Blackbirds singing, cawing, whatever, in the dead of night

Conference of Rooks

Blackbirds, rooks, crow, ravens...whatever you call them, these birds are almost a trope in contemporary art, reminiscent of a Victorian Goth aesthetic. They are often considered ill omens. Unless, that is, they frequent your Mexican doorstep, twice the size of any normal birds, chattering away. You have to get used to them. Here in Playa del Carmen, at any rate, there are only rooks rather than the enormous turkey vultures that used to buzz around the patio in Merida. These two videos from the New York art fairs this past March capture how noisy these birds can be.


Kristof Kintera at Jiri Svestka Gallery, Armory 2010

Personally, I've had the creeps over birds ever since seeing Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds years ago. Moving to New York city and being surrounded by pigeons as clean as rats didn't help my aversion. The turkey buzzards probably made it worse, and now a neighborhood rooster wakes me up around 6 every morning. I am not fond of birds.

What is it about these fellows that captures the imagination anyhow?

Easy Virtue's Silent Incarnation, Plus Captions!

"Here you are, a beautiful young woman immersed in scandal, about to be divorced. I could find you guilty, or you could come home with me."

Easy Virtue Stats:
Noel Coward writes play 1925
Alfred Hitchcock makes silent film in 1928
Idiots make bad film in 2008

The glib charm of Noel Coward's social comedy must come through better on stage, since the 2008 film blew it. The latest film version with Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth, and Jessica Biel had a chance at capturing that charm, but something went wrong. Alfred Hitchcock 1928 film does them one better. Hitchcock's silent film obviously loses the clever dialogue and, instead of a comedy, the film becomes a sentimental melodrama, albeit with a rather emancipated heroine. Yet the framing of the story in a courthouse, the transitions, the theatrical acting and the mooody orchestra pieces all make for a fun watch.

The film might be hard to find, but amazingly there is a website that has 1,000 film stills telling the story scene by scene. I started to wonder halfway through if silent films weren't a perfect opportunity for audience creativity. Like Mystery Science Theater, you could create the words to the movie...


"No, really darling, I only take gin in my teacup."


"Golly--I'm smoking a cigarette. A flagrant sign you're stuffy mother will hate me!"


"Darling--why is your father still holding my hand---I've gotten into scandals over such things."


"How charming. But if you don't get me out of here, I insist on a second divorce."


"If only I could read."


"Wait a sec--she looks familiar!"


"There goes the family reputation. I should have listened to Mother."


"Migraine my ass! I'll dance in my slutty satin gown if I please."


"It's true I shouldn't dance with my husband's friend. But then, virtue is never easy."

OUCH

See how stringent our security regulations in airports have become. (Thank goodness my Iphone takes pictures, otherwise my family would never have believed me.)

In other news, Easy Virtue is a better play than movie, at least in its most recent rendition. Hitchcock made an 1928 version of Noel Coward's play--

Excuse me, I seem to have burned the inside of my hand showing my mom how to use her nifty new teapot. If anyone is familiar with glass teapots where you put the loose-leaf tea down a well in the center, and then press a button to open the inside of the teapot up to the hot water outside, let me know.

We're a little confused down here as to how you are supposed to keep holding the button down. (Over the palm of your hand is incorrect.)