March Madness

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In our latest Arts Express Newsletter:

*Erin Brockovich, the great environmental activist, talks about her new book on how to do grassroots organizing.

*American-Canadian poet Molly Peacock offers up a plateful of playful and provocative poetry

*Artist Vivienne Shalom mesmerizes with her mosaics and acrylic paintings.

and much more!

Click here to view online:

March 2021 Newsletter

And if you like what you see, get your free subscription by emailing us at Artsexpresslist@gmail.com and put the word “subscribe” in the subject line

Duck Soup

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When the lake freezes over, the birds have to squeeze into a smaller space in the un-iced parts of the lake, but the different species of ducks co-exist surprisingly well considering that they are all after a similar limited food supply of small plants and fish in the constrained area.

In this picture you can see the large Canadian Geese, the male and female Mallards with their wings spread, the small American Coots with their white bills and dark bodies, and lastly, a bunch of Northern Shovelers, standing in the back and floating in the water, dark green head and dark, flat-ended bills, and bodies with white breasts and brown flanks.

It was fascinating to see all these different kinds of birds band together and turn around as one when a few aggressive gulls approached; the gulls were not welcome to this party—perhaps they would not play well with others?—and the ducks soon mobbed the gulls and forced them to go elsewhere.

Prospect Park Lake

Brooklyn, New York

Art At A Time Like This: Ministry of Truth

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Enough! by Terry Berkowitz

At a time like this, when we are pretty much limited in our ability to see art in traditional indoor museum settings, I was happy to stumble over the website Art At A Time Like This. Created almost exactly a year ago, in March of 2020, a month I think we all remember, Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen set to work creating an internet art museum. One of their first projects was to document an outdoor billboard project called “Ministry of Truth” that addresses the increasingly authoritarian direction of our culture and politics.

Click on the triangle or mp3 link above to hear my interview with Barbara and Anne as broadcast today on the Arts Express radio program on WBAI FM NYC and Pacifica affiliates across the nation.

You can visit Art At A Time Like This here: https://artatatimelikethis.com/

“I Don’t Want To Live Like This, But…”

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Monday morning, Josh and Carson get locked out of their apartments.

In this cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall,” Josh figured that virtuoso singing and guitar-playing was too easy, so let’s throw in taking off and putting on the guitar capo a few times without losing a beat.

More at Josh Turner Guitar

Cuteness Points

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This jaunty little guy, a Tufted Titmouse, is a kind of bird I usually see hanging out with its cousin, the Black-Capped Chickadee, but this one was foraging all alone. They have a distinct way of flying from a branch down to the ground—they dive bomb straight down headfirst as if they were a gull about to catch a fish, so that even though they’re small, they can be identified from a distance.

Prospect Park

Brooklyn, New York

“Who Wants Their Mind Changed?”: Roy Zimmerman, Part Two

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And here’s Part Two of our interview with singer/songwriter Roy Zimmerman. Last week in Part One we talked with Roy primarily about his more comical satirical songs. This week, in the final part, the conversation takes a turn as Roy talks about how he writes a song with heavier political content–maybe songs that can change some minds.

Click on the triangle or mp3 link above to hear Part Two of my interview with Roy as broadcast today on the Arts Express radio program on WBAI FM NYC and Pacifica affiliates across the nation.

Part One can be found here: https://jackshalom.net/2021/02/16/yer-a-socialist-satirist-roy-zimmerman/

More Roy at Roy Zimmerman

The Great Bombo Dump

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Here in NYC we were blessed in the 1960s with at least three incredibly talented daytime television hosts. They masqueraded as children’s program hosts, but they produced thousands of hours of hilarious comedy with no budget to speak of, and whose studio audience was usually only an appreciative camera crew. There was Soupy Sales, Sandy Becker, and perhaps the most talented of them, Chuck McCann. Here’s Chuck as the failed escape artist, The Great Bombo. I believe his sidekick here, Sid Slick, is played by Jim MacGeorge.

Thanks to YouTuber sandysoup

“Yer A Socialist”: Satirist Roy Zimmerman

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Roy Zimmerman has been described as “Lenny Bruce meets Stephen Sondheim meets Phil Ochs in Brian Wilson’s living room.” He’s a master of satirical political songwriting, the lyrical heir to Tom Lehrer, as well as a damned fine musician. I’ve been listening and laughing at his sharp wit for years, and I was very happy to do an extended interview with him.

Click on the triangle or mp3 link above to hear Part One of my interview with Roy as broadcast today on the Arts Express radio program on WBAI FM NYC and Pacifica affiliates across the nation.

Part Two is here: https://jackshalom.net/2021/02/23/who-wants-their-mind-changed-roy-zimmerman-part-two/

More Roy at Roy Zimmerman

Downy Soft

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This male (the red nape) Downy Woodpecker looks a lot like a miniature version of its larger cousin, the Hairy Woodpecker. They’ve both got very similar markings including a white back, but the Downy is around 6″ compared to the Hairy’s 9″.

One advantage of trying to photograph birds in winter is that you can get a clearer shot without leaves in the way.

Marine Park Salt Marsh

Brooklyn, New York