Aesthetic Arrest Podcast: Tina Turner, Kenneth Anger, Donna Summer, Wanda Sykes & Nam June Paik!

“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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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: I, Tina: My Life Story by Tina Turner (with Kurt Loder)

Purchase here.

• Click here to read an excerpt from Ryan Wildstar’s memoir about meeting Tina Turner at a book signing: Los Angeles: Trip and Tina (An Excerpt from Ryan Wildstar's Memoir)!

• Tina Turner was a fearless LGBTQ+ ally – long before it was popular to be one (via PinkNews)

• Watch the beautiful documentary, Tina, via HBO Max! Trailer below:

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Listening: The Music of Tina Turner (November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023)

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Looking: The Art Films of Kenneth Anger (February 3, 1927 – May 11, 2023)

• Kenneth Anger, underground film-maker and Hollywood Babylon author, dies aged 96 (via The Guardian)

• Five Reasons Kenneth Anger is the Most Influential Director in Underground Filmmaking (via Huck Magazine)

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Viewing: Love to Love You, Donna Summer (An HBO Original)

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Tasting: Tavë Kosi — The National Dish of Albania: Originating from the city of Elbasan, it is a dish of lamb and rice baked with a mixture of yogurt and eggs (replacing the original soured milk) added to a roux.

Tavë Kosi from Era Restaurant (Tirana, Albania) [Photo by Ryan Wildstar]

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good by Tina Turner

Purchase here.

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Listening: The Music of Tina Turner (November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023)

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Looking: The Art of Nam June Paik

Watch the documentary, Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV, for free via PBS.org!

• Paik’s Video Study “Paik’s Video Study is the world’s only streaming system of Nam June Paik’s video archives in an online environment. It streams around 700 works from a video archive created and stored by the artist himself.” (via e-flux)

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Viewing: Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer (via Netflix)

Gay legend Wanda Sykes slams ‘stupid and hateful’ anti-trans ‘bathroom’ bills (via PinkNews)

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Tasting: Bresolin Sparkling White Wine on Yeast, DiFondo, Biodynamic

Bottle of Bresolin Sparkling White Wine at Vena Vinoteka Wine Bar & Wine Shop (Tirana, Albania) [Photo by Ryan Wildstar]

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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: “What's one of YOUR favorite (or most impressive) buildings - inside or outside or both - that you've ever visited in person?” Here are some of the great responses from the comments:

• kde chose Parc Güell in Barcelona (designed by Antoni Gaudí)!

• Andrea Engstrom chose Notre-Dame in Paris!

• Del Mar chose the Great Pyramid of Giza!

• Christina chose the Altun Ha Mayan ruins in Belize!

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:

There’s only one possible question this week . . .

What’s your favorite Tina Turner song?

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

And if you can, please don't forget to donate to our crowdfunding campaign! We need your help to make Season 2 a reality!

Cheers to that!