Category Archives: North America

SURF MUSIC (“Ode” to Summer 2011)

SURF MUSIC    *2 classic surf oldies plus a modern pop ballad infused with surf pop   Colbie Caillat, “I Never Told You” (CALIFORNIA )  2010 |  Beach Boys, “Surfin’ USA”  (CALIFORNIA) 1963 | Ronny & the Daytonas, “I’ll Think of Summer”  (TENNESSEE)  1966  

Hurricane Irene: The Movie

A close friend of mine wisely pointed out via Facebook that, while no Hollywood natural-disaster film is complete without a grizzled, determined, and attractive lead character to save the day, the media frenzy surrounding Hurricane Irene’s east coast debut lacked a standard hero type. Since the double lead of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman in 1974’s The Towering Inferno, American film has never missed this opportunity to remind us that, while we will all someday die, we should always go out looking our best. Dante’s Peak had Pierce Brosnan. The Perfect Storm had George Clooney in flannel. Independence Day (because extraterrestrials are still natural) had Will Smith. Twister had Bill Paxton. The Day After Tomorrow touted Dennis Quaid for moms and Jake Gyllenhall for daughters. 2012 featured the boyish duo of John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Ad infinitum, et cetera.

CYBERCULTURE > Mobile App > CultureNOW

The CultureNOW app transforms New York City into one big apple museum. This application is great for tourists, commuters, pedestrians and bikers.

Electronic Dance

Bronx-born Jennifer Lopez put a hint of house music back on the map with “On the Floor” in 2011. The song is an infusion of dance-pop, electropop and electro-house. “On the Floor” samples the 1989 song, “Lambada” by Kaoma, a multinational French pop group. Koama’s members were from Guadeloupe, Brazil, and Martinique.

Multinational Debut Novelists Take New York

It is easy to assume that a writer’s debut novel will take an at least partially autobiographical form. We imagine authors living their stories before putting them onto paper; their voices emerge once they manage to organize their thoughts and observations into a narrative. Only then, with their distinct selves discovered, structured, and shared, are …

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