The Buzz Board
Picks from the Inner Circle
Eric Alterman
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Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals. Journalist, author, and professor at Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate School of Journalism |
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 The Lincoln Center Film Society’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2010 began on March 11 and runs for 10 days. Even if you are one of those jerks who eats “Freedom Fries,” you would have to admit, if you saw these films, that they are almost always more stylish, more intelligent, more emotionally perceptive, and have more topless women than does almost everything coming out of Hollywood. This year’s opener, which already has a commercial opening planned, was Christian Carion's Farewell, about a KGB colonel. It’s a first-rate piece of commercial filmmaking and a damned important history lesson. |
David Furnish
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David Furnish is a Canadian filmmaker, producer, and the civil partner of Sir Elton John. He directed the documentary Elton John: Tantrums and Tiaras and is currently producing Next Fall on Broadway. Filmmaker and Producer |
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 I think Next Fall goes to the heart of the great divide that everybody's feeling in Ahomerica right now. There seems to be a lot of anti-gay sentiment, an increasing amount. Religion seems to be playing a stronger and stronger role in dividing the country rather than uniting it. I think the strength of the play is that it starts off basically making it look like we're all this far apart but when you actually boil it down and you get it down to a level of humanity, the play does it brilliantly, and not in a confrontational way, in a way through humanity. It disarms you. You realize we're this close together and we all have the same fears. We all have the need to believe in something higher than ourselves. We all need to be loved. We need to be allowed to love who we want to love. And it's about a universal acceptance and tolerance and allowing people to be who they are. It absolutely appeals to everybody. |
Eric Pape
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Eric Pape has reported on Europe and the Mediterranean region for Newsweek Magazine since 2003. He is co-author of the graphic novel Shake Girl, which was inspired by one of his articles. He has written for the Los Angeles Times magazine, Spin, Reader's Digest, Vibe, Courrier International, Salon, and Los Angeles from five continents. He is based in Paris. Follow him at twitter.com/ericpape |
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Folks at Austin's South by Southwest Film Festival should check out the premiere of A NY Thing this week. The full-length feature romantic comedy is a charming, scruffy, funny and touching indie film—yes, a few authentic ones still exist—about a brooding but funny French guy who spends 72 hours in New York City trying to convince the woman he loves that she should be with him. I found the French-American production to alternate gracefully between quirky, sweetly sexy, funny, melancholic, and strikingly plausible in its peculiar New York-ness and in the way that it captures some of New York’s expatriate French. After SXSW, the film will likely hit other festivals around the U.S. and then some of the cooler theaters. |
Paul Begala
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Paul Begala is a CNN political contributor and a research professor at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. He was a senior strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and served as counselor to President Clinton in the White House. Author, political consultant, commentator, and former adviser to President Bill Clinton. |
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 Just finished John Cassidy's How Markets Fail. It is a careful but readable journey through the philosophical and theoretical framework that caused the economic collapse. It's essential reading for those of us who are already sick of right-wing hacks claiming sensible regulation of the casino economy is an infringement on liberty. Conservative economists, theoreticians, and politicians ruined the economy, period. Cassidy explains the failed theory they used to do so. |
Sir Elton John
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Sir Elton John is an English singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. In his four-decade career, John has sold over 200 million records. He has won five Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s, and was knighted in 1998. He is a producer of the current Broadway show Next Fall. Singer-songwriter |
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 I love the new Hot Chip record. It's called One Life Stand. It's just a great album by a British band. I really love it. It's my favorite album of the moment. |
Christopher Buckley
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Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary. Author and former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush |
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Pick up Mark Twain: Man in White—The Grand Adventure of His Final Years by Michael Shelden. Shelden's account of Twain's Götterdämmerung gives us the man who put on a white suit long before Tom Wolfe, in all his twilight glory. Good stuff. |
Stephanie Risa Stein
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Stephanie Risa Stein is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Philanthropic Capital Advisors |
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 The recent relief efforts in response to the tragedies in Haiti and Chile have showcased the potential of “e-giving.” The American Red Cross used text messages to raise more than $31 million for Haiti relief efforts. This modern way of giving is a powerful innovation for capturing donors whenever and wherever they are, as well as for reaching a growing number of younger donors. Other organizations should following the American Red Cross’ lead and embrace social-media and technology in their fundraising efforts. As always, however, I caution donors to conduct their charitable giving with due diligence, and recommend that larger scale contributions be handled in a more formal way. Concerning the relief efforts in Chile, it’s been reported that significantly lower levels of funds have been earmarked to aid Chile—thus far, only about $100,000 has been raised through texts. Please don’t fall victim to donor fatigue—find it in your hearts and wallets to continue to give because the people of Chile also need our support in a big way. In the spirit of e-giving, text CHILE to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross. |
John Avlon
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John Avlon's new book Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America is available now by Beast Books both on the Web and in paperback. He is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun. Author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America |
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Peter Gabriel’s new album Scratch My Back transcends old labels. No drums or guitars, just orchestra and vocals, it’s a selection of covers re-imagined. “The Book of Love” becomes a soaring new wedding standard, the sound of perfection; “The Boy in the Bubble” is a revelation with lyrics carrying the weight of the song rather than Paul Simon’s Graceland-era instrumentation. “Heroes” and “Mirrorball” combine symphonic slow-builds with shocks to the system. This album is an instant classic and a work of art. |
Ana Ortiz
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Ortiz is best known for her role as Hilda Suarez on the ABC television show, Ugly Betty. She has also appeared on NYPD Blue, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Commander In Chief, Boston Legal, ER, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Her film credits include King of L.A., Tortilla Heaven and the 2009 TV movie, Labor Pains co-starring Lindsay Lohan. Actress and singer |
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 This is embarrassing, but I am a little obsessed with Project Runway! Now that it’s back in New York, it’s so much better. It was wack, but it’s SO good this season. |
Norman Van Aken
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Florida chef Norman Van Aken is known internationally as the founding father of New World Cuisine. The James Beard award-winner is the chef at Norman’s in Orlando and has been inducted into the prestigious James Beard Who’s Who in American Cooking. Award-winning Chef |
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 I was introduced to a young chef from Chile named Esteban Vejar and once we cooked together for a few days he grew confident enough to ask me if I had ever tried a spice mix native to his country called “merken.” He happened to have a jar with him and I quickly became a fan. A week later his mother shipped me my own! I have been using it in much the same way I would use any spice rub, experimenting in a variety of ways. It has a smoky quality that is excellent with all kinds of grilled meats and seafood. |
