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“Speakeasy” Selections
Author Archives: dannyashkenasi
Brooklyn from the Sky
An annotated bird’s eye view of NYC’s best borough. After we took off from New York City’s La Guardia airport on our Thanksgiving trip, the plane flew over the city and I got this great view of Brooklyn, my home … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Boerum Heights, Breezy Point, brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights, Canarsie, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Coney Island, Downtown, DUMBO, East Flatbush, East River, Far Rockaway, Fort Greene, gowanus, JFK Airport, La Guardia, Manhattan, Manhattan Bridge, New York, New York City, NYC, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Prospect Park, Queens, Seagate, travel
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Tell-Tale’s Original Script?
When a very faithful adaptation gets an award for originality… Recently my first Edgar Allan Poe musical short film adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” received an award for Best Original Screenplay from the East Village New York Film … Continue reading
Queer Movies Under the Radar
Nine Fine Films to Keep an Eye Out For Last month we took in a variety of LGBTQ films via the Newfest film festival. Some higher profile films like “Emilia Pérez” and “Bird”, which I saw in Cannes and just … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Notes in the News
Tagged A House is Not a Disco, Asog, baby, Brazil, Brian J. Smith, Caroline Peters, Dancing with the Stars, Dennis Alink, Duino, Fawzia Mirza, film, Fire Island, Flashdance, Gondola, João Pedro Mariano, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Juru, Kat Rohrer, Marcelo Caetano, movie-review, movies, NewFest, Out, Proshat Madani, review, reviews, Ricardo Teodoro, Seán Devlin, The Queen of My Dreams, This is Ballroom, Veit Helmer, Vitã, What a Feeling
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CYNDI LAUPER in MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Pics and Clips from Her Farewell Tour Concert 1986 I attended Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors tour Madison Square Garden performance. Almost 40 years later she (and I) returned to MSG for the Girls Just Want to Have Fun Farewell Tour … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Live! On Stage, Melodies Linger On, Notes in the News
Tagged abortion, Andrew Garfield, Billy Joel, concert, Cyndi Lauper, Elle King, Farewell, Harry Styles, I'm Gonna Be Strong, Madison Square Garden, music, news, pop culture, Rock, Sam Smith, She Bop, Sisters of Avalon, Time After Time, tour, True Colors
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11/3 FREE SCREENING of PIT & PENDULUM in EAST VILLAGE
“The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre” screens this Sunday 10pm at Under St. Marks UPDATE: This event has been rescheduled for November 3, 10:30pm – the following information has been updated accordingly: My musical short film Edgar Allan … Continue reading
Escape from my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions
Cy was a bit of a bore, and Rothko rather withholding, but that Jackson, now he had a mind, he was fascinating, if out of his gourd… The 11th installment in the cartoon caption series (find all the others here). … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Beginnings, Literary Lyricism
Tagged abstract art, Bremer Stadtmusikanten, caption, cartoon, Cy Twombly, Fall of Rome, Fiddler on the Roof, fishbowl, goldfish, humor, Internet, Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko, modern art, New Yorker, rorschach test, security camera, Sunrise Sunset, Town musicians of Bremen, Traffic Violations Bureau, TVB, Visigoths
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BROOKLYN ARTISTS EXHIBIT at the BROOKLYN MUSEUM
The exhibit of contemporary Brooklyn artists currently showing at the Brooklyn Museum is resplendent with imagination and diversity, technically and aesthetically. Here is a sample of the highlights. “Mother Sky” – David Shaw “Game of Crazy Eights” – Rick Secen … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin'
Tagged Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Alison Kuo, An-My Lè, Anthony Goicolea, art, Artists, brooklyn, Cate Pasquarelli, Chitra Ganesh, David Shaw, E. V. Day, exhibition, Garry Grant, Geoffrey Chadsey, Gwyneth Scally, Haoua Habré, Honorroller, Isamar Gonzalez, Janaina Tschäpe, Jennifer Dalton, Johanna Burke, Jon Kessler, Josh Sucher, Josiah McElheny, Katherine Jackson, Kit Warren, Kyung Tae Kim, Lauren Seiden, Loren Munk, Lufti Janania, museum, Naudline Pierre, photography, Richard Haining, Rob Raphael, Scherezade Garcia, Shosh Goller, Soull Ogun, Stanley Greenberg, Steven Montgomery, Swan Series, Tamara Kostianovsky, Timothy Paul Myers, Tinuade Oyelowo, Tracie Dawn Williams, Yaw Owusu
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GORDON PARKS captures INGRID BERGMAN at a fraught time
This Spring I was enjoying a sprawling exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum featuring select works of many African and African-American artists, when I came upon this photo of Ingrid Bergman. A photo that by itself vibrates with meaning and emotion. … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Beginnings, Cinema Scope, Notes in the News
Tagged affair, African-American, Brooklyn Museum, Civil Rights, film, Gordon Parks, Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman, Isabella Rossellini, Malcolm X, movies, Muhammed Ali, Petter Lindström, photography, photojournalism, Pia Lindström, scandal, Stromboli
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Paw Paw Harvest
Above is a bowl of paw paws, the only North American tropical fruit. You won’t find it the grocery store, because it so easily bruises it is considered unmarketable. It also only ripens on the tree, and then must be … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Notes in the News, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged brooklyn, Easter, Easter egg hunt, fruit, gardening, harvest, ice cream, juice, nature, nectar, North America, pate de fruit, paw paw, seeds, smoothie, tropical
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At the Aquarium
An Underwater Exploration with Musical Accompaniment The other day Ed and I went to Coney Island in the south of Brooklyn, and spent many hours enjoying the wonders of the aquarium. Underwater worlds from coral reefs to canyon gorges, multitudes … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Aquarium, coral reef, Cowfish, Debussy, fish, garbage, Grunt, jelly fish, La Mer, Octopus, otter, penguin, Phish, photography, Piranha, Saint-Saëns, sculpture, Sea Ray, seals, shark, Tang, The Beatles, The Little Mermaid, Under the Sea
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… in which Ed has to endure Danny getting “artsy” on the escalator.
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope
Tagged AMC, AMC 25, back light, Cinema, Danny Ashkenasi, Edward Elder, escalator, movie theater, multiplex, photography, selfie, Times Square, yawning
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Kingdom of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions
Well, that’s one way to spin the data… This is the 10th installment of my own personal New Yorker Cartoon captions (easiest way to find all the others is to click on the Literary Lyricism category). It’s also the fourth … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Literary Lyricism
Tagged Angels, apple, Belgium, caption, cartoon, D J, Desert island, devil's interval, Frankenstein, french fries, heaven, humor, magician, mayonnaise, New Yorker, office, Planet of the Apes, tritone
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Montien Boonma’s HOUSE OF HOPE
There is much to discover and delight in at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, MOMA. I was especially taken by Montien Boonma’s House of Hope. A work of art that invites to be explored from many angles, perspectives and pathways. … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged art, Bhuddhism, healing, herbs, Hope, House of Hope, Immersive, incense, modern, MOMA, Montien Boonma, prayer beads, spices, Temple, Thailand
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Actor and Cinematography Awards for P&P
In a handsomely arched hall turned screening room in a stately old building filled with history, my Edgar Allan Poe musical adaptation “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre”, was shown last night at the Giove International Film Festival … Continue reading
Notes from a Composer 