The Road to Avenues [Slideshow]
Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the Avenues school, rushing to meet a September deadline. Here, a selection of early renderings and recent interior shots. Read More
Aaron Gell
GIRLS: Five Essay Writing Prompts (Episode 9, ‘Leave Me Alone’)
These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.
1. Michael Imperioli, best known for his role as Sopranos capo Christopher Moltisanti, plays Hannah’s former college writing professor. Compare and contrast the New York literary scene with the Italian crime syndicate, La Cosa Nostra. Read More
Rich Sommer, Quick ’n Dirty
You’ve played Harry Crane on Mad Men since the first season and have two young children. What do you do to make ends meet?
You’re right. Kids are expensive, and I’m on basic cable, so you do what you can. I heard there’s a lot of money in plays, in doing the stage, so I thought I would come here and try that. I may have to try and squeeze in another play before Mad Men starts up again—the ends are still a good several inches apart.
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Updated GIRLS: Five Essay Prompts (Episode 7: ‘Welcome to Bushwick a.k.a. The Crackcident’)
These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.
1. The episode begins at a warehouse party. Describe the scene in light of Bakhtin’s Theory of the Carnivalesque. How are characters altered and the relationships upended by this event, when the established societal rules are briefly suspended (i.e., “tits out for Christmas”)?
Bakhtin’s’s theory of carnival was actually published in a later version of his essays, Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics, and the term “carnival” was used to explain what he considered the Russian author’s “”polyphony”: the ability of many voices to speak at once, interact with each other, and most importantly, strengthen individual arguments while finally being heard by one another. Read More
Spy vs. Fry: Fast-Food Tycoon Presents Rosy View of CIA at Discovery Times Square
Oleg Kalugin, a man some credit with helping to foil the hard-line coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991—and others, including Vladimir Putin, have dubbed a traitor—did not appear to partake of the catered spread on Wednesday afternoon in the basement meeting room at the Discovery Times Square exhibit space. The occasion was a press luncheon pegged to the launch of SPY: The Secret World of Espionage, a traveling exhibition of Cold War memorabilia, and Major General Kalugin, now a professor with the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies in Alexandria, Virginia, was there to offer support—and perhaps to serve as something of a living relic himself.
Actually, maybe he wolfed down a turkey sandwich when we turned away. We can’t be sure, which is why we are not in the espionage game. But Maj. Gen. Kalugin has good reason to be careful. The former head of foreign counterintelligence for the KGB, he publicly denounced the agency, spoke up against corruption and vilified Mr. Putin as a war criminal over the war in Chechnya.
A Treasury of Andrea Peyser’s Very Best Prison Rape Fantasies
The New York Post’s tender-hearted angel of mercy, Andrea Peyser, is best known for the deeply humanistic perspective with which she handles the sensitive criminal proceedings of our legal system. Less well appreciated is her concern for the good physical hygiene of those society has cast aside.
“My advice to Pedro: Don’t pick up the soap.”—on Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., May 15, 2012
“Enjoy the communal showers, Sen. Piggy.”—on Sen. Espada, Jr., April 27, 2012 Read More
GIRLS: Five Essay Prompts (Episode 5: ‘Hard Being Easy’)
These questions regard last night’s episode of HBO’s Girls. Please answer the prompts with specific examples from LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE, though supplementary material will be accepted as a secondary source. Please write legibly. #2 pencils only. You have an hour to finish this test. See below for questions and example responses.
1. Lena Dunham has been described as “the voice of her generation.” Her generation’s other contributions to American culture include artisanal house-made infused vinegars and responsibly sourced small-batch chocolate bars. How is girls Girls the premium-cable equivalent of a pizza from Roberta’s, and how is it not?
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word ‘generation’ as, “A body of living beings constituting a single step in the line of descent from an ancestor.” That doesn’t really seem to apply to Girls, since Hannah is an only child. Marnie and Shoshanna are cousins, so perhaps that’s it.
In this essay I will compare and contrast Girls to a pizza from Roberta’s near the McKibben lofts in East Bushwick (Slogan: “What, your restaurant doesn’t double as a radio station?”), using examples from both real life and the show. I will also compare and contrast Girls to the general aesthetic of what our culture defines as quote-unquote hipsters. Read More
GIRLS: An Intergenerational Dialog (Episode 4: ‘Hannah’s Diary’)
In which the voices of their generations (or two voices…of two generations) discuss The World’s Most Important Show, seeking common ground on the series’ hot-button issues. Like that stuff that comes up around the sides, etc.
Back to Races; Meditations on Creepy Father Figures
Generation Y: I’m so glad we didn’t jump the gun with accusing the show of racism before Lena Dunham got herself some Mexican eyebrows.
Generation X: We also had a black nanny. And maybe a Tibetan nanny.
Generation Y: And a gay redhead nanny…
Generation X: And Jessa very eagerly taking up their cause.
Generation Y: We’re learning a lot more about Jessa, I think. Because how creepy is that dad that she’s always digging? And why do really beautiful, confident women always end up with daddy issues?
Generation X: Jessa’s confidence has always seemed a little thin.
Generation Y: Though it does round out her character. She’s now more than just “snobby Brit.”
Generation X: And if I may speak for the creepy dads out there. We’re people too.
Generation Y: Aaron, I see you as more of the best friend of the creepy dad. So: what is with your “ass like Rihanna” comment? Do old people know about Rihanna’s ass? Is it great? I feel like Shakira would be a better, more outdated reference.
Generation X: I think Rihanna is a beautiful woman. but yes, I’m a devotee of Shaki. I interviewed her once and remain wholeheartedly in love. Partly because she was wearing a Psychedelic Furs t-shirt and, well, they were this band that like, in the 80s… Drew, I imagine you’ve done some babysitting. How creepy are these dads?
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GIRLS: An Intergenerational Dialog (Episode 3, “All Adventurous Women Do”)
In which the voices of their generations (or two voices…of two generations) discuss The World’s Most Important Show, seeking common ground on the series’ hot-button issues. Like that stuff that comes up around the sides, etc.
Style
Generation X: I noticed an interesting leitmotif in this episode—people not dressing the way they’re supposed to. It starts with Charlie’s haircut, then we have Hannah’s goth look, Jessa’s see-through dress, and Elijah, the gay ex-boyfriend, with his scarf. And there’s even a discussion of him shaving his beard in college, which made Hannah cry.
Generation Y: Yes. Sometimes people in our generation dress differently, because they are still trying to find their identity, or because someone in their office has cancer, or, I think in Jessa’s case, because she is a giant weirdo.
Generation X: But what’s funny to me is they actually don’t really dress that differently at all. You look around the city and everyone is in uniform. There used to be these things called punks, for instance, with mohawks…
Generation Y: Um, hipsters are DEFINED by an image, Aaron.
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GIRLS: An Intergenerational Dialog (Episode 1, “Pilot”)
In which the voices of their generations (or two voices…of two generations) discuss The World’s Most Important Show, seeking common ground on the series’ hot-button issues. Like that stuff that comes up around the sides, etc.
