December 18, 2008
With a title that sounds more like the name of a rock band than of a movie, with no American celebrities and a setting foreign to most people, Slumdog Millionaire is a revelation of storytelling, with compelling mysteries, well-drawn characters and a dramatically workable mix of comedy and tragedy.
The film, directed by Danny Boyle, uses the Indian version of the TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire as the tool to explore the history of the show’s most unlikely contestant, an impoverished tea server named Jamal Malik (played by Dev Patel), whose answers to the show’s questions were etched into his brain through critical life experiences, and are shared with the audience through flashbacks. Read More
December 18, 2008
The holiday season holds special traditions for different religious cultures across the globe, but perhaps Spain’s Catalunya region provides one of the world’s most unusual examples. For centuries, households in northeastern Spain displayed the Christmas Nativity scene (el pessebre) featuring the holy family, animals and wise men along with one fascinating little addition called ‘el caganer.’ At first glance, the caganer appears to be an innocent passerby, but on closer inspection he or she is actually in a bent position answering the call of nature. Why this particular brand of bathroom humor? Joan Amades, author of El Pessebre, says that placing a caganer in your nativity scene was believed to bring a rich and successful harvest the following year, and health and happiness to you and your loved ones. Additionally, the caganer (literally, “pooper”) is symbolic of equality – the grand equalizer.
“Jesus may be the most saintly figure of the nativity scene, but the caganer is the most popular,” says Josep Maria Joan Rosa, a long-time toy collector and director of the Museu del Joguet de Catalunya (Toy Museum of Catalunya) in Figueres. “When I was a kid,” he says, “we all clamored to hide the caganer in the nativity scene, and then see if our friends could find it. It was the best game at Christmas.”
The typical caganer wears a red hat and is often depicted smoking a pipe or reading a newspaper, although female versions called ‘caganeras’ have also become popular within the last 30 years. Today, the franchise extends to include renditions of sports figures and celebrities – even a squatting President Bush. Visitors may enjoy a plethora of bottoms “al aire libre” at La Fira de Santa Lucia, the annual Christmas nativity fair that takes place at Barcelona’s cathedral, La Seu or year-round at Museu del Joguet which houses Spain’s only permanent collection of caganers. Read More
December 17, 2008
Or alterna-world-beat-classical? It’s tough to typecast Star FK Radium, the arty new pop acoustic instrumental band garnering a cult following in Washington DC. Claiming influences from Hendrix to Radiohead, the trio explores undiscovered territory. Star FK Radium, whose name plays on the Mid-Atlantic venue RFK Stadium, merges guitar picking and strumming with violin and percussion. The acoustic guitar, usually a much more delicate instrument than its electric cousin, gets banged out at times, hard-rock style. Star FK Radum’s tour through instrumental-land drives through tempo and mood changes, often with multiple complementary melodies per song. The band will also at times redundantly repeat a musical theme into a drone, only to launch a satisfying harmonic change, as in “Blue Siberia” (found on the MySpace page.) The fact that it’s all instrumental makes it Read More
December 12, 2008
You may know him as the architect whose Ground Zero plans shattered to a halt, but Daniel Libeskind is picking up the pieces with plans for his first New York building – One Madison Avenue. Standing 54 stories, One Madison Avenue could end-up Manhattan’s tallest residential building once completed. Read More
December 11, 2008
As brands increasingly saturate TV and movies through product placement, marketers wonder: Is this working anymore? That is, isn’t brand-glut a consumer turn-off? The answer may be that the most subtle product placement is the most effective. “Brand futurist” Martin Lindstrom’s new book, Buy-ology: Truth and Lies About What We Buy, is the result of a $7 million neuromarketing study “that peered inside the brains of 2,000 volunteers from all around the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands, and products.” Lindstom concludes in one section that the next generation of successful brands may have no logo whatsoever. He cites the turquoise Tiffany’s box and the look of United Colors of Benetton ads, which push their brand without saying so.
This disappearing product placement occurs in Walt Disney Company’s movie, Wall-E, where the shiny, white robot character Eve was designed by Apple to represent the technological elegance of an iPod or MacBook. (This New York Times item looks how that was done.)
As Lindstrom explained in a National Public Radio segment the other day, “That’s how brands will perform in product placement. You will not see the logo. You will see signals that trigger a deeper story about the brand.” (This kind of marketing borders on public relations, which, at its most effective, persuades invisibly.)
Lindstrom claims Apple does neuromarketing so well that it reaches the same regions of the brain that religions do. “It is a love affair that runs deep,” he says. “People believe, ‘The brand listens to me. I admire the brand and people admire me for having it.’ ”
As for product placement that doesn’t work, look (if you must) at what Ford tries to do on American Idol: “It doesn’t support the story line because it is out of context. What does a Ford car have to with a singing contest? The brand is deleted in the brain.”
The big auto maker just can’t catch a break these days.
In case you’re wondering, Lindstrom believes that neuromarketing is potentially dangerous (in the hands of, say, tobacco manufacturers), and should be heavily regulated.
December 11, 2008
It had to happen. A children’s book about urban planning. Where Things Are, From Near to Far, explains what is – when you think about it – a very fundamental issue: Why are cities organized the way they are? (Or disorganized, as the case may be.) The book puts in kids’ terms “the urban-to-rural transect,” which is Miami architect Andrés Duany’s concept of how, in a well-planned environment, density increases toward city centers and along transportation corridors. (Duany is one of the founders and exemplars of New Urbanist design.) Which is all another way of answering the question of little Hugo in the book: “Who put these buildings here?” Published by Read More
December 11, 2008
Why not widen more than your waistline this holiday season? Widen the smiles of the kids at Los Angeles nonprofit Art Share by attending an art show fundraiser hosted by Arts District neighbor Barker Block Lofts at the Barker Block Community Gallery this Saturday. Festivities begin at 3 p.m. and feature art from local artists and Art Share members, musical entertainment, delicious edibles and must-have holiday spirits. Proceeds support Art Share’s programs that address inner-city kids’ educational and social needs using the arts, counseling, mentoring and technology as tools for change. Barker Block Lofts will also donate a portion of their December home sales to Art Share.
Learn more about Art Share’s contributions to the downtown Los Angeles community. Read More
December 10, 2008
Another month, another crop of female pop. (See previous posts on School of Seven Bells, The Duke Spirit and The Ravonettes.) This time The Hot Sheet spotlights two songwriters sharing a dusky sound that seems steeped in experience. Australian Sia (full name Sia Furler) brings her soulful voice to bear on some strong originals. The bluesy-ness may come from her days as a jazz vocalist. She also sang backup for popular English artist Jamiroquai. Check out her “Soon We’ll be Found.” With its ¾ time and great melody. Feels like a classic.
Also grabbing attention – and Grammy nominations last week – is Adele. Hailing from Read More
December 10, 2008
Terranea, Los Angeles’ only destination resort on the Pacific Ocean, partnered with local Keller Williams real estate office owner Al d’Amico to host Palos Verdes’ long-standing Toys for Tots holiday charity event on Sunday, December 7th. Over 300 guests attended, each with a toy to help brighten the holidays for needy children throughout the Los Angeles area. Read More
December 8, 2008
The new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center opened last week after six years of construction. The underground visitor center, which cost $621 million to construct, includes exhibitions, orientation theaters, and a restaurant to entertain visitors waiting to begin their Capitol tours – and allows them to wait inside.
“Over the years, as interest in the Capitol has increased, people have been standing outside in the extreme heat, cold, and humidity waiting to get into this building,” said Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol. Read More
