#robert wood

[garadinervi]

The Pocket Theatre presents "Vexations" by Erik Satie, Performed by the Pocket Theatre Piano Relay Team for the benefit of the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Monday, September 9, 1963 [Fondazione Bonotto, Colceresa (VI)]

Players: Viola Farber, Robert Wood, MacRae Cook, John Cale, John Cage, Christian Wolff, David Del Tredici, David Tudor, Philip Corner, James Tenney, Robert Wood

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Next envoy must repel Jew-hatred ‘hemorrhaging’ at UN, says retired diplomat

U.S. President Donald Trump recently name-dropped David Friedman and Ric Grenell, among “maybe 30 other people” who may be in the running.

by Mike Wagenheim

Robert Wood, who recently retired after nearly 40 years in the foreign service including most recently as deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Biden administration, knows firsthand that Washington’s next envoy to the global body will have to swim upstream to curb Jew-hatred.

“One of the first things that the next permanent representative will need to focus on is ridding that building of antisemitism, because the entire building is hemorrhaging with it,” Wood told JNS.

The diplomat, who served in Brussels, Geneva, Vienna, Berlin, Mexico City, Lagos, Islamabad, Pretoria and stateside in Foggy Bottom, told JNS that a core reason for the United States to remain engaged at Turtle Bay is that it “is going to take a very, very strong effort by the entire team in New York, with, of course, backing in Washington, to get rid of that antisemitism.”

“It’s just flowing through the veins of that organization right now,” he said. “So you’re going to need somebody who’s going to want to fight that, be willing to do it.”

Wood declined to discuss candidates, whose names have surfaced in news reports and some of whom U.S. President Donald Trump recently name-checked. He told JNS that at a minimum, the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations would need to have foreign policy experience to be effective. Prior experience with the United Nations would also be a plus, because the U.N. learning curve is “extremely steep,” he said.

The retired diplomat also said, echoing the approach that the Department of Government Efficiency has taken under Elon Musk, that there must be “a thorough review of the entire U.N. system to make sure that it is getting the taxpayers’ money’s worth.”

Many think that “the U.N. isn’t living up to what it was supposed to be and it is just kind of a waste of taxpayer money,” he told JNS. But he thinks that Washington must commit to reforming the global body rather than abandoning it, as Trump has significantly cut financial commitments to the global body and some Republicans have called for the United States to exit the United Nations altogether.

[paintingsandhistory]

James Dawkins and Robert Wood Discovering the Ruins of Palmyra

Artist: Gavin Hamilton (Scottish, 1723-1798)

Date: 1758

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland

Description

In 1751, James Dawkins and Robert Wood set out from Naples on an expedition to study the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. Unlike previous military, diplomatic and trading missions to the region, this journey was dedicated to archaeological exploration. The trip was almost entirely funded by Dawkins who was the eldest son of Henry Dawkins (1698-1744), a wealthy sugar-plantation owner in Clarendon, Jamaica. The subsequent publication of their findings included detailed engravings of architectural remains that were previously almost unknown in western Europe. Here, Hamilton prioritises the central figures by clothing them in ancient costume and bathing them in glowing light. This contrasts with his representation of the other nationalities in the expedition party.

[onenakedfarmer]

Watching

THE DEVIL'S LOVER [L'AMANTE DEL DEMONIO] Paolo Lombardo Italy, 1972

[jasper-book-stash]

May 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

Alright, I can finally work on this, after being a full week into June. I read 11 books in May - one religious text, one occult/witchcraft book, two romances, two nonfiction books, and five poetry books.

Religious Text

Los Agvinaldos del Infante: Gloda de Epifania // The Child’s Gifts: A Twelfth Night Tale | Tomas Blanco

I found this book on the free books table of the library I work at, and I yoinked it immediately. I'm utterly fascinated by translated works, so being able to look at both the Spanish and English versions of this story was really neat. It's a story about the Three Wise Men heading to Jesus's birth and it talks about the gifts they brought from each of their kingdoms. It was neat.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Echoes from the Orient: Wisdom of Lao-Tse With Parallels in Western Thought | Robert Wood

This is a book I found in a secondhand book store for dirt cheap, and my main complaint with it was that the comparisons were usually weak and drew from too many places. Not bad, but not good either.

Confessions of a Reluctant Optimist | Phyllis McGinley

Remember this post? This author is who that was about. This compilation of poems was a fascinating look back into the author's time and place.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Bending the Binary: Polarity Magic in a Nonbinary World | Deborah Lipp

I went back and forth so much on this book, but ultimately landed at 8 out of 10 with the caveat being that you're going to go back and forth on if the book is worth reading for quite a few chapters. There are a lot of places where it was like "Bestie, what the FUCK does this mean?" but most of those instances were explained in more detail. We love seeing elaboration on wild claims, at least. It delivered exactly on what was promised. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: The author is cisgender, and this is very apparent in many places, and not just in the places that the author outright says it.

Love For All Seasons | Kitty Clevenger, Fred Klemushim, Rick Cusick

This anthology was put together by Kitty Clevenger, and honestly, my main complaint is that they could have done better. Sure, the artwork is gorgeous, but not every poem felt attached to that central theme - it just felt like the compiler just grabbed whatever poems mentioned one of the seasons in them. And the font (by Rick Cusick, apparently) is difficult to read at times - some of the letters are hard to decipher/identify.

Yesterday I Saw The Sun: Poems | Ally Sheedy

Apparently this author is known for other things. This is my first instance of hearing of her. And I enjoyed the book. Not much to say, other than giving a warning that it gets heavy. Which is a good thing tbh.

Swimming Shelter: 100 Days of Coronavirus: An Exercise in the American Crawl | Al Ortolani

Nothing like reliving the coronavirus (and, in some of the later poems, murder and police brutality) through poetry. My main complaint about this one was formatting. I feel like I could have done better. Let me edit your book and fix your formatting, PLEASE.

9/10 - Very Very Good

February Poems | John Mooney

This was gearing up to be a deeply middling zine of poetry until the fucking clown poem hit me. 9 out of 10, no notes.

Pounded By The Classics: Seven Literary Tales Of The Tingleverse | Chuck Tingle The Lesbian Classics Get Me Off: Seven Ladybuck Tales Of The Tingleverse | Chuck Tingle

Chuck Tingle's tinglers literally never miss.

Ancient Egyptian Literature, volume II: The New Kingdom | Miriam Lichtheim

I didn't get volume two read in time for the May book club meeting, much less volume three, but this was still a damn fine read. I love analyzing old literature told through a modern lens.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

None applicable.

[indizombie]

Israel’s staunchest political and military ally is and always has been the US. The US government has blocked, along with Israel, almost every UN resolution that sought a peaceful, equitable solution to the conflict. It has supported almost every war that Israel has fought. When Israel attacks Palestine, it is American missiles that smash through Palestinian homes. And every year Israel receives several billion dollars from the United States—taxpayers’ money. Today every bomb that is dropped by Israel on the civilian population, every tank, and every bullet has the United States’ name on it. None of this would happen if the US wasn’t backing it wholeheartedly. All of us saw what happened at the meeting of the UN Security Council on December 8 when 13 member states voted for a ceasefire and the US voted against it. The disturbing video of the US Deputy Ambassador, a Black American, raising his hand to veto the resolution is burned into our brains. Some bitter commentators on the social media have called it Intersectional Imperialism.

Arundhati Roy, ‘Our country has lost its moral compass’, Hindu

[ozkar-krapo]

Robert WOOD [with Gilbert ARTMAN]

"Sonabular"

(LP. Edici. 1973 / rec. 1972) [GB]

[jllongwrites]

How To Write Characters Who Actually Like Each Other

One of the problems of writing characters who actually like each other is that much of the value of friendship goes unspoken in day-to-day l