I wrote this mostly as a parody of certain men raging at women making minor geek culture mistakes. There is a slight bit of actual annoyance at Ebony attributing a cinematographer’s contribution to a director.1 More importantly the episode is an incisive discussion of Blindspotting. Oh, oh, Ebony messed up big time today on Feminist Fequency Radio #37. She talks about film directors who know how to light brown skin. Talk about disrespecting cinematographers! Yes, some directors are involved with lighting, but even they collaborate with their cinematographers: the latter are the ones specifically trained in lighting and capturing light on film! As a theatrical lighting designer, I’m sorta sensitive to this, as I’m the one doing the equivalent in live performance. And, as a aside, POC are such a pleasure to light as there’s so much more color to bring out than in pasty white people. For those of you who haven’t seen it recently, check out Purple Rain again. The lighting throughout the film is so good. There’s one scene in the basement with acid yellow lighting making Prince’s father so much more threatening. And it would have turned a white person into a lemon. There is a…
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This post is safe for all but the most conservative workplaces. The most explicit aspects are naming a certain fetish and a specific performance art piece.1 There are no visuals. The only link is to the podcast page. I’m to lazy to search JSTOR for Sam’s research, but some of what he shares in the podcast doesn’t match up with my experience. Towards the beginning he suggests that people often eroticize the opposite of what causes them stress: the classic CEO goes to the dominatrix. One potential odditiy is that Hughes also talks about kink stages starting in childhood (well before anyone is a CEO). But on a personal level, his explanation doesn’t make much sense. One thing I love about being a dom is setting up scenes and telling degrading2 stories. Take the intercourse, degradation, and personal participation out and that basically describes my career as a lighting designer/theater-maker.3 Indeed going back to my childhood, a lot of my play with friends was running around outside, making up stories, and telling them their roles. Another through line from the rest of my life is the nature of my sadism: I like creating predicaments where there is no “right” answer.…
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So the EU is considering regulations on lamps’ power usage.1 If they don’t exempt entertainment lighting2, this is going to be a disaster. All existing equipment (from tungsten to LED to arc) will become obsolete. Touring shows to or from the EU will require major reworking. And there are significant hurdles for manufacturers to even create lights that will both illuminate the stage and satisfy the regulations. So much for the West End. Oh, and stage lighting uses less energy that keeping the water hot. And dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines and washer-dryers, computers, televisions. All close relatives of a Source 4. ↩ As they already have for video projection. ↩
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“Here, the tensions between the show that might have been and the work actually on display are compelling, the botches inevitable and poignant.” -NYTimes Come see it!
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Another fun photo! Come see the show if you are in NYC.
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Sister Sylvester’s Maps for a War Tourist opened on Friday! Only four more performances at Dixon Place.
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Not yet, but this is enough for tonight. Got an opening tomorrow!
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Walked about the East Village on a February spring (!) day. Reminded me of my days at PS 122.
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At first there was naught, yet after an age, the sky copulated with the ocean. From the seas’ tumescence, heat, rock, life exploded forth, building, bubbling, boiling—excreting rich earth. Once found, we tended to it, each of us with our own garden, discovering and sharing our abundance. Inspired by the prompts: “my garden,” anyone who grows my food,“ and ”underwater volcanos". Via South Pacific mythology—thanks to the awesome J.Z. Smith, who not only looks like Gandalf and with his gnarled staff, but also taught me all about tuber myths. Oh, how sexual root vegetables can become!
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