Nick Cave & Empathy as the Antidote for Emptiness
Sean MurphyNick Cave continues to evolve into a sort of postmodern mensch, someone whose abilities and success have obliged him to dig deeper, and do more; not out of some sense…
Norman Jewison: Movies as Melting Pots
Boy has America gotten a lot of mileage congratulating itself for being a big, diverse, inclusive land of opportunity. The American Dream as melting pot, wherein our differences don't define…
Original Poem: The Charles Mingus Sextet in Europe, 1964
I continue to appreciate the team at Jerry Jazz Musician for celebrating America’s unique art form, and showcasing not only the sounds, but the words around the sounds. For my fellow old…
The Master at 100: Understanding Max Roach
Max Roach, b. Jan 10, 1924 While there is much to admire and recommend in the excellent documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, especially for young creatives or academics who want to better understand--and…
2023: A Creative Recap
Kicking off '23 in Todos Santos From 1455’s Movable Type, Issue 15 (peruse the complete archives, here): The State of the Art, right now, is a sum total of every individual…
2023: A Final Farewell to Some Irreplaceable Icons
Wow, it's sad to look back and see the sheer number of all-times greats we watched depart our planet this year. Of course, these losses are invariably mitigated by the…
Scorsese’s Stations of the Cross: ‘Mean Streets’ at 50
"Don't you have something you really want to do?" Eternal props to John Cassavetes, mentor not only to Martin Scorsese, but innumerable other apprentices who carried his torch and elevated…
Football and American Faith
Lots of well-deserved buzz surrounding this timely and important story by Dave Sheinin (read via the Washington Post here and more from the series here and here). This entire triumph…
Original Poem: Albert Ayler’s Vision
If it’s true a picture is worth a thousand words, this particular image seems able to conjure up entire books, libraries filled with stories of pain and pathos, apathy and…
Like a Hurricane: The Brilliance of Billy Friedkin’s Burned Bridges
Boy does it hurt to admit William Friedkin was mortal after all. It didn't seem like he'd ever die; he was so demonstrably in love with life, his art, and…