Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Leonard Cohen, Vermeer, Canter's Deli, Schwartz's Deli & Katerina Papadopoulou!

“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!

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This Week’s Apéritif: Leonard Cohen’s signature drink, The Red Needle

Leonard Cohen’s “The Red Needle” Cocktails [Photo by Ryan Wildstar]

• Leonard Cohen’s Cocktail Recipe: Learn How to Make “The Red Needle” (via Open Culture)

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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs by Leonard Cohen

Purchase here

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Listening: Aura by Katerina Papadopoulou & Aegean Arc

Aura at Saphrane Records

• Official Site of Katerina Papadopoulou / Instagram

• Katerina Papadopoulou & Aegean Arc – Aura (via Folkradio.gr)

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Looking: The Art Hasui Kawase (1883 – 1957)

1) Snow in Mukojima (1931); 2) Snowy Inokashira, Benten (1929); 3) Honmon-ji Temple in Ikegami (1931); 4) Snow over Zojoji Temple (1953); 5) Bell Tower at Mt. Kôya (1935); 6) Snow at Zōjō Temple (1922); 7) Ushibori (1930); 8) Snow Storm (1927); 9) Konjikido in Snow, Hiraizumi (final work 1957)

Spring is Coming!

1) Sakurajima, Kagoshima (1922); 2) Departing Spring (1925); 3) The Pond at Benten Shrine in Shiba (1929)

• Fans illuminate lost Japanese landscapes through works of late artist (via Kyodo News)

• Japan Art and Kawase Hasui: Snow and Village Life (via Modern Tokyo Times)

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Viewing: Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition (Exhibition on Screen) — directed by David Bickerstaff

• Vermeer film proves that people really do want to watch art in cinemas (via The Art Newspaper)

• Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition review – best seats in the house for sold-out show (via The Guardian)

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Tasting: Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles

canters_deli

A post shared by @canters_deli

canters_deli

A post shared by @canters_deli

• Official Site of Canter’s Deli / Instagram

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962 - 1972 by Alejandra Pizarnik (translated by Yvette Siegert)

Purchase here.

• Autumn Visionary: Alejandra Pizarnik’s Poems (via Hyperallergic)

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Listening: The Music of Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016)

Various Positions (40th anniversary in 2024!):

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

20 of Our Favorite Leonard Cohen Songs:

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Looking: The Art of Jean Delville (January 19, 1867 – January 19, 1953)

The School of Plato (1898) by Jean Delville

1) The Death of Orpheus (1893); 2) Mysteriosa or Portraite de Madame Stuart Merrill (1892); 3) Parsifal (1894); 4) Prometheus (1907); 5) The Treasures of Satan (1895); 6) Orpheus Descends to Hell (1896); 7) The Angel of Splendour (1894); 8) The Oracle of Dodona (1896); 9) The Wheel of the World (1940)

Medusa (1893) by Jean Delville

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Viewing: The Lost Boys [Le Paradis] (2023) — directed by Zeno Graton, starring Khalil Ben Gharbia, Julien De Saint Jean & Eye Haidara

• The Lost Boys director on telling a different kind of queer love story in youth prison romance (via PinkNews)

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Tasting: Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal

schwartzsofficial

A post shared by @schwartzsofficial

schwartzsofficial

A post shared by @schwartzsofficial

• Official Site of Schwartz’s Deli / Instagram

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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: “Who's one of YOUR favorite American authors?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:

• Ryan Wildstar chose William S. Burroughs!

• Ryan Elston chose James Baldwin!

• Zach Shaw chose Cormac McCarthy!

• Mary Chase chose Ann Patchett!

• Cheryl chose John Steinbeck!

• Del Mar chose Michael Crichton!

• kde chose Willa Cather and Louise Erdrich!

• Katie Kleinhesselink chose Marilynne Robinson and Paul Bowles!

• Chris chose George Saunders and Paul Bowles!

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses! We will definitely be adding books by many of these authors to our reading list!

Now 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 reminisced about two of our favorite delis in the world: Canter’s in Los Angeles and Schwartz’s in Montreal.

So, our question for the table this week is:

What's one of YOUR favorite delis?

Anywhere in the world, any type of food!

Maybe it’s your corner bodega? Or your hometown’s mom-and-pop sandwich shop? Or your neighborhood trattoria? Or the deli counter at your favorite market? Or even a five-star upscale delicatessen?

Tell us your choice in the comments and we’ll share some of your responses on next week’s podcast!

Also, don't forget to stop by The Epicurean Vagabonds Substack on Wednesdays, to check out our revamped Mid-Week Libations! Now with audio segments featuring Ryan & Ryan!

And thank you for joining us for Season Two of Aesthetic Arrest!

Cheers to that!