Cockatoo With the Moves

I don't usually like birds. I pet-sat for one a few years ago, and after about a day was sorry that I didn't have a cat I could feed it to.

But after tapping my toes this Saturday to Balkan music at the Golden Festival, how can I not appreciate a critter with such a great sense of rhythm, even if he does have a bit of a pitch problem.

Kathleen's Crimes

Sarah Paulson, Jennifer Dundas and Lily Rabe in Crimes of the Heart.

When the inimitable John Istel offers you an assignment, it's hard to say no. And when that assignment is to interview the venerable Kathleen Turner, you don't even consider it. Although I was sure she'd eat me for lunch, we had a nice chat about her New York directorial debut, an Off-Broadway revival of Crimes of the Heart that I caught last summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

All's Welles

Orson Welles

I'm going to a wedding in May at this glorious, restored movie palace, which is walking distance from my first post-college apartment. (Trust me, the neighborhood had changed since then!) But I may have to make a trip back to Jersey City before then to check out some of the wonderful movies on the schedule, like the upcoming Orson Welles mini-fest.

Review Roundup

David Morse and Ciaran Hinds in The Seafarer.

Lately, I've been catching up on movies and visiting museums — including one that I haven't been to in years that has this van Gogh in its collection.

But as the second half of the 2007-08 theater season kicks off, here's a roundup of some reviews I did for Cititour.com:

the shallow but entertaining Fuerzabruta;

Conor McPherson's wonderfully acted and moving The Seafarer;

and the lackluster Cyrano de Bergerac.

Many Monkish Returns

Tony Shalhoub as Monk.

Not only has my friend Brian's New Year's Day party become an annual tradition, so too has watching USA Network's Monk marathon. Yes, I'm obsessed with the OCD detective, and I think this quote of his best sums up the way I feel about beginning a new year:

"I don't have a problem with change. I just don't like to be there when it happens."

Why let peace and hope steer the course of your life when fear is such a stronger force?