The Rogovoy Report 6.24.24

From around the corner to around the globe...

Jun 23, 2024

Why Pop Culture Is Still Under Kafka’s Spell

(The Guardian) - A century after Franz Kafka’s death, international fascination with him shows no sign of abating, with an edition of the Czech author’s diaries just out in the UK and US, a new TV serialisation of his life from Germany, and the distinguished Polish director Agnieszka Holland hard at work in Prague on a biopic. The word kafkaesque, meanwhile, is everywhere. On TikTok, the hashtags #kafka and #kafkaesque are attached to thousands of posts with many millions of views. An ad hoc survey of mainstream UK news outlets over the last two years, in print and online, reveals that the adjective was used 570 times. Not as frequently as Orwellian (980), but very few 20th-century writers have their own adjective. Those who do – Orwell or Samuel Beckett, for instance – evoke something about the human condition that chimes far beyond the circles who have actually read their work.

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As its civil war rages on, Sudan is facing the largest famine the world has seen for at least forty years. Where is the world outcry and protests? Oh, there's no Jews involved. Never mind. (NYRB)

Gaza Chief’s Brutal Calculation: Civilian bloodshed will help Hamas (WSJ)

The Dangers of the New Narcissism: Are we experiencing an insurrection of the loudmouths, the haters, the egotists, and the bullies? (Seth Rogovoy/Everything Is Broken)

FASCIST TAKEOVER WATCH:

The Most Under-Covered Story of 2024: Trump and right-wing extremism (MoJo)

Trump just revealed how he’ll attack Biden at debate — and it’s vile (TNR)

Trump suggests migrants should fight for sport (New York)

Aileen Cannon is who critics feared she was (The Atlantic)

DeSantis vetoes all arts grants in Florida (NYT)

Deluge of ‘pink slime’ websites threaten to drown out truth with fake news in US election (The Guardian)

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Detail from Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s ‘Two Sisters (On a Terrace)’

How Much Does Renoir Suck as an Artist? Well, Trump’s a Fan

(The Guardian) - Donald Trump has criminally bad taste in just about everything. He orders his steaks well done and drowns them in ketchup. His Manhattan penthouse is gold and famously gaudy. He wears shiny suits that never seem to fit properly. And then there’s his taste in art: the man loves himself a bit of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. For years, Trump had what he liked to boast was an “original Renoir” on his private jet. That has been proven to be nonsense: the original of the painting in question – Two Sisters (On The Terrace) – is in a Chicago gallery and Trump has a fake. Still, he likes it very much and has now relocated it to Trump Tower. Melania Trump also has a fake Renoir in her office. The tasteless Trumps might enjoy Renoir, but so do a lot of people. Why am I slandering the French Impressionist? I’ll tell you why: I recently visited the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia (home to the world’s single largest collection of Renoirs) and, after looking at 10 million pictures of dough-faced women, I had something of a revelation: Renoir is incredibly overrated.

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Artist at Clark uses textures to tell of Haiti’s troubled history (ATU)

Down County Jump roots music festival returns for second year at Race Brook Lodge (Berkshire Edge)

Alysha Umphress returns to Mr. Finn's Cabaret with ‘15 Stories’ (Berkshire Eagle)

In Shakespeare & Company’s ‘A Body of Water,’ a couple awakes in a house surrounded by water with no memories of who they are (B Eagle)

Netting serves as nature for suspended dancers at PS21’s ‘Noli Timere,’ by Tresca Weinstein (ATU)

Berkshire Busk! enters its fourth season with nearly 100 performing groups lined up for summerlong series (B Eagle)

May Pang’s photos of John Lennon’s ‘Lost Weekend’ era on display at Hudson’s Park Theater for three days next weekend (HV360), Read also, May Pang shares ‘her’ John Lennon (ATU)

Saugerties to commemorate 30th anniversary of Woodstock ‘94 with series of events (Daily Freeman)

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood calls backlash over Israel show amid Gaza war ‘unprogressive’ (The Guardian)

NEWS FROM THE BERKSHIRES

Hancock Shaker Village Immortalized on Forever Stamps

(iBerkshires) PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four images of Hancock Shaker Village are now immortalized in U.S. Postal Service stamps. These are part of a collection of 12 stamps that commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Shakers' arrival in America and highlight the religious group's knack for minimalist, functional, and high-quality products. Director and CEO Carrie Holland said these stamps, in some ways, reaffirm the village's legacy as a significant part of American history.

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BRPC developing countywide action plan for safer roads, crosswalks (iBerkshires)

Mass. Attorney General supports proposed Housatonic Water Works rate increases, while town officials and residents are still strongly opposed. Stockbridge Select Board member Patrick White said, “This is what happens when owners care more about profit than people." “This is a travesty,” said Great Barrington Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis. (Berkshire Edge)

Du Bois Center kicks off Reflections on Democracy series (iBerkshires)

Project to preserve NAACP leader and Harlem Renaissance poet James Weldon Johnson’s Great Barrington writing cabin gets $575K boost (Berkshire Eagle)

Candidates for 3rd Berkshire District state representative discuss issues at forum in Becket (Berkshire Edge)

Great Barrington teacher who is suing over book search incident has resigned, saying the school is not ‘safe’ for her (Berkshire Eagle)

Berkshire Flyer’s future: Can it earn its wings? (B Eagle)

High-speed fiber-optic internet is coming to Housatonic (B Eagle)

North Adams Regional Hospital is still waiting on the critical access hospital designation crucial to funding the operation (B Eagle)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

Athens Library Director Resigns Following Internal Pushback Over Display of Books About Non-Traditional Parenting

(WAMC) ATHENS, N.Y. - Athens’ D.R. Evarts Library is located on a shady street on the west side of the Hudson River. The stately stone building also recently lost its full-time director, who says the library board president’s resistance to a Pride Month book display led to his resignation. “They’ve been consistently resistant to my input. None of them use the library. They don’t interact with the community the way that I do, and for them to make a blanket judgment call like this for the book on behalf of the community, was … that was it for me.” Hired in October, Julian Giarraputo, whose official title was Library Business Manager, served for eight months. His resignation was accepted by the library Board of Trustees on June 11th. Giarraputo believes he was acting appropriately and in line with New York state Diversity Equity Inclusion guidance when he selected two books on non-traditional parenting to be displayed at two story walks in Athens.

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Hudson Chabad’s new Torah scroll to be dedicated at Hudson Hall, which just last winter cancelled an art exhibition for being too Jewish (ATU)

Hudson Housing Authority’s application for a Restore New York grant was DOA due to lack of eligibility. Was this all just an underhanded maneuver to hoodwink the city council into expressing approval of their development plans? (GoR)

Hudson schools superintendent issues ‘Guest Column’ lauding her achievements (GoR)

On VP shortlist, Rep. Stefanik kisses Trump’s ass in rare local press conference (WAMC)

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