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Author Archives: dannyashkenasi
BRIER PATCH in MADISON SQUARE PARK
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', The Teaching Artist, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged American Dream, art, Brier Patch, Conservatory, education, exhibition, Hugh Hayden, installation, Madison Square, New York City, park, photography, progress, public art, school desk, sculpture, tree branch, winter
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TELL-TALE HEARTBEATS
In all this time writing about my first short film musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” I have kept one crucial secret: how are the famous tell-tale heartbeats rendered in this version? It must be … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Musicabilia
Tagged adaptation, cello, Edgar Allan Poe, heart, heartbeat, horror, murder, musicabre, musical, narrator, nervous, short film, short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, very dreadfully nervous
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P&P – Day 3 – Adventures with a Porta-Jib
While watching the trailer for “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre“, my musical short film adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story, you will see me as the protagonist in a dark space, viewed from above. While … Continue reading
2021 YEAR END POP CULTURE QUIZ
One point for each correct answer. No googling! – since I didn’t use google to come up with these questions (only to spell check afterwards) – which is a bit of a brag, yes, yet maybe also revealing something questionable … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News
Tagged 2021, Andrew Cuomo, Annette, Aretha Franklin, Brian Kilmeade, Chris cuomo, Commander, Cyrano, Dear Evan Hansen, Don McLean, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, In the Heights, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart, Laura Ingraham, Lil Nas X, Lucille Ball, Mariah Carey, movies, music, musicals, Nicole Kidman, Pete Buttigieg, politics, pop culture, President Biden, Princess Diana, quiz, Sean Hannity, Tammy Faye Bakker, Taylor Swift, Tick Tick Boom, trivia, West Side Story
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MADISON SNOWSTORM
Just a little blizzard in Wisconsin’s capitol…
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged blizzard, Capitol, Christmas, Edward Elder, Forward, lights, Madison, Orpheum, Rainbow, Snow, snowstorm, State Street, statue, Wisconsin
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The Sci-Fi Lego Skyscrapers of Porocity
I saw these nine gigantic towers of white lego building blocks in the Pompidou museum in Paris in 2018. They reminded me of science fiction movies of my childhood where fantastical models would be filmed to look like immense futuristic … Continue reading
TELL-TALE MURDER IN RUSSIAN
Tell-Tale Subtitles #3 Welcome to the third and (so far) final installment of Tell-Tale Subtitles, where I share screenshots of my first short film musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” with subtitles added. The first … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Literary Lyricism, Musicabilia
Tagged Award, cello, Covid 19, Cyrillic alphabet, Edgar Allan Poe, heartbeat, horror, Moscow, murder, musicabre, musical, Russian, Russian International Horror Film Festival, subtitles, The Tell-Tale Heart, travel restrictions
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Pit and Pendulum TRAILER
Hot off the editing bay: The Trailer for “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre”! “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre“, my second short film musical adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe classic (say that clause three … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, Musicabilia, Notes in the News
Tagged adaptation, classic, Covid, Edgar Allan Poe, horror, musicabre, musical, P&P, short film, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, trailer, YouTube
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LIGHTSCAPE at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
A magical trail of fantastic light installations weaves its way through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at night these days. Ed and I took the tour.
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged botanic garden, brooklyn, Cathedral, chandelier, Cherry Esplanade, Color, Ed Elder, fire, laser, light, Lightscape, night, Overlook, Pyramid, tree, water
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Mainstreet Musicals touts FEEDSTORE QUARTET
“Feedstore Quartet”, a musical created by Jack Hilton Cunningham and myself, has been selected by Mainstreet Musicals, a non-profit that “promotes development opportunities for new musicals throughout regional America”, as a Director’s Choice Award Winner. Jack and I met at … Continue reading
Pit & Pendulum Posters
Introducing the poster design for “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre“: and its alternate / sibling poster: You probably noticed some imagery from the film that is being introduced for the first time on my blog’s discussions about … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Notes in the News
Tagged design, Edgar Allan Poe, imagery, macabre, musicabre, poster, short film, The Pit and the Pendulum
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P&P – Day 2 – The Destruction of the Cello
That’s a beautiful cello, don’t you think? A little worn at the edges perhaps, but to the composer who plays it, a poor fellow who lives in a garret in 17th century Spain, this instrument is his most prized possession, … Continue reading
P&P – Day 2 – The Merchant’s House
In “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre”, my second short film musical adaptation of a classic gothic tale by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist is seen working at his desk in a garret apartment, while soldiers of the … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, Musicabilia, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged 19th Century, camera, East Village, Edgar Allan Poe, Film Festival, film set, film shoot, garret, go-pro, location scout, Merchant's House, museum, musicabre, New York City, staircase, The Pit and the Pendulum, Theater for the New City, townhouse
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LOVING – Photographic Treasures from the Nini-Treadwell Collection
Glimpses at a Photographic History of Men in Love 1850 – 1950 Twenty years ago Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell were browsing through stacks of vintage photographs in a Dallas antique store when they came upon a 1920s photograph of … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Notes in the News
Tagged collection, couples, history, homosexuality, Kitbühel, Love, Nini, photography, soldiers, Treadwell, vintage
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TELL-TALE SUBTITLES 2 – Spanish
It’s time for another episode of Fun with Tell-Tale Subtitles! The first time I shared screenshots of my musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” with Portuguese subtitles. Today Spanish gets its turn. These screenshots are … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, Literary Lyricism, Musicabilia
Tagged cabeza, Edgar Allan Poe, horror, murder, musicabre, musical, poco a poco, puerta, screenshot, short film, Spanish, subtitles, The Tell-Tale Heart
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Notes from a Composer 