Art of the Day

 The Skating Minister [c.1795] 
 -Sir Henry Raeburn

 

Art of the Day

Dahlias
-Claude Monet 

Photo of the Day

The Doors

Photo: Joel Brodsky. New York, 1967.

Literary Pick (***)

Gone Girl
-Gillian Flynn

Literary Pick (****)

Behind the Candelabra 
 -Scott Thorson

Literary Pick (***)

The Shadow of the Wind
-Carlos Ruiz Zafón 

I hate finding fault in a novel that is so obviously well-loved by so many readers. It took me a long while to get into it because there seemed to be too much of a build-up that went on for well over 250 pages. I did eventually begin to find interest in the story nearing the part of "Nuria Monfort's Remembrance Lost" chapter, but by then I was already a bit skeptical, and not buying a lot of what author intended to project, which was to re-create a classic old-fashioned novel with a modern flair, pretty much like what Barcelona represents. I can't say I loved any of the characters except for Fermín. I don't understand why Daniel fell in love with Bea. I understood his love for Clara, the blind girl, but Bea's character, and their relationship/courtship was so under-developed that it left me wondering why he was so in love with her, and how everyone compared her to Penelope, when I think Clara resembled Penelope more than Bea did.
The entire novel to me felt a bit predictable, like the kind of novel you would enjoy when you first begin reading in your life. I think it's because I'm a avid fan of Latin-American literature, and I've read many great works, by quite a few amazing writers. I'm not trying to take anything away from Zafón , because I can see why many readers enjoy The Shadow of the Wind, and towards the end I rather enjoyed it myself too, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

RIP

Peter O'Toole
1932-2013 

The actor Peter O'Toole who found stardom in David Lean's masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia, has died aged 81, his family has annouced.
The acclaimed leading man who overcame stomach cancer in the 1970s passed away at the Wellington hospital in London following a long illness.
His daughter Kate O'Toole said: "His family are very appreciative and completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us, during this unhappy time. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts."
O'Toole announced last year he was stopping acting saying: "I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell."
He said his career on stage and screen fulfilled him emotionally and financially, bringing him together "with fine people, good companions with whom I've shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits."
The president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, was among the first to pay tribute: "Ireland, and the world, has lost one of the giants of film and theatre."
"In a long list of leading roles on stage and in film, Peter brought an extraordinary standard to bear as an actor," Higgins said. "He had a deep interest in literature and a love of Shakespearean sonnets in particular. While he was nominated as best actor for an Oscar eight times, and received a special Oscar from his peers for his contribution to film, he was deeply committed to the stage. Those who saw him play leading roles on the screen from Lawrence in 1962, or through the role of Henry II in Becket, and The Lion in Winter, or through the dozens of films, will recognise a lifetime devoted to the artform of the camera.
Higgins, who knew O'Toole as a friend since 1969, said "all of us who knew him in the west will miss his warm humour and generous friendship.
"He was unsurpassed for the grace he brought to every performance on and off the stage," he said.
The O'Toole family announced there will be "a memorial filled with song and good cheer, as he would have wished", but until then they would like to be allowed to grieve privately.
Early in his career O'Toole became emblematic of a new breed of hard-drinking Hollywood hellraiser.
"We heralded the '60s," he once said. "Me, [Richard] Burton, Richard Harris; we did in public what everyone else did in private then, and does for show now. We drank in public, we knew about pot."
In the 1990s he found stage fame starring in Keith Waterhouse's play, Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, about a hard-drinking journalist who propped up bars in Soho. O'Toole's version sold out the Old Vic theatre in 1999.
Last month it was reported he had been coaxed out of retirement to act in a film about ancient Rome called Katherine of Alexandria in which he would play Cornelius Gallus, a palace orator. It is believed he completed filming on the project alongside Joss Ackland, Steven Berkoff and Edward Fox and the movie is due to be released next year.
O'Toole is believed to have been born in Connemara in County Galway in Ireland, and lived in London. He shot to stardom in the 1962 film of TE Lawrence's life story and went on to take leading roles in Goodbye Mr Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man and My Favourite Year. He received an honorary Oscar in 2003 after receiving eight nominations and no wins – an unassailed record. He considered turning it down and asking the Academy to hold off until he was 80, on the basis that "I am still in the game and might win the bugger outright."
He finally accepted, saying: "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, my foot".
He is survived by his two daughters, Pat and Kate O'Toole, from his marriage to actress Siân Phillips, and his son, Lorcan O'Toole, by Karen Brown.

-The Guardian

Art of the Day

La Nuit de Noel
-Gustave Doré

Quote of the Day

"The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young."

-Oscar Wilde

Lyrics

Do You Realize?
Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Do You Realize - Oh - Oh - Oh
Do You Realize - that everyone you know
Someday will die -
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize

-The Flaming Lips

Honor Spotlight

Freddie Mercury
Born: September 5, 1946

Died: November 24, 1991

Singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury was born Farookh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He studied piano in boarding school in India and befriended numerous musicians at London's Ealing College of Art. The music of Mercury's band, Queen, reached the top of U.S. and British charts. Mercury died of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia on November 24, 1991, at age 45.

Musical Education

Singer-songwriter and musician Freddie Mercury was born Farookh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. As the frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury was one of the most talented and innovative singers of the rock era. He spent time in a boarding school in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he studied piano. It was not long before this charismatic young man joined his first band, the Hectics.
Moving to London with his family in the 1960s, Mercury attended the Ealing College of Art. He befriended a number of musicians around this time, including future bandmates, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May. In 1969, Mercury joined up with a group called Ibex as their lead singer. He played with a few other bands before joining forces with Taylor and May. They met up with bassist John Deacon in 1971, and the quartet—who Mercury dubbed Queen—played their first gig together that June.

Queen

In 1973, the band released their first self-titled album, but it took two more recordings for Queen's music to really catch on. Their third record, Sheer Heart Attack (1974), featured their first hit, "Killer Queen," a song about a high-class call girl. The single hit No. 2 on the U.K. charts, and peaked at No. 12 in the U.S.
With a sound that has been described as a fusion of hard rock and glam rock, Queen had an even bigger hit the following year with their album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Mercury wrote the song "Bohemian Rhapsody," a seven-minute rock operetta, for the album. Overdubbing his voice, Mercury showed off his impressive four-octave vocal range on this innovative track. The song hit the top of the charts in Britain and became a Top 10 hit in the United States.
In addition to his talents as a singer and songwriter, Mercury was also a skilled showman. He knew how to entertain audiences and how to connect with them. He liked to wear costumes—often featuring skintight spandex—and strutted around the stage, encouraging fans to join in the fun. Artistic in nature, Mercury was also actively involved in designing the art for many of the group's albums.
Queen's popularity continued to soar through the late 70s and early 80s. "We Are the Champions," off of News of the World (1978), became a Top 10 hit in the United States and in Britain. It was featured on a single with "We Will Rock You"—both songs have taken on a life of their own as popular anthems played at sporting events. Always exploring new and different sounds, Queen also tried their hand at the big music trend of the time, with the disco-flavored "Another Bites the Dust" in 1980. Off that same album, The Game (1980), Mercury and the rest of the band showed their range as performers with the rockabilly-influenced hit "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," which Mercury penned.

Memorable Performances

The following year, the members of Queen collaborated with David Bowie to create "Under Pressure." A No. 1 hit in Britain, the song's distinctive bass line was later reportedly used by Vanilla Ice for his 1990 rap hit "Ice, Ice Baby." Their abilities to sell albums began to wane by the mid-1980s after The Works (1984), which featured the minor hit "Radio Ga Ga."
As a live act,
Queen continued to draw huge crowds around the world. One of their most notable performances was in 1985 at the Live Aid charity concert. Simply dressed in a tank top and jeans, Mercury led the crowd through some of the band's greatest hits with great energy and style. He got the thousands of music fans at London's Wembley Stadium to chant along to "We Will Rock You." For many who watched the event live or on television, Queen gave one of the top performances of the day-long event, which was organized by singer and activist Bob Geldof and songwriter Midge Ure to raise money for victims of famine in Africa. Inspired by the event, the band wrote the hit "One Vision."
In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury released several solo albums, including 1985's Mr. Bad Guy. He also collaborated with opera singer Montserrat Caralle for 1988's Barcelona.

AIDS

Offstage, Mercury was open about his bisexuality, but he kept his relationships private. He also lived a lavish lifestyle. He loved champagne and liked to collect art, once spending more than $400,000 on a set of hand-painted china. Always one for a party, Mercury threw himself elaborate celebrations; for one particular birthday he flew a group of friends to the island of Ibiza. The occasion was marked by fireworks and flamenco dancing.
By 1989, Mercury largely retreated from public life. He did not promote or tour for Queen's next album, Innuendo (1991), and rumors about possible health problems began to circulate. On November 23, 1991, Mercury released a statement: "I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV-positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease." The next day, he died from AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia at his London mansion. Mercury was only 45 years old.
Longtime friend and bandmate Roger Taylor provided some insight to Mercury's decision to keep his battle with AIDS private. "He didn't want to be looked at as an object of pity and curiosity, and he didn't want circling vultures over his head," Taylor said, according to a report in Entertainment Weekly. The rock world mourned the loss of one of its most versatile and engaging performers.
To honor his memory, the Freddie Mercury Tribute: Concert for AIDS Awareness was held in April 1992 at Wembly Stadium. A diverse range of rock acts—from Def Leppard to Elton John—performed to celebrate Mercury and advance the fight against the disease that took his life. 

That same year, Mercury's mock operatic masterpiece, "Bohemian Rhapsody" made a return to the pop charts, illustrating its timeless appeal.
Before his death, Mercury had done some work in the studio with Queen. These efforts were released in 1995 on Made In Heaven, the group's last album with all the original members. Gone but clearly not forgotten, this collection of Mercury's final performances reached the top of the British charts. In 2001, Mercury and rest of the band received special recognition for their contributions to American music history when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

-Bio. True Story

RIP

Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, dies aged 95

Nelson Mandela, the towering figure of Africa's struggle for freedom and a hero to millions around the world, has died at the age of 95. South Africa's first black president died in the company of his family at home in Johannesburg after years of declining health that had caused him to withdraw from public life. The news was announced to the country by the current president, Jacob Zuma, who in a sombre televised address said Mandela had "departed" around 8.50pm local time and was at peace. "This is the moment of our deepest sorrow," Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son … What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves. "Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell." Zuma announced that Mandela would receive a state funeral and ordered that flags fly at half-mast. 

 Early on Friday morning Archbishop Desmond Tutu led a memorial service in Capetown where he called for South Africa to become as a nation what Mandela had been as a man. Mandela's two youngest daughters were at the premiere of the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in London last night. 
 They received the news of their father's death during the screening in Leicester Square and immediately left the cinema. Barack Obama led tributes from world leaders, referring to Mandela by his clan name – Madiba. The US president said: "Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa – and moved all of us. "His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings – and countries – can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives." David Cameron said: "A great light has gone out in the world" and described Mandela as "a hero of our time". FW de Klerk – the South African president who freed Mandela, shared the Nobel peace prize with him and paved the way for him to become South Africa's first post-apartheid head of state – said the news was deeply saddening for South Africa and the world. "He lived reconciliation. He was a great unifier," De Klerk said. Throughout Thursday night and into Friday morning people gathered in the streets of South Africa to celebrate Mandela's life. In Soweto people gathered to sing and dance near the house where he once lived. They formed a circle in the middle of Vilakazi Street and sang songs from the anti-apartheid struggle. Some people were draped in South African flags and the green, yellow and black colours of Mandela's party, the African National Congress. "We have not seen Mandela in the place where he is, in the place where he is kept," they sang, a lyric anti-apartheid protesters had sung during Mandela's long incarceration. Several hundred people took part in lively commemorations outside Mandela's final home in the Houghton neighbourhood of Johannesburg. A man blew on a vuvuzela horn and people made impromptu shrines with national flags, candles, flowers and photographs. Mandela was taken to hospital in June with a recurring lung infection and slipped into a critical condition, but returned home in September where his bedroom was converted into an intensive care unit. 

His death sends South Africa deep into mourning and self-reflection, nearly 20 years after he led the country from racial apartheid to inclusive democracy. But his passing will also be keenly felt by people around the world who revered Mandela as one of history's last great statesmen, and a moral paragon comparable with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King. It was a transcendent act of forgiveness after spending 27 years in prison, 18 of them on Robben Island, that will assure his place in history. With South Africa facing possible civil war, Mandela sought reconciliation with the white minority to build a new democracy. He led the African National Congress to victory in the country's first multiracial election in 1994. Unlike other African liberation leaders who cling to power, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, he then voluntarily stepped down after one term. Mandela was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993. At his inauguration a year later, the new president said: "Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another … the sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. Let freedom reign. God bless Africa!" Born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga in a small village in the Eastern Cape on 18 July 1918, Mandela was given his English name, Nelson, by a teacher at his school. He joined the ANC in 1943 and became a co-founder of its youth league. In 1952, he started South Africa's first black law firm with his partner, Oliver Tambo. Mandela was a charming, charismatic figure with a passion for boxing and an eye for women. He once said: "I can't help it if the ladies take note of me. I am not going to protest." He married his first wife, Evelyn Mase, in 1944. They were divorced in 1957 after having three children. In 1958, he married Winnie Madikizela, who later campaigned to free her husband from jail and became a key figure in the struggle. When the ANC was banned in 1960, Mandela went underground. After the Sharpeville massacre, in which 69 black protesters were shot dead by police, he took the difficult decision to launch an armed struggle. He was arrested and eventually charged with sabotage and attempting to overthrow the government. Conducting his own defence in the Rivonia trial in 1964, he said: "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. "It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." He escaped the death penalty but was sentenced to life in prison, a huge blow to the ANC that had to regroup to continue the struggle. But unrest grew in townships and international pressure on the apartheid regime slowly tightened. Finally, in 1990, FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and Mandela was released from prison amid scenes of jubilation witnessed around the world. In 1992, Mandela divorced Winnie after she was convicted on charges of kidnapping and accessory to assault. His presidency rode a wave of tremendous global goodwill but was not without its difficulties. After leaving frontline politics in 1999, he admitted he should have moved sooner against the spread of HIV/Aids in South Africa. His son died from an Aids-related illness. On his 80th birthday, Mandela married Graça Machel, the widow of the former president of Mozambique. It was his third marriage. In total, he had six children, of whom three daughters survive: Pumla Makaziwe (Maki), Zenani and Zindziswa (Zindzi). He has 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who headed the truth and reconciliation committee after the fall of apartheid, said: "He transcended race and class in his personal actions, through his warmth and through his willingness to listen and to emphasise with others. And he restored others' faith in Africa and Africans." Mandela was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001 and retired from public life to be with his family and enjoy some "quiet reflection". But he remained a beloved and venerated figure, with countless buildings, streets and squares named after him. His every move was scrutinised and his health was a constant source of media speculation. Mandela continued to make occasional appearances at ANC events and attended the inauguration of the current president, Jacob Zuma. His 91st birthday was marked by the first annual "Mandela Day" in his honour. He was last seen in public at the final of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg, a tournament he had helped bring to South Africa for the first time. Early in 2011, he was taken to hospital in a health scare but he recovered and was visited by Michelle Obama and her daughters a few months later. In January 2012, he was notably missing from the ANC's centenary celebrations due to his frail condition. With other giants of the movement such as Tambo and Walter Sisulu having gone before Mandela, the defining chapter of Africa's oldest liberation movement is now closed.

Fakers, Fakes, & Fake Fakers

Fakers, Fakes, & Fake Fakers

Quote of the Day

“It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses. ”
― Colette

Art of the Day

 Agnus Dei
 Francisco de Zurbaran

Literary Pick (****)

They Cage the Animals at Night
-Jennings Michael Burch

It's so nice when you finally come upon a book that really tugs at your heart strings. The only things I didn't like about the book is that he seemed a bit old to be talking to his stuffed animal dog, but I guess if he did, he did. The other part I didn't get is the excuse Sal gave him for not picking him up from one of the homes, "he wasn't ready to commit.." but other than that the story is a true page-turner, and brimming with tons of sappy moments. I really loved this one.
Great job, Burch. RIP

Art of the Day

 Whistlejacket
-George Stubbs

Literary Pick (***)

The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
-Louis De Bernieres

Reading this story was like reading one of those odd kafkaesque dreams you sometimes have. I always seem to get so much enjoyment out of magical realism, a genre I never thought I could ever even begin to patronize, or take seriously. But it never disappoints..The only reason I'm giving it only 3 stars is because there was a lot of political party, army, general, soldiers, and stuff like that, which always loses me, but I loved it when I would read about Aurelio, his wife and daughter. I also had a hard time keeping up with the characters, no fault to the book, I was distracted at the time, having to study for tests, etc. But the book was brilliantly written, and I would definitely read the other two that follow in this series.

Quote of the Day

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me.” 

― Martin Niemöller

R.I.P

Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

Lou Reed

Lex van Rossen/MAI/Redferns

Lou Reed, a massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music, died today on Long Island. The cause of his death has not yet been released, but Reed underwent a liver transplant in May.
Look back at Lou Reed's remarkable career in photos
With the Velvet Underground in the late Sixties, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music, marrying beauty and noise, while bringing a whole new lyrical honesty to rock & roll poetry. As a restlessly inventive solo artist, from the Seventies into the 2010s, he was chameleonic, thorny and unpredictable, challenging his fans at every turn. Glam, punk and alternative rock are all unthinkable without his revelatory example. "One chord is fine," he once said, alluding to his bare-bones guitar style. "Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz."
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed was born in Brooklyn, in 1942. A fan of doo-wop and early rock & roll (he movingly inducted Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989), Reed also took formative inspiration during his studies at Syracuse University with the poet Delmore Schwartz. After college, he worked as a staff songwriter for the novelty label Pickwick Records (where he had a minor hit in 1964 with a dance-song parody called "The Ostrich"). In the mid-Sixties, Reed befriended Welsh musician John Cale, a classically trained violist who had performed with groundbreaking minimalist composer La Monte Young. Reed and Cale formed a band called the Primitives, then changed their name to the Warlocks. After meeting guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker, they became the Velvet Underground. With a stark sound and ominous look, the band caught the attention of Andy Warhol, who incorporated the Velvets into his Exploding Plastic Inevitable. "Andy would show his movies on us," Reed said. "We wore black so you could see the movie. But we were all wearing black anyway."
Listen to 20 essential Lou Reed tracks here
"Produced" by Warhol and met with total commercial indifference when it was released in early 1967, VU’s debut The Velvet Underground & Nico stands as a landmark on par with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde. Reed's matter-of-fact descriptions of New York’s bohemian demimonde, rife with allusions to drugs and S&M, pushed beyond even the Rolling Stones’ darkest moments, while the heavy doses of distortion and noise for its own sake revolutionized rock guitar. The band’s three subsequent albums – 1968’s even more corrosive sounding White Light/White Heat, 1969’s fragile, folk-toned The Velvet Underground and 1970’s Loaded, which despite being recorded while he was leaving the group, contained two Reed standards, “Rock & Roll” and “Sweet Jane,” were similarly ignored. But they’d be embraced by future generations, cementing the Velvet Underground’s status as the most influential American rock band of all time.   
After splitting with the Velvets in 1970, Reed traveled to England and, in characteristically paradoxical fashion, recorded a solo debut backed by members of the progressive-rock band Yes. But it was his next album, 1972’s Transformer, produced by Reed-disciple David Bowie, that pushed him beyond cult status into genuine rock stardom. “Walk On the Wild Side,” a loving yet unsentimental evocation of Warhol’s Factory scene, became a radio hit (despite its allusions to oral sex) and “Satellite of Love” was covered by U2 and others. Reed spent the Seventies defying expectations almost as a kind of sport. 1973’s Berlin was brutal literary bombast while 1974’s Sally Can’t Dance had soul horns and flashy guitar. In 1975 he released Metal Machine Music, a seething all-noise experiment his label RCA marketed as a avant-garde classic music, while 1978’s banter-heavy live album Take No Prisoners was a kind of comedy record in which Reed went on wild tangents and savaged rock critics by name (“Lou sure is adept at figuring out new ways to shit on people,” one of those critics, Robert Christgau, wrote at the time). Explaining his less-than-accommodating career trajectory, Reed told journalist Lester Bangs, “My bullshit is worth more than other people’s diamonds.”
Reed’s ambiguous sexual persona and excessive drug use throughout the Seventies was the stuff of underground rock myth. But in the Eighties, he began to mellow. He married Sylvia Morales and opened a window into his new married life on 1982’s excellent The Blue Mask, his best work since Transformer. His 1984 album New Sensations took a more commercial turn and 1989’s New York ended the decade with a set of funny, politically cutting songs that received universal critical praise. In 1991, he collaborated with Cale on Songs For Drella, a tribute to Warhol. Three years later, the Velvet Underground reunited for a series of successful European gigs.  
Read Rolling Stone's 1989 Lou Reed cover story
Reed and Morales divorced in the early Nineties. Within a few years, Reed began a relationship with musician-performance artist Laurie Anderson. The two became an inseparable New York fixture, collaborating and performing live together, while also engaging in civic and environmental activism. They were married in 2008.
Reed continued to follow his own idiosyncratic artistic impulses throughout the ‘00s. The once-decadent rocker became an avid student of T'ai Chi, even bringing his instructor onstage during concerts in 2003. In 2005 he released a double CD called The Raven, based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe. In 2007, he released an ambient album titled Hudson River Wind Meditations. Reed returned to mainstream rock with 2011’s Lulu, a collaboration with Metallica.
“All through this, I’ve always thought that if you thought of all of it as a book then you have the Great American Novel, every record as a chapter,” he told Rolling Stone in 1987. “They’re all in chronological order. You take the whole thing, stack it and listen to it in order, there’s my Great American Novel.” 

By Jon Dolan

Rolling Stone Magazine

Literary Pick (****)

Escape from Camp 14- One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
-Blaine Harden

Remarkable odyssey, indeed. It's hard to believe the things that are allowed to happen in North Korea. I'm amazed Shin was able to escape camp 14, and am happy he's beginning to learn a new way of life in other, safer parts of the world, but he has a lot of people who are trying to help him, and he needs to get his life together. I'm hoping he seeks psychological help so he can get passed a lot of the issues that are preventing him from getting the most out of his freedom, and all the beneficial programs offered to him as a North Korean refugee.

Literary Pick (***)

Waiting for Godot
-Samuel Becket

Ironically, I began appreciating this play by reading the single star reviews on Goodreads. Only then did I began to reflect and feel a bit of melancholy for these two characters. The symbolism in it is strikingly touching. There's something so pitiful, so sad about reading this play. However, there was something missing in it for me... I've been emotionally pre-occupied, so I believe that played a role in how I received this work..but I could envision the actual play in my head, the on-stage dialogue, the acting.., and so I went on Youtube and did a search, and I clicked on the TV production from 1961, starring Burgess Meredith and Zero Mostel, and it was exactly what I had imagined, and it is indeed a wonderful piece of work. I can see why Waiting for Godot is regarded as a masterpiece.

Literary Pick (*)

13 Reasons Why
-Jay Asher

Quote of the Day

“Tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.”
― Aeschylus

Literary Pick (****)

Kaddish for Saddam Hussein
Stories by Fawzy Zablah

This is the second collection of work I've read by this author, and I want to first state that out of all the short stories books I've ever read, and there have been plenty, I can vouch that every single story in this collection is spectacularly independent of one another. Typically, in my opinion, when you read short stories they all somehow seem redundant and laborious after the first 3 or so, but not with this collection... each story is oddly, yet refreshingly gripping. Some are funny, others sad, and even shocking. What i like the most about them all is how unpredictable they are. They are all stories that have not been told in any way before.

-The first story "Kaddish for Saddam Hussein" is about a man by the name of Hassan Al-Hazeem, who is a rapist for hire under the dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He was promoted to the Super Secret Rape Squad after being caught with the mistress of an army captain. He's sent out to rape all kind of victims. Some of the victims unappealing and over-weight. In the process he meets a woman by the name of Ludmilla, who is also a hired rapist for the SSRS. She's hired to sodomize men. Hassan ends up falling in love with Ludmilla, and they begin clandestine affair.
One of the reasons I particularly enjoyed this story is because despite it's dark theme, it was actually quite light-hearted and even a bit funny. Hassan's character was energetic and endearing. He reminded me so much of Rinaldi from Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms".

Oslo
-This story is about Habib Al-Fulan who seems to have terrifying recurring dreams of Miami being invaded by bombs falling from the sky. After one of these nightmares he has made up his mind to move to Oslo, where his friend John Voorten lives, whom he met while on a trip to NYC. His friend John has offered him a place to stay and even offers him a job at his fathers gallery. There's so much more to the story, but I won't go into all that because what I'd like to discuss about it is something that resonated with me, and that was his life-living goal of getting to Oslo, a place he's never visited before. For some reason I was able to relate to that throughout the entire story. When you get this idea in your head about a place you've never been to before, in a culture you've never experienced, yet you somehow believe and are certain you can start a whole new life there and everything will be perfect, your dream life begins. Can't tell you how disappointed I've been by such expectations. I felt like that about Paris once, until I visited. Although, I could still see myself living there now that the initial culture shock has worn off, but it's funny how we put certain places on a pedestal and they are just as good or bad as any place else. I also for a while felt like that about Spain, which I have not visited yet, but will this coming December. I don't know why but for a while (not anymore) I thought i could solve the worlds problems if I could just move to Spain. It's just stupid crazy shit. Why people get fixated on locations beats me, but that's what this story signified for me.

This Modern Man is Beat
-My absolute favorite of all the stories. In this one Habib bin Habib al Fulan reappears again, but this time down and out. What blew me away about this particular story is how well the author was able to paint a clear picture of the environment and surroundings, the whole scene around the His N' Hers" motel. I could just picture exactly what the motel looked like, I envision the one in Breaking Bad where Jessie meets with that old lady crack-whore. Picturing him walking block after block with his guitar in hand, desperately trying to get the best deal on it possible. It reminds me of something in my childhood, but i don't know what exactly...but the end is surprisingly pitiful and depressing. I enjoy endings like that very much. It makes a story worth while for me.

Leaving for Paris
-Pyotr Rublyov is half Cuban, half Russian guy that goes by the nickname Doofy.
The story begins with him making a call to a prostitute by the name of Virginia, whom he goes to meet at the wrong Lindon motel address, there are two, but then later meets up with her in the correct one.
Two weeks later he goes on a second date, this time with a regular girl by the name of Klarissa, who sort of dumps him at a party to be with this other dude. Klarissa and Doofy still leave together though, but they never stay in touch after that.
Doofy then gets into a discussion with his friend Gabriel who tells him he's "doofy", that his whife says he's doofy, a combination of duffud and goofy, and Doofy is like wtf?

Later he falls alssep, dreams of this girl in Paris, wakes up to the sound of coughing, and it's his mom who is short of breath, so he rushes her to the hospital, and the story ends.

This was a simple story, but like with all Zablah's works it's all in the craft of writing and
being able to master proper character interactions. His stories are honest, unpretentious, and at times sobering.



Marchesa-
This story is about conjoined twins, Fawzi and Habib, who both get beaten rather severely in a night club of dancers, and wind up hospitalized with a parade of exotic visitors, including a dancer by the name of Marchessa, whom they decide they want to ask out on a date to watch a movie, of which they can't agree on. They invite their old professor from community college whose name is Merkel, to help decide which genre type film to take her to. Habib wants to just get in her pants, Fawzy is looking for a deeper more meaningful relationship...
How does the author come up with stories like this? they are wholey bizarre, but they work!
The Dialogue that goes on between Fawzi and Habib in the presence of the professor is  brilliantly entertaining. I actually read this story twice.



La Femme-
In this one Habib once again reappears, this time as a jilted husband whose wife leaves him for another man. They both have a daughter together by the name of Tessa. He seems to have subconscious fantasies about her death because he often comes across images of her dead corpse as he's out and about with his daughter. His neighbor Miguel Torres is also having marital issues...they talk a bit about it out in the front.
This is another story that has a lot of intrigue and provokes many interesting thoughts. I read this one twice as well.


A Brief History of my Parents Union
-This was my second favorite story because a lot of it hit close to home for me. It brought me back to the time I remember my grandma still being somewhat young. The tumultuous relationship of my own mother and father. I love stories like this because even though they are kind of sad and unfortunate, they are also nostalgic and leave you feeling melancholy. I think that's exactly why I love all this authors stories, they bring me back to a time before it became the end of an era.

The two of us in a raft in the middle of the universe
-This one rocked my socks off. I feel like I can't even write a word about it without giving it away, but it's about these two guys, one whose name is Montes, and they sit in diners listening to people's conversations. That's all i can say about it, but trust me it gets good. This premise would be a good movie. Guys that go into places like that just to hear people's conversations for that purpose.

The United States of America Circa 2003
-One Paragraph but funny.


Liberty City
-This one is about a young boy (13 years old) whose name I'm not 100% certain is mentioned but is often referred to as "primo" which means "cousin" in Spanish. He hangs out with his older cousin Phillip who is a Vietnam veteran drug addict hoodlum (age 28). "Primito" idolizes Phillip, because he wants to be a badass too. He accompanies Phillip in a lot of his shenanigans, like when Phillip went to beat a guy up at a bar, then letting primo hold guns and do drugs.  Phillip is obviously a very violent person, and enjoys killing innocent animals too, is obviously twisted and disturbed, and very intimidating. I felt afraid for primito throughout the entire story, especially when he told primo he was going to take him target practicing, like wtf, where is his mother. Anyway, every time Phillip causes violence or death two soldiers seem to appear out of no where, and only primito sees them. He recognizes them from old war pictures Phillip showed him when they fought in Vietnam, except that Phillip claims they are dead. i don't know what it's suppose to symbolized but I liked it. It adds a creepiness to it.


All in all these were a great collection of short stories, and I had a lot of fun reading them. Looking forward to the authors new book coming out in this fall 2013 called Rarity of the Century.

Speech

Fifty years ago Wednesday, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American history. The following is the full text of the speech, as transcribed on The Huffington Post.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Literary Pick (***)

The War of the Roses- The Children
-Warren Adler

Literary Pick (*)

Ida
-Gertrude Stein

Literary Pick (****)

Life, On the Line
-Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas

Film Quote

"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."
- Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca

Honor Spotlight

Pedro Zamora
Cuban-American AIDS educator
Born: February 29, 1972, Diezmero, Cuba
Died: November 11, 1994, Coconut Grove, Miami, FL

Pedro Zamora (February 29, 1972 – November 11, 1994) was a young openly-gay HIV-positive AIDS educator when he was cast as a housemates on the groundbreaking MTV reality show Real World San Francisco. For many young Americans, watching Zamora on camera was their first exposure to a young person living with AIDS. His appearance on the popular show has been credited with increasing AIDS awareness and normalizing those with the disease.

About Pedro Zamora:

Pedro Zamora was born in Havan, Cuba on the leap day of a leap year (February 29, 1972). According to a Wikipedia report, a Santeria priestess deemed Zamora a grande cabeza or "wise one" born to save lives. Zamora came to the U.S. as a Cuban immigrant at the age of 8.

Pedro Zamora and HIV:

Zamora found out he was HIV-positive after giving blood during his junior year of high school. He turned to the Miami-based HIV/AIDS resource center Body Positive for help and support before speaking about his own experience living with the virus. Zamora entered the national spotlight as an AIDS advocate after being featured by Eric Morganthaler on a front page article of the Wall Street Journal. Interviews by Geraldo Rivera, Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey followed.

On July 12, 1993, he testified before the United States Congress concerning HIV/AIDS awareness and educational programs. Zamora argued, "If you want to reach me as a young gay man -- especially a young gay man of color -- then you need to give me information in a language and vocabulary I can understand and relate to." Much of Zamora's message still rings true today as gay people of color continue to suffer from rising HIV rates.

More on Pedro Zamora and The Real World:

Pedro Zamora was chosen as a castmember of the MTV reality show, The Real World San Francisco in 1994. He took his new role as an opportunity to teach HIV/AIDS awareness. Zamora educated all of America at the same time he eased the anxieties of his Real World housemates. Zamora began dating partner Sean Sasser while on the show. They exchanged vows in the Real World loft. The show aired a week after the cast moved out of the loft.

Pedro's Last Days:

Pedro's health began to deteriorate during the taping of the show. However, things only got worse after they moved he moved out. Zamora’s T-cell count had dropped to an alarming 32 and he suffered from PML and other serious illnesses. Pedro Zamora died at approximately 4:40am EST on November 11, 1994, the day after the final episode of The Real World San Francisco aired.

Pedro Zamora's Legacy:

Zamora was honored by former President Bill Clinton for his HIV/AIDS awareness work. SW 59th Street in Miami, Florida was given the name "Pedro Zamora Way."

Old News

Earlier this morning, ARTINFO reported that famed choreographer Yvonne Rainer sent a letter to Los Angeles MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch denouncing artist Marina Abramovic’s plans for the museum’s annual gala, which involves installing performers under gala tables, turning them into disembodied rotating heads for three-hour-long stretches over a period of two days. The performers would be paid a paltry $150 for their troubles. Read the full text of the letter below.

November 9, 2011
To Jeffrey Deitch:
I am writing to protest the “entertainment” about to be provided by Marina Abramovic at the upcoming donor gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It has come to my attention that a number of young people will be ensconced under the diners’ tables on lazy Susans and also be required to display their nude bodies under fake skeletons.
This description is reminiscent of “Salo,” Pasolini’s controversial film of 1975 that dealt with sadism and sexual abuse of a group of adolescents at the hands of a bunch of post-war fascists. Reluctant as I am to dignify Abramovic by mentioning Pasolini in the same breath, the latter at least had a socially credible justification in the cause of anti-fascism. Abramovic and MOCA have no such credibility, only a flimsy personal rationale about eye contact. Subjecting her performers to public humiliation at the hands of a bunch of frolicking donors is yet another example of the Museum’s callousness and greed and Ms Abramovic’s obliviousness to differences in context and to some of the implications of transposing her own powerful performances to the bodies of others. An exhibition is one thing — this is not a critique of Abramovic’s work in general — but titillation for wealthy diners as a means of raising money is another.
Ms Abramovic is so wedded to her original vision that she – and by extension, the Museum director and curators — doesn’t see the egregious associations for the performers, who, though willing, will be exploited nonetheless. Their desperate voluntarism says something about the generally exploitative conditions of the art world such that people are willing to become victims of a celebrity artist in the hopes of somehow breaking into the show biz themselves. And at sub-minimal wages for the performers, the event verges on economic exploitation and criminality.
This grotesque spectacle promises to be truly embarrassing. We the undersigned wish to express our dismay that an institution that we have supported can stoop to such degrading methods of fund raising. Can other institutions be far behind? Must we re-name MOCA “MODFR” or the Museum of Degenerate Fund Raising?
Sincerely,
Yvonne Rainer

 BlouinArtInfo

Art of the Day

Earth’s Skin

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, b. 1944)
2007, Aluminum and copper wire, 177 x 394 in. (449.6 x 1000.8 cm). Courtesy of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

NYT

Literary Pick (***)

Simple Passion
-Annie Ernaux

Literary Pick (****)

Ciao! Miami 
-Fawzy Zablah

Literary Pick (***)

Middlesex
-by Jeffrey Eugenides

RIP

Eileen Brennan, Who Played Flinty Captain in ‘Private Benjamin,’ Dies at 80

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

Eileen Brennan, a smoky-voiced actress who had worked in show business for more than 20 years before gaining her widest attention as a gleefully tough Army captain in both the film and television versions of “Private Benjamin,” died on Sunday at her home in Burbank, Calif. She was 80. 

Her manager, Kim Vasilakis, confirmed the death on Tuesday, saying the cause was bladder cancer.

Ms. Brennan had had a solid career on the New York stage and in films like “The Last Picture Show” and “The Sting” when she was cast for the film “Private Benjamin,” a 1980 box-office hit starring Goldie Hawn in the title role.

Ms. Brennan played Capt. Doreen Lewis, the slow-burning commanding officer of a pampered, privileged young woman who joins the Army and finds that she isn’t anybody’s little princess anymore. The performance brought Ms. Brennan an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She reprised the role in 1981 in a CBS sitcom based on the film, with Lorna Patterson in the Goldie Hawn role. The TV performance brought Ms. Brennan the Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a comedy, variety or music series. She was nominated for a total of seven Emmys in her career.

But she was forced to leave “Private Benjamin” the following October, when she was hit by a car and critically injured in Venice, Calif. Without her, the series died.

While recovering Ms. Brennan became addicted to pain medication and underwent treatment and later developed breast cancer.

She returned to television in 1985 in a new sitcom, “Off the Rack,” with Edward Asner, but the show lasted only six weeks. Afterward she made guest appearances on other shows. But she never recaptured the attention she had known in the past — as the toast of Off Broadway in “Little Mary Sunshine,” as a film actress in the 1970s, and as an honored comedy star just before her accident.

Verla Eileen Regina Brennan was born on Sept. 3, 1932, and grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a newspaper reporter who also worked in sales and a former actress. Later in life, dealing with her own alcohol dependency, she talked about the alcoholism in her family when she was a child.

After attending Georgetown University in Washington, she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, did summer stock and worked as a singing waitress.

Her first big role was the title character in Rick Besoyan’s “Little Mary Sunshine,” a 1959 operetta parody that played at the Orpheum Theater in lower Manhattan. She won an Obie Award for her portrayal of the show’s spunky, fluttery-eyed heroine. A year later she complained to The New York Times that she had been “hopelessly typecast as that kookie girl.”

Perhaps to prove otherwise, she promptly starred in the national tour of “The Miracle Worker,” as Helen Keller’s gravely serious teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Ms. Brennan made her Broadway debut in 1963 playing, to positive reviews, Anna in a City Center revival of “The King and I.” In 1964 she was cast as Irene Molloy, the young widow, in the original Broadway production of “Hello, Dolly!,” with Carol Channing.

Among later stage performances, she appeared in John Ford Noonan’s “A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking,” a critically praised 1980 two-woman show with Susan Sarandon, and Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy “The Cripple of Inishmaan” (1998), in which she played an alcoholic Irishwoman.

Ms. Brennan made her television debut in “The Star Wagon,” a 1966 PBS special, based on Maxwell Anderson’s play about a man who invented a time machine. Her film debut came a year later, in “Divorce American Style,” a comedy about suburban marriage, starring Debbie Reynolds and Dick Van Dyke.

After a brief stint as an original cast member, along with Ms. Hawn, of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” the 1960s sketch-comedy series, she did her first picture for the director Peter Bogdanovich playing a world-weary Texas waitress in “The Last Picture Show” (1971).

Mr. Bogdanovich cast her again in “Daisy Miller” (1974), as a society hostess, and in “At Long Last Love” (1975), as a singing maid.

Ms. Brennan played a madam with a heart of gold in the Oscar-winning 1973 film “The Sting” and appeared in two comedy-noir films written by Neil Simon, “Murder by Death” (1976) and “The Cheap Detective” (1978).

In later years, she appeared in “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” (2005), as William Shatner’s mother (despite being a year younger than Mr. Shatner). But she was most visible on television, doing guest appearances on a variety of series.

In addition to her Emmy, she received six Emmy nominations. Two were for “Private Benjamin.” The others were for her work in “Taxi,” “Newhart,” “Thirtysomething” and “Will & Grace,” in which she had a recurring role as Sean Hayes’s formidable acting teacher.

Throughout her career she talked openly about addiction. “It’s so horrible and it can be so disastrous, yet there’s something about the sensitivity of the human being that has to face it,” she said in a 1996 interview. “We’re very sensitive people with a lot of introspection, and you get saved or you don’t get saved.”

Ms. Brennan was married from 1968 to 1974 to David John Lampson, an aspiring actor at the time. They had two sons, Patrick and Sam, who survive her, along with a sister, Kathleen Howard, and two grandchildren.

 -NYT