“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell
Aesthetic Arrest: Mid-Week Libation
Wildstar’s Wednesday Libation: Domaines Landron (Jo Landron) Amphibolite, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine (Loire, France)
Reading: Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted by Ben Okri
“Part vision, part mystery, this story of a midsummer night’s madness is also an homage to Eliot’s famous poem, in Ben Okri’s inimitable style, as alive with echoes and reverberations as the enchanted forest itself. Think Ingmar Bergman meets William Shakespeare, with a dash of Mozart. … Hearts will be healed, and hearts broken, but nobody will leave this festival exactly as they arrived.” [Source]
Listening: R&R’s Newest Playlist! Fierce Favorites for Women’s History Month! Better Be Good To Me:
It’s been a long time since we’ve shared one of our playlists, and this one was inspired by some of our favorite fierce women singers, both past and present (including many we’ve talked about here on the podcast). Featuring songs by The Motels, Lola Young, Yola, Lady Blackbird, Amy Winehouse, Florence + The Machine, Blondie, Pretenders, Celeste, Adele, Annie Lennox, Joan Armatrading, Tina Turner, Nona Hendryx, Stevie Nicks, Nadine Shah, Bow Wow Wow & X-Ray Spex!
Looking: The Art of Henri Rousseau (May 21, 1844 – September 2, 1910)
“Rousseau was best known for his bold pictures of the jungle, teeming with flora and fauna. Yet this painter of exotic locales never left France, notwithstanding stories to the contrary. His paintings were instead the concoctions of a city dweller, shaped by visits to the botanical gardens, the zoo, and colonial expositions as well as images of distant lands seen in books and magazines. A counterpoint to his pictures of a tranquil and familiar Paris, these images of seductive and terrifying faraway places reflected the desires and fears of new modern world.” [Source]
See many more paintings (plus detailed biographical information about each painting) at HenriRousseau.net and Artchive.com!
Viewing #1: Big Boys (Season 3) — created & written by Jack Rooke, starring Dylan Llewellyn & Jon Pointing (Channel 4 & Hulu)
“BAFTA-winning writer and creator, Jack Rooke, said: ‘Ten years ago I took a rather ramshackle comedy-theatre hour about grief and friendship to a damp cave at the Edinburgh Fringe and never thought a decade later it’d be a silly, sweet lil sitcom about a lad’s lad and a dweeby gay becoming best mates. … I’ve known the ending since the pilot, and I hope it still represents those first Edinburgh shows but also the collaborative genius of our incredible cast, crew and creative team. I’ll be indebted to them always for giving me the funniest, happiest years making Big Boys 1-3. Thank you!’” [Source]
‘I spent a lot of time crying on the tube’: Big Boys creator Jack Rooke on saying goodbye to his comedy hit (via The Guardian)
Queer as Folk creator heaps praise on this ‘masterpiece’ gay series as final season released (via PinkNews)
Viewing #2: Invisible Boys — created & directed by Nicholas Verso, adapted from the novel by Holden Sheppard (Stan)
“Stan’s new series Invisible Boys follows four young gay men as they understand and explore their identities while living in Geraldton, a regional town in Western Australia. … An adaptation of Holden Sheppard’s novel of the same name, the story challenges linear narratives of progress and typical ideals of queer life. It also shows how such mentalities can lead gay and bisexual men growing up in regional Australia to feel invisible, as they often don’t fit the neat narratives associated with ‘progress’.” [Source]
New Australian gay drama Invisible Boys will be your next TV obsession (via PinkNews)
Stan’s Invisible Boys carries the tradition of real, gritty Aussie teen drama, while smashing it into something new (via The Conversation)
Tasting: Our Favorite Thai Food in Europe! Thai Zab Restaurant in Athens, Greece
“In my hometown of Kaset Wisai, in northeast Thailand, I learned traditional Thai cooking from my family. In my teen years, I moved to Bangkok and studied at the Lumpini Cooking School, deepening my passion for cooking classical and contemporary Thai cuisine. Today, I bring you my personal interpretation of Thai cooking, merging timeless recipes, modern dishes and world-famous Thai street food on your plate, enjoy!” — Chef Den
So that’s it for this week! But in the tradition of our Mid-Week Libations, we’d like to end with this week’s words of wisdom, a quotation from Ben Okri, author of Madame Sosostris and the Festival of the Brokenhearted (and so many of our favorite books):
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: Ben Okri
Thank you for joining us for Season 3 of Aesthetic Arrest!
Cheers to that!
Share this post