Victory or defeat in war is often as much psychological as it is military. Military forces fight to impose their wills, and at a certain moment, even if the weapons are not yet silent, one side or the other loses... Continue Reading →
Through a Chinese friend, I had the luck to discover the remarkable “Dali Dreamstone” exhibition this week at TK Asian Antiquities in New York City. Dali Dreamstones are marble slabs of smaller or larger size, which are mined, cut and... Continue Reading →
Book review: Robert D. Kaplan, “In Europe’s shadow: two Cold Wars and a thirty-year journey through Romania and beyond”, New York: Random House, 2016, 269 pp.) Robert D. Kaplan’s last chapter in this engrossing European history of Romania begins, “From... Continue Reading →
President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address spent a couple of paragraphs discussing the terrorist threat to the American homeland. In the wake of the San Bernardino attack, he felt obliged to say what is obvious: that while the... Continue Reading →
Film critique: “Anomalisa” (co-directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, 2016) A review of a review: is Anthony Lane correct about ‘Anomalisa’? This is an unsolicited review of noted New Yorker magazine film critic Anthony Lane’s own review of the striking... Continue Reading →
President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address spent a couple of paragraphs discussing the terrorist threat to the American homeland. Faced with heightened fear of terrorism after the San Bernardino attack, he felt obliged to say what is obvious:... Continue Reading →
Arthur Miller, Mark Strong: ‘A view from the bridge’ (Lyceum Theater, Manhattan, dir. Ivo van Hove, until Feb. 21) Catharsis. The London Young Vic’s revival production of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge (1956) is a mesmerizing theater experience... Continue Reading →
“Smoke” — the Upper West Side place on Broadway at 106th — is surely the most genuine, congenial and best-run jazz club in the city. It’s an intimate jazz/supper club that seats about fifty people for dinner at tight tables... Continue Reading →
Charles de Gaulle saves France again: The National Front is boxed out by France’s electoral system Charles de Gaulle from beyond the tomb is again saving France from the French, i.e. from the French people’s penchant for periodic self-immolation. The... Continue Reading →
Tiersky's Viewpoint 