlier exception was Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, his satirical portrayal of the insanity of the Cold War nuclear arms race.)

The film is based on American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 biography of Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. Nolan made it in part to break through the shield of antiseptic rhetoric, bloodless philosophizing, and public complacency that has allowed such world-ending weaponry to persist so long after Trinity, the first nuclear bomb test, was conducted in the New Mexico desert 78 years ago this month.

Nolan’s impetus was rooted in his early exposure to the nuclear disarmament movement in Europe. As he said recently:

“It’s something that’s been on my radar for a number of years. I was a teenager in the ‘80s, the early ‘80s in England. It was the peak of CND, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Greenham Common [protest]; the threat of nuclear war was when I was 12, 13, 14 — it was the biggest fear we all had. I think I first encountered Oppenheimer in… Sting’s song about the Russians that came out then and talks about Oppenheimer’s ‘deadly toys.’”

A feature film on the genesis of nuclear weapons may not strike you as an obvious candidate for box-office blockbuster status. As Nolan’s teenage son said when his father told him he was thinking about making such a film, “Well, nobody really worries about nuclear weapons anymore. Are people going to be interested in that?” Nolan responded that, given what’s at stake, he worries about complacency and even denial when it comes to the global risks posed by the nuclear arsenals on this planet. “You’re normalizing killing tens of thousands of people. You’re creating moral equivalences, false equivalences with other types of conflict… [and so] accepting, normalizing… the danger.”

These days, unfortunately, you’re talking about anything but just tens of thousands of people dying in a nuclear face-off. A 2022 report by Ira Helfand and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War estimated that a “limited” nuclear war between India and Pakistan that used roughly 3% of the world’s 12,000-plus nuclear warheads would kill “hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions” of us. A full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, the study suggests, could kill up to five (yes, five!) billion people within two years, essentially ending life as we know it on this planet in a “nuclear winter.”

Obviously, all too many of us don’t grasp the stakes involved in a nuclear conflict, thanks in part to “psychic numbing,” a concept regularly invoked by Robert Jay Lifton, author of Hiroshima in America: A History of Denial (co-authored with Greg Mitchell), among many other books. Lifton describes psychic numbing as “a diminished capacity or inclination to feel” prompted by “the completely unprecedented dimension of this revolution in technological destructiveness.”

Given the Nolan film’s focus on Oppenheimer’s story, some crucial issues related to the world’s nuclear dilemma are either dealt with only briefly or omitted altogether.

The staggering devastation caused by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is suggested only indirectly without any striking visual evidence of the devastating human consequences of the use of those two weapons. Also largely ignored are the critical voices who then argued that there was no need to drop a bomb, no less two of them, on a Japan most of whose cities had already been devastated by U.S. fire-bombing to end the war. General (and later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote that when he was told by Secretary of War Henry Stimson of the plan to drop atomic bombs on populated areas in Japan, “I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary.”

The film also fails to address the health impacts of the research, testing, and production of such weaponry, which to this day is still causing disease and death, even without another nuclear weapon ever being used in war. Victims of nuclear weapons development include people who were impacted by the fallout from U.S. nuclear testing in the Western United States and the Marshall Islands in the Western Pacific, uranium miners on Navajo lands, and many others. Speaking of the first nuclear test in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, which represents that state’s residents who suffered widespread cancers and high rates of infant mortality caused by radiation from that explosion, said “It’s an inconvenient truth… People just don’t want to reflect on the fact that American citizens were bombed at Trinity.”

Another crucially important issue has received almost no attention. Neither the film nor the discussion sparked by it has explored one of the most important reasons for the continued existence of nuclear weapons — the profits it yields the participants in America’s massive nuclear-industrial complex.

Once Oppenheimer and other concerned scientists and policymakers failed to convince the Truman administration to simply close Los Alamos and place nuclear weapons and the materials needed to develop them under international control — the only way, as they saw it, to head off a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union — the drive to expand the nuclear weapons complex was on. Research and production of nuclear warheads and nuclear-armed bombers, missiles, and submarines quickly became a big business, whose beneficiaries have worked doggedly to limit any efforts at the reduction or elimination of nuclear arms.

The Manhattan Project and the Birth of the Nuclear-Industrial Complex

The Manhattan Project Oppenheimer directed was one of the largest public works efforts ever undertaken in American history. Though the Oppenheimer film focuses on Los Alamos, it quickly came to include far-flung facilities across the United States. At its peak, the project would employ 130,000 workers — as many as in the entire U.S. auto industry at the time.

According to nuclear expert Stephen Schwartz, author of Atomic Audit, the seminal work on the financing of U.S. nuclear weapons programs, through the end of 1945 the Manhattan Project cost nearly $38 billion in today’s dollars, while helping spawn an enterprise that has since cost taxpayers an almost unimaginable $12 trillion for nuclear weapons and related programs. And the costs never end. The Nobel prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) reports that the U.S. spent $43.7 billion on nuclear weapons last year alone, and a new Congressional Budget Office report suggests that another $756 billion will go into those deadly armaments in the next decade.

Private contractors now run the nuclear warhead complex and build nuclear delivery vehicles. They range from Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin to lesser-known firms like BWX Technologies and Jacobs Engineering, all of which split billions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon (for the production of nuclear delivery vehicles) and the Department of Energy (for nuclear warheads). To keep the gravy train running — ideally, in perpetuity — those contractors also spend millions lobbying decision-makers. Even universities have gotten into the act. Both the University of California and Texas A&M are part of the consortium that runs the Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory.

The American warhead complex is a vast enterprise with major facilities in California, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. And nuclear-armed submarines, bombers, and missiles are produced or based in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, North Dakota, Montana, Virginia, Washington state, and Wyoming. Add in nuclear subcontractors and most states host at least some nuclear-weapons-related activities.

And such beneficiaries of the nuclear weapons industry are far from silent when it comes to debating the future of nuclear spending and policy-making.

Profiteers of Armageddon: The Nuclear Weapons Lobby

The institutions and companies that build nuclear bombs, missiles, aircraft, and submarines, along with their allies in Congress, have played a disproportionate role in shaping U.S. nuclear policy and spending. They have typically opposed the U.S. ratification of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty; put strict limits on the ability of Congress to reduce either funding for or the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs); and pushed for weaponry like a proposed nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile that even the Pentagon hasn’t requested, while funding think tanks that promote an ever more robust nuclear weapons force.

A case in point is the Senate ICBM Coalition (dubbed part of the “Dr. Strangelove Caucus” by Arms Control Association Director Daryl Kimball and other critics of nuclear arms). The ICBM Coalition consists of senators from states with major ICBM bases or ICBM research, maintenance, and production sites: Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The sole Democrat in the group, Jon Tester (D-MT), is the chair of the powerful appropriations subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he can keep an eye on ICBM spending and advocate for it as needed.

The Senate ICBM Coalition is responsible for numerous measures aimed at protecting both the funding and deployment of such deadly missiles. According to former Secretary of Defense William Perry, they are among “the most dangerous weapons we have” because a president, if warned of a possible nuclear attack on this country, would have just minutes to decide to launch them, risking a nuclear conflict based on a false alarm. That Coalition’s efforts are supplemented by persistent lobbying from a series of local coalitions of business and political leaders in those ICBM states. Most of them work closely with Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the new ICBM, dubbed the Sentinel and expected to cost at least $264 billion to develop, build, and maintain over its life span that is expected to exceed 60 years.

Of course, Northrop Grumman and its 12 major ICBM subcontractors have been busy pushing the Sentinel as well. They spend tens of millions of dollars on campaign contributions and lobbying annually, while employing former members of the government’s nuclear establishment to make their case to Congress and the executive branch. And those are hardly the only organizations or networks devoted to sustaining the nuclear arms race. You would have to include the Air Force Association and the obscurely named Submarine Industrial Base Council, among others.

The biggest point of leverage the nuclear weapons industry and the arms sector more broadly have over Congress is jobs. How strange then that the arms industry has generated diminishing job returns since the end of the Cold War. According to the National Defense Industrial Association, direct employment in the weapons industry has dropped from 3.2 million in the mid-1980s to about 1.1 million today.

Even a relatively small slice of the Pentagon and Department of Energy nuclear budgets could create many more jobs if invested in green energy, sustainable infrastructure, education, or public health – anywhere from 9% to 250% more jobs, depending on the amount spent. Given that the climate crisis is already well underway, such a shift would not only make this country more prosperous but the world safer by slowing the pace of climate-driven catastrophes and offering at least some protection against its worst manifestations.

A New Nuclear Reckoning?

Count on one thing: by itself, a movie focused on the origin of nuclear weapons, no matter how powerful, won’t force a new reckoning with the costs and consequences of America’s continued addiction to them. But a wide variety of peace, arms-control, health, and public-policy-focused groups are already building on the attention garnered by the film to engage in a public education campaign aimed at reviving a movement to control and eventually eliminate the nuclear danger.

Past experience — from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that helped persuade Christopher Nolan to make Oppenheimer to the “Ban the Bomb” and Nuclear Freeze campaigns that stopped above-ground nuclear testing and helped turn President Ronald Reagan around on the nuclear issue — suggests that, given concerted public pressure, progress can be made on reining in the nuclear threat. The public education effort surrounding the Oppenheimer film is being taken up by groups like The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Federation of American Scientists, and the Council for a Livable World that were founded, at least in part, by Manhattan Project scientists who devoted their lives to trying to roll back the nuclear arms race; professional groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists and Physicians for Social Responsibility; anti-war groups like Peace Action and Win Without War; the Nobel Peace prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; nuclear policy groups like Global Zero and the Arms Control Association; advocates for Marshall Islanders, “downwinders,” and other victims of the nuclear complex; and faith-based groups like the Friends Committee on National Legislation. The Native American–led organization Tewa Women United has even created a website, “Oppenheimer — and the Other Side of the Story,” that focuses on “the Indigenous and land-based peoples who were displaced from our homelands, the poisoning and contamination of sacred lands and waters that continues to this day, and the ongoing devastating impact of nuclear colonization on our lives and livelihoods.”

On the global level, the 2021 entry into force of a nuclear ban treaty — officially known as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — is a sign of hope, even if the nuclear weapons states have yet to join. The very existence of such a treaty does at least help delegitimize nuclear weaponry. It has even prompted dozens of major financial institutions to stop investing in the nuclear weapons industry, under pressure from campaigns like Don’t Bank on the Bomb.

In truth, the situation couldn’t be simpler: we need to abolish nuclear weapons before they abolish us. Hopefully, Oppenheimer will help prepare the ground for progress in that all too essential undertaking, beginning with a frank discussion of what’s now at stake.'

[ulkaralakbarova]

After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three mid-life Manhattanites have been dumped for a newer, curvier model. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts – in the wallet! Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Elise Elliot Atchison: Goldie Hawn Brenda Morelli Cushman: Bette Midler Annie MacDuggan Paradis: Diane Keaton Gunilla Garson Goldberg: Maggie Smith Shelly Stewart: Sarah Jessica Parker Morton Cushman: Dan Hedaya Cynthia Swann Griffin: Stockard Channing Bill Atchison: Victor Garber Aaron Paradis: Stephen Collins Phoebe LaVelle: Elizabeth Berkley Dr. Leslie Rosen: Marcia Gay Harden Duarto Feliz: Bronson Pinchot Chris Paradis: Jennifer Dundas Catherine MacDuggan: Eileen Heckart Uncle Carmine Morelli: Philip Bosco Dr. Morris Packman: Rob Reiner Gill Griffin: James Naughton Jason Cushman: Ari Greenberg Ivana Trump: Ivana Trump Kathie Lee Gifford: Kathie Lee Gifford Gloria Steinem: Gloria Steinem Elise’s Fan: Lea DeLaria Jilted Lover: Debra Monk Woman in Bed: Kate Burton Brett Artounian: Timothy Olyphant Federal Marshall: J.K. Simmons Young Brenda: Michele Brilliant Young Elise: Dina Spybey-Waters Young Annie: Adria Tennor Young Cynthia: Juliehera DeStefano Miss Sullivan: J. Smith-Cameron Eric Loest: Mark Nelson Gil’s New Wife: Heather Locklear Security Guard: Richard Council Film Crew: Producer: Scott Rudin Set Decoration: Leslie E. Rollins Second Unit Director: Jack Gill Director of Photography: Donald E. Thorin Editor: John Bloom Associate Editor: Antonia Van Drimmelen Casting: Ilene Starger Costume Design: Theoni V. Aldredge Music Supervisor: Marc Shaiman Production Design: Peter S. Larkin Associate Producer: Craig Perry Production Manager: Ezra Swerdlow Makeup Artist: Angela Levin Director: Hugh Wilson Screenplay: Robert Harling Hairstylist: Alan D’Angerio Assistant Art Director: Ed Check Art Direction: Charley Beal Choreographer: Patricia Birch Executive Producer: Adam Schroeder Camera Operator: Rob Hahn Casting Assistant: Kim Miscia Post Production Supervisor: Tod Scott Brody Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Lee Dichter Production Coordinator: Ray Angelic Sound Editor: Richard P. Cirincione Hairstylist: Frances Mathias Storyboard Artist: Brick Mason Construction Coordinator: Ron Petagna Makeup Artist: Bernadette Mazur Sound Editor: Laura Civiello Boom Operator: John Fundus Sound Mixer: Peter F. Kurland Location Manager: Joseph E. Iberti Assistant Art Director: Paul D. Kelly Negative Cutter: Noëlle Penraat Costume Supervisor: Hartsell Taylor Music Editor: Nic Ratner Special Effects Coordinator: Matt Vogel Costume Supervisor: Michael Adkins Still Photographer: Andrew D. Schwartz ADR Editor: Kenton Jakub Sound Editor: Eytan Mirsky Supervising Sound Editor: Maurice Schell Chief Lighting Technician: Jerry DeBlau Hairstylist: Werner Sherer Makeup Artist: E. Thomas Case Hairstylist: Robert Ramos Foley Editor: Bruce Kitzmeyer First Assistant Director: Michael E. Steele Script Supervisor: Shari L. Carpenter Music Editor: Nicholas Meyers Unit Publicist: Eric Myers Music Programmer: Nick Vidar Second Assistant Director: Julie A. Bloom Art Department Coordinator: Julia G. Hickman Transportation Captain: Steven R. Hammond Stunt Double: Joni Avery Transportation Co-Captain: Tom Heilig Color Timer: Tom Salvatore Cableman: Tommy Louie Co-Producer: Thomas A. Imperato Novel: Olivia Goldsmith Associate Producer: Heather Neely Associate Producer: Noah Ackerman Property Master: Octavio Molina Storyboard Artist: Lorenzo Contessa Makeup Artist: Marilyn Carbone Assistant Costume Designer: Wallace G. Lane Jr. Assistant Sound Editor: Jay Kessel Foley Editor: Stuart Stanley Movie Reviews:

[joanarmatradings]

2. Album Of The Year (General Field)

Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s).

We Are

Jon Batiste

Full album here.

Craig Adams, David Gauthier, Braedon Gautier, Brennon Gautier, Gospel Soul Children Choir, Hot 8 Brass Band, PJ Morton, Autumn Rowe, Zadie Smith, St. Augustine High School Marching 100 & Trombone Shorty, featured artists; Jon Batiste, Mikey Freedom Hart, DJ Khalil, King Garbage, Kizzo, Sunny Levine, Nate Mercereau, David Pimentel, Ricky Reed, Autumn Rowe, Jahaan Sweet & Nick Waterhouse, producers; Jon Batiste, Russ Elevado, Mischa Kachkachishvili, Kizzo, Joseph Lorge, Manny Marroquin, Ken Oriole, David Pimentel, Ricky Reed, Jaclyn Sanchez, Matt Vertere, Marc Whitmore & Alex Williams, engineers/mixers; Andrae Alexander, Troy Andrews, Jon Batiste, Zach Cooper, Vic Dimotsis, Eric Frederic, Kizzo, Sunny Levine, Steve McEwan, PJ Morton, Autumn Rowe & Mavis Staples, songwriters; Michelle Mancini, mastering engineer

Love For Sale

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

Full album here.

Dae Bennett, producer; Dae Bennett, Josh Coleman & Billy Cumella, engineers/mixers; Greg Calbi & Steve Fallone, mastering engineers

Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)

Justin Bieber

Full album here.

BEAM, benny blanco, Burna Boy, Daniel Caesar, Chance The Rapper, DaBaby, Dominic Fike, Giveon, Jaden, Tori Kelly, Khalid, The Kid LAROI, Lil Uzi Vert & Quavo, featured artists; Amy Allen, Louis Bell, Jon Bellion, Justin Bieber, benny blanco, BMW Kenny, Capi, Dreamlab, Dvlp, Jason Evigan, FINNEAS, The Futuristics, German, Josh Gudwin, Jimmie Gutch, HARV, Marvin "Tony" Hemmings, Ilya, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Stefan Johnson, KCdaproducer, Denis Kosiak, The Monsters & Strangerz, Jorgen Odegard, Michael Pollack, Poo Bear, Shndo, Skrillex, Jake Torrey, Trackz, Andrew Watt & Ido Zmishlany, producers; Cory Bice, benny blanco, Kevin "Capi" Carbo, Edwin Diaz, DJ Durel, Dreamlab, FINNEAS, Josh Gudwin, Sam Holland, Daniel James, Antonio Kearney, Denis Kosiak, Paul LaMalfa, Jeremy Lertola, Devin Nakao, Chris "TEK" O'Ryan, Andres Osorio, Micah Pettit & Benjamin Thomas, engineers/mixers; Amy Allen, Delacey (Brittany Amaradio), Louis Bell, Jonathan Bellion, Chancelor Johnathon Bennett, Justin Bieber, David Bowden, Jason Boyd, Scott Braun, Tommy Lee Brown, Valentin Brunn, Kevin Carbo, Kenneth Coby, Kevin Coby, Raul Cubina, Jordan Douglas, Giveon Dezmann Evans, Jason Evigan, Dominic David Fike, Kameron Glasper, Jacob Greenspan, Josh Gudwin, James Gutch, Scott Harris, Bernard Harvey, Leah Haywood, Gregory Aldae Hein, Marvin Hemmings, Jeffrey Howard, Alexander Izquierdo, Daniel James, Jace Logan Jennings, Rodney Jerkins, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Anthony M. Jones, Antonio Kearney, Charlton Kenneth, Joe Khajadourian, Felisha "Fury" King, Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, Matthew Sean Leon, Benjamin Levin, Marcus Lomax, Quavious Keyate Marshall, Luis Manuel Martinez Jr., Sonny Moore, Finneas O’Connell, Jorgen Odegard, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, Tayla Parx, Oliver Peterhof, Whitney Phillips, Michael Pollack, Khalid Donnel Robinson, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Alex Schwartz, Tia Scola, Aaron Simmonds, Ashton Simmonds, Gian Stone, Ali Tamposi, Ryan Tedder, Tyshane Thompson, Jake Torrey, Billy Walsh, Freddy Wexler, Symere Woods, Andrew Wotman, Rami Yacoub, Keavan Yazdani, Bigram Zayas & Ido Zmishlany, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

Planet Her (Deluxe)

Doja Cat

Full album here.

Eve, Ariana Grande, Gunna, JID, SZA, The Weeknd & Young Thug, featured artists; Aaron Bow, Rogét Chahayed, Crate Classics, Digi, Dr. Luke, f a l l e n, Mayer Hawthorne, Mike Hector, Linden Jay, Aynzli Jones, Kurtis McKenzie, Jason Quenneville, Reef, Khaled Rohaim, Al Shux, Sully, tizhimself, Yeti Beats & Y2K, producers; Rob Bisel, Jesse Ray Ernster, Serban Ghenea, Clint Gibbs, Rian Lewis, NealHPogue, Tyler Sheppard, Kalani Thompson, Joe Visciano & Jeff Ellis Worldwide, engineers/mixers; Ilana Armida, Aaron Bow, Rogét Chahayed, Jamil Chammas, Sheldon Yu-Ting Cheung, Antwoine Collins, Amala Zandile Dlamini, Lukasz Gottwald, Ariana Grande, Mayer Hawthorne, Mike Hector, Aaron Horn, Taneisha Damielle Jackson, Linden Jay, Eve Jihan Jeffers, Aynzli Jones, Sergio Kitchens, Carter Lang, Siddharth Mallick, Maciej Margol-Gromada, Kurtis McKenzie, Jidenna Mobisson, Gerard A. Powell II, Geordan Reid-Campbell, Khaled Rohaim, Destin Route, Solána Rowe, Laura Roy, Al Shuckburgh, David Sprecher, Ari Starace, Lee Stashenko, Abel Tesfaye, Rob Tewlow & Jeffery Lamar Williams, songwriters; Dale Becker & Mike Bozzi, mastering engineers

Happier Than Ever

Billie Eilish

Full album here.

FINNEAS, producer; Billie Eilish, FINNEAS & Rob Kinelski, engineers/mixers; Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters; John Greenham & Dave Kutch, mastering engineers

Back Of My Mind

H.E.R.

Full album here.

Chris Brown, Cordae, DJ Khaled, Lil Baby, Thundercat, Bryson Tiller, Ty Dolla $ign, YG & Yung Bleu, featured artists; Tarik Azzouz, Bordeaux, Nelson Bridges, DJ Camper, Cardiak, Cardo, Chi Chi, Steven J. Collins, Flip, Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, GRADES, H.E.R., Hit-Boy, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Walter Jones, KAYTRANADA, DJ Khaled, Mario Luciano, Mike Will Made-It, NonNative, NOVA WAV, Scribz Riley, Jeff Robinson, STREETRUNNER, Hue Strother, Asa Taccone, Thundercat, Thurdi & Wu10, producers; Rafael Fai Bautista, Luis Bordeaux, Dee Brown, Anthony Cruz, Ayanna Depas, Morning Estrada, Chris Galland, H.E.R., Jaycen Joshua, KAYTRANADA, Derek Keota, Omar Loya, Manny Marroquin, Tim McClain, Juan "AyoJuan" Peña, Micah Pettit, Patrizio Pigliapoco, Alex Pyle, Jaclyn Sanchez, Miki Tsutsumi & Tito "Earcandy" Vasquez, engineers/mixers; Denisia “Blu June” Andrews, Nasri Atweh, Tarik Azzouz, Stacy Barthe, Jeremy Biddle, Nelson “Keyz” Bridges, Chris Brown, Stephen Bruner, Darhyl Camper Jr., Luis Campozano, Louis Kevin Celestin, Anthony Clemons Jr., Steven J. Collins, Ronald “Flip” Colson, Brittany “Chi” Coney, Elijah Dias, Cordae Dunston, Jeff Gitelman, Tyrone Griffin Jr., Priscilla “Priscilla Renea” Hamilton, H.E.R., Charles A. Hinshaw, Chauncey Hollis, Latisha Twana Hyman, Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, Dominique Jones, Khaled Khaled, Ron Latour, Gamal “Lunchmoney” Lewis, Mario Luciano, Carl McCormick, Leon McQuay III, Julia Michaels, Maxx Moore, Vurdell “V. Script” Muller, Chidi Osondu, Karriem Riggins, Mike “Scribz” Riley, Seandrea Sledge, Hue Strother, Asa Taccone, Tiara Thomas, Bryson Tiller, Daniel James Traynor, Brendan Walsh, Nicholas Warwar, Jabrile Hashim Willliams, Michael L. Williams II, Robert Williams & Kelvin Wooten, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer

Montero

Lil Nas X

Full album here.

Miley Cyrus, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Elton John & Megan Thee Stallion, featured artists; Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, John Cunningham, Omer Fedi, Kuk Harrell, Jasper Harris, KBeaZy, Carter Lang, Nick Lee, Roy Lenzo, Tom Levesque, Jasper Sheff, Blake Slatkin, Drew Sliger, Take A Daytrip, Ryan Tedder & Kanye West, producers; Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, Jon Castelli, John Cunningham, Jelli Dorman, Tom Elmhirst, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Kuk Harrell, Roy Lenzo, Manny Marroquin, Nickie Jon Pabon, Patrizio 'Teezio' Pigliapoco, Blake Slatkin, Drew Sliger, Ryan Tedder & Joe Visciano, engineers/mixers; Keegan Bach, Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, John Cunningham, Miley Ray Cyrus, Amala Zandile Dlamini, Omer Fedi, Vincent Goodyer, Jack Harlow, Jasper Harris, Montero Hill, Ilsey Juber, Carter Lang, Nick Lee, Roy Lenzo, Thomas James Levesque, Andrew Luce, Michael Olmo, Jasper Sheff, Blake Slatkin, R.L. Stafford, Ryan Tedder, William K. Ward & Kanye West, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, Eric Lagg & Randy Merrill, mastering engineers

Sour

Olivia Rodrigo

Full album here.

Alexander 23, Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, producers; Ryan Linvill, Mitch McCarthy & Daniel Nigro, engineers/mixers; Daniel Nigro, Olivia Rodrigo & Casey Smith, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

Evermore

Taylor Swift

Full album here.

Bon Iver, Haim & The National, featured artists; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Thomas Bartlett, JT Bates, Robin Baynton, Stuart Bogie, Gabriel Cabezas, CJ Camerieri, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Scott Devendorf, Matt DiMona, Jon Gautier, Trevor Hagen, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Josh Kaufman, Benjamin Lanz, Nick Lloyd, Jonathan Low, James McAlister, Dave Nelson, Sean O'Brien, Ryan Olson, Ariel Rechtshaid, Kyle Resnick, Michael Riddleberger, Laura Sisk, Evan Smith, Alex Sopp & Justin Vernon, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, William Bowery, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Taylor Swift & Justin Vernon, songwriters; Greg Calbi & Steve Fallone, mastering engineers

Donda

Kanye West

Full album here.

Baby Keem, Chris Brown, Conway The Machine, DaBaby, Jay Electronica, Fivio Foreign, Westside Gunn, JAY-Z, Syleena Johnson, Kid Cudi, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Lil Yachty, The LOX, Marilyn Manson, Playboi Carti, Pop Smoke, Roddy Ricch, Rooga, Travis Scott, Shenseea, Swizz Beatz, Young Thug, Don Toliver, Ty Dolla $ign, Vory, The Weeknd, Westside Gunn & Lil Yachty, featured artists; Allday, Audi, AyoAA, Roark Bailey, Louis Bell, Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1Da, BoogzDaBeast, Warryn Campbell, Cubeatz, David & Eli, Mike Dean, Dem Jointz, Digital Nas, DJ Khalil, DRTWRK, 88-Keys, E.Vax, FNZ, Gesaffelstein, Nikki Grier, Cory Henry, Ronny J, DJ Khalil, Wallis Lane, Digital Nas, Nascent, Ojivolta, Shuko, Sloane, Sean Solymar, Sucuki, Arron “Arrow” Sunday, Swizz Beatz, Zen Tachi, 30 Roc, Bastian Völkel, Mia Wallis, Kanye West, Wheezy & Jason White, producers; Josh Berg, Todd Bergman, Rashade Benani Bevel Sr., Will Chason, Dem Jointz, IRKO, Jess Jackson, Nagaris Johnson, Shin Kamiyama, Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton, James Kelso, Scott McDowell, Kalam Ali Muttalib, Jonathan Pfarr, Drrique Rendeer, Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawson, Mikalai Skrobat, Devon Wilson & Lorenzo Wolff, engineers/mixers; Dwayne Abernathy Jr., Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah, Aswad Asif, Roark Bailey, Durk Banks, Sam Barsh, Christoph Bauss, Louis Bell, Jeff Bhasker, Isaac De Boni, Christopher Brown, Jahshua Brown, Tahrence Brown, Aaron Butts, Warryn Campbell, Hykeem Carter Jr., Jordan Terrell Carter, Shawn Carter, Denzel Charles, Raul Cubina, Isaac De Boni, Kasseem Dean, Michael Dean, Tim Friedrich, Wesley Glass, Samuel Gloade, Kevin Gomringer, Tim Gomringer, Tyrone Griffin Jr., Jahmal Gwin, Cory Henry, Tavoris Javon Hollins Jr., Larry Hoover Jr., Bashar Jackson, Sean Jacob, Nima Jahanbin, Paimon Jahanbin, Syleena Johnson, Dominique Armani Jones, Eli Klughammer, Chinsea Lee, Mike Lévy, Evan Mast, Mark Mbogo, Miles McCollum, Josh Mease, Scott Medcudi, Brian Miller, Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr., Michael Mulé, Mark Myrie, Charles M. Njapa, Nasir Pemberton, Carlos St. John Phillips, Jason Phillips, Khalil Abdul Rahman, Laraya Ashlee Robinson, Christopher Ruelas, David Ruoff, Maxie Lee Ryles III, Matthew Samuels, Daniel Seeff, Eric Sloan Jr., Sean Solymar, Ronald O’Neill Spence Jr., David Styles, Michael Suski, Aqeel Tate, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, Caleb Zackery Toliver, Bastian Völkel, Brian Hugh Warner, Jacques Webster II, Kanye West, Orlando Wilder, Jeffery Williams & Mark Williams, songwriters; Irko, mastering engineer

[aic-american]

Side Chair, Artist unknown, 1805, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Restricted gift of Susan Bennett, Marshall Field, Mrs. Edna Graham, the Oak Park-River Forest Association of the Women's Board, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, Jeffrey Shedd, and Martha and William Steen; Jay W. McGreevy Endowment; Susan Bennett in memory of Philipp Brockington; Miss Charlotte Olson, and gift of Dr. and Mrs. Dudley Phelps Sanford through Exchange Size: 83.8 × 48.3 × 43.2 cm (33 × 19 × 17 in.) Medium: Mahogany, ash, cherry, and white pine

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/109695/

[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 18

Cover: Brad Pitt at 56 -- new love, new life -- in lockdown with Alia Shawkat 

Page 1: First Look -- Olivia Wilde goes for a walk in L.A. 

Page 2: Red Carpet -- Skai Jackson 

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Jimmy Kimmel on daughter Jane doing his makeup, Tiffany Haddish on taking her Zoom meeting to the bathroom, Jodie Turner-Smith joking about being a new mom, Kourtney Kardashian responding to a TikTok video of Kylie Jenner impersonating multiple scenes of hers from KUWTK 

Page 8: Contents 

Page 10: Hot Pics -- Princess Charlotte turns 5

Page 11: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom rock matching hoodies paying homage to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Victoria Justice gets slimed on Nickelodeon’s virtual Kids’ Choice Awards 

Page 12: Khloe Kardashian and daughter True, Jesse Metcalfe and Cara Santana 

Page 14: Mommy Dearest -- Guess Which Kids Belong to These Hollywood Stars -- Julianne Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Thandie Newton, Kate Hudson, Chrissy Teigen, Uma Thurman 

Page 16: Habits Dye Hard -- rainbow hair is the mane attraction right now -- Taraji P. Henson in red, Dua Lipa is orange, Bella Thorne is green, Sarah Michelle Gellar is pink, Georgia May Jagger in two shades of blue, Lauren Alaina is blue 

Page 18: Chill Out -- Hollywood hunks take time to pamper -- KJ Apa, EJ Johnson, Stephen Colbert, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard 

Page 19: Jared Leto, Anwar Hadid and Dua Lipa, Antoni Porowski 

Page 20: Busy Philipps is all dressed up with nowhere to go 

Page 22: Stars They’re Just Like Us -- Adam Sandler rides a bike, Danneel Ackles cleans up, Heidi Montag works out 

Page 23: Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer cook, Joe Keery goes on a juice run, Bella Hadid and mom Yolanda Hadid garden 

Page 26: Kids They’re Just Like Us -- Jessica Simpson’s daughter Birdie is a snacker, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves’ son Livingston does laundry, Jessie James Decker’s daughter Vivianne pampers herself 

Page 28: Hollywood Moms -- Jewel on her son Kase 

Page 29: Haylie Duff on kids Ryan and Lulu during quarantine, Tia Mowry’s daughter Cairo inherited mom’s acting genes 

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rob Gronkowski of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and girlfriend Camille Kostek making moves in lockdown 

Page 31: Stassi Schroeder’s bride demon has been slayed by the pandemic, Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn still going strong in lockdown and may be engaged soon, Eve doesn’t take husband Maximillion Cooper for granted especially now 

Page 32: Hot Hollywood -- Lori Loughlin might get off easy for her role in Operation Varsity Blues 

Page 33: Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler’s separation has gone from sad to downright nasty, Baby Update -- Anderson Cooper is a dad to Wyatt Morgan, Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross are expecting, Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are expecting a baby girl 

Page 34: A Day in the Life At-Home Edition -- Molly Sims 

Page 35: Don’t Worry, Be Happy -- these stars give us a reason to smile during these trying times -- Her Campus is holding an I’m Still Graduating event featuring commencement speeches by stars like Eva Longoria, Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz of TomTom bar have raised more than $50,000 for their employees, Queen + Adam Lambert released a new rerecorded version of We Are the Champions with all proceeds going to the World Health Organization, Kansas City Chief Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has a doctorate in medicine and is volunteering at a long-term care facility in Quebec, Machine Gun Kelly supported local businesses by providing lunch at 12 restaurants in his native Cleveland 

Page 36: Cover Story -- Brad Pitt’s new lease on life -- he’s happier than he’s been in a long time and he has actress Alia Shawkat to thank 

Page 40: Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen -- the secret to their marriage 

Page 42: It Takes a Village -- get to know the glam squads that keep Hollywood’s most fabulous looking so good -- Cardi B, Jennifer Aniston 

Page 43: Kim Kardashian West, Lupita Nyong’o, Mariah Carey 

Page 44: Hollywood to the Rescue -- A-listers inspire us to turn to shelters to find furry friends -- Please Adopt, Don’t Shop -- Ian Somerhalder, Hilary Duff 

Page 45: Taylor Swift, Chelsea Handler, Gabby Douglas, Colton Underwood 

Page 48: Style -- Winning Sets -- Alessandra Ambrosio 

Page 52: Hilarie’s Happy Place -- actress Hilarie Burton opens up about her new memoir, life on the farm and finding her person in Jeffrey Dean Morgan 

Page 54: Take Five with Catherine Reitman 

Page 58: Fashion Police -- Fringe Edition -- Heidi Klum, Cara Delevingne, Rosalia 

Page 59: Dascha Polanco, Tinashe, Hunter Schafer 

Page 60: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me -- Brie Bella 

[drjayschwartz]

Preparing a Child for Youth Football

Dr. Jay Schwartz, owner of Collin County Pediatrics in Frisco, Texas, has more than three decades as a pediatrician. Over the course of his career Dr. Jay Schwartz has gained experience in various areas of his field, from matters of breast feeding to safety precautions parents should take when their children begin playing sports. Despite ranking as the most popular sport in the United States, gridiron football is also one of the most dangerous to young competitors. Considering that youth football programs in the United States attract kids as young as 6, parents and guardians must educate themselves on the various health risks and safety issues involved with the sport. Supervision and equipment are the two most valuable resources an adult has to provide when it comes to protecting a child from football-related injuries. Experienced youth football coaches can help players understand the proper way to play the game while also administering water breaks and monitoring for fatigue and injury. Equipment for youth football, meanwhile, includes athletic shoes, body pads, mouth guards, and most important, a helmet. Each piece of equipment must fit properly and be tested prior to use at a practice or game. Finally, guardians must ensure that their children play football in an appropriate environment. The best supervision and equipment can be ineffective when playing on a dangerous surface, such as pavement.

[redcarpetview]

Hill Harper, Lance Reddick, Kierra Sheard, Deon Taylor, and more, join EMMY-winner Rushion McDonald on Money Making Conversations!

Multiple EMMY Award-winning television/film producer and Atlanta resident Rushion McDonald.

    ATLANTA, GA (May 6, 2019) – Multiple EMMY®-winning TV/film producer, social media influencer, entrepreneur, and branding guru Rushion McDonald, celebrates a two-year milestone for the month of May with his hit show “Money Making Conversations.” McDonald shares key insights from a slate of gifted stars on their success in film, television, music, sports, fashion and lifestyle, entrepreneurship, and financial empowerment this month, as well as drawing from his expertise in the corporate and Hollywood business. Since creating “Money Making Conversations,” McDonald has featured a “who’s who” of talent, CEOs, sports and culinary stars, and entrepreneurs, including entertainment power players Patti LaBelle, Cedric The Entertainer, Nick Cannon, Greg Grunberg, Michelle Williams, Pam Grier, La La Anthony, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Morris Chestnut, Boris Kodjoe, Reginald Hudlin, Felicia D. Henderson, sports champions Carl Lewis, Deion Sanders, Drew Bledsoe, Laila Ali, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, chefs/TV personalities Anne Burrell, Donatella Arpaia, Jernard Wells, billion and multi-million dollar business leaders Janice Bryant Howroyd, Richelieu Dennis, Tom Bilyeu, Monique Nelson, and more.

    Hosted/produced by Rushion McDonald, “Money Making Conversations” can be heard every Monday live on Atlanta’s biz1190-AM from 10AM-Noon ET, with replays on Fridays 10AM ET, and Sundays at 4PM ET. The show can be heard on SiriusXM Channel 141 on Howard University’s Campus and SiriusXM Channel 142 on HBCU Campuses, and can also be accessed via iTunes, iHeartRadio podcast, Amazon Alexa, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and seen live on Rushion McDonald’s Facebook page.

    The lineup of talent* expected on “Money Making Conversations” this May includes: Hill Harper, Award-winning Actor (of ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” acclaimed shows “Homeland,” “Covert Affairs,” “CSI:NY”), Experian Boost Ambassador for financial empowerment, Best-selling Author, Entrepreneur (The Architect & Co. natural skincare and haircare line, International House New Orleans hotel co-owner, Roasting Plant Coffee Detroit shop owner), and Philanthropist and Actor Lance Reddick (new movie John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum, Amazon Prime series “Bosch,” acclaimed shows “American Horror Story,” “Fringe,” “Lost,” “The Wire”).

    Photo Collage L-R: ESPN host and former NBA player Jay Williams; ABC's "The Good Doctor" Actor Hill Harper; Comedian extraordinaire George Wallace; Chart-topping Gospel Star Kierra Sheard; "John Wick: Chapter 3" Actor Lance Reddick; "Transformers" Actor, and author Remi Adeleke; "The Intruder" Movie Director Deon Taylor; Fashion Designer, influencer Misa Hylton; Food and lifestyle entrepreneur Ginny Ehrhart).

     The guest list continues with Kierra Sheard, Chart-topping GRAMMY®-nominee, Stellar Award-winning Artist (new song “Don’t Judge Me”), Fashion Influencer/Entrepreneur (Eleven60 Clothing Line), also starring in “The Clark Sisters” biopic on Lifetime in 2020; Filmmaker Deon Taylor, Director and Producer (new movie The Intruder), Screenwriter, Founder of Hidden Empire Film Group; Comedian Extraordinaire George Wallace; Misa Hylton, Lifestyle Architect, Fashion Designer, Founder of Misa Hylton Fashion Academy, Life Coach & Global Partner for MCM; and Ginny Ehrhart, Georgia State Representative, Business Owner of Southern Sisters Home, a home décor and linens enterprise, Host of Southern Sisters Radio lifestyle show, Food and Lifestyle writer, Philanthropist, former chef and talk show host.

     McDonald rounds off his guests list with Jay Williams, ESPN Host, Host of “The Boardroom” on ESPN+, and former NBA player; Remi Adeleke, Author (new memoir: Transformed), Actor (from Transformers: The Last Night), former US Navy Seal, Speaker and Youth Mentor; and Laura Foos, Serial entrepreneur, Owner & Licensed Tax Practitioner of Foos Financial Services, LLC, Co-Owner of Salon Couture Hair Salon, and Financial Manager for Dignity Memorial. “Money Making Conversations” will also have “Best-Of” show replays on May 20th and the Memorial Day holiday on May 27th, featuring entertainment creators and producers Rochelle Brown and Sonia Armstead, Felicia D. Henderson, Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown, Deon Cole, Cedric The Entertainer, Constance Schwartz-Morini, Tracey Edmonds, and entrepreneurial coach Dr. Iris Cooper.    

         Producing “Money Making Conversations” through his company 3815 Media, Rushion McDonald is a trusted voice for entrepreneurship, presenting entertaining and invaluable conversations with superstars from all industries, which illuminate the triumphs and obstacles that have shaped their own career paths and brands in multiple lanes. Hosting an ongoing dialogue to help listeners create a playbook for success in any field, McDonald shares the secrets of career reinvention and longevity, how to navigate the complexities of personal branding and business globalization today, tips on financial and tech protection, and living a well-balanced life.

    A multiple EMMY® and NAACP Image Award winner, Rushion McDonald’s experience as a marketing and entertainment creative dealmaker, writer, producer, business leader includes assembling multi-million dollar deals, and producing national marketing campaigns, blockbuster movies, and programming from sitcoms and reality shows to syndicated television and radio. He’s written and produced for Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Jamie Foxx, Tia and Tamera Mowry, and noted as the architect of Steve Harvey’s multi-media entertainment career, along with past stints at IBM and owning a comedy club.

       *List subject to change

          To connect with Rushion McDonald, please visit:

www.RushionMcDonald.com

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @RushionMcDonald

[holyrgbatman]

DC#29

This issue marks the first of Gardner Fox's Batman stories. Fox being a prolific writer of around 4,000 comic stories for various companies, a 4th belonging under DC. It is interesting to note that Fox only did comics as emergency work as a result of the Great Depression making his job as a Lawyer untenable. His contributions are the utility belt, the batarang, and villains such as Dr. Death of the next 2 issues and The Monk next. And when the Comics Code Authority nearly brought the death of comics, editor Julie Schwartz brought in Fox to fix things up.

Other contributions to the world of DC include the Flash Jay Garrick, Hawkman, Starman, the original Sandman, co-created Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and chosen as the one to create a superhero team--the Justice Society of America and later the Justice League of America. It's possible that he was also the one to come up with the multiverse of DC, as someone familiar with Hugh Everett's many-worlds interpretation and creating the fact that Berry read Garrick's adventures as a comic.

In 1968, Gardner Fox and a few others were let go after approaching Schwartz about health insurance benefits and unionizing. He would go on to pen for Marvel, Eclipse, and Warren. Eventually he passed away on Christmas Eve, 1986.

Script: Gardner Fox

Art and Letters: Bob Kane

[aic-american]

Side Chair, Artist unknown, 1805, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Restricted gift of Susan Bennett, Marshall Field, Mrs. Edna Graham, the Oak Park-River Forest Association of the Women's Board, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, Jeffrey Shedd, and Martha and William Steen; Jay W. McGreevy Endowment; Susan Bennett in memory of Philipp Brockington; Miss Charlotte Olson, and gift of Dr. and Mrs. Dudley Phelps Sanford through Exchange Size: 83.8 × 48.3 × 43.2 cm (33 × 19 × 17 in.) Medium: Mahogany, ash, cherry, and white pine

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/109695/

[bestbabydoll]

8 motivi per cui una casa delle bambole è eccezionale

È una casa delle bambole! Coerentemente è la più rappresentata delle opere di Ibsen ed è stata la più famosa - in qualsiasi lingua -del diciannovesimo secolo. Dalla sua prima produzione, A Doll’s House ha acceso il dibattito. È così bencostruito che ogni scena mette sempre più pressione su Nora fino a quando non viene spinta al punto dirottura. Se non hai incontrato lo spettacolo al liceo o all'università, è probabile che i tuoi figli lo farannoprima o poi.

L'uomo con le costolette

Henrik Ibsen non solo ha sfoggiato i migliori peli sul viso di qualsiasi drammaturgo di sempre, ma haportato il teatro in una nuova era esponendo le realtà dietro le facciate della vita familiare durante il suoperiodo di tempo. È costantemente classificato come il drammaturgo più interpretato al mondo dopoShakespeare. Nel 2012 ci sono state più di 125 produzioni di opere di Ibsen prodotte in tutto il mondo.

Scandaloso!

A Doll’s House è stato il primo grande successo di Ibsen come drammaturgo, ma l'opera teatrale ha cosìscandalizzato la società vittoriana che molti teatri si sono rifiutati di metterla in scena. Non avevano maivisto una donna uscire con la sua famiglia sul palco! Cedendo alle pressioni, Ibsen scrisse un finalealternativo in cui rimase Nora, ma a volte avrebbe avuto l'ultima parola presentando "correzioni"dell'ultimo minuto agli attori durante la serata di apertura che sostituivano il nuovo finale con l'originale.

Quindi pensi di poter ballare?

In una scena culminante, Nora balla letteralmente per salvarle la vita. La tarantella era una danzaitaliana che prende il nome dal ragno tarantola il cui veleno una volta si credeva inducesse un impulsoincontrollabile a ballare. Stranamente, la cura prescritta era che la vittima del veleno ballasse fino allosfinimento.

Questo spettacolo è un affare di famiglia ... letteralmente

Non abbiamo mai avuto così tanti legami familiari sul palco in uno spettacolo. Russ Banham dirige suamoglie Jennifer Sue Johnson nel ruolo di Nora Helmer, e la loro figlia Mia Banham interpreterà una dellefiglie di Helmer. La figlia del sound designer Jay Weinland, Tessa Weinland, interpreterà l'altra figlia. Gliattori sposini e moglie Peter Dylan O'Connor e Betsy Schwartz interpreteranno Nils Krogstad e la signoraLinde. Michael Patten nel ruolo di Torvald e George Mount nel ruolo del Dr. Rank completano il cast. Èinteressante notare che Michael e George hanno interpretato il marito e la moglie Petrucchio e Kate inThe Taming of the Shrew della Seattle Shakespeare Company, tutto al maschile.

Perdersi nella traduzione

Questa è una nuova traduzione di A Doll’s House dell'autore locale Sean Patrick Taylor. Durante il suoprocesso di traduzione dell'opera teatrale, Sean ha iniziato a fare ricerche e ha imparato che non erascritto in norvegese moderno come aveva pensato in precedenza, ma in un dialetto vecchio di 100 annichiamato dano-norvegese. Poiché la Norvegia era una colonia della Danimarca, il dialetto era parlatodall'élite urbana nelle città norvegesi. Questo è il secondo adattamento di Taylor per la compagnia cosìcome ha fatto l'adattamento per la nostra produzione del 2006 di Cyrano de Bergerac.

La connessione pigmalione

La scorsa stagione la Seattle Shakespeare Company ha prodotto Pigmalione di George Bernard Shaw.

Shaw era un grande ammiratore di Ibsen e ha anche interpretato la parte di Krogstad in una delle primeproduzioni in lingua inglese. Shaw ha fatto eco ai temi dell'indipendenza e della libertà

delledonne diIbsen a Pigmalione. Anche l'ultima scena di Pigmalione tra Eliza e Higgins rispecchia il dibattito finaleche Nora e Torvald hanno in A Doll's House prima che Nora esca dalla porta.

La connessione Coriolanus

Veramente! Pensaci. Se hai visto la produzione della scorsa stagione di Coriolanus, ricorderai che ilpersonaggio principale è stato sostanzialmente allevato per essere solo una cosa: un guerriero. Maquando quel ruolo non si adatta più, si perde e viene espulso dalla sua comunità. Nora è cresciuta peressere solo una cosa: una bella moglie. Ma appena si rende conto di essere molto di più di quel ruolo,deve buttarsi fuori da casa e nel mondo per scoprire chi è veramente.

[greensparty]

Talking with Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz

Since his first collaboration with Weird Al Yankovic in 1980, Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz has been the drummer for Weird Al ever since. In addition to playing drums with Weird Al, Schwartz has become the official Weird Al archivist and historian. Over the years, he has taken a plethora of candid photos of Al and the band. Now he has compiled some of the best pictures from 1983-86 into a photo book Black and White and Weird All Over, which will be released this week from 1984 Publishing. As a former media librarian myself and someone who compiled loads of archival footage for my V66 documentary, I have the utmost respect for Mr. Schwartz being a very meticulous archivist for Weird Al! Mr. Schwartz was kind enough to speak with me via phone about his new photo book.

Schwartz and Weird Al

Me: You have been Weird Al’s drummer since 1980. Here we are, multiple decades later and the entire band is still going strong. What is the secret to the band’s longevity?

JBS: Well, there’s a lot of loyalty on both ends and that loyalty comes from good relationships, having good people to work with. People you can spend time, 24/7 on the road with for two, three, four months at a time. So there’s a lot of good relationships. We’re all old friends now. This band has been together since the beginning of ‘82, I pre-date the other guys a little bit. So really its been the same band, really for Al’s entire recording and touring career, with no changes. We’ve had a couple keyboard players come in and out, but the core band has really been the same.

And there’s only a couple bands out there that are still touring and still recording this many decades on with their original members, that’s ZZ Top and U2. Those are the only bands that have been around longer that we are with the same guys. But U2, ZZ Top and us are the only bands that have had the same original members still making records. And still making hit records, we’ve all had Top 10 albums in the last five or ten years.

Jim West, Schwartz, Steve Jay and Weird Al on the back cover of Off the Deep End

Me: It definitely says something that its the same band and you’re still recording albums, still touring, and still have an avid and growing fanbase.

JBS: Yeah, its not just that we’re catering to our fans for the last thirty years, its that they are bringing their kids. If you go to our shows now, there’s five or six year olds in the audience, there’s sixty-five or seventy year olds in the audience. Our demo way back during the Dr. Demento days was pretty much college males. It was pretty much the Monty Python / Three Stooges / Dr. Demento fans, which is predominantly male. And over time it became very balanced. And the audience does still grow, we’re playing bigger places than we’ve ever played before, and without the benefit of a new album lately. And that’s thanks to the fans. I mean Al’s doing a good job or course, but if the fans didn’t hang in there with us, we couldn’t do this at all. 

Me: Within the band, it’s almost a test of you as a musician in that you play so many types of music. In one concert, you can play rock, pop, polka, country, hip hop, alt rock, metal, R&B, all in one concert or album. What’s that been like for you to do so much genre-hopping within Al’s music?

JBS: It’s been a great learning experience. I’ve had to keep up. I had to learn styles, I had to learn about programming, which I hadn’t really done prior to 1985. If I didn’t do it, someone else was going to do it, but I wanted to be the drummer and create the drum sounds. So I adapted and I grew as a result. So in that respect it’s been great for me. I’ve applied styles that I wouldn’t normally play live, but its been a great education for me and it’s really help me grow as a player and a musician.

Schwartz’ book cover

Me: In addition to playing in the band, you are the Official Weird Al archivist. How did that come about for you?

JBS: I always kept stuff that I was involved with, report cards or old photos. I mean I taped band rehearsals of bands I’d get together with, flyers for gigs - I always kept that stuff. So when Al came along, that was just a natural extension of doing that. I soon became a lot more rabid about that with Al. I sought things out that I might not have normally come across them. So in terms of his audio and video archive, I’d go out and collect not just the stuff that I was on (since that was really my archive), but I would collect the stuff: when he would do cameos in movies (as he’s done many times), appear in a TV show or cameo on someone else’s album or music video, I’d grab those videos when they became available because that became a bigger part of the archive. So in that respect, I became his archivist rather than just continuing to collect my stuff that happened to involve him, all of a sudden it became more about him. I did that from Day 1, the day I met him. I had a card that was my pass to get into KMET, the radio station for Dr. Demento the night I met Al, and I still have that pass. It’s pristine, for whatever reason it never got bent. Al went back to school after we met and the next time I saw him, I had a camera in my hand. I had always taken photos of things too, so beyond the very next occasion I had photos and I have photos the first time I rehearsed with him.  I have an archive of photos of him, plus fans and friends will shoot concert photos and send those to me. So I have a tremendous archive of live concert footage that obviously I couldn’t take from where I sit. There’s probably 80,000 photos of Al onstage in the archive. Back to the early days, the first tour in 1983, even prior to that. It’s cool, I just enjoy that kind of stuff. That’s just the archivist or hoarder in me.

And it’s not just the physical things like photos and videos, it’s also facts. I have an extremely accurate record of all the gigs we played and anything that might have happened. If there was a song we messed up, that’s listed in there. Any shows we played, I have recordings of and those have all been archived to digital as well. It started in the early 90s, I began thinking I should begin archiving all of the old cassettes and reels and stuff. It’s a project I didn’t really finished until just a couple years ago. Once I got on it, I was very rabid about it, I wrapped up about 350 tapes in about 3 months and wrapped it all up in early 2017.

Schwartz with his gold and platinum records

Me: With the upcoming book, was this something that had been in the works for a long time? Or was this the result of during quarantine, you were going through old photos? How did it come about?

JBS: The quarantine would’ve been a much nicer and romantic story, but unfortunately that’s not the case [laughs]. When I finished the archive, I realized it would be a good thing for preservation. I have hundreds of rolls of negatives. But I had about 20 rolls of black and white film, mostly of Al, that I’ve shot between 1983 and 1986, I had shot on the set of some of the videos. I was shooting in black and white at the time because I thought it would be cool to have that kind of texture for those kind of events. I had been going through all the old photos and I thought maybe people have seen all the new photos, maybe people would like to see the old never-before-seen photos. This was literally July 2017. I asked Al about it and he said “yeah, go ahead”. I put out the word on the main Al Forum at the time, they said yeah. I looked into self-publishing at the time. Did some research on that and said that’s not quite for me. Then that was the end of it. So I gave up on it and moved on, but it came up again in July 2019. I ran into a friend from Sony, even though we’re not on their label we were still friends and worked very closely with them on the Accordion box set Squeeze Box. It had hundreds of photographs from my archive. Anyway, that guy Mike Duquette, I mentioned to him that I had all these photos and was thinking about doing a book. He said “that’s nice”. Then a couple of months later I get an email from him saying “when you’re ready to move forward with publishing, contact this guy from 1984 Publishing. It might be a good fit”. So I thought, I have all these negatives that would be great for a book and I’ll move forward with it. So I took some rolls to a place, right down the street from me. I took them in and got them back a week later and - oh man, they were glorious. Plus I’m seeing some thing that I previously had only seen on a contact sheet and now i’m seeing them the size of a computer screen in full resolution. And I thought, this is going to work! In the meantime, I contacted the publisher. We started talking, worked out a couple little things and one week later, we signed a contract. That was back in December [2019].

The book is categorized by the “Ricky” video, the “Eat It” video, us in the studio, etc. And I have a brief paragraph of me describing things. I tried to provide some anecdotes and provide some facts that people didn’t know. Al wrote the forward for the book. Everything was turned in and finalized, sent to the printer a couple months ago. 

Al in the “Eat It” video

Me: Many of the photos in this book are candid on-set photos from those early music videos. The very moment that Al was coming up was also the very moment that music videos were becoming this cultural phenomenon, so in addition to doing song parodies it was important to spoof the popular music videos from the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna and Joen Jett.  Tell me about your experience making those early music videos?

JBS: Well, first off let’s credit MTV for being new and hungry for videos. They loved Al’s videos, which not that you wouldn’t love them, but they were an outlet at the time. MTV was huge at the time and a lot of music industry weren’t quite in tune with the video thing, but Al was. He was young, he was big on pop culture, and the songs he chose to parody lent themselves to music videos. When he did a parody, he thought “would this make a good video?” and that was an important factor as well. The reason I have so many photos is that I wasn’t in every shot in every video. So I was just standing off to the side snapping away. We didn’t have a guy on set doing production stills. It was just me, not by design, but I just happened to be the guy with the camera. Nobody had an issue with me taking pictures. Maybe it was that I was Al’s drummer, but everyone was cool with it. So my experience with the music videos was, I was on set and documenting it as much as being in them. I enjoyed it, it was new for all us, but a very cool thing. But the behind the scenes aspect is really what the book is about. The fans can take pictures of us on stage, but I’m the guy who can take pictures of us on the bus after the show. I had pictures no one else could get because I always had a camera...until everyone starting bringing cameras along. That didn’t start happening until the late 80s or maybe into the 90s. I shot black and white in the studio, but I generally didn’t shoot black and white on the road because it wasn’t that easy to get it developed. We were on the move, so I’d go to a one-hour photo place and they simply couldn’t do black and white. But if I was in a scene, I’d hand the camera to someone else, so I’d be in some photos. The pictures in the “I Love Rocky Road” video that I’m in were taken by Musical Mike Kieffer, one of Dr. Demento’s cast members on the show. He appeared in some of the videos, including “Rocky Road”. He shares a photo credit with me in the book. There’s one other photo that made it in there, that was taken by Beefalo Bill Burke, an old friend of Al’s and another Demento cast member. He took a picture of me holding my camera about 2 inches away from Al’s face. [Laughs] And Al just looks perfectly calm. And then in the forward in the book is the picture that I took, just a major closeup of Al’s face. So getting back to your question about being onset, it was a lot of fun and I felt even then that I was a historian more than just being one of the actors. 

Schwartz getting a close up of Weird Al

Me: I got into Weird Al as a little kid. Both In 3-D and Dare to be Stupid were early cassette tapes I bought. And one of the things I always thought was cool was that the entire band were a part of it, appearing on the album covers and appearing in the videos, like as the ice cream guys in “I Love Rock Road”. It really felt like the band was part of the Weird Al experience!

JBS: Well Al made us feel that way. I mean truth be told, he’s an artist and we’re his back up band. But legally and when his name is on the album, it’s him. He’s a solo artist. Now, you don’t see that with every solo artist. You don’t see them in the videos and solo artists never have the same band. In some genres, they have a group of players that play on the albums and then a group of players that go on the road. They can be different every year, and that’s not the case with Al. So again, it goes back to the loyalty and dedication. Also, we do a good job, if we did not do a good job, we might not be on the album just because we’re old friends...or in my case because I have a bunch of photos. I literally have a ton of photos of Al. Nothing too salacious, but it’s not about that. Again, we’ve all risen as musicians and as players. I don’t think there was any time within the band where anyone had to be replaced because someone else could do it better. We’ve brought in special guests for a song, but never a replacement. But its fun to get into the head of different drummers and think, what would they do if they were playing this song. Every original we’ve done has been in the style of someone else and I have to be that drummer, so that’s pretty cool. He’s never sought out the actual guys, even though he could, so again there’s that loyalty there. 

Me: This book is a collection of photos from 1983-86. As exciting as this book is, could there be a sequel of photos from after 1986?

JBS: There easily could be. There could be a series of books or one giant book. I have 20-30,000 photos that I shot. It wouldn’t take that many of them to be worthy of a book. The thing that’s special about this book is that (1) they’re black and white and (2) they’ve never been seen. Many of the pictures I’ve taken began appearing online in the 90s. So the reason there’s the book and the reason they’re black and white is because that’s the black and white era. That’s the theme for it. I mean there could be other books, I certainly have enough material for it. I don’t want it to be gratuitous, like “here’s the in the backstage book” and “here’s the studio book”. Short answer is, there could be, but no plans at the moment. 

For info on Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz’ book Black & White & Weird All Over: https://www.blackandwhiteandweird.com/

[mimosaeyes]

Stuff I’ve been reading in 2017

The third annual reading list! (Here’s 2015 in two parts, and 2016.) School was killing my love of reading but I refused to let it. And so here we are, three years and 280 books later.

I’ve taken the liberty of bolding my favourite reads this year, and including some background about how I came to read what I did. Here we go:

I pseudo-resolved to read slower this year, and savour books that need time to seep in. Longer books tend to fit that profile for me, so I went and read the longest book in my home library.

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, translated from the Russian by Rosemary Edmonds (reflections here)

Don’t know how I zeroed in on this gem in a Kinokuniya bookstore, but I love it and you should definitely read it. Go. Go now. I was two years slow on the uptake for Pulley’s debut, but when her second novel came out this year, I literally ordered it online in 0.0002 seconds. It’s number 51 on this list.

2. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

I can’t summarise how I feel about this next one. It just gets to me. After reading it, I went on to watch the film as well as its 20-years-later sequel. I might read some more by Welsh, but gosh the Scottish accent is hard to decipher.

3. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

Perfect for bringing along on my first semester studying overseas.

4. Hector and the Search for Happiness by François Lelord

And then the school texts start! As does leisure/procrastination reading: all the Neruda and Sexton poetry, plus Dostoevsky. Only novels, novellas, plays, and anthologies are listed here; this semester I studied many isolated short stories and poems. Books I read twice are the ones I happened to write essays on – it doesn’t necessarily mean I liked them a lot. (In fact, if I really like a book, sometimes I deliberately avoid writing about it, because analysing something too much can ruin it.) I read all the poetry aloud, because poetry, but I worry also in part because the silence in my room was getting oppressively lonely.

5. Joe Cinque’s Consolation by Helen Garner 6. Bereft by Chris Womersley (twice, actually) 7. Melanctha by Gertrude Stein 8. Breath by Tim Winton (twice, actually) 9. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 10. Pablo Neruda: Selected Poems edited by Nathaniel Tarn, translated from the Spanish by Anthony Kerrigan, W. S. Merwin, Alastair Reid, and Nathaniel Tarn 11. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 12. Carpentaria by Alexis Wright (out loud just because) 13. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 14. To Bedlam and Part Way Back by Anne Sexton 15. All My Pretty Ones by Anne Sexton 16. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (twice, actually; pseudo-thrice) 17. Live Or Die by Anne Sexton 18. Love Poems by Anne Sexton 19. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 20. Transformations by Anne Sexton 21. The Book of Folly by Anne Sexton 22. Sorry by Gail Jones 23. The Death Notebooks by Anne Sexton 24. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (her second novel is number 79) 25. The Awful Rowing Toward God by Anne Sexton 26. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 27. 45 Mercy Street by Anne Sexton 28. Words for Dr. Y. by Anne Sexton

In the break between semesters, I marathoned several TV shows (oops) and revisited a book series from my childhood. (Which, incidentally, ends in a greatly upsetting way?) That series is bookended by two novels which are companions to each other.

29. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce 30. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 31. Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer 32. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer 33. Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer 34. Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer 35. Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer 36. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer 37. Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer 38. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce

Back to school! Again, quite a few short stories and poems not reflected here. 42, 48, 49, 51, and 57 for leisure; the rest were for my courses.

39. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (twice, actually; making it thrice in two years, dammit) 40. The Hunter by Julia Leigh (twice, actually) 41. Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney 42. Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller 43. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 44. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin 45. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (twice, actually) 46. Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz 47. Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 48. My Career Goes Bung by Miles Franklin 49. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 50. Bad Behaviour by Mary Gaitskill 51. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley 52. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon 53. The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead 54. Simulations by Jean Baudrillard, translated from the French by Paul Foss, Paul Patton and Philip Beitchman 55. Frisk by Dennis Cooper 56. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (twice, actually) 57.《边城》沈从文 著 58. Motion Sickness by Lynne Tillman 59. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk (twice, actually) 60. Affinity by Sarah Waters 61. The Lost Stradivarius by John Meade Falkner 62. The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White (twice, actually)

The school year concluded, while still in Australia I read books I’d been given or chose on whims. I bought number 65 in Cairns Airport because I had nothing to read for the rest of a five-day trip; I’d started and finished number 63 during my domestic flight on day one. Clearly I’d underestimated how much I still wanted to read, having overloaded during the semester.

63. Mãn by Kim Thúy, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman 64. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (no words, only illustrations; please, please experience it for yourself) 65. And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave (it’s a Bible reference; think Southern Gothic)

Back home once more, I had access to my personal library, as well our national libraries! Although I’d embarked on a big crochet project as a Christmas present for some close family friends, I went pretty hard in the rest of my free time, which was abundant, because unemployment.

Some of these books just caught my eye on the shelf. Some have been on my To Read list for ages, because of friends’ recommendations (76 and 77, for instance) or because I figured I needed to see what the hype was all about (81 through 83, and 85 through 87). On the subject of YA fiction: no offence if you’re a fan of the genre, or indeed of these two series in particular, but to me it tends to feel like the literary equivalent of empty calories — easy reading that makes for a change of pace from books like 79, or 76. I read each trilogy in a day. Also, yes I realise I’m very late to the party; I haven’t watched the movies, either. Heh.

66. The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms by Ian Thornton 67. The Borrowers by Mary Norton (on which Studio Ghibli’s The Borrower Arrietty is based) 68. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (before I went to watch the movie) 69. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka 70. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (on which Studio Ghibli’s film of the same name is based) 71. Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories by Mikhail Shishkin, translated from the Russian by Marian Schwartz, Leo Shtutin, Sylvia Maizell, and Mariya Bashkatova 72. The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe 73. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 74. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom 75. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez 76. White Teeth by Zadie Smith 77. Uprooted by Naomi Novik 78. How To Be Both by Ali Smith 79. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (her first novel is number 24; I’ll read her third in the new year, as it demands slow enjoyment) 80. The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff 81. The Maze Runner by James Dashner 82. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner 83. The Death Cure by James Dasher 84. Jip by Katherine Paterson 85. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 86. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 87. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 88. Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

And that’s it: another year in books! Do note that thanks to my new theme, I now put updates in the sidebar about what I’m currently reading and watching, respectively. So if you’re ever curious, mosey on over, I guess.

In the new year, I’ll be creating a Goodreads account specially to complement my (admittedly infrequent) postings here. I haven’t gotten an account there previously because the star rating system seemed so reductive, but I have since realised that if professional movie critics can do it, I ought to stop being so high and mighty. Besides, I’m curious about the Goodreads community, and might want to try my hand at writing a couple of reviews, if I find the time and energy.

See you in 2018, everyone!

(Update: here is my Goodreads profile!)

[drjayschwartz]

Signs and Symptoms of Lyme Disease in Children

With extensive experience in pediatric medicine, Dr. Jay Schwartz has been providing medical care to patients for over three decades and was a former staff pediatrician with the United States Air Force. Currently based in Frisco, Texas, Dr. Jay Schwartz operates Collin County Pediatrics, a medical practice which he founded in 2007. At his practice, Dr. Schwartz is committed to providing quality care, the latest technological innovations, and a comfortable environment for adolescents and children presenting with medical concerns ranging from vaccination needs to treating Lyme disease. Lyme disease is an infection caused by the spirochete bacteria and spread by the bites of deer ticks which are carrying it. The most obvious symptom of infection from the bacteria is having a pink colored skin rash that covers a larger area of skin over time. The rash may take three to 30 days to appear after being bitten and can be found on various parts of the body including the head, trunk, and thighs. Other symptoms of infection include headache, fever, chills, swollen glands, aches, pain, and fatigue. When recognized early Lyme disease can be easily detected and treated with antibiotics. However, without treatment, the infection worsens over time and can lead to more serious health problems such as meningitis, facial nerve palsy or joint swelling.

[roarformeprettylion]

List of Banned Books

How Many Have You Read?

Children’s Books:

Allan, Nicholas. Where Willy Went

Allard, Harry. Bumps in the Night

Allard, Harry. The Stupids series

Allington, Richard. Once Upon a Hippo

Ancona, George. Cuban Kids

Avi. The Fighting Ground

Babbitt, Natalie. The Devil’s Storybook

Bailey, Jacqui, and Jan McCafferty. Sex, Puberty, and All That Stuff: A Guide to Growing Up

Bannerman, Helen. Little Black Sambo

Birdseye, Tom. Attack of the Mutant Underwear

Blume, Judy. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

Blume, Judy. Blubber

Brannen, Sarah S. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding

Brittain, Bill. The Wish Giver

Brown, Laurie Krasny, and Marc Brown. What’s the Big Secret? Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys

Brown, Marc Tolon. Buster’s Sugartime

Butler, Dori Hillestad. My Mom’s Having a Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy

Carle, Eric. Draw Me a Star

Christensen, James, C., Renwick St. James and Alan Dean Foster. Voyage of the Basset

Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Horse (DK)

Cohen, Daniel. Ghostly Warnings

Cohen, Daniel. Phantom Animals

Cole, Babette. Mommy Laid An Egg

Cole, Joanna. Asking About Sex and Growing Up

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. Jump Ship to Freedom

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. My Brother Sam is Dead

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. With Every Drop of Blood

Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War

Coupe, Peter. The Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Cartoons

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach

Dahl, Roald. The Witches

de Haan, Linda. King & King

DeClements, Barthe. Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You

Elliot, David. An Alphabet for Rotten Kids

Fierstein, Harvey. The Sissy Duckling

Fogelin, Adrian. My Brother’s Hero

Fox, Mem. Guess What?

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer

Garden, Nancy. Holly’s Secret

Geisel, Theodor Seuss. Hop on Pop: The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use

Geisel, Theodor Seuss. If I Ran the Zoo

George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves

Gordon, Sharon. Cuba

Grove, Vicki. The Starplace

Hahn, Mary Downing. The Dead Man in Indian Creek

Hanford, Martin. Where’s Waldo?

Harper, Charise Mericle. Flashcards of My Life

Harper, Kathryn. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Harris, Robie. It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health

Harris, Robie. It’s So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families

Harris, Robie. Who’s In My Family?: All About Families (Let’s Talk About You and Me)

Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean

Henson, Jim. For Every Child a Better World

Hergé [Georges Remi]. Tintin in America

Hergé [Georges Remi]. Tintin in the Congo

Herthel, Jessica, and Jazz Jennings. I Am Jazz

Hill, Douglas Arthur. Witches and Magic-Makers

Homes, A.M. Jack

Ignatow, Amy. The Popularity Papers

Jukes, Mavis. It’s a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe and in Charge

Kehret, Peg. Stolen Children

Kellogg, Steven. Pinkerton, Behave!

Kilodavis, Cheryl. My Princess Boy: A Mom’s Story About a Young Boy Who Loves to Dress Up

Kotzwinkle, William, and Glenn Murray. Walter the Farting Dog

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time

Lewis, Richard, comp. There Are Two Lives: Poems by Children of Japan

Lindgren, Astrid. The Runaway Sleigh Ride

Lowry, Lois. Anastasia Krupnik series

Lowry, Lois. The Giver.

Madaras, Linda. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons

Madaras, Linda. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters

Martin, Michael. Kurt Cobain

Mayle, Peter. Where Did I Come From?

Mercado, Nancy E., ed. Tripping Over the Lunch Lady and Other Short Stories

Merriam, Eve. Halloween ABC

Merriam, Eve. The Inner City Mother Goose

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us

Nelson, O.T. The Girl Who Owned a City

Newman, Leslea. Heather Has Two Mommies

Okimoto, Jean Davies, and Elaine M. Aoki. The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption

Opie, Iona. I Saw Esau

Orgel, Doris. The Devil in Vienna

Pardi, Francesca, and Tullio F. Altan. Little Egg (Piccolo uovo)

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones (

Parr, Todd. The Family Book

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins

Perritano, John. Amityville

Peters, Lisa Westberg. Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story

Pilkey, Dav. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby: The First Graphic Novel

Pilkey, Dav. Captain Underpants series

Pittman, Gayle E. This Day in June

Polacco, Patricia. In Our Mothers’ House

Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials series

Quinlan, Patricia. Tiger Flowers

Reavin, Sam. The Hunters Are Coming

Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three

Rodgers, Mary. Freaky Friday

Rosen, Lucy. I Am Bane

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter series

Ruby, Laura. Lily’s Ghosts

Sachar, Louis. The Boy Who Lost His Face

Sachar, Louis. Marvin Redpost: Is He a Girl?

Schniedewind, Nancy. Open Minds to Equality: A Sourcebook of Learning Activities to Affirm Diversity and Promote Equity

Schreier, Alta. Vamos a Cuba ( A Vist to Cuba)

Schwartz, Alvin. And the Green Grass Grew All Around

Schwartz, Alvin. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat

Schwartz, Alvin. Ghosts! Ghost Stories in Folklore

Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories series

Sendak, Maurice. In the Night Kitchen

Sherman, Josepha, and T.K.F. Weisskopf. Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic

Smith, Jeff. Bone series

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver

Steer, Dugald. Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin

Stine, R.L. Goosebumps series

Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand

Stroud, Jonathan. The Golem’s Eye

Stroud, Jonathan. Ptolemy’s Gate

Tamaki, Mariko, and Jillian Tamaki. This One Summer

Taylor, Mildred D. The Land

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Telgemeier, Raina. Drama

Texier, Ophélie. Jean Has Two Moms (Jean a deux mamans)

Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball: The Monkey King

Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s Roommate

Winter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq

Winter, Jeanette. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan

Yep, Laurence. Dragonwings

Young Adult Books:

Adler, C.S. The Shell Lady’s Daughter

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alva0rez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies

Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Twisted

Anderson, M.T. Feed

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Anonymous. Go Ask Alice

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why

Atkins, Catherine. Alt Ed

Atkins, Catherine. When Jeff Comes Home

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale

Barnes, Derrick. The Making of Dr. Truelove

Barron, T.A. The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy

Baskin, Julia, Lindsey Newman, Sophie Pollitt-Cohen, and Courtney Toombs. The Notebook Girls: Four Friends, One Diary, Real Life

Bauer, Marion Dane. On My Honor

Bauer, Marion Dane, ed. Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence

Benioff, David. City of Thieves

Block, Francesca Lia. Baby Be-Bop

Block, Francesca Lia. Girl Goddess

Block, Francesca Lia. I Was a Teenage Fairy

Block, Francesca Lia. The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold

Block, Francesca Lia. Witch Baby

Blume, Judy. Deenie

Blume, Judy. Forever

Blume, Judy. Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson

Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes

Bode, Janet, and Stan Mack. Heartbreak and Roses: Real Life Stories of Troubled Love

Bower, Bert, and Jim Lobdell. History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond

Boyle, T. Coraghessan. The Tortilla Curtain

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451

Brashares, Ann. Forever in Blue, the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Burgess, Melvin. Doing It

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game

Cart, Michael. My Father’s Scar

Cast, P.C., and Kristin Cast. House of Night series

Chambers, Aidan. Dance on My Grave: A Life and Death in Four Parts

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts

Clerc, Charles, and Louis Leiter, comp. Seven Contemporary Short Novels

Cohen, Susan, and Daniel Cohen. When Someone You Know is Gay

Clinton, Cathryn. A Stone in My Hand

Colasanti, Susane. When It Happens

Cole, Brock. The Facts Speak for Themselves

Cole, Brock. The Goats

Colfer, Eoin. The Supernaturalist

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games Trilogy

Conly, Jane. Crazy Lady

Cooney, Caroline. The Face on the Milk Carton

Cooney, Caroline. The Terrorist

Cormier, Robert. After the First Death

Cormier, Robert. Beyond the Chocolate War

Cormier, Robert. Fade

Cormier, Robert. Heroes

Cormier, Robert. I Am the Cheese

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness

Cormier, Robert. We All Fall Down

Coville, Bruce. Am I Blue?

Cox, Elizabeth. Night Talk

Crawford, Brent. Carter Finally Gets It

Cruse, Howard. Stuck Rubber Baby

Crutcher, Chris. Athletic Shorts

Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline

Crutcher, Chris. In the Time I Get

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk

Daldry, Jeremy. The Teenage Guy’s Survival Guide

Dandicat, Edwidge. Krik! Krak!

Danforth, Emily M. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Davis, Deborah. My Brother Has AIDS

Davis, Jenny. Sex Education

Dawe, Ted. Into the River

Dawson, James. This Book is Gay

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen

Deuker, Carl. On the Devil’s Court

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother

Dorfman, Ariel. Death and the Maiden

Dorris, Michael. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Draper, Sharon M., and Adam Lowenbein. Romiette and Julio

Drill, Esther. Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL

Duncan, Lois. Daughters of Eve

Duncan, Lois. Killing Mr. Griffin

Eleveld, Mark, ed. The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation

Elish, Dan. Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth-Grade Basket Case

Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man

Erlbach, Arlene. The Middle School Survival Guide

Ferris, Jean. Eight Seconds

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby

Forman, Gayle. Just One Day

Franco, Betsy. You Hear Me? Poems and Writings by Teenage Boys

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Frank, E.R. America: A Novel

Frank, E.R. Life is Funny

Freedom Writers. The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

Freymann-Weyr, Garret. My Heartbeat

Friend, Natasha. Lush

Gaiman, Neil. Neverwhere

Gaines, Ernest. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind

Garden, Nancy. Good Moon Rising

Gardner, John. Grendel

Giles, Gail. Shattering Glass

Glenn, Mel. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?

Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies

Gould, Steven. Jumper

Gray, Heather M., and Samantha Phillips. Real Girl/Real World: Tools for Finding Your True Self

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars

Green, John. Looking for Alaska

Green, John. Paper Towns

Greene, Bette. The Drowning of Stephan Jones

Greene, Bette. Summer of My German Solidier

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

Halpern, Julie. Get Well Soon

Hartinger, Brent. Geography Club

Hautzig, Deborah. Hey Dollface

Heller, Joseph. Catch-22

Hernandez, Gilbert. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories

Heron, Ann. Two Teenagers in Twenty

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders

Hinton, S.E. Taming the Star Runner

Hinton, S.E. Tex

Hinton, S.E. That Was Then, This is Now

Holliday, Laurel. Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries

Holmes, Melisa, and Trish Hutchison. Hang-ups, Hook-ups, and Holding Out: Stuff You Need to Know about Your Body, Sex, and Dating

Hopkins, Ellen. Crank

Hopkins, Ellen. Identical

Horowitz, Anthony. Snakehead

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner

Howe, James. Totally Joe

Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hurwin, Davida. Time for Dancing

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World

Hwa, Kim Dong. The Color of Earth series

Jahn-Clough, Lisa. Me, Penelope

Johnson, Maureen. The Bermudez Triangle

Jukes, Mavis. The Guy Book: An Owner’s Manual

Kehret, Peg. Abduction!

Kenan, Randall. James Baldwin

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon

King, Stephen. Carrie

King, Stephen. Christine

Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate

Klein, Norma. Beginners’ Love

Klein, Norma. Family Secrets

Klein, Norma. Just Friends

Kleinbaum, N.H. Dead Poet’s Society

Knowles, Jo (Johanna Beth). Lessons from a Dead Girl

Koertge, Ron. Arizona Kid

Koertge, Ron. The Brimstone Journals

Koerge, Ron. Where the Kissing Never Stopped

Korman, Gordon. Jake Reinvented

Kuklin, Susan. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

LaCour, Nina. Hold Still

Larson, Rodger. What I Know Now

Lebert, Benjamin. Crazy: A Novel

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird

Lester, Julius. When Dad Killed Mom

Levenkron, Steven. The Best Little Girl in the World

Levithan, David. Two Boys Kissing

Lipsyte, Robert. One Fat Summer

Locker, Sari. Sari Says: The Real Dirt on Everything from Sex to School

Lockhart, E. The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them

London, Jack. The Call of the Wild

Lopez, Tiffany Ana. Growing Up Chicana/o

Loux, Matthew. SideScrollers

Lyga, Barry. I Hunt Killers

Lynch, Chris. Extreme Elvin

Lynch, Chris. The Iceman

Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things

Mackler, Carolyn. Love and Other Four Letter Words

Mackler, Carolyn. Tangled

Mackler, Carolyn. Vegan Virgin Valentine

Martin, W.K. Marlene Dietrich

Martinac, Paula. k.d. lang

Mazer, Harry. The Last Mission

McBain, Ed. Alice in Jeopardy

McCormick, Patricia. Cut

McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding

McKissack, Fredrick, Jr. Shooting Star

McNally, John, ed. When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School by Today’s Top Writers

Mead, Richelle. Vampire Academy series

Meyer, Michael, ed. Bedford Introduction to Literature

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight series

Morrison, Toni. Beloved

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon

Mungo, Raymond. Liberace

Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels

Myers, Walter Dean. Hoops

Myracle, Lauren. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r series

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice series

Nix, Garth. Shade’s Children

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Whispers from the Dead

Nunokawa, Jeff. Oscar Wilde

O’Brien, Sharon. Willa Cather

O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried

Oates, Joyce Carol. Sexy

Ockler, Sarah. Twenty Boy Summer

Oh, Minya. Bling: Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels

Orwell, George. 1984

Parish, James Robert. Whoopi Goldberg: Her Journey from Poverty to Mega-Stardom

Park, Barbara. Mick Harte Was Here

Parks, Gordon. The Learning Tree

Paulsen, Gary. Harris and Me

Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die

Pelzer, Dave. A Child Called It

Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes

Pike, Christopher. Bury Me Deep

Pike, Christopher. Chain Letter 2

Pike, Christopher. Die Softly

Pike, Christopher. Last Act

Pike, Christopher. The Listeners

Pike, Christopher. The Lost Mind

Pike, Christopher. The Midnight Club

Pike, Christopher. Remember Me 3

Pike, Christopher. The Star Group

Pike, Christopher. Witch

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed

Pomeroy, Wardell. Boys and Sex

Pomeroy, Wardell. Girls and Sex

Rapp, Adam. The Buffalo Tree

Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room

Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging

Rennison, Louise. Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas

Rennison, Louise. On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

Reynolds, Marilyn. Detour for Emmy

Riley, Andy. The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don’t Want to Live Anymore

Rivera, Tomas. And the Earth Did Not Devour Him

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye

Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow Boys

Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican

Sapphire [Ramona Lofton]. Push

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Schouweiler, Thomas. The Devil: Opposing Viewpoints

Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl

Selzer, Adam. How to Get Suspended and Influence People

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare)

Shusterman, Neal. Unwind

Sidhwa, Bapsi. Cracking India

Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep: A Novel

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Smith, Lee. Fair and Tender Ladies

Smith, Patrick. A Land Remembered

Snyder, Jane McIntosh. Sappho

Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Moher Dies

Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn’t Know

Sonnie, Amy, ed. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Spies, Karen Bornemann. Everything You Need to Know About Incest

St. Stephen’s Community House. The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men

Stine, R.L. Double Date

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Eighteenth to Twenty-First Century Art, Third Edition

Stone, Tanya Lee. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl

Srasser, Todd. Give a Boy a Gun

Summers, Courtney. Some Girls Are

Tarbox, Katherine. A Girl’s Life Online

Taylor, Mildred D. Mississippi Bridge

Touchette, Charleen. It Stops With Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl series

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple

Walker, Kate. Peter

Watkins, Yoko. So Far From the Bamboo Grove

Wersba, Barbara. Whistle Me Home

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront

Wittlinger, Ellen. Sandpiper

Wolfe, Daniel. T.E. Lawrence

Wolff, Tobias. This Boy’s Life: A Memoir

Wood, Maryrose. Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love

Wright, Richard. Native Son

WritersCorps. Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman

Zwerman, Gilda. Martina Navratilova

Classics:

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

1984, by George Orwell

Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Native Son, by Richard Wright

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin

All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

Sophie's Choice, by William Styron

 Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles

Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence

The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller

An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser

Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Source: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

[cavemanrobot]

Adventures of Caveman Robot: The Musical by Iason Ragnar Bellerophon Via Flickr: Set in the fictional city of Monumenta, Adventures of Caveman Robot creates a fully realized alternate reality on stage. After a punishing battle with the wildly unpredictable Ape Lincoln (a hulking ex-President from a strange simian dimension), Cavey and his minders - Professor Tuttlwell and his niece Megan - find themselves the focus of a master plot bringing together the cream of Monumenta's villainous talent pool, featuring such characters as Burn-Out (a former hippie turned flame-throwing rebel), Colonel 3headedspacepony (a Nazi SS officer whose brain has been transferred to the body of a penguin) and Cavey's arch-nemesis, Dr. John Zarathustra, D.D.S. As the chaos mounts - through song, dance, and video - only the sad-sack everyman Loser Pete holds the power to save Cavey from a vicious fate. Written and Directed by Jeff Lewonczyk, based on the Caveman Robot characters, stories, and comics of Jason Robert Bell, Britton Walters, Joe Infurnari, and Shoshanna Weinberger. Book by Jeff Lewonczyk with Jason Robert Bell Music by Debby Schwartz , Lyrics by Debby Schwartz and Jeff Lewonczyk A collaborative project 2 years in the making involving visual artists Jason Robert Bell, Britton Walters, and Shoshanna Weinberger, local club singer/songwriter Debby Schwartz, and theatrical impresario Jeff Lewonczyk, true Gesamkuntswerk! CAVEMAN ROBOT - Jason Robert Bell • LOSER PETE - Chris Harcum* • MEGAN TUTTLEWELL / MONKEY TODD LINCOLN / DAWN PERSON -Hope Cartelli • PROFESSOR TUTTLEWELL / FRANKLIN PARK / DAWN PERSON - Devon Hawks Ludlow • APE LINCOLN / EDISON PARK / DAWN PERSON -Ian W. Hill* • BURN-OUT / MR TENSE / COP / DAWN PERSON -Kevin Draine* • SIMON SAYS / LOUDMOUTH / COP / DAWN PERSON - Jorge Cordova* • THE COLONEL / MISTRESS SVETLANA / MATER VOX / COP / OOLAR - Robin Reed • DR. JOHN ZARATHUSTRA, DDS- Jeff Lewonczyk Lighting Desing - James Bedell Art Direction- Jason Robert Bell Costumes and Props- Juliann E. Kroboth and Jason Robert Bell Graphic Design- Britton Walters Photography by Jackie Roman and Ashley Garrett Techincal Advisors - Jay Shull, Paul Crisanti, and Nils d'Aulaire Producers - Piper McKenzie, Shoshanna Weinberger, Jason Robert Bell, and Epiphany Pictures. Caveman Robot is a registarted Trademark of Jason Robert Bell and Shoshanna Weinberger.

[maxximillian]

IT'S LIVE—MAXXIMILLIAN PRESENTS: THEMATIC EPISODE 1!

Eric: Is it the magic of the universe, or a logical explanation?

Maxximillian: The magic of the universe is a logical explanation.

  Eric Schwartz (@ericschwartz) is a quadruple-threat entertainer with multiple albums of original comedic anthems, dozens of videos that you’ll want to watch again and again, a one-hour special that might make you pee your pants, and a live standup show worthy of Carnegie Hall. He writes sketches. He writes comedy. He writes music. He performs live. He’s on tour constantly. But I caught up with him for an hour and we chopped it up into bite sized pieces.

I met Eric for the first time 5 years ago at YouTube Studios Los Angeles during a special happy hour event for YouTube creators and from the moment I saw him, I knew he was someone to watch. He invited me to see his standup show and (unlike many folks) I surprised him by actually showing up. I’m so glad I did. I was right about my suspicions; I watched him on stage through my tears as he brought the house down to ashes. The guy is hilarious.

But it ain’t all jokes. Creating material worthy of your audience’s hard-earned dollars isn’t something even a talented performer can just pull out of his hat.

So how do we consistently move toward excellence in our vehicle of intentional creativity? How do we go from what’s now to what’s next? We all have ambitions, and the people who look like they’re at the top have their eyes set on some goal beyond their peak too.

We know that waiting for someone else to recognize our talent and give us a ‘break’ is a delusion that we could use to con ourselves out of valuable years of our creative lives.

What to do?

  We all have heard countless times (I hope) that we each have within us what it takes to do, be, and have whatever it is that we desire. Beyond desire how can we facilitate forward momentum in the direction we want to go?

Eric has some suggestions.

Eric offers an emotionally intelligent perspective on creating art, and what it took for him to move from posting his comedy videos on YouTube and performing at comedy clubs to booking roles in films by invitation on the merit of self-produced works already seen (no audition).

If you are an actor, writer—any kind of performing artist or creator, you can benefit from Eric Schwartz’s roadmap to getting on stage, developing and tightening your own standup comedy routine, and building an audience that appreciates your unique brand of standup comedy.

Do you know a performing artist you’d like to encourage?

Share this with all the performing artists you know—you don’t have to be an actor or comedian to benefit from listening to this episode.

  Though comedy is Eric’s currency, his concepts transcend vocation.

A quote from the show — Eric says, “Amazing things have been done by people that just wanted to do it and they were like, ‘You know what I’m going to do it and I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to ask as many people as I need to and I’m going to do this.’ That’s the spirit you have to have. And your passion will take you [the rest of] the way there.”

Actor-Comedian Eric Schwartz shares helpful perspectives on:

 • Upholding personal integrity in the face of an awkward moment

 • Your Roadmap to starting your career in standup comedy—no kidding! [18:42]

 • The book that has shifted his art to a new higher level (and how he uses it)

 • How to get started doing standup comedy at comedy clubs  (and everywhere)

 • Why you have a good chance of success asking to perform at live venues (both comedy and non-comedy venues)

 • Pitfalls to avoid in selecting performance material

 • How to hone your routine to its highest potential

 • How to get noticed in Hollywood

 • How to get on stage (literally what to say) and what to do before you get up there and more… (of course there’s more!)

Join us for this very special episode of Maxximillian Presents: THEMATIC, a podcast about topics interesting to creative people—best practices and helpful habits plus personal shares from creatives who are achieving success and want to share their experiences wrapped up in music to tickle your pleasure center.

If it’s the first time we’re meeting, I’m Maxximillian Dafoe an award-nominated audio dramatist, writer—and author of three books (AFTERLIFE, MOLLYVILLE, DAUGHTER AND THE SNAKE), screenwriter, director, songwriter, actress, performer and host of the THEMATIC podcast who has worked/performed with Michael Chiklis, David Fincher, James Franco, Bruce Willis, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, and Dr. Dre as well as collaborations with many other widely appreciated notable artists.

Visit the episode page for full show notes including episode extras and helpful links to take you to where you want to be amongst the books and all the precious videos and things of the shop! 

Help spread the word about this brand new podcast with your positive iTunes review of this podcast! Have a suggestion? Drop me a line on my podcasts homepage. Other places to find me are Instagram, Twitter, my blog and where my podcasts live. I love it when you say hello!

    IT’S LIVE—MAXXIMILLIAN PRESENTS: THEMATIC EPISODE 1! was originally published on MAXXIMILLIAN DAFOE