“to be worth something or nothing…

albert camus and his twins…to create or not to create. in the first case everything is justified. everything, without exception. in the second case, everything is completely absurd. the only choice then to be made is of the most aesthetically satisfying form of suicide: marriage, and a forty-hour week, or a revolver.” 

when i was sixteen years old, scrummaging through my high school library while i was supposed to be researching some project; i came across the journals of albert camus. i had just read the stranger, which was quite impactful on an indignantly naive teenager, so my intrigue was boundless. to this day, it is my most cherished piece of literature, one i go back to more than any other. next thursday, the seventh of november being what would have been albert’s centenary, the journal’s message and presence in my handbag is incumbent. in other news, i thought dd would appreciate the photograph, camus and his twin daughters, catherine and jean. by sv

vampyr ii

edvard munch vampire ii 1902i celebrate edvard munch everyday, although maybe halloween is more appropriate for the masses. by sv

two boys

two boys operai am an operatic neophyte; fresh-faced and open-armed to the medium that dates back to the late fifteen hundreds. being fortunate enough to attend two operas in the past several weeks (the first being a twin peaks-ish, almost proto-cubist interpretation of britten’s a midsummer night’s dream) i have been hypnotized by these stunning librettos. this past weekend was two boys, nico muhly’s (genius boy) groundbreaking interpretation of an enigmatic disaster that takes place largely in internet chatrooms. paul appleby as the lead exudes the quintessence of an awkward teenager; portraying normalcy with his varsity jacket and aloof attitude, meanwhile scavenging through the doldrums of adolescence with his webcam. with alice coote’s unnerving intensity as a wounded but dauntless detective, the show’s lowly pulsating rhythms juxtapose seamlessly, while dropping internet slang and making references to fellatio. perhaps not what you would expect in an opera, but what do i know, i am a newcomer after all. i strongly recommend going to see this if you are in new york at any point before november 14th. you can read more about the despondently true tale that inspired muhly’s composition in the vanity fair article here. by sv