Monthly Archive for January, 2011

Hi 2011, you have already been pleasantly surprising.
Three things I fell in love with this week:

Vivian Maier
I am a big fan of street photography, but most of what is around has been celebrated for decades and I’m only discovering it after the fact. So to be alive and around and conscience of images when Vivian Maier’s photography is discovered and released for the first time has been a truly emotional experience for me. The pictures are breathtaking and stir up so many strange feelings within, knowing that these amazing pictures could have been lost, knowing we are all sort of seeing them for the first time, knowing that all these people in these pictures have their own layered and individual stories. Her particular story is so peculiar and beautiful, and I’ve been fantasizing about being in her shoes and floppy hats taking pictures across NYC and Chicago since the third or fourth time I went through her blog. I can’t wait for the documentary to come out, which is currently in pre-production, and a book is due out in mid-2011. I’m so completely excited and in awe of her world.

Taran Killam
Though he’s one of Saturday Night Live’s newbies, he’s not a newbie himself, having acted in sketch television previously with The Amanda Show and MadTV, as well as being one of the newest additions to the Groundlings along with a slew of other comedic credits. And his experience definitely shines through, making him the standout featured player of the season. Since the start of the season Taran has killed almost every throw away line he has been given – spinning gold out of nothing. Les Jeunes de Paris was the first glimpse of the quirky and inspired comedy Taran can pull off. He had me in stitches and rewinding his “The bitch can skate!” in Meryl Streep on Ice, and finally the Creepy Merriville Brothers Amusement Ride sketch (below) sealed the deal. The fact that he can stand in the background and ooze confidence and showmanship in all of his crappy featured player parts, then completely command the space without peeping a word when he does get to star in sketch, shows that Taran’s comedy is stealthy – silent and deadly (in a good way.)

I knew I liked him, but I’m officially in love! Here’s to seeing you take over the show Taran.

(Bonus love: Kenan Thompson has really won me over this season.)

Judy Garland
I’ve never really called myself a fan, but after seeing Dark Side of the Rainbow at Alamo Drafthouse, doing a bunch of Wizard of Oz & Pink Floyd research, and revisiting the most amazing performance I have ever seen, performed by Judy after JFK’s assassination (below), I spent a good deal of time this week just reading about Judy Garland and watching as many clips as I could find on YouTube. Seriously, I could watch the Battle Hymn of the Republic 1000 times and still get goosebumps, regardless if I were a fan, but Judy’s story is so tragic you can’t help but fall in love with her fragility coupled with her balls to the wall energy. She sang so emotionally and so deeply, it’s incredible. It makes me want to face my demons, even though doing so may open me up to more demons. But if I could move people even a fraction of the way Judy moves me through her performances, I would be okay if someone called me an artist. Plus, I can’t believe she was only 4′11″ – with that voice and command when everything is out of control in her life. AAAh!