Richard Serra at The Met

I heard that the Richard Serra Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was worth seeing.  It is the first retrospective of his drawings.  "This major exhibition features some fifty works from the 1970s to the present, including many loans from European and American public and private collections as well as a selection of the artist's notebooks.  It ends with a site specific large-scale drawing, conceived specifically for The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "

There were some with black lines, some were triangles, and some had 2 rectangles.  In 2008 at Sotheby's in New York, 12-4-8, consisting of 3 steel plates sold for $1.65 million.  The exhibit noted that he does not see black as a color but as a weight, and he talks about his work in terms of physics and materials.  This is another area I need education because I couldn't "respond" to it.  But that's OK because there is a lot at The Met that I do respond to.  I've recently been drawn to Winslow Homer's seascapes.  So I spent some time with "Northeaster".

More Italians

Being of Irish descent in a city that has a lot of Irish immigrants I am for the most part ignorant of Italian immigration.  So I've done a little research and these are some of the things I've learned, and some I've been reminded of.  Many people know this information and probably more.
The first immigration from Italy was from the north because of overpopulation. Many of these immigrants were educated and skilled.  They knew wine making and merchandising food.  The founder of the Bank of America in San Francisco was an Italian food merchant.
The second and major influx of immigrants came later from the Mezzogiorno, middle and southern Italy.  Overpopulation was one factor, natural disasters and poverty were others.  Southern Italy was not rich in the resources valued during the industrial revolution while northern Italy was.  Because political power is often dominated by wealth the north was able to institute a heavy tax burden on the south and create protective tariffs for northern goods, adding to their poverty.  Natural disasters also contributed.  There were eruptions at both Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna.  The earthquake of 1908 and it's tidal wave killed 100,000 people in the city of Messina alone.
Between 1820 and 1978 5,294,000 people immigrated from Italy.  That represents 10.9% of the total foreign immigration during that period.  Even more Italians immigrated to South America.  The vast majority of American immigrants, about 70%, were young and were called Birds of Passage because almost 30% of these immigrants returned to Italy permanently.  These young men concentrated in the cities to earn as much as they could so they could support their families back home and then return.  In 1890 90% of NYC public works employees and 99% of Chicago street workers were Italian.
In reference to Italians and organized crime, the U.S. Department of Justice reports less than .0025% of Italian Americans have anything to do with organized crime.  That's 5 out of 250,000.
Some of my favorite Italians are at my favorite cafe, DeRobertis on First Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets.  It was founded by Paolo DeRobertis and was originally called Caffe Pugliesse after Paolo's birthplace Puglia, Italy.  Founded in 1894 it is still owned by the DeRobertis family and operated by the family's fourth generation of pastry chefs.  Phil Rizzuto said they made the best cannolis.  I like the pignoli cookies.

Some Italians in the East Village

That's a photo of John's Italian restaurant on 12th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  It has been voted as having the best spaghetti and meatballs in the city, but that's not what I want to talk about.  I want to talk about two Italian immigrants who enjoyed dining here in the East Village.  If you've read the book "The Gangs of New York" you will know that some immigrants survived the immigrant experience by joining a gang. Some others already belonged to a gang when they got here.  Joe "the Boss" Masseria, 1887-1931 belonged to the mob when he left Sicily in1903.  He left to avoid being prosecuted for murder.
Joe invited Umberto Valenti for dinner in 1922. Umberto arrived with three of his "boys" and they were met by three of Joey's "boys".  After awhile Valenti realized Masseria, whose nickname had become "the man who can dodge bullets" wasn't showing up and that this was a setup.  Guns were drawn and two of Valenti's men were killed and the third wounded.  Valenti ran out of the restaurant and jumped on a passing taxi's running board.  In those days cars had running boards.  One of Masseria's men took aim and shot him dead in the street.  Joe Masseria was now boss of the Morello crime family which is known today as the Genovese Crime Family.  But "The Boss" wanted more, and head of the Castellamarese would be better.  When he didn't get it, he put out a contract on the man who did.  That started the Castellamarese War and Joe "The Boss" ended getting like he gave; killed in his favorite restaurant in Coney Island, the "Nuova Villa Tammaro", nine years after killing Umberto Valenti.
Another Italian immigrant and frequent visitor to John's Restaurant was Arturo Toscanini, 1867-1957.  Because of his time as musical director of the NBC Orchestra and their performances on radio and TV, Toscanini was a household name in America.  It began when at 20 years of age he was the cellist for the premiere of Verdi's Otello and became friendly with Verdi.  Through that friendship, his photographic memory, and musical genius, Toscanini became principal conductor at La Scala in Milan in 1887.  When Mussolini came to power Toscanini refused to play the "Giovinezza", the fascist anthem, at La Scala.  He was beaten by "blackshirts" and left Italy in 1939 not to return until after the war.  He conducted at the Metropolitan Opera House, 1908-1915, and the New York Philharmonic, 1926-1936.  After many years of fine dining experiences he died at the age of 89 at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.  But with his universally respected recordings, Toscanini still lives.

Jerusalem & the Tony awards

Went to see Jerusalem, starring Mark Rylance who won the Tony for Best Actor in a play.  It was written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Ian Rickson.  It also starred Geraldine Hughes who was Molly Sweeney in the show of that name at the Irish Rep. What must be very difficult to do and is done exceptionally well is to make the main character, Rooster Byron, not just believable but tolerable.  Rooster is not an easy man to accept.  He is a drug and alcohol dealer to 15 year old boys and girls who party and crash at his ramshackle trailer.  He has a son, maybe 7 years old, that he neglects and who suffers bullying and abuse at school because of Rooster's life style.  He has an ex-wife that he tries to manipulate into bed with cocaine.  Rooster is also the protector of 15 year old girls from abusive stepfathers, a protector of the environment, and possibly a shaman.  All of which is well written and portrayed.  Rooster is a very interesting character as is Mark Rylance whose acceptance speech was about walking through walls.  Perhaps referencing the fourth wall.
The Tony's:
Best Play ... Warhorse   [5 nominations 5 wins]
Best Musical ... Book of Mormon  [14 nominations 9 wins]
Best Play Revival  ... The Normal Heart
Best Musical Revival ... Anything Goes
Best Actors: Mark Rylance, Frances McDormand, Sutton Forster, Norbert Leo Butz, John Benjamin Hickey [we rode together on the E train to Times Square, I was going to wish him luck but I wasn't sure if he was nominated {well, strictly speaking we weren't together-together ... but we were on the same train}],  Ellen Barkin, John Larroquette, Nikki M. James.
The highlight of the Tony Awards were The Tony Awards.  I thought they were perfect.
Best of the night
Neil Patrick Harris, host and performer 
Best Scenes from shows:
Anything Goes & How to Succeed
Best Speeches;
Sutton Forster ... her dresser is leaving 
Frances McDormand ... gave a list of her performances; she's played all 3 sisters in Chekhov's The Three Sisters and her character in Good People will be performed on a stage just as long as Chekhov's 3 sisters.
Mark Rylance ...  Lessons in walking through walls
Best Performances during the show, not directly from a Broadway show;
Neil Patrick Harris' "It's not just for Gays, anymore" the opening number
Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman's "Anything You Can Do"
Neil Patrick Harris' closing Rap.
P.S.  Discovered IBDB,  "internet Broadway data base" as a resource.
P.P.S. Athol Fugard won an award for Lifetime Achievement

dinners and movies

Friday was dinner at Gene's with Tom and the movie "Beginners".  The movie was so so and the dinner OK, but my favorite was the Cosmo.  It was so good I had another.
Saturday was a lot of housework, the heavy duty kind.  That's where I wash everything in the bathroom except the ceiling, note to myself - do the ceiling.  Did the laundry, etc.  Then settled down to a home cooked meal of Ahi Tuna Steak and veggies.  I cooked veggies because I am concerned about E-Coli.  According to the NY Times about 5,000 people die in the US each year because of E-Coli. The Times article links the severity of the bacteria to the high use of antibiotics.  North Carolina uses more antibiotics in its farming industry then the whole United States uses for its people.  Therefore we get highly resistant strains of E-Coli.
The movie last night was "Touchez Pas au Grisbi", don't touch the grisbi, slang for loot, with Jean Gabin [this film reportedly revised his career], Jeanne Moreau [one of her first movies, 25 years old & she plays a chorus girl/moll { kind of a hoot}] and Lino Venturo, the great Italian-born French actor in his first role [he made 77 movies most notably Army Of Shadows.  He was originally a wrestler and got picked by the director for this film.]  The film is about a world-weary gangster who is double crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of 8 stolen gold bars are demanded as ransom.
At the Grisbi site there is a comment/review by "palmiro" that is very good.  Two interesting points he makes: the special male camaraderie of the french that is expected and never second guessed by the french.  No Oscar Wilde "love that dare not speak its name" subtext.  The second is the director, Jacques Becker's overt communist/anti-west sympathies that are present in the movie.