“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell
Aesthetic Arrest is our weekly dip into the Epicurean pleasures we’ve been enjoying lately. Cheers to that!
Season Two is here! And we’d like to give a huge shoutout to everyone who donated to our crowdfunding campaign to make it happen: Thank you to Katie Kleinhesslink, Nico Alexander Star, kde and Brenda Bryson for your very generous contributions. And we’d also like to give a very special thank you to all of our founding donors and monthly paid subscribers for helping us to make Season Two a reality! Cheers to that!
Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:
Reading: The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove — The Poetry of Ruan Ji and Xi Kang (translated by Stephen Owen and Wendy Swartz)
Listening: Sheila Chandra Trilogy — Weaving My Ancestor’s Voices (1992), The Zen Kiss (1994) & ABoneCroneDrone (1996) — Her first three albums reissued this month on Real World Records.
Looking: The Art of Alexander Cañedo (1902-1978)
Viewing: The Bear (Season Two) — created by Christopher Storer, starring Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott & Matty Matheson (Hulu)
Tasting: The Bear Omelette! [Classic French Omelette with Boursin, Chives, and Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips (aka Sydney’s omelette from Season 2, Episode 9 of The Bear)]
Article with recipe and photos from The Bear here: ‘The Bear’ Episode 9’s Potato Chip Omelet Looked So Delicious We Made It For Ourselves — Here’s The Recipe
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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:
Reading: Dark Testament and Other Poems by Pauli Murray (introduction by Elizabeth Alexander)
Audio: Pauli Murray reads "Dark Testament” (via Harvard Radcliffe Institute)
Listening: Carole King - Home Again Live From Central Park, New York City, May 26, 1973 (documentary and album)
Watch the live concert documentary for free via PBS.org! (If this link has expired, consider signing up for a PBS Passport to get extended access to an amazing roster of PBS shows, documentaries and films!)
Looking: The Art of Mickalene Thomas
Official Site of Mickalene Thomas / Instagram / Works for Sale (via Artsy)
Mickalene Thomas honors Pauli Murray in mosaic mural at Yale (via Gay City News)
Viewing: The Stroll — directed by Kristen Lovell & Zackary Drucker (HBO & HBO Max)
Kristen Lovell Is Taking Control of the Narrative (via them)
Kristen Lovell: The Trans Community Deserves to Thrive (via Sundance Institute)
‘The Stroll’ Review: Personal, Archive-Driven Doc on NYC Trans Sex Workers Is a Wonder (via Variety)
Tasting: Shëndetlie (Traditional Albanian Honey Walnut Cake)
That’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue! So each week we are asking a “dinner party” question for everyone joining us here at our table. Last week we asked: “What is one of YOUR favorite pasta dishes?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:
Ryan Wildstar chose wild boar ragu with pappardelle!
Ryan Elston chose baked mac & cheese!
kde chose lasagna!
Christina chose freshly made angel hair pasta with homemade marinara sauce!
Del Mar chose fettuccine with chicken tenders, scallions & sun-dried tomatoes in a cream sherry sauce! [But we know he’s also a fan of our Basic Bitch Pasta!]
Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses! That was last week . . . but we don't want this week's dinner party to end either!
So here is this week's question for the table:
This week we talked about our love for season two of The Bear on Hulu. We adored season one, but after binge-watching season two, The Bear is quickly becoming one of our favorite TV shows.
So, we want to know:
What is one of YOUR favorite recent TV shows?
No I Love Lucy or M*A*S*H! We want something new! Preferably a TV series (or miniseries) from the last year or so. Tell us your choice in the comments and we’ll share some of your responses on next week’s podcast!
And thank you for joining us for the first episode of Season Two! We’ll be back next week with some reading, listening, looking, viewing and tasting recommendations from our listeners! (So if you have any new cultural recommendations for us, now’s your chance to tell us in the comments!) And in two weeks we have even more new surprises on the way!
Cheers to that!
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