Recent Riffs

Conclave

World Series

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Arts

Lumen at the Getty

As the overall sponsors, the Getty undoubtedly had a leg up on creating an exhibition that fit into PST’s “Art & Science Collide” theme, and they took advantage by pulling together “Lumen: The Art and Science of Light.” There was one remarkable object after another, a plurality from England but extraordinary loans also from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and U.S. museums in New York, Washington, Cleveland, San Diego and nearby Los Angeles. The least impressive loans were actually from the Getty as, aside from illuminated manuscripts, the “Long Middle Ages” of 800-1500 isn’t in their wheelhouse.

Music

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello and the Imposters put on a B+ show at the Santa Barbara Bowl last night and Daryl Hall (formerly of Hall & Oates) put on a C-, or maybe D+ show. For some reason–political, financial, or era–Elvis’s 75 minutes came first, accentuating how flat Hall’s following 75 minutes were. Based on comments Costello made, I think more concertgoers had come for him than for Hall, even though his heyday was more ’70s while Hall was ’80s.

Movies

Top Ten ’23

Taking a cue from the Oscars and in another way the Golden Globes, I have divided my Top Ten for 2023 into two categories: five of the very best were foreign-language films, and I was able to cobble together five respectable movies from America. Contrary to what the critics said, and seem to say every year, this was not a great year for the movies. Were it not for the Oscar-nominated foreign films, which weren’t released to the public until 2024, I could not have put together a top ten.

Sports

Minnesota Fans

It is well known that Minnesota sports fans expect the worst when it comes down to a big game for their team. Whether this stems from the Vikings’ 0-4 record in early Super Bowls or a general Midwestern lack of self-confidence, I don’t know. Nor do I know whether this defeatism is at all unique to Minnesota or is typical of small-market cities. I do know that, in contrast, New York fans expect championships from their teams, even when the Giants, Knicks and Yankees are clearly performing at sub-par levels. It was, therefore, a rare case of “euphoria,”